The eight of cups

After reading a recent Active.com article about splitting up your long run, I thought I might start tapping into the longer bike rides in much the same fashion. It comes down to the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day and there is nothing you can do to change that. A long ride of 40/50+ and 100 miles will take me over 3 hours and who has that amount of time, or daylight for that matter?

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Should-You-Split-Your-Long-Run.htm?cmp=11-4463&utm_source=sendible&utm_medium=feed&page=2

Today I tried it out. I attended a gut wrenching hour long spin class at 6am with the rest of the either married with kids moms, 9-5ers, and tri junkies. The class consisted of 2 major hill sections and intervals of 1-2min burn outs. Off the bike and dripping with sweat I then proceeded to hop on the treadmill for 2 miles at 7:30 pace.

I went to work and put in my hours of eight with my TPS reports and such, until cosmic order was once again restored from me shaking it up so hard.

I then hit the Cherry Creek Path on my newly installed tires. I got fed up with all the flats I've been getting that I decided the best option was to replace those. In doing so I went from a width of 25 to 23, a bit apprehensive at first but in the end I didnt really notice a difference and at this point my legs were in no mood to test them out to their fullest (yea take it up with management!). I only had time for 10 miles after I found that the path was under construction and couldnt find a suitible alternative route.

Following that I joined the Runners Roost Run club weekly night run from the Denver store for a 4 mile loop at once again 7:30 pace. A much better showing this week on my block day final workout. Today was the first time I've done a double block workout and I was hoping for a longer total ride (more then the 30 miles or so that I project I did), but in all it will get me used to being active for longer periods of the day and theres always tomorrow/next week.


"May the road rise to meet you, and the wind be always at your back"

30 days out!!!!






Perfect Practice: Train to Race

By Amanda McCracken
D3Multisport.com

Vince Lomabardi once said, "Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect." When applied to triathlon training, you might ask yourself, "Am I preparing myself to race my best? Am I doing workouts in practice that train my mind and body for race conditions?" The following, by category, are race simulation workouts you might consider using to get race ready.

Swim
So you have a goal time in mind for your swim split, right? Have you practiced that pace? Try the following workout to not only test the reality of your goal but also to remind your body what it will feel like.

Warm-up thoroughly

Determine race pace: If you want to do a 1000 meter swim in 15 minutes, your pace/100m will be 90 seconds. The following will be done at the 90 second pace. We call this "T-pace" for time trial or threshold. The goal of the workout is to maintain an even pace even as the distances increase. If possible, try to make the last 4 x 100's faster than the first set...as if you are coming "home" stronger than you went out.

Main Set: 4 x 100 at T-pace (10 second rest), 2 x 200 (15 second rest), 1 x 400 (20 second rest), 2 x 200 (15 second rest), 4 x 100 (10 second rest).

Cool down adequately

Bike
How many of us go to a race never having ridden the course? RIDE THE COURSE! Get a feel for the curves and hills and pavement. Are there any pot holes or tight turns? Where are good places and bad places to pass? Practice accelerating from the bike mount line. Practice attacking the hills (mentally and physically) and maneuvering safely during the downhills.

Try the following for a simple way to simulate race surges during a race on the bike:

1.Choose a riding partner that is stronger than you on the bike
2.After warming up for 20-30 minutes, begin a fartlek workout on the bike based on your partner's choice of surging
3.For 30 minutes, your partner will throw in random surges that force you to pick it up for 30 seconds to 1 minute at a time in order to keep up. The entire 30 minutes should be done at just below race pace.
Run
One of the best ways to simulate running at the end of a triathlon is to practice running fast on tired legs.

At the end of your long run, try to finish the last 10 percent of it at race pace or 20 seconds slower than your goal pace. For example, if your goal is to run your 10K in your next Olympic distance triathlon in 44 minutes, shoot to run your last 9 minutes of your 90-minute run around 7 minute pace.

The following is another race simulation workout that forces you to try to maintain a hard effort after pushing yourself at race pace:

After adequately warming up and stretching, run one mile at hard effort, RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) 7-8/10, 5K race pace. Then run 2 x 800 or 4 x 400 at the same pace.

Bricks
Swim to Bike (at open water site if possible): This is a great opportunity to check out your gear

1.Set up transition area with appropriate equipment and race nutrition.
2.Warm-up to cold water: Do gradual bobs and 5 minutes of swimming.
3.Swim 10 minutes at close to race pace and exit water.
4.Practice running through sand, stripping off wetsuit, and transitioning to bike.
5.Mount bike and ride at RPE of 6-7/10 (or HR zone 3-4) for 15-20 minutes before settling into a 60-90 minute ride in which you keep your heart rate in zone 3 and some zone 2.
Bike to Run

1.Bike 45 minutes at an easy to moderate pace. End at a track where you can conveniently leave your bike and where you've safely stashed shoes.
2.Practice transitioning off the bike into your shoes.
3.Do one mile just below goal race pace. If you want to run your Boulder Peak 10K in 50 minutes
(~8min/mile pace), shoot for an 8:20 mile on the track
4.Jump back on the bike and do a 2 mile loop at race pace.
5.Return to the track and do an 800 at goal race pace
6.Continue the 2 mile ride / 800 meter run 3 more times
7.Cool down on the bike 30 minutes.