I don't feel tardy

I begin today's post with a nod to Diamond Dave.

So, full of vim and vigor, I get to begin what will hopefully be a good stretch of consistent swimming up until my first race. This morning was a good session in the pool, but a bit of troubling development at the end.

I had had a good day through all of the workout. Once again, I was leading my lane, and for the most part pulling away (however slightly) from my lanemates. I felt really quite strong. Then, we finished the workout with some hard 100s. About a month ago, at the test day, I was pretty consistently about 1:47 for each 100. Today, I went 1:54, 1:55, 1:54. I recently made a small change to my catch, and it feels like I'm grabbing more water, and am faster through the easy and longer sets, but today I just couldn't get things to work. I was strong through the first 25m, but then, as I got tired, it became much more flailing in the water. If I tried to pick up my turnover, I was just splashing around. If I slowed down to focus on hard pulls, I just couldn't get things moving. Quite disappointing. I don't know if this change to my form is actually slower (contrary to my sensations), or if maybe all this time out of the pool is the culprit. We will have to see what happens next week with two test sessions.

I'm still pretty far from my goal of being able to make sub 2:00/100m my race pace. Luckily, I have time to make things right.

Swim: w/u - 200m each, free, pull, non-free
4x50 drill/50 free, 10" (fist, scull, forearm flop, thigh scrape)
300 pull as 75 ez/25 quick, 30"
3x100 pull w/paddles, 20"
300 as 100 ez back/200 ez pull
6x100, 30" (odd: hard, even: ez breast)
c/d - 100 free, 2x50 free/50 back
Total: 2800m

Mr. Rogers was right

It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood.

(OK, maybe when it's -1, with wind gusts approaching 50 km/h, it's not beautiful, but it's better than the treadmill.)

Winter is finally over. I'm basing that on the fact that I was actually able to go outside for my long run this morning. It wasn't ideal weather, but it was close enough that I wasn't going to be denied.

The other thing to realize is that as much work as 10 miles at 1.5% grade is on the treadmill, it's nothing like running actual hills. I did today's run without a HR monitor or watch, just a pair of shoes (and other appropriate clothing). I just wanted to run. I did a five mile loop in my neighbourhood (twice) I mapped out last year, but stopped using after the second time, because its demands (constant up and down) didn't match with the goal of Disney (mostly flat). My races this year will require a lot more "all-around" strength, so my weekly long runs will include this loop regularly. There's four significant hills (30 seconds to 2 minutes), and another 3 "bumps" per loop. The rest is false flat, either up or down. After two loops, I am totally worked. This afternoon is nap-time, and I'm very glad I've got a half-gallon of Oreo ice cream in the freezer, and my wife has pulled pork in the slow-cooker.

All in all, this is how most Sundays should be spent.

Run: 10 miles, no pacing, no time

Solo group ride

It's sound like an oxymoron, but it describes what I did this morning. I'm still tied to the trainer in the basement, and need to find ways to keep myself entertained. One of the best ways is the Tacx RLVs. So today I was invited to join the Tacx Triathlon team for a group ride around the bike course of Roth Ironman course. I did the whole loop straight through (previously I had only done portions), for a 2:34 ride. I turned the effort down by -20%, and it was still plenty of work, and it still taught me a couple of important lessons.

Because I can't coast with pausing the ride, while the computer riders were cruising downhill, I was pedalling along at 170w behind them. It may have been easier than the rest of the ride (average 198w), but I sure was jealous. No wonder I'm tired. It's like doing the whole ride on a fixie.

The other thing was how much the few accelerations kill any running legs. I didn't bother testing things on the treadmill, but I could feel as I was riding, that each time we went 260-320w up the climbs, or during hard TT efforts, I was using up a lot of running juice. Sticking around 200-210w could be done all day, but it really was those FTP+ efforts that deaden everything. That will be big for me to remember for my longer course races this summer, especially over the rolling terrain of Muskoka.

How come I'm still dry?

As mentioned on Wednesday, today was to be a big day at the pool. 3.8 km distance swim. That's far. I've barely been swimming the last few weeks, so I was looking at trouble. Then we got the email yesterday, that the pool would be closed for maintenance, and a substitute couldn't be found. How's that for good news/bad news? I don't have to kill myself during 3800m, but I don't get to swim at all. Not the best trade, but it is what it is.

I'm feeling yesterday's intervals this morning. I think the fatigue from the commuting is contributing heavily as well. Even with the wind this morning, I was dragging a bit. It should be quick to get everything worked out, but I'm looking forward to a relaxing night and a weekend of eating everything that wanders within arm's reach. My prehab work this morning was tough. If there had been a swim, I might not have been able to get through it. I get to back off that work a little next week, so everything should be fine.

I'll post it now, since I know I'll do it after work, so just trust me.
Run: 4 miles @ 7.2 mph

That's more like it, part 3

Remember me saying before about how some days you're the windshield, and some days you're the bug?

Well, today I'm the windshield, baby.

The legs were a bit fatigued from commuting the last couple of days. It will take a week or three to get to the point where those efforts barely count towards fatigue levels, but right now, I can feel it. Still, I needed to get back on the bike and prove that Saturday was an anomaly. Once more, I was looking at 4x8 min @ FTP (~270w), with 2 minute rest intervals.

And I crushed them. Bug-splatter everywhere. The first interval was 270-280w, the other three went 280+. During the last two minutes of the last interval, I worked it up to 290-300 for one minute, then 30 seconds at 300-310, and 30 seconds at 310+. I'm not going to claim that this was easy in any way. It was a bunch of work, but at no point was I concerned that I wasn't going to finish an interval. Feels good. I'll keep a closer eye on my rear tire in the future so that I don't have anymore horrible, unexplainable days.

Next week it goes to 3x12. That'll be fun.

Bike: 65 min w/4x8 min @ 270-290w, 2 min recovery
Run: 2 miles @ 7.2 mph

That's more like it, Part II

I guess I'm finally getting healthy. After a couple of weeks of having heart rates in the high 150s-low 160s when I'm running, tonight's eight miler worked out much better. I was below 145 bpm until the 4 mile mark, and never went above 149 bpm. I was getting a bit tired near the end, but that's from the 4:50 wake-up call and hard swim. Otherwise, the legs are good.

It's coming back.

Run: 8 miles @ 7.2 mph

After almost three weeks, I didn't drown

It's been a while since I've been in the pool. Due to bad weather, holidays and sickness, I think I've gotten wet twice in the last three weeks. That's hardly enough to get faster, or even maintain my present "not fast" speed. But this morning I finally got to return.

I was welcomed by my lanemates, and after explaining I was hit hard with a cold for two weeks, they asked, "You do know about the 3800m distance set on Friday, right?" Well, with that on the horizon, I had better put in a strong day, hadn't I? (I'm not sure if that's fancy grammar, or so bad my grade 8 English teacher will hunt me down for writing it.) And so I did, leading hard, making the EZ efforts closer to EZ+, and really working the harder bits. I may not have swam much the last few weeks, but I've been reading and watching lots of videos on Youtube, and picked up a couple of things to improve my stroke. I think I've fixed part of my catch, because I felt that I was catching more water earlier, and subsequently going faster with less effort. We'll see at the next test set if that's the case.

Swim: w/u - 200yds each, free, non-free, pull
4x300, 30" (1- 75 ez/25 quick, 2- pull w/paddles, 3- ez free, 4- pull w/paddles)
5x200, 30" (1- ez non-free, 2,3- tempo, 4- ez non-free, 5- tempo)
2x100, 30" (1- ez non-free, 2- hard free)
c/d - 200 non-free
Totak: 3200yds

That's more like it

Turns out, if your tire isn't rubbing, or you're not applying a brake, you'll go faster. And it will be easier, too. Add in that I'm finally getting close to full health, and the workouts can start looking like they're supposed to.

Just a tempo session on the bike tonight, and I held 92-95% of FTP for 30 minutes. Just to compare to when I did this workout last week, I was 10-15w higher, at a heart rate 8-10 bpm lower. More strength, less effort? That's a good thing, right?

Followed with a quick 2 mile transition run, and once again my HR stayed about where it was supposed to. The sickness is leaving the body, and I'll be back at full force soon.

Bike: 65 minutes, w/30 min @ 250-260w
Run: 2 miles @ 7.2 mph

Free speed

Things are coming back. My heart is still giving funny readings, but my legs and lungs have been good. Another solid eight miles, with no issues. I followed it up with a brief spin, just to clear out the legs and get some extra aerobic work. A nice morning.

Then about a half-hour, I was making a couple of small adjustments, and noticed something. One of the technological advantages of the P2SL is how close the rear wheel sits compared to the seat tube. On my bike, sometime in the recent past, the tire got so close to the seat tube, it was rubbing. A couple of turns of the screwdriver bought me a few millimetres clearance. Now we'll see how my rides go this week when I'll be riding without a brake applied. With luck, that should at least get me back to where I'm supposed to be.

Run: 8 miles @ 7.2 mph
Bike: 30 min, zone 1-2

Some days you're the windshield

Some days you're the bug.

Today, I was the bug. It seems I've lost a lot more than I would have thought with my two weeks off. I fought the bike, and the bike won. It wasn't even close.

This workout should have happened 11 days ago. If it did, I would have crushed it. 4x8 minutes @ FTP (~270w), with 2 minute recoveries. By conventional standards, that's not a particularly tough threshold workout, at least compared to 2x20s (which show up in a few weeks). I knew things were off to a bad start when my heart rate was 122 bpm before I even turned a pedal (it's usually in the 80s). I warmed up as usual, hit the first interval, and within 100 seconds was sure I was going to die. Heart rate spiked to 180, which is ridiculous. My legs were burning, and it was a struggle to maintain the prescribed power. After the first one, I had to scale back, or I'd never survive the day. As much as I hate doing that, some times you have to admit when you're beat, and take the best workout you can get. The last three intervals were at ~240w (90% FTP), and during the last I was able to handle extended periods at 250-265w. So there's that.

I had planned on following that up with just an easy hour of zone 1-2 work, but I had to quit 35 minutes. I was just beat up. A gear that should have been easy zone 1 was producing solid zone 3 effort, and I couldn't handle any more work. This wasn't my shining moment on the bike. I'm disappointed with myself. It's going to be a longer road back to form than I expected, but what are my choices? I can suffer through these demoralizing workouts, or I can quit. And I'm not going to quit.

The weather is finally turning enough that I can commute to work again. That's a free 70+ miles every week, with a couple of hard efforts (it's unavoidable: single speed + hills = strength work). I'll be back, and I'll be back at the front. It won't be soon, but it'll be soon enough.

Bike: 90 minutes, w/ 1x8 min @ 270w, 3x8 min @ 240w, 2 minute recovery

Catch a few miles

Usually, Friday's are a big write-up about swimming, with a brief mention of my after-work run. Unfortunately, no swim due to Good Friday, so there's just the run, and there's no way to dress it up and make it exciting. So here it is.

Run: 4 miles @ 7.2 mph

Still recovering

I've been looking forward to getting back on the bike. But since I'm nowhere near 100%, I held back from doing a big FTP effort. Instead, I stuck with just over an hour, with 30 minutes at 85-90% FTP. I've been doing this once a week before, since it's a solid effort. Usually, this is a zone 2-3 type effort. With weak legs and bad lungs, this became a zone 4 effort for much of the ride. My HR spiked early and stayed pinned. Muscularly, this wasn't much harder than usual, and my lungs weren't overly taxed, just my heart rate was a solid 10-15 bpm high than it was at a similar effort before the sickness. Again, this will return in short order once the body gets used to having to do work again. There's still lots of time to set up good racing form. Me and Lightning McQueen will put on a show in a couple of months.

Bike: 65 min, w/ 30 min @ 240w
Run: 2 miles @ 7.2 mph

Don't call it a comeback

I'm finally back at it. It wasn't a stellar performance, but it was something. If I was on schedule, today would be 10 miles. I decided to scale it back to eight miles, but after my HR spiked, I cut it at 6. The endurance will come back very quickly, so this isn't anything to worry me. Heart rate was 10-15 bpm higher than it should have been. I considered backing off the pace, but I knew that I'd have to slow WAY down to get back to the proper range, and I'd rather keep it at the quicker pace. I'll probably bump up to eight miles on Sunday, and get back to double digits by Wednesday or the next weekend.

It's great to be moving (even if it's in place) again.

Run: 6 miles @ 7.2 mph

Back in the running

Slowly. And shortly.

After work, I did an easy 4 miles on the treadmill. Nice and relaxed, in attempt at least. My breathing was a bit laboured, and heart rate was correspondingly high, for the speed, but considering I'm still a bit plugged and there's some stuff in my chest, I'll take it. Here's hoping it will be finally clear by morning.

Run: 2 miles @ 6.8 mph, 2 miles @ 7.0 mph

Six months from today is the Muskoka Ironman 70.3. I'm making improvements in all the events. I'm definitely not where I want to be yet, which is a bit frustrating, but only because I set some high goals for myself. Six months of work is plenty to make the improvements I need to. FTP building on the bike continues. Hopefully I'll be riding outside at least once a week for group rides by the end of next month. Speed work on the run begins in two weeks, then I'll start building endurance again. I don't know if there's a way to speed up my swim gains, other than maybe pushing just a bit harder on each set (EZ becomes EZ+; moderate becomes mod-hard; hard stays hard, because, well, it's already hard).

Six months. Let's make it happen.

I'm back. Kinda, sorta ...

No posts for four days. What happened? A cold happened. A pretty serious cold that I just couldn't shake. It got in my chest and hung out there for too long, but I think we've got it licked, so I'm getting back at it.

Generally, my rule is at least one full symptom-free day before starting again, but after four full days off, I couldn't take anymore. Hopefully, this doesn't cause any setbacks. I'll still scale back my runs and rides this weekend (both time and intensity), get plenty of fluids and rest, and, fingers crossed, back with a big snap on Monday.

So I got back to the pool today. All told, things went fairly well. I tried not to take too much responsibility leading today, and just kind of chilled mid-pack. My stroke, when I focused on it, felt good, but when I didn't, was all over the place. More time to be spent ingraining the stroke. What I'm noticing (I think) is that I'm leading with my elbow, and not catching as much water. I'm also having real trouble with the paddles. I just don't go as fast as other folks, and it bugs my elbow. I must be doing something wrong. If anyone can recommend what I should be feeling, I'd appreciate it.

During the last pulling set, I got a vicious cramp in my calf. Two hours later and it still hurts. Not sure what caused it, since it's never happened before. I might be slightly dehydrated from the sickness still. I'm quite happy it was during a pull set so that I could easily get to the end of the pool, because I doubt I would have been able to kick in that state. I hope this clears up before my run this evening.

Swim: w/u - 200m free, 200m non-free
4x(25 head-up/25 free), 10"
2x150 pull w/paddles, 20"
6x300, 30" (1,4&5: descending, 2&6: ez pull, 3: 25 quick/75 ez)
c/d - 100 non-free
Total: 2800m

Not right as rain

Looks like I did more damage than I thought over the weekend. Nothing too serious, but I need an extra day of recovery. What was, by last night, a serious chest cough with a fever, has been reduced to the occasional hack. But when I woke up this morning to go swimming, it didn't take long to figure out that would be a bad idea.

I hate missing days, and I especially hate missing swimming, since that's where I need the most work. But sometimes you just need to bite the bullet. I could have gone, but since I don't have the option of doing my own workout, and I know how competitive I am, so I'd push hard through the session. That could leave me racked for a few days, rather than just missing this one, and being back at it tomorrow. Lose a little to win a lot.

And if the weather gods are listening, please no more snow. Please. I like snow, but I like it more in December and January. And just an inch or two at a time, instead of a foot over 24 hours. You're killing me (almost literally).

As an additional comment, two months from today is the first race of the season (I can't count Disney as part of the season since there's 4 months between). Just about 9 weeks until the 10k, so I'll do another 3 weeks of base-building, then 6 weeks of speedwork. This should be enough to set me up for a decent run, and give me some confidence for the run leg of all the other races.

See you at the start line.

Too much shovelling

I'm done with the snow. It has to end soon. I mean, really. We are approaching, if not already achieved, the local record for snowfall. It's disgusting. In the last two weeks, we've had at least three good dumps (that just sounds inappropriate, sorry), each requiring 3 to 5 efforts at clearing. All that time and energy spent outside has left me slightly immuno-compromised, and now I'm fighting a bit of a cold. Hopefully, this will pass overnight, but it hasn't been a pleasant afternoon.

Before that, though, I got in a decent workout. I'm still stuck indoors, but I'm getting used to that. I felt just fine this morning, so I followed the schedule and knocked out 8 miles at LSD pace, backed up by an easy 30 minutes on the bike. At the time. I noticed my heart rate was 5-10 bpm higher than it should have been at that effort. Obviously, that was a sign that the sick was coming. Still, the effort felt good, and with any luck, I should be right as rain tomorrow morning.

Run: 8 miles @ 7.2 mph
Bike: 30 minutes, zone 1

Not quite as planned

I had kind of been looking forward to today, since I was going to take a run at my simulated Muskoka course, kind of a sneak preview/scouting mission. But the file that was converted didn't work right, and caused a system crash on the Tacx. So I scrambled together another workout, about 3 hours long of a series of moderate hills. Fun, but tiring.

My intention was to do the day at about 75% FTP wattage. I keep seeing where people do the bike leg of a HIM at 90% FTP. Either my endurance really sucks, or those numbers aren't quite right. If FTP is max wattage for 60 minutes, I can't imagine holding 90% of that, then running a decent 13.1 miles. But that's neither here nor there. What is here and there, is my ride today at ~75% (=205w).

To break up the day a bit,I attacked the ride as such: sections with grades <0%>2% was >220w. All in all, this worked out pretty well, although in the last hour, there was about 10-15 minutes when I had to drop the wattages to 150-180w. I finished with a good last 20 minutes, but I needed the breather. I'm not really happy about that, but I'll work through that next time.

Another thing I noticed is the difference in effort to produce similar wattage at various grades. As the tension increases, to simulate higher grades, I think it outpaces it's measured wattage. My heart rate at 215w was 142-145 bpm, but at 220-225w, my HR jumped to 155-158. This leads me to believe that the measurement is a bit off. No matter though, since any work is good work.

Now I'll let all this good work sink in.

Bike: 180 minutes = 99.8 km, average 204.4w

After shovelling the drive 4 times in the last 24 hours, along with 4 times on Wednesday, I've developed a new equation:
3 hours in an aero tuck + shovelling >30cm of snow = unhappy spinal erectors.

I used to be rested

The last four days have been really nice. Relaxing runs in the evening, not too much distance or intensity, just enough to keep blood moving while getting my legs back underneath me. I've also been sleeping pretty good, and felt great waking up this morning.

Then I went to the pool.

I guess I should expect that the workouts will get harder as race season progresses, and that's good, as it will hopefully get me fast enough that I don't lose too big a chunk of time to place well in my AG. (I don't expect to be in the top 20 coming out of the water, I just want to be within shouting distance.) But, man, can this take a bite out of you! It may be all this time leading the lane, but I'm knocked on my ass by the end.

The big piece of today was some descending 400s. The coach timed us, to make sure we actually did pick up the pace. I was a bit overly competitive in the first 100, but hit my rhythm pretty well for the rest: 2:07, 2:08, 2:05, 2:00.

Oh, and I hate the big paddles. They keep getting knocked off my fingers, and I just can't move them very fast. Our coach told me, "Keep your turnover at the usual pace", but it's a struggle.

Swim: w/u - 2x300m, 1) free, 2) 50 non-free/50 free
2x400, 1', 1) descending, 2) ez pull
2x400, 1', 1) descending (timed), 2) 100 non-free/100 free
2x200, 30", 1) pull w/paddles, 2) 25 head-up/75 free
2x200, 30" tempo (mod-hard)
c/d - 2x100 non-free
Total: 3200m

Later,
Run: 3 miles @ 7.0 mph

Stick to the pattern

Do you see it yet?

Run: 3 miles @ 7.0 mph

Looks like I'll be picking up the pace for my runs in the next block. Heart rate is staying nice and low at this pace, so I'll probably move it up to 7.2 mph.

Salvage the day

Well, I missed swimming this morning. Again. Not because I was too sore or slept through my alarm or any normal reason. No, I couldn't go because of the weather. More specifically, there was no way my car was going to easily navigate my street without getting stuck, and who knows what the rest of the city looks like? Instead, I shovelled the drive 4 times in 24 hours, which almost makes up for not being in the pool. I don't know why the plow driver decided the end of my driveway was the appropriate place to dump a load of snow, but he did, and if I ever wanted out, then I got an extra 20 minutes of shovelling hard-packed, partially-melted snow. Joy.

But I did get on the bike for an easy spin. Just 30 minutes, enough to wake up the legs, and still be fully rested for a hard effort on Saturday. I picked up a new saddle earlier in the week (a Specialized Toupe), which so far I love. It's very stiff, like sitting on a wooden bench (doesn't sound comfortable, but it is). Hopefully this will be the final cure to any numbness issues.

Bike: 30 minutes, zone 1

Still easy

Run: 3 miles @ 7.0 mph

Just the facts

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
10x100, 15" (1-3: 25 head-up/50 free/25 head-up, 4-5: non-free, 6-8: pull w/paddles, 9-10: non-free)
8x100, 15" (1-3: tempo trainer, 4: non-free, 5-6: tempo, 7-8: non-free)
1x400 ez pull, 1'
1x300 descending free
Total: 3100m

Run: 3 miles @ 7.0 mph

Rest week impending

Since I just got up from a two-hour nap, it might be time to note what I did today. What's also important to note is what I did last night: stayed up until 2 am. That completely threw off the sleep schedule. I was awake by 6:30 as usual, but not rested at all. Thus, the nap.

Looking at my workout, it was another reverse-brick, a little longer than last week. Eight miles by foot, and an easy 30 minutes on the bike. I felt good the whole way. My HR barely cracked 140, so I'll up my easy pace next week. Now I need to eat again, and maybe have another nap.

Run: 8 miles @ 7.0 mph
Bike: 30 minutes, zone 1

Did I get to the finish line?

The weather still sucks. I'm still riding inside, not even able to commute. So I need to be entertained, and luckily the Tacx RLVs fit the bill. Today I was back in Holland for the second half of the Green Heart Classic. Still very flat, I repeated the plan from last week by increasing the intensity every 20km. The ride was going well until the 55km mark, when the video froze. I was still riding according to the Catalyst readout, but there was no more countryside to look at.

There's not much terrain, but I think I went over a few bridges, so I had to use my imagination. The run to the finish might have been really exciting, twisting through town, or it may have been just a straight shot on a country road with no one around. I couldn't tell, I just knew it was at 80.3 km. You take what you can get.

Bike: 80.3 km, zone 1-2, 175w-220w