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.
Showing posts with label slow bikes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slow bikes. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
T38 - What was the Point of This Workout Again? - Bike
Gainesville
Bike - 90 Minutes
2 Lipodrene
A lot of workouts, I look at them and go "Fuck. That looks tough. Oh well, I guess that's why they call it Ironman training." But an hour and a half bike ride sandwiched in between a long brick and a long run/swim day? Like, what's the point? What exactly am I getting out of 90 easy minutes on a bike? Considering there's no rest days this week, I feel this time would have been better spent recovering.
But I don't write the training cards. And until November, the Ironman is my religion and those cards are the Bible. And I'm a strict fundamentalist.
That doesn't mean I have to like it though. It wasn't especially hot when I headed out to Hawthorne, and I felt ok, maybe a little sore. I had a pretty decent ride down, and went almost the exact same pace on the way back up. A blistering 16.8. Yep, you read that right, a full mile and a half slower than the 2 hour ride I did the other day. But I was just like "Whatever, lets get this done," the entire ride. Not sure if it was a good idea or not to even have bothered with this, but whatever. I did it, so my training hours are in. But I'm either going to have to adjust my shitty attitude about workouts like this, or just skip them altogether. When the next one comes around, we shall see.
Bike - 90 Minutes
2 Lipodrene
A lot of workouts, I look at them and go "Fuck. That looks tough. Oh well, I guess that's why they call it Ironman training." But an hour and a half bike ride sandwiched in between a long brick and a long run/swim day? Like, what's the point? What exactly am I getting out of 90 easy minutes on a bike? Considering there's no rest days this week, I feel this time would have been better spent recovering.
But I don't write the training cards. And until November, the Ironman is my religion and those cards are the Bible. And I'm a strict fundamentalist.
That doesn't mean I have to like it though. It wasn't especially hot when I headed out to Hawthorne, and I felt ok, maybe a little sore. I had a pretty decent ride down, and went almost the exact same pace on the way back up. A blistering 16.8. Yep, you read that right, a full mile and a half slower than the 2 hour ride I did the other day. But I was just like "Whatever, lets get this done," the entire ride. Not sure if it was a good idea or not to even have bothered with this, but whatever. I did it, so my training hours are in. But I'm either going to have to adjust my shitty attitude about workouts like this, or just skip them altogether. When the next one comes around, we shall see.
Monday, July 13, 2009
T35 - Uphill, Both Ways - Bike/Run Brick
Gainesville
I made the mistake of not eating much more than a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a bagel with peanut butter last night after the long swim. I've realized that when I know I have a long workout like this one the next day, I really need to make a point of eating something substantial. Even if I'm too lazy to cook, go get some pasta or a pizza or something. Taking in 1000 calories after a 3000 meter swim and before a 50 mile bike isn't gonna cut it.
Bike: 3 Hours
2 Lipodrene
This was my longest bike since the awful, awful Orlando half, and only my 4th ride this long of 2009. This is more indicative of how bad that last training cycle was than anything else, but the point is that this was my longest ride of the Ironman Training Program to date. I took along 2 gels and a Cliff bar, and was militant with myself about taking them all at 45 minute intervals. I did that one nicely.
What I did not do nicely is ride fast. Like I hit Hawthorne and couldn't really get up much past 19. I thought I'd just use this as a ride to get used to being out on the road for long periods of time, and thought I'd just cruise and get used to it. but 19 became 18 became 17, and a lot of times I found myself biking like I was on an incline when the terrain looked pretty flat. Like I'd be rolling along at 18 or 19, then all of a sudden I couldn't go past 15. Putting forth the same effort, but just couldn't go any faster. It literally felt like I was constantly going uphill. I'm starting to think maybe the trail has some optical illusions like that, where there's a grade but it looks flat. What else explains it?
It was hot, so I think that was part of why my legs weren't as powerful as they sometimes are. I also was, as I said before, not going on a ton of food. The ride just went slow today, and I'm not sure why. I stopped at about the 1:50 mark for a couple of minutes just to get my motivation back, and the 3 advil I took at the 1 hour mark kept the back pain at bay from about 1:30 to 2:40. So that's going to be a key ingredient on a lot of future long bikes. And there are a lot in the future.
The only bright spot here is that this ride reminded me of a lot of shorter rides I'd has last cycle. Like no power, hard to get going fast, and lost motivation. The difference here is that this was a long, long ride and it was hot out. then it was temperate and the rides were short. I credit a clearer mind this time around, I really do, and it only goes to underscore my points about minimizing life distractions when you're training for an event like this.
Run: 30 Minutes
The Lipodrene had more or less worn off, but I saw no point in taking another one when I'd be done as soon as it kicked in. I had one more gel and had a nice shuffle down to the stadium and back. All I could think was "Fuck. I gotta do this like 8 more times after a bike ride that's twice as long? Good thing I have 14 more weeks." The run actually wasn't too painful and I could definitely have gone longer. But looking at a 90 minute swim tomorrow, I saw no need for that.
I made the mistake of not eating much more than a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a bagel with peanut butter last night after the long swim. I've realized that when I know I have a long workout like this one the next day, I really need to make a point of eating something substantial. Even if I'm too lazy to cook, go get some pasta or a pizza or something. Taking in 1000 calories after a 3000 meter swim and before a 50 mile bike isn't gonna cut it.
Bike: 3 Hours
2 Lipodrene
This was my longest bike since the awful, awful Orlando half, and only my 4th ride this long of 2009. This is more indicative of how bad that last training cycle was than anything else, but the point is that this was my longest ride of the Ironman Training Program to date. I took along 2 gels and a Cliff bar, and was militant with myself about taking them all at 45 minute intervals. I did that one nicely.
What I did not do nicely is ride fast. Like I hit Hawthorne and couldn't really get up much past 19. I thought I'd just use this as a ride to get used to being out on the road for long periods of time, and thought I'd just cruise and get used to it. but 19 became 18 became 17, and a lot of times I found myself biking like I was on an incline when the terrain looked pretty flat. Like I'd be rolling along at 18 or 19, then all of a sudden I couldn't go past 15. Putting forth the same effort, but just couldn't go any faster. It literally felt like I was constantly going uphill. I'm starting to think maybe the trail has some optical illusions like that, where there's a grade but it looks flat. What else explains it?
It was hot, so I think that was part of why my legs weren't as powerful as they sometimes are. I also was, as I said before, not going on a ton of food. The ride just went slow today, and I'm not sure why. I stopped at about the 1:50 mark for a couple of minutes just to get my motivation back, and the 3 advil I took at the 1 hour mark kept the back pain at bay from about 1:30 to 2:40. So that's going to be a key ingredient on a lot of future long bikes. And there are a lot in the future.
The only bright spot here is that this ride reminded me of a lot of shorter rides I'd has last cycle. Like no power, hard to get going fast, and lost motivation. The difference here is that this was a long, long ride and it was hot out. then it was temperate and the rides were short. I credit a clearer mind this time around, I really do, and it only goes to underscore my points about minimizing life distractions when you're training for an event like this.
Run: 30 Minutes
The Lipodrene had more or less worn off, but I saw no point in taking another one when I'd be done as soon as it kicked in. I had one more gel and had a nice shuffle down to the stadium and back. All I could think was "Fuck. I gotta do this like 8 more times after a bike ride that's twice as long? Good thing I have 14 more weeks." The run actually wasn't too painful and I could definitely have gone longer. But looking at a 90 minute swim tomorrow, I saw no need for that.
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