What a strange combination of events--here I am in my most difficult training week of my life, and my mom has died. The funeral is Friday. Can I, should I keep up my training? Hell yes, it's what mom would have wanted, and it's what dad has insisted upon. I seem to have been given extra energy care of my mom.
Yesterday I did 1:35 on the trainer (it was only 32 here, if you can believe that), and then ran :35 on the treadmill. I had watts galore on the bike, and while their generation didn't feel effortless, I think I could have kept churning them out in spurts. When I got on the treadmill, my heart rate was nice and low, and I warmed up for 5 minutes and my legs felt weightless. How could that be? I just drilled myself on the bike; running should not feel this good. But it did, so I kept increasing the speed. My legs felt almost like they weren't there; there was no pain, almost no sensation, so I had to look down and check that I was, in fact, running. I wanted, needed effort. I should not feel so good with the weight that is on me now. Yet, I was floating. I just went with it, and at the same time I choked back tears every few minutes. No crying while running! Perhaps it was my body shifting its negative energy just to my mind, leaving my legs free to do their muscular thing, which by now require almost no thought at all to do their thing.
But, once I stopped running (and it's very hard for me mentally when I get to the end of a workout now because the floodgates open), and I wanted to collapse in a heap on the floor, I didn't. I forced myself to go to the Y yesterday so I could face people and face myself and, well, if I lost it, so what. Once I began to stretch, every muscle (and I am quite attuned to them all) in my legs would cramp. I don't know if it was because it was 5PM and I hadn't eaten since 10AM or what. It was just an interesting sensory combination to have had weightless, floating legs, followed by cramps. But I eased into the stretching and was OK.
I got home, fixed something for dinner, carbed up and thankfully got to sleep around 9PM, knowing I had to be up, get something to eat in me, and into the pool bright and early to swim 4,500 yards. My swim workout this morning wasn't by any means fast; it was an endurance session (2 sets of 3x500 with 15" rest type of stuff), and knowing that my swimming is most affected by my state of fatigue, I just settled in to get it done. I didn't feel particularly worn out, but knew I'd be swimming a little slower than I'd like, which was fine. But I had absolutely no endurance problems, and focused on my form, which felt very good to me. I ended up swimming 4,600 yards (this week in honor of mom I am swimming 50-100 yards extra each workout and every other workout I am doing 5 extra minutes), and really didn't feel too worse for the wear except I wanted to eat everything in sight.
Around 2:15 I headed out to do my tempo run. I was supposed to do a total of :55, but of course, I had decided I'd run for a full hour (this week's rules, you know), from home, meaning my rolling 6-mile course plus some more. I ended up doing almost 7 miles in an hour, which means that I pretty much ran tempo pace the entire time, although I was only supposed to do :25 worth. No worries. It felt good, I felt good, it was all good. My legs weren't floaty like they were yesterday, but what I noticed today was not so much effort in my legs but more like just in my aerobic capacity. Which is undoubtedly HUGE. I feel like a machine right about now. If I can hold this fitness and then get my taper rest in I should be not only good to go, but almost great to go for Ironman Brazil.
I have never felt this way in my life. I realized today that many of the challenges I faced this past fall were the universe's way of preparing me for this week. Not just the week of peaking; but also the week of grieving. I am taking things one day at a time. I am astounded by the level of care being expressed by friends, family, and people I don't even know on the Internet. I think everyone knows the importance of a mother. There's nothing like your mom! I think I am able to move through this fairly well because of my insane focus on mental work that I've had the past 6 months, and I suppose the physical strength helps out, too.
The other thing that comes to mind is that unlike my 2 brothers and 2 sisters, I have quite a bit of mom in me. She was a good seamstress, cook and gardener. She always joked to me about how I had to be better than she was at all these things (and most anything that I tackled she remarked how I had to be the very best at whatever I did, haha not so much at marriage, though), but also that she was very proud of me for it. I never set out to be better than her; I just set out to be the best that I could be. And I got a lot of it from her. So these most excellent spring days (and by the way, I am so happy my mom died in the springtime--the very most beautiful time of the year to me) when I'm out poking around in my flower beds, sure I am sad that mom won't see the new things coming up this season, but I have plants that were cuttings from hers, I have the green thumb she had (not for indoor plants, please, I will kill them all!) and most of all, I have the same attitude towards it that she had, which is that the garden is a place of comfort and solace. If something's bugging you, go pull some weeds. It will help you think things through. Put your hands right into the dirt--no gloves--you will feel cleansed by the real contact with the Earth. Listen to the birds and watch the bees and other insects flitting about you. This is nature at its most accessible and pleasurable. Every day! While I don't spend as much time on my garden beds as I used to, they are there for me every single day and give me so much pleasure. At least once a day I make a point to "patrol" the premises. I look at things, pull a weed here, smell a flower there, and it is very relaxing, almost like meditation.
When I look in my closets, I see all the beautiful things I've sewed for myself over the years, and know that my mom inspired me to take up the craft. Initially it was out of necessity, since she used to make my clothes through 7th grade, but I realized she didn't have time when she began working again, so I told her one day that I needed to make myself a dress and would she take me to buy fabric and a pattern, and then would she help me if I got stuck? Well, she did, I didn't get stuck, and several months later I made my 8th grade graduation dress (very stylish--bright yellow with kelly green velvet ribbon on the bodice and wrists). And then I discovered that I liked sewing and chose progressivly more difficult things to make.
When I cook, now it's mainly for sustenance, but I can remember all that I learned by watching my mom cook and savoring whatever she fixed and asking what was in it. When I was in high school, again I sensed that my mom needed some more help in the house, and she was driving me to a job, so I thought the least I could do was cook dinner for the family before I went to my evening job after high school. So I fixed some of the things she taught me, I bought a few cookbooks and went nuts. Every night there was a main course, side dishes and a dessert. Needless to say, my brothers and dad were in hog heaven! But to me, it was just the right thing to do, and my secondary purpose was to acquire another skill and do it well.
So even though I break into moments of sadness over my mom's death, and I know it will continue for who knows how long, I am also spending a whole lot of time smiling about how much of her is in me and know that there's nothing for me to forget because I live it every single day.
I am thinking about singing a song at my mom's funeral. If I think I can hold it together long enough to do that, I will; if not, I will just read the words aloud. And yes, I was in the choir in junior high and high school and also accompanied the choir on the piano on some difficult pieces. So I can sing pretty decently. We shall see.
I did work today and will also do so tomorrow--sort of. I will be swimming 4,000 yards in the morning and then running 2 hours in the middle of the day. It's time for me to hit the trail run. My boss is being very good to me, so I'm sure I can finesse being gone for 3 hours in the middle of the day. It will be a beautiful, spring day. I look forward to it.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
My mom passed this morning
Friends,
After weeks of ill-health and hospitals, preceded by years of fragility, my mom passed this morning. I was fortunate to be with her, my dad and my sister-in-law at the end. I visited with her most of yesterday, and judging from her condition, I knew that death was imminent. Ultimately, it was congestive heart failure that took her, but it was just the last systemic failure in a long line of complications from diabetes.
The end came quickly, and we hope, comfortably. I had an opportunity to speak with my mom this morning, and whether or not she heard me, this is what I said:
Thanks for letting me become hyper-independent and self-sufficient.
Thanks for letting my intelligence blossom with only gentle nudging, and giving me plenty of tools like flash cards, puzzles and mentally challenging games.
Thanks for encouraging me to seek excellence at the young age of 4 at the piano, that would spill over into every other facet of my life.
Thanks for showing me how strong a person can be in the face of adversity.
And most of all, I let her know that she has been the primary inspiration behind the level I push myself in sport to be the very best that I can be. While she never saw me race, she's been there at every finish line, and I will welcome her spiritual presence again in about 4 weeks. Yes, I am still going to Ironman Brazil. Yes, it might be hard, but it's nothing compared to the suffering my mom just went through. She is no longer suffering. I am not really suffering right now--I would say it's more just the beginning of a grieving process. If you can feel a hole in your heart, I guess that's what I feel! But at the same time, I feel so fortunate that I am so strong, and I know that mom would want me to keep on keeping on to keep myself strong.
As my dad and I were leaving the hospital just an hour ago, he told me to keep everything going. He was on his way to his YMCA, and shortly I'll be on my way to mine. No crying in the pool, you know. And no feeling sorry for myself. I have so much to be thankful for.
I am just so happy that my mom is at peace. She is with her God, and as she was the kindest, gentlest woman I have every known (in contrast to me, and I did apologize to her for that), I can only hope to be as good of a human being.
Peace, and know that I will be OK. Life marches on. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. We only get one body while we are here, treat it well!
After weeks of ill-health and hospitals, preceded by years of fragility, my mom passed this morning. I was fortunate to be with her, my dad and my sister-in-law at the end. I visited with her most of yesterday, and judging from her condition, I knew that death was imminent. Ultimately, it was congestive heart failure that took her, but it was just the last systemic failure in a long line of complications from diabetes.
The end came quickly, and we hope, comfortably. I had an opportunity to speak with my mom this morning, and whether or not she heard me, this is what I said:
Thanks for letting me become hyper-independent and self-sufficient.
Thanks for letting my intelligence blossom with only gentle nudging, and giving me plenty of tools like flash cards, puzzles and mentally challenging games.
Thanks for encouraging me to seek excellence at the young age of 4 at the piano, that would spill over into every other facet of my life.
Thanks for showing me how strong a person can be in the face of adversity.
And most of all, I let her know that she has been the primary inspiration behind the level I push myself in sport to be the very best that I can be. While she never saw me race, she's been there at every finish line, and I will welcome her spiritual presence again in about 4 weeks. Yes, I am still going to Ironman Brazil. Yes, it might be hard, but it's nothing compared to the suffering my mom just went through. She is no longer suffering. I am not really suffering right now--I would say it's more just the beginning of a grieving process. If you can feel a hole in your heart, I guess that's what I feel! But at the same time, I feel so fortunate that I am so strong, and I know that mom would want me to keep on keeping on to keep myself strong.
As my dad and I were leaving the hospital just an hour ago, he told me to keep everything going. He was on his way to his YMCA, and shortly I'll be on my way to mine. No crying in the pool, you know. And no feeling sorry for myself. I have so much to be thankful for.
I am just so happy that my mom is at peace. She is with her God, and as she was the kindest, gentlest woman I have every known (in contrast to me, and I did apologize to her for that), I can only hope to be as good of a human being.
Peace, and know that I will be OK. Life marches on. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. We only get one body while we are here, treat it well!
Weekly Training Totals 04/17/2006-04/23/2006
Weekly Totals 04/17/2006-04/23/2006
Swim: 10150 yards in 3.58 hours; 19% of weekly workout time; approx. 1254 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 155.77 miles in 9.17 hours; 47% of weekly workout time; approx. 4278 calories burned
Run: Approx. 33.05 miles in 5.04 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 2708 calories burned
Strength: 1.52 hours; 8% of weekly workout time; approx. 380 calories burned
All Sports: 19.31 hours; approx. 8620 calories burned
Sleep: 8.86 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.68 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-04/23/2006
Swim: 267000 yards in 94.51 hours
Bike: Approx. 2558.59 miles in 147.49 hours
Run: Approx. 931.48 miles in 146.51 hours
Strength: 48.99 hours
All Sports: 437.5 hours; approx. 194954 calories burned
Stretching: 47.79 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-04/23/2006
Swim: 8344 yards in 2.95 hours
Bike: Approx. 79.96 miles in 4.61 hours
Run: Approx. 29.11 miles in 4.58 hours
Strength: 1.53 hours
All Sports: 13.67 hours
Sleep: 8.47 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.17 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE
- Get in at least 2 hours of stretching for the week. DONE
- Keep up the mental focus. DONE
- Reestablish my power readings, after a week without the SRM and good power readings. FTP is unchanged, but the important thing is to push, push, push during every ride now (so that Ironman ride will be easy!), and I was able to do that.
- Stay on top of my nutrition. DONE. This was key in recovering from the big workouts so I could get up and do it again the next day.
- Keep my head in the game during every key workout. DONE
Accomplishments this Week:
- Drilled myself (watts-wise) on the bike even though I was riding alone and in strong headwinds.
- Remained strong for my father, who is truly suffering.
- Practiced optimal recovery techniques in order to tolerate the training load and other stress.
Goals for Next Week:
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
- Get in at least 2 hours of stretching for the week.
- Keep up the mental focus. This is the hardest week of all.
- Stay mentally strong for my family and myself.
- Stay on top of my nutrition.
- Keep my head in the game during every key workout.
In case you are interested, here are the workouts I did:
Monday: Swim 3,000 yards in 1:04, Strength :57, Run :40
Tuesday: Bike 1:15 (FT Test), Run :42
Wednesday: Swim 3,250 in 1:10, Run :56 w/:30 tempo pace
Thursday: Run 2:15 building to :20 at tempo pace
Friday: Swim 3,900 yards (none of them easy except for the warmup!) in 1:22
Saturday: Bike 5:15 at IF (Intensity Factor) of .85 (essentially means I went at 85% of FTP for the entire ride, which is just below HIM effort); Run :30 (ran just slightly off my 10K pace)
Sunday: Bike 2:40 at IF .90. Was supposed to go 3 hours, but needed to go to the hospital. I still managed to drill myself.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
F******************************************CK
....was the word coming to mind during today's workout, among others. Here's the workout:
Bike 5 hours (ended up at 5:15, 91 miles) and run :30 off the bike.
Bike workout: WU: 60' @ 65-70%, 60' @ 80% MS: 2 x (40' @ 88-90%, 10' Easy), 20' Easy, then 1 x 20' @ FT. Remainder (50') is 80-85%, as you feel. (All percentages are as % of FT. 65-70% is easy (below IM watts); 80-90% is HIM watts. So not an easy ride, really. I had happy 15-20MPH winds , but today got the tailwind on the way home. That part was SWEET!--going 27-30MPH with a huge, silly grin on my face. Also, the groovement was gone, so I got to ride some fresh asphalt for about 3 miles. Also a pleasure!
Run workout: Easy out, steady back. Well, I just ran as best I could on the way out. I averaged 8:25/mile or so. What the hell? I can't believe I can run like that.
Below are excerpts from my internal dialogue while on the bike:
Pay attention! (said to numerous cars with drivers on cell phones)
Fucking stoplight.
This sucks. No, this is how it's supposed to be. If all I do is ride easy, I am slow.
Thank you (pointing upwards) for the wind today. It helps me to work harder.
I feel very scientific! (I rode in Fermilab, one of our National Accelerator Labs, again today)
I LOVE Nitrogen (thought while looking at one of the numerous Nitrogen tanks).
No, wait, I LOVE Oxygen (but there were no tanks of it--I just got to breathe it in)
PLEASE BE WINDIER (thought while the wind was gusting to about 35MPH in my face)
Hello, Bobbleheads (while looking at the buffalo)
Thank you (to a man in a car who let me cross this busy road ahead of his left-turn right-of-way)
My ass hurts (well, DUH)
My neck hurts (after first 2 hours in the aerobars, but I got used to it or else I ignored it)
UGGGGHHHHHH (after the first HIM interval)
I like to pee (while peeing at one of the Fermilab entrances)
Hi! (to at least 50 cyclists today, lots of riders were out)
(hand gesture) Thumbs up (to the guards at the various Fermilab gates since they saw me 4 or 5 times)
I suck (whenever I felt I wasn't generating enough power)
I am fucking great (other times)
I can't believe I am doing this right now cuz I've already put in 11 hours of training this week
I wouldn't rather be doing ANYTHING except riding my bike today (whenever I saw a convertible with the top down)
My bike is better than yours (whenever a motorcycle would drive by me)
I'm disgusting (2+ hours in the saddle you are pretty much like this, right?)
Why do I do this? Oh, it doesn't matter, I have a workout to do.
Why do I do this? I don't know, but I may as well keep pedaling.
Why do I do this? I spent good money on the stupid race fee.
What a great way to get a tan!
I am fucking out of my mind. 6 years running now. It could be worse, though.
Maybe I'll stop doing this after Ironman Brazil and just work out 1 hour a day. That would be like--well, NOTHING.
I can't believe I'm OK with circling around this lab like 6 times. I'm like a hamster or something.
The squirrels look really happy. They don't question their existence, do they?
I LOVE Ultra Violence.
Bike 5 hours (ended up at 5:15, 91 miles) and run :30 off the bike.
Bike workout: WU: 60' @ 65-70%, 60' @ 80% MS: 2 x (40' @ 88-90%, 10' Easy), 20' Easy, then 1 x 20' @ FT. Remainder (50') is 80-85%, as you feel. (All percentages are as % of FT. 65-70% is easy (below IM watts); 80-90% is HIM watts. So not an easy ride, really. I had happy 15-20MPH winds , but today got the tailwind on the way home. That part was SWEET!--going 27-30MPH with a huge, silly grin on my face. Also, the groovement was gone, so I got to ride some fresh asphalt for about 3 miles. Also a pleasure!
Run workout: Easy out, steady back. Well, I just ran as best I could on the way out. I averaged 8:25/mile or so. What the hell? I can't believe I can run like that.
Below are excerpts from my internal dialogue while on the bike:
Pay attention! (said to numerous cars with drivers on cell phones)
Fucking stoplight.
This sucks. No, this is how it's supposed to be. If all I do is ride easy, I am slow.
Thank you (pointing upwards) for the wind today. It helps me to work harder.
I feel very scientific! (I rode in Fermilab, one of our National Accelerator Labs, again today)
I LOVE Nitrogen (thought while looking at one of the numerous Nitrogen tanks).
No, wait, I LOVE Oxygen (but there were no tanks of it--I just got to breathe it in)
PLEASE BE WINDIER (thought while the wind was gusting to about 35MPH in my face)
Hello, Bobbleheads (while looking at the buffalo)
Thank you (to a man in a car who let me cross this busy road ahead of his left-turn right-of-way)
My ass hurts (well, DUH)
My neck hurts (after first 2 hours in the aerobars, but I got used to it or else I ignored it)
UGGGGHHHHHH (after the first HIM interval)
I like to pee (while peeing at one of the Fermilab entrances)
Hi! (to at least 50 cyclists today, lots of riders were out)
(hand gesture) Thumbs up (to the guards at the various Fermilab gates since they saw me 4 or 5 times)
I suck (whenever I felt I wasn't generating enough power)
I am fucking great (other times)
I can't believe I am doing this right now cuz I've already put in 11 hours of training this week
I wouldn't rather be doing ANYTHING except riding my bike today (whenever I saw a convertible with the top down)
My bike is better than yours (whenever a motorcycle would drive by me)
I'm disgusting (2+ hours in the saddle you are pretty much like this, right?)
Why do I do this? Oh, it doesn't matter, I have a workout to do.
Why do I do this? I don't know, but I may as well keep pedaling.
Why do I do this? I spent good money on the stupid race fee.
What a great way to get a tan!
I am fucking out of my mind. 6 years running now. It could be worse, though.
Maybe I'll stop doing this after Ironman Brazil and just work out 1 hour a day. That would be like--well, NOTHING.
I can't believe I'm OK with circling around this lab like 6 times. I'm like a hamster or something.
The squirrels look really happy. They don't question their existence, do they?
I LOVE Ultra Violence.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
My Pet Tapeworm
He's baaaaaack. Constant hunger. Metabolism is racing like a good BBQ fire. Throw more wood on it! I don't think it matters how much I eat now, as long as I E-A-T. And try to match that to my training. This is not easy, but I'm trying.
Yesterday, thankfully, I got my Bitch back. All with SRM re-energized with new batteries, speed sensor works, recalibrated, bike all tuned up, gosh I missed her. So I needed to do an FTP test yesterday.
I was supposed to do a brick run, but that would need to wait until later in the day, since it took some time getting to the bike shop, and then I needed to wait for new cleats to put on my shoes (luckily I spotted the worn out metal on the old pair last weekend). The run would get done after work.
I had about 300 calories at breakfast, I ate a banana, I snacked on jelly beans, and I started on a can of Ultra Violence before the workout. During the workout (my FTP hasn't changed, by the way, still holding at 171), I polished off the UV and a little Gatorade. When I finished (around 1:45PM), I drank a serving of Endurox R4 and had about 300 calories of lunch. So at this point I'm up to about 1400 calories.
At about 6:15 I went to the Y to do a short run. I figured I'd run on the treadmill just to keep my QL/piriformis issue in check, and then I'd stretch afterwards. I drank a 20-oz. bottle of Gatorade during and finished up while I stretched. I got home at 7:30 ready for dinner, relaxation and sleep.
As soon as I got into my house, I felt a little dizzy and weak. My good friend Mr. Hypoglycemia had come to visit! Since I knew what it was (although I was a little surprised--I didn't think I was that depleted), I decided to gamble a little and see how long I could wait to eat something before passing out, or at least falling over. But I threw my dinner into the microwave for 2 minutes 45 seconds, and when it was done I finally sat and chowed down. I literally shovelled the rice into my mouth, because I was no longer willing to mess with Mr. Hypoglycemia. About 10 minutes and 700 calories later, I felt fine. Actually the dizziness passed within minutes of getting the rice down (see this is why sometimes you need to eat high glycemic foods). But it made me laugh, and I wouldn't have written a post if this hadn't happened. I figured I was still low on calories for the day, so I polished off the remainder of a package of Jordan almonds, maybe 20 of them? It doesn't matter. I needed calories.
I lasted about :45 reading before it was lights out. And I went down FAST, by 8:45.
I know that tapeworm is still with me because I woke up hungry, ate, went to the pool, was hungry while swimming, and I'm eating again. About 4 more weeks to deal with the tapeworm and then it will be taper time! But it's totally worth it to be on the lean side; it's what I want for Ironman Brazil, and dealing with some level of hunger is worth the effort.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Weekly Workout Totals: 04/10/2006-04/16/2006
It was another banner week! I capped it off with a 3-hour ride today. Same directions, same wind, only stronger, and as a bonus, I got to play storm-chaser on the way home. When I woke up, it was rather cool (about 50F) and it had rained overnight. The forecast called for sporadic rain throughout the day and cool temperatures. Well, since I "only" had to ride 3 hours today, I procrastinated, and luxuriated with the Sunday paper and coffee and organizing my day and next week and such. As I procrastinated, the weather improved, and I decided, what the hell, I'm riding outdoors. ALWAYS a better option than the trainer.
Today I wore a regular short-sleeved jersey and regular length tri shorts. I got a decent sunburn yesterday and didn't need a repeat performance! As I headed out west, I could feel the wind pushing me there, only today I wasn't so happy about the prospect of >20 miles back in headwinds. Oh well, this is about work now, so I needed to get to work.
I shot a can of Ultra Violence before I started, which helped to clear the cobwebs from yesterday's big day. That really helped! And I loaded up some more Ultra Violence onto the bike, because I thought it might come in handy today. Big week, big workout yesterday, everything is pretty huge in training right about now!
The ride felt hard today, and I don't think I was able to push as much as I wanted to, yet I was pushing most of the time, because I was battling seemingly swirling winds. Although the weather had cleared somewhat, there were clouds gathering (lack of sun was not something I missed today!), and I needed to be on the lookout for potential storms.
Long story short, when I was about :45 from home or so, the sky looked really dark to the south and east where I was heading. I guess this was all the impetus I needed to push harder to make it home before getting soaked! All I could think was BEAT THE STORM, BEAT THE STORM. And I didn't want any stinking cars getting in my way. So I pushed, riding through the groovement zone again (arghhhhhhh), and about 3 miles from home I felt the first raindrops. No lightning or thunder, though, so I was good to go. I just kept pressing and pressing. I knew that at any minute the sky could open up and I could be in for some serious weather. I started to feel bigger raindrops. GO FASTER, DAMMIT! Luckily, it being Easter Sunday and all, there wasn't much traffic those last few miles. And I reached my house, exactly 3:00.38 after I started, and the sky opened up! Although my actual riding time was more like 2:50-something, I'm calling it 3 hours on the nose. That was enough for today!
After the typical admin time at home to suck down Endurox R4, eat a quick lunch, and lay in bed for about an hour (to the accompaniment of heavy rain and thunder, you can't beat that), I motivated again since this was my day to catch up on things. Laundry, dishes, cooking, a little cleaning, fixing bottles, washing bottles. At this point in training, there is precious little time on the weekends, so in a way, I was glad to have drunk the Ultra Violence and not actually napped as I still had some energy to get these things done.
And now for the happy totals. I'm on some kind of roll, as I should be, given how close Ironman Bra-zeel is:
Weekly Totals 04/10/2006-04/16/2006
Swim: 8,800 yards in 3.13 hours; 18% of weekly workout time; approx. 1,096 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 158.96 miles in 9.08 hours; 52% of weekly workout time; approx. 3,789 calories burned
Run: Approx. 25.41 miles in 3.9 hours; 22% of weekly workout time; approx. 2,075 calories burned
Strength: 1.47 hours; 8% of weekly workout time; approx. 368 calories burned
All Sports: 17.58 hours; approx. 7,328 calories burned
Sleep: 9 hours avg./night
Stretching: 3.9 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-04/16/2006
Swim: 256,850 yards in 90.93 hours
Bike: Approx. 2,402.82 miles in 138.32 hours
Run: Approx. 898.43 miles in 141.47 hours
Strength: 47.47 hours
All Sports: 418.19 hours; approx. 186,334 calories burned
Stretching: 45.11 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-04/16/2006
Swim: 8,285 yards in 2.93 hours
Bike: Approx. 77.51 miles in 4.46 hours
Run: Approx. 28.98 miles in 4.56 hours
Strength: 1.53 hours
All Sports: 13.49 hours
Sleep: 8.46 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.15 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
Accomplishments This Week:
- Achieved highest ever amount of stretching!
- Persevered despite a "crash" day on Friday
- Reestablished my usual healthy eating after a junk festival on Friday
- Kept my piriformis in good stead, even though it bugged me for a few days this week
Goals for Next Week:
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
- Get in at least 2 hours of stretching for the week.
- Keep up the mental focus. Next week is harder than this week!
- Reestablish my power readings, after a week without the SRM and good power readings.
- Stay on top of my nutrition
- Keep my head in the game during every key workout
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Make it HURT
My friends, the ultra-focused long rides, are back. As it should be. I've got to get in a number of them in the next few weeks to be ready, REALLY READY, for Ironman Brazil. I just wouldn't have it any other way.
Last summer, prior to Ironman Wisconsin, I got my first taste of these rides. They are the sort of thing that to execute them properly, it's tough to ride with someone else, unless they are willing to do what *I* need to do. They are best done on the flats (how convenient that I live in Flatland!), and I enjoy them more with a stiff headwind (cross winds not so much).
I got my wishes in spades today. The high only got to 68, and there were stiff east/east northeast winds blowing. When I do these rides, I go west. So in a perverted sense, I was excited today because I knew I'd have to ride home into a headwind!
I loaded up the Lobster bike (my road bike--the SRM isn't back until Monday, unlike what the service center promised--so it's road bike this weekend, and the Power Tap is fucked up or just needs a battery or something so I'm riding on feel, but I know what FUCKING HARD feels like!), and suited up. I chose rather skimpy riding clothes, since the plan was for a 4-hour ride followed by a 30-minute run. I pulled some weeds in my front yard flower bed to test out the temperatures, and knew I'd be fine.
The bike workout was to be this:
WU: 60' @ 65-70%
MS: 2 x (40' @ 88-90%, 10' Easy), 20' Easy, then 1 x 20' @ FT.
Remainder (50') is 80-85%, as you feel.
Remember, I rarely just go out and JFR anymore, although I did so in South Carolina due to the presence of certain "mountains." With those, you just push it up and hang on as you fall off the damn things.
I headed out and oh joy! Tailwind, so I'm in the 52/13 (highest available gear) heading west to Fermilab. Fermilab has an accelerator ring that you can see from an airplane. Very high-tech. Since I am going senile, I didn't remember how long it normally takes for me to get there from my house, nor did I have an odometer, but I figured on about an hour, and I was correct. Then I figured I'd do the 2x40' in there (a couple of loops), and then head back to a T intersection (Eola Road and Bilter, for those of you who might know the area), then west again to do the FT interval, and finally turn around and head for home.
What a beautiful day! I love being in Fermilab, because, well, it's so scientific. You see these various buildings where they are doing who-knows-what, and there are huge tanks of liquid helium and liquid nitrogen hanging around. And REALLY BIG electrical thingies. But there are woods in there, and also a herd of buffaloes (which I like to call bobbleheads), and there is very little to no traffic in there, and the roads are decent, so it's a nice place to put the focus hammer down.
And focus I did. The loop was mostly windy, and I would just pop into the big chain ring and ride as hard as I could for as long as I needed to. I could feel the muscular fatigue in my quads, but I didn't care. It was good I didn't have a speedometer, because I didn't care. All I cared about was make it hurt. Make it count. And I did. I could tell sort of from my heart rate and my calorie burn that I was kickin' it. And since I was riding mostly on flatness, there was no coasting, although I did have to stop and pee a few times, but I made it quick, because I was so into getting it done today.
While I was in there, I saw: buffalo, horses, egrets, herons, robins, cardinals, a red-tailed hawk and at least 10 other cyclists, all of whom had on way more clothes than me. All of them were happy to smile and wave at me, as I did to them, except for one woman. She looked a little surly on her tri bike (perhaps she was looking down at my silly clip-ons on a road bike which I was barely even using) as if she was the only one "working." WTF??? I can always at least lift my left hand off of wherever it is to give some sort of acknowledgment.
As I was leaving Fermilab, I thought to myself that I have come a long way, when I really have no problem looping around to get my "work intervals" done. There are other places I can ride, but I like being surrounded by science in a safe-riding haven even though I suppose I am picking up some spare electrons or something. I always feel pretty good when I'm in there!
But, as is always the case, all good things come to an end. So I left the place with one more nasty interval to go. And this one would include a few short hills. The deal was NO shifting into the small chainring even for those. I had to grind it a little bit, but no worries, it was only 20'. Most of it was on a north-south road, so I avoided the stiff easterly winds. But then I turned to ride home. Total headwind! Which was great, since I was not allowed to lollygag on the tail end of the ride.
About this time, my right foot started to hurt a bit, which was funny because usually my rule is 5 hours riding or 80 miles before that happens. But I guess with all the wind and with all the effort I was pushing (I would REALLY like to have seen what my true watts were--oh well, next weekend I get the big surprise!), it happened a little sooner, at just 3:30 in. At this point, I knew I had a long ride back into the headwind, so I unclipped that foot and stretched it a bit, and kept going.
Stupid road bike doesn't have quite the aerodynamic position of my tri bike, but I made do. I got sick of riding in the hoods so I used the silly clip-on aerobars, which helped with the aerodynamics a little bit. I think I was gritting my teeth all the way back.
But wait--when I was about 5 miles from home (more or less), I got a special treat--2.5 miles of recently grooved road. I envisioned that I was riding the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix or something like that. It was actually better on the road bike than it would have been on the tri bike, but it still sort of sucked. But I was laughing, like how much more could this hurt? Here I'm kicking out HIM watts (most likely), I'm riding into a stiffy, I'm on fucking GROOVEMENT (that's what I call it, anyway), and joy of joys, now I get to ride up another hill! It just doesn't get any better than this! I was thinking that if I can remember shit like this during Ironman Brazil, the race should be a piece of cake. Note: training rides should ALWAYS be harder than the Ironman ride, if you are pacing properly, that is.
When the groovement ended, I was grateful (er...maybe I was grateful while I was on it). And it was then that I began thinking about my run to come. I have this bad habit of not holding myself back enough when I am supposed to, so I began a mantra, "GO OUT EASY, GO OUT EASY."
Since I'd be running from my house, I figured, what the hell, run east first, right into that headwind, to make it hurt even more, and at least I'd get some relief on the way back.
When I got home, I had to wash my face because I was such a mess of drool, Gatorade, salt, sweat, you name it. I put the running shoes on and assessed my legs. They felt worked. As they should have. OK, so now RUN, asshole.
And out I went. It did not feel good. My legs felt like lead weights. There were 2 young girls stretching as if they were going to run, and I felt obligated to tell them, "I really CAN run, but I just got off my bike after 4 1/2 hours," because I felt like I must've been running like a drunk person. Now, remember, right out my house I have to run up a 1/4 mile hill, so I really get to keep making it hurt. Then I turn left into the headwind.
The wind doesn't feel too bad on the run. I think it died down just a little. No wait. Now it's gusting, and picking up my feet and almost making me fall down. That's one of the fun things about being so lightweight. I literally get my feet picked up more than I'd like when they are already in the air. But it makes me laugh.
As always, I am battling the brick demons. I am just running as best I can. I'm not looking at the HRM, as it would be pointless. I'm just trying to get a decent cadence with tiny wittle steps (a la Elmer Fudd). I pull my hat down further over my eyes as the sun is bugging me and so is the wind. I get to the first mile. 8:42. What the fuck is that? I shouldn't be running that fast (remember, I am S-L-O-W). Especially after that hard ride. But really I don't feel all that bad. Just the usual this-fucking-sucks-it's-a-brick-run-why-the-fuck-do-I-do-this-shit bad. So I figure that since I'm into a headwind, and I will always run faster back towards home, what the hell let's do another 7 minutes out and then turn around.
No problem. It does suck just a teensy-weensy less with the little tailwind. I figure I must look like total crap, but then my head registers, "Hey, we don't really feel all that bad maybe we CAN keep a decent run pace up in an Ironman." I guess the more you do this shit that hurts you, the easier it feels. Thanks coach! My threshold for suckiness is much bigger now. I am thinking that few of my friends that I used to train with could keep up with the shit I do now. Or maybe they could. I alternate between feelings of invincibility and total suckitude. This is what keeps me training, I guess.
I start the last mile home, and all I can think is, "MAKE IT FUCKING STOP." No walking, no slowing down now, just run and get it done. In reality, I was also thinking how long could I keep going like this? And I know that with a little Coke or Ultra Violence, a long, long time (I didn't even use the old Ultra Violence today!!!). I was listening to some music on the radio, but seriously I didn't even hear it.
And I got home. 2300 calories later, you would think I ate my entire house, but I didn't. See yesterday I sort of crashed (verge of overtraining), and knew I had better seriously load up on carbs. So I bought a bunch of crap. 2 Butterfinger easter eggs. 3 Fannie Mae creme eggs. I made a high-fat salad of Boston lettuce (in honor of the marathon on Monday, of course), grape tomatoes, crab meat and Marie's Thousand Island dressing. I forgot the damn avocado! It's a good salad, but hey, it's salad--that's WHAT FOOD EATS! I ate all the candy, the salad, and then snacked on some Cheetos and Jordan almonds. I know, I know--not exactly the most nutricious choices, but I needed to REALLY CHEAT for once. And it was all good! I've been piling on the volume lately, and I didn't want to go into today's workout feeling like shit.
So I stretched some more, and I got my lunch down and now it's about time for dinner. I can't wait to ride tomorrow--3 hours sort of like what I did today, but no brick run (yippee-cay-ay). It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, so most likely I'll be on the trainer. Oh well, it's got to be done.
Happy Easter!
Last summer, prior to Ironman Wisconsin, I got my first taste of these rides. They are the sort of thing that to execute them properly, it's tough to ride with someone else, unless they are willing to do what *I* need to do. They are best done on the flats (how convenient that I live in Flatland!), and I enjoy them more with a stiff headwind (cross winds not so much).
I got my wishes in spades today. The high only got to 68, and there were stiff east/east northeast winds blowing. When I do these rides, I go west. So in a perverted sense, I was excited today because I knew I'd have to ride home into a headwind!
I loaded up the Lobster bike (my road bike--the SRM isn't back until Monday, unlike what the service center promised--so it's road bike this weekend, and the Power Tap is fucked up or just needs a battery or something so I'm riding on feel, but I know what FUCKING HARD feels like!), and suited up. I chose rather skimpy riding clothes, since the plan was for a 4-hour ride followed by a 30-minute run. I pulled some weeds in my front yard flower bed to test out the temperatures, and knew I'd be fine.
The bike workout was to be this:
WU: 60' @ 65-70%
MS: 2 x (40' @ 88-90%, 10' Easy), 20' Easy, then 1 x 20' @ FT.
Remainder (50') is 80-85%, as you feel.
Remember, I rarely just go out and JFR anymore, although I did so in South Carolina due to the presence of certain "mountains." With those, you just push it up and hang on as you fall off the damn things.
I headed out and oh joy! Tailwind, so I'm in the 52/13 (highest available gear) heading west to Fermilab. Fermilab has an accelerator ring that you can see from an airplane. Very high-tech. Since I am going senile, I didn't remember how long it normally takes for me to get there from my house, nor did I have an odometer, but I figured on about an hour, and I was correct. Then I figured I'd do the 2x40' in there (a couple of loops), and then head back to a T intersection (Eola Road and Bilter, for those of you who might know the area), then west again to do the FT interval, and finally turn around and head for home.
What a beautiful day! I love being in Fermilab, because, well, it's so scientific. You see these various buildings where they are doing who-knows-what, and there are huge tanks of liquid helium and liquid nitrogen hanging around. And REALLY BIG electrical thingies. But there are woods in there, and also a herd of buffaloes (which I like to call bobbleheads), and there is very little to no traffic in there, and the roads are decent, so it's a nice place to put the focus hammer down.
And focus I did. The loop was mostly windy, and I would just pop into the big chain ring and ride as hard as I could for as long as I needed to. I could feel the muscular fatigue in my quads, but I didn't care. It was good I didn't have a speedometer, because I didn't care. All I cared about was make it hurt. Make it count. And I did. I could tell sort of from my heart rate and my calorie burn that I was kickin' it. And since I was riding mostly on flatness, there was no coasting, although I did have to stop and pee a few times, but I made it quick, because I was so into getting it done today.
While I was in there, I saw: buffalo, horses, egrets, herons, robins, cardinals, a red-tailed hawk and at least 10 other cyclists, all of whom had on way more clothes than me. All of them were happy to smile and wave at me, as I did to them, except for one woman. She looked a little surly on her tri bike (perhaps she was looking down at my silly clip-ons on a road bike which I was barely even using) as if she was the only one "working." WTF??? I can always at least lift my left hand off of wherever it is to give some sort of acknowledgment.
As I was leaving Fermilab, I thought to myself that I have come a long way, when I really have no problem looping around to get my "work intervals" done. There are other places I can ride, but I like being surrounded by science in a safe-riding haven even though I suppose I am picking up some spare electrons or something. I always feel pretty good when I'm in there!
But, as is always the case, all good things come to an end. So I left the place with one more nasty interval to go. And this one would include a few short hills. The deal was NO shifting into the small chainring even for those. I had to grind it a little bit, but no worries, it was only 20'. Most of it was on a north-south road, so I avoided the stiff easterly winds. But then I turned to ride home. Total headwind! Which was great, since I was not allowed to lollygag on the tail end of the ride.
About this time, my right foot started to hurt a bit, which was funny because usually my rule is 5 hours riding or 80 miles before that happens. But I guess with all the wind and with all the effort I was pushing (I would REALLY like to have seen what my true watts were--oh well, next weekend I get the big surprise!), it happened a little sooner, at just 3:30 in. At this point, I knew I had a long ride back into the headwind, so I unclipped that foot and stretched it a bit, and kept going.
Stupid road bike doesn't have quite the aerodynamic position of my tri bike, but I made do. I got sick of riding in the hoods so I used the silly clip-on aerobars, which helped with the aerodynamics a little bit. I think I was gritting my teeth all the way back.
But wait--when I was about 5 miles from home (more or less), I got a special treat--2.5 miles of recently grooved road. I envisioned that I was riding the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix or something like that. It was actually better on the road bike than it would have been on the tri bike, but it still sort of sucked. But I was laughing, like how much more could this hurt? Here I'm kicking out HIM watts (most likely), I'm riding into a stiffy, I'm on fucking GROOVEMENT (that's what I call it, anyway), and joy of joys, now I get to ride up another hill! It just doesn't get any better than this! I was thinking that if I can remember shit like this during Ironman Brazil, the race should be a piece of cake. Note: training rides should ALWAYS be harder than the Ironman ride, if you are pacing properly, that is.
When the groovement ended, I was grateful (er...maybe I was grateful while I was on it). And it was then that I began thinking about my run to come. I have this bad habit of not holding myself back enough when I am supposed to, so I began a mantra, "GO OUT EASY, GO OUT EASY."
Since I'd be running from my house, I figured, what the hell, run east first, right into that headwind, to make it hurt even more, and at least I'd get some relief on the way back.
When I got home, I had to wash my face because I was such a mess of drool, Gatorade, salt, sweat, you name it. I put the running shoes on and assessed my legs. They felt worked. As they should have. OK, so now RUN, asshole.
And out I went. It did not feel good. My legs felt like lead weights. There were 2 young girls stretching as if they were going to run, and I felt obligated to tell them, "I really CAN run, but I just got off my bike after 4 1/2 hours," because I felt like I must've been running like a drunk person. Now, remember, right out my house I have to run up a 1/4 mile hill, so I really get to keep making it hurt. Then I turn left into the headwind.
The wind doesn't feel too bad on the run. I think it died down just a little. No wait. Now it's gusting, and picking up my feet and almost making me fall down. That's one of the fun things about being so lightweight. I literally get my feet picked up more than I'd like when they are already in the air. But it makes me laugh.
As always, I am battling the brick demons. I am just running as best I can. I'm not looking at the HRM, as it would be pointless. I'm just trying to get a decent cadence with tiny wittle steps (a la Elmer Fudd). I pull my hat down further over my eyes as the sun is bugging me and so is the wind. I get to the first mile. 8:42. What the fuck is that? I shouldn't be running that fast (remember, I am S-L-O-W). Especially after that hard ride. But really I don't feel all that bad. Just the usual this-fucking-sucks-it's-a-brick-run-why-the-fuck-do-I-do-this-shit bad. So I figure that since I'm into a headwind, and I will always run faster back towards home, what the hell let's do another 7 minutes out and then turn around.
No problem. It does suck just a teensy-weensy less with the little tailwind. I figure I must look like total crap, but then my head registers, "Hey, we don't really feel all that bad maybe we CAN keep a decent run pace up in an Ironman." I guess the more you do this shit that hurts you, the easier it feels. Thanks coach! My threshold for suckiness is much bigger now. I am thinking that few of my friends that I used to train with could keep up with the shit I do now. Or maybe they could. I alternate between feelings of invincibility and total suckitude. This is what keeps me training, I guess.
I start the last mile home, and all I can think is, "MAKE IT FUCKING STOP." No walking, no slowing down now, just run and get it done. In reality, I was also thinking how long could I keep going like this? And I know that with a little Coke or Ultra Violence, a long, long time (I didn't even use the old Ultra Violence today!!!). I was listening to some music on the radio, but seriously I didn't even hear it.
And I got home. 2300 calories later, you would think I ate my entire house, but I didn't. See yesterday I sort of crashed (verge of overtraining), and knew I had better seriously load up on carbs. So I bought a bunch of crap. 2 Butterfinger easter eggs. 3 Fannie Mae creme eggs. I made a high-fat salad of Boston lettuce (in honor of the marathon on Monday, of course), grape tomatoes, crab meat and Marie's Thousand Island dressing. I forgot the damn avocado! It's a good salad, but hey, it's salad--that's WHAT FOOD EATS! I ate all the candy, the salad, and then snacked on some Cheetos and Jordan almonds. I know, I know--not exactly the most nutricious choices, but I needed to REALLY CHEAT for once. And it was all good! I've been piling on the volume lately, and I didn't want to go into today's workout feeling like shit.
So I stretched some more, and I got my lunch down and now it's about time for dinner. I can't wait to ride tomorrow--3 hours sort of like what I did today, but no brick run (yippee-cay-ay). It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, so most likely I'll be on the trainer. Oh well, it's got to be done.
Happy Easter!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Running on "Tired" Legs
There are those who swear by the weekly training schedule for Ironman where you ride long on Saturday and run long on Sunday. The belief is that this mimics how your legs will feel running in the Ironman by running long the day after a long ride.
Thankfully, my coach (and another of my coach's before him) disagrees with this. Collectively, we believe that separating your long run from your longest ride by at least 48 hours allows you to put in a more quality long run. And I will now add this: BESIDES, DUMBASSES (sorry, but the closer I get to an Ironman the more foul my language becomes), WHEN YOU ARE IN YOUR IRONMAN BUILD YOUR LEGS ARE FUCKING TIRED MOST OF THE TIME ANYWAY.
Let me illustrate my point by recounting the previous 4 days of my training:
Sunday: 2:30 hour trainer ride with 1.75 hours of intense riding followed by :30 run ending at better than tempo pace
Monday: 1 hour intense strength session (including the 'ol legs) followed by 1 hour swim (thus effectively trashing my arms). Everything was tired when I woke up this day, and I ended the day tired and fatigued.
Tuesday: 1:35 ride with :50 of intense riding followed by :30 run ending at 5K pace. I was tired when I began the workout and tired when I finished, but I still had a great workout.
Wednesday: 1 hour swim, and :55 tempo run, where the tempo portion was done uphill into a 20MPH headwind in +70 degrees, just for fun. I was extremely slow in the water during my swim warmup, but then I was able to pick it up nicely (and I even identified and know how to correct a stroke flaw in the process), and the tempo run was great, including being pulled over by a cop for "jay-running" (that's another story in itself, but I shall not tell it)
So guess what? My legs are FUCKING TIRED. But I did my long run (2:00) this morning, and, in typical style, it was a progression from easy to mod-hard (tempo), with :15 steady to finish it off. During the winter, I was doing my long run on Sunday, the day after a typically 2:30 trainer ride with :30-:40 brick run, and generally didn't have any problems doing it. But lookie here, now I get to do it the day after a tempo run which was preceded by a heavy-duty brick day. See my point? My legs are FUCKING TIRED, and they are going to stay that way for the next 6 weeks on and off, and then I get to taper. That's just how it is at this point in Ironman training. But, my legs are FUCKING STRONG, too, so they come around quickly during a workout. Besides, a little bit of fatigue is expected about this time. No worries, I am sleeping and stretching like a champ!
Now that being said, would I rather do this run on Sunday preceded by a 4-5 hour hard ride with :45 run off the bike the day before? Hell no. Those rides trash me for the rest of that day, and while I believe I'm strong enough to do a long run the next day, I'd rather not. Why? Because despite me starting the day out a little tired today, I still got in a quality run. Many folks who do their long runs "old style" can only manage LSD pace during those Sunday runs. Knock wood, I can still manage back-to-back tempo flavored runs and then I'll be plenty recovered for this weekend's festival of riding.
Tomorrow I only have to swim, so my legs will FINALLY get the break they need to be ready to hit it hard this weekend. And then my running cycle will begin again on Monday.
The cool thing about doing your long run during the week is twofold: 1) it allows you to ride long on 2 consecutive days (I don't know many folks who can manage a 3+ hour ride on a weekday) and 2) it gives such a sense of satisfaction and relief to know that you don't have to run long on the weekend.
The downside is that you need to get up pretty early to get the run in and make it to work. And then it can be a struggle to stay alert for the entire day, but hey, you have a built-in excuse, right? Seriously, while I do feel tired and sleepy throughout the rest of the day, somehow I manage to do what needs to get done, and then I can settle in for a good night's rest of like 10 hours.
I did my run on the treadmill again today, because with just a little road-running, my right back/hip complex is acting up, so I figured I'd give things a break and run on the treadmill. Besides, I didn't get up early enough to haul my ass to my favorite trail run--for that I need to be up before 5AM. I'm game for that after Ironman Brazil, but if I do my long runs on the treadmill for now, I won't be any worse for the wear.
Thankfully, my coach (and another of my coach's before him) disagrees with this. Collectively, we believe that separating your long run from your longest ride by at least 48 hours allows you to put in a more quality long run. And I will now add this: BESIDES, DUMBASSES (sorry, but the closer I get to an Ironman the more foul my language becomes), WHEN YOU ARE IN YOUR IRONMAN BUILD YOUR LEGS ARE FUCKING TIRED MOST OF THE TIME ANYWAY.
Let me illustrate my point by recounting the previous 4 days of my training:
Sunday: 2:30 hour trainer ride with 1.75 hours of intense riding followed by :30 run ending at better than tempo pace
Monday: 1 hour intense strength session (including the 'ol legs) followed by 1 hour swim (thus effectively trashing my arms). Everything was tired when I woke up this day, and I ended the day tired and fatigued.
Tuesday: 1:35 ride with :50 of intense riding followed by :30 run ending at 5K pace. I was tired when I began the workout and tired when I finished, but I still had a great workout.
Wednesday: 1 hour swim, and :55 tempo run, where the tempo portion was done uphill into a 20MPH headwind in +70 degrees, just for fun. I was extremely slow in the water during my swim warmup, but then I was able to pick it up nicely (and I even identified and know how to correct a stroke flaw in the process), and the tempo run was great, including being pulled over by a cop for "jay-running" (that's another story in itself, but I shall not tell it)
So guess what? My legs are FUCKING TIRED. But I did my long run (2:00) this morning, and, in typical style, it was a progression from easy to mod-hard (tempo), with :15 steady to finish it off. During the winter, I was doing my long run on Sunday, the day after a typically 2:30 trainer ride with :30-:40 brick run, and generally didn't have any problems doing it. But lookie here, now I get to do it the day after a tempo run which was preceded by a heavy-duty brick day. See my point? My legs are FUCKING TIRED, and they are going to stay that way for the next 6 weeks on and off, and then I get to taper. That's just how it is at this point in Ironman training. But, my legs are FUCKING STRONG, too, so they come around quickly during a workout. Besides, a little bit of fatigue is expected about this time. No worries, I am sleeping and stretching like a champ!
Now that being said, would I rather do this run on Sunday preceded by a 4-5 hour hard ride with :45 run off the bike the day before? Hell no. Those rides trash me for the rest of that day, and while I believe I'm strong enough to do a long run the next day, I'd rather not. Why? Because despite me starting the day out a little tired today, I still got in a quality run. Many folks who do their long runs "old style" can only manage LSD pace during those Sunday runs. Knock wood, I can still manage back-to-back tempo flavored runs and then I'll be plenty recovered for this weekend's festival of riding.
Tomorrow I only have to swim, so my legs will FINALLY get the break they need to be ready to hit it hard this weekend. And then my running cycle will begin again on Monday.
The cool thing about doing your long run during the week is twofold: 1) it allows you to ride long on 2 consecutive days (I don't know many folks who can manage a 3+ hour ride on a weekday) and 2) it gives such a sense of satisfaction and relief to know that you don't have to run long on the weekend.
The downside is that you need to get up pretty early to get the run in and make it to work. And then it can be a struggle to stay alert for the entire day, but hey, you have a built-in excuse, right? Seriously, while I do feel tired and sleepy throughout the rest of the day, somehow I manage to do what needs to get done, and then I can settle in for a good night's rest of like 10 hours.
I did my run on the treadmill again today, because with just a little road-running, my right back/hip complex is acting up, so I figured I'd give things a break and run on the treadmill. Besides, I didn't get up early enough to haul my ass to my favorite trail run--for that I need to be up before 5AM. I'm game for that after Ironman Brazil, but if I do my long runs on the treadmill for now, I won't be any worse for the wear.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Another day, another brick workout
Now that I'm getting close to IM Brazil, coach has programmed in 2 brick workouts per week--one on Tuesday after my hard, quality ride, and one on Saturday, after the longest of my 2 weekend rides. So my running schedule looks like this:
Monday: Short, easy ride with Strides
Tuesday: Brick after quality ride
Wednesday: Tempo
Thursday: Long, ending in Tempo
Friday: None or short with strides
Saturday: Brick after quality longest ride
Sunday: None
So we are still getting in 5 runs per week, and the only one that I would consider "easy" is on Monday!
Yesterday was an alleged rest day, but you all know those are sort of against my religion. I knew I would go ahead with my strength workout (to avoid having to do any the same day as a tough brick workout), and I just felt like I needed another swim. So yesterday I lifted (HARD, I don't do anything easy it seems), and within 1/2 hour I went to the pool. I did a "force" workout which consists of lots of pulling (1800 yards worth yesterday). My legs were tired from the strength workout and from the previous week, so I figured pulling would be fine, but man, my arms were like rocks during the workout, but I managed to get through it with decent swim times. After my workday ended, then I spent 2 hours vigorously raking my back lawn, which included cleaning out the biggest of my perennial beds. To say I was tired and sore after all this is an understatement! I slept 10 big ones last night in celebration of my "rest day."
I felt rather tired and sluggish this morning, even with all the sleep I got. I stretched for 45' this morning, because I needed to work out the kinks from the raking, and it just felt like a good way to start my day. Today I had to ride my road bike again, since I won't get the Bitch back until Friday. I thought I had the Power Tap figured out, but after my second FT interval, I cleared the damn thing instead of starting a new interval (for this reason alone I would NOT buy one of these again--the same button combo if held quickly starts a new interval, but any longer and it clears all the data!). Oh well, I just rode as hard as I could during the 2 FT intervals. The winds were gusting to about 38MPH, but the temps were nice (about 72). I can tell I got a decent workout in based on the calories I burned as recorded by my HRM (thank God I have THAT thing dialed in). I'll do my formal FT test next Tuesday on the Bitch with the good old SRM. I am so used to it, and it's so easy to use, unlike the crazy Power Tap.
I didn't think I'd be running too well today off the bike, since I did a fairly serious brick workout on Sunday. But then again, the week before, I did a LOT of serious brick work, didn't I? Still, I keep thinking I'm going to have a "bad" run, but it just hasn't happened since when I was sick. So I take off from my house. There's a 1/4 mile uphill right out my door. Not real steep, but you know you are going up. My stomach felt like the typical, "Can I PLEASE puke right now?" and my legs felt slow and, well, just WRONG. I don't pay attention to my HRM much anymore when I start my outdoor runs, especially a brick run. I just tried to run as best I could, and not give in to the typical thoughts of "Can we PLEASE stop this feels like complete and utter CRAP." But I remembered my mantra that EVERY WORKOUT COUNTS, so there was no sense letting the brick demons take control.
I hit Mile 1 and now I looked at my watch. I was expecting maybe 9:30, since I was supposed to go out "easy." Nope. 8:37. WTF??? (Note to Brett: I bet we were running faster than we thought in SC, he he.) I mean I can't tell you how "not good" I felt and I guess it just doesn't make a difference. So I keep going until I hit 15' where I can turn around, stop briefly to drink some Gatorade (which is probably all over my face at this point since I biked about 1:30), and then head back home. I negative split the turn around to the last mile, and then it was 1 mile to go. I didn't really try to push it that much, but lately, it just seems that the faster I go, the faster the crappy-ass feeling stops, so there is no point in prolonging the matter (note: this is NOT true in an Ironman race--the ultimate in brick workouts. These "short" brick workouts are nothing compared to a 1/2 or full Ironman run. However, I do think I will have the same attitude that if I slow down too much it will just make the crappiness last longer, so I will avoid slowing down as much as I can. I tell you, it can take YEARS to get to that point.). When I'm running that route and it's not a brick run, lots of times I just pick it up a little and manage anywhere from 7:50 to 8:05 on that last mile (which is sub-5K pace for me, see I AM slow!), so today I'd have been happy with 8:30 or more, I really didn't care. Oh well, 8:16 (on Sunday I did it in 7:57). So despite several big training weeks, more bricks than I care to remember, I'm not really losing much speed, am I?
It seems that my legs are on autopilot now whenever I run, and that I have become much better at just ignoring whatever else feels bad that day and getting to the business of running. Does that mean I've become a runner? This is my 9th year of running, so I suppose it's about time! I mean, I actually enjoy running now. I think a lot of it has to do with being very lightweight. I hate to tell those of you out there, even though I feel compelled, but any excess weight just makes running suck. Who wants their thighs rubbing, their tummies bouncing, or feeling the impact of excess weight every time your foot hits the ground? It feels much better to be floating, and to not feel so much gravity whenever I climb a hill. This great feeling now has me paranoid of putting on any weight, but it's not stopping me from eating like a horse. Just ask Shelley how much I can pack in. I swear I have been eating so much, and I think I'm down another pound. I truly believe that once you achieve leanness to the point of only carrying essential fat (which is about where I am), that as long as you are doing some exercise, your body just behaves like a furnace. In fact, I bought a bag of Cheetos at the grocery store. I still haven't begun devouring pasta (another thing that I know keeps me lean: I eat TONS of brown rice, but just don't often crave the pasta anymore--usually by this time in the year I am all over it), but I think I will need to eat some this weekend since I have big long rides. I suppose I should keep a food log to prove how many calories I'm eating (probably less than I think), but I have my hands full just doing my workouts, stretching, sleeping, grocery shopping, and trying to stay ahead of the bottles and laundry. And visit my mom at least once a week in the hospital.
Well, enough of all that. Bonus, I am browning up. I can't wait to see how I look with my 2006 physique and a nice suntan! If nothing else, I plan on looking great in Brazil, including, yes, I will be sporting a thong on the beach. I think I'm worthy.
Monday: Short, easy ride with Strides
Tuesday: Brick after quality ride
Wednesday: Tempo
Thursday: Long, ending in Tempo
Friday: None or short with strides
Saturday: Brick after quality longest ride
Sunday: None
So we are still getting in 5 runs per week, and the only one that I would consider "easy" is on Monday!
Yesterday was an alleged rest day, but you all know those are sort of against my religion. I knew I would go ahead with my strength workout (to avoid having to do any the same day as a tough brick workout), and I just felt like I needed another swim. So yesterday I lifted (HARD, I don't do anything easy it seems), and within 1/2 hour I went to the pool. I did a "force" workout which consists of lots of pulling (1800 yards worth yesterday). My legs were tired from the strength workout and from the previous week, so I figured pulling would be fine, but man, my arms were like rocks during the workout, but I managed to get through it with decent swim times. After my workday ended, then I spent 2 hours vigorously raking my back lawn, which included cleaning out the biggest of my perennial beds. To say I was tired and sore after all this is an understatement! I slept 10 big ones last night in celebration of my "rest day."
I felt rather tired and sluggish this morning, even with all the sleep I got. I stretched for 45' this morning, because I needed to work out the kinks from the raking, and it just felt like a good way to start my day. Today I had to ride my road bike again, since I won't get the Bitch back until Friday. I thought I had the Power Tap figured out, but after my second FT interval, I cleared the damn thing instead of starting a new interval (for this reason alone I would NOT buy one of these again--the same button combo if held quickly starts a new interval, but any longer and it clears all the data!). Oh well, I just rode as hard as I could during the 2 FT intervals. The winds were gusting to about 38MPH, but the temps were nice (about 72). I can tell I got a decent workout in based on the calories I burned as recorded by my HRM (thank God I have THAT thing dialed in). I'll do my formal FT test next Tuesday on the Bitch with the good old SRM. I am so used to it, and it's so easy to use, unlike the crazy Power Tap.
I didn't think I'd be running too well today off the bike, since I did a fairly serious brick workout on Sunday. But then again, the week before, I did a LOT of serious brick work, didn't I? Still, I keep thinking I'm going to have a "bad" run, but it just hasn't happened since when I was sick. So I take off from my house. There's a 1/4 mile uphill right out my door. Not real steep, but you know you are going up. My stomach felt like the typical, "Can I PLEASE puke right now?" and my legs felt slow and, well, just WRONG. I don't pay attention to my HRM much anymore when I start my outdoor runs, especially a brick run. I just tried to run as best I could, and not give in to the typical thoughts of "Can we PLEASE stop this feels like complete and utter CRAP." But I remembered my mantra that EVERY WORKOUT COUNTS, so there was no sense letting the brick demons take control.
I hit Mile 1 and now I looked at my watch. I was expecting maybe 9:30, since I was supposed to go out "easy." Nope. 8:37. WTF??? (Note to Brett: I bet we were running faster than we thought in SC, he he.) I mean I can't tell you how "not good" I felt and I guess it just doesn't make a difference. So I keep going until I hit 15' where I can turn around, stop briefly to drink some Gatorade (which is probably all over my face at this point since I biked about 1:30), and then head back home. I negative split the turn around to the last mile, and then it was 1 mile to go. I didn't really try to push it that much, but lately, it just seems that the faster I go, the faster the crappy-ass feeling stops, so there is no point in prolonging the matter (note: this is NOT true in an Ironman race--the ultimate in brick workouts. These "short" brick workouts are nothing compared to a 1/2 or full Ironman run. However, I do think I will have the same attitude that if I slow down too much it will just make the crappiness last longer, so I will avoid slowing down as much as I can. I tell you, it can take YEARS to get to that point.). When I'm running that route and it's not a brick run, lots of times I just pick it up a little and manage anywhere from 7:50 to 8:05 on that last mile (which is sub-5K pace for me, see I AM slow!), so today I'd have been happy with 8:30 or more, I really didn't care. Oh well, 8:16 (on Sunday I did it in 7:57). So despite several big training weeks, more bricks than I care to remember, I'm not really losing much speed, am I?
It seems that my legs are on autopilot now whenever I run, and that I have become much better at just ignoring whatever else feels bad that day and getting to the business of running. Does that mean I've become a runner? This is my 9th year of running, so I suppose it's about time! I mean, I actually enjoy running now. I think a lot of it has to do with being very lightweight. I hate to tell those of you out there, even though I feel compelled, but any excess weight just makes running suck. Who wants their thighs rubbing, their tummies bouncing, or feeling the impact of excess weight every time your foot hits the ground? It feels much better to be floating, and to not feel so much gravity whenever I climb a hill. This great feeling now has me paranoid of putting on any weight, but it's not stopping me from eating like a horse. Just ask Shelley how much I can pack in. I swear I have been eating so much, and I think I'm down another pound. I truly believe that once you achieve leanness to the point of only carrying essential fat (which is about where I am), that as long as you are doing some exercise, your body just behaves like a furnace. In fact, I bought a bag of Cheetos at the grocery store. I still haven't begun devouring pasta (another thing that I know keeps me lean: I eat TONS of brown rice, but just don't often crave the pasta anymore--usually by this time in the year I am all over it), but I think I will need to eat some this weekend since I have big long rides. I suppose I should keep a food log to prove how many calories I'm eating (probably less than I think), but I have my hands full just doing my workouts, stretching, sleeping, grocery shopping, and trying to stay ahead of the bottles and laundry. And visit my mom at least once a week in the hospital.
Well, enough of all that. Bonus, I am browning up. I can't wait to see how I look with my 2006 physique and a nice suntan! If nothing else, I plan on looking great in Brazil, including, yes, I will be sporting a thong on the beach. I think I'm worthy.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Weekly Workout Totals 04/03/2006-04/09/2006
Weekly Totals 04/03/2006-04/09/2006
Swim: 11100 yards in 3.92 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1371 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 70 miles in 4 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1881 calories burned
Run: Approx. 37.91 miles in 5.89 hours; 38% of weekly workout time; approx. 3189 calories burned
Strength: 1.5 hours; 10% of weekly workout time; approx. 375 calories burned
All Sports: 15.31 hours; approx. 6816 calories burned
Sleep: 8.43 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.27 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-04/09/2006
Swim: 248050 yards in 87.8 hours
Bike: Approx. 2243.86 miles in 129.24 hours
Run: Approx. 873.02 miles in 137.57 hours
Strength: 46 hours
All Sports: 400.61 hours; approx. 179006 calories burned
Stretching: 41.21 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-04/09/2006
Swim: 8268 yards in 2.93 hours
Bike: Approx. 74.8 miles in 4.31 hours
Run: Approx. 29.1 miles in 4.59 hours
Strength: 1.53 hours
All Sports: 13.35 hours
Sleep: 8.44 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.06 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
Accomplishments This Week:
Goals for Next Week:
Swim: 11100 yards in 3.92 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1371 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 70 miles in 4 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1881 calories burned
Run: Approx. 37.91 miles in 5.89 hours; 38% of weekly workout time; approx. 3189 calories burned
Strength: 1.5 hours; 10% of weekly workout time; approx. 375 calories burned
All Sports: 15.31 hours; approx. 6816 calories burned
Sleep: 8.43 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.27 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-04/09/2006
Swim: 248050 yards in 87.8 hours
Bike: Approx. 2243.86 miles in 129.24 hours
Run: Approx. 873.02 miles in 137.57 hours
Strength: 46 hours
All Sports: 400.61 hours; approx. 179006 calories burned
Stretching: 41.21 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-04/09/2006
Swim: 8268 yards in 2.93 hours
Bike: Approx. 74.8 miles in 4.31 hours
Run: Approx. 29.1 miles in 4.59 hours
Strength: 1.53 hours
All Sports: 13.35 hours
Sleep: 8.44 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.06 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE.
- Stretch 15' per day. DONE.
- Recover, recover, recover! DONE.
Accomplishments This Week:
- Recovered strongly from training camp week. I had some lingering bike fatigue yesterday, but came around on the run.
- Two long runs!
- Another big running week. Stacked up against last week's 6 hours, I feel really good about my running. And all runs were strong. Yesterday, I ran at about my 5K pace off the bike.
- Got in a solid amount of strong swimming.
Goals for Next Week:
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
- Stretch 15' per day.
- Stay on top of calorie needs.
- Get my head in the game. Every workout counts.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Double my Running Pleasure
This morning I got to do my second long run for the week. Since I've been working with my coach for a few years and he knows I can tolerate it, during my Ironman build we schedule what are known as "bike weeks," "run weeks," and "race rehearsal weeks." A bike week is a week where the focus is on biking volume, and running takes a back seat, although there will still be a long run during the week. A typical bike week for me will include 10-12 hours of biking and 4-5 hours of running.
A run week is a week where the focus is on running volume, and biking takes a back seat. A run week will typically include 2 long runs of 1:40-2:00 in duration, but only 2 rides (1 quality/intervals, 1 quality/long).
A race rehearsal week (I've got one in 3 weeks) is where on Friday I do a full IM swim TT and a short run on Friday; on Saturday I ride 112 miles at race pacing (power, in my case) and run about :45 off the bike. Everything is as per race day as much as possible--nutrition, clothing, gear, etc. Sunday is a day off. So I'll probably bust out the disk wheel and look like a dork (but a very fit dork) riding west of home pounding out the miles.
Due to my state of hyperfitness (there, I said it. I believe I'm extremely fit right now) and sheer desire, last week turned out to be sort of bike and run focused. I'm happy with that--almost 12 hours of biking and slightly over 6 hours of running. That's a lot, I don't care who you are. But the running only included 1 long run. I guess last Saturday was sort of a second one as I ended up around 9 miles for the day, although it was split across 2 runs. I planned ahead with my coach for this week to be a run week, since I was able to fit one in on Monday.
Also as part of my scheduling for the week, coach left it to me to insert other runs depending on my recovery from last week. So yesterday I did a 1 hour tempo run, because I don't like going into a long run without running the day before for about 1/2 the time. Tomorrow I may do a 50' run with strides in there, and on Sunday I will probably run 30' off the bike. Adding in today's 1:45 run, that will give me 5.83 hours of running for the week. Not bad for back-to-back weeks of running volume! I already did a quality/interval ride this week, and Sunday is my second ride of the week. I hope to get outdoors on the road bike (the Griffen is in the shop and the SRM will be repaired and back on by next Friday) and pound out 3-4 hours of quality riding.
Back to today's long run. It was dribbling this morning, so I opted for the treadmill. I headed to the gym with my last cup of coffee (why waste good Kona coffee, I always say), 32 oz. of Voodoo Mix (1/2 Ultra Violence and 1/2 Gatorade), and a spare 12-oz. bottle of Gatorade in case I needed it. I went heavy on the caffeine because it's tough to put in a full work day after a long run first thing in the morning. I'll still want to lay down later (and I will) for about 30 min., but I need to be semi-alert for most of the day!
The plan for today's run was 25' Easy, 30' Steady, 15' Upper-Steady, 20' Mod-Hard (tempo) and 15' Steady, for a total of 1:45. Actually I had the option to split the Mod-Hard effort into 2x10' with 3' rest, but typically I just say fuck it and do a straight 20' continuously. I wasn't really sure if I could manage the increasing intensity, as my legs felt a little tired and sore from yesterday's tempo run on the heels of Wednesday's crazy bike workout (OK, it wasn't really crazy, but that effort level after what I did last week through Monday made it a little crazy). But I figured that accompanied by my friends Kona coffee and Voodoo mix, I should be able to knock most of it out. It helped that I stretched for 20' before I went to the gym.
During the 25' of Easy, I finished my Kona coffee. YUM!!! The only down side was that it being still hot, it made me kick off even more sweat, but hey, that's a price I'm willing to pay. The Easy stuff felt way easy, and my heart rate reflected it, although I had the HR display covered up on the treadmill. But I looked after I finished that section of the run.
The Steady effort felt better. I am at the point where when I run Easy, it is almost hard to do. I just don't feel right. But that's good, because when you are at that pace in an Ironman, it doesn't feel so easy, and so I do it just because a warmup is important, and also holding my effort back for certain sections of my runs so I don't become injured or overtrained.
At the end of the Steady section, I was sweating real good, and it was flying off me. A pilot I know came up to me and said he'd get me some more sweat towels. Thank God he did! I was getting soaked to the bone, and whenever I'd stop to drink, of course the sweat would just be rolling off of me. But I'm a girl, so I guess I was "glistening." Ha ha. I think I look pretty hardcore most of the time. I was only wearing my usual skimpy bra top and fairly skimpy shorts. I get so hot running, and I always say that when I don't look good in that kind of outfit anymore I will stop dressing that way.
Upper-Steady felt even better, and it made me sweat even more. A brave man mounted the treadmill next to me and I could tell he was curious as to my effort level (he got on just before I finished the first hour and had to reset the machine to keep going), especially with the amount I was sweating. I could tell as others walked by me that they were observing my copious sweat output. A few times I was convinced a few guys watched some drops run right down the center of my abs--hmmm....I wonder why they'd be looking???
Since I was feeling good, I knew I had the rest of the advertised workout in the bag, so I started the tempo interval. Everything went just great, and I was sweating even more, but at this point it really didn't matter, I was feeling good and smiling thinking about last week and the fact that this was my second long run of the week and it's Friday and I'm looking forward to a relatively easy training weekend (although I'm doing my income taxes tomorrow, yuk).
It was nice to go back to Steady level for the last 15' of the workout, and I could tell my legs needed a break. When I headed to the locker room, I could feel how wet my clothes were. When I took off my top, it weighed a ton and was gross, so I went to the sink to wring it out. I kid you not, like 8 oz. of sweat came out of it--maybe more! One of the women who works there commented on what I was doing, and she admonished me to drink a lot (duh). Luckily, on the way out of the gym, they had bagel pieces for some promotion thing, and I took one, although part of me wanted to eat the entire tray!
It's this sort of training that gives me a sense of accomplishment and reconfirms my enjoyment of the process of training. That is very important to me, since if the only focus is racing, it's easy to be disappointed.
I am going to sleep well tonight!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Bitchin' Swim Workout This Morning
Here's the workout. Luckily, I didn't read the whole thing before I started!
WU: 200 swim, 200 pull, 200 kick, 4 x 50 (10") Swim Golf
MS: 6 x 200. Descend 1-3 with 20" rest after each. 4-6 are negative split with 30" rest and faster than #3.
100 easy swim.
5 x 100 (10"), descend 1-5.
100 Easy
6 x 50 (10"), descend 1-3, 4-6
100 Easy
4 x 25 sprint with 30 secs rest
CD: 100 easy swim
Total: 3300 yards
The great thing was that as the workout progressed, I got faster each "set," even though I was tired this morning. Since I got home so late on Monday night, I went to sleep late, and I repeated the same pattern Tuesday night. Yesterday, though, I began my bike workout late in the day because I had to finish putting the bike together and messing around with the SRM (which may need to go in for repairs, CRAP!). Here's what that workout was (also quite bitchin'):
WU: 15' warmup, 3 x SpinUps. Then 3 x 2' (1') Zone 3
MS: FT repeats. 2 x 10' (4'), 1x15' (6')@FT watts, then 4' @ 105%, 5'@ 80-85%.
CD: 5' Easy spinning.
Total Time: 1:30
I managed 185 watts for that last 4' festival, and I was grinning from ear to ear when it was over. I finished my bike workout about 7PM, felt great afterwards, jabbered with my mom for about 1/2 hour, ate dinner, and then I got pretty tired and put myself to bed at 9:30PM. I had set the coffee pot for 5:30AM so that I can get myself adjusted to this time zone and the time change. When I heard the coffee pot kick off this morning, I was not really ready to wake up, but I have to get used to it again (we sort of slept in while in South Carolina), and there are going to be some very early wake-up calls on the weekends coming up where I'm doing 2 long rides back-to-back. Anyway, I am going to do a tempo run later in the day, and combined with the intensity of this morning's swim workout, I think I'll be plenty ready to go to sleep around 8:30, which is when I should be going to sleep. Sleep is critical to my recovery, and my training is going to kick up a few notches next week (oh yeah I guess last week was something, huh?), so I need to continue my good habits which means getting my ass in bed.
I had a disturbing dream last night, too. I was in some sort of chair, and was rotated over some boiling cauldron of lava--first where the heat would be mostly at my back until I couldn't stand it, then they (not sure who "they" were in the dream) would rotate me so the heat would be on my legs. I remember feeling the intense heat in the dream and thinking I wasn't going to make it through this or the floor would collapse and I would be flung into the lava. I managed to survive a few bouts of exposure to the heat, and then my mom entered the dream, and she was talking about all the treatments and needles and drugs that she's dealing with. In the dream, I instantly sensed that no amount of exposure to lava heat could be as bad as what she is dealing with. And then I woke up.
So this morning, even though I was tired and the swim workout was hard, I kept thinking that this is NOTHING compared to what my mom is going through. And I was able to keep pushing during the workout, and was able to complete the whole thing virtually descending the entire way.
So remember, when you are out there training and feeling sorry for yourself that what you are doing is hard, remember, like I often do, that this stuff is NOTHING compared to the REAL SUFFERING that some people must endure. And we do this stuff voluntarily! So to me, as long as it's by choice, then it's not suffering. EVER. When I'm working hard during a workout or race, it's just that--I'm working HARD. I am not suffering, as long as I am not injured or puking my guts out. I am not suffering just because I am tired. I am not suffering just because the weather is not to my liking. I am not suffering as long as I am executing my race plan and it appears to be working. I am not suffering just because I can feel the lactic acid building up in my arms or legs. I am not suffering just because I can feel my hip flexors screaming, "MAMA!" I am not suffering!
I read on another blog an opinion stating that no athletes ever think they are training enough for an Ironman race. Well, NOT ME! I am confident in my coach, in my training program, in my ability to execute the training program, and feel everything is at a level that suits me well. How that will translate on race day we shall see, but no matter how I do, I will not say that I didn't train enough or well enough. I'm doing it. Daily. I'm 100% committed. And now is when the rubber starts to meet the road. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
New Challenge Ride Added in Midwest
http://www.dairylanddare.com/
Of course, you KNOW I just HAVE TO DO THE 300K. Why? Because it will be fucking hard. The weekend before I plan on riding 11-12 hours on the IMWI course, which should prepare me well for the 300K, and 2 weeks after the 300K I'll be doing another 200K ride, but that one is mostly flat.
Talk about getting strong as an ox on the bike!
Anyone else up for the dare?
I sort of told my coach of these "plans." This is right in line with his (my adopted) philosophy of "pick cool shit to do and then structure training around it."
This is how I have fun. It's the Crackhead way.
Of course, you KNOW I just HAVE TO DO THE 300K. Why? Because it will be fucking hard. The weekend before I plan on riding 11-12 hours on the IMWI course, which should prepare me well for the 300K, and 2 weeks after the 300K I'll be doing another 200K ride, but that one is mostly flat.
Talk about getting strong as an ox on the bike!
Anyone else up for the dare?
I sort of told my coach of these "plans." This is right in line with his (my adopted) philosophy of "pick cool shit to do and then structure training around it."
This is how I have fun. It's the Crackhead way.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Weekly Workout Totals: 3/27/2006-4/2/2006 and Great Training Week
Thanks to some great weather in South Carolina and great hosts, Regina and Forrest Fowler, I got in a solid 22 hour week last week, and I got through it feeling just fine.
Shelley and I headed down to Travelers Rest, SC, to stay and train with Regina and Forrest. Shelley knew them from a previous trip; I had met Forrest 2 years ago at Ironman Canada. The plan was to bike, bike, bike, do some running and some recovery swimming.
As you may recall, I have not been seriously outdoors on my bike since last October, so I looked forward to some serious riding time and seeing how my bike strength was. Unfortunately, I had some glitches with the SRM, so I didn't ride with power, but hey, I JFR'ed, and it was great.
I arrived in SC on Thursday afternoon. Shelley McKee also came in from Canada. For some reason, there was some confusion with our names and home areas. I was accused of being Canadian several times, but no matter! Around 4:30PM I got in a nice run with Forrest, and then we had a nice swim at Furman University, where Regina works as a nurse.
On Friday morning, Forrest and I took off for a run from his house. The weather was beautiful, and we ended the run with some striders in a pasture. Then a bunch of us went riding up into the mountains, heading to Saluda and back. I really do enjoy climbing, and it sure was interesting doing it not having ridden outdoors in months.
On Saturday morning, I figured I'd run before the bike, since we were waiting on Brett to arrive from Raleigh. I went out by myself and found a nice route that wasn't too scary (scary as in number of loose dogs, assorted vermin and rednecks). There are rollers right out Forrest's door, and it seemed my legs were beginning to get used to them. Also, it is interesting that I really haven't run outdoors much since the Goofy Challenge, but the hills didn't bother me too much. Once all the parties arrived (there was me, Shelley, Brett, Forrest, Regina, Christina, Lee, Rose, Susan), we took off and again rode to Saluda, but Forrest took me and Brett the "back" way up Saluda Grade. First we got to enjoy a nice, curvy downhill, but I knew that meant some serious climbing, which we did, and it was great. Hard-ish, but great. We met up with the rest of the gang in Saluda and did the remainder of the same ride we did on Friday. Afterwards, Brett was supposed to do a brick run, and he had convinced me while riding to go with him. I mean, how can I say no to someone I'm coaching and just met in person? So we ran the same route I did in the morning, and we nailed it in about the same time plus or minus 10 seconds, which was awesome! Brett rode really well (even Forrest, one of the strongest riders, commented on that), and he ran well with me, too. Brett's going to have a fantastic first 1/2 Ironman race in about a month. Me--I got in like 9 miles of running and 3:45 of riding in Saturday!
On Sunday, it was just girls riding--Shelley, me, Rose and Susan. Forrest had to go back to work in Florida, and Regina didn't need to ride again. The girls went after rollers rather than mountains, and we had a great day to ride in. Shelley got a flat on the road next to Table Rock, but we pressed on and got in about 4:40 of riding. There were several breakaways during the ride (that Shelley does like to hammer!). Of course, I ran off the bike (I was supposed to run before, but didn't have time because I wanted my sleep), and felt pretty good doing it, too, so I got in about :35. I got my bike apart and then we headed to the pool (the first photo is Shelley and me in our matching skeleton suits), and I got in 2,000 yards. So Sunday was a big day. A big group of us went to have sushi for dinner, and nobody could believe how much food I ordered for myself. Well, I ate it all (second photo above; plus I had miso soup, a bowl of seaweed salad, a bunch of edamame (soy beans) and 2 large beers), and my bill was $68.44. Just for me! And then we went to a coffee shop and had dessert. I had carrot cake. What the heck, I hadn't eaten lunch, so I knew I needed to pack it in.
Yesterday it was raining in the morning, and I needed to do a long run, so we went to Furman University again. I got in a 1:45 run on the treadmill. During the last :25, I was admonished by Dr. Scott Murr (someone the Fowler's know--he runs the FIRST run training program which I read about and it's great--look here) that there was a :30 limit, and I told him that I was watching to see if there were people waiting, and there weren't. For shits and grins, I mentioned I was from Chicago. You know--just to let him know that HE was not going to intimidate ME! After the run, I jumped in the pool for a quick 1500 pull, and then had lunch with Regina and Shelley, and off to the airport.
My plane was delayed about 2.5 hours, so I didn't get home until about 10:30PM last night. Oh well, I slept like a baby and tallied everything up for the week:
Swim: 8,400 yards in 2.9 hours (not as much as I wanted to do, but enough); 13% of weekly workout time
Bike: 11.87 hours (not sure of mileage, but it really doesn't matter especially with all the climbing); 54% of weekly workout time
Run: 6.02 hours (about 38 miles); 27% of weekly workout time
Strength: 1.23 hours (missed out on my second core workout, oh well); 6% of weekly workout time Total: 22.02 hours
Approx. Calories Burned by Exercise: 9,775
Average Sleep: 8.82 hours/night
Stretching: 2.4 hours
Goals from Last Week:
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE.
- Stretch 15' per day. DONE.
- Monitor training stress to make it through the heavy week. DONE.
Accomplishments This Week:
- Hit highest weekly training hours so far this season.
- I ran 7 days in a row--from last Tuesday through yesterday, in the midst of all the biking. My running legs feel fairly strong at this point.
- Got my legs, butt, aero position and everything else used to some solid time on the bike.
Goals for Next Week:
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
- Stretch 15' per day.
- Recover, recover, recover!
Today is a rest day, but I think I'm going to swim and lift weights, and I have a massage this evening.
HUGE thanks to Forrest and Regina for hosting me and what a great way for me to kick off the final build to Ironman Brazil!
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Weekly Training Totals (3 weeks' worth): 3/6/2006-3/26/2006
It's been an interesting past 3 weeks. I got sick, I didn't start my only triathlon prior to Ironman Brazil, my mom was hospitalized and found to have cancer (she's doing much better now--walking and going potty on her own!), my job changed like 3 times (more of that to come, no doubt), I puked my guts out one night (no relation to the URI) and I almost swallowed a live spider.
Out of all those things you probably want to know about the spider. Well, last night, just before I was going to go to sleep, I went into the bathroom to have another glass of water. There was already water in the glass, and I like mine room temperature, so I put glass to mouth and was about to swallow the first swig when I felt something sort of hairy in my mouth. I spit the water out into the sink and saw Mr. Spider (still very much alive) struggling to escape the water. So sorry--I don't normally kill every house spider--only the dark colored ones that I assume are likely to bite me--but this guy, a pale house spider, hey, he had to go down the drain. I laughed that I had almost swallowed him whole and wriggling. Truthfully, it wouldn't have bothered me. I didn't jump in alarm or anything. I rinsed out the glass and refilled it with water and had a nice pull on it, of course, after I checked it once more for spiders!
I guess you could say the stress was piling on me the last 3 weeks. I know it has because my stomach has been acting up. Either that or my body is telling me it wants to be at a lighter weight. If I recall correctly, every time I've managed to bust through another bodyfat percentage plateau, it was announced by my body rejecting food, which is one sure-fire way to get me to eat less! So we shall see. The other thing that enters into the picture is that I changed my long run day from Sunday to Thursday this week, which must have messed me up a bit, and also this was my highest volume training week so far. With everything else going on, it's tough to isolate one single thing at work here; it's probably cumulative. Then there was the simultaneous joy and fear in looking at my training schedule for the next 5 weeks. I have to tell you, it's awe-inspiring, even to me. I have NEVER trained as hard as I am now starting to. Of course, I have never trained as hard as I have for the past 4 months, so I guess this is just a continuum. In summary, I wouldn't wish my last 3 weeks on anyone!
And I'm not sure I would wish my next 5 weeks on someone unless they are really and truly committed to the whole training gig--workouts, nutrition, sleep, stretching, strength training, stress reduction (I'm working on that one, you know), time management. I am sure my blogging will decrease as I will be just too fucking tired to sit here and write. Actually, I'm pretty fucking tired right now. I need to go pack my bike in preparation for next week's training camp.
So, herewith are my last 3 weeks. Read it and weep!
3/20/2006-3/26/2006
Swim: 9,550 yards in 3.43 hours; 21% of weekly workout time
Bike: 6.5 hours; approx. 114 miles; 40% of weekly workout time
Run: 4.68 hours; approx. 30 miles; 29% of weekly workout time
Strength: 1.58 hours; 10% of weekly workout time
Total Hours: 16.19 (MOST SO FAR THIS TRAINING SEASON)
Approx. Calories Burned by Exercise: 7,415
Average Sleep: 9.14 hours/night
Stretching: 3.38 hours (MOST EVER)
Goals from Last Week:
3/13/2006-3/19/2006
Swim: 4,400 yards in 1.52 hours; 13% of weekly workout time
Bike: 3.75 hours; approx. 66 miles; 33% of weekly workout time
Run: 4.58 hours; approx. 29 miles; 41% of weekly workout time
Strength: 1.45 hours; 13% of weekly workout time
Total Hours: 11.3
Approx. Calories Burned by Exercise: 5,524
Average Sleep: 9.39 hours/night
Stretching: 2.05 hours
Goals from Last Week:
3/6/2006-3/12/2006
Swim: 8,650 yards in 3.15 hours; 34% of weekly workout time
Bike: 1.42 hours; approx. 25 miles; 15% of weekly workout time
Run: 3.03 hours; approx. 20 miles; 34% of weekly workout time
Strength: 1.6 hours; 17% of weekly workout time
Total Hours: 9.2
Approx. Calories Burned by Exercise: 3,936
Average Sleep: 9.0 hours/night
Stretching: 2.35 hours
Goals from Last Week:
Out of all those things you probably want to know about the spider. Well, last night, just before I was going to go to sleep, I went into the bathroom to have another glass of water. There was already water in the glass, and I like mine room temperature, so I put glass to mouth and was about to swallow the first swig when I felt something sort of hairy in my mouth. I spit the water out into the sink and saw Mr. Spider (still very much alive) struggling to escape the water. So sorry--I don't normally kill every house spider--only the dark colored ones that I assume are likely to bite me--but this guy, a pale house spider, hey, he had to go down the drain. I laughed that I had almost swallowed him whole and wriggling. Truthfully, it wouldn't have bothered me. I didn't jump in alarm or anything. I rinsed out the glass and refilled it with water and had a nice pull on it, of course, after I checked it once more for spiders!
I guess you could say the stress was piling on me the last 3 weeks. I know it has because my stomach has been acting up. Either that or my body is telling me it wants to be at a lighter weight. If I recall correctly, every time I've managed to bust through another bodyfat percentage plateau, it was announced by my body rejecting food, which is one sure-fire way to get me to eat less! So we shall see. The other thing that enters into the picture is that I changed my long run day from Sunday to Thursday this week, which must have messed me up a bit, and also this was my highest volume training week so far. With everything else going on, it's tough to isolate one single thing at work here; it's probably cumulative. Then there was the simultaneous joy and fear in looking at my training schedule for the next 5 weeks. I have to tell you, it's awe-inspiring, even to me. I have NEVER trained as hard as I am now starting to. Of course, I have never trained as hard as I have for the past 4 months, so I guess this is just a continuum. In summary, I wouldn't wish my last 3 weeks on anyone!
And I'm not sure I would wish my next 5 weeks on someone unless they are really and truly committed to the whole training gig--workouts, nutrition, sleep, stretching, strength training, stress reduction (I'm working on that one, you know), time management. I am sure my blogging will decrease as I will be just too fucking tired to sit here and write. Actually, I'm pretty fucking tired right now. I need to go pack my bike in preparation for next week's training camp.
So, herewith are my last 3 weeks. Read it and weep!
3/20/2006-3/26/2006
Swim: 9,550 yards in 3.43 hours; 21% of weekly workout time
Bike: 6.5 hours; approx. 114 miles; 40% of weekly workout time
Run: 4.68 hours; approx. 30 miles; 29% of weekly workout time
Strength: 1.58 hours; 10% of weekly workout time
Total Hours: 16.19 (MOST SO FAR THIS TRAINING SEASON)
Approx. Calories Burned by Exercise: 7,415
Average Sleep: 9.14 hours/night
Stretching: 3.38 hours (MOST EVER)
Goals from Last Week:
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE.
- Stretch 15' per day. DONE.
- Continue to recover from illness and return to full-strength training. DONE.
- Met goals.
- Hit highest weekly training hours so far this season.
- Hit highest weekly stretching hours so far this season. I think I’m synching up my stretching with my volume/intensity automatically now. This is a good thing!
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
- Stretch 15' per day.
- Continue mental work to reduce stress.
- Use common sense during the training camp to monitor fatigue, etc. Although we have a schedule, I’m flexible. The goal is to get in some solid biking; everything else will be gravy.
3/13/2006-3/19/2006
Swim: 4,400 yards in 1.52 hours; 13% of weekly workout time
Bike: 3.75 hours; approx. 66 miles; 33% of weekly workout time
Run: 4.58 hours; approx. 29 miles; 41% of weekly workout time
Strength: 1.45 hours; 13% of weekly workout time
Total Hours: 11.3
Approx. Calories Burned by Exercise: 5,524
Average Sleep: 9.39 hours/night
Stretching: 2.05 hours
Goals from Last Week:
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE
- Stretch 15' per day. DONE
- Recover from illness and assess ability to race Ralph’s. More or less DONE. Mostly recovered from illness--nagging cough hung around, and decided on Monday to not race Ralph’s, as I wasn’t feeling like I’d be recovered enough by the weekend.
- Met goals.
- Listened to my body and continued resting Monday and Tuesday.
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
- Stretch 15' per day.
- Continue to recover from illness and return to full-strength training.
3/6/2006-3/12/2006
Swim: 8,650 yards in 3.15 hours; 34% of weekly workout time
Bike: 1.42 hours; approx. 25 miles; 15% of weekly workout time
Run: 3.03 hours; approx. 20 miles; 34% of weekly workout time
Strength: 1.6 hours; 17% of weekly workout time
Total Hours: 9.2
Approx. Calories Burned by Exercise: 3,936
Average Sleep: 9.0 hours/night
Stretching: 2.35 hours
Goals from Last Week:
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE
- Stretch 15' per day. DONE
- Hang tough. Well, I tried to, but despite my best efforts, I got sick on Friday, 3/10, and was unable to work out Saturday and Sunday.
- Met 2 out of 3 goals.
- Listened to my body and rested.
Goals for Next Week:
- Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
- Stretch 15' per day.
- Recover from illness and assess ability to race Ralph’s.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Today is a Great Day: GAME ON
It is always great when good things happen, isn't it? As much as life can suck sometimes, there are always beautiful people that do wonderful things that make every day worth it.The photo is care of Brett, who I clued in on a Dean Karnazes talk near where he works. I asked Brett to get anything signed by him for me, and look what he did! It's Brett's copy of Dean's book, so I guess I owe Brett my copy. It made me cry when I saw this picture just a few minutes ago. Brett is good people in my book, and I am fortunate to have made his acquaintance.
You can like Dean or think he's nuts. I can relate to the man. He is doing something he loves "just because." OK, so maybe he's making a little money off of it by writing books now, but hey, being part of society sort of requires you make some cash, and if you can do it in the course of pursuing a passion, even better. If his body can tolerate that much running, great for him. If mine could, I would do it, but I know it can't, so I will stick with triathlon for now. I love reading books written by ultrarunners because I can relate to the many of them who have found that special solace that they reach when running. I am happy that I can experience that solace while swimming and biking, too, and while I'm stretching, and even while I am writing this right now.
I did a 3,600 yard swim workout this morning. My 300 times were off, but the 100's, 50's and 25's were pretty good. Check out this workout:
WU: 200 swim, 200 pull, 200 kick, 4 x 50 (10") Swim Golf
MS: 5 x 300 (20") negative split. 100 easy swim.
5 x 100 (10"), descend 1-5. 100 Easy.
6 x 50 (10"), descend 1-3, 4-6. 100 Easy.
4 x 25 sprint with 30 secs rest
CD: 100 easy swim
My lungs were acting up a little bit--some phlegm coming up when I didn't want it--and my stomach was still not normal. Last night I woke up at 10:30 (I had gone to sleep at 8:15--guess I was a little tired from my 2nd long run in 4 days) and my stomach was hurting. I guess chile for dinner was not such a good idea after having had a big bowl of pasta with marinara sauce at lunch (to recover from my run), although I finished it around 7:00PM, so it was odd that I was having a reaction. When I experience stomach issues, it usually means I'm under stress. HELLOOOOOO.... Anyway, I got out of bed and took a swig of Pepto Bismol, thinking that would calm things down. I got back in bed and my stomach began doing flip-flops. I tried to ignore it, but after laying there for about 10 minutes, I figured I was going to puke, so I got up, and well, I did. I guess the Pepto accomplished something, huh? Turns out there wasn't much in my stomach, but whatever was there came out in spectacular projectile fashion. Shit happens! I drank a big glass of water and was able to get back to sleep. When I smelled the coffee this morning, I got out of bed to pee and think about getting up, but it felt like someone had twisted up my brain and stomach and was in there with a vise grip on me. So I went back to bed, put a pillow over my head (to block out the rising sun), and tried to sleep some more. I think I dozed off for maybe 10', but then I figured, hey let's get up.
Coffee tasted good and didn't seem to have any additional effect on my stomach, but I took it easy on eating anything. I had planned on swimming, and checked my email and saw my coach had posted me up some workouts. So I go look for today's stuff, and happy, happy, 3,600 yards, let's go, baby! Since I got out of bed late, I wouldn't be able to stretch first since I'd need to be in the pool as quickly as possible so I could get the workout in before they shut down the lap lanes for the Aquacise class. I briefly considered swimming at lunchtime, since Rich didn't schedule a run for me today (but I may still do one later if I feel like it), but figured it would be less crowded this morning, and hey, I'm awake, so I may as well get it done.
Back to that swim workout. Despite my stomach and phlegm issues, I had absolutely no endurance issues, and why would I? 2 mile swims just don't really phase me anymore. I like knowing that the Ironman swim is only 600 more yards than what I swam today, so my endurance is all set. I guess a few years of averaging 9,000-11,000 yards a week will do that to a person :). As I was swimming the pitiful 300's, I was trying to figure out why I was so slow. The water was nice and cool today. My last workout was 24 hours ago. But I guess my legs were still a bit tired, and kicking takes a lot of oxygen and my lungs felt slightly compromised, so oh well. I did the last 2 300's with the pull buoy and that confirmed my tired legs hypothesis. Whatever. Mostly I am happy that the workout didn't feel like some killer thing to me. Well, I DID swim 3,300 on Monday, so what's 300 more yards anyway?
You know you are close to an Ironman race when:
- your Friday swim workout is >3,500 yards. Hell, I even see one on my schedule that isn't a race rehearsal swim of 4,400 yards. Woo-hoo!
- there is a note on a long bike workout that says "OK to shorten this if you like."
- you become concerned that you aren't keeping up with your calorie intake needs
- you cry when someone emails you a picture of a book (thanks, Brett)
- you cry when someone mails you a picture of Natasha Badmann (thanks, Shelley)
- you pretty much will cry about anything. OK, so all this crying is a girl thing, guys. What do men do this close to an Ironman? I am curious.
- you decide it's time to stop raising your hand at work for "extra projects."
- you learn to keep your mouth shut when someone punches your buttons because you know you could go off like a firecracker
- you know that the remaining training is going to start to feel like work, but that's as it should be. Riding very focused for 4+ hours at a time is work. Swimming 3,500 yards+ is work. Running for 2+ hours is work. Keeping up with all your bottles and laundry is work.
It's that time, kids. Time to get down to Ironman training. What I've been doing so far has been "getting ready to do this training I am starting now." Here come double long rides on the weekends, plenty of running and swimming. I am so excited about this build phase, because this is the most fit I have ever been in my life. Now I just need to keep up the good work I've been doing in addition to the workouts--stretching, mental work, nutrition, sleep, avoiding any stress that I can. I am reminded of the beginning of the song, The Sound of Silence, when I get to this point:
Hello darkness, my old friend,
I’ve come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
After I finished swimming this morning, I saw a fit-looking woman getting ready for what I guessed was a spin class. So I struck up a conversation with her (I am naked at this point--as you all know I have no shame). I asked if she was heading to spin class, and she said yeah, that she had reserved her bike because the classes are so popular. I replied that I did my bike training on my own bike at home. She asked if I am a triathlete, commenting that she immediately figured I was at least a runner, probably a triathlete. I said yeah. She asked me what was my racing distance. I said Ironman. She said it figured from how lean and muscular I am. Then she said she bet it was hard for me to keep up with my calorie needs. I told her she is very wise! Turns out she has a Masters degree in exercise physiology. So we had a nice conversation. How nice to meet someone like that--I really hope I run into her again. Looks like a possibility now that I'll be doing 1:15-1:30 swim workouts on Fridays!
It snowed here last night, and won't be warm enough for me to get outside on my bike this weekend. But it's GAME ON now, and I've got work to do.
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