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.

Swim Update - when will it click?

It's not just mental. I know that I'm getting better at swimming, but it is so frustrating!!! I'm the last one on most sets and I don't understand why I'm not getting "it". Craig says my stroke is getting better, but there are some things I need to work on. I'll get there, but boy is this frustrating. Here is his analysis and the video:

Craig Lewin, North Shore Swim Club:
"Over the water is okay. Not to much to worry about. You need better body roll with the hips and to work on the timing of your rotation. Everything rolls together. Use six kicks and roll, 1 stroke six kicks, and 3 strokes 12 kicks to work on the roll.

Also on your pull notice how you cross over as you extend out and your turn your palm out before you pull. You need to keep the palm down toward the floor not thumb down to the side. This is causing you to sweep out slightly as you pull. The press and release drills and kicking on your side with your arm out front will help you correct this. Once you fix this you will have a better press and a deeper catch and pull. Also you are entering a little too deep so you can bring the hand up a little bit on entry. Your stroke is getting better we really just have to fix the roll and get a little more muscular endurance and power in the lats so you can really start gaining some speed.

Keep up the good work. If you have any questions please let me know."

Video Link: http://www.divshare.com/download/9999549-772

I have to say, Craig is awesome to work with. Super-supportive and he's making me better. It will happen!