8/20 - 8/22

Thursday was a good ride. I had gone about three weeks without seeing any improvement in my Tues/Thurs ride times and today I finished my 17 miles in 53:45 which is about a minute faster than my best for this loop. It was a good confidence boost.

Friday I ran 59 min 48 sec for 7.12 miles. It was my tempo run so the first 15 min was at an easy pace, then 30 minutes hard, and 15 more easy. I felt great except the outside of my right foot started to hurt and the pain hasn't really gone away two days later. After work I went for a swim and it was pretty crappy. I had eggs and salsa for dinner and during the swim I kept feeling like I was going to burp up my dinner.

Saturday was my long ride. Friday night we had some wicked storms, so I didn't think I would get the ride in. But I left at 6am after waking up at 5am and having a pb & banana bagel and some coffee. The first 60 min of the ride was great, I felt strong and rode really well. Then I saw a dead rattle snake, not too big of deal, then about 400 yds later I saw a tarantula. I have never seen one of these in the wild, and it freaked me out a bit. Anyway, I was still riding strong until about 1:15 into the ride I had to pee. I rode for another hour searching for a safe place to pee - which was not easy because i did not want a tarantula or a snake to catch me in the desert. Finally I found a port-a-potty at about 2:15 into the ride, after that everything was smooth. I rode a total of 61.18 miles in 3:25:49. It was a good feeling knowing I could ride the full 56 miles for my race.

This is me being a dork in my new wetsuit.

8/19: Run and Swim and the Knee Pain

So this morning I went for my long run. I was supposed to go 90 min, but due to the pain in my right knee I only went for 73 min for a distance of 8 miles. I felt great everywhere else and had a good rhythem, but didn't want to hurt myself more than I already have. I iced the knee after the run and probably will again tonight. I don't like pain when I run, it makes me angry.
During lunch I went for a swim. Today was my long interval day. After a 3oo yd warm up, I did 6, 400 yd repeats with 30 sec rest in between, followed by 100 cool down. By the end of the 6th 400 I was getting tired and was swimming very slow. Overall it was a good swim.

8/17 - 8/18

I had Monday off from work so I slept in until 6, then went for an easy 29 min 08 sec run for 3.6 miles. I still felt really tired from the weekend so I was happy with the 8:05/mile pace. After the run I went to the pool for some speed work. After warming up for 300 yds I did 30, 50 yd repeats on 1 min intervals. By the end I was dying. I flopped around for 200 yds to cool down, then headed home to do nothing for the rest of the day.
Tuesday I rode 17 miles in 56 min 26 sec. I don't know if it being dark the entire ride slows me down, but I am riding the same loop about 2 min slower than I was several weeks ago. I guess I just need to push myself a little more.

8/14 - 8/16

Wo this past weekend I took Friday off work and have Monday off also, it was nice to have an extended weekend. On Friday I went for my long run, I ran 1:41:47 and went 11.4 miles for a 8:56 min/mile pace. During the run I felt good, I brought only water with me and a pack of blocks and that was all I needed. After the run I went to the pool and swam for 41:11. I wanted to swim longer but my legs started to cramp so I just ended it early. I was able to swim a straight 1500 yds in 24:40, so that was good. Hopefully I can swim that fast in my next race. After the swim I picked up Tristin for lunch the went home a relaxed.

Saturday I went for a 3 hour ride. I got to ride up in to Cave Creek which is a neat town. I tried to take the ride a little easier so I wouldn't start cramping like my last long ride. I ended up riding 51.8 miles and averaged a 17.27 mph pace. I ended up bringing an extra bottle of water with me and I think it really helped, I just felt really weighed down with about 90 oz of water with me. By the end of the ride I was tired and was glad I had nothing to do the rest of the day. Later in the day Tristin and I went out for some drinks and I think I had one too many cause I'm still pretty exhausted and its now Monday. Also on Saturday my new tri wetsuit that Tristin got for me came in the mail, so I got to try it on and have a little fun with it.

8/10 - 8/12

The training hours are really starting to get up there this week. It will be interesting to see how my body feels the next few days.

Monday started off with a 30 min interval run. I ran 30 second building sprints every 2 minutes after a five minute warm up. I felt good and rested Monday morning. After work I went to the pool at 6pm (the summer hours have ended) and was surprised that is wasn't very crowded. My swimming volumes really starts to increase this week and today I swam 49 minutes and covered 2,500 yards total. The workout started with a 400 yd warm up, then my main set consisted of sets of 100, 200, 300, 400, 400, 300, 200, 100 resting ~15 sec between sets, then a 100 yd cool down. I felt strong and fast during the swim and my swim confidence is starting to increase again.

Tuesday was a bike only day. I woke up early had a banana and was out the door before 5am. It was dark almost the entire ride, which I did not like. I need some more lights or reflective gear cause I didn't feel very safe. I rode 17 miles in 26:23 for a 18.09 mph average. During this ride I tried to add in some intervals as my bike fitness is starting to plateau. My HR stayed pretty low, so I guess I am not pushing it hard enough. Maybe Thursday's ride I will pay more attention to my HR.

Wednesday morning was my tempo run. I started off with 15 min easy, then 30 min hard, and 15 easy. I felt very sluggish today and my legs were a little sore. I still was able to cover 7 miles in 58:26, so my pace was still good. After the run I sat in a cold bath to try and help speed my recovery. During lunch I went to the pool for a swim. I like going to the pool in the middle of the day because no one is ever there. After a 400 yd warm up I completed my main set of 10 x 200 yds on 3:45 intervals. I consistently had 30 sec of rest after each 200 which means my pace was about 1:37 / 100 yds. I hope I can transfer this speed into the open water. After my main set I did 4 - 25 yd sprints, then 200 cool down. for total distance of 2700 yds. I am tempted to do a 1000 yrd time trial Friday to see how much I have improved since my last one on July 5th (19:38).

8/8 & Anniversary 5k

Saturday I went for a ride. My normal route was blocked off by two police officers, so I found a hilly loop and did repeats. I rode 25 miles in 1:26:26.

Today was mine and Tristin's 1st anniversary. It is amazing how fast this year has seemed to go by. We started the day off with a 5k at South Mountain Park, which was a lot of fun. We are resting now and plan to have some fun the rest of the day.

8/3 - 8/7

8/3: I have decided to switch plans for the remainder of my training, so this week is now a recovery week and I took today off. It was nice to not have anything to do but rest.
8/4: Tuesday I woke up, had a banana, drank some water, and started my run. I took this run easy, or at least I tried to. My HR was really high, my lungs burned, but I didn’t feel like I was really pushing myself. It was probably due to my cold, it being super hot, and the fact that my legs were still hurting from Sunday’s ride. This run was 4.6 miles in 42:20.
8/5: I slept in today until almost 6:00am! No running or biking today, just swimming. I went to the pool at noon, and since one of the area pools is closed this week for cleaning it was super crowded. I had to share a lane with one other person, but because these lanes are so large it was no big deal. Today’s workout was 100 yd repeats every 1:55. I did 14 or 15 of them, I can’t remember exactly. I kept a pretty consistent 1:30/100 yd pace for all but the last few. With my warm up and cool down I swam 1850 yds in 36:00.
8/6: This morning I got up, ate my banana, drank some water, and went for a ride. It felt miserable outside – hot and humid all before 5am. The sun is coming up later now so most of the ride was in the dark, which is a little scary – I probably need to pick up some reflective clothing. I rode 17 miles in 57:06 while keeping my cadence over 90 RPMs. I am feeling much better than the last few days and my HR was not spiking like it had been the last few days. After work it was off to the pool for another swim. Today I swam a total of 2100 yds. Starting with a 400 yd warmup, then 8 x 25, 4 x 50, 2 x 100, 200, 2 x 100, 4 x 50, 8 x 25 intervals at a 30sec per 25 yds, then a 300 cool down. Total time was 43:33. I am supposed to be swimming 60 min eat workout, but am having a hard time getting to that time.
8/7: Today I got up, ate a banana, drank some water, then went for a run. I felt great. I didn’t feel as hot and I no longer feel like I have a cold. I ran an easy 10 min, then pushed it for 20 min, then caught up with Tristin and finished out the run with her which was nice. I saw her in the distance and played a game of catch up like it was a race. Total run was 5 miles in 42:49.

8/6/2009

Today you biked. Just to give you a weather update. At 4:51am it was 93* and 29% humidity with 5mphSE winds. So technically it was hotter temperature yesterday. However looks like the humidity was higher today... but they both are awful to exercise in!

8/5/2009 ~ HEAT WAVE!

It is hard to believe a year ago we were in StL. The weather was a lot nicer there than it is here. CRAZY STUFF. Think of all the stuff we accomplished together. You didn't think you'd have run a full marathon. In fact... you weren't mentally going to do a full marathon until you started joining me on my runs in November... and even then you were just about the 10k. I guess I just beat you down. Now you want to do an Ironman. You rock D!

8/1 - 8/3: Can't Believe it's Already August

So July just flew by, much like the rest of the year. Hopefully August will too, then it will start to cool down here. Saturday was my long run. I woke up early and grabbed a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast, then 30 minutes later I left for the run. I brought my water belt with me filled with 2 waters and 2 cytomax. I ran 9.1 miles in 1:19:07 for a 8:41/mile. During the run my feet and right knee started to hurt a little, but nothing too bad. After the run I went to Road Runner Sports and got a new pair of shoes. I stuck with the Nike Skylons that I have been using for the past year, they are cheaper than most shoes and I know how they will fit.

Sunday I woke up, had a bagel with pb, then went for a ride. I rode for 2:22:00 and was dying by the end. The last 30min was a struggle. I don't know if my legs were still tired from the day before, or if I just didn't eat enough before or during the ride. My calves even started to cramp up, which has never happened before which makes me think I didn't drink enough water, or I lost too many electrolytes and did not replace them well enough - something to think about for the next ride. For the ride I still ended up going 41.8 miles for a 17.66 mph average. I wanted to swim in the afternoon, but was just too tired.

7/29 - 7/31

So I am almost finished with my swim heavy week and I have noticed some really good gains. I have decided to skip the run heavy and bike heavy weeks because I don't think it is very safe. So Wednesday started off with a banana and some water then off for a Tempo run. My goal was one hour, but I ran the second half a little faster and finished 6.3 miles in 55:16. The first 15 min were easy, then for the next 25 I increased to a hard yet sustainable effort, followed by 15 easy. Felt good and pain free and finished the run off with a 10 min soak in cold water. During lunch I went for a swim. Today's workout was short, fast efforts. After my warm up I did 20 - 50 yd repeats on every minute, followed by a cool down. I was wiped out afterwards. Total swim was 1400 yd in 31 min.

Thursday I woke up, had a banana and some water (this has become my meal before shorter workouts when I don't have time for the food to digest, otherwise its a pb sandwich and coffee) then went out for a ride. Today I focused on cadence trying to keep a high RPM. When I finished my legs were not as tired, but my lungs defiantly got worked harder. Thursdays ride was exactly the same time and distance as Tuesdays (17 miles in 54:47) - weird. After work was another swim. Today's swim was a long constant swim. I warmed up for 200 yds, then swam 1700 straight. I had never swam that far without stopping before, and I did it much faster than I usually swim - 1:41/100 pace rather than the 2:00/100 I have been sitting at for the past several months. It was a great confidence builder.

Today is a rest day and I plan on doing absolulty nothing!

July Totals Are In!

July's totals:
Bike: 15h 39m 23s - 275.11 Mi

Run: 9h 25m 19s - 63.31 Mi

Swim: 8h 00m 43s - 22000 Yd

This was a pretty heavy month, but it will only get tougher in August.

7/27 - 7/28 - Swim Week

So this week is a swim focused week. So I get to go to the pool everyday! Which is kind of nice cause I like the new pool. Monday I really started to feel like I got over the cold and my energy levels and sleep are back to normal. Monday morning I went for a 5am run. I am starting to feel really good when I run and am having no real pain. I ran 3.6 miles in 30:37. I didn't eat or drink any calories before the run and was starving about 20 minutes in. After work I went to the pool and swam. My workout was a 1650 yrd ladder interval, where I start with 275 yds, then 250, all the way to 25. I kept each interval at a 30sec per 25 yd pace and noticed that I am starting to be able to swim much faster. The total workout with 200 wu and 150 cd lasted 41:21.
Today I woke up, ate a banana and went for a ride. I have been trying to ride harder each week and I have noticed some nice gains in my bike fitness from it, I even reached 35.5 mph today! I rode for 17 miles in 54:47 for a 18.62 mph average. After work it was off to the pool for another swim. Todays workout was 10 x 100 yds every 1:55. I was able to keep a pretty steady pace of 1:30 per 100, leaving about 25 sec of rest between each one. Maybe its swimming in the sun, but I have been swimming so much better at the new pool.

Time flies while we're having fun!

5 weeks til I'm in STL celebrating Ellie's birthday!

9 more weeks until the Nathan's Olympic triathlon.

10 more weeks until Kristi's wedding (just a couple days after your race and we'll both be in St Louis!)

13 more weeks until the Soma Half Ironman.

19 more weeks until the Vegas/ Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon.

25 more weeks until the Chang's.

Make sure you're getting enough rest and recovery in... the next few weeks are gonna FLY BY!

7/25 - run, swim, and beer

So yesterday I woke up at 3:30am and could not fall asleep, so a little after 4 I got out of bed and got ready for my run. By the time I got out the door at 5 it was already 94 degrees with 40% humidity, it felt pretty gross. I ran for 60 minutes today starting with 20 easy, then 20 tempo, and 20 easy to finish. I felt good during the tempo portion, got into my rhythm and was able to go at a pretty fast pace. After the run I went to the gym for a 1000 m time trial. I did it in 19:47, but felt pretty crappy during the swim. My arms were sore and my legs were dead, but I am still happy I finished in under 20min. For lunch we went out to watch the Cardinal game, and once it turned bad in the 6th inning the beers went down faster. Once I got home I was exhausted and was asleep at 6pm, I'm not much fun anymore.

7/23 & 7/24: Sickie

So I started feeling a little sick on Wednesday afternoon, so the last few days have been pretty easy. Thursday I got up for a run, but only lasted 25min before deciding I needed more rest. The rest of the day I just got worse and by 8pm I was asleep. Today I felt better, but still not 100%. This morning I went for a relatively easy ride. I felt pretty good, but I held back in case I have over trained my body. Total ride was 17 miles in 58 minutes. After work I went for a swim at the aquatic center. I felt good during the swim and have been noticing that the swimming has been getting easier the last few weeks. I swam a total of 1,600 meters in 33 minutes. Tonight we took it easy, watched an odd movie, and will probably be in bed before 8pm again. I am hoping tomorrow I am feeling good enough to watch the Cards game at a pub.

7/20 - 7/22

So this week is a recovery week. Monday I took completely off, and it felt good to not wake up before 5. Tuesday I planned to ride and run for 30 minutes each before work, but there was a storm coming in with lots of lightning, so I only rode. 30 minutes at an easy pace, covering 9.1 miles. Tristin asked me not to run in the lightning, so I ran on the treadmill in our fitness center after work. I ran for 25 minutes and covered 3 miles. Running on the treadmill started to hurt my knees, so I didn't go the entire 30 minutes.
Wednesday morning I went for another easy 30 minute ride, covering 8.4 miles. Had to stop at a lot of lights this morning. I can tell my legs are tired so I hope this week will give them enough time to recover. This afternoon I went to the aquatic center during lunch for a 30 min swim. I really like these pools - the lanes are huge, they are outdoor, and they have lifegaurds to save me cause I can't swim well. I think I will have to cancel the gym membership soon, they also have a gym at the centers.

7/17 - 7/19

So this weekend went pretty well. Friday morning I went for a ride before work. I tried to go harder than usual, but still felt pretty good. I rode for 57 minutes and went 17 miles. My average mph is improving and the hills don't kill me like they used to. After work I decided to try out the nearby aquatic center. Once I got to the door I saw they changed their hours (but not on their website) and are closed at 3pm on Fridays. I was a little upset and started to head to the gym. On my way I remembered there is another aquatic center near the gym, so I decided to see if they were open. They still followed their hours that were posted online, so I paid my $3 (it would have been $2, but I never changed my license to show I am a Scottsdale resident) and put in a 30 minute swim. The center was real nice and had lots of lanes and not a lot of people. I only swam for 30 minutes because it was outdoors and I had no sunscreen. It was a good swim, I did 100m repeats at a faster than normal pace.

Saturday was a rest day and I took advantage of it. Tristin ran a 5k in the morning and after it was finished we came home, ran some errands, then I slept for several hours. It was nice.

This morning was tough. I woke up early and started my ride at 6am. I rode for 1:51:26 at a 18.99 mph pace for 35.26 miles. I felt good and was able to practice my race day nutrition. After the ride I changed my clothes and with in 5 minutes was out the door for a run. The first 5 or so minutes my legs felt numb, but after that I felt good. It was pretty hot (much hotter than when I usually run) and I should have brought water with me, but it was no big deal. I ended up running 3.4 miles in 29 minutes. Now the rest of the day is going to be filled with laziness and eating. Next week is a recovery week and I am very much looking forward to it.

LONG and HARD DAY Sunday 7/19/2009

Okay, so we've got our workouts in. Well I have... you're still out on your 2+ hour bike ride, and still have to run several miles... and maybe even swim. So in just 1 more hour... we're gonna have SOME FUN! WHOO HOO!!! SUNDAY FUN DAY!

(thanks for being such a super trooper and taking pics yesterday. I complained about running in the heat, but it must have stunk just as bad to stand in it, with the grass being watered and the extra humidity. So you get the weekend awesome trooper award!)

7/15 & 7/16

Wednesday was my hard effort for the week. I was scheduled for a long, slow run. I ran for 1:25:09 and covered 9.2 miles for a 9:16 min/mile average. My knee started hurting about 30 minutes in, but never was more than a dull ache. Other than the knee I felt pretty good. At that pace I felt I could have kept running for hours. My plan was then to swim during lunch since I was working from home, but at 11:30 I had to go into the office, so Wednesday was a run only day.

Thursday I got up early and went for a ride. My legs were a little tired from Wednesday so I decided to stay away from the hills and take a new route. This was not a good idea, I had to stop at lights every 1/2 mile and the ride pretty much sucked. My HR never passed 130 and I averaged 112. I rode for 43:38 and covered 12 miles, then off to work. After I work I went to the gym to make up yesterday's swim. It the most crowded I have ever seen it. I had to share a lane and only got in 20 minutes. Tomorrow I am going to check out the aquatic center, and if is less crowded I am cancelling the gym membership. Overall, today was a pretty frustrating training day.

Tristin and I registered for the PF Changs full marathon in January, and got this sweet shirt for registering early.