Week of July 25th

Shaughn Simmons · July 25, 2011 2:08PM

Hi Peeps!

Got all of the weekend workouts in, parts were grueling but pushed through it....

Did the Mon swim early this a.m. and just finished off the 2 X 1.5s at lunch on the dead mill

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/101714054

I read all the posts from Matt S., Matt A, Jane and Kim! Everyone is rocking!

SS

Jane Hargraft · July 26, 2011 8:22AM

@shaughn, what's your race?

well, this is it. last worikouts before travel yesterday and today - 1200M/32min swim, last night - very easy pace. then 45 min bike trying to stay in Z3 for the MS (not easy to keep it that easy) and the same for 30 min run Z2 for 3'x3 - um I as in Z2 in the w/u.

oh, and Seattle job people want to see me again on Aug 3 - so off I go again. Jeese, I didn't spend this much time dating Elly before I decided i was in love with him!

workworks!!

Jane

MattAaronson · July 26, 2011 9:55PM

Big workout day today. I'm back on the training plan. I dropped back into the HIM adv plan, resetting to week 6 given the new Sep 11 race date. Of course there is Steelhead on Aug 14 but I'll sort of wing it with a mini-taper for that. In any case week 6 is a RR week so actually I decided to do week #7 both this week and next.

Then in an auspicious re-start to formal training, I had to miss the very first workouts on Monday (run 60 / swim 60) due to business travel. But I'm back with a vengence today. I did the run this morning in DC then got the swim done after flying back to Chicago.

The run was to include 2x10' @z4 but I gave myself an extra 10' z4 interval as punishment for losing Monday's swim workout.

Overall 8.69 miles in 1:00:49, 6:59 pace. Elapsed time 1:05:16 due to recovery breaks after each 10' z4 interval. Some high HR stats today, probably due to the humidity in DC. I also managed to keep up a decent cadence.

You really need to see the elevation profile of the route…click on the Garmin link. It is crazy.

Z2=7:19, z3=7:01, z4=6:53
Warmup: 10' @ 7:09
3x10'(5') @z4: 6:36, 6:46, 6:46
(5' recoveries: 7:27, 7:41, 7:29)
"Remainder time": 4' @ 6:44

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/101889658

Then back to Chicago to swim. I should have known better than to do a hard swim workout after a big run, since typically I get some cramping in the pool when I go in that order. But I tried anyway.

Also I was a bit off the reservation on the swim workout -- the plan called for a 3400 yd endurance workout but I really wanted to do the 4100 yd workout that I was forced to cut short on Friday. I got through 3600 yd before my calf cramped up so badly that I had to stop in the middle of a lap. That 4100-yard workout is my freakin' nemesis. I think I might try it again on Friday. I just have to complete it. Just once.

Overall 3600 yd in 1:01:21, 1:42/100yd (1 sec/100yd faster than the attempt last Friday when I got through 3700 yd before running out of time).

Paces:

W/U 300: 1:41

MS1
3 x 400 (20): 1:44, 1:44, 1:42
4 x 300 (15): 1:41, 1:42, 1:43, 1:42
5 x 200 (10): 1:41, 1:44, 1:38, 1:41, 1:50

Some miscounts on the 200's. The second one was 250, the fourth was 150 and the fifth was ~58 where I stopped partway through due to the cramping.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/102012913

Cheers,
Matt

Shaughn Simmons · July 27, 2011 11:17AM

@ Matt - hell of an elevation profile there for 60 minute run! Nice work holding the line and hitting the paces on that one!

@Jane - I will race a local HIM this year on 9/11 called the Grand Prairie HIM (Dallas Ft Worth area) shold be about 100 degrees......so hoping experience pays off on this one. Had to move my family from Austin to Dallas this year due to a job change so, no IM this time around........

Did my Wed brick this morning hitting all targets:

Bike: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/102120106

Run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/102120111

Entire workout (209 watts):

Duration: 1:00:27

Work: 757 kJ

TSS: 71.3 (intensity factor 0.859)

Norm Power: 253

Distance: 19.708 mi

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 444 209 watts

Heart Rate: 83 158 137 bpm

Cadence: 30 139 81 rpm

Speed: 0 30.6 19.5 mph

Temperature: 78.8 82.4 82.2 Fahrenheit

Jane Hargraft · July 27, 2011 2:28PM

@shaughn, 100*f. Wow! At the airport now, v excited!

Shaughn Simmons · July 28, 2011 9:11AM

Good luck to Jane and Elly!! Crush it and have fun!

High humidity this morning. 90%+ and 85 degrees!

Had to stop twice to refill due to water loss. I stopped the watch both times……..

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/102325122

1 sec faster on the pace vs. last week despite the tougher conditions……………

Moving forward…

MattAaronson · July 28, 2011 9:41AM

I did a "triathlon" yesterday! The schedule was a bike 60 + run 30 brick workout. But I did a "no-no" and made up Monday's lost swim at lunchtime. So it was swim at lunch then an evening brick. Tough couple of workout days but this is a key training week for me.

SWIM

Overall 2900 yards in 47:26. Interestingly this is identical to a workout I did back on May 30. On that date the identical workout took me 50:20. So a pretty amazing improvement over a few months. Every single split was faster than the last time I did the workout.

Paces:

Warmup 500 – 1:46

6x150(30) as 75/75 sprint/easy – 1:37, 1:40, 1:38, 1:39, 1:37, 1:38

8x100(30) as 50/50 sprint/easy – 1:36, 1:36, 1:36, 1:35, 1:36, 1:37, 1:37, 1:38

8x50(15) as 25/25 sprint/easy – 1:32, 1:32, 1:34, 1:34, 1:34, 1:34, 1:36, 1:34

4x50(30) as sprint – 1:24, 1:24, 1:24, 1:28

Cooldown 100 – 1:39

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/102189464

BIKE

Great workout last night. I lost 5lb in sweat. But felt great to hit the trainer again and get in a quality workout. I'm dialed up an extra set of z5 intervals. Makes me strong…

Overall 1:00:03, IF=0.893

W/U 10' then 3x3'(1') @z4

z5 intervals, 120%=298

6x30": 333, 339, 337, 336, 342, 349

6x30": 353, 347, 356, 349, 351, 355

6x30": 334, 348, 337, 334, 347, 349

6x30": 355, 350, 346, 348, 342, 366

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/102309782

RUN

On the run I started slow but quickly built up to a very fast run. After the first mile I did 0.75 @z3 then 2.5 at an accelerating z4 pace.

Overall 4.22 miles in 29:23, 6:57 pace.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
1	00:07:33	1.01	07:27
2	00:05:14	0.75	07:01
3	00:04:46	0.70	06:51
4	00:04:58	0.74	06:41
5	00:06:50	1.02	06:41

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/102308446

Now onto the long run today!!

kimmydct · July 28, 2011 10:11AM

@Matt- Great work this week! You're killing it! I hear ya on the swimming cramps. I usually get them in my feet towards the end of longer workouts. My toes go in all sorts of crazy directions. Ouch!

@Shaugh- Good for you for working out in those temps! I was at Dallas airport yest. and it was HOT!!

Due to travel, so far only got in 1 bike interval+ short run workout. Did a spin class Tues. night since some thunderstorms rode in at the precise time I was planning to ride! Did the best I could with the intervals in the class and some HRM issues:

Z4 (155-165 bpm)
10' avg bpm= 151
34' avg bpm = 153

Run 1 mi= 11:11, avg bpm 149

Longest run of the plan tonight... thinking 10-11 mi. 3 weeks til Timberman! Help!

kimmydct · July 28, 2011 7:20PM

Long run tonight 10-ish miles in about 2 hrs. Running was good but had some "nature calling" issues and got a decent upper body workout swatting bugs. It was rough, but done!

rodfunction · July 28, 2011 7:40PM

I kinda fell off the earth for a bit. I apologize!! Today was a great run. I am finally dialing in the water/salt intake. Able to get down 4-6oz per mile without out getting bloated. Thursday long run before last RR.

total 90', 11 miles, 8:34 avg

1) 20' @ 9:05
2) 20'(5) @ 07:39
3) 15(5) @ 07:37, goal was 7:20 but had a couple hills and couldn't get there
4) remainder of run @ 8:30

Easy run in the morning, swim in the afternoon, then pack for RR on Saturday. Steelhead here I come!!

MattAaronson · July 28, 2011 9:14PM

Crap, that run did not feel great tonight. Too humid. I felt like I was pushing reasonably hard but my paces were just not up to the usual par. Workout called for 120' with 3x12'(5') @z3 then a bunch of z2 and z1 stuff. Since I have Steelhead 70.3 in a couple of weeks I planned to modify to be 90' and throw in an extra 1-mile z3 interval after the 3x12' rather than do all the z2/z1 stuff.

Totals: 12.52 miles in 1:30:01, avg. pace 7:11. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/102453051

Z2=7:19, z3=7:01, z4=6:53

Warmup: 10' @ 7:17

5'@z4: 6:48

4' break to wait and meet up with someone, then re-warmup 7': 7:28 (and unexpectedly ran into fellow-EN-er Ed Gross during this time)

3x12'(5') @z3: 7:02, 7:01, 7:00 (btw 7:02 is a fail)
(5' recoveries: 7:40, 7:35, 7:37)

1x7'(3') @z3: 6:58, recovery 7:31

Home stretch: 5' @ 6:50

Interestingly I re-checked the data from June 16 when I did this identical run workout. That night I ran it at an average pace of 7:02 and really crushed the interval paces. Of course in my Garmin comments I noted it was 75 and beautiful weather. Also that night my average HR was 171 and tonight it was 168, so I was probably just not pushing as hard tonight. Too f-ing humid.

rodfunction · July 29, 2011 8:18AM

Matt I am also doing steelhead. When are you getting there? I read the athletes guide and it says optional. Ike turn in on Saturday. Not sure what to think of that. I would prefer to use it. Less worry on race morning. What does everyone else think?

MattAaronson · July 29, 2011 9:30AM

Where did you get the athlete guide? I don't see the 2011 version posted yet. My schedule is completely TBD. The whole reason I'm doing the race is that I'm starting a vacation with my family in a rental house in Three Oaks, which is about 30 minutes from the race. So I expect I'll head up to the race site on Saturday and check in and drop my bike (assuming we need to drop bikes on Saturday) then get out of there. I'm not going to show up at 2:30pm and have the check-in turn into a 2-hour ordeal with all the lines and waiting. I did that at Racine and don't want to repeat that fiasco. If it is optional to drop bikes on Saturday I'll probably do it anyway (unless rain is forecast) since it is less hassle to deal with on race morning.

kimmydct · July 29, 2011 5:08PM

Swim today. 3 x 400; 3 x 300, 2 x 200.

Massage afterwards. Ready for 3 1/2 hr. bike tomorrow am!

@ Shawn- Welcome back!

Jane Hargraft · July 29, 2011 11:34PM

Hey all, so Elly and I are here in Calgary. Looks like the weather is going to be great for the HIM. it's a fair course. Recced the swim bike and run today. Lake is freezing. Race director claimed 62f, we think it's closer to 55 do we bought neoprene caps for the swim. I'll tell you how the test goes tomorrow. had a great swim yesteray in the talisman centre 50m pool (one if two). A very beautiful facility. Very worried about temp of lake and effect on swim.

drove bike course. Long gradual hills up fir 30k, then screaming down for 30 k then 15k up then 15k down. Foothills of the Rockies. Beautiful and a fair course.

Run is v much like our regular run at home- complete with big hill. Piece of cake.

Wish me luck. Bike drop off and swim test tomorrow.

MattAaronson · July 30, 2011 11:07AM

@ Jane -- Don't worry about water temp. You'll be fine. Chill out today, and eat a big lunch including lots of carbs. Visualize yourself digging very deep on the run tomorrow, thinking about your "one thing". And BEST OF LUCK!!

MattAaronson · July 30, 2011 12:27PM

Very nice Saturday ride, including fellow EN teammate Ed Gross. We drove about an hour outside of Chicago to find some flat, straight and empty farm roads. The bonus was really good pavement condition on almost all of the route. It required a 4am wake-up to it was worth it for sure. As with the first time doing any route, we did have to stop a bunch of times to look at the map / iphone and make sure we were not too lost!!

My numbers look pretty decent and I hit all my zones. The flat and straight roads are just perfect for FTP intervals. Very low VI of 1 for all but one of the intervals. Of course the real test is if I can hit the numbers during tomorrow's ABP ride.

Overall workout ended up 56.76 miles in 2:52:38. So we were 7.5' short on time, but not a huge deal. Elevation gain of 997 feet. NP 215, TSS 204.6, IF 0.867. I suspect the HR data is unreliable for the first z4 interval.

Warmup: 20' – NP: 117w (IF 0.47), VI 1.11, cadence: 68, HR: 124 (max 156), 14.3mph

z4 Intervals – target 236-248w
Interval 1: 10' @z4 – NP: 250w (IF 1.006), VI 1, cadence: 86, HR: 162 (max 182), 24.4mph
Interval 2: 12' @z4 – NP: 253w (IF 1.022), VI 1, cadence: 91, HR: 155 (max 163), 23.9mph
Interval 3: 15' @z4 – NP: 254w (IF 1.023), VI 1, cadence: 93, HR: 156 (max 161), 23.1mph
Interval 4: 12' @z4 – NP: 251w (IF 1.012), VI 1, cadence: 91, HR: 156 (max 163), 22.9mph

z3 Intervals – target 198-211w
Interval 6: 12' @z3 – NP: 207w (IF 0.835), VI 1, cadence: 86, HR: 139 (max 144), 20.2mph
Interval 7: 14' @z3 – NP: 205w (IF 0.825), VI 1, cadence: 87, HR: 139 (max 146), 21.8mph
Interval 8: 15' @z3 – NP: 211w (IF 0.853), VI 1, cadence: 89, HR: 144 (max 149), 21.8mph
Interval 9: 9.5' @z3 – NP: 216w (IF 0.869), VI 1.01, cadence: 87, HR: 137 (max 146), 19.0mph
Interval 10: 13' @z3 – NP: 215w (IF 0.868), VI 1, cadence: 86, HR: 144 (max 150), 24.0mph
Interval 11: 7' @z3 – NP: 213w (IF 0.861), VI 1, cadence: 87, HR: 145 (max 152), 21.0mph

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/102804711

Cheers,
Matt

kimmydct · July 30, 2011 12:38PM

@Jane- My first tri this year was about 55F and I survived... You may want to think about booties if they allow them.

3.5hr. bike today- 42.5mi. http://ridewithgps.com/routes/462697
21' min. WU ended being Z4 as the ride started with hills. (Z4 155-165)
12' - avg bpm 160
12' avg bpm 155
10' easy- avg bpm 140

Decided to do remainder of ride Z3 instead of some Z3/Z2 but ended up being more like a high Z2
51'- avg. bpm 144
1:36- avg bpm 146

25' run- 2.21mi

Tried a higher concentration of my Accelerade- total or 5 scoops for 2 bottles, then stopped at store for a bottle of water to mix up the stronger bottle. Worked pretty well, but I think I'll rely more on GU for the RR and the race as I don't want to have to stop and play bartender on the bike course mixing stuff up! Was getting a little hungry towards the end.

Jane Hargraft · July 30, 2011 10:07PM

@kim and @matt - thanks for the encouragement and the advice. Swim test fine today. it's chilly, there is no doubt, but after about 8 minutes I got used to the temperature. Second drive of the race course on the way home. Just reviewing my zones and execution plan. Will post then bed. 3:00 am start to catch 4:30 bus to start. 6:45 start for me. 6:32 for Elly.

MattAaronson · July 31, 2011 9:03PM

Good hard brick workout today -- 2:15 ABP ride followed by a 30' brick at z3/z4. I did the ride on some local roads leaving from my house so there was about a 25' (each way) period of high-VI city riding. So the workout quality could have been better, but overal the z3 work was good and I was done by 9am, so hard to beat.

The bike overall was 42.83 miles in 2:14:28, IF 0.749 (OUCH that is low), TSS 123.8.

W/U in the city

- 21' – AP: 62, NP: 69 (IF 0.279), VI 1.12, cadence: 74, HR: 94 (max 111), 14.9mph

- 8'('2) trying for (but not achieving) z2 – AP: 157, NP: 168 (IF 0.677), VI 1.07, cadence: 79, HR: 113 (max 126), 19.1mph

z3 intervals – target 198-211w

Interval 1: 26'(2') @z3 – AP 198, NP: 202 (IF 0.814), VI 1.02, cadence: 83, HR: 134 (max 155), 21.1mph

Interval 2: 10'(2.5') @z3 – AP 212, NP: 212 (IF 0.855), VI 1, cadence: 85, HR: 137 (max 145), 21.5mph

Interval 3: 30'(3') @z3 – AP 212, NP: 212 (IF 0.856), VI 1, cadence: 85, HR: 137 (max 146), 21.9mph

Interval 4: 7' @z3 – AP 206, NP: 207 (IF 0.835), VI 1, cadence: 81, HR: 133 (max 141), 20.2mph

City riding back to home

10' – AP 146, NP: 159 (IF 0.642), VI 1.09, cadence: 79, HR: 115 (max 134), 17.0mph

12.5' – AP: 133, NP: 144 (IF 0.58), VI 1.08, cadence: 73, HR: 106 (max 120), 15.5mph

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/103087887

And as for the run, well, typical. Started slow and finished at a fast pace. Overall 4.21 miles at in 29:10, avg pace 6:55.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
1	00:07:18	1.02	07:08
2	00:05:13	0.76	06:54
3	00:04:51	0.68	07:07
4	00:04:54	0.73	06:41
5	00:06:51	1.02	06:44

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/103088889

Cheers,

Matt

kimmydct · August 1, 2011 11:13AM

@Matt- Looks like a good workout & consistent.

Did an open water swim yesterday w/o wetsuit. Am thinking of doing HIM w/o as I am faster than with it. (Go figure) I feel like I can actually breathe! I estimateI did about 1/2mi. Just trying to mentally handle open water vs. pool better so I can relax more and swim more "normal" in a race.

2 x 1 mi Z4 on the treadmill. 9:55 and 10:34.

Week of July 25th

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