Wow, I actually like to run now......

So, its been about 10 weeks since I started to train with heart rate and to listen to my body and follow a good nutritional plan both on and off training. Swimming seems to be fine, biking I still need to work at but I'm getting there but the running is what I'm seeing the most change in over the last 2 months.

Back in May when I needed to do a recovery run based on my heart rate you could say I was basicaly walking, if I was on a treadmill I would be at a level of less than 5.0mph, it was so hard to see that but my HR was high even though I was chatting and talking and didn't feel out of breath it was high so if I had to walk to keep my HR down I did, man that sucked. My zone 1 HR was a little bit better but not much.

In the past I would go out and run my runs always in the 8's somewhere and if I did tempo's they were in the 7's, I was working hard, and very rarely did I record my HR but I was always pushing and out of breath and working really hard, all the time. Well, 2 months ago my zone 1 ( or endurance run pace) was just about 11 min a mile- seriously, it was no joke, crazy slow, I was like you've got to be kidding me this is awful. But I listened to my body and I kept my HR were it needed to be, it sucked, but I knew if I wanted to make changes I had to do something drastic.

After 4 weeks of no speed work and nothing more than zone 1 runs, I went out and did several runs at 9:40 pace and kept my HR were it needed to be, 136 and no higher than 138. Wow, in just 4 weeks I was able to drop well over a minute per mile and keep my HR low, this was good news for me, I was very happy. Now, there were still several runs that were in the tens with the heat or with very hilly runs but overall I was getting to be pretty consistent with that pace and HR. What was also noticeable was that I was never really tired after a run, my body didn't feel like I just beat it up, I felt good. So onward I went and continued this process. Still, no speed work except for one track workout ( which had me do 4 1 mile repeats at 7:08 and faster) when I have only been running in the high 9's and 10's, it was crazy.

Then it was Providence 70.3, now as I noted before swim and bike completely unenventful ( so slow on bike but again just training and getting my HR to where it needs to be) but my run really came around and I felt great, and I negative splitted the run. I was really happy.

So, to today, (I biked long yesterday in the heat and did a 35 minute T-run ( zone 1- avg 9:49s off the bike), felt great), today was a zone 1 run of 1hr 14 minutes with 19 minutes of a zone 2 effort at the end. F/b some TRX and a recovery bike ride. I ran early today, 5:30am so it was cooler and much more comfortable to run in than what we've been running in over the last few weeks, that being said, I felt great and in the end I averaged an 8:55 pace with a HR of 137 ( spot on).

So, in 10 weeks I've taken off over 2 minutes per mile and kept my HR at 136-137. My long slow runs when I looked back in my files from last year where I was running 13-20 miles averaging 9:35-9:45 pace my HR was up to 152-156, that's a 20 beat difference and my pace now is faster on my slow long runs, this shit is crazy. No wonder I couldn't run off the bike in ironman or in 1/2 ironmans, I had completely wasted myself on the bike probably keeping the same high HR and then tried to run fast off and my HR was off the charts, I couldn't sustain that and that was why I falted and couldn't run. Retraining my body is helping me get faster and everytime I know I need to run I am so excited to do so. I am so excited to run off my bike. I'm really liking running now and am starting to believe that it might be possible I can turn myself into a decent runner. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do.

Someday.........

I love watching and following Ironman, watching Lake Placid yesterday and following several of my friends was so inspiring it gets me emotional just thinking about it. Now don't get me wrong, I have a love/hate relationship with that course and hopefully someday I will return and do some major damage on that course or at least feel successful out there but yesterday i was glad to be just a spectator.

I was so excited that my good friend Maris was racing, we train together sometimes and she has really kicked it into high gear this year turning out some major performances in her recent races, however she came down with a pretty significant chest cold requiring antibiotics and she certainly wasn't 100% going into yesterday, that being said she kicked "ASS" and still came in top 25 in her age group and ran a super fast marathon. Watch our Ironman Florida this girl is going to crush you like a bug.

I was also excited to follow local 40-44 year old ladies Mary Holt-Wilson and Ange Bancroft who both got Kona Slots yesterday with their exceptional performances, great job ladies so very proud of both of you. Also, Kat Donatello, holly crap, what a bike and run after your issues on the swim, what mental tenacity and strength to come back that strong after what happened to you, Holly Shit is all I can say, Way to Go, and 12th place AG you ROCK.

Some of the other locals Chaz, Jay, Janet, Tim, Kelly, congrats to all of you so happy for your performances.

Anyhoo, everytime I watch or read about an ironman event I get so excited about it, I dream about it, I think about all the hard work I do to train and my dreams of making it to Kona someday, ( I really don't want to wait till i;m 65, really), but I know I have it in me, I know once I get this run thing sorted out things could go in my favor, I just have to train the right way, work hard, continue to get a bit leaner and have a positive attitude, my time will come, maybe not this year or next but I know it will come, I have faith.

Right PW? Work hard, follow your plan, things will fall as they may. This is my motto.

Tri-active: Local nonprofit spurs at-risk families to get in shape

Tri-active: Local nonprofit spurs at-risk families to get in shape

A 5:51 is OK to me, really.......

Yesterday I did the Providence 70.3 ironman event for the second time. The first time I did this event was 4 yrs ago right after my bike flew off our car and smashed into a million pieces. The course is a logistical nightmare and still is but it has significantly changed since I did it 4 yrs ago.

As you guys know my life has been crazy for the past 6-8 months and training has gotten in and not gotten in and I've changed my training focus a bit. I've been a decent swimmer and over the past 2 years and gotten stronger on the bike but the one thing I have never been able to do is run or even have a run off the bike that felt good and not a shuffle that makes me suffer. So I've decided to really concentrate on those reasons why that happens and work on them.

1. Too much power on the bike, push too high of watts and burn out my legs before the run.
2. My HR is too high from the swim and bike that I've already tapped my body by the time I'm on the run
3. Nutrition has always sucked in the past and I've suffered for that. I need to follow a more rigid nutrition plan on the bike and run to be successful.

So with the above I decided to swim my normal swim, try to grab some feet if I can to get some drafting, taper back my bike power and try to keep my Hr at 136, no higher and keep my watts between 160-165 and then run off the bike keeping my HR around 150 ( which took into account the heat stressors on my body) and not take out the first mile too fast. And if possible, negative split my run ( which I have never, ever, done.)

The course is still a point to point and a 2 transition area race ( SUCKS). This year the swim was at Lincoln Woods Park in a beautiful lake, which was 84 degrees and a non-wetsuit swim. I don't mind that so much but I just tend to use my legs a bit more when I don;t have a suit in open water. Anyway, the transition area was fine and it wasn't a too long run from the beach to get to TI.
the swim was uneventful, it was really sunny, the water was soooo warm, I worked with 2 girls during the swim both of whom didn't know how to sight well so they kept running into me which was pissing me off, I didn't want to exert myself to go around them so I just tried to keep to their right and use the draft that way. I knew that 2 girls were far ahead ( 2 college swimmers) so we were in the second pack. We all came out 4-7th, I was in 6th coming out of the water-36 minutes, youch, I normally would do around 30-31 min, but I was fine with the swim

The Bike: Well lets just say, I could of knitted a blanket, picked my nose and made a whole thanksgiving day turkery meal while riding, it was that easy, that being said, riding 17.4mph should feel that way. However, the goal for me today was to not go over 210 on any hills, to keep a good cadence and to ride and average 160-165 watts and my HR needed to be 136 and no higher. I will say it was very hard to see lots of my ladies pass me when I knew I could ride with them, I knew I could go sub 3 on this course, however, it was a significantly more difficult course than before, all rolling hills and some good climbs thrown in with some short fast descents. There was never a period of time that you could really go aero and rebuild back some speed that you lost on the climbs, plus the road conditions were so bad I didn't want to go aero most of the time because you were afraid you would kill yourself. Oh yeah, and the dead animals on the road, are you kidding me, crazy how many.

Anyhoo, the bike was uneventful, thanks to Nancy thompson she was able to set my watch to go off every 40 minutes to remind me to eat, I ate 1/2 power bar, 2 gels, 6 cliff blocks and 3 1/2 bottles of endurance, plus one succeed. I peed at least 4 times, so I knew I was well hydrated. My legs felt great because I didn't kill the power on the bike so I was really hoping for a descent run, but it was hot.

Well, a 3:13 bike really sucked, I hated seeing that but I knew my goal today was to just try to run. The course again changed this year and we didn't have to run up steeple street, we had to run a much harder one in my humble opinion. Olen street is a much long and the climb starts around 3-4% grade and goes up to maybe 7-8% but it keeps going for at least 3/4 of a mile maybe longer, tons of switch backs and crazy quad descents and then more climbs, it was just bizarre, this whole course just doesn't make sense, so stupid.

Well, I felt great, I ran, ran, ran, I kept my HR at 150 for the first few miles, my legs were turning over I was passing people, it was awesome, going into the second loop I felt even better, this was when most people were walking, especially up the hill, I was cruising, keeping my HR in check up the hills but just pounding the flats and descents. I hit my mark, 8:59 avg first loop and then 8:49 average second loop for an 8:55 overall. Now if the course profile was just a little flatter, still with some hills, I so would of averaged 8:30s or better, that one hill really crushes your time, I was definitely running in the high 7's for alot of the good parts of the course.

It was just awesome to run and feel like a runner. I past 6 women in my age group, I was smiling I was so happy, I never felt out of control, my HR was in check, it just felt good.

So yes, my mission was completed, I came in 16th, so what, my time was 5:51 so what, I need to sacrifice a little up front so that I can rework my body to beable to bike to my ability and run to my ability and I will get there. Yesterday was a good day in the office for me, I told myself I was a runner yesterday and I believed it, it was fun.

Slowly but surely its coming together....

Over the last 6-7 weeks I've trained a bit differently than I have over the past 4 years, a lot due to my time constraints and limited free time and a lot to do with finding the enjoyment again and letting my body recover from what I think may have been a bit of overtraining. When you think of overtraining it wasn't necessarily just the workouts it was the time I was doing them ( 4am or 9p at night) or trying to fit them in while working crazy hours or in between a million other projects, never giving my body a chance to truly recover. Unfortunately, that caused my body to not perform well in races and to feel like I was pushing the envelope in every practice, it wasn't fun anymore, I needed to find my mojo again and I needed to find my way back. Well, its a slow process but I look forward to every workout I can get in, I listen to my body, I try not to do things at absurd hours, and in the end if everything gets in it gets in, well so far I've been able to get in what needs to get in and my body is doing well, no rebellion. I'm swimming very consistent times in the pool without killing myself, the track and road work is coming along ( I still have a ways to go) but I'm running some good times on some rested legs and my biking is pretty stable. Hopefully, life will continue to work in this direction and I will continue to see progress.

So lets hope for some final good workouts and then RI 70.3 here I come.