Skip to main content

Breakthrough fitness week! 100th post! Thank you loyal readers!

Started off this week with a mind-numbing crawl at Snake Creek Gap. See my previous post for gory details. Rested on Monday and Tuesday as I was pretty beat up after Snake Creek. Wednesday met up with Lisa Randall at White for the 35-mile loop.  Lisa is a great ride partner because she's not only fast but she is fast for a long time.  I felt like I had a rocket booster on my bike that day after 2 days rest and about 7 hours of sleep. My confidence on the road bike is creeping up too. More assured.  Every ride is a learning experience. Fantastic!
Thursday swam with Lisa and Renee. Lisa offered some good pointers on freestyle technique. My swimming is slowly getting better. Just have to relax and iron out a few kinks in the stroke. Renee also discovered the joys of forward motion through water with the use of fins. She has never swam before! (She promptly ordered fins and a pull buoy and I think she is now hooked.)
Friday back out at White on another fast ride. Felt tired in legs and not sleeping well. Avg speed was 19.2 on the way out! That's a PR.  Had to dodge an oncoming cyclist. Finished the 35 mile#course in 1:55:36,another PR.  Dubious Strava says I have a PR on Cagle Hill segment which I'll take with a grain of salt.
Saturday went to Allatoona off Kellogg Creek for an OWS. There's a nice,quiet stretch of about a mile where the boats have to idle through so it's a perfect swimming and kayaking spot. My swim today was excellent although I couldn't see squat through my goggles. I felt relaxed. Took on oo much water in my head turns. Swam about 200 yards without stopping then another 1/4 mile. Stop. Another hundred yards or so to a beach. Rested there for 10 minutes then headed back. Swam 1/3 mile non-stop! Total was .66 mile in 30 minutes! This is the best and most confident I've felt in open water ever. It helps that Renee is there with me in the kayak tremendously!  I am on cloud nine about my swim today.  Continuing on with today's triathlon theme, went to Blanket's with Renee for a bike and run.  Did 2 South loops and a VMT. First South loop focused on sessioning technical stuff. South felt like a dream compared to Snake Creek.  2nd South was all about speed, at least speed on a 32-18 SS ratio. That is a monster gear but is OK for Blanket's.  Got on VMT and was kinda hating the gearing. Finally wearing down some. Back to the parking lot to put on running shoes. Managed a 1.5 mile at about a 9 minute.

Let's see...is there anything else I can do?  Oh, I didn't lift weights.

Popular posts from this blog

Dilemma for bad-assery

It's been a long year of hard training and racing, both on the bike and trail running.  Mentally I feel like a need a break at this point although I trained 39 hours in November, my 2nd highest total of the year and most of those hours were of high quality. Physically, I feel pretty fresh still.  I feel as though I could just train year around but know that I need some sort of rest period for next year's race season.  My training has remained fresh in part because I attained a road bike, which I've ridden about 12 hours so far.  It's been a huge boon to my training although I still need to get a proper bike fit done to alleviate neck and knee pain. The training book I'm reading recommends to take a 2-4 week Transition period to let my body and mind recover before moving on to next year's Base phase.  Question I'm pondering is when do I begin my Transition period...I feel like I'm in a great groove right now and I'd like to build up my Lactate thresh...
Read more

MAF test results

MAF test #1 at Boling Park 8/6/16 Humid and warm. Went over 145 several times and up to 147.  Average was 143, 144, 144 for each mile. 1-mile intervals were 8:54, 10:24, 11:34 I found it difficult to stay below 146 and was surprised how often my HR alert went off. Breakfast was larabar, half kindbar, coconut oil. MAF test #2 at Boling Park 11/19/16 14-week interval Factors: Living with my 3 month old precious infant daughter for the past 3 months! Poor sleep and 30 mph headwinds.Temps in 60s.   MCT oil and egg ham muffins for bfast HR strap would not wake up until 2nd mile so I took miles 2,3,4 for the test HR went up to 147 and 148 several times and it was difficult to keep it at 145 but I am not going to adjust my times due to the headwinds, which pretty much evens everything out or close enough. 1-mile intervals 8:18, 8:45,8:49,8:57 HR per lap 143, 146, 146, 146 Note, my HR strap didn’t work until after the 1st half-mile so I’m ...
Read more

6 months a father! A hero for eternity?

Yesterday, my daughter Kitai turned 6 months old. It's hard to believe! Her name is Japanese in origin and means fox. The fox is her motif animal I suppose and she has taken to it really well. She seems rather fiery and wiley I will say. Time is surely flying although some of that time seemed to pass by at a glacial pace.  It seems like just the other day we had her on the changing table and she was endlessly fascinated with the shiny wood paneling on the table. She also was rather enamored of our library chandelier. So much that we dubbed it her "boyfriend." I'll never forget seeing her for the first time and her little face scrunched up as she was laid on wife's chest right after being delivered. I think I said, "Oh wow, look at that." The midwives said I had a huge grin! Kit didn't cry right away, it took several minutes.  It may sound funny, but I do get the sense that this is not her first time around.  Her birth was like a runaway freight trai...
Read more