10/17/2010 - 10/23/2010

TEMPE TOWN LAKE UPDATE - Looks like we are good to go! They started filling the lake and it will be ready for AZIM! In fact, they are holding an open water competition on 11/06! I stole this pic from Erik's IM blog:

Tempe Town Lake as of October 16th:


Sunday, October 17th

I’ve been eyeballing this workout since Frank posted it. 15 miles was going to be my longest run ever (by about 2 miles). How much more difficult was 15 going to be versus 13.1? I mean, it’s just 2 itty-bitty miles, right?

Here are Frank’s notes:

“Going long keeping pace easy and relaxed. I have you timed out at a 10 minute pace, prove me wrong big guy!!!!

“Prove me wrong big guy”?!?! As if I needed any more added pressure! If you give me a 10 min pace, by all means, I’m going to stick to it, but when you throw down a challenge like that, well, I have to accept.

After I was done, I sent Frank a series of 3 texts:

“15 miles @ a…..”
“Wait for it”
“9:20 pace”

Here are my notes:

“There it is, my longest ‘non-stop’ run to date. In fact, my longest run period. Felt fine for the first 8 miles. Miles 8-10 gave me a bit of discomfort, but 11-15 felt fine again. 5 PowerBar gels, 1 GU, and 28oz of water only. At no point did I feel the need to walk or slow down to recover. Overall, just the normal/general discomfort associated with a run of this length. While I was absolutely ready to quit at 15, if I had to, I could have kept on at the same pace.”

Two things I need to discuss here and neither are about the physical run either.

1) I truly ran the entire time. Not once did I stop, rest, or have my Garmin stop. Why is it, then, that the final results show an elapsed time of 2:20:04 and a 9:20 pace while the moving time is 2:15:17 with a 9:01 pace? In fact, I’m showing this phenomenon on most all of my runs. What gives?
2) That 1 GU I had was because I only had 5 PowerBar gels and wanted 6. Unfortunately, the only GU flavor I had was left over from Christmas….Vanilla Gingerbread. Listen, there is a reason it is still around from Christmas. That taste probably lingered around for several hours after my run. Truly horrible.

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53490658

Monday, October 18th

Recovery Day!

The aero helmet that I ordered came in today! It’s a Giro Advantage 2:







Tuesday, October 19th

Another two-fer today. Early morning run and afternoon swim.

Frank’s notes:

“7 mile run keeping HR in high end of ZII”

Mine:

“Felt some lingering effects from Sunday's 15 mile run, but the slow pace made it comfortable. Actually caught myself running a bit too fast on several occasions and had to back off. Is it me or is it hard running SLOW too?!?”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53613729

Here is my swim workout:

Warm Up

2 x 200 swim (:20 RI)
6 x 50 kick (:15 RI)
6 x 50 swim (:10 RI)

Main Set
2 x 400 swim (:30 RI)
2 x 300 swim (:30 RI)
4 x 100 swim (:20 RI)

Warm Down
6 x50 easy
3100 total

My notes:

“Another solid swim. Had plenty of power and felt smooth.”

Wednesday, October 20th

My first ride using an aero helmet. Wow, what can I say? I may look goofy, but I sure felt fast! I guess that’s the placebo effect, because after looking at my final average mph, I wasn’t faster at all! The first thing I noticed was how difficult it was to tuck my ears into the helmet. I didn’t want to snap the ear section, but how else was I supposed to get ‘em in there? Once on, you can definitely tell that there isn’t as much airflow cooling you down either. Overall, however, it seemed comfortable and didn’t give me any problems at all.

Frank’s notes:

“2 hour ride looking for you to go easy and hold steady in your HR zone. Imagine 2nd loop on the B-Line on race day and gage how you feel knowing you have 35-50 to go”

My notes:

“Definitely felt faster than an 18.2 mph average, but the lack of sunlight keeps me slower for safety purposes. I could easily bump this up several mph and still hold a good HR.”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53721502

Thursday, October 21st

My first brick since acquiring a coach. A small one, but still a brick none-the-less! I wanted to take this opportunity to utilize the “multi-sport” function of my Garmin. You tell it what disciplines you are competing in and in what order. It will then keep a running tally including transition. It all started off with the Jim Stenholm Crit in Anthem. I parked at Chris Wylie’s house (he indicated that he wanted to run with me after) and headed down to get a nice 30 min warm-up in.

Here are my notes:

“Another nice speed workout. Felt better than last week. I actually incorporated some steady speed into my warm-up this time around. Held the lead much longer this time out and was in contention for a solid finish 3 of the 4 laps. At the very beginning of lap 4, I was able to sneak up from behind and caught the group sleeping. As a result, I stayed away until the finish. I was probably a 3.5 - 4 out of 5 tonight.”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53941579

Frank’s run notes:

“3 mile run right off the bike, working on leg turnover and technique”

He had me set up for a 10 min/mile pace, so I was going to stay as close to that as possible. I headed back to Chris’s house, hit the “lap” button on my Garmin, and put on my running gear. Once we set off, I hit the lap button again. That should have calculated my transition and started my run. We headed off to the cart path of the Anthem golf course and kept it real slow. About 0.6 miles in, I realized that I did something wrong and my Garmin still thought I was in T1!

Here are my notes to Frank:

“OK, so I was trying the "multisport" feature on my Garmin that captures total elapsed time AND transitions. Only problem was that I didn't execute it correctly and missed the first 0.6ish miles of my run. At the time, I didn't know how far I'd gone and I didn't know the area (I was running with Chris Wylie in Anthem). At this point, I was just following his lead. After doing some recon online, I found out that I only covered about 1.87 miles. Oops! As for the little bit I did run, I felt like I was going waaaay too slow and could have been much faster. Good brick!”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53941581
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53941583

Friday, October 22nd

Another open water at Bartlett. I showed up at 6:15 and waited until about 6:40 for anybody else from our team. Ultimately, nobody else showed. Fortunately, there were 3 or 4 fishing boats right off of the buoy’s we swim around. Since I wasn’t going to be alone, I headed down to the beach and took off. While I wasn’t “alone” it was an eerie feeling being the only swimmer out there. Hopefully that doesn’t happen again. 1.1 miles in 30 min, not too shabby!

Here are my notes:
“Felt real strong and real smooth. Absolutely no issues on today’s awesome swim.”

Actually, there weren't any issues from a SWIMMING point of view, but after I was done, I noticed that my wetsuit gave me a nice little burn on the back of my neck. Ah yes, I forgot to put on some Body Glide before starting my swim. So that's what everybody keeps telling me to look out for. Nice.

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53941587

Saturday, October 23rd

I’ll let the notes speak for themselves:

“Let’s go out only 70 this week and save some legs for Sunday, the bike you have covered. Let’s go into no-man’s land on the run and establish a feel for the distance and work the nutrition”

“Probably my most complete long ride this season. Felt strong the entire time and didn't have to push it (average HR = mid ZII) to get the results (21 mph ave). Only one stop to use the restroom. 56oz of regular strength EFS and 4 PowerBar gels.”

At the end of the 3hr 20min ride, I noticed that the tops of my ears were hurting a bit from the new helmet. Not rubbed or raw, rather more like I slept on them wrong. I noticed it more when I took the helmet off, not when it was on. I don’t think this will be a problem for the Ironman as it wasn’t a real distraction and probably something I’ll get used to over the next 4 weeks.

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/54338117

10/10/2010 - 10/16/2010

Sunday, October 10th

Since I missed yesterday’s split running workout (6 miles in the AM and 3 in the PM) I texted Frank, once we were home, to see if he wanted me to make it up today. His response? “If you feel like it” and added that I should concentrate on keeping my HR in check. With that, I helped unpack the car, got my running gear on, and headed out for a leisurely 9 mile run. Not one mile in, I knew this wasn’t a good idea. Here are my notes to Frank:

“I missed your scheduled 6 mile AM / 3 mile PM run on Saturday, so (with your permission) I did a 9 mile run on Sunday. Your last text simply said to "watch HR", so that was my absolute #1 focus here. Not just 1 mile in, the muscles surrounding my shins were hurting so bad, I had to stop and stretch. Every time my HR krept to 160, I backed off. Overall, a very boring and grinding run. Probably not smart trying to accomplish this after sitting for 6 hours (drive home)”

I couldn’t believe how unbelievably painful this run was. Not just physically, but mentally. The entire run, I was fighting stubborn legs and a “let’s just get this over with” mentality. I never really did loosen up.

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52580165

Monday, October 11th

Recovery Day!

Tuesday, October 12th

On tap was a 7 mile morning run and an afternoon swim. Here are Frank’s notes for the run:

“7 mile run keeping HR in high end of ZII high end and low end of ZIII”

And here are mine:

“Had the same problem with the muscles around the shin area as I did on Sunday's run. This time, however, I was able to stretch 'em out WHILE running (instead of stopping). Around 1.5 - 2.0 miles in was when they started feeling better. Overall, a fairly good run for me. No water or gels. Almost neg split every mile.”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52846789

Here is the swim routine:

WARM UP

2 x (100sw + 4 x 50sw +100 kick) (:15 RI)
6 x 50 fast (1:00 SI)

MAIN SET

5 x 100 swim (1:45 SI)
4 x 50 swim (1:00 SI)
4 x 100 swim (1:43 SI)
3 x 50 swim (1:00 SI)
3 x 100 swim (1:40 SI)
2 x 50 swim (1:15 SI)
2 x 100 swim (1:45 SI)
200 easy

WARM DOWN

4 x 50 easy

My notes:
“Another solid swim. I had either 30 seconds or 45 seconds of rest on each set.”

Wednesday, October 13th

Frank’s instructions for today’s 3 hour moderate bike ride:

“Holding a HR in ZII-low end of ZIII I want you to think as if you are on the second loop of the B- Line keeping the HR under control and feeling strong for the final loop”

My response:

“My RPE was telling me that I was keeping my HR under control, but my darn HRM was having an absolute field day. It was showing 130 while holding a steady pace uphill and 203 when coasting to a stop. Go figure. Overall, I felt fine and had plenty in the tank when I was done.”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52846808

I’ve been thinking about buying a new pair of goggles for quite some time now. The ones I have (TYR Team Sprint) are fine for lap swimming and racing, but not so much for open water. Another reason for wanting a second pair is that I’d have a backup if a strap snapped just before the big race. I headed over to a local sports shop and perused the various different styles, prices, and colors before settling on a pair of Aqua Sphere Kayenne’s with smoke colored lenses. I’ll let you know how they work after my next swim.

TYR Team Sprint goggles:


Aqua Sphere Kayenne:



Thursday, October 14th

Swim and bike day. Today’s swim workout was a bit different than expected. Frank wanted me to swim for 30 minutes without stopping and count the total length covered. He had the workout intensity listed as a 1 out of 5 (easy). Did that mean I was to just that? Go easy and see how far I went or did he make a mistake. I texted him for confirmation and he replied that he was looking for me to go nice and easy. With that in mind, I slipped my Garmin inside of my swim cap and set the timer for 30 minutes. Here are my notes:

“84 lengths. Felt great.” – That’s 2100 yards.

As for the new goggles, I think they’ll work just fine. The first thing I noticed was the super comfy feel they had. My Sprint’s have a hard plastic nose piece that gets uncomfortable after a while. The second thing that I noticed was that they have more of a “flexi” type of lens. This adds to the comfort, but distorts my view a bit underwater. With my hard lens Team Sprint’s, everything is as clear as a bell when under water, but with the Kayenne’s, it was a bit blurry. We’ll see how this goes during an open water swim where the water is murky and there is no need to spot lines on the bottom of upcoming walls.

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53065554

Right after my swim, I headed home and rounded up my riding gear for my weekly speed ride in Anthem. I made it in time to get about a 30 min warm-up in before we got down to business. Here are my notes:

“Data includes warm-up & warm-down. Wasn't feeling it tonight. I was probably a 2/2.5 out of 5. Was never in contention for a top 3 finish. A few people commented that I looked off too. I was able to get in 4 good speed laps and one below average.”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53065560

Friday, October 15th

Earlier in the week, I asked Frank if I could make the weekly Bartlett Lake swim part of my routine (vs. more pool time) and he said yes. Once again, I tucked my Garmin in my swim cap, tied it to my goggles, and headed out. Here are my notes:

“Wanted to see what it felt like to swim for one hour, non-stop, in the open water. Not quite race pace, but not an easy pace either. 1.98 miles in 56 min. I felt smooth, strong, and efficient. I had PLENTY of gas left in the tank when I got back on shore.”

As for the new goggles, they worked perfectly. They didn’t fog nor did they leak. That blurry effect I got in the pool was non-existent in the lake too. So far, I’d say that these goggles are a solid purchase for me.

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53065563

My playground:





One of the guys on the AZ Masters team is working at an athletic performance place and was offering VO2 max testing for free. After a couple of weeks, we were able to nail down a time slot for today for me to come in. Talk about a workout!!!! First off was the treadmill. He got me all hooked up and let it rip. The first 5 minutes are a walk in the park. It’s the last 5, especially the last 2, which really kick you in the gut. I was able to put in the 10 minutes he was looking for, but had to immediately shut it down. That darn mask makes it extremely difficult to breathe at all! After the treadmill, I had about a 20 minute break before hopping on my bike (on a trainer) and started a new set of tests. This test was based on HR and watts. He would tell me to hold a certain wattage for a certain period of time before increasing the numbers. I only lasted about 9 minutes. I won’t bore you with all of the scientific details (I’m not sure I understand them all anyway), but I will give you my HR zones:

RUN
ZONE 2 = 152 -170
ZONE 3 = 170 -179
ZONE 4 = 179 – 188
ZONE 5 = 188 – 193

BIKE
ZONE 2 = 145 – 162
ZONE 3 = 162 – 171
ZONE 4 = 171 -182
ZONE 5 = 182 – 187

If you go back to that demoralizing “zone 2 ride” I had back on 08/21, we all thought that my zone 2 was the “typical” 133 bpm. While I was off there, I did realize that the bulk of my training has, in fact, been done in the proper zones! Maybe I didn’t need the 9+ days off, but I sure did enjoy them and wouldn’t change a thing. Fact is, I most definitely needed some recovery days back then.

Saturday, October 16th

Another 5 ½ hour, 100+ mile, ride was scheduled for today. Nothing really abnormal about this ride, so I’ll point out a few “different” things. We were fairly fluid for the first 40 miles until James had to use the restroom. While he was inside, I made a loop around the adjacent neighborhood. About 42 miles in, we came across Carlos Mendoza, on the side of the road, with a flat. We made sure he was OK, made some small talk, and continued on. About 67 miles in, it was time for another bathroom break. Between miles 69 and 80, it seems like we must’ve hit about 20 stop lights. At mile 80, we randomly saw Kristi and the kids and exchanged some waves/smiles. Miles 81-83 saw us getting lost in a neighborhood maze. Mile 98 is where James and I split up. He wanted to get another hour in and I was sticking to coaches plans of 5 ½ total.

Here are my notes:
“Check out that average HR! Overall, a pretty normal 100+ mile ride with nothing new to report. 5 PowerBar gels, 2 mini PayDay bars, and 76oz of regular strength EFS drink.”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53490651

10/03/2010 - 10/09/2010

Sunday, October 3rd

Another 13.1 was going to be in the bag by the end of today. This will only be my second half marathon distance, along with a 13 miler several months ago. Here are Frank’s notes:

“Let’s get a half completed and see how the body is responding. Maintaining HR gives us a good idea of your how we are looking for you to hold pace”

Here are my notes:

“I'm not putting in an average HR, because there were two HRM issues. A minor blip occurred about a mile in (203 & 207 bpm) while a major malfunction occurred between 7.5 and 10.5 miles (241 bpm). I saw a 200+ reading around mile 11 and realized that my strap had slipped lower on my chest. After adjusting it back higher, my HR reading immediately fell back to 162. Looking at the chart, I was mainly between 156 & 170. My average HR was probably closer to 163. That's pretty good for me! Legs felt good and strong. 5 PowerBar gels & about 20oz of water.

Is there ANY possibility that these ongoing “blips” aren’t blips at all? I mean, is it actually possible that I’m hitting maximums of 241 bpm? I can see 203, but not for the pace I’m at. What could be causing these over and over? Low chest strap battery? Chest strap slipping too low? Faulty HRM? Keep in mind, these blips are a newer occurrence and didn’t happen when I first started using it.

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51680124

Monday, October 4th

RECOVERY DAY!

Tuesday, October 5th

Another double day. This time, it was a 7 mile run and a 3200 yard swim.

Frank’s notes:

“7 mile run keeping HR in high end of ZIII. Hold on to your strong tempo and let’s look at this as a great opportunity to work leg turnover. Easy/quick feet touching the ground lightly”

My notes:

“Only thing I was concentrating on was the quick turnover. The first mile was spent working out the stiffness of Sunday's half marathon, mile two felt good, and the rest felt awesome. No soreness, stiffness, laboring, shortness of breath, or signs of struggling. I did this exact same route on 09/28 so it's interesting to compare the data. Then = 10:38 pace and 151 ave HR. Today = 8:55 pace and 170 ave HR. No gels and just a few sips of water.”

If this running thing ever pans out for me, I will probably look back at today as the turning point. For me, going a sub 9 min/mile for 7 miles is always a treat. This time however, it seemed effortless. Could I have gone faster? Probably! It will be interesting to see the notes on my future run to see if there is an “upward trend” to how I feel/perform.

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51803522

A HUGE microburst storm came rolling through the Phoenix area and absolutely pounded us with rain, lightning, and golf ball sized hail. I called the YMCA and they told me that they were shutting down the pool for the rest of the day regardless if the storm broke. With that said, I sent Frank a text to see if I could use the Lifetime indoor pool. Since I’m training with him, it was OK. When I got there, there were signs that indicated that ALL pools (outdoor AND indoor) were closed. I wasn’t quite sure what to do, but after several minutes, the lifeguards opened the indoor pool and I was off. Just as I was getting warmed up (about 950 yards in), the lifeguards kicked us out. They said that another storm was moving in and rules dictate that even the indoor pool needs to be closed during lightning. Well, looks like I have to move the workout to tomorrow (weather permitting).

Here is what I was SUPPOSED to do:

Warm Up

3 x 200 swim easy (:20 RI) - COMPLETED
6 x 50 kick (:10 RI) - COMPLETED

Main Set

4 x 50 swim (:45 SI) – ONLY DID ONE OF THE 50’s
3 x 100 swim (1:35 SI)
2 x 150 swim (2:30 SI)
2 x 200 swim (3:15 SI)
2 x 150 swim (2:20 SI)
3 x 100 swim (1:30 SI)
4 x 50 swim (:45 SI)
2 x 50 easy (1:00 SI)

Pull easy for 200 cool down

Not what you expect to see at an INDOOR pool when there's bad weather OUTSIDE:




Wednesday, October 6th

Typical mid-week ride, right? Nope! Instead of the usual 45+ mile ride, Frank wanted me going easy. Here are his notes:

“Easy ride today, tapering from heavy mileage this week. Preparing for final 4 week push to Ironman”

WOW! “Preparing for the final 4 week push to Ironman” It’s right around the corner! Where has the last 10 months gone?!?

At any rate, I wanted to get back in time to have breakfast with my son (a morning ritual we have @ 6AM). Typically, I miss Wednesday’s, but since he specifically asked me the night before, how could I say no? That being said, since this was going to be an uber slow pace, I know I could ride longer in the dark. Roll time? 3:30 AM! I kept it simple and close to home. I explored side streets and avenues that I have previously zoomed by. Overall, it was enjoyable, but it was mentally challenging being in the saddle for that long and not producing the normal miles. Average HR = 96 bpm….SERIOUSLY?!?!

My notes:

“Easy enough for you?”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51927931

I had to make up yesterday’s swim workout today. When I got on deck, however, I realized that I had left the workout at home. The only thing that I could remember was the warm up, the 1st 50’s, and the 200 pull warm down. Sooo, I put together something that I thought resembled what I was supposed to do:

Warm Up

3 x 200 swim easy (:20 RI)
6 x 50 kick (:10 RI)

Main Set

8 x 50 swim (:45 SI)
4 x 100 swim (1:30 SI)
2 x 200 swim (3:30 SI)
4 x 100 swim (1:30 SI)
2 x 200 swim (3:30 SI)
4 x 100 swim (1:30 SI)
8 x 50 swim (:45 SI)

Pull easy for 200 cool down

My notes:

“All in all, I felt good and came in under all intervals. 3300 total.”

Thursday, October 7th

I had some business to take care of in San Diego, so I brought the family along for a short get away. As a result, today was designated as a travel day with no workouts.

Friday, October 8th

Had to put in 10 miles total today. Frank broke it up into a 6 mile morning run and a 4 mile evening run to “flush the legs.” We were staying at my friend’s condo in downtown San Diego. We were literally minutes from Balboa Park, PetCo Park, Seaport Village, and the Midway museum. Not quite sure what to expect, I took off at 6AM and headed west. It was a very cool morning and I noticed that it help my legs as well as the general feel of the run. Typically, I start out a bit slower and work my way into a steady pace. Today, however, I was able to turn the legs over faster right away. Was it the weather? Have I turned the running corner? I don’t know, but whatever it is, it was good. I ran past PetCo Park (home of the Padres), down the bay (through Seaport Village) and over to the museum. I snapped a couple of pics along the way and then got turned around on my way back (thus adding an additional ½ mile to my run).

Here are my notes:

“Your text indicated that I was to do a 6 mile run in the AM and then a 4 mile run in the PM to flush the legs. I was able to complete this run comfortably at a higher pace than anticipated. Overall, I felt fantastic. No leg fatigue, shortness of breath, laboring, or having to "push through it"

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52580129

If you could read this at all, it would say, "Historic Heart of San Diego - Gaslamp District"


Monument outside of the Midway museum:


Midway:


After I completed my work requirements, in Rancho Bernardo, we headed back to the condo. Once there, I decided that I was going to run in Balboa Park. About ¾ of a mile in, I saw a gate that lead to a trail off the beaten path. I decided to get off the cement and head for the dirt. It was pretty cool until a came across a HUGE flight of stairs that didn’t seem to end. This was supposed to be an easy run that “flushed my legs!” Not sure this was going to accomplish that. I decided to take it easy and just walk up. Once at the top, I saw that the staircase actually had a name! At any rate, I continued the rest of my run on the pavement. I ran by fortune tellers, a guy playing the bagpipes, and a number of different museums. Ultimately, this was a great run that did what it was supposed to do.

My notes:

“Again, felt absolutely great! Kept a slower pace per your instructions.”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52580151

Somehow, I don't think this was what Frank intended when he said, "Flush the legs":


They were so long, they had their own name:


Saturday, October 9th

I was supposed to do another split running day. This time, it was 6 in the AM and 3 in the PM with these instructions for the 6:

“Tempo run. 5 minute warm up pick up the pace hold in top end of ZIII”

And for the 3:

“3 mile flush, easy turnover of the legs, flush out any lactate from the morning run”

Only problem was that I didn’t log in to get it. As we were sitting on the 5th floor balcony, filling another glass of red and watching my son color, I made the decision to not even look it up. Since we still had half a bottle to go and we were going to be at Sea World for about 9 hours tomorrow, I was fine with making it up on Sunday. That, however, will have to wait until next week’s blog.

09/26/2010 - 10/02/2010

Sunday, September 26th

Long run with the following coach's notes:

“12 mile run; opportunity to work the nutrition, finding out what works for you and from this day we stay with it. Please let me know what you are using, GU, Hammer Gel, Shot Blocks. Holding tempo throughout again doing your best to keep HR in ZIII, but more important how are you feeling during the run. HR will be a guide for you but it looks like we will need to go by feel for most of the race.”

My notes:

“Had 3 PowerBar gels and 28oz of water. Could have had one, maybe two, more gels. Pace was extremely comfortable. No laboring, uncomfortable pain, or shortness of breath. I did try to pick up the pace a bit towards the end and my HR reflects that. That being said, 185 to 214? Can't figure that out.”

On the workout software Frank uses, he indicated that he wanted me to hold a 10 min/mile pace. No problems there! My initial plan was to run the golf course two times, but since I left so late, it started to get dark around mile 3. Right around 43 min in to the run, I had to head back into the tunnel that takes me under the main street. It’s a fairly long tunnel and when it’s dark, it’s tough to see the other side. That combined with the fact that I just saw “I Am Legend” with Will Smith, I was NOT going back through it again a third and fourth (second lap) time around. In fact, now I couldn’t stop thinking about the movie and how I just wanted to get onto a lit path. At mile 6.5(ish) I was able to get off the course and into the neighborhood, but now I didn’t know where I was going. I made up a path through neighborhoods and around the corner businesses before completing 12.25 miles.

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50769494

Monday, September 27th

Gotta love Frank…Recovery day.

Tuesday, September 28th

Two-a-day with a 7 mile run in the AM and a swim after work.

Frank’s note for my run:

“7 mile run holding tempo, keeping HR under control and maintain in ZIII”

His time limit was 1:15:00. That comes out to about a 10:40 pace. I’m really liking this run schedule!!!!

Here are my notes:

“No HR spikes. Legs/knees were still feeling the effects of Sunday's 12 mile run. Started out very stiff and uncomfortable. Finally loosened up around 3.5 miles in. Overall, a very enjoyable and relaxing run. Didn't use any gels and didn't bring any liquids.”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50889274

Swim routine:

Warm up

400 swim
6 x 50 kick (1:00 SI) w/board
6 x 50 swim (1:00 SI)

Main set

4 x 200 (3:20 SI)
4 x 50 (1:00 SI)
1 x 400 swim (7:30 SI)
50 easy

10 x 100 (1:45 SI)

Warm Down

4 x 50 easy

My notes:

“A very solid swim. Results for the main set: Held 2:30 for the 200's, Held 30-35 for the 50's, did the 400 in 6:20, and held between 1:12 and 1:15 for the 100's. Felt strong/powerful/efficient. HR after the 200's was 140. HR after the 100's was around 140 as well.”

Wednesday, September 29th

Moderate 2 ½ hour morning ride. Going into this last week of September, I calculated that I would need approximately 90 miles to bag 800 for the month. That means I would need 55 today (typically 50) and then 35 on Thursday (typically 30). Towards the end of today’s ride, however, I realized that I wasn’t even going to get 50. That means I was going to need even more miles on Thursday.

“Some real whacky HR readings during the 1st 14 miles. I actually witnessed 226 as I was just getting started and 0 not a mile later. After that, however, it seemed to settle down with some great numbers (if accurate). The ride itself was great. Legs are still feeling it a bit from Sunday's 12 mile run and yesterday's 7 mile run. Overall, a solid "moderate" paced ride.”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51015726

Thursday, September 30th

Had to crank out the following “aerobic” swim set before heading off to the Jim Stenholm Crit.

1600 swim (1:00 RI)
800 swim (45 RI)
2 x 400 swim (30 RI)

My notes:

“An absolutely beautiful swim. The one word to describe it seems to be "magical." It was almost as if I wasn't pulling on water. No fatigue, was smooth, efficient, and strong. Since I was only using the deck clock and the clock on the wall, my times may not be exact. Did the 1600 in 25min, the 800 in 15min, and the 400's in 5. Completed 3200 in about 50min.”

So, my Thursday speed rides have been checking in around 30 miles (including warm up and warm down), so I was looking to add an additional 14 tonight. After our four competitive laps, I had to keep going for another 45min to 60min to get what I was looking for. In fact, I put in an extra two miles just in case. Again, silly games, but I don’t know if I’ll have the opportunity to net 800 miles anytime soon. If I were just a few miles short, it would be a thorn in my side for quite some time.

Here are my notes to Frank:

“OK, so I put in about an hour of pure speed work. Felt awesome. Probably a 4 or 4.5 out of 5. That being said, I knew that I needed about 46 miles to get 800 total for the month. Typically, this ride gets me about 30. I spent some extra time in the saddle to get 800. All miles outside of the sprint work were low HR "warm-up" pace.”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51248529

Friday, October 1st

Originally, Frank had me scheduled for a 2250 yard sprint set, but when I told him that I could make it to the teams weekly Bartlett Lake open water swim, his response was, “Open water wins, see you down there.” I picked up James at 6AM and we headed down to the lake. When we got there, we could see about 3 people already swimming between the buoys and about 6 more getting ready to get in. The waster is absolutely beautiful, but since I needed some wetsuit time, I brought it along. I’d say that ¾ of the swimmers out there had some kind of wetsuit on. If any of you have used a Garmin on your wrist, you know that the GPS doesn’t work well when swimming. It has something to do with the motion of your arm going in loops and going underwater too. That being said, I read an article about putting it in your swim cap. That way, it’s always pointing towards the sky and mostly above water. I figured I’d give it try, but didn’t want to accidentally lose it if my cap split. To remedy the potential problem, I tied the GPS to my goggles with a piece of string. After looking at the data, it was actually fairly accurate. The satellite map that Garmin gives was taken when the lake was extremely low. As a result, it looks like I did a Baywatch run down a long beach and then swam on land. The lake was actually full and none of that happened! Finally, this was the first time using my new Sailfish wetsuit and man, was it fast!!! Only bummer is that I put a small rip in it with my fingernail....that's like getting a dinger on your brand new car door just after driving off the lot!

My notes:

“Felt efficient and smooth. Nice, steady, comfortable pace with a few stops.”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51248627

Saturday, October 2nd

100 mile ride with James. For some reason, I just couldn’t get into a groove today. I think that the only time I was “in the zone” was between miles 41 and 44 and then again between miles 87 and 92. We met up with Kyle around mile 27, but he only put in 40 before cutting out. One of the reasons I was in the zone between 87 and 92 was that we met up with a local Kona qualifying triathlete, Carlos Mendoza, at our only stop to refill fluids. We actually rode with him for about 14 miles, but those 5 miles were no talking, aero position, and fast.

Here are my notes:

“One or two minor HRM issues. Mentally, my head wasn't in the game today. Instead of enjoying the ride, it felt more like work. Physically, I felt great. Legs were strong, pace was where it should be, and my HR was looking good. 76oz of double strenght EFS, 6 PowerBar gels, 3 snack size PayDay bars, 48oz water.”

Link to workout:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51680066