Tunes....

My run on Monday morning was mediocre at best, following a hard week of training last week. Tuesday morning's bike ride was about the same -- the legs were having a hard time getting going. Yesterday's run/interval/weight workout was pretty good -- that is to say, it beat me up nice and handily -- but the run wasn't anything special. Of course, it's hard to judge exactly how you feel when you're doing one minute on/one minute off repeats.

This morning I reluctantly, slowly, painstakingly dragged by rear out of bed and got dressed for my run. I didn't have any new podcasts loaded onto my iPod, nor did I have any audiobooks loaded on that I hadn't listened to yet. These are the things that typically keep me going while on a run, and I love the entertainment and potentially educational value I get from them. I debated about leaving the iPod at home completely, but in the end decided to go with the running songs playlist that's on there, which consists of pretty much any music I like with an up-tempo beat (for the most part -- there are a few slower songs on there, but they are among the elite of my favorite music).

And today, I was back to a sub-10 minute/mile pace for my 5 mile run. (9:57, to be precise.) Now this is a good thing, and I'm happy that the run went pretty well, but I really hope that it's not just because of the music, because I really like my podcasts and books. Hmmm... food for thought, I suppose.

Another killer workout

I've been looking into trying some combination exercises and supersets with my weight lifting (when I do it) to add to my overall fitness, especially upper-body fitness that is largely neglected when one focuses on running (and to a lesser extent, biking and even swimming). So today, I mixed up my 3-2-1 workout today like so:

• 1 mile run with intervals (2 min warmup, then 1 min fast, 1 min recovery, etc.) - 9:30
• 3 sets of: push ups with one-arm rows, sit-ups with tricep extensions, DB deadlift to shoulder press, and DB front raise
• another 1 mile run with intervals, but with only 1 min warm up - 8:59
• 3 sets of: hammer curls, lateral raise, concentration curls, triceps kickbacks
• another 1 mile run with intervals, 1 min warm up - 8:41

This was a nice butt-kicker that will (hopefully?) leave me nice and sore tomorrow. :)

First week down...

The first week of "serious" training is in the books. I only bailed on one workout the whole week, but it was a HARD week. It went like so:

Monday: 5 mile a.m. run, 13.3 mile lunchtime bike, evening swim with the kids (managed to get in 500 yards)
Tuesday: Lunchtime "confusion" workout, which works out to 3 miles run, 35 minutes of weights.
Wednesday: Lunchtime bike ride scheduled, bagged to run home at let my family in their locked-out house.
Thursday: 6.25 mile a.m. run, 35 minutes of weights at lunch, 400 yd swim with the family in the evening.
Friday: Bailed on the AM run, I was WASTED. 13.3 mile ride at lunch.
Saturday: 16 mile long run.

Totals:

Swim: 900 yds
Bike: 26.6 miles
Run: 30.3 miles
Weights: 1 hr 15 minutes

A total of over 9 hours training. The long run really SUCKED on Saturday. It was hot and I didn't want to do it and I was tired because to get it done before the day hit 100+ I had to get out the door before 6 a.m. It was long and hard. And then this morning I got up at 5 for another run, I managed only 5 miles and it was SLOW too! (10:51/mile) As long as I'm consistent, though, my body will adapt. The first week of ANY new training program is supposed to be hard, right?

Anyways, it's in the book and week 2 has begun. Tally ho!

So it begins

Serious training for the St George Marathon began today with a 5:30 a.m. 5 mile run, and continued at lunch with a beautiful 13 mile bike ride in City Creek Canyon. My plan is two workouts a day, three times a week, with one workout a day the other three days, taking Sunday off as a "Day of Rest", if you will. Saturdays will be long runs or long bike rides on the cutback weeks. The rest of July will be essentially "base building" with only short speedwork sessions and lots of cross-training. In August and early September, I'll get serious about the running with double-digit tempo runs, double-ladder intervals (I'm excited about these... more info on this to come!), etc. All the while I'll be biking and doing weights, and swimming a little (usually a couple of laps here and there while the kiddies play in the 50' pool).

I WILL RUN A SUB-5 MARATHON IN ST. GEORGE ON OCTOBER 3RD!

I tri'd

As an almost-spur-of-the-moment idea, I decided to participate in the Pepperwood mini triathlon on July 4. I was told it was a 500 meter swim, a 3 mile bike ride and a 1.5 mile run. Piece of cake, except for that swimming part.

Turns out when I got there it was still a 500 meter swim, but they doubled the bike and run portions to 6 and 3 miles, respectively. That was fine by me, as it de-emphasized the swim a little and more nearly approached a standard sprint triathlon. So with almost no swim training, in I went.

I suck at swimming, but I was in the second heat anyway (12 athletes per heat, it was a small event - maybe 30 people - 6 lanes in the pool that you shared). I was dead last out of the pool, though I think I probably finished faster than some in the first heat did. Swim split was 14:36, and my effort was a combination of crawl, backstroke, and even a little aqua jogging.

T1 was fun, although putting on a cycling jersey over a wet body was harder than I thought, otherwise it was a piece of cake. I was there maybe 2 minutes. On the bike, I passed a BUNCH of people, many on mountain bikes and all kinds of two-wheeled contraptions. I almost caught the guy on the really nice Cervelo P2C triathlon bike (who was pulling 2 kids in a trailer)... but I didn't. :) Made up a lot of ground, had a decent T2 (note to self, get speed laces for the running shoes, and make sure your socks are right-side out so you don't have to screw with that in transition), and took off running. Bike + Transitions split was 24:34

My legs felt like -- yep, you guessed it -- bricks when I took off running, but I still did alright with a 30:27 run over 3 miles. The whole thing was a rather hilly course, so all in all I'm pleased with my 1:09:38 total time.

Not sure what "place" that is in the overall, but I was 2nd in my 30-35 age group (out of 4). No hardware -- not even a t-shirt. Did I mention it was free? Yeah, I'll be doing this again next year.