Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Egan went to doggy daycare for a few hours this morning. I checked up on him through their on line webcam and it looked like he was having a lot of fun with the other puppies. Shelley said that when she brought him home he immediately lay down and went to sleep for three hours.

Tonight was spin class at the "Y". My quads were still sore from Saturday so I was planning on taking it easy. Once we got going however, I got into it and went pretty hard for the full 60 minutes. I also did about 45 minutes of weights and had a good stretch. Afterwards I noticed my quads felt a little better so it was worth the pain. Tomorrow is a rest day as I have a luncheon to go to.

Sunday, March 26, 2006

It was somewhat of a lazy morning today. Shelley was up at 6:30AM (although not because we had heard anything from Egan), so I stayed in bed until 8AM. Later I took Egan for an hour walk in the park. We got a little rained on which I don't think he appreciated.

After lunch I headed out into the park for some mountain biking which I hadn't done since last fall. My quads were still sore from yesterday so I wasn't planning on going too hard or too long. The route I do is mostly old fire roads with a little bit of single track and lots of hills. My technical riding skills were pretty rusty which was not surprising. Fortunately I wasn't riding anything too hard and didn't have any falls, although it did start raining and everything was slick. Overall it was a good ride to ease back into mountain biking and work out some of the soreness in my muscles. I'm taking tomorrow off and hope to get in a kayak and maybe a run if my legs are up to it.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Friday was a rest day for me as I tried to shake off whatever had been slowing me down all week. I did go to massage therapy for a leg flush though. It felt great.

Saturday morning, after getting up at 5AM and 6AM (and then staying up) with Egan, we took him down to a doggy daycare to check it out. The people there seem to know what they are doing and there was even another puppy there that Egan had a great time playing with. The plan is to take Egan there 1-2 mornings a week to socialize with other dogs and to allow Shelley some time to do errands without worrying about him being at home alone in his crate.

This afternoon I was joined by LM and her friend T., a runner and rower for a run/power hike. LM and I hadn't run together before and as we were doing a race together we wanted to see how each other could do. I loaded up my hydration pack with most of the stuff I carry in a race to make it seem realistic and tougher. We headed up the trail on the south side of Mt Work, went over the top and down the other side, down the trail to MacKenzie Bight, then up the trail to Jocelyn Peak and along the ridge on the Gowland-Tod trail to the end. We ran almost everything that was flat or not too steep and power hiked the rest. There is a lot of ascending and descending on the trail and it is one of my favourite training areas as it mirrors the terrain we usually see in a race. We had two quick stops for gels and even though I went at close to race pace, the ladies didn't seem to have trouble keeping up. They even managed to carry on a conversation most of the way (except for the steep climbs). How do women do that? I told LM that if she has enough energy to chat when we are racing that I'm going to take it as a sign that I can push the pace faster. Our overall time was 10+ minutes faster than I have done it before which was great. I felt pretty good at the end, even managing to sprint the last 2-3 minutes where the trail gets good. Tonight I am tired and I know my legs will be sore tomorrow. If the weather is not too bad tomorrow, I am going to do a little mountain biking. Now its time for a long soak in the tub.

Time: 2:47

Calories: 2083

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

I went for my 25 minutes on the treadmill at noon today and felt like crap. I don't know why as I had a decent night's sleep. Maybe I was still working on a sleep deficit. Whatever the case, I struggled through my run doing a moderate warm up and cool down on either side of four sets of 3x 1 minute intervals at increasing speeds. I told myself that this is what it sometimes feels like in the middle of a race and to just suck it up. Afterwards I did the Windjammer machine, some step ups (two sets of twenty with each leg with 20lb weights) and then some stretching. Tonight I did some ab work and some dry land paddling.

I'm thinking of taking Monday off to get some rest and some additional training in (if that's not a contradiction). Today the bike shop called to give me the good news that I needed some new parts (cassette, middle chain ring, derailers) on my MTB as they were wearing out. I would replace the whole thing except that I just bought my road bike and have a roof to replace this year. Maybe next year.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

After two nights of fitful sleep I was tired today, and I can't even blame it on the dog who has been sleeping through the night. I went to spin class at the "Y' but didn't put in too strong of an effort. I could tell just from my HR monitor that I was tired as even on the tougher drills I couldn't get into my anaerobic zone. I also did an hour of weights but took it easy on them too.

Monday, March 20, 2006

After some good workouts on the weekend, today was a rest day. My legs were a little sore after running on hills yesterday, showing there is a lot of difference in the muscles you use to run hills vs running flats. I also got another night of uninterrupted sleep last night. I could get used to this. Egan had a couple of retired grey hounds from down the street visit him this afternoon and we took him for a big walk tonight. As a result, he only acted up for a short time before settling down to chewing on his toys and sleeping.

After dinner I did some ab work, some dry land paddling and a couple of sets of step ups on the box. Last week I was going over how long I have until my first race and I started to get worried that I wasn't going to get in all the various workouts that I wanted. So I sat down and worked out what I wanted to get done every weekend between now and the end of April. Of course there are a lot of variables such as the weather that could change my plans, but at least I have something to go by now. I also dropped my mountain bike off at a bike shop today to get it tuned up as I want to get out on it soon.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Egan was good again last night, sleeping through the night and not getting me up until 6:30AM. I took him for an hour walk in the park this morning. Shelley stayed home as she wasn't feeling very well. My plan was to go kayaking after lunch, however when I phoned the rental shop no one answered and the message said they were closed until March. I'm not sure if they were just away from the phone and hadn't change their message or what, but decided to give it a pass. Instead I had a nap on the couch with Egan.

Shelley got up about 3PM so I headed out for a run in Thetis. I hadn't run there in over a month due to my injured calf and it was good to get back. My legs didn't have a lot of jump in them which was probably a combination of riding hills yesterday and not having run on hills in a while. Despite that, I had a good run and my calf was fine, although my legs will feel the affect of the hills tomorrow. Afterwards I did some weights and some dry land kayak training. It consists of using something like a broom stick to mimic the paddling movement in an effort to work the arm and back muscles.

Before dinner we took Egan for another long walk to tire him out as that seems to be the key to stopping his antics at night. After a little TV its an early night tonight. Between the dog, the early mornings and my training, I'm having trouble getting enough sleep these days.

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Friday was a rest day with just some ab work after dinner. On both Thursday night and last night, Egan slept through the night again. He did get me up at 6AM this morning but I can live with that. Shelley got up a little later so I went back to bed until 8AM. Later in the morning we took Egan out for a longer walk in the park to try and tire him out a little. When we got back I washed my bike for a road ride in the afternoon. After lunch I headed out on a ride. I was a little frustrated and almost talked myself out of it as Egan wouldn't settle down in his crate for a sleep. Shelley told me later that he howled for an hour after I left.

When I got home Egan was being a little monster. I'm not sure if its the time of day or just me getting home. He drove us crazy until after dinner when I took him out for another walk. I told Shelley I wasn't bringing him back until he was tired. After going around the neighborhood twice he pulled me towards home. Once we got in he went right to sleep. That's where I'm headed now. I'm hoping to get in a kayak and a run tomorrow.

Distance: 63km

Time:2:58

Temp: 46 F

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Last night Egan was up to his old tricks and got me up at 1:30AM. I got my revenge today as he had to go to the vet's and get his second round of shots. Shelley said he was also terrorizing our cleaning lady today. He was growling at her and trying to take her cloth away when she was doing the floors. He also had several visitors in the form of neighbors who brought their dogs over to introduce them. They did some running around the yard and tired Egan out. Hopefully this will make him sleep well tonight.

Today was spin class at the "Y", after about 40 minutes of weights. I thought KW the instructor would take it easy on us as we were both going to do the treadmill after class. No such luck. It was a tough class and I was anaerobic for much of it. It was nice to see JL back from Africa and despite not having done any spinning lately (but I assume lots of running) she made it look easy. After class, KW and I went upstairs and did 25 minutes on the treadmill. I hadn't done a brick yet this year and I wasn't sure how I would do. I ran at a moderate pace and while my legs felt a little tired, they did feel loose and I still had something left when we finished.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Last night Egan slept through the whole night for the second time in a row. Unfortunately I didn't. Today was my regular 25 minutes on the treadmill at lunch time. I did a 10 minute warm up followed by 4 sets of one minute moderate, one minute 10km pace and one minute past pace with a 3 minute cool down at the end. My legs felt pretty good. Afterwards I did a little bit on the Windjammer machine. I have stopped doing squats as it was bothering one of my knees, so today I started to do some step ups onto a box holding 20lb weights in each hand. Its supposed to be good for individual leg strength for running and cycling. I did two sets of twenty for each leg.

When I got home after work I played outside with Egan for a while who had been good today but his brat side seems to come out when I get home, or its just the time of day. After dinner the three of us almost fell asleep (Egan did) watching "Bones" on TV. Tomorrow will be my first brick of the season with a 25 minute run on the treadmill after a 75 minute spin class.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Last night Egan slept through the whole night for the first time without having to go out, although given his age it was probably a fluke. We'll see.

Tonight it was nearly a full house at the "Y's" spin class. D felt like torturing us and put us through drills for the first 30 minutes of the class without a break. I had my HR monitor on, went hard and stayed anaerobic for the whole time. Near the end I could feel the build up of lactic acid and was glad the remaining 30 minutes of the class were a little easier as I don't think I could have pushed into anaerobic any more. Afterwards I did an hour of weights. I got home in time to play with Egan for a little bit and watch some TV. These days I'm going to bed pretty early as I usually am up with Egan in the night and am getting up early with him in the morning.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Last night was pretty good as Egan didn't wake me until 5AM. This morning we took him for a long walk in the park to tire him out. I don't think it worked. We then gave him a bath which I'm not sure he liked. After lunch and a play session with Egan in the yard I went for a run at Elk Lake. I hadn't gone for a long one in three weeks so I didn't know how I would do. I didn't push the pace at all and the first 10km felt fine, but I could feel the last 3km. I had thought about doing Mt Finlayson on the way home, but decided it wasn't a good idea.

Tonight Egan was a brat and frustrated both Shelley and I. She is not feeling very good right now which isn't helping. One minute Egan seems to be getting it and the next he isn't. His biggest problem is biting everything in sight, which is going to take a long time to curb.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Egan had a pretty good night last night, not getting me up until 4AM.

This morning I spent finishing puppy proofing our yard. Its amazing the things that dogs can find to get into (or out of). Later while Shelley went and did the grocery shopping, Egan and I rested on the couch.

After lunch I met LM at her place in James Bay for a road ride. It was a great day and she took me on a very scenic route along the water out towards UVic. We eventually ended up out on West Saanich Road and then returned via Prospect Road and the Galloping Goose Trail. While the speed wasn't fast and there weren't alot of hills, it was a nice ride of just steady spinning. My legs were a little tired at the end, but not excessively so due to the lack of any real hill work.

Tonight we had burgers on the barbecue and Egan kept us entertained with his antics. He can go from being totally hyper for a couple of hours to fast asleep on the couch in a matter of minutes. Tomorrow should be a long run.

Ride time: 2:52

Friday, March 10, 2006

It was a busy day at work today, so it was nice to get away at noon for a run on the treadmill, even if it was just for 25 minutes. I did my usual ten minute warm up, then four sets of one minute moderate, one minute fast and one minute faster followed by a three minute cool down. I also did a little work on the windjammer and am starting to up the tension on it.

Egan had a pretty good night last night and didn't wake me up until 4:50AM at which point I just stayed up. Shelley came down and the three of us curled up on the couch for 30 minutes until it was time for me to start getting ready for work. Tonight Shelley said he had been good during the day with no accidents and is starting to go to the door when he needs to go out. Of course once I got home tonight he went crazy for a couple of hours while we tried to watch TV.

Tomorrow is a long road ride with LM.

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

I was looking forward to a run at lunch time after a somewhat frustrating morning at work. Despite having been up with Egan at 3:30AM and feeling tired, I needed a good workout. I continued with what I did last time on the treadmill. That is, a ten minute warm up followed by four sets of one minute at a moderate pace, one minute at my 10km pace and one minute at a faster pace, followed by a three minute cool down. I was tired afterwards but my legs felt good. I then spent some time on the Windjammer and did some stretching. After work I went for a session with my massage therapist. Tonight Egan has been a real brat, peeing everywhere but outside. I think he is a little scared by the wind.

Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Tonight at spin class was my first work out in four days. I just put in a moderate effort and felt pretty good, even during a tough pyramid in the middle. I also did an hour of weights and had a good stretch. LM was there and confirmed she would do the Ucluelet MOMAR with me, which is good news.

I got home and played with Egan for a little bit. Shelley said he had a pretty good day although he made a mess on the kitchen floor just before we came upstairs. Hopefully that cleaned him out as I don't want to have to get up at 2AM to take him out like I did last night.

Here is a picture of Egan at 10 weeks.

Monday, March 6, 2006

Saturday was a long day with a return trip to Keremeos of 850km+ and a ferry ride to pick up our puppy from the breeder. The roads were bare so we made good time and fortunately he (Egan) slept most of the way back, although he did have a little melt down at the ferry terminal. The last two days have been spent trying to get him used to his new home and getting him into some kind of a routine. I suspect that my sleep is going to suffer in the days ahead.

Thursday, March 2, 2006

Tonight's spin class at the "Y" was only about half full. I started out feeling a little lethargic, probably because I had already decided in my mind to slow down the pace this week. It took me about half of the 75 minute class to get warmed up, but once I did I hammered it for the last 15 minutes. Afterwards the instructor KW (who is also doing the Ucluelet MOMAR race in May) and I talked about starting to do a brick in two weeks, which means doing 25 minutes on the treadmill right after class. I also did about an hour of weights tonight, but still no squats.

I got home in time for "Survivor" and some left over chinese food. I think we're chinesed out for a while now. I also started putting things together for our trip to the interior this weekend to pick up our puppy.

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Today was just a quick 25 minute run on the treadmill at lunch time. While I had planned to slow things down this week, I felt good on my warm up and figuring that it was only a 25 minute run, I pushed harder than usual. After ten minutes at a moderate pace to warm up, I did one minute moderate pace, one minute fast pace and one minute very fast pace, and repeated this four times with a warm down of a couple of minutes at the end. While it wasn't a long run, I felt like I had done something. I followed it with some time on the Windjammer machine and a good stretch. Normally I would have done some ab work tonight, however I made the mistake of eating a small (but very heavy) piece of turtle/pecan pie (that one of Shelley's friends brought over) after a big dinner of chinese food. It sat (and still sits) in my stomach like a lump, so I skipped the ab work.

The book on adventure racing that I am reading is a series of first hand accounts from participants in different expedition (multi day) adventure races. While I never expect to do one (being too old and probably lacking the ability), I love to read about them. The book starts out by reciting what it calls "The Adventure Racing Manifesto" which I found interesting enough to repeat here. It relates mainly to expedition races, but at times it may be appropriate to shorter races:

If you're not hungry, you're carrying too much food.

If you're not thirsty, you're carrying too much water.

If you are warm, you have too many clothes.

If you're not wet, scratched and bruised, you took the long way.

If you are not frightened, you have too much gear.

If you are not tired, you're going too slowly.

If you are not drop-down sleepy, you're getting too much rest.

And if you finish the race on schedule, it was too easy anyway.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Tonight at the "Y" our spin class instructor was away ill so four of us regulars just pedaled on our own for about 70 minutes. Its difficult to go as hard when there is no instructor to harass you and no music to inspire you (the other three had IPods, I still haven't got mine programmed). However. I wore my HR monitor and managed to stay high in my aerobic zone most of the time, but couldn't push myself into anaerobic territory. I also did about an hour of weights.

It looks like the coming week is going to be a relatively easy one for me (which I am probably due) as this weekend we have to go to the interior to pick up our puppy. That fits with my program of trying to have an easier week once a month or so and then build back up again.