I Am a Scientist

The Toronto Marathon is on October 16. That's just about 2 weeks away, and my run mileage right now is pathetically low. My longest run of the year so far is under 2 hours, a fact I attribute to the twin causes of a) training mainly for Olympic distance tris and b) sheer laziness. With maybe a bit of 'I'm too busy' thrown in for sympathy.

Right now I'm desperately trying to cram in enough training to complete the 42.2k distance without kiling myself in the process but this is far from a sure bet. Last year at this time I was running in the 3 hour range pretty comfortably and had been focusing on the marathon since mid-August. Still not the recommended amount of training if you listen to the standard wisdom concerning marathons, but I'm no couch-surfer so I wasn't too worried. A 3:37 was the result. Not too bad.

This year is a different story. This will be something of a science experiment for me - can I comfortably complete this race on a minimum of training? Is this a really dumb idea? I guess I'll know on October 16. I've already revised my anticipated finish time from the 3.5 hour range to the 4.0 hour range. Anything longer than that will constitute a serious failure, race-wise. But even so I can take comfort in the fact that my little experiment might somehow add to my store of Race Wisdom. It might also serve as a Warning to the Others.

Right now the plan is to run 3-4 times per week, including at least one 25k run. Tapering will be limited to the 4 days before raceday... I hope that's enough.

Learning to Suffer

Further to my last post about autumn training sessions, the Hastings Hilly Hundred was everything it was hailed as, possibly more. What was it hailed as? Why, it was hailed as the 'toughest century ride in Ontario'. No arguments here. Over 120 climbs, some of them crazy long, and just over 100 miles of riding. Ouch.

Although any remnants of ridey goodness gleaned from saturday's festivities will be long out of my legs by the time IMLP rolls around, one thing one can always take away from a hard ride like the HHH is the ability to suffer and keep going. And yes, there was some suffering. Nothing of the show-stopping variety, but suffering nonetheless.

A positive sign: my legs held up fine, and no trace of soreness either yesterday or today. That means either that my skinny pins are stronger than they look or that my climbing technique is good. Either way, that's a good thing. On the other hand, my lower back is kinda stiff today, so that tells me I need to do more work there.

Side note - my bike seemed to attract the attention of a couple of the local old boys who were helping out with the race. Never mind that there were bikes there that easily cost twice what mine did, the Cervelo got the looks. Not bad for a steel bike, but then again it is a Very Sexy Machine.

What's My Motivation?

Man, it is hard to get motivated at this time of year. The 2005 tri season is over, I have only one race booked for the fall (Toronto Marathon mid-October) and the weather is awesome. Perfect for goofing off, especially mid-day when I usually head for the gym for some hoisting. I haven't been in the water since my last race on the Labour Day weekend, and even though I know I should be hitting the pool at least once a week it just doesn't seem that urgent. It's too easy to go for a lazy bike ride at lunch, say up to St Clair West for some delicious gelato. It's also pretty easy to slide over to Yonge Street for lunch and a breeze through the local used CD store. Ahh, September, bestest month of them all. Not too hot, no bugs, and christmas still way over the horizon...

Is this impacting my fitness? Could be. Sunday was a 1.75 hr / 1.75 hr ride/run brick, and I felt pretty empty towards the end of the run. Worse than I thought I should have, but who knows? Right now I should be working on getting my run mileage up in time for the marathon, not doing bricks. The great weather won't last forever though and I hate to waste a good riding day by not getting on the bike.

On that note, this weekend is a 160k ride in the Bancroft area, up in the Haliburton Highlands. Nothing but hills up there if my memory is correct, so it should be a great ride. I'll try to work in a run, maybe even after the ride if all goes well, though it may be not too long.

Rest Assured

I've just spent the last week (monday to friday) doing absolutely nothing, training-wise. And you know what? It felt pretty good.

My final tri of the 2006 season was last sunday in Guelph, an Olympic distance race and my 6th race of the year. I've been training steadily since, well, since last fall really, and it just seemed like a good idea to give it a rest for a week.

Rest is actually important, so I didn't feel too bad about it. Overtraining can lead to burnout, injuries and mental fatigue, say all the training manuals. So who am I to argue? I'll be back at it starting this weekend - the Toronto Marathon is coming up in October so I have to get my mileage up. More long runs in the program, and probably less swimming than usual at least for now.

The real IM training begins.

Heart (Attack) Rate Monitors

I went to my LTS (local tri shop) a couple of days ago to pick up a heart rate monitor, to try to improve my running. Everything I've read so far about training for IM says to get a HRM so that's what I'm going to do. Never used one before and always thought it was a bit of a geek toy, but I'll put that judgement aside for now and give it a shot.

The model that was on sale (for $319 CDN) was sold out. Of course. So it was suggested that I try the latest model from Polar - it gives you accurate speed on the run without counting steps or GPS, plus temperature, altitude and who knows what else. Makes a nice latte, probably. Price: $499.00. I know this is an expensive sport. I'm lucky enough to be able to afford decent gear, so I usually don't waffle about buying what I need (within reason). But five hundred bucks? Does it come with a defibrillator too?

If anyone can recommend a model of HRM that will do the job without breaking the bank, I'd love to hear from you. In the meantime I'll continue to plod along without one.