Gear

I've been meaning to recommend some great winter running gear that I'm into this year. Patagonia's integral jacket and pant are awesome. Warm, windproof (I think) and good looking. Nice for hiking, skating, snowshoeing, and of course running. Not cheap, but worth it so far.

Jacket:
http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/product/mens-integral-jacket?p=24940-1-756
http://www.rei.com/product/769288

Pant:
http://www.rei.com/product/769302?preferredSku=7693020021&cm_mmc=cse_froogle-_-datafeed-_-product-_-7693020021&mr:trackingCode=B550DD84-078C-DE11-B4D4-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

Under My Belt

I got my first long run of marathon training under my belt yesterday I got for 10 at 7:40 AM. I walked back in the door after a quarter mile walking cool down at 9:25. No watch, no data.
I felt good throughout, and surprised myself a bit. I'm feeling no soreness today and ran the whole thing with the exception of the turnaround when I chowed some orange shot blocks and swigged some water/electrolyte drink for the return journey. I'm in better shape than I thought so I was happy, and am happy to have the double digit distance under my belt.

Two things about yesterday: First, I used my new REI Double shot water pack (2 water bottles, and a little pack between for things). It was very comfortable, and I liked it a lot, it fit well across my back. I think I can recommend it. Second, I carried one bottle with Nuun Tri-Berry Electrolyte drink. It's a low calorie, sugar free sport drink and I liked it very much, though it's got some fizz nd was a bit sudsy on the run. Gatorade etc. makes me feel nasty after a while so I'm happy to be trying the Nuun. I usually drink it post-run as a recovery beverage, but it seemed to work pretty well on the run.

Happy belated birthday to BR. Have a great year.

Christmas Bills Due

I wrote in a comment this morning that I've been living on a diet of cookie and cocktails and it's true. I've been eating Pfeffeneuse, Joe Froggers, Sugar Cookies and Chocolate Shortbread cookies for about 2 meals per day and washing them down with everything from beer and wine to Sazeracs and Negronis . . . not exactly a diet for fitness nor running success. I got off my duff though and did a labored a run around town. It was in he 30 minute range and it was sort of painful. The Christmas bills have come due.

My short off-season feels deleterious but I'll be OK. It was a cold, bright, beautiful and super windy day. Because of the wind I debuted of a new piece of gear. Mrs. A bought me a Sugoi rain suit for Christmas and I wore the pants today to block the wind and they worked very nicely. The new suit will make VT City training a bit more comfortable since it will rain and snow during the cycle. I hope to get out tomorrow to end '08 strong and then I'll be doing a New Year's Day 5K here in town to kick off my race/month goal in '09.

Labor Day Weekend '08

So my plans to get in two rides, a swim and a run have devolved into a good run on Friday, a good run yesterday and a decent ride in the afternoon.  I didn't get my swim in yesterday even though I was at the pond.  flying solo with even one kid negates the ability to swim for even 15 minutes.

I went out Sunday morning and ripped a 26:02 for 3.3 miles.  I think that's my best at that distance by about a second and I felt pretty good.  It was a good run because I didn't give to fatigue and I didn't get lazy -- I kept pounding it out and just let myself run and breathe. I've had this weird head thing where I keep telling myself you shouldn't be winded, you shouldn't be tired and that's been impinging on my running. Just run and breathe, baby.

I went out in the late afternoon on my bike and went to a pond and trail near my house.  I did a loop around the pond, saw some sick hills into which other mtn. bikers have carved some gnarly, steep tracks.  Needless to say, Mr. Timid here didn't tackle those.  I did tackle some interesting single track along the Charles river and through some interesting marsh land.  There were some parts of the trail that were very challenging due to rocks and some really intense root systems that made the going tricky.  I passed between 8-10 fot marsh grasses on wooden boardwalks and even through a creepy tunnel under a Commuter Rail track. It was cool and I started to feel more comfortable on the bike but not completely yet.  I kept repeating the mantra keep you feet moving, keep pedaling, keep moving.  Much of the single track was fairly rock/root free.   There is one sort of steep section that was covered in roots that now that I've seen it once and walked my bike up it I think I'll try and tackle another day.  I did fall once, into some bushes, no biggy. One final thing about the ride -- I was on the bike for about 50 minutes and it did not add that much to my workout score on my HRM -- if I'd run it it would have been an out of control workout.  Bikes are different.

Staycation Week

I'm psyched to see so much activity on the blog in my off-week.  I completely unplugged starting on 8/15 and didn't log-in again/open a computer until this morning with the exception of 15 mintes to pay some bills last Wednesday.  That said, I had a pretty good week of exercise.  I'm doing a mini-tri (400 yard swim, 5.3 mile mountain bike trail ride and a 2.3 mile trail run) on 9/7 so you'll notice some more activities creeping into my regimen.

Sunday 8/17
This day marked a big shift for me -- I left New Balance and purchased a pair of Mizuno running shoes.  I'd not been psyched with my NB 1222s (they've been replaced in the NB lineup by the 1223s) but I ran on them a long time and ran them into the ground.  I'd loved the 1221 but felt it was time a for a change so I didn't just make the jump to the 1223.  I purchased the Wave Inspire 4 They are light and fit great and offer moderate support.  My older sneakers had been giving more support but my visit to Marathon Sports and a gait assessment revealed that the mechanics of my footfall are solid.  My over-pronation is only moderate and the fact that my shins are slightly bowed outward helps to  minimize the pronation.  I'm happy with the shoes.

I did a short swim of about 110 yards to test out the muscles and see how it would feel to swim a bunch.  Cardio-vascularly speaking it was fine, but my muscles -- esp. the deltoids -- were screaming.

Monday 8/18
I tested out my new shoes and took a 36 minute run.  The shoes felt good and I felt good.

Tuesday 8/19
We belong to a pond about 15 minutes from home and there is a triathlon training group meeting there prior to the tri which will take place on the pond and in the reserve.  We started with a 400 hundred yard swim (the tri distance) and then transitioned to a 30 minute trail run.  The swim was hard on the muscles but I never felt in danger of drowning.  I threw in a couple laps of breast stroke to rest the afflicted freestyle muscles.

I thoroughly enjoyed the run.  I went with a group of folks who were going for 3+ miles and we kept a nice pace.  I was near the front of my group and loving the trail run -- it's so much more vivid than the roads because you've got to be really aware of the ground etc.  It was fun and I felt good.

Wednesday  8/20
Rest Day

Thursday 8/21
I ran by myself for 31 minutes on the trails.  My pace was problematic and my HR monitor wasn't working great -- it wasn't recording my date for nearly half the run, though it was on.  Anyway, the run, alone in the woods, was cool but I was lucky to make it back and not get lost.  I'm not actually sure how I actually navigated my way back to the return trail but I did.  I mention my pace because on the group run I felt good and felt like I was back to my old self.  This run made me question my fitness level again and I'm not sure what's up.

After returning from my run I did a 450 yard swim.  I did only two lengths of of breat stroke and 8 of freestlye.  I felt stronger and tighter in the shoulders and chest and feel good about the swimming.  I added in an extra length for good measure -- just to over-distance a bit so on the day of the tri I won't be crying at 375 yards . . .

Friday 8/22
Museum of Science butterfly room and dinner with friends.  I managed to undo some of my good work during the week with Dark and Stormies and a cigar!

Saturday 8/23
I did a 450 yard swim again.  I felt even stronger and more confident after this one -- it took about 17 minutes.  I'll not be setting any world records but I'm enjoying the swimming.

Sunday 8/24
I headed out Sunday AM and did a 40:47 minute road run.  I'm not sure of the distance, it's somewhere in the range of 5 miles.  I did my out and back on which I usually take Child Two but I ended up going further.  I got to my normal turning point at 18:50 and so went a bit further out.  I went out in 20:43 and back in 20:04.  This is where the pacing thing got weird.  In the middle of the out-leg I focused on my stride and my push-off.  I felt as if I were gliding.  On the way back I felt slow and gassed.  I don't know what's up.  I feel as if I'm trying to bite off more than I can chew right now and putting pressure on each run to get back in better form even though I know that I can't do that.  It's odd, running is sort of up and down for me right now and that may be why I'm enjoying the swimming so much. 

Tomorrow, 8/26 I'm doing a swim bike workout at the pond and am psyched -- I got new off-road tires and invested in toe clips.  I'll be outside tonight and practicing on those.

Mmmmm....Gear....

S'up, boys.

Got new running shoes today.

Went to Jackrabbit's, on 14th Street. Had my gait analyzed.

Wearin' em now.

Cool.