Miles and Miles and More To Come

Good morning.

Lots of activity in the last few days. The 1/2 Ironman nears. I am ever so slowly entering the triathlon taper mode. The typical taper for an olympic or half Ironman is 6-10 days. During this period one continues to lower the volume of training and focus a bit more on short bursts of intensity/speed.

This taper is not as severe as a marathon taper. I think this is because, vs just marathon training, ie., running, the triathlon training is not so focused on one activity. It's more of a blend of different muscle usages.

Friday

This was a hot day. Just the way I like it. Heck, it is summer, right. The plan called for a 6 miler with some faster miles. Here's how it went:

Split Time Moving Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Pace Avg Moving Pace Best Pace Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:09:11 0:09:02 1 0 9 9:11 9:02 6:45 117 128 0 90
2 0:08:07 0:08:06 1 13 0 8:07 8:06 6:25 129 141 0 91
3 0:07:12 0:07:14 1 0 0 7:12 7:14 5:53 141 151 0 88
4 0:07:46 0:07:39 1 1 0 7:46 7:39 4:13 150 154 0 99
5 0:07:35 0:07:33 1 0 5 7:35 7:33 5:47 150 157 0 95
6 0:07:31 0:07:31 1 0 6 7:31 7:31 6:08 154 159 0 98
Summary 0:47:24 0:47:05 6 15 21 7:54 7:50 4:13 139 159 0 561


I thought, considering the temperature and the effort, my heart rate was terrific.

Saturday

This was my long open water swim day. I went to Ohio Street Beach and the water was full of triathletes. It almost looked like a mini triathlon. This was great practice for sighting, otherwise, you might run into another swimmer.

The water felt nice and cool. I swam very relaxed and felt really good. My breathing was not labored at all. After meandering through the triathletes I was soon all by myself heading towards my favorite bouy which is about .65 mile out there.

None of the other triathletes ever go out this far in one direction. Not sure why. The farther you go, the deeper the water and the cooler it gets. I circled my bouy and started back.

I keep my Garmin under my swim cap so I do not lose the satelite signal. The one mile distance vibration/ring happened to soon on the way back. I'm like, how could it have gone off already. Whatever.

I continued to focus and swim relaxed but hard. Felt great.

The closer I got to the finish the more lake bottom I could see. The sand seemed so close. Finally, my finger tips hit sand and I am done. I stand up in the sun and unzip the wetsuit and pull the top to my waist. I take off the swim cap and look at the Garmin.

The swim ended up being: 1.61 miles in 42:47. Interesting! Someone must have moved my bouy. It usually is more like a 1.3 mile round trip.

I had no lat soreness at all. Felt terrific.

Sunday

Today I feel like I am falling a little behind with my training. I should have done my long run yesterday, Saturday. Instead, Beth and I went to the beach. I am torn between a long run or a long bike. I decided for the long run because I had an excellent biking week in Michigan.

I will make up the long ride and transition run Monday, today.

I was excited to go on this 14 mile run along the lake. It was sunny, hot and humid. I like that. I felt good the whole way.

Even though I like these conditions one still must keep their pace in check or pay the consequences. I decided to run at an aerobic pace and run the final few miles a bit faster. As I went along, the sun beating down and sweat coming off my hat like a fawcett, I kept noticing that my heart rate felt so low. After I downloaded the run's results I was happily impressed. I guess, going by heart rate I can push the pace a bit more.

Split Time Moving Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Pace Avg Moving Pace Best Pace Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:09:10 0:08:56 1 0 8 9:10 8:56 7:35 116 127 0 85
2 0:08:36 0:08:37 1 14 0 8:36 8:37 5:37 127 132 0 94
3 0:08:31 0:08:25 1 0 0 8:31 8:25 6:50 129 134 0 93
4 0:08:27 0:08:20 1 0 12 8:27 8:20 3:33 132 138 0 94
5 0:08:40 0:08:40 1 13 8 8:40 8:40 7:40 136 139 0 98
6 0:08:37 0:08:38 1 0 11 8:37 8:38 7:50 135 137 0 94
7 0:08:45 0:08:45 1 0 0 8:45 8:45 8:08 134 138 0 91
8 0:08:39 0:08:41 1 0 0 8:39 8:41 7:43 129 136 0 75
9 0:08:56 0:08:53 1 0 0 8:56 8:53 8:04 133 138 0 88
10 0:08:41 0:08:35 1 8 10 8:41 8:35 4:30 134 138 0 82
11 0:08:45 0:08:40 1 20 0 8:45 8:40 4:34 132 142 0 82
12 0:08:13 0:08:14 1 0 0 8:13 8:14 6:19 144 147 0 96
13 0:08:13 0:08:05 1 0 6 8:13 8:05 6:47 147 152 0 100
14 0:08:12 0:08:13 1 9 7 8:12 8:13 7:18 149 152 0 102
15 0:00:01 -- 0 0 0 --:-- 9:52 --:-- -- -- 0 0
Summary 2:00:32 1:59:42 14 63 61 8:36 8:33 3:33 133 152 0 1,274


Today, Monday, I will get in that 50 mile bike ride with moderate effort. During the ride I will do approx 10-15 miles at race pace. Hmmm. What is race pace? Hopefully, over 20 mph.

Onward!




Edited by Silentrunner 7/19/2010 7:27 AM

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" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin