Waterdog's Group - Closed (Page 6)

Your gonna love it. I got the elevator pitch from the Felt guy at a recent cocktail party at the LBS and it really is a well put together bike.

FWIW: Although I am shopping for a Tri Bike, I have done 4 seasons of races on a very old roadie. (Including 2 HIMs and a Full IM) I will be doing IMCal on my Roadie this year and will keep it around for training rides. (Still a great bike)

Congratulations

I'm 5'7, but I love to be low so the saddle height is not a problem for me!  Feels much better than my old roadie, in fact.  Anyway, cannot wait to get on it.

And Tim, I'm seriously considering volunteering for California 70.3.  I can't decide if I want to man the penalty tent or pull people out of the swim?!  It sounds like a blast......you'll have to send me pics of your outfit and the bike so I can spot you.  We'll make "Go Team Waterdog" signs along the way.   

Congrats!  It's a beautiful bike!  I bought a previous year's model of road bike last winter and got a great price.  I also went with the road bike rather than tri bike, and it has been the right decision - sounds like it will be for you too.  I am thinking of getting professionally fitted at the tri shop this spring and adding a seat post similar to yours to get more aero (we already put on the aero bars).  I bet you can't wait to get out there and ride!

I know it's early in the season for this discussion, and maybe we want to hold off for a while, but can we  talk about adding speed?  I just looked at my A-race finishers/scheduled participants, and to place in my AG, I need to add about a half mile to my LY bike speed and drop 30 seconds off my mile pace .  First - are these achievable goals?  Second, when is the appropriate time to add speed work into my workouts?  We're still base-building, but for how long?

 Because I've been sick, I guess I'm chafing at the bit a little.  So howsabout a theoretical discussion? 

I don't think it is ever too early to talk about training for an upcoming season.

I am not much on the technical aspects of bike training other than to apply what I learned on the run to the bike training. (And it seems to have worked for me)

For the run anway, I figured out that some level of speedwork really does help build on improvements in running economy from GA Runs.

The conventional wisdom used to be that intensity (Speedwork) was added to training late in the cycle since the effects don't last that long. (That was the theory anyway)

Pete Pfitzinger published an article a while ago that changed this idea. He found that although speedwork done early in a training cycle does not directly affect race day performance, it does affect the training during the build phase.

I have modified my Pfitz Training Plans to include some early speedwork before the volume gets to high and put bigger emphasis on the late cycle speedwork. (Especially during taper time) I also encorporate a bit of speedwork during cutback weeks when the volume is low.

Speedwork for me is pretty simple. I don't do much in the way of high intensity short intervals because I race endurance events. So speedwork takes on the form:

1). V02Max - 1600m and 2000m intervals at the track (With 800m recovery jogs)
2). LT/AT - Medium Long Run with the last 5-8 miles @ Half Marathon Pace
3). Long Runs with the last 4-6 miles @ Marathon Pace

I have seen big gains from #2 and @3 and not as much from #1 but I still do them once in a while.

A workout that I picked up from a friend of mine recently is the workout I am doing tonight. It is called a Progression Run and the idea is to do a longer Tempo run starting out at Marathon Pace, and progressively getting faster and finish the run @ 5k Race Pace.

Tonight's run will look something like this:

1,200m Warmup
3,200m Marathon Pace
4,000m Half Marathon Pace
4,000m 10k Pace
3,200m 5k Pace
400m Cooldown

The idea is to do this workout regularly and as it gets closer to the goal race, work on decreasing the number of marathon paced miles and maximize the faster than MP miles. The goal is to build muscular endurance to be able to crank up the entensity late in the race when fatigue is pouring cement in your shoes.

This workout, as well as the other speedwork stuff is pretty strong medicine and once per week is about max for me. Recovery time is key since I run 6 days per week and don't want one workout to impact my ability to run the following day.

For the bike, I just trade pace for HR zones and follow a similar pattern. (And seem to be getting faster on the bike too)

Off for a little mini-break holiday in the local mountains. Be back on Sunday afteroon.

Train Well Everyone and have a great weekend

So, how is everybody doing this week and how did your training go last week.

The Superbowl is upon us and Spring racing season is almost here. Many of us have early goal races while others will continue to base build through this time.

 For the question of the week, how do you deal with weather during your training. Are you one of those folks in the "Crummy Weather Challenge" or do you live someplace where the weather is always good for training.

Train Well Everyone  

Last week was a mixed bag. I hit my personal best on my run. I'd never ran a complete 5k before, but I was elated to finish it without walking in 38 min. I know that's not a land speed record, but the endurance I've been building is great to realize. Unfortunately I came down with a fever that sidelined me this weekend. I want to get back at it, but feel some momentum slip and I'm just really sore all over. I may take one day before returning.

I face the crummy weather scenario. Training indoors all the time is mentally tough. Cabin fever is setting in big time. I'm even considering going ice fishing with my dad, just to get some fresh air! As this year comes to a completion, I think I'll plan a race or two out of town in Jan/Feb. Maybe LaJoya, Dana Point or Laguna CA. (they sound perfect to me right now!)

Did everyone's month turn out as they had hoped?

It is still Winter time and many of us are either base training or just kicking off plans for Spring races so there is still plenty of time if things are not all they we had wanted.

Seems like our group has lost a few folks. One has dropped completely off of BT and quite a few more have yet to start logging/participating. I hope they are doing well with their goals wherever they are; maybe they will come and join us

The month of January turned out great for me.

I kicked off my HIM plan for an end of March race. The plan is based on a modified 12/55 Pfitz marathon plan with bike added in. Still no swimming for another week or so but am hopeful the ortho will let me into the water soon.

I picked up a new workout from some of my marathoner friends that seems to have put some real spice in my running. My volume is still pretty low and the added intensity is not really much of an issue for now. My tuneup race this weekend will likely result in an adjustment of my training paces.

Sunday's race will be interesting. I am doing a 30-50 mile ride on Saturday to build up some good bike fatigue. I need to remind the body what it is like to run a Half Marathon on less than fresh legs

I have no time goals for the race but since it has been a year since my last Open HM, there is a possibility of a PB.

Train Well Everyone and have a great weekend

Sorry all, I've had a pretty busy week.  Sick kids, no school due to cold (we're raising a bunch of wusses), and lots of work to make up for the days I missed. 

My January has been pretty decent.  I feel the aerobic capacity coming back and I've made some improvements on my swim.  I have a few kinks that I need to work out, and I'm actually chafing to increase mileage quickly, but am holding back to stay healthy.

I think the question Tim posted at the beginning of the week was about bad weather workouts.  I'm lucky enough to have gotten a second-hand fluid trainer, so I've got my road  bike hooked up to that and I use it at least once a week, if not more.  I also get a lot of use out of my Y.  I like to run in the winter, but I have set some limits on myself - I try not to run if it's below 15 degrees.  I've gotten ear infections a couple of times after cold weather runs and it just seems like a good thing.  I may complain about my Y's teensy track (21 laps to a mile), but the surface is nice and soft and it makes for easy indoor running.   I am looking forward to spring, though!

Best wishes in your race this weekend, Tim, and happy training, everyone!

When I do open 10k races, I usually do a warmup of about 4-5 miles before the race. 2 or 3 easy followed by some harder efforts with strides thrown in. The idea is to get the legs ready to run.

You don't have to run that far to get warmed up, but that is what does it for me. Maybe just a couple of miles with strides thrown in.

No worries. Hang in there, life is in session.

Thanks for the well wish with my tuneup race this weekend

Just thought I'd interrupt the broadcast to report that you folks have, without a doubt, the finest mentor on BT ... and I do mean finest in every sense.

Good call on joining his group--wise, very wise.

Happy training, all, and Tim--CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! (in advance, but still not enough)

So, how did last week go and how is your training going this week.

As I said last week, we seemed to have lost a few folks from our group. One has gone underground (Logs Hidden) and a few more are just not active. But we also have a good group of very active folks who are getting in some great training this year. (Good Work Everyone)

Question of the Week: Tell us about your post-workout/race recovery routine.

Hope everyone is having a great week