Rules to live by(race Ironman)

http://www.trifuel.com/training/triathlon-training/the-endurance-nation-four-keys-to-ironman-execution

Check out these rules, funny yet soooo true. Curtis memorize these as they will make the difference between a good race and a bad one. This is my fav. part;

"Don't eat the paste. Ironman in general, but especially the bike leg, is at best a special ed class: you only have to show up with your C game to be at the head of the class. If you find yourself doing the opposite of everyone else, you're doing the right thing. If Jimmy and everyone else is in the corner eating the paste, don't join them! Sit down, do what we're telling you, and don't eat the paste! Lots of people passing you in the first 40 miles? That's good, don't eat the paste. Going backwards through the field on a hill? That's good, don't eat the paste."

Thanks Jenna for posting this, I hope you don't mind passing it on.

blah blah

Hey,

I don't have anything too exciting to say. Training is good, solid base phase going on. I'm basically doing as much hours as I can with out being able to ride outside. It's not quite as much as I wanted, but w/e triathlon training never quite turns out as I plan it. Yesterday's swim sucked for Aquaman and myself. I actually got quite frustrated, but as he puts it, "I rarely do have a bad swim" so I won't dwell on it. Got a bike and run in as well on Sunday. Saturday I took a day off even though I didn't really think I needed it. I simply took it cause I felt like it, didn't have too much time in the day before I went to the Flames, plus I hadn't had one in about a month, month and a half. I'm getting better at riding on the trainer, I guess that's good. I'm looking forward to the end of the week when the temps are supposed to go up. Maybe I can get some more outdoor riding in. :) Anyways till next time, cheers and have a good week,

Darryl

LT test

Hey,

I did another LT test today as last times test was not as definate as I would have liked. I know I should go to a lab to do this, but I'm too cheap. I'm also told that by doing this more often the results get easier to see, so I tried it again. This should be it for testing as I'm pretty sure of my zones now. I did the same test I described last time with the treadmill at 3% grade, starting at 6 mph and increasing in increments of .3 mph while taking max heart rates for each speed. Then you graph it and it should steadily rise, then flatten out at threshold and jump back up. The first heartrate where you notice is flatten is your magical number. One good thing I noticed is that I was able to run the whole test at about 8 beats lower then the previous test, on each measurement. The thing that puzzles me is that I wasn't able to run the test any longer, you would think with the lower heart rate I'd be able to do one more measurement, but I couldn't. Here are my numbers;

3% grade
6 mph - 125 bpm
6.3mph - 132 bpm
6.6mph - 137 bpm
6.9mph - 141 bpm
7.2mph - 143 bpm
7.5mph - 147 bpm
7.8mph - 150 bpm
8.1mph - 154 bpm
8.4mph - 157 bpm
8.7mph - 161 bpm
9mph - 164 bpm
9.3mph - 166 bpm

As you can see it kinda flattens out when it only jumps up 2 beats at the end which would give me a AT of 164. The rest of the way up, once it settles down(I got water between my warmup and test, that explains it going up quick at the start) it alternates between 3 and 4 beats increase. With the 164 AT(I estimated the last test to be at 168, but now looking back that may have not been as accurate) I can get the below target zones to use in training, and eventually figure out my pace for the bike. I don't have the luxury of using power so I have to estimate it with this type of a test and my long rides(trial and error).

AT zone1 zone2 zone3 zone4 zone5a zone5b zone5c
164 109-139 140-149 150-156 157-163 164-167 168-174 175-182

Cheers,

Darryl

Ego check today

Hey all,

I had a pretty good riding week and yes my running had to take a back seat as the weather was soooo good. I did one indoor ride, but the rest was outdoors. That gave me 5 rides, 4 of them indoors. I'm so happy, I just wish we could keep up the good weather. I hear tomorrow will be good so I'll take it one day at a time and hopefully get some toe warmers/booties what ever you call em. Scratch that last sentence it looks like we may get some snow boooooooooooourns. Oh well no worries.

On to today's swim, Aquaman rocked the pool today. He's getting closer and closer to me, which is great, I'm super happy for the guy he's swimming so smooth and says he's getting more and more comfortable. However, I have to swallow my pride a bit. Today I challenged him, telling him to draft off of me for at least the pull parts today. He more then accepted the challenge and kept up for most of the work out. It's getting harder and harder to lap him during the work outs, he is one tough cookie. He has said, "I just don't want to fear the swim" and I'm willing to bet he's going to surprise a few people with his first Ironman Swim. GOOOO Aquamannnnnnn.

asthma attack?

Hey,

Wow that was effed up. I just had what I consider a food/asthma attack. I haven't had one in quite awhile. I'd usually get them from eating then running too soon after the meal. Curtis can attest he's seen me at my worst. Somtimes I've been so particular I couldn't even eat 2 hours before I run and I'd get it. I don't know if it's an attack it feels like someone's choking me, I get light headed nautious(however you spell that CHAD!) and am always resorted to walking till it passes. I've gotten it aprox 4 hours after I drank a cup of milk. That's why I believe milk is especially bad for it. Anyways I get home today after the swim feeling on top of the world. I had gotten another outdoor bike ride in today 1:50. My legs and energy level was great. I had my protein powder in milk, then had a meal of lasagna. I get a phone call from Lisa and this thing hits me, again the strangling sensation, nausea, light headed. This time I wasn't even running.... Oh well all is good now, I'm relaxed, just have the aches like I'm recovering from the flu or somthing. I'm pretty sure it's the too much dairy products that caused it, I just haven't had one of those episodes in awhile so I'd kinda forgotten about it. My asthma has been nearly non-existant so it's just weird. Anyone else have this or know of someone where asthma and food do this? I know I'm not alergic, or lactate intollerant since this doesn't happen all the time and I've been drinking milk regularly now with the protein powder. I'm off to bed,

Darryl

A Sunday Treadmill Run

If you need some encouragement to get out the door check out this treadmill video. You gotta crank the sound. It just puts into perspective how fast these guys actually go. Especially when Simon and I think it's Kyle Jones cruise side by side. Two words come to mind,.... SMOOTH, FAST!!

Swim/Brick

Hey,

I had a couple good work outs on Sunday and monday. Sunday was the longest swim I've done to date. I think Aquaman blew his previous record out of the water as well. I did 4300(just under 4k meters) yards and felt great the whole way. Course almost all of it was pull but it still felt great to swim further then an Ironman swim in one work out. We did 6x500 with warmup and cooldown.

Yesterday it was 7 degrees and I was itching to get on the bike again so I went. The weather website said the wind was only 20 km ph but it sure seemed windier then that. Anyways I went out and the wind was strong. Even going with wind my feet began to freeze(I don't have toe warmers or booties). So needless to say turning around into the "20km ph" wind my feet absolutely froze!!!! Oh well getting back to the house I still was happy I got out. I had to turn around earlier then I wanted, but with the stiff head wind my ride ended up being 1.5 hours. I'm also happy to say my bike fitness isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I found out later that the wind was 32 gusting 47 km ph. Anyways I was comtemplating a brick on the way back. So when I had allowed my toes to thaw I put on the running shoes and headed out for a 31 min run. That felt great too. yayyyy my first outdoor brick of the year. Today it's back to the pool.

Darryl

Dinner Time

Hey all you bloggers/lurkers,

I just wanted to share with you my nutritious and deliciousssssssssssss dinner that I had after my 2 hour run. I ended off quite hungry like I know I should be. Hunger after a workout is great, it makes you feel like you earnt it. Then I spent a few minutes in my car talkin to a few friends on the cell phone. You want to make sure you let your body recover at least 20 minutes or so before you get your post work out meal in. For best results wait till after 8pm and make sure it's the first big meal of the day. That way you're especially hungry and have no problem packing down the meal for the day and going to bed with a belly full of food. You're doing nothing in your sleep anyways may as well digest. /shrug Works for me. I'm kinda low of food in the house right now sooooo options, hmmmm I'm hungry what do I really crave??? That's right if you're gonna go out for food you gotta make it good. Make sure I get me enough calories in to cover the full 2 hour run.... and then some. I drove through the drive through, you guessed it MACDonalds!!!!!! Big mac combo for this boy, SUPERSIZED. Got home and wolfed the meal down. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm delicious, and nutritious too.

Ok kidding aside I did have mcdonalds today. I was pretty good(good for me at least) all week, then when the food gets low in the house and I get hungry and don't snack enough before the work out I can't resist the fast food. Oh well I guess it's not all bad, I hadn't had any for a while. Tomorrow's another day, off to the store for some fruit and veggies, almonds, whole wheat bread, I need peanut butter too, I actually don't mind the natural stuff. I don't make too many sacrifices for food, if its healthy and I can handle the taste may as well use it.

Holy crap that picture is gross.

10mins of light thinking with Jordan

Here's a really informative youtube from Jordan Rapp in his prep. for Ironman Arizona. He's been training with the itu Canadian National team.

When is it ok to quit?

Hey,

This is a tough question and will no doubt have many answers. I don't have it all figured out and won't pretend that I do. I guess I do have some things figured out for myself and in this area I'm sure it'll probably be different for everyone. First off I'm not really talking about races more work outs. At what point is it ok to throw in the towel and stop. Some might say NEVER, always finish what you start, if you do quit you'll be more inclined to throw in the towel on race day. First off I'll start with a story.

Back when I was running marathons, not doing any multisport stuff. I had a university coach, he coached the long distance University girls. Long distance on the track is 1500-10000. He had me do some incredibly tough work outs. He would watch me closely and even run behind me at times to watch the form. One particular work out I was feeling tired because of all of the mileage and he asked me about it inbetween sets. I mentioned that I was just plain tired from the miles and from work(construction). He didn't even flinch and told me flat out to just quit the work out. At first I argued, I hate just throwing in the towel thinking I can finish at least. Sure it won't be quality any more, but mentally it just sucks quitting a big work out. His reasoning was that if I'm not getting any benefit out of the workout, just slogging my way through it, then the work out is useless and will only make me more tired for the next quality workout. He would rather me quit, limit the damage, and come back rested for the next one. So he had me do a long lengthy cooldown and we called it a day.

I'll never forget that lesson learned and it applys to my Ironman prep just as it did in my track work. So yesterday when Chad saw me leave quickly out of the gym, I was in fact quitting. No my training hasn't been that hard. Yesterday it was more a mental thing, I just didn't want to be there. Sorry I can't really explain it. I did do squats for the first time in like 15 years and my legs were sore too even though I did lift very little. Sometimes I allow myself to just quit, why do it if I"m not enjoying it. Oh don't get me wrong I often have days where I don't feel like going out for my work out, ie getting out the door. That's completely different, I usually trick myself when I'm not motivated. I tell myself after 15-20 minutes if I still feel bad, unmotivated I can quit. Guess what, I almost never do I always warm up then after 15-20 minutes get into the grove so to speak and keep going feeling great. Track workouts or any tough workouts are different, obviously you're going to hurt in a long set or a 6 hour ride. Do I quit often? NOPE, it happens to me maybe 2 or 3 times a year. Each time I've known that I'm not getting anything out of the work out and my time would be better spent resting and preparing mentally for the next workout instead of sand bagging through the work out. Sure I finished the work out but I run the risk of getting injured, sick, or having a bad work out #2. Not worth it in my books. Anyways there's enough blah blahing for now. Oh and btw I've NEVER dropped out of a race ever so I know it works for me.

canadian national triathlon centre

What a cool cycling video. Apparently Simon Whitfield filmed this while riding beside him. I guess I'm biased since I really like the Hip. But this tune so fits the ride. Makes me wanna go ride.

aches/pains

Hey,

Nothing to major, I just have a kink in my neck since my first ride outside. Although I'm not totally convinced it was actually from the ride. I'm thinking more and more that I just slept funny, cause I didn't have much neck pain after the ride and in the morning it was on the side of the neck. Any seasoned triathlete knows you shouldn't be having pain there. Anyways the second thing that popped up yesterday was a bit of foot pain. I've only felt it one run now although it's odd cause I can't really locate the actual spot of the discomfort on my foot. I just know it happens when I push off... I think. Anyways this is a light week, which is normal I guess. The pains always come out on the light weeks. Not like I was doing a huge amount of running anyways. I wasn't I swear.

Oh another thing all you readers get to look forward to. I'm logging all of my food for the week, who knows I may do it for several weeks. You can all critique it at the end of the week or weeks. I figure knowing I'm posting it all will make me think twice about eating/drinking some of the things I'd normally take. I got the idea from when Greg(possible coach) told me he'd want a 2 week report of my diet and I kinda rolled my eyes. Curtis is very health conscous, Leslie is a nutritionist and I expect some more of you will want to just point and laugh. That's cool, maybe Chad can be the spell checker. :P j/k

As the weather gets better you'll see less and less of me at the gym. Never fear though I'll be training, just more running outside where it's meant to be done. Hopefully we won't get another winter spell and I can bike some more soon. I was going to go yesterday but the wind was gusting 60km and with only plus 10 it would have been miserable. So I just swam and ran after with Curtis. It's interesting talking with the lifeguards, they think we're rock stars for doing all the training. Mean while I keep thinking I'm not doing enough unless I'm tired/sore. Maybe that's why I should be coached. Cheers,

Darryl

First outdoor ride

Hey,



Yes that's right I finally braved the weather and rode outside. I'm a big weiner and I haven't even been running outside too long. I get cold easy so it takes me awhile to get outside. Today it was a balmy 10-11 degrees so I pumped myself up to ride after work. Thanks to the clock change it doesn't get dark so soon. I took my favorite path, it's a path going along the canal to chestermere. I shoulda known there would be construction..... sigh. There was last year too, for most of the summer. You could get around it last year, but you know how construction is it always takes forever. This year they decide to close it right off close to chestermere. I guess I'll be hittin the roads more. aughhh I really like that path as I don't have to ride on roads and don't have to worry about traffic at all. Anyways I managed to get around it going there, coming back I decided to just take the highway since I was running out of daylight. I knew it'd be close if I had no dismounting to get the whole planned route in. It was a good ride and I was plenty warm enough, I actually thought I'd be too warm at first. Later on I cooled off. Maybe I can go again tomorrow, I'll def. take another route. I'm not coughing lots so that's a plus, I do hear weazing though at times. 1:40 was the time with some stops, my computer wasn't working so I don't know the distance. Cheers,

Darryl

Training/Foilman/Swimming

Hey,

How's it going with everyone? Training is going well for me, I'm staying healthy, rested and getting a really good base in. Base I technically only starts March 16, but w/e I'm already getting in a good solid foundation for the 2008 summer. I hope to do lots of cycling as soon as spring comes, please oh pleaseeeeeeeeee give us a early one. I put my racing schedule up, it's not that exciting cept that I entered the arbour lake tri already. Curtis get on that so it doesn't fill up before you can enter. I also proposed a date for the Foilman, I don't really care if it's saturday or sunday. You guys(I'm looking at Curtis, Cam, Trevor, anyone else who is interested) will have to tell me if that doesn't suit and if you prefer another weekend. I just spaced it I think 4 weeks before IMC so our fitness should be fairly good to complete the 112 mile bike and do a run afterwards. I have no clue yet where it would be, but I figured we should set a definate date first. Some of you, well I guess all of you have families I hope we can set a date that works for you all and make sure you keep it free once it's set!!!

I managed to meet my swimming goal. I put my name(runningman75) down on the slowtwitch spreadsheet and I managed just over 40,000 yards(I swim in a yards pool). I did a 1500m time trial on the weekend and managed 25:53, that's the fastest I've ever done with no pull bouy or wetsuit help. I even had to stop twice cause my goggles were leaking at first. So I probably would have been closer to 25 min. With the wetsuit I know I can also swim a lot faster, who knows maybe swim with the lead guys(they swam around 22 min last year) in Arbour lake?? Wouldn't that be sweet!!!

Another FYI if any of you want a good coach, Jaime has said she will coach the next tri clinic at the Y. It'll be starting in April for 3 months tues and thurs at 8:30 pm. We have a wide range of speeds in the grp, so if you're interested and can do a few lengths of free style with out stopping I bet you'd fit right in. Cheers,

Darryl