This post will be a hodge podge of thoughts.
My neck and back are sore from the new bike position. That should take about two weeks to get used to. I got a small massage at Costco today, where I go to hang out with Paul because he tends to fall asleep there. Anyway, I found a massage recliner that is AWESOME. The "fingers" get both sides of the spine, right next to the spine and all way down your back. It doesn't get the neck very well, but my lower back is usually the sore spot anyway. I sat in there for about tweny minutes while Paul slept. I'm sure it was a wierd site for people to see an empty cart with a sleeping baby in it in the middle of the aisle, and then they would see me sitting in the chair in the racks. But it felt great!
My abs are sore today. Probably from a combination of the uphill biking and the sprints I did yesterday. I always find my abs are sore after either of those, and I did both within a 24 hour period.
The sprints were a good but very short workout. I did a 800 warmup, then a 800 run on 2:57, then a 400 on 1:21, then a 200 and 100 (I forget the times). The 800 really sucked, and I positive splitted by about 16 seconds (1:21 v 1:36). The last 150 yards were brutal and hurt alot. The 400 went alot better, and I died on only the last 50. The 200 and 100 went 100% the entire way, which is nice. I figure I can do two sets of these during a standard lunch hour, but I really don't like the idea of how much that second 800 is going to hurt! There is a middle school with a track right by my work that will work great for sprint workouts once school is out in Mid-May. I like the idea of that workout once a week, but like I said the second 800 is going to be really painful.
I went for a 3 mile run with Paul again today. It was supposed to rain this morning and clear up this afternoon, so I waited to run til this afternoon. Of course, it started raining halfway through the run. So I bailed on a second lap. Paul fell asleep during the run, which I guess is good. He sure sleeps better at night when he takes naps. Funny thing is that he only sleeps 30 minutes at a time, and you get set a watch by that 30 minutes!
I swam yesterday morning. Was supposed to be 3x500 but I only did 2x500. On the last lap of my second 500, I hit a ladie's paddle with my arm during recovery, and it hurt. She was kind of pissed off about! But I was sharing a lane and she wasn't, so why she wasn't in the middle of her lane I don't know. Anyway, I just didn't feel like swimming another 500 after her attitude kind of ruined my morning. The other thing about that workout was that I couldn't count laps for anything. How hard is it to count laps?!?!?! Well, it's not simple when you get into your little happy place while swimming laps. I did a 8:40 and 8:55, and I figure I had to have done two extra laps, but that would be a 7:10 or so on the first lap, and I'm not that fast, but it was certainly faster than a 8:40, counting the extra laps as my usual 40second laps. Who knows?! I'm just chalking it up to a bad workout.
I got a new pair of googles. They are AquaSphere and are marketed as having 180 degree vision. We'll see if that's true. I need something that gives me more visibility in open water, and I figure these should work pretty good. They are "guaranteed" not to leak. Ha! I'll believe it when I see it.
And I'm changing to some competition swim shorts for my workouts. I think I'm getting some bad form by using my standard running shorts because the pocket on the back creates an uneven drag, making it harder to pull with my right arm than with my left arm. Maybe I'm overanalyzing again, but that's my thought. I'll find out tomorrow morning.
Weather is not cooperating again for outside biking. It's supposed to be rainy for the next few days. I just don't like biking in the rain. For one, I don't feel safe because the tires are so skinny. Second, I don't think others can see me as well. And third, I don't simply don't like it. But I supposed I need to get out there in the rain some day so that I know what to expect if it's raining on race day sometime.
Tomorrow is the swim portion of the Bengal tri. It's a 700 yarder. No sweat; I just want to do the race for the heck of it. Then Saturday morning is the bike and run. That will count as my first all-outdoor brick, which I had planned to do anyway very soon. For $10, I get to meet the other triathletes in town, a cool shirt, and a reason to bike in the rain. It'll be worth it, but I might not like it.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
First go at Portland Tri rehearsal route
I'm doing the Portland Tri in August, and it has a big hill in it (450ft in 3.23 miles). I suck at hills, which I found out during the Bear Lake Brawl last year (and those were small hills). So I found a hill with a similar profile in terms of elevation gain and distance; there is probably a small difference but this is the one I'm "rehearsing" on for the Portland Tri, which is going to be my biggest race of the year.
Today was the first day I did this hill for a workout. I only did the hill once, but the Portland Tri is a three-loop bike route, which means I have to do the hill three times. But I needed to find out what it felt like. I averaged 12mph up the hill, which I have no idea if that's bad or good. I don't remember any significant wind but there was a breeze into my face on the uphill. It was good to get the first go at this hill out of the way. Now I know how long the workout will take if I do it three times, including the route there (up and over a different big hill on the way out and back, too). The weather was great! 70degrees and sunny! If I average 12mph on the up, I have to average 32 (unrealistic!) on the down to come out at 22mph overall average, which is 2mph shy of my goal. So I guess I have to get that hill speed up to 14 three times in a row. 14mph on the up with a 30mph on the down averages 22mph, too. Maybe I shouldn't over-analyze.
Bike stem update: the new 80mm stem is certainly shorter, but I still didn't keep my hands at the end of the aero bars, which is where they are supposed to be. A 50mm is probably where I would be most comfortable, and that is 1.2 inches shorter. I'm not going to spend another $30 on a stem this year, so I'm stuck with a good-enough-but-not-perfect setup for this year. I could definitely feel that I wasn't sliding forward on the bars, and I think my legs felt better because of it. Also, there was certainly less pressure on the pressure points on the seat, which is always good. My back and neck felt some additional strain from the new position, but I'll get used to that. It's a bit harder to hold my head up with the shorter stem.
Also did an easy 3 miler with Paul in the cruiser earlier in the day. It's nice to just go for a jog (not run) with Paul and Sooner (my dog) on a beautiful day.
I also finally tried something to help my calf muscle pain, which is a recurring pain (not really an injury) every spring that eventually goes away at some point about half way into the summer. I tried the old rolling pin trick, and it worked great. That pain is about completely gone when I walk, and I couldn't even feel it on the run today. I'm going to keep doing it for several minutes several times a day.
Today was the first day I did this hill for a workout. I only did the hill once, but the Portland Tri is a three-loop bike route, which means I have to do the hill three times. But I needed to find out what it felt like. I averaged 12mph up the hill, which I have no idea if that's bad or good. I don't remember any significant wind but there was a breeze into my face on the uphill. It was good to get the first go at this hill out of the way. Now I know how long the workout will take if I do it three times, including the route there (up and over a different big hill on the way out and back, too). The weather was great! 70degrees and sunny! If I average 12mph on the up, I have to average 32 (unrealistic!) on the down to come out at 22mph overall average, which is 2mph shy of my goal. So I guess I have to get that hill speed up to 14 three times in a row. 14mph on the up with a 30mph on the down averages 22mph, too. Maybe I shouldn't over-analyze.
Bike stem update: the new 80mm stem is certainly shorter, but I still didn't keep my hands at the end of the aero bars, which is where they are supposed to be. A 50mm is probably where I would be most comfortable, and that is 1.2 inches shorter. I'm not going to spend another $30 on a stem this year, so I'm stuck with a good-enough-but-not-perfect setup for this year. I could definitely feel that I wasn't sliding forward on the bars, and I think my legs felt better because of it. Also, there was certainly less pressure on the pressure points on the seat, which is always good. My back and neck felt some additional strain from the new position, but I'll get used to that. It's a bit harder to hold my head up with the shorter stem.
Also did an easy 3 miler with Paul in the cruiser earlier in the day. It's nice to just go for a jog (not run) with Paul and Sooner (my dog) on a beautiful day.
I also finally tried something to help my calf muscle pain, which is a recurring pain (not really an injury) every spring that eventually goes away at some point about half way into the summer. I tried the old rolling pin trick, and it worked great. That pain is about completely gone when I walk, and I couldn't even feel it on the run today. I'm going to keep doing it for several minutes several times a day.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Great day...AWESOME weather
A good start to Build 3 Week 2. I recovered nearly 100% from yesterday's ski. And I've embraced the idea of not scheduling a Monday morning workout; it's great.
Hit the pool for sprints today at lunch. 200wu, 2x100, 4x50, 8x25, 200 cooldown. Short and sweet. Average heart rate was about 150, which is high for me but normal on the springs. Interesting that my hard sprint on the 50's came in on 40-41 seconds, but my cooldown times for each 50 were 44-45. With such a significant difference in effort level, I was expecting a more significant difference in times. But that 4 to 5 seconds is 8 to 10 percent, so it kind of makes sense...but not entirely.
Was planning a hard 5.4 miles after work. All day, I looked out the window at the most awesome spring day weather so far. So I upped the mileage to 9 miles just to spend more time outside and kept up a good pace. This 9 mile route is on the local trails and has some significant hills. When I stepped off, I decided I wanted to see if I could do 9 minute mile average. I came it at 1:21:47, averaging 9:05 miles. The best part was getting out on mostly dry trails under a warm sun. A nice run. It would have been great, but my right calf muscle started "paining" again. That always happens when I run steep hills. Hurts on both the up and down hills, but no pain on the flats. Not sure what it is, and stretching only helps a little. I think it is simply a muscle imbalance.
This was the longest run of the year, and probably the longest I'll do to train for olympic distance; 9 miles is almost 50% longer than race distance. But it's only half of the distance I'm doing for the Pocatello 50; given that today didn't really hurt, I'm fairly certain I can grunt out the last half of the 18 miles because it is mostly downhill (yeah!).
Weather changes again on Wednesday, back to cool and wet/snow. But tomorrow is supposed to be almost as nice as today.
And I'm pretty sure I'll do the Bengal Triathlon just for the heck of it. That's this weekend. Certainly a "C" race. I'll just count it as my first outdoor brick.
And I got a new stem for my bike this past weekend. I went with an 80mm cuz it's the shortest they had on hand and felt good. We'll see tomorrow when I get on the bike!
Hit the pool for sprints today at lunch. 200wu, 2x100, 4x50, 8x25, 200 cooldown. Short and sweet. Average heart rate was about 150, which is high for me but normal on the springs. Interesting that my hard sprint on the 50's came in on 40-41 seconds, but my cooldown times for each 50 were 44-45. With such a significant difference in effort level, I was expecting a more significant difference in times. But that 4 to 5 seconds is 8 to 10 percent, so it kind of makes sense...but not entirely.
Was planning a hard 5.4 miles after work. All day, I looked out the window at the most awesome spring day weather so far. So I upped the mileage to 9 miles just to spend more time outside and kept up a good pace. This 9 mile route is on the local trails and has some significant hills. When I stepped off, I decided I wanted to see if I could do 9 minute mile average. I came it at 1:21:47, averaging 9:05 miles. The best part was getting out on mostly dry trails under a warm sun. A nice run. It would have been great, but my right calf muscle started "paining" again. That always happens when I run steep hills. Hurts on both the up and down hills, but no pain on the flats. Not sure what it is, and stretching only helps a little. I think it is simply a muscle imbalance.
This was the longest run of the year, and probably the longest I'll do to train for olympic distance; 9 miles is almost 50% longer than race distance. But it's only half of the distance I'm doing for the Pocatello 50; given that today didn't really hurt, I'm fairly certain I can grunt out the last half of the 18 miles because it is mostly downhill (yeah!).
Weather changes again on Wednesday, back to cool and wet/snow. But tomorrow is supposed to be almost as nice as today.
And I'm pretty sure I'll do the Bengal Triathlon just for the heck of it. That's this weekend. Certainly a "C" race. I'll just count it as my first outdoor brick.
And I got a new stem for my bike this past weekend. I went with an 80mm cuz it's the shortest they had on hand and felt good. We'll see tomorrow when I get on the bike!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Last ski day?
A most AWESOME and BEAUTIFUL day here in Southeast Idaho. The weather man had been forecasting this day since last Sunday, and the rain/snow he was forecasting during the week came, too. So the plan since last week was to go skiing today, thinking it's probably the last of the year. There will definitely be enough snow for at least three weeks, but the lift is closed after today, which means that it's a one hour hike up the hill.
Anyway, we got in two runs plus the lift-side run back down to the car. The skies were blue and there was NO wind. Incredible day! Snow was good. Not great, but good. And on a day like this, who cares what the snow is like? It's just great to get on the skis under blue skies finally.
So I logged 3.5 hours of cross-training today w/ average heart rate of 140. Quads and hamstrings got burned up pretty good, and my face would have been sunburned but I put on sunscreen three times and my face still got a bit red.
So I think that the skiing is out of my system now but I'm still holding out for maybe a couple of hours next week.
Next weekend is the Bengal Triathlon in Pocatello. It's a really early season triathlon. Pool swim of 700 yards on Friday night followed by sprint distance bike and run on Saturday morning on the same routes that I workout on. Still not sure I'll do it. I guess I'm waiting to see what the weather is supposed to be like....I'm definitely a fair-weather biker, and I draw the line for running at a heavy rain and high winds w/ temps under 40 degrees.
For anyone not in Pocatello, the photo shows what the standard slope looks like:
Anyway, we got in two runs plus the lift-side run back down to the car. The skies were blue and there was NO wind. Incredible day! Snow was good. Not great, but good. And on a day like this, who cares what the snow is like? It's just great to get on the skis under blue skies finally.
So I logged 3.5 hours of cross-training today w/ average heart rate of 140. Quads and hamstrings got burned up pretty good, and my face would have been sunburned but I put on sunscreen three times and my face still got a bit red.
So I think that the skiing is out of my system now but I'm still holding out for maybe a couple of hours next week.
Next weekend is the Bengal Triathlon in Pocatello. It's a really early season triathlon. Pool swim of 700 yards on Friday night followed by sprint distance bike and run on Saturday morning on the same routes that I workout on. Still not sure I'll do it. I guess I'm waiting to see what the weather is supposed to be like....I'm definitely a fair-weather biker, and I draw the line for running at a heavy rain and high winds w/ temps under 40 degrees.
For anyone not in Pocatello, the photo shows what the standard slope looks like:
Friday, April 3, 2009
Dropping weights..Good swim and run
I've decided to drop the weight lifting from my PT schedule for the foreseeable future. I felt much stronger in the pool Wed and Frid (this morning), and I'm pretty sure it's because I wasn't lifting weights and was a getting a good recovery.
My 1x1500 swim this morning was 24:30, which is slow for me. I looked at my logs from Aug 08, and I was swimming 1500 in 21 minutes, when I wasn't lifting. So at this point, I'm jumping to the conclusion that it's because I wasn't lifting weights last summer.
Foreced myself to run today. 5.3 miles. Cool and windy. I really didn't want to run, but I reminded myself that I'm now into true race-prep phase and I need to get in the run miles. These were not "junk" miles. I did it simply to ensure I can do the 18 miles during the Pocatello 50 in six weeks! Times were the same as I was running in January but I ran it at a bit less effort level. Average heart rate today was 141 versus a 154 for the same time in January.
It's snowing right now. I think there is more snow in the local mountains now than there has been any other time this winter. What's up with that?! So I'm going skiing on Sunday, and it's supposed to be sunny and 50-60degrees with just a bit of wind. I'm pumped. I might have to go next weekend, too! Cross-training should be done at this point in my annual training plan, but I can't say no to what should be some great powder after the weather we've had the last several days.
And I called up the bike shop today. I should be able to test out a 70mm and 80mm stem, and purchase for $40-$80. I need to make that happen so I can get used to it in the 2 1/2 months I have before my first race.
Weather on Monday and Tuesday is supposed to be nice. Sunny and 50. Woohooo! I might have to add bike workout to Monday to get out on the road. Wednesday and later look cool and wet.
My 1x1500 swim this morning was 24:30, which is slow for me. I looked at my logs from Aug 08, and I was swimming 1500 in 21 minutes, when I wasn't lifting. So at this point, I'm jumping to the conclusion that it's because I wasn't lifting weights last summer.
Foreced myself to run today. 5.3 miles. Cool and windy. I really didn't want to run, but I reminded myself that I'm now into true race-prep phase and I need to get in the run miles. These were not "junk" miles. I did it simply to ensure I can do the 18 miles during the Pocatello 50 in six weeks! Times were the same as I was running in January but I ran it at a bit less effort level. Average heart rate today was 141 versus a 154 for the same time in January.
It's snowing right now. I think there is more snow in the local mountains now than there has been any other time this winter. What's up with that?! So I'm going skiing on Sunday, and it's supposed to be sunny and 50-60degrees with just a bit of wind. I'm pumped. I might have to go next weekend, too! Cross-training should be done at this point in my annual training plan, but I can't say no to what should be some great powder after the weather we've had the last several days.
And I called up the bike shop today. I should be able to test out a 70mm and 80mm stem, and purchase for $40-$80. I need to make that happen so I can get used to it in the 2 1/2 months I have before my first race.
Weather on Monday and Tuesday is supposed to be nice. Sunny and 50. Woohooo! I might have to add bike workout to Monday to get out on the road. Wednesday and later look cool and wet.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Weather sucks, biked inside
Well, I was hoping to be biking outside at this point, but that's not happening. Today's primary workout was the steady state ride bike, 1x45mins and 1x20mins. It went ok but not great. I added resistance to my trainer, so I don't have direct comparisons to earlier in the season anymore, but the trainer is now a closer representation to what gears I used on the road. I started in my gear 8 for 14 minuts, moved to gear 7 for 10 minutes, then down to gear 6 for the next 25 minutes; the resistance make the much of a difference. The final 20 minute set I used the gear 6 and had cadence of 85, which matches almost exactly where I'm on my 40k road route. Overall, my hearrate was 153, and that is pretty close to what I get on a road route. Right now I'm thinking my lactacte threshhold is at 158-160 for the bike. My run LT is 164, which I found last Monday during a 10k TT. I'm thinking the difference between the run and bike LT should be more.
Weather sucked again today: cold, windy, with snow. So no run with Paul. I really need to be getting in some run miles right now!
Here's my workout stats for Jan to end of March. Lots of cross-training from yurt trips and cross county skiing....keeps me from burning out on the trainer.
Swim 8.45hrs 7.54%
Bike 25.55hrs 22.80%
Run 16hrs 14.28%
Combo 7.75hrs 6.92% (hottub, stretch)
Cross 52hrs 46.41% (mostly skiing)
Weights 10.75 hrs 9.59%
Weather sucked again today: cold, windy, with snow. So no run with Paul. I really need to be getting in some run miles right now!
Here's my workout stats for Jan to end of March. Lots of cross-training from yurt trips and cross county skiing....keeps me from burning out on the trainer.
Swim 8.45hrs 7.54%
Bike 25.55hrs 22.80%
Run 16hrs 14.28%
Combo 7.75hrs 6.92% (hottub, stretch)
Cross 52hrs 46.41% (mostly skiing)
Weights 10.75 hrs 9.59%
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Good swim today
If you noticed, I posted my standard workout schedule for this phase in the right column. I put in the run speed work on Wednesday at lunch, but that is a tentative every week because of the weather. Today....didn't do it.
Swam the 3x500 today on 7:38, 7:55, and I think about 8:15. My last 500 I lost count and came in at 9:44, so I figure I did two extra laps (45 second laps x 2 = 1:30, how I got the 8:15 time). In any case, the swim felt great again. I concentrated on long and strong pulls and snapping my hip. The hip snap is something I read about a couple of months ago and have been working on. It really does work! And I did this workout at lunch, so I was awake and had time to get mentally up for it. My morning swims lack alot of intensity because I'm just waking up. The pool water is normally in the mid-80' (yes, mid 80's!) but it is now at 79, which also makes it a bit easier to maintain some intensity. Swimming hard for 30 minutes in 86 degree water is like running 90 minutes in 100 degrees. So the swim felt pretty good, and I know I kept a good long strong pull because my arms and lats are feeling.
Here's a hilarious video I found via trifuel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3S0wu4Zbfk
One of my goals for this phase is to increase the intensity. I have definitely done that! Unfortunately, another goal is to hit all my workouts, and I've already missed two of seven scheduled.
Swam the 3x500 today on 7:38, 7:55, and I think about 8:15. My last 500 I lost count and came in at 9:44, so I figure I did two extra laps (45 second laps x 2 = 1:30, how I got the 8:15 time). In any case, the swim felt great again. I concentrated on long and strong pulls and snapping my hip. The hip snap is something I read about a couple of months ago and have been working on. It really does work! And I did this workout at lunch, so I was awake and had time to get mentally up for it. My morning swims lack alot of intensity because I'm just waking up. The pool water is normally in the mid-80' (yes, mid 80's!) but it is now at 79, which also makes it a bit easier to maintain some intensity. Swimming hard for 30 minutes in 86 degree water is like running 90 minutes in 100 degrees. So the swim felt pretty good, and I know I kept a good long strong pull because my arms and lats are feeling.
Here's a hilarious video I found via trifuel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3S0wu4Zbfk
One of my goals for this phase is to increase the intensity. I have definitely done that! Unfortunately, another goal is to hit all my workouts, and I've already missed two of seven scheduled.
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