Thursday morning:

Per my taper cycle this is what I had on the schedule today towards race day:

Thursday 4.30 - Training - 1/2 to 45 minute run at easy pace

So I just ran in our homestead region outside for 31 minutes at an easy recovery pace per the program. Legs felt good but I felt as though I needed to hold myself back which is a strong discipline this program teaches you to maintain. Even though it was lightly raining, quite humid and at 55 degrees I kept reminding myself this is good race day experience if ever needed :-)

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Monday morning:

Went out for a very easy recover run of 21:00 minutes in the morning before work as my legs were lead like after my weekend focused runs. Warm and breezy air was ther again to greet me as I focused on keeping my effort lever very low.

This week I'm following my 3-day taper cycle to peak on the 3 day back to exercising...it goes like this:

Monday 4.24 - Active rest - 20 to 30 minutes of easy running
Tuesday 4.28 - Rest - easy walk of 30 minutes or less
Wednesday 4.29 - Rest - easy walk of 30 minutes or less
Thursday 4.30 - Training - 1/2 to 45 minute run at easy pace
Friday 5.1 - Training - 45 minute to hour run at moderate pace
Saturday 5.2 - Event race day (peak) - all out effort!

The taper program I'm following is from a book I purchased way, way back in 1992 know as "Consistant Winning" which has very specific training cycles with very specific rest/recovery cycles to help you peak on a specific race day. I used it alot back in those old days with good results...unfortunately the book has not been printed/published in over ten years...

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Hopefully the stars are in alignment this Saturday for me

chicago tri registration done...

Whew...finally got our coed relay team signed up for the Chicago Tri for 8.30.2009...better start training!

http://www.chicagotriathlon.com/?q=index.html

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the ultimate bloody mary...

sweltering...

Sunday afternoon:

After a busy early Sunday running around taking care of lots of stuff I finally got outside in the neighborhood region during the heat & humidity portion of the day to get in my run. Since I'm going through a special 5 day taper cycle this week I bumped my 6 by 400 repeats with 90 seconds rest for today after yesterdays pace run.

During the warm-up mile I could feel my legs were still tired so I stopped at home for my electrolyte filled water bottle that I had place outside the house. As I restarted again I felt better so in a quarter mile from the house I started my first 400 meter repeat...below are my repeat time, AHR & MHR values:

1:40 - AHR 140bpm - MHR 145bpm
1:34 - AHR 132bpm - MHR 144bpm
1:38 - AHR 136bpm - MHR 148bpm
1:35 - AHR 137bpm - MHR 147bpm
1:40 - AHR 136bpm - MHR 147bpm
1:36 - AHR 141bpm - MHR 149bpm

I ran a 3/4 mile cool-down after them as I was tired. My pacing wasn't near where it should have been but my legs were still tired from Saturdays paced 9 miler at the lakefront. Repeats #1, 3 and 5 were directly into a 20mph south headwind. But between the heat, humidity and winds there all things that will better prepare my for the Indy Mini next Saturday!

Total run time was 36:57 for 4 miles with an average HR of 119bpm.

Now the true taper time begins :-)

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Obi's day at the dog park today...

he's quite the nature swimmer and retriever at 8 months old :-)

my tat...

which i have had for a few years...this is taken post saturday morning 9 miler...

mix it up saturday morning run...

Saturday morning:

As usual on Saturday morning K and I headed down to the lakefront to get in the last mid-long distance run for the week. She was scheduled to run 8 with her group as their all on the tapering cycle towards the Pig Marathon on May 3rd. On my half marathon training I had a two hour endurance run scheduled but had run these the last three Saturdays and with the help of fellow V-teamers whom answered my question about what I should do as a replacement run. I choose to run a slightly modified version of the FIRST half program of 8 miles at PHMP + 20sec after an initial warm-up mile.

The weather was key here this morning thought as our temps were already at 76 degrees at our 8am start time with high humidity as storm fronts were rolling into our region. The winds were quite strong with a constant 20mph out of the SSW with occasional gusts at 30plus...a character building run for sure!As I headed southward on the lake front path at a warm-up pace against the wind my Garmin alerted me my mile warm-up was over and time to p/u the speed on the run. I focused as best as possible to mantain speed as my body was listening to my requests from it even with the winds in the face. Once I hit my turn-around point at mile 4.5 I took some EFS gel & drink along with a electrolyte tab as I was working up a sweat pretty good in the humidity. On the return trip north I stayed pretty consistant but struggled in a few areas as I used alot of energy earlier running into the wind at pace. The winds were swirling off the big buildings so there really near was a proper tailwind. The warmth & humidity was starting to get to me even with the brief 3 minute cooling rain shower.

I pushed as best as I could till my ending point near our car at nine miles and finished the run in 1:10:45 for a total average pace of 7:51 as my average HR was at 143bpm plus a max in a couple zones of 155bpm. Below are my segment distances, times and pace:

1 mile - 8:06
3.5 miles - 26:44 - 7:42
4.5 miles - 35.55 - 7:59

After I completed the run I felt confident and good even though I was never really near my 7:40 running pace required for the day. But the winds & humidity are good preparation for what I might see at Indy next Saturday :-)

After K and her group finished we all celebrated our training cycle completion with champagne & OJ, strawberries, brownies and very other goodies...then we went to Schuba's for a proper breakfast ;-)

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bike night...

Thursday evening:

Went over to the Village Cycle Sports group interval ride that happens every Thursday throughout the outdoor riding season. The weather was nice for once this spring with a very strong Southern wind which made things a bit of a challenge on doubles. The area they ride at is about a 2 and a half mile rectangle box as each straight away is just over 1.2 miles long. Lots of people showed up due to the nice weather which always leads to a large peleton group ride. This is fine if bike racing is your main sport but for tri/du/tt'ers whom drafting is illegal its a challenge
to get in a clean shot at pushing your own air.

Anywho I was really there for some base bike riding mileage and still getting used to the Ridley Dean and if the opportunity was there blast out a few solo intervals out front of the group plus I was testing my legs after the morning half mile running repeats I did earlier in the day. The Dean sliced thru the headwind like nothing especially when I was on the aero tt bars. The legs felt good which I really liked plus I blasted out a couple out front mile bursts to pump the HR levels up there which is another good fitness indicator.

On one of those one cat 1 rider sucked my rear wheel Belgian crosswind echelon style as I peeked back twice and right at the mile mark I sat up because I got in what I needed plus it was obvious he did want to work with me as he then only rode past me. On my big blast for the night I pulled a large group of strong riders again till that mile mark with no one willing to attempt to pass me and help out which was fine with me as my 6'4" body punches a big hole in the wind for people to draft off me...I sat up again at that mile mark and the group behind me then went by me...I laughed to myself on both of these occasions :-)

I rode for 58:46 for 18 miles which is an average pace of 18.6 mph (3:13 per mile pace) and max speed on the big interval at 32.5mph plus my average HR was at 125bpm with a max on the push of 158bpm....below is my Polar HR chart for the ride:

http://www.twodogzdesign.com/cycle09/042309.JPG

Now that was a fun short speed workout ride!

Friday is a planned rest day...yea!!!

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Outdoor 800's in spring...

Thursday morning:

Woke-up early to perfect interval running conditions as I needed to get in 6 by 800 meter repeats for the run today. Since I have all my distances calculated in our oval streeted neighborhood it very easy for me to run these precisely. After a mile warm-up I went right into the core of this workout...below are listed the details:

1. 800m - 3:30 -AHR 133bpm - MHR 138bpm
2. 800m - 3:29 -AHR 134bpm - MHR 143bpm
3. 800m - 3:26 -AHR 137bpm - MHR 145bpm
4. 800m - 3:30 -AHR 136bpm - MHR 145bpm
5. 800m - 3:27 -AHR 138bpm - MHR 146bpm
6. 800m - 3:25 -AHR 142bpm - MHR 151bpm

I felt good during the repeats and light in the DS13 Trainers as I was pretty consistant with my time but maybe to conservative as you can see I ran well on the last one, did I save to much energy in my body? Anyways after wards I ran a mile cool-down lap for a total distance covered of 5.6 miles in 49:02 with an average HR of 125bpm...

It was the last big speed workout before the Indy Mini half on May 2nd and felt good getting the job done right!

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junk mileage?...

Wednesday evening:

Got out late again this evening for a basic 3.5 mile recovery run in our neighborhood region in 32:33 with an average HR of 111bpm and max of 121bpm towards the end. Just a basic get in in the books mileage run...

I'm still feeling totally guilty for missing last weeks 4 by 1 milers...but will these little run days help? :-)

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the big tempo...

Tuesday evening:

As it was still cold, windy and raining in our region after work I decide to run my 60 minute tempo run on the health club track & treadmill routine. This is the biggest tempo run of the half training program so I wanted to get the job done right since Mother Nature was not agreeing outside.

I ran my warm-up on the indoor track (5 laps to a mile) as I slowly picked-up the pace as each lap went by so I covered the w/u 2 miles in ~17:02 then I headed down to my favorite treadmills and turned up tempo pacing portion. I felt in control of the pacing on the treadmill and kept turning up the pace every minute or so when I ended this portion I was running at 6:53 mile pacing…below are my stats for the ‘mill portion:

4.5 miles – 33:18 – 7:24 pace – AHR 138bpm – MHR 152bpm

After that I headed back up to the track and ran an easy cool-down mile. My total run time was 59:57 for 7.5 miles covered with an average mile pace of 7:59 plus an average HR of 131bpm for the full run duration. After all that I walked a cool-down lap where I was able to get my HR to 81bpm in a short time…hopefully my conditioning is working well towards the half marathon.

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evening run...

Monday evening:

Got out late this evening for a basic 4.4 mile recovery run in our neighborhood region in 40:24 with an average HR of 117bpm and max of 133bpm towards the end. Just a basic get in in the books mileage run...

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Cherry Valley 30k Report...

Sunday mid-morning:

On Saturday evening I finally decided which bike I was gonna ride at Sundays Cherry Valley 30k Cycling Time Trial as the weather forecast was looking very foul for Sunday…all day! I decided to put back together a few outdoor pieces of equipment on my ole’ school ’93 tt/tri Cannondale bike for this rainy TT event which I determined to just get out and use the event as a training event as the Ridley Dean wasn’t about to be broken in this type of weather conditions. Luckily I have kept my Cannondale for reasons like this.

As I loaded the car early Sunday morning the rain was continuing to fall at a decent pace and it continued all the way to my drive out to Cherry Valley which is just a few miles east of Rockford, IL. As I pulled into the region of the race start at about 8:45am the 1st rider was scheduled to start racing at 9am with increments of one minute between each rider starting. I picked up my race number #40 and my start time was at 9:40am as I then parked my car with all intentions of taking out my Kinetic trainer for a proper warm-up to my start. Literally as I turned the car off the rains started to fall heavier and I suited up for my ride. Luckily I packed extra riding clothes because I definitely needed it on this cold, rainy and windy day. Since the rain never let up I really decided to turn this into a training ride for the journal as this is a long season and I didn’t want to throw caution to the wind by risking a crash. So I arrived at the start house 90 seconds before my start time without any sort of warm-up.

I started promptly at 9:40am chewing on the big 56t chainring with my simple 8 speed cassette on the back Zipp 404 wheel. The rain was coming down by now pretty good as I headed southward on the out & back course riding at a comfortable pace on some nice rolling county roads that are lightly traveled by vehicles. The weirdest sound during the ride was when a large droplet of water would drop from a tree overhead and land on the aero part on the back of the helmet…each time this would happened it was deafening. I passed I believe either 3 or 4 people on the way out plus one guy passed me #44 whom was a serious cyclist like I was standing still. At the turn-around the undulating rolling terrain slightly worked uphill with the winds more off the front of our right shoulder. I got passed by two more serious riders #41 & 43 but I didn’t pass anyone else on the way to the finishline.

I ended up with a finish time of 51:11:xx for an average pace of 21.85mph and a max on a slightly downhill of 29.3mph with my average cadence coming in at 89rpm. My average HR was at 138bpm with a max climbing a small climb of 144bpm which told me that I wasn’t recovered from yesterdays 3/1 – 14 mile lakefront run plus the cold, rainy weather has crimping it a lot…normally I can ride a TT of up to 40k averaging an HR of about 160bpm.

When I got back to the car I loaded the bike and went to the restroom to change out of my water saturated clothing…I swear I was carrying 10 extra pounds of water weight in my cycling clothes and shoes even with aero booties on! I was finally starting to warm-up and I walked up to the ABR canopied race headquarters. I saw my friends Jen & Jerome earlier but only from far away and I went up to introduce myself to Jerome for the 1st time (he probably thought I was some sort of nut) as he informed me Jen had gone out after her ride for a 30 minute run…what a brick workout day…dedication! Shortly after Jen returned from her run and we chatted for a little bit but this weather was not getting any better. Hopefully Jen the Galena race will be nicer to all us racers :-)

After I got home, unloaded the car and took a hot shower I felt much, much better after this unique event day…below are the official race results:
http://www.ambikerace.com/2009/Results/Cherry_Valley_results_2009.pdf

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Cherry Valley 30k TT results are posted...

here they are...

http://www.ambikerace.com/2009/Results/Cherry_Valley_results_2009.pdf

my race (actual training) report for this event will be posted tonight ;-)

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down by the big lake...

Saturday morning 04.18.09:

As a normal Saturday K and I headed down to the lakefront to get in the mid-long distance run for the week. She was scheduled to run 12 with her group as their all on the tapering cycle towards the Pig Marathon on May 3rd. On my half marathon training I had a 3/1 two hour endurance run. It was critical I push the ending part of this run as I felt very guilty for missing my mile repeat speed work earlier this week. The weather was for once finally nice out down by Lake Michigan at my 8:15am start time at about 50 degrees, thin cloud cover and a slight breeze off the lake out of the SE.

As I headed southward on the lake front path at a cruiser pace towards my one hour turn-around point which worked out to be just past McCormick Place at seven miles. After I started to head back northward on the pace I mentally got into a little lazy pace but after a few minutes I realized why…I needed to visit a bathroom as I was slightly over-hydrated which I did properly in a restroom about a mile south of Navy Pier at about an hour & 25 minutes into the run.

After that quick pit-stop if was amazing how much more comfortable I was able to run at a required quicker pace over the last 35 minutes of the run. My mile times lowered nicely to were I was able to run the last two mile at ~7:30 which showed me that I was able to force the pace especially during the fatigue time of a mid-long run. When I got back to the parking area to finish my run I clocked in my 14 miler in 1:55:47…below are my 7 mile splits with time, average and max HR:

1:00:04 – AHR 131bpm – MHR 138bpm
55:43 – AHR 145bpm – MHR 153bpm

I felt exhausted & great after that achieved run was in the books :-) Of course we all went out for a great breakfast afterwards…

but how would my legs recover for tomorrow?

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recovering...

Friday evening 04.17.09:

After forcing myself to take a rest day yesterday I returned to running a very easy recovery run on this nice evening to see how my body was feeling. All was fine for the 4 mile run in 39:31 with an average HR of 11bpm, max HR of 121bpm.

I good tester run before Saturday mornings longer lakefront run tomorrow morning…

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updating slowly...

Wednesday evening 04.15.09:

Attempted to run a 4 mile recovery run in our neighborhood region but was forced to head home at 2.4 miles as I’m still suffering from some sort of sour stomach & GI distress issues yet again (TMI). I have been studying what foods & liquids I have been consuming plus switching things up to see if that helps but so far no good…hummm.

Anyways the 2.4 mile run took me 21:06 with an average HR 113bpm which is super-low for me…

Also I took the next day off from exercising to give my body a break so I didn’t run my 6 by mile repeats for the week…oh well :-)

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The 30k TT weather...

was cold and pouring but its in the books as I road the old tt/tri cannondale...didn't have the heart to ride the Dean :-)

LBS borrowed me these demo clincher 404/808...

For Sundays 30k TT but T-storms are forecasted!

great memories...

Tuesday evening:

After a much needed day of rest from exercising Monday I was ready to get back to my last couple weeks of strong Indy Mini training. I switched up my speed workout days and type of speed work I was going to do tonight to help give me a boost in the final training phase. So I decided to head out to our friends shop in Arlington Heights for the 6pm group run that they have hosted out of Runners High n’ Tri for years. To be honest I haven’t run this group run since May 1995…that’s a long, very long time ago! It’s alittle over a 5 mile run which was going to fit my scheduled 55 minute tempo run perfectly so I made a minor adjustment to run the distance and decided to push the pace of the run the whole distance instead of tempo’ing it.

My friend Ben was there as a few more of my running friends that I know from our region. I ran an ez 7/10ths of a mile before the group set off on the "official" run promptly at 6pm as I kept the Garmin going. So right from the get-go I was running quick paced run attempting to stay with Ben but his running abilities are far quicker than mine so I managed my own pace as best to my current running abilities. I threw in a couple of surges throughout the run distance as I pushed it all the way back to the storefront…my complete run time was 45:15 for a total distance was 5.9 miles which includes the short ez warm-up jog. So that gives me an average mile pace of 7:40 with an average HR of 139bpm with a peak HR at the very end of 151bpm.

Afterwards I hung around the store to chat with friends I haven’t seen in sometime and realized how much I used to really enjoy this run back in the "old" days. It was a fantastic speed work alternative to mix-up the training schedule which brought a big smile to my face :-)

When I got home I shower, ate some proper food, hydrated and immediately past out on the sofa watching TV…pure exhaustion in a great way!

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an easter morning workout...

Sunday morning:

Kristen decided to run the hills of Barrington "Home Economist" 10.6 mile loop as her first serious run since she recovered properly from her 50k race on April 4th to get in some proper hill running before the Flying Pig marathon next month. Since I ran a quick paced 15 miler at the lakefront the day before I saw this as a perfect time to test the Ridley Dean tt/tri bike in the hills of Barrington as I prepare for the Galena Duathlon next month. A few runners were out there this Easter morning as K started to run the loop with some fellow runners. It took me a few extra minutes to bundle up as best I could as temps were at 31 degrees at 7am but luckily little wind was present. As I headed out of the parking lot on the bike even with two sets of gloves on my fingers were cold and luckily that was it. I took my time warming up as I chatted for a moment or two with friends as I approached them heading out on the hilly loop run. As I caught up to K & friends I checked in quickly that all was well as I then headed outbound towards my hilly training workout on the bike.

My ride was focused on getting used to the bike mainly on the hill climbing portion and making sure I have the right rear cassette (gears) on the rear wheel hub. The SRAM 11-28 gearing is perfect for hill climbing in our region and will work very well out in the hilly Mississippi Valley region near Galena. As for the bike itself it worked and performed flawlessly beyond what I expected especially in the hill climbing portion whether I stayed in the saddle or stood up on the pedals climbing the hills. The best part is being able to climb a steep hill at a good pace without going an-aerobic which is very critical out on the Galena bike course…the bike allowed me to do this perfectly this day. I rode for 19.55 miles in 1:11:22 which is an average pace of 16.4mph as I hit a max speed on long coasting downhill at 30.3mph. My average HR was recovery low at 112bpm with a max HR of only 144bpm during a long sitting hill climb.

As I spotted Kristen about 4 miles from finishing the run I checked in once again that all was well I then headed back to the car as I was finally getting chilled after attacking the hill repeats. I loaded up the car and put on some warmer clothes as I chatted with some runners that had finished already. K finished up a very solid & strong run as a group of us were hanging around talking. I saw my friend Ben whom then showed up to get in his long run for the day as he is preparing for IM Madison in September. Afterwards K and I stopped at Panera for some warm food & coffee to warm up…

A great Easter morning!

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winds on the lakefront...

Saturday morning:

On the training schedule I had a two hour 3/1 mid-distance run per the chart on the fridge at home. I attempted to head down to Lake Michigan as early as I could but suffered from some "sour" stomach issues from the moment I woke-up. I eventually got started running on the lakefront path at about ~7:15am as the temps were at about 39 degrees with sun but a pretty stout wind blowing right off the lake at about 15 to 20 mph from the NE...

I decided to head northward on the path for my first stint battling this wind at a reduced pace as my stomach was still bothering me. At the turnaround point at the end of the northern section of the lakefront path I picked up the pace slightly as the tailwinds helped with that situation. As I headed southward on the path I was feeling better as I approached my next turnaround point to try and get me in as close as possible to my two hour run time...

As I once again headed back northward into the winds I focused on my running and pace and felt solid headed out on this direction for a second time today at an even slightly quicker pace. As I approached my turnaround point at the north end of the lakefront path I attempted to stay as electrolyte hydrated as much as my stomach could handle...

As I then turned around to head southward on the path I needed to really push the pace at this point on my final running stint. With the wind at my back yet again I was finally able to kick it in for the finishing last miles to bring on the speed during the fatigued part of the run...I ended up getting in 15 miles in 2:05:20 with an average HR of 128bpm and a max HR right at the end as I pushed it to 147bpm.

Below are my split miles per direction & time/pace each took:

1. North - 4.22 miles in 36:32 - 8:39 pace
2. South - 3:51 miles in 29:42 - 8:27 pace
3. North - 3:25 miles in 27:21 - 8:25 pace
4. South - 4:02 miles in 31:40 - 7:52 pace

I was very happy to see I was able to drop the pace for those last 4 miles considering I wasn't feeling 100% plus it had been another solid week of half marathoning training in the journal once again :-)

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rabbits everywhere...

Happy Easter to Everyone!!!

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morning run...

Friday morning:

After last nights great bike training ride outdoors I woke up early today to get in my scheduled 30 minute tempo run for which I broke up into 3 segments: 10 min w/u, 10 min tempo and 10 min c/d. I ran this in the neighborhood as the pre-dawn sunlight was rising and realized I haven't run in the morning during the work week since pre-Chicago marathon 2008...just too dark outside all the time.

The run went very well as my body & legs felt fresh as I was able to p/u the tempo pace nicely during it's ten minute stint. I ran for 30:10 and covered 3.6 miles with an average HR of 123bpm and max HR during the last moments of the tempo at 143bpm.

A great run to start off a great Friday :-)

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an outdoor ride has arrived...

Thursday evening:

After my annual eye doc visit mid-afternoon and this year my eyes were dilated for the testing I drove home with my fisherman style dark Oakley glasses as vision was slightly impaired ;-) I arrived home to change into my cycling clothes to then head out for the LBS (Village Cycle Sport) Thursday night group ride for one mile repeats.

This was only the second time I have had the Ridley Dean out on the roads as our Chicagoland winter has been ever lingering as I have been icthin' to ride this beast for a couple months now. I used the ride for some simple base mileage and acclimation to the new bike as I rode either off the front of the group or well behind them since drafting does me no good in the TT/Tri/Du world of racing. The aero position on the Dean is slightly more aggressive (to say the least) than my 'ole school Tri Cannondale.

I got in a solid, base training ride as I was conservative because of my eyes and tired running legs. Total time per the Polar was 1:01:45 which got me a total of 18.8 miles in for the night before sunset was kicking in quickly. Average pace was at 18.4 mph and during one of my mile blast repeats I spooled the bike up to a max of 30.5mph...not bad for this early in the outdoor riding season. My average HR came in at 131bpm with a max HR during the speedy solo blast of 159bpm...not bad for my torquey heart rate range...built like a diesel motor it is. The funny thing is I was riding by PEL as I couldn't focus on my Polar watch on the mount between the Vision TT aerobars :-)

The bike just gets better each time I ride it...

My typical techy graph:
http://www.twodogzdesign.com/cycle09/040909.JPG

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some more 50k pic's from last Saturday...

Some pictures of the gang whom raced the 50k Lakefront race last Saturday:

L to R: Sara, Mike, Jillian and Kristen!!!

Kristen is just steps away from PR'ing her second 50k race with a 5:27:xx...way to go honey :-)

Jillian and Sara finished up their very first 50k in a great time of 6:12:xx!

Kristen, Jillian and Sara posing for their post-race finishers photo...their medal said "Tuff Chics"...unfortunately Mike had to drop out of the race at mile 14 due to severe ITB issues for which he's been dealing with since early 2009...

.

Hope you enjoyed the snapshots :-)

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perfection...

Wednesday evening:

After work I ventured out in our neighborhood region for what was scheduled to be a simple 3 mile recovery run per the half marathon training program I’m following. The weather was perfect for a pre-sunset recovery run and once I started to run I realized my body was much more recovered than the day before. I felt so good running that I had to force myself to stop at 4.4 miles otherwise I would have went on for much longer…it’s been quite awhile since felt that good on a run! It took me 38:02 to cover the 4.4 miles with an average HR of 119bpm and a max of only 127bpm showing that I stayed in my recovery run zone.

I wish all run’s would feel that good :-)

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give me those 800's...

Tuesday evening:

My running scheduled called for 5 by 800 meters at pace (~3:18) with 90 second recovery between each in our neighborhood as I took Monday as a rest day from exercising. So I ran a proper warm-up as I then headed into the first 800 after I felt warmed up correctly…below are my repeats time with average & max HR per each:

3:31 – AHR 142bpm – MHR 146bpm
3:31 – AHR 139bpm – MHR 148bpm
3:34 – AHR 141bpm – MHR 146bpm
3:33 – AHR 140bpm – MHR 148bpm
3:35 – AHR 140bpm – MHR 146bpm

Ran a proper cool-down afterwards so I covered a total of 5.6 miles in 49:49 with an average HR of 148bpm. My times weren’t anywhere near where they needed to be for a proper race pace workout. Matter of fact my pace was not even in my cruise pace interval repeat timeframe which is ~3:29. I could tell during the whole running time that I felt very fatigued & tired the whole way as usually this will go away after a few miles…no such luck last night. The other indicator of me not being totally recovered is I will normally get my max HR into the 155 to 160bpm zone for 800’s so you can see my HR was crimped due to fatigue…

It’s still early season and it’s in the books which is what matters most to me :-)

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puppy Obi at lunchtime today...

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Per Trish's request for Obi pic's ;-) I snapped this one of of him at lunchtime today in the yard...he's quite the sneaky, high energize puppy one would expect him to be! Right now he's just at 8 months old already plus his bred type is a wavy coated brown Portuguese Water Dog. About 3 weeks ago he was groomed but alittle to short on the body coat but his hair grow's back quickly. Right now his body is in the teenager stage with big floppy brown ears. His back and back quarters area has developed some natural white hair highlighting which is normal for the PWD breed type...he is a very good (sneaky) boy :-)

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btw...pay no attention to our yard as Chicagoland winters are brutal on lawns & plants...everything bounces back by earlier in May...

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an olympic morning...

Sunday morning:

Kristen and I headed downtown to Soldiers Field with 8 month old puppy Obi for the CARA gathering of runners to help promote Chicago awareness to the Olympic Officials that were in town view the city as a candidate for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The weather was absolutely foul outside but that did not stop the enthusiasium(sp?) of the runners that showed up that morning. The run distances went anywhere from 4 to 12 miles and was a very casual environment. Kristen waited with Obi as we had some fellow running friends showing up also. She just ran a 50k the day before and went out for a 4 mile walk/run with our highly energized puppy Obi…tuff stuff she is!

I ran a 9 mile LSD run which headed southward along the lakefront path and then back northward against the strong NE winds blowing in off of Lake Michigan. I met some great new friends during these miles and a couple of the ladies whom were runners from the Luna Chic’s Program. The miles went by quickly as we chatted most of the way. Afterwards CARA had a tent set-up with goodies and we got our volunteer t-shirts.

Kristen finished up the walk/run with Obi as we headed over to the Montrose Harbor Dog Beach Park for Obi playtime then headed back to the burbs…a great morning!

So I exercised 8 times in seven straight days as I deemed Monday as a complete rest day ;-)

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a wonderful Saturday...

Saturday morning:

Not a typical Saturday morning but similar in many ways is that K & I headed down to the Lakefront by Foster Beach where Kristen was racing her second 50k event. Our friends Sara, Jillian and Mike were also racing the 50k event, the first 50k event for the 3 of them. As I took pre-race photos and wished everyone well in the race I needed to get in my one hour and 45 minute run for the day. If I planned it right I’d catch them finishing their first of 3 loops.

I headed southward on the paved lakefront path I realized it was a beautiful day for an LSD run which is what was in the books for me. I was feeling great the whole way then I realized I had a great tailwind on the opening stint of 6.6 miles. After the turn-around by Navy Pier the brisk winds were in my face the whole way back but I couldn’t compliant as I had run 13.2 miles for the day and everyone else was running a 50k event! My total run time was slightly long at 1:50.57 with a good average HR of 133bpm and a max HR somewhere just after the turnaround at 143bpm. A perfect LSD run for myself.

Afterwards I changed into some drier clothes and provided support for K, Sara, Jillian and Mike in the 50k. Mike was forced out at 14 miles due to every lingering ITB problems so we hung-out together waiting for the ladies to finish. Kristen finished in 5:28.xx which is a 10 minute 50k PR for herself and Jillian & Sara ran together through the finishline in 6:12.xx…Congrat’s to the tuf chicks and their awesome race experience!

Afterwards we went to a local Irish Pub for grub & beverages :-)

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indoor spining evening...

Friday evening:

I hopped on the Cannondale via the Kinetic trainer in the house to burn-off some energy I had left plus I needed to spin a second time for the week as the Sunday Time Trial was a no go. I watched a couple later stages of the 2005 TdF for continued inspiration & motivation. I focused this 65 minute spin an aerobic building ride and another thing I focused on during this spin was holding an higher cadence than I have not been able to hold during Computrainer class.

I ended up getting in a nice ride via the trainer and met my goals for this indoor ride workout. I covered 17.9 miles in the one hour speed which as 16.6mph pace with a max speed of only 19.9mph. My average HR was at a nice biking aerobic level of 107bpm with a max HR at 125bpm. I’m happy to say I met my average cadence goal of 89rpm with a max of 98rpm.

More cycling base training in the books!

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My 50'kers...

Sara, Mike, Jillian & Kristen just moment's before the start of the Lakefront 50k race on Saturday...

tempo...

Thursday evening 04.02.09:

Yet another good speedwork run for the week…

Per my training schedule I had a 50 minute Tempo run to accomplish so I choose to run this in the confines of our health club because I enjoy running these indoors this time of the weather year were having. So I ran my tempo run utilizing the indoor track & treadmill for my specific workout yet again. On the indoor track I ran a 2 mile warm-up to pick-up pace as I felt good right from the first lap and then I jumped on the treadmill for the speed side of things for 3.1 miles in 22:34 minutes in which I had an average HR during this portion at 135bpm and max during the ending minute at 149bpm. After that I headed back up to the track for a one mile cool-down portion.

During my 50:06 minutes I covered 6 miles with an average HR of 131bpm.After my run I always walk a cool-down lap (2/10ths of a mile) of the track.

I think the vacation help me to recover for this final training push towards the Indy Mini!

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total recovery mode...

Wednesday evening:

Later in the evening I went out for a simple recovery run of 4.1 mile in 39:40 with an average HR of 113bpm which tells the story there...I was completed exhausted hence the reason I took it easy...

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mile what?

Tuesday evening:

My running scheduled called for 3 by 1600 meters at race pace (~7:18) with 90 second recovery between each in our neighborhood…last time I ran mile repeats was about a month before Chicago Marathon 2008. So I ran a proper warm-up as I then headed into the first 1600 after my body was properly at temperature…below are my repeats time with average & max HR per each:

7:17 – AHR 144bpm – MHR 148bpm
7:20 – AHR 145bpm – MHR 152bpm
7:25 – AHR 147bpm – MHR 152bpm

Ran a proper cool-down afterwards so I covered a total of 6 miles in 51:26 with an average HR of 132bpm. My times weren’t where they needed to be for a proper race pace workout as I got kind of got slower after each one but it’s been 8 months since I last ran mile repeats. The other thing is was 90 seconds between each enough time or did I need more recovery time? But it’s all training for which we learn from…;-)

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last Computrainer class of early season 2009...

Monday evening:

The final cycling class number 6 of the 2nd six week Computrainer 90 minute class winter session was this evening at the LBS (local bike shop) signaling the outdoor riding season should be right around the corner. I was tired at work today as the I was feeling the effects of post-vacation decompression but once I got to the shop, hooked up the old Cannondale to the trainer it was like I had a boost of energy hit my body & mind so I used my tested 263 training watts for the whole class duration and was able to train at properly for the 90 minute duration which worked out fine last night yet again like last week.

My max wattage for a standing stomp came in at 717 watts…which was a great number from me tonight as I was feeling good especially during those standing stomps. My average HR for the 90 minute class came in at 122bpm and with a max of 149bpm. My average cadence was at 81rpm (once again low…) and a max cadence during the last spin-up drill of 139rpm as my average pace for the ride was at 16.5mph and max of 38.9mph during some point of the workout.
It felt great to be back at training once again on the bike post-vacation. Hopefully those rest days did me well :-)

Now I have my 11 weeks of base cycle training that will hopefully set me up well for this seasons biking events!

Below is my techy Polar chart which shows the workout numbers:
http://www.twodogzdesign.com/cycle09/033009.JPG

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back at it...

Monday morning:

After not exercising on Saturday and Sunday of the final days of our vacation I was re-energized to get back to training early Monday morning. So before work I ran a simple 3.4 mile recovery run in our neighborhood region. I haven't run b/4 work outdoors since prior to Chicago marathon 2008. I took it ez as my time was 32:33 with an average HR of 119bpm...it was a nice way to start the day :-)

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some training while vacationing...

Friday 03.27.09:

Since I didn't exercise while on vacation last Tues, Weds & Thurdays I decide Friday morning I better get out and run before enjoying the St. Petersburg region of Florida. K and I headed southward on our beach run together enjoying the hard-packed sand as a change of pace. At about mile 1.1 I had to visit a local swanky hotels b-room for duties...TMI! After that I ran solo as I found a region of streets that would be perfect for my 1/2 mile repeats scheduled. I ran the 4 of them with 90 second recovery to the best of my current state of abilities in the 3:27 to 3:35 zone. My return trip to our hotel took me back northward as the tide had rolled in plus the beachfront walkers as I ran a total of 7.1 miles that morning.

It was a nice way to start off a day of vacationing :-)

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a pic from vacation last week...

Last Wednesday K & I arrived in St. Petersburg, FL for our good friends surprise birthday party gathering that his wife arranged perfectly for about 25 people total...it was an absolute great time and a perfect break from the midwest dragging winter...we were sad to get home late Sunday evening :-(

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