Training Log / FTP Test (Mar 3-9)

Last week wasn't the best week for me on the training front. It was a mix of a few days of recovery from the race, a poor FTP Test and then a frustrating weekend of training. Trust me, I realize every triathlete has these kind of weeks; it's part of the sport. However, my goal of this blog is to be REAL. To tell it like it is and not sugar coat anything. What good is any blog if you don't? I think too often blogs, articles and social media paint this perfect picture of the successful pro or age group triathlete. That everything comes easy, that they love the sport every day and that workouts and life are always PERFECT. Sometimes you can get caught up into that. After all, we all need to stay positive right? Nobody likes a "Debbie Downer" and we tend to try and avoid those people. The only problem with that is when the sport does get tough or your job gets stressful or personal life gets in the way of being the ideal triathlete, discouragement can set in.

My real challenge at making this Kona run is to just stay positive and FIGHT every single day. Doing the actual workouts is the easy part! Juggling being a good husband, father, employee and a hopeful top level / KQ material triathlete is no joke. I know what I signed up for but that doesn't make things any easier. It's hard to believe that I'm a short 3 1/2 months away from IMCDA. The real challenges lie ahead as we get ready for Ironman Oceanside 70.3 and then dive deep into IM training. I know I'll be on the rivet everyday of this balancing act. Every single decision I make on the hour can affect my family, work, and triathlon life - and I'm prepared for that. Making calculated decisions with my time and efforts so I can stay consistent these next 3-4 months is going to be key.

With over 17,000 hits to my blog in a short 2 1/2 months and 1,600 hits per article for the Lava Magazine website, the tri world is watching. My goal is to give a detailed play by play each week. All the ups, all the downs and everything in between. Here's how last week went down: [hr]

Monday: 1 workout

BlueSeventy Recovery Swim: 40 mins / 2000yds500 wup / 4x100 on 1:40, 4x50 on 50
200 w/buoy/paddles
200 w/fins
100 butterfly
200 w/buoy


Post workout notes: This workout was all about recovering from the race. Just some pulling and active recovery.[hr]

Tuesday: 2 workouts

Rudy Project Recovery Run: 37 mins / 4.5 miles / 8:20 pace

Flanny’s workout: 30-40 minutes with no care of pace or distance

Post Workout notes: Since I didn't run hard at the race I really wasn't sore, just really fatigued. Losing a lot of fluids can really take it out of you.

SRM / Speedfil / Reynolds  Bike Ride: 1:09 / 17.5 miles / 15.2mph

Flanny’s workout: Depending oun how the legs feel today we go 90 minutes Z2+

Post workout notes: I was limited on time with work and family business so I had to cut this ride 20 minutes short. Legs are still tired but better than yesterday.[hr]

Wednesday: 2 workouts

SRM / Speedfil / Reynolds Bike Trainer FTP TEST: 1:17 / 25 miles / 19.5mph

Flanny’s workout:


Today we are going to do our bike power test to identify your FTP (Functional Threshold Power) and Threshold HR. This will allow us to set up Training Zones and fitness benchmarks. This can be done on a trainer with a power meter and HR monitor.

Warm-up 15 minutes. 3 x 1 minute hard 1 minute recovery 5 minutes easy 5 minutes ALL OUT 10 minutes easy 20 minutes ALL OUT 15 minute cool down. The most important part of this test is the 20 minutes all out. Make sure you hit your lap button at the beginning and end of the 20 minute effort.

What I need from you at the end of this test. 1: Average Power (Watts) for the 20 minutes 2: Average Heart Rate for the 20 minutes.

Post workout notes: For the Power File, click HERE. My FTP is 240 watts / pushing 3.75 watts per kilo (weighing 141 pounds). Two things. 1. I don't think I was quite recovered from the race. 2. I struggle riding hard indoors on the trainer. However, we needed a base number to work off of and this was the best time to squeeze it in so we are not worried about it. Already proving I ride better outdoors, just a few days ago I had Lactate Threshold intervals. I did them outside with a 10, 15 and 20 minutes with 2 minute rest in between. My last (20 min) interval, my Normalized power was 263 watts. Now, I'm really new (as in 1 month) to a power meter so I'm out of my element talking about this stuff but I'm pretty sure I'll be re-testing soon and numbers will raise drastically.

With a Masters swim just 20 minutes later, I relied on a Powerbar Harvest bar to hold me over till after the swim. This saved me!

BlueSeventy Masters Swim: 1hr / 3k
500 wup, 4x100 @1:40, 4x50 @50
5x150 @2:15
200/300/200 on 1:30b
c/d to 3k

Post workout notes: Come to find out riding hard and then swimming hard shortly after is a tough thing to do!  Got though it albeit drafting most of the way, thanks lane mates![hr]

Thursday: 1 workout

Rudy Project Recovery Run- 40 mins / 5 miles / 8:00 pace

Flanny’s Workout: Z2

Post workout notes: Work was long and stressful. All I wanted to do was to get back home with my family and the last thing I wanted to do was run. I know a lot of us go through the same thing from time to time. I laced up anyways and as usual, I left the workout less stressed and more refreshed; something my family benefitted more from instead of me coming home still stressed out.[hr]

Friday: 2 workouts

BlueSeventy 3k Time Trial: 49:30 / 3k / AVG 1:38/100 yds.

Post workout notes: I did this in my HOA pool that had no lane lines which simulates some good open water chop. I was a little bit bummed with my time. I really feel that I should be able to hold 1:30's, but as Flanny brought to my attention, my turns suck and you put me in a wetsuit and competition in the open water, my times will be closer to what I'm looking for. That's why I have a coach!

SRM / Speedfil / Reynolds Bike Ride, Power file HERE:  1:51 / 33 miles / 18 mph

Flanny’s workout: Optional ride if you have time.

Post workout notes: I slipped this in after work and my legs finally felt like they were coming back to life.[hr]

Saturday: 1 workout

Rudy Project Run- 1hr / 4.5 miles / 13:20 pace

Flanny's workout: 1:40 run: 30 minutes Zone 2 getting warm and into a groove.3 x 10 minutes at 6:00 pace with 2 minutes easy between the efforts. Finish out the run at Zone 2 and drop in some run drills at completion.

Post workout notes: On the training front, this was a very frustrating day. On the family note, this was one of more enjoyable days I've had. Amy had a trail race that she was doing with her sister and the kids. The plan was for me to go out, cheer her on and do my workout out on the trails. She was sick so I ended up taking the kids on this crazy trail run that had a lot of hills and soft sand. It was a great workout but nothing even close to what I had planned for the day. Afterwards I took my daughter to a bike race and then my son that night to get him cleats for soccer season - very special father/kid time and I loved it! I'm really looking forward to them getting into sports. This was one of those days where I put away my triathlete hat and spent time with my family which was no doubt the right choice.[hr]

Sunday: 1 workout

SRM / Speedfil / Reynolds Bike Ride, Power file HERE. 4hrs / 76 miles / 18.7 mph

Flanny’s workout: Long Ride Z2 with 3 x 20 minutes high Z3 Watts (180-215) on 10 minutes back in Z2. Start the efforts after the first hour of riding.

Post workout notes: This ride was pretty frustrating. It was smooth sailing on the way out. I noticed it was getting a lot hotter than usual. I normally take in a bottle of fluids for every hour. The wind was also kicking by this point. I stopped, grabbed a cola and some fluids and headed back. Right around 3 hours I started running into some trouble. I felt like I was eating and drinking enough but probably not. I started getting dizzy, chills...etc. I know I needed to stop. So 20 minutes from home I stopped and grabbed a burger, a ton of water and of course a 22 ounce IPA. After two sips, it was the fastest I've ever been buzzed in my life! No doubt, it went straight to the blood - which was much needed. I had sort of a mental meltdown and just hated triathlon and everything about it. It wasn't the workout that spawned it - I've been through plenty of workouts where I ran into trouble. After talking with Flanny, I think it's just been an accumulation of things over the past several months. Getting into a groove, chopping my fingertip off. Getting into a grove, race a poor half marathon. Getting into a groove, get sick, puke all race, etc, etc, etc... It's just been awhile since I've had things swing my way.

Of course, its adversity - what do you expect in triathlon!? The difference for me is, in order for me to be at my best I need to be consistent and be right mentally. I can't have one or the other, they need to be synced and they both rely on each other. For me to be right mentally, I need momentum...i.e. success. I'm convinced that Oceanside is when things are going to turn around. I'm VERY motivated to throw down in that race.

I have a lot to prove.

Totals (3 swims, 4 rides, 3 runs)
Swim: 8,000 yds /2:30
Bike: 151 miles / 8:18
Run: 14 miles / 2:18
Total hours: 13:05

[caption id="attachment_2711" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Future soccer star![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2710" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Future tri star![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2709" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Love my family.[/caption]

 

Ironman with Kids

I think it's safe to say that most triathletes are self centered. Not all, but most. You almost have to be to be competitive in this sport. The sport demands hours and hours of your time - time that could have been spent with your spouse/significant other, your kids, your friends or maybe even a hobby that doesn't suck all your time away? For this post I want to specifically focus on doing this sport with kids because it's completely different then having just a spouse/significant other or a dog to look after.

I have a 3 and 5 year old. Right now time with daddy is more important then ever. It's their developmental years. Experts say a child's personality is fully developed by the time they hit 1st grade! (no pressure parents).  These years are the years that my wife and I develop that eternal bond with our kids. We teach, train and develop their behavior, morals and establish rules that they will forever take with them. Our influence plays the biggest role in their future lives! Parent/s have a lot on their plates. So why choose the one sport/hobby (except maybe golf) that can potentially risk the time you should be spending with your kids and family?

I've used the sport as a growth tool for me and my family. All of the discipline, over-coming adversity, patience and tolerance I get from triathlon transfers great over to my career and upbringing my family. The sport teaches me a lot about myself. It promotes a healthy lifestyle to my kids. They see me workout constantly and they want to be like daddy and mommy so they always want to S,B,R! We have eaten a lot healthier since I started racing and the time I do spend with them is always quality time. Instead of going out to bars or hanging out with friends at night, I am home playing with my kids and going to bed early so I can get up for that early morning workout before work. In a way, triathlon makes me a better person. It's a dangerous sport to flirt with though. There are many broken families from obsessed triathletes so balance is key and so far I believe I have done a good job even if it has sacrificed training time :)

Those that read this blog or follow me via social media probably think I'm doing a lousy job as a parent. All of my posts are triathlon or beer related haha. The truth is, I do this on purpose. Besides some pictures, I don't really want to expose my wife/kids lives to the world - they never asked for that! Sure, I'll post from time to time but I'm going to try and keep this blog all triathlon (and beer) related. At home, it couldn't be any different. They are my world, triathlon is just a little garnish in my life. Of course I have big goals and HUGE commitments this year in trying to qualify to go to the big island but I have other real life commitments that KEEP triathlon as just a hobby of mine. I have a career (Marketing Director), a mortgage, a wife of almost 10 years and two beautiful kids to look after. Balancing all of this with ~15-20 hours/week of training really is a work of art. I posted twice on this subject at my old blog (time management) that you can read HERE and HERE about how I do it.

And this is the reason why I decided to do this blog. This is a completely different journey then those Kona qualifiers that only have themselves to look after. It's really really really hard to balance work/family/triathlon. Day after day after day. If you don't have kids you have no idea. If you have kids and think it's not hard you're probably not training enough or neglect your family. I know it's possible to do it because there are others just like me that are in the same boat and have qualified. They inspire me big time. To juggle a family and still be one of the fastest AG'ers in the country is amazing to me and over anything else, that's what I'm striving for.

When January starts and LAVA starts publishing my blog posts on their site, I'll be documenting every single workout I do leading up to IMCDA. With the workouts I'll be trying to get you inside of my head of all the highs and lows that I go through. Too many blogs are filled with fluff about how great their life is and it looks like to the readers that everything just comes so easy. It's not easy and I'm hoping to translate that to my readers. I'll also give insight to how I balance the family/work/triathlon balance in hopes that maybe you can benefit or give me tips of your own!

[caption id="attachment_2441" align="alignright" width="225"] Time to put down the donuts![/caption]

Back in March when I qualified for IMWC's at Oceanside I blogged about how I was going to focus and go "all in" for 6 months leading up to Vegas. To have tunnel vision focus and discipline that everything I do surrounds me getting better at triathlon. It's a very hard thing to do! I screwed up a lot, lost focus, regained it and ultimately learned a lot about what it takes to get (semi) fast in long course triathlon while still being a great husband and dad. I know I have a long way to go at this point to qualify for Kona. I thought I would have been a lot faster this year but things just didn't work out like I had planned and I didn't come anywhere close to my goals (besides racing WC's). However it was a great learning experience year and guess what? It's that time again. My quick two week unstructured/break is over. I basically have 8 months until IMCDA. The focus is back, the determination and motivation are at an all time high and I'm excited to share with you my Kona Journey.

I would love to hear comments from you parents that are Kona Qualifiers that have a great family/work/triathlon balance. Give me your tips!!

Kona Inspiration

Last week I was glued to Kona coverage leading up to the race and finally all day on Saturday watching the race unfold. I think social media has done so much for the sport of triathlon. It's allowed us to kind of live all of these pros and age groupers experiences on the big island and provide countless inspiration for those that weren't there. By the time the race came I was so pumped to watch it after following all the coverage all week, I was telling Amy that this is better than the Superbowl!

Needless to say I was even more intrigued this year. I want to get there next year and I'm going to be making huge sacrifices to do whatever it takes to qualify in 2014. For the most part each athlete that qualified  paid their dues to get there. For most qualifiers, triathlon isn't just a hobby they do for fun. It is taken very serious and they breathe and live triathlon every single day of the year for the ultimate experience. A ticket to Kona. You could almost see it in everyone's eyes there. The energy, excitement and pride of making it there and racing. It truly is an incredible accomplishment and I thank everyone that shared their experiences (especially teammates) with us that didn't race because you created new dreams and goals and inspiration that will fuel us for 2014!

[caption id="attachment_2375" align="alignright" width="225"] Swam a few times in my custom Wattie Ink Blueseventy Helix to get back used to swimming in a wetsuit![/caption]

The World Championships aside, I've been trying to get ready for my last race of the season. Soma 70.3 is this Sunday in Tempe, AZ. After a week off of unstructured training from Worlds I ran into some calf issues a few weeks later that left me without running for a week and then recently some wrist pain (self-inflicted ha) that kept me from swimming and riding outside. Needless to say, my focus was Worlds and even though I'm excited to race this weekend, the focus hasn't been where it should've been when I'm trying to race well and PR. Who knows - going into this race with zero expectations and well rested may leave me with a great race?

I am going to approach this race (and future races) differently though. Vegas was the first race I've actually "raced" a 70.3. I've always been so concerned with pacing in the past and a lot of that was from fear of cramping (and for good reason). Now that I've got my cramping and nutrition nailed for the most part, I'm just going to hit it hard for the entire 4.5 hours like I did in Vegas. No gradual builds or specific pacing - just race hard the entire time staying as taut (swim) as possible, aero (bike) as possible and holding form (run) until I cross that finish line. Flanny and I are also going to experiment with taking down more liquid calories. In the past I've always taken in most of my calories via solids and although they settle fine, they definitely make things more difficult to take in enough calories (especially on the run). Wish me luck, Amy should be tweeting out updates as usual throughout the race.

Here's pictures of some fun over the past few weeks. Bare with me on the formatting, still trying to work out all of the bugs on this site before January, thanks for reading!

[gallery columns="2" ids="2382,2383,2384,2385"]

 

Thank You

So I've had tremendous feedback from the new website/blog and I appreciate all of your kind words and support. You never know what kind of response you may get when your audience is a bunch of Type A triathletes. There are a few things I want everyone to know. First is, I am not getting paid from Lava Magazine. Why would I spend so much time and not get paid? Well a few things...I've chosen not to "monetize" this site and have a bunch of Google ad's plastered everywhere. Instead I set up a donate page if you so desire to help me alongside my journey. And I'm also going to open up the site to sponsors that want to get in front of the Lava audience (only sponsors that don't conflict with Wattie's). I'm being realistic when I say I may need more than just Coeur d'Alene for a shot at Kona next year. There are some 70.3's out there that give Kona slots too but I can't get to them without any type of support system.

However, the real core reason why I am doing this is - I want to give back to the sport in some way and I'm hoping that I can open the eyes of some people (including myself...ha) of what it takes to get to Kona if you don't have the 20+ hours/week to train. My coach really has the answers, I'm just here to tell the world what I'm doing in every single training session, diet, recovery, how I'm feeling and be REAL about other life stressors that everyone has and how I balance them alongside family and career. I'm going to blog each week and then at the end of each month I'll do a recap from which Lava Magazine will publish on their site starting in January of 2014. Until then, I plan on blogging every Tuesday leading up about my "off season" plans, my final race of the season (more on that in a bit) and all the fun family activities, craft beer and events that go along with the holiday season.

About four hours after crossing the line at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships I had a beer in hand and was discussing with my coach that I think I wanted to race another 70.3 to end the season. Maybe it was the one beer; the alcohol quickly working through my system after a race that made me forget how much I just suffered - but I still had a bit of hunger to race fast. Vegas by no means was a course to PR on. I haven't gone faster than I did after IM Oceanside in March all year and even though I always harp about how times don't matter in long course, no matter how hard us triathletes try - chasing times is fun. So I'm about 1.5 weeks from packing my bags to head out to Soma 70.3 in Tempe, AZ for the third year in a row. I don't know what it is about this course but I struggle with it. This year I plan on conquering it and stealing a PR from it. Then I'll have something to chew on all winter. Whether it be bitter or sweet - the race will give me a reason to wake up early, run or ride an extra mile or swim 500 more yards. I left WC's still hungry and I'm hoping this satisfies me for the long lonely winter that awaits me where I set the foundation for my 2014 season, My Kona Journey.

Thanks again for reading and I love all of your feedback/comments and questions! Feel free to "share" "like" "thumbs up" etc below. Trying to get this site exposed as much as possible leading up to January!

If you're at Kona right now, don't miss this party! Even more reason to qualify next year!