Sunday Weekly Recap

Took some days off this past week to let a couple injuries heal... (Thursday, Friday, and Sunday were all full days off). Body is feeling a bit better and rested. Also spent a little time adjusting the seat height of my bike, so hopefully won't experience any further discomfort in my knee.

Weekly totals: Swim 2400 yards. Bike 48 miles. Run 14 miles.

6 weeks to go to the race!

Contending with Ailments

With my slowly increasing training volume, and increasing intensity (e.g. speed), the accumulation of all the effort output is taking a bit of a toll on me. Well, it's natural for the body to feel aches and pains along the way... These ailments can be little nags in the least, or if aggravated, can be full blown sideliners. Let's hope they keep to be the former, and not the latter...

Among the many little nags thus far is a pain I felt in my right knee when riding home from work today. I can't say I was pedaling particularly hard, but was maybe spinning at a fairly high cadence. Every pedal revolution felt as if there was a separation of the kneecap and the rest of the knee joint making it impossible to deliver any force to the downward push of the pedal. Not a good feeling. I eased up off the pedals right away, and quickly adapted a modified way to keep turning the pedals over to make it another 10 miles back home. I didn't test my knee out too much for the rest of the way, but it seemed to be ok towards the end of the ride. I followed the ride with a 7 mile run, the knee was fine and strong, not nearly as tentative as during the ride.

I'll try to make an adjustment on my seat height to see if that makes a difference. In the meantime, I've also started doing leg raises. 300 on each leg tonight. Doing them should hopefully help out by strengthening the muscles in the knee area.

Shortened Ride, Cold Run

Headed out for another early bike ride this morning. Started out at 5:20am, pitch dark out there. Ended up shortening my ride a tad bit and coming back and doing a run. Problem was that once I got home from the ride, I took a bit too long to get out for my run... after about 15 minutes, I had already cooled down from the ride, so my legs were a bit stiff and cold when I went out for the run. Never managed to warm up over 7 miles, but made it through well enough.

Water in Lens, Cramp in Foot

Went for my swim today and started out well enough, but partway through my workout, as I started a set of 5 laps, A little water leaked into the left lens of my goggles. Every time I took a breath on the left side, I got a tiny little splash right in my left eye. Ok, granted it was only a couple drops, but still was a bit annoying. Ordinarily I'd stop and clear the lens out, but I toughed it out and swam the rest of the set irregardless. So that I could deal with, but towards the end of the workout, my left foot cramped. So I finished that lap and called it a day.

Skipped my run, which I just can't do much more often at this point.

By the way, watched a cute little film last weekend called "Saint Ralph", an inspirational story about a young lad that aspsires to win the Boston Marathon. The plotline has an intense theme, but a good bit of humor nestled in there as well. Some similarities to "Run Fatboy, Run".

Long Ride, Transition Run

Had planned on doing a century ride today (100 miles), but changed my plans this morning and rode for 74 miles on the tri-bike. I haven't done a ride longer than 60 miles in over nine weeks, so didn't want to overdo it. Was a good ride, lots of folks out there along the roads. I used today's ride to test the clothing I'll wear for my race. Well, it's the same tri-top and pair of shorts I used last year, but always good to do a sanity check on that kind of stuff.

I followed the ride with a 4 mile run along the river. Yup, getting the legs used to running after a long bike ride. Usually takes my legs a couple miles to switch over to the rhythm of running vs. cycling, so I guess I should run a bit longer to get to that sweet spot of feeling good on the run after a ride.

So, this weeks totals: Swim 4500 yards, Bike 169 miles, Run 21 miles

7 weeks to go!

Swim, No Run

Managed another swim workout today, same as yesterday, 1-3-5-7-5-3-1 lap repeats (the 3, 7, 3 were with the pull buoy). Was scheduled for a run today, but I guess was out a bit late last night, and just wasn't up to it.

Had an odd pain in the bottom of my left foot yesterday and today. Just a bit sore on the ball of my foot. I had no idea where that pain came from, thought maybe it was from my run Friday morning, but wasn't certain. Then when I went to the pool today, I figured it out within the first lap I swam - the pain was from pushing off the wall after doing a flip turn. Apparently my left foot was taking the brunt of the push-off. I tried to remedy that and make the push-off more equal between both my feet. Who would have thought I'd get a foot injury while swimming?!

Anyway, loooong bike ride planned for Sunday, let's see how that goes...

Hard Run, Good Swim

Had a hard-paced run this morning, and a very successful day in the pool later in the afternoon. Gotta start running faster more often, training the legs to go-go-go! And my form in the pool is getting more consistent, I'm able to hold pace for longer stretches (more laps) - still a ways to go, and hopefully will be able to build some more swimming-specific cardio fitness so that I'm not so out of breath.

Better Boston Bicycling

So picking up from yesterday... I never made it out for my run (not 11 miles, not 7 miles - none). The body was just too fatigued, so I skipped the run, meaning that I skipped working out for the whole day. It's important to recognize when the body needs rest, and then give it that rest. Probably if I didn't I would have ended up injured.

Today rode to work and was happy to see the following new signs along my commute (hmmm, perhaps Boston is becoming a better place for cyclists after all!):

Got home and went for a quick 4 mile transition run. Gotta love this cool weather for training. For whatever reason my body performs much better when the temps cool out a bit.

That Was Yesterday

Took yesterday off from work, woke up early and did an impromptu mini triathlon: Swam 1000 yards, Biked 30 miles, Ran 7 miles

Wasn't the first time I had done all three workouts in a day. Generally I'll only do a swim-bike or a bike-run brick, but may more often include all three like this.

Then went on to enjoy thoroughly the rest of the day...

Today will fit in a 7 mile run, maybe extend to 11 miles if the legs feel good, that'll be a decision I'll make at the 7 mile mark.

In the Pool to Stay

Well, now that those wounds are more than adequately healed, I finally made it back to the pool. I must admit, I probably extended my hiatus from the pool for longer than I needed to. But anyway, it's time to do the necessary work to put all three disciplines together. Today I swam and rode. I did a comfortable 1000 yard swim to start off with (10 x 100 yard repeats, half with a pull buoy, half without). Felt pretty good actually. Can't explain it, but the time away from the pool seemed to do some good. Odd though, not sure what others' experiences are, but my times without the pull buoy were actually faster than with it. I figured it has something to do with my kicking, but in the past my pull buoy times were always faster... Ah well, why question it as long as I'm getting time in the pool, it's all good... Yup, all in all, not a bad Monday, throw in my standard bike commute to/from work, and another day down in the calendar.

Sunday Brick, Sluggish Legs

Did another brick today, 31 miles on the bike followed by a 7 mile run. Boy my legs have been feeling sluggish lately, though my performance has been improving gradually. Need to keep up the biking miles, increase the run miles, and finally get back in the pool after a 3-week hiatus due to the wounds on my arm.

Weekly totals: Swim 0 miles. Bike 167 miles. Run 28 miles.

8 weeks to go!

Here Comes the Rain Again

After a long stretch of sunny, cool and dry weather, the rain is back. But no worries, that just adds to the fun of training. Did a 38 mile ride yesterday (Friday) in slight drizzle and wet roads, had to be a little careful taking a few turns on the tri-bike, but otherwise it was a nice smooth ride. And earlier today (Saturday), had a drizzly 7 mile run along the river. There were lots of walkers also out there today braving the cool rain for the "Heart Walk" to support the American Heart Association.

Cooler Weather Prevails

Yes, Labor Day has come and gone, the unofficial end of summer. And just like clockwork, the weather is cooling down - which is fine by me. I run way better in the cooler temps, as evidenced by my run today; did 6 miles along the river, went (relatively) fast and was still able to keep my average heart rate well below 150 beats per minutes. Ah, cooler weather prevails...

Mid-Week Brick

Just another good ole' Wednesday... Commuted to work on the bike, 29 miles round trip, then did a 4 mile transition run when I got home. Once again started the run and felt really handcuffed by the heart rate monitor. I set a range for my heart rate to stay in during my runs, and if I go below or above that range, the monitor beeps at me and I change my speed accordingly to get my heart rate back in range. Well, I just felt like running a bit faster than my heart rate monitor range would allow, so instead of slowing down, I just shut off the beeps and kept running at my pace. I'll be wary of running too fast and injuring myself, otherwise I may continue to kick my pace up a bit more like this.

Early Dark Cool Ride

Was up and out of the house for a bike ride this morning at 5:20am; it was dark, so headlight on, red tail light on, cruising down the streets of back bay. Met up with Ashley at 5:30am and went for about 31 miles. It's become a lot more chilly in the wee hours of the morning, so had to wear a long sleeve jersey. After an hour felt the fingers and toes start to get cold, but nothing like the near-frostbite of last winter's rides. Anyway, glad to get a solid ride in before work.

Interesting Sightings

So, last week's totals were: Swim 0. Bike 133 miles. Run 11 miles. Still staying out of the pool due to my wounds from my crash a couple weeks ago. Too low volume on the run. Really need to up those miles. Pledging myself to do that this week, since there's not too much time left - 9 weeks to go!

Today, Monday (Labor Day for those of us in the US) I fit in a 38 mile bike ride followed by a 4 mile transition run. I hadn't run in five days, so I tried to take it easy to get back into a rhythm. Nothing otherwise significant about my training itself today, but I did have a couple interesting sightings while out there. ... On the bike, I came upon a young woman riding along a main road on a unicycle! I slowed down as I approached her and gave her a "Very cool, very cool." with a smile; continuing to balance, she managed to give back a wave, a smile and a "Thanks!" ... On my run, there was a lot of activity in and around the Charles River - in particular, there was a kayak cruising along with a tiny little dog standing on the bow of the boat. And the dog had a little doggie lifevest on, too funny...

Ok, on with the week...

Rode the Kanc

The Kancamagus Hwy is a long stretch of road in NH that offers access to lots of campgrounds and hikes and such. And it's pretty hilly. I rode 56 miles with exactly 1 mile total of climbing.

As I started the ride on Saturday, I made the mistake of starting out climbing immediately, for 6 straight miles. I probably should have given my legs a chance to warm up first, but oh well. Those first few miles included long sections of climbing at a steady 9% grade, a pretty good incline. Needless to say those first miles were slow going; but on the other side of one of the climbs, I got to reap the benefits of it all, and clocked a max speed of 48.8 mph going down a 7% grade stretch. Ha, take that gravity.

Moonlight Bike Ride

Had a great evening ride this Friday night. It was a full moon, and so did a moonlight bike ride with a group of 15 folks. We had front headlamps and rear tail lights on all our bikes, but still some stretches were a bit dicey, what with potholes and car traffic and all. And on the road we took up to the lookout we had to keep our headlamps off, so essentially we were riding up a very dark woodsy path (since the trees were blocking a lot of the moonlight). Anyway, it was all worth it... when we got to the lookout, there was a really nice view. We made a fire and folks had smores. Very fun ride.

Rest... Bike & Run

So I took yet another full calendar rest day yesterday (Tuesday). I shouldn't make a habit of those, but well I guess my body needed it.

In response, today I rode and ran. Rode 38 miles and ran 4 miles. Felt slow on the bike for the first half of the ride, but ended up turning in a good time. For my run, I ran with my heart rate monitor but just couldn't help running a bit faster than my zone 2 heart rate range. As long as I don't get injured, running fast(er) works for me!

10 weeks to go

So, another catch-up post...

Last week was a tough week. After the prior weekend's crash and day off, I somehow lost a bit of snap in my step. The wounds on my elbow were and are still keeping me out of the pool, but I was still perfectly able to bike and run... but it was just mentally tough getting up and out on those workouts, a classic sign of burn-out. So I slogged through a low volume week of biking (96 miles) and running (14 miles). When in the middle of a spell like that, one can only trust and hope that you'll break out of it and get back into form. When the endorphins don't come naturally, you find ways to stimulate them - singing songs in your head, invoking motivating movie scenes (er, like those in Rocky and The Karate Kid among others), and simple visualization of executing positively on race day.

So this brings me to my latest 10 week update. Tracing back, I started my training 30 weeks in advance of the race; now 20 weeks are down with 10 weeks to go. Here's a snapshot of my training volumes thus far [swim 14,100 yards; bike 2,169 miles; run 346 miles]. Compared to last year, I'm doing quite a lot more. Of course, need to get back in the pool as soon as these wounds heal up. Also need to have a few long rides and runs.
All that said, Monday was a great day back in training. I did my bike commute to and from work (29 miles round trip) and then went on a 7 mile transition run right afterwards. I rode very well and ran suprisingly better than I have thus far.