Training Summary 7/25 - 8/1

The biggest lesson coming out of the first tri of the season is that I need stronger legs. Stronger legs = pushing bigger gears and going faster on the bike, and crushing hills on the run. I definitely did not feel super strong on the bike or the run, and I'd like to change that.

This week has been all about quality. I had built the week to a bloody crescendo this AM, because we were going to go camping for Saturday and Sunday, but we got aced out of all of the sites in Washington State. On a Friday. Does anyone work a schedule anymore? Wait. Dont ask what I was doing hunting for a campground on Friday afternoon. The truth is I've been busting my balls at work, and I'm going to Orlando next week to swelter with a bunch of Enterprise Software Architects, so I figured a day away from the office (after delivering everything I needed to this week) -- while being available via email and phone -- was a good mental health break.

Monday

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Swimming.
this was more of a chillout after the big race yesterday. I think I got around 2000 yards in, but not sure. I just kept moving, 150 free + 50 breast, stretching and focusing on form.

Tuesday

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Running, 7 miles, intervals:
1x5 minute
1x10 minute
last mile hard.

More details when I download the data. But this was representative of the new regime. Fucking Hard Intervals. After a 2 mile warmup. Tried to keep it at 165 hr, ended up averaging closer to 159, but that also includes my HR spinning up after noodling @ 120 during the 'off' periods. I think the right thing to do would be to do 1 5 minute, and 1 10 minute, but track the first 5 and last 5 separately to get a true indication of effort during the last 5.

The last mile hard was just that. The Hill of Death was....deadly. But the only way I'm going to run faster is to run faster. Yogi Fucking Berra.

Wednesday

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Insomnia. Strikes Again. Welll, I had scheduled an easy 4 miler + weights, but skipped to the weights directly. And got jiggy with it. Did TRX single legs with 60 extra lbs in dumbells, did deadlifts, did kettlebells, and did a new thing where I squat down low and pick up the kettlebell with one hand.

This all amounted to a good effort. I like what's going on wrt weights.

Thursday

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Swimming: ~ 2000 yards
My ass feels like it's been flayed. Those squats just tore me up good. This will end well, provided I keep consistent about it. But I was very happy to be in the pool.

2000 yards swimming
2x200 with 50 breaststroke breaks = 300.
2x400 with 50 breastroke breaks = 900.
5x100 with 50 breastroke breaks = 750
a 150 warmdown.

Starting to like the longer, mellow intervals. But also threw in some 100s at 'pace', whatever that means (I dont check time. That would be depressing. Although...maybe I should check time)

Friday

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riding, 25 miles, with weights.
2 loops MI, with a key difference: I focused on pushing hard for specific durations, and 'chilled' in between. Hard was hard, much more effort than my usual, and faster too. easy was easy, and I kept HR low. Ran into Bill Walker in the last 3 miles, so chilled it and rolled in w/him on his way to work.

Saturday

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swimming, 2000 yds
2x500 w/50 br. between = 1100
5x100 IM w/50 br between = 750
250 warmdown.

First IM intervals in....25 years? Wow. Those hurt. But they're good. I'm going to repeat as my interval set. They keep me fresh, and allow me to push hard.

Sunday

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9 mile run, computer died. Felt hard, I concentrated on cadence/turnover and not much else. Needed the 'run naked' break to just focus on body sensations and not digital feedback. Great day to run, AM was misting rain, but warm.

Monday

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weights. Originally planned a 4 mile easy run, but had insomnia the night before and a meeting early this am.

1x15 single leg squat warmup, no weights
1x20 dumbell squat, 60 lbs
1x10 (5 ea. arm) kettlebell single arm squat, 35lbs
1x10 single leg squat, 30 lbs
1x15 dumbell good morning, 60 lbs
1x10 kettlebell single arm squat
1x30 kettlebell swings
1x20 TRX Atomic Pushups
1x15 TRX V-Up
1x10 TRX side planks with arm switches
1x10 single leg squat, 60 lbs
1x15 pullups
1x10 kettlebell single arm squat
1x30 kettlebell swings
1x12 pullups
1x10 TRX Atomic Pushups
1x15 TRX V-Up

Seafair Olympic Tri 2011

Times:

1600 Meter Swim: 29:15. Since the last one was 32:something, this was a big improvement. And I actually felt much better in the water. Blame it on bilateral breathing or something, but the swim has improved.

20 mile bike: 59:50, or 20.1 mph. Kind of slow, but the course was windy and hilly. Short leg crampage in first 2 miles, but worked through it. Definitely lacking power. Time for intervals? Yesssss.

6.2 mile run: 50:46. Aw, snap. My legs went home before the run. Actually, the 1st half of the run was ok, the second half I faded hard. Had to walk up the steeper than f*ck hill, and limped it on in from there. I'm going to need to work on long+hard intervals.

Summary: too much travelling, not enough training. More work @ lactate thresholds required to go faster in bike and run. Swim is progressing nicely, I think we can go faster, drop it into 27, 26 minute territory and that would be respectable.


Next up: Lake Meridian Oly. Should be fun. Goal is to go much faster on the bike and run, and hold the swim steady. Fingers crossed!

Training Summary 7/18 - 7/23

First Tri on the 24th: Seattle Seafair Oly. Short bike, so I don't have my usual advantage. Plus, I'm feeling fat. Wait, It's more than a feeling. I AM fat. Too many beers, too much travelling. Time to start eating right. Tomorrow, that is. Today was all about beer and sliders.

7/18 Monday

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swam ~ 1500 yards.
3x200 with the gloves on. Man, that's fucking painful. I need to get over the need to be fast and just slow down and enjoy these form intervals.
2x200 with no gloves. Enjoyed the dinner plate effect, also started to feel the roll from side to side, meaning I'm gliding on one side of my body, then rolling and pulling through and rotating to the other side. Swimming: so much to think about! I'm going to be working on stroke for the rest of my life -- always something new to learn!

7/19 Tuesday

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Run 7.99 mi, 8:33 avg pace. Fast!ish.
9:25 mi warmup
8:14 mi pace
7:55 mi more pace
8:25 .79 mi slight uphill
12:18 .16 mile rest
9:06 mi rest of climb
7:33 300 feet not sure why I did this lap
7:51 mi downhill
7:26 .55 mi downhill to home stretch
9:22 .42 mi homestretch uphill.

7/20 Wednesday

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woke up late. Leela had problems sleeping, so she jumped in our bed, I went to her bed, and tried to sleep amidst an overflowing cornucopia of stuffed animals. Grrrr. Too late to swim once I got up, so I did some bodyweight single leg squats, some deadlifts, and some ab work. avoided the kettlebell :)

7/21 Thursday

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Swim: 2x200, 1x300, 1x400,all free, 50 yds breastroke recovery between. Then 5x50 with gloves, then 5x100 free, 50 breast recovery between.

total: 2300 yards

Breakthrough day swimming. I decided to not start with the gloves, and immediately felt good. Swam leisurely aerobic sets, working up to 400 yards straight. Noticed some breathing issues towards the end, my throat was getting phlegmy. But no arm fatigue after warmup. The coolest sensation was the backs of my hands sliding up the water the driving forward as I rolled through.

I'm still slow as mud, but not super concerned. Comfort is key here. One day I (might) actually be able to be comfortable and go fast. There is no deadline with swimming, it's more about the sensations and the process.

7/22 Friday

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4 miles easy running. Original plan was to swim and build on the kinesthetic breakthrough of yesterday, but I slept in. It was good to get out on the run and just roll through some miles. I concentrated on keeping my core 'on', and cadence. These days I have to do _something_ in order to guarantee a good night's sleep, so I mailed it in.

7/23 Saturday

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got into the lake for about 1/2 mile swim. (a) it was fucking cold and (b) it was fucking choppy. tomorrow AM its going to be like glass -- today I was getting lifted and dumped by short, choppy swell . Great to get in and work the kinks out.
Kink #1: pull up legs and arms on wetsuit. I need more movement around the shoulders.
Kink #2: be generous with spit in the goggles. They fogged up bad, and I couldn't see where I was going.
Kink #3: need to re-sight every 10 strokes if I'm not in a sea of bodies.
Kink #4: the wetsuit is so floaty I'm not even using my legs to drive my hips ,which means I'm shoulder swimming a lot more.
Kink #5: I'm going to have to really make an effort to start kicking in the last 200 meters to wake the legs up.

OK, race tomorrow. I'm heavier than I wanted to be, and not quite strong. However, I am what I am, and this is what I've got to do. So it'll be an adventure, hopefully a fun one!

Training Summary 7/11 - 7/17

travel week. Monday-Tuesday in SF, where it rained and generally sucked, weather wise. Conference was good, though. Wed-Thurs in Burbank, where weather was good, but meetings sucked. Cant have it all at once :)

Wed 7/13

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Run 7.84 miles, 2000 feet climbing on this fire path in the hills north of Burbank. Killer trail run. Who knew ?!?. Very steep, grinding, dirt path up through the foothills along the ridge line. Really, really great run. Loved it.

Fri 7/15

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Bike, Mercer Island Loop, 26.6 miles, 18.5 mph. Felt fast, but apparently wasn't that fast: 1:26.

Sat 7/16

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raining. Got in a good swim. Worked mainly on form. Really struggling with swim, having a hard time staying motivated. Working on Form seems the be the way through the doldrums.


Sun 7/17

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Bike 39.39 miles, Hills of Eastside ride. 4249 feet climbing total, 2:31. Felt strong until the last climb, which wasted me. Limped home with my tail between my legs. That ride is an ass kicker.

Training Summary 7/6 - 7/10

Totally doing this from (Garmin) memory.

7/6 Wed

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Run: Track Speedwork, 5.13 mi
1 mi warmup
4x600 6:05, 6:04, 5:58, 6:11 (dying the last one). 600s are my new 400s. Except the track is closed till Aug 15 :(. But I like the longer distance, it hurts.

4x200 5:01,4:45,4:38, 4:45. These also felt not so good. But running fast in training = running fast at race time, no?

7/7 Thurs

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Run 8.54 mi, 8:54/mi pace
first 2 miles @ 9:30, next 2 @ 8:30, next 1 @ 8:00, grinding uphill @ 11:36,then 7:52, 7:43, and avg 8:21 with the steep uphill finish. So not bad for a 2nd hard day in a row.

7/8 Fri

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I'm sure I swam, but I don't remember the mileage. Swimming has been a struggle lately. I'm having a hard time finding my form.

7/9 Sat

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Bike 26.73 mi, avg 18.6 mph, Run 3.31 mi, 8:32, 8:12, 8:39. Avg HR for last 2 miles was 151, 156 bpm. So getting into the range of pain. Good mixup of a brick. I'll bet come race day I will wish I did more of these!

7/10 Sun

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Bike 40.82 miles, May Valley - Issaquah loop. New wheels, felt strong, good 1000 foot climb near the end.

Training Summary 6/27 - 7/5

After the big weekend, I was cooked. I slept in on Monday, Swam on Tuesday, and went to the airport on Wednesday, to fly to Corrales and meet up with Lopa, kids, Mom, Mira, and Zakir for 6 days over the 4th of July.

I didn't bring swim gear, just my running shoes. Running at 5000 feet in 80-90 degrees is a big shift from the usual cool/cloudy sea level runs I've been doing. I always felt dehydrated and sluggish when starting the runs, and only started to feel normal about 2 miles into them.

Ended up focusing less on speed and more on kinesthetics. How are my feet landing? Am I leaning forward? How is my cadence? The kind of stuff that never gets old, because it's so damn hard to get right.

Tuesday

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Swam for a while. Felt kind of blecch, like I was getting sick. A lot of phlegm, and goggles were fogging up. Plus, the pool was overheated. Leading to an overall feeling of claustrophobia.

Thursday

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3 mile shuffle on the ditch path. Avg 10:12 min/mile. This. Really. Felt. Like. Running. In. Syrup. However, its always good to be home, even if I can't run in the Bosque because of the fire danger.

Friday

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4 mi, 9:01/mi. Until Mile 2, I felt like I was 80 years old. Everything hurt. Blame it on the too soft bed and the fact that Lopa doesn't open up the windows to take advantage of the cool desert air because the coyotes freak out the kids. Sheesh.

Saturday

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6 mi 9:46/mi. A slow distance day, with the HR alarm set @ 142, led to a slow ass run. In the heat. On the ditch. I'm just enjoying the movement without worrying about pace right now. Running on the ditch trail is not conducive to hauling ass -- the ground is cratered with horse tracks and car ruts, and the sand is like talcum powder, it flies up in the air and gets sucked down into the lungs. At the very least, going back to pristine Washington State is going to feel much easier.

Sunday

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7 mi, 9:45/mi. Believe it or not, this was a hard day. I ran up to Rio Rancho, then down into Corrales, then back home on the backroads, in the heat. About 780 feet gained in altitude, most of it on the climb out of Corrales on W Meadowlark lane. Then I turned north and ran along the Rio Rancho bike trail, which has some short, vicious hills in it. Then down into an arroyo and down along the bottom, enjoying the talcum powder consistency of the ground. Then along some paved roads leading back into town. By this time, it was heating up and I was thirsty.

Final stretch was all about one foot in front of the other. The heat was up, the breeze was not, and the terrain was 4 inches deep of talcum powder sand. Hard to keep it turning over, but _really_ not a good place to stop. So I chugga-chugged it in. I could tell I was low on salt b/c my pulse was trending up, sharply. I think it's time to look back into salt aupplements.

Monday

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3 mi, 10:02/mi, recovery run. Late night last night, early morning this AM. Just wanted to keep it moving and work out any kinks from yesterday. A great way to wake up.