Masters Swimming

This blog might be the most painful one I have ever written. It forces me to search deep inside and admit something that I don't want to admit. I really don't want to admit it. But I am....kinda...enjoying...swimming. (shudders)

I have attended masters now for a month. Not a day goes by that I don't hate the 5 am wake up call. But after every single workout, I am glad that I made the choice. Of course, I am a zombie the rest of the day but the feeling is starting to grow on me.

In the past weeks, I swam with the triathletes. The workouts were typically in the range of 2500-2700 and lasted about an hour. This week I decided to make the switch and join the real swimmers. Suddenly I was overwhelmed again. These people were crazy fast. And my first workout jumped to 4000m.

All in all it really is an enjoyable experience. I am moving to swimming 3x a week. I am slowly meeting and getting to know my lane mates. It is just nice to have company while I suffer. I feel like 90% of the time training is so isolated. With other people, it is much more motivational and helps the time go by quicker.

So I am one month into a three month experiment. I do feel that my swimming endurance has improved significantly. I know that my mindset about swimming has improved. I certainly hope that my speed is increasing. Guess we will know it about a month if the 5 am wake up calls are paying off.

21,000 Calories Later

Week one of the 3,000 calories a day challenge is in the books. Wow, that was much harder than I thought. I typically log my calories the next morning but in an effort to reach 3,000, I had to be a bit more proactive at night. For the week, I ate a total 21,200 calories or just over 3,000 per day. My weight was down exactly one pound with my body fat holding steady.

For the first week, I tried to not alter my diet too much. Obviously I was forced to add things to the list but overall I don't think I went out of my way to eat more. I tried to rely on items that would occur naturally in my diet. I ate out about as much as I normal would. I ate the typical portion sizes. Here is what I learned:

• This was harder than I thought it would be. Trying to be proactive on the calorie count, I was consistently hitting about 2600 calories for the day.
• Even harder was getting 150g of protein a day. I tried and I only hit 117 for the week.
  
• Milk, nuts and cheese are my friends. This means planning more snacks during the day. My afternoon snack is cube cheese, almonds, macadamia nuts and cashews. Voila, another solid 3-400 calories.
• Smoothies are a staple. I don't see a way around it. A smoothie for mid-morning snack gives me about 500 calories. Plus, it fills me up!
• Milk before bed. I drink whole milk and a large glass provides me an additional 200 calories before bed. Add chocolate syrup and make it 300 calories. :)
  
• My dinners are still on the light side. Chicken, fish and sushi might be a great source of protein but the calories don't add up. I need more options.
  

What I found most interesting is that I was content at night. This seemed to be about the right about of food...comfortable but not stuffed. Of course, I suppose the real lesson here is that I need to train my body to take in the extra calories. Adding a 500 calories a day to my diet certainly shouldn't leave me hungry but riding 3 hours should.

For the first week, I can't say that I felt any difference in working out. But then again, given that it was post ING and a big week, I probably can assume that the lack of calories would have left me even more sluggish. My body certainly needed all the food to aid in recovery. And I think my body is enjoying all the food.

Moving forward, I am going to make a few subtle adjustments. First, I need to eat bigger dinners. I need more dense food to accompany my meal. I probably need to eat more for breakfast, even if it is just a glass of juice. My focus this week will be not eating out. I would rather devote those expenses to my grocery bill. Finally,

Georgia Ride to the Capitol

In honor of my furlough day, I decided to take part in the annual Georgia Ride to the Capitol. This is one of my favorite events throughout the year. As in years past, the General Assembly was considering an important bill requiring drivers to yield to at least 3 feet when passing. Naturally, the bill is bogged down in committee and likely won't pass prior to crossover day. Nonetheless, the ride still occurred.

Each time I participate in the event, I start in Roswell. There is just something exciting about riding down Roswell and Piedmont roads where cyclist are lead by a barrage of blue lights clearing all the intersections. The trek is 21 miles one way and is conducted in a parade fashion, at least on the way down.

Tuesday morning was bitterly cold. The ride started in the low 40s which made the downhills that much more unbearable. The sun made an appearance around 10:45 as we made our way through midtown. We ascended up the Capitol around 1130. This years turnout was very impressive...easily over 1000 cyclist. The break was nice as the sun emerged and a few dignitaries took the stage for comments. It was also great to catch up with a number of friends, many who I only see at cycling events.

The ride back is the *cough* real reason you participate. It is a hammer fest. The police try to shut down a few intersections and allow us to speed our way back to Roswell. This year we kept hitting traffic jams that slowed the progress. Trying to do this 48 hours after ING wasn't one of my more intelligent plans. Of course, I told myself that I wouldn't hammer. I would just ride....get this....moderately hard. Sure. I hit every hill hard and finished with the lead pack. It end up being a beautiful day. I just couldn't resist the urge to get out of ride.


Updated: Naturally, HB988 didn't make it out of committee prior to crossover day. So it looks like we are back to the drawing board for next session.

Weight, Body Fat and New Challenge

Too much to blog about and not enough time. I meant to post this blog last week as I ended the magnesium challenge but time once again alluded me. I am still tracking my weight and body fat each and every week. I was reminded to blog about this when I stepped on the scale this morning and saw my weight down significantly (though it is not reflected in the weekly totals).

Yesterday marks the beginning of a new challenge. The timing couldn't be any better for this one as I moved from the base to the build and eventually the peak periods of my training. Training is going up therefore my caloric need is going up. As I mentioned in the past, I frequently track my calories. I am on a good roll right now with nearly 2 months worth of data.

Aside: Tracking your calories is really not that difficult. Most people shy away from it for two reasons. First, they think it is time consuming. The reality is that most of us eat the same foods over and over again. That makes logging it very easy. It takes me approximately 5 minutes each morning to log the previous days food. Second, it forces people to face the reality that their diet is crap. Very true.

One thing that I frequently ponder is if I am fueling my body properly. I never really question if my diet is 'good.' I think I have a moderately healthy diet and don't splurge on snacks. Junk food is very sparse. You won't find it in my home, minus a few remaining girl scout cookies. If anything, my diet isn't diverse enough.

More importantly, I often wonder if I eat enough. Given that I have a very consistent diet, my caloric intake is relatively stable. I wonder if it is too LOW. So this month, I am revisiting the challenge from last summer...to eat more. My goal is to consume close to 3000 calories a day. Gulp. That should put me nearly 21,000 calories for the week. In the past seven weeks, I have only achieved 21,000 calories a week....once. And that was a week of major eating out. That means I need to eat about 2000 calories MORE a week than I typically do.

My hypothesis is that by keeping my caloric intake low, 2000-2300 cal/day, I am starving my body. This prevents it from recovering after a long workout. It also prevents it from preparing for the next workout. If my glycogen stores are not topped off, then my body goes through the fat and carbs as fuel sources too quickly. It then turns to the muscle for fuel...not good. My hope is that by not 'starving' my body, I will actually lose a bit more weight because the body isn't trying to hoard the calories. Counter intuitive? Maybe, but I don't suspect that will be the case.

I actually think this will be a real challenge for me because I like to eat healthy. Most dinners consist of chicken or fish...both great sources of protein but low calorie options. I also don't want the calories to be empty. They need to be natural foods that I would select in ideal situations. That means not splurging on wings and beer. I suspect there will be five staples in this challenge: nuts, cheese, milk, ice cream and peanut butter. I also don't want to cheat by eating out more often.

As a subset of this goal will be my attempt to ingest 140 grams of protein a day. I seriously slack off in this area and often only get about 110 g/day. The adjustments to the diet should aid the protein goal. They will also raise my fat intake which should help will the weight loss challenge.

The timing, as mentioned, is perfect. I will try this for four weeks and see how I feel. That puts me right into my taper for Rev3...an ideal time to cut back the diet. So can someone pass me a smoothie and protein bar?

ING Half Marathon

Finally. ING is over. For some reason this race was looming over me like a dark cloud. I guess in part the race signifies the end of the offseason and ushers in the beginning of tri season. 13.1 miles is a bit too much to overlook so it required a certain amount of mental focus. I was never able to look past it far enough.

Sunday was a perfect day for racing. The temperature hovered around 50 degrees with a light sprinkle in the air. I got moving around 5 am and made it downtown shortly after six. I had a solid 45 minutes prior to the race so we entered the Omni hotel and just found somewhere to hang out. It was warm and moderately quiet, despite the buzz of nervous athletes. I was feeling good that morning. My legs felt recovered and ready to race. I wasn't as giddy as normal but I didn't feel sluggish at all. I entered the corral with about 15 minutes to go and naturally ran into everyone and their mother.

As previously mentioned, my goal for the race was 1:35. I seeded myself between the 1:30 and 1:35 pace group. The first two miles were downhill and my times clearly reflect that as I went out fast, but comfortably. Just before the mile 2 marker, the 1:35 pace group swallowed me up. At this point, it threw me for a major mental loop. I had my first two miles WELL under the 7:15 pace. I spent most of mile three settling into my correct pace, adjusting to the hills and trying to refocus on running MY race only.

As I made my way into the Old Fourth Ward, I was burning up. I wore a sleeveless UA top under a short sleeve wicking shirt. I immediately shed the top shirt. My pre-race strategy was to bank time during miles 4-9, as those are the flattest sections of the course. I tried to make a move but my body was not budging. I started to suspect that things were going to fall apart for me around mile 10.

I was able to push the pace around mile 7 and get back under 7 minute miles. At the half way point, I was nearly dead on for a 1:35 finish. I did begin to notice that my garmin and the mile markers were off quite a bit. I made the decision to push again once I entered Piedmont Park. I found some extra motivation there and began surging for the next mile. By mile 10 I was pretty wiped. And the worst was yet to come.

The final 2 miles roll through Georgia Tech and are all uphill. The terrain has two small hills that you pop up quickly, 2 long gradual ones and 1 really long slight incline. Hands down, it is the hardest part of the course. I knew I was going to lose some time here and didn't have an accurate gauge on how much time I banked. I pushed and pushed. I was hurting at this point. I made it to the top of GT and into the final turn. My watch said I was on pace, race clock said I needed to push it even more.

I know I was pushing that final mile but the speed was just not there. It was a matter of trying to hang on for dear life. I had a decent cadence and form so I stuck with it. I hit the split on my watch when I crossed the 13.1 threshold as I had the course 13.35. The best part was finishing within 5 minutes of numerous friends. It allowed me to just hangout at the finish line congratulating several others.

Official chip time (13.35 miles) 1:36:04
Unofficial 13.1 split: 1:34.10
Pace: 7:11
Overall 283/10481
Men: 248/4618

I see it as a success. My goal was 1:35 and I feel like I made it. As always, I am the hardest on myself. I am pleased with the time but don't feel that I raced it well. I know I went out too hard. I really need to work on that. From there I never had that extra gear to push it. I was too afraid to go into the hurt zone too early in the race. Maybe I was right, maybe I wasn't. I just feel like I crossed the finish line and still had more to give. I need to work on that. For now, I am happy it is over. It gives me some added confidence for Rev3 and I can turn my attention there.

ING Pre-race thoughts

Looks like the first real race of the season is finally here...ING half marathon. This will be my second time racing it with the other being in 2008. It should be a very interesting story to tell when it is all done. If I look back at my training log comparing then and now, I had two totally different approaches to training.

In 2008, most of my training was volume based. The intensity was low and came in the form of mile repeats. I also had the added benefit of an extra half marathon on my schedule prior to ING. In the four months leading up to ING, I put in over 385 miles of running, including a 130 mile month, my biggest ever. (I had to double check my logs to see how I did that).

Fast forward two years and I find myself in a totally different place. My volume certainly isn't there but I am running better than I ever have before. In part (knock on wood) is that I continue to be injury free. The extended volume has been replaced by weekly tempo or track sessions to increase the intensity of the runs. My four month volume is only 265 miles. Both my time and distance are nearly a third less than previously.

So what does all this mean? Well it definitely offers two contrasting training perspectives. In 2008, my offseason goal was to work solely on my running. I was doing very little other than running. And this approach panned out well for me in that all the base building came back into play after injury left me down for Ironman Florida.

This year the goals are different. I wanted to maintain my FTP on the bike throughout the offseason while steadily bringing my run along. Also given that I continue (crosses fingers) to be injury free means I really don't want to mess with my training much more. I would love to be running more but I have a good thing going. No need to mess with it. My speed is coming along. I just hope my endurance is there too.

Two years ago, 9-14 mile runs were prescribed left and right. This year not so much...which has me slightly concerned. In fact, I only hit 12 miles once in training. Gulp. This is where I just have to rely on the cumulative effect of training. I was still able to do 12 miles after running 10-12 during the week. So ideally, Sunday my legs should be a bit fresher and guide me to the finish line.

In 2008, I pulled off a 1.41 and was very proud of my effort. Well it is time to surpass that as most of my training runs are in the 1.39-1.41 range. If I visit VDOT or McMillan Running both tell me I should be capable of running a 1.35. Ouch...sounds painful. That really is my goal. I have wanted to get my half time down into the low 1.30s for some time now. But I am a bit weary of doing that this weekend. I just have a feeling that I will come in 1.36-1.37.

Here is to hoping that the low volume and more intensity approach works better for me

Nutrition and Body Experiment 1

As the quote says at the top of my blog, I like to test, tweak and alter my body in different ways. I recently discussed tracking my body weight and fat. I have also in the past discussed the different 'diet' methods employed to achieve maximization. Of course, I facetiously use the word diet because my first few experiments included ice cream, peanut butter and chocolate syrup. At least I enjoyed it.

This year, I am letting my body be Jessica's guinea pig as she explores different nutritional theories that impact the body...particularly endurance athletes. The idea is that each month, I will try something new with my diet. I will monitor how I am feeling mentally and physically. Ideally, I will see improvements but they may come in the subtle form of minor body composition adjustments, reduction in inflammation and fatigue or sleeping better at night. I enter each new challenge with a bit of skepticism and fear about what the changes might mean for my body and training.

Experiment #1: Increase the level of magnesium in my body.

From a NYT Health article:

• Magnesium is readily available in foods that form the basis of a healthful diet -- whole grains, fruits, dark-green leafy vegetables and nuts. But the highly processed foods that most Americans live on are sorely lacking in the mineral. The latest national studies found that as many as three-fourths of Americans do not consume enough to avoid the adverse effects associated with chronic magnesium deficiency.
  

From NIH

• Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis

From Jessica

• Magnesium levels are related to levels of a hormone called adiponectin. As magnesium goes up, so adiponectin goes up. This is important because adiponectin has an INVERSE relationship to body fat: as adiponectin goes UP, body fat levels go DOWN. This is also why an optimal magnesium level in the body reduces the risk of Metabolic Disorder and Type 2 Diabetes. Magnesium is also helps with stress, relaxes muscles, helps with sleep and restless legs, reduces blood pressure, and is necessary to carry out the metabolic functions of cells.

I started this process four weeks ago. I began using a product called Natural Calm. It is a flavored powder that dissolves in hot water. I began with just 1/2 teaspoon a day and worked my way up to 1.5 teaspoons.

I can't say that I have seen any significant improvement. My biggest complaint is that it changed the way my body processes food and made me a bit irregular. I have not experienced a weight or body fat loss. Those figures are still holding steady. I can't say for certain that I am less sore as there are too many variables in that equation. I will say that I am a bit more focused than normal. I suspect that despite the adjustment to my schedule, I am slightly more energetic as a result. I am definitely sleeping well right now but that may be related to going to bed earlier and focusing on recovery.

In the end, I don't know that I experienced an significant benefits from taking the extra magnesium. With ING this week, I am discontinuing my dosage so that I don't suffer from any GI issues Sunday. At this point, I don't know if I will go back onto the Mg. Of course, that might all change if I start feeling the subtle signs of fatigue, etc.

I am more excited about my next challenge...I get to eat a lot!!!

More Random Musings

I must admit that I am extremely disappointed in myself right now. I spent the past week in Nashville and only had a few personal objectives I wanted to achieve. One, I wanted to write a few blogs. Second, I wanted to overhaul the blog template. Alas, I failed. Sigh. It is amazing how time flies.

Nonetheless, I had a GREAT week of training capped off with riding outdoors 4 times. I loved logging some decent mileage. Better yet, my trainer is still in my car. And it needs to stay there. Well, not really but you know what I mean. With day light savings upon us, it is time to jump on a few roadie rides and see what happens.

In addition, this weekend in the ING Half Marathon. I don't quite know how I feel about it. I know what my goal is but I just don't have the confidence that I am going to reach it. I don't think it is a stretch at all. However, I don't feel like my last few long runs have hit the mark. I just hope that fresh and slightly tapered legs will put my mind at ease.

Otherwise, spring is in the air and as I previously mentioned, I couldn't be happier. I rode in shorts several times (despite the cold yesterday). And I even took my shirt off during my intervals. I likely blinded the oncoming traffic. Maybe post ING, I should begin to work on my tan.

Weather Gods Shine Down on Thee

Thank you, thank you, thank you. The clouds parted. The rain held off. Runners and cyclists filled the streets. No, I am not talking about a random, bizarre dream. Instead, this past weekend offered that first glimmer of spring time. And it did NOT disappoint.

With the sun high in the sky, I vowed to make sure spending time outdoors was at the top of my list. Saturday morning, Jess and I went to hear a orthopedic talk to a local tri club on running injuries. Afterwards, I caught up with a group of triathletes on a group ride. This group ride was MUCH better than my last one. I could tell there were a few good riders but none of them had been on the bike during the offseason. So this created a few more stops and regroupings than I would like but that was the least of my worries on a day that is sunny and 65. After the ride, the group hung out at the bike shop over some suds and grilled chicken.

Sunday was much of the same. I headed out on my long run a bit overdressed given the sun's radiant heat. I plodded through 10 miles with the sheer enjoyment of being outside on a beautiful day. I did find it ironic on the warmest day of the year, Jess and I happen to have hockey tickets. So we spent part of the day in a cold arena.

Monday was even better. There was no stopping me from maximizing my time outdoors. We headed to the park for a brief workout and ended up spending most of our time just sitting in the sun. We had lunch on the patio when we felt like lizards basking. When we returned, I immediately hopped back on the bike for a spin..in shorts and short sleeves!!! Ahh, it is the little things that excite me so much. My legs were dead from the weekend workouts but I was determined to ride for about an hour. Upon my return, I sat outside finishing a work project until the sun's heat became unbearable and I fell asleep...on the front porch.

Alas, I am very thankful for the beautiful weather this weekend!!! I am more than happy to deal with it again anytime!! Hopefully everyone else was able to get outside and maximize their use of the early Spring day!

Turn Up the Volume

It appears to be that time of year. I am moving from period I (base) to period II (build) in the training plan. And goodness the body felt every bit of it this week. Fortunately, I was able to combat the amassed fatigue by visiting my crazy, head-splitting open massage therapist Eileen yesterday.

It is kinda sad to admit, but this week was my largest volume since June of last year. heh. The focus on intensity is still there but my mileage on the run stepped up a bit more, I assume in preparation for one last surge before the ING half mary. I ended up putting in nearly 26 miles of running which eclipses any non race weekly total in quite some time. And I cut off a few miles on the week due to time constraints.

Most notably, as my last blog indicated, was the entrance of masters swimming into the workout schedule. I think my body is still in shock from the time adjustment. And I felt every bit of it this week when training. I found myself quite lethargic in the afternoon, not looking forward to riding or running. My energy levels were sapped due to the 5 am wake up call. Given that, I am even more please with my ability to focus and push through the workouts this week. We will see what happens this week as I expect a bit more of the same.

For the month of February, I feel really good with where I am right now. I (crossing fingers) hope that I worked through a potential injury in January and it didn't appear to be a limiter in February. I returned to the pool. Sigh. And I feel good about the bike. I am very pleased to log 200 miles given that 100% of it was intensity, interval based. That being said, I am ready for some volume. I am ready for warmer temps and longer rides. Hopefully March will bring those wishes to me.

February's totals:
Bike:	10h 37m 30s - 207.2 Mi
Run:	9h 58m 25s - 77.42 Mi
Swim:	5h 42m 54s - 16050 Yd

2010 totals
Bike:	20h 30m 38s - 391.5 Mi
Run:	17h 23m 45s - 134.22 Mi
Swim:	9h 42m 54s - 28050 Yd