Aug and Sept Totals

We moved in mid August and got settled into Kirksville in September.  I think from here on out the totals will be a little bit better.
August
S: 1:03:00       3200
B: 15:10:00 242
R: 10:27:00 79.6
26:40:00
Days off: 16
Workouts: 28

September
S:  2:20:00 7200
B:  8:36:00 165.5
R: 14:34:00 109.9

Days off: 11
Workouts: 28


While the totals are entirely lacking I am pretty happy with the amount given the days off that I have had. I feel like it was a mini off-season and am starting to treat October as such.  Gonna try to ramp up the running as the biking is hanging right there as usual.

NEMO Triathlon: Fastest bike split by 1:20!

NEMO is the big local race that I have been looking at for the past month since we moved
here.  The course is .75miles, 18 miles, and 5 miles.  The bike split includes a decent grass
hill run-up and your first and second transition.

The swim is the only part of the race that went bad. After pushing a couple people to get
sleeveless wetsuits (which they did and swam great) I used my full sleeve wetsuit and
could just not get enough shoulder rotation. It felt like my recovery stroke to put my hand
back in the water was harder then the actual stroke. At the time I guessed a two minute loss
plus the proverbial matches burned going at redline trying not to lose the race on the swim.
My time 21:16 (1:36 pace),first was 18:16 and a team guy from Truman went 14:00!

Onto the bike and I just felt flat. I never did get the feeling and shifted about 5 times more
then I normally do.  I had a team guy just blast by me like I was standing still about a mile
into the ride.
My split 45:16 which was 43:33 (24.8mph) on my watch. Next best was 1:40 behind and the
team split which had easier transitions was only 1:20 in front of me so I don't know how I
pulled that off. Left some time on the course there as well. It kinda felt like wind in both
directions which would explain the slower times this year on the bike portion.

Onto the run I felt pretty fast at first and held on pretty well.  There was a good runner behind
me and I got caught with about .5 miles to go and he just sat there. In retrospect I should have
went right then as he took off with 400 to go and put 20 seconds in me there.
Run was 31:59 (6:23) and that was good for 3rd best as the run is really hilly. First place had a
29:45 and he is known for his running.

Overall was a 1:38:31.  I am really happy with this race as I am 15 pounds off of a heavy race
weight as I am right at 180 pounds right now. Thats worth 1:15 to 2:30 minutes off the run
alone without any sacrifice on the bike. A better wetsuit is also going to be KEY.  At least I felt
like I pushed myself the entire time pretty well without folding. Could have done the race again
today so my top gear wasn't there. Had a bad headache after the race every time a beer wore
off as well.

It was great to have a lot of friends racing and cheering me on and to have fun at the awards
ceremony.  I won a $50 savings bond and a $150 entry to the Hy-Vee triathlon next year. Really
want to race again but that might be the last Tri of the year :(

Form Evaluation and 5K report.

This is a picture of the start of a 5k with me taking off with a very fit and "pure" runner that has about 40 pounds on me. I am still slightly overstriding but my arms, front leg, foot strike and lean are all great. Just need to kick up the turnover a tad. In order to really do that and start utilizing my engine I really need to cut those pounds. I am about 179 in the race. That is just pure speed on the table. I am beyond even being able to tell my potential at this point. I know this is a recurring theme on the blog but in the interest in science and performance I really need to bring it up again. I ended up fourth overall and only one place out of where I should have been. I still think the tri will go alright after a couple of full days of training. The run course is a power course and I will be ready for it by then.

Tri-ng to Help Race Report (Course Records!)

The race in Quincy IL is a 400M (or 437 yards) pool and is a 5 sec per participant serpentine swim. The lanes where pretty wide so it ends up being 464 yards if you want to figure out your pace. With only 50 participants this was pretty good as no one passed me and I didn't pass anyone. This was good bc a 12 year old girl started right behind me. (may have went out a little fast bc of this). The run to the bikes was a little long and winding and I almost fell on the slippery grass.

The 13.1 mile bike course is where it gets interesting. Definitely the toughest tri course I have ever done. I pre-rode only half of it so I could see "Ghost Hill" which I supposed is because you are ghostly white at the top from lack of O2. I slightly missed geared in my second lowest gear, a 42x21 and had to walk about 50M of the hill during my warm up. That messes with you a bit. During the race the course is decent sized hill after hill with two turnarounds and 8, 90 degree turns so it is fairly slow. There is only one somewhat flat mile in the whole thing and the descents have turns at the bottom. Wanted a 22mph avg with the new chipsealed sections and added turnaround. Coming into the big hill I got in my low gear, stood and cranked as hard as I have ever gone in a race and took a minute of spinning to regain composure which was less then I planned bc the minute was all uphill still.

My second transition went well and I was off on the run. I quickly knew I had pushed too hard on the bike and with the rising temps I just wanted a solid run. The run course is ALL rolling hills and the downhills felt good so I knew I wasn't myself. I stayed strong the whole time and got really hot but held on.

Results Link http://www.mattoonmultisport.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=151&Itemid=66

This was the 4th year for the event and the only difference is that the bike course had an added a tiny out and back turnaround which kinda sucked. Humidity was really high.

Swim 7:43 Best in the top 29 overalls. (~1:35 pace with the long run to T1)

T1 :36

Bike 34:26 Course Record by 44 seconds even with new slower course. 22.7 mph. Next two best were 20.7 (37:30) and 19.9 (39:09)

T2 :31

Run 20:21 (6:34 pace) Course record was set today at a 20:04 which shows how tough the bike course is as an team runner knocked out a 19:33.

Total 1:03:40 Course Record by 1:19 and with the added turnaround it should stand for a while I hope.

Kirksville MO, June and July totals

Wow, its been May since I last posted. Only did one race which had some water temps in spots in the 40's so my swim was a 38 and I dropped out after a lackluster bike. A little way into the year my wife found out she got a job at Truman State Univeristy (our alma mater) so we were moving to Kirksville MO. My job with the prairie dogs got a little crazy and I got a little lazy. Since being back in Kirksville a week, I am loosing weight, signed up to two tri's and getting in some real quality work on the bike.

June

7:17:00 18900

12:10:00 236

12:04:00 82.5

31:30:00

Not too bad for swimming but nothing really to write home about.

July

0 0

16:12:00 299

7:50:00 58.1

Yeah, thats a big fat zero for the swim. After another DNF due to cold I just couldn't take it anymore. Should have bought the booties and caps and crap. I am just too cheap sometimes.

New Goals. I have a lot of little races planned and I think that is going to be really good for me. I have already started working out with the Kirksville Multiport Club and running my old trails and biking my old routes. Prolly won't give the pro card a go until next year unless I make it down to Branson after a win at our local tri bc that would pay for the entry since my volume is not there.

Race Depression before race even scheduled

Well, Provo 5150 was cancelled. That was what was keeping me going in this windy and cold spring. I swear Jan and Feb were better. It is just unsafe to ride in the wind here, and even running hurts with the sand.

All of a sudden the roads surfaces are terrible. They always were but I wasn't road riding for pure fun. I can't even get to Kolob climb bc of construction on the Interstate. Yes I ride on the Interstate.

I have gained 8 pounds in about as many days. Work is long and tiring. I am also waiting to hear if we will be moving in 2 months. Combine this with the car fiasco and I am burnt out. The only problem I am having is figuring out how to break the spell. I tried a mountain bike ride and my bike is a POS when I try to crank on it in the granny gear. I even set the derailluer to stay in the granny in two positions and I was still ripping it down the cassette. That just made me even more angry.

There are four things I get from training.

1) Fun. I am tired of the same routes and lack of a trail system. I am not getting in enough of those runs like I had in Moab on those trails. Pushing in the wind is getting real old. We have the most days over 20 mph in the nation but the gusts are just frightening when riding. 2 out of 10

2) Social aspect. Well I have one training partner who is on the mend and I have two triathlons under my belt in the last YEAR. 2 out of 10.

3) Challenge. I am not racing enough and in my past races I am going for the course record and to not loose. I really need to just race more but can't right now. 0 out of 10

4) Nature Deficit Disorder/Societal Congruence. I have to get outside pretty much every day. Training helps with not having woods in my backyard to go trompsing in looking for bugs, mushrooms and the whatnot. I do not like living in an apartment in town. I miss my tent. 8 out of 10. I am sitting getting out, but I also work outside.

Life is moving too slow and too fast for me in many ways. I guess I just have to wait.

Total Race Calendar Change

On the way to Moab, and the Moab Tri, our Subaru blew a rod. Only took the mountain bike as I really wanted to ride the slickrock and figured I was too stressed to race. I did the practice loop and chickened out. You need knee pads and elbow pads to ride this. My eggbeater pedals are also crap and I forgot to switch them out before so I basically couldnt unclip. The grades are seriously granny gear stand and sprint. There are ZERO climbs anywhere like this. I just didnt want to get injured. Got in a crazy 2.5 trail run as well then.

Anyway, we bought a 2008 Hyundai Elantra that is getting great gas mileage and the next race planned is now a 1600M open water swim followed by the Provo 5150. The wife has two job interviews they are flying her out to MO and IA for so we may be back in the area as soon as Aug 15.

I have been uber stressed lately but plugging away ok and losing weight. I also found out I am 5ft 10.75 inches instead of 10.0. I hadn't measured in a long time and my posture has improved dramatically with the vibrams. I have about a 2cm leg diff but it may not be as much as I thought. Brings my BMI down to 23.7. For Ironman I would need to be 163 pounds, or 23.0 BMI to be competative and that is finally within reach.

As of May 23 I will have 3 weeks without the family and the training will be epic. It will be a hard base type session with 12K a week in the pool, 150 on the bike, and 45 on the run. Should set me up for Provo just perfect from where I am sitting now. Just need to supercharge the bike and tweak the run. The swim is about there already.

May and April wrap ups and updates.

Man, had another sickness. Went out for a group ride and literally rode off the front after I held the first 4 mile pull into the wind. Made it 4 out of 5 miles solo before being gassed. Some of the trucks out here spew black smoke that can actually be a hazard to see through and I was holding 39.5 the whole time this truck tried to pass but we hit an incline and I only slowed to 37 and he just held there. I fell apart after that. Rode more and then went home and couldn't eat. Woke up the next morning and moved from the couch about 4 times.

These sicknesses, stress from finances, and starting work again have really played on my psyche. Looking back at my log the workouts that I complete are rocking so that is a good sign.

I just bought a Profile Design Wahoo wetsuit that fits great and has catch panels on the forearms. Even with this I can't bring myself to sign up for the race next weekend. The OLY's around here have all gone over 100 bucks. Call me elitist but I don't want to "race" unless the prize for first is at least the entry back. Thats really all I want bc I like the fun of it but it is getting ridiculous in my opinion. Can't wait until Provo. Gonna be racing with a chip on my shoulder that no one is gonna knock off.

Not gonna do a write of of the months but they are in my training log on the 2011 Months tab. Just gonna have to start from scratch. The big change for the month is swimming 4 days a week in a row in the mornings now that I have 5am pool access and running sucks in the dark when you actually have another choice. More harder runs as well and if not hard then a 6.3 mile stroller push so I have the recovery to push the run workouts.

The Sickness and 5K.

Well, the day after the race I managed a great 14 mile run and then started work the next day. Thats when the chest infection began (4/4). I finally kicked it on 4/22. I was able to get some training in. Actually still averaged around 8 a week, but it was rough. I raced a 5k last sat and ran a 19:25 for first place. Got a 50 dollar massage gift cert for the 60% lung capacity effort. Could have went under 19 but knew I had a 50 mile group ride with a good climb coming. After that ride the next three days were completely off.

It wasn't until next Sat that I felt 100%. Did a 62 mile ride with a 2 mile run with Shay. We knocked out a 12:23 and then a short cool down. Played softball afterwards and WAY overdid it. I was just hyper from being able to breath. It almost felt like I was high on O2.

Got a new pool membership so that I can swim at 5:40ish instead of 6:10. Will be a lot more relaxed as I won't be time crunched for work. This month was supposed to be "adjust to work" month but I have been sleeping in and the few morning runs I got in were terrible so I must overcome that mental barrier since I was sick. Its just really dark. I need to find the best solution for lighting. Thinking one of those LEDs that go on the ball cap. If anyone has suggestions let me know.

Race Report: SHAC

400 yard swim, 10 mile hilly bike with three 180 turnarounds and two more 90's. 3 mile hilly run with 3 turnarounds.

The day did not start well. Some time around 1 in the morning a smoke or CO detector beeped twice. I went to investigate and it didn't go off. Go back downstairs and 10 min later it happens again. This time I think I find it. This basically goes on until 3:30 in the morning bc the intervals got longer and I had more trouble going back to sleep. At that point I was just up and left for the race at 4:30. The good news is that it didn't effect my performance but I couldn't go for a ride afterwards in the beautiful weather.

My race did not start until 9am as there is just a line and you get in when someone is done swimming their laps. I didn't think I had much competition but I wanted to put a lot of time into a couple friends and try and get as close to Ben Hoffmans record of 50:45 as I could. There were 330 racers in the race.

Swim 6:04, goal was 6:00. 7th overall

There is a run in and out of the pool that prolly lasts 15 seconds. I am disappointed bc 6 was supposed be me my easiest goal to hit the way I have been swimming. Need to work on pace and no chance for a warm-up is what I think did it.

T1 0:50, goal was 1:00 Tied for 1st. (Rory, I know you beat me by .024 or something)

I blazed this. Put on my shoes at my bike and ran out of there. I had my bike at the near end so I had to push it through transition since I would have my shoes on anyway and this be able to make up any lost time .

Bike 25:40 goal was 26:00. 1st by 1 min. Course Record that should hold for a while.

I hammered the 2.5 mile uphill out section and recovered the way back bc the course is so tight it is just hard to get time anywhere. Just a second here and a second there. Worked well even though I was a little worried for the run.

T2 :40 goal was 40. 5th

Thanks Brian for the tip on the baby powder. It worked really well. Can't go any faster then this.

If you put both transitions together I got on my other competitors.

Run 17:42 goal was 17:00 4th overall

The run is two loops (2 out and backs actually) and I felt not so great on the first one but thought my form was decent. It just felt like I had pushed the bike a little too hard. I saw my training partner and 10 min steeplechaser Shay Asay about 5 minutes back and looking good. I was hoping to see him near the same spot on the second loop and he had indeed only gained about 5 seconds and looking even better so I knew I was running ok. From there I just cut loose. My abdominals where screaming right below my sternum and below my right pectoral. A little higher then normal. Hard to say whether I had biked 20 seconds slower if I could have made up 33 seconds on the run to take the record. I think not. I am still over 170 and all of the research and calculators out there say a weight of 165 would have netted me the record. Between that and a lack of tempo workouts is my new found motivation. I think my running will really come around in the next two months even.

Overall: 50:58 goal 50:45 1st overall of 330 by 2:22 seconds.

Really happy with the overall time. This speed puts me up there with the faster pros. This has always been my biggest concern since I can train for distance fairly well without loosing speed. I really needed this race to get my focus back. This was my best from the gun race as well. Hurt the entire time. I think the hurt only gets worse bc with the increased fitness you are able to push harder and further. At least it doesn't last as long as the time before. The results are at www.milliseconds.com but their site is down today so you will have to click on SHAC on the right side of their page when it comes up.

I got the plaque which is nice, the wood carved medal is my favorite medal yet. It smells good and the detail is amazing and I hope I captured it in the picture.

Gonna use this to get another pair of Saucony Kinvaras. Really want another pair of Vibrams but will need to move to a place where I can hit soft trails more.

I am not soft anymore

At least in regards to the Weather. This picture is from a week ago. The standard stroller push.

Been hitting some good swims and bikes, also doing ok when I hit speed as long as I dont go over about a min. I know at a low altitude I will be rocking though. This post is mainly a preview for the first race of the season. The SHAC. Last fall I had a breakthrough race so this is gonna be really tough.

Last year for 400 swim 10M bike and 3M run.

Swim: 6:20

T1: 1:15

Bike: 26:16

T2: 0:41

Run 17:41

Total: 52:18

This year I want

Swim: 6:00 (~1:25 pace with timing mat locations)

T1: 1:00

Bike: 26:00 (~24mph with timing mat locations)

T2: 0:40

Run 17:00 (5:40 pace)

Total 50:39

The course record was nest 1 year ago by Ironman Lake Placid Champion Ben Hoffman at 50:45 so I am really shooting for the stars.

There are a few things I am going to do different for this race. I am gonna use swim bands during my warmup. I am not using socks. (Finally over my blister fiasco from years ago.) I am using a standard wrist stopwatch to check my splits. 7 on the bike, 14 at turnaround, 20 at next, 27 at next, and then 36:10 at the second turnaround. I still have a shot if that time is as high as 36:40. Oddly the thing I am most afraid of is the bike. I am in a lot better shape but there are TONS of turnarounds and turns and I didn't get caught behind anyone and I was in the right gear every time last time. I may have pushed a little too hard last time as well. Also the weather lead in is terrible. No motivation to run today in the sleet/snow after riding almost 2 hours in it. Basically can't wait for the first race of the season so this is my whole-hearted attempt at over-analyzing it.

New and improved workout blog and homemade bike modifications.

I am going to make a concerted effort to provide more useful information along with pictures of stories instead of just updates. Updates will still happen on a monthly basis. To start off the new blog I will show what I did to my bike that involved some hacksawing and lots of dremeling.

I basically wanted to create my own internal cable routing while adjusting the cockpit to to the bike. I took 1 inch off my aero extensions. I dropped my pads by 12.5mm and moved my seat forward about 1/4 of an inch. My seat is now 15 cm above my elbow pads. My seat nose is 3.5cm in in front of the bottom bracket. My effective seat tube angle (sitting back in the saddle) is 80.81 degrees.

Here is the dremel hole that I made in the bullhorns. There is also one right under the white bar tape exactly where it needs to be. Oddly I actually like where the bullhorns are in relation to the rest of the cockpit which is good bc that is one thing you cant do anything about except buy new ones and these where only 10 bucks.

It took quite a while to dremel through. I used a grinder to get a grove going and then an engraving cutter to do the rest. The hard part was getting the tubing through (since real internal routing has little funnels to help I had to reverse thread the wire and then tape it to the real wire and then lead it through. I messed up a couple times with either the shifters or housing not in the right order so I had to unthread. Here is the final product.

The homemade computer mount fit in the same place since the tape isnt as far back this time. I also leveled the water bottle cage and purchased a locking bottle from camelback since it tends to leak in this position. I was also able to level the armrest pads bc I had them tilted down so the extensions felt right. Basically everything changed bc I have not gotten to it for ever. The biggest thing is that the bullhorn grips are about 1/2 as thick as they used to be and it just feels so much better. It will be great for the turnarounds and sprint hills at my next Tri.

Here is the final product. I have the trainer tire on the disc so I dont have to change cassettes to ride outside.

The only thing I haven't done is to cut the steering tube above the stem. This is for two reasons. One, it is really hard to get it level without a pipe cutter and two it helps keep the water bottle cage secure and provides a better attachment point for it. Now that I am dialed in I should be plenty fast this year. Will try and get a video of me on the bike to check my positioning sometime in the next couple weeks.

February Totals

February Totals

Swim 6:40:00 20000

Bike 16:35:00 309

Run 13:56:00 109

Weights 0:35:00

Total 37:46:00

Key Workouts: 2/10: BRICK 2:30 bike 5x400 (79, 79, 78, 78, 78)

BRICK: 3 hrs with 200, 800, 400, 200, 400 in (38, 2:56, 1:19, 35, 1:22)

Med pace 500 in 7:39, 5x100 on 2min (1:20) and 100 in 1:07!!!

BRICK: 20M TT in 50:12 (23.4, out in 20.7 back in 28.2. BRICK into 5m run

February sucks for month totals bc of those stupid 2 days. Every year should be a leap year. Anyway I had some motivational issues which lead to most of those days off this past week.

I cut back the cycling due to hitting most of my indoor numbers that I have set and the 20 mile TT at just a tad under 24mph with a HR of only 156. I don't think I need that many more workouts until I get actually get outside some more.

Swimming is coming along very nicely even with the two workouts I missed bc the pool was closed again. I am down to 1:07 for 100 and :32 for 50. Finally broke the 3000 in a single swim and I think I will be able to hit that a couple more times. I want to get that up before work starts so I can get in a good workout before 7-7:30 am.

Running continues to be a chore but I think it is just the weather. I did have a couple good runs and my endurance is still there so I cut back the long run to try and reign in the weekdays.

Overall not too bad and I think I can build off of what I have learned. I had to have Restart/Reset #1 which means I lost FOCUS. I capitalize bc this single word I have written in various places bc it best reminds me of the state of being that I need to be in. From planning to execution to eating and resting. This month should be a major month and I will rest the last couple days going into the sprint tri on Apr 2. Also planning a mock race, 500y TT, and 1-2 cycling TT's. There will also hopefully be some new changes to the blog with no more weekly updates but a few "articles" and more pictures and videos. Hoping it comes together for a better read.

Real Swim Progress

Had a bad couple weeks with the dog screaming at night. Had to move kennel down into the bedroom which isn't the most optimal use of space down there. Luckily the wife doesn't mind having it right up on the bed next to her. Had some REALLY bad night of sleep so my training, as per usual with lack of sleep, has suffered severely. The bright shining spot has been my swim though.

Today I did a 500 warm up and then a med pace 500 which I came in at 7:39. This used to be faster then my PR not too long ago. I decided to see where my speed was at with an all out 100. This has been a good indicator of my swimming in the past. I came up and saw 1:07 and was kinda shocked bc it felt like my best ever. The things that were different were that I didn't swallow any water, and my strokes caught water every time instead of windmilling through the water. I can almost always split a good 50 but that 100 has eluded me until now. Who knew that regularly putting time in the pool is a good way to get faster. Still not convinced that super tons of yardage is the best but 2500-3500 should be my sweet spot.

Did a 20 mile TT as well (was planning a 40K or 24.8) but I went out in 20.7 miles per hour bc of the wind and just wasn't having it. Came back in with an elevation gain at 28.2 mph on a fairly hilly course. Ended with a 23.9 with a HR of 156. Felt pretty good about it since whenever you have that much wind, even with an out-and-back you could have gone much faster. At leas tri's are in the morning around here. Gonna start to cut back on the bike to 2-3 rides a week at most since my run is lacking quite a bit right now and I want to be recovered for some faster workouts. Also with the lack of sleep thing I feel pretty fatigued so I want some time to re-adjust before I start back up to work in April.

The only bad thing is I gained about 5 pounds and am now sitting at 175.3 so I know my running woes are still sitting right there.

Jan Totals and Update

Weights 1:25:00

Swim 4:10:00 11100

Bike 23:50:00 443

Run 18:46:00 147.65 (Bettered any 2010 month by 25 miles)

Total 48:11:00

Days off: 6

Workouts: 47

Key Workouts: (5x5min TT 27-27.4, HR 159, 80rpm) (1:23:09 Half Mary)

(1/11: 10M TT in 22:33, 78rpm, 155 HR, then 8x240 @ 5:40 pace)

(16M run with 1/9: Series of 7:00, 6:48, 6:42, 6:32, 6:41, 6:51)

(500y TT in 7:10 with first 100 in 1:17)

Swim rank was 2nd and bike was as well. Massive month in all for Jan. Had 2 Swim PR's a run PR for 13.1 and a bike PR on the trainer. Feeling great in the pool and nominal on the bike. Endurance is definitely there as the 3 hr trainer rides are getting almost east to knock out. Need to keep on the run mileage right now bc speed is just gonna come later. I must get some stuff under 6min pace in though. That really hurt me during the half as I was trying to run the whole thing faster then I had run since Nov in a triathlon. This week kinda sucked bc the dog has been having night terrors or something. Being terribly angry at 1 and 3 and 5 in the morning throwing things is not the way for me to sleep and as I have mentioned before sleep is one of my true strengths as an athlete. So not too bad. Ready to keep pushing the mileage on the run and swim and start uping the biking intensity already.

Weekly Recap: 15 hours 31 minute

This was my second biggest week ever. Got in 4100 swim, 166 on the bike and 40 running. I wish there had been another swim but my pass ran out and forgot to renew it (complicated process of course). Next couple weeks I would like to stay around 150 on the bike but up the swim and run to 7000 and 50 miles a week and hold that for a while and get some efforts when the weather is better. I also want to have a rest run day on Mon after a long run which I messed up this week. I think around this volume I should be able to loose a tad bit more weight. I am realizing more and more that I just have tons of trouble with weight loss. It was also a stressful week bc the kiddo is now throwing food on the ground again and bashing her head on the ground in parking lots and fitting like mad. It is really bad and I hit quite a low the other day so we shall see how this manifest in my general mood. I have finally found a training partner but they had to go out of town. This should help a bit as it was really nice seeing people down at the SG half marathon.

Race Report SG Half Marathon

I am going to preface this post with a video of my child. Just put this on repeat with food throwing and loud screaming for the past 10 days. She lost 3 pounds off her 30 pound frame in 6 days. She is having her independence struggle and is doing it for a long time. It is finally turning around but as you will see my brain was totally fried which lead to some mistakes. (BTW Squawkwalla is a nickname from a type of lizard in Death Valley, we are science nerds)

So I woke up and got in a 15 minute spin on the Bike before heading down to SG. One thing I was worried about was making the distance at the speed I wanted so I didnt want to warm up too much . Well the above mentioned shorted my brain and I just stood around until race start with no running warm up. Oh well I thought bc then I would have to start slower.

I went out in 3:01 and then a 3:03 and then started to slow. I had two half miles of 3:26 and 3:31 in there for my 6:22 total. My final time ended up being 1:23:09 and I weighed almost 174 which is completely unacceptable. Seeing that I should easily weigh 163 on my 5'10" frame that puts me at a 6:02 pace just based on weight alone. That puts me at a 1:19:05 which is much more in line how I felt. I will take the 50 second PR though since I have had biking and swimming PR's this month already and it is Jan. The only thing I am behind on is the weight which is so tough with the above mentioned.

I could talk most of the race just fine and my breathing was fine even though I got a side stitch at the beginning but that was the lack of warm up and trying to run out of my ability so quickly. Quads are a little sore but got in a 1:47 stroller tow and a 53 min stroller push the next day so that is pretty good. Joints and the rest of the body are good though.

I think I learned a lot about what needs to happen to take my running to the next level so that is the most important thing here. We will see.

Breakthrough week.

Big news is that I set a new trainer PR on the 10 mile TT. I went 22:33 at 78 rpm at 155 avg HR. 26.6 mph I think I finally hit the nail on the head with my start. I did an outdoor TT this spring in 25:13@144HR using a low cadence and not starting too hard obviously. I have also noticed that I can ride around 22 mph on an out and back 50 miler at when I am just out for a ride. On Tues I made sure to note when I really felt like I was pushing it and when I was not. IT was when I was around 83 rpm and my HR was at 162 is when the red light on my RPE turned on. I was hitting miles in 2:19 at the begining and then brought that down. Normally on an indoor TT I am all over the place. After the halfway at around 11:33 I really kicked it in and ran through some 2:10 miles. The hurt was there but it was constant.

This is the single biggest breakthrough in cycling that I have ever had.

Went to the track and knocked out some 240's (indoor 160M track) at about 5:40 pace afterwards. Outdoor track is clear now thankfully.

Sunday I got out for a long run up the canyon. Starting at 5600 ft and running up to 6800 ft in 8 miles before turning around. Threw in a 41 minute 6 miler (~6:45 pace) coming back. Didnt even feel good until mile 9. Glad I stuck with it. Longest run since moving down to Utah.

Tied my 100 yard swim PR with another 1:15 at the end of a 2400 yard set.

The late post is from a trip to Death Valley with ZERO workouts for 4 days due to the kiddo deciding to throw every single bit of food given to her onto the ground while camping and then being pissed all day long. The sites were great and still glad we went but it was super stressful and my body felt more tired and strained from this then when normally working out. So I dont really have any big expectations for the half except for a good mental battle.

Weekly Recap

I have devised a set of workouts that I will try to work towards with specific goals in mind. The first one I came up with is 5x5min on the trainer above 26.4 mph. I choose this because I hit this workout in Missoula when I was hitting the trainer a lot but when I came down here to altitude I couldn't muster even 3 this hard.

Sat was a recovery day from staying up to late so Sunday I decided to hit this interval set to see how I would do. This is one of the sets that a lot of people do but I think that I execute much better. Sorry about the ego trip there but my training seems lacking severely when compared to others doing the same speed or way higher then others in the same range. The workout takes 50 minutes to complete and I want to quite every minute after the second minute. The recoveries don't seem long enough and the intervals are terrible about 30 seconds in. Normally I prescribe to the part about liking to train but I love to see the numbers at the same time so I can get through this workout. I managed averages 27-27.4 mph at 80 rpm and a 159 HR which would top out at 170 for the last couple minutes.

Still struggling with the weight loss but after lunch I have only been eating workout drinks, a bowl of low cal chili, and a glass of bourbon and water in the evening. Occasionally I will have a 100 cal hot cocoa right before bed. The snow on the ground is terrible here. Stupid lightest snow on earth crap.

Swimming is coming along nicely and I have been using the bands to do a modified front lat pull down that turns into a tricep pulldown and then traditional lat pulldowns. Worked up to 50 lat, 20 mod, 50 lat, 20 mod before I rest. Will see how that works.

Got a PR on the 100 free when I had a lifeguard watch my form. I hit a 1:15. I really really need to remember to stay relaxed bc that was what I picked to focus on when she was watching. Finished the day with a tough 6 mile recovery run. Need to pick up the run frequency so I don't have to run as many 10 milers in the cold.