One month down

I am not sure that a whole month has gone by since I have returned to training. Life is flying by right now. My workouts are getting increasingly harder, but I am still feeling fresh and ready to do them. I went through a monthly bike fitness test with a nice gain. I ended up racing one of the local triathletes through a series of 4 mile repeats @ 6:20. All of this done without too much fatigue. I have been tring to ease into the month because of the all too common fear of injury. These past few years have been the most injury free I have ever experienced and they contain some of the most intense training I have ever done.

October is going to be challenging for me. I will be traveling for 2 out of 4 weekends. It is all too easy to forget that I do triathlons to keep myself sane. I will try to move around some of my bike workouts and focus on the runs during my travels. The trips are too short and too full to even imagine bringing my bike.





Ah my bike, It has been with me through a lot, but before IM CdA, I will be riding a new steed. I have not decided what to get, but rest assured I am excited about the selection process. I am already looking forward to taking the new bike out and pedaling as fast as I can, just like my son showing me how fast he can run with his new shoes.

JTG

What in the heck am I doing?

I was thinking about what I was going to put into my weekly wrap up and thought that a little pre-explanation might be of help. In early 2007, I purchased a power meter and began IM training with the help of Rich Strauss. My first test with the new gear and training program was IM Florida. On what seemed to be a perfect day, I went 10:15. Moments after I crossed finish line I began to think about all the ways I could take time off my IM splits.

That brings me to current day and the crew at Endurance Nation.(see links) Rich and Patrick, have developed an "on-line" tri team. The training is based upon very sound principles. Right now I am in the third week of their Out Season training program. As I have mention before, it is comprised of a lot of short fast workouts. Throughout the 16 week program, I will have the opportunity to test my fitness with a series of benchmark tests. Yesterday was one of them. 2x20min with 2min rest on the bike. My normalized power over the 42min interval becomes my functional threshold. It is a true test of how you can handle the pain. It went well for me yesterday. I increased from 255watts to 272. I hope that it will continue to increase. If anyone who reads this is interested I suggest you head over to the right and click on the Endurance Nation link to see what the training is all about.

JTG

Week 3 (My rebirth into a triathlete)

If you read the previous post, you realize that I am now feeling like an athlete again. It is a funny thing, feeling like an athlete. Being an athlete is something that has defined me longer then my job or my family. I have been swimming, biking or running since grade school. It has always been a part of my life. The fatigue, the soreness, my body does not feel right without them. In fact, my wife would say that I am pretty grumpy when I am not exercising. However, she was amazed at how much got down after Ironman Florida last year.

Now on to the pressing details. Week three, 71 miles of biking and 30 miles of running. Anyone who looks at this, who has done an ironman will be under impressed. What is worth noting is that these workouts were done for the most part at zone 3 or above. My favorite workout of the week was 2 x 1.5 miles at threshold pace. Luckily for me my inactivity lead to a relatively slow definition of threshold pace. A second test in one week should have me at a little faster pace. I went out with someone from my local tri club that has really become an amazing triathlete over the past two years. He is 10 years younger and was pushing me pretty hard. We settled into 6:20 / 6:18 for the two sets. During the sets I really felt as though it was my legs not my heart limiting me. My HR was 160's with a Max of 189. It hurt, but it really felt good to push.

I will do my best to keep this updated. I am hoping to figure out how to add some pictures in order to spice up the thoughts. Everyone should consider themselves lucky that I did not post a pic of all the hair that came off my legs.

Stay focused,

JTG

A Clean Close Shave

Well, it finally has happened. I have completed my transformation into a triathlete. Yes, I shaved my legs. I think that male triathletes have a long standing debate about to shave or not to shave their legs. I have heard so many reason why and why not to shave. All I know is that for the last15+ years my legs have been shaved. Ever since I started competitive bike racing in college my legs have been shaved. The only time I have really seen hair on my legs has been during the last 8 months. To me it represents a change from inactivity to the world of serious training. So, look out. I am back training and I am having a lot of fun.

Tomorrow the weekly recap,

JTG

Week number 2 (Getting back into it)

This overall was a good and bad week. As the exercise goes, I really think that my body is getting back into the swing of things. I am finding a little more power in the legs and i seem to be able to sustain a little more speed when running. It really isn't much, but I put in 58 miles on the trainer and 18 miles running. I know I am starting slow, but the miles I am logging are at near top speed so the going is a little tough.

The bad part of the week can be attributed to the death of my Garmin 305. I really, really love the watch, but this is my second one and it is killing me when it goes down. The worst part is it is my second watch in less than 6 months. I did purchase it from Walmart online and perhaps they only get the crappy ones. I am not sure what to do but I am on the lookout for something.

Until next week.

JTG

The Cda Plan

This is the first sample entry into what will be a review of my life as i make a hard push at the Ironman distance traithlon. It will contain mostly summaries of information along with any random thoughts i will have to add along the way.

JTG