There really isn't a whole lot to report today. I got in about an hour of really easy spinning on the trainer to get things flowing in my legs. I drove out to Oakville to pick up my race package: 1h45 to get to the site because of horrendously slow traffic on the QEW, 5min to find a parking place, 15sec to get my stuff, and 45min drive home. That was fun.
Since then, I've been sleeping on and off (since the coffee wore off), and eating. Not too much, since I do have to be light on my feet in the morning. Now I think I'll go back to napping.
Bike: 60 minutes, zone 1-2
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Number Six with a Bullet - The Guelph Lake II Sprint Triathlon Race Report
This race wasn't part of my original schedule of the season, but with a friend considering making this his triathlon debut, I figured I could go cheer, or I could go and race. Being the obsessively competitive type, I raced. So I had to get the early wake-up call, and hit the road to get to the Guelph Lake Conservation Area.
The turn-out for this race was huge. Last year was around 500 people, this year was closer to 700. It's the last race of the season, so lots of people were wanting to put on one last good show. There was a delay of the start due to some traffic congestion into the park, but we got underway at about 9:15. My wave got called to the start, and the horn sounded at 9:21. The race was on.
For the first time since Milton, I lined up near the front for the swim. I might not be able to go with the best, but based on Niagara, I can hang in the front/middle of the group. With this seeding, I gave a good push right from the gun, found some good feet, and started to cruise around the lake. I did a good job of drafting when I had the chance, and once I was rested, I would try to pass and move up to some other, quicker feet. I was a little over-excited, and didn't concentrate enough on "finish my stroke" or "flat wide foot", but when I did clue in, my pace kept up. I got a little off-course on the stretch back to the beach, because the sun was to our right, and so I was doing all my breathing to the left. This pulled me to the left, and I almost went inside a buoy, but I corrected, and hammered to the exit. I checked my watch as I stood up, and shooting for sub-15, was happy to see 14:20. After another mediocre T1, it was off on the bike course.
The ride was mostly uneventful. It was beautiful rolling terrain, nothing too steep or long, with most of the "out" into a bit of a headwind. Once through the turnaround, the hammer was dropped. There was a great stretch of new pavement where I was cruising at 52 km/h and my heart rate was dropping. Nothing wrong with that, eh? I know I got passed by one person in my AG, but I was pretty sure I got a few in the first miles, as I hadn't seen anyone for almost the entire ride. Another mediocre T2, and it was off on the run course.
The run was an interesting experience. I was giving a good push, but I knew I had more in the tank. Since I didn't think I had any close chasers, and I couldn't see anyone close by in my AG, it was hard to get mentally "in the race". I found myself pacing myself off whoever passed me, and just cruising along. It wasn't a jog, I was definitely running hard, but I think I may have been banking something for the half-marathon on Monday. I happened to reel in two from my AG in the second half, and put a good gap in before the end. I did sprint to the finish with a guy I had been racing over the last few kilometres. I thought I had dropped him, but right on the last corner he appeared on my shoulder, and it was on. Which is to say, I got crushed in the sprint. But I was actually six minutes ahead, so I won the war.
After cooling down and cheering in Mark (who accomplished every goal set for the day, and will be a force next year), I took a look at the results, and somehow I ended up in sixth place in my age-group. I'm still kind of boggled by that. I figured I could make the top 15 for sure, maybe edge into the top 10. But sixth? No way. The guy in fifth beat me out of T2 by 30 seconds, and outran me by another 45. If I could have been on his hip, I'm sure the gap would have been a lot smaller. I'm in kind of gatekeeper position: I'm the fastest of the sub-elite. Another year of swim practice to get out even closer to the front, and some more run miles, and I'll be right on their heels. They've got 8 months to get ready for me.
Official results:
Swim+T1: 15:39 (2:06/100m*), 14/76 AG
Bike: 48:28 (37.1 km/h), 6/76 AG
T2: 1:10
Run: 29:48 (4:16/km), 9/76 AG
Total: 1:35:03, 38/579 overall, 6/76 AG
OTS Points: 50, Series Points: 70
OSS Points: 50, Series Points: 77.5
I set a goal (that I didn't tell anyone about) at the start of the season of accumulating 30 points (the equivalent of a 10th place) over the course of the season. Going into today, a 13th or better would have clinched it (another reason to do this race). Little did I expect to get all the points I need, and change, in one go. If I weren't so tired, and so amazed that I pulled that off, I'd be grinning like an idiot for the next week. Instead, I need to rest, and get ready for a race/test workout on Monday. Then it's two weeks until the big goal of the season. Here's a reason to think I may have picked up another couple of spots on the ledger.
* Pace includes T1. Based on my 14:20, pace was 1:55/100m
The turn-out for this race was huge. Last year was around 500 people, this year was closer to 700. It's the last race of the season, so lots of people were wanting to put on one last good show. There was a delay of the start due to some traffic congestion into the park, but we got underway at about 9:15. My wave got called to the start, and the horn sounded at 9:21. The race was on.
For the first time since Milton, I lined up near the front for the swim. I might not be able to go with the best, but based on Niagara, I can hang in the front/middle of the group. With this seeding, I gave a good push right from the gun, found some good feet, and started to cruise around the lake. I did a good job of drafting when I had the chance, and once I was rested, I would try to pass and move up to some other, quicker feet. I was a little over-excited, and didn't concentrate enough on "finish my stroke" or "flat wide foot", but when I did clue in, my pace kept up. I got a little off-course on the stretch back to the beach, because the sun was to our right, and so I was doing all my breathing to the left. This pulled me to the left, and I almost went inside a buoy, but I corrected, and hammered to the exit. I checked my watch as I stood up, and shooting for sub-15, was happy to see 14:20. After another mediocre T1, it was off on the bike course.
The ride was mostly uneventful. It was beautiful rolling terrain, nothing too steep or long, with most of the "out" into a bit of a headwind. Once through the turnaround, the hammer was dropped. There was a great stretch of new pavement where I was cruising at 52 km/h and my heart rate was dropping. Nothing wrong with that, eh? I know I got passed by one person in my AG, but I was pretty sure I got a few in the first miles, as I hadn't seen anyone for almost the entire ride. Another mediocre T2, and it was off on the run course.
The run was an interesting experience. I was giving a good push, but I knew I had more in the tank. Since I didn't think I had any close chasers, and I couldn't see anyone close by in my AG, it was hard to get mentally "in the race". I found myself pacing myself off whoever passed me, and just cruising along. It wasn't a jog, I was definitely running hard, but I think I may have been banking something for the half-marathon on Monday. I happened to reel in two from my AG in the second half, and put a good gap in before the end. I did sprint to the finish with a guy I had been racing over the last few kilometres. I thought I had dropped him, but right on the last corner he appeared on my shoulder, and it was on. Which is to say, I got crushed in the sprint. But I was actually six minutes ahead, so I won the war.
After cooling down and cheering in Mark (who accomplished every goal set for the day, and will be a force next year), I took a look at the results, and somehow I ended up in sixth place in my age-group. I'm still kind of boggled by that. I figured I could make the top 15 for sure, maybe edge into the top 10. But sixth? No way. The guy in fifth beat me out of T2 by 30 seconds, and outran me by another 45. If I could have been on his hip, I'm sure the gap would have been a lot smaller. I'm in kind of gatekeeper position: I'm the fastest of the sub-elite. Another year of swim practice to get out even closer to the front, and some more run miles, and I'll be right on their heels. They've got 8 months to get ready for me.
Official results:
Swim+T1: 15:39 (2:06/100m*), 14/76 AG
Bike: 48:28 (37.1 km/h), 6/76 AG
T2: 1:10
Run: 29:48 (4:16/km), 9/76 AG
Total: 1:35:03, 38/579 overall, 6/76 AG
OTS Points: 50, Series Points: 70
OSS Points: 50, Series Points: 77.5
I set a goal (that I didn't tell anyone about) at the start of the season of accumulating 30 points (the equivalent of a 10th place) over the course of the season. Going into today, a 13th or better would have clinched it (another reason to do this race). Little did I expect to get all the points I need, and change, in one go. If I weren't so tired, and so amazed that I pulled that off, I'd be grinning like an idiot for the next week. Instead, I need to rest, and get ready for a race/test workout on Monday. Then it's two weeks until the big goal of the season. Here's a reason to think I may have picked up another couple of spots on the ledger.
* Pace includes T1. Based on my 14:20, pace was 1:55/100m
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tilt A Whirl
We were at a new pool this morning, Havergal College. This is a private school here in the city. The facilities, well, the facilities are nicer than anything I would have ever had access to in high school. Six lane, 25m swimming pool. (I do find it a bit weird that a high school has a co-ed shower area, but maybe I'm a bit out of touch.) Just like last week, those of us doing the 70.3 had a special workout, once again compromising basically one line: 2k free or pull. Since I like to compare workouts, I once again did it all as a pull set, to see if I missed a lap last week. The time should be close to last week, although in a SCM pool, the pace might be quicker.
I was chosen to lead our lane of 4 people, so I set off at a hard but manageable pace. Counting in this pool was tough. 2000m translates to 40 laps, or 80 lengths. I like to count each length, so I ended up doing 4x20 in my head. There was one point where I wasn't sure of my count, so I went with the low number, just to make sure. I got a little water in my goggles within 50m, but I decided to just tough it out and keep swimming.
I was lapping the other members of the lane pretty regularly. I think I caught the guy forced to do free (there's no wetsuits in Kona) about 8 times, and a recent IM finisher about 5 times. I lapped the other swimmer (who was sent off ten seconds after me) just before the halfway mark, and then he just swam in my wake for the rest of the day. If I was in his situation, I would have dropped back and gotten the best workout I could, but I can understand wanting to get through as fast as possible as well. I know my pace dropped over the last 500m or so, but I kept the focus on "finish your stroke", and kept a good effort going. It was a bit quicker than I'd probably choose to swim the HIM, but it's nice to know I could do that, and I wasn't dead at the end.
I hit the wall at 35:20. I know I lost at least 30 seconds when I was on the slower swimmers' feet a few times, so I guess I actually could pull out the 35:10 from last week. Even the coach was pretty impressed."You were flying. That's a long way from the start of the year." I should be well-recovered for tomorrow's race, and maybe I'll line up closer to the middle and really try to get in the mix. This "getting faster" thing is a whole lot of fun.
I'll add a brief bike ride after work to shake out the legs before finishing packing my bag for the morning.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
4x25 quick/25 ez, 15"
1x2000 pull (35:20)
c/d - 200 non-free, 200 ez free
Total: 3200m
Bike: 30 minutes, zone 1-2
I was chosen to lead our lane of 4 people, so I set off at a hard but manageable pace. Counting in this pool was tough. 2000m translates to 40 laps, or 80 lengths. I like to count each length, so I ended up doing 4x20 in my head. There was one point where I wasn't sure of my count, so I went with the low number, just to make sure. I got a little water in my goggles within 50m, but I decided to just tough it out and keep swimming.
I was lapping the other members of the lane pretty regularly. I think I caught the guy forced to do free (there's no wetsuits in Kona) about 8 times, and a recent IM finisher about 5 times. I lapped the other swimmer (who was sent off ten seconds after me) just before the halfway mark, and then he just swam in my wake for the rest of the day. If I was in his situation, I would have dropped back and gotten the best workout I could, but I can understand wanting to get through as fast as possible as well. I know my pace dropped over the last 500m or so, but I kept the focus on "finish your stroke", and kept a good effort going. It was a bit quicker than I'd probably choose to swim the HIM, but it's nice to know I could do that, and I wasn't dead at the end.
I hit the wall at 35:20. I know I lost at least 30 seconds when I was on the slower swimmers' feet a few times, so I guess I actually could pull out the 35:10 from last week. Even the coach was pretty impressed."You were flying. That's a long way from the start of the year." I should be well-recovered for tomorrow's race, and maybe I'll line up closer to the middle and really try to get in the mix. This "getting faster" thing is a whole lot of fun.
I'll add a brief bike ride after work to shake out the legs before finishing packing my bag for the morning.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
4x25 quick/25 ez, 15"
1x2000 pull (35:20)
c/d - 200 non-free, 200 ez free
Total: 3200m
Bike: 30 minutes, zone 1-2
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Just a little run
Nothing worth talking about.
Except maybe to mention that I strapped on the HRM, and after 4 miles at this pace, my HR still had barely cracked 140 bpm. Last time I put it on, I spiked over 140 within three miles @ 7.2 mph. That's a bit of a fitness improvement.
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Except maybe to mention that I strapped on the HRM, and after 4 miles at this pace, my HR still had barely cracked 140 bpm. Last time I put it on, I spiked over 140 within three miles @ 7.2 mph. That's a bit of a fitness improvement.
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Confidence builder
This morning was the last time in the Douglas Snow pool, since it's going through its bi-monthly maintenance shutdown. We'll be moving to a new 25m pool for the last few weeks of swimming, then a big break after the 70.3. Today was about a lot of HIM pace work, and I must say, I feel like I had a pretty good day. I hit some personal bests in terms of repeatable efforts, and I feel pretty good going into the weekend. I still won't be first out of the water, but I think another top half performance is in the cards, maybe even top 15.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
4x25 sprint/25 ez, 10"
5x200, 30" (odds: faster than HIM pace (3:40, 3:35, 3:30), evens: 100 non-free/100 pull)
200 ez non-free, 30"
5x200 HIM pace, 30" (3:50, 3:48, 3:52, 3:47, 3:53)
c/d - 200 non-free, 200 pull
Total: 3400m
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
4x25 sprint/25 ez, 10"
5x200, 30" (odds: faster than HIM pace (3:40, 3:35, 3:30), evens: 100 non-free/100 pull)
200 ez non-free, 30"
5x200 HIM pace, 30" (3:50, 3:48, 3:52, 3:47, 3:53)
c/d - 200 non-free, 200 pull
Total: 3400m
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Some minor details of race prep
Still taking it easy in training, so just a short, slow run. I really do enjoy these some days. I can just focus on having good posture and turnover, and a few minutes later, I'm done and can relax for the night. Good stuff.
I also finished up a few minor adjustments for race prep. This weekend, I put some new shoes on the bike, Michelin Pro2Races. (I know all the cool kids have the Pro3's, but I'm old-skool, and by old-skool, I mean "last year's stuff".) Turns out I must have bent a valve stem, because there was significant leakage when I went out for a test ride. I checked the tube today, and there was a huge split right at the base of the stem, so I swapped the tube, and everything should fly now. That might even explain some of the slowing on Saturday's ride.
I also added a little bit of decoration. I had been hunting since I got the new bike and christened it for a sticker of his namesake. I had searched everywhere, even in the Disney Parks while we were in Florida in January. I had come up empty, but on Saturday while at the mall, I happened into the Disney Store, and as a clearance item, were sheets of stickers, including the characters of Cars. So I snagged a few (in case I screw up, I needed the back-up), and now my bullhorns have a little image I can glance down and use for motivation. Next up is a tattoo of Kermit the Frog on my forearm I can see during the running sections.
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
I also finished up a few minor adjustments for race prep. This weekend, I put some new shoes on the bike, Michelin Pro2Races. (I know all the cool kids have the Pro3's, but I'm old-skool, and by old-skool, I mean "last year's stuff".) Turns out I must have bent a valve stem, because there was significant leakage when I went out for a test ride. I checked the tube today, and there was a huge split right at the base of the stem, so I swapped the tube, and everything should fly now. That might even explain some of the slowing on Saturday's ride.
I also added a little bit of decoration. I had been hunting since I got the new bike and christened it for a sticker of his namesake. I had searched everywhere, even in the Disney Parks while we were in Florida in January. I had come up empty, but on Saturday while at the mall, I happened into the Disney Store, and as a clearance item, were sheets of stickers, including the characters of Cars. So I snagged a few (in case I screw up, I needed the back-up), and now my bullhorns have a little image I can glance down and use for motivation. Next up is a tattoo of Kermit the Frog on my forearm I can see during the running sections.
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Monday, August 25, 2008
Getting rested for the weekend
Just a nice little swim this morning and a short run in the afternoon to keep things loose while resting up for all the races this weekend. The main sets of the swim were 100 repeats on 2:15. I misunderstood the instructions and was shooting for 2:00 each time (hitting 1:57-59), when I could have gotten 1:55. No worries, still a good effort. The 400 pull set was done to be slightly hypoxic, with alternating 3 strokes per breath and 5 strokes per breath each 50. It was interesting to note how much slower I was when breathing every five (:55 vs 1:00).
The run went well. There's still some fatigue in my legs from the weekend, but that should shake out in the next couple of days.
Swim: w/u - 200 free, 4x25 drill/25 free, 200 pull, 100 non-free
6x50 free, draft practice (sprint past 2 other swimmers)
9x100 free on 2:15
100 non-free, 30"
400 pull as 50 (3 spb)/50 (5 spb), 1"
8x25 sprint/25 ez, 20"
c/d - 200 non-free
Total: 3000m
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
The run went well. There's still some fatigue in my legs from the weekend, but that should shake out in the next couple of days.
Swim: w/u - 200 free, 4x25 drill/25 free, 200 pull, 100 non-free
6x50 free, draft practice (sprint past 2 other swimmers)
9x100 free on 2:15
100 non-free, 30"
400 pull as 50 (3 spb)/50 (5 spb), 1"
8x25 sprint/25 ez, 20"
c/d - 200 non-free
Total: 3000m
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Without rest, things slow down
Last time I went out for a ten mile run, I was setting records all over the place. Of course, that run came after a rest week, so it would make sense that I was flying. Additionally, the weather was pretty much perfect (temps in the low teens). Today, not so much.
The last "build" block has definitely done some work to the legs. I could feel it yesterday, and I could feel it this morning. It was also warm and muggy, so conditions were tough. I had soaked through my shirt by the 3 mile mark. I have no idea how the Olympic marathoners were cranking out the pace last night (this morning). I could tell I was sluggish on a much shorter run. I have no idea how bad I'd get hit over 26.2 miles. Still, I got two solid laps in, with the second being my second fastest loop of the year. So, no complaints there.
Now I can rest up for next weekend, while keeping an eye on Ironman Canada. Good luck to Richard and Josie. Do Lane Three proud!
Run: 10.5 miles, 41:57/40:26 + 4 strides
The last "build" block has definitely done some work to the legs. I could feel it yesterday, and I could feel it this morning. It was also warm and muggy, so conditions were tough. I had soaked through my shirt by the 3 mile mark. I have no idea how the Olympic marathoners were cranking out the pace last night (this morning). I could tell I was sluggish on a much shorter run. I have no idea how bad I'd get hit over 26.2 miles. Still, I got two solid laps in, with the second being my second fastest loop of the year. So, no complaints there.
Now I can rest up for next weekend, while keeping an eye on Ironman Canada. Good luck to Richard and Josie. Do Lane Three proud!
Run: 10.5 miles, 41:57/40:26 + 4 strides
Saturday, August 23, 2008
One last big bike
With a race weekend and then taper, today was the last chance for an over-distance bike ride. If the 70.3 was going to involve 94km of riding (the bike course is a little long), I need to be comfortable for more than that. So I went out for about 110km, and had a decent ride. By the end, I was getting a bit burnt out, but I think that stems from being a little underfed, and hammering the second half of the ride into a strong headwind. Rolling terrain for 25km in a straight line, all against the wind, takes a lot out of the legs. Even controlling my heart rate, I was more tired than I would expect to be. There's no way I would have run a decent half-marathon at that point. I think it's fair to assume that the last two weeks have emptied the legs, so the next three will be used to fill them back up. If this is my only shot, I need to make it my best.
Bike: 111km, 31.7km/h average
Bike: 111km, 31.7km/h average
Friday, August 22, 2008
One set
I woke up this morning still kind of stiff from last night's run. I might need to find some better recovery methods, although I guess I should expect that I'll still be off only 12 hours after a tough session. But I was able to drag my sorry butt out of bed and get to the pool. After the usual warm-up, I looked at the board and saw 15x200, with each 200 being a different pace/stroke/toys. "Wow," I thought, "That's going to be tough to keep track of." But the coach had me and a couple others move down to lanes 5 and 6, all of us being part of the Muskoka 70.3 group. Then I looked at the other board, and saw one line: 1x2000m HIM, free or pull. "Wow," I thought, "That's going to be even tougher to keep track of."
It's a simple workout. Requires one line on the chalkboard, but that one line can end up saying a lot. Since my legs were still fried, I opted to pull the entire way (like a wetsuit), and we did do a 2000m pull test a few months ago. We were sent off, I tried to keep an accurate count as best I could, kept a steady rhythm, got yelled at once on a turn to "finish (my) stroke", and touched the wall 35:10 later.
Now here's where things get a little off. Ignoring the time, I'm 99% sure that I did the full load. I don't remember at any point having my usual, "Was that 5 or 7?" discussion that usually happens with these really long sets. (I counted off 4 sets of 10 lengths of the pool.) And that would mean I lapped one of the other guys, who's a mainstay in lane 2. (He did free for the first 1000, then pulled, and I think I passed him around the 700-800m mark.) I did lap twice the other folks in the lane, but it may be the case that I missed a lap, and only did 1900m, since I did finish about 90 seconds before him, and he didn't think anyone passed him.
When we did this in May, I was ~38:45, so if the time is accurate, that's a 3:35 improvement. Huge. My 35:10 translates to a 1:45/100 pace. Even I find it hard to believe that I was able to knock that out for 40 lengths of the pool. If I only did 1900m, then that's 1:51/100, which is much more reasonable, and would have been an improvement of 1:45 over last time. Still huge. (I'd be more upset that I didn't do the workout as prescribed than the increase in time. I'm kind of a stickler that way.)
Either way, I've made some real gains in the last couple of months. I'm excited to see what I can do in Guelph Lake next weekend. I should be able to go sub-2:00/100 for the first time, unless the weather makes that impossible. What does this mean for the 70.3? Absolutely nothing. That will be an entirely different ballgame. I have no real desire to try to recalibrate any swim predictions based on today, because it will mean very little in open water in a cold lake with 240 other athletes and other waves chasing from behind. But I'm faster now than I was before, and that's been the main point of this whole journey.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
1x2000 HIM effort pull (35:10)
c/d - 200 non-free, 200 ez free
Total: 3000m
Run: 5 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
It's a simple workout. Requires one line on the chalkboard, but that one line can end up saying a lot. Since my legs were still fried, I opted to pull the entire way (like a wetsuit), and we did do a 2000m pull test a few months ago. We were sent off, I tried to keep an accurate count as best I could, kept a steady rhythm, got yelled at once on a turn to "finish (my) stroke", and touched the wall 35:10 later.
Now here's where things get a little off. Ignoring the time, I'm 99% sure that I did the full load. I don't remember at any point having my usual, "Was that 5 or 7?" discussion that usually happens with these really long sets. (I counted off 4 sets of 10 lengths of the pool.) And that would mean I lapped one of the other guys, who's a mainstay in lane 2. (He did free for the first 1000, then pulled, and I think I passed him around the 700-800m mark.) I did lap twice the other folks in the lane, but it may be the case that I missed a lap, and only did 1900m, since I did finish about 90 seconds before him, and he didn't think anyone passed him.
When we did this in May, I was ~38:45, so if the time is accurate, that's a 3:35 improvement. Huge. My 35:10 translates to a 1:45/100 pace. Even I find it hard to believe that I was able to knock that out for 40 lengths of the pool. If I only did 1900m, then that's 1:51/100, which is much more reasonable, and would have been an improvement of 1:45 over last time. Still huge. (I'd be more upset that I didn't do the workout as prescribed than the increase in time. I'm kind of a stickler that way.)
Either way, I've made some real gains in the last couple of months. I'm excited to see what I can do in Guelph Lake next weekend. I should be able to go sub-2:00/100 for the first time, unless the weather makes that impossible. What does this mean for the 70.3? Absolutely nothing. That will be an entirely different ballgame. I have no real desire to try to recalibrate any swim predictions based on today, because it will mean very little in open water in a cold lake with 240 other athletes and other waves chasing from behind. But I'm faster now than I was before, and that's been the main point of this whole journey.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
1x2000 HIM effort pull (35:10)
c/d - 200 non-free, 200 ez free
Total: 3000m
Run: 5 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Out at the speedway
Some kind of Elvis thing.
The hard running is over. Outside of races, I don't have to run hard/fast for a few months. As much as I enjoy opening it up every once in a while, it gets tough to grind out some of these efforts. I know they work, and I know they'll pay off, but it's tough to get psyched up about a workout when you know you're going to bleed out your eyeballs.
This is when the treadmill is a blessing/taskmaster. I know the pace I need to run for each interval, so I can just hit the buttons and away we go. The flip side, of course, being that when I get tired, I'm not allowed to slow down.
To be honest, I got through the day much better than I expected to. I handled the fifteen minute interval without much trouble, and got through the ten minute interval without dying. The short rest and increased speed of the last five minute set almost got to me, but I toughed it out to the end, and if I really had to, I could have hung on for another minute or two.
Then I spent most of the evening lying on the couch, or shuffling like a zombie in search of food. Good times.
Run: 55 minutes, w/15 minutes @ 9.0 mph, 3 min recovery, 10 minutes @ 9.2 mph, 2 min recovery, 5 minutes @ 9.4 mph + 4 strides
The hard running is over. Outside of races, I don't have to run hard/fast for a few months. As much as I enjoy opening it up every once in a while, it gets tough to grind out some of these efforts. I know they work, and I know they'll pay off, but it's tough to get psyched up about a workout when you know you're going to bleed out your eyeballs.
This is when the treadmill is a blessing/taskmaster. I know the pace I need to run for each interval, so I can just hit the buttons and away we go. The flip side, of course, being that when I get tired, I'm not allowed to slow down.
To be honest, I got through the day much better than I expected to. I handled the fifteen minute interval without much trouble, and got through the ten minute interval without dying. The short rest and increased speed of the last five minute set almost got to me, but I toughed it out to the end, and if I really had to, I could have hung on for another minute or two.
Then I spent most of the evening lying on the couch, or shuffling like a zombie in search of food. Good times.
Run: 55 minutes, w/15 minutes @ 9.0 mph, 3 min recovery, 10 minutes @ 9.2 mph, 2 min recovery, 5 minutes @ 9.4 mph + 4 strides
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Another Day, Another 3k
Not great breakthroughs to report this morning, but still another good swim. I was hitting solid times on all the sets. My HIM pace work was a shade slower than Monday, but it was after a few hard 100s, so fatigue was definitely an issue. The end of the workout was sprints, and because we were all ready at the same time, I ended up racing a couple of guys from Lane Two. I actually think I may have been winning the sprints, or at least not getting dropped like a hot rock. The coach pointed out that I was finally finishing my stroke even when sprinting, so that's a very good sign. I'm feeling even more confident that I can nail a solid swim (which for me will be 37-38 minutes), and use the rest of the day to make up about 100 positions. (I'm considering about a ticker on my handlebars to keep track.)
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
500 as 75 ez/25 quick, 30"
4x100 hard, 30" (1:45, 1:45, 1:43, 1:42)
100 ez non-free, 30"
500 as 25 head-up/75 ez, 30"
4x200 HIM pace, 30" (1:57-2:00/100)
200 ez non-free, 30"
4x25 sprint/25 ez, 1'
Total: 3300m
Run: 5 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
500 as 75 ez/25 quick, 30"
4x100 hard, 30" (1:45, 1:45, 1:43, 1:42)
100 ez non-free, 30"
500 as 25 head-up/75 ez, 30"
4x200 HIM pace, 30" (1:57-2:00/100)
200 ez non-free, 30"
4x25 sprint/25 ez, 1'
Total: 3300m
Run: 5 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Not the plan, but still good
Tonight was to be my last hard bike ride. There will be a few others that include some high-intensity work, but this was going to be the last one that would leave me walking funny. The schedule had it down as 2x20 minutes, but after barely getting through last week's attempt, I thought better of it and went to repeat the 3x12 minutes. And that plan changed in a hurry.
Right from the gun, I was fighting to get the prescribed wattage. There was no way I was going to manage 3x12 like this, I'd probably not make it all the way through the first interval. I'm assuming that the big weekend of simulation plus long run was still fatiguing me, but I needed back things off. So I quickly adjusted the plan on the fly, and turned it into 2x20 minutes, at Sprint Tri intensity, with the last two minutes at FTP. This ended up being a great workout. I did a lot of work, but avoided killing myself. Once my legs were up and moving, I could manage the last two minutes without much difficulty. Sometimes I need a reminder that every ride doesn't need to bury me to be worthwhile. This gets back to the general Daniels prescription of doing enough to produce the wanted benefit of a workout, and no more. Do just enough, and you'll keep improving.
I don't want to dig myself into a deep hole at this point. I've got three and half weeks until the race, which seems like a lot, but in ten days I have a big race weekend with a sprint triathlon and a half-marathon over the long weekend, which will be enough to wear me out going into the peak/taper. I want a good snap in my legs on the 14th. Things are still getting quicker, and considering how tired I am going into each workout, those improvements are nice. Once the taper comes and I'm fully rested and sharp, I should be flying.
Bike: 65 minutes, w/2x20 minutes @ 270w (last 2 minutes @ 315w), 5 min recovery
Run: 3 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Right from the gun, I was fighting to get the prescribed wattage. There was no way I was going to manage 3x12 like this, I'd probably not make it all the way through the first interval. I'm assuming that the big weekend of simulation plus long run was still fatiguing me, but I needed back things off. So I quickly adjusted the plan on the fly, and turned it into 2x20 minutes, at Sprint Tri intensity, with the last two minutes at FTP. This ended up being a great workout. I did a lot of work, but avoided killing myself. Once my legs were up and moving, I could manage the last two minutes without much difficulty. Sometimes I need a reminder that every ride doesn't need to bury me to be worthwhile. This gets back to the general Daniels prescription of doing enough to produce the wanted benefit of a workout, and no more. Do just enough, and you'll keep improving.
I don't want to dig myself into a deep hole at this point. I've got three and half weeks until the race, which seems like a lot, but in ten days I have a big race weekend with a sprint triathlon and a half-marathon over the long weekend, which will be enough to wear me out going into the peak/taper. I want a good snap in my legs on the 14th. Things are still getting quicker, and considering how tired I am going into each workout, those improvements are nice. Once the taper comes and I'm fully rested and sharp, I should be flying.
Bike: 65 minutes, w/2x20 minutes @ 270w (last 2 minutes @ 315w), 5 min recovery
Run: 3 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Monday, August 18, 2008
A couple more pieces
... fall into place.
Listen, I know I'm not fast in the water. But I'm getting faster. I can tell that I'm getting more efficient, and I'm able to do more work at a given level of intensity. Today was another morning with lots of HIM-pace work, and I was able to fall into a really nice groove. I doubt I could have held the pace (1:55/100m) for the full 2k, but I definitely wasn't working too hard to keep it up. Then during the easy pull sections, I was cruising at 1:50-1:55/100 and barely working at all. One more month, a few more seconds per hundred, and I'll move up another few spots out of the water.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
2x400, 1' (1: HIM pace, 2: 100 ez back/300 ez pull)
3x300, 45" (1: HIM pace, 2: pull w/paddles, 3: 100 ez back/200 ez pull)
4x200, 30" (odd: 25 fast/75 ez, even: 25 sight/75 ez)
5x100, 15" (odd: sprint (1:42, 1:45, 1:39), even: ez non-free)
Total: 3600m
Listen, I know I'm not fast in the water. But I'm getting faster. I can tell that I'm getting more efficient, and I'm able to do more work at a given level of intensity. Today was another morning with lots of HIM-pace work, and I was able to fall into a really nice groove. I doubt I could have held the pace (1:55/100m) for the full 2k, but I definitely wasn't working too hard to keep it up. Then during the easy pull sections, I was cruising at 1:50-1:55/100 and barely working at all. One more month, a few more seconds per hundred, and I'll move up another few spots out of the water.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
2x400, 1' (1: HIM pace, 2: 100 ez back/300 ez pull)
3x300, 45" (1: HIM pace, 2: pull w/paddles, 3: 100 ez back/200 ez pull)
4x200, 30" (odd: 25 fast/75 ez, even: 25 sight/75 ez)
5x100, 15" (odd: sprint (1:42, 1:45, 1:39), even: ez non-free)
Total: 3600m
Sunday, August 17, 2008
No more miles
Today was the last long run before the Oakville half-marathon, which will serve as the last long run before the Muskoka 70.3. Given that this was a hard training week, and not recovery like last week, it should be no surprise that I didn't have the same spring in my step. In fact, the effort yesterday helped deaden things quite a bit.
I kept things really easy for the first loop, posting one of the slowest times I've had. Mentally, I had a hard time getting into the run, constantly thinking about ditching at the end of the next lap. Among the recommendations from the voices in my head were:
"Just quit after 5 miles. That's enough."
"OK, add on the 3 miles, but 8 is plenty."
"Skip the second three-miler and go straight to the 5 for 13 total."
"Nope, we've changed our minds, quit after this 3 for 11 total."
"Fine, we'll do the full 16, but we're going slow."
I dragged my way through the last loop, not a record, but not a bad time either. I can't expect to set the road on fire every time out, and with one last speed session to go on the run (not counting the races), I think I've packed all the "go-fast" into my legs as I'm going to get. We've already seen that with even partial rest, I can turn it out at a good clip. What should be the over/under on how many I pass on the run course?
Run: 16.9 miles, 43:39/41:52
I kept things really easy for the first loop, posting one of the slowest times I've had. Mentally, I had a hard time getting into the run, constantly thinking about ditching at the end of the next lap. Among the recommendations from the voices in my head were:
"Just quit after 5 miles. That's enough."
"OK, add on the 3 miles, but 8 is plenty."
"Skip the second three-miler and go straight to the 5 for 13 total."
"Nope, we've changed our minds, quit after this 3 for 11 total."
"Fine, we'll do the full 16, but we're going slow."
I dragged my way through the last loop, not a record, but not a bad time either. I can't expect to set the road on fire every time out, and with one last speed session to go on the run (not counting the races), I think I've packed all the "go-fast" into my legs as I'm going to get. We've already seen that with even partial rest, I can turn it out at a good clip. What should be the over/under on how many I pass on the run course?
Run: 16.9 miles, 43:39/41:52
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Bike/Run Simulation
Food. Or more generally, nutrition. What to eat and drink during a race. How much to eat and drink. When to eat and drink. These are some of the difficult questions that need to be answered if you're going into a race with a plan. As much as a power/heart rate/pace plan needs to be set forth, if you don't have the calories to get through, or eat so much that your stomach rebels, the plan goes right out the window. So this morning I set out to test my nutrition plan, along with a rough test of my bike/run pacing.
I did a ride of approximately 90km (93, to be exact), and followed it with a 7km run. The ride and the run were to be at expected race pace, and I was using the same nutrition plan that I would use at Muskoka 70.3. I'm generally pretty good about drinking every 15 minutes (I'm a clock-watcher by nature), so my schedule was a Powergel with water every 45 minutes, starting at 15 minutes, and a Gatorade/protein mix with water the other times. Nutritionally, everything went well. My stomach handled everything with no issues, although I could have probably taken a bit more water. There was a little bit of fatigue in my legs by the end. I didn't feel like I overcooked any of the ride, but all the steep climbs may have taken more out of me than I expected. The ride up north won't have the same style of climbing; it will have almost all up and down, but shallower grades and longer climbs.
Once back in the parking lot, I put my bike away and changed my shoes, then headed out for a quick run. My goal was to average 4:25/km over rolling terrain. I ended up with an overall average of 4:22/km, which was pretty good. One of the better signs was a 1.5km section that included a 1km climb, where I was able to hold 4:30/km pace. The effort was harder than I expected for the whole run. I wasn't suffering, but it wasn't a cruise either. I could have held the pace for a few more kilometres. Another 14? Not sure, but I am coming into today with significant fatigue in my legs, especially the running muscles, that won't be there when I'm tapered on race morning. The heat also was an issue, so hopefully it will cool off in the next month. I guess we'll see what happens on race day. All I can do is roll the dice and see if I come up a winner.
Bike: 93 km, 32.5km/h average
Run: 7 km, 4:22/km average
I did a ride of approximately 90km (93, to be exact), and followed it with a 7km run. The ride and the run were to be at expected race pace, and I was using the same nutrition plan that I would use at Muskoka 70.3. I'm generally pretty good about drinking every 15 minutes (I'm a clock-watcher by nature), so my schedule was a Powergel with water every 45 minutes, starting at 15 minutes, and a Gatorade/protein mix with water the other times. Nutritionally, everything went well. My stomach handled everything with no issues, although I could have probably taken a bit more water. There was a little bit of fatigue in my legs by the end. I didn't feel like I overcooked any of the ride, but all the steep climbs may have taken more out of me than I expected. The ride up north won't have the same style of climbing; it will have almost all up and down, but shallower grades and longer climbs.
Once back in the parking lot, I put my bike away and changed my shoes, then headed out for a quick run. My goal was to average 4:25/km over rolling terrain. I ended up with an overall average of 4:22/km, which was pretty good. One of the better signs was a 1.5km section that included a 1km climb, where I was able to hold 4:30/km pace. The effort was harder than I expected for the whole run. I wasn't suffering, but it wasn't a cruise either. I could have held the pace for a few more kilometres. Another 14? Not sure, but I am coming into today with significant fatigue in my legs, especially the running muscles, that won't be there when I'm tapered on race morning. The heat also was an issue, so hopefully it will cool off in the next month. I guess we'll see what happens on race day. All I can do is roll the dice and see if I come up a winner.
Bike: 93 km, 32.5km/h average
Run: 7 km, 4:22/km average
Friday, August 15, 2008
Kona-Bound (not me, however)
Another solid morning in the pool. Even after last night's run that left me hobbling for a while, and a late night to watch Michael Phelps dominate the swimming events, I was able to put together a better than expected swim. We had two types of descending sets, each repeated twice. First was 3x200, then later we did 4x100. The 200s went really well, and I got into a strong rhythm. The 4x100s were tougher, but mainly because it was tough to get enough gears. We were told to go from Olympic pace (1500m) to sprint pace (500-700m). Well, for me there isn't that much difference in speed between those. I've gotten my swimming endurance up to the point where I can hold a solid effort for as long as I need to, but the next step up is pretty much balls-out. So I definitely can't find four different gears in that range. So I did what I could, and got to paces that were above sprint, but just shy of balls-out. But a great workout nonetheless. I'm looking forward to my Olympic watching/napping of the weekend.
One of my lanemates was back for the first time since IMLP. Before we started the main set, the coach told him he wasn't allowed to use the pull buoy like the rest of us. When he asked why not, the answer was, "They don't allow wetsuits in Kona." (He qualified for the race on the Big Island.) Congrats, Will. Go tear them up in Hawaii.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
2x(3x200 pull, descending, 30"
200 ez non-free, 20")
2x(4x100 free, descending, 20"
200 ez non-free, 20")
Total: 3400m
Run: 5 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
One of my lanemates was back for the first time since IMLP. Before we started the main set, the coach told him he wasn't allowed to use the pull buoy like the rest of us. When he asked why not, the answer was, "They don't allow wetsuits in Kona." (He qualified for the race on the Big Island.) Congrats, Will. Go tear them up in Hawaii.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
2x(3x200 pull, descending, 30"
200 ez non-free, 20")
2x(4x100 free, descending, 20"
200 ez non-free, 20")
Total: 3400m
Run: 5 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Getting closer to the end
With this being the first of two weeks of the last build, I am almost finished my preparations for the season. I am almost done all the really hard work, the workouts like tonight. I am more than prepared to suffer on the bike, but there's nothing that can get you ready for a really hard run. I spent all day mentally steeling myself to take this on tonight. "Dread" is probably too strong a word, but I can't say I was looking forward to it.
The workout is simple enough: After a two mile warm-up, turn the treadmill up to 8.8 mph, and keep it there for 6 miles (about 41 minutes). I'm again left to wonder about the calibration of the treadmill, because this workout took quite a bit out of me, and I'm supposed to be able to run 9.0 mph for a half-marathon. We'll find out about that in a couple of weeks, too. To be honest, I got through the day pretty well. My legs held up just fine, and for the most part by breathing was natural, about a 3-3 rhythm. In the last mile I had to dig pretty deep, and went to a 2-2, demonstrating how I was being taxed. My legs had a few more miles in them; my lungs, not so much. Just to add a degree of difficulty, during that last mile at pace, my sweat had gotten the belt slippery enough that I could feel my feet move on occasion. I developed a bit of weave trying to find some traction as I kept up the pace. That's always fun.
A few hours later now, and my legs have stiffened up a bit. I guess they did a bit work than I originally though. I should be just fine by run time tomorrow. Watching the Olympic coverage is at once inspiring and mind-boggling. The difference between the world's elite, and even other qualifiers is astounding (Phelps or Bolt vs. the competition). They are truly the 1% of 1%.
Run: 9 miles, as 2 miles @ 7.5 mph, 6 miles @ 8.8 mph, 1 mile @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
The workout is simple enough: After a two mile warm-up, turn the treadmill up to 8.8 mph, and keep it there for 6 miles (about 41 minutes). I'm again left to wonder about the calibration of the treadmill, because this workout took quite a bit out of me, and I'm supposed to be able to run 9.0 mph for a half-marathon. We'll find out about that in a couple of weeks, too. To be honest, I got through the day pretty well. My legs held up just fine, and for the most part by breathing was natural, about a 3-3 rhythm. In the last mile I had to dig pretty deep, and went to a 2-2, demonstrating how I was being taxed. My legs had a few more miles in them; my lungs, not so much. Just to add a degree of difficulty, during that last mile at pace, my sweat had gotten the belt slippery enough that I could feel my feet move on occasion. I developed a bit of weave trying to find some traction as I kept up the pace. That's always fun.
A few hours later now, and my legs have stiffened up a bit. I guess they did a bit work than I originally though. I should be just fine by run time tomorrow. Watching the Olympic coverage is at once inspiring and mind-boggling. The difference between the world's elite, and even other qualifiers is astounding (Phelps or Bolt vs. the competition). They are truly the 1% of 1%.
Run: 9 miles, as 2 miles @ 7.5 mph, 6 miles @ 8.8 mph, 1 mile @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Starting to get real
Checking the calendar, we are now at exactly one month until Ironman 70.3 Muskoka. I started this journey over a year from the race date, and now it's almost here. Everything is starting to fall into place, my fitness has never been better, I've got my equipment figured out, I have some race experience. It's go time.
Yesterday was the release of the Athlete's Guide. I've already gone through it twice. There isn't anything truly unexpected, but some things did catch my eye.
Yesterday was the release of the Athlete's Guide. I've already gone through it twice. There isn't anything truly unexpected, but some things did catch my eye.
- It will be interesting to see how the bus operation works for all the athletes on the various days. I'll probably be using it each day from Friday to Sunday. As a first-year operation, there may be some kinks, but I hope nothing too bad.
- The bike course is long. By rights, it's supposed to be 90km, but it's measured at 94km, due to the loop nature of the course. There has been some complaining in some corners about it not being official distance, but the only way to be exact would be an out-and-back, and that would hardly take advantage of the Muskoka region. I'm fine with this, because a) it's only another 8 minutes or so of racing, and big picture, that's not much; b) we all have to race the whole thing, so no one's getting an advantage; and c) OK, maybe the skinny hill-climbing bike riders have a small advantage with more terrain to their benefit, and more chance to build/close gaps to the rest of the AG.
- I'm in the first non-elite wave to go off (M35-39 @ 8:09). I guess being part of the largest AG has some advantage. With six minutes between waves, I'll be caught in the water by a few people from later waves, but the road will be pretty clear once I hit the bike. (Ignoring elites, who I won't see until the end, I'd guess about 120 from AG, 40 from the next wave, and 20 from the next could be in front of me out of T1.) No real worries about drafting, although I'll miss having a lot of bodies to chase down for the next two legs. Having a target always makes life easier. I guess I'll have to take the mindset of the "chased" instead of the "chaser".
A week and a half left of "build", then I recover, have a big race weekend (sprint tri/half-mary), peak week, and race week. Buckle up, kids. It's time to rock'n'roll.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Lane Zero
Pretty good swim this morning. A lot of half-IM efforts, which I may have slightly overcooked, but not by much. I was able to keep three-stroke breathing all the way through all the sets, so I'll take that as pretty close.
We had a couple of special guests at this morning's swim, which required a new lane. Lane Six (the slowest) was shuffled into lane 5, and two swimmers took the open space for themselves. Those two swimmers were our assistant coach, and Wolfgang Guembel, one of the best triathlon swimmers in the province, and almost always among the first out of the water at most Ironman events. The speeds these two generated, at such small effort, was astonishing. A completely different class than anyone else in the pool.
During the last part of the training, Theresa stopped me before I left the wall to discuss some pointers about my form. It seems my entry and catch are good, but I'm not engaging my shoulders/back early enough during the pull, and short-arming the pull. This was during a full-out 100, and she noticed it underwater while she was swimming three lanes over.
1. This must have been pretty obvious to see if she can diagnosis it that far off.
2. I'm singing Muppet tunes to distract myself from the pain, and she's relaxed enough to diagnose my form issues? I have a long way to go at this swimming thing.
After the swim, I got home and knocked out an easy five miles on the treadmill. Normally, this workout would be after work, but since Masters of Metal is tonight, I had to get it done when it could get done. That way I can deafen myself guilt-free.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
5x300, 30" (odd: half-IM effort, even: 100 ez back/200 ez pull)
5x200, 30" (odd: 100 ez back/100 ez pull, even: half-IM effort)
3x100, 15" (odd: full-out, even: non-free)
Total: 3400m
Run: 5 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
We had a couple of special guests at this morning's swim, which required a new lane. Lane Six (the slowest) was shuffled into lane 5, and two swimmers took the open space for themselves. Those two swimmers were our assistant coach, and Wolfgang Guembel, one of the best triathlon swimmers in the province, and almost always among the first out of the water at most Ironman events. The speeds these two generated, at such small effort, was astonishing. A completely different class than anyone else in the pool.
During the last part of the training, Theresa stopped me before I left the wall to discuss some pointers about my form. It seems my entry and catch are good, but I'm not engaging my shoulders/back early enough during the pull, and short-arming the pull. This was during a full-out 100, and she noticed it underwater while she was swimming three lanes over.
1. This must have been pretty obvious to see if she can diagnosis it that far off.
2. I'm singing Muppet tunes to distract myself from the pain, and she's relaxed enough to diagnose my form issues? I have a long way to go at this swimming thing.
After the swim, I got home and knocked out an easy five miles on the treadmill. Normally, this workout would be after work, but since Masters of Metal is tonight, I had to get it done when it could get done. That way I can deafen myself guilt-free.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
5x300, 30" (odd: half-IM effort, even: 100 ez back/200 ez pull)
5x200, 30" (odd: 100 ez back/100 ez pull, even: half-IM effort)
3x100, 15" (odd: full-out, even: non-free)
Total: 3400m
Run: 5 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Sometimes "survived" is good enough
And so, it would seem that I may have overestimated my FTP when I began this last training cycle. I could easily handle the shorter efforts of six or eight minutes, but as the intervals get longer, it's not nearly so easy. If this is supposed to be at an intensity I can (just barely) handle for an hour, then getting jacked by a 3x12 with rest should be impossible. But so far, this level has been kicking my butt. Two weeks ago, it gave me more than I could handle, and I cracked something ugly in the last go-round. This time, I made it all the way through, but by the skin of my teeth. The last couple of minutes I was all over the bike trying to keep the pedals moving at the appropriate speed. The important thing, of course, is that the work got done. Now I need to decide if I should move on to the 2x20 next week, or stay here and try for a better (read: not crying during the last minute) performance. I'll be able to make a more-informed decision coming out of the weekend.
Bike: 65 minutes, w/ 3x12 minutes @ 315w, 3 minutes rest
Run: 3 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Bike: 65 minutes, w/ 3x12 minutes @ 315w, 3 minutes rest
Run: 3 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Monday, August 11, 2008
Hard hurts
When you go hard early in a workout, and by hard, I mean "all-out", everything slows down for the rest of the day. It's your body's way of saying, "You make me suffer like that? Screw you, we quit."
That was the story of the day, but considering that the all-out part was a PB, I can live with that. After that, just getting some hard work in was enough. After warm-up, to honour the Olympics, we did a full-bore 100m, then after an easy 100, we did 200m. Those guys competing for medals are going about 47 seconds for 100, and 1:43 for 200. I'll be lucky to get within double those times, but I'll give it my best. I hit 1:32 for 100, which is a new record. I expected a bit faster, but I know I let form slip away between the 60-80m marks. My pacing for 200m was horrible, but I still got a personal best: 3:28. I was all over the place on this one, going hard, having to scale back to catch my breath, and going hard again. Not a model attempt, but I'll live with it.
The rest of the day was some easy stuff when I tried to focus on my form, and harder efforts where I dug out what I could. With five weeks to get things together, I just need to keep getting the metres. All the rest will work itself out.
Swim: 200m each free, non-free, pull
500 as 100 sprint (1:32), 100 ez, 200 sprint (3:28), 100 ez, 1'
500 as 100 ez non-free/150 ez free, 1'
500 free descending, 1'
500 as 25 ez non-free/75 ez free
500 as 100 hard (1:45), 100 ez, 100 hard (1:48), 100 ez, 100 hard (1:45)
Total: 3100m
That was the story of the day, but considering that the all-out part was a PB, I can live with that. After that, just getting some hard work in was enough. After warm-up, to honour the Olympics, we did a full-bore 100m, then after an easy 100, we did 200m. Those guys competing for medals are going about 47 seconds for 100, and 1:43 for 200. I'll be lucky to get within double those times, but I'll give it my best. I hit 1:32 for 100, which is a new record. I expected a bit faster, but I know I let form slip away between the 60-80m marks. My pacing for 200m was horrible, but I still got a personal best: 3:28. I was all over the place on this one, going hard, having to scale back to catch my breath, and going hard again. Not a model attempt, but I'll live with it.
The rest of the day was some easy stuff when I tried to focus on my form, and harder efforts where I dug out what I could. With five weeks to get things together, I just need to keep getting the metres. All the rest will work itself out.
Swim: 200m each free, non-free, pull
500 as 100 sprint (1:32), 100 ez, 200 sprint (3:28), 100 ez, 1'
500 as 100 ez non-free/150 ez free, 1'
500 free descending, 1'
500 as 25 ez non-free/75 ez free
500 as 100 hard (1:45), 100 ez, 100 hard (1:48), 100 ez, 100 hard (1:45)
Total: 3100m
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Some Days You're the Bug, Take 3
And today I was the windshield! I haven't felt this good on a run in a long time. It was effortless, and I was flying. It's days like this that keep you in the game for a long time. It's like golfing: you can struggle through a round, hating everything about the game, swear you'll never play again, then hit one sweet iron to a couple feet from the pin and spend the next five years chasing that feeling again.
I felt really good after yesterday's ride, but I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. (The Olympics and a great UFC fight card will do that.) I was able to drag myself out of bed by 7:30, and by 8:30 was hitting the road. It was a short day, just 10 miles, so two loops of the hilly course. I settled into a nice rhythm, and checked my time at my first checkpoint. Usually on a first lap, I'll get there around 7:45, and about 7:15-20 on the faster second lap. Today, 7:19. Wow, that's kinda quick. Maybe I should ease off a bit. Or maybe not. The second checkpoint was 35 seconds faster than most second laps (23:10 vs. 23:45). From here to the end of the lap, there are two big climbs, so I kept it ridiculously easy up both. I still finished the lap at 41:00. That's my fastest first lap ever, and third fastest ever.
So then I had to go out for a second lap. It needs to noted that all of this was easy running. I wasn't pushing hard at any time. The hills I gave a slightly harder effort, but on the flats everything was at 4-4 breathing. This would have been at what Maffetone/Allen would call Aerobic Threshold (AeT), about as hard as I could go without actually going hard. This time, first checkpoint was 7:06, second was 22:45. I allowed myself to go 3-3 on the tough climbs, and pushed the pace for the last kilometre. When I stopped the watch, just hoping I was still negative splitting the run, I was at 39:28. The first time I've cracked 40 minutes, and a PB by about 75 seconds. The pace was roughly 7:30/mile over very hilly terrain, and I could have kept going for quite a while.
The legs are coming back. I'm going to have a useful weapon in five weeks. I will move up the race pretty well if I can pull something like this out on the day.
Run: 10.5 miles, 41:00/39:28 + 4 strides
I felt really good after yesterday's ride, but I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. (The Olympics and a great UFC fight card will do that.) I was able to drag myself out of bed by 7:30, and by 8:30 was hitting the road. It was a short day, just 10 miles, so two loops of the hilly course. I settled into a nice rhythm, and checked my time at my first checkpoint. Usually on a first lap, I'll get there around 7:45, and about 7:15-20 on the faster second lap. Today, 7:19. Wow, that's kinda quick. Maybe I should ease off a bit. Or maybe not. The second checkpoint was 35 seconds faster than most second laps (23:10 vs. 23:45). From here to the end of the lap, there are two big climbs, so I kept it ridiculously easy up both. I still finished the lap at 41:00. That's my fastest first lap ever, and third fastest ever.
So then I had to go out for a second lap. It needs to noted that all of this was easy running. I wasn't pushing hard at any time. The hills I gave a slightly harder effort, but on the flats everything was at 4-4 breathing. This would have been at what Maffetone/Allen would call Aerobic Threshold (AeT), about as hard as I could go without actually going hard. This time, first checkpoint was 7:06, second was 22:45. I allowed myself to go 3-3 on the tough climbs, and pushed the pace for the last kilometre. When I stopped the watch, just hoping I was still negative splitting the run, I was at 39:28. The first time I've cracked 40 minutes, and a PB by about 75 seconds. The pace was roughly 7:30/mile over very hilly terrain, and I could have kept going for quite a while.
The legs are coming back. I'm going to have a useful weapon in five weeks. I will move up the race pretty well if I can pull something like this out on the day.
Run: 10.5 miles, 41:00/39:28 + 4 strides
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Is it supposed to be easy?
Now is the time for logging some big saddle time, in the neighbourhood of 100-120km. Unfortunately, everyone with the TTC was riding shorter than that, so my intention was to do about 85-90k with them, then add on a few extra kilometres.
The weather predictions had been for rain showing up in the afternoon, so we were supposed to be in the clear. The rain didn't get the invitation, so it showed up early. The black clouds were on the horizon within the first 30 minutes, and kept approaching while we were out there. I turned around at about 45km, hoping to outrun the rain. At the 75km mark, the rain stopped threatening, and started coming down. It wasn't too bad, but it was enough to convince me to call the ride when I got back to the car. I changed my plan to go home and finish the ride time on the trainer.
I added 40 minutes of easy trainer work to the 3:10 I logged already, so it was the better part of four hours on the day. Here I am a few hours later, and I don't feel like I did much of anything this morning. That week of recovery has put me in good stead, and my fitness must be starting to improve. What normally would leave me quite tired has barely had an effect. If this keeps up for the next couple of week, I'll be flying come race day.
Bike: 3:50, ~ 115km, zone 1-2
The weather predictions had been for rain showing up in the afternoon, so we were supposed to be in the clear. The rain didn't get the invitation, so it showed up early. The black clouds were on the horizon within the first 30 minutes, and kept approaching while we were out there. I turned around at about 45km, hoping to outrun the rain. At the 75km mark, the rain stopped threatening, and started coming down. It wasn't too bad, but it was enough to convince me to call the ride when I got back to the car. I changed my plan to go home and finish the ride time on the trainer.
I added 40 minutes of easy trainer work to the 3:10 I logged already, so it was the better part of four hours on the day. Here I am a few hours later, and I don't feel like I did much of anything this morning. That week of recovery has put me in good stead, and my fitness must be starting to improve. What normally would leave me quite tired has barely had an effect. If this keeps up for the next couple of week, I'll be flying come race day.
Bike: 3:50, ~ 115km, zone 1-2
Friday, August 8, 2008
Race practice
A few new things today. We added a couple of drills to practice some OW drafting situations, which made for an interesting, and tough workout. The first drill involved passing a slower swimmer. That swimmer then had to accelerate to stay on the feet. The next drill was trying to drop a swimmer that's drafting you, by changing speeds, zig-zagging, etc. At my speed, that's not too important, but I can see its usefulness for the FOP swimmers. We also did a couple of lengths of side-drafting, off the hip, to show how much benefit you can get from that.
Later in the workout, amongst the descending sets, we had a little IM (individual medley, not Ironman) work. Since butterfly is beyond me (and probably most of the people there), we did dolphin dives in the shallow end. I can see how this technique might be worthwhile in race starts at exits. I don't know if I'll add it for me next race, but it's a good tool to have practiced at least.
Swim: w/u - 400m free (drill every 4th 25), 4x50 as 15 strokes fast/remainder easy, 200 pull
4x50 pass and draft, 20"
4x50 truck and trailer, 20"
4x50 draft and drop, 20"
2x50 side-drafting, 20"
3x(200 pull, 20"
4x50 descending, 20" (:58 to :48 on all three sets)
100 IM w/dolphin dives)
Total: 3000m
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Later in the workout, amongst the descending sets, we had a little IM (individual medley, not Ironman) work. Since butterfly is beyond me (and probably most of the people there), we did dolphin dives in the shallow end. I can see how this technique might be worthwhile in race starts at exits. I don't know if I'll add it for me next race, but it's a good tool to have practiced at least.
Swim: w/u - 400m free (drill every 4th 25), 4x50 as 15 strokes fast/remainder easy, 200 pull
4x50 pass and draft, 20"
4x50 truck and trailer, 20"
4x50 draft and drop, 20"
2x50 side-drafting, 20"
3x(200 pull, 20"
4x50 descending, 20" (:58 to :48 on all three sets)
100 IM w/dolphin dives)
Total: 3000m
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
I wouldn't call this taper
There are really three groups left in the swim club: 1) those preparing for IM Canada or Kentucky (tapering); 2) those preparing for IM 70.3 Muskoka (like me); 3) those whose seasons are effectively over, and are just working to get faster next year. Although group two is the biggest right now, we're catering to those in group one. These folks are just starting their three-week taper, so the volume and intensity get worked down. In the lead-up to IMLP, this was when I was shifted to a faster lane, so that the taperers (making up my own words now) could hold the right pace, while I get my workout in. That may happen again in the coming weeks, but not today. Because today was harder than it looks on paper.
Today was hard efforts on short rest, and then hypoxic sets. This stuff kills me. It's probably my own competitive instinct, but doing back-to-back hard efforts on thirty seconds rest leaves me hanging on the edge of the pool after the second rep. Maybe the taper is only reducing volume, because the intensity is right there. But I have to assume this makes me faster. One nice feeling was the 200m moderate efforts, which felt about like Olympic pace (slower than sprint, faster than HIM), came in at 3:50 and 3:45 respectively. That's far from blazing, but this was the first time I've been better than 1:55/100m at an effort I felt I could keep up for quite a while.
Swim: w/u - 200m free, 4x25 kick/25 free, 200 pull, 50 drill/50 free
2x(200 free, moderate, 30"
2x100 as 50 hard/25 moderate/25 ez, 30"
2x100 hard, 30"
2x50 overkick, 30"), 1'
100 as 25 back/25 breast/50 free
4x50, 1', hypoxic (7 breaths, 7 breaths, ez, 6 breaths)
c/d - 50 back, 50 breast, 100 pull
Total: 2600m
Bike: 30 minutes, zone 1-2
Today was hard efforts on short rest, and then hypoxic sets. This stuff kills me. It's probably my own competitive instinct, but doing back-to-back hard efforts on thirty seconds rest leaves me hanging on the edge of the pool after the second rep. Maybe the taper is only reducing volume, because the intensity is right there. But I have to assume this makes me faster. One nice feeling was the 200m moderate efforts, which felt about like Olympic pace (slower than sprint, faster than HIM), came in at 3:50 and 3:45 respectively. That's far from blazing, but this was the first time I've been better than 1:55/100m at an effort I felt I could keep up for quite a while.
Swim: w/u - 200m free, 4x25 kick/25 free, 200 pull, 50 drill/50 free
2x(200 free, moderate, 30"
2x100 as 50 hard/25 moderate/25 ez, 30"
2x100 hard, 30"
2x50 overkick, 30"), 1'
100 as 25 back/25 breast/50 free
4x50, 1', hypoxic (7 breaths, 7 breaths, ez, 6 breaths)
c/d - 50 back, 50 breast, 100 pull
Total: 2600m
Bike: 30 minutes, zone 1-2
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
More new kicks
Another easy day on the treadmill. Slowly, I'm getting my legs back underneath me. I'll be ready to go come the weekend to go hard for 16 more days. Then that's the end of "training". After that it's peaking and tapering.
Another new pair of shoes debuted tonight. Today's selection was Nike's Zoom Hayward 3+. I found these a bit spongier than the Katana's. They are relatively light (heavier than the Katanas, but lighter than the Zoom Elites I was using), and feel good on the feet, but there's something about the cushioning that feels odd. It doesn't cushion the impact as much as most training shoes, but isn't just a non-cushioned racing flat. There's something there, but it doesn't do much. It feels a bit odd underfoot. These will take a few more wears before I can give a complete review.
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Another new pair of shoes debuted tonight. Today's selection was Nike's Zoom Hayward 3+. I found these a bit spongier than the Katana's. They are relatively light (heavier than the Katanas, but lighter than the Zoom Elites I was using), and feel good on the feet, but there's something about the cushioning that feels odd. It doesn't cushion the impact as much as most training shoes, but isn't just a non-cushioned racing flat. There's something there, but it doesn't do much. It feels a bit odd underfoot. These will take a few more wears before I can give a complete review.
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Monday, August 4, 2008
Needed rest
Wow. I knew the weekend took a lot out of me, but I guess I was running on a real deficit to begin. I would have thought that laying around all of yesterday would have been enough to get the spring back in my step, but it wasn't. Using the long weekend, I took another day of huge rest, barely leaving the couch and my own personal The Wire marathon (wicked show, BTW), and just motivated myself to hit the treadmill for an easy four miler. Not surprisingly, I felt a lot better once I got the blood flowing and some movement. I'm still in desperate need of this rest week, but I feel confident I'll be right by Friday.
I'm also breaking in two new pairs of shoes this week. Tonight I debuted the Nike Air Zoom Katana Star. It's day-glo orange, so you can see me coming. It's designed as a racing flat, so there's a minimum of cushion. Since I've been fixing my stride, this is a good thing. I can feel when I land wrong, but can keep rolling when I'm landing correctly. I was considering using this as a triathlon shoe, but there are a couple of odd seams that will keep me from wearing it barefoot. I could feel hotspots forming within the first two minutes, so I needed to put on socks, and the time it would take to do that in a race isn't worth the time savings this shoe would provide. Instead, if I were to do a marathon in the near future, this would be the shoe. It's incredibly light, and just comfortable enough. I think I'll really enjoy training in this bad boy for a while.
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
I'm also breaking in two new pairs of shoes this week. Tonight I debuted the Nike Air Zoom Katana Star. It's day-glo orange, so you can see me coming. It's designed as a racing flat, so there's a minimum of cushion. Since I've been fixing my stride, this is a good thing. I can feel when I land wrong, but can keep rolling when I'm landing correctly. I was considering using this as a triathlon shoe, but there are a couple of odd seams that will keep me from wearing it barefoot. I could feel hotspots forming within the first two minutes, so I needed to put on socks, and the time it would take to do that in a race isn't worth the time savings this shoe would provide. Instead, if I were to do a marathon in the near future, this would be the shoe. It's incredibly light, and just comfortable enough. I think I'll really enjoy training in this bad boy for a while.
Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides
Sunday, August 3, 2008
I earned my nap
Phil Liggett would describe me as "knackered". I've hit the point where all I can do is lay quietly as the world passes me by. I'm calling this "recovery". I've also seen it referred to as the "atheleticoma".
Of course, I'm sure this ties into this morning's run. I was up a little later than normal last night, but still got a pretty good rest, and went out the door for a sixteen mile run feeling pretty spry. That feeling lasted all the way through my first five mile lap, setting a new PR for the opening lap. That was an excellent sign, since I was hardly working during that part of the run. I tried to ease the pace back during the next six miles, to set up a nice effort through the last five miles. Again, I didn't hammer the effort at all, everything except the uphills was at 4-4 breathing, and came in with a pretty good time. Not a PB, but with the quick first lap, and extra six, I'm not disappointed in any way. Things are definitely falling into place.
Then I ate. And got cleaned up. And ate again. Then slept. And ate. And slept. And ... you get the idea. Six weeks to go, and all this work will pay off in a huge way.
Run: 16.9 miles, ~2:16, 42:25/41:23
Of course, I'm sure this ties into this morning's run. I was up a little later than normal last night, but still got a pretty good rest, and went out the door for a sixteen mile run feeling pretty spry. That feeling lasted all the way through my first five mile lap, setting a new PR for the opening lap. That was an excellent sign, since I was hardly working during that part of the run. I tried to ease the pace back during the next six miles, to set up a nice effort through the last five miles. Again, I didn't hammer the effort at all, everything except the uphills was at 4-4 breathing, and came in with a pretty good time. Not a PB, but with the quick first lap, and extra six, I'm not disappointed in any way. Things are definitely falling into place.
Then I ate. And got cleaned up. And ate again. Then slept. And ate. And slept. And ... you get the idea. Six weeks to go, and all this work will pay off in a huge way.
Run: 16.9 miles, ~2:16, 42:25/41:23
Saturday, August 2, 2008
HIM bike ride simulation
I was finally able to get out for a TTC group ride this morning, but ended up by myself anyway. When I arrived at the meeting point, I was the only one heading out on the 85km route, so that's what I did. I wanted to do a continuous, solid (but not hard) effort, getting a feel for what the HIM bike will feel like.
I misjudged part of the course, adding a few kilometres, and there was a 5km section on gravel roads that wasn't marked on the map. (Here's a couple of things about gravel roads: 1) they're gravel, meaning lots of rocks, which increases the likelihood of a flat exponentially; and 2) they're not paved, because obviously they aren't used as much. Meaning, not only are you more likely to have a problem, but if you do, you'll be by yourself for quite some time.) Luckily, everything went well.
I kept a HR cap of 145 bpm on the flats and 150 bpm on any climbs. My average speed was a bit lower than I'm expecting at Muskoka, but that should be a function of the course. There are a lot of climbs up north, but they aren't as steep as what I was riding today. The Richmond Hill area has a lot of flat sections, but the climbs (which are numerous) are all short and steep. Average speed gets killed in those circumstances. I was beginning to get a little tired by the end, but I think I could have run a good half-mary at that point. I'll be taking in more calories on race day, so I'm planning on doing a nutrition test in the coming weeks. That will answer any questions.
Bike: ~ 90km, 32.4 km/h average
I misjudged part of the course, adding a few kilometres, and there was a 5km section on gravel roads that wasn't marked on the map. (Here's a couple of things about gravel roads: 1) they're gravel, meaning lots of rocks, which increases the likelihood of a flat exponentially; and 2) they're not paved, because obviously they aren't used as much. Meaning, not only are you more likely to have a problem, but if you do, you'll be by yourself for quite some time.) Luckily, everything went well.
I kept a HR cap of 145 bpm on the flats and 150 bpm on any climbs. My average speed was a bit lower than I'm expecting at Muskoka, but that should be a function of the course. There are a lot of climbs up north, but they aren't as steep as what I was riding today. The Richmond Hill area has a lot of flat sections, but the climbs (which are numerous) are all short and steep. Average speed gets killed in those circumstances. I was beginning to get a little tired by the end, but I think I could have run a good half-mary at that point. I'll be taking in more calories on race day, so I'm planning on doing a nutrition test in the coming weeks. That will answer any questions.
Bike: ~ 90km, 32.4 km/h average
Friday, August 1, 2008
Make up for missed days
It's entirely possible that this is the most shattered I've felt after swimming, not counting test days. (Those are inherently tough.) Granted, I've been pretty beat down for the last two weeks (and I seem to mention it every day), but right now, I just feel wiped out. But it's a good wiped out, because I'll be back stronger. Next week is recovery, and there's no swimming Monday due to the civic holiday, so I should be just fine.
The majority of the session went as usual this morning. Some half-IM pace work, a long easy pull set, and some sprints to "tenderize the meat". To keep with the meat analogy, usually we'd marinate it at that point, some more long sets or descending sets. But today we cooked it. On high heat. And I suffered. (Short sprints on short rest.) I didn't have my usual issue of not finishing my stroke today. I know this because my triceps are fried. Fun, but not fun, if you know what I mean.
When I got out of the pool, I said to the coach, "That last set, that was because we get five days to recover, wasn't it?"
And he laughed.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
4x50, 15" descending
3x(200 free, half-IM pace, 30"
100 ez non-free, 30")
500 ez pull, 1'
5x100, 30" (odd- sprint, even- ez non-free)
10x25 sprint/25 ez free, 15"
c/d - 100 non-free
Total: 3300m
Run: 5 miles @ 7.5 mph
The majority of the session went as usual this morning. Some half-IM pace work, a long easy pull set, and some sprints to "tenderize the meat". To keep with the meat analogy, usually we'd marinate it at that point, some more long sets or descending sets. But today we cooked it. On high heat. And I suffered. (Short sprints on short rest.) I didn't have my usual issue of not finishing my stroke today. I know this because my triceps are fried. Fun, but not fun, if you know what I mean.
When I got out of the pool, I said to the coach, "That last set, that was because we get five days to recover, wasn't it?"
And he laughed.
Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
4x50, 15" descending
3x(200 free, half-IM pace, 30"
100 ez non-free, 30")
500 ez pull, 1'
5x100, 30" (odd- sprint, even- ez non-free)
10x25 sprint/25 ez free, 15"
c/d - 100 non-free
Total: 3300m
Run: 5 miles @ 7.5 mph
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