How much fat are you REALLY burning?

Sometimes it's fun to geek out over data, but you have to have some data over which to geek out. So, today I did a test to try to nail down how much fat I burn during exercise vs. how much sugar. It's interesting information, and proves that endurance performance is all about efficiency.

Amy the trainer put me on a treadmill with a mask capturing my exhalations, measuring oxygen and CO2. Warmed up a couple of minutes at 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 mph. Finally got to 5.0 mph, then steadily increased the incline. The goal was to reach anaerobic threshold, then only stay there long enough to get three more measurements (less than a minute). Then cool down.

My heart rate (HR) was 60 while I was standing on the treadmill waiting to start. It took a 10% incline at 5.0 mph to reach threshold, and HR peaked at 141 then settled at 138. The HR dropped 15 beats in the first minute of cooldown, then another 9 in the second minute, which means I'm recovering quickly. So it looks like I need to spend more time training in lower zones w/some intervals thrown in, and try to raise VO2 (my peak HR/fat burning threshold) as much as I can. There is a genetic limit to how much this can change, but I can certainly try to become more efficient. Don't need to worry about the ticker; it's working just fine, and better than most.

The graph shows that my body burns fat at a fairly steady level with only a small decline until I hit peak. This is good. Goal is to raise that steady level to more than the current 40-50% of calories to 50-60%. Then I could probably go even longer with less perceived difficulty.

Bike workouts are definitely helping. Last night was half hour warmup followed by 8 intervals of 3 minutes in zone 5 (harder than "comfortably hard") with 3 minutes rest in between. Felt it but it didn't suck. Would have been incredibly painful a month ago, but last night I actually had something left in the tank when we were done.

I was surprised at the low heart rate today. I knew it would be lower to start, but didn't expect it to stay so low while exerting myself. Used to be up around 163 when I was running hard. And 65-70 if I was walking around. It's nice to see positive results from training. Tomorrow: a 15K trail run!

Visiting the Pain Cave

This week I spent some time in the Pain Cave, that place where endurance athletes tend to dwell. And it's been fabulous!

I know I'm there when I find myself chanting the mantra, "I'd rather it suck now, than during a race. I'd rather it suck now..." The Pain Cave is that special place where, intellectually, you know your body is adapting to stress, you are forcing change to happen, and upon exiting, you will feel its benefits. Non-intellectually you just wish it would end but don't dare stop until it's time. It's a place that demented people like me voluntarily enter on a regular basis, a place dedicated to self-torture...or a tremendous feeling of accomplishment, depending on one's perspective. If I have any hope of completing Ironman Louisville AND not having it be an all-day suckfest, I must spend some serious time in the Cave.

This week's visit began with a 2-hour slog session on a treadmill last Sunday. I suppose I could have run outside, but simply didn't feel like dealing with the cold, the ice, and the slush. (Kudos to those runners who braved the elements: you have my profound respect.) I don't do many long runs, but have a marathon coming up soon (Feb 20), so wanted to visit the Cave before the race. That was followed by a killer bike class three nights in a row, Tues-Thurs. There were also the Weds/Fri morning floggings by my trainer Carrie at the gym (see Wednesday's workout at the bottom of this post).

The bike class is through the Indy Cycling Academy, a couple of guys who really know their stuff. It's on your own bike, on trainers. Each class begins with 30 minutes of core exercises (off the bikes), then we hop on the bikes for an hour of serious sweating. As a dedicated non-cyclist, this class is kicking my butt all over the place. It's a bit like drinking from the fire hose, only harder. If I survive the full two months and don't improve, there is simply no hope.

As for my trainer Carrie, well...she can flog like no other.

The next few days are out in the fresh air, away from the darkness of the Cave. I think a beer is in order.

Wednesday's Full-Body Flogging
Remember, this is all in 30 minutes, with minimal to no rest.

- Run .25 mile on treadmill as fast as possible. Substitute elliptical if necessary.
- Pushups 20x
- Alternating lunges with medicine ball (10lb). Start with medicine ball over head, step forward, bend at elbows and do tri-dip over head with ball. Straighten arms up over head as you return to standing position. 20x
- Alternating lunges with dumbbells (15lb). Do the lunge, return to standing position, then do bicep curl. 20x
- Squat to front-raise. Holding dumbbells (7.5lb), do a squat. While going down into squat, raise arms straight out in front of you. Lower arms as you stand up. 20x

REPEAT ALL

Then REPEAT ALL but do 12x instead of 20x for everything.

First Ultra, on a Trail

Well, I have survived my first ultra, the Hawthorn Half-Day Relay. It was on a 5k trail loop, and the objective was to see how many times you could complete a loop in 12 hours. I managed to eek out 13 loops in 11.5 hours, before the feet insisted I stop. That was good enough for second place in the Masters female category, so I got to take home a cute little trophy. Not bad for a first attempt!

The race was in Terre Haute, about an hour southwest of Indianapolis, in a very nice park (with plumbing!). There were 15-16 relay teams of six runners, a few teams of two runners, and about 80 crazy people like me who were doing the whole thing alone, including some racewalkers. At the beginning/end of the 5k loop they had us all set up in a field, so it was easy to stop and grab something, sit down a bit, whatever.

We started at 7am, thankful that the pouring rain had stopped an hour earlier. The first part of the course had a mudpit section that you had to dance around (or risk losing a shoe), but thankfully that was the only messy part. The first mile went around a small lake that was full of geese, ducks, turtles, and very loud croaking toads. An heron took off from the shore, but that was the only one I saw. The large goose family was very entertaining...about 15 children following one parent into the water, with the other parent bringing up the rear.

The humidity was 99%, and the high got up to 95, so the heat index was somewhere over 100. I've never had my shorts completely soaked and dripping water when it wasn't raining. They finally dried out around 5pm. The glasses quit fogging up sometime around noon, I think. Everyone was suffering, and we all slowed down as the day wore on. The relay teams held up pretty well -- their runners were getting some decent rest in between loops, so a lot of them were able to keep flat-out running for the full 12 hours. Very impressive.

Nutrition
Given the heat, my biggest concern was electrolytes. The race organizers provided wonderfully cold water and nicely diluted Gatorade, so I filled up my water bottle with both before starting each loop. They also had a nice variety of munchies, with bowls of nuts, dried cranberries, bananas, gummy bears, etc. I tried to grab something every time I passed through. I had a cooler of munchies too, and grabbed stuff out of there pretty regularly. I started the day with two packets of instant oatmeal with raisins and dried cranberries, and that held for two loops. Food for the rest of the day included a peanut bar, two Zone bars, peanut butter on a small slice of bread, and a protein shake, in addition to the several bananas and mass quantities of water/Gatorade.

Strategy
I tried to do two loops at a time without really stopping. I'd take a few minutes to drink more cold liquids, fill the bottle, grab a banana, and go. After every two, I took more time. Stopped by my cooler, sat down, hit the restroom, laid down on a bench, whatever. After six laps I changed my shoes. After 10 laps I changed my socks. Not that it helped much. The dogs were screaming pretty loudly for the last two loops. It hurt just as much to jog as it did to walk, so it was a bummer when the knees finally told me I was done jogging after mile 37. The last loop was a pitiful stagger, as each step was at a unique angle, so there was no finding a comfortable way to plant the foot. Blisters were minimal so all is well.

Recovery
Thankfully, minimal. Sunday was a wonderful massage over at Massage Envy (love those people!) and lots of sitting around with the feet up. Monday was a half-hour training session Monday morning, followed by a stop at the chiro's office. Am walking normally and feeling great, but no jogging/running until the sprint tri Saturday.

If you're considering trying an ultra, this is the way to do it. The only pressure is on yourself, you can rest whenever you want, and it's a very laid-back environment.

Gotta love it!

My second half-ironman

This was step 1 of the Grand Plan.

The plan? Ironman Louisville 2011, on my 50th birthday.

Part of the Grand Plan is to do two 70.3 races this year. A Half-Ironman consists of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike, and a 13.1-mile run. This was the first of the two. The second is the Steelhead 70.3 in Michigan at the end of July, which I am doing with Team in Training.

While I would have loved to finish in 7 hours, my goal was really to relax, enjoy the experience, and see where I stood in my training. In addition, I only had one day to adjust to being out of the car after an 1100-mile ride. This was my first tri of the race season, so there was no good reason to risk blowing up and paying for it the rest of the summer.

Once again, two very special people were there to support me, Paula and Shirley. Shirley drove down from Houston and was my unofficial photographer. Paula was my co-driver from Indianapolis, and we actually managed to enjoy the ride. (She laughed at the "Arkadelphia" sign for some strange reason.)

At the pre-race meeting Saturday afternoon, we learned that the morning's sprint and olympic distance tris had cancelled the swim due to high winds. Even though we were swimming in a harbor, apparently the winds were so stiff that the water was unsafe. I really hoped that wouldn't happen Sunday...then it wouldn't be a tri, would it?

Checked in the bike and found that I had a very nice spot in transition: right at the end of a row, equidistant from both the bike in/out and run out, very easy to find.

The alarm went off at 5 a.m. Ate instant oatmeal and a banana, and drank a Costco-brand slim-fast. I briefly wondered what I had gotten myself into (once again) and how it would go, despite visualizing a strong happy finish.

The Swim

Turned out the weather was perfect. There was the usual coastal wind, but otherwise the water was fine. The temperature was 72.7...wear the wetsuit or not? I went the lemming route, and chose to wear the sleeveless suit. Turned out to be perfect. I was in Wave 12, with all the other women 45 and up. One woman confessed that she had never done a tri, and had only done pool swims, clear evidence that she was certifiable. I just listened as another woman tried to give her swim advice. Oy. I don't know if she finished or not, but I wouldn't want to be introduced to open-water swimming in a 1.2 mile race.

Water had some swells, but nothing too bad. Typical chop. Typical thrashing and whacking and kicking from other swimmers. The woman that grabbed my ankle several times was annoying, once I realised she wasn't in trouble, just obnoxious.

T1

Took a few seconds to get used to being vertical again. Was a little lightheaded upon standing, but managed to keep moving forward. And this race had wetsuit strippers. Cool! Sure made getting that darned thing off a lot easier. Just unzip, pull it down to your waist, flop on the ground, and let them do the rest. Sweet!

The Bike

Ah, the coastal winds. Because my swim didn't even start until an hour after the pros/elites, and my swim was slow (57 minutes), the leaders were at the bike turnaround while I was in T1. We could hear the announcers talking about how the leaders now had a tailwind. Oh good! We actually get a tailwind? Awesome. Something to look forward to.

The ride was fine, but my crotch gave out long before the legs. There were four aid stations, and I stopped and stood up at each one. I'm a total slug on the bike, and don't train nearly as much as I should (this is not a good thing). This race was my third ride of the season, and I had a painful reminder of why I need to spend more time in the saddle. Ouch!

The third aid station was a stark reminder of how badly a day can go wrong. I was standing, taking some water and chatting with a volunteer, when a young lady came through. She was going very slowly, reaching out to grab a bottle of water. Next thing I knew her bike was sliding out from under her, and she was on the ground. I fully expected to see her trying to sit up, but it was much worse. She was lying face down, hands down by her sides, very still. There was an ambulance at each station, so paramedics were there before I could even get going again.

I left with an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach, somewhat shaken. I never did see her move at all. It looked like she hadn't even tried to stop her fall. Not good. I was finally getting back in the rythm around mile 32 when I saw the life flight chopper coming. A few miles later it passed me again, on the way to the hospital. Damn. Her race ended in the worst possible way.

Mile 55. Still looking for that effing tailwind. Westerly crosswinds never did let up, ever. I think I had maybe a quarter mile of relief, somewhere in the last 3 miles. Actually got up to 20mph with no effort...a sharp contrast to the average of 15mph. Ugh.

T2

The winds were particularly brutal for mile 56. I was very happy to ride up to the dismount line and get off the bike. Took my time in transition, sucked down a warm gel and some warmer Gatorade, and headed out for the run. Or rather, the trudge.

The Run

Surprisingly enough, the run didn't feel too bad. I was tired, but nothing hurt, and when I was actually able to try to run, it wasn't too pitiful. The run consisted of four loops, which did get a bit tiresome, and the entire run was on concrete, the worst possible surface. It was especially cruel when the course went right by the water park (Schlitterbahn), and you could not only see the rides (and cooling water), but could also hear the screams of people that were much more comfortable.

But there were more than enough water stops, complete with gels and sponges soaked in ice water. Those are heaven on a warm day. Since I'm so slow on the bike, my run started in the heat of the day, around 12:30. I think it was only 82 or something and blissfully humidity-free, but I'm not used to that yet, so it felt pretty hot.

Finally got through loop 4, and was able to head straight to the finish line. There was a 53-year-old ahead of me though. Oh hell no. I sprinted to the finish and was able to pass her. Ha! Take that!

Collected my hug from Paula, then wandered over to the food tent. Not like I could eat anything for a while; the food was for later. Found a grassy shady place to sit down, and took off the shoes. Bliss. Paula and Shirley returned with very comfortable flip flops, we checked the time, and headed over to the paddle boat for a cruise. The race was at Moody Gardens, and the previous day we bought tickets that included a boat ride in the harbor. What the heck, there's beer on the boat, it was a beautiful day, I felt great, and Shirley and Paula HAD to be bored from standing around for over 7 hours.

Overall, the race was a raging success. While there were a few "what the hell am I doing" moments, there was no suckage. I got tired on the run (lesson: eat ALL of the solid food you took with you on the bike!), but it wasn't painful or awful. I left gas in the tank at each phase. This was an assessment race, so I took it easy and focused on form. Felt really good at the finish and had absolutely no soreness later. Am extremely pleased that, though slow, I am now much more consistent with my times: I don't really slow down during the course of the race. Had a wonderful visit with my parents the next day in Austin, and headed back to Indianapolis Tuesday.

Most importantly: the volunteers were not only plentiful and helpful, they were very pleasant. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces throughout the course!

Pictures can be found here.

Times

Total 7:20:22
Swim 57:56
T1 5:37
Bike 3:37:24
(splits 1:50:15/1:47:12)
T2 3:07
Run 2:36:18
(splits 4 loops 38:58/38:44/39:47/39:39)

My trainer's killer endurance workout

I have a kick-ass trainer -- she kicks my ass all over the place twice a week. Today's pleasure was a most effective endurance workout. She calls this her "chutes and ladders" workout...but it's nothing like the kids' game!

The basic sequence is this (there are drawings below):

• backwards lunge to knee raise, 20x each side
• pop squats through ladder, step in-out-in-out on the way back, pop squats through ladder again
  
• sprint to end of room
• feet on Reebok slippers (or anything that you can slide across the floor), get in push-up position, walk on hands 2/3 way down room to short hurdles (dragging feet behind you)
• jump over hurdles (7 of them)
• 15 pushups

Repeat 5x in 30 minutes.

Lunge to knee lift

Hop squats through ladder

Walking plank

Hurdles