Solid Week

Yesterday I lifted weights (heavy chest and triceps) and did a nice easy run on the treadmill at 7:25/mile pace. I thought I was basically done for the week, but unexpectedly today I had time to get another run in. I ran five miles around Hoboken at a fairly brisk clip (I was not wearing a watch so I am not sure of the exact pace). I concentrated on keeping a nice, steady pace without going out too hard or dogging it at all. It was my first run outside in a while, and although it was a bit nippy (low 40s), it felt good to not be on the treadmill for once.

All in all it was a great week of training -- two bike rides, two runs, and two weightlifting sessions. I know that I sound like a broken record, but considering it is only mid-February, I am beyond ecstatic about the shape I am in right now! I just hope that I do not lose momentum when I start focusing on my swimming in March. If I can keep it all together, it is shaping up to be a nice season...

How Anthony Got His Groove Back

So I have been in a really nice training groove the last few weeks. Last week I did two short bricks and a hard five mile treadmill run, as well as hitting the weights twice. Yesterday I rode an exercise bike for 40 ninutes, and today I lifted weights again. Right now I am primarily focused on staying consistent, but I must say I am really happy with how quickly the strength and speed has returned to my running and spinning. The weather has started to warm up here the last few days -- maybe I can start training outdoors occassionally in the next few weeks. Not that I mind all the gym workouts, but it is just not the same (especially on the bike)...

Another Brick

Today I rode an exercise bike for half an hour, followed by ten minutes on the treadmill. I was kind of annoyed because my heart rate monitor was on the fritz for most of my time on the bike, but it was not the end of the world. I started off the treadmill run at 7:30/minute pace and gradually increased it until I was doing 6:40 pace for the last minute, which all felt fairly relaxed and easy. I also weighed myself after the workout -- 181 pounds, which is great for late January. The only other somewhat interesting note is that the guy on the exercise bike next to me was just sweating bullets -- it was kind of gross. I mean, I am all for getting a good sweat, but I just did not understand why homeboy could not wipe himself down every few minutes. After he was done there was pratically a puddle underneath his exercise bike...

Back To Bricks

So yesterday I did my first brick (bike/run) workout of the year. I did 30 hard minutes on the spin bike (a combination of hills and sprints) before running for 10 minutes on the treadmill at a 7:30/mile pace, followed by a five minute walk cool down. While this was definitely a short brick, I felt surprisingly comfortable on the running portion (although my heart rate was sky-high -- but what is new). I am definitely going to try to do one brick every week -- during my best racing season (2006), I managed to keep that up and it made a huge difference during races. Today I did 40 minutes on the spin bike at a constant, moderately-difficult resistance level, focusing on keeping my heart rate between 140-160 bps/minute. I continue to be pleased with my training so far -- and I still cannot believe it is not even the end of January yet!

Attack Of The New Year Resolutionaries

Today I headed to the gym at 1:00 P.M. to ride (well, spin) for the first time since I started training again. Unfortunately I completely forgot that it is the fifth day of the New Year, which means gyms around the world are packed with New Year Resolutionaries. You know who these people are -- they make a New Year's resolution to lose weight/get washboard abs/bulk up/work out more often, and thus, gyms around the world are packed in January (and usually part of February as well). Inevitably their newfound commitment fades, and gym attendance returns to normal. Do not get me wrong -- I truly respect these people for at least trying (and suspect every year some number of them get hooked and start exercising regularly), but it does make working out this time of the year a pain.

Anyway, tangent over -- the entire reason for it was to explain why I ended up having to ride a recumbent bike for 40 minutes instead of a spin bike or something at least faintly resembling an actual bicycle. Given the fact it was the first ride of the year, I was perfectly fine using the recumbent. I wore my heart rate monitor strap and I was generally in the 115-120 bpm range for the entire workout, which quite frankly is probably right where I should be given the fact I have not been on a bicycle since August. So I guess the New Year Resolutionaries may have actually done me a favor...

Happy New Year!

Well after a week and a half off, I did my first workout of 2009 this morning. I went for a four mile run in and around Hoboken. Between the cold (38 degrees), the fact that I have not worked out since before Christmas, and some major hills along the way, it definitely was not my best run. I ended up averaging 7:44/mile pace, compared to my last few treadmill runs which have been around 7:13. I am not particularly bothered by this run -- it is January 3rd, I already have two months of training under my belt, and I am only seven pounds above my targeted racing weight, so from a big picture perspective, I could not be happier.

Stitches

Today at lunch I hit the treadmill for another half hour run. I increased the pace to 7:13/mile which felt pretty comfortable, except for the fact I got a bit of a side stitch 25 minutes into the workout. It was nothing major, it just struck me as odd because I had not eaten anything for several hours. Boring blog post I know, but I had a few minutes on the way back from home and figured why not. It's freezing outside now, but this ferry bus is almost too warm. Now this post is getting truly random...

Textbook Training Week

Last week for various and sundry reasons (the primary one being sheer laziness) I only ran twice and did not lift weights at all. This week I vowed to be more disciplined, and managed to get three runs and two weightlifting sessions in. Two of the runs were at 7:18/mile pace, and today I dialed it back to 7:30 because I was running for the second day in a row (and the earlier runs were not as comfortable as I would have liked). I have become remarkably good at just blasting through half an hour treadmill runs without constantly staring at the elapsed time (which inevitably makes the workout go by much slower) -- just give me my ESPN and my headphones and I am set.

I have not been eating all that well the last couple of weeks, so I was not surprised to see I am back up to 183ish lbs. Not the end of the world, but my battle against sugar is clearly still ongoing. Nevertheless, I feel great about the fact I am already running in the low 7:xx/mile range and it is not even January yet! It will be kind of tough getting quality workouts in over the next couple of weeks with the holidays, but to I am just thrilled to have this type of base at this time of the year...

Thanksgiving Weekend Treat

O.K., as I mentioned two posts ago, I was not expecting to get any workouts in over Thanksgiving weekend, as my in-laws were in town. It turns out I was mistaken -- my brother in-law is kind of a serious runner, and wanted to get a couple of runs in around Hoboken. Needless to say, I was psyched! We did a little more than four mile run on Friday, followed by a pretty hard five miler on Saturday. The weather was brisk but bearable both days, which was nice. The Saturday run was at sub-7:30/mile pace, which is really fast for me with less than one months of training under my belt. I definitely had to slow down the last mile so that my brother in-law could keep up with me, which was a good feeling considering the pace of the first four miles. Combined with the two four mile treadmill runs that I did earlier in the week, I ran 17 miles last week, which is definitely a November record for me (excluding last year, in which I ran the NYC Marathon the first Sunday of November).

Given the strong weekend runs, I decided to skip my scheduled week of running at 7:36/mile pace and go directly to 7:30. My run today felt O.K., but not as easy as my previous ones, which makes me think I may have bitten off more than I can chew. I'll see how my other runs go this week and then decide what to do next week. Oh, and I'm down to 182 lbs. I also decided to forgo my usual lunchtime cookie for a bag of Sun Chips, which should help. I just need to stay away from that sugar...

Mobile Blogging

So I am actually typing this from my mobile phone, which is kind of convenient but also kind of pathetic. I am on a bus to the ferry, and traffic is really bad right now, so I figured why not. I had a great workout today at the gym -- back, biceps, and abs, and then another half hour on the treadmill. The run felt great -- it seemed like it went by so quickly, which is always a good sign for dreadmill runs. Completely off topic, but the woman next to me has been on her cell phone talking loudly for the last 40 minutes. God do I hate stuff like this -- do these people have any self awareness whatsoever? Sometimes I seriously wish that cell phones were never invented...