• Problem 1: Too Noisy -  My wife couldn’t take the noise, so we had to watch a show that was less dialog centric… which really meant we didn’t enjoy it that much.
• Problem 2: Not a good workout - I had a really hard time getting to Zone 1… as you can see, the average was 130… which means I was below 130 as much as I was above it… since 130 is the BOTTOM of my Zone 1… it pretty much means this was a sub aerobic workout.
• Problem 3: Too Hot… I mean.. basically I was sweating like crazy… dripping with sweat… but sweat does not mean a good workout… it just means you are hot. In this case, the HR tells the truth.

Why do I care so much about these Zone 1/Zone 2 workouts… well… really, it’s kind of funny… based on watching my training lately, I am now convinced that my sub-optimal “fat burning” conditioning is a direct result of UNDER training, not OVER training. So, if I am going to get conditioned to sustain a solid 140-150 HR long distance effort… I need to train more in 140-150… and I am having a really hard time finding solutions for training at that zone on the bike.

In door workouts (at least with my current trainer) aren’t going to cut it. I need more resistance!!!!

Logbook Activity

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 08/19/2008
• Time: 20:30:00
• Total Time: 00:50:00.00
• Average Heart rate: 130
• Max Heart rate: 141
• Distance: 16 miles
• Average Speed: 19.2 mph

Now, I know that people say this isn’t good for you… but I think I probably fall outside the lines on this one. There are plenty of other things about me that fall outside the lines… so, I’m adding this to the list. However, drinking lots of water is clearly a good thing… and so I’ve developed this new strategy of rewarding my water drinking with coffee… I figure that this can only be a good thing.

As for food intake, yesterday worked out well… so, I’m going to shoot for 1,500 cals/day for a while and see where that takes me.

Breakfast - 134 cals

• Coffee - ahhh - 0 calories
• Greek Yogurt - 3/4 cup - 100 cals - 0g Fat, 20g Protein, 6g Carbs
• Peach - 1/2 cup - 34 cals - 0g Fat, 1g Protein, 7g Carbs
• Water!

Lunch - 330 Cals

• Water
• Iced Coffee
• 2 Slices 9 Grain Bread - 202 cals - 6g Protein, 2g Fat, 40g Carbs
• 4 Slices Turkey Breast - 125 cals - 23g Protein, 1g Fat, 6g Carbs
• Mustard - 2 cals

Snack - 31 cals

• Water
• Iced Coffee
• Celery Sticks - I love bitter celery… Crisp, Cold, that bite…. yum

Dinner - 437 Cals

• Water
• Vitamins
• Trader Joes Gnocchi - 1.5 cups - 250 cals - 9g Protein, 4g Fat, 45g Carbs
• Chicken Breast - 80 grams - 125 cals - 25g Protein, 3g Fat
• Zucchini Steamed - 1 cup - 19 cals - 2g Protein, 3g Carbs
• Broccoli Steamed - 1 cup - 27 cals - 2g Protein, 4g Carbs
• Parmesan Cheese (Hard) Grated - 4 grams - 16 cals - 1g Protein, 1g Fat
• Turkey Slices- 2 slices - 70 cals - 13g Protein, 1g Fat, 3g Carbs

So 1000 calories for the bulk of the day day… that’s pretty low… But I plan to do a little workout (possibly spinning while watching TV, if my wife doesn’t mind the noise)… and I’ll have a snack afterwards.
Post Workout Snack - 491 Cals!!!!

See — Now, that just ain’t right. I didn’t really need to eat this much… But I guess I can’t really beat myself up, I didn’t really eat that many calories throughout the day. But the truth is 500 calories after 9pm… is just not good healthy eating habits… no matter how healthy it was, and really… it wasn’t that healthy.

• Frozen Banana Smoothie -
  • 1 banana, 1 cup milk, 1 tbsp Peanut Butter
  • 305 cals, 38g Carbs, 10g Fat, 13g Protein
• Small slice of thin pizza - 185 Calories - 13g Protein, 5g Fat, 21g Carbs

Summary:

1492 Calories - 35% Protein, 17% Fat, 48% Carbs - I like that my Fat intake was around 17%, but I’d rather see about an even split on carbs and protein. I did a good job of drinking lots of water today.

Logbook Day Info

• Date: 08/19/2008
• Weight: 146
• Mood: Normal
• Sleep Hours: 5.5
• Sleep Pattern: Normal
• Calories: 1492

In less than 90 days I have my 3rd Ironman race… and unlike the last two years which had a relatively flat run course, this years race has 1,600ft of climbing (and descent) on the run course.

So, I did some googling, and found some “advice” on how to run down hill… and I picked a hill near my house that seems like a good place to start, and tonight I went out for some hill repeats.

The hill is 0.9 miles long and features a 190ft elevation change. I told my wife I was planning on this run and she said “That’s not a very big hill!”… Thanks for the support honey. Trust me, I’ve ridden up that thing on my fixie plenty of times… and it hurts… and as I zoom past other cyclists who are puffing and panting in their granny gears, I know its a real hill.

Not to mention the fact that, in the 6.2 mile run I did (3 repeats up and down) I did 623 ft of climbing and descending. Considering that the entire 26.2 mile course has only 1000ft more… I’m convinced that this will be a good training course for the next couple months. I plan to run this course at least once a week, if not twice a week for the next couple months.

I am going to double check the elevations on the race course again, and if there are steeper hills on the course, then I will find a suitable grade that mimics the worst of it. But as of tonight, I’m actually feeling pretty good about this location for working out on hills.

This main hill is actually .3 miles and 53 ft of climbing from my house. And my street is actually in the middle of this hill. So basically I ran in a big T pattern. From my house .3 miles (up 53 feet) then I turned up hill to do 1/2 of an up hill repeat. From there I was able to run 3 full down repeats and 2 full up repeats. Then a half up repeat and then back home down hill. Between each repeat (at the top and bottom of the hill) I stopped for 20-30 seconds to let my HR return to sub Zone 1.

I didn’t really try to keep my Heart rate in Zone 1/Zone 2… although I mostly kept it in Zone 2 and low Zone 3. I felt pretty strong and relaxed, and actually felt really good on the down hills.

I really tried to focus on my “down hill technique”… this mostly meant just letting my legs flow… and not trying to brake. I did get going pretty good, and it really felt like my legs were just swinging under my hips. I made a point of not “adding any speed” but instead just let gravity pull me, and I concentrated on watching my footing and not letting my brain tell me to slow down.

My splits:

• .3 Miles - up 53 ft  - 2:45 (9:10/mile) - 147 avg
• .4 Miles - up 46 ft - 3:29 (8:42/mile) - 152 avg
• Rest - 20 secs
• .9 Miles - down 190 ft - 6:15 (6:57/mile)- 158 avg
• Rest - 35 secs
• .9 Miles - up 190 ft - 7:57 (8:50/mile) - 153 avg
• Rest - 27 secs
• .9 Miles - down 190 ft - 6:51 (7:36/mile) - 148 avg
• Rest - 28 secs
• .9 Miles - up 190 ft - 8:36 (9:33/mile) - 150 avg
• Rest - 31 secs
• .9 Miles - down 190 ft - 7:15 (8:03/mile) - 141 avg
• Rest - 31 secs
• .5 Miles - up 144 ft - 5:05 (10:10/mile) - 144 avg
• .3 Miles - down 53 ft - 2:48 (9:20/mile) - 140 avg

Ironically, this is the first time I’ve seen sub-7min/mile in a long time… I guess that just goes to show how far out of shape I am. But that’s not the point really, the point is to focus on finishing my third Ironman.

Logbook Activity

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/18/2008
• Total Time: 00:53:57.00
• Average Heart rate: 149
• Max Heart rate: 169
• Distance: 6 miles
• Average Pace: 8:59.73/mile
• Ascent: 623 ft
• Descent: 623 ft

Breakfast - 94 cals

• Coffee - ahhh - 0 calories
• Greek Yogurt - 1/2 cup - 60 cals - 0g Fat, 11g Protein, 3.5g Carbs (3g Sugar)
• Nectarine - 1/2 fruit - 34 cals - .3g Fat, .6g Protein, 8g Carbs, 1g Dietary Fiber

Lunch - 403 Cals
Wilted Red Cabbage and Salmon Salad - Found a bunch of vegetables in the fridge, they looked like they had a sort of Asian influenced feel to them, so I got some frozen Salmon and sauted it up with spicy peppers and pepper flavored oil, then tossed in my chopped up vegetables with a little apple juice and vinegar to sort of wilt it all down. The mint and the jicama gave it a nice crisp sweetness to counter the vinegar. The Salmon wasn’t as spicy as I would have preferred it.

The salmon was kinda old (it had been in the freezer for almost a year) and it may have been thawed and refrozen… although it was in a vacuum packed freezer pouch. I’ll admit I’m a little nervous that it might make me sick… but it did taste good.

• Red Cabbage - 2 cups - 45 cals - .4g Fat, 2g Protein, 10g Carbs, 4g Dietary Fiber
• Red Onions -1/8 cup - N/A Cals
• Garlic - 1 clove - N/A Cals
• Yellow Bell Pepper - 1/8 cup - 10 cals -25% protein, 75% Carbs
• Mint Leaves - N/A cals
• Cilantro Leaves - N/A cals
• Jicama - 1/8 cup - 10 cals - 10% protein, 90% carbs
• Apple Juice - 1/8 cup - 20 cals - 100% carbs
• Rice Wine Vineger - 1/8 cup - 5 cals
• Olive Oil & Hot Pepper Sesame Seed Oil - 1Tbspn - 120 cals.
• Salmon - 130g - 190 cals - 45 cals Fat

Dinner: - 855 Cals
Turkey Burger w/Cheese, Baked Tator Tots & Sweet Potato Fries, Catalonia Style Spinach, Fresh Heirloom Tomatoes!

Catalonia Spinach - This dish is awesome, from Spain… You basically saute up some Garlic and Pinenuts with Olive Oil, then add the Raisins and Spinach… Quite tasty!

Probably could have done without the cheese on my burger, but my wife made it without realizing I was trying to cut down the calories.

• 1/3 pound Ground Turkey- 250 cals - 29g Protein, 14g Fat
• Whole Wheat Bun - 150 cals - 7g Protein, 1.5g Fat, 29g Carbs, 5g Dietary Fiber, 3g Sugars
• 1 Slice Cheddar Cheese - 110 cals - 9g Fat, 7 g Protein
• Tator Tots & Sweet Potato Fries - 200cals - 10g Fat, 2g Protein, 23g Carbs
• 1/2 Giant Heirloom Tomato - 24 cals - 2g Protein, 4g Carbs
• Spinach - N/A Cals
• Pine Nuts - 50 cals
• Raisins - 20 cals
• Olive Oil - 50 cals

Post Workout Snack - 300 cals
Less than 1500 calories for the day by dinner… means I can do an evening workout and treat myself to a healthy snack. I choose a frozen banana soy protein powder milk smoothie.

• 1 Small Banana - 90 cals - 1g Protein, 20g Carbs
• 1 Scoop Soy Protein Poweder - 110 cals - 1g Fat, 24g Protein
• 1 cup 1% Milk -100 cals - 2.5g Fat, 8g Protein, 13g Carbs

Summary for the day:

1650 Calories - yes, that’s low… but I know that my body doesn’t really need that many calories, and I really want to shred some fat in the next 80 days before my Ironman. If I’m going to be underconditioned, I’d rather be as light as possible.

I felt pretty good most of the day. I was definitley feeling hungry. I know I didn’t drink enough water… but I don’t feel like I was missing anything. I felt really good on the 6 mile run I just did, so I don’t feel like I was way out of zone on fuel for the day.

Almost evenly split on Carbs (34%), Fat (34%), and Protein (32%) Calories.  The fat calories seem a bit high.

Logbook Day Info

• Date: 08/18/2008
• Weight: 148
• Mood: Normal
• Sleep Hours: 7
• Sleep Pattern: Normal
• Calories: 1650

I mixed in all of these exercises kind of randomly…

• 100 pushups 4 sets of 25
• 100 squats 2 sets of 50
• 50 crunches 2 sets of 25
• 25 bicycle crunches
• 12 each side oblique twist situps
• 25 straight leg situps
• 12 each side leg cross overs
• 15 each side wide windshield wipers
• 15 each side narrow windshield wipers
• 10 v-ups — very sad attempts after all the other abs

Logbook Activity

• Type: Strength Training
• Date: 08/17/2008
• Time: 20:24:47
• Total Time: 00:30:00.00

In November I plan to race the Sliverman Iron Distance race. It should be fun, my third Iron distance triathlon. It should be… wait a second… did I mention I’m completely under trained? Did I mention that the Silverman course is probably the toughest course in all Ironman courses? 10,000 ft of climbing on the bike… no big deal.. but the worst part, for me, is 1,600 feet of climbing on the run course… and oh yeah… that also means 1,600 feet of DOWN HILL also.

If I’m going to survive this run, I need to get comfortable… or at least… more comfortable with running down hill.

I quick Google Search on running down hill reveals a couple of suggestions. Things I’ve heard in the past. Now I need to practice actually doing these things.

• Practice Makes Perfect - There is no substitute for practice when it comes to teaching your body how to perform a particular task. Especially when that task is as specialized as running down hill. So… I need to practice. I’ve already spotted a couple of hills that I think would be good tough places to practice these techniques. I’m going to look for some hills that are as close to the same grade/distance as the hills on the course.
• Shorten your Stride - Why? Well, I have to admit, I’m not sure why this is so important. Some advice just says “cause it’s easier on your body”… ok, but why is it easier? I do recall my PT making this suggestion, and his explanation related to the general risks of over striding. I already have a problem with over striding, and so this is a chance for me to either do some real damage to myself, or run safely.
• Run with higher cadence - This is certainly related to shorter strides. If you run with a higher cadence (how many steps you take per minute) then you will naturally have shorter steps. One site I found recommends 100 steps per foot per minute. Wow! That’s a lot. My normal cadence is around 90 per foot per minute…
• Let Gravity Work For You - I wonder what this really means. Of course, it sounds nice, let gravity do the work. I mean, sure, I don’t want to do the work… I’ll let gravity do it for me? More specific advice seems to be, don’t fight gravity, don’t “put the brakes on”, as that will just make it harder on you. Now, I know for a fact that when I’m running down my street, I am often putting the brakes on… but for goodness sake… I don’t want to trip and crash and tumble down the street into traffic? So, I guess this is just one of those “practice and get used to the feeling of gravity pulling you down the street”. Hmmm….
• The Don’ts: Don’t slouch, don’t shuffle, don’t swing your arm - Other then just being good running form advice, I’m not sure that these related to down hill running. I guess the key is, run with good form.
• Run Perpendicular to the Road - Ahh… well, now this is the key… The idea is, run as if you were on a flat surface. Ok, easier said then done. But this means, fight the urge to lean back (guilty!) I think the key to being successful at this is to practice so that you get used to the feeling.

I found a couple of great narratives in the “ultra running” circles where they discuss this topic at length. My friend Michelle (ultrarunning queen) always talks about doing the hills in ultra running… walk up and down… hmm. That doesn’t seem like a reasonable option on a race course that is all hills. It makes sense that ultraruns, which are usually on trails, out in the woods and hills, would involve a lot of climbing and descending… so I guess they know what they’re talking about.

One of the take aways from these ultra running narratives is that you need to train your “brain” to properly navigate the hill, and let gravity do the work. If I try to dissect that, I come down to the idea that your brain’s natural behavior when running down hill is to be fearful and therefor it tells you to brake and slow down. But if you can train your brain instead to focus on your foot placement to avoid hazards and land in a manner that will be safe for you muscles and connective tissues then you can let gravity do the “work” while you focus your efforts on keeping your brain in check doing the right thing.

Sounds like I need to practice!

I’m not going to be down on myself for this, but I am further convinced that my year of random, and not very consistent “training” is clearly working up to a not very well conditioned athlete. Which is to say… I am going to need to be VERY realistic about my Ironman this year. This needs to be a “just survive” race. Which… is still worth running… but if I want to finish, I need to be realistic.

These splits are slow, true… but I did keep going, taking short walk breaks each mile to get the HR down to 130. I also took one off-clock break when I stopped at the MetMa to buy some cold water and energy drink.

I just double checked the Silverman website, and discovered that in addition to the 10,000 feet of climbing on the bike (no problem, I love to climb!), the run course for Silverman includes 1,600 feet of running UP and DOWN hill. I don’t mind running up hill… although… I’ll be slow… but running DOWN hill! Oh boy… and from the looks of it… this run profile is literally all UP or DOWN… there doesn’t appear to be any FLAT sections of the run course. OMG!

• 8:59 - 140 avg
• 9:17 - 146 avg
• 9:25 - 145 avg
• 10:40 - 148 avg
• 11:01 - 145 avg
• 10:46 - 145 avg
• 10:34 - 138 avg
• 9:55 - 136 avg
• 10:12 - 138 avg
• 11:10 - 140 avg

Logbook Activity

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/16/2008
• Time: 14:00:00
• Total Time: 1:44:59.00
• Distance: 10 miles
• Average Pace: 10:29.37/mile

First I stopped at my friend Dave’s house to pick up a prototype of some Sweat365 embroidered hats he had made for me. They look nice.

Then about a mile later I stopped at “Everyday Athlete” a cool local independent running, cycling, swimming, triathlon store that sponsors the Swim Across Lake Washington swim next weekend. My plan was to register for the swim, but I didn’t realize they only take cash for race registration. And I didn’t have that much cash on me.

Here’s a break down of the ride.

• Leg 1: 17.8 Miles - 59:52 - 17.84mph - 141 avg - My home to Dave’s house. Two big climbs - all street riding.
• Leg 2: 18.6 miles - 1:02:34 - 17.84 mph - 134 avg - Dave’s house to Renton Airport. Several medium climbs - all street riding - some stop/go traffic in down town Bellevue.
• Leg 3: 14.8 miles - 50:02 - 17.75 mph - 139 avg - Renton Airpot to Home. Medium/long climbs - all street riding.

Logbook Activity

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 08/16/2008
• Time: 10:30:00
• Total Time: 2:52:28.00
• Average Heart rate: 139
• Max Heart rate: 165
• Distance: 51.2 miles
• Average Speed: 17.81 mph
• Max Speed: 35 mph

Logbook Activity

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/14/2008
• Total Time: 00:32:17.90
• Distance: 3.25 miles
• Average Pace: 9:56.03/mile