Training Log Archive: O Steve!

73F and 56 % humidity and Kari and I hit the track at SLP.....

5 x 800 with a 200 meter walk recovery....

warm up with

800 meter warm up 5:26 (151 HRA...accurate?, doubtful)
5:03 walk recovery (110 HRA)

800 repeats x 5 w/ 200 meter walk recovery (avg 2:20)
this is what I did

4:05 157 HRA
(2:06 134 HRA)
4:06 157 HRA
(2:19 132 HRA)
4:08 160 HRA
(2:23 135 HRA)
4:07 162 HRA
(2:23 138 HRA)
4:11 162 HRA fading a bit...I always debate if I should do the last one...hard but got it in.....

4:39 400 walk recovery 128 HRA
3:26 slow 400 jog recovery 130 HRA

Great times...I need to go back and compare but I think its mostly due to good weather...

Classic 5 x 200 on 5:00 (generous rest)

warm up 5 x 50 on 1:30

:45
:45
:45
:45
:44

smooth...easy...felt pretty good...

5 x 200 on 5:00

3:03
3:03
3:03
3:03
3:03

I say that is pretty consistent : )

actually, really good times, out swimming times I recorded 7-8 years ago when I was, admittedly, training less in swimming.....not sure why my swimming times have all of a sudden dropped to solid times....avg 131.5/100. I need to shorten the rest interval now to 1:30 or so rather than the 1:57 I got on this workout...

my plan had been to swim less until after July 4th (pool closed for cleanup for a week?) and then hit it again twice a week to be ready to swim well the 2nd weekend in August....

Kari and I were both at the SLP track to do 800 meter repeats when the lightening hit....to bad. I was looking forward to pacing each other through some repeats....only got a warm up in....next time

C • SLP 4

Superior Vistas Bike tour with Kari who did well despite still being in recovery and a lack of bike training....we averaged right at 15 mph for the hilly 43 mile we rode....we went out and back to Cornucopia Wi plus a bit more...the normal route for the planned 52 mile ride was changed so we improvised a bit......Kari was a bit more cautious on the downhills than me on this hilly route so I sat up on every downhill and tried to catch wind so I would not end up to far ahead........great weather and lots of fun...

ride time only included...took out timed rest time...

easy spin at snap during work that was barely loggable

stnd arms....barely loggable also...had to go quick through the routine to keep the HR up

Yesterdays 450 yard swim was one of my best age graded efforts ever....

I use the FINA masters world records for the 400 meter short course (close to 450 yards) as a guide....I calculate the % slowing of the world records for each 5 year age group and extrapolate the slowing for each year and apply it to my own times.

I am sure their is some fancier statistical way to calculate this but I doubt it would change the assessment more than marginally.

Notes from the aging process:

-Lately I really seem to have difficulty from even medium efforts. I used to hear people talk about recovery times lengthening when I was 40-45 years old but did not experience it....that has changed significantly the last two year or so....lack of recovery is definitely limiting my interval workouts/efforts in all sports but especially running,

-As I said before 55 years old is when thing really start to be effected my age...in my experience.

-With my recent comments on weight and performance all of this ties together.....you do less volume and intensity due to inability to recover and therefore burn less calories, which can cause weight gain, which causes you to slow. While combating this you have to maintain the will to train consistently/methodically towards a performance goal and do it without the thrill of possible doing your fastest times even that you were buoyed by when younger. That is the challenge of a competing master and veteran athlete. Some decide to keep going after competing and performance goals and some do not....some decide to primarily train/exercise for good health. And I respect that. I do a little of both obviously but I still have the want-need to compete against former self and others.

-Another challenge that I have alluded to is that as you slow with age it tougher to know what interval times to try and hit so that your dont over do it...or under do it.....but its a moving target each year as you are slowing. Also harder to know when you have had a great performance or a bad one. That is whey I embrace age graded tables to guide me...and I have found the calculated predicted slowing of age group world records is very accurate when applied to my own performance.

..and after some mediocre results I popped a good one.....

decided even though my legs were tired this might be a good time for my annual 450 yd swim time trial....my goal this year is to eventually get under 7:05 before season end....as always I am at the Lifetime Plymouth where I have swum this time trial the last 19 years.....

warm up to get ready....4 x 100 on 3:00 (copious rest)

1:32
1:31
1:31
1:31

seemed kinda sluggish but felt a bit smoother on the latter ones....didnt seem to bode all that well

1:29 recovery

and then 4 x 50 on 1:30 (lots of rest again)

:44
:44
:44
:44

rested 3:45 a minute longer than usual to make sure I can give very strong effort...

Pushed off the wall and had decided to keep the effort mild and cruising in an effort of losing gas in the middle and tieing up...

passed the first 100 in 1:26 a bit quicker than planned but I thought it felt easier....focused on good push on turns and smooth glide and push in the stroke....kept the effort smooth and not thrashy.....

came in on the first 200 and glanced and the clock said 3:01....good...I didnt feel gassed...strong and still pretty smooth...

settled in to keep the effort smooth an tapping the accelerator and didnt see my time at 300....kept it rolling and didn't feel like the pace was getting to me and glanced at the clock at 400 and saw xx:11

My math is fuzzy in these things and I though for a moment I might have miscounted and should have been done already with a 7:11 time which would be right in line with my expectations but as I pushed hard on the last 50 I touched out and saw 6:58.74!

.....a second faster than my best time trial last year and only :02 slower than my best 2013 time....and with only 14 swims under my belt this year.

I have to go back and see how this might age grade out but this was a nice surprise to go this quick

recovery ride...legs feel stiff/sore.....still had a higher HR....must be due to swim and sauna earlier in the day....

run off the bike...medium effort....

my plans after my first triathlon in early june was to maintain with 1 or 2 swims a week for about 3/4 weeks and ramp it up again for my 3 Triathlons in August....

Went into this workout tired and sore...(and really surprised I felt so rung out....its not like I have been doing massive volume or intensity...

decided to make this a "cruisy" interval day and do some longer stuff to build some endurance..and not make it to tough.....that seemed to fit my schedule and general workout philosophy to establish a fir pace base and then sharpen the speed last before the event.....

decided on main set of 2 x 400

warm up:

3 x 100 on 3:00 (copious rest)

1:35
1:37
1:35

4 x 50 on 1:30 (generous rest)

:46
:46
:47
:47

Impressions: times pretty good for a mild push effort.....

1:40 recovery....

Main set 2 x 400 on 10:00 (3:19 recovery...plan was to go out 1 mile pace but who is kidding who...it was more like 1/2 mile race pace...)

6:40
6:39

impressions: given the mid cruisy effort these times seem pretty decent....my goal time is to go 7:05 for a 450 yard time trial and these seem to indicate I might go 7:15 or so?....I am ready to do my first TT of the season to establish where I am at....I will do it as soon as I am at the pool feeling decent.

cool down.....

I didnt count some bike riding with Kari and the tag along w/Syd up and to the St louis Park city festival...about 20 minutes worth but I dont think it was a pace that would count...did some up and downs on the water slide w/syd on sunday.....I also managed a flip off the diving board...first time I have done that in 30 years or so?....

looping normandale lake with Kari....10:34/mile in hot weather according to Kari's gps (that I never use)

1 partial loop of normandale walking for cool down

minnehaha loop with Kari...

Recovery bike ride....easy. 3 days of teaching 7 hours/day left me drained....

Rode with Kari as she preps to do a 50 mile bike tour with me in 2 weeks...she hasnt been on her bike much.....decent ride....Hopkins loop/ target field/hiawatha/greenway and LOI...we had to slow and pick our way through detours here and there...dead legs so it was a recovery ride for me.....enjoyed getting out before day care pick up..

first section of a tag ride with Kari and Syd when we were moving along....didn't count the ride home that was a bit more slack.

Tired but got a loop in at Murphy....you have to pick your way through Murphy when compared to Elm Creek and you need to be on your toes, but we have some great mt biking in the twin cites....the closest thing to an adult roller coaster...1:04:47 for the loop with a 143 HRA

bike to and back from SLP track....

with wet mt bike trails I decided to head to the track for some .5 mile intervals (800 meters). I just did this workout on the treadmill this week so this is a little soon but thought my legs felt good enough to handle it....

warm up with:

5:01 800 at 152 HRA (HR seems suspect...)
3:56 400 walk recovery 107 HRA
4:47 800 at 147 HRA
4:00 400 walk recovery 121 HRA

main set:

4:21 800 151 HRA
2:03 200 walk recovery 130 HRA
4:15 800 150 HRA
2:18 200 walk recovery 143 HRA
4:17 800 155 HRA
2:10 200 walk recovery 140 HRA
4:19 800 156 HRA

cool down....did 4 and left it at that....decent speed I guess....something to work on...

Bloomington Ferry to Lyndale and back on the riverbottoms trail....included the river crossing both ways.....tired from all the hard training these last two days...

A check in workout doing the 5 x 200 thing....

warm up with 5 x 50 on 1:30....

:44
:43
:43
:43
:43

ok...seems in line

2:16 recovery

5 x 200 on 5:00

3:07
3:06
3:07
3:06
3:06

was hoping to be a bit quicker but this is workout 12? of the year....

time to do a 450 time trial to check where I am in with my own person history...perhaps next time if I feel good....likely around 7:13 or so....I want to go 7:05 this year....but I will check this out with some age grading tables for swimming....

warm down....easy and sighting.

I am a bachelor till sunday night so as soon as I got home from my swim (after leaving work early) I packed up the bike and headed to Elm Creek...

wasnt planning this since I am planning to get a lot of dirt time tomorrow but I went pretty hard and tied to keep is smooth and quick.....

beginner loop in 14:14 with 136 HRA

I then headed for the 10.5 mile loop....(wow this is just so damn fun!)

I took one split to the left on the grizzland section that cost me about :10 due to a longer way around and I was flagging a bit at the end in the open prarie sections due to the heat but came around in:

1:05:10 or 1:05:00 flat (beg in) with a 156 HRA!.....hard bike 168 HR max

one of my best runs on this loop (I think there was some re routing since I did a Time Trial here in just over an how in 2013?........anyway this wrapped up a good and very sweaty day

2 full teaching days led to not training. But I am a bachelor this weekend (Kari and Syd up north) and plan to do some additional training this weekend.

swallowed my ego a bit and slowed the pace of my tempo intervals on the treadmill at snap....one problem with slowing as you age is that you might be continuing to run your intervals at to fast a pace (ie the pace you had 3-5 years ago...

decided on 3 x 6:00 at 8:57 pace....

after warmup of walk/run I did:

6:00 at 8:57 pace ( 130 HRA estimate)
3:00 at 15:47 walk pace recovery (110 HRA estimate)
6:00 at 8:57 pace (132 HRA)
3:00 at 15:47 walk pace recovery (113 HRA)
6:00 at 8:57 pace (134 HRA)

cool down walk/run

thought about doing one more but decided to leave it at 3 so that I might be able to recover and do my next interval workout sooner.

stnd workout

question: how much of the inevitable slow down as we age related to weight gain?

I remember reading somewhere that dedicated runners who keep up their same schedule of running as they age still gained 10lbs every decade or a pound a year. That has been close to my experience. And I wondered if additional weight slows you down, were the world record holders of age group endurance sports at their optimal weight of their youth. I would guess not. My assumption: even the world record holders had gained some weight over the years from their youth.

Here is my thought. If the best age groupers in the world could keep from gaining any weight. or gain less weight, or lose a few lbs. how much would the lower their world records...wouldn't we flatten the decline curve?

why? because from a personal point of view we can not control most of the physiological changes that cause us to slow as we age...BUT weight and % fat body composition IS controllable by each one of us. (I didnt say it was easy...it is very hard to control weight as we age) but we COULD if we had to....I have enough info from my past to at least take a stab at this....stay tuned and I will see what I come up with....

recovery run w/Kari around cedar

includes on loop of the bog including the Brownie run out13:02....estimate 12:10 on a pure loop for future reference..

here is what I came up with....I am a good person to at least get a reasonable answer to the question if you could maintain your weight as you age how much could you slow the decline indicated my age group world records?....why? because since I hit my athletic peak around 32-38 years old, my training has been largely the same....my hours and intensity have been held pretty constant which controls a variable (training schedule variability) and keeps it constant. And I have records of my race times, work outs and weight over 30 years....

if memory serves (I could look this up specifically with training logs) my PR for the 5k was 21:04. when I was 33 or so and weighed about 165 or so...(I can confirm all this later by perusing my old training logs). In 2013 at 55 I ran 24:19 at 175 lbs....

here what is interesting: by the chart in this article based on changes in vo2 max due to weight loss you can go 1:02 faster over 5K for 10 lbs of lost weight.

http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/whats-your...

So theoretically I could have gone 23:17 for 5K at 55.

which means this....

a 21:04 at 32 gets an age graded score of 61.72% or 20:54
a 24:19 at 55 gets an age graded score of 63.19% or 20:24

but if I could go 23:17 for 5k at 55 due to losing 10 lbs and weighing 165 that would have scored a age graded 19:33 and an age graded score of 66.0%

so this means that my natural slowing from age 32 to 55 would have been 2:13 slower due to other aging effects besides weight gain, only 10.5% slower in 23 years, which is significantly less than the slowing of current age group world records. This means that if aging world class athletes could keep from gaining weight and body fat as they age they could cut their slowing to about .5%/year as opposed to the current 1%/year slowing.....

I know the above is just using 1 person...me. to estimate this but it would be interesting for someone to use good science and answer this question.

Regardless, weight gain is the scourge of aging athlete and its worth the effort to try and control it or lose it. (as long as you are over 18.5 BMI weight loss will help your race times)

C • Weight 2

Buffalo Triathlon....

Last wave (19) on a day with rising temps and some winds. I had moderated my expectations especially on the run and it was time to go see where I am at...announced as a .31 swim before the race (not .25 as listed)...

Lined up and got a good dolphin start but didn't feel totally comfortable. I really sucked the albuterol down to avoid asthma issues that I experienced in the cold water of California and it worked pretty well but I could still feel some constriction in the 68F water but manageable. I was swimming in the 55 yr old and up wave and by the 1st buoy I was in 3rd of 4th. Again I did not feel totally grooved but I kept moving at a pace that pushed and by the 3rd of 4 buoys I could tell I was in 4th or 5th or so as we swam through major crowds of slow swimmers from earlier heats. Smoothed out a bit on the home stretch but stilll had some bumping and grinding with a fellow participant that was more annoying than slowing as I popped up in 9:04....not bad I thought and ran to the beach to trip the timer in 9:44. Decent start but I knew based on swimmers in front of me that a podium spot was a long shot with no lead out of the swim. came out 5th of 21 in my age group.

C • Calibration exercise! 2

C • Satisfaction 1

tough run uphill from the lake to the transition area that left me gassed...hung up one ankle that cost me :05. Had to run the bike out up a very steep hump from the T area that sent the HR up. Flying mount was ok...off I go. Not the greatest transition....could have been :10 faster if I was a bit smoother.....but not a big deal. 6th of 21 in age group on T1.

Uphill start to the bike that left the area the opposite way of years past due to local construction and then joined up with the old course. I was slow getting up to speed due to all the early climbing out of the swim and the first 200 meters on the bike.....finally get to some flat land and try to roll it up to speed. We hit some pretty good hill early on this rolling course and the winds off the lake are pushing me, with my disk wheel on the back, sideways a bit.

I am making my way through the field and seem to be doing ok but not great. The hills are fairly constant and the winds make it a tougher go than I would have hoped.

Finally on the back end we get a tail wind and some flats and I pick it up substantially on the last 3-4 miles which seems to get me a decent split....the results show me averaging 20.6 mph but I think their mileage is off....I seem to be right at 20.0 mph which is my goal for a average ride. Given the winds, I will call this an average but not great ride. 6th of 21 in my age group on the bike

decent change of shoes....could have been :05 faster with a speedier effort....long run out in this large T area. That never helps me...still 1st of 21 in Age group in T2

I figure I am a bit off what I hoped to do and now I was heading out on the run which has been "off" lately....big hill out of transition again to make the start a real chore and as we head out on the narrow shoulder its very crowded. The sun is out and it feels hotter than the 73F. I am better on cool and flat runs and the hills seem to be getting to me more than I would like but I don't want to give it up.

I try to find a pace I can maintain and not give into the increased difficulty. The last big hill is a killer...I feel like I am crawling with my Heart in my throat before I get to run downhill to the finish. I was hoping to run 27 flat but could not manage a pace to get me there. To warm and hilly....8th of 21 in my age group for the run.

finish time 1:17:44....11 of 494 overall and 6th of 21 in my age group. Good swim, decent bike, sub par run leaves me with a grade of C...average for this result. if their is any consolation I really did not have a chance to place in my age group even if I had run a perfect race. The top 3 were just to good. 6 of 21 is not bad for having an average race and 111 of 494 is still good for a 57 year old so I take some satisfaction that my average still has me placing decent.

This gives me something to improve upon for my races in August. If I can lose from current weight of 178.8 and go in at 175 or so and keep working on my bike and run while keeping my swim where its at or a bit better I can get some better results in August...

bike warm up

swim warm up

Kari and I hit the river bottoms mt bike trail as Sydney went a birthday party...might not be the best thing for my race tomorrow but I was having to much fun.

Testing my bike with the race wheels....all good.

easy ride with some unofficial single track

3 min on/ 2 min recovery....with Kari....taking it easy....

5 x 50 on 1:30....warm up to get the body going....

:42
:43
:43
:42
:43

2:16 recovery

the main set of the classic 10 x 100 on 2:00 this time

10 x 100 on 2:00

1:27
1:32*
1:32
1:32
1:32
1:33
1:32
1:33
1:33
1:34

1:32 average.....that went well. a good :02/100 faster than I expected

C • Seems to be going well 2

thank goodness for the indoor Snap fitness....rainy day but I got some good training in..

warm up and cool down with this main set imbedded:

3 x 4:00 @ 8:14 pace (didnt want to over do the repeats) because I have a sprint triathlon on sunday...first one was ragged and felt tough.....not a good sign.

stnd workout

Kari and I rode the Hopkins loop and a bit more....mild riding....