Run 6 miles
Lift upper and lower body
-16 lifts: 3 sets of 12 reps
The weather in Juneau has returned to the usual steady rain and after 6 days of sunshine it was hard to accept this. I'm sure by tomorrow I'll be ready to get back out in the rain, but today I ran one mile to the gym and spent my workout time running on the treadmill, stretching, lifting, and watching baseball (the Mets are now 4-0, and still on pace to win 162 games). I got in a good two hours of activity but somehow this type of workout is never nearly as satisfying as a good day out in the rain.
I feel like the weight lifting really helps me though. I'm not sure if most endurance athletes lift weights, but for me I know that I recover much quicker from a stressful workout or race if I have been regularly lifting weights. I also feel as though I can get into shape quicker if weight lifting is part of my training. I really only trained for the Susitna 100 for about 2 1/2 months and I think the fact that I was lifting 2 days a week really helped me increase my mileage as quickly as I did.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Run, Bike, Rant
Run 4 miles
Road Bike 31.5 miles
After almost no biking in January and February I've been doing a decent amount of biking for just over 3 weeks now and today I finally felt my "biking muscles" responding the way I would like them to. I hit the road north after work and was feeling great right away. I kept telling myself not to go too far because the wind was at my back and when I turned around I was going to wish I had done so a lot sooner. As usual though, I didn't listen to myself but kept coasting along at 20+ mph with very little effort. When I did turn around I felt the wind hit me like a wall but I quickly noticed that I had the strength to push against this wall and maintain a decent speed. I rode most of the way back above 15 mph and felt as though I were just getting warmed up when I pulled into our neighborhood.
It would have been nice to stay out awhile longer but I was hungry and I reminded myself that my next serious race is at least 12 weeks away and the last thing I need to do right now is overwork and burn out before my summer races even get started. So far now the plan is to stick with very slow increases in mileage and intensity. Of course I'll probably push myself too far or too fast one of these days soon and then I'll just have to change the plan. In reality this is the way my training typically goes anyhow. My "plan" more often than not doesn't present itself until after I'm already most of the way through a training cycle. I typically just go with what I feel and then pretend to myself that it was all part of some "plan" all along. I guess this is my way of trying to convince myself that I actually know what I'm doing, that there's more to it than just going out and doing what I love to do and letting things unfold from there.
[Political rant to follow, feel free to stop reading now]
I know this is my training blog, but once again Alaska state politics has my blood boiling and now that I have a blog I can write about it so I don't have to complain about it to Jill a dozen times (a half dozen should be adequate now). Yesterday there was a statewide advisory vote to determine whether the people of Alaska would like the state legislature to pursue an amendment to the state constitution that would ban same sex partners of state employees from receiving state benefits packages which are currently provided to all state employees and their partners. 54% of voters said yes that they would like the legislature to pursue this constitutional amendment. Yes, you did just read that correctly: 54% of Alaskans do not believe that same sex couples should be treated with financial equality! Why is it that people feel such a need to force their personal opinions on homosexuality into public laws limiting other people of equal rights and freedoms? When you raise the bar to the issue of gay marriage you have the typical defense that allowing gays to marry will diminish the significance of heterosexual marriages. Although I in no way agree with this logic, at least it is a reason, no matter how thin the ice is that supports it. This particular issue that was voted on here in Alaska yesterday though has no logical defense for those that voted in favor of it. That is unless you consider intolerance and bigotry to be logical defenses. I've never really liked red-heads all that much. Maybe I can try to convince the Alaska State Legislature to ban partners of red-headed state employees from receiving state benefits. Oh wait, my hair is kind of red. And my Mom's. And my sister's. You might think I'm oversimplifying this issue, but then when you stop and think about it, am I?
Road Bike 31.5 miles
After almost no biking in January and February I've been doing a decent amount of biking for just over 3 weeks now and today I finally felt my "biking muscles" responding the way I would like them to. I hit the road north after work and was feeling great right away. I kept telling myself not to go too far because the wind was at my back and when I turned around I was going to wish I had done so a lot sooner. As usual though, I didn't listen to myself but kept coasting along at 20+ mph with very little effort. When I did turn around I felt the wind hit me like a wall but I quickly noticed that I had the strength to push against this wall and maintain a decent speed. I rode most of the way back above 15 mph and felt as though I were just getting warmed up when I pulled into our neighborhood.
It would have been nice to stay out awhile longer but I was hungry and I reminded myself that my next serious race is at least 12 weeks away and the last thing I need to do right now is overwork and burn out before my summer races even get started. So far now the plan is to stick with very slow increases in mileage and intensity. Of course I'll probably push myself too far or too fast one of these days soon and then I'll just have to change the plan. In reality this is the way my training typically goes anyhow. My "plan" more often than not doesn't present itself until after I'm already most of the way through a training cycle. I typically just go with what I feel and then pretend to myself that it was all part of some "plan" all along. I guess this is my way of trying to convince myself that I actually know what I'm doing, that there's more to it than just going out and doing what I love to do and letting things unfold from there.
[Political rant to follow, feel free to stop reading now]
I know this is my training blog, but once again Alaska state politics has my blood boiling and now that I have a blog I can write about it so I don't have to complain about it to Jill a dozen times (a half dozen should be adequate now). Yesterday there was a statewide advisory vote to determine whether the people of Alaska would like the state legislature to pursue an amendment to the state constitution that would ban same sex partners of state employees from receiving state benefits packages which are currently provided to all state employees and their partners. 54% of voters said yes that they would like the legislature to pursue this constitutional amendment. Yes, you did just read that correctly: 54% of Alaskans do not believe that same sex couples should be treated with financial equality! Why is it that people feel such a need to force their personal opinions on homosexuality into public laws limiting other people of equal rights and freedoms? When you raise the bar to the issue of gay marriage you have the typical defense that allowing gays to marry will diminish the significance of heterosexual marriages. Although I in no way agree with this logic, at least it is a reason, no matter how thin the ice is that supports it. This particular issue that was voted on here in Alaska yesterday though has no logical defense for those that voted in favor of it. That is unless you consider intolerance and bigotry to be logical defenses. I've never really liked red-heads all that much. Maybe I can try to convince the Alaska State Legislature to ban partners of red-headed state employees from receiving state benefits. Oh wait, my hair is kind of red. And my Mom's. And my sister's. You might think I'm oversimplifying this issue, but then when you stop and think about it, am I?
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
The Beat Goes On
Run 12 miles
Bike 8 miles on trainer
Lift upper body
-8 lifts: 3 sets of 12 reps.
Another day with some good mixed cross training. Ran 95 minutes in the morning and lifted in the afternoon after a little warm up on the bike. We're supposed to have one more day of sun tomorrow before we get back to the usual rain/snow mix. Hope to get out tomorrow afternoon for a nice ski or bike ride. I should go skiing as much as possible in the next few weeks since the season is coming to a close, but I find myself being more and more interested in getting out on the bike each day. Hopefully I can get out of work early and have enough time to do both.
Bike 8 miles on trainer
Lift upper body
-8 lifts: 3 sets of 12 reps.
Another day with some good mixed cross training. Ran 95 minutes in the morning and lifted in the afternoon after a little warm up on the bike. We're supposed to have one more day of sun tomorrow before we get back to the usual rain/snow mix. Hope to get out tomorrow afternoon for a nice ski or bike ride. I should go skiing as much as possible in the next few weeks since the season is coming to a close, but I find myself being more and more interested in getting out on the bike each day. Hopefully I can get out of work early and have enough time to do both.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Mellow Day
Mt. Bike 10 miles
Jill mentioned yesterday that she thought the Salmon Creek trail would be good for biking so I set out after work to check it out. With my "skinny" 2.1" tires it just wasn't going to happen though. It was another sunny day and the snow was just too soft. Gotta get me a snow bike. Maybe next year. Ended up riding 10 miles on roads getting to the trail and back. Pretty tired out from skiing yesterday so it was nice to take a day "off".
Jill mentioned yesterday that she thought the Salmon Creek trail would be good for biking so I set out after work to check it out. With my "skinny" 2.1" tires it just wasn't going to happen though. It was another sunny day and the snow was just too soft. Gotta get me a snow bike. Maybe next year. Ended up riding 10 miles on roads getting to the trail and back. Pretty tired out from skiing yesterday so it was nice to take a day "off".
Sunday, April 1, 2007
No Foolin'
Classic Ski 50k - 31 miles
If someone told me this morning that I was going to ski a 50k today I would have thought it was an April Fool's joke. If I had also been told that I would classic ski a 50k in 3:03 I would have known it was an April Fool's joke.
But then it ended up being one of those days in which everything came together much better than expected. The snow was fast, I had the perfect wax on my skis, and I was feeling very strong as I had only skied 12 miles total in the previous 3 days. After a few miles I began to think about going for 50k and then after 25k I began to think about tyring to continue pushing the pace to see how fast I could do a 50k. I didn't end up pushing 100% but I did work much harder than I had intended and it felt great. I'm thinking now, based on how quick I did this that it must have been a short 50k but at the very least it was 29 or 30 miles. Either way it was the longest ski I have ever done. Good times.
And today was the first day of a new baseball season, and my beloved Mets are on pace to go 162-0. No Foolin'.
If someone told me this morning that I was going to ski a 50k today I would have thought it was an April Fool's joke. If I had also been told that I would classic ski a 50k in 3:03 I would have known it was an April Fool's joke.
But then it ended up being one of those days in which everything came together much better than expected. The snow was fast, I had the perfect wax on my skis, and I was feeling very strong as I had only skied 12 miles total in the previous 3 days. After a few miles I began to think about going for 50k and then after 25k I began to think about tyring to continue pushing the pace to see how fast I could do a 50k. I didn't end up pushing 100% but I did work much harder than I had intended and it felt great. I'm thinking now, based on how quick I did this that it must have been a short 50k but at the very least it was 29 or 30 miles. Either way it was the longest ski I have ever done. Good times.
And today was the first day of a new baseball season, and my beloved Mets are on pace to go 162-0. No Foolin'.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Four Hours
Run 8 miles
Road Bike 37.5 miles
Got in a great day of soaking up the sun today. This was one of the nicest weather days we've had in Juneau since sometime in October: 40 degrees, bright sunny skies, and only moderate winds.
Headed out in the morning on the Dan Moeller Trail which starts about 1/8 mile from our door. The trail is still covered in several feet of snow but it's mostly relatively firm since we haven't had any new snow in over a week. There were some existing postholes which were a bit difficult to negotiate and once I got to the portion of the trail that allows snowmobiles it was pretty torn up and soft, but I was able to make it to the top of the trail in 46 minutes. I know this sounds slow for 4 miles, but considering that I gained almost 2,000 feet and was running on torn up snow I was pushing a decent pace. I have made it to the top in under 40 minutes but the snow was just too soft today to do it much faster than I did. Coming down on the other hand, well that's sure a lot faster... only took 26 minutes!
After lunch I was itching to get back out in the sun so I hit the roads on my bike. I was hoping to finish my ride off with a climb up to Eaglecrest (our local ski resort), but I was only able to get about 1.5 miles up before I began hitting icy patches of pavement. I wanted no part of trying to ride back down this so I turned back and headed for home. Put in over 37 miles on the bike and ended up out for almost 4 hours between the run and the ride. Aside from my butt still trying to get used to my recently increased biking I felt pretty strong today. It was another encouraging run as far as my knee, foot, or ankle pains are concerned. My feet were a little achy by the end of the run, but nothing even close to what I was experiencing last month.
Good all around week of cross training: 28 miles of running; 36 miles of skiing; 88 miles of biking; and about 15 hours of time... right where I want to be at this point.
Road Bike 37.5 miles
Got in a great day of soaking up the sun today. This was one of the nicest weather days we've had in Juneau since sometime in October: 40 degrees, bright sunny skies, and only moderate winds.
Headed out in the morning on the Dan Moeller Trail which starts about 1/8 mile from our door. The trail is still covered in several feet of snow but it's mostly relatively firm since we haven't had any new snow in over a week. There were some existing postholes which were a bit difficult to negotiate and once I got to the portion of the trail that allows snowmobiles it was pretty torn up and soft, but I was able to make it to the top of the trail in 46 minutes. I know this sounds slow for 4 miles, but considering that I gained almost 2,000 feet and was running on torn up snow I was pushing a decent pace. I have made it to the top in under 40 minutes but the snow was just too soft today to do it much faster than I did. Coming down on the other hand, well that's sure a lot faster... only took 26 minutes!
After lunch I was itching to get back out in the sun so I hit the roads on my bike. I was hoping to finish my ride off with a climb up to Eaglecrest (our local ski resort), but I was only able to get about 1.5 miles up before I began hitting icy patches of pavement. I wanted no part of trying to ride back down this so I turned back and headed for home. Put in over 37 miles on the bike and ended up out for almost 4 hours between the run and the ride. Aside from my butt still trying to get used to my recently increased biking I felt pretty strong today. It was another encouraging run as far as my knee, foot, or ankle pains are concerned. My feet were a little achy by the end of the run, but nothing even close to what I was experiencing last month.
Good all around week of cross training: 28 miles of running; 36 miles of skiing; 88 miles of biking; and about 15 hours of time... right where I want to be at this point.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Fast Snow
Classic Ski 12 miles
skied for about 75 minutes today on what was the fastest snow I've skied on all year. I was classic skiing but was moving at about the speed I usually skate ski at. I did the last 4 miles in 22 minutes... and I wasn't even really pushing myself all that hard.
The forecast here in Juneau is for 4 days of sun!!! I hope to get out for some longer workouts the next few days.
skied for about 75 minutes today on what was the fastest snow I've skied on all year. I was classic skiing but was moving at about the speed I usually skate ski at. I did the last 4 miles in 22 minutes... and I wasn't even really pushing myself all that hard.
The forecast here in Juneau is for 4 days of sun!!! I hope to get out for some longer workouts the next few days.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Rise and Shine
Run 6 miles
I used to consider myself a "morning person" but that has definitely not been the case for more than a year now. I'm rarely out of bed before 8 am and I do almost all of my workouts after noon. On the random days when I do get up early and do a workout I usually feel terrible for at least the first 20 or 30 minutes. This morning was one of those days when I decided to run first thing in the morning and much to my surprise I actually felt pretty strong. I also had no knee, ankle, or foot pain for the 3rd day in a row. This blog seems to be good luck. I guess I should have started this a long time ago.
I used to consider myself a "morning person" but that has definitely not been the case for more than a year now. I'm rarely out of bed before 8 am and I do almost all of my workouts after noon. On the random days when I do get up early and do a workout I usually feel terrible for at least the first 20 or 30 minutes. This morning was one of those days when I decided to run first thing in the morning and much to my surprise I actually felt pretty strong. I also had no knee, ankle, or foot pain for the 3rd day in a row. This blog seems to be good luck. I guess I should have started this a long time ago.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Gliding in the Rain
Skate Ski 11 miles
Bike 90 minutes on trainer:
~25 miles
The forecast is for 4 days of sun beginning tomorrow. I'm so excited for sunny weather that I almost didn't even notice the steady rain falling while I skied in circles around the 1.8 mile loop at the campground today. It wasn't until I got back in my car to drive home that I noticed just how wet I was. I could make some remark about how that's just the way Juneau is in the spring, but a more accurate remark would not be limited to the spring - Juneau is simply just wet all the time, thus the excitement for the coming sunshine.
I hate artificial workouts. I don't care for treadmills and I could count the total number of indoor bike rides that I've ever done on my fingers and about 1/2 of my toes. There's just something about running or biking but not going anywhere that is not appealing to me. I do love running or biking simply for the sake of the activity, but even more so I love it as a way to be outside and to get from one place to another... even if all I do when I get there is turn around and come back home. Nonetheless, I put on a movie and hopped on the bike for 90 minutes tonight. And the strange thing is that I quite enjoyed it. I didn't miss being out in the slushy, dark, cold, wind, and rain. I guess this is a sign that I'm ready for spring. I'm ready to run up mountains and bike on dirt and snowless roads.
Bike 90 minutes on trainer:
~25 miles
The forecast is for 4 days of sun beginning tomorrow. I'm so excited for sunny weather that I almost didn't even notice the steady rain falling while I skied in circles around the 1.8 mile loop at the campground today. It wasn't until I got back in my car to drive home that I noticed just how wet I was. I could make some remark about how that's just the way Juneau is in the spring, but a more accurate remark would not be limited to the spring - Juneau is simply just wet all the time, thus the excitement for the coming sunshine.
I hate artificial workouts. I don't care for treadmills and I could count the total number of indoor bike rides that I've ever done on my fingers and about 1/2 of my toes. There's just something about running or biking but not going anywhere that is not appealing to me. I do love running or biking simply for the sake of the activity, but even more so I love it as a way to be outside and to get from one place to another... even if all I do when I get there is turn around and come back home. Nonetheless, I put on a movie and hopped on the bike for 90 minutes tonight. And the strange thing is that I quite enjoyed it. I didn't miss being out in the slushy, dark, cold, wind, and rain. I guess this is a sign that I'm ready for spring. I'm ready to run up mountains and bike on dirt and snowless roads.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Holding Pattern
Run 6 miles
I'm in this in between segment of my training right now. It's been almost 6 weeks since the Susitna 100 so I'm completely recovered from that but I don't have any races that I'm taking all that seriously until sometime in July. I feel an urge to go out long and hard most everyday but the reality is that I need to work to increase my fitness level right now as slow as possible. I'm focusing a lot on cross training so as to not burn myself out on any one activity. For the past 3 or 4 weeks I've been going with a nice mixture of XC skiing, running, biking, and weight lifting. My plan for now is to stick with this cross training until after I get back from a vacation to Utah in early May. At that point it will be time to hit the trails and get more specific in my training for what will likely be 3 late summer foot races: Crow Pass Crossing on July 21st, Resurrection Pass 50 miler on August 4th, and the Fairbanks Equinox Marathon on September 15th.
With moderation in mind I went out for a mellow 6 mile run after work today. I felt very tired for the first half of the run but then coming home I had the wind at my back and started to feel warmed up and a bit stronger. Around mile 4 I noticed that my knee wasn't hurting me at all. For a few weeks now my ITband in my left knee has been bothering me but today I completed my run with no pain at all. I have also had some pain and swelling in my right ankle (mostly when skiing) and that was pain free today as well. It was a quite meaningless 6 miles but the fact that it came with no pain and that I felt stronger at the end of my run than at the beginning made me feel pretty good about building on today with a good workout tomorrow...
I'm in this in between segment of my training right now. It's been almost 6 weeks since the Susitna 100 so I'm completely recovered from that but I don't have any races that I'm taking all that seriously until sometime in July. I feel an urge to go out long and hard most everyday but the reality is that I need to work to increase my fitness level right now as slow as possible. I'm focusing a lot on cross training so as to not burn myself out on any one activity. For the past 3 or 4 weeks I've been going with a nice mixture of XC skiing, running, biking, and weight lifting. My plan for now is to stick with this cross training until after I get back from a vacation to Utah in early May. At that point it will be time to hit the trails and get more specific in my training for what will likely be 3 late summer foot races: Crow Pass Crossing on July 21st, Resurrection Pass 50 miler on August 4th, and the Fairbanks Equinox Marathon on September 15th.
With moderation in mind I went out for a mellow 6 mile run after work today. I felt very tired for the first half of the run but then coming home I had the wind at my back and started to feel warmed up and a bit stronger. Around mile 4 I noticed that my knee wasn't hurting me at all. For a few weeks now my ITband in my left knee has been bothering me but today I completed my run with no pain at all. I have also had some pain and swelling in my right ankle (mostly when skiing) and that was pain free today as well. It was a quite meaningless 6 miles but the fact that it came with no pain and that I felt stronger at the end of my run than at the beginning made me feel pretty good about building on today with a good workout tomorrow...
Monday, March 26, 2007
Back in the Saddle
Ski 13 miles
-5 classic
-8 skate
Road Bike 25.6 miles
Today was my first road bike ride since Halloween. There was one day after Halloween in which I tried to ride my road bike but only made it 1/4 mile before falling on black ice and injuring my hip. Throughout the winter we have had several days in which i thought the sun and/or the rain would melt the ice clear from the side of the road, but today was the first day in which this actually occurred at an extent that made it safe to bust out the road bike.
There's nothing quite like that first road ride of the season. It's so quiet, light, and fast compared to riding a studded tire mountain bike. I always push myself harder and longer than I probably should on this first ride. I only did 25 miles today but I had already skied 13 miles and had not had enough to eat so by the time I finished riding I was completely depleted. I got home and began shoving food into my mouth. 45 minutes later I was replenished but felt an awful upset stomach for the next 3 hours. I hate when I do that. I'm not sure why but this seems to happen more often to me when I do a hard bike ride than a hard run. I think maybe my body is just more used to the abuse it receives from running.
-5 classic
-8 skate
Road Bike 25.6 miles
Today was my first road bike ride since Halloween. There was one day after Halloween in which I tried to ride my road bike but only made it 1/4 mile before falling on black ice and injuring my hip. Throughout the winter we have had several days in which i thought the sun and/or the rain would melt the ice clear from the side of the road, but today was the first day in which this actually occurred at an extent that made it safe to bust out the road bike.
There's nothing quite like that first road ride of the season. It's so quiet, light, and fast compared to riding a studded tire mountain bike. I always push myself harder and longer than I probably should on this first ride. I only did 25 miles today but I had already skied 13 miles and had not had enough to eat so by the time I finished riding I was completely depleted. I got home and began shoving food into my mouth. 45 minutes later I was replenished but felt an awful upset stomach for the next 3 hours. I hate when I do that. I'm not sure why but this seems to happen more often to me when I do a hard bike ride than a hard run. I think maybe my body is just more used to the abuse it receives from running.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Where to go From Here?
Run 8 miles
Not really sure yet how much time I'll put into this blog or exactly what it will be about, but for now the plan is to use it as a training + racing journal/forum of my slowly evolving journey toward ultra running... and perhaps eventually into endurance biking or any other activities I may decide to pursue in the future.
I moved to Alaska about a year and a half ago and since doing so have become gradually more and more interested in pushing my body to it's physical limits. In doing so I have discovered a mental satisfaction in this that, despite running competitively in high school and college, i never really noticed before.
When I moved to Alaska I had never done a run longer than 17 miles, yet for whatever reason in December of 2005 I decided to train for a 50k in February of 2006. That race was fun in a painful way (although more fun than pain) and I felt myself becoming hooked as winter melted into spring and I began training for summer races. After a great summer of learning the ropes of "mountain" running I fumbled through the fall of 2006, not certain where my new desire in racing would take me. All year I knew that I would like to run the Susitna 100 in Feb. 2007, but it wasn't until early December 2006 that I actually decided to commit to it. I sent in my entry fee one day before the Dec. 31st deadline. I ran the Susitna 100 last month and now I feel more determined than ever to further pursue endurance racing. In my mind I'm often thinking about upcoming races and events that I want to participate in. There is a lot of uncertainty in where this will all take me, but my plan is to use this blog as a means of recording my slow progression further into endurance racing and ultra running.
Not really sure yet how much time I'll put into this blog or exactly what it will be about, but for now the plan is to use it as a training + racing journal/forum of my slowly evolving journey toward ultra running... and perhaps eventually into endurance biking or any other activities I may decide to pursue in the future.
I moved to Alaska about a year and a half ago and since doing so have become gradually more and more interested in pushing my body to it's physical limits. In doing so I have discovered a mental satisfaction in this that, despite running competitively in high school and college, i never really noticed before.
When I moved to Alaska I had never done a run longer than 17 miles, yet for whatever reason in December of 2005 I decided to train for a 50k in February of 2006. That race was fun in a painful way (although more fun than pain) and I felt myself becoming hooked as winter melted into spring and I began training for summer races. After a great summer of learning the ropes of "mountain" running I fumbled through the fall of 2006, not certain where my new desire in racing would take me. All year I knew that I would like to run the Susitna 100 in Feb. 2007, but it wasn't until early December 2006 that I actually decided to commit to it. I sent in my entry fee one day before the Dec. 31st deadline. I ran the Susitna 100 last month and now I feel more determined than ever to further pursue endurance racing. In my mind I'm often thinking about upcoming races and events that I want to participate in. There is a lot of uncertainty in where this will all take me, but my plan is to use this blog as a means of recording my slow progression further into endurance racing and ultra running.
Follow the Leader
Seems as though everyone else in the world has a blog so I thought it was time to follow suit. Of course I still don't have a cell phone so perhaps I'm getting a little too far ahead of myself here.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
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