Training Journal 8/10/2009
Last modified on 2009-08-11 02:05:10 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
BACK IN THE SADDLE !! 5.6 miles running no problem and not out of breath and body feels great. Glad to be finally done with being sick !!!! Did good time and ready for the tri on Saturday. I will be ready for a new pair of running shoes after this weekend. I think I have run my 300 miles in these.
Training Journal for 8/9/2009
Last modified on 2009-08-11 01:57:18 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
14 Miles on the bike at a pretty good pace. Calves are sore from jump roping yesterday. Lungs and cardio feeling better and no cough today. I think I will be fine for the tri on Saturday. The bike feels great with the new higher seat post. No back pain any more.
I have been doing more ab work out in the past couple days to make sure I do not get any cramps. Seems to be working.
Training Journal for 8/8/2009
Last modified on 2009-08-10 23:00:09 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Ok, found the lungs again. Leg strength excercises then I jumped rope for 30 minutes and swam after ward for 15. I think I am finally over the cold. Much less coughing. Feeling better. I slept for 9 hours last night and took a nap today. I think my body needed the rest after being sick.
Training Journal for 8/7/2009
Last modified on 2009-08-10 22:57:14 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Wow. I ran 1 mile and was totally out of breath. I don’t know if it was the sun or being a sick the week before but I had no energy to train. I am getting worried cause I have the tri coming up in less than one week. I rode for a little on my bike, too but I just had no energy. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
Training Journal for 8/5/2009
Last modified on 2009-08-06 01:28:12 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Back in the saddle. Bike for 14 miles at a steady tempo after taking sick leave for a few days. I think it is an upper respiratory infection that got me. Feeling much better today than the past for days. I have 10 days until the next triathlon on August 15, so I am focusing on getting better and maintaining pace for the next. So for each of the next 4-6 days I will keep up with cardio and stretching. I don’t know how the next tri is going to go, but I am up for the challenge.
Training Journal For 7/28/2009
Last modified on 2009-07-30 21:26:31 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Ran sprints up the hills. It was great excercise but wore the legs out. I have been on travel, and got sick. Coughing lots and a very sore throat. Nose is stuffy. It will pain me, but I need to rest for a couple days.
Training Journal for 7/27/2009
Last modified on 2009-07-28 04:03:57 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Holy crap did I run some hills today. There is a big difference between hills in Florida and hills in Arlington, VA. The Custis trail in Arlington is really well maintained and lots of people riding and running. 6 miles in total. It would be a great ride if I had the bike. The hill worked the hell out of the hips and the quads. Felt great and I will be out there tomorrow.
The path was great and a portion was lit. Very nice.
Training Journal for 7/23/2009
Last modified on 2009-07-25 12:18:27 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Hot Hot Hot; I ran when I got home from work and the heat wore me out. I trained pretty hard this morning, but it was hot. I got through 5.6 mile in 1 hour but I stopped a couple times to walk. I got through it, but I need to learn how to take the heat a little better. Normally I run when it is cool, but the triathons are in the morning which can bring the heat. Its a little difficult time wise to run in the morning with kids, but I need to get used to the heat. On the last mile of the run it clouded over and I regained some energy, but the heat was a factor.
Training Journal for 7/23/2009
Last modified on 2009-07-23 14:08:02 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Leg strength exercises. Using the ball for squats, pushups adn ab work is great. My legs are getting stronger !! For squats I put the exercise ball on the wall and lean on it and then do squats. 4-5 sets until burn out. I like using the large exercise ball because if gives me support (6’5″) and I can work with it. In the morning I did a 6.5 mile sprint on the bike. As fast as I can go. Tonight I will run 5.6 miles. After tonight’s run, I will add two more miles on two the run. 8 miles is the new goal. I am getting up early on Saturday to go to the West Orange trail to do the 8 mile run. They have good markers there so I can track my time.
I am not following the training guide 100% just because of time, but I am getting workouts in where I can. Its been a busy couple weeks.
I have not seen any scientific evidense that shaving your legs will make you a faster athlete, but I did that last night. I used an electric razor and I have to say, I have good looking calves.
Training Journal for 7/21/2009
Last modified on 2009-07-22 12:57:51 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
15 miles on the bike with some new routes. I am searching for more hills to climb in surrounding neighbor hoods. There is a section of the west Orange Trail that I normally don’t ride at night. But last night I went down the spooky path. I did ride pretty fast, so it was a good sprint. Nothing like fear of the boogie man to get your speed up. For the last 4 miles, I did my running route so more hills there. Legs are feeling good and going to run 6 miles tonight.
Training Journal for 7/19/2009
Last modified on 2009-07-22 12:50:46 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Ran 5.6 miles at a good pace. The lungs are doing good and I didn’t feel winded at all. Ran the whole way without stopping. (Except to cross the street). I like the route because there are some flats, but probably a third are hill. Long and steady hills, but I like the extra work out. The muscle in the upper part of my thigh where the legs meet the torso started to hurt a little at the end. I may need to work out that area a little more to strengthen that muscle. I do think the increased miles on the bike are helping the running. I ran 5.6 in 1 hour, so I am a little slower than I want to be. I need to push my self some more. 26.2 miles here I come.
Friend of mine told me this trick about running down hills. Run like a duck with your feet pointed out. It gives you a little more balance and prevents you from stumbling down the hill.
Found some great training videos that show you how to work your core and stretch: http://www.runnersworld.com/quickandstrong
These are the excercises that a marathon runner does (2:13) Pretty good
Training Journal for 7/18/2009
Last modified on 2009-07-22 12:51:07 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
24 miles this morning on the bike. Legs are feeling good. The west orange trails are really nice. Got out to Winter Garden. The whole trail is 19 miles one way but I bike just a section of it. My front tire got a little low, so I may have a leak in it.
I may try to do the whole thing from start to finish and back tomorrow. Total of 35 miles. I’ll need to leave at 5 in the morning to get it done. I’ll start at the Apopka Vineland out post, go to mile 19 and then back to mile 1 then back to apopka. The trail is really nice and there are full fledged stations with bathrooms along the way.
Training Journal for 7/16/2009
Last modified on 2009-07-22 12:51:15 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Family was over tonight so I could not run but I did ab exercises and stretching. Here is the list of exercise:
- Leg raises: Stand and lift one leg so your thigh is parallel to the floor with your calf perpindicular to the floor. Then rotate you leg out, keeping your thigh parallel to the floor. This works your lower abs out.
- Ball back raises: Get one of those large exercise balls. Lay with your stomach on it, brace yourself with your hands and lift your legs. It works out the lower back.
- Medicine ball twists: I learned this when I used to box. Hold a medicine ball in front of you. Keep your trunk and abs tight and twist using your legs. This is a little bit of an advance move, because you need to keep you torso and abs locked and move with your legs. Check out the video below to see how it works. The keep point is to keep your torso firm using your abs and twist with the medicine balls.
- Medicine ball back swings: Hold the medicine ball above your head and then lower it down to your feet. Be very careful doing this. Start off without a medicine ball. This works the back but lighter weight is better. The back muscles are very small.
The ab workout is to help with the running cramps
Training Journal for 7/16/2009
Last modified on 2009-07-22 12:51:27 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Ran 5.6 miles tonight on a new route. Need to find another 1/2 mile to make it 6. Cardio was good, but the run was a little slow. I need to do leg strength exercises, because it felt like I was pushing the limits and needed to protect the knees. Lots of stretching tonight to keep the body in shape.
I was getting bad cramps in the stomach for the whole run which slowed me a little. In addition to the leg strength I need to work the abs 3 days a week to build strength. Smell from the waste transfer station wasn’t that bad. Good run over all and keeping on track to run the Disney Marathon in January. Found a good link on helping with the cramps. 26.2 miles. Keeping my eye on the prize.
Training Journal for 7/15/2009
Last modified on 2009-07-15 20:19:47 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
I got home late last night and didn’t train so I Biked and Ran this morning. It was great. Hardly any traffic and the roads were alot safer. I usually train at night; although the danger element is fun, the training is more focused and I can go faster. I did 8 mile bike ride with as many hills I can find. Then a 1.5 mile run with hills. Training in the morning frees up time at night for the wife and kids. It will be an adjustment but it looks like 5:00 is the good time to train. With the nights less bunched up I either to “two a days” or relax a little. I think I’ll use the extra time at night for leg strength training / stretching. No sure if I was faster in the morning but the training felt better because I could get it done without having to worry about the kids, or work. (Yet)
The only bad part is, I pass by a waste transfer facility that stinks to high hell to get to the hills. It will just make me stronger. 
Here was an interesting article on running on different times of the day.
Training Journal for 7/14/2009
Last modified on 2009-07-15 20:03:19 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
To quicken my pace on the sprints, I am doing two events each time I train. Today I bike for 10 miles at avg 17-19 mph on city streets. Lots of stop and go but kept the pace up. Lungs feeling good. Then I ran for two miles but go aweful craps because I ate a bananna between bikeing and running. (NO BANNANAS NEXT TIME, JUST WATER)
A Sprint Triathlon in under 60 minutes
Last modified on 2009-07-13 00:53:19 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
The first triathlon was to see if I could do it. The 2nd triathlon I wanted to shave 10 minutes off my time. I was able to cut 7:00. Now I want to complete the next one in under 60 minutes.
From the first race to the second I have improved. The most important one that I see is the 10 min mile average. I cut about 1 minute per mile off the average. For the bike and running I cut 4 minutes off. The swimming was reduced by 1 minute. I lost time in the transition from the previous race. The physical training I am doing is working.
| Race | Overall | Gender Place | Division Place | Swim Place | Transition 1 Place | Bike Place | Transition 2 Place | Run Place | Run Per Mile | Final Time |
| June 20th Sprint | 267 | 177 | 35 | 235 / 8:44 | 244 / 3:13 | 236 / 30:10 / 15.9 | 239 / 1:32 | 288 / 35:06 | 11:20 | 11:18.43 |
| Clear water July 11th | 204 | 138 | 21 | 162 / 7:39 | 227 / 3:14 | 131 / 26:28 / 18.1 | 316 / 3:15 | 239 / 31:23 | 10:08 | 1:11:57 |
| The NEXT RACE | 86 | 74 | 6:41 | 2:40 | 24:54 / 19.3 | 1:05 | 24:43 | 8:00 | 1:00:01 |
I want to be under 1 hour total time for the next race: Here is the plan:
- Cut the swimming transition time down to 2:00. There is a sprint from the water to the staging area; then I need to have everything setup and ready to go. In the last two races, I put on shorts and shoes, but I need to find a way to make this quicker. It might be worth it to swim in bike shorts to reduce time. I may loot at getting shoe laces that are quick tie instead of regular.
- Shoot for an average of 20 mile an hour on the bike. More leg strength training is needed. I will start to increase the weight training on the legs.
- Making the 8 minute mile. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew, but running is my weakest point. I cut 1:20 off my running average, so two minutes in 4 weeks could be done with the right leg strength training.
So that is my simple plan. 60 minutes. Its gonna be some heavy training for the next few weeks. I love this stuff.
Leg Strength and Sprints
Last modified on 2009-07-08 12:46:15 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
I am slowing down the endurance excercises this week in preparation for my 2nd tri this weekend.
For leg strength I do 3 excerices:
- High Bench Steps
- One Leg Squats
- One Leg hop in place
These really work the muscles and I can “feel the burn.” They are simple excercises, but I have noticed the increased strength almost immediately. Click here to see the details.
After wards I did uphill sprints the the neighbor hood. My mantra is “I like hills, I like hills.” Hills really build the muscles. My legs are a little sore this morning, but this is great prep for the tri this weekend (7/11/2009).
