Gainesville
Well, it's race week. I've got this kinda strange focus going on right now. Like I really don't want to talk to anybody or be too social. All week, just thinking about Saturday. It keeps occurring to me that a week from now, it'll all be over. And nice as it'll be to get back to a semi-normal life, I'm not looking forward to it at all. But more on that later.
My wetsuit came over the weekend. When I get up to Panama City Wednesday night, I'm going to do some wetsuit practice, then go swim a lap of the course Thursday morning. Until then, I'm just trying to get in some good meals and some good sleep. I took Monday off to recover from the weekend's strenuous events in Miami. I figured the short, keep-loose stuff the cards has scheduled wasn't overly crucial, and the rest would do met better. That being said, I still need to keep in constant training mode, as too much time off seems to have led to some bad workouts. But today's didn't look overly daunting.
Swim: warm up 5 minutes, 6 x 50 fast!, cool down 5 minutes
3 Sudafed
2 Lipodrene
The only concerning part about today's swim was when I did my traditional drop to the bottom of the pool when I got in. At about 1 foot down, my head started to feel like it was in a vice. Like one might if they don't eqaulize enough while scuba diving. But I was at 1 freaking foot! This is obviously a sign that I have some serious sinus congestion going on in my head, and the Sudafed, while making me breathe ok, isn't doing much to help that. Not that it's gonna keep me form doing the race, and the swim does not include a 30-foot underwater portion, but I do hope I get better.
The swim itself was fine. I definitely needed the warmup, and the sprints were hard. But short. And few of them. I can't keep that kinda pace for 100 yards, especially since I really haven't done much sprint work here in the last month and a half. Still don't like sprints, and even though I let up a little at the 40-yard mark of a couple of sets, my muscles felt good and I did for the most part what the card had instructed. Not my best swim, but I do like short sprints.
Run: warm up 5 minutes, 5 x 1 minute fast!, cool down 5 minutes (Treadmill)
Anything involving keeping a fast speed, I pretty much have to do on the treadmill. And, of course, I used the iPod. This section also felt fine. My legs needed a minute to warm up, but once the muscles got warm I made it through the sprint sections (which I only did at 8.0-8.3, depending on the song I had on) without difficulty. Holding a sprint for a minute is doable even for me, and my strides felt good. I think they just do these sprints to keep your muscles a little challenged without wearing them out. Good strategy, I think.
Bike: warm up 5 minutes, 5 x 2 minute fast!, cool down 5 minutes (trainer)
I briefly considered just doing this on the stationary, but I want to spend as much time in the saddle this week as I can. So I went home, had a sandwich, and got on the trainer. This was a bit more of a challenge, since the fast sections were 2 minutes long instead of one. For each one, I slowly shifted into my hardest gear, got into aero, and just went as hard as I could. I'd drop about 1-2 mph in speed by the end of the two minutes, but kept it over 22 the whole time. Again, I know speed isn't that relevant a stat, but it does give you something to show how you're doing relative to the rest of that workout. And my biking muscles felt challenged, used, but not worn out as I still felt fine after. I think all of this was a good first workout for race week.
Trevor told me today that I need to sleep by myself in my own bed the rest of the week. Obviously, that's not happening Wednesday on, since I'll be in PCB. And while I'm not sure I can keep to that tonight, I am promising myself that I'll be in bed by 12, to ensure a solid eight hours sleep. That's my minimum (at least attempted mimimum) for all but race night. When we know you never sleep. Other than that, a short bike and run tomorrow during the break, and then I'm off to Panama City. Hopefully these condos have wireless. Otherwise, I'll have to do the full report when I get back.
Showing posts with label swim sprints. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swim sprints. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
T101 - The Yack and Rally - Swim
Gainesville
For Aaron Klueber...
I have this friend who likes to yack ("yack" is slang for vomiting, for the unaware). It is usually brought on by alcohol consumption, but this guy will generally empty the contents of his stomach into the nearest appropriate receptacle and/or sidewalk after drink 4 or 5. Sometimes multiple times in a night. But the guy never quits. He just yacks, picks his beer back up, and keeps drinking. And it's that kind of dedication that motivated me to fight through an otherwise uncomfortable swim on Friday.
Swim: speed day
wu: 3 x 200 - swim, kick, pull
main: 16 x 50 odds RPE 4, evens RPE 8-9
2 Lipodrene
This warmup was unpleasantly long. Especially for a day of sprints. Nonetheless, it felt fine (slow kicking, but that really is low on my list of things to improve at this point) until I got to the third lap of the "pull" section. It was at that point that I felt like my stomach had grown a garbage disposal blade and it was banging against my intestines. I somehow managed to make it through the last lap, and then just hightailed it into the locker room and let it rip into the toilet. And I get REAL loud when I'm yacking, like it sounds like someone is dying. I was just glad nobody stopped in asking if I was ok. I just stood over the bowl in my jammer spitting and yacking for about 2 or 3 minutes, gave myself a few minutes of sitting down by the pool to recover, then got right back at it. Yack and rally. It's the only way to go.
I did the 50s as one at race pace and one sprinting. This worked fairly well as the first set was a little shaky given the yacking, but after that I settled in to a solid pace. I did let up a few times on the last quarter lap of the sprints, maybe on some of the middle sets. Those were sprints where I'd give myself a nice long breather in between and then do pretty well on the next 2 or 3 sets of 50s. And as I got further along in the training day, the intervals got shorter. So the last sprints felt better than the first few. Again, maybe I just needed a sprint warmup, or, better still, needed to get further away from the yacking.
Either way I motivated myself with the yack and rally. Turning in a pretty solid swim after emptying my stomach in the GHFC bathroom is pretty fucking awesome. And maybe that was this illness' final exit from my body. I felt ok the rest of the day, which was good considering I had the Century ride on Saturday. Because the training card called for a 3 hour ride Saturday, I opted to give my legs a rest Friday and tack the 90 minute ride onto Saturday's workout, then add about another hour. Basically what I"m saying is I saw no point in tiring out my legs the day before a Centruy ride, and felt the 90 minutes of energy would be better spent elsewhere.
For Aaron Klueber...
I have this friend who likes to yack ("yack" is slang for vomiting, for the unaware). It is usually brought on by alcohol consumption, but this guy will generally empty the contents of his stomach into the nearest appropriate receptacle and/or sidewalk after drink 4 or 5. Sometimes multiple times in a night. But the guy never quits. He just yacks, picks his beer back up, and keeps drinking. And it's that kind of dedication that motivated me to fight through an otherwise uncomfortable swim on Friday.
Swim: speed day
wu: 3 x 200 - swim, kick, pull
main: 16 x 50 odds RPE 4, evens RPE 8-9
2 Lipodrene
This warmup was unpleasantly long. Especially for a day of sprints. Nonetheless, it felt fine (slow kicking, but that really is low on my list of things to improve at this point) until I got to the third lap of the "pull" section. It was at that point that I felt like my stomach had grown a garbage disposal blade and it was banging against my intestines. I somehow managed to make it through the last lap, and then just hightailed it into the locker room and let it rip into the toilet. And I get REAL loud when I'm yacking, like it sounds like someone is dying. I was just glad nobody stopped in asking if I was ok. I just stood over the bowl in my jammer spitting and yacking for about 2 or 3 minutes, gave myself a few minutes of sitting down by the pool to recover, then got right back at it. Yack and rally. It's the only way to go.
I did the 50s as one at race pace and one sprinting. This worked fairly well as the first set was a little shaky given the yacking, but after that I settled in to a solid pace. I did let up a few times on the last quarter lap of the sprints, maybe on some of the middle sets. Those were sprints where I'd give myself a nice long breather in between and then do pretty well on the next 2 or 3 sets of 50s. And as I got further along in the training day, the intervals got shorter. So the last sprints felt better than the first few. Again, maybe I just needed a sprint warmup, or, better still, needed to get further away from the yacking.
Either way I motivated myself with the yack and rally. Turning in a pretty solid swim after emptying my stomach in the GHFC bathroom is pretty fucking awesome. And maybe that was this illness' final exit from my body. I felt ok the rest of the day, which was good considering I had the Century ride on Saturday. Because the training card called for a 3 hour ride Saturday, I opted to give my legs a rest Friday and tack the 90 minute ride onto Saturday's workout, then add about another hour. Basically what I"m saying is I saw no point in tiring out my legs the day before a Centruy ride, and felt the 90 minutes of energy would be better spent elsewhere.
Monday, August 24, 2009
T66 - Back in the Corps, Back in Open Water- Swim
Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii
North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii
I was back in Kailua and wouldn't you know it, the District Pool was closed on Sunday. So Eric was nice enough to take me over to the Base Pool at K-Bay and "sponsor" me to use it for training. Now I had not been in a Marine Corps Base pool in at least five years, but I thought the idea of combining the Marine Corps and the Ironman in the same training session seemed somehow appropriate. After all, they are probably the two things I am proudest of having done (or will be at least) so lining up at the red and yellow lane separators at the 50-yard base pool was pretty motivating.
Swim: 10 x 200 (50 Easy, 50 Build, 50 Easy, 50Hard)
2 Lipodrene
This workout is so much better in a 50-yard pool. This was the first time I'd trained in such a pool this cycle, and for EBEHs this length, it makes perfect sense. The first 3 sets were rough, and I thought maybe my trend of mediocre workouts was continuing. But it was just the lack of warmup. By set 4 I was going at a steady pace on the Easy sets, and the Build and Hard were good. I even kept up a solid sprint on the last 50s. Which is a lot easier to do when you are looking straight down the pool instead of having to constantly be turning around.
It didn't hurt that some unit was having a family day barbecue on one end of the pool, giving off a great grilled meat smell when I came up for air. Motivated me to swim faster to get to that side. And all the Marines in the pool also motivated me to show that a shaggy haired, unshaved civilian could still tear up the pool. Thoroughly enjoyed the nice outdoor pool at K-Bay, as it was empty and a great course.
1500 Meters - Open Water
Me and Eric, Cousin Jill's Husband, took a nice drive from Kailua through the North Shore to some beach I can't name. Apparently it holds a lot of surfing competitions as it has about a half-mile wide cove with sand that creates a natural amphitheater. And despite the fact that I'd had a pretty good swim earlier, I couldn't resist one trip to the open waters of Hawaii while I was here. So I left my jammer on, brought my cap and outdoor goggles to the beach, and hit the water.
It was amazing. It was like snorkeling and training at the same time. Every time I put my head in the water to breathe, there were interesting tropical fish and some coral to look at. I swam with the current from one end of the cove almost to the other, until the waves got so big I decided to head back. Swimming back was not so easy, as the current on the North Shore can be brutal. Several times I would see myself not move at all in relation to the ocean floor when I stroked. But I didn't really get tired, and I felt like the swim went very well. Especially considering I hadn't been in open water since the Orlando Half. Makes me feel pretty conifdent about the race this weekend at Camp Blanding (2 bases in 1 week!)
This was a great workout, and I love that I got to take advantage of some of the natural training environments Hawaii has to offer. The 1500 Meter open water (I estimated) was just a bonus workout, but I couldn't resist. I'll use that to replace half the workout tomorrow, which is 1200 with kickboard and pull work. I think the open water, especially on Oahu, is better training value. Especially as I open my next to last "recovery week."
North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii
I was back in Kailua and wouldn't you know it, the District Pool was closed on Sunday. So Eric was nice enough to take me over to the Base Pool at K-Bay and "sponsor" me to use it for training. Now I had not been in a Marine Corps Base pool in at least five years, but I thought the idea of combining the Marine Corps and the Ironman in the same training session seemed somehow appropriate. After all, they are probably the two things I am proudest of having done (or will be at least) so lining up at the red and yellow lane separators at the 50-yard base pool was pretty motivating.
Swim: 10 x 200 (50 Easy, 50 Build, 50 Easy, 50Hard)
2 Lipodrene
This workout is so much better in a 50-yard pool. This was the first time I'd trained in such a pool this cycle, and for EBEHs this length, it makes perfect sense. The first 3 sets were rough, and I thought maybe my trend of mediocre workouts was continuing. But it was just the lack of warmup. By set 4 I was going at a steady pace on the Easy sets, and the Build and Hard were good. I even kept up a solid sprint on the last 50s. Which is a lot easier to do when you are looking straight down the pool instead of having to constantly be turning around.
It didn't hurt that some unit was having a family day barbecue on one end of the pool, giving off a great grilled meat smell when I came up for air. Motivated me to swim faster to get to that side. And all the Marines in the pool also motivated me to show that a shaggy haired, unshaved civilian could still tear up the pool. Thoroughly enjoyed the nice outdoor pool at K-Bay, as it was empty and a great course.
1500 Meters - Open Water
Me and Eric, Cousin Jill's Husband, took a nice drive from Kailua through the North Shore to some beach I can't name. Apparently it holds a lot of surfing competitions as it has about a half-mile wide cove with sand that creates a natural amphitheater. And despite the fact that I'd had a pretty good swim earlier, I couldn't resist one trip to the open waters of Hawaii while I was here. So I left my jammer on, brought my cap and outdoor goggles to the beach, and hit the water.
It was amazing. It was like snorkeling and training at the same time. Every time I put my head in the water to breathe, there were interesting tropical fish and some coral to look at. I swam with the current from one end of the cove almost to the other, until the waves got so big I decided to head back. Swimming back was not so easy, as the current on the North Shore can be brutal. Several times I would see myself not move at all in relation to the ocean floor when I stroked. But I didn't really get tired, and I felt like the swim went very well. Especially considering I hadn't been in open water since the Orlando Half. Makes me feel pretty conifdent about the race this weekend at Camp Blanding (2 bases in 1 week!)
This was a great workout, and I love that I got to take advantage of some of the natural training environments Hawaii has to offer. The 1500 Meter open water (I estimated) was just a bonus workout, but I couldn't resist. I'll use that to replace half the workout tomorrow, which is 1200 with kickboard and pull work. I think the open water, especially on Oahu, is better training value. Especially as I open my next to last "recovery week."
Monday, August 10, 2009
T58 - Its Harder When You do it Right, Isn't it? - Swim
Gainesville
In unrelated news, I brought my bike in to be fixed today. They have to order a part for the computer so it will finally work. It's only going to cost about $30, considerable cheaper than the $65 pricetag a whole new one would have come with. The downside, though, is I have no bike until Friday. Which may be difficult since I'm going to West Palm Thursday and Friday. I may go into the shop and ask for the bike Wednesday to do my workout then. We shall see. Point is, looks like that's finally unfucked.
Swim: speed day
warmupu: 100swim, 100 pull, 100 kick, 100 swim
main: 8 x 100 EBEH (each 100 = 25Easy, 25Build, 25Easy, 25 Hard)
2 Lipodrene
These types of days are almost rest days. I'm not even sure what the training value is, but I'm at a point now that I need to do something almost every day, so a half hour swim didn't seem unreasonable. I will say focusing on keeping my right arm out during its stroke is making swimming a lot more unpleasant. My right hand actually starts getting real sore from the increased effort it has to put out. My whole right side in general is getting tired faster. These EBEHs didn't feel much faster than usual, but they did feel more controlled. And I'm guessing a lot of that has to do with the better form.
Again, my intervals were shorter, and again the "Easys" weren't rest lengths, but rather like race pace. I also got stopped between sets by some guy sitting by the pool asking if I was getting enough air when I brought my head up. I figured it was some unsolicited coaching, but actually it was just a guy who didn't swim because he felt like he couldn't get enough air. I wanted to explain to him that that was me 2 years ago, and that it's really not that hard once you learn. But then he asked me about my Ironman 70.3 swim cap, and I told him about it, and the full Ironman in November, and this cute redhead in the next lane stopped and started asking me about it too. But just like I never really talk to girls socially at the gym, nor do I in the pool. But she was cute, for the record. It was a nice distraction on an otherwise unremarkable training day. But it's good. Tomorrow's run is the longest I've ever done.
In unrelated news, I brought my bike in to be fixed today. They have to order a part for the computer so it will finally work. It's only going to cost about $30, considerable cheaper than the $65 pricetag a whole new one would have come with. The downside, though, is I have no bike until Friday. Which may be difficult since I'm going to West Palm Thursday and Friday. I may go into the shop and ask for the bike Wednesday to do my workout then. We shall see. Point is, looks like that's finally unfucked.
Swim: speed day
warmupu: 100swim, 100 pull, 100 kick, 100 swim
main: 8 x 100 EBEH (each 100 = 25Easy, 25Build, 25Easy, 25 Hard)
2 Lipodrene
These types of days are almost rest days. I'm not even sure what the training value is, but I'm at a point now that I need to do something almost every day, so a half hour swim didn't seem unreasonable. I will say focusing on keeping my right arm out during its stroke is making swimming a lot more unpleasant. My right hand actually starts getting real sore from the increased effort it has to put out. My whole right side in general is getting tired faster. These EBEHs didn't feel much faster than usual, but they did feel more controlled. And I'm guessing a lot of that has to do with the better form.
Again, my intervals were shorter, and again the "Easys" weren't rest lengths, but rather like race pace. I also got stopped between sets by some guy sitting by the pool asking if I was getting enough air when I brought my head up. I figured it was some unsolicited coaching, but actually it was just a guy who didn't swim because he felt like he couldn't get enough air. I wanted to explain to him that that was me 2 years ago, and that it's really not that hard once you learn. But then he asked me about my Ironman 70.3 swim cap, and I told him about it, and the full Ironman in November, and this cute redhead in the next lane stopped and started asking me about it too. But just like I never really talk to girls socially at the gym, nor do I in the pool. But she was cute, for the record. It was a nice distraction on an otherwise unremarkable training day. But it's good. Tomorrow's run is the longest I've ever done.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
T52 - Uncharted Waters - Swim
Gainesville
Swim: long day,
warmup: 4 x 75, last 25 in each is backstroke.
main: 4 x 1000, each 1000 as (1 x 750, 5 x 50), rest 2:00 after each
2 Lipodrene
The title here is a little cliche, but I couldn't resist. This was the longest swim I'd ever done, and I was kinda impressed with myself for being able to do it. Like when I first started swimming again in the Fall of 07, I remember 10 laps being hard. Now I have warmups 3 times that long. Anyway, the way this workout was set up really made the long distance swim a lot easier to digest.
The first set of 15 laps was a breeze, and the sprints that followed went as well as could be expected. It was tough to just go all out on the 50s, knowing full well I had 3000 meters to go, so it became another case of "go as hard as you think will give you energy to do the rest of this." I'm not exactly sure why they threw sprints in on long day, but whatever. I'd have been happy with 4 sets of 20 laps, but then again I've never done an Ironman.
Swimming really is the most solitary of all the events in an Ironman. There's no music. There's no scenery save for the bottom of the pool. There's not even anyone to look at as in the water everyone is sort of an androgynous blob. So you start to think. A lot. Probably too much. Today I think I had myself convinced my last girlfriend had been cheating on me by the end of set one, had myself convinced that my sister was a lovestruck moron by set 2, started wondering about the validity of my life by set 3, and I don't even know what I was thinking about during set 4. None of if was logical, but being alone with your thoughts for that long makes you think up stupid shit. Especially when you can't even talk to yourself. The swim went well, but I think I found it mildly depressing by the end.
The 750 sets were all right around the 15-minute mark, which I'm finding promising. I don't expect to cut a whole lot of swim time off after this point, maybe a second or 2 per lap. But I think I've made the dramatic gain and the law of diminishing returns is going to rear its ugly head soon. No matter. The sprints were for the most part strong, although typically the end of the 2nd or 3rd 50 was half-assed. I took a gel at the halfway point, which I think helped. But I didn't really feel fatigued and aside from going mildly stir-crazy, I was very happy with how this swim went. As well as I'd hoped, if not a little better. Definitely getting back in stride. Or stroke. Whatever. Longest swim of the cycle, and definitely one of the best.
Swim: long day,
warmup: 4 x 75, last 25 in each is backstroke.
main: 4 x 1000, each 1000 as (1 x 750, 5 x 50), rest 2:00 after each
2 Lipodrene
The title here is a little cliche, but I couldn't resist. This was the longest swim I'd ever done, and I was kinda impressed with myself for being able to do it. Like when I first started swimming again in the Fall of 07, I remember 10 laps being hard. Now I have warmups 3 times that long. Anyway, the way this workout was set up really made the long distance swim a lot easier to digest.
The first set of 15 laps was a breeze, and the sprints that followed went as well as could be expected. It was tough to just go all out on the 50s, knowing full well I had 3000 meters to go, so it became another case of "go as hard as you think will give you energy to do the rest of this." I'm not exactly sure why they threw sprints in on long day, but whatever. I'd have been happy with 4 sets of 20 laps, but then again I've never done an Ironman.
Swimming really is the most solitary of all the events in an Ironman. There's no music. There's no scenery save for the bottom of the pool. There's not even anyone to look at as in the water everyone is sort of an androgynous blob. So you start to think. A lot. Probably too much. Today I think I had myself convinced my last girlfriend had been cheating on me by the end of set one, had myself convinced that my sister was a lovestruck moron by set 2, started wondering about the validity of my life by set 3, and I don't even know what I was thinking about during set 4. None of if was logical, but being alone with your thoughts for that long makes you think up stupid shit. Especially when you can't even talk to yourself. The swim went well, but I think I found it mildly depressing by the end.
The 750 sets were all right around the 15-minute mark, which I'm finding promising. I don't expect to cut a whole lot of swim time off after this point, maybe a second or 2 per lap. But I think I've made the dramatic gain and the law of diminishing returns is going to rear its ugly head soon. No matter. The sprints were for the most part strong, although typically the end of the 2nd or 3rd 50 was half-assed. I took a gel at the halfway point, which I think helped. But I didn't really feel fatigued and aside from going mildly stir-crazy, I was very happy with how this swim went. As well as I'd hoped, if not a little better. Definitely getting back in stride. Or stroke. Whatever. Longest swim of the cycle, and definitely one of the best.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
T50 - Descent Discipline - Swim
Gainesville
Swim: speed day
wu: 200 swim, 200kick, 200pull, 200 swim
main: 16 x 100, descend 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16
2 Lipodrene
I made sure to get up early and get this workout in before heading to Miami. And, honestly, a 1600 meter swim is about as easy a workout as you can ask for with a long drive ahead of you. The warmup for this workout I like a lot, as it gives you a lot of laps to warm up different aspects of your swim, so when you get to the actual sets you feel a lot stronger.
What I liked about this workout was that I kept my heart rate up really high. The first sprint of each set was tough, as I'm not a real fan of 100s. But, again, I realized this isn't about going balls to the wall. but rather at a hard pace you know you can maintain for 2 laps. So the first on each set was tough, with labored breathing at the end, then almost as tough on the second, a little past normal for the 3rd and normal distance-pace for the 4th. And that's hard to maintain without keeping constant track of how fast you are swimming. So I felt like my speed discipline got better today.
Similarly, my intervals between 100s got shorter as the swim went on. I think 40 seconds was the longest, but some, like between 8 and 9, were like 15. So I think my speed is getting a lot better, or at least my speed swimming.
Swim: speed day
wu: 200 swim, 200kick, 200pull, 200 swim
main: 16 x 100, descend 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16
2 Lipodrene
I made sure to get up early and get this workout in before heading to Miami. And, honestly, a 1600 meter swim is about as easy a workout as you can ask for with a long drive ahead of you. The warmup for this workout I like a lot, as it gives you a lot of laps to warm up different aspects of your swim, so when you get to the actual sets you feel a lot stronger.
What I liked about this workout was that I kept my heart rate up really high. The first sprint of each set was tough, as I'm not a real fan of 100s. But, again, I realized this isn't about going balls to the wall. but rather at a hard pace you know you can maintain for 2 laps. So the first on each set was tough, with labored breathing at the end, then almost as tough on the second, a little past normal for the 3rd and normal distance-pace for the 4th. And that's hard to maintain without keeping constant track of how fast you are swimming. So I felt like my speed discipline got better today.
Similarly, my intervals between 100s got shorter as the swim went on. I think 40 seconds was the longest, but some, like between 8 and 9, were like 15. So I think my speed is getting a lot better, or at least my speed swimming.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
T48 - Knowledge is Power - Swim/Bike
Gainesville
Swim: speed day
wu: 400 continuous. last 50 in each 100 is kick
main: 10 x 100 EBEH (each 100 = 25Easy, 25Build, 25Easy, 25 Hard)
2 Lipodrene
It seemed that the Monday illicit activities were not hampering me today as I managed to get up earlier than normal, and was at the pool before noon. That's two days in a row of starting before noon, if you're counting. This workout today was nothing new. But I made it through with good power and felt great the whole time. I mean, I think set 4 or 5 I slowed a little on the "Hard" lengths, but I had to marvel at how these used to kinda kick my ass. Like even during the last cycle, I often used the 3rd length to totally slack and take it easy. Now it's probably a similar speed to the old "Build" lengths. Also, my intervals in between are getting a lot shorter, which has to be a good sign. Like I'm generally ready to go again in 30 seconds, and can generate the same speed and power as I was in the last set. Improvement is always fun.
Bike: 1.5 hour with some climbing or low cadence work if you're on the
trainer. RPE 3-4 on the flats and allow yourself some out of the saddle work
of RPE 7-8 on the hills
2 Lipodrene
I took a solid 5 hours between the swim and bike today. Didn't see much point for a brick with the "Escape to Campus Lodge" tomorrow. More on that tomorrow. Anyway, I decided to go at the suggested RPE on the flats and then balls out on the hills in the Hammock on Hawthorne. But when my computer went out 3 blocks into the ride, I got a little pissed. There's a sensor on the wheel that I guess gets misaligned, and it had been fine since I brought it in in June, but after I washed the bike it has been fucking up again. And I realized on the course in Orlando that not knowing how fast you're going, or how much time you've been out there, makes it hard to push it on the bike. At least for me. So after I stopped for like 5 minutes to try and un-fuck it, I gave up and decided to just use the clock on there as my timer.
On a ride where you're supposed to take it easy, not having a speedometer to make sure you don't go TOO easy makes you slack. Unfortunately, I have no idea how bad I was slacking, but I was definitely taking it easy. My quads were a little sore, presumable from Sunday's run and lack of any viable nutrition since then (that munchie-induced large cheese pizza from Mellow Mushroom was probably not the BEST idea)so I really had no reason to push it. When I got to the hills, though, I floored it, going as hard as I could and ignoring my throbbing quads as I did it. I feel like the first hill went well, although I'd been doing it at 20 or higher the last tow rides. This felt about similar.
My computer decided to start working just after nigbridge, so once again I'm not going to take it in to be fixed. Maybe when I get my rear wheel unfucked next week. At any rate, I decided to keep a solid 18-19.5 the rest of the way, which worked out well with the RPEs for today. I didn't make it that far, though, as even lame 90 minute rides I'd had previously got me further on the trail. But the way back I hit the tough hill in the hammock (the way back is steeper) and stayed at 16-18, which is about 7-9 MPH faster that I do some parts of it on long rides. So that was a bright spot.
Not sure what I'm going to do about this computer. I can't have it go out during the Ironman, but at the same time would getting a new one even fix the problem? Definitely a question for Tommy when I take this think in next week. Tonight I had some Muscle Milk a big pasta dinner as tomorrow morning's workout will be tough.
Swim: speed day
wu: 400 continuous. last 50 in each 100 is kick
main: 10 x 100 EBEH (each 100 = 25Easy, 25Build, 25Easy, 25 Hard)
2 Lipodrene
It seemed that the Monday illicit activities were not hampering me today as I managed to get up earlier than normal, and was at the pool before noon. That's two days in a row of starting before noon, if you're counting. This workout today was nothing new. But I made it through with good power and felt great the whole time. I mean, I think set 4 or 5 I slowed a little on the "Hard" lengths, but I had to marvel at how these used to kinda kick my ass. Like even during the last cycle, I often used the 3rd length to totally slack and take it easy. Now it's probably a similar speed to the old "Build" lengths. Also, my intervals in between are getting a lot shorter, which has to be a good sign. Like I'm generally ready to go again in 30 seconds, and can generate the same speed and power as I was in the last set. Improvement is always fun.
Bike: 1.5 hour with some climbing or low cadence work if you're on the
trainer. RPE 3-4 on the flats and allow yourself some out of the saddle work
of RPE 7-8 on the hills
2 Lipodrene
I took a solid 5 hours between the swim and bike today. Didn't see much point for a brick with the "Escape to Campus Lodge" tomorrow. More on that tomorrow. Anyway, I decided to go at the suggested RPE on the flats and then balls out on the hills in the Hammock on Hawthorne. But when my computer went out 3 blocks into the ride, I got a little pissed. There's a sensor on the wheel that I guess gets misaligned, and it had been fine since I brought it in in June, but after I washed the bike it has been fucking up again. And I realized on the course in Orlando that not knowing how fast you're going, or how much time you've been out there, makes it hard to push it on the bike. At least for me. So after I stopped for like 5 minutes to try and un-fuck it, I gave up and decided to just use the clock on there as my timer.
On a ride where you're supposed to take it easy, not having a speedometer to make sure you don't go TOO easy makes you slack. Unfortunately, I have no idea how bad I was slacking, but I was definitely taking it easy. My quads were a little sore, presumable from Sunday's run and lack of any viable nutrition since then (that munchie-induced large cheese pizza from Mellow Mushroom was probably not the BEST idea)so I really had no reason to push it. When I got to the hills, though, I floored it, going as hard as I could and ignoring my throbbing quads as I did it. I feel like the first hill went well, although I'd been doing it at 20 or higher the last tow rides. This felt about similar.
My computer decided to start working just after nigbridge, so once again I'm not going to take it in to be fixed. Maybe when I get my rear wheel unfucked next week. At any rate, I decided to keep a solid 18-19.5 the rest of the way, which worked out well with the RPEs for today. I didn't make it that far, though, as even lame 90 minute rides I'd had previously got me further on the trail. But the way back I hit the tough hill in the hammock (the way back is steeper) and stayed at 16-18, which is about 7-9 MPH faster that I do some parts of it on long rides. So that was a bright spot.
Not sure what I'm going to do about this computer. I can't have it go out during the Ironman, but at the same time would getting a new one even fix the problem? Definitely a question for Tommy when I take this think in next week. Tonight I had some Muscle Milk a big pasta dinner as tomorrow morning's workout will be tough.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
T33 - Rest is Good! - Swim/Run
Gainesville
I opted to take my first non-scheduled rest day on Friday. I have about 20 extra days in this cycle, most of which will likely be used for travel in Hawaii and the East Coast Road Trip, but Friday I was just done. Again, I chose to prioritize sex over training and after the long brick I had Thursday then thought an hour of fucking on every surface in my apartment (and the balcony) would be a good idea. Which it was, but it left me thoroughly dehydrated and more or less wiped out until 2 p.m. the next day. Point being, all night sex marathons are fun, but aren't very conducive to doign a long workout the next day. So I got to Friday night and was like "You know, doing anything tonight would just be a bad training day. I'm going to take tonight off and go back to it Saturday." And I did. I took 3 Tylenol PM and was asleep by 12:30. Didn't wake up until about noon.
Swim: speed day--tough!
wu: 300 continuous- (alternate 25 swim, 25 kick)
main: 20 x 75 hold constant pace for each-so judge pace in the first few,
RPE 5
2 Lipodrene
This was a workout that went a lot better than I thought. The warmup was a bit short for the workout that it was, since my shoulders were getting sore around 75 number 3. But I kept the solid pace like it says, and pushed it to keep it up. I was very proud of myself for keeping the harder pace, although I did not go balls out. I have learned that there is a ground between all out and half-assed, and that's where I need to do sprints. I still lack the capacity to do sprints for that long, but these feltt good. I remember 9 and 12 being a bit slow, but otherwise, a solid swim. Very pleased with the effort.
Run: 100 minute long run combined with tempo effort.
75minutes at RPE3, last 25 minutes at RPE5
1 Lipodrene
I took about 3 hours in between and had a turkey sandwich from Jimmy Johns. I usually do workouts like this on the treadmill, since it involves increased speed, but I figured, nah, lets keep pushing it today. Sooooo glad I took that rest day. I did the campus loop without music, which I"m starting to get used to. The loop was a good pace, but still slower than the hour I aimed for it to be. Then I ran down to just before the law school, and strided it out at a faster pace pretty consistently on the way back. Like every time I felt myself slowing, I consciously picked up the pace, and was able to hold it. I took a gel with me and had it at around the 45 minute mark, then took another on the return trip after the campus loop. I never used it though. This run felt great and I really think taking that day off was key. I can't be afraid to do this in the future. But I also need to start prioritizing a little better. After July, when the Cosmo article and the project are done, I think training is going to go into another gear.
I opted to take my first non-scheduled rest day on Friday. I have about 20 extra days in this cycle, most of which will likely be used for travel in Hawaii and the East Coast Road Trip, but Friday I was just done. Again, I chose to prioritize sex over training and after the long brick I had Thursday then thought an hour of fucking on every surface in my apartment (and the balcony) would be a good idea. Which it was, but it left me thoroughly dehydrated and more or less wiped out until 2 p.m. the next day. Point being, all night sex marathons are fun, but aren't very conducive to doign a long workout the next day. So I got to Friday night and was like "You know, doing anything tonight would just be a bad training day. I'm going to take tonight off and go back to it Saturday." And I did. I took 3 Tylenol PM and was asleep by 12:30. Didn't wake up until about noon.
Swim: speed day--tough!
wu: 300 continuous- (alternate 25 swim, 25 kick)
main: 20 x 75 hold constant pace for each-so judge pace in the first few,
RPE 5
2 Lipodrene
This was a workout that went a lot better than I thought. The warmup was a bit short for the workout that it was, since my shoulders were getting sore around 75 number 3. But I kept the solid pace like it says, and pushed it to keep it up. I was very proud of myself for keeping the harder pace, although I did not go balls out. I have learned that there is a ground between all out and half-assed, and that's where I need to do sprints. I still lack the capacity to do sprints for that long, but these feltt good. I remember 9 and 12 being a bit slow, but otherwise, a solid swim. Very pleased with the effort.
Run: 100 minute long run combined with tempo effort.
75minutes at RPE3, last 25 minutes at RPE5
1 Lipodrene
I took about 3 hours in between and had a turkey sandwich from Jimmy Johns. I usually do workouts like this on the treadmill, since it involves increased speed, but I figured, nah, lets keep pushing it today. Sooooo glad I took that rest day. I did the campus loop without music, which I"m starting to get used to. The loop was a good pace, but still slower than the hour I aimed for it to be. Then I ran down to just before the law school, and strided it out at a faster pace pretty consistently on the way back. Like every time I felt myself slowing, I consciously picked up the pace, and was able to hold it. I took a gel with me and had it at around the 45 minute mark, then took another on the return trip after the campus loop. I never used it though. This run felt great and I really think taking that day off was key. I can't be afraid to do this in the future. But I also need to start prioritizing a little better. After July, when the Cosmo article and the project are done, I think training is going to go into another gear.
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