The last few days have been all about the run. Friday night after work I took Scout out for a short trail run at Yargo. She is definitely getting stronger every time we go and seems to take less breaks to smell and do other things. Can dogs become more focused runners? Scout seems to be! I felt good also - I really wanted wanted to set myself up for Saturday where I would go for a 2 hour run.
This morning I had to get my run done early because Naomi and I had plans to go to Athens to watch the game. I got started by 7 and I eased into a sub 8 minute pace. I was very consistent through out the 15 mile run with the exception of the last mile. A slight up hill through out mile 14 caused me to tie up. I went through the 13.1 mile mark (half marathon) at 1h 42 minutes which put my pace at about 7:46. It felt pretty comfortable for the most part. I'm hoping to hold 8 minute miles for my half iron and also for my marathon.
Tomorrow I wrap up the week with a big brick before work starting from Buford at 7:00 AM.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Recovery...Unrecovery...
Last week I finally reached a much needed recovery week in the training. It went well and I do feel pretty strong as I work on my final three weeks of max training. Although, I realized today that my goal of getting up near 15/16 hours of training per week is just to much at this point. My body simply does not have time from one workout to the next to make this type of training load productive. I seem to be right at home at around 12 hours per week, I always feel like I get stronger from one week to the next with this type of training load. So for this last cycle I'm just going to go with that. I mentioned early that I did approach 18 hours in a 7 day period inadvertently and I've really paid the price since then. Over training is something that I need to be more aware of.
So far this week has gone well. Monday I swam and had a good 6 mile run in the evening. Wednesday I rode 30, and today I went for a long ride of 54 miles. I have a 2 hour run and a 3 hour brick to wrap up the week.
My strain behind my right knee has been slowly getting better each day. I've stepped up my post workout stretching and it has helped a lot. I was worried for a little bit - training through injury is so frustrating.
In other news, during my ride today I got to watch my odometer tick over 1,000 miles on the new bike, exciting stuff!
So far this week has gone well. Monday I swam and had a good 6 mile run in the evening. Wednesday I rode 30, and today I went for a long ride of 54 miles. I have a 2 hour run and a 3 hour brick to wrap up the week.
My strain behind my right knee has been slowly getting better each day. I've stepped up my post workout stretching and it has helped a lot. I was worried for a little bit - training through injury is so frustrating.
In other news, during my ride today I got to watch my odometer tick over 1,000 miles on the new bike, exciting stuff!
Monday, August 18, 2008
over training....
From a August 6th to the 12th I had two training weeks that somehow ran together and I ended up with an 18 hour training week. My body is now letting me know that that was to much to fast! The week was epic with 230 miles on the bike, 30 miles running, and 4 miles in the pool but somewhere in there I strained up my upper calf on my left leg behind my knee. It's just a bit sore. I went out of town for work the 13th to the 15th and was unable to find time to train - possibly a blessing in disguise. Upon returning I went for a 14 mile trail run on the 16th and also a 20 mile bike. My leg was still pretty sore. The plan was to train the week in 8 days using Monday through Monday but after that last trail run and short ride my leg wasn't feeling so great. I figured it was best to call it a week, take Sunday off, and get started today (Monday the 18th) with my planned recovery week. Hopefully the low training hours this week will give my leg a chance to rest up. It's not a horrible pain, more like a permanent sore muscle. I imagine if I don't manage it properly though it could turn into something more serious.
One thing is for certain, during a max cycle I need to be aware of how the weeks connect and make sure the pattern of when I do my longer workouts is consistent so that they don't string together to much training in a short amount of time.
I kicked off the recovery week with a swim to lay of my leg for another day. It seems to feel alright so I'll be working in shorter bikes and runs the rest of the week, and hopefully get a few more swims in.
One thing is for certain, during a max cycle I need to be aware of how the weeks connect and make sure the pattern of when I do my longer workouts is consistent so that they don't string together to much training in a short amount of time.
I kicked off the recovery week with a swim to lay of my leg for another day. It seems to feel alright so I'll be working in shorter bikes and runs the rest of the week, and hopefully get a few more swims in.
Monday, August 11, 2008
8/4 to 8/10 recap
I've been a little lazy with my training journal, so I'm going to do a recap of last week.
I put in 13 hours of training last week, which was my most ever for one week. The key workouts went very well - most of which came later in the week. I think Thursday through Sunday I put in 10 of those 13 hours!
Thursday - Long run - 1 hour 40 minutes
- I ran this at Fort Yargo on the trails and it's always a tough workout, usually a little more than I bargain for. Trail running is to road running as mountain biking is to road biking, you work twice as hard to only end up going slower due to the terrain. The humidity was very high so water and electrolyte losses were up. I ran with a bottle full of Accelerade and it seemed to work pretty well. I think it makes the biggest difference in the last 1/3 of a long workout, I just feel less drained when I take in fluids, carbs, and electrolytes during any workout that approaches the 2 hour mark.
Friday - Long bike - 3 hour 15 minutes
- The weather for this ride was fantastic. I was accompanied by Mark. We made our way out of Lawrenceville headed toward Winder where we made a large loop behind Winder, heading back to L'ville. The pace was moderate to easy averaging 17.3 mph but I felt strong. I did a nice job of packing a lot of food for the day, including a post ride snack to eat on the way to the pool for my swim. I think that helps a lot as far as recovering from one day to the next.
Sunday - Brick (Ride 2 hours 45 minutes, run 30 minutes)
- I started this workout from work at 7 AM because I had to be at work by 10:45. The bike ride was pretty solid but I could feel all of the hours I had put in that week in my legs. With this being said, I was still able to average 19mph on an up and down route. I think I could have done a better job of spreading my nutrition over the course of the ride - I don't think I ate for the first hour. The run was exciting because I discovered a greenway not a half mile from work that I could run too. Using my new Garmin Forerunner 50 I was able to get mile splits and HR for this part of the workout. The data is helpful and one thing always seems to get me, I always go out to fast on the run. I need to start working on building the run coming off the bike. I'll have 13.1 miles to pick up up at South Carolina so whats the rush?
One observation I've made this week is that I'm recovering relatively quickly from the 3+ hour workouts that used to wreck me for the entire day. I only did a handful of workouts over 3 hours before White Lake and I think that may have hurt me toward the end of the race, my body was simply way outside it's limits. The more 3 to 4 hour efforts I put in, the easier they seem.
I put in 13 hours of training last week, which was my most ever for one week. The key workouts went very well - most of which came later in the week. I think Thursday through Sunday I put in 10 of those 13 hours!
Thursday - Long run - 1 hour 40 minutes
- I ran this at Fort Yargo on the trails and it's always a tough workout, usually a little more than I bargain for. Trail running is to road running as mountain biking is to road biking, you work twice as hard to only end up going slower due to the terrain. The humidity was very high so water and electrolyte losses were up. I ran with a bottle full of Accelerade and it seemed to work pretty well. I think it makes the biggest difference in the last 1/3 of a long workout, I just feel less drained when I take in fluids, carbs, and electrolytes during any workout that approaches the 2 hour mark.
Friday - Long bike - 3 hour 15 minutes
- The weather for this ride was fantastic. I was accompanied by Mark. We made our way out of Lawrenceville headed toward Winder where we made a large loop behind Winder, heading back to L'ville. The pace was moderate to easy averaging 17.3 mph but I felt strong. I did a nice job of packing a lot of food for the day, including a post ride snack to eat on the way to the pool for my swim. I think that helps a lot as far as recovering from one day to the next.
Sunday - Brick (Ride 2 hours 45 minutes, run 30 minutes)
- I started this workout from work at 7 AM because I had to be at work by 10:45. The bike ride was pretty solid but I could feel all of the hours I had put in that week in my legs. With this being said, I was still able to average 19mph on an up and down route. I think I could have done a better job of spreading my nutrition over the course of the ride - I don't think I ate for the first hour. The run was exciting because I discovered a greenway not a half mile from work that I could run too. Using my new Garmin Forerunner 50 I was able to get mile splits and HR for this part of the workout. The data is helpful and one thing always seems to get me, I always go out to fast on the run. I need to start working on building the run coming off the bike. I'll have 13.1 miles to pick up up at South Carolina so whats the rush?
One observation I've made this week is that I'm recovering relatively quickly from the 3+ hour workouts that used to wreck me for the entire day. I only did a handful of workouts over 3 hours before White Lake and I think that may have hurt me toward the end of the race, my body was simply way outside it's limits. The more 3 to 4 hour efforts I put in, the easier they seem.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
hot 100
Friday: 35 minute run
Saturday: 5 hour ride, 101.4 miles.
I finished this past week up with a short run on Friday, and then I completed my 2nd Covington Century on Saturday . My total training hours for the week were 12. The century went as well as I could have hoped for it to go in the kind of heat I was riding it. Temperatures were well into the 90's for most of the ride and the humidity was the typical Georgia variety of A LOT. I started out to fast..again...but I was able to get a hold of myself before the entire day turned into a disaster. I was 22.1 mph avg through the first 25 miles. After this point I realized with the rising temps there was no way I was going to hold that - so I took it easy for a while pulling some 17's and 18's then got into a pretty good groove around 20-21 mph. Most of which was not in a pace line, especially after the mid point. People start to get to spread apart and pace lines are a lot less common. After hitting a sag at mile 65 - the point at which were I totally lost it last year - I ran into a section of long gradual climbs for the next 12 miles or so - In my state of delirium I convinced myself I had taken it out to hard again just like last year and this was the beginning of the end. My average had dropped to around 20.2 mph. I made it to the sag at mile 76 and put my head under the hose - this seemed to really help me feel better. I got back on the bike with 16 miles to the final sag and surprisingly had a lot left in my legs. I made it to the final sag at mile 90 with a 20.0 mph average - still hanging on. I cooled my head off again and headed out for the final 10 miles. 3 to 4 miles later my legs finally had had enough, I was able to hang tough at around 17-18 mph for those last 6-7 miles so I ended up with a 19.8 mph average for the day. I really wanted that 20 avg and sub 5 hour century but I guess I will have to go for that another day.
Saturday: 5 hour ride, 101.4 miles.
I finished this past week up with a short run on Friday, and then I completed my 2nd Covington Century on Saturday . My total training hours for the week were 12. The century went as well as I could have hoped for it to go in the kind of heat I was riding it. Temperatures were well into the 90's for most of the ride and the humidity was the typical Georgia variety of A LOT. I started out to fast..again...but I was able to get a hold of myself before the entire day turned into a disaster. I was 22.1 mph avg through the first 25 miles. After this point I realized with the rising temps there was no way I was going to hold that - so I took it easy for a while pulling some 17's and 18's then got into a pretty good groove around 20-21 mph. Most of which was not in a pace line, especially after the mid point. People start to get to spread apart and pace lines are a lot less common. After hitting a sag at mile 65 - the point at which were I totally lost it last year - I ran into a section of long gradual climbs for the next 12 miles or so - In my state of delirium I convinced myself I had taken it out to hard again just like last year and this was the beginning of the end. My average had dropped to around 20.2 mph. I made it to the sag at mile 76 and put my head under the hose - this seemed to really help me feel better. I got back on the bike with 16 miles to the final sag and surprisingly had a lot left in my legs. I made it to the final sag at mile 90 with a 20.0 mph average - still hanging on. I cooled my head off again and headed out for the final 10 miles. 3 to 4 miles later my legs finally had had enough, I was able to hang tough at around 17-18 mph for those last 6-7 miles so I ended up with a 19.8 mph average for the day. I really wanted that 20 avg and sub 5 hour century but I guess I will have to go for that another day.
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