Weekend workout

Just some notes from my weekend workout. It was VERY foggy out. Did some of the mileage on the bike trails to avoid vehicle traffic

Started with a run of 18m 02s,1.70 miles at 10m 37s/Mi at 8:00 AM

Then a bike ride of 55m 48s,14.42 miles at 15.51 Mi/hr followed by another run of 39m 45s,3.60 miles at 11m 02s/Mi.

My overall Avg HR: 143 Max HR: 162

This was a practice for the Spooky Du. It was for a total of 1:55:15. The actual ride is 20.99, but I didn't see the need to push it that far today. Besides this is the most I have run in a day in several years so I think that was pretty good. I have to tell myself to rest sometimes as I want to go out and do something every chance I get. My knees remind me though!

UPDATE: Since I started in mid July I have lost 20 lbs and a couple of pant sizes. The weight has not come off the fast, but I can tell my clothes are fitting different and I can walk up the stairs at work without getting winded.
Next spring I will need to get a bike that fits right. I am using a borrowed one right now. (The joys of being on a budget.) Also need to get some other gear like bike gloves and shorts. They would be a big benefit I'm sure.

Pushups

Found this link Hundred Pushups on another bloggers site. I think this is something everyone should be able to do and NO special equipment needed!

Swim Training

The swim. Probabley the most scarey part of doing a triathlon. I am not a good swimmer. I am a head above water type. I believe that comes from getting choked on water while trying to learn to swim with my head down and have never gotten past that point.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not afraid of the water. I enjoy getting in a pool and the hot tub is a favorite! I even did water skiing in high school. I have my scuba diving certificate as well and did dive a lot while living in Hawaii.

So with that in mind and wanting to be able to compete in a triathlon I starting looking at swimming books and even lessons online. What I found gave me some hope. I found a website, Total Immersion, that really looks promising. I believe I will get the book and the DVD and give it a try. It looks like something that I can train on my own (as doing a triathlon on a budget is required) and will definately pay off for the race. I will post a youtube link for you to look at below. It's the long version, but I think you will get the picture.

Practice of the Spooky Du

Missed a few posts due to work. I didn't miss the training though!! There is a Duathlon coming up at the end of October called the Spooky Du. You can view the information by following this link. This looks like a good challenge.


So I went out today and did some practice on the actual course to get a feel for it. It does have some hills that I don't have locally and the bike ride...well the first 2 miles and the last 2 are UP and DOWN. Need to put in some practice at those.

Below is a summary of todays work.

Start Time 9:00 AM BIKE RIDE
1h 23m 21.28 miles 15.38 Mi/hr Avg HR: 132 Max HR: 150

Weldon Springs bike route...well almost. I got lost on the ride. Only did an extra .3miles. The route runs out thru the country side and isn't marked. I tried to memorize it from looking at an online map and took a wrong turn about half way thru.

Run NOTE: I took time to change shoes and get some water, so maybe 2 mins rest.
19m 47s 1.90 miles 10m 25s/Mi Avg HR: 146 Max HR: 157

Run right after bike ride. Did the outter lap of Weldon. Didn't think I had the gas for another lap. This route has a couple of hills and I didn't want to over do it.

Will try and get some more data posted this week and put up some more of the links I have found while web surfing. Hmmmm. Surfing. Wonder if I can get workout time credit?

My own Duathlon

This is a summary of a duathlon I put myself through. It wasn't a real race, but I tried to treat it that way.
Stats for 1st leg
21m 36s
2.00 miles
10m 48s/Mi
Avg HR: 154
7:45 AM
This is my first leg of a durathon. I think I ran past the turnaround point slightly so my time may not be exact. My polar HR monitor wont do split times so I will just record the HR I had when I got to T1
Stats for second leg
1h 16m 04s
20.00 miles
15.78 Mi/hr
Avg HR: 138
8:05 AM
Second leg of my homemade duathlon. Did a short (30 sec)rest to check shoes and get water before heading out. Same note here as to HR
Stats on final leg
23m 09s
2.00 miles
11m 35s/Mi
Avg HR: 146Max HR: 168
9:20 AM
Just made the 12 min mile by time, but I did have another 30 sec rest before the run. HR numbers are for the whole event.
Ok, now for a summary. I decided to try a homemade duathlon as the one I wanted to run is on my work weekend. I looked over my past times and the min allowed in the race and set a time of 2:08:00. I completed the test in 2:00:49!! I am very happy with the results, but let me tell you the bike ride took it out of me. The first half was all into a head wind and trying to keep my 15 mph pace just about did me in. I finally got smart and slowed down and listened to my HR monitor as it was beeping constantly to slow down. The second run was slower I know, but I did not stop to walk!! I was so proud of that. Now if I just had a few pictures of it. Will have to get wife to take a few next time.

Forget the HR monitor

Don't let the title fool you. You need to use a HR monitor to train effectively. It can help you realize your optimum run or ride speeds and is good for telling you how the workout is going. With that said, I put on my HR monitor and went out for a run. Then I said forget this thing I'm gonna push it a little. My 3 mile time went from 31.28 to a 28.55, a nice improvement, but I could definately tell I was pushing it. The run did feel good. I could tell when I hit a nice pace and or stride...it just felt like your in a zone. Kind of like hitting just the right cadence on the bike. I am feeling it in my knees though. Good thing I take a day off after my runs. I will need the recovery time. One parting word, be sure to check out http://www.runnersworld.com/ and look at the section on shoe buying. It's really good and having the right shoes is a must!!! They sure make the run and the recovery much better.

Beautiful Day for a ride

What a day for a bike ride. It was nice and calm, 79F and the evening was great looking. Not to mention a nice unwind from a day at work.

Prior to the ride I checked the air pressure in the tires. Seems they never stay at 115 as I would like. I kind of guess at the 115 as my regulator on the air compressor only goes to 100. I need to go get a new pressure gauge. Lubed up the chain and checked the settings on the derailers. Everything OK there. Oh, guess I should say the bike is a Trek 2100 that is about 15 years old. Was loaned to me as my Schwin was way behind repair.

Had issues with the bike computer again. Seems the pickup on the front fork just wont stay set correctly. I have to reach down and adjust it once in a while. Checked my odometer to gps and it was off by half a mile. I think I might try moving the unit to the rear and see if that makes any difference.

Found out my neighbor is training for the Chicago marathon. Maybe I can get a running partner in a few months...when I get closer to his level.

Will post more later on how long I have been working at this and my goals.

Later

More Information

OK, still figuring out this blog thing.

So here is some more information. I decided to run a triathlon to get into shape. I was around 230 lbs and needed to loose about 50 lbs (or so my doctor says). I used to run in high school and was active in karate for several years, although the last couple of years was working as an instructor and not getting much exercise.

Walking around at work was getting difficult. The stairs would make me light headed and take a few moments to get everything back when I got to the top. A little stress there too.

So I set a goal in July that next year at this time I would complete a Sprint Triathlon. I began looking online and found beginner triathlete to post all my work outs and this is a great motivator to see your progress over time.

I will try and get some photos posted and some of my work out schedule. I think this will help as a motivator as well.

Later

Blogging to grow

I decided to set up a blog about my first attempt at getting ready to run a triathlon.

I have been working out for about 6 weeks now and have seen progress in my bike ride and my run. No swimming yet as I wanted to develop a little cardio before hitting the pool.