WeeklyWorkout Totals 04/16/2007-04/22/2007 and GIDDY UP!

GREAT week, AWESOME week! I am training, and feeling pretty good considering. I am always surprised every season when I kick it in, and while I do get tired like everyone else, it isn't as big of a deal as I think it will be.

Today I rode with a friend, Dan (who doesn't read my blog), and while I am not quite as fast as him, for the most part I can keep up, and he kept me motivated to push it the entire ride. I ended up riding at IF (intensity factor) of .85, meaning I averaged 85% of threshold power for the entire ride. That's like 1/2 Ironman wattage. So cool, for my first "big" ride out. We had wind, plenty of wind, heat, and some hills, although without the wind they would have been nothing. I totally enjoyed the way LGL handles in the wind--head, cross, you name it. I am still strong riding into the wind, even though this was my first time out this year! I had a blast passing lots of triathletes, who couldn't tell I was one of them since I was riding in "stealth" mode. At one point there was an entire pack of Italian bikes (a Pinarello, a few Colnagos, a Serotta and something else that escapes me), but unfortunately, we couldn't keep pace with them. Give me a few more weeks of solid saddle time, and that will surely change!

I am measuring my wattage based on my FTP from the end of last summer, 186. Even though I thought it had gone done to maybe 170 this winter, I think it's almost back, because 85% is a solid ride for first time out. We shall see.

I also met someone in person today that knows Dan that also knows me, just from reading my blog. That was pretty neat. His name is Fred, and he knows Lora. Apparently, Lora told Fred to read my blog. At one point, Fred emailed me about all my pink stuff, and I thought he was a perv (and I told him so today), but turns out he's just a regular guy. By the way, he had nothing but nice things to say about Lora, as did I!

The ride we did is called the Easter Ride, and they have egg salad sandwiches afterwards. YUM! I LOVE eggs. Earlier this week, I made some egg salad for myself and it was great. I still am a big protein craver/eater--I think it has to do with my Croatian heritage. I don't eat much pork (my pork weakness boils down to Italian prosciutto), really not much beef, either (but when I do it's usually a Porterhouse), but lots of chicken, turkey and fish.

As I was waiting in line to pay up for the ride, we heard that a few miles were being cut out of the farthest distance. The guy in front of me turns to me and says, "So you can ride 50 miles twice." I asked him sweetly (at least I thought so) what made him think I wanted to ride 100 miles today, and he said, "Because you are here early, and the early birds usually want to ride a lot." I told him I didn't really need to ride 100 miles today, then asked if he was going to do so. He proceeded to tell me about what he did the day before, and I surmised he was probably a triathlete, so I asked him what he was training for. "Ironman," he said. What a dork. The correct answer is either a) an Ironman or b) Ironman something (fill in the locale). The way he said it was such that I am sure he hoped to impress the hell out of me, so then I asked him, "Which Ironman?" Then he said, "Wisconsin." I said, "Great!" At one point he did manage to ask me if I had ever done "any triathlons," and I said, "A few."

Now hear me out on this. I respect anyone and everyone who trains for and competes in Ironman. But here's a little revelation: it is not the biggest deal in the whole wide world. I suppose I used to think it was, too, but it's not, and nowadays I'd rather cyclists assume I'm a biker, runners assume I'm a runner, and swimmers assume I'm a (not too great!) swimmer. There are those clever individuals who can tell from my physique that I am probably a triathlete, and probably a long-course one, at that. I always award such people extra points.

I do enjoy it when I meet a new person who says enthusiastically, "I'm training for my first Ironman!!!" That's cool. Be excited, be bursting at the seams wanting to show everyone how great you feel. But don't be, "Oh...I'm training for IRONMAN," like I should worship the ground you stand upon. Not cool. If you're like me and have done a few Ironman races, be the self-assured voice of calm, the voice of experience, ready to help anyone who needs it, but let them talk about their concerns. Listening can be so much fun!

There were these two women that were maybe going to ride with Dan and I, but man, were they helpless or what? Both had just gotten new tri bikes, and apparently, they didn't know how to pump the tires??? I said to one of them, "You mean you don't pump your tires before you put your bike in the car and drive to where you're riding?" I suppose it was a bitchy thing to say, but if someone tells me we are riding at 7:30, then I am READY at 7:30, and it was past that. So then we go to the tech area so these two can get their tires pumped, and they are worried because I tell the dude to go to 120, and the one chic is like, "I don't like them that hard it's not comfortable to ride." WTF??? This girl is not going to like her Ironman race, I can tell you that much. Finally, I grew impatient, and Dan whispered to me that they weren't very fast anyway, so we politely told them we were taking off. PHEW!

Before I started riding today, and I am not kidding about this, there were a few men that looked at my bike like it was a piece of ass! I guess you don't see too many women riding Pinarellos, at least I have never seen one. Then at the last aid station, a few men became enchanted with LGL and even took pictures of her (and me)! I am not sure whether they were "official" photogs for the ride or what, but they were very nice gentlemen, and I was happy to chat with them.

We shall see how I recover from my first big training week of 2007 tomorrow, but truthfully, I don't feel too badly at all. I think what helps is for me to stay on top of my recovery eating. Like last night, I passed out watching TV at 8:00PM, then I woke up at about 8:40 and ate a sandwich and went back to sleep. This morning I ate a Power Bar and about 350 calories of Glycoload, and I think I had enough calories while riding, but I still put a bunch in afterwards, and in the next hour I will be attacking a roast chicken and some green beans. I should have saved a few cannoli from yesterday, but I really don't need to eat that stuff, now do I? However, place your bets now, I bet I will be on the Food Channel (my term for needing to eat rather continuously from failing to replace all calories burned in preceding days) tomorrow, which probably means breakfast, swim, breakfast again, run, eat, snack, lift, snack, dinner, snack, bed (don't worry there is also WORK in there).

Here are the happy totals for the week. Notice for once, SOLID swimming! This is Ironman training, except for the bike volume, he he!


Weekly Totals 04/16/2007-04/22/2007
Swim: 10100 yards (5.73 miles) in 3.57 hours; 20% of weekly workout time; approx. 1249 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 128.92 miles in 7.62 hours; 43% of weekly workout time; approx. 3760 calories burned
Run: Approx. 34.91 miles in 5.15 hours; 29% of weekly workout time; approx. 2336 calories burned
Strength: 1.57 hours; 9% of weekly workout time; approx. 393 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 169.56 miles in 17.91 hours; approx. 7738 calories burned
Sleep: 8.36 hours avg./night
Stretching: 3.43 hours. Massage: 0 hours