Addicted to Caffeine? & Running Progress

Seasons Greetings!

Ugh, so busy with work and family activities pre-holiday.  Not enough time to blog regularly, but at least I've been able to keep up regular workouts for the most part.  Training log entries:

Mon, 12/8: Took the day off.  I deserved it after a solid weekend effort ... and plus I needed to get my car inspected (luckily, everything passed A-okay - my wallet exhaled a sigh of relief)

Tue, 12/9: Busy day at work.  I tried to get in a swim after work.  The first 500 yard set was at a slow but uneventful 10:55.  I got about 250 yards into the second set when I started to feel dizzy and nauseated so I had to stop.  It could have been a fluke thing, but upon reflection I realized that I might be suffering from cafffeine withdrawal! 

I've never been a big user of caffeinated drinks - I don't drink coffee for the most part.  So when I do use it, I feel its effects right away - those 1 or 2 gels with 25-40 mg of caffeine each feel great on race day. :-)  However, I have to admit that I fell into a routine of drinking one or two sodas a day (it seems to go along with meetings at work) and sometimes a gel with caffeine during spin class.  So today when I didn't have any intake, my body may have been rebelling.  Anyway, I'm going to track this closely and also gradually ramp down my daily caffeine intake until it is back to nearly zero.

Wed, 12/10: 55-min spin class (165 bpm avg hr - I was pushing hard!) followed by 2.5 miles on the treadmill in 20:42 (8:17/mi pace, 165 bpm avg hr).  My running is definitely improving - longer distances at faster paces.  And, better still, no pain in my shin post-run!

Thu, 12/11: 60-minute spin class (160 bpm avg hr)

Sat, 12/13: Double spin classes again with, like last Saturday, a quick run in the between them.  However, today, I was able to make it a 2.25 mile run (8:02/mi pace)  

Sun, 12/14: Another day of rest (well, to be honest, more of a day of errands than rest).  Christmas tree set up, some shopping completed, and major cleaning/organizing efforts going on at the Wang household ...

Mon, 12/15: 5K on the treadmill in 24:24 (7:52/mi pace, 154 bpm avg hr) ... Splits (and average heart rates):

• Mile 1: 8:07 (149 bpm)
• Mile 2: 7:56.5 (154 bpm)
• Mile 3: 7:41 (159 bpm)
• final 0.1 miles: 0:40 (169 bpm)

My overall heart rate looks (and felt) low for such a fast pace - under 160 for most of the run.  Definitely "A Good Thing" (TM).

After the run, a quick 1,000 yard swim in the pool (splits: 10:31, 10:35.5)

Tue, 12/16: 45-minute spin class (150 bpm avg hr).  The effort seems low after previous spin classes, maybe I just needed to take it easy.  Office life is stressful enough these days with end of the year project efforts.

Wed, 12/17: 3.5 mile run on the treadmill in 26:18 (7:31/mi pace)... Splits:

• Mile 1: 7:47.23 (156 bpm)
• Mile 2: 7:32.52 (168 bpm)
• Mile 3: 7:27.42 (171 bpm)
• final 0.5 miles: 3:31 (182 bpm)

and FYI my 5K split was 23:53 (half a minute faster than Monday).  High heart rates, but that was to be expected with the faster pace.  After the run, 60-minute spin class (154 bpm avg hr) - a bit lower than normal, but I needed the recovery.

As you can see, still pretty busy the last 10 days or so.  I hope I can keep it up over the holidays - especially continued progress on my running.  (Knock on wood: full recovery from injury is right around the corner!)