On Thursday, Seujan said if there was a "long run pill," she'd have taken it instead of actually DOING her long run...Well, today, I was wishing for a 2-for-1 bike mileage coupon. My legs thought that half of the assignment felt like plenty, thankyewverymuch.
The pretty color-coded schedule said to bike 100 miles, then run 2, and when I woke up and saw how sunny it was, I was psyched. We discussed routes and possibilities while caffeinating this morning and made the plan: start at logboom park, go over Juanita to Marymoor via the 520 bike trail, around Lake Sammamish, Flying Wheels 50ish route, and back on the trail to Logboom...we also decided that I would bike a little extra at the end so Seujan could do her run before me and she could then babysit the bikes (we can't fit them both in the car and lock them up)...the last 2 times we've done something similar, I've gotten to run first, so I owed her one (well, 2 but who's counting..ok, she was and the jig was up). By the time we got to Marymoor (18 miles), I was already in a bit of a bad mood (too many stoplights that we were hitting on red, too much traffic, just couldn't get in the groove)...my legs were already feeling things by about mile 25, I needed way too many stops, I barely resisted temptation (Seujan reeled me in) to attack a pick-up truck that hogged the road and totally buzz-killed my descent on Ames Lake Road (total ass)...and before halfway, Seujan commented that I was "Cranky McCrankington," and I had to agree. We stopped (again) in Carnation at 50 miles and I got a bit of a boost from my PB&J sandwich...I felt better as the ride went on, but I was pretty dang tired all day.
By the time we were approaching Marymoor, we realized that our mileage math was off and we wouldn't hit 100 at the car...closer to 85. Crap. We both DO have masters' degrees, we just can't count. We had a little conference at Marymoor and my smart girlfriend remembered that last week we did 10 extra miles and had "paid it forward." Brilliant. Works for me-- I'd wanted to be done at the PB&J stop and I appreciated her wonderful observation....plus, I was going to climb Juanita again while she ran and would get a few more miles--and another climb. We cranked it out for the last 12 miles on the trail (thankfully, the wind and the crowd we anticipated were only moderately annoying, not completely infuriating). As I started to climb Juanita, I thought I was kind of hungry, but counted (again, the math theme) the amount of nutrition I'd had over the 6 hours on the bike and realized I'd taken in a good 1,20o calories...so I tried to decide not to be hungry and polished off the end of my perpetuem shake. The beginning of the run was pretty hard, but it got better and I got in the 2 miles. Don't think I'd hydrated as much as I should've. Despite the 1,200 calories banked, I dove headlong into the chips and guacamole when we got home. Then we went out for a great dinner (thank god for paid parking as I was not interested in walking more than absolutely necessary...dude, things hurt). We had a gift card from Yeff for both our birthdays that we hadn't used and we had a fantastic dinner and drinks at Chandler's Crab House. Got home and had an Aleve chaser and am happily immobilized.
Thank god(dess) that there is a race in 8 days and this will be a taper week...got in about 17 hours of training this week and my ass is kicked. I need the back-off week to let the training "catch up." What doesn't kill you...makes you wish it had?
Summary:
Bike:
92 miles (round up! and up!)
5:59:30
Avg HR = 119
Avg speed = 15.3
Run:
2 miles
19:30
Avg HR = 138
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Train your brain in the rain
Yesterday I researched the details of the next race, the Desert Half Ironman (10 days till my first half ironman, holy crap!) and noticed that the run is a double loop…not exactly appealing and not something I've done. So I figured I better practice something similar to wrap my head around running past the finish line and being only be halfway done. So…I decided to train my brain by doing a double Lake Union today for my 15-mile run. I added a 3-mile out-and-back on Boyer during the first loop to get the right mileage and to make the second loop shorter. Of course, it would have been nice to be done when I got to my car at Gasworks after the first lap, but it wasn't TOO awful (of course there was no announcer yelling out the fast guys' finishing times as I headed out for the second loop like there will be at the race, but it's hard to similate that part). The good part of the plan was that the car was an aid station so I swapped fuel bottles, and the bathroom at Gasworks was conveniently placed, too.
It was raining for about the first half of the run and on the way to Gasworks, I was already thinking that today’s theme was “train my brain in the rain.” Unfortunately, this phrase reminded me of the lyrics to the Blondie song “Rapture,” a bad early 80's rap song that my friend, Beth Courter, and I memorized in 9th grade (it seemed so essential at the time). So the memory chip was triggered…and triggered…and triggered. And “the man from mars was eating cars…and now he only eats guitars…” Good god, that song is stupid. By the 4th mile I was considering whether I should try to pull up a Christmas song from memory instead (“Winter Wonderland” is one that often hits repeat in a similar way in my head on December runs…), as “train the brain” of course rhymes with “insane,” and it was becoming a possibility. But nothing else worked so I just stuck with Blondie and toughed it out. By halfway through, it was totally sunny and by the time I was done, it was cloudy again. I guess that’s what happens when you run around for half the day in circles; several weather patterns can pass through and it almost seems like several days have passed. It's now totally rainy again.
The H triplets had a team meeting somewhere in the middle and, again, elected the Heel as captain (hip was taped and shut up for about half the run, and hamstring was just regularly but not excessively annoying). I walked a mile after I hit the 15 mile mark with a banana and Nuun for recovery, stretched after the mile walk, and called it good. I wasn’t by the lake this week to do the cold dip for my legs, but I have a massage tonight, so that should help the recovery.
I hit my lap timer at the 13.1 mile mark to help with my race plan for next week and get a good guess of what I can do for the run.
Summary:
15 miles (9 minute run/1 minute walk routine throughout)
2:37:59
Avg HR = 135
Avg pace = 10:32
It was raining for about the first half of the run and on the way to Gasworks, I was already thinking that today’s theme was “train my brain in the rain.” Unfortunately, this phrase reminded me of the lyrics to the Blondie song “Rapture,” a bad early 80's rap song that my friend, Beth Courter, and I memorized in 9th grade (it seemed so essential at the time). So the memory chip was triggered…and triggered…and triggered. And “the man from mars was eating cars…and now he only eats guitars…” Good god, that song is stupid. By the 4th mile I was considering whether I should try to pull up a Christmas song from memory instead (“Winter Wonderland” is one that often hits repeat in a similar way in my head on December runs…), as “train the brain” of course rhymes with “insane,” and it was becoming a possibility. But nothing else worked so I just stuck with Blondie and toughed it out. By halfway through, it was totally sunny and by the time I was done, it was cloudy again. I guess that’s what happens when you run around for half the day in circles; several weather patterns can pass through and it almost seems like several days have passed. It's now totally rainy again.
The H triplets had a team meeting somewhere in the middle and, again, elected the Heel as captain (hip was taped and shut up for about half the run, and hamstring was just regularly but not excessively annoying). I walked a mile after I hit the 15 mile mark with a banana and Nuun for recovery, stretched after the mile walk, and called it good. I wasn’t by the lake this week to do the cold dip for my legs, but I have a massage tonight, so that should help the recovery.
I hit my lap timer at the 13.1 mile mark to help with my race plan for next week and get a good guess of what I can do for the run.
Summary:
15 miles (9 minute run/1 minute walk routine throughout)
2:37:59
Avg HR = 135
Avg pace = 10:32
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
So far, so good this week...
This week is off to a pretty good start so far. Yesterday, I had a good swim workout in the morning (just Julie and me in the lane and it's always great to swim with her) and a really good run at lunchtime. I'm getting a little bored with my running route from work, so I changed it up a little and also went a little further and faster than the last few Mondays...and pushed it up the last hill because I had some energy to burn (from whence it came, I'm not sure...perhaps the stawberries an hour before the workout?). I felt really good and had the realization that I was actually enjoying my fitness level on this particular run and not just "working" on improving it. I certainly woulda coulda gone longer, but I wasn't supposed to go over 45 minutes. I miss the medium distance running...it seems I'm usually doing the super-long one and holdin on for dear life or I'm doing pretty short runs to make sure I can keep increasing the longer ones...it totally makes sense, but I think it will be fun when September rolls around to do more medium stuff again. Who knows...by September I may want to throw my running shoes out the window anyway!
Today I slept in...the sleep part is great, but I'm not quite sure what to do with myself at 6:30 a.m. (yes, 6:30 is a long sleep-in) if I'm not working out...and god knows, I'm sure as hell not going to work that early! I like morning workouts the best, but the forecast said it was going to be 80 degrees by afternoon, so I figured I'd get on my bike after work in my favorite weather. Got in a lift at lunch and did my bike speedwork after work when it was, indeed, tank top weather. I did the 3 min hard/2 min recovery as prescribed and got my HR up higher than usual on the intervals...it hit about 153 on all of them. It was windy on Lake Washington Blvd. as usual, so I had a tailwind on 3 of the 5 sprints and 2 were into the wind and a bit slower. I'm trying to learn to hate the wind less and did some extra miles down there after the speed stuff to get a little more time in my aerobars in the wind...it was fun since it was warm and I got a big fat Chipotle burrito on my way home. Seujan had a meeting tonight, so I'm a bachelor for the evening.
Today's bike workout summary:
Warm Up: 5.25 miles
Speedwork: 5x 3 min hard/2 min easy
3:00: Avg HR = 145 (pace 21.9, tailwind)
2:00 recovery:
3:00: Avg HR = 145 (pace 22.4, tailwind)
2:00 recovery
3:00: Avg HR = 148 (pace 20.1, headwind)
2:00 recovery
3:00: Avg HR = 150 (pace 19.0, headwind)
2:00 recovery
3:00: Avg HR = 147 (pace 21.8, tailwind)
Moderate ride: 13.8 miles
Total: 26.25 miles
1:36:12
Today I slept in...the sleep part is great, but I'm not quite sure what to do with myself at 6:30 a.m. (yes, 6:30 is a long sleep-in) if I'm not working out...and god knows, I'm sure as hell not going to work that early! I like morning workouts the best, but the forecast said it was going to be 80 degrees by afternoon, so I figured I'd get on my bike after work in my favorite weather. Got in a lift at lunch and did my bike speedwork after work when it was, indeed, tank top weather. I did the 3 min hard/2 min recovery as prescribed and got my HR up higher than usual on the intervals...it hit about 153 on all of them. It was windy on Lake Washington Blvd. as usual, so I had a tailwind on 3 of the 5 sprints and 2 were into the wind and a bit slower. I'm trying to learn to hate the wind less and did some extra miles down there after the speed stuff to get a little more time in my aerobars in the wind...it was fun since it was warm and I got a big fat Chipotle burrito on my way home. Seujan had a meeting tonight, so I'm a bachelor for the evening.
Today's bike workout summary:
Warm Up: 5.25 miles
Speedwork: 5x 3 min hard/2 min easy
3:00: Avg HR = 145 (pace 21.9, tailwind)
2:00 recovery:
3:00: Avg HR = 145 (pace 22.4, tailwind)
2:00 recovery
3:00: Avg HR = 148 (pace 20.1, headwind)
2:00 recovery
3:00: Avg HR = 150 (pace 19.0, headwind)
2:00 recovery
3:00: Avg HR = 147 (pace 21.8, tailwind)
Moderate ride: 13.8 miles
Total: 26.25 miles
1:36:12
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Reallocation of resources
Not killing myself on the Thursday's long run allowed me to recover better and kill myself (in the best possible way, of course) today on the bike instead. Definitely some lessons learned this week and I feel like it was a really good training week. Yesterday was a nice lake swim/weights Friday and after a lazy evening watching a movie and sleeping almost 10 hours, I was ready to attack the ride this morning. After a few mechanical issues with Seujan's bike and the Zipp wheels, we drove out to Marymoor to do a 50+ mile ride with one 15-mile and one 10-mile tempo/TT in the middle, followed by a short run for me and a longer one for her.
We started out counter-clockwise from Marymoor around Lake Sammamish to get a good warm up before going up and down East Lake Sammamish about 5 times. Within 2 miles of the start, Seujan had a few more mechanical issues with her fancy Zipp wheels to deal with, so I went on ahead and we each did our own thing.
The 2 time trials were really tough, especially the second one. I ate a whole PowerBar in the first recovery, but my legs were pretty tired. I tried to keep up my cadence (often chose the smaller chainring, esp. in the wind) and visualized my legs as pistons...boom-boom, boom-boom...sometimes it worked, sometimes my legs weren't buying it, but what the hell, it was worth a shot and it was a strong mental image to keep coming back to. Doing the TT stuff on East Lake Samm meant having to slow down for turnarounds, and also meant a decision-making spot on both of them where there is the opportunity to go up a short hill or take a flat detour that's marked "hill bypass." On the second one, the temptation to bypass was greater than the first time, but I figured I should do the damn hill...cause there ain't gonna be no bypass in Canada. Both times I pushed the hill hard and my HR hit 162 which I don't think I've ever done before on the bike. Once on a recovery, I passed Seujan as she was attacking the hill for her second time, too...tough guy points for everyone today, baby!!
The short run was no problem--actually kind of easy after how hard the bike had been- and it was unexpectedly fun because I discovered that Cheryl and her group were in the next parking lot finishing a similar workout, so I got to visit them. I got done just ahead of Seujan and "caught" her bike so she could run one-way to Wilmot Park in Woodinville (7 miles, talk about tough guy points!). While she was running, I went back to chat with Cheryl and Jeff, picked up burritos at Chipotle, and drove to scoop Seujan in Woodinville with food and a big diet coke.
After a bit of recovery, we're off celebrate gay pride weekend at "Hot Flash," a dance party for lesbians over 35...never thought we'd go to an event called "Hot Flash," but I must admit, we went last month and it was way fun. And I do believe I deserve a beer!!
Summary (I had the GPS all day today, so there's LOTS of data!!):
Warm-Up: 18 miles, 1:08:50, Avg pace = 15.6mph, Avg HR = 112
TT: 15 miles, 42:51, Avg pace = 20.9mph, Avg HR = 146
Recovery: About 8 miles, 31:01, Avg pace = 15.2mph, Avg HR = 119
TT: 10 miles, 30:01, Avg pace = 19.9mph, Avg HR = 147
Recovery: About 8 miles, Avg pace = 16.7mph, Avg HR = 127
Total bike = 59.6 miles
Run:
2.15 miles, 20:37, Avg pace = 9:36 per mile, Avg HR=142
We started out counter-clockwise from Marymoor around Lake Sammamish to get a good warm up before going up and down East Lake Sammamish about 5 times. Within 2 miles of the start, Seujan had a few more mechanical issues with her fancy Zipp wheels to deal with, so I went on ahead and we each did our own thing.
The 2 time trials were really tough, especially the second one. I ate a whole PowerBar in the first recovery, but my legs were pretty tired. I tried to keep up my cadence (often chose the smaller chainring, esp. in the wind) and visualized my legs as pistons...boom-boom, boom-boom...sometimes it worked, sometimes my legs weren't buying it, but what the hell, it was worth a shot and it was a strong mental image to keep coming back to. Doing the TT stuff on East Lake Samm meant having to slow down for turnarounds, and also meant a decision-making spot on both of them where there is the opportunity to go up a short hill or take a flat detour that's marked "hill bypass." On the second one, the temptation to bypass was greater than the first time, but I figured I should do the damn hill...cause there ain't gonna be no bypass in Canada. Both times I pushed the hill hard and my HR hit 162 which I don't think I've ever done before on the bike. Once on a recovery, I passed Seujan as she was attacking the hill for her second time, too...tough guy points for everyone today, baby!!
The short run was no problem--actually kind of easy after how hard the bike had been- and it was unexpectedly fun because I discovered that Cheryl and her group were in the next parking lot finishing a similar workout, so I got to visit them. I got done just ahead of Seujan and "caught" her bike so she could run one-way to Wilmot Park in Woodinville (7 miles, talk about tough guy points!). While she was running, I went back to chat with Cheryl and Jeff, picked up burritos at Chipotle, and drove to scoop Seujan in Woodinville with food and a big diet coke.
After a bit of recovery, we're off celebrate gay pride weekend at "Hot Flash," a dance party for lesbians over 35...never thought we'd go to an event called "Hot Flash," but I must admit, we went last month and it was way fun. And I do believe I deserve a beer!!
Summary (I had the GPS all day today, so there's LOTS of data!!):
Warm-Up: 18 miles, 1:08:50, Avg pace = 15.6mph, Avg HR = 112
TT: 15 miles, 42:51, Avg pace = 20.9mph, Avg HR = 146
Recovery: About 8 miles, 31:01, Avg pace = 15.2mph, Avg HR = 119
TT: 10 miles, 30:01, Avg pace = 19.9mph, Avg HR = 147
Recovery: About 8 miles, Avg pace = 16.7mph, Avg HR = 127
Total bike = 59.6 miles
Run:
2.15 miles, 20:37, Avg pace = 9:36 per mile, Avg HR=142
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Successfully slow
Not sure how it happened so quickly, but all of a sudden it's Thursday again which means... long run (accompanied by mental gymnastics, of course) day. The good news is that today is the first day of summer--the BEST season of the year, of course--and, despite the forecast for rain and clouds, the yellow orb I worship actually has made a decent appearance today.
After reading more on the subject of long runs, polling some other wacko triathlete friends of mine, and discussing it a bit with the coach, I decided that today's long run would be no longer than 16 miles with a 2-mile walk to get my 18. My desire to recover and keep the injuries down to a dull roar has superseded my quest to get as close to marathon distance and make myself believe I can survive the Ironman. I'm going to have to decide to survive it with a little less proof.
The plan worked and I was slightly slower and definitely less miserable than last week. I started/ended at Seward Park again, stashed a bottle of Hammer stuff at J&J's house for the turnaround, and also stashed an additional bottle of Nuun along the route near Leschi to improve hydration. The "H Triplets," my heel, hip, and hamstring competed for attention and my heel has won this week's award for "Body part I'd most like to trade in for a new one" by a wide margin as it has decided to hurt most of the time, not just when I'm running. The PT showed me how to stretch the plantar fascia the other day and I will do so religiously...and I will start rotating the ice between the triplets shortly. I'm glad the mileage will back down again a bit the next 2 weeks before the Half Iron on July 8.
Not sure I should get full credit for my 2-mile walk at the end because it wasn't very fast and I stopped at the mile mark for a bathroom and stretching break. But I WAS still moving and the stretching helped quite a bit for the last mile. Did the regular stand-in-the-lake for my legs at the end and called it good...and successfully located the bottles on my route on the way home :)
Summary:
16 miles (run 9 min/walk 1 min):
2:53:26
Avg. HR = 135 bpm
1 mile walk:
15:36 (111 Avg HR)
1.1 mile walk (+stretch, bathroom):
20:25 (99 avg HR)
18.11 miles total
3:29:34
After reading more on the subject of long runs, polling some other wacko triathlete friends of mine, and discussing it a bit with the coach, I decided that today's long run would be no longer than 16 miles with a 2-mile walk to get my 18. My desire to recover and keep the injuries down to a dull roar has superseded my quest to get as close to marathon distance and make myself believe I can survive the Ironman. I'm going to have to decide to survive it with a little less proof.
The plan worked and I was slightly slower and definitely less miserable than last week. I started/ended at Seward Park again, stashed a bottle of Hammer stuff at J&J's house for the turnaround, and also stashed an additional bottle of Nuun along the route near Leschi to improve hydration. The "H Triplets," my heel, hip, and hamstring competed for attention and my heel has won this week's award for "Body part I'd most like to trade in for a new one" by a wide margin as it has decided to hurt most of the time, not just when I'm running. The PT showed me how to stretch the plantar fascia the other day and I will do so religiously...and I will start rotating the ice between the triplets shortly. I'm glad the mileage will back down again a bit the next 2 weeks before the Half Iron on July 8.
Not sure I should get full credit for my 2-mile walk at the end because it wasn't very fast and I stopped at the mile mark for a bathroom and stretching break. But I WAS still moving and the stretching helped quite a bit for the last mile. Did the regular stand-in-the-lake for my legs at the end and called it good...and successfully located the bottles on my route on the way home :)
Summary:
16 miles (run 9 min/walk 1 min):
2:53:26
Avg. HR = 135 bpm
1 mile walk:
15:36 (111 Avg HR)
1.1 mile walk (+stretch, bathroom):
20:25 (99 avg HR)
18.11 miles total
3:29:34
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Back on the upswing!
After a few days of feeling like somebody's doormat, I think I'm back. Yesterday was a swim/run double. The first half of the swim team workout was draggy, but I think that was mostly because it was stupid a set I didn't like. The second half was way better; it was just Julie and me in the lane and we tailored the set to what we wanted to do and ended pretty strong. Yesterday's run was a 4 miler and I wasn't feeling particularly stellar, but it was good. I also got in about 3 miles of walking yesterday to go meet Seujan and Ja'Narah at Greenlake and then also learned to play Wii last night at a new friend of Seujan's house...not exactly aerobic, but surprising how active a video game can be!!
I was pretty beat again by last night and thought about just sleeping in this morning and doing my workouts later. We woke up early without the alarm, and despite the fact that Seujan's coffee looked and smelled very tempting, I grabbed my bike stuff and went down to Madrona for early morning hill repeats. It was cool out, but clear and the sun was getting brighter and he mountain was out---great morning.
Haven't done hill repeats since last summer and they were tough, but I really like that workout---I know how much doing hills helps (RAMROD flashbacks and thoughts of the "7 bitches" hills on the IMC course) and I like the tough guy points. I always feel strong after hammering out some hills. There was another couple also doing Madrona repeats and both of them were in full Ironman Canada kits on fancy-pants bikes...I was waffling between doing 4 or 5 of the hills and my competitive streak kicked in. If they can do it, I can do it (so what if they look like they're not even breathing hard in their pretty jerseys)...GRRRR!!! Felt great at the end...the sun was up and what I really wanted to do was just stay on my bike all day. Nice that my recent craving for the couch has shifted to craving the bike again.
Summary:
Warm up: 5.4 miles
5 x Madrona (.85 mile each climb with 1.15 mile recovery)
Hill 1: 5:44, Avg HR = 145 (max at 153 on all repeats)
Recovery: 3:43
Hill 2: 5:53, Avg HR = 141
Recovery: 3:50
Hill 3: 5:58, Avg HR = 138
Recovery: 3:45
Hill 4: 5:52, Avg HR = 142
Recovery: 3:50
Hill 5: 5:47, Avg HR = 143
Recovery: 3:46
Cool down: 2.85 miles
Total: 18.2 miles
1:19
I was pretty beat again by last night and thought about just sleeping in this morning and doing my workouts later. We woke up early without the alarm, and despite the fact that Seujan's coffee looked and smelled very tempting, I grabbed my bike stuff and went down to Madrona for early morning hill repeats. It was cool out, but clear and the sun was getting brighter and he mountain was out---great morning.
Haven't done hill repeats since last summer and they were tough, but I really like that workout---I know how much doing hills helps (RAMROD flashbacks and thoughts of the "7 bitches" hills on the IMC course) and I like the tough guy points. I always feel strong after hammering out some hills. There was another couple also doing Madrona repeats and both of them were in full Ironman Canada kits on fancy-pants bikes...I was waffling between doing 4 or 5 of the hills and my competitive streak kicked in. If they can do it, I can do it (so what if they look like they're not even breathing hard in their pretty jerseys)...GRRRR!!! Felt great at the end...the sun was up and what I really wanted to do was just stay on my bike all day. Nice that my recent craving for the couch has shifted to craving the bike again.
Summary:
Warm up: 5.4 miles
5 x Madrona (.85 mile each climb with 1.15 mile recovery)
Hill 1: 5:44, Avg HR = 145 (max at 153 on all repeats)
Recovery: 3:43
Hill 2: 5:53, Avg HR = 141
Recovery: 3:50
Hill 3: 5:58, Avg HR = 138
Recovery: 3:45
Hill 4: 5:52, Avg HR = 142
Recovery: 3:50
Hill 5: 5:47, Avg HR = 143
Recovery: 3:46
Cool down: 2.85 miles
Total: 18.2 miles
1:19
Saturday, June 16, 2007
70 is the new 100...
And flat is the new hilly. Less is more, right? Today it was. Before your bullshit meter reading goes off the chart (like the voices in my head saying, "Slacker!!"), let me explain...as much to myself as anyone.
Thursday's run pretty much wiped me out and I spent much of yesterday feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. Although I had a pretty good lake swim (of course, because I love the lake even if it's throwing me whitecaps) and lifted weights, a lot of yesterday was spent fantasizing about a nap on the couch. It didn't help that yesterday's afternoon activity at work was loading and unloading a huge truck full of cr...um, I mean valuable and wonderful auction items for tonight's gala (an event for which I have about as much enthusiasm as riding directly into a 40mph headwind, but apparently "team player" is in my job description). So yeah...when I got home from work and landed on the couch, I pretty much didn't move until it was time to go to bed. Seujan was sweet to me and brought food/dishes back and forth from kitchen to couch which was heavenly. Eventually, I moved to bed and was out cold by 9 p.m.
The schedule for today had a 100 mile ride/2 mile run brick and originally, I was planning to do the Flying Wheels ride with Seujan. However, yesterday the coach downgraded that hilly route to a flatter outing, suggesting a ride to Flaming Geyser. I had a cue sheet from the stack Dave gave me last summer that was a ride from Cascade to Flaming Geyser and, from where I planned to start at J&J's, would have been about 90 miles RT. I figured I'd start and see how it went...I had to stop and look at the cue sheet a bit in Renton, and then there was some detour crap going on with the Green River Trail and I was riding through Kent on some roads I'm sure I couldn't find again...and eventually I hit the Interurban Trail and just went south. Fortunately, the wind was coming straight at me from the get-go, so I knew I'd get a boost on the way back. I got tired of looking at the cue sheet and well, just tired in general (or perhaps I started that way), so I went to mile 35 and turned around. 15 miles of tailwind on that flat trail was really nice. I got tangled up again in Renton (not full blown lost, just a little tangled), but recovered and found my way back to familiar territory. I had a few fleeting thoughts of going around the south end of the lake and over Mercer Island to get more miles, but fortunately, I managed to think something else before I talked myself into it. My legs are still heavy and I really think the smartest thing for me today was to back off.
I was not looking forward to the run, but my legs and I discussed it and they decided they'd give me the 20 minutes, so off I went. It wasn't that bad at all, really... a quick out and back in the arboretum and I was done by about noon.
I'm glad I truncated this one...I have to be at the gala (see above for enthusiasm level as it has not changed since yesterday) at 4:00 p.m. and might be there till midnight, so a little couch surfing with "Top Chef" is coming up!
My HR Monitor was schizophrenic today and must need a battery...it ranged from 0 to 42 to 205 to 38....to things that intermittently looked normal. No clue what my avg. was for this one.
69.8 mile ride
4:22:48
Avg. pace: 15.9
20 minute run
Thursday's run pretty much wiped me out and I spent much of yesterday feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. Although I had a pretty good lake swim (of course, because I love the lake even if it's throwing me whitecaps) and lifted weights, a lot of yesterday was spent fantasizing about a nap on the couch. It didn't help that yesterday's afternoon activity at work was loading and unloading a huge truck full of cr...um, I mean valuable and wonderful auction items for tonight's gala (an event for which I have about as much enthusiasm as riding directly into a 40mph headwind, but apparently "team player" is in my job description). So yeah...when I got home from work and landed on the couch, I pretty much didn't move until it was time to go to bed. Seujan was sweet to me and brought food/dishes back and forth from kitchen to couch which was heavenly. Eventually, I moved to bed and was out cold by 9 p.m.
The schedule for today had a 100 mile ride/2 mile run brick and originally, I was planning to do the Flying Wheels ride with Seujan. However, yesterday the coach downgraded that hilly route to a flatter outing, suggesting a ride to Flaming Geyser. I had a cue sheet from the stack Dave gave me last summer that was a ride from Cascade to Flaming Geyser and, from where I planned to start at J&J's, would have been about 90 miles RT. I figured I'd start and see how it went...I had to stop and look at the cue sheet a bit in Renton, and then there was some detour crap going on with the Green River Trail and I was riding through Kent on some roads I'm sure I couldn't find again...and eventually I hit the Interurban Trail and just went south. Fortunately, the wind was coming straight at me from the get-go, so I knew I'd get a boost on the way back. I got tired of looking at the cue sheet and well, just tired in general (or perhaps I started that way), so I went to mile 35 and turned around. 15 miles of tailwind on that flat trail was really nice. I got tangled up again in Renton (not full blown lost, just a little tangled), but recovered and found my way back to familiar territory. I had a few fleeting thoughts of going around the south end of the lake and over Mercer Island to get more miles, but fortunately, I managed to think something else before I talked myself into it. My legs are still heavy and I really think the smartest thing for me today was to back off.
I was not looking forward to the run, but my legs and I discussed it and they decided they'd give me the 20 minutes, so off I went. It wasn't that bad at all, really... a quick out and back in the arboretum and I was done by about noon.
I'm glad I truncated this one...I have to be at the gala (see above for enthusiasm level as it has not changed since yesterday) at 4:00 p.m. and might be there till midnight, so a little couch surfing with "Top Chef" is coming up!
My HR Monitor was schizophrenic today and must need a battery...it ranged from 0 to 42 to 205 to 38....to things that intermittently looked normal. No clue what my avg. was for this one.
69.8 mile ride
4:22:48
Avg. pace: 15.9
20 minute run
Thursday, June 14, 2007
LSD, re-defined
Long run today...and literally the longest run of my life (haven't said that in a few months) at 17 miles. It was NOT pretty, but I made it.
Now that I've embraced the whole "walk break" format, I've been reading more of Jeff Galloway's advice on marathon training (he's a big advocate of the walk thing and running only 3x per week for masters' athletes--what's not to love about that, right?). I recently saw a quote from him in Runner's World (or Competitor, or Triathlete, or Active.com, or some damn place as I'm obviously reading too much of this stuff) that said you really can't run the weekly LSD run TOO slow and that it should be as slow as 2 minutes per mile slower than the target marathon pace. Although that seems like it'd be about as slow as walking backwards, it was another person besides the coach advising a slower training pace. So I set off to tone it down and try to keep my pace and HR down to the 135 I was supposed to average. Well, I'll tell you the ending: mission accomplished, but it's probably more because my fast twitch muscles are on strike since last Sunday, I think. Anyway, I left a bottle of Ultra fuel on John & Judy's porch (perfect turnaround point) near MOHAI and drove down to Seward Park. I ran out and back down Lake Wa Blvd and up through the arboretum with a little extra by J&J's house so I'd turn around at mile 9 and have 8 miles back to the car. Route was great...love running the trails in the arboretum.
The first 4-5 miles were nice and relaxed...hip: silent. HR: low. Lake view: nice. Wind: none. This might actually be FUN, no wonder people do this slowly. I actually (kind of) let go of caring about the fact that my avg. mile pace was well below 10 minutes...started thinking about LSD being LLSSSD: Leisurely, long, slow, strong, steady, distance. However, that party did not last. By the end of the second hour, I was continuing to think of all the other things LSD might stand for...I was WISHing I was doing a "Leisurely, Strolling Dog-walk" like some of the happy golden retriever owners by the lake. Yeah, I wish. More like Ludicrous Slogging Deathmarch, which by by mile 13 degenerated into Limping Stride Degeneration and Like (I'm) Scared (of) Dismemberment (OK, the last one is a bit over-dramatic, but on a 3-hour run you think of a lot of meanings for "LSD" and they are excellent blog fodder, no?). The last hour sucked and I was feeling pretty beat up; the usual suspects (left hip, right hamstring) were pissed and vociferous...and they were joined by some new cranky friends (left heel, left shoulder, and 2 almost-blisters seeking a home in my right shoe). I was quite happy to make it back to Seward Park...walked a little and semi-collapsed on the grass and tried to stretch a little, ate a banana, and got my legs in the lake immediately for the pseudo-ice bath.
I did well on fueling during the run with the Ultra shake stuff, but I think I need to step up the hydration a bit...I was pretty thirsty when I got done. The shakes are liquid, but I think the concentration might be a little thick to cover all my energy and hydration needs, especially since it's not very hot here and my next 2 races are basically in the desert. How lucky for me that next Thursday is an 18 mile Long Slog...Damn (see? another LSD) and another opportunity to work on this.
I did well on recovery nutrition and I actually felt really good within a half hour or so. I called the PT, though, and got an appt. for Monday. I've been trying to ignore the left heel thing for a couple of weeks, but it feels plantar fasciaitus-ish and I'm not interested in having another minor injury. I swear I'm not a hypochondriac, but I do worry a bit about 41-year old things breaking down before IMC and I'm doing my best to do preventative maintenance.
Stats:
17 miles
3:01:05 (Avg pace = 10:37)
Avg HR = 133
Now that I've embraced the whole "walk break" format, I've been reading more of Jeff Galloway's advice on marathon training (he's a big advocate of the walk thing and running only 3x per week for masters' athletes--what's not to love about that, right?). I recently saw a quote from him in Runner's World (or Competitor, or Triathlete, or Active.com, or some damn place as I'm obviously reading too much of this stuff) that said you really can't run the weekly LSD run TOO slow and that it should be as slow as 2 minutes per mile slower than the target marathon pace. Although that seems like it'd be about as slow as walking backwards, it was another person besides the coach advising a slower training pace. So I set off to tone it down and try to keep my pace and HR down to the 135 I was supposed to average. Well, I'll tell you the ending: mission accomplished, but it's probably more because my fast twitch muscles are on strike since last Sunday, I think. Anyway, I left a bottle of Ultra fuel on John & Judy's porch (perfect turnaround point) near MOHAI and drove down to Seward Park. I ran out and back down Lake Wa Blvd and up through the arboretum with a little extra by J&J's house so I'd turn around at mile 9 and have 8 miles back to the car. Route was great...love running the trails in the arboretum.
The first 4-5 miles were nice and relaxed...hip: silent. HR: low. Lake view: nice. Wind: none. This might actually be FUN, no wonder people do this slowly. I actually (kind of) let go of caring about the fact that my avg. mile pace was well below 10 minutes...started thinking about LSD being LLSSSD: Leisurely, long, slow, strong, steady, distance. However, that party did not last. By the end of the second hour, I was continuing to think of all the other things LSD might stand for...I was WISHing I was doing a "Leisurely, Strolling Dog-walk" like some of the happy golden retriever owners by the lake. Yeah, I wish. More like Ludicrous Slogging Deathmarch, which by by mile 13 degenerated into Limping Stride Degeneration and Like (I'm) Scared (of) Dismemberment (OK, the last one is a bit over-dramatic, but on a 3-hour run you think of a lot of meanings for "LSD" and they are excellent blog fodder, no?). The last hour sucked and I was feeling pretty beat up; the usual suspects (left hip, right hamstring) were pissed and vociferous...and they were joined by some new cranky friends (left heel, left shoulder, and 2 almost-blisters seeking a home in my right shoe). I was quite happy to make it back to Seward Park...walked a little and semi-collapsed on the grass and tried to stretch a little, ate a banana, and got my legs in the lake immediately for the pseudo-ice bath.
I did well on fueling during the run with the Ultra shake stuff, but I think I need to step up the hydration a bit...I was pretty thirsty when I got done. The shakes are liquid, but I think the concentration might be a little thick to cover all my energy and hydration needs, especially since it's not very hot here and my next 2 races are basically in the desert. How lucky for me that next Thursday is an 18 mile Long Slog...Damn (see? another LSD) and another opportunity to work on this.
I did well on recovery nutrition and I actually felt really good within a half hour or so. I called the PT, though, and got an appt. for Monday. I've been trying to ignore the left heel thing for a couple of weeks, but it feels plantar fasciaitus-ish and I'm not interested in having another minor injury. I swear I'm not a hypochondriac, but I do worry a bit about 41-year old things breaking down before IMC and I'm doing my best to do preventative maintenance.
Stats:
17 miles
3:01:05 (Avg pace = 10:37)
Avg HR = 133
Monday, June 11, 2007
Race Report: Blue Lake Olympic
Well, the taper worked...I had a really great race yesterday and I'm sure my bike and run paces were PR's. The course is crazy fast (flat) which, of course, helped. The unfortunate part, however, is that this race is a qualifier for age group nationals which made me a medium fish in a huge pond. The field was really competitive and I finished 241 out of 478 (incl. men) and was 8th in my age group (out of 28). At least I was top 13% in the swim (64th) and about 1 minute out of the top 10 of masters' women.
I was in the 5th starting wave and just before I got in the water, it occurred to me that I was most looking forward to the run...what a ridiculous foreign thought. I've done so much work on my running in the last year, I quite liked the feeling of "10k, no problem, bring it."
The swim was a bit more fiesty than most races I've done...which, as Duncan and Julie reminded me afterwards, is good training since IMC will be a mass start of probably 2,000 barracuda-impersonators. As far as I could tell, I was one of only 2 weenies in an insulated cap and I was quite warm in the water...they announced the water temp. was low 60's, but I think that was a low-ball figure. By the 3rd buoy, I was passing other colored caps from earlier waves (many of whom were swerving all over the damn lake and a bit in the way) which is always fun and a confidence builder.
T1 was good...even though Seujan wasn't there to yell at me, I followed her directions and didn't put on socks (or any other additional layers) for the bike...got out and on the bike with no problems. T1 was 2:41 which sounds bad, but there was quite a jog with the bike out of the area. My odometer already said .2 when I hit the line to hop on my bike.
The bike course was flat and fast with basically 2 out-and-backs, making it possible to see people faster and slower than me. It was fun because I could look at lots of bikes and could scope for Julie and Duncan and yell at them in various spots. As usual, I was passed by a good number of people on flashy fancy cervelos and the like...but I think I got dropped less this race than usual. On the longer out-and-back, I swore the long grass was blowing toward me and we were going into a headwind...however, just as I was starting to look forward to the 8-10 miles of tailwind I was earning, we passed the airport, and I looked over and saw a windsock blowing at about a 10:00 angle, almost perpendicular...crap, that means the same wind on the way back. Yup, it was...no wind gifts. But I was aero almost the whole ride and kept a good cadence. What was great, too, was that it felt similar (even easier) than the TT I'd done last week in the wind, so I was confident. I averaged 19.65 mph on the bike...flat or not, that's damn good for me. Love my bike! Although the wind didn't help, the weather did...I'd thought sure it'd rain, but it didn't and the temp was low 60's...comfortable.
I sort of botched T2 a little...I'd decided to carry my bottle with the Hammer shake for the run (was really glad I did later), so putting on my cap while running out of transition wasn't going to work like usual--not enough hands...and I also had to put on my race belt. Both the race belt and my cap had some minor mechanical difficulties, but after swearing a few times, trying to calm down, and taking a second look/adjustment of both, I was off and running...T2 was 2:16. I can certainly clean up that process next time.
The run was also flat and fast, out and back. I made myself try to relax and start the first mile slowly...and took my mile splits to keep things in check. Mile 1 was my slowest mile at a 9:01...just the start I wanted. From there, I felt strong and kept thinking "Keep it loose, keep it tight," push it, but enjoy it. The enjoyment part was pretty much over by the last 2 miles. At the turnaround, I started to smell the barn a little too early...mile 4 was my fastest at an 8:12 and the last 2 after that were tough. I don't wear my HR monitor for races because I'm afraid the information will freak me out. Good decision. The last 2-3 miles I kept thinking that it was probably really high...by the end, I knew I was leaving it all on the course---no question of whether I could've pushed a harder pace. The last half mile is really pretty, along the lake through the park...which I'm surpised I even noticed. I finished strong and was really happy with the race.
Duncan and Julie were in the wave that started one behind me, so I kept waiting for Duncan to catch me. I managed to hold him off since I had the head start, but he did finish with a faster time...both he and Julie did the Honu Half Iron last weekend, so this was a walk in the park for them.
I had a nice drive home, listened to some country music (go figure), and arrived home really stiff...a 3-hour drive is not recommended for "cool down" after an ass-kicking race. Seujan took me out for a mountain of sushi (mmmm...salty soy sauce) and I slept like a rock.
Today is recovery...which is a little wierdly like the taper, but I better savor it as I'm back up to a 17 mile run on Thursday and a 100 mile ride on Saturday.
Race stats:
Swim: 23:33
Bike: 1:14:31 (Avg. 19.65mph)
Run: 53:35 (Avg. 8:37 per mile)
Run splits:
Mile 1: 9:01
Mile 2: 8:36
Mile 3: 8:42
Mile 4: 8:12
Mile 5: 8:23
Last 1.2: 10:39
4 weeks till the Osoyoos Half Ironman...
I was in the 5th starting wave and just before I got in the water, it occurred to me that I was most looking forward to the run...what a ridiculous foreign thought. I've done so much work on my running in the last year, I quite liked the feeling of "10k, no problem, bring it."
The swim was a bit more fiesty than most races I've done...which, as Duncan and Julie reminded me afterwards, is good training since IMC will be a mass start of probably 2,000 barracuda-impersonators. As far as I could tell, I was one of only 2 weenies in an insulated cap and I was quite warm in the water...they announced the water temp. was low 60's, but I think that was a low-ball figure. By the 3rd buoy, I was passing other colored caps from earlier waves (many of whom were swerving all over the damn lake and a bit in the way) which is always fun and a confidence builder.
T1 was good...even though Seujan wasn't there to yell at me, I followed her directions and didn't put on socks (or any other additional layers) for the bike...got out and on the bike with no problems. T1 was 2:41 which sounds bad, but there was quite a jog with the bike out of the area. My odometer already said .2 when I hit the line to hop on my bike.
The bike course was flat and fast with basically 2 out-and-backs, making it possible to see people faster and slower than me. It was fun because I could look at lots of bikes and could scope for Julie and Duncan and yell at them in various spots. As usual, I was passed by a good number of people on flashy fancy cervelos and the like...but I think I got dropped less this race than usual. On the longer out-and-back, I swore the long grass was blowing toward me and we were going into a headwind...however, just as I was starting to look forward to the 8-10 miles of tailwind I was earning, we passed the airport, and I looked over and saw a windsock blowing at about a 10:00 angle, almost perpendicular...crap, that means the same wind on the way back. Yup, it was...no wind gifts. But I was aero almost the whole ride and kept a good cadence. What was great, too, was that it felt similar (even easier) than the TT I'd done last week in the wind, so I was confident. I averaged 19.65 mph on the bike...flat or not, that's damn good for me. Love my bike! Although the wind didn't help, the weather did...I'd thought sure it'd rain, but it didn't and the temp was low 60's...comfortable.
I sort of botched T2 a little...I'd decided to carry my bottle with the Hammer shake for the run (was really glad I did later), so putting on my cap while running out of transition wasn't going to work like usual--not enough hands...and I also had to put on my race belt. Both the race belt and my cap had some minor mechanical difficulties, but after swearing a few times, trying to calm down, and taking a second look/adjustment of both, I was off and running...T2 was 2:16. I can certainly clean up that process next time.
The run was also flat and fast, out and back. I made myself try to relax and start the first mile slowly...and took my mile splits to keep things in check. Mile 1 was my slowest mile at a 9:01...just the start I wanted. From there, I felt strong and kept thinking "Keep it loose, keep it tight," push it, but enjoy it. The enjoyment part was pretty much over by the last 2 miles. At the turnaround, I started to smell the barn a little too early...mile 4 was my fastest at an 8:12 and the last 2 after that were tough. I don't wear my HR monitor for races because I'm afraid the information will freak me out. Good decision. The last 2-3 miles I kept thinking that it was probably really high...by the end, I knew I was leaving it all on the course---no question of whether I could've pushed a harder pace. The last half mile is really pretty, along the lake through the park...which I'm surpised I even noticed. I finished strong and was really happy with the race.
Duncan and Julie were in the wave that started one behind me, so I kept waiting for Duncan to catch me. I managed to hold him off since I had the head start, but he did finish with a faster time...both he and Julie did the Honu Half Iron last weekend, so this was a walk in the park for them.
I had a nice drive home, listened to some country music (go figure), and arrived home really stiff...a 3-hour drive is not recommended for "cool down" after an ass-kicking race. Seujan took me out for a mountain of sushi (mmmm...salty soy sauce) and I slept like a rock.
Today is recovery...which is a little wierdly like the taper, but I better savor it as I'm back up to a 17 mile run on Thursday and a 100 mile ride on Saturday.
Race stats:
Swim: 23:33
Bike: 1:14:31 (Avg. 19.65mph)
Run: 53:35 (Avg. 8:37 per mile)
Run splits:
Mile 1: 9:01
Mile 2: 8:36
Mile 3: 8:42
Mile 4: 8:12
Mile 5: 8:23
Last 1.2: 10:39
4 weeks till the Osoyoos Half Ironman...
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Taper schmaper
This is a light/taper week before the Blue Lake Olympic Tri in Oregon on Sunday...tapering is growing on me a little, but not much. Mostly it's just wierd. I'm NOT looking forward to the week before IMC as I think I'll be a complete head case anyway and then not having the regular training volume will likely make me a nuisance to myself and anyone near me (Seujan often points out an obvious fact unenthusiastically, "You process externally..." What a nice euphemism for "Please shut up, you're driving me nuts").
Anyway...I'm looking forward to the race on Sunday and am trying to enjoy the reduced training volume in between annoying self talk ("Am I eating too much? Am I really doing enough this week? Am I doing too much this week? Will I really get the effect of the last few weeks on Sunday? What if I'm sluggish? Should I be getting my bike checked this week or just wait to do it before the next longer race? What do 'normal' people do with this much time on their hands? Is it crazy that doing one short workout per day seems whimpy?").
So yeah, this morning was a good short interval run:
Warm up: 2 miles: 17:51 (Avg. HR = 148)
3 x 400: 1:44, 1:45, 1:47 (Avg HR = 150, up to 162)
1 x 800: 3:38 (Avg. HR = 157, up to 165)
1.5 mile run/cool down: 13:50 (Avg. HR = 143)
Total: 5.6 miles (4.75 of actual running)
Did a half mile or so afterwards of the run/walk thing just to keep practicing it.
Anyway...I'm looking forward to the race on Sunday and am trying to enjoy the reduced training volume in between annoying self talk ("Am I eating too much? Am I really doing enough this week? Am I doing too much this week? Will I really get the effect of the last few weeks on Sunday? What if I'm sluggish? Should I be getting my bike checked this week or just wait to do it before the next longer race? What do 'normal' people do with this much time on their hands? Is it crazy that doing one short workout per day seems whimpy?").
So yeah, this morning was a good short interval run:
Warm up: 2 miles: 17:51 (Avg. HR = 148)
3 x 400: 1:44, 1:45, 1:47 (Avg HR = 150, up to 162)
1 x 800: 3:38 (Avg. HR = 157, up to 165)
1.5 mile run/cool down: 13:50 (Avg. HR = 143)
Total: 5.6 miles (4.75 of actual running)
Did a half mile or so afterwards of the run/walk thing just to keep practicing it.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Great week wrapped up...
Yesterday morning we opened lake swim season with a GREAT swim at Madison beach...I was looking forward to it all week, and it was really fun. The mountain was out, the water was calm, and it really wasn't that cold with all my accessories (insulated hat, neoprene socks, full wetsuit). I'm SO excited that the weekly Friday swims are now in season...they are my favorite workouts of the week in the summer...and I always look forward to coffee and raisin toast with the team afterwards.
I wrapped up my highest volume training week (about 19 hours!) of the year this morning with a really good brick. I parked at Maltby Park and rode up to Snohomish to do 2x 10-mile TT bike intervals on Lowell-Larimer Rd. This is the perfect road for TT riding because it's flat for 6 miles, there's not much traffic and no stop signs/lights, the pavement is nice, and it's kind of scenic. There was a fairly strong wind down there, but the good news for me was that I went out into the headwind on each TT. The second half of each one was way fun with a tailwind (that was 100% responsible for negative splitting both intervals). It was a tough workout and I felt my legs a bit, but I also felt strong and it was really fun to be in the sun in just a tanktop...I think the sun gave me energy again. Few things make me as happy as a bike ride in the sun, especially with the new bike (we are still in the honeymoon phase and it's looking like this infatuation could last all summer).
The best thing I can say about the run part of the brick is that it was the first voyage for some brand new running shoes. Although Maltby is a great place to stage a bike ride, it totally sucks for running. The roads around there have no shoulder and I ran around the area for 21 minutes dodging big ugly trucks and various other unfriendly vehicles going to/from Hwy 522 and looking for a decent place to run. But it was pretty much over before I could get too cranky about the route...20ish minutes is a slam dunk at this point. Anyway, overall it was a great workout and I drove home with the windows down thinking that I am really digging my training program and am looking forward to my first race of the season next Sunday. I'm sure there will be weeks this summer when I'm totally getting my ass kicked and wondering why I'm doing this...when those happen, my plan is to remember this week because it was pretty damn perfect and I feel great.
Next stop: Mish's massage table at 3:00 p.m....rest day tomorrow and it's supposed to be 82 degrees. Whoo-Hoo!!!
Summary of today:
10 miles warm up ride
10 Mile TT: 28:40, Avg. HR = 148
5 miles recovery
10 mile TT: 29:11, Avg. HR = 147
15 miles moderate ride
Total = 50.5 miles
Avg pace overall = 17.7 (sweet!)
Run:
21 minutes (2.25 miles? Not sure, didn't have GPS)
Avg HR = 145
I wrapped up my highest volume training week (about 19 hours!) of the year this morning with a really good brick. I parked at Maltby Park and rode up to Snohomish to do 2x 10-mile TT bike intervals on Lowell-Larimer Rd. This is the perfect road for TT riding because it's flat for 6 miles, there's not much traffic and no stop signs/lights, the pavement is nice, and it's kind of scenic. There was a fairly strong wind down there, but the good news for me was that I went out into the headwind on each TT. The second half of each one was way fun with a tailwind (that was 100% responsible for negative splitting both intervals). It was a tough workout and I felt my legs a bit, but I also felt strong and it was really fun to be in the sun in just a tanktop...I think the sun gave me energy again. Few things make me as happy as a bike ride in the sun, especially with the new bike (we are still in the honeymoon phase and it's looking like this infatuation could last all summer).
The best thing I can say about the run part of the brick is that it was the first voyage for some brand new running shoes. Although Maltby is a great place to stage a bike ride, it totally sucks for running. The roads around there have no shoulder and I ran around the area for 21 minutes dodging big ugly trucks and various other unfriendly vehicles going to/from Hwy 522 and looking for a decent place to run. But it was pretty much over before I could get too cranky about the route...20ish minutes is a slam dunk at this point. Anyway, overall it was a great workout and I drove home with the windows down thinking that I am really digging my training program and am looking forward to my first race of the season next Sunday. I'm sure there will be weeks this summer when I'm totally getting my ass kicked and wondering why I'm doing this...when those happen, my plan is to remember this week because it was pretty damn perfect and I feel great.
Next stop: Mish's massage table at 3:00 p.m....rest day tomorrow and it's supposed to be 82 degrees. Whoo-Hoo!!!
Summary of today:
10 miles warm up ride
10 Mile TT: 28:40, Avg. HR = 148
5 miles recovery
10 mile TT: 29:11, Avg. HR = 147
15 miles moderate ride
Total = 50.5 miles
Avg pace overall = 17.7 (sweet!)
Run:
21 minutes (2.25 miles? Not sure, didn't have GPS)
Avg HR = 145
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