Thursday, September 8, 2011
Recovery Run
Ran this evening. Sad that the swim is cancelled. Sad that this weekend is starting out with a horrible, nauseating sequence of events that just make me feel more worthless than ever before. I can't seem to do anything right these days. I was looking forward to proving that all of the effort I've put into my training at least paid off, my entire year wasn't a horrible waste. But it seems to be quite the opposite. Even the things I thought were good are coming apart at the seams. Everything I love, everything I aspire for, every goal I set just fall apart and turn to shit. Doesn't matter how much effort I put into them, I'm going to fuck it up. It's just who I am. I can't follow through with anything. The things that I want to grow only die and wither under my touch. I am doomed to be a lonely, unemployed, self-absorbed disgrace. Even the culmination of this year's training will be left without closure. No gratification. No resolution. No reward. Just disappointment and sadness. Just another reminder of how I'm wasting my life.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Trifecta 3 of 4
Today's trifecta went well. Started with the swim:
I felt a little sluggish and fatigued as I swam, but I just focused on my form, making sure to keep my reach long and my catch strong. Head in good position, high elbows, straight legs. As long as I keep to good form, it seems I will be fine. Average lap was 59.30. Good stuff.
Ran on the treadmill because it was raining all day, so I only have HR data. The data looks exactly right though, so I feel there was great success here. I set the 'mill to roughly 10'35", 9'30", and 8'15". The last one may have been a little too fast.
Biked this evening. I feel like I did a good job here too. I tried to do fast spinning for the last set, but didn't get quite the "oomph" out of the last 4 minutes that I wanted, so my HR is a little low. Otherwise, three reasonable sets. I was pretty tired by this point though.
| L1 | 48.1 | L6 | 51.89 | L11 | 52.63 | L16 | 55.12 | |||
| L2 | 60.93 | L7 | 59.2 | L12 | 59.06 | L17 | 60.75 | |||
| L3 | 64.31 | L8 | 61.38 | L13 | 59.29 | L18 | 60.81 | |||
| L4 | 63 | L9 | 60.83 | L14 | 61.42 | L19 | 63.26 | |||
| L5 | 61.94 | L10 | 60.57 | L15 | 61.77 | L20 | 59.66 | |||
| R | 57.31 | R | 44.43 | R | 31.25 |
I felt a little sluggish and fatigued as I swam, but I just focused on my form, making sure to keep my reach long and my catch strong. Head in good position, high elbows, straight legs. As long as I keep to good form, it seems I will be fine. Average lap was 59.30. Good stuff.
Ran on the treadmill because it was raining all day, so I only have HR data. The data looks exactly right though, so I feel there was great success here. I set the 'mill to roughly 10'35", 9'30", and 8'15". The last one may have been a little too fast.
Biked this evening. I feel like I did a good job here too. I tried to do fast spinning for the last set, but didn't get quite the "oomph" out of the last 4 minutes that I wanted, so my HR is a little low. Otherwise, three reasonable sets. I was pretty tired by this point though.
Race Plan : Nation's Triathlon 2011
*** Race plan subject to change/update***
Wednesday, August 30: Take bike to LBS to get tune-up. (DONE)
Tuesday, September 6: Go to bike shop to get box. Box bike as soon as possible. You don't need it again until Saturday. (DONE)
Thursday, September 8: Rent wet suit. Practice putting the wetsuit on and practice a transition set up at home. Get the suit wet and try to take it off.
Friday, September 9: Pack overnight bag (all must fit in backpack): Swim cap, goggles, swim clip, bathing suit, flip flops, hair ties/clips, helmet, sunglasses, trisuit, glide, socks (x3), gloves, bike shoes, bike shorts, running shoes, running shorts, sports bra, hat, race belt, RoadID, HR monitor, Garmin watch, SportCount, street clothes (x2), wet suit, plastic bags, towel (x2), GU, water bottle (x3), add'l nutrition, sweat shirt, transition bag, bike kit, sunscreen, ID, registration info, train tix.
Saturday, September 10: Wake up at 4am. Shower, dress, double check all bags. Leave house by 5:30am, check bike box with Amtrak at 6:00am. Take 7:05am train to Washington, DC. Arrive at 10:25am. Take train to hotel, try to check in early, assemble bike, pick up race packet at expo. Ride bike to transition area, check bike with on-site mechanics, make sure you are in small ring/15 to start. Get timing chip (if applicable), body marking. Change into swim gear, swim half the course (if possible). Take overnight bag to hotel (if not already there), check out the expo. Head for your room. Assemble transition bag as you want it to be. Go for a short run. Eat a good dinner. Enjoy being in DC. In bed by 9pm.
Sunday, September 11: Wake up at 4:30am. Shower, fix hair, eat breakfast, double check room for personal items, take shuttle bus at 5:30am to transition area. Check bike (ABC), set up transition items, hydrate. Use restroom, put on wetsuit/swim cap, double check transition area, pat yourself on the back - you made it!
Eat a GU 15 mins before race wave start.
Swim: Enter the water near the edge of "humanity", swim strong to get a good position, then recover in the water, pacing around 2' per 100y. Focus on your rhythm. You swim all the time, this is no different, you're just swimming. Once you get back to the start line, try to pick up the pace again to finish strong. Long, lean strokes. Focus on reach and glide, high elbows and strong pull.
T1: Take off cap/goggles/swim clip. Peel wetsuit down to waist as you run. Transition smoothly into the bike - helmet, sunglasses, watch, nutrition, race belt, socks, shoes, GO! Unrack & run with bike on your LEFT.
Bike: Use the first five minutes (just over a mile) to get yourself in the zone. This is your strong sport, you are a good cyclist. Eat some nutrition in this first 5 minutes, drink some water. Now go! Power up hills and recover down. Pass smoothly and with purpose, don't slow down to pass - drive through. Stay down in the drops as much as possible, keep your body aerodynamic. Hydrate throughout - every 15 minutes take a drink, this is important - remember how dehydrated you felt running the CP Sprint. Eat again 45-55 mins in. Finish strong.
T2: You know this one. Fast and smooth. Helmet, hat, shoes, GO! Don't think.
Run: You are going to be tired. This is the most work you've ever done before running, let your body get into the zone. Eat a GU as you start the first part of your run. This is the last section of the race! You've got it! This is what you've trained for! Let your legs loosen up for the first 10 minutes. It's okay, you've still got 50 more to be fast. After 10 minutes, go a little harder. Try to aim for a 9 minute mile and try to stay consistent at that pace for the remainder of the run. When you get halfway through, see how you feel, if you can give it more - do it. The last mile is all you - this is the last part of the race, you can give it all you've got. Stay focused, keep good form, finish strong and leave nothing in the tank. You deserve to cross the finish line feeling proud of all you've done. Great job!
Post race: Bask in the glory! You've just accomplished a great feat for yourself. This is a great day. Take your medal and get some food!
Goals:
Swim - 35 minutes (2'07 per 100y)
Bike - 1 hour, 25 minutes (18mph)
Run - 58 minutes (9'21" mile)
TOTAL: 175 minutes (2 hrs, 58 minutes plus transition)
Sunday afternoon - take bike back to the shop to be broken down. Get on late Amtrak train (boo!) 10:00pm. Sleep on the train, if you can. Arrive in NYC at 1:49am, take yourself home! Great job.
Wednesday, August 30: Take bike to LBS to get tune-up. (DONE)
Tuesday, September 6: Go to bike shop to get box. Box bike as soon as possible. You don't need it again until Saturday. (DONE)
Thursday, September 8: Rent wet suit. Practice putting the wetsuit on and practice a transition set up at home. Get the suit wet and try to take it off.
Friday, September 9: Pack overnight bag (all must fit in backpack): Swim cap, goggles, swim clip, bathing suit, flip flops, hair ties/clips, helmet, sunglasses, trisuit, glide, socks (x3), gloves, bike shoes, bike shorts, running shoes, running shorts, sports bra, hat, race belt, RoadID, HR monitor, Garmin watch, SportCount, street clothes (x2), wet suit, plastic bags, towel (x2), GU, water bottle (x3), add'l nutrition, sweat shirt, transition bag, bike kit, sunscreen, ID, registration info, train tix.
Saturday, September 10: Wake up at 4am. Shower, dress, double check all bags. Leave house by 5:30am, check bike box with Amtrak at 6:00am. Take 7:05am train to Washington, DC. Arrive at 10:25am. Take train to hotel, try to check in early, assemble bike, pick up race packet at expo. Ride bike to transition area, check bike with on-site mechanics, make sure you are in small ring/15 to start. Get timing chip (if applicable), body marking. Change into swim gear, swim half the course (if possible). Take overnight bag to hotel (if not already there), check out the expo. Head for your room. Assemble transition bag as you want it to be. Go for a short run. Eat a good dinner. Enjoy being in DC. In bed by 9pm.
Sunday, September 11: Wake up at 4:30am. Shower, fix hair, eat breakfast, double check room for personal items, take shuttle bus at 5:30am to transition area. Check bike (ABC), set up transition items, hydrate. Use restroom, put on wetsuit/swim cap, double check transition area, pat yourself on the back - you made it!
Eat a GU 15 mins before race wave start.
Swim: Enter the water near the edge of "humanity", swim strong to get a good position, then recover in the water, pacing around 2' per 100y. Focus on your rhythm. You swim all the time, this is no different, you're just swimming. Once you get back to the start line, try to pick up the pace again to finish strong. Long, lean strokes. Focus on reach and glide, high elbows and strong pull.
T1: Take off cap/goggles/swim clip. Peel wetsuit down to waist as you run. Transition smoothly into the bike - helmet, sunglasses, watch, nutrition, race belt, socks, shoes, GO! Unrack & run with bike on your LEFT.
Bike: Use the first five minutes (just over a mile) to get yourself in the zone. This is your strong sport, you are a good cyclist. Eat some nutrition in this first 5 minutes, drink some water. Now go! Power up hills and recover down. Pass smoothly and with purpose, don't slow down to pass - drive through. Stay down in the drops as much as possible, keep your body aerodynamic. Hydrate throughout - every 15 minutes take a drink, this is important - remember how dehydrated you felt running the CP Sprint. Eat again 45-55 mins in. Finish strong.
T2: You know this one. Fast and smooth. Helmet, hat, shoes, GO! Don't think.
Run: You are going to be tired. This is the most work you've ever done before running, let your body get into the zone. Eat a GU as you start the first part of your run. This is the last section of the race! You've got it! This is what you've trained for! Let your legs loosen up for the first 10 minutes. It's okay, you've still got 50 more to be fast. After 10 minutes, go a little harder. Try to aim for a 9 minute mile and try to stay consistent at that pace for the remainder of the run. When you get halfway through, see how you feel, if you can give it more - do it. The last mile is all you - this is the last part of the race, you can give it all you've got. Stay focused, keep good form, finish strong and leave nothing in the tank. You deserve to cross the finish line feeling proud of all you've done. Great job!
Post race: Bask in the glory! You've just accomplished a great feat for yourself. This is a great day. Take your medal and get some food!
Goals:
Swim - 35 minutes (2'07 per 100y)
Bike - 1 hour, 25 minutes (18mph)
Run - 58 minutes (9'21" mile)
TOTAL: 175 minutes (2 hrs, 58 minutes plus transition)
Sunday afternoon - take bike back to the shop to be broken down. Get on late Amtrak train (boo!) 10:00pm. Sleep on the train, if you can. Arrive in NYC at 1:49am, take yourself home! Great job.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Spinervals 8.0
Recovery ride. I hadn't realized how weak my legs are, specifically my left leg. This workout has two separate sets of one-legged drills and a lot of superspins. The one-legged drills are interesting to look at because we start with the left leg, obviously my weaker limb, and alternate for five sets then three sets. You can see my intensity drop as I struggle to muscle through, but my heart rate also drops, alluding to the fact that it's not that I'm going too hard, it's that I'm not strong enough. During the off-season I want to do more weight training.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Z2 with strides
Ran in the park on the dirt for most of the workout. Up the equestrian trail to the upper part of the Reservoir, then looped around once more before heading home. I saw an owl perched on a nearby tree, we watched each other as I ran by, it was an adrenaline pumping experience. Beautiful bird. Strides were nice, I felt strong as I stretched out my gait and took more land under my feet. Sometimes I found myself going a little fast in between strides, but I tried to curb that as soon as I discovered it.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Trifecta 2 of 4
Ran early today on the treadmill. This is seen on the second half of the recorded set here (minutes 15:30 thru 30:30), the first part is yesterday's run. I haven't explored my watch enough to really know all the tricks and hang-ups, so sometimes I get funky data. Or, as the case has been lately, no data. :(
This was a nice set, I like intervals. I ran at 10:45 for warmup/recovery and at 8:41 for the interval. Five by 60/60 felt good. Nice and sweaty afterward.
This afternoon I had to go down to my office, so I rode my bike. Unfortunately, the tune-up I received on Wednesday resulted in a rear brake that was too tight and a front derailleur that wouldn't give me the big ring. So, I made the workout work in my favor anyway and did small ring work with high cadence. The data looks pretty with my 90/30 intervals. However, I kind of ran out of functional road at the end, so my finish was too low (supposed to be Z3). Downtown is a mess!
After I finished at the office I went back to my LBS to rework the bike. The new mechanic, who had serviced my bike previously, took a look at it and fixed my brake. But when I left the shop, the derailleur was still defunct, so I ended up turning around and going back. Fortunately Jose, the shop's awesomely fast and precise bike mechanic, not only fixed the problem, but I swear my gears are smoother than they've ever been. He's so spot-on, he even noticed a loose part when he test drove the bike to ensure it's functionality. Yay, Jose!
I am hoping to make it into the pool tonight, but when I went on Tuesday, I discovered that the payment for the month hadn't gone through... If I am unable to trouble shoot that I may have to call this a "bi-fecta" or a "du-fecta" or perhaps just call it "de-fecta"... 'cause that's what I feel like.
This was a nice set, I like intervals. I ran at 10:45 for warmup/recovery and at 8:41 for the interval. Five by 60/60 felt good. Nice and sweaty afterward.
This afternoon I had to go down to my office, so I rode my bike. Unfortunately, the tune-up I received on Wednesday resulted in a rear brake that was too tight and a front derailleur that wouldn't give me the big ring. So, I made the workout work in my favor anyway and did small ring work with high cadence. The data looks pretty with my 90/30 intervals. However, I kind of ran out of functional road at the end, so my finish was too low (supposed to be Z3). Downtown is a mess!
After I finished at the office I went back to my LBS to rework the bike. The new mechanic, who had serviced my bike previously, took a look at it and fixed my brake. But when I left the shop, the derailleur was still defunct, so I ended up turning around and going back. Fortunately Jose, the shop's awesomely fast and precise bike mechanic, not only fixed the problem, but I swear my gears are smoother than they've ever been. He's so spot-on, he even noticed a loose part when he test drove the bike to ensure it's functionality. Yay, Jose!
I am hoping to make it into the pool tonight, but when I went on Tuesday, I discovered that the payment for the month hadn't gone through... If I am unable to trouble shoot that I may have to call this a "bi-fecta" or a "du-fecta" or perhaps just call it "de-fecta"... 'cause that's what I feel like.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
A nice run by the river
These tiny bursts of running are interesting. I find that because they are zone based and they are so short, I have a hard time keeping my HR low enough. This run was okay though. I ran for five minutes in Z2, five in Z4, and finished in Z2. My watch had no clue where I was, so there really isn't any data that is reliable beyond the HR data. Looks good though! And ignore minutes 15:30-30:30... that's tomorrow's run. Doh!
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