Into Build Phase

Now that spring break is over, I'm moving into my build phases. For me, that means I increase the intensity for some of the same workouts I've been doing while adding specific training, such as outside hills on the bike, race pace runs, and open water swims. Because of the weather, my schedule will be a mix of the winter schedule and the expected summer schedule for much of April. In May, the weather stabilizes for the most part, and the full-on summer schedule is in place.

At this point, my weekly goals are
- swim 8,000 yards
- bike 120 miles
- run 20 miles (will probably increase to 24 or 25).

Open water swims are out of the picture in Idaho til May. I might get one in at Camp Pendleton in April, and I hope to make that one a one-mile swim. I'm increasing my yardage now in the swim because that leg of the tri is still kind of in the base phase, as I didn't start swimming til mid-February. My current workouts are M: 20x100 on 1:40, T: 1x800, 1x400, 2x200, 4x100, W: 2x800, R: 1x2000, F: mix of whatever I feel like or off or makeup. The Mon-Thurs schedule gives me my 8,000 yards for the week, with an equal mix of short and long. This yardage is significantly higher than last year's average of about 5,000, and that's because I want to be able push the swim and still get out of the water not feeling tired; the increased distance should facilitate that. The goal for the race split in an olympic race is 20 minutes.

The bike is still kind of inconsistent for me, but I'm getting better. In February and March I had a couple of weeks that I got in all the workouts but not the mileage I was hoping for. In any case, I was increasing the resistance throughout the winter, so the mileage isn't such as great measurment. The month of April will be pretty much like the winter training, but I'll get in as many outside bikes as I can when the weather is nice. The early mornings are still in the picture, and will remain in the schedule during the summer. The goal for the race split is variable given the course, but in general I'm looking for 1:06 or less on a really good day with few hills and little wind.

My run is probably in the worst shape at this point. I've done nothing but easy runs for the past months, but my mileage is higher than it ever was last year. When I can add in the intensity, it should come along nicely fairly quickly. My race goal for the run is a 43:00 10k.

Notice that the race goals don't get me to the 20-60-40....yet. I think that is going to happen further down the road as my open water swim and bike improve. The run may never get to a 40:00 unless I'm under 170 pounds, which isn't somewhere I really want to be.

I think the winter training was good for me. I certainly have a good base for the bike and some decent easy mileage for the run. My swim will get where it needs to be eventually.

I signed up for the Cache Valley Tri on June 12 and the Janet's Tri (West Yellowstone) on June 19 this evening. That will help me get out of bed in the morning and give me something to focus on when the training gets difficult. The Cache Valley Tri bike course is half uphill and the other half downhill.

Sick during recovery week

This week is supposed to be a recovery week, after a five week push of good, consistent training weeks. Now I'm sick. I normally end up taking one sick day a year, and today is the day. I'm not sure I'm actually recovering this week, but I'm certainly not working out. Beautiful day today, too....sunny and 60.

Last Friday's run turned out to be 11.6 miles in 1:23:30, that's about 7:15 miles. I didn't run really hard, but I pushed it a bit. This is supposed to be a long and easy run, but I ended up pushing because I felt so good....there's lot of air to be had at sea level!

Hopefully I can get over this cold/flu/whatever soon. I want to get in my last day of skiing on Saturday, and maybe a bike ride this weekend, too, if the weather holds.

End of winter training...well-timed!

So, at least my plan is working out, even if I'm not working out the plan.

My annual training plan says winter training ends this weekend, timed with the beginning of Idaho State University spring break. Suprisingly, spring sprang this week with some really nice temperatures. And I got in my first open water swim today...not in Idaho but in California at Camp Pendleton, where it was sunny, 70 degrees, and little wind. Anyway...

The past two weeks provided a great transition period from winter training to spring training. I got the bike outside a couple of times, and I got in the OWS today. I ran in shorts and a t-shirt twice last week on one of the warmer days of 45-50 degrees. Woohooo! But I also ran in the morning with pants and jacket a few times because it's still cold when it's dark. I also did a bike race, one of the ICE 10k TTs on a Sunday afternoon two weeks ago...I didn't know it was a race until I got there....I thought it was just a group ride of some sort (which I've never done, either).

Anyway, now it's time to turn up the intensity. My dog isn't going to like that much, because she's getting old and can't do much faster than a 9:30 mile. Paul might like it because I'll start pushing him more outside; he loves being outside! I won't get to swim in Idaho until the start of May, although I'm thinking I might try it towards the end of April just to see how early I can actually do it.

The only problem I have now is that the sun still isn't up til 6:45am or so, so I can't ride outside in the morning. That leaves me on the trainer in the morning and then a possible afternoon ride. That means I'm screwing with the trainer alot, which I'm not particularly fond of because it's harder than it really should be to get on and off the trainer.

I really need to turn up the intensity on the running ALOT. I'm just been jogging along at 8:30 miles all winter. I might have endurance, but my lactate threshhold is sure to be fairly low. But I can feel the endurance increases from the 9-10 mile runs.

ICE TTs:
The Idaho Cycling Enthusiasts bike club hosts two very informal race series each year. One is a 10k TT on a nice fairly flat section of road, although the wind can blow pretty hard (30-40mph) on this section fairly regularly. There is also a hill climb up local Scout Mountain, about five miles and 2,500feet. I'm planning on doing alot of those races, as much as a "cost-to-race" money-saver as a training method. I also want to get to know a few more people who bike. I'm very much a lone biker, which is ok for what and when I train, but it will be cool to meet some new folks and extend my horizons a bit. Like I said, the races are very informal, almost a show-n-go type thing but with a manual timer and some results, and the results get tallied at the end of the series to see who won. I'm certainly not there to win; maybe I'll see if I can't get last while I learn something and meet some people.

I'm looking forward to a good, well-balanced summer of events. It doesn't include the races I really want to do, but I'll certainly expand my horizons.

First outside bike rides

I got in three bike rides outside this week. First was the Idaho Cycling Enthusiasts (ICE) time trial on Sunday. A 10k course, not exactly flat enough for around here, I completed in 17:16 with very tired legs and a "I'm here to see what this is all about" approach to the day. I thought it was going to be a nice 20k ride or so. I didn't know we were going to be racing! It was a great way to see if everything is workingon the bike, though.

Then I rode a 15-miler and a 24-miler on Thursday and Friday. Thursday was sunny and 48 with little wind. Friday was 48 or so, cloudy, and really windy. I figure I'm about where I was at last July, which is good and bad. Good in that I didn't lose much over the winter, and bad in that I thought I might have made some gains compared to where I was at the end of the summer. I really can't make a comparison right now anyway because I'm wearing a jacket and pants in the cold, both of which slow me down.

Snowing today! The streets just got swept, so hopefully there isn't anymore sand going down on the streets. Going for a bit of cross-country ski this afternoon with Paul up to a yurt with friends. I'm not staying overnight, though. I just want to get out and about with Paul.

This next week is the end of the end-of-winter training push, then I get a break going into my reserve drill weekend. My volume is up alot this week, but not exactly where I want to be yet, but preparing to be there for summer.