At the end of every high school cross country season, my coach would sit the team down for a meeting before the state championships. Inevitably, he would lead off by saying, "The hay is in the barn." To me, it had become the phase to signify that the hard work is done. No matter what it relates to, that phrase tells me to get my game face on and prepare for the task at hand.
This past weekend, I ended my hard work with my last long ride. I traveled out to the middle of nowhere Indiana for a 112 mile bike followed by a 6 mile run. This day was going to be the last true race rehearsal. I awoke early in the morning to make the hour long drive to thebeginning of my route. I was to do 3 loops of 37 miles over some of the very same roads I traveled as I began my riding and racing some 20 years ago.
As the sun came over the trees, I set out on my first loop. The temperature was perfect and the winds had not begun. It was a prelude to the day. I tried to find speed where ever I could on the course. The only real stress was the occasional loose dog looking for a race. As the first hour came to a close, I looked down at my power and was a little saddened. i had tried to keep right at 69%, but had fallen a little short. A quick glance at my odometer had my spirits turned around. I had covered 21.6 miles in the first hour and it felt as thought the whole way was downhill. Honestly, I was a little unnerved. I really should not be going that fast. The questioning and self doubt began. Had I destroyed my whole ride? How off was my power meter? What is going on? I took a breath and remembered all the training I had done. I remembered measuring the route out on two different map programs just to make sure i had the distance correct. Well, i decided I just see what happens.
If the first hour felt easy and my speed was up, I figured the best thing I could do was to try to duplicate it. As the second hour ended, my ergomo had nothing new to report. I was moving around the loop with low watts and high speeds. By the middle of the second loop, the headwinds picked up. As soon as I turned into the wind, them I was taken back to my earlier bike racing days. During my training, I dreaded the route because the return trip to my house guaranteed a ride straight into the wind. When I stopped to refuel at the end of lap 2 I was still right on pace. My watts were steady, and i was still moving at an average of 21+ mph. The third lap was what the end of a long ride should be....a little bit of work. By now the temp climbed into the low 80's and the head winds were steady. Once I hit 100 miles I dialed down the pace. I do not care how good I feel at race day, right now, I have no business riding 112 miles in 5:17. By the time I finished I was looking at 5:20 and I felt great.
I had mapped out a solid 1 mile loop with a small little hill toward the end. I started off with little pain or cramping. I went on to knock off a series of miles faster than IM pace without much issue. By the end of the workout I knew that I was ready.
The hay is in the barn.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
What a few weeks it has been.
What a few weeks it has been. In my cycles of triathlon training, I do not think I have ever gone through as large a mental struggle as I have gone through in the last couple of weeks. I am not even sure where to begin. Today, I find myself 5 weeks out from an Ironman. If you would have asked me last week if I was going to make it this far, I would have answered, I am not so sure.
I have stated before that I do this triathlon stuff because it keeps me sane. These past few weeks, it almost drove me over the edge. My life and my work were colliding and all my Ironman training was getting forcibly squeezed out. It drove me to my breaking point. Sadly, this came to a head on the night of my wife's birthday.
To begin with, I had asked my co workers to try to give me some light call over the last 2 months before the Ironman. I was going to make it up to them later, so their work would be rewarded. Instead, I come to find out that I will be on call for 3 out of the 7 weeks before the Ironman. For me, that means no "real" free time from Friday 7:00am to Monday 7:00am for three whole weekends. I don't get it; can't they see how hard I have been working?
Next, life situations came up that caused my workouts to get all changed around out of their routine order. As both a physics major in college and a current physician, I think it is safe to say that I have some Type A personality traits. They did not do well with the changes.
And on what should be a good note, I got a new bike. Yeah, I know, how awesome is that. Well…thanks to my type A and my Ergomo showing me 80 watts less for the same perceived exertion, I am mentally all screwed up. With my old bike, I was on top of the world. I could hammer out sessions like 3x15 minutes, all averaging > 325 watts. Honestly, I never looked at speed, I don't even wear a HR monitor - it is all about the watts. Next thing I know, I am like 30% weaker. I know that I did not grow weaker overnight, but it hard for me to stare down at the monitor and wonder which one is right.
Additionally, work has been rough. In fact, work was kicking my ass. Every call night, I was doing deliveries in between 3 and 5 am. I was exhausted. I did get someone to cover the phones for me so I could get in my long run, but sure enough, I had a delivery right before I was about to walk out the door. Upon my return home, my wife took one look at me and told me to go run. I think she could see that I was about to lose it. Here it was 3 hours before her birthday dinner out with our family and she was sending me out of the house to go run. My mind was a mess. I decided I should take it out on my legs. It was therapy. I was running with rage, anger, fear and embarrassment. I had let triathlon take over my life. 2.5 hours later I was lying on the floor of the kitchen, 21+ miles at an average of 7:04 pace, and somehow I had to figure out how I was going to make it to dinner 35 minutes later.
Some weeks earlier, I had asked a friend of mine who owns an upscale restaurant if he could give my wife and I, along with our three kids under five, a table in the back of his restaurant. My wife's only request for her birthday was to go out and eat a nice meal, as a family. Happily, he obliged. Even though I could hardly eat or drink during the meal, I was able to witness my two boys hug my wife and see her smile that smile of genuine happiness that you get when things are going just right. That is when it hit me. I need to get things right. I need to remember why I do this triathlon thing.
It took sometime, but I feel like I am back. Yes, I am still riding 30% lower watts on my new bike, and that is ok. I have five more weeks to get ready for another long day of Ironman. Five weeks to bring my mind and body together so that I can have the race that I want to have.
Time to get focused,
Todd
I have stated before that I do this triathlon stuff because it keeps me sane. These past few weeks, it almost drove me over the edge. My life and my work were colliding and all my Ironman training was getting forcibly squeezed out. It drove me to my breaking point. Sadly, this came to a head on the night of my wife's birthday.
To begin with, I had asked my co workers to try to give me some light call over the last 2 months before the Ironman. I was going to make it up to them later, so their work would be rewarded. Instead, I come to find out that I will be on call for 3 out of the 7 weeks before the Ironman. For me, that means no "real" free time from Friday 7:00am to Monday 7:00am for three whole weekends. I don't get it; can't they see how hard I have been working?
Next, life situations came up that caused my workouts to get all changed around out of their routine order. As both a physics major in college and a current physician, I think it is safe to say that I have some Type A personality traits. They did not do well with the changes.
And on what should be a good note, I got a new bike. Yeah, I know, how awesome is that. Well…thanks to my type A and my Ergomo showing me 80 watts less for the same perceived exertion, I am mentally all screwed up. With my old bike, I was on top of the world. I could hammer out sessions like 3x15 minutes, all averaging > 325 watts. Honestly, I never looked at speed, I don't even wear a HR monitor - it is all about the watts. Next thing I know, I am like 30% weaker. I know that I did not grow weaker overnight, but it hard for me to stare down at the monitor and wonder which one is right.
Additionally, work has been rough. In fact, work was kicking my ass. Every call night, I was doing deliveries in between 3 and 5 am. I was exhausted. I did get someone to cover the phones for me so I could get in my long run, but sure enough, I had a delivery right before I was about to walk out the door. Upon my return home, my wife took one look at me and told me to go run. I think she could see that I was about to lose it. Here it was 3 hours before her birthday dinner out with our family and she was sending me out of the house to go run. My mind was a mess. I decided I should take it out on my legs. It was therapy. I was running with rage, anger, fear and embarrassment. I had let triathlon take over my life. 2.5 hours later I was lying on the floor of the kitchen, 21+ miles at an average of 7:04 pace, and somehow I had to figure out how I was going to make it to dinner 35 minutes later.
Some weeks earlier, I had asked a friend of mine who owns an upscale restaurant if he could give my wife and I, along with our three kids under five, a table in the back of his restaurant. My wife's only request for her birthday was to go out and eat a nice meal, as a family. Happily, he obliged. Even though I could hardly eat or drink during the meal, I was able to witness my two boys hug my wife and see her smile that smile of genuine happiness that you get when things are going just right. That is when it hit me. I need to get things right. I need to remember why I do this triathlon thing.
It took sometime, but I feel like I am back. Yes, I am still riding 30% lower watts on my new bike, and that is ok. I have five more weeks to get ready for another long day of Ironman. Five weeks to bring my mind and body together so that I can have the race that I want to have.
Time to get focused,
Todd
Sunday, April 26, 2009
2 out of 3 ain't bad
2 out of 3 ain't bad. Another month of Ironman training has come and gone. And with it comes another testing week. I have written about my testing week before, but as a refresher, every month I have been using a series of bench mark tests to help me evaluate my fitness. Going into this week I was really tired. I think that the cumulative stress of training has had a pretty significant impact on me. Additionally, I have spent far too many hours working, when I should have been sleeping.
I began the week with one of my most feared workouts: 2x20 minutes all out on the bike. I feel as though my legs are stronger than last month, but I also think they are more tired. My test was a struggle the whole way through. Sweat poured off me like a leaky faucet. I had a hard time getting into a good cycling rhythm. When the dust had settled, I was exactly the same as last month, 325 Watts. Honestly, I was quite despondent. What had I been doing this pat month? Did all those miles amount to nothing? After some serious thought and some reminders from the folks at Endurance Nation, I decided I could go on with training. OK, I am being dramatic, but I in some way felt like that. I have done it before, had a bad workout and just been disgusted with myself. I admit, I have a fragile psyche when it comes to athletics. I realized that staying at 325 was a good thing. First, I did not lose fitness. Second, I was able to keep the same level of fitness as my endurance increased. Also, when I went back and looked at my goals for Ironman CDA, one of my bike goals was to have my FTP > 325. Hell, I am already there.
Next up, I had a 5K on the local track. I was looking for a little redemption. The only thing getting in my way was a 15+mph headwind along the back stretch. Undaunted, off I went. I was hoping to run 5:35's as that would have been a 10 second per mile improvement since my last test. As I finished the first quarter I found myself on 5:20 pace, way too fast. I backed it down a little and ended the first mile at 5:27. The strong wind on the back half of the track really made the run hard. It quickly became a seemingly never ending series of 200 yard repeats into the wind with a 200 yard recovery. The second mile passed in about 5:33. The last mile plus was a suffer fest. I was pushing as hard as I could. Saliva was falling out of my mouth because I didn't have the energy to spit. My second to last quarter felt as though the track was transformed into molasses. I put my head down and pushed as hard as could. I ended up finishing with a mile pace of 5:32.1 .1, yes, I am a little superstitious. A 12.9 sec improvement sounds a lot better than a "13" second improvement. I was ecstatic. Another one of my season goals was to have my Vdot > 58.5. I just ran a whole point higher. That deserves a little celebration.
Last on the list was my 1000yard time trial in the pool. I have been feeling like my swimming is doing fine, but it is the sport I let slip if life/work gets in the way. I snuck out of a conference early in order to get to the pool. Sadly, my head still felt a little funny after my 5K celebration the night before. Yes, I had two 12oz beers. My college self would be calling me out right now for being such a light weight. As I warmed up, I set out a plan to go out conservatively and finish strong hoping to bring my 100 yrd average down from 1:25 to 1:23-24. The first three hundred found me right on 1:23 pace with nice powerful, relaxed strokes. At 600 yards, I could tell I was getting a little fatigued. I was just under 1:23 pace. By 800 yards, my arms actually began to speak to me. They were quite direct in saying, "Please, for the love of God, stop swimming!" The last 300 was a struggle, but as I came to the wall, the time 13:45 was on my watch. I was way too tired to be excited. It took a few minutes for me to recover, but as I started off on my cool down, I knew I had made a nice improvement. Somehow I managed to drop 25 seconds from my previous swim. I find myself close to a goal that I have had as a dream for a while, getting my T-pace down to 1:20.
So in the end, I was reminded of how this sport can give out so many highs and lows. Sure my bike is the same but my swim and run are continuing to get better. I know that what I need now is 8 more weeks of really focused training so that I can tow the line on June 21 as fit as I possibly can be.
Todd
I began the week with one of my most feared workouts: 2x20 minutes all out on the bike. I feel as though my legs are stronger than last month, but I also think they are more tired. My test was a struggle the whole way through. Sweat poured off me like a leaky faucet. I had a hard time getting into a good cycling rhythm. When the dust had settled, I was exactly the same as last month, 325 Watts. Honestly, I was quite despondent. What had I been doing this pat month? Did all those miles amount to nothing? After some serious thought and some reminders from the folks at Endurance Nation, I decided I could go on with training. OK, I am being dramatic, but I in some way felt like that. I have done it before, had a bad workout and just been disgusted with myself. I admit, I have a fragile psyche when it comes to athletics. I realized that staying at 325 was a good thing. First, I did not lose fitness. Second, I was able to keep the same level of fitness as my endurance increased. Also, when I went back and looked at my goals for Ironman CDA, one of my bike goals was to have my FTP > 325. Hell, I am already there.
Next up, I had a 5K on the local track. I was looking for a little redemption. The only thing getting in my way was a 15+mph headwind along the back stretch. Undaunted, off I went. I was hoping to run 5:35's as that would have been a 10 second per mile improvement since my last test. As I finished the first quarter I found myself on 5:20 pace, way too fast. I backed it down a little and ended the first mile at 5:27. The strong wind on the back half of the track really made the run hard. It quickly became a seemingly never ending series of 200 yard repeats into the wind with a 200 yard recovery. The second mile passed in about 5:33. The last mile plus was a suffer fest. I was pushing as hard as I could. Saliva was falling out of my mouth because I didn't have the energy to spit. My second to last quarter felt as though the track was transformed into molasses. I put my head down and pushed as hard as could. I ended up finishing with a mile pace of 5:32.1 .1, yes, I am a little superstitious. A 12.9 sec improvement sounds a lot better than a "13" second improvement. I was ecstatic. Another one of my season goals was to have my Vdot > 58.5. I just ran a whole point higher. That deserves a little celebration.
Last on the list was my 1000yard time trial in the pool. I have been feeling like my swimming is doing fine, but it is the sport I let slip if life/work gets in the way. I snuck out of a conference early in order to get to the pool. Sadly, my head still felt a little funny after my 5K celebration the night before. Yes, I had two 12oz beers. My college self would be calling me out right now for being such a light weight. As I warmed up, I set out a plan to go out conservatively and finish strong hoping to bring my 100 yrd average down from 1:25 to 1:23-24. The first three hundred found me right on 1:23 pace with nice powerful, relaxed strokes. At 600 yards, I could tell I was getting a little fatigued. I was just under 1:23 pace. By 800 yards, my arms actually began to speak to me. They were quite direct in saying, "Please, for the love of God, stop swimming!" The last 300 was a struggle, but as I came to the wall, the time 13:45 was on my watch. I was way too tired to be excited. It took a few minutes for me to recover, but as I started off on my cool down, I knew I had made a nice improvement. Somehow I managed to drop 25 seconds from my previous swim. I find myself close to a goal that I have had as a dream for a while, getting my T-pace down to 1:20.
So in the end, I was reminded of how this sport can give out so many highs and lows. Sure my bike is the same but my swim and run are continuing to get better. I know that what I need now is 8 more weeks of really focused training so that I can tow the line on June 21 as fit as I possibly can be.
Todd
Monday, April 20, 2009
Why am I doing the Ironman?
A few days ago I found myself wondering why I am still doing Ironman distance triathlons. I have done four of them before. I am pretty certain that I will be able to finish this one. So why in the hell am I putting myself through all this work?
Training for an Ironman is all-encompassing for me. I spend most of my days working, caring for my family and working out. Even with the relatively light Endurance Nation plan of 15-18 hours per week, I feel like I miss out on the everyday events in order to compete in an Ironman.
So, as I ran, I tried to think of why I am doing another Ironman race. I had ideas that it was because I like to stay in good shape. Quickly I realized that there are much easier ways to keep fit. I wondered if it was the challenge of doing an Ironamn. Would I be able to finish? I think I am long since past those thoughts. How about the need to have a good race? After all, my first two shots at Ironman were during the Madison, Wisconsin September heat wave. In both races, I raced poorly and ultimately succumbed to the conditions. I think it took 15+ hours to finish both. In fact I can recall laying on the ground at mile 24 of the marathon, muscles spasming so badly that the aid worker who came to check on me actually said to me, "that looks like it really hurts." You could see the muscles, from the Achilles up to the quad, tightening and relaxing without any thought of stopping. It took ONE HOUR for me to finally hobble my way through that mile. Well, I knocked out a great race at IM Florida and put those terrible races behind me.
So then why oh why am I up at 5:00 am running for two hours on an otherwise nice morning. I knew I had to talk to a higher power: my wife. I think it took her all of a millisecond to come up with the real reason I am doing this IM thing again. I need to do that which is the most difficult. She reminded me of many choices in my life that seemed to always end up with me doing the hardest thing. In college I majored in Physics. I ended up in medical school. I chose a career that makes most people wonder "how can I keep those hours." I am always choosing the hardest road. Running in college was not enough; I had to race bicycles. Then I discovered the triathlon. No way was a sprint distance race going to be enough. I needed to do an Ironman. Once that was done, there was only one thing left to do. I need to try to qualify for the world championships. I heard Tim DeBoom once say that there are only a handful of people on the earth that will ever do IM Hawaii. I really want to be one of them.
That's it. I want to qualify for Kona. I want to prove to myself that I can do it. That is why I get up every morning to beat my body up over and over again. If I don't make it, I am sure I will try again sometime. If I can not, I guess there is always the RAAM (Race Across America). Just don't tell my wife.
Todd
Training for an Ironman is all-encompassing for me. I spend most of my days working, caring for my family and working out. Even with the relatively light Endurance Nation plan of 15-18 hours per week, I feel like I miss out on the everyday events in order to compete in an Ironman.
So, as I ran, I tried to think of why I am doing another Ironman race. I had ideas that it was because I like to stay in good shape. Quickly I realized that there are much easier ways to keep fit. I wondered if it was the challenge of doing an Ironamn. Would I be able to finish? I think I am long since past those thoughts. How about the need to have a good race? After all, my first two shots at Ironman were during the Madison, Wisconsin September heat wave. In both races, I raced poorly and ultimately succumbed to the conditions. I think it took 15+ hours to finish both. In fact I can recall laying on the ground at mile 24 of the marathon, muscles spasming so badly that the aid worker who came to check on me actually said to me, "that looks like it really hurts." You could see the muscles, from the Achilles up to the quad, tightening and relaxing without any thought of stopping. It took ONE HOUR for me to finally hobble my way through that mile. Well, I knocked out a great race at IM Florida and put those terrible races behind me.
So then why oh why am I up at 5:00 am running for two hours on an otherwise nice morning. I knew I had to talk to a higher power: my wife. I think it took her all of a millisecond to come up with the real reason I am doing this IM thing again. I need to do that which is the most difficult. She reminded me of many choices in my life that seemed to always end up with me doing the hardest thing. In college I majored in Physics. I ended up in medical school. I chose a career that makes most people wonder "how can I keep those hours." I am always choosing the hardest road. Running in college was not enough; I had to race bicycles. Then I discovered the triathlon. No way was a sprint distance race going to be enough. I needed to do an Ironman. Once that was done, there was only one thing left to do. I need to try to qualify for the world championships. I heard Tim DeBoom once say that there are only a handful of people on the earth that will ever do IM Hawaii. I really want to be one of them.
That's it. I want to qualify for Kona. I want to prove to myself that I can do it. That is why I get up every morning to beat my body up over and over again. If I don't make it, I am sure I will try again sometime. If I can not, I guess there is always the RAAM (Race Across America). Just don't tell my wife.
Todd
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Is it possible to have your limbs fall off?
Wow, I can not believe it, another week down. I am one step closer to race day. I really did my best to work pretty hard this week, and my body is feeling it.
The week started off being fogged in at the Newark airport,for 9.5 hours with three cranky kids. We managed to make the best out of it and even had some more fun in NYC the next day. We finally made it back late Monday night and I was eager to get a little aggression out of my system.
Tuesday I was able to knock out my bike intervals at my new found FTP - 325 watts. My legs felt relatively good given the lack of exercise I had during the previous week. My brick run was solid and I found myself holding back in order to stay in the proper pace zones. Wednesday is where things got a little interesting. For the first time since the OS, some new people showed up on the track. They happened to be a few pretty quick runners and triathletes that I know from the area. As I was warming up, they began a series of 800's. I was supposed to do 2-3 mile repeats at Z4/5, 6:00-5:44. I felt like I really needed to show them my new fitness and I really let the first mile go. My legs just kept moving and I ended the first mile at 5:19. I looked at my watch and could not believe it. I hadn't run that fast since my college days. My rest period went by faster than I thought it would. I knew I needed to keep the pace up, so I went out hard. When all was said and done a 5:18. I knew I would feel those laps next day.
Thursday was a long run. Nice and steady. By the end of the workout, 12.5 miles were completed. It was my longest run to date. It was good to get that run out of the way. Because of life issues, I knocked out an outdoor 4 hour ride on Friday and an indoor 3 hour ride on Sun. The one thing left was my Saturday swim. One part of the workout was 6x100 yrds @ t-pace - 5. I was hoping to hold 1:20's. I do not think I have ever held that pace for that kind of interval. My first hundred: 1:18. Then 1:19...1:18...1:19...and so on. By the time the workout was over I was spent.
So here I am, Sunday night wondering how I am able to still use my limbs. At various points this week I would have sworn that they were nothing more than wet noddles. I had a nice week of training wrapped around some nice family functions. I continue to struggle with the inner demon of doubt, but I try to remember my best workouts when ever it strikes. I have heard that even the best of pros will wonder if they are doing enough during their training. I guess it is nice to have something in common with those really fast types.
Eleven more weeks to go and I can not wait. I am looking forward to another solid week of training. I am due for a 5K pace test, so if weather permits, I should have something new to talk about.
JTG
The week started off being fogged in at the Newark airport,for 9.5 hours with three cranky kids. We managed to make the best out of it and even had some more fun in NYC the next day. We finally made it back late Monday night and I was eager to get a little aggression out of my system.
Tuesday I was able to knock out my bike intervals at my new found FTP - 325 watts. My legs felt relatively good given the lack of exercise I had during the previous week. My brick run was solid and I found myself holding back in order to stay in the proper pace zones. Wednesday is where things got a little interesting. For the first time since the OS, some new people showed up on the track. They happened to be a few pretty quick runners and triathletes that I know from the area. As I was warming up, they began a series of 800's. I was supposed to do 2-3 mile repeats at Z4/5, 6:00-5:44. I felt like I really needed to show them my new fitness and I really let the first mile go. My legs just kept moving and I ended the first mile at 5:19. I looked at my watch and could not believe it. I hadn't run that fast since my college days. My rest period went by faster than I thought it would. I knew I needed to keep the pace up, so I went out hard. When all was said and done a 5:18. I knew I would feel those laps next day.
Thursday was a long run. Nice and steady. By the end of the workout, 12.5 miles were completed. It was my longest run to date. It was good to get that run out of the way. Because of life issues, I knocked out an outdoor 4 hour ride on Friday and an indoor 3 hour ride on Sun. The one thing left was my Saturday swim. One part of the workout was 6x100 yrds @ t-pace - 5. I was hoping to hold 1:20's. I do not think I have ever held that pace for that kind of interval. My first hundred: 1:18. Then 1:19...1:18...1:19...and so on. By the time the workout was over I was spent.
So here I am, Sunday night wondering how I am able to still use my limbs. At various points this week I would have sworn that they were nothing more than wet noddles. I had a nice week of training wrapped around some nice family functions. I continue to struggle with the inner demon of doubt, but I try to remember my best workouts when ever it strikes. I have heard that even the best of pros will wonder if they are doing enough during their training. I guess it is nice to have something in common with those really fast types.
Eleven more weeks to go and I can not wait. I am looking forward to another solid week of training. I am due for a 5K pace test, so if weather permits, I should have something new to talk about.
JTG
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
New Personal Best
Honestly, I do not know how people do it. How do people keep up with these blogs? I have family, work, exercise and sleep taking up my day. So, how do I find a little time for the occasional blog entry? I am not really sure. However, I'll still try.
Starting next Monday, I will be making my final push for Ironman Coeur d'Alene. With this final push, I am going to try to focus on all parts of my racing persona. I have come to realize that there is a lot more to training and racing then just simple exercise. Of course, I am going to do my best to focus on each and every workout that I do. I want to be able to get every last bit of strength and endurance that I can muster. There is little doubt that the stronger athletes tend to be the faster athletes.
Additionally, I plan to focus on the mental side of this Ironman lifestyle. The Ionman is really all encompassing. First, it will involve reviewing my race plan over and over in my head so that when, in race, calorically depleted and emotionally fragile, my plan will be 2nd nature. Second, I must streamline my life so that there is not any wasted mental energy worrying about things that I should have done before. That really means that there should be no wasted time. It will serve me best to be focused at all times.
This week represents my last mini break from hard training, before the big race. It is a time to let my muscles rest and a time to redefine my fitness with a series of three benchmark tests. Throughout the winter and spring I have conducted a 1000yrd swimming time trial, a 42 minute bike power test and a 5K running test. Today was my power test.
I both look forward to and dread this workout. Over the past few years I have found it to be one on the most exhausting hours of my life. Previously, my best was 306 watts over the allotted time period. Now, it has been six weeks since I last tested and I have been working pretty hard. In fact, my hardest weekend was just this last one where I totaled over 8 hours of biking and a TSS of greater than 450. I awoke this morning to realize that I had overslept by 20 minutes and would have to cut my warm up short due to work. That, coupled with my sore legs, left me a little nervous about the test. Well, I saddled up and got to work. As the first 20 minutes elapsed, I found myself slowly getting faster and faster averaging near 320 watts. After 20 minutes I entered the 2 minute rest interval. This time is a blessing and a curse. My legs wanted the rest, but my head could barely take the ever falling average watts throughout the time period. No use worrying. I set myself up for the last 20 minutes and hammered way. I had made it my goal to get back to 321 watts, where I was when the first interval ended. I pushed harder and harder and by the end of the 42 minutes, I was completely spent. A quick glance at my power meter and I was ecstatic. A new personal best of 325 Watts. Yes, 325 Watts.
Now, I an going to relax a little bit over this week, finish up testing if I have the time, and then, get myself ready for an Ironman.
Keep Working,
JTG
Starting next Monday, I will be making my final push for Ironman Coeur d'Alene. With this final push, I am going to try to focus on all parts of my racing persona. I have come to realize that there is a lot more to training and racing then just simple exercise. Of course, I am going to do my best to focus on each and every workout that I do. I want to be able to get every last bit of strength and endurance that I can muster. There is little doubt that the stronger athletes tend to be the faster athletes.
Additionally, I plan to focus on the mental side of this Ironman lifestyle. The Ionman is really all encompassing. First, it will involve reviewing my race plan over and over in my head so that when, in race, calorically depleted and emotionally fragile, my plan will be 2nd nature. Second, I must streamline my life so that there is not any wasted mental energy worrying about things that I should have done before. That really means that there should be no wasted time. It will serve me best to be focused at all times.
This week represents my last mini break from hard training, before the big race. It is a time to let my muscles rest and a time to redefine my fitness with a series of three benchmark tests. Throughout the winter and spring I have conducted a 1000yrd swimming time trial, a 42 minute bike power test and a 5K running test. Today was my power test.
I both look forward to and dread this workout. Over the past few years I have found it to be one on the most exhausting hours of my life. Previously, my best was 306 watts over the allotted time period. Now, it has been six weeks since I last tested and I have been working pretty hard. In fact, my hardest weekend was just this last one where I totaled over 8 hours of biking and a TSS of greater than 450. I awoke this morning to realize that I had overslept by 20 minutes and would have to cut my warm up short due to work. That, coupled with my sore legs, left me a little nervous about the test. Well, I saddled up and got to work. As the first 20 minutes elapsed, I found myself slowly getting faster and faster averaging near 320 watts. After 20 minutes I entered the 2 minute rest interval. This time is a blessing and a curse. My legs wanted the rest, but my head could barely take the ever falling average watts throughout the time period. No use worrying. I set myself up for the last 20 minutes and hammered way. I had made it my goal to get back to 321 watts, where I was when the first interval ended. I pushed harder and harder and by the end of the 42 minutes, I was completely spent. A quick glance at my power meter and I was ecstatic. A new personal best of 325 Watts. Yes, 325 Watts.
Now, I an going to relax a little bit over this week, finish up testing if I have the time, and then, get myself ready for an Ironman.
Keep Working,
JTG
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Did you ever have one of those moments?
Have you ever had one of those moments when everything just seems to be right? I hope that if you think for a moment a few will come to mind right away. The moments cover all aspects of my life: my family, triathlon and even work. What they all have in common is that single moment when you know it cannot get any better.
Seven years ago, I was sitting with my wife in a small thatch roof bar on a remote island in French Polynesia. The sun was setting and the sky was a brilliant shade of red. The trade winds were blowing just enough to cool you off from the late afternoon heat. The view was of the open ocean and a small island in the distance. It was perfect.
Moments like those are what keep me going day after day, and yesterday I was lucky enough to have another one. My training schedule called for a quick run consisting of 2 one-mile repeats. As I left work, I found myself surprised by the near-perfect weather. It was 65 degrees with a slight wind. I made my way to the local college track to find that the track team was finally moving outside for the season. I have been running along with them throughout the last few months and they generally let me be. However, the more I see them, the more exchanges we have. "Keep it up. Nice job." These little exchanges help you along when you are trapped on the track doing a set of 1000-meter repeats alone in the dark of winter. As I jogged around the track for my warm up, I felt transported back in time to my collegiate track days. The camaraderie, the hard workouts, they brought out the best of you. It was an amazing time in my life and now it was like I had never left. As I lined up for my first mile, one of my "A+" workout songs came on and I was off.
I was running effortlessly. Maybe it was the weather, maybe the peering eyes of the track coaches, I am not sure what it was, but I really felt good. As I rounded the far turn of my first lap, I looked up to a beautiful sunset. I looked at my watch at the 1/4 mile and holy crap. I was aiming for 86sec quarters for a 5:44 mile. Well, 1/4 number one ---77 sec! Wow, I hope my legs don't actually fall off my body. I did my best to slow down a little bit but my legs just wanted to run. At the half, my time was on pace for a 5:22 mile. It felt so good that I just kept going. Some of the others on the track would give me word of encouragement as I went by, and that only fueled my desire to finish that mile. I finished winded, but not spent. A quick look at my watch: 5:24! 5:24 -- I don't know the last time I ran a mile that fast. The smile on my face must have been a mile wide.
Enough of the happy-fest. I had one more mile to go and now I only had 1:30 of rest left. A quick recovery jog and I was off again. I was certain that the next mile would be slow. There was only so much my legs could take. However, as I ran, something amazing was happening. I just kept feeling better. My mind began a review of every good workout or race that I could remember. My legs just kept moving. The weather was perfect, the atmosphere remarkable and in some way I was 17 years younger, running with youthful exuberance and not a care in the world.
And then it was over. My workout and that perfect moment had passed. As I cooled down running through campus, I thought about my run and how truly nice it was. I can only hope that as I continue to live I will have more and more of these moments in every aspect of my life. They are what really keep me coming back for more.
If anyone is wondering, the last mile, it was 5:20.
Enjoy the moment,
JTG
Seven years ago, I was sitting with my wife in a small thatch roof bar on a remote island in French Polynesia. The sun was setting and the sky was a brilliant shade of red. The trade winds were blowing just enough to cool you off from the late afternoon heat. The view was of the open ocean and a small island in the distance. It was perfect.
Moments like those are what keep me going day after day, and yesterday I was lucky enough to have another one. My training schedule called for a quick run consisting of 2 one-mile repeats. As I left work, I found myself surprised by the near-perfect weather. It was 65 degrees with a slight wind. I made my way to the local college track to find that the track team was finally moving outside for the season. I have been running along with them throughout the last few months and they generally let me be. However, the more I see them, the more exchanges we have. "Keep it up. Nice job." These little exchanges help you along when you are trapped on the track doing a set of 1000-meter repeats alone in the dark of winter. As I jogged around the track for my warm up, I felt transported back in time to my collegiate track days. The camaraderie, the hard workouts, they brought out the best of you. It was an amazing time in my life and now it was like I had never left. As I lined up for my first mile, one of my "A+" workout songs came on and I was off.
I was running effortlessly. Maybe it was the weather, maybe the peering eyes of the track coaches, I am not sure what it was, but I really felt good. As I rounded the far turn of my first lap, I looked up to a beautiful sunset. I looked at my watch at the 1/4 mile and holy crap. I was aiming for 86sec quarters for a 5:44 mile. Well, 1/4 number one ---77 sec! Wow, I hope my legs don't actually fall off my body. I did my best to slow down a little bit but my legs just wanted to run. At the half, my time was on pace for a 5:22 mile. It felt so good that I just kept going. Some of the others on the track would give me word of encouragement as I went by, and that only fueled my desire to finish that mile. I finished winded, but not spent. A quick look at my watch: 5:24! 5:24 -- I don't know the last time I ran a mile that fast. The smile on my face must have been a mile wide.
Enough of the happy-fest. I had one more mile to go and now I only had 1:30 of rest left. A quick recovery jog and I was off again. I was certain that the next mile would be slow. There was only so much my legs could take. However, as I ran, something amazing was happening. I just kept feeling better. My mind began a review of every good workout or race that I could remember. My legs just kept moving. The weather was perfect, the atmosphere remarkable and in some way I was 17 years younger, running with youthful exuberance and not a care in the world.
And then it was over. My workout and that perfect moment had passed. As I cooled down running through campus, I thought about my run and how truly nice it was. I can only hope that as I continue to live I will have more and more of these moments in every aspect of my life. They are what really keep me coming back for more.
If anyone is wondering, the last mile, it was 5:20.
Enjoy the moment,
JTG
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Moving right along
One week down and whole lot more to go. This past week was a good one for me. I was able to get in some pretty consistent workouts and felt pretty good doing them. My swim is starting to come back into form. I do not have the speed nor the form that I used to, but it is feeling easier to get myself up and down the lanes everyday. Sometimes, I wish I had continued to swim as a little kid. I might be one of those guys at my next race who can move through the water in an effortless fashion. I guess I will be happy with moving kinda quick in the waterwith a fair amount effort.
As for my bike, I did my real first back to back hard days of biking and my legs are still reminding me about it. I am trying to continually push my upper limits during those rides and believe it is going to pay off in the end. I really wish that I could get an extended time of temperature over 40f so that I could get outside.
Lastly, my run.....well it is even better than before. I said it before, but it is weird to be running faster at age 37, than I did in the years following college. I ran, not so well, for a Division III college during the early 90's. Thanks in part to living in a house with 50 guys and little supervision, I was not as dedicated as I could have been. Today, I find myself running just off some of my collegiate times, wondering what could have been if I had just applied myself. I think I can hear my coach saying those very words.
Honestly though, I would not change one single thing. I'll take being an OK swimmer, a descent biker and a competive runner. Sure, I could have focused a little more on athletics, but then I might not have been apart of four incredible years, living with my best friends, witnessing some of the most amazing things you could ever imagine. That is a tale for another time.
Staying focused,
JTG
As for my bike, I did my real first back to back hard days of biking and my legs are still reminding me about it. I am trying to continually push my upper limits during those rides and believe it is going to pay off in the end. I really wish that I could get an extended time of temperature over 40f so that I could get outside.
Lastly, my run.....well it is even better than before. I said it before, but it is weird to be running faster at age 37, than I did in the years following college. I ran, not so well, for a Division III college during the early 90's. Thanks in part to living in a house with 50 guys and little supervision, I was not as dedicated as I could have been. Today, I find myself running just off some of my collegiate times, wondering what could have been if I had just applied myself. I think I can hear my coach saying those very words.
Honestly though, I would not change one single thing. I'll take being an OK swimmer, a descent biker and a competive runner. Sure, I could have focused a little more on athletics, but then I might not have been apart of four incredible years, living with my best friends, witnessing some of the most amazing things you could ever imagine. That is a tale for another time.
Staying focused,
JTG
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
What in the world happened?
Holy Crap! The last entry on this blog is way back in October. I was 6 weeks into a training program, horribly out of shape and about to have my world turned upside down. I will not bore anyone or myself with the details, but..... it invovled changes at work, two moves and trying to figure out how to spend time with my wife and three kids.
Now here I sit roughly 20 weeks away from my goal or "A" race. Somewhere in one of my many unpacked boxes is a list of goals that I want to achieve at Ironman Couer d'Alene. I think I will try to make a future post about them so that they will be out there for all see. I hope that it will keep me honest.
This is a week to rest and evaluate my current level of fitness. Even with all the chaos of the past few months, I managed to keep most of my fitness. I recently ran a 1/2 marathon in 1:23 and change. I was hoping to be a little faster, but another bad virus got a hold of me the week before the race. My cycling is hanging on by a thread. I have begun to ramp up the miles when able. However, with the extra work, I feel like my top end has suffered a little bit. Two month's ago my FTP was 306 watts. If I can fit it in, I am going to try to test again later this week. Swimming, yes swimming. I really went swimming. Honestly, I think that since Ironman Florida '07 I had probably only swam 4-5 times up until January. I have been trying to work on my stroke mechanics and get myself back into shape with twice weekly swim workouts. They must be working, because I decided to do a 1000 yard time trial this morning. My overall time was 14:45. I think swam a little fast in the beginning, but was able to hold 1:30/100yrds over the last 800. I can not find it, but I had a chart that documented my swim improvements during my last IM build up. I seem to remember being even slower at this point that year.
So that is it. A very simple recap. I don't have much to report. I am going to try to keep this bog updated with twice weekly entries. I am going to keep my traing going. And, I am going to always remeber that nothing takes the place of hard work.
Now here I sit roughly 20 weeks away from my goal or "A" race. Somewhere in one of my many unpacked boxes is a list of goals that I want to achieve at Ironman Couer d'Alene. I think I will try to make a future post about them so that they will be out there for all see. I hope that it will keep me honest.
This is a week to rest and evaluate my current level of fitness. Even with all the chaos of the past few months, I managed to keep most of my fitness. I recently ran a 1/2 marathon in 1:23 and change. I was hoping to be a little faster, but another bad virus got a hold of me the week before the race. My cycling is hanging on by a thread. I have begun to ramp up the miles when able. However, with the extra work, I feel like my top end has suffered a little bit. Two month's ago my FTP was 306 watts. If I can fit it in, I am going to try to test again later this week. Swimming, yes swimming. I really went swimming. Honestly, I think that since Ironman Florida '07 I had probably only swam 4-5 times up until January. I have been trying to work on my stroke mechanics and get myself back into shape with twice weekly swim workouts. They must be working, because I decided to do a 1000 yard time trial this morning. My overall time was 14:45. I think swam a little fast in the beginning, but was able to hold 1:30/100yrds over the last 800. I can not find it, but I had a chart that documented my swim improvements during my last IM build up. I seem to remember being even slower at this point that year.
So that is it. A very simple recap. I don't have much to report. I am going to try to keep this bog updated with twice weekly entries. I am going to keep my traing going. And, I am going to always remeber that nothing takes the place of hard work.
Keep Focused.
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