Monday, January 29, 2007

Weekly Recap (Build 1.22.2007 - 1.28.2007)

Last week was probably the best week of training I have ever had. It was definitely biggest week from a volume standpoint but I had some real breakthroughs. For one I am starting to get my nutrition dialed, both on the bike and pre-workout. My body is also responding and recovering like never before. I know it's partly due to the fact that I have pretty much eliminated alcohol from my diet, cut WAY back on the caffeine, and continue to eat healthy. I have dropped 5 pounds in the last month without even trying. I am not worried about my weight at all as long as I keep getting faster and stronger.

Total Training Time: 17:05

swim: 13,850 yards (2 Masters, 1 Work pool, 1 open water)

Bike: 128 Miles (1 ss mtb/trainer, 1 road, 1 TT)

Run: 38.2 Miles (5 runs, 2 off the bike)

Strength: 2 Sessions (1 upperbody/1 lowerbody)

Core: 3 sessions (2 w/ strength session, 1 solo after swim)

I really feel like everything is starting to come together and it has me really motivated to get out and keep doing what I am doing. The weekend was huge. I had a 4 hour ride followed up by a 40 min run. The ride consisted of a 1 hour warm-up, 2 hours @ tempo/race pace (continuous effort), and then an hour of cool down. I felt really strong over the tempo portion. I rode an out an back course on Camp Pendleton which is the first half of the 70.3 course. Over the 2 hours I was able to avg just under 23 mph which was unexpected. I didn't know if I could hold that pace. I was definitely faster going out due to the fact I had solid head wind coming back. The run off the bike was solid as well.

I was kind of nervous to wake up Sunday morning because of how hard I worked on Saturday. Surprisingly my legs felt great. I ran with a group of really fast guys and will continue to run with them on Sundays. I ran 15 miles in 1:45 with some fartleks at the end. I followed that up with an open water swim in La Jolla and it was COLD! The first 5 minutes were horrible but I definitely felt better as I warmed. My open water swims have nothing to do with fitness. I have Masters for that. It's about being acclimated to the cold.

I am going to post again in a couple days about my nutrition because it's something I want to document. I know it was the key to my solid weekend of training.



Friday, January 26, 2007

Time is flying...

I have a little countdown timer on my desktop (on both home and work computers) that is counting down the days unitl Ironman California 70.3. Right now it's reading 63 days, 22 hours, and 45 minutes. It's seems like just yesterday it was at 90 days. Needless to say all this hard training and being busy at work is really making time fly. I have a couple more blocks (2 weeks build, 1 week recover) and then it will time to taper.

I am really looking forward to the 70.3, but I am also pretty amped about my the two races I will be doing leading up to the race. The San Dieguito half marathon on 2/11 will be a good gauge of where my running is at. I am not sure what I will be doing the day before so who knows how fresh I will be but I defintely want to run sub 1:20.

The Desert Classic Duathlon will be two weeks later in Phoenix and will be the first "real" Duathlon that I have ever entered. I have done a couple with the Triathlon club of San Diego but have never paid to do one. Again, I don't know how rested I will be but it should be a good time. Both of the runs are trail runs and the ride is on the road. I really don't know how fast I am right now. I don't feel like I have the turnover that I did towards the end of last season, but I feel much stronger. I think there would be a problem if I was feeling "fast" right now. I don't really want to hit my first peak unitl the Xterra West Championships and then hopefully carry it into the race in Richmond.

The 70.3 is just going to be a learning experience. I only have two goals for the race. Swim sub 30min, run sub 1:25. The bike, as always, is the wildcard for me. Hopefully with all the miles I have been putting in, time spent in the weight room, and just having a full year of cycling under my belt will make a difference this year and I won't always be playing catch up on the run.

Big Weekend ahead!

Monday, January 22, 2007

Weekly Recap (Recover - 1.15.2007 - 1.21.2007)

Last week was a recovery week and I defintely took advantage of it. In past I would have tried to tack on some extra mileage and add a swim, but not this time. I have some BIG workouts coming up in the coming weeks so I definitely need to pace myself and make sure I recover so I can absorb the training. I also got a 90 min massage on Friday. It was torture on the legs(i'm a wimp), but it defintely helps. I can feel myself getting stronger, and that is giving me a lot of confidence. The numbers:



Total Training Time: 13:05


Swim: 12,100 yards - 3 swims(3 Masters)

Bike: 77 miles - 2 rides(1 road/SS MTB, 1 road bike)

Run: 22.5 miles - 3 runs

Strength: 2 Session (1 upperbody/1 lowerbody)

Core: 2 sesssion (2 w/ strength workout)


I hit masters 3 times this week and felt good in all the sessions. My pace is improving on the longer interval sets. I am not as fast as some of the people I swim with, but I can usually out last them. When we do 300+ yard intervals I can usually keep up with them and then drop them as the swims get longer. My favorite workout of the week had a main set of 4 x 800.


I defintely cut back on the riding this week. Just two rides. My long ride on Saturday was a mellow 3 hours/52 miles. It felt good to just have a 3 hour ride on Saturday. I slept in and didn't get out on the roads until 10am and then came home and took a solid nap.


Nothing hard running this past week either. I got in a solid 1:28/12 mile run yesterday and the pace was very easy.


That's it. I have big week this week. It should be a good one.


Oh yead and I am buying this. I am going to start doing some crazy core work.
http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/index.php

Friday, January 19, 2007

a new weapon...

I have added weapon to my arsenal. i scored an incredible deal on this off of craigslist.


It's a 2005 Aluminum Redline Monocog in immaculate condition. I have been looking for one of these over the past couple of months, but didn't want to spend a lot of dough. This one popped up on craigslist and I was able to deal with the guy and got for half off the original price and $100 less than he had it listed for.


I took it out for 30 minute spin on my neighborhood trails Wednesday after my scheduled 60 min road ride. It was a blast and climbing was tough but I am sure it will help my strength. My legs were defintely feeling it the next day and I was only on it for 30 minutes and didn't do too much climbing.


I am gonig to upgrade a couple of things but it doesn't need much. I am going to get a Thomson seatpost and stem and also put on the Easton Carbon Monkey lite riser bars that I already have. Once I upgrade the cranks on my Stumpjumper I will also put the Truvativ from it on the SS.


As far as training goes, it's a recovery week... and I needed it. I still have got in some solid efforts but the volume is down. I have another ride and run to get in over the weekend. I will be running with new group on Sunday. There will be some solid guys out there. Hopefully I won't get dropped!


Recap on Sunday or Monday.


another photo.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Weekly Recap (Build - 1.8.2007 - 1.14.2007)


It's a dark day in San Diego. The Chargers blew it yesterday in the playoffs. Everybody is bummed.

There's no way to say it other than "training kicked my ass this week." This was the biggest week I have ever put in and I was feeling it. Saturday after my big brick I was in bed by 930pm and last night I passed out on the couch at 6pm (partially aided by the beers I threw back during the game), slept til midnight, and went up to my room for another 6 hours. 12 hours of sleep. It's been years since I have slept that long in one stretch.

Total Training Time: 16:20
Swim: 13,800 yards - 4 swims(2 Masters, 2 work pool)
Bike: 114 miles - 3 rides(1 trainer, 1 MTB, 1 TT bike)
Run: 34 miles - 5 runs (2 off the bike)
Strength: 1 Session (1 upperbody)
Core: 2 sesssion (1 solo, 1 w/ strength workout)

The biggest sessions of the week were a 4.5 hour/78 mile, 30 min/4 mile brick on Saturday and then a 1:45/14.5 mile run on Sunday. These workouts were tough both mentally and physically. The ride on Saturday was cold and windy, but I felt good running off the bike. The long run on Sunday started out rough. I negative split it (55 min out,50 min back) and felt way better the second half. It really took a lot to get me going. I think I was still down from a calorie/hydration standpoint from the day before.


The length of the these workouts are new to me and I am not used to actually struggling a bit. Last season my long rides typically topped out at 3 hours and long runs at 90 min. So training for a longer race is defintely taking it's toll. I usually can just grit my teeth and get through a hard running interval or tough climb on the bike, but staying in the saddle for 4.5 hours and running for 1:45 is quite a bit different.

As much as I am looking forward to the 70.3 I can't stop thinking about how much stronger this training is going to make me for Xterra. I am going to be in way better shape for my early season races as compared to last year. I am really anxious to see how much I can take off my times from last year in repeat races.


Friday, January 12, 2007

Big Weekend and a couple of races...


This weekend is going to be a big one and I am not just refering to my workouts. The Chargers play the Patriots @ 130pm on Sunday and I will be glued to my couch with snacks and a beer.

Training this week has been solid. I had to work late last night and didn't get home until 11pm. I got to bed around 1130pm and still made my 6am Masters workout this morning and actually had a good swim. I feel like I am starting to get some speed back in the pool. I kind of felt a little slow last week but felt a lot better this week. I am really not focusing on speed right now. That will come as I race day approaches.

This weekend should be pretty interesting. I will be doing a huge brick on Saturday and then Sunday I am going to have to get on it early. I need to get in a 1:45 run, 30 min Swim, and a strength session(lowerbody/core) all before 1pm.

I have also decided to do a couple of races prior to the 70.3. I will be doing the San Dieguito Half Marathon (2/11) and the Desert Classic Duathlon (2/25). I ran the San Dieguito half last year and it will be my first "repeat race". Last year I ran it in 1:21:47 without even really knowing what I was doing, and I rode 35 miles the day before. I will defintely be training through this race and will probably have a big bike the day before, but I still think I am very capable of running much faster than last year.

The Desert Classic Du should be a good time. Again I will be training right through this race but I am still going to just go for it. Jim won this race last year and it usually brings out a solid pro/elite field. I will just be racing AG but it's always cool to see how my times stack up.

Off to the trails for an easy easy 30 min run... Go Chargers!

Monday, January 08, 2007

Weekly Recap (Build - 1.1.2007 - 1.7.2007)

The first week of my build up to the California Ironman 70.3 is in the books. It was a big week that included my first brick in months. I hadn't run off the bike since Xterra Worlds back on 10.30.2006. Jim has me working in 3 week blocks (2 build, 1 recover). Here's how the week brokedown:

Total Training Time: 16:17
Swim: 13k yards - 4 swims (2 Masters, 1 work pool, 1 open water)
Bike: 102.35 miles - 3 rides (1 trainer, 1 road bike, 1 TT bike)
Run: 24.5 miles - 4 runs (1 off the bike)
Strength: 2 sessions (1 upperbody, 1 lowerbody)
Core: 3 sessions (2 mixed w/ strength sessions, 1 solo)

The biggest workout of the week was my brick on Saturday. I rode for 3 hours/53 miles and then ran 20 minutes/3 miles off the bike. It was my first outdoor ride on my TT bike since early Novemver and I felt really good. I ended up riding an extremely hilly route and feeling it at the 2.5 hour mark. I was looking forward to the run off the bike and was curious as to how my body would handle it, and to my suprise I felt really good. After the first 100 meters (and when my knees stopped knocking together) and I just got into my stride. I don't feel fast right now but I am confident that will come.

First thing on Sunday morning I got in my long run of 1.5 hours covering about 12 miles (just a guess). My legs were heavy from the big workout the day before but I felt how I though I would. After that I headed down to the Cove and got in a 30 minute swim with Tom and Colin. The water felt pretty good.

For the next couple of weeks Mondays are rest days so I am taking full advantage and letting my body recover. I'll be back at it tomorrow.





Friday, January 05, 2007

It does make a difference...

Well I know it's only been a couple of days since I cut back on the caffeine but I can defintely tell the difference. I have been limiting myself to 1 cup before my morning workouts and then another around 9am at work. I have not had a single diet coke all week either. In the afternoon at work I start dragging and there is always a fresh pot but I have been able to abstain. Instead I have been drinking a 20oz bike bottle of Crystal Light lemonade and it seems to kill the coffee craving. The best part of it is the sleep I have been getting. I have been in bed no later than 930pm all week and have been just passing out and sleeping super soundly all night long. I am defintely going to keep this up.

Training has been good. I just finished up my third swim of the week and will be heading into a solid weekend of workouts. I don't want to go to much detail about my training right now because I plan on doing weekly recaps leading up to the 70.3. I will probably post these on the following Mondays(rest day).

I was looking at my training log and here's are some totals from last year. My training log only goes back to the end of May so there are 5 months missing from this. To me, considering it was my first year, these are some pretty solid numbers. I will be using the same training log for the whole season this year so I should be able to get an accurate count for 2007.

2006 Totals (end of may - dec):

total time: 417:35
swim: 309,450 yards
bike: 2,430 miles
run: 707.29 miles

The total time includes weight/core sessions as well but I don't have an exact number for that. I would like to hit 5k miles on the bike and the 600k yards in the water this year. I really don't have a goal for running, but I am sure I will probably be near or over 1000 miles.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

It's on...

So this is officially the start of my second season of triathlon. I am definitely happy with how my first season shaped up considering I had no expectations for myself and really had no idea what I could accomplish. This year will be quite a bit different as I have set the bar pretty high and am planning on working harder/smarter than I ever have.

This past week training has been hit or miss for me. I tried to get in most of my workouts but moving took up a lot of time and energy. Yesterday I kicked off the new year with a 2.5 hour mountain bike around my new place. There are some killer trails practically right out my back door. There is one climb that is very similar to black mountain and will be perfect when I am training for Xterra.

Today is the first day of my specific training for the 70.3 on 3/31. I have my plan for the next 5 weeks and I am really looking forward to it. It's definitely longer workouts than I have ever done before. I knocked out 4k yards this morning at Masters and felt pretty good and will be hitting the trainer tonight.


so everybody does it... New years resolutions. I don't know if the following things are resolutions but they are things I want to improve on/change in 2007 in hopes that it will make me heathier, faster, and stronger.

1. Cut way back on the caffeine.

I know I drink way too much coffee right now and it's not just for the caffeine fix. I love coffee and esspresso. I would say I average between 3-6 cups a day, and some days more. I usually have atleast one diet coke a day too. Since it's gotten cooler I often have a cup of coffee in the afternoon and another in the evening. It's no suprise I have had some trouble getting to sleep as of late. So the plan is to cut back on the coffee to 2 cups a day (one before morning workout and then another once I get to work), completely elminate any kind of soda, and no caffeine after noon. I even bought some Decaf and have been getting Decaf when I go out and get coffee.

2. Cut back on the drinking.

Anybody that knows me knows that I enjoy drinking beer and the occasionl whiskey. It's easy to justify knocking back a couple of beers on weekends after a hard workout but I am curious to see what happens if I really reduce my intake. I am not planning on totally eliminating alcohol because there has to be some balance. But in weeks leading up races and time of really intense training there will be no drinking. Leading up to the 70.3 the plan is to not have any alochol after 2/4 (superbowl) and 3/31 (race day). With the Chargers in the playoffs many of my friends will be having parties that I will definitely be attending, but still keeping things in moderation. There will be no drinking during the week from here on out. This is more of an experiment than anything. I want to see if I feel a noticable difference in how I feel and how I recover.

3. Really focus on recovery

I have a tendency to want to do too much and by doing this I probably don't let my body adequately recover. I have already scheduled massages/adjustments every 2 weeks from this Friday through March. Regular massage and chiropractic work has done wonders for me. The neck problems I used to have a year and half ago are pretty much non existant. I also want to get more sleep. I am going to try and sleep in on weekends prior to my big workouts. I have a problem sleeping in. Even when I have nothing to do I am usually up by 630 am. I would love to sleep until about 8 or 9 and then head out the door for my weekend workouts around 10. I also want to try and take 45-60 minute naps on the weekends post workout.

I think that's it. I am really looking forward to 2007.