Measuring My Lactate Threshold with the Conconi Test...

Recently I read this article in Triathlon Magazine Canada about measuring your lactate thresh hold with the Conconi Test.  The article refers to biking but I figured it would work for running too.  Basically, you run on a treadmill at consistently increasing speeds and measure your heart rate at each speed.  Then you graph the results and apparently there is a deflection point (slight flattening) of the heart rate at your lactate threshold point, when you stop using aerobic energy and start using anaerobic energy.  (Training just below this rate helps you push it higher, which makes for faster half marathon running.)

I did two test runs two weeks apart, starting at 5 miles/hour and going up to 8.4 miles/hour, increasing by 0.2 miles per hour every minute.  Total distance run on the treadmill was 2 miles each time.  Unfortunately, I couldn't really tell what my lactate threshold was from the result, so I may repeat the test with 0.1 mile per hour increases every minute.  The most interesting result to me was how close the two lines were to each other.

Heart Rate Vs Miles/Hour

Getting Schooled By Fast Alex

Fast Alex and His Close Friend Kooper

Tired Out By Fast Alex

This morning I ran with Alex for the first time this year, and he was...  Fast!  We ran 8.5 miles in 1:23:25, but only went that slow because I made him.  He didn't look tired at all and said he is in better shape this year than years past and thinks he can crack 1:40.  I let him set the pace for a mile near the end and my heart rate was pretty high, I attached a graph of that stretch and looking back it actually doesn't look that bad, but definitely above my lactate threshold.  I'll have to be able to hold that pace for the full race to even come close to Alex on the big day, so hopefully I get in better shape by then?

Alex Sets the Pace, Mark Can't Keep Up

We ran into Troy at the end of the run

Mike And Kathleen's Rock Off Push Up/Sit Up/Plank Down Challenge

The Challenge

Mike and Kathleen have thrown down a challenge...  Every night each of us has to attempt as many push ups, sit ups, and plank (duration) to see who is the king (or queen) of the core.  I'm not sure how long the contest runs for, or whether the winner is the person with the highest cumulative results or one time results, but you can follow along here in any case.  The goal is to do as many as possible, quantity and form are key here.

The Results

		Mike			Kathleen			Mark
Date	PushUp	SitUp	Plank	PushUp	SitUp	Plank	PushUp	SitUp	Plank
4-Mar-13	25	17	0:20	10	15	1:20	25	10	1:05
5-Mar-13	25	27	0:30	9	26	1:40	26	11	1:10
6-Mar-13	24	25	0:32	10	27	1:30	27	9	1:15
7-Mar-13							29	6	1:46
8-Mar-13
9-Mar-13
10-Mar-13

The Details

• Order of the exercises is:
• Push ups
• Sit ups
• Plank (front)
• Each participant will perform as many of the exercises in a row as they are capable of, with no break in between (except plank, that is one continuous timed excercise)
• For proper push up form your nose must touch the ground at the bottom and your back must stay straight the entire time
• For proper plank form, only your elbows and one foot can touch the ground and your back must remain straight

Commentary

• Early results show a tossup, Mike leading in Push ups and sit ups, but KK devastating the competition in planks!

Training Update - 2 Months In

Training went pretty well in February, the big change was dropping from 6 days to 5 days running.  My hip was really bugging me at the start of the month but by taking off a lot of days that first two weeks it seemed to recover, and after I implemented a much more thorough stretching regime it hasn't come back as bad as before.  Often it still feels a little sore or wrong, but not painful anymore.  I've ramped up my weekly mileage and my long run length this month, and am trying to do almost all runs under 10 minute mile.  I've also lost 10 pounds since training started in January, another 10 and that could be 40 seconds/minute free speed increase?

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
01-Jan-12	0	2	2	2	2	2	1	11
07-Jan-12	0	2	3	2	2	3	1	13
14-Jan-12	0	2	3	1	2	3	1	12
21-Jan-12	0	2	2	3	1	4	1	13
28-Jan-12	0	2	3	3	1	5	1	15
04-Feb-12	0	2	2	3	3	5	0	15
11-Feb-12	0	0	2	3	0	6	2	13
18-Feb-12	3	2	0	0	4	2	6	17
25-Feb-12	0	3	4	2	0	7	2	18

Goals for March will be:

• increase pace slightly and continue to build mileage
• get a workout in 6 days a week, even if only running 5 of those days
• early on I was doing 2X core and 2X legs weights a week, have to get back to that...
• ramp up rowing mileage slowly

Where in the World is Chuckie V

Chuckie V is, in my opinion, the best triathlon blogger IN THE WORLD!  He is a great writer, very interesting, and as far as I can tell probably a pretty awesome coach.  Also he won Ironman Canada in 1999.  His hiking journals are also pretty awesome, I spent many hours reading his PCT journal end to end.  However, last year his blog went offline/private.  I was devastated since I was slowly reading through his posts, but there was no clue where his online persona had gone too.  Until now!  The boys at Slow Twitch found a link to this blog.  Pretty cool, I guess he is hiking through some mountain range in England, and now there are tons of interesting Chuckie V adventures to read again!

Here are some links to Chuckie V's materials that are still kicking around the internet:

• Most Recent Chuckie V Blog
• Trail journal on the Pacific Crest Trail
• The Art of War
• Young Pro's Survival Guide on Slowtwitch
• What Would Tony Little Do
• Some guy talking about the Chuckie V Effect
• 20 Questions with Chuckie V

Update: new Chuckie V blog

Update update: Chuckie V's 2013 Appalachian Trail Journal

Am I in Better Shape This Year Than Last?

Last year I did a pretty good job of training, culminating in my best half marathon time ever, 1:53 something. This year I want to do better of course, since there is a still a 10 minute gap I have to close with Fast Alex.  So my question to myself is, am I in better shape this year than last?  Is there reason to think there will be an improvement?

I have run very consistently this year, 6 days a week every week but I think my pace is slower and probably overall mileage.  I think my heart rate might be better though.  So here is a comparison of my training week in the last week of January in 2012 and 2013!

Last Year

Tuesday - it looks like I swam, biked 10 minutes, and ran for 1/2 a mile?
Wednesday - looks like I ran just under 40 minutes, 4 miles, the first mile slow (~11:00 min/mile), the middle two miles fast (8:45 min/mile), and the last mile slow again (around 10:30 min/mile).  When fast heart rate was 182 or so, when slow it was 151 and then 165 after
Thursday - spin class
Friday - 2 miles, 10:00 min/mile, avg heart rate was 159
Saturday - 3 miles, 8:45 min/mile, avg heart rate was 175, seemed to settle out at 180 for the last part of the run, also did a spin it appears
Sunday - long outdoor run, 7.31 miles, 11:19 average pace, average heart rate was 157
Total mileage - 16.5 miles

This Year

Tuesday - 2 miles, 10:15 min/mile pace, 152 average heart rate
Wednesday - 2 miles, 9:40 min/mile pace, 158 average heart rate
Thursday - 3 miles, 9:45 min/mile pace, 164 average heart rate
Friday - 1 mile, 8:15 min/mile pace, 172 average heart rate (rose to 179/180 by the end)
Saturday - 4 miles, 10:30 min/mile pace, average heart rate 151
Sunday - 1 mile, 8:00 min/mile pace, transition run after spin, heart rate rose to 170 bpm by the end
Total mileage - 13 miles

The two mile workouts are probably the most comparable, and it seems from them that my heart rate is slightly ahead of where it was last year.  I think after this week last year I started to pick up my speed and my long run distance, so I may have to factor that in for future runs...

Training Update - One Month In

I've been going pretty hard and running 6 days a week every day since New Years, and I think I'm starting to see improvements.  Most runs have been around 9:30 to 10:30 min/mile pace which is too slow to get close to Fast Alex, but my heart rate has been quite a bit lower than years past, so I am still holding out very, very limited hope that I will see enough improvements to beat Fast Alex.

My hip has been pretty sore, especially in weeks 3 and 4 which led to me easing off on the mileage a fair touch.  However, this week it has felt a lot better.

In addition to running I've been pushing other exercises a fair bit, doing 3 X 1KM rowing every week and also core and weight training.  Maybe that will help too?

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
01-Jan-12	0	2	2	2	2	2	1	11
08-Jan-12	0	2	3	2	2	3	1	13
15-Jan-12	0	2	3	1	2	3	1	12
22-Jan-12	0	2	2	3	1	4	1	13
29-Jan-12	0	2	3	3	1