half ironman training -- week 5

here is the breakdown from week 5 of my half ironman training. 

Week 5 // May 20 - May 26

20 REST (or) Strength Train

21 Bike 45 minutes w/ 4x3 minute hard efforts scattered

22 Swim 1200 yards w/ main set: 10x50 sprints RI=20 Run 4.5 miles w/ 6x1 minute hard efforts scattered

23 Bike 40 minutes moderate w/ 12 minutes comfortably hard

24 Swim 1200 yards w/ main set:3x200 race pace, RI= 20 Run 5 miles moderate w/ 4x10 second hill sprints

25 Swim 1800 yards moderate Run 11 miles moderate

26 BRICK Bike 45 miles moderate Run 15 minutes off the bike moderate

monday breakdown: what a great way to start a harder week of training....rest! most weeks my rest day flips between thursday or friday, but after my training last week i switched it up to help speed recovery and assure that i could get through week 5.

tuesday breakdown: tuesday was a decent workout. honestly, my weekday bike training has been surprisingly good. i completed 14.33 miles in the 45 minute ride. 

wednesday breakdown: my swim went well: 1200 yards in 21:36 and very pleased. my training plan called for a 4.5 mile run, but the route i've been running is 4.2 so i figure that's close enough. 4.2 miles in 34:47...was just happy to have it done and in the books.

thursday breakdown: so thursday i got another flat tire on my back. bad luck, i guess. it looked like a piece of glass, but on the bright side i got to change the flat on my own. my 40 minute ride was cut short to about 32 minutes, but i managed to get a little over 9 miles in. i was a little discouraged with thursday's training. 

friday breakdown: my swim/run days are becoming a little more difficult each week, but friday was good overall. my 1200 yard swim felt decent but took me a little long: 24:12. i was pretty happy with my 5 mile run with a time of 41:20. 

saturday breakdown: i was very nervous about my weekend training since last weekend was so difficult, but saturday's training was great! Emily had to work so i asked her if she'd drop me off at the gym to swim and then i could just run home from there. since she's the best ever she said sure and got up even earlier to help me out. my 1800 yard swim felt great. i fueled/hydrated properly pre and post swim and finished the apx. mile swim in 36:24. i tried out some sports jelly beans between my swim and run and drank plenty of water before heading home. i've also been battling cramping during certain workouts, so i took a salt pack pre-run, too. on our way to the gym i stashed two water bottles on my route. one around mile 4 and one around mile 8. i took two gels around the time i took water and felt great the whole time. the cooler weather was a big help, too. i finished the 11 miler in 1:36:41, so it was a little slower than i hoped but that's the way it goes. 

sunday breakdown: today was tough, both mentally and physically. mentally because the weather forecast sucked. when i went to bed last night it said 70% chance of t-storms early morning, so i didn't set an early alarm and planned on training in the afternoon. i woke up around 6:45 and checked and it switched to only 40% in the morning and then 70% in the afternoon. Emily and i need to leave for church by 10:30, so i already knew i wouldn't have enough time to get my scheduled workout in, but i also knew if i didn't do anything then i wouldn't get much in later. i shoved some breakfast down and chugged some water and took off. i got 30 miles on the bike in 1:39:38 (15 mph crappy wind!) and my 15 minute run off the bike was brutal. it was about 50 degrees out and with the wind my feet went pretty numb. i actually didn't begin to feel them until i got in. i was surprised to see i covered about 1.85 miles in the 15 minutes, but i guess it was good i couldn't feel anything from the waist down. 

week 4 weigh-in:  173.7  on 5/20/13

previous weekly weigh-in:    178.6  

difference:   - 4.9  

total weight difference:   - 13.5*   


*it seems that training for a half ironman distance triathlon can help you drop some pounds...

half ironman training -- week 4

here is the breakdown from week 4 of my half ironman training. 

Week 4 // May 13 - May 19

13 Swim 1100 yards w/ main set: 8x50 RI=20 Run 4.5 miles w/ 6x45 second hard effort scattered

14 Bike 45 minutes w/ 6x2 minute hard effort

15 Swim 1100 yards w/ main set:3x200 race pace, RI=30 Run 4.5 miles moderate w/ 4x10 second hill sprints

16 Bike 40 minutes moderate w/ 10 minutes comfortably hard

17 REST (or) Strength Train

18 Swim 1600 yards includes 1000 yard time trial Run 10 miles moderate

19 Bike 40 miles moderate

monday breakdown: monday was okay. i was really feeling the previous weekend's training, so i had heavy legs going into my swim. 1100 yards in 20:50 and my form felt decent. my 4.2 mile run after went fine. i didn't feel like i pushed it too hard, but at the same time didn't take it too easy. finished in 34:55.

tuesday breakdown: basic bike day. legs felt decent and i had great riding weather...with the obvious wind that seems to NEVER go away. held an average 18.5 mph pace. 

wednesday breakdown: my first swim session went pretty good. i completed the 1100 yards in 20:50 and went onto my run and finished the 4.2 miles in 34:15. later on i was able to get a second swim session in and stubbornly swam the race distance (1.2 miles!) in 37:41! honestly...it made my day. 

thursday breakdown: thursday was a good day on the bike. i averaged a little over 19 mph for about 45 minutes. 

friday breakdown: REST DAY! 

saturday breakdown: i unfortunately had to work most of saturday, but was able to go straight to the gym to get my swim session in after. i finished the 1600 yards in 30:14 and felt really great. then i ran home from the gym and all hell broke loose. it was a 10 miler and it was about 87 degrees. nothing too terrible, but i got pretty dehydrated and actually had to make an unexpected pit stop at a local food market to get a bottle of water. i was so incredibly thankful to get this workout done! finished the run in 1:36:17. 

sunday breakdown: i wasn't able to get up early enough to get my long 40 mile ride in before church, so it was put on the back burner until later in the day. mistake. i planned on pedalling mostly east and a little south to my parents house and have them drive me back home. the wind ended up being way too much, so i had to regroup and ended up going about 20 miles there and then turning around and heading home. it was honestly a really hard ride because of the wind, but it felt really great to finish a 40 mile ride! done in 2:30:17...not terribly impressive, but VERY thankful for a finishing time!

week 3 weigh-in:  178.6  on 5/13/13

previous weekly weigh-in:    180.1  

difference:   - 1.5  

total weight difference:   - 8.6   

half ironman training -- week 3

here is the breakdown from week 3 of my half ironman training. 

Week 3 // May 6 - May 12

6 Swim 1000 yards w/ main set: 6x50 sprints RI = 20 Run 4.5 miles w/ 6x30 second hard effort scattered

7 Bike 45 minutes w/ 8x1 minute hard effort

8 Swim 1000 yards w/ main set:2x200 race pace, RI = 30 Run 4.5 miles moderate w/ 4x10 second hill sprints

9 REST (or) Strength Train

10 Bike 40 minutes moderate w/ 8 minutes comfortably hard

11 Swim 1400 yards moderate Run 9 miles moderate

12 BRICK Bike  35 miles moderate Run 10 minutes off the bike moderate

monday breakdown: monday was tough. i had a terrible swim workout and just couldn't get into a groove. my breathing was off and my form made it feel like i had never swam before. my run after went okay, but it was just an off day.

tuesday breakdown: i got a nice ride in and pushed it at a pretty decent pace. in 45 minutes i made it just about 14 miles holding an average 18.5 mph pace. i was happy with that.

wednesday breakdown: MUCH better swim workout on wednesday. 1000 yards in just over 18:00, so i felt good with that pace. my run went well and i think a big reason was due to me forgetting my watch. 

thursday breakdown: oh, how i love my rest day. it worked out well since the weather was crap on thursday, too.

friday breakdown: friday was rough. i had a busy day at work, but knew i had to fit in my ride. honestly...it went well and i was pleasantly surprised. i ended up holding a 19.2 mph pace for just shy of 45 minutes. 

saturday breakdown: so it seems that friday was nothing! i had to work so that made it very difficult to fit in my training. i actually woke up at 4:00am to fit in my 9 miler (1:17:51) and took care of the swim workout later in the day. i swam the 1400 yards (.8 mile) in 27:19 so i felt pretty happy with that, too. training plus work made for a LONG day, but it was great to celebrate a friend graduating college that night! GO ALEX!!!!

sunday breakdown: ugh...sunday sucked. i have this issue with my toes and cycling in the cold. the issue is that they freeze and i lose feeling. minor issue i know, but it was about mid-40's and when you're cruising around 20mph it tends to feel even cooler. i had a terrible time in the morning trying to figure out what to do. do i chance it and risk cutting my ride short? no. do i go to the gym and do my entire 35 mile ride on a stationary bike? no. do i listen to my wife when she says to pedal to the gym (around 10 miles), do some more miles on the bike, and then pedal home. yes. and it worked! oh, sunday was also my first brick in my training. a brick is where you have a bike workout and then run immediately after. i was SO done on the bike it wasn't even funny, so switching into just a 10 minute run was nice. i averaged about 17.5 mph on the bike and ran my 10 minutes in about a 7:34 minute/mile pace. i was very thankful to get this workout done!

week 3 weigh-in:  180.1  on 5/6/13

previous weekly weigh-in:    184.0  

difference:   - 3.9  

total weight difference:   - 7.1   

half ironman training -- week 2

here is the breakdown from week 2 of my half ironman training. 

Week 2 // April 29-May 5

29 Swim 800 yards w/ main set:3x100 race pace, RI =15 Run 4 miles moderate

30 Bike 40 minutes w/ 6x30 second sprints scattered

1 Swim 800 yards w/ main set: 8x25, RI = 20 Run 4 miles moderate w/ 4x10 second hill sprints

2 Bike 40 minutes moderate w/ 5 minutes comfortably hard

3 REST (or) Strength Train

4 Swim 1000 yards moderate Run 7 miles moderate

5 Bike 30 miles moderate

monday breakdown: what a day! this is what training feels like. the weather was great (sunny and 70!) and i finally got my pass to a local facility where i can get my swim sessions in. monday i did my swim workout after work and it went great. i definitely felt it in my arms since i haven't done much upper body work in the past months, but the workout itself went well. for my run i put together a 4.2 mile route around the town where my gym is and knocked that out in 33:02. i was dehydrated and didn't fuel properly pre-workout and paid for it on the run. i took a mental note and used it as a learning experience. gatorade was AMAZING when i got home!

tuesday breakdown: another good day of training! first thing i noted: sprints are HARD! my quads were burning. it didn't help that i was dealing with about a 20 mph wind out of the south, but it was nice when i did one of my sprints with a tail wind going over 30 mph! 

wednesday breakdown: holy summer, batman! may came in with a boom. over eighty degrees and lots of sun on wednesday. i had a pretty difficult swim session and found out how difficult sprints are when they're added in to a workout. i apparently misread my schedule because i ended up doing 850 yards with my main set being 10 x 25 yard sprints with a rest interval of 20 seconds. i tried to stay hydrated all day and even in between my swim and run, but i still felt dehydrated during my run. the run was tough! i was upset with myself for being dehydrated (again!) and just wanted to be done. i held about a 8:00/mile pace and then went home and mowed my lawn. great finish to a long day. not. (remember when saying not at the end of things was funny?) 

thursday breakdown: wow...i had a pretty great ride on thursday morning. i went out for 40 minutes right at sunrise and it was gorgeous out! i was out just after sunrise and felt great my whole ride. a bit chilly to start, but finished feeling great!

friday breakdown: rest days are amazing! it felt great to not have to worry about any workout. honestly...i ate great all day and felt relaxed.  

saturday breakdown: friday was better. :) i swam just over a 1/2 mile in 1000 yards in a little over a half hour. i ate a normal breakfast before and drank a lot of water. after my swim session i ate a banana and drank more water and went out for my 7 mile run. i took a GU with me and did 7.15 miles in just barely over an hour. i honestly felt pretty decent throughout most of the run. i had really bad stomach cramps during the first 2 miles but thankfully that went away. i had my training done by 9:00am so it was a great way to start a saturday. 

sunday breakdown: sunday's workout was a big one for me personally. i went ahead and completed my 30 mile ride from last week since i had to bail on it last week. it felt great to ride the longest i ever had and i finished in 1:40:11, so i was pleasantly surprised. my legs felt real heavy the rest of today, but i woke up today feeling great!


week 2 weigh-in:  184.0 on 4/29/13
previous weekly weigh-in:    187.2  
difference:   - 3.2