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 17, 2013 Open Water Swim

This past weekend I was able to join a group of triathletes in an early morning, open water swim in Lake Wilcox. It was my first open water swim in years and my first time swimming with a full sleeve wetsuit. The set up at Lake Wilcox includes a buoy line running the length of the lake (1km) with buoys every 25 meters. I felt like I had found a secret triathlete playground as there were probably 50+ athletes swimming, biking and running in the area.

The swim itself was great. I was able to maintain my stroke and felt very buoyant with the full sleeve suit. I only swam 800m but will definitely attempt the full lake crossing next outing. The group is made up of athletes of all skills and fitness levels, and they were very supportive so it’s motivating to continue to train with the team. I’m looking forward to next weekend’s swim.

After the 800m swim, I came home and got ready for a long(ish) run. I decided to challenge myself by running “the loop” which includes a long incline of at least 1.5 km that always makes my want to quit. I made it though the run with an average pace of 5’34”. I’m feeling more confident that I’ll be able to get in shape for my races this summer.

January 20, 2013 Brick Workout

I picked up a new treadmill yesterday from Costco. Now there’s really no excuse to get a workout in (no time / gym is too far / etc.) I set it up in the basement beside my bike trainer so I thought I might as well test it out with a Brick workout. Bricks are an important part of triathlon training and are sometimes overlooked. This type of workout refers to training on two disciplines during the same workout, one after the other with minimal or no interruption between, just like you would do in a race.

Here’s what I did:

BIKE:

• 30 minutes on the trainer
• 5 minute warm-up
• 8 x 2 minutes hard (in aero) / 1 minute easy spin
• 1 minute cool down

RUN:

• 1 mile run on the treadmill
• 9:00 total time

 

 

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 2, 2013 New Year Workouts Start Now

Happy New Year! I’ve kicked off the year with a big workout and I’m looking to be consistent for 2013 leading up to major swim competitions in March (Provincial Championships) and May (National Championships) as well as triathlons in the summer.

SWIM:

Warm Up:  700m

EN-1 850m:

• 3 x 100 FS on 1:45
• 3 x 50 FS Kick on 15 sec
• 3 x 100 IM on 2:00
• 2 x 50 FL Kick on 15 sec
• 50 Easy

LAP for SP:  500m

• 8 x { 25m SP Sprint on :30, 25m SP Kick on :30, 25m Swim (Recover) on :30, 25m Swim (Recover) on :45 }
• Break after 4 with a 100 Easy

LA Tol:  400

• 2 x 25m FS Sprint, 25 Easy) on 1:30 to get up to max speed
• 4 x 25m FS on 30 Sec) – 200 Easy }

 

RUN:

• 5kms
• 20:02 total time / 5’00” pace / 400 cals / 154 bpm
• Splits – 5’16” / 5’01” / 4’55” / 4’57” / 4’52”

 

December 28 / 29, 2012 Workouts

Got out today for a track workout and got back in the pool yesterday after a little too much holiday cheer. Time to get focused on sprinting since my next race is two weeks away.

December 29:

RUN:

• 1 km warm up drills / jog
• 5 x 1 km Run @ 7:00 (4:39 / 4:33 / 4:33 / 4:36 / 4:38)

I have been experiencing some pain in my left shin which I believe is shin splints brought on by the increase in intensity of my run workouts. I really have to make a conscious effort to warm up properly and use the foam roller to lower the chances of long term injury.

December 28:

SWIM:

Warm Up:  700m

EN-1:  600

• 4 x 50 Kick on 1:15
• 4 x 100 SP or IM on 2:00

LAP:  200 (200 Recov)

• 2 x (25 FL Sprint, 25 Easy) on 1:30
• 3 x (50 FS Sprint, 50 Easy) on 2:30

Recov:  200 Easy with fins

LA Tol:  350 (550 Recov)

• 50 FL / 50 FS Max, 150 Recov on 5:30+
• 25 FL / 75 FS Max, 150 Recov on 5:30+
• 25 FL / 50 FS Max, 125 Recov on 5:30
• 25 FL / 50 FS Max, 125 Recov on 5:30

Swim Down:  200

• 200 Easy with Fins

Total = 3000m

December 19 / 21 / 22, 2012 Workouts

Wednesday’s workout was a longer run that I used to build the pace throughout the 8kms.

RUN:

• 8kms
• 45:24 total time / 5’40” pace / 752 cals
• I wish I had remembered to put on my heart rate monitor for this run as I don’t believe I would’ve hit 150 bpm until the final kilometer.

Friday’s intended workout included a morning spin on the bike trainer and a swim over lunch. I got caught up running some final Christmas errands and had to miss the swim, so my workout for the day was a 6:30am spin.

BIKE:

• 5 minute warm-up
• 15 minutes intervals (focus on pedaling in circles)
• 5 minute cool down spin

Saturday was a track workout focused on speed work and ended with a light spin on the bike:

RUN:

• 2 kms warm up drills / strides
• 5 x 400m Runs @ 3:00 (held 1:45 – 1:48)
• followed by a 10 minute spin on the bike

 

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