Great Training Weekend

This weekend Dr. Nitrous and The Zoomer and I took off at the way too early hour of 5:30 am for a 3 hour ride. The route would be fairly easy for the first 30 miles, but then the climbing would commence and continue for the next ten. Since coming off of the chest cold and trying to recover for the last 3-4 weeks I was a little anxious to see how my energy would hold up. While we didn't go out and try to kill ourselves on any part of the ride, we did keep it brisk. Being in Alabama, we did have the luxury of a very muggy and sticky weather forecast, but there was enough cloud cover to keep most of the heat off. Once we made it through the final climbs of the day, I was overjoyed in the fact that I still had good legs and felt like I could have kept going. This is a first in a long time. Zoomer and I took off for an easy 3 mile run afterwards to stretch out the legs. It feels so good to be going long again.
Today, the legs were a little heavy, but I was able to put in 11 miles on the run. The big goal for me was to keep the HR in the 150 range. I ended up averaging 155 which I think might be the perfect zone for racing. Now, I've got to work on dropping my pace while keeping my HR in that zone.
Also key for me this weekend was being able to recover well after each training session. I took in good calories and took ice baths to help the legs recover.
I'm not sure how I can explain it. Maybe the LSD (long slow distance) just suits me over the balls to the wall hypoxic training I'd been doing. 14 weeks to go until Augusta. Can't wait, but I don't want it to get here too soon. I'm having too much fun preparing for it.
Tailwinds....

Race Planning - Going Long Again

I've had a change of heart. After a few months of training specifically for the shorter distance races, I discovered that my heart just isn't in it. There just doesn't seem to be a big drive for me to compete in the hour plus races. So, I decided this past week to scrap the season and pick up Augusta 70.3. It's my first sanctioned HIM since 2007. Last year was all about the IM with one training HIM thrown in for giggles, but it was completed at IM pace. I have 15 weeks to get my legs and lungs into shape. It shouldn't take too long, but I'm starting with a bit of a disadvantage. Three weeks ago I took on a massive chest cold that has seemed to zap my ability to maintain a high HR. I'm still dealing with some of those issues, so until I can right the ship in that area I'll be completing a lot of slow long distance workouts. I'm actually looking forward to that.

So I officially started 70.3 training yesterday with a 10 mile mid morning run. The plan was to incorporate the IM Talk/John Newsom plan which is the 9 minutes on and 1 minute off. The 9 minutes on are run at a faster pace than you normally would run your 1/2 Mary. The 1 minute rest is there to give your HR a chance to recover. Their studies have shown that you will actually run faster and have better legs toward the end than if you had set out at one consistent pace. The hardest thing about it for me was getting into a rhythm. I seemed to be too concerned with when my 9 minutes were going to be up. It did take a little of the enjoyment out of the run. I'll keep giving it a try and see if it improves.

This morning was my first 1.2 mile swim in several months. I was very pleased with the results and time. I was spot on for where I want to be come September. I was very encouraged by that. Going forward any extra fitness earned in the pool is just icing on the cake.

That's all for now. Tailwinds to all.

Intervals, Intervals, Intervals

Yeah, I don't have any stories about an epic ride or X number of laps in the pool. The past few weeks have all been about intervals aimed at increasing speed. Nearly all of my races are sprint distance races that last just around an hour. I really miss the 4-5 hour rides and 3 hour runs that came with training for an Ironman distance race, but the sprint distance is a whole different monster and requires different training.

Here's what yesterday looked like:

Run:

1 mile warm up

800 m in 2:56

400 jog

800 m in 2:54

400 jog

800 m in 2:55

400 jog

800 m in 3:00

400 jog

2 miles at 6:51 pace

1 mile jog.

Not a long workout at all, maybe 6.5 miles? But it was a great workout and definitely stretched my limits.

Today we did time trial intervals on a semi-flat course that was just under 1 mile long. I didn't have my garmin with me so I didn't get any splits. The goal here was to make it hurt. Dr. Nitrous and I swapped off acting as rabbits for one another giving us someone to try and catch. There's a little pride that's lost in being caught so there was some extra motivation keep the speed up. We conducted 6 TT sessions that have left my quads still burning 3 hours later. It's either a sign that I'm just not in peak form right now, or that this was just a good workout.

Tomorrow is a 5K run at 100% effort. I'm going to try and break my previous PR of 19:46 on this course. I'm not sure if I'm there yet, but we'll find out. More on that later.

This weekend is the 1st Annual LibertyMan Duathlon. It's a practice race created by the good Dr. Nitrous. It consists of a 5K run, 14 mile bike, 5k run. This is going to be a real challenge for me, especially in trying to keep the pace hot. Looking forward to throwing down and earning my stripes.

Check That One Off of the To-do List!

This morning's planned session consisted of speed work. My good buddy JWest told me about an exercise his coach has him doing that he really "enjoys". Since JWest is crazy fast, I thought I'd give it a try.

1 mile warm up

24 X 400 with 45 sec break between

1 mile cool down

Now JWest is able to throw down 1:15 reps, but I'm not quite there. The Zoomer, Dr. Nitrous, and I set out to tackle the task this morning. I gotta tell you, after the first few there's no way that I would have ever guessed that we would complete all 24. All in all it was a difficult session that totally made us work and stretch our limits.

Staying with the workout and not quitting early was a huge boost in training mentality. All this adds up to being able to SwimBikeRun faster come race day.

My Most Recent Favorite Workout - Ever

In doing a little research on how to SwimBikeRunner faster, I came across an interesting article about plyometric jumps. During a twelve week study, two groups of cyclists were put through similar cycling workouts except one group completed sets of plyometric jumps twice a week. Over the course of the twelve week study, the group performing the plyometric jumps increased their power output by 3% over the control group. It doesn't sound like much, but 3% change is huge. Best of all, these little workouts take about 10 minutes to do.

I did my second set of these this morning after my swim and oi! They were difficult. Where running and cycling require a consistent amount of pressure and power applied against either the ground or your pedals, these require an explosive amount of force applied to complete the jump. Definitely a shock to the system and definitely something that I will continue to do in my effort to SwimBikeRun faster.

Here's my workout:

3 X 7 box jumps with Zero added weight, 10 lbs added weight, then 13 lbs added weight.

3X 10 split jumps with same additional weight plan.

3 X 10 side jumps with no additional weight.

Here are some links.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuKx0PvW37w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK11KovyaP8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hADsX-H2O5w

Busting The Draft - Frank Maples Tri Race Report

Saturday, I drove up to Scottsboro, AL for their whatever'th annual Frank Maples Reverse Triathlon. The race consists of a 2 mile run, 15 mile bike, and a 200 yd pool swim. Very short, but it's balls to the wall.

The morning started at 4 am. Since I had preloaded the car, I was able to walk out the door, coffee in hand, at 4:20. I arrived for the 8 am start at 6:45. I picked up my goodie bag and t-shirt and decided with 30 seconds that both would be thrown away as soon as I got home. Well, I did put the t-shirt in our bag of stuff to give to Goodwill. I'm not completely heartless.

Around 7 am, I pulled the trainer out of the car and warmed up the legs for 15 minutes or so. Afterwards, I went for a jog that included some race pace intervals. I tried my best not to look around at the competition. I undoubtly start psyching myself out by looking at everyone's all carbon bikes, zipp wheels, and shaven legs. Self doubt has a way a losing a race for you before the gun even goes off.

At 7:55, everyone found their way to the start line. I lingered back just a bit to see who would be jockeying for a quick start. We listened to a local minister in a stereotypical Alabama accent say the prayer and sing the national anthem. And then it was 3, 2, 1, GO!

Legs felt great from the start. The pack thinned quickly and I found myself in 4th place within 400 yards. At the one mile mark, a guy ran up beside me with a Garmin. I asked him about the pace, he said that it was a 5:50. I let him go and reeled back the pace. I knew my limits, and I wanted to save some for the bike. Was this a mistake? Two more guys passed shortly after and I was in 7th. The next guy behind me was choking on his flem, so I knew I was good. I came into T1 in 12:00 flat. Right about where I wanted to be.

In T1, I stuggled with the strap on my helmet for what seemed to be an eternity. It was enough for the flem choker to pass me, in transition!

I finally got on the bike and was in 8th place. Luckily the legs were there and I kept the guy in sight. He had to stay ahead of me for 15 miles and I didn't think he could do it. I was correct. I can't really say too much about the first 6 miles. The legs felt great and the roads were fairly flat. Pace was right on target the whole way. At mile 6, I looked back and saw a familiar sight. A pack of riders bearing down on me. I thought, they may catch me, but they're going to have to earn it. Well, they earned it at mile 8th. I decided that I was going to stay out of the draft zone and attack at various points. Each attack was met with someone jumping on my wheel. So much for the individuality of the sport. Three attacks and no luck. The pace stayed hot and it took a lot out of me to stay with them. I decided that if I didn't make a move soon, then my 7th place was going to turn into a 13th place. I knew their would be no passing in the pool with just 200 yards. With a half mile to go I made my last effort to break away and it worked. I held a good lead coming into T2. Since this wasn't a USAT race, I didn't even bother to rack my bike. I left it on the ground and grabbed my goggles. It was my fastest (and easiest) T2 ever.

I jumped, not dove, into the pools. Oh, it felt like molasses! I couldn't even consider using my legs. It's a good thing that I had 6 years of experience while swimming without my legs. Yeah, my swim technique isn't the best. After the first 50 yards I looked back to see where my chasers were. They were all bunched together and not within reach. The guy in front of me wasn't in reach either. I knew all I had to do was to complete the swim and I was golden. I hit the final stretch and found the end of the lane to collect my 7th place finish. I was dead, but happy. It also enabled me to finish 2nd in my AG. The winner of my AG finished 3rd so good effort on his behalf.

Overall, it was a great race. I feel good for where I am physically right now. Best of all I am happy for the way that I raced. I had a good tactic and fought through some pretty tough odds to finish strong. If I had given it 3% less, it would have cost me 6 or so slots in the overall field. Hopefully, I can build upon this experience and use it down the road.

It's Race Week!

This weekend is the Annual Frank Maples Reverse Tri in Scottsboro, AL. Now you may be asking yourself, where in the world is Scottsboro, AL? Or, where is Alabama for that matter. Scottsboro is a little town in northeast Alabama that's about a two hour drive from where I am in Birmingham. It was made famous, or infamous rather, a few years ago due to Dennis Covington's "Salvation of Sandmountain". The book tells the story of a fundamentalist church dead set on proving their faith through handling of snakes and drinking poison. Despite their crazy habits they were pretty much left alone until the pastor tried to off his wife with said snakes. It's a sad and odd tale that I'm sure the community would like to distance themselves from. Now, they are known for one of the largest unclaimed baggage stores in the US. Ever wonder what happened to that snowboard that never made it back from your trip to Colorado? Well, there's a good chance it found it's way to Scottsboro. I've been to the store, but have refrained from purchasing. I just can't do it. Well, unless someone just happens to have lost a pair of Zipps. Then it's game on.

Alright, so on with the race. It's a short short race. It's barely worth the drive, but it's a good early season test that will hopefully give me a benchmark to work from. The race consists of a 2 mile run, a 15 mile bike, and a 200 yard pool swim. This race is heavily weighted on the bike if you ask me which is pretty much like throwing me into the briarpatch. I can't say that my bike is still where I would like for it to be, but it should be in good enough form to go balls out for 15 miles.

The last time I did this race was in 2007. I finished 14th, but felt that I got shafted a bit due to getting passed late in the ride by a peleton of 5-6 riders. I didn't know how to handle that then, but I do now and will certainly not let that happen again. The race is too small to have sufficient draft busters so I'll have to let a little anger fuel my legs and keep me ahead of these bastards.

More to come later. Hope everyone enjoys the weekend.