Well after a 45 mile ride yesterday I thought I might give everybody some insight in to how I keep track of all my running and cycling workouts. The ride was great. I planned to only do a 20k at a 90% effort level but I caught up with a mass of riders from the Vancouver Bicycle Club. I rode with them for about 10 miles but on one of the large climbs I attacked and completely dusted them Because of that, I didn’t know where the route went after and I lost the group. I continued on my ride and caught up with another group from my old cycling team North River Racing. It was good to catch up with some of the guys and the pace was much better than the VBC group. I’m looking forward to training with them more.
After the bike ride and a little nap I hit the gym for a 40 minute 10k which equates to roughly a 80-90% effort? Well anyways it felt very good considering I had biked 45 miles earlier that day. Well off for another day of training. I love this.
Yesterday started with a session in the gym but I couldn’t let the nice weather we are having go to waste. I went for a run once again at Lewisville Park. This time the hills felt a little easier than before. After the run and some food, I hit the pool for 2000 yards. My stroke/swim has gotten faster but some of the weigth lifting has really tightened my stroke up. I’m going to have to work on this for swims that are a much longer distance. Well…of to another day of training! Have a good one!
After testing I have decided to stick with this bike. The bike is a Cannondale Six13 Ironman. The biggest difference between this bike and a standard road racing bike is the lower bottom bracket position. I just have to be mindful of where in a pedal stroke when I’m going through a corner. Otherwise the dura-ace brakes work wonderfully. All that is left to be done with the bike is tweak my body positioning some and install the S-bend aero bars in place of the current ones. And yes…It is a Lance Armstrong jersey…I feel like poser when I wear it
So today started as a normal day but quickly became an intense one. I began the day recording the video you will see soon discussing my data collection during run and bike workouts. After that I hit the road for what was going to be a nice 10k. It turned into an all-out run. After coming home and recovering, I went to the gym for “just a swim”. Well some fool in the pool thought it would be fun to race me. I had to crush those dreams. Because of that I ended up with about 1500 yards at near race pace. Being all fired up I decided to hit the stationary bikes. 30 minutes later I decided “lets do a brick” so I went and did a 19min 5k immediately after the bike workout. Needless to say Im tired but as determined and fired up as ever!
Its getting pretty close to the race at this point. Yesterday was a good day. I went on a short sprint early in the morning to get more of an idea of what my realistic top speed is. I was able to eek out a sub 8 minute 1.5mile loop. I was pretty happy with that to say the least. After the run I hit the bike for an 80-90% effort ride. I ended up with a 29 minute 12.4 mile. Thats pretty decent considering the course I’ve been using has a couple hills thrown into it. Thus far today I’ve only done some weight lifting. Im heading out on my bike then depending on the night’s social situation I may head to the gym for a second time.
On another note, I ordered my first wetsuit. A 2XU V:1 Velocity. Its a freakin awesome wetsuit. Look for a review in the near future. Also please leave me some comments and let me know what kind of workout ideas or product reviews you guys would like to see me do podcasts of!
So I started the day with a cycling/running brick that was sprint race distances. The bike felt decent but the run was really good. After that I went to the gym for another run and then did a little over a 1000 yards in the pool. I’m going to start recording some videos about training tips and my training so watch out for those. Im looking forward to the Treasure Island Tri more than ever. If I were to podium at the event I think my dedication to becoming a pro will be even more steadfast and validate my efforts. I will be throwing down absolutely everything I have on the course we’ll see if anyone can keep up
Second and final lap of the Black Diamond Tri run leg.
Well today started with a 43:00 10k. Not too bad but I had way to much left in the tanks at the end. Should have set a harder pace from the beginning. Also the 43 minutes may be decieving. FYI I do 5 mins of slow jogging to get my legs ready. So don’t think that a 43min 10k is my race time After the run I hit the pool for a really good workout. I didnt hit the bike today but I plan on doing at least a 40k tomorrow at around an 80% pace. My swimming conditioning has hit a great point. I’m definitely feeling great about my chances at Treasure Island. Time to get hotel reservations!!
Swim Workout
10X50’s, 25,50,75,100,200 ladder (750 Total), 1750 (great that I can just go swim that much in a row, bids well for olympic distance races).
Well today was planned as a light day as I plan to really throw it down tomorrow. Friday I did 5 miles with race pace blocks mixed into the workout and I tested the road bike with aero bar setup I’m thinking about running for Treasure Island (more on that later) . I did a leg weight lifting workout today after a 2 mile warm up run. I went back to the gym later and swam a really good 3000 yards. My plan for Sunday is to hit all three sports. My swim training partner wants to swim early so maybe Ill hit the three sports in order. Sunday will post more about my bike choice solution for the Treasure Island Tri.
Just getting out of the water at the Late Summer Madness Tri. I love the ducks. They swam right next to me till I started running then they booked it :)
So maybe my workouts have inspired you or maybe you just feel like getting in the pool again but, you have no idea where to start. I’ve had a couple people at the gym and my friends ask me this same question. For starters just getting yards in the pool is helpful no matter how you do it. Most people will find that a simple workout of back to back 25 yard lengths will push their fitness. No worries. I started this way just a couple of months ago. Start with single pool lengths, maybe do 10 of them the first day. Pace yourself to whatever you feel comfortable with. Once that feels easy just start adding on more lenghts. When you reach a point where 20 seems easy then bump up to 50yd laps. Just keep adding when you dont feel completely wasted after your sets anymore.
Ok now that Ive given you some pointers, let me point you away from a few things. First, unless you can swim and swim and swim, like 1000 yard sets are easy for you, DO NOT bother with hand paddles. More than likely you will end up hurting your shoulders as opposed to making you faster. I still don’t use any training aids. Same goes with fins. There is very little reason to utilize fins till you have reached a fitness level where you can no longer get a good workout from just plain swimming alone. For triathletes, in my opinion, fins are detremental because they put less focus on the length of the pool because you are always coming off flip turns. In an open water swim there is no wall therefore no flip turns. The only swimming implements I would use would be a kickboard (can’t hurt but there isnt much reason to use one) and a “pull-bouy.” If you dont know what a pull buoy is, well, its a piece of foam that you squeeze between your legs while you swim to make you focus completely on your arm movement. Personally, I prefer just to, umm, not kick
Well Hopefully some of my advice can give you a good start, if you have other opinions or have questions, suscribe and leave some comments! Thanks!
Because of that, I didn’t know where the route went after and I lost the group. I continued on my ride and caught up with another group from my old cycling team North River Racing. It was good to catch up with some of the guys and the pace was much better than the VBC group. I’m looking forward to training with them more.
