Spring Shift

Spring is here, actually it feels like it has nearly slipped through our fingers unnoticed.  Two days this week we reached the low 80's and today we are pushing 80 degrees.  I finally got my routine down with the cool weather schedule and now I find myself watching and listening and feeling my dog on the end of the line with some degree of anxiety regarding temp and climate as we have gone from running between 40 and 50 degrees to 70 degrees within a short two week period.  Soon we'll be above 70 degrees and it won't be too much farther away that 70's will be our standard low temps of the day.

We debated about where to run today since we had some rain yesterday, overnight and the forecast called for more this morning.  We finallly decided to run in the neighborhood so we wouldn't feel as "rained out" if we got caught in a downpour.  The air was a little heavy, but at 64 degrees but it didn't seem too warm or muggy for the dogs so we headed out.

The loop we start on brings us back to our driveway in 1.3 miles.  As we took the final turn from Marsh onto Barrier Road (our road), Dave decided he was going to make the second loop.  It looked like Maddie was hanging in very well, so we passed the house and began the second climb up Barrier.  Maddie slowed enough that it created a jump rope effect on the lead between us.  I was gathering up the slack and Dave and I were discussing if she really ought to go another round when she turned into a neighbors yard and began to graze.  Both dogs do what we call "fly by's" when we pass a yard that has a patch of new and tasty grass in it, but they don't stop - thus the name "fly by's"; they simply stick their head out and grab some grass and munch while we go.  Maddie actually stopped.  So I checked her over as best I could, we turned around and I dropped her off at the house.

Dave passed Mira to me and we continued up the hill for the the second loop and finished with a half mile block giving us a total of 3.1 or 3.2 miles.  It was around 67 degrees by this time.  As we rounded the last block I told Dave I wanted to get in another mile so I passed Mira back to him thinking she had probably had enough.  He turned left at the corner toward the house and I turned right to head up the hill for the third time.  He and I laughed at Mira who didn't even notice I'd passed her off, or so we thought.  For whatever reason, she turned and realized I was going the other way and stopped.  She watched me go over the hill before she and Dave went on back to the house.  He said later, "she definitely is your dog..."

Once back at the house, Mira and Maddie were ready to be stretched.  I'm sure Mira could have easily finished that last mile.  She didn't indicate fatigue or heat or stress.  I am certain that bringing Maddie back to the house was the right thing to do for her.  I think at this point if we go to the river, she'll be fine for a few more weeks.  The path is softer and there are no hills.  I doubt she'll go much past 70 degrees at the river, but that will give us many weekend morning options into the warmer months.  They both hit their recovery phase and returned to normal respiration within their typical timeframes. 

As always, the routine is subject to adjustment and change as necessary.  It just felt so good to get in so much time on the road this morning.

Training Begins Now...

Actually, the 2012 Triathlon training season officially started for me at 1:30 on Friday afternoon when I stepped into the endless pool at The Sport Factory in Roswell, GA and began to work with my new swim coach, Tracy Palmer.   I left the center after my evaluation with a list of drills and a commitment to work in the pool three times a week.  We will meet to evaluate progress again in 4 weeks.  Honestly, I'm looking forward to the work, but I am mostly looking forward to seeing my video after 4 weeks and looking at what I hope to be huge strides in lengthening my reach and bringing my legs together.  I have to say I looked a little like a frog in the video taken Friday, and I had hoped for a much better view.  That being said, the gift of video is probably going to be the single best tool I pack in my bag this season; I have great visuals of how this leg of the sport ought to look and now I know for sure what I need to work on.

So the new schedule is:  M, W, F in the pool between 5:30 and 6:00 am.  Period.  That's not going to be negotiable for the next 4 weeks.  The sessions will begin with 15 to 20 minutes of drills, followed by 15 minutes of laps.  I'll then finish each session with a repeat of the 15 minutes of drills.

Monday and Wednesday evenings will be relaxed short runs in the neighborhood.  On Wednesday I can finish with some hill work or intervals afterward.  My intention is to keep these sessions pretty simple, especially on Monday after coming off a long run on Sunday; I may find myself axing the Monday night run, or walking instead.  Regardless, I won't incorporate more than three to four miles these evenings.  Since hill work and intervals would be incredibly frustrating for the dogs and demanding for me, I will most likely do a couple of miles with dogs and Dave and then wrap with the hills or intervals afterward on Wednesday's only.

Tuesday and Thursday evenings will be regularly scheduled spin classes.  At this point I think I'm getting more out of spin class than I would be to take the bike out onto the road.  I'll need to get road experience under my belt on weekends before competition begins in May; but for now the spin classes are giving me a huge bang for my time in endurance and strength.  The fast improvements Dave and I both are seeing on the runs, and that which I'm seeing in the pool have got to be related to spin work.  Many triathletes only take their bikes on the road for competition and focus their training on indoor trainers and spinning; if I had the road experience and confidence (still see those scars every time I shave my knee), I can definitely see the benefit in that.  It just takes 99.9% of the danger out of the equation if you're not actually on the road.

My only training on Friday's will be the AM pool - otherwise, that is a day off.  This is our regular "date night" and I live for that night out with Dave.

Saturday will be a run with Dave and the dogs, or a bike ride with Dave, depending on the weather.   Sunday will be reserved for a long run with Mira as long as the weather stays cool enough that she can go the distance at pace.  She's showing enough drive right now that I think I can count on her when the temps aren't much above 55 degrees.  I'll need to do no less than 5.5 miles on these days, and I need to get that bumped up to 7 before the season begins.

Because I'm working on each race leg individually, rather than bricking on a routine basis, I will need to be able to work farther/longer than that leg calls for during an event.  In example, the Sprint distance requires 13 miles (about 40 minutes of cycling) on the bike and a 5K run to finish.  So the hour of spin class puts me in good shape for the sprint distance and a 5.5 or longer run will serve me well for the last leg of a sprint. 

Well, there it is; that's the plan! 

The Pace Dog

Wednesday evening we took the dogs for our routine jog/walk/run.  Dave took Maddie back to the house after a mile and a half.  He was pretty worn out from his trip back to Atlanta from Omaha earlier that day, and she was looking a little stiff at that point, so they decided to call it finished for the evening.

I wanted to get another mile or so in, so I headed back up the hill with Mira.  We slowed our pace as we turned the corner and I decided I needed to take a walk break.  The hill proved more than I could handle the second time around.  It was the last true walk break I'd get that evening.

I measure the success of my runs by the number of mailboxes and speed humps I pass before I have to take a walk break.  I keep mental track of my fitness progression based on these visuals and have become adept as using them as my reference points for measuring improvement, or on a less than stellar outing, fatigue.  As I stepped off the first speed hump I collected the slack in the leash with my free hand and moved into a nice jog.

Things were going well, Mira was on her preferred "edge" (the very top of the curb that begins to bend toward the street).  This is her favorite spot on the road.  I don't know how she maintains this position, but she rarely lets a foot land on grass or the curb - she really walks a fine line so to speak.  I took a minute to admire her grace and realized that I was heading right up to the first stop sign.  Based on my breathy state I assumed I was in mid-range zone 3. I was really wishing I had taken the time to strap on the monitor so I could truly track what felt like great progress.

About 2 speed humps and a few mailboxes later, I became pretty short of breath, probably 2 words between breaths so I decided to back off.  I took a few quick walking steps when Mira extended, thus removing the slack from the line.  She didn't pull, but the line was taunt.  Impressed by her determination to keep at a nice trotting pace at 70+ degrees, I picked myself back up to a jog.  I figured if my Siberian Husky can trot in this temp, so could I.

After a short but steep incline, I was completely winded so I dropped to a walk.  This time it was a slower walk.  Just as the first time I began to walk, Mira took an extra pace and moved to the end of the lead taking all the slack out.  There was a gentle tug this time, never a hard pull, but definitely a noticeable communication that "somebody" wasn't moving fast enough.  Again, I brought myself back to a jog and the remainder of my outing was a nice steady jog.  Each of the times I picked up to a jog, she dropped back to hang in closer to me and gave a little slack.  I know not everyone would notice the suttle movement and feel of slight tension between the harness and hand, but I somehow always have.  I've always felt any difference in stride before I saw a limp or heard a misstep.  I think it is a gift and I'm grateful for it because I've caught some "issues" before they became problems in the past.

I cannot wait to run the next time, I look forward to this communication and partnership between us on our next outing.  Having a canine pacer is great!  A dog as pacer is so much more pleasant than having to chat with a human; when all I really want to do is watch the trees, sky and of course, my dog.  She is such a good dog - with much emphasis on good dog.