Miles Running: 54 miles
Miles Walking: 2 miles
Miles on Road Bike: 279 miles
Swimming: 7200 yards
Rock Climbing: 2 Days
Starting Weight: 189.5 lbs
Ending Weight: 187 lbs
Overall a good month. Very consistent workouts and relatively injury free. Feeling very confident all month until my run following the 50 mile ride. Very tired and lower back spasms during the entire run. One more full month of working out. Still can't believe how much working out I have done, changed my diet, haven't had any alcohol since April 15, and still only lost 2 lbs during the month.
Saturday (5/1) - Run 13.1 Miles (2:03:22)
American River Parkway Half Marathon
Pre-Race Nutrition: Almond Butter & Honey, 2 scrambled eggs, greek yogurt, bannana, and coffee. (Worked well, plenty of energy, no stomach problems during the race, drank only water to hydrate during the race.)
Mile Split Times:
(1)- 10:13 (2) - 9:24 (3) - 9:22 (4) - 9:18 (5) - 11:06 (included 1:45 bathroom stop)
(6) - 8:48 (picked up the pace over the next two miles trying to catch Michelle.)
(7) - 8:42 (caught up a little past the 7 mile aid station)
(8) - 9:12 (9 ) - 9:26 (10) - 9:26 (11) - 9:15 (12) - 9:03 (13) - 9:06 (.1) - :53
Photo 1: Trying to chase down Michele between Mile 5 and 7. Photo 2: Michele and I crossing the finish line.
Sunday (5/2) - Ride 13.5 Miles (57:08)
Recovery Ride - Average Speed 14.1 MPH
Monday (5/3) - Swim 1000 Yards (18:37)
100 Yard Split Times (1:36,1:46,1:46,1:48,1:54,1:51,1:51,1:54,1:56,1:53)
2 Mile Walk with Zach in the evening.
Tuesday (5/4) - Ride 20 Miles (1:14:45)
Average Speed 16.1 MPH
Wednesday (5/5) - Run 4 Miles (38:21)
Friday (5/7) - Ride 16.5 miles (1:12:52)
13.7 MPH Average Speed
Saturday (5/8) - Run 3 Miles (29:24)
Sunday (5/9) - Run 6 Miles (51:36)
Split times:
3 miles - 25:51
3 miles - 25:44
Sub 9 minute mile. First time for any kind of distance.
Monday and Tuesday (5/10 & 5/11) : Hip too Sore to exercise. Must have pushed a little too hard on Sunday.
Wednesday (5/12) - Down hard with food poisoning or the flu. Up half the night worshiping at the porceline alter.
Friday (5/14) - Ride 20.09 Miles (1:16:23)
Morning Ride - Average speed 15.9 MPH
6 am - sun coming over the Sierra's in the background - riding over the new bridge at Folsom Lake while listening to Pato Banton song "Life is a Miracle" from the Step Into Liquid soundtrack. It was a worship experience. Glad to be alive and thankful for the opportunity to swim, bike and run. After hours of running and cycling to Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam, Gin Blossoms, Nickelback, Stone Temple Pilots, etc., nothing really emerged as a theme song, until now. This certainly isn't an adrenaline pumping song that will push me through the pain to the top of the hill, but it does make me thankful for the opportunity to even try to conquer the hill, regardless of how fast.
In the beginning was the word
and the word was with God.
And God said: "Let there be life".
Life, oh life! Life is a miracle.
It's a miracle every time a mother gives birth
tell me who can say how much a child is worth.
A miracle living on this planet earth
rotating to the rhythm of the universe.
Life!
More precious than the rarest stone
More valuable than silver or gold.
Life!
The essence is invisible
to the scientific mind it's impossible.
Like the secret of the seed that grows into a tree
the starry galaxies remain a mystery.
Oceans and the seas the air we breathe.
God knows that I believe...
Life is a miracle.
So let's give thanks to our father above
For all of the wonderful things that he does.
Life is the ultimate gift of love.
God knows that I believe... Yes I do.
Life is a miracle. It's true.
Saturday (5/15) - Run 6.2 Miles (54:29), Plus 2 Mile Obstacle Course
Folsom Run with Nature 10K
Mile Split Times:
(1 ) - 8:48, (2) - 8:35, (3) - 8:53, (4) - 8:28, (5) - 8:45, (6) - 9:15, (.2) - 1:44
Had a great time doing the Wild Way. This was a 2 mile obstacle course following the 10K. It included trail running, low crawling under army nets, push ups, tire drills, climbing fences, crossing mud pits, etc. Had a chance to do this with Jordan and Amanda.
Sunday (5/16) - Ride 23.5 Miles (1:34:42)
Average Speed 14.9 MPH
Riding into a head wind sucks. Hope there is no wind at the Ironman in July or the Gran Fondo in October.
Monday (5/17) - Run and Ride at 5:30 am
Run 3.2 Miles (31:39) - Cold
Ride 20 (1:31:16) - Average Speed 13.2 MPH. Riding into a head wind. What a pain. Plus cold. Didn't eat anything before the run or ride. Started feeling sick towards the end of the ride.
Tuesday (5/18) - Swim 1000 Yards (18:35) during lunch
100 Yard Split Times (1:37,1:50,1:52,1:53,1:52,1:53,1:54,1:58,1:45)
Wednesday (5/19) - Run 8.5 Miles (1:22:01)
Round Trip from our house to the top of Beatty Drive and back
House to bottom of Beatty 31:17
Beatty 10:08 up / 8:57 down (almost the same pace as going up on my bike)
Beatty back to house 31:36
Major mental victory. Very challenging run. Smiling the whole way back. Legs moved beyond pain and fatigue and became numb / just moving to the cadence I set as if on autopilot.
Thursday (5/20) - Swim 1200 Yards (20:15) during lunch
1:40,1:47,1:48,1:50,1:50,1:53,1:51,1:52,1:48,1:52,1:51,1:44
Saturday (5/22) - Ride 54.5 Miles (3 hours 44 minutes) Most of the Vineman Ironman 70.3 Course
Average Speed - 14.6
Start Temp - 42 degrees, Ending Temp - 57 degrees with wind at 14 MPH
Clothing: short sleeve shirt, longsleeve bike shirt plus wind breaker. Was cool at times. Need to figure out clothing options for Tri in July if Santa Rosa has a cold spell.
Food: Almond Butter, Honey, Bannana and Coffee pre ride. Clif Bar and Hammer Gel, plus water and watered down gatorade during the ride.
Parked at the Windsor High School (T2) and rode from their to Westside Road. From Windsor High School turned Left on Windsor Road, Left on Windsor River Road, Left on Eastside Road, Right on Wohler and Right on Westside. From the High School it is about 8 miles to Westside Road, and you come in at about the 9 mile mark on the Vineman Course. Follow the rest of the course back to Windsor High School.
Westside Road around mile 13. Lots of rollers and a fairly rough road. Need to be aware of potholes during the race and sections where there is no shoulder, just a drop off into a big ditch. Running tires at 120 psi and thought my fillings were going to fall out. Also riding into a headwind which didn't help. Beautiful section of the ride but felt like a lot of effort to maintain 13-15 MPH.
Westside Road around Mile 13
Conditions improved some once I hit Dry Creek Road. Hooked up with three other riders for a few miles. Ended up passing them on one of the small hills and heading back out on my own.
Photo 1: Intersection of Kinley and Dry Creek Road. Photo 2: Dry Creek Road around mile 21.
Canyon Road was very scenic with a hill climb and a fast decent into Geyserville. Still feeling good at this point in the ride.
Canyon Road around Mile 28.
Highway 128 was fairly flat and fast with the wind at my back. The Road conditions seemed better and I was able to maintain 17-20 MPH pace. Passed a lot of cyclist going the opposite direction. A few on tri bikes.
Highway 128 past Geyserville. Around mile 34 and 38.
Chalk Hill Road begins to get narrow again and has some rough patches. The first hill pictured below took about 1 minute to climb. Not too bad at all. The second hill took around 6 minutes. By this time I was tired and my legs were starting to hurt.
Chalk Hill and Hwy 128 split. Around Mile 41.
Part of the 1st climb up Chalk Hill.
End of Bike. Transition 2 at Windsor High School.
Monday (5/24) - Ride 20 miles (1:19:26) at 6:15 am.
Average Speed - 15 MPH
Cold (50 degrees) and wind at 14 mph. I can't believe it is May in Sacramento.
Wore long tights, 2 long sleeve shirts, plus windbreaker. Perfect temperature.
No Food before the ride. Only a cup of coffee. Started feeling it towards the end.
Tuesday (5/25) - Swim 1300 Yards (24:38) during lunch
Focused on form and technique and swimming efficiency, not speed. Slowed down stroke rate and focused on stroke length and rotation.
100 Yard Split Times: (1:43,1:52,1:51,1:52,1:55,1:55,1:54,1:53,1:55,1:55,1:55,1:56,1:55)
Wednesday (5/26) - Swim 1000 Yards (18:35) during lunch
Focused on form and technique again.
100 yard split times (1:41,1:49,1:50,1:53,1:53,1:55,1:52,1:52,1:53,1:51)
Thursday (5/27) - Run 5 Miles (52:34) at 7:00 am
Uphill Split - 26:07 / Downhill Split - 26:25
Windy on the uphill portion, a lot of difficulty breathing due to pollens in the air, slowed way down to compensate for lack of oxygen. Lower back very sore during the run, maybe from pushups, planks, and crunches. Didn't run with iPod. Need to start weaning myself off the music since Ironman will not allow music at their events and is grounds for DQ.
Saturday (5/29) - Brick Work Out - Ride 50.13 Miles (3:05:58) / Run 3 Miles (not timed)
Average Speed 16.1 MPH
Included hill route back to Beals Point and back over the New Folsom Bridge.
6:30 am ride, ate eggs, almond butter, honey, and coffee pre-ride. Ate 4 ounces of Hammer Gel Apple Cinnamon, drank 2 bottles of water and 2 bottles with Nuun tablets. No intestinal issues, altough the Nuun tablets started having a bad taste towards the end.
The Run = Reality check. Not sure if you could call it a run. I barely passed a lady walking her dog. More like a shuffle. Legs started feeling better about 1.5 miles in. Lower back was cramped and had pasms the whole time. Stopped 3 times to stretch. Felt great during the stretch but didn't fix the problem. Couldn't run fast enough to even tax my aerobic system. Holy crap. I have to run 10 more miles on top of this. Need to add more bricks to my June workouts.
Sunday (5/30) - Open Water Swim (15 minutes ~ 700 yards)
Got to try out my new Xterra Wetsuit. Worked Great.
Cancelled my long run. Back was still stiff. Stretched throughout the day.
Monday (5/31) - Ride 41 Miles / Open Water Swim (20 minutes ~ 1000 yards)
Ride 41 miles @ 7:30 am, Average Speed 16, Time 2:34
Rode with a Phi Delt Fraternity Brother which I hadn't seen in a couple years. Great ride together.
Also went rock climing with Zach for 2 hours in the afternoon and then back to Folsom lake in the evening to do another open water swim workout and to give the wetsuit another try.
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