Category: Running

Training Day #62

After Race Run Day

After the great race yesterday, today I chose to do a nice recovery run with my dog, Piper. The schedule had an easy run and I felt pretty good to go at a nice slow pace. So we went running!! Our average pace was 14:01 minutes per mile. Not to bad for Piper, who doesn’t run with me often. We ended up running for about 42 minutes right at 3 miles. I’m still going to be training next week, but it will be at an easier pace for recovery.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Nice slow runs are nice to enjoy nature and the scenery!
  2. Piper need to run more!! haha.

Training Statistics:

Elapsed Time Moving Time Distance Average Speed Max Speed Elevation Gain Calories Burned
00:42:20
hours
00:42:03
hours
3.00
mi.
14:01
min/mile
8:23
min/mile
120.41
ft.
352
kcal

Training Day #55

Run Benchmark

The routine scheduled for today is a 3km time trail. It starts with 15 minutes of various heart rate runs for the warmup followed by the 3km time trial. The workout ended with a cooldown of 5 to 10 minutes. I got up and just took off for the run. I started with the 15 minutes of warmup. Then stepped up my pace for the 3km trial run. I didn’t feel that great for this run benchmark and didn’t do as well as I would have like to do. There is always next time. I averaged 10:42 min/miles.

Key Takeaways:

  1. When you have a bad day, just move on and don’t dwell on it.
  2. There is always another day to set a personal record.

Training Statistics:

Elapsed Time Moving Time Distance Average Speed Max Speed Elevation Gain Calories Burned
00:33:22
hours
00:33:02
hours
3.09
mi.
10:42
min/mile
7:40
min/mile
172.57
ft.
363
kcal

Training Day #53

Last Brick before the Race!!

Today I’ll be practicing my second transition for my upcoming race. This will be the second and last brick session that I will be doing before the race. I used all the gear I’ll be wearing to ensure there aren’t any issues with the fit of the tri suit or the other equipment. This workout will entail a 16-kilometer bike with a 20-minute warmup and a 10-minute cooldown. Both warmup and cooldown are not included in the total 16km bike ride. After I complete the cycle, I will transition to running with all my running gear. The run will consist of a 20-minute run and a 5-minute cooldown.

First off, this was an excellent workout and helped me transition from my bike to the run. The bike was uneventful. The only issue I had was that my watch, for some reason, stopped at the beginning of the bike ride, and I lost the first 4 miles of my data on my Garmin watch. Luckily, I had Strava going on my phone in the background. I did miss one turn but noticed it right away and got back on course. I started to feel pretty bad on the last few miles. Once I neared my home, I began to get ready for the transition. I got my feet out of my shoes and pedal with my feet on top. Once I got to my driveway, I hopped off. Put my bike in the garage, took off my helmet, and quickly got my running shoes on. I wasn’t feeling 100%, probably because I was a little dehydrated and didn’t fuel up for the workout like I usually do. So I just ran a quick mile near my house. The route was a simple out and back. I ran a good 8:52 minutes per mile. I learned a lot and didn’t like having to take out my feet from the shoes. So, I’ll probably leave them on and run in the transition area.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Physical Preparation takes days. So make sure you are hydrating and eating properly leading up to your workouts!
  2. Practicing the transitions is key to keeping your time down!

Training Statistics:

Cycling

Elapsed Time Moving Time Distance Average Speed Max Speed Elevation Gain Calories Burned
01:07:35
hours
01:06:53
hours
16.68
mi.
14.96
mph
45.86
mph
716.86
ft.
513
kcal

Running

Elapsed Time Moving Time Distance Average Speed Max Speed Elevation Gain Calories Burned
00:08:57
hours
00:08:52
hours
0.99
mi.
8:58
min/mile
6:33
min/mile
52.17
ft.
113
kcal

Training Day #51

Running the Day Away!

Just another run day. On today’s schedule is a 40 minute run in heart rate (HR) zone 1. Overall, today was a good day of running. I tried out a new 5-mile route. I tried to keep my HR around zone 2 to 3. The reason is if I keep it in zone 1, I would be walking. This kept my pace around 10:45 minutes per mile.  I liked the route and will be doing it again!

Key Takeaways:

  1. Find new routes to keep it interesting!
  2. Having a watch that tells you where to go really helps!!

Training Statistics:

Elapsed Time Moving Time Distance Average Speed Max Speed Elevation Gain Calories Burned
00:55:08
hours
00:54:30
hours
5.07
mi.
10:45
min/mile
6:53
min/mile
183.73
ft.
607
kcal

 

Training Day #42

Coffee Run!!

Run day is always my favorite day!!! Just kidding, it isn’t. I don’t like running, but I do enjoy it after it is completed. I think that I mainly because of the endorphins that I get after the workout. I just feel great. This workout routine was a Fartlek. If you don’t know what a Fartlek is, click the word for an article that explains it. However, it is running various distances and speeds and various times. It is meant to improve your speed like sprints.

So, I ended up running to the local Food Lion and back. I started with an HR Zone 1 run for 5 minutes. Then the fartlek began with 4 minutes HR Zone 2 followed by a 3 minute Zone 3. Then a 2-minute recovery jog. I walked a little for this recovery because I was in a little higher zones than my plan. The main fartlek was 4repetitionss of 2 minutes in Zone 3 followed by a 1 minute Zone 1. then 2 minutes in Zone 4 followed by a 1 minute Zone 1. So the cooldown was around 6 minutes in Zone 1.

Overall, this workout was great. It kicked my butt, to be honest. Although, I did grab a bag of coffee at Food Lion to ensure I had a fresh cup when I got home!!

Key takeaways:

  1. These are great to keep my workouts interesting, but they can be challenging.
  2. Make sure you have coffee before you get home for the day, so you don’t have to go for a literal coffee run!!

Training Statistics:

Elapsed Time Moving Time Distance Average Speed Max Speed Elevation Gain Calories Burned
00:45:30
hours
00:37:38
hours
3.06
mi.
12:19
min/mile
5:50
min/mile
92.52
ft.
348
kcal

Training Day #40

Retaining Motivation #2

Remember the time where I said don’t miss more than two days of a routine. I do because I slide my Brick Workout to Sunday. It has been a jam-packed weekend. My daughter had softball practice on Saturday, and I can’t seem to get back on my routine. On top of that, I realized my workout schedule was messed up, and I missed two swim days last week. There weren’t populating on my schedule, so I assumed they were rest days. Well, here goes to learning!

So today, I did my Brick that was scheduled for yesterday. My motivation to get out of bed was rough, but my wife kicked me out after my alarm continued to go off for an hour. I got up, took care of my daughter, and drank a nice cup of coffee. After my wife got up, I got myself ready and motivated to go!

The Brick consisted of 60 minutes of the bike with varying intensities for 20 minutes, then a steady HR Zone 3 for 30 minutes and HR Zone 1 for 10 minutes. This was a good ride. I still need to get my bike tuned. Overall, it was a lovely day, and the ride was great. I did 13.58 miles in a little over an hour. For the upcoming race, it will be 20 miles.

I ended the bike ride at my house, then changed my shoes and left. I haven’t timed myself in the transition and wasn’t trying to go fast. I started on my run more quickly than I wanted at about 09:30 min/mile pace and slowed back to around 10:00 min/mile pace. The run focused on a high HR in Zone 3 due to the transition. I tried to maintain this for about 10 minutes. The last 10 minutes was to run in HR Zone 1, which I find very hard to do without just walking.  I ended the run with a 5 minute cool down. I finished running with about 2.49 miles in about 25:09 minutes.

This marks the second brick workout I have completed and the last one before my race. The goal of the race is to finish! This next week comes a new week and a new chance to keep to my routine.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Life happens, and family is essential. So don’t worry about rescheduling or skipping. Just keep in mind the “Two-Day Rule.”
  2. Schedule time to maintain your equipment! I need to go drop off my bike before it is too late!

Training Statistics:

Bike

Elapsed Time Moving Time Distance Average Speed Max Speed Elevation Gain Calories Burned
01:02:08
hours
00:59:12
hours
13.58
mi.
13.76
mph
27.96
mph
500.98
ft.
692
kcal

Run

Elapsed Time Moving Time Distance Average Speed Max Speed Elevation Gain Calories Burned
00:25:09
hours
00:25:09
hours
2.49
mi.
10:05
min/mile
7:53
min/mile
73.16
ft.
298
kcal

Training Day #38

Retaining Motivation

After missing two training days and having four days off, it was hard to get the motivation back to pick up my training. When I have periods of not working toward my goals, i.e., triathlon training, it reminds me of a video by Matt D’Avella explaining his “Two-Day Rule.”  He explains that he doesn’t take more than two days off from working out or skipping one of his routines. The theory is that if he takes more than two days, then his motivation or likelihood to continue the habit dramatically diminishes. This concept definitely hit home for me! Go ahead and watch the video!

So back to the triathlon training! Today was an easy run day according to the training calendar. The workout consists of a warmup for 5 to 15 minutes, a 30-minute run, and a 5 to 10 minute cool down. After reconfiguring my heart rate (HR) zones on my Garmin Forerunner a few days ago, I tried to use this as a basis for my workout. The 30-minute run goal was to remain in my HR zone 1 (130-144 bpm). For me, this is hard to do without just walking the entire time. However, I tried my best. I averaged around 158 bpm. I stayed in the zone for about 10 minutes of the start of my workout and then hovered around 150. The end of my training was all uphill, so naturally, my HR increased.

Overall, this was a low-effort workout to get back into the groove of things and restart my two-day rule. I have found that if I kept going even if it is just to say I did something, my motivation to continue remains high, and my habits don’t break down. So here’s to continuing my training!

Key Takeaways:

  1. Don’t skip more than two days of workouts in a row! (“Two Day Rule” by Matt D’Avella)
  2. Sometimes the HR Zones are just suggestions, do what you feel is the correct zone.

Training Statistics:

Elapsed Time Moving Time Distance Average Speed Max Speed Elevation Gain Calories Burned
00:38:49
hours
00:38:37
hours
2.81
mi.
13:46
min/mile
7:27
min/mile
101.05
ft.
336
kcal

Training Day #26

Today is a run day! My plan calls it a “Test Run” day. By test run it mean running at a higher heart rate zone for 2 to 3 minutes. The higher heart rate (HR) zones will be Zone 2 and Zone 3, which are 60% to 69% and 70% to 79% respectively. For the past few weeks, I have been getting a feeling that my HR setting have been a bit off. When I have started my run, especially today, I have been getting HR Zones that are above what I feel like I am doing. For example, when I started my run today my watch was saying that I was in HR Zone 2 instead of 1. So this test run exercise was not going to be accurate. So I just ran it like a normal run day.

When I got some free time, I did some research in my Garmin watch settings to see if I could change or modify my Hear Rate settings. I found on the Garmin Connect website that I could change the calculation type. So I changed it from Percent of Max Heart Rate (most common) to Percent of Heart Rate Reserve. This change uses HRmax – HRrest to determine a HRreserve. This came closer to my actual HR zones that I normally see in my workouts. Only time will tell to see if this works any better.

Sorry for the rant,  but I figured I would share what I have found through a bit of research. Just remember that is not a guide and all exercise advice should be consulted with your doctor. 

Key Takeaways:

  1. Change your HR Zones to make sure it is tailored to you!
  2. If something doesn’t seem right, try to figure it out!
Elapsed Time Moving Time Distance Average Speed Max Speed Elevation Gain Calories Burned
00:13:58
hours
00:13:44
hours
1.23
mi.
11:10
min/mile
7:53
min/mile
71.85
ft.
151
kcal

Training Day #23

Today was a scheduled rest day for my training plan. The rest days are for very light exercise, like a jog or walk. Since I was feeling pretty good, I decided to go on a light run. However, my laziness was defeating my motivation to run this morning.  I started my run around 10:00 land the heat for the day was setting in. I started the run feeling pretty good.  I was going at a slow jogging pace and tried to maintain.

However, about 2.5 kilometers into the run, I started to feel pretty bad. It felt like my heart was going to explode. Since I wasn’t feeling well, I decided to walk the last quarter mile. Upon reflecting during my walk home, I contribute this feeling to a little bit of dehydration and the hot temperature. Hopefully, I’ll take this lesson to heart next time I feel like taking a lazy morning.

Key Learning Points:

  1. Continue to stay hydrated throughout the week to improve performance
  2. Don’t be lazy! Go run in the morning cool!
Elapsed Time Moving Time Distance Average Speed Max Speed Elevation Gain Calories Burned
00:26:37
hours
00:26:22
hours
2.27
mi.
11:36
min/mile
6:42
min/mile
59.38
ft.
289
kcal

Training Day #21

So, I’m not sure how I want to do my updates for my triathlon training. For now, I am going to post daily or close to daily training updates.  Bear with me as I try to figure out the best way to structure these updates. This is the first week I’m posting my training sessions, but it is the 4th week of my training. That explains why my training day begin on day 21 instead of day 1.

I started the week with a brick session on Sunday. A brick is two back-to-back workouts. This is to train for the transition that occurs in a triathlon.  I started with an 8.9-kilometer bike ride around my local area and then moved to a 3-kilometer run. I learned a lot from this training day.

During my bike ride, I noticed that shifting to my lower gears during steep hill climbs resulted in my chain skipping and the chain rubbing on the derailers. The last time I got the bike tuned has been at least four years (mainly because I haven’t ridden consistently since 2014). After the bike ride, I changed my cycling shorts for pair of running shorts and shoes because I didn’t own any tri-shorts to practice the transition. This type of transition made my workout a bit long and unrealistic. It took me about 5-7 minutes to change, and my running motivation began to wane. Nevertheless, I pushed through this inconvenience and completed the 3k run. The run felt ok; I didn’t push myself too hard and focused on the feeling of my legs to get a baseline of my performance.

Key Learning Points:

  1. A tuned Bike is vital to maximizing performance.
  2. Tri-shorts are essential gear for training.
  3. Practicing the bike to run transition to get familiar with your performance