Training Week 3: 12/11/06 - 12/17/06

Training Schedule:
Mon, 12/11: AM-Bike = 45 min Spinervals workout (8.0, "Recovery & Technique"), PM-Swim = 1 hr Master's swim workout
Tues, 12/12: AM-Run = 30 min HR Zone 1 - 2 run, Strength = weights, PM-Run = 55 min workout of mile repeats
Wed, 12/13: Rest day! We are going to see the Brian Setzer Orchestra in Tempe!
Thurs, 12/14: AM-Rest, PM-Swim = 1 hr Master's swim workout
Fri, 12/15: AM-AM-Run = 30 min HR Zone 1 - 2 run, Strength = weights, PM-Swim = 1 hr Master's swim workout
Sat, 12/16: AM-Bike & Run = Fantasy Island Ride-n-Tie race
Sun, 12/17: AM-Bike/Run brick = 2 hr long bike followed immediately with 30 min run

Monday 12/11/06 update:
Life is quickly becoming train, eat, work, train, sleep. I have very little time to do even the simplest of tasks like check e-mail. Getting gas for my car is becoming a major inconvenience. When you look at training hours on a training plan, you quickly realize that doesn't include all the prep time: making meals, driving to and from workouts (pool, gym, etc), showering after the workout, etc. That's the other thing...I'm mostly living in the shower and my car. With 2 workouts a day means 2 showers. I have to haul all of my workout gear around with me in bags in my car, along with my food and my clothing. Breakfast has recently been PB&J or PB & honey sandwiches, as they are easy to eat in the car on the way to work. But since I work in a cleanroom, I can't have my snack foods with me like I could when I worked in my cubicle. So I get hungry by 10:30AM, and by 11:30AM I am ready to pass out.

Gotta run, as I have to get up at 4:15AM tomorrow morning to be at the gym and working out by 5AM! But I have a lot I want to share, so I'll be back.

Friday 12/15/06 update:
Holy cow it's already Friday! The days are getting mixed up and I'm finding it hard to remember what calendar day it is. All I know is what I'm doing the next morning or evening for workouts. Someone at work asked me if I was "doing the race this Saturday." I had to ask what race, as it was Wednesday and I couldn't even think of what I was doing Friday. Then I remembered it was the Fantasy Island race, and I replied that yes, I was doing that race. I pretty much just plan everything ahead of time, put it on the calendar, and then just focus on what I'm doing that day.

So here's where I'm at with the 3 sports:
Swim - This week we did an aerobic threshold (AT) test to determine our AT pace for 100 yards. My AT pace was 1:50, which was much faster than I was expecting. "No more 2:00 intervals for you!" Coach Colleen said. There's no cheating the AT test. During the test I thought I was going to die. But I just repeated to myself "This is what it's going to take to be an Ironman." And after that I was able to get through the workout. Jelly arms and all.

Bike - Biking during the week has been on the trainer with Coach Troy and Spinervals, and last week I had picked up 2 more videos. I still have on my list for Santa the Aero Base Builder box set (hope Santa is reading this). Long rides are being done on the weekends out on the road. I found that my legs like to spin at a higher cadence on the road than on the trainer. So I don't suck AS bad as I was thinking. Still got a ways to go to improve, but heck this is only Week 3.

Run - I'm doing a lot of HR Zone 1 and 2 runs, and my pace is actually doing pretty good. I'm trying to become more efficient at those lower zones, as that's where I want to be during the race. There's no way I'll be able to stay in Zone 3 or higher during the IM and expect to survive, so training at the lower zones is working out well. This week I did have a pain in my right leg, just to the right and below the knee. I'm not sure what it was, but I decided to rest it and not do any running until the race on Saturday. Swimming and doing kicking sets seems to be helping whatever it is. I think becoming majorly injured and not being able to train is one of my biggest fears.

I need to do some reading to figure out possible nutrition plans. I haven't tried a lot of stuff out there as far as liquid nutrition for the bike goes, so I may start experimenting. There's a lot to choose from out there, so this may take awhile to figure out.

So here's the stupid thing. I spent the month before the training started getting everything ready so that I wouldn't have to worry about it during training. I didn't want any major changes or anything, and just wanted to keep everything simple so that I could focus on training. Since then I have changed work schedules, and NOW we are looking at a house. Great. I really wasn't anticipating even looking at another house, but we checked one out that we were interested in, and now we're actually thinking about it. The last thing I need to do right now is move while training for an Ironman! So that part has me worried. But you can't plan for everything, and I'm realizing I pretty much just have to take everything day by day. I guess there could be worse things to be dealing with right now, so at least this is something positive.

Well, I gotta run and get out the door to get ready for swimming. Tonight is distance night at Master's.

Sunday 12/17/06 update:
Yesterday Katrina and I did the Fantasy Island Ride-n-Tie race, which was a ton of fun. I'll save the race report for a separate blog entry. But this week I'm having pain in my right knee, in the dreaded IT band area. So I'm working on doing stretches with the flex band and I'm hoping to get a foam roller to help it.

Today was a 2 hr ride, and I ended up doing my usual loop of Houghton to Speedway, Speedway to Freeman, Freeman to Old Spanish Trail, and Old Spanish back to Houghton and Rita Ranch. The hills aggrivated my knee, but spinning was ok. I need to find some long, flat rides that I can do to work on my cadence as well as start increasing distance. It's tough to do that on hilly rides. But today's ride was beautiful. The sun would go in and out of the clouds, which was casting nice shadows on the mountains as I rode. The wind picked up towards the end of my ride, and it seems like all of my Sunday rides end up in the wind.

Oh, and we decided not to buy a house right now. Timing just isn't right, but it sure is nice to go and look. So I think that's what we'll do for awhile.



And now for the most important update of the week: Brian Setzer totally rocks! The concert on Wednesday was fantastic! He puts on a great show, not to mention he's pretty easy on the eyes. ;) The opening act was awesome too. It was the Hillbilly Casino, and they have one of the best frontmen I have ever seen! The guy has a ton of energy and showmanship. We bought one of their CDs at the concert, and will definitely check them out if they come back to this neck of the woods.

If you ever have a chance to check out the Brian Setzer Orchestra, do it! You won't be dissapointed!

Lessons Learned this Week:

• I have to work on the "pull" portion of my swim stroke. When I pull all the way through the stroke I get tired, so I definitely need to build up arm strength. I asked Coach Colleen about some workouts I can do in the gym to help with that, and will try them out the next time I go.
• I've got to do more research on the IT Band and figure out how to keep the pain in my right knee at bay. I really don't want this to become a chronic issue!