magiciansampras

Yesterday was a wash-out in New York (where I am spending a lot of my time these days) but today was gorgeous so I did 2 loops in Central Park. Started a little fast but then fell into a nice and comfortable 7:10ish pace. A little slower on the hills. Kept it pretty comfortable.

Totals: 12.53 miles, 1:30:51 total time, 7:15/mile pace.

Splits:

Split Time
1 0:07:06
2 0:06:46
3 0:07:08
4 0:06:59
5 0:07:28
6 0:07:24
7 0:07:10
8 0:07:13
9 0:07:11
10 0:07:09
11 0:07:39
12 0:07:24
13 0:04:07

New goal race: Cherry Blossom 10 Miler on April 11, 2010!!

law dawg

Holy gods today hurt:
3x5 deadlift (last set max reps)
200x220x240(11)

5x10 65lb. good mornings
In between each set do 100 jump rope reps the first set, to 50 right foot the second set, to 50 left foot, and finally back to 100

3x10 300lb. leg press

GBeckman

That is definitely on my "list" of races I want to do someday. A friend did it last year and her pictures are amazing!


Off day today. I actually feel pretty good after yesterday's 18, just a tiny bit sore and the bottom of one of my feet hurts a little (in that "walked/ran way too far" kind of way). I'm trying to decide if it's dumb to run 9 in the morning when I have a "fun run" tomorrow night with my track group to go look at Christmas lights. The 3 year old and I are flying to Ohio on Wednesday and driving across Ohio on Saturday, and the travel is completely messing with my training schedule...

law dawg

Today-
Tabata protocol -
bike

aztimm

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UA was good to me yesterday. Other than the cf that is IAD, the return trip was successful. Slept about 3-4 hours on the MUC-IAD leg, and about 2 on the IAD-PHX leg. Got in around 9pm, home around 10, and in bed at 11. Got all setup to swim, but didn't think i'd make it. Woke around 4am AZ time (noon in Europe) and couldn't really sleep, so went to 6am swim workout.
Set was around 4000 yards, main set was 15 x 200s on a decreasing interval. I got roped into leading my lane, but felt strong in the water.
Brought some gym stuff, but don't think I'll make it tonight. Need to run to the mall on my way home for some Christmas gifts....which may be a workout in itself.
I'll work from home much of tomorrow, so I'll try to take advantage of running in daylight. Weather here is fantastic too, a far cry from the last few days in Munich.

aztimm

A guy I swim with sent me an email late yesterday and asked me to stop by a bike shop near my house, they were having a 'special sale' from 6 to 9pm last night. He asked me to get 5 co2 16g cartridges; I had absolutely no idea what they even were. I show up at the shop and ask where they have, "Carbon Dioxide sixteen gram cartridges," and the gal gave me a blank look. I showed her the email (I printed it out), and she directed me to them. They are normally $3 each, but were just $.60

While I was there, I asked if they sell bikes that an be used for a triathlon. This shop exclusively sells Specilaized bikes, and had several. Now I haven't purchased a road bike since the mid-1980s... They had me ride 2 different bikes (size M and L) around the parking lot (I was in my work clothes). I settled on the M, then got shoes, pedals, and all the other stuff I'll need. The bike retails for $2000, was on normal sale for $1500, but I got it for $900 during this, 'special sale.' All-in (shoes, shorts, pedals, shirt, helmet, gloves, etc), I paid around $1300.

Now this certainly isn't a fancy bike. I asked the guy who I gave those cartridges to how Specialized bikes are...he doesn't like them, and told me I'd need to spend at least $2k on a Shimano. Oh well, I hope this will suit my needs for a couple of years. Maybe eventually I'll tell him. I plan to just do some short rides (20-30 min) to get my bearings back, then eventually try out the group that goes from this shop (it is just 2 miles away).

Does anyone use the Garmin for both running and biking? Anything special I need to do for biking -v- running? Is that biking attachment (cadence) worth the extra $$$?

annerj

So what bike did you get?


I hope you enjoy it. I find riding to be fun and easier on the body then most workouts. The only downside is it seems to take much longer to get a really good workout in.

aztimm

Thanks! If I end up doing some triathlons (my ultimate goal), I'll work up to 2-3 hour rides, and I plan to continue running and swimming, and hopefully weights (if I have time for all those). I've done some sprint triathlons back in the mid-90s (1/2 mile swim--12 mile bike--5k run), and the bike portion was always my weakest.

It is a Specialized Tricross Sport. Wheels are a little bigger than normal road wheels. I'm assuming (but don't know for sure), I could always change them out if I want.

annerj

Nice man. The wheels are the same diameter (700) but a bit wider 32...I run 23 or 25 on mine.

I think you'll find that most riders have their own prefrence to brand. I like trek for road (gary fisher for low end mountain) but for no other reason than I started with them and have continued to buy them.

I hope you like the Tricross sport. I have a friend that rides one and he likes it. The price jump up to carbon is a little steep and in all honesty with my riding skill (low) I'm not sure it was worth it. I'm not an expert but my take is if you have really strong legs then the stiffness of the carbon might be worth it (more power to the road).

aztimm

Thanks for the feedback. After this guy and another (one did Ironman AZ this year, the other is registered for next year) put down Specialized so much, I was considering seeing if this shop would take it back. I feel a bit more relieved now, and will hang onto it.

I'm going from an 80's Schwinn roadbike and a late 90's Mongoose MGX mountain bike (a Costco special), so anything will feel like an improvement. I really have to say spending even what I did seemed a bit much...running is such a cheap sport (I spend about $60 for a pair of shoes, maybe 4-5x a year), and swimming isn't bad either (most expensive is pool time and/or coaching for my current team it is $65 a month, but I'll be switching mid-next year when my work office moves). Like I said above, if I get a solid 2 years out of this, then want to graduate to something better, I think I'll have gotten my money's worth

magiciansampras

Starting to get back into some regular running now that we're 4 weeks or so removed from the race and I think I have recovered pretty well. The legs are back, I think. This week I just did some 4-5 mile easy runs until today when I did some speedwork on the treadmill.



I did one of Greg McMillan's (the guy that runs that calculator we use to see how fast we should run) treadmill workouts called "Faster, Faster" as described here:

1 Set: 400m @ easy run pace
400m @ 15K (tempo) pace
400m @ 3-5K race pace

Do 4 sets.

Workout No. 2 comes from Illinois coach Bill Mitsos, whose daughter, Janna, is a three-time all-state cross country runner and was third at her state meet as a sophomore. "I used this workout with Janna, and it worked very well. Running the set four times gave her three miles of faster and faster running. This workout isn't too boring because of the pace changes. She did the workout once every couple weeks, and then she raced great. I also noticed during the race she was changing gears easily."

I did 6 sets of this workout. Pretty tough. Kind of combines the elements of tempo running (lactate threshold) with VO2 Max running. Harder than 800s because the change of pace is pretty jarring.

Anyway, I did:

10 mins warm up at 7:30 pace

then 6 sets of:

400m @ 10:00 easy recovery pace
400m @ 6:35 tempo pace
400m @ 5:56 fast pace

Then I did about a mile of cooldown at 10:00 pace.

Definitely a good workout!

Also got in a 45 minute upper body lifting session!

law dawg

Today-
3x5 bench press (max reps last set)
140x160x180(7)
3x10 15lb dip
3x10 pullups

GBeckman

Congrats on the new bike, aztimm! I have an upper-entry level Specialized road bike (Dolce Comp) and spent way more than you did, so it sounds like you got a great deal! I really like my bike, and I've been plenty happy with it. Sure, I'd love a carbon frame, and I'd love a tri bike, but for my skill level, I honestly don't think they would make *that* big a difference. Aerobars, on the other hand, are on my short list for next tri season...

I use my Garmin for both biking and running. I highly recommend the quick release set that Garmin sells. It comes with a velcro strap and a mount for the bike. The unit snaps in and out of both easily. I don't have the cadence sensor, but again, for my skill level, I've kind of decided that it wouldn't be all that useful. YMMV, of course. The quick release set, on the other hand, is WELL worth the $. Which really isn't that much.


I ended up running an extra two miles on Tuesday, so I chopped those miles off of today's run, which ended up being only 3. I can't remember the last time I only ran 3. I decided to push my speed a little, being close to sea level and all, and I felt great. Fastest run I've had in a looooong time! Tomorrow morning, though, will be back to a slow and plodding pace for 14...

aztimm

actually did 3 separate workouts today, before/after work, with some work mixed in between.

swim--right around 3000 yards with the team at ASU
bike--took it out for my first ride. of course I fell in the driveway...but learned why, and hopefully it won't happen again. especially learned to see what's near when I'm putting my shoes in the pedals, and to avoid doing this close to cactus (none got on me but it was very close)
did just over 15 min for 4.2 miles, just zig-zagging around my neighborhood

run--got out for an evening run along the canal. had my music and did some fartlek-type stuff for the last half. 5.5 miles in 49 min

I'm pretty wiped out now, but hope to get to swim in the morning, then hit the gym after work.

IAH_FLYER

I use the Garmin for running and biking as well. I've also used the Multisport feature in triathlons and duathlons. It's kind of a pain to set up, but is nice to have.

I have the quick release and the cadence sensor. I ride based on cadence rather than speed, so I find it useful. I try to stay somewhere between 75-90 RPM. I use the quick release wristband for running all the time. Seems like it's easier to get it into the charging stand/base.