Swim: 11,350
Bike: 100
Run: 41
Well this week continued another positive week for running and swimming but another mildly depressing streak of biking. I got in 100ish miles this week in two rides but I just don't feel like I have the same power I did a month ago. I'm thinking that it may be time for a week or two of just active recovery to get my legs back underneath me before I start ramping it up for my big fall/winter race (that I just signed up for on Monday...).
Got in some great swim workouts, which is always a good thing since that's my main weakness. I've been gradually dropping the times I do my intervals on - for example, If I do 15 x 100 yards I leave for each 100 on 1:40 intervals (so I leave at :00, :40, :20, :00 etc going by the pool lap timer) - which just shortens the amount of recovery I get and thereby makes me faster (hopefully). I don't feel like I've gotten faster per se but I can hold faster times for longer and longer efforts. I still can't go under 30 seconds for a 50yarder and I doubt I can go much under 1:15 on a 100 but I can hold under 1:25/100 yd pace for over 1000 yards. Strange.
The running this week (no workouts) culminated in a 22 mile run up in Davidson on Sunday. Much, MUCH hotter this week so that made the run feel much more difficult than the 21 miler felt last week. I definitely feel like I'm improving my endurance and building a solid run/long run base for November...
Speaking of November, on Monday I decided to register for Beach 2 Battleship Ironman Distance Tri (not technically an "Ironman" but for all intents and purposes it's the same thing) on November 7 (2009!) in Wilmington, NC. The expense was justified as I just won't do the two races I was thinking about doing in late September/early October and I just really wanted to do it. At a certain point you have to stop over analyzing and worrying and just get over yourself. A training partner said it best in an email when I was asking him what the course was like (he completed the race last year - and came in 5th overall) by saying "Don't chew on it too much. Clearly you want to do it, so do it. You can handle the distance no problem." That pretty much said it in a nutshell for me. So I bit the bullet and registered. It will be tough to stay movitated to keep training and putting in big volume that late in the year but I know another guy doing that race so we'll be able to get in long rides/runs together in preparation for the distance. It'll be fun and challenging. I'll see how far I can push myself...
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Running time
Swim: 7650 yds
Bike: 113 mi
Run: 52.4 mi
Well, it looks like I've really started to hit my stride running-wise. I've been feeling better and better on my runs so the increased run volume is starting to see some results. One of my biggest issues with running has always been a lack of run endurance so I started trying to change that when I was in Louisville with an 18 mile long run. This week I even incorporated (albeit unplanned) a 21 mile run and next week I'll have 22. I'm basically training (in terms of my long run, anyway) for a marathon but I'm not going to actually DO a marathon until December (Thunder Road). I'm just trying to log some solid miles so I can get back to being a stronger runner. I want to go under 1:30 in my half-ironman run portion. Preferably well under...
The biking has gone down every week since Louisville and I haven't had a long ride in a good while but that's ok as I think I've been pretty tired after the three tough weeks of biking (culminating in Louisville's suffer fest). Next week I'll pick it up again with a trip to the Georgia mountains (first time in the mountains since January!).
Swimming also took a hit this week but that was mostly accidental. I'll make up for it these next 2 weeks. Not much of a good workout this week unfortunately; no key sessions in the pool...
Bike: 113 mi
Run: 52.4 mi
Well, it looks like I've really started to hit my stride running-wise. I've been feeling better and better on my runs so the increased run volume is starting to see some results. One of my biggest issues with running has always been a lack of run endurance so I started trying to change that when I was in Louisville with an 18 mile long run. This week I even incorporated (albeit unplanned) a 21 mile run and next week I'll have 22. I'm basically training (in terms of my long run, anyway) for a marathon but I'm not going to actually DO a marathon until December (Thunder Road). I'm just trying to log some solid miles so I can get back to being a stronger runner. I want to go under 1:30 in my half-ironman run portion. Preferably well under...
The biking has gone down every week since Louisville and I haven't had a long ride in a good while but that's ok as I think I've been pretty tired after the three tough weeks of biking (culminating in Louisville's suffer fest). Next week I'll pick it up again with a trip to the Georgia mountains (first time in the mountains since January!).
Swimming also took a hit this week but that was mostly accidental. I'll make up for it these next 2 weeks. Not much of a good workout this week unfortunately; no key sessions in the pool...
Monday, July 13, 2009
More of the same
Swim: 9600 yds
Bike: 151 mi
Run: 35 mi
This week didn't have anything too special with the big day being on Sunday with a 51 mile ride and a 10 mile brick run. That run felt pretty awful and I'm not really sure why; although I think it may have to do with not enough water on the bike/not eating enough before and during. I'm going to get a little bit of a rest this week in terms of intensity (hopefully) with the only hard bike day being on Wednesday during another one of the Lowe's Speedway Time Trial series where I will go for the 25-29 Age Group course record (21:48, not that impressive actually). It should definitely be manageable given that last time I rode a 22:15 the day after a very tough bike ride. I might have a run workout later in the week but that will depend on how my legs feel after the bigger run mileage the past 2 weeks.
Bike: 151 mi
Run: 35 mi
This week didn't have anything too special with the big day being on Sunday with a 51 mile ride and a 10 mile brick run. That run felt pretty awful and I'm not really sure why; although I think it may have to do with not enough water on the bike/not eating enough before and during. I'm going to get a little bit of a rest this week in terms of intensity (hopefully) with the only hard bike day being on Wednesday during another one of the Lowe's Speedway Time Trial series where I will go for the 25-29 Age Group course record (21:48, not that impressive actually). It should definitely be manageable given that last time I rode a 22:15 the day after a very tough bike ride. I might have a run workout later in the week but that will depend on how my legs feel after the bigger run mileage the past 2 weeks.
Monday, July 6, 2009
To Louisville and back
Swim: 8200 yds
Bike: 195 mi
Run: 38 mi
I took the early part of this week pretty easy before heading up to Louisville, KY with Scott, Brad, and John to tour the Ironman Louisville bike and run routes. The race itself takes place on August 30th; thankfully I am not signed up to do it but the three others are getting ready to destroy their bodies in 8 weeks.
I did, however, take part in the last week of the Tuesday night track events put on by Charlotte Track and Triathlon Club. My plan was to race the mile and the 400 just to see where I was compared to last year when I managed a 4:56 mile (I didn't officially race the 400 but I raced in the 800 and just did 1 lap in :58 or :59). Last year I had been doing a lot more speed work and this year I have done almost zero. I just didn't know what to expect but I managed a 4:52 mile and a 55.92 400. Not bad, all things considered. I paced the mile poorly and am fairly confident I could go sub 4:50 with more even lap splits. For the 400 I was just tired from racing the mile and died a little bit in the middle before finishing strong. I was really happy and surprised that I could do these times with no specific focus on them.
We drove up to Louisville on Friday and hopped on our bikes for a 50 mile ride after an 8 hour car ride. It was pretty uneventful but my stomach felt pretty terrible so I couldn't enjoy the ride as much as I would have liked. We woke up Saturday morning for a preview of the entire course (112 miles) and set out in overcast/misty weather that would, by mile 65, turn into full-on rain. The ride was pretty good and I really enjoyed the course. It's rolling but still very fast. Sunday brought with it an 18 mile run doing 1 loop (plus a little extra) of the run course and it was really flat. That could be a fast marathon course; luckily I don't have to do it on race day. I will, hopefully, get to cheer on those guys.
Bike: 195 mi
Run: 38 mi
I took the early part of this week pretty easy before heading up to Louisville, KY with Scott, Brad, and John to tour the Ironman Louisville bike and run routes. The race itself takes place on August 30th; thankfully I am not signed up to do it but the three others are getting ready to destroy their bodies in 8 weeks.
I did, however, take part in the last week of the Tuesday night track events put on by Charlotte Track and Triathlon Club. My plan was to race the mile and the 400 just to see where I was compared to last year when I managed a 4:56 mile (I didn't officially race the 400 but I raced in the 800 and just did 1 lap in :58 or :59). Last year I had been doing a lot more speed work and this year I have done almost zero. I just didn't know what to expect but I managed a 4:52 mile and a 55.92 400. Not bad, all things considered. I paced the mile poorly and am fairly confident I could go sub 4:50 with more even lap splits. For the 400 I was just tired from racing the mile and died a little bit in the middle before finishing strong. I was really happy and surprised that I could do these times with no specific focus on them.
We drove up to Louisville on Friday and hopped on our bikes for a 50 mile ride after an 8 hour car ride. It was pretty uneventful but my stomach felt pretty terrible so I couldn't enjoy the ride as much as I would have liked. We woke up Saturday morning for a preview of the entire course (112 miles) and set out in overcast/misty weather that would, by mile 65, turn into full-on rain. The ride was pretty good and I really enjoyed the course. It's rolling but still very fast. Sunday brought with it an 18 mile run doing 1 loop (plus a little extra) of the run course and it was really flat. That could be a fast marathon course; luckily I don't have to do it on race day. I will, hopefully, get to cheer on those guys.