Todde's Tri Blog

i am feel better each day. this past weekend was lower in volume than normal but it was still very tough. i attribute that to the fact that those workouts were on the tail end of a base month. this week's goal is to lower my volume and i a couple of very easy days to rest a few injuries and let the body build on the beating i just gave it in Feb.

Yesterday was a 30min/1650 swim (400 warm, 750 drill, 450 pull, 50 cool) and ended last night with some tp massage and stretching.

This morning was a tri at the gym. I started with a 25min/1550m swim (300 warm, 200 buoy, 10x100 @ 1:30 with an avg 100 at 1:23, 50 cool). next was 20min of leg weights and then 15min on the eliptical. total workout was 65min and it felt like a tri. ghetto tri, but tri none the less. tonight is a visit to Dr Z. my right knee and left IT band need some serious love.

tomorrow morning will be a core workout and thats it. tomorrow is also my 3yr wedding aniversary and amber will go out for a nice meal (no rice and tofu!!!!!).

on a side note i gave up sweets/candy for lent so the cravings are really testing me right now. its for the best as my junk food eating would get ugly fast (7 donuts in 10mins is not good).

today's long ride was shorter than normal due to this being my recovery week. today's ride was 40mile/2.5hrs. we road in the barton creek area which has 3 monster hills that really put a hurt'n on my hip flexors. they were already tender from yesterday but today really finished them off. so much for taking it easy. i followed up the bike with a 3mile transition run. Prior to today's ride i got in a core workout as well.

this morning was a strong bike ride at the veloway. 90min/25miles with a 30min warmup followed by 3x10min hard intervals with 5min ri. i have not done alot of intensity workouts during my IM training so i really tried to push this one. I was pleased with the effort especially with the wind conditions.

this afternoon was a 50min/6.5 mile fartlek run. my avg pace thru the run was 7:35 to 7:40 and i mixed in 5x 1min pickups every 7mins. Again there was some good intensity in this workout and i was again pleased with the effort. i noticed near the end my IT band and hammy in the left leg were getting tender. good thing i see dr z tuesday so he can help seperate those 2 trouble makers.

after my run i did 20mins of upper body free weights. this workout was strictly for the ladies benefit. i plan to make my pecs dance at IMAZ!!!!

i passed on the trainer ride last night. my knees were really sore from the morning run and i was hurting sleep so i opt'd for a hot bath and some stretching.

this morning was 50min/3000m swim. 800m warm follow by a main set of 100, 200, 300, 400, 300, 200 and 100 (used the buoy on the 300s). 6 x75 with paddles (elbow was tender). 150 cool.

looks like i am starting my recov week early which is probably a good thing. I need to easier work and will ramp back up next thurs.

yesterday morning was a 45min trainer ride with some 1min high cadence reps to get the legs moving. those trainer rides in the morning are really tough to get excited about.

lunch yesterday was a 3min/1650m swim. did some drills followed by 5x100m paddles.

last night was for core and upper body strength exercises.

this morning was the weekly long run of 16.5 miles in 2:20. I ran 4x4.1 mile loops and increased my pace each lap. lap paces were 8:45, 8:30, 8:20 and 7:55. During the run a ate a few gels and drank g-rade and water. I made the mistake on not wearing my gloves which lead to frozen hands. i actually struggle to open my gels b/c i couldnt squeeze my hand closed. and yes, my knees are quit sore. and after a 4am wake up i am freakin tired!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope to get in a trainer ride tonight and a long swim tomorrow. This week starts a recovery week which i feel i really need and then i have 1 month left before my 3 week taper. I am glad IMAZ is near b/c i am beat from this long training!!!!!!!!!!!

yesterday was mostly recovery with stretching and tp massage in the morning to loosen up the muscles. Last night was some core and upper body strengthing exercises.

this morning was an interval run of 8.5miles/65min. After a 15min warmup the main workout was 5x 1mile intervals at a :30 to :40 pace faster than IM race pace with an easy 400m jog recovery between miles. splits ranged from 7:19 to 7:24 (IM pace 8min) and HR range of 138 to 141. Overall HR for entire run was 136. The run went well and I feel like i got some bang for my buck.

After a small breakfast I hit the gym before work for a leg weights session.

I got in a 45min/2700m swim workout in at lunch. After a 700m warmup i went into a 2k swim (1st half was 14:49 and 2nd half was 14:53). Swim felt good and i feel like I could have continued with the same pace. tried to maintain good form thru out to remain relaxed.

Today was bike day. I log 5hr of actual bike time today and totaled 90miles. This was the longest i have ever biked and it felt good to push my limits. I started the morning with a 54mile round trip bike to lyton springs (next to lockhart) with 2 guys (scott and chris) that live near me. After almost 3hrs I ended my ride with them and refueld at the house. During that break i put down a peanut butter sandwich and i banana (this could be my suprise in my bike special needs bag at IMAZ). I then hit south mopac and the veloway for another 36miles. During that time i also put down 4 gels, a powerbar, 70oz of gatorade and 40oz of water. I also took in 5salt pills during that time. During the initial ride to lyton springs we stopped midway for a snack at a store and as we were leaving i got a flat. I would say it took about 7min to change.

After the bike i took about 6min to transition into some running gear and then put in 32min/4miles at the track. The first 2 miles were rough on the quads but they finally eased into the run. My knees were really tender from the long run the day before but they felt alright. On the run ate an addl gel and 14oz of water. My run pace was ranging from 7:40 to 8min with an avg HR of 138. The pace felt fine and I could have continued on that pace for awhile.

This was a good workout that i am sure i will feel tomorrow. I had a good weekend of workouts that totaled 9hrs (123miles on bike and 18 by run).

No wetsuit swim this morning. Barton Springs was closed due to a sewage leak in the area. To make matters worse Barton will be closed for the next 3 weeks for their annual spring cleaning. No wetsuit swiming until March 11.

This morning i did bet in a 80min bike workout at the veloway track. Man it was windy and it took some work to keep the tri bike on track. I did an interval workout this morning with 3x12min pickups trying to keep the HR in the 130s. This was a nice workout that taxed the legs a bit. My HRs for the intervals were 134, 130 and 130 again.

This afternoon a mange to get in a nap because the family was out of time. I really missed them the last 2 days but it was also nice to get some quality workouts in. After my nap i hit town lake for a long run. My total run was 14miles at 1:50. My first lap was 52:40 (too fast) and the 2nd was 54:30. The run felt good but the legs were a little tired from the ride this morning. I am sure after a 5+ bike ride they will feel much worse so i better get use to it. I really enjoy long runs and i look forward to lengthing them over the next 6weeks. My HR for the run was 138.

Tonight was some TLC for the legs with the tp massage, stretching and a hot bath. Tomorrow is a long bike to san marcos followed by a short transition run.

last night was 80min on the trainer. after a warmup and some 1legged drills, i did 3x10min at a steady cadence while increasing the gearing every 2min. by 6min you are really feeling it.

this was too cold for me so i move my long run to tomorrow and opt'd for some stretching anf tp massage work.

today at lunch was a30min/1600m swim. 500 warm, 600 drill, 8x50m fast (:33 avg), 100 cool.

nothing tonight but some crown and diet coke. i plan to get in 8-10hrs this weekend.

final usat rankings are for 2006 and overall i was 762 with a 78.7592 (i plan to get that into the top 150 for 2007!!!!!!!!!!)

No core workout last night. I need to get on the ball with these workouts. I missed one last week as well.

This morning was a 4ooom/70min swim. This swim really wore me out. After a 900m warm, the main set was follows: 3x400 (avg 5:49), 3x300 (avg 4:22), 3x200 (avg 2:53), 3x100 (avg 1:23), 100 cool. the 3rd leg of each group i used the pull buoy.

Today at lunch was a weights/core workout and tonight with be a 90min trainer ride.

Saw Dr Z lastnight for some knee and hip treatment. Things feel alot better today!!! I swear when he cracked my back it sounded like a string of black cats going off. I set another follow up in 2 weeks and will adjust that appt accordingly.

This morning was a nice meal and coffee followed by some stretching. If only every morning could be like that. Today at lunch was a 1600m/30 min swim. This was a recovery swim with some drill and buoy work. Tonight will be some core work and LOST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night was a 50min recovery ride on the trainer with some 1leg drills and 12x 1min high cadence spins w/ :30 RI.

This morning was a tough one. I was up early for a 55min/6.5mile tempo run at the track. I started with a 25min warmup at 8:20 pace and then moved into the tempo portion with a 7:45 pace for the next 25min. I finished with a 5min cooldown jog. HR for the 1st 25min was 132 and 141 for the 2nd 25min. My legs were still sore from sunday but i eased into the run as the pace increased. The wind was nasty for track running this morning b/c 1min you have a phat tailwind followed by a stop you in your tracks headwind a min later. That got old over a 6mile duration. I was suprised by the # of people at the track at 5:30am. The #s were in the double digits and there isnt even any lights out there. On several occasions i almost ran up the back of people.

After a quick banana/fig bar snack and some coffee I headed to the pool before work. My second workout was a 52min/3000m swim this morning. Today's swim was 400 warm, 300 pull, 300 kick, 300 drill, 1000m free N/S (1st 500 - 7:23, 2nd 500 - 7:18), 8x75m w/ paddles, 100 cool. The swim started slow as i was tired but i feel i finished well. I always seem to feel worn out on my first swim of the week. I guess i need to make sure i swim a little each day leading up to a race.

The double felt good and I plan to continue this at least once a week to squeeze in an extra session. Tonight is a visit to Dr Z. 2 weeks ago he helped relieve the pain in my left knee and now its time to do the same with the right. I love my Dr Z visits!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was my first big benchmark workout. I did my first of 3 bricks to prepare for IMAZ. I did a 3.5hr bike followed by a 75min run. My goals were to simulate race day, increase my bike pace thru out the ride and hold a comfortable 8min pace on the run.

I started the morning with my usual pre race breakfast which consisted of a blueberry bagel with granola, peanut butter, banana and honey. i chase that with some coffee. i must say that meal is the bomb!!!!

The bike went well. I did 7x 8miles loops on south mopac. my first lap was 25:10 with an HR of 115 and my last lap was 23:30 with an HR of 123. The bike felt good and i managed to hold the aero position the entire time minus the turnarounds and the pee breaks. My back did get a little tender on the last lap. During the bike i ate 6gels, 1 powerbar, 4 saltstick tablets and drank 48oz of gatorade/24oz of water.

After a 10min transition into my run gear i ran 1:15 at a steady pace around 8min miles. The first 30mins was dead on 8min. the next 20min i slowed to around 8:10 due to a dull pain i noticed in my left hammy (i also noticed it on the bike and figured the seat was just hitting my leg funny). i remembered back to my friend jamie's story of popping his hammy so i got nervous. After 20min i sped back up to 8min for another 10min and then finshed the lat 15min under 8min. my overall HR was 136 and i approached 140 in the last 15min. During the run i ate 1getl, 1 salt tablet and drank 14oz of gatorade/7oz of water. Stomach was a bit sloshly for the first 15min but settled afterwrds. the run went great and i felt really comfortable.

Overall the workout went great. I got what I wanted ouot of it and feel like I am on track with my training. I feel 10HR at IMAZ is definitely withn reach and I should know better in 3weeks when i do my next big brick. I will lengthen the bike and run for the next brick and I hope it is warmer to simulate the heat i little better.

this morning was a core workout session and some upper and lower body exercises mixed in. as an added bonus i had a baby hanging off me most of thw workout!!!

after lunch i did a 1:45 ride on south mopac. after a 30min warmup i rode 2x 8mile loops at a steady pace a bit higher than i expect to ride in AZ. my avg HR on the first loop was 127 and 132 on the second. i had a 15min easy spin between the 2. my times for both loops were just below 23min. i enjoyed pushing it and the wind was a nice bonus as it helped me work on my balance as well as adjusting from a tailwind to a headwind. from what i hear that will be the case in AZ as the winds change thru out the day. my avg HR for the entire ride was 116.

tomorrow i plan to do a 3 to 3.5 hr bike followed by a 1 to 1.5 hr run. this brick will be my first big test to see how i am progressing. at this point i am feeling good in my swim and bike and the run is coming around after a layoff.

this morning a oversleep b/c i set my alarm but didnt turn it on. i still managed to get to the pool for a 58min/3500m swim. the pool was packed today with lots of kids splashing around. my swim this morning was a warmup followed by 500m (7:13), 2x250m (3:37, 3:37), 500m (7:23), 2x250m (3:39, 3:39), 500m (7:21). this was one of my tougher swim b/c the sets were long and i was tired.

i got in a weights session at lunch and will do some core work tonight.

This morning was my first run over an hr in quite awhile. I ran 1:34/11miles at town lake. the first 2 4miles loops were at a pace of 8:30 and the last 3mile loop was at a pace of 8:05. my overall HR was 133 with a 131 on both 4mile loopes and 138 on the 3mile. I wanted to go about :30 sec slower than my race pace (i hear this is the way to go) and then push the last lap at race pace. The run felt good but my legs were getting fatigued near the end. I can definitely tell the fitness is getting better based on my HRs. I will continue to increase the distance and increase the # of runs each week as a ramp up for IMAZ.

At lunch today i got another easy drill sesssion in at the pool with a 25min/1400m swim.

Tonight will be a 60min recovery ride on the bike with an easy/high cadence workout.

its time to put the injury concerns aside and increase the volume for IMAZ. I have my schedule complete for the month of Feb and my 3 week taper. I will complete my schedule for march at the end of Feb.

Monday was a swi only day. I put in 3600m/60min at the pool monday night and worked on drills to warm up. After that i did a benchmark test by doing 10x 200m @ 3:05. I wanted to do this @ 3:00 but after the first 200 i new it would be too much. I completed the 10x 200m with an avg 2:55 and :10 RI. It was tough but I survived. will do this again in 3 weeks to see if 3:00 is feasible.

Tuesday was a day of all 3 areas. My morning consisted of a 45min run with 3x 1mile intervals mixed in at the track. I had my times wrong and was running mile splits of 6:45 when i meant to run 7:30. after 3 i had a big blister and had to stop. i wanted to do 5 intervals. avg hr in during the splits was 144.

Tuesday lunch was a 30min swim of 1600m. swim was mainly drills.

Last night was 1:45 ride on the trainer with 2x 30min tempo efforts. avg HR for total ride was 110 and avg for tempo intervals was 118.

Today is an off day besides for core work tonight.

friday night afterwork i got in a 3k/48min swim. main set was 5x300 w/ :35 RI followed by 600m w/ pull buoy. focused on 1:30 pace.

saturday was my first ride on the remodeled softride and it did not disappoint. i rode for 90min an put in roughly 25miles. damn that bike is fast. the dura ace feels great and the carbon base bar makes the ride so smooth. i struggle for the first 10 min to feel comfortable but it was all good after that.

today was a 3hr/50+ mile ride w/ a HR avg of 117 (on the 8miles loops my HR avg was 123 overall). rode south mopac and avg 20+ mph per 8 mile loop but i had to stop alot to pee b/c i wasnt sweating too many fluids out. i am working on my nutrition strategy so i tried to take in alot of stuff. i drank 3x24oz of gatorade, 4 slat stick tablets, 5 gels and a power bar. by the time i got to my transition run i could only drink a little water. i ran for 30min after the bike. my HR avg was 145. The run felt good with a pace of 7min miles. i tried to slow my pace to mirror IMAZ goal but i was tough.

tuesday at lunch was a 1500m/28min swim. after a drills a finsished up with a 500m swim at 7:11.

wed was a leg weights workout and then a trip to dr z after work. dr z worked the left knee which seemed to help and he loosend up the hips/glutes. i wanted to love on the right shoulder but that will have to wait for the next visit.

thurs was a 2k/33min swim at lunch. after drills i did a mini benchmark swim of 4x200m @ 3min. a 3min 200m will keep me on pace for a 1hr IM swim so the workout means the faster i finish the 2oom under 3min the more break i get before starting the next 200m at the 3min mark. may laps times were 2:47, 2:47, 2:45 and 2:48. i didnt feel like i was over doing it but i was sweating in the water which was a wierd feeling. now i know why people have concerns about overheating in a wetsuit. next week i will extend the benchmark to 10x 200m @ 3min.

lastnight was my first biking in over a week. i did a 90min trainer ride with some 1 leg drills and a main set of 2x 20min steady w/ 10min RI. overall HR was 107 with a 118 avg on the 1st interval and 120 on the second. knees were i little tender on the bike (road bike that is - hope to ride the tri bike this weekend).

this morning was back to running at town lake. i did a 7mile/56 min run. i started with the 4mile loop with a time of 33:30 and hr of 130 (pace around 8:15ish). the second loop was 3miles at 22min and hr in the high 140s (monitor slipped down during the run and showed hr in 200s) and pace was 7:25ish. run felt good. some tenderness in both knees (knees were really sore going down hills) which was expected and my quads are sore now due to pushing 2nd lap. overall i am happy with the run and hope to follow it up with a transition run sunday.