Athletic Performance Research Project

Calling all athletes!!!!!!! I am going to be doing an athletic performance research project in conjunction with a professor of mine at Northeastern. The project itself is still in the making, however, I am starting to recruit some people. I figured this would be a great place to explain what I have so far....

What am I looking for? Athletes of ALL levels! Whether you are looking to train for your first triathlon or looking to qualify for a national level race. My focus originally was triathletes, but I would love to have runners too.

What will I be doing? According to your goals, I am going to be giving you a performance evaluation.....some possible tests will include endurance (Vo2 max test on the treadmill, lactate threshold), body fat, strength, wingate (on the bike....to test power), and a nutrition dietary analysis. These will all be done in the Fall/Late summer (august/september). After all the tests, I will individually go over your results and give you training recommendations! Possibly a 2nd round of tests will be done later on to see how you have been doing. Basically, an opportunity to evaluate your fitness level and fine tune your training!

This will be a great experience....please email me at jtracy13@gmail.com if you are interested and I will send you out my survey so you can help me formulate my project!

FYI, you need to be able to get to Northeastern Campus....

Pushing....too far?

Monday: back to reality...parents left for SD and i am back on a normal work schedule...siiigh. anyways i interned, PTed, swam, "class", then home. PT was interesting because my back kind of took a few days to really hurt and feel my 8 mile run. well I was SO TIGHT. My pt worked on me so hard...he dug his elbow into my glut med and i was like biting my pillow and seriously cried for a bit....ahhaha. wow, ook maybe i should ease off the high mileage. oh well, then i swam 2800 and did 100 sprint for fun went 1.00!!!!!! wow. cant believe i can still pull that one.

tues- hour 15 min bike, 2 mile run...nothing great, nothing horrible

wed- 1 hour 30 min bike....im the only one i kno in neu gym that can sit on a spin bike by oneself for that long. good thing i had a good book while i did long aerobic intervals. after that had a product evening of going to the library, making my clinic flyer, and researching articles for my project in the fall. i cannnnot wait. i have my survey done and ready to go soon! not going to lie....my back is hurtin...that was only about 27 miles. apparently increasing volume isnt really my thing.....ugh. good thing for PT tomorrow. did i fail to mention that the last hour and 35 min bike ride i did straight was actually cut into two with PT in between? yeah this was the longest straight ive done, technically.

thurs- I was goin to swim but decided to just take the day off since i had a bad day yesterday....i went to PT, which went well. I am sooo tight...i figure it's better to do less, feel better, and not worry about the volume of training I "should be doing". SO with that, feeling better about what's to come!

Friday- I wasn't going to do anything this day either, but ended up running a total of 5 miles. HOwever, i did 2.5 to my friend Roxy's house to hang out for a bit (she's moving to california) then 2.5 back. It actually takes less time to run than take the train, since there's no direct way to get there. haha.

sat- bike 50 min...nothing special...i opted to lowering my volume and this is what i did. feeling okay.

sunday- first of all I'd like to say GOOOOOO lisa white, nick tuttle, meredith kessler, and izzie crane!!!!! IRONMAN CDA!!!!!!! I've enjoyed following so far....i wasn't even goin to run but it was inspiring me so i did at least 3.8 miles...ok so it's nothing like an Ironman but hey it's something haha.

Overall, a hard week...mid week i hit a bit of a wall. I thought since I can't keep running 8 milers that I would increase my bike mileage. WRONG. That hurt just as much....Thursday I forgot about it all and I am just moving forward! My PT again....asked me if i was still doing my race. I just looked at her. I think she got it. I feel like I am training for an olympic distance triathlon very well. I'm not sure how well that transfers but..... cross my fingers for good genes :)

"totals" for the week... 2800 swim, 3 hours 35 min bike (about...i dunno, whatever haha), and 10.8 run. currently heat padding. :D

2 weeks out. i feel like i need a plan...i have no ride, no nutrition plan...haha. that's how i roll.

The 3 hour difference is making is tough for me to see Lisa Poop finish her Ironman....I did get to see Nick finish on the live video!!!!!! how fun. but anyways, CONGRATS to all the finishers....amazing.

Hey I CAN run!

Weekly totals and tidbits of the week for ya...

Monday- I interned then headed over to physical therapy.... I added some new exercises, which is great. They think i am crazy there....but that's ok haha. 1 hour 35 min bike on a SPIN bike...in the GYM. I am not sure how i stayed on for that long...i did a bunch of threshold intervals, like sprinting for 15 min straight, recovering, then doing it again. I had some good new awful music to listen to plus a little bit of anger to fuel me...it's amazing how that can get you going and give you a great workout.

Tuesday- swim 2300, run 5.2 (total time 41 min, almost 1 minute faster) held around 7 45s!!!!!!!!!!! my back only hurt a bit after...i wore my saucony triumphs...i am really trying to run forefoot (or midfoot) more...it helps so much. These shoes still kind of hurt my back after, but nothing even close to what it used to be. Yay for better form. A double YAY for two days of threshold training in a row. My heart rate was lower in the 182 range rather than 190. That's still up there close to my threshold.

wed- off...worked, meeting, parents!! Today marked a big event for me too...I am doing my own research project with one of my professors. I will be an extremely well rounded grad student once i am out of school........3 clinicals and research on athletic performance. I can't wait to start, which needs to be soon. i have a lot of figuring out the details....holler if you are in Boston and want to be a part of a great training opportunity....blog to follow about that!

thurs-bike 1 hour, run 2 miles (five fingers). These five fingers haven't failed me...it feels so great to train with them. Granted i am not doing my 5 miler in them, i feel like it's a strength training day when i wear them! I think they are stinky. OH and we walked probably 5 miles shopping. omg...my parents can out walk me for sure.

Friday- My parents are in town till monday so i stayed in the hotel with them along the waterfront (awesome area). I went down did some stupid elliptical then all my PT exercises and major stretching. Felt great tho....went to the aquarium and i over ate at a great restaurant in the North End (like little italy for all you non bostonians). LOVE love it.

Saturday: ran 8 MILES! this was such a funny 8 miles though. before i get to that, this is definitely the longest i have ran since doing my half marathon back in late feb and since i have destroyed my back. anyways, this run was funny because i felt kind of bad the first 3 miles and my heart rate was a bit higher than i wanted. I started feeling more warmed up around 3 miles and i noticed my back didn't feel right ( i spent those miles also completely doubting and wondering how on earth i am going to do a half ironman).... so i stopped, laid on the grass, and popped my SI joints back into place. took me 10 seconds and off i went. after that i felt AWESOME....i was easily holding 9 min/mile (i didnt let myself go faster than that) and my heart rate dropped to the low 160s (well under any sort of lactic acid pace). you should have seen me smile once i finished...how good did that feel....IRONMAN 70.3 here I come!!!!!!! 3 weeks to go. in addition, i spent those last 5 miles setting up my survey in my head that i am goin to send out for my research project soon here. Talk about productive. Saw Toy Story 3...how cute was that? I was like crying at the end. haha.

Sunday: I am pretty sure i am eating way more than ever since my parents are here hahaha...we go out to eat so much. I had stuffed (crab and shrimp) yellowtail flounder yesterday...oh man so delicious. anyways, i got in 1 hour 15 min bike on my trainer (anymore than that gets kind of boring, but i did more than the workout said at least). Happy Fathers day! Later I am heading down to the wharf and going on a dinner cruise! how fun!

Totals for the week: 2300 swim (hahaha...ok, pathetic), bike 3 hours 50 min (about 60 miles), run 14.2 miles (big jump there)

With everything going on with grad school, interning, working, socializing...i am pleased with the amount i am able to squeeze in (that tends to be how i have to train)...but i think i can do more.

So, all in all...a bigger week for me... unfortunately i got a bit of a late start with the real training...oh well...

3 weeks exactly till Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island!!!!!!!!!!

Weekly totals and Race report

I wanted to train hard all the way through my race this week but decided to give myself a few days easy :) Decent week....things are looking up.

Monday- Intern at hospital, bike 1 hour 10 min, physical therapy, bar. so typical.

Tuesday- Intern, swim 2800, gym to do PT exercises, run club (5 miles plus half a mile at the gym for a warmup), bar (which included chicken fingers, beer and good company). damn celtics. Run club is at the store i work at and i havent done it since August. I've been training by myself a lot lately that i forgot how awesome it is to have some people there with you! Definitely sticking to this every tuesday.... i was going to wuss it up and do the 3.5 route but i accidentally started going for the 5 so i just did it. My heart rate was ridiculous. It was steady at 189 for a while and finally went down to 184/5. I didn't know the route so i had to follow these girls who were going really fast. I did not have my footpod on me so i don't know exactly what i was holding but it took 41.52 to do 5 miles....which i think is pretty good? It felt like i was hauling. just need to bring that HR down.

wed- despite how i DID not have to get up at 5am i woke up at 7 to squeeze in 1 hour biking before heading off to citysports to work. looking towards july 11th i've realized how i need to really get down to business. I did drink last night, BUT only 2 beers. look how smart i am now :) the celtics lost but it was a fun game to watch on tuesday. work at citysports dragged the last 4 hours.... we do stupid random stuff there...like hitting shoes flipping them and catching...haha.

thursday- finished up my week at cardiac rehab then hit the pool! i only did 1500 loosen, but felt alright. i went to physical therapy then ran 1.7 miles easy...which was good i averaged around 9.15...hr nice and low so that's good. I had a really good day at PT.... even though they told me it's not recommended to do the half ironman in a month. But, she was supportive and said they would help me along the way. That kind of stuff only fuels me...i shouldn't do it........so i am going to do it even better now! i am weird.

Friday- citysports, pack, cape cod :)

Saturday- RACE DAY!!!!!!!! I didn't sleep all that well..........for whatever reason I never do well on a new bed. It takes me a few nights to get comfy. I suck. Anyways, we had to get up at 5 15am (i do that everyday it seems) to get there to help volunteer (body markings...anything else they want us to do). Body markings were fun......quote of the day "Give me your number and drop your pants". Triathlon is a great community...everyones so awesome! After that I made sure my excellent transition spot (since i got there so early) was all set up. The water felt great actually not too cold but not warm. I made sure I was in the front of the pack for the start to avoid any unnecessary collisions. Plus luckily, the men were first and the time in between was long enough where i didn't really run into anyone. The swim kind of felt shitty....actually. I didn't feel like I was catching much water but there were only 2 other girls around me. Plus, i could NOT swim in a straight line. I swear i was curving all over the place and almost hit a kayak. Typical.

Transition time. Everything went well. Except I forgot my sunglasses....DOH. but, it was only 10 miles after all. First of all, it took me a while to realize that when i put my new battery into my bike computer that it was set in km/hour. SO here i was cruising at like 35 miles per hour (i thought). I was like WHAT!???? then i figured i just had it set wrong. dangit...so much for that thing. I estimated i was keeping between 18-20 miles per hour maybe. 6 girls probably passed me on the bike...and when i mean pass me...flew by. I really need to get on the bike more. I felt as though it took me a long time to feel warmed up and my hr took a while to come down. Great, so i was at 10 miles, done with the bike, and finally ready to go for the bike. Ok, so sprints aren't really my fortay but oh well. Onto the run.

I finally put on my sunglasses, which i actually decided to wear my giant 80s 10 bucks target ones to really intimidate people. Not to mention my nike free 5.0s with bright blue duck socks. I am sure people were oh so scared. Ok, not really. The run was great actually. My legs were nice and warm. I was passing a few guys, guys were passing me...i was right behind a few girls actually. I caught one and passed her (yup, take that MIT and in my age group girl haha) but a few older women passed me (48 year olds...fuck!). I think i held my own on the run or even gained a bit. i averaged around 7.30ish. The website doesn't have the splits up yet but i will post them once i know them. running 7.30 m/min is AWESOME for me. considering how i had to STOP running and go to PT. My HR averaged at 187 which is kinda high....but apparently i can handle running at a high HR for a little while. I felt like i was running on clouds with those new shoes. LOVE them. So, there was this final hill at the end....i pushed up it and that's when my running flaw kicked in. I tend to get my HR up really high....and .... puke. Well, i gagged maybe 3 times while running then mentally told myself i WILL NOT PUKE AGAIN! so i went around the finish and clocked in at 1 hour 6 min something. The guy at the finish said, wow don't look so excited...because i probably still felt like puking at that point. I ended up getting 76th overall (men and women) and 4th in my age group. There were some fasties there from the different schools. looks like i have some work to do!

splits included: 7.40 for swim, 32. 20 for bike, 23.32 for run. yahoo!

all together a nice....training day? i am really burnt and beat...but it was a fun day!

total for the day: .3 mile swim (what like 550 yards?), 10 mile bike (32 minutes), 3.1 mile run (23.32 min according to my garmin). woo

Sunday- i had a bit too much fun saturday night and slept for a long time .... ate a burrito and just stretching/pt exercises.

Totals for the week: 4800 swim, 2 hours 40 min bike (about 49 miles) this needs to be more, and 10.3 miles for running.

Looking forward to a good hard week of training. AND my parents are visiting! i get to take off of work!

I'm not sure what to call this

eeeek. i need to go to bed...too much excitement for this week but i need to blog about last week! i dont really remember but i took notes along the way haha.

tues- 1 hour 5 min bike.

wed- 3.1 run, 25 min bike.... abs, pt exercise, etc.

thurs- swim 2700

Friday- bike hour 10 min

sat- run 5.4..hips killed but then got over it.

sun- off (worked)

totals: 2 hours 40 min bike (about 48 miles), 8.5 run, 2700 swim

what im supposed to do...

swim 5000 yards (definitely can do this, i am just lazy), bike 100 miles (wow im half of that...hahah), and run 175 min (81 minutes...again about half).

so it appears that i am actually secretly training for an olympic distance. SHIT!

anyways, im getting closer to the big race...and i really need to get it going. PT is helping me i think...but im still all over the place. I have to adjust my joints back into place before running....my PT cracks my entire spine and i feel amazing after, I cannot swim as much as i used to my shoulder dies after 3000 (but who cares right), all in all BRING IT! haha. big week for training this week plus like 1 day of tapering for a warm up sprint triathlon Saturday down in Cape Code. Can I place? Lets do it.

I've been playing around with shoes lately. I really like my nike frees 5.0. They are hardly anything...and make me run on my midfoot (goooood). Soon I will post stuff about clinics i will be holding. And i am adopting people to train for triathlons :P sorry this post sucks but i am going to bed! I'm never home...having too much fun out here in Bawstin. GNITE!