Closer to summer??? maybe.....

Week Totals........

AK
5 runs for 22 miles - training for Seafair Half

Penny - P-Scrap - training for Furry 5K
5 runs for 10 miles - long run of 3 miles

My totals for the week...
2 Swims - 1.64 miles for 1:10 minutes - missed a Friday swim
1 Bike - 27 miles for 1:47 minutes
2 runs - 11.05 miles for 1:34 minutes
3 others - 2:40 minutes

8 workouts for 7:11 minutes.....about 45 minutes short of the target, but considering the week at work and the weather, that’s completely fine.


I dropped a run on Tuesday because of weather and missed a swim on Friday that was puppy related. And hey swim for 30 minutes at lunch or play in the yard with the Penny? Not a hard choice : )

Had three really good core workouts this week and a good bike ride on Saturday. Sprinkled on a bit for the first 10-15 minutes then the warm glorious sun came out for the rest of the ride, SWEET! The ride was a good way to cap off the week. Went out with the thought of only riding at about 75% and not pushing, (saving the legs for a long run around the Disco on Sunday).

After my bike fit this next Tuesday I’ll hopefully be able to tell the saga of the new,new,new(hopefully) bike.

It’s funny and scary how soon the end of March has rolled around. I started tri training this year on December 1st and couldn’t even let the thought of how far out the season was enter my mind. About three weeks preparing a training schedule, trying to be realistic about burning out with such a earlier start. The days are almost here when basic training and build training are going to be over and direct race training starts in. Last year it was bike to the gym for a swim before work, then one hour to one and a half hour bike after work or run before work then follow up with a second run after work. I love that frame of mind. You get lost, in a good way, in building. Building this road to get you where you want to be. Last year that road was top 100 at Kirkland. Every mile of training had that carrot, every echo of burning out had that vision of crossing the finish line knowing it would take this workout and the next and the next and the next to get there.

There was this thing I read on a website that said “I show up and race the person that I train to be, the others I hope do the same.” I like that . I always bait my week goals with the thought of the word “cumulative” and the phrase “Building the Machine”. This week ends the easy start to the training season and begins the doubles, bricks, two a days and hitting the bottle of sweet brown muscle candy ( ibuprofen ). I mean really, Issaquah Triathlon is in only 10 weeks............

This past week, back at it....

Last Sunday I hit the day with a good steady swim and a smaller hilly bike ride. After Saturdays longer brick I thought I felt good enough for a smaller one on Sunday. This week I felt good health wise and inshape wise. Hour goal for the week was 7 hours and I knew I could hit that, but I couldn’t get lazy!!! Schedule had me at 3 doubles this week with a long bike on Saturday. I was looking forward to getting to my Friday day off from training. Mostly glad this week for getting my swimming back on track with hitting 2.21 miles for the week. Also, yesterdays bike ride.

About yesterdays bike ride, I just have to say, I love my bike George. I’ve been having some issues with getting a new race bike for this years races and that will be one entry when it finally gets resolved. However, for all the full carbon bikes and compacts and this and that for the new bikes that I’ve been trying, nothing has felt as good as my ol’ George ,1200 Trek w/ an aluminum frame. I went out yesterday and hit the hills hard! Going from the house up to Blue Ridge and over Crown Hill down to Golden Gardens then out to Fremont and across the Fremont Bridge to the SPU college and straight up Queen Anne then around to Dravus ave. and out over to do a loop around the Mag to the Disco. Back down from the Disco to the downtown area of Magnolia and finally back up to the Disco. Were I met AK and Penny for a quick walk with the Penster after she did a lap at the Disco with AK.
Here's a pic of Penny taking in the views of Discovery...

All in all a great ride!! George handled the hills fine and what great weather!!!
I’d like to thank Team Cannoli for helping Eileen out Saturday when she was lost on her bike ride in their neck of the woods. She called and my phone was dying, but I got a call out in time to TK and Shell to help her out. Thanks!

Week Totals…..

3 Swim - 2.21 miles for 1:32 hours
3 Bike – 41.5 miles for 2:40 hours
2 Run – 8.4 miles for 1:20 hours
2 Other for 1:28 hours

10 workouts for 7:01 hours - Hit goal hours for the week"Sweet"

AK
5 runs for 22 miles

Penny – ruff
4 runs for 10 miles – WOW! She has more miles than me!!! – but she does have four legs??!!??

Once more with feeling....

Let’s try that again….2 weeks ago

2 bikes 39.25 miles for 2:55 minutes
3 runs 12.83 miles for 1:33 minutes
1 other for 30 minutes

6 workouts for 5:01 hours, hit total hour goal, sick first part of the week. Had a good bike and a run on Saturday to make up for the lack luster week of training. Went out with Eileen to Seward Park, easy ride for us, we kept it pretty slow. Which was great because I was only riding fast enough to be left behind by a few minutes. After getting back home I felt pretty good so I changed into running gear and hit the road for 3 miles. Pushed the run a bit to make up for the bad week with a ave. of 7:18 per mile. No swims this week, Arrg!

Up hill battle......

OK, so I don’t mind the hills in running or biking. On George, my bike, I proudly have a Spanish bull that gives a nod to all the Basque and the Orange Wave for climbing in cycling. In running, “hills are money in the bank” as Earl would say. I love the hills.




However, in last Sundays Mercer Island, there were more hills than downhills!

Climbing one after another and then hitting 5.5 miles and seeing the finish way at the top of yet another hill. Uphill finish, totally wasn’t expecting it.


Overall it was a really good race, I PR’d by 17 seconds and more importantly I ran a smart race from mile 1 through 6. Each mile I kept myself in check at one of the few flats I was rolling around 6:40 minute mile and had to say the one word out loud to slow down – Nookachamps

With that said I slow down to 7:05 and instantly got passed by 4 people, which I caught 2 around the 5 mile mark and the last 2 on the last hill to the finish. My last full mile was 6:58 and miles 2 and 3 were even at 7:05.

At the last .25 mile the 5K and the 10K meet up and cross the finish together. I saw AK about twenty yards ahead of me and tried to close the gap before the finish and got about 15 feet behind her, so close. She said about her race, the 5k, steady and no surprises. Which means she’s almost 100% recovered from her fracture from the Foot Zone 5k race in Redmond back on August 5th of last year. She said about that race” I was on fire, then I felt like I was on fire!”

Her recovery seams to be right on track as she just signed up for the new Seafair Half Marathon : )

Here's a picture of AK finishing up Bridal trails 5K in 2006

So all in all Mercer has a good race, maybe a little hillier than it needed to be, not sure I’ll be rushing back next year for it. The shirt was really cool.

Quick update..

Weeks total….
Swim 2 at 1.72 miles for 1:13 Hours
Bike 2 at 27.5 miles for 2:01 Hours
Run 2 at 9.21 miles for 1:15 Hours
Other 2 at 1:30 Hours

8 Workouts for a total of 6 Hours.

AK Totals

5 runs 20 miles
5 core workouts

Mercer’s this Sunday so I took it easier on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I want to have a good even race, not like Nookachamps!!! Ugh! Training has been real steady for the run and I feel pretty good about it. I want to use this 10k time as my target for my triathlons this year so I want a good even run hopefully with a time of 43 minutes.

What this week has....

Weeks Totals –

Swim – 2 for 1.26 miles 1 hour
Bike - 2 for 50.5 miles 3:33 hours – Sundays ride was 3 parts: 5, 32, 5.5
Run – 2 for 11.79 miles 1.31 hours – easy week
Other – 1 for 25 minutes
Total – 7 workouts for 6.52 hours *Goal hit for hours of training.

AK Totals

Run 5 for 20 miles – Nice work!!!
Core 7 for 2:10 hours

This week was a good look into the time needed to spend on the bike to get back up to speed. I laid off the run because of the Chilly last Sunday, but feel back to about 90% on my running. Saturdays run however had the worst hamstring cramps I’ve experienced in over two years, although they feel fine this morning. This with Mercer coming up next weekend is a sign that I may have to lay off the running again this week. I want to compare this 10k time with the 10k at Nookachamps. If I can finish close to 43 minutes without feeling as wasted and out of shape as I did at Nookachamps, that would be the goal Also, with those two times I can set a training speed and race goal for the 10k in the Olympic distance. For the 5k in sprints I was surprisingly only about 10 sec per mile off from regular 5k pace.

Goals this week for training and planning-

Training goal this week is 7 hours with three “2 a days” I get the new bike fitted this Tuesday and can start training with him by mid week – SWEET!
Planning, I have to figure out what placement in the water I should start out in. By ranking I’m in the top 20% , but at the start of a race I usually wait about 5-10 seconds after the start gun to follow the pack. Then about half way start passing people and in the last ¼ really using a lot of energy to get around people.



I do this of course because swimming in a pack is one of the scariest things I’ve ever been through. Feet kicking you in the face, inhaling water, arms hitting your shoulders, inhaling water and hands grabbing your legs and feet. All while you’re inhaling water, screaming to yourself in your head, at least you hope it’s in your head, ‘don’t panic, don’t panic!!!’. So for this I wait at the start for a few seconds and swim to the back left side. However, this week I’m going to study where in the water I should be, in the front or stay where I’ve been. I feel so much stronger in my swim this year than last with form and strength. Also, in overall time and distance in the pool. Last year I only did about 20 minutes per workout in the pool and about 15 minutes in open water. So far my pool time is about 5x a week what it was last year and I’m covering almost 3x the distance per workout.
- Here's a picture of my and Shell coming out of the water on the above mentioned tri at Issaquah ....