tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40377151763315717932024-03-20T06:04:52.514-05:00Andy's Triathlete TrainingAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-91708971041034508982012-06-11T01:37:00.000-05:002012-06-11T01:37:02.382-05:00Kansas Half IronmanToday was finally the big day. I woke up at 4am and started getting ready. I ate some bananas and drank some protein shake and gatorade. Shari, Mom, Dad and I all showered and packed the car to head over to Clinton Park.<br />
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When we got there, I got everything set up at T2 and then made my way to T1. It was a split transition today, which was new to me. It was very different to have my gear in 2 separate spots but it worked out pretty well.<br />
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At about 6:30, the professional men started and and I was just finishing some of my preparation. As we progressed closer to 7:14, I lined up in the chute to get ready to start. They let us in the water around 7:10 and we had to swim a short distance to the start, where we had to tread water before the started. When they blew the horn and I started swimming, I realized it was probably going to be one of the choppiest swims ever. I was able to use this to my advantage though. At the top of the waves, I was able to look straight ahead and see the buoys. I also counted the buoys before I got in the water so I was able to have a pretty good idea of where I was and how much longer I had. This was probably one of my best open water swims yet. I am glad I spent 15-20 minutes practicing my sighting at Longview Lake last weekend. My official swim time was <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/187846656">45:06</a>.<br />
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I got out of the water and headed for my bike in transition 1. I put on my race belt and realized that it weighed more than ever due to the amount of gu's that were in it. I had to stop and tighten the belt before I could leave transition, otherwise the belt would have been waited down so much that it would have been around my ankles.<br />
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The start of the bike ride was some gradual hills to climb out of the park. It took about 5 miles before I got out and was on public roads. The wind was blowing between 15-25 mph from the SSE. The start of the course went SSW so I had a pretty tought head wind or crosswind. I really like the aid stations on the bike. I was able to slow down to 10-15 mph to grab a water bottle and dump it in my Aquacell water holder. Then I grabbed some Ironman Perform Sports drink. It was so awesome to have this access at all times. The miles from 35-40 were the hardest part of the entire race. There were a lot of rolling hills as well as the head wind. When I made that turn, it felt great and I was able to cruise near 30 mph. The hills were great today. I never really felt slow up a hill and passed a lot of people that werent well trained for hills like that. My total time was <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/187846665">2:58:37</a>.<br />
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Transition 2 didnt go as well as hoped. I accidentally missed my row to drop off my bike, so I had to backtrack a little bit. I dropped my bike off, changed my socks, put on my shoes and running hat and took off. On the way out of transition I stopped and had some of the volunteers put suncreen on my neck and shoulders. It was awesome that they had this available for us.<br />
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Then I took off for the run. I had pretty good idea that my run was going to be slow and get hotter as the day progressed. I started off mile 1 and 2 pretty strong. I ran then both under 9 minute miles. At the mile 1 aid station though, one of the girls was giving out coca cola a dI didn't hear what she said it was, so I grabbed soem and gulped it down. I didn't make that mistake again the rest of the run. The start of mile 3 was basically he start of the only real hill on the course. I definitely slowed down a little and that ended up being my new pace for a while. Meanwhile, I was hitting every aid station for water, gu, perform and ice in my hat. I walked through some aid stations to get everything I needed and fill my hat up with ice to keep me cool. It worked really well and even though it was hot, I never really felt overheated. At the end of the first 6.5 mile loop, I was still feeling good but slowing getting slower. My last 6.5 miles were all just over 10 minute miles and I continued the same strategy, as I fueled the entire way at every station. My offical time was <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/187846665">2:06:33</a>.<br />
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My goals for today were a 45 minute swim, sub 3 hour bike ride, sub 2 hour run and sub 6 hour half iron man. I accomplished all of this except the sub 2 hour run. My total time for the day was 5:56:36. I placed 45/95 in my age division and 316/808 in the men's category. To be in the top 50% of both is pretty awesome. I also beat today's course average by nearly 30 minutes! The average time was 6:23:46.<br />
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Some of the best parts of the day were the support I got from everyone that came out to watch. My dad, mom, Shari, Colleen, Karen and Kevin all came out for the start of the swim. I saw pretty much all of them at the end of the swim and as I was leaving the transition area to head out for 3 hours of riding. When I got back, they were all there again and I THINK I heard Reed as well although I never actually saw him. I know he was there though, Kevin vouched for him :). As I started the run, it became very apparent that they were going to be able to see me almost everywhere on the course. My dad ran along side in the grass for at least 8 miles of the race just asking me how things were going and such. It was pretty fun to have someone doing some coaching as you are running. Then I would hear Kevin and Shari yelling at the top of their lungs as I started to approach one of their spectating spots. As I approached I would always see my mom and Karen with them as well, taking pictures and cheering me on. Kevin probably had one of the best comments of the day when he said that I was the only person he saw running instead of walking up the big hill. I told myself a long time ago, I was never going to walk during any of my runs and no matter how much I wanted to today, I refused to walk and finished strong up the hill.<br />
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When I was all done, everyone was there to greet me, including Joe from work and his wife. Joe, for some crazy reason, agreed to receive a big sweaty hug, while everyone else tried to stay as far away as possible. I laid down, stretched my legs, ate some food and got a massage before leaving. It was a pretty long day and I was probably more exhausted than I had ever been before. It was definitely one of the absolute hardest things I have ever done and I have no plans to do another or consider going to a full. At this point, I think Olympic Distance triathlons are the best for me.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-19467790793462503452012-06-09T00:54:00.000-05:002012-06-09T00:54:23.744-05:00Race Day on SundayLast night I had a great bike/run brick to finish off my training before the half ironman.<br />
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I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/186691191">rode for 23 miles</a> at 20.4 mph and then put on my running shoes and ran <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/186691194">a 5k</a>. I felt great doing both and I didn't have any knee problems whatsoever.<br />
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Tonight, I cleaned my bike and got everything all packed up. I am up a little later than I should be but everything is all done now and I am ready to rock and roll on Sunday.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-12326307773510214402012-05-29T22:47:00.001-05:002012-05-29T22:49:39.302-05:00Kansas City Corporate Challenge Bike RaceToday, I raced in my first ever time trial. I got there about 1.5 hours early and slowly started getting ready. I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/183598304">rode on my trainer</a> for 15 minutes. I followed that up with some extra stretching and riding around the parking lot.<br />
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The race started with me on the bike and getting a slight push start. The first mile was very fast and then we hit a little headwind and the only hill on the course. It was tiny but when you are pushing at maximum effort, it feels so much bigger. I cruised past that hill and around the course picking my speed back up. I could definitely feeling my quads yelling at me but I just kept pushing through. I started mile 3 in the same spot that the course started and knew all I had ahead of me was a slight downhill and that uphill. I hammered it hard and <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/183598310">finished the race in about 7:36</a>. I am not sure as to when I started and stopped my watch, so that time will be a little off the official time but it should be fairly close.<br />
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I passed 6 or 7 people along the way and no one caught me at all, so I think my time will be one of the better times out there. We won't get our official results and placing until Wednesday night or Thursday morning though.<br />
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This was easily one of the hardest things I have ever done but it was also one of the most fun. I wish I had worn my heart rate monitor so I could have seen where that was at. From a cardiovascular perspective, the only thing I can compare this to would be wrestling for 6 minutes in High School. From a muscle fatigue standpoint, I don't know that I have ever experience anything like this before.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-59227928977768330342012-05-29T01:30:00.000-05:002012-05-29T01:30:28.513-05:00Longest Ride EverThis morning, I woke up and <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/183217611">ran the Amy Thompson 8k run</a> with Shari. We had a lot of fun and she finished in under 1:15 which was her goal so that was pretty good. We got lots of pictures and videos along the way, so that made it even more fun.<br />
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This afternoon, I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/183217635">rode 63 miles</a>. I rode from my house to Martin City. I met Kevin, Erin, Aaron, Derek, Reed and Sev there for a 27 mile group ride. Then I rode back home. It was pretty winding riding west towards Martin City so my speed wasn't all that high during that part of the ride, but everything else was pretty fast. This was my longest distance I have ever ridden and it was wonderful. It started off pretty hot out but cooled down a little by the time I was done.<br />
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I missed posting a couple workouts on here, but I am not going to go back and update them.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-35152257316578383542012-05-23T11:04:00.000-05:002012-05-23T11:04:53.490-05:00Yesterday's RunI ended up taking Monday off and it was pretty nice to not have anything that day.<br />
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Yesterday, I woke up with the intention of swimming and just kept thinking about how much I hated that open water swim on Sunday so I said screw it and went back to sleep. I hope when I wake up tomorrow, I can get past that and go swim.<br />
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In any event, I had a sweet <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/181085204">quality run</a>. I ran 6 intervals of .5 mile at about a 6:30 pace for each interval. I warmed up and cooled down with a 1.5 mile run as well so I got in over 7 miles. I will be interested to see what I can run a 5k at now. I would think I would be really close to my dream of running running sub 20.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-71343671943036739762012-05-21T00:18:00.000-05:002012-05-21T00:18:04.633-05:00KC Tri Race ReportToday was the KC Triathlon. It was an international distance triathlon so that means .93 mile swim, 25 mile bike ride and 6.2 mile run. <br />
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I started off in the water at 8:07 and very quickly came to the realization that I really don't like swimming in a wetsuit very much. I also came to the conclusion that I don't know how to swim in a straight line. This is readily apparent by looking at <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/180256170">my version of the .93 mile swim</a>. I went about 1.1 miles in a nice zig zag pattern the whole way. I also manage to drink a small amount of lake water and that didn't help. When I got out of the water I felt pretty miserable and was just excited to get out of the wetsuit and start riding.<br />
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<a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/180256174">Transition 1</a> went pretty poorly because when I got to my bike, some idiot was just sitting in front of my bike taking off his wet suit. I told him to get out of the way so I could take off my wetsuit and get riding.<br />
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The <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/180256180">25 mile ride</a> went really well. I was comfortable the whole way and rode just under 21 mph. I am pretty familiar with the course so that helps. I feel like I could have ridden a little faster but I am not entirely sure how much faster. I was really happy with the bike time though.<br />
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<a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/180256192">Transition 2</a> went better but I tried something new today. I decided I was going to change my socks. I wore my bike socks on the ride and I wanted to wear running socks on the run. I don't really think this helped me too much and their wasn't much difference in comfort, so I will probably just stick with running socks on bike and run from here on out.<br />
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The <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/180256194">6.2 mile run</a> to finish went extremely well. Almost every mile was faster than the previous and I felt awesome the whole way. I don't know that I have ever had a negative split before and to have done it after swimming and biking and by such a significant amount was awesome.<br />
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My official time was 2:39:50. I completed the swim in 31:26, T1 in 3:24, bike in 1:13:32, T2 in 2:16 and the run in 49:14. I placed 23/52 in the male 25-29 division. However, looking back on it, I should have registered as a Clydesdale since I weigh over 200 lbs (203 lbs this morning to be exact). If I had done so, I would have placed 5th in the Clydesdale division and would have qualified for the Hyvee Championships in September.<br />
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Great day overall though. This was my longest endurance event to date and probably one of my best. 20 days until Kansas Half Ironman.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-57132469247778825142012-05-18T11:28:00.000-05:002012-05-18T11:28:18.422-05:00Yesterdays workoutsYesterday, I got to the pool in the morning for a <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/179065792">1500 yard straight swim</a>. Everything felt good, it just seems to take so long to swim that far when you are used to doing intervals and breaking things up.<br />
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Last night, I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/179253770">ran 4 miles</a> but my knee started to hurt slightly at mile 2 so I slowed up and took it easier for the last 2 miles. It wasn't bad but I don't want it to bother me this weekend.<br />
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When I woke up this morning it was was a little sore but it feels better now that I have been up and walking around on it. I am debating on riding tonight again just to avoid any extra irritation but we will see what happens after work. Riding doesn't seem to cause any problems.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-16165489021489652162012-05-17T00:27:00.000-05:002012-05-17T00:27:08.720-05:00Awesome 27 mile rideI got on the bike tonight for the first time since Sunday after I had a bad ride. Tonight was awesome though. I rode out to Longview Lake and rode 1 loop of the KC Tri course for this weekend and then came home. I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/178922452">rode 26.79 miles</a> at 20.9 mph.<br />
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I am going to be swimming in the morning for the first time since I hurt my knee so hopefully it doesn't cause me any more problems in the morning.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-36983883882282321132012-05-13T22:59:00.000-05:002012-05-13T22:59:11.758-05:00Not a good day to rideThe weather was great outside but nothing else was really in my favor today. I got on the bike and could tell that I ran hard yesterday but that wasn't going to stop me. After 2-3 miles, I realized that my cadence sensor wasn't working and my speed/distance were jacked up. I had forgotten that when I swapped my training tire back off, I needed to readjust the cadence sensor so it wasn't always picking up the magnet. I just turned off the sensor and kept riding.<br />
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After about 5 miles or so, my back tire started to freak out and I realized that it had gone flat. When I pulled off the tire and looked at the tube, what appeared to be a small metal pin had punctured my tire and tube. I didn't feel like risking the possibility of geting stranded 20 miles out without another tube so I decided to head home. I wouldn't have cared if I was with a group or I was going a shorter distance but 50 miles with no spare tube scares me...<br />
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In any event, I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/178006930">only rode 10 miles today</a>, but I got in quite a bit of stretching as I am getting ready for KC Tri this upcoming weekend.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-31196469177527909562012-05-12T21:14:00.000-05:002012-05-12T21:14:33.512-05:00Running with the Cows Half MarathonI <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/177408234">ran the Running with the Cows Half Marathon</a>. My time was 1:41:34 which was a new PR. I was running running ahead of the 1:40 pack until mile 10 when they caught me. I knew they were coming since I made the turn at mile 6.5 so it was really only a matter of how longer until they caught me. My splits today were great, other than mile 13 for some reason. I am not really sure what happened there. The only thing I can think of is that I checked out mentally since I was still 1 minute behind 1:40 but I don't remember feeling like I really slowed down ever and my legs felt good.<br />
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I went over to the gym this afternoon and went swimming to finish up the day. I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/177435209">swam 1000 yards</a> at 1:45 min/100 yards. When I was on my last lap, I remember thinking to myself that I would be happy if I finished in under 20 minutes so to finish in 17:35 was awesome. I am hoping I can maintain that pace for my triathlon swims because that is a great speed for me compared to last winter.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-73907802938821942792012-05-11T21:24:00.000-05:002012-05-11T21:24:56.194-05:00Yesterday and TodayYesterday, I had my <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/176896927">quality swim in the morning</a>. It was about 2500 yards total and took just over an hour. The rest breaks between the final interval sets are between 3-4 minutes and they seem like they take forever so I hope this is helping because that was boring.<br />
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Over lunch, I went and <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/176896929">ran 30 minutes on the treadmill</a> as my last prep run for tomorrow mornings half marathon. It was a very steady pace and I didn't try to do too much.<br />
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I took today off instead of riding 20 miles so that my legs could be good to go in the morning. I have the Running with the Cows Half Marathon and the course is fairly flat, so I am hoping that I might be able to run under 1:40 but we will see about that.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-47935365935709504022012-05-09T23:26:00.000-05:002012-05-09T23:26:30.702-05:00Second Quality Bike RideTonight, I stayed indoors on my trainer. I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/176600429">rode for just over 90 minutes</a>. I thought the trainer would make it easier to get my heart rate up for the interval rides but I am starting to doubt that now. I think I will try to get back outside next week and find a hill that I can do repeats on to get my heart rate where I want it.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-90614037765061134002012-05-08T23:26:00.000-05:002012-05-08T23:26:14.504-05:00AM Swim / PM Quality RunThis morning was my long swim of the week. I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/176089082">swam 2500 yards</a> with the main set being 10x100yards with 15 seconds between each set. I swam each set between 1:38 and 1:42. I didn't feel as good as yesterday but that could be some fatigue from the 1300 yard warmup. Regardless, I was really happy with the times I was able to put up for the main set.<br />
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Tonight was my second quality run workout. I added another interval to my run tonight so I ran 4 intervals of 1/2 mile with 1/4 mile recoveries. I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/176306150">ran 6.16 miles</a> total and each of my half mile intervals were between 6:23 and 6:36 per mile. All of my intervals were faster than last week and I even got in an extra one. Overall, this was a sweet workout as I don't know that I have ever really run that fast for a half mile.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-71023592271259963422012-05-07T22:35:00.000-05:002012-05-07T22:35:37.916-05:001500 yard swimI was supposed to swim and bike today but due the past two days and my bike being completely dirty from riding in the rain yesterday, I decided to just swim and clean up my bike tonight.<br />
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I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/175993776">swam 1500 yards</a> after work. The main set was a straight 800 yards tonight. I felt great the whole set and managed to swim at a 1:45 min/100 yard pace. This was one of my fastest swims ever, especially over this distance. If I could swim at this pace for the whole half IM, I would be thrilled.<br />
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Then I got home, ate some dinner and took apart my bike for a full cleaning. Its amazing how much better it looks now. The rain and grime really did a number on it yesterday.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-90141906636981782342012-05-06T21:44:00.000-05:002012-05-06T21:44:25.579-05:00KCCC Triathlon TryoutToday, I had a tryout for the Cerner's Triathlon team for the Kansas City Corporate Challenge. We didn't do a swim leg but instead added and extra 4.5 miles on the bike to make up for it.<br />
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It was a little cloudy to start and it had been raining on and off throughout the day. But the temperature was good and the weather was almost perfect.<br />
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I showed up a little later than I wanted, so I didn't get a change to get all the way warmed up but I was still feeling pretty comfortable considering what I did yesterday. The bike course was 3 laps around Shawnee Mission Park. It spanned <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/175623739">13.59 miles</a>. I averaged 20.2 mph. During lap 1, I was still warming up a little bit. Lap 2 went pretty smoothly though and I felt great the entire time. At the start of lap 3, the rain started coming down. I had to slow a bit down hills just to make sure I didn't lose traction or anything but I still kept a pretty good speed throughout.<br />
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The <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/175623745">transition from bike to run</a> took just over a minute so that was good.<br />
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To finish up, we had a 2.4 mile run to do. It was in my favorite kind of weather as well. The rain was really coming down now and I loved every minute of it. I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/175623753">ran 2.39 miles in 19:26</a> to complete the tryout. My total time was just a little over an hour.<br />
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This was only 1 of the 3 tryouts that they had so I can only compare myself to the people there, but I did really well. There was only 1 other person ahead of me on the bike but she slowed down tremendously in the rain and didn't even do the run course because of the lightning. I am pretty hopeful that I will be able to make the team as I didn't see anyone behind me during the bike course and I only saw another guy about a minute behind me on the run and he wasn't in my age division.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-48487183505577771822012-05-05T23:31:00.000-05:002012-05-05T23:31:29.255-05:00Ride/Run BrickToday, I kind of threw together a Ride/Run brick. I have a triathlon tryout tomorrow for the Kansas City Corporate Challenge and I didn't want to ride or run in the morning so I figured why not do them both today :)<br />
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I started of with a pretty good ride. I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/175008337">rode 53 miles</a>. Everything went really well on the ride except when I got toe 291 highway. I looked across the intersection and saw a cop blockade. Apparently, there was a running race this morning and some of the roads were blocked off. This quickly became a fun challenge to find my way around but eventually, I found a route and got back on track. It definitely slowed my started down a little bit but not enough to really matter. I ate 2 clif bars and 3 Gu's on the bike. I also guzzled down all 92 ounces of water that I brought with me (50 ounces in the aquacell and another 42 in my water bottles). I practiced reloading the aquacell with water while riding today too, so hopefully I can do that on the bike course to help with not stopping at the stops.<br />
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Today's transition wasn't as much about speed as it was about trying to rub as much of my sweat on Shari as I could. I also used that time to sit in the A/C for a little bit and cool down before heading back out. I took <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/175008357">about 8 minutes to transition</a>. If I did that at an event, that would suck big time.<br />
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As usual, my run started off too fast. I really want to run a 9 minute/mile for the Half Ironman. I think that is almost the perfect pace for me for that long of an endurance event. I wanted to run 10 miles today but I ended up with <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/175008379">8.25 miles</a>. The heat definitely played a part of that but another big factor was leaving my last Gu at home. I definitely hit mile 4 and reached in my back pocket to realize it wasn't there. When I got home, it was sitting on the stairwell right where I left it :(.<br />
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Today's workout was awesome though. It was by far the longest single workout I have done from a time and distance perspective. I also got outside about the same time I will get on my bike for the half iron man so that helped me see how hot it might be and get used to that. I am not really worried at this point about completing the distance, as I know I can do that. It is all a matter of how fast I can do it. I originally thought 5 to 5.5 hours would be possible but realistically with transitions, I would be perfectly happy with 5.5 to 6 hours.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-13479654097452344402012-05-04T14:23:00.000-05:002012-05-04T14:23:49.326-05:00Yesterday's Run/SwimDue to rain in the forecast, I got up early and ran outside and moved my swim to the evening. I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/174296449">ran 5 miles</a> in just over 40 minutes. It was fairly humid out even that early.<br />
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Last night I got in my first quality swim. It <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/174490873">covered almost 2500 yards</a>. I cut it short on accident though because I thought I was misremembering the training plan. In any event, I got in a lot of hypoxic breathing during it and put up some of my best swim times I have ever had. I swam a couple 100's at less than 1:33 which I have never done before and I also swam several 50s in 40-44 seconds. I will have the training plan right next week. It sure does take a while because of the long rest between sets but you feel so much better during the max effort intervals.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-75525763000212830242012-05-02T23:55:00.000-05:002012-05-02T23:55:38.595-05:00Quality Bike RideTonight was my first quality bike ride. I rode around Longview Lake, thinking that would be a good place to do it but now I think that bike intervals might be better at the airport or on the trainer. It's really difficult to get the terrain right for intervals. I had a couple stop lights and some downhills that messed up my "fast" intervals.<br />
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In any event, I got in <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/174195349">almost 30 miles</a>. The first 10 miles was a nice and easy warmup. I followed that up with 6 intervals. Each interval consisted of 3 minutes attempting to get my hr in the upper 150s or even 160 if I could(didn't happen tonight though) and then 2 minutes of recovery. Then I did a 10 mile cooldown afterwards. This was the first time I have ever done intervals on the bike and I think it could have gone better.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-12986319723984803432012-05-01T21:56:00.000-05:002012-05-01T21:56:42.519-05:00AM Swim/PM RunI pretty well dread Tuesdays because they are always my longest swim days. It wouldn't be so bad either if they were just straight swims, but these swims always have a lot of intervals, drills and other stuff that makes it take longer. Overall, today's swim was <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/173651419">2500 yards</a>. It took almost an hour so I had to get up extra early. At least there is no swim on Wednesdays, so I can sleep in until 7 instead.<br />
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Tonight, I started the first of several "quality" workouts. These workouts are designed to work on speed, working past max hr efforts and working past lactic acid thresholds. This workout was a <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/173882250">run consisting of 3 half mile intervals</a>. I started with a 1.5 mile warmup. Then I did the following set 3 times: 1/2 mile at fast pace (pushing hr as high as I can), 1/4 at recovery pace and 1 minute of complete rest. When I finished this, I ran another 1.5 miles to cooldown and then walk 1/4 mile. I managed to run my intervals at a pretty quick pace at 6:40, 6:50, 7:04 respectively. I definitely got slower each time, but my HR increased higher each time. It was nearly impossible to get my HR into the 160s on the first interval but much easier for the second 2 intervals.<br />
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Tomorrow, I have my first quality bike workout so I am looking forward to that.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-68364652243609641152012-04-30T22:32:00.000-05:002012-04-30T22:32:55.912-05:00Swim/RideI ended up missing my long ride yesterday. It was storming all morning and then we met some friends for lunch and it stopped. I thought awesome, I will ride when I get home. By the time I got home, the storms were back and there was no chance of riding outside. I also realized, there isn't a chance in hell I am riding on my trainer when it isn't winter.<br />
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Today, I got in a <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/173489471">1500 yard swim this morning</a>. My main set was 16x50 and it was a little slower than Saturday's 10x50. But my speeds were still in the 1:35 range and it went pretty well overall.<br />
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When I got home tonight, I took my bike out for a <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/173489503">33 mile ride</a> with an average speed of 20.4 mph (my average moving speed was 21 mph). This was my first ride over an hour at over 20 mph. This also wasn't the easiest ride as I hit almost every big hill in Lees Summit and got in 1800 feet of climbing. The last time I rode this, was last week and I averaged 20 mph with an average moving speed of 20.1 mph.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-57739135371472606062012-04-28T23:01:00.000-05:002012-04-28T23:01:42.615-05:00Thursday/Friday/SaturdayOn Thurdsay, I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/171904681">swam 1500 yards</a> in the morning. The main set was 8x100. That night, I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/172062838">ran 4.75 miles in 40 minutes</a>. The day went pretty well overall.<br />
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On Friday, I was supposed to ride 20 miles but there were some crazy storms in the area on Friday night so that was pretty well out of the question and I didn't want to jump on the trainer. Another rest day during recovery week couldn't hurt so I gladly took it.<br />
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Today, I got in a <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/172509459">10.25 mile run over 90 minutes</a>. It took me about 3 miles to really settle in and put everything into cruise control. I was shooting for between 8:45 and 9:00 pace and I actually got that today. A couple hours after lunch, I went over to the pool to get my swim in. I got my choice of 1000 yard workouts. I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/172635293">swam a main set of 10x50 yards</a>. I had some sweet intervals under 1:30 pace but mostly between 1:30-1:35.<br />
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Tomorrow, I need to ride around 50 miles but the weather isn't looking too good. If I absolutely have to, I will ride on the trainer, but I am hoping the storms miss us and I can get outside in the morning.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-58027067300363713342012-04-25T22:11:00.000-05:002012-04-25T22:11:06.206-05:00Birthday BrickI ended up just taking the day off from schedule workouts yesterday and just ended up playing softball last night. We won both games and it was probably the most fun I have had in a long time. <br />
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Today I got in a ride/run brick. For those of you that don't know what a brick is, it is a training session that involves 2 workouts back to back. This is my first one of the season and it went well overall considering how hot it was. I am also still running on low energy levels from last week as I probably still haven't restored my glycogen stores from last week so that probably makes everything a little harder/slower.<br />
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I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/171785231">rode 33 miles</a> at 20 mph. I rode almost the entire time in the aero bars and really felt comfortable there. I could tell a significant reduction in wind resistance and I am happy to have them. I totally work less when I use them. I took one of my normal "Gu" packs at about the 20 mile mark. I ran out of water/gatorade around mile 27 but I was sucking that stuff back quick today due to heat. Overall, I felt like I had almost the perfect nutrition levels on the bike.<br />
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Then I transitioned to my run. I came in my house and put on my running shoes, drank some water and put on my running belt. I had 32 ounces of water/gatorade in the 4 water bottles on that and I thought that would be enough. I also ate a clif bar and took a different "Gu" pack. I got this one for free this past weekend and it is made from a company called Vega Sport. It is a plant based energy pack and tasted like crap. I also didn't feel like it didn't anything in comparison to my normal Gu packs. The 90 degree heat was bearing down on me from the start and I slowing starting running out of energy and felt like I was overheating. I didn't pick a course that was very well shaded and that showed. After mile 3, I had to start walking a couple times once I got to the shade. My miles times definitely slowed quite a bit but I was determined to finish the 6 miles I started out to do. I ended up <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/171785244">running 6 miles at a 9:22 pace</a>, but every mile was slower than the previous and it was significantly noticeable during mile 5 and 6 as I had to stop and walk a little longer for both of those.<br />
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In all today was really good though. I don't think I will try different energy packs again as I already know which ones work. I also realized I should have taken 3 of them over the course of the workout. It's amazing how different I can feel if I don't properly fuel while I am out there. I also really need to get a visor for running to keep the sweat out of my eyes as well as provide a little protection from the sun.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-5167678341068366392012-04-23T23:25:00.000-05:002012-04-23T23:25:13.468-05:00First day of recovery weekI started off this morning with <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/171253844">a 1000 yard swim</a>. I wasn't trying to go super fast or anything today, just really working on form and technique. That is how a lot of this week will go.<br />
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After work, I was thinking I would ride the Martin City group ride but Shari surprised me by showing up at work for a meeting this afternoon and telling me she was coming over tonight. So, I decided to hit Longview and get my ride in a little earlier. This ended up working to my favor as my left quad started acting up just above my knee. I have had this happen before and it usually just goes away the next day. I ended up cutting the ride in half from 20 miles to <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/171253848">10 miles at a nice easy pace</a>. <br />
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So far, so good but tomorrow morning, I have a 2000 yard swim and then softball after work.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-67551690644117003362012-04-22T21:48:00.001-05:002012-04-22T21:53:35.706-05:00Another Half Marathon, Another PRToday was a big day. I got up at 5am and started preparing for the Kansas Half Marathon. We got to Lawrence around 6:30 and when we got out of the car, I realized how cold and windy it was. It was about 50 degrees with a 15-20 mph wind. We were starting in the shade as well so I am sure it felt even cooler. I left my long sleeve shirt on until I started and then I threw it to Shari when we started.<br />
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I didn't have any idea how I would fair in the race today. I had ridden 60 miles yesterday and ran a pretty tough race last weekend. I decided that I would just run at a comfortable pace whatever that would be (although I had absolutely no intention of walking at any point). During mile 1, I pretty quickly realized that I was going to run faster than last week but not at a 1:40 pace. We hit our first big hill from mile 4 to 5. It was followed by a big downhill which resulted in my fasted mile time from 5 to 6 at 7:13. From here through about 9.5, it was fairly flat and just an out and back route. It was fun to see the winner 2.5 to 3 miles ahead of me as he came back from the route. At mile 9.5, I ran into the biggest test. I turned north and hit a nice 20 mph wind in my face as well as a fairly sharp uphill run. It covered nearly 150 feet over that mile and resulted in my slowest mile time at 8:27. After that hill, it was pretty much downhill and flat the rest of the way. I cruised into the finish and even had enough to sprint at the end.<br />
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My total time today was <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/170906956">1:42:57</a>, which is another PR. This is my second half marathon and second PR in 8 days.<br />
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This caps off the longest training week in my training plan. I covered 163.18 miles over 12 hours, 20 minutes and 57 seconds. Next week is a recovery week as well as my first brick. I am going to ride/run on Wednesday afternoon.<br />
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My next half marathon is on May 12th. By contrast, that race has a total elevation gain of 150 feet vs today's race with an elevation gain of 853 feet. I think that sounds like an excellent course to shoot for 1:40.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4037715176331571793.post-73294038708987167152012-04-21T18:08:00.000-05:002012-04-21T18:08:10.232-05:0015 and 60 mile ridesLast night, after packet pickup for the Kansas Half Marathon, I went to the downtown airport to ride a quick 15-20 miles before the sun went down. I needed a time trial run for the Kansas City Corporate Challenge as I won't be able to make the official Cerner time trial. My legs were a little tight and I wasn't able to go as fast as I wanted to last night so that was a little unfortunate. The wind was also blowing the opposite direction that it normally blows, that wasn't a factor at all but just a little odd. I ended up going <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/170057198">just over 15 miles</a>. I hope my time is fast enough to qualify as I think that would be really fun.
Today, I had to do my longest ride in the training plan. I <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/170372706">rode 60.10 miles</a>. I rode all the miles at the airport as well. Today, my main goal was to learn how to ride in my aero bars and use my aero drink holder, so I chose the flattest course I could think of for that. I spent at least half of the ride on the aero bars. I rode the first 20 miles with Joe from work and we averaged 17.8 mph over that time. When he was done, I stopped and talked to him for a couple minutes before jumping back on the bike to cover another 40 miles. At about mile 39, my Gatorade reservoir ran out so I stopped at my car to refill it and my water (even though the water reservoir was no where close to empty). I ended up average the first 20 miles at 18.2 mph, the second 20 miles at 22.3 mph and the last 20 miles at 21.8 mph for a total average of 20.5 mph. I learned how to ride on my aero bars and use my drink reservoirs successfully as well, so I will take that as a win. I have a few adjustments to make but I feel confident on them and will take them out to Longview Lake on Wednesday for my Ride/Run brick.
There will be no swimming today unfortunately. The pool at work is closed today. I am staying up at Shari's tonight and there really isn't another alternative. I think it will be ok though.
Now, I can switch my focus to the Kansas Half Marathon I am running the morning. 2 half marathons in 8 days? Hooray!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03478005380558509113noreply@blogger.com0