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 trainer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trainer. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
T103 - Tapering with Trainer Trance - Bike (Trainer), Swim
Gainesville
After three days off, I began my last tapering week before Race Week. Tapering is where you actually decrease your training hours, although the way I'm going it I still have some long workouts, just more days off. I'm not sure if this is the best method, but I've found my motivation on the shorter ones to be lacking, so I try and create a situation where I can maximize the training value.
Bike: 60 minutes (Trainer)
wu: 10 minute RPE3
main: 40 minutes RPE 7
cd: 10 minutes RPE 3
2 Lipodrene
I opted for the trainer since I did this workout on Wednesday, and Wednesdays don't leave much room for me to train before dark unless I want to wake up super early. And that wasn't happening. And given that this was a tapering week and I had 2 other bike rides scheduled (including a long swim/bike brick) I thought this would be a good time to use the trainer. It is still hot as fuck in Gainesville, and more humid that some parts of the summer. So this evening session on the patio was still especially sweaty.
I used the iPod and after the initial 10 minutes spend the better part of the 40-minute interval in aero with my eyes closed trying to get into the trainer trace. the trainer trance is pretty awesome because you really don't even feel your legs working at all, but you still go a lot harder than you would if you were looking up. I broke the trance several times, but the middle 40 felt strong. I still had some problems with saddle sores or hemorrhoids or whatever they are, and found myself shifting a lot every time I stood up in the saddle. but at the end I ended up averaging 18.8 for the hour. And even though Trevor says that's a meaningless stat, I really have nothing else to go by. One of my faster trainer sessions and despite the sweatiness and monotonousness, it was a good workout.
Swim
main: 200, 2x100, 200, 2 x 100, 200,
long intervals at RPE4, short at RPE 7-8
2 Lipodrene
I actualyl went pretty much straight from the trainer to my car and headed over to GHFC. I really should have looked up the warmup before I left, because the first 200 felt a little labored and my lats felt really sore. In addition, it was getting late and as such I started feeling dizzy and overheated. I have noticed that those symptoms really aren't too bad until about 7 or 8 at night, so I'm trying to avoid training that late the rest of the cycle. And fortunately, the race starts early.
Anyway, I wouldn't say I exactly crushed this swim, and I felt short of breath a LOT. the water also felt expecially cool, meaning I was getting that overheated feeling again. I took long breaks betwen sets and managed to get the workout done in the manner prescribed. But I did not feel good during most of it. I am learning how to manage whatever this weird illness is, and working out earlier seems to be a good solution.
I then proceeded to miss Thursday's workout, meaning I have 3 hard workouts in 3 days in Miami. And as we all know, Miami workouts tend to suck. Hopefully, I can reverse that trend in my last real week of training.
After three days off, I began my last tapering week before Race Week. Tapering is where you actually decrease your training hours, although the way I'm going it I still have some long workouts, just more days off. I'm not sure if this is the best method, but I've found my motivation on the shorter ones to be lacking, so I try and create a situation where I can maximize the training value.
Bike: 60 minutes (Trainer)
wu: 10 minute RPE3
main: 40 minutes RPE 7
cd: 10 minutes RPE 3
2 Lipodrene
I opted for the trainer since I did this workout on Wednesday, and Wednesdays don't leave much room for me to train before dark unless I want to wake up super early. And that wasn't happening. And given that this was a tapering week and I had 2 other bike rides scheduled (including a long swim/bike brick) I thought this would be a good time to use the trainer. It is still hot as fuck in Gainesville, and more humid that some parts of the summer. So this evening session on the patio was still especially sweaty.
I used the iPod and after the initial 10 minutes spend the better part of the 40-minute interval in aero with my eyes closed trying to get into the trainer trace. the trainer trance is pretty awesome because you really don't even feel your legs working at all, but you still go a lot harder than you would if you were looking up. I broke the trance several times, but the middle 40 felt strong. I still had some problems with saddle sores or hemorrhoids or whatever they are, and found myself shifting a lot every time I stood up in the saddle. but at the end I ended up averaging 18.8 for the hour. And even though Trevor says that's a meaningless stat, I really have nothing else to go by. One of my faster trainer sessions and despite the sweatiness and monotonousness, it was a good workout.
Swim
main: 200, 2x100, 200, 2 x 100, 200,
long intervals at RPE4, short at RPE 7-8
2 Lipodrene
I actualyl went pretty much straight from the trainer to my car and headed over to GHFC. I really should have looked up the warmup before I left, because the first 200 felt a little labored and my lats felt really sore. In addition, it was getting late and as such I started feeling dizzy and overheated. I have noticed that those symptoms really aren't too bad until about 7 or 8 at night, so I'm trying to avoid training that late the rest of the cycle. And fortunately, the race starts early.
Anyway, I wouldn't say I exactly crushed this swim, and I felt short of breath a LOT. the water also felt expecially cool, meaning I was getting that overheated feeling again. I took long breaks betwen sets and managed to get the workout done in the manner prescribed. But I did not feel good during most of it. I am learning how to manage whatever this weird illness is, and working out earlier seems to be a good solution.
I then proceeded to miss Thursday's workout, meaning I have 3 hard workouts in 3 days in Miami. And as we all know, Miami workouts tend to suck. Hopefully, I can reverse that trend in my last real week of training.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
T94 - Saddle Sores Gettin Serious - Run, Bike
Gainesville
I took Saturday off. I figured I rated a day off after a 112-mile bike ride. That and it was actually a scheduled day off as I began my last recovery week. As I've started to do for RWs, I opted to do a mechanical workout today, 45 minutes on the treadmill and an hour and 15 on the bike trainer.
Run - 45 minutes (treadmill)
2 Lipodrene
My legs felt surprisingly good after the rigorous ride on Friday, so I set the treadmilll to 6.8, which is about an 8:40 pace. Faster than I'm sure I'll do in the race, but good to get my legs used to running. The treadmills at Jefferson are loose, so for someone my size running at a decent clip, the belts tend to stick a lot when I step down on them. There is not only one treadmill I can use there.
As it was, I ran well through it, feeling a little bit labored but keeping the pace well. I started to fade a little towards the end, but I chalk this up more to that mental feeling of being near the end than anything else. I did use the iPod here, as again, its a treadmill run.
Bike - 75 Minutes, Trainer
2 Lipodrene
I took a nice long break between workouts, maybe 3 hours or so. I set up the trainer around 7, and it was already dark outside. And it is starting to cool off a little (for Florida anyway, Probably only 80 when I started)so it was not the perpetual sweatbox that it can be.
What it was was extremely painful. Those long rides leave you with some hemorrhoids or saddle sores or something nasty on your perineum, that just sends waves of soreness up your groin every time you drop into aero. I was able to keep aero for about the first 15 minutes, but had to sit up periodically after that. I didn't really look much at the speed, as Trevor told me that's a pretty useless statistic. But I felt like I pedaled pretty strong, and even closed my eyes and just went for some extender periods.
Let me tell you, biking on the trainer in aero with your eyes closed is intense. It's like you really feel nothing but you and the bike, and if you have the right kind of music on you get in an almost trance-like state. I was able to do this 3 or 4 times for about 5 minutes each, just pedaling hard the whole time. Sadly, eyes-closed biking on the open road, not a good idea. But that's why sometimes the trainer is fun. Anyway, I almost got in an interval workout this way. The only reason I stopped was because the saddle sores were killing me and when the initial adrenaline rush wore off I could feel them.
So I'm opting to take as much time between bike sessions as possible this week to let this heal up. That pain is not excruciating, but if I can minimize it I will. Your ass gets to a certain level of conditioning, but like everything else once you start doing 100 miles-plus, it's a whole new level of toughness. So I'll use this recovery week for what it was meant for: revcovery.
I took Saturday off. I figured I rated a day off after a 112-mile bike ride. That and it was actually a scheduled day off as I began my last recovery week. As I've started to do for RWs, I opted to do a mechanical workout today, 45 minutes on the treadmill and an hour and 15 on the bike trainer.
Run - 45 minutes (treadmill)
2 Lipodrene
My legs felt surprisingly good after the rigorous ride on Friday, so I set the treadmilll to 6.8, which is about an 8:40 pace. Faster than I'm sure I'll do in the race, but good to get my legs used to running. The treadmills at Jefferson are loose, so for someone my size running at a decent clip, the belts tend to stick a lot when I step down on them. There is not only one treadmill I can use there.
As it was, I ran well through it, feeling a little bit labored but keeping the pace well. I started to fade a little towards the end, but I chalk this up more to that mental feeling of being near the end than anything else. I did use the iPod here, as again, its a treadmill run.
Bike - 75 Minutes, Trainer
2 Lipodrene
I took a nice long break between workouts, maybe 3 hours or so. I set up the trainer around 7, and it was already dark outside. And it is starting to cool off a little (for Florida anyway, Probably only 80 when I started)so it was not the perpetual sweatbox that it can be.
What it was was extremely painful. Those long rides leave you with some hemorrhoids or saddle sores or something nasty on your perineum, that just sends waves of soreness up your groin every time you drop into aero. I was able to keep aero for about the first 15 minutes, but had to sit up periodically after that. I didn't really look much at the speed, as Trevor told me that's a pretty useless statistic. But I felt like I pedaled pretty strong, and even closed my eyes and just went for some extender periods.
Let me tell you, biking on the trainer in aero with your eyes closed is intense. It's like you really feel nothing but you and the bike, and if you have the right kind of music on you get in an almost trance-like state. I was able to do this 3 or 4 times for about 5 minutes each, just pedaling hard the whole time. Sadly, eyes-closed biking on the open road, not a good idea. But that's why sometimes the trainer is fun. Anyway, I almost got in an interval workout this way. The only reason I stopped was because the saddle sores were killing me and when the initial adrenaline rush wore off I could feel them.
So I'm opting to take as much time between bike sessions as possible this week to let this heal up. That pain is not excruciating, but if I can minimize it I will. Your ass gets to a certain level of conditioning, but like everything else once you start doing 100 miles-plus, it's a whole new level of toughness. So I'll use this recovery week for what it was meant for: revcovery.
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.
Friday, August 28, 2009
T68 - Spinnin' for the Smokers- Bike (Trainer)
Gainesville
So I'm back in good ole Gainesville. The workout today called for 60 minutes of spinning, and given that I was still recvoering from the 20-hour trip home, I didn't much feel like hitting the road. So I opted to do an hour on the trainer. My headphones were still broken, so instead I turned up the Marlins game full blast, left the deck door open, and listened to the last three innings of the Marlins beating the Mets. Fortunately/unfortunately the bullpen pitched well, so the Fish closed out the game in about half an hour. Which forced me to listen to the postgame show for the last half of the ride. But as it turned out, the goings on at Jefferson 2nd were much more entertaining.
Bike - 60 minutes spinning (trainer)
2 Lipodrene
I forgot our building was a little more crowded that it was last year. I started out biking at about 18, and quickly notcied two black guys poking their heads out the window next door. I was wrapped up in the Marlins game, and did not acknowledge their presence. But they began to smoke and watch me ride, probably wondering what the fuck I was doing. Then the good old potheads from last year went out on their balcony to do what they always do when I'm on the trainer; smoke a bunch of weed. I think they must think I'm some sort of hallucination. "Dude, that guy's on a bike, but he's, like, not going anywhere! Whoa...."
Perhaps because of this larger audience, I was able to maintain a spinning speed of around 18 for the full hour. Like I never even felt like letting up, which I think is a good sign. It was nice to just push through a trainer workout without music, and know that it was better than it had been previously. Even when a group of about 8 guys pulled up a circle of chairs in the courtyard below and began passing the bong (causing plumes of weed smoke to reach the deck)I kept up my speed.
Not sure if I got a contact high from the in-stereo weed smoking around me, but it felt like a good session. I even went a little faster when two girls appeared on a previously-unoccupied patio on the fourth floor to my left. The black guys hollered at them for a while, which I also found entertaining. This courtyard is providing a much better show than it did last year. So even if headphones break and Marlins games are over early, I think I may have some good on-trainer entertainment for the rest of this cycle.
So I'm back in good ole Gainesville. The workout today called for 60 minutes of spinning, and given that I was still recvoering from the 20-hour trip home, I didn't much feel like hitting the road. So I opted to do an hour on the trainer. My headphones were still broken, so instead I turned up the Marlins game full blast, left the deck door open, and listened to the last three innings of the Marlins beating the Mets. Fortunately/unfortunately the bullpen pitched well, so the Fish closed out the game in about half an hour. Which forced me to listen to the postgame show for the last half of the ride. But as it turned out, the goings on at Jefferson 2nd were much more entertaining.
Bike - 60 minutes spinning (trainer)
2 Lipodrene
I forgot our building was a little more crowded that it was last year. I started out biking at about 18, and quickly notcied two black guys poking their heads out the window next door. I was wrapped up in the Marlins game, and did not acknowledge their presence. But they began to smoke and watch me ride, probably wondering what the fuck I was doing. Then the good old potheads from last year went out on their balcony to do what they always do when I'm on the trainer; smoke a bunch of weed. I think they must think I'm some sort of hallucination. "Dude, that guy's on a bike, but he's, like, not going anywhere! Whoa...."
Perhaps because of this larger audience, I was able to maintain a spinning speed of around 18 for the full hour. Like I never even felt like letting up, which I think is a good sign. It was nice to just push through a trainer workout without music, and know that it was better than it had been previously. Even when a group of about 8 guys pulled up a circle of chairs in the courtyard below and began passing the bong (causing plumes of weed smoke to reach the deck)I kept up my speed.
Not sure if I got a contact high from the in-stereo weed smoking around me, but it felt like a good session. I even went a little faster when two girls appeared on a previously-unoccupied patio on the fourth floor to my left. The black guys hollered at them for a while, which I also found entertaining. This courtyard is providing a much better show than it did last year. So even if headphones break and Marlins games are over early, I think I may have some good on-trainer entertainment for the rest of this cycle.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
T61 - A Fine Line Between Pacing Yourself and Dogging It - Bike (Trainer)
Gainesville
B: 90 minutes at RPE 4 on trainer or road. Try to maintain aero posture
during middle 40 minutes.
2 Lipodrene
I figured the idea behind this workout was to get you comfortable in aero for long periods of time. And what better place to do it than the human sweatbox that is the bike trainer? Since it is move-in weekend here at Jefferson 2nd, I though it might be fun to be sweating my balls off on the trainer on the balcony as all the little 19-year-olds and their parents unloaded their U-Hauls into their respective "first Apartments." Sadly, only about 6 came by the whole hour and a half.
my bike computer was fixed, so I took my iPod and some Gatorades out on the deck and went for what would be the longest I'd ever spent on a bike trainer. In terms of mental exhaustion, it's about a 2:1 ratio to being on the road. Just tedious as fuck. And today was no exception. I started out going about 19-20, but within the first ten minutes I had slowed to about 18. And my speed kept dropping. I'm not sure if that was because I knew I had soooo long to go (you don't stop pedaling on the trainer, so you can't take those nice freewheling breaks like you can on the road) and I was pacing it, or if I was just being lazy. My speed slipped to about 16, and I kept shifting down to make it easier. Took a gel at the halfway mark, which seemed to help my energy. The long aero session was really not a problem. I took a few mini-breaks (like 5 seconds or so) to get water and wipe off sweat and whatnot, but no more than I would in a race. So definitely getting pretty comfortable in that position.
But as I got to the end of the ride, I was able to go over 18 pretty consistently. This is a lot slower than I go on the road, which is weird given the limited resistance. Someone could probably explain the physics of this to me, but I really don't get it. The point is this was tough, and really sweaty, and while I wasn't sad about my performance, I wasn't thrilled either. The music helped a lot (Swoon, seriously, is becoming the best non-trance workout CD I've ever owned for whatever reason)and when I got to the better music my speed went up.
But I was a little concerned. Do I need to be pushing harder the whole way through? I don't want to get comfortable at a slow pave like today (averaged 17.5) but at the same time keeping a higher pace up on the trainer for that long can start to fuck with your head early. It's a fine line, much like I wonder if my not being tired at the halfway point of runs is because I don't run very hard.
Oh, and my fucking iPod headphones broke because I kept them pinned under the aero bars for so long. That's 4 pairs, if you're keeping score at home.
B: 90 minutes at RPE 4 on trainer or road. Try to maintain aero posture
during middle 40 minutes.
2 Lipodrene
I figured the idea behind this workout was to get you comfortable in aero for long periods of time. And what better place to do it than the human sweatbox that is the bike trainer? Since it is move-in weekend here at Jefferson 2nd, I though it might be fun to be sweating my balls off on the trainer on the balcony as all the little 19-year-olds and their parents unloaded their U-Hauls into their respective "first Apartments." Sadly, only about 6 came by the whole hour and a half.
my bike computer was fixed, so I took my iPod and some Gatorades out on the deck and went for what would be the longest I'd ever spent on a bike trainer. In terms of mental exhaustion, it's about a 2:1 ratio to being on the road. Just tedious as fuck. And today was no exception. I started out going about 19-20, but within the first ten minutes I had slowed to about 18. And my speed kept dropping. I'm not sure if that was because I knew I had soooo long to go (you don't stop pedaling on the trainer, so you can't take those nice freewheling breaks like you can on the road) and I was pacing it, or if I was just being lazy. My speed slipped to about 16, and I kept shifting down to make it easier. Took a gel at the halfway mark, which seemed to help my energy. The long aero session was really not a problem. I took a few mini-breaks (like 5 seconds or so) to get water and wipe off sweat and whatnot, but no more than I would in a race. So definitely getting pretty comfortable in that position.
But as I got to the end of the ride, I was able to go over 18 pretty consistently. This is a lot slower than I go on the road, which is weird given the limited resistance. Someone could probably explain the physics of this to me, but I really don't get it. The point is this was tough, and really sweaty, and while I wasn't sad about my performance, I wasn't thrilled either. The music helped a lot (Swoon, seriously, is becoming the best non-trance workout CD I've ever owned for whatever reason)and when I got to the better music my speed went up.
But I was a little concerned. Do I need to be pushing harder the whole way through? I don't want to get comfortable at a slow pave like today (averaged 17.5) but at the same time keeping a higher pace up on the trainer for that long can start to fuck with your head early. It's a fine line, much like I wonder if my not being tired at the halfway point of runs is because I don't run very hard.
Oh, and my fucking iPod headphones broke because I kept them pinned under the aero bars for so long. That's 4 pairs, if you're keeping score at home.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
T11 - I Don't Do Sprints - Swim/Bike (Trainer)
Gainesville
Swim: speed day
wu: 300 continuous. concentrate on form weaknesses.
main: 10 x 100 descend 1-5 and 5-10
2 Lipodrene
The guy who designed this program likes to call this "speed day," but unfortunately, speed has never been something I do (aside that one chick in Dana Point who offered it to me right after sex and I was like, sure, why not. But otherwise me and speed, of any type, do not get along). The idea here is to swim 100s at a declining pace, but the sad thing is that by the third turnaround on a 100, going that hard, I'm out of gas. So what it usually turns into is a 50 or a 75 and then 25-50 yards of dogging it. I thought maybe this one would be different, but after the first 100, when I about stopped on the last 25, I decided that 100s are just not my thing.
I did 10 100 yard swims consecutively with 10 second breaks in between. It went pretty well, but I think on my next day of 100s I'll just do Easy, Build, Easy, Hard to get some sort of training value in here. That is if that first hundred feels like this one did. I still think my lung capacity sucks for someone my size, which makes sprinting underwater tough to do. But this swim was essentially just keeping the muscles loose and burning some calories. And what's the value in that?
Bike: 55 minutes, on the trainer if possible:
wu: 10:00 at RPE 2-3
main: 4 x ( 8:00 at RPE 4-5 fast spinning,
2:00 at RPE 2)
Had a cliff bar, and another Lipodrene before setting up the trainer. I also got my new headphones in the mail this afternoon, so I was pumped to use them out on the trainer. What I failed to remember is that A) Doing a long trainer session the day after a long bike ride is hard and B) I don't do sprints. Seriously.
The little warm up thing felt fine, went about 17 mph (which is a little slow for the trainer, but it was a warm up, so whatever. I did the warm-up in the second easiest gear in the large ring, then shifted down 2 gears for the first 8-minute hard stretch. It went ok, averaging about 18, but the next one I averaged about 17, then 16, then on the 4th 8 minutes I just went down one gear as I was feeling about dead. Seriously, this is slow for the trainer, and while I certainly didn't feel like I was slacking on it, I didn't feel like I crushed it either.
Perhaps it was because it was so fucking hot out and I was sweating like a pig, or maybe my legs weren't fully recovered from the long ride the day before, but this trainer session was definitely sub-par. These quick-sprint things are not my style. I'll keep trying to do them here, but I like the prolonged efforts a little better.
Trevor also gave me some tips for keeping my back from getting sore. Leaning back at the desk is one, and I took this idea with me to a bar last night, where I sat back in my bar stool instead of hunching over the bar. Also, I may try stretching before my next ride. Something new, I know. We'll see how it goes.
Swim: speed day
wu: 300 continuous. concentrate on form weaknesses.
main: 10 x 100 descend 1-5 and 5-10
2 Lipodrene
The guy who designed this program likes to call this "speed day," but unfortunately, speed has never been something I do (aside that one chick in Dana Point who offered it to me right after sex and I was like, sure, why not. But otherwise me and speed, of any type, do not get along). The idea here is to swim 100s at a declining pace, but the sad thing is that by the third turnaround on a 100, going that hard, I'm out of gas. So what it usually turns into is a 50 or a 75 and then 25-50 yards of dogging it. I thought maybe this one would be different, but after the first 100, when I about stopped on the last 25, I decided that 100s are just not my thing.
I did 10 100 yard swims consecutively with 10 second breaks in between. It went pretty well, but I think on my next day of 100s I'll just do Easy, Build, Easy, Hard to get some sort of training value in here. That is if that first hundred feels like this one did. I still think my lung capacity sucks for someone my size, which makes sprinting underwater tough to do. But this swim was essentially just keeping the muscles loose and burning some calories. And what's the value in that?
Bike: 55 minutes, on the trainer if possible:
wu: 10:00 at RPE 2-3
main: 4 x ( 8:00 at RPE 4-5 fast spinning,
2:00 at RPE 2)
Had a cliff bar, and another Lipodrene before setting up the trainer. I also got my new headphones in the mail this afternoon, so I was pumped to use them out on the trainer. What I failed to remember is that A) Doing a long trainer session the day after a long bike ride is hard and B) I don't do sprints. Seriously.
The little warm up thing felt fine, went about 17 mph (which is a little slow for the trainer, but it was a warm up, so whatever. I did the warm-up in the second easiest gear in the large ring, then shifted down 2 gears for the first 8-minute hard stretch. It went ok, averaging about 18, but the next one I averaged about 17, then 16, then on the 4th 8 minutes I just went down one gear as I was feeling about dead. Seriously, this is slow for the trainer, and while I certainly didn't feel like I was slacking on it, I didn't feel like I crushed it either.
Perhaps it was because it was so fucking hot out and I was sweating like a pig, or maybe my legs weren't fully recovered from the long ride the day before, but this trainer session was definitely sub-par. These quick-sprint things are not my style. I'll keep trying to do them here, but I like the prolonged efforts a little better.
Trevor also gave me some tips for keeping my back from getting sore. Leaning back at the desk is one, and I took this idea with me to a bar last night, where I sat back in my bar stool instead of hunching over the bar. Also, I may try stretching before my next ride. Something new, I know. We'll see how it goes.
Friday, June 5, 2009
T5 - All Lit Up Again - Swim/Bike (trainer)
Gainesville
Today, I attempted my first early morning workout since what was, quite possibly, the worst workout I've ever had. That workout was pretty emblematic of the entrie last training cycle actually, and it was essentially the same workout as today. So the comparison was interesting. Last time, I went early because, well, I wasn't sleeping. My girlfriend at the time was on a roadtrip with her ex-boyfriend ("he's really skinny and almost completely bald. Really you have nothing to worry about."), and despite the fact that I couldn't do anything about it, it didn't help me sleep at night. And it didn't help my workout either. Not only did I have a very mediocre swim, but when I tried to go out on the bike I was so distracted practicing the arguments I was going to have with her, I swore I had a flat tire I was going so slow. Of course, I did not have a flat. I was just biking like shit, and the cold wind didn't help either.
Moral of the story: If you are the kind of person like me, who gets stressed out about women, do not attempt a feat like an Ironman unless you are A) In a rock-solid relationship (married, engaged, long-term girlfriend, etc.) or B) blissfully single. I am opting for the latter this time around. Seriously, sex is fine, but nothing past that until I cross the finish line in Panama City.
That being said, today's workout was the polar opposite of that one. Really, the best one I've had in a long time. The warmer weather didn't hurt, nor did the ephedra for breakfast. Honestly, though, I don't know how some triathletes do this every day, getting up at 6 AM to workout. Like it was cool as a sort of novelty today, but for chrissakes, my body just doesn't react as well if I'm sweating before noon. Or does it?
Swim:
wu: 400 continuous.
main: 8 x 100 EBEH (each 100 = 25Easy, 25Build, 25Easy, 25 Hard)
2 Lipodrene on empty stomach, then a gel before start
Well, not being one who ever gets up before 11, I forgot that, much like traffic, the gym has a morning rush hour. At GHFC, this is apparently between 6:30 and 8:00 AM. I got there and all 6 lanes had two swimmers. Given my abhorring of circle swimming, I opted to wait until half a lane opened up. 10 mintues, nothing is open, and finally this Patricia-Heaton-at-60-look-alike asks me if I'd like to jump in and Circle swim. Well, I had to be in Miami by 3 and still had a whole workout to go, so, for the second day in a row, I circle swam.
I will say, the circle swimming gets me swimming a lot faster, only because I want to get the fuck out as soon as possible. So maybe this is a good idea, who knows? At any rate, I did the 400 meter warmup faster than I usually do a regular workout, and did the 8 EBEH with little problems. Didn't hurt I had my own lane by the third set either. I love EBEH, because you never swim more than 100 yards at once, and you never have to do more than 25 of them fast. I like swimming, but I don't do sprints.
Bike: 45 minutes on trainer
1 additional Lipodrene, Cliff Bar to settle stomach
The workout today called for 45 minutes of continuous spinning, so I thought what better time to break out the trainer for the first time this cycle than now? Last cycle, I did the trainer a little more than I should have, mostly because it was cold last cycle and I"m not a fan of biking when it's below 75 degrees. The trainer, though, is like a fucking sweatbox on a morning like this when you can feel the air beating you down. It's all the exertion of a bike ride without the cooling breeze. I was Meltzering everywhere within 10 minutes.
I also allowed myself to use the iPod for the first time this cycle. 45 minutes on the trainer with no music is actually a technique they occasionally use at Guantanamo Bay to get information, so I figured this was an acceptable music use. The new headphones are hands down the best speakers I've ever owned (sad, I know) and the music deifinitely helped. I do love my Paramore, and any time I hear "Lit Up" I work about twice as hard.
After the 15 minute warmup in the small ring, I switched over to the big ring and slowed for a minute. Then I said to myself, "You know what? They don't call it the trainer so you can fucking dog it for half an hour. Fucking push it!" And so I did, putting it in the next-to-highest gear for the duration of the workout. And I felt great. Yeah, the 75 mg of ephedra probably didn't hurt, but it was good to feel like I crushed a workout for the first time in a long time.
Maybe it's the drugs, maybe it's the music, or maybe it's not having any girls to worry about, but if I can keep going with workouts like the one I had today, I guarantee a much better result than what happened in Orlando.
Today, I attempted my first early morning workout since what was, quite possibly, the worst workout I've ever had. That workout was pretty emblematic of the entrie last training cycle actually, and it was essentially the same workout as today. So the comparison was interesting. Last time, I went early because, well, I wasn't sleeping. My girlfriend at the time was on a roadtrip with her ex-boyfriend ("he's really skinny and almost completely bald. Really you have nothing to worry about."), and despite the fact that I couldn't do anything about it, it didn't help me sleep at night. And it didn't help my workout either. Not only did I have a very mediocre swim, but when I tried to go out on the bike I was so distracted practicing the arguments I was going to have with her, I swore I had a flat tire I was going so slow. Of course, I did not have a flat. I was just biking like shit, and the cold wind didn't help either.
Moral of the story: If you are the kind of person like me, who gets stressed out about women, do not attempt a feat like an Ironman unless you are A) In a rock-solid relationship (married, engaged, long-term girlfriend, etc.) or B) blissfully single. I am opting for the latter this time around. Seriously, sex is fine, but nothing past that until I cross the finish line in Panama City.
That being said, today's workout was the polar opposite of that one. Really, the best one I've had in a long time. The warmer weather didn't hurt, nor did the ephedra for breakfast. Honestly, though, I don't know how some triathletes do this every day, getting up at 6 AM to workout. Like it was cool as a sort of novelty today, but for chrissakes, my body just doesn't react as well if I'm sweating before noon. Or does it?
Swim:
wu: 400 continuous.
main: 8 x 100 EBEH (each 100 = 25Easy, 25Build, 25Easy, 25 Hard)
2 Lipodrene on empty stomach, then a gel before start
Well, not being one who ever gets up before 11, I forgot that, much like traffic, the gym has a morning rush hour. At GHFC, this is apparently between 6:30 and 8:00 AM. I got there and all 6 lanes had two swimmers. Given my abhorring of circle swimming, I opted to wait until half a lane opened up. 10 mintues, nothing is open, and finally this Patricia-Heaton-at-60-look-alike asks me if I'd like to jump in and Circle swim. Well, I had to be in Miami by 3 and still had a whole workout to go, so, for the second day in a row, I circle swam.
I will say, the circle swimming gets me swimming a lot faster, only because I want to get the fuck out as soon as possible. So maybe this is a good idea, who knows? At any rate, I did the 400 meter warmup faster than I usually do a regular workout, and did the 8 EBEH with little problems. Didn't hurt I had my own lane by the third set either. I love EBEH, because you never swim more than 100 yards at once, and you never have to do more than 25 of them fast. I like swimming, but I don't do sprints.
Bike: 45 minutes on trainer
1 additional Lipodrene, Cliff Bar to settle stomach
The workout today called for 45 minutes of continuous spinning, so I thought what better time to break out the trainer for the first time this cycle than now? Last cycle, I did the trainer a little more than I should have, mostly because it was cold last cycle and I"m not a fan of biking when it's below 75 degrees. The trainer, though, is like a fucking sweatbox on a morning like this when you can feel the air beating you down. It's all the exertion of a bike ride without the cooling breeze. I was Meltzering everywhere within 10 minutes.
I also allowed myself to use the iPod for the first time this cycle. 45 minutes on the trainer with no music is actually a technique they occasionally use at Guantanamo Bay to get information, so I figured this was an acceptable music use. The new headphones are hands down the best speakers I've ever owned (sad, I know) and the music deifinitely helped. I do love my Paramore, and any time I hear "Lit Up" I work about twice as hard.
After the 15 minute warmup in the small ring, I switched over to the big ring and slowed for a minute. Then I said to myself, "You know what? They don't call it the trainer so you can fucking dog it for half an hour. Fucking push it!" And so I did, putting it in the next-to-highest gear for the duration of the workout. And I felt great. Yeah, the 75 mg of ephedra probably didn't hurt, but it was good to feel like I crushed a workout for the first time in a long time.
Maybe it's the drugs, maybe it's the music, or maybe it's not having any girls to worry about, but if I can keep going with workouts like the one I had today, I guarantee a much better result than what happened in Orlando.
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