Training Log (Mar 10-16)

Last week was the best week of training I've had all year. I executed each workout to plan, had the best swim of my life and mentally overcame each day despite some personal stuff (not divorce or work related!) from the week before. It's crazy how much momentum affects me. I'm either on the upswing or downswing in training, rarely in between. Right now I'm definitely on the upswing and it couldn't come at a better time with Ironman Oceanside 70.3 next week. I'm going into the race as a different athlete than I was a year ago. I'm used to going into these races as a great runner with a decent bike and a poor swim. The swim takes everything out of me, I underperform on the bike and then I do my best to salvage a run with whatever I have left which often leads to unpredictable and poor results.

Now I go into Oceanside with confidence in my swim, something I'm not used to. I also go in with the best bike fitness I've ever had thanks to Flanny and my SRM. I'm actually least confident about my run but I know that me as an average runner is still better than most triathletes out there. I have a feeling that this breakthrough I've been waiting for; for so many years has finally arrived and I can't wait to toe the line and compete against a really good 35-39 field.

Here's last weeks numbers:

Monday: 2 workouts

BlueSeventy Masters Swim: 75 mins / 3500 yds
800 wup, 4x100 @1:40, 4x50 on 50
6x150 on 2:30 w/last 50 sprint
6x100 on 1:40 w/last 50 sprint
12x50 on 55 w/last 25 sprint
c/d to 3500


Post workout notes: After that horrible 75 mile ride from the day before (and one to many beers), I struggled on this workout. It was really hard to change gears and actually sprint.

Rudy Project Recovery Run: 51 mins / 6 miles / 8:34 pace

Flanny’s workout: Monday Funday.....Lets get right into it with 50 minutes of Z2+ depending on the legs. Consistency is the name of the game so run as you feel today. If you are good....get it up a bit.

Post Workout notes: Legs didn't feel any better that night. Just felt tired and slow so I didn't force things and just cruised. [hr]

Tuesday: 1 workout

SRM / Speedfil / Reynolds Bike Threshold Session: Power File HERE
1:32 / 29 miles / 18.9 mph

Flanny’s workout: 30 min WU 10 min Z4 Threshold 2 min Rest 15 min Threshold 2 min Rest 20 min Z4 Threshold Remainder in Z2

I want you hitting mid to upper Z4 zone for each of these. Dont blow your load on the first one.

Post workout notes: I did this workout outside for the first time. In the past I've done these threshold intervals on the trainer but I just can't seem to ride as hard (as I've mentioned in the past). I put out my best numbers for these intervals and was pleased with how I felt.[hr]

Wednesday: 2 workouts

BlueSeventy / Flanny Swim: 1hr / 3100 yds
800 Choice warm up
2x100 pull @ 1:50
2x50 pull @ :55
2x150 pull @ 2:45
2x50 pull @ :55
2x200 pull @ 3:40
2x50 pull @ :55
20x25 swim @ :30 (All FAST!)
600 w/Fins (100 swim/50 kick)
200 cool down

Post workout notes: Felt good to get some pulling in as my legs were pretty smoked from yesterday. Feeling stronger in the water.

SRM / Speedfil / Reynolds Bike Trainer: 1:20 / 19 miles / 14.5mph

Flanny’s workout: Simple Zone 2 ride as recovery to set you up for a good session of speed tomorrow.

Post workout notes: I was very close to bagging this workout because of a massive saddle sore from forgetting to wear chamois on Tuesday (sorry TMI). I just decided to do this on the trainer sitting up as to not agitate it anymore.[hr]

Thursday: 1 workout

Rudy Project / Powerbar / Herbalife Track Workout File HERE
70 mins / 9 miles

Flanny’s Workout:
15 minute Warm Up
4 x [1 mile @ 5:50-6:00 pace, 60 seconds rest between miles]
1 lap easy after miles
2 x [800 m @2:30-2:40, 60 sec rest]
Cool Down remaining time

Post workout notes: My splits are listed in the link above. As usual, I felt terrible during the warm up and then the intervals seemed way too easy. I felt like I could do the set over again. Good workout and good confidence builder.[hr]

Friday: 2 workouts

BlueSeventy Masters Swim: 90 mins / 4k
500 wup, 4x100 @1:40, 4x50 @50
4x100 (1:10-15 pace w/20 secs rest)
2x50 on 50
3x100 (1:10-15 pace w/20 secs rest)
2x50 on 50
2x100 (1:10-15 pace w/20 secs rest)
2x50 on 50
100 (1:10-15 pace w/20 secs rest)
2x50 on 50
400 pull (1:15-20 pace)
300 pull (1:15-20 pace)
200 pull (1:15-20 pace)
100 pull (1:15-20 pace)
6x50 sprint on 1 min
10x25 sprint on 30


Post workout notes: So the fast boys forced me in their lane and what a difference it made! I was hitting most of my 100's at 1:12 (with my pr from a year ago a 1:09) and my pulling felt a lot stronger. This was a break through workout for me and made me realize that I may be faster than I think in the water and that maybe I've just been lazy and content with being an average swimmer.

SRM / Speedfil / Reynolds Bike Ride:  1:47 / 33 miles / 18.5 mph

Flanny’s workout: No concern for watts or speed today. Settle into a good groove and stay down in the aerobars.

Post workout notes: Just trying to ride with others as much as I can so I hooked up with some friends for a nice evening ride after work. Love the time change![hr]

Saturday: 1 workout

SRM / Speedfil / Reynolds Bike Ride, Power file HERE. 4:18 / 68 miles / 15.7 mph / 5k of climbing

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

Post workout notes: Notes attached to the power file above. I'm starting to do a little experimenting with nutrition and trying to incorporate some real food during intervals to see how it would settle. We are getting some decent heat out here already so also trying to adapt to drinking more and riding in hotter conditions - something I failed at last week. Great ride and felt really strong on the climbs.[hr]

Sunday: 1 workout

Rudy Project Run- 1:40 / 13.2 miles. Workout File HERE.

Flanny's workout: Lets get this in since we didn't have the opportunity last week. 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: This was the 4th hard day in the row with some sort of intensity so my legs were pretty beat up and energy low. I was still able to execute the intervals. I always like to duplicate my run intervals on the run profile of my next big race. With Oceanside being flat as a pancake, the track was perfect for this. With my tired legs, Flanny was able to duplicate what I will be feeling like in a few weeks in the half marathon. It felt exactly like a 70.3 and I was able to run through the workout like an audition. I got through it and was very pleased with the overall week.[hr]

Totals (3 swims, 4 rides, 3 runs)
Swim: 10,600 yds /3:45
Bike: 149 miles / 8:58
Run: 28 miles / 3:43
Total hours: 16:25

[caption id="attachment_2725" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The man Sean "Wattie" Watkins and I[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2723" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Post ride heaven in your mouth[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2724" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Chillin with family[/caption]

Questions / Comments always appreciated!

 

 

Minor Set Back

So I took a week off of blogging to enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends. There's no doubt it's one of my favorite times of the year. It's just a great way to get all the families together to enjoy some good food, beer and watch the kids run around. I even hit up some local breweries (Societe and Stone) with friends to make the long weekend an even better one.

Flashback a week before Thanksgiving and I was on the track doing 10x400 repeats at 5k pace. I was contemplating whether or not to jump into an ultra competitive "Turkey Trot" a week later and this workout was going to be my answer to that question. I was just getting back into the swing of things running wise and hadn't really done any speed work so a 5k was going to be questionable at best. After cranking out 10 all right in at 1:17 (5:09 pace) with only 40 seconds rest I felt really good and decided to pull the trigger on racing a week later. The goal was to go 16:16 which is what I did 2 years ago on the same course. I felt it was obtainable and was really excited to race until...

Tuesday I was slated for a short little tune up workout on the track. Some 150's and 600's, just to get the legs woken up for some speed! After only a few reps my calf grabbed and I was done and so was my shot at an over 30 5k PR a few days later. Even though it was my calf the injury really lies behind my knee. There's some weird misalignment with some tendons/muscles (excuse my lack of savvy-ness here) that creates issues from the knee all the way down to my heel on that same leg. It's been giving me problems dating all the way back to San Diego International this year. We think it is stemming from a poor bike fit. So this Friday I'm going to see Jim Manton at Ero Sports. He's fit folks you may have heard of: Bradley Wiggins, Heather Jackson and a ton of other pro's not to mention a few of my teammates who said to never use anyone else. So needless to say, I'm excited to spend some time there and get my bike fit done by the best in the business.

There are a bunch of other exciting things in the mix for 2014 - some I can't share quite yet but it's really starting to motivate me during the "off season." My blog will go live at Lava Magazine starting in January which I'm excited about and is already opening some cool opportunities. Although I will be posting all of my workouts, I still want to keep this blog intimate. Not a place to just see numbers but more of an avenue of inspiration (so I hope).

[caption id="attachment_2476" align="alignleft" width="300"] Some cold 4:30am wake up calls with Mike & Sarah![/caption]

For now my life has been all about the pool. Been spending a lot of time there and I feel like I am seeing drastic improvements in my efficiency/form. My swimming "fitness" isn't quite where I want it yet but I'm definitely going faster with less effort which is so SO huge for me. Not only do I have fast lane mates but a lot of them are coaches or have a very successful backgrounds in swimming. So I've just been trying to learn as much as I can and come into 2014 as a different swimmer. I want to be that triathlete that gets on the bike and can hit it hard right away without the swim taking away from the bike or run which it always has done to me in the past. For those of you that have trained with me know that my bike and run times in races don't nearly match what I'm truly capable of. I believe that it all stems from the swim. It's equivalent to doing a 2x1 mile run all out and then trying to do a fast 56 mile ride and 13.1 mile run afterwards. I'm getting into oxygen debt and cramping up just 30 minutes into a long race! I'm hoping to change that next year and race up to my capabilities because I really don't think I've reached my peak or potential yet. Hopefully these consistent 16-20k yds/week with a 12 week drill/technique swim (2 times/week) gives me fresh legs for the bike/run, gets me on top of the podium and ultimately to Kona!

As far as the mustache goes...December 1st came and the mustache left! Movember was a lot of fun. I raised a little money and got a lot of weird looks. It will truly be a month I'll always remember!

[caption id="attachment_2478" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Fun times with Jaime & Irving![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2479" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Me and the wifey[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2481" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Cousins on the trampoline[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2480" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Cheers to the holiday season![/caption]