I survived 2 solid weeks of training. I'm sore, I'm tired, but somehow I can't wait to hit the pool in the morning and get in a long easy ride tomorrow. Maybe it's just being in a new place. Training is fresh & new. I know that wasn't my opinion when I was 3 hours into a 6 hour ride today and was ready to get off. It was hot, humid, longest, sunniest day of the year, and every bump was starting ot annoy me. But you push on knowing that these days just make you stronger. this was one of my biggest weeks ever. It's not often I bump up against the 1400TSS mark in a week. Especially when my swim volume was a little down compared to some previous "big weeks". I did this one the hard way, with my legs.
I also did 2 open water swims this week. That's huge, since in a whole season, my only OW was usually races. Ultimately, they have benefits, but in terms of improving swim mechanics and swimming faster, they are counterproductive. But it's a fun change of pace at a time of the year where your a little burnt out of swimming laps indoors. I also expressed my dissatisfaction with the warm water at the YMCA. It was consistently 84-85F and Wed. I had to end a workout early. I cancelled my membership and am now going to a private health club with a 3 lane, COOLER, dedicated lap pool. No open swim, swim lesson or anyone but lap swimmers. It was 82-83F when I was there, but I hear it often cooler. It felt great. It also have cold tubs, and a hot tub too. Nice gym, yoga, massage therapy and so on. Plus it's much closer to where I'll be living. It's a place my wife will feel more comfortable working out at. Maybe that's the best reason of all. A win-win all around. Oh..and it's still 25M. It doesn't have the fancy gutter system, but the lane markers do a good job holding the waves down.
On top of everything, I did a mini "do-it-yourself" triathlon on Thursday. Lots of fun. I didn't really track my splits, but I laid down some good power and felt great on the run. My swim sucked. 1st time in Lake Michigan and had trouble finding a rhythm.
Best of all, I think I'm finally feel like I'm getting close to being IM fit again. That 150 CTL mark seems to be that threshold for me. I still need to drop a little weight to really get my run back to 100%, but I'm handling the volume OK.
Next week I have a abbreviated recovery week since this was a 2 weeks block. I travel back to Iowa for the last time (other than visiting April's family) next weekend. I excited about starting a new life here, but it is still hard to say goodbye to where you've lived for 11 years. Well, I'll be honest, I'm enjoying it so much here, it's not that hard. I don't mean that to be a negative, just that there's more positives in terms of my lifestyle and what I enjoy doing. Maybe it because of the way I was in a sense forced to leave. Being laid off, and not finding a job locally without a lot commute. In a sense, it makes you feel like the local area rejected you. I think too that at some point in your life, your ready for change.
By the numbers:
Swim - 3h13m, 13,998y
Bike - 13h44m, 291 miles
Run - 6h37m, 54mi
TOTAL - 23h33m
TSS - 1394
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Sunday, June 21, 2015
Monday, June 15, 2015
Weekly Wrap-up - 06/15/15
Solid training week. Really getting back into the swing of things and feeling more fit. Still struggling to hold power on the bike. I think I'm lacking enough rest on easy days and enough intensity on hard days.
USAT Coaching Training over the weekend was a great experience. Excellent presenters both days. A lot of material I already knew, but the talking with other coaches changed my perspective a little. I got in a couple workouts. The most fun was a 15+ mile run with Jackie Herring, a pro triathlete and coach. Great conversation and she's of course very fit. I haven't run that fast for that long wince last spring. Just what I needed. my legs actually felt great. It wasn't a fast run but it was more like Zone 2 IM pace instead of just an easy run pace.
On my long ride I ran into a local triathlon legend named John___ (I'm bad with names, but at least I remembered his 1st name). He's was a real stud back in the day and still a strong athlete now. I'll have to hook up with him for some Lake Michigan OWS. I think he's still faster than me in the water pushing 60. He's been to Kona a few times, swam a 55ish back in the day without any fancy swim skins. Probably rode sub 5 hours on a steel frame bike and old school bars. I'm also going to start riding a morning ride maybe 1 day each week and my long ride with another strong triathlete. I gather that she's the fastest female in the area... so hey, I guess we should train together a little.... haha. She's ridden 2:20-2:30 at Steelhead the last few years on the bike. She's doing her 1st IM this year... Muskoka. Should be fun.
Overall put in some good work and making progress. I'm feeling pretty confident about having a good day at Racine. My running has never felt better. Just need to trim some weight and I'll be rolling.
By the numbers:
Swim - 2h24m, 10,717y
Bike - 10h49m, 218mi
Run - 6h41m, 53.3mi
Total - 19h54m
TSS-1180
USAT Coaching Training over the weekend was a great experience. Excellent presenters both days. A lot of material I already knew, but the talking with other coaches changed my perspective a little. I got in a couple workouts. The most fun was a 15+ mile run with Jackie Herring, a pro triathlete and coach. Great conversation and she's of course very fit. I haven't run that fast for that long wince last spring. Just what I needed. my legs actually felt great. It wasn't a fast run but it was more like Zone 2 IM pace instead of just an easy run pace.
On my long ride I ran into a local triathlon legend named John___ (I'm bad with names, but at least I remembered his 1st name). He's was a real stud back in the day and still a strong athlete now. I'll have to hook up with him for some Lake Michigan OWS. I think he's still faster than me in the water pushing 60. He's been to Kona a few times, swam a 55ish back in the day without any fancy swim skins. Probably rode sub 5 hours on a steel frame bike and old school bars. I'm also going to start riding a morning ride maybe 1 day each week and my long ride with another strong triathlete. I gather that she's the fastest female in the area... so hey, I guess we should train together a little.... haha. She's ridden 2:20-2:30 at Steelhead the last few years on the bike. She's doing her 1st IM this year... Muskoka. Should be fun.
Overall put in some good work and making progress. I'm feeling pretty confident about having a good day at Racine. My running has never felt better. Just need to trim some weight and I'll be rolling.
By the numbers:
Swim - 2h24m, 10,717y
Bike - 10h49m, 218mi
Run - 6h41m, 53.3mi
Total - 19h54m
TSS-1180
Friday, June 12, 2015
Update 06/12/15
Wow... I'm been more than a little absent on training updates. Tons of things going on. I started a new job, living in an apartment in St. Joseph, MI, bought a house that's closing in just over 4 weeks, sold out current home.
On top of that, I'm ramping up training, went to a TBC Training Camp in Madison, WI over Memorial Day weekend, at USAT Coaching Level 1 Certification Training now in Des Moines, IA. Phew. Hmmm... where to start.
TBC Madison Mini Camp
I'll just sum this up.... great training weekend! Met a bunch of new faces, got to ride with the legendary duo of Adam Zucco and Scott Iott on a few spirited rides... one on a rainy afternoon that I consider one of the more epic rides I've been on. A great ride in crappy weather. We even did the Madison 1/2 marathon and I ran my 1st negative split in a running race ever and won free dinner. Learned something there, and ran faster than I expected. Hard to beat that.
St Joseph, MI
Beautiful location. Rolling hills through mostly wooded countryside on some excellent roads with wide shoulders and light traffic. Runs along the Lake Michigan beach and cute beach side tourist town. It feels a little like your on vacation some of the time. Excellent schools for our daughter and we found a nice 1950's Cape Cod for our new home. My wife even found a job! Crazy! I love my new job and to top it off, I found a very active distance running & triathlete community there. I might have a chance to expand my coaching a little and have a few people to train with. I get the impression there's not a lot of coaches in the area. The town i of course host to Steelhead 70.3 in August. Yes, yes I signed up already. I also feel like I'm making some progress again in the pool.
USAT Coaching Training
A great speaker gave the training all day. Ian...ummm... crap... I'm terrible with names. Its embarrassing. I had a nice 1 hour run this morning then a very easy 80 minute ride with another name I've forgotten and Jacking Herring (pro triathlete). Had some great conversations about coaching, training, etc. Great person! Easy to talk to. I can see why she's so popular in the Madison Community and has great sponsor relationships. A real role model for pro triathletes connecting with AG'rs. Plus, she genuinely loves the sport. 15mi long run tomorrow morning and another long day of coaching training. I'm learning more than I expected and if nothing else gaining a new perspective. I also learned a LOT about swim technique. Things i should have known but never read into it in detail. I think i can make some real improvements in my technique and my athletes.
Overall summary of my training... I'm running more, feeling great on longer runs. Bike volume jumped up and there just no substitute for riding more and I'm feeling at lot stronger. On longer outdoor rides, close to where I was last year...almost.
By the numbers.... I think I have 3 weeks to summarize...
May 18th-24th
Swim - 2h57m, 12800y
Bike - 12h58m, 251mi
Run - 4h42m, 40.1mi
TOTAL - 20h37m
TSS - 1251
May 25th-31st
Swim - 1h50m, 7763y
Bike - 12h30, 263mi
Run - 6h11m, 49.1mi
TOTAL - 20h31mi
TSS- 1171
June 1st-7th (recovery week)
Swim - 2h54m, 11920y
Bike - 4h52m, 104mi
Run - 2h53m, 23.4
TOTAL - 10h39m
TSS- 712
On top of that, I'm ramping up training, went to a TBC Training Camp in Madison, WI over Memorial Day weekend, at USAT Coaching Level 1 Certification Training now in Des Moines, IA. Phew. Hmmm... where to start.
TBC Madison Mini Camp
I'll just sum this up.... great training weekend! Met a bunch of new faces, got to ride with the legendary duo of Adam Zucco and Scott Iott on a few spirited rides... one on a rainy afternoon that I consider one of the more epic rides I've been on. A great ride in crappy weather. We even did the Madison 1/2 marathon and I ran my 1st negative split in a running race ever and won free dinner. Learned something there, and ran faster than I expected. Hard to beat that.
St Joseph, MI
Beautiful location. Rolling hills through mostly wooded countryside on some excellent roads with wide shoulders and light traffic. Runs along the Lake Michigan beach and cute beach side tourist town. It feels a little like your on vacation some of the time. Excellent schools for our daughter and we found a nice 1950's Cape Cod for our new home. My wife even found a job! Crazy! I love my new job and to top it off, I found a very active distance running & triathlete community there. I might have a chance to expand my coaching a little and have a few people to train with. I get the impression there's not a lot of coaches in the area. The town i of course host to Steelhead 70.3 in August. Yes, yes I signed up already. I also feel like I'm making some progress again in the pool.
USAT Coaching Training
A great speaker gave the training all day. Ian...ummm... crap... I'm terrible with names. Its embarrassing. I had a nice 1 hour run this morning then a very easy 80 minute ride with another name I've forgotten and Jacking Herring (pro triathlete). Had some great conversations about coaching, training, etc. Great person! Easy to talk to. I can see why she's so popular in the Madison Community and has great sponsor relationships. A real role model for pro triathletes connecting with AG'rs. Plus, she genuinely loves the sport. 15mi long run tomorrow morning and another long day of coaching training. I'm learning more than I expected and if nothing else gaining a new perspective. I also learned a LOT about swim technique. Things i should have known but never read into it in detail. I think i can make some real improvements in my technique and my athletes.
Overall summary of my training... I'm running more, feeling great on longer runs. Bike volume jumped up and there just no substitute for riding more and I'm feeling at lot stronger. On longer outdoor rides, close to where I was last year...almost.
By the numbers.... I think I have 3 weeks to summarize...
May 18th-24th
Swim - 2h57m, 12800y
Bike - 12h58m, 251mi
Run - 4h42m, 40.1mi
TOTAL - 20h37m
TSS - 1251
May 25th-31st
Swim - 1h50m, 7763y
Bike - 12h30, 263mi
Run - 6h11m, 49.1mi
TOTAL - 20h31mi
TSS- 1171
June 1st-7th (recovery week)
Swim - 2h54m, 11920y
Bike - 4h52m, 104mi
Run - 2h53m, 23.4
TOTAL - 10h39m
TSS- 712
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