Pheidippides’s BodyBlog

O.K., de-flabbification has stalled.  I weighed in at 171.8 today, so there’s been no improvement in two weeks and in fact I’ve backslid a bit.  It’s hard to try too hard knowing the cruise is coming up soon.  I’ve given myself until Labor Day to get my weight down to 165, so I’m O.K.

Weight loss may not be happening, but running improvement definitely is.  This morning I went on a seven mile and change run, with a four mile tempo run in the middle.  I finished the four miles in 29:01, about a 7:15 min/mile pace.  It felt fast and a little hard, but not overwhelmingly so.  I know I could have gone quite a lot faster under race conditions.  7:15 is right about on the nose for a half hour tempo pace for me, according to Daniels.  I’m not sure when I last ran that distance or farther at a 7:15 pace.  It felt absolutely great, and I have only a little feeling of irritation in my Achilles tendon despite the fact I’ve had three strong and brisk runs of at least 5.8 miles each this week.

As soon as I’m confident my Achilles tendon can handle it I want to try a one mile time trial.  I haven’t tested myself in a mile for a long time — maybe over a year.  Based upon my running today and my interval workout last week I feel pretty confident I can beat 5:55, but I don’t know by how much.  If I can run as fast as 5:45 then I will know without doubt that I should be able to run a sub-20 minute 5K (that’s a 6:26 min/mile pace).

The key now is not too push it too hard too fast. I’ve had my speed work for the week; now it’s time for easier running for at least a few days, although if I feel really good I might be able to sneak in that one mile time trial before I leave on the trip.

Apparently there are over 800 fires burning in Northern California now, so the air quality is incredibly bad.  It didn’t stop me from a mid-day 6-mile run, though.  Headed out to the bike trail along the river.  The first three miles was so-so (26:33), but the next three were a lot better — 23:39, 7:53 pace.  To cool down I walked down to the river and stopped to watch an otter frolicking in the water below.  I also saw a turtle swim nearby.  It’s amazing how much wildlife there is in the middle of this metropolitan area.

Monday I did a night time run of about 5.8 miles in around 46 minutes, averaging a bit under 8 min/mile pace.  The temperature was cooler so it was much easier to sustain the brisk pace and it felt great.

My Achilles has not been as irritated after the last two runs as it was after my speed work last week, so I’m hopeful that as long as I keep the pace steady and reasonable I can avoid reinjury and see it get better.  Still hoping to stay on track for my fall 10K program.

I’m altering my de-flabbification program, stretching it out to Labor Day to make the goal more attainable and not to set myself up for disappointment.  Since it is only a bit more than a week until the Alaska Cruise, I don’t have a lot of time to make progress before then, and I’ll probably gain weight on the boat.

So the new plan is to get my weight down under 165 pounds by Labor Day.  That’s about 5 to 6 pounds of loss in  around 10 weeks.

During that time I hope to build my running mileage base up to around 30 miles per week.  I’m a bit cautious, however, because I have felt some recurring pain in my right Achilles tendon.   I have to go VERY easy on speed owrk.

It’s Day 8, one week since I started this boondoggle, and I’ve made zero progress!  Weight today — 170.4 pounds, exactly what it was one week ago today.  I’m actually surprised it wasn’t more than that considering how I’ve been eating,which is to say, badly.

There is still time to make progress.  It will be hard to do today because of the Luau party we’re going to tonight.  I’ll have to hold back on the mai-tais and poi.

Exercise is going reasonably.  Yesterday went to the gym, did a light workout with weights — quad extension, prone leg curls, barbell row, crunches on ball with weight, dumbbell press, and dumbbell curls.  Then spent 35 minutes on stationary bike, mostly at moderate intensity but with one two plus minute interval at 280 watts — intense.

The day before, Monday morning, I ran six easy miles without a watch, so I couldn’t time myself.

Sunday morning I biked about 22 miles in around 1:20, steady moderate pace.

Still working on running program.  Unfortunately some irritation has come back in the Achilles tendon so I have to be careful, especially with speed work. Need to get back in the pool since that doesn’t give me the same problems.

Weight this a.m.: 169.8 lbs

BF: 20.6%.

Waist: 35.75 inches.

Weight down .6 pounds from yesterday.  I ate fairly well yesterday, and my eating after 5 p.m. especially was light, so I’m not surprised.  BF of 20.6 is higher than yesterday’s measurement, which is just proof of the significant randomness of the bodyfat scale I’m using.  It will more or less accurately measure long term trends but it has a significant day to day error factor.

I’m going to go to the gym today and either swim or do the stationary bike — not sure which.  I’ll probably do it at lunch break when I have more energy (it’s 6:53 a.m. right now and the coffee is still taking time absorbing its way into my weary body).

2.6 pounds to go before August 1.

Wednesday, June 11 — Day 1 of De-Flab Effort.

Starting Weight: 170.4 pounds.

Starting BF: 20.4%.

Waist: 35.75 inches (measured from just below the belly button — widest area rather than narrowest).

Phase 1 Goal: Phase one ends right before the Alaska Trip, three weeks from today, July 2.  Goal is to weigh under 167 pounds, get BF to under 18.5%.

Phase 2 Goal: After return from Alaska Trip, Phase two starts July 13 and ends on August 1.  Goal is to weigh under 165 and get BF under 17%.

Exercise yesterday:  5 miles easy running.  Two half mile intervals.  Int 1:  3:00 min (6:00 min/mile pace (R pace)).  Int 2: 3:25 min (6:50 min/mile pace (goal M pace)).

While I wait for split time information from the triathlon I’m going to move on to my next program, which I will call "Fight the Flab" (the masculine counterpart to the ongoing Fight the Fluff program headed up by TLC).   It will have two goals, which I hope work together: a) Reduce weight to 165 pounds (from current level of around 170-171, depending on when I measure), and get waist down to below 34 inches, and b) get base running mileage to consistently over 30 miles per week.  I will give myself until the end of July.  Why so long?   Because from July 4 through July 11 our family is going to be on a cruise to Alaska, with free food for a week, and it will take everything I’ve got just to keep myself from putting on 5 pounds that week.

The point of losing weight will be twofold: First, reducing bodyfat percentage to a healthier and more athletic level.  This morning it measured 20.4% on the scale.  Last week it was down to close to 19%.  I want to get it close to 17% or less by the time my program is done.  Second, losing weight should improve running performance.  According to Glover a 1% decrease in bodyweight should correlate with a 1% improvement in running time.  If I get my weight down into the mid-160s or lower I should be able to expect an improvement of a few percent in my running ability. That, plus added mileage, should be enough to get my 5K time under 20 minutes before the end of summer.  That, in turn, should set me up for my program to run a 10K in under 40 minutes before the end of the year.

The components of my program:

1) Very careful eating: not dieting per se, but avoiding junk, eating good food, and heating healthy quantities.  Avoiding eating a lot after dinner.
2) Increased aerobic activity, especially running:  Run at least 4 days a week, and try to get to 5 days a week by the end of July.  Try to get at least one swim session and one road/stationary bike session in each week.  Emphasis will be on steady, moderately paced aerobic activity to build overall endurance.  Have to be careful to avoid too much focus on speed so I can avoid the injuries I faced last summer.
3) Moderate strength training to supplement aerobic activity: plan will be to work out all major body areas two to three times per week, both at home (curls, situps, pushups, dumbell rows) and at the gym (using free weights and machines).
4) Logging all strength training and endurance activity on a daily basis.
5) Logging, roughly, the food I’m eating.
6) Logging total weight, bodyfat percentage, and waist measurement every day.
7) Taking pictures of mid-section to monitor progress.

According to scale, BF this morning was 20.4 and weight was 173, but that weight is inflated because it includes birthday weekend eating and last night’s 55.7 proof single malt Scotch (alcohol is like a weight magnet for me). So I will be good today and use tomorrow’s weight readings as the official start of my program.

Once I’ve built my running foundation (if) by the end of July I will review my running and fitness plans through the end of the year.  My tentative major goal is to target the late November Run for the Hungry 10K as my goal race, with the possibility of entering the California International Marathon the first Sunday in December.  But I’m not counting on that right now because of my Achilles tendon, which is not 100% and my not be able to withstand a rigorous marathon training program.

June 8, 2008.  The big day, my 44th birthday, finally arrived. Instead of sleeping in (something I never do anyway) and getting breakfast in bed, I woke up at about 5:15 a.m., went through my checklist, donned my tri-suit, loaded my bike and gear into the car, and drove for 50 minutes to Rancho Seco to compete in my first triathlon: 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run.

There’s an awful lot of set up involved in a triathlon.  I had to stake out my transition spot amid the sea of bike racks.  I laid down my blanket and set out the running gear to one side and the bike gear to the other.  Hooked my number (36) to my number belt (for the run),  to my bike, and to my wetsuit.  A staff number wrote my number on about five different places on my body for good measure.  I tried to carefully determine where my transition spot was in relation to the various entrances and exits to the transition area.

Eventually I headed down to the edge of the lake for the start.  Put on the wetsuit, and stood hip deep in the water for my wave to go off (Men 40 and over were the fourth wave).

The swim course traced a triangle from the beach and around two large white pylons in the middle of the lake.  They looked an awfully long way away, especially since I had done no open water training for this.  The announcer urged everyone to do some practice swimming, but I didn’t do much because I was too nervous about missing the start.  My first mistake.
Finally, we were off.  I knew it was going to be a melee, and I wasn’t disappointed.  I started right about in the middle, which was a mistake, because after 100 yards I suddenly couldn’t breathe, slowed down, and had other racers swimming over my feet.  It was the oddest sensation — it literally felt like the wetsuit was preventing air from getting into my lungs.  For about a minute and a half (it seemed like a lot longer) I made almost no progress, lightly breaststroking, dogpaddling, and even turning on my back to try to get some wind.  It seemed like every other swimmer was taking off and leaving me behind.  Finally things settled down, I resumed slowly stroking, and at last I got going.  From that point forward I swam faster and more strongly than I expected.  After turning around the last buoy I headed for the balloon arch on the beach, sighting often enough to make sure I wasn’t veering off in the wrong direction.

When I finally clambered out of the water and through the first gate I looked down at my watch and was surprised at my time: about 27:20 — faster than I had expected given my indifferent training times and extraordinary given my two minutes of panic and breathlessness at the beginning of the race.  It gave me a nice boost of confidence.  I felt a little tired but not bad.

I stumbled around the transition zone a bit, finally found my bike, finished removing the wetsuit, slapped on shoes, helmet and gloves, took a big swig of Gatorade and scarfed down a Cliff bar, and took off on the bike.  I could immediately tell I was outclassed by a lot of competitors in this event, with a few passing me on the short road from the park to the highway.  Once out on the highway I settled into a good, brisk aerobic rhythm.  The course followed the highway east through classic California countryside — gently rolling, golden hills, and intermittent olive green stands of oak trees.  At this stage and for the next 20 miles I pretty much held my own — I passed a couple of people, and a few passed me (especially some of the elite women competitors, who started the race in the wave five minutes after mine started) — but I managed well enough.  I had two mechanical disadvantages: no aerobars, and no clips on my pedals.  I decided against the clips because I hadn’t trained with them and almost broke my ankle the day before when I had tried putting the recessed cleats on my shoes and couldn’t get them to work quite right (i.e., the bike fell down and my foot didn’t come out of the pedal).  After 10 miles east I turned around and headed back to Rancho Seco Park.  A couple of people passed me heading into the park, but I had a feeling I would catch them on the run.  Overall my bike time was a bit disappointing — around 1:19 something — but I had to admit to myself that my training had been a bit underwhelming.

So back to the transition zone.  I had a comical (though not to me, at the time) moment when I tried to find my transition spot by looking for my bike, overlooking the fact that, well, I was holding on to it.  I finally recognized my blanket (a nice manly lavender).  Dumped the bike, slipped the bike shoes off and the running shoes on (at least I had the foresight to have both pre-laced), downed more gatorade and another sport bar, cinched the number belt to my waist, and took off.

My legs were very heavy, and it felt like I was running very slowly, but at least now I felt like I was on familiar ground.  I wasn’t sure about the swim or bike legs, but I knew I could run.  At least I thought so.  My pace felt very slow, but I managed about a 7:20 pace over the first two miles, and passed maybe a dozen people (with the staggered start competitors were spaced far apart at this stage).  Slowed a bit over the third mile, and then slowed WAY down over the next two miles as the course left the fire road for a narrow, twisty hiking trail through the park’s wilderness area along the lake.  I think I let go a little mentally at this stage, and allowed myself to slow more than I should have.  Another runner passed me (the only one to do so on this leg) during this phase.  Finally, with a bit over a mile to go I got back on the fire road and tried to pick the pace up again.  Over the last quarter mile I tried to close the distance between myself and the runner who had passed me.  As we entered the final chute to the finish I kicked my legs up and tried to catch her, but ran out of race time.  As I headed toward the finish line I saw my wife and three kids cheering, and I heard the announcer call my name and wish me happy birthday.

My final unofficial time was around 2:40:10.  I haven’t yet seen the official results, which will be posted on the race website soon.  My guess (based upon reviewing last year’s results) is that I finished a little better than middle of the pack.  My swim time was better than expected, my bike time was a little disappointing, and my run time –somewhere around 50:30 — was MUCH slower than I expected.  Still, I had never run  a 10K after an hour and fifty minutes of exertion like that, so I am not too disappointed for a first triathlon effort.

It was a great experience, but I know I can do better.  I will definitely compete in another Olympic triathlon, with a goal of significantly improving my times in all three legs.  For now I’m going to focus on running faster. More on that tomorrow.

Update:  Just saw the results online.  My official time was 2:39:55. Good for 111th place out of 233.  No split times available yet.

Two more days to the triathlon.  I’ve scaled the exercise way back this week.  No weight lifting (on the recommendation of one of the books I’ve been reading).  Wed. — ran 4.5 miles mostly at a moderate-brisk pace of a bit over 8 min/mile, with a couple of strides (accelerations to faster than 5K time over 100 -200 yards).  Tuesday went to the gym and swam for twenty minutes, mostly at moderate pace with three 50 yard sprints under 40 seconds (that’s a sprint for me — not for a real swimmer).  Then got on the stationary bike for 10 minutes at moderate pace with a one minute interval of near 300 watts, then 10 minutes on the treadmill at easy pace with one .5 mile interval at 6:27 pace.

Tuesday mid-day was the best workout — a 1 1/2 hour massage.  My wife was signed up for one already and called me that morning urging me to do it.  I had to muster all my meager spontaneity resources and blow off a little work, but it felt great and was worth it.

This a.m. weighed in at 168.4 pounds — near my seven month low, and my bodyfat measured 19.3%, which is my 7 month low.  I was hovering around 174 to 177 the first two months of this year, so that represents some real progress.  I’ve been doing a lot more "cardio" (I hate that term), obviously, but I’ve also been careful about what I eat.  Can’t diet over the next two days, though — it’s time to carbo-load!  Potatoes and pasta, baby!  Absolutely no alcohol, though — I’m convinced it’s one of the reasons I bombed in my last race.

In a little while I’ll be headed off for a short workout at the gym — maybe half an hour on the bike just to get into the aerobic zone, keep my legs sharp, and not lose conditioning.  I’ll probably take tomorrow off or do a very very short workout.

Only one week to go before my triathlon.  I continued to work out fairly hard through yesterday, but from here on I’m going to scale back the duration of my workouts (though keeping some intensity to stay sharp) to be well rested for the race on Sunday.

Here’s my workout history since my last report:

Wed: Short gym workout, easy to moderate weights, working out chest, back, biceps, triceps, abs. Followed that with 25 minutes on the stationary bike, mostly fairly easy, with watts at around 165, but with two 2 minute intervals at about 260 watts.  Est. 9 miles.

Thurs: Mid-day run along the river — 5 miles in 41:44 — fairly steady pace.

Rested Friday.

Saturday a.m. — 34 minutes swimming steady pace — total about 1600 yards.  My form felt poor and I felt slow.  I still don’t have the technique down for the swimming leg, so I’m ratcheting my expectations down for this leg.  Right after swimming I changed into my running shorts, drove to the river, and ran 4 miles.  Mostly easy pace, but with three one half mile intervals of increasing intensity:  1) 3:40 (7:20 mm pace); 2) 3:34 (7:08 mm pace); 3) 3:25 (6:50 mm pace).  The pace felt good and manageable.  My running fitness definitely is improving.

Sunday a.m.: Biked 20 miles, averaging around 17.5 mph, but that included stop signs and sharp turns that required me to slow down.  I’m hoping under race conditions to maintain a pace around 20 mph over the 25 mile leg.  We’ll see.

I trained in my triathlon suit for the first time.  Frankly, it felt a little silly, and my wife didn’t make things any better when she said I looked like Richard Simmons and laughed.  She then tried to make up for it by telling me I looked studly, but the damage was done.

Nevertheless, in the face of derision I soldiered on.  Right after the bike ride I slipped off my bike shoes, put on my running shoes, went to the bike trail again, and ran two pretty fast miles.  Total time: 13:41 (6:50 pace).  My legs felt heavy at first but not so bad after a few minutes.  My hope is  to set a pace of around 7:15 during the race, but I have no idea if it’s doable or not.

I’m taking today off, I think.  I find I’m so into the workouts now that I’m always eager to get to the next one.  But I need to give myself ample rest before Sunday.