One week

With only seven days until travel begins, I just did an easy ride on the trainer tonight. Thirty minutes, nothing difficult. Let the legs fill with energy for next week.

Bike: 30 minutes, zone 1

A day late

It's getting much cooler around here. It makes the commute to work a little chilly in the mornings, especially with the 40+ km/h winds. Luckily, after a couple of years of doing this, I have the right gear for most situations, so I can survive. Still, it's hard to get excited about a half-hour of riding directly into a headwind creating -5 degree wind chills.

But I got myself home and knocked out my run, another easy 3 miler. Then I got to relax for a few hours before heading to the pool to make up for the swim I missed last night. It's a different crowd on Tuesdays for the most part, although I did recognize a few people. The numbers, however, were as high as any other night. I don't know how some of these people can do this on a nightly basis for months or years on end. At least I have a light at the end of the tunnel, with my morning swims returning next week. The workout itself went pretty well, I got in a few solid long efforts, so I can feel pretty good leading up to the race. No expectations, just trying to have some fun.

Run: 3 miles @ 7.6 mph + 4 strides

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free
2x400 free, HIM effort, 1' (7:35, 7:30)
200 non-free, 1'
2x400 pull, HIM effort, 1' (7:20, 7:10)
c/d - 200 non-free
Total: 2400m

Start resting

I needed a break, and luckily one was on the horizon. All I had to do today was a short run (the swim was postponed to tomorrow due to social obligations). A relaxing three miles later, I had done my duty for the day.

Run: 3 miles @ 7.6 mph + 4 strides

Little sleep + long run = Extra tired

Huge victory by the Red Raiders yesterday. I'll need to carry some of that energy into Clearwater.

I'm looking forward to the end of the season, when I can stay out late, and not pay for it the next day. Last night was particularly late, not hitting the pillow until 2 am. Because I can't sleep in, I was up by 8 and on the road for the last long run by 9. Fifteen miles later, I feel like I've been hit by a truck. Actually, that's not really true. The run itself went really well, felt great the whole way. I'm not too sore or anything which is surprising considering I ran fifteen miles. I just feel one step removed from a coma. Luckily, we're now looking at about 5 days of "rest" leading into the peak for Worlds. Hopefully I'll get fully recovered sleepwise, and be flying by next weekend.

Run: 15 miles, hilly, no watch

When Holland is like Florida

At about 8 am this morning, roughly two weeks to the minute that I'll be getting out of the water, I got on the bike for one more good trainer session. I used the Green Heart Classic RLV to go through about 85km in about two and a half hours. Continuing with the theme of odd i_magic power readings, I hit my targets this morning, beating my last similar workout by 10 watts on average, at a heart rate about 8 bpm lower. So, everything is all over the place. All I know is that I got in a good solid workout, didn't kill myself, but wasn't cruising either. Now it's time to drop off my bike for shipping and watch Tech take on Kansas. Guns up!

Bike: 135 minutes, z2-4, w/4x20 minutes @ 240w, 10minutes @ 210w

Fifteen days

After a minor collision with a suicidal squirrel on the bike commute this morning, the day was completed with a quick little run tonight. Nothing exciting to note about it, a little stiff from yesterday, but that's expected. I feel pretty good leading into the last real weekend of training.

Run: 4 miles @ 7.9 mph + 4 strides

Race prep almost complete

I like fast running. Really. I do. But I realized something during my strides/cooldown tonight that makes me quite happy. Outside of some short race speed efforts, and the race itself, I won't do any speedwork on the run for almost 4 months. Four months. I'm really going to enjoy that. Like I said, it's not that I don't like running fast, but it beats the tar out of me. I am never more wiped out than after my hard running nights. I could ride myself into the ground, and still be somewhat cognizant for the remainder of the evening, but tonight my wife was worried I was depressed, when I was just zoned out from tiredness. It will be very nice to spend a few months just building that steady volume base that will make more speedwork possible next spring.

The run itself was simple: 2 mile warm-up, 5 miles hard, 1 mile cooldown. Hard was an accurate adjective, or at least it described the last 1.5 miles. Not that I was ever in danger of not finishing, I probably had another mile or two in my legs/lungs, but it was well into the "discomfort zone". Now there's a day of recovery, then the last tough bike ride, and long run over the weekend. Then it's two weeks of rest/taper/peak, and off to finish my season in fine form.

Run: 8 miles, as 2 miles @ 7.5 mph, 5 mile @ 9.0 mph, 1 mile @ 7.5 mph + 4 strides

Two weeks until take-off

With travel set for November 5, I'm only 14 days away from heading south. It continues to get a little more real. It'll be a nice vacation, with five hours of heavy sweating in the middle of it.

Just a quick little run this afternoon to keep the legs loose, and a nice swim. No particularly hard work in the swim, but lots of time to work on form without killing myself. The pool continues to be crowded. I think the turn in the weather is driving people inside, and they all want to be in the 'fast' lane.

But I have to ask: what kind of ass do you have to be to do butterfly in a crowded lane swim? I almost appreciate getting to practice dealing with the big swells, but come on! Are people that hard up for attention that this is how they choose to get it?

Run: 4 miles @ 7.8 mph + 4 strides

Swim: w/u - 200m each, free, non-free
2x(200 free, 30", HIM pace
100 ez non-free, 30")
6x200 free, 30" (1: HIM opener, 2: 25 sight/75 free, 3: 25 quick/75 free, 4: 25 sight/75 free, 5: 25 quick/75 free, 6: HIM closer)
c/d - 200 non-free
Total: 2400m

More questions than answers

This was supposed to be the last true high-intensity bike ride in the build period. If you go by how I felt, I'd agree with that assessment, but if you go by the numbers, it's just not there. I don't know what's going on, and it's getting harder to not be concerned. For the second week in a row, an effort that should be tough but doable has pretty much wrecked me, and I don't know why. I feel fine on the commuter, and move at my usual speed, but on the trainer, I'm not turning out the power I should be able to do. I know the wheel isn't rubbing, the brake isn't applied, and I'm calibrating every ride, but I continue to lose power. There isn't any time to worry about it, though, so I'll get through the week, then rest my ass off during the taper and hope that the problem is with the i-Magic and not with my legs. Fingers crossed.

Bike: 65 minutes, w/2x20 minutes @ 240-280w, 5 minutes recovery
Run: 2 miles @ 7.8 mph + 4 strides

Ethics in racing

Last week, the Athlete's Guide for Clearwater was posted. As I've mentioned, I've gone over quite a few times now. I think it's helping to make things more real for me, like I'm actually involved in this race. (On the flip side, riding to work when it's a shade over freezing makes the idea of racing in Florida seem a little far-fetched.) Most the details of the race are pretty standard, but there are a few that have caught my eye.

This will be the first time I'll be using "transition bags". The athletes are not allowed to have anything on the ground by their bikes in transition, so all your bike gear is in one bag, and all your run gear is in another. I can imagine I'll be taking a fair bit of time on Thursday night to lay out all my stuff and figure out what goes where, then try to rehearse how each transition will play out.

I'll be in the 7:30am wave, 45 minutes after the pros start, and part of the second wave of men 35-39. I find it amazing that two of the age-groups have been split like this. It makes racing your AG that much tougher, when who never know if the person who just passed you is now seconds ahead, or still five minutes behind, or essentially five minutes up the road. I guess that's why they'll be waiting until the awards banquet at night to hand out trophies.

I can't say I'm happy about starting so far back, as well. Clearwater is essentially a flat course, and you'll have 1500 of the best athletes in the world on the course at the same time. With this many evenly-matched people, drafting is inevitable. At Muskoka, I didn't have to worry about crowds or drafting, since I was well out in front. That won't be the case this time.

Clearwater's reputation for drafting is well-known. And that puts me in a very difficult position. Although I mostly have a "happy to be there" attitude to Worlds, I would still like to perform well. I'm not in the running for a podium spot, but maybe the top 100. I know I'll be one of the last in my AG out of the water, so I won't be involved in any draft packs that form there (putting me at a disadvantage). However, shortly after exiting the water, hot on my heels will be the superstars of the M40-44 age group. Any draft pack of theirs will be moving faster than the mid-pack M35-39 groups, so if I latched on, I could get pulled right back into the race. If you go through any of the forums, there doesn't seem to be any way to avoid the drafting, especially further back, short of pulling over and waiting for the race to go by.

So I'm left with three choices: 1) Actively seek out the drafts, disregarding the rules and using whoever I can to move up, knowing that a number of my competitors are doing the same; 2) Actively avoid any drafting, even if this means slowing down to unreasonable speeds, having the worst bike split on the day, but safe in the knowledge I raced clean; 3) Be passive and if I get sucked into one of the groups, then that's what happens. I may get some benefit, but there wasn't anything I could do.

Option 1 will get me my highest placing, and fits into the "everyone is doing it" paradigm. Option 2 gets me my worst pacing, but I'll be able to say "I raced clean" although that will hardly be a great explanation why I'm 200th in the race. And honestly, Option 3 is pretty much Option 1 but trying to pass off some of the guilt.

So I don't know what's going to happen. I'd like to think I'll stick with Option 2, and be secure about it, but once the competitive juices get flowing, it's tough to say. If I keep getting passed by groups, the frustration could drive me to saying, "Screw it, I'm doing it too." I think this whole dilemma is part of what's tempering my enthusiasm for the race. But I'm worrying about things that haven't even happened yet, and that's not worth the effort.

I guess this whole post is a way of admitting I see the issue, and putting pressure on myself to face up to situation, and setting in myself my plan beforehand. Everyone who reads this (admittedly not a large number) will have reason to question my ethics after the race if I turn in some otherworldly bike split. So now it's on me to do the right thing, whatever that is.

Only three more of these to go

It's hard to believe anyone would say this, but I'm looking forward to waking up at 4:50 am again soon. Trying to get a decent workout in at the public swims is too frustrating. Tonight was the most crowded it has been so far. There must have been 15-20 people in the "fast" lane, and they were all in the way.

My times weren't stellar. I definitely didn't have the massive improvements like last week. I don't know if that's some level of fatigue (unlikely) or I just wasn't concentrating due to the frustration of dealing with the crowds (much more likely). But, whatever. It's done, I'll try to put a better effort in on Wednesday, and that's all I can do right now.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free
400 pull, HIM pace, 1' (7:15)
2x300 free, 45", as 25 quick/75 ez
3x200 pull, descending (3:50, 3:37, 3:30), 30"
4x100, 15", odd: sprint (1:40, 1:40), even: ez non-free
Total: 2400m

Just getting the miles in

Still a bit tired, so I'll be brief. Today was a nice cool morning, sunny with no wind, pretty glorious running weather. I knocked out ~10 miles, never going too hard, and felt very comfortable the whole way. Next week is the last big run, then the taper will begin.

Run: 10.7 miles, ~1:21

Three weeks

It's getting a lot closer. Every week seems the race is seven days sooner. Funny how that works, eh?

Today was the last long ride, over 3 hours. I played around with the pace a little, but essentially I was zone 2-3 the whole ride, with three fifteen minute blocks of Z4. That should be enough to be ready for about 2.5 hours of flats in Florida. If Clearwater goes to form, I guess I can always draft my way in if I get tired. ;)

Bike: 180 minutes, zone 2-3, w/3x15 minutes @ Z4

Getting closer

Just another easy day to recover before a big weekend. I felt a little stiffness through the day at work, but no worries during the run.

Run: 4 miles @ 7.7 mph + 4 strides

Again We Rise

I am continuing with the theme of "how will this workout go?" Tuesday: bike=bad, run=good; Wednesday: run=good, swim=very good. What would that mean for today's run? It's not like this was going to be just a pleasure cruise, so if things went south, I'd be shot off the treadmill into the wall.

I didn't hit the wall (figuratively or literally). The crux of tonight's session was 4 miles at 9.0 mph, the longest and fastest I've done any sustained run. I'm actually quite surprised with how the effort went, since I wasn't completely on the rivet the whole time. In fact, I was able to go to a 4-4 breathing pattern for a while, even in the last mile. When I finished, I was tired, but not completely strung out. That's a good day as far as I'm concerned.

Run: 7 miles, as 2 miles @ 7.4 mph, 4 miles @ 9.0 mph, 1 mile @ 7.4 mph + 4 strides

And then this happens

I'm still tired. That didn't change overnight, especially after grinding through a workout like I did yesterday. But a little bit of the motivation is back. Here's why.

Even though my bike session last night kinda sucked, the transition run that followed felt really good, and I was light on my feet doing strides. Today was just an easy four miler, but again things felt really smooth the entire run, not taxing at all, and again I was quick through my strides. The running legs feel really good right now, so that's a boost of confidence.

Then I went to the pool. Since Monday was a holiday, this was the first time I got out in a week. Continuing from the night before, I wasn't expecting a whole lot. I repeated a workout from a few weeks ago, and right from the start I felt strong in the water. I didn't check my old times so I didn't know what to compare to, but when I got home to take a look, I was significantly ahead on every rep. The only one that was even close was the last one, where I tried too hard to go fast, and ended up in the "work harder, go slower" box. I'm sure if I focused harder I would have scraped another 5+ seconds off.

So the bike sucks right now, but that could be for any number of reasons. The run is good, and the swim is good. Now if can get a really good night's sleep, I'll be in great shape.

Run: 4 miles @ 7.6 mph + 4 strides

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
3x300 free, 30", descending (5:48, 5:40, 5:30)
100 non-free, 30"
3x200 pull, 30", descending (3:40, 3:30, 3:27)
c/d - 200 non-free
Total: 2400m

Burning up or out

Tonight I have no good excuse. For previous workouts, there was brake rub or coming off a vicious weekend, or some other reason why I would crap out on a workout. Tonight I have no answers, just a bunch of questions.

The plan was to hit the bike and knock out a 3x12 minute session on 300w. That lasted until 6 minutes into the first interval, before I had to back out to 280w. That's where I stayed for the rest of the night, except for the last 6 minutes of the last interval, where I forced myself back up to 300w. It shouldn't have been as hard as it was to get through this. Three weeks I did this workout on 280w the whole way. My heart rate tonight was a minimum of 8 bpm higher than at any given point in the workout compared to that session. I don't think I'm getting sick, but I have to wonder where this loss of power and subsequent raise in heart rate is coming from. Before I started I felt really good, nicely rested, since I wasn't able to hit the pool last night. But everything just went south by the time I got to the good stuff.

It's been a long year. I really feel that on some days, and sometimes I'm looking forward to the break even more than I'm looking forward to Worlds. It'll be nice to switch things up for a few weeks as an off-season, and I'm really anticipating the training for next year, with lower volume, and bit more high intensity, less specific threshold work. I'm hoping what I'm dealing with now is a mental issue, and I can push through it. I'll keep an eye on things and if my body starts rebelling in these last 3.5 weeks, I'll go to a rest/maintenance schedule and go race a bit undercooked, but at least I'll be relatively fresh.

Bike: 65 minutes, w/3x12 minutes @ 280w, 3 min recovery
Run: 2 miles @ 7.6 mph + 4 strides

Thanksgiving morning

Inspired by yesterday's Hawaii Ironman, won on the run, and by the beautiful weather on this holiday weekend morning, I cranked out a good 13 miles. I followed the usual pattern, 5 hilly miles easy, 3 miles flat, then an uptempo finish for 5 hilly miles. I still don't have a watch, so it was just by feel, but it felt really good. Days like this will make the next few weeks pass pretty quickly.

Run: 13.7 miles, hilly

Four weeks to go

We're getting into the home stretch. One last little build block, with some taper/peak thrown in, and then I'll be racing. Because of this, there's still work to do, and that makes me very tired. So posts will probably be pretty short for a while.

Bike: 135 minutes, w/4x20 minutes @ 240w, 10 minutes @ 175w recovery

And a little bit more

With the long weekend, we were sent home from work early, so I got to relax for a bit before knocking out my last easy run of this recovery week. Nothing of note to talk about, but I'm feeling rested and ready to go for the last few weeks of training.

Run: 3 miles @ 7.3 mph + 4 strides

Just a little bit

Run: 3 miles @ 7.3 mph + 4 strides

Monsters of the Deep

I got in a nice easy ride right after work, which helped keep the legs loose. My position is pretty comfortable, so it's easy to cruise along in the aero tuck for a while. The pedal stroke was consistently smooth, and I'm engaging the whole leg as I'm riding. I feel like I should be pretty strong on the day.

Then in the evening, back to the pool for a quick workout. This was the first of two 2k pull time trials I'll do in preparation of the race. I felt like I got in a decent groove right from the start. I had a minor issue with some new goggles and a bit of leaking, but I tried not to let it throw me off too much. With the other denizens of the pool, it got a little annoying trying to get the workout in, but there's nothing I can do about them. My time was 36:20, which means I've either lost some speed since the last time I did this in a 50m pool, or I was, in fact, short the last time (35:10). My times from the 25m pool don't really translate, since you can push off twice as much and just hammer along. Assuming I only did 1900m last time out, that would be 37:01 for 2k, which means I've picked up 40 seconds. Or I lost 70. Who knows? We'll find out in about four weeks.

Bike: 30 minutes, zone 1-2

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free
1x2000m pull (36:20)
Total: 2400m

How long?

One month.

Quick, over and done

Run: 3 miles @ 7.3 mph + 4 strides

I got a little surprise in the mail today. Although I'm not much of a "picture" guy, and don't own a camera, I ordered some of the race pics from ASI Photo from Muskoka 70.3. One is a finish line shot, that I'll probably put on my desk at work, the other is a finisher's certificate that I'll put up on my "look at me" wall. (I'm really not trying to brag about all this. Whenever I talk about the result, I feel like I'm talking about someone else that I'm proud of, because it couldn't be me that did it.) The picture that's part of the finisher's certificate is me cresting a hill on the run course, running straight into the camera. You can't really see my face because I'm looking down and it's shaded by the cap, but you can see the rain pelting down. It's a pretty hardcore shot, if I do say so myself. The other photo ... not so much. When I hit the tape, I had my arms raised in victory, a big smile, and was giving a big Texas Tech "Guns up!" This photo was taken right after that. I'm staring blankly into space, and my arms have fallen into a pose that resembles a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It's definitely not my best look.

Feels like Monday

I'm still a little tired from the weekend. I got a good night's sleep, but still woke up feeling like I could use another hour or two. Unfortunately, that's not a luxury I have. But this is an easy week, so that's almost as good as a nap, isn't it?

The run went well. Just three miles, easy pace, a few strides. My cadence fell right into the groove, so things felt smooth. The evening swim was survived. I felt fantastic during the free sets, but not quite as sharp during the pull sets. It wasn't as crowded as two weeks ago, so hopefully this will continue for a few more weeks. I'm really looking forward to the start of swim club. The 4:50 wake-up call might not be the most fun, but at least I can be assured I'll be getting good, uninterrupted work in.

Run: 3 miles @ 7.3 mph + 4 strides

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free
2x400 free, 1', HIM effort (7:32, 7:30)
200 ez non-free, 1'
2x400 pull, 1', HIM effort (7:20, 7:15)
c/d - 200 ez non-free
Total: 2400m

Cool runnings

It was a bit crisp this morning, but that's actually a nice thing on the run. I broke out the gloves since my hands have a tendency to get chilly, and settled in for a good ten mile run. My legs still aren't all the way back yet. I could definitely feel some fatigue late in the run, but that was probably helped by yesterday's ride. I forgot to stretch afterwards, so during today's stretch there was a LOT of tightness. (I was so far from touching my toes that I could only laugh. They might as well have been across the room for as close as I was going to get.) All told, solid weekend of training, so now I get to eat and rest.

Run: 10.7 miles + 4 strides

Pretend it's 85 degrees

Knowing I had a long ride today, last night my wife asked me if I was going up to Lake Wilcox to ride this morning. It would be a cool morning, and makes for a hilly ride. Clearwater will be quite warm, and pan flat. It would make more sense for me to sit on the trainer in the basement. So that's what I did. Call it a Clearwater Simulation.

I played around with the gears, and consequently the effort, but turned in a three hour, zone 1-3 ride. I didn't bother with any grade changes because, well, other than the causeway, apparently there isn't even a speed bump on course. Mostly I just needed the saddle time, so it was good to get through the effort. Now I'll eat, watch some Tech football, and nap the day away. Is there a better way to spend a Saturday (racing doesn't count)?

Bike: 3 hours, zone 1-3

Setting up a big weekend

This weekend will be my biggest volume since Muskoka, nothing too intense but a good number of miles in the legs. Because of that, today was just a quick short run to shake out the legs. Felt good, should be a fine few days of training.

Run: 4 miles @ 7.6 mph + 4 strides

Super Charger Heaven

I'm sorry there hasn't been anything particularly interesting in the last few posts. The weather's getting cooler and kinda killing my mood. No effect on my motivation to do the work, but I'm less inclined to talk about it. Right now is really just grinding out the work to get myself to the point where I can start sharpening the edge again. Thus, lots of LSD work, enough to spark some gains but not too much to tax my still rebuilding system. Next week is a recovery week, so after that I should be grooving again with more excitement for November 8th.

Run: 8 miles @ 7.7 mph + 4 strides

Frenzal Rhomb

Good day of run and swim. Legs felt a little tight, but that's expected after last night's effort. The swim wasn't too crowded, and I got a good bit of "easier" work in, and got to focus on form. If I can keep this up for a few more weeks, I'll be comfortable in Florida.

Run: 3 miles @ 7.6 mph + 4 strides

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free
2x(200 pull, 30", HIM effort
100 non-free, 30")
6x200 free, 30" (1: opener, 2: 25 sight/75 free, 3: 75 free/25 surge, 4: 25 sight/75 free, 5: 75 free/25 surge, 6: closer)
c/d - 200 non-free
Total: 2400m