Back to training

The combination of being away from home for a few weeks (in Libertyville with Julie and then NC with Barb and Dale) and some strange knee pain during/after biking led to a couple weeks of rest for me. Last Thursday I got on the bike again and did a slow ten miles or so, and felt fine. Yesterday I swam about 1000 yards between classes. Today I got out for about 4.5 miles at an easy pace. It was about 95 degrees already at 11:00 a.m. I will decide in the next week or so if I will do the Cape Tri. I might just start building for next season.

Saturday August 11 Run

I went out for an easy 40 minute run today in Libertyville. I picked up Julie from O'hare this morning at 11:30. She just got back from 3 months in Madrid (with visits all over Europe), and seeing her was great. I snuck off to get a run in about 4 p.m., it wasn't too humid and there was lots of shade, all in all enjoyable run. I ran the last ten minutes just slower than what I think my race pace would be, and it was tough.

August 8 Swim

The pool at Loras is closed for unknown reasons, so these were my swimming buddies today at Flora pool adult swim.They actually sent the occasional wave my way which made it seem more like an open water swim. Anyway, I don't know how long the pool is, probably pretty close to 25 yards as it took me 12-13 strokes to cross it, which is about the same as the Loras pool. I probably swam about a mile. I hadn't swam in a week and my arms felt tired pretty quickly. I focused on rolling my shoulders and swimming on my side as much as I could.

August 7 Run - Last day in Clinton

I went for a run today, my last day at the L'arche in Clinton, Iowa. It was really hot and humid again, and I went for about a half hour along the Mississippi. I worked on keeping a high cadence, and counted my cadence at the 10, 20 and 30 minute marks in my run. I was at about 86-88 cycles per minute. I noticed that when I started getting tired I extended my stride and slowed my cadence down, and slowed me down. When I focused on keeping a high cadence, I sped back up even when my legs were feeling tired.
My work with the L'arche went really well, and was extremely rewarding. Here are two of the people I lived with the past four days, David and Brenda.

Bike August 6

I went for a ride in Clinton today. I didn't really want to go, I just woke up from a nap and just felt like going back to sleep. I hit the road anyway, it was very hot and humid. The roads were not so good for biking, pretty rough and lots of stoplights. I went for about 14 miles before I got bored, besides slamming on the brakes multiple times for cars turning in front of me. So I cut off the ride early and headed home. Oh well.

August 5 Run

Went for a run here today in Clinton, IA where I am doing some service work at the L'arche community. I went at about 11:30 A.M. and it was hot and sunny. I went for 45 minutes on a black asphalt bike/run trail along the river. It was nice and slow, but very hot and the wind was in my face on the way back, so that was tough.

August 3 Bike

I got my bike back from the shop after a tune-up yesterday, and was excited to ride today. I hadn't taken it in at all yet, and shifting was getting pretty sticky, so I decided to take it in. Anyway, it felt great today. I rode the same route as on July 31, 21 miles or so, in about 1:15:00. I rode pretty easy the whole way, my legs were feeling tired even as I started. I did have a new experience on the ride, though, when my mind started to wonder while riding uphill. Usually I just think about how much I hate going uphill. Anyway, I thought back to a conversation/argument I had the other week with my friend Joe. I thought that Lance Armstrong (when fit, a year or two ago) could have run a marathon cold, without any extra run training. Joe respectfully disagreed. What do you guys think? I don't have the skillz to make a sweet poll like Kate, so you will just have to comment.

Trail of Tears Goals

Swim Goal: 17:00
I swam 7:45 at Pardeeville, but I'm pretty sure that 'quarter-mile' was pretty short. I can't swim 7:45 in a pool, and open water is generally slower. Anyway, I timed a half-mile today and came through in 17:20. I'd be doing really well to swim 17:00 in open water, but wearing a wetsuit will help, and if I swim my best I could do it.
T1: 1:15
It's hard to have a concrete goal because I don't know how far it is between the beach and the transition. I could drop a ton of time here compared to Pardeeville, though. Depending on how much distance I have to cover, I could probably get through in under 1:15.
Bike: 40:00
The course is described as pretty flat with a few hills. I went too slow on the bike in Pardeeville because I didn't know the course, and I definitely could have gone way faster. If I average ~22 mph on the bike, that will put me at 40-41 minutes. Again, it depends on the course.
T2: 0:45
I should fly though this, especially with a better dismount.
Run: 25:20
I should be able to run 6:15-6:20 miles. I am getting better and better at running off the bike, so I shouldn't have to run the first mile as slow as in Pardeeville. I am also getting more and more confident for the swim and bike, and will probably do some speedwork before the next tri.
Total Time: 1:24:30
Thats exactly 10 minutes faster for 1/4 mile longer swim, and 1 mile longer run. That means I need to drop about 4 minutes between the bike, transitions, and run relative to Pardeeville. I guess we will just wait and see :)

August 2 Swim

Just finished a swim workout today, down at Loras, which could only mean one thing: peanut butter and honey sandwich. Delicious. I started off with 250 warm-up, then a good stretch by the side of the pool, and then a timed half-mile (17:20). The pool was empty, so I took down a lane line to simulate open water a little better and practiced turning, sighting, and accelerating without use of the wall. All in all a good workout, I should have done another 500 or so to get my volume up, but started to cramp which ended my workout prematurely.

August 1 Run

5 mile run today, out Key Way onto Asbury Rd. to St. Anthony's. The first couple miles felt great (after working through a little bike fatigue from yesterday), but around mile three it was getting really hot. I left the house at about 12:30 and it was just under 90. Anyway, I slogged through the last two miles and got a good stretch in at home.
Also, introducing my post-workout recovery food: PB and honey. Delicious every time.