\Here's the lake as of this past saturday!
Monday, October 18, 2010
T Minus 5 Weeks!
Time for another check in on here! Things have been going well, and the body is becoming an "engine." This past week was 22+ hours of training, and rather than go through every day, I'll just review the highlights! Totals: 8250 yards in the pool (2 workouts), 296 miles on the bike, 29.9 miles running. Totals for September were: swim: 44875 yards, bike: 1002 miles, run: 83.8 miles.
So the highlights of last week---swimming: I had a great workout on tuesday, with a total of 4600 yards:
800 choice
4x100 - 50 drill/50 swim
800 pull
4x100 fast 50, ez 50
600 swim
4x100 kick 15 sec rest
400 pull
4x100 FAST!! with 30 sec rest - VERY fast with all this rest
400 stretch out
So the highlights of last week---swimming: I had a great workout on tuesday, with a total of 4600 yards:
800 choice
4x100 - 50 drill/50 swim
800 pull
4x100 fast 50, ez 50
600 swim
4x100 kick 15 sec rest
400 pull
4x100 FAST!! with 30 sec rest - VERY fast with all this rest
400 stretch out
I gauge a swim workout by how I feel at the end, and after this one, I felt strong! My stroke stayed consistent and strong throughout, and I was able to push those 100's without feeling worn out and "sloppy." I'm feeling like I just need to bring this fitness level into the race and I'll be fine....but I'll keep pushing for more so I can get out of the water 10 seconds faster than if the race was today (yes, that's sarcasm).
The biking highlight of the week may seem odd, but it was one of survival! Saturday's ride was 6 hours with some intervals built in (an early hour in Zone 3 HR, and 2 late reps of 20 minutes each). Seemed easy enough, but Chris warned me it would be tougher than I thought...mostly because the two days before I was running and biking both days, with really tough trainer intervals for the bike on thursday (followed by an EZ 45 minute run) and 6 reps of 5 minute hill repeats on friday afternoon (with 90 minutes of EZ spinning on the bike). So back to saturdays ride....I started with my "ONE Multisport" buddies just up the street.....always a hammer fest! So after a 20 minute warm up, I went off with my new buddy Joel Gerber---AKA king of the hammerheads (going slow is a "waste of time" according to Joel!). So I rode my early hour at Zone 3 +++. After about 2 hours with the ONE guys, I headed off on my "only the lonely" ride...4 more hours totally alone (but with tunes at least). Side note: my playlist of 100 songs is driving me crazy!! So I headed down 9 mile, through Fountain Hills, down the IM course, and to the lake...which looks close to full...yay!!!! Backing up to the IM Course section, I fought the mind battle to keep going versus going home at the 3 hour point...I was losing interest and was pretty wiped out from the cumulation of the weeks workouts, but these are the days that I can pull from during the IM bike to get me through. I'm not always going to feel fresh, strong, or even wanting to be on my bike, but knowing I mentally won the "go home early" battle will help me keep moving forward. That is why this ride was the highlight! So, you can imagine, the two 20 minute reps late in the ride were TOUGH---and I learned that the early Z3+++ hour made me pay dearly. I made it through just fine, but keeping the focus going was too hard...I was searching for a "short" way home in my mind all the way home, but I made it! 120 miles exactly in just over 6 hours---not my best effort, but I'll take it!!
So for the run highlight, I'm going with two good ones: a 90 minute run including 6 hill repeats (Z3++ HR) of 5 minutes each...I always feel the instant gratification of these---they are soo hard and the EZ cool down run after is like flying because I'm running on the flats or even downhill. Also, there's always a good burn in the legs, and I feel exhausted but energized from the high intensity! The other run of note this week was sundays run: 90 minutes with two 30 minute sections at IM pace minus 10%---another one that sounds easy, but really isn't. These will become a staple of my training over the next month (versus running slow and long). For this one, I used 8 min/mile as the "IM" pace just to see where I'm at, which meant my goal pace was 7:12. The first rep was at 7:08 and the second at 7:10 (average HR for both was 142...2 beats above Z3), so I'm on schedule! I felt like I could have gone faster, but this was a good start and I'm feeling good about my run! It WILL be all mental on race day!
So there you have the long version of my good workouts of the week...let's see what I have to write about in 7 days!!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Race Report: Prospector Olympic Triathlon October 9, 2010
Having a race on the same day as the "big dance" (Kona Ironman: the world championship) was great! If it was just another training day for me, I would have felt like I was missing out on the live broadcast, but the race kept me busy! Here's my summary:
I was happy with my swim---coming out of the water 3rd overall in 19:15. In prep for IM AZ, I figured my swim today would be decent as I am swimming more than almost anyone out here, and that always helps for swimming. The course was obviously shorter than 1.5K..there was plenty of chop from the winds across the lake! The 5 minute run up to transition wasn't too bad, but wasn't good for letting the HR settle in before the bike.
The bike course did not have any flats whatsoever, but I held my own considering my IM bike training has been at lower intensity and mostly on flat ground due to the IM course elevation---a few overall places shuffled around on the bike, and I finished the 4 loop bike course in 4th (I was in 2nd until the 4th lap; I was trying to conserve a bit on that fourth lap when two guys slipped by...just a "little bit" though). I tried to be my own bike mechanic last night due to a front derailleur issue and dropped my chain 3 times because of it, but never had to stop to fix it at least. I'll keep the bike shops in business! So overall I was happy here as well, but was in a HR zone I do not work on at all right now (10+ beats higher than my intervals!)--the challenges of the short race during IM training! Normally I ride at a HR below 133, but I started the bike in the mid 150's and settled into the mid 140's as the ride progressed. Getting off the bike I made a HUGE error---I had half a bottle of EFS hydration left, and drank it all a bit too close to transition (about 1 minute before getting off the bik)---the run report below will point out the effects of this ;) I think I made the error because I really didn't have a plan going into this race, and all of the sudden decided to implement this hydration strategy, but didn't realize transition was right around the corner---OH WELL!!! Next time, I'll actually take more than 5 minutes to decide how I should hydrate and eat---I probably didn't need the fluids at all---BUMMER! Prospector Tri Bike Leg by esvans at Garmin Connect - Details This is the data---gotta love the HR decrease---maybe a bit too hard on the swim???? Well, no one passed me until mile 18 at least!
Onto the run, I felt pretty good considering the HR zone I worked at on the bike. I was on the heels (about 10 feet and gaining) on the 3rd place runner (who was the eventual winner---go figure) when I hit the turnaround on the first lap---POW!!! My stomach was turning inside out...I literally had to stop and deal with it, but it didn't end there. That half bottle projected out like a hose on full power. I almost immediately felt better, but the damage was done, I lost about 5 minutes and 4 places in the standings. Luckily I was close to an aid station, took in some water, and got back to running in a minute or so. I hit the end of the first lap and could see where I was at in the race...basically out of luck! The gap to gain a spot was over 90 seconds, so I just held pace and finished up uneventfully in 7th overall. Prospector Tri Run Leg by esvans at Garmin Connect - Details...from 7 minutes in to 10 minutes in you can see my abrupt deviation! My HRM stops when I stop, so the evidence of the vomit is not recorded
HUGE lesson learned today. I honestly think I could have taken the race, considering I was about to pass the eventual winner at a fairly easy pace and how I was feeling other than that 5 minute stent---I'm glad I battled back and got back into the race---which will serve as a great mental piece for IM AZ in 6 weeks. I was glad to keep Sullivan behind me through the debacle--I only lost places during this failure! No excuses though---my competition was fierce and I will be there another day to attack and not give them that "easy" spot I lost to them. I now have a war to settle with myself at IM AZ---no mistakes and I'm going to plan like it's a Board Exam.
My head is down because my coach Chris is going to tell me I know better than that (because I do), but all in all, being my first competitive race in 9 years, I am happy to get back out and get the juices flowing!
Final Splits:
Swim 3rd overall in 19:15
Bike: 7th overall in 1:15:32 did I say it was hilly!!!
Run: 21st overall in 46:51....considering my running background---UNBELIEVABLE!!! 5 minutes standing still will do that, and losing by 4 minutes to the overall leader is not sitting well right now ;((( Until next time....
I was happy with my swim---coming out of the water 3rd overall in 19:15. In prep for IM AZ, I figured my swim today would be decent as I am swimming more than almost anyone out here, and that always helps for swimming. The course was obviously shorter than 1.5K..there was plenty of chop from the winds across the lake! The 5 minute run up to transition wasn't too bad, but wasn't good for letting the HR settle in before the bike.
The bike course did not have any flats whatsoever, but I held my own considering my IM bike training has been at lower intensity and mostly on flat ground due to the IM course elevation---a few overall places shuffled around on the bike, and I finished the 4 loop bike course in 4th (I was in 2nd until the 4th lap; I was trying to conserve a bit on that fourth lap when two guys slipped by...just a "little bit" though). I tried to be my own bike mechanic last night due to a front derailleur issue and dropped my chain 3 times because of it, but never had to stop to fix it at least. I'll keep the bike shops in business! So overall I was happy here as well, but was in a HR zone I do not work on at all right now (10+ beats higher than my intervals!)--the challenges of the short race during IM training! Normally I ride at a HR below 133, but I started the bike in the mid 150's and settled into the mid 140's as the ride progressed. Getting off the bike I made a HUGE error---I had half a bottle of EFS hydration left, and drank it all a bit too close to transition (about 1 minute before getting off the bik)---the run report below will point out the effects of this ;) I think I made the error because I really didn't have a plan going into this race, and all of the sudden decided to implement this hydration strategy, but didn't realize transition was right around the corner---OH WELL!!! Next time, I'll actually take more than 5 minutes to decide how I should hydrate and eat---I probably didn't need the fluids at all---BUMMER! Prospector Tri Bike Leg by esvans at Garmin Connect - Details This is the data---gotta love the HR decrease---maybe a bit too hard on the swim???? Well, no one passed me until mile 18 at least!
Onto the run, I felt pretty good considering the HR zone I worked at on the bike. I was on the heels (about 10 feet and gaining) on the 3rd place runner (who was the eventual winner---go figure) when I hit the turnaround on the first lap---POW!!! My stomach was turning inside out...I literally had to stop and deal with it, but it didn't end there. That half bottle projected out like a hose on full power. I almost immediately felt better, but the damage was done, I lost about 5 minutes and 4 places in the standings. Luckily I was close to an aid station, took in some water, and got back to running in a minute or so. I hit the end of the first lap and could see where I was at in the race...basically out of luck! The gap to gain a spot was over 90 seconds, so I just held pace and finished up uneventfully in 7th overall. Prospector Tri Run Leg by esvans at Garmin Connect - Details...from 7 minutes in to 10 minutes in you can see my abrupt deviation! My HRM stops when I stop, so the evidence of the vomit is not recorded
HUGE lesson learned today. I honestly think I could have taken the race, considering I was about to pass the eventual winner at a fairly easy pace and how I was feeling other than that 5 minute stent---I'm glad I battled back and got back into the race---which will serve as a great mental piece for IM AZ in 6 weeks. I was glad to keep Sullivan behind me through the debacle--I only lost places during this failure! No excuses though---my competition was fierce and I will be there another day to attack and not give them that "easy" spot I lost to them. I now have a war to settle with myself at IM AZ---no mistakes and I'm going to plan like it's a Board Exam.
My head is down because my coach Chris is going to tell me I know better than that (because I do), but all in all, being my first competitive race in 9 years, I am happy to get back out and get the juices flowing!
Final Splits:
Swim 3rd overall in 19:15
Bike: 7th overall in 1:15:32 did I say it was hilly!!!
Run: 21st overall in 46:51....considering my running background---UNBELIEVABLE!!! 5 minutes standing still will do that, and losing by 4 minutes to the overall leader is not sitting well right now ;((( Until next time....
Friday, October 8, 2010
8 Weeks to the Big Day...I'm running behind!!
So today is Thursday, October 7, and I haven't posted for last week yet! With lots going on in all facets of my life, I honestly am running out of time in the day to get everything done. Unfortunately, the blog suffers as it doesn't pay the bills, count as time with my family, as training, as eating, and as sleeping. Those things are the necessities of life! Last week I saw a cutback in my workout load, most notably on the run...totals were: 11,400 yds swimming, 213.4 miles cycling, and 25 miles running. I would say the slight drop was necessary due to the new intensity I am pushing in all the disciplines! Rather than over bore you with the specifics of every workout, I thought going through a few of the key ones would be "cooler."
After a true rest day on monday, tuesdays workout was one I have been looking forward to ever since the Coast Ride, and the testing that preceded it. To review for a second, my testing showed that I was "fried/fatigued/overtrained a bit" So off I went on the 380 mile, 3 day ride! The goal after the ride was to actively recover so my heart rate would become more reactive to my exertion level---tuesdays workout was to see how I was doing with my recovery. The focus of the workout was a 20 minute all out effort on an incline on the bike. I headed to the bottom of nine mile and gave it my best effort! The conclusion of the workout was that my highest HR during the 20 minutes was 144...and I was panting the entire time! You are probably saying that is low---it is....too low!! But, that is me (I must have a very powerful blood pump!). The conclusions from this workout were going to determine not only my recovery, but my zones for future workouts. Chris had my zones set low since the Coast Ride to keep me from higher intensity workouts, but that was also what the blood lactate testing showed. My zones changed as follows: zone 2 (aerobic riding) went from a high of 108 to a high of 122; zone 3 went from 115 to 133...these were huge changes, as once I had recovered somewhat, I couldn't ride more than 14 mph at a HR under 110---and I can't ride at 14 mph for a 5+ hour ride and feel like I was accomplishing anything. So this was great!!!!
So aside from this testing, my other key workouts were a 10 x 400 swim set that felt great, and a 120 mile 6 hour ride in zone 2 mostly that included the IM AZ course...I realized that the bike course is the easiest riding around town---FAST!!
The rest of the week was normal, and my overall impression right now is that I just need to stay with it....the days are getting shorter, the weather is getting cooler, and I am realizing that as we get into the final weeks, that I will be doing a lot of workouts in the dark; swimming is not a big deal, biking will end up on the trainer (I love the trainer anyways), and running will be fine as well...the psychology of losing daylight is going to be a battle, but the ability to work at higher intensity because of the cooler temps will be welcomed too!
By the way, Tempe Town Lake is being filled!
After a true rest day on monday, tuesdays workout was one I have been looking forward to ever since the Coast Ride, and the testing that preceded it. To review for a second, my testing showed that I was "fried/fatigued/overtrained a bit" So off I went on the 380 mile, 3 day ride! The goal after the ride was to actively recover so my heart rate would become more reactive to my exertion level---tuesdays workout was to see how I was doing with my recovery. The focus of the workout was a 20 minute all out effort on an incline on the bike. I headed to the bottom of nine mile and gave it my best effort! The conclusion of the workout was that my highest HR during the 20 minutes was 144...and I was panting the entire time! You are probably saying that is low---it is....too low!! But, that is me (I must have a very powerful blood pump!). The conclusions from this workout were going to determine not only my recovery, but my zones for future workouts. Chris had my zones set low since the Coast Ride to keep me from higher intensity workouts, but that was also what the blood lactate testing showed. My zones changed as follows: zone 2 (aerobic riding) went from a high of 108 to a high of 122; zone 3 went from 115 to 133...these were huge changes, as once I had recovered somewhat, I couldn't ride more than 14 mph at a HR under 110---and I can't ride at 14 mph for a 5+ hour ride and feel like I was accomplishing anything. So this was great!!!!
So aside from this testing, my other key workouts were a 10 x 400 swim set that felt great, and a 120 mile 6 hour ride in zone 2 mostly that included the IM AZ course...I realized that the bike course is the easiest riding around town---FAST!!
The rest of the week was normal, and my overall impression right now is that I just need to stay with it....the days are getting shorter, the weather is getting cooler, and I am realizing that as we get into the final weeks, that I will be doing a lot of workouts in the dark; swimming is not a big deal, biking will end up on the trainer (I love the trainer anyways), and running will be fine as well...the psychology of losing daylight is going to be a battle, but the ability to work at higher intensity because of the cooler temps will be welcomed too!
By the way, Tempe Town Lake is being filled!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
9 Weeks to Ironman Arizona
So there hasn't been an update about the lake in a while, but we just keep on truckin'!
Monday, September 20:
Chris gave me the day off, but I jumped on the trainer anyways for two hours, with some intervals to start waking the legs up coming out of a recovery week...my body is eager for more building!
Tuesday, September 21:
1) 75 minutes running....
We are adding run intervals back into my program! But instead of track workouts, we are doing hill repeats (fun! track workouts on a hill basically!). I have the perfect hill for these over in McDowell Mountain Ranch...3 reps of 5 minutes each in Zone 4 HR (right around 140 BPM for me).Hill Repeats on Garmin...Chris has been telling me to think like a Diesel rather than a Ferrari, so I am trying to keep my pace/HR down, but my body wants to take off...gotta stick to the plan! I ended up running between 7:30-8:00 pace...not fast...DIESEL!!! I am now really focused on training right...I don't care how fast I am through my workout---Chris says it's not about beating yourself to a pulp, it's about conditioning your body...and he knows best!
2) I followed the run up with 90 minutes easy on the trainer to "shake the legs out" 150 watts which had my HR at 115...DIESEL!! this was a recovery spin...
Wednesday, September 22:
1) I started my afternoon workout with a swim as follows: 3700 IM Prep - 400 wup, 300 free with middle 100 FAST (3rd 100) - 800 Free steady, 50 ez, 600, steady, 50 ez, 2x400 faster than 800 was, 50 ez, 2x300 faster than the 600, warm down. My swimming is really coming along well as of late...speed is increasing, endurance in the water is where it needs to be, and I am feeling pretty comfortable! I have a Swim Analysis with a local coach here (Frank Sole) tomorrow..I can't wait to see what I look like from every angle and get some valuable feedback to make me more efficient!
2) 90 minutes of Intervals on the Bike Trainer: just like above, I have a lot in reserve at the current zones, and in this workout my wattage varied from 170 to 240---not tough at all, but I know that is the goal---IM bike is not about pushing high wattage, it's about keeping a constant wattage/Hr throughout that allows the body to maintain its endurance throughout---NO LACTIC ACID BUILDUP!
Thursday, September 23: aka my 38th Birthday!
very easy "training day", basically all I had was a "recovery swim" which turned out to be my swim analysis videoing with Frank...nothing else really to say other than I am excited for the video...I'll post it on here when I get it!
Friday, September 24: bike, run, but I wanted more: started with open water swim!
1) I headed up to Bartlett Lake for an Open Water Swim with the group, but didn't get the memo that meeting time was 5:30 am....I headed up by myself (as planned anyways), threw on my wetsuit, caught up with the 8 or so people out there, swam my two laps around the buoys, and headed back in, jumped in the car, and sped home...no messing around on days like these! I swam about 3000 yds...I think!
2) After the drive home, I prepped and jumped on the bike for a 3 hourZ2 ride with 20' at Z3 HR (IM pace) built in. I headed down to Shea, out to the Beeline, down the top half of the IM AZ course, back up to Fountain Hills, then through RIo Verde, up 9 mile, and then home: 64 miles in just over 3 hours 20 minutes HR average was 116, temp was pretty hot at 96 average, and averaged just under 19 MPH...followed the new motto--DIESEL!!
3) Straight into a brick run for 75 minutes with the following description: "medium run with the last 15 minutes on feel and fast"
Sometimes I just have to figure out what things like that mean...HR zones are easy to follow, but medium run to me means a pretty good level of exertion, so that's what I shot for during the first 60 minutes. My self-designed cues for the run were as follows: run at 7:30 pace unless my HR was creeping to 140 or above. Some spots were 7:00 pace (slight downhills), while others were 8:00 pace (slight uphills)...so I ran according to what my HR would let me. I felt great off the bike--almost like I didn't even ride (actually, sometimes I feel better running off the bike than running cold). For the final 15 minutes, I went all out on a slight incline, getting my HR to 152 in 104 degree heat average pace: 7:15. My body said " this is not right" when I hit 152, so I coasted home from there for recovery. totals were: average pace 7:30, Distance: 9.61 miles, average Hr: 135.
Saturday, September 25: 6 Hour Ride Zone 2
Well, I rode in the Tour de Scottsdale "pre-ride" to start...and that obviously means I was not in zone 2 through that ride. I kind of wanted to test the zones a bit too, so I let it go through the ride until I reached the Gas Station at the top of 9 mile. Once I reached Shea, I was on my own, having averaged a little over 21 MPH to that point---not a DIESEL! I was feeling really strong even after fridays workload---great! I then headed out the Beeline up to Bush HIghway, then took that down into Mesa, back over the the Beeline, then up to Shea, and back home. Had some mechanical issues, including a shredded rear tire, but that only failed as I literally pulled into the driveway---super lucky!! The tallies for the day were: 115 miles, just under a 20 mph average (took it easy on the Beeline and Bush Highways---sight seeing as I was bored riding by myself!), HR average: 116, elevation: 4300. I learned on this ride that I really need to start focusing on nutrition and hydration! It is still hot out (average temp was 93.5), but I get lazy when it comes to following a "plan" for hydration and nutrition---BAD Erik!!!
Sunday, September 26: 90 minute Z2 super steady, especially the second half!
I ended up running on the canal with the ONE group at 5:30 am...my goal today was to get a good feel for a decent, sustainable pace and to follow the rules!. I ran a total of 100 minutes (1:41:34),basically to get in a half marathon. Average HR was 127, pace was 7:45. I kept it super steady, never really tired significantly...AWESOME!! My best long run since I have been back---it couldn't get much better than this (okay, other than pace!) I could have gone faster, but, DIESEL!!! 7:45 pace for a marathon is a 3:20...I'll take that on November 21 all day long!! Easier said than done, I imagine.
So the week is done... and I feel great and ready for more! Totals: Swim 9500 yards, Bike 279 miles, Run 32 Miles.
Until next week!!
Monday, September 20:
Chris gave me the day off, but I jumped on the trainer anyways for two hours, with some intervals to start waking the legs up coming out of a recovery week...my body is eager for more building!
Tuesday, September 21:
1) 75 minutes running....
We are adding run intervals back into my program! But instead of track workouts, we are doing hill repeats (fun! track workouts on a hill basically!). I have the perfect hill for these over in McDowell Mountain Ranch...3 reps of 5 minutes each in Zone 4 HR (right around 140 BPM for me).Hill Repeats on Garmin...Chris has been telling me to think like a Diesel rather than a Ferrari, so I am trying to keep my pace/HR down, but my body wants to take off...gotta stick to the plan! I ended up running between 7:30-8:00 pace...not fast...DIESEL!!! I am now really focused on training right...I don't care how fast I am through my workout---Chris says it's not about beating yourself to a pulp, it's about conditioning your body...and he knows best!
2) I followed the run up with 90 minutes easy on the trainer to "shake the legs out" 150 watts which had my HR at 115...DIESEL!! this was a recovery spin...
Wednesday, September 22:
1) I started my afternoon workout with a swim as follows: 3700 IM Prep - 400 wup, 300 free with middle 100 FAST (3rd 100) - 800 Free steady, 50 ez, 600, steady, 50 ez, 2x400 faster than 800 was, 50 ez, 2x300 faster than the 600, warm down. My swimming is really coming along well as of late...speed is increasing, endurance in the water is where it needs to be, and I am feeling pretty comfortable! I have a Swim Analysis with a local coach here (Frank Sole) tomorrow..I can't wait to see what I look like from every angle and get some valuable feedback to make me more efficient!
2) 90 minutes of Intervals on the Bike Trainer: just like above, I have a lot in reserve at the current zones, and in this workout my wattage varied from 170 to 240---not tough at all, but I know that is the goal---IM bike is not about pushing high wattage, it's about keeping a constant wattage/Hr throughout that allows the body to maintain its endurance throughout---NO LACTIC ACID BUILDUP!
Thursday, September 23: aka my 38th Birthday!
very easy "training day", basically all I had was a "recovery swim" which turned out to be my swim analysis videoing with Frank...nothing else really to say other than I am excited for the video...I'll post it on here when I get it!
Friday, September 24: bike, run, but I wanted more: started with open water swim!
1) I headed up to Bartlett Lake for an Open Water Swim with the group, but didn't get the memo that meeting time was 5:30 am....I headed up by myself (as planned anyways), threw on my wetsuit, caught up with the 8 or so people out there, swam my two laps around the buoys, and headed back in, jumped in the car, and sped home...no messing around on days like these! I swam about 3000 yds...I think!
2) After the drive home, I prepped and jumped on the bike for a 3 hourZ2 ride with 20' at Z3 HR (IM pace) built in. I headed down to Shea, out to the Beeline, down the top half of the IM AZ course, back up to Fountain Hills, then through RIo Verde, up 9 mile, and then home: 64 miles in just over 3 hours 20 minutes HR average was 116, temp was pretty hot at 96 average, and averaged just under 19 MPH...followed the new motto--DIESEL!!
3) Straight into a brick run for 75 minutes with the following description: "medium run with the last 15 minutes on feel and fast"
Sometimes I just have to figure out what things like that mean...HR zones are easy to follow, but medium run to me means a pretty good level of exertion, so that's what I shot for during the first 60 minutes. My self-designed cues for the run were as follows: run at 7:30 pace unless my HR was creeping to 140 or above. Some spots were 7:00 pace (slight downhills), while others were 8:00 pace (slight uphills)...so I ran according to what my HR would let me. I felt great off the bike--almost like I didn't even ride (actually, sometimes I feel better running off the bike than running cold). For the final 15 minutes, I went all out on a slight incline, getting my HR to 152 in 104 degree heat average pace: 7:15. My body said " this is not right" when I hit 152, so I coasted home from there for recovery. totals were: average pace 7:30, Distance: 9.61 miles, average Hr: 135.
Saturday, September 25: 6 Hour Ride Zone 2
Well, I rode in the Tour de Scottsdale "pre-ride" to start...and that obviously means I was not in zone 2 through that ride. I kind of wanted to test the zones a bit too, so I let it go through the ride until I reached the Gas Station at the top of 9 mile. Once I reached Shea, I was on my own, having averaged a little over 21 MPH to that point---not a DIESEL! I was feeling really strong even after fridays workload---great! I then headed out the Beeline up to Bush HIghway, then took that down into Mesa, back over the the Beeline, then up to Shea, and back home. Had some mechanical issues, including a shredded rear tire, but that only failed as I literally pulled into the driveway---super lucky!! The tallies for the day were: 115 miles, just under a 20 mph average (took it easy on the Beeline and Bush Highways---sight seeing as I was bored riding by myself!), HR average: 116, elevation: 4300. I learned on this ride that I really need to start focusing on nutrition and hydration! It is still hot out (average temp was 93.5), but I get lazy when it comes to following a "plan" for hydration and nutrition---BAD Erik!!!
Sunday, September 26: 90 minute Z2 super steady, especially the second half!
I ended up running on the canal with the ONE group at 5:30 am...my goal today was to get a good feel for a decent, sustainable pace and to follow the rules!. I ran a total of 100 minutes (1:41:34),basically to get in a half marathon. Average HR was 127, pace was 7:45. I kept it super steady, never really tired significantly...AWESOME!! My best long run since I have been back---it couldn't get much better than this (okay, other than pace!) I could have gone faster, but, DIESEL!!! 7:45 pace for a marathon is a 3:20...I'll take that on November 21 all day long!! Easier said than done, I imagine.
So the week is done... and I feel great and ready for more! Totals: Swim 9500 yards, Bike 279 miles, Run 32 Miles.
Until next week!!
Monday, September 20, 2010
10 Weeks to Ironman
So I am going to start logging my daily workouts from here on out so anyone can see what I am doing during the "Home Stretch!" I have a buddy (Dan Thomas) who is also doing IM AZ (his first IM as well) who is doing the same thing in a blog, so see my list of Blogs I Follow.
Sunday: September 12, 2010
After the Coast Ride from Mill Valley to Santa Barbara (380 miles in 3 days), I luckily got to spend a day with my family in San Rafael---thanks to my sister throwing a BBQ! Food and company was awesome, but very short-lived. I also had the day off from training! I flew back to Jenny and Sophia sunday night---I missed them tons!
Monday: September 13, 2010
Believe it or not, 2 days in a row of no training! This all stems from my testing last wednesday (blood lactate testing). The results of the testing showed that my zones are lower than we thought, but also that I was "fried" as Chris told me. Craig (who administered the test) told that I need a break--but heck, I was there to ride the Coast! So for the Coast Ride I didn't press my HR---I was out to enjoy the ride at a decent pace without worsening my "fried" condition. I monitor my resting HR and weight every morning...normal is 42 BPM, and lately I've weighed in at 175ish. From saturday to yesterday, my resting HR was around 50, so that only backed up the need for rest! My weight also went up to 179, which is expected with the muscle gains along with the immense number of calories I took in to help me recover every day. So, I got to enjoy the day catching up on things around the house and spending time with Jenny and Sophia!
Tuesday: Back into the workout routine! Chris gave me a non-descript swim workout today of 3500 yds, with a focus on low exertion, long stroke, and plenty of rest between reps (= active recovery swim)...I ended up doing 400 warm up, 3 x 400, 200 kick, 3 x 500, 200 warm down...easy! Swimming is going well, and seems arbitrary at this point! The 2nd workout of the day was 90 minutes on the trainer at sub zone 2 HR (below 108)...so I sat in the aero bars watching Planet of the Apes spinning at 85 RPM and 140w..."shaking the legs out"...no biggie here either---it's a recovery week; the first one since we started the IM prep 6 weeks ago.
Wednesday: Just one workout today, and it was another 90 minute spin on the trainer with some zone 3 work thrown in at my discretion, but with a focus on spinning still as I continue to "absorb" the Coast Ride workload. the zone 3 work is there to "wake up" my legs, and they are feeling fairly well recovered. I basically did some mile repeats stepping the wattage up and down from 140w to 220w every mile for the middle 2/3's of the workout. With the lower targets for my zones, I have a feeling my workouts are not going to feel to difficult. I am hoping this makes me much more efficient at the same pacing as before in the very near future...with the zones switching downward in exertion levels, I am worried that my goal pacing for IM will be lower than I care to go (I was going off of my previous target numbers for IM)...over time the answer to this mystery will be answered!
Thursday: Working all day and then having a Continuing Education Dinner don't bode well for todays planned workouts: 90 minutes of intervals on the bike trainer and a 45 minute run...so I moved them to later this week and took a rest day. I think after being in the cool weather of the coast, my body is taking its time recovering and is going to need some time to get heat acclimated again.
Friday: The first of 3 big swim days: today is the shortest at 3500 yds: main set 10 x 200 with 20 second rest. No big deal there! I jumped on my bike before dinner and rode easy for an hour trying to keep to my new zone 2 (aerobic) Heart Rate: I had to keep telling my legs to knock it off! They wanted to fly, but I kept the HR below 115 as much as possible (supposed to be below 108, but we think the testing done under a sluggish HR may have made the HR zones lower than they are now that I have recovered a bit from the "fried" me. I also had a 45 minute run in there--EZ. I felt great and had to tell my legs (again) to stop trying to go faster than my HR was supposed to. All in all it was a great first run in a while, Average Heart Rate was 125 and pace was 7:42...not fast, but at 125, that's about as fast as I can get!
Saturday: The first "somewhat big" test for Ironman and more importantly, my shoulder in a wetsuit for the first time. 4000m Open Water Race with DCB Adventures was held at the alternate swim site for IM AZ, so I had to go "test the waters!" My goal was to take it easy and see how it felt...i haven't swam this distance in open water since about 1997 (Waikiki Rough Water Swim). 4 laps of a 1000m course was psychologically tough! Overall, the 1st and 4th laps were easy, but the two middle ones were draining and boring, again, more psychologically than anything. I gave myself a "C" because I lost my focus at least 10 times and switched to a quick rep of breast stroke or backstroke even, and I didn't breathe bilaterally, so those two things took me down...this time. I have 2 more of these before IM, so I will get them worked out by then! My time was 1 hour 11 minutes...better than I thought it would be, but I am glad I have things to work on to get it down hopefullly to somewhere in the 1 hour range for IM (IM swim is about 3800m, so my adjusted time for IM on this race was about 1:06ish. I see lots of room for improvement, which is better than swimming my best and getting that time.
Sunday: Another longer swim 3900 yds: main set 8 x 100 on 15 sec rest, 16 x 50 on 10 sec rest, 20 x 25 on 10 sec rest. The lats are tired! I also had an EZ trail run in for today, but with the heat and being lazy and sleeping in, I ran in the 108 degree afternoon heat, and ended up making it a jog/walk to keep it in my new zone 2. The goals was to reintroduce the legs to running again, and that's exactly what seemed to happen!
I have a feeling next week is going to see my workout load double....I was only out there for just under 10 hours this week, but I have been averaging over 20 for the weeks prior (23 hours 40 minutes last week!)--it was a much needed recovery week!
Sunday: September 12, 2010
After the Coast Ride from Mill Valley to Santa Barbara (380 miles in 3 days), I luckily got to spend a day with my family in San Rafael---thanks to my sister throwing a BBQ! Food and company was awesome, but very short-lived. I also had the day off from training! I flew back to Jenny and Sophia sunday night---I missed them tons!
Monday: September 13, 2010
Believe it or not, 2 days in a row of no training! This all stems from my testing last wednesday (blood lactate testing). The results of the testing showed that my zones are lower than we thought, but also that I was "fried" as Chris told me. Craig (who administered the test) told that I need a break--but heck, I was there to ride the Coast! So for the Coast Ride I didn't press my HR---I was out to enjoy the ride at a decent pace without worsening my "fried" condition. I monitor my resting HR and weight every morning...normal is 42 BPM, and lately I've weighed in at 175ish. From saturday to yesterday, my resting HR was around 50, so that only backed up the need for rest! My weight also went up to 179, which is expected with the muscle gains along with the immense number of calories I took in to help me recover every day. So, I got to enjoy the day catching up on things around the house and spending time with Jenny and Sophia!
Tuesday: Back into the workout routine! Chris gave me a non-descript swim workout today of 3500 yds, with a focus on low exertion, long stroke, and plenty of rest between reps (= active recovery swim)...I ended up doing 400 warm up, 3 x 400, 200 kick, 3 x 500, 200 warm down...easy! Swimming is going well, and seems arbitrary at this point! The 2nd workout of the day was 90 minutes on the trainer at sub zone 2 HR (below 108)...so I sat in the aero bars watching Planet of the Apes spinning at 85 RPM and 140w..."shaking the legs out"...no biggie here either---it's a recovery week; the first one since we started the IM prep 6 weeks ago.
Wednesday: Just one workout today, and it was another 90 minute spin on the trainer with some zone 3 work thrown in at my discretion, but with a focus on spinning still as I continue to "absorb" the Coast Ride workload. the zone 3 work is there to "wake up" my legs, and they are feeling fairly well recovered. I basically did some mile repeats stepping the wattage up and down from 140w to 220w every mile for the middle 2/3's of the workout. With the lower targets for my zones, I have a feeling my workouts are not going to feel to difficult. I am hoping this makes me much more efficient at the same pacing as before in the very near future...with the zones switching downward in exertion levels, I am worried that my goal pacing for IM will be lower than I care to go (I was going off of my previous target numbers for IM)...over time the answer to this mystery will be answered!
Thursday: Working all day and then having a Continuing Education Dinner don't bode well for todays planned workouts: 90 minutes of intervals on the bike trainer and a 45 minute run...so I moved them to later this week and took a rest day. I think after being in the cool weather of the coast, my body is taking its time recovering and is going to need some time to get heat acclimated again.
Friday: The first of 3 big swim days: today is the shortest at 3500 yds: main set 10 x 200 with 20 second rest. No big deal there! I jumped on my bike before dinner and rode easy for an hour trying to keep to my new zone 2 (aerobic) Heart Rate: I had to keep telling my legs to knock it off! They wanted to fly, but I kept the HR below 115 as much as possible (supposed to be below 108, but we think the testing done under a sluggish HR may have made the HR zones lower than they are now that I have recovered a bit from the "fried" me. I also had a 45 minute run in there--EZ. I felt great and had to tell my legs (again) to stop trying to go faster than my HR was supposed to. All in all it was a great first run in a while, Average Heart Rate was 125 and pace was 7:42...not fast, but at 125, that's about as fast as I can get!
Saturday: The first "somewhat big" test for Ironman and more importantly, my shoulder in a wetsuit for the first time. 4000m Open Water Race with DCB Adventures was held at the alternate swim site for IM AZ, so I had to go "test the waters!" My goal was to take it easy and see how it felt...i haven't swam this distance in open water since about 1997 (Waikiki Rough Water Swim). 4 laps of a 1000m course was psychologically tough! Overall, the 1st and 4th laps were easy, but the two middle ones were draining and boring, again, more psychologically than anything. I gave myself a "C" because I lost my focus at least 10 times and switched to a quick rep of breast stroke or backstroke even, and I didn't breathe bilaterally, so those two things took me down...this time. I have 2 more of these before IM, so I will get them worked out by then! My time was 1 hour 11 minutes...better than I thought it would be, but I am glad I have things to work on to get it down hopefullly to somewhere in the 1 hour range for IM (IM swim is about 3800m, so my adjusted time for IM on this race was about 1:06ish. I see lots of room for improvement, which is better than swimming my best and getting that time.
Sunday: Another longer swim 3900 yds: main set 8 x 100 on 15 sec rest, 16 x 50 on 10 sec rest, 20 x 25 on 10 sec rest. The lats are tired! I also had an EZ trail run in for today, but with the heat and being lazy and sleeping in, I ran in the 108 degree afternoon heat, and ended up making it a jog/walk to keep it in my new zone 2. The goals was to reintroduce the legs to running again, and that's exactly what seemed to happen!
I have a feeling next week is going to see my workout load double....I was only out there for just under 10 hours this week, but I have been averaging over 20 for the weeks prior (23 hours 40 minutes last week!)--it was a much needed recovery week!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
T Minus 10 Weeks to AZ Ironman!
We are in the final push to Ironman Arizona! I'm excited yet a bit nervous about being prepared for November 21st...all you can do is train your best and hope that you are prepared for what you are presented with race day. Will it be in Tempe Town Lake or Saguaro Lake? Windy? Hot? I can't control those things, so they are the same for everyone, so I'll roll with those punches.
My worries revolve around pace and nutrition, and I think that will be the focus of my training from here on out. The things I need to figure out:
Pre-race nutrition: Pig out on carbs, reducing fiber in the days before...load that glycogen and fill the tank!
Swim pace...I don't swim with an HRM on, so I've got to swim smooth and not "blow up" due to swimming too aggressively. I have a 4 km open water swim this weekend, so I think I can work on it there.
Bike pace: all driven by HR---I jsut had testing done while I was in California for the Coast Ride (see below)...the testing tells me I have been training on bad data---my zones are lower than we anticipated, so my zone 2 HR is actually my zone 3 HR now. So this means all of my base training has been in zone 3---there's good and bad with that issue, but I am corrected now, and lets see how it unfolds in the next 10 weeks!
Bike nutrition: all the science says you can eat 300-700 calories and hour, but in the "field" that number is very close to 300 cals/hr before stomach issues arise. I will pretty much be a mathematician when it comes to race day, but between now and then, I am going to work on what works for me specifically...I want to eat as much as possible to have me fueled for the marathon (this isn't a weight loss program!). For the bike, everything is based on the principle of "riding to run"---the race ends after the marathon, so my bike pacing and nutrition are geared for what comes after the bike, not on the principle of how fast of a bike split can I do. The answer to this is the million dollar question in Ironman Racing...you only learn this with experience, of which I have none (which is why it is soo hard to qualify for Kona in your first Ironman). I've adopted the philosophy of eating calories and drinking water (with a little bit of EFS thrown in for electrolytes, but not going overboard). Calories will be EFS Gel Shots, Clif Shots, Honey Stinger Shots, and Gu Roctane Jet Blackberry (gotta keep the taste buds entertained!
Run pace: I have a feeling that when I get off the bike I will feel good, to the point that I will want to run faster than I should out of the gate. I don't know this part of the plan yet, but I imagine I will hold back slightly until I reach somewhere in the area of mile 13-16....then, prepare to be passed if you are in front of me (that's my mentality---kill or be killed!). Recent runs off the bike after 100+ mile rides have been going well...almost as if I have not been on the bike once I have settled into my run pace.
Run Nutrition: EFS Gel Shots that are loaded with calories--sipping on them every other mile or so, and washing down with water. When the going gets tough, regular Coke will be the savior!
I could be in the best shape ever, but avoiding the "rules" could spell disaster! My focus is controlling what I can control...everything else I have to adapt to, just like everyone else!
To make this entry even longer, I just wanted to say the Coast Ride was phenomenal! 380 miles in 3 days with a little running thrown in. Awesome group of people, beautiful weather, great roads!! This is a link to the Day 2 ride:
Marina to Morro Bay Coast Ride Day 2 by esvans at Garmin Connect - Details.
That's it for now! I'm going to start posting my daily workouts and notes at the end of each week, so stay posted!
My worries revolve around pace and nutrition, and I think that will be the focus of my training from here on out. The things I need to figure out:
Pre-race nutrition: Pig out on carbs, reducing fiber in the days before...load that glycogen and fill the tank!
Swim pace...I don't swim with an HRM on, so I've got to swim smooth and not "blow up" due to swimming too aggressively. I have a 4 km open water swim this weekend, so I think I can work on it there.
Bike pace: all driven by HR---I jsut had testing done while I was in California for the Coast Ride (see below)...the testing tells me I have been training on bad data---my zones are lower than we anticipated, so my zone 2 HR is actually my zone 3 HR now. So this means all of my base training has been in zone 3---there's good and bad with that issue, but I am corrected now, and lets see how it unfolds in the next 10 weeks!
Bike nutrition: all the science says you can eat 300-700 calories and hour, but in the "field" that number is very close to 300 cals/hr before stomach issues arise. I will pretty much be a mathematician when it comes to race day, but between now and then, I am going to work on what works for me specifically...I want to eat as much as possible to have me fueled for the marathon (this isn't a weight loss program!). For the bike, everything is based on the principle of "riding to run"---the race ends after the marathon, so my bike pacing and nutrition are geared for what comes after the bike, not on the principle of how fast of a bike split can I do. The answer to this is the million dollar question in Ironman Racing...you only learn this with experience, of which I have none (which is why it is soo hard to qualify for Kona in your first Ironman). I've adopted the philosophy of eating calories and drinking water (with a little bit of EFS thrown in for electrolytes, but not going overboard). Calories will be EFS Gel Shots, Clif Shots, Honey Stinger Shots, and Gu Roctane Jet Blackberry (gotta keep the taste buds entertained!
Run pace: I have a feeling that when I get off the bike I will feel good, to the point that I will want to run faster than I should out of the gate. I don't know this part of the plan yet, but I imagine I will hold back slightly until I reach somewhere in the area of mile 13-16....then, prepare to be passed if you are in front of me (that's my mentality---kill or be killed!). Recent runs off the bike after 100+ mile rides have been going well...almost as if I have not been on the bike once I have settled into my run pace.
Run Nutrition: EFS Gel Shots that are loaded with calories--sipping on them every other mile or so, and washing down with water. When the going gets tough, regular Coke will be the savior!
I could be in the best shape ever, but avoiding the "rules" could spell disaster! My focus is controlling what I can control...everything else I have to adapt to, just like everyone else!
To make this entry even longer, I just wanted to say the Coast Ride was phenomenal! 380 miles in 3 days with a little running thrown in. Awesome group of people, beautiful weather, great roads!! This is a link to the Day 2 ride:
Marina to Morro Bay Coast Ride Day 2 by esvans at Garmin Connect - Details.
That's it for now! I'm going to start posting my daily workouts and notes at the end of each week, so stay posted!
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