A Windy Brick.......

A big training day. Started out the day with a 4 mile run to the park to watch Sinclair's soccer game. Post game rode 50 miles at an average of 18.1MPH. Half way thru the ride my avg speed was about 16 MPH as I was riding into some very heavy headwinds. I was concerned about my speed as I have not ridden my Felt B2 Pro and very much trying to get use to my new saddle as well as getting my butt saddle worthy. My legs felt heavy for the first hour - thinking that it was due to the 10 miles that I ran the previous morning - but then came the next 25 miles.........

Well, suffice to say the second 25 miles was much better than the first - as I was warmed up, motivated and had the wind to my back. I broke a speed record today when I hit 52.9MPH - however I almost dumped it as I had my 303 front wheel - which caught the wind gusts which made for a pretty scary ride.

Overall I felt pretty darn good - finishing strong. Post ride I slapped on my sneakers and hit the road for a 3 mile run. The first 2 miles - my legs felt like lead weights - as I tried to work the lactic acid out of the muscles.

Here is my HR data for the work out:

Z1 95-114 = 25 minutes = Avg HR 104 BPM
Z2 114-133 = 2:54 minutes = Avg HR 124 BPM
Z3 133-152 = 35 minutes = Avg HR 135 BPM
Z4 152-171 = 0

Almost a 4 hour work out today and feeling pretty good. With 3 weeks to go before IM 70.3 New Orleans - I'm going to be ready for a great training day in New Orleans - followed by the MCM 26.2 the following weekend. Bring it on!!

Altitude Training.........

At 5,200 feet above sea level one would think that the impact on training wouldn't be that significant. After all, Mt Everest climbers ascend to 29,000+ feet to sit on top of the world. However, interestingly enough, science has proven that living at altitude generates more blood red cells that carry more oxygen to the muscles to reducing lactic acid faster - or simply allowing the body to recover more quickly - thus enhancing overall performance.

So, training in Denver should have benefits come race day at sea level. This week I've noticed a difference in my average HR which has been about 7-8 BPM higher due to altitude. Anyways...............

I got in a 7 mile run on Monday - followed by a great core workout and strength training of calves, lats, biceps, etc. This morning I managed to get in a 15 minute swim followed by a 45 minute high intensity spin class. This evening got in another 1 hour spin class along with a 3.5 mile fartlek treadmill run. Enjoying a pizza right now and then hitting the rack. Going to try to get to the gym in the am to get in 10-12 miles so WTD miles will be at least 20 miles.

Tomorrow night I'm getting a massage and looking forward to getting them regularly as my training increases. The overall goal this week is to get in at least 20 hours of training. This means I've gotta hit some long training rides on the bike and a 15 mile run later in the week, along with a long swim.

Lot's of training ahead of me - but feel pretty good right now for 70.3 New Orleans. Leadville is another story - a scary one at that - hoping that it has a happy ending.

Cheers!

Training is on track.......

This past week I managed to get in my minimum running miles and felt pretty good. Got in 10 mile long runs this week along with continued core work out - but didn't really focus on my calves. This week I will work the achilles and calf raises. As I add more miles - need to continue strength training.

I'm exactly one month out from IM 70.3 New Orleans - and believe that I will be well prepared. Need work on the bike and must get in at least 3-4 56 mile rides before then. Post New Orleans we've got 3 state 3 mountain along with the Music City marathon. I've decided to run the entire marathon to build my base for IMLAZ as well as Leadville. Going to have to really work on post recovery, nutrition and balance.

This weekend was a good training weekend as I got in a long run along with a 2 hour bike ride on Saturday, while volunteering the the Hell of the South bike race. Today I got in another 1.5 hours on the bike while watch Syracuse whip up on Gonzaga - followed by a 1:30 swim, getting in close to 3,000 meters. Shoulders are a little sore which tells me that I need to be in the pool more.

This week I've got a massage lined up for Wednesday. As Monday I will be doing a 10 mile run. Tuesday 2 spin sessions and one swim. Wednesday a medium run and a spin session in the am. Thursday - Sunday not certain yet.

Just going to keep plugging away.

Cheers

The steeper the mountain the harder the climb the better the view from the finishing line

Managed to sqeeze in a 10 mile run this am at Cherry Creek CC. Started out at a 9:30/Mile and moved to an 8:30/mile generating a 120 BPM HR. Felt good - other than a small tweek on my left lower outside ankle. Will get in another 5 mile sin the am in Detroit before meetings - totaling 25 miles through Thursday - need another 10 to get me to 35 miles at a minimum.

Next week has got to be a heavy load week - thinking 45 miles of run and 10 hours on the bike and 3 swims............

Sleep is on order.......

Gotta buckle down

Made it to the gym this am and managed to get in a 3.5 mile run and a 45 minute spin class along with a good core work out. An overall light day. Tomorrow am I'm getting picked up at 9AM but have a conference call at 8AM. So the plan is to get up and run down to the 24 HR Fitness on Hampden, which is 3.5 miles from the house. I plan on getting in a good strength training routine, along with core and then get in another 3 miles on the treadmill and then run back to the house. So this will give me 10 miles of running in the am.

So thru Wednesday I'll have in about 20 miles on the run and one spin class and no swimming. This means that on Friday am I'm going to have to get in an early morning spin and an evening spin. On Saturday I'll be getting in a 56 mile ride with Kathy and Will after volunteering at a bike race. So 2 spin class and one long ride will have to do it this week. On the run I will get in at least 35 miles this week with a focus on longer runs. If lucky I will squeeze in one swim - but not counting on it right now.

Nutrition has not been ideal this week - but my cold appears to be gone. Felling good about overall miles and quality of the work out.

Gotta get some sleep now............

First Race of the Season

Last week I had to take off Thursday and Friday due to a bad cold, however, managed to get in a ski day at Vail on Friday. On Saturday morning after getting 5.5 hours of sleep I ran the Tom King 1/2 marathon and posted a 1:38 time averaging a 7:33/mile. Felt good - but was tight afterwards, specifically my right calf. I stretched it good and on Sunday am now achilles issues :)

On Sunday I biked for 1 hour on the trainer and then ran about 7.5-8.0 miles outside in the lousy weather. Again, felt good however, post run my knees were sore (as they were the day before as well). Thinking that this is due to running on the hard pavement versus running inside on the treadmill. I consumed the post run drink and took supplements. Monday am got up at the crack to fly to Denver, sleeping 2 hours on the plane. Worked a long day and got home at 8:30PM - grabbed some cereal for dinner and getting to bed early so that I can get up at 4AM to get to 24HR Fitness by 4:30AM to get in a 30 minutes swim and a 1 hour run and then a 45 minute bike ride - followed by a solid core training work out for 15 minutes. A great way to start the day.

This week I've got to get in time on the bike and run. Balancing my health as I do not want to get worn down from last weeks bought with a cold. Being careful and getting my rest - going to try to push it this week.

Making progress - pleased with 1/2 marathon run time - probably could've taken a couple of minutes off of my time.

Lot's to do - little time to squeeze it all in.

Cheers.!

Cold & Flu ...............

Well - I knew that after spending the weekend at my germ infested house in Brentwood that by Wednesday of this week the cold & flu virus that has been incubating in my body would rear its ugly head. Unfortunately my concerns and speculation came true. I've got a full blown cold, with chills and all of the pleasantries associated thereto.

I just finished up with our 4 hour weekly A&I meeting and in bed with the fireplace going. My plan for tomorrow was to get up at 4:30AM to get to 24 Hr Fitness for a run and spin class. But I'm thinking that rest is in order to shake this cold and stretch my achilles. In the big picture I'm not going to lose a lot if I miss a day or two of workouts. The tendency is to push through a cold that could then turn into something worse.

The good news is that I did manage to get in a good core workout this morning before an 1 hour spin class. So the week is going well with a 12 mile run, 2 hours on the bike and 2 swims. So I'm going to play it by ear tomorrow.

Not happy at all about this cold............

Altitude.......whew!

Well - I made it back to Denver today at 5,200 feet elevation after spending more time out of Denver than in over the past 2 weeks. I must say - that my HR outside of Denver has been very low during my exercise routines. However, now that I'm back in Denver - my swim this evening a mere 1,000 meters was a struggle - even with my swim buoy. My breathing timing was off in the water - despite a concerted focus.

I followed up my swim with a 1 hour spin session - albeit I pushed hard - my peak Hr was 146 - which it has been a while since hitting that. Worked up a solid sweat and felt good - but winded any time my HR got up over 135BPM.

This morning when I got up my right high achilles was sore from my 12 mile run on Sunday morning - which I polished off in a little over 1:30 and change. felt pretty good and did not really push it too hard as my average HR was 123BPM. I walked every hill - jogged down every hill and kept a good steady pace. I believe that I'm favoring my left leg and therefore creating an achilles problem with my right. Despite all of the base training - and strength - I still have an imbalance. The positive outcome is that its not too bad - I'm just hypersensitive to it. It's the same problem right achilles high strain that I've had in the past.

I started of the week right with a 12 mile run and 30 minute swim time trial - got in about 1,600 meters in total for the day. Today got in a 1,000 meter swim followed by a 1 hour spin. Planning on a good spin session in the am as I nurse my right achilles back to health over the next 2 days.

The altitude really did affect me today.....time to get some sleep - a busy few days in front of me.

Goodnight!

Bike, Run, Rest..........

Saturday was not an intense training day. But I did manage to get out on my bike (Felt B12) and get 25 miles in. It was a sunny but chilly day, with a high of 55F and breezy. I got a new frame for the B12 due to a cracked set post clamp. In replacing the frame the gears got jacked up and were not tuned well at all - which made for a challenging ride in the big ring for most of the ride. Interestingly enough my usual time of about 1:12 for this 25 mile ride was consistent with todays performance despite bike problems - however my heart rate averaged about 118-120BPM. So this means that my conditioning is working and perhaps my breathing style is improving - focusing on long deep pulls instead of short breaths of air.

I've been researching the benefits of training at altitude and the various devices that one can buy to simulate altitude and get the benefits related thereto. More to follow on this topic - there appears to be a lot of expensive devices available on the market.

Yesterday was the completion of another week of training. The highlight was a 10 mile run on Friday afternoon - that felt pretty good. Overall assessment 75 days out from Lanzarote ........... I've developed a solid base through consistent training with HR BPM being the lowest in the past 2.5 years of training while at or above the training times. The weakest part of my game - the swim - is steadily improving as well - as I work on core strengthening, lats and tris along with just getting into the water 3 times per week. The bike, although I've been spending 4-6 hours per week on the trainer seems to be lagging a bit. So the month of March is going to have an emphasis on the bike - as the weather warms up. The plan will be to get in 2 long rides every saturday and sunday, with the goal of getting in a minimum of 7 hours per week in on the bike - with a max of 10-12 hours. The run will still consist of a minimum of 30 hours and trending north of 40 hours per week. If I'm able to sustain this training volume I will be in a great position for IM Lanzarote with a solid base developed for Leadville 100.

There is still a lot of time to train - so need to stay healthy and focused on BALANCE.

Today I'm going to get in at least a 30 minute time trial in the pool this afternoon. Thinking about a 2 hour bike ride prior to the swim and a 12 mile run post swim. Gotta have a great training day as I was able to get in 10 hours of sleep last night and had a solid breakfast.

Later this afternoon - taking the family to go see Alice in Wonderland and trying to avoid catching Carla's nasty cold....

The beat goes on.....

Base & Interval Mix

Monday I managed to get in a simple 1 hour spin at the YMCA and then took a flight to Phoenix to catch a Suns/Nuggets game. Pro basketball isn't a great spectator sport - lazy basketball. On Tuesday AM I was up at 3:15AM to visit Pendum's local vault operations - not a lot of sleep. Got back to the hotel around 6:30AM - went back to bed for an hour and then got up and hit the treadmill for 4 miles - with interval training. I forgot how much I dislike interval training. Cranked the treadmill to a 5:30/Mile pace for 1 minute then 3 minutes at 8:30/Mile for 4 miles - a great workout. HR gets into the low 140's about 75% of my max. Recovery takes about 15-20 seconds to get back down to 100BPM. I took an earlier flight back to Denver and ran 6 miles at tempo and then got in a 45 minute spin class. So 10 mile run and 45 spin - I was glad to be done and needed to get some sleep.

On Wednesday am I made it to 24 hour fitness for a 25 minute swim and core training - then off to the office for an 8am meeting. Traveled to Chicago to a CFO roundtable meeting at the University Club - a very good meeting. On Thursday - no work out in the am - but made it back to Nashville and got in a 4 mile interval training run followed by a 1 hour spin and then a 4 mile tempo run - at 8:30/mile. HR was averaging 123BPM during last 4 miles - felt really good - like I could've run another 10 miles - but didn't.

Friday(this am) made it to WCRC at 5:30AM for a 1 hour swim - probably got in 2,300 meters - at a decent pace. My swim is coming along nicely - core workouts are paying dividends with form in the water and breathing is improving - getting more strokes between breaths - focusing on 3 then 5 stroke combinations. This afternoon if the weather heats up - I'm out on my bike for a 2 hour ride - followed by at least a 7 mile run - which I need to make happen as it'll be 25 miles week to date on the run and then on Saturday need to get in another 8- miles. Need more sleep - plan on getting some this evening.