Tony's Xterra & Short Course Tri Group - OPEN (Page 12)

Here's a picture of a good portion of the Xterra bike course. Heads into that grassy stuff back there.

I got in 1650m of swimming and a 5 mile run. Both times I thought I was going way faster than I did! Blah. Oh well. Training done!

that looks incredible!

Tony gave me a killer workout last night.  I went into it thinking there was no way I was finishing it as planned.  Kinda surprised myself.  I had to keep convincing myself that giving up mentally was not an option.  Kept flashing back to an old baseball coach that said "mental mistakes are not tolerable....only physical!"  LOL  I was pumped when I finished it!   We did a 25min warmup, followed by 40min @80%FTP, 10' rest interval, 20min @90%FTP, 5min cool down.

^^^ you know what I have to say about that... 

Finally got the new rig up and running!  Giant XTC carbon hardtail, with a few upgraded parts and new wheels.  Right at 23lbs, thinking I'm going to shave off another 1-2 lbs and it will be race ready! 

Now, too bad we have a snow storm today!  

darn red x's!!

Pretty good weight point for a 29er!!!  Nice!

Snow will be gone by the weekend.  Of course the trails will be sloppy though!

Sounds awesome, Tony. 

Went for a run today. Showed winter storm Saturn who's boss. 

That looks incredible! I'm definitely jealous. 

11.5 miles this evening. Got a wicked bad cramp in my calf. I moved to the side of the sidewalk to let a biker through less than 1/4 mile from finishing. When I started again, I felt it, but it wasn't bad enough to stop me. Got home, drank some water, did some little jobs to cool down then sat down for dinner. When I stood up, I could barely walk. Sat down and put heat on it for awhile and got back to walking. I've been stretching it all evening and it feels better. I'm going to do a short 30-45 min. trainer ride in the morning as my recovery from the run, then try to get a 5-7 mile run in after work and before class. Depends on how my calf feels...

Happy training everyone!

How was everyone's weekend training?!  

Been quiet in here; hopefully because everyone is out training!  

Not a good weekend for training for me.  Rainy weather and family took up most my time.  Ready to get some sleep and start the week off right tomorrow!

It's been busy!  Got some solid training in this weekend.  Did a nice 30 minute run outside as part of a brick workout Saturday.  It's been a while since I've had any meaningful outside running time.  So this felt pretty good, even though it was cold.  I had to use my trail shoes to trek through some of the snow out there.  Sunday I did some long climbs on the trainer.  I should ask you about that Tony.  I'm not ever sure I design these workouts right.  Not sure if I make them too hard or too easy.  Like Sunday, the plan was for 3hrs of long climbs in zone 3 and 4.  I basically, did an hour warm up.  Then 4 30 minute intervals.  Five minutes was in aero at 70%, then right into climbs at 80-90% with 60-70 cadence, then a 10 minute rest interval.  I have no idea how to analyze the TSS or IRR or whatever those acronyms are for overall power exertion over the workout.  So I guess the question is.....what do I look or shoot for when designing details of workouts like this when plans call for things like long climbs in certain zones?

No time again for the basement this weekend!   Got hung up with workouts and running around for other things.  I may take a day off work to get something done.

I did get time to shoot Tony an email about getting me a new road bike.  My old road bike is getting a little used and abused.  Time for a little upgrade.  I was discussing with Tony how to go about it since my old bike shop has been me off with repairs on one of my bikes lately.  Gotta figure out what the best fit will be and go from there, but I REALLY like the new Cervelo S5!!. 

That's one heck of a bike workout. And I love new bikes. That Cervelo S5 looks sweet. It looks like it's moving even when it's sitting still. Awesome.

Felt good about my long run this past weekend. It was a solid 19 miles and I brought enough food for once. With the warmer weather, I'm going to have to start figuring out how to get more water. Sunday recovery spin. Today 8 miles with some fast stuff thrown in. Feel like a champ after today's run. Tomorrow I'll have a shorter run (6-7 miles) and Weds. is medium-long run at around 11-12 miles. Lost a swim today by not getting up on time. Weds. I might get a short bike in during the AM if I get up early enough.

I use the fuel belt for water during longer / hot runs.  Seems to work out well.  If its REALLY hot, I'll freeze 2 bottles so they melt during the run.  Gives you nice and cold water which feels great over the head! 

Hey Rob!  Glad things are going well and you're enjoying this. 

Coaching Program-  I spent the first few years doing my own thing.  I went to masters swim and computrainer classes but besides workout details I designed my own volume and plan.  I got faster and got in shape.  But when I was ready to take to the next level I struggled.  I spent a year trying on my own.  I ended up injured, tired, and not much faster than I was to begin with.  This year I hired Tony as a coach.  He designs my volume and workouts.  I don't think anymore, I just do!  It's really nice to do that and not worry about injury or burn out.  Tony does all that for me.  So far it's working great.  I'm finally getting faster again.  I'm at all time lows with my weight and all time highs with my fitness.  I'm glad I realized I couldn't do that on my own and hired Tony.

Bikes- Ask yourself what you will be doing most of.  Ideally, it's best to have  a bike for each purpose.  But I'm sure that's not feasible for everyone.  If it was me, I'd decide what kind of riding you will do.  If your focus is racing tri's or TT's and all your training will be by yourself, I'd go with a TT bike.  If you think you'll be doing some century rides or riding in groups a lot I'd get a road bike.  You could always throw a set of shorty aero bars on a road bike for tri's or get a tri/TT bike later if you can.  For me, I always like to have a road bike around, but I spend most my time on my TT bikes.

Running- One thing I have to say about running is I never got good at it until I dedicated 4+ days a week to running.  Frequency over volume!  Just build carefully and be mindfull of recovery.  It's easy to get injured running!

2 things to share....

Workouts have been tough the last couple weeks.  My sinus and allergy problems have really flared up.  I've skipped some workouts and stayed out of the pool a lot.    Felling like a slacker lately!

I'm now having second thoughts on my road bike purchase.  Wow have the price of bikes went up.  It seems the higher end bikes are no longer around $6k, but now around 8-12K!!!   I was kinda hoping to get an upper middle of the road type bike for around $4k.  Seems like those bikes are now $5-6k!!   I'm not sure what to get now.  Especially when the road bike is really a backup.  TT bike is my primary!  I'm wondering if the money is better spent in training equipment for the basement or upgrades to my TT bike.

Good that things are going well!

I trained all last year without a road bike. I did all of my training on my mountain bike on the road, gravel trails, and mtb trails. I just got my road bike a few weeks ago and can't wait for some nicer weather to take it outside. If I were you, I would probably go with a road bike. It is more versatile and if you decide to not to tri's after awhile, you still have a bike that you can use for goin around town or riding with your family. Those things are harder with a TT bike (I don't have one, just from what I've read and the TT's purpose). If you decide to stick with tris and get serious about training and competing, you can get a TT bike then. As for coaching, I can't speak from experience, but I'd say that a coach at any stage would help greatly. I think that for the stage you are at, you can build a base without a coach if you have the personal motivation. Seems like you do. =) Anyway, the important thing is that you are out consistently working out. I'm a runner. I love running and could do it every day and not get tired of it. Consistency is the key. Make it a point to get out there and do it more than 2-3 times a week. Even if it's just 10-20 minutes.  Hope things keep going well! Keep up the training!

Hate that winter cold. I had one that thankfully went away quickly and never got to bad. Definitely took a chunk out of my training. Hope it passes quickly and you get back to those hardcore workouts! That's a chunk of cash too for the road bikes. I don't know that much about road bikes, but is a $4k bike REALLY $2000 "better" than a $2000 bike? I'd guess that the differences get more technical or obvious as price goes up, but I don't really know. Sorry I can't offer advice on road bikes...good luck with your decision and whatever you choose!