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Conquer 3 RACE REPORTS | 2006 |
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Training bLog
7/15, Taper: With one week out from IM LP the taper is now official. It's all coasting into race weekend. Looking forward to eating well and building up my rest if that's possible. 7/6, Bike: I was in St Maarten on family vacation (with my bike in tow) and went on a local ride. This was no regular ride- this was a king of the mountains expedition. Each hill ranged from 10-20% and there was hesitation to sprint to the top of each one. It was like a 2 hour roller coaster that I followed up wth another hour and a half solo spin. Hill training in full effect. 6/22, Long Run: Wow- that was the longest run I have EVER done and it was brutal hot- 93+ and humid. I went out for 2:38. I felt good throughout most of it but surely felt it the last half hour. And with one to rest up for my 200 mile ride! 6/20, HUGE week: The training has been tough and the hours long. This week alone I'm scheduled for about 28 miles of running, 270 miles of biking, and 3 miles of swimming - plus stretching and core exercises. All in all I should be ready to rest on Sunday! The heat and humidity has also kicked up and summer is officially here. 6/11, Eagleman: Even though this was a race (report here) I was really treating it in some ways as a training day - a test of where I was and how I could race effeciently and maintain my nutrition. The best part of the day by far was the run adn it was ahuge breakthrough for me. Doing a half marathon at a pace of 7:45 per mile was a thrill. And the best part is that it FELT good. Huge boost for my confidence in the running department. 6/1, Thr, Run: This has been the toughest week in training yet. Or I should say the hardest training ever. The heat and humidity are up, I can't shake this cough (allergies or otherwise) and the intensity of my runs are much higher. I can certainly feel my body feeling the strain, being more tired than even what I'm used to and craving fuel all the time. 5/28, Simulation Weekend: The trip to Lake Placid was awesome. There was a lot to see- to feel- and to experience, in order to prepare for the race. The first day there I went for a swim- one larger than normal loop around the lake. The race is two loops. The water was really cold and part way through my feet started to get numb- but on the other hand it was very clean and clear. So there was no danger of dehydration! The next day was the big day- ride the full course of 112 miles (which is two loops of 56m) and then run right after for 5 miles. This transition run will help my body get used to the idea that running after biking is a good idea. The bike was hilly, with a lot of uphills but none that were back breaking- all relatively smooth. Yet after one loop it's certainly a challenge to get around the second loop. The run was pretty short - again just to transition from the bike. And I went down and back up the two major hills to see what it felt like. They weren't any fun but nothing I couldn't handle. Then the last day I did one loop of the bike course again. I wanted to really pay attention to the different grades and road surface, turns, etc. All in all I did about 175 miles of training! But the most important part was to know the course and not have it be such a mystery anymore. 5/23, Looking ahead: Going to Lake Placid this weekend to train on the course of my IM race in July. Anxious to see how the course compares to what I've been doing and how well I can ride/run on it. It will surely put me more at ease as I prepare the next couple months. 5/21 Sun, Long Week: This past week was intense with a 6 hour ride on Saturday that went over 100 miles followed by a short run and then a long 2 hour run on Sunday. This was the first century (100 mile ride) of the year and it was also a challenging ride with all the climbs. I went out to Sugarloaf mountain- up to the top - and then back home. Other than the wind it was a perfect day for riding. I definitely felt the strain of training and was zonked. A total over 18 hours of training for the week! 5/17 Wed, Nutrition: Time to start focusing on nutrition. Even though it's always important, I've geared myself up to really stay on top of this through my IM race. 5/14 Sun, Back Home: Back to training after an awesome recovery week. The training intensifies now as I near 10 weeks to IM. I'm starting some weight training at the gym and my long bike training is about 6 hours (100+ miles) with a short run to follow. Long runs are up to 2 hours. And on some days I have three workouts. 5/7 Sun, St Croix Race: Great race and tons to tell- I will get the race report posted soon with photos and the full low-down. The skinny is that I improved a bit less than a half hour over last years time. Most of the improvement was on the run and swim. Qualified for World Championships 70.3 (last race of the season)! 4/22 Sat, Bike/Run: It was one of those weeks the weather kept flipping so it was hard to tell what it was really going to do. The thunderstorm warnings should have helped but we decide to go out for a long ride- 80 miles. It was only misting when we left- but it only took minutes for the rain to start. It was WET- the whole way. Still cranked out the ride in about 4:15 and got into a transition run for about :30. 3/25 Sat, VO2max Test: I've been training on the basis of heart rate and I took the real test to determine where my zones really are - so my training will be dialed in exactly to my body. It essentially relates the amount of oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output according to your heart rate. More on this later- but it a good eye opener. Apparently my VO2max results are good- so now I have no excuses. Over time this will allow me to get in much better shape. But it's a slow process. Patience. 3/12 Sun, Hospital: For as much as I wanted my hand to be ok it just wasn't. So I got up and headed in to the hospital for a complete workover- x-rays, tetanus shot, wound cleaning etc. While I got lucky to walk away from this accident, I was continually perplexed as to how someone could just run right into me. It wasn't a slight error in judgment or accident. In a paceline we were larger than a car on a perfectly clear morning with no other circumstances. Just oblivious and careless. Aggravating but lucky. This would keep me out of the pool for at least 10 days - the open wound would not like the water. It was disappointing considering how much I was getting into a swim rhythm- something that I only read about until recently. 3/11 Sat, Bike: Awesome day for early spring- shorts and short sleeves- no gloves- it was great to be out in the sunshine. Until I got hit by some clueless driver! Yep, totally side swiped without much more than a half second warning. Here we are rolling at 20+ straight down the road. No curves. And from the left this car turns right- and into our paceline at a fast rate- and there I was in the lead position until I got smacked, crashing with the car and totally messing up my left side and then sliding on the asphalt. Pretty. Not really- it was nasty. Blood pouring from my hand and all I could yell is, "What were you thinking!!" Apparently nothing because after stopping a block later the driver came back and just stood there not saying a word. No response. Was she high? Who knows- but it only got better. She asked if I could hurry up and write down her info because she was in a rush. Here I am bleeding all over the place and she's in a rush. So about an hour later, after the police, fire and rescue teams came and reported we were off again. I should have stopped my ride- but it was SO nice out. I kept ridding out of either denial or disgust that such a nice day could be taken from me. 1/22 Sun, Pucon Chile Half Ironman Race: First race of the season! Wait, what happened to the off-season? More in my race report.
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This is only a sample week- and while I have some regularly scheduled workouts - every week is different. The goal of each week can vary as well, whether its base work, technique drills, speed, etc. There's usually a rest day every 7 - 10 days, and on those days I only do Flex (stretching) and Core (abs). In theory, with rest days, different types of workouts each week, and days between same disciplines, it gives the body some time to recover. The time that is not calculated here is the transition time- getting ready and finishing up. That alone can take quite some time, especially when it's colder out-- adding layers upon layers for 30 degree rides/runs, or preparing your gear, food/drinks, and so on. |
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