Something Different

Tink basking in the sunlight on the front porch.

I’m going to try something new with the old bloggy, not just use it for race reports. At some point in the whirlwind of the summer of 2011 I stopped logging my training online, which has left me with a lack of hindsight. We all know hindsight is 20/20 ... so you either have a perfect picture or no picture at all. Right now I have nothing, which is not that big of deal since I did next to nothing as far as training is concerned during that time. Up until this summer I had systematically logged every workout since 2007. A bit OCD? Yes. But that’s me … all or nothing!

My logging tool was beginnertriathlete.com, which seemed appropriate since in 2007 I was a beginner triathlete. I appreciate this tool as it offers many fine features at a price that can’t be beaten (free). There is also a social aspect to the website that I rarely leveraged, but which seems popular for those seeking answers to common questions and those looking to provide answers to common questions :p So instead of logging each training session online, I’m going to use this blog to summarize the week’s work and share the data from a few key sessions each week. For in-depth analysis I’ll use my own tools. But the weekly discipline of summarizing the training will also give me a chance to document some highlights of family life for posterity. Now all that’s left to do is to do it ... week in, week out, just like the training!

Training

This week is really the second consistently solid week of all-around triathlon training in many months. It’s been like sitting in a really hot bathtub. At first it stings really bad but as you ease in deeper it gets more tolerable … until the water gets to that one spot … ouch that burns!!

Last week I swung the old leg back over the bike again and did an FTP test. It came back as 273. After spending some time getting my bottomside reacclimated to riding my time trial bike, I tested again this week and came back with 288, which puts me just above the magical 4 watts/kg level ... woohoo! Wait, why is 4 watts per kg important again???. I think more than any fitness gain, the hike in FTP shows the resiliency of hard earned fitness. It may drift away when you take a break, but it comes back much faster than it took to get there in the first place! Raising the FTP is bittersweet though … sure it gives you a confidence boost, ensures the training you are doing is making you stronger, gets you daydreaming of being able to go X for your bike split in your next race, yada yada yada, but it also means that your bike workouts are about to get that much harder!!

Swimming is coming back the slowest. I'm only swimming short sessions twice a week and keeping the intensity really high. I hope my times start coming back down soon or I may have to reconsider this minimal volume / maximum intensity approach.


Workouts

Monday
Run: 50 min with J-Flo, I mean "Ole Tender Nip", including 6 x 0:30 strides (+- 5min/mile pace): http://connect.garmin.com/activity/124442721
Bike: 1 Hour Ride. FTP Test which reset my FTP from 273 to 288: http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/2211

Tuesday
Bike: 30 min spin for recovery
Swim: 30 min: short intervals
Run: moderate with hills: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/124442728

Wednesday
Bike: 1 hr. Ironman pace (IF: .77): http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/2309
Run: include 4 x .5 mile at 5:40/mile pace on .5 mile easy: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/124460851 + a cool down run with my wife to measure her run loop. Jennifer rode her bike with me during the warm up and intervals and filmed this little video on one of the intervals. If you've never seen my crazy left foot, here it is:

Thursday
Bike: Hour of Power ... ouch: http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/2361
Swim: 30 min short intervals
Run: 30 min recovery

Friday
Run: 1hr 10min with the Flowmaster (I mean "Ole Tender Nip"). Easy run 9.3 mile run. Well, except for the 2 mile time trial part in the middle and the huge hill at the end. I negative split theTT with a 5:58 1st mile and 5:55 2nd mile for a total time of 11:53. I'll be looking for 11 even before the season begins! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/124984539

Saturday
Bike: Dirt/Road mix ride on CX bike: Fun ride on a beautiful but windy day. I put some short videos from the ride on FaceBook and some pictures below

Sunday
Bike: 1hr30min on the trainer. Easy ride of varying efforts, annoyingly easy at times. NP 200w, avg HR 123. I would never ride this easy on my own, but I followed the program and did it.
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/2585
Run: quick transition run off the bike

Totals: Bike: 6.5 hrs + Run: 4.5 hrs + Swim: 1hr = 12 hrs. Nothing impressive but glad to have a solid week of work under my belt.

Until next week ...



Some pictures from bike ride Saturday:



Fall Colors are here:


It's that time of year: