Always stick to one subject in a blog or else the reader will lose interest. Well assuming you have some interest in this blog, unlike the poor guy who was sent to my page by google when searching for a rain cover for his mobility scooter, or the guy who was sent here when looking for a falconing glove!!, then I am afraid I am going to cover several topics in one go;
Well done to Holden for his first race of the season.
My coach, Holden Comeau had his first race of the season at the Miami International Triathlon a few weeks ago. I meant to congratulate him earlier on my blog but he finished the Olympic Distance event in a fantastic 1:56:40. Not only was this a PB but it put him in the top 10 pros in a field which included the winner Matty Reed and the US Navy's own stellar triathlete Timothy O'Donnell. I know these are great athletes but the thing that I find most amazing is the swim times which were in the region of 12.5 mins for the top guys, when the same swim distance last year took me 30 mins.
Training Update
My training has been progressing fairly well. I have been using the new HR zones from the last round of LT testing to pick up the pace on my runs. My endurance running zone of roughly 130-140 bpms limited me to some pretty slow paces however I have a much larger endurance zone now and Holden has been pushing me to run at the top end of this zone. I am regularly running near 8 min miles on my endurance runs and keeping my HR under control.
I have also had strides introduced to my program. I am not sure that I am getting them quite right but the basis behind them is to pick up your pace to in excess of 180 steps per minute in short, sharp, faster intervals. By doing this you engage muscles that you do not use on your more leisurely endurance runs but the intervals are so short (about 100m max) that you do not have any residual fatigue. I can certainly agree that they exercise muscles that do not get used very often because my groin is feeling a little tender after a couple of stride sessions this week. The pictures are from my recovery run plus stride session from this afternoon.
My running will get a thorough test tomorrow as I am racing the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. It is a huge event with over 10,000 runners including many elite runners who will be finished around the time I reach half way. The plan from my coach is to push hard and run a fast pace race up at my Lactic Threshold. There are obviously risks with such a strategy as if I overdo it slightly at the start I may 'blow up' (figure of speech for running out of puff before the end). Race Report to follow.
Doing a Lance
I think most Triathletes know this but I am not sure how many non-endurance athletes are aware of the fact that Lance Armstrong was a very successful junior Triathlete before he decided to specialise in cycling alone. Well I am following in his footsteps (apart from the successful Triathlon bit; and the Tour de France victories; and I suppose the fact that I am not really specialising in cycling). I love to watch cycle racing on the TV and enjoy cycling for Triathlon so I have applied for my road race licence. I want to have a go at a couple of road races this year as part of my training and for the experience.
To help me I have invested in some Cadence Cycle clothing which I am assured is good for an extra 2 mph over non-branded clothing and it certainly looks and feels the part. I am also looking at doing some local group rides which will be a bit faster than some of the triathlon group rides. I will definitely keep you updated and hope to secure a place at a race or two (they sell out quick and there are a lot of Category 5 racers, or beginners, like myself, looking for a place). I look forward to the experience with a sense of nervous excitement similar in a way to what I felt before my very first Triathlon. In the meantime here are some pictures of me posing in my new gear.
I know the bike is not my lovely new Cyfac but road racers do not take kindly to tri-bikes when riding in a group as the brakes are not in the same place as the gear levers. I have therefore dusted off my old road bike in preparation for a bit of non tri group riding.
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