splits

My best showing in a popular race in my age group. Not super fast but fast for me!

Swim: 19:46, T1 3:05, Bike: 39:48, T2: 2:49, Run: 30:44, Total: 1:36:10, Place 16/33. Its way better than one of the last few to finish in my age group. Moving on up. The winner beat me by 26 min.

Las Vegas Triathlon 2010

Funny how friends and family influenced me to race today. I decided I would do a sprint. Of the 8 triathlons I have done, my second sprint. I wanted to get some speed work in on a brick anyway so why not add another discipline? So I raced. It was a blast. I didnt know how much fun sprints are. Pound, bing, bang, boom ya go home. Fun. I dont think a true race report is necessary but a breakdown is in order. The race was on a familiar course. RAGE, last years olympic at the same race, Silverman all share these highways. Why not do some speed on them? Thankfully there were really no climbs. The whole time I had a smile on my face that said "thank god I am not doing the olympic today, lol." This is the first race I am competing in my age group as opposed to clydesdale division. I cannot wait to see how I fared. All splits are unofficial according to my watch.

Swim: Goal 18 min, actual 19:45 mostly due to LOOONG run to transition. Nothing to report. Kept to my cues, no issues.

Bike: I didnt know what to expect so no goal time. Actual: 39:17. Ave 17 mph. I passed A LOT of people. I loved it. My bike is coming along. I cannot wait to see how this ranks among my peers.

Run: I wanted to be as close as I could to 25 min. I think that would have been possible except for the first 1/2 mile out of transition is steep. Actual 30:46.

Transition: No problems. T1 3:33, T2 2:47. Happy with those.

Overall: 1:35ish. We will see what the official results have. I know the winner in my division beat me by 20 min. WOW. Overall, healthy and happy about today. The swim entry/exit is very, very rocky. My bones in my feet are sore from that.

This next block will be a recovery block and then my last 2 big blocks prior to Silverman. I am happy with everything right now. I am not content though. I will continue to strive to be faster. Quote:

“Progress is not created by contented people”

Frank Tyger

Thirteen mile thursday...

I thought in light of last weeks groans that a mid week post was in order. My wife has been bitten by the tri bug and was not going to race by herself at the Las Vegas Triathlon this sunday. So I agreed to race with her. I went to my schedule and moved things around to fit in this race. I decided to make it an all out sprint. I have only done one sprint and it was in CA. This race will be an all out speed workout. Should be fun. In changing my schedule around I decided to go without my long bike this block and move my long run to thursday to try to be as fresh as can be for sunday. Really 13 miles on thursday? Never done that before. I decided to run the Silverman course. The weather was perfect. The wind was down, as was the temperature. So nice. Here is how my week has been so far.

Monday-1750 m Intervals. here is where my week turned around. I had a great swim. I am getting how I swim faster, Its been fun. A total of 35 laps, 5 off then 5 on. Here is how it went. 6:09, 5:41, 7:19, 5:43, 7:55, 5:44, and 7:18. I was so pumped about the consistency of the "on" intervals. Face down, elbows up. Those are my cues.

Tuesday-REST

Wednesday-I wanted some hills before my long run and may be have some sore legs to start. I was going to hammer this ride but 2 miles in big ugly flat. I was going to do 2 loops with the sisters in there twice. Didnt happen. I ended up with a rest night to get ready for the silverman run course.

Thursday (today)-Silverman run course. I woke up a lot during the night. I have not been sleeping that great. I have been to bed early now 5 nights in a row. I woke up ready to go. Got to the multi-generational center (where the race transitions to run) ready to go at 5:30. By the time you get to 4 miles you have climbed for about 3 of those miles. Tough to do when "you have to go." There isnt anywhere to go and I had to hold it a long time. I made my stop and out on my way. I was miserable but nothing said stop. I just tried to suck it up. Then when I got to about mile 8 my R knee started in with an irritated IT Band insertion. I was able to get all 13 in. I was hoping for a better run but ultimately, all things considered, not horrible. Got it in. A very slow 2:30. Still that was 2o min faster than the race last year but I was hoping for better.

Considering using my TT bike for the first time in a race to see what happens. I have to change that flat. Who knows. Quote:

“Consistency is the quality of a stagnant mind”

John Sloan

Well may be the roller coaster isnt so bad then.

Mental Toughness Training

Not sure if I got better with my mental toughness training. I had a less-than stellar week. After last weekends big miles I was in big trouble. I got sick and I was super sore. I didnt sleep well, my nutrition wasn't what it should. I. FELT. HORRIBLE. After a month of good work for me I suppose it was due. I took my advisors advice and stopped playing softball but on tuesday I filled in. It was a stupid idea. It was late and I payed for it. Its funny how your heart and body fight on a long ride or run. They make deals with each other or they talk each other out of things. I wanted nothing more then to sleep in this weekend. I am happy to say that I didnt but I didnt get what I wanted done either. Funny I just read last year at this time and I have the same trouble. This year though it is much bigger miles and faster paces. So I am just chalking it up training toll and this 1/2 Iron distance race training. I need more sleep. I need to eat better. I need to suck it up. Here is how the week went:

Monday-Long interval swim modified to a fast finish. I was scheduled for 1750 but make 1000. It was as fast as I can swim though. Happy with intensity. here are the splits 6:08, 6:08, 5:57, and 6:03. I got pooped that last 250. I was shooting for 5:45 or so.

Tuesday-Was scheduled for rest. Actually softball and learned my lesson. Everything hurt and was sore, lol. Bad idea.

Wednesday-Bike Q. Rest actually.

Thursday-Long swim. REST.

Friday-Rest. REST.

Saturday-4 mile easy run. 4 mile easy run. I was sore and tired but had good pace for a easy run.

Sunday-40 mile bike/8 mile run brick. Exhausted, sore, and not feeling it. Actually 40 miles on the bike and 4 mile run. It was hot and I wasnt willing to push today. My HR reached 121% of max. Hmmm issue? YES. I climbed the sisters though without issue. I did the entire river mountain loop trail. My butt was sore from last week. My legs are tired. My back is sore. MISERABLE. Why do we do this to ourselves again?

Funny all that being said....the thing I think of most is IRONMAN. This feat is daunting. I think about it all the time. I dream about it. I love watching them on TV. I want this poster on my wall. I want to be called IRONMAN. I have a ton of work to do. So far this is working out but boy is it hard. I am so tired. How many years will I commit to this goal? I got talked into to doing a sprint this weekend. I am going to manage my schedule and I am going to make it a all out speed test. How fast can I go? Quote:

“Good work habits help develop an internal toughness and a self-confident attitude that will sustain you through every adversity and temporary discouragement.”

Paul J. Fleyer

I sure hope these are good habits and temporary.

So Close, Yet So Far

I would have to look real close from last year to see if I had mileage weekend like I had this weekend. Thats a plus. I never did the whole bike course until race day, thats better (I did today). When I first started cycling I couldnt climb the sisters, today I was able to get 3/4 of each after 45 miles or so. Im not happy about it. I am glad my family wasnt around when I unclipped. I was pissed. The whole ride I thought I was going to be able to do it. I didnt have the strength or endurance to polish them off. Sure my legs were very sore from the day before but I wanted it badly. With the swim venue change the bike is even harder. Really? This race is challenging. Overall it was a very strong weekend but the icing on the cake would have been no walking on the stupid sisters. Here is how the week went:

Wednesday-Bike was in the shop. Bad "hanger" and got a tune-up.

Thursday-Progression run/fast finish. Funny how my watch didnt work. It was not keeping the right speed. I used rate of perceived exhaustion. I would guess, 9:15, 9:00, 8:45, and 8:30 for 4 miles. I felt good despite the wind.

Friday-rest

Saturday-11 miles. Since I had 4 friends racing in the Lake Las Vegas Triathlon I decided to get my long run it super early. Like head lamp, blinky, vest early, straight Ragnar-style. I averaged 10 min miles but that includes running on 2 of the sisters. BIG HILLS. I felt very good. I wasnt even tired until after running the hills. I was keeping 9:00 to 9:15 prior to the big hills. I was thinking the whole time I cannot wait for my next 1/2 marathon. Congrats to Susan, Becca, Shannon, and Cody. All did very well respectively.

Sunday-Long ride. Silverman course in its entirety. I was very sore from the day before. I wanted to stay in bed I was that sore. The ride was a supported group ride by Jackie Arcana, the big tri coach around here. My goal was to travel the 56 miles plus make it home. 62.25 miles total. Lots of relentless hill climbing. One after the next. I am dead right now. Nothing hurts but everything is sore. I wanted to quit about 100 times and I ground it out. I tried to gear 1 or 2 smaller than I normally do. I felt fantastic with that. I went kinda slow but a long way. 73 mile weekend. Here are some pictures of the sisters. I am not sure what you can get from them but here you do.

When I see these lines I am at the top of 3.

From the top of 3 (in front of the 3 lines) looking back at where I came from

From the top of 2 looking back at 1

From the top of 2 looking up at 3.....Quote:

“Life's real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up.”

I am so glad I didnt give up.

Keep on Keeping on

Not a whole lot to input. I am very pleased with my ability to gain more and more "conditioning." I am going longer, I am going faster, and I am doing it with minimal complications. Aches, pains, and fatigue but that is par for an 1/2 Iron course. I am enjoying training and looking for new and challenging training sessions. I am also very happy to report that I have been able to add a bunch of new training partners. Its been fun to spread the word of triathlon and have some cycling wisdom passed to me. I have not been this lean since I graduated high school. I weighed in at 224, 17% body fat. For the record that is 85 pounds and about 10-15% less body fat overall. The more I think about it I think that shaving an hour and half off this years half iron is very doable. I need to continue along this course, have some luck with the weather, and get my nutrition strategy down. I am confident that is happening. One of my mentors in Physical Therapy is a phenomenal cyclist and I decided to see where I stand. He had some excellent feedback for me. I over-gear. I work too hard. I turn my legs over too slow. My bike chain needed to be changed, I need a tune-up. He liked my posture on the bike, he thinks my plan for continuing to get faster is spot on. Straight up strength:weight ratio. He put a bug in my ear. He thinks I should reward myself when I get down to 205 to upgrade bikes and go carbon. I think that will be my plan. Here is how my week went down.

Monday- Rest

Tuesday-Easy Run. 4 miles. Ave 9:11 pace. Its amazing what happens when your HR is controlled. I am learning to listen to that heart of mine.

Wednesday-Rest. Skipped my swim to rest. Long day at work, late night etc.

Thursday-Sisters loop. I am not afraid of them anymore. I can climb them anytime. I am going to do the whole Silverman loop this weekend and It will be interesting to see how I go with them after 40 miles. I did this loop 3 min faster than last time. 59:00. even though I had a pesky L calf cramp. It didn't affect my strength at all it was more annoying. It was sore for 2 days but didn't limit anything. I am happy with that. (does anyone read the daily breakdown? if so comment that you do =))I averaged 15 mph with those sisters in there.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Long bike with fast cyclists. I have put this off for a long time because I didnt think I could hang. For the most part its true. But I did have my fastest ride to date. In 40 miles I only had one avg less than 10 mph. That is the result of trying not to get dropped or slow the group down and changing gear strategy. 40 miles in 2:30, 16.1 ave mph. Total elevation gain of 2200 feet on an out and back course. I made them cut it short a bit because it was so slow for them but overall I am stronger for it. I am happy about it. They tried to teach me to pace line. I have to get more stable and more confident. I didn't want to be the newbie crashing people. Good ride and I sold out to it. Made the rest of the weekend suffer but I need the bike to be my focus.

Sunday-Bike/Run brick. I woke up thrashed. Beat down tired, sore, and wanting to go back to bed. But we were meeting people and I needed to get used to this feeling. So I sucked it up. I wanted a longer run but it was not in the cards this day. I planned for a 15 mile bike/10 mile run. Actually 13.5 mile bike and 5 mile run. I wanted the bike to be easy and the run to be the focus but my HR was way too high for all that. I was tired and it was hot. I ran the first 5 of silverman course without walking. So overall considering it was positive. I am getting stronger with each brick. My biking legs don't feel so wobbly when I run. Good times with new friends and good breakfast.

Monday-Long swim. Didnt get to it because of honey-do list. Decided to do it tuesday.

Tuesday (today)-I had a easy run planned but since i skipped yesterday I wanted to make it up. 2 mile run to the gym, 2250 meter swim, then 2 miles home. 17:56 to the gym. Transition to the pool in 6:32, lap splits are 6:04, 6:41, 6:24, 6:28, 7:15, 6:42, 6:44, 5:21, and 6:38 with a fast finish. I got pooped. Transition back to running in 6:44. Then run home the same route in 17:38. It was a hard workout but totally doable. I enjoyed myself. Funny to run after swimming. Quote:

'Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.”

Angela Monet

What is happening in this obese, lazy society? They cannot hear the music.