Hockey

Played a really fun game of hockey last night. Great passing, fast pace, a goal and a couple of assists. Playing more than once a week has transformed the sport for me. For the last two years, I've endured each session because of fitness levels. Now, I'm starting to get into a flow and improve. Progression like that is a kick.

Runs 21, 22

Ms. FA and I got out to Banff and Jasper National Parks for about eights days, just back last night. We left the little FAs home with grandparents, so had the time and the space to run together, which we did last Sunday (Aug 17) in Banff, about 3.5 miles along the Bow River from downtown Banff towards the Banff Springs Hotel. This included some moderate trail running, which was a thrill and I'd like to do it again. We got out again on Friday (Aug 22) in Jasper, which was worthwhile but poorly executed as we selected a trail used frequently by groups on horseback and, well, as you might expect the trail itself was sub-optimal for running.

We spent the intervening days in the backcountry and put on several 10+ mile hikes with some significant elevation change, and so had some great cross training with the benefit of truly extraordinary scenery. We also ate and drank as befit a 10th anniversary getaway, so we're feeling strong, but rounder than we'd like.

Peace,

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.

Gun show

I did the triple threat eliptical, run, swim today at the gym. 15 minutes on the eliptical, 15 minute run, some weights (you know to bulk up for the beach), and then 15 laps in the pool. It felt good to cross train, and great to actually run. I'm hoping to get a more aggressive program in place from my PT guy tomorrow, but I'm not sure if that will fly. I'm not up for another calf pop, but the slow recovery is also killing me. It's tough because the strains seemed to come out of nowhere -- no pain, no tightness, no warning.

Enough bitching. The workout felt great today, and that's the important part. Oh, and the guns are coming along. (yeah right)

Skate Skiing

We spent yesterday (Christmas) afternoon at the VTRunner-in-laws, where I had the chance to get in a little exercise. As we've all seen on the blog lately, exercise events have been sparse, so I was glad to finally get out.

Mr. VTR-in-law keeps an amazing skate-skiing track around the field at his place, and I had yet to get in a skate this year. After a big breakfast, light lunch, and mid-day nap, I figured the time was right to hit it. I strapped on the skis and immediately struggled to find a skating rhythm. I felt like a baby moose on a frozen pond -- legs and arms everywhere, long poles flying, totally uncoordinated. Once I got my legs under me I took off (relatively speaking). One lap turned to four, which turned to eight, 12, 15 and finally 20. At each potential stopping point, I stood at the top of the field and couldn't think of a good reason to quit. The sun was setting, and the scene was perfectly quiet and calming. Even better, my lungs and legs felt great. Skate skiing can be a tough sport, both cardiovascularly and technically, but I felt like I could go forever. As demanding as it can be, it's also very rhythmic, like swimming, and can lull you into a meditative zone. At one point, I found myself thinking about the upcoming Burlington marathon. I was chanting something like, "3:15, where do you want to be?" with each stride. 3:15 is my stretch goal time for the Burlington marathon, and it was awesome to feel inspired enough to start visualizing the race. I felt strong, clear-headed and invigorated. At lap 20, I stopped because I knew cocktails and hors-d'oevres were waiting inside, not because I was couldn't go on.

I mention this as a reminder that the work we've put in over the year doesn't just disappear because we're taking a collective break to catch our breath and recharge. Sure, we might have to brush off a bit of rust, but the base of fitness is still there. I was completely surprised and encouraged by my skiing session. I'm looking forward to jumping back into the LDT life.

Hope you all had a merry Christmas. Happy new year!

Are you ready for some...

Hockey?!

I played my first hockey game of the season with the local men's hockey league last night. Man, absolutely nothing can prepare you for that workout. It was like a full 90 minutes of wind sprints. There were no dry heaves, but I did plenty of gliding around the ice, watching the puck go by just out of reach. I managed a couple of shots on goal and one deflection that almost found the back of the net. It was a fun time, and a perfect "cross train" for the early part of my taper week. Two more short (very short) runs on tap this week before it's go time on Sunday.