Tuesday, September 7, 2010

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.

4 comments:

Tri-James said...

Regarding the group ride. Just hang on as long as you can week after week. You will get faster.

It sounds like we both didn't hear the music for a long time. But I have it cranked loud and clear now.

KovasP said...

Great progress! Fun to reward ourselves as we reach goals, isn't it?

Caratunk Girl said...

Yeah, people haven't heard the music - I think they have their hands over their ears! Great work!

Karl Stutelberg said...

Nice week of work. Thanks for FINALLY POSTING! Yes I do read the daily breakdown. Looks like a great weekend of training. Hope to see some longer runs coming up as it gets cooler.
It is fun to get out there with fitter athletes to get a good push in a workout. Way to hang tough.
It good music when you can hear it, isn't it? Heart beating, feet pounding rythmically, water splashing, gears turning, birds chirping. Some people never hear these things. Sounds like you are enjoying the journey and that is what it is all about. Keep up the good work.