Week 1 of IMTX Training

All in all it was not a bad week of training for me until I got to Sunday.  I had to switch out my long run and long bike this weekend based on life.

I like to do my long runs on Saturday so that my legs are fresher than doing them the day after a long bike.  Oh well no big deal.

So, set out to do 18miles of running with the wife as she is training for the Austin Marathon in a few weeks.  The run was going well until mile 6-7 then I started feeling something going on with me knee.  This was not a new feeling and I knew it was trouble but not wanting to let my wife down I kept going. The pain of course did not go away.  We were employing a run/walk program every mile like there were aid stations and finally around mile 10 or so the wife noticed me limping while walking.  So, we "discussed" over the next mile the smart option of my stopping the run.  Which I did :( .

This is now the second time in three weeks and the second long run in a row that I have had to stop due to this knee issue.  I have had knee issues since college and I do not know if they are cut out for long distance running. I have ran a few half marathons with the wife and have done a Half Ironman all with no knee issues but all the sudden I decide to train for an Ironman and help my wife train for a marathon and my knees have decided they wanted to age 30 years or something. Needless to say this is really bothering me because I feel my fitness is getting better but my body is not letting me do the long distance running I need to not only be successful at Ironman but even to complete the Marathon at the end of that beast.  The pain slowly comes up and then it cripples me and it is tough to even walk.  It is now Monday the day after my legs have almost zero soreness (note: my fitness is good) but my knee is still in pain.

I do not want this to be me.

I am going through the internal struggle now on how to proceed.  I am going to talk to a ortho friend of mine and seek support from my network of friends, family and coaches to try to get through.

 

First Hurdle On My Path to IMTX

Well today I hit my first hurdle on my way to Ironman Texas.

My 1 year old decided that he needed to wake up at 2am last night and with that the wife and I also woke to take care of the poor guy.  Still no clue as to what was wrong with him but better that than something actually being wrong.

With that and a couple other minor things I did not make it to the pool for my second/last pool session of the week.  I did however get in 15min using bungee cords working on dryland swim drills I got from Coach Troy see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVUBIXi5JM0&lr=1.

This is not a picture of me this morning but a pic of Conrad Stoltz the Xterra beast but this is one of the exercises I did.

I think I will start adding this more often to help with my technique and strength in the water.

So, I might not have cleared the hurdle but I also did not fall on my face. Something is always better than nothing.

I am however going to nail my interval run today to help make me feel better.

Ironman Texas Training

Ok, Ironman Texas training starts today.  I have my plan done through middle of April when I get retested at Third Coast Training and with their help reevaluate what my focus should be going forward into the race on May 19th.

I am super apprehensive and super excited all at the same time.   It is going to be an interesting journey filled with ups and downs and I hope to chronicle it all here.

Today is a scheduled rest day but since last week was vacation and I did only one run, one really good hike and walked a lot each day I will probably get in either a bike tonight or a strength session.

Time to get my diet and training consistent and on track for performance on race day.

Goals:
I am going into IMTX realistic as this is my first Ironman.  I am hoping to break the 12 hour barrier but have people telling me that through my test results I should break 11 hours.  We will see what happens as this is no easy Ironman with super hot and humid weather that saw a lot of DNFs last year.

Strength Training Continued

Strength training is going well and is helping me get back some of the size and definition I lost from the two years I have gone away from it. I also can already tell it is helping keep the nagging issues at bay by having all stabilizing muscles much stronger.

I do not have any data as to how it is equating to triathlon performance but I do know I am enjoying myself, helping reduce nagging injuries and am looking better.

Strength Training

There is always a lot of debate in the world of endurance sports about the benefits of strength training.  There are those that say specificity is key and to get better at swim, bike, run you should use your time swimming, biking and running.  Then there are those who say that weight training can help on reduce the volume needed in endurance sports to get the same or better performance.

I am of the camp that says weight training if done properly and woven properly into a training regime will produce benefits that sole S,B,R will not.  Those benefits being reduced overuse injuries due to your body being able to handle more with it being stronger, less over training, possible more power to unleash in the water, on the bike and on the run and finally a better overall physique.

If weight training is good enough for Lance it is probably good enough for me.  That is a joke because Lance is a phenomenon and we cannot really compare what he does and extrapolate that to ourselves.

In closing I am going to start incorporating some basic workout stuff, crossfit and running into my weight lifting 2 times a week.  This way I accomplish some easy running and build some strength.  I say if you like lifting do not give it up and if you have time and know how to lift properly it really won't hurt and it will get you off the trainer and out of the water for a little while.

Day 5 of 32 Day Challenge

Well we are on Day 5 of Spinervals 32 Day Challenge and I may not still be eligible for finishers medal but I am really enjoying the challenge.

Coach Troy is doing a very good job of mixing up the workouts so that we are not trashed each and everyday. I have been adding extra running and it seems to be going ok as well.  I am doing one speed workout a week to make sure I maintain that and one long run a week with my wife and son in the baby jogger for SAUs (Spousal Approval Units).

It is great having so many people going through the same workouts day after day and it is rewarding to be able to post successes and reassuring to know that in failure people are there to pick you up.

Starting Friday the 9th through Sunday the 18th Coach Troy is going to separate the men and women from the boys and girls.  That stretch coming up is extremely daunting and it is going to mentally and physically going to take a toll but again knowing that others are suffering makes it just a bit more bearable.




Picture from Coach Troy's Blog but might as well be my DVD collection as I now have over 20 Spinervals DVDs.

Day 1 of Spinervals 32 Day Challenge

Well Day 1 could have definitely started better.  First, I had to wake up at 3am and help the wife get up to get some things done she needed to get done for work. Second, about 30min before I was supposed to wake up again and do my Threshold Test I woke up in pain from one of the worst and totally unexplained calf cramps I have ever had.

So, dejected I had to scrap the threshold test as it would have done me no good to plug away at it with a bum calf. So, instead I chose to do an aerobic day which is Day 2 of the challenge. Being that my morning was ruined with a sore calf I decided I would use my lunch break and hammer away the stationary bike in Zone with some cadence changes and a few zone 1 spins.  Below is a picture of me midway through my lunchtime Zone 2 aerobic base building ride.

Yes the picture is bad but my phone needs to be relieved of its duties soon.

Tomorrow morning I am set to knock out a threshold test.

So, I think I have already failed the challenge and its day one, but with the baby, my wife's schedule and my own schedule I do not think I would have hit all the workouts anyway.  This though does not stop me from continuing and seeing what % of the workouts I can hit over the next 31 days.  My realistic goal is to miss less than 4 workouts.  I will also do my best to not conveniently make those missed workouts be Tough Love and Hardcore 100.

Well lets hope the body recovers from the random cramp and I can put up some decent numbers tomorrow morning.  Hoping to have my Threshold around 250 watts which is 4% growth over my test 2 months ago.