Did my 3rd hard run in 3 consecutive days this morning. 12 miles in 1:47. I am not sure but that might be a PR. I'm pretty sure if I had run another 1.3 miles it would have been a 1/2 mary PR.
I knew I had to run before work today, and I didn't really want to run on the treadmill. I woke up at about 5:05AM, had 2 cups of coffee and my usual breakfast bar (Powerbar Triple Threat), loaded up my hydration bottle with 32 oz. of grape Gatorade, and I was out the door at 6:10AM. I can't just wake up and go, as I like my coffee, and well, it gets things moving, so I like to have about 1 hour until I start exercising.
I stretched a little last night knowing I would be running early today, and I wondered how my legs would feel running hard for 3 days in a row. My legs felt fine when I woke up today--there was a little residual soreness in my adductors was all.
When I am doing my shorter runs, I just can't mentally get myself to run as slowly as I should during a warmup, but when I know I'm going long, I get myself in the right place to run a slower pace, and I can usually tell from the first mile how the run is going to go.
I would like to have had time to drive to my hilly trail place (Waterfall Glen) to run, but that meant I would have needed to be up even earlier, so I took my chances that I could bang out a 1:45 run on the roads. I used to do all my summer running right from home, but the roads beat up my legs after awhile, which is why I am OK with lots of treadmill running in late fall and throughout winter.
So I decided to just run out my door, along the same area I ran yesterday, knowing full well that I would get > 3 solid miles of hill running. Even though I was supposed to do a progressive run today ending in tempo, I knew that with the route I was running and given the hard work of the 2 previous days that it would be OK to run more or less a steady pace, given the terrain, and just ensure that I didn't slow down.
As I started, my feet were not too happy to be on asphalt again, but after they surrendered, they were fine. I had no residual soreness in my quads from the last few days of training, and I felt surprisingly peppy, considering I hadn't run this early in the day for weeks.
Mile 1 was 9:28. Perfect. If I averaged 9:30 today, that would be fine. I hung out around from 8:50-9:15 for most of the run, and I ran strongly up all the hills with no walking. Technically, I was supposed to run for 1:45, but as I approached 6 miles out I figured I may as well make it an even 12. The actual temperature was about 75, but the humidity was 85%, so I was soaked through and through, and much of the time I had a puddle of sweat hanging off my chin. Delightful!
As I turned around at Mile 6, I was in a great mood. Maybe it was that I hadn't run this route in so long, maybe it was because it was still early in the day and I was watching all these commuters waiting for their train while I was out running, which made me think how we all make choices in our lives to be able to do what we want to do. Been there, done that as far as the daily train commute to downtown Chicago. I had absolutely no excuse not to be happy today. I was feeling the effort in Miles 6 and 7, as they are on total concrete, and I just imagine my legs turning to hamburger, but then I know that I'll be back on the relatively softer asphalt in no time.
Mile 8 is flat for the first 1/2 mile and then the hills begin on the return trip. I suppose because of the humidity and because I had a belly full of coffee I wasn't drinking much of the Gatorade, and it wasn't that hot either, and as I got to the beginning of the hills, I just didn't even stop to drink and kept running. I saw at least 10 other runners this morning, but none of them were carrying any fluids, so I assumed they weren't running too far.
As I began to ascend the second half of Mile 8, there was a guy running the same direction who passed me up. He had this look on his face like he's such a stud or something, but no worries, I knew he wasn't running 12 miles today. He crested the first hill a little ahead of me, stopped, bent over like he was going to puke or something and I just kept running uphill. See I am tough and I just keep going.
I had to wait briefly at a stoplight after a good, steep 1/2 mile climb, and then I got a bit of a downhill for about .1 mile before the next climb started. As long as I kept looking down just at the 2 feet of road in front of me I really didn't notice the uphill grade too much, and my cadence was perfect, so I just kept going.
Up the next hill, and then I got another brief downhill in preparation for the 1 mile hill. The 1-mile hill, which is the stretch of road between Clarendon Hills Road and Cass Avenue is a killer no matter when you run it (provided you charge it), and it's especially heinous when it comes 9 miles into a 12 mile run. Yesterday I ran up the fucker in about 8:20. Today would not be so fast! But, I managed 9:22 up it, and I was pretty happy with that. I wanted to bail and walk several times, but told myself no, today I am tough and will not give in, even though this is not a race.
After that, it's mostly flat for the last 2 miles home, but I always slow down on the mile after the 1 mile hill because I am trying to recover. That was my slowest mile of the day, 9:43! Crap, that is slow! But it is what it is, and I figured I'd pick it up on the last mile, and I did.
So 12 miles in 1:47, and my average HR was only 119, which is like Zone 2 (out of 5), or pretty damn easy. Not bad, and this made me feel like I should go and run an open 1/2 mary just to see what I can do actually racing the damn thing. It's totally cool to see improvements to your running in the back end of a long training season. Every fall as I back off somewhat on the training hours, I am surprised to see my running speed improve a little more since the prior year, but then I keep thinking maybe this is it, maybe I'm done getting faster. But I'm seeing some nice improvements to my running right now, so it looks like fall/winter will be another opportunity to see more improvements as long as I stay injury-free. Triathlon running is all about biking smart and running tough. It's easy to ride a bike fast, but it's not easy to ride a bike fast and THEN run at a good clip, but I feel pretty good about both sports right now. And I STILL don't consider myself a runner :) But hey, if I can do better at Goofy Challenge in 2007, that is really all I am looking for in the short term. And oh yeah, kicking butt at Miami Man would be a nice touch, too.
Now if I can just get through that ride on Saturday, this will go down as one helluva training week!
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Another Fantastic Workout
But first, some pictures. That's me in the first photo, and my friend and 2007 Triple T teammate, Cindy in the second. Are we ripped or what? I am so motivated to train hard and improve with sheer hard work between now and next May, although I will take a small break after Miami Man in November.
Today I swam 2650 before I started work, and the swim went well. Then I did :30 of abs/core, and it was nice to do them again, since I skipped it last week. And the grand finale was another run workout with 5K intervals. I don't think I've talked about these, but I've been doing them for 5 weeks now, since I officially declared no more Ironman races in 2006. But my intention is to keep solid 1/2 Ironman fitness all around, and in actuality, I think I could reel off a decent Ironman if I really wanted to. But for right now, it's a lot more fun to become a bike monster (and I really think I'm on my way), and what the hell, perk up my running. I saw nice improvements in my running from last winter's run focus and Goofy Challenge, and I have a golden opportunity to build on that now when I am running a little less, but with a little more speed for a few months. Probably in mid-September I will pick up the run volume more, to be better prepared for Miami Man, and then do a build for Goofy Challenge '07.
Anyway, here's the workout:
WU: 10' Easy, 6 x Strides, 5' Steady with excellent form MS: 6', 8', 8', 6', 4' @ 5k pace with 1' Steady between each. CD; 10' Steady
This is week 5 of a number of variations on this theme. The first time I got the workout, the main set was 2/4/6/8/6/4/2, and I about died doing it. The next week (4 days before Racine 1/2 Ironman), the intervals were 4/6/10/6/4, and I was running 8:15-8:20 on the intervals. The following week was 4/6/10/6/4 again, and I smartly did the workout at a flat area, but it was 95 outside, and I wasn't too sure of my pace, but it probably was more like 8:25-8:30. Last week was 4/6/10/6/4 again, only I did it on an indoor track (BLESSED COOLNESS), and presto, I was running 8:00/mile!
For today's variation, it was "only" 80 outside, and I felt like I could handle doing the workout on my rolling hill route from home. I know where the mile marks are and I am also pretty familiar with 1/4 and 1/2 mile marks, so I should be able to calculate my approximate pace. I was pretty happy that I nailed 8:00/mile outside in the hills today! I am not saying it wasn't tough--there is this one mile that is just rollers going up and it sucks and it's part of a 5- and 10-mile race here every May (that I have never done but should sometime) that racers who do it absolutely hate because it is pretty damn hard. Well I did that entire mile in maybe 8:20, which included my 8' at 5K pace, and that was my slowest interval.
Not bad considering the workout I did yesterday and that it was my third workout of the day. I think eating pasta last night helped, and I am doing it again tonight since I need to run 1:45 in the morning tomorrow.
This is one workout where I am not smiling so much when I am doing the 5K intervals, but I sure smile when I'm finished! I love the intensity level that I am able to train at now, and each new challenge my coach throws at me is exciting, especially since I track my workouts so carefully and can see my progress in just a few weeks' time.
Maybe, just maybe, there's a sub-8:00/mile pace in me for a 5K in 2007. Wouldn't that just be the shits? Whatever, as long as I keep seeing improvements, I'm one happy camper.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
What a Difference 20 Degrees Makes!
....and I suppose a lot of biking lately.
Today I did a brick workout, and I have to say it just felt totally awesome. Of course, it included my usual interval ride:
WU: 15' Easy, include 3-4 x 30" spinups. MS: 8 x 30/30's, then 3 x 8' (2') @ best effort (benchmark previous sessions), 5' Easy, then go into 85-90% for all but the last 5-10' of the ride. CD: 5' Easy
followed by a :30 brick run.
Last week I did the same bike workout, only the temperature was 100F. My NP's (Normalized Power) readings for the (3) 8' intervals were 175, 171 and 175. In addition to it being stinking hot, I think I wasn't quite recovered from a 106-mile ride 2 days' prior. At any rate, you just have to accept what you are able to put out on any given day.
Today when I did the workout, the temperature was only 80F, my most recent longest ride was 112 miles on Saturday on the IMWI course, I only rode 2:20 on Sunday, and yesterday was a relative rest day (I only swam 3,800 yards). Today's NP's for the (3) 8' intervals: 198, 205 and 197! HO-LEE-CRAP! I double-checked that my SRM calibration was good (I calibrated it before I started the ride and checked the value when I finished), and it was, so these are real numbers! I had thought I was on the upswing, FT-wise, since I'd been seeing numbers in the low- to mid-180's. I put in about 240 miles of biking last week, so it was really nice today to see a fitness pop, although today's boost should in theory be related to work I did about 2 weeks' prior. Whatever, I'll take it. I'm hopeful that after this mega-cycling phase that my FT will test out around 183-185. OK so that's only a 3-4.5% improvement, but it's significant. Not bad considering all the racing I just got done with.
My quads were screaming at me while I did the ride when I initially fired up the hard stuff. I mean they HURT. But it was a good pain, you know? Reminded me that I've been hitting it hard, and it's been a long time since my legs have actually HURT like that instead of just being fatigued. I must be doing something right :) I remember thinking dang my legs hurt, and pretty badly, but I have an objective for today and other than my legs I feel pretty damn good, so let's see what we can do today.
Since my run would be pretty flat, I really wasn't worried about how my quads would feel once I started running. Actually, I felt really, really good on the run. I just kept my stride short and quick, and was smiling the entire time. Heck, what's not to smile about when you only have to run for :30? As always, I didn't feel too fast when I started out (and I have to run up a bit of a hill right out my door), but stride felt good, I felt really light on my feet, and I was all tingly thinking about how much power I had just put out on the bike. Plus absolutely gorgeous weather. And yet, I was thinking that this wasn't a race, that I could go even faster! Of course I negative split the run, as is customary for me, and all I could think when I finished was DAMN AM I STRONG OR WHAT? I average 8:30/mile (which is a little slower than 5K pace for me).
See I put in 19.95 hours of training last week (why I couldn't manage another 3 minutes to get to an even 20 I will never know, except I will say that once I stopped biking on Sunday I was trashola for the day), I have a slightly swollen, rather itchy right inner thigh from a bee sting on Saturday (received while beginning the second ascent of Old Sauk Pass on the IMWI course), and I felt like I was struggling last week during the heat wave. But I pressed on, got the training done (even cutting out strength training and a little bit of biking to ensure I didn't totally fry myself), and look what I got for my efforts today?
Sometimes it's just about a great workout. I can't even count all the great to oustanding workouts I've completed over the years. Races are few and far between, and I've been blessed with a number of good to great ones there, too. It is all about relentless hard work and attention to detail, and a coach I believe in to ensure that I recover from my "crazy train" episodes, like the one I'm on now.
I will not be on my bike again until Saturday, when I will attempt to ride 180 miles in 13 hours (with lots of climbing). They will be timing us and there are cutoffs to continue on a certain distance. I will be on my road bike, sans SRM, sans bike computer. It's another opportunity for me to put my fitness to a test and keep myself motivated. I know what the right power feels like, and hopefully I can dial it in and keep myself rolling all day. I fully expect this ride to ring my bell--most likely it will be rung louder than an Ironman race. What fun!
I have to mention 2 of my friends here:
Enjoy the journey!
Today I did a brick workout, and I have to say it just felt totally awesome. Of course, it included my usual interval ride:
WU: 15' Easy, include 3-4 x 30" spinups. MS: 8 x 30/30's, then 3 x 8' (2') @ best effort (benchmark previous sessions), 5' Easy, then go into 85-90% for all but the last 5-10' of the ride. CD: 5' Easy
followed by a :30 brick run.
Last week I did the same bike workout, only the temperature was 100F. My NP's (Normalized Power) readings for the (3) 8' intervals were 175, 171 and 175. In addition to it being stinking hot, I think I wasn't quite recovered from a 106-mile ride 2 days' prior. At any rate, you just have to accept what you are able to put out on any given day.
Today when I did the workout, the temperature was only 80F, my most recent longest ride was 112 miles on Saturday on the IMWI course, I only rode 2:20 on Sunday, and yesterday was a relative rest day (I only swam 3,800 yards). Today's NP's for the (3) 8' intervals: 198, 205 and 197! HO-LEE-CRAP! I double-checked that my SRM calibration was good (I calibrated it before I started the ride and checked the value when I finished), and it was, so these are real numbers! I had thought I was on the upswing, FT-wise, since I'd been seeing numbers in the low- to mid-180's. I put in about 240 miles of biking last week, so it was really nice today to see a fitness pop, although today's boost should in theory be related to work I did about 2 weeks' prior. Whatever, I'll take it. I'm hopeful that after this mega-cycling phase that my FT will test out around 183-185. OK so that's only a 3-4.5% improvement, but it's significant. Not bad considering all the racing I just got done with.
My quads were screaming at me while I did the ride when I initially fired up the hard stuff. I mean they HURT. But it was a good pain, you know? Reminded me that I've been hitting it hard, and it's been a long time since my legs have actually HURT like that instead of just being fatigued. I must be doing something right :) I remember thinking dang my legs hurt, and pretty badly, but I have an objective for today and other than my legs I feel pretty damn good, so let's see what we can do today.
Since my run would be pretty flat, I really wasn't worried about how my quads would feel once I started running. Actually, I felt really, really good on the run. I just kept my stride short and quick, and was smiling the entire time. Heck, what's not to smile about when you only have to run for :30? As always, I didn't feel too fast when I started out (and I have to run up a bit of a hill right out my door), but stride felt good, I felt really light on my feet, and I was all tingly thinking about how much power I had just put out on the bike. Plus absolutely gorgeous weather. And yet, I was thinking that this wasn't a race, that I could go even faster! Of course I negative split the run, as is customary for me, and all I could think when I finished was DAMN AM I STRONG OR WHAT? I average 8:30/mile (which is a little slower than 5K pace for me).
See I put in 19.95 hours of training last week (why I couldn't manage another 3 minutes to get to an even 20 I will never know, except I will say that once I stopped biking on Sunday I was trashola for the day), I have a slightly swollen, rather itchy right inner thigh from a bee sting on Saturday (received while beginning the second ascent of Old Sauk Pass on the IMWI course), and I felt like I was struggling last week during the heat wave. But I pressed on, got the training done (even cutting out strength training and a little bit of biking to ensure I didn't totally fry myself), and look what I got for my efforts today?
Sometimes it's just about a great workout. I can't even count all the great to oustanding workouts I've completed over the years. Races are few and far between, and I've been blessed with a number of good to great ones there, too. It is all about relentless hard work and attention to detail, and a coach I believe in to ensure that I recover from my "crazy train" episodes, like the one I'm on now.
I will not be on my bike again until Saturday, when I will attempt to ride 180 miles in 13 hours (with lots of climbing). They will be timing us and there are cutoffs to continue on a certain distance. I will be on my road bike, sans SRM, sans bike computer. It's another opportunity for me to put my fitness to a test and keep myself motivated. I know what the right power feels like, and hopefully I can dial it in and keep myself rolling all day. I fully expect this ride to ring my bell--most likely it will be rung louder than an Ironman race. What fun!
I have to mention 2 of my friends here:
- Cindy ROCKS. She did 5:51 at Steelhead. She is such a sandbagger. We are going to make one helluva team at Triple T next year. I am surely motivated to keep training hard. Everything I am doing now is money in the bank towards that race.
- Pattie also ROCKS. We rode the IMWI course together on Saturday, and she looked fresh and strong all day. And then she goes home to 2 young daughters! She is going to do really well at IMWI.
Enjoy the journey!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
This Stuff Makes me Feel So GOOD!
I am not bragging here, but today was a bit special, in that I received 3 unsolicited compliments, 1 from a complete stranger. As I keep saying, I'm enjoying the training--I absolutely love it!
- Older gentleman at the pool--last Friday he brought his granddaughter (I'm old enough to be her grandma) to the pool, and made a point to introduce her to me. Apparently, he had told her all about my exploits (he calls me "Marathon Woman"). I said hello to the young lady, and told her to swim strong and fast. Today, her grandfather (whose real name I still do not know), tells me she was so impressed by me. I didn't do anything! I was just there doing my thing. He told me she was so awed by the shape that I am in. I just smiled and bowed my head and said, "Thanks." And then I told him to tell her I could be her grandma! I have made a promise to bring some of my race swim caps for him to give to her.
- Young guy (hottie) at the pool--he is a good swimmer (Shawn), but doesn't swim the long sets like I do. About a week ago, I noticed he had dropped a little weight (he was already a hottie, now he looks even better). Today as he got on deck, he made a comment to me about my nice tan, to which I replied in a smart-assed sort of way, "Yeah, ya know, I gotta work on my tan!" Later on when I was taking a brief rest, we chatted a bit, and I told him I had been out in the sun for a long while on Sunday biking over 100 miles and he asked what I was training for. I said, "Nothing, really. I just like riding my bike." He told me I'm in phenomenal shape and it really shows. One of these days I will tell him he's a hottie himself. I am sure he will blush. Heck, I wouldn't mind doing the wild thang with him!
- So I'm running home and it's like 98 today. I'm going by some utility truck and the guy is doing something by the back end. He sees me and I can tell he's staring a little bit, and I see him give me a thumbs up, so I turn off the tunes and he says, "It's worth it. You look great!" He had to know that it was difficult to run in the heat, and wow, that was just the boost I needed to push on towards home. Now this man wasn't exactly in great shape, but still he could appreciate that the way I look is related to the exercise and that I was getting it done even in adverse conditions.
- This was yesterday, but I'll still mention it--I was on my usual circle doing my bike intervals and a guy yells "excuse me?" just as I crested this short but steep hill. I'm a little out of breath, but it was so hot (100+) that I figured, well, I'm always riding here, I should be social and talk to this man, as he probably wonders what the heck I'm doing out here. So the man, Rich, asks if I'm training for anything, and we talked about that and he told me where I could go ride a figure 8 loop that had some hills, and I thanked him, but then we talked about riding with power and how it didn't really matter whether I rode hills so much or not, and we just had a nice conversation. He rides, too, but not as much as I do, and I told him about some rides, and said maybe I'd see him out there. Maybe I'll just see him next week when I'm doing intervals again!
I like thinking I'm an ambassador for not just triathlon, but for each of the sports I do. I like knowing that I usually look pretty happy while I'm doing them (even though I'm usually working hard), and I'm more than happy to wave at complete strangers, and when I'm not too pressed for time (meaning I'm not in a hurry to get back home and get to work which is all that will stop me from stopping), I am happy to chat, answer questions of the curious, offer advice if it's requested, and just show people how good this stuff makes me feel. I like thinking there are a bunch of people in cars who have seen me many, many times on the streets near where I live and wonder, "who is that woman who is always running or biking, and why does she always look so happy?" It's me!
July Training Totals!
Weights: 4.56 hours
Swim: 15.49 hours, 45,115 yards, 25 miles
Bike: 33.64 hours, approx. 613 miles
Run: 21.82 hours, approx. 142 miles
Total Hours: 75.51 (which is average of 17 hours per week; the month had 4 weeks and 3 days)
Total Miles: 780 (includes 1 sprint and 1 Half Ironman race)
Someone on an email list wanted to know why I was swimming so much--was I training for some really long distance swim race? She should have asked the obvious question, "Why am I training so much?" I told her that I swim a lot because it helps me recover from the other stuff and also because I am not that good at it.
As long as I am feeling good, I am thoroughly enjoying training right now. Even though it's stinking hot. On Monday, I started my run when it reached 99. Yesterday, I started my ride when it reached 100. Today, I'm going to run, but it's "only" 95. The heat wave is supposed to break tonight. THANK GOODNESS! Even though I'm heat acclimated, I do notice that other than my training, I am pretty lethargic, and do not want to be outdoors at all. On the flip side, though, I have a fantastic tan, care of all those running and biking hours outdoors!
Swim: 15.49 hours, 45,115 yards, 25 miles
Bike: 33.64 hours, approx. 613 miles
Run: 21.82 hours, approx. 142 miles
Total Hours: 75.51 (which is average of 17 hours per week; the month had 4 weeks and 3 days)
Total Miles: 780 (includes 1 sprint and 1 Half Ironman race)
Someone on an email list wanted to know why I was swimming so much--was I training for some really long distance swim race? She should have asked the obvious question, "Why am I training so much?" I told her that I swim a lot because it helps me recover from the other stuff and also because I am not that good at it.
As long as I am feeling good, I am thoroughly enjoying training right now. Even though it's stinking hot. On Monday, I started my run when it reached 99. Yesterday, I started my ride when it reached 100. Today, I'm going to run, but it's "only" 95. The heat wave is supposed to break tonight. THANK GOODNESS! Even though I'm heat acclimated, I do notice that other than my training, I am pretty lethargic, and do not want to be outdoors at all. On the flip side, though, I have a fantastic tan, care of all those running and biking hours outdoors!
Monday, July 31, 2006
Weekly Workout Totals 07/24/2006-07/30/2006: Rolling, Rolling, Rolling
First, some pictures. The first is of me and my Dad before the sprint race in Schaumburg 3 weeks ago. I guess I look just like him! It was awesome to me to have him there. The second picture is of me and a guy named Les that I met some years ago, and who I run into occasionally at races. He's the one who asked me why I wear socks in a sprint!
On Saturday, since I only had to run 1:30, I went out with my Dad for lunch and an early movie. We at at the Cheesecake Factory. Neither of us could eat more than 1/2 of our lunch--I finished mine later that day as dinner. We went to see Pirates of the Caribbean. I think this was the first movie I had been to in 2 years! The movie was OK, but a little long in the tooth in the middle. Still, it was enjoyable, and it was nice to spend some time with Dad. He had taken the above pictures with a disposable camera and gave me prints.
I'm not going to report the training details for last week--15.53 hours total, not bad for a comeback week after a 1/2 Ironman. I'm pretty tired today, as I rode 106 miles and ran about 3 yesterday.
A couple of items of note:
- I will be officiating at Ironman Wisconsin 2006 on the bike course! I will be on the back of a motorcycle driven by my coach. It should be fun, and the experience will round out my roster of roles played in an Ironman: athlete, spectator, volunteer, official.
- While riding yesterday, I had the honor of meeting Bob McKeague, currently the record holder as oldest Ironman Hawaii finisher in 16:21:55, as of last year at the age of 80. My dad is 80 and very fit for his age, but I don't see him doing an Ironman! Bob is such a gentleman! We chatted for a bit, he estimated the cost of my bike, and I told him of my plans to get in a lot of cycling in August. He asked me what I was trying to prove. I said nothing, just trying to become a better cyclist. I would be tickled to be 1/2 as active as Bob when I reach the age of 80!
- 100 miles is still a long way to ride a bike (it's a long way to drive a car, too). It is also a great way to get to know someone, even better when you can take turns pulling with them.
- I'll be riding the Ironman Wisconsin course this Saturday, starting around 8AM. Usually by this time I have been on that course 3-4 times, but this is my first time in 2006. I get to "show" the course to Pattie, who will be doing the race (just the swim and bike; she has an injury that has stopped her from running) this fall. The heat wave is supposed to break on Wednesday, so hopefully it will "only" be in the 80's on Saturday. I am sure I will see other people I know out there. Everyone ride safe!
- I am still enjoying training hard but not training for an Ironman!
Friday, July 28, 2006
Keep it Coming and Skinny Rant
I guess I should change the title of my blog again. Turns out I am not slacking at all--I am just not formally training for an Ironman. But I like knowing that if I wanted to do one in 3 weeks, I could show up and do it! That is a little scary, but I guess why I am generally very calm. I may not be fast, but I know that I am very fit, and I intend to stay that way for at least a few more years.
I have been so sleepy this week, I mean just needing to sleep a lot. I am getting better about recovery time. I don't need but a few days of nothing or almost nothing and then I can pretty much return to the state of training I had been sustaining. I ran on Wednesday, and my legs felt like total crap, but getting a massage that evening must have flushed all the remaining race toxins out of my legs because I felt just fine yesterday morning.
When I started my bike workout yesterday, I was wondering if I could cut it--if I could hit FT watts after a pretty hard effort last Sunday. I lengthened my warmup a bit, which I think was a good idea, and then when it was time to turn it on, oh yeah baby, I had the watts. Empirically, I think my FT is up about 5 watts; at least it's good enough to make me work harder every session. I only did 3x8' (2') at FT, but I really worked it for those 8' intervals--189, 192 and 189 normalized watts (my most recently tested FT value was 177, but these are short intervals, but still I think my number is up). And then follow that by 7X30/30's (30 seconds at VO2Max pace; 30 seconds easy), and then finish up at HIM watts. Can you say calorie burn?
Yet my legs felt pretty good after all that yesterday. Today I swam, and the main set was 40x50 (10"), alternating hard 50 with easy 50. I tell you that is a lung-buster workout. You think you are getting rest on the easy ones, but as you keep adding them up, you have to work harder on the fast ones. What fun!
I was on the fence about doing any weights this week (and I'm undecided to what level I want to keep them up from here on out), but thought that doing some would help get me out of the funk that I'm in, and besides I consider strength training important as I move some muscles in planes that don't normally get used in the triathlon sports. So I did about an hour.
Then I had to run. Today's workout was: WU: 10' Easy, 6 x Strides, 5' Steady with excellent form MS: 4', 6', 10', 6', 4' @ 5k pace with 1' Steady between each. CD; 10' Steady. Oh great I get to run a 5K plus today! I was uncertain whether my legs would be up to this workout, but as always, I cranked it out, even though it was about 95.
Tomorrow I "only" have to run 1:30 and then Sunday I'm riding 100 miles and running :30 off the bike. A relatively easy week, but here comes the pain starting next week: I will be biking about 250 miles a week for the next 4-5 weeks. My self-imposed BIG FUCKING BIKING MONTH!
Included in there are a 300K and 200K ride. I suspect my running will take a back seat, but what the heck, I've been doing a lot of running this year. After that, a cheesy HIM and then a build for my last A race of the year--Miami Man, and then a short rest and train for Goofy Challenge.
OK, I said I was going to rant. I read on another blog a rant AGAINST skinny people. I guess I fall into that category now. But I was not always skinny, and I don't consider myself fast, well maybe as a cyclist I am now, but that has been due to extremely hard work. It has taken me years to change my body composition to where it is today, and that has also been hard work. It has involved becoming aware of nutrition and what I am putting in, what I am burning, and how they affect one another. I have made it my business to understand how my body uses energy. Along the way, I learned that if I eat pasta, I will tend to eat too much of it, and so I avoid it now. I have learned to be OK with being hungry, especially while I am training (you can't take in a lot of calories and do a hard workout--it just doesn't mix). I have done strength training consistently for 15 years, and I have trained hard and consistently in triathlon for 6 years running. So if anyone wants to call me naturally skinny and say whatever "speed" I have is because of what I weigh, I have 2 words for you.
Now in terms of my views on fat people doing triathlon (or any sport, for that matter): first, if you are fat, you know it. You don't need me to tell you that. And you don't need me to make you feel bad about it. You are perfectly capable of doing that all by your lonesome. And you also know that every extra pound you carry around is slowing you down. And that if you think that if you just train harder you will get faster, all the while you are shooting yourself in the foot if you are carrying around extra weight. So it is YOUR business to decide how much it means to you and your experience in the sport to make the sacrifices necessary to drop the weight to let your body absorb the training better and get faster, not just because you lost weight, but because all your metabolic processes (of which training is a huge constituent) will improve.
In my case, the motivation to drop weight was related to my desire to manage hard training and to lessen the impact on my one crappy knee (ACL free for 22 years now!), and then I followed that up with a couple of herniated disks, and the writing was on the wall, my friends--be small, or stop doing this sport, or suffer and accelerate damage to my knees and back! So I have some physical limitations working against me, but I never use those as reasons why my performance is not where I'd like it to be. "Oh, my race was off today because I have a herniated disk." To me it is no different if a person complains that they are not as fast as they could be because they have a few extra pounds. Shut up about it. Nobody wants to hear me complaining about my age-related disk degeneration and I don't want to hear about how you just can't seem to lose weight. Neither of us has the right to use those things as a basis for dissatisfaction in our performances. We are all doing what we can with what we've got. I've chosen to change what I was given in certain areas, and anyone can if they really want to.
I take offense at those with excess weight who feel they are being unduly criticized or punished or whatever. You are the way you are because of how you eat, and that is that. It is under your control to do something about it, and just as I cannot use my own limitations as excuses for my performance, neither should a person use their weight as an excuse for anything. Figure yourself out. Are you depressed? Are you afraid to see what you might do with your body? Are you afraid that if you drop weight and you are still slow then you will have considered your efforts wasted? I would never tell someone to drop weight strictly for vanity or to see how fast they could get. There is only one right reason to lose weight--health. Admittedly, I could weigh more than I do now and still be healthy, and I am happy that I have that "play" which will come in handy down the road, I'm sure. But for now, given the level that I enjoy training at, it is better for me to be on the light side--better to allow me to train at a high level, to recover from it, to put less stress on my digestive tract, and hopefully minimize further cartilage deterioration. And oh yeah, it can help somewhat with speed.
I am at a disadvantage in the pool, though--I have little fat for "natural" flotation, so I have to work extra hard to keep a good body position. And I'm short. Taller/fatter people naturally will swim faster than me. So should I start belittling tall people or ask for a race division for short Croatians? This is why I do not believe in Clyde/Athena race divisions. Hell we could make up a million other handicaps that people have, and one's size should not be considered a handicap PERIOD. Sure there are certain body types that are better suited for certain sports. If you don't like how your body type performs in triathlon, pick another sport. The Olympics don't give special medals to people who are doing sports with a less-than-optimal body type for that sport--I can see it now: "Gold medal in the sport triple jump for people who have no business even trying because they are too short." There are plenty of sports out there to choose from, and some that even favor a heavier physique. I have the photography book, "Athlete," and I find it interesting to see the different body types among the different sports. There are good reasons you don't see skinny people doing powerlifting and beefy people excelling at marathon running.
When I see someone who is overweight working out or in a race, I automatically assume that they are seeking health, and that they are probably trying to lose some of the weight. That is not always true, but I know it's true much of the time. I hope everyone doing sport is on a path to excellent health. But there are a few amongst the heavier set crowd that want special consideration or acceptance for their weight or they claim to have "given up" on their quest to slim down. I don't buy into that. Sometimes I think there can be a fear there that "what if I slim down and I still am not that fast?" Welcome to my world! Do it to be healthy, and if what you have been doing is not working, work harder at it. It will come. Unless you have a true metabolic disorder, well, you are exactly what you eat. Some bodies just handle it differently, and it can take work to find out how to cure a seemingly stubborn metabolism. Been there, done that!
I have to be happy with my triathlon performance given the height I was born with, but I can and will continue to manipulate the variables that I can change--my training, body composition and nutrition. I'm OK with how far I've come, and I will never have an excuse for my performance that is related to my weight, because I have taken that out of the mix.
Now I need to go eat some steak and have a beer!
I have been so sleepy this week, I mean just needing to sleep a lot. I am getting better about recovery time. I don't need but a few days of nothing or almost nothing and then I can pretty much return to the state of training I had been sustaining. I ran on Wednesday, and my legs felt like total crap, but getting a massage that evening must have flushed all the remaining race toxins out of my legs because I felt just fine yesterday morning.
When I started my bike workout yesterday, I was wondering if I could cut it--if I could hit FT watts after a pretty hard effort last Sunday. I lengthened my warmup a bit, which I think was a good idea, and then when it was time to turn it on, oh yeah baby, I had the watts. Empirically, I think my FT is up about 5 watts; at least it's good enough to make me work harder every session. I only did 3x8' (2') at FT, but I really worked it for those 8' intervals--189, 192 and 189 normalized watts (my most recently tested FT value was 177, but these are short intervals, but still I think my number is up). And then follow that by 7X30/30's (30 seconds at VO2Max pace; 30 seconds easy), and then finish up at HIM watts. Can you say calorie burn?
Yet my legs felt pretty good after all that yesterday. Today I swam, and the main set was 40x50 (10"), alternating hard 50 with easy 50. I tell you that is a lung-buster workout. You think you are getting rest on the easy ones, but as you keep adding them up, you have to work harder on the fast ones. What fun!
I was on the fence about doing any weights this week (and I'm undecided to what level I want to keep them up from here on out), but thought that doing some would help get me out of the funk that I'm in, and besides I consider strength training important as I move some muscles in planes that don't normally get used in the triathlon sports. So I did about an hour.
Then I had to run. Today's workout was: WU: 10' Easy, 6 x Strides, 5' Steady with excellent form MS: 4', 6', 10', 6', 4' @ 5k pace with 1' Steady between each. CD; 10' Steady. Oh great I get to run a 5K plus today! I was uncertain whether my legs would be up to this workout, but as always, I cranked it out, even though it was about 95.
Tomorrow I "only" have to run 1:30 and then Sunday I'm riding 100 miles and running :30 off the bike. A relatively easy week, but here comes the pain starting next week: I will be biking about 250 miles a week for the next 4-5 weeks. My self-imposed BIG FUCKING BIKING MONTH!
Included in there are a 300K and 200K ride. I suspect my running will take a back seat, but what the heck, I've been doing a lot of running this year. After that, a cheesy HIM and then a build for my last A race of the year--Miami Man, and then a short rest and train for Goofy Challenge.
OK, I said I was going to rant. I read on another blog a rant AGAINST skinny people. I guess I fall into that category now. But I was not always skinny, and I don't consider myself fast, well maybe as a cyclist I am now, but that has been due to extremely hard work. It has taken me years to change my body composition to where it is today, and that has also been hard work. It has involved becoming aware of nutrition and what I am putting in, what I am burning, and how they affect one another. I have made it my business to understand how my body uses energy. Along the way, I learned that if I eat pasta, I will tend to eat too much of it, and so I avoid it now. I have learned to be OK with being hungry, especially while I am training (you can't take in a lot of calories and do a hard workout--it just doesn't mix). I have done strength training consistently for 15 years, and I have trained hard and consistently in triathlon for 6 years running. So if anyone wants to call me naturally skinny and say whatever "speed" I have is because of what I weigh, I have 2 words for you.
Now in terms of my views on fat people doing triathlon (or any sport, for that matter): first, if you are fat, you know it. You don't need me to tell you that. And you don't need me to make you feel bad about it. You are perfectly capable of doing that all by your lonesome. And you also know that every extra pound you carry around is slowing you down. And that if you think that if you just train harder you will get faster, all the while you are shooting yourself in the foot if you are carrying around extra weight. So it is YOUR business to decide how much it means to you and your experience in the sport to make the sacrifices necessary to drop the weight to let your body absorb the training better and get faster, not just because you lost weight, but because all your metabolic processes (of which training is a huge constituent) will improve.
In my case, the motivation to drop weight was related to my desire to manage hard training and to lessen the impact on my one crappy knee (ACL free for 22 years now!), and then I followed that up with a couple of herniated disks, and the writing was on the wall, my friends--be small, or stop doing this sport, or suffer and accelerate damage to my knees and back! So I have some physical limitations working against me, but I never use those as reasons why my performance is not where I'd like it to be. "Oh, my race was off today because I have a herniated disk." To me it is no different if a person complains that they are not as fast as they could be because they have a few extra pounds. Shut up about it. Nobody wants to hear me complaining about my age-related disk degeneration and I don't want to hear about how you just can't seem to lose weight. Neither of us has the right to use those things as a basis for dissatisfaction in our performances. We are all doing what we can with what we've got. I've chosen to change what I was given in certain areas, and anyone can if they really want to.
I take offense at those with excess weight who feel they are being unduly criticized or punished or whatever. You are the way you are because of how you eat, and that is that. It is under your control to do something about it, and just as I cannot use my own limitations as excuses for my performance, neither should a person use their weight as an excuse for anything. Figure yourself out. Are you depressed? Are you afraid to see what you might do with your body? Are you afraid that if you drop weight and you are still slow then you will have considered your efforts wasted? I would never tell someone to drop weight strictly for vanity or to see how fast they could get. There is only one right reason to lose weight--health. Admittedly, I could weigh more than I do now and still be healthy, and I am happy that I have that "play" which will come in handy down the road, I'm sure. But for now, given the level that I enjoy training at, it is better for me to be on the light side--better to allow me to train at a high level, to recover from it, to put less stress on my digestive tract, and hopefully minimize further cartilage deterioration. And oh yeah, it can help somewhat with speed.
I am at a disadvantage in the pool, though--I have little fat for "natural" flotation, so I have to work extra hard to keep a good body position. And I'm short. Taller/fatter people naturally will swim faster than me. So should I start belittling tall people or ask for a race division for short Croatians? This is why I do not believe in Clyde/Athena race divisions. Hell we could make up a million other handicaps that people have, and one's size should not be considered a handicap PERIOD. Sure there are certain body types that are better suited for certain sports. If you don't like how your body type performs in triathlon, pick another sport. The Olympics don't give special medals to people who are doing sports with a less-than-optimal body type for that sport--I can see it now: "Gold medal in the sport triple jump for people who have no business even trying because they are too short." There are plenty of sports out there to choose from, and some that even favor a heavier physique. I have the photography book, "Athlete," and I find it interesting to see the different body types among the different sports. There are good reasons you don't see skinny people doing powerlifting and beefy people excelling at marathon running.
When I see someone who is overweight working out or in a race, I automatically assume that they are seeking health, and that they are probably trying to lose some of the weight. That is not always true, but I know it's true much of the time. I hope everyone doing sport is on a path to excellent health. But there are a few amongst the heavier set crowd that want special consideration or acceptance for their weight or they claim to have "given up" on their quest to slim down. I don't buy into that. Sometimes I think there can be a fear there that "what if I slim down and I still am not that fast?" Welcome to my world! Do it to be healthy, and if what you have been doing is not working, work harder at it. It will come. Unless you have a true metabolic disorder, well, you are exactly what you eat. Some bodies just handle it differently, and it can take work to find out how to cure a seemingly stubborn metabolism. Been there, done that!
I have to be happy with my triathlon performance given the height I was born with, but I can and will continue to manipulate the variables that I can change--my training, body composition and nutrition. I'm OK with how far I've come, and I will never have an excuse for my performance that is related to my weight, because I have taken that out of the mix.
Now I need to go eat some steak and have a beer!
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Do You Ever Have These Thoughts?
Just some ramblings in a recovery period...
- I suck.
- I REALLY suck.
- Why do I keep doing this if I suck so much?
- Well, some people actually suck more than I do. They seem to be OK with it, so why aren't I?
- I wonder how many people who know me are laughing at me behind my back thinking, "she has a big ego for someone who sucks so much."
- Rest feels good. Maybe I'll just stop working out.
- It doesn't even phase me anymore to sign up for an Ironman race. No sense of wonder, no fear, no nothing. Been there, done that. What's up with that?
- Sometimes I think I've learned to dig deeper, and then I think I haven't. Tough to say.
- When I'm on, I feel like I'm on top of the world. When I'm not, I feel like shit.
- I wish I had started these sports when I was much younger. I wonder how good I would be now? Coulda, woulda, shoulda. I didn't know any better. I will say that I totally enjoyed smoking, drinking and partying heavily, and the drugs weren't too bad, either. I think a lot of triathletes (myself included!) would continue in those ways if they didn't think it was wiser to be "responsible."
- I think it was silly to think I could qualify for Kona. I'm not sure I want to try again or that I even have the ability to get there, but then if I don't, what's the point? I think that's what keeps me coming back, is that I'm looking for "the point." It's all about the journey and not the destination, right?
- There's no getting around it. I have to keep working hard if I want to improve.
- I wish I had the time to spend doing a LOT more swim technique work. I swim OK in a pool, and I seem to swim well in "normal" lakes, but very choppy lakes or oceans, I suck.
- I'm a pretty good cyclist. Maybe I should just focus on that.
- Occasionally I think I'm an OK runner, and wonder if there will ever be a point that magically I am able to run a lot faster. I seriously doubt it.
- Oh yeah I guess one of the reasons I do this is for my health. My physical health seems pretty good; my mental health dubious.
- Racing is a crap shoot. Some days you get lucky and it all comes together. Other days not so much.
- Sometimes I wish I trained less, but then I remember how little I need to eat if I'm not working out a lot. Am I doing this for vanity?
- At least I am not injured, KNOCK WOOD! If I've learned one thing in the past 6 years, it's that injury sucks more than anything else. I suppose there's some reward in being able to say I trained a lot, raced a lot, and was not injured (for the last 1.5 years!).
- I really love steak, onions, tomatoes and beer. I could live on just that!
- Sometimes I think I like to burn calories more than I like to take them in. I really don't like having to eat or drink when I'm training or racing. Maybe I am turning into a camel or a vampire.
- String theory--yep, I'm made up of a bunch of vibrating strings. Now if they could just learn to play a decent melody, I'd be all set!
- I miss my mom.
- The only thing that sucks about being my age is being single. Men just do not automatically think that an almost 50-YO woman is worth getting to know. But when I was getting body marked on Sunday, the guy asked my age, and I told him 49. He thought he heard 41, and said, "41?" I said, "Nope, FOR-TY NINE." Some young girl said, "I bet you wish you were 41." To which I said, "Hell no." See, that is what a lot of people think about being this age. That you've somehow turned into a ball of ugly mush. I'm fighting it tooth and nail.
- I love sleeping.
- I love my body, even though it doesn't always perform the way I'd like it to.
- I guess I'll go run now. Maybe something else will come to me.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Weekly Totals 07/17/2006-07/23/2006 and Spirit of Racine ½ Ironman Race Report
First, the race report.
Did I taper? No.
Did I suffer? Not really. My definition of suffering has changed dramatically since Brazil.
Am I happy with how I raced? I’m OK with it, considering lack of taper.
I had a glimpse that my biking legs were back on Thursday. My watts were up, and it felt easy to generate them. So I figured on a decent bike split in the race. How about my run legs? I have been nailing some rather difficult workouts, but again, I’m not sure what I did Wednesday was appropriate for a taper workout:
WU: 10' Easy, 6 x Strides, 5' Steady with excellent form MS: 4', 6', 10', 6', 4' @ 5k pace with 1' Steady between each. CD; 10' Steady
Do that workout sometime. It will kick your ass and take names!
What about my swimming? I suck. Well, I suck in certain open water venues. In normal lakes I am fine.
So how did the race play out?
The weather was absolutely beautiful. Mid-70’s, perhaps low 80’s, it was hard to tell. Lake Michigan looked fairly calm, but as I am learning, looks can be deceiving. Swimming straight out against the waves, I just couldn’t get it together, so I did a lot of breaststroke. But once we turned to swim parallel to shore, I was fine, and passed a bunch of people. So I probably lost 5’ due to my inability to swim through the first set of waves. But the water temperature was perfect, about 68. I did swallow a little bit of it, but mostly I think I got a pretty good nose enema. I took my wetsuit off in the water, and took too long doing it. Oh well, this wasn’t an “A” race for me.
There’s a long run through the sand back to transition, and you really feel it in your calves. Part of you says, “RUN RUN RUN” because you are in a race, and other part says, “But I just can’t go that fast.” I’m pretty good at transition runs, and I don’t know where they started and stopped the timing, but I just kept going and got to my bike, got my stuff on and away I went.
I committed to my coach’s ½ Ironman wattage guidance for this ride, which meant for the first ½ hour I was to ride easy. As it turns out, I didn’t ride easy enough, but still I held back big time. Which really sucked as we sort of had a tailwind out of town and it was nice and cool. Oh, well, there will be plenty of time to ride fast. I didn’t drink anything until I was 10’ into the ride, either, which is always a good plan to let your stomach settle as you get back to using your legs.
After 30’, I was able to dial up the watts. There were plenty of riders around, so it was very motivating to keep up a good pace. There were numerous draft packs of men. Every time one would go by, I couldn’t help it but I would curse a blue streak at them. F’ing cheaters! I am sure none of these guys was going to win the entire race today, so I really don’t understand why they blatantly cheat. But there was one point where 2 guys went by me, and it was clear they were working together, and a draft marshall came up right behind them and I saw that numbers were being written down. So some justice was served! As the course was quite congested, I knew it was impossible to catch all the drafters, but at least a few of them hopefully learned a lesson.
I definitely felt like I was working on the bike, even with the good conditions. We did have some wind, but I’m not sure how much there was. I just pushed and pushed and periodically looked at the power meter to be sure I was in the right range. It looked good. When I got to transition, I saw the final number, 2:46. Not bad. THAT was a PR for a ½ Ironman, but then again, everyone was riding fast. Turns out my bike split was #2 in my age group.
And now, the run. I didn’t feel bad when I left T2, and felt like I had a decent pace going, but my legs felt heavy. Not “I rode the bike too fast” heavy, but “maybe I’ve been training a lot and my run legs really aren’t recovered from Ironman Brazil heavy.” Considering I had just witnessed the return of my bike legs on Thursday, it seemed reasonable to me that my running legs weren’t quite back. That’s OK. I didn’t walk except a little at aid stations, and I just kept continuously looping some song in my head and kept going. I didn’t really feel bad (except for the rock in my left shoe, but no way I was going to stop and take it out), I wasn’t suffering, I just didn’t have much “oomph” to my legs. There were a number of racers who recognized me and would call out my name before I saw them. I must have a distinctive physique. I joked to one guy I ran with for a few miles that they must recognize my butt! For the most part, I had a smile on my face the entire run.
I ended up 5th in my age group out of 18, at 5:48. There were some really fast ladies on the day! So no podium slot. That’s OK. It was a good workout, my 3rd triathlon in 6 weeks (or should I say 4th in 8 weeks?) on top of some serious training, so I really can’t complain. I see some younger athletes doing this sort of stuff and they are able to bang out good performances while racing frequently, but it’s just not in these old bones. Still, I am very fortunate to be healthy and able enough to do this stuff. I like knowing that I can show up at a ½ Ironman on no taper and put in my 2nd fastest time at the age of 49. I am not sure whether I can get faster at this point or how long I will keep this up. I grumble at every race, “Why do I keep doing this????”
My legs were quite sore when I finished the race and the entire way driving home (about 1.5 hours). I was rolling around in my head what I wanted to eat, and I was going to go home first and make the disaster area in my house after unloading my car, but I was going to pass up a restaurant I like very much on the way home, and I figured I had better go eat before going home. After the race, they had run out of the (probably bad) pasta and all that was left was potato chips, bananas and pretzels. I had a handful of chips, drank my Endurox R4 and hit the road rather than wait for bad food to show up.
I stopped at Country House with my blood sugar just about to plummet. My waitress could tell I was hungry probably from the wild eyes I had. She was smart and asked if I was ready to order right away, and I was. A big, tall Weiss beer, an ostrich burger medium rare with Cheddar cheese, and onion rings. The beer arrived pretty quickly, and that got some carbs down me (after I drank a full glass of water, of course). When the food arrived, I lovingly salted the hell out of the onion rings, made a nice pool of ketchup on the plate for them, put some ketchup and tomatoes on the burger, topped it off and cut if in half. That first bite of burger was nirvana! I absolutely love tomatoes or anything to do with tomatoes. Tomatoes and ketchup is like heaven to me! I took my time eating, as despite my appetite, I have a rather small stomach. In fact, a table next to me arrived after me, got their order and finished it before I was done eating! I removed the breading from most of the onion rings and just dipped them into the ketchup. I also LOVE onions. Not raw—but sautéed or grilled I can eat piles of them. Since I figured I wasn’t going to want to cook later on or eat another entire meal, I got 2 slices of lemon merinque pie to go for later. I polished them off about 2 hours after I got home. Not your best pie, but it hit the spot anyway.
I slept fitfully, as my core temperature remained high from the race, and my legs were sore. Today I feel like I am coming around and may go for a swim later just to loosen up my legs a bit.
Oh, and I just registered for Ironman Lake Placid 2007. For my occupation, I listed, “Idiot.”
Here’s what happened last week:
Weekly Totals 07/17/2006-07/23/2006
Swim: 11600 yards (6.58 miles) in 4.02 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1455 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 112 miles in 5.9 hours; 39% of weekly workout time; approx. 3025 calories burned
Run: Approx. 30.63 miles in 4.8 hours; 32% of weekly workout time; approx. 2626 calories burned
Strength: 0.47 hours; 3% of weekly workout time; approx. 118 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 149.21 miles in 15.19 hours; approx. 7224 calories burned
Sleep: 9.11 hours avg./night
Stretching: 1.57 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-07/23/2006
Swim: 379785 yards (215.54 miles) in 133.67 hours
Bike: Approx. 4166.69 miles in 238.6 hours
Run: Approx. 1266.04 miles in 199.09 hours
Strength: 63.77 hours
All Sports: Approx. 5648.27 miles in 635.13 hours; approx. 282521 calories burned
Stretching: 69.91 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-07/23/2006
Swim: 8440 yards (4.79 miles) in 2.97 hours
Bike: Approx. 92.59 miles in 5.3 hours
Run: Approx. 28.13 miles in 4.42 hours
Strength: 1.42 hours
All Sports: Approx. 125.52 miles in 14.11 hours
Sleep: 8.49 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
Get my head in the game for a long race on Sunday. Wow, am I really ready for a 1/2 Ironman? DONE. Well, my bike legs were ready, but apparently not my run legs. Other than today, since I'm catching up on calories from yesterday still, watch the eating as I am doing a little taper for Sunday's race. DONE.
Did I taper? No.
Did I suffer? Not really. My definition of suffering has changed dramatically since Brazil.
Am I happy with how I raced? I’m OK with it, considering lack of taper.
I had a glimpse that my biking legs were back on Thursday. My watts were up, and it felt easy to generate them. So I figured on a decent bike split in the race. How about my run legs? I have been nailing some rather difficult workouts, but again, I’m not sure what I did Wednesday was appropriate for a taper workout:
WU: 10' Easy, 6 x Strides, 5' Steady with excellent form MS: 4', 6', 10', 6', 4' @ 5k pace with 1' Steady between each. CD; 10' Steady
Do that workout sometime. It will kick your ass and take names!
What about my swimming? I suck. Well, I suck in certain open water venues. In normal lakes I am fine.
So how did the race play out?
The weather was absolutely beautiful. Mid-70’s, perhaps low 80’s, it was hard to tell. Lake Michigan looked fairly calm, but as I am learning, looks can be deceiving. Swimming straight out against the waves, I just couldn’t get it together, so I did a lot of breaststroke. But once we turned to swim parallel to shore, I was fine, and passed a bunch of people. So I probably lost 5’ due to my inability to swim through the first set of waves. But the water temperature was perfect, about 68. I did swallow a little bit of it, but mostly I think I got a pretty good nose enema. I took my wetsuit off in the water, and took too long doing it. Oh well, this wasn’t an “A” race for me.
There’s a long run through the sand back to transition, and you really feel it in your calves. Part of you says, “RUN RUN RUN” because you are in a race, and other part says, “But I just can’t go that fast.” I’m pretty good at transition runs, and I don’t know where they started and stopped the timing, but I just kept going and got to my bike, got my stuff on and away I went.
I committed to my coach’s ½ Ironman wattage guidance for this ride, which meant for the first ½ hour I was to ride easy. As it turns out, I didn’t ride easy enough, but still I held back big time. Which really sucked as we sort of had a tailwind out of town and it was nice and cool. Oh, well, there will be plenty of time to ride fast. I didn’t drink anything until I was 10’ into the ride, either, which is always a good plan to let your stomach settle as you get back to using your legs.
After 30’, I was able to dial up the watts. There were plenty of riders around, so it was very motivating to keep up a good pace. There were numerous draft packs of men. Every time one would go by, I couldn’t help it but I would curse a blue streak at them. F’ing cheaters! I am sure none of these guys was going to win the entire race today, so I really don’t understand why they blatantly cheat. But there was one point where 2 guys went by me, and it was clear they were working together, and a draft marshall came up right behind them and I saw that numbers were being written down. So some justice was served! As the course was quite congested, I knew it was impossible to catch all the drafters, but at least a few of them hopefully learned a lesson.
I definitely felt like I was working on the bike, even with the good conditions. We did have some wind, but I’m not sure how much there was. I just pushed and pushed and periodically looked at the power meter to be sure I was in the right range. It looked good. When I got to transition, I saw the final number, 2:46. Not bad. THAT was a PR for a ½ Ironman, but then again, everyone was riding fast. Turns out my bike split was #2 in my age group.
And now, the run. I didn’t feel bad when I left T2, and felt like I had a decent pace going, but my legs felt heavy. Not “I rode the bike too fast” heavy, but “maybe I’ve been training a lot and my run legs really aren’t recovered from Ironman Brazil heavy.” Considering I had just witnessed the return of my bike legs on Thursday, it seemed reasonable to me that my running legs weren’t quite back. That’s OK. I didn’t walk except a little at aid stations, and I just kept continuously looping some song in my head and kept going. I didn’t really feel bad (except for the rock in my left shoe, but no way I was going to stop and take it out), I wasn’t suffering, I just didn’t have much “oomph” to my legs. There were a number of racers who recognized me and would call out my name before I saw them. I must have a distinctive physique. I joked to one guy I ran with for a few miles that they must recognize my butt! For the most part, I had a smile on my face the entire run.
I ended up 5th in my age group out of 18, at 5:48. There were some really fast ladies on the day! So no podium slot. That’s OK. It was a good workout, my 3rd triathlon in 6 weeks (or should I say 4th in 8 weeks?) on top of some serious training, so I really can’t complain. I see some younger athletes doing this sort of stuff and they are able to bang out good performances while racing frequently, but it’s just not in these old bones. Still, I am very fortunate to be healthy and able enough to do this stuff. I like knowing that I can show up at a ½ Ironman on no taper and put in my 2nd fastest time at the age of 49. I am not sure whether I can get faster at this point or how long I will keep this up. I grumble at every race, “Why do I keep doing this????”
My legs were quite sore when I finished the race and the entire way driving home (about 1.5 hours). I was rolling around in my head what I wanted to eat, and I was going to go home first and make the disaster area in my house after unloading my car, but I was going to pass up a restaurant I like very much on the way home, and I figured I had better go eat before going home. After the race, they had run out of the (probably bad) pasta and all that was left was potato chips, bananas and pretzels. I had a handful of chips, drank my Endurox R4 and hit the road rather than wait for bad food to show up.
I stopped at Country House with my blood sugar just about to plummet. My waitress could tell I was hungry probably from the wild eyes I had. She was smart and asked if I was ready to order right away, and I was. A big, tall Weiss beer, an ostrich burger medium rare with Cheddar cheese, and onion rings. The beer arrived pretty quickly, and that got some carbs down me (after I drank a full glass of water, of course). When the food arrived, I lovingly salted the hell out of the onion rings, made a nice pool of ketchup on the plate for them, put some ketchup and tomatoes on the burger, topped it off and cut if in half. That first bite of burger was nirvana! I absolutely love tomatoes or anything to do with tomatoes. Tomatoes and ketchup is like heaven to me! I took my time eating, as despite my appetite, I have a rather small stomach. In fact, a table next to me arrived after me, got their order and finished it before I was done eating! I removed the breading from most of the onion rings and just dipped them into the ketchup. I also LOVE onions. Not raw—but sautéed or grilled I can eat piles of them. Since I figured I wasn’t going to want to cook later on or eat another entire meal, I got 2 slices of lemon merinque pie to go for later. I polished them off about 2 hours after I got home. Not your best pie, but it hit the spot anyway.
I slept fitfully, as my core temperature remained high from the race, and my legs were sore. Today I feel like I am coming around and may go for a swim later just to loosen up my legs a bit.
Oh, and I just registered for Ironman Lake Placid 2007. For my occupation, I listed, “Idiot.”
Here’s what happened last week:
Weekly Totals 07/17/2006-07/23/2006
Swim: 11600 yards (6.58 miles) in 4.02 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1455 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 112 miles in 5.9 hours; 39% of weekly workout time; approx. 3025 calories burned
Run: Approx. 30.63 miles in 4.8 hours; 32% of weekly workout time; approx. 2626 calories burned
Strength: 0.47 hours; 3% of weekly workout time; approx. 118 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 149.21 miles in 15.19 hours; approx. 7224 calories burned
Sleep: 9.11 hours avg./night
Stretching: 1.57 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-07/23/2006
Swim: 379785 yards (215.54 miles) in 133.67 hours
Bike: Approx. 4166.69 miles in 238.6 hours
Run: Approx. 1266.04 miles in 199.09 hours
Strength: 63.77 hours
All Sports: Approx. 5648.27 miles in 635.13 hours; approx. 282521 calories burned
Stretching: 69.91 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-07/23/2006
Swim: 8440 yards (4.79 miles) in 2.97 hours
Bike: Approx. 92.59 miles in 5.3 hours
Run: Approx. 28.13 miles in 4.42 hours
Strength: 1.42 hours
All Sports: Approx. 125.52 miles in 14.11 hours
Sleep: 8.49 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
Accomplishments This Week:
- Triathlon #53 is in the books. 2nd fastest ½ Ironman at the age of 49, almost 50. I’ll take it!
- Got a lot of sleep. I think I’ve been training a lot!
Goals for Next Week:
- Stretch more!
- Recover.
- Ride 100 miles on Sunday at a good clip.
- Sleep.
- Have fun.
Weekly Totals 07/17/2006-07/23/2006 and Spirit of Racine ½ Ironman Race Report
First, the race report.
Did I taper? No.
Did I suffer? Not really. My definition of suffering has changed dramatically since Brazil.
Am I happy with how I raced? I’m OK with it, considering lack of taper.
I had a glimpse that my biking legs were back on Thursday. My watts were up, and it felt easy to generate them. So I figured on a decent bike split in the race. How about my run legs? I have been nailing some rather difficult workouts, but again, I’m not sure what I did Wednesday was appropriate for a taper workout:
WU: 10' Easy, 6 x Strides, 5' Steady with excellent form MS: 4', 6', 10', 6', 4' @ 5k pace with 1' Steady between each. CD; 10' Steady
Do that workout sometime. It will kick your ass and take names!
What about my swimming? I suck. Well, I suck in certain open water venues. In normal lakes I am fine.
So how did the race play out?
The weather was absolutely beautiful. Mid-70’s, perhaps low 80’s, it was hard to tell. Lake Michigan looked fairly calm, but as I am learning, looks can be deceiving. Swimming straight out against the waves, I just couldn’t get it together, so I did a lot of breaststroke. But once we turned to swim parallel to shore, I was fine, and passed a bunch of people. So I probably lost 5’ due to my inability to swim through the first set of waves. But the water temperature was perfect, about 68. I did swallow a little bit of it, but mostly I think I got a pretty good nose enema. I took my wetsuit off in the water, and took too long doing it. Oh well, this wasn’t an “A” race for me.
There’s a long run through the sand back to transition, and you really feel it in your calves. Part of you says, “RUN RUN RUN” because you are in a race, and other part says, “But I just can’t go that fast.” I’m pretty good at transition runs, and I don’t know where they started and stopped the timing, but I just kept going and got to my bike, got my stuff on and away I went.
I committed to my coach’s ½ Ironman wattage guidance for this ride, which meant for the first ½ hour I was to ride easy. As it turns out, I didn’t ride easy enough, but still I held back big time. Which really sucked as we sort of had a tailwind out of town and it was nice and cool. Oh, well, there will be plenty of time to ride fast. I didn’t drink anything until I was 10’ into the ride, either, which is always a good plan to let your stomach settle as you get back to using your legs.
After 30’, I was able to dial up the watts. There were plenty of riders around, so it was very motivating to keep up a good pace. There were numerous draft packs of men. Every time one would go by, I couldn’t help it but I would curse a blue streak at them. F’ing cheaters! I am sure none of these guys was going to win the entire race today, so I really don’t understand why they blatantly cheat. But there was one point where 2 guys went by me, and it was clear they were working together, and a draft marshall came up right behind them and I saw that numbers were being written down. So some justice was served! As the course was quite congested, I knew it was impossible to catch all the drafters, but at least a few of them hopefully learned a lesson.
I definitely felt like I was working on the bike, even with the good conditions. We did have some wind, but I’m not sure how much there was. I just pushed and pushed and periodically looked at the power meter to be sure I was in the right range. It looked good. When I got to transition, I saw the final number, 2:46. Not bad. THAT was a PR for a ½ Ironman, but then again, everyone was riding fast. Turns out my bike split was #2 in my age group.
And now, the run. I didn’t feel bad when I left T2, and felt like I had a decent pace going, but my legs felt heavy. Not “I rode the bike too fast” heavy, but “maybe I’ve been training a lot and my run legs really aren’t recovered from Ironman Brazil heavy.” Considering I had just witnessed the return of my bike legs on Thursday, it seemed reasonable to me that my running legs weren’t quite back. That’s OK. I didn’t walk except a little at aid stations, and I just kept continuously looping some song in my head and kept going. I didn’t really feel bad (except for the rock in my left shoe, but no way I was going to stop and take it out), I wasn’t suffering, I just didn’t have much “oomph” to my legs. There were a number of racers who recognized me and would call out my name before I saw them. I must have a distinctive physique. I joked to one guy I ran with for a few miles that they must recognize my butt! For the most part, I had a smile on my face the entire run.
I ended up 5th in my age group out of 18, at 5:48. There were some really fast ladies on the day! So no podium slot. That’s OK. It was a good workout, my 3rd triathlon in 6 weeks (or should I say 4th in 8 weeks?) on top of some serious training, so I really can’t complain. I see some younger athletes doing this sort of stuff and they are able to bang out good performances while racing frequently, but it’s just not in these old bones. Still, I am very fortunate to be healthy and able enough to do this stuff. I like knowing that I can show up at a ½ Ironman on no taper and put in my 2nd fastest time at the age of 49. I am not sure whether I can get faster at this point or how long I will keep this up. I grumble at every race, “Why do I keep doing this????”
My legs were quite sore when I finished the race and the entire way driving home (about 1.5 hours). I was rolling around in my head what I wanted to eat, and I was going to go home first and make the disaster area in my house after unloading my car, but I was going to pass up a restaurant I like very much on the way home, and I figured I had better go eat before going home. After the race, they had run out of the (probably bad) pasta and all that was left was potato chips, bananas and pretzels. I had a handful of chips, drank my Endurox R4 and hit the road rather than wait for bad food to show up.
I stopped at Country House with my blood sugar just about to plummet. My waitress could tell I was hungry probably from the wild eyes I had. She was smart and asked if I was ready to order right away, and I was. A big, tall Weiss beer, an ostrich burger medium rare with Cheddar cheese, and onion rings. The beer arrived pretty quickly, and that got some carbs down me (after I drank a full glass of water, of course). When the food arrived, I lovingly salted the hell out of the onion rings, made a nice pool of ketchup on the plate for them, put some ketchup and tomatoes on the burger, topped it off and cut if in half. That first bite of burger was nirvana! I absolutely love tomatoes or anything to do with tomatoes. Tomatoes and ketchup is like heaven to me! I took my time eating, as despite my appetite, I have a rather small stomach. In fact, a table next to me arrived after me, got their order and finished it before I was done eating! I removed the breading from most of the onion rings and just dipped them into the ketchup. I also LOVE onions. Not raw—but sautéed or grilled I can eat piles of them. Since I figured I wasn’t going to want to cook later on or eat another entire meal, I got 2 slices of lemon merinque pie to go for later. I polished them off about 2 hours after I got home. Not your best pie, but it hit the spot anyway.
I slept fitfully, as my core temperature remained high from the race, and my legs were sore. Today I feel like I am coming around and may go for a swim later just to loosen up my legs a bit.
Oh, and I just registered for Ironman Lake Placid 2007. For my occupation, I listed, “Idiot.”
Here’s what happened last week:
Weekly Totals 07/17/2006-07/23/2006
Swim: 11600 yards (6.58 miles) in 4.02 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1455 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 112 miles in 5.9 hours; 39% of weekly workout time; approx. 3025 calories burned
Run: Approx. 30.63 miles in 4.8 hours; 32% of weekly workout time; approx. 2626 calories burned
Strength: 0.47 hours; 3% of weekly workout time; approx. 118 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 149.21 miles in 15.19 hours; approx. 7224 calories burned
Sleep: 9.11 hours avg./night
Stretching: 1.57 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-07/23/2006
Swim: 379785 yards (215.54 miles) in 133.67 hours
Bike: Approx. 4166.69 miles in 238.6 hours
Run: Approx. 1266.04 miles in 199.09 hours
Strength: 63.77 hours
All Sports: Approx. 5648.27 miles in 635.13 hours; approx. 282521 calories burned
Stretching: 69.91 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-07/23/2006
Swim: 8440 yards (4.79 miles) in 2.97 hours
Bike: Approx. 92.59 miles in 5.3 hours
Run: Approx. 28.13 miles in 4.42 hours
Strength: 1.42 hours
All Sports: Approx. 125.52 miles in 14.11 hours
Sleep: 8.49 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
Get my head in the game for a long race on Sunday. Wow, am I really ready for a 1/2 Ironman? DONE. Well, my bike legs were ready, but apparently not my run legs. Other than today, since I'm catching up on calories from yesterday still, watch the eating as I am doing a little taper for Sunday's race. DONE.
Did I taper? No.
Did I suffer? Not really. My definition of suffering has changed dramatically since Brazil.
Am I happy with how I raced? I’m OK with it, considering lack of taper.
I had a glimpse that my biking legs were back on Thursday. My watts were up, and it felt easy to generate them. So I figured on a decent bike split in the race. How about my run legs? I have been nailing some rather difficult workouts, but again, I’m not sure what I did Wednesday was appropriate for a taper workout:
WU: 10' Easy, 6 x Strides, 5' Steady with excellent form MS: 4', 6', 10', 6', 4' @ 5k pace with 1' Steady between each. CD; 10' Steady
Do that workout sometime. It will kick your ass and take names!
What about my swimming? I suck. Well, I suck in certain open water venues. In normal lakes I am fine.
So how did the race play out?
The weather was absolutely beautiful. Mid-70’s, perhaps low 80’s, it was hard to tell. Lake Michigan looked fairly calm, but as I am learning, looks can be deceiving. Swimming straight out against the waves, I just couldn’t get it together, so I did a lot of breaststroke. But once we turned to swim parallel to shore, I was fine, and passed a bunch of people. So I probably lost 5’ due to my inability to swim through the first set of waves. But the water temperature was perfect, about 68. I did swallow a little bit of it, but mostly I think I got a pretty good nose enema. I took my wetsuit off in the water, and took too long doing it. Oh well, this wasn’t an “A” race for me.
There’s a long run through the sand back to transition, and you really feel it in your calves. Part of you says, “RUN RUN RUN” because you are in a race, and other part says, “But I just can’t go that fast.” I’m pretty good at transition runs, and I don’t know where they started and stopped the timing, but I just kept going and got to my bike, got my stuff on and away I went.
I committed to my coach’s ½ Ironman wattage guidance for this ride, which meant for the first ½ hour I was to ride easy. As it turns out, I didn’t ride easy enough, but still I held back big time. Which really sucked as we sort of had a tailwind out of town and it was nice and cool. Oh, well, there will be plenty of time to ride fast. I didn’t drink anything until I was 10’ into the ride, either, which is always a good plan to let your stomach settle as you get back to using your legs.
After 30’, I was able to dial up the watts. There were plenty of riders around, so it was very motivating to keep up a good pace. There were numerous draft packs of men. Every time one would go by, I couldn’t help it but I would curse a blue streak at them. F’ing cheaters! I am sure none of these guys was going to win the entire race today, so I really don’t understand why they blatantly cheat. But there was one point where 2 guys went by me, and it was clear they were working together, and a draft marshall came up right behind them and I saw that numbers were being written down. So some justice was served! As the course was quite congested, I knew it was impossible to catch all the drafters, but at least a few of them hopefully learned a lesson.
I definitely felt like I was working on the bike, even with the good conditions. We did have some wind, but I’m not sure how much there was. I just pushed and pushed and periodically looked at the power meter to be sure I was in the right range. It looked good. When I got to transition, I saw the final number, 2:46. Not bad. THAT was a PR for a ½ Ironman, but then again, everyone was riding fast. Turns out my bike split was #2 in my age group.
And now, the run. I didn’t feel bad when I left T2, and felt like I had a decent pace going, but my legs felt heavy. Not “I rode the bike too fast” heavy, but “maybe I’ve been training a lot and my run legs really aren’t recovered from Ironman Brazil heavy.” Considering I had just witnessed the return of my bike legs on Thursday, it seemed reasonable to me that my running legs weren’t quite back. That’s OK. I didn’t walk except a little at aid stations, and I just kept continuously looping some song in my head and kept going. I didn’t really feel bad (except for the rock in my left shoe, but no way I was going to stop and take it out), I wasn’t suffering, I just didn’t have much “oomph” to my legs. There were a number of racers who recognized me and would call out my name before I saw them. I must have a distinctive physique. I joked to one guy I ran with for a few miles that they must recognize my butt! For the most part, I had a smile on my face the entire run.
I ended up 5th in my age group out of 18, at 5:48. There were some really fast ladies on the day! So no podium slot. That’s OK. It was a good workout, my 3rd triathlon in 6 weeks (or should I say 4th in 8 weeks?) on top of some serious training, so I really can’t complain. I see some younger athletes doing this sort of stuff and they are able to bang out good performances while racing frequently, but it’s just not in these old bones. Still, I am very fortunate to be healthy and able enough to do this stuff. I like knowing that I can show up at a ½ Ironman on no taper and put in my 2nd fastest time at the age of 49. I am not sure whether I can get faster at this point or how long I will keep this up. I grumble at every race, “Why do I keep doing this????”
My legs were quite sore when I finished the race and the entire way driving home (about 1.5 hours). I was rolling around in my head what I wanted to eat, and I was going to go home first and make the disaster area in my house after unloading my car, but I was going to pass up a restaurant I like very much on the way home, and I figured I had better go eat before going home. After the race, they had run out of the (probably bad) pasta and all that was left was potato chips, bananas and pretzels. I had a handful of chips, drank my Endurox R4 and hit the road rather than wait for bad food to show up.
I stopped at Country House with my blood sugar just about to plummet. My waitress could tell I was hungry probably from the wild eyes I had. She was smart and asked if I was ready to order right away, and I was. A big, tall Weiss beer, an ostrich burger medium rare with Cheddar cheese, and onion rings. The beer arrived pretty quickly, and that got some carbs down me (after I drank a full glass of water, of course). When the food arrived, I lovingly salted the hell out of the onion rings, made a nice pool of ketchup on the plate for them, put some ketchup and tomatoes on the burger, topped it off and cut if in half. That first bite of burger was nirvana! I absolutely love tomatoes or anything to do with tomatoes. Tomatoes and ketchup is like heaven to me! I took my time eating, as despite my appetite, I have a rather small stomach. In fact, a table next to me arrived after me, got their order and finished it before I was done eating! I removed the breading from most of the onion rings and just dipped them into the ketchup. I also LOVE onions. Not raw—but sautéed or grilled I can eat piles of them. Since I figured I wasn’t going to want to cook later on or eat another entire meal, I got 2 slices of lemon merinque pie to go for later. I polished them off about 2 hours after I got home. Not your best pie, but it hit the spot anyway.
I slept fitfully, as my core temperature remained high from the race, and my legs were sore. Today I feel like I am coming around and may go for a swim later just to loosen up my legs a bit.
Oh, and I just registered for Ironman Lake Placid 2007. For my occupation, I listed, “Idiot.”
Here’s what happened last week:
Weekly Totals 07/17/2006-07/23/2006
Swim: 11600 yards (6.58 miles) in 4.02 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1455 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 112 miles in 5.9 hours; 39% of weekly workout time; approx. 3025 calories burned
Run: Approx. 30.63 miles in 4.8 hours; 32% of weekly workout time; approx. 2626 calories burned
Strength: 0.47 hours; 3% of weekly workout time; approx. 118 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 149.21 miles in 15.19 hours; approx. 7224 calories burned
Sleep: 9.11 hours avg./night
Stretching: 1.57 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-07/23/2006
Swim: 379785 yards (215.54 miles) in 133.67 hours
Bike: Approx. 4166.69 miles in 238.6 hours
Run: Approx. 1266.04 miles in 199.09 hours
Strength: 63.77 hours
All Sports: Approx. 5648.27 miles in 635.13 hours; approx. 282521 calories burned
Stretching: 69.91 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-07/23/2006
Swim: 8440 yards (4.79 miles) in 2.97 hours
Bike: Approx. 92.59 miles in 5.3 hours
Run: Approx. 28.13 miles in 4.42 hours
Strength: 1.42 hours
All Sports: Approx. 125.52 miles in 14.11 hours
Sleep: 8.49 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
Accomplishments This Week:
- Triathlon #53 is in the books. 2nd fastest ½ Ironman at the age of 49, almost 50. I’ll take it!
- Got a lot of sleep. I think I’ve been training a lot!
Goals for Next Week:
- Stretch more!
- Recover.
- Ride 100 miles on Sunday at a good clip.
- Sleep.
- Have fun.
Weekly Totals 07/17/2006-07/23/2006 and Spirit of Racine ½ Ironman Race Report
First, the race report.
Did I taper? No.
Did I suffer? Not really. My definition of suffering has changed dramatically since Brazil.
Am I happy with how I raced? I’m OK with it, considering lack of taper.
I had a glimpse that my biking legs were back on Thursday. My watts were up, and it felt easy to generate them. So I figured on a decent bike split in the race. How about my run legs? I have been nailing some rather difficult workouts, but again, I’m not sure what I did Wednesday was appropriate for a taper workout:
WU: 10' Easy, 6 x Strides, 5' Steady with excellent form MS: 4', 6', 10', 6', 4' @ 5k pace with 1' Steady between each. CD; 10' Steady
Do that workout sometime. It will kick your ass and take names!
What about my swimming? I suck. Well, I suck in certain open water venues. In normal lakes I am fine.
So how did the race play out?
The weather was absolutely beautiful. Mid-70’s, perhaps low 80’s, it was hard to tell. Lake Michigan looked fairly calm, but as I am learning, looks can be deceiving. Swimming straight out against the waves, I just couldn’t get it together, so I did a lot of breaststroke. But once we turned to swim parallel to shore, I was fine, and passed a bunch of people. So I probably lost 5’ due to my inability to swim through the first set of waves. But the water temperature was perfect, about 68. I did swallow a little bit of it, but mostly I think I got a pretty good nose enema. I took my wetsuit off in the water, and took too long doing it. Oh well, this wasn’t an “A” race for me.
There’s a long run through the sand back to transition, and you really feel it in your calves. Part of you says, “RUN RUN RUN” because you are in a race, and other part says, “But I just can’t go that fast.” I’m pretty good at transition runs, and I don’t know where they started and stopped the timing, but I just kept going and got to my bike, got my stuff on and away I went.
I committed to my coach’s ½ Ironman wattage guidance for this ride, which meant for the first ½ hour I was to ride easy. As it turns out, I didn’t ride easy enough, but still I held back big time. Which really sucked as we sort of had a tailwind out of town and it was nice and cool. Oh, well, there will be plenty of time to ride fast. I didn’t drink anything until I was 10’ into the ride, either, which is always a good plan to let your stomach settle as you get back to using your legs.
After 30’, I was able to dial up the watts. There were plenty of riders around, so it was very motivating to keep up a good pace. There were numerous draft packs of men. Every time one would go by, I couldn’t help it but I would curse a blue streak at them. F’ing cheaters! I am sure none of these guys was going to win the entire race today, so I really don’t understand why they blatantly cheat. But there was one point where 2 guys went by me, and it was clear they were working together, and a draft marshall came up right behind them and I saw that numbers were being written down. So some justice was served! As the course was quite congested, I knew it was impossible to catch all the drafters, but at least a few of them hopefully learned a lesson.
I definitely felt like I was working on the bike, even with the good conditions. We did have some wind, but I’m not sure how much there was. I just pushed and pushed and periodically looked at the power meter to be sure I was in the right range. It looked good. When I got to transition, I saw the final number, 2:46. Not bad. THAT was a PR for a ½ Ironman, but then again, everyone was riding fast. Turns out my bike split was #2 in my age group.
And now, the run. I didn’t feel bad when I left T2, and felt like I had a decent pace going, but my legs felt heavy. Not “I rode the bike too fast” heavy, but “maybe I’ve been training a lot and my run legs really aren’t recovered from Ironman Brazil heavy.” Considering I had just witnessed the return of my bike legs on Thursday, it seemed reasonable to me that my running legs weren’t quite back. That’s OK. I didn’t walk except a little at aid stations, and I just kept continuously looping some song in my head and kept going. I didn’t really feel bad (except for the rock in my left shoe, but no way I was going to stop and take it out), I wasn’t suffering, I just didn’t have much “oomph” to my legs. There were a number of racers who recognized me and would call out my name before I saw them. I must have a distinctive physique. I joked to one guy I ran with for a few miles that they must recognize my butt! For the most part, I had a smile on my face the entire run.
I ended up 5th in my age group out of 18, at 5:48. There were some really fast ladies on the day! So no podium slot. That’s OK. It was a good workout, my 3rd triathlon in 6 weeks (or should I say 4th in 8 weeks?) on top of some serious training, so I really can’t complain. I see some younger athletes doing this sort of stuff and they are able to bang out good performances while racing frequently, but it’s just not in these old bones. Still, I am very fortunate to be healthy and able enough to do this stuff. I like knowing that I can show up at a ½ Ironman on no taper and put in my 2nd fastest time at the age of 49. I am not sure whether I can get faster at this point or how long I will keep this up. I grumble at every race, “Why do I keep doing this????”
My legs were quite sore when I finished the race and the entire way driving home (about 1.5 hours). I was rolling around in my head what I wanted to eat, and I was going to go home first and make the disaster area in my house after unloading my car, but I was going to pass up a restaurant I like very much on the way home, and I figured I had better go eat before going home. After the race, they had run out of the (probably bad) pasta and all that was left was potato chips, bananas and pretzels. I had a handful of chips, drank my Endurox R4 and hit the road rather than wait for bad food to show up.
I stopped at Country House with my blood sugar just about to plummet. My waitress could tell I was hungry probably from the wild eyes I had. She was smart and asked if I was ready to order right away, and I was. A big, tall Weiss beer, an ostrich burger medium rare with Cheddar cheese, and onion rings. The beer arrived pretty quickly, and that got some carbs down me (after I drank a full glass of water, of course). When the food arrived, I lovingly salted the hell out of the onion rings, made a nice pool of ketchup on the plate for them, put some ketchup and tomatoes on the burger, topped it off and cut if in half. That first bite of burger was nirvana! I absolutely love tomatoes or anything to do with tomatoes. Tomatoes and ketchup is like heaven to me! I took my time eating, as despite my appetite, I have a rather small stomach. In fact, a table next to me arrived after me, got their order and finished it before I was done eating! I removed the breading from most of the onion rings and just dipped them into the ketchup. I also LOVE onions. Not raw—but sautéed or grilled I can eat piles of them. Since I figured I wasn’t going to want to cook later on or eat another entire meal, I got 2 slices of lemon merinque pie to go for later. I polished them off about 2 hours after I got home. Not your best pie, but it hit the spot anyway.
I slept fitfully, as my core temperature remained high from the race, and my legs were sore. Today I feel like I am coming around and may go for a swim later just to loosen up my legs a bit.
Oh, and I just registered for Ironman Lake Placid 2007. For my occupation, I listed, “Idiot.”
Here’s what happened last week:
Weekly Totals 07/17/2006-07/23/2006
Swim: 11600 yards (6.58 miles) in 4.02 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1455 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 112 miles in 5.9 hours; 39% of weekly workout time; approx. 3025 calories burned
Run: Approx. 30.63 miles in 4.8 hours; 32% of weekly workout time; approx. 2626 calories burned
Strength: 0.47 hours; 3% of weekly workout time; approx. 118 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 149.21 miles in 15.19 hours; approx. 7224 calories burned
Sleep: 9.11 hours avg./night
Stretching: 1.57 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-07/23/2006
Swim: 379785 yards (215.54 miles) in 133.67 hours
Bike: Approx. 4166.69 miles in 238.6 hours
Run: Approx. 1266.04 miles in 199.09 hours
Strength: 63.77 hours
All Sports: Approx. 5648.27 miles in 635.13 hours; approx. 282521 calories burned
Stretching: 69.91 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-07/23/2006
Swim: 8440 yards (4.79 miles) in 2.97 hours
Bike: Approx. 92.59 miles in 5.3 hours
Run: Approx. 28.13 miles in 4.42 hours
Strength: 1.42 hours
All Sports: Approx. 125.52 miles in 14.11 hours
Sleep: 8.49 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
Get my head in the game for a long race on Sunday. Wow, am I really ready for a 1/2 Ironman? DONE. Well, my bike legs were ready, but apparently not my run legs. Other than today, since I'm catching up on calories from yesterday still, watch the eating as I am doing a little taper for Sunday's race. DONE.
Did I taper? No.
Did I suffer? Not really. My definition of suffering has changed dramatically since Brazil.
Am I happy with how I raced? I’m OK with it, considering lack of taper.
I had a glimpse that my biking legs were back on Thursday. My watts were up, and it felt easy to generate them. So I figured on a decent bike split in the race. How about my run legs? I have been nailing some rather difficult workouts, but again, I’m not sure what I did Wednesday was appropriate for a taper workout:
WU: 10' Easy, 6 x Strides, 5' Steady with excellent form MS: 4', 6', 10', 6', 4' @ 5k pace with 1' Steady between each. CD; 10' Steady
Do that workout sometime. It will kick your ass and take names!
What about my swimming? I suck. Well, I suck in certain open water venues. In normal lakes I am fine.
So how did the race play out?
The weather was absolutely beautiful. Mid-70’s, perhaps low 80’s, it was hard to tell. Lake Michigan looked fairly calm, but as I am learning, looks can be deceiving. Swimming straight out against the waves, I just couldn’t get it together, so I did a lot of breaststroke. But once we turned to swim parallel to shore, I was fine, and passed a bunch of people. So I probably lost 5’ due to my inability to swim through the first set of waves. But the water temperature was perfect, about 68. I did swallow a little bit of it, but mostly I think I got a pretty good nose enema. I took my wetsuit off in the water, and took too long doing it. Oh well, this wasn’t an “A” race for me.
There’s a long run through the sand back to transition, and you really feel it in your calves. Part of you says, “RUN RUN RUN” because you are in a race, and other part says, “But I just can’t go that fast.” I’m pretty good at transition runs, and I don’t know where they started and stopped the timing, but I just kept going and got to my bike, got my stuff on and away I went.
I committed to my coach’s ½ Ironman wattage guidance for this ride, which meant for the first ½ hour I was to ride easy. As it turns out, I didn’t ride easy enough, but still I held back big time. Which really sucked as we sort of had a tailwind out of town and it was nice and cool. Oh, well, there will be plenty of time to ride fast. I didn’t drink anything until I was 10’ into the ride, either, which is always a good plan to let your stomach settle as you get back to using your legs.
After 30’, I was able to dial up the watts. There were plenty of riders around, so it was very motivating to keep up a good pace. There were numerous draft packs of men. Every time one would go by, I couldn’t help it but I would curse a blue streak at them. F’ing cheaters! I am sure none of these guys was going to win the entire race today, so I really don’t understand why they blatantly cheat. But there was one point where 2 guys went by me, and it was clear they were working together, and a draft marshall came up right behind them and I saw that numbers were being written down. So some justice was served! As the course was quite congested, I knew it was impossible to catch all the drafters, but at least a few of them hopefully learned a lesson.
I definitely felt like I was working on the bike, even with the good conditions. We did have some wind, but I’m not sure how much there was. I just pushed and pushed and periodically looked at the power meter to be sure I was in the right range. It looked good. When I got to transition, I saw the final number, 2:46. Not bad. THAT was a PR for a ½ Ironman, but then again, everyone was riding fast. Turns out my bike split was #2 in my age group.
And now, the run. I didn’t feel bad when I left T2, and felt like I had a decent pace going, but my legs felt heavy. Not “I rode the bike too fast” heavy, but “maybe I’ve been training a lot and my run legs really aren’t recovered from Ironman Brazil heavy.” Considering I had just witnessed the return of my bike legs on Thursday, it seemed reasonable to me that my running legs weren’t quite back. That’s OK. I didn’t walk except a little at aid stations, and I just kept continuously looping some song in my head and kept going. I didn’t really feel bad (except for the rock in my left shoe, but no way I was going to stop and take it out), I wasn’t suffering, I just didn’t have much “oomph” to my legs. There were a number of racers who recognized me and would call out my name before I saw them. I must have a distinctive physique. I joked to one guy I ran with for a few miles that they must recognize my butt! For the most part, I had a smile on my face the entire run.
I ended up 5th in my age group out of 18, at 5:48. There were some really fast ladies on the day! So no podium slot. That’s OK. It was a good workout, my 3rd triathlon in 6 weeks (or should I say 4th in 8 weeks?) on top of some serious training, so I really can’t complain. I see some younger athletes doing this sort of stuff and they are able to bang out good performances while racing frequently, but it’s just not in these old bones. Still, I am very fortunate to be healthy and able enough to do this stuff. I like knowing that I can show up at a ½ Ironman on no taper and put in my 2nd fastest time at the age of 49. I am not sure whether I can get faster at this point or how long I will keep this up. I grumble at every race, “Why do I keep doing this????”
My legs were quite sore when I finished the race and the entire way driving home (about 1.5 hours). I was rolling around in my head what I wanted to eat, and I was going to go home first and make the disaster area in my house after unloading my car, but I was going to pass up a restaurant I like very much on the way home, and I figured I had better go eat before going home. After the race, they had run out of the (probably bad) pasta and all that was left was potato chips, bananas and pretzels. I had a handful of chips, drank my Endurox R4 and hit the road rather than wait for bad food to show up.
I stopped at Country House with my blood sugar just about to plummet. My waitress could tell I was hungry probably from the wild eyes I had. She was smart and asked if I was ready to order right away, and I was. A big, tall Weiss beer, an ostrich burger medium rare with Cheddar cheese, and onion rings. The beer arrived pretty quickly, and that got some carbs down me (after I drank a full glass of water, of course). When the food arrived, I lovingly salted the hell out of the onion rings, made a nice pool of ketchup on the plate for them, put some ketchup and tomatoes on the burger, topped it off and cut if in half. That first bite of burger was nirvana! I absolutely love tomatoes or anything to do with tomatoes. Tomatoes and ketchup is like heaven to me! I took my time eating, as despite my appetite, I have a rather small stomach. In fact, a table next to me arrived after me, got their order and finished it before I was done eating! I removed the breading from most of the onion rings and just dipped them into the ketchup. I also LOVE onions. Not raw—but sautéed or grilled I can eat piles of them. Since I figured I wasn’t going to want to cook later on or eat another entire meal, I got 2 slices of lemon merinque pie to go for later. I polished them off about 2 hours after I got home. Not your best pie, but it hit the spot anyway.
I slept fitfully, as my core temperature remained high from the race, and my legs were sore. Today I feel like I am coming around and may go for a swim later just to loosen up my legs a bit.
Oh, and I just registered for Ironman Lake Placid 2007. For my occupation, I listed, “Idiot.”
Here’s what happened last week:
Weekly Totals 07/17/2006-07/23/2006
Swim: 11600 yards (6.58 miles) in 4.02 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1455 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 112 miles in 5.9 hours; 39% of weekly workout time; approx. 3025 calories burned
Run: Approx. 30.63 miles in 4.8 hours; 32% of weekly workout time; approx. 2626 calories burned
Strength: 0.47 hours; 3% of weekly workout time; approx. 118 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 149.21 miles in 15.19 hours; approx. 7224 calories burned
Sleep: 9.11 hours avg./night
Stretching: 1.57 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-07/23/2006
Swim: 379785 yards (215.54 miles) in 133.67 hours
Bike: Approx. 4166.69 miles in 238.6 hours
Run: Approx. 1266.04 miles in 199.09 hours
Strength: 63.77 hours
All Sports: Approx. 5648.27 miles in 635.13 hours; approx. 282521 calories burned
Stretching: 69.91 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-07/23/2006
Swim: 8440 yards (4.79 miles) in 2.97 hours
Bike: Approx. 92.59 miles in 5.3 hours
Run: Approx. 28.13 miles in 4.42 hours
Strength: 1.42 hours
All Sports: Approx. 125.52 miles in 14.11 hours
Sleep: 8.49 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
Accomplishments This Week:
- Triathlon #53 is in the books. 2nd fastest ½ Ironman at the age of 49, almost 50. I’ll take it!
- Got a lot of sleep. I think I’ve been training a lot!
Goals for Next Week:
- Stretch more!
- Recover.
- Ride 100 miles on Sunday at a good clip.
- Sleep.
- Have fun.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Weekly Workout Totals 07/10/2006-07/16/2006: Countdown to #53!
This week was interesting. I realized that although I am still training quite a bit, that it just feels different. I figured out that just knowing I have an Ironman race in the pipeline gives me a completely different attitude towards things. Without that "monkey on my back," I have a much more relaxed attitude towards training, and life in general. I'm not worried about whether I miss or shorten a workout or whether I went as hard as I should have during a workout. I also am able to experience just how incredibly fit I am without the added mental stress of a HUGE race looming ahead. Plus, it's summer, and this is the first summer since 1998 that I am NOT training towards some huge milestone. Sure, I want to do well in the 3 1/2 Ironmans that I'm doing, beginning this Sunday, but if I just decide to slack through them and only come out in the MOP or even BOP I won't really much care. I will know that I am Iron-fit, and that I will be able to go into next year with my Iron-base well-preserved.
I rode 100 miles yesterday with 2 women who are almost 15 years younger than me--one was my friend Cindy (who blew into town or should I say my face on Saturday), and someone I "picked up" during the ride named Pattie. I had agreed to have Cindy suck my wheel all day, or at least try to. She is the sort of athlete that can do whatever she wants as long as she decides in her head she's going to do it. She's athletically gifted that way. Not me. I have to work hard for it! But I enjoy her company and know she won't hold me back. I was a little bit ahead of Cindy about 10-15 miles into the ride and I came upon Pattie. She looked to be holding a good pace, and I wasn't sure I could stay with her. I introduced myself, and my first question to her was, "Why are you riding alone when you are so fast?" Usually I don't see too many fast women out by themselves. She said a couple of others had bagged on the ride (probably due to the heat). I asked if she minded if we rode together for a bit. Cindy caught up, we exchanged pleasantries, and forged a group. I was the pacer for much of the way, but whenever I'd have an energy lull, Pattie was right there to pick us back up. I was motivated by these girls stick-to-itiveness. Not only did we ride fast, we were able to chat much of the way! We were all holding one another to a good performance. It was H-O-T--in the 90's, and windy. We saw one rider go down with heat stroke. But we were wise and would load up our tops (and me also my shorts) with ice at each rest stop. Unfortunately for Pattie, she got to witness me peeing on the side of a road while holding onto my bike. She didn't understand how I could do that. I told her it's an art. We had missed the first aid station and we were about 30 miles into leg #2 and I had to go. Luckily, I got my shorts back on just before a huge semi turned the corner onto the road we were on! I ran :25 afterwards on a pure black high school track. It was torturous. I was so hot, and it was still very windy, and while I was supposed to run for :40, I figured :25 in the heat was enough. Hey, I didn't need to ride 100 miles, but what the heck! Not like :15 more of running is going to make a difference in my race this week, right?
Saturday I did a 2-mile open water swim. I was just about to put my wetsuit on when who shows up but Cindy. I was so happy to see her, as always, and we made a big scene of hugging and talking. She was only going to swim 1 mile, and she told me she figured I might be there. Nice surprise! Shock of shocks, I swam faster than in any of my 2.4-mile time trials for Ironman Brazil. I really just enjoyed myself. The distance was short about 500 yards--I knew right away when I got out of the water that either I am a world-class contender or the course was short! But even so, I wasn't "racing" it. I just swam relaxed and totally enjoyed it. Afterwards, I ran 2 hours along the lake (relatively). I did a triple out-and-back so I could have (relatively) cold fluid with me. It was scorching hot, too. And I ran on asphalt and sidewalks. At one point, the song, "Footloose" was on the radio, so of course I had to do some fancy footwork. Man, did I get some strange looks, but I didn't care, and it was good to know I remember how to have this amount of fun even while I am baking in a long run.
This all made me remember why it's better to do my long run on Thursday when I am riding long on the weekend. It just makes for a very tired Monday morning! On the other hand, I overdistanced everything except the run for the 1/2 Ironman, so hopefully, an "only" 1.2-mile swim and "only" 56-mile ride won't feel too bad at all! Bonus if it's only in the 80's I might actually have a decent bike and run.
As you look at the totals for the week, remember, I AM NOT IN TRAINING FOR AN IRONMAN. Maybe I just don't know how to train less :) Hey, it's fun, though!
Weekly Totals 07/10/2006-07/16/2006
Swim: 12500 yards (7.09 miles) in 4.25 hours; 22% of weekly workout time; approx. 1487 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 152.94 miles in 8.5 hours; 44% of weekly workout time; approx. 3986 calories burned
Run: Approx. 32.09 miles in 4.87 hours; 25% of weekly workout time; approx. 2208 calories burned
Strength: 1.55 hours; 8% of weekly workout time; approx. 388 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 192.12 miles in 19.17 hours; approx. 8069 calories burned
Sleep: 8.36 hours avg./night
Stretching: 1.72 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-07/16/2006
Swim: 368185 yards (208.96 miles) in 129.65 hours
Bike: Approx. 4054.69 miles in 232.7 hours
Run: Approx. 1235.41 miles in 194.29 hours
Strength: 63.3 hours
All Sports: Approx. 5499.06 miles in 619.94 hours; approx. 275297 calories burned
Stretching: 68.34 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-07/16/2006
Swim: 8368 yards (4.75 miles) in 2.95 hours
Bike: Approx. 92.15 miles in 5.29 hours
Run: Approx. 28.08 miles in 4.42 hours
Strength: 1.44 hours
All Sports: Approx. 124.98 miles in 14.09 hours
Sleep: 8.48 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.01 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
Work on my knee issue. It's all fixed up. All it needed was some target stretching of my rectus femoris and a little self-trigger point work. Do a decent swim at the 2-mile open water swim this coming Saturday. DONE. Surprised myself at just staying relaxed and putting in a good effort even though I hadn't swum much the previous few weeks.
Accomplishments this Week:
Goals for Next Week:
I rode 100 miles yesterday with 2 women who are almost 15 years younger than me--one was my friend Cindy (who blew into town or should I say my face on Saturday), and someone I "picked up" during the ride named Pattie. I had agreed to have Cindy suck my wheel all day, or at least try to. She is the sort of athlete that can do whatever she wants as long as she decides in her head she's going to do it. She's athletically gifted that way. Not me. I have to work hard for it! But I enjoy her company and know she won't hold me back. I was a little bit ahead of Cindy about 10-15 miles into the ride and I came upon Pattie. She looked to be holding a good pace, and I wasn't sure I could stay with her. I introduced myself, and my first question to her was, "Why are you riding alone when you are so fast?" Usually I don't see too many fast women out by themselves. She said a couple of others had bagged on the ride (probably due to the heat). I asked if she minded if we rode together for a bit. Cindy caught up, we exchanged pleasantries, and forged a group. I was the pacer for much of the way, but whenever I'd have an energy lull, Pattie was right there to pick us back up. I was motivated by these girls stick-to-itiveness. Not only did we ride fast, we were able to chat much of the way! We were all holding one another to a good performance. It was H-O-T--in the 90's, and windy. We saw one rider go down with heat stroke. But we were wise and would load up our tops (and me also my shorts) with ice at each rest stop. Unfortunately for Pattie, she got to witness me peeing on the side of a road while holding onto my bike. She didn't understand how I could do that. I told her it's an art. We had missed the first aid station and we were about 30 miles into leg #2 and I had to go. Luckily, I got my shorts back on just before a huge semi turned the corner onto the road we were on! I ran :25 afterwards on a pure black high school track. It was torturous. I was so hot, and it was still very windy, and while I was supposed to run for :40, I figured :25 in the heat was enough. Hey, I didn't need to ride 100 miles, but what the heck! Not like :15 more of running is going to make a difference in my race this week, right?
Saturday I did a 2-mile open water swim. I was just about to put my wetsuit on when who shows up but Cindy. I was so happy to see her, as always, and we made a big scene of hugging and talking. She was only going to swim 1 mile, and she told me she figured I might be there. Nice surprise! Shock of shocks, I swam faster than in any of my 2.4-mile time trials for Ironman Brazil. I really just enjoyed myself. The distance was short about 500 yards--I knew right away when I got out of the water that either I am a world-class contender or the course was short! But even so, I wasn't "racing" it. I just swam relaxed and totally enjoyed it. Afterwards, I ran 2 hours along the lake (relatively). I did a triple out-and-back so I could have (relatively) cold fluid with me. It was scorching hot, too. And I ran on asphalt and sidewalks. At one point, the song, "Footloose" was on the radio, so of course I had to do some fancy footwork. Man, did I get some strange looks, but I didn't care, and it was good to know I remember how to have this amount of fun even while I am baking in a long run.
This all made me remember why it's better to do my long run on Thursday when I am riding long on the weekend. It just makes for a very tired Monday morning! On the other hand, I overdistanced everything except the run for the 1/2 Ironman, so hopefully, an "only" 1.2-mile swim and "only" 56-mile ride won't feel too bad at all! Bonus if it's only in the 80's I might actually have a decent bike and run.
As you look at the totals for the week, remember, I AM NOT IN TRAINING FOR AN IRONMAN. Maybe I just don't know how to train less :) Hey, it's fun, though!
Weekly Totals 07/10/2006-07/16/2006
Swim: 12500 yards (7.09 miles) in 4.25 hours; 22% of weekly workout time; approx. 1487 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 152.94 miles in 8.5 hours; 44% of weekly workout time; approx. 3986 calories burned
Run: Approx. 32.09 miles in 4.87 hours; 25% of weekly workout time; approx. 2208 calories burned
Strength: 1.55 hours; 8% of weekly workout time; approx. 388 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 192.12 miles in 19.17 hours; approx. 8069 calories burned
Sleep: 8.36 hours avg./night
Stretching: 1.72 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-07/16/2006
Swim: 368185 yards (208.96 miles) in 129.65 hours
Bike: Approx. 4054.69 miles in 232.7 hours
Run: Approx. 1235.41 miles in 194.29 hours
Strength: 63.3 hours
All Sports: Approx. 5499.06 miles in 619.94 hours; approx. 275297 calories burned
Stretching: 68.34 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-07/16/2006
Swim: 8368 yards (4.75 miles) in 2.95 hours
Bike: Approx. 92.15 miles in 5.29 hours
Run: Approx. 28.08 miles in 4.42 hours
Strength: 1.44 hours
All Sports: Approx. 124.98 miles in 14.09 hours
Sleep: 8.48 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.01 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
Accomplishments this Week:
- 19 hours. WOW. While not training for an Ironman. It's a little freaky, but I'm having a bunch of fun, so why not?
- Except for Friday and Saturday nights, got plenty of sleep. I had to be up at 4:30AM both weekend days, so that put a crimp in my average weekly hours.
- Did not succumb to heat stroke even though I put in a lot of hours during the hottest parts of the day from Friday through Sunday!
Goals for Next Week:
- Stretch a bit more.
- Get my head in the game for a long race on Sunday. Wow, am I really ready for a 1/2 Ironman? I think my bike and run legs are primed for some speed. We shall see!
- Other than today, since I'm catching up on calories from yesterday still, watch the eating as I am doing a little taper for Sunday's race.
- Go into race day relaxed and happy. Enjoy the day free from worries. Celebrate my fitness!
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Weekly Workout Totals 07/03/2006-07/09/2006: Awesome Week!
I am not sure if this past week was the best week ever, but it was close. We have been having the most beautiful, delightful weather in Chicagoland--70's and low 80's, rain every few days (some now wouldn't hurt), had a day off work and a great ride to show for it, and raced a sprint today, with my dad in attendance!
The race today was 400m/15 mile/5K. I did this race 6 (!) years ago, and back then it was my second triathlon. I was 43 years old, and I came in 3rd in my age group at a time of 1:34.20. Today, it was my 52nd triathlon, I raced 49 years old, came in 2nd in my age group, and my time was 1:21.49. I'd say there has been some experience and improvement! I was hoping for 1st place today, but it was not to be. My run could have been better. Since they didn't quote our actual times when handing out the awards, I don't know by what margin I came in 2nd, but I'll report once I have the numbers.
My Dad came to watch me race today. This is the first time ever he's seen me race. Since the venue wasn't too far from his house, I thought I'd ask him to come and watch if he wanted to. He was a trooper, and got there at 6AM (we started time trial fashion at 6:30), and we had a few minutes to chat. He watched me set up my bike and tried to estimate how long it would take me to be on it once I had finished swimming. He estimated 5'. I told him, "It better not be more than 2'!" He also thought he could lollygag while I was riding, until I told him it shouldn't take me more than 45'.
The race has 2 transition areas that are about 2.3 miles apart. When I went to drop off my run shoes and hat, I just followed other cars with bikes. I saw people leaving running stuff in this parking lot, so that's where I left my stuff. I was laughing because for all I knew it could be some other race! But then I drove back to the start.
The swim is in a 50-meter outdoor pool. The water was unusually warm, which was odd considering it really hasn't been that hot here in weeks. The water temperature felt like about 82. One guy actually wore a wetsuit! Of course, at this race, anything goes. It is the most low-tech race I've ever done. There is no chip timing. They don't give you a swim cap. There are no "triathlon" bike racks. There is no goody bag. They give you a bib number and write your number on your arms and legs. That's it, although we did get a T-shirt at the end. There were plenty of bikes set up in the first transition (and also the second; there's a duathlon that runs concurrently with the triathlon) that were just laying on the ground. Luckily, I got a spot in the ACTUAL BIKE RACKS. Too bad I forgot my lock!
My Dad found me and we had a hug and a kiss. A guy I know from years ago flagged me down. Once, before a super sprint, he commented on how I had had a rotten swim the previous year. I would never comment to someone about a past race mishap right before they were about to start! For this reason, I have always thought the man was an asshole. But he isn't, and I have forgiven. He was doing the duathlon today and hoped to collect hardware by being in a sparse age group (50-54). Turns out he took 4th, and I think I would have beat him in the duathlon. I guess his karma has been restored.
We lined up for the swim and did the usual chatter about "Don't swim over me, please!" I ran into someone else I know, Jason. He was just 2 numbers ahead of me. I commented that he looked really good and had he lost weight? He had. I'm sure he appreciated that comment. I have pretty good "body memory" about people, and am always happy to tell someone that I've noticed improvements. Sometimes I wish it worked the other way, too, and I hope people who know me would do the same. If I ever show up at a race with a fat ass or you can't see my abs (OK, for the next 10 years), PLEASE GIVE ME SHIT!
The girl right behind me (I was #83 and she was #84) passed me after about 150 meters, and I thought good for her. But I didn't think she was swimming that smoothly, so as it turns out I repassed her at about 300 meters. Ah, the benefits of super endurance! I passed several people who were most likely incorrectly seeded, and there were some excellent fades, and my Dad confirmed this later on. He goes, "They take off like a bat out of hell and then they slow down and can't breathe!" Even my 80-year old Dad could teach some of these people a thing or two!
I just did my usual relaxed swim. Since we had to go under the lane ropes every 50 meters, it was a bit of a cluster fuck when 2 or more swimmers would hit the wall at the same time. So my swim time wasn't stellar, but I didn't care. Today was all about the bike!
I climbed out of the pool and ran to my bike, said "Hi" to Dad, put stuff on my head, my number belt and finally my socks and shoes. Mr. Former Asshole had commented to me earlier that he didn't think someone with my experience would wear socks. I told him, "It takes like 2 seconds to put them on is all." Which is about what it took, but I didn't time myself. I was off on my bike in 1:30, under the 2:00 that I had told my Dad.
The bike course has gazillions of turns on it, and I mostly didn't brake. There was some wind, too. I was passed by 1 woman and maybe 2 men was all. I felt like I was riding strong. I could feel a little residual Ironman fatigue, but I was a happy camper on my bike. I had my disk wheel on, and every so often I would sing "Disco Inferno" to myself. That always gets me going! The course was really well-marked, and there were volunteers at every single turn or police officers which made everything go smoothly. Surprisingly, I wasn't in the big chainring the entire time, but I can only remember one time when I let myself coast momentarily to collect myself and take a sip of Gatorade.
When I got to T2, there was my Dad! He says to me, "#83 has returned." I laughed, and said, "In fine form, I think." I'd had a good ride. I had told Dad to not be in the way in the transition area, and he did a great job. I racked my bike and took stuff off and was out of there in 46", so not too bad.
My legs felt fine when I began the run. I didn't want to immediately stop, so that was a good thing. My turnover felt fine. But when I hit Mile 1 my watch said 9:19. I thought I can't be running that slow. And Mile 2 said 10:38, and I was like WTF??? But Mile 3 was cut short, and so I guess all the mile markers were off. Some guy that had finished fast had run back out on the course and let me know when there was 1/4 mile to go. I was so happy, as I didn't really feel like I'd suffered at all on the run. Last mile 6:30. Yeah, right! At any rate, my total 5K time was 26:27. I can go faster than that, but it was fine for today.
My Dad wasn't at the finish, and I thought maybe he didn't know how fast I would be. But I wandered back to T2, and there he was. We spent a few minutes watching what I figured were duathletes riding back in to start their 2nd run. There were bikes everywhere on the ground! I helped a couple of guys with their transitions--again, this is a low-tech race, so that's not a problem (they weren't that fast, so it wasn't like someone else would be losing an award).
I was so proud that my Dad had made it over there. He said I had looked good all day, to which I said, "Imagine doing this for 14 hours." He couldn't fathom it. We went over to the finish area and watched people coming in. Of course, I had to scream for them. It is still always so cool to see people finishing these things in however long it takes them. They are way ahead of everyone who is sitting on their duffs at home!
I wanted to hang out for awards, so I let my Dad go, and thanked him profusely for coming to watch. I don't care if he ever sees me race again, I am happy he did it once. I think spectators should get awards, too. I mean we are out there having tons of fun.
Did I say the weather was gorgeous again? It was maybe 74. It was very humid when I first woke up this morning, but the humidity dissipated by race start, and I couldn't ask for better conditions. While waiting for the triathlon awards to start (they did the duathlon awards first), I got in some stretching, drank more water, and sat in the shade. I was bummed they didn't have all the times for the triathlon, and a tad bummed when I heard my name called for 2nd place. But then I thought, what the hell, it's not like I taper for these things (I ran :35 and biked 1:50 yesterday), and I am the oldest in my age group. Look out 50-54! I believe I'm racing 50-54 in 2 weeks at the Spirit of Racine 1/2 Ironman, and I hope I can have a good showing there, weather permitting.
Now I will retire with a beer and the Sunday newspaper and a little World Cup, and later I'm grilling a bunch of meat. Does a summer day get any better than this? I don't think so.
Here's the week that was. Notice I have added total mileage for all 3 sports. It makes me laugh! I put more total miles on myself in a year than I do on my car!
Weekly Totals 07/03/2006-07/09/2006
Swim: 8915 yards (5.06 miles) in 3.12 hours; 18% of weekly workout time; approx. 1091 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 141.52 miles in 7.53 hours; 43% of weekly workout time; approx. 3579 calories burned
Run: Approx. 34.09 miles in 5.23 hours; 30% of weekly workout time; approx. 2792 calories burned
Strength: 1.57 hours; 9% of weekly workout time; approx. 393 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 180.67 miles in 17.45 hours; approx. 7855 calories burned
Sleep: 8.43 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.37 hours
Season Totals 09/12/2005-07/09/2006
Swim: 355685 yards (201.86 miles) in 125.4 hours
Bike: Approx. 3901.75 miles in 224.2 hours
Run: Approx. 1203.32 miles in 189.42 hours
Strength: 61.75 hours
All Sports: Approx. 5306.93 miles in 600.77 hours; approx. 267228 calories burned
Stretching: 66.62 hours
Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-07/09/2006
Swim: 8272 yards (4.69 miles) in 2.92 hours
Bike: Approx. 90.74 miles in 5.21 hours
Run: Approx. 27.98 miles in 4.41 hours
Strength: 1.44 hours
All Sports: Approx. 123.42 miles in 13.97 hours
Sleep: 8.48 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.02 hours avg./week
Goals from Last Week:
Accomplishments This Week:
- Completed a solid week of training with good volume.
- Had a decent showing at the sprint race.
Goals for Next Week:
- Do whatever my coach tells me to do. Yes, I am back on his training. I know I was doing pretty well at it myself, but now that I've laid out the rest of my season, I will defer to his expertise.
- Work on my knee issue. My right knee is hurting intermittently going down stairs, and I know why--from the road running. I need to work diligently on some trigger points to keep this a minor issue and get rid of it totally. I guess 3 marathons in 8 months can do that to an old lady!
- Do a decent swim at the 2-mile open water swim this coming Saturday. It's in a beautiful, clear lake, and if the weather is decent, I should have no excuses for swimming poorly.
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