- Kick and movement drills (I'm really slow both on attacking from kiba dachi and defending from zenkutsu dachi...)
- timing for blocking drills
- figure-four lock from oi zuki, with a step-out and overhand wrist grab
- same attack, but with step-in for an elbow break
- randori with neck manipulation
- two-attacker randori with neck break then neck restraint (without thinking, I did one break from kihon ni)
- blind randori (my favourite, as you have to have great control of the joints to really know where your opponent is)
--Duration: 60mins
2012-12-20
2012-12-19
Chiropractic and Acupuncture
First ever appointment with a real practising chiropractor (as opposed to interns at the Chiro College.) Big spender! Kevin is a practitioner at Athlete's Care, and Dr. Chen recommended him for putting me through very focused ART as well as acupuncture.
We started off with strength tests of the glutes and abductors - I have no strength in the left side. It's uncanny.
This was a lengthy appointment, with ART done on butt muscles I had not yet heard of in the course of treatment for my broken butt. He was actually able to find the exact sore spot I always feel after running.
He gave me an SI adjustment as well to realign my pelvis, but I need to do exercises to make sure it stays aligned.
After all the ART in the world, he stuck some acupuncture needles in my butt and then in my abductors, and then electro-shocked my muscles to get rid of scar tissue. I got off the table and wobbled around after that. I had zombie leg for the rest of the day.
He also prescribed a number of strength exercises.
1) clam shell: opening up the hip but making sure it's the butt that's doing the work, not the back
2) leg raise: up and slightly to the back, but again, not with the back
3) a bending-over exercise with a band
... a few other things he will send an email about
And he asked me to roll on a soft Travelroller ball against a wall after workouts
Essentially my muscles are knotted to shit as well as being extremely weak. So we need to strengthen them and break them apart. We did another strength test after the treatment, and I couldn't believe the difference. So away I go!
We started off with strength tests of the glutes and abductors - I have no strength in the left side. It's uncanny.
This was a lengthy appointment, with ART done on butt muscles I had not yet heard of in the course of treatment for my broken butt. He was actually able to find the exact sore spot I always feel after running.
He gave me an SI adjustment as well to realign my pelvis, but I need to do exercises to make sure it stays aligned.
After all the ART in the world, he stuck some acupuncture needles in my butt and then in my abductors, and then electro-shocked my muscles to get rid of scar tissue. I got off the table and wobbled around after that. I had zombie leg for the rest of the day.
He also prescribed a number of strength exercises.
1) clam shell: opening up the hip but making sure it's the butt that's doing the work, not the back
2) leg raise: up and slightly to the back, but again, not with the back
3) a bending-over exercise with a band
... a few other things he will send an email about
And he asked me to roll on a soft Travelroller ball against a wall after workouts
Essentially my muscles are knotted to shit as well as being extremely weak. So we need to strengthen them and break them apart. We did another strength test after the treatment, and I couldn't believe the difference. So away I go!
Location:
Athlete's Care, Toronto, ON, Canada
2012-12-18
XSNRG Running
Wandering Workout!
Weather: extremely mild
I ran to join the group out at Rykert, and caught them just as they were leaving to run clear across to Sunnydene, so I essentially got a 2.8km warm-up. Ran this 5:45-6:00.
Double loop at Sunnydene: 4:00 to 4:30, hooyeah
Then off to Hanna Ps:
1 Letter-P ("P" for Christmas!): 5:00 to 4:30 to 3:40 !! Cool.
Not very interval-y, much more running in between, but felt great! Then off to eat at the XS XMAS parteeee.
--Distance: 6.6km
--Duration: 45mins
Weather: extremely mild
 |
| Route Link |
Double loop at Sunnydene: 4:00 to 4:30, hooyeah
Then off to Hanna Ps:
1 Letter-P ("P" for Christmas!): 5:00 to 4:30 to 3:40 !! Cool.
Not very interval-y, much more running in between, but felt great! Then off to eat at the XS XMAS parteeee.
--Distance: 6.6km
--Duration: 45mins
2012-12-17
Pool Swimming
Warm-up:
100m easy
150m drills (fist / finger / pinky / horns / catch-up)
Tried some of the drills from the NRG PT clinic, to try to get my hand to point down and my elbow to stay up. Of course Coach called me out on my windmill cadence, so I had to switch to catch-up.
4x
50m high intensity
25m head-up / 25m sprint
I know at least two of the sprints went down to 0:20, a record (I used to do 0:25-0:27 in the fall)
2x 50m pull
2x 50m kick
4x
2x 100m on 2:05
1x 100m on 2:30
1:42 / 1:46
1:39 / 1:50
1:50 / 1:52
1:50 / 1:54
Yes, I have set a new PB for 100m. And it was on the second round, and I wasn't even trying. I know overall I'm swimming much smoother and it's just easier to get there at a much higher speed. To stay in low 1:50s for the rest of the set, as opposed to closer to or over 2:00 is spectacular for me.
4x
2x 50m on 1:00
1x 50m on 1:30
The 50s were somewhere from 0:46 to 0:54, as I was pretty gassed from the 100s.
2x killer 50s
No problemo
100m easy
--Distance: 2,850m
--Duration: 75mins
100m easy
150m drills (fist / finger / pinky / horns / catch-up)
Tried some of the drills from the NRG PT clinic, to try to get my hand to point down and my elbow to stay up. Of course Coach called me out on my windmill cadence, so I had to switch to catch-up.
4x
50m high intensity
25m head-up / 25m sprint
I know at least two of the sprints went down to 0:20, a record (I used to do 0:25-0:27 in the fall)
2x 50m pull
2x 50m kick
4x
2x 100m on 2:05
1x 100m on 2:30
1:42 / 1:46
1:39 / 1:50
1:50 / 1:52
1:50 / 1:54
Yes, I have set a new PB for 100m. And it was on the second round, and I wasn't even trying. I know overall I'm swimming much smoother and it's just easier to get there at a much higher speed. To stay in low 1:50s for the rest of the set, as opposed to closer to or over 2:00 is spectacular for me.
4x
2x 50m on 1:00
1x 50m on 1:30
The 50s were somewhere from 0:46 to 0:54, as I was pretty gassed from the 100s.
2x killer 50s
No problemo
100m easy
--Distance: 2,850m
--Duration: 75mins
2012-12-16
2012-12-12
Pool Swimming
100m easy [really lost track of time at work!]
750m TT: 15:04 (New PB!)
I was invited to swim in the rope lane, which may have made a large contribution to this time.
Distressingly, I started to feel my running cramps after this intense TT.
Eliminator 50s
What we were supposed to do:
<I still have no fucking idea, but something to do with less time each time, even though we had to hold 1:01??? I will check again.>
What we actually did: Restarting on 1:01 each time (and only for 15 reps for some reason! Where was my head?)
0:53 / 0:55 for a few / 0:58 for most / 0:54 for 15th rep
Thought I'd be sick around 7, but once I got to 10/11, I knew I could finish
2x 50m kick / 2x 50m pull
3x 50m Partner kick/pull - Teamed up with M and we actually did pretty well with me pulling and him kicking (which is very backwards!)
--Distance: 1,950m
--Duration: 55mins
750m TT: 15:04 (New PB!)
I was invited to swim in the rope lane, which may have made a large contribution to this time.
Distressingly, I started to feel my running cramps after this intense TT.
Eliminator 50s
What we were supposed to do:
<I still have no fucking idea, but something to do with less time each time, even though we had to hold 1:01??? I will check again.>
What we actually did: Restarting on 1:01 each time (and only for 15 reps for some reason! Where was my head?)
0:53 / 0:55 for a few / 0:58 for most / 0:54 for 15th rep
Thought I'd be sick around 7, but once I got to 10/11, I knew I could finish
2x 50m kick / 2x 50m pull
3x 50m Partner kick/pull - Teamed up with M and we actually did pretty well with me pulling and him kicking (which is very backwards!)
--Distance: 1,950m
--Duration: 55mins
2012-12-10
Pool Swimming
Warm-up:
4x 25m DSP
25 / 24 / 25 / 23
3x 50 descend (didn't really pay attention, tried to go a bit faster)
We were to take a target final 100 and working backwards add 5secs each. I was supposed to end up with 1:50, gasp! That didn't work out...
5x 100m on 2:10
1:50 / 1:55 / 1:58 / 1:58 / 2:00
4x 100m on 2:05
2:00 / 1:58 / 1:58 / 2:00
3x 100m on 2:00.... really 2:05 or longer
2:00 / 2:00 / 2:00
2x 100m on 2:05
2:00 / 1:58
1x 100m on 2:05
2:03
I was pretty bummed out about the 100s and skipped what was to be a 400m TT. I would have had a really slow showing. So I got put in the shark tank for easy repeats of the following:
4x 50m kick / 50m pull / 50m killer
I love killer 50s. I never swim smoother, and the return trip is the best sprint I can do. Quickly felt better after these.
50m easy
--Distance: 2,400m
--Duration: 65mins
4x 25m DSP
25 / 24 / 25 / 23
3x 50 descend (didn't really pay attention, tried to go a bit faster)
We were to take a target final 100 and working backwards add 5secs each. I was supposed to end up with 1:50, gasp! That didn't work out...
5x 100m on 2:10
1:50 / 1:55 / 1:58 / 1:58 / 2:00
4x 100m on 2:05
2:00 / 1:58 / 1:58 / 2:00
3x 100m on 2:00.... really 2:05 or longer
2:00 / 2:00 / 2:00
2x 100m on 2:05
2:00 / 1:58
1x 100m on 2:05
2:03
I was pretty bummed out about the 100s and skipped what was to be a 400m TT. I would have had a really slow showing. So I got put in the shark tank for easy repeats of the following:
4x 50m kick / 50m pull / 50m killer
I love killer 50s. I never swim smoother, and the return trip is the best sprint I can do. Quickly felt better after these.
50m easy
--Distance: 2,400m
--Duration: 65mins
2012-12-09
O-Cup Chase
Terrain: forest, deep valleys
Weather: sunny and crisp, perfect
Format: 3min/6min delayed starts for 0-2, 770m marked prologue, plus one Thomass box of 7 controls
The second O-Cup race returned to the usual Dundas Valley, with a start at Canterbury Hills. The extremely deep valleys / grooves in the terrain make for some tough route choices if one wants to avoid climb. Not sure if it was the best choices, but I executed them very well. I found myself doing a lot of dog legs though, which isn't the most exciting, but at least you know where you're going.
I started my race with 6:00 already on the clock, and unfortunately my untrained legs no longer allow me to stay up front with the elite men like last year, so I got through the prologue gasping and panting at the back of the pack. Leg 2 was a long but fairly fast run on a big road. I saw a few people choose to take off right a bit earlier than I planned, but I changed my mind when I saw that I could stay on a contour and go around a large hill instead of going over it to get to Control 2. I nailed it.
Then it was down into the valley for a long run along a river, past C, which I would get after entering the box from 3. Taking this route had the advantage of seeing the earlier runners coming down a cliff from 3 to get to C, so I knew where to start going up. Then dog leg number one back to C. D was further down the river and up a huge hill again. Then back down and a climb on the other side to get to the only legal entry point to the western part of the map.
Trying to minimize climb, I went after F at the top, which was a fairly flat run with easy attack points. Then I took a big trail for a bit until a long hill ended, so that I jumped over to a more southern trail to get to the far-flung G. I didn't want to climb at all, so I descended into the river to get it from there, which probably slowed me down a bit. But the contours on the side of the river are so prominent, that it was an easy find. Dog leg number 2 was a backtrack in the river to get to E. Some other people chose to go up top, which definitely would have been faster, as I got stuck between the river and a cliff a few times. But reading the contours was much easier from below. I nailed E and climbed back out to get back to the other side of the map and punch 3 again (which meant another dog leg past D!)
The next leg was just a long slog across to the easternmost part of the map, and I was exhausted. My legs wouldn't move. For dog leg number four, I re-ran the big road from leg 2, but I was almost 15% slower the second time around. Control 4 was hidden in a gully coming up from a river, but again, the contours are prominent and easy, so I nailed it no problem. Ran across the plateau and back down into the river and up the other side for 5, then a "quick" uphill for the final control and a real sprint even more up the hill to the finish.
I have to be very happy that I hit all the controls perfectly and moved efficiently between them. I had told myself that in my condition I can't afford to waste time and distance and energy. I mostly avoided the dreaded climbs on the course, so I'm thrilled.
Unfortunately, this had to be the worst handicapped race for F21. First there was the staggered start with handicaps 0-2 held back 6mins, so the (3min) gap between F21 and F35 was immediately huge, added to the fact that we're the slowest of the 0-2 in the first place. Then 3 of the 7 box controls were on the other side of the map, so automatically I had to get at least one of them, while anyone on handicap 3+ could just stay on the near side the whole time. In 36th place overall, I was the 1st F21 back, haha.
So not too many points this time, but at least I can be proud of a totally clean race, and how often can we say that?
--Distance: 8.36km
--Climb: 387m
--Duration: 1:18:21 [1:24:21 on the race clock]
--Place: 36th
--Points: 15
--Series Standings: 27th
Weather: sunny and crisp, perfect
Format: 3min/6min delayed starts for 0-2, 770m marked prologue, plus one Thomass box of 7 controls
The second O-Cup race returned to the usual Dundas Valley, with a start at Canterbury Hills. The extremely deep valleys / grooves in the terrain make for some tough route choices if one wants to avoid climb. Not sure if it was the best choices, but I executed them very well. I found myself doing a lot of dog legs though, which isn't the most exciting, but at least you know where you're going.
I started my race with 6:00 already on the clock, and unfortunately my untrained legs no longer allow me to stay up front with the elite men like last year, so I got through the prologue gasping and panting at the back of the pack. Leg 2 was a long but fairly fast run on a big road. I saw a few people choose to take off right a bit earlier than I planned, but I changed my mind when I saw that I could stay on a contour and go around a large hill instead of going over it to get to Control 2. I nailed it.
 |
| Route Link |
Trying to minimize climb, I went after F at the top, which was a fairly flat run with easy attack points. Then I took a big trail for a bit until a long hill ended, so that I jumped over to a more southern trail to get to the far-flung G. I didn't want to climb at all, so I descended into the river to get it from there, which probably slowed me down a bit. But the contours on the side of the river are so prominent, that it was an easy find. Dog leg number 2 was a backtrack in the river to get to E. Some other people chose to go up top, which definitely would have been faster, as I got stuck between the river and a cliff a few times. But reading the contours was much easier from below. I nailed E and climbed back out to get back to the other side of the map and punch 3 again (which meant another dog leg past D!)
The next leg was just a long slog across to the easternmost part of the map, and I was exhausted. My legs wouldn't move. For dog leg number four, I re-ran the big road from leg 2, but I was almost 15% slower the second time around. Control 4 was hidden in a gully coming up from a river, but again, the contours are prominent and easy, so I nailed it no problem. Ran across the plateau and back down into the river and up the other side for 5, then a "quick" uphill for the final control and a real sprint even more up the hill to the finish.
I have to be very happy that I hit all the controls perfectly and moved efficiently between them. I had told myself that in my condition I can't afford to waste time and distance and energy. I mostly avoided the dreaded climbs on the course, so I'm thrilled.
Unfortunately, this had to be the worst handicapped race for F21. First there was the staggered start with handicaps 0-2 held back 6mins, so the (3min) gap between F21 and F35 was immediately huge, added to the fact that we're the slowest of the 0-2 in the first place. Then 3 of the 7 box controls were on the other side of the map, so automatically I had to get at least one of them, while anyone on handicap 3+ could just stay on the near side the whole time. In 36th place overall, I was the 1st F21 back, haha.
So not too many points this time, but at least I can be proud of a totally clean race, and how often can we say that?
--Distance: 8.36km
--Climb: 387m
--Duration: 1:18:21 [1:24:21 on the race clock]
--Place: 36th
--Points: 15
--Series Standings: 27th
Location:
Dundas Valley CA, Hamilton, ON
2012-12-06
Gym Workout
(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set / 4th set / 5th set
(10) Squat Press: 50lbs / 60lbs / 50lbs / 50lbs (60 was too tough, and I nearly fell backwards on the 10th rep, oops)
(10/side) DB Chop: 20lbs / 20lbs / 20lbs / 20lbs
(10) Inverted Rows: 4th rung / 4th rung / 10 push-ups* / 4th rung (rack was taken so did push-ups)
(10/side) Calf Raises: BW / BW / BW / BW
(10) Leg Press: 260lbs / 280lbs / 280lbs / 300lbs / 320lbs (felt really weak at first, but then decided to get back up to 320 with an extra set at the end)
(failure) Chin-ups: 2 / 1.5 / 1.5 / 1
(10) SHELC: 2 legs / 1 leg* / 2 legs / 2 legs (tried this after about 8 months, and didn't feel the upper hamstring, although the lower hamstrings were so tight, I could only do the double-leg version)
(10/side) Cable Full Swim Pull: 3 plates / 3 plates / 7.5lbs* / 3 plates (cable was taken once so used a DB to swing up instead)
(10) Deadlift: 110lbs (Very hard at such a low weight, but at least no pulling in the hamstring)
--Duration: 55mins
(10) Squat Press: 50lbs / 60lbs / 50lbs / 50lbs (60 was too tough, and I nearly fell backwards on the 10th rep, oops)
(10/side) DB Chop: 20lbs / 20lbs / 20lbs / 20lbs
(10) Inverted Rows: 4th rung / 4th rung / 10 push-ups* / 4th rung (rack was taken so did push-ups)
(10/side) Calf Raises: BW / BW / BW / BW
(10) Leg Press: 260lbs / 280lbs / 280lbs / 300lbs / 320lbs (felt really weak at first, but then decided to get back up to 320 with an extra set at the end)
(failure) Chin-ups: 2 / 1.5 / 1.5 / 1
(10) SHELC: 2 legs / 1 leg* / 2 legs / 2 legs (tried this after about 8 months, and didn't feel the upper hamstring, although the lower hamstrings were so tight, I could only do the double-leg version)
(10/side) Cable Full Swim Pull: 3 plates / 3 plates / 7.5lbs* / 3 plates (cable was taken once so used a DB to swing up instead)
(10) Deadlift: 110lbs (Very hard at such a low weight, but at least no pulling in the hamstring)
--Duration: 55mins
2012-12-05
Pool Swimming
Warm-up: 100m (stuck at work, wha-whaaaaaaa)
Main Course:
3x 200m on 4:20
3:52 / 3:53 / 3:55
2x 200m on 4:10
3:58 / 3:58
1x 200m on 4:00 (hold pace)
3:58
1min rest
3x 100m on 2:10
1:47 / 1:52 / 1:53
2x 100m on 2:05
1:54 / 1:53
1x 100m on 2:00 (hold pace)
1:53
1min rest
3x 50m on 1:10
0:52 / 0:53 / 0:52
2x 50m on 1:05
0:53 / 0:53
1x 50m on 1:00 (hold pace)
0:53
These were all super times for me. I felt so smooth today, even though I also felt tired from Monday. But my gliding and rolling stroke are finally coming together, and I feel more efficient. I did flip turns probably at least 50% of the time and wasn't terribly out of breath. I also swam in the rope lane, which may have contributed to my speed, so I'm cautiously optimistic here.
1x killer 50 (did 25hypoxic + 5secs off + half-pool hypoxic/sprint)
--Distance: 2,250m
--Duration: 55mins
Main Course:
3x 200m on 4:20
3:52 / 3:53 / 3:55
2x 200m on 4:10
3:58 / 3:58
1x 200m on 4:00 (hold pace)
3:58
1min rest
3x 100m on 2:10
1:47 / 1:52 / 1:53
2x 100m on 2:05
1:54 / 1:53
1x 100m on 2:00 (hold pace)
1:53
1min rest
3x 50m on 1:10
0:52 / 0:53 / 0:52
2x 50m on 1:05
0:53 / 0:53
1x 50m on 1:00 (hold pace)
0:53
These were all super times for me. I felt so smooth today, even though I also felt tired from Monday. But my gliding and rolling stroke are finally coming together, and I feel more efficient. I did flip turns probably at least 50% of the time and wasn't terribly out of breath. I also swam in the rope lane, which may have contributed to my speed, so I'm cautiously optimistic here.
1x killer 50 (did 25hypoxic + 5secs off + half-pool hypoxic/sprint)
--Distance: 2,250m
--Duration: 55mins
2012-12-04
XSNRG Running
Forced myself to get this workout in late at night after a meeting, about 2hrs after my club had left.
Warm-up: 2km, ABCs, dynamic stretches
Blythe Hill Loops, 10x 2' / 1' RI
I challenged myself to finish an entire ~575m loop in the 3mins for one run-walk interval. I managed it for the first 4 and then let up. Hamstring was really tight. But mostly I was just really out of breath!
Distances in 2mins: (from El Satellite Dish, which I don't quite trust)
420m / 410m / 390m / 390m / 370m / 360m / 390m / 410m / 430m / 480m
I know I really kicked it on the last one, but not sure I went that much further! Maybe.
Cool-down: 2km
--Distance: 9.23km
--Duration: 69mins
Warm-up: 2km, ABCs, dynamic stretches
Blythe Hill Loops, 10x 2' / 1' RI
I challenged myself to finish an entire ~575m loop in the 3mins for one run-walk interval. I managed it for the first 4 and then let up. Hamstring was really tight. But mostly I was just really out of breath!
Distances in 2mins: (from El Satellite Dish, which I don't quite trust)
420m / 410m / 390m / 390m / 370m / 360m / 390m / 410m / 430m / 480m
I know I really kicked it on the last one, but not sure I went that much further! Maybe.
Cool-down: 2km
--Distance: 9.23km
--Duration: 69mins
2012-12-03
Pool Swimming
I was able to come on time today, and I actually finished the entire set (just).
Warm-up:
100m easy
200m drills w/ flips
100m fast/easy
2x 50m kick
2x 50m pull
We were to drop our usual 100m pace times by 5secs to push us a bit faster. The other distances also had to stay on that new pace. I grumbled at the start, but I managed to pull it off!
8x 100m on 2:10
1:50 / 1:53 / 1:55 / 1:57 / 1:58 / 1:58 / 1:58
4x 200m on 4:20
4:00 / 3:98 / 4:12 / 4:07
2x 400m on 8:40
8:22 / 8:18
Don't know what happened halfway through the 200s, but the clock doesn't lie. Maybe I had been drafting more. In any case, it wasn't a huge difference in speeds like last week. Stroke felt really smooth throughout. I did a great many flip turns too!
--Distance: 3,000m
--Duration: 75mins
Warm-up:
100m easy
200m drills w/ flips
100m fast/easy
2x 50m kick
2x 50m pull
We were to drop our usual 100m pace times by 5secs to push us a bit faster. The other distances also had to stay on that new pace. I grumbled at the start, but I managed to pull it off!
8x 100m on 2:10
1:50 / 1:53 / 1:55 / 1:57 / 1:58 / 1:58 / 1:58
4x 200m on 4:20
4:00 / 3:98 / 4:12 / 4:07
2x 400m on 8:40
8:22 / 8:18
Don't know what happened halfway through the 200s, but the clock doesn't lie. Maybe I had been drafting more. In any case, it wasn't a huge difference in speeds like last week. Stroke felt really smooth throughout. I did a great many flip turns too!
--Distance: 3,000m
--Duration: 75mins
2012-12-01
Pool Swimming
Missed last Monday, so did some of the workout today in the short time I had after errands. Brought my roomie too, which was extra-fun.
Pool is 25yds, times for 25m are in brackets.
Warm-up:
100y easy
4x 50y decrease (I assumed this meant get faster)
0:52 / 0:50 / 0:47 / 0:46 [0:57 / 0:55 / 0:51 / 0:50]
4x 50y kick
4x 50y pull
4x 100y on 2:15
1:45 / 1:50 / 1:45 / 1:47 [1:55 / 2:00 / 1:55 / 1:57]
50y killer (no problem, should have tried for a full 50 hypoxic)
--Distance: 1,150yds [1,050m]
--Duration: 28mins
Pool is 25yds, times for 25m are in brackets.
Warm-up:
100y easy
4x 50y decrease (I assumed this meant get faster)
0:52 / 0:50 / 0:47 / 0:46 [0:57 / 0:55 / 0:51 / 0:50]
4x 50y kick
4x 50y pull
4x 100y on 2:15
1:45 / 1:50 / 1:45 / 1:47 [1:55 / 2:00 / 1:55 / 1:57]
50y killer (no problem, should have tried for a full 50 hypoxic)
--Distance: 1,150yds [1,050m]
--Duration: 28mins
2012-11-30
Gym Workout
(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set / 4th set
(10) Front Squat: 50lbs / 60lbs / 70lbs
(10/side) DB Row: 25lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs
(10/side) Russian Twist: 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate
(10/side) DB Sword Draw: 7.5lbs / 7.5lbs / 7.5lbs
(10) Leg Press: 260lbs / 280lbs / 300lbs / 320lbs
(failure) Chin-ups: 1.75 / 1.75 / 1.5 / .75
(10) Ball Figure-8: BW / BW / BW / BW
(10) Cable DL: 15 plates (Did this one to see if I still "had it". I do.)
--Duration: 35mins
(10) Front Squat: 50lbs / 60lbs / 70lbs
(10/side) DB Row: 25lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs
(10/side) Russian Twist: 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate
(10/side) DB Sword Draw: 7.5lbs / 7.5lbs / 7.5lbs
(10) Leg Press: 260lbs / 280lbs / 300lbs / 320lbs
(failure) Chin-ups: 1.75 / 1.75 / 1.5 / .75
(10) Ball Figure-8: BW / BW / BW / BW
(10) Cable DL: 15 plates (Did this one to see if I still "had it". I do.)
--Duration: 35mins
Pool Swimming
Warm-up:
50m easy / 100m zipper/catch-up / 50m kick / 50m pull
100m all out - 1:40
100m easy
I went out on this one like I was doing a 50, and at the wall I realized I had to do it all one more time, oofff! But I do believe this is a PB!
200m all out - 3:56
100m easy
400m all out - 8:30
100m easy
I was still gassed from that crazy 100, so I had nothing on this
Pacing:
4x 100m @ 400m pace (2:07), on 2:30 - held 2:08 the whole time
4x 50m @ 200m pace (0:59), on 2:20 - held 1:00 the whole time
4x 25m @ 100m pace (0:25), on 0:40 - held 25, except for the third one which was a touch slower
So overall, a great 100m sprint, and then fantastic pacing by feel.
--Distance: 1,950m
--Duration: 60mins?
50m easy / 100m zipper/catch-up / 50m kick / 50m pull
100m all out - 1:40
100m easy
I went out on this one like I was doing a 50, and at the wall I realized I had to do it all one more time, oofff! But I do believe this is a PB!
200m all out - 3:56
100m easy
400m all out - 8:30
100m easy
I was still gassed from that crazy 100, so I had nothing on this
Pacing:
4x 100m @ 400m pace (2:07), on 2:30 - held 2:08 the whole time
4x 50m @ 200m pace (0:59), on 2:20 - held 1:00 the whole time
4x 25m @ 100m pace (0:25), on 0:40 - held 25, except for the third one which was a touch slower
So overall, a great 100m sprint, and then fantastic pacing by feel.
--Distance: 1,950m
--Duration: 60mins?
2012-11-26
Gym Workout
Overcome by EXTREME MENSTRUATION, I was in no shape to show up to swimming class. So steered the car over to the gym instead.
(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set / 4th set
(10) DB High Incline Bench Press: 20lbs x2 / 25lbs x2 / 30lbs x2
(10/side) DB Row: 25lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs
(10) BB Squat Press: 40lbs / 45lbs / 50lbs
(10/side) Calf Raises: BW / BW / BW
(failure) Chin-ups: 2 / 1.25 / 1 / 1.25
(10/side) Cable Full Swim Pull: 3 plates / 4 plates / 3 plates / 3 plates
(10) Leg Press: 240lbs / 260lbs / 280lbs / 300lbs
(10) Ball Roll-outs: BW / BW / BW / BW
--Duration: 35mins
(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set / 4th set
(10) DB High Incline Bench Press: 20lbs x2 / 25lbs x2 / 30lbs x2
(10/side) DB Row: 25lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs
(10) BB Squat Press: 40lbs / 45lbs / 50lbs
(10/side) Calf Raises: BW / BW / BW
(failure) Chin-ups: 2 / 1.25 / 1 / 1.25
(10/side) Cable Full Swim Pull: 3 plates / 4 plates / 3 plates / 3 plates
(10) Leg Press: 240lbs / 260lbs / 280lbs / 300lbs
(10) Ball Roll-outs: BW / BW / BW / BW
--Duration: 35mins
2012-11-25
O-Cup Kickoff
Formerly the THOMASS winter orienteering series and now dubbed the O-Cup with a "Thomass" format.
Terrain: forest, snowy ski hill, trail
Weather: overcast but probably >0
Hosts: Guelph Gators
It definitely snowed for us in the morning, a fitting opening to a great new season of winter ass-kicking. The only snow at the race was the first layer of fake stuff on the ski slopes, but if you have to trudge through it, it counts.
The format had two Thomass boxes, plus an extra start handicap. I should have started at control 2, but the start was off-set, so I got confused and ended up at control 1, which essentially took one handicap point away from me, oops. After that, nav was basically great, but I had a hard time running. Part of it was my hamstring as well as some pretty strong arch pain I'd developed during the Raid, but mostly I was just really out of running shape.
After 7 controls along the flats, I went through the train tunnel and straight up to the top of the ski hill and the box controls on the plateau.
I did well here except for getting distracted by a chatty friend towards the first control, where I just followed the crowd, and the crowd was wrong. It's not that hill, it's that other hill.
The terrain up there was really pretty, especially when the course went south towards the characteristic rocky ridges of the area. At one point, I crossed a trail just as an older couple were taking a walk, and as I emerged from the shrubs, they mockingly mentioned that "there's a trail, you know." Haha. What can you say to normal people?
I only got off-course once, going towards what I now know should be called a "Bingo!" control, as in, it's in the middle of nothing, and when you find it you can yell Bingo! Some of my friends chose to skip it and take a longer way around the ridge for their controls because of that. Smart. Still, I think it's good practise for straight-up orienteering on a bearing, which I suck at.
The last part of the course was in a kind of escarpment canyon. I had never been there before, and it was beautiful how the ridge curved around the control in a big U. I even found a second wind and outran a guy who had caught up to me. Then down the snowy ski hill again, across the train bridge, and straight to the soup kitchen.
The Gators put together a fantastic and varied course, plus cooked up not one but two soups and hot apple cider and home-made cookies that apparently had a nav theme, but almost no one noticed because we just scarfed them down. Great to see everyone out for the season starter too. This isn't going to be my most successful season, but I'll make the best of it.
--Distance: 8.73
--Duration: 1:22:34
--Place: 25th / 89
--Points: 26
I also used new shoes! First time out for my spiky new Inov8 Oroc 280 - I definitely felt more secure on the slippery parts, but need to learn to trust them more. The downside is that, as everyone says, these shoes have zero stability, so my ankles were all over the place. Rolled one quite a bit once.
Terrain: forest, snowy ski hill, trail
Weather: overcast but probably >0
Hosts: Guelph Gators
It definitely snowed for us in the morning, a fitting opening to a great new season of winter ass-kicking. The only snow at the race was the first layer of fake stuff on the ski slopes, but if you have to trudge through it, it counts.
The format had two Thomass boxes, plus an extra start handicap. I should have started at control 2, but the start was off-set, so I got confused and ended up at control 1, which essentially took one handicap point away from me, oops. After that, nav was basically great, but I had a hard time running. Part of it was my hamstring as well as some pretty strong arch pain I'd developed during the Raid, but mostly I was just really out of running shape.
 |
| Route Link |
I did well here except for getting distracted by a chatty friend towards the first control, where I just followed the crowd, and the crowd was wrong. It's not that hill, it's that other hill.
The terrain up there was really pretty, especially when the course went south towards the characteristic rocky ridges of the area. At one point, I crossed a trail just as an older couple were taking a walk, and as I emerged from the shrubs, they mockingly mentioned that "there's a trail, you know." Haha. What can you say to normal people?
I only got off-course once, going towards what I now know should be called a "Bingo!" control, as in, it's in the middle of nothing, and when you find it you can yell Bingo! Some of my friends chose to skip it and take a longer way around the ridge for their controls because of that. Smart. Still, I think it's good practise for straight-up orienteering on a bearing, which I suck at.
The last part of the course was in a kind of escarpment canyon. I had never been there before, and it was beautiful how the ridge curved around the control in a big U. I even found a second wind and outran a guy who had caught up to me. Then down the snowy ski hill again, across the train bridge, and straight to the soup kitchen.
The Gators put together a fantastic and varied course, plus cooked up not one but two soups and hot apple cider and home-made cookies that apparently had a nav theme, but almost no one noticed because we just scarfed them down. Great to see everyone out for the season starter too. This isn't going to be my most successful season, but I'll make the best of it.
--Distance: 8.73
--Duration: 1:22:34
--Place: 25th / 89
--Points: 26
I also used new shoes! First time out for my spiky new Inov8 Oroc 280 - I definitely felt more secure on the slippery parts, but need to learn to trust them more. The downside is that, as everyone says, these shoes have zero stability, so my ankles were all over the place. Rolled one quite a bit once.
Location:
Kelso Conservation Area, Milton, ON
2012-11-22
Gym Workout
Calves are killing me after Tuesday's sprints, so only did upper body and core today, and massaged my lower legs in between sets.
(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set / 4th set
(10) DB High Incline Bench Press: 20lbs x2 / 20lbs x2 / 20lbs x2 / 20lbs x2
(10) DB Bent-Over Lateral Flys: 8lbs x2 / 8lbs x2 / 8lbs x2 / 8lbs x2
(10/side) Plank w/ Arm Reach: - / - / - / -
(10/side) Cable Straight-Arm Pull-Down: 12.5lbs / 12.5lbs / 12.5lbs / 12.5lbs
(10/side) DB Sword Draw: 8lbs / 8lbs / 8lbs
(10) Glute-Ham Raise: 35lbs plate / 45lbs plate / 45lbs plate
(failure) Chin-ups: 1.75 / 1.5 / 1.5
(10) Seated Cable Overhead Pull-down: 70lbs / 70lbs / 70lbs
--Duration: 40mins
(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set / 4th set
(10) DB High Incline Bench Press: 20lbs x2 / 20lbs x2 / 20lbs x2 / 20lbs x2
(10) DB Bent-Over Lateral Flys: 8lbs x2 / 8lbs x2 / 8lbs x2 / 8lbs x2
(10/side) Plank w/ Arm Reach: - / - / - / -
(10/side) Cable Straight-Arm Pull-Down: 12.5lbs / 12.5lbs / 12.5lbs / 12.5lbs
(10/side) DB Sword Draw: 8lbs / 8lbs / 8lbs
(10) Glute-Ham Raise: 35lbs plate / 45lbs plate / 45lbs plate
(failure) Chin-ups: 1.75 / 1.5 / 1.5
(10) Seated Cable Overhead Pull-down: 70lbs / 70lbs / 70lbs
--Duration: 40mins
2012-11-21
Pool Swimming
On a lark, jumped back in with my old rope lane. Worked out okay!
Warm-up:
50m easy
2x 25m sprint
2x 25m head-up
150m zipper / catch-up
4x 25m DPS [23 / 23 / 23 / 22]
4x
200m fast, 30secs RI
100m easy, 30secs RI
We were trying for 4mins plus rest, which seemed impossible, and yet...
3:50 / 3:58 / 3:55 / 3:52
3x
2x 100m fast, 30secs RI
50m easy, 30secs RI
~2:00 (forgot these were 100s, so went slower) / 1:55
1:50 / -- (forgot to do this one!)
1:52 / 1:50
25m hypoxic / 5secs RI / 25m hypoxic (got as far as the drain, a few meters short of Monday's effort)
2x 25m hypoxic / 25m sprint
50m easy
--Distance: 2,750m
--Duration : 70mins
I'm kind of shocked with the volume here, because it doesn't seem that hard.
Warm-up:
50m easy
2x 25m sprint
2x 25m head-up
150m zipper / catch-up
4x 25m DPS [23 / 23 / 23 / 22]
4x
200m fast, 30secs RI
100m easy, 30secs RI
We were trying for 4mins plus rest, which seemed impossible, and yet...
3:50 / 3:58 / 3:55 / 3:52
3x
2x 100m fast, 30secs RI
50m easy, 30secs RI
~2:00 (forgot these were 100s, so went slower) / 1:55
1:50 / -- (forgot to do this one!)
1:52 / 1:50
25m hypoxic / 5secs RI / 25m hypoxic (got as far as the drain, a few meters short of Monday's effort)
2x 25m hypoxic / 25m sprint
50m easy
--Distance: 2,750m
--Duration : 70mins
I'm kind of shocked with the volume here, because it doesn't seem that hard.
2012-11-20
XSNRG Running
Since my physio said I could try running training again, I came out for a club run; I thought this night would be perfect because it was one of our slower, longer intervals. I passed the group just as they were running back to HQ, but I continued on to do the workout by myself, as usual!
Warm-up: 1.1km, slow with a bunch of breaks because my right hip got stuck and had to get worked out
- also did my full range of dynamic warm-ups before the intervals
I hadn't done the Belsize loop before; it's a trapezoid of about 600m, where the sides are uphills. I didn't think to ask our Coach which way the club was running tonight, so I decided to alternate, running the long leg, uphill, short leg, downhill, and then back the other way.
7x 3mins, 1.5mins RI
It turned out that 3mins was about the right amount of time for one loop for me, so I kept re-starting at the same corner. But I did get faster all the time!
CW: 560m / 590m / 600m / 620m
CCW: 600m / 640m / 670m
I couldn't believe I was getting more and more distance each time. I was striking mid-foot, bounding, perfect body position. I felt great! So disciplined.
Cool-down: 900m
--Distance: 7km
--Duration: 53mins
Unfortunately not long after I got home, my hip got inflamed. It was really throbbing, and it made it hard to sit. Same with the day after, although a bit better. Total bummer.
Warm-up: 1.1km, slow with a bunch of breaks because my right hip got stuck and had to get worked out
- also did my full range of dynamic warm-ups before the intervals
I hadn't done the Belsize loop before; it's a trapezoid of about 600m, where the sides are uphills. I didn't think to ask our Coach which way the club was running tonight, so I decided to alternate, running the long leg, uphill, short leg, downhill, and then back the other way.
7x 3mins, 1.5mins RI
It turned out that 3mins was about the right amount of time for one loop for me, so I kept re-starting at the same corner. But I did get faster all the time!
CW: 560m / 590m / 600m / 620m
CCW: 600m / 640m / 670m
I couldn't believe I was getting more and more distance each time. I was striking mid-foot, bounding, perfect body position. I felt great! So disciplined.
Cool-down: 900m
--Distance: 7km
--Duration: 53mins
Unfortunately not long after I got home, my hip got inflamed. It was really throbbing, and it made it hard to sit. Same with the day after, although a bit better. Total bummer.
Location:
Belsize Dr, Toronto
2012-11-19
Pool Swimming
Warm-up:
50m easy / 100m pull / 100m kick
This class was about gauging how you feel - how much power you're putting out rather than what your pace time is. You do really need a bunch of repeats of the same thing to get to know your own body.
3x 100m @ 90%, 15secs RI
1x 100m easy, 1min RI
x3
The first 100 was a bit speedy at 1:55, and then I settled into 2:05. The third set had me get down to a more comfortable 2:00-2:02, which is awesome. I still made sure I was at 90%, but I was a lot smoother.
4x 50m @ 80%, 20secs RI
The first one was a bit fast again at 0:55, then did even 1:00 for the rest.
2x 50m hypoxic w/ 5secs RI at the far end
On the first lap, well-rested, I managed to swim back all the way to the last blue line a couple of meters from the end! I'd taken advantage of calm waters before anyone else had started. The second try was awful by comparison with only a few strokes at the far end, but that's still more than what we've been doing thus far. I'm gonna get this 50 sooner or later.
50m easy
--Distance: 1,900m
--Duration: 55mins [not bad volume for being stuck in traffic!]
50m easy / 100m pull / 100m kick
This class was about gauging how you feel - how much power you're putting out rather than what your pace time is. You do really need a bunch of repeats of the same thing to get to know your own body.
3x 100m @ 90%, 15secs RI
1x 100m easy, 1min RI
x3
The first 100 was a bit speedy at 1:55, and then I settled into 2:05. The third set had me get down to a more comfortable 2:00-2:02, which is awesome. I still made sure I was at 90%, but I was a lot smoother.
4x 50m @ 80%, 20secs RI
The first one was a bit fast again at 0:55, then did even 1:00 for the rest.
2x 50m hypoxic w/ 5secs RI at the far end
On the first lap, well-rested, I managed to swim back all the way to the last blue line a couple of meters from the end! I'd taken advantage of calm waters before anyone else had started. The second try was awful by comparison with only a few strokes at the far end, but that's still more than what we've been doing thus far. I'm gonna get this 50 sooner or later.
50m easy
--Distance: 1,900m
--Duration: 55mins [not bad volume for being stuck in traffic!]
2012-11-17
Gym Workout
(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set / 4th set
(10) DB Flat Bench Press: 25lbs x2 / 25lbs x2 / 25lbs x2 / 25lbs x2
(10/side) DB Flat Bench Press: 20lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs
(10) BB Front Squat: 65lbs / 75lbs / 85lbs / 85lbs
(10) DB Chop: 15lbs / 20lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs
(10) Deadlift: 95lbs / 95lbs / 95lbs / 95lbs
(10/side) Russian Twist: 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate
--Duration: 50mins
First time I did a deadlift since March. I went with about half of my normal weight to see what would happen. I had the form down well. But I definitely felt the pull in my hamstring. I don't care. I'll keep pushing where I can.
Also, I think I got a new PB in front squat! Maybe? How did that happen?
(10) DB Flat Bench Press: 25lbs x2 / 25lbs x2 / 25lbs x2 / 25lbs x2
(10/side) DB Flat Bench Press: 20lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs
(10) BB Front Squat: 65lbs / 75lbs / 85lbs / 85lbs
(10) DB Chop: 15lbs / 20lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs
(10) Deadlift: 95lbs / 95lbs / 95lbs / 95lbs
(10/side) Russian Twist: 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate
--Duration: 50mins
First time I did a deadlift since March. I went with about half of my normal weight to see what would happen. I had the form down well. But I definitely felt the pull in my hamstring. I don't care. I'll keep pushing where I can.
Also, I think I got a new PB in front squat! Maybe? How did that happen?
2012-11-07
Pool Swimming
4x 100m, getting faster, 30secs rest
easy / 2:05 / 2:03 / 1:59
150m zipper / catch-up
4x 50m kick
4x 50m pull
Time Trial: 750m, mass start, passing open-water style
15:30 (2:04)
This was awesome. We were expected to mass start, then get into lanes at the far end. We could draft, pass, kick, whatever we wanted. Our lane took that in stride. I drafted behind CL for a bit, but he had declared that he'd pace himself, and once M started aggressively passing me, I passed CL too, so that I was drafting behind M for a while. She got away pretty quick, so I had to do my own hard work. But I felt great with all the adrenaline of racing each other. Didn't feel out of breath at all. I eventually lapped the boys, putting on a harder sprint. There were a few collisions - once I nearly lost a goggle, then I actually got punched in the chest when passing CL at the wall. Awesome! This is why I love open water racing. And I posted a decent time too. Not great, but a 2:04 pace is what I usually hold for single 100s.
4x 25m hypoxic / 25m sprint
I definitely started gliding better in the last quarters of the hypoxic lengths. And the subsequent 100s were much smoother from the muscle memory.
2x 100m
--Distance: 2,000m
--Duration: 65mins
easy / 2:05 / 2:03 / 1:59
150m zipper / catch-up
4x 50m kick
4x 50m pull
Time Trial: 750m, mass start, passing open-water style
15:30 (2:04)
This was awesome. We were expected to mass start, then get into lanes at the far end. We could draft, pass, kick, whatever we wanted. Our lane took that in stride. I drafted behind CL for a bit, but he had declared that he'd pace himself, and once M started aggressively passing me, I passed CL too, so that I was drafting behind M for a while. She got away pretty quick, so I had to do my own hard work. But I felt great with all the adrenaline of racing each other. Didn't feel out of breath at all. I eventually lapped the boys, putting on a harder sprint. There were a few collisions - once I nearly lost a goggle, then I actually got punched in the chest when passing CL at the wall. Awesome! This is why I love open water racing. And I posted a decent time too. Not great, but a 2:04 pace is what I usually hold for single 100s.
4x 25m hypoxic / 25m sprint
I definitely started gliding better in the last quarters of the hypoxic lengths. And the subsequent 100s were much smoother from the muscle memory.
2x 100m
--Distance: 2,000m
--Duration: 65mins
2012-11-05
Pool Swimming
Warm-up:
100m easy
100m zipper / catch-up
200m fast / easy
100m kick
100m pull
Main Course:
4x 50m swim
0:50 / 0:50 / 0:50 / 0:50
4x 50m pull
0:55 / 1:00 / 1:05 / 1:00
4x 50m kick
1:20 / 1:23 / 1:22 / 1:21
Remarkably consistent on the straight swims, but definitely a deficit on the kicks. Some people in my lane were faster on pull than swim - not me! Need those legs.
Coach pointed out that I let my gliding arm drop down before the 80% catch-up, so I had to focus on stretching out and keeping it up just below the surface for best hydrodynamics.
2x (
2x 100m on 2:15
1x 100m on 2:00
)
1:50 / 2:00 / 2:05
2:00 / 2:05 / 2:02
I was totally gassed on this double set, could not breathe at all.
200m on 4:30
200m on 4:15
4:15 / 4:12
Suddenly found my breath and started swimming really smoothly. I think I just let myself slow down. But it felt great.
25m hypoxic / 25m sprint
50m easy
--Distance: 2,300m
--Duration: 70mins
100m easy
100m zipper / catch-up
200m fast / easy
100m kick
100m pull
Main Course:
4x 50m swim
0:50 / 0:50 / 0:50 / 0:50
4x 50m pull
0:55 / 1:00 / 1:05 / 1:00
4x 50m kick
1:20 / 1:23 / 1:22 / 1:21
Remarkably consistent on the straight swims, but definitely a deficit on the kicks. Some people in my lane were faster on pull than swim - not me! Need those legs.
Coach pointed out that I let my gliding arm drop down before the 80% catch-up, so I had to focus on stretching out and keeping it up just below the surface for best hydrodynamics.
2x (
2x 100m on 2:15
1x 100m on 2:00
)
1:50 / 2:00 / 2:05
2:00 / 2:05 / 2:02
I was totally gassed on this double set, could not breathe at all.
200m on 4:30
200m on 4:15
4:15 / 4:12
Suddenly found my breath and started swimming really smoothly. I think I just let myself slow down. But it felt great.
25m hypoxic / 25m sprint
50m easy
--Distance: 2,300m
--Duration: 70mins
2012-11-02
Gym Workout
(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set
(10) DB Flat Bench Press: 25lbs x2 / 25lbs x2 / 30lbs x2
(10) BB Front Squat: 60lbs / 60lbs / 70lbs
(5/side) Push-up w/ DB Row: 12lbs / 12lbs / 15lbs
(10/side) Curtsy Lunges: BW / BW / BW
(10/side) Russian Twist: 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate
(failure) Chin-ups: 1.5 / 1.25
(10) Glute-Ham Raise: 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate
(10) Cable Str. Arm Pull-down: 12.5lbs / 12.5lbs
--Duration: 35mins
(10) DB Flat Bench Press: 25lbs x2 / 25lbs x2 / 30lbs x2
(10) BB Front Squat: 60lbs / 60lbs / 70lbs
(5/side) Push-up w/ DB Row: 12lbs / 12lbs / 15lbs
(10/side) Curtsy Lunges: BW / BW / BW
(10/side) Russian Twist: 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate
(failure) Chin-ups: 1.5 / 1.25
(10) Glute-Ham Raise: 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate
(10) Cable Str. Arm Pull-down: 12.5lbs / 12.5lbs
--Duration: 35mins
2012-10-31
Pool Swimming
Rushing in late from the Halloween ride, fuelled by sugar, which didn't help!
Warm-up: 100m with somersaults every half length
Main course:
5x 200m on 4:45
4:20 / 4:30 / 4:30 / 4:30 / 4:30
5x 100m on 2:20
2:03 / 2:05 / 2:07 / 2:05 / 2:03
5x 50m on 1:15
0:52 / 0:56 / 0:58 / 0:58 / 0:56
I swam in the wall lane, as I felt weak, and the rope lane was totally full. I couldn't get anywhere on the way up against the wall, but coming back in the middle was nice and smooth. Still, I had terribly slow times. I only managed a few flip turns, but mostly I was out of breath. I did a flip turn on each of the 50s.
1x 50m hypoxic / sprint
(0,0,0,0)
--Distance: 1,900m
--Duration: 60mins
Warm-up: 100m with somersaults every half length
Main course:
5x 200m on 4:45
4:20 / 4:30 / 4:30 / 4:30 / 4:30
5x 100m on 2:20
2:03 / 2:05 / 2:07 / 2:05 / 2:03
5x 50m on 1:15
0:52 / 0:56 / 0:58 / 0:58 / 0:56
I swam in the wall lane, as I felt weak, and the rope lane was totally full. I couldn't get anywhere on the way up against the wall, but coming back in the middle was nice and smooth. Still, I had terribly slow times. I only managed a few flip turns, but mostly I was out of breath. I did a flip turn on each of the 50s.
1x 50m hypoxic / sprint
(0,0,0,0)
--Distance: 1,900m
--Duration: 60mins
Spinning
I got invited to a Halloween costume spinning class at CYKL, where I'd done one class for free leading up to the Ride for Heart. Since I'd dressed up as Lance Armstrong on Saturday, how could I say no to this opportunity? I just asked permission to wear my controversial costume, but it was very well received by the studio owner!
So here I was in my Le Tour de Science Livestrong t-shirt, syringe stuck in my heart, helmet and shoes, I climbed onto the bike I'd reserved and couldn't get my cleats to lock in! When was the last time Lance couldn't clip into his pedals? When he was three? On his first tricycle? hahaha They had to get me onto another bike with some house shoes. How embarrassing.
I missed a bunch of the warm-up and first set because of this, so then I spent a while trying to catch up. Thankfully they put me up in the front so I could mimic what the instructor was doing. I don't know their lingo yet.
I know we did some climbs, in and out of the saddle, and with turns. I know we did a few tabata sets of sprints. There were some rollers in between. But all in all, I was just trying to mirror the instructor, down to seeing how many times she'd turned the crank on her tension thingy. This whole spinning thing is harder than real biking!
I had a really hard time breathing, and my legs were on fire. No biking fitness whatsoever. I'm kind of hoping I'll win one of the 5-pack class prizes for best costume. Although as my roommate pointed out, if they award me the prize, they should then take it away.
--Duration: 45mins
 |
| Le Tour de Science |
I missed a bunch of the warm-up and first set because of this, so then I spent a while trying to catch up. Thankfully they put me up in the front so I could mimic what the instructor was doing. I don't know their lingo yet.
I know we did some climbs, in and out of the saddle, and with turns. I know we did a few tabata sets of sprints. There were some rollers in between. But all in all, I was just trying to mirror the instructor, down to seeing how many times she'd turned the crank on her tension thingy. This whole spinning thing is harder than real biking!
I had a really hard time breathing, and my legs were on fire. No biking fitness whatsoever. I'm kind of hoping I'll win one of the 5-pack class prizes for best costume. Although as my roommate pointed out, if they award me the prize, they should then take it away.
--Duration: 45mins
2012-10-29
Pool Swimming
This was a swim practise I'd prefer to forget. It brought out my greatest deficiency, which is being constantly out of breath.
I walked in partway through the warm-up, where instead of the planned laps, Coach had us practise flip turns in the shallow end. I'd been doing them since I was 12, but I knew that there was a different technique in use now. You're supposed to flip and pull your arms out straight in front of you, push off hard and then turn in the water. I couldn't get this right except a couple of times. I kept crashing into the bottom or going off my line. We were to incorporate the flips into the main set. Yeah right!
The main set was a blurry jumble of 200s and 100s and maybe 50s. I couldn't breathe at all with the flip turns, so I was struggling really badly. I was in my regular rope lane but could not hope to keep up with the others and got lapped a few times. I never earned any rest breaks between the sets. I was choking.
Coach asked me to be persistent with the flips, as challenging myself out of my comfort zone is the only way to improve. I told him I could handle the hypoxic drills now, but holding my breath for a few seconds while flipping was much harder. I think it's that I have the time to relax into a hypoxic length, while flip turns just disrupt my regular breathing. He told me that the next step after the killer 50s is to go right from hypoxic into a flip turn and continue, with the ultimate goal being a full 50 hypoxic. I didn't manage to try a hypoxic flip, but I'll work my way up to it.
--Distance: fucked if I knew
--Duration: 70mins
I walked in partway through the warm-up, where instead of the planned laps, Coach had us practise flip turns in the shallow end. I'd been doing them since I was 12, but I knew that there was a different technique in use now. You're supposed to flip and pull your arms out straight in front of you, push off hard and then turn in the water. I couldn't get this right except a couple of times. I kept crashing into the bottom or going off my line. We were to incorporate the flips into the main set. Yeah right!
The main set was a blurry jumble of 200s and 100s and maybe 50s. I couldn't breathe at all with the flip turns, so I was struggling really badly. I was in my regular rope lane but could not hope to keep up with the others and got lapped a few times. I never earned any rest breaks between the sets. I was choking.
Coach asked me to be persistent with the flips, as challenging myself out of my comfort zone is the only way to improve. I told him I could handle the hypoxic drills now, but holding my breath for a few seconds while flipping was much harder. I think it's that I have the time to relax into a hypoxic length, while flip turns just disrupt my regular breathing. He told me that the next step after the killer 50s is to go right from hypoxic into a flip turn and continue, with the ultimate goal being a full 50 hypoxic. I didn't manage to try a hypoxic flip, but I'll work my way up to it.
--Distance: fucked if I knew
--Duration: 70mins
2012-10-28
Peak-2-Peak
Format: Point-to-Point, Trail
Terrain: Forest, deep valleys, meadow, road, trail
Weather: Drizzle/Rain, 5°
I thought I'd get all my lost-iness out of the way by making the wrong turn on the highway in Hamilton and forcing my carpool mates to run out their phones trying to guide me across the city and back to the race start. That mostly worked. But it's not an efficient strategy.
This was the warm-up race for the Raid the Hammer, and I raced it with my teammate WP. The orienteering was actually quite challenging, which is good, because I don't expect the Raid navigation to be nearly as hard, so this was a good way to overcompensate and be better-prepared. It was a blustery cold and wet day, so any time spent moving slowly and thinking about the course kind of sucked a lot.
We spent a short time marking my map, and while that really helps if you do a good job, maybe committing to certain route choices hastily isn't the best idea. To get to control 1, we ran around the bottom of a hill on a road, even though I saw another racer duck into the bush earlier - I realized that it wasn't a straight climb on the near side, but a bit of a valley; decided to press on anyway, but the other way was much faster. For control 2, I took us down the hill along a bad line because there was a clear path, so then we had to go up a trail to make sure we knew how far along we were.
Then we had a long run on a piece of the Bruce Trail (yay! I love seeing those white blazes!) and easily found 3. The straight route to 4 looked pretty green on the map, but we agreed we'd see how it is in reality and decide then if we should take a trail around. We ended up finding a bit of a clear path through sumac bushes, but when we made it back out onto a trail close to 4, the vegetation was different than on the map, clearing later than it should have, so I overran my attack point; thankfully there were some characteristic boulders where we ended up, so finding 4 was easy, just took too long. As an aside, this was probably the 3rd or so of many controls marked as "hilltop." The race was really "Peak-2-Peak-2-Peak-2-Peak-2-Peak-2-Peak"...
5 was easy orienteering, and 6 would have been the same, but we got caught up seeing 12 close to it, so detoured a bit before continuing to 6. We then moved to the third part of the map, which was a kind of crossed loop, and I did something silly - I started running straight for 11 instead of 7. Thankfully W was like, "huh??" and got us back on track, and the unplanned route was actually more direct and faster than going around like the other racers!
I have no idea what I did heading out to 8, but my line was way off, and we got quite close to an out-of-bounds private area. It was a little hard to tell how far along the private fence we were, and there had been some distracting racers yelling on a slight hill. Since we were looking for a hill (big surprise!), it was possible that that was it, although I thought the area we'd ended up in was too flat compared with that part of the map. We doubled way back to an obvious set of hills and houses and confirmed that we hadn't gone far enough in the first place.
9 was on the other side of a fairly deep stream valley, and once again I veered us off a straight line between the controls, crap. But that took us to a very obvious bridge and fork in the streams, so getting to 9 was quite easy. The only problem was that the control was set a good 100m too close to where it should have been, so when I tried to navigate among some hills to 10, I ended up in a different area than intended. I can read contour features very well, so I figured it out, but we really got slowed down here in what should have been a much faster section.
Next up was my favourite part: running on train tracks! I am terrified of trains. Maybe it made me run faster. 11 was fairly easy once we got back into the woods. We already knew where 12 was since we'd inadvertently visited it before, haha, and 13 was really fun to get to along a small sandy river bed. There was a cool crink in the river, and since I get very excited about funny contour features, that was a delight to run past. Don't judge me.
The way to 14 should have been a no-brainer since there was an open (although shrubby) field and a clear tree line. I have no idea how I turned us around, but we ended up on a trail that was perpendicular to the one we needed, and I clued in about 50m in when I checked the trail direction. 15 was fairly easy, and I kept a good line, but for some reason I chose to cut across a very brambly field to get to 16 instead of just taking a trail - I think I wanted to avoid climbing. Well we avoided that! I think I'm still picking the thorns out. Then we took the long Bruce Trail run back towards the start, and found 17 easily, although it was at the toppiest hilltop of them all.
Notes for the Raid:
- Use max time for map marking, and each map should be marked
- If we're lost-ish, get to a definite known point to re-navigate
- Teammate who is in charge of control descriptions / control numbers / other race leg instructions is awesome; food timing would also be fantastic during the long race
- I have a hard time holding a good line on a compass bearing, and I'd prefer one of my teammates to do this instead on the longer legs
- It would be great to have one teammate lead to a control and another teammate to have the bearing leading away from the control ready, so we can leave the control immediately; I'm bad at doing this in solo races
- Tow-line: normally I'd recommend it for equalization, but both WP and I are in no shape to move at a faster pace than what our broken legs allow; neither of us should push our legs beyond safe operating limits
- Gotta check in with team pace and stay together
- I know I get more nervous about my skills when others are counting on me to get it right
--Distance: 12.5km
--Duration: 2:28:53
Hey, even with a crappy time, it turns out we were 12th overall and 3rd women! This challenging course was not kind to a lot of the racers, many of whom ended up skipping controls just to finish. So I'm pretty happy that eventually our diligence and persistence paid off. Look out, Raiders - here come A Few Good Legs!
Terrain: Forest, deep valleys, meadow, road, trail
Weather: Drizzle/Rain, 5°
I thought I'd get all my lost-iness out of the way by making the wrong turn on the highway in Hamilton and forcing my carpool mates to run out their phones trying to guide me across the city and back to the race start. That mostly worked. But it's not an efficient strategy.
This was the warm-up race for the Raid the Hammer, and I raced it with my teammate WP. The orienteering was actually quite challenging, which is good, because I don't expect the Raid navigation to be nearly as hard, so this was a good way to overcompensate and be better-prepared. It was a blustery cold and wet day, so any time spent moving slowly and thinking about the course kind of sucked a lot.
 |
| AP Route, Garmin Track |
Then we had a long run on a piece of the Bruce Trail (yay! I love seeing those white blazes!) and easily found 3. The straight route to 4 looked pretty green on the map, but we agreed we'd see how it is in reality and decide then if we should take a trail around. We ended up finding a bit of a clear path through sumac bushes, but when we made it back out onto a trail close to 4, the vegetation was different than on the map, clearing later than it should have, so I overran my attack point; thankfully there were some characteristic boulders where we ended up, so finding 4 was easy, just took too long. As an aside, this was probably the 3rd or so of many controls marked as "hilltop." The race was really "Peak-2-Peak-2-Peak-2-Peak-2-Peak-2-Peak"...
5 was easy orienteering, and 6 would have been the same, but we got caught up seeing 12 close to it, so detoured a bit before continuing to 6. We then moved to the third part of the map, which was a kind of crossed loop, and I did something silly - I started running straight for 11 instead of 7. Thankfully W was like, "huh??" and got us back on track, and the unplanned route was actually more direct and faster than going around like the other racers!
I have no idea what I did heading out to 8, but my line was way off, and we got quite close to an out-of-bounds private area. It was a little hard to tell how far along the private fence we were, and there had been some distracting racers yelling on a slight hill. Since we were looking for a hill (big surprise!), it was possible that that was it, although I thought the area we'd ended up in was too flat compared with that part of the map. We doubled way back to an obvious set of hills and houses and confirmed that we hadn't gone far enough in the first place.
9 was on the other side of a fairly deep stream valley, and once again I veered us off a straight line between the controls, crap. But that took us to a very obvious bridge and fork in the streams, so getting to 9 was quite easy. The only problem was that the control was set a good 100m too close to where it should have been, so when I tried to navigate among some hills to 10, I ended up in a different area than intended. I can read contour features very well, so I figured it out, but we really got slowed down here in what should have been a much faster section.
Next up was my favourite part: running on train tracks! I am terrified of trains. Maybe it made me run faster. 11 was fairly easy once we got back into the woods. We already knew where 12 was since we'd inadvertently visited it before, haha, and 13 was really fun to get to along a small sandy river bed. There was a cool crink in the river, and since I get very excited about funny contour features, that was a delight to run past. Don't judge me.
The way to 14 should have been a no-brainer since there was an open (although shrubby) field and a clear tree line. I have no idea how I turned us around, but we ended up on a trail that was perpendicular to the one we needed, and I clued in about 50m in when I checked the trail direction. 15 was fairly easy, and I kept a good line, but for some reason I chose to cut across a very brambly field to get to 16 instead of just taking a trail - I think I wanted to avoid climbing. Well we avoided that! I think I'm still picking the thorns out. Then we took the long Bruce Trail run back towards the start, and found 17 easily, although it was at the toppiest hilltop of them all.
Notes for the Raid:
- Use max time for map marking, and each map should be marked
- If we're lost-ish, get to a definite known point to re-navigate
- Teammate who is in charge of control descriptions / control numbers / other race leg instructions is awesome; food timing would also be fantastic during the long race
- I have a hard time holding a good line on a compass bearing, and I'd prefer one of my teammates to do this instead on the longer legs
- It would be great to have one teammate lead to a control and another teammate to have the bearing leading away from the control ready, so we can leave the control immediately; I'm bad at doing this in solo races
- Tow-line: normally I'd recommend it for equalization, but both WP and I are in no shape to move at a faster pace than what our broken legs allow; neither of us should push our legs beyond safe operating limits
- Gotta check in with team pace and stay together
- I know I get more nervous about my skills when others are counting on me to get it right
--Distance: 12.5km
--Duration: 2:28:53
Hey, even with a crappy time, it turns out we were 12th overall and 3rd women! This challenging course was not kind to a lot of the racers, many of whom ended up skipping controls just to finish. So I'm pretty happy that eventually our diligence and persistence paid off. Look out, Raiders - here come A Few Good Legs!
Location:
Hamilton, ON
2012-10-27
Pool Swimming
Missed Wednesday's workout in favour of the Massey Lecture, so when Coach sent out the workout, I did it at my rec centre 25-yard pool. This is probably a fudging of what was intended, but it's my best interpretation.
Because it's a yard pool, I have the times for 25 metre lengths in square brackets. 25y = 22.86m
Warm-up:
100y easy
200y zipper / catch-up
200y fast / easy
4x 25y kicks all-out
100y pull
Main Course:
2x 300y (6:45)
5:50 / 5:53
[6:23 / 6:26]
4x 200y (4:30)
3:52 / 3:51 / 3:55 / 3:52
[4:14 / 4:13 / 4:17 / 4:14]
I finally started feeling really smooth midway through the 200s and could hold a nice stroke for the whole distance.
6x 100y (2:15)
1:52 / 1:51 / 1:52 / 1:50 / 1:55 / 1:50
[2:02 / 2:01 / 2:02 / 2:00 / 2:06 / 2:00]
This is pretty slow, but it's hard to get going without the team. Still, I felt much better on the 100s.
4x 50y hypoxic / sprint
(0,0,0,0)
These were short, and they were extremely easy, even with the sprints. I actually enjoyed them. They forced me to swim really smoothly. It was like the snorkel workouts, except without all the stress!
--Distance: 2,900y [2,650m]
--Duration: 75mins
Because it's a yard pool, I have the times for 25 metre lengths in square brackets. 25y = 22.86m
Warm-up:
100y easy
200y zipper / catch-up
200y fast / easy
4x 25y kicks all-out
100y pull
Main Course:
2x 300y (6:45)
5:50 / 5:53
[6:23 / 6:26]
4x 200y (4:30)
3:52 / 3:51 / 3:55 / 3:52
[4:14 / 4:13 / 4:17 / 4:14]
I finally started feeling really smooth midway through the 200s and could hold a nice stroke for the whole distance.
6x 100y (2:15)
1:52 / 1:51 / 1:52 / 1:50 / 1:55 / 1:50
[2:02 / 2:01 / 2:02 / 2:00 / 2:06 / 2:00]
This is pretty slow, but it's hard to get going without the team. Still, I felt much better on the 100s.
4x 50y hypoxic / sprint
(0,0,0,0)
These were short, and they were extremely easy, even with the sprints. I actually enjoyed them. They forced me to swim really smoothly. It was like the snorkel workouts, except without all the stress!
--Distance: 2,900y [2,650m]
--Duration: 75mins
Gym Workout
(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set / 4th set
(10) DB Flat Bench Press: 25lbs x2 / 25lbs x2 / 25lbs x2 / 30lbs x2
(10) BB Front Squat: 60lbs / 70lbs / 70lbs / 70lbs
(10/side) DB Row: 20lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs / 30lbs
(10/side) Curtsy Lunges: BW / BW / BW / BW
(10) Leg Press: 240lbs / 260lbs / 280lbs
(10/side) Russian Twist: 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate
(failure) Pull-ups: 2.5 / 1.5 / 1.25
--Duration: 40mins
(10) DB Flat Bench Press: 25lbs x2 / 25lbs x2 / 25lbs x2 / 30lbs x2
(10) BB Front Squat: 60lbs / 70lbs / 70lbs / 70lbs
(10/side) DB Row: 20lbs / 25lbs / 25lbs / 30lbs
(10/side) Curtsy Lunges: BW / BW / BW / BW
(10) Leg Press: 240lbs / 260lbs / 280lbs
(10/side) Russian Twist: 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate / 35lbs plate
(failure) Pull-ups: 2.5 / 1.5 / 1.25
--Duration: 40mins
2012-10-22
Pool Swimming
Warm-up:
100m easy
200m zipper / catch-up
200m fast / easy
50m kick
Already felt excellent, so I went into the main really confident.
Main course:
50m - time + 15secs for pace (1:15)
100m - double up (2:30)
200m - double up (5:00)
400m - double up (10:00)
200m - faster than first
100m - faster
50m - faster
0:52 / 1:53 / 3:56 / 8:07 / 3:55 / 1:50 / 0:50
After we broke through the 400, the shorter distances were so much easier, and I was able to beat my original times as planned.
4x 25m hypoxic, 25m sprint, 1min RI (taking it to the next level!)
(0,0,0,0) Not only did I kill all four again, I did each 50m in about 0:50, and the last one felt the easiest because I swam so smoothly. But my quads really felt it on the third one - soooo oxygen-deprived.
4x 25m kicks all out - finished it on wobbly legs.
5x 100m on 2:20 (we were supposed to drop by 0:05, but somehow did not!)
1:53 / 1:58 / 2:00 / 1:59 / 2:05
Kicks had killed me, so these time were a bit crappy!
Cool-down:
50m easy
--Distance: 2,500m
--Duration: 75mins
100m easy
200m zipper / catch-up
200m fast / easy
50m kick
Already felt excellent, so I went into the main really confident.
Main course:
50m - time + 15secs for pace (1:15)
100m - double up (2:30)
200m - double up (5:00)
400m - double up (10:00)
200m - faster than first
100m - faster
50m - faster
0:52 / 1:53 / 3:56 / 8:07 / 3:55 / 1:50 / 0:50
After we broke through the 400, the shorter distances were so much easier, and I was able to beat my original times as planned.
4x 25m hypoxic, 25m sprint, 1min RI (taking it to the next level!)
(0,0,0,0) Not only did I kill all four again, I did each 50m in about 0:50, and the last one felt the easiest because I swam so smoothly. But my quads really felt it on the third one - soooo oxygen-deprived.
4x 25m kicks all out - finished it on wobbly legs.
5x 100m on 2:20 (we were supposed to drop by 0:05, but somehow did not!)
1:53 / 1:58 / 2:00 / 1:59 / 2:05
Kicks had killed me, so these time were a bit crappy!
Cool-down:
50m easy
--Distance: 2,500m
--Duration: 75mins
2012-10-21
Gym Workout
First time trying out the new weight room at Matty Eckler CRC. It's actually quite decently stocked now, even with a squat rack. No balls though (probably because the riff-raff would just steal them). No mirrors either.
(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set
(10) DB Bench Press: 20lbs x2 / 20lbs x2 / 20lbs x2
(10/side) DB Row: 20lbs / 20lbs / 25lbs
(10) BB Front Squat: 55lbs / 65lbs / 75lbs
(10) Leg Press: 230lbs / 210lbs plate
(10/side) Cable Chop: 17.5lbs / 17.5lbs
--Duration: 25mins
I talked to the main staff member about improvements in security since their reno, but he told me the same thing as the last time I dared work out there after my stuff was stolen: the city doesn't give a flying fuck about your stuff or about securing their space (not his exact words.) Not a good way to keep clients from going to private gyms. I think I'll stick to East York CC.
(reps) 1st set / 2nd set / 3rd set
(10) DB Bench Press: 20lbs x2 / 20lbs x2 / 20lbs x2
(10/side) DB Row: 20lbs / 20lbs / 25lbs
(10) BB Front Squat: 55lbs / 65lbs / 75lbs
(10) Leg Press: 230lbs / 210lbs plate
(10/side) Cable Chop: 17.5lbs / 17.5lbs
--Duration: 25mins
I talked to the main staff member about improvements in security since their reno, but he told me the same thing as the last time I dared work out there after my stuff was stolen: the city doesn't give a flying fuck about your stuff or about securing their space (not his exact words.) Not a good way to keep clients from going to private gyms. I think I'll stick to East York CC.
2012-10-17
Pool Swimming
Warm-up:
100m zipper / catch-up
150m fast / easy
100m kick
100m pull
Tonight was an exercise in trying to intuitively feel your own speed. So we were to try to repeat the same effort each time and feel for how fast we had gone. I think.
100m - 1:51
Trying to hold the original speed, with 30secs breaks:
2x 100m - 1:54 / 1:59
Trying to hold the time for the last two 100s:
200m - 4:10
Trying to hold the 200m speed, with 30secs breaks:
2x 200m - 4:22 / 4:22
Trying to hold the time for the last two 200s:
400m - 8:52
Some of these times I just got traffic-jammed, but mostly I just swam really slowly!
4x 25m hypoxic, 45secs RI (0,0,0,0) - I wasn't feeling it, but I also wasn't about to give up my perfect record of the past few classes!
Supposed to do this before hypoxic but Coach confused the time a bit, oops!
5x 100m on ~2:08 (not really! kept adding 15secs, which we weren't supposed to)
1:53 / 1:58 / 2:00 / 2:04 / 2:05
Having just done the hypoxic, I actually felt amazing swimming these. I was obviously painfully slow, but I could breathe, and I kept racing the lane next to mine.
--Distance: 2,350m
--Duration: 65mins
100m zipper / catch-up
150m fast / easy
100m kick
100m pull
Tonight was an exercise in trying to intuitively feel your own speed. So we were to try to repeat the same effort each time and feel for how fast we had gone. I think.
100m - 1:51
Trying to hold the original speed, with 30secs breaks:
2x 100m - 1:54 / 1:59
Trying to hold the time for the last two 100s:
200m - 4:10
Trying to hold the 200m speed, with 30secs breaks:
2x 200m - 4:22 / 4:22
Trying to hold the time for the last two 200s:
400m - 8:52
Some of these times I just got traffic-jammed, but mostly I just swam really slowly!
4x 25m hypoxic, 45secs RI (0,0,0,0) - I wasn't feeling it, but I also wasn't about to give up my perfect record of the past few classes!
Supposed to do this before hypoxic but Coach confused the time a bit, oops!
5x 100m on ~2:08 (not really! kept adding 15secs, which we weren't supposed to)
1:53 / 1:58 / 2:00 / 2:04 / 2:05
Having just done the hypoxic, I actually felt amazing swimming these. I was obviously painfully slow, but I could breathe, and I kept racing the lane next to mine.
--Distance: 2,350m
--Duration: 65mins
Sports Medicine
Went in for my follow-up appointment with Dr. Chen at Athlete's Care. He said my pelvis is realigned and that I can stop using the brace except for workouts. I'm kind of worried about giving it up.
He said I should try some ART or acupuncture on my butt to break up the tense, inflamed tissues. But a few hours after he had poked around, I developed the usual ache in my hamstring and sit bone, so now I'm reluctant to go in for more poking. It definitely aggravated my symptoms back in the spring. I forgot to mention that to him.
So really don't know what to do. He wants me to start some light training again and come back in a month. He might run another ultrasound, as he doesn't trust most clinics out there, ha. Anyway, I'm so confused about this whole thing and what to do over the next month.
He said I should try some ART or acupuncture on my butt to break up the tense, inflamed tissues. But a few hours after he had poked around, I developed the usual ache in my hamstring and sit bone, so now I'm reluctant to go in for more poking. It definitely aggravated my symptoms back in the spring. I forgot to mention that to him.
So really don't know what to do. He wants me to start some light training again and come back in a month. He might run another ultrasound, as he doesn't trust most clinics out there, ha. Anyway, I'm so confused about this whole thing and what to do over the next month.
2012-10-15
Pool Swimming
Warm-up:
100m easy
200m zipper / catch-up
2x 25m hypoxic (0,0) - woohoo, cleared it again! Although I was so out of oxygen, I actually felt it in my leg muscles. Took it a bit far.
200s on pace + 15secs
3x 200m - 4:05 / 4:07 / 4:10
200s on pace + 30secs
2x 200m - 4:10 / 4:07
200 all out
1x 200m - 4:04
100s on pace + 15secs
3x 100m - 1:55 / 1:58 / 1:58
100s on pace + 25secs
2x 100m - 2:00 / no idea, I took in a waveful of water and choked in the middle of the last length, but I seemed faster up until that point!
100 all out
1x 100m - 1:56
50s on first pace + 15secs
3x 50m - 0:56 / 0:56 / 0:56
50s on pace + 20secs
2x 50m - 0:57 / 0:57
50 all out
1x 50m - 0:56
This was an exercise in pacing against the clock, and it was quite hard for us!
--Distance: 2,450m
--Duration: 70mins
100m easy
200m zipper / catch-up
2x 25m hypoxic (0,0) - woohoo, cleared it again! Although I was so out of oxygen, I actually felt it in my leg muscles. Took it a bit far.
200s on pace + 15secs
3x 200m - 4:05 / 4:07 / 4:10
200s on pace + 30secs
2x 200m - 4:10 / 4:07
200 all out
1x 200m - 4:04
100s on pace + 15secs
3x 100m - 1:55 / 1:58 / 1:58
100s on pace + 25secs
2x 100m - 2:00 / no idea, I took in a waveful of water and choked in the middle of the last length, but I seemed faster up until that point!
100 all out
1x 100m - 1:56
50s on first pace + 15secs
3x 50m - 0:56 / 0:56 / 0:56
50s on pace + 20secs
2x 50m - 0:57 / 0:57
50 all out
1x 50m - 0:56
This was an exercise in pacing against the clock, and it was quite hard for us!
--Distance: 2,450m
--Duration: 70mins
2012-10-14
Great Toronto Rogaine
Format: Rogaine (10hr Score-O)
Terrain: parks, muddy ravines, streets
Weather: warm but drizzly in the morning, then just overcast
I was so excited when I heard about my orienteering club's inaugural city-wide urban park rogaine, I immediately ditched my entry into the Waterfront 1/2 marathon taking place on the same day. A rogaine is a multi-hour orienteering event with controls you can visit in any order, accumulating more points for the outlying ones. They usually take place out in the woods, but this one was set in the many parks our club has maps for, and also incorporated a lot of scavenger hunt-style photo-based controls in the regular urban areas. The time limit would be 10hrs for the long course, my new longest event to date.
Having either raced in all of our club parks or set courses in them myself, I predicted which areas of the city would be part of the race and which would probably hold the most points, so I was able to sketch out a general route ahead of time. We were allowed to use any human-powered transportation plus public transit. It turns out that virtually all Toronto bus routes now have bike racks, so I opted to use my sturdy commuter in conjunction with hopping on buses where it would be faster.
I guessed that I could probably average 15kph on that bike overall, and that I could put out about 75km, plus however far I could get by transit. I opted for an eastbound route to Scarborough, then northwest to hit some parks along Steeles, and then back southeast towards the finish at Riverdale Park. My assumptions about the course were right on the money, so other than slotting in some photo controls along my general route, I didn't have to think too much before the start. The master map was the city cycling trail map with the photo controls marked in - an excellent choice, as it made choosing bike routes very easy. We also had about 12 park O-maps and a transit guide. New record for most maps in one race??
I knew each of the parks quite well, except for Warden Woods, Morningside and Bestview, which I hadn't raced in for quite a while. The other parks: Taylor Creek, L'Amoreaux, G. Ross Lord, Earl Bales, Sunnybrook and ET Seton, I essentially know like the back of my hand. For a few, I could probably produce a reasonable O-map just from memory! I was confident that I could make decent decisions on the fly during the race.
Highlights:
I ended up doing 80km on the bike (and on foot), and 20km by bus. So my estimate of 75km of riding was right on the money, and I was able to execute my pre-imagined plan perfectly. Once we all got back, it was pretty clear that everyone on the long course did more-or-less the same loop via Scarborough to get the big 200-point controls and then up to Steeles for the ~150+. People used all combinations of running, biking, busing, taking the subway. For me, the bike and bus combo was really optimal, as I could cover a big distance but also get to specific places quickly, and then ditch the bike to burrow through the bush.
Where I did lose time was re-checking my routes too many times, when I should have committed them to memory - some of the guys had map boards (on the chest or on the bike) - that probably would have been great! I also could have eaten a bit more, doncha think? Should have been eating on the bus rides, although I did take those times to plan ahead. I'm also not sure I was right to skip some controls in the parks where I thought they were a bit too out of the way (wrong side of a river, too deep in the bush to deal with the bike) - I had gone out far after all, so maybe should have banked those points while I was there. I would have had to skip the parks at the end, but would have had more points. I think in my heart of hearts, I went with having an enjoyable experience rather than maxing out the race - kind of unusual for me!
I will definitely be back next year, and hope to see a lot more people out there, making it more worthwhile for the organizers to have lost sleep putting up controls in the dark and hand-marking maps for us to use. I'm really in awe of their effort. Congrats to team of MS and RT who ran away with 4,500+ points and a clear overall win. It was easy for me to "win" the women's category as the only female out there, haha. But I think I did quite well overall too.
--Distance: 102km
--Duration: 9hrs 45mins
--Garmin track (imprecise): 101.22km
--Points: 3,530
--O-Controls: 21
--Photo controls: 7
Terrain: parks, muddy ravines, streets
Weather: warm but drizzly in the morning, then just overcast
I was so excited when I heard about my orienteering club's inaugural city-wide urban park rogaine, I immediately ditched my entry into the Waterfront 1/2 marathon taking place on the same day. A rogaine is a multi-hour orienteering event with controls you can visit in any order, accumulating more points for the outlying ones. They usually take place out in the woods, but this one was set in the many parks our club has maps for, and also incorporated a lot of scavenger hunt-style photo-based controls in the regular urban areas. The time limit would be 10hrs for the long course, my new longest event to date.
 |
| Marking the big points down before the start |
I guessed that I could probably average 15kph on that bike overall, and that I could put out about 75km, plus however far I could get by transit. I opted for an eastbound route to Scarborough, then northwest to hit some parks along Steeles, and then back southeast towards the finish at Riverdale Park. My assumptions about the course were right on the money, so other than slotting in some photo controls along my general route, I didn't have to think too much before the start. The master map was the city cycling trail map with the photo controls marked in - an excellent choice, as it made choosing bike routes very easy. We also had about 12 park O-maps and a transit guide. New record for most maps in one race??
I knew each of the parks quite well, except for Warden Woods, Morningside and Bestview, which I hadn't raced in for quite a while. The other parks: Taylor Creek, L'Amoreaux, G. Ross Lord, Earl Bales, Sunnybrook and ET Seton, I essentially know like the back of my hand. For a few, I could probably produce a reasonable O-map just from memory! I was confident that I could make decent decisions on the fly during the race.
Highlights:
- Stopping at my house on the way out to dump extra gear and clothing and finish my coffee - not my fault it was on my way!
- Being soaked inside of 10 minutes. I remember how shocked I was when that one ray of sunlight hit me in the face at some point during the day. But being soaked by rain means you don't mind wading through marshes and crossing creeks.
- Being super nervous the first time I dumped my bike in the bushes unlocked at Taylor Creek to wade into a marsh - I quickly realized I was one of very few people out in the drizzle and that my bike was always out of sight in places no sane person goes into anyway - I ended up never using my lock.
- Going down a sheer and muddy hillside in Warden Woods with the bike where there should have been a trail - put the bike sideways in front of me and used it like a granny walker.
- Using the mapped buildings and property edges visible above the ravines as landmarks - a fave trick of mine, I did this at four different parks.
 |
| Confucius - a photo control |
- Pulling and tugging at the "defective" bus bike rack for the first time before realizing I just had to read the printed instructions.
- Remembering one of my cardinal rules of checking precisely which side of a river the centre of the control circle is at - after approaching from the other side.
- Finally eating some breakfast 3hrs into the race all the way out in Guildwood. I finished the race on a Timmy's bagel belt, 3 gels, 1.5L of water, and a lot of adrenaline.
- Topping out at about 40kph on the empty stretches of Scarborough roads. I'd have thought my commuter would start to shear itself to pieces at speeds like that.
- Finally pulling out my compass 3.5hrs into the race to check the direction of a trail at Morningside - another one of my cardinal rules.
- Constantly emerging from thick bushes covered in mud, soaked by rain and sweat, and inexplicably carrying a bike - much to the surprise of dog walkers and other decent people out on the trails.
- Having other bus passengers move away from my muddy, smelly self, and the driver opening the window. I felt really bad for that one lady in a bright white jacket trying to squeeze past me when it got really crowded.
 |
| Fall colours at Bestview |
- Using my poor commuter as a bit of a mountain bike in Bestview when I got flat-out tired of carrying it around. My bike skills leave a lot to be desired, but I didn't slide into the river once.
- Ducking into my own private short cut at G. Ross Lord park, across a small marsh and up a secret trail. Helps that I've set courses here for quite a few years. I got all three high-point controls in this park in 20 minutes - easy money!
- Finally catching a glimpse of one other Rogainer as I was leaving this park - I didn't know for sure he was in the race until we both got back, but a guy on a bike with a ski-O map board, backpack and mud in all kinds of places - who else could it be?
- Climbing the Himalayan peaks of Earl Bales park, clinging to nothing but mud and ripping out dying trees on the way up, just to show the organizers that their questionable choice in control location was not in vain.
- Seeing a big furry dog rolling in the mud like crazy and running madly through a creek, much to the chagrin of its grimacing owner - only to take a good look at my own clothes caked in mud and then to jump in to run down the creek myself. That dog and I had a bond that will never be broken.
- Letting the official Toronto bicycle routes carry me diagonally through totally new territory from Bathurst and Wilson all the way to Bayview and Eglinton. I rode like the wind. Smelly, smelly wind.
- Emerging from one of these bike trails totally turned around and with no idea what street I was on. I put on my orienteering hat, took out my compass for the second time and started theorizing based on contours and directions. Then I turned around and saw the street sign.
- Feeling like home-sweet-home when I finally entered Sunnybrook park, my favourite stomping grounds. Maybe not the best choice for the final set of points, but I know every rock and shrub, and I just wanted to take advantage of that.
- Because of construction (which I knew about!), having to detour up Li'l Bastard, a huge hill leading out from ET Seton to Thornecliffe, named thus by some members of my triathlon club who do hill repeats there. 9hrs15 into the race, I managed about 3 revolutions on my bike and got off to push.
- Having accumulated more than 3,500 points and with 15 minutes to spare, I briefly considered carrying my bike up the Riverdale stairs and over the river to get 5 more points at the Riverdale Farm. Very, very briefly.
- Being the first one back on the long course to smiles and cheers from the sleepy organizers!
 |
| Route Link (hand-drawn, precise) |
Where I did lose time was re-checking my routes too many times, when I should have committed them to memory - some of the guys had map boards (on the chest or on the bike) - that probably would have been great! I also could have eaten a bit more, doncha think? Should have been eating on the bus rides, although I did take those times to plan ahead. I'm also not sure I was right to skip some controls in the parks where I thought they were a bit too out of the way (wrong side of a river, too deep in the bush to deal with the bike) - I had gone out far after all, so maybe should have banked those points while I was there. I would have had to skip the parks at the end, but would have had more points. I think in my heart of hearts, I went with having an enjoyable experience rather than maxing out the race - kind of unusual for me!
 |
| Photo by CL |
--Distance: 102km
--Duration: 9hrs 45mins
--Garmin track (imprecise): 101.22km
--Points: 3,530
--O-Controls: 21
--Photo controls: 7
Location:
Toronto, ON
2012-10-13
Fall Bicycle Blow-out
I was deputized by my biking friend ML to buy him a trainer at the Fall Bike Show, and as a veteran of two bike shows, including the maddening blow-out last year, I felt totally up to the task. I knew I'd have to show up about 90mins early to wait at the front of the extremely long line to be able to run in at 10am and do a whirlwind survey of available equipment before the crowd rushed in. I spent that time researching the stuff I would want to buy too.
I did a great job assessing the scene and reporting to ML over email - but all the trainers were way more expensive this year than last year - some blowout! He eventually decided that it was all no good. He also wanted a powertap hub, but the Fall Show is not really the sort of place for fancy gear - it looks less like a pro expo and more like a junk yard sale! So onward to my own needs.
My priority #1 was a pair of winter riding pants - good luck finding that at the show where most stores try to sell off only their ugliest summer garments. I nearly bought just a pair of fairly lightly insulated leg warmers, but glad I didn't.
I also wanted more hydration - either the rear mounted saddle cage (which I don't actually want to use) or what my tri club buddy NN uses, the Speedfil aero bottle with feeder straws that come up to the handlebars. It's a similar hands-free solution to the ProfileDesign Aerodrink I currently have, but would offer even more liquid - 1.2L. But the bike shows aren't very triathlete-friendly either, so no go on that.
A few other items on my list were: an actual bike jersey, as I had always been turned off by their sheer ugliness and could never settle on one; a presta bike pump; maybe a multi-tool? I ended up thinking this was too much of a zoo to really choose the right thing.
But at the last second, I finally found one rack with really great winter gear! They had a very well-made women's bib from Bicycle Line that fit me perfectly and was really nicely insulated, especially in the knees, but was also well ventilated in the back. A quick consultation with a friend, and I took it. That alone made the trip worth it. It would take me through tomorrow's Rogaine very comfortably.
And as the last thing, I bought my roomie a birthday present: a bike maintenance stand. It was very nice and on a great sale as well. And I'll get to use it, haha.
I did a great job assessing the scene and reporting to ML over email - but all the trainers were way more expensive this year than last year - some blowout! He eventually decided that it was all no good. He also wanted a powertap hub, but the Fall Show is not really the sort of place for fancy gear - it looks less like a pro expo and more like a junk yard sale! So onward to my own needs.
My priority #1 was a pair of winter riding pants - good luck finding that at the show where most stores try to sell off only their ugliest summer garments. I nearly bought just a pair of fairly lightly insulated leg warmers, but glad I didn't.
I also wanted more hydration - either the rear mounted saddle cage (which I don't actually want to use) or what my tri club buddy NN uses, the Speedfil aero bottle with feeder straws that come up to the handlebars. It's a similar hands-free solution to the ProfileDesign Aerodrink I currently have, but would offer even more liquid - 1.2L. But the bike shows aren't very triathlete-friendly either, so no go on that.
A few other items on my list were: an actual bike jersey, as I had always been turned off by their sheer ugliness and could never settle on one; a presta bike pump; maybe a multi-tool? I ended up thinking this was too much of a zoo to really choose the right thing.
But at the last second, I finally found one rack with really great winter gear! They had a very well-made women's bib from Bicycle Line that fit me perfectly and was really nicely insulated, especially in the knees, but was also well ventilated in the back. A quick consultation with a friend, and I took it. That alone made the trip worth it. It would take me through tomorrow's Rogaine very comfortably.
And as the last thing, I bought my roomie a birthday present: a bike maintenance stand. It was very nice and on a great sale as well. And I'll get to use it, haha.
Location:
Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto, ON
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