magiciansampras

I'm pretty much the same way but I draw the line at wind. I would have actually gone out today if it was *only* 20s. But when you throw the wind in, that's too much.

I'll be out there tomorrow when the weather will be a balmier 30s.

aztimm

If it is too cold to wear shorts, then it is too cold for me to run outside. I do have some track pants, but really hate running in them. I ran on Sunday in shorts and short sleeved shirt; temp was around 30 when I started, and I froze for the first 4 miles. The worst was my forearms.


As for today, got out for 6.88 miles, not as fast as I'd hoped, but did have a little speed to it in spots.

Had my bike fitting today also. Almost took it out for a ride when I got home (I was already in gear), but ended up not. The fitting took about 30 min, he put it up on a rack, would tell me to go...then stop (sometimes with a foot in a certain position), he'd make adjustments, I'd get back on, repeat. He put the seat up at least an inch, moved it back a bit. Just when I was getting comfortable with the whole clipping in, now I'll have more fun with a higher ride. I don't recall ever doing this before, and I'm hoping it helps some of the pain I've been having between my legs...

Still swimming with the team, last night was mega IM (individual medley), and I'm horrible at fly and back. But only one way to improve, and they say it is easiest to improve on the strokes you do worst. Some day, I'd like to do a legal 100, heck maybe even 200 IM at a meet (400 is just torture). Debating if I'll head out for swim workout tonight, or just swim on my own at the gym.

GBeckman

It's a darn good thing you're in AZ!

I really don't mind the cold that much. I'm not a huge fan of the wind, though. And conditions like those that I ran my 20 in yesterday are definitely a bit much. I'm happy to be back in CO where it may be cold and snowy at times, but at least we plow our running/bike trails!

My foot is flared up again from yesterday's run, of course. I have my track workout in the morning, which I'm planning on going to, but not really planning on running much, if at all. I guess we'll see what the coach says. I know I pretty much have the training in the bag at this point, but I *do* still have 29 miles left on the schedule for this week, and it makes me nervous to drop TOO much mileage, kwim? On the other hand, it certainly doesn't help things to aggravate an injury less than 3 weeks before a marathon!

CT-UK

I try to get a 2 mile pool swim in once a week, normally do that in about 55-60 minutes. When open water is open I try to get in a 5km swim every 2 weeks.

aztimm

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I did my share of running in the cold, wind, and snow when I was in the Army. Nothing quite like a 15 mile company run in December in Korea, trudging through snow, ice, etc.


So many triathletes focus all their time on the bike leg. While that is important (well over half the race), you need to get through the swim--in the cutoff time--to even bike. Sounds like you're on your way, but nothing can simulate the start of an open water swim...people grabbing, swimming over you, etc. I'm a half decent swimmer and it still freaks me out. I'd try to build your endurance, and do some breast stroke. When someone is drafting off of you too close, bumping into you, a couple of strong breast kicks at him usually does the trick. I also like it for sighting...no lane lines or other things to guide you on the open water.

CT-UK

The mass start of a IM is going to be my biggest yet. In London it was 400 in each wave. The OW sprints have been about 150 so 2000 is going to be fun

I am lucky as I have 2 very good OW swimming lakes within 30 minutes of my house so use them 2 or 3 times a week when at home. The problem now is that they are closed for the winter and open 1 week before IM Utah. Might have to see how the wetsuit fits in the pool

magiciansampras

Yesterday I did a short little recovery run along the reservoir in Central Park. Brilliant views of midtown and lower manhattan on the north side of the reservoir. Best part of the run no doubt!

Splits:

Split Time
1 0:08:02
2 0:08:32
3 0:08:43
4 0:08:48
5 0:02:41

Totals: 4.29 miles, 36:48 total time, 8:34/mile pace.


Today I hit up Central Park again for a nice little tempo run. Really crowded due to the NYE festivities, but I weaved nicely.

Splits:

Split Time
1 0:06:55
2 0:06:38
3 0:06:39
4 0:06:31
5 0:06:39
6 0:07:04
7 0:06:36


Totals: 6.91 miles, 47:05 total time, 6:48/mile average pace.

law dawg

Today-
3x5 (last set to failure) bench press
150x170x190(6)

5x10 pullups

aztimm

After a good swim workout yesterday morning (something like 3400m--long course), I got out for a run yesterday afternoon. Temp was mid-60s, beautiful...until I turned around into what seemed like gale-force winds (I checked online, and Chandler Regional Airport, that I ran past, reported 14 mph winds from the north). I thought my pace on the outbound was higher than normal, tried slowing, but even an 8:30 pace was easy (I held under 8 for most of the first mile). After the turnaround, I wasn't so lucky.

Garmin stats--
distance: 7.26
time: 1:03:21
avg pace: 8:43 min/mile
calories: 970
avg HR: 164 bpm
Garmin activity detail

Given the wind, I was very happy with that 8:43 avg pace. Looking at my splits, the first 3 miles I really took advantage of that tailwind, and in mile 5 I definitely tanked, dipping to a 9:26 pace. But compared with Tuesday, when I really felt and tried to go faster, this was almost 1/2 mile further, and my pace was 12 sec/mile faster.

I didn't yet register for the Lost Dutchman marathon, I figured I'd first see how a couple of my long runs go. I'm planning 15 for tomorrow. Yea, I'll have to pay $10 more, but it isn't a huge deal, and still far less than the PF Chang's race (many locals are grumbling about that and avoiding it for some other other smaller marathons that are popping up).


Has anyone done the Edinburgh, UK marathon? I'm putting together a trip to the UK, including Edinburgh, in May and I may be able to make that work. But then again, I'm not sure if I really want to do a marathon during a vacation. It would certainly be an interesting way to see the town though.

magiciansampras

Yeah I really have a problem with all these ridiculous marathon fees. The "corporate marathon" has really gotten out of control. The Rock n Roll ones are particularly bad, those fees have really sky-rocketed.

After I run New York and Boston I'm going to focus on smaller, more low-key and reasonably priced races.

IAH_FLYER

Happy New Year!

I ended 2009 with a little over 1100 running miles logged, and did an easy 5.7 this morning to kick off 2010.

Half marathon in a couple of weeks...hoping to come in under 8:00/mile pace.

magiciansampras

Did a little math myself today and have my numbers for the year. In 2009 I ran 1849.36 miles and averaged 35.56 a week.

For comparison, last year I ran 1451 miles and averaged 28 miles a week.

I'm positive that the increased miles have helped my race times tremendously! Perhaps a nice goal for 2010 is to break 2000 miles run.

GBeckman

Happy New Year, FTers!

I totaled up my miles last night, too. Much less than you guys, but I'm pretty proud. Just under 1900 miles total, about evenly split between running and cycling. Plus 25-ish miles in the pool (not nearly enough, I know!). If I had realized how close I was going to get earlier, I may have tried to push to get 1000 running miles in, but I also only ran 40-ish miles in January when I was still recovering from knee surgery...

re: race fees. Yeah, I hear ya. It about killed me to pay the registration for PF Chang's (which is a RnR race). Nearly double the amount that I've paid for any other running race. Of course, it IS exactly double the distance of any other running race I've done. I really just liked the idea of the support and entertainment involved in a RnR race, at least for my first one. I also just signed up for the Boulder Triathlon Series for next summer, which includes the (now-Ironman-branded) IM Boulder 70.3. The fee for IM Boulder alone is around $225, while the much smaller long course race I did last fall was only $140. I'm really curious to see what kind of experience IM provides for the money.

I rang in the new year this morning with a fantastic 12 mile run with a good friend. She had 12 miles at 10 min pace on her schedule, and I told her that I'd do my best to hang with her for it, but she could drop me if I couldn't (my long run pace has been around 11 min pace...yes, I know we're slow ). Well, we did it, I totally hung with her, and we just had a GREAT run. A good way to start the new year! ^

aztimm

Happy New Year to all!

Did anyone else notice that the Garmin Connect website now allows manual entry? I don't remember it being there before yesterday, but been a while since I've checked. I was in the reports section, and noticed options for swimming and gym sessions. Haven't decided if I'll go back and add in, but going forward, I'll add in any swimming, treadmill runs, and maybe weights (I hate the time aspect though...sometimes I focus more on quality than quantity, and time for weights is meaningless for me).


So far today, took the bike out for a nice ride...mostly the same as I did on Sunday. The adjustments to the bike feel mostly better. The seat is so much higher now that it is very tough to touch the ground when I'm on it. I kept praying approaching every light that I'd get green, and it mostly worked. About 2 miles before I finished, I wasn't so lucky, got stuck at AZ Ave/Pecos...there was some strange bike ahead in the bike lane, and I waited way too long to unclip, and somehow fell to the left. My left foot caught me (and my right foot unclipped somehow), I recovered without actually falling. The people in cars nearby were probably a bit cautious...and I did pass that strange bike in the intersection.

Garmin stats--
distance: 17.80 miles
time: 1:04:54
avg speed: 16.5 mph
calories: 1001
avg HR: 155 bpm
Garmin site details

The heart rate chart seems very strange. According to that, my max HR was 250; I think if it was that high I'd be at the ER. Maybe my monitor wasn't attached correctly. I don't remember anything out of the ordinary when it is listed as that high (my incident was much later, and HR wasn't too bad).


I'll probably go to the gym for a weights session in a couple of hours. I'm still planning a 15-16 mile run tomorrow (depends how I feel), then my first group ride on the bike Sunday that the shop is organizing. Several people I know have asked me to join them for rides...this may sound strange, but I'd rather start with other new strangers than people I know who are more experienced. If I make a faux pas the organizers can correct it. I shouldn't have a problem with the 20 miles @ 15 mph. I'm hoping to meet a couple of people who live close to me who I can then meet for rides more my level. There's about 12 people signed up through the MeetUp invite.

aztimm

The Phoenix PF Chang's/RnR Marathon is a great first race. I'm sure it costs quite a bit to close major roads...not sure if you're familiar at all with the area, or if you've looked at the online course map, but Washington St through downtown Phoenix, Camelback Rd near the Biltmore, and Indian School Rd (for several miles), are all MAJOR streets...plus the whole end area in Tempe around ASU can all be busy on normal days. The bands every mile or so, the aid stations, the port-a-johns, etc all contribute to the well-organized race, as well as the cost. I heard they may stop the bus from the parking/finish area in Tempe to the start and make people use the rail, which would require a good 1/2 mile walk to the start.

My major complaint was the size of it, something like 10,000 people doing the full marathon (about 20,000 for the half). If you're planning to do it with someone, I'd recommend tying a ribbon between you to keep together. The start is just insane. Yes they have corrals...but I still passed a ton of people over the first 3 miles, and many people passed me. And if you need a port-a-john, I'd recommend waiting until about the 1/2 mark (unless you don't mind using trees, or waiting).


Your cost for the IM doesn't sound bad at all. The AZ IM is around $600. And it sells out in about 20 min; the day after this year's event, next year's opened for registration. Volunteers get first crack, but I heard everyone who went in-person got in.