As I write this race report, I just flew over Seward Park here in Seattle. I’m on a one-night business trip to Washington, DC. I’ll fly in, attend a meeting tomorrow morning, meet some business colleagues over lunch and in the early afternoon, and then catch the evening flight back to Seatac. Hopefully, I’ll have time to get an easy run in tomorrow morning. Continue reading
Training
Thinking About a Moxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor
I was recently telling my physical therapist that my BSX Insight had shipped and that I was excited to be doing tests of my lactate threshold– and his coworker asked me if it was the same as the Moxy muscle oxygen sensor. I told him that, while they both look at blood oxygen, they get different data– the Moxy is a realtime measurement device while the BSX Insight uses a test to find a single number (the ever-critical lactate threshold). Apparently, a rival team to mine across town uses the Moxy extensively. Then this weekend another friend pointed me to Richard Wharton’s blog outlining how he uses the Moxy and I was just blown away. I may have to start saving my pennies to pick up one of these things. Continue reading
A Quick Training Update
My training over the last few weeks has been ramping up pretty steeply into a pattern of fairly high-volume (at least for me). This week, I’m riding and running six days a week. I’m up to 8 miles a day on my runs and my rides are about an hour long– so a little over two hours of training each day. Plus, there’s my time spent on PT and recovery. I’m not one of those guys who loves tons of endurance work, so why such high-volume this early in the season? Continue reading
Develop Endurance Safely with an Alter-G
There are few workouts that I hate more than the weekly (or bi-weekly) long run. The workout probably offers the most benefit of any workout for a runner as it makes them tough enough to handle hard, fast longer races like half-marathons. This toughness also has benefits for shorter races because it develops the leg strength and aerobic capabilities that makes really gut-wrenching running possible. Thus, for lots of runners, this workout is a weekly ritual. A few friends gather together early on a Sunday morning and form a unique support group as each runner slogs their way through the weekly long run. In most cases, this leaves them stiff-legged and sore for Monday. I’d like to propose a few strategies to make this workout a little easier for the competitive age group runner. Continue reading
Getting Fast While Recovering on an Alter-G Treadmill
Like many runners, I spend my Tuesday nights at the track running a hard set of intervals. For the last few weeks, I’ve spending Wednesdays doing recovery workouts, which includes running about six miles at a 6:00 per mile pace. My heart rate barely breaks 135 beats per minute and I’m not breathing hard at all. It’s not as if I’ve morphed myself into Geoffrey Mutai or Meb Keflezighi—I’ve just been using an Alter-G treadmill to teach my body to run faster while recovering. Continue reading
Training on Business Travel
I’ve been swamped with business travel recently, so my blogging activity had to be put on the back burner. This makes this blog topic particularly apropos given that I crammed a bunch of training into these trips. Continue reading
Review: The Supple Leopard and Ready to Run– What Endurance Athletes Can Learn From the CrossFit Community
I live down the street from one of the many crossfit studios that are springing up like autumn mushrooms here in Seattle. I’m not a fan of crossfit. In this regard, I agree with Steve Magness’s strong criticism of the crossfit movement. Nevertheless, I do have profound respect for Kelly Starrett, a doctor of physical therapy and self-professed avid runner, who is at the core of the crossfit movement. This review is about two of his books: Becoming a Supple Leopard and Ready to Run, which I think belong on every endurance athlete’s bookshelf.
Coravin Wine Preservation System
It might seem odd that a review of a wine preservation system would find its way onto an blog devoted to multisport performance for older athletes, but the connection actually makes a lot of sense. The reason is that serious triathlon and multisport is not exactly an obsession of the masses. It tends to attract upper middle-class athletes (who else can afford the carbon fiber bike equipment). And this same crowd tends to appreciate some of the other finer things in life– like good food and great wine. Here’s a really cool device for balancing an older athlete’s refined gastronomical hedonism with serious athletic performance. Continue reading
Review: Anatomy for Runners
I’m in the middle of a crazy busy couple of weeks right now with traveling over 20,000 miles in a little over a month. Consequently, my posts may be a little shorter than usual for a while. But one post that I’ve been meaning to get out for some time is my review of Jay Dicharry’s Anatomy for Runners, which I think should be on the bookshelves of every older runner or multisport athlete out there. Because time is of the essence in my life right now, I’ll keep this review short and sweet. Continue reading
Creating and Using a “Week in Review” Entry in Your Training Diary
For about the last six months, I’ve been trying to keep an eye on my training a little more closely. One trick I’ve found invaluable is to create a weekly narrative of my training that’s part of– but also separate from– the rest of my training data. Here’s how I’ve been doing it. Continue reading
The Athletic Time Machine 
You must be logged in to post a comment.