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!!!