Swim Day- Recovery Week
1 x 150- Warm-up
4 x 100- Pull
4 x 100- 50-5, 7, 9/50-ftd
1 x 200- Stroke count
1 x 100- Cool down
total- 1250yds
Today begins the second recovery week in this training cycle and I gotta say, I'm looking forward to it. I love breaking myself down and making it hurt, but I was ready for some easiness. This week is all about lowering the intensity, allowing the body to catch up, stretching things out. Not to say I'll be loafing, but I certainly don't expect to be recovering from runs flat on my back in the living room this week.
With that in mind this was a super-easy, very light swim. Being Monday, it was a stroke-focused swim. My stroke count on that 200 hovered around 14-15 a lap. Not wonderful, but not awful. The front end of my stroke feels fine so I think I'm not finishing as strongly as I should be. Always a problem. Always need to remind myself to finish past my hips. Core is feeling stronger and my steady in the water though. I don't think I'm as wiggily as I was a few weeks ago.
Ride Fail Day
Set off from the house for an easy 15.5mi ride. And the front derailuer wouldn't shift from the small ring to the big ring. Curses and other expletives. So I turned right around and we headed to the LBS (Local Bike Shop, remember kids?) for a check-up. This is not the first time this type of problem has shown up on Kratos and I was going to bother the guy until he told me something good.
That was easy, he was more than willing to put the bike up on the rack and check it out. Turns out the wire for that part was loose and easy to tighten. Then he started checking other stuff to be sure. "Hmmmm." Oh no. That sounded expensive.
"You know, this really needs a tune-up. Your tires should be trued and everything should be tightened down. While we're at it, you've got some good chain stretch going on and that should be replaced soon. I could do it during the tune-up. But the cassette (the gears in the back) is probably worn to match the chain at this point because they are so old. So a new chain might not ride well on this cassette. It should be replaced too."
Damn.
So now an appointment is made for next Thursday to drop the bike off and he'll tune it up, switch the chain out, and switch the cassette out too. Since the bike is set up to be a cyclecross bike the gearing is not race ideal, which I knew but wasn't worried about because I'm not that fast. However, since the cassette needs to be replaced anyway I'm going to let him talk me in to a more race-focused gearing. To help that, Cycle Dirtbag, my Official Mainland Bike Parts Dealer, is going to send me his front gears from his bike that he switched out and doesn't need. He bought gears better for him, but the ones he took off would be better for me. Saving me some (a bunch of) money and making my rpms more efficient.
Luckily, I just spent half of my board money on aerobars. And registered for a for-fun race this weekend. Both expenses I wish I had back. He's also going to take off the top brake levers too so I can install the aerobars when they come in. Hopefully my seat is ok with an aero position, or I'll have to replace that at some point soon too. Leaning over in aero changes where...pressure is.
Oh yeah, and while he was giving the bike the once-over he grabbed my pedal crank and the damn thing wiggled! Like it was loose. "Uh, that's not good. I'll tighten that up for you so it doesn't come off." Yeah, thanks, you do that. So lots of bike money going out next week, but it'll be steps closer to a better racer after this.
As if that wasn't enough...
*Injury Report*
I stumbled right off the sidewalk today at school and tried to sprain my ankle. Don't think I did, no swelling, but it is sore now. Stole ice from the school nurse and have been teaching with one shoe on while I iced my ankle. So pissed when it happened, that fear-pissed, you know? That, "Crap, I have a non-refundable race this weekend and I may have just hurt myself," fear-pissed. Think I'm ok. Recovery week, lots of ice, should be fine. No loss of flexibility so far, no swelling, just tenderness.
Dirtbag Klutz.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Again I Don't Estimate Distance Well
Ride Day
time- 2:31/2:53
distance- 37mi/42.11mi
Lots of climbing today. Burned my legs right up by the end. Went down to Haleiwa and did my normal lap down there, pushed back up Pineapple Hill in about 28 minutes. It felt very fast. I never felt weak while climbing. Good cadence, good focus, felt strong. But I was still about 15 miles short of my goal so I decided to go on base. I figured I could make up the distance there, go up Kolekole if I needed to.
Felt good getting on base. Felt good starting the climb. But as soon as it started getting nice and steep my cadence and speed crashed and it turned in to one of the slowest times and most painful climbs I've had. Couldn't push. I'm sure it didn't help that I was watching my bike computer and realizing that by the time I get to the to and back down and off base I'll have exceeded my goal distance for the day. I could have turned around but by the time I decided I should I was halfway up and you can't stop a climb halfway. So I fought through it.
Finished my 37 miles in 2:31, which isn't bad especially because I spent around 50 total minutes of it climbing. Finished the total ride of 42 miles in 2:53. Seems like a long time to be on the bike, but its a good thing. I'll get faster. I'll get stronger. My tri times will drop.
Next week is a recovery week. Next Saturday is also the Guard Dog triathlon. Looking forward to both.
time- 2:31/2:53
distance- 37mi/42.11mi
Lots of climbing today. Burned my legs right up by the end. Went down to Haleiwa and did my normal lap down there, pushed back up Pineapple Hill in about 28 minutes. It felt very fast. I never felt weak while climbing. Good cadence, good focus, felt strong. But I was still about 15 miles short of my goal so I decided to go on base. I figured I could make up the distance there, go up Kolekole if I needed to.
Felt good getting on base. Felt good starting the climb. But as soon as it started getting nice and steep my cadence and speed crashed and it turned in to one of the slowest times and most painful climbs I've had. Couldn't push. I'm sure it didn't help that I was watching my bike computer and realizing that by the time I get to the to and back down and off base I'll have exceeded my goal distance for the day. I could have turned around but by the time I decided I should I was halfway up and you can't stop a climb halfway. So I fought through it.
Finished my 37 miles in 2:31, which isn't bad especially because I spent around 50 total minutes of it climbing. Finished the total ride of 42 miles in 2:53. Seems like a long time to be on the bike, but its a good thing. I'll get faster. I'll get stronger. My tri times will drop.
Next week is a recovery week. Next Saturday is also the Guard Dog triathlon. Looking forward to both.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Excuse Me, I Just Fartleked
Run Day
time- 50min
distance- 5.5mi
Today was my first experiment with a type of running called "fartlek". Since every article, blog, and write-up about fartlek running begins with a definition of this very silly sounding term, I must not break the chain. The Running Police will come after me. And they will catch me. Unless I'm in a vehicle.
Fartlek is Swedish for speed play. Fartlek runs are variable speed runs, but without the rigid structure of intervals. It's more along the lines of, "Ok, now I'm going to run as hard as I can to that sign 100 yards away." Then you do, then you recover while running just below average speed, then you do it again. So fartlek runs can be as easy or as difficult as the runner would like them to be. I went for difficult. And it was for me.
I started out with ten minutes at a good pace, warming up the legs and lungs. Then I alternated the next thirty minutes with spring, jogs, and runs, fartleking my way down the road and back. The sprints actually got easier for a while there, but I was still blowing wind at the end of each one. Moreso than my normal interval runs, you are really supposed to try and explode for a shorter amount of time here. So I did. And I felt it. Also turned it on every incline, so I would sprint and climb at the same time. Feel the burn! Grrr.
For my last ten minutes I tried to hold the pace from the first ten. I failed, but not too badly. I am definitely trying this again. Its strange, but now I feel like my run is my weakest of the three disciplines. I'm not fast on the bike, but running seems harder to me. Like finding my Fast on my feet will take a longer time.
Ordered Profile Design T2+ aerobars yesterday from amazon, looking forward to getting my hands on those. They will make me look so much faster. Dirtbag Woosh!
time- 50min
distance- 5.5mi
Today was my first experiment with a type of running called "fartlek". Since every article, blog, and write-up about fartlek running begins with a definition of this very silly sounding term, I must not break the chain. The Running Police will come after me. And they will catch me. Unless I'm in a vehicle.
Fartlek is Swedish for speed play. Fartlek runs are variable speed runs, but without the rigid structure of intervals. It's more along the lines of, "Ok, now I'm going to run as hard as I can to that sign 100 yards away." Then you do, then you recover while running just below average speed, then you do it again. So fartlek runs can be as easy or as difficult as the runner would like them to be. I went for difficult. And it was for me.
I started out with ten minutes at a good pace, warming up the legs and lungs. Then I alternated the next thirty minutes with spring, jogs, and runs, fartleking my way down the road and back. The sprints actually got easier for a while there, but I was still blowing wind at the end of each one. Moreso than my normal interval runs, you are really supposed to try and explode for a shorter amount of time here. So I did. And I felt it. Also turned it on every incline, so I would sprint and climb at the same time. Feel the burn! Grrr.
For my last ten minutes I tried to hold the pace from the first ten. I failed, but not too badly. I am definitely trying this again. Its strange, but now I feel like my run is my weakest of the three disciplines. I'm not fast on the bike, but running seems harder to me. Like finding my Fast on my feet will take a longer time.
Ordered Profile Design T2+ aerobars yesterday from amazon, looking forward to getting my hands on those. They will make me look so much faster. Dirtbag Woosh!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
No Rain!
Ride Day (plus T-Run)
ride time- 1:47
ride distance- 27.7mi
T-run time- 10 minutes
Looked like rain. Looked ugly to the south. Lucky for me I was heading north and I was having none of it. Probably because I'm so damn fast on the bike, I pure outrode the weather. Or maybe because the rain usually moves north to south and it wouldn't have caught me anyway. Nah, gotta be the first reason.
Still don't feel as quick on the bike as I'd like. Takes some time for the engine to warm up and even then I don't feel like I'm kicking as hard as I could be. Or I am kicking hard, I'm just not getting the pay-off. Just gotta keep at it. I am getting fast. I just don't feel fast yet. I feel moderate.
The plan was to climb Kolekole like normal but halfway up the hill I was stopped at a barricade with a sign posted, "Live Fire Exercise In Progress. Road Temporarily Closed." What the hell? They closed my climb so some guys can play Army? Granted, my road is on an Army base. And the guys playing Army are...Army. Still. Lame. So I went down to the bottom, turned around and road back to the barricade, then back down again. Not quite as steep of a climb that way but at least it was something. Besides, riding on base is safer than our on the roads.
After I got home I went for an easy ten minute T-run to get the legs prepped for my upcoming Sprint tri. Felt ok. Calves were tight. Do it again next Wednesday, then a few times before my April Sprint, then a few more times prior to the big race in May.
Every Thursday I think, "I am so glad tomorrow is a rest day." Today? I am so glad tomorrow is a rest day. Dirtbag can use one.
ride time- 1:47
ride distance- 27.7mi
T-run time- 10 minutes
Looked like rain. Looked ugly to the south. Lucky for me I was heading north and I was having none of it. Probably because I'm so damn fast on the bike, I pure outrode the weather. Or maybe because the rain usually moves north to south and it wouldn't have caught me anyway. Nah, gotta be the first reason.
Still don't feel as quick on the bike as I'd like. Takes some time for the engine to warm up and even then I don't feel like I'm kicking as hard as I could be. Or I am kicking hard, I'm just not getting the pay-off. Just gotta keep at it. I am getting fast. I just don't feel fast yet. I feel moderate.
The plan was to climb Kolekole like normal but halfway up the hill I was stopped at a barricade with a sign posted, "Live Fire Exercise In Progress. Road Temporarily Closed." What the hell? They closed my climb so some guys can play Army? Granted, my road is on an Army base. And the guys playing Army are...Army. Still. Lame. So I went down to the bottom, turned around and road back to the barricade, then back down again. Not quite as steep of a climb that way but at least it was something. Besides, riding on base is safer than our on the roads.
After I got home I went for an easy ten minute T-run to get the legs prepped for my upcoming Sprint tri. Felt ok. Calves were tight. Do it again next Wednesday, then a few times before my April Sprint, then a few more times prior to the big race in May.
Every Thursday I think, "I am so glad tomorrow is a rest day." Today? I am so glad tomorrow is a rest day. Dirtbag can use one.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Registered for Guard Dog Sprint
I have registered for the Guard Dog Sprint Tri, March 5th. Much thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Camino for supplying the funds which allowed me to do this without dipping in to by surfboard sale money. You guys are the best.
This race will merely be a special workout day, with no hiccups in my training plan at all. I'm not planning a taper or a recovery because the time it takes to complete this race is actually less than the time it would take to do the workout I have planned for that day. The goal of the race is to get another triathlon under my belt, get in to the headspace I need to be in for a race, and see where I'm at training-wise so far. And to have fun, of course.
This race will merely be a special workout day, with no hiccups in my training plan at all. I'm not planning a taper or a recovery because the time it takes to complete this race is actually less than the time it would take to do the workout I have planned for that day. The goal of the race is to get another triathlon under my belt, get in to the headspace I need to be in for a race, and see where I'm at training-wise so far. And to have fun, of course.
Oof
Swim Day
1 x 150- Warm-up
Ladder
200- 3:00
300- 4:30
400- 6:00
500- 7:30
400- 6:00
300- 4:30
200- 3:00
1 x 100- Cool down
total- 2550yds
I fell off pace hard at the first 400 and never really got my groove back. Guess I need to watch that movie about Stella again. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't pick up the pace today. I was all right at the start, but once I got lost I got really lost. I was never too far off my goal time, but I did miss it for both 400s and the 500. And then I got confused about if I was starting the next one on the :30 or on the :00 even though I knew when I set off...it was just a mess.
So I swam hard but this was not a great workout. The positive I take away from it was I managed to pull my stroke back together every time it started to go, and got some really good, strong laps of quality freestyle in. Really digging in, anchoring that hand, and climbing over with good shoulder rotation and a decent turn-over rate.
I can't race at this speed, but a few workouts like this won't kill me. Need to pick up the pace. I keep telling myself that it'll come.
Stomach got a little gassy during the swim too. I will blame some of the speed problems on this. And those bubbles during flip turns...
Run Day
time- 35 minutes
distance- 4.1mi
Ever have one of those runs where you go out and a few minutes in your brain manages to gasp out, "You know, I think we might be going a little bit fast," but your legs ignore your brain because what does it know anyway? That was today. My legs knew what was going on but they wanted to see where it would take me.
Well, let's fast-forward, shall we?
Minute 17- Turn-around point. Feeling all right, but breathing heavy
Minute 24- Starting to think maybe I should be cooling off more than I'm naturally fading. Also starting to wish it would rain just a little.
Minute 27- Thinking I am not finishing at anywhere near this pace and in fact am feeling somewhat ill
Minute 30- I need to slow way down now or I'm going to hurl into the grass. So I do.
I finish at a much much much slower pace than I set out. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a perfect example of poor pacing. It also taught me a valuable lesson about how hard and far I can push before I feel that sick. A feeling which, by the way, is only now starting to fade. I'm actually proud of my pace and my distance, and I need to be smarter about how I split my run, but just over four miles in 35 minutes is, for me, not too shabby.
Now, I will sit very still on the couch and wait to feel Dirtbag Strong again.
1 x 150- Warm-up
Ladder
200- 3:00
300- 4:30
400- 6:00
500- 7:30
400- 6:00
300- 4:30
200- 3:00
1 x 100- Cool down
total- 2550yds
I fell off pace hard at the first 400 and never really got my groove back. Guess I need to watch that movie about Stella again. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't pick up the pace today. I was all right at the start, but once I got lost I got really lost. I was never too far off my goal time, but I did miss it for both 400s and the 500. And then I got confused about if I was starting the next one on the :30 or on the :00 even though I knew when I set off...it was just a mess.
So I swam hard but this was not a great workout. The positive I take away from it was I managed to pull my stroke back together every time it started to go, and got some really good, strong laps of quality freestyle in. Really digging in, anchoring that hand, and climbing over with good shoulder rotation and a decent turn-over rate.
I can't race at this speed, but a few workouts like this won't kill me. Need to pick up the pace. I keep telling myself that it'll come.
Stomach got a little gassy during the swim too. I will blame some of the speed problems on this. And those bubbles during flip turns...
Run Day
time- 35 minutes
distance- 4.1mi
Ever have one of those runs where you go out and a few minutes in your brain manages to gasp out, "You know, I think we might be going a little bit fast," but your legs ignore your brain because what does it know anyway? That was today. My legs knew what was going on but they wanted to see where it would take me.
Well, let's fast-forward, shall we?
Minute 17- Turn-around point. Feeling all right, but breathing heavy
Minute 24- Starting to think maybe I should be cooling off more than I'm naturally fading. Also starting to wish it would rain just a little.
Minute 27- Thinking I am not finishing at anywhere near this pace and in fact am feeling somewhat ill
Minute 30- I need to slow way down now or I'm going to hurl into the grass. So I do.
I finish at a much much much slower pace than I set out. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a perfect example of poor pacing. It also taught me a valuable lesson about how hard and far I can push before I feel that sick. A feeling which, by the way, is only now starting to fade. I'm actually proud of my pace and my distance, and I need to be smarter about how I split my run, but just over four miles in 35 minutes is, for me, not too shabby.
Now, I will sit very still on the couch and wait to feel Dirtbag Strong again.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Racing the Sun
Swim Day
1 x 150- Warm-up
6 x 100- 1:30
1 x 50- Easy
4 x 200- 3:00
1 x 50- Easy
1 x 200- All out
1 x 100- Cool down
total- 1950yds
It was all about the sprint day today. It was also all about getting mentally tough. Workouts after a significant event like the Great Aloha Run are tough because I feel like I've done this big thing and now I deserve a break. But I didn't and I don't. The GAR took me an hour and twenty minutes. I got up at 3:30am, but had a nap. If yesterday had been a normal day I would have swum at 4:45am for around a half hour and then ridden 15.5mi, at least 50 minutes. Time is equal. Effort levels actually might have been higher had I done Monday's normal workout. And I wouldn't have had the nap. So I had to talk myself into the morning swim today, but with this irrefutable evidence I only argued with myself for a few minutes before crawling from bed. I make good points. I hate that.
As I detailed in my GAR post, since I ran Monday, the rest of this week is flipped. So today should be a run but its Monday's ride instead, and so on.
I made all my time standards this morning, some by a wide margin. I would drop the standards but by the fifth and sixth 100 I start fading hard and am only getting five or seven seconds rest. Nailed the 200s the same way. Stroke is keeping together longer without going to pieces too, which is great news. As I keep saying, the key to a strong swim is strong technique. That last 200 at the end was a 2:40, which means I split the 100s at 1:20 if there was no fade, which there was. Call it 1:15/1:25. Maybe 1:17/1:23. High school me hates this time. It feels slow. Current me isn't thrilled but is quietly happy. It's well under a 1:30 pace and I can build on it. To hit a 2:40 200 at the end of 1650yds is nothing to scoff at, and bodes well for my swim.
I have a meeting after school today, which will zap my will to live. Gotta fight through that shit.
Ride Day
time- 55min
distance- 15.7mi
Today felt excellent. Legs were freshy-fresh, which shocked the hell out of me considering I Great Aloha Ran yesterday. Felt quick though, good cadence. My meeting meant that I was racing the sun during my ride, trying to get it in before it got too dark.
The sun won. Bastard cheats. Went downhill the whole time.
1 x 150- Warm-up
6 x 100- 1:30
1 x 50- Easy
4 x 200- 3:00
1 x 50- Easy
1 x 200- All out
1 x 100- Cool down
total- 1950yds
It was all about the sprint day today. It was also all about getting mentally tough. Workouts after a significant event like the Great Aloha Run are tough because I feel like I've done this big thing and now I deserve a break. But I didn't and I don't. The GAR took me an hour and twenty minutes. I got up at 3:30am, but had a nap. If yesterday had been a normal day I would have swum at 4:45am for around a half hour and then ridden 15.5mi, at least 50 minutes. Time is equal. Effort levels actually might have been higher had I done Monday's normal workout. And I wouldn't have had the nap. So I had to talk myself into the morning swim today, but with this irrefutable evidence I only argued with myself for a few minutes before crawling from bed. I make good points. I hate that.
As I detailed in my GAR post, since I ran Monday, the rest of this week is flipped. So today should be a run but its Monday's ride instead, and so on.
I made all my time standards this morning, some by a wide margin. I would drop the standards but by the fifth and sixth 100 I start fading hard and am only getting five or seven seconds rest. Nailed the 200s the same way. Stroke is keeping together longer without going to pieces too, which is great news. As I keep saying, the key to a strong swim is strong technique. That last 200 at the end was a 2:40, which means I split the 100s at 1:20 if there was no fade, which there was. Call it 1:15/1:25. Maybe 1:17/1:23. High school me hates this time. It feels slow. Current me isn't thrilled but is quietly happy. It's well under a 1:30 pace and I can build on it. To hit a 2:40 200 at the end of 1650yds is nothing to scoff at, and bodes well for my swim.
I have a meeting after school today, which will zap my will to live. Gotta fight through that shit.
Ride Day
time- 55min
distance- 15.7mi
Today felt excellent. Legs were freshy-fresh, which shocked the hell out of me considering I Great Aloha Ran yesterday. Felt quick though, good cadence. My meeting meant that I was racing the sun during my ride, trying to get it in before it got too dark.
The sun won. Bastard cheats. Went downhill the whole time.
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