Sunday, March 25, 2012

In and out....

The last couple of weeks have been hectic. Some family drama, some training, and a whole lot of working. Here are the last 2 weeks:

Monday-skipped my swim.

Tuesday- easy run 45 min will sully.

Wednesday-track night. Warm-up, drills 15 min, 8X150's. Those are so tough. Then 5 min rest with abs. Then 8X400. Goal was 1:40-1:45. Here are the actual splits:1:41, 1:38, 1:44, 1:42, 1:45, 1;45, 1:42, and 1:39. 10 min cool down. Felt strong and was sore.

Thursday- had drs appointment and travel day.

Friday- rainy long run in San Diego. 8 miles. Hard effort turned into easy 8. I was so tired.

Saturday/Sunday– rest/travel

Monday- swim. Wanted some speed. 1500 m total with the first and last 250 be warm up and cool down. 250X5 with 2 min rest. 7:10 wu, 6:20, 6:17, 6:15, 6:48, and 7:45 cd. 47 min total. I was spent. I think this is the effort I need to be putting into the swim. When it warms up this will be an open swim workout.

Tuesday-easy run. 50 min easy.

Wednesday/thursday- rest

Friday-6 mile Progression run. I wanted to feel it out as I went. I have been wondering if I have been going too slow to start. So here is how I went: 8:29, 8:36, 8:28, 8:19, 17:45 ( lol....had a number 2 issue, ruined my workout), and 8:41. Hate that! It happens.

Saturday-FF 8. 5 at less than 9, around 8:55 then 8:45, 8:30, and 8:19. 8:52 ave in 1:10. Moderate workout. All at unlv so it was super flat. Hella sore the rest of the day.

Sunday (today)- didn't get out of bed. Got caught up around the house.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Patching things together...

Life is crazy, as it is for every age grouper.  I have not put anything on paper as far as planning goes.  I am getting ready for RAGE and now the OC 1/2 marathon in May.  I am pushing myself more than ever.  I was thinking about this just today on my bike how my perception of hard has changed.  What I did today would not have been possible in years past not because of ability but because of what I think I am capable of.  Here is how the week went:

Monday-Swim.  1500 meters or race distance.  I pushed it and was tired.  I definitely can be better in the pool.  I just hate the pool.  Today it was way too cold for open water so the pool will have to do.  Here are details.  12:31, 13:43, and 14:43 per 500 m for a total of 41:09.  No rest but was very tired as it went.
Tuesday-Run and bike.  45 min easy run.  Me and sully battled the wind.  The whole time I am wondering if I should bike to work.  I decided to push myself.  It was cold and windy.  Half way there I realized I left the clinic keys at home.  Total of the 45 min biking in the wind.  I am glad I didn't ride to work.  It was horribly windy and rainy at the time of leaving home.  Would have been trouble.  I felt fine with todays effort.
Wednesday-Pushed a track workout due to time and weather.
Thursday-Off
Friday-Hill repeats running.  1 mile warm up, then up one street then down the other.  Up 3 different streets with differing each trip up.  Between 0.5 to 0.8 mile in length.  Up hard with easy running coming down.  No stopping no walking trying to not save it.  Don't do the first one easier so the next one is easier trying to go hard each one then force myself to recover.  Overall, 4.25 miles total in 38 min.  Overall a good effort with a workout I will definitely do again.  I will add on hills in the future.
Saturday-Long run.  8 mile progression run.  I was pleased with this effort.  I liked this workout.  Here are splits: 9:15, 9:08, 9:00, 8:54, 8:48, 8:48, 8:35, and 7:56.  I ran on a new trail near my home and this is definitely somewhere I will run in the future.  I am wondering if the 9s shouldn't be part of this workout.  It felt so easy and I was holding back very hard.  May be I will duplicate this workout with all 8 under 9?  If the half was this day I felt like I had more left in the tank and I feel that 1:55 would have been attainable.  These are the gems i am going to need more of.
Sunday (today)-Long bike.  Olympic bike course with a repeat on each hill.  My weakness is climbing.  So why not find the biggest hills around and repeat on them?  They happen to be race course too.  So I approached each climb in rhythm, recovered down, then power back up.  Try to do the second climb faster than the first climb.  Also, get the gearing for each hill and where to stand and fight for each climb.  I want to put together a total effort come race day and having confidence and knowledge of each climb is important.  Did I mention the wind?  There was a gnarly head wind coming home and it added to the difficulty of this ride.  Last year if you told me this is the workout for today and then tell me how I would feel, I wouldn't believe it.  Here are the details.  Total time of 2:23:41.  I repeated 3 sections.  Here are the sections: Boulder beach rd-4:19/4:00, 13:44 to the Look Out due N, 4:25/4:43, 16:08 to Northshore, 19:46/18:50, 12:58 to the Look Out due S 4:47/4:46, and 28:13 home. I left out rest in between the hills.  I concentrated on not leaving anything in the tank.  The second trip up the lookout with a head wind and legs gassed I hammered it to get the same time.  Hmmmmm.  I was gassed the rest of the way.  It was a big day on the bike and got some good work done.  Quote:


After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
Nelson Mandela

isn't that the beauty of it?  I am really enjoying the process.  More and more fitness leads to harder and more fulfilling things to do.  I am stoked.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

FEELING LIKE A TRIATHLETE

No post last week secondary to Mountain West Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, NM (my home town).  It was a lot of fun to watch our girls perform and also very stressful and tiring.  I ran while I was there but I didn't even compete and I was pooped.  So I rested last sunday and monday and no post.

Things are hectic.  Work, home, training, and training.  My training and the track team.  I had my first brick/transition run today and I felt awesome.  Here are two weeks of training:

Monday-Long swim.  30 min of swimming and about 1000 m.  Nothing really to report.
Tuesday-Easy run.  45 min of easy running.  Sully and I.
Wednesday-Track night.  15 min easy w drills.  8 150's.  4 X 800.  10 min easy. 5 miles total.  The 800's at 3:30 pace with 2 min break.  Felt strong.  Those 150s are rough.  KD calls them sneaky speed work.  Not only that, I like how they work on mechanics.  Overall good workout.
Thursday-Travel day.
Friday-6 mile tempo run on the Bosque.  I was so pumped to take a trip over to a new trail for me in ABQ. I have not run that trail and it was nice.  It was cold and windy.  At elevation I could not hold my tempo.  I wanted to stay under 8:50 for all 6 and I only made 4 at tempo then I pooped out.  Overall a tough run in harsh conditions.
Saturday-Travel
Sunday-Pushed everything. lol.

Monday-Pushed a swim.
Tuesday-Easy 45 min.  Me and sully out for 45 min and it was hard going.  Legs felt sluggish.
Wednesday-Track night.  15 min warm up with drills.  8 X 150's.  2X 1 mile.  KD and I were talking about the 150's and I was doing them wrong.  I cleaned that up and they are even harder.  Awesome start.  Then KD and I got talking and the wind/cold kicked up.  Miserable night and I only completed one mile.  7:48 pace.  Then just shut it down.  Wasn't feeling it.
Thursday-Hills.  Went out and back on the sisters and felt strong.  Despite a rear derailer issue it was a good ride.  The bike is coming around.  I need more time on it.
Friday-Tempo run.  I wanted to recover that 6 miles from last week.  I did, barely.  6 miles at 8:58 total.  There were some issues but got through them.  Funny run.
Saturday-Track meet, no training.
Sunday-Ahhhh my first brick.  Full olympic bike course/3 mile run.  I felt awesome.  The bike was moderate, I didn't press.  I didn't attack.  It was 1:30 slower than last years race pace.  I felt so strong.  I feel the aerobic capacity so much better.  My legs werent that tired.  26 miles in 1:39.  I ran the sprint course and it ended up progressing really nice.  I have been wondering how my running would feel after a decent bike.  I started out with a goal of 9:15 pace and ended up at 9:40 but I didn't stop.  Usually I have to walk.  No walking today, never even occurred to me.  9:40, 9:29, and 8:52.  Total 9:21.  I have never had a run this fast after a bike.  I am looking forward to this 10K at the race.  I feel the fatigue resistance and I recovered during the run.  Overall, a great day.  Quote:

“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.”
 Oliver Wendell Holmes

Feels like I am moving forward