Forecast says GO!!!

This is the first weekend in quite some time that the forecast looks perfect for training. Partly sunny with a high of 63 tomorrow and sunny with a high of 67 on Sunday. I am not sure if there is better triathlete training weather. So it is off to training and training and training.

I have mixed feelings about things right now. As expected, trying to balance tri training and a training for a half marathon has proved a bit more difficult as expected. My biking fitness has significantly suffered. To my credit, we have had crummy weather compared to last year. I am more than happy with my run volume. That is through the roof and a solid 80-100 miles a month will hopefully go a long way in November. I am relatively pleased with my swimming. It appears to be stagnate but the first break in the work schedule and I think I will take care of that via Masters class.

So the goal for the weekend is to ride, ride, ride and ride. At this point last year, I had already accumulated over 400 road miles. This year I am under 250. In part, an early season Ironman race will strike enough fear into you to keep you motivated and moving. I am not all that concerned about this year's early races. Powerman Alabama is about 34 miles. That gives me about a month to get there competitively. I will probably limp into that race a bike on the bike but hopefully my run is stronger than in years past for that is where I clearly got beat.

As after tomorrow's 10k, the plan is to do an easy 45-60 minute recovery ride back on my end of town. Then on Sunday, I need a solid 3-4 hours in the saddle. It is going to suck and hurt bad...but it is needed.

Plus....next week is going to bring me a new little toy :)

Body Transformation Challenge

1/14 164 lbs 8.0% bf
1/28 163.4lbs 8.0% bf
2/13 164 lbs 7.3% bf
2/26 162.6 7.6% bf

Something odd happened the other day. After my long run on 2/9, I had a bit of a spell. I am not sure if I was just overheated, dehydrated or malnourished. We ran a 10 mile route and spent some time cooling down in Piedmont Park. Then, we decided to go to the Varsity for lunch....mmm. Well it was PACKED. It literally took 45 minutes to get our food. While waiting, I began to feel a bit warm and faint. The feeling subsided when we received our food.

Now, I am no stranger to food....especially after a workout. I gorged on 2 cheeseburgers, cheese fries and a chocolate shake. I easily put back the calories and then some. I didn't feel good the rest of the day. I wasn't sure if it was a stomach ache, fatigue or from the faint feeling. The next morning I weighed myself and I was 159.4 pounds. Wow. Despite eating a massive lunch and moderate dinner, I dropped nearly 5 pounds in less than 24 hours.

I carefully monitored the weight over the next few days to see if it was an anomaly. Nope. I knew it wasn't really possible for me to shed that much weight due to a 90 minute run so something was clearly wrong. It actually took my body 3-4 days to put the weight back on.

I don't really know what happened. I wonder if it was a sign to cut back on training...though I don't feel like I am over training. Was the weight saying that I wasn't recovered so my body was rejecting things? Not sure. Just something to note for the future.

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Also, I have let my diet go to crap again. I need to get this back on track.

Feb 25-Mar 2

Focus on the bike this week!

M: 90' bike (96 minutes, 25 mile ride)
T: 60' spin; 3x1 mile repeats at 10K pace (60' spin class, 5 mile run with repeats)
W: 30' run, 2600y swim (26' run, 2200y swim)
T: 50' tempo run; core weights (35' run with strides)
F: 30' run, 3600y swim (3400y swim)
S: CRR 10K; 60' bike (10k, 2.5 mile recovery run)
S: 2-3 hour bike (2:45, 40 mile ride)

Overall this was a great training week. Weather and work threw the schedule a bit but I feel like it was successful.

T-Pace part 2

It is quite comforting when you see results in your training. On 1/15 I conducted my first swim time trial. 1000y all out. I knew I wasn't in swim shape so it was a bit of a struggle. Today I retested. I shaved 1m 17s off that time!!! Sweet. My new t-pace is 1.40 per 100. Now the only questions is how much will it take for me to get that down to 1.35.

1/15 TT 1000y 18.01 1.48 pace
2/24 TT 1000y 16.44 1.40 pace

Maybe one of these days I will make myself join the masters class and actually learn how to swim.

Lactate Threshold Run

LT test time. Yippee. Well over the past three months I haven't really seen any tangible improvement. Hmmm. I will say that each of the past three LT runs have been different. On my 1/16 run my HRM wasn't cooperating so I didn't record accurate HR data. My HR on 12/20 was 162 for the LT portion. Today was 153. That is sooper low comparatively. And it was into a sharp head wind for nearly 2/3 of the run.

What does that mean? Well I don't really know. The way I look at it is that I am running the same distance at the same pace at a lower heartrate. That is improvement. However, it may also indicate that I am leaving some gas in the tank and should be capable of picking it up more.

Since I am hitting a bit of a wall, I am going to mix up my runs a bit. I am going to head back to the track for some 400 & 800 intervals. This will allow me to focus on speed over shorter distances.

WU: 10' 1.15 miles (8.44 pace), Avg HR 146
Main: 20:01 2.74 miles (7.19 pace) Avg HR 153
CD: 7:52 .87 miles (9.12 pace) Avg HR 148

11/21 20:01, 2.50 miles, 8:02 pace
12/20 20:01, 2.71 miles, 7:23 pace
1/16 20:00, 2.74 miles, 7:19 pace
2/17 20:00, 2.74 miles, 7:19 pace

Race Fees

If you ever need a great case study in supply-demand economics, look no further than the triathlon or race community. Ironman has capitalized on this concept for years. In general, there are only about half a dozen Ironman branded races in the United States. Over the past few years demand has soared. From a liability perspective, a race can only have so many people involved...generally around 2500 for Ironman. As it stands the demand greatly exceeds the availability. It is not an exaggeration to say that often these events sell out within hours....if not minutes when online registration opens. It is now almost routine that one must travel to an event just to get first crack at registering for next years race. Yes, thats right, one must register a year in advance. I remember at Ironman Wisconsin, I met 2 guys that drove from Oklahoma just to register. At Ironman Florida, we stood in line for nearly 1.5 hours just to register. There were probably close to 8-900 people in line that day. After all the on-site registrants were taken from the 2500 slots, the event sold out within an hour.

So as a business model, Ironman is clearly doing something right. They have a product that people want. This also allows NA Sports (company) to jack up prices because people are willing to pay $500 just to race (aside: to their credit NA Sports does put on phenomenal, class-A events that truly are costly). Because of the high costs to operate such an event, I don't take too much issue with Ironman charging this amount. After all it is an 17 hour race with 2500 participants. Sure it is a hit to the wallet nearly a year out with no guarantees except a race number with your name on it.

In fact, I don't mind paying a bit more for a classy triathlon. I tend to believe the costs should hover around $40-60 for a sprint and about $75-90 for an Olympic. Paying $150-200 doesn't really bother me for a Half-Ironman (of course, I shudder as I say that). And on the bright side we are experiencing a proliferation of 140.6 races across the nation. Same distance. Same challenge. They just don't carry the Ironman brand. These races are relatively cheap because demand is low.

All this brings me to the fact that I registered for the ING half marathon this morning. It cost me $80. $80 for a 13.1 mile run. Nothing else. That is over $6 a mile. That's a trip to subway or moes for each mile I run. That is a beer per mile. MMmmm...beer. Ideally, I think a half marathon should fall around $50 with the full being close to $75.

Now I can apply the same economic principles because ING DID sell out last year when it hit the 15,000 mark, albeit only a few weeks prior. However, this is the second year in existence. And reports from last year were NOT positive. I think $80 is a bit steep for a Sunday morning stroll through Atlanta.

Last year, I saved my money. I ran the course two days prior as a training run. Of course, I don't get the luxary of police at major intersections or the atmosphere that is only rivaled on race day. However, the irony is that I don't think I would have raced it all that much quicker...5-6 minutes at most. It made me really think about actually registering this year. At $80 a pop, I think I do without ING and downtown Atlanta. Next time, I will run the Alpharetta Half Mary three weeks earlier and for only $40 ($30 in advance)

Feb 18-24

Time to get crackin'

Mon--3 mile easy run/ 2500y swim (20' run/2300y swim)
Tues--60' spin class/ 40' LT test (60' spin/LT test)
Wed--Weights-stretching/ 3 mile run/ 2800y (weights/4 mile run)
Thurs--60' spin/ 45' tempo run (85' spin/2500y swim)
Fri--yoga / 2200y swim (yoga)
Sat--2.5-3.0 bike (1:45' run)
Sun--1:45 run; 60' recovery bike. (1800y swim)

Overall it was a good week of training. The weather wasn't all that cooperative so a few workouts suffered. I really need to get on the bike!!!

Clean Bill of Health & Next steps

After some of the bad karma from last week, I am hoping I turned the corner. Friday afternoon, my chiropractor gave me the green light on resuming intense workouts. He said my body looked like a different animal than it was a few weeks ago. Well it should be. I felt really good after Mercedes. I did the right thing and went in for a massage on Tuesday to flush out the legs. I think my massage therapist loves me. She worked me for nearly 2 hours.

I also ordered a foam roller so that I can work on my myofascial release (link). This things is awesome. I roll on it twice a day and it takes care of the tension in my back. Now I just need to focus on my glutes and it-bands.

This next week also starts the next chapter in training. I feel good about my swimming progress but I need to step it up. I hope to visit a Master's swim class and learn more about technique. My goal is to attend Master's once or twice a week. I am thinking Monday evenings and Wednesday mornings will be prime time for me to swim. This week also marks a shift in my run training. In an effort to PR at the ING (which I still need to register for...ugh) I am jumping on a different training plan to see what kind of results I can get. But most importantly, I need to get on the bike more. March needs to be a BIG biking month so I have two weeks to set that base. While it isn't panic time....it is GO time.

Body Transformation Challenge

1/14 164 lbs 8.0% bf
1/28 163.4lbs 8.0% bf
2/13 164 lbs 7.3% bf

The weight number really isn't budging. After Mercedes the body fat dropped significantly so I waited a few days to let my body equalize. I expect that number to come back up over the next week or so.

Feb 11-17

This week is more of a recovery. Not that I need it so much from the race but with the illness and injuries I thought it might be best to take it down a notch. I scheduled a massage and chiropractor appointment already.

That being said, I will likely swim, bike and run some during the week.

I don't know if this really constitutes a recovery week but here is what I did:

Mon: Yoga/2000y swim
Tues: 30m weights/30m run/1.5h massage :)
Wed: rest
Thurs: 45m bike/ 7.5 mile run (not a good day!)
Fri: 3000y swim
Sat: 10 mile run
Sun: 60m ride

Mercedes Half Marathon, Results

Well that went better than expected. Never in my greatest prediction would I have thought that a 1.51.38 half mary was possible. That is an 8:32 per mile pace. My negative thoughts and minor obstacles are well chronicled.

I woke Sunday morning with little excitement. I knew I had to get through the next few hours and I would feel better. I arrived downtown around 6:15. Fortunately the sun was up and it was a warm 40 degrees. I opted to run in my compression shorts and a light under armor long sleeved shirt. This was the right call. I proceeded to the bathroom line around 6:30 then stretched and did some gentle strides to get the heartrate up and kicking. I finally entered the corral with less than 10 minutes to go. I positioned myself ahead of the 4:00 marathon pace group.

The gun went off and so did we. My HR took a quick spike and I slowed down a bit. I have a knack for going out too hard and the first mile is always indicative of this. I was amazed at the number of people who began walking within the first mile of the race. Seriously?

I was struggling to get my HR down into zone 2 as it seemed to stick in mid z-3. I decided at this point to just run by pace and rate of perceived exertion (RPE). This seemed to work. My pace for the first three miles was smooth. Somewhere during mile 4, I stopped to empty an otherwise full bladder which provided much needed relief.

Half way through mile 4 and all mile 5 was an climb up Greensprings. It also amazes me the people who clearly never train on hills. I was surging up the hill past people. I also let my HR climb into z4 for a bit. Once I reached the summit of the hill and mile 6, I knew I was in good shape. I could tell that I was a few minutes ahead of schedule.

Mile 6-9 were small rollers through the neighborhoods. My heartrate was stuck in zone 3 but my pace was comfortable and I didn't feel labored. I hit the final hill around mile 10 and it definitely took some out of me. The final 3 miles were nearly all downhill and flat. At this juncture I knew that unless I blew up, I would be on pace for a PR.

At mile 11, I picked it up a bit more to see if the pack would come with me...and they did. Mile 12 was a beautiful site. I picked it up a bit more over the last half mile but realized that I needed to hold back and not kill myself today. I crossed the finish line only to run into my high school track coaches.

1.51.38 is the official chip time. That is 63/158 (39th percentile) within my Age Group and 566/2667 (21st percentile) of all competitors. Not a bad day. (8.39, 8.36, 8.28, 8.35, 9.26, 9.07, 8.25, 8.48, 8.30, 8.32, 7.58, 8.05, 7.54) Avg HR 155


What is more important is that I felt great afterwards. I wasn't drained like my previous long runs. I was upbeat and energetic....like I should be.

Now I have my work cut out for me at ING in 6 weeks. I need to shave 6 minutes. That is roughly 30 seconds per mile or an 8:00 mile pace. That is the goal at least.

Lessons Learned:
--Base fitness is the MOST important aspect
--Trust your training
--Kick ass at ING

Mercedes Half Marathon, Part Deux

So I arrived in Birmingham yesterday afternoon despite my concerted thoughts of pulling out of the race. This week was a total wash. I was struck by the flu bug and found myself bed ridden most of Tuesday and Wednesday. I mustered together enough energy for a run on Thursday but an hour later I was beat. This didn't bode well with me.

I visited the chiropractor on Friday in an attempt to unlodge my jammed back. Ouch. That hurt. Maybe I really should ice it at night because it is irritating today. Over the past 10-14 days I have developed the oddest problem in my left quad. It honestly feels like I have a dead muscle. It almost feels numb from time to time. It didn't bother me on last week's run but I constantly feel it when I am walking around. As if I didn't have enough issues right now....

I am so unthrilled and unmotivated about tomorrow. Obviously, this isn't how I wanted to approach my first race. Common sense tells me to completely pullout of the race but I am too stubborn for that. For whatever reason, I find comfort inflicting pain. Fortunately, between the illness and injury, I should have enough to slow me down and force me to hold back in the race.

So my plan is to run SLOW. My goal is to run a 2:05. That puts me at a 9:30 pace. That should be plenty slow and safe. THEN, I will come back for ING and try to shave a lot of time off.

Feb 4-10

RACE WEEK!!!
(doesn't help that I am out of town)

Monday: Core yoga/ 2000y swim (2000y swim)
Tuesday: Strength training/35' run/ core exercises (sick)
Wednesday: Upper body weights (?) (light weight)
Thursday: 85' run (60' run)
Friday: Off
Saturday: 20' run, possible lake swim (2 mile run)
Sunday: Mercedes Half Marathon (13.1 mile run)


Bad workouts due to sickness and travel

Mercedes Half Marathon

Needless to say, my expectations are not being met. The Mercedes half mary was essentially a consolation prize when I pulled out of the Mardi Gras marathon. Then I made Mercedes a warmup race to the ING half. Now, it seems I am limping into the race really wondering if I should even risk it. I can't seem to catch a break right now. My lower body is not responding like I need it to at this juncture.

I feel like I have put in the work. I have scaled back my training at times when I felt injuries. I am stretching more than I ever have before. I am focusing on my diet and refueling after long runs. I cut out spin class after wondering if that was the problem. Bottomline...I am not being dumb about training, I am making the right decisions....just not getting desired results.

A month ago I was peaking in training. I was knocking off mile repeats at new personal bests. I was running times that I haven't seen since high school. Now I am cautious on each run. And it is infuriating me. Granted it is the beginning of the season but I want to be injury free all season. No room for error!.

So Mercedes is less than 10 days away and I am shifting my focus to mentally prepare. I only have a few more runs and then it is race day. Again, my goal is to go out easy and try to have fun in preparation for a long season.

I will discuss race strategy later but right now, I am setting my goal as a sub 2 hours half. I know I can easily do that on training runs but I need to treat the run like a training day...plus I have always heard this course was much more challenging than it looks.

Here is the course profile:

January Training

Well this wasn't the greatest month for training. I had a number of nagging injuries that seemed to cut my long runs short. Ideally, I needed to be up around 110 miles. I also was a bit lethargic. I didn't get on the bike when I should have. Overall, I am pleased just need to start ramping it up. After Mercedes half, training really begins.

January's totals:
Bike:	6h 34m 32s - 111 Mi
Run:	11h 50m 34s - 80.44 Mi
Swim:	6h 19m 11s - 17500 Yd
Strength:	4h 30m
Yoga:	1h 20m

Body Transformation Challenge

I mentioned a few posts back that I have an ideal race weight and body fat. I hope to get down to 155 and 7% body fat. This begins with cleaning up my diet (I say that as I eat five cookies). For the most part, I am achieving this objective. Fruit and vegetables fill my diet when my schedule is consistent. And I like it. A normal day looks like this for me:

6 am: Banana or granola bar
8 am: Kashi cereal with fat free milk
10 am: Fruit (grapes, strawberries, apples)
12 pm: Turkey sandwich, carrots, fat free yogurt
3 pm: powerbar/clif bar
7 pm: granola or snack
8 pm: dinner (burrito, pasta, chicken and beans)
10 pm: chocolate milk

I am not going to be obsessive about this number it is more of a goal. For me, I think it just forces me to clean up the diet and become a bit more conscious about what I am putting in my body. My plan is to weigh myself on a daily basis for arguments sake. But I will record consecutive days every two weeks so that I can chart any progress.

I will admit that this idea hasn't come into fruition as I initially anticipated. First, I have been running for the better part of two months. Base running is one of the best ways to cut fat. Second, as a result, I initially weighed in at a very low number. I am almost not certain that these numbers will budge much. However, when I drop weight lifting in the next few weeks then the weight might drop as the bulk leaves the body.

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1/14 164 lbs 8.0% bf
1/28 163.4lbs 8.0% bf

Jan 28-Feb 2

I am starting a two week taper for Mercedes which allows me to step up my training in my other disciplines.

Mon: Swim 2800 (2600y)
Tues: Spin class,weights, 50' LT run (yoga, 32' run)
Wed: S: 2500 (2500y/ core work)
Thurs: weights, 90' run (strength training)
Fri: S: 2500 (2500y)
Sat: B: 120 easy, R: 45' easy (85' run)
Sun: R: 40'(2h bike)

Good workouts this week!!!

In Pursuit of Perfection

Is it ever enough? Is it too much?

I was posed this internal question tonight as I watch the movie Spirit of the Marathon. The movie is a documentary on the evolution of the marathon and chronicles 5 athletes in their pursuit of various goals in the Chicago Marathon. The athletes varied in experience, age and abilities. The common theme was that they all faced the same demons we all do....Am I doing too much? Is it ever enough?

Watching movies like this, in a theater of athletes nonetheless, forces you to think about your own training. You compare yourself to the athletes. You empathize and sympathize. You watch them deal with injuries and wonder if it is finally time for you to concede to the idea that you are injured. You can't for the life of you understand why HE can Boston qualify with a 3:10 and you struggle on a 2 hour run.

In this sport, you are often asked and ask yourself why. Why do you force yourself outside for a 15 mile run when it is 12 degrees. Why do you push yourself for 80 miles at 6 am on a Saturday. What is the ultimate goal? To finish? To beat a specific time? To podium? To qualify for world championships? Is it ever enough?

I asked an elite triathlete the other day about her experience this past year and what it was like to FINALLY qualify to race in Kona. This was a long dream of hers. To make it to Kona. So what's next? She wants to go back and prove that she is faster than she demonstrated in October. Is it ever enough?

I sometimes wonder if I am too OCD about training. Do I take it too seriously? This is supposed to be a hobby but it has morphed into a lifestyle. Is that a positive thing? While I know this sport brings out the best in me at times, I know it brings out the worst too. I stare at numbers all day. I obsess about the Ironman and how fast I want to go this season. I analyze my workouts looking for signs of improvement. I look at others training and wonder why I am not going faster. Is it ever enough?

This sport is all about the pursuit of perfection...having and executing the perfect plan on race day. You need a number of things to go your way. You need to adjust to all the unforeseen problems. And even then you still need an amount of luck. Say at the end of the day you beat your goal. You baste in your triumph and glory. You awake the next day and ask yourself, can I still do it faster. Is it ever enough?

How to make a triathletes day

This sport is expensive enough on its own. The things you don't factor into your budget often include hydration and nutrition for your long rides/runs. It amazes me how a quick trip to the bike store costs $75 in food. And all I got was three things!

Support a triathlete...send food and drinks before s/he evaporates from burning too many calories. Here is a perfect example of a triathlete care package:


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It is just that simple. Your triathlete is happy, no longer hungry and can keep training!

www.performancebike.com

Core Strengthening

After months of PT, I was told that I need to strengthen my core. The core muscles are probably the most overlooked and undertrained part of the body. However, in this sport, they are essential. And training them means more than just some situps when I visit the gym. I am using this post as a place holder for the following two videos that provide a number of exercises for strengthening the core.



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Jan 21-27

MON: 30' recovery run/ 2500 swim (30' run 1800 swim)
TUES: Spinning class/upper body weights/45' LT run (60' spin, weights)
WED: Morning yoga/20' run (yoga 45' LT run)
THURS: Spinning class/arm weights/ 45' run (off)
FRI: 2400y swim (1550, massage)
SAT: 40' speed run (possible bike) (off)
SUN: 120' run (123' run)

Again the focus of the week will be hitting my 2h run this weekend. I was able to suffer through 12 miles last weekend with virtually little pain...mainly irritation. I will monitor the hip/leg throughout the week and attempt to minimize further irritation.

Running in the colds is something else. I ran on Wednesday right when it began snowing. It made things interesting. My run on Sunday was blissful. It was 22 degrees with a windchill of 13. Not fun. But I did manage to have a good run

Lactate Threshold Run

Wednesday night I engaged in my third LT run in as many months. Typically, you want to repeat these runs every 4-6 weeks and track them to determine progress. The idea behind an LT run is to condition the body to train near your LT thus stressing the body and training it to flush out the lactate acid from your muscles. That way, when you are racing, your body knows how to recover from this area.

Here are my results.

11/21 20:01, 2.50 miles, 8:02 pace
12/20 20:01, 2.71 miles, 7:23 pace
1/16 20:00, 2.74 miles, 7:19 pace

That looks like improvement to me. I was a bit shocked to see improvement from yesterdays run. Since my run volume has been suffering I thought my LT might slip a bit. Also, I know I went out too hard yesterday (first mile was about 6:45). I still need to work on building UP to LT instead of hitting it and hanging on.

Overall I am happy with the results. I think with a bit more strategy, I can get that pace down to 7:00/mile. That is one of my goals. Plus, I have plenty of time. And I am going to stay with base building going into Mercedes. That way I can switch to speed work in preparation for ING.

Swim T-Pace

Saturday I did my first ever T-pace swim. These are conducted about every 4-6 weeks in order to track progress. T-pace is your threshold pace or the pace that you want to maintain during your workouts. For swimming, the pace is a way to judge intensity. Your workouts are structured to revolve around your t-pace (ex. 4x200 at t-pace + 10s).

The process for conducting a t-pace is simple. A solid warmup and then an all out 1000y time trial. You take the 1000y time and divide it by 10 to determine your pace per 100y. In the pool I typically swim between 1.35-1.45 for the shorter distance intervals and drift between 1.45-1.50 on the longer sets as my form breaks down. Ideally, I think I want my t-pace to be around 1.35-1.40. Hopefully this is where Masters classes will help me.

I have also began tracking my swim times in a spreadsheet. Since swimming is the most constant of the disciplines (terrain doesn't change), I can analyze my swims from session to sessions. I also added a workout that I did back in May during my peak phase of IM CDA so that I can look at long term progress. For blogging purposes, I am just going to focus on my T-pace.

1/21 1000y TT 18.01 T-Pace 1.48/100

That's about on par with where I thought it would be. I have less than 10 swim workouts under my belt this season and swimming a continuous 1000y was the longest interval I have done thus far. This should give a solid benchmark for improvement.

Now on to my LT run this afternoon....

Workouts Jan 14-20

MON: AM Yoga/ PM 3000y swim (2500y)
TUES: AM Weights / 40m LT run (50' spin class, 4 mile run, 30mins weights)
WED: AM Yoga/ 20m run/ Spinervals (40' LT run)
THURS: AM Weights/ 45m run (50' spinverals)
FRI: AM Yoga/ 2500swim (2300y)
SAT: 2h long run (45' on the trainer, 60' weights, play in snow)
SUN: 35 mile ride in the mountains/ 30m run (12 mile run)

Focus this week is hitting my 2h run on Saturday. I really need that. The ride for Sunday is in question due to temperature concerns. No way I am riding in the mountains if it is 20 degrees.

Something is off

Mentally and physically nothing is clicking right now. I am down and out on training. I was so excited about the new year and tackling new objectives. My run was coming together and most importantly I was having fun. That is the case no longer

There is no motivation in the body right now. I don't want to train. My runs are not going well. I am carrying a lot of stress about the upcoming season. I should be psyched that I am racing in a month but I'm not. I have even considered pulling out of the race.

I can recall only a few times that I have ever let the negative mental demons beat me down. Seems like they are winning right now. All I want to do is stay at home, act lazy and eat really bad. I never want fast food and I was craving it all weekend. And pizza too.

I took off most of the weekend. I didn't run this weekend after my miserable run Friday afternoon. Right now, I am going to take a few days off from running and focus on the other disciplines. Hopefully that will re-engage me a bit. I really need to get these cobwebs out of my head.

Time to get moving

So I got a bit derailed last week by the bubonic plague and it forced me to sit out a few days. As a result, I postponed the official start of training. But come Monday, I am back on track. I also just bought a scale so the weight and body composition challenge is on. I think official weigh in will be Saturday or Sunday. I also plan on posting a picture.

My idea is to weigh in 2-3 times a week but definitely record the data every Monday morning. I doubt I will post the information more than monthly as it won't be all that exciting to watch for the next 44 weeks.

I will also try to post my weekly workouts and develop some level of accountability. BT goes a great job with the monthly and annual totals that those will transfer over without a problem.

The upcoming half marathons throw a bit of a wrinkle into my triathlon training plans. Yesterday marked 20 weeks until the Triple T. I know I have this listed as an "A" race but my training will not be quite on par for an "A" race. This is really because I don't know what to expect from the race. Honestly, I don't know how to prepare for the race. It is 140.6 miles over a couple of days. So my thinking is to jump onto a beginner ironman plan and modify it a bit. I will aim to complete about 75-80% of the workouts. This should have me over prepared for the event but not overtrained. Plus it will allow me to stress a bit less about training knowing that I can shirk it a bit.

I need some LSD on my LSD

Bottomline--I am not hitting my long runs. I am at a loss for what is going on. I don't buy the idea that I am ramping up too quick or going out too hard. My training during the week is typically dead on. But that long slow distance on the weekend is killing me physically and mentally. I have already dropped out of the early season marathon to take on a half mary. But now I am concerned about that too. I feel like I should be peaking. And I am....if I want to race a 10k. Here are my last few long runs--

12/8 12 miles 1h 50m HR 146
12/21 13.75 miles 2h 09m HR 149
12/29 12.16 miles 1h 53m HR 149
1/5 12 miles 1h 53m HR 149

Something is not working. I have run out of excuses. I have lost my long run mojo. This is a frustrating time. I think I need to go back to the drawing board and figure out what is happening.

2007 Season Totals by Month

Goodness I love BT. A couple of clicks and done. Now I have 2007 training totals by month!!!

Date	Bike	Run	Swim
January	187.80 Mi - 11h 23m 41s	36.07 Mi - 5h 03m 52s	9750.00 Yd - 3h 49m 42s
February	230.70 Mi - 12h 59m 11s	60.41 Mi - 9h 03m 53s	25592.70 Yd - 8h 43m 31s
March	355.37 Mi - 20h 51m 31s	77.23 Mi - 12h 02m 35s	32644.36 Yd - 11h 30m
April	297.41 Mi - 17h 19m 50s	90.68 Mi - 13h 33m 50s	20512.18 Yd - 6h 36m 07s
May	464.00 Mi - 25h 45m 34s	96.15 Mi - 14h 59m 34s	23671.10 Yd - 7h 40m 38s
June	353.80 Mi - 20h 28m	63.53 Mi - 10h 43m 57s	18888.65 Yd - 6h 11m 50s
July	197.54 Mi - 11h 42m 31s	48.20 Mi - 7h 25m 23s	13525.28 Yd - 4h 26m
August	169.40 Mi - 10h 06m 53s	26.20 Mi - 4h 03m 15s	7793.01 Yd - 2h 36m 37s
September	105.50 Mi - 5h 51m 14s	20.13 Mi - 3h 04m 42s	4600.00 Yd - 1h 54m
October	27.50 Mi - 1h 35m 23s	27.41 Mi - 4h 24m 28s	1000.00 Yd - 22m 39s
November	35.20 Mi - 2h 15m 31s	77.49 Mi - 11h 57m 45s	4512.00 Yd - 1h 39m 20s
December	79.40 Mi - 4h 46m 12s	129.50 Mi - 19h 25m 35s	12300.00 Yd - 4h 34m 43s
Yearly totals:	2503.62 Mi - 145h 05m 31s Pace: 17.26 Mi/hr	753.00 Mi - 115h 48m 49s Pace: 09m 13s Mi	174789.30 Yd - 60h 05m 07s Pace: 01m 59s /100 Yd

Can you tell when I was peaking and when I was injured? :)

2007 Season Totals

Well I would say that I trained a bit more this year than the previous one, lol. For those that are not mathematically inclined, I helped you out a bit.

2007 totals
Bike: 145h 05m 31s - 2503.62 Mi (+783 mi)
Run: 115h 48m 49s - 753 Mi (+382 mi)
Swim: 60h 05m 07s - 174789.3 Yd (+75,277 yd)
Total: 320h 59m 21s - 3355 Mi

2006 totals
Bike: 99h 50m 08s - 1720.09 Mi
Run: 55h 10m 29s - 370.65 Mi
Swim: 42h 20m 21s - 99512 Yd
Total: 255h 20m 58s - 2146 Mi

That is 70 hours more or 1200 miles....nearly 56% more training. And this log is actually absent of any strength training (~40 hours) and any additional cross training. I would actually like to look back on my training logs and put together a month by month evaluation. I mentioned my yearly goals a few posts back. I bet I surpass 500 hours on the year in 2008.

Goals for the Year

In my last post I described some of my more general training goals. But it is time to get more specific. I typically refrain from trying to predict finish times in long races as it is impossible to control the number of variables in the equation. But I do have some very specific goals for the season.

1. Stay injury free
2. Rest and recover properly
3. Clean up my diet
4. Learn to train with more intensity
5. Chattanooga in 2:40
6. Break 1:45 in a half mary
7. Top 10 AG in sprint races
8. Beat my Powerman Alabama time
9. Have fun in a few races
10. Rock Ironman Florida

Some of these goals are race specific and others are out of my control. One of the goals that is 100% in my control is #3. I really want to clean up my diet this year. Last year, at Ironman Coeur d'Alene, I weighed in a 159 lbs and 7.8% body fat. By many standards this is great and I am definitely not complaining. When I step on the scales for Ironman Florida I want to be sub-155 and sub 7% body fat....a lean, mean, endurance machine!

While this isn't a primary goal, it is an important secondary one. I don't necessarily believe in dieting. I tend to follow the notion that I train in part so that I can eat what I want. I just need to make better decisions. I need to ween myself off processed food. Living a bachelor lifestyle makes the microwave and boxed dinners an easy option. That practice needs to end. I have already taken some action this winter to stop purchasing particular foods....some baked foods and chips. This is a start but I still have a ways to go.

I have never been one to think that my diet was bad. Sure there are some things that aren't exactly nutritional but I am not one to often splurge. Most of my snacks are in the healthy range. My diet consists of granola everyday. I don't buy many snacks...no cookies or chocolate. When friends come to stay, I recommend that they go to the store for themselves. However, I need to become more aware of my little guilty pleasures and vices...'no thanks, I will pass on the breakfast brunch for my yogurt.'

My goal is for my diet to become really colorful and lean. That means more salad and fruit. That means more lean meats and whole wheat pasta. The focus will be eating foods that rate low on the glycimic index thus prolonging the fat burning when I workout. It will get expensive at times but it is the right move. I believe that as long as I can clean up my diet and still recover properly, then I will become a better athlete. I will never be one of those who shops exclusively at Whole Foods or is called a food snob. I love pizza, burgers and burritos too much. I won't put down my chips and salsa but I will no longer reach for doritos on a snacking binge. I will still utilize Moe's for post training meals but I will skip the random blue cheese burger (mmmm)

The other part of my diet that needs work is to eat less at meals. I have long loved to eat and eat I do. It goes back to the notion of smaller portions. I know I overeat at meals. I just hate food to go to waste. Dinner is really the only time this happens. I have a very structure diet for breakfast and lunch. And I do snack throughout the day. My goal is to do a better job after workouts to put food back into the body prior to dinner. I believe that if I go into dinner a bit full it will cut down on the calorie consumption and not cause insulin spikes at night.

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The other big goal on the season is to learn to train with more intensity. Last year I plunged into the world of heart rate based training. I learned to listen to my body and taught it to respond accordingly. However, during most of my training sessions I would sit down in z2 and not labor myself. This proved to be a great philosophy as I built a huge running base that was able to take on 15-20 mile runs at a comfortable pace. It served me well last year. But this year has different objectives.

When I learned to live in zone 2, my body was in its comfort zone. I knew that so long as I continued fueling the body that I would remain in the fat burning zone. When the heartrate went up my body started working harder. Zone 4 and I weren't not friends. The HR crept up and the body rejected the notion of working harder.

This proved to be a limiting factor in my races. I feel like I trained with a threshold that I would never bump up against....essentially leaving unrealized potential out there. It was most noticeable on the bike where I could maintain a competitive speed at a reasonable heartrate. The question is, can I train harder on the bike and thus train faster?

Of course this theorem is a double edged sword. The hardest thing to do in a race is to find that threshold on the bike where you can push it 100% and STILL have enough in the tank to run. Too often you see people blow up on the run because they pushed the bike too hard. So part of me thinks I have always held back on the bike in fear of blowing up. And it is a reasonable notion...the race is nearly always won or lost on the run.

The year has already started with a great amount of intensity training. I am hitting my tempo and strength runs. Not shirking them for extra base miles. And I have already seen proven results. My mile repeat times have dropped. My zone 2 base pace has dropped. Hopefully, these are just the beginning of numerous running improvements that will serve me well for the next 11 months.

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So there is it. Two huge goals that I can control. Sounds simple, lol.