Well I guess I have no one to blame but myself. I was the one who decided I could handle this many hours a week. After a 8.5 hour weekend...yes you read that correctly, I didn't say Week, I said WEEKEND. It was actually a great week of training. Still no baby though and I keep waiting for the mandatory time off to begin.
So what does one do for 8.5 hours over a weekend. Well first you get up at 5:30 on Saturday to start a 3 hour indoor trainer ride. Started a little late, but not too bad. Was able to do a pretty good workout. I have the ride broken into 10 minute segments, with something different every 10 minutes. I also throw in some "steady aerobar time". These are just longer stretches where I stay aero the entire time, and ride at steady/ironman race pace. I then immediately transitioned to a 1 hour run. The run felt great. Was able to do 7:30-7:40 pace without pushing very hard. HR was steady the entire run. Mostly upper z1 lower z2. Nice dip in the ice bath afterwards.
Then on Sunday I did a 3.5 hour ride. This was supposed to be a group ride outside, but instead I was back in the basement staring at the wall. I then did a 1 hour swim in the afternoon, which was only about 45-50 minutes (this is a class and I didn't get a chance to add anything either before or after). I was definetly tired, but the steak and 2 beers I had for dinner tasted all the better.
The good news is that I get to do the same thing next weekend, except I can go ahead and add an hour to the Sunday ride. I am going to do anything I can to make sure that at least this ride is done outside. Maybe even both rides. Assuming the baby arrives this week (which it definetly should), this ride may get shortened. But if I do get outside, I will definetly have to do some better planning (nutrition, tools, clothing, route, etc).
If anyone has any good ideas on a 4.5 hour route around the philly area, let me know.
later,
Dave
Monday, February 26, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Getting Motivated for this weekend
So far this has been a good week. Everything is quiet on the baby front and my new prediction is that we will make it to our due date (which is 2/28 or 3/1 depending on who you talk to). Because of the imminent baby I will likely have to do both of my long rides this weekend on the trainer. I hope at least one of these can be done on the porch, where I at least be outside. I have done this in the past and it works well. You don't get overheated and although I get strange looks from the neighbors, it is much better than the basement.
I have 8.5 hours on tap for this weekend. A 4 hour brick on Saturday and a 3.5 hour ride and 1 hour swim on Sunday. The swim should be relatively easy as it is mostly technique work.
I am getting another LT test done on 3/4 which is during my next recovery week. This one will be done in a "lab" and is part of the coaching that I signed up for. They will also test my max V02, which I am not as interested in as I don't think this is as useful in Ironman training.
BTW, you thought this weekend was bad. Next weekend, which is the 3rd week in a 3 week buildup is even tougher. 4 hour brick on Sat, and 4.5 hour ride on Sunday with a 1 hour swim. That is 9.5 hours of training in 48 hours. I will be more than ready for the cutback week.
I also got my fathers day gift all lined up. I will be attending the IMLP recon trip the weekend of June 16 with Joe, et. al. Joe organized this one and it looks like a bunch of people are going, as well as some folks from Beginner Triathlete.com. I'm really looking forward to this weekend. The plan will likely be as follows:
1. Arrive Fri afternoon and do a 2.4 mile swim in Mirror Lake (2 loops)
2. 112 bike (2 loops) and ~1 hour run on Saturday
3. 56 bike and 13.1 mile run Sunday (this is tentative).
Okay, back to work.
Dave
I have 8.5 hours on tap for this weekend. A 4 hour brick on Saturday and a 3.5 hour ride and 1 hour swim on Sunday. The swim should be relatively easy as it is mostly technique work.
I am getting another LT test done on 3/4 which is during my next recovery week. This one will be done in a "lab" and is part of the coaching that I signed up for. They will also test my max V02, which I am not as interested in as I don't think this is as useful in Ironman training.
BTW, you thought this weekend was bad. Next weekend, which is the 3rd week in a 3 week buildup is even tougher. 4 hour brick on Sat, and 4.5 hour ride on Sunday with a 1 hour swim. That is 9.5 hours of training in 48 hours. I will be more than ready for the cutback week.
I also got my fathers day gift all lined up. I will be attending the IMLP recon trip the weekend of June 16 with Joe, et. al. Joe organized this one and it looks like a bunch of people are going, as well as some folks from Beginner Triathlete.com. I'm really looking forward to this weekend. The plan will likely be as follows:
1. Arrive Fri afternoon and do a 2.4 mile swim in Mirror Lake (2 loops)
2. 112 bike (2 loops) and ~1 hour run on Saturday
3. 56 bike and 13.1 mile run Sunday (this is tentative).
Okay, back to work.
Dave
Monday, February 19, 2007
Long weekend, still no baby and Ice bath
Between now and 5 PM I have exactly one hour total free (2 1/2 hour blocks) when I am not in meetings. Of course that is when I have to get some actual work done. A good weekend for the workouts though. Saturday was a 3 and 1 brick (4 hours total) with the 1 hour run done at under 8 minute pace. The run felt good and I think my running form is returning quickly. My bike was also pretty good. I mixed it up a bit and had 10 minute blocks of something different most of the way (different cadences, wattages, standing, sitting, etc). Avg for the ride was 169 Watts. The legs definetly felt it towards the end as I was pushing a little harder, but the run felt smooth and easy. Sunday I went long on the run. 2+ hours and ~15 miles. This was probably a little longer than I should have gone, but the foot had no real issues and feels good today, so I am saying that I am officially over my foot injury issue. That being said I probably won't go longer than 15 for a while. There really is no need at this point in the season. My legs definetly feel tired and beat up a little today as I used muscles I havent' used in a while. I did unfortunetly skip my swim workout in the afternoon as there was just too much that needed to get done around the house and I was pretty beat from the run. But it was still 6+ hours of workouts this weekend. Next weekend is looking tough. A 4 hour brick on Saturday followed by a 1 hour swim and 3.5 hour bike ride on Sunday....Mommy! I really hope I can do at least one of thouse rides outside as the trainer can be pretty boring.
After my 4 hour brick on Saturday I had the perfect recovery. Within minutes of finishing I had a recovery drink with some OJ, banana and protein. I then took a bucket of ice upstrairs, filled the bath with nothing but cold water, dumped the ice in and then sat in the bath for 10 minutes. I do this with my shorts and socks still on. In the summer the water doesn't get cold enough for the ice to not melt. But on Sat the ice never melted. I expected I might only last 5 minutes, but I made it the entire 10 without too much trouble. I highly recommend these after hard workouts, especially after long runs. They really help with the recovery and I usually feel much better the next day.
later,
Dave
After my 4 hour brick on Saturday I had the perfect recovery. Within minutes of finishing I had a recovery drink with some OJ, banana and protein. I then took a bucket of ice upstrairs, filled the bath with nothing but cold water, dumped the ice in and then sat in the bath for 10 minutes. I do this with my shorts and socks still on. In the summer the water doesn't get cold enough for the ice to not melt. But on Sat the ice never melted. I expected I might only last 5 minutes, but I made it the entire 10 without too much trouble. I highly recommend these after hard workouts, especially after long runs. They really help with the recovery and I usually feel much better the next day.
later,
Dave
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
I passed the test with flying colors!
Well I did my 20 minute all out time trail on Monday AM. We did a 15+ minute warmup, then some zone 3 efforts, zone 4a, 4b efforts and then a couple of zone 5 efforts. The purpose of the longer, tougher warmup is that you shouldn't be too fresh for the time trail. This is supposed to predict the power/hr that you could hold for a one hour race. But doing a race of this length is really taxing on the body (recovery mainly), so usually a 20 minute effort is done. I figured this would be better than my first test by a fair amount and it was. My goal was to start out at 250W and go up from there. I pretty did exactly this, with the last 5 minutes almost all over 300. I ended up with a 269 avg and was really happy with that effort. My goal was to get to 275 by spring time and I think I am on my way. This was a pretty big jump for me though, and it will mean that my workouts will now feel "harder". For example my Zone 2 power used to be 189 and now will be about 203. That means even endurance rides should be done around 200 Watts. I'm sure it will take me a week or so to adjust to this, but it is what it is. This was definetly one of the better efforts I have put out.
I also started to add some quicker pacing to my runs and the foot is feeling good. I did 90 minutes last week and this week I am going for 2 hours with a group of guys that live near me and are getting ready for IMLP as well. Good thing is that they start early (6 AM on Sunday morning), which means that I will get back home in plenty of time to help out.
I also need to give some kudos to Candence. I have really enjoyed the workouts that they have done and I am also starting to get some good information from the swim class that I am taking as well. The coach is giving me lots of good tips and it really seems to be helping. So I have decided that I am going to continue my coaching relationship with Cadence through IMLP. I think the main reason is for getting answers to questions, and having a structed training schedule. I have been okay in the past with my planning, but sometimes I don't plan an entire week out in advance. Having this done will really help out, timewise. I just have to login to see what I am doing and also I can see what my plans are for the weekend.
Speaking of this weekend, I have a 4 hour brick (3 hour ride, 1 hour run). This should be fun...as it will likely be on the trainer indoors.
Later,
Dave
I also started to add some quicker pacing to my runs and the foot is feeling good. I did 90 minutes last week and this week I am going for 2 hours with a group of guys that live near me and are getting ready for IMLP as well. Good thing is that they start early (6 AM on Sunday morning), which means that I will get back home in plenty of time to help out.
I also need to give some kudos to Candence. I have really enjoyed the workouts that they have done and I am also starting to get some good information from the swim class that I am taking as well. The coach is giving me lots of good tips and it really seems to be helping. So I have decided that I am going to continue my coaching relationship with Cadence through IMLP. I think the main reason is for getting answers to questions, and having a structed training schedule. I have been okay in the past with my planning, but sometimes I don't plan an entire week out in advance. Having this done will really help out, timewise. I just have to login to see what I am doing and also I can see what my plans are for the weekend.
Speaking of this weekend, I have a 4 hour brick (3 hour ride, 1 hour run). This should be fun...as it will likely be on the trainer indoors.
Later,
Dave
Friday, February 9, 2007
Recovery Week
Well I am in the midst of my recovery week. It has been good so far. I had a cold at the end of last week and pretty much kept up with the training knowing that I was getting a break this week. It has really helped. I have slept some more and have felt refreshed.
This is also good timing as we really need to get some stuff done around the house before baby #2 arrives. Helen has already started having the Braxton-Hicks (sp?) contractions, which last time was about a week before she went into labor. Last time she went into labor on her due date, but who knows this time. Anyway, tomorrow I have a very rare complete day off! So I told Helen to make me a "honey-do" list and I will go to town on it. I also will try to let her sleep in both days this weekend as she can use the rest.
Today I also had a massage. It is a theraputic massage and I had them almost weekly when I was well into training for the 1/2 Ironman. So I am going to probably start getting these almost weekly when the volume is higher. She does a great job of getting me back in alignment. I have one leg that is slightly shorter then the other, and it can cause some out of balance issues from time to time.
I also ordered my raceday wheels this week and have officially switched to the Pocono half Ironman instead of Mooseman. I just realized that it was too far to travel for a B priority race. Hopefully the organization of the Poconon half goes well. It is the first year for it.
later,
Dave
PS: I am supposed to do the power test on Monday. We didn't do it today due to technical difficulties.
This is also good timing as we really need to get some stuff done around the house before baby #2 arrives. Helen has already started having the Braxton-Hicks (sp?) contractions, which last time was about a week before she went into labor. Last time she went into labor on her due date, but who knows this time. Anyway, tomorrow I have a very rare complete day off! So I told Helen to make me a "honey-do" list and I will go to town on it. I also will try to let her sleep in both days this weekend as she can use the rest.
Today I also had a massage. It is a theraputic massage and I had them almost weekly when I was well into training for the 1/2 Ironman. So I am going to probably start getting these almost weekly when the volume is higher. She does a great job of getting me back in alignment. I have one leg that is slightly shorter then the other, and it can cause some out of balance issues from time to time.
I also ordered my raceday wheels this week and have officially switched to the Pocono half Ironman instead of Mooseman. I just realized that it was too far to travel for a B priority race. Hopefully the organization of the Poconon half goes well. It is the first year for it.
later,
Dave
PS: I am supposed to do the power test on Monday. We didn't do it today due to technical difficulties.
Friday, February 2, 2007
The joys of having a 2 year old
One of the "benefits" of having a 2 year old in daycare is that you get to be sick all winter long and sometimes even into spring and summer. I understand that Ben (my son) will get sick from time to time, but it is just impossible to keep from catching it from him. He hasn't quite learned how to keep others from catching what he has. Right now his favorite place to put his fingers is in Daddy's nose. So I am not fighting my second cold this month. I am trying to be very careful that it is not from over training, and I don't think it is in this case. My overall volume is way up, but last weekend I was able to get some good sleep and even a nap in the afternoon. I was on very little caffeine all weekend as well. This time it is just a head cold and nothing in the chest, so I am able to keep training for the most part, after cutting some workouts short and modifying others. I am schedule for 17 hours total this week and I would probably come in close to 15 instead. But I will still hopefully get in 7 days of training.
Some stats from last week:
Planned Time: 15
Hours from ATP: 15
Actual Time: 14:03
Swim Distance: 8100
Bike Distance: 146.2
Run Distance: 17.5
Strength: 1:00
I found out that next week, which is a cutback week, will include a 8-mile/20 minute time trail on Friday at my indoor biking class. I'm really looking forward to this as I think I have made some pretty significant improvements in my functional power. Functional Power is supposed to represent the power you could hold over a 1 hour race. My current number was found on the 2 or 3 rd class back in December. I am about 5-6 lbs lighter and I can tell my legs are stronger.
I really think I can come in about 8-9% higher. With the lighter weight and higher power, this really helps my power-to-weight ratio. I would really like to get this number up over 3.5. Nothing to brag about, but it would really help with the biking section of IMLP.
This Saturday will be my first ride with a fellow blogger Jeremy. Looking forward to a nice long ride. It will be nice to have someone else there for the ride as these can be mentally taxing. We are planning a nice easy 1/2 hour run afterwards. Then on Sunday I have my longest run since November planned. Hopefully the foot cooperates for the 1.5 hour run. I can tell that I am loosing a little leg turnover speed from all of the biking and lack of running. I'm okay with this as long as I recognize it and don't try to run my normal paces when I'm not ready for them.
One parting question/dilemma...I have had no alcohol for several weeks now as part of a plan to watch body composition more closely. Should I have some beer during the Super Bowl on Sunday? Feel free to weigh in.
later,
Dave
Some stats from last week:
Planned Time: 15
Hours from ATP: 15
Actual Time: 14:03
Swim Distance: 8100
Bike Distance: 146.2
Run Distance: 17.5
Strength: 1:00
I found out that next week, which is a cutback week, will include a 8-mile/20 minute time trail on Friday at my indoor biking class. I'm really looking forward to this as I think I have made some pretty significant improvements in my functional power. Functional Power is supposed to represent the power you could hold over a 1 hour race. My current number was found on the 2 or 3 rd class back in December. I am about 5-6 lbs lighter and I can tell my legs are stronger.
I really think I can come in about 8-9% higher. With the lighter weight and higher power, this really helps my power-to-weight ratio. I would really like to get this number up over 3.5. Nothing to brag about, but it would really help with the biking section of IMLP.
This Saturday will be my first ride with a fellow blogger Jeremy. Looking forward to a nice long ride. It will be nice to have someone else there for the ride as these can be mentally taxing. We are planning a nice easy 1/2 hour run afterwards. Then on Sunday I have my longest run since November planned. Hopefully the foot cooperates for the 1.5 hour run. I can tell that I am loosing a little leg turnover speed from all of the biking and lack of running. I'm okay with this as long as I recognize it and don't try to run my normal paces when I'm not ready for them.
One parting question/dilemma...I have had no alcohol for several weeks now as part of a plan to watch body composition more closely. Should I have some beer during the Super Bowl on Sunday? Feel free to weigh in.
later,
Dave
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
5 hours in two days...and it isn't over a weekend!
Last week ended up pretty good. The plan was for a total of 15 hours and I was about an hour short of that. I moved my Sunday long-ish brick (2.5 hour ride 1 hour run) to Friday instead. This was to free up some family time on Sunday as well as do a swim class that Cadence is offering. The swim class didn't involve much swimming as it was the first class. Next week is a 400 yrd time trail. Hmmm...haven't tried to race a 400 yet, I'll have to think about a goal pace. It appears that I am one of the stronger swimmers there, but I'm in this to work on my form, not fitness.
So Friday I had my morning indoor bike training class at Cadence. I decided that I would ride another 90 minutes after the class and then do an hour run. It went pretty well, atlhough I was definetly tired aftewards. The run was also freezing cold (I think it was single digits...without the wind chill), but I got it done. Forgot my gloves, so I had to tuck the hands into my sweatshirt. No problem. Finished about 10 AM and then worked from home. Spent the day fueling as well. Then up at 5:30 on Saturday to join Guys Bike shop folks for an indoor 3 hour training ride. This was a lot of fun and I really liked it. During the 45 minute drive there I was debating this as it is a long way to drive for a 3 hour ride. Don't know if I will do this again, but it was nice. The person leading the class had a bag with different 10 minute segments in it. Everybody picked one out and that is what we did for the next 10 minutes. It would usually be something like 5% grade zone 2-3 for 8 minutes with 2 minutes recovery. It was never anything hard (we stayed in 2-3 most of the ride), but it was good to pass the time this way. I think I will have to do that for all of my indoor rides.
So flash forward to this week. I have 17:00 on the plan (holy crap this is a part time job)! Thank god next week is a cutback week. The tough part of this week is the Tues/Wed combo. It might not be known, but due to life (work, family, etc), I do almost all of my workouts in the morning during the work week (and weekends for that matter). This means that if the coach says do a 1:30 brick workout and a n hour swim, these are both done in the morning before work. So after working late-ish yesterday (nothing compared to my summer work hours) I got to bed by 10:15 PM and was up at 4:30. Usually I would swim and then do the brick, but I thought I would mix it up today as sometimes that pool can be crowded at 5:00 AM (yes, you read that right). So I did the 75 bike 15 min run first (actually went 16 minutes on the run, for 2 miles exactly) and then I changed and got in the pool. Did 6x500 with 250 warmup and cooldown for 3500 yards total. Took 40 seconds between 500's. This felt good, but with the ride/run before hand the calves started cramping a bit. I really need to get my calf cramping issues figured out. I know part of it is just inflexible ankles that have built up over years of running, but my swim volume is up over 3 hours a week now and I figured these would eventually go away. Grant it, it only happens on harder/longer swims or after a ride/run now, but still. In tri's I almost always get a calf cramp. I wonder if it has anything to do with the wetsuit?!?!
Well I have to get back to work. A 3:30 ride this Saturday. Need to see if I can make this happen outside??? Not looking forward to 3 1/2 hours on an indoor trainer.
later,
Dave
So Friday I had my morning indoor bike training class at Cadence. I decided that I would ride another 90 minutes after the class and then do an hour run. It went pretty well, atlhough I was definetly tired aftewards. The run was also freezing cold (I think it was single digits...without the wind chill), but I got it done. Forgot my gloves, so I had to tuck the hands into my sweatshirt. No problem. Finished about 10 AM and then worked from home. Spent the day fueling as well. Then up at 5:30 on Saturday to join Guys Bike shop folks for an indoor 3 hour training ride. This was a lot of fun and I really liked it. During the 45 minute drive there I was debating this as it is a long way to drive for a 3 hour ride. Don't know if I will do this again, but it was nice. The person leading the class had a bag with different 10 minute segments in it. Everybody picked one out and that is what we did for the next 10 minutes. It would usually be something like 5% grade zone 2-3 for 8 minutes with 2 minutes recovery. It was never anything hard (we stayed in 2-3 most of the ride), but it was good to pass the time this way. I think I will have to do that for all of my indoor rides.
So flash forward to this week. I have 17:00 on the plan (holy crap this is a part time job)! Thank god next week is a cutback week. The tough part of this week is the Tues/Wed combo. It might not be known, but due to life (work, family, etc), I do almost all of my workouts in the morning during the work week (and weekends for that matter). This means that if the coach says do a 1:30 brick workout and a n hour swim, these are both done in the morning before work. So after working late-ish yesterday (nothing compared to my summer work hours) I got to bed by 10:15 PM and was up at 4:30. Usually I would swim and then do the brick, but I thought I would mix it up today as sometimes that pool can be crowded at 5:00 AM (yes, you read that right). So I did the 75 bike 15 min run first (actually went 16 minutes on the run, for 2 miles exactly) and then I changed and got in the pool. Did 6x500 with 250 warmup and cooldown for 3500 yards total. Took 40 seconds between 500's. This felt good, but with the ride/run before hand the calves started cramping a bit. I really need to get my calf cramping issues figured out. I know part of it is just inflexible ankles that have built up over years of running, but my swim volume is up over 3 hours a week now and I figured these would eventually go away. Grant it, it only happens on harder/longer swims or after a ride/run now, but still. In tri's I almost always get a calf cramp. I wonder if it has anything to do with the wetsuit?!?!
Well I have to get back to work. A 3:30 ride this Saturday. Need to see if I can make this happen outside??? Not looking forward to 3 1/2 hours on an indoor trainer.
later,
Dave
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