When I got out of bed this morning, after yesterday's tri, I was reminded of the punch line to an old (and very poor) joke:
"Me? I'm Thor."
"Thor? You're Thor? I'm so Thor I can barely move*!"
Believe me, I understand the feeling.
* The actual word used describes a bodily function, and would be pronounced with a lisp - but I'm already in trouble with the pun police, I don't want to offend the PC police, and I surely don't want to risk losing my PG rating - r.
After My First Tri: Pinebush '06
Me & Coach Andrea - Armed and Dangerous!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Second Tri of 2008 Guilderland Y Indoor Tri 03/30/08
Nice event this morning. Lots of familiar faces, and it's nice to compete on my home "turf". Best of all, my buddy Kelly the Quick took a first overall for women, and her husband Craig took a first overall for men.
I had an 8:40 AM start time, which is very civil. For these indoor tri's, the trick to getting the later start time is to register later, but not so late that you get shut out. Turns out Kelly and Donna were in the second heat, which went off at 7:20 AM. Since the Y is only 10 minutes from my house, it was pretty easy to get over there early to cheer them on.
Kelly staked out lane 3 - she picked that lane because that's the lane she trains in on Thursday nites, and she felt comfortable there. Donna, who had just flown back yesterday from SC from her visit with the granddaughters, was over in lane 7. Because my wave didn't start until so much later, I got to watch and cheer for them in each event.
Super Steve was in the last wave, the one after mine, so he was in my cheering section for my swim, although I didn't get to cheer for him. I understand he did very well, 26 or 27 lengths in the pool, 7.5 on the bike and a very respectable 1.9 miles on the treadmill.
The good news about an indoor tri is that all the events take place in a confined area, so it is easy to see the competitors. The bad news is that, other than the swimming, there's not much to see, since neither the stationary bikes nor the treadmills go anyplace, and neither do the athletes using them. From a competitor's a point of view, though, this is an ideal situation, because you can hear your friends cheering you on during every minute of each event, and that's great.
The Score Card
Swimming: Not bad. I did the crawl stroke for the entire time, kicked off the walls much better than during the last event, minimized my "hang time", that is, the amount of time I grabbed the walls and rested. I covered 25.5 lengths, a full 25 yards farther than during my Febraury tri, and I met my goal. Of course, if I hadn't stood up once at the end of the pool, looking at my watch and adjusting my goggles (and being truthful - catching a short rest) and if I had been just a little quicker off the walls a few times, I could have covered 26 laps. Still - pretty good (Thanks, Coach!) 67 points; A-
Bike: Pretty good. I knew we were using spin bikes, so I looked up the bike settings last night from my last indoor race and memorized them. Knowing these let me set up the bike as soon as I got out of the water, which gave me a quicker transition to the bike, and meant that I had a minute more of rest time between events. I knew enough to pedal at high RPM's and low resistance, and I knew that I could get over 120 RPM's, the highest number on the bike computer and that the computer would still register the distance.
Two minor screw ups - I forgot to start my stopwatch at the beginning of the race, and tried to set it about 2 minutes in, with the help of the lead volunteer in the room. Good idea, except I straightened up to do this, I forgot about pedaling - not a good idea since the flywheel kept turning, and so did the pedals, which are fixed - no coasting on a spin bike. Consequently, my feet came out of the straps, and I had to slow down to try to slide them back in. Being a slow learner, this happened again before I finally got the stopwatch going - one of the volunteers helped me slide my foot back into the cage this time.
Other than that - a pretty good ride. 7.29 miles, over .8 miles better than in February. 76 points; A-.
The Run: A disaster. I made the assumption that since the February indoor tri had us all running on the track for the third event, we would be running on the track this time, too. That's the way I trained, transitioning from bike to track when I was practicing the bike, and running on the track, or outdoors when I was practicing for the run. Wrong! Last night Kelly let me know that this event was going to be held on the treadmills. And, no touching the rails during the entire event.
I hate the treadmill - I think it's a tyrant! When I run, I slow down or speed up a lot during a workout. Walk whenever I want to, too - no problem to vary the pace. Not the case on the treadmill. I have to hit the up or down arrows repeatedly to go from a run to a walk, or vice versa. And I inevitably grab the side rails or the front of the machine for balance during abrupt speed changes like run to walk, or during sprints.
This news freaked me out - I worried a lot about it last night, and didn't sleep too well. I was afraid if I tried to go too fast, I would lose my balance and fall, or grab the rails and get disqualified. I decided to be very conservative, and alternated between 4 mph walking and 4.6 mph jogging - 13 minute mile pace. And that's what I did.
Every now and then I tried to go faster or longer by getting into a zone and using the dis-associative technique that was described in the NY Times running column last week - staring at a distant object, counting my footfalls and synching my breathing up with them - but each time I did, I started to lose my balance. So I went back to the slower pace, and the results show this clearly. 1.1 miles; 40 points; D.
Lessons Learned: Ask questions about the events and the equipment. If I had done this, I would have trained on the accursed treadmill and done better for sure. After all, I am routinely running 12 minute miles or so during my training - I can do better!
On the positive side - I am very pleased with swimming and biking. I trained hard to improve, and I did.
Two minor notes: No body markings for this event - I felt cheated! And, we had to wear swim caps in the pool. I had forgotten how wonderful it is to try to pull one of those things over my head - like trying to put on a giant condom, but without the payoff.
The IPod Factor: Not a factor. The powers that be decided that since runners are no longer allowed to use IPods in road races (courtesy of the lawyers and their fears about liability lawsuits, we would not be allowed to use them either. Or more accurately, the people in waves 3-7 would not be allowed to use them, because it took them 2 waves to figure this out. This logic struck me as more than a little flawed, since it was not a road race, and there certainly was no danger of being hit by a car while inside the YMCA. Not to mention inconsistent in its application.
But, this seemed to be the only flaw in a very well organized and well run event. My applause and congratulations to Kerry and all the volunteers who put this event together and made it a great success.
I had an 8:40 AM start time, which is very civil. For these indoor tri's, the trick to getting the later start time is to register later, but not so late that you get shut out. Turns out Kelly and Donna were in the second heat, which went off at 7:20 AM. Since the Y is only 10 minutes from my house, it was pretty easy to get over there early to cheer them on.
Kelly staked out lane 3 - she picked that lane because that's the lane she trains in on Thursday nites, and she felt comfortable there. Donna, who had just flown back yesterday from SC from her visit with the granddaughters, was over in lane 7. Because my wave didn't start until so much later, I got to watch and cheer for them in each event.
Super Steve was in the last wave, the one after mine, so he was in my cheering section for my swim, although I didn't get to cheer for him. I understand he did very well, 26 or 27 lengths in the pool, 7.5 on the bike and a very respectable 1.9 miles on the treadmill.
The good news about an indoor tri is that all the events take place in a confined area, so it is easy to see the competitors. The bad news is that, other than the swimming, there's not much to see, since neither the stationary bikes nor the treadmills go anyplace, and neither do the athletes using them. From a competitor's a point of view, though, this is an ideal situation, because you can hear your friends cheering you on during every minute of each event, and that's great.
The Score Card
Swimming: Not bad. I did the crawl stroke for the entire time, kicked off the walls much better than during the last event, minimized my "hang time", that is, the amount of time I grabbed the walls and rested. I covered 25.5 lengths, a full 25 yards farther than during my Febraury tri, and I met my goal. Of course, if I hadn't stood up once at the end of the pool, looking at my watch and adjusting my goggles (and being truthful - catching a short rest) and if I had been just a little quicker off the walls a few times, I could have covered 26 laps. Still - pretty good (Thanks, Coach!) 67 points; A-
Bike: Pretty good. I knew we were using spin bikes, so I looked up the bike settings last night from my last indoor race and memorized them. Knowing these let me set up the bike as soon as I got out of the water, which gave me a quicker transition to the bike, and meant that I had a minute more of rest time between events. I knew enough to pedal at high RPM's and low resistance, and I knew that I could get over 120 RPM's, the highest number on the bike computer and that the computer would still register the distance.
Two minor screw ups - I forgot to start my stopwatch at the beginning of the race, and tried to set it about 2 minutes in, with the help of the lead volunteer in the room. Good idea, except I straightened up to do this, I forgot about pedaling - not a good idea since the flywheel kept turning, and so did the pedals, which are fixed - no coasting on a spin bike. Consequently, my feet came out of the straps, and I had to slow down to try to slide them back in. Being a slow learner, this happened again before I finally got the stopwatch going - one of the volunteers helped me slide my foot back into the cage this time.
Other than that - a pretty good ride. 7.29 miles, over .8 miles better than in February. 76 points; A-.
The Run: A disaster. I made the assumption that since the February indoor tri had us all running on the track for the third event, we would be running on the track this time, too. That's the way I trained, transitioning from bike to track when I was practicing the bike, and running on the track, or outdoors when I was practicing for the run. Wrong! Last night Kelly let me know that this event was going to be held on the treadmills. And, no touching the rails during the entire event.
I hate the treadmill - I think it's a tyrant! When I run, I slow down or speed up a lot during a workout. Walk whenever I want to, too - no problem to vary the pace. Not the case on the treadmill. I have to hit the up or down arrows repeatedly to go from a run to a walk, or vice versa. And I inevitably grab the side rails or the front of the machine for balance during abrupt speed changes like run to walk, or during sprints.
This news freaked me out - I worried a lot about it last night, and didn't sleep too well. I was afraid if I tried to go too fast, I would lose my balance and fall, or grab the rails and get disqualified. I decided to be very conservative, and alternated between 4 mph walking and 4.6 mph jogging - 13 minute mile pace. And that's what I did.
Every now and then I tried to go faster or longer by getting into a zone and using the dis-associative technique that was described in the NY Times running column last week - staring at a distant object, counting my footfalls and synching my breathing up with them - but each time I did, I started to lose my balance. So I went back to the slower pace, and the results show this clearly. 1.1 miles; 40 points; D.
Lessons Learned: Ask questions about the events and the equipment. If I had done this, I would have trained on the accursed treadmill and done better for sure. After all, I am routinely running 12 minute miles or so during my training - I can do better!
On the positive side - I am very pleased with swimming and biking. I trained hard to improve, and I did.
Two minor notes: No body markings for this event - I felt cheated! And, we had to wear swim caps in the pool. I had forgotten how wonderful it is to try to pull one of those things over my head - like trying to put on a giant condom, but without the payoff.
The IPod Factor: Not a factor. The powers that be decided that since runners are no longer allowed to use IPods in road races (courtesy of the lawyers and their fears about liability lawsuits, we would not be allowed to use them either. Or more accurately, the people in waves 3-7 would not be allowed to use them, because it took them 2 waves to figure this out. This logic struck me as more than a little flawed, since it was not a road race, and there certainly was no danger of being hit by a car while inside the YMCA. Not to mention inconsistent in its application.
But, this seemed to be the only flaw in a very well organized and well run event. My applause and congratulations to Kerry and all the volunteers who put this event together and made it a great success.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Where the Boys (and Girls) Are
Hint: it's not Ft. Lauderdale, and I am not talking about George Hamilton, Jim Hutton, Dolores Hart, Paula Prentiss, Yvette Mimieux, and Connie Francis. I am talking about our Thursday nite swim class, and what we are up to.
Christina and Jess (Giggle and Gaggle?) are in Washington, DC, at the SunTrust National Marathon and Half Marathon, with Christina doing a Half to warm up for the Boston Marathon, coming up on April 21 and Jess is doing the Marathon, in preparation for the Ford Ironman Lake Placid Triathlon, on July 20.
Gil is once again a 7-minute man, and recently ran The Running of the Green (Island) 4 Mile Race, and the Guilderland Rabbit Ramble 4 Mile Charity Run. He will be moving up in distance for his next outing, the Demar Dash 5 Mile Road Race, on April 6.
Captain Mike will be "grounded" tomorrow and tackling the Mudders and Grunters Cross Country Race, a 5 mile off road slog through FDR State Park in Yorktown. If they have the same snow cover there that we do here, he might want to think about rading in his running shoes for snow shoes.
Dodie is still recovering from her surgery, and picked up a cold, to boot, so hopefully she's just taking it easy and getting better.
Super Steve, Kelly the Quick and I will be at the Guilderland Y tomorrow morning, participating in an indoor tri: 15 minutes in the pool, 15 minutes on a spinning bike and 15 minutes on the indoor track. I would give you a link to the event, but the Y doesn't even mention it in its on-line listing of upcoming events. Go figure.
I would like to do a little better in tomorrow's event than I did last month in a similar event at the Southern Saratoga Y - a length more in the pool, and the equivalent of 2 more laps on the track ( the Southern Saratoga track is slightly longer than the one in Guilderland). I've been training regularly, and I will be using my new IPod, so I am hopeful. But, I recognize that sometimes when I put pressure on myself for these events, I tend to tighten up, go out too fast and end up struggling. Could happen. To prevent this, I will try to approach this as another workout session, try to do the best I can, and see what happens.
In a little while I will go pick up my race packet, and Donna's, too. She is flying back from SC this afternoon, after visiting with her granddaughters - I bet they ran her around pretty good, which has to be great training, right?
Kelly and I were talking about the event Thursday night, and I mentioned that we get body-marked when we sign in (they use a water proof marker to write our race numbers on one arm and one calf). Kelly admitted that she loved getting body-marked - that it made her feel special. I confessed that I felt the same way. What can I tell you? - I get such pleasure out of the little things in life!
For those of us dreaming of warmer weather and the Pinebush Triathlon, here's a link to a little something extra I found while researching the events I mention in today's blog. It was interesting to get a non-participants take on the PB, and it was nice to read about and see pictures of people I know.
Up next for me is the St John's St Ann's Spring Runoff 5K on April 26, a benefit for their Outreach Center. It will be my first road race of the season, and depending on how things go, my first steps towards this.
See you out there!
Christina and Jess (Giggle and Gaggle?) are in Washington, DC, at the SunTrust National Marathon and Half Marathon, with Christina doing a Half to warm up for the Boston Marathon, coming up on April 21 and Jess is doing the Marathon, in preparation for the Ford Ironman Lake Placid Triathlon, on July 20.
Gil is once again a 7-minute man, and recently ran The Running of the Green (Island) 4 Mile Race, and the Guilderland Rabbit Ramble 4 Mile Charity Run. He will be moving up in distance for his next outing, the Demar Dash 5 Mile Road Race, on April 6.
Captain Mike will be "grounded" tomorrow and tackling the Mudders and Grunters Cross Country Race, a 5 mile off road slog through FDR State Park in Yorktown. If they have the same snow cover there that we do here, he might want to think about rading in his running shoes for snow shoes.
Dodie is still recovering from her surgery, and picked up a cold, to boot, so hopefully she's just taking it easy and getting better.
Super Steve, Kelly the Quick and I will be at the Guilderland Y tomorrow morning, participating in an indoor tri: 15 minutes in the pool, 15 minutes on a spinning bike and 15 minutes on the indoor track. I would give you a link to the event, but the Y doesn't even mention it in its on-line listing of upcoming events. Go figure.
I would like to do a little better in tomorrow's event than I did last month in a similar event at the Southern Saratoga Y - a length more in the pool, and the equivalent of 2 more laps on the track ( the Southern Saratoga track is slightly longer than the one in Guilderland). I've been training regularly, and I will be using my new IPod, so I am hopeful. But, I recognize that sometimes when I put pressure on myself for these events, I tend to tighten up, go out too fast and end up struggling. Could happen. To prevent this, I will try to approach this as another workout session, try to do the best I can, and see what happens.
In a little while I will go pick up my race packet, and Donna's, too. She is flying back from SC this afternoon, after visiting with her granddaughters - I bet they ran her around pretty good, which has to be great training, right?
Kelly and I were talking about the event Thursday night, and I mentioned that we get body-marked when we sign in (they use a water proof marker to write our race numbers on one arm and one calf). Kelly admitted that she loved getting body-marked - that it made her feel special. I confessed that I felt the same way. What can I tell you? - I get such pleasure out of the little things in life!
For those of us dreaming of warmer weather and the Pinebush Triathlon, here's a link to a little something extra I found while researching the events I mention in today's blog. It was interesting to get a non-participants take on the PB, and it was nice to read about and see pictures of people I know.
Up next for me is the St John's St Ann's Spring Runoff 5K on April 26, a benefit for their Outreach Center. It will be my first road race of the season, and depending on how things go, my first steps towards this.
See you out there!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
IPod? I Plod? Eyes without a Face?
I dragged my self over to the Y tonight to get on the stationary bike one last time before Sunday's indoor tri. Took me almost two hours after supper to get through all the "really, really important" things I had to do (like checking out the Mets Spring Training Box Score and reading a review of Britney Spears performance in "How I Met Your Mom", for example) before I slathered on the A&D Ointment, pulled on the wonderfully flattering bike shorts and drove the 5 miles over to the Y. I was able to stall a good 10 minutes more when I got there, because my friend Stephanie was working the desk and it was slow enough so that we could chat for a while.
Finally, I went upstairs, slotted myself in on the board for 30 minutes on bike #4, raised the seat to "8", threw my leg over the saddle, slid my feet into the straps, and pedaled. I had a really hard time getting it cranked up much over 104 rpm, well below the 120 I am aiming for on Sunday. I know I can do that, since I did it the last time I rode here, managing 8 miles in 30 minutes. Tonite, a mere 7.25 in the same time. Better than couching it, I guess.
When I got done on the bike, I hit my stopwatch, wiped down the bike and rubber legged it over to the track next door. I promised myself I would pair my bike sessions with mini bricks, and at least I have been doing that. I was on the track in 1:40, but being a good neurotic and too lazy to reset my watch, I waited for the stopwatch to hit 2:00 before I took off.
I did two laps in the middle lane (14 laps / mile) in 1:26, with my feet keeping time with Billy Idol's Eyes Without a Face. You know what? This IPod stuff really works. It's a song I haven't heard in a long time, it's really good to hear it again, and when I let myself get into the music, it really pulled me along. 42 seconds per lap translates into a sub-10 minute mile - just short of flying for me.
Then I walked a half mile to cool down, but I wanted to try one more thing before hitting the shower and the hot tub. I put the song on again, and waited for the 2:30 minute mark, when Billy ramps the song into an up tempo break, and then I took off again for one lap, in the outer lane, 13 laps/ mile. I blistered that sucker in 31 seconds, a 6:43 mile pace, and faster than I have gone in a long time.
Now I know, I am just "sampling" the music, and two laps doesn't make up a 5K, let alone a marathon. But, man, the possibility is there - the possibility is really there!
Finally, I went upstairs, slotted myself in on the board for 30 minutes on bike #4, raised the seat to "8", threw my leg over the saddle, slid my feet into the straps, and pedaled. I had a really hard time getting it cranked up much over 104 rpm, well below the 120 I am aiming for on Sunday. I know I can do that, since I did it the last time I rode here, managing 8 miles in 30 minutes. Tonite, a mere 7.25 in the same time. Better than couching it, I guess.
When I got done on the bike, I hit my stopwatch, wiped down the bike and rubber legged it over to the track next door. I promised myself I would pair my bike sessions with mini bricks, and at least I have been doing that. I was on the track in 1:40, but being a good neurotic and too lazy to reset my watch, I waited for the stopwatch to hit 2:00 before I took off.
I did two laps in the middle lane (14 laps / mile) in 1:26, with my feet keeping time with Billy Idol's Eyes Without a Face. You know what? This IPod stuff really works. It's a song I haven't heard in a long time, it's really good to hear it again, and when I let myself get into the music, it really pulled me along. 42 seconds per lap translates into a sub-10 minute mile - just short of flying for me.
Then I walked a half mile to cool down, but I wanted to try one more thing before hitting the shower and the hot tub. I put the song on again, and waited for the 2:30 minute mark, when Billy ramps the song into an up tempo break, and then I took off again for one lap, in the outer lane, 13 laps/ mile. I blistered that sucker in 31 seconds, a 6:43 mile pace, and faster than I have gone in a long time.
Now I know, I am just "sampling" the music, and two laps doesn't make up a 5K, let alone a marathon. But, man, the possibility is there - the possibility is really there!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
IPod's for Dummies (or, " IPod for a Dummy - Me")
I have a good sense of rhythm, but a lousy sense of pace. This is a problem for me, because I am trying to become a better, stronger runner but I often seem clueless during my workouts.
The only pace I can keep consistently is the LSD pace, and that's only because it's keyed to something I do extremely well - talk. That is, I know I can jog for a pretty good distance without stopping (currently 1.83 miles - according to Google Pedometer - Satellite View) if I jog slowly enough that I can talk comfortably with my jogging companion. That's great for the weekly length builder, but not so good for those workouts where I want to build speed or strength.
I've tried running, biking and lifting to music and I like it, but it's pretty hit or miss (for once, no pun intended). I have good quality headphones with AM/FM radio built in, but they don't work in some places, like the Y under the Concourse, and you are never quite sure what song you will get, or if you will hit those unending commercial breaks. My older CD player allows me to select the music I want, but it's a little bulky, and I can't even imagine trying to carry it on a run. If I wanted to change the pace of my workout, I would either have to carry multiple CD's, or burn a "mix-tape" - and I just can't be bothered.
I have resisted the ubiquitous IPod's that my children (23 and 20) favor - they just seemed so high-tech. But, my desire to run better has brought me around. I have turned to John Bingham and Jeff Galloway to learn how to be a better runner, and I learned that Jeff has collaborated on run/walk music, and the music has built in warm-ups and alternate run/walk periods and cool downs - and that sounded very good to me. I went on line and found Jeff Galloway Run/Walk Music, and I thought I would try it. Then I discovered that everyone has gone high tech - I could buy a CD, but not only would it take longer to get here but it would also be more expensive than an MP3 file of the same music.
So I bought an IPod. It's not too fancy - it's a 2GB 2nd Generation Nano, and I bought it refurbished from the on-line Apple Store, for $79 plus tax, about $85 total. (Refurbished nano's like this are not available all the time, so if you want one and they aren't in stock, check back from time to time) IPod Shuffles are now available for just $39, but they don't let you choose what you hear - they just play whatever songs are stored on them randomly. I wanted to be able to select what music I listen to. The nano has the famous IPod Scroll Wheel, which lets me do that very easily.
I wanted something more secure than the ear buds that come with the IPod, so I swapped out the SONY Behind the Head Ear Phones I had been using with my CD player. They are light weight, and stay put, even during vigorous exercise. I paid about $15 for them at Circuit City.
Through the tutelage of my son, I quickly learned that the key to easily getting music onto my IPod is ITunes. You can download the software free and it really is very easy to use, at least it was after Jon demonstrated it for me and walked me through it a couple of times.
When I want to get music onto my IPod, I fire up ITunes on the desktop, and then I connect the IPod to the computer, using a cable (it comes with the IPod) that plugs into the bottom of the IPod on one end and into a USB on the other. One of these ports is handily located on the front of the CPU, a little ways below the disk drives. Once it's connected, though, you are not supposed to unplug either end until you click on an icon in ITunes to virtually "eject" it - I don't know what happens if you don't do that first.
With the IPod connected to the desktop and ITUnes, I get lots of choices. If there's anything in the ITunes library I like, I just click on it and drag it over to the IPod icon. If I have a CD, I just pop in into the disk drive. ITunes "sees" it and asks me if I want to import it. When I click ok, ITunes imports the songs into the library. I can watch the progress it is making, and it dings when it's done. Then I click on the music library, click the menu button in ITunes that lets me sort by date - this pops the songs I just imported to the top of the list. I highlight the songs I want, click on them and drag them into the IPod icon. Pretty easy.
I can also buy music on-line from the ITunes On-Line Store. I had to register the first time I went there, but after that you just search for what you want, download it and follow the same procedure outlined above. The really cool thing to me is that I can buy an entire album, or just one song. This is a wonderful feature if you are a fan of one-hit wonders, want one particular song, and could care less about anything else on the album.
You can also download MP3 files from Amazon. You will need to set up an account with Amazon if you don't already have one. The first time you want to buy music this way, you will have to download a small software application, but that's pretty easy, too. You can download an entire album - I found that the prices for albums on Amazon are cheaper than those on ITunes - or just a song or two, for $.99 - the same price on either site.
After one week, I now have 103 songs on my IPod, and have a little over 1Gb of memory left, a little over half of what I started with. I've downloaded a pretty eclectic bunch of songs and albums - two mix tapes Jon gave me for Xmas over the last two years to expand my musical horizons, some old favorites like Journey, (much to Jon's disgust!); and Billy Idol; and some new favorites like Amy Winehouse, Sara Bareilles, and Feist.
Jon also found an down loaded 45:33 original running music composed and recorded by LCD Soundsystem, commissioned by Nike.
Will training to music make me a stronger and faster runner? I don't know - I'll keep you posted.
The only pace I can keep consistently is the LSD pace, and that's only because it's keyed to something I do extremely well - talk. That is, I know I can jog for a pretty good distance without stopping (currently 1.83 miles - according to Google Pedometer - Satellite View) if I jog slowly enough that I can talk comfortably with my jogging companion. That's great for the weekly length builder, but not so good for those workouts where I want to build speed or strength.
I've tried running, biking and lifting to music and I like it, but it's pretty hit or miss (for once, no pun intended). I have good quality headphones with AM/FM radio built in, but they don't work in some places, like the Y under the Concourse, and you are never quite sure what song you will get, or if you will hit those unending commercial breaks. My older CD player allows me to select the music I want, but it's a little bulky, and I can't even imagine trying to carry it on a run. If I wanted to change the pace of my workout, I would either have to carry multiple CD's, or burn a "mix-tape" - and I just can't be bothered.
I have resisted the ubiquitous IPod's that my children (23 and 20) favor - they just seemed so high-tech. But, my desire to run better has brought me around. I have turned to John Bingham and Jeff Galloway to learn how to be a better runner, and I learned that Jeff has collaborated on run/walk music, and the music has built in warm-ups and alternate run/walk periods and cool downs - and that sounded very good to me. I went on line and found Jeff Galloway Run/Walk Music, and I thought I would try it. Then I discovered that everyone has gone high tech - I could buy a CD, but not only would it take longer to get here but it would also be more expensive than an MP3 file of the same music.
So I bought an IPod. It's not too fancy - it's a 2GB 2nd Generation Nano, and I bought it refurbished from the on-line Apple Store, for $79 plus tax, about $85 total. (Refurbished nano's like this are not available all the time, so if you want one and they aren't in stock, check back from time to time) IPod Shuffles are now available for just $39, but they don't let you choose what you hear - they just play whatever songs are stored on them randomly. I wanted to be able to select what music I listen to. The nano has the famous IPod Scroll Wheel, which lets me do that very easily.
I wanted something more secure than the ear buds that come with the IPod, so I swapped out the SONY Behind the Head Ear Phones I had been using with my CD player. They are light weight, and stay put, even during vigorous exercise. I paid about $15 for them at Circuit City.
Through the tutelage of my son, I quickly learned that the key to easily getting music onto my IPod is ITunes. You can download the software free and it really is very easy to use, at least it was after Jon demonstrated it for me and walked me through it a couple of times.
When I want to get music onto my IPod, I fire up ITunes on the desktop, and then I connect the IPod to the computer, using a cable (it comes with the IPod) that plugs into the bottom of the IPod on one end and into a USB on the other. One of these ports is handily located on the front of the CPU, a little ways below the disk drives. Once it's connected, though, you are not supposed to unplug either end until you click on an icon in ITunes to virtually "eject" it - I don't know what happens if you don't do that first.
With the IPod connected to the desktop and ITUnes, I get lots of choices. If there's anything in the ITunes library I like, I just click on it and drag it over to the IPod icon. If I have a CD, I just pop in into the disk drive. ITunes "sees" it and asks me if I want to import it. When I click ok, ITunes imports the songs into the library. I can watch the progress it is making, and it dings when it's done. Then I click on the music library, click the menu button in ITunes that lets me sort by date - this pops the songs I just imported to the top of the list. I highlight the songs I want, click on them and drag them into the IPod icon. Pretty easy.
I can also buy music on-line from the ITunes On-Line Store. I had to register the first time I went there, but after that you just search for what you want, download it and follow the same procedure outlined above. The really cool thing to me is that I can buy an entire album, or just one song. This is a wonderful feature if you are a fan of one-hit wonders, want one particular song, and could care less about anything else on the album.
You can also download MP3 files from Amazon. You will need to set up an account with Amazon if you don't already have one. The first time you want to buy music this way, you will have to download a small software application, but that's pretty easy, too. You can download an entire album - I found that the prices for albums on Amazon are cheaper than those on ITunes - or just a song or two, for $.99 - the same price on either site.
After one week, I now have 103 songs on my IPod, and have a little over 1Gb of memory left, a little over half of what I started with. I've downloaded a pretty eclectic bunch of songs and albums - two mix tapes Jon gave me for Xmas over the last two years to expand my musical horizons, some old favorites like Journey, (much to Jon's disgust!); and Billy Idol; and some new favorites like Amy Winehouse, Sara Bareilles, and Feist.
Jon also found an down loaded 45:33 original running music composed and recorded by LCD Soundsystem, commissioned by Nike.
Will training to music make me a stronger and faster runner? I don't know - I'll keep you posted.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Among the Huddled Masses, Yearning to Breathe Free!
Sunday morning is typically a swim day for me, but tomorrow is Easter Sunday and the Y will be closed. Because the indoor tri at the Guilderland will be next Sunday, I wanted to make sure I got a swim in this weekend. I can't go this afternoon, because we are having Easter Dinner today at our house, our once a year homage to our Ukrainian Heritage. Since I had some final prep work and cooking to do before our company arrives some time after noon, to get the swim in, I went over to the Y a little after 9A.M.
Oops! The Y does a great job of serving the community and it was apparently serving a good portion of it this morning. The pool was packed.. the four left lanes were blocked off and filled with parents and their young children in the middle of a kinder-swim. (Example - The teacher stood in waist deep water, encircled by a half dozen or so parents, each holding his or her child. The teacher held up a bucket filled with water. As water flowed gently out of the dozens of pin prick holes in the bottom and sides of it, the parents held their children under the bucket, one by one, so the water could flow over their heads. The kids seems to like it.)
The three right lanes were filled with more children and their parents playing and enjoying a free swim. This left one lane for lap swimmers.
When I got there, the lap lane contained one older woman. She was standing at the shallow end of the pool, grasping the edge with her arms, and fluttering her legs in the water - at least I think I saw some movement. The other lane was also filled - an older man alternated between a very slow breast stroke on his front side and an even slower sculling motion on his back. Each time he rolled over, he had to pull up his swim trunks. I admit that I was a little impatient, and wondered why they couldn't be doing what they were doing in the free swim lanes next to us.
In a few minutes, the women finished her workout, grabbed her flip flops from the edge of the pool, put them on her feet while she was still in the water, ducked under the lane line, and walked out of the pool.
I slid into the half lane she vacated, and started my warm ups, first the breast stroke, then the crawl. I usually really appreciate my corrective vision goggles, because after many, many years I can finally see in the water - but today was an exception. If our relative positions in the lanes was just right, as I turned to breathe, I could see my lane partner's shorts shimmying down his backside, revealing the glory of the grand canyon, before he reached down and hitched them up. I guess I should be grateful he wasn't swimming on his back when all this took place.
Lane sharing worked out just fine for a few laps - until another older man appeared out of nowhere, and cut diagonally in front of me into the lane! I know the protocol - if the pool is crowded, you swim 3 to a lane, counter-clockwise. However, you usually wait at the end of the pool, catch the attention of the swimmers already in the lane, and then get in water and begin to circle. Not this guy, though. I figured out what he was doing, and immediately went in to circle mode - not my favorite - but I made do.
A couple of laps of this must have been too much for my sculling friend - the new guy and I were both stronger faster swimmers - and he ducked under the lane line into the free swim lanes and continued on with his stroking.
A few minutes later, a women came and sat at the end of "our" lane, dangling one leg over the lane line and into the free swim lane. I knew she wanted to swim laps, but she didn't say anything to me as I swam near. As I completed my next lap, I looked at her, circled my arm and hand like a baseball ump signaling "home run", asked her if she wanted to circle with us, and told her I would only be swimming for a few more minutes. She did, and she was a good swimmer, faster than either of us, and she soon lapped us. When I could feel her catching me near the end of the lane, I slid over to the left corner, stood and let her pass. Our lane companion must not have liked being lapped, since he, too, moved over to the free swim lanes.
Being a little claustrophobic, I was finding it very hard to get into a rhythm, and after only 500 yards, I called it quits. I rationalized that my work in the pool was done - but my work in the kitchen was not. If I ever need to swim again on a Saturday morning, it will be some time after 7 am when the pool opens, but well before 8:30 am, when the masses assemble.
Oops! The Y does a great job of serving the community and it was apparently serving a good portion of it this morning. The pool was packed.. the four left lanes were blocked off and filled with parents and their young children in the middle of a kinder-swim. (Example - The teacher stood in waist deep water, encircled by a half dozen or so parents, each holding his or her child. The teacher held up a bucket filled with water. As water flowed gently out of the dozens of pin prick holes in the bottom and sides of it, the parents held their children under the bucket, one by one, so the water could flow over their heads. The kids seems to like it.)
The three right lanes were filled with more children and their parents playing and enjoying a free swim. This left one lane for lap swimmers.
When I got there, the lap lane contained one older woman. She was standing at the shallow end of the pool, grasping the edge with her arms, and fluttering her legs in the water - at least I think I saw some movement. The other lane was also filled - an older man alternated between a very slow breast stroke on his front side and an even slower sculling motion on his back. Each time he rolled over, he had to pull up his swim trunks. I admit that I was a little impatient, and wondered why they couldn't be doing what they were doing in the free swim lanes next to us.
In a few minutes, the women finished her workout, grabbed her flip flops from the edge of the pool, put them on her feet while she was still in the water, ducked under the lane line, and walked out of the pool.
I slid into the half lane she vacated, and started my warm ups, first the breast stroke, then the crawl. I usually really appreciate my corrective vision goggles, because after many, many years I can finally see in the water - but today was an exception. If our relative positions in the lanes was just right, as I turned to breathe, I could see my lane partner's shorts shimmying down his backside, revealing the glory of the grand canyon, before he reached down and hitched them up. I guess I should be grateful he wasn't swimming on his back when all this took place.
Lane sharing worked out just fine for a few laps - until another older man appeared out of nowhere, and cut diagonally in front of me into the lane! I know the protocol - if the pool is crowded, you swim 3 to a lane, counter-clockwise. However, you usually wait at the end of the pool, catch the attention of the swimmers already in the lane, and then get in water and begin to circle. Not this guy, though. I figured out what he was doing, and immediately went in to circle mode - not my favorite - but I made do.
A couple of laps of this must have been too much for my sculling friend - the new guy and I were both stronger faster swimmers - and he ducked under the lane line into the free swim lanes and continued on with his stroking.
A few minutes later, a women came and sat at the end of "our" lane, dangling one leg over the lane line and into the free swim lane. I knew she wanted to swim laps, but she didn't say anything to me as I swam near. As I completed my next lap, I looked at her, circled my arm and hand like a baseball ump signaling "home run", asked her if she wanted to circle with us, and told her I would only be swimming for a few more minutes. She did, and she was a good swimmer, faster than either of us, and she soon lapped us. When I could feel her catching me near the end of the lane, I slid over to the left corner, stood and let her pass. Our lane companion must not have liked being lapped, since he, too, moved over to the free swim lanes.
Being a little claustrophobic, I was finding it very hard to get into a rhythm, and after only 500 yards, I called it quits. I rationalized that my work in the pool was done - but my work in the kitchen was not. If I ever need to swim again on a Saturday morning, it will be some time after 7 am when the pool opens, but well before 8:30 am, when the masses assemble.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Hearing, Seeing and Not Believing
I suppose one of the reasons I take on tough goals and hard things - most recently Sprint Triathlons - is that I love the reactions of some people when they find out that I am a triathlete. After 7 tri's in two years, I can say that truthfully - I am a triathlete. I've finished every event, I've never been last, and I am improving in each event. But, I don't look like a triathlete.
I recently attended a national conference in Phoenix for a professional organization, the leadership of which had asked me to make two presentations and participate in a two hour open format Q&A session. I still marvel that at my age I get paid to go to really nice places and talk.
Over the years, I have gotten to know a number of the members, including a woman who is the president of this year's Board. Last December at an event in San Antonio, she and I got talking one evening after all the meetings were done for the day and I learned she recently took up running, and she learned that I recently took up triathlons. I think she found this just short of amazing, a fairly common reaction for people who don't know me very well. While we are not too far apart in age - she is a few years younger - she is petite and looks like an athlete. I am not and do not.
At the opening reception this year in Phoenix, she told a number of people that Ron (me) had participated in a number of triathlons. One of the members couldn't believe his ears - or, apparently, his eyes. He stared over at me in disbelief and said, You mean Ron, from New York? He's participated in triathlons?"
When she said "Yes", he stared over at me again and said, "Recently?"
Like I said, got to love those reactions!
If seeing is believing, here are links to some event photos:
Southern Saratoga YMCA Indoor/Outdoor Tri, May 2007
Pawling Tri, June, 2007
Pinebush Tri, July, 2007
Pinebush Tri July 2006
I recently attended a national conference in Phoenix for a professional organization, the leadership of which had asked me to make two presentations and participate in a two hour open format Q&A session. I still marvel that at my age I get paid to go to really nice places and talk.
Over the years, I have gotten to know a number of the members, including a woman who is the president of this year's Board. Last December at an event in San Antonio, she and I got talking one evening after all the meetings were done for the day and I learned she recently took up running, and she learned that I recently took up triathlons. I think she found this just short of amazing, a fairly common reaction for people who don't know me very well. While we are not too far apart in age - she is a few years younger - she is petite and looks like an athlete. I am not and do not.
At the opening reception this year in Phoenix, she told a number of people that Ron (me) had participated in a number of triathlons. One of the members couldn't believe his ears - or, apparently, his eyes. He stared over at me in disbelief and said, You mean Ron, from New York? He's participated in triathlons?"
When she said "Yes", he stared over at me again and said, "Recently?"
Like I said, got to love those reactions!
If seeing is believing, here are links to some event photos:
Southern Saratoga YMCA Indoor/Outdoor Tri, May 2007
Pawling Tri, June, 2007
Pinebush Tri, July, 2007
Pinebush Tri July 2006
Not the Same Old Routine
Head under water and you tell me to breathe easy for a while
Breathing gets harder - even I know that! "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles
Seemed appropos for describing our new session of Stroke Improvement class. Coach Aaron whipped up a whole new routine for us, and I got to experience it last Thursday night for the first time. I missed the grand unveiling because I was in Phoenix on business the week before. Gil was there for the first class, though, and a new person - Carol. Gil said it was tough - which speaks volumes because he is a good athlete and because he is not one to complain. Carol? Well, she wasn't there. Maybe she had a conflict in her schedule. Coach speculated that maybe his new workout had scared her off - he almost seemed pleased by that thought!
We had a pretty full class: Jess and Christina, Kelly, Mike, Gil and me. Steve had a conflict so he wasn't there.
Dodie wasn't there - she had had surgery on her foot and her lip last week so she couldn't go in the water. Dr. only charged her half price - since she has her foot in her mouth so often, he did them both at once. (rim shot) She swears that the problem with her lip was not due to an overuse injury (rim shot) (Oh, boy, am I going to get it!)
First we warmed up - the good athletes get to do 10 wall push ups at each end of the pool. I just have to do the laps. After warm up, Coach gave us different sets - 100 free at 70%, then a 25 yard sprint, then 100 yards back at 70%, then a 25 yard sprint, then 100 yards kick only (kickboard) then a 25 yard sprint. Then we did different 100 yard sets with 50 yard kickboard drills in between. Coach figures we have been at this a while now, so he is making it tougher by letting us "rest" while we are still working. Making us shorter of breath while we are in the water, and thus the Sara Bareilles quote at the opening of this entry.
We also do treading water drills, alternate 20 seconds just feet, both arms out of the water, then 20 sec just arms - like a big buzzard flapping his wings (builds the shoulders) - we do this for 4 minutes. Aaron put these in the middle of class, as another "rest". I like the arm only drills - one of the only times when have a higher BMI - more fat, less muscle, meaning I am less dense than the athletes in the group - is advantageous to me.
And we do more brick drills - swimming on our backs, using just our feet, carrying a10 # brick on ours chests (mine fits under my jaw ;and then another brick drill: getting in a circle in the water, staying up with just the feet, and passing the brick around, with our arms way out of the water, taking the brick in our left hand, transferring it to the right (arms overhead during the whole process) and then passing it to our neighbor - completing 4 complete times around the circle. Wonder if he will put two bricks in the circle at the same time next week?
At the end we do "melt downs" - 50 yard sprints, with short rest between. I try to start (with the zoomers) at 45 seconds, with 45 seconds rest, and then get faster. Sometime we do 3, sometimes we do 5. My fastest with zoomers is 38 seconds. My friend Kelly does them consistently in 35 seconds - no zoomers.
It was a good work out, and even though I was tired at the end, I am preparing for another indoor tri in two weeks, and I know this will help. It was also really good to see my friends again and to catch up a little with what they have been doing. I missed seeing Dodie and Steve, though. And it was good to see Coach again, too - I think! (Aaron the Agonizer?)
Breathing gets harder - even I know that! "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles
Seemed appropos for describing our new session of Stroke Improvement class. Coach Aaron whipped up a whole new routine for us, and I got to experience it last Thursday night for the first time. I missed the grand unveiling because I was in Phoenix on business the week before. Gil was there for the first class, though, and a new person - Carol. Gil said it was tough - which speaks volumes because he is a good athlete and because he is not one to complain. Carol? Well, she wasn't there. Maybe she had a conflict in her schedule. Coach speculated that maybe his new workout had scared her off - he almost seemed pleased by that thought!
We had a pretty full class: Jess and Christina, Kelly, Mike, Gil and me. Steve had a conflict so he wasn't there.
Dodie wasn't there - she had had surgery on her foot and her lip last week so she couldn't go in the water. Dr. only charged her half price - since she has her foot in her mouth so often, he did them both at once. (rim shot) She swears that the problem with her lip was not due to an overuse injury (rim shot) (Oh, boy, am I going to get it!)
First we warmed up - the good athletes get to do 10 wall push ups at each end of the pool. I just have to do the laps. After warm up, Coach gave us different sets - 100 free at 70%, then a 25 yard sprint, then 100 yards back at 70%, then a 25 yard sprint, then 100 yards kick only (kickboard) then a 25 yard sprint. Then we did different 100 yard sets with 50 yard kickboard drills in between. Coach figures we have been at this a while now, so he is making it tougher by letting us "rest" while we are still working. Making us shorter of breath while we are in the water, and thus the Sara Bareilles quote at the opening of this entry.
We also do treading water drills, alternate 20 seconds just feet, both arms out of the water, then 20 sec just arms - like a big buzzard flapping his wings (builds the shoulders) - we do this for 4 minutes. Aaron put these in the middle of class, as another "rest". I like the arm only drills - one of the only times when have a higher BMI - more fat, less muscle, meaning I am less dense than the athletes in the group - is advantageous to me.
And we do more brick drills - swimming on our backs, using just our feet, carrying a10 # brick on ours chests (mine fits under my jaw ;and then another brick drill: getting in a circle in the water, staying up with just the feet, and passing the brick around, with our arms way out of the water, taking the brick in our left hand, transferring it to the right (arms overhead during the whole process) and then passing it to our neighbor - completing 4 complete times around the circle. Wonder if he will put two bricks in the circle at the same time next week?
At the end we do "melt downs" - 50 yard sprints, with short rest between. I try to start (with the zoomers) at 45 seconds, with 45 seconds rest, and then get faster. Sometime we do 3, sometimes we do 5. My fastest with zoomers is 38 seconds. My friend Kelly does them consistently in 35 seconds - no zoomers.
It was a good work out, and even though I was tired at the end, I am preparing for another indoor tri in two weeks, and I know this will help. It was also really good to see my friends again and to catch up a little with what they have been doing. I missed seeing Dodie and Steve, though. And it was good to see Coach again, too - I think! (Aaron the Agonizer?)
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