So, it turns out I do have a brain, and realize that my "coach" is asking more of me than I should just blindly follow. 1:25, two days in a row (which is what it recommended for yesterday and today) when I haven't run for more than an hour in...somewhat longer than I care to admit.
Stay tuned for an actual, well-planned, training plan.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Friday, January 09, 2009
New Year, New Experiment.
Scientists experiment on themselves all the time, right?
I have a new heart rate monitor, the Suunto T4c, which has some nifty functions I'm still learning how to use. The main function is the "coach" - you tell it your activity level, some stats (resting HR, max HR, height, weight, etc) and it gives you bunches of fun information. The standard average and max heart rates (per workout) are there of course, and I can set zones. It also gives me calories, and something called "training effect" which I am still learning. It's on a scale of 1-5, and as far as I can tell, it uses average heart rate and exercise duration to assign a level. Based on that level and the goals you give it, it designs weekly workouts. I started actually paying attention to what it tells me yesterday.
Coach's plan:
Thursday 1/8/09: 40 minutes. Can't remember the goal TE, unfortunately
Friday 1/9/09: 30 minutes, TE 2.8
Saturday 1/10/09: 1:25, TE 2.8
Sunday 1/11/09: rest
Monday 1/12/09: 1:15, TE 2.5
Tuesday 1/13/09: 1:00, TE 3.1
Clearly it thinks I've been running too hard lately and need recovery, as 2.8 is a pretty low intensity. I'll be back later to discuss that more after I've read about it again. In the mean time, I plan to follow this the best I can for the next 4-6 weeks and see where it takes me. We shall see...
I have a new heart rate monitor, the Suunto T4c, which has some nifty functions I'm still learning how to use. The main function is the "coach" - you tell it your activity level, some stats (resting HR, max HR, height, weight, etc) and it gives you bunches of fun information. The standard average and max heart rates (per workout) are there of course, and I can set zones. It also gives me calories, and something called "training effect" which I am still learning. It's on a scale of 1-5, and as far as I can tell, it uses average heart rate and exercise duration to assign a level. Based on that level and the goals you give it, it designs weekly workouts. I started actually paying attention to what it tells me yesterday.
Coach's plan:
Thursday 1/8/09: 40 minutes. Can't remember the goal TE, unfortunately
Friday 1/9/09: 30 minutes, TE 2.8
Saturday 1/10/09: 1:25, TE 2.8
Sunday 1/11/09: rest
Monday 1/12/09: 1:15, TE 2.5
Tuesday 1/13/09: 1:00, TE 3.1
Clearly it thinks I've been running too hard lately and need recovery, as 2.8 is a pretty low intensity. I'll be back later to discuss that more after I've read about it again. In the mean time, I plan to follow this the best I can for the next 4-6 weeks and see where it takes me. We shall see...
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The Year in Review
This is it, the last day of 2008. It's been an interesting one to be sure. The year in numbers:
Moves: 2
Apartments: 3
Broken trailer hitches: 1
$$ spent on gas: hahaha
Wisdom teeth removed: 4
MRIs: 1
Injuries: 1!! (an improvement)
Miles run: 761
Highest weekly mileage: 30
Average weekly mileage: 14.5
Highest monthly mileage: 96 (February...go figure, the shortest)
Average monthly mileage: 68 (not bad, now that I look at it)
Weeks of laziness (no running): 2! Both due to the hip injury
Months as a vegetarian: 18
New car batteries: 1
New computers: 1
New textbooks: 8?
"A"s in stats class: 1!!
"A"s total: 3!!
Publications: 2
Manuscripts in progress: 3
New bikes: 1
New pairs of skis: 3 (2 for me, 1 for Doug)
New baby cousins: 1 (Paige)
That's all I can think of for now - not a bad year!
Happy New Year, all...
Moves: 2
Apartments: 3
Broken trailer hitches: 1
$$ spent on gas: hahaha
Wisdom teeth removed: 4
MRIs: 1
Injuries: 1!! (an improvement)
Miles run: 761
Highest weekly mileage: 30
Average weekly mileage: 14.5
Highest monthly mileage: 96 (February...go figure, the shortest)
Average monthly mileage: 68 (not bad, now that I look at it)
Weeks of laziness (no running): 2! Both due to the hip injury
Months as a vegetarian: 18
New car batteries: 1
New computers: 1
New textbooks: 8?
"A"s in stats class: 1!!
"A"s total: 3!!
Publications: 2
Manuscripts in progress: 3
New bikes: 1
New pairs of skis: 3 (2 for me, 1 for Doug)
New baby cousins: 1 (Paige)
That's all I can think of for now - not a bad year!
Happy New Year, all...
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sitting in the airport as the sun comes up
That's right - the semester's over! I've actually been done since the 12th, but still in town until today. Now, I'm sitting at the spectacular Capital Region INTERNATIONAL Airport waiting for a flight to Detroit, where I will change planes and head to Newark. Happy to be headed home, but sad that once again, Doug and I won't be spending Christmas together. One day...
The semester wrapped up pretty well. I managed a 4.0 - even getting an A in my stats class, which is definitely new! Maybe I did actually learn something in that class... Next semester I'll be keeping myself busy with two classes and an independent study. My schedule doesn't look bad, but I know that independent study will take up quite a bit of time, and I'm really hoping to get some good research done over the course of the semester. Have to take advantage of not teaching!
Running has been interesting these past few weeks. I would guess that in the past month, there's been one day without snow on the ground - the day it rained and temps were in the 40s. Since then, snow has fallen almost every day, and we have over a foot on the ground (about a foot of that came all in one day). I've managed every run outside and there was only one day - with windchills right around zero - that I really just didn't want to go out there. Twice, the weather has kept me from going out. The first was this past Friday when that foot of snow dropped, and the second was yesterday when the wind chill was -15 with sustained winds at 29 mph and gusts to 45. That's just cold. In light of that, I've decided I'm going to need a gym membership when I get back from PA. I still want to increase my mileage, and at least need to maintain it, for good spring racing. If that means I have to break down and run on a treadmill, I guess I'll deal. I'll still get out as much as I possibly can.
Last weekend, to celebrate the end of the semester, we went cross country skiing up in Roscommon. It was a lot of fun! I have definitely found a new sport. We tried skate skiing - which Doug already has experience with - they were offering a 2 hour clinic for $5. It's tough! I'll give it another try because I did enjoy it, but it was really rather tricky. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting out there as much as I can and as a bonus, I found out Saturday that the local trails are open, so we won't have to drive 2+ hours to do it!
Hope everyone is doing well, and a happy holiday season to you :)
The semester wrapped up pretty well. I managed a 4.0 - even getting an A in my stats class, which is definitely new! Maybe I did actually learn something in that class... Next semester I'll be keeping myself busy with two classes and an independent study. My schedule doesn't look bad, but I know that independent study will take up quite a bit of time, and I'm really hoping to get some good research done over the course of the semester. Have to take advantage of not teaching!
Running has been interesting these past few weeks. I would guess that in the past month, there's been one day without snow on the ground - the day it rained and temps were in the 40s. Since then, snow has fallen almost every day, and we have over a foot on the ground (about a foot of that came all in one day). I've managed every run outside and there was only one day - with windchills right around zero - that I really just didn't want to go out there. Twice, the weather has kept me from going out. The first was this past Friday when that foot of snow dropped, and the second was yesterday when the wind chill was -15 with sustained winds at 29 mph and gusts to 45. That's just cold. In light of that, I've decided I'm going to need a gym membership when I get back from PA. I still want to increase my mileage, and at least need to maintain it, for good spring racing. If that means I have to break down and run on a treadmill, I guess I'll deal. I'll still get out as much as I possibly can.
Last weekend, to celebrate the end of the semester, we went cross country skiing up in Roscommon. It was a lot of fun! I have definitely found a new sport. We tried skate skiing - which Doug already has experience with - they were offering a 2 hour clinic for $5. It's tough! I'll give it another try because I did enjoy it, but it was really rather tricky. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting out there as much as I can and as a bonus, I found out Saturday that the local trails are open, so we won't have to drive 2+ hours to do it!Hope everyone is doing well, and a happy holiday season to you :)
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