Weight: 75.8 BMI 14.5% RHR 142
Just completed six days of the Maffetone two week test (two weeks of not eating any carbs). Decided to back off and allow myself to eat a little rice and such because it was having a negative affect on my mood. Am still working on not eating wheat at all to see if it helps my skin at all, and trying to cut back on the carbs in general. But am a bit sick of meat at this point, so trying to limit it to once a day.
Sun: 34:51/141/BF/3/Confidence up. Love this run around the loop in Shiori. Legs were a bit stiff to start off with, but felt better after a while, and had fun trying to regulate my HR while going up and down the hill. BF felt great, too.
Mon: Bike 33k, didn't track HR.
Tue: 52:33/141/BF/3/Confidence up. Got my new Luna Huaraches, so wore them to work with the intention of running home in them. The lace in front was a bit harsh between my toes, so I decided to just wear them for my warm up, and then went BF from there. This was my first time doing the run home from work BF, and was a little worried about doing it in the dark and on a lot of different surfaces, but it went great! It was also really interesting that while my pace slowed down on some of the rougher surfaces, I still maintained my HR, partly because I was worried about stepping on stuff and because I was quickening my pace with shorter stride.
Wed: 59:26/141/Ultra/1/Confidence down. Bit of a tough run home along the Arakawa, and had issues both with the shoes and my GI tract. My feet don't like the ultras so much when it is humid and they are sweaty, so I'll need to try with socks next time. My gut is really screwed from what I've been doing with my diet, and it all seemed to come out during my run home.
Thu: Bike 33k 37:28/140 Tracked HR during the ride to work and home.
Fri: 1:01/142/BF/2/Confidence up. Ran a bit further in my huaraches for this and they felt pretty good, but then took them off and did most of the run BF. Was good, but I was pushing myself a bit too much so my HR kept going over the limit, which also resulted in me getting a couple slightly sore spots on my right foot. I like tracking HR, because it really is a good indicator of when I'm going too hard, even though I don't alway listen...
Sat: Rest. Decided I just needed a day to chill with the family and it felt good.
Total time: 4:05:18. Decided to include my bike time when I am tracking aerobic training.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Up and Down Maruyama Mountain
I got a rare day off on Friday with the kids at day care and Miho at work, so I decided to get up into the mountains. I had some hiking maps put out by the Seibu Ikebukuro line that I got at Tokyu Hands a few years ago, so I flipped through those and chose one that seemed good in terms of train time, distance, and overall difficulty. Turns out, it was the same place I had been hiking with a friend a few years ago, before I was into running; the station name is Ashigakubo, it was about two hours away.
The first 1-2 km were on road, which was not so interesting, but was a good chance to get in a warm up. Once I hit the turn off for the trail, I was at a slow jog, but had to immediately get back to walking because it got steep fast. I had intentionally chosen the steep way up the circuit because I wanted the longer sloping downhill. This was the same way that Scott and I had hiked it, so I had some recollection of how tough it was. The first half wasn't bad, with a few flat spots and descents where I could get in some jogging, and the trail quickly got away from the road so it was pretty peaceful. The second half of the climb was really steep, which allowed me to walk and enjoy the scenery, although I was still over my aerobic HR for most of it, and I was feeling it a bit in my calves.
I got to the top in just about 45 minutes, which was pretty good; unfortunately, it was totally socked in with fog, so there was no view whatsoever. It didn't matter, though, because that was where the fun really began. I started to get going downhill, and had insane fun. All my recollections of hiking downhill was that it was slow and tedious and hurt my knees. But now I was in light shoes (I was quite happy with my Nike XC Zooms for this, but did have to tighten the laces to avoid jamming my toes), and literally flying down the mountain. There were some really steep sections with loose rocks or slippery dirt, and I had to slow it down, but otherwise, I was running as fast as I could with a nice short and fast stride. Hitting banking turns, jumping for some air a few times, and having more fun than I have ever had running. Hell, more fun than I remember having in general in a long time. It reminded me both of surfing and of the mountain biking I used to do in college. I felt fast and wild and free!
It ended fast, and I was out on some road, but with plenty of time, so I decided to hit another small mountain nearby on the advice of a local guy. He said it would take about 30 minutes to climb, but I'm sure it took less than that to go up and come back down again. I also went to this cool little park that had a super long roller slide, took a video going down it to show Taiyo. Will definitely have to bring the family back there, as the river near the station would be great for swimming in the summer, and there are some places to pick fruit, and onsens as well.
Overall I did about 13k total, according to Runkeeper on my iPhone. My legs were a little sore, but overall I felt great. Unfortunately, I couldn't run again for five full days afterwards because of serious pain in my quads that made it really difficult to even walk up and down stairs, never mind run. I did do my normal 15 min warm up and cool down, but probably should have done more, and probably should have taken it a little easier going up and down.
The first 1-2 km were on road, which was not so interesting, but was a good chance to get in a warm up. Once I hit the turn off for the trail, I was at a slow jog, but had to immediately get back to walking because it got steep fast. I had intentionally chosen the steep way up the circuit because I wanted the longer sloping downhill. This was the same way that Scott and I had hiked it, so I had some recollection of how tough it was. The first half wasn't bad, with a few flat spots and descents where I could get in some jogging, and the trail quickly got away from the road so it was pretty peaceful. The second half of the climb was really steep, which allowed me to walk and enjoy the scenery, although I was still over my aerobic HR for most of it, and I was feeling it a bit in my calves.
I got to the top in just about 45 minutes, which was pretty good; unfortunately, it was totally socked in with fog, so there was no view whatsoever. It didn't matter, though, because that was where the fun really began. I started to get going downhill, and had insane fun. All my recollections of hiking downhill was that it was slow and tedious and hurt my knees. But now I was in light shoes (I was quite happy with my Nike XC Zooms for this, but did have to tighten the laces to avoid jamming my toes), and literally flying down the mountain. There were some really steep sections with loose rocks or slippery dirt, and I had to slow it down, but otherwise, I was running as fast as I could with a nice short and fast stride. Hitting banking turns, jumping for some air a few times, and having more fun than I have ever had running. Hell, more fun than I remember having in general in a long time. It reminded me both of surfing and of the mountain biking I used to do in college. I felt fast and wild and free!
It ended fast, and I was out on some road, but with plenty of time, so I decided to hit another small mountain nearby on the advice of a local guy. He said it would take about 30 minutes to climb, but I'm sure it took less than that to go up and come back down again. I also went to this cool little park that had a super long roller slide, took a video going down it to show Taiyo. Will definitely have to bring the family back there, as the river near the station would be great for swimming in the summer, and there are some places to pick fruit, and onsens as well.
Overall I did about 13k total, according to Runkeeper on my iPhone. My legs were a little sore, but overall I felt great. Unfortunately, I couldn't run again for five full days afterwards because of serious pain in my quads that made it really difficult to even walk up and down stairs, never mind run. I did do my normal 15 min warm up and cool down, but probably should have done more, and probably should have taken it a little easier going up and down.
Aerobic Base Training Week 3
Got some good ideas from Matt Fitzgerald's book Running by Feel about rating workouts in terms of increasing/decreasing confidence, and measuring enjoyment. I think it makes a lot of sense to judge training on how it makes you feel and how fun it is, instead of just the technical metrics. So I'll add to that to each of my workouts: confidence up/down and 1-3 on the enjoyment scale, 1 being not so enjoyable, 2 neutral, 3 enjoyable.
Sun: Bike 33k. My legs were still in a lot of pain from the trail run on Friday, but I had the genius idea that biking to work would help me loosen up. And then of course I decided I had to try to make part of it an aerobic workout so pushed myself. Needless to say, I could barely go up and down stairs for the next three days because of my quads.
Mon-Tue Rest due to serious quad pain.
Wed: Bike 33k Quads still a bit sore, so took it very easy.
Thu: 42:49/144/XC/3/Confidence up Zoom My first time using the new HRM for the Garmin. Seems to work fine, but I didn't know how to set up the alarm yet, so was doing it by looking, and running to fast for most of it. Legs feel much better. Gave this a 3 rating because I was so happy to be running again.
Fri: 30:06/143/Ultra/3/Confidence up. Got my new Ultras from Vivobarefoot! Was pretty worried that they would be too small, and they are with the sock liners, but they fit great without them. They are a super neat design, especially the way the sock liner and extra tongue use hexagon rubber nubs to keep them in place. This first run in them was great, didn't have much time so it was short, but I was happy.
Sat: 1:10/141/15.1k/4:39/Ultra/3/Confidence up. Another good run in the Ultras. Did have some rubbing issues on my heels and on top of my feet, so put on some vaseline before leaving. No issues with the heels when running, but did get some rubbing on the top of my right foot especially because I have to tighten that shoe more.
Total time: 2:22:55 Bad week, but ok considering I could barely walk for most of it and have eaten no carbs until Saturday.
Sun: Bike 33k. My legs were still in a lot of pain from the trail run on Friday, but I had the genius idea that biking to work would help me loosen up. And then of course I decided I had to try to make part of it an aerobic workout so pushed myself. Needless to say, I could barely go up and down stairs for the next three days because of my quads.
Mon-Tue Rest due to serious quad pain.
Wed: Bike 33k Quads still a bit sore, so took it very easy.
Thu: 42:49/144/XC/3/Confidence up Zoom My first time using the new HRM for the Garmin. Seems to work fine, but I didn't know how to set up the alarm yet, so was doing it by looking, and running to fast for most of it. Legs feel much better. Gave this a 3 rating because I was so happy to be running again.
Fri: 30:06/143/Ultra/3/Confidence up. Got my new Ultras from Vivobarefoot! Was pretty worried that they would be too small, and they are with the sock liners, but they fit great without them. They are a super neat design, especially the way the sock liner and extra tongue use hexagon rubber nubs to keep them in place. This first run in them was great, didn't have much time so it was short, but I was happy.
Sat: 1:10/141/15.1k/4:39/Ultra/3/Confidence up. Another good run in the Ultras. Did have some rubbing issues on my heels and on top of my feet, so put on some vaseline before leaving. No issues with the heels when running, but did get some rubbing on the top of my right foot especially because I have to tighten that shoe more.
Total time: 2:22:55 Bad week, but ok considering I could barely walk for most of it and have eaten no carbs until Saturday.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Aerobic Base Training Week 2
I think I'll make some changes about how I enter information. I want to enter my weight, BMI, and RHR once a week, and Monday seems like a good day to do that, so I'll start making my weeks go from Monday to Sunday instead of Sunday to Saturday. Also, I'm going to try to get in the routine of making Monday my day off, as it will be a good way to recover from long runs over the weekend, and because dealing with the boys' day care stuff on Monday is quite a hassle, so I want to be able to go in late without having to come home too late because of running. I think Maffetone's idea of figuring out where the controllable stress is in your life and doing your best to cut it out makes a lot of sense. Not that it's some kind of revolutionary idea or anything, but when applied to improving training, it is easier to get motivated.
Sun: 50:48/142/BF A beautiful afternoon after spending the day at an amusement park with the boys. Considered maybe taking the day off because of all that activity, but was easy enough to get out the door, so I did. Ran the loop around Shioiri park, and was really interesting because I had to slow myself down during the uphill and run faster during the downhill. Feet felt great, no blistering or abrasion at all.
Mon: Weight: 76.8/BMI: 14.5 Couldn't get a good RHR because forgot part of the monitor, and by the time I was up to get it, could not really get into a fully rested state again. I suspect that part of this drop in weight may be at least partially due to dehydration, but we'll see.
54:26/1:41/XC Zoom Run home from work along the Sumidagawa. Was a bit surprised at how slow I had to run to keep my HR down, but also found it really interesting that following my HR really forced me to run at the speed my body could handle. If I hadn't been following HR, I likely would have pushed myself harder and possibly hurt myself. As it was, I was having issues with the tightness in my right hamstring again, so I think tomorrow will be a good day to bike to work and not run.
Tue: RHR: 42. Couldn't get it below 50 in bed for some reason, but when I went in to sit on the toilet and really concentrated on relaxing, in particular long exhalations, it dropped down to 42.
Bike 45 km total, timed 36 min@140 BPM average. Got in a bit more than that on the ride home from work, but was a bit drunk, so decided not to count it...
Wed: 1:02/142/Evo. First time doing the run home along the Arakawa in a while. Was pretty interesting, as after the warm up, my pace was really slow, probably around 5:00, but after about 5-7k, I was pushing pretty hard to keep my HR up, and felt like I was running at 4:30 or faster, then had to slow down again after a while. Was a good workout, and may take the day off tomorrow in preparation for some good running over the weekend.
Thu: Bike 33k, no HR tracking.
Fri: Run up Maruyama (see separate post) 1:42/140/XC Zoom
Sat: Rest. Legs completely shot.
Total time: 4:29:14. Doesn't really mean anything yet because this is my first week just tracking time.
Tue: RHR: 42. Couldn't get it below 50 in bed for some reason, but when I went in to sit on the toilet and really concentrated on relaxing, in particular long exhalations, it dropped down to 42.
Bike 45 km total, timed 36 min@140 BPM average. Got in a bit more than that on the ride home from work, but was a bit drunk, so decided not to count it...
Wed: 1:02/142/Evo. First time doing the run home along the Arakawa in a while. Was pretty interesting, as after the warm up, my pace was really slow, probably around 5:00, but after about 5-7k, I was pushing pretty hard to keep my HR up, and felt like I was running at 4:30 or faster, then had to slow down again after a while. Was a good workout, and may take the day off tomorrow in preparation for some good running over the weekend.
Thu: Bike 33k, no HR tracking.
Fri: Run up Maruyama (see separate post) 1:42/140/XC Zoom
Sat: Rest. Legs completely shot.
Total time: 4:29:14. Doesn't really mean anything yet because this is my first week just tracking time.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
MAF Test 1
My first MAF test. I was looking forward to this, although it happened on a bit of a crazy day with work stuff. Got out to Oda field and it was incredibly packed with people. But I managed to score a locker, and just got out there and did my thing, trying not to get in the way of too many sprinters.
I did everything BF, which I was a little concerned about because Bob said the track was a bit rougher since being resurfaced, but in the end my feet were totally fine.
Took me a bit to figure out how to get my HRM to work in terms of tracking each 1000m interval, so I actually wrote each time down on a piece of paper each time, although it ended up being unnecessary.
I decided to make my max aerobic HR 143, and kept the lower limit 133
Here are the results
I did everything BF, which I was a little concerned about because Bob said the track was a bit rougher since being resurfaced, but in the end my feet were totally fine.
Took me a bit to figure out how to get my HRM to work in terms of tracking each 1000m interval, so I actually wrote each time down on a piece of paper each time, although it ended up being unnecessary.
I decided to make my max aerobic HR 143, and kept the lower limit 133
Here are the results
- 4:10/140
- 4:15/138
- 4:19/139
- 4:18/140
- 4:17/140
- 4:19/139
- 4:17/140
- 4:22/139
Obviously, it was bit tricky to actually keep my at that 143 average, will have to work on that. Also, didn't know how much rest to take between intervals, so I really didn't take any except to write down the time and reset my watch. Even that made my HR drop a bit, so I spend the first 100m or so getting it back up to speed.
Will plan on doing this once a month, ideally under the same conditions. Overall I'm happy with the results, and would love to make this pace something I can do for long periods of time in a race.
Aerobic Base Building Week 1
RHR 43 bmp
Weight: 78 kg
BMI 15%
Sun: Rest. Typhoon, and sore right hamstring and left calf. Deep into Maffetone reading.
Mon: 13/46/4:38? Total 75 minute workout, 15 min warm up/cool down as recommended, keeping HR under 125 (too high?) by starting and finishing with walking and doing some very slow running. During the actual run, I kept my HR between 130-141, obviously going under and over on several occasions as I get used to it. Conditions were tough, as the post-typhoon winds were quite strong and right in my face, which is why I was surprised at the (very loose) calculation of pace. I guess the good news is that even if it is quite a bit off, my pace at Max HR is not so much slower than what I was averaging before. Will do the MAF test on Wednesday at the track to find out more.
Pretty happy with the Suunto t3d. Light and not so difficult to use after reading the manual online several times. Never lost the signal during the run, which is nice. Not a great readout of saved data, but I won't be too focused on that for now. Probably inevitable that I buy the HRM kit for the Garmin as well.
Tue: Rest. Home with sick Sky and no chance to run.
Wed: MAF test: 1000X8 + warm up/cool down. 12K total? all BF
Thu: 15K/ 51:54/141/Neo A bit of a rainy and chilly run home from work along the Sumidagawa. Still trying to figure out how to log this new info. Decided I would log total mileage including warm up & cool down, but it will generally be an estimate, as I'm not using the Garmin yet. So distance/time/avg HR/shoe
Fri: Bike 33k. Used the HRM to see what it would be like and I went pretty much at the same speed I usually do, if anything I had to push a bit more to keep it up to speed.
Sat: 21/1:17:54/4:34/142/KSO Ok, this may get a bit confusing, but on longer run days on weekends, I'll keep track of my average pace as well. So this is total distance (with warm up/cool down)/running time/average pace (during running time)/HR/shoe.
It was a pretty good workout, and I'm happy with that pace for now. I had a bit of an unfortunate incident with not being able to get to a toilet in time, but won't get into details. Needless to say, it cut down on some of my running time. Otherwise, it was a beautiful day with a light breeze, and I didn't get any blisters from the KSOs, which is rare running at that pace for that distance.
Total mileage: 61k. A bit low, but I'm going to try to focus less on total mileage and more on time, although I'm not sure exactly how that will work.
Weight: 78 kg
BMI 15%
Sun: Rest. Typhoon, and sore right hamstring and left calf. Deep into Maffetone reading.
Mon: 13/46/4:38? Total 75 minute workout, 15 min warm up/cool down as recommended, keeping HR under 125 (too high?) by starting and finishing with walking and doing some very slow running. During the actual run, I kept my HR between 130-141, obviously going under and over on several occasions as I get used to it. Conditions were tough, as the post-typhoon winds were quite strong and right in my face, which is why I was surprised at the (very loose) calculation of pace. I guess the good news is that even if it is quite a bit off, my pace at Max HR is not so much slower than what I was averaging before. Will do the MAF test on Wednesday at the track to find out more.
Pretty happy with the Suunto t3d. Light and not so difficult to use after reading the manual online several times. Never lost the signal during the run, which is nice. Not a great readout of saved data, but I won't be too focused on that for now. Probably inevitable that I buy the HRM kit for the Garmin as well.
Tue: Rest. Home with sick Sky and no chance to run.
Wed: MAF test: 1000X8 + warm up/cool down. 12K total? all BF
Thu: 15K/ 51:54/141/Neo A bit of a rainy and chilly run home from work along the Sumidagawa. Still trying to figure out how to log this new info. Decided I would log total mileage including warm up & cool down, but it will generally be an estimate, as I'm not using the Garmin yet. So distance/time/avg HR/shoe
Fri: Bike 33k. Used the HRM to see what it would be like and I went pretty much at the same speed I usually do, if anything I had to push a bit more to keep it up to speed.
Sat: 21/1:17:54/4:34/142/KSO Ok, this may get a bit confusing, but on longer run days on weekends, I'll keep track of my average pace as well. So this is total distance (with warm up/cool down)/running time/average pace (during running time)/HR/shoe.
It was a pretty good workout, and I'm happy with that pace for now. I had a bit of an unfortunate incident with not being able to get to a toilet in time, but won't get into details. Needless to say, it cut down on some of my running time. Otherwise, it was a beautiful day with a light breeze, and I didn't get any blisters from the KSOs, which is rare running at that pace for that distance.
Total mileage: 61k. A bit low, but I'm going to try to focus less on total mileage and more on time, although I'm not sure exactly how that will work.
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