What March was for my training schedule, April was the complete opposite. I really found a nice training groove, in March, only to see it unravel in April. Erik Svans, one of my One Multisport teammates, was offering to coach track workouts on Wednesday evenings. Problem was, I had this time/day reserved for my long swim workouts at the YMCA. Now, you would think that the solution would be pretty simple….just switch the speed run (on Thursday) with the long swim. Well that would mean that I would have back to back swim days (since my speed swims were on Friday). While it’s not a huge deal, I really didn’t want to set it up like that. As a result, I tried a number of different schedules to try and get something that wouldn’t have me doing the same discipline on consecutive days. What I came up with looked like this:
Monday –Moderate Swim / Moderate Run
Tuesday – Speed Bike / Weights
Wednesday – Speed Run / Long Swim
Thursday – Moderate Bike / Weights
Friday – Off
Saturday – Long Bike
Sunday – Long Run
I quickly realized that Wednesdays wouldn’t be able to handle the track workout AND the long swim because I the YMCA doesn’t open their pool until 7:00AM. I wouldn’t be able to fit in a long swim, shower, and get to work in time. Also, the YMCA only has 3 lanes and allows a maximum of 6 people swimming laps at a time. What brain child came up with that set up? What happened if I showed up at 7:00AM and 6 people in front of me all had swim gear and were planning on getting in the pool? I’d have to turn around and go home. OK, where do I put my long swim? It’s roughly 2 hours long. I think I’ll try this plan and see what happens.
Monday – Speed Bike
Tuesday – Long Swim
Wednesday – Speed Run
Thursday – Moderate Bike / Speed Swim
Friday – Moderate Run
Saturday – Long Bike
Sunday – Long Run / Moderate Swim
If I can take care of my cycling, and running, in the morning, I should be able to take care of my swims in the afternoon with no problem. April was also the month when Todd, CEO/President of our company, was going to be in Scottsdale for a conference with a couple of his cycling associates. He is a Cat 2 rider while Brad is a Cat 3. According to them, the forecast called for riding, riding, and more riding while they were here. That being said, I stayed on my road bike the entire month in preparation. This also meant that the running, and swimming, would probably take a back seat. I was right. In the 5 days they were here, we put in about 270 miles. The first day out was a fairly fast 71 mile ride on an empty stomach. I can honestly say that this was the first time that I experienced a true “bonk.” Said bonk set in right around mile 60 or 65 and was truly horrible. It probably took me a good 4 or 5 hours before I started feeling normal again.
TRAINING
SWIM – Pretty much the same as last month. Monday had me going around 3500 yards, Wednesday was in the area of 5600 yards, and Friday saw 2100. I totally blew off the pool the last week of the month which shaved a good 11,200 yards off my total.
BIKE – All miles, this month, were put in on my road bike. My longest ride was 100 miles. The remaining rides were between 20 and 71 miles long. The 20 mile ride was speed interval training with Todd. We also did the Bartlett ride and climbed Yellow Cliffs (the run course for the Bartlett Triathlon mentioned in the March Blog).
RUN – While I didn’t run the last 2 weeks of the month, I was able to match the previous months run total. My times were down slightly, but pretty much held steady. My 10.5, and 8 mile runs, came in around 9:05 min/mile while my 5 mile runs clocked in at 8:34 min/mile. The speed workouts are hard to judge since it’s a lap sprint and then a half lap recover. Two laps sprint and then a full lap recover. The distance of sprint vs. recover varied on the day.
BRICKS
04/08 – 42 mile ride / 3 mile run
04/19 – 3500 yard swim / 5 mile run (a result of my new training schedule being out of whack)
APRIL TOTALS
SWIM – 25,800 yards (14.6 miles)
BIKE – 644 miles (All Road Bike)
RUN – 51.5 miles
GYM - 0
Friday, May 14, 2010
March 2010
March is when my training schedule seemed to really fall into place. The days, disciplines, and times, really meshed well with the family life. March was also the month that I couldn't get enough of the pool. While my cycling miles remained pretty much the same, and my running saw a slight increase, my swimming yards skyrocketed. James gave me the book, "Workouts In a Binder, Swim Workouts for Triathletes." I didn't think I was quite ready to follow the workouts explicitly, but I did get some great info. I did, however, end up following one of the speed workouts every Friday and it really gets the blood pumping. March also saw my 1st open water swims in a full wetsuit and my first triathlon. On 03/12, I picked up the wetsuit that I was borrowing from Chris Bergeron. I think it was a Zoot Z1. That weekend, while Kristi looked on in amusement, I tried it on for the first time. Seriously, I looked like Houdini trying to escape from a straight jacket! I had worked up such a sweat, I almost felt like passing out. I never did get it totally on. On 03/19, I drove down to Bartlett Lake to meet some teammates from One Multisport for an open water. I got there around 5:50AM and was able to watch the sunrise. The main thing that was going through my mind was, "Don't look like an idiot trying to put this wetsuit on again." I even Googled, "How to put on a wetsuit." Turns out, it's a piece of cake. No problems this time. How did it go? All you need to do is read this excerpt from an e-mail I sent to John and Michael later that morning:
"How completely AWESOME was that?!? Sorry I had to cut out early (I hope you guys didn't leave early because of me), but I had to hurry up to get to work by 9. At any rate, that, right there, was completely outrageous! Standing there, before you guys rolled up, and watching the sunrise, then donning the suit, walking down to the shore, and BAM the sting of the water on the face. It was only about 45 minutes of swimming, but it was 45 minutes of swimming bliss."
Somebody told me that the Bartlett Lake Triathlon is considered one of the hardest tris in the country. Only makes sense that I made it my first, right? The hills, and climbing, are ridiculous! If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the swim was uphill too! The first thing you see when taking off for the bike (and then run) is a sign that says, "8% grade." I've ridden the bike part before, so I knew what to expect. The run, however, was unreal. Running over a mountain AFTER a 1 mile swim and 25 mile "climb ride"....really? OK, so here are my results (out of 67 overall and 11 in my age group):
SWIM - 5th overall / 1st in age group
BIKE - 15th overall / 3rd in age group
Run - 40th overall / 8th in age group
OVERALL - 16th / 4th
TRAINING
SWIM - Mondays typically saw 3400 yards, Wednesdays saw 5200, and Fridays saw around 2500. I also started encorporating intervals and set rest times too.
BIKE - My longest ride was 66 miles and the shorter speed rides were about 24.
RUN - My longest run was 10.5 and my speed runs were 3. This month, I noticed my times starting to come down a bit. That 10.5 mile run clocked in at 9:18 min/mile while my moderate runs (6.5 miles) were coming in around 8:50 min/mile. I was able to get my 3 mile run down to an average of 7:43 min/mile (and that was after a 24 mile bike ride!)
BRICKS
03/02 - 30 mile ride / 3 mile run
03/04 - 24.5 mile ride / 5 mile run
03/16 - 28 mile ride / 6.5 mile run
03/25 - 24 mile ride / 3 mile run
03/30 - 24 mile ride / 6.5 mile run
MARCH TOTALS
SWIM - 47,500 yards (27 miles)
BIKE - 404.5 miles (209.5 tri / 195 road)
RUN - 51.2 miles
GYM - 3 times
"How completely AWESOME was that?!? Sorry I had to cut out early (I hope you guys didn't leave early because of me), but I had to hurry up to get to work by 9. At any rate, that, right there, was completely outrageous! Standing there, before you guys rolled up, and watching the sunrise, then donning the suit, walking down to the shore, and BAM the sting of the water on the face. It was only about 45 minutes of swimming, but it was 45 minutes of swimming bliss."
Somebody told me that the Bartlett Lake Triathlon is considered one of the hardest tris in the country. Only makes sense that I made it my first, right? The hills, and climbing, are ridiculous! If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the swim was uphill too! The first thing you see when taking off for the bike (and then run) is a sign that says, "8% grade." I've ridden the bike part before, so I knew what to expect. The run, however, was unreal. Running over a mountain AFTER a 1 mile swim and 25 mile "climb ride"....really? OK, so here are my results (out of 67 overall and 11 in my age group):
SWIM - 5th overall / 1st in age group
BIKE - 15th overall / 3rd in age group
Run - 40th overall / 8th in age group
OVERALL - 16th / 4th
TRAINING
SWIM - Mondays typically saw 3400 yards, Wednesdays saw 5200, and Fridays saw around 2500. I also started encorporating intervals and set rest times too.
BIKE - My longest ride was 66 miles and the shorter speed rides were about 24.
RUN - My longest run was 10.5 and my speed runs were 3. This month, I noticed my times starting to come down a bit. That 10.5 mile run clocked in at 9:18 min/mile while my moderate runs (6.5 miles) were coming in around 8:50 min/mile. I was able to get my 3 mile run down to an average of 7:43 min/mile (and that was after a 24 mile bike ride!)
BRICKS
03/02 - 30 mile ride / 3 mile run
03/04 - 24.5 mile ride / 5 mile run
03/16 - 28 mile ride / 6.5 mile run
03/25 - 24 mile ride / 3 mile run
03/30 - 24 mile ride / 6.5 mile run
MARCH TOTALS
SWIM - 47,500 yards (27 miles)
BIKE - 404.5 miles (209.5 tri / 195 road)
RUN - 51.2 miles
GYM - 3 times
Monday, May 10, 2010
February 2010
When this journey is completely over, I have a feeling that I will look back at February as the month where it all started to "come together." James was able to go back to his previous Ironman training logs and find a workout schedule that his coach put together for him. The schedule is as follows:
Monday - Moderate Swim / Lift Weights
Tuesday - Speed Bike / Moderate Run
Wednesday - Long Swim
Thursday - Moderate Bike / Speed Run
Friday - Speed Swim / Lift Weights
Saturday - Long Bike
Sunday - Long Run
February was also the month where I decided to seek out a multisport team to help me with the journey. I ended up meeting up with John Dean and Michael Nemeth of Tri-Scottsdale (now One Multisport) and couldn't be happier. The wealth of triathlon knowledge on this team, and the camaraderie, is exactly what I was looking for. This was also the month where I REALLY got back into the pool and realized just how much I missed swimming. I wanted this month to be the beginning of my "base building" for swimming, so I pretty much stuck to same formula of 3 sets of varying length. No intervals, no predetermined rest between sets, etc. I just wanted to get in and go. This was also going to test my shoulder to see if there were going to be any limitations from my cycling accident in August - there weren't. The sets were simple:
Swim
Kick
Pull
On Monday's, I would log in about 3000 yards (1000 per set). On Wednesday, it was about 4000 yards, and Friday saw around 1500 yards.
The riding increased dramatically this month when I made the decision to shelf the criterium races (and road races) for 2010 to concentrate solely on triathlon training. My longest ride was 75 miles while the speed work rides came up around 20.
This month I had 4 bricks:
61 mile ride / 5 mile run
10 mile ride / 3 mile run
20 mile ride / 8 mile run
32 mile ride / 3 mile run
Running seemed to be getting better at times, but then, just when I thought I was getting faster, I'd bust out a horrible min/mile pace. My moderate run days were about 6 miles and 57 minutes long. My 3 mile "speed" runs were down to about 8 - 8.5 min/mile. I was able to complete my two longest runs ever:
8 miles @ 9:41 min/mile
10.5 miles @ 10:13 min/mile
FEBRUARY TOTALS
Swim - 24,050 yards (13.6 miles)
Bike - 459.25 miles (all tri)
Run - 39.5 miles
Gym - 5 times
Monday - Moderate Swim / Lift Weights
Tuesday - Speed Bike / Moderate Run
Wednesday - Long Swim
Thursday - Moderate Bike / Speed Run
Friday - Speed Swim / Lift Weights
Saturday - Long Bike
Sunday - Long Run
February was also the month where I decided to seek out a multisport team to help me with the journey. I ended up meeting up with John Dean and Michael Nemeth of Tri-Scottsdale (now One Multisport) and couldn't be happier. The wealth of triathlon knowledge on this team, and the camaraderie, is exactly what I was looking for. This was also the month where I REALLY got back into the pool and realized just how much I missed swimming. I wanted this month to be the beginning of my "base building" for swimming, so I pretty much stuck to same formula of 3 sets of varying length. No intervals, no predetermined rest between sets, etc. I just wanted to get in and go. This was also going to test my shoulder to see if there were going to be any limitations from my cycling accident in August - there weren't. The sets were simple:
Swim
Kick
Pull
On Monday's, I would log in about 3000 yards (1000 per set). On Wednesday, it was about 4000 yards, and Friday saw around 1500 yards.
The riding increased dramatically this month when I made the decision to shelf the criterium races (and road races) for 2010 to concentrate solely on triathlon training. My longest ride was 75 miles while the speed work rides came up around 20.
This month I had 4 bricks:
61 mile ride / 5 mile run
10 mile ride / 3 mile run
20 mile ride / 8 mile run
32 mile ride / 3 mile run
Running seemed to be getting better at times, but then, just when I thought I was getting faster, I'd bust out a horrible min/mile pace. My moderate run days were about 6 miles and 57 minutes long. My 3 mile "speed" runs were down to about 8 - 8.5 min/mile. I was able to complete my two longest runs ever:
8 miles @ 9:41 min/mile
10.5 miles @ 10:13 min/mile
FEBRUARY TOTALS
Swim - 24,050 yards (13.6 miles)
Bike - 459.25 miles (all tri)
Run - 39.5 miles
Gym - 5 times
January 2010
January was kind of an "odd ball" month in terms of training. My road/criterium racing team (Arizona Masters) was gearing up for the race season by holding inter-squad crits on the weekends (which took up most of the peak triathlon training hours), Kristi's cousins were in town (for the PF Changs Marathon), and I ended up getting a 24hour bug that kept me out for about 3 days.
ZERO pool work this month. I'd say that my excuse was because it was too cold out, but then I remember that the pool (at the YMCA) is a comfy 80.
My bike rides weren't anything to write home about. My longest was a 61 mile hammer fest with James and AZ Masters teammate Dave. Outside of that ride, and one other 60 mile ride, I stayed between 25 and 35 miles. The crit training did, however, provide some great intensity workouts.
Most of my runs were only 3 miles long and were clocking in around 9 minutes per mile. I did have a 5 mile run, and a 4 mile run, that clocked in around 9.5 minutes per mile and 10 minutes per mile. My notes, for the 4 mile 39+ minute run, did say, "Felt slow and sluggish, but it was all uphill." That was my excuse then, and I'm sticking to it.
January also saw my first "bricks"....A bike ride followed by a run. According to my notes, my bricks were:
60 mile ride / 3 mile run
40 mile ride / 3 mile run
JANUARY TOTALS
Swim - 0
Bike - 364.75 miles (246 tri / 118.75 road)
Run - 32 miles
Gym - 3 times
ZERO pool work this month. I'd say that my excuse was because it was too cold out, but then I remember that the pool (at the YMCA) is a comfy 80.
My bike rides weren't anything to write home about. My longest was a 61 mile hammer fest with James and AZ Masters teammate Dave. Outside of that ride, and one other 60 mile ride, I stayed between 25 and 35 miles. The crit training did, however, provide some great intensity workouts.
Most of my runs were only 3 miles long and were clocking in around 9 minutes per mile. I did have a 5 mile run, and a 4 mile run, that clocked in around 9.5 minutes per mile and 10 minutes per mile. My notes, for the 4 mile 39+ minute run, did say, "Felt slow and sluggish, but it was all uphill." That was my excuse then, and I'm sticking to it.
January also saw my first "bricks"....A bike ride followed by a run. According to my notes, my bricks were:
60 mile ride / 3 mile run
40 mile ride / 3 mile run
JANUARY TOTALS
Swim - 0
Bike - 364.75 miles (246 tri / 118.75 road)
Run - 32 miles
Gym - 3 times
Friday, May 7, 2010
December 2009
December was somewhat of a "figuring out" month. Figuring out how to ride a tri bike effectively, figuring out that my gym shoes weren't suitable for running distances over 200 feet, figuring out that my cotton gym socks were probably going to give me blisters if I did, figuring out that a cotton t-shirt makes a miserable running shirt, figuring out when I'm going to have time to train, and figuring out some kind of plan.
After about a 20 year hiatus, I got back into the pool to see if I "still had it." In high school, and on my USS teams, a typical workout was in the area of 10,000 - 12,000 yards per day. Day one, back in the pool, netted me a whopping 600 yards. 24 stinking lengths. I don't know what was more embarrassing, I was only able to get in 600 yards or that I was actually wearing a Speedo in public again! Well, actually, I had a normal bathing suit, that I wore over the Speedo, to get in the pool. Once in the water, I took it off. Hey, if I don't want to see dudes strutting their stuff in a bikini type Speedo, I figured that neither did you....you're welcome.
Learning to ride the tri bike was completely awesome! After about 10 miles, the position becomes so natural and is extremely comfortable. It came equipped with deep dish carbon "aero wheels" that act more like a sail in a cross wind though. It makes for an interesting ride down Pima Road when you're trying not to be pushed into traffic on a gusty day! While it's a great deal heavier than my road bike, when it's going straight, it's sooo much faster. There's just something about getting in the aero position, getting in the big ring, and listening to the melody of the bike working. Bring in the harmony of my heartbeat and rhythmic breathing, and I'm in a trance. Aside from the safety issues, that, right there, is one of the reasons I don't wear an iPod while riding.
Running was comical. There is a 3 mile out and back that keeps me in Dove Valley(our neighborhood). The first few times doing it, I had to stop about 1.5 miles in. I was spent. James took me on some awesome trail runs and took me for (at the time) my longest runs ever. All I can remember about our 7 mile run/walk was that my cotton shirt rubbed my nipples raw. When James saw me pulling my shirt away from my body as we ran, he simply said, "Welcome to the club."
DECEMBER TOTALS
SWIM - 6300 yards (3.5 miles)
BIKE - 350 total miles (268 tri bike & 82 road bike)
RUN - 30.5 miles
GYM - 3 times
After about a 20 year hiatus, I got back into the pool to see if I "still had it." In high school, and on my USS teams, a typical workout was in the area of 10,000 - 12,000 yards per day. Day one, back in the pool, netted me a whopping 600 yards. 24 stinking lengths. I don't know what was more embarrassing, I was only able to get in 600 yards or that I was actually wearing a Speedo in public again! Well, actually, I had a normal bathing suit, that I wore over the Speedo, to get in the pool. Once in the water, I took it off. Hey, if I don't want to see dudes strutting their stuff in a bikini type Speedo, I figured that neither did you....you're welcome.
Learning to ride the tri bike was completely awesome! After about 10 miles, the position becomes so natural and is extremely comfortable. It came equipped with deep dish carbon "aero wheels" that act more like a sail in a cross wind though. It makes for an interesting ride down Pima Road when you're trying not to be pushed into traffic on a gusty day! While it's a great deal heavier than my road bike, when it's going straight, it's sooo much faster. There's just something about getting in the aero position, getting in the big ring, and listening to the melody of the bike working. Bring in the harmony of my heartbeat and rhythmic breathing, and I'm in a trance. Aside from the safety issues, that, right there, is one of the reasons I don't wear an iPod while riding.
Running was comical. There is a 3 mile out and back that keeps me in Dove Valley(our neighborhood). The first few times doing it, I had to stop about 1.5 miles in. I was spent. James took me on some awesome trail runs and took me for (at the time) my longest runs ever. All I can remember about our 7 mile run/walk was that my cotton shirt rubbed my nipples raw. When James saw me pulling my shirt away from my body as we ran, he simply said, "Welcome to the club."
DECEMBER TOTALS
SWIM - 6300 yards (3.5 miles)
BIKE - 350 total miles (268 tri bike & 82 road bike)
RUN - 30.5 miles
GYM - 3 times
I Must Be Crazy
Question: Why did I sign up for the 2010 Ironman Arizona, a 2.4 mile swim in Tempe Town Lake, a 112 mile bike ride, and a full (26.2 mile) marathon, without ever competing in a triathlon before? Answer: I must be crazy. I guess I shouldn't be shocked, after all, I did sign up for the 109 mile El Tour de Tucson after being on a bike for only a few months back in 2008. I figure, what the heck, might as well go for it, so on 11/17/2009, I purchased a tri bike and set my sights on the main event.
My good buddy, and two time Ironman, James Bruce, talked me into volunteering for the 2009 Ironman so that we could get priority sign-up for the 2010 race. We were working the first transition area (T1) where the athletes were trying to find their bikes after finishing the swim. It wasn't really until we got into the "controlled chaos" of this area, that I became fired up for what was ahead. The energy was unbelievable and the environment was completely inspiring. The very next morning, I headed back down to Tempe and waited in line with all of the other volunteers to plop down my $550 entry fee. When the lady handed me my receipt, I thought to myself, "Oh, it's on now!"
My good buddy, and two time Ironman, James Bruce, talked me into volunteering for the 2009 Ironman so that we could get priority sign-up for the 2010 race. We were working the first transition area (T1) where the athletes were trying to find their bikes after finishing the swim. It wasn't really until we got into the "controlled chaos" of this area, that I became fired up for what was ahead. The energy was unbelievable and the environment was completely inspiring. The very next morning, I headed back down to Tempe and waited in line with all of the other volunteers to plop down my $550 entry fee. When the lady handed me my receipt, I thought to myself, "Oh, it's on now!"
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