Running OK

Fri. AM Bike/swim

February 1st, 2008

Woke up to a nice layer of snow on the ground from yesterday’s snow. Norman got about an inch and a half of snow. Actually got out of the house fairly early and was at the Y by 6:40am. Hit the stationary bike this morning. Put in 8.7 miles in 30 minutes. Tried to keep the effort fairly steady, keeping the rpm’s in the 90-105 range. Burned a little, but the effort was relatively right on par, even through the “hills” in the interval program.

Stretched and headed off to the pool. Felt a little bit more rhythmic today. Again did 2 sets of 250M freestyle with a minute rest inbetween. Now that I’m getting the hang of it I think next week I’ll bump it up to 750M each outing.
Tomorrow should be the long run.

Posted in , | Comments Off on Fri. AM Bike/swim

Thurs AM run/swim

January 31st, 2008

Got up and hit the Y again this am. Don’t like running on the mill, but weather was blowing in (rain turning to snow with gusting winds). Today was a tempo run, supposed to be 5 miles(3 at mid tempo with 2 easy miles as bookends). Didn’t want to spend so long on the mill, so I did .5 mile bookends at easy pace to warmup/cooldown. Ended up being a pretty good run. Felt nice and warmed-up and turned up the pace to 8:20/mile. Got through 2 at that pace, but had to dial it down a bit (8:45/mi.) for a few tenths and then pushed it back up to finish off the 3 miles. Cooled down and stretched a bit and then took off for the pool.

Swim was pretty good did 2 sets of 250M free. Felt pretty fluid, not quite as good as yesterday. Ended up having to stop and catch my breath before the last 25M on the second set. But finished with better form than if I hadn’t stopped for a few seconds.

Now, my legs feel like jello. Very Nice!

Posted in , | Comments Off on Thurs AM run/swim

I’m back

January 30th, 2008

Actually haven’t been gone, too far anyway. Still moderately recovering from the trip to Shreveport. We had a great time, other than a lack of sleep. Got in a run Friday morning, somewhere in the 3.5-4 mile range with some decent hills thrown in. Was meaning to hit the long run Saturday, but woke up very sore and tired, same for Sunday. Didn’t get any other runs in during the trip, but did get some great food. Got to hit up Superior Bar and Grill, Monjunis and Johnny’s Pizza. Good stuff.

Got back to Norman at 12:45 in the am on Monday, got up and hit the pool for 5 sets of 100M free, 50M breast. Felt good to get the legs pumping. Hit the pool Tuesday am as well for the same workout. Got to basketball and ran the equivalent of my track workout-1 full hour of near full on sprints. And I was definitely feeling it this morning.

Today I was up and at the Y by 7AM for 30 min on the bike-random intervals for a total of 9.10 miles. Followed it up with a swim. Did one set of 100M free, 50M breast, followed by 400M free. It was a great swim, something finally clicked. I no longer feel as though I’m fighting each and every stroke and kick. Today I finally found a rhythm and was able to get my breathing down where I didn’t feel like I was struggling. It was a nice easy pace, equivalent to a conversational pace on a run. Hadn’t been able to find that ever before. Also focused on full torso rotation on both sides with smooth entry into the water. Wow.

Don’t know what set it off. Maybe cycling before, which left my legs a little our of it, so I wasn’t flailing my legs, or just focusing on form. Plus I was sporting tri-shorts for the first time (sorry for the bad visual), and actually felt like I was slicing through the water as opposed to the drag of my conventional swim trunks. Hopefully I’ll be able to replicate it again.

Posted in , , , | Comments Off on I’m back

Wed/Thurs

January 24th, 2008

Tuesday night ended up skipping out on basketball. But I did do a session of yoga.

Wednesday I got up headed to the Y and hit the pool again. Not spectacular, but I think next week I’ll step up to 6 sets instead of 5. I did remember to take a watch, and timed my sets and am swimming at a scarily steady pace. Each of the 5 sets were within 3 seconds of 4 minutes flat. Ended by doing a few laps of running and stretching walking in the shallow end.

Today got up, headed to the Y and hit the treadmill. Was going to try outside, but it was 16F with a windchill around 0F. Plus my tights were packed in preparation for our trek to the Port this weekend. So I hit the dreadmill. I wasn’t about to attempt to run on the 1/11 mile indoor track. First time on a mill in ages. Supposed to do tempo today, so that’s just what I did. Did 1/2 mile at easy pace (9:40/mi.) then bumped it up to 8:40/mi. for 1 mile, 8:10/mi. for 1 third mile, 7:40/mi. for 1 mile and closed with a short cool-down at 9:40/mi. I then headed over to the pool and did 3 sets.

Finished by weighing in on the Y scale (which jived with the home scale the other day. Shocked to see it come into balance at 206.5.

Posted in , | Comments Off on Wed/Thurs

Tuesday AM Swim

January 22nd, 2008

So I didn’t get around to yoga last night. Just didn’t have it in me. We thought about doing Baby and Parent pilates for the first time sans babies, but I just wasn’t feeling it. Instead I did crunches and push-ups while Carrie did the first mini-session from the pilates dvd. Looks like it will be fun to try with G&A.

Got up again this morning and headed to the Y for a quick swim before work. Got there around 7am and the place was empty. May have been the fact it was 20F outside and the streets were mildly icy, but it was great.

Swim was good. Definitely getting back into the swing of it. Still haven’t found a slow easy swim pace. But I did find a high gear. There was an older gentlemen a couple of lanes over who was doing some water walking, and at one point he really turned it up. I didn’t want to be slower than a water walker, so I let it out and pushed hard to stay out in front of him. Mission accomplished.

Posted in | 1 Comment »

Monday Morning Swim

January 21st, 2008

I had planned to arise early and head to the Y for a swim prior to work. Set the alarm for 6am. Carrie woke me at 7:30 asking if I was planning on swimming or working today. D’oh! Apparently didn’t check to see if the alarm was on, only set for the right time. Decided to head to the Y anyway and get to work a little late.

The swim was much better today. Didn’t feel nearly as trying as Friday. Ended up swimming 100M freestyle followed by 50M breast stroke 5 times. Not nearly as sore afterward, but my arms were definitely tired. Don’t know if it was the swim, or a combination of that and lifting babies all weekend.

May try a run this evening. We’ll see.

And on the weight front, down to 208.8 lbs. A little disappointed its not more, but my clothes are definitely looser, so I think I’ve been adding some muscle, but losing some fat. Which is good.

Posted in | Comments Off on Monday Morning Swim

Saturday Long Run

January 20th, 2008

Met up with A&D at D’s house at 7:00am. It was cold, very, very cold. As I stepped out of the car, the temp was registering at 14F. Luckily there was not too much wind. But I’m oh so glad I went back in for a second pair of tights to put under my fleece lined ones. Don’t know if I would have finished without them. Almost talked myself out of the second pair as I figured it would warm up once the sun came up. Wrong.

We set off into a beautiful morning. Blue sky and the sun was just beginning to creep up. We ran together for about 7 miles. But they were heading further north for a loop of nearly 18 miles, so I turned off to head back to my car. Had a great run except for the .5 mile run back over I-35 where the wind was howling on the overpass, and there was no protection from it. My shoes were feeling loose,so I stopped to re-tie them, tied them too tight, and had to do it over again. This added at least 5 minutes to my time, but who’s counting.

Finished with 13.5 miles per the map and my time was 2:11 and some change. Not the fastest, but felt strong the whole way. Enjoyed the look of my beard covered in ice from my breath freezing to it. The car gave me temps from 20 to 17 on the way back to the house. Definitely one of the coldest runs I’ve ever been on, but enjoyed it fully.

As for Nike +, I’m just about through with it. I’m going to try it on my computer at the office on Monday, but just can’t get it to upload from the house. I can’t get to the sign-on page from iTunes, but it says it is uploading to Nikeplus.com. However, it is not showing up on my profile. Nor will it let me connect with the Nike website from iTunes.

It is still off on the runs, also. Gave me 12.7 for yesterday’s run. Don’t know if I’ll take the time to calibrate it until I can get it to upload to my profile, though. I still love the nano, and having the voice prompt for mileage and pace, though. Its nice to not have to look down mid-stride and try to read a display.

Almost forgot. I signed up for the Austin 1/2 marathon last night. Looking forward to it and getting to see the new course. Not as fast, but much more scenery to look at. It’ll be nice to be back in the old haunts.

Posted in | Comments Off on Saturday Long Run

3.5 miles, and SWIM!

January 18th, 2008

Was down in southern Oklahoma for work on Thurs and ended up getting back to the house a little earlier than normal (but had to leave a little earlier), and was able to get a run in before Carrie got home. It was still cold outside, hovering around 35F, but the wind had died down and there was still sun light. Couldn’t ask for better conditions. Took the pooch with me as he had been inside all day. We hit 3.5 miles in right around 26 minutes. Nike + gave me 3.1. Man I need to calibrate. Hopefully this weekend. Just need to get to a track, or map out .4K.

Then we got over and joined the Y. Being the new year, the Y was running membership specials, and Carrie has been wanting to join for a while. Plus they have child care!

So to make the most of it I got up bright and early and went for a swim for the first time in well over a year. Probably closer to 2 years. Swam 100M freestyle followed by 50M breast stroke 4 times. What a great way to start the workday. But I can definitely feel it all over my body. I’m surprised at how much my legs felt the workout, I was trying to use more arms than legs. And I got smoked by the lady next to me who was wearing a local university swim cap. She looked to have secret fins or something.

Posted in , | Comments Off on 3.5 miles, and SWIM!

Wednesday run

January 17th, 2008

Went for a run Wednesday night when the kiddos went down for a late evening nap. It was very cold, strong north wind, and blowing sleet and then snow. Was perfect weather to run fast. Was hoping to hit 3.5 miles. Ended up right at 4 miles. Nike + showed 3.6 in 34 minutes. I’ll take it. Then settled in for a warm night, listening to the wind howl.

Posted in | Comments Off on Wednesday run

Monday Lunch Run

January 16th, 2008

Again another day of beautiful January weather. Low 50’s around 1pm. Packed running shorts and shirt for a run from the office at lunch. Decided to do a tempo run. It was great. Had negative splits, and surprised myself at the pace I was able to put out. First mile was supposed to be a warmup, but ended up pretty quick at 9:13/mile, second mile clocked in at 8:43, third mile was 8:20 and fourth mile was 7:45. Finished with a cool down of .5 miles at 8:50/mile pace. Funny thing was that the cool down was faster than my normal training pace, but felt like I was going sooooo slow. Couldn’t believe it. Made for a very refreshed feeling for the afternoon.

Refueled with some great split pea soup from the Moosewood cookbook I received at Christmas. Good stuff.

Oh and did yoga again last night. The tightness is definitely less, but still there. I feel like I am nowhere near looking like the instructor in the video.