Wow, where did the time go. I sit here writing and growing my beard as we are finishing week 2 of the Phase 3 of the run training program. That means we are 14 weeks into the 24 weeks. Luckily my running is so much better than my beard.
So what does Phase 3 mean and why would it hurt a little? Well so far we have established our base, we have built our endurance and we have pushed our aerobic engine a little bit. This means our bodies are primed for learning how to deal with a little bit of speed. This means intervals and repetitions.
Phase 3 adds to our key workouts. So far we have had two key workouts a week, the long run and the threshold run. Our third key workout is intervals pushing us to 3 hard sessions a week. Ouch. Of course due to their more intense nature, interval workouts also mean that our overall weekly mileage does drop at first, then builds back up to the end of this 6 week period.
Intervals or speed work are a great way of working on your anaerobic engine. This is burning fuel without using oxygen and is generally associated with sprinting, but for distance runners can be very useful as well. Not all sessions need to be anaerobic either, by doing intervals at the maximum edge of your aerobic running boundary, you get to prepare your body for the speeds you may wish to achieve during races. And by doing these session as intervals with rests, you get the benefits of the hard run while limiting the stress and potential injury of just trying to do a fast long run. Sure, we will likely push ourselves during a race to hold these paces for a longer duration, but during training our goal is to get to the next training session injury free and well rested. After a race we can afford to take some time to recuperate and rest.
So yeah, speed work is great in that it can help make us actually faster, with a goal of limiting injury, but there is an even greater reason to do it. If you run within your limits you will generally find that you run correctly. It is very hard to run fast for any distance and run incorrectly. What does this mean? It means you will start to recruit the muscles fibers you need for economical running. Doing frequent repetitions of these runs will be like your body forming a proper running habit. Habits / nerve pathways / muscles take 3-6 weeks to become part of you, thus this 6 week phase.
As each week passes the intervals will change, sometimes getting longer, sometimes faster. Generally the longer an interval is (say up to 1 km or 1 mile) the slower you will go (ideally you run an interval at a consistent pace) while the short intervals (1 min or 200 m or so) are about as fast as you can go without sprinting. Always though, there will be a decent level of recovery between each interval that will allow the next interval to be run at a similar or slightly faster pace.
There are some great ways to figure out exactly what pace you should be doing these intervals, otherwise you can go by heart rate and try to stay within your Zone 5 (maybe high Zone 4 for longer runs). If neither of these ways are interesting or you don't have a fancy running watch, then intervals can be a bit of trial and error. As I said, try to run at a pace that is sustainable but hard for the duration of the run.
The specifics of this phase are hard to deal with in a small blog post. Entire books get written about interval training. Having a coach or seasoned runner with good knowledge helping you out is a good way to avoid injuries.
So this Phase is likely to be the hardest. We are still quite far from the goal race and can afford to push the key workouts. Allowing for decent rest is a must, throwing in some cross training won't hurt. I also suggest seeing your physio for an assessment at the beginning of this phase as an little issues are sure to show up here, but you will have plenty of time to deal with them prior to Phase 4.
I am excited as my athlete is showing some great progress already compared to last season. We are adjusting some aspects of her running and I am eagerly awaiting Phase 4 for her.
By the way this is a great phase to throw in some early season races, especially shorter ones like 5 km races. These will generally replace a speed session (threshold or interval) or if long enough (10K or over) a long run.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Monday, March 3, 2014
Back to Basics 8 Miler 2014
So my first real running test of the season happened Sunday out in Goffs, the Back to Basics 8 Miler. Yes, I had already done 2 other races this year, but the first 5km race I did was during my base training and the Tri the Oval winter triathlon was a multi sport event, not really allowing me to see how my run was progressing.
The Back to Basics is a nice out and back road race which is 8 miles long. The entry cost is super low and there is pretty much no bling associated with it. But there is a ton of food for hungry runners, including hot soup, when you are done. This is the perfect kind of race in my opinion.
Being 8 miles long I had to decide what sort of pace to run it at. Also I had to take into account the fact that it was on the road, the route was rolling hills, and the weather was sloppy. I mean I have been doing most of my running for the past few weeks indoors, including long runs, so this was going to shock the system. Eight miles is 12.8km so too long for 10km pace but short for half marathon pace. But in the end I decided to go with a half marathon pace to see how things would go in a couple of months at the Bluenose. I was aiming for a 4 min kilometer average, far faster than last years 4:09 pace at this race (which ended up being my Bluenose Half marathon pace as well!).
I arrived early for registration (a mere $10) with temperatures at the zero mark (so quite balmy compared to the last few days) and moderately dry roads. The dry roads quickly disappeared though, as a light but steady snow shower started up.
I registered, finalized my running attire (long sleeves, light glove liners, yellow tinted glasses, tights, and head band), and set about chatting with folks. I then headed out for a brief 2 kilometer recon of the course / warm up.
Soon it was race time, and we all lined up for the start.
And like that we were off!
As usual I took off far too fast, staying with Matthew White. That was never going to work. But I quickly started the slowing down process, so that I would sky rocket my heart rate for too long. At this point 2 runners passed me, and that was fine as I was still running too fast. Eventually I got it down to the 4 min/km pace I was hoping for and I was passed by one more runner. He didn't take off on me though and kept just slightly ahead.
As we ran by the first mile marker, someone was standing there yelling out mile splits, which was rather nice to hear. I hit the first mile at 5:58. And I wasn't hurting.
Slightly before mile 2, I looked and my pace had slipped. This section was a little up hill and I as I glanced at my watch I was running about a 4:09 pace. That wouldn't do, so I pushed a little bit, passed the runner in front of me and held that pace. This would show up later in my data as the slowest kilometer split I ran.
The road was now very wet, including some puddles. As well the snow was starting to creep from the edge, making a slick slide to the road, and there were times I could feel my feet slide about. I aimed for the less saturated sections of pavement as much as possible, but it was inevitable that the water started to seep into my shoes.
At the turn around I was still in 4th place, which was great as I was hoping for another top 10. I grabbed for a water at the water table, but sadly dropped it. I continued on, not too heart broken but I hoped I didn't spill it on the volunteer.
At this point you finally get to see everyone who is behind you and they all look so menacingly close that it almost forces you to pick up the pace. But I held strong in my desire to maintain a solid pace and not burn out before the end of the race.
I did have one more secret desire in this race. I really wanted to get a proper fast 10km split in here. I wanted to beat my last 10km best time of 39:54 which I set 2 years ago. Last year I really never raced a 10km so I didn't know how well I could do over that distance. As I approached 10km I held my pace and rolled through at 39:18. This does of course, now want to make me find a flat 10km race where I can head out and try to break 39 minutes. But that will be another story.
I continued on in the driving snow, slightly downhill, steady pace. I was finally willing to peer behind myself and saw Ray was a decent distance behind me. Ahead of me I was making no change in the gap to Lawrence. All seemed good. Except my feet were wet, oh so wet. Blah.
Soon I came across my 1 km to go mark, which I had established during my warm up run. It was still too far to really pick up the pace, and as I was never going to catch 3rd place, and didn't seem to be in danger of loosing 4th place, I just made sure to stay as steady as I could pacewise, especially with the finish being uphill.
All along I kept reminding myself, run tall. I would drift to a slightly bent posture occasionally, but did my best to keep that core strong, the cadence high and the form good. I did receive a few comments about that from other runners, so that was nice. Still some work to do there for the long runs.
The finish line loomed. I picked up the pace, gave a few thumbs up to the volunteers guiding me to the end and crossed the finish line in 4th overall with a time of 50:05, better than last years 52:52 and an average pace well below the 4 minute mark I had hoped for with a 3:55 min/km. Wow, that was great. And judging by my Garmin output looks like I can keep a steady pace quite well:
Also my average heart rate was in mid Zone 4, just where I would want to be for a half marathon. So with more than 2 months to go to the Bluenose Half, I still have plenty of time to find the endurance I need to go with this speed. And who knows a little more speed might still be in there as well.
I'll post about the next phase of my training soon. The heart rate stuff and keeping the majority of your runs easy really can help to get you fast.
Next up, Moose Run? We'll see.
The Back to Basics is a nice out and back road race which is 8 miles long. The entry cost is super low and there is pretty much no bling associated with it. But there is a ton of food for hungry runners, including hot soup, when you are done. This is the perfect kind of race in my opinion.
Being 8 miles long I had to decide what sort of pace to run it at. Also I had to take into account the fact that it was on the road, the route was rolling hills, and the weather was sloppy. I mean I have been doing most of my running for the past few weeks indoors, including long runs, so this was going to shock the system. Eight miles is 12.8km so too long for 10km pace but short for half marathon pace. But in the end I decided to go with a half marathon pace to see how things would go in a couple of months at the Bluenose. I was aiming for a 4 min kilometer average, far faster than last years 4:09 pace at this race (which ended up being my Bluenose Half marathon pace as well!).
I arrived early for registration (a mere $10) with temperatures at the zero mark (so quite balmy compared to the last few days) and moderately dry roads. The dry roads quickly disappeared though, as a light but steady snow shower started up.
I registered, finalized my running attire (long sleeves, light glove liners, yellow tinted glasses, tights, and head band), and set about chatting with folks. I then headed out for a brief 2 kilometer recon of the course / warm up.
Soon it was race time, and we all lined up for the start.
And like that we were off!
As usual I took off far too fast, staying with Matthew White. That was never going to work. But I quickly started the slowing down process, so that I would sky rocket my heart rate for too long. At this point 2 runners passed me, and that was fine as I was still running too fast. Eventually I got it down to the 4 min/km pace I was hoping for and I was passed by one more runner. He didn't take off on me though and kept just slightly ahead.
As we ran by the first mile marker, someone was standing there yelling out mile splits, which was rather nice to hear. I hit the first mile at 5:58. And I wasn't hurting.
Slightly before mile 2, I looked and my pace had slipped. This section was a little up hill and I as I glanced at my watch I was running about a 4:09 pace. That wouldn't do, so I pushed a little bit, passed the runner in front of me and held that pace. This would show up later in my data as the slowest kilometer split I ran.
The road was now very wet, including some puddles. As well the snow was starting to creep from the edge, making a slick slide to the road, and there were times I could feel my feet slide about. I aimed for the less saturated sections of pavement as much as possible, but it was inevitable that the water started to seep into my shoes.
At the turn around I was still in 4th place, which was great as I was hoping for another top 10. I grabbed for a water at the water table, but sadly dropped it. I continued on, not too heart broken but I hoped I didn't spill it on the volunteer.
At this point you finally get to see everyone who is behind you and they all look so menacingly close that it almost forces you to pick up the pace. But I held strong in my desire to maintain a solid pace and not burn out before the end of the race.
I did have one more secret desire in this race. I really wanted to get a proper fast 10km split in here. I wanted to beat my last 10km best time of 39:54 which I set 2 years ago. Last year I really never raced a 10km so I didn't know how well I could do over that distance. As I approached 10km I held my pace and rolled through at 39:18. This does of course, now want to make me find a flat 10km race where I can head out and try to break 39 minutes. But that will be another story.
I continued on in the driving snow, slightly downhill, steady pace. I was finally willing to peer behind myself and saw Ray was a decent distance behind me. Ahead of me I was making no change in the gap to Lawrence. All seemed good. Except my feet were wet, oh so wet. Blah.
Soon I came across my 1 km to go mark, which I had established during my warm up run. It was still too far to really pick up the pace, and as I was never going to catch 3rd place, and didn't seem to be in danger of loosing 4th place, I just made sure to stay as steady as I could pacewise, especially with the finish being uphill.
All along I kept reminding myself, run tall. I would drift to a slightly bent posture occasionally, but did my best to keep that core strong, the cadence high and the form good. I did receive a few comments about that from other runners, so that was nice. Still some work to do there for the long runs.
The finish line loomed. I picked up the pace, gave a few thumbs up to the volunteers guiding me to the end and crossed the finish line in 4th overall with a time of 50:05, better than last years 52:52 and an average pace well below the 4 minute mark I had hoped for with a 3:55 min/km. Wow, that was great. And judging by my Garmin output looks like I can keep a steady pace quite well:
Also my average heart rate was in mid Zone 4, just where I would want to be for a half marathon. So with more than 2 months to go to the Bluenose Half, I still have plenty of time to find the endurance I need to go with this speed. And who knows a little more speed might still be in there as well.
I'll post about the next phase of my training soon. The heart rate stuff and keeping the majority of your runs easy really can help to get you fast.
Next up, Moose Run? We'll see.
Monday, February 17, 2014
2014 Race 2 - Tri the Oval 3
So the 3rd installment of the great winter triathlon Tri the Oval took place this past week. It is race that was started when Halifax got a permanent outdoor long track speed skating oval and is a 5km skate, 5.5 km bike ride, and 4.2 km run (give or take on any of those distances).
This is a hard event to prepare for and the organizers always do a great job of dealing with crazy Halifax winter conditions. This years issue - rain and high winds and soaring temps over night, switched to a dump of big wet snow, followed by a temperature drop and high winds. Whew. Regardless, they managed for the 3rd year to get a race happening.
Due to the number of people and the relatively smallish size of the course (it is held totally on our local Commons which is a little over 1km in diameter) the organizers (MC and AD) like us to go off in 2 waves. This year I went in wave 2, oddly getting the nod as one of the faster skaters.
Huge kudos to the Halifax staff who worked really hard at getting the oval into skatable condition for us after the nights storm.
I actually practiced skating quite a bit this year. Lats year I had an issue with my calf which prevented me from skating, but this year that seemed to be gone. And while overall speed and grace is not my strong suit on skates, I could managed a decent overall bit of speed.
While waiting for the Wave 2 start, we were lucky enough to have a nice warm cup of coffee provided by our local favorite coffee roaster, Java Blend. I was bundled against the wind for sure at this point.
Finally the time arrived for the Wave 2 warm up. The oval was setup with an inner lane blocked from the racers. This allowed officials to be on the ice safely and for use to warm up without getting in other racers way. Wow, was the wind ever blowing. Gust were up to 80 km/hr at this point. That made on side of the oval very slow and one super fast.
We lined up when the first wave was completely done and as quick as possible we were off!
At first I kept up with many of the other skaters, but not wanting to die completely in the first few laps, I settled down a bit and allowed some people to pass me. There were a few super fast skaters on speed skates that were really flying. 2 of them passed me twice! Still I managed a strong showing, beating the 14 minute mark for my fastest skate yet in 3 years and getting off the ice with the 12th fastest skate of the day.
This is a hard event to prepare for and the organizers always do a great job of dealing with crazy Halifax winter conditions. This years issue - rain and high winds and soaring temps over night, switched to a dump of big wet snow, followed by a temperature drop and high winds. Whew. Regardless, they managed for the 3rd year to get a race happening.
Due to the number of people and the relatively smallish size of the course (it is held totally on our local Commons which is a little over 1km in diameter) the organizers (MC and AD) like us to go off in 2 waves. This year I went in wave 2, oddly getting the nod as one of the faster skaters.
Huge kudos to the Halifax staff who worked really hard at getting the oval into skatable condition for us after the nights storm.
I actually practiced skating quite a bit this year. Lats year I had an issue with my calf which prevented me from skating, but this year that seemed to be gone. And while overall speed and grace is not my strong suit on skates, I could managed a decent overall bit of speed.
While waiting for the Wave 2 start, we were lucky enough to have a nice warm cup of coffee provided by our local favorite coffee roaster, Java Blend. I was bundled against the wind for sure at this point.
Finally the time arrived for the Wave 2 warm up. The oval was setup with an inner lane blocked from the racers. This allowed officials to be on the ice safely and for use to warm up without getting in other racers way. Wow, was the wind ever blowing. Gust were up to 80 km/hr at this point. That made on side of the oval very slow and one super fast.
We lined up when the first wave was completely done and as quick as possible we were off!
At first I kept up with many of the other skaters, but not wanting to die completely in the first few laps, I settled down a bit and allowed some people to pass me. There were a few super fast skaters on speed skates that were really flying. 2 of them passed me twice! Still I managed a strong showing, beating the 14 minute mark for my fastest skate yet in 3 years and getting off the ice with the 12th fastest skate of the day.
My goodness I look graceful and fast!
I got to the bench, quickly removed my skates and helmet and switched my biking helmet and trail shoes. Often referred at as the 4th discipline of triathlons, transitions can make or break a race. I managed the 4th fastest of the day. Nice. Then it was a quick run to the bike racks.
I quickly got on my Norco 26 inch BushPilot which I borrowed from the great guys at Sportwheels in Sackville. It was a really comfy bike and I quickly started making up some time on the faster skaters. I did have one mishap where I was coming in a bit fast to the final corner on the first lap, tried to break too hard and flipped the bike, losing the chain int he process (and a glove). But I got it all back together and kept going. What felt like a nasty wound only turned out to be a scrape, nothing bad.
Luckily that was the worst thing of the ride and most of it looked rather like this instead.
The course was 3/4 of the way on icy, snowy paved path and then 1/4 of the way on deep slush / mud. Overall a fast course that required a bit of bike handling to ride fast. It was 4 loops to make up 5.5 km and I managed the 3rd fastest ride of the day in 14:05. Not too bad considering my tumble cost me a few valuable seconds.
By now my quads were burning as I dismounted (cautiously due to the ice and my previous fall) and racked my bike. I headed for the run and quickly noticed the total lack of feeling in my feet. I assumed, though, that my feet were in fact still attached to me and ran off to start the first of my 3 (and a bit) laps.
The run was around the Commons and was probably 2/3rds on ice covered sidewalks and 1/3rd through crunchy snow covered hilly terrain. It was a good sight more fun to run on than last year which was mostly held in knee deep slush (ha ha). The crunchy "off road" trail running was the best part and was easy to run in, the sidewalk too some special attention.
I started to make up some time quickly on the run and passed a few people who were a bit faster than me on the skate. My legs were screaming, but I felt good. My overall pace wasn't too fast, but when I looked at the end results that was the story of the day for most. I ended up with the second fastest time for this 4.2 (ish) km course, running it in 20:03 for a 4:28 min/km pace.
The run was around the Commons and was probably 2/3rds on ice covered sidewalks and 1/3rd through crunchy snow covered hilly terrain. It was a good sight more fun to run on than last year which was mostly held in knee deep slush (ha ha). The crunchy "off road" trail running was the best part and was easy to run in, the sidewalk too some special attention.
I started to make up some time quickly on the run and passed a few people who were a bit faster than me on the skate. My legs were screaming, but I felt good. My overall pace wasn't too fast, but when I looked at the end results that was the story of the day for most. I ended up with the second fastest time for this 4.2 (ish) km course, running it in 20:03 for a 4:28 min/km pace.
The last minute switch to trail shoes was a very good idea
At the end I flew down the final stretch of sidewalk, carefully took the last turn and crossed the timing mat in 50:20. And while I could try to compare it to previous years' times, each years course is different, so comparison aren't really useful. But I can compare my finishing place, which ended up being the best I have ever had on one of these events, 3rd overall.
Thankfully we had some more coffee and yummy cookies waiting for us after the race. Those were so good.
Only a few of us were brave enough to stick around for the awards due to the on coming blizzard, but I was awarded a very nice hand made "cassette sprocket" bronze medal for my placing (very Olympic-y). Oh and a rather nice box of chocolates as well, mmmmm.
Thankfully we had some more coffee and yummy cookies waiting for us after the race. Those were so good.
And a huge shout out to the volunteers cheering us on in the "fun" weather, to Tim for the great photos, to Tri NS officials and Speed Skate NS and the race directors Marie Claude and Andrew. All around great effort to pull this off.
Now it is time to clean up the bike, ugh.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
A Cycling Commuter's Dream - Power in Motion Heated Gloves
So this is actually a slight redo of my earlier blog post on this topic, if it feel like you have read this already.
About a year ago I blogged about buying some heated gloves to get me through the worst of winter cycling in Canada. Temperatures below -10C meant my hands were practically frozen by the time I got to work and I just couldn't find a decent glove to help me with the ride.
Well I found the Power in Motion Heated Gloves and decided they were worth the try. My reasons for the purchase and my initial reactions to the gloves are documented in an earlier blog spot here. Needless to say I was really impressed.
So a year later and it is the middle of winter and how are the gloves? Well in a word, awesome.
In case you didn't want to read my old post, these are glove liners with a filament that runs along each finger and over the knuckles. So this means warm fingers, not palms, and it means I get to work after a 50 min to 1 hour cycle commute with fingers that work.
The gloves have 3 temperature settings, which are controlled on each glove by an easily accessed button, to suit your needs. Personally I tend to like warm fingers and with the winds we get in Nova Scotia, I need the extra warmth. And being liners, they are thin enough that you can wear whatever top glove you want on them. I have a moderate weight windproof cycling glove, which I find allows me decent dexterity but holds the warmth in well. And for extra cold days, I can slip on a heavy pair of mittens to keep even more heat in.
When you order a pair opt for a tight fit as this helps transfer the heat best to your hands.
The long cuff is an essential part of the glove. First it keeps that cold away from your wrists, second it holds the electronics and switch and third, it has the option of holding the battery.
With these gloves you have the option of buying 2 batteries so that each glove is independent and has a run time of 3 hours, or you can use a wiring harness that means you can get away with only buying one battery. The original wiring harness I bought a year ago was fine, but sometimes was tedious putting on. I recently got a hold of the newest version of that harness which is quaintly called the Stickman and I must say it is significantly better.
I was nervous at first as the Stickman loops around your neck and holds everything in place, but it is really well designed and was not an issue at all in 2 weeks of riding. No wires protrude from your coat, nothing seems to snag when putting it on, and it allows for future adaptations, as Ken, the owner told me in an email that they hope to add to their heated wear collection.
About a year ago I blogged about buying some heated gloves to get me through the worst of winter cycling in Canada. Temperatures below -10C meant my hands were practically frozen by the time I got to work and I just couldn't find a decent glove to help me with the ride.
Well I found the Power in Motion Heated Gloves and decided they were worth the try. My reasons for the purchase and my initial reactions to the gloves are documented in an earlier blog spot here. Needless to say I was really impressed.
So a year later and it is the middle of winter and how are the gloves? Well in a word, awesome.
In case you didn't want to read my old post, these are glove liners with a filament that runs along each finger and over the knuckles. So this means warm fingers, not palms, and it means I get to work after a 50 min to 1 hour cycle commute with fingers that work.
The gloves have 3 temperature settings, which are controlled on each glove by an easily accessed button, to suit your needs. Personally I tend to like warm fingers and with the winds we get in Nova Scotia, I need the extra warmth. And being liners, they are thin enough that you can wear whatever top glove you want on them. I have a moderate weight windproof cycling glove, which I find allows me decent dexterity but holds the warmth in well. And for extra cold days, I can slip on a heavy pair of mittens to keep even more heat in.
When you order a pair opt for a tight fit as this helps transfer the heat best to your hands.
With these gloves you have the option of buying 2 batteries so that each glove is independent and has a run time of 3 hours, or you can use a wiring harness that means you can get away with only buying one battery. The original wiring harness I bought a year ago was fine, but sometimes was tedious putting on. I recently got a hold of the newest version of that harness which is quaintly called the Stickman and I must say it is significantly better.
I was nervous at first as the Stickman loops around your neck and holds everything in place, but it is really well designed and was not an issue at all in 2 weeks of riding. No wires protrude from your coat, nothing seems to snag when putting it on, and it allows for future adaptations, as Ken, the owner told me in an email that they hope to add to their heated wear collection.
What looks like a lot of wires, is really nicely designed and simple to use. The battery happens to be in my back pocket, but Easily tucks into a cycling jersey pocket or could be used in a front pocket as well. The wires down each arm or more than long enough that they do not pull, but aren't so long they are a problem. And the neck loop is incredibly loose fitting without any weight pulling on you.
This harness takes away the added battery weight from your wrist. Personally I found the wireless system to be quite comfy, but will likely switch over the the wired system for daily riding. I'll save the batteries in the wrists for other things, like skiing, mountain bike rides, skating and even running, all of which I have done with these gloves quite easily.
So, one year down the road and how are these gloves holding up? They are practically like brand new. As they are liners first and foremost, they are well protected by your over gloves. They can be hand washed, so they don't get too dirty either. My batteries still hold a full charge, which is usually enough for me to get to and from work with warm fingers (1.5 hours for 1 battery, 3 hours with 2 batteries on maximum setting).
The charging system is really just a plug and wire, so it is simple to throw in your pack and recharge at work if you need.
Power in Motion has a great video on the link I posted above showing their gloves and filled with the technical talk which some people want to see.
In short if you like being active in the winter these are a great way to keep warm and extend your outdoor time, even on super cold days. No hiding from the Polar Vortex!
Originally I contacted Ken at Power in Motion to see about buying some gloves, as they had no one on the East Coast. He put me in contact with John at Bay Cycle and Sports in Pickering http://baycyclesports.com/. John was really great to deal with and shipped my gloves quickly.
Hopefully I gave you all the info you need but if not leave a comment. They are tough, durable and warm. Well worth the price. And Canadian designed from a company that knows about winter and electronics!
The charging system is really just a plug and wire, so it is simple to throw in your pack and recharge at work if you need.
Power in Motion has a great video on the link I posted above showing their gloves and filled with the technical talk which some people want to see.
In short if you like being active in the winter these are a great way to keep warm and extend your outdoor time, even on super cold days. No hiding from the Polar Vortex!
Originally I contacted Ken at Power in Motion to see about buying some gloves, as they had no one on the East Coast. He put me in contact with John at Bay Cycle and Sports in Pickering http://baycyclesports.com/. John was really great to deal with and shipped my gloves quickly.
Hopefully I gave you all the info you need but if not leave a comment. They are tough, durable and warm. Well worth the price. And Canadian designed from a company that knows about winter and electronics!
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Last Night My Run Training Was A Failure...Or Was It?
So it was Monday night and it was time for my threshold run. The purpose of this run is to help elevate the barrier between the aerobic engine and the anaerobic engine. The higher the aerobic capacity you have, the faster you can run for longer. Seems simple enough.
It is for training sessions like this where it is very useful to know what you aerobic limits are. As I have mentioned before, this is where I have had my lactate threshold (that barrier we mentioned) tested by Jeff Zahavich at Kinesic Sport Lab in Halifax. There are less precise ways to calculate this barrier, but I figure, why bother having all these technological gadgets on our wrists and do all this training and not be as precise as possible. So armed with a small range of heart rate numbers we call Zone 4, I headed out for this weeks threshold run.
I started my doing my threshold runs 3 weeks ago (start of phase 2 of my training program) with a 15 minute run at pace. Then I increased that by 5 minutes for the next 2 weeks hitting 25 minutes in Zone 4 last week. This week was going to be a 30 minute run in the zone, but I finally hit a wall.
I ran through the 10 minute Zone 1/2 warm up gradually increasing my speed and heart rate and at 10 minutes picked it up. I started running pretty fast, my lungs adjusted and things felt okay. But then 10 minutes in my legs said, no more. It wasn't pain, it was just a lack of ability to run fast. I had been running at a pace around the 3:50 min / km mark. That seemed awfully fast to me, but the heart and lungs were quite happy. It was just the legs that said no.
At first I was rather sad as this was the first failure in my training plan. But then I realized, I am 10 weeks into my plan and this was the first real failure (other than being sick for 2 days). Now the question was, where was the failure?
I spent the rest of the scheduled 45 min run dropping back to a Zone 1/2 recovery run, eventually covering 10.5 km. And during that run I had plenty of thinking time.
During that time it all became rather simple to see the failure of my ways. Simply put, too much. I really should have been able to run a 30 minute threshold run at this point. But not 2 days after an 18 km easy run, because even though it is called an easy run, it is 18 km. Also last week I began experimenting with an increase in my running cadence, which while fine on shorter runs, obviously requires a slightly higher energy output until adaptation occurs.
So yeah too much and not enough rest. But why that title for this blog post? Because this one run could have become a huge set back if I didn't use my brain and adapt. I could have pushed harder and tried to get the 30 minutes in or even 25 minutes, but I didn't. I held back, dropped to an easy pace and made this a recovery run. I then used that time to analyse why things went wrong, and it is through these small failures that we figure things out.
So next week? Well, the increase in my long run distance will be slightly less, and I will make sure to rest better before I attempt hitting 30 minutes in a threshold run again.
On the plus side my athlete kicked butt and finished her run and is flying heartily through her training program.
It is for training sessions like this where it is very useful to know what you aerobic limits are. As I have mentioned before, this is where I have had my lactate threshold (that barrier we mentioned) tested by Jeff Zahavich at Kinesic Sport Lab in Halifax. There are less precise ways to calculate this barrier, but I figure, why bother having all these technological gadgets on our wrists and do all this training and not be as precise as possible. So armed with a small range of heart rate numbers we call Zone 4, I headed out for this weeks threshold run.
I started my doing my threshold runs 3 weeks ago (start of phase 2 of my training program) with a 15 minute run at pace. Then I increased that by 5 minutes for the next 2 weeks hitting 25 minutes in Zone 4 last week. This week was going to be a 30 minute run in the zone, but I finally hit a wall.
I ran through the 10 minute Zone 1/2 warm up gradually increasing my speed and heart rate and at 10 minutes picked it up. I started running pretty fast, my lungs adjusted and things felt okay. But then 10 minutes in my legs said, no more. It wasn't pain, it was just a lack of ability to run fast. I had been running at a pace around the 3:50 min / km mark. That seemed awfully fast to me, but the heart and lungs were quite happy. It was just the legs that said no.
At first I was rather sad as this was the first failure in my training plan. But then I realized, I am 10 weeks into my plan and this was the first real failure (other than being sick for 2 days). Now the question was, where was the failure?
I spent the rest of the scheduled 45 min run dropping back to a Zone 1/2 recovery run, eventually covering 10.5 km. And during that run I had plenty of thinking time.
During that time it all became rather simple to see the failure of my ways. Simply put, too much. I really should have been able to run a 30 minute threshold run at this point. But not 2 days after an 18 km easy run, because even though it is called an easy run, it is 18 km. Also last week I began experimenting with an increase in my running cadence, which while fine on shorter runs, obviously requires a slightly higher energy output until adaptation occurs.
So yeah too much and not enough rest. But why that title for this blog post? Because this one run could have become a huge set back if I didn't use my brain and adapt. I could have pushed harder and tried to get the 30 minutes in or even 25 minutes, but I didn't. I held back, dropped to an easy pace and made this a recovery run. I then used that time to analyse why things went wrong, and it is through these small failures that we figure things out.
So next week? Well, the increase in my long run distance will be slightly less, and I will make sure to rest better before I attempt hitting 30 minutes in a threshold run again.
On the plus side my athlete kicked butt and finished her run and is flying heartily through her training program.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Run Training Phase 2 - the Journey Continues
Well people, phase one of my run training went really well. Phase one, was of course, base training or Zone 2 training for those of us using heart rate to determine training intensities. Base was all about building the foundation I needed to be able to run strong and injury free. And like the same says, it provides the base for the speed work to come. Phase 1 was 6 weeks long, and covered 277.7 km from the beginning of December. I found a few weaknesses in my form and was able to work on them while running at speeds that allowed for easy recovery. Also my run training was generally 6 days a week with no run longer than 45 minutes. So it was consistency that was key!
So now what is Phase 2? Well in Phase 2 (another 6 weeks) I (and my other athlete I coach) begin to work on pushing our Threshold limits, with the key still on endurance. We want to be able to power that heart up by running at extended periods close to the aerobic limit. Nothing so long that we risk pushing things and getting injured. We still aim for a slow progression. And no, this isn't about speed work just yet. Ultimately we want to get our easy running to go a bit faster.
So after running consistently for 6 weeks using shorter runs, this phase adds in 2 key workouts a week. Key workout 1 is the Threshold or Zone 4 run. Each week this run gets progressively longer and is the equivalent to the max effort you would put out for a 10K run. Currently I am at a 25 min threshold run, not including warm up and cool down.
The second key workout is the long run. This is an easy Zone 2 effort, so from that stand point should be easy after all that base. But as this is an increased distance, it is still considered a hard effort. The key to this run is to feel like you have a lot more to give at the end. Currently I am at 1 hour and 10 minutes. Obviously this long run will grow, but I have many weeks to do so, as this key workout will remain for the rest of the phases.
Now, while I am not focusing myself or my athlete on speed at this point, I am introducing our bodies to the idea of running fast, but with little overall stress. For myself that means a short interval session once a week. And by short I mean short. I am running less than 2 km overall at a high speed with plenty of recovery in between each. And each interval itself is rather short (max 500 meters). These are considered Zone 5 intensity session, but the maximum output is lasting for less than 10 minutes overall. Basically I am reminding my muscles how to run fast, but not letting them focus on it just yet. That will come in the hardest phase of all, Phase 3.
So overall, Phase 2 started with a drop in mileage as my intensity grew. It is working back up to where it maxed out in Phase 1, will surpass that, then drop back again for Phase 3. I also cut one day a week from running, down to 5 days a week. Now that doesn't mean I sit around for 2 days, but these are active recovery days that allow my body to absorb the work I did during the week. I ride my bike, I swim, and I skate. I also continue my rehab and strength training to work on my weaknesses before they become injuries.
I am excited about my training and training someone else. I know she will be able to really unlock her potential this year.
I am also excited about continuing to explore the world of heart rate training based on what I learn from Jeff Zahavich at Kinesic Sport Lab. His concepts for endurance athletes work. You just have to add water and believe.
So now what is Phase 2? Well in Phase 2 (another 6 weeks) I (and my other athlete I coach) begin to work on pushing our Threshold limits, with the key still on endurance. We want to be able to power that heart up by running at extended periods close to the aerobic limit. Nothing so long that we risk pushing things and getting injured. We still aim for a slow progression. And no, this isn't about speed work just yet. Ultimately we want to get our easy running to go a bit faster.
So after running consistently for 6 weeks using shorter runs, this phase adds in 2 key workouts a week. Key workout 1 is the Threshold or Zone 4 run. Each week this run gets progressively longer and is the equivalent to the max effort you would put out for a 10K run. Currently I am at a 25 min threshold run, not including warm up and cool down.
The second key workout is the long run. This is an easy Zone 2 effort, so from that stand point should be easy after all that base. But as this is an increased distance, it is still considered a hard effort. The key to this run is to feel like you have a lot more to give at the end. Currently I am at 1 hour and 10 minutes. Obviously this long run will grow, but I have many weeks to do so, as this key workout will remain for the rest of the phases.
Now, while I am not focusing myself or my athlete on speed at this point, I am introducing our bodies to the idea of running fast, but with little overall stress. For myself that means a short interval session once a week. And by short I mean short. I am running less than 2 km overall at a high speed with plenty of recovery in between each. And each interval itself is rather short (max 500 meters). These are considered Zone 5 intensity session, but the maximum output is lasting for less than 10 minutes overall. Basically I am reminding my muscles how to run fast, but not letting them focus on it just yet. That will come in the hardest phase of all, Phase 3.
So overall, Phase 2 started with a drop in mileage as my intensity grew. It is working back up to where it maxed out in Phase 1, will surpass that, then drop back again for Phase 3. I also cut one day a week from running, down to 5 days a week. Now that doesn't mean I sit around for 2 days, but these are active recovery days that allow my body to absorb the work I did during the week. I ride my bike, I swim, and I skate. I also continue my rehab and strength training to work on my weaknesses before they become injuries.
I am excited about my training and training someone else. I know she will be able to really unlock her potential this year.
I am also excited about continuing to explore the world of heart rate training based on what I learn from Jeff Zahavich at Kinesic Sport Lab. His concepts for endurance athletes work. You just have to add water and believe.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
2014 Race 1 and Done - MEC PPP 5K
Well here we are in January already and though my training plan is aimed strictly at the Bluenose Half Marathon in May, I couldn't pass up the local MEC 5K race just down the road from me. Well that was until the weather forecast called for practically a hurricane.
As I was just getting over being sick, I decided to wait until the day of to finally commit to the run, hoping the bad weather would pass, and luckily it did! The night before was a crazy wind and rain affair (my neighbour's shed blew away!). But by the time I was up and confirmed the race was actually happening, things were looking better.
Now as usual, I had all my stuff ready to go the night before, but just as I was getting ready to leave, I thought, why not grab a pair of shorts just in case. And I was glad I did.
I showed up, signed in and chatted with some people. Turns out the course had been all washed out during the storm. There were huge puddles, ditches and no spray painted arrows. But MEC had loads of course workers and pylons so that was fine. But what had just recently been a hard packed frozen crusher dust path (great for speed) was now a squishy mud fest. Glad I brought my trail shoes!
The rain was now pretty much stopped and the temp had soared to a crazy 10C (this is January in Nova Scotia). So with 10 minutes to go, I headed back to the car and changed quickly into shorts, took my place at the start line and within a few minutes we were off.
For the past 6 weeks I have been sticking to a training plan that called only for base mileage. My runs had been frequent (5-6 days a week) but nothing more than 45 minutes in length and all slow easy paced, for me. So I was interested in seeing if the legs had some oomph left in them.
As usual I took off feeling good. Last year I did this race in 20:28, which is slowish for a 5K for me, but not early in the season and not on a course that is uphill for the first 3 km. So this season I hoped to keep the average pace around 4 min/km. My good start was well under that as a couple of other runners surged ahead. Oh well, I thought. So far it doesn't hurt so lets go for it. One of those runners was racing the 10K, the other the 5K (Cameron).
My legs were turning over great, the new NB 1010 trail shoes felt nice, and I didn't mind the wet feet. I stuck with Cameron without hurting myself and decided to hang back just a bit to see how things would play out.
A little over 2 km in I ran by Marie-Claude G. who was training with a group and we exchange some waves and hellos. That was nice. Then I hit another hill (I mean seriously, it was all uphill for so long). No problems, though there were many tree branches to avoid.
Our pace was fine, my legs still had some energy and for a brief moment I thought about pushing into first place, but I looked and we were still 1.5 km from the finish, so yeah, I held back. But eventually Cameron found a slightly higher gear and pulled a slight lead on me. I tried to hang in but we were back in the really wet squishy muddy area and my legs were just happy to hang in where I was.
The finish line loomed, and with what would a 5 second lead, I had no answer for first. I crossed in 19:50 and took second. A good 40 seconds faster than last year, where I had done a bit of speed work before, so not too bad.
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Another MEC race, another 2nd place, ha ha. I joked with Race Director Christine that I might have to make a suit of armour out of these.
Lessons learned? Not that much actually. What I had, I gave. Cameron out ran me just fine. It is early in the season and I have done no speed training, so I can't expect to have speed yet. That will come. Hopefully for the next MEC race in April. But next race up is the Tri The Oval 3 in February. I am really looking forward to that.
I am still training based on Heart Rate Zones based on the Jeff Zahavich Kinesic Sport Lab system, and it is still working for me. I am ahead of the game this year already and can't wait to see where I can take this!
As I was just getting over being sick, I decided to wait until the day of to finally commit to the run, hoping the bad weather would pass, and luckily it did! The night before was a crazy wind and rain affair (my neighbour's shed blew away!). But by the time I was up and confirmed the race was actually happening, things were looking better.
Now as usual, I had all my stuff ready to go the night before, but just as I was getting ready to leave, I thought, why not grab a pair of shorts just in case. And I was glad I did.
I showed up, signed in and chatted with some people. Turns out the course had been all washed out during the storm. There were huge puddles, ditches and no spray painted arrows. But MEC had loads of course workers and pylons so that was fine. But what had just recently been a hard packed frozen crusher dust path (great for speed) was now a squishy mud fest. Glad I brought my trail shoes!
The rain was now pretty much stopped and the temp had soared to a crazy 10C (this is January in Nova Scotia). So with 10 minutes to go, I headed back to the car and changed quickly into shorts, took my place at the start line and within a few minutes we were off.
For the past 6 weeks I have been sticking to a training plan that called only for base mileage. My runs had been frequent (5-6 days a week) but nothing more than 45 minutes in length and all slow easy paced, for me. So I was interested in seeing if the legs had some oomph left in them.
As usual I took off feeling good. Last year I did this race in 20:28, which is slowish for a 5K for me, but not early in the season and not on a course that is uphill for the first 3 km. So this season I hoped to keep the average pace around 4 min/km. My good start was well under that as a couple of other runners surged ahead. Oh well, I thought. So far it doesn't hurt so lets go for it. One of those runners was racing the 10K, the other the 5K (Cameron).
My legs were turning over great, the new NB 1010 trail shoes felt nice, and I didn't mind the wet feet. I stuck with Cameron without hurting myself and decided to hang back just a bit to see how things would play out.
A little over 2 km in I ran by Marie-Claude G. who was training with a group and we exchange some waves and hellos. That was nice. Then I hit another hill (I mean seriously, it was all uphill for so long). No problems, though there were many tree branches to avoid.
Our pace was fine, my legs still had some energy and for a brief moment I thought about pushing into first place, but I looked and we were still 1.5 km from the finish, so yeah, I held back. But eventually Cameron found a slightly higher gear and pulled a slight lead on me. I tried to hang in but we were back in the really wet squishy muddy area and my legs were just happy to hang in where I was.
The finish line loomed, and with what would a 5 second lead, I had no answer for first. I crossed in 19:50 and took second. A good 40 seconds faster than last year, where I had done a bit of speed work before, so not too bad.
Another MEC race, another 2nd place, ha ha. I joked with Race Director Christine that I might have to make a suit of armour out of these.
Lessons learned? Not that much actually. What I had, I gave. Cameron out ran me just fine. It is early in the season and I have done no speed training, so I can't expect to have speed yet. That will come. Hopefully for the next MEC race in April. But next race up is the Tri The Oval 3 in February. I am really looking forward to that.
I am still training based on Heart Rate Zones based on the Jeff Zahavich Kinesic Sport Lab system, and it is still working for me. I am ahead of the game this year already and can't wait to see where I can take this!
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