Sunday, May 31, 2009
Good day
Results aren't up yet, so I'm not completely sure how I placed overall and in my age group, but I did a 5:28 on a REALLY tough course (6000 feet of climbing on the bike course). Race report to follow.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
To top it off... Tour de Folsom
So yesterday, I topped off the week with our annual Tour de Folsom ride. It was a great ride; we had like 19 people in the group for the long ride around the lake.
(That's me with the red circle on my jersey. I was also giving my race wheels a spin on a longer ride to make sure I have no issues before Sunday!)
The ride has ~4500 feet of vertical over ~55 miles. My plan had 65 on it followed by a 6 mile run, so I was intending to turn around at the top of a few of the climbs and repeat about half of them. I also rode down to my friends' house for an extra 4 mile pre-ride ride.
My legs were tired overall, but after a more intense week, I was pretty happy with how they held up. I made it up the first climb (~3 miles and ~1800 feet up) pretty easily and well ahead of anybody in the group. I turned around at the top and headed part of the way back down to do it again. I repeated and still felt pretty good and was holding ~280-300 watts most of the way on the hill. I caught up with the group at Pilot Hill where I got some more water. My plan on this ride was to make sure I was properly hydrated to see if that made my run better afterwards. I was going to try to do 1 bottle of water per hour minimum on top of my Perpetuem. In any case, I left Pilot Hill and headed towards the confluence. I took it very easy on the descent down into the canyon and we all regrouped down there. Then we hit the climb up to the Forest Hill bridge, which is another 3-miler with ~1800-2000 feet up. I got to the top of that and turned around and did about half of it again. Still felt pretty good and the hydration and calories seemed to be going well. I cruised down to the bridge and did the little short, steep climb up from that to Auburn. I stopped again in Auburn for more water. I went through town and caught up with the group briefly on the other side of town where people were taking a break at a popular market. I wanted to get my run done before too many of them got back for the pool party, so I just headed on down Auburn-Folsom. This is usually a very fast portion, but a head-wind was slowing me down somewhat. Finally, a couple more small climbs up to El Dorado Hills and my friends house for the post-ride run and pool party!
I did 6 miles and I think my improved hydration consistency paid off because I definitely felt much better on my run than I had been for a few weeks. I covered 6.1 miles in 45 minutes. Then it was a cold beer, lunch, and hitting the pool with my wife and kids for a little post-workout R&R!
Final ride stats for the day: 67 miles in 4 hours with ~5500 feet of climbing (average 183 watts) followed by a 6.1 mile run in 45 minutes.
Overall, my week was 19 hours of training consisting of 11100 yds in the pool, 158 miles biking, and 47 miles running. I am content with that, but I know I will need to continue doing weeks like that and harder as we progress through the summer.
(That's me with the red circle on my jersey. I was also giving my race wheels a spin on a longer ride to make sure I have no issues before Sunday!)The ride has ~4500 feet of vertical over ~55 miles. My plan had 65 on it followed by a 6 mile run, so I was intending to turn around at the top of a few of the climbs and repeat about half of them. I also rode down to my friends' house for an extra 4 mile pre-ride ride.
My legs were tired overall, but after a more intense week, I was pretty happy with how they held up. I made it up the first climb (~3 miles and ~1800 feet up) pretty easily and well ahead of anybody in the group. I turned around at the top and headed part of the way back down to do it again. I repeated and still felt pretty good and was holding ~280-300 watts most of the way on the hill. I caught up with the group at Pilot Hill where I got some more water. My plan on this ride was to make sure I was properly hydrated to see if that made my run better afterwards. I was going to try to do 1 bottle of water per hour minimum on top of my Perpetuem. In any case, I left Pilot Hill and headed towards the confluence. I took it very easy on the descent down into the canyon and we all regrouped down there. Then we hit the climb up to the Forest Hill bridge, which is another 3-miler with ~1800-2000 feet up. I got to the top of that and turned around and did about half of it again. Still felt pretty good and the hydration and calories seemed to be going well. I cruised down to the bridge and did the little short, steep climb up from that to Auburn. I stopped again in Auburn for more water. I went through town and caught up with the group briefly on the other side of town where people were taking a break at a popular market. I wanted to get my run done before too many of them got back for the pool party, so I just headed on down Auburn-Folsom. This is usually a very fast portion, but a head-wind was slowing me down somewhat. Finally, a couple more small climbs up to El Dorado Hills and my friends house for the post-ride run and pool party!
I did 6 miles and I think my improved hydration consistency paid off because I definitely felt much better on my run than I had been for a few weeks. I covered 6.1 miles in 45 minutes. Then it was a cold beer, lunch, and hitting the pool with my wife and kids for a little post-workout R&R!
Final ride stats for the day: 67 miles in 4 hours with ~5500 feet of climbing (average 183 watts) followed by a 6.1 mile run in 45 minutes.
Overall, my week was 19 hours of training consisting of 11100 yds in the pool, 158 miles biking, and 47 miles running. I am content with that, but I know I will need to continue doing weeks like that and harder as we progress through the summer.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Long Training Day
Today was a long training day. I got up insanely early, drove down to work, did my 1 hour ride (20.3 miles, 181 watts) followed by my 16 mile run. It actually turned out to be 15.9 according to mapmytri.com, but it was still a strong run. I was doing 10 minute pickups to slightly harder effort with 10 minute "recovery" and did 4 sets throughout the run. Then, for the last 30 minutes, I cruised back to work. I averaged right around a 7:30 pace per mile and made it back to work by 8:30. I felt stronger than I did last time I did this workout. I was a little slower, but it was less time at the harder pace. But I had some juice left for the end of the run, so that made me happy. I am consistently doing well under 8 minute pace for all my runs after rides, even the long rides. It will be very interesting to see what I can do the Louisville marathon in.
Then at lunch, I hit the pool for my 2800 yd workout. It was the same swim I did Wednesday where I did my usual 200 warmup and 800 drills. Then it's 3x200 on 3:20 followed by 2 sets of 4x50 on 0:52 and one last set of 3x200 on 3:20. Usually, my 50s are about 0:43 initially, but then drop to 0:44/0:45. Today I was doing 0:43 consistently. Then, on my last set of 200s, I was hitting 3:07 for the last two. I had a better feel for using my body-roll as thrust, particularly on my non-breathing side. Sometimes I do bilateral breathing, but for hard sets, I am still doing mostly strong-side breathing. In any case, I felt pretty good about it and I think I have gotten back on the path to more swim improvement/endurance whereas the last couple of weeks have felt pretty sluggish.
Tomorrow, to top off my extend week, is a 65 mile ride with lots of hills followed by a 6 mile run. It's our annual "Tour de Folsom" with a bunch of people from work, so I am looking forward to it!
Then at lunch, I hit the pool for my 2800 yd workout. It was the same swim I did Wednesday where I did my usual 200 warmup and 800 drills. Then it's 3x200 on 3:20 followed by 2 sets of 4x50 on 0:52 and one last set of 3x200 on 3:20. Usually, my 50s are about 0:43 initially, but then drop to 0:44/0:45. Today I was doing 0:43 consistently. Then, on my last set of 200s, I was hitting 3:07 for the last two. I had a better feel for using my body-roll as thrust, particularly on my non-breathing side. Sometimes I do bilateral breathing, but for hard sets, I am still doing mostly strong-side breathing. In any case, I felt pretty good about it and I think I have gotten back on the path to more swim improvement/endurance whereas the last couple of weeks have felt pretty sluggish.
Tomorrow, to top off my extend week, is a 65 mile ride with lots of hills followed by a 6 mile run. It's our annual "Tour de Folsom" with a bunch of people from work, so I am looking forward to it!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
So far so good.
This week is an "extend" week so I'm adding more volume to the normal week. Basically, just doing a few extra minutes on some key runs and rides and also adding a short ride before my Friday long run.
Monday was a swim/run day and then on Tuesday, I did a hard track workout. A 5 mile warmup, followed by 8x800 on what was supposed to be 2:50. I hit like 2:56 on the first 800 and then did between 2:50 and 2:55 on the rest. I always seem to be a tad slow on the first one as I dial in the pace. And by the time I got to numbers 6, 7, and 8, I was really fatigued. Still hitting 2:52 or so, but really, really fatigued. Then, I did another 2 miles cool down for a 12 mile total run. Then, over lunch, I did a 3100 yd swim. The main set was 2x500 on 8:07, which was tough. I could keep the pace, but only did like 8:00 flat for the 500s. Not sure where my 7:45 came from a few weeks ago, but I haven't seen that speed in a while! Hopefully it will come back and then some!
Wednesday was another swim/run in the AM and I covered 2800 yds in the pool and 6.3 miles on the treadmill. Then, I went to work and at lunch, I did a 22 mile ride in just over an hour - a pretty full day! Today was a ride into work and then a 1:45 ride home with "all-out" intervals and then tomorrow is an hour ride followed by a 16 mile run. When it's all said and done, I think I'll be up to 18-19 hours for the week, which is pretty good for me. And the legs are holding up OK so far, which is a good sign.
Monday was a swim/run day and then on Tuesday, I did a hard track workout. A 5 mile warmup, followed by 8x800 on what was supposed to be 2:50. I hit like 2:56 on the first 800 and then did between 2:50 and 2:55 on the rest. I always seem to be a tad slow on the first one as I dial in the pace. And by the time I got to numbers 6, 7, and 8, I was really fatigued. Still hitting 2:52 or so, but really, really fatigued. Then, I did another 2 miles cool down for a 12 mile total run. Then, over lunch, I did a 3100 yd swim. The main set was 2x500 on 8:07, which was tough. I could keep the pace, but only did like 8:00 flat for the 500s. Not sure where my 7:45 came from a few weeks ago, but I haven't seen that speed in a while! Hopefully it will come back and then some!
Wednesday was another swim/run in the AM and I covered 2800 yds in the pool and 6.3 miles on the treadmill. Then, I went to work and at lunch, I did a 22 mile ride in just over an hour - a pretty full day! Today was a ride into work and then a 1:45 ride home with "all-out" intervals and then tomorrow is an hour ride followed by a 16 mile run. When it's all said and done, I think I'll be up to 18-19 hours for the week, which is pretty good for me. And the legs are holding up OK so far, which is a good sign.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Slowly but surely
The new-found swim improvement I had made before I got sick is slowly coming back. Today I felt pretty strong and was hitting 3:10 relatively easily on my 200s. It was my normal 200 warmup, 800 drills, then 3x200 on 3:20, followed by 2 sets of 4x50 on 0:52. The last group was another 3x200 on 3:20. I hadn't really done a set at that speed before at the end of a workout. I was still hitting 3:09 or 3:10 on the 200, so I felt pretty good. If I can learn to sustain that pace, I will be happy with my swimming this season.
I also had a good 14 mile run this morning in the hills and did it in 1:48. I felt pretty good and my running seems to be coming back too. This Sunday is 60 miles on the bike and a 4 mile run and then next week is an "extend" week that I intend to hit pretty hard!
I also had a good 14 mile run this morning in the hills and did it in 1:48. I felt pretty good and my running seems to be coming back too. This Sunday is 60 miles on the bike and a 4 mile run and then next week is an "extend" week that I intend to hit pretty hard!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Intervals
On the way home today, I did 3x10 minutes very hard effort. I averaged 272, 262, and 242 watts respectively. It was difficult to stay consistent when you're dealing with stoplights, hills, etc. I was still strong on the last one, but there was some up and down. On the ups, I could put out a solid, consistent effort, but there are a couple downs where I was still trying to push the pedals but couldn't really keep it up near 280-300.
In any case, I've got more work to do. Trying to get to 300 watts steady state...
In any case, I've got more work to do. Trying to get to 300 watts steady state...
Track
Tuesday morning I got in my swim and Tuesday night was my track workout. I had finally caught up with coach after playing phone tag for a few days and he gave me a different workout than was on my plan. The variety was nice - or so I thought.
Em and I headed down to the track and the Oak Ridge football team was having an evening spring practice. The distraction of watching them might be nice as we run around in circles. I started with an easy jog with Emily and warmed up. Towards the end I picked it up a bit and ended up doing 2.25 miles warm-up. Then, my instructions were 4x1600 with 2 mins rest, the first 3 laps of each repeat at 90 sec / 400 pace and the last one at ~85 sec / 400 pace. I hit 6:05, 5:50, 5:53, and 5:55 on each. I did pick up the effort on the last lap each time, but was generally only a second or two faster and not 5 (except for the last one where I pretty much hit those exact targets). On all the others, I went out a bit too fast.
Overall, I ran 9 miles with 4 of that being at 6 min/mile pace. It was a good workout and I'm starting to feel like I am back firing on all cylinders after being sick.
Today, I rode into work and stopped by the pool on my way. The swim was 2600 with a main set of 4x250 on 4:08. It had me working pretty hard at sustaining a good pace. This afternoon on the way home on the bike, I am supposed to do 1:15 total with 3x10 min very hard pace. My plan is to see if I can hit 300w and hold it for 10 min each time. I felt pretty decent on the way down, but 3x10 will be tough. I'm looking forward to it!
Em and I headed down to the track and the Oak Ridge football team was having an evening spring practice. The distraction of watching them might be nice as we run around in circles. I started with an easy jog with Emily and warmed up. Towards the end I picked it up a bit and ended up doing 2.25 miles warm-up. Then, my instructions were 4x1600 with 2 mins rest, the first 3 laps of each repeat at 90 sec / 400 pace and the last one at ~85 sec / 400 pace. I hit 6:05, 5:50, 5:53, and 5:55 on each. I did pick up the effort on the last lap each time, but was generally only a second or two faster and not 5 (except for the last one where I pretty much hit those exact targets). On all the others, I went out a bit too fast.
Overall, I ran 9 miles with 4 of that being at 6 min/mile pace. It was a good workout and I'm starting to feel like I am back firing on all cylinders after being sick.
Today, I rode into work and stopped by the pool on my way. The swim was 2600 with a main set of 4x250 on 4:08. It had me working pretty hard at sustaining a good pace. This afternoon on the way home on the bike, I am supposed to do 1:15 total with 3x10 min very hard pace. My plan is to see if I can hit 300w and hold it for 10 min each time. I felt pretty decent on the way down, but 3x10 will be tough. I'm looking forward to it!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Back in the Saddle
It feels good to be back to full swing after that nasty bug!
Thursday and Friday I did two decent swims. I was definitely slower in the water, but it felt good to be back at it again. And Friday morning was my long run only now coach has me doing short rides before my long runs. The alarm went off at 4 and I got ready to go. My plan was to drive down to work, do my ride and run from there and then start my full day of work. I got to the office around 5 and was on my bike by around 10 after. It actually got light pretty early, so even though I had a light, I didn't really need it that much. I did our "normal" loop from work and tacked on some extra on the bike trail for a total of 19.2 miles in roughly an hour. Nothing too hard to get started. Then I jumped off my bike and headed out for my 2 hour run. My plan called for 20 minutes of warmup and then repeated slightly harder efforts with 10 min recovery. I headed over to the bike trail and went west. I wasn't sure how far I would go, but in the first hour, I made it all the way to the 12 mile mark on the trail. That's about 8.3 miles from the office. I turned around and did the return trip. My legs were really tired by the end, but the run was 16.6 miles in 2 hours. I was pretty happy with that - it was a 7:12 average per mile off the bike. The next day my legs were fairly sore, though, so I know the time off didn't help me.
Then this morning was supposed to be a 65 mile ride followed by an hour run at "somewhat hard" pace. I drove up to Auburn to scope out the bike course. I knew where the transition areas were because I have done some running races there before, so I got up there around 7:15 and was off on my bike by like 7:25. I headed back down the hill toward Rattlesnake Bar park. I got the park and scoped out the boat launch where the swim start/finish is. There is actually water in Folsom Lake! The swim shouldn't be too bad. I'm not expecting a blazing fast time because it appears that past times are not particularly fast when I look up the results. In any case, I turned around and headed back up the hill. The course has ~6000 feet of climbing over 56 miles (they don't call it world's toughest half for nothing!). I made my way back up Rattlesnake road and over to Shirland Tract. There are a couple of steep parts as you gradually make your way back up to Auburn. Once I got up there I reached for my cue sheet/map and lo and behold it was gone! Crap. Oh well. Now I had to improvise somewhat. I knew some of the roads anyway, but I thought I would wing it. I cut over through town and headed up Lincoln Way up into the Foothills. The route was still gradually taking me up and up. Also, I noticed there were painted marks on the road that I could follow for the most part. I decided to try to follow the course. I found most of the roads and only made one wrong turn! There are one or two serious climbs, but mostly rolling gradually up on the way out and rolling down on the way back. I figure if I can do this route in <3.5 hours, that would be a good ride and put me in a good position to see how I can run. Once I got back to the car, I went out for my run and after the first 20 minutes I felt like crap. I think I let myself get dehydrated because I never stopped for additional water, so on top of my Perpetuem, I only had 2 bottles over a 4 hour ride. Not enough. Also, approaching the transition, I chugged some of my Perpetuem which was not smart. I think it was too concentrated in my stomach and since I didn't have water to dilute it, it just sat in my stomach and I got more dehydrated. The run was tough. I was supposed to do an hour, but stretched out 50 minutes and I figure it was about 6 or 6.5 miles. At least I saw some of the course. All in all, it was a decent training day and will give me some piece of mind come race day in 3 weeks.
Thursday and Friday I did two decent swims. I was definitely slower in the water, but it felt good to be back at it again. And Friday morning was my long run only now coach has me doing short rides before my long runs. The alarm went off at 4 and I got ready to go. My plan was to drive down to work, do my ride and run from there and then start my full day of work. I got to the office around 5 and was on my bike by around 10 after. It actually got light pretty early, so even though I had a light, I didn't really need it that much. I did our "normal" loop from work and tacked on some extra on the bike trail for a total of 19.2 miles in roughly an hour. Nothing too hard to get started. Then I jumped off my bike and headed out for my 2 hour run. My plan called for 20 minutes of warmup and then repeated slightly harder efforts with 10 min recovery. I headed over to the bike trail and went west. I wasn't sure how far I would go, but in the first hour, I made it all the way to the 12 mile mark on the trail. That's about 8.3 miles from the office. I turned around and did the return trip. My legs were really tired by the end, but the run was 16.6 miles in 2 hours. I was pretty happy with that - it was a 7:12 average per mile off the bike. The next day my legs were fairly sore, though, so I know the time off didn't help me.
Then this morning was supposed to be a 65 mile ride followed by an hour run at "somewhat hard" pace. I drove up to Auburn to scope out the bike course. I knew where the transition areas were because I have done some running races there before, so I got up there around 7:15 and was off on my bike by like 7:25. I headed back down the hill toward Rattlesnake Bar park. I got the park and scoped out the boat launch where the swim start/finish is. There is actually water in Folsom Lake! The swim shouldn't be too bad. I'm not expecting a blazing fast time because it appears that past times are not particularly fast when I look up the results. In any case, I turned around and headed back up the hill. The course has ~6000 feet of climbing over 56 miles (they don't call it world's toughest half for nothing!). I made my way back up Rattlesnake road and over to Shirland Tract. There are a couple of steep parts as you gradually make your way back up to Auburn. Once I got up there I reached for my cue sheet/map and lo and behold it was gone! Crap. Oh well. Now I had to improvise somewhat. I knew some of the roads anyway, but I thought I would wing it. I cut over through town and headed up Lincoln Way up into the Foothills. The route was still gradually taking me up and up. Also, I noticed there were painted marks on the road that I could follow for the most part. I decided to try to follow the course. I found most of the roads and only made one wrong turn! There are one or two serious climbs, but mostly rolling gradually up on the way out and rolling down on the way back. I figure if I can do this route in <3.5 hours, that would be a good ride and put me in a good position to see how I can run. Once I got back to the car, I went out for my run and after the first 20 minutes I felt like crap. I think I let myself get dehydrated because I never stopped for additional water, so on top of my Perpetuem, I only had 2 bottles over a 4 hour ride. Not enough. Also, approaching the transition, I chugged some of my Perpetuem which was not smart. I think it was too concentrated in my stomach and since I didn't have water to dilute it, it just sat in my stomach and I got more dehydrated. The run was tough. I was supposed to do an hour, but stretched out 50 minutes and I figure it was about 6 or 6.5 miles. At least I saw some of the course. All in all, it was a decent training day and will give me some piece of mind come race day in 3 weeks.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Ugghhh
Wow, I was more sick than I have been for a LONG time. After we got home from Murray, Luci was sick the next day. She got over it quickly, but I got it on Saturday night and it hit me hard. I couldn't get out of bed for 40 hours and lost 5 pounds in about 12 hours. Not fun.
Yesterday I was finally able to get back out and ride and today I am getting back on my normal training plan. My ride yesterday was about 20 miles with an 18 and a half average at about 180 watts average. I was a little worried, but it felt really good. Then this morning, I did a 6.2 mile run in about 46 minutes. I took it very easy and just cruised around the neighborhoods; a few small hills, but nothing killer, so I felt pretty good. After I got back, I did a few weights and core work and then hit the shower to get ready for work. This afternoon is my first "real" swim back. My plan is to do the swim I was supposed to do Tuesday and then I'll do the swim that I was supposed to do both today and tomorrow when I hit the pool tomorrow. Today's is 2900 with a couple of 400s I think. Looking forward to it!
Yesterday I was finally able to get back out and ride and today I am getting back on my normal training plan. My ride yesterday was about 20 miles with an 18 and a half average at about 180 watts average. I was a little worried, but it felt really good. Then this morning, I did a 6.2 mile run in about 46 minutes. I took it very easy and just cruised around the neighborhoods; a few small hills, but nothing killer, so I felt pretty good. After I got back, I did a few weights and core work and then hit the shower to get ready for work. This afternoon is my first "real" swim back. My plan is to do the swim I was supposed to do Tuesday and then I'll do the swim that I was supposed to do both today and tomorrow when I hit the pool tomorrow. Today's is 2900 with a couple of 400s I think. Looking forward to it!
Friday, May 1, 2009
IM KY - Bike Course Recon
Late in the afternoon after the half-marathon in Nashville, we drove up to Louisville to visit some friends from college who we hadn’t seen in 3.5 years or so. It took a little over 2 hours, so that wasn’t too bad. We got there, visited with our friends and their kids for a bit and then hit the hay. The next day, I took off and recovered from the race. I didn’t push too hard, so I wasn’t really that sore. We had a great day with our friends. They have 2 kids and so all our little ones played and the adults caught up. While we were out to dinner that night, we found a bike shop where I could buy some CO2 for my ride the next day.
My plan was to drive downtown, ride the Louisville IM bike course and then do a run on part of the run course. Being in Nashville, and then visiting my sister-in-law in Murray just put us too close to Louisville to pass up the opportunity. It is a little bit of a pain (and nerve-racking with a brand new tri bike) to travel with your bike, but worth the effort for the piece of mind going into the race. I had heard the course was hilly, but not as bad as Wisconsin.
I got up early that morning and left their house around 6 and made the drive downtown. It took about 25 minutes. I eventually found my target parking lot on River road and got ready. After all my usual prep (and peeing twice), I hit the road. I was rolling by 7 AM. The first part on River road was quite pleasant. Very flat and fast. My intention was to simulate race conditions as best I could so for the first 20 miles, I was going to stay in HR zone 1, stay in my small chain ring, and keep my wattage under 200 as best I could. I was still cruising along at 21-22 and easily hitting 23-24 at times, so I knew there was a significant tailwind. The first several miles are along River road and then you make a left turn onto route 42. Well, as I approached where I thought 42 might be coming up, I started seeing signs that the road was closed. I kept going just to see if there was a way through. Once I got up to where it was closed, they had guard rails across the road, but there was enough room to get my bike through. It didn’t really make sense to me that the race route would go through a closed section of the road and I wasn’t sure what to do. I decided to turn around and see if there was another way to 42. I found a lady at a nearby building and asked her how to get to 42. She directed me back to Lime Kiln road and up to 42 that way. It turns out, as I would later discover, this added about 5 miles to the ride and took me to a part of 42 that was VERY busy right near 71. Not idea. Nonetheless, I kept truckin’ and eventually made it to the point where River road did join back up with route 42. I figured this was the real route after all.
I was still feeling great and sticking to my nutrition plan. Sips of Perpetuem every 15 minutes and a Hammer gel every 40 minutes. I also brought salt tablets, but forgot to take those. I have to get into that habit, because I know I will need them come race day!! I motored along 42, but was not particularly excited about all the traffic. There was a school on this road and it was very busy since I was riding by at like 7:45-8:00 AM. The next part of the course was a spur off of 42 down into a valley on 1694; just an out-and-back section and then you come back to 42. I eventually found it and this was quite a nice road to ride on not much traffic at all. I was relieved and much less tense on this part of the ride. I did notice though, that as soon as I turned back a little bit into the SW direction, there was a VERY stiff headwind to deal with. I also knew that I had a long ride on 42 as I finished the loop and headed SW back into town, so it would be very windy.
I made it back out to route 42 and headed E/NE again. The next turn was on 393 S/SE. I was glad to get off the main road again. This part of the route was fairly hilly and it wasn't easy to get into a good rythym. I tried to keep focused on a steady effort, but not to get too aggressive yet, staying in zone 1 and 2 as best I could. I headed out towards route 146 and once I got out there I turned to the E/NE again and the wind was at my back. I was flying down this road with not much effort. It felt pretty nice. It was a main road, but this was the middle of the morning on a Monday, so there wasn't much traffic. I cruised into LaGrange and took in some of the sites as I passed through. The next turn was a ways up the road on Ballard School. I came to a fast descent and was motoring along and next thing I know a road came up on my left called Ballard School but I was going to fast to make the turn. Oops.
I slowed down, turned around and headed up Ballard School. Once on this road there were some rolling hills and again, it wasn't easy to get into a good rythym - I am basically thinking that will be the theme for the ride. Aerobars and cruise down hills and then up onto the bullhorns and spinning up short hills with lots of shifting. This was a nice road to ride on and I think this part fo the route is what people talk about when they say this course is pretty to ride. Lots of horse farms, etc. Very nice. I stopped for a minute and snapped this picture of my Team Revs water bottle.
I checked in with my better half and then kept moving. Ballard School dead-ended onto Old Sligo, which was again, a very scenic road to ride on. Big houses, farms, etc. More rollers, but I was still feeling quite good. I think I was about 45-50 miles into the ride at this point and sticking to my nutrition plan very well. The Perpetuem has been working quite well. I get a little tired of it after 4-5 hours, but switching to Gatorade/Coke during the run will be a nice switch, whereas, in IMMoo in '07, I was drinking Gatorade all day and got very tired of it, especially the orange stuff they give you on the bike.
I found the turn onto L'Esprit Parkway and was really flying on this part. The wind was at my back, it was a nice, scenic road with not too much up and down. The problem was that route came up before I knew it and I had to turn back the other way. I rode up the short section of 153 and then made the turn back onto 42 to head back. I had about 30 miles to go and there was a SERIOUS headwind. I just tucked into my aerobars and started pushing. There were a few rollers and the road wasn't that great, but overall it wasn't too bad. I was still feeling relatively good and decided to see what kind of steady effort I could put out. There were times when I was doing 300 watts and going like 16 on a flat road. Then up some of the hills into the wind I was doing like 14. Overall on this ride back to town, I was pretty happy with my effort. I put out a steady ~210 watts over the last 30 miles.
I was pushing fairly hard, not at half-iron race pace, but strong and steady with a HR around 145 or so. My crotch was a little sore, but I decided it was going to work out just fine to wear just the tri shorts for the race, which will make things a tad easier in transition. The Profile-Design tri saddle has been working fairly well. I may check in with Joe S. at WheelWorks one more time, but overall, I am quite comfortable on the new ride.
I got to the intersection of 42 and River Road and decided to make the turn this time to cut through the closed portion. I got to the bridge where it was closed and just cut through the guard rails. I suppose the race will go through here, too. The wind had really picked up and although it was very flat, on that last section back to the car, I was doing ~225 watts for the last 8 miles, but only averaged about 18.5 mph. Normally at that wattage on a flat road, my speed would be much higher in the 22-24 range. The wind was really strong in this direction; if it happens like this on race day, I'll just have to be mentally prepared for it. I am trying to be less-focused on absolute times and more focused on how I place relative in my age group.
I got back to the car and hopped off my bike. The legs actually felt decent and the nutrition went fairly well. I grabbed some water from the van, got the bike back into the van, and changed into my running shoes. After about 6 minutes, I headed up into town from the river front. It was Derby week, so downtown was quite busy, even for a Monday afternoon. I crossed over to 3rd street and headed south down part of the run course. My plan was to do an hour. I probably should've carried some water because I was starting to get dehydrated. It was hot - maybe like 85 by this time so it was good prep for the heat of August (although I am sure it will feel much hotter if it gets into the mid 90s like last year). Nonetheless, I tried to focus on my run cadence and cruised along. I turned around at the University and headed back. Not a bad run. The course will be very flat, which is good. It should suit me well to shoot for a decent marathon. I did around 7.6 miles in like 58 minutes - an average of about 7:40 per mile. I was very tired, but dind't seem to have much trouble locking into that pace. The real question will be how long I can keep it after a tough ride.
I am really, really excited about taking another crack at IronMan. Last time, I just wanted to finish, to survive. This time, I am going to push it a bit and see if I can figure out how to sort-of "race" an IronMan. We shall see. Bring it on!!
My plan was to drive downtown, ride the Louisville IM bike course and then do a run on part of the run course. Being in Nashville, and then visiting my sister-in-law in Murray just put us too close to Louisville to pass up the opportunity. It is a little bit of a pain (and nerve-racking with a brand new tri bike) to travel with your bike, but worth the effort for the piece of mind going into the race. I had heard the course was hilly, but not as bad as Wisconsin.
I got up early that morning and left their house around 6 and made the drive downtown. It took about 25 minutes. I eventually found my target parking lot on River road and got ready. After all my usual prep (and peeing twice), I hit the road. I was rolling by 7 AM. The first part on River road was quite pleasant. Very flat and fast. My intention was to simulate race conditions as best I could so for the first 20 miles, I was going to stay in HR zone 1, stay in my small chain ring, and keep my wattage under 200 as best I could. I was still cruising along at 21-22 and easily hitting 23-24 at times, so I knew there was a significant tailwind. The first several miles are along River road and then you make a left turn onto route 42. Well, as I approached where I thought 42 might be coming up, I started seeing signs that the road was closed. I kept going just to see if there was a way through. Once I got up to where it was closed, they had guard rails across the road, but there was enough room to get my bike through. It didn’t really make sense to me that the race route would go through a closed section of the road and I wasn’t sure what to do. I decided to turn around and see if there was another way to 42. I found a lady at a nearby building and asked her how to get to 42. She directed me back to Lime Kiln road and up to 42 that way. It turns out, as I would later discover, this added about 5 miles to the ride and took me to a part of 42 that was VERY busy right near 71. Not idea. Nonetheless, I kept truckin’ and eventually made it to the point where River road did join back up with route 42. I figured this was the real route after all.
I was still feeling great and sticking to my nutrition plan. Sips of Perpetuem every 15 minutes and a Hammer gel every 40 minutes. I also brought salt tablets, but forgot to take those. I have to get into that habit, because I know I will need them come race day!! I motored along 42, but was not particularly excited about all the traffic. There was a school on this road and it was very busy since I was riding by at like 7:45-8:00 AM. The next part of the course was a spur off of 42 down into a valley on 1694; just an out-and-back section and then you come back to 42. I eventually found it and this was quite a nice road to ride on not much traffic at all. I was relieved and much less tense on this part of the ride. I did notice though, that as soon as I turned back a little bit into the SW direction, there was a VERY stiff headwind to deal with. I also knew that I had a long ride on 42 as I finished the loop and headed SW back into town, so it would be very windy.
I made it back out to route 42 and headed E/NE again. The next turn was on 393 S/SE. I was glad to get off the main road again. This part of the route was fairly hilly and it wasn't easy to get into a good rythym. I tried to keep focused on a steady effort, but not to get too aggressive yet, staying in zone 1 and 2 as best I could. I headed out towards route 146 and once I got out there I turned to the E/NE again and the wind was at my back. I was flying down this road with not much effort. It felt pretty nice. It was a main road, but this was the middle of the morning on a Monday, so there wasn't much traffic. I cruised into LaGrange and took in some of the sites as I passed through. The next turn was a ways up the road on Ballard School. I came to a fast descent and was motoring along and next thing I know a road came up on my left called Ballard School but I was going to fast to make the turn. Oops.
I slowed down, turned around and headed up Ballard School. Once on this road there were some rolling hills and again, it wasn't easy to get into a good rythym - I am basically thinking that will be the theme for the ride. Aerobars and cruise down hills and then up onto the bullhorns and spinning up short hills with lots of shifting. This was a nice road to ride on and I think this part fo the route is what people talk about when they say this course is pretty to ride. Lots of horse farms, etc. Very nice. I stopped for a minute and snapped this picture of my Team Revs water bottle.
I checked in with my better half and then kept moving. Ballard School dead-ended onto Old Sligo, which was again, a very scenic road to ride on. Big houses, farms, etc. More rollers, but I was still feeling quite good. I think I was about 45-50 miles into the ride at this point and sticking to my nutrition plan very well. The Perpetuem has been working quite well. I get a little tired of it after 4-5 hours, but switching to Gatorade/Coke during the run will be a nice switch, whereas, in IMMoo in '07, I was drinking Gatorade all day and got very tired of it, especially the orange stuff they give you on the bike.
I found the turn onto L'Esprit Parkway and was really flying on this part. The wind was at my back, it was a nice, scenic road with not too much up and down. The problem was that route came up before I knew it and I had to turn back the other way. I rode up the short section of 153 and then made the turn back onto 42 to head back. I had about 30 miles to go and there was a SERIOUS headwind. I just tucked into my aerobars and started pushing. There were a few rollers and the road wasn't that great, but overall it wasn't too bad. I was still feeling relatively good and decided to see what kind of steady effort I could put out. There were times when I was doing 300 watts and going like 16 on a flat road. Then up some of the hills into the wind I was doing like 14. Overall on this ride back to town, I was pretty happy with my effort. I put out a steady ~210 watts over the last 30 miles.
I was pushing fairly hard, not at half-iron race pace, but strong and steady with a HR around 145 or so. My crotch was a little sore, but I decided it was going to work out just fine to wear just the tri shorts for the race, which will make things a tad easier in transition. The Profile-Design tri saddle has been working fairly well. I may check in with Joe S. at WheelWorks one more time, but overall, I am quite comfortable on the new ride.
I got to the intersection of 42 and River Road and decided to make the turn this time to cut through the closed portion. I got to the bridge where it was closed and just cut through the guard rails. I suppose the race will go through here, too. The wind had really picked up and although it was very flat, on that last section back to the car, I was doing ~225 watts for the last 8 miles, but only averaged about 18.5 mph. Normally at that wattage on a flat road, my speed would be much higher in the 22-24 range. The wind was really strong in this direction; if it happens like this on race day, I'll just have to be mentally prepared for it. I am trying to be less-focused on absolute times and more focused on how I place relative in my age group.
I got back to the car and hopped off my bike. The legs actually felt decent and the nutrition went fairly well. I grabbed some water from the van, got the bike back into the van, and changed into my running shoes. After about 6 minutes, I headed up into town from the river front. It was Derby week, so downtown was quite busy, even for a Monday afternoon. I crossed over to 3rd street and headed south down part of the run course. My plan was to do an hour. I probably should've carried some water because I was starting to get dehydrated. It was hot - maybe like 85 by this time so it was good prep for the heat of August (although I am sure it will feel much hotter if it gets into the mid 90s like last year). Nonetheless, I tried to focus on my run cadence and cruised along. I turned around at the University and headed back. Not a bad run. The course will be very flat, which is good. It should suit me well to shoot for a decent marathon. I did around 7.6 miles in like 58 minutes - an average of about 7:40 per mile. I was very tired, but dind't seem to have much trouble locking into that pace. The real question will be how long I can keep it after a tough ride.
I am really, really excited about taking another crack at IronMan. Last time, I just wanted to finish, to survive. This time, I am going to push it a bit and see if I can figure out how to sort-of "race" an IronMan. We shall see. Bring it on!!
Race Report - Country Music Half Marathon
My PR would've had me 16th overall out of over 22,000 finishers, BUT, alas, I was still in a car on the highway about 15 minutes before I was supposed to be starting. The logistics at this race were not ideal to say the least. We were staying in a hotel near Opryland, about 15 minutes drive from downtown Nashville. Our plan was to leave around 5:15, get to LP field (where the finish was), and take the shuttle over to the start. Leaving at that time, we thought, was going to give us plenty of time. My wife, her sister, her sister's husband, and I were all doing the race. Fortunately, we had some grandparent help, so the kids stayed in a different room and we got off in the AM easily.
We were on the road right about when we were planning. However, we got to about 5 miles within downtown and then sat on the highway for quite a while. We thought they were stopping the shuttle at 6 AM, and ended up missing that time. We just figured we'd jog the 2 miles over
to the start. But, we kept sitting. And sitting. And sitting. We finally pulled into the parking lot at like 6:45 or so. So we traveled about 12 miles in an hour and a half. The whole source of the problem was the light at the off-ramp to get to the stadium. There was no traffic control and only a few cars were getting through at a time, causing a HUGE backup.
Then, we pulled into the parking lot and started realizing very quickly that the place was a logjam. There were no workers around, a ton of cars in line, and cars parked everywhere they could be. On the grass in between the trees, on the medians, etc. We tried to remain positive, but were all a little bit cranky about the fact that the logistics of this race were such a pain. I guess we should’ve left about an hour earlier, but that would’ve been at 4 AM for a 7 AM start! Oh well…
We finally found a place at the end of a row on a little patch of grass. I then jumped out and took off. I was thinking I would jog over to the start quickly, but then realized I didn’t really know how to get there. I decided to just take the shuttle, which was actually still running, and then just start with whatever wave was starting when I got there. I was supposed to be in the first starting corral based on estimated finish time, but by the time I got to the start line at like 7:14, they were on wave 6. Now I had something like 5,000 people to dodge in order to go fast. I decided to just cruise for a while and see how it went… treat it like a supported training day.
I started and the first mile was extremely crowded. I couldn’t even see the first mile marker; I think I did around a 7 minute mile. I decided to not even pay attention to mile splits. The course wasn’t bad. It had a few minor hills, but nothing like what I’m used to in CA. Still, with the heat and the hills, it wasn’t an easy course either. I hit the 5K marker at like 22 minutes. I figured I could do it as a long tempo run since the crowd would thin out some as I ran.
I got to the long out-and-back section where you could see the leaders coming back the other way. This was sort of frustrating because I could tell this was a field where I could’ve possibly been top 30 or even top 20 overall. Oh well. I tried to just keep cruising a little bit harder. I made it to 5 miles in around 36 and change, but then I pushed a bit harder. I wanted to negative split it. I did the loop at the turn-around and started back towards town. I got to mile 9 at 62 minutes so I had made up some time in the last few miles. Miles 10 and 11 weren’t bad. I was a little fatigued, but was still feeling strong and still passing a TON of people. At mile 11, I had a GU and kept drinking Cytomax and water. It was really heating up. It was only like 8:15 AM, but already in the 80s I think. I was thinking about my brother-in-law who would be out running until around noon in the heat!
The last 2 miles were good. The course took you back to LP field (the stadium where the Titans play) and the finish was just outside the stadium. I was shooting for 1:30 or less, so I kept pushing. I came down the bridge over to the stadium and made the turn towards the finish. I crossed the line with 1:29 something on my watch. Not too bad considering I ran the first 3-4 miles at over 7 minute pace. I was 88th overall out of 22,000 finishers. My PR time for a half-marathon would’ve had me in the top 20 overall – around 16th or 17th. It was not a particularly fast field and the heat took it’s toll on people. I think I could’ve done a 1:24 or 1:25 had I pushed it. It was still a good race and I had fun.
After the race, I went for a short jog and then circled back to catch the winners at the marathon finish. A Kenyan (can’t remember his name) finished in 2:13 and change. Pretty fast for that heat. The women’s winner did a 2:35. Then I regrouped with my wife and her sister (above) and waiting for my brother-in-law to finish. He finished his first marathon and is already talking about another marathon just a few days afterwards, which is a good sign. I was proud of him because he really struggled near the end, but stuck to it and made it to the line. It’s probably not a race I would do again, but we all had fun.
We were on the road right about when we were planning. However, we got to about 5 miles within downtown and then sat on the highway for quite a while. We thought they were stopping the shuttle at 6 AM, and ended up missing that time. We just figured we'd jog the 2 miles over
to the start. But, we kept sitting. And sitting. And sitting. We finally pulled into the parking lot at like 6:45 or so. So we traveled about 12 miles in an hour and a half. The whole source of the problem was the light at the off-ramp to get to the stadium. There was no traffic control and only a few cars were getting through at a time, causing a HUGE backup.
Then, we pulled into the parking lot and started realizing very quickly that the place was a logjam. There were no workers around, a ton of cars in line, and cars parked everywhere they could be. On the grass in between the trees, on the medians, etc. We tried to remain positive, but were all a little bit cranky about the fact that the logistics of this race were such a pain. I guess we should’ve left about an hour earlier, but that would’ve been at 4 AM for a 7 AM start! Oh well…
We finally found a place at the end of a row on a little patch of grass. I then jumped out and took off. I was thinking I would jog over to the start quickly, but then realized I didn’t really know how to get there. I decided to just take the shuttle, which was actually still running, and then just start with whatever wave was starting when I got there. I was supposed to be in the first starting corral based on estimated finish time, but by the time I got to the start line at like 7:14, they were on wave 6. Now I had something like 5,000 people to dodge in order to go fast. I decided to just cruise for a while and see how it went… treat it like a supported training day.
I started and the first mile was extremely crowded. I couldn’t even see the first mile marker; I think I did around a 7 minute mile. I decided to not even pay attention to mile splits. The course wasn’t bad. It had a few minor hills, but nothing like what I’m used to in CA. Still, with the heat and the hills, it wasn’t an easy course either. I hit the 5K marker at like 22 minutes. I figured I could do it as a long tempo run since the crowd would thin out some as I ran.
I got to the long out-and-back section where you could see the leaders coming back the other way. This was sort of frustrating because I could tell this was a field where I could’ve possibly been top 30 or even top 20 overall. Oh well. I tried to just keep cruising a little bit harder. I made it to 5 miles in around 36 and change, but then I pushed a bit harder. I wanted to negative split it. I did the loop at the turn-around and started back towards town. I got to mile 9 at 62 minutes so I had made up some time in the last few miles. Miles 10 and 11 weren’t bad. I was a little fatigued, but was still feeling strong and still passing a TON of people. At mile 11, I had a GU and kept drinking Cytomax and water. It was really heating up. It was only like 8:15 AM, but already in the 80s I think. I was thinking about my brother-in-law who would be out running until around noon in the heat!
The last 2 miles were good. The course took you back to LP field (the stadium where the Titans play) and the finish was just outside the stadium. I was shooting for 1:30 or less, so I kept pushing. I came down the bridge over to the stadium and made the turn towards the finish. I crossed the line with 1:29 something on my watch. Not too bad considering I ran the first 3-4 miles at over 7 minute pace. I was 88th overall out of 22,000 finishers. My PR time for a half-marathon would’ve had me in the top 20 overall – around 16th or 17th. It was not a particularly fast field and the heat took it’s toll on people. I think I could’ve done a 1:24 or 1:25 had I pushed it. It was still a good race and I had fun.
After the race, I went for a short jog and then circled back to catch the winners at the marathon finish. A Kenyan (can’t remember his name) finished in 2:13 and change. Pretty fast for that heat. The women’s winner did a 2:35. Then I regrouped with my wife and her sister (above) and waiting for my brother-in-law to finish. He finished his first marathon and is already talking about another marathon just a few days afterwards, which is a good sign. I was proud of him because he really struggled near the end, but stuck to it and made it to the line. It’s probably not a race I would do again, but we all had fun.
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