Limping To The Finish Line

Wrapping up a challenging 2008, and missing workouts due to snow storms, holiday obligations, and minor injury (an abdominal strain is my most recent malaise).

I have another foot appointment today. I'd like to have my surgery done and over with and be able to start working consistently with the new year.

I also need a beer related new year's resolution to bring my weight down.

For now, thouigh, it's catch as catch can, and head into the new year somewhere between completely unfit and fit.

Working At It

At the risk of jinxing myself, I'm going to track the week's workout total here despite the fact that I haven't done my Sunday morning spin yet.

I had a successful workout week, with 5 hours total of sweat exercise between rowing, spinning, and kettlebell. The kettlebell stuff is the most intense, but all the workouts are at least solidly in the aerobic zone (the kettlebell stuff is more like a track interval session).

My fitness is improving. Another breakthrough: I had a cortisone shot in my foot and it (along with the prescribed anti-inflamatory) has made a huge difference. As in, my foot pain is basically gone.

So that's all good. I'm enthusiastic about the workouts and feel that the combination of the three exercise practices gives me the well-rounded fitness that I seek. I have two challenges, however: I'm going to have some minor foot surgery in a couple of weeks that'll lay me up for a few days. I just need to avoid having that deter my momentum. The other challenge is my weight. I'm going to ignore that through teh holidays and then attack it somewhat aggressively.

Another Okay Week

I'm starting to string together some consistency. This week included two kettlebell workouts, two spinning sessions, and one row.

I need to go after it harder, and I'll do so. But the week was okay.

I'm not losing any weight and need a new tactic for that.

Progress

I had a pretty good fitness week: 2 spinning sessions 1 rowing workout 2 kettlebell sessions and a 1.5 hour bootcamp that combined a little bit of everything. More on kettlebells: they are Russian, and demand cardivasular fitness while working strength and flexibility. I've worn my HR monitor and find that my HR frequently soars above AT during the toughest bits and rarely falls below the aerobic zone during the recovery parts. It's kind of like an interval session on the track, only different. Here's a video that demonstrates some basic movements. It looks easier than it is. It woirks just about everything.

Oops, I can't figure out the video upload thing. Try this link instead.

A Decent Week Along the Comeback Trail

I was still sick at the beginning of the week, and missed Monday and Tuesday workouts. Wednesday was a monster day; AM spin and PM Kettlebell. Thursday was rest again, Friday, I rowed. Saturday was atough Kettlebell session. I rowed again this morning. Not bad, but I can do better. And I will.

Back To The Pursuit of Fitness and Health

I've moved my novel. If you are interested in continuing to read it let me know and I'll invite you in to the blog where it now resides.

I also have a re-newed committment to health and fitness. Although my weight gain is fairly evenly distributed when compared to the woman shown here, who would be quite trim and svelte were it not for a backside that's gotten away from her a bit--I am concerned about my weight and have an action plan.

Essentially, I spin, row, and do this torture called kettlebells twice a week. That is, I go to two spin classes per week, two kettlebell sessions per week, and row twice per week. This exercise plan, coupled with the always challenging moderation on the intake side, should reverse my lagging fitness trend.

I will let you know how it goes.

A Big Transition

I have a new goal, and I am motivated to achieve it. It’s not a fitness activity but it will have an impact upon my fitness. Here’s the goal: I will complete the first draft of a novel in one year. Here’s what I’ve learned about this goal so far: it takes time and work. Specifically, I need to write about 100,000 words. I have written 7,609 thus far. I have miles to go before I sleep.

I need to write every day, more or less.

In the decade of my twenties I played lacrosse seriously, from thirty to forty I played basketball seriously, from forty to fifty-something I ran seriously. By seriously, I mean I worked at it, kept score, and cared about the results. That doesn’t mean that I was ever much more than a middle-of-the-packer in any of these pursuits. I anticipate much the same with my new pursuit. I’m going to work at it, and I care about it, and I want the result to be the best that I can produce.

If it’s the literary equivalent of a six hour marathon, that’s okay.

So my fitness goal is 30 minutes per day of sweat exercise. No races, no contests, nothing but the minimum requirement for health.

Ongoing Struggles

My foot (plantar fascitis) continues to be a challenge. I've reduced my running to two days per week. I've added cycling and will add swimming to the mix. My weight is up, my fitness down.

I did have a good interval session on the track on Wednesday: 7 X 800m with all but the first one (still warming up) under 3:30. My long run Sunday was a painful process, though, with the foot bothering me throughout.

So I'll continue to find other stuff to do.

Finally, Real Hope

Barack Obama talks about hope but real hope may reside in the person of Sarah Palin, mother of Track, Trig, Willow, Pipeline, and Curling Iron. Why? As TW points out, my intake is a factor in my body weight. And, my body weight is detrimental to my fitness. Ms Palin, who has a great record as a reformer and may be our president soon (given our miserable voting track record and 72 year old John McCain's battles with cancer) has fought long and hard against science in her efforts to bring creationism to schools and to eliminate pesky polar bears from the face of the earth. Can a fight against gravity be far behind? Surely, if we could eliminate gravity bigger runners like me would have a level playing field. She's a runner who has suffered from gravity during her pregnancies. Let's get behind her and rid the world of gravity!

Progress, then Frustration

My weigh in was 238, so a mild improvement over the prior week.

The week was a mixed bag: I ran (walking the uphills) from work on Monday and to work on Tuesday. My back and hamstrings felt fine. By the end of a good track session on Wednesday, however, my periodic plantar fascitis flare up was in full flare. It has become a pain management challenge. I'll replace my shoes and orthodics, add more specific stretches, ice and more ice, and cut back on my already reduced running schedule.

This week I'll run on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday and try to heal my wounds.

Inspiration

Operation 220 (100kg) Update

The workout this morning was good:

6 X 800m in 3:34; 3:30; 3:31; 3:31; 3:32; and 3:31. The recovery pieces were 2:00, generally, although we stretched it to 4:00 after the third (middle) interval.

The total workout was 5 miles or so. I'm feeling pretty good but after having run for 5 days in a row, I think I'll take tomorrow off.

I'll do my official weigh-in on Saturday morning. It was 240 (109kg) last week. I'm confident of progress.

Challenging But Attainable....

....although not without work. I ran 10 miles yesterday. And it wasn't easy. I took two, two minute walking breaks during the run. But I did it, and I took an ice bath afterwards. By ice bath I mean I sat in the ocean water off east end beach (pictured) for 5 minutes or so. After the initial shock it felt great.

My goal (challenging but attaninable) is to re-gain fitness. To do so, I need to lose about 20 pounds before I can even talk about fitness. So, I ran-walk-ran home today. It went pretty well. I'll run-walk-run in tomorrow and take it from there.

Let's call this: Operation 220 (100kg).

Moving Forward

I had a decent track session on Wednesday, continue to experience no significant hamstring pain, and the low back issues continue to improve. I'm off for a 10 mile run this morning. We'll see how it goes.

I'm also going to experiment with some conservative run-walk-run commutes in the coming weeks. My weight seems to be my major barrier to fitness at this point, ramping up my calorie burn would help address the issue.

On the track, the workout was 4 X 1K. I averaged 4:33 per K, and recovered for 3:00 between work intervals. This coming Wednesday, we'll run 6 X 800m.

More on BtB

The Beach to Beacon is our showcase event and it is impeccably organized, extremely well hosted by the Cape Elizabethians--for whom it must be a bit of a pain--and it has become a great tradition. I'll plan to run it every year. It's the one race where I'll suffer through the process of registering way, way in advance.

My splits were pretty consistent with years past, just slower. By that I mean I went out a bit too fast, ran a slow second mile, then recovered a bit until the 5th mile:

7:57
8:26
7:59
8:09
8:06
8:44
1:34

This pattern is consistent with prior years, and is also consistent with the hill pattern of the course, although I ran the uphill bit at the end of mile 3 better than expected.

I ran again Sunday, 40 minutes, give-or-take, just missing a ferocious thunder storm. I have no lingering effects from the weekend running.

Happy with a PW

I ran the Beach to Beacon race today and despite my worst ever time (50:55) I was pleased with my effort. The result was an honest reflection of my fitness level. The race is inspirational for me this year, with a simple message: get in shape, asshole! I plan to heed that message and hope to have a good 5K race before the end of the year. I'm not sure what defines good at this point. Anything under 22 minutes, I guess. But my back didn't really bother me during the race, nor did my legs, particularly. It was hard work and I'm pleased to have gotten through it.

I'll get right back to my routine with a recovery run tomorrow, and a hrad workout Wednesday. I'll continue that pattern (running Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday) and mix in my gym workouts the rest of the week. The stretching and core work makes a difference, and the rowing machine boosts my aerobic fitness.

Race Week

Kind of. I'm feeling pretty good about hitting my modest Beach to Beacon goal (sub 53). My back is a bit better, and I ran both days on the weekend. I've also been very consistent with my gym workouts, and my twice per day hamstring and hip stretching. Unfortunately, I've also been consistent with my intake, so my weight is unchanged.

I enjoyed watching the Urban EPIC Triathlon over the weekend. Triathletes look great and are super fit (especially those at the front of the pack). They have upper body definition that you don't typically see in runners. And they seemed to be having fun. That is, until I positioned myself at the top of Walnut Street and watched them tackle a brutal hill on the tail end of their bike leg. I was a bit puzzled though: the beer garden (good beer, too) at the finish was completely empty. These folks had just worked really hard for 3 hours or so, why weren't they drinking beer? With my foolish "no beer before 5 PM rule", I didn't drink either. The poor bartenders looked so lonely. There was a great band playing, too, and it was largely ignored. The athletes seemed to eating gu and gel and looking at the latest bike parts. There are aspects of the sport I just don't get. My friend John was having a good race until he flatted halfway through the bike leg. All in all, it seemed like a wonderful event, though. The webpage is here.

Stages of Loss

I'm a little reluctant to use this title, because people lose loved ones, jobs, freedom, and other big stuff. I lost my fitness. I just kind of fumbled it away, it was a result of my own (mis)doing. Nonetheless, I've been through the stages of loss: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and, now, acceptance.

Here's where I am: 10 days ago I ran a 5K race as hard as I could. It took 24:46. I'm in the worst physical shape of my adult life and, at 53, if I don't address it, a steady downhill seems plausible. I weigh 238 pounds. My back hurts, almost constantly. For the third year in a row, I've struggled with hamstring trouble.

But, given where I am physically, I just completed a decent workout week. I rowed 20K, in 5K increments. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, I followed those rows with core strengthening and stretching exercises that helped my back feel better and helped my regain some psychic balance. I walk every day. I'm fat, but no longer getting fatter. On Wednesday, I ran, 800s on the track. On Saturday, I ran again, 5.5 miles. I ran again this morning, 3.5 miles.

I have a modest Beach to Beacon goal. I want to run faster than my age. It's a challenging but attainable goal. It'll take work, but I'm ready to work again. I've accepted my current status. I still hope for progress, though, and I'll report in along the way.

A Day of Reckoning

Today is my birthday. It's a minor one--not a milestone. I'm still closer to fifty than to sixty. I am in the worst shape of my adult life. My weight is near an all time high (240 lbs.) and I can't run far or fast (even by my meager standards). I paddle rather than row. It is time to make changes!

I've been whining about back and hamstring issues. Then I saw this poor bastard's injury:

Catcher Chris Snyder left Monday night's game after getting hit by a foul tip in the groin area. About an hour before Tuesday's game the Diamondbacks put him on the 15-day disabled list with a left testicular fracture.

Snyder will undergo surgery on Wednesday with Melvin hoping his return is relatively soon.

"Hopefully looking at a 15-day period, where he is back after the All-Star break," Melvin said after the D-Backs 8-6 loss to the Brewers on Tuesday night.

That's right, a broken ball. You can watch it-- here.

Anyway, I'm going to break my balls to get back in shape.

A Brand New Plan

No this is not a reference to the alternative country classic Copperhead Road (check it out here). I'm referring to my ongoing frustrations with running injuries. Specifically, I tried to run on Sunday and made it through 23 minutes before debilitating hamstring pain and tightness. This after a 2.5 week lay-off. I'll try to run for 30 minutess tomorrow. I'll run on the track, hills seem to trigger the symptoms.

In the meantime, I need to acknowledge that I need a brand new plan to stay fit: running, despite its simplicity, is just too injury inducing to be my primary source of fitness. So, I'm back on the rower, and into the gym for stretching and strengthening.

On The Shelf

I tried to run again this morning, after having not run since Saturday. I had to stop after 8 and a half minutes. The pain and tightness returned. I won't try to run again for two weeks. I'll walk instead (walking doesn't seem to aggravate my hamstring). The walking takes a long time, and it doesn't build my aerobic fitness but it's meaningful for leg strength and it's a calorie burner. We'll see how it goes.

Damn!

Yesterday's scheduled longish run was interuppted by a sharp right hamstring pain after 4K. I stopped immediately, walked home, and iced it. I'll walk again today. This is disappointing, I was just starting to make some progress. Oh well, I'll run if I can and walk if I can't.

The Seadog Mother's Day 5K Race

I finished in 22:14, compared to 21:39 a year ago. Oddly, I feel pretty good about the race. I'm still base building after the long winter, and have hardly been to the track. I'm still chubby (13 pounds heavier than a year ago) but will take off the weight. It's great running weather, I have no disruptive travel plans and should be able to train consistently.

The Doc's Tavern race in a month will be a much better test.

I ran in to work this morning, and I'll run in tomorrow and Thursday. On Wednesday, I'll run to/from the track and do a quality track session. I'm going to walk to work on Friday. Then I hope to do my normal Saturday long run and a moderate 10K on Sunday. I need to manage my weekly mileage uptick despite the fact that I feel good and I'm impatient with my weight loss (lack there of).

5 for 5.....

......Commuting this week. The race Sunday should be interesting. I'm still quite chubby. I'll report back after the race.

The Road Ahead

Today starts my commute by running process. We'll see how it goes. In theory, I quite like it.

I had a good weekend of running (25.4K total) despite cold and rainy conditions. I'm feeling better while running, as a direct result of some consistency.

This week will include 5 commutes, a modified track workout on Wednesday, a rest day Saturday, and the Seadog race on Sunday.

Time To Man Up

Put on my big girl panties. Find my cojones. Pull myself up by my huevos.

I read yesterday, here, that it is not possible to be both fit and fat. Given that choice, I'm going to opt for fit. Running is my path to weight reduction. Starting next week, I'm going to commute to work by running. I'll get a ride home. I need to be careful to limit the mileage increase, but I need to increase, steadily, until I get my weight back to where I want it to be.

My race schedule:

May 11 5K Seadog
June 13 3 mile Doc's Tavern
July 4 5K Goose Rock
August 2(?) 10K BtB

I'll figure it out from there.

Boston and Beyond

I watched the Boston Marathon this week feeling more like David (after a trip to the US) than Lance. It was inspirational. Not inspirational enough to get me to sign up to race it--or any other marathon--but inspirational enough to get me out hitting the roads to work off some of my winter fat. My scheduled 10K this morning will get me to 48K on the week. I have another business travel week coming up, I need to make sure I don't let the travel de-rail my running.

Building Strength

I capped off a decent week with a 16K run this morning. It gave me 44.7 running kilometers and 59.7 total kilometers for the week. I will peak at 55/75--I'm not far from there. I just need to add a few Ks, drop a few pounds, and pick up speed.

New Shoes!

I bought new shoes and new running cunglasses today. The shoes are overdue, despite my limited kilometerage. The sunglasses represent wishful thinking. Scott and I cut today's run short. It was cool (40 degrees F or so) until we got caught in a driving, icy rain. We found a coffee shop to seek shelter. We did sneak in teh better part of 10K and have a 16K run scheduled for tomorrow morning. I hope I need my sunglasses!

Oh yeah, my new shoes are just like my old shoes, except that they are 2130s instead of 2120s. They're supposed to be unchanged.

The Resurrection

My March was retched enough so that I'll skip the re-cap. I am, however, ready for the resurrection. Last week was decent: 40 running Ks capped by a 15.5K run on Sunday.

I'll be back on the track tommorow. The intervals will be short and slow but it'll be progress. With the run to and fro, and the workout, it'll be 12K or os on the day.

The weather has finally started to turn, making morning running (outdoors) feasible.

Progress! The malaise is over.

A Slump

I finished up a bad week to close out a bad month. The good news is that I fly to Florida tomorrow--no more winter running! It will be spring when I return and there will be a spring in my step. The Mother's Day 5K looms. It's time to get serious.

2:56:28.8

And now my focus is running.

But I got through it. And, I don't ever have to do it again. I'm sore all over but have no specific injury. My back feels like it was run over by a bus. My backside feels like the fella's in the photo above must feel after a vigorous session with his sex toy, also pictured.

The Marathon Beckons

I have run 8 marathons and prior to 2 of those I felt very confident. My training had gone well. I was convinced that I would have a great race. The race, of course, felt differently, and I suffered in the latter stages but still had results I was proud of: 3:10 (in '82) and 3:17 (in '04).

The other 6 marathons I approached with dread, knowing I was unprepared. The suffering started earlier in the race and the results reflected my lack of preparation, ranging from 3:40 to DNF.

My attitude in advance of next Saturday's rowing marathon is one of impending dread. I am underprepared and confident only that it will be a painful experience. I'm going to get through it, but it is going to suck.

That said, I had a nice 20K row Saturday, a fun 10K run Sunday, and a decent workout week.

5K of my Sunday workout was in the Irish Rover Road Race. I've posted photos from that. There's one of me, one of training partner Scott, and one of my brother Jeff.

Stumbling Into March

I had my lightest week last week, with some planned and some unplanned rest days. As a result, February finished a little off pace.

278 total kilometers for the month. 219 of those were rowing Ks.

Highlights include the 10 mile running race on Feb. 3, 10K rowing race on Feb. 16, and two rows which were longer than 30K (a 33 and a 31).

My average weight for the month was 230, an improvement from 233 in January.

I'm basically uninjured but will acknowledge that my back hurts. I will get through the rowing marathon (scheduled for March 15) but it won't be any fun. I'm looking forward to switching my focus to running.

Trouble

My incentive to do the rowing marathon has dwindled to this: I'm going to do it because I said I was going to do it.

The training, and the event itself, is (will be) really painful. During yesterday's planned 36K row I experienced, in addition to the excruciating low back and butt pain I've come to know and love, several severe episodes of left calf cramping. After 4 or 5 of these experiences in acute pain, I abandoned my row at 31K.

Over the past couple of weeks I've come to the realization that I'm really sick of the marathon training. As a result, my training partner and I have agreed to move up the marathon race date from mid-April to mid-March. This will leave my training a little less than ideal. That said, I now have completed 4 rows of 30 or more kilometers. I'm now counting on recovery as the key component to get me through this thing on March 15.

While I've been struggling with the long stuff, training partner John continues to thrive. He crushed the 36K piece yesterday in 3:54 per K pace. If he can hold that pace on race day (and I see no reason why he won't be able to), he'll have a marathon that'll place him 3rd in the world in his age group (40s) and 12th in the world in all ages groups. Impressive!

Race!

I raced yesterday: 10K on the erg. It went well. Almost perfectly, as a matter of fact. In the process, I was reminded of just how challenging, gut wrenching, and mentally, physically, and spiritually demanding a 10 kilometer race can be. It may be the perfect race distance.

My 5K race time predicts a 37:00 10K. Since my training had been skewed more towards the endurance end of things, and since I'd gained fitness since my 5K race (3 weeks ago) I decided to target 36:40, or a 1:50 per 500m split. I checked in with John, my training partner and, on this day, sole competititor. He acknowledged that he had exactly the same target time. In the back of my mind I etched 36:30 as the time which would define a great race.

In my experience, the key to a 10K race is kilometers 6, 7, and 8. At that point in the race, questions cloud the mind: Is the body still willing? Has the spirit been broken? Why am I doing this?

Predictably, I came through 5K in pretty good shape: 18:14.1. A quick glance at John's monitor assured me that I was slightly ahead of him (we were both rowing on the setting that shows, in addition to current 500m pace, average 500m split, I was at 1:49.4, John was at 1:50.0).

Into kilometers 6, 7, and 8 we went. My pace drifted, slowing to an aggregate 1:49.7 By 8k. A glance at John's monitor indicated that, incredibly, he was gaining speed! He was now at 1:49.8.

With 2K to go I fought to ignore the nagging questions challenging body, mind, and spirit. I picked up pace again and held off the steady rise in average pace. John continued to gain, however. It was a dead heat with a kilometer to go.

Heart rate rising, I pulled a 1:48 500m to bring my pace down to 1:49.6 with 500m to go. Confident, I glanced at John's monitor. 1:49.5!! Shit!

I pulled harder, ignoring the urge to back off and recover a bit in advance of the final surge. In our 5K race, John had beaten me by 1.1 seconds. I'd kicked with 150m to go. Afterwards, I thought that if I'd kicked a little earlier, I would've beat him.

With 200m to go, I found another gear. Could I hold it? I shut my eyes and pulled--form be damned, I added every upper body muscle and fiber to my quad and glute drive. I opened my eyes and focused on the monitor through the lactic acid fog. 83m to go, 1:35 pace. 8 strokes. Now 5. Now done.

Shit! John stopped a split second before I did. My time: 36:25.4. John: 36:24.8.

Afterwards, over a carne asada burrito and a Sebago IPA (well, 2 of them, but that's a story for a different blog) I congratulated John (Geary's Winter Ale and chicken burrito)and reflected on how good I felt about the race and how great the beer and burrito tasted. Then I picked up the tab, and thought how much better it all would've tasted if it'd been his tab.

Oh well, there's always the next race.

Check my world ranking here

Thoughts About the Monster

Rowed 33K on Saturday in 2:11:50.2. It became a low back and butt pain torture test. I remain firm in my comittment to row a marathon but equally firm in my comittment to then never row one again.

I took 3-4 standing 20 second or so back stretch breaks (the clock ticked on during these breaks, of course) during the piece. I'll need to build these in to my marathon as well. Other than pain management, the workout was not particularly stressful. My HR was never above 130. I rowed 3:55 kilometers throughout. My total time reflects 4:00 per K, that's because of the stretch break time and shorter breaks to drink gatorade and towel off (sweat management).

I was tired and moderately sore after the workout and into Sunday. The soreness is interesting and reflects the muscles used during rowing: the whole back, the front of the legs, glutes, forearms and biceps. It's general, not acute, an almost pleasant sense of the muscles letting the mind know they've been working.

On Sunday, I gave in to the latest snow and ran on the treadmill, a workmanlike 5 miles.

Yesterday, it was back on the rower for 15K, with no apparent residuals from Saturday's monster.

Back on the Rower

Monday was a 15K steady state piece, yesterday was 5K recovery rowing, and this morning was a VO2 Max session: 15K total with 5.5K at 3:30 kilometer pace (500m paddle recovery in 2:20). A good workout.

Saturday will be a monster: 33K. The plan is to just get through it. No breaks. Just pull on the handle until done.

I'll run Friday and Sunday. Now that I know I can cover 10 miles, I think I'll plan to do that every Sunday. I wonder how training partner Scott will feel about that plan?

The Mid-Winter Classic

Dramatically sports specific undertrained but reasonably fit generally, I hopped in the Mid-Winter Classic, a 10 mile road race held in near by Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It went pretty well, and is my best running workout of the winter.

Just how undertrained was I? Well, I hadn't run that far (10 miles) since July. In addition, I'd only run 84K in the entire month of January. My winter running goal is merely to be ready to train in April, and ready to race 5K-10K (inclusive) in the primary Maine racing season of summer and fall.

With that in mind, I approached the race as if it were a marathon in the sense that I didn't warm up (using the first couple miles of the race as a warm up) and I ran very cautiously at the beginning. This approach paid off and I was satified with the results. It helped that the weather was ideal--mid thirties F with a cloud cover and no wind. Mile splits were:

8:48 (8:59 by the gun)
8:36
8:24
8:03
7:54
8:15
8:01
7:56
7:51
7:35

1:21:22 total by my watch (I started it when I passed the start line), 1:21:33 officially.

The course is hilly throughout--with hills too long and steep to be called "rolling". My effort was consistent from mile 4 on, the time variance was a function of the hills and a bit of a harder push from mile 8 in when I knew I could cover the distance at effort. All in all a very good workout.

Now, back to the rower.

Monthly Wrap-Up

Today is the last day of January. I'm pleased with the month from a workout perspective. Some highlights include:

361.7 total kilometers (goal = 300). 83.5K running, 278.2K rowing
2 30K rows
1 5K rowing race (in 17:52.6)
Only 3 days in the month without rowing and/or running (consistency!)
My first weigh in of the month (January 2) was 238 lbs (108 kilo); my last weigh in (this morning) was 229 lbs (104 kilo)

February beckons. Key goals are continued consistency and weight loss, and a 10K rowing race.

A Strong Start to the Week

Monday's workout was a 15K row with the middle 5K at AT. This morning, the workout was a gentle 5K recovery row follow by a good 5K treadmill run.

I signed up for the Mid-Winter Classic, a 10 mile road race this coming Sunday. I'm not in sports specific shape to race it, but I'll get through it.

After the race, I'll drink local beer and watch the Super Bowl.

The Winter Doldrums

I woke up this morning to another snow storm. Relatively minor as storms go, but just enough snow to cover the icy patches that prove treacherous when running the roads. I bailed out of my run outside, and couldn't face the treadmill, so I took my third rest day of the month (and year). The result, a light week, but one that featured a race and two tough interval workouts.

Next week: big kilometers, and a Sunday road race (10 miles) that I won't race but that I will get through.

17:52.6

I'm pleased with the race this morning, although my training partner John beat me (in 17:51.5). It was a good, hard consistent effort throughout. I probably should've kicked sooner and I also struggled with clear mental focus with 1500m or so to go (until there were 400m or so to go--then the mind was willing but the body objected).

I topped out at 154 HR, and averaged 147, numbers that indicate I was right where I should've been (compared to a 155 max). This race gives me great information in planning future workouts. I am currently 17th in the world (of 788) in my age group.

Splits were as follows:

3:34.4
7:08.8 (3:34.4)
I hit the mid point in 8:56.6
10:44.4 (3:35.6)
14:20.8 (3:36.4)
17:52.6 (3:31.8)

With warm/cool I rowed 10K total. All in all a good workout.

A Rest Day

With my first race of '08 tomorrow, I'm taking a rest day today. My most recent rest day prior to today was January 1. I am on track for a 350K month or so. The race, a 5K, will also be my first indoor rowing race in the better part of a decade. I think I can pull a (ever so slightly) sub-18:00. But we'll see. I'll be rested and ready.

A sub-18:00 5K would put me in 30th place or so in my age group. This of the 1500 or so other whack jobs who record their time on line:

http://www.concept2.com/sranking03/get_wrankings.asp

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Most aspects of the workout went well today:

15K in 59:07.3 with 10 X power 10s (ten strokes all out) distributed throughout the workout. HR average was 122, with spikes in the 140s during the short intervals.

The bad is that my back side abrasion is back (I guess it never left). It is quite an irritant and it will affect my remaining workouts this week. I may run, rather than row, again tomorrow.

The ugly is the photo from an earlier post, describing the abrasion issue in detail. I won't post it again, however.

An Aerobic Zone Pryamid

It was back on the treadmill today, with a fan at my back and tunes in my iPod. An altogher pleasant workout: a 10K ascent and descent through the aerobic zone.

6:16 95
5:43 105
5:27 109
5:14 114
5:00 120
4:48 127
5:00 128
5:12 127
5:27 122
6:00 118

VO to the Max

Well, not really. But I felt pretty good about the workout this morning, and feel that it will prove to be useful.

5 X 1K with 2:30 recovery. Target time was 3:30 for the work pieces. 3:30 translates to a 17:30 5K, I think I could race 5K in 18:00. I'll find out, we're going to do a 5K time trial on Saturday.

Anyway, after a 4K warm up, I rowed:

3:28.5
3:28.8
3:29.9
3:29.1
3:29.4

After a 1K cooldown, I logged 10K on the day.

Still Tired?

The run this morning was tougher than it should've been. We ran 11.5K and the conditions were less than ideal: 20 degrees F with a nasty, cold wind gusting to 30 MPH. At times my face (the only part of me that was exposed) was in pain. To avoid the wind, we stayed on the pennisula, which meant hills. Anyway, the run took 1:02:04, a significantly slower pace than we've been running. I'd like to blame it on my training partner Scott's cold but I was the one slowing us up, generally.

I wonder if I'm still worn out from yesterday's 30K (probably) or if I am suffering from cumulative fatigue (probably, I've either run or rowed everyday this year except Jan. 1). All I know is that I have a tough interval session tomorrow morning. I better rest up, take in food and drink (beer), and watch the Patriots. Hmmmm, sounds like a plan.

Shattered

Got my 30K row in today, barely, and felt like I did in this picture, which was taken after I ran the Boston Marathon in 2005.

The workout started out well enough. I rowed a gentle 5k (19:57) as a warm-up, then got off the machine and changed clothes (chaffing precaution) and started up again using 2.5K (pettau) splits. I had experimented with a new seat pad (purchased from Concept 2) during the warm up, I elected not to use it during the heart of the workout.

Things went very well for the first 7 pettaus:

9:50.6 113
9:49.2 117
9:49.1 127
9:49.3 122
9:49.1 123
9:49.1 126
9:49.6 127

Then I lost mental focus--I knew this was happening and felt like it was no big deal:

10:08.6 123

Then I fell apart physically. No power in my drive, no energy, severe butt and low back pain (muscular, not chaffing). I tried the pad again, it didn't help. In the end, I just got through it as best I could. I guess that's the key, I got through it:

10:33.5 118
10:24.4 124

So, 30K in 1:59:50.1. I have more work to do but time to do it.

Midweek Adjustment...

.....and a reality check.

I decided that 2 things were critical to a successful workout week: resolving "backporch" issues referenced in my last post; and, sticking my 30K long row planned for Saturday morning. With that in mind I capped my row at 10K on Wednesday and ran short Thursday (5K). I'll repeat the short running workout today and will come in fresh, rested, and with my backside renewed for my Saturday morning long row.

I now have a potential rowing marathon venue:

I am very pleased to anounce the third annual Boston ERG Marathon will be held at the Newton Wellesley Hospital on Patriots day, April 21. The event is held at the hospital which is at about mile 17 of the other marathon that runs that day. Participants row on ERGs set up along side the race course. Individuals rowing the full marathon or teams rowing in relay are welcome. As in past years, this event supports the Newton Wellesely Hospital Breast Center and our breast cancer research program. Participants can be sponsored for the row. This year we will be asking a minimum of $100 per entrant.

Rowers in this event have set one world record (60-69yrs) and one #2 world time (30-35yr)

Schools and rowing clubs are welcome. Local prep crews have enjoyed the event.

Rowers are welcome to bring their own ergs, or row on machines we supply.

Interested parties should contact Fred Millham (fmillham@partners.org)

Help us line Route 16 with rowers this year and support breast cancer research!

Too Much Information.....

.....and the photographic evidence to prove it.

I've become a bit of a slave to my log (I'd really like to get a 100K week in) and my row yesterday was a classic junk workout. Beyond that, I should've used the day to heal, rather than aggravate, my backside chaffing. Despite a liberal coating of "Body Glide" on the afflicted area (not shown in the photo left because the visible thong precisely covers the trouble spot) my troubles continue. Today's scheduled 15K, with short intervals, will be, at best, a "grin and bear it" affair.

Then it's a road trip. I'm packing only running (treadmill) gear. Hopefully my ravaged backside will improve in advance of Saturday's scheduled 30K.

Nothing to Write Home About

But I'll write it in my blog: 10K today (rowing), in 39:15, with HR at 117 or so.

Getting There

Monday has developed into VO2 Max workout day, and today's workout was a legitimate session: 6 X 800m at sub 5K race pace, with a 2 minute recovery between work intervals. I averaged 2:46.3 per interval. Next week = 5 X 1K. I'm about 2 weeks away from reasonable race fitness.

10K total, with warm up/down.

The Weekend: Fatboy Goes Long

Well, fairly long anyway. I logged 20K on the rower yesterday and 13.8K on the roads this morning.

That makes it a 93.8K week. I want to get to 100K next week but some mid-week business travel will make that a bit of a challenge.

Weight (Mine)

"Rowing burns 10 percent to 12 percent more than running and 15 percent to 20 percent more than cycling." In rowing, you catch, accelerate, decelerate, and change direction twice each stroke. You are constantly overcoming inertia. So you are constantly overcoming inertia. So you burn a lot more energy than in an efficient gliding activity like skiing or cycling."
—Fritz Hagerman, Ph.D., Professor, Ohio State University, Exercise Physiology

Okay, the science of all this is out there, and I guess I believe it. But it's inconceiveable to me that I could be logging 80+K weeks of just running and still weigh 236 lbs. (my weigh in this morning).

Adaptation

I am adjusting to the increased workload and am feeling good despite a fairly challenging week. This week my light day was 8.1K on the rower but it included 5 tough intervals. I've rowed 15K twice, one of which included 10 short intervals, and have had two days when I both ran and rowed. Tomorrow's the long row (a shortish 20K this week) and Sunday is long run, 14K or so. I guess i could stretch one or both of those and have a 100K week but I'll probably settle for the mid-90s.

I'm feeling good, I'm uninjured, and I think that with 3 more weeks that include some interval sessions I'll be ready to race effectively. We'll see.

The 5K Daily Double

Well, kind of:

Hopped on the rower and cranked out 5K in 19:46, then moved to the treadmill and ran 5K in 26:19.

Tomorrow will be tougher: 15K on the rower with 8 or so power 10s (short interval pick-ups).

A Slight Improvement

Some progress in my interval session this morning: 5 X 800m in 2:47 with 2:00 rest. It was tough and challenging but the last interval was faster than all but the first. All were between 2:46.7 and 2:47.4 so I feel good about the consistency. A few more of these and I'll try a 5K test. I'll add a 6th next week and then shoot for 5 X 1K.

The total workout, with warm up and down, was 8.1K.

I'm on the horns of a mild dilemma: the excellent on-line log I've starting using on Steve L's recommendation is less excellent for non-running (like rowing) cross-training. I want all the graphs and stuff! Should I pretend I'm running when I'm rowing? Also, why does the pace show up slower on my rowing log even though I'm going faster than when I run?

The Weekly Round-up

This was a good week, with 86 total kilometers in the log. The weekend, in particular, went well: 30K rowing yesterday and 13K on the roads (running) today.

The details:

I split the row in half, and to a 10 minute stretch break between 15K sets. Further, I took a 10 second break every 2.5K. This worked well. I stayed hydrated, and the break in the middle helped stave off the inevitable back and butt pain. Total rowing time was 1:57:13.1. I felt pretty good throughout. My HR increased about 10 seconds (from 115 or so to 125 or so) during the session despite constant pace throughout. Cardiac creep, I suppose.

Today's run was also encouraging. I ran slightly faster than last week despite tacking on an additional mile + to the distance. The effort was reflected in the heart rate, though: 129 on the final split versus 121 last week.

I've experimented with my recovery beverage. Strictly local stuff. Details at:
http://beerlocavore.blogspot.com/

Logging the Kilometers

Logged 15K yesterday and 12.5 today, which gives me 33K for the week (including Monday's 5.5K). I think I'll crank out 5K tomorrow before hopping on the treadmill for an 8K run. Then it's the monster on Saturday. Is it 30K this week? We'll see. I built in a 10 second break every 2.5K this morning and it made a huge difference. I think I'll break the long row into 5K splits and build in a 20 second break. That'll be just long enough to stretch the back a bit and grab a drink. Using this method, and averaging 19:40 per 5K, would result in 2 hours in the saddle. I'd call that marathon training.

In Like A Lion

2008 blew in with yet another snow storm.

The Sun Sets on 2007