Weekly Training Log – 05/01/2011

	Swim	Bike	Run	Strength	Total
Total Time	1.5 hrs	4.5 hrs	3 hrs	.5 hr	9.5hrs
Total Distance	3,800m	80 miles	24 miles

This was a recovery week and it’s safe to say that I didn’t go above and beyond what the plan suggested.  We were travelling up in Boston for the week to look for apartments and I then I was in Cincinnati on Thursday which meant my training schedule was completely off.  But I was able to get at least one workout in a day, so I can’t really complain too much…  I definitely didn’t lose ground.

Monday – Day Off.

Tuesday – I rode for an hour on a stationary bike and then ran for 15 minutes on the treadmill.  Nothing more to say than that. It was ridiculously hot and my clothes were disgusting – it was an unventilated basement workout room.

Wednesday – Ran around the esplanade in Boston for 8 miles in the morning and it was so nice.  I just focused on running and didn’t do any speed workout or anything. 

Thursday – Another hour on a stationary bike (this time in Cincinnati). Boring. Sweaty.

Friday – Finally back home!  Friday morning I got in the pool for the first time that week (not good!) and did 2,200m.    In the afternoon, I ran 45 minutesin Umstead – it was an awful, painful run.  I don’t think I ever have a good run in the evening; probably because I have been sitting all day at work and my legs are ridiculously tight. 

Saturday – Long brick workout day. We went 2:30 (50 miles) on the bike a followed by an 8-mile run.  The bike was awesome.  I actually felt like I was able to keep up with Ryan… he still beat me, but there were plenty of sections where I was able to properly draft.  Towards the end of the ride, there are 4 large hills that we climb and for 2 of them, I destroyed Ryan.  I mean, really destroyed him.  I drafted him up to the point where the hill started and then I jumped off the saddle and pumped as hard as humanly possible. I got to the top, pushed for about a hundred yards and the jumped off the saddle again for the next hill.  By the time I got to the top, I was about a minute ahead of Ryan and promptly filled my mouth with vomit… then spit it out.  I red-lined it, but damnit it was worth it.

Sunday – We ran 10 miles of single track through Umstead.  These were some new trails for me, most of which were covered in pine needles, which made the run very soft and easy.  Still lots of sections where we were dealing with big rocks and roots, but overall not a very technical run which was nice.  In the afternoon, Mary Lynn and I went to Sandling Beach at Falls Lake about 20 minutes from our house.  We spent some time playing paddle ball and soaking in the southern culture… including large women in all-to-small Conferderate flag bikinis. One woman in particular decided to avoid tan lines on her back and removed her top.  Unfortunately, she forgot not to look up – Mary Lynn and I got an eyeful of sagging nip.  Not good.  So I promptly got in the very very cold water and swam a mile.

Next week is a tough week and potentially a trip out to the mountains for a long ride.  We’ll see!

Tags: 10 miles, 15 minutes, all-to-small conferderate flag, apartments, basement, big rocks, Bike Run Strength, boring, Boston, brick, cincinnati, clothes, cold water, Cycling, damnit, disgusting, esplanade, Falls Lake, Friday morning, good run, Hospitality Recreation, hrs .5 hr, large hills, large women, legs, Long brick workout, long ride, Mary Lynn, Mile, Mile run world record progression, minutesin umstead, new trails, paddle ball, painful, Physical exercise, pine needles, pool, room, Ryan, safe, Sandling, Sandling Beach, single track, southern culture, speed workout, spit, sport, Stationary bicycle, stationary bike, swam, sweaty, swim bike run, tan lines, technical run, Time 1.5 hrs, training log, training schedule, treadmill, trip, unventilated basement workout, vomit, Weekly Training Log, workout, workout room
Category Featured, Weekly Training Logs |

Weekly Training Log – 03/06/2011

	Swim	Bike	Run	Strength	Total
Total Time	3.25 hrs	4 hrs	1.75 hrs	1.75 hr	10.75 hrs
Total Distance	5,000 m	65 miles	14 miles

This week was another recovery week, and for whatever reason, I found myself to be very tired for most of the week.  Monday started with strength training on Monday… and at this point, it’s pretty much always leg work.  We did a bunch of drills on the stationary bike which burned like fire, then some other plyometric exercises.

Tuesday was a morning swim where I have to say I felt absolutely aweful.  I was still suffering from allergies (sounds like an excuse!) and people that I am typically faster than crushed me.  In one drill, we were swimming 800 meters with paddles, pull buoy, and our feet tied together (if you haven’t tried it, try it… trust me, it’s like dragging an anchor).  I got my butt whipped.  Then later that same workout, we were doing sprints with flippers and again, I got killed.  Not good.  Tuesday night was an hour on the trainer.

Wednesday morning was my usual run in Umstead – and a beautiful brisk morning.  Wednesday night was dinner with friends, so no workout.  Thursday morning was another swim and another day of feeling like my swimming sucks.  The Dragonfly is back! Thursday night was just the end to a long day, so no workout for me.

Friday was a brick workout of 1 hour on the bike followed by a 30 minute run. It was really only meant to be a 30 minute run, but I had to make up for some missed rides during the week, so I made it a brick.  I actually felt pretty good, so all good.

Saturday was another brick workout.  Ryan took us on a 37-mile ride through all the steepest hills around Falls Lake… I still struggled to keep up with the guy, but I did MUCH better than previous weeks and I felt much more confident by the end.  Average was just around 19mph, which when you look at the hills was very very good.  There were a few flat sections where I saw my speed at 22-23 which is  good for me.  Following the ride, we ran 4 miles at a 7:05 pace.  There was one point on a flat section where our average was tipped at sub 6-minute miles.  Not bad!

Sunday was a “long” run.  We did around 6.5 miles and I just felt terrible.  A steak dinner the night before without much else probably didn’t help… but I did NOT feel good.

Anyway, the week is done and I just finished planning out next week and it’s NOT a recovery week.  I should be doing about 15.5 hours of workouts with a 70+ ride and about 15 mile run over the weekend.  It just makes me realize that it’s only week 9 and there are still 15 weeks left.  Brutal!

Tags: 37-mile ride, 800 meters, allergies, anchor, Anyway, beautiful brisk morning, Bike Run Strength, brick, brick workout, brisk morning, brutal, bunch, buoy, dinner, dinner with friends, dragonfly, Drill, Falls Lake, flat section, flat sections, flippers, Hospitality Recreation, hr 10.75 hrs, leg work, long day, m 65, Man-Made Disaster, Mile, Mile run world record progression, morning swim, MUCH better, paddles, Physical exercise, plyometric exercises, pretty good, pull buoy, rides, sport, Stationary bicycle, stationary bike, steak, steepest hills, strength training, sub 6-minute miles, swim bike run, swimming sucks, Thursday morning, Thursday night, time 3, Time 3.25 hrs, training log, triathlon, trust, Tuesday night, umstead, usual run, Wednesday morning, Wednesday night, Weekly Training Log, workout, workouts
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Weekly Training Log – 02/20/2011

Week #6 was a “recovery” week, but with travel from Wednesday to Friday, there wasn’t a whole lot of recovery for me.  The week started with a typically tough workout session with Olivier – my legs were fried.  Tuesday was another long swim with the group – we ended up doing more than 3,000 and half of it was with the kick board.  I realize I need more kick strength, but wow… almost a mile of kicking blows.  Tuesday night brought some new Spinerval DVDs that I gave a shot – made for a tough bike workout, but it was only 45 minutes which was shorter than I needed.  Wednesday morning was 6 miles of running with 8 hill sprints in the middle; followed up with my trip out to Cincinnati in the afternoon.  Wednesday night was a great dinner with some of my co-workers, so no workout for me… but it was a late night of eating and preparing for meetings.  Up early on Thursday morning to do a brutally boring (and sweaty) ride on the stationary bike in my hotel’s gym.  Thursday night was actually a really good time-trial swim. I did a mile in 30 minutes which is pretty good for me.  Friday morning was a great 6-mile run along the river in Cincinnati (sad, I have no clue what the river is?!) – but it is kind of like the Esplanade in Boston.

My long weekend workouts were both good and bad.  Saturday was a relatively short brick workout with Ryan. We did 40 miles on the bike followed up with a 4-mile run.  The bike was AWFUL.  Actually, it wasn’t that bad, but Ryan absolutely humiliated me (he’s getting me back for killing him in the swim and run… ).  But my gosh – it was like I wasn’t even moving.  So I clearly have identified the area for improvement… looks like no more cutting workouts short – I will be doing the full bike workouts (and then some) from here on out.

Sunday’s run was good. We did just over 8 miles on the single-track trails in Umstead.  We averaged about 8-minute miles which is actually really fast when you consider the rough terrain and the steep hills.  Olivier kicked my butt which I would expect… but I kicked Ryan and Michael’s which is damn fun.

This upcoming week is back to preparing for a longer weekend.  I will be doing a 3.5 hour ride on Saturday and then a 1.5 hour run on Sunday.  Good times. I am supposed to travel on Thursday which will complicate things a bit, but it’s a day trip so I think I can fit all the workouts in.

	Swim	Bike	Run	Strength	Total
Total Time	2 hrs	5 hrs	3.25 hrs	1.5 hr	11.75 hrs
Total Distance	4,000 m	90 miles	19 miles

Tags: 30 minutes, 4-mile run, 45 minutes, 8-minute miles, 90 miles, Bike Run Strength, boring, Boston, cincinnati, clue, co workers, cutting workouts, damn, esplanade, Friday morning, good time, good time-trial swim, good times, gosh, great dinner, hotel, hr 11.75 hrs, humiliated, kick board, kicking, late night, long swim, long weekend workouts, longer weekend, Michaels, Mile, miles weekly training, new spinerval dvds, Physical exercise, pretty good, rough terrain, Ryan, short brick workout, single-track trails, spinerval, Sports, stationary bike, steep hills, sweaty, swim bike run, Thursday morning, Thursday night, time trial, Total Time, tough bike workout, tough workout session, triathlon, trip, Tuesday night, umstead, Wednesday morning, Wednesday night, Weekly Training Log, whole lot, workout, workouts
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Beginner’s Guide To Incorporating A Bike Trainer Into Cycling Workouts

Found this article on Competitor.com that I thought was pretty useful.  I am struggling a bit with making the trainer a part of my weekly workout routine – this helps provide some structure where I normally just get on and ride for 30 minutes or an hour.

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With many states across the U.S. dealing with winter conditions, we thought we’d review the basics of using a stationary bike trainer to get in cycling workouts when riding outside is not possible.

Written by: Ian Murray

Cold, snowy winters don’t have to interrupt your training; just turn to the indoor trainer. Indoor trainers don’t limit your bike training. In fact, even athletes in the sunny climes should log some time on a trainer during these pre-season months. A trainer is more specific than a spin bike, a stationary bike, a recumbent stationary bike and on down the list of pedaling actions that move further and further away from the training principle of specificity.

Choose the Right Trainer

A bike trainer is a device that clamps onto your rear axle and presses a resistance roller against the rear tire so that you can ride in place. They come in three basic categories:

Wind trainer: Less popular today and thank goodness, as the resistance generated from its small fan isn’t as loud as a 747 at takeoff, but it’s far from silent.

Mag trainer: A bit more expensive and quieter.

Fluid trainer: More expensive and quieter than its Mag brethren.

Most trainers are durable. It’s a worthwhile investment and a device that will serve you well for years to come. Buy a steel skewer for your rear wheel so that the bike sits more securely in the trainer’s clamp, but most new trainers come with this. Also buy a wheel block that raises the front wheel, leveling off the bicycle, but this can be faked with something like a phone book.

The great thing about indoor trainers is that…

There are no interruptions on a trainer like there are on the road—no stop lights, no delays. Just get on and go! This adds value to the ride, so a 50-minute ride on the trainer is equal to an hour outside.

Structure Your Workouts

The same basics apply here as in any workout. Start with a warm-up of 10-12 minutes. Put in some technical focus for three to five minutes. Perform the main body of your workout, and then follow with seven to 10 minutes of cool-down.

Three rides a week in the winter will keep you in shape and improve your bike ability.

- Drill ride. The main body consists of four sets of 30-second one-footers, with two minutes of recovery. To perform a one-footer, remove one cleat from the pedal and rest that foot safely on the frame of the trainer. Concentrate on 30 seconds of smooth, fluid circles using just one foot. Switch feet and take two minutes of easy spin with both feet as recovery. The next drill is four 30-second spin-ups with two minutes’ recovery. To perform a spin-up, start at 90 rpm in a moderate gear. Gradually increase your cadence to 95, 100, 105 rpm and so on while still in that same gear. After 15 seconds of increasing cadence, get to your fastest spin which is still very smooth (no hopping around in the saddle) and hold that for 15 seconds. Take a full two minutes of easy circles between each for recovery.

- Interval ride. After a solid warm-up, shift into a higher gear and commit to going very strong for two minutes. You can determine how intense that effort should be with a heart rate monitor, by rate of perceived effort or by breath rate. Then, spin easy for three minutes. Start with three rounds, and as fitness develops, go to four or five rounds. After that, increase the duration of the effort. Eventually, reduce the recovery time.

- Steady state. After a solid warm-up, settle into a pace that will last 15-30 minutes. Make this a challenge, but not nearly as intense as the effort in the interval ride. Again, use either heart rate, perceived effort or breath rate to decide on the intensity. Hold this effort steady and strong for the full duration, and concentrate on good pedaling mechanics. Be sure to leave plenty of time for a quality cool-down.

Ian Murray is an elite-level USAT coach and the writer and host of the DVD box setTriathlonTrainingSeries.com.

Tags: Bike trainer workout, cycle trainer workout, Drill ride, Mag trainer, stationary bike
Category Training |