IM Ville Mojo Thread- Week 11, 3-9 August
Another week in the books, another week to get after it. Keep crushing it everyone and let us know how those workouts are going. Some are good, some are bad, but they all help you and everyone else see the truth behind the bravado. Build that support and team spirit. Keep those posts coming!
0
Comments
Also found out we've got another typhoon coming at us, looking to swipe us Thursday or Friday. These things always seem to ruin weekends, why don't they ever hit on Tuesday???
@Roy - great job on the swim! I used to live right around the corner from a 50 meter pool. It was the best thing ever. Always busy, but when the pool is only a 2 minute walk away, it made getting in the pool easy. Now I'm stuck in a 25y, 2 lane pool unless I'm willing to drive 30 minutes or more depending on traffic. So that only happens on special occasions -- like, big days and race rehearsals.
@Jennifer, I'm a little spoiled right now. My office, my house, a gym, a library, and a 25 meter pool are all within a half mile of me. Unfortunately, my 25 meter pool closes at the end of the month and then it will be the 50m until next June. The 50m pool is good, but its a bit of a drive on another base and the majority of its patrons are not you would call 'swimmers'. Makes structured workouts challenging to say the least.
7 mile run with 2 @ TP this morning. Temps were a more bearable this morning, so I hit the intervals a bit fast. Since I'm running in the dark, I pace these mostly by PE. Good run.
Got my swim in yesterday @2700 yrds in the 25 yd pool at the YMCA. Don't think there are any 50 yd pools anywhere near that I can use. I wonder if my T Time would improve in a 50 yrd pool without touching the wall and turning around so much (no flip turns here).
Weather has improved here and is not nearly as hot as it was. Running should be more enjoyable this week with primo Wisconsin weather in the upper 70s.
6 miles on the road this morning at EP. Looking to hit the trainer after work for the intervals.
Keep on it everyone!
@ Stephan - Gerry Rodriquez advises that except for top swimmers, short course pools are better, especially for triathletes, because they give you twice the opportunity to set up for a good stroke compared to a long course pool.
Keep on it everyone and keep those posts coming!
Thanks for the posts, I read them in the morning to help me get motivated and get out there. @Jay good luck with the race this weekend.
About to go and do my run now, and then will hit the bike intervals this evening after work. (Update) Just finished run and was dragging. Had hoped to get up to zone2, but felt light headed and didn't have energy to push it. Decided to cut it short at 36 minutes. Hopefully, I will have more energy for the bike tonight.
@Stephen - sometimes something is better than nothing. Take care and rest up.
12 miles and some change this morning. 82 degrees, 100% humidity, and 97 degree heat index at 0430 out the door. Lost ~7.5 lbs (with 2 gels and a full sports bottle in route). Fun times. I'm going to spend all day today rehydrating.
@Stephen - Hope you're feeling better!
@Ray - where are you with that crazy heat/humidity? That's nuts.
Swam this morning, then did my 2x1 run. Basically, I did yesterday's workout today. Oops. Planning for my long run in the early morning. I've got my big day this weekend, and need to figure out my plan for that.
Meanwhile, I am refilling my triathlon stock. Yesterday, 2 bottles of S caps that I had ordered arrived. Today, a case of PickleJuice Sport arrived. That should last me about 2 years.
18 mi run today. Started out cloudy and fairly cool, 80 degree's. That lasted 9 mi and then the rain came. Still better than 90+ degree's or the dreadmill!
Good work all!
Keep up the great work everyone! Oh and Im coming around on the GE…still super sweet but not as awful as the first day. And the lemon is way better than the orange. Think we can request IM serve that in Lou, haha!
@Danielle, prior to coming out here to Okinawa (Jennifer
6 miles at EP to start my day. That latest typhoon has decided to swing south of us, but I was still blown around this morning by some decent winds. All in days work!
Keep on it everyone.
Did a trainer ride last night instead of going out on the bike. It is weird, but I have actually gotten to the place where I enjoy riding on the trainer especially when trying to hit FTP intervals. Much easier to do on a trainer for me. Plus, the logistics are so much easier. The other side is, wow it is gorgeous here in Wisconsin right now, I should get out there and enjoy it. I have my road bike on the trainer and struggle to hit ftp, so I shorted the second set to 10 minutes rather than 12. Overall, a good workout.
This morning I got in my long run and kept zone1. zone 1 is such a large spread for me, from 9:37 to 8:15, I averaged 9:13 over the @12miles. Felt better than my run yesterday morning.
OK, where to begin... First off, I've been following the weekly threads, but this has been my first post. I'm on week 11 of the IM intermediate plan, and, for the most part, I've gotten in most of the workouts and hitting my numbers. Swims have been OK. I'm not the fastest guy in the pool, but I'm not the slowest, either. Admittedly, I broke down and bought a waterproof iPod Shuffle and headphones for my indoor swims. Sheer boredom was causing me to cut my longer swims short until I got ahold of them. I actually look forward to long swims now!
This morning I got in 11 miles before 7am! That's the first long run I've done in the AM, ever. If you told me to do 11 miles before work 3 months ago, I'd be hobbling around all day. Instead, I was a tad sore at work, but following a plan clearly works.
Did what will be my last FTP test before Louisville last week and it's sitting at 228. For me, at 47, I can't complain much about that. Time to focus on training around that number and feeling solid for 6+ hours and fresh for the run afterwards.
This weekend I have a 6 hour test (1hr swim, 4hr bike and 1hr run). Should be no problem making it through that, then it's a light week after that. IM Timberman 70.3 up in NH next Sunday. I think I'm prepared for that.
That said, here's where the craziness comes in... I'm going through a divorce and I decided after several months of trying to live in the same house that it's time to move into my own place. So, between now and Labor Day I have to do the following:
- coordinate/oversee contractor work being done on the house I'm moving to
- coordinate/oversee contractor work being done in the current house I'm in so it can go on the market
- pack up my belongings to move 7 miles down the road.
- actually move said belongings
- work (45+ hours/week)
- go on a 4 day business trip
- train (the only thing keeping me sane!)
- eat and stay hydrated (a constant battle)
- sleep (really, this would be nice, cuz I'm not getting a lot right now!!!)
I do have some vacation time thrown in there just after the 70.3, but let me tell you, if I can make it through the next 4 weeks, the damn IM will be nothing!!!
Keep up the posts, they are inspiring!
Thom
Today - a "regressive" run from Z1 to Z0 in 8 miles. Utterly croaked in the heat and humidity this morning. Came back for a much quicker 2.15 miles this evening. I suck. That is all.
@Roy hope that Typhoon heads out into sea or something, hate bad weather on weekends.
We on the other hand have heat, triple digit temps as far as the forecast goes, kind of depressing but it is August in Texas. The floods we had seem a distant memory.
1:10 bike + 2 mile run on Tuesday
2400 swim + 5 mile run Wednesday
12 mile run today, the last few miles were not pretty but done.
@Jay good luck on the race!
@Paul, Anu, you are both incredible running in that heat with tired legs. As long as you don't heat stroke, I can't imagine you won't be tougher and better prepared for the suck of the run coming up.
@Thom, great to see you here. Welcome. Sorry about the life changes that are in your life right now. Hope you have lots of support emotionally, socially, and spiritually to get through the tough times. Hang in there and keep your chin up. Post frequently and keep in touch. We will walk with you through the next 4 weeks and then some. Good luck at your 70.3 and see you in Louisville. Our group is going to rock that race.
@Thom - Welcome! Don't let that be your last post. With everything you have going on, focus on what's important (everything not Ironman), get some workout love where you can, and remember that sometimes "Something is better than nothing". Good luck and just surviving through that bear of a mess will be an achievement.
4k in the pool this afternoon. Apparently driving wind blows off all the other swimmers so the pool crew watched me swim and performed pool maintenance (scrubbing slime off the gutters) while I got my work done. Interesting to see what tomorrow brings as far as weather. Dare to dream that I may be able to get outside. I'm bumping the big day in favor of the 'standard' RP+ and ABP rides this weekend. Needing the volume because I'm getting ready to start our 'Superbowl' exercise and the hours will be bearish for the next three weeks.
Keep on the gas everyone and let us hear how it is going!
@Paul "Regressive" Run, love the name, we have all done plenty of those (at least I have)
@Thom Hang in there and keep posting
@Roy That's dedication
Ran 50 min today and swam 30 min's. First training swim since bike accident, if you don't count the 7 min's I tried last weekend. Wrist was a bit tender, but actually felt better with time.
Tonight I hit the weight room for 35 mins and then ran 4 miles.
Storms are going to roll in tonight and through the morning so I am going to have to hack the plan and start Saturday with a long trainer ride. It's deja vu all over again!
@ Thom - you have a significant amount of both physical and life stress going on at the moment ... making you highly susceptible to illness. If you feel rundown then err on the side of rest. Better to show up race day a little undertrained than sick or not able to race at all. Keep your head up.
@Thom - hang in there, and thanks for sharing. You're dealing with a lot! Just keep moving forward and do what you can.
@ Paul - 84 degrees in the pool! That's crazy. Way to plan ahead with the fluids.
@ Alan - ouch - I can't imagine swimming with a painful wrist. Glad it started to feel better!
@ Anu - Awesome work!
@ Jay - Hope the race is awesome!
As for me - my Big Day ended up being a Medium Day. My big takeaway is that it is probably not best to spend the day before a big day, race rehearsal, or race for that matter, at a theme park. I earned some SAUs for going, and had some fun, but it did not help with my efforts today. Here's how it went - I spent an hour in the pool, and did the 4 hour bike ride. But when I got off the bike, my lower back was killing me. I ended up cutting the run short. Everything was incredibly slow for me today. I think I need to work on some drills in the pool. I'm finding that I'm inconsistent (some days I'm quick (for me at least) and other days I feel like I'm dragging a lead weight (this happens when I'm tired especially). In short I think I revert to bad habits -- definitely want to work on that. The bike went well, but I didn't eat or drink enough. And somehow I started riding with a random stranger, and my pacing plan went a little by the wayside. It made the 4 hours go by quickly, but may not have been the best thing for me. As for the run...well, I was basically walking. My lower back was incredibly tight and painful when I got off the bike. I need to evaluate my position I guess. I usually don't have that problem, so not sure why today was different. I have a feeling the walking and lack of hydrating yesterday while having fun, may have played into my troubles today. Overall all though I feel decent because my 70.3 went well 2 weeks ago.
Keep up the great work everyone!
I lucked out this morning and the storms came late so I was able to swim 3000 yards first thing, but it cost me 30 mins admin time each way to find a pool open early on Saturday. T1 included a 30min nap. By then the storms were here, so off to the drainer for 4hrs 16 mins. I set my powerbeam to erg mode for the 5x25min intervals and watched Mad Max, Beyond Thunderdome and the Hurt Locker plus a little facebook time. Then another 30min nap in T2. Yeah, I'm old. Did a few honey-do errands and then got out for a 40min run. Didn't make the hour, but she-who-must-be-obeyed wanted me back for dinner. This is only Day 6 of this 21 day build so no rest day tomorrow although I will cut back some.
Competed one of those lovely tests today. 3,000 yards in the pool, 73 miles on the bike and a 6.5 mile run (at 59 mins... I just wasn't in the mood to run another minute!). All told, I feel pretty good. I lost 5lbs, so I'm glad I'm off tomorrow to put all the fluid back in me.
Definitely ready for Timberman next week!
Random thought... at the 3:38 mark on the bike, I was craving protein so bad that my though process went like this: "Oooo, would I love a hamburger right now. No Wait! A steak! Or a giant, Dagwood-like sandwich... Jeez! I feel like my body is eating itself..." It was at that point that I happened to lick the Gatorade off my finger and the next thought was, "Oooo, maybe I can eat my finger!"
Oh the thoughts that go through an endurance athlete's mind!!!!!