October is here. That means winter training season started today. Actually, it starts tomorrow because this morning I didn't get up because I got back late from drill last night and needed to sleep in.
My winter training plan is simple for the most part:
- Keep running 10k at lunch every day M-F at a moderate pace. Theoretically, that moderate pace will get faster over time. I have six months for that to happen.
- Bike in the morning. For October, it's a simple matter of getting up every morning and being on the bike for an hour at whatever intensity level seems right for the day. I want to get into the habit of morning workouts. In November, I'll start the workout earlier and then get in a 30 minute swim or weights session before I go to work. December through March is a matter of increasing intensity for the same amount of time during the specified workout.
- I'm going with a hard/short, moderate/moderate, and long/easy approach to workouts for swim, bike, and run. I did that with the run last year, and it worked pretty good, at least when I was consistent with it. The details aren't done yet, but that's the strategy I'm going to take. October is simply maintaining a consistent schedule at moderate intensity.
This past race season really fell apart at the end of June. I had great plans and expectations for the August races and then the September Xterra in Park City. Then I had to go to Korea for USMCR active duty training, and it all fell apart because my motiviation went out the window because I was really bummed about missing the August races (that's when I went to Korea). I could have kept up the training for the XTerra, but it just wasn't happening. Oh well, the two races I did in June were nice. The Cache Valley was a great race. The Janet's Tri fell apart when I flatted, but that's my own fault because I was cheap and didn't get a new tire when I absolutely knew I needed a new one....I rolled the dice against the odds and lost.
Here's to a good winter training season!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Summer is here!
Summer is finally here! A long, wet, cool spring was long overdue to go away. The weather seemed to break in time for the Janet's Triathlon.
Now it's hot! Last week I was in Boise and did my first long run (11 miles) in the heat. It hurt.
Saturday, I did my longest bike so far...48 miles out to McCammon and back. First 36 miles were great, then it started to hurt. I do twice the race distances for swim and run workouts, but I've never done a bike twice the race distance. Now I konw why I always die on the bike. I certainly need to do at least a few 36 milers, although I've gone 2 hours on the trainer and logged 40 miles according to that setup (I don't completely trust the reading, though).
Now, I'm back into a nice training schedule for a couple of weeks while I decide if I want to do the Twin Falls race. It was GREAT to do an easy 15 miler in the heat today....I forgot how much I really like to ride on a hot day.
Now it's hot! Last week I was in Boise and did my first long run (11 miles) in the heat. It hurt.
Saturday, I did my longest bike so far...48 miles out to McCammon and back. First 36 miles were great, then it started to hurt. I do twice the race distances for swim and run workouts, but I've never done a bike twice the race distance. Now I konw why I always die on the bike. I certainly need to do at least a few 36 milers, although I've gone 2 hours on the trainer and logged 40 miles according to that setup (I don't completely trust the reading, though).
Now, I'm back into a nice training schedule for a couple of weeks while I decide if I want to do the Twin Falls race. It was GREAT to do an easy 15 miler in the heat today....I forgot how much I really like to ride on a hot day.
Race Report - Janet's Triathlon (West Yellowstone)
This race is part of an annual family trip to Yellowstone National Park's west side, where the fishing is good in mid-June on the rivers there. We camp at Madison Junction, do the race, and then fish Saturday afternoon and Sunday.
The race is at Madison Arm Resort and is a fund raiser for the resort owner's daughter who died of cancer a while back. Race site is http://www.janetstriathlon.com/. Elevation is about 6,500ft. The water is always cold, and this year was about 54degs. The weather FINALLY broke into a summer day for the first time in recent memory on the day of the race...very nice. This is my favorite race because it has a small family/community feel to it, the lake is awesome, the bike and run trails are great (ie flat and dirt!), and it's simply a great family weekend every year.
Here's the race wrapup:
Tri started at 10am. Felt good going into it, not sure if I had maintained fitness, though, after two weeks of tapering/no real workouts because of a race the week prior and an off week to prepare for that race.
Pre-race went well. Got in a good 200meter swim warmup. Transition area seemed smaller than last year, with less people. Bike setup where I wanted. Ran back to car to get my helmet with only ten minutes left til race time cuz I had forgotten it. Good thing only about 100yds to car! I love the smallness of this race.
Swim: Good start. Pushed out in front of everyone, a bit of competition for that front right spot on the lane rope, but I eventually got it. Swam well the entire way. Had to breaststroke twice at the 300m mark to catch my breath. Overall went exactly as planned. Hard first 200m, cruise 200-500m, push 500-750m, pace into the 1k finish. Came in about 4 or 5 out of the water, including relayers. Followed a guy's feet into the finish the last 200m, decided not to try to pass him cuz it would have really pushed my limit. Water was 54 but didn't feel as cold as last week's 58. My hands didn't "claw up" and feet were ok and not cramping.
T1: slow! but faster than normal cuz I figured out how to use my right hand to undo the velcro and left hand to unzip. That works much better. I thought of that at the start line and decided to do it! Had pulled up my suit very tight into the crotch and shoulders. I think that helped me get some material into the chest area to make room for expansion of my chest/lats during the race, which made it more comfortable. Anyway, that made it harder to get off! Kind of slow. 14:38 for 1k.
Bike: Started really well. Thought I was pushing my luck by starting with a worn out tire and then running over some sticks and such. Eventually, one guy blew by me, and I realized my tire was flatting. At mile 7, it was done for. It was the back tire, which I have trouble getting off in my garage, and it was a slow leak, so I decided to pump it up, ride, pump, ride, pump for 7 miles(!). Lots of people passed me. It was hard to finish that way, but I thought that it was for a cancer fundraiser, so I didn't want to get all pissed off. That and the fact this trip is a fishing trip with a triathlon, so I needed to keep loose. Finished in about an hour(!). Pretty sure I could have gotten a 42min on this bike.
T2: Fast. Decided to push Paul on the run.
Run: Took it kind of easy and pushed Paul and missed last year's time by only a minute (I raced with a calf strain at last year's race). AHR was about 150 on the run instead of 164 like the run the week prior race. The cruiser is incredibly smooth. Got passed by several more people. Paul slept. It was his first race!
We then went on to catch some small brookies in a bend on the Gibbon River at Elk Park. I've always to fish there but have never stopped there. This was the first time that I've gone to a place I've thought I'd like to fish and then proceeded to catch fish with no pointers from anyone; that in and of itself was a major accomplishment for the weekend!
The race is at Madison Arm Resort and is a fund raiser for the resort owner's daughter who died of cancer a while back. Race site is http://www.janetstriathlon.com/. Elevation is about 6,500ft. The water is always cold, and this year was about 54degs. The weather FINALLY broke into a summer day for the first time in recent memory on the day of the race...very nice. This is my favorite race because it has a small family/community feel to it, the lake is awesome, the bike and run trails are great (ie flat and dirt!), and it's simply a great family weekend every year.
Here's the race wrapup:
Tri started at 10am. Felt good going into it, not sure if I had maintained fitness, though, after two weeks of tapering/no real workouts because of a race the week prior and an off week to prepare for that race.
Pre-race went well. Got in a good 200meter swim warmup. Transition area seemed smaller than last year, with less people. Bike setup where I wanted. Ran back to car to get my helmet with only ten minutes left til race time cuz I had forgotten it. Good thing only about 100yds to car! I love the smallness of this race.
Swim: Good start. Pushed out in front of everyone, a bit of competition for that front right spot on the lane rope, but I eventually got it. Swam well the entire way. Had to breaststroke twice at the 300m mark to catch my breath. Overall went exactly as planned. Hard first 200m, cruise 200-500m, push 500-750m, pace into the 1k finish. Came in about 4 or 5 out of the water, including relayers. Followed a guy's feet into the finish the last 200m, decided not to try to pass him cuz it would have really pushed my limit. Water was 54 but didn't feel as cold as last week's 58. My hands didn't "claw up" and feet were ok and not cramping.
T1: slow! but faster than normal cuz I figured out how to use my right hand to undo the velcro and left hand to unzip. That works much better. I thought of that at the start line and decided to do it! Had pulled up my suit very tight into the crotch and shoulders. I think that helped me get some material into the chest area to make room for expansion of my chest/lats during the race, which made it more comfortable. Anyway, that made it harder to get off! Kind of slow. 14:38 for 1k.
Bike: Started really well. Thought I was pushing my luck by starting with a worn out tire and then running over some sticks and such. Eventually, one guy blew by me, and I realized my tire was flatting. At mile 7, it was done for. It was the back tire, which I have trouble getting off in my garage, and it was a slow leak, so I decided to pump it up, ride, pump, ride, pump for 7 miles(!). Lots of people passed me. It was hard to finish that way, but I thought that it was for a cancer fundraiser, so I didn't want to get all pissed off. That and the fact this trip is a fishing trip with a triathlon, so I needed to keep loose. Finished in about an hour(!). Pretty sure I could have gotten a 42min on this bike.
T2: Fast. Decided to push Paul on the run.
Run: Took it kind of easy and pushed Paul and missed last year's time by only a minute (I raced with a calf strain at last year's race). AHR was about 150 on the run instead of 164 like the run the week prior race. The cruiser is incredibly smooth. Got passed by several more people. Paul slept. It was his first race!
We then went on to catch some small brookies in a bend on the Gibbon River at Elk Park. I've always to fish there but have never stopped there. This was the first time that I've gone to a place I've thought I'd like to fish and then proceeded to catch fish with no pointers from anyone; that in and of itself was a major accomplishment for the weekend!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Race Report - Cache Valley Classic
The Cache Valley Classic was this past weekend, and here's a short report on it. I take much longer notes about what went right/wrong, but this is this short version.
Pre-Race Night Before:
- drive to Logan went nice. One of the reasons I wanted to do this race was to see what this valley was all about. Beautiful area. Easy driving; people actually drive the speed limit! Easy directions to get to the campground, where the swim was.
- Pulled into campsite. The guy next to us has a 6.5kw(!) generator running. That's enough power to run most homes! Loud as hell. But he has every right to use it, so I don't say anything. Paul had alot of fun setting up camp, and he's quite the little helper. He also loved running around the park area.
- Check out transition area and swim area. Looks very well organized. There's a quarter mile run from the beach to the transition area, but that will be nice to warm up the legs coming out of the water. Rains off and on; we hope it stops for the race.
- Within an hour, all of our ears hurt from the generator. Quiet hours don't start til 10pm. We get in the car and drive around, hoping Paul will go to sleep and to get away from the generator noise.
- Generator quits at 10:02pm. Finally! Paul finally goes to sleep. Raining. We all get to sleep shortly after 10.
- 12:43am: Paul wakes up. He's not happy without being held while Mom is standing up. There will be no laying down for this little guy for the next two hours. I stay up while Tera holds Paul. Miserable two hours til he gets back in his bed.
Race-Day
0530: Up and at 'em. No rain. Feeling suprisingly fresh for missing two hours sleep in the middle of the night.
Setup my bag, go to local gas station to get a double of coffee. Setup transition.
- Transition area is really nice. We had assigned spots! Unbelievably nice grass with lots of room for our stuff. This is going to be a good race. Still no rain.
0730: Wetsuit on. Warmup about 300meters. Water is nice and cool. I feel good.
0755: Race brief. Water temp is 57.8. Standard temp at the races I do in the mountains around here.
0800: "Open" wave goes off. These are the studs and the guys who screwed up their entry and put themselves in the wrong group.
Swim:
0805: Male and female olympic wave goes. It's a two-looper triangle course.
- I go out too fast, faster than I really wanted to. At 300 meters I start looking for someone to draft off. Where is everybody? Oh, they're 50 meters behind me. That's great, right? Not exactly. My chest is thumping and I'm starting to feel the wetsuit crush my chest and the swim cap crush my skull. Panic coming on, but I chill a bit and it goes away. Back to swimming.
- at 500m and the second buouy, I find my groove. Long and strong pulls, snapping the hip. Life is good.
- 750m, still going good.
-1,000m, hands are starting to freeze. Another panic coming on, I get on my back. My backstroke is suprisingly fast today, and I stay there for about 50m.
- 1,2500m, Hands frozen into claw position now, very hard to get a good grip on the water. I can't kick because my feet cramp immediately if I do kick. I'm about 30m behind the lead as far as I can tell and in a small pack around me. Time to push in, some water sloshes in my face mask and screws up my contact. Gotta stop to fix that or it will be a long day with one contact; it's very hard to lightly mess with my contact in my eye with frozen hands and treading water, but it works out.
- 1,500m: done in 26minutes and some seconds. Very slow, but in the front. Results show #5out of the water in my wave, with a 14-19 year old male and a 14-19 year old female beating me by several minutes (!).
T1: Shoes on at the mat, and I'm off and running to the bike. The run here went well. T1 was slow, and I went into the race not worrying about transistion times because it was cold (mid-40's) and I was going to need a few dry layers (new shirt, socks). Five minutes for T1! Oh well....
Bike: it's a fast bike course, but today was very windy on the front half of the loop we did twice. I was nearly blown off the bike by a heavy crosswind. Just kept my head down and went. My bike computer showed cadence but not speed, which was probably better for me anyway. Back half of the loop was very fast and protected from the wind, but that meant we didn't get the tailwind after fighting a headwind. A couple of s-turns had me practicing my handling skills that I had read up on but not practiced. Those went much better than expected on wet roads. But it still wasn't raining, so life is good. Finished the bike in 1:14, which I'm considering quite fast for me given the conditions. #19 of 45 olympic, so still right at that 40% mark overall.
T2: in and out. no real issues.
Run: Still no rain. Legs very tired out of the transition. I hadn't done any bricks since March, when I was on the bike trainer followed by a 3-mile run most mornings. I was paying for it, now, and the bike had taken alot out of me. There's a large hill right after the dam at mile .75 or so, but I attacked it as planned, although slower than expected. Then a nice cruise out to the turnaround on flat roads. At this point, I'm running hard but fairly slow for me, but I'm still having a good time, I guess. Halfway at 22:15 or so. Coming back I started to feel my feet that were previously frozen, and my hamstrings thawed out now, so I could stretch a bit and pick up the pace. Well... I picked up the effort but the pace remained the same. At mile 4, I passed a guy in my age group that had flown by me on the bike...turned out to be the pass to get me third in age group. Running 7:45/mile or so until mile 5.5 when I crashed into a 9minute mile to finish. A small hill on the final half mile hurt physically and mentally. Finished the run in 47:XX, #19 of 45 overall in the run.
I was happy with my overall effort and results, although they were nowhere close to my goal times, which got obliterated by the weather. I met my goals relative to everyone else, though. Most importantly, I liked the race and gave a great effort; I was most pleased with the bike portion because that's a good time for me in any weather compared to last year. I put alot of effort into improving the bike over the winter, and it appears to have paid off. This would be an AWESOME race on a nice sunny day with no wind; it's a beautiful area, the race is well-organized, friendly people everywhere, and very spectator/family friendly.
This Saturday is the Janet Clarkson Memorial Triathlon in Hebgen Lake near West Yellowstone, MT. This is an annual race for me, and I really like the small feel of it. It grew alot last year, and it might grow some more this year, but it still feels really small. Water temp is currently maxing at 54deg, and forecast is partly cloudy, mid-60's for a high, and 30% chance of storms. Hopefully it remains a triathlon with the swim, and it past years the water has warmed up alot in the week before the race, same as it is doing this year. Normally, this is Yellowstone fishing trip with a triathlon, but with the rivers in the park still raging from the melt, it might be a hiking weekend with a triathlon.
Pre-Race Night Before:
- drive to Logan went nice. One of the reasons I wanted to do this race was to see what this valley was all about. Beautiful area. Easy driving; people actually drive the speed limit! Easy directions to get to the campground, where the swim was.
- Pulled into campsite. The guy next to us has a 6.5kw(!) generator running. That's enough power to run most homes! Loud as hell. But he has every right to use it, so I don't say anything. Paul had alot of fun setting up camp, and he's quite the little helper. He also loved running around the park area.
- Check out transition area and swim area. Looks very well organized. There's a quarter mile run from the beach to the transition area, but that will be nice to warm up the legs coming out of the water. Rains off and on; we hope it stops for the race.
- Within an hour, all of our ears hurt from the generator. Quiet hours don't start til 10pm. We get in the car and drive around, hoping Paul will go to sleep and to get away from the generator noise.
- Generator quits at 10:02pm. Finally! Paul finally goes to sleep. Raining. We all get to sleep shortly after 10.
- 12:43am: Paul wakes up. He's not happy without being held while Mom is standing up. There will be no laying down for this little guy for the next two hours. I stay up while Tera holds Paul. Miserable two hours til he gets back in his bed.
Race-Day
0530: Up and at 'em. No rain. Feeling suprisingly fresh for missing two hours sleep in the middle of the night.
Setup my bag, go to local gas station to get a double of coffee. Setup transition.
- Transition area is really nice. We had assigned spots! Unbelievably nice grass with lots of room for our stuff. This is going to be a good race. Still no rain.
0730: Wetsuit on. Warmup about 300meters. Water is nice and cool. I feel good.
0755: Race brief. Water temp is 57.8. Standard temp at the races I do in the mountains around here.
0800: "Open" wave goes off. These are the studs and the guys who screwed up their entry and put themselves in the wrong group.
Swim:
0805: Male and female olympic wave goes. It's a two-looper triangle course.
- I go out too fast, faster than I really wanted to. At 300 meters I start looking for someone to draft off. Where is everybody? Oh, they're 50 meters behind me. That's great, right? Not exactly. My chest is thumping and I'm starting to feel the wetsuit crush my chest and the swim cap crush my skull. Panic coming on, but I chill a bit and it goes away. Back to swimming.
- at 500m and the second buouy, I find my groove. Long and strong pulls, snapping the hip. Life is good.
- 750m, still going good.
-1,000m, hands are starting to freeze. Another panic coming on, I get on my back. My backstroke is suprisingly fast today, and I stay there for about 50m.
- 1,2500m, Hands frozen into claw position now, very hard to get a good grip on the water. I can't kick because my feet cramp immediately if I do kick. I'm about 30m behind the lead as far as I can tell and in a small pack around me. Time to push in, some water sloshes in my face mask and screws up my contact. Gotta stop to fix that or it will be a long day with one contact; it's very hard to lightly mess with my contact in my eye with frozen hands and treading water, but it works out.
- 1,500m: done in 26minutes and some seconds. Very slow, but in the front. Results show #5out of the water in my wave, with a 14-19 year old male and a 14-19 year old female beating me by several minutes (!).
T1: Shoes on at the mat, and I'm off and running to the bike. The run here went well. T1 was slow, and I went into the race not worrying about transistion times because it was cold (mid-40's) and I was going to need a few dry layers (new shirt, socks). Five minutes for T1! Oh well....
Bike: it's a fast bike course, but today was very windy on the front half of the loop we did twice. I was nearly blown off the bike by a heavy crosswind. Just kept my head down and went. My bike computer showed cadence but not speed, which was probably better for me anyway. Back half of the loop was very fast and protected from the wind, but that meant we didn't get the tailwind after fighting a headwind. A couple of s-turns had me practicing my handling skills that I had read up on but not practiced. Those went much better than expected on wet roads. But it still wasn't raining, so life is good. Finished the bike in 1:14, which I'm considering quite fast for me given the conditions. #19 of 45 olympic, so still right at that 40% mark overall.
T2: in and out. no real issues.
Run: Still no rain. Legs very tired out of the transition. I hadn't done any bricks since March, when I was on the bike trainer followed by a 3-mile run most mornings. I was paying for it, now, and the bike had taken alot out of me. There's a large hill right after the dam at mile .75 or so, but I attacked it as planned, although slower than expected. Then a nice cruise out to the turnaround on flat roads. At this point, I'm running hard but fairly slow for me, but I'm still having a good time, I guess. Halfway at 22:15 or so. Coming back I started to feel my feet that were previously frozen, and my hamstrings thawed out now, so I could stretch a bit and pick up the pace. Well... I picked up the effort but the pace remained the same. At mile 4, I passed a guy in my age group that had flown by me on the bike...turned out to be the pass to get me third in age group. Running 7:45/mile or so until mile 5.5 when I crashed into a 9minute mile to finish. A small hill on the final half mile hurt physically and mentally. Finished the run in 47:XX, #19 of 45 overall in the run.
I was happy with my overall effort and results, although they were nowhere close to my goal times, which got obliterated by the weather. I met my goals relative to everyone else, though. Most importantly, I liked the race and gave a great effort; I was most pleased with the bike portion because that's a good time for me in any weather compared to last year. I put alot of effort into improving the bike over the winter, and it appears to have paid off. This would be an AWESOME race on a nice sunny day with no wind; it's a beautiful area, the race is well-organized, friendly people everywhere, and very spectator/family friendly.
This Saturday is the Janet Clarkson Memorial Triathlon in Hebgen Lake near West Yellowstone, MT. This is an annual race for me, and I really like the small feel of it. It grew alot last year, and it might grow some more this year, but it still feels really small. Water temp is currently maxing at 54deg, and forecast is partly cloudy, mid-60's for a high, and 30% chance of storms. Hopefully it remains a triathlon with the swim, and it past years the water has warmed up alot in the week before the race, same as it is doing this year. Normally, this is Yellowstone fishing trip with a triathlon, but with the rivers in the park still raging from the melt, it might be a hiking weekend with a triathlon.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Race season is here!
First race is an olympic this weekend in Hyrum, UT at the reservoir. I have mixed feelings about my preparedness. I was doing great until May hit, when I became much more inconsistent with my training because Paul wanted to be outside every day after work....and May was officially the coldest on record according to the paper this morning (data from NWS). And it rained alot. I swam alot and ran alot, but the bike suffered big time. The swim and run paid off because I pulled an 18:03 three mile run (at sea level) for my PFT this past weekend; very excited about that.
My swim has suffered in the past two weeks because of a sinus infection, which also took me off the bike because when I leaned down all the snot drained out...can't be having that, no matter how gross I can be. I could run though, so that's what I did, alot of it. No OWS practice yet, either, but hopefully I'll get in 1500m tomorrow morning.
We'll see how it goes. My goal is a 2:15 total, and I'll be happy with a 2:20. The swim is in a reservoir, so that should be no worry. The bike is a two-looper with a slight incline for miles 2-7 and slight decline for 7-11 or so. Mostly flat run with a 100 ft gain (if I remember right) at mile .5-1.5 or so and then 4.5-5.5 or so decline on the way back.
Looking forward to getting in the first race!
I'm changing focus now. With no room to increase fitness for this weekend and next weekend races, I'll just prep as best I can with gear and recovery. Then get at it for the Twin Falls tri on July 17 or so. Then I'll maintain fitness as best I can during August that is taken up with drill and a long exercise. Then hit it for three four weeks to do the best I can at the Utah Xterra end of September.
My swim has suffered in the past two weeks because of a sinus infection, which also took me off the bike because when I leaned down all the snot drained out...can't be having that, no matter how gross I can be. I could run though, so that's what I did, alot of it. No OWS practice yet, either, but hopefully I'll get in 1500m tomorrow morning.
We'll see how it goes. My goal is a 2:15 total, and I'll be happy with a 2:20. The swim is in a reservoir, so that should be no worry. The bike is a two-looper with a slight incline for miles 2-7 and slight decline for 7-11 or so. Mostly flat run with a 100 ft gain (if I remember right) at mile .5-1.5 or so and then 4.5-5.5 or so decline on the way back.
Looking forward to getting in the first race!
I'm changing focus now. With no room to increase fitness for this weekend and next weekend races, I'll just prep as best I can with gear and recovery. Then get at it for the Twin Falls tri on July 17 or so. Then I'll maintain fitness as best I can during August that is taken up with drill and a long exercise. Then hit it for three four weeks to do the best I can at the Utah Xterra end of September.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Racing with the local cycling club
One of my overall goals this year was to do the local bike club race series, mostly to learn something from the real bicyclists and also to challenge myself to something new. I wanted to do it last year, but I never put the races on the schedule so I alwasy forgot about them.
I have one flat TT and one hill climb done so far. I missed one flat TT and I'll miss next week's hill climb, both because of other comittements.
I'm learning already! Lesson 1: I have found a new pain threshold. That's a very important learning point.
The first flat TT went ok, but there was the usual wind at the location out on the plains. OK, so the wind was just average, but it was still kicking pretty good at about 30mph. The first race (the one I missed) was the week before that with winds of probably 40mph, and that race was rescheduled because the week before that there was a wind advisory (50mph+?) that postponed the race. Anyway, I did ok on the race for me personally, but I got crushed by everyone else (of course). The race went as planned....slower on the way out against the wind, cruising on the way back with the wind, and I hit my target mph's. BUT, my math had been wrong, so I was slower than I wanted. My goal on this 10k course is 15 minutes; last week my time was 16:40ish (haven't seen the final results). I made that goal without really knowing what I was doing other than saying I want to average 24mph, which if my math is right (and I'm bad at math!), puts me at 15 minutes. I put everything I had into that 16:40 time, and I didn't make it. I think I I'd get close to it if I didn't do any workouts a few days prior, but that doesn't support my overall training goals, so missing those workouts ain't gonna happen. I'll just keep going in tired and challenge myself 110% with what I have.
The hill climb was tonight. I don't know the stats other than it's about 5.25 miles. Google earth says it starts at 5,080ft and ends at 6,535ft for 1,465ft gain. It really kicked my butt. I was the only one on a TT bike....that's the only bike I have. The club folks are nice enough to let me join in. They really are a great bunch of folks. In any case, it was a BEAUTIFUL night to be out riding...very little wind, a bit of sun, and nice temps about 60deg.
I have one flat TT and one hill climb done so far. I missed one flat TT and I'll miss next week's hill climb, both because of other comittements.
I'm learning already! Lesson 1: I have found a new pain threshold. That's a very important learning point.
The first flat TT went ok, but there was the usual wind at the location out on the plains. OK, so the wind was just average, but it was still kicking pretty good at about 30mph. The first race (the one I missed) was the week before that with winds of probably 40mph, and that race was rescheduled because the week before that there was a wind advisory (50mph+?) that postponed the race. Anyway, I did ok on the race for me personally, but I got crushed by everyone else (of course). The race went as planned....slower on the way out against the wind, cruising on the way back with the wind, and I hit my target mph's. BUT, my math had been wrong, so I was slower than I wanted. My goal on this 10k course is 15 minutes; last week my time was 16:40ish (haven't seen the final results). I made that goal without really knowing what I was doing other than saying I want to average 24mph, which if my math is right (and I'm bad at math!), puts me at 15 minutes. I put everything I had into that 16:40 time, and I didn't make it. I think I I'd get close to it if I didn't do any workouts a few days prior, but that doesn't support my overall training goals, so missing those workouts ain't gonna happen. I'll just keep going in tired and challenge myself 110% with what I have.
The hill climb was tonight. I don't know the stats other than it's about 5.25 miles. Google earth says it starts at 5,080ft and ends at 6,535ft for 1,465ft gain. It really kicked my butt. I was the only one on a TT bike....that's the only bike I have. The club folks are nice enough to let me join in. They really are a great bunch of folks. In any case, it was a BEAUTIFUL night to be out riding...very little wind, a bit of sun, and nice temps about 60deg.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
General training insights
So here are a few training insights I'm thinking about. I'm trying to get away from the boring "I did this workout today" and add in some thought-provoking stuff.
1. If you're at a plateua in your run training, try increasing your swim volume. It's been working for me the past two months. I went from avg weekly swim volume of 4500-5000yds to 7000-8000yds, and my six mile time is coming down fast. Dropped from 52 minutes in March to 46 minutes today. Some of the improvement can be attributed to steady running and some hill repeats, but I think most of it came from the swim increase. Something to do with oxygen levels, I think, but I'm no scientist.
2. The weather is not cooperating for my bike leg! The end of April and nearly all of May seems like it has been 75% cold/windy/wet/snow. I'm an admitted fair-weather-biker, so I'm still on the trainer. Not good. My first race is just south of Logan, UT, and I figure alot of Salt Lake folks will be there. They've probably been biking outside since March, and they're going to crush me on the bike.
3. Hill repeats are great for the run! I started doing hill repeats on a 45degree hill that is about 400 yds long, and takes 2:45minutes to 3:15 to finish going at a very hard pace (but actually is quite slow). I think these are equivalent to 800 yard runs, but I get more out of them in about the same time.
4. Mixing length and intensity is important. This is the first year I've mixed up the training between long/easy, medium/medium, and short/very hard. It seems to be working. All the times on my standard courses are coming down. And the variety makes it much more interesting.
5. I've found that I like triathlons because of the variety in training. There is never a week that I get in all the workouts, and I do specific workouts only once each week, except a few easy runs that I throw in when my schedule requires it (ie I can't do a scheduled workout). When I was training for the one and only marathon I've done in my life, I got so incredibly bored with running that I almost decided not to do it (but then I realized that that was the important part of being able to finish a marathon...running a very long time and dealing with it mentally). Each workout feels like a fresh beginning because it's been a week or more since I last did it.
6. Consistency is definitely the key. Just getting out there and doing something...anything...is better than nothing.
7. I think I'm getting close to figuring out what my body needs for improvement. There is so much information out there, much of it contradictory! You just have to take the time to figure out what's best for you, and that could take a couple of years. You end up trying a basic training philsophy for an entire year before you know if it's working. Of course, changes in mid-season are always warranted if something is definitely not working, but that is usually just a minor tweek of the overall philosphy for the year. I suppose that's why the most competitive age group for men is generally the 40-44 olds...they've had a few years to figure out what training works the best for them. So, I've got this year to figure it out before I get into that age-group.
8. I turned 39 on Sunday. But I feel like I'm 25 again! I'm positive it has to do with moving to Pocatello and getting into a more active lifestyle, specifically not stuck in a car during commutes to/from work, and being able to get outside and be active right from the garage instead of fighting traffic on the weekend to get somewhere (again, more time sitting in the car!). If anyone reading this is wondering if the small town life is truly better...YES IT IS!. Don't worry about missing all the big city stuff; it will be replaced with much more activity that simply makes you feel better. You'll add time to your day to do stuff you've always wanted to do because the commute is generally much shorter, and life is all about time to do the things you want to do and be with the people you love.
1. If you're at a plateua in your run training, try increasing your swim volume. It's been working for me the past two months. I went from avg weekly swim volume of 4500-5000yds to 7000-8000yds, and my six mile time is coming down fast. Dropped from 52 minutes in March to 46 minutes today. Some of the improvement can be attributed to steady running and some hill repeats, but I think most of it came from the swim increase. Something to do with oxygen levels, I think, but I'm no scientist.
2. The weather is not cooperating for my bike leg! The end of April and nearly all of May seems like it has been 75% cold/windy/wet/snow. I'm an admitted fair-weather-biker, so I'm still on the trainer. Not good. My first race is just south of Logan, UT, and I figure alot of Salt Lake folks will be there. They've probably been biking outside since March, and they're going to crush me on the bike.
3. Hill repeats are great for the run! I started doing hill repeats on a 45degree hill that is about 400 yds long, and takes 2:45minutes to 3:15 to finish going at a very hard pace (but actually is quite slow). I think these are equivalent to 800 yard runs, but I get more out of them in about the same time.
4. Mixing length and intensity is important. This is the first year I've mixed up the training between long/easy, medium/medium, and short/very hard. It seems to be working. All the times on my standard courses are coming down. And the variety makes it much more interesting.
5. I've found that I like triathlons because of the variety in training. There is never a week that I get in all the workouts, and I do specific workouts only once each week, except a few easy runs that I throw in when my schedule requires it (ie I can't do a scheduled workout). When I was training for the one and only marathon I've done in my life, I got so incredibly bored with running that I almost decided not to do it (but then I realized that that was the important part of being able to finish a marathon...running a very long time and dealing with it mentally). Each workout feels like a fresh beginning because it's been a week or more since I last did it.
6. Consistency is definitely the key. Just getting out there and doing something...anything...is better than nothing.
7. I think I'm getting close to figuring out what my body needs for improvement. There is so much information out there, much of it contradictory! You just have to take the time to figure out what's best for you, and that could take a couple of years. You end up trying a basic training philsophy for an entire year before you know if it's working. Of course, changes in mid-season are always warranted if something is definitely not working, but that is usually just a minor tweek of the overall philosphy for the year. I suppose that's why the most competitive age group for men is generally the 40-44 olds...they've had a few years to figure out what training works the best for them. So, I've got this year to figure it out before I get into that age-group.
8. I turned 39 on Sunday. But I feel like I'm 25 again! I'm positive it has to do with moving to Pocatello and getting into a more active lifestyle, specifically not stuck in a car during commutes to/from work, and being able to get outside and be active right from the garage instead of fighting traffic on the weekend to get somewhere (again, more time sitting in the car!). If anyone reading this is wondering if the small town life is truly better...YES IT IS!. Don't worry about missing all the big city stuff; it will be replaced with much more activity that simply makes you feel better. You'll add time to your day to do stuff you've always wanted to do because the commute is generally much shorter, and life is all about time to do the things you want to do and be with the people you love.
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