So I had cramped up in the pool the other night doing some hard 25 yard efforts. It was bad news and all I could think was "oh no". My leg has been sore since the cramp and it's swollen and I've got a huge bruise that goes from the top of my hamstring to half way down my calf. I'd post a picture but it's pretty gruesome looking. Should be a hit at the pool in Kona.
Thankfully it looks worse than it is. I saw my Physical Therapist yesterday and she said go ahead and train on it. I rode for two hours last night and while it was a little noticable overall it felt good. Today will be a very easy effort swim (not much kicking - mostly pull buoy) and then a run a little later. My mantra for the next couple of weeks is don't do anything stupid.
Well I'm in my final few weeks leading up to IM Coeur d'Alene and just 14 days from IM 70.3 Hawaii and I'm just trying not to do anyting stupid.
Well so much for not doing anything stupid. I had two workouts scheduled for yesterday a run and a swim. I did the run in the late afternoon a solid netative tempo. 10 min warmup followed by 30 minutes at a moderate tempo which was just over 7:00 per mile pace. The negative tempo is run over the same distance I had run in the first 30 minutes but you want to go faster. I had a good day doing the second tempo at 6:34 per mile pace. Overall a good solid 11+ mile run. It was the first warm day we've had here in Seattle this year with temps during my run in the mid 70's and a bit humid.
Now here's where the stupidity comes into play (although innocently enough). After my run I headed home to refuel the body and hydrate which I did a good job. Then about 2.5 hours after my run I hit the pool for my swim workout. The swim workout went fine and I was in my last set whcih was a number of 25 yard all out sprint efforts. On my second 25 about 2 yards from the wall suddenly my whole thigh (inside of leg) cramped, well pretty much siezed. After about 5 minutes I was able to move it enough to get out of the pool (yeah no more 25's or cool down). Basically swim before I run or bike or leave half a day between workouts to prevent cramping issues swimming.
Where it had cramped was sore, crampy and swollen last night and still is today although not nearly as painful. I don't think I did anything serious (tear, strain, etc...) but I also couldn't run or bike on the leg today if I wanted to. Thankfully today is my rest day. I'm hoping that it's loosened up by tomorrow as I've got a long run in the morning and a follow up run in the afternoon scheduled with a visit to the Walk for Aidan in between.
Needless to say I need to be much more thoughtful of when I'm doing the my training here in the last few weeks leading up to the races and with the increasing tempeatures to ensure that I minimize stress on the body.
Besides this incident training has gone well of late and the body is feeling good. I raced last weekend in a half marathon and it went well with a 10th place finish overall in 1:25:27 on a hilly tough course.
Well we're getting ever closer to the first races of the year and the hard training weeks continue. This week wasn't the big volume of last week but it had some really good intensity.
Two strong run workouts early in the week; hill repeats and a negative split tempo run which was a good rebound after a tough netative tempo run last week. This weekend was strong with a double run on Saturday totaling 21 miles and a good swim workout. My running is hitting its stride so to speak. My long runs (15-18 miles) are now comfortable at mid 7:20 range and feeling fresh at my top end on my tempo's are now sub 6:00 minute mile pace which I haven't hit in years.
I was out on a long ride today and the weather really cooperated it was nice not to have to worry about snow and freezing cold. I was out on my new ride (Cervelo P3) today and was leary about how today would go after the tough day yesterday (two runs and a swim) and being on a new bike. The day ended up steller my legs were a little rough to start but warmed up and the bike was phenomenal and will need little dialing in, it's fast and has lots of get up and go. I was supposed to ride 6 hours today and hit it nearly perfectly with a good mix of hills, descents and flats, keeping the effort high but not a crazy effort. It was a solid 112 miles in just under 6 hours with plenty of punch at the end of the ride. Highlights of the ride was holding 26 mph tempo along E. Lake Sammamish (8 miles) and hitting 52 mph on the descent to Duvall from Woodinville.
All in all things are going great, I'm feeling strong, fit and beginning to get mentally prepared for the races. Next weekend I'll be racing in the Kirkland Half Marathon to get myself in a bit of race conditions. I also have to name my new bike.
Half marathon results and pics of the new steed to come soon.
I made my annual trip to Coeur d'Alene for some focused training the last weekend of April. I headed into the weekend a little unsure of the conditions given that it snowed on Tuesday and the fact that my coach had a huge weekend on tap for me.
I arrived late on Thursday evening got settled in my hotel. I was lucky enough put in the same hallway with the busload of high school kids (not sure why they were there) but I was not excited about the prospects of the late night antics but suprisingly they quieted down by about 10:30.
Up early on Friday with a plan to ride the IM bike course. Cloudy, windy and cold to start the day. I eased into the ride along the lake and back to CdA before picking up the effort on the way out to Hayden Lake. The weather started to clear a little towards the end of the first lap of the bike and I headed back for the hills of Hayden. As I hit the hills the skies clouded up and the temp dropped. As I hit the big hill on Hudlow road the snow flurries started but I survived the ride with dry roads. The north end of the course was crazy riding on the road with snow banks on either side 2 feet high. Overall it was a good ride, no crazy efforts and I finished up the ride in 6:30.
Saturday was going to be interesting. Long run scheduled with an afternoon bike and t-run. I hit the road from my hotel at 7am. It was sunny and cold (temps in the upper 20's) to start and I cruised down to to the lake before heading out along the lake. I was comfortably cruising along at a pace in the low to mid 7:00 minute range. I hit my turnaround time just a half mile from the bike turaround and headed back to town.
Lots of bikers out as there were 3-4 camps going on this weekend. The Multisports camp group rode by me and Michael Lovato gave me the a look and said "Pick it up" with a big smile on his face. I was really working the hills with solid efforts near 7:00/mile pace. At 1:30 in I hit a 15 minute tempo holding right at 7:00/mile pace. I felt pretty good cruising back up the hill to my hotel finishing off the run 18 miles in 2:10. Very solid effort.
Back on the bike in the afternoon for a solid effort of 56 miles with one loop of the bike course. I was worried the legs would be cracked but they help up well and I finished off the day with a quick short transition run of 20 minutes. Quick dinner and good nights sleep before the final day.
Sunday morning I was up early, got breakfast and was on the bike by 7am. It was sunny but really cold, with highs forecasted for upper 60's I knew it would warm up so I was a little under dressed. I decided to ride a slightly different route and headed directly for Hayden Lake. It was very cool riding through upper CdA early in the morning as there were no cars on the road which was nice. I hit the Hayden Lake road and started the first little climb this would be the state of things for the next 20 miles. This is a great ride it twists and turns and undulates up and down with no huge climbs and the scenery was amazing (I even saw a wild turkey). Almost no cars on the road, I'm sure in the summer things become more busy on the road but it was pretty much just me. My legs were feeling the previous two days for the first 1:30. After coming off the lake I connected with the IM course north of Hayden Lake and started pushing the pace. I had a solid 2 hours on the hills and along the lake pushing hard.
I spotted a couple riders about a 1/2 mile ahead of me along the lake just before the big hill (where run turnaround is) and they became my new target to catch before we got back to Mullan Ave. I hadn't made up much ground by the turnaround so I put the hammer down. No excuses but they were pacelining on TT bikes and I was pushing solo on my road bike. I didn't think I was going to catch them when coming around a corner they were just 300 yards ahead of me just before the rise in the road (Ford motivational mile). I was closing fast just 100 yards before the crest of the hill I blew past them (I actually love this hill as I can hold 22-23 mph up it, last year I was doing 28 mph during the first lap of the bike). Having satisfactorily caught and finished off my prey. I backed off my cooked legs for the final 30 minute spin back to the hotel to finish off the 70 mile ride in 4 hours. I finished off the day with another quick t-run. Overall a great day.
Reflecting on the weekend I felt great putting in 230 miles on the bike and another 24 miles running in just 3 days. I've got two more big volume weeks to this block but am feeling good about my fitness. If I've got a weakness in my mind right now it's the bike but with a few solid weeks ahead I'm sure this will take care of itself as these big rides will really help and lets face it training isn't race day.
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