Week In Review 4/11-4/17

A so-so week. I didn't get in all of my scheduled workouts, mostly due to fatigue, but the three days off helped my body and I competed well on Sunday.

Monday (4/11): (AM)6 Mile Run (7:40/pace) (PM)Bike (outside!!) 20.83 miles/19.8mph

Tuesday (4/12): (AM)P90X Chest & Arms, the pushups are brutal! (PM) TT Race, 20K/21.2mph, 6/11

Wednesday (4/13): (AM) 5x1mile Intervals on track @ 6:30 pace (PM) Med Ball Core Workout

Thu-Sat (4/14-4-16): OFF

Sunday (4/17): Connections Duathlon (13 mile bike/5K run), brutal wind 5/65 OA, 1/4 AG

It's race season!! Get after it!!

Connections Duathlon

Will we ever get to spring? All week long my darling wife kept checking the weather forecast for today. Snow, rain, 30's, 40's, 50's, sun, clouds, wind, etc.

Anyway, this morning we woke up to strong winds and a wind warning, great! Another perfect WNY race day.

I chose this race to replace the 6hr Ultra I was going to do today. I guess I made a good trade, 1hr vs. 6hrs in this crap.

This was a bit different from past duathlons I've competed in; only one run, which meant we all started on the bike. They started us out in waves of 15, I was in the 4th wave out of 6 or 7. These waves were set up based on when you registered, so there was quite a mixture of racers in my wave, from full tri bikes to modified street bikes to hybrid touring bikes. One girl wasn't even wearing a helmet, duh!

The bike portion (advertised as a 14-mile route) actually only measured 13 miles, per my GPS watch. It consisted of a steady, but mild climb up for the first 6 miles or so against the wind and a nice downhill with the wind for the second half. I was really able to fly down the decline, and finished the bike leg in 36:40 (21.3 mph pace, maxed out at 34.4mph.)

My transition was an acceptable :40, inspired by the voice of my wife, "Run fast! It's cold out!!"

The run was along the Lake Erie waterfront, with the first 1.5 miles directly away from the wind. This was helpful getting my running legs under me, but dreadful making the turning. I simply held on for the last 1.5 trying to gut it out and keep my feet moving. I finished the 5K in 22:43/7:21 pace. I'm not super excited by this pace, but considering the elements, I guess I'll take it.

All in all: 1:00:03 (timing had me at 1:00:19 and 1 second out of 4th, grrrr). 5/65 overall, 1/4 in my age group.

The race itself was pretty well organized. I thought that the start might be a bit chaotic, because of the bike start, but they actually pulled it off quite well with the wave start. Unfortunately, this wave start threw the usually reliable and fast Score This Timing a loop and we had to wait for almost 2hrs for results. Other than that, a nice race. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone trying their first duathlon.

Shoes for Shelter 5K

Spring is here! Finally!!

My plan for today was simple. Run fast! For the 1st 1.5 miles I did just that. I finished my first mile in 6:11, well on pace to set a PR. Then the wheels simply came off. My heart began racing and the two little but tough hills at the end did me in.

My wife so delicately pointed out how horrible my diet has been lately, including last night's feast of brownies, ice cream and beer. Not the best pre race meal, eh? I know how to eat right, but for the past month I have not been. This has led to some weight gain and tough running. Lesson learned? I hope!

Totals
Mileage: 3.08
Time/Pace: 21:19/6:55

A Bit More Tweaking

I've altered my training plans a bit yet again. This is what I'm going with:

Running: 50 mile/week (40-45 if race week)

Bike: 3x week (long, tempo/weekly TT race, intervals)

Core Work: 3x week

Upper Body: 1x week (alternate P90X upper body discs)

The focus of my training will be to get stronger and faster and will hopefully address my two main goals; Boston Qualifying time & sub 19 min 5K. Overall, I'm hoping that I will continue to increase my competitiveness in my age group and for overall in duathlons.

Annoying Blogger

So, blogger is being annoying. For some reason, it is mushing all of my text together, see yesterday's post and my side bar stuff. Help!

Course Change

The Wednesday before I left for vacation I made the decision that I was not going to continue to train for the 6hr race on April 17th. My long runs had been hurting me and with 60+ mile weeks, I was struggling to get in bike training. Right now my head is focused on two types of races, duathlons and marathons. This year's big goal is a Boston Qualifying time. With the new qualifying standards (3:05 vs. 3:10:59), I am going to have to put even more effort into this goal. I've also decided to cap my weekly running miles at 60 for the time being. This is mostly due to time restrictions with my work/travel schedule. I think this is a solid weekly base and I can focus on getting faster within this mileage. My weekly time trial group starts up this week and I am looking forward to strenthening my bike legs, with an ultimate goal of being a solid competitor in the local duathlon scene. (Maybe a shot at the National Dualthon Championships in 2012 in Phoenix.)