T-Minus 26 Weeks
Well, it's official folks...my date with Lake Placid is less than 6 months away!
T-Minus 26 was another productive base building week, with one breakthrough performance on Sunday. I've come to realize that one 10-hour training week is really not that difficult to put together, especially when most workouts are done at a low to moderate intensity, but putting together nearly 30 of these weeks in a row while trying to avoid injury and fatigue will be quite a challenge.
The week started off with my standard Monday "Scheduled Day of Rest". Question for triathletes...do you take a full day of rest during the week, or do you prefer "active recovery" days? I'm waffling on the subject. From what I have been reading about tri training, active recovery days from a physiological perspective are preferred to a full day of no training. The one factor I do like about the full day of rest is that it allows me to really catch up on the rest of my life (read: spend a full evening with the wife).
Tuesday I got my swim on. 4000 yards in 1 hour and 10 minutes, broken down as 20X200 yards on 3 minutes and 30 seconds alternating moderate swim and easy pull. Remember, if you have any swim questions...even if you just want some ideas for workouts....feel free to shoot me an e-mail!
Wednesday brought me a 2 hour trainer ride.
Thursday I got back on the trainer for a 1 hour ride.
Friday I rocked the treadmill for 1 hour and ran 6.61 miles.
Saturday I had a pretty successful brick workout as I rode 3 hours on the trainer and followed the ride with a 4.18 mile neighborhood run that took 35:38. Not bad considering it was 20 degrees with the wind chill! For some strange reason, I actually almost prefer running in the cold weather. After the standard 15 minutes it takes for my body to de-thaw, I really love the way it feels. I guess you get used to that kind of crap when you grow up in New England! All in all, I was actually quite pleased with how fresh my legs felt for my run following my long bike ride.
Sunday was a redefinition of sorts. Sunday was the first breakthrough workout I have had in a long long long time. I set out to do my 10-mile run on the Schyulkill River Trail. At the outset of the run I had no intentions of doing much more than a moderately paced run. But sometimes when you feel good you just go for it. Screw the heart rate monitor, screw the zones, screw the cadence...just push the pace. I know this may sound like heresy for some of you triathletes who never deviate from their training plans, but for better or for worse - this is my journey.
My benchmark for a 10-mile run is my race PR of 1:28:18. However, this was done 7 years and about 25 pounds ago. About a month ago in training, I came close to this mark with a 1:29 and change training run, which left me with shortness of breath and a pair of very weak knees. At the outset of my run, nothing was unusual...just plodding at a modest pace for me...about 9 minute miles. Whether or not it was perpetuated by the chilly temp (25 degrees), I just wasn't feeling much fatigue, so I picked up the pace accordingly. Before I knew it, I was 5 miles into my run and the watch read 44:10. I was pretty shocked. If I even split the run, I was basically spot on to hit that 7 year old PR. How could I not test my resolve in a situation like that? Two more miles flew by as I hit the 7-mile turnaround marker in under 61 minutes...and virtually no fatigue. When you're feeling it...you're feeling it. My last three miles were frigging glorious. I closed with a final mile in 7 minutes and 42 seconds. The watch read 1:24:51. Not only was this my new 10-mile PR...but I didn't even bother with 1:27, 1:26 or 1:25. 1:24:51. For 84 minutes and 51 seconds I reinvented the meaning of progress. Pushing the sun back into the sky and telling father time he'll have to wait for a later date to inhibit me.
These small victories are what Ironman is all about. I discount the fact that I ran my first half marathon and first marathon in 2006 because they are merely stepping stones to Lake Placid. Sunday helped me realize that these moments are just as important as the end result. Savor each one of the victories because you are lucky enough to be healthy enough to attempt them at all. 84 minutes and 51 seconds can do alot for a 27-year old guy renewing his commitment to his health - one swim, one bike ride and one run at a time.
T-Minus 26 Weeks:
Swim: 1:10:00 (4000 yards)
Bike: 6:00:00
Run: 3:00:29 (20.97 miles)
Total: 10:10:29
T-Minus 26 was another productive base building week, with one breakthrough performance on Sunday. I've come to realize that one 10-hour training week is really not that difficult to put together, especially when most workouts are done at a low to moderate intensity, but putting together nearly 30 of these weeks in a row while trying to avoid injury and fatigue will be quite a challenge.
The week started off with my standard Monday "Scheduled Day of Rest". Question for triathletes...do you take a full day of rest during the week, or do you prefer "active recovery" days? I'm waffling on the subject. From what I have been reading about tri training, active recovery days from a physiological perspective are preferred to a full day of no training. The one factor I do like about the full day of rest is that it allows me to really catch up on the rest of my life (read: spend a full evening with the wife).
Tuesday I got my swim on. 4000 yards in 1 hour and 10 minutes, broken down as 20X200 yards on 3 minutes and 30 seconds alternating moderate swim and easy pull. Remember, if you have any swim questions...even if you just want some ideas for workouts....feel free to shoot me an e-mail!
Wednesday brought me a 2 hour trainer ride.
Thursday I got back on the trainer for a 1 hour ride.
Friday I rocked the treadmill for 1 hour and ran 6.61 miles.
Saturday I had a pretty successful brick workout as I rode 3 hours on the trainer and followed the ride with a 4.18 mile neighborhood run that took 35:38. Not bad considering it was 20 degrees with the wind chill! For some strange reason, I actually almost prefer running in the cold weather. After the standard 15 minutes it takes for my body to de-thaw, I really love the way it feels. I guess you get used to that kind of crap when you grow up in New England! All in all, I was actually quite pleased with how fresh my legs felt for my run following my long bike ride.
Sunday was a redefinition of sorts. Sunday was the first breakthrough workout I have had in a long long long time. I set out to do my 10-mile run on the Schyulkill River Trail. At the outset of the run I had no intentions of doing much more than a moderately paced run. But sometimes when you feel good you just go for it. Screw the heart rate monitor, screw the zones, screw the cadence...just push the pace. I know this may sound like heresy for some of you triathletes who never deviate from their training plans, but for better or for worse - this is my journey.
My benchmark for a 10-mile run is my race PR of 1:28:18. However, this was done 7 years and about 25 pounds ago. About a month ago in training, I came close to this mark with a 1:29 and change training run, which left me with shortness of breath and a pair of very weak knees. At the outset of my run, nothing was unusual...just plodding at a modest pace for me...about 9 minute miles. Whether or not it was perpetuated by the chilly temp (25 degrees), I just wasn't feeling much fatigue, so I picked up the pace accordingly. Before I knew it, I was 5 miles into my run and the watch read 44:10. I was pretty shocked. If I even split the run, I was basically spot on to hit that 7 year old PR. How could I not test my resolve in a situation like that? Two more miles flew by as I hit the 7-mile turnaround marker in under 61 minutes...and virtually no fatigue. When you're feeling it...you're feeling it. My last three miles were frigging glorious. I closed with a final mile in 7 minutes and 42 seconds. The watch read 1:24:51. Not only was this my new 10-mile PR...but I didn't even bother with 1:27, 1:26 or 1:25. 1:24:51. For 84 minutes and 51 seconds I reinvented the meaning of progress. Pushing the sun back into the sky and telling father time he'll have to wait for a later date to inhibit me.
These small victories are what Ironman is all about. I discount the fact that I ran my first half marathon and first marathon in 2006 because they are merely stepping stones to Lake Placid. Sunday helped me realize that these moments are just as important as the end result. Savor each one of the victories because you are lucky enough to be healthy enough to attempt them at all. 84 minutes and 51 seconds can do alot for a 27-year old guy renewing his commitment to his health - one swim, one bike ride and one run at a time.
T-Minus 26 Weeks:
Swim: 1:10:00 (4000 yards)
Bike: 6:00:00
Run: 3:00:29 (20.97 miles)
Total: 10:10:29
posted by Jeremy at 8:37 AM
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