Augusta Ironman 70.3 Race Report

As as I sit on this AirTran flight to San Juan I will try to bring back to fresh memory what happened 3 days ago at the Augusta 70.3 ironman race. It was a great day for me that started way before I landed in Atlanta.  I felt lucky that my bike was flying for only $79, it was a welcome surprise after last year’s $300 round-trip rip off on American airlines. 

I arrived in Augusta at 6pm on Friday, very tired from the trip but mostly just from dragging my bike case around the airport. If you’ve been to Hartsfield Jackson international you know what kind of a monster it is.  After some grocery shopping and putting my bike together I went to bed expecting to be feeling good by Saturday morning.

On that day I just wake up feeling kind of beat up with sore shoulders, had breakfast and went straight to the Marriott hotel downtown for athlete checking and registration as well as a short tune up workout.  Every thing went VERY smoothly from finding parking to checking in, even doing some shopping at the ironman store was hassle free. I made a good move by going in early as I only stand in line for 45mins approx. before registration.

After that It was time for swim course inspection and wetsuit testing. I got on that thing meet some nice dudes from Florida and dip into the 74degree water with them. The place was beautiful and current; well it was even more so. Going down that thing you felt effortless as if you were Michael Phelps. Now when the time to swim back came OHH OHH swimming against that thing really took some effort probably twice the time as the way out. In the end it was probably close to a 15min splash.

Wetsuit off in a minute and off the street for 10min of running at moderate pace, boy did I felt great running there! Only thing concerning me then was the temperature. I came to Augusta dreaming of 70degree weather and all I had while running was 90degrees and I was drenched in sweat. From that point I was just hoping that I had stayed hydrated and ready for some heat. Bike testing protocol was completed and dropping off the bike at transition was a Breeze. All that was left of day 2 were a shower, a visit to olive garden (I don’t think I’ve ever eat that much a day before an event, I am talking, lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs plus chicken parmesan all at the same time)-setting up bottles and equipment and a bed crash.

I beat my 4.30wake up alarm by about 10mins, had my usual breakfast of champions, 2 very pleasant bathroom stops and headed downtown. Here is where I was a little bit confused. I didn’t knew where to park, all streets were closed, it was dark and I was disoriented.  After some foolish standing around I finally found someone walking my way and ended up having a nice chat with him during our LONGGGGGGG walk to transition. I had parked by the finish line apparently.

 

Upon entering transition and getting body marked I was standing face to face with Heather Jackson,one of the athletes that I follow and part of Wattie Ink. A sports management corp with athletes like Joe Gambles and Ben Hoffman on their roster. Had a long chat with heather and wattie as they were interested in SAN Juan 70.3 course and travel info and I delivered.  I then wished good luck to her (she ended up 3rd) and proceed to setup my transition area which was a walk in the park and didn’t took longer than 10-15min. Out the door, in to the trolley back to swim start and chillaxing time until 7.48am.

While waiting for my wave I had a nice chance to see how PRO’s prepared for their events. I was standing next to them and they did a LOT of stretching before getting into their wetsuit in about 2 min. It took like 8 minutes for me to get into that thing but it was comfortable. Last minute port a potty stop, morning bag drop off , hammer gel 10min away from start and before I know it I was on the water and getting the final countdown.

I made a pre race plan on placing myself to the right of the field at the start. I know from training that I tend to drift towards the left side when swimming and my navigation skills well; are not top notch.  Next thing you know I was Wayyyyy to the left at the middle part of the swim. I tried looking for a steady set of feet to fallow but they were all to my right (were I was supposed to be). I was staying very easy to this point but even though I had clear water for myself I knew that getting some extra draft would be beneficial at the end of the day. Finally tired from been by myself I made the cross move to the right and swam with a group for a couple of meters. Next thing you know  I was alone, AGAIN! good thing I was now just 50meters for the swim easy. With a couple of punches and pushes as I approached the boat ramp I was out of the water in 26min and change. My expectations for the swim knowing that it was fast and wetsuit legal, were for a range of 26-28mins with a 25 been a stellar day. In the end I think my lack of navigational skills and zigzagging could pretty much ended been the 41 seconds to go sub 26, but it is what it is.

Into T1, no wetsuit strippers for me and I was out of that thing in an eye blink. Flying mount start and I was in aero position by mile 1. Head low and keeping the RPE very easy were my goal. It is difficult for us mortals to understand YOU HAVE TO PACE THE BIKE IN ORDER TO HAVE A GOOD RUN. Only strong-ubber-supper bikers can go very hard and feel normal after the bike. I learned this the hard way with both Miami and San Juan 70.3 ending with a death marsh of almost 3 hours.  Negative split for me was the key for the day even if I had to ride 17-18 mph in the first half. I decided to divide the race into 2 halves of 25 miles plus the last 6 miles. I would go very easy in the first 25 miles staying behind slower people if It was necessary .The first part of the race is very flat with almost no need to get out of aero position and I only find the wind to be slightly noticeable.( 1rst 25miles 1hr20min). After been passed a LOT in the first miles the last part of the course had a variety of false flats and rolling hills that makes getting into a rhythm kind of tricky. For this segment I knew I had to make a move in order to be under 3hrs for the bike and I did, while maintaining a stable HRT and feeling under control even though my quadriceps were starting to feel fatigue and some lactic acid accumulation was present. (2nd 25 miles 1hr 16min) After getting past mile 50 I was ready to get off the bike, I was stretching a lot but maintaining the hammer down to close out the bike segment in style. I have a 15.46 for my last 9.6km split on the bike which tells me I was moving along well. On this bike ride I had drink more than I’ve ever done for a half, I am talking a good 55onz of fluid replacement drinks and about 20 oz. of plain water mostly to wash my mouth after a gulp of EFS gel.  After 2hrs and 53 minutes I was done with my steed.

*Getting off the bike I was thinking only on one thing, Will I cramp? Had I drink enough and put enough sodium on me? As I put one feet out of the shoes and onto the ground next thing you know my hamstring was pinched. One good thing it wasn’t completely locked and I had a normal and speedy transition 2.  I had been trying to pee on myself for the last 40 miles of the bike so going into the port a potty at T2 was mandatory.  What I didn’t took into consideration was the fact that I was wearing a one piece suit which took some work to take off, almost a full minute.  Finally drained and happy I was out into the run.  Immediately into the run course I knew I could be going for a personal best, Why? see I was holding back and my hammies were cramping mildly but my HRT was dead stable at 172-175bpm (zone 2-3) which I had unable to control at any race. I started passing people and a guy next to me mentioned we were running 8.45’s Oops let’s put the brakes on. And so I did taking in gels and switching between coke, water and perform I continued to hold back during the first lap. my GOALs HERE WERE Mainly 2 a.negative split the thing and b.avoid walking. I am proud to say I was very closed to doing both almost perfectly. At the end of the first lap I knew I was running mid 9.30’s and feeling good. As I started the second lap the women were starting their run. I was surprise to see my pace consistently under 10min mile pace and felt happy that I wasn’t cramping that bad and forced to walk. From that point on my pace slowly got worst but I was fighting and still running-shuffling . I had made a plan to go all out in the last 2 miles if I was feeling good. I did indeed felt good but by that time my hamstrings were just shot, that is one thing I came away with from this race, I got to strengthened my hamstrings, core and shoulders. In the last 2 miles I had to take a couple of walk breaks until the last 1km or so when I just HTFU and ran until the finishing chute where I tried sprinting but it wasn’t happening, barely able to hobble across the line. I was done 5hrs 36min ARE U SERIOUS? A 37min personal best!!!

I feel like I came away learning a lot about myself, my body, how to race and what it takes for me to be race ready.  The work is not done yet, I have a large room for improvement. Technique and strength work will yield great results in both swim and run while going longer in the bike will take me to above average status. In the end I lived up to my own expectations, I HTFU , I proved myself I can do this. I beat my fear and do this solo. To all of those who supported, motivated and encouraged me Thank You, but a bigger THANK YOU goes to all those who doubted me,  who make me an underdog, who were not available to answer my questions to ride/swim or run with me, YOU MADE ALL THE DIFERENCE IN THE WORLD AND I HOPE TO CRUSH YOUR DREAMS ON MY NEXT RACE…

NUTRITION:

Morning breakfast: (total 550cal aprox)

I bagel 110cal

1 teaspoon peanut butter 100cal

2 apple sauce 200cal

20onz of powerade 150cal

 

Bike data from cateye:

Time 2.54.28

dist.89.96km

avg.30.9 km/hr

max spd 61.1khr

Race data from Polar watch

5hr 36min 48sec total

max hrt 184bpm

avg hrt 157bpm

Swim split 26.41

T1 4.57

bike 1rst 25miles 1hr 20min avg hrt 141

2nd 25miles split 1hr 16min avg hrt147

last 6 miles 15.46 avg hrt

T2 3.32

mile 1 8.56

mile2 9.32

mile3 8.45

mile4 10.09

mile5 10.07

mile 6 10.03

miles 7 9.47

mile 8 9.42

mile 9 10.15

mile 10 10.07

mile 11 10.19

mile 12 10.52

mile 13 + .1 =10.25

Weekly Brush-up 09/19/11–09/25/11

Swimming: 1hr 49min

Cycling: 4hrs 03min

Running: 3hrs 54min

Total:9hrs 47min

*Notes: This was the taper week for Augusta 70.3. I put in 4hrs of 18min prior to the competition. Short workouts with sprinkles of intensity and lost of prayer for everything to come out good. Race report to fallow.

Weekly Brush-up 09/12/11–09/18/11

Swimming: 3x (9100mts [3hrs 24min])

Cycling: 2x (3hrs 06min [86.5km])

Running: 4x (3hrs 13min [20 miles])

Total: 9hrs 43mins

*Notes: Final week of preparation before getting into taper mode. I still was reducing some volume looking for freshness and desire to crush some dreams come race time. I did a 10 mile long run and started rough but once I got into my groove I did a nasty negative split going under 9min for the last 3 miles which is way faster than I plan to run after the bike at Augusta. My long ride consistent of 2hrs just 56km but with the 2nd hour at a decent pace and then a 3 mile transition run which felt kind of rough but I hit my targeted pace of 9mins per mile. Swimming is very low impact so I just tried to keep consistent at 9k for the week, hitting 2x sessions over 3k and 1 recovery session on Friday , all of them had very good quality. Next stop is taper week and traveling to kill a race.

Weekly Brush-up 09/05/11 – 09/12/11

SWIMMING: 3hrs 27min [8850mts]

CYCLING: 4hrs 14min [122.1km]

RUNNING: 4hrs 25min [28 miles]

TOTALS: 12hrs 06min

*Notes: A little behind schedule with this one but I’ve been kind of out my mind lately with all the travel hassle and last minute changes. This was a good week overall. I make some changes and dropped a couple of double sessions in and effort to regain freshness for my last week of hard training. I was particularly happy with both my long 12miles run on Thursday and my long ride on Saturday. On both I was super consistent, improved as the workout got on and finished not feeling like I was going to die. I also had a decent tempo run on Sunday beating last week’s time for the same workout by about 40 seconds. Swimming just keep constant, nothing spectacular there although I think I lack the intensity. That intensity that got me swimming my faster last year by Miami 70.3. Now I have the volume lots lets just wait and see which one yields the better benefits. Going into my last weeks is just a matter of keeping some intensity, reduce some volume, avoid injuries and pump up for the race. I will create a new definition for HTFU after this trip, that’s for sure.

Weekly Brush-up 08-29-11 / 09-04-11

Swimming: 3x [3hrs 46min (9.850mts)

Cycling: 4x [6hrs 31min (183.5km)

Running: 5x [5hrs 17min (30 miles)

Totals: 15hrs 34min

Notes: Well! BIGGEST overall week so far and quite possibly BIGGEST week of training EVER. Swimming back to normal 3 times a week all over 3k mts. Ride 4 times all quality and Ran over 30miles. I am 3 weeks away from my second A race of the season, Augusta 70.3 and I’m not sure what to expect. I don’t know if I am ready or not but I *think* I have done enough to finish this thing in good shape. Going over the strategy I just want to execute correctly every technical aspect of this race. Pacing, transition, nutrition, etc. I will TRY my hardest to do a negative split on both the bike and the run as I am sure this will yield positive results. This week I was able to do my 3hour ride and stay aero for much of it, only thing I have to tweak now is ADD some chamois cream and I can be aero all day. From now on I want to put special care and attention on my sleep as I feel I’ve been under sleeping a lot this last couple of months, 6-7hrs are not enough and they definitely show up during the day and workouts. I also want to take a couple of days off during the next 2 weeks to see if I can freshen up some before taper time which I plan to extend from 10-7 days. I am really happy for this week because it didn’t only had the overall volume and consistency over the three disciplines but it also had nice touches of quality, especially on the bike. Lets HTFU for 2 more week and wait for it all to pay off.

Weekly Brush-up 08/22/11 - 08/28/11

Swimming: 0x 0hrs 0mts

Cycling: 3x (94hrs 58min [136km]

Running: 3x (2hrs 24min [17miles]

Totals: 7hrs 42min

*Notes: This one of those weeks I will like to get out of my system as quick as possible. It has been without a doubt my WORST weeks since my Dengue Infection and sickness in November last year.  Aside from my long ride on Saturday nothing went good, it was all a struggled. I surely can’t do anything about IRENE, the hurricanes that hit our island for 3 days. Pools were closed, streets were flooded and the ocean well you imagine. It is now game time to Augusta 70.3, about 4 weeks to go and I am definitely not looking good. I am starting to adjust my goal for the race from going for a PB to trying to finish. This is in due part to how shitty I feel during workouts, I have no speed for running and I have lost my feel for the water. I don’t know what to say, I could’ve HTFU some more and fit in a couple of trainer rides or running under the rain and make this a better week, for some reason I didn’t. I don’t know what to expect anymore, I’ll go in to the next weeks and see what pops out. I Will love to feel like a BAMF by September 25th.

Weekly Brush-up (08/15/11-08/21/11) Trialo de Dorado Sprint RR

Swimming: 4x (2hrs 42min) [7450mts]

Cycling: 4x (3hrs 24min) [95km]

Running: 5x (3hrs 49min)[24miles]

Totals: 9hrs 56min

Official Race numbers :

Swim segment 14.53 rank 31rd

Going into this swim I new from weather reports hat this park was going to be a little bit choppy. How choppy I didn’t know. To the gun and I was in the front group towards the left trying to avoid the washing machine effect and go hard. Approaching the first buoy MAN! panic attack the surf was so high I felt like falling from a roller coaster. I was on the feet of one of the kids of our national program and I just couldn’t stop thinking about how this 50pound little guy was getting trashed by the waves out there. I took quite a bit to wide last turn because of the currents and was no almost off course to the right which probably cause me a mere 20 seconds. I went hard the whole way and getting out of the water I was feeling great so far.

T1 0:31 rank 4th

Bike Segment (21.08km) 35.34 rank 21rst

Ran into my bike (which was at a perfect transition spot) helmet on, FLYING MOUNT and I was passing people struggling to put their shoes on like crazy. I attacked hard the hill out of transition and got into a nice group to keep the speed high. It was a one loop course with and inner circle inside so the turnouts where a little bit sketchy. I was holding a nice 40-41khr with a tail wind and 37khr into the wind the whole way and feeling strong. I didn’t even brought my TT bike and I was feeling quite good on my road bike without even clip-ons. I stayed on the drops and everything was ok. I did burn out a little bit in the last 5km but I decided not to panic, spin out some more my legs, take a gel and cruise in to transition, with a sketchy flying dismount I was off the bike.

T2 0:38 rank 20th

Run segment 25.06 rank 49th (ouchhh)

Here I just don’t know what to say. I’ve do the work I’ve put down the effort and it didn’t show up on Sunday. Perhaps I didn’t taper enough! As I was feeling very flat on my tune up short run on Saturday. But anyways I didn’t stop running, I tried coming home faster and even sprinted to the line with another competitor. One thing I wasn’t happy with was my attitude towards the end of the run I was OK with people passing me in the last km or so. This cannot happen I should try to fight and stay with them as long as possible. So once again I fail on the HTFU and mental toughness.

final placing 23rd/228

finishing time: 1:16:40

age group placing: 2nd

Notes: In a nutshell all I can say is that this week didn’t go nearly as I planned. I did reduced some volume and kept very little intensity trying to taper some and refresh going into the weekend’s race. Remember I thought I was doing the Olympic distance tri, so everything was done based on that. At the last minute all I could do was the sprint for some stupid reasons (mostly my fault) and I put little importance on this short race as a preparation and benchmark to where I stand regarding prep work for Augusta 70.3.

In this end this race proved to be all I need it. A RUDE WAKE UP CALL, I am not ready for and Olympic tri much less a half ironman race. Technically I hit this race perfectly my transitions were TOP 20 even compared to the ITU guys. In the water I proved to be OK, but nothing spectacular when you take into consideration the amount of work I’ve put into the water the last 2 months.Top 15-top 20 in every local race is my goal. On the bike , I was feeling strong! quite possible because of all of the crit style workouts I’ve done at the circuit just trying to hang on dear life to the wheels of the roadies.I was touching 25mph and feeling in control. Still stamina seems to be and issue because I feel like I died some in the last 3 km’s with the wind on my face. Run… well I don’t even know what to say. This have been my main focus this WHOLE year and It just doesn’t want to show up in race or workouts fwiw. I am running 5-6times a week. Long run currently at 11 miles with a medium run of 8. Shortest run @ 5 miles and improvement seems to be a long way away. On this race it was just more of the same, going hard out of transition almost to the point of puking and setting into a mediocre rhythm. Only positive I could say about this race is that almost when I thought I was about to walk my body got into “some” rhythm and I ran the whole thing.

At the end of the day I don’t know how to feel about the race, there seems to be a few positives but in reality compared to the amount of work and sacrifice putted into it, the results doesn’t make justice. All I know that the amount of work left to do in this 4 weeks going into Augusta are bigger than the Alps themselves and if I don’t make a turn for the good, this race would just be more of the same: a shuffle to the line.

Weekly Brush-up (08/08/11-08/14/11)

Swimming:2x (1hr32min {3100mts}

Cycling: 5hrs 20min {141kms}

Running: 5hrs 41min {35 miles}

Totals: 12hrs 33mins

Notes: Well another 12hour week and starting to feel the load. Very tired indeed and struggling to get out of bed and drag myself to another workout. I finally took some massage/therapy to my hurting back and hip and I’m hoping it continues to improve, at least my back is feeling better already.Swimming continues to be a problem because of pool closings and my negative attitude towards SOLO open water swimming. I would say this week’s highlight was my 11 mile long run on which I started like crap and finished like a champ. 1 hour and 46 min+ which is good for me. I also hit 35miles of total running this week and did my sufferfest torture chamber workout on the trainer which got me pretty tired for the next couple of days because I back it up with a 5 mile run off the bike. I hope I can refresh up just in case I ever make it to the starting line of next Sunday's oly race.

Swim Technique or lack of it

Check it out from side:



Now kind of messed up but front view

Weekly Brush-up (08/01/11-08/07/11)

Swimming: 2hrs 37min [6600mts]

Cycling:5hrs 11min [142kms]

Running: 4hrs 54min [30 miles]

Totals: 12hrs 42min

Notes: Only 2 swim sessions but they were both good, I was particularly happy when I saw I was hitting sub 1.50 x 100mts splits on barely uncomfortable effort. Also this week I added a short brick session with a short 2 miles run after a moderate bike ride, felt ok on that run @ oly goal pace of 8.30 a mile. I had to eliminate my last run of the week as a precaution to a VERY sore back, which I think I strained while sprinting on my road bike. Long ride was a HTFU or die type of workout increased to 3hrs. I did a short recon on the oly distance tri bike course which is mostly flat with just some tricky sections dealing with the wind. Now we go to the last week of building before the dorado triathlon (if I make it to the starting line) I hope it to be a productive one.

Weekly Brush-up (07/25/11-07/31/11)

Swimming: 1hr 12min [3500mts]

Cycling: 5hrs 57min [173 kms]

Running: 5hrs 24min [33 miles]

Totals: 12hrs 33min

Notes: Biggest week of overall training so far on this build. I had to HTFU and do a couple of open water swim, NOT my favorites, but at least touched the water and kept some feeling for it. Long ride increased to 2.40+ hrs with some quality in, as a well as 2 mid week rides outsides just trying to hang for deer life to the back of the roadies group. Nothing spectacular on the run just plain old RUN A LOT and CONSISTENCY… Getting closer to race time and seeing where I stand after all the hard work.

Weekly Brush-Up 07/18/11-07/24/11

Swimming: [3hrs 43min (10175mts)

Cycling: [4hrs 42min (132.6km)

Running: [3hrs 03min (19miles)

Totals: [11hrs 27min]

Notes: Good volume overall for been over 11hrs total, Main consideration for this week was the reduce run volume to try and boost recovery. I only did a 7mi long run and some shorter ones to try and hit 20.  I did ride 2x outside and put in some extended time in the saddle on sunday which makes me happy even though I had to do it SOLO. Swimming, MR consistency here, again over 10k meters for the week including some nice splits during my longer workouts which are now over 3500mts. From now on it’s game time 7-8 weeks for Augusta 70.3 and I’m settle on AT LEAST 35miles of running a week and 3 hour long rides with some intensity thrown in there. I had some pretty solid feedback from a thread on slowtwitch.com and I plan to fallow them and HTFU.

Main keys from now on in the run.

-Run as slow as required to meet session and weekly volume goals.

-Don’t obsess over threshold workouts and paces

-Put attention to nutrition during my runs

Weekly Brush-up 07/11/11- 07/17/11

Swimming: [4hrs 01min (10600mts)

Cycling: [2hrs 45min (81km)

Running: [5hrs 02min (31.5miles)

Totals: 11hrs 48min

Notes: This was a pretty solid week overall. It was my biggest in terms of volume so far in this build. Huge swim workouts all at 3k + meters. I am proud of myself by HTFU and dominate been over and hour in the hour for each session. Right now pretty much everything is around 70-80 long. There was also the aquathlon practice race on Sunday , I wasn't;t spectacular but in the mindset and physiological part I was GREAT. I push hard to say with a usually faster than me runner and lost to him on a sprint when I thought I was done miles before. I felt a little bit tired on most of my runs therefore next week will include some reduce mileage to see if that brings up some freshness back.

Weekly Brush-up 07-04-11/07-10-11

Swimming: 1x [1hr 13min (3300mts)

Cycling: 3x [3hrs 53min (111km)

Running: 6x [4hrs 27min (28miles)

Totals: 9hrs 34 min

Notes: OK volume considering I just hit the pool once. Happy with my performance in Sunday's duathlon practice race, I had a 2min PB and hit sub 24 for the first 5k, in the morning and not proper rest which tells me I am ready to run faster. I also had a decent ride on saturday and the first one outside in a while, finished this one with a 10k TT on 17min 18secs for a 21mph avg speed and NO AERO GEAR.

Weekly Brush-up 06/27/11-07/04/11

SWIMMING: (2HRS 31MIN= 6600MTS)

CYCLING:(3HRS 43MIN=  65KM)

RUNNING:(4HRS 33MIN =28 miles )

TOTALS: (10HRS 47MIN )

NOTES: Not much to say other than I finally hit 3 cycling sessions in the same week, including first visit to the circuit in almost a year. Swimming was affected at only 2x session but volume ok at 3.3km each. Goal for the run was to hit 30 min but failed short at 28. On a side not, I am very happy with my 9mile long run. I also increased the training hours touching 1 hours of total training this week.

Weekly Brush-up 06/20/11-06/26/11

Swimming: [3hrs 34min (9,150mts)

Cycling: [1hrs 50min (55km)

Running: [3hrs 55min (26miles)

Totals: 9hrs 19min

*NOTES:

I did the 10k road race I was looking forward to and the first one in 2+ years. Bad news is I didn’t achieved my goal time of 49min. Instead I finished in 51 flat. Main positives notes after the race are that I felt under control the whole race, I managed even splits 25.33/25.28  and that I wasn’t badly sore the next couple of days.

I also got to try these bad boys, Asics Hyperspeed 4 and they performed great. They are so light and beautiful I only wish they weren't;t so flexible in the forefoot. But I will keep them as my race day only shoes for the remainder of the season.

 

Finally now priority shifts to more cycling workouts, I need 4 of them a week. I feel very weak right now as I don’t have any base miles under me. Trying to find that balance and putting it all together without getting injured or burned out is the magic trick I need to perform now.

Weekly Brush-up 06-13-11/06-19-11

Swimming: [3hrs 34min (9300mts)]

Cycling: [1hrs 05min (33km)]

Running: [4hrs 09min (26miles)]

Totals: 8hrs 49min

Notes: Again will keep this very brief and short. I was once again unable to hit the streets for my rides and I am getting bored by the minute on my trainer. Otherwise I was ok, swimming over 9000mts for the week and kept my consistency on the running with 5 sessions and 26 total miles ran. I have a couple of reasons why I’m hating bike training at the moment, even if they sound pussy I write them as a not to self.

• I don’t have a training partner or get invited to rides
• I don’t have a car rack to transport my bike hassle free
• I have a LOT of fear to accidents and cars crashing me out
• I don’t have a LARGE enough area to cycle safely
• Can’t see to accommodate bike training with other workouts
• I can’t ride out directly from my house, stupid rough neighborhood
• WHATEVER CRAP I CAN THINK OF IN THE MORNING TO NOT WAKE UP EARLY

Weekly Brush-up (06/08/11-06/12/11)

SWIMMING:3hrs 29min [9000mts]

CYCLING: 2hrs 25 min [73 km all trainer]

RUNNNIG: 3hrs 52min [24 miles]

TOTALS: 9hrs 46min

NOTES: Good week overall, I feel good with the overall training hours. Swim workouts continue to be tough, well structured and over 3k mts overall. Cycling right now is a BIG priority, this week was once again short on cycling sessions, performing just 2 (intense ones) and lacking any LONG riding or extensive endurance stuff. Running just kept constant  week in and week out , hitting 24 miles and building towards 30.

Weekly Brush–up (05-30-11/06-05-11)

Swimming:4x (3hrs 35min  [9850mts])

Happy here, quality sessions all around and added an open water session that I enjoy to the fullest.

Cycling: 2x (2hrs [57km trainer])

Just 2 trainer sessions, one FTP and then a moderate 1 hour ride on a rainy day. Definetly need to build up to at least 4 hrs of riding a week. 2 hours a week is stupidly low even for those starting out or training for a super sprint race.

Running: 5x (3hrs 31min [36.2km])

Nothing new here, just keeping consistency as my main focus. I am building mileage towards august so just 22 miles for me. I had a couple of faster paced workouts in there to spice things up a bit in preparation of my 10k race coming June 26th.

Totals: 9hrs 07min

Overall a solid second week back to training. I am happy that I swam 4 times and ran 5 during this week. I really need to step up the bike since I have SLACKED off it a LOT since my build up for san juan 70.3

Benchmarks

So I took this first week back to training as a testing week to set some base times for the next build-up, targeting an Olympic race in August and a Half-Ironman race in September.

 

First up was a FTP test but wait, I don’t own a power meter. So talking to an aero and cycling analysis ‘ghetto” friend he suggested I use speed, while giving me a specific protocol to test on the trainer.

I averaged 38km/hr on that test , so just for me to have a gauge and estimate the work rate and effort I will use %’s of that speed and use it as my zones. The average I got is roughly 105% of FTP so:

• anything above 38k/hr is VO2 max work
• 36-37k/hr is where I will do my FTP intervals
• 32-34 k/hr is sweet spot/tempo work
• <30k/hr easy aerobic stuff

Remember again these “zones” are not power based as I don’t own a PM and even then power and speed are non lineal variables but having these approximates will just help me with my focus.

Now I also did a 20km bike TT on a closed 1.407mts circuit with some undulation. The test was perform after a 15min warm-up on my TT bike with aero wheel and helmet. Unfortunately I lost the data on my computer and don’t have things like splits, heart rate or cadence. My final time was 35min and 29secs for an average speed of 33.9k/hr or 21mph. I remember my heart rate been over 180bpm for the vast majority of the effort.

I am not happy with the time results as I believe I pushed too light of a gear and was spinning too much. In the “to work on list” for next time goes pedaling a bigger gear, attacking the little climb more, relaxing some on the descend and improve my staggers and tangents while cornering.

Next was testing my running and a 5k TT was the on the menu. This test was performed during a practice race at the local running club on a well measured, known course with an aid station in the middle. Warm up was about 15min easy running with a few strides and activation drills just before the start.  Final result was 23min and 48sec good for a 7.40x mile average pace. My splits per kilometer were 4.54/4.47/4.42/4.42/4.41. Heart rate was up the roof at a whooping 192bpms max and an average of 180bpms

As you would notice a pretty EVEN run race. I actually believe that I went out too slow but I was kind of scared since I had not run a stand alone road race in over a year. Overall I am ok with the results but believe going sub 23 is around the corner if I put the mileage up.

Using this data I plugged into a known pace calculator feature and got my running pace goals for upcoming workouts of all nature.

Recovery Jogs	10.22	10.52
Easy Runs	9.22	9.52
Long Runs	9.22	10.22
steady state	8.22	8.34
Tempo	8.03	8.24
Tempo- Intervals	7.57	8.13
Cruise Intervals	400	1.58	2.00
	800	3.55	4.00
	1000	4.54	5.00
	16000	7.53	8.03
Speed Work	400mts	1.44	1.50
	800mts	3.38	3.48
	1000mts	4.39	4.50
	1600mts	7.37	7.53

Finally I performed a swimming 1000mts TT. Coming into it I was really excited as out of the three disciplines, it has been the swimming on which I’ve been the most consistent. Going back on my log to September 2010 a month before Ironman 70.3 Miami I did a 1k TT on the short 25mts pool setup for a 17.49. Now, I know a short pool could be faster than long course as you have more turn and stops, more gliding and LESS swimming, but I feel like I am a MUCH better swimmer now and expected a PB. I started out hard but not all out trying to save something for the last 500. Final result was 18min 10sec for a 1.49min x 100mts avg. Splits were 9.10 for the first 500 and 9.00 for the last one. Again pretty even pace and not sure if I went out too slow. On a positive note it is kind of pumping to me seeing that I am under 1.50’s for 100’s after so much work. Can I be called an average swimmer now?

With that I ended this week which I believe would be crucial to track my progress or lack of it in the next couple of months. I strongly recommend testing yourself once in a while, it can give you that mental boost knowing where you stand, how is training working and what you have to focus in the future. Off to training!!! HTFU

Weekly Brush-up (05/22/11-05/29/11)

Swimming: 2x (2hrs 18min [5700mts])

Cycling: 3x (3hrs [60km + trainer time])

Running: 4x (3hrs 20min [20 milles {33.5k})

Totals: 8hrs 39min (8 days)

Notes* First week back to training after a 1 week mid season rest just after my Joyuda race. This week was much likely just some testing and getting use to be working out once again. I have another post devoted to test results so this is at and look forward to that one. My next race is about 3 months away on August 21rst and it would be an Olympic race were my goals is to finish close to 2hrs 30min and win the age group. After that is all about Augusta 70.3 and setting a PB there if I ever go to go there, still not sure, but there’s some probability.

Weekly Brush up and Joyuda RR (05/09/11-05/15/11)

This was the end of short 6 week block building towards the Joyuda triathlon. This race features a 1.8k swim , a 65k hilly bike ride and a challenging semi hilly 16k run. I had several goals for this race even though I was on short prep coming to it. I wanted to improve my overall time, cycle under 2hrs 5min, test out my improved race nutrition plan and avoid walking as much as possible.

Getting to the race was a cool adventure getting there at 8pm on the night before the race and preparing for a 5.45 gun off. Race morning was uneventful with my usual P&J sandwich breakfast and away to transition area at 4.30. I set up my spot pretty quickly and I was ready to go with 5min before the start.

I’ve experience cramping early on in the swimming before on longer races from going out too fast and I wanted to improve on that. This time I didn’t swim SO easy as I did at SJ70.3 and decided to settle into a controllable but hard effort and try staying on some dudes feet for the majority of the swim. Around the first buoy I got gapped and decided to maintain my own pacing focusing on taking a good navigation line and not sighting too  much.  At the last turn buoy I was with 4 other guys and decided to just swim the remaining part with them. So with no cramps and with good company out of the water I was in about 10th position, So far so good.

T1 went smooth and I was on my bike before the other guys.

I always feel like the bike is my strongest discipline because I work hard at been as aero and efficient as possible. My plan going into the race was to be a little bit more aggressive than the half ironman and stay at mid zone 3 by hrt. Unfortunately my monitor got crossed or something and just didn’t work correctly giving me all sorts of readings from 50bpm to 225. So on RPE I was and not confident at all. I always feel like I don’t know my body and can’t gauge my efforts at all. If I was going too slow or too fast I just don’t know, all I know is that some 10 dudes got to me and passed me during that time. One thing I am REALLY happy with is my head position. I made it a statement to correct my posture while aero and apparently I did.  My other concern was my nutrition plan. After analyzing all kind of data from past long course races I knew I wasn’t consuming enough and not replenishing my electrolytes during the cycle which could help a little bit with the cramping. I make the changes and ended up with a good outcome and not much of GI issues. Bike was finished and my goal of sub 2.05 was not reached, ending up with a 2.09. (18.5mph avg)

T2 was a normal one with me just taking it a bit more easier giving myself time to settle in and reduce cramping by stressing too much.

Starting the run my hamstring started acting up quickly and I thought Ohh No! This is the end of the race for me, cramping again. I decided to take a quick walk and about 1min later I was feeling ok and running according to goal pace. Another negative aspect I had affecting me technically was that no matter how slower I tried running my Heart Rate was simply not going down. Goal was to stay under 166bpm and I never go under 1.70. Mile kept going through and I was ecstatic realizing that I was RUNNING not much walking any more . Four miles completed and I am in the low 9’s per mile pace. I took it easy on the aid stations and the 4-6 mile hilly stretch and kept the cramping under controlled. Again I was getting passed my some more mature runners but I was feeling ok and running as fast as I could and was prepared for. My longest run week in this block was 28 so I couldn’t ask for more. Approaching the last mile and running it on 9.36 was just the icing on the cake on a very GOOD day consider it all. In the end new personal best for me at this race 4hrs 22min, 6 minutes faster than 2009.

It’s obvious that I am making some good strides towards greater improvement and that amuses me. I  finally know what kind of training I have to do for my body to respond and how to pace myself in each event. To get to the next level I will have to increase weekly volume to at least 11-12hrs weekly including longer bike rides in the trainer going from 1.2hrs –>2hrs, hitting swim sessions greater than 3km and running 30-35 miles per week. After I make those changes then the competition can finally be crushed!!!

Swimming:[2hrs 22min (6650mts)]

Cycling: [3hrs 59min (65km + trainer time)]

Running: [3hrs 52min (39.3km0]

Totals: 10hrs 13min [includes triathlon]

Weekly Brush-up (5/2/11- 5/8/11)

Swimming: [3hrs 3min (8.300mts)]

Cycling: [3hrs 10min (trainer only)]

Running: [4hrs 20min (43.5km)]

Totals: 10hrs 33min

Notes: I will keep this short as this post is mainly just for my own record. YEAH NO READERS AT ALL!  Target for this week was to hit 11hrs of trainer overall, I was short on that mainly because I did not ride outside. As a matter of fact I’ve ridden outside only 3 times since the half ironman which is not pleasant to think about. On the swimming I was ok trying to keep every session over 3k even though I cut them a little short because of lack of motivation.  In terms of running goal was to hit 30miles this week with a long run of 10miles. I did finished that 10 miles but failed to hit 30 total miles for the week mainly because I slept in and other mother’s day activities. Finished with 27 miles. This was final week of preparation for Joyuda for which I am not even pumped up to the fullest but will try to have fun and beat as many people as I can.

Weekly Brush-up and Roselyn Sanchez triathlon for life race report 4/25/11-5/1/11)

Swimming: 4x [3hrs 42min (9500mts)]

Cycling: 3x (3hrs 47min (71km + trainer time)]

Running: 4x [3hrs 53min (31.6km)]

totals:10hrs 40min

Notes: Nothing spectacular as of for week’s numbers regarding volume, consistency or intensity. The real highlight was the run split of my first sprint race for the year. Regarding workouts I am fairly happy with my run track workout on Thursday in which I performed 3x mile repeats into a strong headwind and not slower than 7.40. Into this weekend’s race:

I had my sprint distance race yesterday, It went well! I swam ALL OUT and came out of the water with people which in the past have been known for being much faster swimmers than I. (last week I did 3 workout at 3k each in the pool + the 750mts swim in the race = almost 10k of swimming for the week ;). On the bike man, it was brutal rain and wind gusts, I count at least 5 crashes and know of about 10 others who did too. So I wanted to conserve my teeth and just did a little Sunday ride pace for the remainder of the bike which resulted on getting passed by some folks.
On to the run I thought I was shot but I made it a goal to run under 8min miles for this race as my training and interval workouts suggested me I should. So off I went a little nauseous and weak but running fast. My goal was to run 24.xx so at the first turnaround I took a split on my watch and BAM!!! 12.12 that got me pretty excited and focus on keeping my pace. Boy my HRT was never under 180bpm on that run and I fight with myself like NEVER before, I was thinking I was Javier Gomez during one of those ITU cups and it worked!!! To the finish line and BAM 24.30 on my watch, sprint run PB by almost 1 full minute. like a friend told me: even splits (12.12--12.18) = sign of perfect execution!!! Finally I won my WEAK FIELD age group so I am happy even though I believe I have a faster bike split on me. (I used my road bike with no aerobars and it was the first time on it since October 2010 + 2 hours or riding the day before the race = NOT BAD!) Next race is Joyuda in two weeks and that one will definitely hurt.

Weekly Brush-up (4-18-11/4-24-11)

Swimming: 0x , 0hrs, 0mts

Cycling: 4x [5hrs 17min) 57KM]

Mostly indoor trainer with a 57km a hard/fast ride on holy Friday with and average of over 29km/hr. There was also a brick workout on sunday with a short transition run after a varied interval workout on the trainer, linsey corbin style.

Running: 5x [4hrs 27min) 44.1km]

Similar to pasts weeks, consistency was the focus. This week included a 9mile long run , a 6 mile medium wrong and a key track interval workout of 8 x 400mts. Times were fairly consistent.

totals: 9hrs 44min

*notes: Well for this week I was a duathlete. Mainly because pool was closed due to holy week festivities.  I made a goal on this week to hit 5 bike sessions and 5 run sessions.  I ended up with 4 bikes and 5 runs which is not bad. Every session went ok with the exception of Tueday’s long run. I don’t know what is it about Tuesdays but I always seem to have a bad training day for a reason that is completely unknown for me. Overall happy with the week as I HTFU and got the job done. Could have hustle a little bit more and add a couple of open water swim workouts but again with no partners and a severe case of open water phobia it was a NO- NO.

Weekly Brush up. (04-11-11/4-17-11)

Swimming: 2x [6000mts 2hrs 17min]

Only 2 sessions here, good thing they were both 3000mts long and there were some quality sets in there nothing strenuous but good quality overall. I definitely look forward to improve on my swimming since I think and many people also, that I have decent technique but need more strengths to get into the next level.

cycling: 2x [ 2hrs 53min 50km]

A couple of quality sessions not a big deal. Finally got on the road on Sunday and performed a 20k TT. I was a little discouraged by the time and speed average. I considered myself an above average cyclist but now I’m sure I am a MOP’er.

Running: 3x {2hrs 55min 29.8km]

No consistency here whatsoever but a lot of quality and I am REALLY REALLY happy on how my paces are progressing even with minimal work done. I finally feel like I am out of the slump again and running a little bit more instead of shuffling around at 10min x mile pace. My goal here is to run 30-35 for the remaining 4 weeks before race.

Totals: 8hrs 26min

*Notes: This week was just another one with good quality sessions but just not a lot of volume or consistency. Sad thing is, those 2 things are what keep me improving. I have a HARD race coming 4 weeks from now and I will pay the price there. Motivation is not there or here to be exact. I need a training partner, maybe a coach or simply someone to push me to my limits. I’ve made a mental commitment with myself to work intelligently hard this next 4 weeks and see what happens. As of for now I haven’t been on the road since the 70.3 event and my bike fitness which I erroneously considered my forte in triathlon- has suffered. The swim is still there and running is improving SLOwly. Now I know where to put the work up.

Weekly Brush-up (3-22-11/4-3-11) (4-4-11/4-10-11)

I will write this post even though I got 0 followers but  instead I plan on using it for future reference.

SWIMMING:  1hrs 57min(5300mts) ///////////2hrs 03min 5300mts

CYCLING:  (45min)//////////////////2hrs 30min (mostly trainer)

RUNNING: (2hrs 49min 29.1km)///////////// 3hrs 35min 37.5km

CORE": 80min

Totals: (6hrs 22min)                                                    (8hrs 38min)

Notes: Just getting back into things. I have been looking into every detail I could fix about my training and decided to make a priority out of core work and overall strength using weights.  Right now the limiting factor for me is motivation. It has been tough getting out of bed and out the door to do just about anything.  Another decision made was to make my bike training strictly indoors, no more road other than races of when I REALLY want to do a TT effort or test out equipment.  People out on the streets are just crazy and they couldn’t care less about when on a skinny ass bike to the right of the road. A recent accident to a training partner put the final nail into the issue. Another limiting factor is that even though people said “training is free” it really isn’t. I cannot swim for free in the pool, I have to pay parking to go running, I have to constantly gas car to go to safe training environment, let aside nutrition, equipment, race fees, etc. 

I’ve put down a couple of really good race practices so far and feel happy about the opportunity of going hard without paying to do so. An aquathlon practice proved that I am swimming faster than ever before and can beat people out of the water who used to beat the crap out of me.  I have been able to constantly run sub 8.45 miles off from hard swims and bikes. Today I was totally trashed after my duathlon effort and managed to run 2x miles at 8min pace after .  All considered I should have a good race if I decide to race the Roselyn Sanchez tri for life sprint distance. I have a couple of more weeks to put down some speed work and see what pops out. I did a track set of 8x400mts and find myself running about 7min miles avg pace for them which I liked.

I believe I have to achieve a couple of stepping stones in order to be competitive in my local races and age group. Get standalone 5k time closer to 22min. Swim under 13min for a 750mts race, currently at 13.30aprox. Should also get stronger overall and improve on nutrition. My next race will be may 15th and I don’t have a clear goal at the moment.

I’ll be back later with some notes on my tweaked nutrition plan.

San Juan 70.3 Race-Report / March 19th-2011

Official Results:

Swim: 38.25 (2.01 X 100mts)

T1: 4.32

Bike: total= 2.53:14 avg speed 19.4mph

BIKE SPLIT 1 - 20.8 mi
20.8 mi. (56:59)
21.90 mph

BIKE SPLIT 2 - 37.2 mi
16.4 mi. (51:04)
19.27 mph

BIKE SPLIT 3 - 56 mi
18.8 mi. (1:05:11)
17.31 mph

T2: 3.12

Run: total: 2.34:00 avg pace 11.45/mile

RUN SPLIT 1 - 3.45 mi
3.45 mi. (32:55)
9:32/mile

RUN SPLIT 2 - 6.52 mi
3.07 mi. (35:21)
11:30/mile

RUN SPLIT 3 - 9.65 mi
3.13 mi. (38:36)
12:19/mile

RUN SPLIT 4 - 13.1 mi
3.45 mi. (47:08)
13:39/mile

TOTAL RUN
13.1 mi. (2:34:00)
11:45/mile

TOTAL TIME 6 HRS 13 MIN division:30 out of 50

My data: Cateye ciclo computer

time 2.58.54 includes un-racking and racking with runs in transition

distance 89.89km

avg. 30.2km/hr

Polar Heart Rate ciclo-computer

time: 2hrs 51min 46 sec

distance: 55.1miles

avg. speed 19.2mph

avg.heart rate 159bpm

avg. cadence 91 rpm

Run data:Timex Ironman watch

mile1 =9.31

mile2= 9.27

mile3= 9.37

mile 4= 10.04

mile 5 to 1rst lap turnaround= 29.31

1rst lap turnaround to mile 7= 5.56

mile8= 10.31

mile 9 to mile 10= 26.19

mile11= 12.20

mile12= 13.36

mile 13+.1= 17.01

Race day Nutrition: Race weight was aprox. 150lbs

-peanut butter sandwich = 300cal

-20onz powerade = 150cal

-2x apple sauce = 200cal

-1x PowerGel before swim start = 110cal

BIKE:

20oz EFS = 192 cal

aprox. 40onz water

1/4 banana

EFS Liquid Shot = 400cal

total: 600cal aprox = 200 cal/hr

RUN:

-gatorade and water as needed

-a couple of zips of PowerGel

-5x cliff shot blocks orange

Report:

Well it’s 48 hours after the first IM 70.3 San Juan and I can barely walk.  My calves are out of service at the moment and moving from one place to another is challenging, even if they are just 3 feet apart. I’ve done a lot of self analysis and came out with some positive feedback on what went wrong and what went good.

After wind milling on my bed for 8 hours I woke up race morning at 4:15am feeling ok. I got everything figured out, had a couple of rounds against my peanut butter sandwich just trying to swallow it and off to transition I was.  If there was anything annoying for me on race day, was the fact of having to be in and out of transition almost 2 hours till my wave start. Lots of nervous minutes, doing nothing but visiting the porta potty.

Preparing my transition area was a breeze, got body marked, sun blocked and away to the swim start. After 2 hours, it was time for me to go. My wave wasn’t that big, maybe 80 people,so I opted for a place to the right of the pack and very tight to the buoys.  The first meters were kind of rough, I was trying to decide on which feet to stay and draft and got kicked and swam over a couple of times.  I really felt with tired arms after the first 500mts but I decided to stay calm and focus on a easy effort. That was my goal coming into this race to utilize as little energy as possible on the swim but stay under 40min for it.  The rest was more of the same until 300 mts to go where the currents and choppy water shakes us around and little bit and make it difficult to fallow some feet and sight to transition.  At the ramp, out of the water, 38min, no cramps and I was happy.

It was a long transition to the bikes, probably 600mts, I took it very easy and made it into the stadium and out in no time.

On the bike I felt awesome, I even performed a flying mount and felt like a pro doing it. Once on the road and aero I quickly find my rhythm and just focused on keeping my hrt low at zone 2 to be precise. It was a lonely way going out of town but I quickly started passing people and before I know it, I was averaging 20mph.  I was just about 11km into my ride when the pros came flying the opposite way to finish their bike, Boy do they look impressive. I even shout Go Macca! directly at him, I can believe I was there on the same course with 2 time defending champion.  I continue to focus on my effort and continue to pass people while been passed a minimum of times. I stay sharp on my nutrition and was feeling very happy as to how good I was riding.  Coming in to the turnaround after the first lap and as the course go a little more solitary came the first real mental test of the day.  Apparently my aerobar pads got socked with water and lost its glue and the pad went flying from my bike. I tried catching it on the fly but couldn’t as I was riding a pacing line with riders on both sides and in front and back. It was kind of confusing at the moment, I had to ride with my skinny, sharp elbow on the bar aluminum and screws of the elbow cups.  It was getting painful by the minute and I had to ride upfront like a big parachute for the remainder of the bike. About 40km to be exact. I was disappointed as I believe my position is one of my weapons of choice on the bike and couldn’t use it as the winds got stronger.  Anyways to the end of bike it was and I was still catching some strugglers. I had a few pinches on my hamstrings which got me thinking Oh no, trouble, but after coming out of the bike and been able to actually jog with my bike I was more than happy.

Into the stadium, socks and shoes on, trying to stay calm taking it easy and off T2 I was.

It’s amazing what can happen when you are well prepared for a race, well sort of. My hamstring start acting up by the first couple of minutes and I had to stop before going up the hill out of transition. I thought this was the end of the race but surprisingly once over it, I started running again and into a nice rhythm while passing people. It was 9.30-9.30-9.30 and before I know it I was a the turnaround. I made a deal with myself of walking the uphills and running everything else. I was doing great and by mile 8 I was on pace for my target run split and a surprising sub 6hrs finish. This is when things got ugly, My calves kept getting tighter and tighter by the minute forcing me to stop, walk, stretch and only manage to run 1-2 minutes at a time. I was loosing time quickly and kept getting passed by those who I passed in the first loop. By mile 11 all I could do was walking and even that was a great challenge. I really tried HARD to shake the cramps out of my calves as I watched the minutes ticking away with my sub 6hrs sleep. At mile 12.5 I succumbed to  the cramps it was just too painful so much that I collapsed right in the middle of the street, unable to stand up or un-cramp my legs. I still find it funny that 3 days from race week I have NO soreness on my quads or hamstrings which are the major muscles working and my calves are juts locked down and out of service.  Another competitor grab me off the floor, helped me stretch and offered to walk with me to the finish line. After I got up I encouraged him to keep on with his race as I walk to the finish line. It’s still hard on the the fact the I couldn’t run down the finish chute and give high 5 to people, I was so looking forward to that feeling. There it was, me and the finish with 6hrs 13min and 23secs on the clock. A 39 min PB shaded by the what if… feeling.

I entered the medical tent as a request from my brother to receive some iv’s in order to aid with recovery, as I tent to recover slowly from hard efforts.  I did and spent 2 hours there just receiving treatment to my UGLY cramps which continue thru ought that time. A couple ml’s of sodium and off the medical tent I was , feeling like I just completed a whole 140.6 mile Ironman.

Going back to the race there is less than a handful number of things I would change. First is to LISTEN to my body and receive the treatment when it stills early. I had the alarm from my calves 2 weeks prior and slept through it.  Again pacing is so important and I certainly over paced for the first 3 miles on the run by 30sec each, which may not seen like much but hunted me in the later miles. 

As per positives there were lots of them. I performed my strategy of energy conserving on the swim and still went under 40minutes and cramp free. My transitions were spot on with no forgotten items or details. On the bike I paced as I planed, staying in zone 2 per my hrt and averaged just under 20mph without optimal position due to a lost aerobar pad.  On the run, well I run for 8 miles which is a victory for me and for the first time I believe I am capable of running a 1/2 marathon off the bike without stopping and do it at a respectable pace. Last but not least …I personal bested!!! Nothing else matters. I improved and did clearly which tells me that I MUST be doing something correct. Big props to everyone in the slowtwitch forum for helping me out and to my main man Eric for believing and supporting me. I’m coming! don’t even look back!!! HTFU and get the job done…

 

 

Weekly Brush-Up No. (3/14/11-3/19/11)

Swimming: 2hrs 07min [5700 mts]

Here I maintained pretty good volume and intensity. Felt really good on both Wednesday's and Friday's swim.

Cycling: 3hrs 43min [90km +trainer time]

Just a quick 40min trainer ride with a couple acceleration and a 10min pre race ride to check and double check everything.

Running:3hrs 56min [35.5km]

Two short high intensity workouts to spice things up went really well. I was surprise with me running close to sub 9min miles on race week with no effort. The training  did it’s job and I had 8 REALLY good miles on race day. After that is another story, again race report coming shortly.

Total:9hrs 46min

*Notes: Race week, everything went smooth through taper. Consistency and Intensity kept about the same with a slight volume decrease.  Other than spending LESS time on my feet, I won’t change much. Race went ok, I am not disappointed with it,I am satisfied and know what to work on from now on. Race Report to fallow…

Weekly Brush-up No.8 (3/7/11-3/13-11)

Swimming: 3x [2hrs 34min (7100 mts)]

I’ve been off track a little bit on the swimming lately. This week I did an easy aerobic set,a 4 x 400 descending times and my key workout of 18 x 100 on threshold with descending rest which was once again reduced to 15x.

Cycling: 2x [2hrs 50min (48km + trainer time)]

Just 2 sessions but quality everywhere. I did my usual 2 x 20min at FTP by perceived exertion and 50k on Saturday including 4x5min jumps at race effort.

Running: 5x [3hrs 41min (37.2km)]

Nothing fancy here, again 5 times but shorter sessions. I added a hard interval session on Thursday as 5x3min hard with 2 min recovery and was very happy with how I felt during that.

Totals: 9hrs 05min

*Notes: Last week of training before the BIG race. I reduced volume a little bit, added some intensity and maintained consistency.  I had a couple of encouraging workouts to keep looking forward to a good race on march 19th. I also find out that I am on the last wave, I was very disappointed, I wanted to quit, don’t show up because I thought I was in disadvantage by having to face the worst conditions on race day. Having to play catch up all day, starting the ride with the strongest winds and hopefully running in the hottest conditions. I cleared all of that by thinking how lucky I am to be healthy and to be participating. In short words;I cannot quit, WHY? I have trained hard, I have trained LOTS, I have trained intelligently, I’ve worked on my limiters and I can BEAT  a whole lotta people next Saturday. My motto is to HTFU, get the job done and crush some dreams because I have home court advantage.

Weekly Brush-Up No.7 (3/1/11–3/6/11)

Swimming:4x [3 HRS 14MIN (9.000MTS)]

Four swims this week & that’s great. 1 easy recovery swim, 2 key workouts and a open water on course. Textbook week!!! I failed to complete my 18x100 target workout on friday, probably due to overall fatigue but got 15 of those done anyways. Open water swimming needs work, sighting and navigation still an issue. Have to be careful on goggles choice.

Cycling: 2.5x [5 HRS 29MIN (150KM)]

Only 2 sessions this week but they were both VERY beneficial and with good quality. I bailed out of my trainer session after been unable to reach target heart rate zones. I later discover that hrt does not responds to indoor cycling as it normally does on the road and I will address that on my next training ride indoors.

Running: 4x [4 HRS 04MIN (46.6KM)]

Had to pull out of my 5th run because of a bad/strained calf. My other 4 runs where in the acceptable range. As a positive side this week included a 2 hrs long run + a 8.5 middle run which I like in terms of volume and consistency.

total: 13hrs 29min

notes* BIG week, overall happy with how it turned out. I got every key session done. A little bit worried about the sore calf but I am working on that. The majority of the work is now done and I am shutting down engines very soon. Confidence is building as I’ve done the best I could in order to address my limiters and be as specific as I can during the prep. Constant visits to all 3 courses, equipment and nutrition set up tests and mental visualization are all crucial to what I can achieve on race day.  Two more weeks of EASIER stuff, lets rest up –HTFU and perform.

Weekly Brush up No.6 (2/21/11-2/27/11)

Swimming: 3x [2hrs 40min (2700mts)]

Good swim workouts, the two longest were 2.8km and 3km. I felt good on both and managed to hit my goal times. My key workout here was 18 x 100 mts as 6 @ 2.10 send off, 6 @ 2.05 and 6 leaving @ 2.00 , all of them been under 1.50 for the 100’s.

Bike: 4x [6hrs 03min(100km= does not include training rides)]

Not much here other than the sundays long ride of 100k on which I felt ok but no great . The other major goal accomplished was hitting my heart rate threshold on Saturdays trainer ride and performing the 2x20min set.

running: 5x [4hrs 46min (47.2km)]

Again lots of consistency here, I’ve shown little sparks on progression based on pace. The long run still tough on my body. I’ve been able to keep a consistent pace on my threshold run which is nor bad or good. Anyways I keep putting up the effort and hoping for the best.

Totals: 13hrs 29min (quite possible biggest training week ever!!)

*notes: Not much to be said here other than consistency present and volumes keeps on building. I’m now on my last week of building and will shut things down gradually from now on. I hope to start feeling fresher in the last couple of days.  I am really pumped up for the race and want to at least do well. With how crappy my times are a PB is not a great deal. On the other side I am tired of the long training sessions and want some time off to focus on shorter stuff. HTFU and get the job done!!!

Weekly brush up No.5 (2-14-11/2-20-11)

Swimming:3x [2hr 31(7000 mts)]

A couple of good workouts, consistency finally hit 3 sessions. Open water session on Saturday was a great confidence booster, fix a couple of navigation,sighting mistakes and dialed down what effort I need to do on race day.

Cycling: 3x [6hr 6min [144.7kms]

Quality-No junk miles here. Trainer session, short threshold intervals and long ride with tempo all went ok. Need to tweak minor details on aerobar configuration to address a neck strain problem.

Running:5x [4hr 17min (26 miles)]

Well not as expected but GOT THE JOB DONE, short runs,threshold run, long one and a brick. Everything you need for a textbook running kind of week.

Totals: 12hrs 55mins

*Notes: GREAT week if we left behind tuesdays long run. I completed every workout on good fashion. Consistency was great and overall volume is close to tops. Saturday was great with 3 workouts completing almost an olympic distance race. Long ride on sunday was excellent, nutrition was spot on and I rode 1 hour at race pace and felt ok afterwards. I was supposed to go 2.15 but went 2.28 because of an error at the turn around. Looking forward to next couple of hard days before going into taper mode. My confidence got a little bit better after this week, now is time to stay focus and HTFU.

Weekly Brush up No.4 (2-1-11/2-7-11)

Swimming: 2x (1hr 39min [2600mts]

Just 2 sessions again,that’s nothing new. I am satisfied to note that I hit both sessions with and A+, including the killer of 15x100mts on :10rest @threshold pace. Goal is to hit 20x under 1.50 before the race.

Cycling: 4x (5hr 55min   [125.3km])

Tough workouts as always. Tempo and threshold intensities addressed . Difficult long ride on Saturday of 3hrs, managed to finished drained and strong at the same time. Added a short spin session to help on the overall volume.

Running:5x (3hrs 52min [33.4km ] )

Frequency , Frequency, just over 20 miles for the week on 5x. A little of dissatisfaction with the long run on Tuesday but will TRY to stay positive and focus and hope for the best come race day. I am having trouble controlling my HRT running off the bike.

Totals: 11hrs 26mins

Notes: Another consistent week. Frequency and volume and frequency building. I hit 11hrs for the first time in a lot of time. I got a little bit tired at the end of week, forcing me to cut short on Sunday's session. It’s been a TOUGH TOUGH week, lots of stuff happening and the same time and I’m unable to understand why or how to deal with them. Looking forward to next week and showing some improvements on the run, building continues.

Weekly Brush-up (1-31-11///2-06-11)

Swim: 2x [4400mts (1hr 37min)

Managed to hit my main key workouts of 100’s @ threshold pace with :10 rest. I did 12x with a best of 1.44 and 1.50 as my slowest.

Bike: 3x [5hrs 24min (123.9kms)

All 3 rides were solid workouts including the trainer ride were I almost pass out. Managed to do 2x of main key workout during Sunday's long ride.

Run: 5x [3hrs 34min (34.4kms)

Frequency and consistency, day in and day out, volume keeps building. Threshold run went ok-not spectacular.

Totals: 10hrs 35 min

Another good week completed. Building my frequency and volume over the last couple of weeks. Another 5x sessions of running, a couple of solid workout.  My main focus keeps on been specific training to finish up the race.  Long ride on Sunday went good, close to 3 hours also long Tuesday's long run was successful and showed some signs of improvement. Let’s get the job done and keep on moving.

Bike performance analysis

*note I created this as a personal thing to use as future reference to track progress. If you want to read it go on, Amen. Hope this make you realize something beneficial to your own training experience.

Training rides in preparation for Miami 70.3 event (include last 8  rides)

8 weeks out	54km	2.02	avg.16.5mph
7 week out	61km	2.55	12.9 mph	hilly course
6 weeks out	75km	3.00	15.5 mph
5 weeks out	42km	1.34	16.5 mph
4 weeks out	86km	3.25	15.6 mph
3 weeks out	55 km	2.12	15.5 mph
2 weeks out	77 km	2.55	16.4 mph
1 week out	61 km	2.27	15.4 mph
RACE	90KM	2.51	19.6 mph

 

Findings: The first thing that jumps on my mind looking at this data is that I DID NOT HAD THE VOLUME to be able to handle the 90km segment of the bike. I only hit that mark ONCE during that block which is a quick recipe for disaster. Then looking a the average speed for the rides I did not included ANY threshold or tempo work simulating race pace/conditions/equipment/position, etc. Again recipe for disaster. How can I averaged 4 mph faster on the race if I had never went that fast or even close on training?, exposing me to a whole new calorie intake rate, effort perception, fatigue level , etc. TIME is a another factor the race itself was my 3rd longest ride of the WHOLE plan, which is not good by any means. I was in a physiological stress/doubt way early in the race.

Impressions: I am honest when I say I did feel good during the bike split of the race. But again, I didn’t had any TOOL to measure effort which left me with RPE but unfortunately ADRENALINE has a great effect on it and it showed afterwards. I went too hard and even longer than never before. I should have establish an easy pace, treated like a Sunday ride and make it to transition feeling like I had something left for the run.

Things to work on: I’ve made some big changes I’ve mentioned before on my blog so I’ll make a quick list.

1. Adjust wheel resistance on the trainer, I was spinning WAY to easily neglecting the effects of interval work.
2. Go longer, I’ve go 72km so far and plan on keep building.
3. Include threshold/tempo work on longer rides.This has really make a big difference on overall average speed on my longer rides and making them fun. (yeah right)
4. Incorporate a Heart Rate Monitor as my main training tool and effort gauge. (THANKS Eric)
5. Riding more, I’ve upper my rides to 4x a week, including QUALITY sets on most of them.

Hope this helps me improve and to finally say I’ve found the recipe for SUCCESS.