Todde's Tri Blog

this morning was a 75min brick. it took a lot for me to get out of bed. i didnt want to get up this morning and even when i did i wasnt motivated to workout. after 10min of dragging ass around the house i hit the trainer for a 50min ride. i did a steady ride in the big ring with 5x90sec pickups mixed in. after a quick transition i ran for 25min. it took all of 3min for the leg to get sore but i manage to run loose and keep it from flaring up. i focused on keeping the ankles floppy and it really seemed to help. the run was 3.3 miles w/ a pace around 7:30. during the middle 2miles i had the pace around 7min and then backed off. i havent run much in 2 weeks so i had some run jitters fighting to get out. no addl soreness after the run.

saw Dr Z tonight. same old treatment. will seem him again next week and work in a massage while i am there to get the body relaxed for AZ. Brick #2 is sunday!!!

monday was an off day to relax the legs. had a visit to dr Z for some shin muscle treatment. due to the crazy rains i was 20min late so i got the express TLC. after some adjustments by Z we did some ultrasound and e stim.

yesterday was a long swim of 4800m/1:22. main set was 5 x 700 with the pull buoy on the evens. avg 700 w/o buoy was 10:30 (1:30 100m pace). afterwards i ran on the eliptical for 15min to try out the leg. no issues but with the eliptical there is no pounding so it isnt a true test. last night was a 90min trainer ride with a main set of 2 x 35min big ring intervals (5min steady, 2min sub threshold x5). avg HR for ride was 102 (during intervals steady portion was in the low 100s and when really pushing HR around 115-120. lately i havent been able to get the HR up on the trainer w/o killing myself and my legs. gave the speedo a go b/c i havent worn it since last year. i my legs havent gotten bigger since then so it was a little tight. i hope it isnt an issue during the bike.

this morning was a 10min run on the road. leg was tender right from the start which lead to me running cautiously. i wanted to go for 20min but i bailed early out of fear of further dmg. i will run again tomorrow after a trainer ride. after the short run i did some core work that i had been missing out on over the last few weeks. today at lunch i got a M/E swim of 2600m/41min. after a 900warm, i did 8x200 @3:05. usually my first 2-3 200s are around 2:45 and then the get slower fast. today my first 3 were 2:44, next 3 were 2:42, next was 2:43 and 8th was 2:40. for me to hold that pace thru out is awesome. i knew these 200m 3:05 sets would make me faster but damn!!!! i had planned to do 10 200s but my shoulder was sore from back to back swims so i told myself if i hit 2:40 on the last one i could cut out the last 2. good boy todde!

after today's ride my legs are trashed. today was 95mile ride to perdenales falls near johnson city and then finished up with some loops on south mopac for a total ride of 5:40. the main goal today was to keep my ass in the saddle for 5.5hrs. mission accomplished!!!! now my legs are completely dead from all the hills thru austin, into dripping spings, and out to the falls. the ride itself was awesome. the roads are paved really well and the traffic is limited. you ride along fitzhughs road which run parallel to 290. its all farm roads with nonstop rolling hills. the hills varied with some long monsters mixed thru out. they get worse the closer you get to john city. my legs were already worn from weights on fri and a 2hr ride yesterday so today put them over the top. a good sign was that they felt somewhat better once i was back in austin and hit south mopac and once i was off the bike they werent too bad. i ended up drinking 2 24oz bottles on infiniti that had 1.75 servings in each. i worked then first with a gel and a powerbar. once they were gone i had 2.5 24oz bottles on water with 3 more gels and another powerbar. total calories were 1850 for the ride. this is close to what i will do for AZ but i may go with some more infinit or 2 more gels and drop 1 of the powerbars. overall the ride was a good way to end the major part of my training and head into the taper knowing i am pretty well prepared. if i can get this strained shin muscle under control i should be looking at a strong race in 3 weeks.

thursday was a monster swim for me. maybe mot monster but my longest to date. i thought i swam 5k but after adding up the reps again it was a 4800m swim in 1:22. after a 1600m warmup i did a straight 3k swim. good sign on the 3k was my 1500 splits were exactly the same so i was very pleased with that.

thursday night was a Dr Z visit. after 10min of poking and sqeezing my strained shin muscle to death he then set me up with the triathlete special. its a series of treatments for idiots like me who overwork their body in hopes of getting better when all i am really doing is setting myself back a few weeks due to injuries. so we started with 10min of ultrasound and then 25min of ultraviolet treatment and finished with 15min of electric stem. i plan to see him again mon and then thurs. i hope to be running by next weekend and maybe some eliptical work this week.

friday was an easy day. i passed on my 30min recovery swim since i had already swam 4 times this week and had a saturday swim workout. i hit the gym instead to do some leg and core weights. next week i will do 1 or 2 more light weights sessions and then phase them out 2 weeks b4 AZ.

Today was a 55min/3200yd swim at barton with the wetsuit. i had planned to swim 3600 but on the last 3 laps my right shoulder was getting tender so i backed off. the swim went well with my first 5 laps around 6:05 and my last 3 around 6:20. last week my last 3 were over 6:30. i worked on my sighting and felt really comfortable today. james bonney started swimming when i got there and on one lap he blazed by me. i tried to draft him but he was really moving. i did pickup a technique from him while i was there. when you start out swim along either wall and then make a 90 degree turn at the end wall and swim along it and then make another 90 dgree and swim back along the other wall. you basically swim a triangle and you get to work on turning as if there were buoys to go around in race.

This afternoon was a 1:50/35mile bike on south mopac. i wanted to try out my friend jamie's race wheels. i am borrowing some HED stingers for AZ so i needed to get the feel of them. today was perfect b/c the winds were 10 to 20 mph steady today and my 8 mile loop lets me feel a headwind, tailwind and crosswind. i am glad i practiced b/c those wheels got squirrelly on me a few times. the crosswinds whipped my around a few times and the headwinds had me all over the place. i loved the tailwinds!!!! i must say those wheels are the bomb! i really think they well save me at least 5 - 10mins at AZ. the ride started slow b/c i was trying to get a feel for the wheels. i did pickup the pace on the last two 8 mile loops and avg about 21mph/23min. i noticed my legs felt beat near the end due to fighting the winds and having lifted weights yesterday. avg HR on the pickups was 120 and overall was 114.

tomorrow is a long ride of 5-6hrs and then the taper is on. we are headed to chuys for dinner tomorrow night to celebrate my taper and then i plan to get my shave on. i havent shaved in well over a month as a reminder of this last month of hard training. the shaving will symbolize the end of real training and the prep for getting race ready. i bet that sounded pretty gay but oh well! i am really glad this is coming to an end. mainly b/c i want to see how well my training will pay off in AZ but i also need a break so spend more time with the family.

monday was a 60min/3350 swim afterwork. the main set was 12x200 at 3:05. this was a tough swim b/c the 200s start easy with times around 2:45 - 2:50 but by the end the 200s are running closer to 3min so rest is almost nothing. i also managed to get in a core workout that day.

yesterday was a weights session at lunch with a mix of upper body and leg exercises. last night was a 90min trainer ride with the main set being 2x33min big ring steady intervals. this was tough after about 20min but a good workout none the less.

today started with some core exercises this morning. at lunch i did a 1800/30min swim. my swim included some buoy and paddle work and a set of 10x50m fast w/ :15 RI (avg 50 was around :35). tonight has an hr ride on the trainer with some 1 leg drills and a 12x1min high cadence spins.

my leg is doing better but the shin muscle is still very tender. i hope to resume running in about 10 days which would leave me 2 weeks of running b4 IMAZ. i will see Dr Z tomorrow for some TLC on the leg. The other bit of bad news right now is this weekend's weather. this sunday was going to be my last big ride before my taper but the rain looks to spoil that. i hope things change!!!!!!!

i am really paying the price for friday's long run. i tried to swim sat morning but due to events downtown i was unable to park close enough to barton springs to walk on my foot. therefore all my exercise sat came from carson's birthday party. we had a blast and it went well i think. i lost control when cleaning up and i ended up eating 10 cupcakes in like 5min. it was an ugly scene.

this morning i did make it to barton springs for my first wetsuit swim of the year. i think it went well but i did get fatigued in the arms midway thru. i managed an 60min/3200yd swim it some murky water. i struggle with the sighting for awhile but felt good with it near the end. the wetsuit felt fine and i had some good float but i will need several more of these swims to be ready for AZ.

this afternoon i wrapped the ankle and rode 3:30 on the trainer. no issues with the ankle but the legs defintely were tired near the end. it is so boring riding the trainer that long. i planned to go longer but i just couldnt.

this week i will try to visit dr z again for some treatment and i will focus my attention on swimming and biking while my leg heals so i can run again.

today was a 21mile/2:45 run at town lake. started out pain free in the shin muscle but after the 1st 7 mile loop it was tender and it only got worse. i did my best to run cautiously in order to minimize the pain but going down any hills sucked. i plan to not run for several days and then avoid any long runs in hopes this helps. it appears the muscle is strained and it will take some time to heal. good thing is if it lingers into IMAZ i can run thru it. i was pleased with my pace and HR today. i maintained a pace around 7:50 to 7:55 with an HR of 131 thru out the day. other than two 1min stops to refill my water bottles it was steady running for what seemed like eternity. i could have run some more but i really didnt want to.

tomorrow will be a wetsuit swim at barton springs and i may get in a short bike before sunday's long bike.

this morning was 60min/3300m hard ME swim. after a 1k warm the main set was 2x500 w/ :40 RI (7:09), 8x100 w/ :30 RI (1:19) and 8x50 w/ :20 RI (:38). i was really impressed that after 8 reps of the 100s and 50s my 1st rep was the same time as the 8th. i felt really strong this morning and the stroke was really smooth. i hope this is a trend that hangs around for awhile.

tonight was a Dr Z visit. he crackd my neck and back so much it sounded like someone stepping on a pile of branches. he also worked my quads and right shin muscle.

i am off tomorrow and plan to go either long run or bike. probably run if the shin muscle isnt flaring up.

carson was sick last night so we were up at 3am being supportive parents. therefore i moved this morning's run to tonight. at lunch i did some upperbody weights and a little core.

tonight's run was a 50min/6.5 mile tempo run. after a 15min warm the tempo portion was 4 miles at 7:24 pace and an avg hr of 134. the run felt fast but easy. my legs are still a bit sore from sundays long run. good thing i see dr z tomorrow before another long run on friday.

on a side note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARSON!!!!!! DADDY LOVES YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is my last 2 weeks of base/build training for a 3 week taper and i need to remain focused. I have tried to talk myself out of some workouts lately but i then reminded myself of my goals and i did the workouts. i can say i have slacked some on the core workouts which i am not pleased about.

yesterday morning was a new long for me in the pool with 4500m/1:17 time. main set was 8x400m on :20 rest. i used the buoy for 2 of the reps and w/o the buoy my time avg'd around 6min, however my first and last 400 came in at 5:55 both times. i really felt sluggish in the pool yesterday and that tends to be the case when i dont swim for several days in a row. next week i plan to push my max up to 5000m prior to my taper.

after swimming i hit the legs weights for 25min and mixed in some core exercises.

last night was a trainer ride for 75min. i almost pussed out of this one but i am glad i didnt. i did 2 25min intervals w/ 5min rest between and really pushed the pace in the big ring. i had some extra tension on the flywheel which really made the legs work.

actually legs were not that tired today but the leg knee was tender from yesterday's spill. we will have to see how swimming goes while the knee is scabbing over. Today was a long run of 18min/2:23. my run was at town lake and the temps were mild compared to yesterday. midway thru the run if poured rain for 10min which made the shoes a little heavier. I was pleased with my overall effort and the fact that my pace and HR remained consistent thru out. The legs felt fine for the 1st 10miles or so but i did start to noticed soreness in areas i wasn't use to feeling it in. near the end my feet were starting to hurt but i had plenty in the tank to keep going. one mistake i made was not having a race day b-fast which made the stomach feel a bit iffy early on. during the run i ate 4 gels and some salt pills and drank about 64oz of water (no sports drink). i am pretty sure the legs will feel like pure crap tomorrow. good thing its a recovery day with only some light swimming on the schedule. this last 4 days has been the toughest training i have ever had in a stretch like that. hope it pays off in AZ. each day i feel more confident that i can finish in 10hrs as long as i race my race, focus on my nutrition plan, and avoid any mishaps. should be an interesting day april 15th!!!!!!!!!

Today was all about the bike. I prep'd like it was race day and went out and dropped 100miles in 5:15. As i was leaving ending my ride at the veloway a car was partially blocking the exit so as i attempted to manuever around it i hit a soft patch of sand. the end result was me wiping out b/c i wanted to turn but my front wheel didnt. now my left knee is nice and bloody which kept me from my transition run. the leg should be fine other than a nice scab for a few weeks. the ride went well. the 1st 2 hrs were spent on the trainer which ended up putting me in the hole as my legs felt worn out for the 2nd part of my ride. once out on the road i did fine but didnt have the extra gear so i avg'd 20mph thru out the ride. i can definitely see why they say do go out too hard on the first 40miles of the IM bike. however the legs did feel better on the last 15miles and i felt like if i had to run it wouldnt be too bad. the thing i was most pumped about was my ability to ride the entire 5hrs in the aero position with minimal discomfort. this will be the key in AZ.

not much else to report. tomorrow will be a 2.5 run. i am guessing that will equal about 18-19 miles.

got the 60min trainer ride in last night. warmup included 10x :40 1 legs with :20 RI. main set was 2x 13min progressive rides in big ring with 4min RI. start at next to easy gear on rear cog and up the gear every 2min while holding same cadence. last min done on next to hardest gear on rear cog. this workout taxes my legs everytime.

this morning was a mile interval run at the track. total run was 68min/9miles. started with 2.5 mile warm at 8min pace. splits for mile intervals were 7:19, 7:13, 7:01, 6:56 and 7:15 with 400m 8min pace recov in between. After 4th mile split i realized i was not training for a short course race and reeled myself back in. i need to be keeping the pace from 7:10 to 7:20. my running has really progressed and i get into a groove where the pace increases while the energy expended feels the same. no HR monitor this morning but all the intervals felt easy until 3 and 4 where i could tell i was starting to work a bit. this morning was the first run in the new shoes. i miss my old ones. good sign though, no blisters!!!!

today at lunch or after work i will get in a 30min/1600m swim for some recovery work. i always enjoy a 30min swim on days with a hard run. tomorrow will be a 5.5hr bike so i need to load up on carbs today.

on a side note i rec'd the new triathlete mag yesterday and there are pix of a pro modeling with gear in a thong. we can only hope that women's apparel is headed in the direction for this sport. the downside would be for race officials having to access so many penalties in the men's field for drafting on the bike ; )

havent track this in a long time. bought some filas in nov 06 and mileage on them is now at 295. about time to change them out!!!!!

this morning was a tough swim of 68min/4150m. 500warm, 250, kick, 350 drill, main set: 15x200m @3:05 (avg 200m was 2:55), 50 cool. this workout supports my belief i can swim under 1hr at IMAZ. We will see if that holds true when the cannon goes off and the madness begins.

today will be a 60min trainer ride. will try to do some 10min sets in the bing ring where candence remains the same and the gears get tougher every 2 mins.

this morning started with 50min/6.25 mile tempo run. after 20min warm at 8min pace (HR 125) the next 3 miles were as follows (7:38/HR 132, 7:30/HR 136, 7:17/HR 139), cooldown.

after a quick breakfast i hit the pool before work for a 50min/3000m swim. The swim started sluggish with a 500 warm and then the main set was 100, 200 (paddles), 300, 400 (buoy), 500, 400 (buoy), 300, 200 (paddles), 100. The swim ended way better than it started.

Tonight was a 90min trainer ride. after a 2omin warm with 1 leg drills the main set was 2x25min steady pace in the big ring. I am hoping these long intervals in the aero position will help simulate race day in AZ. I plan to get these intervals up to 35 - 40min withn the next 3 weeks. i finished with 3x30 sec high cadence spin outs.

tomorrow is a core/weights day - my version of an off day!!!!

legs felt good today. a little fatigued but not too shabby. got in a recovery swim at lunch today of 27min/1500m. i felt like a dead fish in the water. it was tough to pull my self along and i couldnt wait to get out. my swim was 300 warm, 200 buoy, 700 drills, 300 buoy. i always struggle to swim the 1st day back after no swimming for a few days. tonight was a recovery bike on the trainer to spin some of the lactate acid out of the legs from yesteday. this was an easy 45min ride with minimal tension, high candence reps and lots of 1 legged drills.

Recovery week is officially over. The was no taking it easy today. This was the 2nd installment of the 3 Brick series today. This was also my first chance to put Infinit to work in my nutrition plan.

As usual, pre-race bagel breakfast (800 calories) 3hrs prior to workout. It was cold and windy this morning i figured this would not be the most enjoyable ride. The total ride time today was 3:45 and 65miles. I rode with 2 others to san marcos and back. the back part of the ride was windy as you know what. i did most of the pulling on the ride in order to maximize my effort on the bike. i did drop back and draft a couple times though and it was like night and day difference. During the bike i ate 4 gels, 6 salt tablets, 1 powerbar and 48oz of Infinit/54oz of water. Total calories were 1505 and sodium intake 3182mg.

After a 15min transition of preping everything i ran 14.5miles/1:55. The terrain was rolling hills and the temp was perfect. I was very pleased with the results. I avg 8min miles and avg a HR of 133. The legs felt great from the start but did seem to tire near the end. However there was plenty of fuel in the tank to keep going. During the run i ate 2 gels, 3 salt tbs, and 70z of flat coke/35oz of infinit. Total calories were 748 and sodium intake 1600.

This was another strong workout for me and i was more than pleased with the results. The Infinit did a great job (i used 1.5 servings for each bottle and it was still mild in flavor/thickness) and my stomach felt good during the run (other than one huge fart 1hr in). I have 1 more big brick in 3 weeks and then it is taper time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lastnight's swim swim prematurely due to foot cramps. i was swimming 400s when both feet started cramping on my 4th 400. by the middle of the 5th i came to a stop in the middle of the pool. my workout ended up being 2500m/42min. after a 500warm, i did 5x400 w/ :40 ri. my first four avg'd 5:50 but the 5th was 6:30 b/c i had to swim back to the edge for my buoy to do the last 200. i was hoping to get in 6x400 but it didnt happen. still a good swim up to the cramping part.

this morning was an 1hr of strength training for the core, legs and upper body.

this afternoon was 90min trainer ride. i would have hit the road but with the wind i could get a better quality workout on the trainer. after a warmup and some 1 leg drills the main set was 2x25min with 10min RI. the goal was to stay in 1-2 gears in the middle of the big ring and hold a steady cadence. i put some tension on the flywheel to make it a little tougher. my HR for the 1st 25min was 124 and the 2nd was 120. overall HR was 114. This was a tough workout that really taxed the legs near the end of each interval.

tomorrow is a 4hr bike/2hr run brick. i plan to try nutrition plan for IMAZ in this brick to see how the body handles it.

wednesday was my 3yr anni with amber. we had a great italian dinner at vespia on south congress and finished the night watching UT crush A&M's dreams of a #1 seed in the tourney.

thursday was a 40min weights session with the legs, core and then upper body. immediately following the weights was a 35min/2000m swim. started with a 450 warm to loosen up the arms and then went into a 1500 steady effort. first 500 was 7:29, 2nd 7:37 and 3rd 7:35. The goal of this workout was to work on swimming with fatigue (like after a hard race start and then getting into a slower pace) while focusing on form. it started okay, got tough in the middle, and then got easier near the end. all in all a tough swim.

lastnight was a 60min trainer ride. this was my first ride on the tri bike on the trainer this year. it was much better than the road bike. i did some 1 leg drills and then did 2x15min steady effort in big ring with 7min RI. i would start in middle of rear cog for 3min then move to hard gear for 2min with same cadence and then repeat 2 more times. this was a good workout to get the legs back in the bike groove.

this morning was a 60min/8mile tempo run. started with a 2.5mile/8min pace and then moved to a 4mile tempo pace. 1st mile was 7:20, 2nd 7:15, 3rd 7:10 and 4th 7:01. finished with another 1.5 mile at 8min pace. running legs felt great. didnt mean to run so fast in the tempo but it was hard to hold back b/c it came so easy and no labored breathing. great workout!!!

tonight will be a 45min swim after work and then a bike and core workout tomorrow followed by a 6hr brick on sunday.