6 bike climbs in 7 days

43 mph on the way down

Spent 3 more days on the boat this week.  Went out on Thanksgiving day and stayed out til Saturday.   Each day I did the bike climb up Raccoon Mtn.  It was beautiful and hard to leave the amazing beauty of the TN River gorge.   So, 7 days in a row of workouts, but only one on the track.

These bike climbs were good overall fitness, not particularly conducive to speed, but good cardio/calorie burning.  The last ascent on Saturday, I pushed it and made it to the East Overlook in 35:34,  I think my quickest climb.  Heart rate is not like a hard track workout, it's like stairmaster, about 126 - 140 bpm.  Intensive tempo workouts will push my heart rate to the max - approaching 170.

It was a little warmer these few days, although I put up the full canvass and turned on the heat at night.  I did make one trip into Chattanooga to pick up and order from Panera.  I was originally planning to go home on Saturday, but I stayed for the day.  After the bike climb, I headed up river into the gorge where I spent a lot of time just floating down river just off shore, drinking hot tea, watching wildlife, and looking at the shoreline.  I found a rare pristine sandy beach to walk on.  No footprints but mine and the great blue heron - social distancing at it's best.   

With harsh weather coming, I got home Sat. evening and winterized the boat on Sunday morning.  With cold and snow in the offing for Mon. and Tues. morning, I'll probably not return to the track til Wed. Winter will definitely arrive this week with low temps forecast to be 21º Mon and Tues night and up to 3" of snow by Tues morning, highs in the 30ºs.  Rest of the week: mid 40ºs day, mid 20ºs night.  

I just bought yet another pair of Clifton 1s on Ebay.  Becoming a hoarder of Clifton 1s.  I will have 4 pair of Clifton 1s and the Rincons.  

It was a memorable trip.   Boat ran great.

Morning fog in the gorge

Golden sand TN River Beach

Sunset by the river



Selfie from the top
Raccoon Mtn Visitors' Center

Many bike climbs and a brief track session

Cramming a whole lot of late season boating this week.  Met Bill M. at Raccoon Mtn. on Sunday for the climb and then repeated it Monday and Tuesday.  Today, after the rain, I hit the track for a brief running workout.  Upper 50's and windy at the Sewanee track.

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 50m and 150m strider

300m - 44.45 

'split 400m' - 45.09 / 60 sec rest / 100m 15.69

I did this workout in the new Rincons, and they really felt fast, problem is, I wasn't very fast today.  I didn't want to waste myself on the first 300m, so I ran it fairly measured but was still surprised it was almost 2 sec slower than the one I ran Sat.  I finished with a 'split 400m' also fairly slow.  Perhaps due to 4 consecutive days of workouts.  

These long tough bike climbs don't necessarily translate to speed, they really tighten up the quads.  But, they are good for overall health, burning calories, and aerobic fitness.  I'm generally between 126 -140 heart rate for about 40 -45 min.  Comparable to doing stairmaster or any cardio type workout.  144.9 after workout.

I'm planning on going to back out on the boat Thurs and Friday.   If I do the climb Thursday and Friday, that will be 7 days in a row of doing a workout.  I'm cramming workouts in because I'll  be busy winterizing my boat on Saturday and will need to take some time off because of bad weather coming.  It's supposed to be sunny near 70º tomorrow and Friday, then by Monday night, bitter cold with up to 3" of snow possible, then cold all week.  Maybe by Wednesday, I'll be able to get back on the track.  It's supposed to be sunny and upper 30ºs on Wed.  Winter is coming quick.   The long term forecast is calling for a fairly cold December but possibly an above average January.

Something really fun about cool weather boating.  Canvass up, turn on the heat, electric blanket at night.  Never cold.   Love being on the water.  Living the good life.

Shoe review: Hoka Rincon 1 vs. Hoka Clifton 1

 I was able to find a nice pair of Hoka Rincon 1s on Ebay in my size.  They are actually a women's size 8.5, which is equivalent to a mens 7.  My first workout in these, I tried them on track and turf.  

The yardstick I give for all comparisons is the Clifton 1.  These are the greatest running shoes I've ever trained in.  Light, soft, protective, flexible, and springy.  

From reviews, the Hoka Rincon 1 was highly regarded.  The Rincon 2 was similar but slightly heavier with a different upper, so I'm happy I got the Rincon 1s.  Despite these are women's shoes, I really dig the color and appearance of these.  They call this color, "Lunar Rock / Nimbus Cloud" - white on the outside, striped blue inside:

Fit and feel

The fit and feel of these shoes is good.  They came with a heavy stiff after market insole which I later replaced so I think they'll be even more comfortable the next time.  The mesh upper is light and airy, and locks down nice and tight.  I thought there was more than enough room in the toe box, so much I had to take up the laces in the forefoot.  

Specs and construction

These weigh almost exactly 7 oz in my size,  just a gram or 2 lighter than the Clifton 1s, likely due to the very light Saucony insoles I put in.  (The Clifton 3 insole weighs 9 grams more than the Saucony insole).  With the stock insole, I think these may be actually slightly heavier than the Clifton's.  Still stunningly light.

The foam sole feels a little stiffer and less spongy than the Clifton 1s.  Much of this is due to the fact the Clifton 1s have diagonal creases all the way up to the forefoot which aid in the 'give' of the sole where I impact the most: the outer forefoot.  You can see just 2 such creases on the Rincon, but they are below the heel and center.  

You can see these flex points on the Clifton 1 clearly as they appear as black diagonal stripes on the side of the sole.  

The Rincon seems to have a forefoot cushion about the same thickness as the Clifton 1, 24mm.  And remarkably, like the Clifton 1, has a few patches of exposed EVA foam not covered by a layer of rubber tread.  These soft foam patches are right under my main foot strike area, which is nice.  Nevertheless, the Clifton 1 foam seems softer.  In an effort to prolong the life of my Clifton 1s, I covered the exposed EVS foam areas with Shoe Goo, a liquid rubber.   Not sure I'll do that with the Rincons, I'll see how they wear.  The width of the forefoot measures about the same as the Clifton although the tread pattern is quite different.

Performance

The Rincons seem a little stiffer and perhaps more responsive in top speed and acceleration than the Clifton 1s.  With the Rincons, I ran a hard rolling 100m at the end of my workout in 12.4, which was quite fast for me.   The traction seems really great.  I think these will be best for short low volume workouts and maybe some time trials where I don't want to wear spikes.  I will probably prefer the softer Clifton 1s for the bulk of my workouts.  I still have Clifton 3s for some high volume stuff.  These are a little heavier, wider, more durable for running hills on the road, over distance, etc.  The Clifton 3s are about an ounce heavier than the Clifton 1s.  I use the Clifton 3s for warmups and biking.

Verdict

These shoes are keepers.  I am really impressed with the lightness, cushion, fit, and performance.  I'll be using these on speed days.  They'll probably soften up a bit as I use them.  Although used, there is no wear in my area of foot strike.   At 7 ounces, they weigh the same as the Nike meet spikes I used 9 yrs ago before I changed to Pumas.   They won't completely replace my Clifton 1s by any means, but will definitely go into the rotation.  The Clifton 1s are still a bit softer and weigh almost the same as the Rincon.  I actually put a bid on some used Clifton 1s tonight.  I doubt they'll ever be made again.  

Highly recommended. 

UPDATE:

Bought another pair of Clifton 1s used on Ebay.

Can't get enough

Workout Chart

Posting this for reference.

 I saw this chart online, I think it was from Australian Athletics.  These grids are obviously for elite and college athletes, but it's interesting to look at the different energy systems, intensity effort, distance, reps, and rest intervals.   Of all of these types of workouts, I think the Intensive Tempo workout is the best bang for the buck, and what I tend to do when I'm trying to make gains.  Like the 4 x 150m w/ 30s, or 4 x 200m w. 60s, or 4 x 300m w/ 2:30m.   One notable coach agreed with me on FB.  I sometimes do more quality long sprints with longer rest, called Special Endurance.   The Maximum Speed workout I do occasionally as well.

300, 150s, 100

Perfect day in Sewanee, sunny mid 60ºs by sunset.  The wheels felt pretty good today so I decided to run some on the track and on turf.  This every 4th day seems to be working ok with cross training in between.  Tomorrow and possibly Monday, I'm doing the hill climb on the bike.  

Also, tried a new pair of Hokas today, the Rincons.  I'll post a review at some point.

Hoka trainers on

Stretches, drills, 2 x 100m strides

50m - 85%

300m - 42.69 (27.60, 15.09)

3 x 150m on turf with 30 sec rest ~ 23.5 - 25

rolling 150m on track - 19.09

rolling 100m on track - 12.45

I used my Clifton 1s for the 300m and the new Rincons for the rest.   The 300m was a bit slower than I had hoped, since it was a 90% effort.  It was with a rolling start, splits were 13.25, 14.35, 15.09.   Probably about 60sec 400m pace.  Would have to do a lot of work to get back to the level I was in July.  

The 300m was sufficiently hard that I cut my 4x150m w/30 sec to 3x150m.  Then I ran a hard 150 and a 100.  The 100m was pretty good.  I like the new Rincons for low volume short sprints.  I still think the Hoka Clifton 1s are better, softer, more protective, and weigh almost exactly the same as the Rincons.  The Rincons are a really good shoe, got them slightly used on Ebay for about half price.  I like the fit, good lockdown, a little stiffer than the Cliftons.  What I didn't realize is that they came with a heavy aftermarket insole, which I removed and replaced after the workout with a lighter Saucony insole.  I'll still default to the Cliftons when I do a heavier volume workout.  This shoe might be good for max velocity and time trials.  I'll do a full review in a different post.

Weight is ok:  144.0 lbs after workout.

More results are being posted in Masters Rankings.  Looks like Italy had a huge masters meet in Oct. The Italian Masters National championships yielded about 2400 results posted to Masters Rankings.  And, the Aussies are just getting their spring/summer season underway.  Just waiting for my world leading 400m time to disappear, but still hanging in there at #1 after a full 4 months.  Looks like America's last and biggest masters meet is going to be the FL Senior Games in 2 weeks.  Kinda wish I had planned to run that meet because I think I could easily get the M60 400m record which is just 60.19, but I just don't think it's worth the risk to fly and I'll be driving down to see my parents soon after that.  

Hoka Rincon trainers

tempo 150s on turf

 Back to the turf on a cool breezy but clear day, sunny and 50º at the Sewanee track.  Felt cold.  Did a light maintenance workout.

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2 x 100m strides

4 x 150m on turf w/ 30 sec rest ~ 25

150m on turf - 20.91

I did these rather slowly like striders, but still a nominal workout.  After the 6 x 200 on the track on Friday, and a bike up Roarks Cove Rd Sat, I felt a little irritation in my right knee (not the knee I had surgery on).  So, I need to stay on the turf and watch the volume.  No telling whether the Jan indoor meets in AL will go, but I'm not optimistic.  It's sort of taken the zeal and immediacy off my training.  Usually by Thanksgiving, I'd be crankin' for the indoor season, but the pandemic rages.  

TN had it's most covid infections ever on Mon. almost 8000, 72 deaths today, and the rate of infections is skyrocketing...  the curve on the graph is straight up.  Best to maintain, isolate, and hunker down.  This is going to be a bad winter.  I read that if you get covid, it can damage your heart even if you show no symptoms.  

Weight is under control, 144.2 after workout.

Stay safe, my friends.

6x200

Low 60ºs and sunny and breezy at the St. Andrews track today.  Wanted to do the 150 tempo workout today on turf but both the turf fields in Sewanee were occupied by sports teams.  

So, I ran on the track instead.  The field is natural grass and a bit too irregular to train on, but I did my warmup runs on it.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2x100m strides

2x 200m w/ 1 min rest ~ avg 30-31

2x 200m w/ 1 min rest ~ avg 31

2 x 200m - 30, 29

These weren't fast, just maintenance.  The last 200m was the fastest and the hardest.

When I got to the track, St Andrews was a ghost ship, no one there except there were these 2 faculty just leaving the area.  They looked at me as if they'd never seen a track athlete on that track in their life.  They continued to gawk at me for several minutes, shading their faces as they looked directly into the setting sun.  It was weird.  They apparently made a call to report me and about 20 min later, one of the track coaches came up to me in a golf cart.  Dan seemed like a good guy, almost 20 yrs my junior and quite obese.  I introduced myself as a Sewanee faculty member.  He informed me the campus was closed due to covid.  I responded, "Well, I guess that means there's no one here and there's no threat."  He agreed  said, 'ok, carry on, and nice to meet you.'   LOL   Perhaps he had a modicum of respect for a guy old enough to be his dad, solo on the track, sprinting 200m repeats.

I think my foot took a bit of a beating today so I hope the turf will be available next time.

I've gained some weight but ate light today.  144.3 lbs after workout.

Bike climbs

 Two consecutive days of bike climbs of Raccoon Mtn, Monday and Tuesday from the TN River.   One with Bill M. from Chattanooga, and one solo.  It's a relentless 1400' climb and it takes about 45 min.   

I arrived by boat at Racoon Mtn late afternoon on Monday and the weather was stunning... mid 70ºs and sunny.  Bill said it was 'too hot'.  By the time we came down, it was in the 60ºs.   Tuesday wasn't as nice, but still relatively warm.  Mid 60ºs and cloudy.

Needed to do this, have gained a few lbs.  Lately, I ate ice cream, cheese cake, and even pizza.  Still hanging around 146 lbs.

Here's some photos of the trip and incredible fall weather. 

One and done, 400m

Yesterday was the peak of fall color on the mountain in Sewanee and it was accompanied by stellar weather, mid 70ºs and mostly sunny.  I had just been to the track Friday and I didn't get out there until after 4pm, so I didn't want to do too much.   Low 70ºs and occasional light wind.  

After a warmup, I ran a brisk 400m and called it a day.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2x100m, 50m strider

400m - 59.54 (27.93 / 31.61)

By no means was this an all out time trial.  I had set a goal of 29 / 31 pace (14/15/15/16).   My first 200m was 13.25/14.68, and I did run it with a 3 step flying start.  15.35 /16.26 was my last 200m so I was a bit slow there.  

This was a good result considering I'm truly in the off season.  Haven't even been lifting, doing resistance, or cross training. Not particularly light either, a nominal 144.3 lbs.    Running my age minus one in trainers in the off season is a good sign of general fitness, my time today would rank #4 in the world M60.   My world leading time of 57.49 has continued to hold at the top for 3 1/2 months now.  

Today, I'm taking the boat to the river to meet Bill and do the Raccoon Mtn. climb.  The weather has been unseasonably warm and the view from my house in the morning sun is unbelievably beautiful.  Glad my parents were here to see this.

Tempo 100s on turf

 Went to a new venue to workout today as the football field was being used.  The Sewanee soccer field was completely empty so I measured out a 100m run on the turf.  Beautiful weather, mid 60ºs and sunny, amid peak fall colors.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2 x 100m strides

9 x 100m w/ 30 sec rest  ~16-17 sec

flying 100m - 12.69

I wanted to do 10x100m but my 9th was barely making it, over 18 sec, couldn't get the 10th, so i rested and ran a hard one with a running start.  

Feel a little soft, need to up my cross training.  Will be going to bike Raccoon Mtn on Mon in this beautiful weather.

144.1 lbs after workout

tempo 150s maintenance

Cool 55º and light winds at the Sewanee track.  I stayed on the turf for yesterday's workout, first since Tues.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, dills, 2 x 100 warmup

4 x 150m on turf w/30 sec rest ~ 23.5 -24

2 x 150m on turf - 20.16, 20.94

This workout has been pretty much the standard I've done for the past week+.  I do think this is a compact, low volume, low impact workout that pushes my heart rate to the max in 3 min. Perfect for off season.   It's not as grueling as a 4 x 300m on the track, or doing over distance.   I think for now, I'll be on the track with 3 days rest in between.  Not planning to race til Jan.  

Weight is good:  142.1 after workout