Half-Ironman Training - Week 8

Weekly Training

• Swim: 4200 meters (3500 meters planned)
• Bike: 64.88 miles (80 miles planned)
• Run: 15.65 miles / 2:09 hours (2:35 hours planned)
• Weights: 0 
• Volleyball:  0-3.  At least we are consistent
• Overall: 83.24 miles in 7:07 hours

This was recovery week #2 and before you think that I fell off my training plan, it was because I participated in the Jackson County Triathlon on Sunday.  I wasn't able to get in the full 70 minute run and 35 mile bike ride over the weekend.  If I had met the training plan, it means that I really missed the turn around on the run and got lost on the bike course.  Thankfully neither of those happened, but close.  More on that in the race report I plan to type up soon.

On Wednesday Joe VI, Lauren, Shane, and I met up at Longview Lake to ride the bike course.  I am very glad I did because it give me confidence on that 1/2 mile long hill that I effectively had to ride four times.  I also stayed back and did a brick run.  This run gave me even MORE confidence as I felt great!  The heart rate was in check and I was clocking 7:30 minute miles.  I decided to bring it back to an 8:00 minute pace just to make sure I did't overdo it.  

Last week turned out to be fairly busy, so I wasn't able to give the blog as much attention as I had hoped.  I generally try to get in a couple posts a week, considering that I have a tendency to write novels.  No guarantees on this week either, but I will get the race report out.

Upcoming

• The North Face Endurance Challenge is this weekend.  I am doing a marathon relay race with Joe VI, Kristen, and Mike.
• In addition, I am running the Head for The Cure 5K this year with Shane, Heather (Shane's wife and a friend of mine since kindergarten), and family.  Heather's brother is in remission from brain cancer and so we are participating to help support brain cancer research.  Mark is one tough man and I am happy to be out there to support him!
• Because of the TWO races, I will probably struggle to meet my training goals this weekend but I am planning a 50 mile bike ride Sunday afternoon.  I'll probably get 80 minutes of running in, I just won't do it at one time.
• Still have some blog posts brewing that I've been wanting to work on.  (Yes, this is almost the exact same comment from last week.. I should probably always leave it in my upcoming section)

Race Photos
To wet your appetite, I've included a couple photos from Sunday.  The fog was beautiful for pictures but a bit of pain to race in.

Pretty... the fog, not me (in yellow)

Trying a new aero position.  I think it needs some work. 

For the record, the guy in blue was doing the short course.

Joe VI skipping his way to the finish.

Shane keeping the competition behind him!

Half-Ironman Training - Week 7

I interrupt this blog post!

After my workouts from the weekend prior, I was tired of feeling... tired.  So I left a message on our local resource for triathlon training information, Falkee Triathlon's I Tri Because I Can.  Ryan is known for doing 50 mile rides before work, so I knew he had some experience in rebounding from hard workouts.  I left a comment on one of Ryan's posts where he reviewed a recovery drink.  He was nice enough to give me a full post response.

I think I will try a couple things, such as better ride nutrition.  While I have improved consuming solids, I think there are more nutrient opportunities in my water bottles.  Ryan also has some post-recovery drink options I may try out as well.  Overall I think I do OK with my day-to-day nutrition -- if anything it probably lacks protein and healthy fats.  I could always drink more water on a day-to-day basis.

Weekly Training

• Swim: 4500 meters (4500 meters planned)
• Bike: 103.24 miles (100 miles planned)
• Run: 20.06 miles / 3:06 hours (3:05 hours planned)
• Weights: 0 
• Volleyball:  1-2... I think.  
• Overall: 126 miles in 10:40 hours

BAM!  10 hours in the books!  I almost didn't get it done.  Starting Wednesday night I've been having trouble sleeping and it kept being a problem to the point that I was just too tired on Saturday morning.  We were about to head out to Des Moines for the day on Saturday when TKB said she was going to go for a run so I went with.  Even though I had given up on the run for the day, I strapped on the shoes.  As TKB was turning back to the house, I decided to add a few more miles.  I then ended up going the full 80 minutes.  Throw on a trip to Des Moines, IA and back on Saturday and I was sure to sleep well!

I have always been a fidgety sleeper but it was really bad this past week.  My legs were sore and the only way to soothe them was to move them.  Even my arms and back had a similar "itch".  Thursday it got so bad that I actually hopped in a warm shower around midnight to calm the muscles (plus to clean of some sand left over from volleyball earlier that evening).  So on Friday I looked up information on Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS).  As a kid I had "growing pains" quite a bit, so I wasn't surprised that RLS is the adult label for it.

I may have mentioned before that at my physical last year that the doctor informed me that I have an iron deficiency and he asked me to take a multi-vitamin with iron.  In researching RLS I discovered that it can manifest in people with iron deficiency.  While in Des Moines I picked up an iron supplement to add to my diet of vitamins.  In the two days of taking the supplement, I have not had any sleeping issues but I think that is a huge coincidence.  Let's give it a week or two before I call it good.

If anything, taking the iron supplements may actually help my training.  Iron is a critical mineral in helping your blood carry oxygen throughout the body.  More oxygen means more efficient aerobic exercising.  I hope USAT doesn't test for high levels of iron.  I'm going to be an Ironman somehow!

Upcoming

• Jackson County Triathlon is this weekend.  Thanks to Mark for the heads up on the bike course based on his experience last year.  I think I'm going to ride the course on Wednesday.  Anyone with me?
• Still have some blog posts brewing that I've been wanting to work on, maybe they will have a chance to fully perk since this is recovery week.
• TKB registered us for a 5K race in a couple weeks.  Working on the announcement.

Half-Ironman Training - Week 5

Weekly Training

• Swim: 3750 meters (3750 meters planned)
• Bike: 85.68 miles (85 miles planned)
• Run: 16.98 miles / 2:27 hours (2:25 hours planned)
• Weights: 0 
• Volleyball:  0-3 again.  Back to normal.
• Overall: 105 miles in 8:50 hours

Decided to not #BeatTheHeat at 4:00am but rather 8:00pm.  Only Thursday did I get up at 4am to get my run in before the swim, due to volleyball.  I had hoped to get back in the weight room this week but decided to get the extra rest instead.  So if I'm not willing to do it on Wednesday morning when I don't have an AM workout planned, I'm going to need to find another time to work it in.

Milestones

• I fully entered 100+ miles in my weekly training.  In a few weeks I will probably hit 10+ hours.  
• I hit 1000 page views for the month for the first time too. Someone was really busy this month reading and re-reading my site.  Thank you!
• I got close to 100 followers on twitter.  I don't follow a lot of people so I don't expect a lot of people to follow me, so I guess it's my own fault.

Half-Ironman Training - Week 4

Weekly Training

• Swim: 3100 meters (3000 meters planned)
• Bike: 70.24 miles (70 miles planned)
• Run: 11.90 miles / 1:54 hours (2:00 hours planned)
• Weights: 0 
• Volleyball: We won the match! 
• Overall: 84 miles in 7:18 hours

4 weeks down and 14 to go! 

Recovery week!  Only logged 84 miles this week and I tried to get 8 hours of sleep every night.  I was successfully 3 times.  I tried to get a couple naps in Saturday (not too successful) and will plan on one today.  Sleeping was hampered by the hot temps. We hit 100 degrees every day this week and so I left the alarm to go off at 4am.

Update on Garmin Issue

I think I figured out my issues with my Garmin devices losing distance/speed while on a ride.  On Saturday's 30 minute ride this happened on me while on a long downhill.  This means I was in the aero position which puts my physical body over the Edge 800, likely reducing its ability to "see" the satellites.  With reduced visibility it switched to the speed/cadence sensor.  I've noticed that the speed/cadence sensor hasn't been working correctly in not picking up the wheel magnet; therefore, not recording speed. I don't know if it is broken or the battery is on its way out.

Considering the speed I'm traveling, I think the Edge 800 has trouble reacquiring satellites.  I turned off the the speed/cadence sensor and it started working.  So I'm going replace the battery and, if that doesn't help, I'll replace the speed/cadence sensor. 

Now, I started having a second issue though.  On this mornings run, I hit "start" on the 310xt and it didn't do anything.  The display was stuck and I couldn't turn it off.  So that's interesting....

Other Things
Went to the doctor this week and got the thumbs up on another year of living.  Last year he was concerned about high blood pressure but this year he said it was fine. Sweet!

Upcoming

I've been wanting to get back to the weight room, at least for some core workouts.  Week 5 is when I had planned to do that.  We'll see if that happens.

I've been looking at buying another tri top and tri shorts to have on hand.  I've been using Pearl Izumi but think I'm going to give Orca or Zoot a try.  Orca has a line that is longer in the torso, which is what I need.  The Zoot's that I tried yesterday had good length, so I may give them a shot.  

Half-Ironman Training - Week 3

This week added more base miles to the training plan and I hit a new record, 3 digits.  Now I'm not talking the outside temps but rather 100 miles.  I'm cruising past the miles that gave me overtraining concerns back in March, so I must be doing things "right" this time.

Since this week was crazy busy, I got up at 4:00am each day to get my training in.  Not only did this help complete the training goals, it helped me finish my training before the heat of the day.  On Thursday I skipped volleyball to meet up with Ashley at Shawnee Mission Park where they organized open water swims.  I had a great time and plan to take advantage of this as much as possible.  I wish more lakes did this around here, and maybe they do.  With the nasty heat lately, the water was extremely warm.  I felt like I could cook pasta out there.

Saturday was a great training day as Joe VI and I headed out to The Legends and kicked off a long bike session.  We took off on State Avenue and road for 50 - 55 minutes and turned around.  I was trying to get in 35 miles so I went ahead a bit longer than Joe.  The weather started in the low 80's and finished in the 90's.  The was a nice breeze though and kept me cool enough

Sunday was a 60 minute long run and I slept a few hours past when I was hoping to get in the run.  I slept in a bit to get in more sleep.  The 35 miles on Saturday really wore me down.   Nothing very interesting on the run except that I almost ran into a car.  A brand new red Ford Explorer wasn't paying much attention pulling out of a church and I almost made a dent into the fancy new passenger side front door.  I could have smacked the car with my hand and/or yelled at the driver but just kept going.  I'll forgive the sinners. 

Weekly Training

• Swim: 3375 meters (3500 meters planned - OWS was shorter than expected)
• Bike: 82.29 miles (80 miles planned)
• Run: 15.59 miles / 2:31 hours (2:25 hours planned)
• Weights: 0 
• Volleyball: Skipped but I heard we want the match!  Go Team Far From Spiken
• Overall: 100 miles in 8:34 hours

3 weeks down and 18 to go! 

Upcoming

Week 4 is a recovery week for me.  Not as busy as last week but I am planning another OWS at Shawnee Mission Park, so feel free to come out and join in the fun.  I am planning to do a bike ride after if the temps aren't too bad.  Getting that annual physical on Wednesday, so hopefully the doc will approve with all my training.

Half-Ironman Training - Week 2

This week was going to be another big week and it was great to have Monday off to celebrate the Fourth of July by doing a Swim/Bike brick.

I finalized the travel, hotel, and registration plans for the Rock'n'Roll Las Vegas Marathon.  This is going to be extremely fun as we are meeting up with Rebecca and Jake for the race.  Rebecca is running the half-marathon.  I'm hesitant that I'll be able to ramp up my base to do a 26.2 after my Half Ironman but we'll see.  If I decide to knock it down to a half, I'm only out $15.

The week ended with triathlon #4 with Shawnee Mission Triathlon Long Course.  I'm working on the race report but to give some initial thoughts:

• Hot
• Humid
• Hot
• Finished 76 overall and 13th in my Age Group with a 2:01:21 (official) time.  I have very mixed thoughts about that.
• Hot

Weekly Training

• Swim: 4250 meters (3250 meters planned)
• Bike: 78.11 miles (70 miles planned -- commuting to work on Wednesday made up for the fewer miles on the weekend)
• Run: 13.59 miles / 2:02 hours (2:15 hours planned)
• Weights: 0 
• Volleyball: Lost all three games.  Need to start stepping up our game or hydrate less with beer.
• Overall: 93.7 miles in 8:40 hours

I dropped my training plans for Saturday and Sunday due to the triathlon on Sunday.  I knew I wouldn't be getting in my full scheduled training for those days but I also was planning to push a little harder on Sunday, so that made up for the lost training... at least in my mind.

Upcoming
One more week of base building and then a recovery week.  This week is going to be trying my training moxy as we are extremely busy this week.  I have a KC Stage staff meeting tonight so I got my training in this morning.  I just left my alarm set at 4:00am as it was yesterday for the race, so I was able to get in my 45 minute run and 1000 meter swim.  Tomorrow I will be working late but I will be going in later as well, so I plan to get both my swim/ride in tomorrow morning.  Wednesday Tricia is working late so I should just have to fight the temps to get in my bike ride.

Normally I move Thursday's run to Wednesday because of volleyball on Thursday; however, I'm skipping out to meet up with Ashley (who paced me during the KC Marathon last October) at Shawnee Mission Park to do a swim/ride brick session.  Time will be TIGHT since swim doesn't open until 6 and I am going to a Harry Potter double header that night.  As I mentioned above, I normally do a run on Thursday, so I might do that in the morning with the added training in the evening.

I'm debating about asking the boss for Friday off because there is so much stuff I've been putting off due to how busy things have been the last few weeks -- on top of all the training.  With any luck I will mow the yard after the meeting tonight.

Weekly Review: February 7 - February 13

I decided early that this week was not going to get away from me in terms of training.  I had an early morning scheduled for work on Wednesday but I was still planning to work out.  Here are the totals:

Swim: 6000 meters
Bike: 21 miles (stationary and outside.  No trainer)
Running: 7 miles (treadmill and outside)
Weights: 50 minutes
Total Time:  6 hours, 40 minutes

Swimming
This is the first time I really tried to get multiple swim workouts in.  My normal plan has me in the pool on Mondays; however, since swimming is my weakest discipline, I plan to get at least two workouts in a week and a third if I can squeeze it in.

On Wednesday evening I did a brick workout of 2000 meters in the pool and 3 miles on the treadmill.  With three laps left in the pool, pushing off caused my left foot to cramp up, localizing in the arch.  It didn't really relent until after I got out of the pool and walked.  It didn't bother me on the treadmill.   What was concerning is two days later (Friday morning), I woke up to a similar pain in the arch of my left foot and it stayed there all day.  I actually planned to do 15 miles on the trainer that morning but it freaked me out enough that I hit the snooze and tried to sleep it away (whatever, I was being lazy).

Following advice from friends, I made sure I had a banana before my next swim session and have water poolside to sip on between sets.  I haven't had a problem since.

Scotty B YMCA Invitational Triathlon
This is an 'event' I put together once a month to do a full triathlon brick session.  I basically do this once a month (ok, I did one in January and now in February) where I get to my YMCA at opening time on Saturday and do all three sports in a row with as little rest in between as possible.  This is purely used so my body can work through the rigors of doing all three events in a row.  I'm sure it has merits, but I'll likely spend my Saturday morning workouts doing long runs/rides.

Yes, this is named an Invitational but if anyone wants to join me, they are more than welcome.  Invites are really easy to get (but you have to get the YMCA membership!)


First Bike Ride!
I have been looking forward to this for six weeks.  I've logged roughly 30 miles on the trainer with my Felt and now I get the chance to actually get it on the road and hopefully not fall from the unusual functionality of the clip-less shoes.


I enjoyed every moment of it...  there was a horrible headwind coming from the south (14 - 16 mph, possibly); however, on the second loop I let the Felt take off like it wanted (Sorry Joe VI).  20 lbs of aluminum wanted to go and off we went!  I hit 26 mph on the flats with the wind on my back.  Being able to use the full circle of the pedal was just as exhilarating.  It felt fully tuned and wasn't misfiring during the "negative" portion of the pedal (don't know if that's the right term for it, but I'll take it).

Two laps down and countless more to complete.