Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Buffalo Springs 70.3 race report
Buffalo Springs has come and gone but the pain in my thighs still remains. Its 3 days later and the legs are still tender to the touch. I did a session on the foam roller last night that was quite painful. However, it was definitely worth it!!!!
The trip to lubbock started friday with a short ride to G'town to drop off carson at grannys. That night we went to movies and had a few good laughs watching Knocked Up. I give it 2 thumbs up!!! Jamie arrived sat morning at 5:30am and we were on the road by 6am. The ride was about 5.5hrs drive time not including a few stops to deposit all the fluids we were taking in. Once we got to lubbock we got our packets, browsed the race expo, and then drove the bike course. Sat night was a simple dinner of brown rice, sweet tators and zucchini.
Sunday morning came early and we were up by 3:45am. i took a quick shower and had my usual blueberry bagel with PB, granola, honey and banana. Between sat night and sun morning i also made sure to drink plenty of water with nuun tabs. We arrived at the race by close to 5am and proceeded to get setup. the race started at 6:30am so time flew by.
The trip to lubbock started friday with a short ride to G'town to drop off carson at grannys. That night we went to movies and had a few good laughs watching Knocked Up. I give it 2 thumbs up!!! Jamie arrived sat morning at 5:30am and we were on the road by 6am. The ride was about 5.5hrs drive time not including a few stops to deposit all the fluids we were taking in. Once we got to lubbock we got our packets, browsed the race expo, and then drove the bike course. Sat night was a simple dinner of brown rice, sweet tators and zucchini.
Sunday morning came early and we were up by 3:45am. i took a quick shower and had my usual blueberry bagel with PB, granola, honey and banana. Between sat night and sun morning i also made sure to drink plenty of water with nuun tabs. We arrived at the race by close to 5am and proceeded to get setup. the race started at 6:30am so time flew by.
I decided last second to go w/o the wetsuit due to the watertemp being 77 and my suit being thick. I also should have gone without the tri top but that didnt happen.once my wave went i was battling my top from the beginning. the zipper came down several times so i had to stop each time to zip up. the top was also catching water which felt like dead weight. i felt good with the stroke but i knew i was going slow when the wave behind me (5min behind) caught me with another 500m to go. total swim time was 33min. no issues with transition 1.
The bike almost started bad. i couldnt get one of my feet in the shoe as i hit the 1st hill so i nearly fell over. luckily at the last second i got it in and got going. the first hill was steep so i took it in my easiest gear. it was still tough. once out of the park i settled in and got a good rythm going. the course was mostly flat until we had to go in and out of the canyons several times on the out and backs. the weather was nice and the wind wasnt bad so i made a strong attempt to push the bike. i was a bit hesitant on the downhills b/c i dont like a lot of speed but i made up for it by pushing the hills. thought about a bike pee on the way back into the park but i optd to wait until trans2. once entered the park things got interesting. i first passed natasha badmann running (she was cruising), i almost hit a rattlesnake or copperhead, and my calves cramped on the last hill. once i rolled and trans2 it was nice to hear some cheers. total bike was 2:40. nutrition on the bike went according to plan with a double load of infiniti, 4 gels chased by lots of water, and lots of salt tabs. trans 2 was a little slow b/c i applied sunscreen, hit the potty, and had to come back for my gels.
the run was the x factor. with a total of 3 runs for 10miles in the month leading up to the race it was going to be a potential disaster. i have had some knee and IT band issues with the right leg so i just wanted to get out there and react to the feeling. right from the start the knee was sore but no bad. i had a good pace but i was taking short, soft steps. the first 3 miles took about 23min so i was feeling good. shortly after that i turned the corner and hit the first big hill. it was the beginning of a rough run. i then hit another big down and back up hill before hitting the energy lab. the lab is a 2mile stretch of road where you bake in the sun as you watch runners fade in the distance and you see the heat coming off the pavement. after about 2miles of this you turnaround and run back. its a tough stretch but for strong runners i would say its the best spot to make a move. after that is another down and up on a big hill and then down another big one. by mile 8-9 my feet were toast in my flats. memo to self - no flats in runs over 10k. i had some wicked blisters by the end. i struggled the last 2-3 miles and feel i dropped the pace by close to a min. my 1st half of the run was a 8:02 pace and the 2nd half was 8:40. total run split was 1:49. i feel i nailed my run nutrition by taking in 3 watered-down carb boom apple/cinamon gels (i had vanilla on the biked), salt tabs, and lots of water at the aid stations.
the run was the x factor. with a total of 3 runs for 10miles in the month leading up to the race it was going to be a potential disaster. i have had some knee and IT band issues with the right leg so i just wanted to get out there and react to the feeling. right from the start the knee was sore but no bad. i had a good pace but i was taking short, soft steps. the first 3 miles took about 23min so i was feeling good. shortly after that i turned the corner and hit the first big hill. it was the beginning of a rough run. i then hit another big down and back up hill before hitting the energy lab. the lab is a 2mile stretch of road where you bake in the sun as you watch runners fade in the distance and you see the heat coming off the pavement. after about 2miles of this you turnaround and run back. its a tough stretch but for strong runners i would say its the best spot to make a move. after that is another down and up on a big hill and then down another big one. by mile 8-9 my feet were toast in my flats. memo to self - no flats in runs over 10k. i had some wicked blisters by the end. i struggled the last 2-3 miles and feel i dropped the pace by close to a min. my 1st half of the run was a 8:02 pace and the 2nd half was 8:40. total run split was 1:49. i feel i nailed my run nutrition by taking in 3 watered-down carb boom apple/cinamon gels (i had vanilla on the biked), salt tabs, and lots of water at the aid stations.
i finished with a 5:08 time and was overall pleased with the race. it was tough and with my limited run training i dont think i could have done much better (maybe a little with better shoes). it was the toughest course i have done and i look forward to another shot at it. sunday night we celebrated at a friend's bar in town. we had some burgers and fries and put down some cold beer and shots. such the happy ending to a great day. monday morning we hit the road and made it back to Gtown by noon. the highlight on monday was seeing carson. we missed our boo boo chicken!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
race week for buffalo springs half ironman
had a good week swimming and a couple of good bike workouts this past week. No running but thats for the best if i want to hopefully finish the half in lubbock. i feel like my swimming has really improve sense im training stated. alot of that was due to leg injuries that forced me to swim more to keep up my fitness. this week i had some long sets at race goal pace that i was really pleased with. i hope to swim in the 28min range at buffalo. my last 2 half swims were in the 31min range so under 30 would be a big improvement. as for the bike i had a good trainer workout with some long intervals mid week and i had a long ride today with some race pace effort. my goal for buffalo on the bike is 2:35 and i hope to get close to 2:30 if all goes well. no running but i still hope to run in the mid 7min range and no more than 8min. i feel a great race for me will be 4:40ish finish and a good race will be 4:50ish. this week will be short/fast workouts and maybe a run check on friday if leg feeling good!!!!!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
time to taper for buffalo springs
i must be getting lazy b/c i am blogging about once a week now. i think it has to do with putting more info into my online workout log and therefore not needing to journal so much here. i still like to write here so i can look back later and see what my thoughts were.
well today was a olympicish tri workout. i started with a wetsuit swim of 1200m at barton. i practiced buoy turning at the far end and then took a 15sec break after each 400. swim went well even though it seemed slow at times.
i then setup my bike in the parking lot and met a few guys for the 30mile bee caves loop. this is my favorite ride b/c the shoulders are big and the ride feels fast. the course is also littered with lots of hills which i like to hit hard. we started slow with to chit chat and by midway thru sw parkway we picked up the pace. one of the guys is a really strong rider (especially the hills) so we went at it pretty good. the ride was about 95min.
after a short transition we hit town lake for a 4mile run. we ran about a 8min pace and my buddies were hurting due to cramps and the heat/humidity. i made sure to take in salt during the bike so i didnt have any issues. i really wanted to test the knee and i did just that. what i found was a knee that really is f'd up. not sure what it is but i will have to have it checked later. i was glad to make it thru the run but i am worried about buffalo in a few weeks. my endurance is definitely peaking but my body is in the toilet thanks to IMAZ and post training. i plan to take the next 2 weeks to swim a lot and do some easy biking. i am not going to get any faster in the next 2 weeks so might as well relax and enter the race in the best condition possible. still shooting for a 4:40 finish but it all depends on the knee. no knee problems then it will be in the bag!!!!!!!!!!!!
well today was a olympicish tri workout. i started with a wetsuit swim of 1200m at barton. i practiced buoy turning at the far end and then took a 15sec break after each 400. swim went well even though it seemed slow at times.
i then setup my bike in the parking lot and met a few guys for the 30mile bee caves loop. this is my favorite ride b/c the shoulders are big and the ride feels fast. the course is also littered with lots of hills which i like to hit hard. we started slow with to chit chat and by midway thru sw parkway we picked up the pace. one of the guys is a really strong rider (especially the hills) so we went at it pretty good. the ride was about 95min.
after a short transition we hit town lake for a 4mile run. we ran about a 8min pace and my buddies were hurting due to cramps and the heat/humidity. i made sure to take in salt during the bike so i didnt have any issues. i really wanted to test the knee and i did just that. what i found was a knee that really is f'd up. not sure what it is but i will have to have it checked later. i was glad to make it thru the run but i am worried about buffalo in a few weeks. my endurance is definitely peaking but my body is in the toilet thanks to IMAZ and post training. i plan to take the next 2 weeks to swim a lot and do some easy biking. i am not going to get any faster in the next 2 weeks so might as well relax and enter the race in the best condition possible. still shooting for a 4:40 finish but it all depends on the knee. no knee problems then it will be in the bag!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, June 03, 2007
good week of workouts
after the race rainout on monday i took tuesday off as well. wed morning i went for a 45min run and came back with a shot right knee. it was sore bad that at the end of the run i had to walk the last couple hundred meters. I think a lot of the speed work i did for captex really made the knee joint tender and it wasnt healed yet. no telling how bad it would have hurt at captex or if i would have even finished for that matter. The knee is still tender but is getting better. I hope to run by wed or thurs.
I had a few good swims this week. i did a 2000TT in the pool and finished around 28:43. I was pleased that all the 500 splits were very close to each other. I had a wetsuit swim yesterday at barton that did me some good. total swim for the week was close to 8k.
I also had a couple good bike rides. Fri i hit the veloway for 1.5 hrs prior to work. i did several 10min intervals where i pushed the pace in the bid ring. Today was an endurance ride with some hill work mixed in. I road the sw pky/beecaves loop with a friend to start the ride. he hasnt ridden in a while so the 30mile loop took over 2hrs. since the pace was really slow i hit the hills real hard and then recovered waiting for my friend. after i dropped him off by the house a hammered another 22miles in 65min around south mopac and circle c. it was a good change of pace and was nice to go fast on tired legs from the hills. total ride was 52miles on 3:10.
tomorrow is an off day and then more of the same next week. I hope to be back to some slow running and lots of swimming. i will also get a few veloway workouts b4 work and i am planning a long ride next weekend to perdenales falls with some of the guys i trained with for IMAZ. Its cram time before buffalo springs at the end of the month.
I had a few good swims this week. i did a 2000TT in the pool and finished around 28:43. I was pleased that all the 500 splits were very close to each other. I had a wetsuit swim yesterday at barton that did me some good. total swim for the week was close to 8k.
I also had a couple good bike rides. Fri i hit the veloway for 1.5 hrs prior to work. i did several 10min intervals where i pushed the pace in the bid ring. Today was an endurance ride with some hill work mixed in. I road the sw pky/beecaves loop with a friend to start the ride. he hasnt ridden in a while so the 30mile loop took over 2hrs. since the pace was really slow i hit the hills real hard and then recovered waiting for my friend. after i dropped him off by the house a hammered another 22miles in 65min around south mopac and circle c. it was a good change of pace and was nice to go fast on tired legs from the hills. total ride was 52miles on 3:10.
tomorrow is an off day and then more of the same next week. I hope to be back to some slow running and lots of swimming. i will also get a few veloway workouts b4 work and i am planning a long ride next weekend to perdenales falls with some of the guys i trained with for IMAZ. Its cram time before buffalo springs at the end of the month.
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