Week Summary

I had a few less than idea workouts this week, but that happens. I've been on a roll as of late so there's no need to be discouraged.

Also, I have finally looked at my swim videos. I'll post a critique tomorrow. There's a lot to critique.

Oh, and congrats to Conor for a stellar Steelhead this past weekend. That should set you up nicely for Louisville. Just be sure not to ramp things back up too quickly at the beginning of this week.

Now on with the show...

August 1
(1) It's August already? Wow. After a tough ride yesterday (see below), I was curious how my legs would react. Today's ride was up to Ward and then over to Niwot High School for a track run. On the climb to Ward I pushed IM effort up until mile 15, averaging 235 W at 143 bpm for 1:05. Once I hit mile 15, gravity and the steepness of the road forced my effort up a bit, and I spent the next ten minutes averaging 256 W and 151 bpm. PE crept up toward the end of the ride, I think just due to muscle tiredness (particularly in the bum). Anyhow, good numbers for me but aided by the terrain.

(2) The post-ride track run went alright. The original plan was 5 miles at 6:00/mile. My HR was 160 bpm after the first mile and 170 after the second. A combination of heat and dehydration were likely responsible for the high HR. CV altered the plan and had me do a bunch of 400s and a few 200s, all at about 6:00/mile pace. The 400s are pretty easy for me, as it's not until 200m in that I even start breathing deeply.

(3) I finished off the weekend with a 15 minute flop.

July 31
(1) The day got off to a good start. I began with a 1:00 run with 2 miles at 6:20/mile pace, but otherwise easy.

(2) After the run I headed up to Boulder to join CV and the gang for a 5 hour ride. My instructions were to do 3 hours at IM pace (~220 W). The best thing I can say about my ride was that the first hour went well. I was cruising along pushing 220-240 W and a HR in the high 140s and feeling great. The second hour didn't go too bad, I guess, but by the time the third hour rolled around I was "in a spot of bother" as Phil Liggett would say. My power dropped way off, my HR stayed high, my stomach was full of fluid, and I had no energy.

I think I know the cause of my issue. First, it was a hot day. Second, my nutrition plan for the ride was real foods, or at least somewhat real foods (e.g., things that strike a good balance between staying edible in my pocket for five hours on a 95 degree day and including only non-machine made ingredients, such as Whole Foods energy nuggets with lots of nuts and fruit and LaraBars). So, I've got a high sweat rate due to the conditions and I'm combating that by taking in a lot of water (not sports drink), yet I am taking in almost no sodium. A few hours into the ride, and suddenly water stops leaving my stomach, I get dehydrated, etc. etc. That's my theory, anyhow.

My ride ended basically limping back to Boulder at <180 W. Still, I averaged over 22 mph for the three hours at IM intensity on terrain similar to Louisville and hit 100 miles in 4:45 despite said limping home.

(3) Very short flop.

July 30
(1) 3400m swim with a 1000m time trial. My time was 17:25, with the first 500m in 8:38 and the second in 8:47. I'm no Grant Hackett.

(2) 1 hour run with 40 minutes at 150 bpm. I averaged 6:52/mile at 152 bpm for those 40 minutes on terrain a bit more challenging than Louisville. Nice. That speed felt easy and I kept having the desire to run around 6:30/mile.

July 29
(1) 4500m swim. I did 3200m or so of this swim earlier in the week, but CV made me do the whole thing all over again since I didn't get the entire 4500m in. Not too bad, really.

(2) Extra curricular: 1 hour spin

(3) 30 minute easy run with Stacey. I did not feel that great. Usually these jogs are effortless, like walking, but this day I had a slight side-stitch.

July 28 - Death Run
(1) 2:15 run scheduled, 2:00 complete. I just fell apart. The only other time I can recall feeling this bad on a run is during the latter stages of a marathon or IM. The goal was to warm-up, start running 6:45-7:00/mile, and then cool-down. Sounded easy enough on paper.

My expectation was for a 150-155 bpm HR, yet after 40 minutes my HR was approaching 160 bpm. It started hitting 165 bpm on hills, and I made the executive decision to pull the plug on running by pace. Hour 1: 7:00/mile at 160 bpm average.

I switched to running at 155 bpm for the second hour. Despite slowing to 7:37/mile, I only made it another 30 minutes before making executive decision #2: get home ASAP. I dropped my pace to balance minimizing suffering and getting home quickly.

The hike is Aspen may have taken more out of me than I realized, and it showed during this run. (Again, just my theory.)

(2) Flop.

July 27
(1) Swim. This is the one I mentioned above. I did 3200m of the scheduled 4500m. Hey, a man's got to work! (CV noted on the schedule that if I couldn't fit the whole thing in, I just needed to wake up earlier.)

(2) Tempo ride w/ 1:30 at 230-240 W. I did nine 10 minute intervals with 2 minutes easy pedaling between. Average watts were 245-248 for all sets, and my HR average gradually increased from 143 bpm to 148 bpm. Solid and pretty easy, PE-wise.