Thursday, February 20, 2014

Double Workouts Keep Me Awake

Congrats to all my Canadian friends ... I guess.  My heart was ripped out by the US/Canada gold medal hockey game this afternoon.  Unbelievable.  We just can't seem to get past our Northern friends in hockey.  Hopefully the men's Semifinal game tomorrow will be different for the good ol' red, white, and blue.


I just ordered a pizza from Sarpino's Pizza because it's snowing buckets in Des Moines, IA with 40 mph winds.  I've reached the point in my life where I'll gladly pay someone a healthy tip so I don't have to leave my hotel room on a night like this.  But here is how the conversation with the gentleman with an Indian accent, from Sarpino's Pizza just went ...

Me - ... Oh, and can you please use olive oil for the sauce
     Sarpinos - So I have a thin crust, chicken, spinach, tomato, with olive on the side
Me - No, I want them to please use olive as the sauce for the pizza
     Sarpinos - So I have a thin crust, chicken, spinach, tomato, with pizza sauce on the side
Me - No ... no pizza sauce, just olive oil as the sauce for the pizza ... nothing on the side
     Sarpinos - So I have a thin crust, chicken, spinach, tomato, Alfredo sauce with olive oil on the side
Me - Ha, no my friend ... no Alfredo sauce
     Sarpinos - So I have a thin crust, chicken, spinach, tomato, with Alfredo on the side

This literally went on for about 5 minutes.  Hilarious.  I'm bad about changing up standard orders, but this one seemed really confusing to him.  So as I sit writing this post ... I have NO IDEA what's gonna show up.


Doug doing what he does best ... passed out with the TV remote

I had trouble sleeping a couple of nights ago.  It wasn't because our dog Jack was snoring.  I mean, he undoubtedly was!  To be sure, most nights tunes from his long snout fills the otherwise peaceful room with a melody of vibrated and very vocal air passages, as he unwittingly slumbers away.  It's actually becoming an issue.  But no, it wasn't that.  It was because I had just completed one of my favorite days of training for a marathon ... the double workout day.  I'm pretty sure it was exactly what was keeping me awake.

Over the years I found that a good hard run in the morning, followed by a nice recovery run in the evening on tired legs, really helps prepare me for an upcoming event.  It seems the more I can simulate fatigue, the stronger I am in the late stages of a marathon.  We'll see if that training strategy works in two weekends in Little Rock.  But I've also noticed that elevating my heart rate that late in the day seems to make it tough to sleep.

Larry Creswell, a cyclist and M.D. who writes for www.endurance.com noted the following ...
         "Complete recovery of the heart rate may take an hour after light activity, several hours after long-duration aerobic exercise, and perhaps 24 hours after intense exercise"
This seems to fall in line with how I feel depending on the second workout of the day.  If it's a light recovery run, I don't struggle with shuteye too much.  But if I ramp up the pace a little like I did on Tuesday, I just can't fall into a deep sleep.  I'm obviously exhausted, but my body just doesn't seem to relax completely with my heart rate still a little elevated.   I've actually noticed the same thing at times, when I've tried to nap after a marathon.  I can fall asleep for a few minutes, but I usually wake right back up.

All in all I feel like the benefits of double runs help me more than losing a few zzzz's.  But it would be nice to not toss and turn after a tough evening run.
... be great today!

9 comments:

  1. Huh, my heart rate is usually low...no matter what. I have an underactive thyroid, though. It's kind of hard for me to sustain a high heart rate even if I try! It settles down about 30 minutes after a hard workout.

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    1. Yeah, mine typically does too, but if I push for an extended period of time, it takes forever to rest. Probably over training a little.

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  2. I too have a weirdly low heart rate when I'm not running/biking. So much so that it kept setting off the alarm when I had hand surgery a few years ago.

    Your training and dedication never fail to impress me. My bike trainer has been getting regular workouts, but my running shoes are having lots of rest days.

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    1. Thanks Kate, I think it's mostly insanity, but I've actually done okay on my runs so far this year.

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  3. Quite interesting as I have had the same problem with sleep after a second workout. Back in the day I ran 6 days a week but 8 times a week. Two days were morning and evening workouts. The evening ones were a time trial and a hill session. I always battled to sleep after that even when I was very tired. I believe strongly in the train on tired legs rule.

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    1. Yeah, the more I read about it Johann, I really think its simply tied to elevated heart rate

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  4. I'm dying of suspense here. What pizza turned up?

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    1. Me too!! Inquiring minds want to know!!

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    2. Char, Angela - It actually showed up with olive oil on the pizza for the sauce, but 4 of those little containers of red sauce on the side. No Alfredo though - the same Indian gentleman I spoke to on the phone delivered it and made me check it. Ha

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