I'm Officially a Runner

Yes folks. About 5 pm yesterday I officially became a runner:

That is my big toenail. It has been hanging on since the Long Beach Marathon. My feet now *look* like they run. Thank goodness men don't wear open toed shoes..

On the workout front I was back on the ergometer last night. I was going to row a 30 minute steady state piece. I rowed a 5 minute warmup and then 20 of the 30 minutes before my arms turned to jello. I threw in the towel at 5.25 kms. Is my upper body really that weak? Ummm. Yeah. Sad to think I used to do 60 minute pieces a couple years ago. Oh well. Now I have something to work toward.

Speaking of erg workouts, if this is something that you are considering on a regular basis, I'd like to suggest a couple of resources for information on workouts:

• This web page on Concept2's website allows you to select a workout of the day. This is a good resource if you are looking to mix things up a little. A word of caution - you may end up with a pretty difficult workout. If you do, no problem, just click the "Workout of the Day" button again to get a different one
• There are a ton of good articles and information about training in general on Concept2's website here.
• If you're going to erg maybe three times a week (say you're injured or something), there are a couple of web pages on Concept2's United Kingdom website that lets you create your own training plan. For example, if you go here, you can create a training program (yes - they misspell it on their website) that is a sprint program -it would be like training for a 10K. Or, if you go here, you can create an 18 week weight loss program. Because this is the U.K., you'll need to convert your weight and weight loss goals to kilograms.
• There's also a great training guide here, albeit it's a pdf and not truly online.

Finally, if you're just looking to substitute a rowing session here and there instead of running:

• Intervals: Substitute a 500 meter row for every 400 on your schedule. Take a 2 minute active rest in between each interval
• Short runs: Substitute 30 minute steady state at a moderate effort (heart rate or effort) for every 3 to 4 miles on your schedule
• Long run: Just substitute the distance and pace. You will need to convert miles to kilometers, and pace to kms/hour

I hope these resources can provide some structure and guidance to make your rowing session a little more enjoyable. Yes. It's still an indoor machine. But, if the treadmills and ellipticals are crowded and the erg is sitting there all lonely, give it a try! And, if you are really hooked, make sure to visit Xeno Muller's website. You can purchase video podcasts that will turn any rowing workout into fun!

On tap tonight - an easy 4 miler. And no - I'm not sitting on that machine. I've got a big toe to break in.

Somewhere There's a 10K PR...

... trying to get out. I hit the Lower Back Bay for a 9 mile tempo run last night. One mile warm up, seven miles at "10K Pace" (more on that later AZ), and a one mile warm down for a total of 9 miles. My average pace during the seven middle miles was 8:50, at an average heart rate of 81% of max. Hmmm. The purpose of this workout is to stimulate lactate threshold, but I'm not running in the LT zone (> 85% MHR). I'll need to push a little harder.

About that "10K Pace". I have been using some confusing terminology. Early on, I read somewhere that a "Tempo Run" was a run that was about an hour long run at a pace that approximated your 10K race pace. The rationale was that a properly run 10K was right at lactate threshold. So, what's this running farther than 10K at a "10K Pace"? After some plodding around on the Internet last night, think I found good definition from a reputable source: "Your Perfect Tempo". This article points out the real definition of a tempo run is a run done at a "comfortably hard" pace - one that is sustainable but where slowing down would be nice. That pretty much described last night's run! If you want to learn more about the almighty tempo run, read the article. It does a good job of describing why the tempo is such an effective training tool.

Finally, about that title - my 10K PR is 55:00. That breaks down to an 8:50 pace. Over 10K. Notice the average pace over the middle seven last night. I think it's time to look for a 10K around here. Preferably a flat one.....

The Walls are White

Plan 2010 is in full effect. I spent last night on the ergometer rowing my heart away. Well, actually a short 12 X 250 meter with 1:30 active rest piece. With warm up and warm down, I rowed 7000 meters (4.3 miles). I can also tell you the walls inside my rowing studio (garage) are white.

A couple of you have expressed some interest in using a rowing machine. If you haven't used an ergometer before, I would highly suggest that you watch this video. I filched it from Concept2's website, the company that makes the rowing machine that you most often see in a gym. It's an excellent instructional video on proper rowing technique:



Do it right, and rowing is an excellent non-impact workout. Not only do you get the benefits of a great cardio workout (last night I hit heart rates over 160 bpm), but as you can see in the video, every large muscle group is engaged at some point during the rowing stroke. Thanks to my kids, I've had the pleasure of hanging around some athletes, and maybe with the exception of water polo players (what studs and studettes!), rowers have the best body definition of the group. No scrawny legs or t-rex arms on rowers! Do it wrong though, and just like running, injury will be chasing you out the door.

On tap tonight - 9 miles of tempo madness. I think that's 1 mile warm up, 7 miles at 10K pace, 1 mile warm down. Blech. I'm still sore from Sunday. Time to HTFU.