Last Speed Workout Before THIS WEEKEND'S RACE

At the end of last month, I did 2x2 mile intervals as TASTE of speed 2.5 weeks before the Fort Snelling 5K relay. (I posted a bit about that speed workout in this post.) A month ago, my half mile splits for those 2x2 mile intervals looked like this:

- 3:07, 3:03, 3:02, 3:07 = 12:20.15 (6:10.08 pace)
- 3:00 walking rest
- 3:04, 3:12, 3:05, 3:05 = 12:29.33 (6:14.67 pace)

This past Wednesday (11 days pre-Rocky's Run 6K race and 11 days post-Fort Snelling 5K race), I did the same workout on the same paths, and my splits looked like this:

- 2:57, 3:08, 3:03, 2:59 = 12:07.85 (6:03.93 pace)
- 3:00 walking rest
- 3:06, 3:02, 3:03, 3:03 = 12:15.23 (6:07.62 pace)

So even though this workout last week felt pretty rough, the times show that I'm moving in the right direction. When I would do this workout in previous years, I'd commonly average over 30 seconds faster for each 2 mile interval, so I've still got PLENTY of work to do. In fact, I found this blog post from 2013 where I noted doing this 2x2 mile interval workout WHILE PUSHING HENRY IN THE STROLLER while running splits of 11:46 and 11:42. Yikes. Here's a pick from that blog post that shows me running a cool down with 2-yr-old Henry:

I forgot how we used to snap his snack cup in like that on runs. Ha!

p.s. Real life race buddy/friendly curmudgeon Steve Q challenged me to a handicapped race on twitter:

So 4:30 is the handicap at this weekend's 6K Rocky's Run. We'll see how it all pans out! (Come race with us! It's 10:30 on Sunday morning at the Les Bolstad Golf Course off of Larpenter and Cleveland just north of the State Fair. $10 race entry. It's the final race in the MDRA Grand Prix series, so should be lots of familiar faces.)

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Athletic Totals from the Third Quarter of 2016

My July, August, and September totals really show that I'm on my way BACK from an injury. Here's what they look like:

SWIM: 12,525 yards
BIKE: 114.73 miles (100% of that with my mountain bike, chariot, and boys)
RUN: 116.03 miles
STRENGTH: 57 hours 2 minutes

Weekly swim, bike, run, and strength training time from July-Sept.
(The 23 "sports" mins from the far left was a recumbent bike workout.)

This shows 2 things: (1) I started my "back-to-running" program in July, and (2) I've really been hitting strength work lately. Here's quarter 3 by DISTANCE:

Weekly swim, bike, and run distances from July-Sept.

Those graphs are a bit deceiving because it looks like I'm just REALLY starting to tally up the miles. While I AM doing more, it's still not a ton (for me). Here's a 3-month total from last year compared with these last 3 months (where these last 3 months have to be scrunched down to match the same scale):

A random "quarterly totals" graph from last year on the left, compared to the
3rd quarter of 2016 on the right. Lots of strength work right now, with less swim/bike/run.

So my strength work is going great, and everything thing else is (hopefully) on its way back. Here's to another solid 3 months of training!

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Friday Funny 1175: PUNNY Halloween Costumes

I think once you become a Dad, puns become more and more entertaining. I don't know why. Here are some halloween costume puns from WorldWideInterweb:

Lore more funny stuff posted all week long on steveinaspeedo.tumblr.com. HAPPY WEEKEND!

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Friday Funny 1174: Pregnant Halloween Costumes

Awesome!














Too cute. No, I mean it. This is too much.

Related to this post: here's a Friday Funny from last week that shows funny/cute parent/child halloween costumes.

More funny stuff can be found on steveinaspeedo.tumblr.com.

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Friday Funny 1173: Homemade Halloween Costume Fails

Like I said in my first Friday Funny post from earlier this morning, all of today's posts are Halloween related. Sorry not sorry. Here are some "Homemade Halloween Costume FAILS" that are gross, creepy, or terrifying (for all the wrong reasons):

More funny things posted all week long on steveinaspeedo.tumblr.com.

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Friday Funny 1172: Jack-O-Lanterns

All of today's posts will be 100% about Halloween. Let's start with some creative jack-o-lanterns:

SCARY!!!




















SCARY!!!

More funny things posted all week long on steveinaspeedo.tumblr.com.

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A Little Ride on My Tri Bike

I recently hopped on my tri bike for a little ride. For the first time since April. I've actually done it twice in the last week! Neither ride was a "training" ride, but I just wanted to make sure I could ride again.

Back in late March when I was told I had a stress reaction or stress fracture, I was told I could keep riding. So I did a lot of trainer rides. When I got an MRI on my leg that showed nothing was wrong with the bone, I was told it was a lower back issue sending pain down my leg. I was told to stay off my "aggressive" tri bike to let my lower back rest/heal. Now that my lower back has been deemed "arthritic" and most likely NOT sending pain down my leg, it was time to make sure some trainer rides wouldn't hurt my back (or my lower leg for that matter). (Since this injury back in April when I was told I COULD ride, we've realized that it's a tendon/muscle issue in my lower leg that could have been made worse by riding. Holding a "flexed foot" like when pulling up during a clipped-in pedal stroke could aggravate my lower leg issue.)

My bike shoes still had my winter toe covers on them. From last winter. It's been a while.


My new bar wrap (on my old bike) started pulling away from the electrical tape
over the summer (apparently). It was nasty and sticky in those 2 spots.


Hey look! The SLIGHTEST amount of shoulder sweat after a short and easy trainer ride!

I just rode easy for 25 minutes while watching "The Price Is Right" last Thursday. And then I rode again yesterday (Tuesday) for 35 minutes - mostly easy with 3 slight efforts that lasted 2 to 2.5 minutes each. My leg and my lower back were both fine. So I hope to start making this a 1x or 2x/week thing. Starting now.

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