Eminently Blogical

Event Plan

2012-01-28T08:52:00.000-05:00

I'm running the Stride Against Cancer (timed half marathon variant) tomorrow.

The only large running event with corrals in the next year for which I think I might sign up is the Goofy Challenge.

For the Goofy Challenge I might want to try to run the half-marathon in under two hours and the full marathon under four hours. To get a reasonable corral assignment for that marathon time I suppose they'll want a half marathon time under 1:55 and perhaps under 1:50.

I'm also signed up for a four mile relay leg Sunday February 5th, so I don't want to completely toast myself tomorrow and let my team down next week.

The basic plan for tomorrow is:
o run the first half of the course at the top of zone 3, or 8:40/mile pace (whichever is more demanding);
o run the third quarter at the top of zone 4, or on pace to make 1:55 (whichever is more demanding);
o run the fourth quarter in zone 5a.

As ever with running in Cayman, allowances have to be made for heat, humidity, and heart rate drift. Heart rate monitors help, but RPE counts too.

"Cheers!" to Coach

2012-01-26T08:50:00.002-05:00

"We once held a primary school sports meet on the runway because no planes were coming in that day."
-- Coach Jerry Harper

The Week That Was

2012-01-23T07:46:00.000-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2 on RPE)
Tuesday: upper body (+ basic legs) weights
Wednesday: morning 1.0hr. run (zone 2 on RPE); evening 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3, some zone 4)
Saturday: 1.33hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ basic legs) weights

Recovery week began on Thursday and will run through the coming Wednesday. Might shift the model week to having only two basic legs weights sessions.

My mother, aunt, and two of my parents' friends visited Grand Cayman on Thursday (as a port of call on a cruise).

AGM for our triathlon association was Tuesday evening.

I signed up for the Stride Against Cancer to be held on January 29th. I'll do the half-marathon timed event. If I'm going to do any large running event in the next couple of years having the time could be useful for corral assignment. Timing for the event will be done by Coach Jerry Harper, as is so much of the volunteer timing for amateur sport on the island.

Coach Jerry will receive the Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honour from the Governor, His Excellency Duncan Taylor, at the National Heroes Day official celebration today. It's well-deserved!

The Week That Was

2012-01-16T08:53:00.000-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2 on RPE)
Tuesday: upper body (+ basic legs) weights
Wednesday: morning 1.0hr. run (zone 2 on RPE); evening 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3, some zone 4)
Thursday: upper body (+ basic legs) weights
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ basic legs) weights

Insty!

2012-01-10T15:18:00.003-05:00

Went to a talk today given by Glenn Reynolds, a.k.a. Instapundit!

The presentation was based upon the theme of his book, An Army of Davids: how technology is enabling individuals and small groups to accomplish what used to take large organizations (i.e. the Goliaths).

Thought-provoking and fun.

(Please excuse this fanboy interlude - we each have a firmament of celebrities)

The Week That Was

2012-01-09T08:03:00.001-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Tuesday: upper body (+ basic legs) weights
Wednesday: morning 1.0hr. run (zone 2 on RPE); evening 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3, some zone 4)
Friday: upper body weights (+ basic legs) weights
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1/zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ basic legs) weights

Minor legs on weights has been the label for including dumbbell squats. Basic legs is the label for including dumbbell squats and dumbbell deadlifts.

Resolutionists

2012-01-03T08:33:00.003-05:00

Gym was not crowded with resolutionists at 5am opening today, the first regular workday of the year!

It's nice to see some people trying to priorize a healthier lifestyle, and great to see ones who keep making it happen through the year.

(From the vulture perspective, resolutionists who drop by the wayside and stop using their memberships subsidize the gym regulars.)

Best wishes for the New Year!

The Week That Was

2012-01-02T07:54:00.001-05:00

Thursday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Friday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Saturday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

The Week That Was

2011-12-26T07:03:00.000-05:00

Wednesday: morning upper body (+ minor legs) weights; evening 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3)
Saturday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2 on RPE)
Sunday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

The Week That Was

2011-12-19T08:13:00.006-05:00

Tuesday: morning 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE); lunchtime upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Wednesday: morning 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE); evening 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3, some zone 4)
Friday: upper body weights (+ minor legs) weights
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1/zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

Nice to have a model week before the holiday season blows schedules apart. Next four weeks will be messier - highly worthwhile, but messier.

The Week That Was

2011-12-12T08:13:00.001-05:00

Tuessday: morning 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE); lunchtime upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Wednesday: morning 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE); evening 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3)
Friday: upper body weights (+ minor legs) weights
Saturday: 1.67hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

Pics!

2011-12-07T10:08:00.002-05:00

Pictures from the Intertrust Cayman Islands Marathon courtesy of Kerri (wife of Brad).

The team ("Thong Distance Runners") after finish
L-to-R: Brent, Nick, Jacqui, Brad

3/4 of team on the podium (L-to-R: Brent, Jacqui, Brad)

The Hardware

The Week That Was

2011-12-05T08:28:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Wednesday: morning 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE); evening 0.75hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE - primarily zone 3)
Thursday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Friday: morning 1.0hr. run (zone 2 on RPE)
Saturday: upper body weights
Sunday: 0.85hr. run (zone 4 - segment of marathon relay) and 1.67hr. walking

At Wednesday Night Run Club there was a group of 3 people looking for a 4th to complete their relay team roster at the Intertrust Cayman Islands Marathon; I signed on. It was a beautiful morning on Sunday; my thanks to the volunteers, sponsors, and organizers on a great event. We were the third "mixed" relay team, so we each received a little plaque!

The Week That Was

2011-11-28T16:28:00.000-05:00

Monday: upper body resistance bands
Tuesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE)
Thursday: 0.85hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE - a 5.0mile Turkey Trot)
Saturday: 0.85hr. run (zone 1/zone 2 on RPE)

The Week That Was

2011-11-21T07:49:00.000-05:00

Monday: spinning intervals (set of 8)
Tuesday: morning 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE); lunchtime upper body weights
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE)
Saturday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2 on RPE)

The Week That Was

2011-11-14T10:17:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Wednesday: morning 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE); evening 0.8hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE)
Friday: upper body weights
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: upper body weights

The Week That Was

2011-11-07T15:28:00.000-05:00

Thursday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

A recovery week with work stresses.

Volunteered at Cayman Islands Triathlon on Sunday as Run Coordinator.

The Week That Was

2011-10-31T07:14:00.000-05:00

Monday: spinning intervals (set of 8)
Tuesday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights + 20 minute treadmill run (zone 2)
Wednesday: lunchtime 0.5hr. treadmill run (zone 2); evening 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE)
Friday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1/zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

On Monday I tried to continue with light spinning after cooling down from the spinning intervals. Incipient calf cramping informed me that I wasn't up for that. I suppose I could try heading out for a short jog, but mid-day heat is daunting.

BTW, this week that we're in right now is the awesome one in which Europe is not on daylight savings time and the United States is on DST. Shorter office hours - woo woo!

The Week That Was

2011-10-24T08:02:00.001-05:00

Monday: spinning intervals (set of 8)
Tuesday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights + 20 minute treadmill run (zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Friday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: upper body weights

First good complete set of high intensity spinning intervals since getting through summer training disruptions.

The Week That Was

2011-10-17T07:19:00.000-05:00

Monday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights + 20 minute treadmill run (zone 2)
Tuesday: spinning intervals (set of 8 - last one sub-par with incipient calf cramping)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE)
Friday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

Back at it after the previous travel week. Shuffled Monday and Tuesday due to travel fatigue - didn't feel willing to do spinning intervals on Monday. Should add calf stretching, and may need to be more careful to fully hydrate on morning of intervals day.

Put the long treadmill run up to 2.0hr.; soft tissues were OK at 1.75hr. so didn't feel too aggressive. No noticeable issues on Saturday or Sunday. Looking to add some more zone 2 running and perhaps some zone 1 spinning over the next couple of months, but will hold steady on running duration.

Travel notwithstanding, I expect that eventually this will get me to reasonable general fitness, good body composition, and acceptable positioning to start specific training for something longer than a half-marathon running event.

The Week That Was

2011-10-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

Monday: spinning intervals (set of 8 - last one sub-par)
Tuesday: upper body weights + 20 minute treadmill run (zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE)
Friday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Saturday: 1.75hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

The Week That Was

2011-09-26T08:11:00.000-05:00

Monday: spinning intervals (set of 8 - last one low quality)
Tuesday: upper body weights
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE)
Friday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Saturday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

I think the minor legs weight work has been useful for upping tolerance to spinning intervals. I did the spinning intervals over an extended lunch break - perhaps more ready to do intervals then than after the full workday.

The Week That Was

2011-09-19T09:02:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE)
Friday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Saturday: 1.25hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

Tiny Robot Tackling Iron Distance

2011-09-16T07:54:00.002-05:00

Tiny Robot Tackling Iron Distance Triathlon in Hawaii
[Hat Tip: Opalesque newsletter via paid subscription ]

The Week That Was

2011-09-12T07:21:00.001-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2 on RPE)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3 on RPE)
Sunday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

On Saturday I helped staff the Cayman Island Triathlon Association's booth at the Cayman Islands Cancer Society's "Conquering Cancer II - a Day of Awareness and Education". While we were not strictly on-theme, the CICS is a good friend to CITA.

On Sunday I volunteered at the first of our build-up events. These training sessions lead into our November triathlon, and so have the full swim, bike, and run structure.

The Week That Was

2011-07-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

Wednesday: 0.75hr. run (zone 2)
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

Our Condo Complex Top Rated by Vacationers

2011-07-20T08:54:00.003-05:00

The condo complex at which I live was recently in the local news for receiving a "badge of excellence" from vacationers via TripAdvisor:
link

It's always nice to have happy people around - one of the benefits of living where I do.

My thanks to the staff of the Grandview for taking such good care of us all!

The Week That Was

2011-07-06T09:01:00.001-05:00

Visited my parents in Ottawa, did no exercise beyond walking and baggage handling.

The Week That Was

2011-06-27T08:04:00.003-05:00

By Sunday seemed fully recovered from respiratory infection. Volunteered at Social Triathlon that morning.

June training disruptions continue, so not concerned about full blown running and lifting this coming week, but must return to shoulder rehab.

The Week That Was

2011-06-20T07:27:00.004-05:00

Minor left shoulder inflammation. Respiratory infection. Acute bronchitis. Possible conjunctivitis - won't know because started on antibiotic eyedrops soon after exposure.

More importantly, Try-This-Tri went off safely and well on Monday June 13th (the Queen's Birthday Holiday). Thanks again to our sponsor, Solomon Harris; our location, Camana Bay; our generous donors; and our wonderful team of volunteers.

Palfrey Swims to World Record

2011-06-14T07:12:00.002-05:00

Palfrey sets world record with 67.25 mile swim from Little Cayman to Grand Cayman

The Week That Was

2011-06-13T14:57:00.000-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Tuesday: upper body weights

Traveled to attend a wedding over the weekend. Squeezed during the week because of that, and because of organizational work for local tri for kids and novices.

The Week That Was

2011-06-06T07:22:00.004-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Tuesday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Wednesday: morning 1.0hr. run (zone 2), evening 0.8hr. run (zone 2)
Friday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: upper body weights

May have gone too low on dumbbell squats on Friday (along with having bumped up the weight). Right knee not completely comfortable on Sunday morning, so no leg work. Seems fine for running, though.

Now the June training disruptions begin.

The Week That Was

2011-05-30T07:31:00.000-05:00

Friday: 0.6hr. run (zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

Recovery week, life intrusions, stress from life intrusions.

Opportunity Declined

2011-05-28T10:14:00.002-05:00

I could have had a pet!

Instead I released the little creature to make its way in the great outdoors. Bonne chance!

The Week That Was

2011-05-23T08:27:00.001-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Tuesday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Wednesday: morning 0.5hr. run (zone 2 by RPE), evening 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Friday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

This was the third week since a recovery week and I'm not completely wiped - presumably because I've done no intervals.

The Week That Was

2011-05-16T07:42:00.001-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Tuesday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Wednesday: 0.9hr. run (zone 2)
Friday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Saturday: 1.85hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

The Week that Was

2011-05-09T09:31:00.001-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Tuesday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Thursday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights
Saturday: 1.75hr. treadmill run (zone 1/zone 2)
Sunday: upper body (+ minor legs) weights

Heat adaptation had bumped up my treadmill pace more than I was ready to assume (although very slow nonetheless), so took a long time to up the speed enough to put me into zone 2 on Saturday.

The Week That Was

2011-05-02T07:42:00.000-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2/zone 3)
Tuesday: upper body weights
Wednesday: 0.9hr. run (zone 2/zone 3, primarily zone 3)
Thursday: morning upper body weights, evening spinning intervals (set of 4)
Saturday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)

After long absence I showed up at our Wednesday Night Run Club. Noticeable recovery cost from zone 3 effort.

Cut short my intervals on Thursday due to incipient calf cramping. Anyhow, a three week mesocycle (two building weeks, one recovery week) is reasonable at my age, and perhaps sensible for any novice to HIIT. Added to stretching.

The workouts seem sufficiently aligned with my priorities: cardiovascular and aerobic conditioning, upper body strength (incl. shoulder rehab), and body composition. The intervals also work on anaerobic conditioning, but for me that's a side effect.

I do want to get my soft tissues up to a 2.0hr. treadmill run - suitable for cardiovascular and aerobic conditioning and useful for body composition as a pure calorie burn (beware muscle catabolism, though). Anything longer for me is event specific - training for a marathon or iron distance tri.

Interval Protocol

2011-04-28T07:24:00.001-05:00

The spinning intervals that I'm working with:
o 60 seconds at approx. 95% max. heart rate,
o 75 seconds active recovery.
Should do 8 to 12 reps (plus standard 5 minute warmup and cooldown).

This fits under the general rubric of "high intensity interval training" (HIIT).

This particular protocol has some limited specific research going for it; I found the study by Gibala encouraging. I can get to 95% max. heart rate on a regular spinning bike, and I find the combination of level of discomfort and time of discomfort acceptable and perhaps preferable to sharper shorter efforts (e.g. Tabata).

With the first two weeks done I'm decreasing the number of sessions per week from three to two (with allowance for zero during recovery weeks). I expect that I'll continue with them at least through the end of June (looking for fitness gains through the end of May and then maintenance through June training disruptions).

Here's the most interesting piece that I've found so far that relates to HIIT and long-term training of endurance athletes:
SportsSci.org article
[Hat Tip: a comment on a web forum]

The Week That Was

2011-04-25T08:01:00.009-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Tuesday: spinning intervals (set of 8)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Friday: morning weights experiments, afternoon spinning intervals (set of 8)
Saturday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: morning weights experiments, afternoon spinning intervals (set of 8)

With two weeks of training, heat acclimatization should have set in. Temperature and humidity will be rising (and I may add more outdoor time), so it'll be an on-going process.

Also, with two weeks of high intensity interval training from a detrained state, early easy fast improvements (in mitochondria development, fat oxidation, and insulin sensitivity at least) should be in hand. Without having done a baseline set of measurements I can't back that up, but let me live in my happy little world.

The Week That Was

2011-04-18T07:01:00.000-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2/zone 3)
Tuesday: spinning intervals (set of 8)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Thursday: spinning intervals (set of 8)
Saturday: 1.25hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: spinning intervals (two long separated sets of 4), weight experiments

While I was able to convince myself to get out of bed to run before my work day, I wasn't able to convince myself to do the same for spinning intervals. On Sunday I tried doing intervals first thing. Ground through 4 of them and still wasn't getting my heart rate above zone 4.

I'll take that as a scheduling constraint: intervals in the afternoon only. I expect to retest that constraint, but little point in that until my training week seems easy or Fall Back reworks my schedule.

Structure of the week isn't too heavily tilted to weekends. That's good, because I foresee a bunch of disrupted weekends in June (and one in May). Amount of exercise ought to improve body composition without much in the way of having to "add calories to my excluded food intake" (per Jon Stewart).

Shoulder rehab continues. Physio Christine has cleared me for weight training (light weights, high reps, elbows not to go back past shoulders on chest press). On Sunday I did 2 sets of 20 reps of chest press and lat pulldown. It'll take me a couple of weeks to put together a suitable routine - not only the exercises and loads, but also the scheduling.

Trajectory Improvement

2011-04-10T13:00:00.002-05:00

Since early December I've been doing rehab for my left shoulder (sprained rotator cuff followed by onset of frozen shoulder syndrome). It's much better now (my thanks to Christine Gibbs of A Step Ahead Physiotherapy), but we're continuing with treatment to bring it back fully.

I didn't care to apply more discipline for fitness than the rehab demanded. So I'm now at what I consider peak fatness.

A couple of weeks ago I added abdominal exercises to most days, primarily to avoid going over the brink of having to buy pants with larger waistbands.

This weekend I started experimenting with a return to cardio exercise. Saturday afternoon I did a one hour treadmill run (zone 2/zone 3), along with the minor walk to and from the gym. Sunday morning I did a set of 5 intervals on my spin bike.

Right now, I'm thinking that I'll target relatively long duration low intensity running three days a week and on those days (and only those days) I'll target expending significantly more calories than I consume. No two of those days would be consecutive. I could target doing spinning intervals on two (or three!) other days a week.

Not sure when I'll add more resistance training than the theraband work I'm doing for my shoulder and back (along with some core exercises).

80 Mile Sea Swim Coming to Cayman

2011-02-02T09:01:00.003-05:00

80 Mile Sea Swim Coming to Cayman
"Bridging the Cayman Islands – an 80-mile historic attempt to swim between Grand Cayman and Little Cayman Islands – will take place in the days leading up to the Flowers Sea Swim in June.

World renowned marathon swimmer Penny Palfrey will attempt to make history"

Wow.

Fall Back!

2010-11-08T14:40:00.002-05:00

To jog memories: Cayman does not observe Daylight Saving Time. My daily schedule is dominated by the US and Europe. Hence, I shift my schedule by one hour according to local clocks.

Recently I've been getting up at 5:30am. Today I did that and had time for an hour run! To add to the pleasantness the overnight low was something like 72F. Ah....

Media!

2010-11-02T08:51:00.002-05:00

The Ogier "Stroke and Stride" series this summer raised $2,500USD for Cayman Animal Rescue Enthusiasts: article

I had a brief local TV soundbite for our first Build Up:
30 seconds featuring me starts at 2:07

Build Up Series #2 Complete

2010-11-01T11:33:00.002-05:00

I was up early on Sunday to help get things ready for the second of three informal build up training sessions. Triathlon committee member Adrien coordinated this time.

We had something on the order of 50 participants, so we're happy with the numbers.

Build Up Series #1 Complete!

2010-10-18T09:06:00.002-05:00

"Time for Tri Tuneups"

At least my lack of diligence about my own training didn't extend to my volunteer activities. I was up early on Sunday to unload our triathlon association's equipment trailer to help get things ready for our first of three informal build up sessions, our annual prelude to the local big show.

The build ups are a great opportunity to practice full transitions; depending upon one's fitness level, the distances may not challenge one's endurance, but then one may choose to do them at higher intensity!

This year we're taking a very informal approach (no clock!), and that seemed to go over well. Our friends at A Step Ahead Physiotherapy marshaled at the tricky point where participants cross the road from the beach to transition. I appointed myself to give the course briefing and to act as starter.

We had over 35 bikes in the racks, so attendance was encouraging, and I heard only positive comments. Hope to see everyone again in two weeks - plus more joiners!

Cycling Team Garmin-Transitions to Visit

2010-10-18T08:10:00.003-05:00

Cayman has scored a major sports tourism coup with the news that one of the world’s top cycling teams will host its first get-together for the 2011 season in Grand Cayman.

Congratulations to "Team Cayman" for pulling this together.

The Week That Was

2010-10-04T07:52:00.000-05:00

Thursday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)

The Week That Was Naught

2010-09-27T08:35:00.002-05:00

Minor cold and major laziness.

Batter Blaster

2010-09-20T09:23:00.002-05:00

While in Ottawa the other week Jenny and I finally came upon a can of Batter Blaster, pancake mix in a spray can ("Just point, blast and cook!").

I've been hearing the call of Batter Blaster since the Instapundit post in February 2009. It did not disappoint - pretty good pancakes, though prone to small air bubbles. Thanks to Jenny, who pointed, blasted, and cooked!

The Week That Was

2010-09-20T08:25:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Saturday: 1.75hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

The Week That Was

2010-09-13T16:56:00.000-05:00

Monday: 1.0hr. run (zone 1/zone 2)
Tuesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Friday: 1.5hr. run (zone 2)

The Week That Was

2010-09-06T08:36:00.000-05:00

Monday: 0.75hr. run (zone 2/zone 3)
Wednesday: 1.33hr. run (zone 3)
Friday: 0.75hr. run (zone 2, a little creeping into zone 3)

The Week That Was

2010-08-31T14:40:00.000-05:00

Wednesday: volunteered at the Ogier Stroke and Stride series
Saturday: 1.0hr. run (zone 3)

The Onion on Lance

2010-08-27T08:42:00.002-05:00

"Lance Armstrong wants to tell the Nation something, but the Nation has to promise not to get mad"
[Hat Tip: boing boing]

The Week That Was

2010-08-27T08:40:00.002-05:00

Delayed edition posted for accountability only.

Wednesday: volunteered at the Ogier Stroke and Stride series
Saturday: 1.25hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

Next edition won't look much better.

The Week That Was

2010-08-10T07:40:00.002-05:00

Tuesday: 0.75hr. run (zone 2)
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: 3.25+ hr. bike, 44 miles (zone 1)

Volunteered at the Ogier Stroke and Stride series on Wednesday.

The Week That Was

2010-08-09T10:50:00.002-05:00

Sunday - 3.0hr. bike (zone 1/some zone 2)

Per Jenny's Garmin it was 42.5 miles.

"So, I got that goin' for me, which is nice"

2010-07-29T15:46:00.002-05:00

I have now had a "baseline cardiac evaluation" done by a respected cardiologist, complete with nuclear stress test. Bottom line of the report: "REASSURANCE GIVEN."

I have as much clearance for "pedal to the metal" exercise as anyone; looking forward to making some use of that.

The Best Sentence I've Read Today

2010-07-21T09:58:00.002-05:00

"We're happier when busy but our instinct is for idleness."

OK, I'll go to Wednesday Night Run Club tonight.

Going Long

2010-07-15T09:39:00.001-05:00

Iowa man attempts 11-month, 12,000-mile triathlon
[Hat Tip: opalesque newsletter]

"No Matter What You've Lost"

2010-07-01T16:37:00.002-05:00

No matter what you've lost, be it a home, a love, a friend.
Like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again.
--"The Mary Ellen Carter" lyrics by Stan Rogers

Thanks to all from near and far for condolences.

The memorial service for Wendy was very well attended - so many people shared memories and expressed warm sentiments along with feelings of loss.

A few people took the opportunity to share some words publicly during the Words of Remembrance. I spoke briefly about the significance of a piece of Wendy's calligraphy on display, the lyrics to The Mary Ellen Carter. Wendy referred to that song as her life myth.

"Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again."

Sometimes Wendy was working to raise someone, sometimes others were working to raise her, and sometimes she was working to raise herself. We'll miss her, but we'll work to rise again.

Wendy Buckner (1959 - 2010)

2010-06-26T14:39:00.002-05:00

A memorial celebration of my sister Wendy's life will be held in Ottawa, Canada at the Pinecrest Visitation Centre, 2500 Baseline Road, Wednesday, June 30th, 2010. Visitation will be held from 12 noon until Words of Remembrance at 2 p.m.

Link to Obituary

"Other than that, it was a Successful Performance"

2010-06-10T09:48:00.003-05:00

21-year-old weightlifter tries to squat 1008 lbs. at Sr. nationals in Chicago; projectile vomits all over judge, passes out. “Let it be noted that he also went for a third attempt after this happened.”
[via Instapundit]

ALT Duathlon

2010-03-28T16:04:00.004-05:00

Today I was chief bike marshal for the ALT Duathlon. It was a safe and successful event.

Congratulations to the participants, and thanks to the volunteers and sponsors! Special recognition to ALT - A.L. Thompson's.

Our friends at Cayman Islands Cycling put up a bunch of pix on facebook, and I snagged this one featuring me:

(photo credit: Steve)

Quick Note on Cayman Islands Half Marathon

2009-12-06T09:19:00.004-05:00

Did the Cayman Islands Half Marathon this morning, looking at is as a hard effort supported training run.

Came in at 2:00:53 (per results at allsportcentral.com). Had a long break somewhere after mile 12.

I came up on a fellow who'd dropped to a walk, and he was weaving some. I dropped to a walk with him and eventually decided to sit him down rather than accept the injury risk if his leg buckled (though we were close to the finish he was weaving more and showing little peripheral awareness). One runner pledged to send someone back for us, and soon Coach Jerry Harper showed up on his scooter. Coach went off to get us more support. A volunteer equipped with a radio arrived and called in. Next to arrive was a police car, and the officer was set to get the fellow to the nearby hospital (although not all that much further back of his car I did see an ambulance coming our way). With the fellow in good hands I went off to finish my run. I was hanging around after the finish when the police officer stopped by to report to the event organizers, so I was able to get the assurance that the fellow was on an IV drip at the hospital with no known serious complications.

A good run (average heart rate 175) with the local peeps, great support from the volunteers, and I even got to help with keeping it a safe and friendly event (yea me). My thanks to the organizers, sponsors, and volunteers!

Luggage Retrieved, Registration Completed

2009-12-02T09:29:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I retrieved my wayward checked baggage from the airport and completed my registration for the Cayman Islands Half Marathon to be held Sunday December 6th.

When I was at the airport I saw Coach Jerry Harper waiting to greet one of the arriving marathoners. I am amused that this could be a tradition: last year my checked baggage also went astray when I returned from U.S. Thanksgiving travels, and Coach was there when I went to retrieve them that time.

I had hoped that returning on Monday instead of Sunday would have had my checked baggage making it onto the same airplane as me. Fail. I suppose avoiding Miami on my return leg is a better plan.

Links from the Local Big Show

2009-12-01T08:15:00.002-05:00

The local big show is the Cayman Islands Triathlon, sponsored by Scott's Equipment.

Congratulations to the participants, and thanks to the volunteers and sponsors!

Here is a write-up
Here are some slideshows (bottom of the page)
Here are some more pix

Hat tip to my sister Wendy for the article link, which was waiting for me in my e-mail inbox. (I'm back in the office after my travels, and am hopeful that my checked baggage will soon join me!)

Uninjured, but took the DNF

2009-11-29T16:00:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note while still traveling.

At the half-way point of the marathon on Saturday I was two minutes behind goal pace and was only going to get slower. I decided to DNF and avoid the recovery costs of completing. A nice day out there, though!

I expect that I'll do a half-marathon on Cayman next weekend, and then be able to start back into training with emphasis on the aerobic system and strength (perhaps with Tabata sprints on the spin bike thrown in).

The Week That Was

2009-11-09T08:34:00.002-05:00

Tuesday: treadmill one mile intervals (work time:recovery time = 2:1, completed 2 with HR max somewhere around 182)
Wednesday: 0.85hr. run (zone 3/zone 4, max. 180)
Sunday: 1.0Hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

Some soft tissues in my right ankle officially hate intervals.

Also, I think that intervals during the week plus any sort of stress during the week can leave me unrecovered for a long run attempt. Apparently my taper began last week after the 18 miler. Not ideal, but what training cycle ever is?

The Week That Was

2009-11-01T12:24:00.005-05:00

Wednesday: 0.85hr. run (zone 3/zone 4)
Saturday: 2.5hr. treadmill run (zone 2), 18 miles

Sunday I volunteered at the second of our build-up races for the end-of-November triathlon. Over 70 participants again!

The prior week that was:
Wednesday: 0.85hr. run (zone 3/zone 4)
Sunday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
I think there was another run, but not sure....

On that Saturday I volunteered at the CUC 800m Sea Swim. I was put out there in a kayak (it has been a *long* time since I've been in one), which made for some fun (along with the seriousness about safety). The last finisher was a very little girl with her mother accompanying; they were a few seconds over 45 minutes.

The Week That Was

2009-10-19T08:58:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: treadmill one mile intervals (work time:recovery time = 2:1, completed 2.5 with HR max 182)
Wednesday: 0.85hr. run (zone 3/zone 4, max. 178)
Friday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Saturday: 0.5hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: 0.67Hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

I cut the one mile repeats short. Need some desensitization at that effort, and would rather be conservative than court injury. 15 minutes of total work time is a start.

Volunteered Sunday morning at the first of our build-up events for our November triathlon. Holy cow, we had over 70 participants!

Sunday afternoon I had a long treadmill run scheduled. It clearly wasn't going well, so I bailed. On the plus side, I did enough of an equipment test to confirm that I won't use gel flasks for my upcoming marathon.

I'll emphasize recovery through Friday this week and then try to run long on the weekend.

The Week That Was

2009-10-12T08:01:00.002-05:00

Tuesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Thursday: 0.5hr. treadmill run (zone 3/zone 4, max. 175)
Saturday: 1.75hr. run (zone 2/zone 3)

Recovery week. Went to New York City to see Jenny, which was very good. We did well in keeping from overscheduling.

Thursday I got to try The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers where Jenny is a member. They have Precor treadmills which just added to the novelty value for me.

Saturday we did a supported run in Central Park put on by Coach Mindy's Running Center (Jenny has worked with Coach Mindy). Good for me to do some running in cooler weather with a few minor hills. They have a four mile loop with a water and gel stop. Not sure how many folks participated, but they have a lot of pace groups so one may run with a small cluster.

The Week That Was

2009-10-05T08:52:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: 0.8hr. treadmill run (zone 3/zone 4, max. 177)
Wednesday: 0.8hr. run (zone 3/zone 4, max. 180)
Friday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (1.0hr. lower half zone 2; 0.5hr. zone 4, max. 175)
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Sunday: 3.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

8 weeks out from the Northern Central Trail Marathon in Sparks, Maryland (November 28th).

Sunday's treadmill run was 22 miles in 3 hours (1% incline setting). Those are satisfactory maxima for distance and time. I might let it go up to 24 miles when heading into a recovery week - treadmill running being relatively forgiving.

I haven't done hills, but the course features only a few at the beginning and end - I'll rely on the zone 4 work and my (hypothesized) relatively high proportion of type IIa muscle fibres.

I'm now considering what intervals protocol to add down the stretch.

Next up: recovery week, featuring a few days in NYC with Jenny as she recovers from her strong performance at the BassMan Half-Iron Triathlon.

The Week That Was

2009-09-28T09:10:00.005-05:00

Wednesday: 0.67hr. run (zone 3/zone 4, max. 180)
Friday: 1.75hr. treadmill run (1.0hr. lower half zone 2; 0.75hr. zone 4, max. 175)
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Sunday: 2.75hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

Perhaps Sunday's run gave me a rough guide to what proportion of carbs versus fats I was burning in zone 2. Somewhere over 80 minutes into the run I was feeling glycogen depletion effects, also evident in my decreasing heart rate. I took in a 100 calorie gel at 90 minutes, 110 minutes, 130 minutes, and 150 minutes; for the rest of run glycogen depletion felt less pressing, and my heart rate moved back up appropriately. The treadmill claims I was burning 297 calories per 20 minute segment, and it seems I wasn't burning more than the 100 calories of carbs in the gel.

For me to believe that, though, I have to believe having glycogen depletion kicking in before 90 minutes. Friday evening's run was demanding - gotta love the fast finish long run (although I don't do the final kick at 10K pace). My Sunday breakfast was about 400 calories, and I didn't start running until 3 hours after that was done.

Yeah, it's a stretch. Nice to dream though!

WNRC In The News (For Going to a Bar)

2009-09-23T12:44:00.003-05:00

Our Wednesday Night Run Club made the local paper for going to a bar: article in the Caymanian Compass

Heck, the Hash House Harriers do it every week!

Thanks to Scotts Equipment Ltd.!

2009-09-22T11:55:00.003-05:00

Here's the article in the NetNews

Thanks to Scotts Equipment Ltd. for their donation for the local big show, the Olympic and Sprint triathlons on November 29th

The Week That Was

2009-09-21T08:05:00.003-05:00

Tuesday: 0.5hr. treadmill run (zone 3/zone 4, max. 175)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 3/zone 4, max. 175)
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

On Saturday my resting heart rate was OK, but the workout was feeling inappropriately demanding. It seems that I won't be happy on a four week mesocycle along this stretch. The sub-threshold efforts have a noticeable recovery cost, my work hours are occasionally starting earlier, and my emphasis on improving body composition compromises keeping glycogen stores consistently topped up. Presumably age is also a factor.

Heck, I didn't even go to _Fidel Murphy's_ on Friday evening and still didn't have much bounce to the ounce on Saturday.

Now Registered for IMMoo 2010

2009-09-14T12:10:00.001-05:00

I'm now registered for Ironman Wisconsin 2010.

The Week That Was

2009-09-14T08:30:00.001-05:00

Tuesday: 0.67hr. treadmill run (zone 3/zone 4, max. 175)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 3/zone 4, max. 175)
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: 2.5hr. treadmill run (zone 2, predominantly lower half)

Took in 300 calories during Sunday's run. I felt much better doing that 2.5hr. run than doing the previous week's 2.2hr. with no calories, and getting the longer run done is the priority.

The Week That Was

2009-09-07T08:37:00.001-05:00

Tuesday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 3, max. 170)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 4 max. 180)
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: 2.2hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)

It was a lot of fun to be out on the roads with the Wednesday Night Run Club again, after missing three weeks for the Stroke and Stride series. So much fun that I let the heart rate go 5bpm over what I think is a good limit - I think I turned a sub-threshold run into a threshold run!

That last 0.2hr. on Sunday seemed overly demanding. Might do better to take in some calories during runs over 2 hours.

The Week That Was

2009-08-31T12:17:00.002-05:00

Thursday: 0.5hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Friday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Saturday: 0.5hr. treadmill run (zone 1)

Wednesday night's Stroke and Stride event (third of the series of three) went safely and well.

Congratulations to Cayman resident Jasper Mikkelsen on earning a Kona slot at Ironman Louisville on Sunday!

As for my week - social activities, Stroke and Stride volunteering, and longer-than-usual office hours had me quite tired. Friday's run was good, but on Saturday my resting heart rate was elevated and on that run my heart rate was overly variable so I shut it down.

The Week That Was

2009-08-24T09:04:00.003-05:00

Tuesday: 0.67hr. treadmill run (zone 3, max. 170)
Thursday: 0.75hr. treadmill run (0.5hr. zone 2, 0.25hr. zone 3 max. 170)
Friday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (1.0hr. lower half zone 2, 0.5hr. zone 3 max.170)
Sunday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (1.5hr. lower half zone 2, 0.5hr. upper half zone 2)

Still desensitizing to heart rates approaching 170....

Wednesday night's Stroke and Stride event (second of the series of three) went safely and well.

Jenny and I went scuba diving on Saturday - another good experience with Divers Down. As I haven't been diving since April 2007 I scheduled mine as a proper refresher dive. I went through the standard skills review on the first dive of the afternoon (at Royal Palms Ledge - just up the beach and a bit out in the water from my condo). The second dive was the Wreck of the Balboa. Accessing the Wreck of the Balboa site requires the permission of the Port Authority - we were allowed in part because there were no cruise ships in port. I suppose that's one reason it's a popular night dive site - because it's a good site to which you're unlikely to be granted access during the day!

The Week That Was

2009-08-17T09:02:00.006-05:00

Monday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Tuesday: 0.5hr. treadmill run (zone 3, max. 170)
Thursday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 3, max. 170)
Friday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (1.5hr. lower half zone 2)
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1)
Sunday: 1.75hr. treadmill run (1.5hr. lower half zone 2, 0.25hr. upper half zone 2)

Thursday's one hour session showed that my lactate threshold is significantly over 170, so the increase in my upper training heart rate was warranted.

Wednesday night's Stroke and Stride event went safely and well. A few flurries of organizational stress, of course, but we put it all together. The next two iterations should go more smoothly now that we've worked through a couple of kinks (weather permitting).

The Week That Was

2009-08-10T07:05:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (upper half zone 2)
Friday: 0.75hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Sunday: 1.1hr. treadmill run (Hadd benchmark test)

Recovery week and benchmark test.

Benchmark test (90 seconds rest between segments):
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 140 (me: 1.500 miles in 14:37)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 150 (me: 1.502 miles in 13:37)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 160 (me: 1.501 miles in 12:43)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 170 (me: 1.501 miles in 11:34)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 180 (me: 1.501 miles in 10:33)

Started unfed and uncaffeinated. Executed test better than the previous attempt; no snags. Significant improvement over last test at all heart rates.

For the next mesocycle I'm moving my upper training heart rate up 5bpm to 170 (toward the top of my zone 3). Per Hadd, that's suitable based upon my 1.5hr. run in upper zone 2. Per Joe Friel, time in zone 3 is suitable during Base 2. I might also let my standard training expand from lower half zone 2 to zone 2.

I'll be volunteering at our Stroke and Stride race series (.pdf event flyer link) over the next three Wednesday evenings (weather permitting). That will mess with my workout schedule.

The Week That Was

2009-08-03T07:25:00.002-05:00

Tuesday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (top zone 2)
Friday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (0.5hr. lower half zone 2; 1.5hr. top zone 2)
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1 with 0.5hr zone 2/zone 3 and other periods of varying incline)
Sunday: 1.6hr. treadmill run (0.5hr. zone 1; 0.5hr. lower half zone 2; 0.6hr. upper half zone 2)

Friday's run tells me that I may move my upper training heart rate up by 5bpm to 170, which will put it at mid-zone 3.

Saturday I started with a dry-run of the Hadd benchmark test (stopping at heart rate 170) and then dropped back to zone 1 running with some time of varying inclines and declines.

Sunday I was looking for 2.0hrs., with some hope for 2.25hrs. Instead I discovered that it is time to start consuming salt tablets. Didn't run myself to the point of cramping but I could feel my right calf muscle tightening (likely encouraged by Saturday's light hill simulations).

Overall, a good week. Seem to have worked my way close to consonance amongst my training week, aerobic running fitness, and soft tissues.

The coming week: recovery week and Hadd benchmark test.

The Week That Was

2009-07-27T07:48:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.25hr. run (top zone 2)
Friday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (0.5hr. zone 1, 1.0hr. lower half zone 2)
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (low zone 1 - at least 10bpm below zone 2)
Sunday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (0.5hr. zone 1; 0.5hr. lower half zone 2; 1.0hr. upper half zone 2)

I'm at a high level of running volume relative to my history, so having standard feelings of vulnerability to overuse injuries. Over the course of the weekend I took a few aspirin to keep the areas of minor inflammation from becoming chronic. All feels good today without intervention, so I might see about making Tuesday's run longer and bumping the recovery week to next week.

Wednesday Night Run Club

2009-07-23T10:49:00.002-05:00

The Wednesday Night Run Club received some favourable press for our high visibility running singlets.

(The photo can't do justice to how nigh-on-florescent the things are. BTW, I'm in the front row of the pic on the far left - the only one in evidence wearing a water belt.)

The Week That Was

2009-07-20T06:30:00.000-05:00

Monday: 0.33hr. spin (low zone 1 - at least 10bpm below zone 2)
Tuesday: 0.75hr. treadmill run (build to lower half zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (top zone 2)
Friday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (0.5hr. zone 1, 1.5hr. lower half zone 2)
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (low zone 1 - at least 10bpm below zone 2)
Sunday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (0.5hr. zone 1, 1.5hr. lower half 2)

More Hadd Context

2009-07-16T08:06:00.003-05:00

Here's the best write-up I've seen this morning providing context for my current training thinking:
Interpreting Lactate Curves for Ironman Athletes by Alan Couzens

I bring to that write-up the thought that I have a low proportion of type I and high proportion of type IIa muscle fibers when compared to the mythical ideal endurance sports physique, or even to the front third of the actual pack.

I could do a lot of zone 1 (under Aerobic Threshold) training to work on maximally training type I fibers. First, when one considers the examples of elites who've clearly come close to maximizing the potential of their type I fibers, one gets context for "a lot" such as Mr. Couzens' line, "That inch and a bit difference of the graph, represents a difference of ~7000 hours of steady state aerobic training in the real world!" Second, even if my type I muscle fibers were maximally trained and I carried little extra body fat they'd still be required to drive a relatively high mass (skeletal frame and other types of muscle fibers).

Couzens writes: "A secondary objective for the sub-elite Ironman, and perhaps a primary objective for the elite Ironman is to improve the oxidative capacity of the athlete’s type II fibers."

For me, definitely a sub-elite Ironman, I think that's my primary objective, and almost certainly my best return on resources required. That applies not just to Ironman but to all of my endurance sports activities.

The Week That Was

2009-07-13T07:45:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: 0.5hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (top zone 2)
Friday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Saturday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (high zone 1)
Sunday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (0.5hr. zone 1; 1.5hr. lower half 2)

Saturday and Sunday nights I felt that the days' workouts hadn't left me with a lot of spare resources (Saturday I collapsed into bed at 7:30pm only to wake up for a couple of hours in the middle of the night). It's now Monday morning and I'm not feeling deepening recovery debt (nor inflammation), so I may be tolerating the ramp-up.

Perhaps tonight I'll do a recovery workout on the gear purchased over the weekend - a used Forza spinning bike. It turned out to be the best readily available option to ensure that Jenny can comfortably build/maintain general bike fitness during extended stays.

Relating to the Hadd Write-Up

2009-07-09T13:41:00.010-05:00

I first linked to the Hadd write-up over two years back. I haven't been serious about starting a new endurance training cycle since then (after that post I had IMAZ, Florida 70.3, and IMMoo ahead in my 2007 season).

The Hadd write-up uses percentage of VO2 Max (well, "VO2max") extensively. For now, I'm using this conversion to go from percentage of VO2 Max to percentage of Maximum Heart Rate:
% MHR = 0.64 * % VO2 Max + 37

I'm using 200 as my maximum heart rate, although it must be a bit higher.

So, from Hadd's references, I have:
o type I muscle fibers being trained from as low as 50% VO2 max pace, or heart rate 138
o type I muscle fibers being optimally trained at 70% VO2 max pace, or HR 164
o type IIa muscle fibers being maximally trained at 85% VO2 max pace, or HR 182

Based on HR max of 200 (OK, properly based on a lactate threshold of 181, but that's the line of the chart that has HR topping out at 201), Friel (in The Triathlete's Training Bible (Second Edition)) has as heart rate zones:
o zone 1: 121 to 154
o zone 2: 155 to 164
o zone 3: 165 to 173
o zone 4: 174 to 180
o zone 5a: 181 to 184
o zone 5b: 185 to 192
o zone 5c: 193 to 201
A few other of my markers mesh well with those zones, so I think they're pretty close. It appears that Friel and Hadd were reading some of the same research (top zone 2 corresponds with 70% VO2 Max, zone 5a corresponds with 85% VO2 Max).

For my 2007 season, I did 12 weeks of base in zone 1 and was slammed when I moved on to zone 2. I had two words for the end of low heart rate training, and they weren't "happy birthday".

Maffetone would have my heart rate go no higher than 140 during base (and that's generously giving the maximum adjustment of +5 to the simple 180 - age). That corresponds to 50.6% of VO2 Max. Data from other studies suggest, and personal experience confirms, that's not going to do much for me. I am stuck believing that the great Mark Allen just happened to have a heart rate that fit well with the adjusted average of Dr. Maffetone's research subjects. Amongst many other qualities I mean.

I suspect that I have a relatively high proportion of type IIa muscle fibers (goes with the middle distance build) and so I would willingly train to be sure that I get a lot out of them, even at the cost of some compromising of training of type I muscle fibers. (I entertain minor thoughts of a Wingate Test to estimate proportions of muscle fibers).

All of this is not to say that Hadd has it close enough to right for most people, or that my estimates of heart rate zones and % VO2 max correspondences are particularly accurate. It seems to me that one very nice thing about the Hadd style of base is that it emphasizes benchmarking and progression. If one starts with heart rates that are too low, one will eventually progress to more appropriate heart rates.

The Week That Was

2009-07-05T15:00:00.002-05:00

Tuesday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Saturday: 0.67hr. treadmill run (zone 1/2)
Sunday: 1.1hr. treadmill run (Hadd benchmark test)

Recovery week, and first attempt at the benchmark test from the Hadd write-up

On Saturday I tried executing the basic elements of the test protocol on a treadmill at the gym. Treadmill use is definitely required for me - Cayman's temperature and humidity varies too much through the day and across the seasons for me to do good benchmarking outdoors conveniently.

On Sunday I arrived at gym opening at 8am (hydrated, a bit caffeinated, and unfed). The power was out, so the treadmills weren't functional. So I carried on with my morning feeding and caffeinating, returning to the gym in the early afternoon (as it turned out, power had been fully restored just after 9am).

The next bother was that the best treadmills were all taken (the gym has three different models of treadmill). I think the treadmill that I started the test on has less air circulation around it, and I'm not certain about its calibration. Worse, when I paused the treadmill the timer started counting down the pause time instead of keeping my split time. When one of the best treadmills came available I hopped over to it (and consequently had too long a rest break). Then through lack of focus I ran too short a third repeat. Must do better next time!

For someone with as high a maximum heartrate as mine (200+ beats per minute) here's the test protocol:
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 140 (me: 1.5 miles in 15:42)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 150 (me: 1.503 miles in 14:46)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 160 (me: 1.001 miles in 9:21 - oops)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 170 (me: 1.500 miles in 12:53)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 180 (me: 1.501 miles in 11:51)
Rest 90 seconds between repeats. Allow first 0.5 mile of the repeat to get heart rate up to target (to avoid overshooting and having to slow down).

As previously noted, I'm fat and slow. On the plus side, body composition changes should improve those times all on their own!

Eyeballing those numbers, I don't see the inflection point that one would look for in a Conconi test to identify one's lactate threshold. Not too surprising. My previous week's Wednesday run showed that my lactate threshold was over 172, and when I've been in better condition my lactate threshold has been well into the 180s. Further, the Conconi test may lack validity.

Next 3 weeks should feature nothing higher than zone 2, then another recovery and test week. I had 4 weeks of training prior to this test week, so in another 4 weeks there might be some aerobic improvement.

The Week That Was

2009-06-29T07:52:00.002-05:00

Tuesday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (threshold run)
Thursday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1/2)
Sunday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1/2)

On Sunday morning I volunteered at our social triathlon; here's Jenny's report on the event

On Wednesday's run I had an average heart rate of 172, which I count as the very upper limit of my zone 3. Not being close to falling-down-exhausted at the end of the run confirmed that my lactate threshold is significantly above 172.

Heart rate was not stable on Sunday; it drifted to the very middle of zone 2 by 90 minutes and would have gone into upper zone 2 if I hadn't dropped 0.1mph on the treadmill. Lots of base work to do!

This week will be a recovery week. On the weekend I'll do a benchmark test on the treadmill. After that I'll shift into base training proper.

The Week That Was

2009-06-22T07:50:00.002-05:00

Tuesday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2/3)
Thursday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1/2)
Sunday: 1.75hr. treadmill run (zone 1/2)

Inflammation issues seem to be subsiding and heat acclimation has come into effect. Sunday's treadmill run was primarily zone 1; in the last 45 minutes I was bouncing in and out of the bottom of zone 2. I expect that I'll complete the drive to a 2 hour long run next weekend, and then have a recovery week.

Saturday afternoon I spectated at the annual Flowers Sea Swim. It's a big deal - large participation locally, increasing participation internationally, generous sponsorship and prizes, significant donation of event fees to local charity, and high ranking amongst open water swimming events world-wide. Thanks to Mr. Frank Flowers and his team of sponsors and volunteers for staging a wonderful event. Congratulations to Jenny, who put in a solid time as one of this year's 748 finishers!

Try-This-Tri Volunteer Report (June 14, 2009)

2009-06-18T10:20:00.003-05:00

(Photo Credit: Lana Gilyun - more kids' photos here)

Last weekend we held the inaugural Try-This-Tri; it was a great success. We're calling it Cayman's first pool-swim tri. Nobody has proved us wrong!

The day favoured participation by families and beginners. The morning featured three different distances:
7am start - Sprint (800 m swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run)
8am start - Super Sprint (400 m swim, 3 mile bike, 1.5 mile run)
9am start - Kids Distance (50m swim, 1/2 mile bike, 1/5 mile run)

At the very end we tacked on a race running the length of a soccer field (OK, here it's a football pitch) for the younger brothers and sisters of the Kids Distance participants.

Results and course maps here: link

We appreciate Camana Bay, a planned mixed-use community, allowing us to use their great facilities. By operating there we kept the Super Sprint and Kids Distance events off the public roads, using a rectangle of interior roads that Camana Bay could close for us. And their 25m outdoor 8 lane pool is beautiful!

We had great volunteer support - 30 of us (I was marshaling at the Transition Area). Sponsors came through strongly with refreshments and spot prizes.

Special thanks to Corrine Fiesel, who had the get up and go to approach the Cayman Islands Triathlon Association about holding a pool-swim tri. Of course we turned around and appointed her race director, a role she fulfilled with distinction.

The Week That Was

2009-06-15T11:01:00.002-05:00

Tuesday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (zone 2)
Thursday: 0.5hr. run (zone 2)
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2/3)
Sunday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

Again the zone 3 running on Saturday slammed me relatively hard. The previous week's running in zone 4 was easier on me.

A touch of inflammation around my right knee this morning - seems to have pretty much dissipated. Clearly I'm pushing soft tissue and muscle balance issues, but I would really like to get up to a 2 hour aerobic run sooner rather than later. 2 hours is as much duration as seems particularly useful just now - pretty much maximizes aerobic benefit versus time cost, and without a marathon or iron-distance tri looming I don't require more running endurance.

Saturday morning I volunteered at a 5K run put on by our local World Gym for their 15th year of operation. The triathlon association has a group discount there, so it seemed especially worthwhile to be a road marshall for them.

Sunday morning I volunteered at our "Try-this-Tri" It was a very successful event, and I will devote a separate little post to it before end-of-day Thursday.

The Week That Was

2009-06-08T08:50:00.002-05:00

Wednesday: approx. 4.0 mile threshold run
Saturday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2/3)
Sunday: 1.25hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

I am fat, slow, and not adapted to local heat and humidity. Presumably, over time training will significantly change all that.

Zone 3 running Saturday afternoon left me slammed that evening. Zone 2 running on Sunday was not effortful. Useful indicators of the state of my base conditioning.

Threshold running on the asphalt and concrete did give me a touch of inflammation that quickly dissipated. I'm thinking I should add a couple of early morning half hour asphalt runs to build soft tissues, and drop my run with our Wednesday Night Run Club down to an aerobic level of pounding.