Race week again for me...Racine 70.3 on Sunday. This is a "B" race for sure so expect some good workouts from me this week, and minimal taper!!
And the week started with a VERY INTENSE swim...I'm traveling to DC on business and went to the pool at my club in Bethesda for my first swim workout after a week and a half of vacation without a pool. Unbeknownst to me they do a weekly coached workout every Mon/Wed 7-8pm. All are welcome so I joined. It was a lot of fun, and very motivating to swim with other people...it caused me to swim 100's at almost 1:20 pace instead of my usual 1:28-1:30....because I was paranoid of the guy behind be catching me the whole time! It was a tough workout although not impossible…but I REALLY felt it later in the taxi back to the hotel…I was super tired.
Overall ~2000 yd in 45:39, avg 1:25 excluding rest intervals…yes, really, 1:25, I've never even been close to that (although admittedly I missed the warmup). Of course this was the strange Bethesda pool that is actually 23.75yd long, so with the Garmin set to 24 yards it does give me a bit of a boost, pace-wise (maybe 1 sec/100 or so).
Paces per 100 yd – note most of these were on a swim interval but the coach was yelling when to go so I don't know the exact interval. So below I've listed the recoveries in terms of average time.
Warmup (I missed most of it)
300 – missed
150 – 1:26
100 – 1:25
MS1: 6x100 as 75 easy, 25 hard. About 25-30 sec recovery after 75 then about 10-12 sec recovery after each 25.
75's – 1:25, 1:24, 1:24, 1:25, 1:23, 1:24
25's – 1:16, 1:16, 1:18, 1:15, 1:14, 1:16
MS2: 4x50 easy recovery, on the 1:00 SI (~15 sec rest between each 50) – 1:25, 1:28, 1:29, 1:27
MS3: 6x150 on the 3:00 SI, as 100 hard then 50 easy. About 10-11 sec rest after each 100 and about 45 sec after each 50.
100's – 1:20, 1:21, 1:22, 1:23, 1:21, 1:23
50's – 1:29, 1:33, 1:34, 1:33, 1:35, 1:39
Cooldown (supposed to be 200 but I had a goggle leak so had to stop and missed 50)
50 @ 1:26
100 @ 1:32
Comments
So my BTW turned out to be LTW (little tri week) after all. Still I did get a couple of nice long bike rides and totally enjoyed my 4th of July weekend with my wife and kids. It felt right.
Today I got in a hard aquajog session. One thing about aquajogging that I realized today is not that I'm sure it's helping me to stay fit (I have no idea yet), but what it's done for me is to give me an activity alternative to running while my achilles heals. The intervals are incredibly challenging and I am pretty spent afterward. More importantly, I'm less anxious about losing run fitness.
5' WU
7 x 5' HARD (1')
3' CD
Goin swimmin at lunch.
Good work to the rest of the crew!
@ Matt- I did an 8 week coached tri group swim and really enjoyed it. I was the slowest person in the mid-speed lane and it motivated me to go faster to not get lapped in the longer sets.
Back from DC so hit the pool when I got home. Also back to reality on the paces after yesterday's group workout.
#1: 2' @ 1.28IF
#2: 2:30 @ 1.16IF
#3: 1:30 @ 1.135IF
#4: 2:15 @ 1.16IF
For me - Off Day #4! I think I've had more ice cream in the last few days than the whole year combined up to Muncie. This month is 'bring a buddy' to Tae Kwon Do, so I joined my wife and daughter for their Tuesday class a few hours after we landed coming back from Indiana, and felt like a fat blob trying to mimic some of their routines. My daughter is a black belt and can throw round kicks to the top of the kicking pads (i.e., above my head) while I could only lift my leg sideways not even halfway up. I'll be sticking with triathlon, that's for sure!
As caught up as I'm going to get for the week....
Good work everyone. Keep it up (except Paul who deserves a rest after his AG win).
Like Matt, I'm racing Racine HIM this weekend. Basically, did my IM plan workouts Mon-Weds and then will do a mini-taper per the guidance in the Wiki for "inserting a HIM in you IM season". So Monday am had a good 2500 meter swim, and then after work ran 3 x1 mile intervals at 7:10,7:05 and 6:58 pace. Felt really good. Tueday - another 2500 meter swim with 8 x100s and 8 x 50s sprints. Wed- bike intervals. After 20'WU, 1 x8' @260W, 1 x10' @ 260 W, 2 x 6' @ 260W. Tomorrow just doing 45' run in am with stides. In the evening I'm going to see a presentation from Craig Alexander and Dave Scott - should be fun. Fiday- EZ swim. Sat- rest. Sun-race.
Entire workout (233 watts):
@ Kim, Shaughn - nice workouts!
Heat wave here in NorCal! VO2 for me today using my new FTP. Hard, but not too hard. Also, went out and did a little 1/2 jog 1/2 walk session on the TM for 1 mile. No pain. Iced afterward.
Trainer ride:
10' wu
4 x 2' ON at 265 watt
5' CD
Entire workout (157 watts):
Duration: 38:50 (41:17)
Work: 366 kJ
TSS: 48 (intensity factor 0.878)
Norm Power: 194
VI: 1.23
Overall ride 1:33:59, NP 216 (IF 0.849), TSS 113.0. Distance 31.09 miles, avg 19.9mph.
Warmup
- 10' easy – NP: 148 (IF 0.581), VI 1.10, cad 77, 15.6mph
- 3x1'(1') @z5 – AP: 297, 335, 340
Intervals
5.5'(3') @z2 – NP: 181 (IF 0.713), VI 1.01, HR 124/131, cad 82, 18.8mph
8'(2') @z4 – NP: 243 (IF 0.957), VI 1.00, HR 147/154, cad 90, 20.8mph
8'(2') @z4 – NP: 249 (IF 0.979), VI 1.00, HR 158/180, cad 93, 20.6mph
18.5'(2') @z3/4 – NP: 236 (IF 0.931), VI 1.01, HR 152/174, cad 91, 24.1mph
4'(2') @z3 – NP: 206 (IF 0.810), VI 1.01, HR 135/148, cad 88, 20.9mph
8.5'(2') @z3/4 – NP: 237 (IF 0.935), VI 1.01, HR 148/158, cad 93, 25.4mph
Plus a bit of junk time dealing with crowded parts of the lakefront path.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/198136826
@ Enrique - Solid Work!
@Matt - good luck at Racine this weekend. I know you will race smart and do very well!
LOL!
I have about 4 more weeks till I start to build for Austin 70.3. I think that I will take a week at the end of Get Faster and retest all 3 sports.
I am having a powertap installed as we speak. Pretty excited about it. Good luck to those racing this weekend!
9 mi run done in 1:45. No Music (headphones crapped out) No stopping at all. Legs toast and I feel nauseous. Good workout. Lol
Jimmy- nice swim. Congrats on the powertap. You'll love it!
50 mins on the trainer tonight. I'll be doing a few light days then starting my IMCOZ build on Monday.
I hit the pool at lunch today, then after work was able to meet up and run with a former EnduranceNation teammate Aleksandar Tasic who is in town for the race. The guy is a strong runner but his coach's assigned workout was VERY easy as you'll see below. In any case I'm not exactly in top form for Racine but all fitness is "in the bank" at this point.
Fri AM - 2000 yards swim plus 5K run, both easy.
200 WU
4 x 300
2 x 400
1 x 500
CD with some light aqua jogging
Tomorrow I am taking the powertap out for it's first ride. I think that I am just going to observe the data and ride by HR and RPE for the next couple of weeks then test at the end of get faster.
Slightly off topic, I had to pass on IMTX for 2013. It was going to be my first IM and I really liked the idea of it being close to home for RR and general familiarity. Turns out I had a years old family reunion that is scheduled for the exact same day.
So now I am looking at Florida. It is just sooooo far in the future. Kim - You are doing IMFL this year right?
Go get em in Racine matt and bruce.
Jimmy- Yup, I'm doing FL this year. I'm totally psyched yet panicked all at once.... Cross Fit always looked interesting to me but don't know when/how I could ever fit it in with the training schedule.
Good workout today, which surprised me since I thought my legs were going to rebel after the 9mi run last night.
Swim started off good (haven't hit the pool since last Fri. due to travel) Felt fast n smooth, until I had to dart around a couple of clueless old guys in my lane. I try to be nice to old folks, but really? One was on the right side of the lane, the other on the left so it was like dodging traffic cones. Ironically, that was my fastest set of my 6 x 400. (7:38) Was downhill from there. Started off too fast I think, then elbows and left shoulder started to hurt. What's up with elbows hurting? Anyone else get that from swimming?
2 miles on 'mill @ 2% incline @ 12:15 pace (12:22 goal pace) Felt easy this time compared to last week... Weird, but good.
Picked up a buffet of Larabars and Bonk Breakers at Whole Foods (damn that place is pricey!). Figured I should see how Bonk Breakers work for me since they are on the IM courses. I'll also be starting with my Infinit tomorrow to start getting used to that. I must have selected light flavor cuz I needed 3 scoops in one bottle to get decent flavor. I think I did that on purpose so I could get more calories in 1 bottle for IM. 4 scoops per bottle will prob taste better. I'm hoping I didn't OD on the protein in my formula. I have been using Accelerade and its worked well for me so I figured I'd mimic the ratio of carbs/protein. If it doesn't work, I'll have 2 bags of it up for auction or I'll have to become a mad scientist and start mixing other stuff in there!
Fri a.m. easy run : app.strava.com/runs/13265430
Fri. p.m. swim: app.strava.com/swims/13300267
Mentally prepping for my 12' of "ON" time in the morning
Hit the pool after work tonight. I did a RR swim (2200 yd) and finished in 41:21. I'm very happy with that. I wasn't really pushing as hard as I would in a race. And I wasn't wearing a wetsuit. This is totally in line with my expectations. RR bike ride in the morning.
@ Kim and Enrique, Strong work! Keep Moving Forward !
Sat AM ... 52 miles in 2:36 with the Azalea City Cyclists in Valdosta , Ga. Nothing steady about this ride. It was all crawling and hauling. We started with about 20 riders and finished with 6. I was hanging by a thread at the end. Went to run after and only did 3.54 miles and was walk-running the last mile with my heart racing.
@ Shaughn- Way to drop the bikers and Paul- Way to hang on to the bikers!
Solo bike today as I needed to get home by 9:30 for family obligation.
Z4 Intervals:
8' @ .997IF
10' @ .94IF
12' @ .95IF
10' @ .937IF
Z3: 38:41 @ .766IF (oops, a little low)
Z2: 35:34 @ .704 IF
Overall 2:25, 35.85mi, .812IF, 1,870ft gain
I think overall IF is a bit lower, as was the avg speed, vs. when I ride with the group but that is probably due to the rest in between intervals. I def. had to work for my Z4 and even the Z3.
Sprint race tomorrow... we'll see if the legs will do anything for me on the bike.