Gordo Byrn's Group - FULL (Page 34)

difficult day today.  expectedly so.

a 25 min run was on the schedule.  i opted to do 25 mins of cycling on the indoor trainer.

what i REALLY wanted to do was to go to the trail and ride, but mother nature was NOT cooperative - rain, sleet, snow.  totally sucky day.

the trainer sufficed.

i may hop on later on today for another 25 mins, if i get a chance before the boys come home from school.

taking it down, dialing it back, unloading, staying active.

today was toughie.

conserving for tomorrows brick.

MATT.  i think DAVEs advice was most excellent.

though id rather be riding outside, ive gotten A LOT out of SPINNING at the Y and have improved overall in my fitness AND endurance level as a result.  a great alternative if mother nature isnt cooperative.

BTW, i think we should use your FIERCE TORTOISE as the G-TEAM MASCOT.

whadya think?

keep plugging away!

 Sent you a note -- key tip is don't worry about symmetry in training plans -- if you back off M-F every 3rd week then you will be able to keep your weekends pretty "normal".

 As well, when building endurance, at your current level, you can probably shed fatigue without backing off (much) for your key sessions.  Ideas:

 Say you have a 45 min run -- you want to shed fatigue -- then run 20 out of 45 mins and walk the rest.

 Alternatively, shorten the non-key workouts (day before, day after) -- you can still build endurance on your key session.

 g

 Things to watch and ideas.  

We will all tend to go a bit "harder" than we need for these sessions -- take your speed up to fast/smooth, then hold for a bit, then clear lactate while going steady.  Remember your goal is quickness, not hardness.  If memory serves then we were going to target 5 min per K pace - so watch the natural tendency to max it out.

 When our HR goes up our capacity to make smart decisions declines.  Watch for this -- learning to execute your plan (without change) when your HR increases is a valuable form of race simulation.  Also watch how you act after your first few reps -- learning to control ourselves when the heart is racing is also valuable.

 If you don't see the points above in yourself then (at first) watch for them in others -- then consider how you might be following a similar path.  We all do!

g

 Resting on the wall (or in open water) is allowed.  Key thing is that you must make your own forward progress.

 Cycling in poor weather -- tips: (a) train in the morning, any sport; (b) go for a run if you can't face riding; and (c) use the stationary bike at your gym.  Generally, train (something) in the morning is a good habit.  Running won't help your cycling (much) but it will help you!  Something is better than nothing.  

Hope this helps,

g

 Things to watch and ideas.  

We will all tend to go a bit "harder" than we need for these sessions -- take your speed up to fast/smooth, then hold for a bit, then clear lactate while going steady.  Remember your goal is quickness, not hardness.  If memory serves then we were going to target 5 min per K pace - so watch the natural tendency to max it out.

 When our HR goes up our capacity to make smart decisions declines.  Watch for this -- learning to execute your plan (without change) when your HR increases is a valuable form of race simulation.  Also watch how you act after your first few reps -- learning to control ourselves when the heart is racing is also valuable.

 If you don't see the points above in yourself then (at first) watch for them in others -- then consider how you might be following a similar path.  We all do!

g

Active Rest Day:  Run- 2.75 miles in 30 min. 

1000 yrd swim....easy.

was able to slip in that 2nd 25 min session on the trainer. 

wise to break down the session in two segments rather than try and bust out a whole 50 min session.

mindful of my limits.

staying active has been a good outlet, and release.

GRIEF SUCKS.

but im getting through WELL, not just making it or getting by.

though id rather not go through this 'season', the lessons im learning through all this, invaluable.  things that ill undoubtedly take forward w me in my trng in the weeks and months ahead.

taking it down, dialing it back, unloading, staying active.

steady as I go.

Missed my lunchtime strength session today. Last minute 'gotta be there' meetings came up. Finally got home and on the bike trainer about 7:30. 1 hour steady spin.

Avg Heart Rate = 129 (my target, first time I've actually hit it over the entire session).

I'm pretty much back on my regular program, but am watching the intensity closely.

Lunchtime swim. 44:52 - 1700 yds continuous swim at a very easy pace. Still working my way back into higher intensity levels.

As usual after swimming I am starving. Goal for the afternoon is to not eat everything in my path.  Wonder why I am more hungry after swimming than running\biking.

Tonight I'm 'running' with my son and some kids from his cross country team. I'll see them at the start and end anyway! (They won't leave without me because I am the only one that can drive AND I have the pizza money!).  BTW - the triathlon thing is the only way I've found to be cool to high schoolers. Or they're just flattering me so I continue to feed them. Doesn't really matter, we'll have fun!

 Appetite and core temperature -- when you core temp drops hunger is triggered.  By staying warm and snacking (healthy) before/after your swim you can manage the increase in appetite.

 I was looking for a reference but can't find it -- you might be able to google something if you want more info.  Basically, stay well hydrated, and warm, to help manage appetite.

 g

brick #2 went reasonably well.

transition wasnt as smooth and relaxed as brick #1.

seemed scattered and rushed.  will do a better job simplifying next time.

but, independent of the transition itself (drying off, changing et al) both workouts went extremely well, and i had an easy time of it physically transitioning from the swim into the bike.

i was a little too cool coming on to the bike, so depending on the weather, next time i will throw on a jacket or something.  [i wore my zoot suit and it sleeveless]  maybe ill get arm warmers.

cold and wet, not my favorite.

AND my socks gathered quite a bit of water.  theyre pretty thick running socks.  my spin instructor says that in a TRI (except for 1/2 IMs and IMs) she doesnt wear socks, but has gotten blisters that she doesnt seem to mind getting.

im not sure ill go sockless, but maybe a thinner pair of socks will help, something less absorbent.

the sloshing was a bit annoying at first, but was completely ignored once i got into the wrkout.

and as for the swim, WEE HEEE FOR ME! 

longest continuous swim to date. 

the swim was 31 minutes total.

i did 800 in 14:56. 

then, after the first 800 i got lost in the swim and didnt keep track of my laps (since it was time and not distance it didnt matter much) -  though, im fairly confident i did at least A MILE total if not a little more.  [JOHN.  almost that 2000 milestone!]

overall.  Brick #2 was a DECENT brick.  id give it a 7 1/2 out of 10  

the transition was not as smooth and relaxed as Brick #1, but all in all it was GREAT experience. 

im glad that i took the time to dial back my other workouts so that i had energy at my disposal to do the bricks.  they were an important milestone to me, and did a lot to boost my confidence and i got some really valuable information on what to focus on going forward. 

its one thing to think about tri transitions, its another thing to actually do them.

feel even MORE RACE READY now than ever before.

Had fitness assessment at the gym today.

stats were height 186cm weight 88.3kg BMI 25.2 and BP 128/83

then did 4 mins on a stepper to a beep and had recovery HR taken after 30 seconds which was 75

Apparently I have excellent fitness. Which is nice.

The long slow runs are obviously working!!!

4.5 hrs downhill skiing (yesterday)

24 min X 1000 yrds - swim today

DAVE.  those are some STATS.  WAY TO GO YOU.

OBVIOUSLY youre doing something right, FOR SURE!

IMPRESSIVE!

a-typical schedule

no 2 hr endurance spin, what w the bricks this week, just how the schedule worked out.

25 min swim, 31 min run

1050 yd total:  150s in the pool; 100 freestyle, 50 backstroke 1:30 min rest at the 750 yd mark (continuous swim up to that point) then 300 yd (continuous) to finish.

ran w the running club this morning.

did 7:1 run/walk intervals.  steady heartrate.

steady as i go.

[sorry for the confusion/editing, i re-read this post, and i thought, that isnt right....must have water in my head ]

Hill wprkout again but I used my BRAIN this time. Kept it in Z3 just touching Z4 as I completed a few of the bigger hills. When in Z4 I just barely went into it this time. Can't believe the difference in how I feel. And I checked time - killing myself the last time around bought me about half a mile farther in the same time. I seriously doubt that lower effort will be what keeps me off the podium.

Heading out to swim in a few minutes.

Anyway, 46 min bike, all hills. 12.24 miles

HR Data:

Avg 147

High 164

Z1   0:19

Z2  4:06

Z3 35:23

Z4 8:26

1:15 min on the trainer....

 Glad it went well for you.  If you are going to drill-it in a race then save those efforts for the second half of the run leg -- specifically about 55-75% of the way through the run.  Handfuls of time to be taken there.

 g

standard fare run today.

25 mins on the indoor track.

7:1 run/walk intervals again.  i was 'ready' to bump it up.

kept HR in chk, though there were moments when it shot up higher than i intended

seems to happen so easily, usually when i wasnt 'paying attention' and started speeding up/working hard unnecessarily.

learning to be mindful where im at in the run AND to employ subtle adjustments necessary to bring my HR in 'the zone' when i slip out.

getting the hang of it, more and more. 

working towards being more consistent [less and less 'swings']  and imprinting what 129/139/149+ FEELS like

steady as i go.

as for the week itself, went so much better than i had anticipated.

G. your advice was GOLDEN.  honestly, made all the difference when i gave myself permission to do what you suggested:  to take it down, dial it back, stay active but unload.  to not make the bricks into something more important than they were.

as i posted earlier, i learned VALUABLE lessons this week that i most certainly take forward w me into the rest of my trng and life even.

and though the coming days i know more grief awaits, its doesnt seem as daunting as before.

on to BRICK WK. #2

a life, well lived.  that's my HONORARIUM.

33 minutes...3.3 miles....nothing special but Got R dun.....