It Was the Worst of Times, It Was the Best of Times...

Yeah, I know it's backwards but it fits perfectly with how the weekend went compared to a week ago.

Last Saturday, if you've been reading, was a rough one.  Dehydration, poor bike fit from what I could tell, etc.  On Friday, I had my bike fit adjusted by Bob at Bluegrass Bicycle in Crestwood.  After looking at just about everything, we lowered the seat by about 1 cm and and changed the stem from a 6 degree lift to 24.  It's like riding a brand new bicycle!

So with my "new" ride, I attempted another 60 miles on the IMKY course.  I did several things differently.

     1.  Really concentrated on hydration and electrolyte fueling.
     2.  Took it easy to start.  I didn't realize how fast I started out last week.  Going down the opening
          flat part of the course last week, I was probably going 20+, way too fast. Yesterday was 16-17
          and it really paid off.
     3.  Tried to stay in the aero position as much as possible.  (Not me but you get the idea.)

I'll have to admit that bombing down a hill in that position at 40 mph is about my limit.  Any faster and I think I'd piss myself.  Off the bike was a 3 mile transition run which also felt pretty good.  Probably my best training day so far.

Finally, some amazing news.  Yesterday, I went clothes/shoe shopping.  When this all started, I was in an XXL t-shirt and had moved into an XL lately.  So yesterday, I picked up 3 nice blank t-shirts.  Told my wife to pick out a L for a bit of incentive.  Got home and the large fit.  I can't believe how all this training is paying off!

The totals for the week:  6900 meters swimming; 82 miles biking; 14 miles run.

This week, which is a recovery week:

Monday:  Supposed to be off but it's Memorial Day in the U.S. and there is a family friendly ride downtown that my wife and daughter are going to ride with me.
Tuesday:  2400 meter swim.
Wednesday:  40 min ride.
Thursday:  1500 meter swim.
Friday:  3400 meter swim.
Saturday:  4 hour bike/30 min run brick.
Sunday:  50 minute run.

Hydration and Bike Fit Update

If you've read my last post from Sunday, you know I had a rough time on a ride on the IMKY course.  Dehydration and massive shoulder pain nearly had me in tears.  So in addition to my regularly scheduled training, I called the shop that fit my bit back in September and spoke with Hammer Nutrition and read a ton on hydration and nutrition.

I have a re-fit (updated fit?) scheduled for Friday but on my training ride today, I took more notice of my positioning.  I'm almost 100% certain that I'm simply too far forward on the handle bars.  This causes my elbows to lock, putting a lot of stress on my upper body and shoulders.  So hopefully just a change to that position will get it cured. 

On the hydration front, I think I was on the right track, I just didn't do enough.  I'm going to have to consciously think about water and electrolyte intake and not just assume I'm doing enough to get through. 

For the rest of the week:  2 swims, 2 runs and a long ride/brick run. 

I Guess They Call It Training For a Reason?

So yesterday was my first chance to actually ride some of the IMKY course.  I had ridden bits and pieces of it but never going X number of miles on the course itself.  The plan was to ride the 60 mile option (the entire course is 112) and do a brick run after.

Well, I've never experienced anything quite like it.  I think I know what went wrong but by about mile 40 (I rode 46 total) and 3 hours in, I was toast.  Shoulders were killing me, light headed, etc.  I weighed myself when I got home and I had lost about 6 pounds total during the ride.

Several things came out of the experience.

1.  Time to pay a visit to the guy who fit my bike.  I wonder if my positioning is impacting my shoulders.  He said a follow up would probably be necessary and he was right.
2.  I really underestimated the amount of hydration necessary.  I wasn't sweating too much on my forearms so didn't think I was sweating that much overall.  Well the six pounds tell a different story.  So must focus on 30 ounces or so an hour at hotter temperatures.  I think the dehydration also impacted the shoulders, at least to some extent. 
3.  Electrolytes.  If you've been reading this blog, you know I've been using Hammer Endurolytes, in addition to water, for electrolyte needs.  This was my own fault.  I didn't take any pre-ride and underestimated the temperatures.  Will be taking a full dose every hour on the next ride, along with the additional water, to see how I feel.

As the title states, I guess they call it training for a reason?  I was quite discouraged yesterday but had a good run this morning in some very humid conditions.  Toward the end of our 55 minute run, I was starting to experience some shoulder pain.  That gives me some confidence that it was partially dehydration as I normally don't worry much about hydration, etc. during a 1 hour run. 

For the week:  8300 meters swimming; 80 minutes on the bike trainer; 60 miles ridden; 12.4 miles run.

Upcoming...

Monday:  off.
Tuesday:  2400 meter swim; 30 minute run.
Wednesday:  70 minute bike ride including a big time trial effort.
Thursday:  3000 meter swim; 45 minute interval run.
Friday:  3400 meter swim.
Saturday:  4 hour ride; 30 minute brick run.
Sunday:  50 minute run; active recovery.

Time for a Quick Adjustment to the Plan

If you've been keeping up with this blog for very long, you know I've been using a 20 week IM training plan from TriFuel.  I had a bit of an epiphany on Sunday after writing my end of week post...

I had essentially trained every day for 35 days in a row and for lack of a better term, I was getting a bit frazzled.  I'm not sure why, but the training plan I selected for being a bit heavier on swimming, which I needed, didn't really build any pure days off and I'm not quite sure what the theory is behind no days off.

So I consulted a book I bought back in September when I signed up for IMKY.

I noticed that he always gave Mondays off, regardless of the plan's level, tri distance, etc.  So I cross-referenced my plan with the corresponding week in that book for the same plan level and even with taking Mondays off, the training load was the same.  That settled it and from now on, I'm taking Mondays off.

For the rest of the week, I have 2 bike rides, 2 swims and 3 runs left.  On Saturday, we try again to ride part of the actual IMKY course with several other entrants.  Hopefully the weather holds.  That's a big advantage, being able to ride the actual course all summer.

See you at the end of the week.

Laying the First "Brick" in the Foundation.

Week 5 done!

Hard to believe it's already been 5 weeks of training.  "Only" 15 to go until event day. 

The end of the week included my first brick run.  Rode 45 miles on the bike followed by a 30 minute easy run.  Not that I'm anywhere near IM distance but felt like I could have run all day after the ride. 

Also seeing more of the benefits of all the training.  I've got to learn not to buy the "loose" fat guy cut in clothes.  I haven't lost too many inches in my waist but chest, thighs, etc. are really a lot smaller.  This means those loose fit pants and shirts aren't looking so good on me.

For the week:

13.6 miles run; 7000 meters swimming; 60 miles ridden on the road; 2 hours on the indoor bike trainer.

Week 6 starts tomorrow:

Monday:  1 hour bike with some hard intervals.
Tuesday:  2000 meter swim; 35 minute run.
Wednesday:  80 minute bike with some time trial intervals.
Thursday:  2500 meter swim; 45 minute interval run.
Friday:  3400 meter swim;
Saturday:  3.5 hour bike; 30 minute run off the bike.
Sunday:  50 minute run; active recovery.

See you mid-week!

Week 5, Wednesday

Started off the week with an indoor interval bike session on Monday.  Same Monday workout I've had the last few weeks.  Tuesday was a 1600 meter swim and a 35 minute run.  I felt rather sluggish and slow during the swim but I guess everyone has those days.

Not that I'm running marathons in 35 minutes but I do notice that my speed has picked up some.  I find myself cruising along at 9:30-10/mile instead of my usual 11ish. 

Today was a one hour bike ride with 2 10 minute time trial efforts in the middle.  I found a drawback of the weight I've lost during the ride.  One of my favorite bike jerseys is this one:

However, since I've lost a fair bit of weight, it's become quite loose and that means chafe city.  Not sure if body glide will help or if it has to leave the jersey rotation?

The rest of the week is 2 more swims, 3 runs and a bike, including my first run off the bike.  Should be interesting.

See you Sunday!

Week 5: "Toughening Your Constitution"

Today ends the first phase of IMKY training, "Building a Routine."  This week the totals were:

Running:  10 miles including some wicked fast intervals.
Biking:  2 hours on the trainer with some hard intervals and 67 miles outdoor including today's easy recovery spin.
Swimming:  6900 meters.

These totals are still amazing to me.  Not that I'm some super athlete but that I can do all that when last year at this time, I was just cycling, and not very hard at that.

So, as the title says, I'm into the next 5 week segment.  This section is about toughening my body and mind.  From what I've read about people who've finished Ironman length events, the mind may be the toughest part of it all.

So here we go...

Monday:  60 minutes on the bike trainer with some hard intervals.
Tuesday:  1600 meter swim; 35 minute run.
Wednesday:  60 minutes on the bike with 2 time trial segments.
Thursday:  2000 meter swim; 45 minute interval run.
Friday:  3400 meter swim.
Saturday:  3 hour bike ride and 30 minute run off the bike.
Sunday:  60 minute run and active recovery.

I'll try to do a mid-week update.  See you next time!

A "Half" An Update

So ends week 3 of 20. 

The week began with a ride on the trainer with some intense intervals and ended with my first ever half-marathon and in-between was a 3400 meter swim, which is nearly the IMKY distance.

On Saturday, I completed the Kentucky Derby Festival Half-Marathon in 2:20 or an average of 10:41 per mile.  Since I usually go 11-11:30 per mile on long runs, I was very happy with the result.  But it did come at a price.  I was supposed to have a 3 hour bike ride today but needed a recovery from the 13.1 miles yesterday.  Ended up taking the day off.  Recovery will be helped tomorrow with a deep tissue massage. 

I also made a decision about the running part of my plan. Since I was so far ahead of the plan mileage running, I wasn't sure if I wanted to let the plan catch up to me or scale back the running to the plan mileage.  Well, after the required recovery for today, I think running 10-12 miles a weekend at this point would just hurt me so I've decided to move back to the plan distances.

For the week:   7300 meters swimming; 16 miles run; and 2 hours 10 minutes cycling.

The week ahead...

Monday:  70 minutes on the bike trainer with some hard intervals.
Tuesday:  2000 meter swim; 30 minute run.
Wednesday:  70 minutes on bike with some time trial intervals.
Thursday:  1500 meter swim; 35 minute run.
Friday:  3400 meter swim.
Saturday:  3 hours cycling.
Sunday:  40 minute run.