Training Week In Review : Week 23 (Heat, Humidity, and Hills)

This week was the toughest weekend training so far both in distance on the bike and temperatures on the entire weekend. I also am now feeling the compound effects of the past months of training, and the longer miles logged over the past couple of weeks. I'm staying positive and remaining focused on the goal: 35 days from now.

Lots of miles, Even More Heat

The long bike workout this week was a new distance milestone for me. Our plan was to ride the 31mi. loop three times and then add on 2 more miles at the end to hit the distance goal (which matched up perfectly with my time goal for the day) I was also excited to test out my new tires as I have finally worn out a set. We started out at 7am as the weather for the day was going to get hot really fast. The first loop started at 76° and felt pretty comfortable for late August. I wanted to focus on keeping the pace and effort level the same for each lap so my riding buddy for the day, Reiko, kept track of each lap while I recorded the total ride stats.

New tire for my

We were joined at the start by a couple of other riders, one of which is a multiple Ironman finisher who constantly shared his wisdom and tips during the first 17 miles. I was more than happy to listen and knew that his experience could help me along on my journey as well. I'm always grateful for those that share their knowledge and it speaks volumes about the type of people that have a passion for this sport. While we all at one point or another are competing against each other, that doesn't mean that we don't support each other along our journey and help out where we can. The remainder of the first loop passed quickly and we stopped back at the parking lot to refill our bottles.

We began the second lap with the temperatures rising to 85°. This lap felt really good. I got into a rhythm quick and this lap felt almost effortless (with the exception of a couple of hills). We stopped again at the cars and refilled bottles one last time before heading out on the third and final lap. By now the sun was beating down and it was 92°. The other condition that changed for the worse was the wind. We felt no wind on the first two laps, but it was a pretty strong headwind this time out. I noticed that I was drinking a bit more than I had on the past two loops and continued to do so to combat the heat. After a couple of quick back and forth trips on the main road,  my Garmin read 95mi and we were done for the day. I took stock of my hydration and realized I had gone through six 24oz. bottles of Infinit Nutrtition. I was glad I was conscious enough to drink more than normal because it was 97° by the time we finished. My legs actually felt pretty good. I have no doubts now that I will complete the bike portion of the race and still have some juice in my legs to take on the run. (as long as I pace myself) Garmin bike track: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/572018514

More Heat, Humidity, and Lots of Hills

I changed up my Sunday training run with a half marathon in downtown Atlanta. The Hotlanta Half Marathon, in its inaugural year, lived up to its name. The race started at 7:30am and it was already 81° at the sound of the starting gun. I wasn't 100% sure of my strategy for pacing, but I knew I was going to walk for 30-45 seconds every other aid station (roughly every 2 miles). I met up before the race with a fellow North GA Tri Club member and we chatted for a bit about our training and expectations for the day. It's really cool meeting complete strangers and knowing that you have a common interest that allows you to become friends almost immediately. I started out with my run training partner at a solid 9:00/mi pace but soon found myself running a little faster by the time I passed the mile 1 marker. I felt very good considering I had ridden 95mi the day before. The first 4 miles passed pretty quickly and only contained 1 hill that made us slow down a little. By this time I was already drenched with sweat from the high humidity. We entered the beltway stretch of the run course and this section was great. It was flat and shaded so I know we definitely stepped up the pace again for the next 2 miles.

We could feel the temperatures rising as we returned to the street and headed into Piedmont Park. We made good time through the park until we approached the hill the climbed up out of the park and back onto the main roads. This hill was no joke. It was just before mile 8 and was fairly steep. We made it to the top of the hill and took our scheduled walk break at the aid station before leaving the park behind and continuing along the route towards the finish line.

The next 4 miles was almost all uphill with every climb seeming to last longer than the previous one. I left my running partner around mile 8.5 and continued to push up the hills. I was wondering when my legs would start to feel these repeated climbs and that question was answered just after mile 10. I reacted differently this time than I have in past races. I shifted my focus to the buildings and runners around me and something interesting happened. I stopped feeling the fatigue in my legs and started realizing that I was a mere 5K from the finish line. This change in my focus allowed me to keep the pace steady and I rolled through the aid station at mile 11 grabbing a couple of quick sips of water before pressing on. I reached the mile 12 aid station (which was really more like 12.45 mi), downed a cup of Nuun hydration drink, and picked up the pace. There was a spectator at the top of a slight rise that cheered us on and told us that there was a long downhill stretch followed by a left turn towards the finish line. I knew I was close so I bolted downhill and made the left turn towards the finish line. I was a bit discouraged at what I saw when I made the turn as I did see the finish line about .25 miles ahead.
The discouraging part was that it was at the top of a fairly steep hill. I decided that didn't matter, told my legs to shut up, and pushed harder. I passed a couple of people climbing the hill and crossed the finish line with a time of 1:52:09. That was about 7-8 minutes ahead of the time I thought I would finish so I was nothing but pleased with the results.

We enjoyed a post-race breakfast at the OK Cafe where I ate a ridiculous amount of buttermilk pancakes topped with apples and pecans, and then went home to rest/recover for the rest of the day. Garmin run track: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/572828861

I have one more big week of training and then it's into tapering for the race. I've really enjoyed the journey so far, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ready for race day to get here. Only 5 weeks to go!

Weekly Totals: Swim - 5000m • Bike - 135.65mi • Run - 24.15mi