Well we are down to the countdown. Tomorrow is 1 month until the race!
I'm excited. I don't feel scared like I have in the past. I'm excited to put my training to the test and see how I have done preparing this time. I wonder what will happen. Last time I did Canada I had already done an IM that year and I wonder how that played into my being able to pull off a good race.
Today I went to the Chiropractor and got an adjustment. It felt grat. I did twist my ankle this past weekend at Dy's and I did it again last night at TKD. I thik I am going to onl do TKD once a week right now while I am in countdown mode. There is just too much potential of getting hurt and I need to rest.
I was so tired today during training. I need to get some more sleep.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Pacing Workout
Today I ran in the morning (7.5 miles) and then did a pacing workout out at Sauvie's Island. It was a good day.
Today's stats are:
Run: 7.5 mi 10:29 min mile, 5.7 mph
Loop1:
Today's stats are:
Run: 7.5 mi 10:29 min mile, 5.7 mph
Loop1:
- Avg Power: 149 Watts
- Avg Speed: 18.3 mph
- Avg Cadence: 81 rpm
- Avg HR: 121
Loop 2
- Avg power: 160
- Avg Speed: 19.3 mph
- Avg Cadence: 85
- Avg HR: 130
Loop 3
- Avg power: 189
Avg Speed: 20.6 mph
Avg Cadence: 85
Avg HR: 140
Loop 4
- Avg power: 212
Avg Speed: 21.3 mph
Avg Cadence: 87
Avg HR: 154
A good effort all in all. I'm very happy with it. The last loop was hard, sprint distance level hard pretty much. maybe not quite that hard but my legs are definitely feeling it tonight.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Swimming: Basics.... again
Today I had a swim lesson with Laurie. We went back to the basics.... as Laurie called it it was a "come to Jesus" session. She had me start by just pushing off the wall on my back and moving to my front. She wants me to flip turn almost like my back turn and spin to my front and come right into my stroke.
The biggest thing is to use my core to move side to side, not just to keep my balance from the front to back.
I could definitely feel it when I used my core to propel through the water instead of muscling my way through the water with my arms. It is definitely different.
So it's back to exercising patience again and working on my technique. Get out of pace mode and work on using my core. It was so much smoother when i used my core for rotation instead of using my legs.
The biggest thing is to use my core to move side to side, not just to keep my balance from the front to back.
I could definitely feel it when I used my core to propel through the water instead of muscling my way through the water with my arms. It is definitely different.
So it's back to exercising patience again and working on my technique. Get out of pace mode and work on using my core. It was so much smoother when i used my core for rotation instead of using my legs.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
July 18 Forecast
What would you expect in the middle of July as a forecast in Portland, OR. Sunny, warm.... even hot! NO!
It is raining like mid March out there!
Just about drowned on the way into work today. I couldn't even wear my glasses becuase I couldn't see through them.
Craziness!
It is raining like mid March out there!
Just about drowned on the way into work today. I couldn't even wear my glasses becuase I couldn't see through them.
Craziness!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Training... Confidence
The question is now should I do another 3 hour run prior to IMC or not?
I ran it by Jen and her response was Why? Now that's a good question... Why do I feel like I need to do another 3 hour run? What is it really going to gain me. I know that 3 weeks out from IMC that you really aren't going to gain anymore fitness. So why a 3 hour run now.
Confidence, that's why. It would simply be a confidence builder. I think the risk is too big. I can do some long runs but they definitely don't need to be 3 hours. I think doing long runs with some tempo work would be a greater benefit at this point.
Confidence is such a huge issue but instead of doing something that could risk over training and injury it's better to just look back on my training and get my confidence from that instead.
I ran it by Jen and her response was Why? Now that's a good question... Why do I feel like I need to do another 3 hour run? What is it really going to gain me. I know that 3 weeks out from IMC that you really aren't going to gain anymore fitness. So why a 3 hour run now.
Confidence, that's why. It would simply be a confidence builder. I think the risk is too big. I can do some long runs but they definitely don't need to be 3 hours. I think doing long runs with some tempo work would be a greater benefit at this point.
Confidence is such a huge issue but instead of doing something that could risk over training and injury it's better to just look back on my training and get my confidence from that instead.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Nutrition
OK. The 4th discipline.... NUTRITION!
So I'm working with a nutritionist now and I'm really trying to change my habits. The evenings are the worst for me. I find that once I'm home I just start putting food in my mouth. I'm not sure exactly what that is about....am I eating because I'm stressed, avoiding something...what? WHat is it. Is it that I am not eating enough still during the day.
I am consuming much less fat which is good. I'm trying to eat more carbohydrates and eat more smaller snacks.
So here is what I am trying to do at each "meal" 1 handful protein, 2 handfuls grain, 2 handfuls fruits and veggies. o I'm really trying to spread out my eating throughout the day and consume my calories more evenly thoughout the day instead of so heavily at night.
It's hard to change habits. I think i've lost some weight but not a huge amount yet. I've got to just keep working on it though. I think planning my meals would work much easier for me so I know what to expect.
i did make a good choice today. I was making my lunch and I could have had a chicken sandwich instead I made myselt chicken soup and only had 1/2 a chicken breast and had veggies that I otherwise wouldn't have had and had my grains as brown rice, a complex carb instead of a simple processed carb. So that's a good thing.
I did come home and start snacking immediately after my evening run and then yoga. But I hate fruit and for dinner I tried to keep my protein down and keep things within proportion. I ate way more fruit than i should have but better that than other things.
So I'm working with a nutritionist now and I'm really trying to change my habits. The evenings are the worst for me. I find that once I'm home I just start putting food in my mouth. I'm not sure exactly what that is about....am I eating because I'm stressed, avoiding something...what? WHat is it. Is it that I am not eating enough still during the day.
I am consuming much less fat which is good. I'm trying to eat more carbohydrates and eat more smaller snacks.
So here is what I am trying to do at each "meal" 1 handful protein, 2 handfuls grain, 2 handfuls fruits and veggies. o I'm really trying to spread out my eating throughout the day and consume my calories more evenly thoughout the day instead of so heavily at night.
It's hard to change habits. I think i've lost some weight but not a huge amount yet. I've got to just keep working on it though. I think planning my meals would work much easier for me so I know what to expect.
i did make a good choice today. I was making my lunch and I could have had a chicken sandwich instead I made myselt chicken soup and only had 1/2 a chicken breast and had veggies that I otherwise wouldn't have had and had my grains as brown rice, a complex carb instead of a simple processed carb. So that's a good thing.
I did come home and start snacking immediately after my evening run and then yoga. But I hate fruit and for dinner I tried to keep my protein down and keep things within proportion. I ate way more fruit than i should have but better that than other things.
Timberline/govt camp ride
This weekend I headed up to Timberline with the Geckos.
We met out at Tri-Sport but I had a timeline to get back by so ended up heading out ahead of everyone fully expecting to be over-taken by the faster riders fairly quickly.
So I head out Halsey to Troutdale, turn onto the Historic HWY, across Stark Street Bridge turn up Kerlake Rd and start heading up hill. That is pretty much the story from that point. It's uphill to one extent or another including a very steep climb right after a stop sign on 302nd! Did I say Steep! Lowest gear standing was how I got up that one.
On top of that it was a HOT day. Very humid as well. Temp was about 94 but the humidity made it feel warmer.
I missed the stop in Welches so pulled over at a Subway for water to remix drinks. I was trying to consume about 1 bottle every hour (regular concentration). I was doing well with this. However, as it heated up I could feel that I really just needed some straight water but didn't really have any access at this point. So I took electrolyte tabs and continued up the Mtn.
I didn't get all the way to Gov't camp. I think I had about a mile left to go and turned around because I was really pushing getting home in time.
I hadn't realized how much I had climbed until I started going down. I flew down to Sandy. I don't think I ever had to get back out of my big chain ring all the way. Unfortunately I had a blow out on my side wall on my brand new tires which sucked. Went through 2 tubes fixing that one and limped the rest of the way home delicately.
Stopped in Sandy for water to refuel and filled one bottle full of just water. That was exactly what I needed.
When I got back onto Halsey I was ready to be done and since it's a straight shot I started singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall to pass the time counting down the blocks to the store.
All in all a good ride. I think I climbed about 5000 feet and rode 106 miles. Good stuff. That is my last really long ride until IMC!
We met out at Tri-Sport but I had a timeline to get back by so ended up heading out ahead of everyone fully expecting to be over-taken by the faster riders fairly quickly.
So I head out Halsey to Troutdale, turn onto the Historic HWY, across Stark Street Bridge turn up Kerlake Rd and start heading up hill. That is pretty much the story from that point. It's uphill to one extent or another including a very steep climb right after a stop sign on 302nd! Did I say Steep! Lowest gear standing was how I got up that one.
On top of that it was a HOT day. Very humid as well. Temp was about 94 but the humidity made it feel warmer.
I missed the stop in Welches so pulled over at a Subway for water to remix drinks. I was trying to consume about 1 bottle every hour (regular concentration). I was doing well with this. However, as it heated up I could feel that I really just needed some straight water but didn't really have any access at this point. So I took electrolyte tabs and continued up the Mtn.
I didn't get all the way to Gov't camp. I think I had about a mile left to go and turned around because I was really pushing getting home in time.
I hadn't realized how much I had climbed until I started going down. I flew down to Sandy. I don't think I ever had to get back out of my big chain ring all the way. Unfortunately I had a blow out on my side wall on my brand new tires which sucked. Went through 2 tubes fixing that one and limped the rest of the way home delicately.
Stopped in Sandy for water to refuel and filled one bottle full of just water. That was exactly what I needed.
When I got back onto Halsey I was ready to be done and since it's a straight shot I started singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall to pass the time counting down the blocks to the store.
All in all a good ride. I think I climbed about 5000 feet and rode 106 miles. Good stuff. That is my last really long ride until IMC!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Open Water Swimming
At my lesson Friday Laurie had me use a tempo trainer. This is basically a metronome. It fits on your goggles and you establish your stroke rate based on the beat.
We played around with it and found that somewhere between 1:04 and 1:00 was a good rate for me.
However, today while swimming I discovered something. I'm dropping my hand again when I breathe. Particularly on the left side, when i breathe to the right. So I'm getting only a fraction of the pull that I should be getting. I think that is exactly what I was doing in the race last weekend too. I wasn't thinking about going long. So I think I need to go back into counting my strokes per length again and trying to take that feel into the open water.
I think I'm going to try to go to klineline again Wed and swim some with a wetsuit and then without and see how it feels. It's kind of like swimming with a fist and then swimming with your full hand. The wetsuit takes away so much sensory experience it is really hard. It gives you added buoyancy but if I lose my technique in the process it's not good.
We played around with it and found that somewhere between 1:04 and 1:00 was a good rate for me.
However, today while swimming I discovered something. I'm dropping my hand again when I breathe. Particularly on the left side, when i breathe to the right. So I'm getting only a fraction of the pull that I should be getting. I think that is exactly what I was doing in the race last weekend too. I wasn't thinking about going long. So I think I need to go back into counting my strokes per length again and trying to take that feel into the open water.
I think I'm going to try to go to klineline again Wed and swim some with a wetsuit and then without and see how it feels. It's kind of like swimming with a fist and then swimming with your full hand. The wetsuit takes away so much sensory experience it is really hard. It gives you added buoyancy but if I lose my technique in the process it's not good.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Swimming Faster
I'm sure I'll eventually get back to my race report but right now I'm processing my race and trying to figure out how I can improve.
So my swim was slower than I wanted it to be at Lake Stevens. Particularly since IM races typically have accurate courses and there was this very handy yellow rope that you could follow which means I was right on course.
This was my typical 1.2 mile swim 39 minutes. That means that my pace is 1:50/ 100 yards.
So the question is: why do I swim so much slower in open water than in the pool? I have a theory. I am a trained seal! I swim in pools all the time. I know where the walls are. I can tell how fast I'm going by the feel of the water and the bottom of the pool. All the things that I use as a reference for speed are completely removed in open water.
So how do I get beyond that? Well I think one thing I can do is no longer warm up. I am going to jump in and start swimming pace. I think that is part of my issue. I have trained myself to get in swim about 1000 leisurely yards and then get ready for the Heart Rate set and then main set. Well that's not what an IM race is going to allow for. It's too long of a day to hop in and do 1000 yards off the bat! As a matter of fact the only warm up I'll have that day is getting into my wetsuit.
The other interesting thing is that with a wetsuit you lose your feel for the water. You go faster because you're more buoyant but you don't get that lovely sensory input of the water on your skin. So one suggestion Sybil had was to get the feel by body position. Get used to where my arms/shoulders are when I pull and then also figure out a tempo that works well for turnover. So I've got to find a song I can play in my head that won't drive me nuts for 140.6 miles!
So my swim was slower than I wanted it to be at Lake Stevens. Particularly since IM races typically have accurate courses and there was this very handy yellow rope that you could follow which means I was right on course.
This was my typical 1.2 mile swim 39 minutes. That means that my pace is 1:50/ 100 yards.
So the question is: why do I swim so much slower in open water than in the pool? I have a theory. I am a trained seal! I swim in pools all the time. I know where the walls are. I can tell how fast I'm going by the feel of the water and the bottom of the pool. All the things that I use as a reference for speed are completely removed in open water.
So how do I get beyond that? Well I think one thing I can do is no longer warm up. I am going to jump in and start swimming pace. I think that is part of my issue. I have trained myself to get in swim about 1000 leisurely yards and then get ready for the Heart Rate set and then main set. Well that's not what an IM race is going to allow for. It's too long of a day to hop in and do 1000 yards off the bat! As a matter of fact the only warm up I'll have that day is getting into my wetsuit.
The other interesting thing is that with a wetsuit you lose your feel for the water. You go faster because you're more buoyant but you don't get that lovely sensory input of the water on your skin. So one suggestion Sybil had was to get the feel by body position. Get used to where my arms/shoulders are when I pull and then also figure out a tempo that works well for turnover. So I've got to find a song I can play in my head that won't drive me nuts for 140.6 miles!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Lake Stevens 1/2 Ironman
Sunday was the Lake Stevens Half ironman. It was a beautiful day and we had perfect weather for the race.
Here are my stats for the race:
Lake Stevens 70.3 7/8/2007
Swim: 00:38:56
T1: 00:03:26
Bike: 3:25:55
T2: 00:04:01
Run: 2:24:27
Total Time: 06:36:45
Swim pace: 1:50/yd
Bike Pace: 16.32 mph
Run Pace: 11:02/mile
Here are my stats for the race:
Lake Stevens 70.3 7/8/2007
Swim: 00:38:56
T1: 00:03:26
Bike: 3:25:55
T2: 00:04:01
Run: 2:24:27
Total Time: 06:36:45
Swim pace: 1:50/yd
Bike Pace: 16.32 mph
Run Pace: 11:02/mile
Jasper Blake
Monday night I was lucky enough to get into an event featuring Jasper Blake, the Ironman Canada winner of 2005. He was in Portland, at Club Sport, talking about his training, racing and campaign to raise money for the MS Society as his mom has MS.
It was a great talk but I think the best part about it was talking to him post event about his relationship with his mom, her MS and his training one on one.
Check out his website at: http://www.jasperblake.com/
It was a great talk but I think the best part about it was talking to him post event about his relationship with his mom, her MS and his training one on one.
Check out his website at: http://www.jasperblake.com/
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