May 2010

May was another month where I was still trying to figure out a solid routine that encorporated speed workouts on Wednesday evenings (without repeating disciplines on consecutive days). Not quite sure why I’m so fixated on this type of routine, but I am. I will also be calling this month, “The month of excuses” because it seems as though every time I was scheduled to swim, something came up. Picking up sick kids from day care, staying home with kids (sitters kids were sick), getting sick myself, and a long vacation weekend were all reasons I stayed away from the pool. Another reason, for the low swim output, was that I wanted to concentrate on running more this month. In other words, a 2 hour swim day was scrapped in lieu of a 6 mile run. Not only did that increase my total run miles by about 20, it also freed up some personal time too.

While picking up my second pair of running shoes (they were 30% off!) I saw that GU came out with a new flavor…Jet Blackberry (has 2x caffeine!) I moved from Vanilla Bean to Just Plain last year and have recently become sick of it. Oh, I’ve tried the other flavors, but immediately rule out anything without caffeine (just a personal thing), and can’t take the rich chocolate or espresso flavor while riding. I can tell you, for me, Jet Blackberry is here to stay for a while…it’s that good!

I also picked up a new swimsuit. I have been using a pair of triathlon shorts, that James gave me, but have noticed that they are getting a bit “see through” in some areas that should absolutely remain covered. The new Speedo is knee length and is supposed to be made of “chlorine resistant materials”….we’ll see about that. While I did pick up this suit on sale, can somebody tell me when they started charging $40 for ‘em? Inconceivable!

TRAINING

SWIM - In my April blog, I erroneously indicated that the YMCA only allows 2 people per lane (for a maximum of 6 people swimming laps at a time). When inquiring about summer pool hours, I struck up a nice conversation with one of the swim instructors and she indicated that the maximum swimmers per lane are 6. The total people, allowed to swim laps, at one time, are 18! That would be fine if all 6 people were of the same skill set. Listen, I’m not saying that I’m Michael Phelps, but could you imagine trying to bang out a 5000 yard workout with the guy doing the side stroke, the lady doing the dog paddle, and the teenagers trying to see how many laps they can do completely underwater? So, I didn't like the 2 per lane and now I'm complaining about 6, I know. Hopefully, I won’t encounter this scenario, but as the days heat up, the pool becomes increasingly more popular. I only swam on 4 days with my longest workout being 4500 yards.

BIKE - Cycling starts promptly at 5:00 AM now. This is nice since it allows me to get in a 3 hour ride before work if needed. I’ve also started carrying 3 bottles of water and/or Accelerade on my rides (68 oz). Previously, one 20 oz. bottle of water only was fine, even for the longer rides. My longest ride was 87 miles, while my shortest was about 32. All miles were ridden on my tri bike.

RUN - My running seems to be coming along nicely. The biggest improvement, I can see, is in the soreness and fatigue areas. It seems as though I am recovering quicker, after my long runs, and am not as sore the next day. When I first started running, it was a chore just making it downstairs after my shower. I was surprised that I wasn’t out of breath more or more uncomfortable during my longer runs either. Some would say that I wasn’t running fast enough, but whatever. May was also the month that I decided to put away the stopwatch and “enjoy” running more. What I found out was that I didn’t dread heading out on that 10 miler as much and didn’t look at it as “work.” Up until now, I felt that I had to keep running, no matter what. Had to go to the bathroom at mile 5? Too bad, 5 more to go until I can go! Run not hurting enough? Pick up the tempo! Not going to make a personal best on a usual loop? Sprint the last 100 yards! While I was still using the stopwatch, however, I did notice my average times did come down a bit. On my 10.5 mile run, I averaged 8:52 minutes per mile (previous best was 9:05). My best 5 mile run was down to 8:05 minutes per mile (previous best was 8:34). I can honestly say that Erik’s speed workouts, on Wednesday, have really helped me with my run tempo. The last run of the month was about a 10.5 mile run in Alpine, AZ. The family cabin is almost 5 miles away from Luna Lake and provided me a nice “out and back” opportunity at altitude (about 8200 feet).

BRICKS – 0

MAY TOTALS

SWIM – 13,700 yards (7.78 miles)
BIKE – 477.25 miles (all tri)
RUN – 69.9 miles

Now that I’m current with my blog, I will attempt to give a more detailed report, on a more frequent basis, with a monthly “wrap-up.” We’ll see how it goes!