Excitement, Self-doubt, & Progress

The Ironman process has been part excitement, self-doubt & progress. I started working with a coach, Jeff Capobianco of Breakthrough Performance Coaching, in November. I had been coached by one of the top coaches in the area over the previous year and made some impressive gains, so making the change was a bit concerning.

Jeff's personality and style of coaching was perfect for me and I was excited from the start. Jeff is a Tri stud who completed Lake Placid last year in 9:48:04... qualified for Kona, etc. etc. He obviously knows how to train and race, so I was really looking forward to working with him.

Over the next several months I experienced a sense of improvement in all three disciplines and that was a great feeling. Then I hit a wall. Times were slower, I wasn't hitting my prescribed power numbers on the bike, and I started to wonder if I was cut out for Ironman.

Then it started to click. You know what was going on? I was getting stronger, but I didn't know it!

On the swim front my times were slower, but Craig said I was swimming better and that it would click. Although I wasn't hitting my numbers on the bike I was pushing harder than I ever had, and I was running distances I had only thought of.

Self-doubt had turned the corner and I've begun to see progress. I've become even more excited! I'm swimming better/faster, I've increased my watts on the bike and I'm running better and longer. I'm pretty pumped!

Up next? A 20 mile run this Sunday..it will be the furthest I've ever run, but I said that last week as I prepared for a 16.

16 was interesting to say the least.... Last Sunday was torrential, so Vin and I decided to run together at the gym. We arrived just after 3:30 only to find out the gym closed at 6, which meant I wouldn't have enough time to finish the 16. At 6:00 p.m. I had run 14.3 and felt that I had to finish, at the very least, to prove I could do it. I decided to finish outside. Mentally I needed to know I could do it. So outside I went in the pouring rain with winds gusting over 40 miles an hour. I ran two miles to make sure I did the 16. The best part about it? My brother followed me in his car to make sure I was safe...only a brother! Thanks Vin.

As I head into another build week, including my first 20 mile run, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes... "Preparation breeds confidence"... My confidence is building as the preparation continues.

Key Workouts

Over the last several weeks we've entered a pretty deep build phase. I've accomplished many "firsts" and I'm pretty psyched about that. I remember a few years ago that running 4 miles was a task. In the last 5 weeks my long runs have been 12, 12, and 14...this week I have 16 miles. My longest run ever!

In addition to the increase in running I've increased my 20 minute power and engaged in some solid workouts... 10 x 2 minutes at 125% of your FTP is definitely a workout! Try it sometime. If you aren't training and racing with power you're missing out. It's the quickest way to get better, faster, and race smarter.

I continue to make progress on the swim front as well. My 100 time is coming down a bit and my technique is coming along.

The home front is still solid. Most of my training is done early a.m. (5:00 a.m. forward) so the "damage" is minimal. I know that the weekends will start to get longer, but I'm fortunate to have a wife that gets "it". She is super supportive and I can't thank her enough.

Thankfully the annoying injuries have been kept at bay, but it's a constant battle. I recently switched to a smaller crankset to see if I can take the "kink" out of my hip, so we'll see how that goes. So far so good...

Equipment... Parlee TT, Zipp Disc with PowerTap, 808 front, Aerodrink, X-Lab rear mounted hydration system, Blue Seventy Helix (for now), & Fit Werx kit.

More to come

What do you want to know?

Ok, I'm not good at blogging. Every time I think about writing I feel like I need to have some motivating, inspiring post with substance. I don't just want to blog for the sake of blogging. I'm not a writer, I'm a lover. I'm sure my wife would disagree... ha ha ha. I guess I'm decent at making fun of myself. Anyway, what do you want to know? Do you want to hear what I'm struggling with? Do you want to hear that I'm kicking *ss during certain workouts? I don't know.... well I do know. I have writers block!!!!!! So that's it... here's my new post. Live life to the fullest...have fun... and work your ass off. It's really that simple. Love baby.. .Love!!!!

A Monkey, Guitar, Flamingo & more

Tomorrow I'll be capping off a pretty solid week of training. Not a huge amount of hours, but some great intensity. I’ve been asked about my training, so I want to give you an idea of what my key workouts were this week.

Swim:
On Thursday Coach Lewin of the North Shore Swim Club switched things up a bit. We started with our usual warm-up and then he tossed a toy Monkey, Guitar and Flamingo into the pool and formed a triangle of sorts. The goal was to practice sighting and rounding the “buoys”. It was fun and it was a nice change of pace. We still put in plenty of swim time too.

Bike:
Coach Cap of Breakthrough Performance Coaching had us working hard this week. Some solid VO2 Max Intervals. They HURT! Keep in mind, these aren’t every week. If you are concerned or don’t have an understanding of when or how to do these workouts email Jeff.

jeffrey@breakthroughperformancecoaching.com


Bike 5' VO2 Max Intervals
Type: Bike
Planned duration: 1:30
Warm Up: 15' @ 65% FTP including 3 x 1' @ FTP and then 1' all out. Soft pedal for 5' and then get into the main set.
Main Set: 5 x 5' @ 115% of FTP (5' rest @ 65% of FTP)
Cool Down: Remainder of ride @ 65% FTP

Run:
Coach Cap gave us a tough run workout too. If done right you hate life and then love it because you know you worked your butt off!

Run Fartlek Pyramid 1'-4'
Type: Run
Planned distance: 6.0 miles
WU: 2 mile @ E pace, 4 x 20" strides (20")
MS: 1' (30"),2' (1'),3' (1:30),4' (2'),3' (1:30),2' (1') ,1' Run hard! Try to keep effort consistent. Learn to pace yourself and run with good form.
CD: 2 miles @ E pace

Additional Workouts:
Right now I’m also doing weights to build some strength and prevent injury.

Overall… so far so good.