Benjamin: 5hrs 27minutes
Todd: 5hrs 53minutes
Tammy: 6hrs 56minutes
Benjamin earned a slot for the Kona World Championships in October and turned it down.
Eventually the 2008 results will be posted at this website: Honu Half Ironman
I will post more about my race experience later. At the moment all my gaskets are blown.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
just a few days left...
And I'm trying not to freak out. Not about the race -- about the fact that I spent most of yesterday and last night feeling like I was getting sick! That is NOT okay. NOT AT ALL. I took a nap, I drank lots of water + juice, I tried to go to bed early but because I took a nap it was hard. I slept kind of fitfully because I was worrying about being sick and not being able to do the race. I just got up about an hour ago, and I can't tell yet what's going on! My throat feels a little funny, and I'm a little spacey and my head feels weird, but the headache is gone... NO SICK! NO NO NO! Any recommendations for warding off illness besides vitamin C and drinking lots of fluids?
Anyway, I guess I'll talk about some training:
So Monday we did a mini brick, which was just so frickin' easy in comparison to what we've been doing this whole time. We went to Puako, and "warmed up" by snorkeling -- it is AMAZING there. MUST do it a whole bunch more! Rode for an hour, from Puako up to the highway and turned around at the road to Waikoloa village. Wind going south was kind of intense, but when I turned around and was suddenly very strong and speedy. Go figure. Stayed in z2-z3 most of the time, and did 10 minutes at z4. Super fast transition considering we had to put our bikes in the car, and a 20 minute run through Puako -- sure wish I could feel this fresh and strong running after a 3 hour ride! Run was z3 the whole time.
Yesterday I wasn't sure if I should swim or not, because you're NOT supposed to if you're getting sick. I went anyway, just to see how it felt and getting in the water and swimming was ok. However, I had NO stamina for the fast intervals we were going to do, so I just stuck with an easy 1000 yards and got out when Todd did.
And since y'all have posted your race goals, I'm going to do the same, and keep acting under the assumption that I won't be sick!!
I would LOVE to do the entire race under 6:30, but I'm expecting more like 6:45. It's hard to say, and so much relies on how much faster I ride during the race vs. just riding the course. I was pretty fast at Lavaman, so we'll see! I guess it also depends on conditions like chop in the water and brutal wind. Here's hoping for none of that!
swim: 43-45 minutes would be great, and reasonable, assuming I don't go off course, there's no crazy chop, and there isn't an infuriating cluster of people on all sides of me the whole time like Lavaman's pain in the ass swim!
ride: I know I can do it in 3:30, but I'm really hoping for 3:15-3:20.
run is really the big unknown here. I've never actually run 13 miles, the closest I've gotten is about 9.5. I'd love to do it in 2:10, but considering the distance, the heat, and the BIKE RIDE, I don't think that's likely. Anywhere between 2:20-2:30 is fine by me.
Anyway, I guess I'll talk about some training:
So Monday we did a mini brick, which was just so frickin' easy in comparison to what we've been doing this whole time. We went to Puako, and "warmed up" by snorkeling -- it is AMAZING there. MUST do it a whole bunch more! Rode for an hour, from Puako up to the highway and turned around at the road to Waikoloa village. Wind going south was kind of intense, but when I turned around and was suddenly very strong and speedy. Go figure. Stayed in z2-z3 most of the time, and did 10 minutes at z4. Super fast transition considering we had to put our bikes in the car, and a 20 minute run through Puako -- sure wish I could feel this fresh and strong running after a 3 hour ride! Run was z3 the whole time.
Yesterday I wasn't sure if I should swim or not, because you're NOT supposed to if you're getting sick. I went anyway, just to see how it felt and getting in the water and swimming was ok. However, I had NO stamina for the fast intervals we were going to do, so I just stuck with an easy 1000 yards and got out when Todd did.
And since y'all have posted your race goals, I'm going to do the same, and keep acting under the assumption that I won't be sick!!
I would LOVE to do the entire race under 6:30, but I'm expecting more like 6:45. It's hard to say, and so much relies on how much faster I ride during the race vs. just riding the course. I was pretty fast at Lavaman, so we'll see! I guess it also depends on conditions like chop in the water and brutal wind. Here's hoping for none of that!
swim: 43-45 minutes would be great, and reasonable, assuming I don't go off course, there's no crazy chop, and there isn't an infuriating cluster of people on all sides of me the whole time like Lavaman's pain in the ass swim!
ride: I know I can do it in 3:30, but I'm really hoping for 3:15-3:20.
run is really the big unknown here. I've never actually run 13 miles, the closest I've gotten is about 9.5. I'd love to do it in 2:10, but considering the distance, the heat, and the BIKE RIDE, I don't think that's likely. Anywhere between 2:20-2:30 is fine by me.
Monday, May 26, 2008
last week, this week, race goal and deep thoughts
did another 30 minutes on the trainer today. same as yesterday. last one is Tuesday then she goes into the shop for pre-race tuneup.
getting a good feel for proper aero posture on the new bike. tried out the sippy cup water bottle setup. may need some gizmo to stabilize it as my aero bars seem a tiny bit too wide for it. mounting and dismounting bike with water bottles behind the seat is interesting. the usual "leg over the saddle" technique often ends up with a water bottle flying off into space.
doing tons of stretching in an attempt to avoid IT band tightness and knee pain during the race. one last ART appt on Tuesday at 6:30pm. have done two or three stretching sessions per day the past few days plus hourly stretch for the oblatus quadratus (or w/e it is called).
last week I did the Saturday brick. 1hr 30min bike. 40minute run. followed by ART session.
Friday was a brick. 1hr 15min bike. 44minute run. slight knee tightness
Thursday I had my first ART session. Boy that is intense stuff. Deep tissue work while you move the muscle. drove home and stretched before doing an hour or two on the trainer bike.
Wednesday I think we rode in Kona but I don't remember.
Race Goal:
5hrs and an Ironman Kona slot
realism factor: in the realm of possibility
40minute swim: realistic (I swam 1:50 per 100meters @Lavaman)
2hr 24minute bike: might not be realistic (this is the same 20.5mph as Lavaman)
1hr 40minute run: probably not realistic (this is 10 seconds per mile faster than I ran at Lavaman)
deep thought for the day:
If you're in the top 1% at something there are still 61,000,000 people who are probably as good or better than you. (assumes a world population of 6.1 billion and that I've not buggered the maths)
getting a good feel for proper aero posture on the new bike. tried out the sippy cup water bottle setup. may need some gizmo to stabilize it as my aero bars seem a tiny bit too wide for it. mounting and dismounting bike with water bottles behind the seat is interesting. the usual "leg over the saddle" technique often ends up with a water bottle flying off into space.
doing tons of stretching in an attempt to avoid IT band tightness and knee pain during the race. one last ART appt on Tuesday at 6:30pm. have done two or three stretching sessions per day the past few days plus hourly stretch for the oblatus quadratus (or w/e it is called).
last week I did the Saturday brick. 1hr 30min bike. 40minute run. followed by ART session.
Friday was a brick. 1hr 15min bike. 44minute run. slight knee tightness
Thursday I had my first ART session. Boy that is intense stuff. Deep tissue work while you move the muscle. drove home and stretched before doing an hour or two on the trainer bike.
Wednesday I think we rode in Kona but I don't remember.
Race Goal:
5hrs and an Ironman Kona slot
realism factor: in the realm of possibility
40minute swim: realistic (I swam 1:50 per 100meters @Lavaman)
2hr 24minute bike: might not be realistic (this is the same 20.5mph as Lavaman)
1hr 40minute run: probably not realistic (this is 10 seconds per mile faster than I ran at Lavaman)
deep thought for the day:
If you're in the top 1% at something there are still 61,000,000 people who are probably as good or better than you. (assumes a world population of 6.1 billion and that I've not buggered the maths)
end of taper wk 1
Wanted to wrap up what I did last week for the sake of complete-ness!
Thursday was an hour z2 run, nice and mellow, just cruised out towards Pololu and back. My leg was feeling pretty good. Heat wasn't an issue because there is a nice breeze here in the afternoon! There are a few hills on this run so I took those pretty easy. Ran about 5.5 miles.
Friday was supposed to be an easy swim at the pool, but Todd decided he was going to swim 42 laps, which was almost exactly the race distance, (1.2miles) so I thought I'd do it too. It was great to get an idea of exactly what that distance feels like. It took me 44:10, which I would be happy with in the race. I was swimming with less effort than I assume I will at the race, but I was also in a lane where there was no chance I'd swim off course, and conditions were nice and flat, obviously. We'll see how it goes! Swimming that distance felt fine, though, not especially exhausting.
Saturday was our last brick. Compared to the previous weeks, this one felt like nothin'! We were supposed to ride 1:45, but I ended up going for 2 hours. First went south towards Mauna Lani, turned around, and headed north, through Kawaihae and then towards Mahukona. Turned around about halfway between mm10 and 11. I think I went a little over 33 miles total. Everything went smoothly, and when I timed particular sections I was right on track. Next time I'm on that course it will be in the race! EEeee!
Next was a 50 minute run, again at a fairly mellow pace. It was hot but not terribly so, and I had enough water and gu and felt fine the whole time. My hamstring ached a little but stopping to stretch seemed to help.
Sunday we took it easy and went snorkeling at Kapa'a near here. No intense swimming, very mellow. FIVE TRAINING DAYS LEFT!
Thursday was an hour z2 run, nice and mellow, just cruised out towards Pololu and back. My leg was feeling pretty good. Heat wasn't an issue because there is a nice breeze here in the afternoon! There are a few hills on this run so I took those pretty easy. Ran about 5.5 miles.
Friday was supposed to be an easy swim at the pool, but Todd decided he was going to swim 42 laps, which was almost exactly the race distance, (1.2miles) so I thought I'd do it too. It was great to get an idea of exactly what that distance feels like. It took me 44:10, which I would be happy with in the race. I was swimming with less effort than I assume I will at the race, but I was also in a lane where there was no chance I'd swim off course, and conditions were nice and flat, obviously. We'll see how it goes! Swimming that distance felt fine, though, not especially exhausting.
Saturday was our last brick. Compared to the previous weeks, this one felt like nothin'! We were supposed to ride 1:45, but I ended up going for 2 hours. First went south towards Mauna Lani, turned around, and headed north, through Kawaihae and then towards Mahukona. Turned around about halfway between mm10 and 11. I think I went a little over 33 miles total. Everything went smoothly, and when I timed particular sections I was right on track. Next time I'm on that course it will be in the race! EEeee!
Next was a 50 minute run, again at a fairly mellow pace. It was hot but not terribly so, and I had enough water and gu and felt fine the whole time. My hamstring ached a little but stopping to stretch seemed to help.
Sunday we took it easy and went snorkeling at Kapa'a near here. No intense swimming, very mellow. FIVE TRAINING DAYS LEFT!
taper plan question
my taper plan is/was:
ride 30 minutes race pace each day on the trainer through Tuesday morning. then take bike into shop for pre-race tuneup. swim tuesday.
then sit on my fat ass till raceday. maybe go for a walk Tuesday night with my running buddy in Kona after ART appt.
what is the logic behind continuing to abuse your muscles at race pace vs. letting them rest and recover for the last few days before the race? wouldn't the recovery time allow healing to occur and thus make you nice and fresh/fast for the race itself?
i did find an abstract from an NIH study regarding the benefits of doing a pre-race exponential taper plan. is that what we are doing? if so you should have used the word "EXPONENTIAL!" so as to get me excited. If we combine math (it hard) with triathlon training (it hard) then we get (it hard) to the 2nd power. And thus exponentially faster. Which we shall need to be if we want to beat Chris McCormack who finished the Honu Half Ironman in under 4 hours last year. Jeebus Crutchcakes!!!! I'm gonna be effing ecstatic if I can pull off a sub-five.
ride 30 minutes race pace each day on the trainer through Tuesday morning. then take bike into shop for pre-race tuneup. swim tuesday.
then sit on my fat ass till raceday. maybe go for a walk Tuesday night with my running buddy in Kona after ART appt.
what is the logic behind continuing to abuse your muscles at race pace vs. letting them rest and recover for the last few days before the race? wouldn't the recovery time allow healing to occur and thus make you nice and fresh/fast for the race itself?
i did find an abstract from an NIH study regarding the benefits of doing a pre-race exponential taper plan. is that what we are doing? if so you should have used the word "EXPONENTIAL!" so as to get me excited. If we combine math (it hard) with triathlon training (it hard) then we get (it hard) to the 2nd power. And thus exponentially faster. Which we shall need to be if we want to beat Chris McCormack who finished the Honu Half Ironman in under 4 hours last year. Jeebus Crutchcakes!!!! I'm gonna be effing ecstatic if I can pull off a sub-five.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
final taper week calendar
Ok BoomKings, after consulting the two different tri training books I've been using as the basis for our training schedule, I think I've cobbled together a reasonable last taper week schedule. It's posted to the google calendar already.
The core of it is three "bricks" of varying intensity on M W F this week. Monday is a short brick that simulates a longer brick by tacking on a Z4 effort at the end of the ride. Wednesday is a "split brick" with a run in the morning and a ride in the afternoon. (Each includes a little RP effort acceleration.) Friday is a teeny tiny brick: a 30' ride in the morning followed by a 15' run.
Tuesday and Thursday are swims. The Tuesday swim is especially important, so don't slack!
We should try to emulate race conditions as much as possible this week, so try getting out there at the appropriate time each day (except Wednesday). Friday we'll probably have to do the tiny brick in the morning in Kapa'au since we'll be dealing with checkin later that day.
The core of it is three "bricks" of varying intensity on M W F this week. Monday is a short brick that simulates a longer brick by tacking on a Z4 effort at the end of the ride. Wednesday is a "split brick" with a run in the morning and a ride in the afternoon. (Each includes a little RP effort acceleration.) Friday is a teeny tiny brick: a 30' ride in the morning followed by a 15' run.
Tuesday and Thursday are swims. The Tuesday swim is especially important, so don't slack!
We should try to emulate race conditions as much as possible this week, so try getting out there at the appropriate time each day (except Wednesday). Friday we'll probably have to do the tiny brick in the morning in Kapa'au since we'll be dealing with checkin later that day.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
taper week 1
After Saturday's brick, it was time for some serious chillin'. Sunday we were planning to do nothing, but got so hot it was time to go swim at Mahukona. It was supposed to be a mellow snorkel swim, but got caught in a fairly intense current on the way back and ended up swimming way harder than I wanted to! HEY!
Monday we did nothing much except hike down to Pololu and play in the waves there a bit. Seem incapable of doing NOTHING active around here.
Tuesday was a 55 minute run with 20 minutes at low z4. Ran towards Hawi and back. My body was VERY resistant to getting my heart rate up. When I was running 'easy' I was going SO slowly.. nothing hurt, and I had enough food and water, and I wasn't too hot, but I felt just lethargic and like all I wanted to do was stop! At about 30 minutes I turned around, and a cooling headwind gave me some energy, which was good because I needed to start my 20 minute higher intensity section. Ran pretty hard and felt much stronger during this part.
Wednesday morning I got a new back bike wheel : enough of this broken spoke bullshit! Then went to Hapuna to swim and ride.
The swim was nice, about 40 minutes with 4x4 minute higher intensity intervals. Worked on form and felt pretty good.
Then it was time to ride, again 55 minutes with 20 minutes z4. Rode south from Hapuna to about the Waikoloa and back. Had the same experience with the run the day before -- my body just DIDN'T want to get going! It was made more difficult by a tough headwind the first 25 minutes or so. Again, however, once I turned around and started my higher intensity section I still wanted to stop but at least I was able to pick it up and ride stronger. The tailwind helped! Got back much faster than I went out, and felt more energized. rode about 15 miles.
Monday we did nothing much except hike down to Pololu and play in the waves there a bit. Seem incapable of doing NOTHING active around here.
Tuesday was a 55 minute run with 20 minutes at low z4. Ran towards Hawi and back. My body was VERY resistant to getting my heart rate up. When I was running 'easy' I was going SO slowly.. nothing hurt, and I had enough food and water, and I wasn't too hot, but I felt just lethargic and like all I wanted to do was stop! At about 30 minutes I turned around, and a cooling headwind gave me some energy, which was good because I needed to start my 20 minute higher intensity section. Ran pretty hard and felt much stronger during this part.
Wednesday morning I got a new back bike wheel : enough of this broken spoke bullshit! Then went to Hapuna to swim and ride.
The swim was nice, about 40 minutes with 4x4 minute higher intensity intervals. Worked on form and felt pretty good.
Then it was time to ride, again 55 minutes with 20 minutes z4. Rode south from Hapuna to about the Waikoloa and back. Had the same experience with the run the day before -- my body just DIDN'T want to get going! It was made more difficult by a tough headwind the first 25 minutes or so. Again, however, once I turned around and started my higher intensity section I still wanted to stop but at least I was able to pick it up and ride stronger. The tailwind helped! Got back much faster than I went out, and felt more energized. rode about 15 miles.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
last weekend's BRUTAL BRICK
So this was our last big brick before the TAPER, and it's as close as we're going to get to doing the actual race until race day. Started out with 'ride the entire course', so we did! The course is a total of 56 miles, starting at Hapuna, heading south to the Mauna Lani, and then all the way north to Hawi and back to the Mauna Lani. We simulated this last 4.5 miles by going south past the Mauna Lani at the beginning (since we were returning to Hapuna.) The ride went pretty well for me -- I just bought a water bottle with eye-pokey straw (not really, just looks that way) which sits in my aerobars, and having water so easily in reach was really nice. Felt pretty strong and right on track all the way up to Hawi and back down, but at some point I started to feel pretty worked, maybe 10-12 miles from the end. It was disturbing to me to feel so drained, nothing was hurting, I had enough "food" and water on me, and it was hot but not TOO bad. I couldn't figure out what was going on, but I just couldn't get it going.
Sure enough, when I returned, I'd broken ANOTHER spoke! This time I didn't even hear anything. It made me feel tougher (if frustrated) to have done the whole ride with god knows how many miles of my rear brake rubbing against the wheel. I finished the total ride in 3 hours 33 minutes, and I KNOW I'll do it faster in the race, especially without broken spokes!
By this point it was about 11:45, and brutally hot. The idea for the run was to do 1:45, which I suppose I did, but I only got to the end of Puako road and back since I had to stop and walk for about 12 minutes, all told. I also took a detour to a small beach to try to put some water on my head (managed to dunk my shoes by accident, as well), and another to the Puako boat ramp to drink some water out of a hose faucet. No pain in my leg, or if there was, I didn't notice, because of the misery I was feeling being so hot. FINALLY got back and was SO relieved to be done. Thank god for visions of aid stations with ice and buckets of cold water for me to dump on my head at the race, EVERY MILE if I want!
Sure enough, when I returned, I'd broken ANOTHER spoke! This time I didn't even hear anything. It made me feel tougher (if frustrated) to have done the whole ride with god knows how many miles of my rear brake rubbing against the wheel. I finished the total ride in 3 hours 33 minutes, and I KNOW I'll do it faster in the race, especially without broken spokes!
By this point it was about 11:45, and brutally hot. The idea for the run was to do 1:45, which I suppose I did, but I only got to the end of Puako road and back since I had to stop and walk for about 12 minutes, all told. I also took a detour to a small beach to try to put some water on my head (managed to dunk my shoes by accident, as well), and another to the Puako boat ramp to drink some water out of a hose faucet. No pain in my leg, or if there was, I didn't notice, because of the misery I was feeling being so hot. FINALLY got back and was SO relieved to be done. Thank god for visions of aid stations with ice and buckets of cold water for me to dump on my head at the race, EVERY MILE if I want!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
taperizing
rode bike trainer twice yesterday. 1 hour each. once in morning once in evening. will do another hour tonight.
last Saturday had a decent swim followed by a very crappy bike ride (including my first keawe thorn flat). I passed on the run altogether in favor of bodysurfing (first time i've seen decent swells at Hapuna in months). During the swim the water was so cloudy you could hardly see the bottom of the bay (typically it is very easy to see the bottom and guide your swim using the lines in the sand).
Thursday I did a 50 minute bike ride followed by a 1hr40minute run. bike ride was marginal. run was good but i could hardly walk afterwards due to stabbing pain in the right knee most probably due to a tight IT band. lots of stretching to do. Plus a massage the next day from Trish helped a great deal.
Mon-Wed I didn't work out due to having a cold.
last Saturday had a decent swim followed by a very crappy bike ride (including my first keawe thorn flat). I passed on the run altogether in favor of bodysurfing (first time i've seen decent swells at Hapuna in months). During the swim the water was so cloudy you could hardly see the bottom of the bay (typically it is very easy to see the bottom and guide your swim using the lines in the sand).
Thursday I did a 50 minute bike ride followed by a 1hr40minute run. bike ride was marginal. run was good but i could hardly walk afterwards due to stabbing pain in the right knee most probably due to a tight IT band. lots of stretching to do. Plus a massage the next day from Trish helped a great deal.
Mon-Wed I didn't work out due to having a cold.
Taperz
Sorry I haven't had time to figure out an official taper schedule. The general rule is: maintain frequency while reducing volume. As far as volume goes:
This week: 60-70% of last week's volume
Next week: 30-50% of last week's volume
Last week we had pretty big volume so...
Tammy and I just did easy ocean swims on Sunday and Monday.
This week: 60-70% of last week's volume
Next week: 30-50% of last week's volume
Last week we had pretty big volume so...
Tammy and I just did easy ocean swims on Sunday and Monday.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Last week of intense training! Wed, Thurs, Fri
Wed: First thing was 1:30 bike ride with 35 minutes at z4. Rode down to Mahukona and past. I knew something was up because it took me about 5 minutes longer to get to Mahukona than usual, and it's all downhill. Well, so guess what -- I turned around to climb back up, and NO WIND! That's why it took so much longer to get down -- I wasn't getting a push. I have never gotten back from Mahukona so fast. It was so quick I was only 25 minutes in to my 35 minute z4 when I got to town, where it's no longer safe to be in z4! I slowed down, rode to the other end of Kapa'au, and completed my z4 interval out on the other side towards Pololu and back. Did about 25. 5 miles and about 1:30.
Later, 'master's swim'. It was really still and muggy all day, and maybe that was why I felt so lethargic after the ride and getting into the pool, I don't know. It took me a while to get going, but eventually I did. Swam a total of 2350 yards, with a grueling but invigorating main set of 6x200 high intensity intervals. Whew!
Thurs: run at Puako 1:40 all z2. This time I wore a camelbak to make SURE I had enough water. It sure is great to have as much water as I want! Wearing the gear was somewhat annoying but overall it was a nice strong run. Ran 9.5 miles in 1:39, which is a bit faster than Tuesday. My leg didn't bother me at all until about 40 minutes in, and when I stopped to stretch it cleared up again. Started to get tight again during the last 15 minutes or so of the run, but still, getting SO much better!
Friday: easy swim. 35 minutes or so at the pool, about 1500 yards, some pull buoy, kickboard, and single arm drills between laps. Felt great to swim because it's STILL so muggy and wind-free here!
Later, 'master's swim'. It was really still and muggy all day, and maybe that was why I felt so lethargic after the ride and getting into the pool, I don't know. It took me a while to get going, but eventually I did. Swam a total of 2350 yards, with a grueling but invigorating main set of 6x200 high intensity intervals. Whew!
Thurs: run at Puako 1:40 all z2. This time I wore a camelbak to make SURE I had enough water. It sure is great to have as much water as I want! Wearing the gear was somewhat annoying but overall it was a nice strong run. Ran 9.5 miles in 1:39, which is a bit faster than Tuesday. My leg didn't bother me at all until about 40 minutes in, and when I stopped to stretch it cleared up again. Started to get tight again during the last 15 minutes or so of the run, but still, getting SO much better!
Friday: easy swim. 35 minutes or so at the pool, about 1500 yards, some pull buoy, kickboard, and single arm drills between laps. Felt great to swim because it's STILL so muggy and wind-free here!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
swim and run, Monday and Tuesday
Monday was an easy swim, and I totally lagged getting to the pool, so ended up only having about 20 minutes to swim as they were about to close. Still, it felt good -- I worked on form a lot, and did some drills, ended up swimming about 1000 yards.
Tuesday was 1:30 run day with :35 minutes at z4. There has been no wind in Kohala these last two days (WTF?!?) and I ended up going out at noon so it was REALLY hot. The run actually went pretty well anyway, although my z4 was not very fast because of the heat -- my heart rate was up pretty high without even running that hard. Felt really great until I ran out of water, and started to feel dehydrated -- about an hour in. Luckily, within 10 minutes I'd reached Kohala Coffee Mill where I was able to refill one of my bottles. Within a couple minutes of running, I felt restored, and ran strong all the way home. So obviously what I need is water, and apparently more than I can carry! I drank a total of 32oz in 1.5 hours. This won't be a problem during the race, thankfully, because of the aid stations, but Friday I am probably going to try and run with a camelbak. In any case, I did 9 miles in 1:37. As for my leg/knee, it did GREAT, just a little bit achey a couple times, and stopping to stretch it out helped. Yay!
Tuesday was 1:30 run day with :35 minutes at z4. There has been no wind in Kohala these last two days (WTF?!?) and I ended up going out at noon so it was REALLY hot. The run actually went pretty well anyway, although my z4 was not very fast because of the heat -- my heart rate was up pretty high without even running that hard. Felt really great until I ran out of water, and started to feel dehydrated -- about an hour in. Luckily, within 10 minutes I'd reached Kohala Coffee Mill where I was able to refill one of my bottles. Within a couple minutes of running, I felt restored, and ran strong all the way home. So obviously what I need is water, and apparently more than I can carry! I drank a total of 32oz in 1.5 hours. This won't be a problem during the race, thankfully, because of the aid stations, but Friday I am probably going to try and run with a camelbak. In any case, I did 9 miles in 1:37. As for my leg/knee, it did GREAT, just a little bit achey a couple times, and stopping to stretch it out helped. Yay!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
i'm sick
poop on a stick
i'm sick
head with a cold
makes me feel old
crappy and achy
le poop.
i didn't get my workout in yesterday. we'll see if i get anything in today or just sit here like a lump of nasal congealeality.
i'm sick
head with a cold
makes me feel old
crappy and achy
le poop.
i didn't get my workout in yesterday. we'll see if i get anything in today or just sit here like a lump of nasal congealeality.
Monday, May 12, 2008
easiER brick sunday
So to wrap up our 'recovery' week, we did a brick that was way less intense than the last 3-4 weeks, although still fairly challenging. Today was a 2 hour ride, all zone 1-2, so I started out trying the little bit of the race course we haven't really been practicing on too much by turning right at the hwy instead of left. Biked to Mauna Lani and turned around, only 4.5 miles, but the whole 9 mile out and back to Hapuna took almost 40 minutes! Lots of harsh headwind with crosswind gusts with some steep rollers made this part of the ride really annoying and slow. It got better once I reached Kawaihae, and I went north just past mile marker 9 and turned around. Heading back I felt pretty good and strong, and overall my return to Hapuna was fairly windy but not nearly as bad as the earliest part of the ride.
Run was 1hr, made it to the Puako catholic church and back, about 5.6 miles. It was supposed to be low intensity as well, like z1-2, but I really struggled this time. It looks like I didn't drink enough water on the bike, and even though I brought plenty with me on the run and I was drinking as needed, I think it may have been too late! I was fine for the first 35 minutes or so, but then I started to feel queasy, especially after eating some orange hammer gel (I have now given this flavor to Todd, can't handle it.) Then I started to have some overheating problems and just felt like crap. It was REALLY hot, but was it any hotter than previous weeks, or was it just me? In any case, walked during the last mile during one of the steeper hills so as not to overheat entirely/puke. When I was finally approaching the parking lot, I thought to myself, if this is how I feel on race day at mile 6, I am not going to be able to finish! Must be sure to finish BOTH water bottles on the bike, I think that's my lesson for this brick. I think it was windy enough on the ride that I wasn't that hot, and was also distracted -- wasn't paying attention to how I needed to be drinking more.
Afterwards, swam around lazily in the ocean for a while, and floated on my back, and felt a million times better.
Run was 1hr, made it to the Puako catholic church and back, about 5.6 miles. It was supposed to be low intensity as well, like z1-2, but I really struggled this time. It looks like I didn't drink enough water on the bike, and even though I brought plenty with me on the run and I was drinking as needed, I think it may have been too late! I was fine for the first 35 minutes or so, but then I started to feel queasy, especially after eating some orange hammer gel (I have now given this flavor to Todd, can't handle it.) Then I started to have some overheating problems and just felt like crap. It was REALLY hot, but was it any hotter than previous weeks, or was it just me? In any case, walked during the last mile during one of the steeper hills so as not to overheat entirely/puke. When I was finally approaching the parking lot, I thought to myself, if this is how I feel on race day at mile 6, I am not going to be able to finish! Must be sure to finish BOTH water bottles on the bike, I think that's my lesson for this brick. I think it was windy enough on the ride that I wasn't that hot, and was also distracted -- wasn't paying attention to how I needed to be drinking more.
Afterwards, swam around lazily in the ocean for a while, and floated on my back, and felt a million times better.
my new, awesome swim goggles!
In case anyone is interested in which goggles I ended up with (I know of at least one person!) here they are:
Aquasphere Mako goggle
These have very soft silicone all the way around the lens, including an extra little flap along the outside of each, which are supposed to really prevent leakage. I seem to have a strangely shaped face, or something, because I swear I've tried like 8 different styles of goggle and they ALL leak! I tried on a number of goggles in the store, and these fit my face the best, which is the other really important thing (obviously.) There was another pair there I tried on, that also had this extra no-leak flap, in case the makos don't fit your face as well:
Blue Seventy Vision goggle
The thing I liked about those goggles is that they actually come in sizes small and large -- imagine that! But it ended up that the makos just fit my face better.
By the way, I don't know what makes the Aquasphere mako 'starter' goggles, according to their site. For those who are "just starting out" and can't afford to buy fancy REAL SWIMMER goggles? Mind you, these "economical starter goggles" were $17. Interestingly, I can't find any goggles on their site that are clearly the upgrade step, ones that seem to be for, you know, the experienced swimmer who is ready to throw down MAJOR BUCKS for the "goggle the pros use!" or something. Maybe pros don't use Aquasphere!
Aquasphere Mako goggle
These have very soft silicone all the way around the lens, including an extra little flap along the outside of each, which are supposed to really prevent leakage. I seem to have a strangely shaped face, or something, because I swear I've tried like 8 different styles of goggle and they ALL leak! I tried on a number of goggles in the store, and these fit my face the best, which is the other really important thing (obviously.) There was another pair there I tried on, that also had this extra no-leak flap, in case the makos don't fit your face as well:
Blue Seventy Vision goggle
The thing I liked about those goggles is that they actually come in sizes small and large -- imagine that! But it ended up that the makos just fit my face better.
By the way, I don't know what makes the Aquasphere mako 'starter' goggles, according to their site. For those who are "just starting out" and can't afford to buy fancy REAL SWIMMER goggles? Mind you, these "economical starter goggles" were $17. Interestingly, I can't find any goggles on their site that are clearly the upgrade step, ones that seem to be for, you know, the experienced swimmer who is ready to throw down MAJOR BUCKS for the "goggle the pros use!" or something. Maybe pros don't use Aquasphere!
Substitutes for "masters swim"
From the tri book I've been slowwwly reading: these might be a good substitutes for the masters workout, since we don't have masters groups at any of our local pools:
Long interval workout: 3450 yards total
WU:
100 drill, 100 kick, 100 drill, 100 kick ("drill" is something like single-arm, catch-up, etc.)
MS:
6x400 at T-pace (i.e. 1km time-trial pace) with 40 seconds RI between. Try to negative-split the second 200 with more perceived effort
CD:
100 drill, 50 kick ez
500 swim with good form
Medium interval workout: 2350 yards total
WU:
3x100 descending times
4x50 kick descending times
MS:
6x200 fast with 50 kick ez recovery between 200s
200 kick steady
CD:
200 ez swim
The purpose of the "masters swim" in our schedule is the same as the interval runs-- it's for speed. The problem with doing long open water swims is that you don't really get good speedwork unless you're meticulous about tracking interval times and perceived efforts (since it's difficult to judge distances).
Long interval workout: 3450 yards total
WU:
100 drill, 100 kick, 100 drill, 100 kick ("drill" is something like single-arm, catch-up, etc.)
MS:
6x400 at T-pace (i.e. 1km time-trial pace) with 40 seconds RI between. Try to negative-split the second 200 with more perceived effort
CD:
100 drill, 50 kick ez
500 swim with good form
Medium interval workout: 2350 yards total
WU:
3x100 descending times
4x50 kick descending times
MS:
6x200 fast with 50 kick ez recovery between 200s
200 kick steady
CD:
200 ez swim
The purpose of the "masters swim" in our schedule is the same as the interval runs-- it's for speed. The problem with doing long open water swims is that you don't really get good speedwork unless you're meticulous about tracking interval times and perceived efforts (since it's difficult to judge distances).
Sunday, May 11, 2008
le sunday brick-ED edition
my recap from the end of last week:
swam Thursday. felt like crap afterwards. took Friday and Saturday off. Had a massage Friday and could hardly walk from all the muscle soreness that swam up about two hours after the massage.
Sunday brick:
2 hours bike
1 hours run
15 minutes swim
wind was intense and annoying during the bike and run. swim was surprisingly easy despite all the sandblaster strength wind at Hapuna Beach. did the entire thing in z1-z2. got nice and uncomfortable from the bike size/seat issue. Ye GODS it suck ball!
Having had a few days to consider my Wednesday intense run interval insanity I conclude that it was a BAAAAAAAD idea. It's taking me far too long to recover from that one workout (hence taking Friday and Saturday off). Felt pretty low energy and saggy during today's brick. I'm gonna keep it on the lower end of the intensity scale from now till race day.
today's moment of Zen:
car, wall of death, lion
swam Thursday. felt like crap afterwards. took Friday and Saturday off. Had a massage Friday and could hardly walk from all the muscle soreness that swam up about two hours after the massage.
Sunday brick:
2 hours bike
1 hours run
15 minutes swim
wind was intense and annoying during the bike and run. swim was surprisingly easy despite all the sandblaster strength wind at Hapuna Beach. did the entire thing in z1-z2. got nice and uncomfortable from the bike size/seat issue. Ye GODS it suck ball!
Having had a few days to consider my Wednesday intense run interval insanity I conclude that it was a BAAAAAAAD idea. It's taking me far too long to recover from that one workout (hence taking Friday and Saturday off). Felt pretty low energy and saggy during today's brick. I'm gonna keep it on the lower end of the intensity scale from now till race day.
today's moment of Zen:
car, wall of death, lion
Recovery week recap
I didn't really feel like any of this week's workouts were epic/interesting enough to warrant an individual post, so here's a summary of everything I did this week!
Monday: meant to ride the trainer for at least an hour, but right as I tried to set up a movie to watch on my Mac mini it totally tanked. Subsequent frantic attempts to reboot and freakout ensued. No riding for me!
Tuesday: a full-on rest day, but Todd and I did do some snorkeling at the gorgeous beach at Mauna Kea. The water felt so great I had to punch it a little bit, but for the most part I took it really easy. Was surrounded by like 6 honu at once. Todd saw two free swimming octopuses! When all this is over, we are SO going back there to lounge and snorkel!
Wed: 30 minute run with 10 minutes at race pace. This run felt super short! Felt a little low energy and light-headed -- I think low blood sugar. Ran a little over 3 miles. A little tightness in my left leg but not bad. Stopped to stretch a little and kept going. This doc is really helping me, I think!
Thurs:
Master's swim first. I kicked ass at this one -- the pool was FINALLY open when I wanted to go! Swam 400 warmup, 6x200 race pace with 50s in between, and some cooldown laps, totaling 2300 yards. The race pace bursts were pretty hard -- I'm trying to work on my 'catch' (the part of the stroke where your arms pull back underwater) and have modified my stroke a little, which I can definitely feel! Made my triceps super tired -- hoping it will also make me FASTER!
That evening, 45 minutes easy ride on the trainer. Watched Slaughterhouse-5 (a GREAT film) but as Todd mentioned, it is really hard to keep up the intensity on the trainer because it's fairly boring and because I want to RELAX while watching a movie. But if I'm NOT watching anything, I will stop entirely from the boredom, so I guess I need some entertainment. I'm so glad we have a trainer now though, even if its boring -- need some breaks from the wind out there on 270, really our only option for riding from home. Sweat like CRAZY on the trainer, even with windows open and fans going! Reminds me that it really is rather warm and humid here.
Fri: 30 minute run z1-2. A little achey in the knee and hamstring but I stopped and stretched and it went away. Felt good to just chug along and not worry about speed too much. Ran about 3 miles again.
Sat: easy swim. We were in Hilo so went to Richardson again. Just as I went out it started to pour, and it was really choppy with some pretty tall whitecaps (for swimming in) at the opening of the reef. Once I got past them I was just being buffeted about like crazy, and it was super annoying, so I went back in to the protected area and swam around there for a while. There was somewhat of a current, so even though I didn't go that far I kind of got that treadmill/endless pool effect going. I bought some new goggles Friday, and I'm so excited because not only do they not leak, I can actually SEE through them, not just underwater, but in the air! Shit yeah! It made it easy to spot some awesome unicornfish and wrasses. Ended up only swimming about 20 minutes because Todd forgot his goggles and was all sad and drenched on the beach, so I went back in and lent him my goggles so he could take a turn.
Monday: meant to ride the trainer for at least an hour, but right as I tried to set up a movie to watch on my Mac mini it totally tanked. Subsequent frantic attempts to reboot and freakout ensued. No riding for me!
Tuesday: a full-on rest day, but Todd and I did do some snorkeling at the gorgeous beach at Mauna Kea. The water felt so great I had to punch it a little bit, but for the most part I took it really easy. Was surrounded by like 6 honu at once. Todd saw two free swimming octopuses! When all this is over, we are SO going back there to lounge and snorkel!
Wed: 30 minute run with 10 minutes at race pace. This run felt super short! Felt a little low energy and light-headed -- I think low blood sugar. Ran a little over 3 miles. A little tightness in my left leg but not bad. Stopped to stretch a little and kept going. This doc is really helping me, I think!
Thurs:
Master's swim first. I kicked ass at this one -- the pool was FINALLY open when I wanted to go! Swam 400 warmup, 6x200 race pace with 50s in between, and some cooldown laps, totaling 2300 yards. The race pace bursts were pretty hard -- I'm trying to work on my 'catch' (the part of the stroke where your arms pull back underwater) and have modified my stroke a little, which I can definitely feel! Made my triceps super tired -- hoping it will also make me FASTER!
That evening, 45 minutes easy ride on the trainer. Watched Slaughterhouse-5 (a GREAT film) but as Todd mentioned, it is really hard to keep up the intensity on the trainer because it's fairly boring and because I want to RELAX while watching a movie. But if I'm NOT watching anything, I will stop entirely from the boredom, so I guess I need some entertainment. I'm so glad we have a trainer now though, even if its boring -- need some breaks from the wind out there on 270, really our only option for riding from home. Sweat like CRAZY on the trainer, even with windows open and fans going! Reminds me that it really is rather warm and humid here.
Fri: 30 minute run z1-2. A little achey in the knee and hamstring but I stopped and stretched and it went away. Felt good to just chug along and not worry about speed too much. Ran about 3 miles again.
Sat: easy swim. We were in Hilo so went to Richardson again. Just as I went out it started to pour, and it was really choppy with some pretty tall whitecaps (for swimming in) at the opening of the reef. Once I got past them I was just being buffeted about like crazy, and it was super annoying, so I went back in to the protected area and swam around there for a while. There was somewhat of a current, so even though I didn't go that far I kind of got that treadmill/endless pool effect going. I bought some new goggles Friday, and I'm so excited because not only do they not leak, I can actually SEE through them, not just underwater, but in the air! Shit yeah! It made it easy to spot some awesome unicornfish and wrasses. Ended up only swimming about 20 minutes because Todd forgot his goggles and was all sad and drenched on the beach, so I went back in and lent him my goggles so he could take a turn.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
thursday: swimmel
the schedule said "master's swim" which always makes me want to puke. So I went swimming at Richardson's again. I swam out farther than I had before across Reed's Bay. All told I was in the water for about 35 minutes and rarely had a good groove going. The water was somewhat choppy and I am probably a bit fagged out from yesterday's sprint interval run. After the swim I had trouble getting warm. Ate some Korean food in the chilly network operations center where I work during the day. That didn't help me warm up at all. Went home and took a nap afterwards. Tonight I climb on the trainer for 45 minutes of watching the Simpsons and zone 2.
It's really too bad that swimming pools are always chlorinated and full of swimming jocks. I dislike chlorine and swimming jocks in equal measure. And this is probably why I want to puke when I read "master's swim" on the training calendar.
Zen photo gallery of the day:
Chilean Volcano Lightning Show
(kudos to Uncles John and Bates for this)
It's really too bad that swimming pools are always chlorinated and full of swimming jocks. I dislike chlorine and swimming jocks in equal measure. And this is probably why I want to puke when I read "master's swim" on the training calendar.
Zen photo gallery of the day:
Chilean Volcano Lightning Show
(kudos to Uncles John and Bates for this)
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
tue: rest; wed: "easy" run
hooray for Tuesday rest day.
and then there was Wednesday....
run, easy
distance 5.2 miles
time: 39 minutes
intervals: 3 miles done at or below 6 minute pace
why: i was curious what I had in me
reward: swim at Richardson's, burrito @ Aloha Luigis, candy bars
quote of the day (from bikesnobnyc): "For one thing, singlespeeders know a lot about how to achieve a straight chainline. They also know where to get good weed."
and then there was Wednesday....
run, easy
distance 5.2 miles
time: 39 minutes
intervals: 3 miles done at or below 6 minute pace
why: i was curious what I had in me
reward: swim at Richardson's, burrito @ Aloha Luigis, candy bars
quote of the day (from bikesnobnyc): "For one thing, singlespeeders know a lot about how to achieve a straight chainline. They also know where to get good weed."
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Trainer home theater
I rode on a trainer for the first time ever yesterday. It took a little while to get the trainer (CycleOps Fluid 2) set up properly, but once it was, it was sooo easy to keep the spin in zone 1-2. What a relief! No more wind and hills on easy ride days.
I watched "Master and Commander" which was good because it kept my mind off the fact that I was staring at a wall. Also, I think it would have been hard to keep up any kind of intensity on the trainer because you don't have any motivation. ("What, no hill? Why bother going into Z4?") So for the easy days the trainer works great, and it might work well for short sprint internals (a la a coached spin workout, maybe with a spin training DVD), but I don't think I'd enjoy doing longer hard training rides on the trainer.
I watched "Master and Commander" which was good because it kept my mind off the fact that I was staring at a wall. Also, I think it would have been hard to keep up any kind of intensity on the trainer because you don't have any motivation. ("What, no hill? Why bother going into Z4?") So for the easy days the trainer works great, and it might work well for short sprint internals (a la a coached spin workout, maybe with a spin training DVD), but I don't think I'd enjoy doing longer hard training rides on the trainer.
Monday, May 5, 2008
biggest brick EVAR
Well, it was certainly the longest and hardest brick I've ever done.
For our first section, we were to ride three hours and spend an hour of that ride at race pace. I wanted to do almost the whole course by turning and heading down to the Mauna Lani from Hapuna and then back up the way the course actually is, but unfortunately I discovered the night before that I'd left my running shoes at home, so instead, I got to bike all the way to Ainakea! This actually turned out to be almost the same mileage as the other boom kings did, but I believe it may have taken me longer because the headwind from Puakea Ranch (about 3 miles uphill from Mahukona) all the way through Hawi and Kapa'au was pretty harsh. This particular ride was different and special for me because I got aerobars on Friday, and was able to try them out for the first time. I really love how much they get me out of the wind, and especially how they give me a different position for my shoulders to hang out in on these longer rides. I was really comfortable in them almost right away, going downhill and on straightaways and shallow uphills, although I did notice I got a bit swervy a couple times because steering from out there is just different.
The first part of my ride (the way I break it down in my head) was Hapuna to Mahukona, which I did in 57 minutes, 4 minutes faster than the week previous. About 25 minutes into the ride I started my 1 hour race pace, which left me right about at the top of the hilly section when my time was up. The journey through town to my house and back took a bit over 30 minutes, and then I turned around and headed back to Hapuna. I used the aerobars enough in the wind that my neck and triceps started to get sore, in the 'hey I'm not used to working this hard!' kind of way. I'm sure I'll get used to it.
About 2:30 into my ride, I felt a bit hungry and realized I was out of gel-food. Dang! Started to feel pretty low energy, and I think it slowed me down a bit, although I never fully bonked. Next time I think I'll bring a clif bar too, since I scarfed one down as soon as I got back to the car! Total ride time: 3:08, total miles ~50, which puts me at about 16.4mph average.
Then it was time for 1:20 run with 35 minutes at race pace. As is usual when I run after riding for so long, I only had a momentary twinge in my knee and then my leg felt fine the rest of the run. I was still a little lightheaded from not eating in time for the the first 10 minutes or so, but then felt pretty strong all the way into Puako, and made it all the way to the end of the road for the first time! However, when I turned around it was pretty hot and the wind had died down, so I started having a bit of trouble with heat. I powered through it, as this time I'd actually brought enough water, and managed to pull off my :35 at race pace coming back through Puako. Right about when I was done with that section I had to stop and walk a couple times because of heat, but I still made it back in the same amount of time it took me to go out. Total run time 1:25, and the distance to the end of the road in Puako is almost exactly 8 miles, so that puts me at about 10.5 min/miles. Still would like to be faster than that, but it seems like every time I do this run I do it a bit faster than the last time.
The last mile was REALLY hard. I was TRASHED when I got to the beach. But a quick swim in the ocean and a big Mexican meal in Kawaihae fixed me right up. Feeling fine today, and feeling like a badass in general. GO TEAM BOOM KING!
For our first section, we were to ride three hours and spend an hour of that ride at race pace. I wanted to do almost the whole course by turning and heading down to the Mauna Lani from Hapuna and then back up the way the course actually is, but unfortunately I discovered the night before that I'd left my running shoes at home, so instead, I got to bike all the way to Ainakea! This actually turned out to be almost the same mileage as the other boom kings did, but I believe it may have taken me longer because the headwind from Puakea Ranch (about 3 miles uphill from Mahukona) all the way through Hawi and Kapa'au was pretty harsh. This particular ride was different and special for me because I got aerobars on Friday, and was able to try them out for the first time. I really love how much they get me out of the wind, and especially how they give me a different position for my shoulders to hang out in on these longer rides. I was really comfortable in them almost right away, going downhill and on straightaways and shallow uphills, although I did notice I got a bit swervy a couple times because steering from out there is just different.
The first part of my ride (the way I break it down in my head) was Hapuna to Mahukona, which I did in 57 minutes, 4 minutes faster than the week previous. About 25 minutes into the ride I started my 1 hour race pace, which left me right about at the top of the hilly section when my time was up. The journey through town to my house and back took a bit over 30 minutes, and then I turned around and headed back to Hapuna. I used the aerobars enough in the wind that my neck and triceps started to get sore, in the 'hey I'm not used to working this hard!' kind of way. I'm sure I'll get used to it.
About 2:30 into my ride, I felt a bit hungry and realized I was out of gel-food. Dang! Started to feel pretty low energy, and I think it slowed me down a bit, although I never fully bonked. Next time I think I'll bring a clif bar too, since I scarfed one down as soon as I got back to the car! Total ride time: 3:08, total miles ~50, which puts me at about 16.4mph average.
Then it was time for 1:20 run with 35 minutes at race pace. As is usual when I run after riding for so long, I only had a momentary twinge in my knee and then my leg felt fine the rest of the run. I was still a little lightheaded from not eating in time for the the first 10 minutes or so, but then felt pretty strong all the way into Puako, and made it all the way to the end of the road for the first time! However, when I turned around it was pretty hot and the wind had died down, so I started having a bit of trouble with heat. I powered through it, as this time I'd actually brought enough water, and managed to pull off my :35 at race pace coming back through Puako. Right about when I was done with that section I had to stop and walk a couple times because of heat, but I still made it back in the same amount of time it took me to go out. Total run time 1:25, and the distance to the end of the road in Puako is almost exactly 8 miles, so that puts me at about 10.5 min/miles. Still would like to be faster than that, but it seems like every time I do this run I do it a bit faster than the last time.
The last mile was REALLY hard. I was TRASHED when I got to the beach. But a quick swim in the ocean and a big Mexican meal in Kawaihae fixed me right up. Feeling fine today, and feeling like a badass in general. GO TEAM BOOM KING!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Tam Friday and Saturday training days
Friday run: I was going to go on a good long run -- the schedule said 1:30 at zone 2 but I was going to go as long as it took me to get closer to Pololu than I ever had previously. It's about an 11 mile round trip, and the closest I've gotten is about 9.25 miles or so -- I was aiming for about 10. Unfortunately, my left leg started out tight and my hamstring kept feeling crampy, enough that I was afraid I was going to injure something, so I turned around about 25 minutes out and walked some and only ended up running about 40 minutes. I was MAD!
Later that day I went to see this doc for the first time, though, and I feel much more optimistic about things now. I also learned that its probably not necessary to stop and turn around when my leg is feeling like it was on Friday, just to stop and stretch for a bit and then keep going. Apparently it is a good thing that the pain/tightness/discomfort kind of jumps around. It doesn't seem like anything is really injured, just tight and off-balance in various spots, so I'm going to do all the therapy homework I was given and keep seeing the doctor.
Saturday was an easy swim day, and we all went to Richardson's to swim for half an hour. It was about 4:30 and fairly choppy, and I ended up not getting such an 'easy swim' out of it when I tried to come back in to Richardson and almost ran aground on very shallow rocks! I ended up having to backtrack quite a bit (if you can do that in the water?) and swim back out into the open water and then go out and around some rocks to the one right place to enter, where its actually deep enough! This was made much more difficult by my goggles, which are tinted blue and starting to lose their coating so I actually couldn't see well enough in the air to figure out where I was going. I had to tread water while getting sloshed around in the waves and pull my goggles OFF to sight -- annoying! Getting new goggles. Ended up swimming kind of hard, got back in after 35 minutes.
Later that day I went to see this doc for the first time, though, and I feel much more optimistic about things now. I also learned that its probably not necessary to stop and turn around when my leg is feeling like it was on Friday, just to stop and stretch for a bit and then keep going. Apparently it is a good thing that the pain/tightness/discomfort kind of jumps around. It doesn't seem like anything is really injured, just tight and off-balance in various spots, so I'm going to do all the therapy homework I was given and keep seeing the doctor.
Saturday was an easy swim day, and we all went to Richardson's to swim for half an hour. It was about 4:30 and fairly choppy, and I ended up not getting such an 'easy swim' out of it when I tried to come back in to Richardson and almost ran aground on very shallow rocks! I ended up having to backtrack quite a bit (if you can do that in the water?) and swim back out into the open water and then go out and around some rocks to the one right place to enter, where its actually deep enough! This was made much more difficult by my goggles, which are tinted blue and starting to lose their coating so I actually couldn't see well enough in the air to figure out where I was going. I had to tread water while getting sloshed around in the waves and pull my goggles OFF to sight -- annoying! Getting new goggles. Ended up swimming kind of hard, got back in after 35 minutes.
Sunday: triathlon-ish
I've decided to turn the Sunday Brick training into Sunday triathlons. Today I actually remembered all of my gear and got to Hapuna Beach early enough to grab a swim before Tammy and Todd arrived. Overall I am well pleased with today's results (aside from the continued crotch numbing on the bike, more on this below)
Activity: Swim
Location: Hapuna Beach Park
Distance: 1000 meters swimming
Time: 24 minutes
Conditions: glassy until about minute 19. Then it got breezy and the water had a very light chop
Tide: seemed pretty low
Time/100 meters: 2.4 minutes (i think, but i am kind of fried and may well be doing the math wrong)
Notes: Due to clear, calm conditions I was able to sight along the lines in the sand on the bottom of the bay and did not have to poke my head out of the water. Hopefully this sort of condition will exist on race day.
Activity: Bike
Route: Hapuna Beach Park -> south to entrance of Mauna Lani Resort -> north to Oopolu Road near Hawi -> south to Hapuna Beach Park
Distance: 50.7 miles
Time: 3 hours 3 minutes (including 3 minute stop to adjust seat)
Conditions: relatively calm until Mahu Kona area. Stiff headwind to Upolu Airport Road. Nice tailwind back to Mahu Kona. Crosswind from Mahu Kona until Lapakahi
Speed: 16.7mph
Notes: This was my first long ride with the borrowed aero bars (many thanks to Hilo Bike Hub). Using the aero bars went OK but on the northbound leg I had a not so pleasant moment a mile or so south of Lapakahi Park when I realized that I had absolutely no sensation at all in my genitals. After moving around my "equipment" and riding a mile or two things seemed to go back to normal. Worst case of numb pecker I have ever had. Last week I had moderate oddball tingly sensations later in the day after our training session. Overall situation is moderately troubling. I believe this is due to body position and the bike frame being too large for me.
Food/Water: consumed one flask of Hammer Gel and the usual two bottles of water/engineered drink stuff.
Activity: Run
Route: Hapuna Beach Park -> end of Puako Road -> return to Hapuna Beach Park
Distance: 8.0 miles
Time: 1 hour 12 minutes
Conditions: alternating overcast and sunny. not terribly hot
Speed: 9 minutes per mile
Notes: running downhill has been causing me some moderate knee pain. During this run I tried moving my vision from the hill in front of me to a spot further down the road. This seemed to make the downhill running pain free. A few moderate blisters on the ends of the 2nd toe on each foot.
Food/Water: I carried a smallish water bottle in my hand for this run (the last few runs at Puako I have definitely been dehydrated by the end). It wasn't horribly annoying to carry and being able to stay hydrated seemed to help me run fairly strong all the way to the finish (aside from a few moments where I almost felt like I was getting a hamstring cramp and/or a strain in my right achilles area). Consumed two Hammer Gel packets during run on the outbound leg.
Activity: Swim
Location: Hapuna Beach Park
Distance: 1000 meters swimming
Time: 24 minutes
Conditions: glassy until about minute 19. Then it got breezy and the water had a very light chop
Tide: seemed pretty low
Time/100 meters: 2.4 minutes (i think, but i am kind of fried and may well be doing the math wrong)
Notes: Due to clear, calm conditions I was able to sight along the lines in the sand on the bottom of the bay and did not have to poke my head out of the water. Hopefully this sort of condition will exist on race day.
Activity: Bike
Route: Hapuna Beach Park -> south to entrance of Mauna Lani Resort -> north to Oopolu Road near Hawi -> south to Hapuna Beach Park
Distance: 50.7 miles
Time: 3 hours 3 minutes (including 3 minute stop to adjust seat)
Conditions: relatively calm until Mahu Kona area. Stiff headwind to Upolu Airport Road. Nice tailwind back to Mahu Kona. Crosswind from Mahu Kona until Lapakahi
Speed: 16.7mph
Notes: This was my first long ride with the borrowed aero bars (many thanks to Hilo Bike Hub). Using the aero bars went OK but on the northbound leg I had a not so pleasant moment a mile or so south of Lapakahi Park when I realized that I had absolutely no sensation at all in my genitals. After moving around my "equipment" and riding a mile or two things seemed to go back to normal. Worst case of numb pecker I have ever had. Last week I had moderate oddball tingly sensations later in the day after our training session. Overall situation is moderately troubling. I believe this is due to body position and the bike frame being too large for me.
Food/Water: consumed one flask of Hammer Gel and the usual two bottles of water/engineered drink stuff.
Activity: Run
Route: Hapuna Beach Park -> end of Puako Road -> return to Hapuna Beach Park
Distance: 8.0 miles
Time: 1 hour 12 minutes
Conditions: alternating overcast and sunny. not terribly hot
Speed: 9 minutes per mile
Notes: running downhill has been causing me some moderate knee pain. During this run I tried moving my vision from the hill in front of me to a spot further down the road. This seemed to make the downhill running pain free. A few moderate blisters on the ends of the 2nd toe on each foot.
Food/Water: I carried a smallish water bottle in my hand for this run (the last few runs at Puako I have definitely been dehydrated by the end). It wasn't horribly annoying to carry and being able to stay hydrated seemed to help me run fairly strong all the way to the finish (aside from a few moments where I almost felt like I was getting a hamstring cramp and/or a strain in my right achilles area). Consumed two Hammer Gel packets during run on the outbound leg.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
friday: runzorz z0
did the usual run from Richardson's to Liliokalani park. 1hr 30 minutes. actually came in at 1:34. I was in "low and slow" gear the entire way and going via my usual route along Banyan Drive I got to the corner at Suisan and the bridge. Slightly farther than I got on Wednesday doing my 1:05 partial Z4. I'd estimate I was in Z1/Z2 the entire way. My right leg is alternating between knee pain (outside lower) and muscle tightness pain (interior hamstring). Generally I attribute this to a tight t-band (is that what it's called Tammy?) that runs from the hip to the knee. more stretching may fix this.
i also swam @ Richardsons after for a few minutes to cool down. Might have swum for 20-30 minutes if I hadn't left my damn goggles in the truck and been too lazy to go get them. oh well.
i also swam @ Richardsons after for a few minutes to cool down. Might have swum for 20-30 minutes if I hadn't left my damn goggles in the truck and been too lazy to go get them. oh well.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
tam tri trainin' M-Th
Well, sort of. Not much to report from Monday and Tuesday except my EXCUSES...
Monday: My bike was useless with broken spoke, and I had far too much work to do anyway, so no training.
Tuesday: I took some time out to go to the pool, but the pool was closed. AGAIN. Todd went to swim at Mahukona, and I worked.
Wednesday: I finally got back into it! Ran from Richardson Ocean Park to Banyan Drive + a bit of running on Banyan Drive itself, which is nice and shady and cool. 1:15 total, about 7.5 miles. Spent 30 minutes around low z4 as our workout required, and it felt pretty good. Hot, but not as bad as Puako. Was almost bowled over by the smell of cooking noni at the noni extract factory, but managed not to puke. My leg ached a bit for part of the run, but wasn't bad at all.
Thursday: Morning ride to Mahukona and back, about 19 miles. Brutal headwind and gusts on the way back up, so the ride took a bit longer than it usually does, about 1:10 or so. Did 30 minutes at low z4, which was easy enough to attain biking uphill into a headwind. I feel like I have typed this before.
Later today it was time for a "master's swim", but GUESS WHAT?! The pool was closed, this time "lifeguard ill". Likely story. Off to Mahukona again... we sure are getting a lot of open water practice! We were kind of annoyed because it is really time for some serious interval and speed work which is much harder to do when you're in the ocean what with waves and surge and chop and wind and stuff, but at least we got to swim. I did my best, swimming regular speed about 20 minutes and then doing 4 3 minute intervals of higher intensity with about 1-2 minute recovery swimming in between. Intervals were hard, but I'm really glad I was able to focus enough to get them in. Ended up swimming about 50 minutes total.
Tomorrow: long run!
Monday: My bike was useless with broken spoke, and I had far too much work to do anyway, so no training.
Tuesday: I took some time out to go to the pool, but the pool was closed. AGAIN. Todd went to swim at Mahukona, and I worked.
Wednesday: I finally got back into it! Ran from Richardson Ocean Park to Banyan Drive + a bit of running on Banyan Drive itself, which is nice and shady and cool. 1:15 total, about 7.5 miles. Spent 30 minutes around low z4 as our workout required, and it felt pretty good. Hot, but not as bad as Puako. Was almost bowled over by the smell of cooking noni at the noni extract factory, but managed not to puke. My leg ached a bit for part of the run, but wasn't bad at all.
Thursday: Morning ride to Mahukona and back, about 19 miles. Brutal headwind and gusts on the way back up, so the ride took a bit longer than it usually does, about 1:10 or so. Did 30 minutes at low z4, which was easy enough to attain biking uphill into a headwind. I feel like I have typed this before.
Later today it was time for a "master's swim", but GUESS WHAT?! The pool was closed, this time "lifeguard ill". Likely story. Off to Mahukona again... we sure are getting a lot of open water practice! We were kind of annoyed because it is really time for some serious interval and speed work which is much harder to do when you're in the ocean what with waves and surge and chop and wind and stuff, but at least we got to swim. I did my best, swimming regular speed about 20 minutes and then doing 4 3 minute intervals of higher intensity with about 1-2 minute recovery swimming in between. Intervals were hard, but I'm really glad I was able to focus enough to get them in. Ended up swimming about 50 minutes total.
Tomorrow: long run!
ben: wed & thurs
yay. blogger ate my last attempt to post this one.
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Tues: did not work out. lame lame lame
Wed: 1hr 5 minutes run. Richardsons Park to Liliokalani Park and back again. about 35 minutes in zone "4"; 7 minutes of swimming. 20 minutes of sitting on beach.
Thursday: 1hr 37 minutes bike. CD Wizard in Hilo to Ainaloa Drive in Puna (near Pahoa). about 35 minutes in zone "4"; first ride with borrowed aero bars on my bike. bike still does not fit properly; aero bars are interesting, but on this bike frame I feel like I can get more aerodynamic in my drop bars.
map link for the Thursday ride: (google maps and blogger don't like to play nice; apologies for not having a map link that centers the entire ride in the frame properly)
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