Bad Blogger Bad!

My last post was some 17 days ago.  Since then I've worked two straight weekends (got Memorial Day off though) and several nights of call.  Got in this morning at 5:30 and left tonight at 7, which unfortunately has been par for the month.  On top of it all I gave a "Grand Rounds" this morning (about an hour long scientific talk) to my peers which took a lot of preparation.

 

Somehow on Memorial Day I squeezed in a half marathon training run.  I set out to do only about 8 or 9 miles but popped a Gel and was feeling too good to stop.  I made it to 13.1 on the Garmin and then walked the mile or so home for cooldown.

 

During the week I have been using the elliptical some, though not as much as I'd like.  Not enough miles worth logging.

 

My June will be equally busy then a slight improved schedule for July through Oct (I think).

 

OH and the other good news is I got a number for the Peachtree Roadrace 10K.  It should be a lot of fun - Hope to see you there.

Sole E35 Elliptical Review (early)

So here' s my first review of the Sole E35 Elliptical Trainer.  I will plan to give another review after a few months of use and of course will append as necessary if there are any issues.

Ordering & Delivery

Ordering directly from SoleTreadmills.com saved me the sales tax over going to Dick' Sporting Goods.  Also included in the price was free freight delivery to the doorstep.  Ordering could not have been easier online.  I got a confirmation that night in email and a shipment confirmation with a tracking number the next day.  They said it would take 10-14 days but got a call from the freight company saying they had it in Atlanta just 6 business days later.  It was delivered to the sidewalk in a large heavy box, undamaged.

Assembly

All in all it took about 1 hour to move the parts upstairs and assemble.  Hardest part is the flywheel unit which must've weighed 100 pounds.  Would definitely recommend some help with moving it.  Assembly is pretty clearly laid out and easy to follow.  I bought some Locktite thread glue to put on the bolts to keep them from loosening but forgot to use it.  Oh well.

Overall

First off this machine is very impressive in its durability.  It seems like it is made very heavy-duty with big heavy steel parts and tightly fastening bolts.  I don't see how normal use could hurt the frame components.  It has the look of a stripped-down industrial machine.  Operation, thus far, has been very quiet.  I worked out this morning just one thin wall away from my light-sleeping wife who did not notice.  I was careful to really tighten all the bolts and make sure of no cross-threads when assembling.  If any do work loose I will locktite the threads to keep it from happening again.  I bought some 3/8" thick interlocking floors pads from Wal-Mart for the mat over my wood floor.  The base sits only about 20" wide and 82" long.  Seems very strong.  The machine weighs some 220 lbs and has a 30-lb flywheel.

Console

The console is appears to be no-frills.  Only a few buttons, no crazy displays, no crazy stickers.  A lot of cheaper treadmills seem like they put a lot or colors and lights on the console to sell them.  This is not the case with this machine.  It has a fan that does almost nothing (don't even notice when it is on).  It has simple speakers for your iPod and interestingly also has a headphone output that I can't figure out what it is for (if you had an iPod why plug it in to the machine just to plug your headphones in to the machine?).  The workouts seem adequate (hills, intervals, fat burn, manual and a user-programmable one) as is the 16 levels of resistance.  Weirdly there is also a heart-rate control program, but the Sole website says this machine does not have that setting.  Interestingly the console will record you running in "reverse" mode but doesn't have any programs that take advantage of this like the gym models.

One point of interest is that it seems like the console reports about half the calories burned as the LifeFitness models I use at the gym.  On the LifeFitness, a comfortably hard workout for me burns 15cal/min.  A similarly "comfortably hard" workout on the Sole burns me only about 8cal/min.  There is obviously wide variability in these calculations and it may change after the machine is more broken-in.

Pedals and Smoothness

Very smooth.  No jerks, very comfortable and natural.  The 20-inch stride is the same as the commercial LifeFitness models I have used.  Trying out the cheaper shorter stride ellipticals at Dick's was useful to really see the difference.  The shorter the stride the less like running and the more like bicycling. Also practically no swaying or rocking.  The pedals have a 2-degree rotation on them to take pressure off your knees, so it is more like running.  Also they have adjustments to add up to 10-degrees of forward tilt which they claim helps with the problem of some people's toes/feet going numb after a long workout.

Heart-rate Monitor

The chest strap seems to only work when I am really sweaty and it is pretty tight.  The palm grips work best after your palms are sweaty but is much more reliable.  After reading some other sites out there it seems those chest straps are universally notorious for unreliable monitoring.  So far have not been able to get the heart-rate controller to work because can't get the chest strap to pick up my heart for long enough.

First two workouts

No complaints.  Pedals are comfortable enough for barefoot (though maybe not recommended).  The heart rate strap reliability is not quite there yet.  There could be more frills with the console, like saving workout/user data, etc; but the simplicity is nice too.  The calorie counter being "different" from the other machines I use is a little disappointing, but I don't know which is more accurate anyway.  All-in-all it felt like I was on a commercial-quality machine, and so far would recommend to anyone wanting a "home gym".

 

 

 

Intervals Anyone?

This morning I did a 2 1/2 mile run to the local high school track (the school interestingly has a "green roof" with about a 1/3 mile running path on top of it, in addition to the track).  I took to the track and did some intervals - basically going from my usual 9:30 pace to a sub-7:00 for 1/4 mile at a time, then back to a slow cool down 1/4 mile.  I did five of these intervals total, the last one running at about a 5:30 pace.  I then ran back home for about 8 miles total.

 

This is the first time I've done real intervals.  My workout time was overall shorter, and my overall pace quicker.  I will have to continue these on a weekly basis; I especially like today where I got in a longish run in addition to the intervals.

Caution: Running Must Merge with Oncoming Life

My long run for the weekend was cancelled due to a) illness in the family pet saturday morning that required a 6:30am vet trip b) rain the rest of Saturday and c) a commitment to take on hardwood floor installation for a small bedroom in our house Sunday.

I did manage to get in 6 miles last night at the Power's Ferry Park on the Chatahoochie River and another six this morning in the neighborhood. I wanted to do more this morning but I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night and that took its toll.

And FYI the hardwood floors were installed to set the platform for an elliptical trainer (just ordered the Sole Fitness E35 model last night). We put down a vertical bamboo flooring (nail-down), given its softness probably not the best for a home gym, but it looks great and serves as the trial room for doing the other bedroom floors later. We've been looking at ellipticals for some time, and while I definitely prefer actually running, a few pros come to mind: great low impact workout for a pavement break or when injured, my wife will use it, and just anything inside my house will effectively double my opportunities for a workout. I'll leave a full review in a few weeks after I give the elliptical a whirl.

Later this week starts a tough block of several months at work for me, making training even more difficult. So far I have been doing good with my mid week runs but have missed my long weekender twice now. Good news is my pace has been improving on my shorter runs.

I was hoping to shoot for a PR for the Komen Race For the Cure 5K in Atlanta May 10th. If I feel as good then as I have been lately it is a possibility.

Godspeed

Good Week

So I'm finally feeling like I'm back on the bandwagon again.  Did a 10 miler Monday, and while the first five were brutal my breathing and muscles finally leveled out and I found a groove.  I could've run a couple more (but alas! I must return to work).  Today I followed it up with a 6 miler.  My legs were sore, but I'm glad to say they were the right kind of sore.  Cardio-wise I felt great.

 

I'm planning a longish run this weekend, probably around 12 miles or so early Sunday morning.

 

Also, a followup on my new Nike Equalon+ 2 shoes - I've been alternating running with those and with my Saucony's.  While I still notice myself everthing my right foot, I am conscious of it now and actively work on correcting it when running (It especially becomes apparent when I fatigue).  I've had no further problem with the Nike's rubbing my inner toe despite my asymmetric running.

 

cheerio

Lactate Threshold & Maximum Sustained Heart Rate

Multi-step process for estimating Anaerobic Threshold using Maximal Sustained Heart Rate:

 

This is fundamentally different from the other two methods I posted previously in that you are estimating a heart rate that corresponds to your anaerobic threshold, NOT a specific pace.  Using this method your pace will vary a bit, but the idea is to run at a specific heart rate regardless of pace.  This is probably more accurate.

 

This technique is quite laborious and requires repeated 45 minute runs on a treadmill.  The premise is that your LT correlates very well to the maximal heart rate sustainable (HRms) for a thirty minute period.  It is described in Vobejda C et al. Estimating MLSS From Heart Rate … Int J Sports Med 2006; 27: 368–372.

 

STEP 1: Initially you should set your target HR at 165 or 175.

1. First you need a heart rate monitor that measures and outputs in real time.
2. Get on a treadmill, adjust grade to 1%.  Slowly increase pace over 15 minutes until you hit your target HR.
3. Run for 30 more minutes at this target HR.  Continuously adjust the pace up or down to keep your target HR.
4. If you must stop early, then stop early ("exhaustion")

STEP 2:  Next we start repeating the test, with a 1-2 day break in between, adjusting target HR.

• Increase your target HR by 10 beats and redo the test above.
• When you reach an unsustainable target HR (exhaustion), redo the test above but decrease your target by 5 beats.
• The goal is to zero-in on the max HR you can sustain for 30 minutes (HRms) regardless of pace.

Note that this estimates your LT as a heart rate, not a running pace.  So to train using this method you need to constantly adjust your pace in order to maintain your personal HRms.  As you continue to train at your HRms won't change much but your pace at the HRms will improve.

 

An example:

Martha runs on a treadmill, starting slow and building up speed over 15 minutes until her heart rate is 165 (for her an 8 min/mile pace).  Over the next 30 minutes she is able to keep her heart rate 165 by slowly decreasing her pace to 9 min/mile.  The next day she gets on the treadmill and slowly increases pace until her heart rate is 175 (a 7:45 pace), and is able to maintain HR 175 for 30 minutes by decreasing her pace somewhat as she runs.  On day 3 Martha runs again and reaches HR 185 (a 7:00 pace).  She struggles to keep from exhausting.  Finally despite reducing the pace she is too fatigued to keep up a pace high enough to give her HR 185 and she quits early.  On day 4 Martha redoes to the test, slowly increasing pace to get her HR to 180 (7:30 pace).  She is able to run for 30 minutes at a HR 180, even though reducing her pace to 8:30.  So Martha's HRms is between 180 and 185.

 

Martha can then tailor her runs in the in the future to keep a 180-185 heart rate (by wearing a HR monitor and adjusting pace).  This will build her endurance the fastest.  If Martha is in "pretty good shape" to begin with her HRms probably won't change, but her distance running pace should improve.  I suspect that if Martha was "a little fluffy" still her HRms would creep up after further training.

 

Let me know if anyone has tried this method.

Already back in a rut?

My planned "long run" in Kiawah Island last week turned into a 10K jog Saturday before heading back to Georgia.  It was the hottest run (about 80 degrees and sunny) I've done since last summer.  I ran the first couple miles along the beach, the cut back through the forest trails to our villa.  A wintertime marathon in Kiawah is awesome I bet.  I will have to add it to the list one of these years.

 

That being done I ran some at work monday night but got cut short by the ER.  I wound up with 5 3/4 miles of farklet-style training.  The run was quick, I felt strong.  But this morning's 6miler was all-but brutal.  My average pace well above 10 minutes.  I just don't get it - last week had the pace down to about 9 1/2, now almost a minute slower.  Once again I am amazed at my fluctuations.  [Note to self I did gorge on pizza and heavy stout beer last night]

 

I plan to next run Thursday or Friday then a longish run over the weekend (11 is on the marathon training schedule).

 

Frustrating!

ar