Home January 2012 OS Group Discussion-January 2012 OS

WEEK 14 WORKOUTS (not incl. FTP tests!)

Another day on vacation, another open water swim.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/164179150

Now for a massage!!

 

Comments

  • Short "race report" here, as I ended up in 3 competitive events on Saturday at the New England Multisport Expo, and much of it will serve as the benchmarks for this week's tests.

    Morning run: what was billed as 'slightly less than a 5k' was actually a 2.8 mi run. Went off with the front group, held on for about .25mi, and settled into my own pace, which surprisingly was sub-6:00. Held a pretty constant pace until about 2mi in, where the pace started to drift up just slightly. Finished 2.8mi in 16:30, for a Vdot of 54.8, slightly exceeding my previous Vdot (tested indoors on the treadmill) of 54.6. I'm really happy that I didn't see a drop from indoor/treadmill to an outdoor run, like I have in the past. Very happy with the effort.

    Mid-day swim: team was signed up for a 4 x 300yd relay swim, and needed to go to the bullpen for an injured swimmer, so I got called up to anchor the leg. Very little warmup, and we were going off the blocks (haven't done that since I was 12!!!), so I just cranked down my goggles, and hoped for the best. Told my teammates I'd swim it like it was a 50, and hold on for dear life. Dove in, immediately lost my goggles (bad memories of childhood swim meets), yanked them back up, but they were filled with water and I couldn't see a darn thing. Started just swimming as fast as I could to get it over with, while the chlorine just stung the heck out of my eyes. I was able to hold my 'sprint-like' effort for a little over 125 yards before noticing that I really needed to breathe. Sacrificed a few flip turns for the extra breath at the wall, and finished strong. Ended up with a 4:33 300, for an average pace of 1:31. Not too bad.

    Afternoon Computrainer bike TT: they do the Central Park loop, 6.03 mi with two good hills. Got on, warmed up for 15 minutes, and it was time to go. Started crushing it right out of the gates, as I had two local teammates in the same heat, and didn't want to offer up any hope :-). I had the PT going, but wasn't looking down, just reading off the wall in front of me on the CT watts. Rode the TT like I stole something, hit the last climb (to the line), and was averaging 296 watts, so I stood up, bore down, and kicked for the line. I didn't get the average up over 300 (ended at 298), but I did throw down a time that I think put me in pretty good position overall (results to be announced, but I beat two teammates I don't usually compete with). On download, powertap showed an average power of 271, NP of 274 (which is amazing, considering the massive variation in power I had on the ride). I would have preferred the CT numbers, but I'm still pegging an indoor FTP of north of 250 from this ride, which I can't complain about. Now I need to get a test outside!
  • Mike- Nice racing and great way to mix up the training.

    Matt- Sounds rough....

    Did my swim TT today. Yuk. 22:15 for 1000 which is about a 2:14/100 pace. Last year I was 21:24. Close enough. Time to get those numbers down now!
  • Hey, anyone working out this week??

    Another humid and hilly effort on vacation in Jamaica:
    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/164550616
  • Hey Matt - Nice run.  I always enjoy a run while on vacation.  They just seem more carefree.

    I'm back in the game.  Since I'm now 2 weeks in the plan behind everybody, I did the bike VO2 workout.  WU - 20' with 5 spin ups. MS1: 10 x 1'ON/1'OFF @ 330W/100W.  I was able to hit the work intervals but really needed to back the rest intevals down to get enough recovery.  Even with that, my HR was still about 10 bpm higher on both the work and rest intervals vs. before I got the flu. So I'm still working my way back.  MS2: 1x16' @ 230W and HR was 160, also about 10 bpm higher than before.  Anyway, I am very glad to be back working out. Then after work I went for a swim.  1500 yards.  Worked on my stroke.  Got my golf score for 50 yds down to 87 (50" + 37 strokes).  Importantly, I didn't feel tired or worn out.  A good sign.

  • Just a quickie update from me. Because of the achilles issue and Bruce's recent experiences I did decide to cut back and let the heel heal. So I haven't run since Tuesday of LAST week and I've only been doing modified (shortened FTP type) bike workouts. I also have been doing eccentric calf exercises, light stretching, and icing. So far so good. Very little pain in the heel now. When I feel zero pain, I will try doing the elliptical for 30-40 minutes and see how it feels. If zero pain, then advance to some jog/walks.

    Boy, it's when you're injured that you really appreciate NOT being injured!

    Keep up the good work you all!
  • Enrique - Smart move to let it heal.  Man, can I relate to your comment about appreciating not being injured.  I think we triathletes often forgot how lucky we are to have the bodies and motivation to do the multi-sport events.  A real blessing.

  • Another couple of workouts whole on vacation.
    Pre-lunch open water swim: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/165028798
    And pre-dinner run, again with hills and humidity: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/165071167
    No running tomorrow…massage instead!
  • Another couple of workouts whole on vacation.
    Pre-lunch open water swim: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/165028798
    And pre-dinner run, again with hills and humidity: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/165071167
    No running tomorrow…massage instead!
  • @ Matt - sounds like you are having a great vacation.  Enjoy!!

    I did the bike VO2 intervals again today.  Total:60' @ 203 avg watts.  WU:20' @ 170W with 6 spin ups.

    MS1: 12 x 1' ON/OFF @ 330W/100W.  I still took the rest intervals way down to 100W but my HR dropped  much lower than it did even just this past Tuesday.  So I think I'm gaining strength back after being off 2 weeks with the flu.  MS3: 1x 9' @ 230W, 1 x 5' @ 250W. I pushed at the end to just see how I felt.  No too bad. 

    Later in the day  I had PT on my heel.  My PT said I could start running again.  YEAH!!  but I got warned to not go crazy.  Just a couple of miles every other day @ Z1 pace.  No hills.  Then lots of ice.  Okay, okay I said to her.  At least it is running again.

  • traveling in Tucson on Wednesday, I rented a bike and headed up Mt. Lemmon. What a frickin terrific ride! 2.5 hours, with a sustained 14 mile climb (I only had time to go halfway up, to Windy Point) averaging 5%. Turning around and heading downhill was a thrill, as you basically get to descend constantly without so much as touching your brakes! Phenomenal ride.

    Today, knocked out an FTP test. No change from pre-VO2 (not a surprise, the number never moves for me during this part of the program). Happy to be able to push out a good test, as sometimes I end up frying myself in the VO2 phase and taking a few weeks to recover the ability to do FTP work.

    Tomorrow, the swim clinic with P!
  • I think the pre-lunchtime swim was my last vacation workout: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/165325031
    Back to the bike in my basement tomorrow!!
  • One last run in Jamaica.
    Given I'll be riding late tonight then running 90' early tomorrow morning I decided to replace today's brick run with a morning run slightly longer than the scheduled 15' brick. Very hot to run at this time of day so I wore a hat…not sure that helped…
    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/165553827
  • @ Matt - Sure sounds like you've had a super vacation.

    Ok I am officially back up to strength on the bike. Did a 3 hour, 15 minute ride this am followed by 30' swim to shake out the lactate acid.

    WU: 20' with 6 spin ups .

    MS1: 12 x 1' ON/OFF @ 330W/100W.  My HR was 158-166 on the ON and was dropping back to 145-150 on the OFF.  That is about what it was doing before I got sick.

    MS2: 2 x 12' (2') @ 220W/170W.  HR was in the 152-158 range.

    MS3: 2 x 60' spin class.  No power meter on the spin bikes but I rode both classes at HR in the 143-155 range.   The last 1/2 hour was uncomfortable.

    Also, I ran a mile last night.  Only very slight pain in my heel. Then did 10' on the elliptical machine with no pain at all, so I may start doing the elliptical in place of the runs for a few workouts.   Iced the heel when I got home.  Best of all, no heel pain at all this am walking, biking or swimming.

  • First bike in a week, a couple of hours after landing from my vacation. I got a late start and my wife was stressed out about unpacking and setting up for Easter etc so I had to cut it short. I ended up doing abbreviated z4 intervals of 2x12'(3') then z3 of 2x9'(2'). Unsurprisingly the numbers are very strong given the shorter intervals.

    Overall 1:00:09 @ 218 watts, IF 0.893. Warmup 10' then:

    - 12'(3') @z4 – NP 242 (IF 0.993), HR 140/154, cad 86
    - 12'(3') @z4 – NP 246 (IF 1.009), HR 153/165, cad 87
    - 9'(2') @z3 – NP 218 (IF 0.895), HR 146/154, cad 88
    - 9' @z3 – NP 223 (IF 0.913), HR 153/165, cad 87

    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/165777069

    Big 90' run tomorrow then a massive brunch…
  • Frickin' awesome brick this am. 1 hr Z3, followed by 2 mi treadmill run, focused on turnover and technique. The run felt spectacular. I was holding 6:00/mi feeling like I could go all day. Best I've ever felt at that pace on the mill.

    Did the swim clinic with Patrick mid-day, which was great. Picked up a lot of good stuff. All around good day.
  • Good long run prior to a massive and truly uncalled for Easter brunch at the Peninsula. The workout called for 90' including z4 intervals of 2x3.5'(3') and 2x7'(5'). However, to make it easier I just ran 4x7'(4') for the main set (actually I extended the last interval to 10' since I was running with my back to the wind! I will confess that the bulk of the intervals were run with the wicked north wind at my back, although not all were that way.

    Overall 12.85 mi in 1:30:01 (7:00 pace). A few stops for the tunnels and some water. Current z4=6:45, z3=6:52, z2=7:09.

    Warmup – 10' @6:37

    Main Set
    4x 7' @z4 – 6:35, 6:34, 6:43, 6:39 (last one was 10')
    (4' recoveries – 7:30, 8:00, 8:19, 8:31)

    "Remainder time"
    - 4' @7:43 – an extended recovery after all the interval work
    - 21' @7:02 – the first half of this was ~7:09 then I worked it down over the last 7 minutes
    - 1' @7:59
    - 7' @6:40 – some nice z4 to finish strong!!

    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/165957344
  • @ Mike and Matt - Awesome work guys.  So good to hear that you are both feelin strong.  You guys are going to kick some butt this summer.

    I had a good day too.  I did a nice 1500 yard swim this am before church.  Felt strong.  It was my 5th day of swimming this week.   Then later in the day, I ran 2 miles with NO PAIN in my heel.  I was only going @ 9:15/mile pace but it felt fantastic to run again with no pain.  I wanted to keep going but I made myself stop so not to over do it.  Just finished icing it.  I'm traveling to Phoenix tomorrow so I'll let it rest and maybe run again Tuesday or Wednesday. 

  • Bruce, so glad to hear that you're getting in pain-free running! Very smart to ease back in to it. Keep it up!

  • Have been staying on plan, but decided not to test this past week since my cycling has been lacking consistency since the last test (@ 8 wks or so). Did the run test and VDOT was the same -- no surprise, as I didn't move up much from VDOT phase last year either.

    Had a good weekend of training all the same. Decided to do the bke within the context of a smallish group ride on some local hills. Ended up with about 40 miles in a little under 3 hrs (climbing is HARD .. I want to go back to the velodrome or the flats!). Nothing like pushing z5 watts going uphill @ 5-6 mph.

    Backed it up with a 10 mi run on Sunday in contemplation of a half marathon to end my OS.

    Legs trashed this AM and very happy for a day off!
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