Short Course 1-7 July
Happy 4th of July for everyone out there! 
Should be able to get in a great bike workout this Thursday with an outdoor option instead of just knocking out another pain cave session! Or, if the weather is bad at least you can sleep in a bit more and be rested for a change. 
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Off today, eating leftover semi- homemade buffalo chix pizza and chillin with the wife and 4-legged kids.
Today was supposed to be 12 X 100 followed by 4 X 50 for a total of 2500m swimming. But, strange enough, my right lat was still a bit sore where it attaches in the lower back. So, I eased into 22 x 100 alternating 100 free with 100 kick and worked on stroke technique. Better than nothing and was a great break from work!
Tomorrow is the dreaded bike workout of 3 x 1'(1') @Z4 followed by 2[20'(4')]@Z4 then for a 30' run!
Question : how long a ride does it have to be before you start using nutrition? I typically do for anything over an hour but I was wondering what the more experienced do.
Massage today so Mondays swim is going to be a Tuesday swim it looks like.
Have a great week all.
The traveling backs down some after this trip - good thing too as I have a Duathlon, and 2 Sprint Tri's in July. All this is aiming to the USAT AG Nationals and the Chicago Tri in mid & late Aug respectively.
Ralph- Impressive ride! Re: nutrition on the bike... Totally varies for everyone. An hour is a reasonable amount of time to start thinking about adding nutrition. It is a bit of trial and error. It will also depend on intensity too. For my 2hour-ish rides, I will usually have just 200-300 calories. I may alternate water and my Infinit/Gatorade blend. But I am also trying to lose weight so that is a factor as well...
Jim- Traveling def. poses some challenges w/ biking and swimming but at least you're keeping up some running! Looking forward to hearing about all your races!
I actually did my run this morning. (Fairly unheard of for me) but since I'm going away this weekend, I needed to compress some things. Was supposed to be 3 x 1 mi but I ran short on time so I just ran through it (except for a potty break after 1 mi. Good thing I was home on the treadmill and not on the trail!) 3 mi in 30mins. (Target pace) It is nice to be done for the day by 7am!
I mentioned that my test last week did not show any improvement and so I was disappointed.
Today I was supposed to swim but life intervened so I had to squeeze in a run after work. The workout today called for 3 x 1200 at Z5 but I was pushed for time so I just ran a 5k as fast as I could maintain. I felt pretty good and 75% of the run was Zone 5 or above. Total time 22:57 for 5k. New PR even though it was not an official race.
The bad part is that I have new pace zones. Ouch. (But that is why we are here, Right?)
@Kim thanks for the advice, on rides that I expect to be over an hour and a half, I usually down a gel about half way and for an hour and a half ride I will drink 3 bottles of water. I haven't started using liquid nutrition yet since I haven't done many rides for over 2 hours but I guess I need to consider that in the future.
@ Joe. That Birthday challenge icon is tempting but for me that would be 5000 m swim, 50 miles on the bike, and 10 miles run on August 19. It is tempting but I am going to have to think about it. BTW You are my hero.
So good news today- got out of work early. Bad news- forgot my bike shorts. Luckily (?) I had some other athletic shorts in the car so I went with it. Yeah, not so comfy. 19.27 mi in 1:15, .813IF. I did a lot of coasting/fidgeting as a result of the discomfort but did manage some "work". A total of about 18' at 1.00-1.20IF in 1' -4' increments. I alternated "ON" and "OFF" time in between the stop signs on the canal line trail.
Also, good job on getting the PR and keeping the faith. All this hard work has to pay off somehow! About the 10 miles - it does not have to be all at once. You can break it up any way you need to get in 10mi. So, something to think about...
@Jim - AG Nationals, would really like to see your race report on that. When I hit 55 in a couple of years, I'm thinking about going to one. In the past, I have over trained for them and have missed out on doing well. But that was efore EN! Also, The Chicago Tri - isn't that the old "Mrs. Ts"? Years ago I heard someone tell me about the swim with the huge waves and water temp. Would like to know if that was just tall tales or not...
@Kim - enjoy the time away! I need a small break too. So, tomorrow I will just go with a local tri group to the local lake and do a social swim and bike and enjoy some social time. This is supposed to be fun and not a second job!
4th of July update.
Woke up early to get my long ride in since I race this weekend. Just got my bike out of the shop having the front derailleur replaced. Rolled it out of the house and noticed the flat back tire. Changed the flat and took off. New Front derailleur was not adjusted correctly and couldn't get the big chainring. Not feeling too great and started to get some left Quad discomfort so I decided to cut things short at 1.5 hours. Turned towards home and low back tire (that I just changed) maybe a slow leak so I pumped it up again. Nope. Flat. Changed it again but by this time my quad was feeling better so I went on home.
Overall, not an epic workout but I hope this worked the bugs our for Sunday.
Maybe it was god's way of telling me to go home and eat that big steak.
Have a great day team.
Great work everybody, been reading when I get a moment or two. It has been crazy for me since I returned from vacation, I am barely catching my breath, been training on schedule, had a breakthrough 2x20min on the bike last weekend, now week at work, things mangled up as usual and I will run twice today due to that. More later, just had no time to post workouts, but will starting this weekend, I will have caught up. I enjoy reading about your work. Keep it up.
Nice z3 solo ride today. 23 miles in about 1:30 w 1,500ft gain, .80IF. Joule showed 83 degrees but w humidity it felt much hotter than that. Despite all that it was quite enjoyable. It has been awhile since I've done my longer ride solo so I kinda wasn't lookin forward to it but it was fun.
I have done that over last 8 years.... I have come to learn about few rules:
1. Be flexible and smart, have a hole for workout, do it, however you will not be able to stick to the EN script always, know when you have to deviate
2. www.swimmersguide.com is your friend for public pools
3. Get over the dorky feeling of tearing up gym stationary bikes, 2x20s suck in hot gyms trust me
4. Make it run focused but frequency oriented over intensity
5. Know when environmental conditions and topography differ from your acclimation, I disregarded that once in Jackson Wy, near damn killed me.....
Hope this helps.
Speaking of that, yesterday AM easy run in Jackson WY 5mi in 41min, was not really easy, it never is for me at 6500ft, than had to move to Driggs all hotels sold out, no pool or bike so run again, 4mi easy in 33min, obviously a gross deviation from EN script on SC adv. But that is what I have to do.
@Aleksander - well stated. Good to have you back!
So, yesterday I did a group open water swim. Somehow, I got behind a guy that decided not to follow the group and hang a left at the 400m mark. I kept waiting thinking, "surely he'll follow the group". We ended up swimming a there and back 2 X 1200m instead of the 1500m I had planned. Okay, lesson learned. Should've been with the lead pack...
So, today, I put in a B + 1500TT and felt my "lat strain" lessen. So, I'm off swimming till Monday so I should recover just fine. Interesting that last week on my"Birthday swim" of 5300m, I really rotated and tried to not strain the shoulder. So, I guess I know now what "good form" feels like and this is just another adjustment in my effort to get a good rotation and not "muscle" the swim.
@Kim, I do enjoy solitude from time to time, other times I love having somebody along tearing up 2x20s+3x3s....., pretty picture.
@Joe, 5300m, now that is a swim workout. Loving that and for bday too.
SC Adv. today has a swim, I tossed the dice and Swim Workouts for Triathletes.....prevailed, E20 was the flavor, 3000SCY in 50min, Ithaca NY, nice fitness center with a 79F pool, said wow, finally some peeps now what competitive swimmers need to train in, not me, I am not in that category, but love cold water. Here is the flavor, was very much in line with my attention span:
WU:200sw/100k/200pull
MS: 4x150@2:20 bd 1:58 1:58 1:57 1:55
4x50@1:00 k fins all in 45
4x100@1:35 bd 1:17 1:17 1:15 1:15
4x75@1:30 k with fins 1:15 all
4x200@2:45 pull 2:30 2:27 2:25 2:23
CD:200 ez
@Kim - where was that picture taken? Is that by uopu in Vernon, CT?
Today, overslept 30min and went into today's rehearsal for my A Race very rested. Did the 34mi bike in 21.4mph and the 3.2mi run in 8:35/mi. Overall, pretty good. Nailed the nutrition, pacing, and although I would liked to have gone faster, it was a good brick.
Rewarded myself with another slice of my ice cream birthday cake and a cup of coffee with half and half. Decadent, but I'm making this birthday cake last a long, long time! Of course, if it was after 1200 hrs, I would be having steak and beer like Ralph!
But the good news today was I nailed today's run workout - 2x1mi and 2x1/2mi at better than Z4 pace - and it was a bit hot and humid here in SE Wisconsin.
I ran the 3 X 1000m @Z5 and then the 2 x 1mi @Z4 for a total of 7.2mi with warm-up and cool down. At 74 degrees with 99% humidity it was hard and I am happy I was actually able to get this in. Actually hit 183MHR on he last mile.
Looking forward to a jacuzzi tonight!
@Jim and Joe, we seemed to be on the same week, love to nail a workout but it also, at least for me frequently goes, if I nail bike, run goes downhill or the other way around. Go figure.
Had to flip flop the weekend which meant no race simulation.
Saturday, same as Joe's Sunday, on treadmill as it was too late in the day and heat was nasty, 10mi in 1;12, avg. pace 7:14, did have the pod which was very close to mill speed.
.5% grade, all intervals:
3x1000 as 3x3:45(3:15)IP, went down as 5:51 on all
2x1mi as 2x6:30(3:30)TP, went down as 6:31 on both
1x1.5mi@HMP, went down as 6:44 pace
Well than today, I thought long ride, insert mid ride 45min@IF .92, race effort for RR, well did 16min of it and called it. Ride 2:53min, 63mi, IF .78, TSS 174.....oh well, that was all I head. Only took 3 bottles of Infinit, needed really 3 more with water, very dehydrated most of the ride. PM turned into that short run I owed from AM....
Legs are pretty shot. There is really no room for overachieving and if I do so, I pay downstream. I wanted to nail the run workout entirely as written, I did, but left me today very drained. Tomorrow, swim day or maybe even totally OFF, will see.
Posting tomorrow in the new week thread. Keep it up team! Love taper. I will bore you with my mini BT on the bike in a separate thread.
@ Joe-Yup, pic was near Vernon, I think Ellington, or as we call is "Smellington" cuz of all the dairy farms.
Aleksander- Cheers to taper!
I feel like I've been gone for a long time but I was only on vacay from Sat-today in Ocean City.
So here's where I ran on Sun. morning
3 x 1 mi. I went out too fast but I'm going to blame my Garmin. The current pace was way off so I "flew" on the first 2 and crashed and burned on the last one. (It was HOT!) Miles were 9:21, 9:45 and 11:01. (Target pace was about 10:00) All good training though right?
@Kim, awesome sight here. Gotta love that.
I crashed and burned lately almost regularly misjudging pace in heat, still have not learned.