Sunday, May 17, 2009

Road to Ironman Arizona (5/11-5/17/09)

Monday 1 hour Strength and Balance Workout

Tuesday 1 hour run in Zone 1-2; 5.94 miles

Wednesday 1 hour bike ride; 20 minutes in Zone 3

Thursday 1 hour swim drills; 1800 yards

Friday 1 hour 90+ RPM bike workout in Zone 1

Saturday Run/Bike Brick (2 hour bike followed immediately by 1 hour run, 6.45 miles)

Sunday 1 hour swim; 2400 yards

This week I was able to see the endurance work taking effect. At one time, it was virtually impossible for me to hold Zone 1-2 for an hour run and my pace was around 12mph at that low a heart rate. I can now hold around a 10mph avg. pace in Zone 1-2. Getting a greater output at a lower energy cost is what my training is all about. I’m pleased to see the hard work paying off.

I called an audible and shortened my scheduled brick workout on Saturday. With my first triathlon of the year only a week away, I  shortened the scheduled 4.5 hour bike ride to 2 hours and the 1.5 hour run to 1 hour. I did the IM Wisconsin ride on the trainer for 2 hours and followed it with a run in the neighborhood. My transition into running gear was around 3 minutes. I let my heart rate get up in the higher zones knowing that next week’s Olympic race will be at a higher intensity than my training for IM distance has been. It was a good race prep and I feel good that with a week to taper, roll the legs, and get my body ready with good nutrition and rest, I’ll be well-prepared for my first real racing event of the year.

As mentioned above, I’ll be taking a mini-taper in preparation for my Memorial Day CapTex Olympic distance triathlon. This is a good time to test my fitness and see how I react to race day anxiety and race conditions. It’s been over 5 months since my last tri, so It will be fun to race triathlon again.

Hope you guys are getting some summer races on your schedules. I know Claude is deep in preparation for his first-ever triathlon next month. I wish I could be there to see it firsthand, but I’ll be cheering from afar.

Kia Kaha!

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