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
Sunday, April 5, 2009
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.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Week 6 The Week of the Virus
Virus: (from the Latin:virus meaning toxin or poison) is a sub-microscopic infectious agent that is unable to grow or reproduce outside a host cell. Viruses infect all cellular life. The first known virus, tobacco mosaic virus, was discovered by Martinus Beijerinck in 1899, and now more than 5,000 types of virus have been described. Most viruses which have been studied have a diameter between 10 and 300 nanometres. Now for those keeping track, there are a million nanometers in a millimeter. Can someone, for the love of God, please tell me how something so incredibly small can make me feel like total shit. Hell, I am 6 foot tall. I do not even want to do the math in order to figure out how many times bigger I am than a virus. The bottom line, one of those little SOB's completely fouled up my week. Not to mention, I would be without my bike for the weekend bea\cause of travel. Ahh what a week it was going to be.
The week started off promising, but midway through, I began to have pretty strong stomach cramps, fever and chills. Like an idiot, I went ahead and did my Wed. evening run. The run was a series of mile repeats. We went out near 6:20's and ended up doing three in a row at 6:17. For what it is worth that includes uphills and downhills. I am not sure if the workout helped me feel better at all. I do know that I have felt terrible since then. While away, a perfect Fall day enticed me into my track workout. Although still a little under the weather, I had visions of my high school days blazing around the track. If only for a few minutes, I was able to forget all about my stomach ache and just enjoy the feeling of pushing myself.
I do not know what it is about endurance athletes. Too many of us forget about things like health, sleep and food. Our soul focus becomes the workout of the day. Perhaps it is some sort of primal need to push ourselves beyond our own limits. Who knows, I just know I have it in me and could not get rid of it if I tried. Although I did not get in all my workouts this week, and I have generally felt like poop, I can still look back at the week and relish in the abilty to do the things I enjoy.
Getting healthier,
JTG
The week started off promising, but midway through, I began to have pretty strong stomach cramps, fever and chills. Like an idiot, I went ahead and did my Wed. evening run. The run was a series of mile repeats. We went out near 6:20's and ended up doing three in a row at 6:17. For what it is worth that includes uphills and downhills. I am not sure if the workout helped me feel better at all. I do know that I have felt terrible since then. While away, a perfect Fall day enticed me into my track workout. Although still a little under the weather, I had visions of my high school days blazing around the track. If only for a few minutes, I was able to forget all about my stomach ache and just enjoy the feeling of pushing myself.
I do not know what it is about endurance athletes. Too many of us forget about things like health, sleep and food. Our soul focus becomes the workout of the day. Perhaps it is some sort of primal need to push ourselves beyond our own limits. Who knows, I just know I have it in me and could not get rid of it if I tried. Although I did not get in all my workouts this week, and I have generally felt like poop, I can still look back at the week and relish in the abilty to do the things I enjoy.
Getting healthier,
JTG
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Week 5 (A runnin' fool)
Five weeks down and I am still feeling great. As far as exercise goes, the week had a couple of high points worth mentioning. Midweek, I got together with a few friends to run a 5K run test. The last 5K I ran was a huge disappointment. I went out way too fast and blew up big time. It was one of my slowest times in the recent past; 20:00. I had high hopes for the test because my running has been going pretty well. Before we could start we found out the secret service had closed the track we wanted to use because of the VP debates. We made our way to the near by park and let it rip. When the dust settled, my 5K time was 18:20; a sub six minute pace. It has been a while since I went that fast. The amazing thing is my HR average was at least 15 beats lower than the average I held during the bad 5K. I hope that means I have a little more speed in my old legs.
The other workout of note was Friday's run. It was one of those beautiful fall days. A perfect temperature, sunny skies and no wind. I just started running and did not finish until 9+ miles had passed. I kept my HR under 140 and was excited to see that my average pace was 7:43. It was the kind of day that I wish I could have every time I go out the door.
For many others in the world of triathlon, this week marks the beginning of IM week. IM Hawaii, the Ironman World Championships, happens this weekend. The picture at the top of my blog is the water near the start of the swim. It is where I hope to be one year from now. For now, I will be living vicariously through the reports of others on the big island.
Stay focused,
JTG
The other workout of note was Friday's run. It was one of those beautiful fall days. A perfect temperature, sunny skies and no wind. I just started running and did not finish until 9+ miles had passed. I kept my HR under 140 and was excited to see that my average pace was 7:43. It was the kind of day that I wish I could have every time I go out the door.
For many others in the world of triathlon, this week marks the beginning of IM week. IM Hawaii, the Ironman World Championships, happens this weekend. The picture at the top of my blog is the water near the start of the swim. It is where I hope to be one year from now. For now, I will be living vicariously through the reports of others on the big island.
Stay focused,
JTG
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