Saturday, January 27, 2007

training round-up, week ending 01-27-07

just another week on the schedule...

sunday, jan. 21

morning
  • trail run (weekly long run), 11 miles, muscular endurance (zone 3 & zone 4), rose bowl arroyo trail, start time 8:30am
monday, jan. 22

morning
  • swim (technique & pull), 2000 yards, aerobic conditioning (zone 2), mcdonald's swim stadium, start time 6:00am
  • weight training (chest & abs), 30 minutes, immediately following

evening

  • kung fu (recovery), 60 minutes, aerobic conditioning (zone 2), loker track stadium, start time 6:00pm

tuesday, jan. 23

morning

  • stationary bike (build), 90 minutes, muscular endurance (zone 3 & zone 4), lyons center, start time 6am
evening
  • run (recovery), 20 minutes, loker track stadium, start time 6:30pm
  • kung fu (recovery), 40 minutes, immediately following

wednesday, jan. 24

rest day

thursday, jan. 25

morning
  • swim (build), 3200 yards, aerobic conditioning (zone 3), mcdonald's swim stadium, start time 6am
  • weight training (upper & lower back), 30 minutes, immediately following
evening
  • run (tempo), 4 miles, anaerobic conditioning (zone 4), loker track stadium, start time 6:30pm

friday, jan. 26

morning

  • weight training (chest & abs), 45 minutes, lyons center, start time 7:00am

evening

  • run (active rest), 12 minutes, aerobic conditioning (zone 2), loker track stadium, start time 5:30pm
  • kung fu (active rest), 60 minutes, immediately following

saturday, jan. 27

morning

  • kung fu (active rest), casuda canyon park, start time 10:30 am

Thursday, January 25, 2007

another visionquest

Originally written for the USC Triathlon Newsletter 01-26-07:

Training is ramping up, and by now you have probably begun to wonder just what in the world you are doing, and just what in the world you have taken on, and just why in the world are you doing what you are doing.

Ah yes. Who am I? What am I doing? Why am I here? The classic existential questions that have permeated the spirit of humanity since its primordial awakening of consciousness out of the great void of cosmic existence.

Never fear. You are not alone. And never have been.

The Native Americans of the Great Plains--the Lakota Sioux most notable among them--had a name for the phenomenon you are experiencing. The labeled it one of the 7 sacred rites every person must go through at least once in their lives. In the Lakota language they called it hanblecheyapi, or in English, visionquest.

In the visionquest a person subjected themselves to great physical trials--for the Lakota, this meant 4 days in a circle without food or sleep and just 1 flask of water. The trials were designed to induce them into a deeply reflective state, wherein they were forced to look inward, abandoning all reference to the things they knew or the world around them. The point was to reach a state in which the perception of existence was reduced to the most basic, most fundamental, and most profound components of life and human perception of life. It was in this state that the Native Americans believed that a person would become receptive to the truths of the universe, and better understand themselves, their relationship with the whole of creation, and what it was that they were meant to do.

For the tribes of the Great Plains, the visionquest was of paramount importance to human life. Because they believed in something that so many in the modern world seemed to have forgotten in the chaos of bills and paychecks and deadlines and demands: we must all have a vision in our lives.

A vision of what it is that we should be. A vision of what we should do. A vision of why it means what to us it means. So that we can become something more than what we are. So that we can begin to live the way we were meant to live. Because otherwise we are nothing more than just animals. Because otherwise we're not human.

Without a vision, there is no direction, and without direction, we are lost.

And that is why you are here.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

training round-up, week ending 1-20-07

originally, i had planned to take advantage of the long MLK weekend with a long brick of 80 mile bike ride and a 10 mile run. but the weather was just too damn cold (morning temps were in the 30s), my legs were too damn sore, and i was too damn tired. i figured the gods and my body were telling me i needed to take some extra time for recovery, so i woke up monday morning and just went right back to sleep.

tuesday morning, however, i felt so guilty that i decided to go ahead and put in some time on the stationary bike. according to an article i read in triathlete magazine, the equivalency ration between stationary bike and road ride is roughly 1:1.5--that is, for the same level of pedal resistance, 1 hour on the stationary bike is the same as 1.5 hours (1:30) on the road, because on the road you tend to stop pedaling and coast or stop for traffic, while on a stationary bike you just pedal non-stop the entire time. i figured that an 80 mile bike ride for me is about 4 hours, so that meant i needed a little more than 160 minutes (1.5 x 160 minutes = 240 minutes, or 4 hours) on the stationary bike. i ended up putting in 165 minutes. and then i did 15 minutes on the treadmill just to make myself feel better and claim that i did a brick.

the rest of the week was just about managing recovery from the long session...and i was feeling it too. i cut back on the swim, and even then i had a hard time finishing the workouts. i was tempted to cut out the run, but i know that this is currently lacking in my training to date, and so i went ahead and kept in maintenance runs. nothing fancy. but all told, by friday evening i was feeling weak, and definitely took things easy heading into the weekend.

oh joy joy joy.

sunday, jan. 14

rest day

monday, jan. 15

rest day

tuesday, jan. 16

morning

  • brick: stationary bike (long ride substitute) + treadmill run, 165 minutes bike + 15 minutes run, muscular endurance (zone 3 & zone 4), lyons center, start time 6am
  • weight training (lower back), 15 minutes, immediately following
evening
  • kung fu (recovery), 60 minutes, loker track stadium, start time 6:30pm
  • weight training (chest, abs), 20 minutes, immediately following

wednesday, jan. 17

morning

  • trail run (maintenance run), 6 miles, aerobic conditioning (zone 3), Rose Bowl Arroyo Trail, start time 8:30am

evening

  • swim (pull & technique), 2200 yards, aerobic conditioning (zone 3 & zone 4), macdonald's swim stadium, start time 2:30pm

thursday, jan. 18

morning

  • stationary bike (recovery ride), 30 minutes, aerobic conditioning (zone 3), lyons center, start time 6am
  • weight training (chest, shoulders, abs), 30 minutes, immediately following
evening
  • kung fu (recovery), 60 minutes, loker track stadium, start time 6:30pm

friday, jan. 19

morning

  • swim (maintenance), 2400 yards, aerobic & anaerobic conditioning (zone 3 & zone 4), lyons center, start time 6am
  • weight training (back, legs), 30 minutes, immediately following

evening

  • run (recovery), 12 minutes, aerobic conditioning (zone 2), loker track stadium, start time 5:30pm
  • kung fu (active rest), 60 minutes, immediately following

saturday, jan. 20

morning

  • kung fu (active rest), casuda canyon park, start time 10:30 am

Monday, January 15, 2007

an extra off-day of poetry

i was supposed to do a long brick today with an 80-mile bike ride and 10-mile run. but i woke up this morning and i said "fuck it." the forecast was for temps in the 30s and gusting winds of 30mph. and i was tired, and my legs were still sore, and i just didn't want to get out of bed.

some days you just need to take the day off. some days you just don't have it in you. some days it's just not there.

and i'm starting to believe that those days are the days when something--your body, your subconscious, the triathlon gods, whatever--is telling you it'd be a wise (or wiser) decision to just let everything go. those days are the days when you might end up doing more damage by pushing on the workout than by just giving your body, your mind, and your spirit a rest and a chance to recover and recharge. the alternative is to keep struggling through, and either crushing yourself over into the over-training zone or burning yourself out so far that you end up taking more time out later on down the training schedule.

and i'm guessing that's what's going on with me today.

so when the alarm went off, i hit snooze, rolled over and curled back under my nice warm quilts, and didn't bother waking up until 9:30am. and then, after a hot shower and during a very long hot cup of cinnamon hazelnut coffee, i decided i was going to take this day off and not do a single goddamn thing.

except browse the internet for poetry.

yeah, so every once in awhile i kind of start perusing for poetry. in the bookstore, in the library, in my own home. on a bus stop, on a street sign, on a billboard. over the radio, over tv, even over the internet. call it a habit. call it the musings of a lazy mind avoiding work. call it my subconscious seeking sanity in an insane world. call it what you will.

i just find it comforting.

and it really helps. i just can't explain it. it really does. in the disorienting blindness and endless motion of a 2.4 mile swim. in the the agonizing reaches and pain of a 112 mile bike ride. in the interminable monotony and deepening dazed meanderings of a 26.2 mile run. it just helps.

i think it's because it reminds me that i'm just not a creature of staggering steps and quivering muscles and dripping sweat. i think it's because it reminds me that life is more than just a struggle to endure and finish and survive a race, metaphorical or real. i think it's because it reminds me that there is a place of infinite beauty and incomparable grace far greater than the abyss, no matter how deep the darkness or vast the empty loneliness or awesome the void.

i think it's because it reminds me that i'm human.

and because it reminds me that there is more to life than this...

and more than this to life.

here's what i found:

http://jonathangetsalife.blogspot.com/2007/01/more-poetry.html


it helps.

and with it, i can go on.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

training round-up, week ending 1-13-07

man, i'm fat. and i'm eating a ton.

normally i go home for break and end up losing weight because my parents just aren't that big on food. but this past visit ended up being quite a bit more calorically heavy than i thought, because i can see the weight in the mirror...and the mirror never lies.

i'm guessing i put on about 5 pounds over the break. doesn't sound like a lot. but it is considering that's 5 pounds of useless weight i get to carry around during 2-5 hour workouts. and any time exercise starts getting above 60 minutes you'll start to feel the extra weight. every ounce of it.

i've been back on the training program for about 10 days now, and i'm still not seeing the weight go off. but i can't cut back too much on calories because i'm in build phase right now and i need all the nutrition i can get.

losing the weight without hurting the training may be a little tricky. but it's important to dump this fat. because otherwise i'm going to be hating life even more than i usually do in the workouts. that, and i'm just not that sexy with love handles hanging.


this sucks.

sunday, jan. 7

rest day

monday, jan. 8

morning

  • swim (build & technique), 3200 yards, aerobic conditioning (zone 3 & zone 4), macdonald's stadium, start time 6am
  • weight training (chest, back, abs), 45 minutes, immediately following

tuesday, jan. 9

morning

  • stationary bike (build ride), 75 minutes, muscular endurance (zone 3 & zone 4), lyons center, start time 6am
  • weight training (lower back), 15 minutes, immediately following
evening
  • kung fu (recovery), 60 minutes, loker track stadium, start time 5pm

wednesday, jan. 10

morning

  • swim (build & technique), 2100 yards, aerobic conditioning (zone 3 & zone 4), macdonald's swim stadium, start time 6am
  • weight training (abs), 30 minutes, immediately following

evening

  • trail run (weekly long run), 8 miles, aerobic & anaerobic conditioning (zone 3 & zone 4), Rose Bowl Arroyo Trail, start time 3:30pm

thursday, jan. 11

rest day

friday, jan. 12

morning

  • swim (build, 8x200), 2600 yards, aerobic & anaerobic conditioning (zone 3 & zone 4), lyons center, start time 6am
  • weight training (chest, shoulders, abs), 30 minutes, immediately following

evening

  • kung fu (active rest), 60 minutes, loker track stadium, start time 5:30pm

saturday, jan. 13

morning

  • kung fu (active rest), casuda canyon park, start time 10:30 am

Sunday, January 07, 2007

training round-up, week ending 1-6-07

getting back from the holiday break/recovery period. i wanted to hit things a little bit harder then i did, but i had a flare-up of some knee pain on the run and so decided to postpone the scheduled weekend long trail run until tuesday.

but apart from that, all systems are go.

sunday, dec. 31

rest day

monday, jan. 1

morning
  • brick: stationary bike, 30 minutes + treadmill, 30 minutes (recovery), aerobic conditioning (zone 2)
  • weight training (chest, abs), 30 minutes, immediately following

tuesday, jan. 2

rest day

wednesday, jan. 3


morning
  • stationary bike (build), 60 minutes, muscular endurance (zone 3 & zone 4), lyons center, start time 7am
  • weight training (legs, abs), 30 minutes, immediately following
thursday, jan. 4

morning
  • long swim (build), 3200 meters, muscular endurance (zone 3), rose bowl aquatic center, start time 10:30am
  • weight training (chest, back), 30 minutes, immediately following
friday, jan. 5

morning
  • trail run (easy), 6 miles, aerobic conditioning (zone 2 & zone 3), rose bowl, start time 9am
evening
  • kung fu (recovery), 60 minutes, rose bowl, start time 3:30pm
saturday, jan. 6

morning
  • kung fu (recovery), 3 hours, casuda canyon park, start time 10:30am