Sunday, May 15, 2011

One Word: G R I N D

This week it seemed to be a grind. A grind to get to the training and while training, a grind. Funny since this time of year is the first time I am biking and swimming as much since I usually am only running right now. Work, family, and training were a grind this week. Since this is a training blog, you get to hear about wind and heat. Good since thats what I am going to experience on the big island. 2 years ago when I rode from Hapuna beach to Hawi I had no idea that I would race there. I thought I was going for a ride to remember. Here I am referencing that ride for a race. In my dreams I wanted it to be Kona. I also felt great on that climb. I am 4 times the cyclist now. I decided that it was too expensive to take my bike and I have been considering stepping up bikes so I am going to rent a bike. They had a carbon fiber Scott. The reviews are impeccable. I am excited to ride this bike.

The grind. Temperatures in the upper 90's already and about 90 at 8 am. The wind is kicked up too at that time. Sully does not appreciate it either. If I wasnt going to race in these conditions I might be making other decisions. I am fired up for this challenge. Here is a hill profile of Honu and Silverman.

Bike-Profile-smaller-jpeg.jpg

Half+Profile.jpg



Which one would you like to ride? I think it is going to be a fun ride. This hill profile is even of the previous bike course that is now harder. These are the same hills I have been training on. I think 45ish miles out here is pretty damn hard. I even have been pounding the damn wind too. I even have been tweaking my nutrition. The tri3 bar has been an awesome addition. It is a gluten free/lactose free bar that is very tasty and goes down easy on the bike. There are 3 flavors and all taste very good. I have been trying new things lately. Trying to find out what foods are safe for me. If I wasnt training as I am I might not be having this problem. Why do I have sessions with absolutely no digestive issues and why do I feel like a machine other days? Here is how my week went:

Monday-Strength/core. I am feeling a new body emerge. The core exercises I have learned are very good. I had a friend bring me a book called "Foundation." Lance Armstrong's guy. I have not got to the meat yet but it seems promising. I am able to do a lot more with better form but I have got a lot to get better for. I am surprised to learn how different the soreness from strength is compared to biking compared to running. I used to think of them as the same. May be I am finally feeling real sensations.
Tuesday-Run/strength. I removed the easy run from my training. Sully was happy about that. 5 mile run in 46:10 or 8:38 pace. I had one mile at 9:30 too. I stopped to think about this funny chest pain I got. Freaked me out but it was short lived. I think it was a muscle issue on my ribcage. No biggy.
Wednesday-Hill repeats scratched for sore only. I was sore and tired. Long hours at work and muscle fatigue. Core only.
Thursday-Run/Core. I thought it might be good to wait as long as possible for a hotter run. Looking for the heat is a funny thought. Sully doesnt like it and I wont put him through it again. He was fine but hot. 6 miles in 57:36. 9:30 pace. That costal issue again slowed me down. I only felt it when I was 3-4 miles in going a 8:15 pace. Weird. I had the first 4 at 8:15ish. No issues after.
Friday-Rest.
Saturday-Long run. 15 miles. 3 5-mile loops. 1 with sully, 1 with my wife, and 1 for me to be by myself. Running by 5 am. I wondered if I would be about to keep 15 9:00 min miles. Lets just say I wasnt able to do that this day. Unfortunately, it was not running related. Digestive issues. I am in denial about my body. I am sometimes embarrassed about the hoopla associated with eating gluten free. Everyone asks questions. I dont want this problem. The good news is that I do not have an anaphylactic reaction to gluten, It just makes me feel really bad. Before I just thought it was how fat people feel. I just accepted it. That is frustrating too. I went 6 or 7 feeling very good. The rest just gut out. Literally. Gut it out. I wanted to go more than the race distance before the race. I got them in but slowed way down. I was under 9's through 6 or 7. I am sore today but there were no musculoskeletal issues. I am proud of that. Karl is most likely shaking his head that my long run was too long compared to my weekly mileage but Karl I thought is was a manageable distance and I wanted to have a long weekend.
Sunday-(today) Swim/Bike Brick. Originally slotted for long swim, long bike. Modified for safety and sanity. The wind was way up again. Since I have an ocean swim I thought turbulent water was important. SWIM ON. I swam 1700 or so m. Has anyone seen water move AWAY from the shore? Thats how hard the wind was blowing. I was slow and I thought about the start of the race. 1,600 athletes in 1 wave. Will they be more physical because they are "Ironmen?" What will the water be like? What will the swim be like with THAT many athletes. I am fired up to see. Long transition. Then on the bike. I wanted another long bike but the elements were not in my favor. How about a shorter more challenging ride. I rode the pumkinman sprint course. All up hill. 13 miles up in 55 min or so and down the same 13 miles in 20 min. Windy enough to move the bike a few feet at a time a few times. Trashed legs, tired. Happy and ready to race. The rest of training despite another big workout will be straight forward. Quote:

“The daily grind of hard work gets a person polished.”

I hope to be polished in the land of aloha big island style.

5 comments:

Karl Stutelberg said...

I WAS shaking my head, but not about the miles (you get them in how ever you can and as much as you can). I was shaking my head because you haven't run 13.1 at 9:00 pace so it was unreasonable to think you could do 15 that way. A better workout would have been 10 miles at 10 minute pace and the last 5 at 9 minute pace. You still get the time spent at 9:00 pace, you have to do it when tired, and you train your body to speed up during a run rather than slow down. Yes, you can speed up after 10 miles! I know you can!

Jill said...

And polished you WILL be! You've done all the hard work, now it's time to trust the training and rock that race!!

Reading Karl's comments....do you train within HR zones or do you go strictly on pace?

I have some pretty bad stomach problems and I have to go back and peel the layers of what I ate the previous couple days; anything with fructose corn syrup or such processed sugars can really cause havoc, as do certain other types of foods. I cannot stomach GU to save my life, learned that the hard way.

Very excited about your race; hope we can view online??

Karl Stutelberg said...

Jill, you are right. HR zones can help. When I say 9:00 pace what I mean is Half Marathon effort for Ron. If he was running 8:50 to 9:15 pace I would be happy. You can drive yourself crazy trying to keep a perfectly even pace or stay within a certain zone, especially on hilly or undulating terrain (or in hot weather for that matter). In simple terms what I meant was a 15 mile run with the first 10 miles "easy" and the last 5 miles "tempo" pace. Thats a tough workout!

Karl Stutelberg said...

Ron
Have you ever looked at picky bars?
http://pickybars.com/

That girl in the video I sent you talking about her celiac disease is one of the founders as well as USA 5k champ Lauren Fleshman. They are a little more expensive than the tri3 bar but look delicious!

Jill said...

I agree, trying to stay in a certain zone or on a certain pace for any length of time can literally make you manic - it becomes more of a run against the watch and that's not a good place to be. I like the idea of a progression on a long run, or incorporating MP at the end - it's the only way to really train to negative split, I think. Thanks, Karl for your insights! LOVE hearing what others think :).

Another thing I meant to mention, Ron, is a lot of stomach cramps can also be contributed to dehydration (as I'm sure you know) but also MSG products. I'll email you a link to a bar a guy told me about...and you and him have very similar techniques to my "ailment" (and no, it's not my PT :)).