Training Log Archive: O Steve!

objective raise my AT and muscular endurance on the bike....

I was feeling a bit tired but figured I would give this a go since tomorrow I will not train at all and swimming is on tap for Wed....

the plan....add 5 watts to the two 11:00 segments to push my AT

this is how it went:

20:09 warm up at 100 watts 101 HR avg

11:00 at 200 watts 131 avg HR (140 at interval end)
3:00 at 100 watts 120 avg HR
11:00 at 200 watts 137 avg HR (145 at interval end)

10:00 at 100 watts 114 HR avg

comments: very tough workout that left me swimming in sweat...pure constant head down effort for the AT segments...BUT....I upped the watts from 195 to 200 for the 11:00 segments and my HR avg was 3 to 5 beats lower than last time...

again...the workout seems to indicate I am ready for a good result and things have progressed but it remains to be done.

bike to run...

transition/frequency run

5.0 mph....

curls
mil press
pull ups
triceps

pulling Syd to the parade and back.....feel very tired...

I debated this....I just ran hard yesterday but Kari is gone for the weekend and I have Sydney and the only time I could go off and get something done was during 2 parties she was attending today....

I had a 90 minute window before having to pick her up so decided to go to Snap and run Vo2 max intervals on the treadmill, duplicating a workout from 5 weeks back?......basically the classic 8 x 400 with equal rest....

warm up

5:00 at 5.0 mph with 114 ending HR (very low)
5:00 at 5.0 mph with :20 surges to 6.0,6.5,7.0,7.5,8.0, 8.0 mph to get legs ready for speed..........114 HR avg for the first 10 minutes
5:00 at 3.5 mph 100 avg HR

Main set:

2:00 at 7:41 mph
2:00 at 3.5 mph recovery

HR to 155 on last interval?....my watch showed a max of 161 but I question the accuracy...I was at 150 with :30 left on the last interval...162 was where it ended up weeks ago on the same workout

129 avg HR for the entire interval/recovery segment.....down 9 beats from last time

everything indicates significant progress....now if I my race performance shows what I can do....

4:47 3.5 mph cool down...114 avg HR

C • Looks like 2

easy spin while Syd is at a 2nd party....planned to do at least and hour...could not make that happen. I was to tired and bored...had to ct if off.

Objective....back on the top end speed....10 x 100 on 1:50...a tough workout I did a few weeks back so I could assess progress....

6 x 50 on 1:30

:41
:40
:41
:41
:41
:41

11 x 100...(did one more by accident...again!)

1:25
1:27
1:30
1:30
1:30
1:31
1:31
1:33
1:31
1:33
1:32

very tough....was fading at the end....did extra and I did not need to!....hard hard effort....

BUT....I averaged 1:30.27/100 which was 1.5 faster/100 than last time.....

again....good workout, good progress on time....still waiting for the pay off in races....

Mt bike up to Snap for some race specific intervals....easy warm up...

bike to bike transition.....never done that before...jump off the mt bike on to the x bike...

I will outline the workout here....

objective: work on some AT and race specific pace from the bike to the run.....

the plan.....

bike: 5 minutes on the bike at 200 watts (watts close to what I should do at HOL tri for the 9 mile bike?)-transition to treadmill-run .5 miles at 8:00 pace (ultimate target pace for the 2.5 mile run)-transition and spin for 4 minutes recovery....repeat 3 times...

so in summary

5:00 on bike at 200 watts
:45 transition
4:00 at 8:00/mile pace
4:00 transition/spin recovery

x 3

This is how it went
5:00 bike at 200 watts 134 HR avg
:43 transition 139 HR avg
4:28 run at 8:00/mile 147 HR avg (took :28 to get to full speed on treadmill)

4:08 bike transition/spin at 100 watts 132 HR avg

5:00 bike at 200 watts 147 HR avg
1:08 transition 145 HR avg
4:25 run at 8:00/mile 153 HR avg

4:05 bike transition/spin at 100 watts 139 HR avg

5:00 bike at 200 watts 154 HR avg
:57 transition 155 HR avg
4:24 run at 8:00/mile 158 HR avg...peaked at 169 HR...just about right.

comments on brick workout....felt good. tough but not overly so....managed the 8:00/mile pace off the bike pretty well....HR ended up right where I wanted it...

curls
pull ups
mil press
triceps

hope on mt bike

bike home from Snap

8 hours of teaching yesterday....and 7 hours today...this really kills my legs (I am on my feet and moving around at all times) and gets in the way of training.....might after no training due to work yesterday it may be the same today....hope to get fresh and so some quality on Friday and over the weekend....

After Sundays "fail" I am left to assess....

Based on the fact that my HR was low and my PE was up during the disappointing result on Sunday, my best guess is my legs were not fresh from training through and not doing a proper taper. Again, this is my best guess but it makes sense since my workout times seemed to indicate I am capable of more than I managed at Sunday Triathlon...

based on this assessment, and the fact that I am only 4 weeks out, my plan is to continue ramping up intervals for the next 3 weeks but spacing them out more to allow more recovery on the bike and run (with swimming I plan to continue as I have since my time seemed solid).....and being very careful the week before the event to allow rest and insure my legs are very fresh.........

Not sure if this is going to work but its my best guess. I put a lot of time and effort into training for this event and I am thinking this is the best approach based on what I know.

C • Thoughtful analysis 5

objective: recovery......out and around LOI and back plus some cool down...

30:11 for bike loop around LOI (run course flooded many places) with 132 avg HR...

legs felt rough....never felt good...seems the older I get the more of these type of runs I have....leg were stale and still ragged from Sundays race effort...I kept the loop HR down under 135 or so....got it done...

recovery ride up the greenway to Sabo and back.....keeping it easy...

Capitol City Sprint Triathlon at Phalen. A chance to Test my training. The short report is I would give me a D +.

The first part was a Swim of 500 meters that included a weed patch of 30 meters long going out and coming in. We started with all males (about 80 others) and it was crowded as we cut though the weeds...with the crowd, I certainly did not feel smooth but managed to handle it pretty well...I picked up a draft here and there but nothing sustained and I hit the beach in 8:36 and tripped the timing mat at 8:57. Decent swim that seemed right in line with my training (hard to know exact distance)

a bit sloppy....had to reach down and pull the wet suit off the ankles and was slowish getting my bike shoes on....lost :08?...good flying mount however

I try to get up to speed and deal with some bad pavement as well as possible....its a small field and kinda lonely as I spend most of my time solo with very few to dog fight with to keep me motivated.

Early on I don't feel all that great and what is really curious is my Heart Rate. I am pushing hard on the bike and my PE is up there but my Heart Rate is at 160 tops and falling back to 157 a good portion of the time....this is a good 8 beats lower than normal but I can't manage to ride any harder and lift it. I could tell it was not coming together so I just did the best I could and went as hard as I could manage knowing that my HR wasn't where I usually see it or expect to be.

I also made a turn where I should not have and quickly corrected my error but dropped another :20 there also...

I rolled in with a split of 48:55 for the over 16 mile route thinking I left 1.5 minutes out on the course from what I should have done...averaged 157 on the bike leg....Low....

even a little slower putting on the shoes...dropped :05 here...it could have been faster but I was not overly concerned after my slow bike and the smallish field....

Taking off around Phalen and I can feel the humidity....I glance at my watch and I am running 165 or so most of the time which is a little low but the theme for the day. I knew I wasn't having a great race and I felt the humidty so I kept it steady right at red line and just tried to keep it there and let my pace just be what ever it would be....I crossed the finish with a split of 25:29 which was a 1:20 slower than my run of last year. Pretty disappointing.

My overall time was 1:25:04 which I considered off the mark by 3 minutes.

I managed to place 3rd in my age group but there were only 6 and I was far away from 1st and 2nd. I was also 50 out of 107 finishers. Very poor placement in my estimation.

Not sure what happened but I suspect my legs were tired due to training through this event. I assume this was the reason my HR was so low. My take away is to make sure I taper and rest before my key triathlon and this might allow me to crank up the effort to fully use my engine...and go faster. It to late to change my training approach. I just need to keep at it and trust what I am doing is making me faster.

158 HR for the entire event....low

So far I feel like I have put in significant effort in my training and have not received a pay off....We will see.....

cool down run

warm up

bike warm up....

Test Triathon tomorrow at Phalen should give me more of an idea on my fitness. The course has the same run course as an event from last year where had an outstanding run....bike is different...

C • Good luck! 2

easy ride to loosen legs and get in time....the run paths around LOI are underwater....used the Greenway also....

bike to run...

easy jog...to keep things moving...

Testing race wheels up and back on the Kenilworth trail...everything seemed ok....feel a bit stale but we will see how tomorrow goes....

bike to SLP track....

bike to run...

went straight to run intervals off the bike...did 4 400's to sharpen for my triathlon on Sunday......

4 x 400 w/ 2:00 walking recovery

1:57 136 AHR
1:51 139 AHR
1:49 146 AHR
1:50 146 AHR (HR from 111 to 165

3:58 recovery 400 walk 125 AHR

bike back home....

recovery run with Kari....

heavy x 17 twice

curls
mil press
pull ups
triceps
calves
quadpress

working on the AT.....duplicated a recent workout...4 x 250 on 5:30

warm up planned 3 x 100 on 2:30 but my google leaked on the first one so I went 50...did this for warm up

2 x 50 on 1:30

:43
:43

2 x 100 on 2:30

1:34
1:33

a bit sluggish...

2:26 recovery

main set 4 x 250 on 5:30

3:55
3:53
3:56
3:54

averaged 1:33.8/100 after averaging 1:36/100 last time....good progress in speed.

80F light winds

TNT Time trial once again....same course as last time and I decide to go out easier and not bury myself in the first half. No warm up besides biking to the start and we start out up the hill with a tail wind which helps me keep the effort down....A 71 year old guy starts :30 in front of me and he turns out to be a good rabbit.

I manage to pace it rather than go over the red line and the back half seems to go easier this time. I focused on staying smooth and controlled at a high effort instead of thrashing for speed which I felt I did last time.I chase the old guy and close up on the hills a bit but he is taller and heavier and gets me on the down hills. I hit the final hill and finally pass him as I dive down the long downhill to the finish and manage a 38:23 which is :37 faster than last time but not particularly fast.

This course doesn't run fast for whatever reason....avg 162 on the HR which is 3 beats lower than last time and I still went :37 faster.....

great workout. Got lots of intensity in the last two days but my body seems to be absorbing it better.

over to SLP High track trying to get it in before ran falls...

objective push the run AT up...

At the track at 3pm.....

82F 50% humidity 6 mph wind in face on the back stretch....

warm up:

4:45 800 132 AHR warm up pace
1:58 200 recovery walk 115 AHR
:59 200 122 AHR
1:57 200 recovery walk 116 AHR
1:03 200 120 AHR

3:00 stretch recovery AHR 104

Main set: 3 x 1600 at High AT pace w/3:00 walk recovery

8:21 152 AHR 162 at interval end
3:00 walk recovery 125 AHR
8:23 158 AHR 167 at interval end
3:00 walk recovery 132 AHR
8:21 162 AHR 174 at interval end

:30 recovery

4:16 400 walk recovery 126 AHR

comments: great workout and result...averaged :04/mile faster (with similar HR avg's) than workout from last year on 5/17 before I ran a quick 5K (for me) last year....also significantly faster (appx :30/mile faster than the last time I did this workout in similar weather conditions

C • Great intervals! 2

run to bike

bike back home....sprinkling rain...

back at with swimming....

2 x 200 on 5:00....trying to keep speeding up by working on Vo2max

warm up with:

3 x 100 on 2:30

1:33
1:33
1:34 google filled with water)

a bit sluggish...

2:36 rest

5 x 200 on 5:00

3:05
3:04
3:04
3:05
3:03

worked hard to get this...didn't feel as smooth as I would have liked....

avg 1:32.1/100..... .3/100 SLOWER than last time I did this workout.....the first time I lost ground this year. I guess I am getting close to my optimal speed given my current workout load

towing Syd to the playground and back and an errand.....

I fully admit I am not, and never was, the person who could complete 1/5 of this event...

but I love everything about it....

I love the attitude...the ridiculous of it...and how its stripped down to exactly what matters....

in a world that is now full of "mud run, color run, look at me!" faux toughness....this is the real deal.....

If endurance sports have a genuine punk rock band, this is it.....

...the middle and back of the pack weekend warriors have many events that they can suffer at....the Barkley allows the talented/elite "front of the pack" endurance athletes a chance to be broken....the world needs events like this...

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/372247/the-...

C • Barkley 1

my left knee is really sore after the distance yesterday...It hurts the most when I am stationary and sitting.....its going to take a long time to get rid of this I suspect but I think I can work through it without impacting performance.....brittle meniscus irritation surrounding soft tissue I suppose...

took advantage of a window of time to train...

ran to 1:15 and walked it in....long easy run that never seem to get easier...whats up with that?. I am in decent running shape with all the intervals and track work but running 6 miles straight is tough on the legs. It never seems to get better. maybe running long never will.

121 avg for the run....103 avg for the walk in...

mild Hopkins loop 138 HR avg....41:25 but likely lost 1:30 or so on crossings...

towing Syd up and back to bike races in Uptown....

very narrow slivers of time available to do any workouts this week (Kari leaving town and i have Syd)....one of the reasons I planned a rest week.....I will look for opportunities to do some recovery workouts.....

towing Sydney to the playground and back....got in a recovery workout.....

Time to take a break from intervals (bike and run) and allow consolidation of gains and hopefully allow my sore left knee some time off.

I haven't been able to time my ramp up and rest cycles the way I would want (due to work and family obligations) but hopefully it all comes together....

after the rest cycle I I will begin to do some specific race simulation intervals to bring it all together.

Objective: mild workout to break up all the intense intervals of late...decided on mile effort intervals with short recovery.....10 x 100...

6 x 50 on 1:30 for warm up

:44
:44
:44
:43
:43
:44

1:45 recovery

10 x 100 on 2:00 (mild effort)

1:37
1:41
1:38
1:39
1:38
1:39
1:39
1:39
1:39
1:40

I avg slightly over a second better on with a similar workout a month ago....keep it going...

one more hard workout before a rest/consolidation week.

objective: AT work on the bike....

11 minutes at 195 watts/ 3 min 100 watt recovery/ 11 minutes at 195 watts

this would be 5 additional watts from last time....here is how it went:

5:00 at 100 watts 92 HR avg

11:00 at 195 watts 134 HR avg (146 at interval end)
3:00 at 100 watts 133 HR avg
11:00 at 195 watts 142 HR avg (151 at interval end)

10:00 at 100 watts 116 HR avg

comments: HR was much lower than last time with 5 more watts/segment....I keep improving. This is a tough workout that feels exactly like what I need tor my upcoming TT efforts in triathlons. Muscular endurance that is needed for the bike leg. It feels tough at the start of the interval and I run right up to the line but never seem to go over so it allows me to keep turning the cranks without my legs flooding with Lactic and I manage to power through the segment.

easy up the greenway and back

Tow Syd in the Burley over to Open Streets and back....

was planning to do some AT work on the bike but my knee and legs were not up to it....decided on easy recovery ride....

bike to run

easy T/frequency run....very low HR...115-8 a interval end?

heavy x 15 twice

curls
mil press
pull ups
triceps

Easy warm up ride over to the SLP track.....

bike to run

16th interval session of the season....and I have avoided a significant injury. Not bad to do this much speed work and avoid a problem. I do have the sore left knee but I think I can work around that.

once again the classic 8 x 400 meters with 2:00 recovery (equal recovery)

warm up:

5:01 800 2 laps easy 128 HR avg
1:59 recovery walk 119 HR avg
1:03 200 starting easy and ramping up in speed the last 100 123 avg HR
1:58 200 walk recovery 119 HR avg
1:02 200 starting easy and ramping up in speed the last 100 124 avg HR
2:00 walk recovery 120 HR avg
:57 200 to dial in pace 128 HR avg
1:00 recovery walk 133 HR avg
:58 200 to dial in pace 130 HR avg

3:00 recovery 113 HR avg

main set: 8 x 400 w/ 2:00 recovery,

84 F but only 30% humidity partly cloudy light winds

1:53 138 avg HR...127 HR avg on recovery
1:51 144 avg HR...133 HR avg on recovery
1:49 148 avg HR...137 HR avg on recovery
1:49 150 avg HR...141 HR avg on recovery
1:50 153 avg HR...140 HR avg on recovery
1:50 153 avg HR...142 HR avg on recovery
1:50 157 avg HR...146 HR avg on recovery
1:47 161 avg HR (HR went from 130 to 177 on last interval)...busted it out a bit

8:21 800 walk recovery 129 avg HR

comments: yes this is progress...avg a little over a second faster per interval than last time. I am running my quarters very close to times I ran 5 years ago wen I ran 20:14....but I wish my AT/tempo mile times would come down more. I can work these quarters pretty well but I don't think I can hold 8 minutes/mile off the bike for 2.5 miles yet...I don't know how far I am going to get it down but I am going to keep working on it.

rn to bikeu

ride home after track workout

objective: push up the AT with the classic 2 segment tempo run with brief rest segment....

64-68F, light wind,direct sun 85% humidity

Decided to go to the track to get an exact read on pace and use the soft surface to help out with my sore left knee.

main set of 2 x 2000 meters w/ 3:00 rest recovery.

warm up:

800 in 5:02 127 AVG
3:00 rest/stretch

2000 in 10:54 (1600 split...8:46) 158 HR avg....
3:05 walk recovery HR down to 113...122 avg
2000 in 10:45 (1600 split...8:36) 155 HR avg (seems wrong....low) 166 HR at interval end

800 walk cool down 8:13

encouraging my pace was a bit better in the cooler weather....

but planning to run 8:00 flat off the bike for 2.5 miles may be a bit to much to expect....we will see what my workouts in the next few weeks seem to indicate....

BP, Ian...consider this....stunning Masters (swimming) Age grading news!!!!

The Facts:

In 1956 David Radcliffe at age 22 swam 19:09 for 1500 meters in the preliminary heats of the Olympics

In 2014 David Radcliffe at age 80 swam 22:16.for 1500 meters in Oregon at a masters swim meet this weekend


just let those numbers settle in.....

this means this Dude at age 80 has only lost 16.2 % of his speed at age 80 from when he was 22!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is an amazing set of data points....

if you figure you dont start dropping speed until age 40, that means he has only lost .405% of speed each year after 40..at total of only 16.2 % loss of speed...

THIS IS UNREAL!!!!!!!!!!!....This is starting to show how much we really loose to age as opposed to not training as hard, gaining weight, injuries interrupting training that tends to happen to aging athletes

Ian, BP....looks like we have some work to do...

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/Ma...

objective....longish intervals to improve my .25 mile speed....

the plan WAS a main set of 3x 3:00 on 7:30 (longish rest). But during the second 300 I decided to go for a 450 after such disappointment last time.....the results: after a mild start I ramped it up and did a 7:05.....:04 faster than my 450 from Sunday!....interesting.....without really preparing and deciding to swim the 450 during my planned 300 I was able to gain a respectable time.....I just need to find :05-:10 seconds more and going all out would likely get me close to 7 minutes at this moment.....

the workout went as follows

warm up with 3 x 100 on 2:30

1:32
1:33
1:33

recover 2:26

300 in 4:46
rest 2:43
450 in 7:05.27
rest 2:54
200 in 3:06 (hoping for 3:02-3 or so.....TT likely took it out of me)

easy spin on the tri bike for recovery and to get some saddle time on this bike.....

bike to run

easy transition/frequency run off the bike....

the quick report: another test, another fail.....

I was ready to go to it with my 450 yd (.25 mile) Time trial in the pool today....objective: test my fitness with my test and get a race pace swim in...

I was thinking I would very likely go sub 7 minutes and would have a chance of beating last years 6:55 and perhaps even lower....I thought wrong...

I touched out at 7:09.64...ouch!...give me an F +

the long story:

warmed up with 4 x 100 on 3:00...lots of rest but quick swimming to get myself use to the speed...

1:30
1:29
1:29
1:29

(seems I did them in line when I went 6:55 last year...so far, very good)

2:00 recovery

and then 3 x 50 on 1:30

:42
:43
:41

(nice, quick...ready to go for it....)

3:19 rest recovery and then go!

I had a women jump in my lane to split it which distracted me a bit (not a real excuse mind you...) and the first 100 was done in about 1:23/1:24 just like the last time....but I quickly became aware that the quick opening pace might have been to quick...I was struggling early and a bit sloppy and I touched the 200 in 2:58, still with hope.....but I was beginning to fall apart....the last 3 laps were a hold on a survive thing as I tasted some bile in mouth from the effort....it was ugly but I convinced myself to keep going and get to the finish....when I touched in 7:09 I was stunned that my times was so slow....the only consolation was that it was 7:15 10 workouts ago....

biorhythms off?
should not have drank the 3 beers the night before?
just not my day?

I am not sure....but I am sure this was at least 10 seconds off what I thought I could do with a good effort. Another failed test.

but its time to keep at it and hope this was a fluke....note to self: I have to cure myself of the "fly and die" strategy....

this was not a confidence booster...

frequency run for recovery..

15 min at 5.0 mph...HR @ 120 at 15 min...

light x 25 (moved up) twice

curls
mil press
pull ups
triceps
calves
quad curls