I completed my leg of the Pocatello 50 trail race in 4hrs 27min and 12 secs, beating my goal of 4:30:00. The last five miles required some mental toughness, physical pain, and yelling at trees to get the goal. The team did alright, and we met our goal of finishing the race before the 14 hour cutoff; we came in at 13:27:12 according to my watch, but I think the official time was 13:20:XX. Anyway, it was definitely a challenge for us. I think I can say NEVER to running the entire race because it is brutal. For details, check www.pocatello50.com. The elevation is at least 5,000ft total I think, 5000ft up and 5000ft down. The people who finish this race are indeed incredibly fit physically and mentally.
My nutrition and water plan was spot on, which is always nice. The weather was good, turned cloudy and stormy but didn't threaten when I was on the trail. The morning and afternoon was awesome, almost too warm actually.
I'll post more later. I think I'm still in oxygen debt two hours after the race!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Second race tomorrow
Tomorrow is my second race of the year. This one is an ultramarathon, and I'm running the third leg that is about 20 miles and 3800ft elevation gain and loss. Basically, I'm running a trail up a mountain and then back down. It's the Pocatello 50 (www.pocatello50.com). The first time this race is being held, and the course is awesome and located in the mountains I look at every day. I wish I could run the whole thing...someday I'll probably bike it
I took off Wed, Thurs, and today to get my legs fresh. Well, mostly off anyway. The past three days I've been screwing around with a sprinler system because I can't get the zones to work correctly for the auto-timer. Basically doing a lot of squats to look at the valves and walking back and forth between the valves and the timer.
And today I was at home to take care of a post-surgery wife and the baby.
I took off Wed, Thurs, and today to get my legs fresh. Well, mostly off anyway. The past three days I've been screwing around with a sprinler system because I can't get the zones to work correctly for the auto-timer. Basically doing a lot of squats to look at the valves and walking back and forth between the valves and the timer.
And today I was at home to take care of a post-surgery wife and the baby.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tired legs
Yesterday wore me out, but I didn't know it til this morning. My legs were completely dead. So no run this morning. I bike to work most days in the summer, and I have to go uphill about a mile; my legs didn't like that this morning.
Did a standard hill workout on the bike at lunch. Times were off about ten percent, 9 minutes instead of 8. Very tired.
I'm running an 18-mile leg of the Pocatello 50 mile trail run this weekend, so I need to be careful with my legs. I thought I could front-load alot of the work into Monday, Tuesday, and first half of Wednesday, but that is obviously not working. I was supposed to do a 40k bike today, but that would have really killed my legs. The trail race is for fun, but I don't want to be dead-legs going into it.
And yesterday was indeed really hot. Weather service says it was a record day with 91.
Did a standard hill workout on the bike at lunch. Times were off about ten percent, 9 minutes instead of 8. Very tired.
I'm running an 18-mile leg of the Pocatello 50 mile trail run this weekend, so I need to be careful with my legs. I thought I could front-load alot of the work into Monday, Tuesday, and first half of Wednesday, but that is obviously not working. I was supposed to do a 40k bike today, but that would have really killed my legs. The trail race is for fun, but I don't want to be dead-legs going into it.
And yesterday was indeed really hot. Weather service says it was a record day with 91.
Monday, May 18, 2009
First hot day
First hot day of the year. Yesterday was a "warm" in my book, but today got hot. 92 I think was the max.
Did my first morning open water swim workout. About 1200 yards in 18:25. Kind of slow, but 1:35 faster than yesterday. That improvement is simply from getting in the water and getting comfortable with open water. It was such a beautiful morning! 50 degrees, no wind, sun breaking the ridgeline of the mountains to the east. That's my kind of morning!
Ran 5 miles at lunch and the heat got me a bit. Added 3.5 minutes onto the standard time with the same effort. As the post title says, it was the first hot day, so of course my body isn't used to the heat. That will come in time. I actually prefer to run when it's hot, or early in the morning when it's warm but not many people have woken up yet.
After work I hit the Portland tri sim route for two laps up. My bike computer was on the fritz today, so I couldn't tell how fast I was going or my cadence. I must have done pretty good from a natural feel for it because my times matched pretty closely to what I did last week, which is really nice because my legs were quite tired from the run at lunch...that, and the fact that I was on a bit of a time crunch cuz Tera wasn't feeling well....she didn't have any problems with me going as long as I got back by 6:30, which I missed by three minutes.
I love days like today. Two good workouts and one that wasn't so good but helps in the big picture (running in the heat).
Did my first morning open water swim workout. About 1200 yards in 18:25. Kind of slow, but 1:35 faster than yesterday. That improvement is simply from getting in the water and getting comfortable with open water. It was such a beautiful morning! 50 degrees, no wind, sun breaking the ridgeline of the mountains to the east. That's my kind of morning!
Ran 5 miles at lunch and the heat got me a bit. Added 3.5 minutes onto the standard time with the same effort. As the post title says, it was the first hot day, so of course my body isn't used to the heat. That will come in time. I actually prefer to run when it's hot, or early in the morning when it's warm but not many people have woken up yet.
After work I hit the Portland tri sim route for two laps up. My bike computer was on the fritz today, so I couldn't tell how fast I was going or my cadence. I must have done pretty good from a natural feel for it because my times matched pretty closely to what I did last week, which is really nice because my legs were quite tired from the run at lunch...that, and the fact that I was on a bit of a time crunch cuz Tera wasn't feeling well....she didn't have any problems with me going as long as I got back by 6:30, which I missed by three minutes.
I love days like today. Two good workouts and one that wasn't so good but helps in the big picture (running in the heat).
Sunday, May 17, 2009
First OWS of the year!
Another simply incredibly beautiful Idaho spring day. 80 and sunny w/ little wind.
Went for a family picnic at Jensen's Grove in Blackfoot. Of course, the secondary agenda was an open water swim (OWS). It went well. The water was cold, probably 55-60, but I didn't have the hesitation to get in that I thought I would. I simply got and got going. My form in open water really sucks! But my new wide-view goggles didn't leak, which is nice. I forgot my earplugs, so I stopped a few times and stood up to see how dizzy I was...the first two times I stood up I fell over nearly instantly. I'll be sure to never forget my earplugs.
Interestingly, I found that I could breathe to my right side fairly easily, which is not normal for me. With earplugs, it would have worked pretty well. The water was really calm, which helped that. But I really do need to know how to breathe on both sides to counteract any wave action and to be able to sight appropriately.
I wasn't really tired at the end of 1200 yards, but I could tell that I'm using different muscles because my form is crap. My pecs and triceps get used much more. If I can relax more, that will go away. I was able to get my head in the water and pull for a few strokes similar to how I do it in the pool, which is alot further than I was last year for OWS form.
My goal is to hit Jensen's Grove M,W,F morning this week and see how it goes. I don't even know if they are open that early (there are some gates to get in). At this point, getting comfortable in open water is much more important and time-saving in the race than getting into the pool and churning laps. And it's great to swim outside in the morning!
Went for a family picnic at Jensen's Grove in Blackfoot. Of course, the secondary agenda was an open water swim (OWS). It went well. The water was cold, probably 55-60, but I didn't have the hesitation to get in that I thought I would. I simply got and got going. My form in open water really sucks! But my new wide-view goggles didn't leak, which is nice. I forgot my earplugs, so I stopped a few times and stood up to see how dizzy I was...the first two times I stood up I fell over nearly instantly. I'll be sure to never forget my earplugs.
Interestingly, I found that I could breathe to my right side fairly easily, which is not normal for me. With earplugs, it would have worked pretty well. The water was really calm, which helped that. But I really do need to know how to breathe on both sides to counteract any wave action and to be able to sight appropriately.
I wasn't really tired at the end of 1200 yards, but I could tell that I'm using different muscles because my form is crap. My pecs and triceps get used much more. If I can relax more, that will go away. I was able to get my head in the water and pull for a few strokes similar to how I do it in the pool, which is alot further than I was last year for OWS form.
My goal is to hit Jensen's Grove M,W,F morning this week and see how it goes. I don't even know if they are open that early (there are some gates to get in). At this point, getting comfortable in open water is much more important and time-saving in the race than getting into the pool and churning laps. And it's great to swim outside in the morning!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Brick 40k/10k today, another PR on the bike!
An awesome day for a great workout. Started an Olympic distance brick today at 10am. 60 degrees, sunny, and no wind. Truly awesome.
I got another PR on the bike route, beating last week's time by about 30 seconds. Finished my 40k route in 1:11:15. Felt good along the way, and I finally had an average cadence of 88, meeting my average cadence goal. I don't know why it's so hard to get that up there; it feels like I am at about 95 the entire time! This effort level was a bit lower than last week, and I think the wind had alot to do with it. I always wonder if winds really make that much of a difference because don't you get pushed as much as you push into it? Anywho.
The run was five minutes faster than my last 10k run after 40k bike. I had a 15 minute transition to talk to the guy doing my sprinklers, and honestly I think that was more detrimental than helpful. I was SOOO tight when I started running, much tighter than straight off the bike. The first two miles were much more painful than normal, but then I loosened up into a good stride. I averaged 165bpm once I got loosened up, and I didn't feel like I was running that hard. I'm really happy with this time because there are two hills on this route that I think add about 3 or 4 minutes onto my time; subtracting that gets me into the 48 minute range with a non-race effort. I really think I can hit 45 minutes on a flat race course. We'll see.
Tomorrow should be the first open water swim if all goes well.
I got another PR on the bike route, beating last week's time by about 30 seconds. Finished my 40k route in 1:11:15. Felt good along the way, and I finally had an average cadence of 88, meeting my average cadence goal. I don't know why it's so hard to get that up there; it feels like I am at about 95 the entire time! This effort level was a bit lower than last week, and I think the wind had alot to do with it. I always wonder if winds really make that much of a difference because don't you get pushed as much as you push into it? Anywho.
The run was five minutes faster than my last 10k run after 40k bike. I had a 15 minute transition to talk to the guy doing my sprinklers, and honestly I think that was more detrimental than helpful. I was SOOO tight when I started running, much tighter than straight off the bike. The first two miles were much more painful than normal, but then I loosened up into a good stride. I averaged 165bpm once I got loosened up, and I didn't feel like I was running that hard. I'm really happy with this time because there are two hills on this route that I think add about 3 or 4 minutes onto my time; subtracting that gets me into the 48 minute range with a non-race effort. I really think I can hit 45 minutes on a flat race course. We'll see.
Tomorrow should be the first open water swim if all goes well.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Nice bike tonight
Weather turned out to be AWESOME today. Sunny, 60, and little wind. And my evening meeting got cancelled. Sweeeet! Hopped on the bike and did my Portland triathlon simulation course. Times were a bit better than average, especially on the last two of the four hills, which I take to mean that my endurance is better. Even more so considering I did a different hill workout yesterday. Woohoo!
After the bike, I went to see Paul's "swim practice." He started splashing a bit more now. I'm still not sure he really likes it, though. But he doesn't cry at all, so I guess that's a good sign.
The Pocatello 50 trail race is only ten days away. I'm sure I'll do alright the first ten miles, then I just have to gut out eight miles, mostly downhill. I think it will be a really cool race, though, and I'm excited to be part of the first one.
Also got news that our tri club might be able to swim in the outdoor pool in the mornings this summer. This is GREAT news! We have a nice 25m outdoor pool that would be great to swim in, but the city doesn't open it in the mornings for general public lap swim, just the local swim team. There is nothing better than swimming outside on a nice summer morning. Those workouts I could easily get up for...every day (but we'll only get Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday I guess..better than nothing). When I was at Camp Pendleton, I loved swimming at 0600 every morning (even the winter!). I got up at 0430 to get to the pool (long drive), and swam for an hour. There is simply no better way to start the day.
After the bike, I went to see Paul's "swim practice." He started splashing a bit more now. I'm still not sure he really likes it, though. But he doesn't cry at all, so I guess that's a good sign.
The Pocatello 50 trail race is only ten days away. I'm sure I'll do alright the first ten miles, then I just have to gut out eight miles, mostly downhill. I think it will be a really cool race, though, and I'm excited to be part of the first one.
Also got news that our tri club might be able to swim in the outdoor pool in the mornings this summer. This is GREAT news! We have a nice 25m outdoor pool that would be great to swim in, but the city doesn't open it in the mornings for general public lap swim, just the local swim team. There is nothing better than swimming outside on a nice summer morning. Those workouts I could easily get up for...every day (but we'll only get Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday I guess..better than nothing). When I was at Camp Pendleton, I loved swimming at 0600 every morning (even the winter!). I got up at 0430 to get to the pool (long drive), and swam for an hour. There is simply no better way to start the day.
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