Training Week in Review: Week 20

2 Months To Go...

I saw numerous posts this week with countdown clocks to race day for Ironman Chattanooga and this weekend they were just about to the 60 day mark. I must admit that this seems like its too close and I won't be ready in time, but I know that's just my mind going into overdrive, as it often does, when contemplating race day. I'm excited that the day is approaching and I can't wait to have the opportunity to put the past few months of training to work!

This week was a difficult one for me to get in my workouts as it is crunch time at work and I had to go to several events this week which conflicted with my normal early morning workouts. Monday was no problem as it was rest day (my favorite day of the week now), but I had to skip Tuesday's workouts and add them on to the other days of the week. I got in most of them, but I came up a little short on the swim this week. If I'm going to come up short in workouts then the swim is where I feel most comfortable slipping a bit. I managed a short run very early Wednesday morning (5:15am) and got in my full hour on the bike and 45 minute swim on Thursday. Friday was another 45 min. run and Friday night I crashed into bed early to prepare for the long weekend of training.

The Long Bike

Got to stay hydrated!

I had ambitions of making up extra distance/time on Saturday's long bike ride since I had missed the previous weekend. Those ambitions didn't translate into success, but I still put in 4 hours on the bike and pedaled out 61 miles. My plan was to ride the 31 mi. route twice so I could get in some practice with repetitive loops like I will encounter in Chattanooga and the 19 mile route to finish the day. My first loop I tagged along with various groups until it ended up just being me and another cyclist named Megan. She was part of the Team in Training and is working towards her second half ironman in Augusta in late September. There were lots of animals out and about and I had my first ever experience of someone yelling out "cat" as a warning for an upcoming hazard. It was a small cat, but it just walked across the middle of the road unfazed and unimpressed by our presence. We were also yelled at by a donkey and I saw a couple of deer running back into the woods as we approached. Megan and I chatted about past races and how training was progressing this year as we steadily pedaled along. Before I knew it we were back on the main road headed to the end of her ride and the start of my second loop for the day. My pace was a bit slow on the first loop compared to where I have been so I decided to push the pace on my second loop. This was a mistake. I managed to shave off 12 minutes between my first and second loop, but it took its toll. Steady pacing is going to be essential for me to succeed in Chattanooga so I need to remember that even if I'm a bit behind my target pace, I need to stay steady and not try and make up time as it will cost me more in the end. I was supposed to go back out and ride the 19 mi. route to finish the day at 80 miles, but I decided to turn back to the parking lot and call it a day. I took a quick break at Sosbee Cycling park for a bathroom stop and then was on my way back to the car.  I was a little disappointed in myself for not pushing through, but I'm not going to linger on that too long as I know I have to keep moving forward after each training session if I'm going to be successful on race day. The great news was that I have definitely found the right saddle as my 2nd ride on the Cobb V-Flow Max proved to be much more comfortable that any others I have tried. Time to go to All3Sports this next week and trade in the test saddle for the real thing.
Garmin track for the bike: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/550625096

The Long Run

Sunday morning's run was going to be incredibly tough. Or so I thought. I had 3 hours on schedule and after the way I felt last Sunday on the long run, I was expecting to really have to dig deep for this one. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. It was a piece of cake mind you, but I did find that I didn't feel as tired or feel the urge to take an extra walk during the final few miles. We were headed to the parking lot (aka the finish line for the day's run) and when we got there my Garmin said we had run 18.37 miles. That wasn't good enough for me. I hate ending on odd intervals so I shouted back to my running partner, "Come on! I want 18.5!" He agreed and we made a couple of extra twists and turn through the parking lot to hit the mark. I haven't run that distance since my first marathon last November and I didn't feel this good during the marathon by a long shot. Training for this race has really taken my endurance to a new level which has, in turn, taken my confidence to a new level as well. Garmin track for the run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/550625139

Weekly Totals: Swim - 3500m • Bike - 79mi • Run - 28.34mi

Training Week In Review: Week 19 (aka Mother Nature Calls An Audible)

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

This week was been a test against mother nature. I managed to complete all of my weekday workouts without encountering too much resistance from the skies. That story didn't hold true for the weekend. I woke up Saturday morning to what normally I would describe as the peaceful sounds of drizzling rain.
To a triathlete in training, this sound isn't so peaceful. It's more like fingernails scraping along a chalkboard as it brings the choice to either suffer through a long, wet training session or forgo your workout all together and attempt to make it up later.

The Long Bike

I had made my game plan earlier in the week that my long ride would consist of riding the 31 mile route with my training partner and then go back out to the same loop again, and then finishing with a shorter 19 mile route to bring my total ride to around 80 miles (or around 4 hrs.30 mins.) This would have been a new distance milestone for me so I was relatively excited about the possibilities on this ride. Unfortunately, those will have to wait until next weekend as the forecast didn't waver. It called for rain. Hard rain. All day long. I'm all for toughening up and gutting it out in less than ideal conditions, but I also know that wrecking on the bike due to rain and slick roads at this point in my training would be disastrous. I decided that letting my body (and mind) rest for an entire day wasn't a bad thing and spent the day relaxing, recharging, and focused on my long run the following morning.

The Long Run

Sunday morning arrived and I awoke with an unexpected feeling as I pulled myself out of bed to get ready for my 2 hr. 45 min. run. It was zero motivation. It's been a long time since I have not looked forward to a challenge or workout but that was the only way to describe my frame of mind that morning. I knew I couldn't skip this one too and the rain wasn't supposed to return until later in the day so I got my gear and headed to meet my running partner and get some work done. In order to get in the time I needed without having to do too many small loops we changed our route up a little which proved to be a good thing. When we were in the "middle" of our normal loop section we were in reality 5 miles further into the total run since we took a slight detour near the beginning to extend the route.
The run for the most part was uneventful. I continued to practice my walking for 45-60 seconds each mile and it seems to still be the best game plan to help me conserve energy and stay strong on the run. The only thing that was different this week from last week on the long run was how I felt at the end. My legs felt tired despite running a slightly slower pace overall from the previous week. I wasn't alarmed at this because I've come to realize that when I run long having rested the day before my muscles feel tired more easily than if I had spent some time on the bike the day before. Not sure why this is the case, but it has held true over the past few weeks.

Total Weekly Distance: Swim - 6000m • Bike - 22 mi • Run 21.85

Training Week in Review: Week 18

The week of being a Zombie... (without the eating brains part of course)

I was wondering when the feeling I've heard so many others describe would be arriving at my doorstep during this journey to Ironman. The wait is over. I felt like a Zombie this week.

No matter how many naps I got in, how early I went to bed, or how much coffee I drank (or contemplated an IV of pure caffeine) I couldn't seem to find my energy this week. It wasn't focused on just one discipline either. Whether I was swimming, biking, running, or working everything just felt twice as hard. I'm sure others have hit patches in their training like this but I really hope it moves on out after this week. Cause I'm too excited at the thought of my goal to feel this way during the process of getting there. I had great workouts by the numbers, but I didn't have the energy I've been used to feeling after they were complete. I knocked out my long bike on Saturday (69 mi) at a faster pace than ever at that distance (17.25 mph) and my long run was longer than I expected (16 mi) because my run pace was faster than planned (9:20/mi avg). In both of these sessions I felt good during the work part, but afterwards I wanted nothing more than to sleep. Not nap. Sleep.

I'm sure that this feeling is a combination of things that will work itself out in the coming days, but I hope I don't hit anymore training weeks like this as I'm not a fan of the tired, Zombie-like state I was in for most of the week. Most of the training for this week all blended together, but there are 3 that I want to talk about in a little detail.

The Long Bike...

On the plus side, I tried out a new saddle that Josh Wigley from All3Sports hooked me up with for a test ride. It was the Cobb V-Flow Max Tri Saddle and it felt pretty good throughout the entire ride. I was still a little sore from my ride last weekend so I'll give it another long weekend ride to make sure this is the one for me, but things look promising in that department. I also got a small adjustment on the aero bars while getting the new saddle put on and noticed an instant difference. Apparently I was reaching too far forward before which would explain why I felt very unstable when trying out the aero bars. This adjustment pulled everything in a little closer and at the end of my Saturday ride I decided to force myself to do some work and start getting down in aero position. (Disclaimer: this may be a natural change for lots of people, but for me having sketchy balance to begin with it is not a position that I feel comfortable or transition easily into) I hope to get into aero riding position more on my next ride and start reaping the benefits of less drag and more efficient riding.

The Long Run...

My long run continues to progress steadily as I added 2 miles from last weeks distance run. Since I'm walking 45 seconds at every mile I've noticed that my pace in between is getting a little faster. I'm still within my heart rate zones, but I have to make a mental note to not get in the habit of increasing the speed in between too much as I want to simulate the Ironman run portion as much as possible in training leading up to race day. (and believe me, I won't be running a 9:00 pace on race day). I did feel fatigue in my legs earlier than last week, but that is only because I biked Saturday and ran Sunday whereas last week those workout days were reversed. I also noticed that I drank almost my entire bottle during the run so next week I'll have to have a spare bottle in the car to pick up after the first loop. Glad to find that I'm drinking more as I usually forget to drink enough as I rarely feel the urge to drink. I know that failing to drink as often as I should will spell disaster on race day.

The Long Swim...

My other session of note for the week was my long swim on Friday. I was supposed to swim for 1 hour and when I saw that my time goal was reached, but I was still a couple hundred meters short of 4,000m so I pressed on a little longer and hit the 4,000m mark. It felt good to go distance on the swim, but I'll be much happier swimming that long in open water vs. the monotonous laps in the pool.

Weekly Totals: Swim - 7000m • Bike - 104.5 • Run - 21.26mi

Training Week In Review: Week 17

Making Strides In Mental Training

In this week's review I'd like to focus mainly on 2 training sessions: My long run and my second ride on the IM Chattanooga bike course. First up, the run.

Perfect weather for a long run!

Just Keep Putting One Foot In Front Of The Other...

I was presented the rare opportunity to run outdoors, in july, in nice cool temperatures on Saturday morning. My usual running compadres were both out of town so I decided it was time to toughen up and get some mental training in by doing a long solo run. It's been a very long time since I've run more than 3-4 miles unaccompanied, but I knew that I would feel (and most likely be) alone for at least some parts of the run on race day. I also wanted to employ my tactic of running a mile at a time and walking for 45 seconds to a minute at each mile. This strategy is what I feel will make for a more pleasant run after the 2.4 swim and 112 mi bike. Up until now I've been stopping for a brief walk every 3 miles, but as the distances increase I know that practicing my race day strategy as much as I can will pay off big time in the end. I also needed to see how I would handle additional nutrition on the run as I was drinking every mile as opposed to every 3. The results? It couldn't have gone better for the entire 2 hours and 15 minutes. With each passing mile I felt no difference from when I started. The nutrition sustained me through each step and my pace was right on target at 9:31 per mile. The route I ran consisted of a 12 mi loop with a smaller 2 mi loop tacked on at the end. The 2 mi loop is worth mentioning as it contained the longest/steepest hill of the entire route. I must admit I was proud for pushing myself to climb it at the end of the run as it would have been just as easy to have turned a different direction and finish on much flatter terrain. My elevation on the Garmin is still experiencing issues so I recorded the elevation on my iPhone. Here's the Garmin track for my run(with elevation manually added in):
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/534879163

Chattanooga Bike Course Recon Ride, Take 2...

Photo courtesy of Ed Rusk.

On Sunday I made the short drive North to meet up with a group of North GA Tri Club folks and get my second taste of the bike course. I expected this rider to feel harder since I had completed my long run less than 24 hours prior. I also wanted to use this opportunity to experiment with gears/pace and see what my limits were so I could settle in on my target pace for race day. The ride went great! I was surprised at how much of the course I remembered from my first ride. Though I will say that I forgot how rough the roads were until you hit the loop section of the course. I predict that there will be lots of bottles scattered on the side of the roads during that first 11 mile stretch out of transition. Luckily I had mine secured with rubber bands to ensure that they stayed put throughout the ride. We took a little faster pace at the start than my last trip out, but I was prepared to push things a little bit and see what happened. The group started out with about 20 riders and quickly broke into 3-4 groups. The speed demons (not my group), the slightly slower speed demons (not my group either), the average pacers (definitely my group), and the 2 loopers who were doing the loop twice. I was happy to stay in the group I knew I could hang with and keeping a steady pace really made the ride enjoyable. Since it was my second experience on the course I took the time to look around a little more at the landscape this time. What I found was that this route is loaded with natural beauty. I noticed a field packed with tall sunflowers and several instances of mountains in the background that I somehow missed the first time around. I hope to be able to enjoy the same sights on race day and not be so focused on the task at hand that I forget to enjoy where I am and what I see.

My legs felt the course a little earlier than last time, but I expected that due to the run on Saturday. It wasn't bad and I never encountered a moment where I felt the need to stop for a break (for my legs anyway). We stopped at a little gas station on the south side of Downtown Chickamauga to refill water and take advantage of their restroom. After a short break we got back to pedaling and were nearing the end of the day's ride. The last few miles went faster than I remember and before I knew it we were making the final turn back into the Bi-Lo parking lot. When I looked at my Garmin to see what the day's effort resulted in I was surprised to see an average speed of 17.2 mph. That's a good difference from my 16.7 mph average my first time out. I don't think I'll be pushing that pace on race day in order to save my legs for the run, but it was nice to know that maintain that speed for 60 miles didn't drain my legs like I thought it would. I came out of this second ride with more confidence and optimism for the bike portion of the race and can't wait to return and ride it again. Here's the Garmin track for the bike course (again with elevation manually added in):
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/535916753

Weekly Totals: Swim - 3500m • Bike - 98.26mi • Run - 20.91

Training Week In Review: Week 16

Shifting focus for the week

This week I determined that I needed to move my focus slightly off distances for the bike and turn my attention to the swim and run. I feel that I have been devoting most of my energy to reaching new distances on the bike and building endurance and power in my cycling muscles, and don't want to neglect the swim and run. Even though the bike takes the longest portion of time on race day, the swim still has to be done and the run needs to be completed without suffering too early on.

To help this, I decided to add an extra swim into my training week, forget about speed, and just do a couple of 1000 meter sets at a comfortable, easy pace. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my pace was only a couple of seconds slower than my focused sessions! I am looking to move more of my swims to open water over the next couple of weeks as I definitely want to gain more sighting experience and escape the monotony of the cement pond.

In the running department, this week was already slated to be a higher distance week on my training calendar so this lined up nicely with my goals for the week. I got in 4 runs, and my distance run was at a faster pace that I've done in a long time for any run over 6 miles. My heart rate monitor started acting up on my long run (12 miles) with about 3 miles left on the run. I knew something was off when I was pushing up the last long hill, glanced down at my Garmin and saw my heart rate at 64 bpm. I could easily feel that it was higher than that so now I need to figure out if the error was related to the monitor itself (maybe need to replace batteries?) or something else I haven't thought of. I'm more inclined to think its the battery because it's worked perfectly up until now. I'll have to investigate and get this solved quickly so I can get back on track with my zone training.

I pumped out a short(er) ride/run brick on Saturday and was extremely happy with how I felt on the run after holding 17.1 mph average for 31 miles. This was my first opportunity to test out my new saddle. I'm trying to find the perfect balance of comfort for long rides, and this is my first attempt with a new saddle. I decided to go with the ISM Adamo Road saddle for my first test. Over all it was better, but not great. It relieved all pressure and discomfort I've been experiencing over the past few weeks, but only while I am in the drops or aero position. When I sit up and place my hands on the hoods to stretch it still is very uncomfortable. I think it's time to consult my friends at All 3 Sports to find out which saddle to try next. I definitely feel that finding the right saddle will go a long way towards better training and a happier race day as 112mi on the bike will be challenging enough without the added discomfort of pain in all the wrong places.

It's been extremely humid this week and the increase sweating and wet air have been felt in the outdoor training sessions in the first few minutes whether early in the morning or on evening sessions. Looking forward to next week's training and I know will have to stay focused on nutrition over the 4th of July holiday weekend. I am pleased with the way I've kept dialed in on my eating so far and am starting to see more results from the nutrition combined with the longer workouts.

My final note for this week's training recap is that my Garmin Forerunner 910xt has apparently been attacked by technology gremlins causing it to malfunction in the elevation recording. For my runs and rides it reports that I have experienced 0 ft. of elevation gain and over 38,000 ft. of elevation loss. I've tried cleaning the sensor on the back of the watch to no avail. So, I've taken the next step and reached out to Garmin customer service to see what they can do to help me. I've read about a lot of people having this issue with a certain batch of watches and for the most part Garmin seems to be very helpful in replacing the watch with no additional cost other than shipping to send the old watch back. Here's hoping for a fast (and cheap) resolution so I can stay on track.

Weekly totals: Swim - 5000m • Bike - 75mi • Run - 26.7mi