Short COurse July 4 week
Well, this wek has started out poorly for me from a workout standpoint.
1200 miles in the car since Friday and getting back in to go 400 more today. Leavels little time for what I really need to be doing. Swimming this AM before I leave and will run this PM but the bike is getting lonely without me. Had to order a stem extender for my new Zipp 303 (oops) so that is slowing me down too. Everybody be safe over the holidays if you travel.
0
Comments
Safe travels, safe traning!
Taking the week off work to work around the yard and house. Something is wrong with that...
Anyways, I will be taking a few days off training this week. I have switched my plan to the HIM intermediate. I am planning to do another Olympic so I will still be hanging around here.
Here is my full race report - http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/15953/Default.aspx
Well this week has pretty much sucked. My right hip/leg hurts when I run. It is getting better slowly. Then Saturday I developed a lovely case of pink eye. Never had it. Never want it again. Now my daughter has it. Oh goody.
It was a good excuse to sit and kind of watch imCDA. Ice packs on my eyes made it challenging. My friends did really well yesterday. I was so happy for them.
Have a great week. Please be safe everyone.
Hey David, are you doing Tri in the Grove at the end of July??????
Come play man!!!
I raced Chicago ITU Sprint yesterday. Finished 1/ 24 in AG and 93 / 829 OA. The 750M Swim was into the wind, which slowed us a little but I finished it in 14:17 which was 5th in the AG. There was a long run (~600M) from the water exit to the transition area. T1 took me 4min and that was the fastest in the group. The bike, which has always been my best event, was the best ever. I rocked it w/ a 24.7MPH avg. I attribute this to losing those last few pounds and increasing my Power FTP – a great combination.
T2 was also a long run and my 3:03 was quickest. The run was longer than 5K and the sun, heat and humidity at midday put the hurt on everyone. I posted a 26:21, which was fastest in the group but that’s about 3-4 min slower than you’d normally expect.
I decided to wear my Team USA kit for the 1st time in a race as preparation for the ITU World Sprint Championship in Edmonton at the end of August. It fit well and I have to admit that it was fun having spectators call out my name on the course. One guy went kind of crazy rooting for the USA when I passed.
@jacklyn - yep, that will likely be the additional race I will add to my schedule.
@ David- All right! There will be 3 of us then.
@David, I use conti grand prix 4000 tires and I am a pretty big guy and they work well for racing. I train on Gatorskins and have had only 1 pinch flat from a HUGE pothole. The adamo saddle made a big difference for me.
So, I have been trying to get my middle zone running paces steadier : I either am going 7:30 (Z5) or 9:45 (Z1) but I have had trouble being steady in between. So, I tried running on the treadmill and setting he pace for 8:30 to practice that pace. Interestingly, the pace from my Garmin (indoors with foot pod ) was about a minute per mile different (faster) than the treadmill. And furthermore, after 3 miles ion the treadmill, I ran another 2.5 outside and it felt WEIRD. Any hints on training for Z2-Z3 paces?
@ David- We use Continental 4 seasons. They're the tire of choice for our velo riders too. Never flatted out on the road. Ride them year around. Great in the rain and road crud.
Have a great holiday everyone. BE SAFE.
@ Ralph A couple points about running at a desired pace. For all my Zone running paces, I try to maintain the same form and cadence. The reality is that slower paces = slower cadence and shorter stride length. Bobbie McGee (USAT Running Coach) has a video on running form that is comprehensive and has some very good points to follow. The key is that to run faster, you lean forward (from the ankles not the waist) and to run slower, your lean is less forward. But the focus always stays on your running form. This is so simple. You can easily dial in the pace you want to train at by the amount of forward lean you employ. The hard part is maintaining running form. For that, I use two form checks during my runs: 1) I make sure my ears, shoulders, hips and ankles are in a straight line. And the more this line leans forward, the faster I run; 2) This is from Bobbie McGee and is similar to point #1 but a different way to look at it, I make sure my torso sits correctly, solidly inside my hips and that there is no leaning or bending at the waist.
Footpod - The Garmin footpod needs to be calibrated for the pace you are running – this is a bit of a pain. The reason is that the footpod uses an accelerometer to determine speed and thus stride-speed and stride-length are keys in the min/mi calculation. You can set the treadmill at a given pace and then alter your stride length and see a change in your pace on the Garmin. So you can’t rely on the footpod too much except when you are running at its currently calibrated pace. For what that’s worth. That said, I use mine all the time..
. I calibrate my footpod for Z4 and leave it a that.
@Ralph - you might want to spend some time at the running track. I find it a great place for working to specific paces. It is flat, you get feedback every 400m and there are less distractions.
For the first time ever, I was able to nail the 3x1 mile z4 repeats. Ya Baby! That's what we're talking about
and I have a bum leg. Looking forward to see what happens when it doesn't hurt.
@ Cousin Ralph~ honest, your bike won't fall apart if you wash it. You might find a couple watts you've been looking for to boot.
So talking about my old granny bike, I do wash her down after use and I oil the moving Parts but that is mostly it. When I spin the tires with the bike in the air they so around a couple of times before they stop. But yesterday I put my new (used) Zipp 303 on the back and gave it a Spin and it went around and around and around for what seemed like a long time. I think I need my bearings checked on my old wheel for sure. Those are some free watts there! The bike was used (and 12 years old) when I got it and I have put 2400 miles on it in the past year.
Total time 1:08 for a pace of 9:13 overall. certainly not a speedster by any means but last september my average run was 4.5 miles and my pace for an 8 mile run was 11:23 so I am taking that as improvement.
Supposed to bike long tomorrow but no brake pads on the back of my bike so I will probably test on the trainer since I won't need brakes for that and try to get my brakes fixed to race Sun. First short course of the season. I will be interested to see how it compares to last year.
Happy fourth Y'all.
PS Was going to do JW's challenge but I have no hills (and no brakes)
@Jim Thanks, those links were very helpful
Did JW challenge. Rode 17 miles, 1000+ feet of climb and did it at 0600 with a friend. We snuck out before anyone was awake. HEEHEE. Not so epic but it was fun. Came back and bricked a run. All for TJ. Run felt good. No IT issue today. I really like brick runs. I feel more relaxed and physically feel better. I hope that translates to my sprint in a couple weeks.
@ Cousin Ralph- you don't need no stinking brakes!
Have a great weekend friends.
Well, I have out of town company in town today and I have no brakes on the back of my bike while awaiting the carbon pads that go with my Zipp wheel so I decided to test for the first time with my powermeter. I had forgotten how much I hate testing especially in 80% humidity outdoors. Anyway, either it is the new wheel or I got stronger, or my brakes were dragging on previous tests but my first test with power was good for NP of 233 which is good for a FTP of 221 (previously 218). That is higher that I have been but it is comparing to the values from Trainingpeaks virtual power. I was actually impressed that the virtual power was as close as it was.
Race day tomorrow, going to get my brakes today and then out in the boat with friends.
Oh yeah< I had been having trouble with trainingpeaks stopping and starting repeatedly during workouts;. Got rid of the wireless mouse and the problem is solved.
Have a great weekend all
Put a fork in my butt and call me roasted. I AM COOKED! My sleep this week has been very poor and last night I had an ear ache that would not stop. I road the trainer, had to cut it short because I was getting dizzy and sick to my stomach. Had a hard time hitting my numbers too. Tried to brick a run but ended up doing a nice walk and visited with the neighbors. Thank goodness tomorrow is a scheduled day off. I had 3 bricks this week. Tues and Friday bricks were good. Not so hot today. Sorry Coach. I tried.
Time for lunch and a nap. Maybe after my nap i'll redo the run. Get some quality from today.
This week, it was living with my cousins and we walked, alot. Twice, their 28 yr old son took me out biking with a hybrid/mountain bike and I got in some good biking for about 80 kms total.
Got in late Friday night and yestrday I did the week 16 Sunday run and today, opted to do a 50 mile bike ride to get some miles in.
@Jim! Fantastic results! I will re-read your post about the "lean in" to get faster. After my treadmill miles, I think I understand!
Good to be back!!!
Race Day today. I raced the James Island Sprint series with fellow EN teammate Jamie Fields and Guest (from out of town) En Teammate Sean Sullivan who was down from Michigan. Those guys got second and third in their age group. I was successful but not so spectacular. This is the same course that I raced 4 times last year so it is a great way to see if I have made any improvement. I am glad to say that I have. Last year, all 4 of my race results were within 1:04 from the fastest to the slowest. This race I got a PR by 4:54 over my fastest previous race. Not only that, but I improved in each of the 3 disciplines : swim was 30 sec faster, Bike was 1:09 faster, and run was 1:41 faster.
Work Works!
Riding the bike effectively with the power meter will clearly take some time, however.
PS Transitions were both faster than my fastest last year also.
Great job Cousin Ralph!