half ironman training -- week 9 (down week and crazy news)

here is the breakdown from week 9 of my half ironman training. 

down week
things come up in life and throw plans off. that's a given. week 9 was one of those weeks for me. the other service manager that i split shifts/responsibilities with was on vacation so i opened/closed everyday and had a LOT on my plate. i worked close to 70 hours so it didn't leave a lot of time for training or sleep. i fit in what i could, but my training definitely suffered. week 10 will be a repeat of week 9 due to so many missed workouts. 

crazy news
also...sad news/reality hit for me this week. as you probably know by now, my wife and i are in the adoption process and will be travelling to east africa very soon. we'll end up being there roughly 4-5 weeks and i don't think there will be many opportunities for me to train while we're there. we were planning to be gone and back home by summer so the thought of a july race seemed to be perfect. well, that's the "plan according to Tony," but the "plan according to God" looks quite a bit different. now, as i'm about a month out from the half ironman on july 27th it seems to be just about impossible. the only way it'll work now is if we haven't even left for east africa yet and to be honest with you....i can't even think that way at this point. 

i'm looking ahead at some fall races and have something brewing that could end up being better in the end. it would involve some slight travel and would cost a bit more, but i'm taking one step at a time.

Week 9 // June 17 - 23

17 Swim 1500 yards w/ main set 10x75 sprints, RI=20 Run 1 mile easy, 2.5 @ 5k pace, 1 mile recovery, 1 mile easy

18 Bike 55 minutes w/ 4x4 minutes hard efforts scattered

19 Swim 1500 yards w/ main set 3x300 race pace, RI=30 Run 6 miles moderate w/ 4x10 second hill sprints

20 REST (or) Strength Train

21 Bike 40 minutes moderate w/ 20 minutes comfortably hard

22 Swim 2200 yards moderate Run 14 miles moderate

23 BRICK Bike 60 miles moderate Run  10 minutes @ race pace

monday breakdown: 

tuesday breakdown: 

wednesday breakdown: 4.15 mile run in 33:16 after a 13ish hour work day. it was really tough. enough said.

thursday breakdown: 

friday breakdown: 

saturday breakdown: i was determined to get in some weekend training after my crazy week of work, so i went out for about 22 miles on the bike and pushed it hard and finished in barely over an hour. i ran straight off the bike for just about 2 miles. 

sunday breakdown: sunday i did about 8.3 miles around a 8:20/mile pace so i got in a good workout, but obviously not what was scheduled. 

weekly weigh-in:   176.8   on 6/9/13

previous weekly weigh-in:    175.9  

difference:   + .9   

total weight difference:   - 10.4   

half ironman training -- week 8

here is the breakdown from week 8 of my half ironman training. 

Week 8 // June 10 - 16

10 Swim 1400 yards w/ main set 8x75 sprints, RI = 20 Run 1 mile easy, 1.5 @ 5k pace, 1 mile recovery, 1 mile easy

11 Bike 50 minutes w/ 5x3 minutes hard efforts scattered

12 Swim 1400 yards swim w/ main set 2x300 race pace, RI = 20 Run 5.5 miles moderate w/ 4x10 second hill sprints

13 Bike 40 minutes moderate w/ 18 minutes comfortably hard

14 REST (or) Strength Train

15 Swim 2000 yards w/ main set 1500 yard time trial Run 13 miles moderate

16 Bike 55 miles moderate

monday breakdown: holy fatigue, batman! although my scheduled rest day was friday due to my work schedule, i moved things around to give me monday off. the weekend of training before was intense and my body felt it the next day! i was proud of myself for finally incorporating strength training into my plan. i did a short session of about 20 minutes of bench press, dead lift, squats, curls, and sit ups. my arms were still burning tuesday. yes...i realize how embarrassing that is.

tuesday breakdown: tuesday morning was a great cycling session. i've been noticing i'm getting a little quicker. today i knocked out 17.11 miles in 50:12 so it just a hair over a 20 mph pace. love it!

wednesday breakdown: i had a good training session wednesday morning. my swim was so-so....1400 yards in 26:28, but my 6 mile run felt pretty good and i finished that in 48:17. 

thursday breakdown: thursday was a pretty long day since i was determined to get in my "extra" workout due to my week being chaotic. i got in my 1400 yard swim in 25:59 and my 4 miler in under 8 minute miles, but i also managed to fit in my 40 minute bike ride and squeaked out about 12 miles. it was a loooong day, but totally worth it in the end. 

friday breakdown: REEEESSSTTT DAY!!! oh, and a 13 hour work day. whatevs...

saturday breakdown: i love the weekends! seriously...what better way to kick off a weekend with a nice 2000 yard swim and then running 13 miles. am i right or am i right. you might be thinking i'm being sarcastic, but i'm actually not. i love doing a couple hours of hard training early on a saturday. my swim felt great and i finished the 13 miler in 1:51:39. i honestly was really hoping for under 1:50:00, but i think i pushed it a bit hard on the swim before. 

sunday breakdown: wow! 55 miles on a bike is faaaaaaaaaaar. 55 miles in/on anything is far. holy crap. the weather was decent this morning as i got ready to head out, but i had a little tightness in my left leg that had me a bit nervous. i loaded up with water and some gels and took off. my route i made was insane. a lot of hills and head wind at first until it finally flattened out a little for the rest of the route. i surprisingly didn't feel too bad after i got the hard part of the route out of the way, but i battled some more wind toward the end. i took 3 quick breaks: the first one to put my freakin' chain back on, second one for a pee break, and another about 30 miles in to chug some water and swallow a gel. the final stretch of 15-20 miles went by pretty quick and getting home felt SO good. final time was 2:59:31 so maintaining an 18.3 mph average felt pretty good, too. 

weekly weigh-in:   175.9   on 6/2/13

previous weekly weigh-in:    174.9  

difference:   + 1   

total weight difference:   - 11.3   

half ironman training -- week 7

here is the breakdown from week 7 of my half ironman training. 

Week 7 // June 3 - 9

3 Swim 1300 yards w/ main set 6x75 sprints, RI = 20 Run 1 mile easy, 1.5 @ 5k pace, 1 mile recovery, 1 mile easy

4 Bike 50 minutes w/ 6x2 minutes hard efforts scattered

5 Swim 1300 yards w/ main set 2x300 race pace, RI = 30 Run 5 miles moderate w/ 4x10 second hill sprints

6 REST (or) Strength Train

7 Bike 40 minutes moderate w/ 15 minutes comfortably hard

8 Swim 2000 yards moderate Run 12 miles moderate

9 BRICK Bike 50 miles moderate Run 20 minutes moderate

monday breakdown: my swim felt pretty decent, but i wasn't impressed with my time. 1300 yards in 26:27...ehh. my run was a little better: 4.2 miles in 34:45 with amazing sunshine and about 65 degrees!

tuesday breakdown: wow...if only every ride was as good as tuesday's! although i really thought i was averaging over 20 mph, i was happy with my time in the saddle on this 50 minute ride. i had great weather, too!

wednesday breakdown: wednesday was national running day. yay? i apparently didn't look at my training plan right because i went out for a 1400 yard swim that took me 26:50 and then knocked out about 6 miles in gorgeous weather. ran pretty close to 8:00 miles so it felt great. my schedule actually called for a 1300 yard swim and a 5 miler. hmm...

thursday breakdown: rest day. 

friday breakdown: i had a great ride friday afternoon. there was a bit of a north wind, but i was really feeling good. i told myself before i rolled out that i'd try to take it easy due to my weekend of intense training about to happen, but i pushed it hard anyway. 13.42 miles in 39:51 so i finally averaged 20+ mph. 

saturday breakdown: friday night i checked the weather for the weekend and decided to switch my weekend workouts. the weather was supposed to be gorgeous (and wind free) on saturday with a chance of storms on sunday. i asked myself, "do you want to run or ride in the rain?" no brainer. saturday i went out for my 50 miler which was crazy for me. i've never gone that far and of course was nervous. it went well with the obvious heavy legs and absolute craving to be done. i ended up holding an 18.3 mph average so i was really impressed. that wasn't it. i then hopped off my bike and went out for a 20 minute run. i have NEVER felt my body in this state and it was creeeeepy. my legs felt like they weren't there and i actually thought something was wrong. fortunately, i've done a few smaller bricks so i tried to keep composure and just hold onto my form and run through it. by the time my 20 minutes were up i was literally praising God to be done, but was so proud of myself to getting this day of training under my belt. 

sunday breakdown: last night i was trying to figure out (as usual) how i was going to fit in my training before church on sunday morning. my original plan was to walk in the gym right as it opens to get in my 2000 yard swim and run home to get my 12 miler in, but fortunately Emily thought of a better idea. she simply asked, "what if you run to the gym, get your swim in, and then i'll pick you up"? so that's what i did. i got up around 5:30 and ate a good breakfast. drank a couple cups of coffee and was out the door. most of this 12 mile route is in the country between the town i live in and the town my gym is in, so right around mile 6 i came up to a barking/growling dog charging me. i did what any runner in their right mind would do.....i climbed up in a tree in a nearby house. yeah, that happened. i was hoping the dog would run by and i would be able to run off leaving it in the distance. nope. it just sat down on the side of the road continuing to bark at me while i approached the road again. here's where the story gets awesome. a car came toward me after going by the dog and slowed. she waved. i waved. she slowed down. i gave her the old, "i'm in a bit of a pickle," look and so she stopped. she asked if it was my dog and i told her no, but it's definitely not friendly. i explained to her that i'm running from town to town and that i had an odd request. she looked very confused and then i asked her if she would just be able to drive me beyond the dog and let me out. in my head i was telling myself that she better not do it. she has no idea who i am. i could be a crazy murderer, but she agreed. she was super sweet and i ended up sitting in the backseat cause i felt bad. she drove by the dog and i gave it a dirty look. you know...the one that shows you mean business and you just won. anyway, to make a long story longer i hopped out, thanked my new friend, and finished my run in about a 8:15/mile pace. my swim started really terrible. my legs were so fatigued from my run and i just wasn't feeling it. fortunately, like any other hard training session you just muscle through it and it ended well. SO thrilled to get through this tough week of training and looking forward to getting stronger this coming week. 

weekly weigh-in:   175.9   on 6/2/13

previous weekly weigh-in:    174.9  

difference:   + 1   

total weight difference:   - 11.3