My training has been going fairly well and I've lost a couple of pounds so I was anxious to see how I would do in a little sprint triathlon coming off 3 hard weeks of training and a recovery week leading up to Sunday. Last Tuesday night I did my first XC race at Waveny.....it was a 3mile speed work run. I felt pretty good in the run and took the rest of the week fairly easy. Sunday I had a good warmup run and bike and swim. The beach was rocky so I was concerned with the start but I was able to dive in and start swimming right away. It was rough until the first buoy or so but it smoothed out quickly. I was able to find a rhythm after 5 minutes and cruised in. I couldn't believe how quickly it went by. A half mile swim now feels like a warmup. I remember when I came to watch this race about 4 or 5 years ago. It was my first triathlon that I ever watched and I remember looking out at the buoys and thinking that the distance was impossible.......interesting how times have changed. Many more things in life seem possible once you conquer the "impossible".
I was anxious to improve my transition times since I usually take my time in this part of the race so I was happy that I zoomed right throw both transitions. I got onto the bike and my HR was pretty high which is normal for this part of the race. I just concentrated on having a smooth cadence and my HR started to stablize.....check. I worked the first hill steady and hard and zipped through the first lap quickly and was anxious to see if I could stay on the pace or increase the pace for the second lap. I felt like I accomplished this. I was able to key off some guys in front of me and felt like I had a solid bike ride. I got onto the run course and my legs felt light and quick. I kept a nice steady pace and steady HR for the first mile. I was all alone at this point in the race. I passed 2 guys near the 2nd mile and cruised to the finish with no one around. I didn't get passed on the run and only got passed on the bike by 1 guy. Finished in 1:06. I did this race 2 years ago in 1:18. Swam 12min, biked 32min, and ran 19 this year. I was 5th in my age group and 33rd overall out of 630 racers. Very satisfied with the result. Off to Lake Placid on Wednesday or Thursday for some work, volunteering, spectating, training, and motivation. And its countdown to Canada now. I have 3 weeks of volume training ahead of me and clean nutrition for the next 5 + weeks.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Lake Placid Training
Its been a while since I posted. I'm just coming out of my coma now from Rev3. A weekend away of golf, then a weekend away of training. My training had suffered the couple of weeks surrounding Rev3 and felt a bit behind in my prep for IM Canada. I took the opportunity to escape up to Lake Placid with a few friends. Unfortunately, Sue couldn't make it as she had to work.
I drove up alone early Friday morning, getting up there before noon. I was surprised to see some fresh new pavement on rt. 73, a welcome site. It was a beautiful day so I got out and ran a loop around Mirror Lake to loosen up my legs. The town was full of triathletes as it was a peak training weekend for those athletes preparing for IMLP and the Tupper Lake Tinman was also going on. After the run, I got my wetsuit out and swam 2 loops of the lake or roughly 2.5 miles. My shoulders were tight but it felt good to get in a long swim. I needed it. I checked into my hotel and prepared for a long ride. My plan was to ride 12 miles to the base of Whiteface mountain (the site of the 80 Olympics skiing venue), then climb the 8 miles up the mountain (average 6% grade), then 12 miles back to the hotel. I loaded everything up, water bottles filled, helmet on, etc., then I look out the window. The sky turned black and the wind felt like it was going to blow the trees over. Rain came down so fast and so hard, it knocked the power out in the hotel, fire engines were in full emergency mode, but I was lucky I hadn't left. It took a few hours to blow over so my plans had to change. I didn't have enough daylight to make it up and down the mountain in time. I ended up riding around the run course and then some, but only got out for an hour or so.
Saturday's forecast was ominous....scattered rain and thunderstorms all day. I ended up swimming one loop of the course or 1.3 miles or so, then after some debate headed out on the bike. I knew it was going to be a wet one so I prepared the best I could. I felt decent for the first 30 miles or so (and it was raining), then my legs just felt dead. I tried to kick start them my shoving down an energy drink and two candy bars but that only worked for 5 miles or so. I finished one loop of the bike course (riding alone most of the day) or 56 miles and headed out for a second loop just hoping and waiting for my legs to get a second wind. It never happened. I rode for another 10 miles to the top of the long downhill and the clouds ahead were dark and my energy was dwindling. I decided to turn around and save myself for the next day. I ended up riding another 15 miles or so and called it a day.
Sunday was beautiful. I swam another 1.3 miles or so, then headed out for a long run. I was running well and ran the first 7.5 miles in an hour, then I became so dehydrated. It was hot and humid. I ended up salvaging the run with 1:30 run and 10.5 miles. The last few miles were up the cherries and the bears....tough to ride and run. After soaking my legs in the lake for a bit, I re-fueled and got ready for a ride. Mark and I were directed on a nice 2 hour ride on a nice route away from the IM course. My legs were tired but decent until the last 30 minutes and then I nothing left. I was spent. I guess I maxed out my legs for the weekend. They just didn't give me what I thought they would give me but mission accomplished.
Totals: Swim approx. 5 miles, bike approx. 130 miles, run 13 miles
I drove up alone early Friday morning, getting up there before noon. I was surprised to see some fresh new pavement on rt. 73, a welcome site. It was a beautiful day so I got out and ran a loop around Mirror Lake to loosen up my legs. The town was full of triathletes as it was a peak training weekend for those athletes preparing for IMLP and the Tupper Lake Tinman was also going on. After the run, I got my wetsuit out and swam 2 loops of the lake or roughly 2.5 miles. My shoulders were tight but it felt good to get in a long swim. I needed it. I checked into my hotel and prepared for a long ride. My plan was to ride 12 miles to the base of Whiteface mountain (the site of the 80 Olympics skiing venue), then climb the 8 miles up the mountain (average 6% grade), then 12 miles back to the hotel. I loaded everything up, water bottles filled, helmet on, etc., then I look out the window. The sky turned black and the wind felt like it was going to blow the trees over. Rain came down so fast and so hard, it knocked the power out in the hotel, fire engines were in full emergency mode, but I was lucky I hadn't left. It took a few hours to blow over so my plans had to change. I didn't have enough daylight to make it up and down the mountain in time. I ended up riding around the run course and then some, but only got out for an hour or so.
Saturday's forecast was ominous....scattered rain and thunderstorms all day. I ended up swimming one loop of the course or 1.3 miles or so, then after some debate headed out on the bike. I knew it was going to be a wet one so I prepared the best I could. I felt decent for the first 30 miles or so (and it was raining), then my legs just felt dead. I tried to kick start them my shoving down an energy drink and two candy bars but that only worked for 5 miles or so. I finished one loop of the bike course (riding alone most of the day) or 56 miles and headed out for a second loop just hoping and waiting for my legs to get a second wind. It never happened. I rode for another 10 miles to the top of the long downhill and the clouds ahead were dark and my energy was dwindling. I decided to turn around and save myself for the next day. I ended up riding another 15 miles or so and called it a day.
Sunday was beautiful. I swam another 1.3 miles or so, then headed out for a long run. I was running well and ran the first 7.5 miles in an hour, then I became so dehydrated. It was hot and humid. I ended up salvaging the run with 1:30 run and 10.5 miles. The last few miles were up the cherries and the bears....tough to ride and run. After soaking my legs in the lake for a bit, I re-fueled and got ready for a ride. Mark and I were directed on a nice 2 hour ride on a nice route away from the IM course. My legs were tired but decent until the last 30 minutes and then I nothing left. I was spent. I guess I maxed out my legs for the weekend. They just didn't give me what I thought they would give me but mission accomplished.
Totals: Swim approx. 5 miles, bike approx. 130 miles, run 13 miles
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