Without anyone going to work and nobody to kick us off of the ice we skated about 2 hours before I gave up, the few remaining people finished just behind me. I actually felt pretty good throughout the whole skate and played pretty hard. I knew we had been on the ice for a while cuz I had to wet the palms of my gloves again and ran out of water. I skated 3 or 4 shifts without a drink and that was it.
Because of the long skate, I pushed my swim to saturday, it's a force workout.
Friday, December 31, 2004
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Thursday's run
7 miles, 1:00:25, HR 159, Bally's track. It was probably warm enough to run outside today but it was so wet and I've got the new shoes so I ran inside. I started on the treadmill but the stench of the "Holiday people" got to me in about 2 minutes so I moved upstairs.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
An hour on the computrainer
1:00:00, 17.4 miles, 134bpm, 163 watts.
Started riding the Orange County Triathlon ride and just went for 1 hr. There was a lot of climbing in the first 10 or so miles. I set the computer to ride at 160 and just tried to ride close to him. I had to slow down a lot cuz I rode away going up the hills. Next time I'll bump him up to 170 watts.
Next week I'm going to try to get some HR vs Watts data on some flat roads so I can track improvement over the next few months.
Started riding the Orange County Triathlon ride and just went for 1 hr. There was a lot of climbing in the first 10 or so miles. I set the computer to ride at 160 and just tried to ride close to him. I had to slow down a lot cuz I rode away going up the hills. Next time I'll bump him up to 170 watts.
Next week I'm going to try to get some HR vs Watts data on some flat roads so I can track improvement over the next few months.
Wednesday's swim
I got the book "Workouts in a Binder" by Gale Bernhardt and did the first Endurance workout it in. This book is so cool cuz it is waterproof and you can have it right on the pool deck during your workout. It is very easy to follow and it has a section with all of the codes in it so if you don't understand what to do you can look it up. The only thing that it doesn't have is the other strokes that real swimmers use (Butterfly, Back stroke, Breast stroke). I'm going to do one short workout a week concentrating on them so I can keep up with the people at my swim club. Here is a link to the book
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1931382204/ref=ase_trainingbible-20/102-9062289-2471362?v=glance&s=books
You can also click on the header for the link.
Today was 3200 yds. I was a little sore from yesterday's TT so I swam mostly in zone 2 but kept true to the workout.
600 warm up
400,300,200,100 moderate :20RI
300,200,100 neg split :25RI
200 fast :30RI
100 fast :20RI
4X150 Pull :20RI
100 cool down
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1931382204/ref=ase_trainingbible-20/102-9062289-2471362?v=glance&s=books
You can also click on the header for the link.
Today was 3200 yds. I was a little sore from yesterday's TT so I swam mostly in zone 2 but kept true to the workout.
600 warm up
400,300,200,100 moderate :20RI
300,200,100 neg split :25RI
200 fast :30RI
100 fast :20RI
4X150 Pull :20RI
100 cool down
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Tuesday's run 30 min Time Trial
I had debated on running the time trial today and decided to do it. The reason I considered putting it off untill thursday was the fact that I did a swim TT yesterday and thought I wouldn't be ready for it. I did a resting HR this morning and came up with a 52, which is normal for me so I went for it.
1 mile warm up
30 min TT as fast as I can run a consistant speed and take the average of the last 20 min.
4 miles (7:34,7:33,7:28,7:25) last 20 min ave of 179bpm. This is a little above what I expected but I'm not surprised at all since sunday's run gave me similar numbers.
1 mile cool down.
I had been suspecting that my LT had gone up but had not tested it since last May at which time I had a LT of 168. This directly falls in line with my PE for all of my recent runs, comfirming what I felt to be the right training zones for me.
Now armed with this new information I can continue with training for more speed. I guess all I have to do now is the bike test but it is so cold outside and I haven't been riding much at all so testing on the bike wouldn't be of much use.
1 mile warm up
30 min TT as fast as I can run a consistant speed and take the average of the last 20 min.
4 miles (7:34,7:33,7:28,7:25) last 20 min ave of 179bpm. This is a little above what I expected but I'm not surprised at all since sunday's run gave me similar numbers.
1 mile cool down.
I had been suspecting that my LT had gone up but had not tested it since last May at which time I had a LT of 168. This directly falls in line with my PE for all of my recent runs, comfirming what I felt to be the right training zones for me.
Now armed with this new information I can continue with training for more speed. I guess all I have to do now is the bike test but it is so cold outside and I haven't been riding much at all so testing on the bike wouldn't be of much use.
Monday, December 27, 2004
Ride on Computrainer
First real ride on the computrainer today.
Easy 10 mile course, 180 watts, 20.4 mph, had computer set on 150 and beat him be about 1 minute. I didn't record the HR but most of the time it was near 145. I'm going to do a test later this week with it.
Easy 10 mile course, 180 watts, 20.4 mph, had computer set on 150 and beat him be about 1 minute. I didn't record the HR but most of the time it was near 145. I'm going to do a test later this week with it.
Swim Time Trial
Monday's swim included a 1000 yd time trial.
2200yds
600 warm up
6X50 on 1:00
1000yds
300 cool down
1000 yds in 16:44 (500 splits 8:27,8:17) which sets a new T-pace of 1:40
The last real test that I did was last February done at 17:41. I was allmost a minute faster today.
2200yds
600 warm up
6X50 on 1:00
1000yds
300 cool down
1000 yds in 16:44 (500 splits 8:27,8:17) which sets a new T-pace of 1:40
The last real test that I did was last February done at 17:41. I was allmost a minute faster today.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Duh, I forgot about the swim
Swam 2600 yds today to finish up my 10,000 for the week. Nothing too hard cuz I swam after the run. I swam some 500's working on reaching and bending my elbow a little bit more. On one of the 500's I worked on sweeping my hand in the catch. I didn't wear a watch so I don't know if it is any faster. The swim was about 50 minutes in zone 2.
Sunday run and swim
Ran tempo today and felt pretty loose, 6 miles 50:30 ave HR 164. The HR went really high today but I ran to PE which felt like the top of zone 2 and the last 2 miles felt like zone 4.
The ave HR for the last 2 miles was 175. Using that for lactate thresh hold, it puts my training zones right in line where my PE has been for the last 2 weeks. I think the speed training is changing my training zones drastically. This week will have testing for run and swim, I'm expecting to see a swim T-pace near 1:42 and a run LT of 175.
The ave HR for the last 2 miles was 175. Using that for lactate thresh hold, it puts my training zones right in line where my PE has been for the last 2 weeks. I think the speed training is changing my training zones drastically. This week will have testing for run and swim, I'm expecting to see a swim T-pace near 1:42 and a run LT of 175.
Friday, December 24, 2004
Friday swim
Did a normal swim for me 3700 yds 1:20:00
600 warm up
4X600(200pull,200moderate,100kick,100fast)
10X50 odds non-free
200 cool down
All of my fast 100 were about 1:28's, normally I have been 1:35 to 1:40
600 warm up
4X600(200pull,200moderate,100kick,100fast)
10X50 odds non-free
200 cool down
All of my fast 100 were about 1:28's, normally I have been 1:35 to 1:40
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Thursday's run
Well, I broke down and bought another pair of shoes. The 1090's seemed good in the beginning but I still had a knee problem and everything I have been reading has pointed to the shoes. My intention was to get a pair of Asics 2100's, I had them picked out and ready to go but I wanted to try on a pair of Kayano's too. After putting them on and jogging around with them for a few minutes it was clear that the Kayano X was the shoe for me. I know they were more money but after running on them today I feel it's well worth it. The shoe guy I see pointed out an issue with my 1090's. On the right shoe, inside arch, you can see that the shoe is starting to break down allready. There are only 51 miles on them.
Today's run was a tempo run, 5 miles treadmill #5
mile 1 9:30 warm up
mile 2 8:00
mile 3 8:00
mile 4 7:30
mile 5 9:00 cool down
Ave HR was 151 but that was from the warm up and cool downs, the middle miles were about 162 to 165. While I was running I wasn't breathing hard but I think I was on the edge of it. I think I can to 7:30's next time without any problems.
One special note on today's run was while stretching before and after, I was very flexable, even more so afterwards.
Today's run was a tempo run, 5 miles treadmill #5
mile 1 9:30 warm up
mile 2 8:00
mile 3 8:00
mile 4 7:30
mile 5 9:00 cool down
Ave HR was 151 but that was from the warm up and cool downs, the middle miles were about 162 to 165. While I was running I wasn't breathing hard but I think I was on the edge of it. I think I can to 7:30's next time without any problems.
One special note on today's run was while stretching before and after, I was very flexable, even more so afterwards.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Wednesday's swim
I did sets of 500 today
500 warm up (200S,100K,200S)
500 easy with paddles to work on hand entry
500 moderate pull
1000 Swim (17:35) I decided to swim it straight since I felt pretty good
500 easy with paddles again
500 moderate pull
200 cool down
3700yds
The 1000 I kind of did as a pre-TT that I'm going to do next week, I just wanted to see what I could do. I really could have gone harder. First 500 was 8:57 and the second 500 was 8:37. That is the fasted 1000 I have done to this day, I think I can get near 17:00 on test day.
500 warm up (200S,100K,200S)
500 easy with paddles to work on hand entry
500 moderate pull
1000 Swim (17:35) I decided to swim it straight since I felt pretty good
500 easy with paddles again
500 moderate pull
200 cool down
3700yds
The 1000 I kind of did as a pre-TT that I'm going to do next week, I just wanted to see what I could do. I really could have gone harder. First 500 was 8:57 and the second 500 was 8:37. That is the fasted 1000 I have done to this day, I think I can get near 17:00 on test day.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Tuesday's run
6 miles of a base run on treadmill #3. 56 minutes, HR 151, the last 4 miles were at 154.
Weekend training
Saturday swim was with the club. A short 2000 yd swim, 600 yd warm up, 1400yds of freestyle (sets were not importand), then some fun relays
200 yds freestyle - 8 swimmers
200 yds medley - 8 swimmers
200 yds with santa hat - 8 swimmers
100 yds with hockey puck at bottom of pool
Fun time with some real swimmers and triathlon teammates
I took monday off as a rest day
200 yds freestyle - 8 swimmers
200 yds medley - 8 swimmers
200 yds with santa hat - 8 swimmers
100 yds with hockey puck at bottom of pool
Fun time with some real swimmers and triathlon teammates
I took monday off as a rest day
Friday, December 17, 2004
Friday's stuff
Played 70 minutes of hockey in the morning, felt pretty good, got new stick.
Ran intervals later in the afternoon on treadmill #5.
1 mile warm up
8X1/4 mile @ 1:40 to 1:45
1 mile cool down
Felt pretty good, I started easy because I didn't know what to expect. I haven't done intervals in a long time and didn't want to start off too hard. I probably could have gone harder and definitely could have done 3 or 4 more reps.
Ran intervals later in the afternoon on treadmill #5.
1 mile warm up
8X1/4 mile @ 1:40 to 1:45
1 mile cool down
Felt pretty good, I started easy because I didn't know what to expect. I haven't done intervals in a long time and didn't want to start off too hard. I probably could have gone harder and definitely could have done 3 or 4 more reps.
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Thursday's swim
3500yds
600 warm up
3X750 (100kick,150pull,250 free,100kick,150pull)
9X50 hypoxic (breath 1:2strokes, 2:3strokes, 3:4strokes...9:10strokes)
200 cool down
Felt a little flat at first but warmed up after the first 750
This is the same workout I did on 12-2
600 warm up
3X750 (100kick,150pull,250 free,100kick,150pull)
9X50 hypoxic (breath 1:2strokes, 2:3strokes, 3:4strokes...9:10strokes)
200 cool down
Felt a little flat at first but warmed up after the first 750
This is the same workout I did on 12-2
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Wednesday's run
Ran on the treadmill 6 miles, 56:30, HR 151. 1st mile 10:00, 2nd 9:30, 3rd-6th 9:15. Ran speed up untill I was at the top of zone 2 (154) and kept it there for the last 4 miles. Felt pretty good, getting ready for more speedwork.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Ironman Florida Pictures
Starting from the bottom
My dad (Norman), he made sure I had everything I needed for the race. He drove me around everywhere, dropped me off, picked me up, discussed strategies, took pictures, got food, generally everything. All I had to do was concentrate on the race. Without him there I would have had a hard time, Thank you very much.
Bill Terski: A new friend I met a month or so before the race, great guy. Check out the surf behind him, that was thursday morning's Gatorade swim. We were a bit worried. Waves were rolling 4 to 5 feet but after we got past the breaking waves it wasn't too bad.
Bill and Roman were goofing around taking pictures to kill the time before the race.
Me just after airing up the tires. It was pretty chilly that morning.
Me putting on an extra bottle cage. I took it off the day before but decied to put it back on that morning. It was a good thing because I broke the right rear cage at the beginning of the bike leg.
Race morning, Bill and I getting wetsuits on.
Thursday or friday morning Gatorade swim. (I think thursday)
Me on the bike somewhere after the special needs station. I could have gone much harder on the bike than I did. Look, I can ride in a straight line.
Me at the beginning of the run. I slammed down a half a bottle of Gatorade in the last 5 miles of the bike and was really full for the beginning of the run. I think I skipped a couple of aid stations because of that.
Just after the turn-around on the first loop. I felt pretty good.
Just after the turn-around on the second loop. My knee was starting to bother me by then but other than that I felt good.
Me at the finish. I walked for about 4 miles but I wanted to run accross the finish line.
A bunch of Michigan guys at one of the morning swims, we were missing Bill. (I think friday morning)
Dinner thursday night. Sorry I couldn't remember Heather's mom's name.
My dad (Norman), he made sure I had everything I needed for the race. He drove me around everywhere, dropped me off, picked me up, discussed strategies, took pictures, got food, generally everything. All I had to do was concentrate on the race. Without him there I would have had a hard time, Thank you very much.
Bill Terski: A new friend I met a month or so before the race, great guy. Check out the surf behind him, that was thursday morning's Gatorade swim. We were a bit worried. Waves were rolling 4 to 5 feet but after we got past the breaking waves it wasn't too bad.
Bill and Roman were goofing around taking pictures to kill the time before the race.
Me just after airing up the tires. It was pretty chilly that morning.
Me putting on an extra bottle cage. I took it off the day before but decied to put it back on that morning. It was a good thing because I broke the right rear cage at the beginning of the bike leg.
Race morning, Bill and I getting wetsuits on.
Thursday or friday morning Gatorade swim. (I think thursday)
Me on the bike somewhere after the special needs station. I could have gone much harder on the bike than I did. Look, I can ride in a straight line.
Me at the beginning of the run. I slammed down a half a bottle of Gatorade in the last 5 miles of the bike and was really full for the beginning of the run. I think I skipped a couple of aid stations because of that.
Just after the turn-around on the first loop. I felt pretty good.
Just after the turn-around on the second loop. My knee was starting to bother me by then but other than that I felt good.
Me at the finish. I walked for about 4 miles but I wanted to run accross the finish line.
A bunch of Michigan guys at one of the morning swims, we were missing Bill. (I think friday morning)
Dinner thursday night. Sorry I couldn't remember Heather's mom's name.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Monday's training
Swam 3600 yds 1:20:00
500 warm up (200S,100K,200pull)
4x600 (200 pull catchup,200 swim moderate,100 Kick,100 IM)
10X50 odds non-free.
200 cd
The IM's are getting better, I am down to 1:56 per 100 consistantly. I have taken the advise of a friend at the Master's club and relaxed more on my butterfly and I feel stronger for the rest of the set. The breast stroke is getting better because of the kick timing too. The left side breathing for freestyle is becomming more and more natural, I swim that way all of the time now, sometimes when I'm not paying attention during catchup or drills, I breath every 5 strokes instead of 3.
A few hours later I did some easy miles on the bike trainer. 0:50:00, HR 127 I felt better than normal for a trainer ride. I am working with a new saddle, a San Marco Azoto. I set the height with my knee angle at 155 degrees. I'm not sure if the saddle is wide enough for me and if I will be able to sit on the nose of it. I'll give it a couple hundred miles to see.
15 min warm up
2X10 min (3:00 spin 55X19,3:00 spin 55X13@65rpm,3:00 spin 55X19,1:00 stand)
15 min cool down.
500 warm up (200S,100K,200pull)
4x600 (200 pull catchup,200 swim moderate,100 Kick,100 IM)
10X50 odds non-free.
200 cd
The IM's are getting better, I am down to 1:56 per 100 consistantly. I have taken the advise of a friend at the Master's club and relaxed more on my butterfly and I feel stronger for the rest of the set. The breast stroke is getting better because of the kick timing too. The left side breathing for freestyle is becomming more and more natural, I swim that way all of the time now, sometimes when I'm not paying attention during catchup or drills, I breath every 5 strokes instead of 3.
A few hours later I did some easy miles on the bike trainer. 0:50:00, HR 127 I felt better than normal for a trainer ride. I am working with a new saddle, a San Marco Azoto. I set the height with my knee angle at 155 degrees. I'm not sure if the saddle is wide enough for me and if I will be able to sit on the nose of it. I'll give it a couple hundred miles to see.
15 min warm up
2X10 min (3:00 spin 55X19,3:00 spin 55X13@65rpm,3:00 spin 55X19,1:00 stand)
15 min cool down.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Sunday's run
I ran kind of fast today for me. 5 miles 43:14, HR 163, about an 8:40 min/mile on the track at Bally's. Looking for speed on the run still. The HR seemed high for how I felt, I figured it was a high zone 3 run but the HR was in zone 4, I wasn't even breathing hard. The next run should be an easy pace run near 6 miles then a couple of faster sessions after that.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Saturday swim with the club
Long hard workout today, especially for the tail end of a cold. This one had a lot of IM in it, a new person has started writing the workouts and have changed the format somewhat. I struggled with this one a bit, I didn't do the butterfly on all of the IM's.
450 warm up (200S,100K,150S)
3X300@5:30 (middle 300 pull)
6X75@1:20
6X50 Kick
4X200 (4X25 IM order, 100 IM)
300 easy pull
4X75@1:15
200 cool down (choice)
3700 yds
450 warm up (200S,100K,150S)
3X300@5:30 (middle 300 pull)
6X75@1:20
6X50 Kick
4X200 (4X25 IM order, 100 IM)
300 easy pull
4X75@1:15
200 cool down (choice)
3700 yds
Friday, December 10, 2004
Friday's run
Ran 4 miles on the treadmill today, 1 mile warm up, 2 miles with 1/4 at 8 min/mile then 1/4 at 10 min/mile over and over, then 1 mile cool down. Felt really good but it's different not having any wind in my face like running outside. Total time 38:00, HR 151.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Light training
Been sick for the last couple of days, just a cold, not sure how I got it, maybe transitioning from 12 hrs of sleep a day to 7 hrs a day did it. I'm feeling better now and might either swim or ride the trainer for a half hour today.
Monday I ran 2 miles, lifted for 45 minutes and then ran 1 more mile. Knee was still a little bothersome but not bad. Tuesday I swam for a half hour and dicided to get out of the pool cuz I felt too week to swim 3500yds effectivly. That evening my ears got really hot which is a signal that I've got a head cold and I went to bed early. I even stayed home from work yesterday which is very unusual for me. Depending on how I feel I may swim or ride the trainer for a half hour today.
Monday I ran 2 miles, lifted for 45 minutes and then ran 1 more mile. Knee was still a little bothersome but not bad. Tuesday I swam for a half hour and dicided to get out of the pool cuz I felt too week to swim 3500yds effectivly. That evening my ears got really hot which is a signal that I've got a head cold and I went to bed early. I even stayed home from work yesterday which is very unusual for me. Depending on how I feel I may swim or ride the trainer for a half hour today.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Weekend training
A good weekend despite the shorter training hours.
Saturday swim with the club, kind of short but hard:
600 warm up
3X225 pull @ 4:00
5X100 sprints
My times 1:25 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:25
That's about 5 seconds faster that I have ever sprinted, maybe next time I will get under 1:20
Also, I got my stroke video taped on saturday morning. One guy from the club critiqued my stroke, there were 2 things he noticed. 1: My arms were only bent about 45 degrees during the pull and 2: I was pulling some air that had stuck to my left hand on the entry. Honestly I was looking for more problems with that cuz I wanted an easy way to get faster, Oh well, I'll work on those two things untill I can get taped again.
Saturday night we had our club Christmas party at Madonna University. Got a cool T-shirt, the hors d'oeuvre were great and met Sheila Taormina. She had a motivational speech for us and stayed after to answer questions and to say hello to everyone. She is a real class act, everything that I expected of her.
Sunday I ran for 6 miles, about 57 minutes, HR 148, knee started to hurt again, don't really know why. I'll give it a few days off again.
Saturday swim with the club, kind of short but hard:
600 warm up
3X225 pull @ 4:00
5X100 sprints
My times 1:25 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:25
That's about 5 seconds faster that I have ever sprinted, maybe next time I will get under 1:20
Also, I got my stroke video taped on saturday morning. One guy from the club critiqued my stroke, there were 2 things he noticed. 1: My arms were only bent about 45 degrees during the pull and 2: I was pulling some air that had stuck to my left hand on the entry. Honestly I was looking for more problems with that cuz I wanted an easy way to get faster, Oh well, I'll work on those two things untill I can get taped again.
Saturday night we had our club Christmas party at Madonna University. Got a cool T-shirt, the hors d'oeuvre were great and met Sheila Taormina. She had a motivational speech for us and stayed after to answer questions and to say hello to everyone. She is a real class act, everything that I expected of her.
Sunday I ran for 6 miles, about 57 minutes, HR 148, knee started to hurt again, don't really know why. I'll give it a few days off again.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Hockey morning in Plymouth
Well, I'm getting faster and have much better control. My skates are feeling more and more natural, still I need to get better. I tried much harder today and got some decent results. I got gassed about 50 min into the skate but it was just about over by then anyway. Things are looking up and the anerobic workout may help my speed in other sports. I only got about 5 hrs of sleep last night so I guess I couldn't expect too much today.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Thursday swim and run
Felt a little tired during the swim untill I got about half way through it.
3500yds, mostly zone 2
600 warm up
3X750 (100kick,150pull,250 free,100kick,150pull)
9X50 hypoxic (breath 1:2strokes, 2:3strokes, 3:4strokes...9:10strokes)
200 cool down
3 mile run on treadmill, zone 1 - low zone 2, 28:40, HR 143
3500yds, mostly zone 2
600 warm up
3X750 (100kick,150pull,250 free,100kick,150pull)
9X50 hypoxic (breath 1:2strokes, 2:3strokes, 3:4strokes...9:10strokes)
200 cool down
3 mile run on treadmill, zone 1 - low zone 2, 28:40, HR 143
Wednesday's workouts
Swam 1500yds during lunch, about 28 min zone 2-3. The Bilateral breathing is still going well. I started to count strokes and I'm at 22-23 which is pretty close to where I was when I was breathing on the right. I'm going to do some drills to try to get that down but it's not a big concern of mine.
Run 6 miles, 58 min, ave hr 150, mid zone 2, new shoes still feel really good. Normal route on Hines but I ran on the road cuz the trail was flooded in some places.
Run 6 miles, 58 min, ave hr 150, mid zone 2, new shoes still feel really good. Normal route on Hines but I ran on the road cuz the trail was flooded in some places.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Tuesday's swim
Very strong and fast. Maybe it's because I'm not running or biking or maybe because I've been putting in a lot of laps in the pool lately. Whatever it is, I've got to keep doing it. My kick for breaststroke and butterfly have gotten a lot better, Amy and Vince would be proud.
Today 3200 yds, main set zone 2
600 warm up (200S,200K,200Pw/paddles)
300 on 5:45
400 on 7:40
500 on 9:35
400 on 7:40
300 on 5:45
100 kick (alternate freestyle, dolphin, freestyle, whip)
300 pull with paddles (concentrate on hand entry)
100 kick (alternate freestyle, dolphin, freestyle, whip)
200 Cool down
After the swim I put 40 min on the bike trainer.
Today 3200 yds, main set zone 2
600 warm up (200S,200K,200Pw/paddles)
300 on 5:45
400 on 7:40
500 on 9:35
400 on 7:40
300 on 5:45
100 kick (alternate freestyle, dolphin, freestyle, whip)
300 pull with paddles (concentrate on hand entry)
100 kick (alternate freestyle, dolphin, freestyle, whip)
200 Cool down
After the swim I put 40 min on the bike trainer.
Monday, November 29, 2004
Monday training
Ran on the new shoes and I absolutly love them. 4 miles on the treadmill, .5 mile warm up, 3 miles of the random hill program and .5 miles of cool down. Afterwards I did some very light strength training.
The Shoe Review (I'm running out of stuff to write about)
The shoes pictured before this post were this year's shoes. All of the shoes were of excellent quality, there were no breakdowns in the materials of the shoes and I would happily recommend them to anyone if they fit their foot correctly. The quality in the Books shoes is so good that the very first pair that I bought in January of '03, I still wear today as my every day shoes (Brooks Beast).
First on the list are the Mizuno Alchemy 3: Good shoe that got me through my ankle problems, there's a lot of arch in these shoes. Some sites call them Stability shoes and others call them Motion control. I liked the arch support in them but they seemed a little loose in the heal for me.
Total miles: 345
Second on the list are the Brooks Addiction 6: These shoes I got in May, 6 weeks before Eagleman. I got blisters on the pads of my feet when they were new and I debated on using them for Eagleman but after they performed well at Seahorse I decided to use them. In July I put a Spenco insole in them and that made them better. It took up the extra room in the shoe. In August, after I scrubbed the shoes down to clean them, they got a curve in the sole that worked very well for me, I'm not sure how it happened, but it made a big difference in my running, for the better. I wound up running all of my races in these shoes as well as IMFL.
Total miles: 473
The next pair of shoes are also Brooks Addiction 6: These shoes did not agree with my feet at all. I figured that the last pair worked so well that a new pair for IMFL would be the right thing to do...NOT!!! I bought these in early september hoping to break them in for the big race but they just weren't the same. When I ran in them I got blisters on my arches, when I put the Spenco insoles in them my heal slipped so bad that I blistered again. I tried washing them and bending them but nothing worked. I went back to the old pair to finish the season, they felt so nice.
Total miles: 30
Now the new shoes, Asics 1090. I've thrown away most things I have read about what kind of shoe I need and found a pair that I really like. I went to Sports Authority because I didn't want to listen to a salesmen tell me what I needed and talk me out of the shoe I want. The shoes on my list were all Asics models, they were: GT-2090, Cumulus, Nimbus, DS Trainer, Legato and the 1090. I figured that the 2090's were the way to go but tried on most of the others. The only one that I didn't try was the DS trainers mainly because they didn't stock them. In the end it came down to the 2090 and 1090 and I chose the 1090 because of the curve in the sole and the fact that they were so comfortable. This is an experiment with a different shoe and I'll keep posting on how they are doing. Time will tell if the shoe fits :)
First on the list are the Mizuno Alchemy 3: Good shoe that got me through my ankle problems, there's a lot of arch in these shoes. Some sites call them Stability shoes and others call them Motion control. I liked the arch support in them but they seemed a little loose in the heal for me.
Total miles: 345
Second on the list are the Brooks Addiction 6: These shoes I got in May, 6 weeks before Eagleman. I got blisters on the pads of my feet when they were new and I debated on using them for Eagleman but after they performed well at Seahorse I decided to use them. In July I put a Spenco insole in them and that made them better. It took up the extra room in the shoe. In August, after I scrubbed the shoes down to clean them, they got a curve in the sole that worked very well for me, I'm not sure how it happened, but it made a big difference in my running, for the better. I wound up running all of my races in these shoes as well as IMFL.
Total miles: 473
The next pair of shoes are also Brooks Addiction 6: These shoes did not agree with my feet at all. I figured that the last pair worked so well that a new pair for IMFL would be the right thing to do...NOT!!! I bought these in early september hoping to break them in for the big race but they just weren't the same. When I ran in them I got blisters on my arches, when I put the Spenco insoles in them my heal slipped so bad that I blistered again. I tried washing them and bending them but nothing worked. I went back to the old pair to finish the season, they felt so nice.
Total miles: 30
Now the new shoes, Asics 1090. I've thrown away most things I have read about what kind of shoe I need and found a pair that I really like. I went to Sports Authority because I didn't want to listen to a salesmen tell me what I needed and talk me out of the shoe I want. The shoes on my list were all Asics models, they were: GT-2090, Cumulus, Nimbus, DS Trainer, Legato and the 1090. I figured that the 2090's were the way to go but tried on most of the others. The only one that I didn't try was the DS trainers mainly because they didn't stock them. In the end it came down to the 2090 and 1090 and I chose the 1090 because of the curve in the sole and the fact that they were so comfortable. This is an experiment with a different shoe and I'll keep posting on how they are doing. Time will tell if the shoe fits :)
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Week ending 11-27
Still a slow week, last saturday (11-20) I cut my swim short due to a meeting I had to be at early in the morning. Sunday I took the day off.
Monday had some strength training and I ran my warmup in an older pair of shoes to see how they felt, I'm starting to look at different shoes to buy and wanted to remember the feeling of the old ones. Running clockwise on the indoor track at the health club kind of tweaked my knee a bit so I decided to rest it for a week.
Friday morning I played hockey again, I felt good but realized that I just don't try hard enough when I skate. I'm going to have to make a decision weather to make a commitment to skating this winter or not. I'm not really enjoying it that much but that might change as I get back into it. I feel that it is working on my anerobic system, something that I haven't worked on in a while, and I think I need that type of workout once a week.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday were good swim days for me. I concentrated on bi-lateral breathing throughout the week reguardless of speed. As it turned out, it is faster for me. I had allways thought that getting less air would worse for my speed but it kind of had the opposite effect. I was swimming faster with less energy expended, so really, it was easier. I moved up to lane 4 in my Masters workout today and swam the whole workout with Bi-lateral breathing. Today's workout was:
600 yds warm up (200S,200K,200S)
1000yds 4X250@4:00 pull (supposed to be 4X225@4:00 but we goofed it up)
600 yds 4X150@3:00 (middle 50 non-free)
400 yds 4X100 kick
450 yds 6X75@1:15
400 yds 8X50@2:00 (25 free, 25 non-free)
250 yds cool down.
Felt really good today and swam in the middle of the group. Probably going to ride the trainer for a little while later today and maybe try to run a couple of miles tomorrow and see how my knee feels.
Monday had some strength training and I ran my warmup in an older pair of shoes to see how they felt, I'm starting to look at different shoes to buy and wanted to remember the feeling of the old ones. Running clockwise on the indoor track at the health club kind of tweaked my knee a bit so I decided to rest it for a week.
Friday morning I played hockey again, I felt good but realized that I just don't try hard enough when I skate. I'm going to have to make a decision weather to make a commitment to skating this winter or not. I'm not really enjoying it that much but that might change as I get back into it. I feel that it is working on my anerobic system, something that I haven't worked on in a while, and I think I need that type of workout once a week.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday were good swim days for me. I concentrated on bi-lateral breathing throughout the week reguardless of speed. As it turned out, it is faster for me. I had allways thought that getting less air would worse for my speed but it kind of had the opposite effect. I was swimming faster with less energy expended, so really, it was easier. I moved up to lane 4 in my Masters workout today and swam the whole workout with Bi-lateral breathing. Today's workout was:
600 yds warm up (200S,200K,200S)
1000yds 4X250@4:00 pull (supposed to be 4X225@4:00 but we goofed it up)
600 yds 4X150@3:00 (middle 50 non-free)
400 yds 4X100 kick
450 yds 6X75@1:15
400 yds 8X50@2:00 (25 free, 25 non-free)
250 yds cool down.
Felt really good today and swam in the middle of the group. Probably going to ride the trainer for a little while later today and maybe try to run a couple of miles tomorrow and see how my knee feels.
Friday, November 19, 2004
Hockey morning in Plymouth
Played pick-up hockey this morning, felt pretty good, nice to get back to the group, didn't really enjoy myself though, still remembering how to play the game. 1:20:00 of anerobic work.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Thursday's ride
22.8 miles, 1:10:00, ave HR 145. Started out easy and about half way through I started to hammer pretty hard. Had some fun. Beautiful day outside today and I couldn't waste it on an indoor swim. 65 degrees and sunny. I took yesterday off cuz I felt like sitting around the house.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Looking Back
Looking back on the training that I did over the summer getting ready for IMFL, I was trying to find ways to improve the way that I trained for the race. My goals were to finish the race with a time that was acceptable to me, it didn't have to be really fast, just fast enough. At this time I haven't found too many training mistakes other than trying to put 3 breakthrough runs in consecutive weeks.
The first thing that I will change is the intensity of my swimming. Slow days will be slow and fast days will be fast. Too many times I swam in zone 3 for long distance and did very little speed training in the water. Swimming with FAST 7 weeks out from the race really helped with the speed but it was really a little bit late. I also want to keep my volume over 30000 yds a month during the racing season. I gave up some yardage this year in favor of the run.
The bike changes will be to ride a little bit harder on my long rides and get the ave HR near 140. Speed days will be faster and technique days will be done like they should. I am going to try to ride with a local club once a week this year and am going to try to organize a club ride for my tri-club once a week. I am thinking of going to get a refit on the bike in the spring to get setup for fast racing instead of long distance racing.
Run changes will be impacted the most. This year I worked on volume cuz I had to be able to run 26 miles. Next year I will put a lot of speed work into the program to bring up my efficiency. I know that I have the capacity to do it, I just have to practice it now. This will probably take a bit of help from friends and the club. 13.1 miles is no problem to run at all. Stand alone I want to be able to run a 1:40:00, in a triathlon I would like to be near 1:45:00. My current best time for 13.1 miles is 1:58:21 with a lot left in the tank. My best time for a 10k is 48:04 (last february), I would like to drop that down near 40:00 for a stand alone run, low 40's for a triathlon. I could probably run a 45:00 right now.
Thinking of adding strength training too. The program I have right now has it but I don't know if I will keep it all the way through the season.
The first thing that I will change is the intensity of my swimming. Slow days will be slow and fast days will be fast. Too many times I swam in zone 3 for long distance and did very little speed training in the water. Swimming with FAST 7 weeks out from the race really helped with the speed but it was really a little bit late. I also want to keep my volume over 30000 yds a month during the racing season. I gave up some yardage this year in favor of the run.
The bike changes will be to ride a little bit harder on my long rides and get the ave HR near 140. Speed days will be faster and technique days will be done like they should. I am going to try to ride with a local club once a week this year and am going to try to organize a club ride for my tri-club once a week. I am thinking of going to get a refit on the bike in the spring to get setup for fast racing instead of long distance racing.
Run changes will be impacted the most. This year I worked on volume cuz I had to be able to run 26 miles. Next year I will put a lot of speed work into the program to bring up my efficiency. I know that I have the capacity to do it, I just have to practice it now. This will probably take a bit of help from friends and the club. 13.1 miles is no problem to run at all. Stand alone I want to be able to run a 1:40:00, in a triathlon I would like to be near 1:45:00. My current best time for 13.1 miles is 1:58:21 with a lot left in the tank. My best time for a 10k is 48:04 (last february), I would like to drop that down near 40:00 for a stand alone run, low 40's for a triathlon. I could probably run a 45:00 right now.
Thinking of adding strength training too. The program I have right now has it but I don't know if I will keep it all the way through the season.
Post IM Training
The week after IM Florida I have taken it real easy. I had the whole week off of work and got a lot of rest. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I slept for about 16 hrs a day,(seriously) Thursday I got about 12 and then I went down to about 10 for the weekend. I swam for about 20 min on wed and thurs, 35 min on saturday. I played hockey sat night for an hour and was very wobbly on my skates although I was very strong, it is going to take a few skates to get my balance back.
This week I decided to ease slowly back into training following an eight hour plan and deleting any day I didn't feel like training. So far this week I did some strength training on monday, 3 sets of 20 to 25 reps, very light weight on the 7 exercises that the Training Bible suggests, tuesday I swam 2700 yds for about an hour and then ran 3 easy miles. Today is supposed to be strength training again but I think I'm going to skip it. Thursday has a swim and short run, friday has a short bike ride or pick-up hockey, saturday has a swim with my masters group (FAST) and sunday has another short ride.
According to my calculations, I have 8 weeks to screw around before I start my next training cycle. In this time I am going to train for fun and to keep busy, not to increase fitness or speed.
Next years main goals are to get faster in all three disciplines. I am not planning on an Ironman next year. My 2 A races will be Half IM's, tentatively they are the Muncie Endurathon and the Deer Creek Pineman, both are on my local club race list. Goals for the Half IM's are the following: 32:00 for the swim, 2:40:00 for the bike and 1:45:00 for the run, total under 5 hrs. The rest of the races will be Olympics and Sprints that are on my club schedule with a total of no more than 9 races. Olympic goals will be 24:00 for the swim, bike 1:06:00 and run 45:00 total of 2:20:00. I might elist the help of a coach for the training period between the two halfs.
This week I decided to ease slowly back into training following an eight hour plan and deleting any day I didn't feel like training. So far this week I did some strength training on monday, 3 sets of 20 to 25 reps, very light weight on the 7 exercises that the Training Bible suggests, tuesday I swam 2700 yds for about an hour and then ran 3 easy miles. Today is supposed to be strength training again but I think I'm going to skip it. Thursday has a swim and short run, friday has a short bike ride or pick-up hockey, saturday has a swim with my masters group (FAST) and sunday has another short ride.
According to my calculations, I have 8 weeks to screw around before I start my next training cycle. In this time I am going to train for fun and to keep busy, not to increase fitness or speed.
Next years main goals are to get faster in all three disciplines. I am not planning on an Ironman next year. My 2 A races will be Half IM's, tentatively they are the Muncie Endurathon and the Deer Creek Pineman, both are on my local club race list. Goals for the Half IM's are the following: 32:00 for the swim, 2:40:00 for the bike and 1:45:00 for the run, total under 5 hrs. The rest of the races will be Olympics and Sprints that are on my club schedule with a total of no more than 9 races. Olympic goals will be 24:00 for the swim, bike 1:06:00 and run 45:00 total of 2:20:00. I might elist the help of a coach for the training period between the two halfs.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Ironman Florida is complete
On November 6th I completed my first Ironman. This is the account of the last days leading up to the race.
My dad and I left at 9am on November 3 and started driving down to Panama City Beach. The directions from Mapquest said that it would take about 17 hrs. Thinking that we would stop about every 100 miles for a break and probably 2 to 3 times to eat, we figured that the trip would take about 20-22 hrs which would put us there between 6 and 7 am on thursday morning. Well, as it turns out that even though we took our breaks and drove the speed limit, we arrived at about 1:30am eastern time (12:30am local time). What the heck were we going to do? There couldn't possibly be any rooms available in a city just about ready to host an Ironman. There were plenty of rooms at our hotel (Beachcomber by the Sea) and we just checked in a day early and got plenty of sleep before the swim in the morning.
Thursday morning swim was scary. The beach had the red flags up but we swam anyway. The waves were rolling in about 4 feet and we had fun trying to get through the breaking waves, once we were through the waves it wasn't that difficult to swim, just a lot of ups and downs. I kept thinking about how were 2200 people going to get through this. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Check in went faster than expected, I went for a short bike ride, ate lunch and dinner and talked to friends all day about how the race was going to go. Got to bed early and slept pretty good.
Friday morning was just about a carbon copy of thursday, started with a swim with 3 foot waves but had a little more fun this day cuz my confidence was a bit higher. Most of us body surfed for a while before getting out of the water. After the swim I got the race wheels on the bike and did a 20 minute ride with my dad then packed the bike up in the car to take to the transition area. When I checked the bike in I made sure everything was ready to go for the race and was able to relax for the rest of the day. I got to bed early again and got a good night's sleep.
Race day started just fine, we went to the Waffle house for breakfast and then off to the race. I started on the outside of the swim and still found myself in a giant group. Not a nasty group, just a bunch of people going to the same place in a really tight area. The water was very smooth, the wind had shifted around to the north on friday morning and the waves went away. I got through the first loop pretty good, only really bumped once and ran around for the second loop, my watch said 35:30 which I felt pretty good about. The next loop I stayed to the inside which I found less congested, especially on the back section and the return leg. On the return leg I was pretty much swimming by myself straight along the course line, bouy to bouy, I used that time to quicken my pace and got into a really nice groove. When I finished the second loop, my watch said something like 36:30 and I was a little dissappointed because I felt I swam a faster loop but in hindsight, that time included the run from the turn around so it probably was faster.
When I got out of the water the second time I went through the shower and had the wetsuit stripped off of me, then ran into transition fairly quickly. Got changed and before heading out on the bike I went to the bathroom, that took about 2 minutes, then got some sunscreed on and headed out on the bike.
The bike started off well, I got the HR down into the 150's very quickly and was working on getting it down to the mid-140's. We turned north into the wind and I kept up the pace and let the HR stay in the low 150's. The wind still seems to be my friend cuz being as small as I am, it doesn't affect me as much as the taller people. After about 20 miles of riding into the wind, we turned east on highway 20 and rode accross the wind, it may have even been a tailwind. At the 50 mile mark I was at 2:28:00, way ahead of my goal and decided to back it off a little. I found it hard to eat Cliff bars on the bike and started eating bananas from the aid stations to keep the calories up. I got one cliff bar down a mile 25 and that was it. I was riding just fast enough to jump from group to group on the bike. I would just ride my pace and ride through the groups as I caught them. I also got a bottle of Gatorade from every other aid station to suppliment my calorie intake. The total food intake on the bike was 12 gels (GU from my 2 flasks), 1 cliff bar, 4 bananas, 2 double strength bottles of Accererade, and 5 bottles of Gatorade, that is about 3600 calories, about 650 calories an hour. On the last 6 miles of the bike I drank the rest of my gatorade that was in my aerobottle and that proved to be a little too much for me to start the run with. Total bike time was about 5:38:50.
The run started off good, I made a bathroom break again in transition but just #1 this time. The run times started off at 10 min/miles, I felt a little bloated from drinking too much at the end of the bike but I was OK, Started doing gells on the second mile and continued every 2 to 3 miles untill late in the run. I was doing the gatorade sparingly cuz I was a bit full from the bike but still took it in cuz I was concerned about my electrolyte intake. The first loop went really well, I was between 10 and 11 min/miles and headed out for the second loop. Around mile 18 the outside of my right knee started to get sore. This allways happens when I run on the right side of a crowned road, I haven't figured out exactly why that is but I will sometime soon, it may be because I run on the inside of my right foot when the road is like that. I ran/walked for the next 4 miles and wound up walking for the last 4 miles cuz it hurt so bad. I wanted to run accross the finish line and did so. I was a bit dissapointed in the run but I was happy for it to be over. Run time was about 5:11, it not for the knee problem it probably would have been about 4:45, I wasn't that tired, just sore.
I found my dad at the finish and gathered my things to load into the car. He did just about everything for me during the trip. Took care of all the meals, transportation and made sure I had my stuff done on time. He made it really easy for me and I was able to relax and focus on the race. It would have been very difficult to have done the race without him and I want everyone to know just how much he did for me.
After riding back to the hotel I got out of the car and could barely walk. My hips had stiffened up and I had to creep up to the hotel. My dad went to get something to eat while I took a shower, I ate a little and then went to bed, slept about normal. The next day I was still sore but OK, hips and knees were what I felt the most. We ate breakfast, packed the car and then headed home.
My dad and I left at 9am on November 3 and started driving down to Panama City Beach. The directions from Mapquest said that it would take about 17 hrs. Thinking that we would stop about every 100 miles for a break and probably 2 to 3 times to eat, we figured that the trip would take about 20-22 hrs which would put us there between 6 and 7 am on thursday morning. Well, as it turns out that even though we took our breaks and drove the speed limit, we arrived at about 1:30am eastern time (12:30am local time). What the heck were we going to do? There couldn't possibly be any rooms available in a city just about ready to host an Ironman. There were plenty of rooms at our hotel (Beachcomber by the Sea) and we just checked in a day early and got plenty of sleep before the swim in the morning.
Thursday morning swim was scary. The beach had the red flags up but we swam anyway. The waves were rolling in about 4 feet and we had fun trying to get through the breaking waves, once we were through the waves it wasn't that difficult to swim, just a lot of ups and downs. I kept thinking about how were 2200 people going to get through this. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Check in went faster than expected, I went for a short bike ride, ate lunch and dinner and talked to friends all day about how the race was going to go. Got to bed early and slept pretty good.
Friday morning was just about a carbon copy of thursday, started with a swim with 3 foot waves but had a little more fun this day cuz my confidence was a bit higher. Most of us body surfed for a while before getting out of the water. After the swim I got the race wheels on the bike and did a 20 minute ride with my dad then packed the bike up in the car to take to the transition area. When I checked the bike in I made sure everything was ready to go for the race and was able to relax for the rest of the day. I got to bed early again and got a good night's sleep.
Race day started just fine, we went to the Waffle house for breakfast and then off to the race. I started on the outside of the swim and still found myself in a giant group. Not a nasty group, just a bunch of people going to the same place in a really tight area. The water was very smooth, the wind had shifted around to the north on friday morning and the waves went away. I got through the first loop pretty good, only really bumped once and ran around for the second loop, my watch said 35:30 which I felt pretty good about. The next loop I stayed to the inside which I found less congested, especially on the back section and the return leg. On the return leg I was pretty much swimming by myself straight along the course line, bouy to bouy, I used that time to quicken my pace and got into a really nice groove. When I finished the second loop, my watch said something like 36:30 and I was a little dissappointed because I felt I swam a faster loop but in hindsight, that time included the run from the turn around so it probably was faster.
When I got out of the water the second time I went through the shower and had the wetsuit stripped off of me, then ran into transition fairly quickly. Got changed and before heading out on the bike I went to the bathroom, that took about 2 minutes, then got some sunscreed on and headed out on the bike.
The bike started off well, I got the HR down into the 150's very quickly and was working on getting it down to the mid-140's. We turned north into the wind and I kept up the pace and let the HR stay in the low 150's. The wind still seems to be my friend cuz being as small as I am, it doesn't affect me as much as the taller people. After about 20 miles of riding into the wind, we turned east on highway 20 and rode accross the wind, it may have even been a tailwind. At the 50 mile mark I was at 2:28:00, way ahead of my goal and decided to back it off a little. I found it hard to eat Cliff bars on the bike and started eating bananas from the aid stations to keep the calories up. I got one cliff bar down a mile 25 and that was it. I was riding just fast enough to jump from group to group on the bike. I would just ride my pace and ride through the groups as I caught them. I also got a bottle of Gatorade from every other aid station to suppliment my calorie intake. The total food intake on the bike was 12 gels (GU from my 2 flasks), 1 cliff bar, 4 bananas, 2 double strength bottles of Accererade, and 5 bottles of Gatorade, that is about 3600 calories, about 650 calories an hour. On the last 6 miles of the bike I drank the rest of my gatorade that was in my aerobottle and that proved to be a little too much for me to start the run with. Total bike time was about 5:38:50.
The run started off good, I made a bathroom break again in transition but just #1 this time. The run times started off at 10 min/miles, I felt a little bloated from drinking too much at the end of the bike but I was OK, Started doing gells on the second mile and continued every 2 to 3 miles untill late in the run. I was doing the gatorade sparingly cuz I was a bit full from the bike but still took it in cuz I was concerned about my electrolyte intake. The first loop went really well, I was between 10 and 11 min/miles and headed out for the second loop. Around mile 18 the outside of my right knee started to get sore. This allways happens when I run on the right side of a crowned road, I haven't figured out exactly why that is but I will sometime soon, it may be because I run on the inside of my right foot when the road is like that. I ran/walked for the next 4 miles and wound up walking for the last 4 miles cuz it hurt so bad. I wanted to run accross the finish line and did so. I was a bit dissapointed in the run but I was happy for it to be over. Run time was about 5:11, it not for the knee problem it probably would have been about 4:45, I wasn't that tired, just sore.
I found my dad at the finish and gathered my things to load into the car. He did just about everything for me during the trip. Took care of all the meals, transportation and made sure I had my stuff done on time. He made it really easy for me and I was able to relax and focus on the race. It would have been very difficult to have done the race without him and I want everyone to know just how much he did for me.
After riding back to the hotel I got out of the car and could barely walk. My hips had stiffened up and I had to creep up to the hotel. My dad went to get something to eat while I took a shower, I ate a little and then went to bed, slept about normal. The next day I was still sore but OK, hips and knees were what I felt the most. We ate breakfast, packed the car and then headed home.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Thursday's run
I took wednesday off of training, I was supposed to take monday off but the weather was good that day and I didn't want to waste a good training opportunity. I didn't have much sleep on tuesday night cuz of Justin's hockey game so it fit it the schedule well.
Today had a 10 mile run, 1:31:08, ave HR 151, 43 sec recovery to 120bpm. That seems to be a bit fast for an easy run for me but for some reason it was harder to get my HR up, and after 4 miles of warming up, it seemed really easy to run that speed. I feel it is because I have been running at the top of zone 2 for a while now and am getting more efficient. This is getting me to rethink my training plan last summer. Instead of keeping my HR under 150 for most of my longer runs, I should have let it go up to 153-155. Oh well, live and learn.
Took the bike into Bikesport today to get the bottom bracket looked at and they said it needed to be replaced. I requested it to be done by tuesday and they said it was no problem. I'll have to ride the road bike this weekend.
Today had a 10 mile run, 1:31:08, ave HR 151, 43 sec recovery to 120bpm. That seems to be a bit fast for an easy run for me but for some reason it was harder to get my HR up, and after 4 miles of warming up, it seemed really easy to run that speed. I feel it is because I have been running at the top of zone 2 for a while now and am getting more efficient. This is getting me to rethink my training plan last summer. Instead of keeping my HR under 150 for most of my longer runs, I should have let it go up to 153-155. Oh well, live and learn.
Took the bike into Bikesport today to get the bottom bracket looked at and they said it needed to be replaced. I requested it to be done by tuesday and they said it was no problem. I'll have to ride the road bike this weekend.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
In addition to tuesday's swim
I forgot to add this note. I got home yesterday and made dinner right away because Justin had band stuff to go to. I made a meatloaf, med-sized baked potato and corn, didn't over-eat but didn't really under-eat either. Dropped him off after dinner at the school and went to swim. It was about 1 hr between dinner and swimming and was surprised that I swam so well. This has got me thinking about the timing of my pre-race meal. Maybe I don't need to eat 3 hours before the race, maybe 1.5 to 2 hrs would be fine. Going to work on that next year.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
tuesday long swim
4000 yds in 1:16:35, HR at the end of the swim was about 130bpm (finger on throat method). I felt kind of tired at about 1500 yds and then stopped doing flip-turns. I immediatly felt stronger and starting ripping off faster 500 splits. Started just under 10 min/500 and moved to 9:20's for most of the swim. My flip-turns really suck!!! I also stopped trying to hold 18-20 strokes per length and let my body go where it wanted to. I was at 22 for the rest of the swim, it felt really comfortable, getting the extra breath helped too. I've just about given up on staying under 20 stokes per length, I've got shorter arms than most people (remember I'm 5'4"), I don't push off of the wall that hard and I don't kick that much during the swim cuz I save my legs for the bike and run. I will work on stroke length for drills and certain workouts that call for it, but for racing, it's plainly not fast for me right now.
11 days out
I'm 11 days away from the longest race of my life and here are some thoughts. I had a friend ask me the other day if I was ready for the race and this was my reply:
"I feel that I was more ready a month ago. Starting my taper on tuesday. Today looks very sunny and am going to try to get in a bikeride today. I'm not intimidated by the run anymore since running the20 mile run, I breeze through 14 mile runs now. Right now I am very healthy, not overtrained, good attitude, no knee or ankle pains. I was a little concerned about my shoulder a few weeks ago when I dropped my bike on Hines Drive but have healed up quickly."
This got me thinking if I felt that I was in the best shape I could possibly be in. Well, the answer is No, I could be in better shape but at the risk of being hurt, neglecting family/friends and overtraining.
Last June my knees hurt so much that I had to take days off of running. I'm actually running about the same milage (approx 30 a week, yes there are times I run and don't log it here) but all of the runs are geared toward running long and I'm capable of running long without hurting myself now. I could be faster but at what expense? More runs and less recovery time? Time away from my son? (I'm a single dad with a 15 year old son to take care of myself). I am a faster runner than I was in June. A typical 12 mile run took a lot out of me then, I'm about 10 minutes faster now and even do tempo work in the middle of the run. On the bike I have matured a lot. Even though I came from cycling, I know how to ride a hundred miles much better now, nutrition wise and pacing wise. To run after getting off of the bike is much easier now.
Right now I'm physically in very good health. My knees feel good, legs are strong, shoulders are strong, lungs great and mentally I feel great. Will I meet my goals for IMFL, I don't really know but I plan on beating them.
Other than my health, my equipment is ready to go too. Wetsuit/goggles are good, bike just got rebuilt, shoes are well broken in and the trip is all planned out. Race plan has been written, pre-race and post-race plans are figured out too.
Today is the last day of hard training and will have a long straight swim. The rest of the time will be spent doing easier workouts and resting. 11 days from now I hope to be an Ironman.
"I feel that I was more ready a month ago. Starting my taper on tuesday. Today looks very sunny and am going to try to get in a bikeride today. I'm not intimidated by the run anymore since running the20 mile run, I breeze through 14 mile runs now. Right now I am very healthy, not overtrained, good attitude, no knee or ankle pains. I was a little concerned about my shoulder a few weeks ago when I dropped my bike on Hines Drive but have healed up quickly."
This got me thinking if I felt that I was in the best shape I could possibly be in. Well, the answer is No, I could be in better shape but at the risk of being hurt, neglecting family/friends and overtraining.
Last June my knees hurt so much that I had to take days off of running. I'm actually running about the same milage (approx 30 a week, yes there are times I run and don't log it here) but all of the runs are geared toward running long and I'm capable of running long without hurting myself now. I could be faster but at what expense? More runs and less recovery time? Time away from my son? (I'm a single dad with a 15 year old son to take care of myself). I am a faster runner than I was in June. A typical 12 mile run took a lot out of me then, I'm about 10 minutes faster now and even do tempo work in the middle of the run. On the bike I have matured a lot. Even though I came from cycling, I know how to ride a hundred miles much better now, nutrition wise and pacing wise. To run after getting off of the bike is much easier now.
Right now I'm physically in very good health. My knees feel good, legs are strong, shoulders are strong, lungs great and mentally I feel great. Will I meet my goals for IMFL, I don't really know but I plan on beating them.
Other than my health, my equipment is ready to go too. Wetsuit/goggles are good, bike just got rebuilt, shoes are well broken in and the trip is all planned out. Race plan has been written, pre-race and post-race plans are figured out too.
Today is the last day of hard training and will have a long straight swim. The rest of the time will be spent doing easier workouts and resting. 11 days from now I hope to be an Ironman.
Monday, October 25, 2004
I'll take the good weather when I can get it.
Monday's rides total 49.1 miles split into 2 rides, 22.7 miles, 1:13:00, 142bpm, before I picked up Justin from school and then 15 minutes later, 26.4 miles, 1:15:00, 141bpm. The first ride was out to sheldon and 7 mile, got a flat about 1/4 mile away from home, I have the worst luck with 20mm clinchers. I switched to the Spinergy Rev-X wheels for the second ride cuz I didn't want to fix the flat. I hooked up with Roman while heading out again near Wilcox rd. I turned around and rode back to Telegraph road with him and then back home. I was really surprised at the speed increase but I feel the terrain had something to do with it. Very nice outside, about 65 degrees and very light wind.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Sunday's workouts
The weather doesn't seem to want to cooperate so I put 10 miles on the bike trainer and then ran 12 miles outside. I had just done a lot of bike maintenance and didn't want to trash the bike on the wet roads just to get in a few easy miles before my run. The run was an easy 12 miles, 1:53:42, ave HR 145, cool outside about 55 degrees and kind of misty, allmost ready to rain. I ran west today to get a little different route and had to guess where mile 6 was, it was probably just a tad long.
In a couple of days I will start my taper, I allready feel like I'm not doing enough for the race. Next week I will probably feel more of the same.
In a couple of days I will start my taper, I allready feel like I'm not doing enough for the race. Next week I will probably feel more of the same.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Saturday morning swim
It looked easy on paper but when we swam it, it hurt.
3700 yds (wu 200S,200K,100s,
8X200 on 3:45,
250 pull,
8X100 on 1:55,
7X50 odds non-free, 200 cd).
After the swim I went to my dad's house and did a lot of bike maintenance, it needed it.
3700 yds (wu 200S,200K,100s,
8X200 on 3:45,
250 pull,
8X100 on 1:55,
7X50 odds non-free, 200 cd).
After the swim I went to my dad's house and did a lot of bike maintenance, it needed it.
Friday, October 22, 2004
Friday bike ride
I don't like riding my bike in the cold. 50 degrees outside and windy, my nose ran for the entire ride. 48.2 miles, 2:34:00, HR 140, really crappy outside like I said. Rode up and down Hines drive.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Thursday's swim
Still really tired from the run yesterday so I cut the swim short to 1500 before I drown myself. Didn't get much sleep last night and didn't recover well.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Base building
How did I get my base endurance? In my opinion I will never have enough base endurance to do what I want so while I am in charge of my own training schedule, it will dominate all of my training. -------- This is a long read, I just wanted to get it all down before I forgot it.
It all started in December of 2002 when I decided to buy a tri-bike and start doing triathlons to lose some weight. I never knew what I was getting myself into. I have been riding road bikes for fun ever since I stopped speedskating when I was 22. At that time my goal was to ride 20mph for 30 miles at a time. I only did it once when I was 19. I would allways start out riding at a decent pace and try to ride the return route faster. I just rode as hard as I could as long as I could. I was stronger than most in my cycling club and honestly felt good about the shape I was in. When the tri-training started I initially did the same thing, then after reading about heart-rate training I slowed down considerably, mainly because it was easier. The winter time was not a good time to start training on a bike so most of my focus was on swimming and running.
I hadn't swam since gym class in high school so I bought the book "Total Immersion" and read it twice before I got into the pool. It all seemed too easy at the time and I soon found that it wasn't, but that is another story I'll write about later.
The running I knew was going to kill me. I hadn't run since I got out of the Marines back in 1993. I had tried to run a couple of times a few years before but never stuck with it. This time I had a goal and was hellbent on achieving it. My first runs were 1 mile long and I could barely walk the next day. I am totally serious. I would run, then take two days to recover and do it again. After a couple of weeks I got up to 2 mile runs and was running a 13 min/mile at 145bpm. Soon after that I increased to 3 mile runs, when I hit 10 miles for a week I was estatic. I kept running at 145 bpm for several months and slowly brought the times down to 10.5 min/miles. June 15, 2003 was my first triathlon and I had a goal of 30 min for the 3.1 mile run. I just made it at 29:24, I was so happy but the race was so hard and I didn't know how to improve much more. At the time I did that race, my longest runs were 5 miles and the water scared me to death.
Enter my coach. He was a friend of my dad's so when my dad told me about him, it was easy to talk to him. I had met him once before about a year earlier on a bike ride and it seemed to me that he rode like a robot, meaning really strong. I took everything he said as gospel and did every workout he gave me. He liked how I was base building on my run, running at 145 bpm and slowly increase the distance to 15 to 20 miles a week. After a while he had me doing some speed work at the track to bring my efficiency up. Run after run I was running from 145 to 150 bpm while making progress on my pace. When my pace broke 11 min/mile I was really happy again, soon I was racing under 10 min/mile all of the time.
The bike was the same way, long rides keeping my HR low (130's) and not worrying about speed, that came later.
After the racing season I increased my runs to 10 and 12 miles keeping the low HR and doing some speedwork every once in a while. In Jan of 2004 I had to rest my left ankle cuz it hurt so bad and I even saw a doctor. He told me what was causing the problem was shoes with no real arch support. I was running in motion control shoes with soles that were flat cuz that is what the shoe store recommended. I got some insoles with arch supports in them and have been running with them ever since. This winter I am going to try something new.
Up untill June of 2004 I did everything my coach told me to. Long runs, low HR (140 to 145) to build up base. I knew the speed would come when I got stronger so I kept doing it. I kept the coach untill my half IM in June. I started to question his training methods several weeks earlier and lost all confidence in him. A clinic that I attended after the Half IM confirmed what I believed. Since then I have written my own schedule working mostly from some training materials I got from friends, the book "Going Long" and the many friends I made from the sport.
The first thing that I changed was the HR I was running at. I felt that 140bpm was way too low for me. That was increased to 150 bpm immediately. I stuck to the 10% rule for increasing my weekly distances and moved my long run from sunday (which was right after my long ride on saturday) to wednesday. First thing that happened was my knees felt so much better and I could concentrate on form. The speed didn't come as soon as I had hoped. I was hovering at about a 9:45 pace for a long time but that was OK cuz my goal pace for IMFL is 10:00 min/mile. I was just concerned about being able to cover the distance, to hell with the speed. I paid for it on the races this year with slow run times, but I am sticking to my plan.
That is my short history about base building. Lately, I have been running near a 9:15 pace for my longer runs to build efficiency while still staying aerobic. I will let the HR go up to 155 bpm which is the top of zone 2 for me but not much higher. On November 6 I will find out if this works.
It all started in December of 2002 when I decided to buy a tri-bike and start doing triathlons to lose some weight. I never knew what I was getting myself into. I have been riding road bikes for fun ever since I stopped speedskating when I was 22. At that time my goal was to ride 20mph for 30 miles at a time. I only did it once when I was 19. I would allways start out riding at a decent pace and try to ride the return route faster. I just rode as hard as I could as long as I could. I was stronger than most in my cycling club and honestly felt good about the shape I was in. When the tri-training started I initially did the same thing, then after reading about heart-rate training I slowed down considerably, mainly because it was easier. The winter time was not a good time to start training on a bike so most of my focus was on swimming and running.
I hadn't swam since gym class in high school so I bought the book "Total Immersion" and read it twice before I got into the pool. It all seemed too easy at the time and I soon found that it wasn't, but that is another story I'll write about later.
The running I knew was going to kill me. I hadn't run since I got out of the Marines back in 1993. I had tried to run a couple of times a few years before but never stuck with it. This time I had a goal and was hellbent on achieving it. My first runs were 1 mile long and I could barely walk the next day. I am totally serious. I would run, then take two days to recover and do it again. After a couple of weeks I got up to 2 mile runs and was running a 13 min/mile at 145bpm. Soon after that I increased to 3 mile runs, when I hit 10 miles for a week I was estatic. I kept running at 145 bpm for several months and slowly brought the times down to 10.5 min/miles. June 15, 2003 was my first triathlon and I had a goal of 30 min for the 3.1 mile run. I just made it at 29:24, I was so happy but the race was so hard and I didn't know how to improve much more. At the time I did that race, my longest runs were 5 miles and the water scared me to death.
Enter my coach. He was a friend of my dad's so when my dad told me about him, it was easy to talk to him. I had met him once before about a year earlier on a bike ride and it seemed to me that he rode like a robot, meaning really strong. I took everything he said as gospel and did every workout he gave me. He liked how I was base building on my run, running at 145 bpm and slowly increase the distance to 15 to 20 miles a week. After a while he had me doing some speed work at the track to bring my efficiency up. Run after run I was running from 145 to 150 bpm while making progress on my pace. When my pace broke 11 min/mile I was really happy again, soon I was racing under 10 min/mile all of the time.
The bike was the same way, long rides keeping my HR low (130's) and not worrying about speed, that came later.
After the racing season I increased my runs to 10 and 12 miles keeping the low HR and doing some speedwork every once in a while. In Jan of 2004 I had to rest my left ankle cuz it hurt so bad and I even saw a doctor. He told me what was causing the problem was shoes with no real arch support. I was running in motion control shoes with soles that were flat cuz that is what the shoe store recommended. I got some insoles with arch supports in them and have been running with them ever since. This winter I am going to try something new.
Up untill June of 2004 I did everything my coach told me to. Long runs, low HR (140 to 145) to build up base. I knew the speed would come when I got stronger so I kept doing it. I kept the coach untill my half IM in June. I started to question his training methods several weeks earlier and lost all confidence in him. A clinic that I attended after the Half IM confirmed what I believed. Since then I have written my own schedule working mostly from some training materials I got from friends, the book "Going Long" and the many friends I made from the sport.
The first thing that I changed was the HR I was running at. I felt that 140bpm was way too low for me. That was increased to 150 bpm immediately. I stuck to the 10% rule for increasing my weekly distances and moved my long run from sunday (which was right after my long ride on saturday) to wednesday. First thing that happened was my knees felt so much better and I could concentrate on form. The speed didn't come as soon as I had hoped. I was hovering at about a 9:45 pace for a long time but that was OK cuz my goal pace for IMFL is 10:00 min/mile. I was just concerned about being able to cover the distance, to hell with the speed. I paid for it on the races this year with slow run times, but I am sticking to my plan.
That is my short history about base building. Lately, I have been running near a 9:15 pace for my longer runs to build efficiency while still staying aerobic. I will let the HR go up to 155 bpm which is the top of zone 2 for me but not much higher. On November 6 I will find out if this works.
Wednesday's run
I had planned a 12 mile run but increased it to 13.1 cuz I was running so quickly. Total time was 1:58:21 (9:02 pace) which is a personal best for me. Ave HR was 152 but I pushed 158 for the last 3 miles to get the time that I wanted. Felt really strong throughout the run and did 2 gells at mile 5 and 10 with 28oz of Gatorade. I really could have gone much faster if I had wanted to and was tempted to do it. Recovery time to 120bpm was 53 seconds. Kind of cool, 55 degrees with very little wind. Looks like I will get a half day tomorrow at work so I can get in a long straight swim and a med dist bike ride. Friday I have the whole day off and am planning a long bike and short run. Sat it is supposed to rain and will do some bike maint at my dad's house plus a morning swim with the club. Sunday looks like a fun bike ride with a med dist run afterwards.
Tuesday
Swam 2600 yds in about 1hr. Not too hard, still working on the IM's. I'm starting to get the kick for breast stroke. After the swim I had some time to kill before I had to pick up Justin so I ran a little at the gym and did a lot of stretching cuz I felt kind of tight.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Monday's workouts
Sunday was so crappy outside that I decided to make it a family day and move the training to monday. Today was a short swim at lunch, 1000yds, 0:20:00, then a bike ride that started outside and had to move indoors cuz of the rain. I got about an hour outside, then an hour inside. 36.6 miles, 18.3 mph, hr 132. Kind of made up a routine to keep myself from getting too bored on the trainer. After warming up I do 10 min cycles of 1 min standing (to get blood flowing to certain parts), 4 min spin 55/21 (about 18mph), 2 min big gear 60 rpm (about 20mph), 3 min spin 55/19 (about 19.5mph). Today I was watching "Undercover Brother" during the workout and lost track of time, good thing cuz trainer stuff is boring.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Saturday's run
Pretty nasty outside, wind blowing, chilly, trails wet. Ran 8 miles, 1:15:16, HR 150. Really tired to start but toughed it out.
Saturday FAST Swim
3500 yds Killer swim,
400 warm up (200S, 100K, 100S)
3X800 (200IM, 300Pull, 200Kick, 100Free hard),
10X50 odds non-free,
200 cool down.
I did the butterfly for the first IM but couldn't handle any more. Amy and others tried to teach me how to kick for the breast stroke but it just seems so weird to me but I am determined to get it. Going to try to run some miles later today.
400 warm up (200S, 100K, 100S)
3X800 (200IM, 300Pull, 200Kick, 100Free hard),
10X50 odds non-free,
200 cool down.
I did the butterfly for the first IM but couldn't handle any more. Amy and others tried to teach me how to kick for the breast stroke but it just seems so weird to me but I am determined to get it. Going to try to run some miles later today.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Friday's workouts
Swam 2000 yds again in about 50 min, same swim as yesterday. 500 warm up(200 S, 100 K 200 S), 2x(200 pull, 200 moderate free, 100 kick, 100 IM), 100 fists, 100 easy pull, 100 cool down. I tried to ride on the trainer but 15 minutes is all that I could get in before I started to go crazy.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Thursday workouts
Swim easy 2000 yds, drills, right and left side breathing, paddles, closed fists, pulls 48:00. Ran 8 miles, 1:14:25, 9:18 pace, HR 152, no gels, just some gatorade, really light when I got back, 149lbs, about 3lbs light but I have cut some calories for the last 2 weeks. Shoulder feels much better today but I still have the marks.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Wednesday swim
Did a little swim and felt terrible. Shoulder hurt from yesterday so I just drilled for 1000 yds. Good thing this is a light week, I only had 2000 yds planned for the swim anyway.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Tuesday's ride
The weather is supposed to get crappy soon so I got my shorter bike ride in today. 1:48:11, 36.4 miles, 20.2mph, HR 142. Little cool outside so I had to cover my arms and legs to keep warm, maybe 58 degrees. There was a wreck on Hines drive and when I rode by, I think I got something in my front tire cuz it went soft about 6 miles later. I found it by taking a sharp turn and losing the front end of the bike. That's my third fall this year, very uncharacteristic of me, 1 from a bee sting, 1 from a drunk driver and now 1 from a flat. I'm OK, just bumped my shoulder, spilled my gatorade and hurt my pride a little.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Sunday bike ride
Talk about tired legs. I was pretty tired when I started the ride but got better as I got warmer, the last two days had 10 mile runs each day. Started at about 45 degrees and it warmed up to about 60. I took my coat off at about 50 miles and felt a lot better. Today's ride, 78.7 miles, 4:19:31, 18.1 mph, ave HR 140. I rode out to Island lake rec area again and it felt like I rode against the wind for most of it. When I got back I was surprised at the speed I went, I figured that I would be near 17 mph. Something weird about the ride today, I saw about a million caterpillers on the paths I rode on and it was like a slalom riding down the rail trail. I did my best not to squish them but it seems like if I seem them, I hit them. I missed some of my swims this week and am going to to a little more swimming at lunches this week. Nothing hard, just more time for the feel of the water.
Saturday, October 09, 2004
Saturday run
Had to work today do I didn't get in my swim. Ran 10 miles 1:35:14 ave HR 150, big negative split, 49:18 out, 45:56 back. I felt flat going out then around mile 4 I started to feel much better, very strong after I warmed up, I let the HR go up to 155 so I could get in some tempo work, I know, 10 miles run and doing tempo work? Well I know I'm not going to gain much more fitness in the next few weeks so I feel that I can get more efficient by letting myself run faster, I'm just at the very top of zone 2 for me at 155. Time will tell if this theory of mine works, it feels very comfortable.
Friday, October 08, 2004
Friday run
I did the 10 miles that I was going to do yesterday but only in the nice shoes:) 10 miles 1:35:41, HR 150. Felt really strong again, form feels good and I'm keeping my upper body relaxed well. Thought of doing some tempo work during the run but I was allready above race pace so in a sense, I was. Weekend is kind of screwed around cuz I have to work tomorrow, so a run is scheduled for tomorrow and the long bike is going to be on sunday.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Dang those new shoes
I really don't like the shoes I bought about a month ago. They are the same as the ones I bought before on the outside, but on the inside they are pure EVIL. I can't seem to run much past 6 miles on these without discomfort. Today I felt really strong for the first 3 miles, I mean really good despite the fact I had 2 hot dogs, baked beans and potatos 3 hours earlier. Maybe that should be my new pre-race meal. I seem to have a problem with my right arch rubbing the wrong way inside of them. Anywho, 4 mile run in about 37 minutes, HR 144. I walked home the rest of the way so I wouldn't screw up my foot. Looks like I'm going to keep the old shoes through Ironman Florida.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Wednesday's bike ride
Well, it's warming up around here and I really needed to get a good solid spin-up and big ring day in so I rode today, my sheldon to 7 mile loop. Kind of windy so I did the spin-ups going out into the wind and the big gear on the way back 1:09:30 for 22.8 miles 145bpm. Looks like the weekend will be warm too so I can get some long miles in again. Going to try to get Rhonda to ride with me again, I know she wants to but I have to talk her into it. Looking for a med dist run tomorrow (10-12), saturday and maybe a 6 miler in on sunday.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Tuesday swim
I'm still feeling tired from the run on sunday but did 3000 yds in just under an hour. The run really took a lot out of me. No wonder I was so tired in August after those two breakthrough runs in consecutive weeks, lessons learned the hard way.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Sunday 20 mile run
20 mile run today, 3:16:22 (9:49 pace) ave HR 149. 64 degrees outside and sunny. Nutrition was 1 gel every 3 miles, 28 oz of gatorade, 28 oz of accelerade (I ran out of gatorade mix). Finished 2 lbs lighter than I started so I will need some more fluid during a race or warmer weather. Felt pretty good for most of the run, Roman K was on his bike and he talked with me for 8 miles, the second 8 mile loop was pretty good but by mile 12 I started feeling a blister on my right foot in the arch. I thought it was from not having my shoes tight enough but it turned out to be from the logo on my sock, go figure, these were new socks, I'll make sure that I race with my old pair that are worked in. Knees felt good throughout the run, the blister pain dulled out after mile 16, I took a nature break at 15 miles which made me feel a lot better, I didn't include that in the total time. The last mile was tough but I think that's because I knew I was allmost done. I definitely could have gone farther but I didn't know what happened to my foot and didn't want to take any risks. I kind of have the chills right now and am going to take a shower to warm up. It was the right thing for me to not run yesterday cuz of the rain, today was a great day for a run.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Blogger photo game
Ok, I'm going to play the Blogger game and ask my readers, if there are any, to think of three photos that you would like to see posted to my blog. Things about my training, equipment, house, pets or whatever. I will only post things in good taste. Post a comment to this post or email me directly at jaretj@gmail.com. I will try to get them up asap.
Saturday
Well, the weather didn't cooperate with my training plans, it is raining and about 52 degrees so instead of running in the cold wet weather, getting sick and missing a week of training, I just swam with my swim club this morning. I feel that this is the best decision right now being 5 weeks out from IMFL, I will do the run tomorrow when it is supposed to be sunny and 65. ------ Today's club swim I felt very strong and led much of the workout, (the 300's, kicks and 4 decending 50's) it looks like the yards I'm putting in are paying off quicker that I had thought. 3100 yds, 450 warm up, 3X300 @ 6:00, 5X50 kick, 4X(4X25 broken IM, 100 IM), 100 easy, 8X50 decending sets of 4, 200 cool down. Today I did my first full lengths of Butterfly, those just killed me but were fun. There was no sense in me trying to lead those laps. Someone helped me with my kick for breast stroke, it's comming along slowly. All in all a pretty solid workout for me.
Friday, October 01, 2004
Friday evening spin
A little chilly to be wearing a tri-suit but I did. 68 degrees, my hands are a little stiff typing. 0:56:03 17.7 miles 18.9 mph HR 133, just an easy spin down Hines drive to dearborn and back, the cars kind of suck you along as they go by with the wind they create.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Thursday's workouts
I had a lot of stuff to do on wednesday so I couldn't really do any quality training. Today I did a lot of stuff, swam at lunch, 1500 yds 0:29:00, biked when I got home from work 1:07:25, 22.8 miles, 20.2 mph, HR 148. Ran right afterwards 6 miles 0:54:12 HR 153. 70 degrees outside, went a little faster than race pace on bike and run but still stayed arobic, had some fun too. Bought a book today at Borders, "Training plans for Multisport Athletes." It's for next year's training, when I get through it I'll post my thoughts on it.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Tuesday run
Same run as Sunday, a little cool outside 0:45:55 ave HR 149. I'm keeping the miles down during the week cuz I am doing a 20 miler on saturday.
Tuesday swim
4000 yds, yes that's right!!! 4000 yds straight, 1:20:42. Felt really strong today, the last 500 yd times were very close to the first. Kind of realized something too. I started to raise my head and look a little bit forward like my swimming buddy suggested and when I did I arched my back and kept my legs higher in the water, they were in a good position before but now they are better. This seems to mimmic what I do in a race with my wetsuit on. Going to have to do some more experimenting with this.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Sunday bike ride with the Tri-Club
The end of the season ride with FAST was great. Started in Northville and rode to a cider mill in Sought Lyon. I had a carmel apple, 2 dounuts, and a cup of warm cider. I got a little worried about how I would feel on the way back so I didn't eat too much. Talked to friends about what happened this year, what's happening next year and what's happening over the winter. Fun time, 25 miles out, 15 miles back, I stayed with the faster group and drafted most of the time. One guy was leading about 22-23 mph most of the time on the way back, pretty strong rider. Time was 1:57:00 for 39.5 miles, ave HR 142.
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Saturday swim
3200 yds (500 warm up, 4X200, 2X100 kick, 8X100 last 25 non-free, 200 catch-up, 10X50 first 25 non-free, 200 cool down). Felt fairly strong throught swim. A little tired at times but much better than last week. The weekly yardage is comming back up again and the speeds are comming back too. Don't know why but it seems that this pool (Schoolcraft) is faster than my normal pool at Bally's.
Friday, September 24, 2004
Friday's brick
I really wanted to go further but I had some time restraints even though I took the day off work. Bike 2:53:12 56.4 miles HR 137 19.5 mph, this pace is just over my target IM pace of 19 mph with some stoplights and some hills, just about no wind, partly cloudy day. 75 degrees, just about perfect biking weather. Gear selection was mostly 55/17 with 55/19 for the little uphills, cadence was mostly around 87 which seems to work really well for me. Run 1:37:30 10 miles ave HR 152, a bit high at the end near 156, probably a little light on fluids. Legs kind of tired too, the last couple of days has seen some volume. Nutrition for today was 6 gells, 1 cliff bar, 1 24 oz double strength orange Accelerade, 30 oz of water for the bike, transition was 20 oz of gatorade, run was 28 oz of gatorade (4 bottle fuel belt) and 2 gells, taken at miles 4 and 8, 1600 calories, could have done 1 more gell but I want to know what I can get away with. I know I can handle 1 gell every 2 miles if I had to.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Thursday swim / bike
Swam at lunch 0:30:00 1500 yds, 3 X 500, second set with paddles. Felt OK, Bike at 6pm 1:06:26, 22.2 miles 146 bpm, a little faster than I wanted to go but I followed this lady I knew from racing to see what she has, she is a pretty good rider. Did a usual loop to 7 mile via sheldon rd.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Wednesday run
12 miles, 1:55:40, ave HR 149. 12 mile runs are getting easier, kind of like 8 mile runs last year. Today I felt really strong, kind of held back for 3 miles and then ran to a perceived effort instead of watching HR. I've found that I run more relaxed that way, mostly in the upper body. I would have run further but it was dark near the end of the run and running 2 more miles would have put me home near 830pm, that is very close to bedtime for me. Tomorrow I should swim at lunch, I've got a new suit, goggles and cap to swim with tomorrow, the old suit is starting to get a bit revealing, if you know what I mean, and about a 1 to 1 1/2 hr easy bike ride in the evening. The rest of the week plans are for a long brick on friday if I can get off work - 4 hr bike / 2 hr run, swim with the club on saturday and an easy bike ride to follow, ride with the tri-club on sunday with a short run afterwards, maybe about 6 miles or so.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Sunday's Brick
Took a different bike route today and went South East to Grosse-Ile. Hines to Outer Drive to West Jefferson to Bridge road, a small loop on the island and then road back. 54 miles, 2:56:00, HR 139. I wanted to keep the HR lower but I was concerned with traffic and for a while I wasn't paying attention to it. It also seemed like on the way back I got caught by a lot of stop lights. The run right after the bike was a pleasant 10 mile run 1:39:04, HR 152. Felt much better on the run than expected.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Saturday's swim with FAST
Swam with the tri-club today 3200 yds, 1:15:00, tougher than I expected. Still trying to get rid of this cold I have so I'm taking the rest of the day off.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Thursday's run
Well, I was supposed to run yesterday but I had so much stuff to do plus I kind of had a cough so I saved the run for today. -------- Planned 10 miles and thought of adding 2 miles if I felt good, well ... I felt good. 12 miles 1:57:12, HR 147. Went out and kept HR under 145 and let it drift up to 150 on the way back. 10 min/miles going out, near 9:30's on the way back. On the return trip I let myself run free, kind of not restrained to any type of form and let my body run the way it wanted to. My candence was up to 186, leaned more forward than I usually do and kind of rolled my feet instead of trying to land mid-foot but definitely not a hard heel-strike. It felt efficient, that's the best I can describe it, upper body seemed more relaxed than normal cuz I wasn't trying to hold my arms up high. I'm going to have to experiment with this a little more. It sure was a lot easier than trying to run in the sand like last sunday ;)
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Tuesday Swim
3000 yds, Warm up: 200 swim, 100 kick, 200 swim, stretch. 3 X (200 pull-catch up, 200 moderate, 100 kick, 100 hard, rest 1 min), 10 X 50 odds non-free, 200 cool-down. Close to 2 weeks' ago swim with 1 less set. Kevin from work swam with me and we split a lane. People at Bally's were looking in disbelief that 2 people could actually swim in one lane, (they never share lanes there). My 100 yd sprints were pretty decent, 1:30, 1:32, 1:28. I was pretty tired at the end, still maybe a little week from the race on sunday. Wednesday will see a longer run, thursday will see a swim at lunch and a bike in the evening, Friday will see an easy bike/run, saturday will be a club swim with a bike ride to follow, sunday will see a long bike/10 mile run.
Monday, September 13, 2004
Times from Race
Plc # Name----------Age-Div--S/plc-S/tm----T1---B/plc-B/tm---T2---R/tm-Total
88 61 Jaret Johnson 37 M3539 93 34:34 1:04 58 1:09:54 1:23 57:47 2:43:17
88 61 Jaret Johnson 37 M3539 93 34:34 1:04 58 1:09:54 1:23 57:47 2:43:17
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Sunday "The Great Lake Escape"
Sunday's race. 2 hr drive to get to the race so I left at 330am. I missed most of the mandatory meeting at 530 but I caught bits and pieces from other competitors. Boarded a bus at 630am and got to the ferry boat at 645. About 715 we left the dock and got to the start line at about 745. Started at 800am by jumping off the boat and swimming to shore. Swim time was 34 somthing, much longer than expected, I really think the swim was long cuz I have been swimming 26 and 27's all season. Waves wern't too bad and the water temp was about 70, I used my sleeveless suit. -------- I planned on 1:11:00 for the bike and went a little too fast, finished about 1:09 something. Bike course was pretty flat, little wind, decent roads. HR for the bike was 167, I thought it would be lower cuz I got it down early in the ride plus I rode in the low 160's for most of it. There were some peaks over some hills but I didn't think they were that high. ------- The run - not a course for a PR. About 80% of the run was on the beach. What wasn't on the beach was on the grass and a short bit of concrete. 57 something for the run, HR 170. I'll get the exact times when they are published. Started out cool and then got hot while on the run. I think the temp was about 83 when I finished.
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Saturday
I took Friday off cuz I had a million things to do again, nothing special was planned that day. ------ Saturday saw a 20 mile bike ride at 19.5 mph, HR 136 and a short run followed, I didn't time the run.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Thursday's (Wednesday's) run
I did yesterday's run today. 10 miles, 1:37:40, 153 bpm, HR went up pretty easy and I had to hold back the last 2 miles. This is top of zone 2 for me and I didn't want to venture to far in the mysterious zone 3. Nice outside, about 77 degrees and a little breezy. This is the last week of base so what I have now is what I will work with all the way up to IMFL. Yesterday's resting HR was 48 bpm.
Thursday swim
Got my friend from work to swim with me today and give me some personal critisizm (sp?) on my stroke. Said everything was pretty good but gave me some pointers on some small flaws. He mentioned that with my current technique, a faster turnover is what I will need to get any faster. Not much left over in the area of streamlining and propulsion, just refinement. Also mention that working with paddles with help me a lot more that I had thought. Also tried to learn butterfly, breast and back stroke as well as worked on my turns. He will probably start swimming with me on saturday mornings with the club in a few weeks. --------- Gonna run today cuz I missed it yesterday due to rain and open house at the High School. Just 10 miles - easy pace.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Tuesday swim
Kind of felt like crap, probably cuz I have been eating Hot Dogs and Pizza all weekend, gonna fix that this week. 2300 yds 500 warm up, 4X225 last 50 non-free, 200 easy pull, 6X50 working on stroke count, 6X50 working on stroke rate holding count, 200 cool down.
Monday, September 06, 2004
Lake Erie Swim
Getting ready for the race this saturday I decided to get a swim in at Sterling State park located in Monroe on Lake Erie. The water was much warmer than I expected it to be, guessing about 70 to 72 degrees. I swam in my full suit, which I rarely ever do, and was a little warm. All I really did was jump into the surf cuz there were 2-3 foot waves comming in and breaking on the beach, kind of fun in the beginning but it got boring after 20 minutes and I decided to try to swim a bit. Well that was really tough to do being bounced around everywhere so after 10 minutes I body surfed back to the beach in a big hurry and made sand castles for a while. After I got home I did a 6 mile run just to get my legs moving. 0:54:33, HR 144. -------- This race comming up is an Escape to Alcatraz qualifier and is run nearly the same way with the swim starting from a ferry boat 1500 meters out in the lake. It looks like a lot of fun, and that is what I'm doing it for. Goals for the race are 25 min swim, 1:11:00 for the bike, under 0:50:00 for the run. I set the bike a little easier this time cuz the run is supposed to be really tough and I want to improve on that part of the race. --------- Click on the title for the link to race or copy and past this link. http://www.fatrabbitracing.com/events/GLE.asp
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Sunday run
Making up for the run I didn't do on friday, 10 miles HR 149, 1:39:00, felt OK but nothing terrific. Still working on those new shoes.
Saturday, September 04, 2004
Saturday's ride
74.8 miles in 4:00:00 very nice day outside. Felt good HR of 143 so I probably went a little too fast. Took friday off cuz I had a bunch of stuff to do.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Thursday lunch swim
It's amazing how much better I swim when I don't do a mega long run the day before.
1500 yds 29 minutes in the pool, felt much better I just wish this blister would dry up for me.
1500 yds 29 minutes in the pool, felt much better I just wish this blister would dry up for me.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Wednesday's run
I split my run like planned but I got a blister on my right heel which cut my run down to 8 miles (breaking in new shoes). I'll probably do 12 today with the old shoes. I felt really strong, went out with a HR of 145 and was a little bit faster than previously at that HR. I had been just over 10 min/mile but this time I was near 9:45's. Came back and let the HR go up to 150 and the times went down to 9:20's. Thursday's plans: swim at lunch, easy half hour bike followed by run.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Tuesday's swim
Felt pretty good in the pool, a swimmer friend didn't show up so I swam my favorite workout. Warm up: 200 swim, 100 kick, 200 swim, stretch. 4 X (200 pull-catch up, 200 moderate, 100 kick, 100 hard, rest 1 min), 10 X 50 odds non-free, 200 cool-down. I started to go to work and hour earlier this week cuz Justin started school and am starting to feel it. Going to have to tape my shows that start after 9pm so I can go to sleep earlier.
Monday's run
Got back to training on monday, RHR was 50-51 which is much closer to normal. -------- 6 miles in 55 min, HR 143, felt really strong and was tempted to go further and faster. Going to split the long run into 2 runs this week doing 10 miles in the morning and then 10 miles in the evening, probably on thursday. I will put the 20 mile run in the next period.
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Sunday
I worked the transition area at the Island lake triathlon with my club and had a fun time despite the rain. People were very nice and the post race food was great too. Feeling much better today, heart isn't pounding like friday but I won't start any training untill tomorrow. Depending how I feel, I will probably run about an hour or swim the same time.
Friday, August 27, 2004
Friday
Friday's ride was 38 miles in 2:00:00, HR was 129 and generally felt tired. I am starting to feel signs of overtraining and will take the weekend off. First sign that tells me I'm over trained is that my resting HR has been about 55 bpm which is about 5-6 beats higher than normal and my heart feels like it is pounding at rest. Second sign is on the bike ride, for the speed I was rolling I should have been closer to 140 bpm, I couldn't even get my HR up against the wind, I generally felt tired on the bike and couldn't do much to get the HR up. I've felt this before and won't fall victim to it again. Going to see how I feel on monday and decide what to do then.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Thursday's swim at lunch
Feeling much better this morning. Last night I drank 24oz of gatorade and 24oz of accelerade when I got done with the run and it kept me up untill midnight so I slept in an extra hour this morning and got to work about 730am. -------- Swam 1500 yds during lunch in about 30 minutes. Still don't have the speed in the pool that I had last spring but in open water I seem to be really fast with or without a wetsuit. Maybe it's cuz I'm training much harder on the bike and run now and I'm just tired out when it's swim time. I have some bike work to do later today if it doesn't rain, not hard just some big gear work again.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
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