Monday, February 28, 2011

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.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

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.

Friday, February 4, 2011

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.