It's been pretty crazy so far. After skipping my Sunday workout, I was "forced" to do a double workout day on Monday with Workout AH in the morning and a bike/run at night. I would up doing a 6.3 bike on the stationary bike and a 2.0 mile run on the treadmill. I was pretty happy that I was able to bump up my running mileage from 1.75 miles.
The next day I hit the pool again, but with goggles. The googles helped a lot, but I overthought my stroke and form and wound up panicking a few times. Longest nonstop swim is just a bit over half the Bally's pool. Not looking so good there. Need to relax and stay calm. I probably should stick with one to two strokes per day to maximize my time there. I was in the pool for about 25 minutes and worked on backstroke, freestyle, and even some breaststroke. Too much for a short workout.
Last night, my shoulders felt sore from the stress of having Workout AH and the swim session so close together. I opted out of Workout CH (I might skip this until the race is over) and just did one-arm pushups and curls. I followed this with a run outdoors. I aimed to hit over 2.0 miles, but after hitting 2.25 without much pain, I decided to go for the 5K. I finished 3.18 miles with the 5K clocking in at 31:02. I'm a few minutes off my PR, so I have more work to do there as well, but I'm quite happy that I can do a 5K again. Now if I can get it up to a 10K with the 5K finishing under 28:00, I'll be happy.
Still loads more training to do. I'm on vacation next week, but hope to keep up with my running and swimming at the hotel. Oh man.
Custom Search
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
8/12/2010 Swim
The past Thursday would've been like every other Thursday except for the fact that I knew I was going to go swimming after work. After having it in the back of my head all day, I made the drive to Bally's to sign up for a 7-day thing. Wouldn't you know that they were have a class till 8PM? So with even more suspense, I drove home to change into street clothes then went back for my first swim since Summer 2009 (which was when I learned how to swim).
I went back with gym bag over my shoulder. I changed then cursed myself as I discovered my goggles were not with me. I made my way to the pool and hopped in. After getting a lane to myself, I did some simple kicking and then some freestyle strokes without the breathing. Feeling a bit more comfortable, I tried to get myself used to water surrounding me by immersing myself and doing various strokes. Feeling a bit better, I went for a freestyle with breathing. Oh man. Timing was off. Got some water in. Long story short, 15-20 minutes later, I got the timing right, but I was tired. It was my fifth day straight of working out, and my body was getting tired. I got out and went home.
This first week has been interesting. I did Workout CH the night before the swim, so I had five straight days of working out. By yesterday, different parts of my body were sore. I took yesterday and today off and will be back at it by tomorrow. I'm buoyed by how fast I remember how to swim, but I got a long way to go to build up to 250M of swimming. What comforts me is that the backstroke is not hard to do, so that's my backup stroke when I start drinking water in the pool on the day of the race.
I'm going to enjoy my rest for now, but I still got seven weeks to go.
I went back with gym bag over my shoulder. I changed then cursed myself as I discovered my goggles were not with me. I made my way to the pool and hopped in. After getting a lane to myself, I did some simple kicking and then some freestyle strokes without the breathing. Feeling a bit more comfortable, I tried to get myself used to water surrounding me by immersing myself and doing various strokes. Feeling a bit better, I went for a freestyle with breathing. Oh man. Timing was off. Got some water in. Long story short, 15-20 minutes later, I got the timing right, but I was tired. It was my fifth day straight of working out, and my body was getting tired. I got out and went home.
This first week has been interesting. I did Workout CH the night before the swim, so I had five straight days of working out. By yesterday, different parts of my body were sore. I took yesterday and today off and will be back at it by tomorrow. I'm buoyed by how fast I remember how to swim, but I got a long way to go to build up to 250M of swimming. What comforts me is that the backstroke is not hard to do, so that's my backup stroke when I start drinking water in the pool on the day of the race.
I'm going to enjoy my rest for now, but I still got seven weeks to go.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
8/10/2010 Run
Yesterday was supposed to be a swim day, but the work pool is too small and I didn't have anything lined up. I got home around 9:45 and decided to go for a run just to fit something in. The run started out pretty good. Tried to fly down the hills and pound up the inclines. Side stitches weren't as much of a problem today, but eventually the uphills on the way back cause my abs to cramp out pretty bad. I ended at 1.75 miles with an average pace of 9:42. It was an okay run, but I'm a bit consoled at the increase in mileage. I'm hoping to be running consistent 5Ks soon and 10K's by the time I race. Not much else to write about. I stretched, showered, and went to bed.
Workout CH tonight, maybe an easy run after and hope to hit the pool Thursday.
Workout CH tonight, maybe an easy run after and hope to hit the pool Thursday.
Monday, August 9, 2010
First bike/run
Part of my new training regimen includes a day of biking followed by running. Since I've never ran after biking before and that I'm rebuilding my running distance again, I figure I do an easy bike/run today. It wasn't my best, but it'll do for now.
I started with driving to my mom's home. That's where I keep my bike since my apartment doesn't really have the best place to store my bike. And besides, my mom's is close to a good bike route. But today was different. Seeing how I need to bike then run, I decided to kill two birds with one stone by biking my cousin's bike back to my apartment, then running back for my car. Since I knew biking is easier, I tried to take detours when possible to make the ride longer. But since I was riding a female bike, and it was a comfort bike, I cut it short and ended the ride at 2.34 miles. Nonetheless, I gave my quads a taste of what it was like to pedal and climb hills again.
I rested for a bit, and ran back to my car. The running is still a bit difficult. No leg cramps this time, but some side stitches here and there. It's been a while since my core was used to the constant pounding of running. With the sun beating on me, there were a couple times where I thought of putting in the 0.8 miles I did before and call it a day. But I put my head down and pushed through till I reached my mom's. I started slow at around 4.5 mph, but ended around pace, pounding through downhills when I could. I wound up running 1.11 miles at an average of 6.52 mph (9:12 pace). My max was 8.97 mph (6:40 pace) and was probably from the downhill.
Today's workout isn't one to rave about, but it gave me a good idea of how it would be like to run after a bike. My next bike/run would probably be 5+ miles followed by a progressively longer run. I'm hoping to build up to a 5K by September and be able to run 10K by end of September. There's a lot of work to do, and I still need to figure out a place to practice my swimming. On top of all this, I need to stay on my lifting regimen. I did Workout AH yesterday, hope to do swimming or arrange for some swimming tomorrow, and probably do Workout CH Wednesday. It's still looking to be a long 7-8 weeks till the triathlon. Oh man.
I started with driving to my mom's home. That's where I keep my bike since my apartment doesn't really have the best place to store my bike. And besides, my mom's is close to a good bike route. But today was different. Seeing how I need to bike then run, I decided to kill two birds with one stone by biking my cousin's bike back to my apartment, then running back for my car. Since I knew biking is easier, I tried to take detours when possible to make the ride longer. But since I was riding a female bike, and it was a comfort bike, I cut it short and ended the ride at 2.34 miles. Nonetheless, I gave my quads a taste of what it was like to pedal and climb hills again.
I rested for a bit, and ran back to my car. The running is still a bit difficult. No leg cramps this time, but some side stitches here and there. It's been a while since my core was used to the constant pounding of running. With the sun beating on me, there were a couple times where I thought of putting in the 0.8 miles I did before and call it a day. But I put my head down and pushed through till I reached my mom's. I started slow at around 4.5 mph, but ended around pace, pounding through downhills when I could. I wound up running 1.11 miles at an average of 6.52 mph (9:12 pace). My max was 8.97 mph (6:40 pace) and was probably from the downhill.
Today's workout isn't one to rave about, but it gave me a good idea of how it would be like to run after a bike. My next bike/run would probably be 5+ miles followed by a progressively longer run. I'm hoping to build up to a 5K by September and be able to run 10K by end of September. There's a lot of work to do, and I still need to figure out a place to practice my swimming. On top of all this, I need to stay on my lifting regimen. I did Workout AH yesterday, hope to do swimming or arrange for some swimming tomorrow, and probably do Workout CH Wednesday. It's still looking to be a long 7-8 weeks till the triathlon. Oh man.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Eight Weeks to a Sprint Triathlon
So my cousin surprised me by signing me up for a sprint triathlon. Now mind you, I haven't ran since early May, and all I've been doing is lift. On top of that, I just kinda learned how to swim last summer, so I have super anxiety about the swim leg of the race. To add to all the fun, the race is October 3, giving me about eight weeks to train for this. This is going to be an interesting eight weeks.
I think it'll be kinda cool to write some posts during these eight weeks and see how I either tackle this race or die trying. I just found out today, so I tried to calm myself down by doing a resistance workout, followed by a quick run (to Subway for dinner). The run didn't go so well. I wound up running at racing pace and lasted 0.8 miles before cramps (probably from lifting) and a side split stopped me, but I made it to Subway. On a tangent, I wound up only bring an American Express credit card, and the Subway near my place didn't take Amex. So off I went running home to grab my wallet...and my car.
Since I haven't been hitting the gym for my workouts, I've tweaked my workouts a bit. Exercises are paired so that I do one, rest, do the other one, rest and repeat two more times before going to the next pair.
Workout AH (Essentially Workout A, but modified to a full-body routine. Added the "H" to emphasize the at home part):
Pullups/Lateral raises
One-armed pushups/Front raises
Shoulder press/shrugs (No rest before shrugs. Sometimes followed by one-legged squats or 3-way calf raises, if I'm not running anytime soon.)
Bent over dumbbell row/Biceps curls
Incline pushups on Swiss ball/Hammer curls
Workout CH:
Pullups/One-armed pushups
Australian pullups/Incline pushups on Swiss ball
Rear lat raises/Chest flies
Biceps curls (Preceded with a leg exercise if I'm not running anytime soon)
Hammer curls
I've been consistently doing Workout AH once a week, and supplementing with Workout CH if I have time. So far, results have been great. Consistency and sticking to a decent diet has led to increase in strength and muscle mass with a decrease in fat and overall weight. It definitely shows that hard work and sticking to at least a loose schedule pays off. If you are close to me at all, I'll let you know that it's Workout AH that occasionally makes me want to puke. To be fair, it's usually on a hot day and I drank too much water, but it's a tough workout. I currently use 40-lb dumbbells at 3 sets of 9. Pullups are 3 sets of 11, one-armed pushups are 3 sets of 5, incline pushups 3 sets of 19. I aim to finish within an hour.
Today I did Workout CH, followed by the run to Subway. I've thrown together a schedule for the next eight weeks to try to get some training in before the race. I'm going to see how that goes, but I'll probably have to tweak it. Again, I'm very nervous yet highly motivated to train, so this is going to be interesting. Stay tuned!
Last weigh-in (a couple of days ago):
170.5 lb
I think it'll be kinda cool to write some posts during these eight weeks and see how I either tackle this race or die trying. I just found out today, so I tried to calm myself down by doing a resistance workout, followed by a quick run (to Subway for dinner). The run didn't go so well. I wound up running at racing pace and lasted 0.8 miles before cramps (probably from lifting) and a side split stopped me, but I made it to Subway. On a tangent, I wound up only bring an American Express credit card, and the Subway near my place didn't take Amex. So off I went running home to grab my wallet...and my car.
Since I haven't been hitting the gym for my workouts, I've tweaked my workouts a bit. Exercises are paired so that I do one, rest, do the other one, rest and repeat two more times before going to the next pair.
Workout AH (Essentially Workout A, but modified to a full-body routine. Added the "H" to emphasize the at home part):
Pullups/Lateral raises
One-armed pushups/Front raises
Shoulder press/shrugs (No rest before shrugs. Sometimes followed by one-legged squats or 3-way calf raises, if I'm not running anytime soon.)
Bent over dumbbell row/Biceps curls
Incline pushups on Swiss ball/Hammer curls
Workout CH:
Pullups/One-armed pushups
Australian pullups/Incline pushups on Swiss ball
Rear lat raises/Chest flies
Biceps curls (Preceded with a leg exercise if I'm not running anytime soon)
Hammer curls
I've been consistently doing Workout AH once a week, and supplementing with Workout CH if I have time. So far, results have been great. Consistency and sticking to a decent diet has led to increase in strength and muscle mass with a decrease in fat and overall weight. It definitely shows that hard work and sticking to at least a loose schedule pays off. If you are close to me at all, I'll let you know that it's Workout AH that occasionally makes me want to puke. To be fair, it's usually on a hot day and I drank too much water, but it's a tough workout. I currently use 40-lb dumbbells at 3 sets of 9. Pullups are 3 sets of 11, one-armed pushups are 3 sets of 5, incline pushups 3 sets of 19. I aim to finish within an hour.
Today I did Workout CH, followed by the run to Subway. I've thrown together a schedule for the next eight weeks to try to get some training in before the race. I'm going to see how that goes, but I'll probably have to tweak it. Again, I'm very nervous yet highly motivated to train, so this is going to be interesting. Stay tuned!
Last weigh-in (a couple of days ago):
170.5 lb
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
