Gainesville
After four days off and a skipped fast on Yom Kippur (figured it wasn't a good idea to not eat the entire day before an important training ride. One year. I think God will understand) I felt ready to rock and roll for my first 100-mile bike ride. Ever. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm, but not really hot, and my body felt good. I didn't sleep particularly well but other than that I felt well-prepared. And I needed a good ride to try and reverse the trend of bad workouts.
Bike - 5.5 Hours
2 Lipodrene
3 Advil
1 Salt Tab
I started out on this ride like gangbusters. Just flew down 2nd, then down Waldo, and hit the trailhead in under 7 milutes (a record). Then continued my speed down Hawthorne, hitting Nigbridge in 25 flat and getting to the end of the trail in 55:02. Remembering that this was taking me about 1:03 in the beginning, I felt this was a major stride. Just missed breaking 55 minutes, and averaged 19.9 on the first trip. I was a little worried abount nuking the village here, but in my experience you are generally just as tired at the end of a long ride like this whether you go hard the first 20 miles or pace it. So I went hard.
I took another salt tab and headed back up. I realized then that I had had a bit of a tailwind, and that may have accounted for my record trip. But whatever. I made it back up at 1:40, and my average speed was still 18.9, despite the wind. Here I took 2more Advil and another salt tab, and headed back down. I tought I'd have another great trip given the tailwind, but I noticed it had died down, and only made it to the halfway point at 2:40, meaning it was about 12 minutes slower than my first trip. I was losing speed fast.
On the way back on trip 2, I found myself gettng tired. Not my legs, or even my back so much, but just general fatigue. My back had been hurting from about the 1:15 mark, and despite flooding my body with Advil, I found myself having to take brief, 30-second breaks about every half hour if I was not stopping already. I'm not sure how this is going to work raceday, but it's one of those things that I get mentally fatigued and start going like 15 for a while. Then I'll stop and be able to hit 20 again. Anyway, this last trip I kept slowing down, and having to tell myself "You're better than this" repeatedly to get my speed back up. At the 3:30 mark I took a short break, and felt like taking a nap. It was then I realized I had 2 more hours left. Well, nobody said this was gonna be easy.
Turned around to make my third trip, taking my last 2 Advil and another Lipodrene. I now didn't feel like I needed to take a nap, but getting over 19 was tough. It didn't help that like an idiot I cruised right by the only water fountain for about 20 miles, leaving me with about a bottles worth for that entire stretch. So I think dehyydration my have played a part here too.
I had nothing left on any sort of incline, and was only able to hit 20-22 on declines. I think I averaged about 17 on this last trip, which isn't terrible, but is slower than I want to do. And it was one of those rides where I reeally felt done about an hour and 15 minutes before it was over. But, you perservere. I think that's what the Ironman is about, just keeping it moving when you feel like you're done. And I realized today how hard that is really going to be.
The 90 mile rides had been challenging, but not exhausting. This one had me wanting to stop 2 hours before it was over, which is a big mental obstacle. I talked to Trevor via IM about it last night, and he said I probably need to do at least 2 more to be ready for the big race. I am going to Panama City next Tuesday to do the course, then I think there's a Gainesville Century ride the next weekend. Much as I'm dreading it, I know it's something I have to do to have a good Ironman. Such is life.
I ended up back home at 5:29, having done 98.9 miles. So no, not quite a century, and yes, another mile wouldn't have killed me. But there's plenty of time for that. If you do the math, I averaged just under 18, which had been my goal. So I came just short of my goals today, but had some bright spots. Not a bad first century (almost) ride, but I'm definitely looking to improve on the next ones.
The ride also left my perennium incredibly sore, to the point I couldn't really sit down. Later in the evening I looked at it in the mirror and found I had gotten my first ever hemhorroid. Thanks Ironman! I don't see this hindering training much, but it does make me feel old. But really, after that much time on a bike, I figure it's more like a battle scar. I'm sure that's what fat-ass bus drivers say too. Anyway, hopefully it doesn't hinder training, but I'll keep you posted. The forearm, however, is fine now. Full aero a lot of the ride.
Run - 20 minutes (treadmill)
I got home and had my last gel (I'd done gels every 45 on the bike, with Cliff Bars at 2:15 and 3:50 or so. Still felt fatigued, so I may need to bring more food on my next century ride). Went upstairs, had a Powerade, answered a couple of texts, and went down to the gym at Jefferson. I put the treadmill on 6.2, faster than I usually do for post-ride runs, and it actually felt pretty good. I mean, I kept looking at the time, but the speed felt comfortable. Now, am I going to be able to keep that up for 26 miles? Hell the fuck no, I won't. But the fact that this wasn't completely laborious gave me a little glimmer of pride after an otherwise-difficult workout. That's it for Week 6. 5 weeks of training to go in 39 days. I'm staying in Gainesville until the Miami Beach Half Marathon to just train hard and get myself ready. Home stretch, and it will pay off.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
T86 - Long Effort, then Some Rest - Run
Gainesville
No, I have not been neglecting the training blog. I just have a lot of extra days in my training schedule before the Ironman, and given my recent run of shitty workouts and my right forearm still missing some skin, I thought this would be a good time to use a bunch of them. Also didn't hurt I had the opportunity to go to the UM-Virginia Tech game in Blacksburg, which is a 10 hour drive from here. And I wasn't about to do my longest run ever on some strange course in the middle of nowhere where it was cold and they had hills. So I opted to do my long run Thursday before I left, and save the long bike for the day after Yom Kippur.
Run - 3 Hours
2 Lipodrene
1 Salt Tab
I know at some point I'm going to have to do a long run without the iPod, but today was not to be that day. I even made a new playlist called "Final Ironman Training Mix" that basically combines all the songs I don't skip on my other playlists. At any rate, I ran the campus loop in just over an hour. It was hot, but it was nice to see that even though I was feeling a little sub-par, the heat is still a source of energy, rather than kicking my ass as it had early on in training. First loop, went well, although I chopped steps up the hill. I still felt strong through most of it. I wasn't bounding, but again I realized this was going to be at least 18 miles, so I needed to pace myself.
Then I started the first of 3 and a half down-and-backs to the stadium. Some might think this gets a bit monotonous, but I vastly prefer it to being far away from an aid station, and it breaks the run up nicely. The first one I flew, getting it done in about 28 minutes. This was a faster pace than I was running on the loop, which I found encouraging. Although there are also no hills, which may have played a part. I got back to the Saturn aid station the second time, took another salt tab and another Lipodrene, downed some Gatorade and hit round 2.
My stomach was starting to hurt from all the gels and sugar in the sports drinks, but it went away within about a mile of each lap. I also think this is something I'm going to have to get used to, as I feel like a 12-hour day whose dies consists of only Cliff Bars, Gels, Powerade and Water may lead to some stomach discomfort. At any rate, lap 2 went a little slower, but I still felt like I could run more. I was taking my gels every 45 minutes, and wasn't lacking for energy.
Took my 3rd salt tab here. By round 3, my legs were starting to tire. I realized that this was a much shorter run than the Ironman run (I would have been at about the halfway point here) and I hadn't even biked. But I also realized that the race will be a different mental condition too. I still felt as if I could run, and really only got tired when I stopped. By iPod froze just before round 3 too, which I didn't even notice. Like I got pissed when it froze (2 hours seems to be all it can do without fucking up) but the last 5 miles went by fine without it. This was also encouraging, since I can't use it in the race.
At the end, my legs were tired, I was tired, but I wasn't flat out done. Partly because I started the run at 4, so by the time I hit about 2 hours the sun was going down and it had cooled off (also not unlike race day) but also because I paced myself. By my calculations I did about 18 miles in 3 hours, which is the pace I want to run. God knows if I'll do that race day (doubtful) but I was happy with the effort on this run. I didn't exactly crush it, but it didn't crush me either. I wasn't exactly up for more at the end, but I didn't collapse in a heap either.
After this run, I took 4 days off. I'm sitting here Monday and I feel basically 100%. So the 5.5 hour bike ride tomorrow should be a good test. The arm is healed up for the most part, and I'm ready to go for a solid final month.
No, I have not been neglecting the training blog. I just have a lot of extra days in my training schedule before the Ironman, and given my recent run of shitty workouts and my right forearm still missing some skin, I thought this would be a good time to use a bunch of them. Also didn't hurt I had the opportunity to go to the UM-Virginia Tech game in Blacksburg, which is a 10 hour drive from here. And I wasn't about to do my longest run ever on some strange course in the middle of nowhere where it was cold and they had hills. So I opted to do my long run Thursday before I left, and save the long bike for the day after Yom Kippur.
Run - 3 Hours
2 Lipodrene
1 Salt Tab
I know at some point I'm going to have to do a long run without the iPod, but today was not to be that day. I even made a new playlist called "Final Ironman Training Mix" that basically combines all the songs I don't skip on my other playlists. At any rate, I ran the campus loop in just over an hour. It was hot, but it was nice to see that even though I was feeling a little sub-par, the heat is still a source of energy, rather than kicking my ass as it had early on in training. First loop, went well, although I chopped steps up the hill. I still felt strong through most of it. I wasn't bounding, but again I realized this was going to be at least 18 miles, so I needed to pace myself.
Then I started the first of 3 and a half down-and-backs to the stadium. Some might think this gets a bit monotonous, but I vastly prefer it to being far away from an aid station, and it breaks the run up nicely. The first one I flew, getting it done in about 28 minutes. This was a faster pace than I was running on the loop, which I found encouraging. Although there are also no hills, which may have played a part. I got back to the Saturn aid station the second time, took another salt tab and another Lipodrene, downed some Gatorade and hit round 2.
My stomach was starting to hurt from all the gels and sugar in the sports drinks, but it went away within about a mile of each lap. I also think this is something I'm going to have to get used to, as I feel like a 12-hour day whose dies consists of only Cliff Bars, Gels, Powerade and Water may lead to some stomach discomfort. At any rate, lap 2 went a little slower, but I still felt like I could run more. I was taking my gels every 45 minutes, and wasn't lacking for energy.
Took my 3rd salt tab here. By round 3, my legs were starting to tire. I realized that this was a much shorter run than the Ironman run (I would have been at about the halfway point here) and I hadn't even biked. But I also realized that the race will be a different mental condition too. I still felt as if I could run, and really only got tired when I stopped. By iPod froze just before round 3 too, which I didn't even notice. Like I got pissed when it froze (2 hours seems to be all it can do without fucking up) but the last 5 miles went by fine without it. This was also encouraging, since I can't use it in the race.
At the end, my legs were tired, I was tired, but I wasn't flat out done. Partly because I started the run at 4, so by the time I hit about 2 hours the sun was going down and it had cooled off (also not unlike race day) but also because I paced myself. By my calculations I did about 18 miles in 3 hours, which is the pace I want to run. God knows if I'll do that race day (doubtful) but I was happy with the effort on this run. I didn't exactly crush it, but it didn't crush me either. I wasn't exactly up for more at the end, but I didn't collapse in a heap either.
After this run, I took 4 days off. I'm sitting here Monday and I feel basically 100%. So the 5.5 hour bike ride tomorrow should be a good test. The arm is healed up for the most part, and I'm ready to go for a solid final month.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
T85 - A Disturbing Trend - Bike, Run
Gainesville
New training day, new attitiude. Every non-pool session I'd had this week had been terrible. So today I went out with the mentality that this workout needed to be crushed. I had done this before, and with good results. To make it better, the sun was out, it was hot but not brutal, and I was well-rested. All the makings of a good training day. Which is why today's workout was a little disconcerting.
Bike - 90 Minutes
2 Lipodrene
Bike started out feeling good, cruising fast down Waldo to Hawthorne at my usual cilp of 22-24. But once I hit the trail, something was wrong. I tried to drop into aero at the first straighaway, but still couldn't because of my right forearm. Like I'd manage to do it for a minute or so, but the muscle strain of keeping my weight off my right arm made me tired faster than I wanted to be. So I had to stay upright for the whole ride. The ride down was not impressive, nigbridge in 27, and the Pfifer Woods turnaround, which is where I'd turn on a bad 90 minute ride, I made in 43. Made it to the 30 minute turnaround at 32. So bascially, I was running a couple minutes slower than usual, but faster than a bad ride.
This would have actually been a pretty acceptable ride 6 months ago. Like the times I made it places was about what I was doing then. But I haven't improved this much, and worked this hard, to average 17.5 for a 45-minute bike out. I turned around with this mentailty, and managed to get back to my usual form for most of the trail before getting to the hammock.
I even did the hammock at my usual new speed, which isn't great but it was not a regression. I was averaging about 18.2 at this point, which, while not great, was at least enough to say "ok, that wasn't AWFUL." But when I got to the final incline, I realized I'd pushed it. Like going what had been my normal speed was pushing it, and I had nothing left. I couldn't get much past 16 on the final incline, couldn't get into aero, and even heading back up Waldo couldn't get over 18, even when I pushed it.
I have no idea why, my legs just weren't responding like they had been. I was well rested. My diet had been a bit off, but not awful. I am out of gels (and, more importantly, out of money to buy more until Friday) and had to have some Sharkeez at the turnaround, but does 120 calories really make THAT much difference? Once I realized I wasn't going to average 18, I just kinda dogged it down 2nd Ave until I got home. Ended up averaging 17.8. Again, might have been ok the last cycle, or even the one before. But not today. I was pissed, and wondered how to get out of this funk.
Run - 45 Minutes
1 Lipodrene
I didn't brick these in the hopes of being able to go strong into both. That and the training card didn't call for it, so I felt no need to do it. Anyway, I decided I needed to do whatever it took to have at least one good workout in the short sessions this week, so I took along the iPod. Which did a nice job up to about the 1.5 mile mark. I had a good stride going and gould feel myself pushing myself along. I hit the turnaound by the law school, and already I was feeling a little sluggish.
After the short climb back up to University, I was chopping steps. Just did not want to move fast like I had been. And it was a 45 MINUTE FUCKING RUN! I get like this sometimes an hour and a half into a 2 hour run on a hot day. But a 45 miunte run?! At night?! WTF?! I managed to get back to stride, but I pretty much just lumbered the rest of the way home. I had to stop for the light on 13th, and I felt so tired when I stopped I briefly considered walking home. I didn't, obviously, but still this was another disappointing effort.
I wouldn't characterize either workout today as bad. But definitely sub-par. I've been resting well, although my schedule of having to get up early twice a week may be fucking things up. Also, living off of pizza and chop chop all week may not be helping. Or maybe my body is using more energy than I thought to recover from the crash. I don't know. I IMed Trevor last night and he told me to take a couple of recovery days and get some good rest. This is my plan for the weekend, as I aim to be done with Week 6 with 6 weeks to go. My next two workouts are both super long, and need to be effective training. This trend cannot continue.
New training day, new attitiude. Every non-pool session I'd had this week had been terrible. So today I went out with the mentality that this workout needed to be crushed. I had done this before, and with good results. To make it better, the sun was out, it was hot but not brutal, and I was well-rested. All the makings of a good training day. Which is why today's workout was a little disconcerting.
Bike - 90 Minutes
2 Lipodrene
Bike started out feeling good, cruising fast down Waldo to Hawthorne at my usual cilp of 22-24. But once I hit the trail, something was wrong. I tried to drop into aero at the first straighaway, but still couldn't because of my right forearm. Like I'd manage to do it for a minute or so, but the muscle strain of keeping my weight off my right arm made me tired faster than I wanted to be. So I had to stay upright for the whole ride. The ride down was not impressive, nigbridge in 27, and the Pfifer Woods turnaround, which is where I'd turn on a bad 90 minute ride, I made in 43. Made it to the 30 minute turnaround at 32. So bascially, I was running a couple minutes slower than usual, but faster than a bad ride.
This would have actually been a pretty acceptable ride 6 months ago. Like the times I made it places was about what I was doing then. But I haven't improved this much, and worked this hard, to average 17.5 for a 45-minute bike out. I turned around with this mentailty, and managed to get back to my usual form for most of the trail before getting to the hammock.
I even did the hammock at my usual new speed, which isn't great but it was not a regression. I was averaging about 18.2 at this point, which, while not great, was at least enough to say "ok, that wasn't AWFUL." But when I got to the final incline, I realized I'd pushed it. Like going what had been my normal speed was pushing it, and I had nothing left. I couldn't get much past 16 on the final incline, couldn't get into aero, and even heading back up Waldo couldn't get over 18, even when I pushed it.
I have no idea why, my legs just weren't responding like they had been. I was well rested. My diet had been a bit off, but not awful. I am out of gels (and, more importantly, out of money to buy more until Friday) and had to have some Sharkeez at the turnaround, but does 120 calories really make THAT much difference? Once I realized I wasn't going to average 18, I just kinda dogged it down 2nd Ave until I got home. Ended up averaging 17.8. Again, might have been ok the last cycle, or even the one before. But not today. I was pissed, and wondered how to get out of this funk.
Run - 45 Minutes
1 Lipodrene
I didn't brick these in the hopes of being able to go strong into both. That and the training card didn't call for it, so I felt no need to do it. Anyway, I decided I needed to do whatever it took to have at least one good workout in the short sessions this week, so I took along the iPod. Which did a nice job up to about the 1.5 mile mark. I had a good stride going and gould feel myself pushing myself along. I hit the turnaound by the law school, and already I was feeling a little sluggish.
After the short climb back up to University, I was chopping steps. Just did not want to move fast like I had been. And it was a 45 MINUTE FUCKING RUN! I get like this sometimes an hour and a half into a 2 hour run on a hot day. But a 45 miunte run?! At night?! WTF?! I managed to get back to stride, but I pretty much just lumbered the rest of the way home. I had to stop for the light on 13th, and I felt so tired when I stopped I briefly considered walking home. I didn't, obviously, but still this was another disappointing effort.
I wouldn't characterize either workout today as bad. But definitely sub-par. I've been resting well, although my schedule of having to get up early twice a week may be fucking things up. Also, living off of pizza and chop chop all week may not be helping. Or maybe my body is using more energy than I thought to recover from the crash. I don't know. I IMed Trevor last night and he told me to take a couple of recovery days and get some good rest. This is my plan for the weekend, as I aim to be done with Week 6 with 6 weeks to go. My next two workouts are both super long, and need to be effective training. This trend cannot continue.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
T84 - IDGAF Day - Bike/Run Brick, Swim
Gainesville
This is becoming a disturbing trend. IDGAF, for the unaware, stand for "I Don't Give a Fuck," which was completely my attitude today. Again, this felt like one of those workouts I was squeezing in, even though I had all of Sunday free to do it. I just didn't much feel like getting off the couch.
Bike - 60 minutes
2 Lipodrene
I took my bike into the shop Sunday morning at the crack of 2 p.m. and had it back in an hour, realigned and retaped and ready to roll. So when I got home I was actually pretty motivated for the workout. So much so that I decided half an hour down Waldo-Williston would be a good trip. It's a little more hilly than Hawthorne, but not too bad. It was also the site of my worst ride ever last cycle, the one where I couldn't sleep so I decided to ride early, found it freezing cold, and ended up averaging about 15. But that was in February. It was cold. I was perpetually stressing out about my girlfriend leaving. And I wasn't sleeping. And oh yeah, I'm a little better of a cyclist now. So I figured no big deal.
One again, I figured wrong. I knew something was wrong when I was going 24-26 the whole way down Waldo. As I said before, you really don't notice when you have the wind at your back, and I looked for flags or trees or something and everything looked still. But whatever, I just figured this showed how much I'd improved. Notsomuch. I turned around and for some reason just lost all motivation. The trip back is all uphill, into the wind. Not something I'm a fan of. It didn't help that I couldn't drop down into Aero because of the massive wound on my right forarm, and my shoulders were jamming up, still residual from the accident.
Basically, I was pissed, felt like shit, and didn't want to be there. So even though I averaged about 20 on the way down, I was going a steady 13 a lot of the trip back and ended up averaging 17 for the ride. That's 1 mph slower than I did on my 5 hour ride, which included the crash. Not only that, I turned around at 28 minutes, and made it back in 1:05. Meaning the return trip, of about 9 miles, took 7 minutes longer than the trip down. So maybe that road really is that bad, and it wasn't just my poorer conditioning and stress that led to that awful, awful ride back in February. But who knows. Maybe the run would go better.
Run - 30 minutes
Alright, so get off the bike, have another spoiled yogurt PowerGel and do a nice run to the stadium and back. Can't fuck that up, right? Well, again, I started out strong, but by the time I got to the stadium I was fucking starving and didn't really want to run back. Again, just started chopping my steps, and by the time I got to about 11th St., I decided to say fuck it and walk the rest. Just didn't want to finish. I really don't know why. I'm not sure if the accident took a lot out of me, or I just had a shitty attitude today, but workouts like this need to be few and far between
Swim - 12x100. Practice bi-lateral breathing every other set. Do much later or earlier, but not within a few hours of the brick session
1 Lipodrene
I got back around 5 from the wasted Bike/Run and followed the advice on the card. Headed over to the pool about 9 p.m., which was nice because nobody was there. I was supposed to practice breathing every other set of strokes, but after about one lap (50 meters) of doing this, I said "Fuck this." Lung capacity is one thing I really haven't worked on, and since I was in a shitty training mood I wasn't about to push it. No excuse, I just didn't give a fuck. So I went back to normal breathing as I went through the motions to get this done. I didn't even time myself. I didn't care.
I think around set 8 I actually started pushing it, either because I was warmed up, or the Lipodrene kicked in, or because I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, but the last four sets actually felt really good. So at least I ended a shitty day on a high note.
But I can't afford many more bad workouts during training weeks. I got a month of balls-out training to go before I taper, and I need to make the most of it. Sometimes a couple of bad workouts in a row motivates you to crush the next one, and I hope that's the case here. This trend cannot continue.
This is becoming a disturbing trend. IDGAF, for the unaware, stand for "I Don't Give a Fuck," which was completely my attitude today. Again, this felt like one of those workouts I was squeezing in, even though I had all of Sunday free to do it. I just didn't much feel like getting off the couch.
Bike - 60 minutes
2 Lipodrene
I took my bike into the shop Sunday morning at the crack of 2 p.m. and had it back in an hour, realigned and retaped and ready to roll. So when I got home I was actually pretty motivated for the workout. So much so that I decided half an hour down Waldo-Williston would be a good trip. It's a little more hilly than Hawthorne, but not too bad. It was also the site of my worst ride ever last cycle, the one where I couldn't sleep so I decided to ride early, found it freezing cold, and ended up averaging about 15. But that was in February. It was cold. I was perpetually stressing out about my girlfriend leaving. And I wasn't sleeping. And oh yeah, I'm a little better of a cyclist now. So I figured no big deal.
One again, I figured wrong. I knew something was wrong when I was going 24-26 the whole way down Waldo. As I said before, you really don't notice when you have the wind at your back, and I looked for flags or trees or something and everything looked still. But whatever, I just figured this showed how much I'd improved. Notsomuch. I turned around and for some reason just lost all motivation. The trip back is all uphill, into the wind. Not something I'm a fan of. It didn't help that I couldn't drop down into Aero because of the massive wound on my right forarm, and my shoulders were jamming up, still residual from the accident.
Basically, I was pissed, felt like shit, and didn't want to be there. So even though I averaged about 20 on the way down, I was going a steady 13 a lot of the trip back and ended up averaging 17 for the ride. That's 1 mph slower than I did on my 5 hour ride, which included the crash. Not only that, I turned around at 28 minutes, and made it back in 1:05. Meaning the return trip, of about 9 miles, took 7 minutes longer than the trip down. So maybe that road really is that bad, and it wasn't just my poorer conditioning and stress that led to that awful, awful ride back in February. But who knows. Maybe the run would go better.
Run - 30 minutes
Alright, so get off the bike, have another spoiled yogurt PowerGel and do a nice run to the stadium and back. Can't fuck that up, right? Well, again, I started out strong, but by the time I got to the stadium I was fucking starving and didn't really want to run back. Again, just started chopping my steps, and by the time I got to about 11th St., I decided to say fuck it and walk the rest. Just didn't want to finish. I really don't know why. I'm not sure if the accident took a lot out of me, or I just had a shitty attitude today, but workouts like this need to be few and far between
Swim - 12x100. Practice bi-lateral breathing every other set. Do much later or earlier, but not within a few hours of the brick session
1 Lipodrene
I got back around 5 from the wasted Bike/Run and followed the advice on the card. Headed over to the pool about 9 p.m., which was nice because nobody was there. I was supposed to practice breathing every other set of strokes, but after about one lap (50 meters) of doing this, I said "Fuck this." Lung capacity is one thing I really haven't worked on, and since I was in a shitty training mood I wasn't about to push it. No excuse, I just didn't give a fuck. So I went back to normal breathing as I went through the motions to get this done. I didn't even time myself. I didn't care.
I think around set 8 I actually started pushing it, either because I was warmed up, or the Lipodrene kicked in, or because I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, but the last four sets actually felt really good. So at least I ended a shitty day on a high note.
But I can't afford many more bad workouts during training weeks. I got a month of balls-out training to go before I taper, and I need to make the most of it. Sometimes a couple of bad workouts in a row motivates you to crush the next one, and I hope that's the case here. This trend cannot continue.
Monday, September 21, 2009
T83 - Ironman Swim, Interrupted - Swim
Gainesville
S: long day-mental toughness day!
8 x 500, odds are RPE3, evens RPE 5
2 Lipodrene
Do the math here and you see today's swim is actually a little longer than the Ironman swim. Of course, you don't get to take a nice little breather after every 500 yards there, nor do you have an entire swimming pool to yourself. But it was good to get the distance in anyway.
My first set I did in under 10 minutes, closer to 9 actually. I kept up a solid stroke despite the perpetual soreness in my shoulder from the accident (really feels more jammed than anything else) and the fluid buildup in my right forward. Like it feels significantly heavier than it used to. I kept up this sub-10 pace for the first three, then hit about 10 even on the fourth set. I then took a quick bathroom break (why does swimming always make me have to piss?) has a Vanilla PowerGel (tastes vaguely like spoiled yogurt) and did my second four sets.
The second four were, predictably not as fast. I tried to keep up the intensity of the strokes, but I think my frequency started to die down as I got more tired. My last set ended up being about 12 minutes. The card has this workout listed at 2 hours, and I did it in 85, including the piss break and about 45 seconds between sets. I'm not sure why exactly the guy who wrote this though 4000 meters would take 2 hours, but the timing on swims always confuses me anyway.
At any rate, I felt pretty good after the swim. not terribly tired, but like I'd had a solid workout. I know this is in a totally controlled environment (swimming on Saturday night at an indoor pool means that there are zero other people to deal with) and I had breaks. But it was good to see that my body can handle this muhc swimming this far out. Very encouraging workout.
S: long day-mental toughness day!
8 x 500, odds are RPE3, evens RPE 5
2 Lipodrene
Do the math here and you see today's swim is actually a little longer than the Ironman swim. Of course, you don't get to take a nice little breather after every 500 yards there, nor do you have an entire swimming pool to yourself. But it was good to get the distance in anyway.
My first set I did in under 10 minutes, closer to 9 actually. I kept up a solid stroke despite the perpetual soreness in my shoulder from the accident (really feels more jammed than anything else) and the fluid buildup in my right forward. Like it feels significantly heavier than it used to. I kept up this sub-10 pace for the first three, then hit about 10 even on the fourth set. I then took a quick bathroom break (why does swimming always make me have to piss?) has a Vanilla PowerGel (tastes vaguely like spoiled yogurt) and did my second four sets.
The second four were, predictably not as fast. I tried to keep up the intensity of the strokes, but I think my frequency started to die down as I got more tired. My last set ended up being about 12 minutes. The card has this workout listed at 2 hours, and I did it in 85, including the piss break and about 45 seconds between sets. I'm not sure why exactly the guy who wrote this though 4000 meters would take 2 hours, but the timing on swims always confuses me anyway.
At any rate, I felt pretty good after the swim. not terribly tired, but like I'd had a solid workout. I know this is in a totally controlled environment (swimming on Saturday night at an indoor pool means that there are zero other people to deal with) and I had breaks. But it was good to see that my body can handle this muhc swimming this far out. Very encouraging workout.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
T82 - The Problem With Miami Workouts- Swim, Run
Miami
I went down to Miami for the UM - Georgia Tech football game which was, hands down, he most fun I've had a sporting event in a long time. Definitely an experience worth the five hour drive. That being said, the 3-hour tailgate followed by the 3 hour game followed by a night out at the Tavern led me to feeling a little on the dehydrated and awful side when I woke up Friday morning. I took some Advil and drank some Vitamin Water, and by the time I decided to hit the beach at 2:30 I thought I felt alright. But Miami workouts, they're rarely that good.
Swim - 40 minutes (out of 75 assigned) Open Water
2 Lipodrene
Since I was going to be a place with ample opportunity for open water swimming, I decided to switch around the workout order this week and do this open water swim first. Made sense. So I went over to Key Biscayne with Lindsay, Lauren and Nat, who were nice enough to watch my stuff while I went to train in Biscayne Bay. It was a pleasant Friday, so they got a nice beach day, while I got in my open water swimming.
The problem with swimming off Crandon Park is that the water is so damn shallow. It's great for going to the beach with your family, shitty for open water training. Like I'd go for about 100 years or so, and then all of a sudden I'm grabbing sand on every downstroke, It didn't help that the scab on my right forarm was burning or that my shoulders were still feeling jammed from the accident three days prior. So the strokes were tough, I was constantly having to get up and walk to deeper water, and the water was fucking hot.
Eventually, I got out to water that was deep enough to swim pretty far. The training card called for me to practice sighting, which I did none of, constantly ending up swimming in towards shore because that is where the current was going. I fought the current pretty well for most of the swim, until I hit the end of the park. The end of the park was about a mile from where we set up on the beach, and I thought it would make a good turnaround. But as soon as I decided to turn it around, I started to feel like yacking. Not like on the bike, where it lasts a few minutes and goes away. I mean I seriously felt like sitting down and ralphing for a while.
Sadly, I was out way too deep to do so, so I swam in towards shore to a spot that was shallow and tried to puke. Almost did it, but not quite, so I just sat there hoping it was just the Lipodrene hitting my stomach and that it would wear off. I started feeling better, but as soon as I started swimming again, I wanted to yack. I'm not sure if it was the saltwater or the motion of the waves (the current wasn't bad, but it was definitely knocking me around)or the hangover or the fact that the water was hotter than the air, but I was not feeling up for the rest of the swim. So after a few more attempts, I decided this was now officially counterproductive and swam in to shore and walked the just-under-a-mile back to the towels.
As it was I ended up doing about 1.2 miles, I think. Which isn't bad. but was just over half what the workout called for. I ended up swimming for about 40 minutes, which again is a decent training value, but I wish I'd have done more. Really, the alcohol and lack of sleep in Miami make for some shitty workouts here. Like I'm just trying to get them in instead of focusing on the training value.
Run - 60 Minutes
I was out of gels, and didn't really feel like having a Cliff bar before running, so all I was working off was the Tropi Chop Max I'd had for lunch. Which was enough. Lindsay was nice enough to give me her 3 mile run route in Coral Gables. Which of course completely confused me. I had done a run by their house last time I was down in August, just for fun, and remember not being able to see which street was which because of the fucked up Gables street signs on the ground. I also remember them living in a numbered section where the numbers turned to names, making it doubly confusing.
So I hit the road with no iPod and no nutrition or supplementation, and spent most of my time trying to figure out which street was which so I didn't get lost. In other words, I couldn't really focus on going fast, just on knowing where I was going. And I hate doing runs where I don't really know how far I have to go or have any landmarks, because all you can think is "Where am I? How far have I gone? How much time have I been out here?" And, honestly, I wasn't feeling my best anyway.
The first lap of this course I felt like I ran ok, aside from having to stop a lot to look at street signs and figure out where I was. The second lap was pure apathy. Just getting it over with so I could hurry up and get to Happy Hour. Yeah, I know i said I had to prioritize training. And it's easy to do in Gainesville because I'm not seeing people I don't see every day. And it wasn't so hard in New York because I scheduled it in, and visited people around that schedule. But in Miami, I guess it's tough. I not only have a lot of people I want to see there, but a lot of old habits that I'm used to insofar as going out.
So that all being said, I think I'm going to only have one more Miami trip before the Ironman. Probably for a half-marathon in October. I just can't stay disciplined enough when I'm down there, are I also end up spending too much money, even when I barely go out. Sad, but then again I'm moving back in December. After the Ironman, and plenty of time to slip back into old habits then.
I went down to Miami for the UM - Georgia Tech football game which was, hands down, he most fun I've had a sporting event in a long time. Definitely an experience worth the five hour drive. That being said, the 3-hour tailgate followed by the 3 hour game followed by a night out at the Tavern led me to feeling a little on the dehydrated and awful side when I woke up Friday morning. I took some Advil and drank some Vitamin Water, and by the time I decided to hit the beach at 2:30 I thought I felt alright. But Miami workouts, they're rarely that good.
Swim - 40 minutes (out of 75 assigned) Open Water
2 Lipodrene
Since I was going to be a place with ample opportunity for open water swimming, I decided to switch around the workout order this week and do this open water swim first. Made sense. So I went over to Key Biscayne with Lindsay, Lauren and Nat, who were nice enough to watch my stuff while I went to train in Biscayne Bay. It was a pleasant Friday, so they got a nice beach day, while I got in my open water swimming.
The problem with swimming off Crandon Park is that the water is so damn shallow. It's great for going to the beach with your family, shitty for open water training. Like I'd go for about 100 years or so, and then all of a sudden I'm grabbing sand on every downstroke, It didn't help that the scab on my right forarm was burning or that my shoulders were still feeling jammed from the accident three days prior. So the strokes were tough, I was constantly having to get up and walk to deeper water, and the water was fucking hot.
Eventually, I got out to water that was deep enough to swim pretty far. The training card called for me to practice sighting, which I did none of, constantly ending up swimming in towards shore because that is where the current was going. I fought the current pretty well for most of the swim, until I hit the end of the park. The end of the park was about a mile from where we set up on the beach, and I thought it would make a good turnaround. But as soon as I decided to turn it around, I started to feel like yacking. Not like on the bike, where it lasts a few minutes and goes away. I mean I seriously felt like sitting down and ralphing for a while.
Sadly, I was out way too deep to do so, so I swam in towards shore to a spot that was shallow and tried to puke. Almost did it, but not quite, so I just sat there hoping it was just the Lipodrene hitting my stomach and that it would wear off. I started feeling better, but as soon as I started swimming again, I wanted to yack. I'm not sure if it was the saltwater or the motion of the waves (the current wasn't bad, but it was definitely knocking me around)or the hangover or the fact that the water was hotter than the air, but I was not feeling up for the rest of the swim. So after a few more attempts, I decided this was now officially counterproductive and swam in to shore and walked the just-under-a-mile back to the towels.
As it was I ended up doing about 1.2 miles, I think. Which isn't bad. but was just over half what the workout called for. I ended up swimming for about 40 minutes, which again is a decent training value, but I wish I'd have done more. Really, the alcohol and lack of sleep in Miami make for some shitty workouts here. Like I'm just trying to get them in instead of focusing on the training value.
Run - 60 Minutes
I was out of gels, and didn't really feel like having a Cliff bar before running, so all I was working off was the Tropi Chop Max I'd had for lunch. Which was enough. Lindsay was nice enough to give me her 3 mile run route in Coral Gables. Which of course completely confused me. I had done a run by their house last time I was down in August, just for fun, and remember not being able to see which street was which because of the fucked up Gables street signs on the ground. I also remember them living in a numbered section where the numbers turned to names, making it doubly confusing.
So I hit the road with no iPod and no nutrition or supplementation, and spent most of my time trying to figure out which street was which so I didn't get lost. In other words, I couldn't really focus on going fast, just on knowing where I was going. And I hate doing runs where I don't really know how far I have to go or have any landmarks, because all you can think is "Where am I? How far have I gone? How much time have I been out here?" And, honestly, I wasn't feeling my best anyway.
The first lap of this course I felt like I ran ok, aside from having to stop a lot to look at street signs and figure out where I was. The second lap was pure apathy. Just getting it over with so I could hurry up and get to Happy Hour. Yeah, I know i said I had to prioritize training. And it's easy to do in Gainesville because I'm not seeing people I don't see every day. And it wasn't so hard in New York because I scheduled it in, and visited people around that schedule. But in Miami, I guess it's tough. I not only have a lot of people I want to see there, but a lot of old habits that I'm used to insofar as going out.
So that all being said, I think I'm going to only have one more Miami trip before the Ironman. Probably for a half-marathon in October. I just can't stay disciplined enough when I'm down there, are I also end up spending too much money, even when I barely go out. Sad, but then again I'm moving back in December. After the Ironman, and plenty of time to slip back into old habits then.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
T81 - CRASH - Bike/Run Brick
Gainesville
I'm not liking these shorter days. I woke up at about noon on Tuesday and realized that in order to get in this 5 hour bike ride before it got dark, I had to leave by 2. Which was cool. Gave me a chance to watch Maury before I left. But still, I would have liked another hour or so to get mentally prepared.
Bike - 5 Hours
2 Lipodrene
3 Advil
1 Salt Tab
Today was to be a ride that went almost 3 times down Hawthorne and back. I am very encouraged by the fact that every time I do this trail, I am setting a new record in the time it takes me to get to the end. Today it was 56:10 for the first trip down, averaging almost 19. And I wasn't even that tired. I was low on gels, so I took a gel at 45 minutes and 90 minutes, then a bar at 2:15, which I think worked well. I seem to lose about .2 of a mile per hour off my average each trip, which I'm not thrilled about but I figure it's better to go hard that first 2 hours, because I think I'd end up doing 18 or so either way by the last trip down. Point is, I had a record first trip today and that was good. Took a salt tab at the turn around, then another 2 Advil at the end of trip 1.
Trip 2 also went nicely. Made it down in under an hour still, would have been 58 if you factored in the extra time from my house to the trailhead. Took a 3rd Lipodrene at the 2:30 mark, figuring that was about all the booster I'd need for the remainder of the ride. Finished the second trip at about 3:40, which I felt was a pretty solid time for 71 miles. Turned around for trip 3 and popped my last 2 Advil and a salt tab. Gels were working well. Body was feeling ok. my low back went in and out of pain, which I'll chalk up to Advil wearing off and kicking in. My shoulders also started to feel a little sore from all the time in Aero.
Anyway, I turned it around at the 4:17 mark, and wouldn't you know it it started to rain. Which I'm usually ok with, save for the filth it adds to my bike. Well I was trying to push the fast spots so I could end up averaging over 18 (my goal was 18 average, 90 miles for the ride)and this may not have been the best idea. I hit the final big curve (marked by a sign that reads "Big Curve") at about 22-23, and began to apply my brakes where I usually do. Unfortunately I seem to have forgotten that brakes do not work as well in the rain as they do when it's dry. Next thing I know I'm skidding around the curve at about 18, slamming my right side into the ground, and watching my bike fly over my head. I just said there thinking "Fuck, this hurts," and looking at my various new body parts that lacked skin. My right forearm got the worst of it, pretty much skinning the entire thing from my elbow half way down.
I did make a point to keep my head up to avoid another concussion. So I got up pretty quickly, dusted myself off, and re-did the chain to get ready to move. Then I noticed my handlebars were pretty much at a 45 degree angle to the frame. Yeah, definitely fucked my shit up. I bent them back to about a 10 degree angle, and biked the final 4 miles home like that. Which put a lot of stress on my left shoulder, which was already sore since it never leaves the handlebars. Sadly, I was not able to get into aero for any of the last part of the ride, and ended up averaging 18 and doing 91 miles in just over 5 hours. Would have been 18.1 or 18.2, but the last 4 miles were a lot slower than I would have liked. A lopsided, fucked up bike doesn't help. I got home covered in filth and blood, leaving a nice blood stain on my door, and necessitating a shower before I hit the treadmill.
Run - 30 minutes (treadmill)
I showered off, had my last gel, and hit the treadmill. The exposed flesh burned like a motherfucker in the shower, and I knew the sweat wasn't going to be any better. So I put a wristband over as much of my raw right forearm as I could, and hit the Jefferson 2nd Treadmill (thought some of the sorority girls down there might have been a little grossed out by a giant bleeding arm running next to them too). After the 91 mile ride, I felt a speed of 6 would suffice for today. And it was hard. Not brutally hard, but it was definitely a strain to keep that speed up for the whole half hour. I did it. Didn't like it, but I did it. I seriously hope I can at least start at this speed for a while during the Ironman. I know I'm not setting any records in my marathon, but I'd like to finish in a respectable time.
I'm relatively certain I'm not injured from the crash, and it wouldn't be a training cycle without at least one accident. Hopefully this is the only one, but you never know. Maybe the fatigue had something to do with it. but for now, I'm going to blame it on the rain.
I'm not liking these shorter days. I woke up at about noon on Tuesday and realized that in order to get in this 5 hour bike ride before it got dark, I had to leave by 2. Which was cool. Gave me a chance to watch Maury before I left. But still, I would have liked another hour or so to get mentally prepared.
Bike - 5 Hours
2 Lipodrene
3 Advil
1 Salt Tab
Today was to be a ride that went almost 3 times down Hawthorne and back. I am very encouraged by the fact that every time I do this trail, I am setting a new record in the time it takes me to get to the end. Today it was 56:10 for the first trip down, averaging almost 19. And I wasn't even that tired. I was low on gels, so I took a gel at 45 minutes and 90 minutes, then a bar at 2:15, which I think worked well. I seem to lose about .2 of a mile per hour off my average each trip, which I'm not thrilled about but I figure it's better to go hard that first 2 hours, because I think I'd end up doing 18 or so either way by the last trip down. Point is, I had a record first trip today and that was good. Took a salt tab at the turn around, then another 2 Advil at the end of trip 1.
Trip 2 also went nicely. Made it down in under an hour still, would have been 58 if you factored in the extra time from my house to the trailhead. Took a 3rd Lipodrene at the 2:30 mark, figuring that was about all the booster I'd need for the remainder of the ride. Finished the second trip at about 3:40, which I felt was a pretty solid time for 71 miles. Turned around for trip 3 and popped my last 2 Advil and a salt tab. Gels were working well. Body was feeling ok. my low back went in and out of pain, which I'll chalk up to Advil wearing off and kicking in. My shoulders also started to feel a little sore from all the time in Aero.
Anyway, I turned it around at the 4:17 mark, and wouldn't you know it it started to rain. Which I'm usually ok with, save for the filth it adds to my bike. Well I was trying to push the fast spots so I could end up averaging over 18 (my goal was 18 average, 90 miles for the ride)and this may not have been the best idea. I hit the final big curve (marked by a sign that reads "Big Curve") at about 22-23, and began to apply my brakes where I usually do. Unfortunately I seem to have forgotten that brakes do not work as well in the rain as they do when it's dry. Next thing I know I'm skidding around the curve at about 18, slamming my right side into the ground, and watching my bike fly over my head. I just said there thinking "Fuck, this hurts," and looking at my various new body parts that lacked skin. My right forearm got the worst of it, pretty much skinning the entire thing from my elbow half way down.
I did make a point to keep my head up to avoid another concussion. So I got up pretty quickly, dusted myself off, and re-did the chain to get ready to move. Then I noticed my handlebars were pretty much at a 45 degree angle to the frame. Yeah, definitely fucked my shit up. I bent them back to about a 10 degree angle, and biked the final 4 miles home like that. Which put a lot of stress on my left shoulder, which was already sore since it never leaves the handlebars. Sadly, I was not able to get into aero for any of the last part of the ride, and ended up averaging 18 and doing 91 miles in just over 5 hours. Would have been 18.1 or 18.2, but the last 4 miles were a lot slower than I would have liked. A lopsided, fucked up bike doesn't help. I got home covered in filth and blood, leaving a nice blood stain on my door, and necessitating a shower before I hit the treadmill.
Run - 30 minutes (treadmill)
I showered off, had my last gel, and hit the treadmill. The exposed flesh burned like a motherfucker in the shower, and I knew the sweat wasn't going to be any better. So I put a wristband over as much of my raw right forearm as I could, and hit the Jefferson 2nd Treadmill (thought some of the sorority girls down there might have been a little grossed out by a giant bleeding arm running next to them too). After the 91 mile ride, I felt a speed of 6 would suffice for today. And it was hard. Not brutally hard, but it was definitely a strain to keep that speed up for the whole half hour. I did it. Didn't like it, but I did it. I seriously hope I can at least start at this speed for a while during the Ironman. I know I'm not setting any records in my marathon, but I'd like to finish in a respectable time.
I'm relatively certain I'm not injured from the crash, and it wouldn't be a training cycle without at least one accident. Hopefully this is the only one, but you never know. Maybe the fatigue had something to do with it. but for now, I'm going to blame it on the rain.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
T80 - Race for The Cure, And My Bag - Run
Central Park, New York
Maureen and her friend Ally have decided to train for a half-marathon together. Very inspiring. And the first step on this road to semi-endurance racing was New York City's Race for the Cure in Central Park. I almost feel bad doing these, because I know to some of the people running it it is a really big deal to run 3.2 miles. For me, it could have basically been a day off, and I didn't feel much of a sense of accomplishment after finishing. But it really puts things in perspective, insofar as what level of fitness you are at when training for an Ironman. I guess the whole thing would have been inspirational if you're the sort of person who has never walked further than from the TV to the fridge, and you felt like you were pushing yourself for a good cause. I, however did not. It was just a fun thing to do on a Sunday morning, and a souvenir T-Shirt. Nonetheless, I joined Team Turtle Power, and found myself waking up at 7 a.m. on a Sunday and taking the subway to Central Park.
To say this was a big race would be an understatement. I believe roughly one-third of New York City was there. I got off the subway and met up with the rest of the team, consisting of Maureen's coworkers Ally and Jordan,, and was almost immediately lost in the throng of people wearing the pink and white race shirts. Then came time to check my bag.
You know, you always have some extra shit at any kind of race, like a wallet, cell phone, shirt to wear home so you dont gross out everyone on the subway. That kinda shit. But so did the other 25,000 people doing this race (not an exaggeration). And there was exactly one bag check, which consisted of some clueless volunteers tossing them all on a pile with some excuse for a claim check attached to it. I felt very secure leaving my wallet, phone, iPod and Lipodrene under the watchful eyes of some kids who couldn't even figure out an organization system. So as I stood behind about 20,000 people, four city blocks from the starting line, I realized the line to get bags might also be four blocks long. And I hate lines.
Run - 60 minutes
2 Lipodrene
No, it did not take me 60 minutes to do a 5K. Christ, I'm not THAT slow. But here's what happened:
As Uma Thurman, Michael Bloomberg, Judge Judy and Stephen Colbert all gave inspirational speeches to kick off the race, I realized that this bag check thing would serve as extra motivation for me to run faster. Every person i pass, after all, is another person I don't have to wait for to find their bag in the endless pile of shit that was the bag check. What I did not know is that the runners were supposed to start before the walkers (which comprised probably 75 percent of the race) and got stuck behind all of them, not moving, looking at the starting line. I finally decided to say to Hell with teamwork and running with the girls, and strided it out on the sidewalk to the starting line.
Took me twelve minutes. Twelve minutes just to START. I jogged past the celebrity-filled starting line to get to the course, whereI just took off. Now again, I do not run fast, but I run faster than most of the people in this race. So I was just straight dodging people through all of Central Park, running in and out of the pink-ribbon marked course. It was kinda like Voodoo People, but I wasn't blindfolded. And every person I passed I tohught "Well, motherfucker, looks lik you'll have to wait for ME to get my bag!" Every person who passed me (like maybe 4), I made a point to pass again because I knew that could be ten minutes of bag-findgin I could save. Impatience works well as motviation.
Despite pushing it, I still only finished in 26 minutes, which is not stellar. I'm going to go ahead and blame al lthe hills in Central Park. But as soon as I was done, all I could think was 'Ok, where's the fucking bag check?" So I jsut kept running. I ran and asked about 5 volunteers, none of whom had any idea. I ran some more until I ended up back on the course with all the walkers, where I ran about another mile until I found one volunteer who told me the bag check was on 72nd street, and gave me directions.
I ran the 3/4 of a mile to the bag check, and the volunteers basically told me to go dig through the pile myseld. I briefly considered trying to find a bag with some good shit in it, but ultimately I was able to find mine in under 5 minutes, at which point I put on my iPod, got back on the course at the 1.5 mile mark, and ran half the damn thing again. Not nearly as motivated this time, and having to run over walkers on the way back. I felt kinda bad, since they were sjut out for a morning constitutional for breast cancer, and I was blowing by them like that guy goign 110 on the freeway. btu whatever. I had some good music on and didn't want to slow down.
Eventually, I made it back to the finish line for a second time, a full hour after I started the race. The training card called for a 70 minute run, but given that I ran faster and with hills (hills covered in horseshit from those fucking handsome carraige things, I might add) I figured this should suffice. I met up with my teammates, who were thrilled they ran the entire length of the course, took some pictures, and got on the subway home.
I wouldn't exactly call this a tuneup race, but it was certainly worth doing. There won't be near than number of celebrities at my Ironaman, nor will it go through a world famous park, nor will I have to dodge 20,000 walkers. But hey, I did somethign for charity and not myself. I almost feel a little bit dirty.
Maureen and her friend Ally have decided to train for a half-marathon together. Very inspiring. And the first step on this road to semi-endurance racing was New York City's Race for the Cure in Central Park. I almost feel bad doing these, because I know to some of the people running it it is a really big deal to run 3.2 miles. For me, it could have basically been a day off, and I didn't feel much of a sense of accomplishment after finishing. But it really puts things in perspective, insofar as what level of fitness you are at when training for an Ironman. I guess the whole thing would have been inspirational if you're the sort of person who has never walked further than from the TV to the fridge, and you felt like you were pushing yourself for a good cause. I, however did not. It was just a fun thing to do on a Sunday morning, and a souvenir T-Shirt. Nonetheless, I joined Team Turtle Power, and found myself waking up at 7 a.m. on a Sunday and taking the subway to Central Park.
To say this was a big race would be an understatement. I believe roughly one-third of New York City was there. I got off the subway and met up with the rest of the team, consisting of Maureen's coworkers Ally and Jordan,, and was almost immediately lost in the throng of people wearing the pink and white race shirts. Then came time to check my bag.
You know, you always have some extra shit at any kind of race, like a wallet, cell phone, shirt to wear home so you dont gross out everyone on the subway. That kinda shit. But so did the other 25,000 people doing this race (not an exaggeration). And there was exactly one bag check, which consisted of some clueless volunteers tossing them all on a pile with some excuse for a claim check attached to it. I felt very secure leaving my wallet, phone, iPod and Lipodrene under the watchful eyes of some kids who couldn't even figure out an organization system. So as I stood behind about 20,000 people, four city blocks from the starting line, I realized the line to get bags might also be four blocks long. And I hate lines.
Run - 60 minutes
2 Lipodrene
No, it did not take me 60 minutes to do a 5K. Christ, I'm not THAT slow. But here's what happened:
As Uma Thurman, Michael Bloomberg, Judge Judy and Stephen Colbert all gave inspirational speeches to kick off the race, I realized that this bag check thing would serve as extra motivation for me to run faster. Every person i pass, after all, is another person I don't have to wait for to find their bag in the endless pile of shit that was the bag check. What I did not know is that the runners were supposed to start before the walkers (which comprised probably 75 percent of the race) and got stuck behind all of them, not moving, looking at the starting line. I finally decided to say to Hell with teamwork and running with the girls, and strided it out on the sidewalk to the starting line.
Took me twelve minutes. Twelve minutes just to START. I jogged past the celebrity-filled starting line to get to the course, whereI just took off. Now again, I do not run fast, but I run faster than most of the people in this race. So I was just straight dodging people through all of Central Park, running in and out of the pink-ribbon marked course. It was kinda like Voodoo People, but I wasn't blindfolded. And every person I passed I tohught "Well, motherfucker, looks lik you'll have to wait for ME to get my bag!" Every person who passed me (like maybe 4), I made a point to pass again because I knew that could be ten minutes of bag-findgin I could save. Impatience works well as motviation.
Despite pushing it, I still only finished in 26 minutes, which is not stellar. I'm going to go ahead and blame al lthe hills in Central Park. But as soon as I was done, all I could think was 'Ok, where's the fucking bag check?" So I jsut kept running. I ran and asked about 5 volunteers, none of whom had any idea. I ran some more until I ended up back on the course with all the walkers, where I ran about another mile until I found one volunteer who told me the bag check was on 72nd street, and gave me directions.
I ran the 3/4 of a mile to the bag check, and the volunteers basically told me to go dig through the pile myseld. I briefly considered trying to find a bag with some good shit in it, but ultimately I was able to find mine in under 5 minutes, at which point I put on my iPod, got back on the course at the 1.5 mile mark, and ran half the damn thing again. Not nearly as motivated this time, and having to run over walkers on the way back. I felt kinda bad, since they were sjut out for a morning constitutional for breast cancer, and I was blowing by them like that guy goign 110 on the freeway. btu whatever. I had some good music on and didn't want to slow down.
Eventually, I made it back to the finish line for a second time, a full hour after I started the race. The training card called for a 70 minute run, but given that I ran faster and with hills (hills covered in horseshit from those fucking handsome carraige things, I might add) I figured this should suffice. I met up with my teammates, who were thrilled they ran the entire length of the course, took some pictures, and got on the subway home.
I wouldn't exactly call this a tuneup race, but it was certainly worth doing. There won't be near than number of celebrities at my Ironaman, nor will it go through a world famous park, nor will I have to dodge 20,000 walkers. But hey, I did somethign for charity and not myself. I almost feel a little bit dirty.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
T79 - Swimming, Manhattan Style - Swim
New York
The highlight of this workout may have come before it even started. Maureen was nice enough to bring me as a guest to 24 Hour Fitness - Derek Jeter somewhere in midtown. Sadly, no Derek Jeter inspirational comments ala 24 Hour-Shaq in Miami.But the gym was nice enough, and when we went in she scanned her card and told the guy at the desk I was coming in as a guest. And he just told us to go ahead. As in no guest fee, which is unheard of at a 24 Hour Fitness unless you have guest prvilages. Which Maureen does not. Anyway, I saved myself the $20 guest fee. And really, it was that kind of weekend.
It was funny though, people asked me what I wanted to do while I was in New York, and "swim" was my first answer (after the Maruy Show, the Mets Game and the Race for the Cure). Like I had a free Saturday in Manhattan, and despite not getting out of bed until noon, the pool at the Derek Jeter Sport was my #1 destination. Training is awesome!
S: long day
wu: 200swim, 200kick, 200pull, 200swim
main: 1900 ladder. Do a set of 300, then 275, 250, etc…until 25
10 x 100 (descend 1-5, 6-10)
2 Lipodrene
I was excited about this free swim, until I saw the pool. Like so many things in New York, it was about a tenth the size of what a normal person would expect. There was exactly one full lane, with some floaty lane next to it that wasn't more than ten yards long, and a jacuzzi. The whole room would have fit in about half the pool at GHFC. Fucking Manhattan, there's just no fucking space.
So I did the warmup, thinking by eyeing the one lap lane was a half-lane. Like 12.5 yards. So I did 8 laps instead of the usual 4 for each set, and the fucking thing took half an hour. I felt like I was swimming pretty strong, so I asked the lifeguard how long the pool was. 20 yards. I thought for a minute about just saying "Fuck it" and waiting for Maureen to finish her wokrout while I watch college football while walking on a treadmill, but I then realized I had to get this swim in. It was a long day and not something I could skip. So this would require some math.
What I essentially did was calculate the distances before each set and figure out how many 40-yard laps it would be. Obviously, they did not all divide envenly. So I rounded up 2 laps, and rounded down one. Like the 250 set would have been 6 and a quarter laps, so I just did 6.5, Then the 225 set would have been Five and a three quarters laps, and I just did 5 and a half. It all worked out in the end, and actually the shorter laps made this easier, believe it or not. I wasn't able to get up as much speed, but because the turnaround was shorter, I swam harder each length.
Now, I'm not going to go out and to and find a mini-pool anywhere. The Olympic-sized pools are good by me. But this swim went surprisingly well, despite the Manhattan-sized swim area. Yet another reason I really don't understand how anyone in a city like this ever trains for Ironmans. Like where the fuck are you supposed to bike? You can only do that Central Park loop so many times before you go nuts, and the idea of taking my bike downstairs to a subway is just not appealing. This was a thought that came to my mind when I was vaguely considering spending the summer in Chicago last March, actually. And I won't lie when I say that the logistical difficulty of training (and vicious wind) was one of the many factors that made me realize Chicago was a dumb idea.
So I now have a newfound respect for triathletes from super-urban cities like New York. It's a whole different level of dedication when you can't just bike out your door to a nice bike trail, or find an empty, olympic sized pool.
The highlight of this workout may have come before it even started. Maureen was nice enough to bring me as a guest to 24 Hour Fitness - Derek Jeter somewhere in midtown. Sadly, no Derek Jeter inspirational comments ala 24 Hour-Shaq in Miami.But the gym was nice enough, and when we went in she scanned her card and told the guy at the desk I was coming in as a guest. And he just told us to go ahead. As in no guest fee, which is unheard of at a 24 Hour Fitness unless you have guest prvilages. Which Maureen does not. Anyway, I saved myself the $20 guest fee. And really, it was that kind of weekend.
It was funny though, people asked me what I wanted to do while I was in New York, and "swim" was my first answer (after the Maruy Show, the Mets Game and the Race for the Cure). Like I had a free Saturday in Manhattan, and despite not getting out of bed until noon, the pool at the Derek Jeter Sport was my #1 destination. Training is awesome!
S: long day
wu: 200swim, 200kick, 200pull, 200swim
main: 1900 ladder. Do a set of 300, then 275, 250, etc…until 25
10 x 100 (descend 1-5, 6-10)
2 Lipodrene
I was excited about this free swim, until I saw the pool. Like so many things in New York, it was about a tenth the size of what a normal person would expect. There was exactly one full lane, with some floaty lane next to it that wasn't more than ten yards long, and a jacuzzi. The whole room would have fit in about half the pool at GHFC. Fucking Manhattan, there's just no fucking space.
So I did the warmup, thinking by eyeing the one lap lane was a half-lane. Like 12.5 yards. So I did 8 laps instead of the usual 4 for each set, and the fucking thing took half an hour. I felt like I was swimming pretty strong, so I asked the lifeguard how long the pool was. 20 yards. I thought for a minute about just saying "Fuck it" and waiting for Maureen to finish her wokrout while I watch college football while walking on a treadmill, but I then realized I had to get this swim in. It was a long day and not something I could skip. So this would require some math.
What I essentially did was calculate the distances before each set and figure out how many 40-yard laps it would be. Obviously, they did not all divide envenly. So I rounded up 2 laps, and rounded down one. Like the 250 set would have been 6 and a quarter laps, so I just did 6.5, Then the 225 set would have been Five and a three quarters laps, and I just did 5 and a half. It all worked out in the end, and actually the shorter laps made this easier, believe it or not. I wasn't able to get up as much speed, but because the turnaround was shorter, I swam harder each length.
Now, I'm not going to go out and to and find a mini-pool anywhere. The Olympic-sized pools are good by me. But this swim went surprisingly well, despite the Manhattan-sized swim area. Yet another reason I really don't understand how anyone in a city like this ever trains for Ironmans. Like where the fuck are you supposed to bike? You can only do that Central Park loop so many times before you go nuts, and the idea of taking my bike downstairs to a subway is just not appealing. This was a thought that came to my mind when I was vaguely considering spending the summer in Chicago last March, actually. And I won't lie when I say that the logistical difficulty of training (and vicious wind) was one of the many factors that made me realize Chicago was a dumb idea.
So I now have a newfound respect for triathletes from super-urban cities like New York. It's a whole different level of dedication when you can't just bike out your door to a nice bike trail, or find an empty, olympic sized pool.
Monday, September 14, 2009
T78 - It's Called Being Resourceful - Run, Swim
New York City
I think the best part about Ironman training is the fact that even on vacations, you have to make sure you get in your training. Such was the case on Thursday. When the good folks at Delta decided to move my flight back from 8 a.m. to 6 a.m., I was a little pissed I would have to get up at 3 to catch my flight. That all being said, I realized this would also give me an opportunity to get in my second-longest workout of the week during my first day in the city.
I found a gym on 43rd and 9th called The Manhattan Plaza Helath Club, that featured an Olympic-sized pool and full cardio equipment. It also had a locker room and showers, so it gave me a place to store my luggage all day, in addition to providing a training ground for my run and swim. All this for only $25, which thought was a pretty good deal for training and bag storage. The weather was absolute shit (another reason to never live north of I-10: It sometimes gets cold before Summer is even officially over) and since I had to do 2 hours at Tempo, I thought it might be fun to do 150 minutes on a treadmill.
Run - 150 minutes tempo (Treadmill)
15 Minutes RPE 2-3
2 Hours RPE 4-5
15 Minutes RPE 2-3
2 Lipodrene
I have to say, this was kinda fun. Yeah, the MPHC treadmill was dinky and looked like I could break it with one step that was too hard. And it looked out on a cement path between the cardio rooms and the pool (so nothing to look at but E!'s look at the top 10 Best and Worst Celeb. Beach Bodieas) but I used the iPod and even my slow run I was doing at 6.0
I opted to do like I would at home on this treadmill, doing an hour first, then three half hour sets with brief breaks (like under a minute) for Powerade in between. The breaks all ended up being shorter than expected, which was good. The first hour flew by, as I cranked it up to 6.6 after the first 15 miuntes. Then I maintained at 6.7 the rest of the run, dripping sweat everywhere and getting a few odd looks from the daytime crowd at this gym. No matter. I kept to my gel pattern of every 45 minutes, and aside from the iPod freezing with 25 minutes to go, the run went well.
The one issue I had was that I had so much adreneline going from the music and the ease of runing on the treadmill, that when the iPod broke, I just was like "Oh, fuck this..." I kept my speed up to the final 15 minutes, where I then speed-walked for about 5 minutes before going into a slow trot at about 5.2. I was a little disapointed in my premature cooldown there, but I think this is probably a product of my using the iPod more than anything else.
I was slated to meet with a couple of editors from Cosmo for lunch at 1:15, and oddly I saw one of them on the E! special talking about how bad Tara Reid looked in a swimsuit. It was a little surreal, I have to say, to see someone you were about to go and visit on TV while you get in your morning run, but I can't say it didn't give me a litte extra push.
Swim: Warmup - 6x75
Main - 3x700
1 Lipodrene
Lunch went well, as I rushed through my shower and got a cab up to the Hearst building for lunch. The food at their cafeteria up there is amazing, but knowing I had a long swim that afternoon, I opted for a light sandwich so I wouldn't die on the swim. I got back to the gym about 2:30, put on my jammer and walked over to the rooftop retractable roof pool deck they had. Immediately passed out for about 45 minutes ona deck chair. I'd been up since 3, for chrissakes.
Anyway, I was lucky enough to get my own lane for the warmup and about half the first set. Then some girl came in to swim with me, which was fine. But then another person came in the lane. And another. Fucking ciricle swimming. Then I remembered I was in New York City, not Gainesville. You want your own swiming lane? At 4 p.m.? Ok, you want your own 1-bedroom apartment too? Hou 'bout your own subway car? There's 18-fucking-million people in this city, and 4 swimming lanes. Good luck with that. I accpeted the unfortunate fate of circle swimming and sucked it up for the second set and half of the third.
I was swimming well when I could get some speed up, but I was constantly having to pass people, and then tread water so I didn't run into someone coming the other way. Much like New York, just constantly dodging people. So I guess the swim went well, such as it was. But not being able to really get in a groove was frustrating. You can't just knock people out of the way like you can during a race. Or when you're going fore a subway.
I think the best part about Ironman training is the fact that even on vacations, you have to make sure you get in your training. Such was the case on Thursday. When the good folks at Delta decided to move my flight back from 8 a.m. to 6 a.m., I was a little pissed I would have to get up at 3 to catch my flight. That all being said, I realized this would also give me an opportunity to get in my second-longest workout of the week during my first day in the city.
I found a gym on 43rd and 9th called The Manhattan Plaza Helath Club, that featured an Olympic-sized pool and full cardio equipment. It also had a locker room and showers, so it gave me a place to store my luggage all day, in addition to providing a training ground for my run and swim. All this for only $25, which thought was a pretty good deal for training and bag storage. The weather was absolute shit (another reason to never live north of I-10: It sometimes gets cold before Summer is even officially over) and since I had to do 2 hours at Tempo, I thought it might be fun to do 150 minutes on a treadmill.
Run - 150 minutes tempo (Treadmill)
15 Minutes RPE 2-3
2 Hours RPE 4-5
15 Minutes RPE 2-3
2 Lipodrene
I have to say, this was kinda fun. Yeah, the MPHC treadmill was dinky and looked like I could break it with one step that was too hard. And it looked out on a cement path between the cardio rooms and the pool (so nothing to look at but E!'s look at the top 10 Best and Worst Celeb. Beach Bodieas) but I used the iPod and even my slow run I was doing at 6.0
I opted to do like I would at home on this treadmill, doing an hour first, then three half hour sets with brief breaks (like under a minute) for Powerade in between. The breaks all ended up being shorter than expected, which was good. The first hour flew by, as I cranked it up to 6.6 after the first 15 miuntes. Then I maintained at 6.7 the rest of the run, dripping sweat everywhere and getting a few odd looks from the daytime crowd at this gym. No matter. I kept to my gel pattern of every 45 minutes, and aside from the iPod freezing with 25 minutes to go, the run went well.
The one issue I had was that I had so much adreneline going from the music and the ease of runing on the treadmill, that when the iPod broke, I just was like "Oh, fuck this..." I kept my speed up to the final 15 minutes, where I then speed-walked for about 5 minutes before going into a slow trot at about 5.2. I was a little disapointed in my premature cooldown there, but I think this is probably a product of my using the iPod more than anything else.
I was slated to meet with a couple of editors from Cosmo for lunch at 1:15, and oddly I saw one of them on the E! special talking about how bad Tara Reid looked in a swimsuit. It was a little surreal, I have to say, to see someone you were about to go and visit on TV while you get in your morning run, but I can't say it didn't give me a litte extra push.
Swim: Warmup - 6x75
Main - 3x700
1 Lipodrene
Lunch went well, as I rushed through my shower and got a cab up to the Hearst building for lunch. The food at their cafeteria up there is amazing, but knowing I had a long swim that afternoon, I opted for a light sandwich so I wouldn't die on the swim. I got back to the gym about 2:30, put on my jammer and walked over to the rooftop retractable roof pool deck they had. Immediately passed out for about 45 minutes ona deck chair. I'd been up since 3, for chrissakes.
Anyway, I was lucky enough to get my own lane for the warmup and about half the first set. Then some girl came in to swim with me, which was fine. But then another person came in the lane. And another. Fucking ciricle swimming. Then I remembered I was in New York City, not Gainesville. You want your own swiming lane? At 4 p.m.? Ok, you want your own 1-bedroom apartment too? Hou 'bout your own subway car? There's 18-fucking-million people in this city, and 4 swimming lanes. Good luck with that. I accpeted the unfortunate fate of circle swimming and sucked it up for the second set and half of the third.
I was swimming well when I could get some speed up, but I was constantly having to pass people, and then tread water so I didn't run into someone coming the other way. Much like New York, just constantly dodging people. So I guess the swim went well, such as it was. But not being able to really get in a groove was frustrating. You can't just knock people out of the way like you can during a race. Or when you're going fore a subway.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
T77 - Wind is Like Privilege - Swim/Bike Brick, Run
Gainesville
Strange title, I know, but I'll get to it. Today was a run-bike session together which mandated that the run be done several hours later. So as it was I called Justin to see if he wanted to train, since I can do a swim/bike brick from Campus Lodge and he only wants to do short workouts in preparation for his Sprint Tri this weekend. So I met him a little after 5 and we got started.
Swim - 30 minutes, 1500 meters
2 Lipodrene
They have a nice outdoor pool at Campus Lodge, and today it happened to have some music going for the after-work tanning crowd. Justin was doing some sprints, but I kept a solid pace and got in the full 30 laps I'd aimed to do in the allotted half hour. Or so Justin told me. He also told me that I was bringing my right arm out way too far on my strokes, something I am consciously doing. So I'm going to have to try and modify this a little during my short swim in New York. Maybe bringing the arm forward and bending the elbow as I come back to eliminate the drafting effect while still keeping the arm in.
Bike - 1 Hour
Did a nice transition at my car and headed down Williston on the bike. I hadn't done this road in a while and I remember why, it's just all trucks and a very narrow bike lane. Not exactly prime biking conditions. I also have some bad, bad associations with terrible rides on that road as well. But after I crossed I-75 I settled into Aero and was doing a solid 22-25, even after yesterday's grueling bike effort. I mean, I know I have to show off a little when I train with Justin, since he destroys me in the run and is a slightly better swimmer too, but I was just straight flying. He kept up, but I was thinking "Damn, I"m just crushing this today." I looked at the plants for any sign of wind and saw none, thus assuming I was just that good.
Then I turned around. Justin had bailed at the 20 minute mark as he'd wanted to do a shorter ride, but at 30 minutes I turned around, having averaged about 22 on the way down. Crushing a short ride, I thought. Well, notsomuch. Despite my thinking there wasn't much wind, I couldn't manage to muster much over 18 at the beginning of the way back. I even slowed to around 16 before I said "Fuck this, I'm averaging 20 on this bitch" and pushed it all the way to the end. Made it just over 20 miles in just over 1 hour, averaging exactly 20. The gel I took at the 15 minute mark helped, but during the ride I sarted to think, ya know, wind is a lot like societal privilege. Could be racial, gender, socioeconomic, whatever. But here's my thoughts...
Like wind, when you have privilege working for you, you don't even notice. You breeze through not realizing that you have a great force working behind you. You usually just think you're doing awesome all on your own. Or, for some, you realize you have it and decide to take full advantage, pushing as hard as you can to get the best possible result. But really, you never notice it until it is working against you. When wind, or privilege, is not in your favor everything becomes twice as hard as it usually is. You spend a lot of time saying "This isn't fucking fair. This looks so easy but for some reason I just can't do as well as I want to." Then you either decide to let the force against you win and perform poorly (as I did most of last cycle), or say fuck it, work a lot harder, and get the result you want. Like I did on my ride today. Last cycle I was a nigger sitting in jail. This cycle I'm Barack Obama. You see what I mean?
Deeper than usual? Sure. But it can't all be gels and Cliff Bars.
Run - 45 minutes (treadmill)
In continuing with my theme of improving my speed with treadmill work, I opted to do today's short run on the treadmill at 6.4. Which was too fast to maintain, so I dropped it to 6.2 and did ok. My stomach started feeling a little weird, which I found odd since I hadn't had any more Lipodrene and had only a Cliff bar and PB&J. I felt a little strained going at that speed for 45 minutes, which some might call sad, but I think its an improvement that needs to be made. Yeah, this run was kinda pathetic, but I need to keep doing treadmill work on shorter runs until my speed improves. I did get to watch the end of the Mets-Marlins game. But for some reason the bullpen only seems to like to close out games quickly when I'm tryingto watch them during a workout.
Strange title, I know, but I'll get to it. Today was a run-bike session together which mandated that the run be done several hours later. So as it was I called Justin to see if he wanted to train, since I can do a swim/bike brick from Campus Lodge and he only wants to do short workouts in preparation for his Sprint Tri this weekend. So I met him a little after 5 and we got started.
Swim - 30 minutes, 1500 meters
2 Lipodrene
They have a nice outdoor pool at Campus Lodge, and today it happened to have some music going for the after-work tanning crowd. Justin was doing some sprints, but I kept a solid pace and got in the full 30 laps I'd aimed to do in the allotted half hour. Or so Justin told me. He also told me that I was bringing my right arm out way too far on my strokes, something I am consciously doing. So I'm going to have to try and modify this a little during my short swim in New York. Maybe bringing the arm forward and bending the elbow as I come back to eliminate the drafting effect while still keeping the arm in.
Bike - 1 Hour
Did a nice transition at my car and headed down Williston on the bike. I hadn't done this road in a while and I remember why, it's just all trucks and a very narrow bike lane. Not exactly prime biking conditions. I also have some bad, bad associations with terrible rides on that road as well. But after I crossed I-75 I settled into Aero and was doing a solid 22-25, even after yesterday's grueling bike effort. I mean, I know I have to show off a little when I train with Justin, since he destroys me in the run and is a slightly better swimmer too, but I was just straight flying. He kept up, but I was thinking "Damn, I"m just crushing this today." I looked at the plants for any sign of wind and saw none, thus assuming I was just that good.
Then I turned around. Justin had bailed at the 20 minute mark as he'd wanted to do a shorter ride, but at 30 minutes I turned around, having averaged about 22 on the way down. Crushing a short ride, I thought. Well, notsomuch. Despite my thinking there wasn't much wind, I couldn't manage to muster much over 18 at the beginning of the way back. I even slowed to around 16 before I said "Fuck this, I'm averaging 20 on this bitch" and pushed it all the way to the end. Made it just over 20 miles in just over 1 hour, averaging exactly 20. The gel I took at the 15 minute mark helped, but during the ride I sarted to think, ya know, wind is a lot like societal privilege. Could be racial, gender, socioeconomic, whatever. But here's my thoughts...
Like wind, when you have privilege working for you, you don't even notice. You breeze through not realizing that you have a great force working behind you. You usually just think you're doing awesome all on your own. Or, for some, you realize you have it and decide to take full advantage, pushing as hard as you can to get the best possible result. But really, you never notice it until it is working against you. When wind, or privilege, is not in your favor everything becomes twice as hard as it usually is. You spend a lot of time saying "This isn't fucking fair. This looks so easy but for some reason I just can't do as well as I want to." Then you either decide to let the force against you win and perform poorly (as I did most of last cycle), or say fuck it, work a lot harder, and get the result you want. Like I did on my ride today. Last cycle I was a nigger sitting in jail. This cycle I'm Barack Obama. You see what I mean?
Deeper than usual? Sure. But it can't all be gels and Cliff Bars.
Run - 45 minutes (treadmill)
In continuing with my theme of improving my speed with treadmill work, I opted to do today's short run on the treadmill at 6.4. Which was too fast to maintain, so I dropped it to 6.2 and did ok. My stomach started feeling a little weird, which I found odd since I hadn't had any more Lipodrene and had only a Cliff bar and PB&J. I felt a little strained going at that speed for 45 minutes, which some might call sad, but I think its an improvement that needs to be made. Yeah, this run was kinda pathetic, but I need to keep doing treadmill work on shorter runs until my speed improves. I did get to watch the end of the Mets-Marlins game. But for some reason the bullpen only seems to like to close out games quickly when I'm tryingto watch them during a workout.
Monday, September 7, 2009
T76 - Putting the "Labor" in "Labor Day"- Bike/Run Brick
Gainesville
It was Labor Day. And I figured what better way to spend Labor Day than working out for 5+ hours. But today wasn't so much a workout as a true training day. Like everything I did today was direct preparation for the Ironman. And it felt good.
Bike - 4.5 Hours
2 Lipodrene
3 Advil
1 Salt Tab
I went into the longest bike ride I'd ever done not dreading it, but wanting to do well. The goal was to average 18, which I'd struggled to do on shorter rides early in training, but figured was a reasonable goal for today. And lacking any originality when it comes to bike rides, I opted for 2+ laps of Hawthorne as my course.
The first trip down and back went well, making it to the end in 57:10 (a new record, I think) and back to the trailhead at 1:47. Meaning I took about as long to get back as I did to get down since the trailhead is 7 minutes from my house. My low back was starting to hurt at 1:30, even with having taken the Advil, which I do not find encouraging. But knowing I only had 3 more Advil for 3 more hours, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to hold off. I thought it might, but that did not stop me from taking the last three at this turnaround.
It took about half an hour to work, but it made me feel a lot better. Though on the second trip I found it difficult to keep my speed at 21 or so as I had the first time, I was still encouraged that I was hitting 21 to 23 in a lot of spots on the way back. I made it to the end of the train for the second time at 2:44., still under and hour, but considerably slower. I took my next two Lipodrene at this point and another salt tab. Filled my bottles as well, but I went through them both before I even got all the way back, and had to fill up agian right before the final incline. I ended up going up the final big hill in the hammock at sub-10, as I knew my legs were shot.
I've kind of decided to play to my strengths on these long bikes. I know I can fly through straightaways, and I am going to use them to make up times I am going to lose on inclines. For some reason I feel like if I fight through the inclines, my legs are going to be shot and my flat times will suffer. Plus, I don't want to shoot my legs out when I have to go 112 miles then run a marathon. It was this philosophy that led me to ride down to the Alachua Lake Lookout on my third trip down instead of going to the hammock. I hadn't been to the lookout since like my 3rd or 4th ride ever when I lacked the coordination to make the turn onto the long trail. At any rate, I did that, went up the less-steep half of the hill, turned around at the top and headed back. I ended up getting back to Jefferson at about 4:20, having gone just under 80 miles. I had wanted to do a full 80, so I biked up to 12th and turned around in the roundabout, making it home at just over 81 miles in 4:25. Yes, I cheated myself out of 5 minutes, but I did end up averaging about 18.3. So I felt good.
I also felt like, ok, if you put a gun to my head and said "Do Hawthorne and Back one more time" I could have. that distance would have been just over the Ironman course. Not so sure about running a marathon after, but in 2 months I'll be there.
I do think I kind of underestimated myself today, though, and that's why I got back early. I didn't think I'd go as fast at the start, and also figured my last trip down would be much worse. So I'll try and set my goals a little higher next time, as at the very worst it will lead to my not cutting myself short.
Nutrition wise, I took a gel every 45, as prescribed, and opted for the Cliff Bar at 2:10. A little early, but I was fucking starving by that point. I think 1 cliff bar was enough for a ride like this, and by the beginning of the last lap my stomach felt like shit. I seriously wanted to vomit about an hour after taking Lipodrene 3 and 4. But, you know, a lot of things are going to hurt on race day. I'll just add my stomach to the list.
Run - 30 Minutes (Treadmill)
I had some Powerade and headed down to the treadmills here at the gym at Jefferson 2nd. I have decided that for my brick runs for the next few weeks, I am going to start utilizing the treadmill to give myself a faster muscle memory when it comes to strides. I know had I run on the road I would have just chopped it out for 30 minutes because I was so sore, but the hope here is to train my legs to go at 6 mph after a long ride so I can go at that pace at the Ironman. At least to start out. My last 3 bricked runs have all sucked, so I needed to figure out how to make those better.
Treadmills are easy, as was this run. I just trotted along watching the Cincinnati-Rutgers game, and enjoying the AC and bevvy of ethnic looking girls who came in after I started. Ended up going 3 miles in 30 minutes, a pace I hope I can keep on race day.
All in all, a tough training day to be sure. But I have at least 3 more like this, plus the race. The feeling of exhaustion is good, but I may actually be able to get to bed early tonight.
It was Labor Day. And I figured what better way to spend Labor Day than working out for 5+ hours. But today wasn't so much a workout as a true training day. Like everything I did today was direct preparation for the Ironman. And it felt good.
Bike - 4.5 Hours
2 Lipodrene
3 Advil
1 Salt Tab
I went into the longest bike ride I'd ever done not dreading it, but wanting to do well. The goal was to average 18, which I'd struggled to do on shorter rides early in training, but figured was a reasonable goal for today. And lacking any originality when it comes to bike rides, I opted for 2+ laps of Hawthorne as my course.
The first trip down and back went well, making it to the end in 57:10 (a new record, I think) and back to the trailhead at 1:47. Meaning I took about as long to get back as I did to get down since the trailhead is 7 minutes from my house. My low back was starting to hurt at 1:30, even with having taken the Advil, which I do not find encouraging. But knowing I only had 3 more Advil for 3 more hours, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to hold off. I thought it might, but that did not stop me from taking the last three at this turnaround.
It took about half an hour to work, but it made me feel a lot better. Though on the second trip I found it difficult to keep my speed at 21 or so as I had the first time, I was still encouraged that I was hitting 21 to 23 in a lot of spots on the way back. I made it to the end of the train for the second time at 2:44., still under and hour, but considerably slower. I took my next two Lipodrene at this point and another salt tab. Filled my bottles as well, but I went through them both before I even got all the way back, and had to fill up agian right before the final incline. I ended up going up the final big hill in the hammock at sub-10, as I knew my legs were shot.
I've kind of decided to play to my strengths on these long bikes. I know I can fly through straightaways, and I am going to use them to make up times I am going to lose on inclines. For some reason I feel like if I fight through the inclines, my legs are going to be shot and my flat times will suffer. Plus, I don't want to shoot my legs out when I have to go 112 miles then run a marathon. It was this philosophy that led me to ride down to the Alachua Lake Lookout on my third trip down instead of going to the hammock. I hadn't been to the lookout since like my 3rd or 4th ride ever when I lacked the coordination to make the turn onto the long trail. At any rate, I did that, went up the less-steep half of the hill, turned around at the top and headed back. I ended up getting back to Jefferson at about 4:20, having gone just under 80 miles. I had wanted to do a full 80, so I biked up to 12th and turned around in the roundabout, making it home at just over 81 miles in 4:25. Yes, I cheated myself out of 5 minutes, but I did end up averaging about 18.3. So I felt good.
I also felt like, ok, if you put a gun to my head and said "Do Hawthorne and Back one more time" I could have. that distance would have been just over the Ironman course. Not so sure about running a marathon after, but in 2 months I'll be there.
I do think I kind of underestimated myself today, though, and that's why I got back early. I didn't think I'd go as fast at the start, and also figured my last trip down would be much worse. So I'll try and set my goals a little higher next time, as at the very worst it will lead to my not cutting myself short.
Nutrition wise, I took a gel every 45, as prescribed, and opted for the Cliff Bar at 2:10. A little early, but I was fucking starving by that point. I think 1 cliff bar was enough for a ride like this, and by the beginning of the last lap my stomach felt like shit. I seriously wanted to vomit about an hour after taking Lipodrene 3 and 4. But, you know, a lot of things are going to hurt on race day. I'll just add my stomach to the list.
Run - 30 Minutes (Treadmill)
I had some Powerade and headed down to the treadmills here at the gym at Jefferson 2nd. I have decided that for my brick runs for the next few weeks, I am going to start utilizing the treadmill to give myself a faster muscle memory when it comes to strides. I know had I run on the road I would have just chopped it out for 30 minutes because I was so sore, but the hope here is to train my legs to go at 6 mph after a long ride so I can go at that pace at the Ironman. At least to start out. My last 3 bricked runs have all sucked, so I needed to figure out how to make those better.
Treadmills are easy, as was this run. I just trotted along watching the Cincinnati-Rutgers game, and enjoying the AC and bevvy of ethnic looking girls who came in after I started. Ended up going 3 miles in 30 minutes, a pace I hope I can keep on race day.
All in all, a tough training day to be sure. But I have at least 3 more like this, plus the race. The feeling of exhaustion is good, but I may actually be able to get to bed early tonight.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
T75 - Cruisin'...On a Sunday Afternoon - Swim
Gainesville
The school year has presented a whole new set of challenges. This week has gotten totally fucked by 1) Having to get up early on Monday and Wednesday to teach, 2) Various social invitations that for some reason are harder to turn down in Fall than in Summer and 3) The Football Games. Now, I am no big Gator fan, but it seems as though if you are in Gainesville, and have access to a ticket, you should go. So I do, and this of course involves standing for at least 2 hours, which is not the best thing when your legs need to recover from a 13-mile run. Yes, a full night of drinking followed b a football game (I only drank water at the tailgate, though) does not really make for ideal recovery time.
So I decided to take a 3rd rest day this week (Saturday) leading into a long swim Sunday and the long bike Monday. I still have ten extra days to spend in the next 2 months, so it's not a huge deal, and with the holiday Monday this makes some sense. But I am going to need to figure out what I'm doing with Mondays and Wednesdays as both require and early morning and a full day of work. Meaning, of course, I didn't train on either day this week, and really won't be able to do bikes on either of those days at all. Fucking Fall, I don't know what I was thinking saying I would teach early classes. At any rate, Sundays are still free and clear, and I took today's to do a nice, long swim.
Swim: long day
wu: 200swim, 200kick, 200pull, 200swim
main: 2 x 1200, RPE 3 , even pace on both
1 Gel
2 Lipodrene
I took the gel early because of how ridiculously hungry I'd gotten on the last swim I did with only breakfast in my stomach. I took it on the way to GHFC, then got in the pool for the long workout. I really do like these long warmups because by the time you hit that second set of 200 meters, it's almost full speed ahead. Today was no different.
I kept my stroke pretty consistent today, as instructed, and just felt like I was cruising the whole time. The swim was not overly difficult, nor did I feel like I was going slow. I was just cruising along at a nice clip, and kept the effort strong through both sets. I took a chocolate gel and even took a little bathroom break between the two swim sets, so the long rest may have helped that. But it was nice to give my legs a little break while still getting in a solid long workout day.
Tomorrow is going to be my longest bike ride ever, and my longest training day thus far. So I am glad I am pretty rested up.
The school year has presented a whole new set of challenges. This week has gotten totally fucked by 1) Having to get up early on Monday and Wednesday to teach, 2) Various social invitations that for some reason are harder to turn down in Fall than in Summer and 3) The Football Games. Now, I am no big Gator fan, but it seems as though if you are in Gainesville, and have access to a ticket, you should go. So I do, and this of course involves standing for at least 2 hours, which is not the best thing when your legs need to recover from a 13-mile run. Yes, a full night of drinking followed b a football game (I only drank water at the tailgate, though) does not really make for ideal recovery time.
So I decided to take a 3rd rest day this week (Saturday) leading into a long swim Sunday and the long bike Monday. I still have ten extra days to spend in the next 2 months, so it's not a huge deal, and with the holiday Monday this makes some sense. But I am going to need to figure out what I'm doing with Mondays and Wednesdays as both require and early morning and a full day of work. Meaning, of course, I didn't train on either day this week, and really won't be able to do bikes on either of those days at all. Fucking Fall, I don't know what I was thinking saying I would teach early classes. At any rate, Sundays are still free and clear, and I took today's to do a nice, long swim.
Swim: long day
wu: 200swim, 200kick, 200pull, 200swim
main: 2 x 1200, RPE 3 , even pace on both
1 Gel
2 Lipodrene
I took the gel early because of how ridiculously hungry I'd gotten on the last swim I did with only breakfast in my stomach. I took it on the way to GHFC, then got in the pool for the long workout. I really do like these long warmups because by the time you hit that second set of 200 meters, it's almost full speed ahead. Today was no different.
I kept my stroke pretty consistent today, as instructed, and just felt like I was cruising the whole time. The swim was not overly difficult, nor did I feel like I was going slow. I was just cruising along at a nice clip, and kept the effort strong through both sets. I took a chocolate gel and even took a little bathroom break between the two swim sets, so the long rest may have helped that. But it was nice to give my legs a little break while still getting in a solid long workout day.
Tomorrow is going to be my longest bike ride ever, and my longest training day thus far. So I am glad I am pretty rested up.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
T74 - Drugs and Music make Running Fun - Swim, Run
Gainesville
Swim: 6 x 400 RPE 2-3
2 Lipodrene
I liked the idea of this swim because it didn't have a warmup. Each 400, I guess was one. I also enjoy GHFC on a Friday night, because it's empty. Especially on game weekends. At any rate, the swim was pretty nondescript, other than my losing count a lot. Like I'm pretty sure on the first three sets I had no idea if I did the right number of laps. But I wasn't overly concerned. I kept up my stronke and made good time on all of them. I was, however, insanely hungry the last 4 sets or so, so much so that I just thought about the delicious chocolate bread they sell to get me through the swim. I'm not sure how to stave off this hunger in the future, since I had breakfast AND Cracker Barrel for lunch. You don't get much more filling than that. Especially when you don't wanna eat right before you swim.
Anyway, sadly no chocolate bread was available at the snack bar, and I had to settle for a smoothie. And liquid calories not a bad thing when you have along run ahead of you.
Run: 130 minutes
2 Lipodrene
If you're counting, that's 4 lipodrene. Almost 100 mg of ephedra. I'd had some shitty runs lately, and I needed to do whatever I had to do to have a good one. It was almost dark when I got started about 7:45, so the weather was perfect. About 80 degrees. I took a ton of ephedra. And I put on the iPod. I figured if this couldn't help my run, I was in trouble.
Well, I could tell it was gonna be good from the getgo. I just felt myself striding out the run well, pushing my muscles a little. The ephedra gave me a lot of confidence on the run, just looking at my shawdon on the ground thinking "Damn, my body looks good." Which helped me run even more. I hit the hills coming back on 34th and run up them, same with the hill on 2nd. Everything just felt right, especially considering that I had yet another hangover and was running better than I had in a while.
I took 2 gels on the run, one at the stadium on the way up, and another at the car aid station after my first stadium-and-back after the loop. Finishing the second stadium trip from my apartment, I really felt like I could do more. I may not have even been out there 130 minutes, as that was about how long I thought it would take. But I did just about 13 miles and did it well.
I felt really weird after the run, probably coming down off all the ephedra. But whatver. I'm not sure what this means for the big race, probably that I'll need to take as much of that stuff as I can without killing myself. If I can feel like I did on this run for even part of the marathon, I'll consider it a success.
Swim: 6 x 400 RPE 2-3
2 Lipodrene
I liked the idea of this swim because it didn't have a warmup. Each 400, I guess was one. I also enjoy GHFC on a Friday night, because it's empty. Especially on game weekends. At any rate, the swim was pretty nondescript, other than my losing count a lot. Like I'm pretty sure on the first three sets I had no idea if I did the right number of laps. But I wasn't overly concerned. I kept up my stronke and made good time on all of them. I was, however, insanely hungry the last 4 sets or so, so much so that I just thought about the delicious chocolate bread they sell to get me through the swim. I'm not sure how to stave off this hunger in the future, since I had breakfast AND Cracker Barrel for lunch. You don't get much more filling than that. Especially when you don't wanna eat right before you swim.
Anyway, sadly no chocolate bread was available at the snack bar, and I had to settle for a smoothie. And liquid calories not a bad thing when you have along run ahead of you.
Run: 130 minutes
2 Lipodrene
If you're counting, that's 4 lipodrene. Almost 100 mg of ephedra. I'd had some shitty runs lately, and I needed to do whatever I had to do to have a good one. It was almost dark when I got started about 7:45, so the weather was perfect. About 80 degrees. I took a ton of ephedra. And I put on the iPod. I figured if this couldn't help my run, I was in trouble.
Well, I could tell it was gonna be good from the getgo. I just felt myself striding out the run well, pushing my muscles a little. The ephedra gave me a lot of confidence on the run, just looking at my shawdon on the ground thinking "Damn, my body looks good." Which helped me run even more. I hit the hills coming back on 34th and run up them, same with the hill on 2nd. Everything just felt right, especially considering that I had yet another hangover and was running better than I had in a while.
I took 2 gels on the run, one at the stadium on the way up, and another at the car aid station after my first stadium-and-back after the loop. Finishing the second stadium trip from my apartment, I really felt like I could do more. I may not have even been out there 130 minutes, as that was about how long I thought it would take. But I did just about 13 miles and did it well.
I felt really weird after the run, probably coming down off all the ephedra. But whatver. I'm not sure what this means for the big race, probably that I'll need to take as much of that stuff as I can without killing myself. If I can feel like I did on this run for even part of the marathon, I'll consider it a success.
Friday, September 4, 2009
T73 - Conflicting Confidences - Bike/Run Brick
Gainesville
Again, my decision making process perhaps not the best. I opted to do a Power Hour Wednesday night, which led to another power 35 minutes after a quick beer run, leading to me waking up at 8 a.m with some extremely sore legs (potassium shortage) and massive dehydration. But after taking and extra rest day Wednesday (due mostly to the rain and my not wanting to ride in it) there was no way I could puss out on this workout. So, despite gray skies and impending precipitation, I got on the bike and convinced myself I had to go hard.
Bike - 2 Hours
2 Lipodrene
I like that my bike rides now are becoming consistently higher-speed. Like today's ride was a solid pace, making it to nigbridge in 25 and 50 and hitting the end of Hawthorne at 57:50. And it didn't even feel like extra effort. As a matter of fact, on the way back I realized I must have had a slight headwind on the way down as I was tearing up the trail at about 25.5 for the first 10-15 minutes. This ride felt good, but not like I was pushing it al that much, and I still averaged 19, which is a record for a full-trail ride. Made it back in under 2 hours, but the way I see it if I can make it back faster, good for me.
That's under 2 hours of riding time. For some reason at about the 1:30 mark I all of a sudden got really worn out and demotivated and found myself going about 13 up a small incline. So I just stopped, had a gel, and hung out for a minute beofe continuing on. I then proceeded to tear up the rest of the train, going 20 up the final incline. Which is usually a major bitch.
On the bike, I have a definite confidence that on flat ground I can just destroy the course if I want to. I lost it for a minute during this workout. But the race last weekend and my subsequent rides have given me a definite feeling of superiority on the bike, like I can hang with anyone who isn't an elite cyclist (amateur elite, but you know what I mean). But for some reason, this does not hold true on the run.
Run - 1 Hour
I had a Cliff bar when I got back to the apartment because I was just starving, and the 2 gels I had on the bike just weren't cutting it. I had planned to run from Jefferson down to 34th and back, a run I had done with Justin in about 55 minutes a couple months ago. I strided out to just before the stadium before I just started getting slow. I mean, I just started telingmyself "You do not run well, and this run is goingto be a bitch." And a I strided downhill past the Gator Football practice (on a good day I woulda been tempted to yell "Tebow, You're a FRAUD!" I just didn't want to run anymore. I made it to about 20 yards before my 45 minute turnaround and just started walking.
Though I was determined not to abort the run here, I sat for a while at the stop light and stretched out. I walked the same 20 years back then started running again and made it back to Jefferson in about 55 minutes. A sorry run, but a completed run nonetheless.
I'm not sure if I Nuked My Village on the bike and that's why my run sucked, but I think I need to start training to that because I feel like I'm gonna bike hard on the Ironman. I know that's the only place I'll put up an above-average time, so I plan to make the most of it. But I think training with tired legs is probably good. After my previous trail record on Hawthorne, I stopped halfway through my run, so I guess this is an improvement since I was able to continue. But still shitty nonetheless. I just wish I could take some of that bike confidence and apply it to my run. Because some of these runs are starting to become self-fulfilling prophecies.
One bright spot was me being able to have a great bike ride despite the hangover. Not that I'm planning on drinking that much regularly, but it was good to see that I was able to make my body recover enough to really get in a good workout.
Again, my decision making process perhaps not the best. I opted to do a Power Hour Wednesday night, which led to another power 35 minutes after a quick beer run, leading to me waking up at 8 a.m with some extremely sore legs (potassium shortage) and massive dehydration. But after taking and extra rest day Wednesday (due mostly to the rain and my not wanting to ride in it) there was no way I could puss out on this workout. So, despite gray skies and impending precipitation, I got on the bike and convinced myself I had to go hard.
Bike - 2 Hours
2 Lipodrene
I like that my bike rides now are becoming consistently higher-speed. Like today's ride was a solid pace, making it to nigbridge in 25 and 50 and hitting the end of Hawthorne at 57:50. And it didn't even feel like extra effort. As a matter of fact, on the way back I realized I must have had a slight headwind on the way down as I was tearing up the trail at about 25.5 for the first 10-15 minutes. This ride felt good, but not like I was pushing it al that much, and I still averaged 19, which is a record for a full-trail ride. Made it back in under 2 hours, but the way I see it if I can make it back faster, good for me.
That's under 2 hours of riding time. For some reason at about the 1:30 mark I all of a sudden got really worn out and demotivated and found myself going about 13 up a small incline. So I just stopped, had a gel, and hung out for a minute beofe continuing on. I then proceeded to tear up the rest of the train, going 20 up the final incline. Which is usually a major bitch.
On the bike, I have a definite confidence that on flat ground I can just destroy the course if I want to. I lost it for a minute during this workout. But the race last weekend and my subsequent rides have given me a definite feeling of superiority on the bike, like I can hang with anyone who isn't an elite cyclist (amateur elite, but you know what I mean). But for some reason, this does not hold true on the run.
Run - 1 Hour
I had a Cliff bar when I got back to the apartment because I was just starving, and the 2 gels I had on the bike just weren't cutting it. I had planned to run from Jefferson down to 34th and back, a run I had done with Justin in about 55 minutes a couple months ago. I strided out to just before the stadium before I just started getting slow. I mean, I just started telingmyself "You do not run well, and this run is goingto be a bitch." And a I strided downhill past the Gator Football practice (on a good day I woulda been tempted to yell "Tebow, You're a FRAUD!" I just didn't want to run anymore. I made it to about 20 yards before my 45 minute turnaround and just started walking.
Though I was determined not to abort the run here, I sat for a while at the stop light and stretched out. I walked the same 20 years back then started running again and made it back to Jefferson in about 55 minutes. A sorry run, but a completed run nonetheless.
I'm not sure if I Nuked My Village on the bike and that's why my run sucked, but I think I need to start training to that because I feel like I'm gonna bike hard on the Ironman. I know that's the only place I'll put up an above-average time, so I plan to make the most of it. But I think training with tired legs is probably good. After my previous trail record on Hawthorne, I stopped halfway through my run, so I guess this is an improvement since I was able to continue. But still shitty nonetheless. I just wish I could take some of that bike confidence and apply it to my run. Because some of these runs are starting to become self-fulfilling prophecies.
One bright spot was me being able to have a great bike ride despite the hangover. Not that I'm planning on drinking that much regularly, but it was good to see that I was able to make my body recover enough to really get in a good workout.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
T72 - Flushing and Falling - Swim, Bike (Trainer)
Gainesville
Today's workout was described as "a bit of flushing." I honestly have no idea what he means by this. Like flushing out what? Toxins? Lactic acid? The noxious microbes I swallowed during Sunday's lake swim? Whatever, I'm not overly concerned. After taking a rest day Monday post-race this seemed like a good "back-in-the-flow" workout.
Swim: long day
wu: 500 continuous, then 5 x 50
main: 1 x 1500, RPE 3
2 Lipodrene
This was seriously one of the longer warmups I've ever done, as it's probably about the length of a lot of swim workouts for shorter races. But I needed it. I think the combination of the cloudy weather and my taking a day off forced me into a lazy state. It took me about the full warmup to get into my groove. But as I hit the sprints I noticed myself slowing at the end of every one. I was also pretty lazy on the initial 500. I took the workout seriously, but for some reason the fire just wasn't there today.
Same with the main section. I did ok, but my pace was certainly not what it had been during Sunday's race. I let myself get distracted a lot, usually by the same sorts of things that keep me from sleeping. I guess long swims and trying to sleep are really similar, like there's no noise and you're just there with yourself with nothing new to look at. But it got distracting today and the 1500 was certainly sub-par. Just hope I'm not losing my focus.
Bike - 45 minutes spinning (trainer)
1 Lipodrene
I think from now on when I see workouts of an hour or less labeled "spinning" I'm going to use the trainer. Just makes sense and gives me a bigger window. At any rate, I didn't mention it but I lost a bike shoe in transition on Sunday. No idea how that happened. Probably either someone mistakenly picked it up or I forgot to pack it. Any way you cut it, I had to go to the bike shop and plunk down $144 for new shoes and cletes before I went to the pool. What I hate about new cletes is that they're so tight, so clipping and un-clipping is a lot harder. So it was good to start out on the trainer. Becasue, you know, you never need to unclip really fast on the trainer, right?
The spinning went about as expected. I kept it in the 16-18 range the whole time, going up to about 19 for the last few minutes. I used the iPod, obviously, as I sat out on the deck and watched it rain. Some guy was out in the courtyard with his dog, talking to every girl who came by with their dogs. Really, I didn't know we allowed dogs in my building, and I'm sure Trevor would be livid. At any rate, this cute girl walks out with some little yappy dog and is walking him around the courtyard when all of a sudden I feel myself falling over. On the trainer.
Like I'm tipping over to my left, even though this thing is supposedly bolted straight up. My bike starts tipping, I feel myself crash into the wicker table next to me. A very loud noise I'm sure echoes through the courtyard, which I fortunately did not hear becasue I had my headphones in. Fortunately I am able to unclip quickly before I demolish all of my deck furniture, but when all was said and done I'm standing there leaning on the table with my bike totally tipped over and the cute girl staring up at me like "What the FUCK just happened? How did that guy manage to fall off a bike that wasn't even moving?" Yeah, coordination still not my strongsuit.
The saddest part is, the same thing happened to me a year ago when I got fitted for my aero bars at the bike shop. Tommy, the guy who runs the place, said, "Damn. I've NEVER in all my years seen somebody fall off a trainer. You are the first."
Oddly, when I came in to get my new shoes he said the same thing. "You know, you are the first person to ever come in and tell me they've lost a shoe." I find that one harder to belive.
At any rate, the spinning workout was good aside from falling off the trainer. My insomnia is persisting, though, for whatever reason. I don't even feel stressed about much, but I find myself still unable to sleep. A friend told me it might be the Lipodrene, and I think she may be right. But I'm not making that sacrifice. The next workout is a long brick, and hopefully the lack of sleep doesn't hurt me too much. But I'm still lookin' pretty rough.
Today's workout was described as "a bit of flushing." I honestly have no idea what he means by this. Like flushing out what? Toxins? Lactic acid? The noxious microbes I swallowed during Sunday's lake swim? Whatever, I'm not overly concerned. After taking a rest day Monday post-race this seemed like a good "back-in-the-flow" workout.
Swim: long day
wu: 500 continuous, then 5 x 50
main: 1 x 1500, RPE 3
2 Lipodrene
This was seriously one of the longer warmups I've ever done, as it's probably about the length of a lot of swim workouts for shorter races. But I needed it. I think the combination of the cloudy weather and my taking a day off forced me into a lazy state. It took me about the full warmup to get into my groove. But as I hit the sprints I noticed myself slowing at the end of every one. I was also pretty lazy on the initial 500. I took the workout seriously, but for some reason the fire just wasn't there today.
Same with the main section. I did ok, but my pace was certainly not what it had been during Sunday's race. I let myself get distracted a lot, usually by the same sorts of things that keep me from sleeping. I guess long swims and trying to sleep are really similar, like there's no noise and you're just there with yourself with nothing new to look at. But it got distracting today and the 1500 was certainly sub-par. Just hope I'm not losing my focus.
Bike - 45 minutes spinning (trainer)
1 Lipodrene
I think from now on when I see workouts of an hour or less labeled "spinning" I'm going to use the trainer. Just makes sense and gives me a bigger window. At any rate, I didn't mention it but I lost a bike shoe in transition on Sunday. No idea how that happened. Probably either someone mistakenly picked it up or I forgot to pack it. Any way you cut it, I had to go to the bike shop and plunk down $144 for new shoes and cletes before I went to the pool. What I hate about new cletes is that they're so tight, so clipping and un-clipping is a lot harder. So it was good to start out on the trainer. Becasue, you know, you never need to unclip really fast on the trainer, right?
The spinning went about as expected. I kept it in the 16-18 range the whole time, going up to about 19 for the last few minutes. I used the iPod, obviously, as I sat out on the deck and watched it rain. Some guy was out in the courtyard with his dog, talking to every girl who came by with their dogs. Really, I didn't know we allowed dogs in my building, and I'm sure Trevor would be livid. At any rate, this cute girl walks out with some little yappy dog and is walking him around the courtyard when all of a sudden I feel myself falling over. On the trainer.
Like I'm tipping over to my left, even though this thing is supposedly bolted straight up. My bike starts tipping, I feel myself crash into the wicker table next to me. A very loud noise I'm sure echoes through the courtyard, which I fortunately did not hear becasue I had my headphones in. Fortunately I am able to unclip quickly before I demolish all of my deck furniture, but when all was said and done I'm standing there leaning on the table with my bike totally tipped over and the cute girl staring up at me like "What the FUCK just happened? How did that guy manage to fall off a bike that wasn't even moving?" Yeah, coordination still not my strongsuit.
The saddest part is, the same thing happened to me a year ago when I got fitted for my aero bars at the bike shop. Tommy, the guy who runs the place, said, "Damn. I've NEVER in all my years seen somebody fall off a trainer. You are the first."
Oddly, when I came in to get my new shoes he said the same thing. "You know, you are the first person to ever come in and tell me they've lost a shoe." I find that one harder to belive.
At any rate, the spinning workout was good aside from falling off the trainer. My insomnia is persisting, though, for whatever reason. I don't even feel stressed about much, but I find myself still unable to sleep. A friend told me it might be the Lipodrene, and I think she may be right. But I'm not making that sacrifice. The next workout is a long brick, and hopefully the lack of sleep doesn't hurt me too much. But I'm still lookin' pretty rough.
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