June 24, 2013 Another Solid Week of Training

I was able to put in another solid week of training now that I’m two weeks out from my first off-road triathlon of the season. Unfortunately, I ordered my wetsuit one size too big so I’ve had to send it back and wait for a replacement; hopefully it comes in time for my race. I’m wearing a scar on my neck from some serious rubbing during my lake swim on the weekend. The wetsuit started “bunching” at the neck about 500m into my swim and I was in the middle of the lake, so I continued swimming and had a sore neck after the 1.2km swim.

I’ve mixed in some strength training and running workouts, but the heat and humidity has limited my time on the mountain bike. The bike leg of my triathlon may end up being my weakness, so I’m hoping to get out on the trails at least a few times before race day.

Here’s what I managed to squeeze in the past week:

June 17 – 4km Run (21:16 / 5’19”) + 6-6-6-6-6-6 Squat @ 175
June 18 – Swim (600m wu / 200m FR 2:53 (50 easy) / 4 x 50 Pull @ :55 / 4 x 50 FR @ :55 (100 easy) 1350m Total
June 19 – 5km Treadmill Run
June 21 – 1.2km Lake Swim

June 14, 2013 Summer Motivation

Since deciding at the beginning of June to make my fitness a priority again, I’ve logged some good kilometers and found ways to be consistent. One of the ways I’ve been able to get back into the pool has been to stop into Bradford on my way to the GO train for an early swim at 6am. I’ve also been able to motivate myself by setting a couple of goal races as challenges this summer. Element Racing offers two “Cross Triathlons” in Milton and Muskoka that include a swim, mountain bike ride and trail run. I’m aiming to compete in both events this summer; that should keep me motivated for the “early hour” training that I’ll have to fit in with work, family and other commitments.

I’ve also connected with a triathlon training group and will be joining them this weekend for an open water swim. I’ll post an update of how that turns out.

Here is a summary of my workouts this week:

June 10 – 5km Run (27:46 / 5’33” pace) + 5-5-5 Bench Press @ 205
June 11 – Swim (600m warmup / 4 x 50m FR @ 1:00 / 50m easy / 4 x 50m Pull @ 1:00 / 50m easy / 2 x 100m FR @ 2:00 / 100m easy) 1400m Total
June 12 – 3km Fun Run (with the wife) + 5-5-3-3-3 Overhead Press @ 150 + 3-3-3-3-3 Power Clean @ 150
June 13 – Swim (600m wu / 4 x 50m FR @ 1:00 /50m easy / 4 x 50m Pull @ 1:00 / 50m easy / 4 x 100m FR @ 1:50 / 100 easy) 1600m Total
June 14 – 4km Fun Run (with the wife) + 5-5-3-3-3 Deadlifts @ 250 – 305 / Bike 1 hour (mountain bike trails)

February 27, 2013 Complex Workouts in a Time Crunch

In workout terms, a Complex is a series of movements performed without rest and without re-setting the bar. Lately, when I’ve been short for time I’ve made the most of a workout with multiple movements and just one barbell. Today’s complex was a progression of clean / front squat movements separated by 500m runs on the treadmill.

5 Rounds:

• 500m Run (treadmill)
• 3 times through the following complex
• Clean Pull
• Hang Clean
• Squat Clean
• Front Squat

I’ve also been able to be fairly consistent with treadmill runs of 4-6kms and average pacing of 5:05 – 5:18 per km. Motivation ebbs and flows and I’m looking forward to the end of snow so that I can re-open The LAB in the garage. I miss my box jumps, pullup bar and the space to actually lift something heavy overhead.

 

February 3, 2013 Training Update

Over the past two weeks, my training has been taking place in the basement with my kettlebells, weights, sandbags, bike trainer and treadmill. There are some personal lifestyle changes that are imminent (due to a career change) and it will have a major impact on my ability to schedule training sessions, so having the equipment at home gives me the freedom to workout whenever I can find the time. The stress of interviews and negotiations have even sapped my motivation to get into the pool. Lately my training plan has felt like a “house of cards” that has started to fall apart. However, if I can find a balance between work, family and training, I should still be able to compete and achieve my goals this season.

Because many of my workouts lately have been rather boring (5km run on the treadmill), I haven’t felt the need to complete daily updates of the blog. Today however, I made my treadmill workout more interesting with intervals.

RUN:

4 Rounds…

• Run 1 km
• 20 Squats
• 15 Situps
• 10 Pushups
• 5 Burpees
• time = 28:38

On a positive note, in the past when my training plans would take a detour, my weight would usually rebound to the 208 – 212 mark, effectively erasing all the hard work I had done. But during the past two weeks, even though I haven’t been training as consistently or as intensely, my weight has remained at the 192 – 193 level. This has to be due to the gluten-free changes I’ve tried to stick with over the past 6 months.

 

January 21, 2013 Two Tough Workouts

Not much commentary this time…I’m tired…here are my workouts for the day:

SWIM:

Warm Up:  500m

EN-1/2:  800m

• 6 x 50 FS on 1:00, 3-Pull, 3-Swim 42sec+
• 3 x 50 FS on 55, swim <40
• 50 Easy
• 6 x 50 BK on 1:05, 3 Pull, 3-Swim 52sec+
• 3 x 50 BK on 1:00, swim <47

Kick: 200m

• 8 x 25 Kick IM seq on 10 sec
• 50 Easy

LAP:  200

• 4 x 25 FL Sprint with turn, 50 Easy on 2:00
• 4 x 25 FL Kick Sprint, 50 Easy on 2:00

Power:  50

• 4 x FL Start with 12.5m Dolphin, Easy rest of 50

LA Tol:  150 (450 Recov)

• 2 x [ 3 x 25 Sprint FL on 10-15 sec – go on 30 sec –  150 Easy ]

Total = 3050m

 

RUN:

• 5kms
• 27:14 total time / 5’27” pace / 458 cals
• splits: 5’40” / 5’29” / 5’24” / 5’20” / 5’20”

STRENGTH:

• Every 90 seconds for 9 Minutes
• 3 reps High Hang Clean Pull / Hang Clean

 

January 18, 2013 Multiple Workouts

Today was a smorgasbord of workouts that started with interval training on the indoor Bike trainer and a strength workout in the a.m., followed by a noon Swim session and Run on an treadmill. Here are the specifics:

Morning Workout

BIKE:

• 20 minutes on the indoor trainer
• 10 minute warm up spin
• 2 x 3 minutes hard / 2 minutes easy

STRENGTH:

• 6 – 6 – 6 Upright Rows @ 115lbs
• 5 – 5 – 5 Hang Clean High Pulls @ 115lbs
• 10 – 10 – 10 Dumbbell Pullovers @ 45lbs
• The exercises selected for the strength component in the next 75 days are specific to the Butterfly stroke in swimming. Focus for the movements are speed / power with perfect form.

Afternoon Workout

SWIM:

Warm Up: 500m

EN-1 + Kick: 600m

• 2 x 50 FS on 1:00
• 2 x 50 BK on 1:05
• 2 x 100 BK on 2:00
• 100 BK Kick
• 2 x 50 BK Kick

LAP for FS: 150 (300 Recov)

• 6 x (25 FS Sprint, 50 Easy on 2:00) most 14’s

LA tol for BK: 275m (625 Recov)

• 100 IM Sprint for time, 150 Easy = 1:12
• 2 x (50 FL Sprint, 175 Easy) = :30 / :30
• 25 BK Sprint for time = :13

 

RUN:

• Another “rehab” run on the treadmill as I try to relieve some pain in my shin
• 3kms
• 16:25 total time / 5’28” pace / 274 cals
• splits: 5’38” / 5’25” / 5’21”

 

January 5, 2013 Pacing? What’s that?

The intent of today’s workout was to go for an easy run and get in a strength training session on a cold Saturday. I was coming up with a list of reasons why I should just rest, watch CNN and relax but I got ready and bundled up for a cold run. Unfortunately, I’m still learning how to hold back and set an easier pace. Even though my intent was to take it easy, I found myself running pretty much as fast as I could which resulted in a flare-up of shin splints and a shortened run.

RUN:

• 3.25kms
• pace = 4’38” / 4’43” / 4’56”

STRENGTH:

• 10 – 10 – 10
• Bench Press @ 185lbs

rest, then perform…

• 3 Rounds:
• 5 Burpees
• 10 KB Swings (1 pood)
• 15 Pushups
• 20 Situps

 

January 3, 2013 Workouts

For the past 30 days, I’ve scaled back the strength component of my program mostly due to a timing issue as I’ve tried to increase the frequency and intensity of my swimming and running training sessions. During some recent sprint swim sessions however, I’ve noticed a lack of power that I think could be due to the drop in the number of Strength sessions. It could also just be due to fatigue, but to be safe, I’m going to try to fit in at least two Strength sessions per week. Here’s how I did it today:

BIKE:

• 40 minutes on Indoor Trainer:
• 10 minutes warm-up spin
• 5 x 1 minute sprint / 2 minutes spin
• 2 x 5 minute “builds” (increase gear each minute and maintain rpm)
• 5 minute cool down spin

STRENGTH:

• 5 x 5 Bent Row @ 165lbs
• 3 x 3 High Snatch Pull @ 165lbs

December 15, 2012 Workouts

During this 90 day phase of my training, I’m trying to balance my sprint swimming training (fast twitch / lactic acid tolerance) with the maintenance of aerobic capacity on the bike and in the run so that I’ll be able to compete in triathlon in the summer. I’m also dialing back my strength training to involve more muscular endurance work. The previous 90 day phase of training focused on the development of an aerobic base. Today’s workout included stength training and a brick of indoor cycling and a short outdoor run.

STRENGTH:

• 3 x 10 Bench Press @ 185lbs
• 25 Situps
• 3 x 5 Barbell Rows @ 165lbs
• 25 Situps
• 3 x 3 Power Cleans @ 135lbs

BIKE:

• 1 Minute Spin
• 1 Minute Right Leg
• 1 Minute Left Leg
• 1 Minute Right Leg
• 1 Minute Left Leg
• 15 Minutes Intervals

immediately transition into…

RUN:

• 2kms
• 10:14 total time / 5’05” / 188 cals

 

 

December 9, 2012 Bike, Weights, Swim Workouts

Today I learned my lesson and split up my workouts. I started the day with a Sufferfest video workout on the Bike trainer and followed up with a Strength session. This afternoon was my first session in the water with Sean Bechtel’s Masters Swim Team (offered through Personal Best / C3). Here’s how it all went down…

am WORKOUT

BIKE:

• 30 mins Intervals with Sufferfest Video
• no idea how far I cycled, but it felt great!

STRENGTH:

• 5 x 10 Bench Press @ 185lbs
• 5 x 5 Bent Over Barbell Rows @ 185lbs
• 5 x 3 High Snatch Pulls @ 185lbs

pm WORKOUT

SWIM:

• Warm Up (700m):
• 300m FR
• 200m Pull / Drill
• 100m Drill / Kick
• 2 x 50m Kick
• Speed Work (750m):
• 3 x (50m Build / 2 x 50m Fast / 100m Easy)
• 400m FR Pull (Distance per Stroke)
• 8 x 50m FR (Breath Control 3/5/7/choice)
• 200m Easy Recovery
• Total = 2450m