I don't think that the holidays could be placed at a worse time on the training schedule. Just when you get all geared up to lay a good base for the following year work gets crazy, holiday parties pop up, and the weather turns south. I already missed a couple workouts this week, so hopefully that's not a sign. My legs ached all over for some reason, too; maybe the 70' run on Sunday was a bad idea. I'm going sllloooowwww on pretty much every run so far to keep my heart rate down, but somehow my knees hurt more than when I go at a faster pace! Something to do with my form? I didn't think it could get much worse than it already is.
The Takoma pool was back to normal operating temperatures on Thursday which was nice. I got two short sessions in on the trainer trying out the new bike. All of the cables need adjustment, it's skipping on a couple gears, and I can't even shift into the big ring right now. Guess it's time to learn how to fix that!
Tomorrow we are running the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler up in Baltimore on our way to BWI for a short weekend in Madison and Liz's brother's graduation. Hopefully we'll actually be able to get out ahead of the weather. No guarantee that we'll be able to get back, though ...
Friday, December 14, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
All your base are belong to us
Week 1 of the spring TNT schedule is behind us. It looks like we're going to have a really good team this year; several participants have been involved with other charity training programs for marathons. The weeks leading up to the New Year are all about building base miles, low intensity workouts designed to get the body used to running and biking again (or at all!). Swimming is a bit of a different animal since it's typically the discipline most people need help with. The workouts are geared towards short drills and building the form that will help develop efficiency in the water. These are mixed in with some longer intervals for those that already have a good swimming base under them. You can always tell the former competitive swimmers in the group: at the beginning of practice they say they're worried about not having taken a stroke in 5 years and then go and blow most of us out of the pool! A powerful message that building muscle memory for an efficient swim stroke is the biggest advantage you can have in the water.
Saturday was the Triathlon 101 clinic. Coaches Jenni and Noah went over gear, basic nutrition, hydration, and a high level overview on what to expect on race day. I saw some worried expressions as they went through all of the "stuff" that you can get to race. I told my team members not to worry about all of it right now. Our bike schedule is pretty light, and that's where 90% of the "stuff" comes in. They will have a bike clinic this Saturday where they will be able to pick up the necessities. It can be a bit overwhelming when you see it all laid out in one place!
Luckily we have most of this gear from last season, but that doesn't prevent the desire for better gear, a disease that seems to be rampant in the triathlon world. To wit, my new bike:
I hadn't planned on picking up a new bike. Honestly! But that's before I signed up for a 1/2 Iron event. Even after being fit on my old bike (but not very well, I fear) I was never comfortable on it. My hands would get tired and numb when I was on the hoods, and my back and shoulders would get sore when I was down in the stubby road aerobars. I wasn't looking forward to 3 hours of that. The folks at Bonzai Sports were having good deals on some 2007 models, so I went in to see what they had. This Felt was on clearance and after a couple hours of adjustments and swapping out some parts I think it fits me pretty well. I'm still planning on getting a professional fitting sometime around the New Year when I have some miles in the saddle, but it already feels leaps and bounds better.
Week 2 (and 3 and 4) is still all about base miles. I'm adding some more run mileage on my own to prep for the 1/2 marathon in March and start laying down some better base to get me through 70.3 in June. It'll take some adjustments to the TNT schedule, but I think I'll be able to fit them in
Saturday was the Triathlon 101 clinic. Coaches Jenni and Noah went over gear, basic nutrition, hydration, and a high level overview on what to expect on race day. I saw some worried expressions as they went through all of the "stuff" that you can get to race. I told my team members not to worry about all of it right now. Our bike schedule is pretty light, and that's where 90% of the "stuff" comes in. They will have a bike clinic this Saturday where they will be able to pick up the necessities. It can be a bit overwhelming when you see it all laid out in one place!
Luckily we have most of this gear from last season, but that doesn't prevent the desire for better gear, a disease that seems to be rampant in the triathlon world. To wit, my new bike:
I hadn't planned on picking up a new bike. Honestly! But that's before I signed up for a 1/2 Iron event. Even after being fit on my old bike (but not very well, I fear) I was never comfortable on it. My hands would get tired and numb when I was on the hoods, and my back and shoulders would get sore when I was down in the stubby road aerobars. I wasn't looking forward to 3 hours of that. The folks at Bonzai Sports were having good deals on some 2007 models, so I went in to see what they had. This Felt was on clearance and after a couple hours of adjustments and swapping out some parts I think it fits me pretty well. I'm still planning on getting a professional fitting sometime around the New Year when I have some miles in the saddle, but it already feels leaps and bounds better.
Week 2 (and 3 and 4) is still all about base miles. I'm adding some more run mileage on my own to prep for the 1/2 marathon in March and start laying down some better base to get me through 70.3 in June. It'll take some adjustments to the TNT schedule, but I think I'll be able to fit them in
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Onwards and upwards
The big ol' TNT training schedule officially kicked off this morning at 5:30 in the pool at the Lab School. Everything was the same as I remembered from last year except for two things: we weren't locked out in the cold waiting for a lifeguard that never showed and I didn't have horrible butterflies in my stomach not knowing what to expect. All in all it was a little .... underwhelming? In the "not overwhelming" sense of word, not the "not exciting" sense. It was interesting to see the faces of the new participants and wonder if I had the same look prior to our first swim practice 12 months ago. I was in the "fast lane" this morning by default, but it looks like we have some former competitive swimmers in this group, so I may demote myself once they get back in the groove. I've kind of plateaued with my swimming ability, and my aim is to keep myself there with maintenance workouts and focus more on my running this winter in prep for the 1/2 marathon ...
... AND the freakin' 1/2 Ironman I just signed up for!
Holy crap. I mean, holy crap!! I've been going back and forth on this for a couple weeks, and after talking to Teen I took the plunge. There will be a group of us going up (and a couple more doing the Olympic the same weekend), so it should be a fun trip. The #1 reason (by far) that I waffled is that Liz may not be able to come up due to end of year school duties. I really, really want her to be there, but will understand if she can't come. #2 reason is the schedule I've now set up for myself:
4/27: St. Anthony's Olympic in St. Petersburg
5/18: Columbia Olympic in MD just north of DC
6/8: Mooseman Half Iron in Bristol, NH
That's 3 weeks from first to second Olympic; I did 2 weeks between North East and Annapolis this year, but that was the end of the season, and I didn't have a 1/2 Iron (!!!!) looming over me in another 3 weeks. I'll definitely need to treat Columbia as one long workout and not "race" it. It's a hilly course and I could easily get myself in trouble if it takes me a few days to recover from that one.
Hopefully the 1/2 marathon will get me in running shape to tackle this, but I have a long way to go. The biking is what I'm more worried about; we won't get to put that many miles in with our St A's captain duties, so I'm going to need to squeeze in what I can. That may mean lots of time in the trainer. Ugh. I'm pretty scared of this one but pretty excited at the same time. If my legs can hold up to the run, I'll at least be able to finish. And, really, that's a good enough goal.
Holy crap!!
... AND the freakin' 1/2 Ironman I just signed up for!
Holy crap. I mean, holy crap!! I've been going back and forth on this for a couple weeks, and after talking to Teen I took the plunge. There will be a group of us going up (and a couple more doing the Olympic the same weekend), so it should be a fun trip. The #1 reason (by far) that I waffled is that Liz may not be able to come up due to end of year school duties. I really, really want her to be there, but will understand if she can't come. #2 reason is the schedule I've now set up for myself:
4/27: St. Anthony's Olympic in St. Petersburg
5/18: Columbia Olympic in MD just north of DC
6/8: Mooseman Half Iron in Bristol, NH
That's 3 weeks from first to second Olympic; I did 2 weeks between North East and Annapolis this year, but that was the end of the season, and I didn't have a 1/2 Iron (!!!!) looming over me in another 3 weeks. I'll definitely need to treat Columbia as one long workout and not "race" it. It's a hilly course and I could easily get myself in trouble if it takes me a few days to recover from that one.
Hopefully the 1/2 marathon will get me in running shape to tackle this, but I have a long way to go. The biking is what I'm more worried about; we won't get to put that many miles in with our St A's captain duties, so I'm going to need to squeeze in what I can. That may mean lots of time in the trainer. Ugh. I'm pretty scared of this one but pretty excited at the same time. If my legs can hold up to the run, I'll at least be able to finish. And, really, that's a good enough goal.
Holy crap!!
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