After such a busy and solid week last week I definitely did not make sure I got my recovery in. By tuesday I was flat on my back with a nasty cold. I was out for a couple of days and did a little bit here and there when I had the energy.
I was hoping to get some good work in this week and be on great form for ESCAPE next sunday but sometimes things don't go as planned.
Swim 6,500 yds
Bike 3.5 hrs
Run 10 mi
2/11 - 2/17/2012
This was the first super solid week I have had since my break in the winter. I put in a lot of really solid sessions, working in that sweet spot of being tired and sore but putting up great numbers just the same. Even under much busier conditions than I usually have, with more work hours, I got all the stuff I wanted in.
I am glad to back to a place where I am fit and ready to put some of my limits up for testing. Personally I get really anxious about doing enough training or working hard enough and it is always a relief to me to hit some good indications of fitness.
It is two weeks to ESCAPE and I feel good about my form with that coming up.
Swim 15,900 yds
Bike 10.25 hrs
Run 38 mi
I am glad to back to a place where I am fit and ready to put some of my limits up for testing. Personally I get really anxious about doing enough training or working hard enough and it is always a relief to me to hit some good indications of fitness.
It is two weeks to ESCAPE and I feel good about my form with that coming up.
Swim 15,900 yds
Bike 10.25 hrs
Run 38 mi
2/4 - 2/10/2012 Hour Postal Swim
After the 10k on Sunday I could have used some rest but I had promised Joel that I would do the hour postal swim so on monday morning I went to the pool early to set up for the swim. For anyone who has not done the one hour postal, it is a really cool challenge and a good early season test of where your aerobic base is at. Joel and Yuta and I had been talking about strategies and stuff so I was kind of excited to give it a go.
I set out very slow and even, keeping my stroke rate low and letting a rhythm establish itself. I kept track of the 500 splits by watching the clock for the first 2000 and then when it looked like I was on pace to swim just over 5000 I popped my head up at the 30 minute mark to make sure I was right on 2500. I was so I stopped tracking splits, turned off my brain and just focused on maintaining the same feeling and same effort level on each lap. Starting out comfortable ended up making a big difference in the last 10 minutes and I descended the last several 500's. I swam one lap over 5000 yds which was my goal, so I was very happy about that.
I worked monday night though and I was toast the rest of the week so I have been taking it easy and the next two weeks will be the big push to get fast for Alcatraz...3 weeks from today.
Swim 11,400 yds
Bike 8.25 hrs
Run 14 mi
I set out very slow and even, keeping my stroke rate low and letting a rhythm establish itself. I kept track of the 500 splits by watching the clock for the first 2000 and then when it looked like I was on pace to swim just over 5000 I popped my head up at the 30 minute mark to make sure I was right on 2500. I was so I stopped tracking splits, turned off my brain and just focused on maintaining the same feeling and same effort level on each lap. Starting out comfortable ended up making a big difference in the last 10 minutes and I descended the last several 500's. I swam one lap over 5000 yds which was my goal, so I was very happy about that.
I worked monday night though and I was toast the rest of the week so I have been taking it easy and the next two weeks will be the big push to get fast for Alcatraz...3 weeks from today.
Swim 11,400 yds
Bike 8.25 hrs
Run 14 mi
1/28 - 2/3/2012 & Super Bowl 10k
This week I backed off the volume a fair amount and did a lot of speed work. I wasn't doing a huge amount of fast stuff but each workout I was focusing on a couple of either really fast or really hard efforts. I really felt great focusing my training this way and I definitely want to shift the focus of my regimen more in the direction of quality rather than volume of aerobic work. My body seemed to respond well and I felt good.
On sunday I did the Super Bowl 10k, put on by the Santa Cruz Track Club, which I won last year and find to be a good event to test where my fitness is at and blow out the first race effort of the year. I found a couple of super speedsters before the event, my Buddy Julian as well as Aaron Jakobson the running coach for UCSC XC and I knew these guys had been putting down some monster speed at the track so I looked for them from the start. Stefano Profumo was also in the field and I know he is capable of running well under my best times at any distance.
From the gun the pace was quick, Julian and Aaron went straight to the front with Stefano hot on their heals. They were running fast and I was just trying to keep smooth to stay with them without blowing my legs out...it is always hard to tell early on if you are going to be able to hold a pace and we blew through the first mile at 5:20. After that we settled in a little and they held a really strong tempo for the next two miles 5:27 & 5:33.
At the turn around we spread out a little and Aaron really started to push the pace...we went torough mile four in 5:20 again and that cracked Stefano and Julian a little. I told Aaron there was a gap and we rolled together for the next mile to consolidate the lead. Mile 5 was a solid 5:30 and we started playing a little cat and mouse, trading surges on all the small risers. With about 1k to go Aaron started turning the screws and ramping up the pace little by little. We finally topped out at about 400 meters to go and I surged hard to see if that was all he could take but he didn't fade. I popped and with him coming back up I told him to go for it and that he had done a great job. With the fade in the last 200m I finished about 5 seconds behind in second place but in a spectacular 10k time for me 34:02...which I think is my PR.
It was so awesome running with such a strong and steady group of guys and I had a great time. There were far fewer people at the event this year and so there was a lot of food left over so I loaded up the car and stopped by the Homeless Services Center, dropping off 10 doezen bananas and 15 dozen bagels! Now all we need is for the 49ers to win the Super bowl and this is going to have been a fucking fantastic day!
On sunday I did the Super Bowl 10k, put on by the Santa Cruz Track Club, which I won last year and find to be a good event to test where my fitness is at and blow out the first race effort of the year. I found a couple of super speedsters before the event, my Buddy Julian as well as Aaron Jakobson the running coach for UCSC XC and I knew these guys had been putting down some monster speed at the track so I looked for them from the start. Stefano Profumo was also in the field and I know he is capable of running well under my best times at any distance.
From the gun the pace was quick, Julian and Aaron went straight to the front with Stefano hot on their heals. They were running fast and I was just trying to keep smooth to stay with them without blowing my legs out...it is always hard to tell early on if you are going to be able to hold a pace and we blew through the first mile at 5:20. After that we settled in a little and they held a really strong tempo for the next two miles 5:27 & 5:33.
At the turn around we spread out a little and Aaron really started to push the pace...we went torough mile four in 5:20 again and that cracked Stefano and Julian a little. I told Aaron there was a gap and we rolled together for the next mile to consolidate the lead. Mile 5 was a solid 5:30 and we started playing a little cat and mouse, trading surges on all the small risers. With about 1k to go Aaron started turning the screws and ramping up the pace little by little. We finally topped out at about 400 meters to go and I surged hard to see if that was all he could take but he didn't fade. I popped and with him coming back up I told him to go for it and that he had done a great job. With the fade in the last 200m I finished about 5 seconds behind in second place but in a spectacular 10k time for me 34:02...which I think is my PR.
It was so awesome running with such a strong and steady group of guys and I had a great time. There were far fewer people at the event this year and so there was a lot of food left over so I loaded up the car and stopped by the Homeless Services Center, dropping off 10 doezen bananas and 15 dozen bagels! Now all we need is for the 49ers to win the Super bowl and this is going to have been a fucking fantastic day!
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I may have had a lot of coffee...
Swim 14,800 yds
Bike 8 hrs
Run 30 mi
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