So here we are into the heart of Phase 4 of the training season for running. Exciting times. I would have posted about this phase earlier, but as usual, life got in the way.
For the past 2 weeks I have been busy both at work and at home. Well I guess I should say away from home as I traveled to Colorado last week for 8 days. But before we discuss that, what exactly is Phase 4?
So first we built a base in Phase 1. Then we introduced endurance in Phase 2. In Phase 3 we brought about speed. Now? Race preparation is the name of the game. In the final 6 weeks we aim to train specifically to the conditions of the "A" race we are looking at.
For the Bluenose Half Marathon both I and my trainee are aiming for, that means, more endurance and hill work.
For now, we will start to taper back to 4-5 runs a week at most with some cross training like cycling and swimming thrown in. Why? Well as we push ourselves on slightly longer endurance runs and hill intervals, we want to make sure we are fully recovered from each session prior to heading back out. And most of all we want to be as fresh as possible come race day.
Another key session this phase will be race pace sessions. It is one thing to run fast intervals or long slow distance to push our limits, but it is also essential to train the body and mind, exactly what the pace is we hope to be able to sustain. The less you have to glare down at your Garmin or Polar to see how fast you are running, the easier the run will be. For us, this means warmup, race pace session of 8-10 km and cool down.
Likewise, hill sessions will take over from intervals, where we push ourselves to conquer hills in 3 minute segments. Here we want to actually run faster than race pace as this will make the hills we encounter in the race (ie Point Pleasant Park) seem so much easier at the slightly slower pace we will race at.
Finally the main event is the long run. As usual this is done at a slow pace that will allow for easier recovery. Here we are just continuing to build endurance and time on our feet. Depending on the length of time the race will likely take you, long runs for a half marathon can be up to 2 hours long. Other people may opt to try and run the while distance in practice, but in my opinion, a 2 hour run will get you most of the benefit you need while minimizing the chance of injury. Assuming you are keeping up with the rest of your runs in the week, 2 hours (tapering slightly the week before the race), will be more than enough.
Any other runs that occur will also be done at an easy pace and used as recovery runs after a hard session. Remember that much of the good hard work has been achieved in the first three phases a now is not the time to push the training too hard.
So all this being said, I traveled last week and the results was that I had trouble getting all of my runs in. So what did I do? I looked at what the idea being the runs was and tailored my training to what I could do, and not worry too much about what I could not do. And as I was in Colorado, that meant hill training. Due to altitude, I couldn't push myself as hard as normal, but I had a decent long hill and used it as often as I could to get a proper session in. The altitude also meant that I had to allow myself more time for recovery. Again remember that the goal here is to make it to race day as fresh as possible and not hurt. So adjusting your training accordingly is important.
Following Phase 3 I got my checkup from my physiotherapist and we found a slight weakness in one of my legs. So I am also incorporating a little more strength training into the week's work. Being as strong and balanced as possible will lead to a strong finish you can walk away from with a smile.
And I also went back to Kinesic Sport Lab to get another Blood Lactate test done. Initial results looked really good with only slight alteration to my heart rate running zones. That is great to see that I haven't fallen back into my old routine of running in the "junk" zone.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Race 3 of 2013 - The MEC Highlander Citadel 5K
So this past Sunday I took part in the next of the MEC running race series, as put on my the Halifax MEC. These are meant to be grass roots, simple, cheap and accessible races. In my experience they deliver a great bang for your buck timed event with a fun atmosphere.
This was the third time I ran this specific race, which takes place on Halifax's hilliest course. In the past I have run both the 5K and 10K options. This year I opted again for the 5K as I like to see what sort of speed I can put on with the incredibly steep hills on offer. Last year I won this event and was at least hoping to better my time from last season.
The weather was decent when we arrived before the start but it was obvious that the wind was picking up and the sun was disappearing behind the clouds. I had opted to run in shorts and just did my best to keep warm prior to the start (heavy coats do a good job).
Thanks to Parks Canada, the send off for this race is great. The Historic Sites Highlanders show up and send us off with a booming fire from a black powder flint lock gun. Nice.
In this racing series all competitors start at the same time and for this race we race the same course (the 10K does 2 loops of the course). So if you want to find your competitors you need to look for the colour of the bibs and do your sleuthing ahead of time. Not really knowing the speed of most of the other runners, I opted to just go for it.
The course starts inside the fort, then you pop out across the drawbridge and onto the perimeter road. At this point in the race I was in third place overall and running a fine pace, of course this was maybe 400 meters in (ha ha!).
As it turns out the guy right in front of me was actually running the 10K race, so I wasn't too concerned about him and put my sights on the 1st place runner. Sadly as we approached the first drop to street level (and quite the drop it is) I was becoming aware that the guy in first overall was darn fast. His lead started to increase by the time we reached the second drop to street level and my legs were burning on these super steep hills. So I was starting to settle for holding my decent pace and not worrying too much about the win.
I also started to realize that second place was mine for the taking or losing. I had a clear advantage over third place and was happy to even be second in the race overall. Last year some of the runners from the 10K were so fast they stayed ahead of me the whole way, whew!
Now having second place in your sights and losing sight of the first place runner starts to make you a little complacent and at one point on the back side of Citadel Hill I noticed my pace sliding. I wasn't over extended, I was just mentally not there. So I talked a little smack in my head and picked up the pace back to where it should have been.
I entered the fort for the last time and ran up to the ramparts, dodging the guns and watching my footing as best as possible, all while taking in a bit of the view.
As I was starting to approach the finish I actually checked the time on my watch and it was at 18:40. I kicked it up a bit again, really trying to see if I could go sub 19. I pushed through the finish line and stopped the clock at 19:19. Darn, but still close to 10 seconds faster than last years time. I also know I could have run this faster, had I had the first place runner in my sights and not had a mental laps. But that first place guy ran a staggering 16:50, and I had no chance of keeping anywhere near him. Huge congrats on that time. I can only imagine what he could do on a flat course.
So two races into the MEC series and 2 second place medals for me. Though they now have a nice new look!
Last season I managed 3 second place medals and 1 first. We will see how things go.
Okay, other than second place, how did I do from a racing stand point and how is my training going. Well, I think I can say it is going really well. I have limited any serious injuries, put in a lot of low intensity Zone 2 training and it is paying off really well. Here is my chart from the race:
As you can see from the bottom graph, the hills are in green and quite up and down while the red and blue lines are pace and heart rate. I would normally have expected to see those go crazy all over the place as well, but I managed to keep them nice and steady. That bodes well for a strong aerobic system as the season of longer races is coming up. But we will visit how this are really going in the next post as I just had another Blood Lactate test with Jeff Zahavich at Kinesic Sports Lab.
This was the third time I ran this specific race, which takes place on Halifax's hilliest course. In the past I have run both the 5K and 10K options. This year I opted again for the 5K as I like to see what sort of speed I can put on with the incredibly steep hills on offer. Last year I won this event and was at least hoping to better my time from last season.
The weather was decent when we arrived before the start but it was obvious that the wind was picking up and the sun was disappearing behind the clouds. I had opted to run in shorts and just did my best to keep warm prior to the start (heavy coats do a good job).
Thanks to Parks Canada, the send off for this race is great. The Historic Sites Highlanders show up and send us off with a booming fire from a black powder flint lock gun. Nice.
In this racing series all competitors start at the same time and for this race we race the same course (the 10K does 2 loops of the course). So if you want to find your competitors you need to look for the colour of the bibs and do your sleuthing ahead of time. Not really knowing the speed of most of the other runners, I opted to just go for it.
The course starts inside the fort, then you pop out across the drawbridge and onto the perimeter road. At this point in the race I was in third place overall and running a fine pace, of course this was maybe 400 meters in (ha ha!).
I also started to realize that second place was mine for the taking or losing. I had a clear advantage over third place and was happy to even be second in the race overall. Last year some of the runners from the 10K were so fast they stayed ahead of me the whole way, whew!
Now having second place in your sights and losing sight of the first place runner starts to make you a little complacent and at one point on the back side of Citadel Hill I noticed my pace sliding. I wasn't over extended, I was just mentally not there. So I talked a little smack in my head and picked up the pace back to where it should have been.
I entered the fort for the last time and ran up to the ramparts, dodging the guns and watching my footing as best as possible, all while taking in a bit of the view.
As I was starting to approach the finish I actually checked the time on my watch and it was at 18:40. I kicked it up a bit again, really trying to see if I could go sub 19. I pushed through the finish line and stopped the clock at 19:19. Darn, but still close to 10 seconds faster than last years time. I also know I could have run this faster, had I had the first place runner in my sights and not had a mental laps. But that first place guy ran a staggering 16:50, and I had no chance of keeping anywhere near him. Huge congrats on that time. I can only imagine what he could do on a flat course.
So two races into the MEC series and 2 second place medals for me. Though they now have a nice new look!
Last season I managed 3 second place medals and 1 first. We will see how things go.
Okay, other than second place, how did I do from a racing stand point and how is my training going. Well, I think I can say it is going really well. I have limited any serious injuries, put in a lot of low intensity Zone 2 training and it is paying off really well. Here is my chart from the race:
As you can see from the bottom graph, the hills are in green and quite up and down while the red and blue lines are pace and heart rate. I would normally have expected to see those go crazy all over the place as well, but I managed to keep them nice and steady. That bodes well for a strong aerobic system as the season of longer races is coming up. But we will visit how this are really going in the next post as I just had another Blood Lactate test with Jeff Zahavich at Kinesic Sports Lab.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Run Training Phase 3 - This One Might Hurt a Little
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.
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.
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.
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