The Road To Boston XV

It's downhill from here; let the taper begin. Monday was a rest day. Tuesday I was on the track for 10x400m at about a 1:30 pace with a 1:30 RI. Wednesday I swam 2000 yards. Thursday I ran 8 miles below marathon pace, 7:34. Friday I rested in anticipation of my last long run. I did my last long run up in Perry County. My dad crewed me, which was nice as I didn't have to carry food or water. I ran 20 miles with total elevation of over 8000 feet, 4000 feet of ascent at an average grade of 8.9%. This is over 4 times the elevation gain of the Boston course. I averaged a 7:55 pace, and was quite happy with that. Today I did an 18.5 mile bike ride at a little over 16 miles per hour. It was windy, and really sapped my strength especially after yesterdays long run. Also did a 2 hour hike in Chiques Park with the boys. It was a great afternoon to get out and climb on the rocks, play with sticks and throw stones into the creek.

Crushers Update

I missed posting last week, but the Crushers are holding there own right now in 6th place. Kurt bowled a season high game of 161, and Kyler entered the realm of triple digit scores when he bowled 102. We fell back a little this past Saturday, but maintained our averages and our placing. Two more weeks to go, which is good, because Kyler just started spring soccer and Kurt needs to put in the final miles for the Boston Marathon.

The Road To Boston XIV

Last week went really well. Started off Monday by resting which was good after the hard workouts the 4 days before. Tuesday I ran 6 miles with 5x1000m cruise intervals thrown in. I rested no more than a minute between each 1000. I have been reading about cruise intervals, but it was the first time I tried them. They are a great LT workout. Later in the afternoon I went through a strength and core routine. Wednesday I swam 2200 yards. I'm really feeling good in the water, and hope to improve even more after Boston when I can devote more time to the pool. Thursday was 9.6 miles at marathon pace, 7:55. I had off Friday, so I decided to go for a mountain bike ride. I rode 24 miles on the Conewago Trail. It was a beautiful day to ride despite the wind and cold. Saturday morning I went "kinda" long: 15 miles, and again at marathon pace. And that concluded my week. Yesterday was Easter, and I took it easy. Today I'm home with the boys and hope to get out for an easy bike ride. I'll start back up tomorrow, well rested and ready for some 400s.

The Road To Boston XIII

I had a really good week of training. Monday was a rest day - as usual. Tuesday I did 3x1600m at the track with each 1600 under 6:40. Later in the day I did exercise group "A" of a new circuit training routine that I saw in Bicycling magazine. Wednesday I was in the pool and did 2100 yards. Thursday I went 1 mile easy, 4 miles at 7:10, then 1 mile easy. Afterwards I did 6X100m strides. In the afternoon I did exercise group "B" of my new routine. Friday would have been a rest day, but I decided to run with the track team. It was a tough speed session, which in the scheme of marathon training probably wasn't a good idea, but I'm none the worse for the wear. After a warm-up, we ran 60 seconds as hard as we could. We rested 60 seconds and then did it again. I was able to hang with the pack, and almost covered 400 meters in 60 seconds. After the second 60 second session, we rested 7 minutes then did 9x200m fast with a 50 second RI. Like I said, this probably wasn't the best workout for a marathoner, but it was fun running with the kids. Saturday I rode 12 miles and averaged 19.3 MPH - much too fast the day before a long run. I ran my first 20 miler today averaging about 8:20, which I was happy with coming on the heels of 3 hard workouts.

Crushers Update

The Crushers bowled four games this past weekend and we're now up-to-date. Kurt's average is now 121 and Kyler's is 80. We rolled our averages or better on Saturday. The good news is we moved up out of 8th place and into 6th. Set 'em up, and we'll knock 'em down.

The Road To Boston XII

I rebounded quite nicely this week and put in a solid workload. I rested Monday. Tuesday I was out on the track for 1000s and 2000s: 1000, 400m rest, 2000, 400m rest then 2x1000. For some reason, I hate odd distances like this. By odd, I mean odd in the sense that it doesn't match up to laps on the track. Wednesday I rested, because Tuesday night Tina and I went to see Keller Williams up in Harrisburg and we got in late. Thursday I ran 9.33 miles @ 7:54 pace, which I'm hoping will be marathon pace come April. Friday I swam 2000 yards. Saturday I was going to take Kyler skiing, but we didn't go because of the rain. I had my long run planned for Sunday, so I rode the bike trainer for 45 minutes at 100 rpms Saturday morning. Today, Sunday, I did my long run: 16.1 miles at 7:55. I ran this despite contending with head winds at times that made me feel like I was running on a treadmill. Another item of note about todat's run was that I tried out some new Superfeet insoles. They seemed to help the plantar fasciitis, because my foot, while a little sore, wasn't too bad today.

Trail-a-Bike

Ever since the birth of our first son Kyler, I have been buying modes of transport that would allow me to get exercise while providing a stimulating travel experience for our sons.

My first summer home with Kyler, I walked all over town with him in a Baby Bjorn. Soon, I moved him up to a backpack. After Tristan was born, I moved Kyler into a jogging stroller and moved Tristan into the Cadillac of backpacks, a Kelty, that I received for a father's day present. During this time, I hauled both boys around in a bike seat individually, and together in a bike trailer that I picked up at a yard sale.

Now that Kyler can ride a bike, and Tristan is a bit big for the bike seat, I made the next purchase: a Trail-a-Bike. I've always wanted to try one of these, so when I saw one for sale on our work classifieds board for $45, I jumped at the chance to give it a test.

To celebrate the extended evening daylight, we went for a half an hour ride in the cold, and the Trail-a-Bike passed the test. Tristan loves it. This is good, because with gas most likely going to be $4.00 a gallon this summer, we have to have a cheaper way to get to the pool.

The Road To Boston XI

Last week I reported about my best week of training since the fall marathon season. Well, this week I was unable to sustain it.

I rested Monday. On Tuesday I was scheduled to hit the track, but I came down with a bug overnight and slept terrible. When the alarm went off at 4:30, I decided to stay in bed and get some extra rest. Wednesday I was feeling back to normal, and had a good pool workout, approximately 2100 yards. Thursday, I ran a tempo run: 1 mile easy, 4 miles at 7:16 and then 1 mile easy. The foot felt great after 4 days of rest, but it got very sore as the day went on. I felt I was ahead of the game with the plantar fasciitis, but it ended up being more sore than it has been in awhile. I rested Friday, but skied in the evening with the Ski club. The conditions were great and I got a good leg workout. My foot was still sore Saturday morning, so knowing I had a triathlon on Sunday, I limited my physical activity to bowling. Sunday was the triathlon. It was a great workout and my foot held up fairly well, but it did get sore.

Hopefully I'll be able to do all my scheduled workouts this week. I may have to get back in for more ART though.

Tri To Help Indoor Triathlon

I competed in the Tri To Help Indoor Triathlon yesterday, which was held at Universal Fitness in Lancaster, PA. Proceeds from the event went to the Johns Hopkins Childhood Epilepsy Center.

The race was conducted as follows: 10 minute swim, 10 minute transition to the stationary bike, 30 minute bike, 5 minute transition to the treadmill and a 20 minute run. Results were based on distance completed.

Swim

My goal was to swim 500 yards, or 20 laps. I had a good warm-up, but as always, because of adrenalin, I went out too fast. This isn't a problem in a pool, but I have to learn to relax for open water events. I was huffing and puffing sooner than I wanted, but eventually got into a groove. I lost count of my laps, but when the whistle blew, I recorded 21, which was 25 yards more than my goal. Woohoo!!!

Bike

I felt really good on the bike. I maintained high RPMs and was able to record 14.15 miles. This averages out to a little better than 28 MPH. I wish I could do that outdoors.

Run

This was my best event. I recorded 3.09 miles on the treadmill. This is roughly a 20:10 5K. Running on the 'mill, however, is far easier than running outside. I'm not sure I could have done that on the road, especially after biking.

Overall, I came in 6th place. I was tied for 9th in the swim, 5th place on the bike and 3rd place on the run.

The event was well run, and it was very enjoyable. A great diversion to marathon training as well as a great early season triathlon event.

Crushers Update

The Crushers were on fire this past Saturday. Kyler and I both bowled above our averages. We, however, dropped back into the basement, but we're also a game behind, which we have to make up.