This week went mostly as planned and I'm trying to stick to this schedule.
Mon Run Short Swim 1 Hour
Tue Run Mid Distance
Wed Run Short Swim 1 Hour
Thu Off
Fri Run Short Swim 1 Hour
Sat Swim with FAST 1 Hour Run Longer
Sun Off
This weeks totals
Swim 13,000 yards in 4:25
Run 33.5 miles in 4:42:49
I've been building up the swim volume and run volume slowly
I'm up to 33 miles of running this week and have been averaging just over 13,000 yards a week. I'd like to be near 38 miles next week and bump up to 15,000 yards for the the next month.
I'm 5 weeks into swimming and running after my layoff and am feeling good. I've swum almost 60,000 yards this month and my shoulders are finally starting to adjust to the increase and feel better than they did a few weeks ago.
My running is getting better with 5 runs per week for the last 3 weeks and I may add a short run tomorrow depending on how I feel. I've got 1 more week of easy running and then I go into my next phase of my run plan which has a short fast day, a longer day and then easy running for the rest of the week. I'm doing the Daniels Marathon A plan. The weather is getting colder but I've still been able to do all of my running outside. If it gets nasty I'll run on the treadmill and track at the Rec Center.
Swimming will continue as it's been. I've been swimming better since I went to the swim clinic and may spend another 3 days out there to work on swimming technique again. There has been a 5 to 7 second improvment from this time last year. I'm able to regulary come in under 1:20 for 100 if I have enough rest now. 100's on 1:35 is very doable now, last year I struggled with 1:40's.
Biking is still on hold until December when I'll slide 2 sessions in on thursday and sunday.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Plans for the Off Season
Looking at my strengths and weaknesses I’ve decided to go back to work on my run and swimming again during this off-season. I need to run faster and lose some weight this winter :(
At Racine I rode a comfortable 2:25 and had a good run afterwards. The fastest bike split in my AG was a 2:19 so realistically I will probably only be able to pick up a few minutes on my bike for a HIM. As long as I can repeat that for next year I feel I will be in good shape.
My swims have been in the top 15% for most of my races but that is comparing myself to triathletes and not real swimmers. I would like to drop down below 22 minutes in my 1650 in the pool. That would be a little more than a minute improvement than I did last spring. I went to a clinic about 4 weeks ago and worked with a few coaches. They gave me a lot of little things to work on and I’ve seen improvements already. I’m able to swim long sets under a 1:25 pace where last year I was swimming near 1:30 for longer sets in training. My thoughts about my stroke are a little different now and it seems better. There are still things I need to work on to get me down to 1:20 per hundred for longer distances.
I’ve kept my swim volume at a medium level for right now to keep myself from getting shoulder problems. I’m trying to stay around 13,000 yards a week for another month before I pick it up again.
Running is where I’m going to focus my time this year. At Racine I was 20 minutes slower than the fastest run split of my AG. I ran a 1:44 and the fastest guy ran a 1:25. I figure that I could realistically take 5 minutes off my run time, which is about 23 seconds per mile. That may be a stretch but I feel it’s realistic.
I’m not 100% sure as to how I’m going to go about increasing my run speed. I’ve played around with the idea of going through Daniels Marathon A plan again which I think is a good mix of intensities for me. I’ve completed 4 weeks of building my run volume back up and have 2 more weeks before I would go into any sort of structured plan. Right now I feel a need to bring my threshold pace up and I think that the other paces will follow. That kind of training would include 3 to 8 minute intervals but I don’t know how to mix them yet. I need to ask questions.
Anywho, races and goals for next year are to match my best Triple T performance in the first 3 races and then drop 10 to 12 minutes in the Half. That would be dropping 5 to 7 minutes on the bike and about 5 minutes on the run. I still need to find a second “A” race for next year and possibly qualify for Long Course Nationals. Possible races include Spirit of Racine and Steelhead but I would really like to do something else.
I’m going to stay local for my smaller races instead of doing the HFP series again. That was a lot of traveling and despite the fun I had at those races I don’t really like all of that driving.
Lastly, I’m going to be taking a day off per week from triathlon training this winter. Not to rest but to go snowboarding and have fun. Expect to see some snowboarding pictures in the near future.
At Racine I rode a comfortable 2:25 and had a good run afterwards. The fastest bike split in my AG was a 2:19 so realistically I will probably only be able to pick up a few minutes on my bike for a HIM. As long as I can repeat that for next year I feel I will be in good shape.
My swims have been in the top 15% for most of my races but that is comparing myself to triathletes and not real swimmers. I would like to drop down below 22 minutes in my 1650 in the pool. That would be a little more than a minute improvement than I did last spring. I went to a clinic about 4 weeks ago and worked with a few coaches. They gave me a lot of little things to work on and I’ve seen improvements already. I’m able to swim long sets under a 1:25 pace where last year I was swimming near 1:30 for longer sets in training. My thoughts about my stroke are a little different now and it seems better. There are still things I need to work on to get me down to 1:20 per hundred for longer distances.
I’ve kept my swim volume at a medium level for right now to keep myself from getting shoulder problems. I’m trying to stay around 13,000 yards a week for another month before I pick it up again.
Running is where I’m going to focus my time this year. At Racine I was 20 minutes slower than the fastest run split of my AG. I ran a 1:44 and the fastest guy ran a 1:25. I figure that I could realistically take 5 minutes off my run time, which is about 23 seconds per mile. That may be a stretch but I feel it’s realistic.
I’m not 100% sure as to how I’m going to go about increasing my run speed. I’ve played around with the idea of going through Daniels Marathon A plan again which I think is a good mix of intensities for me. I’ve completed 4 weeks of building my run volume back up and have 2 more weeks before I would go into any sort of structured plan. Right now I feel a need to bring my threshold pace up and I think that the other paces will follow. That kind of training would include 3 to 8 minute intervals but I don’t know how to mix them yet. I need to ask questions.
Anywho, races and goals for next year are to match my best Triple T performance in the first 3 races and then drop 10 to 12 minutes in the Half. That would be dropping 5 to 7 minutes on the bike and about 5 minutes on the run. I still need to find a second “A” race for next year and possibly qualify for Long Course Nationals. Possible races include Spirit of Racine and Steelhead but I would really like to do something else.
I’m going to stay local for my smaller races instead of doing the HFP series again. That was a lot of traveling and despite the fun I had at those races I don’t really like all of that driving.
Lastly, I’m going to be taking a day off per week from triathlon training this winter. Not to rest but to go snowboarding and have fun. Expect to see some snowboarding pictures in the near future.
The rest of the summer races
I’ve been back at it for about 4 weeks now but here is a recap of what I’ve done after the race in Racine.
East Fork Triathlon, Olympic Distance near Cincinnati Ohio
Part of the HFP race series all the way down near Cincinnati Ohio. I was a bit hillier that I had expected but I was just trying to get series points. The resevoir had flooded a little bit and they had to change the run course. I was tired and didn’t post a good run time. Still 6th place at 2:28:33 was not too bad while training through the race.
The bike and run were much harder than I had expected. This is not a race to train through and I was not well prepared for it.
Vermilion Triathlon, Olympic Distance in Vermilion Ohio
It was a very nice little town that I visited many years ago when I was a kid racing sailboats. A lot of landmarks were still there. Karen and I both did the race prepping for the Breakwater Triathlon. She did the sprint and I did the Olympic (for points). The drive there was nice as it went down Highway 2, a route that Karen had never taken before and we got to see a little bit of Ohio that wasn’t from the highway.
The Olympic distance race got very hilly after 7 or 8 miles out, to the point that at the top of one hill, painted on the road was “Steep downhill…No Joke” and it was no joke. Still I liked the course and had a good time. The run was fairly flat but hot, I did OK for me while training through the race. 2:27:15 got me 3rd place on a hot day.
Afterwards Karen and I walked through town a little bit, had lunch then drove home. I would recommend this race to anyone.
Breakwater Triathlon HIM in Petoskey MI
I couldn’t really call this an “A” race since it was so close to Racine but I trained as if it was one and did a full taper despite it being 6 weeks after the previous HIM. I ranked it as a “BB” and wanted to do the best that I could with what I had left. This was Karen’s first HIM and she executed her plan perfectly and came in right on schedule.
It had been raining for the days leading up to this race and we were pleasantly surprised that it stopped for the race. The weather was still chilly on race morning and presented a unique challenge. The water was rough so they moved the swim course completely into the harbor. That wasn’t bad but I had hoped to swim in the waves outside the break wall and get a better lead on the poor swimmers L
The swim was uneventful and over very quickly, water temp was in the low 60’s so I wore my full Aquaman suit to stay warm.
Karen and I had ridden the bike course beforehand so I knew what was coming and had a plan for it. The course had a lot of rolling hills that came one after another with a lot of false flats too. 220 to 230 watts uphill and 170 to 180 watts on the flats was the plan and it worked quite well. I would ride restrained until mile 45 where I reassessed my abilities and decide what to do from there. At that point I felt very strong and rode by feel afterwards. I caught some people that had passed me earlier, even the girl that had drafted a friend of mine for the previous 30 miles. The only issue I had was that it took me about 10 minutes longer than I had expected but finished very strong.
The run was and out and back heading south on the path along Lake Michigan, it was very flat and easy to run. Since I was near the front of the race I didn’t see many people on the way out. I had figured that I was between 17th and 20th overall. On the way out I got passed by one person very early and passed 2 or 3 people on the first half, one of them passed me back, some young kid that was very nice. I went out a little harder than I did at Racine since I felt good but kept it under control and kept putting down the gels so I wouldn’t bonk. In the last 3 miles I didn’t have enough energy to pick it up and wound up keeping the same pace until the finish. A 1:46 run for me was the second best I had done in a HIM backing up the 1:44 I did at Racine and confirming that the run at Racine was not a fluke. I was very happy with the run since it had come after a very challenging bike ride that took me 31 minutes longer than the bike ride at Racine.
Portage Lake Triathlon Olympic Distance in Akron Ohio
This was the Championship race for the HFP series and I thought I was well prepared for it but still had a disappointing run L
The swim was the regular HFP rectangle and I went out hard cuz I was trying to get as much of a lead as I could on my buddy that was in first place in the point series. I had a good swim and came out of the water in second place J. After a 50 sec transition I was off on the bike, little did I know that I was in first place at that time.
I went as hard as I thought was realistic for me on the bike. The course had some long rollers but nothing too difficult. Karen and I had driven the course the day before so I knew what was coming. When I got back to the transition area the bike racks were empty (a good sign), got my shoes on and was off on the run. Still I had no idea I was in first place.
Well I had cooked off a hard bike ride and didn’t run too well. As it turned out my buddy had a good swim and bike ride too as was only about 30 or 40 seconds behind me coming out of T2. He passed me about 1 mile into the run and I just settled into a “do the best I could run.” There was one section that was kind of uphill and I felt really slow there, on the way back I was quicker. The second lap was about the same as the first but I came back a little harder on the downhill section. I got passed again about 1 mile from the finish, it turned out that it was the second place finisher and I was then in third place. I really figured that I was in 5th or 6th place by then but still finished as strong as I could.
2:15:05 is good for me in an Olympic distance race so I was happy with it despite a slow run. I was much happier when I found out I got third place. I found my buddy and congratulated him on a well-run series, he outran me in every race.
East Fork Triathlon, Olympic Distance near Cincinnati Ohio
Part of the HFP race series all the way down near Cincinnati Ohio. I was a bit hillier that I had expected but I was just trying to get series points. The resevoir had flooded a little bit and they had to change the run course. I was tired and didn’t post a good run time. Still 6th place at 2:28:33 was not too bad while training through the race.
The bike and run were much harder than I had expected. This is not a race to train through and I was not well prepared for it.
Vermilion Triathlon, Olympic Distance in Vermilion Ohio
It was a very nice little town that I visited many years ago when I was a kid racing sailboats. A lot of landmarks were still there. Karen and I both did the race prepping for the Breakwater Triathlon. She did the sprint and I did the Olympic (for points). The drive there was nice as it went down Highway 2, a route that Karen had never taken before and we got to see a little bit of Ohio that wasn’t from the highway.
The Olympic distance race got very hilly after 7 or 8 miles out, to the point that at the top of one hill, painted on the road was “Steep downhill…No Joke” and it was no joke. Still I liked the course and had a good time. The run was fairly flat but hot, I did OK for me while training through the race. 2:27:15 got me 3rd place on a hot day.
Afterwards Karen and I walked through town a little bit, had lunch then drove home. I would recommend this race to anyone.
Breakwater Triathlon HIM in Petoskey MI
I couldn’t really call this an “A” race since it was so close to Racine but I trained as if it was one and did a full taper despite it being 6 weeks after the previous HIM. I ranked it as a “BB” and wanted to do the best that I could with what I had left. This was Karen’s first HIM and she executed her plan perfectly and came in right on schedule.
It had been raining for the days leading up to this race and we were pleasantly surprised that it stopped for the race. The weather was still chilly on race morning and presented a unique challenge. The water was rough so they moved the swim course completely into the harbor. That wasn’t bad but I had hoped to swim in the waves outside the break wall and get a better lead on the poor swimmers L
The swim was uneventful and over very quickly, water temp was in the low 60’s so I wore my full Aquaman suit to stay warm.
Karen and I had ridden the bike course beforehand so I knew what was coming and had a plan for it. The course had a lot of rolling hills that came one after another with a lot of false flats too. 220 to 230 watts uphill and 170 to 180 watts on the flats was the plan and it worked quite well. I would ride restrained until mile 45 where I reassessed my abilities and decide what to do from there. At that point I felt very strong and rode by feel afterwards. I caught some people that had passed me earlier, even the girl that had drafted a friend of mine for the previous 30 miles. The only issue I had was that it took me about 10 minutes longer than I had expected but finished very strong.
The run was and out and back heading south on the path along Lake Michigan, it was very flat and easy to run. Since I was near the front of the race I didn’t see many people on the way out. I had figured that I was between 17th and 20th overall. On the way out I got passed by one person very early and passed 2 or 3 people on the first half, one of them passed me back, some young kid that was very nice. I went out a little harder than I did at Racine since I felt good but kept it under control and kept putting down the gels so I wouldn’t bonk. In the last 3 miles I didn’t have enough energy to pick it up and wound up keeping the same pace until the finish. A 1:46 run for me was the second best I had done in a HIM backing up the 1:44 I did at Racine and confirming that the run at Racine was not a fluke. I was very happy with the run since it had come after a very challenging bike ride that took me 31 minutes longer than the bike ride at Racine.
Portage Lake Triathlon Olympic Distance in Akron Ohio
This was the Championship race for the HFP series and I thought I was well prepared for it but still had a disappointing run L
The swim was the regular HFP rectangle and I went out hard cuz I was trying to get as much of a lead as I could on my buddy that was in first place in the point series. I had a good swim and came out of the water in second place J. After a 50 sec transition I was off on the bike, little did I know that I was in first place at that time.
I went as hard as I thought was realistic for me on the bike. The course had some long rollers but nothing too difficult. Karen and I had driven the course the day before so I knew what was coming. When I got back to the transition area the bike racks were empty (a good sign), got my shoes on and was off on the run. Still I had no idea I was in first place.
Well I had cooked off a hard bike ride and didn’t run too well. As it turned out my buddy had a good swim and bike ride too as was only about 30 or 40 seconds behind me coming out of T2. He passed me about 1 mile into the run and I just settled into a “do the best I could run.” There was one section that was kind of uphill and I felt really slow there, on the way back I was quicker. The second lap was about the same as the first but I came back a little harder on the downhill section. I got passed again about 1 mile from the finish, it turned out that it was the second place finisher and I was then in third place. I really figured that I was in 5th or 6th place by then but still finished as strong as I could.
2:15:05 is good for me in an Olympic distance race so I was happy with it despite a slow run. I was much happier when I found out I got third place. I found my buddy and congratulated him on a well-run series, he outran me in every race.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Now what do I do?
I've been chasing the HIM distance for quite a while now and have been so focused on particular splits that I haven't thought about what to do when I got there.
As early as 2006 I've wanted to have a good swim, bike near 2:30 and run under 1:50, I have allways fell short. At Steelhead in 2006 I was on my way but blew it on the bike while racing my buddie Bernie. In 2007 I went back to IM and didn't work on HIM at all. In 2008 Steelhead was changed to a duathlon, It went well but I really didn't care about the run since the race really didn't count as a HIM to me.
So there I was, half way through the season that has had mixed results and doubting my planning when I had the race of my life in Racine just shattering my previous best effort. Here is what I did different and why I think it worked this time.
Last fall I decided to go a different route for this year and joined Endurance Nation to work with their plans. I focused mainly on the bike for the whole winter and went light on swimming and running. The plan was 3 to 4 hours of hard bike intervals 3 to 4 times a week while running 20 to 25 miles per week of mixed intensities. It didn't have any swimming in it but I still swam 4 times a week for my swim club. I was swimming about 11K a week instead of 15 to 18K that I had done in the past. All of this was taking me about 10 to 12 hours per week, a few hours less than I had done in the past but with more intensity.
At swim meets I was slower in my long events while near the same speed in my shorter ones. At state meet I had mixed results but was very close to what I did the previous year. I was used to large improvements and they didn't come this year.
As early as 2006 I've wanted to have a good swim, bike near 2:30 and run under 1:50, I have allways fell short. At Steelhead in 2006 I was on my way but blew it on the bike while racing my buddie Bernie. In 2007 I went back to IM and didn't work on HIM at all. In 2008 Steelhead was changed to a duathlon, It went well but I really didn't care about the run since the race really didn't count as a HIM to me.
So there I was, half way through the season that has had mixed results and doubting my planning when I had the race of my life in Racine just shattering my previous best effort. Here is what I did different and why I think it worked this time.
Last fall I decided to go a different route for this year and joined Endurance Nation to work with their plans. I focused mainly on the bike for the whole winter and went light on swimming and running. The plan was 3 to 4 hours of hard bike intervals 3 to 4 times a week while running 20 to 25 miles per week of mixed intensities. It didn't have any swimming in it but I still swam 4 times a week for my swim club. I was swimming about 11K a week instead of 15 to 18K that I had done in the past. All of this was taking me about 10 to 12 hours per week, a few hours less than I had done in the past but with more intensity.
At swim meets I was slower in my long events while near the same speed in my shorter ones. At state meet I had mixed results but was very close to what I did the previous year. I was used to large improvements and they didn't come this year.
The run volume was lower than what I have done in the past but had more tempo paced runs in it. The longer runs were a mix of easy running and 15 to 20 min efforts at HIM run pace. I added some volume in the spring cuz I felt the plan didn't have enough in it to prepare me for Triple T. I still feel that was the right thing to do. My average weekly run volume was 35 to 45 miles per week.
My bike training had a lot of harder paced efforts. The long ride had several hard 20 minute efforts as well as some longer race paced ones. On tuesday the brick became a hammer-fest with 3 to 4 of us exchanging leads. It was a lot of 3 to 4 minutes as hard as I could go then 5 to 6 minutes of hanging on in the draft. I got comfortable riding around 250 to 260 watts during that time which is about 25 to 27 mph for me. My average weekly volume on the bike was about 150 to 170 miles or 7 to 9 hours.
Swimming took a back seat this year and I only averaged about 8,000 meters a week. Some weeks where higher and some where lower. I was swimming in a 50 meter pool which really helped get my breathing patterns ready for open water.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Spirit of Racine Race Report
I was a little concerned the sunday before the race about being overcooked from training and reluctantly followed the plan through the final week before the race. I have been watching my training stress balance on WKO+ to make sure I had at least 7 days in the positive. I went into the positive on 7/10/09 and got as high as +30 for a few days before the race. Sticking to the plan turned out to be the right decision.
Karen and I traveled to the race on Friday evening and got to sleep late. We woke up fairly early and had all day to prep for the race on the next day. No pressure, get stuff packed, go for a swim then turn the bike in. I wanted to get a 30 min bike ride in but things just didn't work out and I wound up taking a 10 min spin to make sure everything on the bike was working. We swam for about 20 min in the cold water (about 60 deg F) before I rode to get used to the water. It was a good thing cuz it was cold and I needed to know how cold.
Race Day
We got to the race in plenty of time and got set up. I forgot my helmet in the car so Karen went back to get it for me while getting ready. I kept feeling that I was forgetting something cuz I barely had anything on my towel next to my bike. All that was there was my running shoes, glasses and nutrition for the run, everything else was on my bike or on me for the swim.
The Swim
My goal was to not swallow any air that would cause me any distress later in the race so I wanted to stay away from people and wound up going a little too wide. That probably cost me about a minute but I really didn't care. The swim was short and I was into transition in about 27 minutes, 4 to 5 minutes quicker than expected but a slower than I could have gone.
The Bike
My goal on the bike was to ride between 175 and 180 watts on the flats and no more than 220 watts on any climbs, I pretty much stayed with that plan. I figured that it would take somewhere between 2:28 and 2:32 to complete the course so when I came in at 2:25 I was a little surprised.
While riding I caught a draft group in the first 10 miles and rode through them. They decided to latch onto me and passed back, after they passed they slowed down and I ran into them again so I passed through them again, this happened about 4 times until I got pissed off and decided to stay off the back. While getting passed the last time a marshal rode by and seemed to be taking numbers, I thought for sure I was going to get popped for a penalty and was kind of upset since I was just trying to get away. When I dropped to the back the group stayed together and rode away from me. I watched them for the next 5 or so miles staying together, oh well.
When I got to 28 miles I checked my average power, I was at 185 watts and was 1:12:30 into the ride. That was a little ahead of my goal on power and time but nothing to be worried about. The course was pretty flat and it was easy to sit on 180 watts for the rest of the ride.
I was having a pretty good time, holding back and eating as scheduled when around 45 miles another draft pack came by me. Again they pulled in front of me, slowed down and I passed up the to front. After one time though that I was pissed and let them go. There were a few people on the back that were riding legal and I stuck with them, They appeared to be as upset as I was. One of the guys was riding my speed so I stayed about 10 meters behind him for the rest of the race. According to the results I came in just under 2:25 so I was happy with that time and how strong I felt.
Here is the PT summary:
Duration: 2:25:28 (2:25:44)
Work: 1500 kJ
TSS: 174.2 (intensity factor 0.86)
Norm Power: 187
VI: 1.06
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 55.678 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 537 177 watts
Cadence: 48 215 90 rpm
Speed: 0 35.5 23.0 mph
Pace 1:41 0:00 2:40 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 259 49 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 709 169 lb-in
The Run
Always my worst event but I did my best to set myself up for a good run. I've had a goal of running 1:50 in a HIM for quite some time since my best ever runs in training at this distance have been a 1:43:xx in 2006 and a 1:45:xx this year. I started off easy to get a feel of what I had to work with and I felt good. I kept trying to keep myself in the 8:20's but the speed kept going up so I went with it but being cautious. The first lap time was 52:22...about 3 minutes ahead of schedule and I felt great.
The second lap I went a little quicker. At the turn around I had kept my nutrition exactly as planned (1 gel every 2 miles...probably more than I needed but I didn't want to bonk) and decided to give it all I thought was possible. I ran a 7:40 pace for the final 3.3 miles, much quicker than I've ever ran at that distance before. The second lap time was 51:48, a neg split by about 30 seconds for a total time of 1:44:10 and the second fastest half marathon I've ever ran.
Overall it was the very best race I've ever had. Everything went my way, 4:39:06 is 26 minutes quicker than my previous best HIM. I was 13th of 149 in my Age group and 144th of 1207 overall. The planning/training went well and execution went just about perfect. Even though the swim was a little short I'm still happy with the race and would do it again if it fits in the schedule.
Karen and I traveled to the race on Friday evening and got to sleep late. We woke up fairly early and had all day to prep for the race on the next day. No pressure, get stuff packed, go for a swim then turn the bike in. I wanted to get a 30 min bike ride in but things just didn't work out and I wound up taking a 10 min spin to make sure everything on the bike was working. We swam for about 20 min in the cold water (about 60 deg F) before I rode to get used to the water. It was a good thing cuz it was cold and I needed to know how cold.
Race Day
We got to the race in plenty of time and got set up. I forgot my helmet in the car so Karen went back to get it for me while getting ready. I kept feeling that I was forgetting something cuz I barely had anything on my towel next to my bike. All that was there was my running shoes, glasses and nutrition for the run, everything else was on my bike or on me for the swim.
The Swim
My goal was to not swallow any air that would cause me any distress later in the race so I wanted to stay away from people and wound up going a little too wide. That probably cost me about a minute but I really didn't care. The swim was short and I was into transition in about 27 minutes, 4 to 5 minutes quicker than expected but a slower than I could have gone.
The Bike
My goal on the bike was to ride between 175 and 180 watts on the flats and no more than 220 watts on any climbs, I pretty much stayed with that plan. I figured that it would take somewhere between 2:28 and 2:32 to complete the course so when I came in at 2:25 I was a little surprised.
While riding I caught a draft group in the first 10 miles and rode through them. They decided to latch onto me and passed back, after they passed they slowed down and I ran into them again so I passed through them again, this happened about 4 times until I got pissed off and decided to stay off the back. While getting passed the last time a marshal rode by and seemed to be taking numbers, I thought for sure I was going to get popped for a penalty and was kind of upset since I was just trying to get away. When I dropped to the back the group stayed together and rode away from me. I watched them for the next 5 or so miles staying together, oh well.
When I got to 28 miles I checked my average power, I was at 185 watts and was 1:12:30 into the ride. That was a little ahead of my goal on power and time but nothing to be worried about. The course was pretty flat and it was easy to sit on 180 watts for the rest of the ride.
I was having a pretty good time, holding back and eating as scheduled when around 45 miles another draft pack came by me. Again they pulled in front of me, slowed down and I passed up the to front. After one time though that I was pissed and let them go. There were a few people on the back that were riding legal and I stuck with them, They appeared to be as upset as I was. One of the guys was riding my speed so I stayed about 10 meters behind him for the rest of the race. According to the results I came in just under 2:25 so I was happy with that time and how strong I felt.
Here is the PT summary:
Duration: 2:25:28 (2:25:44)
Work: 1500 kJ
TSS: 174.2 (intensity factor 0.86)
Norm Power: 187
VI: 1.06
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 55.678 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 537 177 watts
Cadence: 48 215 90 rpm
Speed: 0 35.5 23.0 mph
Pace 1:41 0:00 2:40 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 259 49 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 709 169 lb-in
The Run
Always my worst event but I did my best to set myself up for a good run. I've had a goal of running 1:50 in a HIM for quite some time since my best ever runs in training at this distance have been a 1:43:xx in 2006 and a 1:45:xx this year. I started off easy to get a feel of what I had to work with and I felt good. I kept trying to keep myself in the 8:20's but the speed kept going up so I went with it but being cautious. The first lap time was 52:22...about 3 minutes ahead of schedule and I felt great.
The second lap I went a little quicker. At the turn around I had kept my nutrition exactly as planned (1 gel every 2 miles...probably more than I needed but I didn't want to bonk) and decided to give it all I thought was possible. I ran a 7:40 pace for the final 3.3 miles, much quicker than I've ever ran at that distance before. The second lap time was 51:48, a neg split by about 30 seconds for a total time of 1:44:10 and the second fastest half marathon I've ever ran.
Overall it was the very best race I've ever had. Everything went my way, 4:39:06 is 26 minutes quicker than my previous best HIM. I was 13th of 149 in my Age group and 144th of 1207 overall. The planning/training went well and execution went just about perfect. Even though the swim was a little short I'm still happy with the race and would do it again if it fits in the schedule.
Getting back to blogging
It's been a while since I've written anything of any worth. I have raced 2 oly distance races since then...Maumee Bay and Ceasar Creek. Both races I trained through and did nothing more than take it easy the day before so doing the best with the state I was in was my goal. I was happy with both races and had started a race report for Maumee Bay but I've been so busy at work with our move and have been spending my lunch time working instead of writing in my blog. I'll do my best to get them up soon.
I've also had some very big weeks getting ready for Spirit of Racine and had put down two 18 hour and one 17 hour weeks before backing off. My taper went well and followed my Endurance Nation plan exactly as written for the last 2 weeks instead of adding a lot of biking and running like the previous weeks.
I've also had some very big weeks getting ready for Spirit of Racine and had put down two 18 hour and one 17 hour weeks before backing off. My taper went well and followed my Endurance Nation plan exactly as written for the last 2 weeks instead of adding a lot of biking and running like the previous weeks.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thursday long workout
Bike 3 hours 61.5 miles
Good solid ride up and down Hines drive. Nice and sunny with moderate temps and practically no wind.
Run just over 8 miles in 1:06:xx, out to Newburgh Rd and back. Moderate pace just try to put in miles.
Good solid ride up and down Hines drive. Nice and sunny with moderate temps and practically no wind.
Run just over 8 miles in 1:06:xx, out to Newburgh Rd and back. Moderate pace just try to put in miles.
Wednesday
Swim at LRC 2000 yards as 20X100
I had to teach a tri clinic at REI afterwards so I didn't have time to run
I had to teach a tri clinic at REI afterwards so I didn't have time to run
Tuesday
Another good brick workout on Hines.
21.8 miles ~ 23.9mph 218 watts
6.2 mile run in about 49 min
Hard ride, just about no wind and 3 of us taking leads
Run moderate to start then picked it for the second loop
21.8 miles ~ 23.9mph 218 watts
6.2 mile run in about 49 min
Hard ride, just about no wind and 3 of us taking leads
Run moderate to start then picked it for the second loop
Monday, June 15, 2009
Monday Swim LCM
I started swimming in a different pool today, one that I've been waiting to open for a while now. It's a 50 meter pool at Clements Circle in Livonia. I've only swam LCM a few times so to get used to it I just swam a bunch of 200's. It sure is a long way to the other side :]
The pool is OK, water temp was good, it was a little cloudy but hey, it's long course and it's outside so that counts for a lot :) I'm hoping to swim there 3 days a week.
Anywho, 3000 meters as:
15X200 on 4:00. Came in anywhere from 3:30 to 3:45. First one and last one's were warm up and cool down.
I used a pull bouy and paddles on 2 of the 200's just to see how the timing was. I had a good time and the lifeguards were very nice about pulling in a lane line for me and keeping the kids out of the lap lane.
The pool is OK, water temp was good, it was a little cloudy but hey, it's long course and it's outside so that counts for a lot :) I'm hoping to swim there 3 days a week.
Anywho, 3000 meters as:
15X200 on 4:00. Came in anywhere from 3:30 to 3:45. First one and last one's were warm up and cool down.
I used a pull bouy and paddles on 2 of the 200's just to see how the timing was. I had a good time and the lifeguards were very nice about pulling in a lane line for me and keeping the kids out of the lap lane.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Fri Sat Sun
Since I couldn't run on Thursday I decided to double on Friday.
Friday
Run 10 miles in the morning in 1:23:08 on Hines drive. Comfortable run, a little chilly and I dressed accordingly.
Swim 2000 yards at LRC
10X100 on 1:45
10X100 on 1:40
Run 10.3 miles in the afternoon after swimming. Around Newburgh lake 3 times running the trails off of the dirt road. I was tired after that :)
Saturday
I had a party to go to at Stoney Creek so I decided to bike and run out there.
Bike 35 miles in 1:46. Just steady riding, I hooked up with Gavin who was there for the same reason I was.
Run 6.5 miles in about 53 minutes. Easy run around Stoney Creek in the evening with Dave D.
Sunday
Bike 77.7 miles in 3:54. Up and down Hines drive 2 times plus a little more. Very nice day and I rode well :)
Run 1 mile to Hines. I was tired and got a ride home from Karen who was just finishing her workouts. This was a big 3 days for me and I just didn't have enough to do more.
Friday
Run 10 miles in the morning in 1:23:08 on Hines drive. Comfortable run, a little chilly and I dressed accordingly.
Swim 2000 yards at LRC
10X100 on 1:45
10X100 on 1:40
Run 10.3 miles in the afternoon after swimming. Around Newburgh lake 3 times running the trails off of the dirt road. I was tired after that :)
Saturday
I had a party to go to at Stoney Creek so I decided to bike and run out there.
Bike 35 miles in 1:46. Just steady riding, I hooked up with Gavin who was there for the same reason I was.
Run 6.5 miles in about 53 minutes. Easy run around Stoney Creek in the evening with Dave D.
Sunday
Bike 77.7 miles in 3:54. Up and down Hines drive 2 times plus a little more. Very nice day and I rode well :)
Run 1 mile to Hines. I was tired and got a ride home from Karen who was just finishing her workouts. This was a big 3 days for me and I just didn't have enough to do more.
Friday, June 12, 2009
This week so far
This week so far
Monday
Swim 3000 yards at LRC
1100 warm up
5X200 on 3:30 coming in ~2:55 to 3:00
5X100 on 1:45
400 cool down
Tuesday
Run 3.1 miles in ~26 min
21.8 miles in 54 minutes
6.2 miles in 48:30
Run 1 was easy to get legs moving
Bike was hard, I was a little frustrated with how the pacing was going and how some people were sitting and not taking a lead when it was obvious that the leader was tired. That left the people that wanted to push the pace out of the rotation. Dan and I jumped up in front a few times to push the pace but when we rotated back the same things happened again. Near Newburg road I went up the hill hard and put a small gap on the next rider. I by chance made the light while everyone else got caught, instead of waiting for them I decided to go on by myself and try to hold them off. I got caught by some lights and made others but I did manage to stay in front by a little bit.
Run 2 I planned to do some intervals since I need to work on run speed a bit. 1 mile moderate then 5X.5 miles hard with .5 mile moderate recovery was the plan while holding the hard ones just under 7 min/mile. It worked out well and Dan and I completed them as planned. We got a .7 mile cool down which was perfect.
Wednesday
Swim 3100 at LCR
Thursday
Off…I planned on running long but it rained all day and I was unable to get it done. I decided to rest and go to Karen’s house J
Monday
Swim 3000 yards at LRC
1100 warm up
5X200 on 3:30 coming in ~2:55 to 3:00
5X100 on 1:45
400 cool down
Tuesday
Run 3.1 miles in ~26 min
21.8 miles in 54 minutes
6.2 miles in 48:30
Run 1 was easy to get legs moving
Bike was hard, I was a little frustrated with how the pacing was going and how some people were sitting and not taking a lead when it was obvious that the leader was tired. That left the people that wanted to push the pace out of the rotation. Dan and I jumped up in front a few times to push the pace but when we rotated back the same things happened again. Near Newburg road I went up the hill hard and put a small gap on the next rider. I by chance made the light while everyone else got caught, instead of waiting for them I decided to go on by myself and try to hold them off. I got caught by some lights and made others but I did manage to stay in front by a little bit.
Run 2 I planned to do some intervals since I need to work on run speed a bit. 1 mile moderate then 5X.5 miles hard with .5 mile moderate recovery was the plan while holding the hard ones just under 7 min/mile. It worked out well and Dan and I completed them as planned. We got a .7 mile cool down which was perfect.
Wednesday
Swim 3100 at LCR
Thursday
Off…I planned on running long but it rained all day and I was unable to get it done. I decided to rest and go to Karen’s house J
Fri Sat Sun
Friday
Swim 2500 yards at Livonia Rec center
Run 5.1 miles on Hines Drive. Just out and back on normal loop.
Sat
Swim 1500 meters open water in about 30 min at Island Lake Rec area.
Bike 13.7 miles in ~45 min. Easy around the park to get legs spinning and rest up for the race on Sunday
Club party afterwards
Sun
Ann Arbor Triathlon
Swim 800 meters 14:30
Bike 14.3 in about 38 min
Run 5.2 miles in 39:20
Swim went good, I started on the inside and had clear water to swim in. I stayed out of trouble, swam brisk for the first few hundred meters then settled into a comfortable pace. I went around both turns on the inside with no incident and then picked up the pace on the way back. I felt strong and swam 50 strokes hard/30 strokes moderate. I probably passed 3 or 4 people on the way back.
Came out of the water comfortable but the run up to transition had me a little winded. T1 was quicker than I expected at 2:00.
The bike went well too. I was cold to start but then warmed up nicely. Started smooth then picked it up to a comfortable fast pace. By the time I got to Doyle Rd I was riding pretty strong and had to pick my way through many people and even had to pass a van on the road cuz he was blocking me. I probably lost 20 or 30 seconds because of that incident. I came off the bike into a large crowd of people and had to maneuver between them. It slowed me down a little but I was fine with it.
T2 went pretty good, I had a little issue getting the twigs off of my feet but I got my socks and shoes on in a hurry and ran hard out of transition.
I planned on running hard in the beginning instead of pacing myself out from start to finish. I don’t have the run speed others have so I decided to take every bit of speed I had from the beginning and hold on the best I could. Crooked Hill was tough, I wish I could have gone quicker up it but that was all I had. I wore my foot pod for my RS400 so I knew how fast I was going all of the time. I was surprised to see that on much of the course I was running in the high 6’s and low 7’s. The real steep hills had me in the 10’s. On the little dirt road section I felt good and went with the speed, settled down on the hills but still was going as hard as I could. By the time I got to Hankard Rd I still felt good. Going up that hill was a little tough and slowed me down to 8:30’s for a min or so. At the top I got back down into the low 7’s high 6’s all the way to the finish. 39:20 is over a minute faster than last year while overall I was about 2 min faster than last year.
I felt pretty good about my effort and managed 6th place out of 50 in my Age Group. The top 5 guys ran over a min/mile faster than I did so I’ve still got some work to do with run speed. It was a good race and once again pointed out where my weaknesses are.
Swim 2500 yards at Livonia Rec center
Run 5.1 miles on Hines Drive. Just out and back on normal loop.
Sat
Swim 1500 meters open water in about 30 min at Island Lake Rec area.
Bike 13.7 miles in ~45 min. Easy around the park to get legs spinning and rest up for the race on Sunday
Club party afterwards
Sun
Ann Arbor Triathlon
Swim 800 meters 14:30
Bike 14.3 in about 38 min
Run 5.2 miles in 39:20
Swim went good, I started on the inside and had clear water to swim in. I stayed out of trouble, swam brisk for the first few hundred meters then settled into a comfortable pace. I went around both turns on the inside with no incident and then picked up the pace on the way back. I felt strong and swam 50 strokes hard/30 strokes moderate. I probably passed 3 or 4 people on the way back.
Came out of the water comfortable but the run up to transition had me a little winded. T1 was quicker than I expected at 2:00.
The bike went well too. I was cold to start but then warmed up nicely. Started smooth then picked it up to a comfortable fast pace. By the time I got to Doyle Rd I was riding pretty strong and had to pick my way through many people and even had to pass a van on the road cuz he was blocking me. I probably lost 20 or 30 seconds because of that incident. I came off the bike into a large crowd of people and had to maneuver between them. It slowed me down a little but I was fine with it.
T2 went pretty good, I had a little issue getting the twigs off of my feet but I got my socks and shoes on in a hurry and ran hard out of transition.
I planned on running hard in the beginning instead of pacing myself out from start to finish. I don’t have the run speed others have so I decided to take every bit of speed I had from the beginning and hold on the best I could. Crooked Hill was tough, I wish I could have gone quicker up it but that was all I had. I wore my foot pod for my RS400 so I knew how fast I was going all of the time. I was surprised to see that on much of the course I was running in the high 6’s and low 7’s. The real steep hills had me in the 10’s. On the little dirt road section I felt good and went with the speed, settled down on the hills but still was going as hard as I could. By the time I got to Hankard Rd I still felt good. Going up that hill was a little tough and slowed me down to 8:30’s for a min or so. At the top I got back down into the low 7’s high 6’s all the way to the finish. 39:20 is over a minute faster than last year while overall I was about 2 min faster than last year.
I felt pretty good about my effort and managed 6th place out of 50 in my Age Group. The top 5 guys ran over a min/mile faster than I did so I’ve still got some work to do with run speed. It was a good race and once again pointed out where my weaknesses are.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Thursday 6-4
Run during lunch on the hilly route 5.2 miles 42:20 but I didn’t hit it that hard cuz I was planning on biking long after work.
Bike long on Hines Drive
74.4 miles in 3:37Very very nice day to ride, temp in the high 60’s and sunny. Started off easy for the first 25 minutes then rode steady for the rest of the ride. The last hour was the strongest of the ride.
Bike long on Hines Drive
74.4 miles in 3:37Very very nice day to ride, temp in the high 60’s and sunny. Started off easy for the first 25 minutes then rode steady for the rest of the ride. The last hour was the strongest of the ride.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Monday – Tuesday
Monday
Swim 2000 yards at LRC. First time back in the pool for about 10 days so I took it easy.
WU 200S 100K 200S 100K 200S
300 Pull w/paddles
7X100 on 1:45
100 kick
100 easy swim
Tuesday
Amy’s brick with a little more.
Run 6.2 miles in ~ 49 min
Bike 21.8 miles in ~55 min (IF 1.037…a little bit of a NP buster)
Run 6.2 miles in ~ 47 min
Moderate run to start while holding back cuz I knew there was a long way to go. Still went a little faster than planned.
Next the bike ride was plenty fast with Dan, Jacob, Amy and me trading leads. That was the fastest that I’ve ridden this ride. Normally I lead a lot of the ride near 200 to 210 watts. This time in order to keep the pace I was riding ~240 watts to hold 25 to 27 mph. Dan and I finished together at just over 55 min. Previously I had ridden a 56 only once before.
Ran a second time with Dan and Jacob, planned on running the first lap (5K) at 8 to 8:10 but wound up near 7:40 (23:40). The Second lap was a little quicker near 7:30 (23:20).
The run paces were a bit quick for me but I suppose that’s a good thing cuz it makes me work harder at something I’m not that good at. Hopefully it will make me faster in all of my run distances.
Swim 2000 yards at LRC. First time back in the pool for about 10 days so I took it easy.
WU 200S 100K 200S 100K 200S
300 Pull w/paddles
7X100 on 1:45
100 kick
100 easy swim
Tuesday
Amy’s brick with a little more.
Run 6.2 miles in ~ 49 min
Bike 21.8 miles in ~55 min (IF 1.037…a little bit of a NP buster)
Run 6.2 miles in ~ 47 min
Moderate run to start while holding back cuz I knew there was a long way to go. Still went a little faster than planned.
Next the bike ride was plenty fast with Dan, Jacob, Amy and me trading leads. That was the fastest that I’ve ridden this ride. Normally I lead a lot of the ride near 200 to 210 watts. This time in order to keep the pace I was riding ~240 watts to hold 25 to 27 mph. Dan and I finished together at just over 55 min. Previously I had ridden a 56 only once before.
Ran a second time with Dan and Jacob, planned on running the first lap (5K) at 8 to 8:10 but wound up near 7:40 (23:40). The Second lap was a little quicker near 7:30 (23:20).
The run paces were a bit quick for me but I suppose that’s a good thing cuz it makes me work harder at something I’m not that good at. Hopefully it will make me faster in all of my run distances.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The rest of the week ending 5/31/09
Wednesday – Off
Thursday – Run 5.1 miles in ~ 43 min. I planned on running an hour but I was tired and cut it down a little. I want to stay light to make sure I will recover from TTT.
Friday – Bike 22.8 1:13. Out to Sheldon and 7 mile then back down Hines.
Saturday – Run 3.1 in 24:51. Ran with Karen in the “Race for the Cure” and paced her out for a PR. She did a teriffic job and now as a reward gets to run faster in training J
Sunday – Bike 1 loop on the AA triathlon course. It was bumpy and there was more traffic than I though there would be.
Run 2 loops on the course, once with my Mizuno Elixer’s and once with my Saucony Fastwitch shoes. I wanted to know if I would get rocks stuck in the drain holes on the Saucony’s like I did at TTT camp. They were fine so I will probably use them this weekend during the race. I just have to work on the lacing in the next few days.
Thursday – Run 5.1 miles in ~ 43 min. I planned on running an hour but I was tired and cut it down a little. I want to stay light to make sure I will recover from TTT.
Friday – Bike 22.8 1:13. Out to Sheldon and 7 mile then back down Hines.
Saturday – Run 3.1 in 24:51. Ran with Karen in the “Race for the Cure” and paced her out for a PR. She did a teriffic job and now as a reward gets to run faster in training J
Sunday – Bike 1 loop on the AA triathlon course. It was bumpy and there was more traffic than I though there would be.
Run 2 loops on the course, once with my Mizuno Elixer’s and once with my Saucony Fastwitch shoes. I wanted to know if I would get rocks stuck in the drain holes on the Saucony’s like I did at TTT camp. They were fine so I will probably use them this weekend during the race. I just have to work on the lacing in the next few days.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday…Back at it
I rode the Tuesday brick with FAST and was a little concerned with how I would feel. My plan was to ride as I felt and only run 1 loop around the lake, normally I will run 1 loop before the bike and 2 loops afterwards.
Bike: I felt pretty good after about 7 miles and just went with it. Finished the 22 miles in just over 1 hour while getting caught by almost every light L
Run: Like I said, just one loop so I went a little quicker and ran the extra trails behind the lake. 3.35 miles in just over 25 min so about 7:30 miles which is quick for me.
I’m planning on biking about 4 hours and running around 20 miles this week. Swimming will be as I feel but hopefully about 3 times in the water. Next week I should be up near my normal volume with a sprint race on 6/7.
Bike: I felt pretty good after about 7 miles and just went with it. Finished the 22 miles in just over 1 hour while getting caught by almost every light L
Run: Like I said, just one loop so I went a little quicker and ran the extra trails behind the lake. 3.35 miles in just over 25 min so about 7:30 miles which is quick for me.
I’m planning on biking about 4 hours and running around 20 miles this week. Swimming will be as I feel but hopefully about 3 times in the water. Next week I should be up near my normal volume with a sprint race on 6/7.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Triple T Race Report
Prologue
Swim 5:49. Typical swim, I didn’t go too hard but smooth and steady.
Bike 12:28. Again, not too hard but an OK pace
Run 7:10. I felt a bit winded and held onto the pace as long as I could.
I didn’t redline this race really cuz I didn’t feel that strong. I still think that I screwed up my taper by going too hard the weekend before.
Race #2 Saturday morning
Swim 1500 meters, Bike 24.8 miles, Run 6.55 miles
Jaret Johnson 24:57 0:49 1:18:01 1:09 136 51:02 2:35:56
This race went as planned, steady on the swim and bike but slightly slower on the run. Still I was happy with the result. I only ate one gel on the bike and didn’t finish my drink. I had planned to get most of my calories from the drink but since I didn’t finish it, I was short for the run.
Swim: Smooth again, not a blistering fast time still solid. I think the swims were a little bit longer than last year.
Bike: Probably a little too easy, I was really worried about going out too hard.
Run: Smooth again, probably should have run a little quicker on the way back.
Race #3 Saturday afternoon
Bike 24.8 miles, Swim 1500 meters, Run 6.55 miles
Jaret Johnson 1:17:23 2:02 27:04 2:04 53:27 2:41:57
Bike: I felt pretty strong on this ride. I went out conservative and came back much harder. Going up the hill on Route 125 felt good. Started at 225 watts and built up to 260. Back over three stage hill was easy and then soft-pedaled downhill the rest of the way in.
Swim: This was actually one of the better swims of the day at 79th cuz most people biked too hard. I was smooth again in the water with no problems at all.
Run: A little slower than in the morning going up the hills, I should have pushed it a bit more to save some time. Some clouds came out and made the run a little more comfortable.
Race #4 Sunday morning
Swim 1.2 miles, Bike 56 miles, Run 13.1 miles
Jaret Johnson 32:33 1:19 3:17:55 2:48 1:58:16 5:52:49
Swim: A good solid swim for me despite how tired I was. I was really happy to see that time when I got out of the water. I felt strong after the first couple hundred meters and went with it.
Bike: There was a little guessing game going on here. I road the first loop pretty conservatively. Going up the long hill I felt strong but held the power back to 215 to 225 watts. That seemed like the right thing to do. For the rest of the loop I felt strong. I noticed my split time for the first loop was 1:35, which was on the quicker side of my projected time so I figured that I could go a little easier on the second loop. I felt strong for the entire second loop but I really feel that I went too easy and lost about 6 minutes from the first loop. The time lost I think came from riding too easy on the flat sections.
Run: This is where I went too conservative on the first loop where I walked for 30 seconds on the first steep hill and for 30 seconds on the way back. The second loop I ran the whole way. On the way back when I got to the top of the hill I pretty much ran as hard as I could all the way to the finish. My first loop was ~1:00:30 while the second loop was ~57:45.
My nutrition went as planned for this race. Seven gels on the bike as: One to start then one every 30 minutes. I also drank 3 bottles of Infinit heat mix while on the bike. For the run I ate one gel in transistion and then 1 every 2 miles like clockwork. By the time I got done with the first loop I was still feeling well fueled and strong for the second loop.
Swim 5:49. Typical swim, I didn’t go too hard but smooth and steady.
Bike 12:28. Again, not too hard but an OK pace
Run 7:10. I felt a bit winded and held onto the pace as long as I could.
I didn’t redline this race really cuz I didn’t feel that strong. I still think that I screwed up my taper by going too hard the weekend before.
Race #2 Saturday morning
Swim 1500 meters, Bike 24.8 miles, Run 6.55 miles
Jaret Johnson 24:57 0:49 1:18:01 1:09 136 51:02 2:35:56
This race went as planned, steady on the swim and bike but slightly slower on the run. Still I was happy with the result. I only ate one gel on the bike and didn’t finish my drink. I had planned to get most of my calories from the drink but since I didn’t finish it, I was short for the run.
Swim: Smooth again, not a blistering fast time still solid. I think the swims were a little bit longer than last year.
Bike: Probably a little too easy, I was really worried about going out too hard.
Run: Smooth again, probably should have run a little quicker on the way back.
Race #3 Saturday afternoon
Bike 24.8 miles, Swim 1500 meters, Run 6.55 miles
Jaret Johnson 1:17:23 2:02 27:04 2:04 53:27 2:41:57
Bike: I felt pretty strong on this ride. I went out conservative and came back much harder. Going up the hill on Route 125 felt good. Started at 225 watts and built up to 260. Back over three stage hill was easy and then soft-pedaled downhill the rest of the way in.
Swim: This was actually one of the better swims of the day at 79th cuz most people biked too hard. I was smooth again in the water with no problems at all.
Run: A little slower than in the morning going up the hills, I should have pushed it a bit more to save some time. Some clouds came out and made the run a little more comfortable.
Race #4 Sunday morning
Swim 1.2 miles, Bike 56 miles, Run 13.1 miles
Jaret Johnson 32:33 1:19 3:17:55 2:48 1:58:16 5:52:49
Swim: A good solid swim for me despite how tired I was. I was really happy to see that time when I got out of the water. I felt strong after the first couple hundred meters and went with it.
Bike: There was a little guessing game going on here. I road the first loop pretty conservatively. Going up the long hill I felt strong but held the power back to 215 to 225 watts. That seemed like the right thing to do. For the rest of the loop I felt strong. I noticed my split time for the first loop was 1:35, which was on the quicker side of my projected time so I figured that I could go a little easier on the second loop. I felt strong for the entire second loop but I really feel that I went too easy and lost about 6 minutes from the first loop. The time lost I think came from riding too easy on the flat sections.
Run: This is where I went too conservative on the first loop where I walked for 30 seconds on the first steep hill and for 30 seconds on the way back. The second loop I ran the whole way. On the way back when I got to the top of the hill I pretty much ran as hard as I could all the way to the finish. My first loop was ~1:00:30 while the second loop was ~57:45.
My nutrition went as planned for this race. Seven gels on the bike as: One to start then one every 30 minutes. I also drank 3 bottles of Infinit heat mix while on the bike. For the run I ate one gel in transistion and then 1 every 2 miles like clockwork. By the time I got done with the first loop I was still feeling well fueled and strong for the second loop.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Training Thoughts May '09
I’m getting ready for another edition of Triple T and I feel pretty good about my training so far.
My goals were to get as much time on the bike as I could while slightly increasing my fitness on the run. My swim has really just been in maintenance mode to maintain as much swim fitness as I could.
The bike has gone well. I feel that I’m as strong now as I was last August. A lot of that can be attributed to all of the off-season work that I did on the bike. Instead of laying off the bike and working on swimming and running I was riding intervals on the trainer about 3 times a week. That really prepped me for the spring where at first I tried to get 5 hours on the road and built up to 7 and 8 hours a week. At my TTT camp I did 10 hours of riding which included a lot of hills which I feel really boosted my fitness.
I also purchased a new bike last winter. I got a Cervelo P2 (Ultegra Version) mostly cuz I felt it was the most bike I could get for the dollar. I’m not a die-hard fan of Cervelo but the bike fit me right, had the components on it that I’m familiar with, there was minimal things I needed to buy for it and the price was better than most other new bikes that were of comparable quality. All I needed to buy to complete the bike was an Arione saddle and a pair of Look Keo pedals. In addition to that I bought a rear water bottle system and a front Hed Jet 60 wheel. The bike is ~3 lbs lighter than my Felt S32. Is it any faster? I don’t really feel that it is but it’s new and a little more solid. The Felt has near 25,000 miles on it now and I’m a little concerned about the frame and fork.
The run training has been OK. I could be better but probably as the expense of bike fitness. I’ve been fairly consistent by getting mostly 35 to 40 miles per week for the last 8 weeks and 25 to 35 miles per week for many weeks before that. I feel faster this spring than I have been mostly cuz of the type of training I did over the winter which was faster than I normally run but not necessarily speed work. It was a lot of running that was about 30-40 seconds a mile faster than I would normally run. The only thing that I’m concerned about is that I don’t feel as durable as I have in the past, although I can put down faster miles I have yet to test it out in a long race. My HIM sim a few weeks ago went well when I got my nutrition plan back in order but this weekend at Triple T will be the next test.
Swimming has taken a back seat like I had planned. I really felt like the bike is where I should focus this year and I’ve given up swim time to get it. Still I’ve been swimming 8,000 to 10,000 yards per week and can still swim long distances under 1:30 per 100 so I’m very confident that I can come out of the water in fairly decent shape. State meet in late March had mixed results. I was slightly faster in some things while slightly slower in others. I was a bit disappointed for a while but since I didn’t have a swim focus time I suppose it was all that I could expect. I still haven’t gotten in a lake to get some open water experience this year but this is my seventh season and I’m still fairly confident I’ll be in good shape. Triple T is all time-trial starts so I can ease into it.
My goals were to get as much time on the bike as I could while slightly increasing my fitness on the run. My swim has really just been in maintenance mode to maintain as much swim fitness as I could.
The bike has gone well. I feel that I’m as strong now as I was last August. A lot of that can be attributed to all of the off-season work that I did on the bike. Instead of laying off the bike and working on swimming and running I was riding intervals on the trainer about 3 times a week. That really prepped me for the spring where at first I tried to get 5 hours on the road and built up to 7 and 8 hours a week. At my TTT camp I did 10 hours of riding which included a lot of hills which I feel really boosted my fitness.
I also purchased a new bike last winter. I got a Cervelo P2 (Ultegra Version) mostly cuz I felt it was the most bike I could get for the dollar. I’m not a die-hard fan of Cervelo but the bike fit me right, had the components on it that I’m familiar with, there was minimal things I needed to buy for it and the price was better than most other new bikes that were of comparable quality. All I needed to buy to complete the bike was an Arione saddle and a pair of Look Keo pedals. In addition to that I bought a rear water bottle system and a front Hed Jet 60 wheel. The bike is ~3 lbs lighter than my Felt S32. Is it any faster? I don’t really feel that it is but it’s new and a little more solid. The Felt has near 25,000 miles on it now and I’m a little concerned about the frame and fork.
The run training has been OK. I could be better but probably as the expense of bike fitness. I’ve been fairly consistent by getting mostly 35 to 40 miles per week for the last 8 weeks and 25 to 35 miles per week for many weeks before that. I feel faster this spring than I have been mostly cuz of the type of training I did over the winter which was faster than I normally run but not necessarily speed work. It was a lot of running that was about 30-40 seconds a mile faster than I would normally run. The only thing that I’m concerned about is that I don’t feel as durable as I have in the past, although I can put down faster miles I have yet to test it out in a long race. My HIM sim a few weeks ago went well when I got my nutrition plan back in order but this weekend at Triple T will be the next test.
Swimming has taken a back seat like I had planned. I really felt like the bike is where I should focus this year and I’ve given up swim time to get it. Still I’ve been swimming 8,000 to 10,000 yards per week and can still swim long distances under 1:30 per 100 so I’m very confident that I can come out of the water in fairly decent shape. State meet in late March had mixed results. I was slightly faster in some things while slightly slower in others. I was a bit disappointed for a while but since I didn’t have a swim focus time I suppose it was all that I could expect. I still haven’t gotten in a lake to get some open water experience this year but this is my seventh season and I’m still fairly confident I’ll be in good shape. Triple T is all time-trial starts so I can ease into it.
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