Week #6 Day #5 Swim and run

The swim was uneventful, 30 laps in the pool.  Took it really easy today, and kept my pace at about a minute per lap.

The run was the longest I've ever run.  I still kept my pace about where I wanted it, and it felt good.  I really felt like I could have run more, but knew I had to get back home.  The reason I had to get back home, at the 1.5 mile mark I realized I had locked myself out of the house, and needed to get back before it got too late to do anything about it.  Luckily my great neighbor Joe and I figured out how to break in.

Week #6 Day #4 Cycle Hillwork revisited

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that I hit the half way point in my training.  Revisited last week's ride, it felt great and I felt like I was flying through the MTB trail on the first half of it.  The long grueling slow climb on the back of the course lulled me out of the aggressive riding I was doing up to that point.  I managed to get back into it before I was done.

Week #6 Day #3 Swim and Run

The swim was decent, just 20 laps today.  Kept a decent pace.

The run was great tonight.  I might have been pushing it a little too hard tonight for a training run, but it felt really good.  I ran this same route last week about 23 seconds slower per mile, but my average heart rate was 3 beats lower last week.  I'm not sure what is going on with my heart rate though where my heart rate is shooting way up, but then settles back down to a decent level.  Apparently my body is resisting running, but when it realizes that it doesn't have a choice it settles down and performs.

Week #6 Day #2 Cycle

I wanted to take another run at the ski hill today, but when I got to the actual trail entrance there was a sign saying the trail was closed.  I ended up taking a detour to get the miles in I needed for the day.  It wasn't as difficult as I was hoping for, but it was still decent.

Week #6 Day #1 Swim and Run

The swim was good, I somewhat timed just my laps and not the warm up and cool down portions of the swim.  It took me between 20 and 21 minutes to swim 19 laps doing interval swimming.

I am starting to see the benefits of all of this training however.  I compared the run to the last time I ran that same route about a month ago my pace was almost a minute faster and my average heart rate was 3 beats lower.

Week #5 Day #6 Bike

I didn't ride the original route I had planned.  It was a humbling ride though.  I got on the Mountain Bike Trail, and was getting passed by everybody out there.  Oh well, it was still a decent ride.

Week #5 Day #5 Swim and Run

The swim was normal 2 laps today, decided to ease up a bit today to hit it again on Monday.  I was all done with my laps though waiting for Rachael to get done with her stuff and she challenged me to a 1 lap race.  I smoked her, but the most amazing thing about that 1 lap was that my form seemed so much better and I was hauling ass.  I have to figure out what it was that I was doing and see if I can replicate it.

I was really looking forward to this run for a couple of days.  I like this loop due to the hill work and the dirt road that I get to run on.  About half way through the run I was beginning to wonder why I was looking forward to this run, because it was kicking my ass.  I obviously prevailed.  Can't wait to run it again.

Week #5 Day #4 Some serious hill work

I was thinking about this ride when I got done, and thought about how things change.  Last year I would have driven to the ski hill and rode.  Today I needed 10 miles on my bike.  I got it, but worked my butt off doing it.  Check out the elevation graph of this ride.  Overall though it was a great ride.  I had to get off and walk my bike in the snow that was still at the bottom of the ski slope.  I conquered the areas of the trail that were my nemesis last year, and only had one minor slip that sent me off the trail.  It was great to be back on my favorite trail.

Week #5 Day #3 Swim and Run

Today's training went pretty well.  1250 yards in the pool took me about 29 minutes.  I was really hoping for a faster time, but I just couldn't make it happen.

The run was even better tonight than Monday night's run.  I was having some issues with my IT band last week, and did some extra stretches tonight which really helped.

Week #5 Day #2 Cycle

This was a decent quick ride.  I got slowed up on a decent due to a lady and her special needs son.  That boy was all over the trail, I had to slow way down to make sure he didn't step in front of me.  The worst part of it was I had a climb immediately following the decent, so I had no momentum going into the climb.

Week #5 Day #1 Swim and Run

First thing, Rachael has thrown down the gauntlet.  There will be a reward for me finishing in the top 10 in my age bracket.  Last year, the #9 and #10 spots finished at about 1 hour and 55 minutes.  I think I can do it.  I have my events broken out this way.  18 minutes or less for the swim, 1 hour for the 12 mile bike, and 36 minutes or less for the 4 mile run.

Today's swim was good, but I've got some work to do to hit the time above.  I did 20 laps in 24 minutes, which is a little slow in comparison to the goal above.  Hoping that the adrenaline of race day will pull me through quicker.

Tonight's run though made me feel better.  It felt like it was the strongest run I've had since last fall's 5k.

Week #4 Day #6 Cycle

It was a little chilly for this ride.  To make myself feel better for my inability to not crash while riding the trail, I came up with something to make myself feel better.  "If you're not crashing, you're not riding hard enough!"

Week #4 Day #5 Swim and Run

Today I ended up doing something resembling a brick workout.  I didn't have a chance to get my swim in earlier in the day, because Rachael and I were out running errands all day.  We went to the gym, and I took off for my run, and then changed into my bathing suit and hopped in the pool for 750 yards.  It was weird making that sort of transition.  The first two laps in the pool felt like I had a weight on my chest.

Week #4 Day #4 Cycle

Nice little ride.  Was focused on speed that night.