Super excited to be wearing this in Kona in October!
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Wednesday, March 25, 2015
2015 Trisuit Design Complete!!!
This is what I'll be racing in all season. I'll probably just use my old Desoto Liftfoil trisuit as a swim skin and save $300 on getting a new one.
Super excited to be wearing this in Kona in October!
Super excited to be wearing this in Kona in October!
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
My 1st 15k & Weekly Wrap-up 03/11/15
Had a strangely busy last few days and am a little behind on my weekly update.
Shamrox 15k, Columbia, MO
I finished my first 15k Sunday. I'm definitely not in top run form, but I didn't embarrass myself and given the terrain, I think I did pretty well. First, I'll mention again the great performance from my athlete Josh Heger. He's gone from a threshold run pace around 7:15, ran a 6:42 pace on a course that started downhill, moved onto a gravel 1/2 frozen 1/2 soft trail, then finished with , according to GPS, a 152ft climb of 0.4 miles, averaging 7% grade. It doesn't sound as bad as it felt. Josh finished 5th just a few minutes behind me. To top it off, he was in the middle of a training block and took 1 day sort of easy. I'd say his threshold pace is right around 6:30. That's a huge improvement in 4 months. I've very proud of his dedication and faith in the system and process.
For my own race. I'm still 4-6lb above race weight, came off a bout of food poisoning on Friday and am just finally up to 40 miles per week. So my expectations were low. A 6:20-6:30 pace seemed realistic and would put me under 1 hour. The gun went off and nobody took off. Huh.... WTH I thought, lets have a little fun then. So I cruised downhill at a comfortable pace and just settled in. I ran hard but really didn't push myself into too much discomfort. At this point, I'm happy that I'm able to run a tempo pace for 9 miles. The last climb my NGP was 5:41 so I put in a good kick at the end just above threshold. The winner ran 6:14 pace and in shape I would have given him a good run as I should be capable of a 5:50 based on my 1/2 marathon last year... and my weight alone made up to 12" difference in our average pace.
I elected not to run the Beer Mile. Yes, they had a beer mile and I missed the opportunity to try it.
For the rest of the training week, it wasn't a great week. Slow in most of my swims, but felt some good form later in the week. Bike efforts were off and food poisoning cancelled my long ride for the week. I'm tempted to shorten my recovery week and put in some extra miles on Sunday instead of a FTP test. At this point, I know it's lower than before. I want to get outside and ride and get some solid bike fitness. In a ride just today, my speed in my training set-up was pretty good, so it's possible my adjusted position is just a tad faster. I'll have to go back and look at my numbers from last year on a similar set-up. But box rims, road helmet, cycling jersey, 2 bottles and a empty cage, plus a 25mm gatorskin on the rear, plus stopping twice and I still rode 22.7mph @ 235W AP with moderate hills and ighter 6-8mph winds. Damn close to my goal power numbers for Kona. Race trim has typically proven to be 1.5mph faster, but the winds there will cost me almost 1 mph. That still puts me at 4:49, which is right about where I think I could ride. Very encouraging I think. Always good to dream a little.
By the numbers:
Swim: 2h42m, 11,650y
Bike: 6h11m, 111mi
Run: 4h07m, 33.8mi
TOTAL: 13h
TSS: 803
Overall, closer almost to a recovery week.... and again, I'm taking that into account and will cut my recovery week a day short and add some longer rides.
Friday is an indoor triathlon in Quincy, IL That should be fun.
Shamrox 15k, Columbia, MO
I finished my first 15k Sunday. I'm definitely not in top run form, but I didn't embarrass myself and given the terrain, I think I did pretty well. First, I'll mention again the great performance from my athlete Josh Heger. He's gone from a threshold run pace around 7:15, ran a 6:42 pace on a course that started downhill, moved onto a gravel 1/2 frozen 1/2 soft trail, then finished with , according to GPS, a 152ft climb of 0.4 miles, averaging 7% grade. It doesn't sound as bad as it felt. Josh finished 5th just a few minutes behind me. To top it off, he was in the middle of a training block and took 1 day sort of easy. I'd say his threshold pace is right around 6:30. That's a huge improvement in 4 months. I've very proud of his dedication and faith in the system and process.
For my own race. I'm still 4-6lb above race weight, came off a bout of food poisoning on Friday and am just finally up to 40 miles per week. So my expectations were low. A 6:20-6:30 pace seemed realistic and would put me under 1 hour. The gun went off and nobody took off. Huh.... WTH I thought, lets have a little fun then. So I cruised downhill at a comfortable pace and just settled in. I ran hard but really didn't push myself into too much discomfort. At this point, I'm happy that I'm able to run a tempo pace for 9 miles. The last climb my NGP was 5:41 so I put in a good kick at the end just above threshold. The winner ran 6:14 pace and in shape I would have given him a good run as I should be capable of a 5:50 based on my 1/2 marathon last year... and my weight alone made up to 12" difference in our average pace.
I elected not to run the Beer Mile. Yes, they had a beer mile and I missed the opportunity to try it.
For the rest of the training week, it wasn't a great week. Slow in most of my swims, but felt some good form later in the week. Bike efforts were off and food poisoning cancelled my long ride for the week. I'm tempted to shorten my recovery week and put in some extra miles on Sunday instead of a FTP test. At this point, I know it's lower than before. I want to get outside and ride and get some solid bike fitness. In a ride just today, my speed in my training set-up was pretty good, so it's possible my adjusted position is just a tad faster. I'll have to go back and look at my numbers from last year on a similar set-up. But box rims, road helmet, cycling jersey, 2 bottles and a empty cage, plus a 25mm gatorskin on the rear, plus stopping twice and I still rode 22.7mph @ 235W AP with moderate hills and ighter 6-8mph winds. Damn close to my goal power numbers for Kona. Race trim has typically proven to be 1.5mph faster, but the winds there will cost me almost 1 mph. That still puts me at 4:49, which is right about where I think I could ride. Very encouraging I think. Always good to dream a little.
By the numbers:
Swim: 2h42m, 11,650y
Bike: 6h11m, 111mi
Run: 4h07m, 33.8mi
TOTAL: 13h
TSS: 803
Overall, closer almost to a recovery week.... and again, I'm taking that into account and will cut my recovery week a day short and add some longer rides.
Friday is an indoor triathlon in Quincy, IL That should be fun.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Weekly Wrap-up 03/02/15
February has come and gone. In a descent groove with training overall. Putting in some good work, running is coming around and power remains strong on the bike. Later in the week I think I scheduled more bike training than my legs were capable of. I just mentally and physically was crushed, so I backed off. "Live to fight another day". But going a little easier, it meant that I could push harder in my next quality session. But at the same time putting in enough training load not to go backwards. I think it's those little decisions that add up. Skipping the workout altogether would create an element on inconsistency, whereas easing back a little, just allows more recovery, but still provides some stimulus. I think what's hurting my bike, is the increase in run training. To reach the next level in bike fitness, I'll have to wait until May-July when my run training load peaks and levels off and I'm able to put in some good bike work in better isolation from the run fatigue.
Training mix - I've plateaued swimming, and think I'm better off adding or increasing the duration of my recovery rides on the bike, or add a short tempo ride, rather than swimming more. SO looking at my strengths and weaknesses, I think to a maintenance level of focused, consistent swimming 3 days a week will keep me where I'm at, which is a strong swimmer, but not a fast swimmer. I've resigned myself a little bit that I'm not going to become a 55' swimmer. But if I can comfortably swim 58-60' it's not a liability. I know last summer I had a lot of junk yards overall I think. Unfocused, changing my workouts based on how I felt that day and overall just wasting time. Why did I do it? IT was out of fear. Fearing the unknown. My greatest concern going into IMWI was that swim. I knew I was a strong cyclist and strong runner, I had proven that. But I've had sub par swims and had never swam that far in open water. It was intimidating to me. I wasn't sure what to expect with the mass start. Similarly, some of the same fears are there and motivated my to focus on the swim with Kona on the distant horizon. No wetsuit (not that I need one) to level the playing field a little, and everyone is fast. It will be crowded, intimidating, yet very exciting to share the course with so many talented athletes. Then I fear the traffic out on the bike. Getting a drafting penalty again or being force to put in huge efforts to get past traffic.
But I'm over that a little. I've made some gains on the swim, but looking at my bike potential, I feel like there more power to be found. That gaining another 5-10 Watts on my FTP from the improvements I've already made, can get me close to some of the faster cyclists in the AG field. I can't say that about running at this point. Can I run faster? Yes, but I can only train so much running before I break down I've found out.... the hard way. If I can get in 2 high quality rides, 1 longer ride and another tempo ride combined with 2 long recovery rides, I'll be in good position. Heading into summer, I'll add a few medium distance rides, and dial back to just a single higher intensity ride and as much Z1-2 recovery rides as I can fit in reasonably.
This coming weekend I have a 15k race. I'm not in to run form by any means, so it will be more a pride run, and just to test where I'm at now. I'm thinking running just under 1 hour, around 6:30-6:45 pace. It will be hard to let the leaders just go, knowing that if i was in shape, I could hang fairly close. My wife will be doing her 1st 5k. I'm very proud of her. Despite challenges, she's stuck fairly close to the training plan I gave her and is coming along well. I think she can run under 40:00, but we'll see how it goes.
Training mix - I've plateaued swimming, and think I'm better off adding or increasing the duration of my recovery rides on the bike, or add a short tempo ride, rather than swimming more. SO looking at my strengths and weaknesses, I think to a maintenance level of focused, consistent swimming 3 days a week will keep me where I'm at, which is a strong swimmer, but not a fast swimmer. I've resigned myself a little bit that I'm not going to become a 55' swimmer. But if I can comfortably swim 58-60' it's not a liability. I know last summer I had a lot of junk yards overall I think. Unfocused, changing my workouts based on how I felt that day and overall just wasting time. Why did I do it? IT was out of fear. Fearing the unknown. My greatest concern going into IMWI was that swim. I knew I was a strong cyclist and strong runner, I had proven that. But I've had sub par swims and had never swam that far in open water. It was intimidating to me. I wasn't sure what to expect with the mass start. Similarly, some of the same fears are there and motivated my to focus on the swim with Kona on the distant horizon. No wetsuit (not that I need one) to level the playing field a little, and everyone is fast. It will be crowded, intimidating, yet very exciting to share the course with so many talented athletes. Then I fear the traffic out on the bike. Getting a drafting penalty again or being force to put in huge efforts to get past traffic.
But I'm over that a little. I've made some gains on the swim, but looking at my bike potential, I feel like there more power to be found. That gaining another 5-10 Watts on my FTP from the improvements I've already made, can get me close to some of the faster cyclists in the AG field. I can't say that about running at this point. Can I run faster? Yes, but I can only train so much running before I break down I've found out.... the hard way. If I can get in 2 high quality rides, 1 longer ride and another tempo ride combined with 2 long recovery rides, I'll be in good position. Heading into summer, I'll add a few medium distance rides, and dial back to just a single higher intensity ride and as much Z1-2 recovery rides as I can fit in reasonably.
This coming weekend I have a 15k race. I'm not in to run form by any means, so it will be more a pride run, and just to test where I'm at now. I'm thinking running just under 1 hour, around 6:30-6:45 pace. It will be hard to let the leaders just go, knowing that if i was in shape, I could hang fairly close. My wife will be doing her 1st 5k. I'm very proud of her. Despite challenges, she's stuck fairly close to the training plan I gave her and is coming along well. I think she can run under 40:00, but we'll see how it goes.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Weekly Wrap-up (from last week) 2/27/15
Whoops, time got away from me this week. I'll make this short and to the point.
I had a solid week of training. My long run felt good, my faster runs felt OK and overall I think I'm finally past my injury. I'm only doing my specific stretches once a day and less extensive with no side effects. I'm still not up to full running speed due to lack of run fitness and my weight, but it's interesting to see the impact of those on pace, sort of like how you look at FTP on the bike. I'm about 0:20-0:30 slow right now at an easy pace... and probably the same at all race distances even faster races since I last the specificity to sustain fast paces as well. Though I still set my threshold pace a little fast, even though I can't sustain it, just because I want my training load and training zones to be set accurately. So I still use HR to set where that's at. That's actually an interesting point that I'll have to dive into eventually in another blog or coaching article.
Overall my bike feels strong. Stronger that where I was before IMWI, so that's a great sign. I don;t have the endurance right now, but during short sessions I'm matching or beating my power targets despite a ramp up in my run volume. I'm still trying to find the right balance of recovery and quality however. Feeling it out mostly.
This current week is going great, but I'll summarize that next week. Also, I did purchase a coaching version of BestBikeSplit.com and will be plugging in my athletes and will offer evaluations on a consultant basis. More on that with my coaching blog.
By the numbers:
Swim: 3h23m, 14,950y
Bike: 8h55m, 168mi
Run: 4h33m, 36.4mi
Strength:1h
TOTAL: 17h51m
TSS: 1174
I had a solid week of training. My long run felt good, my faster runs felt OK and overall I think I'm finally past my injury. I'm only doing my specific stretches once a day and less extensive with no side effects. I'm still not up to full running speed due to lack of run fitness and my weight, but it's interesting to see the impact of those on pace, sort of like how you look at FTP on the bike. I'm about 0:20-0:30 slow right now at an easy pace... and probably the same at all race distances even faster races since I last the specificity to sustain fast paces as well. Though I still set my threshold pace a little fast, even though I can't sustain it, just because I want my training load and training zones to be set accurately. So I still use HR to set where that's at. That's actually an interesting point that I'll have to dive into eventually in another blog or coaching article.
Overall my bike feels strong. Stronger that where I was before IMWI, so that's a great sign. I don;t have the endurance right now, but during short sessions I'm matching or beating my power targets despite a ramp up in my run volume. I'm still trying to find the right balance of recovery and quality however. Feeling it out mostly.
This current week is going great, but I'll summarize that next week. Also, I did purchase a coaching version of BestBikeSplit.com and will be plugging in my athletes and will offer evaluations on a consultant basis. More on that with my coaching blog.
By the numbers:
Swim: 3h23m, 14,950y
Bike: 8h55m, 168mi
Run: 4h33m, 36.4mi
Strength:1h
TOTAL: 17h51m
TSS: 1174
Monday, February 16, 2015
2015 Race Schedule & Weekly Wrap-up 02/16/15
Here's my tentative 2015 Race Schedule
02/08 - Kroc Center Indoor Triathlon - Quincy, IL
03/08 - Shamrox 15k - Columbia, MO
03/13 - Quincy Family YMCA Indoor Triathlon
05/03 - Trizou Sprint Tri - Columbia, MO
05/16 - Bridge the Gap 1/2 Marathon - Quincy, IL
05/24 - Madison 1/2 Marathon - Madison, WI (TBC IMWI Camp)
June ? - TBD
07/19 - Racine 70.3
08/16 - Pigman Long Course
10/10 - Ironman World Championship
This was a recovery and testing week. I skipped the run test, as I felt I hadn't really improved any in terms of a short duration test, and the weather wasn't suitable for an outdoor test this time. Plus the day i had it planned, Ok, ok, here's the real answer, I stupidly had a big lunch and was too bloated to crank out sub 6' miles.
Swim test went great and broke 13:00 for the first time in the 1000TT. Felt great doing it. I then set a new 5' power record and based on that I knew my FTP test would likely go well. I rode 334W for 20' for a new FTP of 317W! A alltime record. I never tested over 310W last year, thought I set my FTP at 315 just before IMWI feeling that it best represented where I was at. Now to drop some weight and put it all together.
By the end of this build block, I'll have a solid overall training load and descent run fitness as well. I'l then continue to hone in on sustained upper Z4 efforts with some Z5 tossed in. Similar to crit training. This is because the race I'm tapering for, for fun, is a sprint distance on a hilly course with lots of turns. You can't pedal through several turns, so I need to practice putting is a threshold or slightly above effort then recover quickly in the turns. But manage my output to above spikes in power at the same time. So not quite like a crit exactly, but some similarities. I think this fits nicely with early season long course training, as it's so different overall. My weekly long ride however, continues to be a long tempo ride. So I'm not ignoring longer efforts, but not many 3+ hour rides either.
Motivation comes a goes a little. It's never easy sustaining a high level and training solo all the time. Especially deep into winter training. Plus plenty going on outside of training as well. I continue to be impressed by those that do this year in and year out at a high level.
By the numbers:
Swim: 2h49m, 12,450y
Bike: 5h02m, 90.7mi
Run: 2h48m, 22.3mi
Strength:2h15m
Total: 12h54m
TSS: 771
02/08 - Kroc Center Indoor Triathlon - Quincy, IL
03/08 - Shamrox 15k - Columbia, MO
03/13 - Quincy Family YMCA Indoor Triathlon
05/03 - Trizou Sprint Tri - Columbia, MO
05/16 - Bridge the Gap 1/2 Marathon - Quincy, IL
05/24 - Madison 1/2 Marathon - Madison, WI (TBC IMWI Camp)
June ? - TBD
07/19 - Racine 70.3
08/16 - Pigman Long Course
10/10 - Ironman World Championship
This was a recovery and testing week. I skipped the run test, as I felt I hadn't really improved any in terms of a short duration test, and the weather wasn't suitable for an outdoor test this time. Plus the day i had it planned, Ok, ok, here's the real answer, I stupidly had a big lunch and was too bloated to crank out sub 6' miles.
Swim test went great and broke 13:00 for the first time in the 1000TT. Felt great doing it. I then set a new 5' power record and based on that I knew my FTP test would likely go well. I rode 334W for 20' for a new FTP of 317W! A alltime record. I never tested over 310W last year, thought I set my FTP at 315 just before IMWI feeling that it best represented where I was at. Now to drop some weight and put it all together.
By the end of this build block, I'll have a solid overall training load and descent run fitness as well. I'l then continue to hone in on sustained upper Z4 efforts with some Z5 tossed in. Similar to crit training. This is because the race I'm tapering for, for fun, is a sprint distance on a hilly course with lots of turns. You can't pedal through several turns, so I need to practice putting is a threshold or slightly above effort then recover quickly in the turns. But manage my output to above spikes in power at the same time. So not quite like a crit exactly, but some similarities. I think this fits nicely with early season long course training, as it's so different overall. My weekly long ride however, continues to be a long tempo ride. So I'm not ignoring longer efforts, but not many 3+ hour rides either.
Motivation comes a goes a little. It's never easy sustaining a high level and training solo all the time. Especially deep into winter training. Plus plenty going on outside of training as well. I continue to be impressed by those that do this year in and year out at a high level.
By the numbers:
Swim: 2h49m, 12,450y
Bike: 5h02m, 90.7mi
Run: 2h48m, 22.3mi
Strength:2h15m
Total: 12h54m
TSS: 771
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Weekly Wrap-up 02/10/15
A good solid week to cap off my last base 3 training week. MY legs were still pretty flat and energy levels were low from the ToS. But my running felt very good including a 9 mile run during the week. I'm feeling he extra pounds, but otherwise OK. My new Hoka Bondi 4's feel pretty good. Firmer than the Cliftons, but similar net cushioning effect, but a little more stable, a little more comfortable tongue and substantial training shoe. I'm happy with the purchase. Fit is almost identical. A slightly smallish toe box, but not as cramped as my Saucony Cortanas or Kinvara 4's. Maybe just a tad more snug than my Kinvara 5's. But pretty close to the same fit. Very nice insole in included with good arch support.
On Sunday I did an indoor triathlon at the Quincy Kroc Center. A short 10 minute swim in a 18y 87F pool. It was an interesting practice in pacing and finding a rhythm to get enough air and not overheat. It reminded me of the start of a 70.3. The bike was on a typical spin bike. There was no predefined setting, so it was a practice in spinning at 140RPM. I had mine at setting 12-14, it displayed around 240 Watts and probably wasn't far off, maybe just a little low. My HR was 150-155bpm. Solid Tempo effort. The run was on a short indoor track. I'm not sure the length. I'd guess 10-12 laps to a mile. It was ideal for running under 7:00 pace. Above that took some effort to navigate corners and traction was a bit limited. Yes, I'm taking this too seriously. it was a fun challenge. I think I he;d a steady 5:40 pace. HR kept climbing to around 175-180 the last 5 minutes. So somewhere between 10k and 1/2 marathon pace I think. Considering where my run fitness is at, I was pretty happy with what my legs gave me really.
Wardrobe decision - Yes I wore my old Desoto Liftfoil trisuit. Hey, it's comfortable, nice to swim in (stretches less when wet) had a great pad and nice compression for running. It's like 6 years old now, so it's lot like pulled out some fancy new fangled suit.
Biggest milestone was my first training run over 1 hour since August. Can't wait for my FTP test. Then to just lose some more weight. I forget sometimes how blinking hard that is. TSS wasn't real impressive, but it still was forward progress. The ToS just took a lot out of me. Not a lot left to give this week. Quality over quantity at this point, since my 1st "A" race is a sprint tri anyway. Just trying to build fitness back. I'll save the heavy lifting for May-Aug.
By the numbers:
Swim: 4h07m, 17,750y
Bike: 6h46m, 123mi
Run: 3h43m, 29.4mi
Strength: 2h20m
TOTAL: 16h56m
TSS: 984.1
On Sunday I did an indoor triathlon at the Quincy Kroc Center. A short 10 minute swim in a 18y 87F pool. It was an interesting practice in pacing and finding a rhythm to get enough air and not overheat. It reminded me of the start of a 70.3. The bike was on a typical spin bike. There was no predefined setting, so it was a practice in spinning at 140RPM. I had mine at setting 12-14, it displayed around 240 Watts and probably wasn't far off, maybe just a little low. My HR was 150-155bpm. Solid Tempo effort. The run was on a short indoor track. I'm not sure the length. I'd guess 10-12 laps to a mile. It was ideal for running under 7:00 pace. Above that took some effort to navigate corners and traction was a bit limited. Yes, I'm taking this too seriously. it was a fun challenge. I think I he;d a steady 5:40 pace. HR kept climbing to around 175-180 the last 5 minutes. So somewhere between 10k and 1/2 marathon pace I think. Considering where my run fitness is at, I was pretty happy with what my legs gave me really.
Wardrobe decision - Yes I wore my old Desoto Liftfoil trisuit. Hey, it's comfortable, nice to swim in (stretches less when wet) had a great pad and nice compression for running. It's like 6 years old now, so it's lot like pulled out some fancy new fangled suit.
Biggest milestone was my first training run over 1 hour since August. Can't wait for my FTP test. Then to just lose some more weight. I forget sometimes how blinking hard that is. TSS wasn't real impressive, but it still was forward progress. The ToS just took a lot out of me. Not a lot left to give this week. Quality over quantity at this point, since my 1st "A" race is a sprint tri anyway. Just trying to build fitness back. I'll save the heavy lifting for May-Aug.
By the numbers:
Swim: 4h07m, 17,750y
Bike: 6h46m, 123mi
Run: 3h43m, 29.4mi
Strength: 2h20m
TOTAL: 16h56m
TSS: 984.1
Monday, February 2, 2015
Tour of Sufferlandria! - Weekly Wrap-up 02/01/15
I survived the tour! I managed 1008TSS over 9 stages. What's more is that as we all know, TSS isn't created equal. Every rides had Zone 4-5 efforts plus some anaerobic sprints efforts too. Very, very different from my normal training and I would typically have done a Z2 recovery ride between each of those rides. I did keep up some running and swimming which added to the challenge. Overall, I learned the following:
1) I recover better than I thought.
2) You body "remembers" it's previous fitness levels very well even when current training loads are 60-75% of 6 months earlier.
3) Running, not surprisingly, has a huge impact on recovery from hard rides.
4) Its easier to hold on to fitness, than build it again.
5) My ITB is not aggravated by cycling at all anymore... if it was, I would certainly have found out this week.
One more week of my last base phase of training. I'm pretty excited as I'm confident I've seen some major gain in bike fitness. My running isn't doing OK and hampered more by weight, and just lack of miles. I think it will come back just fine, but if I've learned anything, it's that I need to be patient. Like baking a cake. You can't just crank up the temperature to speed things up and expect it to come out right.
Then it's onto the Build phases. Which will be very unique, as I've chosen a sprint race for an early season "A" race. I think it plays well. It's a change of pace from almost year round long course training, and since my primary race is in October, it plays well into moving from less to more specific. It's a good test, as I've done this event 4 years in a row, so I can compare my improvements on the same course each year. Plus, same bike, same helmet, but some changes to position and bike set-up.
This was my biggest week since the week of July 28th and tied for 4th largest in the last 12 months. What's impressive, is that taking away my PT stretches, strengthening exercises and snow shoveling (yes I count that), it was <17 hour week.
By the numbers:
Swim: 4h08m, 17,900y
Bike: 9h57m, 192mi
Run: 2h54m, 22,7mi
Strength (includes PT): 3h00m
TOTAL: 19h59m
TSS: 1370
1) I recover better than I thought.
2) You body "remembers" it's previous fitness levels very well even when current training loads are 60-75% of 6 months earlier.
3) Running, not surprisingly, has a huge impact on recovery from hard rides.
4) Its easier to hold on to fitness, than build it again.
5) My ITB is not aggravated by cycling at all anymore... if it was, I would certainly have found out this week.
One more week of my last base phase of training. I'm pretty excited as I'm confident I've seen some major gain in bike fitness. My running isn't doing OK and hampered more by weight, and just lack of miles. I think it will come back just fine, but if I've learned anything, it's that I need to be patient. Like baking a cake. You can't just crank up the temperature to speed things up and expect it to come out right.
Then it's onto the Build phases. Which will be very unique, as I've chosen a sprint race for an early season "A" race. I think it plays well. It's a change of pace from almost year round long course training, and since my primary race is in October, it plays well into moving from less to more specific. It's a good test, as I've done this event 4 years in a row, so I can compare my improvements on the same course each year. Plus, same bike, same helmet, but some changes to position and bike set-up.
This was my biggest week since the week of July 28th and tied for 4th largest in the last 12 months. What's impressive, is that taking away my PT stretches, strengthening exercises and snow shoveling (yes I count that), it was <17 hour week.
By the numbers:
Swim: 4h08m, 17,900y
Bike: 9h57m, 192mi
Run: 2h54m, 22,7mi
Strength (includes PT): 3h00m
TOTAL: 19h59m
TSS: 1370
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