Week 20: June 24-30, 2013

Life threw just about everything it had at us this week. I lost my long ride training partner (Mark) for the next 6 weeks due to a bike wreck that landed him in the hospital. Thankfully he's going to be fine after everything heals. The day after he was discharged, I discovered that both girls had head lice. Awesome. Where they picked that up I have no idea, but after $300 worth of treatment and just as many hours of laundry, we are hopefully done with that. And then to top the week off, I got stranded on my Saturday long ride in a pop-up thunderstorm that wouldn't quit, so Mark had to load up the kids and drive 40 minutes to rescue me (his first venture driving since his accident). Ending the ride early was the right choice, though, as the thunderstorm turned into flash floods and 50mph winds. By the time we all got home it was getting too late to finish my ride on the trainer, so a planned 75-80 miles ended up only being 48 and I didn't get my transition run in.  Here's hoping that this next week is nothing but ordinary.

My bike & I took refuge under the overhang of a farmhouse garage until Mark picked us up.
You can't tell in this pic, but it was absolutely pouring!

Monday: off
Tuesday: OWS at Alum Creek w/ Beth and Jenni; approximately 2000m.
1 hr run (6.8 mi): at 15 min, insert 4x4.5 min @z4 w/ 2.5 min recoveries
Wednesday: 1:12 ride to Plain City and back (20.4 mi) followed by a 3.75 mi transition run (:33)
20 min of strength and core
Thursday: 5.25 mi run (:44); at 15 min, insert 10 min @z4.
Friday: 4000 yd swim (1:10):
500 sw, 5x50s dr/sw
3x100s on 1:20
50 ez
5x400s pull on :30 rest; odd #s with paddles, even #s without
400 IM w/ fins
400 kick
100 ez
1:45 ride past Plain City and back (30.55mi)
Saturday: 2:45 ride, New Albany hill interval course (48mi done before t-storm hit)
Sunday: 1:50 ride past Ostrander and back (31.6 mi) followed by a 14 mi run (2:03)


Weekly totals:
Swim: 6000 yds (3.63 mi)
Bike: 130.55 road miles
Run: 29.8 miles
Strength: 30 min
Hours: 14:07

Training cycle totals:
Swim: 119,850 yds (72.63mi)
Bike: 58:38 trainer hours (est. 990mi) + 744.75 road miles
Run: 439.83 mi
Hours: 220:36

Week 19: June 17-23, 2013

Back on track this week with some confidence-boosting workouts and a century ride fail.  Mark and I set off early Saturday morning with the plan to ride out to Bellefontaine to hit some climbs and then back for 100+ total miles.  It was my first time doing any real hill work on the bike (other than central Ohio rollers) and I felt suprisingly good, despite doing half a dozen 5-8 minute climbs in temperatures approaching the 90s.  We made a couple of stops to buy Gatorade and headed back for home.  I was still feeling great as we approached mile 80 when I heard a loud metallic "pop" and felt my rear wheel go a little wobbly.  I thought I had blown a tire.  I pulled over and Mark said that I popped a rear spoke.  The wheel was so out of true that it rubbed against the frame, making it un-ridable.  Mark tried swapping my wheel out with his, but it rubbed his frame, too.  We were still 22 miles from home, so rather than have him ride home to get the van and come back for me, we called in a huge favor on his friend, Dan, who graciously hopped in his car and came to pick us up.  An hour later we were back home and I set off for a 5 mile run.  I was really bummed that I didn't get the 100 miles in, but was thrilled by how strong I felt on the 78 miles that we did get done and on the (extremely hot) run afterwards.  I have no doubt that I could've finished the 100 and still had a good run.  Since the kids were still up and grandma and grandpa's house, we spent the rest of the day laying on the couch with the AC blasting.  We're already planning on another century attempt next Saturday, this time on a route with 4500 ft of climbing.  Looking forward to slaying that first 100 mile dragon!

My weekly training volume and hours are inflated this week, due to moving Monday's rest day to last Sunday.  After 7 straight days of training this week, you'd better believe I'm going to be looking forward to doing absolutely nothing next Monday.

Monday: 8.25 mi run (1:15), still in Maryland.
Tuesday: Back home!  3300 yd swim:
500 warm up, 5x50s dr/sw
3x100s on 1:20, desc
50 ez
3x (3x150s on 2:15 as 50 stroke IM order/100 free, followed by 4x25s kick sprint on :30)
150 ez
3x (100 free on 1:20/25 sprint fly on :30)
75 ez
Attempted an hour run after the swim, but I was so exhausted from the long weekend that I got in 2 slow miles and then turned around and walked home.  Oh well, tomorrow is a new day.
Wednesday: EZ 45 min ride (12 mi) followed by a 2.7 mi transition run (:25).  30 min of strength and core later in the day.
Thursday: 3150 yd swim:
500 warm up, 5x50s Dr/sw
3x100s on 1:20, desc
50 ez
4x (200 free on 3:00/50 kick on 1:00)
50ez
3x (2x100s on 1:30, Sprint 3rd 25/2x50s IM on 1:00)
50ez
30.2 mi ride to Ostrander and back (1:45)--at 30 min, insert 5x1mile z4 efforts w/ 1 mi recoveries.
Friday: 3200 yd swim:
500 warm up
2x400s free n/s
2x300s free n/s
2x200s free n/s
2x100s free n/s
500 kick
200 cool down
Followed by an 8.1 mi run (1:11)
Saturday: 78 mi ride to Bellefontaine and back (5:00), followed by a 5 mi run (:43)
Sunday: 16 mi ride with Beth (1:00), followed by an 8.5mi run (1:30)--walked first 3.2 miles with Beth, then ran the remaining 5.3 solo (avg run pace 8:50)

Some things to note: On Saturday's ride I drank 3x24 oz bottles of Gatorade/Powerade (didn't have time to get Perpetuem beforehand) and a 16 oz. bottle of water.  My used-to-be-sensitive stomach tolerated the liquid just fine, to my surprise.  Ate 1 banana, 1.5 Clif bars, and 1 Larabar Uber.  I ended up with a dehydration headache later in the day...not as bad as usual, so I'm getting closer to proper hydration, but still need to work on this.  Also decided that I definitely need to eat solid food on the bike.  Tried to drink every 5-10 min and ate roughly every 20 miles.  Ordered some Ironman Perform to use in training, since that's what they're serving on the course...should have it to try out on next weekend's ride.  All in all, I think Saturday's slow pace on the bike was perfect for my first long ride with hills, as my legs weren't sore at all and didn't even really feel fatigued the next day.  I also really need to start working on keeping my transition run pace closer to the pace I hope to hold at IMWI (9:30ish).  Although Saturday's run felt good at an 8:36 pace, I would likely end up crawling to the finish of the race if I start out that fast.

Weekly totals:
Swim: 9650 yds (5.84 mi)
Bike: 136.2 miles
Run: 31.85 mi<---again, this number is inflated since I ran on Monday instead of being off.
Strength: 30 min
Hours: 17:29

Training cycle totals:
Swim: 113,850 yds (69 miles)
Bike: 58:38 trainer hours (est. 990 miles) + 614.2 road miles
Run: 410.03 miles
Hours: 206:29

Week 18: June 10-16, 2013

As planned, this week I went off-plan due to our family traveling to Maryland for Nate's lacrosse tournament.  I just love watching him play a sport that he is so passionate about, and his team played really well against some tough competition, so it was worth the missed training.  I had to skip the weekend long ride and moved up the following week's Monday rest day to Sunday, as we were on the go from sun up to sun down that day.  I tried to mix the week up a bit with a yoga class on Friday before we left town.  I haven't been to yoga in over 3 months and my yoga muscles sure let me hear all about it afterwards.  My hamstrings, which are usually sore from an intense yoga session, weren't too bad, but my shoulders were so sore that I had difficulty swinging my arms on the weekend runs.  I desperately wish I had time to go to yoga class more frequently--and definitely will get back into it after IM training--but I know that it's stupid for me to go once in a blue moon during training and then pay for it with sore shoulders for a week afterwards.

Although we had a blast in Maryland, we were all ready to sleep in our own beds and eat our own home-cooked food.  Back to the plan next week, which hopefully will include my first century ride.

Monday: off
Tuesday: 2900 yd swim:
500 warm up, 5x50s dr/sw
3x100s on 1:20, desc
50 ez
Ladder set:
300 w/ paddles on 4:30, 4x50s non-free on 1:00
50 ez
200 as 8x25s non-free on :30
50 ez
100 w/ paddles on 1:30, 4x50s non-free on 1:00
50 ez
8x75s on 1:20, alt IM and free
50 ez
7.64 mi run (1:09), at 10 min insert 3x6 min z4 w/ 1 min recoveries.
Wednesday: 40 mi z2 ride (2:20)
40 min of strength and core
Thursday: 3000 yd swim:
400 warm up, 5x50s dr/sw
6x50s w/ paddles on :40
50 ez
25/50/75/100/100/75/50/25 free on :20 sec/25 base, with 25 fly on :30 in between
50 ez
25/50/75/100/100/75/50/25 free on :20 sec/25 base, with 25 alt. back/breast on :30 in between
50 ez
8x50s kick alt. back/breast on 1:00
100 ez
20 mi z2 ride out to Plain City and back (1:10)
Friday: 60 min power yoga class before the drive to MD
Saturday: 6 mi run (:53) from the hotel
Sunday: off due to tournament

Weekly totals:
Swim: 5900 yards
Bike: 60 miles
Run: 14.64 mi
Strength: 1:40 (including yoga)
Hours: 9:12

Training cycle totals:
Swim: 104,200 yards (63.15 mi)
Bike: 58:35 trainer hours (est. 990 miles) + 478 road miles
Run: 378.18 miles
Hours: 189

Week 17: June 3 - June 9, 2013

This week was my biggest training week yet, with almost 14 hours and big Saturday & Sunday bricks. Saturday's ride was a bike tour...my first group ride.  Met some pretty cool triathletes and had a great time.  Huge kudos to Mark for handling the home front while I took off for 6 hours.

London Strawberry Festival Bike Tour

Monday: off
Tuesday: 3000 yd swim, followed by an easy hour spin on the trainer; quads were still pretty sore from Sunday's race.
Wednesday: Brick: easy 45 min trainer ride, followed by a 2.7 mi transition run.  30 min of upper body and core strength later in the day.
Thursday: 2800 yard swim:
500 sw, 5x50s dr/sw
5x100s free on 1:30 desc
50 ez
2x (200 free n/s on 2:50, 4x50s IM on 1:00)
50 ez
4x150s on 2:30: 50 stroke IM order/50 kick IM order/50 free hard
50 ez
Easy 20 mile ride to Plain City and back
Friday: 2800 yard swim:
500 warm up, 5x50s dr/sw
3x100s on 1:20, desc
50 ez
3x (200, 100, 50). All on 1:30/100 base with first half hard, second half easy. Set #1 free, #2 paddles, #3 IM. 50 ez after each set.
5x100s kick on 1:45
Highbanks group trail run: 6.35 mi (1:06)
Saturday: Bike-Run-Bike brick: 60.5 mi of the London Strawberry Festival bike tour, followed by a 4 mi run in 30:46, followed by another 20 mi ride on the tour route.
Sunday: Brick: easy 18.4 mile ride to Watkins Rd and back (1:06), followed by a 9 mi run up Dublin Rd and back (1:19)

Weekly training stats:
Swim: 8600 yards
Bike: 1:45 on the trainer + 118 miles
Run: 22.06
Strength: 30 min
Hours: 13:52

Training cycle totals:
Swim: 98,300 yards (59.57 mi)
Bike: 58:35 trainer hours (est. 990 miles) + 418 road miles
Run: 363.54 miles
Hours: 179:47

Week 16: May 27-June 2, 2013 and Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon race report

I took a huge step-back in training this week, partially due to the half marathon scheduled for Sunday and partially because life got in the way. I ended up not working out at all on Friday and Saturday, but in the end it was probably for the best.

I had such an indifferent attitude going into Sunday's race. Usually I am an excited bundle of nerves leading into a race, but this time I couldn't get into it. Maybe because this is this year's "C" race and I've been so exhausted by IM training that I had no expectations.  I also have had no feel for my running fitness or if I could hold a decent pace for 13 miles.  After skipping two days of workouts, eating like total crap all week, and sleeping terribly the few days prior to race day, I decided to start the race strong but scrap it for a training run if things started to not feel right. No sense in hurting myself with so much at stake come September.  With a PR (from 3 years ago--the last half marathon I've run) of 1:43.07, I decided to start just behind the 1:40 pace group (7:38/mi pace). We started out holding 7:30s the first few miles, but my body and breathing quickly settled in. The weather was perfect...mid-to-high 60s with a slight breeze.  The miles quickly ticked off and I was still feeling fairly comfortable despite the relentless rolling hills.  I stayed just a few strides behind the pace group.  I had a run-in with The Wall around mile 9.5-10.5 but then my energy gel kicked in and it passed.  The last 5k got pretty painful, my pace slowed a little, and the pacer got further away, but I was able to keep the miles under 7:45-7:50. When I rounded the corner for the final uphill mile into Ann Arbor, I knew I'd make it.  I couldn't muster a look at my garmin to see if I was going to be sub-1:40, but at that point it wouldn't have mattered...I was going as fast as I could.  My ultimate half marathon goal is to go sub-1:40 (and really more like sub-1:38 on a flat course), but I was extremely pleased with my 1:40.46 finish time (5th in AG)...mostly because I never thought it would happen mid-IM training, with minimal speed work, and with my blasé attitude leading up to it.  I was especially happy that I felt strong and in control the whole race, and fought the mental battle when things got hard during the last 5k.  I kept picturing fighting through the final miles of the Ironman marathon.  I also kept my friend, Melanie,  and my dad in mind, who are both injured.  I felt very fortunate to be able to race.

Me and Nate at the start

Almost to the finish line!

My quads are pretty sore today, so this next week will focus on easing back into training and no
speed work.  Oh, and summer vacation is offically here so I can say goodbye to the 3:55 am wake-up calls until mid-August :).

Monday: off
Tuesday:  3000 yard swim in the a.m.
Attempted an hour long run in the 88 degree temps in the evening--a last ditch effort to get some heat acclimatization in.  Got in 5.35 miles with 3x3 min z4 efforts in before crashing and burning.  Had to walk the remaining 1.5 miles home.
Wednesday: 45 min ez trainer ride; still feeling effects from last night's run.
Thursday: 45 min ez trainer ride followed by a 2.71 mi transition run.
Friday: unplanned day off
Saturday: unplanned day off
Sunday: Dexter-Ann Arbor half, 13.1mi (13.22 by Garmin) in 1:40.46

Weekly training stats:
Swim: 3000 yds
Bike: 1.5 trainer hours
Run: 21.16 mi
Strength: 0 hours
Hours: 5:20

Training cycle totals:
Swim: 89,700 yards (54.36 mi)
Bike: 56:50 trainer hours + 300 road miles
Run: 341.48 mi
Hours: 165:55

Week 15: May 20-26, 2013

It's the halfway point in my training plan, and $#!% is about to get real.  I am both terrified and excited about the upcoming "Ironman summer".  These next few weeks will take me a bit off-plan, due to my half marathon next Sunday and then a long weekend trip out east for a lacrosse tournament, but I'm actually looking forward to stepping back a little bit in training as well as letting loose on the race next weekend.  It's been a long time since I've had a good, hard, long run.  And, thankfully, my knee issue from last weekend was a non-issue this week.

I cut the cycling way back this weekend, opting for an easy 2 hour trainer ride instead of a 4 hour road ride.  I'll forgo all cycling next weekend.  Then, the following weekend I'll be back at it with an 80+ mile ride, as a part of a big bicycle tour event.

Monday: off
Tuesday: 6.71 mi run in :58; at 15 min insert 2x6.5mi z4.
2900 yard swim:
500 warm up, 5x50s dr/sw
3x100s free on 1:20
50 ez
Ladder set: 25, 50,75,100,125,150,200 free on 20sec/25 base, with 25 stroke on :30 in between each one.
50 ez
8x75s alt kick/swim/kick and swim/kick/swim, 2 of each stroke on 1:30
25,50,100 stroke on :30 sec/25 base
Wednesday: 45 min z2 trainer ride, followed by a 3.1 mi transition run (:28)
40 min of strength and core
Thursday: 60 min trainer ride, at 15 min insert 20 min at z4 (175w)
3100 yard swim:
500 swim, 5x50s dr/sw
3x100s on 1:20
50 ez
6x150s (50 stroke in IM order/100 free) on 2:10
100 ez
50,100,200 (choice,IM,free)200,100,50 (IM,free,choice) on 1:00, 2:00, 3:00
50 ez
5x50s IM order, neg split, on 1:00
Friday: 6.85 mi run in :58, at 45 min insert 7.5 min at z4 <----the best speedwork has felt so far during this training cycle!
3000 yard swim:
2000 yards continuous swim at moderate/race pace effort (:26)
1000 yard pull with paddles at moderate effort
Saturday: 9 mi in 1:21
Sunday: 2 hr z2 trainer ride

Weekly training stats:
Swim: 9000 yards (5.45 mi)
Bike: 3:45 trainer hours
Run: 25.66 miles
Strength: 30 min
Hours: 10:36

Training cycle totals:
Swim: 86,700 yards (52.54 mi)
Bike: 46:20 trainer hours + 300 road miles
Run: 320.32 miles
Hours: 160:35

Week 14: May 13-19, 2013

Monday: off
Tuesday: 7 mi in :59, at 15 min insert 2x5min @z4 w/ 2 min recoveries
3050 yard swim:
500 swim, 5x50s dr/sw
3x100s on 1:20, desc
50 ez
5x200s; 1st one free, 2nd-4th 50 stroke/150 free, last one IM on 3:00
50 ez
3x100s on 1:30, desc
50 ez
5x100s, same as the 200s, on 1:30
50 ez
Wednesday: 45 min z2 trainer spin, followed by 3.4 mi transition run (:29)
40 min strength & core
Thursday: 1 hour trainer ride, at 15 min insert 3x5 min z4 (175-180w); skipped swim
Friday: 6.25 mi run, at 15 min insert 7.5 min @z4 (:52)
2100 yard swim (had early work meeting, so had to cut swim short):
500 sw, 5x50s dr/sw
3x100s free on 1:20
50 ez
Ladder: 400 IM on 20 sec RI, 300 free on 1:20/100 pace, 200 IM on 3:00, 100 free ez
Saturday: 70 mi ride past Prospect and back (4:00), followed by 3.1 mi transition run (:28) w/ Nate.  Left knee hurt like a &*%$ during the last 2 miles of the run.
Sunday: 11.34 mi trail run at Highbanks.  Knee started hurting again after first 3 miles, ended up having to walk a little.  30 min easy trainer spin in the evening; knee felt fine by then.

Iced, stretched, and u/s the knee and took some ibuprophen.  Hope it's nothing.

Weekly totals:
Swim: 5150 yards
Bike: 2:15 trainer hours + 70 miles
Run: 24.59 miles
Strength: 40 minutes
Hours: 13:13

Training cycle totals:
Swim: 77,700 yards (47 miles)
Bike: 42:34 trainer hours + 300 road miles
Run: 294.66 miles
Hours: 149:59