Today was my medium swimming and bike day and after it is all said and done it was a pretty good workout day. I felt really strong in the pool and despite my legs being tired in the first half of my bike ride I was able to press forward and cut nine minutes off my time from last week.
Got into the pool and did 1,100 yards today which was 100 more than last week. I did the same workout except I added a 100 freestyle at the beginning. I think what I am going to try and do is tack on another 100 before my set work for the next couple of times to try and build up more endurance. At the beginning of last week I was only able to do one 100 at the beginning and today I was able to do three of them so I know I am going in the right direction.
After my 100's I did the same set work with 50's. I started with 50 freestyles and did three of those and then did three kicks, three pulls, and finished with three more freestyles. I ended the workout with another kick, pull, and two more 50's. I went harder today than I did on Monday but I felt really strong, especially in my legs, so that was a really good thing.
The bike was a little harder than I anticipated. I was only going to go about 87 minutes today but I ended up going 1:37:32 and did 24.35 miles. That was pretty good for me seeing that last Friday I did 25.58 miles in 1:48:11 so essentially I cut off about nine minutes on my race distance today and that is always a good thing. I would like to be able to do that in about 1:15 or better but with the race still a few months away I think I am feeling pretty good cutting that time.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
OT Training 6.3.14
Today was a pretty easy day with a weight workout and a short run.
The weight workout was chest and triceps and went about as well as I thought. I have been trying to keep higher reps since that is going to help me in my training more than going heavier weight with lower reps. That is what I usually do but I want to make sure to keep my reps between 12-15 and not overdoing it since I am training so much.
The run was pretty simple. I went and ran in Natrona Heights by the Anytime Fitness I go to. Overall I went 3.91 miles in 32:30 and I kept things pretty simple. My splits (every mile) were in the mid-8:00 mark and at the end of the run I know I still had some juice left. With this being an easy day and my legs still being pretty sore from the weekend I thought it was better to keep a slower pace and keep things easy.
I think overall I would like to have an eight minute pace for the run portion of my race so for almost four miles keeping an 8:18 pace today and still feeling good I think I am on the right path. The adrenaline will kick in with other racers around me on race day and that will give me a little extra push so I feel pretty good about where my running is right now.
The weight workout was chest and triceps and went about as well as I thought. I have been trying to keep higher reps since that is going to help me in my training more than going heavier weight with lower reps. That is what I usually do but I want to make sure to keep my reps between 12-15 and not overdoing it since I am training so much.
The run was pretty simple. I went and ran in Natrona Heights by the Anytime Fitness I go to. Overall I went 3.91 miles in 32:30 and I kept things pretty simple. My splits (every mile) were in the mid-8:00 mark and at the end of the run I know I still had some juice left. With this being an easy day and my legs still being pretty sore from the weekend I thought it was better to keep a slower pace and keep things easy.
I think overall I would like to have an eight minute pace for the run portion of my race so for almost four miles keeping an 8:18 pace today and still feeling good I think I am on the right path. The adrenaline will kick in with other racers around me on race day and that will give me a little extra push so I feel pretty good about where my running is right now.
Monday, June 2, 2014
OT Training 6.2.14
After missing my easy swimming and biking day last week I was back at it again today. I should be able to get in a full week of workouts this week which would be something I haven't been overly able to do recently. Before I went out today I made sure that I was sticking to the plan I had and it turns out that I was a week off. The distances I was supposed to do this week I actually did last week. So, in turn I think I am going to repeat my workout from last week and get myself back on schedule. I guess that gave me some extra work but who knows if it really meant anything.
I started with swimming today and ended up doing 1,000 yards in the pool. It took me a little over a half hour to do which was a little slower than how long it took me to do the same distance on Friday. That wasn't really a concern for me as I focused a little more today on my technique. In talking with some people that have watched me swim at the pool they have said I am using too much upper body when I swim and that I am not using enough legs. This is getting me more tired on my laps and not letting me get enough out of my swim.
Anyways, I worked on closing my finger on my hand and keeping my upper half quiet and pulling more when my stroke comes through the water. I have been really "punching" the water and with my fingers spread apart it is not helping me pull my body, therefore making me use a lot more energy than I need.
I was able to focus on that a little more and use my legs to generate some more power and I think it went pretty well. I kept my same schedule as I had on Friday with a little variance. I started with a pair of 200 freestyles followed by my regular rounds of 4x3 sets of 50's with swimming, kicking, pulling, and swimming. I then finished with a 50 of kicking and pulling and a pair of 50 freestyles.
I went down to the trail for my bike ride. It went pretty well as my average speed was as fast as it has been in some time. I ended up going 16.3 miles in 1:06:13 which averaged 14.8 mph. Pretty much the same story as every time I am on the trail, the first half of the ride was a gradual uphill where I averaged about 13.5 mph but on the way back, which was more downhill, I was averaging around 16.5 mph.
Solid workout today. My legs were pretty sore from my run yesterday but as I have said before a lot of this is mental as well as physical so it is good to power through these when I don't feel like exercising.
I started with swimming today and ended up doing 1,000 yards in the pool. It took me a little over a half hour to do which was a little slower than how long it took me to do the same distance on Friday. That wasn't really a concern for me as I focused a little more today on my technique. In talking with some people that have watched me swim at the pool they have said I am using too much upper body when I swim and that I am not using enough legs. This is getting me more tired on my laps and not letting me get enough out of my swim.
Anyways, I worked on closing my finger on my hand and keeping my upper half quiet and pulling more when my stroke comes through the water. I have been really "punching" the water and with my fingers spread apart it is not helping me pull my body, therefore making me use a lot more energy than I need.
I was able to focus on that a little more and use my legs to generate some more power and I think it went pretty well. I kept my same schedule as I had on Friday with a little variance. I started with a pair of 200 freestyles followed by my regular rounds of 4x3 sets of 50's with swimming, kicking, pulling, and swimming. I then finished with a 50 of kicking and pulling and a pair of 50 freestyles.
I went down to the trail for my bike ride. It went pretty well as my average speed was as fast as it has been in some time. I ended up going 16.3 miles in 1:06:13 which averaged 14.8 mph. Pretty much the same story as every time I am on the trail, the first half of the ride was a gradual uphill where I averaged about 13.5 mph but on the way back, which was more downhill, I was averaging around 16.5 mph.
Solid workout today. My legs were pretty sore from my run yesterday but as I have said before a lot of this is mental as well as physical so it is good to power through these when I don't feel like exercising.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
OT Training 6.1.14
First workout of June. It is weird, it feels like May just started and here we are already through 31 days. May went crazy fast. Well, Saturday was my off day and what I decided to do on my off day was drink a lot of alcohol. I am not a guy that gets hungover so that wasn't really the problem but I was super tired today. I typically like to get my run done earlier in the day but today my run didn't happen until about 3 p.m. That really wasn't a big deal, but today it was hot.
The heat wasn't overly terrible but when you are dehydrated from a night of drinking it doesn't make things any easier. It also didn't help that I didn't really drink any water before I ran and I forgot to take water with me. I ran into town and had my car dropped off there so it's not as if I could drink water when I got finished. I had no quarters in my car and the best I was able to do was get an empty bottle I had in the back seat and ask a gas station to fill it up with water. Meh, whatever. I drank 32 ounces of water in approximately 10 seconds.
The run was pretty good overall though. I think I was supposed to go 54 minutes today but with the weather and my blood sugar levels going a little low towards the end of my run (due to my diabetes) I was only able to make it a 50 minute run. Like I said I went from home into town and the run is mainly a downhill run but there is two hills that I wanted to tackle. The first hill is a gradual raise and the second hill is a much more significant one that I haven't been able to finish before.
Like I said I have always had a problem with pacing and by the time I hit that hill I usually couldn't make it the entire way up since I was already spent from running too hard at the beginning. Today I was able to tackle the hill easily so that made me feel pretty good. My pace was still a little too fast for my liking but it wasn't as bad as it has been before.
I would like to get my first two miles around 7:45 or so but I think I can live with this today. I ended up going just over six miles on the run. I think I would have liked to get a little farther but that is part of the process. I have been really slowing down my pace in hopes of being more consistent in my runs so as long as I continue to do that I will be able to build up my milage.
Tomorrow is an easy day with swimming and biking so back at it for another week.
The heat wasn't overly terrible but when you are dehydrated from a night of drinking it doesn't make things any easier. It also didn't help that I didn't really drink any water before I ran and I forgot to take water with me. I ran into town and had my car dropped off there so it's not as if I could drink water when I got finished. I had no quarters in my car and the best I was able to do was get an empty bottle I had in the back seat and ask a gas station to fill it up with water. Meh, whatever. I drank 32 ounces of water in approximately 10 seconds.
The run was pretty good overall though. I think I was supposed to go 54 minutes today but with the weather and my blood sugar levels going a little low towards the end of my run (due to my diabetes) I was only able to make it a 50 minute run. Like I said I went from home into town and the run is mainly a downhill run but there is two hills that I wanted to tackle. The first hill is a gradual raise and the second hill is a much more significant one that I haven't been able to finish before.
Like I said I have always had a problem with pacing and by the time I hit that hill I usually couldn't make it the entire way up since I was already spent from running too hard at the beginning. Today I was able to tackle the hill easily so that made me feel pretty good. My pace was still a little too fast for my liking but it wasn't as bad as it has been before.
I would like to get my first two miles around 7:45 or so but I think I can live with this today. I ended up going just over six miles on the run. I think I would have liked to get a little farther but that is part of the process. I have been really slowing down my pace in hopes of being more consistent in my runs so as long as I continue to do that I will be able to build up my milage.
Tomorrow is an easy day with swimming and biking so back at it for another week.
Friday, May 30, 2014
OT Training 5.30.14
Today is probably the most intense day of the week for me in terms of training. It is my long swimming and bike day and I stepped it up pretty significantly on the bike and added a little more in the pool.
I started again with my swim and got in 1,000 yards which was 100 more than I did on Wednesday. I pretty much did the same workout as Wednesday except that I added a little more on to the end. I started with an easy 100 freestyle followed by 4 x 3 sets of 50's that went swimming, kicking, pulling, and swimming. After that I went with two 50's of each the kick, pull, and freestyle.
On Wednesday I basically go this workout done in 32 minutes but today I was able to get things done in 26 minutes. I was able to cut some time as I didn't take as long of rests between my 50's. I was taking about 20 seconds between each and that is a good bit less than I usually do. It was good that I did that to bump up the intensity of my workout and left me feeling pretty good about how I am progressing in my swimming. I am still not really able to go in really long distances but I think I am starting to get there and my breathing is getting better and so is my technique. That is important stuff.
The bike ride was a long one. I went on the trail and was ticketed for about 107 minutes of riding. All told I did damn near that long as I rode for 1:48:11 and went for 25.56 miles. That is just a bit over what my race distances is going to be so it was good to see that I was able to get that far.
Since I went a good bit farther it gave me a better look at the elevation. I start my ride in Freeport at the beginning of the trail and go towards Butler. As I have said before the ride to Butler is much more uphill on the way back and all told I climbed about 560 feet before the halfway point and then I started to work my way back.
While I am able to complete the full bike ride after my swimming I still have a ways to go. I would like to cut about 20-30 minutes off my time and get my bike ride portion done in 1:30 or under. That is ideally where I want to be and right now I am not there.
Day off tomorrow then back at it on Sunday.
I started again with my swim and got in 1,000 yards which was 100 more than I did on Wednesday. I pretty much did the same workout as Wednesday except that I added a little more on to the end. I started with an easy 100 freestyle followed by 4 x 3 sets of 50's that went swimming, kicking, pulling, and swimming. After that I went with two 50's of each the kick, pull, and freestyle.
On Wednesday I basically go this workout done in 32 minutes but today I was able to get things done in 26 minutes. I was able to cut some time as I didn't take as long of rests between my 50's. I was taking about 20 seconds between each and that is a good bit less than I usually do. It was good that I did that to bump up the intensity of my workout and left me feeling pretty good about how I am progressing in my swimming. I am still not really able to go in really long distances but I think I am starting to get there and my breathing is getting better and so is my technique. That is important stuff.
The bike ride was a long one. I went on the trail and was ticketed for about 107 minutes of riding. All told I did damn near that long as I rode for 1:48:11 and went for 25.56 miles. That is just a bit over what my race distances is going to be so it was good to see that I was able to get that far.
Since I went a good bit farther it gave me a better look at the elevation. I start my ride in Freeport at the beginning of the trail and go towards Butler. As I have said before the ride to Butler is much more uphill on the way back and all told I climbed about 560 feet before the halfway point and then I started to work my way back.
While I am able to complete the full bike ride after my swimming I still have a ways to go. I would like to cut about 20-30 minutes off my time and get my bike ride portion done in 1:30 or under. That is ideally where I want to be and right now I am not there.
Day off tomorrow then back at it on Sunday.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
OT Training 5.29.14
Today was a weight train and run day. The goal for my run was to go between 40-45 minutes. The training plan had me going 42 minutes but as we all know when you go out running you sometimes can't control when you stop, especially when you run out and back.
The run went pretty well. I went on the trail again and even though there was some leftover rain falling I was able to stay dry (from the rain) and made the run in 45:43 and covered 5.68 miles. This was a little bit slower of a run as I completed it with a 8:03 pace but overall I felt pretty good on the run.
I was able to keep a pretty solid pace between 7:50 and 8:05. I was a little better with my pace today and wasn't really going too fast or slow from mile to mile and in the end it made for a pretty good run.
The lift was pretty good. Went with a back and bicep workout and mixed in some different lifts. I can tell it is working because I am pretty tired and sore already. I usually don't get sore until the the next day and the day after that but if things are working then it's cool.
I was pretty wiped out after the workouts though. I took a nap when I got back and then went to run some errands and came back and took another quick nap. Something about me today is off as I am extremely tired. Hopefully that wears off tomorrow as I have a long swim and long bike ride.
The run went pretty well. I went on the trail again and even though there was some leftover rain falling I was able to stay dry (from the rain) and made the run in 45:43 and covered 5.68 miles. This was a little bit slower of a run as I completed it with a 8:03 pace but overall I felt pretty good on the run.
I was able to keep a pretty solid pace between 7:50 and 8:05. I was a little better with my pace today and wasn't really going too fast or slow from mile to mile and in the end it made for a pretty good run.
The lift was pretty good. Went with a back and bicep workout and mixed in some different lifts. I can tell it is working because I am pretty tired and sore already. I usually don't get sore until the the next day and the day after that but if things are working then it's cool.
I was pretty wiped out after the workouts though. I took a nap when I got back and then went to run some errands and came back and took another quick nap. Something about me today is off as I am extremely tired. Hopefully that wears off tomorrow as I have a long swim and long bike ride.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
OT Training 5.28.14
Today was my medium workout day for both swimming and biking. Since I missed my short day I really tried to push it a little bit and after realizing that I have one less month to train I ramped things up pretty significantly, especially on the bike.
I started off with the swim and did 900 yards today and did the exact same workout as I did for my long day on Friday last week. If you don't remember back a few days I started off with a 100 freestyle for a warmup then did four sets of workouts. I did three 50's of freestyle followed by kicks, pulls, and then finished with another freestyle set. I did each of those three times with two "sprints" and one "easy". I followed that up with a 50 kick, 50 pull, then a pair of 50 freestyle.
Overall it was 900 yards and I felt pretty good. I am still not strong enough to start doing 100 freestyle more than one or two times but my breathing is getting better and I was swallowing less water today. I think for my long day on Friday I am going to do 1100 yards but at minimum I will do 1,000. Increasing by 100 each time in the pool is somewhat of an unofficial goal for me and so far I have been able to do that pretty well. Of course I didn't increase by 100 today but I still got a lot of good swimming in.
After that I transitioned into the bike. My goal today was to go for about 85 minutes which was actually five minutes farther than my long bike was on Friday. Instead of just going on the trail I decided to get some hill work in today and it kicked my ass. My first couple of miles were strictly uphill and while I finished my bike with an average speed of 13 mph the first couple of miles were right around eight or nine which kind of tells you that I was working hills. I thought I was going to have to stop and turn around before I finished a couple of the hills but I was able to push through and get them done which was a nice mental workout for me.
Overall I went 19.68 miles in 1:31:03. I did finish up on the tail after I worked the hills so it was the typical finish that I went about 12-13 mph while I was going towards Butler and on the way back that bumped up to closer to 15-16 mph.
My legs are shot. The Pirates are on. Couch time baby!
I started off with the swim and did 900 yards today and did the exact same workout as I did for my long day on Friday last week. If you don't remember back a few days I started off with a 100 freestyle for a warmup then did four sets of workouts. I did three 50's of freestyle followed by kicks, pulls, and then finished with another freestyle set. I did each of those three times with two "sprints" and one "easy". I followed that up with a 50 kick, 50 pull, then a pair of 50 freestyle.
Overall it was 900 yards and I felt pretty good. I am still not strong enough to start doing 100 freestyle more than one or two times but my breathing is getting better and I was swallowing less water today. I think for my long day on Friday I am going to do 1100 yards but at minimum I will do 1,000. Increasing by 100 each time in the pool is somewhat of an unofficial goal for me and so far I have been able to do that pretty well. Of course I didn't increase by 100 today but I still got a lot of good swimming in.
After that I transitioned into the bike. My goal today was to go for about 85 minutes which was actually five minutes farther than my long bike was on Friday. Instead of just going on the trail I decided to get some hill work in today and it kicked my ass. My first couple of miles were strictly uphill and while I finished my bike with an average speed of 13 mph the first couple of miles were right around eight or nine which kind of tells you that I was working hills. I thought I was going to have to stop and turn around before I finished a couple of the hills but I was able to push through and get them done which was a nice mental workout for me.
Overall I went 19.68 miles in 1:31:03. I did finish up on the tail after I worked the hills so it was the typical finish that I went about 12-13 mph while I was going towards Butler and on the way back that bumped up to closer to 15-16 mph.
My legs are shot. The Pirates are on. Couch time baby!
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