Training Archive: O Steve!In the 31 days ending 2008-01-31:
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| T | W | H | F | S | S | M | T | W | H | F | S | S | M | T | W | H | F | S | S | M | T | W | H | F | S | S | M | T | W | H | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday Jan 30 | ||
| Stairs 31:52 [2] | |
| ahr:113 weight:171.2lbs | ||
| risked the dangerous stairwell workout.....Kari joined me and we went at an easier pace with an eye towards being fresh for Sundays race...Kari is doing the 12K Tour and I am in for the 33K Skate....both of us are doing the Saturday night Luminary Loppet just because it looks so dang cool...unbelievable that the Luminary Loppet (with 1000 people!) may be the BIGGEST ski event of the weekend...out drawing the races.....the nordic ski community should put on more participative events with a unique twist lke this to draw people into nordic skiing.....I enjoy racing but I have to admit the Tour de Beer was the most fun this year.... | ||
Tuesday Jan 29 | ||
| uphill treadmill hike/run 55:00 [3] | |
| go outside?....no way...my inner wimp came out to play....glad to have the inside apartment gym in the apartments.....did 4 1/2 mile repeats at 8:00/mile pace mixed in with some 15% incline walking inbetween the intervals.... | ||
Monday Jan 28 | ||
| weight machine 29:25 [1] | |
| 2 sets, light weights, 20 reps... | ||
Sunday Jan 27 | ||
| xc classic skiing race 56:00 [4] 12.5 km (4:29 / km) | |
| ahr:165 max:178 | ||
| finished 20 out of 42 finsihers putting me in the top half of the field which is a good result for me in a small local race...skied very well and was very happy with this result but that wasnt the story.....
....12.5K Classic nordic ski race at William OBrian and I line up with 42 others to ski the outer loop that is probably one of the best classic race courses due to its variable terrain....flats, rolling hills, herrinbone hills and some sweet long downhills that demand the use of all techniques....stride, double pole, kick double pole.... I start out smooth and start moving around people slowly as I use them to pace a bit before I spurt around them.....my glide is not quite as good as the others around me but I have got great kick...after the first 3 to 4K and working my way around 4 or 5 people I see the 16 year old girl from SouthWest high school up ahead and I concentrate on inching up on her....after making contact its me and her going back and forth....I am kicking up on her on the hills but her skis are gliding better and she rockets away on the downhills...she is also is a bit lighter on her skis on the downhills and she is doesnt give up the times I pass her....I have to admit that its was cool to see this high schooler operate like a little fighter...she sure as hell was not respecting her elders and I was so impressed that I shouted out "nice skiing!!" as she passed me back one more time....so we both inspire each other to keep the foot on the accelerator and I am really enjoying this little battle........ well, all the back and forth had us moving up on two others up the track at about 8k...a couple guys apparently...one in a purple and one in a bright red ski suit.....as we got closer to them I finally recognized the man in the red suit as a former master world champion nordic skier ...ok, so its Bjorn Lasserud....and he is 78 years old....whatever....he is still a good skier and we are still making up ground on him..... I notice that purple man at the front of our foursome is a little ragged on technique but he still has enough of a motor to stay out on front.... well "Pretty in Pink" apparently does not know about the Legend that is Bjorn and she goes around him on an uphill at 9K and I join her....well that wakes him up and he it not taking this intrusion lying down and as we had to the flats after the railroad track that lead to the big mound at the front of the park....its Purple, 16 year old, Me, and Bjorn double polling in that order. I think how absurd the competitive situation I found myself in.....here we have a newer skier with rough technique leading a teen age girl, an 50 year old mediocre "never was", and a 78 year old master world champion all trying to race for some places in the middle of the field small local race vying for some midpack positions.... as we double pole the flats the first two are gapping me and I notice that I am can't feel my arms anymore....just as I go back to single sticking I hear Bjorn yelling from behind me "Double Pole!!!" so I do....and my arms fall off...and Bjorn impatiently gets out of the track and double poles around me and "Hannah Montana"......damn!.....I just cant keep up......BUT we are heading to the big uphill up to the top of the mound and as we climb right pass The Legend one more time as my Heart Rate goes right through the roof ....and I figure he is not taking it lightly....on top of the mound I know whats coming up......more flats before the S turn down the other side before the flats and the finish.....so Purple maintains his lead, teenager is 2nd, me third and Bjorn is back behind me once again.....I am back to the double pole giving it everything I had but I know what Bjorn might be thinking......he will sneak around me with the better glide so he can be in front on the tricky downhill..... ...all four of us approach the first right hand turn before the tricky downhill and sure enough here come Bjorn around me again!....but all hell is about to break loose... ...on the tricky right Bjorn goes too wide and ends up off track in the soft snow and does a "balance dance" ala Lance Armstrong/Tour de France and manages not to fall before returning to the track but not without me going around him again as I yell out to him "Bjorn!"....now I am back in front of him again heading down the deadly S....thats when I hear "skier down!" and as I follow the teener down the hill I and catch a glimpse of purple guy getting back on his skis after a fall...just then the teen dumps to avoid T boning Purple and I go into a full snow plow looking for a daylight that will get me down the hill unscathed.... ...I make it down the hill under control and hit the flats with only purple in front now....I bear down thinking I am in the clear but realize I am not going to catch Purple but feeling good that I just picked up 2 places....and then I hear the pole plants behind me.....with less than a K to go its Bjorn again!....damn! I thought the downhill fiasco had taken him out also but no such luck.....as I feel my heart exploding he comes around me and beats me by 2 seconds and the teenager follows me another 3 seconds back........ ...after the race I had to laugh at the absurdity of it all......Bjorn was all smiles as he tells me he was going to get around me one way or another and I tried to thank the teenager for pushing me but she was too busy talking to "the boys" and I did not want to interupt......so I went out on a skate loop, checked the results, smiled, and went home...... | ||
| C • Awesome 2 | ||
| xc skate skiing 1:12:26 [3] | |
| warm up and one loop of the race course after the race...... | ||
Saturday Jan 26 | ||
| Run 28:00 [3] | |
| ahr:141 weight:171.4lbs | ||
| Kari and I looped Nokomis for something different....... | ||
Friday Jan 25 | ||
| Note | |
| weight:171.2lbs | ||
| We have bought our tix to Scotland so it looks like we are in with a 2 person Mix team for the Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon in the Scottish Highlands on June 7th and 8th.....that will be our main focus for spring training....
the question is "how can I have surgery March 3rd....recover (3 weeks???) get back to training...prepare for this two day/14 hours total mountain orienteering event while at the same time prepare for my 5? sprint tri's by getting my run in 5k speed shape and also do orienteer meets and the AR events all at the same time?".... so much to do and so little time..... | ||
| xc skate skiing 41:52 [3] | |
| ahr:144 | ||
| did a loop of Butler and the Bog and back.....hill work without trying.... | ||
Thursday Jan 24 | ||
| xc classic skiing 57:56 [4] | |
| ahr:150 | ||
| Elm Creek w/Kari....wow, nice tracks....cold temps and a very slow track especially with no wax...Kari has really improved her speed and technique this year....she is planning on the Loppet tour and the Korte classic...I skied one lighted loop with her and then skied a threshold pace loop on my own and was only 4 minutes faster...29:34 (150 HR avg) and 25:42 (164 HR avg)....
Im racing the 12.5K classic race at WOB Sunday....I plan to do another loop after the race to get in 25K....then its on to the City of Lakes Loppet 33K the next weekend, then 42K classic Vasaloppet and the 51.5K Birkie....hopefully this progression will ramp me up properly.... I figure my A races are the City of Lakes Loppet for skate and Vasaloppet for classic.... | ||
Wednesday Jan 23 | ||
| weight machine 33:42 [1] | |
| ahr:103 | ||
| 2 sets, light weights, 20 reps..... | ||
| Stairs 11:17 [3] | |
| ahr:130 | ||
| ...MoBiz inspired a quick stair workout....6 reps with 5 ups done at a firm effort......just a dash of intensity...... | ||
| C • Stairs Killed ME 3 | ||
Monday Jan 21 | ||
| Run 48:56 [3] | |
| ahr:136 weight:173.4lbs | ||
| Minnehaha parkway is nice in the summer but tonight it was great with a new dusting of snow........Kari and I ran through the snowy scene and despite the 9F temps it felt really good to be out... | ||
Sunday Jan 20 | ||
| weight machine 44:31 [1] | |
| ahr:106 | ||
| 4 sets, medium weight, 15 reps.....decided to do a bit more to make up for not going outside... | ||
| Stairs 24:06 [3] | |
| ahr:130 | ||
| ...what do do when its cold outside?...hit the stairwell.....15 up and downs in our apartment in 23:15...no back pack this time.....I actually like this better than a stair stepper....a effective workout that can be done in mimimum time..... | ||
| C • OR 3 | ||
Saturday Jan 19 | ||
| Run 55:00 [3] | |
| ahr:138 weight:171.6lbs | ||
| ....ran 4 1/2 mile repeats at 8:00/mile every 10 minute cycle ( 6 minutes of active rest inbetween)....did a total of 5.4 miles.....
decided to do a bit of speed work as I dodged the -5F temps with an indooor run workout.....trying to keep a bit of speed and make the workout worthwhile by throwing in 2 miles of mild intervals....HR max during the repeats was 168..... | ||
Friday Jan 18 | ||
| weight machine 37:22 [1] | |
| weight:172.6lbs | ||
| 3 sets, medium weights, 15 reps... | ||
Thursday Jan 17 | ||
| Run 27:56 [3] | |
| ahr:142 | ||
| frigid night run around Harriet with Kari.....moved along to keep warm.... | ||
Wednesday Jan 16 | ||
| xc skate skiing 3:36:31 [3] | |
| ahr:144 weight:171.8lbs | ||
| ....took the day off work to get in a longer ski that I have been needing to do..with the cold weather coming it was a "now or never" thing...did an honest 43K at Carver Park stopping for only 3 minutes to cross the street 4 times and 5 minutes mid ski to drink.....this should help me get set up for the ski marathons coming up....conditions and temps were very nice....three rivers grooming is always a bit better....I skied pretty smooth and was happy with my pace, HR and miles covered....did all the trails in the park twice....the last 45 minutes my legs had that "concrete creep" feeling that makes it tough to ski with a normal swinging technique but the entire ski was very satisfying...Im not the skier I use to be but this workout let me know I am hanging in there..... | ||
Tuesday Jan 15 | ||
| weight machine 31:29 [1] | |
| ahr:106 | ||
| 3 sets, medium weight, 15-20 reps | ||
Monday Jan 14 | ||
| Note | |
| weight:173.4lbs | ||
| ...unplanned rest day...just wasnt motivated to go out due to the cold.....planning to take off work for a long ski on Wednesday... | ||
Sunday Jan 13 | ||
| Run 1:18:12 [3] | |
| ahr:133 weight:171.4lbs | ||
| after a day of painting the apartment Kari and I had a late afternoon recovery run around calhoun and harriet.... | ||
Saturday Jan 12 | ||
| xc classic skiing 2:00:09 [4] | |
| ahr:168 max:179 | ||
| Well I lined up where the start for the 22K was 3 years ago....dumped the first hill twice and then got on track....waxed with a mixture of violet klister covered with blue and extra blue....average glide, nothing great and the average kick got a bit better as the K''s passed...felt I was skiing ok....was pushing race pace and figured I was hanging around the top back third or so of the smaller than expected field....but I was ahead of Dave Melcher in that overall skin suit (its still very ugly) and was kinda wondering why I was ahead of him, he should have a decent sized gap over me...its not like I am have a fantastic race...hmmmmmmmm........that mystery would be solved soon....
as I hit the turnaround and skied back under the start banner I heards someone say "your half done"...HALF DONE?!...I got 1:36 or so on my watch and I am not going that slow......after skiing over the street at OO it slowly dawned on me that something was not right.....sure enough I was RACING IN THE 42K FIELD!...the 22k had started on the other side of the street at the same time and had gone south of 00 while me and the 42Kers went North....just the opposite of how it was the last time I did this race.... oh crap... well, I turned around, skied back to the Finish area and turned in my chip, got in my car and ...went home....figuring I got a hell of a workout in.... ...averaged 168bpm on the HR so I apparently went hard enough...time includes warm up and the forced warm down to ski back to the finish after deciding I wasnt going to go on and do the 42K course.... | ||
| C • Bummer. 3 | ||
Friday Jan 11 | ||
| Note | |
| weight:172.6lbs | ||
| goals for Seeley race...if the field tops 300 racers an average day would be top 65% of field and less than 65% back of winning time.a good day: top 55% of total field and less than 57% back of winners time....a great day would be top 50% of field and less than 55% of winning time.........
I am worried a bit about the need for klister as a base wax...not sure I have any at home.... | ||
| C • Grip Tape 2 | ||
| weight machine 27:00 [1] | |
| 2 sets. light weights, 20 reps.... | ||
Wednesday Jan 9 | ||
| xc skate skiing 1:02:17 [3] | |
| weight:173.6lbs | ||
| started at Wirth lake and skied to the front nine....3 loops and back....the front nine was icy buy you could get an edge...the trail over was a skating rink...wish they would groom more often but I guess its to much trail to maintain to keep it in good shape all the time.....pushed 2 loops firm with one easy loop..... | ||
| Run 35:23 [4] | |
| A loop of Harriet with Kari in 25:36 plus warm down....not quite a mobiz time but it counts as a firm paced tempo run... | ||
Tuesday Jan 8 | ||
| Note | |
| weight:173.6lbs | ||
| first day off since Dec 26th...didnt realize I strung together that many days in a row....
planning to do the Seeleys Hills Classic 22K Saturday....I plan to go out in control and see how I feel concentrating on good technique and minimizing slipping.... | ||
Monday Jan 7 | ||
| weight machine 31:25 [1] | |
| 3 sets/medium weights/15 reps | ||
Sunday Jan 6 | ||
| Run 1:19:46 [3] | |
| Planned to do a long ski but the weather just did not look promising with all warm temps.....Kari and I did a run up and back on Summit checkig out all the sights....felt good because I took it easy... | ||
Saturday Jan 5 | ||
| xc classic skiing 2:17:16 [3] | |
| ahr:130 weight:171.6lbs | ||
| Ski from Wirth to Uptown with big group.....what do you get when you mix cross country skiing, the winding Loppet trail to Uptown, a group of fun people,great temps, good snow,decent grooming , schnaaps, pizza and beer?.....One of my best Birthday celebrations ever....everyone seemed to enjoy the day....I wish all training was like this.... | ||
Friday Jan 4 | ||
| xc classic skiing 41:26 [3] | |
| ahr:130 | ||
| ....skied short cuts over to bog and JD gardens..........hard pack, with shallow tracks...some wiped out....disappointing grooming.....doesnt look they have done much in 4 days.....with this snow you think they would be doing a bit more..... | ||
Thursday Jan 3 | ||
| xc skate skiing 50:00 [4] | |
| weight:172.8lbs | ||
| Tough part of ski workout skiing the Butler and the Bog....recorded 177HR as a max.... | ||
| xc skate skiing 48:01 [3] | |
| ahr:150 | ||
| skied Wirth Lake, JD Gardens, Front nine loop.....less hill but I pushed a bit...averaged 150HR for the entire workout....
decided with the good temps to leave work and get in some decent K's at a decent pace....hard pack trails with hit and miss track that could use a good grooming....Wirth doesnt keep it up like the former home course, French......hopefully they will groom for the weekend group ski..... | ||
| Note | |
| Best Split of the Year: I Managed to average 22.5 mph on the bike at the Chisago Lake Triathlon which came close to being my fastest avg speed on the bike in over 200 triathlons and 22 years of competing.......not sure why it went so well but I suprised my 49 year old self with a split that I would have been proud of 15 years ago...and all this despite training mainly on my mountain bike.....
Worst Split of the Year: So what happens when you rent a full blown racing canoe after having done the Tri-Loppet the year before in a slower boat with visions of hull speed that you can surf off of?....you manage to go 5 minutes SLOWER despite being in as good as paddling shape....its a mystery....after thinking I could paddle Kari into a pretty good shape for the overall womens field we found ourselves bleeding time abound the turns and ending up behind the eight ball coming up the bank..... | ||
| C • Birthday ski? 2 | ||
Wednesday Jan 2 | ||
| Note | |
| more best/worst of 2008
Most enjoyable event of 2008: Hiking Mt Katahdin...I'm new to hiking and bagging peaks but it has proven to capture my desire for accomplishment and adventure. Scrambling with Kari up a the steep rock slide to the saddle in a remote area of Northern Maine to reach the summit is a memory that keeps coming back to me and putting a smile on my face. Just under 8 hours to get up and down with a consistant effort was a perfect adventure for the two of us.With less emphasis on results and more focus on adventurous experiences I think this will become more a part of my future. Most forgetable event: The Nerstrand Trail Half Marathon was relocated to the roads after significant rain and we had set a challeging (but seemingly doable) goal to get under 2 hours. Not only did I figure out after 2 miles that it was not going to happen based on our mile splits it was a very difficult grind for me (and Kari) from mile 3 on....we suffered in silence in order to come in at 2:03...lots of effort for very little benefit...I am not sure what caused all the slow times (most repeat participants went slower) but it was not a race experience I would want to repeat.... | ||
| C • Welcome to 2008 2 | ||
| Note | |
| weight:173.4lbs | ||
| Im not huge on goal setting....I usually find that if I feel compelled to do something I dont need to set a goal to do it....its more a matter of uncovering events/experiences that capture my imagination and then letting my passion and interest carry me....with that in mind here are some things I hope/plan to do this year....
-average over 7 hours/week of training...did 7.17 last year....with planned surgery in March which will cause a dent, this is realistic.... -place in 2 triathlons this year, planning on doing 4...managed to place top 3 in AG in 3 of 4 "minor league" swim triathlons last year... given my "non specific" training I was very happy with my performances... -climb Pikes Peak...my first 14er...hoping to sneak a quick visit to my brother in Colorado Springs -Lose 2 lbs and maintain...would like to get weight back down to the 170 range (its been 173 lately, I have drifted up 2 lbs in the last year)...might help on my ski marathons coming up if I can do it now... -finish Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon in the Scottish Highlands novice division with Kari... -Finish a 12 hour Adventure Race with Kari....(and Dan and Rebecca?)....sounds easy but I am worthless after 8 hours... -Weight train and average of 1.7 or 88 times this year....use it or lose it at this age...and I feel better doing everything else when I am toned...major change here... -place in Division in both planned sprint AR's (would love to finish first in Adv O again but we might be living on borrowed time) -would like to plan and complete some unique adventure training events... (more later but this is good for now) | ||
| weight machine 28:48 [1] | |
| ahr:102 weight:173.4lbs | ||
| 2 sets, light weights, 15-20 reps | ||
Tuesday Jan 1 | ||
| Snowshoe 18:50 [2] | |
| Snowshoed with Kari over to the mountain bike trail from the apartment....pretty cold today... | ||
| trail running 50:16 [3] | |
| ...Kari recommended we ditch the snowshoes and carry them with us on a loop of the snowy mt bike trail at Wirth...great winter scenery....did the mt bike loop in 38:58 and then ran home......nice workout on a frigid day... | ||