Race Report: Jack Rabbit Indoor Triathlon

Coach and I aren't really calling this a race, but more like a test.  A couple of things we were testing: my swim, since I have been working really hard at it, and my HR fitness.  As you may know, I have been doing a lot of baseline HR training.  This didn't set me up too well for this 'race' as it is all out, Go! Go! Go! Fast! Fast! Fast!  However, some interesting things happened.

I did this race last year and it goes like this: 10 minute swim, as many laps as you can do.  T1 is 15 minutes and doesn't count in your times at all.  Bike is on a spin bike with a cateye cyclometer measuring your speed and distance for 30 minutes.  T2, 5 minutes, again, doesn't count towards total time.  Run on the treadmill for 20 minutes.

I went into this with massive butterflies.  In fact, I would say they were more like termites.  I haven't had a race since early October and it amazing how you get 'used' to that race aticipation.  When you get a bit out of practice, it really gets hold of you.  I had a hard time choking down a sandwich two hours before my race.  Gah!

Swim:

So let's get to it.  For the swim I did 20 laps.  Last year I did 21.  I cannot explain this.  We (coach and I) expected this to be higher.  In retrospect, I probably could have pushed things a bit harder.  I do remember feeling like I wanted to puke last year, this year, not so much.  I did get out very winded with a bit of that asthmatic wheezing going on.  Really though, I chalk it up to not pushing myself enough.  I also think I think too much in the water.  I am constantly analyzing what I am doing: stretch out, tight core, no fishtailing, pull like you are climbing a ladder, pull all the way through, feel the water like when you are sculling, kick from your hips.....you get the picture.  All good stuff, but I try to think about it all at once while swimming.

T1:

I learned my lesson last year.  Back closure sport bra.  Men, you haven't a clue, but ladies, you know how hard it is to get a pullover sport bra on when you are wet.  That is why they have folks helping you dress in the tent at IMs.  Last year I needed someone to help me get the damn thing on.  This year, no problem!  I also remembered plenty of Aquaphor for my lady bits (more on that in a moment).

Bike:

My bike training has consisted of pushing some big gears and keeping my HR at baseline aerobic, mixing in some interval training to mix things up, but not any fast spinning at all.  Last year I managed 16.09 miles in 30 minutes.  This year I did 15.89 for 30 minutes.  Last year my average HR was 159, Max HR 174 and I shredded the inside of my thighs, OUCH!!!!   Ah!  But I lubed up big time and walked away from the bike unscathed!  

Last year's souvenir from the bike.

 This year my coach told me to "Take it up to 160-165 for the first 10 min. Assess how this feels at 10 min and if you feel like you can bump it up in the middle section then do that... Then the last 10 min really go for it! Can you get your HR up past 174?"  My average HR was 159 with a max of 168.  For virtually the same time and mileage (only a difference of about 2 tenths of a mile).  Here is the thing though.  I had to bust my ass to get my HR to 159 and I couldn't even get it to go to 174 as hard as I was trying.  I can tell you this too, I'm sure that it only kissed 168 briefly and probably only once.  I'm sure I would have been able to make it go higher if I could have pushed some bigger gears, but just spinning madly, it wasn't happening.  I was also interested in comparing apples to apples from last year.

T2:

A simple walk of a few feet over to the treadmills which probably have to best view of any treadmills in all of Manhattan.

Run:

Here is where things get interesting.  Last year I did 2.1 miles in 20 minutes, average HR 168, max HR 174.  I started out at 6.5 on the treadmill and was already hitting HR 171 right away and stayed in that range the whole time.  I also ended up having to back down on the pace to 6.0 for a while then back to 6.3 then finally to 7.0 at the very end.  This year my average HR 163, max HR 174 for 2.33 miles for 20 minutes AND I had to keep pushing the pace up and up and up to get my HR up; big difference.

This time the plan was "...start first 10 min steady at HR 165-170MAX- do NOT go above 170 in the first 10 min. Then, in the last 10 min go by feel but push push push and let's see how high you can get your HR. Can you get it above 180?"

Based on last year and what I do know about myself on the treadmill (which isn't a lot as I always try to run outdoors), I started at 6.0 (vs. 6.3 last year).  I quickly found myself having to up the pace since it was feeling too slow and I was not anywhere near the planned HR zone for the first 10 minutes.  I had to keep upping the pace and checking my watch and upping the pace and checking my watch.  It took me nearly 8 minutes to get my HR to 165 and I think I was at 6.7 on the 'mill at this point, then it was already time to pick things up again.  Again I was checking my watch and upping the pace; repeat.  I was at 7.0-7.1 and still only at about 169 HR.  Man, I was really having to work to get my HR even to my anaerobic threshold. Finally with 3 minutes left I started to really try to push it to get to 180 (I was finally suffering, panting and my legs were Jell-O from the bike) and still at 7.8 I only got up to 174. 

So, here is the thing.  It felt WAY more easier than it did last year.  I was shocked at how quickly I had to up the pace just to get my HR up.  I am sure I could have started out faster, but I was being conservative based on how quickly I burned out on the run last year.  I also was paying strict attention to my HR and the time; not my pace (except the need to raise it when my HR wasn't responding) or my mileage.  In fact when it was done, I didn't see my mileage and it got lost on the computer before I could recover it, but the guy next to me was watching it, he said he was trying to catch up to me, so  he told the lady what I finished with, thank you guy!  Last year I averaged a pace of 9:31 for the run and was hurting to whole time.  This year I averaged  a pace of 8:35 and really had to push to find my point of suffering.  I was so shocked at the difference.

Thoughts?

In conclusion, I probably could have pushed myself more on the swim and run.  I have no excuse for the swim, but for the run, I wasn't sure what to expect and went out with expectations based on my experience last year and discovered that I am much fitter than I thought this year.  As for the bike, I don't think I could have spun my legs any faster.  I really, really tried, but I could not get them faster than 34 mph and not for very long, 30-31 was what I could hold; I haven't been doing any fast spinning for any duration, so I am not too surprised by this.

I didn't do any race specific training for this, this was a test to see how my HR training has been going.  I have to say, it felt easier and harder.  Easier to maintain a faster pace and way harder to get my HR up; I really had to work to make it happen.  This isn't conclusive per se, and I will be testing my baseline for the second time soon to see if there was any improvement, but I am psyched, this felt completely different.  You might argue that it has been a whole year since I did this race and of course, with continuous training, I would improve; very valid and probably true.  However, I have to say, especially on the run and I am sure my coach will back me, I have seen very little improvement on my run in terms of speed over the last year and I would venture a guess that I would not have run that 8:35 pace if it weren't for the HR training.  Besides, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so I'll stick with this and see what else might happen.

Foto Friday: Short and Sweet...Mostly Sweet

Things are a bit crazy at the moment, so this will be short and sweet.  

My son drew this at school.  He told me it is a picture of me at my last race.  I had to ask which one was me, I should recognize myself, surely, but it is a little hard to tell us apart.  He told me I was the one all the way on the left winning the race (that line is the finish line tape); I'll take a win any way I can get it.  He also pointed out the blue sky.  It was not blue in my last race, but I appreciate him taking artist license.  That goes for those svelte legs and slim upper body of mine too, ha!

Indoor tri on Sunday....first 'race' since October......

My Aerobic Base

Sounds like an instrument, no?  Well, in some ways I guess you could call it that.  It will be the instrument that will help me become more efficient (read: faster) at a lower HR.  I spoke of this the in a previous post.  I am doing a lot of biking and running with a max HR of 150, usually staying the range of 145-150, for running and 135-145 on the bike.  This is hard.  Not physically, mind you, but mentally; egotistically.  Imagine how slow you would have to go up a hill so as not to let your HR go above 150.  If the hill is steep enough you may have to walk it.  This is hard when you know you could run it faster, but you are not allowed to run it faster.  It is hard to let people go by you as you seem to be standing still (even though you can hear them huffing an puffing just to do it).  It is hard because you really have to check your ego at the door and stick with it even though in your mind you now everyone is looking at you, you slowpoke (really, they probably don't even notice you and could care less).

Where is all this HR training coming from?  My coach's coach.  I was reading his blog and he was doing something like 7:38 avg pace for 9+ hilly miles with an avg HR of 151...wait for it....AT ~8000 FEET!!!!!  The dude lives in CO.  Now get this, my coach tells me that her coach (so as not to confuse coaches) recently did an HR test at a flatter surface coming down from 8000 ft. and averaged 6:45 pace for 13 miles with and avg. HR of 150.  Who is this superhero?  Even more convincing is that my coach, Michelle, has already seen gains especially on her bike, she is starting to see her speed increase with less effort.  She road for 5:20 one day and 3:20 the next day with no fatigue and faster speed within that HR range.  Very cool, especially since she is training for an IM.

All of this makes me very excited since she has me doing this training as well.  I am being very disciplined as I hope to see some better speed and efficiency in my run and bike.  Hallelujah!  I'm converted!

Speaking of training, I had another two hour date with my spin bike at the gym + a 20' run on Saturday.  I was the very fortunate recipient of an iPad for Christmas (thank you, honey!) and decided to rent a movie (Inception) for the long haul.  It worked.  It didn't seem nearly as torturous, although I was still happy to get off the bike.  And the movie?  I recommend it. 

Today....1:50 run, HR 145-150.  One might expect me to be totally spent after yesterday's training, especially with some big gear mashing I had to do, but again, keeping my HR in check.  My legs felt fresh today for my run, even at the end of my run where I was allowed to float up to HR 155 in the last :30 I didn't need it until I crested a hill at the very end where I was definitely pushing it a little harder.  I am not exhausted after all this training this weekend either.  Nice.

In other news, I found a TRX on craigslist for $100.  I still needed a door anchor so I looked it up (read: Googled): $24.95.  Now, I have a problem with this.  I think that is way too much for what it is, call me cheap, I've been called worse.  So I looked on You Tube and found this:

I am going to try it out tomorrow so I will let you know it's effectiveness.  Worst case scenario, there are other brands of door anchors for less out there.  If I survive, I will let you know how this one worked out.

Friday I had the distinct pleasure of receiving a call from the school nurse.  It seems my son had lodged something in his ear.  Sigh...why did I delude myself into believing that my son was too intelligent to do something as stupid as that?  I mean, a 4 year old that routinely cleans my clock at Monopoly Jr. should know better, right?  In any case I had to go up there to take said object out since the nurse is either not allowed or was unwilling to do it herself.  By the time I got there, the Assistant VP had taken it out and he was back in class.  Someone got an 'earful' after school.

Foto Friday: F.U., Auto Correct!

I have to give credit where it's due (and maybe curse him a little too for all the time I have wasted!!!), but Jeff @ Dangle The Carrot put me onto this site that lets you upload your iphone text exchanges that have been, summarily, turned into a short comedy sketch thanks to the iphone's auto correct function.  I have to advise you, if you visit the site you will be wasting hours of perfectly good time that could be better spent on something much more productive, you have been warned.  I've already passed it on to my sister and I can hear her cursing me from CA!!

Thank you to everyone for your feedback on the bike trainer.  Still not sure what I am doing (although I have been scouring ebay and craiglist), but I have a better idea. 

Training has been really interesting lately.  My coach got a new coach recently so there is a nice trickle down effect for me.  I like when things get shaken up a bit, although I am sure Michelle wouldn't call this much of a 'shake' per se.  There has been, and will continue to be for some time, training based on HR alone.  While this at first was a bit painful (running at 145-150 HR), in other words, sloooooowwwwww. I have come to enjoy it.  The enjoyment part is strictly a personal thing as it is pretty much the one time I can actually be alone, as in no one needing anything from me: I'm hungry, where are my keys?, I'm thirsty, can you read to me?, can you play with me? (that would be my son and not my husband), honey, did you see my belt?, etc. etc.  Ah! the bliss that is the long, slow run.

I am kind of a thinking man's athlete.  While I do enjoy the fact that someone else writes up my training plan for me so that I don't have to plan it out myself, I do like to understand what it is I am doing and why.  So with this new path I am on with my coach I had been doing a lot of thinking about my training and seeing if I could come up with the reasons for doing things this way before I started asking a million questions.  It's also the challenge of seeing if I could figure it out on my own.  I know it isn't Rocket Science, but I still consider myself a new runner.  In any case I was on the right track.  Michelle wrote me, in part, "For example, say you run 10:30 pace at 150 right now. And 8:30 at 170. Eventually then you run 10:15 pace at 150 and maybe 8:10 at 170... later down the road you run 9:50 at 150 and 7:45 at 170."  

I think I am a good candidate for this kind of training.  I am still somewhat a beginner, I have no agenda per se in my running and so am not in a hurry and I am not really fast to begin with, so there is nowhere to go, but up.

We are doing some interesting things on the bike with HR training too.  Pushing some big gear intervals to gain muscular endurance to so you're getting stronger which allows you to ride longer/harder at an easier effort.  The idea here is to put yourself in a good position for the run.  I am pulling a lot of info here from my exchange with my coach, but I have to say, it all makes sense to me and I am totally on board.

Last night we got about 9 or so inches of snow and much to my son's disappointment, there were no school closings, boo!!!  When we got those 20" the day after Christmas the city totally botched the clean up job, so I wasn't too optomistic about the pathways in the park for my run today.  I was doing an HR test and I wanted to be sure I could get it in despite the snow and the treadmill was definitley not an option.  I tried to find some YakTrax yesterday, but it was like trying to find water in a drought; no luck.  So this morning after dropping off my much chagrinned son at school, I hit the hardware store for hex screws.  

Mandy did a great review on IceSpikes and in some of the comments readers mentioned using the home made method of hex screws from the hardware store.  I figured, what the hell, let's give it a try.

Hex screw side view

top view (yeah, I know, I am in desperate need of a manicure)

I am not sure what the 8-18 means, if it the diameter or the height of the top part.

The awesome drill that I gave my hubby for Father's Day last year (he asked for one)

top view of the drill bit

Before & After

heel

forefoot

 Turns out, as I mentioned, that I didn't need them as the pathways were clear.  However, there was enough snow and ice to try them out in spots.  They were OK on ice, but I wouldn't trust them if I had to run across sheets of it.  As far as any slushy snow like in the pick below or soft, loose snow, forget it; no traction whatsoever.  They might work on some hard packed snow, but I am not even confident of that.  If there is any measurable amount on the ground I found it to be useless. They did make a nice crunchy sound when walking on pavement, sort of like if you were walking on corn flakes.  They did not feel slippery on pavement or the marble in my lobby which surprised me.  I should say, I am NOT saying this about IceSpikes since I didn't use their brand, this is strictly my own home cheap version.

I never really paid too much attention to my son's 'love affair' with Barak Obama (he is 4.  My son, not Barak Obama), but it seems he is a big part of my son's imaginary play.  He drives him in a limousine, on Air Force 1, and they do lots of other things together.   If I start hearing Sarah Palin is his new imaginary playmate, I may have to do something about it.

Feedback Please

Because of the snow we have been getting, it has made riding outdoors, well, impossible. I don't mind the cold, but I'd rather not skid out on some ice. That said, I am forced indoors on the spin bike at my gym. Forty or fifty minutes I can stand, but the 2 hour ride this morning just about sent me screaming from the building; Chinese water torture has nothing on this. So I ask, what type of trainer do you have? I need something quiet as I live in an apt. and I have to be mindful of my neighbors downstairs. I was considering the 1up or the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine. Thoughts? Thanks!

Foto Friday: The First Cut Is the Deepest

It seems, only Jeff noticed that last week I had a "Foot Friday" instead of "Foto Friday" and fully expected some more titillating info on the NY Jets coach alleged foot fetish.  Sorry to disappoint!  I thought to change the spelling error, but figured, what the hell, just leave it alone and see if anyone else catches it.

This week, something a bit more fiendish this way in your kitchen lurks.....

Ok, except this guy...you may not want to find him lurking in your kitchen.

I Am Resolute

....to not have resolutions.  Are they the same as goals?  I have goals, but I don't like the word "resolution"; semantics.  I figure if I don't make 'em I can't break 'em.    I am also not big on the whole recap of the previous year and goal list for the new year; the latter probably my downfall.  I am not knocking it at all, I am just not that organized and as far as looking back goes, for me, it's a done deal, why dwell even on the good.  I'm looking ahead with a solid dose of reality.  

So what I decided to do is make a list of what I learned in 2010 and am still learning for 2011.

What I learned:

*You can run a lot and still not get as fast as you think you will.
*It is harder to make gains at 43 rather than 23, or 33, for that matter.
*I really did learn to like running.
*You will definitely race like you train, especially if you don't train well (eh em...Bassman)
*Not to plan my season to run too long; burnout.  Or take a nice break in the middle.
*Not to compare myself to other athletes; especially when I am old enough to be their mother.
*How to rewrap my handlebars on my roadie.
*Being really fit feels awesome!!
*Cheapie medical grade compression socks work just as well as the expensive sport ones, but lack the 'cool kid' factor.
*Aquaphor is a Godsend.
*Trail running is da bomb!  Especially when it ends near a Farmer's Market.
*I hate Clif Bars.
*How to pee while swimming, biking and running.

What I am still learning:

*How to appreciate the small improvements I make.
*Not to be too hard on myself when I fail or seem to fail.
*How to take my bike apart and put it together again (working on that).
*How to swim fast (or faster, working on that too).
*How to be patient with myself (I have always been a bit of a late bloomer with the exception of sports. That has always come naturally to me, but with three sports to master at once..... The fact that I am not as young as my brain would have me believe and the truth of that lie according to my body, well you do the math)
*To run faster...please God!
*To make sense of everything that my coach has me do.  It is all slowly sinking in.
*That it isn't always about the time or the PR.
*How to look dead sexy in compression socks when I have fat knees.
*How to keep my butt warm on cold runs and cold rides.
*If skinny jeans really need to be left to skinny people (how did that get in there?)

Nothing too deep there.  I like to start the year off on a light note.

2011 won't be a very exciting year in terms of triathlon for me.  I am not doing an IM.  I have no desire to do an IM even if it's what all the cool kids are doing.  I will, however, be training for my first marathon in November, barring any unforeseen circumstances.  That is exciting for me.  It is also somewhat telling.  I swore I would never do one.  I never saw the sense in it.  Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit cuz I am doing one now.

I also have to say, that I find it a relief to not be part of the whole resolution crowd that shows up at the gym come January.  I have never been a part of that crowd, but something about this sport and the high level of fitness that comes along with it gives me a sense of liberation this time of year.  It's the whole "phew!" factor; I am already there.

 Here's hoping you all have a fantastic and successful 2011.