Anyone that knows me knows that I have a big heart and more often than not wear it proudly on my sleeve. It is in that vain that I feel its probably appropriate to share my heart on here… well… my heart rate training that is.

Recently I have been focused on heart rate training for a few reasons:

1. It works.
2. Time and conditions make it easy.
3. I have a specific goal I am preparing for.
4. Better training benefit for less stress on the body.

Below ill share a few visual representations of my HR training over the standard Zone 1, Zone 3 and Zone 5 training zones. 

Zone 1 – Aerobic Zone – Goal HR = 155-170

Zone 1 - Treadmill - Controlled Environment

Comparative to a run of the same length (approx 2 hours).

Zone 1 - Trail - Uncontrolled Environment

Points of interest:  Controlled environment allows for consistent pacing in which it is possible to hold ones heart rate at whatever the desired number with little room for fluctuations.  A trail run, while infinitely more fun maintains a similar average HR over the time but jumps around due to terrain and is harder to monitor and maintain a specific range.

Zone 3 - Lactate - Controlled envirnment

Points of interest: This workout is done in stages, 10 minute warm up then 5 sets of 3 minutes at lower end 3 minutes of higher end of my tested Zone 3.  This workout primarily teaches my body how to train removal of lactic acid produced from the high leg turnover.  Working at the high end provides the “filling sink” effect and toggling down to the lower end provides the “draining sink” effect.  HR fluctuations looks to be minimal through the spectrum of speeds in training zone 3.

Zone 5 – Aerobic Interval Training 

Zone 5 - Aerobic Intervals - Controlled Environment

Points of interest:  This workout is focused around my top speed, with a stint of 3 minutes at full tit, and then a full 6 minutes recovery at my lowest speed.  this is repeated for as many times as I can hold good form though the maximum effort.  HR spikes indicate high levels of intense work followed by a long recovery.

A final thought:

While these style of workouts are designed to maximize training time and ultimately make me a faster runner, I do think they have a place in my training program but should only be a small percentage of it. They are convienant when pressed for time, or when the weather is crap, but come March, it will be very hard to get me on a treadmill. 

If someone asked me the question, ‘will this make you faster than the next guy?’ my answer simply be… who cares?

Certainly not me. For every single person that I beat in a race there are dozens, hundreds maybe thousands(?) at any given race that are faster than me.

I train not to be faster than the next guy but to be the fastest that I can possibly be with the amount of time and resources I have for training. I set myself realistic and achievable goals related mostly to fun and gnarly race courses with a lofty time target that requites me to train my ass off and then race my heart out to get there.

I train not to race again the next guy, but to race against myself and for the love of running and racing… unless of course I’m racing against Coo. Then I run for the win, but only by 1 second.

Robson Square - Vancouver, BC

With the City getting into full on Olympic mode my training in the next few weeks is sure to be broken and scattered, so I’m glad to have this one tucked under my belt. 

My solid week at it looked a lot like this:

Monday
AM Yoga
PM  Strength Training: 5 WG PU, 10 BW Dips, 20 Renegade rows – 30lbs dumbells X 5 Sets

Tuesday
Rest
Physio IMS – EMS

Wednesday
Zone 3 - 15 minute warm up then 4 sets of 3 minutes @8.4(low) 3 minutes @8.9(high)
Stretching

Thursday
Zone 5 -  3 minutes @ 10mph with 6 minutes recovery @ 6mph – 4 sets, 10 mins warm up and 10 cool down.
Stretching

Friday
Strength Training: 5 WG PU, 10 BW Dips, 20 Renegade rows – 30lbs dumbells X 5 Sets

Saturday
Trail run @ UBC!!  a little over 2 hours.

Sunday
Zone 1 – Treadmill – 1.5 hours @ 7.9Mph – HR ~163bpm
Motivation:  A race across the Sky - Leadville Trail 100 MTB bike film from the 2009 Race where Lance won in a CR riding the last 7 miles on a flat rear tire.  Machine.  Legend.  Man with a plan.

Notes
1. Poison – 1 pint Granville Islande Winter Ale and 1 Corona.
2. Knee still prone to flare ups, but generally day to day feeling alot better.
3. Brilliant run outside on Saturday, felt strong and good to run with Tania, Katie, Ray and Jeremy.
4. Sundays recovery run, was HARD.  Very unmotivated, misery loves company and I wouldnt have done it if Katie didnt show up to run as well so cheers.

Got in about 5 hours total running this week, all in my Zone 1 training zone or ‘aerobic’ training zone.  The goal in this zone is to average my HR 155bmp min and 170bmp max.  For most Zone 1 workouts require a conscious slow effort, for my profile however it means I need to work harder that I usually would on a LSD run.  Actually its like this accross all my training zones – work harder = run faster – not really rocket science…

This is how it all went down.

Monday
AM Yoga
PM Zone 1 - Treadmill  – 1 hour @ 7.8Mph - HR  ~160bpm

Tuesday
Rest
Foam Roller Session / Massage

Wednesday
Strength Training: 5 WG PU, 10 BW Dips, 20 Renegade rows – 30lbs dumbells X 5 Sets
30 Minutes Pilates
Foam Roller Session / Massage

Thursday
Physio IMS – EMS

Friday
Strength Training: 5 WG PU, 10 BW Dips, 20 Renegade rows – 30lbs dumbells X 5 Sets

Saturday
Zone 1 – Treadmill – 2.5 hours @ 7.9Mph – HR ~166bpm

Sunday
Zone 1 – Treadmill – 1.5 hours @ 7.9Mph – HR ~163bpm

Notes
1. Poison – can’t seem to avoid the booze at all lately, 1 Granville Island Winter Ale, 2 glasses Red.
2. Felt like throwing up during pilates class, left after 30 minutes and resigned that pilates is for chicks.
3. Knee rehab is coming along nicely, love IMS and EMS, stretching and rolling.  Managing inflamation with ice is also helping.  All good habits to get into regardless of injury level.
4. Could have used Katies company on the treadmill this weekend.  Womens tennis and endurance planet podcasts had to substitute.
5. I miss running trails – need to get out there next weekend and run free.

The major focus for my training this week was physical therapy.  I really want to try and clear up this problem with my knee before the training volume starts to increase, so I dropped all but the necessary workouts this week.

Still a lot on the go.

Monday
Physical therapy: Yoga
Strength training:  5 x strict inside grip pullups, 10 x 40lb alternating dumbbell curls. 8 sets in 15 minutes

Tuesday
Zone 3 workout on treadmill.  15 minute warm up then 4 sets of 3 minutes @8.4(low) 3 minutes @8.9(high)

Wednesday
Strength training: 200 pushups in 9:00, standing dumbbell military press 40lbs 5 sets of 10.
Physical therapy: 20 minute foam roller session
Planning/Motivation: Training zones and planning @ Peak Performance.

Thursday
Zone 5 workout on the treadmill.  3 minutes @ 10mph with 6 minutes recovery @ 6mph – 3 sets, 10 mins warm up and cool down.

Friday
Physical Therapy:  Physio at City Sports.  Acupuncture (IMS) and electrical stimulation session.

Saturday
Zone 1 workout on the treadmill.  2 hours @ 7.8mph – HR average 163

Sunday
A few lazy laps of Circuit 8 on the mountain bike – just for fun.

Notes
1. Poison – 3 x Granville Island Winter ale, glass or two of red.
2. Treadmill – felt like a bit of a lab rat, but wanted to get all key workouts in this week with a minimum of added stress to my knee.  Felt pretty strong on all workouts and eventually found my happy place on Saturday morning after an hour of boredom thanks to the Australian open.
3. Acupuncture in my quad hurts, but distracts from knee pain, so I guess ill call that a success.  Had good response to this weeks physical therapy and will probably take the same approach to training this week to help in the healing process.  Foam rolling and stretching need to take as high as an importance as all the other stuff.
4. Had a solid meeting with Mike at Peak performance to discuss recent lab results.  Looks like I can make some significant improvement over the year if I can get healthy and strong – always fun to discuss the science behind training.
5.  I love riding my bike and working on basic skills on the technical Nth Shore trails.  Wasn’t really that into it on Sunday as I didn’t want to push the quad and knee too much in an unpredictable environment, but always have fun out on the bikes with McG.

aye aye aye captain.

I’ve decided to have a go at keeping a somewhat accurate log of my Miwok training.

At first I was just going to throw the distance/time of my long runs into my outlook calendar, but after thinking about it more, there really is a whole lot more involved with my preparation than simply just building mileage for my first 100k run.

I have a pretty busy schedule with a mix of run specific workouts, strength training, active recovery and all important rest.  Each week I’ll throw a recap with some highlights up onto the blog, specific workouts, learning’s, aches and pains, and notes on what is working and what isn’t.

This week in training…

Monday
Strength training:  21-15-9 reps of 40lb dumbbell squat press and burpees for time: 11:13
Motivation: Trans Rockies info night at NSA

Tuesday
AM: Boxing class
PM: Zone 3 workout on treadmill.  15 minute warm up then 3 sets of 3 minutes @8.4(low) 3 minutes @8.9(high)

Wednesday
Rest

Thursday
AM: Boxing class
PM: LGRR track workout – 10X400 with 300m hard 100m recovery

Friday
Strength training:  200 pushups in 9:08, standing dumbbell military press 40lbs 5 sets of 10.

Saturday
Rest

Sunday
Long run 2 hours 15 minutes.

Notes

1. Poison – 6 x stubbies of Rickards White, 1 x shot absinthe, 1 x shot tequila
2. Body – right knee tendinitis a bit niggly at the beginning of long run Sunday, then periodically through out specifically on downhills.  Need to be more proactive in treatment, with yoga and massage and proper post workout stretching.  Will avoid squats until it starts to feel better.
3. Fuel – Long run fuel of 1 bottle Accelerade fruit punch flavour, 3 x Accelerade chocolate gels.
4. Overall – a good training week with all key workouts complete.  Couldn’t plan a Saturday morning run due to work commitments which allowed me to play a bit with friends on Friday night, finding the perfect balance for the week.

People are lazy. Not you specifically but as a whole the majority of people are lazy.

I usually like to stay away from broad generalizations like this but a quick jaunt on the skytain today illustrated this statement as crowds of people pushed passed me and squeezed themselves onto a packed escalator while the stair case aligned next to it remained empty.

Now, it’s human nature to always follow the path of least resistance (and in this case perhaps the pack theory is to blame as well), but it seems a shame that so few of the population choose to challenge themselves with life’s little things like taking the stairs or carrying the grocery basket.

I think in most cases it  really boils down to perception.  Stairs are hard, baskets are heavy, it all sounds like work.  Well thats where the fun theory comes in and asks the question “Do people change their perception of work or effort if the activity becomes fun?”

I think the video below holds the answer.

Well the year 2010 has arrived, and much to my disappointment the common car still fails to hover, x ray glasses haven’t hit the shelves and my apartment is not yet fully voice activated.  Fear not, technologies aside, the arrival of this year brings many great opportunities for all that choose to seize them.

I was reading the trainharder blog today and noticed the ‘New Years Resolutions Challenge‘ and while I try to steer away from the term resolution, anyone who has been reading this for a while knows that I love to set goals, and live for reaching them.

Pano’s challenge was the first opportunity I have had to actually type out the ideas that I have had swirling in my head for the last few weeks.  I’ll cut and paste below:

- Top 3 finish for Dirty Duo relay team
- Sub 5 hour Chuckanut 50k
- Sub 11 hour Miwok 100k
- Complete Transrockies Run
- Top 3 finish in coed couple category for either MOMAR adventure race.

Now, while this all seemed achievable in my mind, it was only when I put it on paper that I realised the magnitude of the tasks ahead.  Briefly an element of doubt started to enter, but upon revision, I do honestly believe that checking these 5 boxes will be a well earned achievement provided I put in the training required to get there.

It is a stretch, but there is no glory in the easy route, and as three of these goals include other people, It will be necessary to foster the team spirit, and I welcome that into my year for 2010.

My last thought on the above is – ‘tall order – better get on it’ and with that I welcome back in the full working weeks ahead to provide some solid structure around a training plan that I really need to get started on today, not tomorrow.

So there it is, its out there and its on the blog… it is real.  And now its your turn, time to throw down and become accountable, set some goals and then go out there and get them!

As sad as it is as that the year draws to a close, it brings about a time for reflection.  A time where I can look back and admire what I have managed to do in the past 12 months and perhaps think a little about how I want to spend the next 12.

It gives me time to appreciate how fortunate I am in my life to be able to really live it how I choose to, restricted only by my own self imposed boundaries and self limiting beliefs that I am learning how to control.

When I started out this blog about a year ago, I was a total newie to the whole ‘endurance’ scene and I used this as an accountability tool more than anything else.  The last year has seen this blog develop and become my voice as a member of the running community in Vancouver. It has allowed me to share my goals, and document my experiences along the way. As I glance back it is easy to see that have been many.

My highlights are summarised below:

Trail Running:
1st 50km – Chuckanut.  Finished under 5 hours and 30 minutes.
1st 50 Mile – STORMY.  Finished under 9 hours.
5 Peaks Trail Running Series – Finished Series 3rd overall in Age Group.
Nike Womens Half Marathon – Pace bunny for 2 hours.  Ran barefoot. Finished 1:59.

Bike/Boat:
1st 60km Adventure Race – MOMAR Cumberland – 4th Coed Couple
1st Kayak race – Big Chop – 2nd Coed Couple in class
Obtained Cycling BC, Cat 5 men racing licence
Competed in the Escape Velocity Tuesday Night World Champ Criterium
250Km Cycling Gran Fondo on Vancouver Island

Travel:
Los Angeles
Chicago X3
Seattle
Belize
Bahamas – Nassau
Turks & Caicos
San Francisco
Las Vegas

Personal Development:
BCRPA Certified Personal Trainer
PADI Certified Diver

For me 2010 will be all about going bigger.

I plan to run further, 100km, 100M and 250km(staged) races.

I plan to work harder, launching my ‘pricey trains’ brand and helping others achieve their fitness goals.

And I plan to have fun, competing with friends and sharing in life’s experiences along the way.

Happy Holidays to all and thanks for stopping by and sharing these highlights with me along the way.

WOOT WOOT – 1st race goal for 2010 confirmed!

Chris Price,

Congratulations, you have been selected to run the 2010 MIWOK 100K.

In order to participant, you MUST complete payment by December 20th at 11:59PM PST.

If you do not wish to participate, please use the same link below to let us know, so we can let someone else in.

Confirm or Decline offer, Register, and Pay
Deadline: Sunday December 20th at 11:59PM PST
Click Here!: Confirm or Decline

Wanna race ultras in BC next year?

Bruce Grant, the series director for the BCUTS (BC Ultra Trailrunning Series), has posted all the info on the extensive 2010 series onto the BCUTS facebook group.  He’s even gone as far as to create separate events for each race so you can mark your attendance and invite your friends along.

Included in the group, is elusive info on the Diez Vista 50k.  The race has changed race directors this year, and its almost impossible to find info on outside of the above group.  The old DV race website has been taken down and I’ve noticed increased traffic to my blog on the google search term “Diez Vista 50k”.  This in turn has prompted this re post, with the race info copy direct from Bruce.

———————————————————-

Diez Vista changes RD for 2010:

Paul Slaymaker and his wife Penny have decided to pass on the reigns of organizing the DV race after five years. They deserve huge credit for putting on such an excellent event while raising a child and running their own business. Thanks for all the sweat and dedication, Paul and Penny!

N ext time you drop by the Runner’s Den in Port Moody, please give Paul a huge thanks for all his work over the last five years.

I’d also like to welcome the new RD….actually he is the old RD! George Forshaw originated the DV race and he and his wife Gail ran it for years before passing it on to Paul and Penny. George can’t seem to stay retired, so will be back putting on DV in 2010. We’re lucky to have him organizing it once again.

———————————————————-

The race is scheduled for Saturday the 10th April 2010 and will be sure to make it onto my race calendar.

I have a confession.

Shhhh

While it may appear that I have been inactive and enjoying some time away from running, I have actually been slowly introducing it back into my schedule.  Last week I ran to work.  Then I ran home from my friends house a few days later.  I followed this up with 30 minutes barefoot on the treadmill yesterday.

Today, after being presented with the beauty of the snow capped mountains and brilliant sunshine, at lunch, I got up, turned to my workmates and announced “F#%k it,  I’m going for a run” and took off for a 13km sea wall loop.

Originally I had planned to try and get in some sort of race shape for the Gunner Shaw cross country coming up next weekend.  I remember it as fun race from last year as it was a club race, all the fellas were out for a run and the competition was fierce but friendly.  I’ve changed my tune on this one however after realizing that I will not be able to race at full strength and rather than risk further injury (to body and pride) I put the call in and will be helping set up the course and then race marshaling instead.

This way Ill still get to be a part of the race but get none of the pain.. or glory.  Ill have a good position to watch the LGRR crew battle it out with Prairie Inn Harriers (and each other) while I will also get to be witness to the final championship round between Tom and the Lazy Trail Runner in a 3 match series tied at 1 a piece.

As far as training goes, I’m not really interested in racing or any technical long runs at this point.  Basically I just want to maintain some level of fitness for the upcoming snow shoe season and work on getting the confidence back into my footing.  I wont be bombing 7th secret anytime soon, and will probably stick to the road and flat easy trails while I’m still going to physio.

So, now its not a secret, feel free to hit me up for something mellow…

Oscar Pistorius

An interesting story on  South African disabled track star, Oscar Pistorius, was published in today’s Globe and Mail.  There has long been a debate on the advantages of his artifical legs, or’ blades’ that he runs with.

It appears that the studys have proven, scientifically (who can argue with that?), that he has a 10 second advantage over 400m against an able bodied athlete.

Personally I find it amusing that there is even a study in the first place, which foccuses on a man with no legs being able to run faster than, say, a man with legs…?!

But with Olympic aspirations as real possibility for the young 22 year old, the necessary studies need to take place.  I’m not sure how the 10 second advantage would pan out if he did line up in London in 2012 but it sure would cause a stir if the able bodies are starting with a 10 second handicap over Oscar.

Full story on the Globe and Mail here.

My older sister Kelly has long been an inspiration for me.   The way she runs her life as a talented accountant, mother, wife and friend has always impressed me.  Even more so is the was she can juggle it all and still find the time for herself and her health amid a busy schedule.  Most people like to make excuses for lack of time, but Kelly clearly demonstrates how to live a balanced and fulfilling life.  Its a pity that she lives in New Zealand as we don’t nearly spend enough time together.

When I found out that she was running a local 10km in Napier, New Zealand, I asked her to do a guest post for me on my blog.  Partially as I’m getting lazy myself and seem to like to post other peoples material lately, but mostly as I’m interested in her story as she selflessly ran for the joy of running and the camaraderie of her friend and training partner.  Her story is what running is all about.

Kelly, Ameila, Libby

Kelly runs……………

I have recently become interested in running and participating in running events over the past few years, since I had my two daughters (now aged 5 and 3). I started out by joining the gym after my eldest daughter was born, mainly motivated to lose baby weight. I grew to thoroughly love my “me-time” at the gym, and enjoyed watching the baby weight (and then some) come off. I went to the gym three times a week for cardio and weights, but I was fascinated by running and how it could tone and strengthen the body. I started off jogging around the block and grew to running  3-5 kms. It doesn’t sound much, but for somebody who has NEVER been very athletic, it was a big achievement. I also participated in 3 “blokes-free” triathlon series– where a 3km run was needed to complete. I did all 3 of the tri’s – not realizing I was pregnant with my second daughter during the last tri.

After my youngest daughter was born, I was back in the gym within 2 months, which was pretty good given I had a c-section. Again, my motivation was purely weight related but there was something about running that I needed to explore again. My goal was set pretty early on – a half marathon in Aug 2007. I trained for 3 months, and completed the half marathon in a very average time, but having managed to finish it was an achievement I will never ever forget.

With 2 small children, and a challenging part-time job, the luxury of having time to indulge in training was limited. I kept up 5kms runs probably 2 times a week, and started doing spin (RPM) classes at the gym twice I week. I love spin classes, and have watched my fitness, strength and toning come along in leaps and bounds. At one stage, I considered undertaking training to be a gym instructor (and this is something I am still interested in) but decided that I already had a very full plate at that point in time.

The Barrett Family

So, about 3 months ago, my good friend Nikki (who has 3 little girls – aged 6, 4 and 1) decided to take up running as she had finished feeding her baby, and wanted to get her fitness up and the all-important baby weight-loss completed. I was running my 5kms several times a week and doing spin classes so had a base fitness, and Nikki had been walking a lot. We started slowly, running in the dark at night (was winter), in the rain and cold after all our children were asleep, or early on Sunday mornings, while our husbands dozed and children watched TV in their pj’s.  I loved my running sessions, and I decided that the Napier half-marathon was coming up, and that I wanted to run the 10kms. I thought that this was a reasonably achievable goal in the time frame, and I wanted to do an event. Nikki  was non-committal from the start – she had never run that far, nor ever entered a running event. However, she trained with me, and slowly we increased our distance and pace.

A week before the event and I was wavering. I knew I could do the distance, but my husband was going out of town for the weekend (which necessitated a babysitter) and it was all falling into the too hard basket! Nikki was fabulous – I think running has sneaked its way into her blood – she decided that we were not quitters, and we would do the run and we would find a way. A babysitter was organized, the event entered and strategies determined. We did a practice run of the course, and we were determined to finish.

The day of the run dawned as perfect running conditions – overcast but mild with no wind. I had a very early start to sort out children etc and picked Nikki up from home.  We were both nervous – we both wanted to finish the distance in a respectable time, and being amateurs, we were unsure about our nutrition (we both had a light breakfast), our water intake (and the corresponding need for the toilet) and what we were wearing (neither of us had flash gear, but we didn’t want to be too hot, too cold etc ). The run started at 8.50am, and we were off. Our strategy was to start slowly, near the back, pace ourselves and pick up the pace as needed.

I felt strong throughout the race, and made sure I paced myself with Nikki. My goal was to stay with her, support her throughout the run and for us to cross the finish line together.  We made it to the halfway point just on half an hour, and we buoyed by seeing a car full of little girls (Nikki’s) waving and clapping us on. The second 5kms were tough, Nikki found it difficult as she is a night-time runner, and struggles a bit in the morning. I felt good, so made sure my pace was constant, slightly ahead of Nikki, and I encouraged her. Usually our runs consist of lots of girly gossip and laughs, but we both put heads down and went for it. The last km was tough, and the finish line was further that we thought it would be. However, we made it over, collapsed and were done. What an amazing achievement – Nikki had never run that far and we completed the run in 1 hour and six minutes, which was a little bit quicker that we had done earlier that week.

We weren’t last either – another achievement!!

Even though my competing is nowhere near in Chris’s league (I am alternatively amazed, proud and astounded by Chris’s efforts) running gives me time on my own, a strong and fit body, and allows me to become a role model for my daughters, to teach them that a fit and active life is the right choice, that competing is more important than winning and that you will get results if you stick with something.  All good life lessons I think!

Sunday afternoon bought our two families together for a celebratory bottle of bubbles and cheese and crackers in the sunshine (bliss!). After a glass of wine, conversation turned to… what is going to be our next event?

There is another 10km run coming up soon – will we do it and try for a better time?

Shall we try for a half-marathon?

Yes, we have been bitten by the running and event bug – so watch this space…