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Chronicles of a fish: the days of surf and turf
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Tuesday, March 11th, 2014
Bike plan:
10 minutes easy
5 x (30 sec build, 30 sec easy)
3 x (8 minutes threshold (not hugely over threshold), 2 minutes easy)
5 minutes easy
I wrote an entire report, including data, but it somehow got lost and I am too tired to write it again. The short version is this:
Did this on the new ride on a new trainer in the living room with all new gadgets and gizmos recording and displaying and making my head spin. At this moment because of the trainer configuration and the fact that I have to take my rear wheel off the bike, I have no way of recording speed or distance, but because of the Garmin Vector pedals, I do have the ability to record power. Let's just say the power meter is boldly and unapologetically screaming how little power I have.
And the Vector pedals are pointing an accusing finger at my imbalance of power between my right and left legs. !!!!! Any way.....I added an extra 10 minutes easy at the end of the session to get my prescribed hour ride in....and because this session was just like a session I did 3 weeks ago, I will use that session's mileage for tonight's estimated mileage. Oh, and heart rate data for the 3 threshold sets were all in line with threshold effort.
Actual: ~20 miles in an hour0 -
Wednesday, March 12th, 2014
Relatively big training day for me considering it is in the middle of the work week.....sort of unplanned, but it just unfolded....and I had someone's words about triathlon being a selfish sport in my head, and I decided to embrace that statement today.
Run plan, AM: 6 miles easy
Did this sneaky lunchtime style in the field without the Garmin. I love doing easy runs without the watch because it ensures I will listen to the body and not compete with the watch....and boy oh boy did I take listening to the body to a new level of slow with this little jaunt. I don't think I went over a 10 min/mile pace, but I bet I wasn't too far off. The field is inherently slow, but this was s-l-o-w.
The weather was a bit all over the place while I was trotting along - mild and calm when I began, gusting wind and piercing rain in the middle, then gustier wind without the piercing rain when I finished up. I briefly thought about going inside and completing this run on the treadmill when I was being blown about and getting drenched, but then I decided that to stay outside and commune with the elements would certainly build some character for me....and I'm all about building character.
Actual run, AM - 9 times around the field equals 6.3 miles~~~~~~~~
Endless Swim
This was sort of an add on. I had it in the back of my mind that I might get this swim in today, but it wasn't until my endless pool owning friend sent me a text to let me know his pool was lonely for me that I knew I had to fit this in. I mean, what's a water loving girl to do?? My initial thought was to do my PM run first then swim, but the weather got worse as the day wore on (more rain and more insane wind - think gusts of up to 40 mph! :eek:), so I decided I'd go swim first then do my evening run on the treadmill.
My friend is so proud that he's been keeping the water at 80 degrees for me, but I gotta tell ya that it never feels like 80 degrees. Nope. It always feels much cooler to me. And tonight the waves and turbulence seemed crazy - I felt like I was fighting the tide the whole time. But, I swam with my pull buoy until the pool cutoff at 33 minutes (the wave automatically shuts off at 33 minutes - a safety feature), and I do believe there is value in these rockin' and rollin' aquatic sessions. (fingers crossed)
The wind was so powerful as I was getting ready to leave that a rather large tree came toppling over before me and my friend's eyes!! :eek: I hightailed it out of there!!
Actual swim: ~1,500 meters, nothing but the pull buoy~~~~~~~~~
Run plan, PM - 5 miles steady
Consumed a gel in the car on the way home since I knew I was getting low on energy/nutrition, then hopped on the treadie with my hair still dripping wet. Did this at a pace of 8 min/mile, and it was okay. Not much quality in this run, but I got it done.
Followed the treadie trot up with stretching (wow, I really needed this!), core work (I've been told a strong core is essential for a tri bike), a few yoga moves, and the good old foam roller.
Actual run, PM - 5 treadmill miles0 -
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Thursday, March 13th, 2014
Endless Swim
Totally enjoyed this session.
The waves played ball and I got into a rhythm that was hypnotic and relaxing....and I was quite disappointed when the motor cut off after 33 minutes. Okay, so Dory's fish tank is nothing like the body of water shotgun was bragging about on his log with fish, fish and more fish and birds feeding on some of the fish, but I'm actually starting to like this artificial environment and its non-stop characteristics.
Actual swim: ~1,500 meters in ~30 minutes.~~~~~~~~~
Bike plan:
10 minutes easy
4 x (1 min high cadence, 30 sec easy)
4 x (30 sec building, 30 sec easy)
10 x (1 min on (hammer and tongs), 1 min off)
10 minutes easy
Raced home after the swim and hopped on the Black Cat with hair still dripping wet. I wasn't sure how I'd feel doing this immediately after my swim, but I thought it was sort of a beneficial idea since, well, you know, the bike comes after the swim in a triathlon.
Not too much to say....I felt surprisingly good and strong. My wattage (watts? wattness?
:o) is/are shockingly low, but I'll just have to think of this as an opportunity for me, meaning I have loads of room for improvement. I'd like to give a shout out to our very own interested who recommended the super awesome LeMond Revolution trainer I am using. It is smooth and feels more like I'm cycling on the road - easy to put together too!!! I purchased the wattbox with the trainer, but I have not installed that since I can track power on my bike...however, what a nice option! Whoop whoop!!
Actual bike - ~16 miles in 50 minutes0 -
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A Trek speed concept 9, lovely bike. Probably my dream bike!
Good to hear good things about the Lemond Revolution trainer too, hopefully picking one up tomorrow to replace my turbo. Only ever used it in the shop but feels more like being on the road than a turbo.
I wouldn't worry too much about the actual number of watts. Once a course isn't dead flat (and what one is?) weight comes into play too. Us light people don't have to put out as big a number as some of the bigger people!
I LOVE this new trainer. Hands down it is head and shoulders above the other trainers I have used. (;)) Run, don't walk, to your nearest LeMond Revolution dealer!
And my watts....no, they are seriously and embarrassingly low.
I'm actually surprised I have been able to go as fast as I've been going on the road. Even when you break the number down to w/kg, it's bad. 1min on/1min off - they hurt!!!!!
How you finding the new bike?Have you christened the new beast or did I miss that?
I've only been on the bike while on the trainer.....but I love it so far!! The first proper ride will be tomorrow, and I'm a bit anxious about it - hope to stay upright. The new beast is named The Black Cat. One guess what color it is. I'll post a pic in a week or two (after I go back to the bike shop) - I just want to get wheel decals and a few other configurations sorted before the unveiling. 0 -
Friday, March 14th, 2014
Run plan: 3 miles easy, 3 miles steady, 3 miles MP, 1 mile HMP
Did this over lunch in the sunshine. Oh how we missed you, dear sweet sunshine! Considering the old mercury barely made it above freezing yesterday, today was a chilly heatwave!!
The first few miles felt awful - everything felt out of synch and my legs had last evening's bike session in them and they were not interested in playing ball. I'm sort of nursing an injury in my right leg (note to self: communicate injury to ecoli) so I wore my thigh compression sleeve, and I'm sure the injury plus compression sleeve compounded the lack of smoothness in these first few miles. But, as the legs and body warmed up, proper gait came back and injury pain diminished which resulted in a steadily improving little run for me.
Things of note on this run: I saw Mrs. Dugans looking quite lovely, so gave her a fly-by kiss on the cheek and gave her lively little dog a pat on the head as she shouted to me that I looked like a gazelle running and inquired about Boston......energy started to wane on mile 5 so I snagged a gel and a swig of water....and the wind was blowing like a banshee, but I kept minding my running form, kept my body relaxed, and tried to think "small".
I stayed pretty disciplined for the first 8 - 9 miles, however I let it rip on the last mile, not looking at my watch until that 10th mile was in the bag. I just opened it up.
Easy - 7:58, 7:50, 7:44
Steady - 7:34, 7:36, 7:34
MP - 7:22, 7:21, 7:09
HMP - 6:47
Actual: 10.1 miles in 1:16:18 for an average pace of 7:33 min/mile~~~~~~~~~
Endless swim
Headed up the mountain to my friend's house after work. Good swim.....and I'm really thinkging (hoping) there is value in this sort of swim as a training tool for open water swimming. No walls, no flip tumble turns, no stopping. Just stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke......
Actual swim: ~1,500 meters in 30 minutes0 -
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Saturday, March 15th, 2014
Bike plan: 3.5 hours including some instructions I did not follow
Well, today was the big day.....the Black Cat was released into the wild. (thank you, Oryx )
Wow.
Words to describe her would be horribly inadequate, but suffice it to say, she blew my mind. She's fast...she's sleek...she's smoothe...she's precise. She's amazing.
But, today we had wind. Crazy, crazy wind. :eek: The Black Cat is very aerodynamic head on, but sideways, not so much. :eek: After about the first 45 minutes of being pushed and tossed and nearly picked up, I thought about calling it a day, but then I reminded myself that obstacles like wind can make you stronger both mentally and physically, so I committed myself to completing this entire session in whatever conditions Mother Nature decided to throw at me.
Because this whole riding-a-tri-bike was new to me, and because I was all alone on this virgin voyage, I wanted to eliminate as many stress factors as possible - like dangerous traffic and insane hills - so I picked a stretch of the local tri course that has very good sight lines and relatively little traffic. But that meant that I'd be going up and down this stretch of road 8 times. !!! At the end of my 4th lap, I came across a group of 5 cyclists all dressed in the same little cycling outfits coming at me. Cool. I tried to look like I knew what I was doing perched on top of my new ride, down in the aerobars hoping none of them would notice my white knuckles.....but they barely gave me the time of day. Then I spotted another group of cyclists dressed all in the same little cycling outfits as the first group. Not even a glance in my direction. Really?? Then I spied yet another group, but these 4 guys were lined up on the road with a fella and a stop watch counting down until they could take off. This start line was actually my turnaround point, so as soon as the fellas were off, I asked the "coach" if they were a cycling club. He very dryly said, "No. We're a team." Oh. Club. Team. Semantics. :rolleyes: You say tomato, I say tomahto. I just cheerfully chirped "cool", and was on my way, briefly thinking I might be able to catch them on my stealth bomber. Ha! In my dreams!!!!
I figured that I might see them again at some point because the road I was riding is actually part of a nice circuit, so when I thought I heard chatter behind me on my 6th lap I looked back to see if it was coming from my Kelly Cycling boys. Oh yeah. It was them. And I was leading them out!!!! Oh f*ck. :eek: But they were all business, and I was practically invisible to them. They just swallowed me up and spit me out the back - all three groups of them - and their coach in the official vehicle too. But as a consolation prize, I did get a nice wave from the coach. Maybe he was admiring my Black Cat. :cool: I saw my team and coach one last time on my 7th lap (they were getting faster, I believe)...and I think they were warming up to me....might have seen one of them glance my way, not sure, but maybe.....and I gave a confident and cool nod to the coach as he passed. I think I made an impression. *cough*
Ah, but how did I do?? Well, I just rode - I did not follow the plan, other than riding for 3.5 hours. There were too many other scary variables (wind, new bike, cycling team) to have to worry about a plan. My power was even worse on the road, and the wind made it feel like I was swimming in full winter clothing with the drag it was creating.....but I also know that overall for this section of the tri course, my speed was up. My first impression of this bike is that it has real potential to be a significant weapon, but the rider will have to have a lot more skill and power than what I have. I'll just keep working. That's all I can do.
Oh, and guess what?? When I got home and parked the Cat I realized I had a flat back tire. Huh? Not totally sure when that happened, but I will tell you that there was a broken Bud Light bottle on the road and I do believe I may have run over some glass. I never heard a pop....thought I heard a hiss at one point but then convinced myself I was delusional.....but I definitely had a puncture. I changed the tire all by myself, checked for any glass that may have been left behind, and even found the puncture in the tube. I didn't use tire levers, and I did a fab job if I do say so myself.
Actual bike: 60.38 miles in 3:28:48, including 16 turnarounds/slowdowns and wind!~~~~~~~~~
Swim
Endless pool. Pull buoy. 30 plus minutes. Hot tub. All good.
Actual swim: ~1,500 meters in ~30 minutes0 -
Sunday, March 16th, 2014
Swim
Today was supposed to be a 2 hour run, but I decided to switch some things up and do a longer endless pool swim instead. My right thigh has been giving me a bit of a fit as of late, so I thought giving it a day of rest might be wise. Sometimes you've got to look at the bigger picture.
The swim was very nice - two full cycles of wave action (66 minutes in the pool), all pull buoy. I think the Black Cat found some new glute muscles yesterday - I guess due to the new position that is required on a tri bike. But it's sort of okay to (in a good way) feel a little sore from time to time. I hopped in the hot tub after the swim - I could seriously get used to a hot tub.
May try and get the 2 hour run done tomorrow after work since time changed and we have more daylight in the evening. I'll mind the thigh, though, and also the snow the weatherman is calling for tonight and tomorrow. Boo hiss. Spring is supposed to be here officially in a matter of days. Where is the love???
Actual swim: ~3,000 meters0 -
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Monday, March 17th, 2014
Run plan: 4 miles recovery
Snow, snow, and more snow. :eek::(:mad:
And spring starts Thursday.
wtf???
Any way....
It was communicated to me to keep to the plan, so I did these 4 recovery miles on the treadmill.
Followed the 4 miles with 20 minutes of yoga, then some foam rolling.
Actual: 4 miles treadie-recovery, yoga, foam rolling0 -
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Thursday, March 20th, 2014
Swim
Fish tank...pull buoy....after work....before trainer.
Actual swim: ~1,500 meters in something over 30 minutes~~~~~~~~~
Bike plan:
10 minutes easy
5 x (1 min high cadence, 1 min easy)
5 x (4 min @ 150 watts, 1 min easy)
5 x (30 sec on, 30 sec off)
5 minutes easy
I have dreaded having to write this report knowing I'd be revealing just how little power these legs have in them. And the really shocking thing is, my strength is my legs!! My upper body is crap. Well, apparently my lower body is crap too. Not sure how I managed to kick in the pool all these years....or run a 3:20:60 marathon...or, heck, just walk across the room without having to give the gams a rest for that matter. And it certainly does not help my mood any having just read Bambaata's race report in which he mentioned a section of the bike race he was just in that he was tootling along at 600W. :eek: Of course I am only about 110 pounds, or just under 50 kg....but still....I have a long way to go before I can hold my head high when it comes to wattage.
But, long story short...
I died a slow, miserable death during the 5 x 4 minutes @ 150 watts while trying to hang on. I made the first two, fell a bit short on the second two, and was in a near vomiting heap on the last one. I had nothing left to give. On the 5 x 30 sec on/off, my power was obviously up due to the short duration - 173 - 191 watts. And I actually managed to hit a max wattage of 280 at some point, but I imagine that was for one very brief millisecond.
The 4 minute intervals....stated as: avg watts/max watts...avg HR/max HR
#1 - 150w/211w...155/162
#2 - 150w/238w...162/167
#3 - 145w/243w...163/169
#4 - 145w/223w...166/171
#5 - 137w/212w...166/169
Actual bike: ~18 miles in 55 minutes0 -
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@ interested...thank you.
@ cw...it most certainly does, but I'm still faster!!!!
@ pgibbo...I appreciate your wise words, and will remember them when I'm feeling like a total dweeb on the bike. I've even wondered if the calibration is wrong (which I'm sure it's not), but I googled the Vector pedals and discovered I'm supposed to be doing a little calibration routine before every ride. I didn't know! So, secretly I'm hoping this will reveal that I do in fact have super-hero power and strength in my legs!
Run plan: 2 miles easy, 2 miles MP, 2 miles HMP, 2 miles MP, 2 miles easy
Did this one over lunch on a very mild and partly sun shiny day. Perhaps there really will be a spring this year!!! Started way faster than I had intended, which totally surprised me based on last night's trainer session, but the legs felt good and it felt effortless. Effortless until mile 7....when the tummy started doing backflips and I started to feel nauseous. I held on and kept minding my form and trying to relax to take my mind off the feeling of letting everything I had eaten in the last 24 hours rip, but as soon as mile 9 came to be, I slowed it way down. I'm not sure if I ate something bad this morning, or maybe the pace was too hot for me (and it was warm outside), or if I've got a little tummy bug (there is one going around), but I'll keep fingers crossed it was just a passing thing.
Splits as follows...per above paces....but remember to adjust for Garmin inaccuracies, flat course, yada yada.....
Oh, and I lost satellites for a minute or two at the very end of mile 3, but I looked at my watch just before the satellites went kaput, so I have a pretty good idea of my pace on that mile.
7:32, 7:25, 7:15, 7:08, 6:57, 7:00, 7:19, 7:11, 8:27, 8:13
Actual: 10 miles in 1:16:24 for an average pace of 7:38 min/mile0 -
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Kurt Godel wrote: »Very nice numbers indeed Ms. Dory, this is shaping up to be a great year for you!
Time to buy a nice present for your kind friend, and 50kg of salt for yourself. Who will get in outdoors first; Dory in her nice heated pool, or her Gaelic friends into the cold Irish seas?
Thanks! Not feeling so hot at the moment, though. The nausea is still with me.
My pool is scheduled to be opened on Wednesday, April 2nd. (good god, let's hope the snow is over....however, there are nasty rumors of snow next Tuesday) So, give the heater a few days to get the water steamy-warm, then I'm all set!! I'll keep you posted. 0 -
Thanks! Not feeling so hot at the moment, though. The nausea is still with me.
My pool is scheduled to be opened on Wednesday, April 2nd. (good god, let's hope the snow is over....however, there are nasty rumors of snow next Tuesday) So, give the heater a few days to get the water steamy-warm, then I'm all set!! I'll keep you posted.
That means a March swim in the sea on this side... either this weekend or next... lets bring it on!:D0 -
Kurt Godel wrote: »That means a March swim in the sea on this side... either this weekend or next... lets bring it on!:D
You reckless rebel!!! Can't wait to read that report!!!! 0 -
Saturday, March 22nd, 2014
Bike
Well...the bike plan was a 3.5 hour spin with specific instructions, and it was a gorgeous day out (70 degrees with sunshine...but, quite windy :eek:) so I was pretty jazzed about letting a little leg show on this one. But, it just wasn't meant to be. Because I am still nowhere near confident on this new ride (especially in wind), and because I was cycling all by myself, I drove to my cycling destination (to a friend's house on my safe and comfy cycling circuit), but when I parked my car, my steering wheel locked up on me. !!! This has happened before, so I knew there was a little trick to unlocking it...but I couldn't remember what it was. I tried multiple things, my friend tried multiple things, then I had to call my mechanic to come and save my day. What a waste of precious time. But I finally got on my bike, only to be chased by a big, yellow, angry dog within the first 5 minutes of my ride.....and then 20 minutes in I got a puncture. This would be my second ride on this new bike, and my second puncture on this new bike. I've had a chat with my bike shop about getting separate tires and tubes for training, but it still concerns me how vulnerable these racing tires and tubes are. I mean, I would like to race with them, but not if I'm going to have issues.
Ride was over at this point, and tire/tube drama/resolution to be continued. I was out of time after dealing with the car and fiddling with the bike tire, so any and all weekend training would have to be pushed to Sunday.
Actual bike: 6.5 miles in 22:340 -
Sunday, March 23rd, 2014
It's just all fun and games in crazy-town. I probably really need my head examined.....I mean, to combine Saturday's ride and Sunday's run....well....here goes....
Bike plan: from Saturday....3.5 hours as follows: 30 minutes easy, 3 x (45 minutes easy + 20 watts, 15 minutes easy)
There was no room for error in my day today if I wanted to get everything done training-wise....which meant I could not afford another puncture....which meant I needed to do this on the trainer. So that's what I did, with a little help from some very awesome tunes on the music station. Yay music station!!! What would we do without awesome music while sitting on a bike for 3.5 hours?
I experimented with some various positions on the Speed Concept, and it appears that when I flatten out the upper body, I may have a bit more power in my legs (but the lady parts went numb after about 30 minutes in this more "extreme" position). I've an appointment with my bike shop for next Monday for a follow up fitting, so I'll explore this with my man there. I concentrated on keeping effort/cadence/power as even within each section as possible for efficiency, and I think it really worked. I was pleased with my power (still comparatively low, but for me it was honest and reasonable), and I was pleased I was able to hold constant (and slightly increasing) power for each 45 minute sets. Never once did the average power within those sets decrease.
Data for the 3 x 45 minute easy + 20 watts stated as avg watts/max watts...avg HR/max HR:
#1 - 133w/178w...140/146
#2 - 135w/180w...144/150
#3 - 136w/192w...148/160
Actual: ~60 miles in 3.5 hours~~~~~~~~~
Run plan: 2.75 hours easy
And this is where things get a little mad....
Less than 4 hours after my 3.5 hour trainer session, I found myself in my field in my tights and sweatshirt, and with my iPod, gels, water, and a flashlight. It was going on 6 o'clock, and I was hoping to get the entire 2 hours and 45 minutes in. Fingers were crossed.
Green Day accompanied me for the first 2 hours, and they were a lovely 2 hours. I had bunny rabbits and deer frolicking and forraging all around me, and I felt really good both mentally and physically. I had decided to take this run very easy since its purpose was about time on my feet and not pace. I was also trying to be mindful of the stress/fatigue my body might be under, as well as acknowledging how slow the field can be to run in, plus I've been nursing an injury that is significantly better and I was trying to protect it, and I knew as soon as the sun went down my pace would plummet...so all those things were taken into consideration when I came up with the target of a 10 min/mile average pace.
I stopped on mile 11 for a much needed gel and some water, and I stopped on mile 13 to switch from Green Day to Foo Fighters (their epic Skin and Bones cd!!) and to pickup my flashlight as it was dark at this point....but I found the flashlight only made me nauseous with the light bouncing about so I turned it off...but then I couldn't see...and my pace had slowed way down, and I was tired and extremely hungry....so I made the decision with 20 minutes left in this session to cut it short as I felt all benefits of continuing had vanished. I didn't get the entire 2.75 hours in, but I think I was close enough on this day.
10:19, 10:10, 10:17, 9:52, 9:52, 9:49
9:45, 9:48, 9:40, 9:40, 9:55, 9:48
And darkness fell....10:07, 10:51, 5:33 (12:05)
Actual: 14.5 miles in my field after a 3.5 hour trainer session while the sun set and it got very dark in 2:25:32 for an average pace of 10:02 min/mile0 -
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