Okay, a busy week, but I got my last build week in before being out of town all of next week.
Fourteen and half hours! Even though more than nine of it was over the weekend, that still means I got in an hour of training each day. That's a good week.
Because I'm supposed to work to my weaknesses, the bike and swim increases meant a little cutback in running (distance). I'm not as worried about that, and should be able to get in at least a few runs next week while I'm away.
Last week's training volume:
Swim 6806 yards: 2 hrs, 49 minutes, 4 seconds
Bike 146.2 miles: 9 hrs, 11 minute, 47 seconds
Run 13.3 miles: 2 hrs, 28 minutes, 45 seconds
Friday, May 11, 2007
Monday, May 7, 2007
Big Bike Weekend
On the other end of the spectrum from rest days are breakthrough workouts. These are the days that you really push your body, stressing it out to the point where it has no choice but adapting.
This weekend was a breakthrough bike weekend. I did two metric centuries (100 kilometers). On Saturday, I rode the course from my upcoming Half Ironman (Rock N Roll Man) in Macon. With my wrong turns, the 56 mile course turned into a 65 mile hill ride.
Sunday morning, I somehow got back on the bike and did another 62 miles around Palmetto, Georgia with the Ride for Health folks. I slowed down a mile per hour (average), but I made it through.
So I did 128 miles of biking this weekend, and stressed by body out. All of a sudden, the 56 mile ride Half Ironman ride doesn't seem nearly so intimidating, and I'm almost ready for a century (100 miles). Rest day today, and then back into the routine. I have one more build week, and then a recovery week while I travel for work.
Last weeks training volume (through Friday - doesn't include the above rides):
Swim 5056 yards: 2 hrs, 12 minutes, 7 seconds
Bike 78.25 miles: 5 hrs, 1 minute, 51 seconds
Run 17.1 miles: 2 hrs, 20 minutes, 18 seconds
This weekend was a breakthrough bike weekend. I did two metric centuries (100 kilometers). On Saturday, I rode the course from my upcoming Half Ironman (Rock N Roll Man) in Macon. With my wrong turns, the 56 mile course turned into a 65 mile hill ride.
Sunday morning, I somehow got back on the bike and did another 62 miles around Palmetto, Georgia with the Ride for Health folks. I slowed down a mile per hour (average), but I made it through.
So I did 128 miles of biking this weekend, and stressed by body out. All of a sudden, the 56 mile ride Half Ironman ride doesn't seem nearly so intimidating, and I'm almost ready for a century (100 miles). Rest day today, and then back into the routine. I have one more build week, and then a recovery week while I travel for work.
Last weeks training volume (through Friday - doesn't include the above rides):
Swim 5056 yards: 2 hrs, 12 minutes, 7 seconds
Bike 78.25 miles: 5 hrs, 1 minute, 51 seconds
Run 17.1 miles: 2 hrs, 20 minutes, 18 seconds
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Winning and Losing
There are three things you're not allowed to say within a hundred miles of Jen's childhood home:
"Wide right."
"Forward pass."
"No goal."
For the uninitiated, these are all official calls in championship games that Buffalo lost - Two Super Bowls and a Stanley Cup finals game. In all of these cases, Buffalo was the second best team in the nation. In all three cases, they were losers that day. Even the biggest Bills and Sabres fans wouldn't say that they somehow won, and celebrate those days as great days in Buffalo history.
So, guess what. In 164 days, I am going to lose the Ironman World Championship. In fact, I am liable to get my behind handed to me. I estimate that, if everything goes perfectly, I'm not going to come in second, or even in the top thousand. In fact, the only person I know will be there that I think I have a decent chance of competing with is a 77 year old nun (really - here she is - she says that she "trains religiously"). If the stars truly align, I may finish in less than twice the time it takes the winner.
So why try? Why do it? Because I'm not racing against any of those folks, not even Sister Madonna. I'm racing myself. I win when I kick my own behind, lose when I stop improving.
I took part in a local sprint (very short) triathlon last Saturday, held in John Tanner State Park. It was a 600 meter swim, an 11 mile bike, and a 5 kilometer run. 261 people finished before me, and only 66 took longer than I did. Sounds like a clear beating, the kind of thing that should have me packing up my bike in silence and heading home, hoping that nobody saw me. Instead, if you had been at the finish, you would have seen me hooting and hollering like the world records were falling. I practically floated across the line, and high-fived the volunteer. Why? I kicked my own behind. Hard. Compared with the exact same race last year:
My swim time improved 19%
My transition from swim to bike time improved 10%
My bike time improved 13%
My transition from bike to run time improved 8%
And my run? My run time improved 31%
Overall, it took me 22 minutes less than it took me last year. That's a 21% improvement in one year. I did that, by working my tail off.
I won. I came. I saw. I kicked some butt.
So what about the Ironman? I've never done it before, so where's my win loss line? There are so many factors, so much uncertainty, what could I possibly set as my goal?
I want to race 140.6 miles in less than 17 hours. That's pretty hard - even in this championship race, 10% to 20% of competitors don't manage it. I don't know if I can do it. I'm going to work as hard as I can. I'm going to hope that Sister Madonna prays for low wind speeds (you can help if you'd like). I'm going to practice changing flat tires, and swim bike and run at every opportunity until then.
It's a tough goal, but I think I can do it. I think I can win. Heck, I think I can win at the Ironman World Championship race. How do you like them apples?
"Wide right."
"Forward pass."
"No goal."
For the uninitiated, these are all official calls in championship games that Buffalo lost - Two Super Bowls and a Stanley Cup finals game. In all of these cases, Buffalo was the second best team in the nation. In all three cases, they were losers that day. Even the biggest Bills and Sabres fans wouldn't say that they somehow won, and celebrate those days as great days in Buffalo history.
So, guess what. In 164 days, I am going to lose the Ironman World Championship. In fact, I am liable to get my behind handed to me. I estimate that, if everything goes perfectly, I'm not going to come in second, or even in the top thousand. In fact, the only person I know will be there that I think I have a decent chance of competing with is a 77 year old nun (really - here she is - she says that she "trains religiously"). If the stars truly align, I may finish in less than twice the time it takes the winner.
So why try? Why do it? Because I'm not racing against any of those folks, not even Sister Madonna. I'm racing myself. I win when I kick my own behind, lose when I stop improving.
I took part in a local sprint (very short) triathlon last Saturday, held in John Tanner State Park. It was a 600 meter swim, an 11 mile bike, and a 5 kilometer run. 261 people finished before me, and only 66 took longer than I did. Sounds like a clear beating, the kind of thing that should have me packing up my bike in silence and heading home, hoping that nobody saw me. Instead, if you had been at the finish, you would have seen me hooting and hollering like the world records were falling. I practically floated across the line, and high-fived the volunteer. Why? I kicked my own behind. Hard. Compared with the exact same race last year:
My swim time improved 19%
My transition from swim to bike time improved 10%
My bike time improved 13%
My transition from bike to run time improved 8%
And my run? My run time improved 31%
Overall, it took me 22 minutes less than it took me last year. That's a 21% improvement in one year. I did that, by working my tail off.
I won. I came. I saw. I kicked some butt.
So what about the Ironman? I've never done it before, so where's my win loss line? There are so many factors, so much uncertainty, what could I possibly set as my goal?
I want to race 140.6 miles in less than 17 hours. That's pretty hard - even in this championship race, 10% to 20% of competitors don't manage it. I don't know if I can do it. I'm going to work as hard as I can. I'm going to hope that Sister Madonna prays for low wind speeds (you can help if you'd like). I'm going to practice changing flat tires, and swim bike and run at every opportunity until then.
It's a tough goal, but I think I can do it. I think I can win. Heck, I think I can win at the Ironman World Championship race. How do you like them apples?
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