Week started out great, off work, killing it in the pool Monday & Tuesday, hitting all my workout... then Tuesday evening... not feeling so hot. Yes, my brother-in-law has left our family with a nice will holiday present...the FLU!!! Wham! Like a freight train. I was on my ass all day Wed. Cancelled physical therapy, cancelled all my workouts. I haven't been hammered this bad since college. It went right to my chest. In my chest, it remains, just lingering on. I think I feel worse today than yesterday. Lots of workouts getting scrapped all week. Not how you want to wrap up a year. But better not than Jan. Feb. or September! I at least felt OK by Christmas day and made it ti pool and swam and biked and ran ok Friday. OK Sat. But just wasn't motivated to do anything today. Chest feels like crap.
At least the ITB continues to make very small incremental improvements.
Diet is an improvement. I'm eating cleaner and the holidays are almost past us finally... so temptation can go away for a while.
One of my lightest training weeks of the year.
By the Numbers:
Swim 2h45m, 12,050y
Bike 2h38m, 50mi
Run 1h06m, 8.2mi
Strength 30m
TOTAL 6h59m
TSS 484
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Sunday, December 28, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
Weekly Wrap-up 12/22/14 - Big day in the pool!
Lets mix things up.... first... by the numbers:
Swim: 4h30m, 19,550y
Bike: 8h14m, 162mi
Run: 34m, 4.6mi
Strength: 1h40m
TOTAL: 14h58m
TSS: 1013
Swimming:
Had a nice breakthrough in the pool this week. So excited I had to share it on Facebook too. I couldn't help it. I'm a good swimmer, but not a fast swimmer, so overall it's my weakness. So when I have a great day, it's pretty exciting. I'ts taken almost 9-10 months, but I finally found my stroke again. I think I made up for it with fitness last year, but it just wasn't as smooth as it had been back in Feb. This Fall, with the fitness gone, I got slow and felt slow, and felt just a little off. But on Sat. I was about 400y into a 20x100 set on moderate rest (about 15-20") and suddenly my times started dropping. I wasn't swimming harder, just everything suddenly "clicked". Best I can figure, it was a combination of kick & stroke timing and a small change to my body position with head position and engaging my core a little better. I dropped my times by 4-5" per 100! So I started out coming in around 1:19, slowed to 1:22, then suddenly I was knocking out 1:17's. I was pumped! SO I pushed a little more and was hitting 1:15 consistently for the next 10 reps, then faded near the end. I think I even did a 1:14 in there,.. and I got confused with the pace clock, and thought I did a 1:19 (I was swimming on a 1:35 interval). I ended up swimming 25 reps... but felt like I could have done 30. I was so excited I did a short set of 100IM, then for cool down I did some timed 100s to see how fast I would go trying to swim slow. I struggled to swim slower than 1:25. I didn't want to get out of the pool. 2800y planned turned into 4100. I then hit the weight room and ran 1.5 miles without any ITB pain and did my strength training.
ITBS: Some very slow progress. I just need to get this hip stretched out. It's a real bummer. I'm spending upwards of 6-7 hours a week just stretching and using stretch cords. It's a little demoralizing to say the least. But I feel like I'm getting somewhere...finally. It's going to be a LONG spring getting my run fitness back. I am working with a new physical therapist. He's a long course triathlete and understands the injury well. 1st thing he did, was put me on a treadmill to evaluate my run gait. Not to brag... or I'm bragging a little, hell it's a blog... he didn't find any obvious issues viewing from the side, front and back. Foot motion, hip control and angle were all good. Not that it's perfect, but there nothing really to correct there. He agrees with my assessment, that the injury occurred in the IM run and was aggravated by not being diagnosed and immediately addressed after the event. He gave me a few different stretches to try and another stretch cord exercise.
Bike is going pretty well. Not much to report. Just putting in 3 solid interval session on the trainer, 2-3 recovery rides, 1 day off and 1 long ride. With the holidays, I'll get in 2 longer rides this week I think.
Ultimately trying to make the most of the ongoing situation and use it as an opportunity to improve my swimming, and try and few new things on the bike in terms of position and the mix of intervals.
My bike and swim fitness overall is well ahead of where it was last year. So that's a bonus.
Last post of 2014 coming up. Since it's the last full training week of the year, I'll go ahead and do a annual summary at that time.
Happy holidays to everyone!
Swim: 4h30m, 19,550y
Bike: 8h14m, 162mi
Run: 34m, 4.6mi
Strength: 1h40m
TOTAL: 14h58m
TSS: 1013
Swimming:
Had a nice breakthrough in the pool this week. So excited I had to share it on Facebook too. I couldn't help it. I'm a good swimmer, but not a fast swimmer, so overall it's my weakness. So when I have a great day, it's pretty exciting. I'ts taken almost 9-10 months, but I finally found my stroke again. I think I made up for it with fitness last year, but it just wasn't as smooth as it had been back in Feb. This Fall, with the fitness gone, I got slow and felt slow, and felt just a little off. But on Sat. I was about 400y into a 20x100 set on moderate rest (about 15-20") and suddenly my times started dropping. I wasn't swimming harder, just everything suddenly "clicked". Best I can figure, it was a combination of kick & stroke timing and a small change to my body position with head position and engaging my core a little better. I dropped my times by 4-5" per 100! So I started out coming in around 1:19, slowed to 1:22, then suddenly I was knocking out 1:17's. I was pumped! SO I pushed a little more and was hitting 1:15 consistently for the next 10 reps, then faded near the end. I think I even did a 1:14 in there,.. and I got confused with the pace clock, and thought I did a 1:19 (I was swimming on a 1:35 interval). I ended up swimming 25 reps... but felt like I could have done 30. I was so excited I did a short set of 100IM, then for cool down I did some timed 100s to see how fast I would go trying to swim slow. I struggled to swim slower than 1:25. I didn't want to get out of the pool. 2800y planned turned into 4100. I then hit the weight room and ran 1.5 miles without any ITB pain and did my strength training.
ITBS: Some very slow progress. I just need to get this hip stretched out. It's a real bummer. I'm spending upwards of 6-7 hours a week just stretching and using stretch cords. It's a little demoralizing to say the least. But I feel like I'm getting somewhere...finally. It's going to be a LONG spring getting my run fitness back. I am working with a new physical therapist. He's a long course triathlete and understands the injury well. 1st thing he did, was put me on a treadmill to evaluate my run gait. Not to brag... or I'm bragging a little, hell it's a blog... he didn't find any obvious issues viewing from the side, front and back. Foot motion, hip control and angle were all good. Not that it's perfect, but there nothing really to correct there. He agrees with my assessment, that the injury occurred in the IM run and was aggravated by not being diagnosed and immediately addressed after the event. He gave me a few different stretches to try and another stretch cord exercise.
Bike is going pretty well. Not much to report. Just putting in 3 solid interval session on the trainer, 2-3 recovery rides, 1 day off and 1 long ride. With the holidays, I'll get in 2 longer rides this week I think.
Ultimately trying to make the most of the ongoing situation and use it as an opportunity to improve my swimming, and try and few new things on the bike in terms of position and the mix of intervals.
My bike and swim fitness overall is well ahead of where it was last year. So that's a bonus.
Last post of 2014 coming up. Since it's the last full training week of the year, I'll go ahead and do a annual summary at that time.
Happy holidays to everyone!
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Weekly Wrap-up 12/16/14
This was a lighter week since i was on-call. I took the opportunity to recover and do some testing. The tests delivered some solid results. My 1000y Swim TT yielded a 1:22. That's just ahead of where I was this time last year. My 20' FTP test came out at 302W. That's much better than last year. I didn't have a power meter then, but my first test last year was 295W in Feb. SO overall I'm pretty happy with that. I think I could have rode a little harder. I'm not sure where to but my goal for FTP, but getting up to around 330W, would be solid.
Otherwise it was an uneventful week. ITB seems to be improving just a bit. I got in a couple short runs in without any pain. Short, means 5-10 minute on the elliptical than 5-8 minute running o na treadmill. But hey, its' better than nothing. There still just some tightness in my hip... and until I can get rid of that, I'm clearly won't be able to run properly. But its' progress.
By the numbers:
Swim: 2h25m, 10,450y
Bike: 6h, 01m, 120mi
Run: 40m, 4.6mi
Strength: 2h
TOTAL: 11h06m
TSS: 692
I started a 3 day cleanse to transition me towards cleaner eating and dropping down to race weight. It's a lot of juice, smoothies and almost all fruits and vegetables. It's umm... interesting. I had a fairly big training day Monday and it left me a bit depleted. So I'll have to snack a little more to stay ahead of it. It seems like my ITB started feeling better too. There is some evidence that inflammation is reduced when you cut out grains/gluten and eat more fresh veggies and fruit.
Otherwise it was an uneventful week. ITB seems to be improving just a bit. I got in a couple short runs in without any pain. Short, means 5-10 minute on the elliptical than 5-8 minute running o na treadmill. But hey, its' better than nothing. There still just some tightness in my hip... and until I can get rid of that, I'm clearly won't be able to run properly. But its' progress.
By the numbers:
Swim: 2h25m, 10,450y
Bike: 6h, 01m, 120mi
Run: 40m, 4.6mi
Strength: 2h
TOTAL: 11h06m
TSS: 692
I started a 3 day cleanse to transition me towards cleaner eating and dropping down to race weight. It's a lot of juice, smoothies and almost all fruits and vegetables. It's umm... interesting. I had a fairly big training day Monday and it left me a bit depleted. So I'll have to snack a little more to stay ahead of it. It seems like my ITB started feeling better too. There is some evidence that inflammation is reduced when you cut out grains/gluten and eat more fresh veggies and fruit.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Weekly Wrap-up 12-09-14
I feel like I'm finally making some progress on the ITBS. PT exercises 2x a day including stretching. I hit the massage therapist pretty hard the last 2 weeks and I think that helped too. I've done short 5-7' runs twice the last 4 days and it was OK, but my glut still feels a little tight. When I lie on my back and pull my knee towards my opposite shoulder it's very tight and a little sore and there's a dull pain for a few seconds after I release it. This seems like my litmus test. Until my right hip and ITB feels pain free like the left, I'm not healed.
In terms of training I had a solid, consistent week including a 2-1/2 hours ride on Sunday and I feel a lot better. Plus the air and water temperatures in the pool and humidity levels are finally pleasant again so it's time to for a good swim focus through Feb to take advantage of that if possible.
Bike position - I think I'm at my limits of how low I can go and still see up the road and get my head into a good tuck with my helmet tail still flat to my back. I need to get the screen shots I finally found of my at IMWI. I can compare them to my ahem.... rival and maybe point out 3 reasons why despite being identical in height and him weighing at least 5lbs less, he rode 1 minute slower (moving time) on 20W more power. This is important. You could take someone super aero and powerful like Sebastian Keinle, and put him in the average position at IMWI, and instead of riding something like 4:20 on that course, he would ride closer to 5:00. I should actually plug the numbers in on BBS. I did the same with a client of mine and showed how if he could improve his position, his 5:00 split at IM Maryland, could be closer to 4:30 at his current FTP. By being more efficient, the curse effectively becomes shorter, which in turn allows you to ride even harder. A 5 hour bike leg is paced different than a 4-1/2 hour split and a 4 hour split even faster still.
What is need to do is increase my reach just a little. I unfortunately cut my extensions short. SO instead I'm going to move my pads to the opposite side of the clamps, ten shift the pads back so they are only about 5mm further forward that before. But that will gain me approx. 10-12mm more extension length. I'm already on a -35 degree 110mm stem with zero spacers but back to the stock headset cap.
Since I don't have access to a wind tunnel, I'm careful not to mess with changes that are more unpredictable. So hydration will stay the same (torpedo bottle backwards in front of stem) as will my pad spacing with and extension angle.
I must admit, it's pretty aggressive. With the extra weight I'm carrying (impact neck flexibility a little) and winter vest and long sleeve jersey, I was had to "pop-up" to look more than 100y down the road and most of the time just 30-50y. Not ideal. But I can always throw a spacer or 2 back or get another stem.
This week I'm on call for work again, so I threw in some testing and make it a lighter recovery week. I have some vacation coming up after this, so I'll have a chance to get in a few longer rides and do some organizing and chores at home.
By the Numbers:
Swim - 4h07m, 18,000y
Bike - 8h24m, 164mi
Strength - 1h10m
Run (its not zero ya!) - 1.0mi, 0h10m
TOTAL - 13h51m
TSS - 921
In terms of training I had a solid, consistent week including a 2-1/2 hours ride on Sunday and I feel a lot better. Plus the air and water temperatures in the pool and humidity levels are finally pleasant again so it's time to for a good swim focus through Feb to take advantage of that if possible.
Bike position - I think I'm at my limits of how low I can go and still see up the road and get my head into a good tuck with my helmet tail still flat to my back. I need to get the screen shots I finally found of my at IMWI. I can compare them to my ahem.... rival and maybe point out 3 reasons why despite being identical in height and him weighing at least 5lbs less, he rode 1 minute slower (moving time) on 20W more power. This is important. You could take someone super aero and powerful like Sebastian Keinle, and put him in the average position at IMWI, and instead of riding something like 4:20 on that course, he would ride closer to 5:00. I should actually plug the numbers in on BBS. I did the same with a client of mine and showed how if he could improve his position, his 5:00 split at IM Maryland, could be closer to 4:30 at his current FTP. By being more efficient, the curse effectively becomes shorter, which in turn allows you to ride even harder. A 5 hour bike leg is paced different than a 4-1/2 hour split and a 4 hour split even faster still.
What is need to do is increase my reach just a little. I unfortunately cut my extensions short. SO instead I'm going to move my pads to the opposite side of the clamps, ten shift the pads back so they are only about 5mm further forward that before. But that will gain me approx. 10-12mm more extension length. I'm already on a -35 degree 110mm stem with zero spacers but back to the stock headset cap.
Since I don't have access to a wind tunnel, I'm careful not to mess with changes that are more unpredictable. So hydration will stay the same (torpedo bottle backwards in front of stem) as will my pad spacing with and extension angle.
I must admit, it's pretty aggressive. With the extra weight I'm carrying (impact neck flexibility a little) and winter vest and long sleeve jersey, I was had to "pop-up" to look more than 100y down the road and most of the time just 30-50y. Not ideal. But I can always throw a spacer or 2 back or get another stem.
This week I'm on call for work again, so I threw in some testing and make it a lighter recovery week. I have some vacation coming up after this, so I'll have a chance to get in a few longer rides and do some organizing and chores at home.
By the Numbers:
Swim - 4h07m, 18,000y
Bike - 8h24m, 164mi
Strength - 1h10m
Run (its not zero ya!) - 1.0mi, 0h10m
TOTAL - 13h51m
TSS - 921
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Weekly Wrap-up 12-02-14
November has come and gone. Not a great training month. But my swimming and cycling were fairly consistent, so that's a good thing. My focus now is dropping weight. If I can't run or bike hard, then I might as well improve my overall economy. My goal is to shed 17lbs in 6 weeks.
I did visit the Orthapedist Specialist on Monday. I actually saw the Phys. Assistant but he's a runner himself. So he "gets it". The x-Rays were clear so no structural issues. Some very minor arthritis type of gap starting on the right knee. But minor means just slightly more than none at all. SO no concerns there. I will say my that knee coincidentally was tight feeling late in the IMWI run. Otherwise, it's just classic ITBS. But mine seems a bit stubborn. I'm seeing their Physical thereapist who is a triathlete and runner himself. So I'm hoping 6-8 weeks of therapry combined with regular massage therapist visits to address the root cause, will kick it. A cortisone shot was a last resort in his mind.
So onward and upward. I've created a Facebook page "Ironman Wisconsin Training Tips" - Nutrition. I'm not a nutritionist myself, but I'm hoping to have some good nutrition related discussion and bring in some experts. Any positive visibility is good for my coaching as well. Hoping to increase my "reach" a little too.
I was on call over the holiday weekend. That and the holiday meant limited swimming opportunities. This might be one of my lowest volume weeks in the last 12 months.
By the numbers:
Swim: 1h31m, 6550y
Bike: 5h36m, 104mi
Run: 0, 0
Strength:
TOTAL: 9h27m
TSS: 496
I did visit the Orthapedist Specialist on Monday. I actually saw the Phys. Assistant but he's a runner himself. So he "gets it". The x-Rays were clear so no structural issues. Some very minor arthritis type of gap starting on the right knee. But minor means just slightly more than none at all. SO no concerns there. I will say my that knee coincidentally was tight feeling late in the IMWI run. Otherwise, it's just classic ITBS. But mine seems a bit stubborn. I'm seeing their Physical thereapist who is a triathlete and runner himself. So I'm hoping 6-8 weeks of therapry combined with regular massage therapist visits to address the root cause, will kick it. A cortisone shot was a last resort in his mind.
So onward and upward. I've created a Facebook page "Ironman Wisconsin Training Tips" - Nutrition. I'm not a nutritionist myself, but I'm hoping to have some good nutrition related discussion and bring in some experts. Any positive visibility is good for my coaching as well. Hoping to increase my "reach" a little too.
I was on call over the holiday weekend. That and the holiday meant limited swimming opportunities. This might be one of my lowest volume weeks in the last 12 months.
By the numbers:
Swim: 1h31m, 6550y
Bike: 5h36m, 104mi
Run: 0, 0
Strength:
TOTAL: 9h27m
TSS: 496
Monday, November 24, 2014
Weekly Wrap-up 11-24-14
Another week best classified as "Better Than Nothing". Definitely in a solid funk not able to really train. Probably a little like a drug addict, smoker, gambler, etc only being given 1/2 his normal weekly fix. IT sucks. You have trouble focusing on you key races since just finishing them doesn't seem possible from where your at. So the next great piece of advice I received was to see the massage therapist and don't F*** around... go 2-3 times a week until it's better. It will hurt. They will strip the muscles and try and undo the damage. Training will be very very light, just enough to stay loose and aide recovery.
I have to keep telling myself that I can and will get past this and return to what I love doing. Hopefully I'll better appreciate it better and have a stronger focus in my training moving forward. A little break isn't a terrible thing. I accomplished so much last year and clearly got a little carried away with what I could do in the Fall after IMWI. Lesson learned, but ohhh, it's a hard, hard lesson.
I'm also on call for work 2 of the next 3 weeks. So there's that too. So get healthy. Build back into a routine, and make every session matter in some way. Plus, in all reality, I'm not really any farther behind than I was this time last year. I'm still riding more, and more consistently, and swimming a little more with better quality too. I'm also doing a lot more strength training than before.
By the numbers:
Swim: 2h47m, 12,050y
Bike: 6:24, 120mi
Run: 0, 0
Strength: 1h30m
TOTAL: 10h40m
TSS: 681
I have to keep telling myself that I can and will get past this and return to what I love doing. Hopefully I'll better appreciate it better and have a stronger focus in my training moving forward. A little break isn't a terrible thing. I accomplished so much last year and clearly got a little carried away with what I could do in the Fall after IMWI. Lesson learned, but ohhh, it's a hard, hard lesson.
I'm also on call for work 2 of the next 3 weeks. So there's that too. So get healthy. Build back into a routine, and make every session matter in some way. Plus, in all reality, I'm not really any farther behind than I was this time last year. I'm still riding more, and more consistently, and swimming a little more with better quality too. I'm also doing a lot more strength training than before.
By the numbers:
Swim: 2h47m, 12,050y
Bike: 6:24, 120mi
Run: 0, 0
Strength: 1h30m
TOTAL: 10h40m
TSS: 681
Monday, November 17, 2014
The race is on!!!... and I'm in trouble! The Weekly Wrap up 11/17/14
IMAZ was contested yesterday. Most noteable for me at least, was that Scott Iott crushed it! In a way that was just downright scary. Almost exact same swim time as IMWI. A strong 4:52 bike to pull himself up to the top 5 of the AG..and set him up for a screaming run. A 2:58 effort! 1/2 of me says "I surrender". With my ongoing injury, shakey motivation and a little more focused on starting up coaching on the side. The other 1/2 say "F that!". Last season was really my 1st attempt and raising my game to really compete with the best. I can get faster. I can focus, make the best use of my limited time and crush it. So looking at my strengths and situation what does that mean? It means I need to bike with speed more like Zucco and have a 5-8' lead off the bike and hang on for my life on the run. Will that be enough.... not if Scott can roll a sub 3:10 at Kona. But it be fun trying and a great experience either way.
How do I accomplish that. I have 3 things planned for the offseason:
1) Raise my FTP or at least my overall "strength" by riding 6-7 days a week with 3 quality rides focused on intervals at 105%+ and otherwise zone 2 to keep up my overall training load. This should work well as I'm still not running.
2) Improve my aerodynamics through position - I'm trying a -35deg stem, but switched back to the OEM headset top cap. So I'm not quite 10mm lower. I went 5mm longer on the stem length. So now I'm even lower, but I'm rotating my hips further forward to maintain a similar open hip angle.
3) Improve my aerodynamics through equipment - Single front ring - I'm going to purchase a "narrow-wide" 54T aero front ring and run that with a 11-28 rear cassette and train to be comfortable at lower RPM's seated. I could go 11-32 or 11-34 but I think I'd give back some aero and the gaps between gears would get a little too large. The things to test will be if the chain stays on or drops, and what type of speed improvements do I see. Hard to objectively test those now that I'll be indoors. But we'll use some basic logic here. I'll have to fab a small aero "block" to go over the fr. der. hanger as it cannot be removed on a Trek SC frame. Falco is making this ring in a short run for a couple athletes including some pros looking for an edge. My buddy advises against it, sure I'll drop my chain and ruin any advantage it gives. I'll take my chances I guess.
This weeks training was unremarkable overall. I will note that I tried a couple Sufferfest videos with short sprints and I'm hooked. You get that slightly shakey feeling afterwards. Probably from using some fast twitch muscles. But I like it. Pound out 90 TSS in 1 hour easy!
By the numbers:
Swim: 2h59m, 12,950y
Bike: 6h4m, 121mi
Run: 0h, 0mi
Strength: 2h
Total: 11h09m
751 TSS
NOTE: the speed on my trainer at the resistance I want is running a little slow right now. SO my mileage is low compared to the effort. I'd say 2-3mph difference compared ot training set-up outdoors.
How do I accomplish that. I have 3 things planned for the offseason:
1) Raise my FTP or at least my overall "strength" by riding 6-7 days a week with 3 quality rides focused on intervals at 105%+ and otherwise zone 2 to keep up my overall training load. This should work well as I'm still not running.
2) Improve my aerodynamics through position - I'm trying a -35deg stem, but switched back to the OEM headset top cap. So I'm not quite 10mm lower. I went 5mm longer on the stem length. So now I'm even lower, but I'm rotating my hips further forward to maintain a similar open hip angle.
3) Improve my aerodynamics through equipment - Single front ring - I'm going to purchase a "narrow-wide" 54T aero front ring and run that with a 11-28 rear cassette and train to be comfortable at lower RPM's seated. I could go 11-32 or 11-34 but I think I'd give back some aero and the gaps between gears would get a little too large. The things to test will be if the chain stays on or drops, and what type of speed improvements do I see. Hard to objectively test those now that I'll be indoors. But we'll use some basic logic here. I'll have to fab a small aero "block" to go over the fr. der. hanger as it cannot be removed on a Trek SC frame. Falco is making this ring in a short run for a couple athletes including some pros looking for an edge. My buddy advises against it, sure I'll drop my chain and ruin any advantage it gives. I'll take my chances I guess.
This weeks training was unremarkable overall. I will note that I tried a couple Sufferfest videos with short sprints and I'm hooked. You get that slightly shakey feeling afterwards. Probably from using some fast twitch muscles. But I like it. Pound out 90 TSS in 1 hour easy!
By the numbers:
Swim: 2h59m, 12,950y
Bike: 6h4m, 121mi
Run: 0h, 0mi
Strength: 2h
Total: 11h09m
751 TSS
NOTE: the speed on my trainer at the resistance I want is running a little slow right now. SO my mileage is low compared to the effort. I'd say 2-3mph difference compared ot training set-up outdoors.
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