Heart Rate Test: Run

Wednesday was an awful day to test my run max heart rate; 95 degrees in the afternoon with 70% humidity. I gave it a try anyways though, with the goal of sustaining a sprint-like pace for 15-20 minutes. However I only lasted 9 minutes at a high pace, reaching a max heart rate of 194. My average heart rate for those 9 minutes was 178, which should give me an idea what my lactate threshold is. Based on the information here regarding training zones:

Zone 1: Recovery

Also known as: Overdistance
Intensity: Very Low
% Lactate Threshold: 65%-84%
% VO2 Max: 55%-65%
% Max Heart Rate: 60%-70%
RPE Scale: 6-9

Used for: These are the easiest workouts, used to promote recovery after harder workouts. It is also generally the intensity level used during the recovery period of interval work and long slow distance (LSD) runs.

Zone 2: Endurance

Also known as: Extensive Endurance
Intensity: Moderate
% Lactate Threshold: 85%-91%
% VO2 Max: 66%-75%
% Max Heart Rate: 71%-75%
RPE Scale: 10-12

Used for: Used for long, endurance workouts and easy speed workout; builds and maintains aerobic endurance.

Zone 3: Lactate Threshold

Also known as: Intensive Endurance
Intensity: Moderate Plus
% Lactate Threshold: 92%-95%
% VO2 Max: 76%-80%
% Max Heart Rate: 76%-80%
RPE Scale: 13-14

Used for: Used for Tempo workouts, training in Zone 3 is usually done in the preparation and base phases. Generally, in the later phases you want to bump up to Zone 4.

Zone 4: VO2 Max Intervals

Also known as: Anaerobic Threshold, Race/Pace
Intensity: Race/Pace
% Lactate Threshold: 96%-100%
% VO2 Max: 81%-90%
% Max Heart Rate: 81%-90%
RPE Scale: 15-16

Used for: Intervals, hill work, and tempo work. Intervals in this zone generally have work-to-rest ratio of 3:1 or 4:1. Training at or slightly below your Lactate Threshold (a.k.a. Anaerobic Threshold) helps your body lean to "recycle" the lactic acid during high intensity work.

There's a Zone 5 as well, but for training purposes I'll never be in it. So based on the above, comparing lactate threshold to max heart rate:

Zone 1
LT: 116 - 150
MHR: 136 - 151

Zone 2
LT: 150 - 162
MHR: 151 - 158

Zone 3
LT: 162 - 169
MHR: 158 - 165

Zone 4
LT: 169 - 178
MHR: 165 - 180

It's nice to see that the two tests are reasonably close, with a few exceptions (like the min heart rate for Zone 1, which are very different). Kudos to Irina Souiki for recommending I find my lactate threshold, head over to http://ririnette.blogspot.com/ and wish her luck in the Toronto Triathlon this weekend! With the above in mind I'll revisit the test for the Bike next week or so.

I Love Swimming

Yesterday was the first day in Week 2 of my swimming routine, and I was a little nervous because it included my first long swim:

-500m warm-up (4x25, 2x50, 2x75, 2x50, 2x25)

-200m long-swim

-5x100m

-12x50m

-20x25m

2300m total

It was challenging, but 200m was doable. The 100m sets were still tough, but after that the 50s and 25s were a cinch. I can definitely feel my endurance improving. 2300m was also the longest session I've had yet, and I drove home feeling fantastic. Hans likes to lick the sweaty chlorine off me when I get home:

One thing that I realized yesterday is how important form is. During my 25m splits I had been averaging about 24 seconds while swimming easily. On my last 25m I swam as fast as I could... and did it in 24 seconds. Simply moving "faster" means absolutely nothing if the form isn't right. With this in mind, on Thursday I'm going to start counting how many strokes I take to go 25m, to gauge how efficient my stroke is. 

I did some weight lifting after swimming, and it was NOT easy:

-Bench: 3x12x135 (did 10 on the second set, and 8 on the third)

-Curls: 3x12x20 (dumbbells)

-Pull-ups: I wanted to do 3 sets of 8, but I did 4 in the first set and said "NOPE" and went to eat dinner instead. 

Tuesday Lunch:

-Two bowls of frosted mini wheats

-1 glasses of milk

Tuesday Dinner:

-Two bowls of fried rice (chicken, carrots and zucchini)

-2 protein shakes (one with creatine)

-Some sugar cookie dough

-Gatorade (post swim)

Heart Rate Max: Bike

Yesterday was the big heart rate test for the bike, and it was actually a lot of fun. The test went like this: start with a 10-15 minute warm-up. Then, while keeping a cadence around 90-100, start on a low chain, pedal for 60 seconds. Then shift to the next hardest gear and pedal for another 60 seconds. Continue doing this, which increases your speed and heart rate, until you reach your top gear. Pedal on that until you're ready to throw up, and see what your heart rate peaks at. Here's my speed chart for the 10.40 mile ride:

The part inside the red box is the test, peaking at 26.8 mph. About 10 seconds after shifting to the final gear (right at mile 5 on the map), I reached a part on my neighborhood loop where it turns onto a major road for about half a mile. There was a car sitting in the turn lane yielding to traffic (despite having a full turn lane to use), so I had to slow down prematurely. I was at 189 bmp when I slowed down, and I had maybe 15-20 seconds left in me before I felt like I was going to throw up, so I'm estimating that my max heart rate would have been between 192-194. This means my training zones are:

Z1: 122 - 151 (recovery)
Z2: 151 - 165 (endurance)
Z3: 165 - 180 (anaerobic)
Z4: 180 - 194 (red line)

Most of my training will be done in Z2, though once a week I will do intervals in Z3. I'll pretty much never go into Z4.

I'll probably test it again in a few months, but for now that's good enough for me. I also did mile #4 in 2:33, which gives me a good idea as to how fast I can go. After the test I finished the loop and did one more as a cool down, and was tempted to do a 4th loop, but decided not to push it and went home. I'm glad I chose to do that, because I had crazy bad saddle sores on the inside of my thigh and nether-regions. These go away eventually, right? Right?

The next morning my thighs were crazy sore, more than they've ever been. Glad I stopped at three loops. I'll be testing my max heart rate for running on Wednesday, so it will be interesting to see how it compares. I'm guessing it's up over 200.

Monday Lunch:
-Leftover broccoli and beef stir fry
-4 oz colby jack cheese
-Black bean and quinoa infused chips
-2 glasses of milk
-4 peanut butter cookies

Monday Dinner:
-Black bean and quinoa quesadillas
-2 glasses of milk
-2 protein shakes (one with creatine)
-A handful of peanut butter M&Ms (THESE ARE BAD TO HAVE IN THE HOUSE)

Rounding out the week

Very shitty Saturday, as far as workouts go. My planned 28 mile bike ride (3 loops at battlefield) was cut short at 18 miles because of a flat rear tire. Luckily it only became noticeable as I was finishing my second loop, so I didn't have to go very far with low air. If I had known I would only be doing 2 loops I wouldn't have stopped for a 30 second breather to snap this photo:

So I sucked it up and headed to the pool for my final swim workout of the week:

-500m warm-up: 4x25, 2x50, 2x75, 2x50, 2x25
-1500m main workout: 4x100, 12x50, 20x25

However, on the second-to-last set of 50s there was a clap of thunder, and they had to close the pool. The good thing is that the sets of 25s aren't the meat of the workout, so if I have to miss anything those are the ones. It's still pretty demotivating to wake up pumped-up for two workouts, and to have them both cut short. I guess that's part of the game. I'll make up the mileage by biking 30 miles on Wednesday, since we're out of town next Saturday.

Lunch Saturday:
-3 open-faced fried egg and cheese sandwiches
-3 cups of coffee
-1 bottle of gatorade
-2 glasses of milk
-1 protein shake

Dinner Saturday:
-Double bacon cheeseburger from Five Guys
-Lots of french fries
-Coke
-1 protein shake with creatine
-Peanut butter M&Ms

Did another brick on Sunday morning: biked three loops in Kiln Creek, practiced my transition (only 90 seconds!) and then ran 8 miles. My running heart rate is still pretty high, and I had to slow myself down just to keep it around 165. I had 13.1 miles originally planned, but the heat was taking it out of me and I was completely drenched, so I went home early. This was a good decision, because I lost 4 lbs of water weight despite drinking 6 bottles of gatorade/water during the exercise. I was so drenched with sweat that my toes were wrinkly from the wet socks. Yikes.

It was a beautiful day despite the heat though:

The brick really drained me energy-wise, so I spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Lunch Sunday:
-Large hot dog with ketchup
-Large slurpee
-M&M cookie
-Small bag of kettle chips
-2 bottles of gatorade
-2 glasses of milk

Dinner Sunday:
-3 egg omelete with ham and colby jack cheese
-Bowl of salad with cheese and ranch dressing
-1 glass of milk
-Protein shake with creatine
-Peanut butter M&Ms (it's a bad idea to have these in the house at any given time)

I'll be spending tomorrow testing my heart rate max for the bike and the run, which will be nice because I have a sneaking suspicion the "220-age" formula isn't accurate with my. I'm guessing my running heart rate max is closer to 200 instead of 194. No idea what my bike max is.

Easy Friday

Friday was some easy weight lifting:

Overhead Press: 3x12x75
Incline Press: 3x12x115
T-bar Rows: 3x12x160

Friday Lunch:
-Bowl of frosted mini wheats
-Protein shake
-Bottle of mountain dew
-Bag of chips

Friday Dinner:
-Half an extra-large pizza with pepperoni
-Half a pitcher of bud light
-Protein shake with creatine
-A bunch of peanut butter M&M's

Swim all the things

My Thursday lunch:

Two peanut butter sandwiches, and 6 pieces of buttered toast. OM NOM NOM.

Second day swimming with the new routine. Same as Tuesday:

• 500m warm-up (4x25, 2x50, 2x75, 2x50, 2x25)
• 1500m main workout: 4x100, 12x50, 20x25

The first 100m set hurt, but by the fourth one I felt pretty good. I really struggled with my leg kick form for most of the day, but sometime during the 25m sets I think I figured it out. I remembered what I read from one training website: "Picture yourself in a narrow cylinder, and move as if you have to keep your arms/legs in that cylinder". Once I focused on that it became easier to do the two-beat kick, and I felt much better about myself by the end.

I also used my polar HRM watch while swimming; even though I can't use the heart rate chest strap, the watch is still waterproof. My typical times:

100m: 1:50

50m: 0:50

25m: 0:25

I was glad that my 50m and 25m times are the same pace, it shows that I'm not going too fast. I pushed myself on the last few 25m sets, and my fastest was 0:22. 

Thursday Lunch:

-2 peanut butter sandwiches

-6 pieces of buttered toast

-2 glasses of milk

Thursday Dinner:

-Grilled chicken with BBQ sauce

-Colby jack cheese

-2 glasses of milk

-1 protein shake with creatine

-Small piece of chocolate cake

Mid-week

Lots of toys in the mail!

• New toe-socks
• Sleeveless cycling jersey
• Bike water bottles and mounting brackets
• Polar heart rate monitor

Originally I was planning on just running, but I was eager to try some of this out so I biked 10.37 miles first. I love the new jersey, though my only complaint is that it's not as long as my other one, so it sometimes shows a patch of skin on my lower back when I'm hunched over the bike. The water bottles are easy to pull out of the bracket, and kept my water very cold. 

I took the opportunity to practice my transition as well. It took me almost 2:00 exactly to park my bike, switch shoes and socks, and put some loose-fitting shorts on over my tri shorts. However, I forgot to turn runkeeper off for the bike, so by the time I had done that and changed it over to "Run" it was more like 2:30. Running a 5K immediately afterwards was a breeze; I felt great from the get-go, and had to slow myself down to keep from running too fast. I could have done more, but stopped at 3.11 miles because I didn't want to push it.

Using the heart rate monitor was great. It automatically calculated my max heart rate, and I set it to keep me in a range of 70-80% of my max. That worked well for the bike, as I was consistently in the high 70s and only occasionally went above that. However, my running heart rate is a good deal higher. When I started the run my heart rate was exactly 70%, but quickly jumped to 85% after maybe 30 seconds of running. I slowed down a bit, but it still stayed around 82-83 while running slowly. I'll chalk this up to my running heart rate being a little higher than my biking one, and try to keep it below 85. 

I also noticed that keeping an eye on my heart rate helped take my mind of the biking/running. I bet it will work extremely well for long runs, whereas before I would pace myself based on how I felt, which REQUIRES you to think about your body.

Wednesday Lunch:

-Leftover linguine carbonara

-Slice of cookie dough

-2 glasses of milk

-1 can of mountain dew

Wednesday Dinner:

-Pasta shells stuffed with cheese

-Cinnamon roll cake

-Slice of cookie dough

-2 glasses of milk

-Protein shake with creatine