Pin-It Party Link-Up

Lindsay from the Lean Grean Bean had the wonderful idea to leverage a little Pinterest and help a bunch of bloggers bring attention to some of their older posts.  Blame me or my equipment, but I generally don’t have the most jaw-dropping pictures… I do know that visuals are important in blogs, as walls of text turn people off.

I picked 5 posts based on 1.) they had to have a ‘Pinnable’ image and 2.) they represent the real heart of what this blog is about.  Here are my 5 posts:

Now that I look at them, there’s not a lot of triathlon representation, which is the main theme of this blog.  Well, my triathlon posts either don’t have good images (that originate from me), or just don’t have the level of originality that I want to present today; e.g. race recaps – I swam, I biked then I ran.  So did everyone else.  The posts above, though? They have that special Iron Rogue brand of crazy.  So go ahead an pin an image!  You can find me on Pinterest here.  And be sure to go to Lean Green Bean for other great posts on fitness and wellness.  I’ll even put a few links in the comment section!

EDIT: Can’t put links in the comments, so here’s some of the other participants I’ve visited:
Itz Linz
Coffee, Cake and Cardio
Family Fitness Food
Fit 2 Flex
Let’s Walk and Talk/

A Training Plan For Me

When I started making my plan to do a half-marathon at the beginning of the year, I wanted a plan that would build up my running endurance with a lot of cross-training, and I came up with (somewhat wonky) plan.   What I should have done, was gone digging in my bookshelf for this:




The Runner’s World Guide To Cross-Training.  It’s got great information on why cross-training is important for runners, some good strength exercises and stretches, but what I was most interested in was the sample programs they have.  I looked at the Advanced 10K/Half-Marathon Program:



DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3
DAY 4
DAY 5
DAY 6
DAY 7
WEEK 1 BASE 1
EASY X
EASY RUN
EASY RUN OR EASY X STRENGTH
EASY RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 2 BASE2
OFF
EASY RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
EASY RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 3 BASE 3
EASY X
EASY RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
EASY RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 4 BASE 4 RECOVERY
OFF
EASY RUN + STRIDES
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
FARTLEK
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 5 BASE 5
EASY X
EASY RUN + STRIDES
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
FARTLEK
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK6 BASE6
EASY X
EASY RUN + STRIDES
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
FARTLEK
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 7 BUILD 1
EASY X
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
FARTLEK
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 8 BUILD 2 RECOVERY
EASY X
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
FARTLEK
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 9 BUILD 3
EASY X
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
SI RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 10 BUILD 4
EASY X
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
SI RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE RUN OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR RUN | STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 11 BUILD 5 RECOVERY
OFF
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
SI RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN OR EASY X STRENGTH
5K RACE
WEEK 12 BUILD 6
EASY X
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
SI RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE RUN OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR RUN | STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 13 BUILD 7
EASY X
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LI RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE RUN OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR RUN | STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 14 BUILD 8 RECOVERY
OFF
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
EASY RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
10 K RACE
WEEK 15 BUILD 9
EASY X
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LI RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE RUN OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR RUN | STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 16 BUILD 10
EASY X
MP RUN (10)
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LI RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE RUN OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR RUN | STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 17 PEAK 1 RECOVERY
OFF
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
EASY RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
10 K RACE
WEEK 18 PEAK 2
EASY X
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LI RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 19 PEAK 3
EASY X
MP RUN (12)
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
MI RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE RUN OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR RUN | STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 20 PEAK 4 RECOVERY
OFF
EASY RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
MI RUN
EASY RUN + STRIDES
EASY RUN OR EASY X
10 K RACE OR HALF MARATHON
WEEK 21 PEAK 5
EASY X
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
MI RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE RUN OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR RUN | STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 22 PEAK 6
EASY X
AT RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
MI RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG RUN
WEEK 23 PEAK 7
OFF
AT RUN
EASY RUN STRENGTH
MI RUN
EASY RUN OR EASY X
EASY RUN OR EASY X
ENDURANCE RUN
WEEK 24 PEAK 8 RECOVERY
OFF
EASY RUN
EASY RUN AND/OR EASY X
EASY RUN
RACE PREP
OFF
10 K RACE OR HALF MARATHON


Some definitions for this plan –
X REFERS TO CROSS-TRAINING OF SOME KIND (BIKE, ELLIPTICAL, SWIM, ETC.)
EASY=30 TO 60 MIN AT RECOVERY PACE
FARTLEK=40 TO 60 MIN WITH 6-10 30 SEC SPEED BURSTS
AT RUN=12 TO 40 MIN (NO MORE THAN 20 AT A TIME) OF WORK AT ANEROBIC THRESHOLD
SI RUN=SPEED INTERVALS 8-12X
ENDURANCE=MODERATE TO HIGH FOR 1 HOUR
LI RUN= 4-7x LACTATE INTERVALS 4-5 MIN AT AEROBIC CAPACITY
MP RUN= MARATHON PACE
MI RUN=MIXED INTERVALS (SPEED AND LACTATE)
STRIDES=4 TO 6 SPEED-INTENSITY RUNS OF ABOUT 100 YARDS, SEPARATED BY RECOVERY JOGS

It’s not worth going into too much detail in this plan, since what I really need to work on is my cycling.  I’m coming down from half-marathon conditioning, so my running should take a back burner.  What if I could take that plan and substitute a bike ride or spin for every run?

If I do a simple Find-Replace on it, and change the word “RUN” to “BIKE” and change the STRIDES Drill with Tabatas, I get this:


DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3
DAY 4
DAY 5
DAY 6
DAY 7
WEEK 1 BASE 1
EASY X
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE OR EASY X STRENGTH
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 2 BASE2
OFF
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 3 BASE 3
EASY X
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 4 BASE 4 RECOVERY
OFF
EASY BIKE + TABATA
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
FARTLEK
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 5 BASE 5
EASY X
EASY BIKE + TABATA
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
FARTLEK
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK6 BASE6
EASY X
EASY BIKE + TABATA
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
FARTLEK
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 7 BUILD 1
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
FARTLEK
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 8 BUILD 2 RECOVERY
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
FARTLEK
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 9 BUILD 3
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
SI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 10 BUILD 4
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
SI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 11 BUILD 5 RECOVERY
OFF
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
SI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X STRENGTH
5K RACE
WEEK 12 BUILD 6
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
SI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 13 BUILD 7
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 14 BUILD 8 RECOVERY
OFF
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
10 K RACE
WEEK 15 BUILD 9
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 16 BUILD 10
EASY X
MP BIKE (30)
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 17 PEAK 1 RECOVERY
OFF
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
10 K RACE
WEEK 18 PEAK 2
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 19 PEAK 3
EASY X
MP BIKE (35)
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
MI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 20 PEAK 4 RECOVERY
OFF
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
MI BIKE
EASY BIKE + TABATA
EASY BIKE OR EASY X
10 K RACE OR HALF MARATHON
WEEK 21 PEAK 5
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
MI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 22 PEAK 6
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
MI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
WEEK 23 PEAK 7
OFF
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE STRENGTH
MI BIKE
EASY BIKE OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE
WEEK 24 PEAK 8 RECOVERY
OFF
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE
RACE PREP
OFF
10 K RACE OR HALF MARATHON


Now I have a 24 week program for bike performance that shouldn’t leave my swim nor run in the cold.  Is that what I’ve been doing?



First of all, if the Bracebridge Triathlon is my big target, I have less than 24 weeks (I started playing with this in early March!) and the program should look more like this starting this week.


Mon
Tues
Wed
Thur
Fri
Sat
Sun
Week Ending on Date
WEEK 1 BUILD 1
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
SI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
5/5/2013
WEEK 2 BUILD 2 RECOVERY
OFF
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
SI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X STRENGTH
5K RACE
5/12/2013
WEEK 3 BUILD 3
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
SI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
5/19/2013
WEEK 4 BUILD 4
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
5/26/2013
WEEK 5 BUILD 5 RECOVERY
OFF
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
10 K RACE
6/2/2013
WEEK 6 BUILD 6
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
6/9/2013
WEEK 7 BUILD 7
EASY X
MP BIKE (30)
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
6/16/2013
WEEK 8 PEAK 1 RECOVERY
OFF
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
10 K RACE
6/23/2013
WEEK 9 PEAK 2
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
6/30/2013
WEEK 10 PEAK 3
EASY X
MP BIKE (35)
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
MI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
7/7/2013
WEEK 11 PEAK 4 RECOVERY
OFF
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
MI BIKE
EASY BIKE + TABATA
EASY BIKE OR EASY X
10 K RACE OR HALF MARATHON
7/14/2013
WEEK 21 PEAK 5
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
MI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE OR X + OPTIONAL EASY X OR BIKE | STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
7/21/2013
WEEK 22 PEAK 6
EASY X
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
MI BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X STRENGTH
LONG BIKE
7/28/2013
WEEK 23 PEAK 7
OFF
AT BIKE
EASY BIKE STRENGTH
MI BIKE
EASY BIKE OR EASY X
EASY BIKE OR EASY X
ENDURANCE BIKE
8/4/2013
WEEK 24 PEAK 8 RECOVERY
OFF
EASY BIKE
EASY BIKE AND/OR EASY X
EASY BIKE
RACE PREP
OFF
10 K RACE OR HALF MARATHON
8/11/2013


Looking back at April, I seem to be on a bike (usually my trainer or a Spin Class) about 3 times a week, with a swim and a run or strength session (including Crossfit).  The Long/Endurance rides are probably the biggest gap, and overall training volume could be higher (what else is new?)…. but I’m not too far off the general profile of what’s laid out.

If I’m honest, I probably won’t be getting any closer to the strict lines laid out by this program in the run up to the race season, but it’s nice to have a reference to consult in terms of what I can/should do.  I think working on the bike is the way to go for me: my swim seems strong, and working my legs on the bike will pay dividends into my run, so that I don’t have to do it as often overall (though I can’t neglect it completely).

Besides not having a plan at all, what’s the craziest variation on a formal training plan you’ve ever had?

Updates for the End of the Week

Wednesday: I wanted to add a little to my workout, which was planned to be a spin on the stationary bike (since the weather was lousy).  I came across this workout in my Twitter feed from Shannon of Badass Fitness.  They say good swimming comes from the core, so doing this circuit before the bike seemed like a good substitute for a swim-bike brick (without getting wet… unless you count sweat).


Thursday: I started shoring up my race calendar for the year, especially the triathlons (I’ll have to do a Race Calendar post and page soon).  I signed up for the Bracebridge Triathlon (a redemption race from last year) and the Muskoka 5i50 (again).

I also went to SquareOne Crossfit for the WOD.  It was Snatch focused (I promised myself I wouldn’t laugh…) and that worried me a little.  I was eager to learn, but I knew it was highly technical and I had no experience.  I probably even under-estimated it, as it involved every part of the body in complex, compound movements.  I practiced with just a PVC pipe, then a bar, then a bar with 10 pound plates (for a total of a mere 35 pounds) just to get the form down.  I found I’d either do a good ‘jump’ where you rise from the first squatted position to get the bar flying up high, but not get good positioning under the bar for the latter squat, or the reverse – I’d drop nice and low, but before really fully popping my hips out.





So I don’t have much to show for the one-rep max, but for the AMRAP part I got 6 complete rounds of 10 body-weight squats and 5 burpees in 4 minutes
.

The WOD
That one guy always forgets to count…

That session was a lot like my first, where I wasn’t completely demolished by the end, because working on skill meant taking a lighter weight. I’m glad, because the snatches frankly terrified me. Lower back, shoulders, knees are all ripe for injury on that move from what I could tell… plus there’s always the chance you’ll pull the bar into your face or drop it on your own head. If I’m smart (I’m not) I’ll work on practising the moves for my muscle memory.

Friday: As of this morning, I have lost 4.8 lbs in my DietBet which puts me about 59% of the way there 8 days in. Basically, I’m counting calories. I’m an engineer, and I believe in the laws of thermodynamics. When calories burned > calories ingested, weight comes off, and every other kind of weight loss trick is merely gaming that system. It also helps me to know just how much I can get away with during the day. I don’t have a cheat day or cheat food really because this is a temporary measure (the whole explanation is here). So booze and sweets are off the menu (some of Shark Boy’s ice cream may have fallen into my mouth on Sunday) and I try to keep portions under control with small healthy snacks (cottage cheese, fruits, veggies) between meals.

Updates for the End of the Week

Wednesday: I wanted to add a little to my workout, which was planned to be a spin on the stationary bike (since the weather was lousy).  I came across this workout in my Twitter feed from Shannon of Badass Fitness.  They say good swimming comes from the core, so doing this circuit before the bike seemed like a good substitute for a swim-bike brick (without getting wet… unless you count sweat).


Thursday: I started shoring up my race calendar for the year, especially the triathlons (I’ll have to do a Race Calendar post and page soon).  I signed up for the Bracebridge Triathlon (a redemption race from last year) and the Muskoka 5i50 (again).

I also went to SquareOne Crossfit for the WOD.  It was Snatch focused (I promised myself I wouldn’t laugh…) and that worried me a little.  I was eager to learn, but I knew it was highly technical and I had no experience.  I probably even under-estimated it, as it involved every part of the body in complex, compound movements.  I practiced with just a PVC pipe, then a bar, then a bar with 10 pound plates (for a total of a mere 35 pounds) just to get the form down.  I found I’d either do a good ‘jump’ where you rise from the first squatted position to get the bar flying up high, but not get good positioning under the bar for the latter squat, or the reverse – I’d drop nice and low, but before really fully popping my hips out.





So I don’t have much to show for the one-rep max, but for the AMRAP part I got 6 complete rounds of 10 body-weight squats and 5 burpees in 4 minutes
.

The WOD
That one guy always forgets to count…

That session was a lot like my first, where I wasn’t completely demolished by the end, because working on skill meant taking a lighter weight. I’m glad, because the snatches frankly terrified me. Lower back, shoulders, knees are all ripe for injury on that move from what I could tell… plus there’s always the chance you’ll pull the bar into your face or drop it on your own head. If I’m smart (I’m not) I’ll work on practising the moves for my muscle memory.

Friday: As of this morning, I have lost 4.8 lbs in my DietBet which puts me about 59% of the way there 8 days in. Basically, I’m counting calories. I’m an engineer, and I believe in the laws of thermodynamics. When calories burned > calories ingested, weight comes off, and every other kind of weight loss trick is merely gaming that system. It also helps me to know just how much I can get away with during the day. I don’t have a cheat day or cheat food really because this is a temporary measure (the whole explanation is here). So booze and sweets are off the menu (some of Shark Boy’s ice cream may have fallen into my mouth on Sunday) and I try to keep portions under control with small healthy snacks (cottage cheese, fruits, veggies) between meals.

In The Gym: Rope Machine

I’m in the midst of developing the next phase of my training before the triathlon season, but I’m since I’m not finished yet, I thought I’d share a little discovery with you.  This machine [add official name] was added to our corporate gym at the end of 2012.  The rope is looped so it can be pulled continuously.  The arm (that houses the pulley at the top of the rope loop) can be tilted to allow a more horizontal type pulling, but most people seem to be using it in the configuration shown. 









There are 7 different resistance settings

There are 7 different resistance settings:

“…all 7 settings have DYNAMIC RESISTANCE which allows the rope resistance to vary with the speed of the rope”
The instructions say to use Rope Resistance Level 1-3 for 10-20 minutes as a cardio workout, and the levels 4-7 for 20-40 seconds (in 3 to 5 sets) as a Strength workout.



I was excited about using it to increase upper body strength and endurance in general, but the specific motion of climbing up the rope (pulling down)is very important to me: 1.) it’s a lot like a front crawl stroke so I figure it can pay dividends to my swim 2.) it’s going to strengthen my upper back and the supporting muscles which are my biggest weakness (I can’t do pull-ups, and even hanging from a bar feels hard to me).  The first few times I used the machine, I mostly did a 1-minute session on one of the harder settings (6 or 7) as part of the endurance phase of a Matrix circuit.


Then someone offered me a challenge.  Apparently some of the runners were doing a pyramid style workout with the machine: 1 minute pulling the rope up (like you were pulling a bucket up from the bottom of a well), 1 minute pulling the rope down (like you were climbing it) – on the hardest setting.  Drop the resistance down a level, then repeat.  This continues until you’ve done both directions, all resistances for a 14 minute workout.  Then you record the distance travel in meters, which is available from a little readout in front of the bench.  So far, I’ve recorded 582 meters and 605 meters… the record is 784!  

What’s the new/crazy apparatus at your gym? Love or hate?

Half-Marathon Training Recap: Cadence Workouts, Push-Pulls, Kyle’s Krusade, etc.

  • Sunday: I had a 16km run to get done, and I was looking for new ways to stay entertained.  Audiobooks have been suggested often, and I downloaded an app so that I could digitally lend them from the library, but I haven’t gotten it to work yet, and the whole concept doesn’t really inspire me.  I did, however, find that my Slacker Radio app has a series of stations called ‘Fitness’ which are all good workout songs, sub-divided by musical genre.  The one I ended up using was ‘BPM Workout’ – a station with all songs having a tempo between 150 and 190 beats per minute.  Ideal for keeping a good cadence! Coincidentally, the next day, I found an article in the paper explaining how the right tempo music aids runners in keeping a good cadence and how an app maker is seeking to capitalize on this concept.  It’s an interesting read (as all Alex Hutchinson articles are).
  • Monday: I ran 5km for Kyle’s Krusade.  You can read about it (and how I got a new PR) here.  Please consider joining or simply donating.
  • Tuesday: I was back on the Trifecta Tuesday bandwagon, and started it with a swim.  I was inspired by the idea of tempo music-driven workouts, yes even swimming.  Stay tuned for Part 2 of that series, where I do a little analysis.  I rounded out my Trifecta with Yoga and a Plank for 1 minute 48 seconds as part of Erica D. House’s Killer Core Plank Challenge.
  • Thursday: Having taken a rest day on Wednesday, I didn’t know whether to cross-train on Thursday or run.  I hadn’t packed winter gear, and given how I hate treadmill running, I figured I would do both.  I broke up what was supposed to be 8km in two halves.  After 4km I did a 2 minute plank as well as the following strength workout.

    • I used this machine to do an exercise dubbed ‘waterskiing’ by Katy from Fit In Heels with a little extra.  I configured the rope to have a lower angle than the one shown in the picture





    • 30 Pushups,
    • Back on the rope machine – pulling down as if climbing the rope: 1 minute.
    • 20 pushups with a twist kick again from Fit in Heels.
    • 12 assisted pull-ups on the machine.  I did these pyramid style; starting with 60 lbs of assistance till failure, then 75 lbs of assistance, then 90 lbs.
    • from blogilates.com
    • 16 ‘Scorpion’ Push-ups.
    • 20 Bent-over Rows (35 lbs)
    • 20 Incline Dumbbell Press (35lbs)


Then back on the treadmill for what was supposed to be another 4km, but due to an accidental button press (and a little fatigue and motivation failure) I stopped after 2.6km


Sunday: We went out of town for the weekend.  The plan was to cross-country ski which we did, but getting a late start and with the Lightning Kid unexpectedly and inexplicably objecting loudly for most of the trail.  An hour’s worth only gave us 5km and I wish these apps could appreciate that I’m pulling nearly 80lbs of extra weight along when they calculate calories and such…


Half Marathon Training Week Recap: New Distances

Looking back at the week in training that was:

  • Saturday was the long run, in some very warm weather for the season.  To avoid mud, I stuck to side-walks so my joints and Achilles tendons took more than the usual amount of pounding, I’d have to say.  I was conservative on the way out, and more aggressive on the way back.  Going slow feels weird because I have a time goal in mind for the race, but I think the structure might be paying off…  14.3km done.
  • We were out late seeing the movie Les Miserables, and Shark Boy didn’t get to bed on time either, so Crossfit on Sunday was sacrificed.  Taking a rest day was probably smart.
  • Monday continued to be mild, but I figured it would be dry enough to run on trails.  Almost right, my shoes got wet (though my Salomon XR Missions have done some good water protection for my feet this season) and at least once I had to wipe a big, heavy clump of mud off the soles.  I hit the prescribed mileage, and the pace was slow as recommended (6:34min/kim)… at least on average.  I think I did some walk breaks and speed bursts to keep that average pace.
  • Tuesday was meant to be a Trifecta Tuesday with an early morning swim, plus strength and 1 more activity that I hadn’t decided on (maybe Yoga), but when I got to the gym, I found the pool crowded, and I had forgotten a towel; I went home and had breakfast with the family instead.  I managed to make it to the Etobicoke Olympium at lunch.  The Olympic (50m) pool had been cut in half for lane swimming, but though there were a lot of people there too, the lane etiquette was roundly observed, and it was no problem getting a good workout in.  In fact, I did my longest pool workout swim with 2.3km including drills, 4x75m intervals, 4x200m and another 4x75m.
  • Wednesday was my favourite run of the week.  The trails were dry and the sun was out.  I managed a 6:04min/km pace, and I began to see how a 2 hour half-marathon might be possible.
  • On Thursday, I did a Cross-training session in a group exercise class.  PB Freakin Fit is run by Personal Best (who manages our corporate gym) and is structured much like a Crossfit Workout of the Day (WOD).  Due to the equipment available and the space used, a lot of modifications need to be made.  This workout was a warm-up of jumping jacks, skipping, jogging on the spot, then a countdown: run across the room and back then do 10 push-ups, repeat with 9, 8, 7 push-ups right down to 1.  The first main set was 5 rounds for time (RFT): 20 Frog Jump Squats, 10 Renegade Rows with Mountain Climber, and 20 Hindu Pushups.  The second set involved AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 10 minutes of 20 ski-jumps, 10 burpees with dumbbell shoulder press, and 20 wide-stance prisoner squats. I can still feel the effects as I write this on Sunday.
  • Friday was a tempo run on the treadmill; new distance (2 miles/3.2 km) at a speed of 6.8mph with a 1 mile warm-up and cool down
    • I took a rest day on Saturday, and on Sunday, in spite of freezing temperatures and 48 km/h winds, I got a new distance of 16km or 10 miles.  That’s more than I’ve run in one sitting in at least 3 years.



I took a weigh-in toward the end of the week: 200lbs. Not great progress but heading in the right direction…


This was a week of new frontiers of distance, and I love seeing and feeling the progress.

Half-Marathon Training: Week 2


I haven’t made weight loss an explicit goal, but I figured if I followed a regular training plan (with a higher volume of exercise than I’d been doing previously) and I watched what I ate (mostly avoiding sweets and booze, with better portion control too), some weight should come off.

Oh well…


That’s pretty much what I peaked at during the full holiday craze. I was active during the holidays (relatively speaking), and I felt like I didn’t sin too much, but still I have nothing to show for week 1. Like I said, I didn’t make it an explicit goal, so I won’t get stressed out about it, but I think I’ll try to monitor it in the weekly training posts for posterity’s sake. Having a few less pounds to drag across the finish line should make me faster come race season though…


I actually ran my long (12.2km) run on Saturday rather than Sunday, because on Sunday, I tried Crossfit (see my review here).  It was clearly a beginner session, because we also took the kids tobogganing that afternoon and I was able to pull them along and up the hill.

After 7 straight training days, I took Monday off.  This was more difficult than I thought, because I was feeling really good and strong and able to take on the world – everyone was posting motivation messages for ‘Motivation Monday’ (including me!).  Still, the rest day should be observed; it’s just that the rest day is usually forced upon me by life interfering with my plans…

I moved Monday’s 5.6km run to Tuesday, and I found the missing Blackberry!  Incredibly, it still worked, which means I’ll be able to recover my contacts and other info.  Since it was Trifecta Tuesday, I also did 47 pushups from the 100 push-ups app and a Yoga workout before bed.

On Wednesday I did a 7.4km run on pavement.  I was pretty pleased with my pace.  I could almost feel myself getting faster and stronger.


Due to some early morning toddler wake-up problems and a re-scheduled meeting, Thursday ended up being a rest day, unless you count air-guitar and dancing in the living room with the kids before dinner…

I did my tempo run on the treadmill on Friday; I used an incline of 1.5 and it felt fine. A mile warm-up at 5mph, the tempo run of 1.5 miles at 6.8mph and a mile cool-down (again at 5mph).



Though I’m pleased with my running and mileage this week, I am a little disappointed with strength and cross-training. Cross-fit was tough and a great workout, and the re-structuring of the week was probably what threw everything else into disarray. I should try to figure this out since this weekend will probably also involve a Saturday long run and Sunday Crossfit.

Multi-sport Mind: Rowga

I come from rowing stock, you could say.  My mother rowed, my father rowed – in fact, it’s how they met.  It was a long time before I would get a chance to try it; my high school didn’t have a team, and my high school life put me off trying out for sports enough that combined with the busy schedule of an undergraduate engineering student, I didn’t look into it at the University of Waterloo either.


It took until Grad School in 1999-2000 for me to get in touch with this part of my athletic heritage; I mean, where better than England to get into that scene?  It was unusual for Grad students to take part in athletic clubs, and stranger still to be the eldest on the Novice Men’s Team (I was 26 amongst 19 and 20 year-olds).  The Leeds teams didn’t do well that year, but we still had lots of fun and I learned a lot.  Sadly, digital cameras weren’t that common (at least I didn’t have one), so I’m having trouble tracking down any photographic evidence of these adventures.


We have a rowing shell at our cottage that I hardly use.  The problem with rowing solo (or ‘sculling’) is that it takes an even higher level of skill to keep the boat level and moving in a straight line.  If both oars don’t enter and leave the water at the same time and aren’t inserted to the same depth, the boat reels and curves to the left or right, making it somewhat frustrating.  I can’t follow the shoreline easily, nor can I simply head out to the middle of the lake, because it tends to be wavier and more choppy out there.

Rowing as part of a crew is different.  All rowers are trying to move in sync, taking their cues from the ‘Stroke’ – the rower at the stern of the boat.  Yes, there is a cox (a typically smaller person at the stern who faces forward) who can call out real-time tactics and the rhythm, but your natural responses are a little better simply watching the rower in front of you; provided there isn’t too much delay from one rower to the next, everybody should be in lockstep with the Stroke, who’s in the best position to do what the Cox says.





So rowing has a teamwork aspect and a very technical aspect.  An oar can get caught awkwardly in the water (either on the way in, or more often in my experience, on the way out) and it’s called ‘catching a crab’.  So your technique is something that can always be refined, in addition to simply having plenty of strength and endurance to pull that oar hard, over and over.  The element I like the best, though, is the simple rhythmic exchange between the pull and glide (where you recover for the next stroke).  It reminds me a lot of cross-country skiing, or maybe even inline skating.


I think I wrote all that out of nostalgia, since rowing doesn’t play a very big role in my current fitness regime with one exception: when I attend a Yoga class (as I have been once a week for the past 3-4 weeks), I don’t like to do it without having warm muscles.  So I often hit the ergometer/rowing machine for 5-10 minutes before a class.  It works out the whole body, but especially the back muscles, which are not only often neglected by other forms of functional exercise, but they get a nice stretch through so many Yoga poses and sequences.  Using the machine (side note: a friend of mine who got himself in good enough shape to pass police entrance exams credits most of his transformation to a rowing machine!) lets me train my muscle memory so I don’t completely forget the gross motor parts of a rowing stroke, puts me in touch with my past a little, and the rhythm of the stroke can be meditative (though I usually have to concentrate to tune out the gym’s distractions like music, TV and other people).  


In other words, it can be a great mental and physical complement to a Yoga class, thus: Row-ga.  Of course, there’s also this guy, who heads out in a boat in the ocean to have deep, meditative thoughts.  That’s also good (though he seems to have retired that blog, most of the links seem to be dead). Plus these guys think like me.

Have you used an ergometer/rowing machine?  How about the real deal?  

Live Long and Rock On!

Review: Crossfit/Crossfit Kids at SquareOne Crossfit

Way back in 2012, I started researching where I might be able to try Crossfit.  Crossfit has exploded in popularity especially in the past year, so I feel a little silly introducing and explaining it, but here goes…


Crossfit started as a way to ‘Open-Source’ fitness.  Open Source software is free to use, and the computer programming code is free and public; not kept secret.  In fitness, the concept would be a workout that is publicly available as opposed to something you had to pay an instructor or trainer for.  Every day a ‘Workout of the Day’ or WOD would be published that could be done with fairly basic equipment you could put into your home.  Exercises were drawn from Olympic weightlifting and gymnastics to promote functional strength as well as endurance, balance, flexibility, agility and co-ordination; true multi-dimensional fitness.  Where it grew as a business was again similar to Open Source software: though anyone could do it and the accessibility was appealing, this stuff was sophisticated enough that it made sense to engage an expert.  Crossfit gyms, or ‘boxes‘ (called this, because they seem plain and spartan compared to the modern gym – no frills, just the weights and equipment you need) started springing up, and certifications were created by the originators of the movement.  Nowadays, there are competitions, and they are sponsored by Reebok which has dubbed Crossfit “The Sport of Fitness”.
The SquareOne Box


There are a few boxes locally, and they all had their apparent pros and cons (from what I could tell by web research), but besides proximity, one big advantage that SquareOne Crossfit had was a Kids program.

They run their Crossfit Kids program on Sunday mornings, and for parents who want to do the WOD, they’re able to do that in parallel.  That clinched it, since we’re always looking for ways to keep Shark Boy entertained and active.  I wanted to make arrangements for a free trial in December, but with the holidays, it took until now to get us ‘in the box’.

Shark Boy and I got there for 8:30AM when the classes for kids 3-5 take place.  We met with the Kids’ instructor Arianne, and I did the initial paperwork.  Unfortunately things weren’t yet in full swing post holidays, so Shark Boy was the only kid in class and I think he was a little intimidated.  I hadn’t built it up for him too much, since I didn’t know what to really expect, but he was game for trying things as long as I accompanied him initially (and did some of the exercises too).

It starts, of course, with a warm-up.  Arianne put an agility ladder on the floor and had him (us) do two-footed jumps over each rung of the ladder back and forth.  We then moved on to jumping in and out (to the side of the ladder) and jumping on one foot.  Though he’s very athletic, I was a little surprised to see he had no real idea of how to jump on one foot – the learning begins!

After the warm-up a class (adult or kids!) moves on to the skill lesson.  We did squats, with hands overhead.

The ‘work-out’/WOD portion of a kids class seems to be game oriented, which was great.  Shark Boy was in his element playing  Lumberjacks and Farmers (knockdown pylons or put them back upright), Tail-Tag and Simon Says were all part of the deal, and it got more fun as some of the kids from the 6+ class started to trickle in.  He was obviously having fun and getting more comfortable and needed less hand-holding from his father.

I got to meet some of the other Crossfitters and people walked up and introduced themselves; from what I read, this friendliness is part of the general culture, and I was glad to see it wasn’t just hype.  It also meant I didn’t have to figure out the warm-up on my own:

Some of these were very familiar, but I’d never heard of Dislocates (sounds painful!).  Essentially it was holding a bar with wide grip and rotating it around to your back without bending your elbows.  Good mornings are bending over (from the hips) with a straight back.

I knew I’d need help on pull-ups; I can’t do them.  I did like their method of assisting the pull-up: a resistance band looped through the foot – you end up mimicking the real movement very, very closely.  I was a little embarrassed to be using the strongest band (giving me the biggest possible assistance) and I was reconsidering using that particular one as I got through my ten reps, but by the last one, I noticed I couldn’t quite get my chin up to the bar, so it was probably the right one after all.

The workout of the day was called ‘Linda’ and it meant doing sets of three exercises in descending number of reps: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1.
“LINDA”
The first exercise was the Deadlift.  Here’s where I got my skill lesson prior to the WOD.   Chris, the man in charge, showed me how to do these correctly.  The second exercise was the Bench Press; I had done these on Thursday and had a good idea of how much weight I could handle.  I shared a bench with another man who wanted to lift the same amount as me, since benches were limited and the turnout that morning was good.  Rather than do a Power Clean (which is somewhat technical and would need a little more teaching/practice), Chris had me do a Sumo Deadlift/High Pull which was a Deadlift in a wider stance (with an narrower grip) combined with an upright row at the end.

The weight to be used was based on your own Body Weight (BW)… that wasn’t going to happen.  I tried to pick weights that would be sensible for me to get the form right and not injure myself, and of course… sweat.

On deadlifts, I need a lot of work.  I’m shrugging my shoulders and/or pulling my arms to get the bar moving up, I don’t bend my knees enough for the bottom, but I kept my back straight and didn’t hurt myself.  Bench presses went very well, and I was generally struggling to get that last rep on every set.  The Sumo Deadlift/High Pulls were a little weird – maybe I should have tried a bigger weight.  Apparently the key is to really pop your hips forward and get the weight accelerating upward, but it always felt like cheating to me.  Still it gave me an idea of the kind of motion that is involved in the Power Clean.

I finished in 20 and a half minutes, making me the third one done.  I can’t be too proud of that since I know they were taking it easy on me since it was my first time. Otherwise, how could I have taken the boys tobogganning that afternoon?  I gathered up Shark Boy and asked him if he enjoyed himself… was it something he’d like to do again?  He said yes, and so help me, I felt the same way.

I spoke to Chris about options for my son and I and everything was very low pressure.  I should say, no pressure.  I was overall very pleased to note that this box focusses on form over intensity; I’d had fears that the kind of ‘all or nothing’/’pain is weakness leaving the body’ wouldn’t fit well with my history of injury.  Chris’ outlook was refreshing in its simplicity: they’re there to get people fit.  If they can’t walk the next day, how can they come back to work out the next day?

Both Shark Boy and I have packs of drop in classes bought, so I guess the cult of Crossfit can count us in.

Have you heard of Crossfit? Tried it? Loved it?  What about Crossfit Kids?