It's been 3+ weeks since Steelhead, and I've yet to recover fully. I've biked and swam just fine but I've run 5 or 6 times and still haven't had a decent run. Don't know if it's because I'm getting old or what. My bike and swim have actually improved since the race so I don't know what to think. Hopefully it will just take a little more time.
I haven't been do any major workouts but have been getting in rides between 30-50 miles and several 2000 yard swims. Was able to get in a 7 mile run last weekend but not a very good one.
Just biding my time until the weather breaks in another month or so and then hoping to PR at the Longleaf Olympic distance tri on 10/21. Also hoping to get in 2-3 1/2 marathons over the next 3-4 months before starting the long ramp up for Ironman. At this point, I'm looking at doing Ironman Florida, if I can get in. If not, there is a new Iron distance race in North Carolina next November I'm thinking of doing. We'll know the beginning of November if I get in IMFL.
Countdown to B2B
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Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Steelhead
Good news/bad news. I PR'd but did not quite get my goal of 6:15. Here's how it went:
Went to bed early but was not able to sleep for more than 30 minutes for some reason. Got up at 3:10 local time(4:10 race time), got dressed and everything together and hit the road from my parents for the 40 minute drive to Benton Harbor.
Got to the race site with no problems only to find cars backed up for a mile into the parking area. It went relatively quickly and I parked, grabbed my stuff and hopped on the shuttle for a short ride to transition.
Arrived at transition with plenty of time since I was in the 14th wave at 7:48. Setup my transition area, filled my tires, finished my breakfast of Luna bars and bananas, double checked everything one last time and went to stand in line for porta johns.
Started the 1.2 mile walk down the beach to the swim start and about 1/2 way saw the elite wave heading out. The lake was calm and the temps a little chilly at 58 degrees. It had been months since I had seen the 50s. The weather actually turned out to be near perfect. Highs hit the low 80s with low humidity and only a stiff breeze at the end of the bike.
Got to the swim start when the 3rd wave was heading into the water, lots of time to get ready. So I zipped up my wetsuit and went into the water for a warmup in the 76 degree water. Made sure my wetsuit wasn't rubbing on my neck and swam a couple hundred yards just to warm up. Spent the rest of the time watching the waves going off and talking to guys in my wave.
Finally wave 13 took off and we were up next. We had to start on dry land so I set myself up back and to the right since I didn't expect to be anywhere near the lead of my wave. The horn went off and we were in the water. Waded in about 30 yards until I was able to start swimming. Despite 200 in my wave, the entire swim was clean and smooth. Without a doubt, the best swim I've had in any race. Maybe not time wise but I never once struggled. The buoys went by pretty quickly and then we were turning toward shore. As I got close enough to run out of the water I looked down and was at 43:40, a PR!!! I dropped into the water at the shore to get my wetsuit off and had a little trouble with one of the legs which hurt my time. Then it was up the beach quite a bit to transition. The timing mat was placed a good ways up the beach so my official swim time was just over 46, which is deceiving.
T1 was pretty uneventful other than the long run up the beach to reach it. Got to transition and went about getting socks, shoes, gloves, helmet, glasses and racebelt on. Grabbed my bike and I was off. The breeze was supposed to be out of the Northeast but turned out to be out of the East. Since the loop took us first North and then East, it played a part in slowing me down a little, I think. The reason I think is once I mounted my bike and went to turn on my computer, it would not turn on!! No idea on my speed or my average or my cadence. Luckily I did have my heartrate on my watch so I could make sure I wasn't redlining. Anyway, the ride started out going up an incline for about a mile. Then the course moderated a bit with rollers for the next 15 miles or so. Once we hit the furthest most point of the loop, about 25 miles, things seems to level out for a while, and with the breeze at my back, started to feel much stronger. The roads themselves with mostly chipseal and in some spots pretty rough. I've never seen so many bikes with flats and so many bottles, CO2s, bottle cages, etc on the road. Luckily I was spared any of that. At about mile 40, my left hamstring really started to bother me. This has been happening on most of my long rides but during those I would stop for something to drink and stretch it out which always helped. Since I wasn't about to stop today I just had to push through it. It wasn't horrible and it kept coming and going but it did affect me. Finally I hit mile 50 and started descending toward the finish. I was feeling taxed but happy to be getting off the bike and starting the run. Got to T2 a lot slower than I wanted. Just under 3:17. I was hoping for 3:10. Part of the problem were some of the hills and also holding back a little not knowing how fast I was going. I was afraid to got too hard not knowing how fast I was going and then crash on the run.
In and out of transition in about 2 minutes. Shoes and hat and on the road. About a quarter mile of flat until we start a very steep, short uphill, which many people were already walking. I was feeling pretty good both physically and mentally and started out slow and steady just to get some miles under me. My goal was to average 10 minute miles and run most of the way. In my past 1/2s I've had to walk too much. I figured if I could run most of the way, even slowly, my time would benefit. This worked for the most part until late in the run. I was able to put the miles behind mile just maintaining a slow pace. Got to mile 4.5 and saw Beth, the kids and my mom. It was great to see them and I decided I would try to continue to run until I saw them again on the 2nd loop between mile 8 and 9. I did walk a couple of the water stops but for the most part kept running. When I got back to about 8.5 I stopped and walked and talked to my family. They were going to head down to the finish to catch me finish. Once I left them, things got tougher. Checking my watch, I knew I wasn't going to get 6:15 but I also knew I had a very good shot at PRing if I just kept moving. There could be very little walking. So I began to run 1/4 mile and walk 10 steps or so. This lasted until mile 11 when the walk breaks lasted longer. By mile 12 and the short, steep decline, I was well within time of PRing and decided it hurt just as much to walk as it did to run so I might as well run. As I got closer to finish I couldn't hear the announcer or the crowd, which seemed strange since I knew it was close. But finally I turned to last corner, between 2 big sand dunes and the sound erupted. Apparently the sand dunes had muffled the sound but once between them it was very loud. I ran as hard as I could(not very at this point) to finish. Crossed the line in just over 2:24 for the run and 6:35:25 for the race.
Overall I'm happy with the race since I PR'd but still disappointed because I really thought my training had set me up for a better race. But you have to take what the day gives you.
Now it's time for a little rest and maintenance. It will be nice to not have to ride and run long every weekend. I'll still get some long runs and rides in in the coming weeks, just not back to back and not every weekend!!
Went to bed early but was not able to sleep for more than 30 minutes for some reason. Got up at 3:10 local time(4:10 race time), got dressed and everything together and hit the road from my parents for the 40 minute drive to Benton Harbor.
Got to the race site with no problems only to find cars backed up for a mile into the parking area. It went relatively quickly and I parked, grabbed my stuff and hopped on the shuttle for a short ride to transition.
Arrived at transition with plenty of time since I was in the 14th wave at 7:48. Setup my transition area, filled my tires, finished my breakfast of Luna bars and bananas, double checked everything one last time and went to stand in line for porta johns.
Started the 1.2 mile walk down the beach to the swim start and about 1/2 way saw the elite wave heading out. The lake was calm and the temps a little chilly at 58 degrees. It had been months since I had seen the 50s. The weather actually turned out to be near perfect. Highs hit the low 80s with low humidity and only a stiff breeze at the end of the bike.
Got to the swim start when the 3rd wave was heading into the water, lots of time to get ready. So I zipped up my wetsuit and went into the water for a warmup in the 76 degree water. Made sure my wetsuit wasn't rubbing on my neck and swam a couple hundred yards just to warm up. Spent the rest of the time watching the waves going off and talking to guys in my wave.
Finally wave 13 took off and we were up next. We had to start on dry land so I set myself up back and to the right since I didn't expect to be anywhere near the lead of my wave. The horn went off and we were in the water. Waded in about 30 yards until I was able to start swimming. Despite 200 in my wave, the entire swim was clean and smooth. Without a doubt, the best swim I've had in any race. Maybe not time wise but I never once struggled. The buoys went by pretty quickly and then we were turning toward shore. As I got close enough to run out of the water I looked down and was at 43:40, a PR!!! I dropped into the water at the shore to get my wetsuit off and had a little trouble with one of the legs which hurt my time. Then it was up the beach quite a bit to transition. The timing mat was placed a good ways up the beach so my official swim time was just over 46, which is deceiving.
T1 was pretty uneventful other than the long run up the beach to reach it. Got to transition and went about getting socks, shoes, gloves, helmet, glasses and racebelt on. Grabbed my bike and I was off. The breeze was supposed to be out of the Northeast but turned out to be out of the East. Since the loop took us first North and then East, it played a part in slowing me down a little, I think. The reason I think is once I mounted my bike and went to turn on my computer, it would not turn on!! No idea on my speed or my average or my cadence. Luckily I did have my heartrate on my watch so I could make sure I wasn't redlining. Anyway, the ride started out going up an incline for about a mile. Then the course moderated a bit with rollers for the next 15 miles or so. Once we hit the furthest most point of the loop, about 25 miles, things seems to level out for a while, and with the breeze at my back, started to feel much stronger. The roads themselves with mostly chipseal and in some spots pretty rough. I've never seen so many bikes with flats and so many bottles, CO2s, bottle cages, etc on the road. Luckily I was spared any of that. At about mile 40, my left hamstring really started to bother me. This has been happening on most of my long rides but during those I would stop for something to drink and stretch it out which always helped. Since I wasn't about to stop today I just had to push through it. It wasn't horrible and it kept coming and going but it did affect me. Finally I hit mile 50 and started descending toward the finish. I was feeling taxed but happy to be getting off the bike and starting the run. Got to T2 a lot slower than I wanted. Just under 3:17. I was hoping for 3:10. Part of the problem were some of the hills and also holding back a little not knowing how fast I was going. I was afraid to got too hard not knowing how fast I was going and then crash on the run.
In and out of transition in about 2 minutes. Shoes and hat and on the road. About a quarter mile of flat until we start a very steep, short uphill, which many people were already walking. I was feeling pretty good both physically and mentally and started out slow and steady just to get some miles under me. My goal was to average 10 minute miles and run most of the way. In my past 1/2s I've had to walk too much. I figured if I could run most of the way, even slowly, my time would benefit. This worked for the most part until late in the run. I was able to put the miles behind mile just maintaining a slow pace. Got to mile 4.5 and saw Beth, the kids and my mom. It was great to see them and I decided I would try to continue to run until I saw them again on the 2nd loop between mile 8 and 9. I did walk a couple of the water stops but for the most part kept running. When I got back to about 8.5 I stopped and walked and talked to my family. They were going to head down to the finish to catch me finish. Once I left them, things got tougher. Checking my watch, I knew I wasn't going to get 6:15 but I also knew I had a very good shot at PRing if I just kept moving. There could be very little walking. So I began to run 1/4 mile and walk 10 steps or so. This lasted until mile 11 when the walk breaks lasted longer. By mile 12 and the short, steep decline, I was well within time of PRing and decided it hurt just as much to walk as it did to run so I might as well run. As I got closer to finish I couldn't hear the announcer or the crowd, which seemed strange since I knew it was close. But finally I turned to last corner, between 2 big sand dunes and the sound erupted. Apparently the sand dunes had muffled the sound but once between them it was very loud. I ran as hard as I could(not very at this point) to finish. Crossed the line in just over 2:24 for the run and 6:35:25 for the race.
Overall I'm happy with the race since I PR'd but still disappointed because I really thought my training had set me up for a better race. But you have to take what the day gives you.
Now it's time for a little rest and maintenance. It will be nice to not have to ride and run long every weekend. I'll still get some long runs and rides in in the coming weeks, just not back to back and not every weekend!!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
And the taper begins!!!
Finally!!! Did my last hard workout tonight with 6 miles in the hills with 92 degrees and 80% humidity. Good last week+ including 8 miles in the hills last week and a 70 mile ride, 11 mile run and 2500 meter swim this weekend. Now I take off 2 days to drive up north. I'll get in a couple runs(easy) and rides as well as a couple open water swims with wetsuit before the race on the 4th. Nothing strenuous at all. I'm more than ready for a some easy, hopefully cooler workouts.
As they say, the hay is in the barn, I just hope I put enough hay in there. Not much more I could have done. Easily the most time/distance I've put in for a 1/2 before. I'm just going to plan on having fun and hoping all the training pays off.
As they say, the hay is in the barn, I just hope I put enough hay in there. Not much more I could have done. Easily the most time/distance I've put in for a 1/2 before. I'm just going to plan on having fun and hoping all the training pays off.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Almost to taper
One more big week and I'll be about ready for the 10 day taper before Steelhead. Some strong workouts last week despite the heat cutting a couple a little short. Wanted to do 8 miles in the hills but could only do 6 during a noon time run. Also, wanted to do 6 on the track but stopped after 5. The heat/humidity is causes my recovery time to increase and the only way to manage it is to cut some workouts short.
Still got some decent distances in with 4000 meters swimming(including a 2500 meter swim), 110 on the bike(including a 50 miler) and 26 running(including an 11 mile run the morning after the 50 bike). Took yesterday off for my first off day in 3 weeks and to prepare for a last, long, strong week. Hoping to do 8 in the hills this evening, 70 on the bike Friday evening or Saturday morning and 11 running on Sunday.
Had a very strange experience on my 50 mile bike ride Saturday morning. It's not unusual to see strange things on the side of the road during rides. But Saturday morning, about mile 22 near Wimauma, I see a large 'bundle' on the opposite side of the road. As I get closer, I realize it's a man in a very awkward position, with his arms/hands over his head in the road. From his position and having his arms/hands in the road, I'm thinking he's injured or dead. I stop and ride over to him and loudly ask if he's alright. He immediately jumps up startled. He only spoke Spanish so I'm not sure what he said exactly but he appeared to be fine. Not sure why he was where he was but if a car came along without looking very well they would have run over his arms.
Still got some decent distances in with 4000 meters swimming(including a 2500 meter swim), 110 on the bike(including a 50 miler) and 26 running(including an 11 mile run the morning after the 50 bike). Took yesterday off for my first off day in 3 weeks and to prepare for a last, long, strong week. Hoping to do 8 in the hills this evening, 70 on the bike Friday evening or Saturday morning and 11 running on Sunday.
Had a very strange experience on my 50 mile bike ride Saturday morning. It's not unusual to see strange things on the side of the road during rides. But Saturday morning, about mile 22 near Wimauma, I see a large 'bundle' on the opposite side of the road. As I get closer, I realize it's a man in a very awkward position, with his arms/hands over his head in the road. From his position and having his arms/hands in the road, I'm thinking he's injured or dead. I stop and ride over to him and loudly ask if he's alright. He immediately jumps up startled. He only spoke Spanish so I'm not sure what he said exactly but he appeared to be fine. Not sure why he was where he was but if a car came along without looking very well they would have run over his arms.
Monday, July 9, 2007
4 weeks until Steelhead
So I've got about 2 more weeks of serious training and then begin my taper for Steelhead. Since we're heading up on the 26th, it will all work out. The drive will force some downtime. Right now, I'm looking forward to the taper but the next 2 weeks are going to be tough.
Last week I put in my longest ride and run of the year. Got out early on the 4th for 70 mile bike. All in all it went well but did get caught in a downpour for about 25 miles of it. Then finished up the week on Sunday with an 11 mile run. Really felt good the first 6 miles then the sun came up and I struggled the last 5. But came away from it feeling pretty good.
The numbers for the week: 2000 meters swimming(need to get this up in the coming weeks), 140 on the bike and 24 running.
Going over my training log, I found I've had 3 days completely off in the past 9 weeks. Granted, some days I've only lifted or swam, neither of which I consider too strenuous all things considered. But still, it will be nice to spend some days off in August after Steelhead. But soon after that the kids and Beth are back in school and baseball begins again, which means things get crazy. The last 4 months of the year will be mostly maintenance mode as far as training, with only an Olympic distance race planned in late October and a century ride in Novemeber.
Last week I put in my longest ride and run of the year. Got out early on the 4th for 70 mile bike. All in all it went well but did get caught in a downpour for about 25 miles of it. Then finished up the week on Sunday with an 11 mile run. Really felt good the first 6 miles then the sun came up and I struggled the last 5. But came away from it feeling pretty good.
The numbers for the week: 2000 meters swimming(need to get this up in the coming weeks), 140 on the bike and 24 running.
Going over my training log, I found I've had 3 days completely off in the past 9 weeks. Granted, some days I've only lifted or swam, neither of which I consider too strenuous all things considered. But still, it will be nice to spend some days off in August after Steelhead. But soon after that the kids and Beth are back in school and baseball begins again, which means things get crazy. The last 4 months of the year will be mostly maintenance mode as far as training, with only an Olympic distance race planned in late October and a century ride in Novemeber.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Another week done
Took Monday off for my first off day in 3 weeks and needed it as the week went along. Did 7 miles in the hills on Tuesday and that wore me out for the week. Ended up with 80 miles on the bike, 2000 meters swimming and 26 miles running. Both the 50 mile ride on Saturday and the 10 mile run on Sunday were done in extreme heat and humidity. Can't wait for Steelhead and the mild temps.
Also, got down to my 'goal' weight this morning. Now it's just a matter of keeping it there until Aug. 4th.
I'm always a little leery of putting goals out there for races, and I'm not going to put a toal time down. But, I've done 3 1/2 Ironman races now so finishing doesn't hold much appeal anymore. I have 2 main goals. The first is a stretch and will require all to go well race day. The second is to PR in all 3 disciplines. At Steelhead, they set the swim on race morning to go with the current, so with the lifting I've been doing and the current, I should be able to PR in the swim(44:55 at Muncie). Knowing the bike isn't very hilly and hoping for light winds and cooler temps, along with my increased bike training, I'm most confident in PRing on the bike(3:15.24 at Disney). The run will be the deciding factor on if I reach my big goal. I have yet to put together a strong run I know I'm capable of in a 1/2. Again, being stronger on the bike should hopefully bring me to the run in better shape than in the past. Temps again will have a big impact on my time but I'm still confident I can be my PR in the run(2:24:32 at Muncie).
I'm in about the best shape of my life right now. I've been much fast on the run before and maybe a little faster in the swim but my bike is the strongest it's been. So if I can just keep up the training levels for the next 3-4 weeks I should be able to have a race that reflects my training, which is all I ask for at this race.
Also, got down to my 'goal' weight this morning. Now it's just a matter of keeping it there until Aug. 4th.
I'm always a little leery of putting goals out there for races, and I'm not going to put a toal time down. But, I've done 3 1/2 Ironman races now so finishing doesn't hold much appeal anymore. I have 2 main goals. The first is a stretch and will require all to go well race day. The second is to PR in all 3 disciplines. At Steelhead, they set the swim on race morning to go with the current, so with the lifting I've been doing and the current, I should be able to PR in the swim(44:55 at Muncie). Knowing the bike isn't very hilly and hoping for light winds and cooler temps, along with my increased bike training, I'm most confident in PRing on the bike(3:15.24 at Disney). The run will be the deciding factor on if I reach my big goal. I have yet to put together a strong run I know I'm capable of in a 1/2. Again, being stronger on the bike should hopefully bring me to the run in better shape than in the past. Temps again will have a big impact on my time but I'm still confident I can be my PR in the run(2:24:32 at Muncie).
I'm in about the best shape of my life right now. I've been much fast on the run before and maybe a little faster in the swim but my bike is the strongest it's been. So if I can just keep up the training levels for the next 3-4 weeks I should be able to have a race that reflects my training, which is all I ask for at this race.
Monday, June 25, 2007
The week, the race and the brick
The week was made up of 3 parts....Monday-Friday was an average training week, Saturday I did the Crazy Dicks sprint triathlon in Siesta Key and Sunday I did a 50 mile bike/4 mile run brick.
It was a 10.5 hour training week with 93 miles riding, 2400 meters swimming and 25 miles running. The race on Saturday was 1/4 mile swim, 13 mile bike and 3 mile run. The gulf was choppy and as we were about the start the swim, the first of 3 buoys was blown off course about 10-15 meters, potentially making the swim short. Unfortunately, the third(and last) buoy was blown off course even more making the swim a little longer. The bike was flat and very fast. I averaged 19.6 mph on the bike which is the fastest I've ever averaged in a race. The entire 3 mile run was on the beach so it was a little slow but overall I ran pretty good. Was a fun race.
Got up early Sunday and rode 50 miles and followed that up with a 4 mile run immediately after. Felt good on the bike and the run. Drank a little more than normal and it paid off on the run. Taking my first day off in 3 weeks and hopefully will bounce back with some strong workouts this week.
This was the last scheduled face before Steelhead on Aug. 4th. In a great position to build for the next 4 weeks before starting a taper for St. Joe.
It was a 10.5 hour training week with 93 miles riding, 2400 meters swimming and 25 miles running. The race on Saturday was 1/4 mile swim, 13 mile bike and 3 mile run. The gulf was choppy and as we were about the start the swim, the first of 3 buoys was blown off course about 10-15 meters, potentially making the swim short. Unfortunately, the third(and last) buoy was blown off course even more making the swim a little longer. The bike was flat and very fast. I averaged 19.6 mph on the bike which is the fastest I've ever averaged in a race. The entire 3 mile run was on the beach so it was a little slow but overall I ran pretty good. Was a fun race.
Got up early Sunday and rode 50 miles and followed that up with a 4 mile run immediately after. Felt good on the bike and the run. Drank a little more than normal and it paid off on the run. Taking my first day off in 3 weeks and hopefully will bounce back with some strong workouts this week.
This was the last scheduled face before Steelhead on Aug. 4th. In a great position to build for the next 4 weeks before starting a taper for St. Joe.
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