rain rain rain...train..train

I am putting together my training program and trying to decided not only when to start but when to refigure the training days. Normally, Mondays are rest days but I swim on Mondays, so trying to readjust everything can sometimes be challlenging especially when you factor in weather, work and life in general.

This week, I need to include some cycling whether I venture outside or stay in and use my trainer. Regardless, I decided run today despite the rain in order to give me more flexibility when incorporating the bike.

I ran 3 miles with some intervals. I felt good today even though I have felt very tired. Running in the rain is as long as it is not pouring and your socks don't get wet. I have written about my horrible experience of completing a half-ironman (70.3) in the rain...one of the worst races of my life. I managed to run for 3 miles then developed the worst blisterd and walked the remaining 10 miles. Zoot makes a shoe that allows you to run without socks and with wet feet.

Monday morning...tired...I don't think I make sense

I noticed a couple of things today...1) 5 hours of sleep is not enough; 2) when I am tired, I don't shave very well; 3) when I write a new post in the morning after swim, it doesn't make sense.

It was another typical Monday at swim...great to see everyone...didn't look forward to the swim set.
• 100 easy
• 3x100 freestyle
• 2x50 freestyle
• 4x25 freestyle
• 4x75 freestyle (25 all out, 50)
• 200 easy
• 4x75 any stroke (25 all out. 500
• 25 – basetime of :30
• 50 – 1:15
• 75
• 100

I think that's what we did today...my brain is not working...Since my fellow teammates now know my blog, they can help refresh my memory.

This week I am starting with my formal training...look forward to it.

Training Program

A lot of people ask me how I train...my response is...so so but I can't give up ice cream. C'mon, I have to get up at 4:30 am, give up cigars and late night binge drinking...no way on the ice cream. However, I do follow, for the most part, a strict or realiively strict training program. There are four (4) books that I have come to depend on:

I haven't decided which books or parts to use yet...I think I am 24 weeks or less out until Ironman Lousiville, so this weekend, I will put aside the Cake Batter Ice Cream and Guitar Hero and decide...there's always next week.

Masters Swim puts a wrinkle on swim training because I can't follow the training program but I the sets/workouts/beatings I get should prepare me for the swim part of my races.

Saturday Swim and breakfast

Today was a good swim day. Saturdays seem a little easier than the weekdays only because I get an extra hour of sleep but I also sleep an hour or to later because its friday night. Matt didn't beat us up too much today...not really...

• 100 warmup
• 4x75 (25 kick on one side then rotate halfway down the pool, 25 freestyle with minimum strokes and 25 freestyle)
• 50 easy
• 4x75 then 100 backstroke (75% effort or almost puking but not yet)
• 50 easy
• 2x75 (100% or puking) then 50 backstroke
• 300 non freestyle

After practice, we had breakfast which is always fun.

Superstitions

You hear of athletes being superstitious (i.e. not shaving, wearing the same underwear throughout the playoffs) ....superstitions are common amongst Filipinos...and for my Catholic brethren...yes, I know it isn't right. I was about to run and I remembered that I forgot to shave...it started out that I would eat before I ran and needed time for my stomach to settle, so I complete all my morning routines while I waited. Unfortunately, it may have developed to a superstition that I need to shave before I do my training/workouts.

I remember as a kid playing in little league that I couldn't hit the ball unless I was chewing gum. We had a big game at Thillens Park..which was a big deal and I forgot my gum and my cup. I didn't get one hit that day.

Friday run...no meat...and cold weather

For some reason, my body is craving meat and pork "the other white meat," just won't do it. I gave up beef for lent and normally I am fine with not eating meat but these last couple of days, I am really craving it. People have told me that once you give up meat, you never crave it...I am craving it.

Forecast calls for snow this weekend....what??? Today it was in the 30s when I did my 3 mile run. I ran it at at faster tempo but it was difficult...maybe the craving for meat (need more iron in my diet), fatigue, or the cold weather...don't know.

Luckily this is my "easy" week and Sunday's run should be only 3 miles.

Run less...run faster

I have been reading this book on running which I have found to be very helpful. Most runners run everyday or every other or even 5x a week. I am not runner...I am not a runner so training for the run using the various triathlon training guide has always been appealing because I don't necessarily have to run more than 3 times per week. As you get closer to the key races, you may have to a brick (bike/run combo or run/bike combo) but if the focus is on the bike, the run should be relatively easy.

Runner's World Run Less, Run Faster: Become a Faster, Stronger Runner with the Revolutionary FIRST Training Program

http://www.amazon.com/Runners-World-Less-Faster-Revolutionary/dp/159486649X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238073392&sr=8-1

I think the book could have been cut in half because of all the testimonials from runners who have read the book. The training sets are actually very helpful and work well with triathlon training because the focus is doing 3 key runs per week: 1-interval, 1-tempo and 1-long run with cross training such as swimming or cycling on the other days.

For those of you who are starting to run or would like to improve your times, I think the book is very helpful.

Thursday Swim...

Today Allessio was nice to us...he didn't beat us like he normally does. As you have read in the past posts he would not only make us swim many laps, his sessions would also make us feel that we are on the brink of cardiac arrest. Today, he skipped the former and focused on just making us feel like we were going to die not of fatigue but of cardiac arrest.

100 easy freestyle
8x50 at 1:00 (3x50-freestyle, 1x50-bacstroke, 3x50-freestyle, 1x25-choice)
50 easy freestyle
6x25 at :30 (pull buoy and catch up) *
50 easy freestyle
4x75 at 2:00**
4x50 at 1:15
100 easy freestyle

* he said that this was a warm up for our VO2 Max - I was like...I thought this WAS the VO2 Max set

** the first one was ok...the rest...omg...I thought I was going to have a heart attack and add to it I was sucking in water didnt make for a pleasant swim.

Note that he did grace us by joining swimming with us today...he is pretty amazing. Since I was the last in my lane...he would catch up to me, but it made me swim faster.

He and Kira (really fast person on the team) raced a 25 breastroke...When Alessio kicked off the wall...he dolphine kicked for 3/4 of length of the pool, then took two strokes and beat Kira...amazing....someday.

Semi nice day to run

Today is was in the 60s, cloudy windy and rainy for part of the day. I managed to get a 3 mile run during lunch. Normally, on Tuesdays, I would swim, but after yesterday's beating, I decided that swimming 3 days would be enough. Anyway, I need to tailor running to the weather and even though rain was in the forecast, that's better than running in the cold.

Basically, it was just a simple 3 mile run at a moderate pace...still haven't found my watch and heart rate monitor...St. Anthony...

Monday morning butt kicking...and swim

I need more sleep. I cannot go to bed at 11pm and expect to wake at 4:30 and be rested. These are my thoughts at 7:30am and I definitely will believe it this afternoon.

Alessio is relentless in his Monday morning beating/sets:

• 100 warmup
• 300 freestyle
• 200 freestyle with pull buoy
• 100 Individual Medley
• 4x50 (25 kick, 25 catch-up)
• 4x50 in 2:05
• 100 freestyle easy
• 4x75 freestyle
• 4x50 freestyle
• 100 easy
• 300 freestyle
• 100 easy

....yeah...Monday morning....

Sunday long run

I was pretty proud of myself yesterady. I ran 6 miles again which means I have completed two weeks of running consistently.

The six (6) miles felt and I am glad that I ran before I went to Church. I think the temperature dropped a little bit in the afternoon.

Saturday Swim...

There were a lot of people today and we used four lanes. Last week, I was in lane four which was a ridiculously fast lane. Today, I was in lane 2, not the "slow" lane as the people in the "slow" lane call it and not the fast lane. The question is: Is it better to be the fastest in a slower lane or the slowest in the fastest lane? I don't know. Regardless, Leah, kick our butts today:

• 200 easy warmup
• 8x75 (25 free, 50 back)
• 8x100-25 fly, 50 back, 25 free
• 100 freestyle easy
• 8x100 at 2.20, with 5 second reduction
• 100 freestyle easy
• 8x25 – backstroke and breast (evens kick, odds swim)
• 100 easy

I don't know how to write the program technicall so if anyone has suggestions, please let me know.

Busy...busy...busy..but fit in a run.

Yesterday I was very busy with taxes and other things that I wasn't able to post my activity. In between doing taxes and other matters. I was able to run 3 miles at a moderate pace. If I complete my long run on sunday (6 miles), next week, I will start riding my bike on a trainer and begin a more serious running program. I hope it starts to get warmer because even though I ran at noon, it was still cold.

Thursday swim...you are not going to die.

Since Alessio was easy on us on Monday, I think he decided to make up for it today:

• 100 easy warmup
• 25-fly- in 45 second
• 50-backstroke in 1:15
• 75- breastroke in 1:45
• 100-freestyle in 2:00
• 75- breastroke in 1:45
• 50-backstroke in 1:15
• 25-fly- in 45 second
• 100 - freestyle easy
• 8x50 (2x50 catch up with pull, 2x50 fingertip, repeat)
• 100 easy freestyle
• 8x25 in 30 seconds *
• 100 easy free
• 8x50 free

* At this point, I was thinking " my God, I may have a heart attack and die." When we finished, Alessio was of saying.."no you will not die.." At least others felt the same way.

Recently, whether or not it has to do with changing my stroke, I have been sucking in a lot of water which in turn has caused me to feel a little panicked in the water. It took me a season and a half and eight races to overcome that...

During practice, Alessio commented that I was not pulling straigh but instead crossing over the center of my body and that I compensate for that by twisting my body. This is different than what I was taught in that I was taught to really pivot my body....another difference between technique between swimmers and triathlon swimmers.

Run before it rains

I am soooo tired today...I don't understand why. Yesterday was so busy at work that I deemed it my rest day. Monday night, I think I slept for 8 or 9 hours but was still exhausted...maybe it's the aging process.

I really wanted to run or bike yesterday since it was 70 but no such luck. Today it was in the high 50s with a chance of rain. I luckily took some extra time at lunch and did a 5k run at a moderate pace. If I can run another 5k and then a 10k long run on Sunday, next week, I will begin running based on a set plan.

Monday Swim...late to report

As I mentioned before, life gets in the way of life so this is the only free time I have to write about my training.

Yesterday morning, Alessio was suprisingly easy on us. Whether or not it had to do with it being St. Patrick's Day weekend or a weekend of our team party...who knows...we are just grateful.

• 200 freestyle easy
• 6x (75-freestyle, 75 (25-butterfly, 25-back, 25-breastroke)
• 100 freestyle easy
• 6x50 (50-catch up w/pull buoy, 50-catch up hard kick, 50 - any stroke, hard kick)
• 6x50 w/kickboard
• 100 free, easy

My stroke needs work, especially in my pull and when I enter the water. Coach Alessio has suggested that I do the fingertip drag in order to improve entering the water. Also, during my pull, I would normally, bend ath teh wrist and elbow, but I have since changed it to just pull straight down. I have seen my times improve as well as my power. I was losing power bending at the wrist and and elbows, so their instruction has been very helpful.

Sunday Run..the long run

Yesterday, I was hoping to run in the morning to get it out of the way, but I didn't get to bed early enough, so I ran in the afternoon.

Sundays are an important running day for me. I use Sunday as day to complete my long run. As I get closer to race day (either other scheduled races or the Ironman), I use Sundays to do a brickworkout with a runnning focus. Brick workouts consist of a bike/run or run/bike combination with a focus on the bike or run. On Sundays, I may do a long run followed by a moderate paced ride. This accomplishes completing the long run but also training the body to get used different muscles.

I did not ride yesterday but instead focused on running and completed 6 miles. This is the longest run that I have done this year. I ran with a 5 min warm up at a slower pace and then picked it up around mile 2 and kept that pace the whole time.

As the season progresses, I will change my pace in order to improve my time but for now, I am trying to keep focused on completing a three day running schedule.

It's Important to Socialize.

Last Saturday. two members hosted a swim team party. It was a great time for everyone to get to know each other. Even though I see some of the members three times a week, it was different to see each without a swim cap, goggles and as one of the aqauatic staff put it "with our clothes on."

Training and competing in an Ironman can be a very lonely experience. Even though there are hundreds of participants and spectators, it's just you and your mind the whole time. Last year, I didn't train with anyone but I want to change that this year.

The Masters Swim program has been a very positive experience so far. Besides the very important aspect of coaching, I think socializing and forming bonds is also imporant. Getting up at 4:30 to go swim, bike or run is difficult, but seeing your friends and receiving support makes it easier.

As the season progresses, I hope train with other athletes in the other disciplines.

Friday run vs. maury...you are NOT the father!

Friday was a designated run day. My plan for the running is to develop a strong base of being able to run 3 times per week for at least two weeks straight and then jump into a serious training plan. I have signed up for the Geist Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) on May 17, 2009.

Due to the weather and my strong adversity to treadmills, I have not run consistently 3x per week ...maybe 2x per week without a long run. It is two months till the GHM and my goal is to finish and gauge my run progression but I need to run more consistently.

Yesterday, I decided to run at lunch. I had a sales person take up my morning and so I was severely delayed. Luckuly, the afternoon schedule started later in the afternoon. Before, the run, I prepared my GU drink, shoes, etc. During preparing my drink, I had the Maury Povich show in the background. If you have ever watched his show, you would see how much our society has devolved since the age of dinosaurs...but it is quite amusing. His show has focused on determining whether a certain person is the father through DNA testing. When he reveals whether or not the guest is the father, he would say either "You ARE the father!" or "You are NOT the father!" What does this have to do with runnning????

I started a few minutes late because I wanted to know which one of the two men were this 16 year old girls father...I never did because I needed to refocus.

Basically, I ran 3 miles yesterday at steady pace.

The Lifestyle

Ironman is not just a race, it IS a lifestyle. Typically training takes anywhere from 15-25 hours, depending on the scheduled training day, life activities and weather. 15-25 hours??? Yeah...15 to 25 hours! I prefer to train in the morning but some of the schedule require training both in the morning or afternoon beause its just not possible to do everything required in one session. Work, family, friends, fatigue and life gets in the way.

Training for a race like this requires changing normal routines...no more out till 3am and watching the sunrise, drinking tequila and dancing on the bar, and eating dairy queen everyday...wait...you can eat dairy queen once a week...Instead, bed by 10pm, up at 4:30, eating weird bars, gu, and watching how much you sweat.

I decided to focus the blog on the lifestyle because many of normal people who participate/compete in endurance events have to adapt life to their training or training to their life. Today, I wanted to run in the morning, but I was exhausted from yesterday that I had to give up lunch and run during lunch...sacrifices.

Swim Meet and Tiaras...

The Master's Swim usually has a swim meet, either against each other or another team. Two weeks ago, we held our swim meet for the quarter. I did the 200, 50 and then the 100. Got my butt kicked on the 200, kicked butt on the 50 and came in second in my heat on the 100.

Our final race was a relay, dedicated to Esther Williams...wearing tiaras...

Thursday Swim

Today's swimming set was tough:

• 200 warm up
• 6x50 (50- freestyle, 50-with pull buoy, 50-backstroke)
• 8x25 (25-easy to hard, 25 hard to east, 25 easy, 25 hard
• 400
• 200 with pull buoy
• 400

Rest Day

Wednesday was a rest. Rest days are important. By the way...if I start to have too many rest days, please let me know..it means I am slacking....

The following is an article written by Matt Fitzgerald. He is a journalist and author specializing in the topics of health, fitness, nutrition and endurance sports training and has written many books on triathlon training.

How muscle recovery plays a key role in peak performance.

Every endurance athlete understands the importance of rest—on an intellectual level. But on a gut level, many find it hard to believe that not training could possibly make them perform better. That’s because most endurance athletes attribute all their hard-won fitness and performance gains exclusively to their workouts. This mentality, however, is based on a misunderstanding of how the body adapts to training stress. Simply doing a workout does not guarantee that your body will adapt to that workout. In other words, there is a difference between doing a workout and absorbing a workout. You absorb a workout during the period of relative inactivity that follows the workout. This post-workout muscle recovery period initiates the cellular changes that ultimately increase your fitness level. If you follow up a hard workout too soon with another hard workout, chances are your body will not have a chance to recover from and adapt to the first workout. Rest is, therefore, required to absorb—and benefit from—a hard workout.

How do you define a “rest” day? Rest is relative. A rest day for an elite runner in marathon training probably isn’t the same as a rest day for an average runner gutting out a 10K training plan. For the elite marathoner, who may normally run twice a day and 110 miles a week, a rest day could be a 45-minute run at a very easy pace. But for Joe or Jane 10K, who may normally run 30 miles a week, a rest day is more likely to be a day without any exercise. The point of a rest day is to subject your body to much less training stress than usual so that it has a chance to recover from and adapt to a prior harder workout. The amount of activity or inactivity that is required to meet this objective depends entirely on how much you normally train on non-rest days.

How often should you take rest days? Every endurance athlete, whether in long-distance triathlon training or pool sprint training, should have one designated rest day per week. No athlete, no matter how fit, can train hard seven days a week without eventually becoming overtrained or injured. In fact, the athletes who train the hardest need a weekly rest day the most. How should your rest day fit into your weekly schedule? In general, there should be variation in your training workload from day to day. Only three or four days per week should be designated hard days. The other non-rest days should be moderate to light. And your rest day should be even lighter still. Here’s an example of a sensible weekly mix of hard, moderate, and light training days, plus a rest day, for most endurance athletes:

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Hard

Wednesday: Light

Thursday: Hard

Friday: Light

Saturday: Moderate

Sunday: Hard

What should your weekly rest day look like? As I explained above, what constitutes a hard training day versus a rest day will differ from one athlete to the next. Thus, a rest day is not necessarily always going to be a day without any exercise. As long as whatever you do on Monday (in the above example) does not interfere with your recovery from your hard workout on the previous Sunday or sabotage your performance in Tuesday’s hard workout, then it is an effective rest day.

If you follow a sensible training schedule such as this one, you should get all the recovery you need to make steady fitness and performance gains. However, it’s important that you listen to your body and take additional rest days whenever necessary. Anytime you feel unready for a planned hard or moderate training day due to lingering fatigue and/or muscle soreness, be prudent and take the day off or train very lightly. That said, try to avoid planning more than one rest day per week. Daily or almost-daily exercise is a requirement not only for peak endurance performance but also for optimal health.

When will it get warmer...I need to run outside.

I love Chicago but the weather is so uncooperative. I am trying to start running on a more consistent basis at least 3x per week, 1- tempo, 1-interval and 1-long run. I have been averaging 2x per week without a long run. My problem could be alleviated buy running on a treadmill but I really don't like the treadmill. A treadmill isn't bad per se but I don't enjoy it.

Last year, I would run regardless of the temperatute. I even ran when it was 2 degrees and then got stuck at a train crossing...i counted 112 cars. This year, I just don't feel like running in the cold, maybe it's the lack of enthusiasm, maybe its the age, or maybe I am less crazy.

Tuesday swim

In my next post, I will discuss my swim stroke and the suggestions made by Coach Alessio and Coach Matt and some of the realizations of single sport training and mentality versus multisport.
Today was a relatively tough day, not as tough as yesterday but still demanding. Our focus was on the backstroke. I still working improving my freestyle because it is the main stroke, if not only stroke used in triathlons but if you get tired, the breast stroke or the backstroke is better than stopping.

So today's focus was backstroke.

200 warm-up
8x75 (25 freestyle (last 5 sprint), 25 backstroke, 25 freestyle) - I can't remember the time.
50 easy
8x50 alternating arms
8x25 choice of swim except freestyle
100 cool down

During the 8x75, I was winded, thought I would have heart attack and not to mention that I am not used to swimming the backstroke and had a constant fear of hitting my head on the wall at the end. Yes...I know that the flags on the ceiling are a guide but I have this image of hitting the wall, blood everywhere and drowning...not a good thought during a swim.

During the "choice" set, I chose to do the breast stroke...i need to practice.

Monday morning session with Alessio

Most of us dislike Monday mornings and so at work, I try to ease into the week by not dealing with depressing or difficult tasks until the afternoon. Even in my training, Mondays were a rest day. For some reason, Alessio, our morning coach doesn't think so. I don't know much about Alessio except that he is Italian, raised in Rome, college swimmer and has great hair.

Here was our morning sets:

• 200 warm-up
• 4x75
• 6x75
• 4x75
• 200 with a pull buoy
• 100 easy
• 8x50 at 1min
• 100 easy
• 6x50 at 55
• 100 easy
• 4x50 at 50
• 100 easy

I think that was the workout give or take another 100 or 200 in there. Regardless, it was a tough monday.

We use 3 three lanes in the pool. The first lane is for the more novice swimmers, while the other two lanes are for more experienced swimmers. I started out in lane 1 but have since moved to the other lanes. Today, I was in lane three which at least today had 3 of the fastest swimmers in the program - Kira, Mike and Les and two others who were not as fast but fast nonetheless. I started last in the group and was almost lapped...embarrasing.

Dayling savings times and getting up early are a bad mix

I was laying in bed last night and couldn't fall asleep. The last time I looked at the clock, it said 11:00 pm...that means only 5.5 hours of sleep...

4:33 came and 4:33 went...snooze....4:40...snooze.... What's so weird is that during those 5 minute snooze sessions, I have the weirdest dreams...

Finally, I am up at 4:57 or so...shave (shaving is important, otherwise, I scratch my shoulders. with my scruff) ..mix my GU drink, have a cup of yogurt, pack my lunch and off I am to Master Swim.

Even with Daylight Savings Time it's still dark...at least it's warmer...

First day of blogging

I can't believe it is the beginning of another year of training for triathlons especially for Ironman Louisville and Ironman Arizona.

This year I hope to accomplish the follwoing

1. finish both races
2. finish both races
3. finish both races
4. lose the weight I gained from eating ice cream everyday since the last race.

There is a lot to discuss since last year's blog. I have learned a lot from racing, training and interacting with others.

I joined a Master's Swim program at Swedish Covenant Hospital's Galter Life Center. I swim on Monday and Thursday at 5:45, Tuesday at 12:00 and Saturday at 6:45. It is very very difficult to get up and go swim especially when I am used to going to bed at midnight and getting out of bed at 8. The last couple of weeks have been a challenge but very rewarding.

The people have welcomed me with open arms and in the coming months, you will get to know them as I get to know them.

It's almost 10 and I need to pack my bag and get ready for bed...4:30am...what am I thinking...yikes!