OK, that was infinitely more enjoyable than the one I did the other day. I broke it up better, and also I think I must be significantly less fatigued - book event last night went well, and I slept relatively late this morning, really needed the rest.
1hr steady jog @ 5.6mph (1.5% incline)
.5hr jog with random inclines @ 5.4mph
.5hr walk with random steeper inclines @ 3.4mph
2hr total, c. 8mi jog and a bit less than 2mi walk
Friday, August 16, 2013
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Short sea swim
I haven't done very well this week, training-wise. Partly it's fatigue and partly it's something I'm not proud of, a tendency to make excuses about how it's harder to train in Cayman than in New York! Other people, however, seem to do perfectly well here, and the comparison is clearly not productive!
(Torrential rain yesterday all day caused cancellation of Stroke and Stride race, alas; hopefully I can do the one next week. Masters swim is on August hiatus, and spin classes at Revolutions are also on a limited schedule.)
Hopefully I can make it a good training weekend, in any case. For now, I got over the hump of getting myself into the sea to swim - just half an hour, fairly pleasant. Need to strategize better for next week, though, and really write in more workouts as commitments. The thing that's amazing here is yoga - close walking distance, great classes and teachers - but that is not what I should be doing a lot of right now!
.5hr sea swim
(Torrential rain yesterday all day caused cancellation of Stroke and Stride race, alas; hopefully I can do the one next week. Masters swim is on August hiatus, and spin classes at Revolutions are also on a limited schedule.)
Hopefully I can make it a good training weekend, in any case. For now, I got over the hump of getting myself into the sea to swim - just half an hour, fairly pleasant. Need to strategize better for next week, though, and really write in more workouts as commitments. The thing that's amazing here is yoga - close walking distance, great classes and teachers - but that is not what I should be doing a lot of right now!
.5hr sea swim
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Treadmill slog!
I must confess that I was having very low morale and negative thoughts at various points during this one. Last night it was clear to me that I was so unbelievably and shatteringly tired that rather than trying to run, I would be better off taking a sleeping pill and going to bed at 8:30 when B. did! Which was what I did. (I had to be up at 5:30 - hahaha, this is funny - to be on television to promote my book event Thursday!)
Anyway I came home post-interview (it was very enjoyable) and went back to bed for a long nap. Was on the verge of talking myself out of it, but fortunately B. runs for an hour on Tuesdays in the middle of the day at World Gym, so I walked over with him and tried not to think about how horrible it was going to be!
Bought a three-visit pass that can be used over the next couple weeks (will get another if I need it, wouldn't mind doing some shorter speed workouts especially as I am going so slowly on long ones, but 2 x the 3-visit pass was still cheaper than a 2-week pass, and really I won't be there every day, so that was the way to go).
On the treadmill I always find myself playing a lot of mental games with fractions. If you're shooting for two hours, there are a lot of great moments in the first half-hour: you go from 5min to 10min (1/24 done to 1/12 done) so quickly, and 10 to 15 (1/12 to 1/8!); another particularly satisfying transition is from 20min to 30min (1/6 to 1/4). Then it's a bit of a slog in the middle - I think the middle 40 minutes is the hardest on this sort of indoor workout - then again there is great satisfaction going from 1:20 (2/3) to 1:30 (3/4, a significant chunk closer to completion).
I was throwing out huge gouts of sweat all over the treadmill - it is warm - and having a hard time staying focused.
The total time was non-negotiable (I have been skimping on run training, rightly, due to the prioritizing of cycling, but I do need to get some time on feet), but I knew intensity would be an issue. I did the first 90 minutes in zone 1, I am sorry to say (5.3mph, 1.5% incline), and the only way I could talk myself into the full two hours was by switching to a walking speed (3.4mph) on a high incline (6%).
Meant to run the last ten minutes, but so much sweat was draining out of my drenched socks/shoes that the treadmill belt had become quite slippery, and I dialed it back to the previous walk-on-incline mode.
Anyway, good running chemicals always kick in after you're done, I don't feel too bad about it - but if I can do at least one of the 3 further 2-hour run-walk workouts I would like to complete over the next two weeks OUTDOORS, it would be beneficial, I think!
2hr misc. jog/walk on incline (zone 1)
Anyway I came home post-interview (it was very enjoyable) and went back to bed for a long nap. Was on the verge of talking myself out of it, but fortunately B. runs for an hour on Tuesdays in the middle of the day at World Gym, so I walked over with him and tried not to think about how horrible it was going to be!
Bought a three-visit pass that can be used over the next couple weeks (will get another if I need it, wouldn't mind doing some shorter speed workouts especially as I am going so slowly on long ones, but 2 x the 3-visit pass was still cheaper than a 2-week pass, and really I won't be there every day, so that was the way to go).
On the treadmill I always find myself playing a lot of mental games with fractions. If you're shooting for two hours, there are a lot of great moments in the first half-hour: you go from 5min to 10min (1/24 done to 1/12 done) so quickly, and 10 to 15 (1/12 to 1/8!); another particularly satisfying transition is from 20min to 30min (1/6 to 1/4). Then it's a bit of a slog in the middle - I think the middle 40 minutes is the hardest on this sort of indoor workout - then again there is great satisfaction going from 1:20 (2/3) to 1:30 (3/4, a significant chunk closer to completion).
I was throwing out huge gouts of sweat all over the treadmill - it is warm - and having a hard time staying focused.
The total time was non-negotiable (I have been skimping on run training, rightly, due to the prioritizing of cycling, but I do need to get some time on feet), but I knew intensity would be an issue. I did the first 90 minutes in zone 1, I am sorry to say (5.3mph, 1.5% incline), and the only way I could talk myself into the full two hours was by switching to a walking speed (3.4mph) on a high incline (6%).
Meant to run the last ten minutes, but so much sweat was draining out of my drenched socks/shoes that the treadmill belt had become quite slippery, and I dialed it back to the previous walk-on-incline mode.
Anyway, good running chemicals always kick in after you're done, I don't feel too bad about it - but if I can do at least one of the 3 further 2-hour run-walk workouts I would like to complete over the next two weeks OUTDOORS, it would be beneficial, I think!
2hr misc. jog/walk on incline (zone 1)
Monday, August 12, 2013
Hot yoga
That was good. Heater was malfunctioning and according to teachers it was "freezing," so class was delayed/truncated by fifteen minutes to allow for some further warming up: really to me it is already subjectively extremely warm.
Tonight I'm going to have a first stab at doing my long run in the mid-evening after B. is asleep - it is clearly not working to try and do it first thing in the morning, early evening is hanging-out time and I really prefer not to run on a treadmill unless absolutely unavoidable. But if I can't get out and do it, treadmill is the inevitable fall-back, so wish me luck....
1hr hot yoga
Tonight I'm going to have a first stab at doing my long run in the mid-evening after B. is asleep - it is clearly not working to try and do it first thing in the morning, early evening is hanging-out time and I really prefer not to run on a treadmill unless absolutely unavoidable. But if I can't get out and do it, treadmill is the inevitable fall-back, so wish me luck....
1hr hot yoga
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Long ride #10
That was extremely hard! I came in around fifteen minutes short - I was shooting for 5.5hr, but I just didn't have it in me to go any longer. (Not muscular fatigue primarily, just very sore hands - from death-grip - and sore toes on right foot. And mental fatigue from the effects of cycling for a long time.)
Note to self: ride some stints in aero-bars in first couple hours, because if you leave it till your hands are killing you and you've been on the bike for more like 4hr, you won't be able to persuade yourself it's a good idea, sore hands notwithstanding!
I will need to strategize in order to get the full six hours done next Sunday: HR cap for first half of ride, more calories will both help, but I think these long ones really are just hard to get done if you are not one of life's natural cyclists. It was overcast for the first few hours, which was helpful, but grew increasingly warm as the morning progressed. It was incredibly windy - the first stretch of the East End loop, you're riding pretty much straight into the wind, it's slightly overwhelming (but a good workout). On the other hand, at other points, you're flying.
Other note to self: Jerome's voice is now added to Joanna's. Keep heels down! Jerome said he thought it was more acute as a problem on the right-hand side - you lose power if you're not using your calves - but I think this also may be the root of why the right toes get sore and the left ones don't. The two big mental cues for next week: heels down; ride in the big ring. (Which I did today, and it's definitely good.)
Casualties: one soldier crab. Saw an amazing flock of Cayman parrots, then then a bit later on one almost flew straight into me! Also saw a woodpecker on a pole behind the Frank Sound gas station, but could not tell you what species it was.
The Garmin didn't come on properly till about ten minutes into my ride, so add 10min and appropriate miles to total.
5:06 (+ unlogged :10), 86.70mi (17mph, that's not at all bad), avg HR 140, max HR 153
Total hours for this week (recovery week): 8:16. Two more big weeks, and then I will be tapering....
Note to self: ride some stints in aero-bars in first couple hours, because if you leave it till your hands are killing you and you've been on the bike for more like 4hr, you won't be able to persuade yourself it's a good idea, sore hands notwithstanding!
I will need to strategize in order to get the full six hours done next Sunday: HR cap for first half of ride, more calories will both help, but I think these long ones really are just hard to get done if you are not one of life's natural cyclists. It was overcast for the first few hours, which was helpful, but grew increasingly warm as the morning progressed. It was incredibly windy - the first stretch of the East End loop, you're riding pretty much straight into the wind, it's slightly overwhelming (but a good workout). On the other hand, at other points, you're flying.
Other note to self: Jerome's voice is now added to Joanna's. Keep heels down! Jerome said he thought it was more acute as a problem on the right-hand side - you lose power if you're not using your calves - but I think this also may be the root of why the right toes get sore and the left ones don't. The two big mental cues for next week: heels down; ride in the big ring. (Which I did today, and it's definitely good.)
Casualties: one soldier crab. Saw an amazing flock of Cayman parrots, then then a bit later on one almost flew straight into me! Also saw a woodpecker on a pole behind the Frank Sound gas station, but could not tell you what species it was.
The Garmin didn't come on properly till about ten minutes into my ride, so add 10min and appropriate miles to total.
5:06 (+ unlogged :10), 86.70mi (17mph, that's not at all bad), avg HR 140, max HR 153
Total hours for this week (recovery week): 8:16. Two more big weeks, and then I will be tapering....
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Friday, August 9, 2013
Hot yoga!
It is partly a function of the way that I've scheduled training blocks and recovery weeks this summer - I'm traveling for significantly more races than I usually do - but I was basically just flattened with fatigue this week! Getting ready to leave town for a spell in Cayman is always minorly complex (nothing too challenging in itself, but it's the combination of setting up catsitting, refilling prescriptions, drycleaning an item of clothing for travel, getting library stuff I need for work, etc. etc.), and it was pretty clear to me that there was little point doing any exercise, my body was not going to absorb it. Didn't really sleep Wednesday night due to early departure Thursday, and took a sleeping pill last night to make sure I got a long night of sleep. That may have impacted yoga - I felt acutely queasy during a couple stretches of the standing series - but it was a very good class, I am extremely happy to be back at it! I'll do double spin tomorrow morning and pick back up again with a long ride on Sunday.
1.25hr yoga
1.25hr yoga
Monday, August 5, 2013
Kingdom Triathlon - race report!
My main takeaway from this race is that I have to be much more careful about managing fatigue levels during the days coming in to a big event. In fact it all turned out OK, I had a very nice day particularly on the run course (though I ran it counter-clockwise, incorrectly, and have an asterisk next to my time!). But I thought I was pushing my luck!
(Running the wrong way was not due to fatigue, I really just have a very hard time finding my way in the world - can't recognize places/intersections or make good judgments about them.)
The tiring week kind of crept up on me unexpectedly, though I should have seen it coming. I was out late on Tuesday night at a fantastic party at the Algonquin Hotel. Then I was out later than anticipated on Wednesday - G. and I wanted to wait for my brother before going out to eat post-movie, and that was the right choice, but my brother wasn't home from work till 10:30, so it was after midnight by the time I got home (with also some emotionally draining phone conversation mid-evening with friend in Ottawa about B.'s parents' situation).
I had a busy work day Thursday and then we only left here around 5:45pm, got to Liz's aunt's house after midnight again (details of lovely farm life at my other blog). I took a sleeping pill, because otherwise I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep for hours and I couldn't face that kind of stint of wakefulness in a strange environment, but it doesn't give restful sleep, so I was exhausted all day Friday - we had a long further drive from Randolph up to the Kingdom, were briefly at B&B in late afternoon but then went out to pre-race dinner which involved demanding conversation with strangers - got home around 9.
I was so tired and frazzled this point that I really just couldn't sleep. Tossed and turned horribly, making myself crazy; finally got off for some light restless sleep at 3:30am (not kidding), woke up at 5 about half an hour before alarm was due to go off, realized that I was just going to have to get by on 1.5hr sleep and NOT a week of good rest before that. Am going to try in future to get to race site much earlier the day beforehand so that it's not so overwhelming - insomnia is a lifelong problem for me, and I'm a homebody who never sleeps well when I'm on the road.
It was pouring rain and quite chilly, and I think Liz and I were both rather hoping the race would be canceled - forecast predicted lightning every hour all the way through till noon! But it started to clear up after we'd dropped our run bags at the second transition area (it's a point-to-point race, swim-bike and bike-run transitions in two different locations) and hied our way to the swim start, and in fact it was a very good day for racing - I had quite a bit of rain on the last third of the bike, but it's good for me to ride in the rain sometimes, and it was blessedly cool on the run - this is beneficial for the Davidsonian physiognomy, which overheats easily.
The Kingdom Triathlon is an unusual race. I did the Aquaman option, which "evens up" the standard half-iron distances so that a strong all-round athlete would be spending equal time on each leg. (Conventional half-iron-distance triathlon favors cyclists especially but also runners, and downgrades the swim to almost just a warm-up!) I do not know why I thought it would be easy, it was quite challenging and in particular the bike course was much hillier than I had imagined or understood.
The swim: two loops, 1.75mi each (you get out on the shore and touch the table between loops, with a chance to eat a gel and in my case use asthma inhaler also). Great kayak support on the water. (Only fifteen or so of us racing the Aquaman, it's a tiny race.) More chop and current than I had imagined, particularly on longest leg of second loop. Very glad to come out after almost 2.5hr swimming - this picture shows how happy I am (and also strong wetsuit-induced resemblance to sausage in casing!).
For the first few miles of the bike, my legs were incredibly tired - I've never felt that so much before, and I think it may have been due to relatively cool temperatures. (The water was perfect, by the way - about 70, very comfortable with wetsuit and I rather wished I hadn't been wearing one, it is more relaxing swimming without!) Once I'd warmed up, it was better, but this was where mental fatigue really kicked in. I had only reassembled my bicycle about 20 min. before race start, we had had so much travel and tiring things to do, I did a quick test ride but this is my new bike, all arrangements are new, and my hydration was not actually accessible, nor could I see the face of my Garmin for HR/distance/time - I was also, independently, having a huge amount of anxiety about getting lost on the bike course.
(In a race this small, it's all just modest signage, no volunteers on the course whatsoever, either for bike or run.)
Fortunately there was a guy I'd been swimming with throughout who was also a similar speed cyclist to me, so I had reassurance for quite a while that I wasn't lost, and we exchanged periodic banter and encouragement. I was the stronger climber, but he lost me in the last part of the course, which has a net downhill - by this time it was raining pretty heavily, and I was just completely mentally tapped out. Very much ready for bike to be over - I haven't had this feeling in my three previous races this season, though it characterizes all previous years of triathlon experience, and it was dispiriting to be having it again (partly underfueled, I think, but more just the effect of fatigue).
I was riding my new tri bike as if it were a road bike, mostly! It really is a lovely bike and I am going to keep working on riding it properly. It probably exacerbated fatigue slightly that it wasn't the bike I know really well, but I was super-glad to get such a good chance to get more of a feel for how the gearing works on hills (I just have a big & small plate on this bike, as opposed to a triple on the road bike). I followed Joanna's advice and rode a lot on the big ring, it felt great. By the end I was increasingly sure I had gotten lost, as it all seemed to be taking longer than I had imagined (cautious descending on rainy downhills); hugely relieved to come back to vaguely familiar terrain and realize I had not after all gotten lost.
This action sequence shows how very happy I am to be finishing the bike safely - the face I am making in the last picture is to tell the race support folks how horrible the bike leg was, and how excited I am to be setting off on the run!
Runwise, I made the bad intersection call pretty early on, I wish I'd had the paper map with me but it was so rainy it probably would have disintegrated (I could have had it in a plastic bag). My geographical incapacity means that I can use an actual map but I can't remember what a map said in relation to things I am seeing in the world - so I was already a mile into the wrong-way loop before it became clear (thanks to a helpful racer in opposite direction, but also to race director who was checking out the course in his car). He gave me his blessing just to keep on this way, he thought the course would be well-enough marked (he said later that he was second-guessing himself in hours following, but it worked out OK). The nice part of this was that it meant I saw all the other runners, including Liz at about her mile 8 and my mile 5. I was in a good mood the whole way, actually; 2 volunteers in truck came and found me around my mile 8 and gave me a copy of aforementioned map, with words of advice about which intersections were tricky, and it was all good. (Unmanned aid stations worked well - there is a table with water, Gatorade mix, gels, fig newtons, etc. and you take what you need.)
All in all, a really beautiful day: an unusual race, a stunning location (swim is particularly excellent), and blessedly cool compared to most triathlons I do. I was the last finisher but truly it is a race one should be pleased just to complete! Thanks to Liz for organizing. Resolution for next races: build in more slack so that I am not going into the thing with such overwhelming fatigue! (I really was at the end of my tether by Friday night around midnight - it is a silly situation to get oneself into voluntarily.)
7:45 total time on course; cumulative splits 2:29:17 for swim, 4:48:53 for bike (2:19:35 split), 7:45:53 for run (2:57:01 split). Week 9 total hours: 14:20. (Haven't "built" properly, couldn't fit in any exercise Wed.-Fri. and was traveling again Sun. This week is recovery week, I'm traveling to Cayman on Thursday very early and probably won't sleep much if at all Wednesday night - so I'm not worrying about what exactly I do in next few days, goal is just not to get sick/overwhelmed & to pick up again with double spin Saturday morning and a long ride outdoors Sunday.)
(All pictures from this page. Not sure that this really does justice to the beauty of the surroundings - to some extent, all race photos look the same, lots of wetsuits and swim caps in the beginning, bicycles in the middle and cheery trudging at the end! But amazing backdrop of hills and farms, really beautiful rolling green agricultural country, and a stunning lake with mountain backdrop.)
(Running the wrong way was not due to fatigue, I really just have a very hard time finding my way in the world - can't recognize places/intersections or make good judgments about them.)
The tiring week kind of crept up on me unexpectedly, though I should have seen it coming. I was out late on Tuesday night at a fantastic party at the Algonquin Hotel. Then I was out later than anticipated on Wednesday - G. and I wanted to wait for my brother before going out to eat post-movie, and that was the right choice, but my brother wasn't home from work till 10:30, so it was after midnight by the time I got home (with also some emotionally draining phone conversation mid-evening with friend in Ottawa about B.'s parents' situation).
I had a busy work day Thursday and then we only left here around 5:45pm, got to Liz's aunt's house after midnight again (details of lovely farm life at my other blog). I took a sleeping pill, because otherwise I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep for hours and I couldn't face that kind of stint of wakefulness in a strange environment, but it doesn't give restful sleep, so I was exhausted all day Friday - we had a long further drive from Randolph up to the Kingdom, were briefly at B&B in late afternoon but then went out to pre-race dinner which involved demanding conversation with strangers - got home around 9.
I was so tired and frazzled this point that I really just couldn't sleep. Tossed and turned horribly, making myself crazy; finally got off for some light restless sleep at 3:30am (not kidding), woke up at 5 about half an hour before alarm was due to go off, realized that I was just going to have to get by on 1.5hr sleep and NOT a week of good rest before that. Am going to try in future to get to race site much earlier the day beforehand so that it's not so overwhelming - insomnia is a lifelong problem for me, and I'm a homebody who never sleeps well when I'm on the road.
It was pouring rain and quite chilly, and I think Liz and I were both rather hoping the race would be canceled - forecast predicted lightning every hour all the way through till noon! But it started to clear up after we'd dropped our run bags at the second transition area (it's a point-to-point race, swim-bike and bike-run transitions in two different locations) and hied our way to the swim start, and in fact it was a very good day for racing - I had quite a bit of rain on the last third of the bike, but it's good for me to ride in the rain sometimes, and it was blessedly cool on the run - this is beneficial for the Davidsonian physiognomy, which overheats easily.
The Kingdom Triathlon is an unusual race. I did the Aquaman option, which "evens up" the standard half-iron distances so that a strong all-round athlete would be spending equal time on each leg. (Conventional half-iron-distance triathlon favors cyclists especially but also runners, and downgrades the swim to almost just a warm-up!) I do not know why I thought it would be easy, it was quite challenging and in particular the bike course was much hillier than I had imagined or understood.
The swim: two loops, 1.75mi each (you get out on the shore and touch the table between loops, with a chance to eat a gel and in my case use asthma inhaler also). Great kayak support on the water. (Only fifteen or so of us racing the Aquaman, it's a tiny race.) More chop and current than I had imagined, particularly on longest leg of second loop. Very glad to come out after almost 2.5hr swimming - this picture shows how happy I am (and also strong wetsuit-induced resemblance to sausage in casing!).
(In a race this small, it's all just modest signage, no volunteers on the course whatsoever, either for bike or run.)
Fortunately there was a guy I'd been swimming with throughout who was also a similar speed cyclist to me, so I had reassurance for quite a while that I wasn't lost, and we exchanged periodic banter and encouragement. I was the stronger climber, but he lost me in the last part of the course, which has a net downhill - by this time it was raining pretty heavily, and I was just completely mentally tapped out. Very much ready for bike to be over - I haven't had this feeling in my three previous races this season, though it characterizes all previous years of triathlon experience, and it was dispiriting to be having it again (partly underfueled, I think, but more just the effect of fatigue).
I was riding my new tri bike as if it were a road bike, mostly! It really is a lovely bike and I am going to keep working on riding it properly. It probably exacerbated fatigue slightly that it wasn't the bike I know really well, but I was super-glad to get such a good chance to get more of a feel for how the gearing works on hills (I just have a big & small plate on this bike, as opposed to a triple on the road bike). I followed Joanna's advice and rode a lot on the big ring, it felt great. By the end I was increasingly sure I had gotten lost, as it all seemed to be taking longer than I had imagined (cautious descending on rainy downhills); hugely relieved to come back to vaguely familiar terrain and realize I had not after all gotten lost.
This action sequence shows how very happy I am to be finishing the bike safely - the face I am making in the last picture is to tell the race support folks how horrible the bike leg was, and how excited I am to be setting off on the run!
All in all, a really beautiful day: an unusual race, a stunning location (swim is particularly excellent), and blessedly cool compared to most triathlons I do. I was the last finisher but truly it is a race one should be pleased just to complete! Thanks to Liz for organizing. Resolution for next races: build in more slack so that I am not going into the thing with such overwhelming fatigue! (I really was at the end of my tether by Friday night around midnight - it is a silly situation to get oneself into voluntarily.)
7:45 total time on course; cumulative splits 2:29:17 for swim, 4:48:53 for bike (2:19:35 split), 7:45:53 for run (2:57:01 split). Week 9 total hours: 14:20. (Haven't "built" properly, couldn't fit in any exercise Wed.-Fri. and was traveling again Sun. This week is recovery week, I'm traveling to Cayman on Thursday very early and probably won't sleep much if at all Wednesday night - so I'm not worrying about what exactly I do in next few days, goal is just not to get sick/overwhelmed & to pick up again with double spin Saturday morning and a long ride outdoors Sunday.)
(All pictures from this page. Not sure that this really does justice to the beauty of the surroundings - to some extent, all race photos look the same, lots of wetsuits and swim caps in the beginning, bicycles in the middle and cheery trudging at the end! But amazing backdrop of hills and farms, really beautiful rolling green agricultural country, and a stunning lake with mountain backdrop.)
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Run!
BEAUTIFUL running weather finally (this is about the only day this summer that I could say such a thing!). Would have been even better if I'd gotten out earlier, but though I was up earlier, I went back to bed for meditation and a nap. Upper 70s, but low humidity & gorgeous fresh breezy feeling - I had almost forgotten that it could be like that here....
Snail's pace I'm afraid - lungs felt rather raw in first 10 minutes, and though it was better once I'd warmed up, I figured I'd best take it easy. Legs a bit tired from yesterday, not too bad though - back very tight and a bit sore, I need to do daily stretching! (I was too tired to do it last night, that was a mistake.) Strange how running is so enjoyable even with these minor aches (oh, and terrible chafing under front band of sports bra!) - low humidity makes such a beneficial difference.
I realize I have slightly misconceived this week. I had it as slightly amorphous still-build-but-also-race-and-travel week, but I think that given travel time (it's maybe 7-8hr drive each way) and the fact that I will be racing for c. 7hr on Saturday (that's just ballpark, I don't have a keen idea of times/paces), I need to take it easier for the next couple days. I won't try and swim this afternoon as originally planned; tomorrow I'll just perhaps have a short run and/or swim, then swim/spin first thing Thursday morning.
(This is the race we're doing. It is a tiny race, like maybe only thirty people! I did a double-take of horror when I first looked at last year's results - middle column numbers prompted me to think "Wait, I thought this was a short not-too-hilly bike!" - then I realized that times were cumulative rather than broken down, phew. In fact I think the bike course this year is shortened from 35 to 30 due to construction somewhere - so that is a truly Davidsonian race, 3.5mi swim, 30mi bike, 13.1mi run! I won't be fast, but it should be a great training day, and a very good chance to take my new bike out for a spin!)
1:30, 8.03 (Central Park loop), c. 11:14 pace
Snail's pace I'm afraid - lungs felt rather raw in first 10 minutes, and though it was better once I'd warmed up, I figured I'd best take it easy. Legs a bit tired from yesterday, not too bad though - back very tight and a bit sore, I need to do daily stretching! (I was too tired to do it last night, that was a mistake.) Strange how running is so enjoyable even with these minor aches (oh, and terrible chafing under front band of sports bra!) - low humidity makes such a beneficial difference.
I realize I have slightly misconceived this week. I had it as slightly amorphous still-build-but-also-race-and-travel week, but I think that given travel time (it's maybe 7-8hr drive each way) and the fact that I will be racing for c. 7hr on Saturday (that's just ballpark, I don't have a keen idea of times/paces), I need to take it easier for the next couple days. I won't try and swim this afternoon as originally planned; tomorrow I'll just perhaps have a short run and/or swim, then swim/spin first thing Thursday morning.
(This is the race we're doing. It is a tiny race, like maybe only thirty people! I did a double-take of horror when I first looked at last year's results - middle column numbers prompted me to think "Wait, I thought this was a short not-too-hilly bike!" - then I realized that times were cumulative rather than broken down, phew. In fact I think the bike course this year is shortened from 35 to 30 due to construction somewhere - so that is a truly Davidsonian race, 3.5mi swim, 30mi bike, 13.1mi run! I won't be fast, but it should be a great training day, and a very good chance to take my new bike out for a spin!)
1:30, 8.03 (Central Park loop), c. 11:14 pace
Monday, July 29, 2013
Long ride #9
First half: sublime. Middle interlude: anxiety-producing! Second half: psychologically taxing due to lingering effects of anxiety.
My legs remained very strong, really I feel that physically I am ready to go LONG, but once I have a fit of anxiety, I become increasingly unable to do the thing that is always rather hard for me - namely, to get back on my bike and ride through the intersection after I have stopped at a light! Once that ability is really eroded by mental fatigue, I feel an increasingly strong urge to cut the ride short, for obvious reasons.
(All my long rides in this training block have been a bit short, I pretty much just had to resign myself to it - #7 was 4:15 rather than 4:30 due to heat, #8 was 4:53 rather than 5hr and today's was 5:07 rather than 5:30 - I had already done an out-and-back beforehand, I did do another good out-and-back but the feeling of going away from the "home" of where I get the bus got the better of me, plus aforementioned intersections issue; I turned around a little short of where I had gotten to on the first one!)
The strange thing is that Ironman training as I have been doing it is relatively short in duration - so that is my last really long ride on 9W for this season of training. I have one more big block of training, but it will be done in Cayman: so I am shooting for 5.5hr on 8/11, 6hr on 8/17 and 6.5hr on 8/25. Will do one more 3hr ride on 9W the week I'm back at the end of August, but it's taper by then, so no more huge long ones. This is good as the terrain is mentally taxing to me - I had a dreadful time today coming back up the "ramp of evil" at Haverstraw, the ramp itself wasn't bad and I made it through the intersection at the top without having to stop, which is always helpful, but the NEXT intersection pretty much stymied me - the light turned red, I stopped, it's a horrible configuration for me (anxiety already running very high due to this ramp and steep elevation change, brief ride on shoulder of 9W in very trafficky and truck-heavy stretch and then the intersection leaves you on a steep uphill to cross, with an even steeper hill rising up on your right). I must confess that if a car had pulled up beside me and said "I will take you home right now!" I would not have hesitated! However really if I did not do my ride today, I would have to do it AGAIN tomorrow, so that was not really an option. I walked my bike across the intersection, as I simply could not persuade myself to get on it as it was, took a few puffs of asthma inhaler and collected myself and got back on to ride up the hill.
Anyway, it was really a good ride, and I have saved the best part for last. I was thinking very much of two of Joanna's pieces of advice - "9 and 3" on the rare occasions of coasting without pedaling, "heel down." And I am sure both were beneficial. But my single huge mission for the ride was to ride as much as seemed sensible or feasible in the big ring, and it was amazing! My average speed is strikingly faster, in fact this sort of explains why I have been so slow on my long rides - I really thought I should be riding a bit faster, but it is easy to put it down to (a) too many pounds and (b) poor descending skills. This is transformative - I really think I may be able to ride 15mph at IMWI, actually....
5:03:48 (rolling time), 73.4mi, 14.3mph (compared to 13.0mph last week in very similar weather conditions)
My legs remained very strong, really I feel that physically I am ready to go LONG, but once I have a fit of anxiety, I become increasingly unable to do the thing that is always rather hard for me - namely, to get back on my bike and ride through the intersection after I have stopped at a light! Once that ability is really eroded by mental fatigue, I feel an increasingly strong urge to cut the ride short, for obvious reasons.
(All my long rides in this training block have been a bit short, I pretty much just had to resign myself to it - #7 was 4:15 rather than 4:30 due to heat, #8 was 4:53 rather than 5hr and today's was 5:07 rather than 5:30 - I had already done an out-and-back beforehand, I did do another good out-and-back but the feeling of going away from the "home" of where I get the bus got the better of me, plus aforementioned intersections issue; I turned around a little short of where I had gotten to on the first one!)
The strange thing is that Ironman training as I have been doing it is relatively short in duration - so that is my last really long ride on 9W for this season of training. I have one more big block of training, but it will be done in Cayman: so I am shooting for 5.5hr on 8/11, 6hr on 8/17 and 6.5hr on 8/25. Will do one more 3hr ride on 9W the week I'm back at the end of August, but it's taper by then, so no more huge long ones. This is good as the terrain is mentally taxing to me - I had a dreadful time today coming back up the "ramp of evil" at Haverstraw, the ramp itself wasn't bad and I made it through the intersection at the top without having to stop, which is always helpful, but the NEXT intersection pretty much stymied me - the light turned red, I stopped, it's a horrible configuration for me (anxiety already running very high due to this ramp and steep elevation change, brief ride on shoulder of 9W in very trafficky and truck-heavy stretch and then the intersection leaves you on a steep uphill to cross, with an even steeper hill rising up on your right). I must confess that if a car had pulled up beside me and said "I will take you home right now!" I would not have hesitated! However really if I did not do my ride today, I would have to do it AGAIN tomorrow, so that was not really an option. I walked my bike across the intersection, as I simply could not persuade myself to get on it as it was, took a few puffs of asthma inhaler and collected myself and got back on to ride up the hill.
Anyway, it was really a good ride, and I have saved the best part for last. I was thinking very much of two of Joanna's pieces of advice - "9 and 3" on the rare occasions of coasting without pedaling, "heel down." And I am sure both were beneficial. But my single huge mission for the ride was to ride as much as seemed sensible or feasible in the big ring, and it was amazing! My average speed is strikingly faster, in fact this sort of explains why I have been so slow on my long rides - I really thought I should be riding a bit faster, but it is easy to put it down to (a) too many pounds and (b) poor descending skills. This is transformative - I really think I may be able to ride 15mph at IMWI, actually....
5:03:48 (rolling time), 73.4mi, 14.3mph (compared to 13.0mph last week in very similar weather conditions)
Sunday, July 28, 2013
And to round out the week
an illuminating and useful coaching session on the new tri bike, in Prospect Park, with cycling coach par excellence Joanna Paterson. Too much even for me to try and write about here, I think. My general cycling anxieties are the same as my tri bike cycling anxieties, only exacerbated by newness to the machine. In a way I am surprised by how comfortable I am, in brief moments of ideal setting - switching from aero to upright and vice versa is a lot less stressful than I imagined it would be, for instance, and this bike really feels great in the aero position. But I think it is likely that I just don't have enough time to ride it between now and September to make myself as mentally comfortable as I now am on my other bike - I'm definitely pretty strongly leaning towards taking my road bike to Wisconsin.
(I'll be in Cayman for much of August, and I really wouldn't consider traveling with a bike, it is way too much trouble! Which means that all my riding there will be indoors or on the road bike I have there. Away Aug. 8-27, and have to drop off bike with TriBike Trnasport on Aug. 30, so I really only have a handful more days to ride it in this next stretch of weeks.)
There are so many things to think about on a long ride like that, and I don't have enough time to try out different solutions for hydration/calories/inhaler/seat comfort etc. on this bike, whereas I totally have it down for the other - let's say that worry beforehand and anxiety during are X on my road bike, even the most optimistic assessment is that they are 1.1X or 1.2X on the tri bike, and it might be more than that - I have never changed a tube on this bike, I don't know how uncomfortable the saddle will be if I ride half aero and half upright for eight hours, etc. etc.
Anyway, really interesting, and I think I will have one more session with Joanna, on my road bike if that's the one I go with, at the end of the month. And I am happy to say that I WILL ride my new bike for the triathlon next weekend, as it's only a 34mi. bike (unorthodox "even-up" triathlon, with 3.4mi swim, 34mi bike and 13.1mi run, i.e. the premise is that a fast person would spend about 1.5hr on each leg!), and I really am enjoying riding it - this will have few racers and quiet country roads, it won't be as chaotic as things are at start/finish/aid stations of a huge triathlon. Long trip up there - we'll leave Thursday night and get back very late Sunday. Thus attempt to pack a lot of training into the next few days...
Notes to self - things to remember from this session
HEELS DOWN
when coasting, feet in 3 & 9 position, knees in
don't be afraid to ride in the big ring, the strength is there, it gives power with an added bonus of stability!
1hr coaching (c. 10mi.)
(I'll be in Cayman for much of August, and I really wouldn't consider traveling with a bike, it is way too much trouble! Which means that all my riding there will be indoors or on the road bike I have there. Away Aug. 8-27, and have to drop off bike with TriBike Trnasport on Aug. 30, so I really only have a handful more days to ride it in this next stretch of weeks.)
There are so many things to think about on a long ride like that, and I don't have enough time to try out different solutions for hydration/calories/inhaler/seat comfort etc. on this bike, whereas I totally have it down for the other - let's say that worry beforehand and anxiety during are X on my road bike, even the most optimistic assessment is that they are 1.1X or 1.2X on the tri bike, and it might be more than that - I have never changed a tube on this bike, I don't know how uncomfortable the saddle will be if I ride half aero and half upright for eight hours, etc. etc.
Anyway, really interesting, and I think I will have one more session with Joanna, on my road bike if that's the one I go with, at the end of the month. And I am happy to say that I WILL ride my new bike for the triathlon next weekend, as it's only a 34mi. bike (unorthodox "even-up" triathlon, with 3.4mi swim, 34mi bike and 13.1mi run, i.e. the premise is that a fast person would spend about 1.5hr on each leg!), and I really am enjoying riding it - this will have few racers and quiet country roads, it won't be as chaotic as things are at start/finish/aid stations of a huge triathlon. Long trip up there - we'll leave Thursday night and get back very late Sunday. Thus attempt to pack a lot of training into the next few days...
Notes to self - things to remember from this session
HEELS DOWN
when coasting, feet in 3 & 9 position, knees in
don't be afraid to ride in the big ring, the strength is there, it gives power with an added bonus of stability!
1hr coaching (c. 10mi.)
Run/swim!
Hahaha, I am RIDICULOUS - it is the running theme of this summer's blog posts that I have no willpower in the morning, either about getting up in the first place or about getting out of the house for a run once I am up. This morning was no exception! I meant to run 2hr early, then shower/refuel/digest before noon swim practice, but it was not meant to be. At some point I realized that really I could run with swim stuff in trail backpack and basically just run straight to City College after my Central Park loop, so that was what I did (if I had decided further in advance, I could even have eaten breakfast first!). Running at a snail's pace, but feeling fairly strong (it is very humid, not hot but moist); swimming ditto. Again moved from back of lane 5 to front of lane 6 when I saw the intervals: I think I am as fast as the slowest swimmer in lane 5, but really for endurance training it's better for me to lead on the intervals that give me a bit of rest.
Run: 9mi, 1:38
Swim:
Warmup: 100 kick, 200 reverse IM drill, 100 drill free-breast (I was a little late getting in the pool - had to get emergency Gatorade post-run and pre-swim!)
8 x 75 free, first four on 1:45, next four on 1:40
2 x 250 free on 5:15
4 x 25 stroke on 1:00
50 easy
3 x 200 free on 4:10
4 x 50 stroke on 1:30
50 easy
4 x 100 free on 2:00
50 easy double-arm back
2950 yards total
Slightly compressed schedule today, I have ONE more workout - a tri-bike-specific coaching session with Joanna in Prospect Park! Need to get out of here in 10 mins or so to make sure I am not late, the subway often takes FOREVER on a weekend day....
Run: 9mi, 1:38
Swim:
Warmup: 100 kick, 200 reverse IM drill, 100 drill free-breast (I was a little late getting in the pool - had to get emergency Gatorade post-run and pre-swim!)
8 x 75 free, first four on 1:45, next four on 1:40
2 x 250 free on 5:15
4 x 25 stroke on 1:00
50 easy
3 x 200 free on 4:10
4 x 50 stroke on 1:30
50 easy
4 x 100 free on 2:00
50 easy double-arm back
2950 yards total
Slightly compressed schedule today, I have ONE more workout - a tri-bike-specific coaching session with Joanna in Prospect Park! Need to get out of here in 10 mins or so to make sure I am not late, the subway often takes FOREVER on a weekend day....
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Spin!
Super spin class. Rode my bike down; class featured a 15-minute climb and 20 minutes of speedwork. My lovely sister-in-law and niece are visiting, so now I must expeditiously shower so that we can go out for brunch - we are having an excellent visit, yesterday featured a trip to the Egyptian rooms (plus, of course, arms and armor - can't go to the Met without visiting that room!) and a superb Szechuan meal in midtown.
:45 round-trip bike
:55 spin
:45 round-trip bike
:55 spin
Friday, July 26, 2013
Run!
It's humid still, but it's also cool, which is a huge improvement. Ran down to Chelsea Piers. Got here a little too late for yoga. Thought I would have a short swim, but turned out I brought the wrong set of keys - no locker key on this set, no swim! Probably for the best. Meeting sister-in-law and niece at train at 11 for NYC junket. Nicer not to be rushed!
57:30, c 5.5mi
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Swim!
I loved the workout this evening. I really wasn't feeling so good today - just exhausted, in spite of having slept on the late side, bleary-eyed, could have fallen back asleep at any juncture. Alas, it was a cool day but I missed the opportunity for a midday run! However I was determined to go to swim practice, I will have the opportunity for very few more over the next six weeks or so, and it was highly worthwhile - my fitness has snuck up on me gradually, I am not swimming very fast but I felt extremely strong in the water. When I saw the intervals for the lanes, I switched from back of lane 5 to front of lane 6, and that was a good choice, it meant I got a lot of rest but had to stay focused as I was leading.
Warmup: 250 (200 free, 50 back)
6 x 50 on 1:05 as 25 stroke, 25 free (2 x fly, back, breast)
Main set:
2 x 50 on 1:10
4 x 100 on 2:15
8 x 200 on 4:30
4 x 100 on 2:15
2 x 50 on 1:10
100 double-arm back cooldown, at which point I was sneezing so much and overcome with phlegm that I figured I'd better get out - my sensitivity to pool chemicals has not decreased, I think I may have to take some Benadryl to kill the histamines!
I was swimming strong but comfortable 200s in 4:00 exactly, it seems pretty reasonable. This is an ideal workout for the back-of-pack Ironman swimmer.
3150 yards total
Warmup: 250 (200 free, 50 back)
6 x 50 on 1:05 as 25 stroke, 25 free (2 x fly, back, breast)
Main set:
2 x 50 on 1:10
4 x 100 on 2:15
8 x 200 on 4:30
4 x 100 on 2:15
2 x 50 on 1:10
100 double-arm back cooldown, at which point I was sneezing so much and overcome with phlegm that I figured I'd better get out - my sensitivity to pool chemicals has not decreased, I think I may have to take some Benadryl to kill the histamines!
I was swimming strong but comfortable 200s in 4:00 exactly, it seems pretty reasonable. This is an ideal workout for the back-of-pack Ironman swimmer.
3150 yards total
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