Jul 29, 2009

31 days to IMC

Super hot day. Managed to get a run in, no bike though, too hot. 90 when I started my run, 97 when I finished. Ended up being the hottest day ever in Seattle. Crazy.

SLOW run in the heat. Only saw 2 other runners, I usually see 40 or so. Hydrated well in the morning, drank on the run.

Run - 7.5 mi 1:09:52

Jul 28, 2009

32 days to IMC

Today was interesting, I was pretty stiff and tired. The heat here in Seattle made sleeping a little less than comfortable, and I had was out the door at 5:30 to get some family members off to the airport.

After a few cups of joe and advil, I was doing better. Focused on water and stretching throughout the day, and hit the pool tonight. The pool was insane, folks standing in the lanes, others swimming across, 12 year old lifeguards too busy chatting to do anything about it. Love it, good practice for tri's. You never know what's going to happen in a race, so why should the pool be any different :-)

Today's workout:

Pool - 44:31 2000yds.

It's a taper week! That's it for today.

Jul 27, 2009

IMC training week 31

A great week. Cut a few workouts short after last week to make sure my back was ok. I feel strong, and my confidence is building.

Here's the week:

Bike - Road 113.5 mi 7:10:21
Bike - Trainer 0 mi 2:11:20
Run 35.32 mi 5:18:04
Swim 4700 yd 1:44:50
Total Time 16 hrs 24min

Jul 24, 2009

37 days to IMC

Another long day after a long day. I hit both workouts, but the run was a slog. However, slog = done. Friday is a light day, looking forward to it.

Swim - pool 54:56 2500yd
Run - 54.34 6.19mi

Jul 23, 2009

38 days to IMC

A hard day. Lots of things pulling for my time. Family, work, IM. I managed to get it all in with minor collateral damage, but the long hours of working out are definitely starting to impact all areas of my life. Add in that my back is still sore, and I may be looking at even more time for some massage/doctor/whatever.

Run 1:20:38 9.13 mi
Bike - Road 2:02:20 36.26 mi

Jul 21, 2009

39 days to IMC

I'm going to start a daily log for the last 6 weeks. I think it'll help me stay motivated and give some depth to the training log. I figure I'll forget a lot of this and if I ever decide to train for another Ironman I'll have more reasons to, or not.

Today:

Swim - Pool 33:20 1450 yd
Bike - Trainer 1:11:30 0 mi

A little short on both. A lot short on time today. Short 10 mins on the swim, 15 on the bike. Easy to make up, but likely won't after last weeks missed days. Don't need to increase too much this week.

I felt great. No back issues, no heat issues and good form in the pool. Tomorrow will be another time challenged day. Goal is to be on the trainer at 5am.

IMC training week 30

30 weeks. It's been a long time since I started this journey. Last week I hit a few walls.

1st, a back spasm on Thursdays tempo run. Almost passed out waiting for the bus. Made it home and threw down some Advil and sat on a heating pad for a while. Felt better by bed time, but missed a long swim and lost a bit of confidence. Took Friday off to make sure I didn't make it worse. Sunday I felt like crap, took another day off. I'm supposed to listen to my body, right?

2nd, a friend was hit by a van while riding his bike. In the ICU, still out but improving. This really took my motivation to ride.

So, here's the week. Supposed to be 18 hours, not even close.

Bike - Road 93.3 mi 6:30:00
Run - 19.5 mi 2:45:30
Swim - 2100 yd 0:44:36
Total Time 10 hrs 0min

Jul 12, 2009

IMC training week 29

7 weeks to go! Crazy. I can't believe how fast these last few weeks have gone. This was another big week even though I missed a few swims. I've been in the open water a lot in the last 3 weeks, so I'm still confident I can finish the swim before noon :-)

A few things I've learned:

- Swim times are going down with improvement in my technique. Very good sign!

- I generally hammer on the bike, not good for an IM if I want to finish the marathon. 2 very long hilly rides over the last 2 weeks averaging 16mph have left me with strong legs for great feeling bricks. Slow = surviving.

- I like to run. This is new. Generally it's a means to an end. 17 miles today in wind and rain and I loved every minute.

- Nutrition is coming along. I've figured out what works. Now I have to figure out how I'll remember 6 hours into a bike with a frazzled mind.


Here's the breakdown of the week:

Bike - Road 118 mi 8:00:00
Bike - Trainer 0 mi 0:47:29
Run - 38.2 mi 5:43:14
Swim - 4550 yd 1:48:40
Total Time 16 hrs 19min

Feeling stronger every week!

Jul 8, 2009

imc training week 28

A good week. Missed a swim due to holiday pool closures, opted out of one workout due to fatigue. A solid week. The long brick on Sat felt AWESOME, the long run on Sun was tiring.

Bike - Road 122.1 mi 8:06:00
Bike - Trainer 0 mi 1:05:00
Run - 35 mi 5:11:31
Swim - 3150 yd 1:20:00
Total Time 15 hrs 42min

Next week is 18.5 hours. No excuses with closures, should get close to hitting all my workouts.