up to speed
in the past couple weeks, i feel like i'm getting up to speed on the bike. as i've been doing some of the 30-45 minute intervals in zone 4, i'm starting to feel a little like jan ullrich. i'm able to churn a very large gear at 30+mph from time to time in the intervals. the running seems a little hit or miss. some days, i go out and feel great during a 2+ hour run. other days, i feel like i'm on the verge of hurting myself. as i run, i feel odd, the knee feels a little funny, can't get into any sort of rhythm and sometimes i have to cut the run short. i go between should i tough it out and continue or should i cut it short. i usually choose on cutting it short. since i began last september and i had a couple early injuries, i'm a little cautious. i've heard too many stories of people hurting themselves running and i don't want to be one of those. as for the swimming, i'm no dolphin, but i've gradually improved since beginning. i haven't been in open water since late last summer and i wonder how all the chlorine filled days will translate. hopefully good. next sunday is the half and we'll see how the form is coming along. after that, there are 4 weeks before the big event. we'll see how things go.
i also wanted to give a shout out to my coach olaf sabatschus for kicking ass today in ironman brazil. he had a solid 3rd place overall. great job!
until next time,
dL
5 weeks out from QCR
5 weeks out from QCR and all systems check. One more week of race intensity volume and then, taper time. As an iron-virgin, I'm opting for a more conservative, longer taper. Better to be a bit too rested than a bit too tired at the starting line. I'm mentally prepping myself to not act like a typical type-A triathlete, and doing less training these next few weeks without freaking out about loosing fitness. At this point, what's done is done.
Yesterday was my last 112 mile ride/brick run. Race pace, race wheels, race food etc. I took off easy (too much red wine the night before) and just settled in and braced myself for a hot (over 90 degrees!) day in the saddle. My goal was to hold back a bit the whole time, as if a marathon awaited me. The temps soared, the wind kicked up. I just just tried to not fight the hills or the wind, stay small, aero and most importantly, hold back and show respect for the run that follows.
112 miles, 3000 ft. of going up, and 4 hours and 51 minutes later I was home again (T2 is in my garage) and on went the running shoes. Wow, for the first time I was feeling like I could put together a solid run! Finally.
Just hope everything comes together as nicely on those last six miles of the marathon. Yikes.
Jrod
let there be LIGHT!
after a week and a half of thinking about a song i listened to as a kid
...standing there on freedoms shore - can you feel it now that spring has come...as i stepped off the bus after work today, i looked up at the sky and saw a stranger peeking its head through the clouds
...waiting for the sun...the weekend before last was training weekend for my triathlon club - despite feeling a bit sick the first day (allergies probably), i was still able to get some good training in - especially on the bike. the weather was great and so was the scenery and hilly terrain in the white mountains. it was a nice break to see and train with people i normally don't get to see much due to the crazy-busy existence i've been leading lately.
upon coming back, the dark clouds moved in and overstayed their welcome until this afternoon. i believe they came last monday. was a bit hard to motivate to ride and run...not only that, but it seemed as though my body decided to go into shutdown mode. i think that all the pressure of work and training caught up and i basically hibernated between 9 and 10 hours for several nights in a row. i did adjust my training schedule to accomodate this, but managed to get in my key workouts.
i think the thought of going back to the trainer after a few months of training outside was not too appealing...although saturday, after waking up feeling sick and resting the whole morning, i managed to suck it up...after all, i really doubt the ironman will give a rat's a** that the weather sucked in my area during crunch-time
have you ever heard "all athletes from new england...you have a 15 minute head start due to your lousy training weather" at the start of a race?um, no.
so i calibrated daniel's trainer to my weight, hunkered down on my aerobars, warmed up watching
Quality Television for 45 minutes - i then put on my iPod, closed my eyes, and cranked it up until the 3 hour mark...all in all, i ended up getting 56.3 miles - all in the comfort of my own living room - wasn't half bad and i felt much better after the ride than before
tomorrow morning, i'm sure my bike will be very happy to be able to play outside after more than a week of being grounded
:)
p-Rod
almost over the hump
As I wrap up the second biggest base week of the year, I'm glad to say that everything is going as planned. No injuries, no feeling of burn out, and no major fatigue plagues me so far.
The first of the big workouts this week consisted of a 17 mile trail run at Hall Ranch with 1,500 feet of climbing at slightly above race pace(ugh!). I still felt some soreness 3 days later, but I guess that's expected since I'm starting to throw in some speed into the long runs these days.
Number two was a mind numbing session in the pee-pee puddle. Warmed up then did 8x500 yard reps at an easy sustainable pace for me, without slowing down throughout the workout at about 8:45 each one. I figure I don't have any speed in the water so may as well get some endurance and take it easy.
Today (Sat), I did 96 miles on the bike. Started off easy for the first hour and a half and just ate like a pig, then inserted a 56 mile (half iron) time trial in 2:17:48 and spun easy home. Did a 45min transition run afterwards and felt surpisingly good. Too good. I guess that means I should take it easy.
Well that's it for the big workouts this week. Just hope I can take another week of this stuff before my weekly volume drops a bit.
jrod
