Thursday (7/1) - Ride 20 Miles (1 hour 21 minutes)
Went out for a 20 mile ride with Amanda after work. Felt good, back is feeling better. Average speed 14.7.
Picked up race clothing for Ironman 70.3 today. Ended up with TYR Tri jersey made of a smooth spandex like material with big pockets in the back for gels and other items. Hoping the smoother material will be more comfortable than my mesh tri jersy over long distances. Also got Zoot Tri shorts with thin bike pad that can be worn during the bike and run, and Under Armour thin moisture wicking underwear. This will eliminate the need to change into bike shorts in T1 and into run shorts in T2. However, I am not convinced that my butt is going to like the paper thin padding in the shorts. Jury will be out until after the long bike ride on Saturday.
Friday (7/2) - Run 3 Miles (29:37)
Went out for an easy run this morning. Back is still feeling better. Ran with my new Zoot shorts this morning to see if I could run with a thin bike pad in the shorts. Surprisingly it didn't bother me and I got used to it pretty quickly.
Saturday (7/3) - Final Bike/Run Brick - (Bike 57.15 / Run 5+)
Today was the last day to go through a big workout before beginning to taper. Went through my planned race routine including pre-race prep, clothing, race nutrition, etc.
Met at Rattlesnake Bar at Folsom Lake with the EDH tri club to ride the bike route of the "Worlds Toughest Tri" in Auburn. Ride duration was 4 hours and 41 minutes and included approximately 5,500 feet of climbing. Average speed was only 12.1 MPH, with many of the climbs being down around 5-7 MPH. The ride felt great and I was amazed at how fresh and energized I felt. Following the ride I went out for a trail run of just a little over 5 miles (1:01:15) in the heat of the afternoon. Great prep for the upcoming race to be out in the mid day heat. Again I was very surprised that my back wasn't hurting and the run felt pretty good compared to how my legs have felt in the past following the ride. Today was a GREAT confidence builder since the Vineman bike route is no where near as hilly and difficult as this route was. Today helped pull me out of my funk.
Clothing - New clothing worked out well, and surprisingly the thin pad tri shorts worked great for the bike and run. The new jersy did rub any areas raw. Very cool - getting the equipment dialed in.
Nutrition - Nutrition was dialed in today. For Breakfast I had 2 Ensures (700 calories), 1 Banana (100 calories), coffee, and water. For the race I will get up earlier and work in a 3rd Ensure, some raisens, and almond butter. During the early portion of the bike I ate 1/2 cup of raisens (260 calories), bottle of water, and bottle of gatorade (100 calories). At the half way point I switched to GU - Just Plain (500 calories), added a bottle of 5 hour energy to my 2nd Gatorade (100 calories). Also, sucked on shot blocks (200 calories) on the ride back to keep from getting cotton mouth. Went through 2 more bottles of water on the way back. On the run I just used water and a packet of shot blocks (200 calories). Switching from Hammer Gel to GU elmiminated the stomach cramps. Need to repeat this routine for the race.
Lesson Learned - DO NOT pour a gatorade powder packet into your water bottle with it in the bottle cage. I was in a hurry and just took off the lid, unfortanately the Gatorade packet tore and powder went all over my front cranks, sproket and chain. Gatorde sticks really well to chain lube. Also, confirming my desire to carry 3 CO2 cartridges and 2 tubes. One of the ladies I was riding with had a flat. We stopped to change tubes, she was out of CO2. Gave her one of my cartridges, she fixed the tire and we were off. 1/2 mile down the road the tire blows and she doesn't have another tube. I give her one of mine and she fixes her tire, but as she is filling it with air it blows again. These are the unforseen issues you need to prep for. I will carry 2 tubes and 3 new cartridges on the ride. Amanda will have 2 spare tubes and 2 cartridges on the course.
Sunday (7/4) - Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech ("Luckiest man on the face of the earth")
On July 4, 1939 Lou Gehrig gave his farewell speech at Yankee Stadium after being diagnosed with ALS, today known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Lou Gerhig was known as the "Iron Horse" during his baseball career, and set a number of records before being diagnosed with this fatal disease. I have had not only the priveledge of training for this upcoming Half Ironman and am blessed with a body that is healthy and allows me to move and do the things I love, but I have also had the opportunity to raise funds for ALS. Thank you to my friends and family who have so generously donated. If you would like to contribute to my fundraising efforts click on the following link: Iron Phi Fund Raising Page
To learn more about Lou Gehrig you can click on the following link: Lou Gehrig
Sunday night our friends Rich and Michele came over for BBQ before doing fireworks. It was difficult to watch them drink beer while sitting by the pool while I was sipping on a water. Then they brought out the ice cream for dessert and I ended up having my greek yogurt and blue berries. Argh!!! Only a couple more weeks.
Monday (7/5 ) - The Taper Begins
Amanda and I took Koda for a short walk by the Lake. Had aspirations of running 11 miles after a great day Saturday but it didn't work out. It wasn't a planned run, but thought if I had the time I would squeeze it in.
Stretching morning and evening.
Tuesday (7/6) - Run 3.35 miles (31:22)
Easy run this morning to ease back into things.
Just found out that the 3 mile run I have been recording for the last 6 months is actually 3.35 miles.
Wednesday (7/7) - Run 3.35 miles (29:13)
Easy run this morning. Another appointment for my back and hip/leg/IT Band. Not 100% but much better than I was a couple weeks ago.
Thursday (7/8) - 2 mile walk
Walk two miles with Koda after work. Was going to do the 11 mile run I thought of on Monday but I got home too late and was tired and hungry. Was going to go to the lake to swim, but really wasn't motivated. Feeling guilty that I haven't done the 11 mile run. Amazing how an unplanned run for fun has turned into a task I failed to complete. Where is the logic in that. All the coaches and forums say a week or two before the event the biggest mistake people make is to start to panic and try to squeeze in a couple more long workouts for good measure, but they only end up fatiguing their muscles and really don't add any additional conditioning.
Stretching morning and evening.
Thursday night set up my rear mount bottle cages so I can test them on Friday morning ride before the Sprint Tri on Saturday.
Friday (7/9) - Ride 5 miles
Heading out for an easy 20 mile ride to test my new rear mount bottle cages. Came out the driveway and the bracket slipped. Had to go back and tighten the screw. Headed out a second time and ran into my neighbor picking up TP from the yard. Talked a few minutes. Finally got going on my ride and really wasn't feeling it. Not good 1 week before the big race of the season. After a couple miles I turned around and called it quits. I am feeling very flat. This is not a good sign. Something needs to change.
Saturday (7/10) TBF Sprint Distance Tri - last practice run before Vineman Ironman 70.3
Went out today to practice my transitions, test all equipment, nutrition, setup, and mainly to draw energy from the event, the athletes, and the crowds. Very successful day. Transitions went very smooth. My rear mount bottle rack slipped again during the ride (not good). I will need to figure something out on that during the next week. Came away with a lot of energy, it was perfect and exactly what I need going into next weekend.
Total Time - 1:38:15 compared to 1:42:44 on the same course last year.
- Swim 1/2 mile (14:57) - Held back 22 seconds on the start to let the wave get ahead of me. This was a test for next weekend. I use a lot of energy in the first 5 minutes fighting with everyone for position, gasping for air and choking down water. Then I find that once it starts to thin out I am tired. I thought this time I would let the frenzy go ahead of me to conserve energy and then just get into my zone. Worked really well. Was able to swim my pace and pass a lot of people in my division as well as the division that went 5 minutes ahead of us. Also tried out some new Nike Tri goggles. They were great and will definitely be used next weekend. Talked to a number of athletes who thought the swim was longer than a 1/2 mile. I think my time last year was 12:58 and I know my swimming has improved, so I was shocked that it took me almost 15 minutes to finish.
- T1 (3:09) - No issues getting wetsuit off or getting ready for the bike leg.
- Bike 16 miles (51:29) - Was trying to push hard since it was only 16 miles. Average speed was 18.7. Rear bottle cage slipped again around mile 4.
- T2 (3:06) - No issues. A little difficulty changing socks trying to get new socks on wet feet. Normally wouldn't do this, but next weekend I want new dry socks for the 13 mile run, and I am willing to give up a minute in transition for a little comfort on what will be a painful run.
- Run 3 Miles (25:27) - My goal was to do the run in 30 minutes (10 minute mile). I went out and felt like I was pushing myself, but not going fast - although I would pass someone once in awhile. Then there wasn't a 1 mile marker so I wasn't able to judge by pace. Then I hit the turnaround point (mile 1.5) at 13:06 which means I was doing better than a 10 minute mile because I expected to hit there at 15 minutes. After coming around the turnaround I decided to see what I had left in the tank and decided to challenge myself to doing a negative split on the run. So I started pushing a bit harder to where my legs were burning, and I was sucking wind. Ended up with a second half of 12:21 (about an 8:15 mile) which is pretty good for me, although it certainly didn't feel like I was running that fast. Overall run pace was an 8:30 per mile.
Race Results Comparisons for July 2010, July 2009, and July 2001 on the same course.
July 2001 - Time 1:43:02, 29th out of 35 in the 30-34 age group, and 289th out of 420 entries.
July 2009 - Time 1:42::44, 27th out of 35 in the 40-44 age group, and 213th out of 424 entries.
July 2010 - Time 1:38:15, 11th out of 25 in the 40-44 age group, and 109th out of 412 entries.
* Moral to the story: Never say can't or if I were younger, or If only.......(fill in the blank) I just proved to myself that I could be 9 years older, starting out 40lbs + heavier, and still work my way back to putting in a better time than 2001 and a significant move up in overall standings.
If I can do it, you can too. Pick your goal, write it down, develop a plan to get there, and stick to it. (note: July 2009 was the first Tri I had done since 2001.)
Sunday (7/11) - Rest Day
Today I will be building my race plan, nutrition plan, packing list and doing my shopping for next weekend so I am not running around all week next week in the evening after work.
Monday (7/12) - Ride 20 Miles (1:22)
Really easy ride today, average speed 14.3 MPH. Just went out to enjoy the ride, not to push myself. Stopped to take pictures along the route which I have done so many times in preparation for this weekend. I thought it only fitting that since this might be one of the last times until Sunday I should stop and smell the roses.
Folsom Lake 6:00am Rainbow Bridge / American River
American River Bike Trail
Only stretching today. Client deliverables due and we are behind schedule. This was not part of the plan. At work early and was here until 11:30pm. This was supposed to be a restful week.
Wednesday (7/14) - Another Busy Day
Only stretching this morning again. This is only fitting. Most of my planning hasn't gone perfectly and has caused me to make lots of adjustments. Today I had to cancel my Thursday appointment for my last neuromuscular therapy prior to the race due to client commitments.
New adjustments. Taking Friday off so I can get out of town before the traffic hits. I will move my Saturday morning swim to preview the course, to Friday afternoon before the athlete reception dinner. No swim early Saturday morning so I can sleep in and go straight to the mandatory pre-race meeting at 10:00am. Amanda booked me for a 1.5 hour sports Therapy Massage tomorrow night at 7:30 in lieu of my other appointment.
Thursday (7/15) - And Again Another Busy Day (Easy 2 miles)
Did some stretching in the morning and ran an easy 2 miles. Not exactly the week I had planned. Tonight I had a 90 minute sports Therapy Massage to put the week behind and loosen up the muscles. Tomorrow begins the journey to Santa Rosa for swim Friday afternoon, reception dinner Friday night, registration and prep on Saturday, with the event on Sunday.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment