Florida Week 3

The most important lesson from last week is to listen to your body. Mine was telling me a great number of things that I was ignoring.

Namely, acclimation takes time. You can't just start riding 120 mile rides in 90+ degree temperatures in the scorching sun and not expect to suffer a bit. I paid little mind to hydration much to my own demise come the weekend.

Also, intensity is plays a serious roll in how much volume you can do. I'm not training with a HR monitor these days. So I knew I had to be careful about overdoing it with enthusiasm. As intensity increases volume must decrease for a bit. Well, last week I pushed both up. Mistake.

Monday

Workout #1

Bike 2.45.00, 56 miles

Workout #2

Swim 1.15.00, 4000m

Workout #3

Life 0.30.00

(5.30.00)

Tuesday

Workout #1

Brick, Bike 52 miles, run 4

3.00.00

Wednesday

Workout #1

Bike, 5.50.00 110 miles

Thursday

Workout #1

Run, 1.30.00, 11 miles

Workout #2

Swim, 1.00.00, 3300m

(2.30.00)

Friday

Workout #1

Run, 1.15.00, 6.5 miles

Saturday

Workout #1

Brick, Bike 111, Run 4

6.15.00

Sunday

Workout #1

Run, 2.15.00, 16m

29.05.00 hrs

Swim 7300m

Bike 329 miles

Run 40 miles

Florida Week 2 (too hard too fast)

This week I learned about some boundaries. You can't know your limits until to transgress them, or try to at least. When I woke up on Saturday I realized I was in trouble. I couldn't walk or talk. I wobbled and couldn't do the easiest of tasks. Yet I still showed up at my training partner's house for my long brick. Thank god he had the sense to tell me to just watch a movie or two.

I did, and it was much needed. I did the same on Sunday, too. It was much needed as well. I was overtrained.

I'm pretty sure it was a matter of intensity rather than volume. I shouldn't be doing intervals so hard I puke this early in the season. I thought it was the heat. It was too much enthusiasm.

So now it's time to pull it back together, and find my rhythm this week.

Monday

workout #1

1.15.00 swim 3500m (1500, 1500, 500)

workout #2

2.45.00 bike 52 miles with intervals 10x4min

Tuesday

workout #1

Brick

2.18.00 bike, 46 miles

28.00 run, 4 miles

workout #2

1.00.00 Swim 2800m

workout #3

.20 lifting

Wednesday

6.15.00 bike, 120 miles

Thursday

off

Friday

workout #1

Run

1.30.00 11 miles, 4 miles in 25.37

workout #2

Swim

1.15.00, 3000 meters

Saturday

off

Sunday

off

Florida Week 1

I'm not sure if it's a good omen to get the stomach flu immediately before driving 1100 miles to do the most serious training you've ever attempted. I guess it's better than getting the stomach flu during an important week of training.

Well, despite a bit of travel, sickness, a little drama, and feeling like a stranger in a strange town I was down to business on Monday.

Foremost, I'm please to announce that my place is right next store to Busch Gardens and The Sun Dome. Pretty cool locale with more than one burrito joint. SCORE. The YMCA nearby is a lovely facility with a, get this, an outdoor lap pool, which, very often is set up as 50 meters.

Riding down here is very different that Jersey. It's big gear land. You stay in one position very seldom shifting. Just steady state effort, not the hilly up and down tempos of back home. It's just flat and flat. Never getting out of the saddle kinda sucks. But I want to change my style up a bit this year to be able to power through the headwinds of Kona. So this is perfect to learn how to push big gears all day.

Monday
workout # 1
bike 3.15.00 56 miles, 90 minutes aerobic, 10 x 4 min intense with 2 min recover, cool down. Felt so good to be out on the open road I didn't even stop pedaling as I puked breakfast all over myself.

workout #2
swim 1.00.00, 2500 yards. Mostly endurance with some 200's at 3.20 pace.

workout #3
30 minutes lifting. High rep, low weight. Legs were DEAD.

Tuesday

workout # 1 brick

2.05.00 Hard tempo ride with Adam (a wicked talented local cyclist who is the best training partner one can think of). Then 4 miles 26.50. (2.30.00 workout)

Wednesday

workout #1

5.20.00 Long ride, 100 miles, 81 solo, 19 with adam. Seriously beautiful sights and reasonable tempo considering the wind.

Thursday

workout # 1

Hard Run 10 Miles

1.18.00 (5 miles warm up, 3 miles @ 7.00, 6.45, 6.15, 2 miles cool down)

workout #2

1.00.00

Swim 3000 yards (6x 500)

.30

workout #3

weight room. Squat, leg press, abs

Friday

workout #1

Swim 4500 meters...1.50.00

Saturday

workout #1

Brick

Bike 76 miles 4.16,00, run 5, 38.00)

4.55.00

Sunday

workout #1

long run

16 miles

2.03.00

Establishing a baseline in volume

As of writing this I am 10 days out from heading to Florida for 6 hard weeks of non-stop, unadulterated training. I'll be embedded in the Tampa sunshine and riding up and down the Florida Coast daily. I can't wait.

Obviously the change in venue next week will cause a disruption in my training. Thus I plan on having a big 7-10 days to figure out how much volume I can handle. Then I can recover during my transplantation to FL. Then Monday March 15 I'll kick off with this week's figures to base my schedule off of.

Monday

workout #1

1.50.00 indoor hard bike. (warm up. 20 min drills, 4 x 10 minute Z4 with 5.00 rec, cool down)

workout #2

55.00 swim 2250 yards. (800 w/u, 4 x 200 @3.35, 25 sec rec, 250 yard drills, 400 cool down)

Tuesday

workout # 1

2.00.00 Brick (1.30.00 indoor bike, 4 mile run outside, 29.24)

workout #2

45.00 Swim 2250 yrds endurance

Wednesday

workout #1

3.00.00 Bike on trainer (90 minute aerobic, 10x4 hard with 2 min rec, 30 min cool down)

Thurday

workout #1

1.10.00 Run 9 Miles (37.00 4.5 mile warm up, 15 min hard- 6.30, 6.30, then blow up, cool down)

workout #2

1.00.00 Swim 2500 yrds

Friday

workout #1

2.45.00 Brick (2.30.00 bike, 15.00 run)

Saturday

workout #1

1.37.00 Long Run (12.3 miles over some burly hills in Jockey Hollow and Morris Lewis Park. Gorgeous!)

Sunday

workout # 1

1.30.00 Easy spin on bike with drills, recovery