random wetsuit photo
Wednesday - August 21st
My training buddy from work came over for a morning brick workout. We left my place at 5am on our bikes, and went for a nice and easy bike ride around the usual route. We only climbed new Indian Hill Road, so the hill work was minimal. It was a nice ride though. We covered 22.87 miles in 1:30:03, with a moving average speed of 15.5 mph. Nothing crazy.
Here is the Garmin Connect data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/362616780
After the bike we changed for a quick 5k run. I have the new quick shoe laces, so it takes about 10 seconds to put my shoes on and "tie" them. I love it. The run pace was quicker than we discussed beforehand, averaging 9:33mm for 3.25 miles.
Here is the Garmin Connect data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/362616792
guy from Savage Race in Bane mask (badass)
Thursday - August 22nd
Morning run. 8.49 miles in 1:32:22, average pace of 10:51mm. Nothing crazy. Great run. I normally wear my Fuel Belt for anything 7 miles or over, but I did this run without water, Gatorade, or GU. I haven't been wearing my HR monitor since it rubbed my chest raw, but I'm guessing the run was anaerobic. After the 70.3 on September 1st, I will be training for the Little Miami Triathlon and focusing on speed work.
Here is the Garmin Connect data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/363404624
this poster is how I feel about my doing a half Ironman Sept 1st
Sunday - August 25th
I took Friday and Saturday off so I was 100% for Sunday. I put a note on Facebook to all of the training groups I'm a member of, currently in 8 groups, to come to the lake for a swim/bike brick. Spamming all of these groups only resulted in one guy showing up, but it couldn't have been a better person! Someone from Cincy Express showed up that I've trained with and raced with, he has even done a full marathon and 70.3 recently. I picked his brain all morning as we got ready for the swim.
So, my main concern for the half Ironman race coming up, is the swim. So, it was great to go for a swim with someone I could talk to to help calm my nerves. After about 15 or 20 minutes, I felt pretty calm in the water and was swimming well. We swam the Caesar Creek beach back and forth twice, so 4 laps of the beach length. I didn't quite go all the way, but it was a nice 35 minute total swim workout. My wetsuit is great. It would be hard to sink in the thing. My feet were at the surface of the water the entire time, it was awesome.
My training partner, Mike, was telling me about his 70.3 swim. I have always heard that it's a free for all, but he said to expect to get kicked, punched, swam over, etc. Not on purpose, but some overzealous guys think they're going to win the race and go all out, no matter who is in their way. Mike said a guy literally swam over him. That would not only piss me off, but cause me to go into a panic. He and I joked about giving the guy a kidney punch if that ever happens again. I am staying overnight before the 70.3 in Huber Heights, about 30 minutes away from Buck Creek State Park, where the race (the Great Buckeye Challenge) is being held. Packet pick up is from 6 to 7:30, so I'll be sure to get my packet at 6:01 so I can get in the lake and swim around to calm my nerves before the race starts. I will still go easy off the beach into the water. Some people sprint into the water and go nuts at the start. That will spike my HR and keep me from getting into a swim groove. I will walk casually into the water and try to get into my groove immediately. If my HR spikes, I can't breath (specifically, it's hard to exhale steadily - which is necessary for pacing), and it throws everything off. I'll be doggy paddling or something until I calm down. It's critical to stay calm for the swim, for me anyway.
After the swim, we headed out on the "CC 30" route. A 30 mile bike route around the state park that Mike and I did with other Cincy Express people a few months ago. We decided to just go casually, nothing crazy. The day before, Mike ran 15 miles, so I'm sure his legs weren't in the mood for a crazy bike. I still don't know if I have a "crazy bike" in me.
On the ride, Clarksville Road totally sucked. Like, a lot. I cannot say this enough. Bikers should avoid Clarksville road from 73 to Wilmington Road until the fresh 'chip sealing' is worn away. Chip sealing is basically when they pave a road nice and smooth, then throw a bunch of tar on it and toss gravel on top to stick. It's freaking annoying to ride on. I still don't understand why they do this to nice country roads. Mike even slid out at a stop sign from the loose gravel. It's dumb. We went from riding at 16/17 mph to 14. Also, my bike vibrated like crazy the entire way. Luckily, Clarksville Road on our route was only about 4 miles, so it wasn't the end of the world.
After Clarksville, we turned onto Wilmington Road to join some kind of bike race in action. Everyone was going slow, about 14 or 15 mph, and everyone around us was a little heavy and older. Not sure what this was. We passed many people in this group. My guess is it was something like a MS150 where people do this one race (versus race a lot) and they're going far (75 miles over two days, for example) so they keep the pace easy. I told Mike to excuse my ego as I was about to crank by these people. Gotta represent Cincy Express! Mike and I were both in full team tri gear. We passed more people and I think one of the younger and fitter guys jumped on our tail and rode with us until our paths split.
After the chip seal and MS ride, it was a nice and casual stroll through quiet country roads. We rode 30.28 miles in 1:54:54, with a moving average speed of 16.1 mph. I headed to Chipotle on my way home and had a nice burrito. Delicious! When I got home, I followed the Ironman Louisville race online. Several people from my triathlon groups finished the race. A full Ironman is no joke! 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, then a 26.2 mile run. 140.6 total miles in one day. A decent time is 12 hours. Could you imagine exercising for 12 hours? And that's a decent time. They kick people out after 17 hours, I think. Wild. Not sure if I'll ever do that, realistically, but it is amazing.
Here is the Garmin Connect data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/364931095
my favorite Ironman finish photo: Craig Alexander winning 2009 Kona Ironman (flexing like a beast!)
Monday - August 26th
Nice and easy morning run. 4.8 miles in 49:17, average moving pace of 10:12mm. Nothing sticks out about the run.
Here is the Garmin Connect data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/365968870
Tuesday through Wednesday, I didn't do anything. Just chilling. I ate some Busken cookies and had some Bud Light one night while watching my new favorite show, the Jeselnik Offensive. But I did think about my race a lot. So, I'm staying at my brother's house in Huber Heights the night before the race, so I'm only 20/25 minutes drive away from the race. This is better than the 1.5 hour drive from Cincinnati. My half heat, Clydesdale division, starts at 8:17am. I can do the swim in the pool in 45 to 50 minutes, but I'm just hoping to get through the swim part in an hour. I'll probably stumble through T1 in about 10 minutes, same for T2. I will probably take the 56 mile bike ride easy and shoot for an average of 15 to 16 mph. Actually, looking at my bike splits, as much as I think I'm a better biker, I'm still not cranking out 18 mph average 25 mile bike rides. So, the 15 to 16 mph is probably all I can maintain for 56 miles. My slowest 13.1 is just under 3 hours, so let's say I run the last part in 3 hours. So, 1 plus 4 plus 3 plus 20 minutes = 8:20. I think they'll kick me out at 8 hours, so I need to find some extra time somewhere. I might get lucky and swim in 50 minutes, or maybe the bike will go well and only take 3:30. Who knows. My first one, so I just want to finish. If I like it, I'll go for another one next year with faster time goals. If I like it, I might try to get a triathlon specific bike next year. If I dislike it, I might try to get a nicer road bike and just stick to shorter races like a sprint and Olympic. I definitely want to do triathlons, but the short versus long debate rages on in my head.
Here is the Strava data for all of the above training sessions.
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