Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Who needs a track?

When you have a Garmin...you don't need a track. Of course, you could use a different HR monitor - why does the Garmin HR monitor have to suck so badly!? Rhetorical question - marketing...so they can sell the next "better" version...oh yea, we fixed the HR problems - right!

So my 6 mile interval run had to be done by feel and prior pace info. I know my "base" run pace in hot weather is over 11:00 per mile. So there abouts was my "easy" pace, and I ran "hard" for my intervals, which were half miles on the mile. Hey, I felt like I did something when it was done, and that's all that matters. I marked where the intervals were, cause there isn't much of a difference, it seems, between the Bigun's "fast" and "slow" - hey, I'm a plodder...

Today was much better than yesterday. Nothing broke today. I got 6 lawns done before it rained and even swam 2100m (800m x1, 700m x 1, 600m x 1, with some fast (ha! I think I'm the only one at that pool who would call them fast...how about fastER?) 50m's mixed in for good measure.

I used the Triathlon Mag's latest 16 weeks to Ironman run training program as a template for my upcoming 101 race - since it's only 18 miles long, I made that my top long run, instead of the 22 mile top long run in the Mag's program. This week's got a late start, but if I can muster up the discipline to do all the prescribed workouts, it should look like this:

I just love Training Peaks - don't you? Somehow I got lucky and managed to "join" on a week or month when they had a never-expiring basic signup - I get all the basic stuff and pay nothing, and that never expires. So the least I can do is talk up the site - and I've been using it since I started with triathlon in '05 - I couldn't imagine using anything else.

Lastly - I know, when will it end? As part of my Accelerade Deal, I'm supposed to give my impressions of the stuff. It never really quenches my thirst while working out, so I thought I try it as an after workout drink. A beer-replacement, so to speak. At least until it runs out. I've got some of the Citrus Grapefruit variety. A) I hate Grapefruit. But to be fair, this stuff is drinkable. I put it on ice, in a beer glass, as if I were fooling myself into believing it were beer. It's not. Not even close. Nice thing about this particular taste is that it masks very well that powdery, thick "Accelerade" texture you get from other flavors. I'm not sure this one even had any protein in it. 4:1 my ass. 20 oz later - ahhh, I feel refreshed!

13 comments:

bigmike600 said...

Can you hook me up with the link for that training peaks so I can check it out? Does it give you training plans or are you supposed to come up with your own plan and this is more of a log? Looks great. Accelerade makes my spit really thick when I drink it but I do feel more hydrated then when I just drink water and it does make me feel like I can do farther when I use it on bikes and runs. Ice cold water quenches the thirst pretty well in my opinion.

S. Baboo said...

Beer replacement! Gads man, you need a spankin’…I guess Di will have to fill in for me on that one. For hydration and carbs…nothing beats the Nuun/CarboPro combo, I’m tellin’ ya. High is sodium and packed with carbs/calories. I can make a 750 cal bottle easy.

Collin Kromke said...

A cople things. I love my Garmin and haven't had any trouble with the HRM, nor have I heard about others having trouble with it. What kind of problems are there? Is it inaccurate?

Like Mike mentioned above, I'm also interested in taking a look at Training Peaks, but I'm not sure how much I can get a feel for it with only a 7 day free trial.

Last, I'm a fan of Accelerade and have been using the powdered version. I need to find some of the ready to drink stuff so I can try that too. I've also found that I really like Nuun, and I never drink plain water anymore, even while I'm at work.

Wrenched Photography said...

Beer replacement? And here he goes off about me being metro......

Bigun said...

Mike and Collin: on the right side of my blog, at least half way down, past all the blog pages, is the link "button" for Training Peaks that I use.

Yea, in 7 days, it would be tough to get a good feel for it.

I've e-mailed with lots of folks who get spotty HR reception and spikes - consider yourself very lucky that your's works without a hitch. Mine is a battery issue too, but still, even after changing out the battery, the reception is crappy. Could just be my build...

bigmike600 said...

Bigun
Have you ever tried any gel or anything between your skin and the sensor? Mine sometimes is spotty until I get super sweaty and J-Wim had suggested the gel several times. Might be just an issue with how it contacts your skin. Either way, nice job on the workouts.

The Stretch Doc said...

just got done running 60 mins with my Garmin, I will chk out my HR, doesnt seem to have any problems.

accelerade, I like it.. but I'm gonna try that carbro pro/nuun mix too..humm.

grapefruit..yuk! I had some accel. didnt like it but I dont like that taste no matter what it is.

rockon`

Pat said...

I just ran for the first time with my garmin. How do they expect you to see the HR number? It is pretty small.

Dan Seifring aka "OBRATS" said...

My question is a follow up to what Pat said. Is there a way to change the setting so you can actually see the HR numbers?

Anonymous said...

Accelerade makes me gack.

What's a guy need to do to get a swim in in Tampa these days....in the last 3 attempts I completed 400 yds.

I lightning really that dangerous?

Spokane Al said...

Grapefruit Accelerade does not sound good to me. Perhaps you could use it to wet the sensors of your chest strap to get a better reading - you are putting that strap around your chest right?

FunFitandHappy said...

have you tried using buh-bump with your garmin? seems to do the trick, along with chaning the batteries in the chest transmitter every 6 months or so....

TRI Vortex said...

I know there are problems with the Garmin, but I still want one. I totally agree with the masking properties of the Grapefruit Accelerade. And as for the Mountain Berry...well lets just say green poop.