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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)