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
Sunday, April 26, 2009
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
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