RUN: 8.1 miles in 70 mins
BIKE: 22.1 miles in 80 mins, 1x30 and 1x20 mins at 115-120bpm
As I was preparing for the run, I started wondering at what point I had to reel myself in and rest. A tendon or something in the bottom of my right foot hurt, my right "stablizing" muscles hurt, and my legs were lacking zip. At what point does the balance tip into injury and burnout from improvement and healthy stress? I'm not yet there, apparently.
The session was 2 sets of a descending distance ladder, to be done at 88-92% effort, with 200 rest in between. No HR data today, DH was in the bathroom where the HRM was!:
1000: 6:46m/m 4:48 0.71mi
600: 6:36m/m 2:46 0.42mi
800: 6:26m/m 3:38 0.56mi
200: 6:18m/m 0:50 0.13mi
The second set of intervals should be the same if not faster, after an 800 rest:
1000: 6:17m/m 4:30 0.72mi
600: 6:27m/m 2:41 0.42mi
800: 7:01 m/m 3:36 0.51mi*
200: 6:31m/m 0:54 0.12mi*
I knew in the warm-up that my legs were like dead weight. I took an extra lap to see if some straight-section spin-ups would help...not really. Again I started wondering at what point I take this all too far? What if I stumble on the track and fall? What if an ankle or knee mis-steps and gets torn up? I'm not that far in real fatigue just yet, I guess.
The first 1000 seemed flat and uninspired, but I did fairly well with it. The 200 rest intervals gave me just enough time to recover. The difference between 1000 and 600 seemed huge, and heck an 800 was only 200 more than the 600 I just did, and only a 200? This was a pleasant mental workout as well.
IT joined me starting around the 1st set 600 or 800. He was running faster so I had a rabbit to catch. That might explain the improved times on the subsequent intervals :)
*I ran the last 2 intervals in the counter-clockwise direction, being more careful to stop the garmin at the right point. I think in previous sessions I was stopping it too early and thus making the data look messed up.
In the end I was wiped out, drenched in sweat, and hungry. But I still had a bike ride! So a slow run up the hill to home, hop on the trainer to get the steady intervals, and get in what I can of a 2x30min 75% session. I didn't get it all, but I got a majority.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Day off but still dreamed about triathlon
I haven't been sleeping well lately. I don't fall asleep until late, then I don't sleep through the night. This happens when training hours get high. 16-17hrs last week--yeah, training hours aren't peaked but they are getting high.
The dream was that I had signed up for another ironman before Redman. I think it was Ironman Washington, LOL, least I could do is dream about a real race!
DH and I were there, and we were getting ready for the swim. I realized standing there that I still had my sunglasses on--these are supposed to be in transition, I said! DH grabs them and runs off to put them on the bike and I ran after trying to stop him, I didn't want to be DQ'd for outside assistance. He was soon gone and I was lost. I soon realized I also had my helmet with me! And I hadn't put fuel or water on the bike that morning either! I wandered a bit, lost, unsure, then came back to the swim venue, which was a small quarry pool with swimmers doing a swirl-circle pattern swim.
I didn't want to quit! But I did! I just gave up, and in my head started coming up with all the reasons it was OK for me to quit.
Soooo happy when I woke up.
The dream was that I had signed up for another ironman before Redman. I think it was Ironman Washington, LOL, least I could do is dream about a real race!
DH and I were there, and we were getting ready for the swim. I realized standing there that I still had my sunglasses on--these are supposed to be in transition, I said! DH grabs them and runs off to put them on the bike and I ran after trying to stop him, I didn't want to be DQ'd for outside assistance. He was soon gone and I was lost. I soon realized I also had my helmet with me! And I hadn't put fuel or water on the bike that morning either! I wandered a bit, lost, unsure, then came back to the swim venue, which was a small quarry pool with swimmers doing a swirl-circle pattern swim.
I didn't want to quit! But I did! I just gave up, and in my head started coming up with all the reasons it was OK for me to quit.
Soooo happy when I woke up.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
The Calhoun County "Century"
BIKE: 90 miles in 6hrs. Hills, Hills, and Hills.
Again, as with the trail run yesterday, it depended on whose garmin you asked to get the distance. LC and BG had 91, I had 89. 90 sounds good enough. 90 it is.
The plan was for a century, and although we didn't hit the distance technically we sure did cover some miles. It was somewhat of a late start at 820 but it was a long drive up. I also got to meet again the other club member doing redman full. We started on some trail, crossed the river on the ferry (Frea's 1st!), and immediately found some great road in Calhoun. These miles were mostly flat, surrounded by fields, light winds, sunshine, great company. What an awesome weekend I'm having! :)
Quick break in Brussels, then off. Our group split up fast, and suddenly it was just LC, BG, BS, and CT with me. We nearly missed our first turn (and I think the rest of the group ahead of us did too--we never saw them again) and thankfully we found it. It was the best hill of the day!
Best hill because it was the worst. Ugh. WOW. We ended up walking! LC and I got part way up before stopping on a false flat. It was so steep we couldn't get rolling again. WOW.
The short route peeps split off soon enough and it was just the 3 of us. Turns out the plan of the day was to ride the vertical roads which were mostly flat and find hills by crossing the bluffs and hills in the middle of the peninsula. One road was along the IL River, the other along the MS River. So every time we turned off the River Roads, we had a climb. And a descent. And you know me, I'd rather be climbing. Lung busting climbs, brief respite at the top, then a white knuckle descent. Flat river road, do it again.
The day was beautiful. Occasionally we'd hit the top of the hills and get a view of the river valley and trees. The sun came out eventually and it heated up. Once this happened, we needed cool water. The first town we were to hit was at mile 52, and due to little errors were were 6-8 miles off that. So when we hit Hardin for our first stop we needed everything. In that 30 mins, I had a Kind bar, some cashews, and some of the S-bucks Double Shot LC and I got earlier. I was saving it for the halfway point, even though it was warm it was still caffeinated, right?! It was OK, it did wake me up but didn't taste great. Good to try it, maybe I'd like another flavor and at least now I know I can drink this if needed.
When we set off again, I was much better off. My energy was OK before, but I was losing interest. I needed to eat! We had decided to shorten the route so LC could get home on time. But really, 90 miles is a damned fine ride and with all those hills and the time it took--this was sssoooooo close!
We need to come back and Conquer!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Looooong trail run. And turtles "doin' it"
RUN: 4hrs and 20 mins in Castlewood.
We've been needing rain for weeks, if not months. So no one was complaining when we woke up to rain, lightning, and thunder. YAY! At least we weren't riding today. Running in the rain is great in my book :)
I'd set a start time of 6am, knowing the sun would come up right then. To do this, I'd need to be up around 430 to leave by 520. Messing up this plan--I slept in! My didn't wake up til 5am. NUTS! I rush out the door with my new Camelbak, some dried apples, dates, and a few gels.
On the drive out, I wonder if the park is open--when I arrive at the park the sun still isn't up. Thunder and lightning still everywhere, but the rain coming and going. I'm running late and in a bit of a hurry, so when I see a fallen branch blocking the road to the park the frustration is starting. It's dark, I have the high beams on, I'm alone on the road...I've seen this movie...
I get a text from TH asking if I know that the park doesn't open until 7am. LOL. Nope! She and another runner (BS) are at another park entrance. I give LC a heads-up, then find the alternate route. We warmed up with 2.5 miles or so on the road waiting for 7am and LC. Once situated in a parking lot and all ready to go, finally we set off.
The rain was light for the most part, at some times it got heavy. But I loved it. The humidity was super-thick, the greens were lush, the trail muddy, the creek full, the company wonderful. We logged miles full of conversation and rain.
One thing I love about trail running is the rugged feel, the strength it requires, the almost raw feeling. Running on a road is boring in comparison. This is fast up, down, turn, up, turn, down, more. A hill, a tree, a creek. LOVE IT.
While on the Grotpeter trail we see 2 turtles in the middle of the trail. TH summed it up best: "they're doin' it". LOL So Beavis and Butthead.
For fueling I alternated real food with sport food: apples, gel, dates, chomps, etc. I was testing to see if this method allowed my tummy time to digest the real food in what would be double the interval by using the sport food in between. It seemed to work. The foods were easy to grab from the Camelback vest.
LC and BS were with us for 13 or so miles (it depended on whose Garmin you consulted, mine said 12 while BS's said 13). They were done, it was BS's longest trail run and LC's first in many years. A morning of great accomplishments.
But TH and I had more planned. So we continued on. By now the rain was done, but not the humidity. Ugh, it was like swimming.
Things rolled along smoothly. I rolled my right ankle once but no apparent damage. The mud was wearing on my hip muscles, my soles were sore from the rocky surfaces, and my Camelbak was empty! (this was a good thing considering that in the beginning of the run I had trouble getting it to work!). I was ready for the run to end, but I did want to hit goal: 20 miles.
It took some bad math and a road out-n-back to do it, but we made it to 20. And considering the garmin inaccuracy in hills, we probably ran at least 20.
I felt great afterwards. Thirsty, hungry, wet, but great. I also had some chafing over my shoulders from the water pack. I really felt the weight in the beginning and I could also feel the pressure on my shoulder/neck muscles. It got better as the pack got lighter. But when I got home, I had some marks on my neck and sore muscles there. This will take some getting used to. Good time to start!
We've been needing rain for weeks, if not months. So no one was complaining when we woke up to rain, lightning, and thunder. YAY! At least we weren't riding today. Running in the rain is great in my book :)
I'd set a start time of 6am, knowing the sun would come up right then. To do this, I'd need to be up around 430 to leave by 520. Messing up this plan--I slept in! My didn't wake up til 5am. NUTS! I rush out the door with my new Camelbak, some dried apples, dates, and a few gels.
On the drive out, I wonder if the park is open--when I arrive at the park the sun still isn't up. Thunder and lightning still everywhere, but the rain coming and going. I'm running late and in a bit of a hurry, so when I see a fallen branch blocking the road to the park the frustration is starting. It's dark, I have the high beams on, I'm alone on the road...I've seen this movie...
I get a text from TH asking if I know that the park doesn't open until 7am. LOL. Nope! She and another runner (BS) are at another park entrance. I give LC a heads-up, then find the alternate route. We warmed up with 2.5 miles or so on the road waiting for 7am and LC. Once situated in a parking lot and all ready to go, finally we set off.
The rain was light for the most part, at some times it got heavy. But I loved it. The humidity was super-thick, the greens were lush, the trail muddy, the creek full, the company wonderful. We logged miles full of conversation and rain.
One thing I love about trail running is the rugged feel, the strength it requires, the almost raw feeling. Running on a road is boring in comparison. This is fast up, down, turn, up, turn, down, more. A hill, a tree, a creek. LOVE IT.
While on the Grotpeter trail we see 2 turtles in the middle of the trail. TH summed it up best: "they're doin' it". LOL So Beavis and Butthead.
For fueling I alternated real food with sport food: apples, gel, dates, chomps, etc. I was testing to see if this method allowed my tummy time to digest the real food in what would be double the interval by using the sport food in between. It seemed to work. The foods were easy to grab from the Camelback vest.
LC and BS were with us for 13 or so miles (it depended on whose Garmin you consulted, mine said 12 while BS's said 13). They were done, it was BS's longest trail run and LC's first in many years. A morning of great accomplishments.
But TH and I had more planned. So we continued on. By now the rain was done, but not the humidity. Ugh, it was like swimming.
Things rolled along smoothly. I rolled my right ankle once but no apparent damage. The mud was wearing on my hip muscles, my soles were sore from the rocky surfaces, and my Camelbak was empty! (this was a good thing considering that in the beginning of the run I had trouble getting it to work!). I was ready for the run to end, but I did want to hit goal: 20 miles.
It took some bad math and a road out-n-back to do it, but we made it to 20. And considering the garmin inaccuracy in hills, we probably ran at least 20.
I felt great afterwards. Thirsty, hungry, wet, but great. I also had some chafing over my shoulders from the water pack. I really felt the weight in the beginning and I could also feel the pressure on my shoulder/neck muscles. It got better as the pack got lighter. But when I got home, I had some marks on my neck and sore muscles there. This will take some getting used to. Good time to start!
Friday, August 3, 2012
IM distance swim
SWIM: 4250 in 90 mins? I didn't track overall time but I did get the intervals.
3x600 descending 75%, 80%, and 85%
#1 in 12:46 (2:07) this was a comfy pace, just above "go all day like this"
#2 in 12:28 (2:04)
#3 in 12:16 (2:02) this was a pushing pace but not sprinting
I lose so much time at the turns. I take them carefully so I don't injury or pop an ankle. This is apparently my excuse as to why I'm not faster?!?
The original plan was to just get in the missed swim from Wednesday, a 3300y 3x600. But I was feeling good and just kept going! Lot of the cool down was kicking to rebuild ankle strength and kick ability along with pulling to work on breath control and bilateral breathing.
My lazy butt kept thinking about pulling the 600's. I knew that if I pulled the first one, I'd want to pull the 3rd one in an alternating pattern. So 'no' to that. I knew I couldn't compare times between #1 and #2 if I pulled the 2nd one, so 'no' to pulling the second set. Then in the middle of the second set, I was trying to decide about the 3rd set when I realized that Redman has a possibility of being non-wetsuit! If that is the case, then pulling won't help me here. So I'm happy to report that I did NO PULLING in the intervals!! :)
I also realized in that 2nd set that while I don't always have to Decide on an upcoming set at that particular moment, I can Resolve and make well-intended Plans for the next set. It's sort of like deciding, but it's hard to decide something about the next 600y when you're at the 300y point of the current set for some reason...not sure I'm making sense.
4224y is 2.4 miles, yahoo! Keep it going!
3x600 descending 75%, 80%, and 85%
#1 in 12:46 (2:07) this was a comfy pace, just above "go all day like this"
#2 in 12:28 (2:04)
#3 in 12:16 (2:02) this was a pushing pace but not sprinting
I lose so much time at the turns. I take them carefully so I don't injury or pop an ankle. This is apparently my excuse as to why I'm not faster?!?
The original plan was to just get in the missed swim from Wednesday, a 3300y 3x600. But I was feeling good and just kept going! Lot of the cool down was kicking to rebuild ankle strength and kick ability along with pulling to work on breath control and bilateral breathing.
My lazy butt kept thinking about pulling the 600's. I knew that if I pulled the first one, I'd want to pull the 3rd one in an alternating pattern. So 'no' to that. I knew I couldn't compare times between #1 and #2 if I pulled the 2nd one, so 'no' to pulling the second set. Then in the middle of the second set, I was trying to decide about the 3rd set when I realized that Redman has a possibility of being non-wetsuit! If that is the case, then pulling won't help me here. So I'm happy to report that I did NO PULLING in the intervals!! :)
I also realized in that 2nd set that while I don't always have to Decide on an upcoming set at that particular moment, I can Resolve and make well-intended Plans for the next set. It's sort of like deciding, but it's hard to decide something about the next 600y when you're at the 300y point of the current set for some reason...not sure I'm making sense.
4224y is 2.4 miles, yahoo! Keep it going!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
August 2nd full moon
BIKE: 22.1 miles in 80 mins, 4x7 mins HARD
Ah the Ironman Fatigue Syndrome. It's coming back. Today's run was great, I was surprised at the leg I had for it. But it started with a gorgeous full moon (not well captured by the phone...), nice weather, and great friends.
The bike was indoors as that was the only way to hit the intervals. I aimed for 125+ bpm and the shorter 7 min intervals were easier to focus on than Tuesday's 20 min ones.
I'm tired again, no surprise there. My mind is foggy, my muscles clumsy and soft. I feel "raw", like every bone and tendon and muscle are exposed. I can feel my core muscles and back muscles engaging when I move.
On top of that, I have a headache probably from dehydration, and my I'm so hungry I'm sick again. I think I'm eating too many carbs and just setting myself up for problems later in the day. I need a solid, quality recovery meal plan to carry me through. And some water!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Aborted swim at South Sh!tty pool
SWIM 16 minutes and ... 750yards?
RUN 58 mins and 6 miles, treadmilled
What a day. The only thing that seemed to go good for me was the run. And even that sucked as I did it on a treadmill.
My swimming has really fallen off. For all the spring and summer up to CDA I was logging the yardage above and beyond expectations. I wasn't necessarily getting faster, but the endurance, comfort, and confidence were there. In the end, my CDA swim was cold but I never tired. So, while still slow, I succeeded in improving that aspect.
Then *BAM*. It comes to a stop. The motivation to even get to the pool died. Once I get to the pool, I'm OK. It's just that I'm not getting to the pool. Besides, I'd rather ride and run than do laps.
My schedule swims are M, W, F, with one of those either being a day off or an easy swim day. Come Monday morning lately, I'm too tired and I take a rest day. Come Weds and Fri and I just want to sleep in, so I do. It's not helping any that DH is leaving the house late too. It just kills my motivation to wake up and not do it right away. I need to just get out the door and git'er done. But I don't.
My GTD challenge hit 100 miles on July 11th and as of today is only 107.59. Only 7.6 miles since CDA! OK, sure, it's a rest period. The progress indicator showed I was 10+ miles behind my 200 miles in 2012 goal. No way that would happen. So I re-adjusted to 150 miles, figuring that come Redman I wouldn't be near a pool again. So now my goal pace is "88.36 miles required as of today" and only 42 miles to go. That just didn't seem right either...but I left it, thinking maybe I'd go back later to split the difference and reset it to 175 miles.
Boring day at work sitting at my desk...so I left early. Brief delay as I swung by BRR to buy some Nuuns and register for the 30K Skippo (I wasn't going to do it, but I fell prey to the excitement!). Got to the YMCA, got dressed to swim, and realized I forgot my running clothes in the truck. I knew that if I didn't run right after the swim, I might not do it. It was damned hot out and had me thinking I'd treadmill to recover for Thursday. So out to the truck. A delay. I get to the deck and the first 3 lanes are FULL of kids, there had to be a 100 of them. Lane 4 had 2 elderly "lap" swimmers moving very slowly. Lane 5 along the wall had the water aerobic elderlies hanging on the wall. I asked the lifeguard which lane, and she whistled for lane 5 to empty--she kicked out the old people! OK it's what I needed but not really what I wanted. I felt bad! They took their time leaving, delays.
Finally I'm in my lane with another guy doing laps with me. My plan was a 3300 with 6x300 sets descending. I wasn't excited about it, but I knew that once I got rolling I'd feel better. While doing the WU, I realized why the GTD challenge seemed too easy at 42 miles to go--I needed to swim those 42 miles before Redman!! So I'm not resetting it to 175!
Right at the end of the first phase of the WU during a turn I see something else in my lane. I push off, and sighted a big woman walking in my lane....back and forth...I swim towards her and realize she's "swimming" towards me. More of a doggie paddle/walk swim...WTH?! My lane mate and I hit the wall and watch to see what happens. She's at the other wall. The lifeguards start explaining "circle swim" to her, but it didn't seem to be going anywhere. It seemed for a few mins that we were going to reverse circle swim, that's new to me! My lane mate is frustrated, saying his swim was never meant to be.
I pushed off to swim to the other and end set an example. I hit the wall...and she was gone to the rec area. Back to "sides". A few more laps, then whistles all around. My first thought was that one of the kids was in trouble. Nope. But it did have to do with the kids. One of them "left an item" that had to be picked out with a net. The pool was closed for 45 mins.
My lane mate was right in the end, the swim wasn't meant to be.
So I left for the treadmill, figuring I might come back later. Instead of the 4 easy miles on the plan, I did 6 at about a 9:30 pace. My mind was wandering, unfocused, and enjoying it. I thought about sweet potato recovery bars...I thought about not licking my lips after the swim...I thought about the weekend's training. Boredom! But Done!
RUN 58 mins and 6 miles, treadmilled
What a day. The only thing that seemed to go good for me was the run. And even that sucked as I did it on a treadmill.
My swimming has really fallen off. For all the spring and summer up to CDA I was logging the yardage above and beyond expectations. I wasn't necessarily getting faster, but the endurance, comfort, and confidence were there. In the end, my CDA swim was cold but I never tired. So, while still slow, I succeeded in improving that aspect.
Then *BAM*. It comes to a stop. The motivation to even get to the pool died. Once I get to the pool, I'm OK. It's just that I'm not getting to the pool. Besides, I'd rather ride and run than do laps.
My schedule swims are M, W, F, with one of those either being a day off or an easy swim day. Come Monday morning lately, I'm too tired and I take a rest day. Come Weds and Fri and I just want to sleep in, so I do. It's not helping any that DH is leaving the house late too. It just kills my motivation to wake up and not do it right away. I need to just get out the door and git'er done. But I don't.
My GTD challenge hit 100 miles on July 11th and as of today is only 107.59. Only 7.6 miles since CDA! OK, sure, it's a rest period. The progress indicator showed I was 10+ miles behind my 200 miles in 2012 goal. No way that would happen. So I re-adjusted to 150 miles, figuring that come Redman I wouldn't be near a pool again. So now my goal pace is "88.36 miles required as of today" and only 42 miles to go. That just didn't seem right either...but I left it, thinking maybe I'd go back later to split the difference and reset it to 175 miles.
Boring day at work sitting at my desk...so I left early. Brief delay as I swung by BRR to buy some Nuuns and register for the 30K Skippo (I wasn't going to do it, but I fell prey to the excitement!). Got to the YMCA, got dressed to swim, and realized I forgot my running clothes in the truck. I knew that if I didn't run right after the swim, I might not do it. It was damned hot out and had me thinking I'd treadmill to recover for Thursday. So out to the truck. A delay. I get to the deck and the first 3 lanes are FULL of kids, there had to be a 100 of them. Lane 4 had 2 elderly "lap" swimmers moving very slowly. Lane 5 along the wall had the water aerobic elderlies hanging on the wall. I asked the lifeguard which lane, and she whistled for lane 5 to empty--she kicked out the old people! OK it's what I needed but not really what I wanted. I felt bad! They took their time leaving, delays.
Finally I'm in my lane with another guy doing laps with me. My plan was a 3300 with 6x300 sets descending. I wasn't excited about it, but I knew that once I got rolling I'd feel better. While doing the WU, I realized why the GTD challenge seemed too easy at 42 miles to go--I needed to swim those 42 miles before Redman!! So I'm not resetting it to 175!
Right at the end of the first phase of the WU during a turn I see something else in my lane. I push off, and sighted a big woman walking in my lane....back and forth...I swim towards her and realize she's "swimming" towards me. More of a doggie paddle/walk swim...WTH?! My lane mate and I hit the wall and watch to see what happens. She's at the other wall. The lifeguards start explaining "circle swim" to her, but it didn't seem to be going anywhere. It seemed for a few mins that we were going to reverse circle swim, that's new to me! My lane mate is frustrated, saying his swim was never meant to be.
I pushed off to swim to the other and end set an example. I hit the wall...and she was gone to the rec area. Back to "sides". A few more laps, then whistles all around. My first thought was that one of the kids was in trouble. Nope. But it did have to do with the kids. One of them "left an item" that had to be picked out with a net. The pool was closed for 45 mins.
My lane mate was right in the end, the swim wasn't meant to be.
So I left for the treadmill, figuring I might come back later. Instead of the 4 easy miles on the plan, I did 6 at about a 9:30 pace. My mind was wandering, unfocused, and enjoying it. I thought about sweet potato recovery bars...I thought about not licking my lips after the swim...I thought about the weekend's training. Boredom! But Done!
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