Progress? Really?

If tonight's plan unfolds as planned, we'll find out tonight. (That's almost a tongue twister, or a very simple yet profound quote from someone ancient and/or famous.) Anyway, I believe I began to finally make some progress in the pool Sunday. It was my third visit back to the water and as I was wrapping up my mile I fell into a slow but comfortable pace that I was able to maintain for quite a few laps. I was still pausing for a few seconds to de-fog my goggles, but I didn't need to switch to the breaststroke to catch my breath. The funny thing was that being out of breath wasn't the problem. I was breathing TOO MUCH. I guess I was hyperventilating trying to take too much air in on each breath. What I ended up doing was concentrating on expelling the air I already had and just taking little "puffs" of breath every two strokes. I know I should be working at breathing every three strokes, but I'm just going to go with whatever works. I've done 2.75 miles on three visits and would like to get another mile in tonight.

Speed work last night was fun. Kind of. Frank and I were running with Patrick and one of his friends from school. Both good runners. Both fast runners. Both young runners. After a nice long warm-up we did 4 X 200 meter relays. It was all I could do not to get left in the dust. I'm just not a sprinter anymore. Give me some 800s any day over 200s. Yuck! And it was just too cold to be pushing that hard. I was having trouble breathing and my hamstring was bothering me afterward. Just too cold. We did eventually move onto some 800s. I held back a bit from what I did last week. Frank and I averaged around 3:24 or so for 3. It was mildly unpleasant weather to run in. We had tiny little snowflakes or pellets that stung when they hit you in the eyes. There was a wind that made the 28 degrees feel a little bit chillier. With a nice cool-down I had 6.75 miles in for the evening.

I've been trying to get on the bike as much as possible lately. I managed to get in 10 miles this morning in 40 minutes. Is there a secret to riding a bike on a stationary trainer? It's so boring. And it hurts. The lactic acid builds up so quickly for me. I'm just glad that when I get out on the road it's so much easier to ride than it is indoors. Give me hills. Give me a headwind. Just let me outside!

But inside is what I've got for the next few months. And it's what I'm using to burn off all the additional Holiday calories I've been consuming lately. The cookies. The fudge. The truffles. Not to mention sampling Christmas/Winter/Holiday beers from an assortment of brewers. Great Lakes Christmas Ale is by far the best. Sam Adams Winter Lager isn't doing much for me this year. Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is good, but be sure to pour it into a glass. It's bottle conditioned, leaving a layer of yeast on the bottom. I still have some Sam Adams Cranberry Lambics to get into as well as an Old Fezziwig. (I don't want to "get into" old Fezziwig. I don't swing that way. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's another Sam Adams brew named after the character from A Christmas Carol.)

All for now. Be on the lookout for a 2008 season re-cap, my take on this year's Ironman Triathlon World Championships, as well as the usual training updates.

Peaking in December?

Usually, December is not the month of choice for peaking. Not in the Northern Hemisphere at least. But that's what I began suspecting at last night's track workout. We had a foursome show up on a rainy 48 degree December evening. After a two mile warm-up we decided on running 800s. How many? That wasn't determined at the start.

My first 800 came in at 2:54. 2:54? I've only had a couple sub 3 minute splits for 800s this year. And those came during the height of my speed training. Surely, it must have been a lucky first attempt.

My second 800 clocked in at 2:56. "Crap!", I remember saying as I checked my time. I wasn't upset. I just didn't know where this was coming from.

My third 800 was in 2:57. OK, what's going on here? How am I doing this in December when I couldn't do it in September or October? Granted, it was a nice night for running. But there was a nasty headwind coming down the final straight.

My fourth and final 800 was back at 2:54. I knew I wanted to make sure I got under 3:00. And I did. I don't know what happened last night. Maybe I'm climbing up to another level. Maybe I just had a good night. Hopefully it will continue next year. Another 2.25 miles for a cool-down and I was done.

In other news: Sunday I hit the pool for the first time in over a year. I just wanted to get in the water and do some laps. I had no goal for time or distance. Once I reached half a mile, Mrs. P suggested I do an entire mile. So I did. 64 laps = 1 mile. That's a lot of swimming. Especially for someone who has horrible form and horribly uncoordinated breathing. Lots of work to do this winter.

This morning I jumped on the bike for 10 miles. Oh, how I dislike the trainer. But, like swimming, I need to put in the time in the hope of having success next season. At least with the bike, if I stop pedaling, I won't sink!

2008 Tour de Ashland Half Marathon...

Or as I have come to call it, The Run From Hell! (If and when Hell freezes over, that is.)

I was going to go nice on this race, until this morning. This morning, when I checked to see if the results had been posted yet, I found that my name was missing. It is missing from the age group results. It is missing from the overall results. The race was chip timed and they pulled tags from the bibs. That means they should have two records of me actually finishing the event, but no mention. It's like I drove for an hour and paid $35 for a glorified training run in weather conditions that I wouldn't run around the block in. There was minimal course support with cars zipping by on all the main streets. The weather sucked. It was around 20 degrees at the start with winds gusting to who-knows-what. It was colder than the 12 degree race before Thanksgiving! And then there were the hills. It was all uphill. I'm convinced of it. I don't care what the elevation chart shows. A downhill with a stiff headwind is no longer a downhill. At best it's flat.

So let's summarize: I drove for an hour, during which my service engine soon light came on, paid $35 to run uphill for an hour and forty-one minutes in the cold. Yeah, that's exactly my idea of fun. There's a reason I have NEVER run a race in December and unless it's a race somewhere far to the south and/or west of Cleveland, I never will again. Rant over.

Aside from all that, I had a not-to-bad run. I knew the course would be hilly, although having never been to Ashland, I didn't know how hilly it would be. If they could get a secure handle on the traffic issue, this would be a SWEET fall half to do. On a sunny morning with temps in the 40s to 50s, no wind, and the trees full of color, this has the potential to be one of the more scenic runs around. I like the challenge of the course, just not under December conditions.

I did have a funny moment yesterday after arriving home. I thought I had lost my two gel packs because I had forgotten to zip the pocket in my windbreaker vest I had put them in. As it turns out, I had zipped them into a pocket i didn't even knew was on there. It was all the way around on the back. I kept hearing something bouncing and just thought it was my car keys. (They were in a back pocket of another shirt I was wearing.) When I went to put my clothes in the washing machine, I felt something in my vest, but I couldn't find the pocket! Eventually I was able to locate and extract the gels. Man I could have used them during the run! Those hills and that wind really took a toll on me.

Today we're heading to the Rec. Center. I'm going to be hitting the pool for the first time in well over a year. I'm also going to be calling the race director to find out where I am. 

My Big Three

I was a little bored after lunch today, so I went ahead and made it official regarding my other two "A" races for 2009. I'm pleased to announce that the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon and the Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon will be joining my half Ironman triathlon attempt at Steelhead to form my Big Three races next year. Who needs an off-season? I've got some work to do!

A Hill Workout?

I haven't done one of those in a while. But that's exactly what we ended up doing last night. The conditions on the track were not that great. Three quarters was crunchy snow and the home straight was ice. I was planning to do 300 meter repeats with 100 meter recovery down the icy stretch when I heard crunchy footsteps that weren't coming from me. I was surprised to see that Dan and Patrick were making their way onto the track for some speed work. I honestly didn't expect to see anyone else last night. It was about 28 degrees with a bit of a breeze which was chilly, but it wasn't snowing or anything. A not too unpleasant night to run.

After doing about a mile and a half of warm-up laps it was decided that we head over to Reagan Park to do some hill training. After a short drive, an icy parking lot crossing, and an equally icy trail descent, we arrived at the main road which was miraculously clear and dry. Dan and I decided to head one direction looking for Patrick, who had run over from the track. Up one hill without seeing him yet we head back the other direction and up the other hill. As we were heading back the other direction yet again, we see him.

He suggests 10 times the hill we had just done. Now these hills aren't the largest around, but they're decent for sprinting up. And that's exactly what we did. I've done hill work this year, but not all out sprinting. It was fun, until a point. On about the third repetition, my legs were noticeably more Jello-like. And that transition continued through the rest of the sprints. I'd be OK up to a certain point on the hill and then it would just hit me. My breathing would become very labored, my legs would get very heavy, my feet became impossibly to move quickly. So I would just push as hard as I could to the top.

And before I knew it, we were done. Not a long workout, but a hard one. I plan on returning there in the next couple months to prepare for the stair climb in February. After a short cool-down, I was off for home and a hot shower.

Some other recent training highlights include getting my 30 miles in on the bike trainer on Friday. Which I think is WAY too long to ride indoors. I think I'll end up doing shorter but more intense rides from now on. On Sunday I was able to get in nearly 15 miles running, doing two laps of my 7.4 mile loop around the house. The weather was right around freezing with occasional raindrops, icy patches on the ground, and a stiff breeze that continued to grow the longer I was out. I was cold at times and hot at times. It all depended upon which direction I was running.

That's all for today. We're all either sick or fighting off becoming sick, so I'm not sure what Saturday is going to hold. We're either going to Lakewood to run a 5K together or I'm going to Ashland to run one last half marathon for 2008. I think it will be a Friday decision.