Training Week in Review

Real easy week. It's a recovery week and I have my parents in town. I got in 3 days of running instead of my normal 2 and missed the bike all week. Should help me get stronger for the next week.

Date	Day	Activity
06/20/11	Monday	Swim - 2600 Meters
06/21/11	Tuesday	Run - 7 Miles
06/22/11	Wednesday	Recovery
06/23/11	Thursday	Recovery
06/24/11	Friday	Run - 7 Miles
06/25/11	Saturday	Recovery
06/26/11	Sunday	Run - 8 Miles

Training Week in Review

Just a regular training week. Did an LT test on the spin bike and although I felt stronger, I arrived late and it took me about 20 minutes to warm up and my HR was lower than it should have been and affected my overall average. I rode with a faster group on the Thursday night ride and as I track my average speed, it's getting faster. Brick after the ride felt good (except for the hill). I had a good pace getting of the bike.

Rode the Jackson County Brevet on Saturday. I got a total of 66 miles and average 18.1 mph. Up until mile 50, I was averaging about 19 mph. The last 10-15 miles were uphill. Just a gradual climb over several miles and it decreased my average. Overall I'm happy with my ride. I rode it at a HIM pace and made my SAG stops short (last one was a little long mile 50). I practiced my race nutrition and I think it worked well. I probably could have used more calories in the bottle. I supplemented with 1/2 PBJ and some Oreo cookies. Compared to last years ride, I've made some significant improvements. Last year I rode a 15 mph pace and cramped at mile 55 and struggled during the last 5 miles. It wasn't easier this year, just faster and mentally had to push those last 10 miles.

Date	Day	Activity
06/13/11	Monday	Swim - 2600 Meters
06/14/11	Tuesday	Run - 7 Miles
06/15/11	Wednesday	Spin Class - LT Test
06/16/11	Thursday	Bike - 24 Miles Run - 2.6 Miles Brick
06/17/11	Friday	Recovery
06/18/11	Saturday	Bike - 66 Miles
06/19/11	Sunday	Run - 11 Miles

Training Week in Review

Average week of training this week. Only difference was an added day of mountain biking. It was a great ride as I rode with one of my bike coaches. Did my best to push the pace and then keep up. Got a great workout in as well as a scraped knee when I wiped out. I rode 52 miles on Sunday and I approached it as a HIM  bike leg.  There were only 3 short breaks as our small group regrouped at an intersection and checked for directions, since this was a new route. I maintained a 17.3 mph average pace, nothing like my 19 mph the previous week and this was an easier ride. Having biked Thursday & Friday had to have had an effect on my performance on Sunday. Overall it was a good ride at a steady pace. It also gave me an opportunity to evaluate my nutrition plan. I upped the calories, but had some small stomach cramps. I think it had more to do with lack of hydration and not being able to digest that amount of calories (326 calories /hour). I've done as low as 200 cal/hour and as much as 326 cal/hour with very little difference in how I felt. I think 250-270 cal/hour is probably where I need to be. I'll try again this weekend on my 60 mile ride with several stops for water. As I look back at the week, I didn't get a recovery day in. This probably explains why my Sunday ride did not match up to the previous week.

Date	Day	Activity
06/06/11	Monday	Swim - 2600 Meters
06/07/11	Tuesday	Run - 7 Miles
06/08/11	Wednesday	Swim - 1500 Meters Spin Class - 1 Hour
06/09/11	Thursday	Bike - 24 Miles
06/10/11	Friday	Bike - Mountain Bike 16 Miles
06/11/11	Saturday	Run - 9.6 Miles
06/12/11	Sunday	Bike - 52 Miles Run - 25 Minute Brick

Training Week in Review

Training this week has been sporadic, but I'm getting it in. Since I put in some serious workouts in on the weekend, I used the holiday Monday to rest and get some stuff done around the house. Got back into swimming on Wednesday nights before spin class. Pool is setup for 50 meters and I'm going to have to get used to that (no more breaks at 25 meters). Finally got to ride Thursday night. Buckhead Bellyache is a tough ride especially when the temp gets to 95º F.  As tough as this ride is, it did not feel as difficult as it did when I rode it last year. That means I'm getting stronger. It'll never get easier because I'll keep pushing the pace. Besides, I'm starting to like riding hills. We are now swimming Friday nights outdoors in a 50 meter pool. It's a shallow pool and it's warm. Coach setup buoys similar to a triathlon race course and we would simulate race conditions swimming in a group, practicing sighting and even drafting. Great workout. No workout on Saturday. I volunteered down at the Macon race and then took photos of those racing in the club. Bike ride on Sunday and I didn't expect too much of a workout considering I was still dehydrated from the previous day and had lost some sleep with early morning wake up calls. So I was surprised that I was averaging about 19 mph over the 48 mile ride. It's the fastest I've ever ridden up in Cartersville (normally a 17 mph pace). I even got to ride with the Red Group (fast training group) for most of the ride. Looks like I'm getting stronger and that motivates me to keep pushing and keep improving.

Date	Day	Activity
05/30/11	Monday	Holiday - No workouts
05/31/11	Tuesday	Run - 7 Miles
06/01/11	Wednesday	Swim - 1000 Meters Spin Class - 1 Hour
06/02/11	Thursday	Bike - 24 Miles
06/03/11	Friday	Swim - 2200 Meters
06/04/11	Saturday	Macon HIM- Volunteer
06/05/11	Sunday	Bike - 48 Miles

Training Week in Review

Since I don't have any target race in the near future, I'm just maintaining my base level for a HIM. Hopefully gaining some speed and strength. I'll most likely do Augusta 70.3, so if I can keep doing mid to high milage, when it's time for me to ramp up, I'll be ready. It funny to think that I now consider my 7 mile runs as short when a couple of years ago, 5 would have been long. Saturday was a great day. I got a 9 mile ride in, then did some mountain biking (which I haven't done in 8 months) and then meet our club for an open water swim followed by a cookout. I was wiped. I also got a great ride in on Sunday doing 52 miles. I really pushed those hills. I concentrated on power and cadence to push the pace, but never really felt fatigued during the first 31 miles. The last 10 were more of a easy pace to spin out the legs, which is kind of what I want to do during a HIM. Nutrition is going well. I've been experimenting with the amount of calories I take in. Currently I'm taking in about 200 calories per hour. I should probably be closer to 250. I've got a century ride coming up in a couple weeks and that will be a great opportunity to really test things out.

Date	Day	Activity
05/23/11	Monday	Swim - 2050 Yards
05/24/11	Tuesday	Run - 7 Miles
05/25/11	Wednesday	Spin Class - 1 Hour
05/26/11	Thursday	Bike - Cancelled T-Storms
05/27/11	Friday	Rest
05/28/11	Saturday	Run - 9 Miles Bike - 12 Miles Mt. Bike 1500 Meters - OWS
05/29/11	Sunday	Bike - 52 Miles

Training Week in Review

Started the week off with a 46 mile bike ride. I had originally planned for 62 miles, but this was a small group ride and nobody was doing that distance (2 were planning on riding almost 100 and that was too much for me right now). I worked on my nutrition and had only 1 bottle of Perpetuem and some Hammer Gel. For a total of 585 calories or 212 calories per hour (2.75 hour ride). Which works out pretty well with what I've heard about your body only being able to consume 200 calories per hour. I felt pretty good and did a 20 minute run afterwards and I didn't have any of the issues I had during my half iron race. I might try to get 250 per hour, but anything more will probably be too much. Back in the pool Monday (first swim since my HIM) and it was tough, but I got faster. I got a 1:36 100 meter set. Previously I had gotten 1:45. Ran on my own the rest of the week, but set some good paces. Finally running sub 8 minute mile on hills. Didn't work out at the end of the week. I volunteered at the Getting 2 Tri training camp. What a great experience and phenomenal group of individuals. Completely inspired and love what the training camp is all about. Next week I'm back to a full training schedule. Should be great.

Date	Day	Activity
05/15/11	Sunday	Bike - 46 Miles 20 Minute Brick
05/16/11	Monday	Swim - 2050 Yards
05/17/11	Tuesday	Run - 7 Mile Tempo Run
05/18/11	Wednesday	Spin Class - Hills & Intervals
05/19/11	Thursday	Rest
05/20/11	Friday	Run - 8.4 Miles Hills
05/21/11	Saturday	Rest

Training Week in Review

This was a recovery week after Gulf Coast. I took it a bit easy, but still got some good workouts in. Recovery is just as important as training. I took an easy recovery run on Tuesday and used that time to recount Gulf Coast stories and talk about future races while on the group run. I pushed it during spin class. This was an interval workout with full recovery between sets. I got my heart rate higher than I have in the past and showed me what I'm capable of doing when I focus. I was also able to control my heart rate and hit a specific heart rate at a specific time. That's going to help on race day. Ran hills on Friday and did a tempo pace on Saturday. I was able to run sub 8:00 /mile pace for the entire distance. The first time, but it was a flat course. It reminded me what I should have been able to run at Gulf Coast if I had gotten my nutrition right. Recovery week is over, time to start the hard work again.

Date	Day	Activity
05/08/11	Sunday	Rest & Beach Time!
05/09/11	Monday	More Beach Time & Drive Home
05/10/11	Tuesday	Run - 7 Mile Recovery Run
05/11/11	Wednesday	Spin Class - Intervals
05/12/11	Thursday	Rest
05/13/11	Friday	Run - 6 Miles
05/14/11	Saturday	Run - 8.4 Miles

I'm going to do a separate post on my nutrition at Gulf Coast and some things I've learned since then in a later post.