Saturday, February 27, 2010

sun sun sun

Bike 3 hours with 2 x 8 min hard, 1x12 min hard, 2x20 min hard
[~50 miles, Mansfield Dam Loop]
The scenery is beautiful on this ride.... too bad I had my head down hammering those intervals for so much of it... it was no joke on those, that is for sure. I just did the same ones on Wednesday but this time I also had 2x20min and 2 additional hours of riding. I was strong for most of it but lost focus on the last 20 minute interval.

I lost my game in the last hour. I wasn't even that tired, just sort of bored and unfocused. I had to add time to the loop by adding extra miles and I got a little lost so I spent mental energy trying to find my way back instead of pedaling hard. I think I'd be better riding for miles rather than time so I have an incentive to get it done faster. I am a bit disappointed about not nailing this ride but I'm moving forward. At least I got in the time.

Brick Run - 30 minutes with 15 min easy/15 min@marathon pace[28:39 for 3.5 miles (8:11 average pace)]
The run was good. I notice that when I start a run off the bike, my heart rate gets really high at first and my breathing a bit out of control. If I stay with this for about a mile, then walk for a minute or so to get calmed down, I can turn on my running speed as usual. The walking break makes a huge difference for some reason.

During Workout Nutrition-
32 oz water, 2 nuun tablets, 3 scoops Clif Electrolyte, 1 packet Justin's Nut Butter, 100 calorie pack of Girl Scout cookies
I probably could have had more water but this was enough calories to start the run feeling fueled. Breakfast was power oatmeal and an orange.

Friday, February 26, 2010

burpee breakthrough

Crossfit 7's
7 rounds for time:
7 burpees
7 squats
[6:32]
I had a breakthrough in my burpee technique today. Until now I have been stepping back instead of jumping to go down, then jumping to get up. Stepping is a lot slower than jumping so I decided that it is time to stop using it as a crutch. The mind is a powerful thing, and I was able to do it no problem. I kept my legs a little further apart and that made it much easier - less flexibility required. I did all of these sets jumping and it actually made the burpees easier than they used to feel. You know what? I think that I *like* burpees!


Pushup Challenge
12-13-10-10-15
I have realized that my original goal of 100 real pushups in 6 weeks is not realistic for me. I couldn't even do the workouts in the second week. It is now week 3 and am now aiming for 100 knee pushups. That will be an accomplishment itself. After I do that, I can restart the challenge with real pushups.


Swim 3000yd
[57 minutes]
- 150/200/250/200/150 with 20 sec rec, even stroke count [16-17 strokes/25yd]
- 3x150 negative split [2:27,2:23,2:18]
- 10x25 hard on 30 seconds [all 20-21 sec]
It took my shoulders about 20 minutes to get warm and forget about the fact that they had just done 49 burpees and 50 pushups. After that this swim felt good.  Last time I trained my stroke count, I was always around 18 / 25yds. Now, 16 feels normal. I can tell I am more in tune with stretching and rolling on each stroke to take advantage of how far I can go with my long arms. Yay for progress there.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

long run, tacos, and sprained toe

Run 90 minutes: 3mi@9min pace (easy), 2 mi@8min pace, 2mi@9 min pace, 3x1200m hard w/ 5 min
[1:38, 11 miles with first 3 miles hilly, 1200's: 5:31, 5:46, 5:30 (~7:25 pace)]

I was totally psyched for this run because long runs are my favorite workout of the week. Unfortunately my body was not as psyched as my mind. I had GI issues in the first two miles (even though my stomach was empty) and had to stop to find a restroom. I had to walk some and this completely broke up the run and my head got lost. After the rest stop, I was able to continue but.... The 9 minute pace wasn't feeling "easy". I was able to hold the 8 minute pace for 2 miles, but it was definitely feeling harder than it should have. The 1200's were pretty much all out and I know I can run those much faster than a 7:25 pace. My legs are not sore, and they aren't feeling a burn of lactic acid buildup. They just weren't flowing this morning. I was starving after the run and rewarded myself for not giving up by getting some breakfast tacos on the way to work: 3 egg and potato tacos with hot salsa from Taco Cabana, 660 calories.

Oh yeah, and it turns out my toe is sprained. I stubbed my fourth toe on a chair on Tuesday night. It wasn't that bad at first but now it's completely swollen and purple. Luckily it's on the top of the toe so I can still run on it.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

wednesday brick

Bike 1 hour with 2x8 min hard/3 min rec, 1x12 min hard
[1:05 total with 2x8min: 2.59mi, 2.61mi, 1x12min: 3.59mi (headwind)]
I did the intervals on the Shoal Creek/Great Northern loop which is pretty much flat. There was some wind today. I averaged around 20mph on my road bike and had to work for it. These were fun. I'm getting into the groove here, noticing that all the workouts have intervals so I get used to doing them. I am getting used to putting out a hard effort, which is exactly what I need to be comfortable with on race day.

Brick Run 30 minutes as 15 min moderate, 15 min mod/hard
[1.85 miles out in 16:14 (8:46 pace), 1.85 miles back in 14:28 (7:49 pace)]
The way out felt like torture - tight quads, stiff back, slightly uphill, headwind. Was I even moving? I started to feel normal on the second half and finished strong.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Snow!

Run
5.5 miles with 5x800 repeats (2 min rec)
[Splits: 3:30,3:26, 3:24, 3:24, 3:22]

Crossfit Grace
30 clean and jerk
[50lbs, 5:41]

More strength work...
100 situps for time [4:52 - 38 second PR!!]
5x10 pushups [on toes to failure then knee]
5x7 pullups [lightly assisted with feet on wall]

Swim 2400yd

It snowed in Austin this morning - big fluffy flakes that melted as they hit the ground. It was very wet and I decided to hit the treadmill for my run. Yesterday I took an unplanned rest day, slept a lot, and ate a lot. I think I must have needed that because I was able to nail my run repeats with a perfect negative split. I also felt strong for the Crossfit stuff, and did a huge PR on the 100 situps. 

This is week 3 of my training plan and my goal this week is to get at least 8 hours of sleep per night, and continue to work on getting my tri bike set up so I can ride it. I'm waiting on some parts, then I need to get my new aerobar installed, and get a tune-up and fit. I decided to keep my Felt DA this year rather than selling it even though I'm not a huge fan of the carbon frame or the aggressive position. It's the fastest bike around, and I'm going to make it work. The new aerobar will make it a little more comfortable, and I bought a pair of SRAM S80 race wheels so I can be even faster.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

weight gain during ironman training

Bike 2 hours, rolling hills
[32 miles]
It was beautiful, sunny, and 70 today. Wow, what a day! There was also a strong wind - headwind on the way out, tailwind on the way back. My HR monitor battery died so I didn't get HR data but this ride was supposed to be in Z3 most of the time, and I'd say I got a lot of time in at that effort.


Last time I trained for an Ironman, I didn't watch my food intake and didn't ever weigh myself and ended up gaining 10 lbs of fat. Even with 15-20 hours of aerobic exercise per week, I gained all this weight. I think this happened because I often mistook fatigue for hunger, and also because I was putting a lot of stress on myself by worrying about outcomes of my training. The stress hormone cortisol is known to lead to weight gain when elevated. This time around I am not stressed, and actually feel so laid back about the training it hardly feels like I am training at all. Ha!  As for the eating, I am being more careful about portion control and listening closely to signals from my body. Eating an extra snack isn't going to help if what I really need is a nap. If I can keep my weight steady, then I know I am taking care of myself.