PB+J?? I love PB+J!!!!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Results Are In (Sort Of)
Over the weekend I wanted to investigate which activities would be good for endurance training. That is, spending solid time in zones 1 and 2. I did a moderate hike with poles on Saturday and a 40-mile road bike ride for a friend's birthday on Sunday (complete with pulled pork sandwich mid-way through...yeah!!).
The hike put me squarely where I wanted to be. See?
The road bike ride? I can't tell you because as I was scurrying out of the house after tracking down my bike shoes, realizing the floor pump had gone on vacation with my husband, and making John's birthday card, I forgot to grab the monitor. Ooops.
I did manage to grab some numbers today while mountain biking on the trails right by our house. The average was 132 BPM. It was a gorgeous morning -- and it definitely feels like fall. 40F when I left the house. Brrrr.
The hike put me squarely where I wanted to be. See?
The road bike ride? I can't tell you because as I was scurrying out of the house after tracking down my bike shoes, realizing the floor pump had gone on vacation with my husband, and making John's birthday card, I forgot to grab the monitor. Ooops.
I did manage to grab some numbers today while mountain biking on the trails right by our house. The average was 132 BPM. It was a gorgeous morning -- and it definitely feels like fall. 40F when I left the house. Brrrr.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Weekend Warrior (Pose)
Checked out some new terrain today along the ridge between Warm Springs and Baker Creeks. Yes, I did wear my HRM.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Zoning Out
Pushups: 15
Core: Eric Orton's Strength Circuit for Runners
One of my goals this season is to break out of the rut of just doing junk miles. Yes, I've been saying this the last four years and have never been disciplined enough to do it. I got the wake up call last winter, though, when I did a bit of classic skiing early in the season and noticed that even on flat terrain, my heart rate was shooting up. Similarly, I am the person that's red-lining during warm up while everyone else is comfortably skate skiing along. I think this is a sign that I need to pay attention to working in different heart rate zones to get the most benefit from exercise. Quality over quantity!
I was introduced to the 5 zone system in our local women's nordic ski group -- VAMPS. It goes something like this:
Zone 1: Grandma speed; recovery
Zone 2: Aerobic/Endurance ---> a lot of training should be in this zone
Zone 3: Tempo ---> but also a danger zone, not good for building endurance or speed
Zone 4: Lactic Threshold
Zone 5: Red line!
Using one of the handy calculators out there (and knowing my resting and max heart rates) here are my zones:
Z1: 112-144
Z2: 145-155
Z3: 156-162
Z4: 163-173
Z5: 174-188
For me, the most difficult thing is staying in Z2 without creeping into Z3. It's so hard when you're just wanting to get out and cover some ground. This weekend I plan to try some different activities (hiking with poles and road biking) with my heart rate monitor and see what might be some good alternatives for spending time in Z2 this fall. I am curious to find out!!
Core: Eric Orton's Strength Circuit for Runners
One of my goals this season is to break out of the rut of just doing junk miles. Yes, I've been saying this the last four years and have never been disciplined enough to do it. I got the wake up call last winter, though, when I did a bit of classic skiing early in the season and noticed that even on flat terrain, my heart rate was shooting up. Similarly, I am the person that's red-lining during warm up while everyone else is comfortably skate skiing along. I think this is a sign that I need to pay attention to working in different heart rate zones to get the most benefit from exercise. Quality over quantity!
I was introduced to the 5 zone system in our local women's nordic ski group -- VAMPS. It goes something like this:
Zone 1: Grandma speed; recovery
Zone 2: Aerobic/Endurance ---> a lot of training should be in this zone
Zone 3: Tempo ---> but also a danger zone, not good for building endurance or speed
Zone 4: Lactic Threshold
Zone 5: Red line!
Using one of the handy calculators out there (and knowing my resting and max heart rates) here are my zones:
Z1: 112-144
Z2: 145-155
Z3: 156-162
Z4: 163-173
Z5: 174-188
For me, the most difficult thing is staying in Z2 without creeping into Z3. It's so hard when you're just wanting to get out and cover some ground. This weekend I plan to try some different activities (hiking with poles and road biking) with my heart rate monitor and see what might be some good alternatives for spending time in Z2 this fall. I am curious to find out!!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Time to Kick the Habit
Pushups: TBD
Core: Pilates
I am a junk mile junkie.
Junk miles are those that you cover at a pace that's too fast for meaningful recovery and too slow to achieve better fitness. Basically, it means exercising at the same, slightly too high, pace all the time.
Training with a heart rate monitor (HRM) can break this habit. Problem is, I hate doing it. I've spent the summer blissfully untethered to a HRM. Our system of single track trails in the Wood River Valley is amazing, so it's hard to be disciplined and think of running as a specific workout. I just want to get out there and see my favorite places!!! Problem is, most of the routes I like to run are the same type of terrain, similar distances, and of course I always run them at the same moderate speed.
Carbonate-Vorberg = Fountain Coke
Imperial-Greenhorn = Potato Chips
Howards-Mars Ridge-North Fork = Milkshake
Oregon-Fox = Pizza
Tastes so good, but does nothing for you.
Today, I busted out the HRM. I promised myself last winter that I would be diligent this fall and make more of an effort to train in the proper zones. Mix things up a little bit. But first, I had to see how bad things were. I ran the standby Imperial-Greenhorn loop -- about 10 miles with 1500' vertical. I made sure not to cheat, and just ran like usual (which, FYI, is not very speedy). Secretly I hoped that maybe, just maybe, my heart rate (HR) would be in the low range.
The results?
For the generally uphill portion (just over an hour), average HR was 158
For the generally downhill portion (just under an hour), average HR was 150.
That's pretty much right where I don't want to be (more on this later in the week).
But it was fun!!
Core: Pilates
I am a junk mile junkie.
Junk miles are those that you cover at a pace that's too fast for meaningful recovery and too slow to achieve better fitness. Basically, it means exercising at the same, slightly too high, pace all the time.
Training with a heart rate monitor (HRM) can break this habit. Problem is, I hate doing it. I've spent the summer blissfully untethered to a HRM. Our system of single track trails in the Wood River Valley is amazing, so it's hard to be disciplined and think of running as a specific workout. I just want to get out there and see my favorite places!!! Problem is, most of the routes I like to run are the same type of terrain, similar distances, and of course I always run them at the same moderate speed.
Carbonate-Vorberg = Fountain Coke
Imperial-Greenhorn = Potato Chips
Howards-Mars Ridge-North Fork = Milkshake
Oregon-Fox = Pizza
Tastes so good, but does nothing for you.
Today, I busted out the HRM. I promised myself last winter that I would be diligent this fall and make more of an effort to train in the proper zones. Mix things up a little bit. But first, I had to see how bad things were. I ran the standby Imperial-Greenhorn loop -- about 10 miles with 1500' vertical. I made sure not to cheat, and just ran like usual (which, FYI, is not very speedy). Secretly I hoped that maybe, just maybe, my heart rate (HR) would be in the low range.
The results?
For the generally uphill portion (just over an hour), average HR was 158
For the generally downhill portion (just under an hour), average HR was 150.
That's pretty much right where I don't want to be (more on this later in the week).
Monday, August 23, 2010
I am the Walrus
Pushups: 15
Core Strength: Eric Orton’s Strength Circuit for Runners
I seem to be the only person who has not read Christopher McDougall’s “Born to Run.” The barefoot running craze has not caught on here in the Wood River Valley -- at least among the backcountry runners. There are a lot of toe mangling hazards out there on the single track. But, I think there are some lessons to be learned about forefoot vs. heel strike running. More on that some other day….
I heard about Eric Orton, a Jackson Hole-based running coach featured in “Born to Run,” from a great friend at the El Vaquero Loco trail run. She’s been working with him for the past year for running and nordic skiing conditioning and seemed really pleased with her progress. She’s had a successful season of mountain trail running with very little knee pain -- and finished the 50k version of EVL with style. Of course, I promptly googled Eric when I got home after the race.
His site, Running With Eric, is informative -- once you sign up for an account. It’s definitely a place where forefoot running afficianados are congregating. I was temporarily distracted by his training plans (checking the previews, mind you, not buying them) and then came across the video section, which features clips for each element of his strength circuit for runners. (I am not posting the link due to the above-mentioned annoying sign in requirement...) This is the core strength routine I will focus on this week with the plan of developing a set of good 20-30 minute workouts that I can turn to anytime (and share with all 0 readers of this blog).
I am a fan of stability-challenging core workouts, even though they can be maddeningly frustrating and ego crushing -- falling off a BOSU, walrusing around on the fitness ball, getting Elvis leg on the wobble disc.
(Ouch)
The circuit consists of:
10-20x wall squat (facing the wall)
10x fitness ball (FB) push up
10x FB crunch and reach
10x FB knees to chest
10-15x FB prone rocker
10x knee circles each direction (not pretty)
20x FB lunge (definitely recommend using poles)
Today I made the walruses proud.
Core Strength: Eric Orton’s Strength Circuit for Runners
I seem to be the only person who has not read Christopher McDougall’s “Born to Run.” The barefoot running craze has not caught on here in the Wood River Valley -- at least among the backcountry runners. There are a lot of toe mangling hazards out there on the single track. But, I think there are some lessons to be learned about forefoot vs. heel strike running. More on that some other day….
I heard about Eric Orton, a Jackson Hole-based running coach featured in “Born to Run,” from a great friend at the El Vaquero Loco trail run. She’s been working with him for the past year for running and nordic skiing conditioning and seemed really pleased with her progress. She’s had a successful season of mountain trail running with very little knee pain -- and finished the 50k version of EVL with style. Of course, I promptly googled Eric when I got home after the race.
His site, Running With Eric, is informative -- once you sign up for an account. It’s definitely a place where forefoot running afficianados are congregating. I was temporarily distracted by his training plans (checking the previews, mind you, not buying them) and then came across the video section, which features clips for each element of his strength circuit for runners. (I am not posting the link due to the above-mentioned annoying sign in requirement...) This is the core strength routine I will focus on this week with the plan of developing a set of good 20-30 minute workouts that I can turn to anytime (and share with all 0 readers of this blog).
I am a fan of stability-challenging core workouts, even though they can be maddeningly frustrating and ego crushing -- falling off a BOSU, walrusing around on the fitness ball, getting Elvis leg on the wobble disc.
(Ouch)
The circuit consists of:
10-20x wall squat (facing the wall)
10x fitness ball (FB) push up
10x FB crunch and reach
10x FB knees to chest
10-15x FB prone rocker
10x knee circles each direction (not pretty)
20x FB lunge (definitely recommend using poles)
Today I made the walruses proud.
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