IMoo Loops: More Than I Can Chew

I'm not sure if today was an act of insanity or stupidity.  I'm leaning toward stupidity.  I'm leaning heavily toward stupidity.  

The plan was a 7.5 hour workout.  I know it sounds long for March,  but my first 'A' race of the year is a half iron in early June and I'm about to start my build phase.  I wanted to end my base period with a big workout, mainly to give me a benchmark and see where I'm at and what I need to do to accomplish my goals.

The big problem with this workout, which become obvious early on, is that I didn't really do the proper workouts to prepare for it.  The original plan was to swim for 30 minutes at the Y, drive home, bike for 100 miles (two loops of the IM course) and then run 10 miles.  

The swim was good.  I swam with my H2O Audio, which I haven't done in a while.  I forgot how cool that thing is.  I had a good playlist going and kind of wanted to swim longer.  I didn't count laps, but I did check my pace occasionally and I was consistently around a 1:35 pace so I estimate I swam 1850 yards (a tad over a mile).

The bike was a disaster.  It started out with me discovering that the firmware update on my powertap computer made it an ANT+ computer and it no longer recognizes my hub (which isn't ANT+).  I screwed around with it for a few minutes hoping I could load the old firmware and be good to go.  Nope.  So I grabbed my Garmin so I could collect my data, but I don't have a Garmin mount on my tri bike so I stuffed the computer in my pocket.  So I rode without seeing data.  No power, time, speed....nothing.  

Early into the ride my sunglasses got caught by the wind and blew off and broke.  $200 sunglasses....gone.  This workout was quickly going downhill.  So I stuffed the pieces in my pocket and continued without glasses.  I ride without glasses a lot so it's not that big of a deal, but it was only 38 degrees when I left the house so my eyes were watering a lot without glasses on.

My expectations were low for the bike since it's early in the year, this would be my first century for the year, it was cold and windy....lots of reasons.  I figured my speed would be between 18-19 mph, hopefully closer to 19, but I would've been really happy with 18.5.  Every time I checked my computer: 17.5-17.8.  Crap.  Without my power meter, I wasn't sure if my power was low or if I was slow because of the wind (which I swear was ALWAYS a headwind).  I like to think it was the wind, but I think the truth is that I just wasn't riding hard enough. 


17.5 was the number I saw the most when I checked my computer so I figured I'd try to hold that pace the rest of the day.  Around the 75 mile mark, I began to realize how dumb I truly am.  This was my first ride on my tri bike this year, and I was hurting.  100 miles for a first ride on the tri bike is not a good idea.  My neck and shoulders were really sore from the aerobars and I had to sit up quite a bit.  My legs were getting tired, and the climbs were getting to me.  


In the end, I was on the bike almost 6 hours.  My average speed ended at 17.1.  My legs were really tired, and I could tell I didn't take in enough calories.  Not having the time in front of me reminding me to eat proved to be a problem.  I still had a lot of calories left on the bike, and I didn't bring enough for a 6 hour ride in the first place so I suspected I was pretty low on calories.  I was also really cold.  I was warm for the first 30 minutes of the bike, cold for the rest.  I hate spring in Wisconsin.


The run was terrible.  I wanted to run an 8:30 pace or better.  I also wanted to do 10 miles, but since I was on the bike so long I cut it down to 7.  I didn't want to the workout to go longer than 7.5 hours.  Clearly, I wasn't ready for a workout that long, so going longer wasn't going to help matters.  Plus, I start my new job tomorrow and I don't want to be completely destroyed.  


I only managed a 9 minute pace.  And I was still freezing.  I couldn't warm up.  Long workouts in 45 degree weather is not a good idea.  It's hard to dress for that.  Never again.


Looking back on this workout, I think it was a mistake.  I wasn't ready for it.  I learned a few things, but I also feel very discouraged.  It's early in the year, but I feel like I was way off pace and should have been faster if I'm actually going to achieve my goals.  I keep telling myself there's a lot of training time left, but I also keep telling myself that qualifying for Kona is way out of my reach.  I feel like I set my sights too high.  I was hoping this workout would go fairly well and I'd be encouraged to put in hard work and get where I need to be.  Instead, I'm discouraged.


*sigh*


I have a lot of work to do.  


A LOT!


On a positive note: I just finished a good base building block.  For three weeks I did every workout and hit all of my goals - except today.  I did 16 hours, 18 hours, and 20 hours.  Next week is a recovery week so I have 11.5 hours on the schedule.  And tomorrow is a rest day, my first rest day since Feb 23.  I'm looking forward to a day off, but I start my new job and I'm kind of nervous about that.

Saris Gala

It might be the British accent. I'm not sure. But whatever it is, chicks dig Phil Liggett. Cheri is one of those chicks, and Thursday she got a chance to meet him at the Saris Gala. The event started at 6, but we didn't show up til a little after 7. We registered and immediately ran into Mark and the gang. As we were talking to them, someone pointed out that Phil was wandering around. Immediately, Cheri headed straight toward Phil for a picture. As soon as she got close to him, she got nervous and turned into a bumbling idiot. She got a couple of pictures with him, they talked a little and then Phil headed on his way. Then he turned around, came back, grabbed Cheri's hand and off they went. Everyone looked at me and said, "You should be worried." Luckily (for me) they didn't make it too far before Phil was mobbed by people wanting pictures and eventually Cheri returned to the group. I'm sure I'll be hearing about Phil for the next few weeks (years). Hey, there are worse men to lose a girl to.

Later in the evening, Phil got on stage and spoke for about an hour. He's very entertaining...and a little feisty. Afterwards, I hung around to get a picture with Phil too...






Then, as we were leaving Cheri noticed Robbie Ventura was just hanging around and suggested we get a picture with him. After getting a photo, we were ready to leave...but then Robbie asked us what kind of riding we do. Then the conversation turned to triathlons and the Ironman. We talked to Robbie for about 10-15 minutes. He's planning on doing Ironman Canada, so we talked about the Ironman for a while. It was a fun conversation. Robbie is really cool and down to earth. He's also really motivating (good trait for a trainer) because he's so excited and passionate about cycling and triathlons.




All in all, it was a very fun evening. Saris does a good job with the Gala, and they raised about $60K for the Bike Federation of Wisconsin. Very cool. I'm looking forward to next year. I wonder who the guest will be. Bob Roll?

On the training front...yesterday was a tough day. I did the Ironman loop again and tore it up. 56 miles in just under 3 hours. That's the first time I've ridden the route in under 3 hours without aero bars. I ended with an 18.8 average, which I was very happy with since a good part of the last 20 miles or so were into a strong headwind. I pushed really hard and stayed focused the whole ride. I wish I had my power meter because I'm curious what my average watts were. Right after the ride I went for a 3 mile run with Cheri. This is when it became painfully clear that I didn't eat and drink enough on the bike. I bonked hard...immediately. By immediately, I mean the first 1/4 mile. Those were the toughest 3 miles I've ever run. I was barely moving and wanted to quit. I had no food with me and was craving sugar big time. Cheri wouldn't let me quit and kept me moving til the end. I managed a 9:38 pace, and I'm really glad I had Cheri with me to keep me going. Alone, I may have quit and walked home to make a pig out of myself. It was a great workout, but I need to get my nutrition under control.

Hitting the wall like that on a 3 mile run makes you wonder why you signed up for an Ironman. When I got home, I ate everything in sight, layed in the middle of the floor and declared, "there is no way I'm going to finish the Ironman." Even after getting a good night's sleep and recovering from the workout, I'd say it's about 50/50 on me finishing. I have a friend who's barely going to train for this thing, and I think he has a better shot at finishing. He'll be slow and steady and keep making progress toward the finish. I'll go all out and explode on the run and get taken to the medical tent. 50/50. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

The pain, the agony...

I'm in pain. Pity me.

I know. Self inflicted pain gets no sympathy. Today I did my first long brick workout. I've done several bricks, but they usually last around an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. Today's workout was one of the toughest of my life. A 4 hour brick. I did the Ironman loop again - this time hoping to increase my average watts to above 200 - and then ran 7 miles - hoping to average 8:30 per mile.

I got through the workout all right, but I felt like crap afterward. I hit my goal on the bike but fell a little short on the run. Oh well. This was really just a test to see where I stand, and I'm happy with how the workout went. My average watts was higher on the bike this week and I did more work, but my average speed dropped by .1 mph. It was windy today.

The toughest part...I had tickets to the Badger game this afternoon. So I had to get ready for the game right after my workout. And I got a crappy parking spot and had to walk a couple miles to the stadium. Ouch. The Badgers won so that took away some of the pain. But standing and sitting and standing again was a little difficult since I was starting to feel the pain in my legs.

Tomorrow I have to run a slow 9 miles. With the way my legs are feeling I think those may be 9 very slow miles. Then...my first rest day.

Bike stats:
Time: 3:05:33
Distance: 56.33 miles
Ave speed: 18.2 mph
Max speed: 43.8 mph
Ave watts: 202
Max watts: 491
Work: 2283 Kj
Ave HR: 147
Max HR: 167
Ave cadence: 84 rpm
Calories: 3197

Run stats:
Time: 1:01:20
Distance: 7 miles
Pace: 8:45
Ave HR: 157
Max HR: 165
Calories: 953

The Showdown

Went out this morning and did the Ironman loop. 56 miles. I pushed pretty hard and had a great ride. Lots of people out today.

A few miles in, I ran into the Janesville Velo Club on one of their epic rides, so I rode with them for a while until they turned around to head back to Janesville. These guys really rack up the miles. They do a century every Saturday. Unfortunately, Jens is sick today so he wasn't with the group.

Then I was on my own, so I focused on my power output. I tried to keep my watts above 200, which is tough...and tiring. But I was doing it, for the most part, and my average speed was pretty decent for riding a road bike without aero bars. About 20 miles into the ride, I ran into an unexpected hazard: a llama in the road. It was just wandering around until it spotted me. Then it stopped and stared me down. I stopped and stared it down.

There we were in the middle of the road giving each other the stink eye. A good old fashioned showdown. Two mean, dusty cowboys about to gun each other down in front of the saloon at high noon. He wasn't about to back down, and I was...well I was a little scared. I kept asking myself: are llamas mean? What does he want? Are llamas mean?

Finally, as the tension was reaching a boiling point, a car came. Whew. The llama will run home and I will be saved the humiliation of being attacked by a llama. What would the guys at work say? Dennis would surely have some comments. But the llama didn't retreat. It ran straight at me. Not wanting to look like a coward in front of the driver of the car, I got back on my bike and went straight for him. It was on. Like two muscle cars in a high stakes game of chicken, we were throwing it all on the line. This was the moment of truth.

And the truth is, the llamas fear me. I won that game of chicken and have lived to fight another day. But I'm sure I haven't seen the last of that ferocious llama. We'll do battle again some day. That I know.




The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful . I hooked up with a dude from California and some woman who rode with us but wouldn't talk to us. Weird. She sure could climb though. Tore both of us to shreds on the hills. It was a little embarrassing, but I'm not going to let it bother me since I'm not 100% sure that was a woman.

Stats:
Time: 3:05:34
Distance: 56.33 miles
Average Speed: 18.3 mph
Max Speed: 43.8 mph
Average Watts: 194
Max Watts: 841
Work: 2168 kJ
Ave HR: 143
Max HR: 173
Ave Cadence: 84 rpm
Climbing: 2550 ft.
Calories: 3280