It's decision time.
As much as I'd love the idea of having all sorts of free time so that I could run, bike, swim and golf to my heart's content - I don't.
There are these things called 'work' and 'sleep' that take up a whole bunch of hours and then there's the fact that I kinda like spending time with Doug, that I kinda like to cook and eat and do the odd load of laundry.
So there really just isn't enough time in the week to do everything I want to do.
Which means that there are times when I need to make decisions. When doing one thing clearly means not doing another.
On Saturday, I ran 11k. Why?
Because a) there was no triathlon club brick workout and b) there is a half marathon in October that I kinda want to do.
So I ran 11k because, when I count backwards, Saturday is the first official long run of the training plan if I want to get all my runs and distance in.
So I ran 11k.
Problem is that next Saturday, there is a triathlon club brick workout. And next Sunday, I have a 1500m open water race that I'm doing with my sister. And there is no way that I will have the time or the energy to do both of those things AND run 14k.
The following weekend gets worse. A brick workout and a 16k run? Now we're bordering on unwise and overtraining.
It comes down to this. If I want to do the triathlon club for the rest of this season, I don't think I can safely and sensibly train for a fall half marathon. And if I want to train for a fall half-marathon, I don't think I can do the triathlon club. At least not this year.
What is a girl to do?
I've been going back and forth about this for a week now and I'm still not 100% in one camp or another but I think I've made a decision.
I will train for a fall half marathon. If the training goes well, I'll run it. If it doesn't. If I spend every long run battling low blood pressure, plugged ears and other annoyances like I did last spring, I'll pull the plug and perhaps get in a few brick workouts in September.
And next spring, I will be more focused in how and when I race so that a Saturday morning brick workout enhances my workout schedule instead of overdoing it.
Showing posts with label brick training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brick training. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2015
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
My First Official Brick Workout
Saturday morning I woke up before my alarm. I immediately turned my basal insulin down to 50% for 4 hours. I got dressed, had a bowl of Dorset cereal with kefir and a banana sliced on top for which I took 1.5 units of insulin instead of 5.
I was heading to my first Saturday morning brick training workout and had no idea what to do with my insulin or my blood sugar. I was playing it very conservatively because I did not want to find myself having to pull over in the middle of a workout due to a low.
I tossed my running shoes and my glucometer into a bag, along with six emergency packages of fruit chews (in addition to the four that were already shoved into my the bag on my bike) and headed off. I was the first one to arrive. Followed soon after by three very young, lean, fit-looking people with bikes that could eat mine for breakfast.
I forced myself not to bolt and ignored the voice in my head that said to run away now while no one knew me so they'd never know who the crazy girl was who showed up and then left.
Two friends showed up, thank heavens, and assured me that I would indeed be fine. Perhaps a little tired at the end but fine.
The plan for the day was the following. Cycle about 5k to one of the athlete's houses. Our coach would bring his car loaded with our shoes and meet us there. Then head off for a hilly 12k (or so) ride (at tempo pace) to a meeting point. From there, we would do a 5 1/2k loop at race pace. Most people would do it three times. A few of us, including me, would do it twice. Cycle back to our shoes. Go for a run. My run was to be a 2k run (run out 1k, turn around, run back), rest two minutes, then run out 1k again, rest 1 minute, and run back 1k. Cycle about 6k home.
Grand total: 42k of riding. 4k of running. Time spent moving: a little over 2 hours.
That's how it worked out on paper. Here's how it worked out in real life.
Five minutes before leaving, my pump alarmed to tell me that battery in my continuous glucose monitor transmitter was low and instructed me to order a new one. Bloody hell! I've worn this transmitter for about 8 months now. I knew that would happen eventually but not on the Saturday of a long weekend. I couldn't order a new one until Tuesday now and I have no idea how long a low battery will survive. Hours? Days? Weeks? I tossed my glucometer in my bag just in case and headed out, grateful for and yet cursing technology.
I kept up fairly well during the warm-up ride. Everyone did a 'leisurely' 25km/hour pace and I pedalled madly to keep up. It worked. I was quite warm quite quickly.
The tempo ride up and down the hills outside of town was faster than my race pace. It was crazy. Everyone else was just gone. One friend, who was on an easy week to recover from her Olympic triathlon the week before, held back with me but the rest of the group was just gone. I would have despaired if I wasn't so freaking proud of myself for keeping up such an aggressive pace (for me anyway).
Then came the 5 1/2k loops. "I want you to race this" were the instructions. And I want your times at the end of the loop because we'll do this again in a few weeks.
"I've been going faster than race pace already" I mumbled. "This should be interesting".
It was. The loop had some pretty tough sections with some pretty steep hills. I pedalled hard up the hills and hard on the flats. We finished the loop in about 14 minutes. Rest two minutes and do it again.
The instructions on the way back were 'go at tempo pace. Don't race it but it shouldn't be easy.'
I was dropped, and I mean dropped, within a minute. I lost sight of everyone despite forcing my tired legs to dig deep and hold a 30+ km/hour pace on anything that looked remotely flat. By the time I made it back to the meeting point, everyone else was in the running shoes and ready to run.
I changed quickly, received my instructions and headed off...for what turned out to be a really good run.
I ran the kilometres in 6:12, 6:18, 5:49 and 5:54 min/k. Anyone who knows my running speed knows that this is crazy fast. And yet it felt pretty comfortable.
I cycled home, guzzled my chocolate milk, stretched, showered and spent the day not doing too much. It was fun and I'll definitely do it again.
Blood sugar report: I hung out around 10.0 for most of the bike ride. I had dropped to 7.9 by the time we were ready to cycle back so I had a package of fruit chews. I finished the run at 8.9 and was 6.9 by the time I got home. That, my friends, is success!
I was heading to my first Saturday morning brick training workout and had no idea what to do with my insulin or my blood sugar. I was playing it very conservatively because I did not want to find myself having to pull over in the middle of a workout due to a low.
I tossed my running shoes and my glucometer into a bag, along with six emergency packages of fruit chews (in addition to the four that were already shoved into my the bag on my bike) and headed off. I was the first one to arrive. Followed soon after by three very young, lean, fit-looking people with bikes that could eat mine for breakfast.
I forced myself not to bolt and ignored the voice in my head that said to run away now while no one knew me so they'd never know who the crazy girl was who showed up and then left.
Two friends showed up, thank heavens, and assured me that I would indeed be fine. Perhaps a little tired at the end but fine.
The plan for the day was the following. Cycle about 5k to one of the athlete's houses. Our coach would bring his car loaded with our shoes and meet us there. Then head off for a hilly 12k (or so) ride (at tempo pace) to a meeting point. From there, we would do a 5 1/2k loop at race pace. Most people would do it three times. A few of us, including me, would do it twice. Cycle back to our shoes. Go for a run. My run was to be a 2k run (run out 1k, turn around, run back), rest two minutes, then run out 1k again, rest 1 minute, and run back 1k. Cycle about 6k home.
Grand total: 42k of riding. 4k of running. Time spent moving: a little over 2 hours.
That's how it worked out on paper. Here's how it worked out in real life.
Five minutes before leaving, my pump alarmed to tell me that battery in my continuous glucose monitor transmitter was low and instructed me to order a new one. Bloody hell! I've worn this transmitter for about 8 months now. I knew that would happen eventually but not on the Saturday of a long weekend. I couldn't order a new one until Tuesday now and I have no idea how long a low battery will survive. Hours? Days? Weeks? I tossed my glucometer in my bag just in case and headed out, grateful for and yet cursing technology.
I kept up fairly well during the warm-up ride. Everyone did a 'leisurely' 25km/hour pace and I pedalled madly to keep up. It worked. I was quite warm quite quickly.
The tempo ride up and down the hills outside of town was faster than my race pace. It was crazy. Everyone else was just gone. One friend, who was on an easy week to recover from her Olympic triathlon the week before, held back with me but the rest of the group was just gone. I would have despaired if I wasn't so freaking proud of myself for keeping up such an aggressive pace (for me anyway).
Then came the 5 1/2k loops. "I want you to race this" were the instructions. And I want your times at the end of the loop because we'll do this again in a few weeks.
"I've been going faster than race pace already" I mumbled. "This should be interesting".
It was. The loop had some pretty tough sections with some pretty steep hills. I pedalled hard up the hills and hard on the flats. We finished the loop in about 14 minutes. Rest two minutes and do it again.
The instructions on the way back were 'go at tempo pace. Don't race it but it shouldn't be easy.'
I was dropped, and I mean dropped, within a minute. I lost sight of everyone despite forcing my tired legs to dig deep and hold a 30+ km/hour pace on anything that looked remotely flat. By the time I made it back to the meeting point, everyone else was in the running shoes and ready to run.
I changed quickly, received my instructions and headed off...for what turned out to be a really good run.
I ran the kilometres in 6:12, 6:18, 5:49 and 5:54 min/k. Anyone who knows my running speed knows that this is crazy fast. And yet it felt pretty comfortable.
I cycled home, guzzled my chocolate milk, stretched, showered and spent the day not doing too much. It was fun and I'll definitely do it again.
Blood sugar report: I hung out around 10.0 for most of the bike ride. I had dropped to 7.9 by the time we were ready to cycle back so I had a package of fruit chews. I finished the run at 8.9 and was 6.9 by the time I got home. That, my friends, is success!
Friday, July 24, 2015
Brick Training...With a Coach!
On Wednesday I wrote a blog about the fact that it might be time for me to seek some professional help.
Professional triathlon training help that is.
Within a few hours of posting the blog, several local friends had replied and all of them had recommended the same person. After work that day, I ran into a great friend that I haven't seen in months and we had a great catch-up chat in a grocery store parking lot. Having read my blog that morning, he recommended the same person.
So I figured I had better contact said person and figure out what all the hullabaloo was about.
Turns out that he runs a triathlon club out of my favourite running store. He explained how it works and I can either pay a weekly fee for three group workouts (one swim workout, one running workout and one brick training workout) + a personalized weekly training plan + feedback and support or I can pay a la carte for as many of the workouts as I want, a training plan if I want or just some support if I need it.
I'm not sure I'm quite willing to jump into the deep end and sign up for everything but I was pretty intrigued by the Saturday morning brick workouts that are offered.
The plan is that we meet at 7:50am on our bikes. We bring our running gear (shoes etc) that he then drives to a set location. We do a tough bike workout that apparently involves some distance, some hill training or other fun things. The rides tend to be between 40-50k based on each person's individual goals. We then meet as set spot, put on our running shoes and head out for a 5k (or so) run while he watches our bikes. Return to bike, switch shoes again, and bike back to the beginning spot where he will arrive with our shoes. Head home and probably have a nap.
Sounds like a tough, long, tiring workout.
Which is probably exactly what I need and is certainly a challenge I will enjoy.
There is no workout this Saturday as most people in the group are heading off to do triathlons. But on August 1st - watch out! This lassie is doing her first official brick training workout.
Professional triathlon training help that is.
Within a few hours of posting the blog, several local friends had replied and all of them had recommended the same person. After work that day, I ran into a great friend that I haven't seen in months and we had a great catch-up chat in a grocery store parking lot. Having read my blog that morning, he recommended the same person.
So I figured I had better contact said person and figure out what all the hullabaloo was about.
Turns out that he runs a triathlon club out of my favourite running store. He explained how it works and I can either pay a weekly fee for three group workouts (one swim workout, one running workout and one brick training workout) + a personalized weekly training plan + feedback and support or I can pay a la carte for as many of the workouts as I want, a training plan if I want or just some support if I need it.
I'm not sure I'm quite willing to jump into the deep end and sign up for everything but I was pretty intrigued by the Saturday morning brick workouts that are offered.
The plan is that we meet at 7:50am on our bikes. We bring our running gear (shoes etc) that he then drives to a set location. We do a tough bike workout that apparently involves some distance, some hill training or other fun things. The rides tend to be between 40-50k based on each person's individual goals. We then meet as set spot, put on our running shoes and head out for a 5k (or so) run while he watches our bikes. Return to bike, switch shoes again, and bike back to the beginning spot where he will arrive with our shoes. Head home and probably have a nap.
Sounds like a tough, long, tiring workout.
Which is probably exactly what I need and is certainly a challenge I will enjoy.
There is no workout this Saturday as most people in the group are heading off to do triathlons. But on August 1st - watch out! This lassie is doing her first official brick training workout.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
A Little Coaching May Be Needed
So here's the thing.
When I first started running, I joined a running clinic where I learned how to run properly, how to pace myself, how and when to use gels and body glide, how to run hills and how to do interval training on my own. They took me from newbie to half marathoner and I will be forever grateful for that.
Once I got the hang of things though, I stopped going to the running clinics. The clinic times didn't really work for me since I preferred pre-work runs rather that post-work ones and I didn't need the motivation factor since I'm pretty good at kicking my own ass into gear. Also, there was pretty much nothing they were able to teach me about how to run with diabetes so I got used to figuring things out on my own and just kept doing that.
A lot of things have changed thought since I stopped going to the running clinics. I have taken up cycling. And swimming. And duathlons and triathlons. And I've gradually pieced together my own training routine based on trying to fit all three sports into a week and making sure I was able to do the distances required. Sometimes I even tossed in a few brick workouts although I must admit that I haven't done one of those all summer.
Anyway, I'm starting to feel that I've gone as far as I'm going to go on my own. I seem to have plateau in terms of running speed and I don't think I've come close to unlocking my potential on the bike. If I want to get better at triathlons, if I want to be able to finish strong, do the distance, cross the finish line in a decent time etc etc, I'm going to have to get some training advice.
Whether that comes from a real life coach, an online coach, a really good training plan, a decent triathlon book, I don't yet know. But I think it might be time to see if I can get a little stronger and a little faster by tweaking a few things.
So I'm on the hunt for either a coach, an online coach, a great and helpful website or a useful book. And hey, if they know a few things about doing all of that with Type 1 diabetes, all the better.
If anyone out there has any advice on where to go next, I'm all ears.
When I first started running, I joined a running clinic where I learned how to run properly, how to pace myself, how and when to use gels and body glide, how to run hills and how to do interval training on my own. They took me from newbie to half marathoner and I will be forever grateful for that.
Once I got the hang of things though, I stopped going to the running clinics. The clinic times didn't really work for me since I preferred pre-work runs rather that post-work ones and I didn't need the motivation factor since I'm pretty good at kicking my own ass into gear. Also, there was pretty much nothing they were able to teach me about how to run with diabetes so I got used to figuring things out on my own and just kept doing that.
A lot of things have changed thought since I stopped going to the running clinics. I have taken up cycling. And swimming. And duathlons and triathlons. And I've gradually pieced together my own training routine based on trying to fit all three sports into a week and making sure I was able to do the distances required. Sometimes I even tossed in a few brick workouts although I must admit that I haven't done one of those all summer.
Anyway, I'm starting to feel that I've gone as far as I'm going to go on my own. I seem to have plateau in terms of running speed and I don't think I've come close to unlocking my potential on the bike. If I want to get better at triathlons, if I want to be able to finish strong, do the distance, cross the finish line in a decent time etc etc, I'm going to have to get some training advice.
Whether that comes from a real life coach, an online coach, a really good training plan, a decent triathlon book, I don't yet know. But I think it might be time to see if I can get a little stronger and a little faster by tweaking a few things.
So I'm on the hunt for either a coach, an online coach, a great and helpful website or a useful book. And hey, if they know a few things about doing all of that with Type 1 diabetes, all the better.
If anyone out there has any advice on where to go next, I'm all ears.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Forty-Five Plus Forty-Five Equals Two Out Of Three
I ran 35 minutes on Tuesday.
I ran 40 minutes on Thursday.
My foot is feeling great and my running energy is slowly coming back.
See, here's the thing. I am building my running fitness which is great, and important, but there is no way I'm going to be running 2+ hours in two weeks.
Which is fine because I don't need to. I'm not running a half-marathon after all.
But I do need to be able to sustain a pretty high level of activity for 2+ hours in just over two weeks.
So we have a plan for Saturday.
We're going to head out for a brisk 45-minutes bike ride. It will start and end in our driveway.
When we're done, we will hop off our bikes, pull on our running shoes, check my sugar, and head out for a 45-minute run.
An hour and a half of sustained activity, a brick training workout and some much needed confidence building all in one.
Followed by a chocolate milk, stretching session on the deck and a tasty lunch I'm sure.
And perhaps an afternoon nap...
Monday, June 11, 2012
Brick Training
The first time I did a duathlon, which is two years ago now, I was told that going from running to the bike was pretty simple. Change shoes, pop on your helmet and start pedalling.
They were right.
I was also told that going from bike to running was another beast altogether.
They were right about that too.
There is something that happens when you leap off a bike and try to run. Your legs feel like they're in drugged-induced state and they alternate between feeling like lead and feeling like jello. Oh, and I'm not sure if this happens to everyone but I completely lose all ability to judge my pace. The first time I did the bike to running transition I felt so weird that I thought I was having a very very bad low blood sugar. Like scary bad.
Nope, my sugar was fine.
I kept running and, after a few kilometres, I felt better but the entire run felt 'off'. Off like, if I looked down, I might discover that my legs had been replaced with couch cushions. And that someone had stolen my feet.
That's when I learned about brick training.
Not knowing much about it, I did a bit of research to find out where the term brick comes from. The most consistent answer is that it's how your legs feel when you get off the bike and try to run.
The best answer I found online was: bike-run-ick!
Brick training is when you train for that transition from cycling to running. Apparently, brick training is very helpful when preparing for a duathlon or a triathlon. So I've been told. I completed two other duathlons after that first one and did not do one minute of brick training in preparation for either of them. I just knew what to expect and knowing is half the battle (G.I.Joe!) right?
This past Saturday, I was going to run an easy 30 minute run. It was my first run after my half marathon so I figured I should take it easy and see how the legs felt. Then, on Friday night, I had the brilliant idea of going for a 40 minute bike ride and then going for a 30 minute run. That way I'd get more of a workout without pushing my legs too hard too soon. AND I could do some brick training.
Just typing "I could do some brick training" makes me feel so hardcore!
Anyway, I went to bed with that plan in my head and woke up to pouring rain at 6am. Doug got up to meet the girls (Maria and Janice) for their early morning run and I rolled over and went back to sleep. Seven am arrived and the rain had stopped. Wicked!
I changed into my race day outfit and prepared to give it its first trial run.
I waterproofed my pump in case the rain came back.
And I headed out the door.
I carefully laid out my running shoes (laces undone) and my running hat and then I hopped on the bike. I cycled for a lovely 40 minutes and decided that my tri top and tri shorts work well on the bike. Not as much padding in the shorts as I'm used to but enough to make it bearable.
I got home, jumped off the bike, hauled it on the deck, changed shoes in a flash, changed headgear in a flash and ran back down the driveway.
Barf.
Even when I know what to expect it still feels completely bizarre.
I felt like I was running about 8 min/k so I guessed I was running 7min/k. I glanced at my watch and I was running 5:30min/k. Good lord! I'm supposed to be doing an easy run.
SLOW DOWN!
I forced myself to slow down and, when I felt like I was now running 6:30min/k, I looked at my watch again. I was now running 5:15min/k! And yet my legs felt like lead and I felt like I was moving at a fast walk. It's just such a bizarre feeling.
I spent the remaining 20 minutes trying to slow down. Seriously, I think the slowest I ever got was 6:30s and that didn't last very long before I was back under 6 minutes again. I ran 4k in under 23 minutes which, if I had continued, would have put me at 5k in about 28:30. That's crazy.
Oddly fun. But Crazy.
The outfit held up during the run fairly well. I didn't notice the padded shorts which was a bonus and the tank top had enough support (if you know what I mean) for running. Although without my running belt on, it tended to slip up and needed a good tug every few minutes.
Next Saturday, Janice and I are heading to the Welland River for my first open water swim. I'm going to practice sighting, practice swimming in water with a current and try out my tri outfit to see how swimming in it feels. Janice said she might even swim over top of me so I can see what that feels like and learn not to panic on race day when faster swimmers literally swim over top of slower swimmers to get by them. That is SO rude!
Can't they just go AROUND like civilized runners and cyclists do?
They were right.
I was also told that going from bike to running was another beast altogether.
They were right about that too.
There is something that happens when you leap off a bike and try to run. Your legs feel like they're in drugged-induced state and they alternate between feeling like lead and feeling like jello. Oh, and I'm not sure if this happens to everyone but I completely lose all ability to judge my pace. The first time I did the bike to running transition I felt so weird that I thought I was having a very very bad low blood sugar. Like scary bad.
Nope, my sugar was fine.
I kept running and, after a few kilometres, I felt better but the entire run felt 'off'. Off like, if I looked down, I might discover that my legs had been replaced with couch cushions. And that someone had stolen my feet.
That's when I learned about brick training.
Not knowing much about it, I did a bit of research to find out where the term brick comes from. The most consistent answer is that it's how your legs feel when you get off the bike and try to run.
The best answer I found online was: bike-run-ick!
Brick training is when you train for that transition from cycling to running. Apparently, brick training is very helpful when preparing for a duathlon or a triathlon. So I've been told. I completed two other duathlons after that first one and did not do one minute of brick training in preparation for either of them. I just knew what to expect and knowing is half the battle (G.I.Joe!) right?
This past Saturday, I was going to run an easy 30 minute run. It was my first run after my half marathon so I figured I should take it easy and see how the legs felt. Then, on Friday night, I had the brilliant idea of going for a 40 minute bike ride and then going for a 30 minute run. That way I'd get more of a workout without pushing my legs too hard too soon. AND I could do some brick training.
Just typing "I could do some brick training" makes me feel so hardcore!
Anyway, I went to bed with that plan in my head and woke up to pouring rain at 6am. Doug got up to meet the girls (Maria and Janice) for their early morning run and I rolled over and went back to sleep. Seven am arrived and the rain had stopped. Wicked!
I changed into my race day outfit and prepared to give it its first trial run.
I waterproofed my pump in case the rain came back.
And I headed out the door.
I carefully laid out my running shoes (laces undone) and my running hat and then I hopped on the bike. I cycled for a lovely 40 minutes and decided that my tri top and tri shorts work well on the bike. Not as much padding in the shorts as I'm used to but enough to make it bearable.
I got home, jumped off the bike, hauled it on the deck, changed shoes in a flash, changed headgear in a flash and ran back down the driveway.
Barf.
Even when I know what to expect it still feels completely bizarre.
I felt like I was running about 8 min/k so I guessed I was running 7min/k. I glanced at my watch and I was running 5:30min/k. Good lord! I'm supposed to be doing an easy run.
SLOW DOWN!
I forced myself to slow down and, when I felt like I was now running 6:30min/k, I looked at my watch again. I was now running 5:15min/k! And yet my legs felt like lead and I felt like I was moving at a fast walk. It's just such a bizarre feeling.
I spent the remaining 20 minutes trying to slow down. Seriously, I think the slowest I ever got was 6:30s and that didn't last very long before I was back under 6 minutes again. I ran 4k in under 23 minutes which, if I had continued, would have put me at 5k in about 28:30. That's crazy.
Oddly fun. But Crazy.
The outfit held up during the run fairly well. I didn't notice the padded shorts which was a bonus and the tank top had enough support (if you know what I mean) for running. Although without my running belt on, it tended to slip up and needed a good tug every few minutes.
Next Saturday, Janice and I are heading to the Welland River for my first open water swim. I'm going to practice sighting, practice swimming in water with a current and try out my tri outfit to see how swimming in it feels. Janice said she might even swim over top of me so I can see what that feels like and learn not to panic on race day when faster swimmers literally swim over top of slower swimmers to get by them. That is SO rude!
Can't they just go AROUND like civilized runners and cyclists do?
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