Stage 2: Feeling...

WIBA was such a nice retreat. I got away from my everyday life for a while. It was not easy coming back. I really don't know what to write about so I'll just recap last week's workouts.

Monday: I was a still little tired from WIBA, but I got in a nice, easy 1.2 mile open water swim. I followed that up with a pretty good 4 mile run.


Tuesday: I was still a little tired from WIBA. I really didn't have much in my legs and contemplated bagging the speed work for an easy run. But... I sucked it up and did them.


11:06.03 warmup
3:17.61/Rest Interval = 4:06.26
3:22.46/RI = 4:10.16
3:00.31/RI = 4:53.74
3:00.72/RI = 4:43.44
8:26:84 Cool down.
TOTAL: 50.07.57


Those first two, I ran more than a mile without realizing it. (The "track" is about 1.0534 miles, I think)


Wednesday: I was still a little tired from WIBA. I rode a few miles. My intention was to ride a ten mile loop that had a few rollers. I was good, except for one descent at the end - a curvy hill, not closed to traffic, and it ends right into a busy straight. A few miles of warmup and cool down plus two loops.
TOTAL: 25 miles.


Thursday: I was still a little tired from WIBA. Honestly I don't remember what I did.


Friday: I was still a little tired from WIBA. So I rested.


Saturday: Trail run. I ran about an hour and 45 with a friend at a Zone 2 effort. I finished my run with her and tacked on a few one mile pushes. I can't totally trust the mile markers at the parks, but I think I saw a leading 5 on my watch after those pushes.
TOTAL: 15 miles


Sunday: I hammered over 32 miles with my former coach. We are probably both in better shape than we will admit. There were a few short stretches where we were pulling each other at 25-27 mph. Not bad for a few out of shape fellas. I wanted to tack on an hour run, but I went in to work instead. Bummer.
TOTAL: 32 miles

Overall Totals for Week 2:

• Swim: 2000 meters
• Bike: 57 miles
• Run: 23 miles
  

Preview of Stage 3: This will be a no intensity week as I plan to race in an Olympic Tri on Sunday.

Anyone watching Le Tour? Anyone? Bueller?

Stage 1: WIBA

I am back from WIBA. MOOO - YAH!!!

Our hostess, Iron Wil, definitely knows how to throw a shindig. I didn't get to meet everyone, or chat with old friends as much as I had hoped to, but it was Fun with a capital F.

Well I'm not really going to to a play-by-play of the whole weekend for you because every other blogger who was there will be writing about WIBA. I spent a good chunk of time with Steve-I'm-wearing-nothing-at-all. So go there for some hilarity.

I'll give you a few snipets from my brain:

• Okay maybe Bubba and I were separated at birth. We were being mistaken for each other all weekend. I had several people remark about my leg so my calling card is on the right.
  
• History repeats itself. Driving to Madison, Ferrah played in the rain again. Not unlike the last time I was in Madison. Once on the course, for whatever reason, my brake pads were rubbing against the rim. Not unlike the last time I rode the course.
• People can be really cool.
• I was at the back of the pack and was fortunate enough to get motorcycle support, by another rider's husband. How cool was that.
• I went dashing off to catch Wil who missed a turn. Two drivers heard me screaming, pulled up next to Wil at the bottom of the hill and got her attention.
• I was glad to finally meet Triteacher and Serra. All the best to you two and I'll hope to see you the next time I am in Dairyland.
• Okay C-Town peeps, Bolder does exist. But for whatever reason, he is good at eluding the camera lens.
• Thanks to the locals who made a lot of this happen. Stu, RobbyB, Thomps, and Heather Haviland for stopping by and riding with us.
• And everyone else at WIBA: Pharmie, The brothers Andy and Chris, Snickers girl Tricia, John, Erin, Gavin, Leslie, Jaret, Sherry, Howard, Marty, Coach Mike, Jennifer, I know there's more.., but best of luck at IM WI and beyond.
• All right this isn't an awards ceremony, so no thank you mom, dad, the Good Lord Above...
  

So let's put out some numbers from my first week of marathon training.

Monday: This was my recovery day coming off a long ride on Sunday.
Tuesday: Missed workout. Athena once again demanded attention so I had a 12 hour work day, which had nothing to do with the fact that I wanted to leave things in order before a six and a half day hiatus from work.
Wednesday: Mini tri. I went for an easy open water swim of maybe 1100 meters. That was the longest swim of the year for me at that time. Following a really long T1, I went for a 12 mile bike at Zone 2 cruise tempo. I came back in for a quick T2 followed by an high zone 3 up tempo 6 mile run. The day ended with a 15 minute cool down run.
Thursday: 2.6 miles of a zone 2 run.
Friday: Swim stroke analysis. I was in the pool for an hour. Total distance was probably about 1000 meters. I hit Lake Monona a few hours later for a quick 30 minute swim. That distance was probably 1200 meters. Next up was a 30 minute run. I threw in a 5 minute push. I covered about 1500 meters during that push. I will estimate my run total distance as four miles.
Saturday: 10 minute open water swim. 72 plus miles on the bike.
Sunday: 13 mile run. My legs did not quite have it, but I went out with the lead dogs. We checked out some of the old IM WI run course. I really don't know my total distance as I ran extra because of the historical detour, but I stayed in the shade of the bike path on my way back from Inspiration Point, ran through State Street and then around the Capital and then down to the Terrace. Gosh those sights are something else as I reminisced about last September.

Totals for week 1:

• Swim: 3300 meters
  
• Bike: 85 miles
  
• Run: 27 miles.

Preview of Stage 2: I've got some 800 repeats on Tuesday, a mid distance tempo run on Thursday, and a long run of 15 miles, probably on Saturday. I'll try to throw in a swim and a few bikes rides.

Whew, I'm pooped. So who's in for WIBA '08?!!

Prologue: Roots

My dad told me this proverb: When you drink water, think about where it's from. No it's not a warning about drinking tap water, rather it was a reminder to think back to where you came from.

So what did I do before my first week of marathon training? I went back to (Akron) Ohio...

Saturday I went back to some old trails for about a seven mile run. I've run the Towpath ever since I started running in high school. The first half was way faster than I should have ran. The mile markers were off, but I'm guessing, or rather I'm hoping I was hitting sub 7 minute miles. On my way back I met up with my Iron Sis Cas for an easy run back. I was a little timid with this run; I had not run for 10 days because of my knee. I could tell it still needs a bit of strength work, but I'm not terribly worried about it.

Sunday I checked in with a 50 mile ride. My legs were a little tired from the up tempo part of my Saturday run. This ride started with two people. We picked up another rider on our way to meet another rider. Surprisingly we picked up two more riders at the parking lot then we set out to pick up yet another rider. After a few miles we picked up still another rider. We all wanted to get something different out of our ride, but for about half an hour we had a great little impromptu group ride. That was fun randomly meeting folks from my old riding group. I stayed out a little longer than everyone else. I wasn't going to miss out on climbing a few hills. Toward the end of my ride, I went by the familiar Hale Farm and up Oak Hill. There are some locals that will not climb that hill because it is so steep. It's probably about a 20% grade, but it is short. The tough part comes in the form of a false flat that continues on for maybe one and a half to two miles more. It hurt, but I had to do it for old times sake.

What else reminded me of my "roots." I stopped in to my sponsors from the last several seasons.

I stopped into Ritchie's Sporting Goods to reload on some tech shirts and shorts. I think every pair of running shoes I've ever purchased was from there.



I also stopped in to Eddy's bike shop for a look at some new Treks. This is where I bought my first road bike.

Okay now it's time for some announcements.

Congratulations to my Iron Sis TP who got married this past Saturday. And good luck in Colorado.

Congratulations to Josh on his new baby girl. I'll bet she's already running six minute miles.

Happy Birthday to TriSaraTops!!!


Preview of Stage 1:

The three key workouts of Week 1 of the FIRST plan are a couple of mile repeats, a six mile run with two miles up tempo, and a long 13 mile run. Well I will squeeze these in some where but the highlight will definitely be WIBA. That's a lot of volume for me, so let's hope I can make it through in good shape.

Start Me Up

Okay folks, my Boston training is trying to get off the ground. Unfortunately I haven't had much consistency in my training. Some weeks I can get out and train regularly, others, not so much. Regardless, I have decided to use the FIRST training plan for my marathon. Let me rephrase: I have decided to create my marathon plan based on the FIRST training plan. That should formally start July 1. I do not have every workout on every day planned. I am pretty sure I will need to adjust my training days on the fly.

There are a few things to note.

1 - I chose that plan because it gives you the three key run workouts and everything else you can fill in on your own. What I do not really like is that there does not seem to be any distinct recovery periods. That is why I am using their framework and making it my own.

2 - I am not much of a morning runner. I'd much rather have my workouts at 19:00, than 7:00. But this month I have been setting my alarm clock way earlier than I need to get up. I am trying to get my body awake earlier in the morning and even squeeze in some short morning runs before work. I feel so much more comfortable running and working out at night that I am going through some adjustments, like not sleeping enough. We'll see if I can make this experiment a success.

3 - With the early workouts, I will probably do some two-a-days. Hopefully this will get my running volume up a little. I think I will also do some bricks this year - maybe.

4 - I think the key to this plan is proper intensity. Now this is where it gets tricky. Get this: recent 5k PR is around 20 minutes. Recent 30k PR is around 2:10. Ummm, those paces are not too far off of each other. If I base my training off my 5k times, my expected marathon pace will be way too slow. So what I intend to do is base my training off my EXPECTED marathon time and back calculate. So this has me running some pretty fast intervals and tempo runs. Can I handle this? I don't know. But I figure I'll give it my best.

All right, so now some other news: I got through a sprint tri a few weeks ago. I'm hoping I can write a short report sometime. This past weekend was a DNS. After what I thought was a good week of training - 8 mile run, 30 mile bike than 45 mile bike on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday respectively, my old nemesis is back. That's right the trick knee is aching again. I can't seem to figure out what caused it. But what is worrisome is 1 - the biking seemed to aggravate it and 2 - it does not seem to want to get knocked out by a little anti-inflammatories. I am going give it a few more days; I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed.

Lastly: WIBA - I'll be there and hopefully I can be more than just a cheerleader.

By the way, does anyone think I can go and do Steelhead half IM just on a whim? Yes I may be that crazy.

PS - Great job to all the Ironmen and Ironwomen this weekend.

It's About Time

It's been about a month since I mentioned anything about training here in my corner of blogland. So what have I been up to?

Earlier this year, the plan was "race to get in shape." I got in a 3 mile run as part of a biathlon relay, a bike-run biathlon, and then a 10k run on three consecutive weekends. Those three "races" were good workouts that got my brain thinking about racing again. I also realized that I need to properly warm up before the gun goes off. In these shorter races, my engine really seems to need about twenty or thirty minutes of solid work before it gets into a good rhythm. So let's hope I can stick to that in my upcoming races.

I've got my first tri of the season next weekend. It's a sprint tri. I have ignored the swim all year. Let's hope I can survive the water to get to the bike and run. This week I wanted to get in a little speed. I got home from work stepped in the shower and contemplated bailing on my run. However running has always been good therapy for me. I thought about hitting the trails, but that would have been a bit of a drive. Instead I drove ten minutes to Beekman Park - one of my new favorite places to run. I will be planning my own workouts this year and I got some inspiration from E-speed and her 800s. Here's what I did:

10 minute warmup
Run 800, jog 400, Run 400, Rest X4 with negative run intervals.

Here are my numbers:

3:18/2:04/1:30/3:00
3:11/209/1:28/3:00
3:05/2:37/1:23/2:59
2:54/2:41/1:13 ---

I would have liked to have kept those last two jog intervals closer to 2:00, but I had some loose shoe strings.

If you try this set out, I would love to know what you think about it.

Wednesday night I wanted to get in an up tempo bike ride in. I am trying to find some good places to ride so I posted my route on my club forum. I got no takers. I even promised to have a couple extra bottles of Gatorade Endurance. Oh well - just Ferrah and me, 33 miles, with the computer saying 19+ mph average. I planned my route so near the end of the ride I would have about five or six miles without stop signs, traffic, or turns. Here I could get in the aerobars, put it in the big ring, have a slight tailwind, and crank...I think Ferrah liked it.

Work has been extremely frustrating of late and it has negatively impacted my training - long days at work and sleepless nights. Well the rest of this past week of training went the hell as my allergies blindsided me Thursday. Miserable was an understatement. I tried to get to sleep early, but I had the Cavs game on in the background. Every few minutes I would wake up to hear LeBron scoring another basket. After midnight and two overtime periods, I was now wired as LeBron carried the Cavs to within one game of the finals. I was so tired, I woke up an hour after I was supposed to be at work. Luckily I have some flexibility at work.

WIBA 2007, who's in? I'll be making the pilgrimage.

Was it me or was this post Faulkner-esque? Okay last thought for today. I have yet to sign up for my "A" race, but this upcoming week will mark twenty weeks from race day.

Time to get formal.

And Go Cavs!!!

Infidelity

Dear Ferrah,



I don't think there is any easy way to tell you what I'm about to say. I haven't been spending much time with you recently. I know last year when we entered into our union, we laid out grand plans of racing crits, time trials, and even spending long weekends on rides out into the hills and countryside.

But things have changed quickly in my life. My job has taken me away from my, no our, favorite training grounds. And I've had to adjust to a new lifestyle. But there is another thing, and I don't know any we to make it sound any better. There is another woman in my life.

She came around just a couple of weeks after I started my new job. We started out as coworkers. I tried to keep as much distance between us as possible. But unfortunately my boss paired us together. I was responsible for getting her up and ready to work in the hospital. It started innocently - checking out her curves, finding out which of her buttons to push. One thing led to another and next thing you know...

That trip to Vegas, was all about her. All those nights working late, yes, they were with her. And unless I leave my job, much of my time at work will be with her. We had our big debut last week. But there is still so much that I need to know about her. In a few months, she'll be ready for even bigger challenges and yes I am in charge
of her development.

So Ferrah, I still love you. Last week when you and I drove an hour to Granville for some hills, I came to the realization that you are still my passion. I no longer have any feelings for her and I know it will take time to regain the trust that I have broken, but I am willing to do whatever it takes. Long weekend rides, races more often, I'll even try to put on those new Speedplay pedals for you. Please accept my sincerest apologizes.

I was wrong and I am sorry.

----

Athena,

I am taking my life back. I'm escaping your Siren spell. In a few more weeks, you're going to be on your own. See you later, bitch.

----

For Immediate Release -

9:00 EDT Thursday, April 26, 2007

Columbus, Ohio - A goddess has descended upon the radiation oncology department at RMH. At a ribbon cutting ceremony earlier in the week, revelers caught a glimpse of the future of cancer treatment in central Ohio. New equipment, appropriately nicknamed Athena, will be in clinical use in less than two weeks. A Varian Trilogy linear accelerator (linac) was outfitted with on-board imaging (OBI), cone-beam CT (CBCT), and respiratory gating equipment. In addition, ExacTrac, image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) equipment from BrainLAB places Athena in a pantheon above other linacs. Radiation therapy patients will benefit from the goddess of wisdom and war, which will give the radiation oncology staff a plethora of options in the fight against cancer. According to one of the medical physicists in charge of "appeasing" Athena: "The new equipment will be able to allow us to deliver radiation more accurately and more precisely. We will be able to plan and deliver radiation with tighter margins. This reduces excess radiation dose to normal tissues and ultimately allows us to provide better care for our patients. I can not wait to see all that Athena can do." Many cancer patients in central Ohio are thinking the same way and are eager to catch a glimpse of the new goddess in town.

Wired

This past weekend was a filled with social races. Saturday morning was my alma mater's commemorative Hudson Relays. I wanted a good long warm up on this windy and drizzly morning, so I ran a five mile lap before running four different legs. Each leg was about half a mile and those legs really tightened up afterwards. By the way, my team - the alumni - lost yet again. We did not get lapped which seems to be our battle cry. Sunday morning I joined up with a former tri teammate and we entered a biathlon relay. We both knew we were out of shape so I ran the three mile leg and he rode fifteen. But I wanted to be at the Hinckley Du, to see some old CTC and Team ER friends. So if you haven't read them yet, check out the race reports from TriEric and DaisyDuc. They are seriously at the top of their games.

The weekend was topped off by catching Wired to Win. Pretty good show. And it fits in very well with my current mindset.

I'm wired a certain way. And I've known that for a long time. I don't know how to run 5k/10ks. I am not a time trialist on my bike. I am not even really a long course kind of guy. Go figure.

Somehow I am perceived to be "fast." So I can run quarters on the track pretty "fast." Or my Ironman or marathon times were "fast." But in races that are like standards for "fast" (ie 5k run) I'm really not that fast. I haven't been wired to deal with that kind of intensity for that kind of duration. I'll bet you would have never guessed my career 5k PR is only a 19:01, which I ran at my second to last 5k race in high school.

I'd like to get faster and I believe much of that has to do with rewiring my brain. I know how to run as fast as I can. I just spent a whole season running as far as I could. Now I need to find the threshold right before the pain sets in. A few years ago, a friend of mine said something that makes more sense to me now: "To get better at racing, get out and race more." By golly, I think I've found a little experiment for myself. I need to go out and race more.

Well I have a framework for my Boston Marathon plan (yeah I did say I would talk about my marathon plan, but it has not been meshed with my schedule. I've got some great ideas nonetheless.) and from the looks of it, I probably won't start on that plan until June sometime. So until then I'm going to try to step out of my box and try to get in some races in the next few weeks.

Fire up the neurons. It's time to rewire again.

A Brick?

Okay, things got busy at work as we were trying to prepare to showcase some new equipment and technology in our department. I'll still be busy the next few weeks as we move towards using everything clinically.

All right, quick training recap:

April 12 - Z2 60 minute trail run on the southern edge of Lake Mead national park.

April 13 - 20 mile ride with my team. It was supposed to be at a social pace, but we rode at a good Z3 effort.

April 14 - Brick. 16 mile Z2 ride followed by 70 minute Z3 run with TriEric and an IM WI sister.

April 16 - 3 hours of volleyball. You should have seen the sprained thumb I got. One week later and I still have trouble gripping a pen.

April 17 - 35 mile Z3 ride around Hoover Dam. No not the one in Nevada, but the one in C-Bus.

April 18 - 8 mile run; 2 mile warm up, 5 x 1 mile repeats, 1 mile cool down. I was not quite ready to hit the track so I ran around an intramural ballpark at The OSU. Unfortunately the coeds playing sand volleyball threw me off my plan and my mile splits kept dropping each time.

April 19 - 35 mile Z2-Z3 ride with some folks from my tri club.

April 21 - 45 minute Z3 trail run at Highbanks, my new favorite park. Followed by a 2 hour birding hike with a friend.

April 22 - 2 hour Z2 trail run back at Highbanks. Plus I got in an 20 minute open water swim later in the day.

Did anyone notice anything?

Yes I did a brick for the first time since, ohhh, maybe 2004? Why is this significant? Well I'm thinking of bringing the brick back this year. I am going to run a fall marathon and am gathering some training programs. I was talking with a teammate of mine a few weeks ago. She mentioned how well the bricks seemed to help her runs especially around mile 20 of the marathon.

So the fire is lit. I am really eager to get out and train. And with the weather being so perfect for Ohio, I am doubly eager to train. I am training more now than I have been since last summer. It's also becoming consistent as I am finally settling into some routines. But let's hope I can continue to check myself; I still have about six months till my race and there's no need to over do it. Next time, I think I'll discuss my thoughts on my marathon training.