Perfect timing

Here we are, less than two weeks from the end of the triathlon/swim program season, and now is when I decide to have a bit of a breakthrough in the pool. Right before I take at least six weeks away from the pool. I'm a genius, eh?

The first half of today's workout was a lot of scull/pull sets. I really tried to get a good feel for the water and make the most of it. As I was finishing the last one, the coach remarked that my stroke looked really good. I've had a tendency to be a bit mechanical and not very smooth, but as a new swimmer, this might have been expected. But today, apparently, I was flowing much smoother. I carried this better rhythm into the rest of the workout, and it's not that I was suddenly doing 1:30/100m, but I was probably a few seconds per 100 faster at a similar effort level. The last set was a hard 300m, and I didn't break any records, but that was the fastest I've swam at 95% effort at the tail-end of a workout. So things are looking good. Now I just need to ingrain this before I take the break, and hope it comes back when I start up again.

Swim: 200m each free, non-free, pull
12x100 as 25 scull/75 pull, 10" (rotate "front, mid, hip, full" sculls)
300 ez free, 30"
300 pull w/paddles, 30"
300 as 100 back/100 breast/100 free, 30"
300 free, race pace, 30" (5:02)
c/d: 100 non-free, 100 pull
Total: 3200m

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

What happens when you stay up too late

It wasn't supposed to be such a late night. I mean, it was going to be late, but not that late. When I finally got to bed around 3am, I didn't expect much of myself this morning. And while I was dragging around after waking up at 7:30, I really didn't have high hopes. But I laced up and pushed out the door anyway.

It was a perfect morning to run, just a bit of a breeze and just a bit cool. I didn't think it was worth stressing about time given my condition, and just popped along my route. The effort was nicely moderate, and I finished the first lap in a good time. Then I picked up the pace, felt surprisingly strong, and grooved a second lap of five-plus miles. I knew I was moving, but wasn't expecting much of a blazing time, so I was a bit surprised when I stopped my watch and saw 37:08. That would be a new record for the course, and I wasn't even working that hard. I could have kept that effort going for quite a while longer.

Of course, now I need a nap like it's nobody's business.

Run: 10.6 miles, 39:59/37:08

Walk (or Ride) Through The Clouds

Things were a bit messy this morning. There were some predictions of showers, but the biggest issue was a low-lying fog in the area. Since this was really my last real chance for a long ride outside this season (excluding next week's race), I wasn't going to miss it due to rain/fog, so I loaded my pockets with a rain cape and set out from Lake Wilcox. Amazingly, I was the only car in the parking lot when I left. I guess everybody was racing, since there's no excuse to not be out otherwise.

The fog was pretty thick through the whole ride. At times I couldn't see more than 100m in front of me, other times maybe 200-300m. But I was riding into the unknown for much of the day. There was one fairly brief shower that required the cape, but for the most part it was actually nice riding weather (except for the knowledge that this would require some serious bike-cleaning when I got home). I changed my route a bit to avoid the busier roads in the thickest fog, since I didn't want any trucks coming up behind me with almost no visuals. I was even a bit concerned about crossing the road in one part since I could barely make out the traffic until it was right on top of me.

I wasn't out for a real hammerfest, and was a bit hesitant about hanging it out with the fog, so I added a few intervals to an otherwise nicely mellow ride. One thing about not being able to see up the road, you focus more on what's closer, so looking to the sides of the road I noticed and got a better appreciation for a lot of the nice houses and park areas I ride by. For a morning that looks so ugly, it was a delight to get out and be in the middle of it.

Bike: ~120 minutes, ~ 70km

Healed

My elbow is finally better. It made it all the way through today's swim without issue, although we didn't do much high speed work today, so I think that helped.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
400 free as 25 head-up/75 ez free, 30"
100 non-free, 30"
400 free as 200 race opener/200 ez, 30"
100 ez non-free, 30"
400 pull w/paddles, 30"
100 non-free, 30"
400 free as 100 hard/100 ez, 30"
100 ez non-free, 30"
400 pull race pace, 30"
100 non-free, 30"
c/d: 200 ez free
Total: 3300m

Run: 3 miles @ 7.5 mph

Ground and Pound

So this is it, the last run speed session of triathlon season. (We won't mention that I have a bunch of them to do in my run-block starting in 2.5 weeks. Let me enjoy this a little.) And as usual, I was looking forward to/dreading it all day. I like the feeling of running fast, and the sense of accomplishment from completing a tough workout, but man, does the middle of this workout suck.

I did this two weeks ago, and felt much better getting through it tonight. It starts with three reps at T-pace, then follows with three more at I-pace. It's good to work on finishing really hard, since that's something I need to carry into my racing. I tried to focus on good running form, when I wasn't focused on not falling off the treadmill.

Now I'm all fed and stretched, and I'm ready to relax for the night.

Run: 50 minutes, w/3x4 minutes @ 9.3 mph +1 minute @ 7.5 mph, 3x3 minutes @ 10.1 mph + 2 minutes @ 7.5 mph

Cut short

I had expected a good day in the pool, as my muscles felt rested from the weekend, and I wouldn't have the same issues I did on Monday. I got through the warm-up pretty well, and my form felt nice, but as the set progressed, I could feel my elbow getting inflamed. I wasn't painful, but whatever I did on Sunday/Monday was coming back. So I pulled the plug early, calling it a day at 1600m. It's better than nothing, and hopefully I'll be 100% for Friday.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
2x100 pull as 25 full scull/25 pull/25 full scull/25 pull, 10"
2x100 free as 25 fists/25 free/25 fists/25 free, 10"
4x25 sprint, on 45"
500 ez pull
Total: 1600m

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph

Until we meet again, Coach Troy

Tonight was my last meeting with Coach Troy for a couple of months. Once triathlon season ends in a week, I'll be doing a run-focus block through October, which will only include one session on the bike each week, and easy stuff at that. So I had to make this one count. I was following up with a repeat of the workout from two weeks ago, Time Trialapalooza, but with greater intensity.

Last time I started at 260w for the first interval, then raised it 20w each time. That was a solid, if not killer, session. Today I started at 280w, and planned the same progression. I was definitely working a fair bit harder than last time, but managed fine through the first three intervals. With only the five minute block left, I just couldn't get the intensity up to 340w as planned. I held 325-335w through the rep, which was an increase over the last rep, as well as an increase over two weeks ago, but that was far more uncomfortable then I would have liked.

I think this set of wattages is pretty much the magic spot for me right now, or for the next time I take this on (might not be until January). I highly recommend the DVD if you're a triathlete, to develop a good sense of what manageable efforts really are. Fifteen minutes at 300w wasn't too bad, but I could tell how much it had taken out of my legs during the next reps, so that's a bit higher than I would want to tackle a 40k ride if I needed to run after.

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Bike: Spinervals 22.0 - Time Trialapalooza, 90 minutes

Maybe I was too tired

I've gotten up and gone to swimming after almost all of my races. I like splashing around, it helps work out any kinks, promotes good recovery, and it's not like I can't use the practice. I felt pretty good this morning, and the workout didn't look too tough, so I followed the plan. But I guess my muscles were more tired than I thought. I was never able to feel really good about my stroke, felt kind of sloppy, and now a few hours later I think I tweaked my elbow. That's just it works sometimes, eh? It's a bit inflamed, so I'll take an NSAID tonight and rest it up, and should be good again on Wednesday.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
4x300, 30" (1: IM opener pace, 2: ez pull, 3: IM pace, 4: ez pull)
3x400, 1' (1: free as 100 hard/100 ez, 2: free as 75 ez/25 sprint, 3: 200 ez pull/200 ez non-free)
Total: 3000m

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Explosivo - The Orillia Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Who schedules a race for 8am? Especially when I have to drive 90 minutes to get to the race site? This required an unnecessary 4:50 wake-up call, followed by the fastest "make coffee, pack car" I've done in a while. I wanted to be in Orillia by 6:30-7, so I needed to be on the road way too early. Luckily, traffic was light, so I made excellent time.

I should note that I switched up my pre-race breakfast today. My two best races of the year so far, in terms of execution, were Guelph Lake I and Belwood. One thing they both had in common was the last meal before the start (because of the afternoon start in Guelph, and camping in Belwood) was a bagel with PB and honey. I figured maybe that's something worth sticking to, and did the same again. Would it work? We'll find out soon enough.

I got a stranger's help to zip up my wetsuit, got a quick warm-up, and prepared to take on the day. I had seen a few of the faster guys from my AG were around, so it would tough to get a top placing this morning, but at 8:06, it was time to chase that spot.

Swim:
I got a pretty good position to start, and was following the feet of one of my main competitors. The problem was, my right goggle was starting to fill with water. I didn't want to stop and lose position, so I kept going through to about 200m. It was right around here that I took a shot to the head (maybe a hand, maybe an elbow) dislodging my goggles. Well, that settles it then, I need to stop and adjust. And I didn't need to fix it again for the rest of the leg, so that was good. I had lost the faster feet, but was in a pretty good crowd which helped with the waves. By open-water swimming standards they weren't much, but if you're used to the pool or very calm lakes, it was enough to toss you around and get a mouthful of water every so often. On the return trip it was easier, and I tucked in behind another swimmer from my wave. The effort was nice and moderate, perhaps a bit too easy. I didn't like the line he was taking to the beach, so I followed my own course and moved well past him without too much effort. When I exited the water at 14:XX I knew I had lost about 60 seconds on the swim. I'll say 20 to 30 was the rough swim going out, but the rest was not pushing hard enough through the remainder of the swim.

T1:
Lose the wetsuit, strap up, and a long run with the bike to the mount line. No issues, and I was away.

Bike:
It was pretty much a perfect morning for racing. No wind, cool with cloud cover. The bike course is pretty interesting, with a few nice stretches where you can just hammer, but a lot of it was significantly rolling. I wanted to keep things in check, which may have cost me a bit of speed overall, since keeping a 155-165 bpm heart rate up the hill means the HR will drop below 155 on the downhills. I made a pointed effort to get fluids every ten minutes and not repeat the mistake of last race. I think I put in a solid race, passing any number of folks, but never getting passed. That's always an encouraging sign.

I was amazed, however, at the drafting being done. It hadn't really been a significant issue so far this season, but just in my ride I saw a pair and a trio as mini-pelotons, and twice had guys try to grab my wheel for a few kilometres. I have no problems yelling at them, but they persisted for a while. I dropped the first on a false-flat downhill when I spun up over 50km/h, and the second I used a slower rider as a pick to get a few metres gap and he was gone. I just don't get it, I mean, I get caught in inadvertent drafting every so often, but to hop on a wheel and get a ride is just weak.

T2:
I had a little problem, as the dismount line came faster than I expected, and I only had one shoe off, so I had to jog my bike in with one bare foot and the other still clod. It looked like 5, maybe 6, bikes already racked, so I had work to do. With that, I slipped on the Zoots, grabbed a hat and joined the parade of runners for the next 7km.

Run:
It was cool, I was well-hydrated, so there was no excuse for me not to run well. There were a few people just leaving transition before me, so I tried to find a good rhythm and start moving up the group. I knew one of the guys was from my AG, maybe 15 seconds in front. I tried to nudge my pace up a bit to close the gap, but while I was passing other bodies, he was pulling away from me, maybe 5-10 seconds per km. I may ride better angry, but I run better happy, so I forced myself to smile and think about how well I was running. The splits were encouraging, and feedback loop was working. I'm not even really sure what I was thinking about during the last few kilometres, but I kept the effort high. I had passed one or two from my AG, and a bunch of others, was passed by three from other age-groups, and passed back by two others in the last km (I caught them early, they finished strong). As far as my group was concerned, I was only moving up, so that was key. I had my best run of the season, by far, with the following splits:
Km 1: 4:04
2: 4:02
3: 3:46
4: 3:52
5: 4:08
6: 4:05
7: 3:50

Official results:
Swim: 14:31 (1:57/100m), 16/66 AG
T1: 1:08
Bike: 54:44 (36.2 km/h), 5/66 AG
T2: 0:51
Run: 27:49 (3:59/km), 11/66 AG
Total: 1:39:01, 36/642 overall, 5/66 AG

OTS Points: 55, Series Points: 227.5
OSS Points: 82.5, Series Points: 412.5

Back on the podium, with a sub-4 average run, and another good bike split. I still have work to do to cover the gap between me and the group of guys in front, I'm not in the mix yet, but I'll get there. I was amazed to find out that I had the 11th fastest run, when it was my best run of the year. I'd believe that all four guys in front of me ran better (they always do), and maybe one or two others, but six? Looking at the results, there were a bunch of guys who are 34-38 minute 10k, or 1:17 half runners, who just didn't have the swim or bike to be up front. I'll put a couple of focus blocks into my run over the winter and see if I can claw back these seconds I'm losing. But for now, I need to train up then rest for the last race of the year.

Pre-race relaxation

Just hit the trainer for an easy one this morning. One hour, a couple of pick-ups comprising 5 minutes at ~280w, and a lot of easy pedaling. That should wake me up enough to give it full gas tomorrow. It will be an early morning, with 8am start, preceded by a 90 minute drive. Almost everything is packed, so now I'll eat a bit, and relax for the night. See you on the flipside.

Bike: 60 minutes, z1-2

A good ache?

A solid swim this morning, with a wide variety of efforts. For the most part, I felt pretty good, but sitting here now a few hours later I can really feel it in my shoulders and back. I felt like I was swimming pretty well, except for the first time through the 300 race pace set. I'm not sure why things fell apart, but they did. When I made the second attempt, I was able to keep my form together much better, and the times reflect it. Now I take it relatively easy and crush dreams Sunday morning.

Swim: w/u -200m each free, non-free, pull
4x50 free, descending, 10"
4x50 as 25 free sprint/25 ez breast, 1'
500 ez pull, 1'
4x50 as 25 free sprint/25 ez breast, 1'
100 ez non-free, 30"
400 pull w/paddles, 1'
100 ez non-free, 30"
300 free, goal race pace, 1' (5:30)
100 ez non-free, 30"
300 free, goal race pace, 1' (5:12)
100 ez non-free, 30"
c/d - 100 each ez pull, ez non-free
Total: 3300m

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

You know the drill

Thursday of race week, it's a short run with a couple of pick-ups, just to feel race pace. Anyone surprised? Nope, didn't think so.

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Run: 3 miles @ 7.5 mph w/2x90s @ 9.3 mph, 3 min recovery

That's it

It feels like a little cliche now, my describing my taper week workouts. There's truly nothing interesting to them, just a little bit of work to keep things humming along, while getting as much rest as I can. And since I have nothing interesting to say, here's a recap of the day.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
15x100 free, 10", as 25 drill/75 ez free
(1-3: scull, 4-6: catch-up, 7-9: fists, 10-12: 10&2, 13-15: thigh scrape)
2x300, 30", as 200 pull w/paddles/100 ez non-free
4x200 pull, descending, 30" (3:42, 3:35, 3:25, 3:20)
c/d - 100 ez non-free
Total: 3600m

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Bike: 30 minutes, zone 1-2

Just a smidge

There's nothing to exciting about the pseudo-taper week. I know it seems odd to take a rest-like week after only one hard week, but I have better races when I come in a bit antsy. So I have to stick with the plan. And as such, all of today was a couple of very short, very slow, runs.

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Run: 3 miles @ 7.5 mph

Nothing there

Some mornings it is just not there. I think I may be drinking a bit too much caffeine recently, and it's affecting my sleep quality. No matter how tired I am, it's taking me a while to drift off, and I'm not getting the most restful sleep. Because of that, this morning was a bit rough in the pool. I didn't have necessarily a bad swim, but the speed wasn't there, and I was working too hard for what little I was getting. But I plowed through, got some mileage, and can now rest the remainder of the day.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
200 ez free, 10"
200 ez pull, 10"
200 free as 25 head-up/25 ez free, 10"
200 ez pull, 10"
200 ez non-free, 1'
200 free, sprint race pace (3:25), 10"
200 ez non-free, 10"
200 free, sprint race pace (3:25), 10"
100 ez non-free, 10" (nature break)
200 free, sprint race pace, (3:30), 1'
200 free as 25 head-up/75 ez free, 10"
200 pull, hard, 10"
200 ez non-free, 10"
200 free as 4x50 stroke count, 10"
c/d - 100 ez non-free
Total: 3400m

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

More heat experiments

If yesterday was testing fluids on the bike, today was the test on the run. And today I was left a little dry. When I set out for about 10 miles, I only took a 24oz bottle of Gatorade with me. On a cool day, this would be plenty, but today, if I hadn't been rationing, it would have been empty by 45 minutes. I still had a good run (39:57/37:28, second fastest big loop I've done, and fastest after a five mile warm-up), but the effort was a bit higher than it should have been. Around the 7.5 mile mark, I could feel the body start shutting systems down, my focus was fading, and my stride was getting choppy. So again, lesson learned. If it's going to be that warm, better to take two smaller bottles and switch at halfway than slog through without enough. I'm not a camel, I need to quit thinking I am and optimizing my training.

Run: 10.58 miles, 39:57/37:28

Getting fluids

Last weekend I learned that I don't respond well in the heat if I don't get fluids, so when I set out this morning, I took more than I usually would. And good thing too, since I easily took down 3 full bottles in just over two hours. I was soaked by 40 minutes, and just kept replacing. This is a very important lesson for the future. If I power through that much at 85-90% effort, then I definitely need to get my whole bottle in that hour I'm on the bike during a race. No wonder I cracked.

The ride itself went well, about 75km with 3x8-10 minutes at high effort. A good set-up for the next race.

Bike: 140 minutes, ~75km

Options

This was another option morning at swimming. With three out of six in my lane having IM events coming up, we could do an IM workout (3x1K), or the shorter, faster workout of the rest of the group. I chose shorter, faster. And it was. Good efforts all the way through, although my times in the last effort wasn't what I expected, but I guess after all that work, including a paddle set just previous, it's how it was going to be. I'll get 'em next time.

Swim: w/u - 200m free, non-free
5x(300 free, 30"
200 as 100 ez back/100 ez pull, 30")
1) 100 hard free/200 ez pull
2) 25 head-up/75 ez free
3) sprint race pace (4:55)
4) pull w/paddles
5) sprint race pace (5:10)
Total: 2900m

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Death by Treadmill

Jack Daniels is a sick individual. He might have forgotten more about running than I'll ever know, and there's no doubt his programs work, but man! are some workouts tough. If you read the book, he seems to advocate doing just enough to improve fitness, but not so much you can't get back at it the next day. But then the workouts try to kill you.

The reason I use a treadmill for all my faster sessions is so I can't cheat. Every rep is as fast as it's supposed to be, and the last one will be as fast as the first. It will be harder, natch, but the speed will still be there, or I'll end up in a heap against the wall. And tonight that made it miserable. This is the first time I've done a workout that used both I- and T-paces, and it was a wake-up call. You start with 3x4/1 @ T, by the last one a nice hard effort. Then you fall right into 3x3/2 @ I. That first interval which comes after short rest is nasty. The rest of them, at high speed with already fatigued legs, just get mean. I was digging to stay on top of the pace without completely exploding. By the end, I was drenched with sweat, and the ten minute cooldown jog seemed to take 30 minutes. I was wracked.

I look forward to doing this again in two weeks. :)

Run: 50 minutes, w/3x4 minutes @ 9.3 mph, 1 minute @ 7.5 mph + 3x3 minutes @ 10.1 mph, 2 minutes @ 7.5 mph

Up front

Another good morning in the pool. With the crowd either recovering from IMUSA or tapering for IMC-IMLou-IMMoo, it fell to folks like me to lead the charge. And so I somehow ended up leading the lane. I guess if I'm the only one under orders to push the efforts, I have to drag everyone else along. But it was another fun morning, with a mix of efforts. I chose the pull option during the 1K set since my legs were still a little off from last night, but other than that, things were good. Here's hoping for a few more seconds in Orillia.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
3x100 drills, 15" (thigh scrape, 10&2, thigh scrape)
300 free as 25 hard/75 ez, 30"
1000 pull as 200 hard/200 ez, 30"
2x100 ez non-free, 15"
3x200 pull w/paddles, 30"
c/d - 100 ez non-free, 100 ez free
Total: 3200m

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Run: 4 miles @ 7.5 mph

Watching others learn to pace

I'm feeling pretty good after Sunday, and I'm now into the last block of the triathlon season, and so, I need one last bike workout for the last weeks. This is now the time for the last of the new Spinervals DVDs from last Christmas, Time Trialapalooza. It's a simple workout after the warm-up. Four intervals, twenty - fifteen - ten - five minutes each, with five minutes rest between. The objective is to hit each one a little harder than the previous, so you need to temper your effort correctly.

Coach Troy suggested threshold pace to start, but I figured that might be setting the bar a bit high to begin, so I went with about 260w. Each interval I went up by ~20w. Listening to the coach read off the riders wattage during the workout, and his admonitions about going out too hard, lots of folks were cracking. Not only weren't they picking it up, lots were losing watts over time. I, on the other hand, was right in where I wanted to be: working hard, but not overly taxed.

I'll get to this again in a couple of weeks, and probably start 10-20w higher and follow the same progression. It's a good simple workout, and will prove very effective in the long-term.

Run: 3.2 miles, ez

Bike: Spinervals 22.0 - Time Trialapalooza, 90 minutes

Letting it come back

Yesterday took a fair bit out of me, more than I would have expected for a short race. But I guess I suffered a bit of a bonk, so last night was spent in the "atheticoma". (I love that expression.) When I got to pool this morning I didn't expect too much, and once the coach saw the fading number tattoo on my arm, he asked, "You're taking it easy today?" And I replied, "I don't know how easy it will be, but at least it will be slow." And with that, my day got shortened ass I was excused from the speedwork at the end of the session.

I actually felt good for the first 75% of the workout, holding nice steady paces, and working well through the paddle sets. But on the second longer set I could feel the fatigue catching up and form started to falter, so it was a good idea to call it a day. I still got 2600m worth of work, so no complaints.

Then I went for a quick easy run at work. Legs felt pretty good, no stiffness, but another hot humid afternoon was an ugly reminder of yesterday.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
5x100 drills, 15" (scull, finger drag, 10&2, scull, thigh scrape)
500 ez pull, 30"
5x100 pull w/paddles, 15"
500 as 100 ez non-free/400 ez pull
Total: 2600m

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Two out of Three Ain't Bad - The Niagara Sprint Triathlon Race Report

I may usually use song or album titles for my race reports, but I never would have expected to pull out a Meatloaf track. But it applies better than any other for today, so there we go.

There had been many predictions of some awful weather for the day, and some good thunder blew through overnight, but race morning wasn't too bad. It was definitely humid, and the sun was playing hide-and-seek, but for the most part it seemed like it was going to be a nice day. I had lots of time to set up my transition, and got a solid swim warm-up. Lake Ontario felt cooler than the advertised 70 degrees, but it wasn't that bad once I was moving. Being in the third wave, I watched the first two groups head off, found a spot in the second row inside for the deep-water start, and waited for the gun at 9:06.

Swim:
I actually had a plan for the start: go pretty hard to the first or second buoy, and whoever I was around at that point, draft off them the rest of the way. And it worked, kind of. I was able to slot in and get a good ride for awhile, but once we caught the slower swimmers from the previous waves, I lost him. Picking through the slower folks was a bit tricky, I tried not to throw them off too much (I know what it's like to be barely hanging on), but I ended up bumping a few breaststrokers. One gave me a good ankle pull in retaliation, but I tried to shrug that off and carry on. On the backstretch I was swimming solo, and focused again on good form. It was along here that I had the realization that I wasn't finishing my stroke in the earlier part of the race. With the wetsuit on, I short-arm the pull. That's something to work on next time, being good right from the start. My goggles stayed clear all the way through and sighting was easy, so I was able to pop right up at the finish, and saw 13:2X on my watch as I hit land. Then it's up a quick hill to transition.

T1:
I had a bit of a problem finding my zipper cord on my wetsuit, as it flipped over my shoulder to the front at some point in the exit. Then I got glasses, race number and shoes, but once again my helmet had shrunk I hadn't checked pre-race. There goes 10-15 seconds. But adjustments are made, and it was time to hit the road.

Bike:
The ride starts on the flats of Lake Street, before turning away from the lake up the escarpment. I wanted to start quick, but at the same time it would be nice to get my heart rate down before the big climb. Starting quick won out, I passed a bunch of folks, then the road went up. Way up. The climb was really in three steep parts, with a couple of false flats between. I was surprised that it was so organized going up, with a long chain of riders all pinned on the right hand side. A few people were walking the bikes up, so you knew it was tough. I guess they didn't realize there was a moving walkway closer to the middle of the road. (At least, that's how it seemed for me considering how quickly I was passing everyone.) Being a flyweight with about a decade's experience in the saddle helps on rides like this. Also having enough humility to pack a dinner plate for a rear cog (25T FTW!) makes ascents much more pleasant. Once over the crest, it was rolling flats for about 15km. I continued to crush dreams along here, steadily making my way through the group. I was sipping at my Gatorade every few minutes, feeling really good as I wasn't even pushing that hard. The way down Park Road wasn't great, as I'm a nervous descender, especially on wet roads. I probably could have saved 5 seconds or so letting it all out, but at what cost? Then it was time to turn back for Nelles Beach, undo the shoes and get ready to move.

T2:
Nothing special happened here. I made the change, grabbed a hat, almost forgot to pull my shoes tight, and set my sights up the road.

Run:
Last year on this course I had a good run, sub-29, averaging 4:09/km. I figured with my legs better than last year, 4:00-:05/km was a more than reasonable goal. I felt pretty good to start, and hit the first marker at 3:58. Right on schedule. The next two were 4:12 and 4:12. That's a bit behind pace, but maybe I can come back from that. And when I asked the body to come back, it said No. It was right around here that the wheels pretty much came off. My breathing had turned ragged, mentally I couldn't focus on form or anything positive, just on how much it hurt and when it was going to be over. The next two kilometres were 4:21 and 4:21, and I was slowing down. I wanted to re-gather my energy and attack the last 2km, but a 4:41 shows that that didn't happen. And I basically walked it in at 4:49, just not able to respond when I was finally passed by an AG competitor. It was a pretty sad state of affairs.

Final results:
Swim: 13:46 (1:58/100m), 11/44 AG
T1: 1:34
Bike: 43:52 (34.2 km/h), 3/44 AG
T2: 0:55
Run: 30:30 (4:22/km), 6/44 AG
Total: 1:30:34, 37/400 overall, 6/44 AG

OTS Points: 50, Series Points: 172.5
OSS Points: 75, Series Points: 3330

And so, to recap, swim good, bike good, run not so good. On the same course, my swim time was almost two minutes faster than last year. That's a very encouraging sign. And it wasn't just that the course was faster this year, since the guy in the equivalent place was almost the same time. It should also be noted that the swim pace above is off. Sports Stats seems to think the swim was 700m, but it was actually 750m, giving me a 1:50/100m average. Much better. The bike continues to be a strength. I may not have fast wheels or a fancy carbon frame, but the engine is more important, and I that I have.

But what happened on the run? Looking at the result, I was still sixth in my age-group, so I didn't suck that much, or more specifically, everyone sucked as much as me. Let's look at some factors. The weather hit me pretty good. I never seem to run well in heat and humidity. I love rain and ugly weather, but hot and humid kills me. I'm sure that got a number of folks, but those guys in the top five didn't seem bothered by it.

Because of a nagging injury, I hadn't done any fast running in almost three weeks. Not that my legs would have fully deconditioned by that point, but I wasn't as sharp as I could have been. The injury wasn't bugging me at all. My legs didn't have any points of soreness, I just couldn't get anything out of them. They were like dead wood. And on a related note, I hadn't slept really well for about three nights before. I didn't feel overtired, but something may have been there.

One of the bigger factors, as I learned after the race, was nutrition. I thought I was on top of it on the bike, but when I was packing I noticed that my aerodrink was still almost half-full. The sipping I was doing during the bike leg wasn't enough. I needed the fluids and calories. I needed to gulp instead of sip. That was much of the damage right there.

And the biggest issue of all was getting into my own head. With the successes I've had so far, I need to fight harder when things get ugly. Too much defeatist talk in my cranium when it's not going my way. If I had marshaled my energy and fought through the last couple of kilometres, I would have at least held 5th. (To be honest, even if I ran my goal pace, 5th was the best I could have gotten today. I'm second-tier right now.)

So that was my day. Lessons learned, and as disappointed as I am on one hand, I still have to be pretty happy. I moved up seven places from last year, and knocked out another big bike ride. I can't say I'm happy that humidity slows me down so much, when my last big race for the year is in Florida, but I'll work on that. Now I can rest up for a bit, and work an adjusted schedule into the last two triathlons of the year.

Loading the chambers

I didn't want to do too much today, just enough to keep things loose and warm, so instead of heading out on actual roads (would be too tempting), I stuck to the trainer. Knocked out an hour really easy, but tossed in a couple of 5 minute blocks at about 325w to get some energy flowing and feel what work feels like. Then I cleaned Lightning McQueen to be ready for tomorrow. I should be all set for the morning.

Bike: 60 minutes, zone 1-2, w/2x5 minutes @ 325w

All the way over there?

After a couple of months of only swimming the SCM (or SCY) pools, it was a bit of an adjustment back in a LCM pool. Don't get me wrong, it was fun, better even, but once you get accustomed to a turn and push-off every 25m, you miss that, especially on hard sets. Like when you're doing hard 100s, in the SCM pool that second fifty is "go hard to the wall, get a good push for a few second break, then just 25m to go". In the LCM pool, once you've made that turn, it's Survivorman all the way to the end.

Another day with the big boys (and girls), and another day of earning my place. I sat in second position for the early part of the workout, and somehow ended up leading the final 10x100 set. Nobody swam over me, so something was working right. Based on how I feel right now at my desk, I think I'll be sleeping well tonight.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
400 free, 30", as 25 head-up/75 ez free
400 pull w/paddles, 30"
3x300 free, descending, 30" (5:25, 5:17, 5:12)
10x100, 15", odd: ez non-free, even: hard free (1:36-1:42)
c/d - 100 ez non-free, 100 ez pull
Total: 3500m

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Wake-up call

Today was just about a couple of nice, short runs, with a little spice to wake things up before the weekend. It felt good to pick up the pace without stressing the system. Three more days until I toe the line again.

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Run: 3 miles @ 7.5 mph, w/2x90s @ 9.3 mph + 3 min recovery

Amazing what a little push can do

I have spent most of the year trying to make the incremental improvements necessary to become a faster swimmer, and move up to another faster lane. After many months leading my own lane, I finally got the opportunity to try my hand with the faster swimmers, and just by being in amongst them, I've improved a bunch in the couple of weeks. It's that little extra push that does all the good.

It was a fun workout this morning, a set that was repeated 3x, but with a slight variation each time. That kept it fresh, and at the same time we got a lot of good work in. I ended up leading the second cycle, and kept a high enough pace that I didn't disrupt the lane at all, so I'm really getting into the swing. Just over a month to eek out all I can from the club before I have to start looking for something else.

Swim: w/u - 200yds each free, non-free, pull
3x200 free, descending, 30" (3:10, 3:00, 2:50)
100 ez back, 15"
100 ez breast, 15"
3x200 pull, descending, 30" (3:10, 3:00, 2:50)
100 ez back, 15"
100 ez breast, 15"
3x200 pull w/paddles, descending, 30" (2:55, 2:45, 2:40)
100 ez back, 15"
100 ez breast, 15"
Total: 3000 yds

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Run: 3 miles @ 7.5 mph

Back on the horse

Last week ended up a mess, with no ride, few runs, and a bunch of calf pain. But skies are getting clearer. The knot in my soleus is gone (although the rest of my calves are sore ... TP therapy works, but hurts). And tonight I got in a good hard ride.

This was what I was supposed to do last week, another round of the Hillacious workout, done a bit harder this time through, and everything clicked. My average wattage was 9w up from last time, and since the rest periods would have been similar, that means the work was 15+ watts up. Good stuff.

This is the end of the hard work for the week, so I can be rested for Grimsby, specifically for Park Lane. It's been a while since I rode that, and never before on a tri bike. If I'm not in at least the second wave heading out, I may apply for the Elites, just because that hill could get crowded with too many bodies in front of me.

Run: 2.5 miles, ez

Bike: Spinervals 24.0 - Hillacious, 70 minutes

No work, so a little play (and some work)

Since it's a holiday around here, I would have loved to spend the day with just a bit of training, then a lot of napping. Now that's a holiday. But real life intervenes, and a few things had to get done, but I still got a bit of playtime and a quick nap to go along with it. In addition to a bunch of yard work, a bit of housework, and building some new lawn furniture, I got out for a relaxing 3 mile run (untimed, nice and easy). It may not be quite the perfect holiday, but all things considered, there's no complaints.

Run: 3 miles, ez

Two days later

I woke up this morning, and the calf actually feels 100%. Actually, not just the point in my soleus, but the whole calf feels much better than yesterday(which ached all day). So there's something to this trigger point deal. TP FTW!

With healthy legs, I went out for a 10 mile run. I opened with a 5.25 mile hilly loop at a relatively easy pace, then transitioned to the flats, with 2.1 miles still easy, then 3.15 miles at the higher end of aerobic work. I could feel the heat and my lack of running this week near the end, but overall it was a very good day. I opened in 39:23 (7:30/mile), which is the fastest opening lap I've ever turned. It was added by pushing a few of the hills, just to see what that feels like when I'm fresh. Next up was a cruise effort in 16:30 (7:51/mile - the measurement my mapmyrun has to be off, the effort was identical, and on flats instead of hills. No way I was 20s per mile slower). Then I finished quick, at 22:03 (exactly 7:00/mile). I was feeling this effort. Not quite race speed, but I was pushing. It was a warm, slightly muggy morning, and my hamstrings were a bit tight from yesterday, but I kept a good effort. It felt good to finally get to run, and actually open things up a bit.

Run: 10.5 miles, 39:23/16:30/22:03

EDIT: New measurements on MapMyRun indicate my loops are 2.19, 3.2 and 5.28 miles. So today's paces were 7:28, 7:32, and 6:53. That's more like it.

A little extra

Since I didn't get a ride on Tuesday, I decided I'd add a few kilometres to the end of today's ride. It's easier to add them then, rather than in the middle. So I ended up at 75km for the day, in about 2:15. I didn't feel like I was dominating the bike quite like I was last week, but things went well. Just like before I tossed in 3x8-10 minutes at a hard effort and that tapped into my stores pretty well.

A quick note on the day after trigger point therapy: Ow. The tenderness may be part of why I didn't feel like I was quite so strong, but I think it will help clear things out. It seems like a useful practice, especially when you finally hit one of the tender spots. You'll be rolling .. rolling ... it feels kind of nice, then you turn the foot slightly and find that problem spot, and OW! You know when you get it. I found the point in my soleus that was causing the issue, and it felt good today (although other parts of the calves were sore from being worked), so hopefully tomorrow I'll be good to get in a quick run.

Bike: 135 minutes, ~75 km