It's that time of the year, blogging obviously is starting to take a back seat. I can't say I'm a particularly good or passionate blogger, but I do try to update semi regularly.
Soooo, what's new?
Not much. Training has been going well, been incorporating interval sessions into both bike and running and it's paying dividends. I've been going pretty hard since January and I'm looking forward to the 'off season'!
Moving on.. to the Guelph Lake II Race Report!
I'm throwing out the standard race report template. I secretly harbour ill feelings towards it, because it's so redundant and narcissistic. I think I should probably entitle this one: "Things I thought were cool at GL II. "
Number 1: my wife accompanies me to every race I do. After 5 years, she's still batting 100%.
Number 2: Mark, Lori, Fred, Joanne and Joanne's nephew Jake from Prince George, B.C. actually took time out of their days to come down and watch the race. (cheers guys!)
Number 3: Trisport. From a race director's standpoint, I think this was probably a very stressful day. As usual, Trisport did exceptionally well. Think about this and ALL the headaches, pressure and stress it would entail: short notice venue change. ie: swim location is now at a different beach, race course, transition zone, parking etc.. etc.. now all must be changed. With the change, people are now arriving late. Start time is now moved up. This obviously has a trickle down effect that affects everything down the line. A man collapses and nearly dies at the finish line. Paramedics and fire are called in and apparently revive him, he's currently hospitalized and is going to be OK.
Number 4: In the women 50-54 category, Sheri Fraser smokes the course in 1:31, placing 22nd overall!
Number 5: The prancing and preening of my fellow tri nerds- gives me a chuckle everytime.
So. Even though this is my blog, sometimes it's not about me, myself or I. Which, coincidentally, are the 3 least important words in the English language.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Race Pace
Boy have I learned alot this year, umm.. well I've read alot, how much of that actually sinks is another story! As we start to near the end of the season (only 2 races left!), I've already got an eye on next year and what sort of training protocols I'm going to adapt. I'm on the right track, but there will be some serious tweaking.
One of my major weaknesses (and/or strength, depending how you look at it), is that I have a tendency to focus to a little too hard. This can definitely yield results, but I'd rather open my eyes and mind to the possibility that are even better ways to maximize my training time. One of the strategies I'll be implementing next year is more time at 'race pace'. Training faster to race faster, pretty simple. I'll be coming back to the 'plan' at a future date, but I'm really jazzed about next year and this year isn't even done yet!
To give credit where credit is due. I've been picking one of my new training partners brains on exercise physiology, periodization etc.. Gary, recently came back to the sport of triathlon after a 2 year layoff, is very knowledgeable and freely shares his knowledge (it's no wonder I like hanging with him). He's not a coach (yet), but if I were to ever get one, he'd be on the short list.
Random swimming tips for the week:
- flexibility! Yes, I'm a big fan of proper stretching, as I truly believe it's one of things that helps keep me injury free. Swimmers are a flexible bunch and one of the main benefits is that it gives you range of motion to do proper technique. I'm not saying being flexible will give you proper technique, but if you have the range of motion, it's certainly a good starting point. This link has some good shoulder stretches:
http://www.nismat.org/traintip/swimmershld
- masters swimming. Ok that's half the battle, you signed up and are going to practice, the other half of the battle: use the coach. Everyday, ask the coach, "what's the ONE thing I need to concentrate on today?" Use the coach to master the technique, then and only then are you allowed to train fast.
- lastly. Always, always and I mean always... be concentrating on form. Once your form breaks down - you need a rest, otherwise you're only reinforcing bad form. It's easy to swim 'well' fast (although your form will break down very quick), it's much harder to swim 'well' slow. Once you can swim well at a slow pace (a pace you can continually maintain with no rest and no form breakdown) - you'll have the hardest part nailed. Going fast will be easy because now you'll have good form.
Points to ponder..
The week in review:
Mon: swim 2k easy
Tues: bike 75k. 5X10min at Olympic pace. Run 8k easy.
Wed: run 10k, spin 1 hour. (zone 2)
Thu: run 17k. 4X8min @ Oly pace. Swim 2.8k (400's)
Fri: easy 10k run. Spin 30min.
Sat: 3.6k OW swim. Bike 5 min easy, 10 min hard, quick transition run 2k hard (Oly pace) repeat 5 times. (good workout!)
Sun: run long. 22k.
This race pace stuff is fun. Must be the endorphins. :)
Cheers!
One of my major weaknesses (and/or strength, depending how you look at it), is that I have a tendency to focus to a little too hard. This can definitely yield results, but I'd rather open my eyes and mind to the possibility that are even better ways to maximize my training time. One of the strategies I'll be implementing next year is more time at 'race pace'. Training faster to race faster, pretty simple. I'll be coming back to the 'plan' at a future date, but I'm really jazzed about next year and this year isn't even done yet!
To give credit where credit is due. I've been picking one of my new training partners brains on exercise physiology, periodization etc.. Gary, recently came back to the sport of triathlon after a 2 year layoff, is very knowledgeable and freely shares his knowledge (it's no wonder I like hanging with him). He's not a coach (yet), but if I were to ever get one, he'd be on the short list.
Random swimming tips for the week:
- flexibility! Yes, I'm a big fan of proper stretching, as I truly believe it's one of things that helps keep me injury free. Swimmers are a flexible bunch and one of the main benefits is that it gives you range of motion to do proper technique. I'm not saying being flexible will give you proper technique, but if you have the range of motion, it's certainly a good starting point. This link has some good shoulder stretches:
http://www.nismat.org/traintip/swimmershld
- masters swimming. Ok that's half the battle, you signed up and are going to practice, the other half of the battle: use the coach. Everyday, ask the coach, "what's the ONE thing I need to concentrate on today?" Use the coach to master the technique, then and only then are you allowed to train fast.
- lastly. Always, always and I mean always... be concentrating on form. Once your form breaks down - you need a rest, otherwise you're only reinforcing bad form. It's easy to swim 'well' fast (although your form will break down very quick), it's much harder to swim 'well' slow. Once you can swim well at a slow pace (a pace you can continually maintain with no rest and no form breakdown) - you'll have the hardest part nailed. Going fast will be easy because now you'll have good form.
Points to ponder..
The week in review:
Mon: swim 2k easy
Tues: bike 75k. 5X10min at Olympic pace. Run 8k easy.
Wed: run 10k, spin 1 hour. (zone 2)
Thu: run 17k. 4X8min @ Oly pace. Swim 2.8k (400's)
Fri: easy 10k run. Spin 30min.
Sat: 3.6k OW swim. Bike 5 min easy, 10 min hard, quick transition run 2k hard (Oly pace) repeat 5 times. (good workout!)
Sun: run long. 22k.
This race pace stuff is fun. Must be the endorphins. :)
Cheers!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
The fitter you are..
The faster you bounce back. The caveat being.. you probably aren't as fit as you think you are. So smart money says err on the side of caution and rest up! OR.. you could risk injury, over training, burn out... all in an effort of trying to squeeze one more workout that in all likelihood will result in a negative net gain. Hardly seems worth it. Yet we do it. (guilty!) Well at least I try to find the balance - it's a work in progress.
So with an opener like that.. here's what I did this week:
Mon: race (Oly distance)
Tues: swim 2.4k
Wed: bike 72k run5k
Thur: bike 37k, run 11k, swim2.8k
Fri: run 8k
Sat: swim 2.8k open water, bike 70k (rainy, cold and miserable), run 10k
Sun: bike 104k run 10k (to do..)
Signs of over training and /or over-extending myself include: being grumpy, and not sleeping well. The good news is the grump factor is at an all time low and I'm sleeping like a baby - good news indeed.
So I get an email from Aaron entitled: "F the rain- I'm riding on Sunday!!! " Well, after much fence sitting, I buck up and we went for a nice spin. I'm a total froo froo boy when it comes to riding in the rain - oh sure I can suck it up, but I don't have to like it! Training for me is all about maximizing my enjoyment of a given activity and riding in the rain, for me, is generally not fun. BUT.. when you training partner throws down an invite.. you kinda, sorta, haveta rise up to the challenge. It's just the way it is.
By the way, it didn't rain, traffic was nil and the ride rocked. Sometimes the sun shines - even when it's cloudy.
Cheers!
P.S. Phelps's 4:03 in the 400IM = UNfrickinbelievable.
So with an opener like that.. here's what I did this week:
Mon: race (Oly distance)
Tues: swim 2.4k
Wed: bike 72k run5k
Thur: bike 37k, run 11k, swim2.8k
Fri: run 8k
Sat: swim 2.8k open water, bike 70k (rainy, cold and miserable), run 10k
Sun: bike 104k run 10k (to do..)
Signs of over training and /or over-extending myself include: being grumpy, and not sleeping well. The good news is the grump factor is at an all time low and I'm sleeping like a baby - good news indeed.
So I get an email from Aaron entitled: "F the rain- I'm riding on Sunday!!! " Well, after much fence sitting, I buck up and we went for a nice spin. I'm a total froo froo boy when it comes to riding in the rain - oh sure I can suck it up, but I don't have to like it! Training for me is all about maximizing my enjoyment of a given activity and riding in the rain, for me, is generally not fun. BUT.. when you training partner throws down an invite.. you kinda, sorta, haveta rise up to the challenge. It's just the way it is.
By the way, it didn't rain, traffic was nil and the ride rocked. Sometimes the sun shines - even when it's cloudy.
Cheers!
P.S. Phelps's 4:03 in the 400IM = UNfrickinbelievable.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Provincial Champs Race Report!
Owen Sound hosted the Ontario Provincial Champs today for the Olympic distance triathlon. Doing well here means you get to go to the World Championships being hosted in Australia next year, which would be nice, but prohibitively expensive! So here is how the day went down..
Time: 2:05:35
AG placing: 2
Overall: 10
Swim 1.5k: Time: 21:12 AG placing: 3 Overall:17
My age group was in the second wave, which started 4min after the first wave. I immediately fell in line with the top 2 swimmers and the 3 of us basically made a line around the course. I was content on following their feet and we all exited the water very close together.
T1
Uneventful. Wetsuit off. Helmet on. Unrack bike. Go.
Bike 40k: Time: 1:02:17 AG placing:4 Overall: 8
Was looking to to come in about 2 minutes faster but without knowing the course I'm happy with my bike time. Not a particularly difficult course, best defined as a rolling type course with some longer easy ascents - I did have to drop to the small chain ring once. Going out was pretty zippy, nice tail wind and was holding 50kph for some good stretches. Coming back was obviously a tad slower as we had to contend with a headwind. But overall it's a pretty good course.
T2
Tried to rack bike at the wrong rack. Doh. Quickly realized the mistake as I didn't see my shoes there! I was one aisle off - no biggie. Probably only cost 10 sec. Rack bike. Helmet off. Shoes on. Go!
Run 10: 40:34 AG placing: 5 Overall:27
I'm stuck. Seems like no matter what race I do, I can't break the 4min/kph barrier. Becoming a runner has been a long arduous journey and it would appear I still need work! The run is a two looped affair that goes by fairly quickly. Psychologically it's not a far distance, so no matter how hard I'm sucking air, I just tell myself 1 more km! And before I know it, it's done!
Overall I'd give this race a solid 8. Good venue, lots of parking, plenty of facilities, very well organized (as usual Trisport), and great volunteers! This is only the 2nd year Owen Sound has had this particular race, but I can quickly see it becoming a fan favorite, plus it also received Sally's seal of approval - which always bodes well!
Cheers!
Time: 2:05:35
AG placing: 2
Overall: 10
Swim 1.5k: Time: 21:12 AG placing: 3 Overall:17
My age group was in the second wave, which started 4min after the first wave. I immediately fell in line with the top 2 swimmers and the 3 of us basically made a line around the course. I was content on following their feet and we all exited the water very close together.
T1
Uneventful. Wetsuit off. Helmet on. Unrack bike. Go.
Bike 40k: Time: 1:02:17 AG placing:4 Overall: 8
Was looking to to come in about 2 minutes faster but without knowing the course I'm happy with my bike time. Not a particularly difficult course, best defined as a rolling type course with some longer easy ascents - I did have to drop to the small chain ring once. Going out was pretty zippy, nice tail wind and was holding 50kph for some good stretches. Coming back was obviously a tad slower as we had to contend with a headwind. But overall it's a pretty good course.
T2
Tried to rack bike at the wrong rack. Doh. Quickly realized the mistake as I didn't see my shoes there! I was one aisle off - no biggie. Probably only cost 10 sec. Rack bike. Helmet off. Shoes on. Go!
Run 10: 40:34 AG placing: 5 Overall:27
I'm stuck. Seems like no matter what race I do, I can't break the 4min/kph barrier. Becoming a runner has been a long arduous journey and it would appear I still need work! The run is a two looped affair that goes by fairly quickly. Psychologically it's not a far distance, so no matter how hard I'm sucking air, I just tell myself 1 more km! And before I know it, it's done!
Overall I'd give this race a solid 8. Good venue, lots of parking, plenty of facilities, very well organized (as usual Trisport), and great volunteers! This is only the 2nd year Owen Sound has had this particular race, but I can quickly see it becoming a fan favorite, plus it also received Sally's seal of approval - which always bodes well!
Cheers!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Tabata!
On Tuesday I did my very first set of Tabata intervals. Ummm... to say these are challenging is an understatement. Here's the quick and dirty: 20 sec MAX intensity, followed by 10 seconds rest. Repeat 8 times. Yup, that's it. Sounds easy, I mean that's a whopping 4 minutes of work, it should be cake.... right?
Wrong.
Wrong.
WRONG!
I did a measly 3 and was utterly and completely fried. I think for the first one I hit ~750 watts, the second one I'm not sure, I'd guess maybe 550, the 3rd one I may have peaked around 420 and I was done. I did take a rest and banged off a couple of more, just because I was so humbled by the initial 3 and that I couldn't live with myself by scheduling to do 8 and walking away only doing 3!
Ahh well, now I have something to shoot for, next time I'm going to shoot for 5 in a row - probably a little more realistic.
Training for last week was OK. Bike time suffered a bit, but got some good running mileage in. Sally and I threw a party last night, so today I'm suffering from lack of quality sleep and partaking in a tad too many beverages. I paid my penance though.. by running 22k... it was challenging. The numbers: swim 9.6k, spin: 3 hrs, bike: 50k and run: 75.5k.
This is a scheduled rest week, but I'm mixing it up a bit. Looking to log a bit of bike time Mon-Thurs, then do a 72hour mini taper/rest and then race Owen Sound on Aug 4. Did someone say race? Yes!
Off to sleep now.. I'm thinking 10 hours should suffice.
Cheers!
Wrong.
Wrong.
WRONG!
I did a measly 3 and was utterly and completely fried. I think for the first one I hit ~750 watts, the second one I'm not sure, I'd guess maybe 550, the 3rd one I may have peaked around 420 and I was done. I did take a rest and banged off a couple of more, just because I was so humbled by the initial 3 and that I couldn't live with myself by scheduling to do 8 and walking away only doing 3!
Ahh well, now I have something to shoot for, next time I'm going to shoot for 5 in a row - probably a little more realistic.
Training for last week was OK. Bike time suffered a bit, but got some good running mileage in. Sally and I threw a party last night, so today I'm suffering from lack of quality sleep and partaking in a tad too many beverages. I paid my penance though.. by running 22k... it was challenging. The numbers: swim 9.6k, spin: 3 hrs, bike: 50k and run: 75.5k.
This is a scheduled rest week, but I'm mixing it up a bit. Looking to log a bit of bike time Mon-Thurs, then do a 72hour mini taper/rest and then race Owen Sound on Aug 4. Did someone say race? Yes!
Off to sleep now.. I'm thinking 10 hours should suffice.
Cheers!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The Genetic Excuse
What's easier?
Saying that you do not have the mental fortitude, desire, time, physical ability, willingness to sacrifice, focus etc...
OR..
"I'm limited by my genes."
It's human nature to take the easy road. It's unfortunate that many of us define our ability before we even get to the start line. Somehow I doubt a true champion does this. I read that the great Peter Reid, didn't think he was genetically gifted and that he only did as well as he did through years of hard, consistent work. (imagine!)
I'm sure you could probably map out the genetic component on some sort of bell curve, BUT and this is a big but, you wouldn't be able to map the mental aspects of what makes a champion. These are the intangibles that will transcend any genetic bell curve and make truly great athletes. So if you want to use the 'genetic excuse' by all means do so, but all you are really doing is self imposing your own limit.
~~
Cycling story of the week.
Was out riding the other day when I saw some sort of black, very stealth looking helicopter skimming the trees. It was buzzing around, disappear, pop back up - it seemed to be flying pretty aggressive. Not something I see everyday and was pretty cool. Something was going on, though I had no idea what. Fast forward....
Same road, about 15k down. A woman wearing pink leathers driving a large Fat Boy Harley passes me. Yea that's cool too. Men on Harley's = obnoxious. Women on Harley's = cool. Anyway, about 10 minutes later, the road comes to a "T" and she's pulled over to the side. Ahhh a damsel in distress... and we're both on two wheels.. even if I'm completely dorked out in cycling spandex. (what have I become...?)
It turns out she's looking for some TV shoot that's suppose to be happening on this very road. It slowly dawns on me that maybe.. just maybe that helicopter I saw way back was involved. She said 'that's it!'. But before she goes, I ask if she'll trade rides - just for a spin. She says, and I quote:
"Well I would, but this one is my Mom's - mines in shop!"
Gee, didn't see that one coming.
Being a TV-o-phobe, I have no idea who it was - but we wished each other a great ride and went our separate ways.
~~
Training.
A solid week. Monday: easy 2.7k swim. Tues:15.5k run featuring hill repeats, 1 hour hard ride. Wed: 3k swim, 12k of interval work on the treadmill. Thurs: run 17, spin 1 hour (4X9min at threshold). Fri: run 8k (treadmill, 7% incline at 7mph, held it to 140 HR), 45min spin (5X3min at 115% of threshold). Sat: O/W swim 2.4k, bike 100k, run 10k. Today: 2.5hr spin (did the Ergvideo of Lake Placid while watching IronmanLive of the Lake Placid race-at the same time, cool.) To do: run 10k before dinner.
But first..
a nap!
Cheers!
Saying that you do not have the mental fortitude, desire, time, physical ability, willingness to sacrifice, focus etc...
OR..
"I'm limited by my genes."
It's human nature to take the easy road. It's unfortunate that many of us define our ability before we even get to the start line. Somehow I doubt a true champion does this. I read that the great Peter Reid, didn't think he was genetically gifted and that he only did as well as he did through years of hard, consistent work. (imagine!)
I'm sure you could probably map out the genetic component on some sort of bell curve, BUT and this is a big but, you wouldn't be able to map the mental aspects of what makes a champion. These are the intangibles that will transcend any genetic bell curve and make truly great athletes. So if you want to use the 'genetic excuse' by all means do so, but all you are really doing is self imposing your own limit.
~~
Cycling story of the week.
Was out riding the other day when I saw some sort of black, very stealth looking helicopter skimming the trees. It was buzzing around, disappear, pop back up - it seemed to be flying pretty aggressive. Not something I see everyday and was pretty cool. Something was going on, though I had no idea what. Fast forward....
Same road, about 15k down. A woman wearing pink leathers driving a large Fat Boy Harley passes me. Yea that's cool too. Men on Harley's = obnoxious. Women on Harley's = cool. Anyway, about 10 minutes later, the road comes to a "T" and she's pulled over to the side. Ahhh a damsel in distress... and we're both on two wheels.. even if I'm completely dorked out in cycling spandex. (what have I become...?)
It turns out she's looking for some TV shoot that's suppose to be happening on this very road. It slowly dawns on me that maybe.. just maybe that helicopter I saw way back was involved. She said 'that's it!'. But before she goes, I ask if she'll trade rides - just for a spin. She says, and I quote:
"Well I would, but this one is my Mom's - mines in shop!"
Gee, didn't see that one coming.
Being a TV-o-phobe, I have no idea who it was - but we wished each other a great ride and went our separate ways.
~~
Training.
A solid week. Monday: easy 2.7k swim. Tues:15.5k run featuring hill repeats, 1 hour hard ride. Wed: 3k swim, 12k of interval work on the treadmill. Thurs: run 17, spin 1 hour (4X9min at threshold). Fri: run 8k (treadmill, 7% incline at 7mph, held it to 140 HR), 45min spin (5X3min at 115% of threshold). Sat: O/W swim 2.4k, bike 100k, run 10k. Today: 2.5hr spin (did the Ergvideo of Lake Placid while watching IronmanLive of the Lake Placid race-at the same time, cool.) To do: run 10k before dinner.
But first..
a nap!
Cheers!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Focus
There was interesting thread on the board I hang out on but hardly ever post - Slowtwitch. If you didn't read the link, it has to do with "fast guys" and over 40. I thought about this alot during training this week and was trying to come up with some sort of underlying principles.
First, I'm not even going to define fast. It's relative term, what's fast to me might not be fast to you. It's also completely elusive as the definition changes as goals are met and you start entertain new possibilities.
I think one of the primary attributes ANY "fast" athlete has is Focus. Focus trumps all - it encompasses stuff like dedication, consistency etc. When one is 'focused' things naturally start to fall in place; it could be diet, rest, a tough training week etc... I look back on my training log for the last 7 months and I can count on two fingers the number of workouts I've bailed on - solely because I've been in a focused state. (don't worry, I'll go very UN-focused in the fall). The point being, at age 25 I was more concerned about having a good time. Now at age 40, I don't care if I crash at 9pm on a Friday night, I have early Sat morning ride to look forward to!
A willingness to learn and/or try something 'new'. At the beginning of every year for the last four years, I ask myself "how can I train smarter this year?" Most of us have jobs and responsibilities and a result we have limited time to train - using that time as wisely/smartly as possible is a must. Personal experience: for that last 3 years, I tried to 'race' an Ironman and each time I was schooled.. hard. Each year, I'd train 'more', go longer and think I was ready by the time the next one rolled around. I wasn't. I finally got it through my skull, that starting at an Ironman level maybe wasn't the best thing to do. Totally changed my approach this year and have been lucky enough to score a PB in each race I've done. (5/5) Fortunately, I'm *usually* not that slow of a learner! EVERY year, I've changed or tweaked the program. EVERYday, I peruse Slowtwitch and host of elite athlete and coaches blogs and glean very helpful tidbits of information - some I use, some I don't. Ultimately, only you can figure out what's best for you. (though a good coach can help/speed the process up).
Look down the road. Two years down the road. Long term is not 2 months from now.It takes a long time to get good. Most coaches/athletes say 10 years - only then you've made it the first rung. Patience. Re-adjust your focus to the long term, then start taking the necessary steps to get there. One step, one building block at a time.
Lastly, go outside the box. Even at the elite level, athletic formulas and training protocols are always changing. Why? Because someone, dared to go outside a prescribed mode of thinking. Dabble outside the box every so often, who knows what you'll find. My personal 'outside the box' thing is take 4, 6 .. 8 weeks off, completely off. No training, no triathlon, no blogging. Just time to rest, pursue other interests, gain some weight, do whatever. Sure, I'll lose a ton fitness (don't care), but once I start to get that itch to start back up again, the slate is clean, the system is purged and I'm ready to go.
~~
Training for the week:
I'm totally amazed at how fast I bounced back after Peterborough. An obvious function of improved fitness! Monday was an easy 2.1k swim. Tuesday was a short 6k treadmill run and a 1hr spin. Wednesday was 3.3k swim and 9k run. Thursday was back in the groove with a quick 90k ride followed by a 7.5k run. Friday: 10k run, spin 1 hour. Sat: Run 22k, spin 1 hour. Sun: Bike 130k, run 7k.
Totals:
Swim: 5.4k
Spin: 3 hrs
Bike: 220k
Run: 62k
This week the 'plan' (always subject to change) will be tougher than normal. Some mid week 10mile runs and some back to back long rides on tap for the weekend. Have a frikin awesome week!
Cheers!
First, I'm not even going to define fast. It's relative term, what's fast to me might not be fast to you. It's also completely elusive as the definition changes as goals are met and you start entertain new possibilities.
I think one of the primary attributes ANY "fast" athlete has is Focus. Focus trumps all - it encompasses stuff like dedication, consistency etc. When one is 'focused' things naturally start to fall in place; it could be diet, rest, a tough training week etc... I look back on my training log for the last 7 months and I can count on two fingers the number of workouts I've bailed on - solely because I've been in a focused state. (don't worry, I'll go very UN-focused in the fall). The point being, at age 25 I was more concerned about having a good time. Now at age 40, I don't care if I crash at 9pm on a Friday night, I have early Sat morning ride to look forward to!
A willingness to learn and/or try something 'new'. At the beginning of every year for the last four years, I ask myself "how can I train smarter this year?" Most of us have jobs and responsibilities and a result we have limited time to train - using that time as wisely/smartly as possible is a must. Personal experience: for that last 3 years, I tried to 'race' an Ironman and each time I was schooled.. hard. Each year, I'd train 'more', go longer and think I was ready by the time the next one rolled around. I wasn't. I finally got it through my skull, that starting at an Ironman level maybe wasn't the best thing to do. Totally changed my approach this year and have been lucky enough to score a PB in each race I've done. (5/5) Fortunately, I'm *usually* not that slow of a learner! EVERY year, I've changed or tweaked the program. EVERYday, I peruse Slowtwitch and host of elite athlete and coaches blogs and glean very helpful tidbits of information - some I use, some I don't. Ultimately, only you can figure out what's best for you. (though a good coach can help/speed the process up).
Look down the road. Two years down the road. Long term is not 2 months from now.It takes a long time to get good. Most coaches/athletes say 10 years - only then you've made it the first rung. Patience. Re-adjust your focus to the long term, then start taking the necessary steps to get there. One step, one building block at a time.
Lastly, go outside the box. Even at the elite level, athletic formulas and training protocols are always changing. Why? Because someone, dared to go outside a prescribed mode of thinking. Dabble outside the box every so often, who knows what you'll find. My personal 'outside the box' thing is take 4, 6 .. 8 weeks off, completely off. No training, no triathlon, no blogging. Just time to rest, pursue other interests, gain some weight, do whatever. Sure, I'll lose a ton fitness (don't care), but once I start to get that itch to start back up again, the slate is clean, the system is purged and I'm ready to go.
~~
Training for the week:
I'm totally amazed at how fast I bounced back after Peterborough. An obvious function of improved fitness! Monday was an easy 2.1k swim. Tuesday was a short 6k treadmill run and a 1hr spin. Wednesday was 3.3k swim and 9k run. Thursday was back in the groove with a quick 90k ride followed by a 7.5k run. Friday: 10k run, spin 1 hour. Sat: Run 22k, spin 1 hour. Sun: Bike 130k, run 7k.
Totals:
Swim: 5.4k
Spin: 3 hrs
Bike: 220k
Run: 62k
This week the 'plan' (always subject to change) will be tougher than normal. Some mid week 10mile runs and some back to back long rides on tap for the weekend. Have a frikin awesome week!
Cheers!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Monday, July 07, 2008
Kickin it ... old school.
Peterborough Half Iron Race Report
So I admit, I haven't been around this sport long enough to know what 'old school' is, but I'm certainly 'old enough' to theorize! No heart rate monitor, no power meter, 2 bottles for the bike, no patch kit, spare tire or CO2 -something I don't necessarily recommend - arrive, setup and get to the swim start with 6 minutes to spare - again, something I don't recommend! Instead, I used perceived effort (sometimes known as deceived effort), listened to breathing (I can pretty much tell what HR zone I'm in by how hard I'm breathing) and lastly.. the ol stomach trick (any hint of nausea means back off bucko).
So..
did it work? Read on..
The Swim (2k)
Time: 29:46 AG placing: 2 OA placing: 12.
Actually the guy who placed ahead me only did 1 loop on the swim and DQ'd... so technically the places are bumped up by 1.
My swim was OK. The time includes a fairly long run to the TZ, but in my head I'm wondering why I'm not faster. In the pool, my 'swim all day' pace is 1:27-1:29/100m, so I'm barely just meeting that in a race. I'm seriously contemplating ditching my wetsuit and only using it for cold water swims - but that's a topic for another day.
It was fairly uneventful, there was a long line of about 7 swimmers and we all seemed to be content with following each others feet. Which was basically the way it went for 2 loops.
The Bike (90k)
Time: 2:22 A/G placing: 1 Overall: 7
After a reasonably quick transition, I was on the bike and wasn't exactly sure what position I was in. My strategy was simple: controlled chaos. The first 10 to 20k I wanted to take it easy, get the HR down from the swim, breath deeply and relax. I passed couple of young'uns and was passed by a pro and that was all the traffic I saw for a very. long. time. I never looked back, just buried my head, tried to be as aero and slippery as possible and pedalled away.
I enjoyed the course, it's not super hard, probably best described as rolling type course. A few hills, but I didn't even need to use the small chainring and the weather /wind was damn near perfect.
After the turn around, I was mildly surprised to see about half a dozen guys only a 2 or 3 minutes behind me. It's deceiving, I had no one in front of me the longest time, so it was a kick in the head to see the guys that were chasing me down and they weren't far behind! I counted the guys ahead and was riding in 5th place and was moving at a good clip. I got surprised in the last 8k when a guy passed me, he wasn't hammering, so I just stayed about 50 feet behind him, dialed the effort down a notch and cruised in T2.
In the end, it was zippy bike split and I blew away my own expectations. I was expecting to average to ~37kph and ended up at 38kph on the nose. Was quite happy to see that!
The Run
Time: 1:32 A/G placing: 4 Overall: 20
Ahhh the run. Now comes the point in every race where you start to pay the piper. Did I bike too hard? Are my legs pooched? I leave T2 and immediately start banging off 4min/k - whoa, too fast. I know I'm going to fast, but do I slow down? No, no I don't. I held 4min/k for the first 7k THEN started to pay. Not the smartest move. But I'm running scared. After each turn around I see guys that are breathing down my neck and some of them look STRONG. I'm scared I'm going to blow-up and they are just going to pass me and put me out of my misery. But I held on.
Aaron spots me yells out: "Go Walton, you're in 6th!" Despite being an unhappy camper, I chuckle to myself, he brought me out of the I-feel-sorry-myself-funk I was in and I tried to step it up a notch.
In the end I get passed by a pro and 2 fast young'uns - real runners. I have no chance in keeping up with them. But I can feel the guys in my AG breathing down my neck.. 'just hold it together'.. I say to myself.
4k to go... I think I saw Cliff at this point, but I wasn't in my happy place and couldn't give the props he was due.
3k to go..
they are gaining...
2k to go..
don't look back, just run..
1k to go..
man this going to feel so good to stop..
500m...
ok, look back..
what the hell? I'm safe? SWEET!
Cruise the last 500m.
Time: 4:26:27. A/G placing: 1. O/A: 8.
What the hell? Better than my wildest expectations. My A+ goal was to go sub 4:30, I thought realistically I'd come in the 4:32-33 range. So yea, I'm a happy guy. :)
Mike Woodford scored 2nd place and was a mere 1 minute behind me. Honestly, he just ran out of real estate, he was going to run me down, no question about it. His run was about 4 min faster than mine, but I had enough of a cushion from the swim and bike to hold him off. So, like I said, I was running scared.
Devashish Paul came 3rd in our age group a mere 2 minutes behind Mike! A tough, close race, with 30% of the top 10 overall being of the 40+ crowd! And I thought the 35-39 age group was competitive - these guys are animals!
Cheers!
So I admit, I haven't been around this sport long enough to know what 'old school' is, but I'm certainly 'old enough' to theorize! No heart rate monitor, no power meter, 2 bottles for the bike, no patch kit, spare tire or CO2 -something I don't necessarily recommend - arrive, setup and get to the swim start with 6 minutes to spare - again, something I don't recommend! Instead, I used perceived effort (sometimes known as deceived effort), listened to breathing (I can pretty much tell what HR zone I'm in by how hard I'm breathing) and lastly.. the ol stomach trick (any hint of nausea means back off bucko).
So..
did it work? Read on..
The Swim (2k)
Time: 29:46 AG placing: 2 OA placing: 12.
Actually the guy who placed ahead me only did 1 loop on the swim and DQ'd... so technically the places are bumped up by 1.
My swim was OK. The time includes a fairly long run to the TZ, but in my head I'm wondering why I'm not faster. In the pool, my 'swim all day' pace is 1:27-1:29/100m, so I'm barely just meeting that in a race. I'm seriously contemplating ditching my wetsuit and only using it for cold water swims - but that's a topic for another day.
It was fairly uneventful, there was a long line of about 7 swimmers and we all seemed to be content with following each others feet. Which was basically the way it went for 2 loops.
The Bike (90k)
Time: 2:22 A/G placing: 1 Overall: 7
After a reasonably quick transition, I was on the bike and wasn't exactly sure what position I was in. My strategy was simple: controlled chaos. The first 10 to 20k I wanted to take it easy, get the HR down from the swim, breath deeply and relax. I passed couple of young'uns and was passed by a pro and that was all the traffic I saw for a very. long. time. I never looked back, just buried my head, tried to be as aero and slippery as possible and pedalled away.
I enjoyed the course, it's not super hard, probably best described as rolling type course. A few hills, but I didn't even need to use the small chainring and the weather /wind was damn near perfect.
After the turn around, I was mildly surprised to see about half a dozen guys only a 2 or 3 minutes behind me. It's deceiving, I had no one in front of me the longest time, so it was a kick in the head to see the guys that were chasing me down and they weren't far behind! I counted the guys ahead and was riding in 5th place and was moving at a good clip. I got surprised in the last 8k when a guy passed me, he wasn't hammering, so I just stayed about 50 feet behind him, dialed the effort down a notch and cruised in T2.
In the end, it was zippy bike split and I blew away my own expectations. I was expecting to average to ~37kph and ended up at 38kph on the nose. Was quite happy to see that!
The Run
Time: 1:32 A/G placing: 4 Overall: 20
Ahhh the run. Now comes the point in every race where you start to pay the piper. Did I bike too hard? Are my legs pooched? I leave T2 and immediately start banging off 4min/k - whoa, too fast. I know I'm going to fast, but do I slow down? No, no I don't. I held 4min/k for the first 7k THEN started to pay. Not the smartest move. But I'm running scared. After each turn around I see guys that are breathing down my neck and some of them look STRONG. I'm scared I'm going to blow-up and they are just going to pass me and put me out of my misery. But I held on.
Aaron spots me yells out: "Go Walton, you're in 6th!" Despite being an unhappy camper, I chuckle to myself, he brought me out of the I-feel-sorry-myself-funk I was in and I tried to step it up a notch.
In the end I get passed by a pro and 2 fast young'uns - real runners. I have no chance in keeping up with them. But I can feel the guys in my AG breathing down my neck.. 'just hold it together'.. I say to myself.
4k to go... I think I saw Cliff at this point, but I wasn't in my happy place and couldn't give the props he was due.
3k to go..
they are gaining...
2k to go..
don't look back, just run..
1k to go..
man this going to feel so good to stop..
500m...
ok, look back..
what the hell? I'm safe? SWEET!
Cruise the last 500m.
Time: 4:26:27. A/G placing: 1. O/A: 8.
What the hell? Better than my wildest expectations. My A+ goal was to go sub 4:30, I thought realistically I'd come in the 4:32-33 range. So yea, I'm a happy guy. :)
Mike Woodford scored 2nd place and was a mere 1 minute behind me. Honestly, he just ran out of real estate, he was going to run me down, no question about it. His run was about 4 min faster than mine, but I had enough of a cushion from the swim and bike to hold him off. So, like I said, I was running scared.
Devashish Paul came 3rd in our age group a mere 2 minutes behind Mike! A tough, close race, with 30% of the top 10 overall being of the 40+ crowd! And I thought the 35-39 age group was competitive - these guys are animals!
Cheers!
Monday, June 30, 2008
No Title
Ahhh.. just ate homemade pancakes, a couple eggs and 3 pieces of ham for lunch. I'm sated and feeling fine.
In the news..
-scored a treadmill. It's cool. Nothing beats running outside, but I can feel the benefit that a treadmill will provide. I seem to run 'lighter', cadence seems higher and there is noticeably lesser impact on the ol joints. The 'boy cave', (the one room of the house that's actually mine) is getting a little full though.
-Canucks rocked IMCDA. For a relatively small population, we have some bad ass triathletes. First place men AND first place women were both Canadian.
-watched the US Olympic trials for the Men's 400 IM last night. One of the best races I've seen. Phelps leads after the butterfly and backstroke, Lochte catches him on the breaststroke and they duke it in the freestyle head to head. Both under the world record with Phelps winning. Incredible.
"Other" stuff..
-this year I had the 'revelation' that there will be no 'training races'. Every race I'll be rested the only question is how much rest I get. For lower priority races I'll take 3 or 4 easy days, for a high priority (half IM) I'll do a full 14 day taper. Generally, triathletes have a tendency to get addicted training (guilty!) and always want to squeak just one hard day of training before I race. Resist! We train so much and race so little, make every race count! This small change philosophy has yielded a PB in 4/4 races so far this year.
-is going 'hard' tougher than going 'long'? The last couple of years I went 'long' - well long for me. Keep in mind, this is relative. I think this period was very valuable as it laid down some good groundwork for the future.
This year I've added considerably more 'hard' sessions - especially on the bike and I have to say there are times I believe that a short 1 hour interval session on the bike is harder than a 100k mid week Z1/2 ride. When I went long, I'd zone out and just ride. When I go hard - I suffer. Mental toughness is required - that little imp on my shoulder is always telling me to stop.
-Peterborough Half Ironman is this Sunday and I still have not got my wetsuit back from being repaired. If I don't get it back in time, I'm seriously thinking of going old school and doing the swim in a bathing suit.
By the numbers..
For the week of June 23- 29
Swim: 8.1k
Spin: 4.25 hrs
Bike: 100k
Run: 50k
The key sessions for the week was: Tues: brick- bike 100k moderate effort followed by 7.5k run. Thurs: swim 3.1k, spin 1 hour (27min @ threshold 310watts -upped it by 5W :), run 6.5k. Sat: Ergvideo loop of Lake Placid.
This week is taper week. Rest. Rest. REST.
Tomorrow is..
Canada Day!
Have a great one.
In the news..
-scored a treadmill. It's cool. Nothing beats running outside, but I can feel the benefit that a treadmill will provide. I seem to run 'lighter', cadence seems higher and there is noticeably lesser impact on the ol joints. The 'boy cave', (the one room of the house that's actually mine) is getting a little full though.
-Canucks rocked IMCDA. For a relatively small population, we have some bad ass triathletes. First place men AND first place women were both Canadian.
-watched the US Olympic trials for the Men's 400 IM last night. One of the best races I've seen. Phelps leads after the butterfly and backstroke, Lochte catches him on the breaststroke and they duke it in the freestyle head to head. Both under the world record with Phelps winning. Incredible.
"Other" stuff..
-this year I had the 'revelation' that there will be no 'training races'. Every race I'll be rested the only question is how much rest I get. For lower priority races I'll take 3 or 4 easy days, for a high priority (half IM) I'll do a full 14 day taper. Generally, triathletes have a tendency to get addicted training (guilty!) and always want to squeak just one hard day of training before I race. Resist! We train so much and race so little, make every race count! This small change philosophy has yielded a PB in 4/4 races so far this year.
-is going 'hard' tougher than going 'long'? The last couple of years I went 'long' - well long for me. Keep in mind, this is relative. I think this period was very valuable as it laid down some good groundwork for the future.
This year I've added considerably more 'hard' sessions - especially on the bike and I have to say there are times I believe that a short 1 hour interval session on the bike is harder than a 100k mid week Z1/2 ride. When I went long, I'd zone out and just ride. When I go hard - I suffer. Mental toughness is required - that little imp on my shoulder is always telling me to stop.
-Peterborough Half Ironman is this Sunday and I still have not got my wetsuit back from being repaired. If I don't get it back in time, I'm seriously thinking of going old school and doing the swim in a bathing suit.
By the numbers..
For the week of June 23- 29
Swim: 8.1k
Spin: 4.25 hrs
Bike: 100k
Run: 50k
The key sessions for the week was: Tues: brick- bike 100k moderate effort followed by 7.5k run. Thurs: swim 3.1k, spin 1 hour (27min @ threshold 310watts -upped it by 5W :), run 6.5k. Sat: Ergvideo loop of Lake Placid.
This week is taper week. Rest. Rest. REST.
Tomorrow is..
Canada Day!
Have a great one.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Slid right back into training after last week's race. Mostly zone 1 and 2 work from Monday to Friday and then picked it up on the weekend. The stats:
Swim: 8.8k
Spin: 4 hrs
Bike: 240k
Run: 53.5k
The weekend rocked. On Saturday, I did a 120k ride that featured Hockley Valley hill repeats. I'm not sure what the grade is, but the climb is about 1 mile long and takes me about 8min at 'steady' pace. Not hammering, just grinding. I was finished up repeat number 6 when the skies opened up - quel suprise - with all the sporadic rain/thunder showers we've had lately. Last hour was soggy but mission was accomplished. Later on Sat I ran 11k. Sunday was similar, minas the hill repeats. 10 hours of training in two days. Rar!
This got me thinking.. har har, yea it happens. I may slightly change the structure of my basic week to something like this: Monday: recovery swim, 30m spin. Tues: run ~80min/ ride 1 hr. Wed: swim 1hr/ride or run 1 hr. Thurs: same as Tues. Fri: same as Wed. Sat & Sun: longish ride max 4 hrs / 1 hr run. That's a pretty solid week. The only thing I'm missing is the dedicated long run, but instead make up for it by doing 2 medium long runs. The main benefits would be:
1) 2 longish run = ~34k whereas 1 long run is 22-25k
2) back to back longish rides on the weekend = quality saddle time. Doing 8 hours split over 2 days is much easier than doing one 6 hour stint. Four hours is about my max in terms having fun while riding, anything after that and riding becomes a chore and this I don't want. Plus I can still get an hour run in later in the day.
Other news..
I'm this >< close to getting a treadmill.
Small change in the diet. Fewer carbs, more protein. Been training on much less carbs in an effort to become a more efficient fat burner and more protein in an effort to make sure the old bod has enough for repairs. So the tip of the week is make sure you have some protein with every meal. If you wish read more on becoming a more efficient fat burner browse through Alan Couzens blog - some good stuff there.
Off to play Bubble Bobble with Sally - she's such an addict! :)
Cheers!
Swim: 8.8k
Spin: 4 hrs
Bike: 240k
Run: 53.5k
The weekend rocked. On Saturday, I did a 120k ride that featured Hockley Valley hill repeats. I'm not sure what the grade is, but the climb is about 1 mile long and takes me about 8min at 'steady' pace. Not hammering, just grinding. I was finished up repeat number 6 when the skies opened up - quel suprise - with all the sporadic rain/thunder showers we've had lately. Last hour was soggy but mission was accomplished. Later on Sat I ran 11k. Sunday was similar, minas the hill repeats. 10 hours of training in two days. Rar!
This got me thinking.. har har, yea it happens. I may slightly change the structure of my basic week to something like this: Monday: recovery swim, 30m spin. Tues: run ~80min/ ride 1 hr. Wed: swim 1hr/ride or run 1 hr. Thurs: same as Tues. Fri: same as Wed. Sat & Sun: longish ride max 4 hrs / 1 hr run. That's a pretty solid week. The only thing I'm missing is the dedicated long run, but instead make up for it by doing 2 medium long runs. The main benefits would be:
1) 2 longish run = ~34k whereas 1 long run is 22-25k
2) back to back longish rides on the weekend = quality saddle time. Doing 8 hours split over 2 days is much easier than doing one 6 hour stint. Four hours is about my max in terms having fun while riding, anything after that and riding becomes a chore and this I don't want. Plus I can still get an hour run in later in the day.
Other news..
I'm this >< close to getting a treadmill.
Small change in the diet. Fewer carbs, more protein. Been training on much less carbs in an effort to become a more efficient fat burner and more protein in an effort to make sure the old bod has enough for repairs. So the tip of the week is make sure you have some protein with every meal. If you wish read more on becoming a more efficient fat burner browse through Alan Couzens blog - some good stuff there.
Off to play Bubble Bobble with Sally - she's such an addict! :)
Cheers!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Muskoka Race Report
What a great day for racing! Who am I kidding, anyday is a good day for racing! Here's the breakdown for the day:
Swim: doh. Terrible! Somehow, while putting on my wetsuit I managed to pop the zipper! A very difficult thing to do and will require a professional to repair it. So now I have no wetsuit and wave starts in 15 minutes... Time to panic? NO! Be calm.... be calm.. think soothing thoughts.
I run all the way back to the transition zone and LUCKILY, D'Ornella's Tri shop had a spare suit they'll rent me. PHEW! The guy, I'm guessing it was the owner, was super cool and totally saved my ass. So a don of proverbial chapeau goes to D'Onella's!
I run back, don the wetsuit and have a quick 5 minute warmup before my swim wave start. Hey, at least I made it.
My navigation was terrible as I forgot set landmark navigation points, having direct sun in the eyes really didn't help so I really was all over the place. All things considered I was about 2-3 minutes off 'my regular' pace.
Swim stats: Distance: 2k Age group placing 4/93th. Overall placing: 39/777. Time: 31:24 Pace: 1:35/100m.
Glad that part is over with... on to the bike..
Bike: For me, the bike was zippy. I'm still learning on how hard to push the bike without blowing up for the run. Now that being said, I decided to push the bike a little harder than usual. Since I started in the 5th wave, there was many people already on the bike course and had I had to pass alot of them! Actually, I was fortunate enough to not get passed once - this made me happy as the work I put in on the bike was starting to show results. I wasn't sure, but I thought I was leading my age group at the end of the bike. (As it turned out I was actually in 2nd)
The stats:
Distance 55k. Age group placing: 2 (!) Overall placing: 18. Time: 1:30:58 . Speed: 36.3
I'm happy with that result as the course is a toughie and it's an improvement over last year.
Run: So, now the question is did I ride too hard? The answer is I did not! Two real highpoints on the run: 1) I was complimented by my fellow athletes 3(!) times on how well I was running! Not only is this a total ego stroke - yet humbling at the same time - it proves to me that even I, a complete non-runner 4 years ago, can transmogrify into an actual runner! Anything IS possible!
The 2nd highlight was when I was passed by Mike Keene, who I noticed was in my age group. Time for battle. It was apparent that Mike can run, so I just wanted to try to keep him in my sights for the last 6k. Soon, he had a 200m lead and no matter what I did, I couldn't bridge the gap. I was running out of steam. The good news is he didn't really extend the gap, so I did have him striking distance - just couldn't close the deal. -This time.
Run stats:
Distance: 15k Age group placing 6/93. Overall 35/777. Time: 1:00:20 (argh, missed goal by 21 seconds!) Pace: 4:02/km.
Final: Time: 3:04:36 Age group placing 3rd. Overall: 21. You know what's funny?? If, me, the swimmer, hadn't screwed up his swim, it would have a 3-way battle royale for the top age group spot! Either way, it was great day and big congrats goes to Eric Fernando who won our age group and Mike Keene who came in 2nd. A big thanks to my wife Sally (my fan!), Canada Post for their continued support, Trisport Canada for putting on a first class event and of course to D'Ornella's bike shop for totally saving my butt today!
Cheers!
Swim: doh. Terrible! Somehow, while putting on my wetsuit I managed to pop the zipper! A very difficult thing to do and will require a professional to repair it. So now I have no wetsuit and wave starts in 15 minutes... Time to panic? NO! Be calm.... be calm.. think soothing thoughts.
I run all the way back to the transition zone and LUCKILY, D'Ornella's Tri shop had a spare suit they'll rent me. PHEW! The guy, I'm guessing it was the owner, was super cool and totally saved my ass. So a don of proverbial chapeau goes to D'Onella's!
I run back, don the wetsuit and have a quick 5 minute warmup before my swim wave start. Hey, at least I made it.
My navigation was terrible as I forgot set landmark navigation points, having direct sun in the eyes really didn't help so I really was all over the place. All things considered I was about 2-3 minutes off 'my regular' pace.
Swim stats: Distance: 2k Age group placing 4/93th. Overall placing: 39/777. Time: 31:24 Pace: 1:35/100m.
Glad that part is over with... on to the bike..
Bike: For me, the bike was zippy. I'm still learning on how hard to push the bike without blowing up for the run. Now that being said, I decided to push the bike a little harder than usual. Since I started in the 5th wave, there was many people already on the bike course and had I had to pass alot of them! Actually, I was fortunate enough to not get passed once - this made me happy as the work I put in on the bike was starting to show results. I wasn't sure, but I thought I was leading my age group at the end of the bike. (As it turned out I was actually in 2nd)
The stats:
Distance 55k. Age group placing: 2 (!) Overall placing: 18. Time: 1:30:58 . Speed: 36.3
I'm happy with that result as the course is a toughie and it's an improvement over last year.
Run: So, now the question is did I ride too hard? The answer is I did not! Two real highpoints on the run: 1) I was complimented by my fellow athletes 3(!) times on how well I was running! Not only is this a total ego stroke - yet humbling at the same time - it proves to me that even I, a complete non-runner 4 years ago, can transmogrify into an actual runner! Anything IS possible!
The 2nd highlight was when I was passed by Mike Keene, who I noticed was in my age group. Time for battle. It was apparent that Mike can run, so I just wanted to try to keep him in my sights for the last 6k. Soon, he had a 200m lead and no matter what I did, I couldn't bridge the gap. I was running out of steam. The good news is he didn't really extend the gap, so I did have him striking distance - just couldn't close the deal. -This time.
Run stats:
Distance: 15k Age group placing 6/93. Overall 35/777. Time: 1:00:20 (argh, missed goal by 21 seconds!) Pace: 4:02/km.
Final: Time: 3:04:36 Age group placing 3rd. Overall: 21. You know what's funny?? If, me, the swimmer, hadn't screwed up his swim, it would have a 3-way battle royale for the top age group spot! Either way, it was great day and big congrats goes to Eric Fernando who won our age group and Mike Keene who came in 2nd. A big thanks to my wife Sally (my fan!), Canada Post for their continued support, Trisport Canada for putting on a first class event and of course to D'Ornella's bike shop for totally saving my butt today!
Cheers!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
We have a contender..
for idiot of month. Incidentally, I just bypassed the idiot-of-the-day and idiot-of-the-week award and went straight to idiot-of-the-month. This guy is just begging for a Darwin Award.
The award goes to a cyclist who:
-was riding on the wrong side of the road.
-was not wearing a helmet.
-was talking on a cellphone.
Now fortuneately (or not, depending how you look at it), he didn't hurt himself during the brief time I saw him. However, it would have been supremely funny if he ran into a telephone pole. Congrats on the award.. you idiot.
Yet another pseudo funny story happened today. I was out for a quick ride and was grinding up a hill when I saw these two mountain bikers pushing their bikes up the hill. So being the smart ass that I am, I casually said: "ummm.. you do know your suppose to ride them.. not push them". I was obviously joking and he got the gist of it right away.. she, however, didn't seem to like my smarty pants comment and said: "Give us a break, we rode all the way from Elora!!" (a town about 40k away). I was dutifully impressed, her ego was assuaged and we both went our merry ways.
Cheers!
The award goes to a cyclist who:
-was riding on the wrong side of the road.
-was not wearing a helmet.
-was talking on a cellphone.
Now fortuneately (or not, depending how you look at it), he didn't hurt himself during the brief time I saw him. However, it would have been supremely funny if he ran into a telephone pole. Congrats on the award.. you idiot.
Yet another pseudo funny story happened today. I was out for a quick ride and was grinding up a hill when I saw these two mountain bikers pushing their bikes up the hill. So being the smart ass that I am, I casually said: "ummm.. you do know your suppose to ride them.. not push them". I was obviously joking and he got the gist of it right away.. she, however, didn't seem to like my smarty pants comment and said: "Give us a break, we rode all the way from Elora!!" (a town about 40k away). I was dutifully impressed, her ego was assuaged and we both went our merry ways.
Cheers!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Sometimes I'm too dumb...
to follow my own advice.
Rewind.
a) What can I do?
b) What should I do?
When training always opt for option b. When racing always opt for option a. Pretty simple.
So last week, I scheduled in a 17 k run with 5X6min hard, 2 min rest interval session. The problem was the previous week was a heavy training week, capped off with a HIM. I should have taken an easy 48 hours to recover. Instead, by Tuesday I'm out there ripping it up. Consequences? Yup. A minor pull in my right calf. Dumb, dumb, dum. So, no running for 72 hours just because I chose the wrong time to push the envelope. The good news is it was very minor pull and now 1 week later - all is good. Lesson learned.
Again.
Stats for the week:
Swim: 10.4k
Spin: 3.5 hrs
Bike: 110k
Run: 47.5k
Did OK, considering I was a dum dum. Thursday was a good session on the trainer. The ol 2X20 min @ threshold on the trainer. I fired up the Ergvideo, set my threshold to 300w (gotta retest that.. soon), and had a great time. Yeah, that's a fun set.
Had a zippy, albeit short swim on Friday. Did a 1k warmup, 10X100m free on 1:30, was banging those off in the 1:15-1:16 range. Easily 2 seconds faster than 'normal'. I blame the pool. It's a newer facility that I occasionally get to and it is a 'fast' pool. Seriously.
Looking forward..
Taking it pretty easy this week as it's a scheduled easy week and I'm hoping that will set me up for the Muskoka Chase which is in .. oh.. what.. 5 days?
Yes!
Rewind.
a) What can I do?
b) What should I do?
When training always opt for option b. When racing always opt for option a. Pretty simple.
So last week, I scheduled in a 17 k run with 5X6min hard, 2 min rest interval session. The problem was the previous week was a heavy training week, capped off with a HIM. I should have taken an easy 48 hours to recover. Instead, by Tuesday I'm out there ripping it up. Consequences? Yup. A minor pull in my right calf. Dumb, dumb, dum. So, no running for 72 hours just because I chose the wrong time to push the envelope. The good news is it was very minor pull and now 1 week later - all is good. Lesson learned.
Again.
Stats for the week:
Swim: 10.4k
Spin: 3.5 hrs
Bike: 110k
Run: 47.5k
Did OK, considering I was a dum dum. Thursday was a good session on the trainer. The ol 2X20 min @ threshold on the trainer. I fired up the Ergvideo, set my threshold to 300w (gotta retest that.. soon), and had a great time. Yeah, that's a fun set.
Had a zippy, albeit short swim on Friday. Did a 1k warmup, 10X100m free on 1:30, was banging those off in the 1:15-1:16 range. Easily 2 seconds faster than 'normal'. I blame the pool. It's a newer facility that I occasionally get to and it is a 'fast' pool. Seriously.
Looking forward..
Taking it pretty easy this week as it's a scheduled easy week and I'm hoping that will set me up for the Muskoka Chase which is in .. oh.. what.. 5 days?
Yes!
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Would you ... cheat?
Ok, the title may be a little mis-leading, or is it? Here is the scenario: Subaru, puts on a damn fine triathlon here is southern Ontario, they also give the option for 'swimmers' to start in earlier waves. (wave starts are done by age group and there is usually 2 minutes between each start.) Personally, I hate wave starts, I'd much rather see a mass start and just let us hash it out. However, I'm biased because the swim is my best event and I get to avoid alot of the thrashing that occurs in the mid pack.
The problem with wave starts is that if you're a good swimmer, you very quickly catch up the wave in front of you and end up swimming up, over and around the poor slower guys from the earlier waves. So the question is:
If given the opportunity would you cede yourself in the early wave?
Pretty innocuous question, but remember this is coming from a guy who will actually put on his brakes in a race to avoid even looking like I'm drafting. I try to race ethically well and I can't help but wonder if cedeing yourself in an earlier wave is .. well.. ethical. I suppose ultimeately I'm the one that has to live with decision and if there is any ambiguity, I should just start with my age group and be done with it. The flip side says, the opportunity is afforded to anyone who can swim 'fast', so it's not like you are being given special treatment. The two advantages you get by cedeing early are: no swim traffic to deal with and a cleaner T1 transition with less people being in front of you on the bike.
I'm still not sure which way I'll go, but by this time next week, I better have it figured out.
What do you think??
The problem with wave starts is that if you're a good swimmer, you very quickly catch up the wave in front of you and end up swimming up, over and around the poor slower guys from the earlier waves. So the question is:
If given the opportunity would you cede yourself in the early wave?
Pretty innocuous question, but remember this is coming from a guy who will actually put on his brakes in a race to avoid even looking like I'm drafting. I try to race ethically well and I can't help but wonder if cedeing yourself in an earlier wave is .. well.. ethical. I suppose ultimeately I'm the one that has to live with decision and if there is any ambiguity, I should just start with my age group and be done with it. The flip side says, the opportunity is afforded to anyone who can swim 'fast', so it's not like you are being given special treatment. The two advantages you get by cedeing early are: no swim traffic to deal with and a cleaner T1 transition with less people being in front of you on the bike.
I'm still not sure which way I'll go, but by this time next week, I better have it figured out.
What do you think??
Monday, June 02, 2008
Check!
Lots of checks this week.
Swim 11+k. Check.
Run Hills. Check.
Bike LT session. Check.
Bike Hills session. Check.
(Aaron and Cliff would have enjoyed this: Hockley Valley ski hill X2, Old Base Line, Forks of the Credit switchback, McLaren and Mississauga ski hill. 92k of leg smashing goodness.)
Do a Half Ironman. Check.
It was one of those weeks where you JFT'd. Don't complain. Don't whine. Just F'n Train. Weekly Total:
Swim 11.2k
Spin: 4.25 hrs
Bike: 187k
Run: 64k
So as I was working on building my mitochondrial density and trying to improve my body's ability to burn fat as fuel, I was begining to wonder about how much (if any!) I'll improve this year. Realty check time. Up until this year it's been about building the aerobic engine, essentially, just logging miles. This year, it's more about improving muscular endurance (hill reps!), working lactate threshold and improving speed. Obviously, like anyone, I want a MASSIVE improvement and I want it NOW. But, hold on there bucko, is that realistic? Not really. Let's take the improving run speed component. Including races and weekly run speed workouts, I'll be lucky if I can hit maybe 20 sessions... for the entire year. Clearly, a monumental breakthrough isn't going to occur with just a paltry 20 sessions. However, the year in, year out, tweak the program here and tweak the program there is obviously where it's at. Hopefully improvements will just follow, at least for a few more years. :)
Lastly..
(bet you thought I forgot!)
The Oakville Inaugural Half Iron Race Report!
My day began at 5:13 am. There is a part of me that can't comprehend that I'm actually a person who will wake up at 5:13am on a Sunday, drive for an hour just to do a Half Ironman for 'fun'. Twenty years ago if you told me I'd the 'that guy', I'd say your crazy now pass me a beer. Now, it's just Sally who roles over and has the bed to herself who says 'your crazy' and goes back to sleep. Just like what a normal, rational person should be doing on a Sunday morning.
Since this is the event's first incarnation, only two of us managed to show up and 'break the event in'. We decided to forgo race numbers, though in my mind I assigned the host as number 1 and since I was the only other person there, I went with number 2. This will bode well, as at least I'll place in the top - overall.
Transition was top notch. Lots of space, pebble-free surface and very secure. Couldn't ask for more. The cheering section as incredible, it was basically a 1:1 ratio of cheerers and athletes.
The swim: We make our way to the pool and.... there other people there! It's actually busy! This is an odd experience for me. There are short, fat, old, young, swimmers and non swimmers. There is a flipper lady. With all these people, there was things.. umm.. oh yea, they are called waves. I felt like I was open water swimming. I chose 5X400 fr set and capped it off with 300m of drill, so the swim was a bit long, but it was my own doing. Can't blame the race director on that.
The bike: Aaron hopped on his brand new P2C and immediately started showing off by blowing past me, hammering through a green light and by the time I got there it had already changed. Oh. So that's the way we are going to play. Mr fancy-schmancy pants sporting his brand spanking new carbon frame bike with sparklers shooting out the seat post. (ok, he had no sparklers, but I have to admit, that would be a bad ass upgrade). Oh, if it sounds like I'm jealous, it's because I am.
The bike route was great, lots lof hills, LOTS of wind and many, many other bikers 'out and about'. This was a real treat for me, even though I fantastic cycling all around me, I rarely see a guy up the road I can give chase too. This was decidely different. Example:
Me: See that guy up there? Let's chase him down!
Aaron: OK!
(ramp up speed, blow past guy)
Me: See that guy half way up the hill?
Aaron: Let's get him!
Once we blew past a roadie and with in 2 seconds he was hung on my backwheel and we had an impromtu peleton cruising at 50kph! Drafting schmafting!
THIS is what cycling is all about and it was a hoot.
The Run
Primarily all trails. The perfect crushed stone kind. Ravine setting. Plenty of ups and downs and lots of rollers. Not sure we could have had a nicer run. We ran for 1:40, which either means we were insanely fast or the course was a tad short. I'm going with insanely fast. (ha!)
Post Race
The cheering section came out full force and we felt like super stars. I had a beer that was probably in my top 5 beer moments of all time. Yes it was that good. A don of the proverbial chapeau goes to Val, who chapperoned the cheering section and is understanding enough to put-up with a 'crazy' husband. (Thanks Val!)
In conclusion, I HIGHLY recommend you check this event for next year. The price is right and there is post race beer! Post race beer! Post race beer!
Cheers!
Swim 11+k. Check.
Run Hills. Check.
Bike LT session. Check.
Bike Hills session. Check.
(Aaron and Cliff would have enjoyed this: Hockley Valley ski hill X2, Old Base Line, Forks of the Credit switchback, McLaren and Mississauga ski hill. 92k of leg smashing goodness.)
Do a Half Ironman. Check.
It was one of those weeks where you JFT'd. Don't complain. Don't whine. Just F'n Train. Weekly Total:
Swim 11.2k
Spin: 4.25 hrs
Bike: 187k
Run: 64k
So as I was working on building my mitochondrial density and trying to improve my body's ability to burn fat as fuel, I was begining to wonder about how much (if any!) I'll improve this year. Realty check time. Up until this year it's been about building the aerobic engine, essentially, just logging miles. This year, it's more about improving muscular endurance (hill reps!), working lactate threshold and improving speed. Obviously, like anyone, I want a MASSIVE improvement and I want it NOW. But, hold on there bucko, is that realistic? Not really. Let's take the improving run speed component. Including races and weekly run speed workouts, I'll be lucky if I can hit maybe 20 sessions... for the entire year. Clearly, a monumental breakthrough isn't going to occur with just a paltry 20 sessions. However, the year in, year out, tweak the program here and tweak the program there is obviously where it's at. Hopefully improvements will just follow, at least for a few more years. :)
Lastly..
(bet you thought I forgot!)
The Oakville Inaugural Half Iron Race Report!
My day began at 5:13 am. There is a part of me that can't comprehend that I'm actually a person who will wake up at 5:13am on a Sunday, drive for an hour just to do a Half Ironman for 'fun'. Twenty years ago if you told me I'd the 'that guy', I'd say your crazy now pass me a beer. Now, it's just Sally who roles over and has the bed to herself who says 'your crazy' and goes back to sleep. Just like what a normal, rational person should be doing on a Sunday morning.
Since this is the event's first incarnation, only two of us managed to show up and 'break the event in'. We decided to forgo race numbers, though in my mind I assigned the host as number 1 and since I was the only other person there, I went with number 2. This will bode well, as at least I'll place in the top - overall.
Transition was top notch. Lots of space, pebble-free surface and very secure. Couldn't ask for more. The cheering section as incredible, it was basically a 1:1 ratio of cheerers and athletes.
The swim: We make our way to the pool and....
The bike: Aaron hopped on his brand new P2C and immediately started showing off by blowing past me, hammering through a green light and by the time I got there it had already changed. Oh. So that's the way we are going to play. Mr fancy-schmancy pants sporting his brand spanking new carbon frame bike with sparklers shooting out the seat post. (ok, he had no sparklers, but I have to admit, that would be a bad ass upgrade). Oh, if it sounds like I'm jealous, it's because I am.
The bike route was great, lots lof hills, LOTS of wind and many, many other bikers 'out and about'. This was a real treat for me, even though I fantastic cycling all around me, I rarely see a guy up the road I can give chase too. This was decidely different. Example:
Me: See that guy up there? Let's chase him down!
Aaron: OK!
(ramp up speed, blow past guy)
Me: See that guy half way up the hill?
Aaron: Let's get him!
Once we blew past a roadie and with in 2 seconds he was hung on my backwheel and we had an impromtu peleton cruising at 50kph! Drafting schmafting!
THIS is what cycling is all about and it was a hoot.
The Run
Primarily all trails. The perfect crushed stone kind. Ravine setting. Plenty of ups and downs and lots of rollers. Not sure we could have had a nicer run. We ran for 1:40, which either means we were insanely fast or the course was a tad short. I'm going with insanely fast. (ha!)
Post Race
The cheering section came out full force and we felt like super stars. I had a beer that was probably in my top 5 beer moments of all time. Yes it was that good. A don of the proverbial chapeau goes to Val, who chapperoned the cheering section and is understanding enough to put-up with a 'crazy' husband. (Thanks Val!)
In conclusion, I HIGHLY recommend you check this event for next year. The price is right and there is post race beer! Post race beer! Post race beer!
Cheers!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Do 'it' well
So I was out grinding hill repeats today and stopped at 9 reps. Why 9? Why not just do the 10 and be done with it?? I have yet to do 10 this year, my max so far has always been 9. The fact is I'm saving 10, maybe for next week. Actually, I just may blow past it and crank out 11, any dial that goes to 11 is obviously much better than one that goes 10.
It's unfinished business, as long as I don't max out the hill repeats, I'll have to make room for yet another hill session and maybe, just maybe next time I'll hit the double digits. I have a feeling that once I do that my hill training for this season will be 'done', however, as long as I have unfinished business, I'll just keep plugging away.
Did a 22k run on Sunday. As a side note, I'm really enjoying 'the-I-don't-HAVE-to-run-for-2.5hrs-because-I-have-an-Ironman-coming-up-mode' I'm currently in. Not having an Ironman scheduled this year is nice, not feeling compelled to log crazy mileage in Zone 1 is refreshing. I also find intensity training more rewarding. If I choose, I can totally shell myself on the trainer in less than an hour - at times it just seems more productive.
Anyway, during my run, as always I'm trying to run 'well'. Not fast, that wasn't the goal for the workout, just run well, keep HR down and concentrate on form. Soft landing of the feet (can hardly hear them!), high cadence (90 strides/min), relaxed upper body (shoulders, neck, face - yes face, no sense wasting energy grimacing), deep regular breathing... and I noticed that running well is finally becoming a habit. (ha, it only took 4 years to finally get 'it') Now I just have well and fast. (sigh... another 4 years?) The lesson is: whatever you do, do it well. This whole running thing is rather humbling.
Last week's training:
The good news: hammy is 100%.
The bad news: been fighting some sort of bug that seems to want to reside in GI tract. Enough said. (it's not serious)
Despite that challenges did OK training wise:
Swim:6.3k
Bike: 100k
Spin: 3 hrs
Run: 54.5k
The only real highlight was a bike threshold session: 10min @305W, 8 min @310W, 6min @315W, 4min @320W and 2 min @325W. That's 30 minutes of threshold work in a 1 hour trainer session...
talk about bang for the buck!
Cheers!
It's unfinished business, as long as I don't max out the hill repeats, I'll have to make room for yet another hill session and maybe, just maybe next time I'll hit the double digits. I have a feeling that once I do that my hill training for this season will be 'done', however, as long as I have unfinished business, I'll just keep plugging away.
Did a 22k run on Sunday. As a side note, I'm really enjoying 'the-I-don't-HAVE-to-run-for-2.5hrs-because-I-have-an-Ironman-coming-up-mode' I'm currently in. Not having an Ironman scheduled this year is nice, not feeling compelled to log crazy mileage in Zone 1 is refreshing. I also find intensity training more rewarding. If I choose, I can totally shell myself on the trainer in less than an hour - at times it just seems more productive.
Anyway, during my run, as always I'm trying to run 'well'. Not fast, that wasn't the goal for the workout, just run well, keep HR down and concentrate on form. Soft landing of the feet (can hardly hear them!), high cadence (90 strides/min), relaxed upper body (shoulders, neck, face - yes face, no sense wasting energy grimacing), deep regular breathing... and I noticed that running well is finally becoming a habit. (ha, it only took 4 years to finally get 'it') Now I just have well and fast. (sigh... another 4 years?) The lesson is: whatever you do, do it well. This whole running thing is rather humbling.
Last week's training:
The good news: hammy is 100%.
The bad news: been fighting some sort of bug that seems to want to reside in GI tract. Enough said. (it's not serious)
Despite that challenges did OK training wise:
Swim:6.3k
Bike: 100k
Spin: 3 hrs
Run: 54.5k
The only real highlight was a bike threshold session: 10min @305W, 8 min @310W, 6min @315W, 4min @320W and 2 min @325W. That's 30 minutes of threshold work in a 1 hour trainer session...
talk about bang for the buck!
Cheers!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Key workouts
A key workout for me, usually requires an extra day of recovery. So I schedule them on Tuesdays and Thursdays and on the weekend. The purpose of the key workout is to walk the fine line doing something difficult, but not so difficult that a) you can't workout the next day and/or b) you miss your next key workout. If you screw up and miss either one of those, you went too hard, time to dial it back.
This week featured plenty of dialing it back. The last two races strained my left hamstring, very minor, but just to be safe I did no running. Swimming, biking and walking were all fine but if I tried to run there was definite, minor, 'bad' pain. I was able to do an easy 7.5k recovery run today and the hammy is about 85% and feels good, so it looks like a I dodged a bullet. I did manage an excellent 'key workout' for both the swim and bike and the weekly numbers look like this:
swim: 9.2k
bike: 214k
spin: 4.25 hrs
Swim highlight: Friday's 3.6k swim featured 10X100m on 1:30. Was coming in on consistent 1:18's or faster. My zippiest set so far this year. Followed that up with 10X100 IM, don't why, but I just love IM.
Bike highlight #1: did the Ergvideo Lake Placid and averaged 251 watts! Another season high. This was the same workout I did 2 weeks ago and failed, so I was pretty happy nailing it this time around. My FTP is still consistently marching upward, and this is a good thing.
Bike highlight #2: completely disassembled my entire drive train. Degreased and cleaned to the FD, RD, crank and couple of cassettes, threw on a new chain and the bike is like new - silky smooth.
So for a rest week, I managed a bad ass swim set and some decent saddle time - not bad. This week, I'll be getting back into 'regular mode' with a definite eye on the hammy. I'll play it very safe and make sure it's 100% before doing anything too crazy. Promise. Less than a month to the Muskoka Chase, looking forward to my first tri of the season - I can't wait!Cheers!
This week featured plenty of dialing it back. The last two races strained my left hamstring, very minor, but just to be safe I did no running. Swimming, biking and walking were all fine but if I tried to run there was definite, minor, 'bad' pain. I was able to do an easy 7.5k recovery run today and the hammy is about 85% and feels good, so it looks like a I dodged a bullet. I did manage an excellent 'key workout' for both the swim and bike and the weekly numbers look like this:
swim: 9.2k
bike: 214k
spin: 4.25 hrs
Swim highlight: Friday's 3.6k swim featured 10X100m on 1:30. Was coming in on consistent 1:18's or faster. My zippiest set so far this year. Followed that up with 10X100 IM, don't why, but I just love IM.
Bike highlight #1: did the Ergvideo Lake Placid and averaged 251 watts! Another season high. This was the same workout I did 2 weeks ago and failed, so I was pretty happy nailing it this time around. My FTP is still consistently marching upward, and this is a good thing.
Bike highlight #2: completely disassembled my entire drive train. Degreased and cleaned to the FD, RD, crank and couple of cassettes, threw on a new chain and the bike is like new - silky smooth.
So for a rest week, I managed a bad ass swim set and some decent saddle time - not bad. This week, I'll be getting back into 'regular mode' with a definite eye on the hammy. I'll play it very safe and make sure it's 100% before doing anything too crazy. Promise. Less than a month to the Muskoka Chase, looking forward to my first tri of the season - I can't wait!Cheers!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Goal setting.
What's your long term goal? (2 year or more time frame)
What's your goal this year?
What's your goal for this training block?
What's your goal for this month?
What's your goal for this week?
What's your goal for tomorrow?
What's your goal for your next work-out?
Run down the list. Now run up the list. When you ask yourself the questions working up, do they actually help you accomplish your long term goal? The long term goal you set should be realistic, yet difficult to attain. Failure is a possibility. Though I really don't believe in failure in the conventional sense. If you learned something during the journey and still didn't reach your goal, that could hardly be considered a failure.
I'll share a few of my goals.
Sub 10 IMC in 2 years.
Sub 4:30 at a half iron this year.
Increase speedwork this training block.
Bike more this month.
Recover this week.
Bike outside tomorrow.
Hop on the bike for an easy ride after this post.
Each year I learn a little more, train a little more and more importantly train a little smarter. (hopefully). Lastly, goals can be revised and should be revisited regularly, but it's really all about the journey!
Last week's numbers:
Swim:10.8k
Bike: 98k
Spin: 4hrs
Run: 60k
Swim: is feeling downright great. 'nuff said.
Bike: can you ever bike enough? Did a solid 98k ride followed by a 35 min run on Tuesday. Thursday featured a 2 hour trainer effort with 4X9 min at just below threshold intervals, plus a 11.5k run.
Run: highpoint was yesterday, did Misissauga half marry.
Mississauga Half Marathon Report:
Goal: sub 1:24
Actual: 1:24:45
Negative splitting is #$%^! hard. I did run a very evenly paced race, but wasn't quite able to negative split. Having raced 31 k's in the last 8 days and putting in a solid week of training, I knew the legs were going to get cranky.
The good: pretty even splitting from start to finish. Heart and lungs have more to give, legs need some additional speedwork and some extra rest certainly would hurt either. Oh yea, PB'd by...
6 sec.
Hey! it counts! I don't care if it's only 6 sec, it's still a PB. :)
The bad: The PB's are getting harder to come by now. I think, gone are the days of massive time drops. Still almost 5 minutes away from my lifetime goal of sub 1:20.. maybe in 2 years? Possible.
Enough rambling, gotta go spin the legs out.
Cheers!
What's your goal this year?
What's your goal for this training block?
What's your goal for this month?
What's your goal for this week?
What's your goal for tomorrow?
What's your goal for your next work-out?
Run down the list. Now run up the list. When you ask yourself the questions working up, do they actually help you accomplish your long term goal? The long term goal you set should be realistic, yet difficult to attain. Failure is a possibility. Though I really don't believe in failure in the conventional sense. If you learned something during the journey and still didn't reach your goal, that could hardly be considered a failure.
I'll share a few of my goals.
Sub 10 IMC in 2 years.
Sub 4:30 at a half iron this year.
Increase speedwork this training block.
Bike more this month.
Recover this week.
Bike outside tomorrow.
Hop on the bike for an easy ride after this post.
Each year I learn a little more, train a little more and more importantly train a little smarter. (hopefully). Lastly, goals can be revised and should be revisited regularly, but it's really all about the journey!
Last week's numbers:
Swim:10.8k
Bike: 98k
Spin: 4hrs
Run: 60k
Swim: is feeling downright great. 'nuff said.
Bike: can you ever bike enough? Did a solid 98k ride followed by a 35 min run on Tuesday. Thursday featured a 2 hour trainer effort with 4X9 min at just below threshold intervals, plus a 11.5k run.
Run: highpoint was yesterday, did Misissauga half marry.
Mississauga Half Marathon Report:
Goal: sub 1:24
Actual: 1:24:45
Negative splitting is #$%^! hard. I did run a very evenly paced race, but wasn't quite able to negative split. Having raced 31 k's in the last 8 days and putting in a solid week of training, I knew the legs were going to get cranky.
The good: pretty even splitting from start to finish. Heart and lungs have more to give, legs need some additional speedwork and some extra rest certainly would hurt either. Oh yea, PB'd by...
6 sec.
Hey! it counts! I don't care if it's only 6 sec, it's still a PB. :)
The bad: The PB's are getting harder to come by now. I think, gone are the days of massive time drops. Still almost 5 minutes away from my lifetime goal of sub 1:20.. maybe in 2 years? Possible.
Enough rambling, gotta go spin the legs out.
Cheers!
Monday, May 05, 2008
Welcome to the brotherhood of dorks.
Both birthday wishes came true! I'm now a proud member of the brotherhood of dorks and a I scored a PR on Sunday.
So that's my opening teaser, let's start off with something a little more mundane and build to an exciting finish. (can't you feel the excitement??)
Weekly total:
Swim:7.2k
Bike: 7 hrs (trainer)
Run:37.5k
I pulled my stitches out, so I'm back in the pool on a semi regular basis. The weather was crap last week, so I trained inside. On Saturday, the day before my 10k race, I did the Ergvideo of the Lake Placid loop and cranked that sucker to '11'. Actually went to muscle failure. I gave myself an 'F' anytime I couldn't sustain big watts and have a cadence > 60. Muscle failure occured 4 times, typically in the last 5 to 10 sec of a 130% of threshold hill climb. Threshold was set to 295 watts and I averaged 248 for the ride, a season high, but the goal was to average 250. So I have to find a bit more power to light up a couple more of L.E.D.'s. Something to shoot for.
Needless to say this put my legs in a bit of a funk on Sunday morning. (hey, it's a C priority race, so I wasn't worried)
Quick and dirty Sporting Life 10k race report:
Ok, I'll let the cat out of the bag. This was my first 10k, so basically I could have walked it backwards and still have PR'd. But a PR is a PR and I'll take one anyway I can get it!
This 10k is a total cheater 10k, meaning it is almost ALL downhill. A great venue to go for a PR, but in truth, any PR on this course deserve a big fast asterix*.
For every meter of the race there was 1 person. Nearly 10 thousand people took part, by far the biggest race I've ever been in! Anyway let's get to the meat and potatoes...
Goal time: <36m
Actual: 38:XX
I'm not much for excuses...
But..
At the 8k mark I got a wicked stitch, the kind of stitch that had me doubled over and walking. Had to stop, stretch it out and walk it off. That kind of bummed me out, was totally on track for my goal, but that stitch really took the wind of my sail. C'est la vie. But hey! It's a still PR! :))
So afer the race....
My birthday present was to go to Enduro Sports .... danger! danger! The goal being was to get an aero helmet and offically become a member of the brotherhood of dorks. So without further adieu...
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