easy morning run

Just took it easy....no pain, no gain, who cares. This is one of those runs that will even everything out. Get rid of the junk in the system and gain confidence that you can run for an hour and not feel any pain. Its kinda like my base has been reset, only to a higher level. I no longer dread a one hour run, which 3 weeks ago, I dreaded.

I have an OWS lined up for saturday. Sweet!

swim lesson

Did a one hour swim lesson with my coach tonight.

He had me do all kinds of drills. Some I struggled with and others I got pretty quickly. Yeah I am still struggling with my swimming, but it has gotten better since last February.

Run tomorrow morning if the weather cooperates.

long swim and hill intervals

Last night I did a long swim of about 50 mins and change. Just kept working on some endurance and my stroke.

This morning I got up @ the crack of stupid to put in a 1 hour hill interval workout. I haven't done one of these in awhile and today's gave me back some confidence in my biking. So I haven't done a good long ride in awhile (prolly since I crashed, but that was not a good ride to begin with) and my confidence on the bike has kinda been in the gutter. I had a fast ride in my race this past weekend but something was missing.

This morning I got over those fears. I felt strong on the bike I was able to zip up this .7 mile hill 5 times. So my hill climbing form hasn't disappeared!

Tonight I am off to the pool for some one on one swim instruction, finally!

burning hammies

Wow my hamstrings BURNED this morning. Usually its my calves that feel like a ton of bricks the days following a race. I have never felt my hammies burn that bad in a long time.

I did 3.5 miles in 31:09, or about an 8:53 min/mile pace. I snuck in two zone 3-4 ~1 minute runs. Those actually helped a little to loosen me up a bit.

Hopefully this run will clear the junk outa my system.

recovery swim

Swam for 30 minutes tonight. Just took it easy and tried to be loose and smooth. I hit a portion of the swim where I felt very smooth. It felt great.

Tomorrow I get right back into the thick of things again. I don't feel sore today, which is good. I guess I could have gone harder yesterday.

approximate times, speeds, and averages

So based off of my watch and some race video I have been able to put together some approximate times, speeds, and averages:'

Total time:
1 hour 37 mins

Run #1, 2.8 miles:
23:40
8:27 min/mile average


Bike, 15 miles:
~46 mins
~19.5 MPH!

Run #2, 2.8 miles:
~24 mins
8:34 min/mile pace

All of these are new Personal Records for me!

it was a duathlon

No triathlon today. A storm came through exactly at the right time for the race directors to turn the race into a duathlon. I was a bit disapointed and not really looking forward to running, biking, then RUNNING again. blah!

And because of the on again off again rain and lighting it was a mix of get your stuff into transition, sit in the car and wait, rinse and repeat, which meant by the time they dropped the bomb on us that my warmup consisted of about a 2 minute run.

Run#1:
So we lined up in the rain and off we went. Well more like off they went and I just watched going, "Wow those guys are freaking fast!"....I was also lined up with the elites (some of which had done Lake Placid last weekend) so I knew there was going to be some folks out there. Whatever, I ran MY race. I think I did the first run in 23 minutes and change....they dont have a chip system at this race, but I set my watch. The end of the run is on sand. Man running on sand will freaking wreck your calves! I can see how it would be a good workout though, MENTALLY.

Bike:
Got on the bike and went in an easier gear getting my legs spinning. I felt really great on the bike and was able to be nice and smooth throughout the entire ride. Some fucker in a yellow jersey decided that he would suck my wheel for a few miles. I kept looking back @ him giving him a dirty look to get the hint that YOU CANT DRAFT ME! Well later on in the bike he passes me sucking wheel off of a faster guy. Whatever, thats his race.

So like all of my other races, I passed a LOT of people on the bike. I would see them later.

For the first time ever on the bike my right calve started to sieze up after I went up a tiny little up in a hard gear. That was strange and it persisted. Fortunately up Palmer Hill it didn't bother me as I got into my gear and cranked. That was prolly the easiest it took me to get to the top in all of the times I have done that hill.

Finishing the bike I got into an easier gear and spun my legs out until I dismounted.

Run #2:
Because I spun my leg out on the finish of the bike, I think this helped me get going on run #2 with some ease. This was the first time (in a race) where I went smoothly from the bike to the run. I didn't do my usual, "I JUST WANT TO QUIT THIS HURTS SO FREAKING BAD!". Instead I just got into my pace and went and held it to the end.

Comparing this race to the other races that I have done this season, this race didn't wreck me and I didn't feel at any point like I was going to die. I just went my pace to finish.

Going forward, I still need to improve on the run. However, I have improved prolly 10X over when I started this whole triathlon thing this past winter. I am just happy to know that there is tons of room for improvement. I am actually looking forward to this fall where I can drop the bike and swim for awhile and just concentrate on becoming a runner. That time will come, but in the meantime I am very happy to see some running gains.

tapering

3 laps @ suny purchase in zone 1. Felt good except for a few ups. I did one semi hard sprint/surge in the aero position to get rid of the rough spots in my legs. I feel rested and ready to RACE!

Off to bed....10PM

running, weight, swimming

It was POURING again this morning, so off to the dreadmill I go. I haven't been on the dreadmill in a few months now. I felt wierd getting back on it.

So I was a big narcissistic during the run and noticed that I was looking a bit slimmer in the mirror while on the dreadmill compared to whenever I was on it last. Eh whatever...skinny mirrors.

The run was good. Did some speed work. The good thing about dreadmills is that it keeps your legs moving, especially during speed work. I ran about 5 miles in 46 mins and change.

Then I hopped on the scale, and sure enough I am down 10 pounds since January/February. Woo hoo! I am still 20 pounds heavier than when I finished high school....

Then tonight I hopped into the pool for 54 minutes and got in prolly another mile. Something "clicked" again with my swimming tonight. I felt really fast in the water, yet relaxed. I noticed that I was rolling more through the water and was keeping my kicking more consistent.

I hope I can remember how I did this in my race this weekend.

Speaking of the race. I am ready for it! I am not out to win it, but mostly to see the gains that I have made since my last races. There will be no splits during the race because this race's timing system blows, but hopefully I can keep track of the clock. I just want my run time to be faster!

1 mile swim

Too me an hour (OUCH!!!!), but I was doing some continuous swimming comfortably, something that I felt like I haven't been able to do for the past 6 weeks....a funk I am finally coming out of.

Yeah, this has been some swimming slump. Glad to be finally coming out of it. We will see the results of it this weekend.

coached training session

Met with my coach this morning for a running workout. Started with a warmup jog and it was getting hot and humid while this happened. We ran to a track at the local high school for some drills.

Then it started to cloud over and a light breeze came in (thank you!) and it was really nice running weather. Almost felt a bit like fall weather. It was nice.

My coach did the NYCTriathlon this past weekend. I am definately doing that race next year. Sounds like a fun fun race.

Then we ran on back to Altheus. Strange. I didn't really do a heck of a lot of running, but I think the workout just helped solidify some things in terms of technique and just shows that I am in running shape! yeah!

30 min swim

Swam for 30 mins straight tonight with a few 10 second breaks. I was doing stroke counts tonight again and again when I switched from a kicking on my back length to a freestyle length my stroke count would drop from 20 to 17.

So I tried to work on strong pulls and glides.

One day my swimming will come together. One day...

Fortunately my running is getting better and my biking is staying constant or feeling faster.

huuuuuuuumid run

Humid but cool out. Thank you!

Did a 29 min run, prolly ran about 3 miles and change. 3.27 miles to be exact.

Hit up my favorite bagel place afterwards for a ham egg and cheese.

Off to the circus!

the weather and I tied today

I was winning at about 10 AM this morning. Cloudy and overcast it was perfect for my 2 hour ride with 10 second sprints.

Then the fog burned off and let the sun through. And it got hot.

I rode from Center Harbor out to Sandwich and back 2 times, because it always takes me exactly and hour to do the trip. I definately did it a lot faster today, shaving off 10 minutes over the 32 times compare to what I usually do it in. I averaged 17.5 mph and I know I could have done it even faster.

Then I bricked it with a short 10 min run ( in the HOT heat). The cool thing about the run is that I shot off like a rocket into the run without the usual effects of a brick.

Unfortunately the heat won out but I was still able to get in the 10 min run.

Man it was hot towards the end!

weather 1, me 0

The weather won out big time tonight.

I drove up to NH today with the hopes of getting in my 1 hour brick workout. Unfortunately while I was coming into town it was getting really dark outside and the temperature was dropping rapidly. Within 10 mins of stepping into the house. BOOM!

A pretty fierce storm ripped through and will it will prolly rain off and on for the rest of the night.

Oh well. Tomorrow is another day!

swimming and struggling

I just couldn't get a rythm down tonight in the pool. I started out with a 300 yard warmup which went well.

Then I did 8 x25 all our efforts.

Followed by 2 x 8 min with effort swims. I barely made it through the first 8 min, and the 2nd was just a disaster. I basically alternated between a 50 yard kick on back and a 50 or 100 yard freestyle.

I did learn some things though. Stroke count.

I counted my stroke during the 25 yard all out efforts and my stroke count came out to be 21 per length.

Then when I swam normal I was about 19-20 per length.

Then when I kicked on my back for 50, then immediately went back to freestyle, I got my stroke count down to 17 per length.

Soooooooo I guess all this means is that I just need to glide more and conserve my strength.

Arm rotation is crap if your aren't pulling them gliding.

running intervals

Did some harder running stuff this morning.

1 mile warmup run
4 x 30 second fast run, 90 sec rest
6 min faster run with 3 min jog rest
1 mile cooldown

total mileage about 5 miles
took about 48 mins and change.

The 6 min fast runs were a great workout and it was fun to run at some speed. I did all of these intervals on the awesome track by my house and I figured that it would take me about 2 mins to run around the track once at this faster pace. Sure enough, it took me exactly 6 mins to run 3 laps around the track. I mean from line to line it took exactly 6 mins. I think thats kinda freaky...

But all of this means is that I was running at an average 8 min/mile pace. That is a lot faster for me, but geez, that is freaking slow compared to what a lot of others can belt out.

I am happy that my running form is starting to gain another level and running for 45 mins or longer is not as hard of a thing both physically and mentally.

sprints!

Did something new tonight. Sprints!...on the bike.

Went up to SUNY Purchase and started with a warmup lap. Then did 4x 30 second sprints. The 30 seconds of going hard went by very quickly, but yet hurt.

Then I went into a ladder of sprints.

1 min sprint/1 min rest
2 min sprint/2 min rest
3 min
4 min
4 min
3 min
2 min
1 min

Unfortunately I was only able to do up to the 3 min on the down side of the ladder before I noticed my one hour of biking was up. I would have gone longer and finished, but I had somewhere to be.

The sprints felt great and I was glad to be able to do something different besides going at a steady pace all the time.

Tomorrow morning is similar stuff but on my feet on the track.

dehydration + fatigue = crash

I haven't wanted to write this post for a few days, but here goes.

I crashed......again.....

Same thing, hit a pothole, the wheel turned and I went down. I actually bounced this time! I actually heard the sound of the bike bouncing off of the road and I was sure that my precious carbon fiber frames shattered. I just KNEW it. Well once the numbness wore off on me and I was sure I didn't break anything, I scooped my bike up and inspected it. The right hood was totally bent in, but other than a chain that fell off, I could shift with the bent hood and break perfectly fine. The front wheel was a little untrue, but when I undid the front break I could ride fine on it.

So leading up to the crash, I was supposed to do a 3 hour ride on hills. I accomplished the hills bit, but very slow. This was another ride that I just couldn't get my body out of 2nd gear. I knew I had the strength to stand up and pound up some hills, but my body just wouldn't go. So I thought:

Is it because I have been working out so much and not resting properly?
Is it because of the increase volume and intensity of the past week?
Is it this gatorade that I am drinking?
Is it too hot out?

then I realized that I am not sweating like I should be on a day this hot and remembered that peeing was not a frequent event in the past 24-48 hours.

Ah yes, DEHYDRATION! Not in a I am going to die kind of way, but surely enough that I was not riding at my full potential. And even though I was drinking like a mad man on the ride, it was too late. I remember Lance Armstrong saying after his 2003 time trial in the Tour De France when lost over a minute to Jan Ullrich that he wasn't just dehydrated that day, his dehydration started days before. Same thing for, and boy did my performance suffer.

So I had nothing but mental garbage on my mind for the entire ride and to add salt to a wound (that I was yet to receive) without paying attention on a flat straight and smoothly paved road that I have ridden on literally 100's of times, I hit the tiniest pothole in the road and I go down.

BANG!

brick, running out of gas, new PR

Last night I did my first brick in about a month. The bike part hurt as I am still recovering from that 6.6 mile run among other workouts. Finally my legs smoothed out but I still didn't have the power in my legs had I been fresh. The bike to run transition felt different. I was bouncier in my step and different muscles hurt. Then I did one more lap around SUNY on my bike basically going as easy as possible. That helped smooth things out a bit.

I just got back from a 3 mile run with I did in 26:21, a new 3 mile record for me. Not quite a full 5K but still a good effort. The warmup mile felt really fast, then I did 4 laps around a 1/4 mile track with 4 "surges" to train my legs to go faster. Finally I went back the same 1 mile that I came in on. I ran out of gas on the last mile and was shaking/hungry on the walk back.....not good.

Tomorrow I watch my coworkers compete in a race that I am signed up for, but can't compete in due to my eyes being all messed up. Yep, I wish I could do it, but I think its better to take care of my eyes first and concentrate on bigger fish. I haven't watched a triathlon in person yet, so maybe this will give me some perspective on what others do in transitions.

Then I do a 3 hour ride afterwards.

tough swim

Did my first official training swim. The warm up was ok, a little sore. The next sets were kicking sets on my back. They HURT! man they hurt...

then i rolled over onto my front and the strangest thing happened. I felt like I was swimming with a pull bouy and I was swimming like a freaking torpedo through the water. It was AWESOME!

Then it wore off and I started to struggle a bit. Finally by the 3rd set I was able to do it without stopping.

I cooled down on my back trying to do the backstroke. I sucked at it. I used to be REALLY good at it when I was 12 and picked it up immediately. Its a fun stroke and you can go really fast doing it.

Then I switched back over to my front for a bit and again felt that feeling like a torpedo.

I need to figure out how to maintain that feeling!

Training Day #2

60 min run. Funny how what is sore are my shoulders. My legs are sore, but they don't hurt when I use em, unlike my arms. Strange.

Running this long is gonna have to teach me patience. Biking 3+ hours is no big deal and my mind won't get bored. Running for 60 mins is different. I guess because I have some motivation to do this(my training schedule and coaching) will help me get through this. Fortunately my next three runs are shorter. A 10 min(part of a brick), 30 min and 30 min.

started my training program

Was going to go for a run this morning, but my training program came in last night. This morning called for a 90 min bike with 4 pickups. Because the weather tonight is looking iffy (thunderstorms) I instead did the ride this morning. Up at 5, up to SUNY Purchase and on the bike at 6. What a gorgeous morning! I was riding through northern Greenwich right when the morning golden hour hit. I went through this intersection and looked east towards this bend in the road with a barn on the corner. I could have sworn I was back in Provence! It was the same light.

Kinda nice getting today's workout done and over with. I get to relax tonight. Tomorrow though is gonna be a wammy. 60 min run in the morning and a 45 min swim in the evening.

short, hard swim

I only swam about a half mile tonight. It took 35 mins to do it because I feel like I am starting all over again with the swimming. After my lesson last week, my stroke has changed a bit (and I think for the better) and I am using muscles that I haven't really used before with swimming. Also because I haven't been doing any serious distance for a few weeks my swimming endurance is shot.

3rd ride in 3 days

I can't remember the last time I rode 3 times in 3 days. It feels good to actually do that again. This morning I did the same route as yesterday. My legs hurt at the beginning again, but not as bad and were able to loosen up quicker. I tried to go easy but also semi-hard on some little rollers. I think on the way back I may have gone a little too hard in places. I think I will be ok.

I have my eye appointment today. I think I might have to scrub my race this weekend. We shall see. I really want to get my eyes all cleared up once and for all. I have missed two opportunities for OWS.

recovery ride and pink eye

Yesterday afternoon I rode from Center Harbor out to Sandwich and back, a 16 miler with rolling hills. My legs were pretty crispy and I was moving up the hills on the way out at snail pace. My legs just couldn't go any faster up the hills. Just shows that I did well on my hill ride on sunday.

My eyes have flared up again with pink eye. FUN! I am off to the eye doctor today....

hilly 44 miler

The weather up here is absolutely GORGEOUS!!!! I had some of the best riding weather I think I have ever had.

So I did a very hilly 44 miler that I have been wanting to do for the past 5 or 6 years. I was never able to muster up the courage to actually do the entire ride. I would usually get out to Sandwich, do one of the legs and then bail out thinking I was outa shape or just too scared to continue. Well this year I have gotten over a lot of years and this one was on the docket to get busted. I busted it! and was rewarded with an incredible view of the Lakes Region (after a really steep climb).

Route

up in NH, 5.7 mile run

Got up to NH today. Also took yesterday completely off.

I ran 5.7 miles in about 51 minutes. It was a hilly course but was glad that it was hilly and also glad that I went at an easy pace just to get the distance in. Overall the run was a good workout but I didn't feel totally wasted after the effort.

So my goal since my last race (6/8) was to up the distance of my running. I think I have accomplished that goal. However, my frequency of biking and swimming has gone down. Also I have not done a single brick workout. YIKES! Funny how when you increase one of the three aspects of triathlon, the other two can suffer. Its like a string where both ends are on a symetrical ruler, where in the center of the stringer the ruler marker is 0, and both ends are on 1. You pull on one string (increase running) the value will increase over 1, but the other end (say swimming or biking), will decrease below one.

I think after this race that I need to learn how to stretch that string so that when I increase running, I can either keep the biking and swimming steady or increase them as well. This is all part in the learning process of triathlon.

ocean swim lesson

Salt water is nasty and there are too many creepy crawly things in the water, let alone the seaweed and other garbage floating around. Blah!

But I did it. I swam in the ocean. Just breath your bubbles through your nose and you will be alright. I will be fine in my three ocean swim triathlons.

The lesson went well, other than me trying to put on my wet-suit backwards. It was a little difficult to follow the directions and follow through with them because the salt water. I felt like I was constantly looking out for things to hit or I was getting washed into shore. A pool is definately best suited for swim lessons!

ran longer by accident

I am not complaining and am actually happy that I ran longer than I have planned for. I ran about 49 minutes, which I think translates to about a 5.5 mile run. Cool! I did a 3 mile run followed by 6 laps around the comfy track which was about 1.5 miles finished by a ~1 mile finish.

I think I am going to change up my weekly run schedule (if I can even follow it). I want to try a long run on Tuesdays, a shorter run (like 3 miles) on Thursdays, then a longer run on Saturdays.

I have no clue when I will have time to throw in brick workouts. Maybe the short 3 mile will be part of the brick. I am thinking that will have to be the case, cuz there is no 8th day of the week.