Entering my 3rd full week of training in the 18 week plan for 2012 B2B in October. The heat wave doesn't help much at 100+ degrees for most of the past 2 weeks. Nonetheless, I have had fun laying down the foundation for progression. I have amped the mileage back up and tipped 100 miles on the bike (week total) for the first time this year.
I have been using Strava GPS on the iPhone to track my progress and help me monitor my data and I have loved it! It makes keeping track of progress simple and you can go back and look at previous workouts. I have played with many different apps to track and monitor endurance training but this one seems to be the best so far. I link my ANT+ devices to the program and it tracks my HR (and cadence if I want it too) and plots it against other data collected. Makes it simple to see which zone I'm training in an adjust workouts accordingly. I have added the summary of some of my last rides off to the side bar of this page.
Had a great Fourth of July with the family on Wednesday! Despite the heat, we were able to get out and grill and Braden made his racing debut earlier in the morning at the McDougle Middle School track where he ran a 50m "race" and got a ribbon from the Zimmerman boys. It was neat to see how excited he was and fun to be a part of... All the Zimmerman boys were in attendance for the 4 mile race that started before the "little firecrackers" division and I raced it with them after Roger and I bike just under 15 miles TT style just before the start. I was happy with my pacing and felt really good considering that I am still laying the foundation and training is just getting amped up. Let's hope the heat doesn't kill progress...
I'm going to try and stay in AC and keep laying bricks...
Showing posts with label B2B Half Ironman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label B2B Half Ironman. Show all posts
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
I Won't Give Up
Tough times in my struggling return to get back to the health that I had about 6 weeks ago... After almost 4 weeks of complete inactivity (other than lifting to put back on the 17 lbs that I lost in 20 days), I started back up with cardio at the end of last week. This also coincided with the opening of a new location for ActivEdge at United Therapeutics in the RTP. The transition into a new building and splitting my time between two locations has gone relatively smoothly but has left very little time to train. I'm not upset by this, just adjusting...
The problem is, my body is NOT adjusting. After the first several attempts at exercise, I was forced to stop due to increased breathing rates and difficulty getting my lungs back. I kept working and trying to slowly bring things back up to pace and I decreased my expectations to be anywhere near where I was at when I was forced to stop training when my lower right lobe of my lung collapsed with the pneumonia. So, I waited for my friend, and training partner, Michael Zimmerman, to get back into town before I picked back up again this past Monday.
We had a great training session and were able to hard relatively hard for an hour on the bike trainers before running a moderately paced 2 miles on the treadmill. It felt good and I was happy with my breathing. Unfortunately, while we were at lunch I started to get the tingling back in my fingers that was present just before my lung collapsed. Coupled with aniexty and then a poor decision to add the inhaler to the equation to elevate my heart rate even more, I was forced to call the paramedics once my HR was at 210 and BP at 200/110. They talked me down and I went to my doctor later that day and she told me that the tingling was to be expected since my lungs are still recovering and not to overreact and definitely do not add the inhaler to the equation. This gave me some solace and I pushed forward.
Yesterday, after working a full day at the 2 different locations again, I jumped on the treadmill and tried to do some repeat intervals. I was able to get in a few 800's and totaled 5 miles for the night. On the drive home, I started to get the tingling again in the fingertips but this time I tried deep breathing techniques and and was able to get through the discomfort. Made in home safely and felt better.
I still have yet to add back swimming because I don't really want to struggle with breathing in the water. It's been over 5 weeks since my last pool workout, that's going to be ugly when I do get back in. I am now realizing that it's going to be a long road back... and I'm definitely cutting my expectations to be ready for any race this Spring. Will have to wait for the fall... B2B is looming in October and I know I need to pace myself to be ready for that...
Not sure why I'm including this song because the lyrics don't really apply but I've been listening to it a lot while running and it seems to help.
I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz
The problem is, my body is NOT adjusting. After the first several attempts at exercise, I was forced to stop due to increased breathing rates and difficulty getting my lungs back. I kept working and trying to slowly bring things back up to pace and I decreased my expectations to be anywhere near where I was at when I was forced to stop training when my lower right lobe of my lung collapsed with the pneumonia. So, I waited for my friend, and training partner, Michael Zimmerman, to get back into town before I picked back up again this past Monday.
We had a great training session and were able to hard relatively hard for an hour on the bike trainers before running a moderately paced 2 miles on the treadmill. It felt good and I was happy with my breathing. Unfortunately, while we were at lunch I started to get the tingling back in my fingers that was present just before my lung collapsed. Coupled with aniexty and then a poor decision to add the inhaler to the equation to elevate my heart rate even more, I was forced to call the paramedics once my HR was at 210 and BP at 200/110. They talked me down and I went to my doctor later that day and she told me that the tingling was to be expected since my lungs are still recovering and not to overreact and definitely do not add the inhaler to the equation. This gave me some solace and I pushed forward.
Yesterday, after working a full day at the 2 different locations again, I jumped on the treadmill and tried to do some repeat intervals. I was able to get in a few 800's and totaled 5 miles for the night. On the drive home, I started to get the tingling again in the fingertips but this time I tried deep breathing techniques and and was able to get through the discomfort. Made in home safely and felt better.
I still have yet to add back swimming because I don't really want to struggle with breathing in the water. It's been over 5 weeks since my last pool workout, that's going to be ugly when I do get back in. I am now realizing that it's going to be a long road back... and I'm definitely cutting my expectations to be ready for any race this Spring. Will have to wait for the fall... B2B is looming in October and I know I need to pace myself to be ready for that...
Not sure why I'm including this song because the lyrics don't really apply but I've been listening to it a lot while running and it seems to help.
I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
2012 Race Schedule
These are tentative but I have already registered for Little River and the Tobacco Road races. I plan to get my International distance much better this year. Race in a few XTERRA events (although their 2012 schedule has not been posted yet) and get a second crack at B2B:
January 14, 2012 - Little River 10 miler - trail run
March 10, 2012 - Azalea Triathlon
March 18, 2012 - Tobacco Road Half marathon run
April 14, 2012 - Belews Lake Triathlon (will probably sub out Beaverdam for this one once they announce the date)
May 19, 2012 - Over The Mountain Triathlon
During the gap from May to July will add a few XTERRA events and the Independence race in Ohio if they are going to still offer it...
July 29, 2012 - UNC Super Sprint Triathlon
August (late), 2012 - Chicago Triathlon
October 6, 2012 - Pinehurst, Giant Acorn, and Sportsplex are all on the same day - as of now I say Giant Acorn
November 3, 2012 - B2B Half Iron
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
20/12 Vision
So with the end of the season super-sprint at the Sportsplex a few weeks behind us, time to look forward to 2012. I have taken the most of the past 2 weeks off except for an occasional ride with Roger to help him get ready for B2B (which he finished in under 6 hours with brutal winds). The sprint was good for both me and Morven as we both finished top for our age group, but unfortunately, I could not catch Morven on the staggered pool start and she ended up beating my by about 40 secs or so for the overall top Edge finisher. What a rock star triathlete that girl is... Roger and Melissa both had great races as well and rounded out a good day for the Team.
I have started to put the race schedule together and picking the races is one of the fun parts of planning. So far, I think Morven and I will hit the Little River 10 miler on January 14th and the Tobacco Road half-marathon on March 18th. They haven't posted the Beaverdam date on FSSeries yet but we already have a conflict on October 6th with Pinehurst, Sportsplex, and Giant Acorn all on the same day (Morven has us leaning towards the flat and fast Giant Acorn). Considering a 70.3 again for this year, but may just try and keep getting faster at the shorter distances instead.. undecided. If my brother wants to do the Chicago Triathlon with me in late August then that will be my A-lister otherwise I'll make it the half, like B2B or Steelhead 70.3.
As for now, hitting the weights hard and going 3x a week with a 3 week cycle for the next 4 weeks. Will also be adding the swim back this week with a swim focus for the next 10 days. Here's the first week of weights that we have so far:
WEEK 1
Mon (WOD): 3 sets unless noted
Incline BB press at 45 - 10, 8, 6 at 135, 155, 165
Jump rope/leg press SS - 50x on the rope and then together x 10 on the leg press (finished at 4 plates each side)
NG alternating pull-ups from side to side - added 16bs x 12
Walking lunges - 10yds and back w 25lb DB's
SA DB row on the bench - 80lbs x 10 each
Abs on the decline - 10 tosses to the side, side and middle with 5kg
Arnold press at 90 deg - 50lb x 8
Wed (WOD) - HIIT Tabata Style 6x through with 2 mins rest after 3x
1. L push ups left
2. Plank
3. L push up right
4. Seal-ups
5. Jumping slam balls
6. DB step ups left
7. Dips off step
8. DB step ups right
9. KB swings
10. Leg raises in slings
Fri (WOD): 3 sets unless noted
DB bench press - 4 sets (1st as a warm up)
Balance squats with BB on the BOSU x 10
SA alternating cable pulldowns - x 6-8 each arm
Glute/ham raises off bench on ball x 15
Tricep rope OH - x 10
TRX lunge hop x 10 each
BB SLDL - x 10
Rope climb abs on decline - x 30
I have started to put the race schedule together and picking the races is one of the fun parts of planning. So far, I think Morven and I will hit the Little River 10 miler on January 14th and the Tobacco Road half-marathon on March 18th. They haven't posted the Beaverdam date on FSSeries yet but we already have a conflict on October 6th with Pinehurst, Sportsplex, and Giant Acorn all on the same day (Morven has us leaning towards the flat and fast Giant Acorn). Considering a 70.3 again for this year, but may just try and keep getting faster at the shorter distances instead.. undecided. If my brother wants to do the Chicago Triathlon with me in late August then that will be my A-lister otherwise I'll make it the half, like B2B or Steelhead 70.3.
As for now, hitting the weights hard and going 3x a week with a 3 week cycle for the next 4 weeks. Will also be adding the swim back this week with a swim focus for the next 10 days. Here's the first week of weights that we have so far:
WEEK 1
Mon (WOD): 3 sets unless noted
Incline BB press at 45 - 10, 8, 6 at 135, 155, 165
Jump rope/leg press SS - 50x on the rope and then together x 10 on the leg press (finished at 4 plates each side)
NG alternating pull-ups from side to side - added 16bs x 12
Walking lunges - 10yds and back w 25lb DB's
SA DB row on the bench - 80lbs x 10 each
Abs on the decline - 10 tosses to the side, side and middle with 5kg
Arnold press at 90 deg - 50lb x 8
Wed (WOD) - HIIT Tabata Style 6x through with 2 mins rest after 3x
1. L push ups left
2. Plank
3. L push up right
4. Seal-ups
5. Jumping slam balls
6. DB step ups left
7. Dips off step
8. DB step ups right
9. KB swings
10. Leg raises in slings
Fri (WOD): 3 sets unless noted
DB bench press - 4 sets (1st as a warm up)
Balance squats with BB on the BOSU x 10
SA alternating cable pulldowns - x 6-8 each arm
Glute/ham raises off bench on ball x 15
Tricep rope OH - x 10
TRX lunge hop x 10 each
BB SLDL - x 10
Rope climb abs on decline - x 30
Saturday, May 7, 2011
White Lake Half Iron
So the time finally came after weeks and weeks of preparation. We checked in on Friday afternoon and settled into our fairly primitive digs right on the race site. There were 5 of us in the cabin with open air windows and constant noise and light coming in. Morven, Zimm, and I, got their first and stashed our stuff in the back corners and dropped the top bunk to have a double stack on the bottom. While in the line to pick up our race packet, I realized that I forgot my CEP calf sleeves and needed to purchase some at the satellite Inside-Out Sports site. They didn't have my size in the CEP and so I was forced to go with the Zensah's. Similar feel but NOT built for long legs and so my calves were not fully supported but oh well, it will have to do...
Tom and David showed up a little later and we were able to move the cars around so that we were parked right to the side of the cabin. We then headed down near the lake to hear the logistical meeting and ate a nice spaghetti dinner provided by the local White Lake Baptist Church. Even though it was rustic, it was nice to share in a team dinner at our picnic table inside our cabin. It was fun to share stories and to get ready for the mornings adventures together. We took a walk out to the water exit dock (about 200yds or so from the cabin entrance) and hung out under the stars for a little. I am thankful for friends like them and memories like that... something I will always remember.
We headed to the outhouse to finish cleaning up and then shut out the lights (well at least the ones INSIDE the cabin...there were still plenty of others on outside that were shinning in). Even though we settled in around 10:30pm or so, I felt like I was constantly tossing and turning until at least 2-3am. In that time, I got up twice and walked around outside and went to the bathroom. I kept a water bottle near my head and was drinking all night to stay hydrated. I think around 3am I finally fell into a deeper sleep only to have Morven pulling on my feet at 5am to wake me for some breakfast.
I had my usual pre-race meal of 2 packets of Trader Joe's Organic Oatmeal with raisins in it. I usually have orange juice as well, but this time I just started downing my Nalgene filled with BCAA's and Gatorade powder. After breakfast, I filled my protein mix water bottle and another one with water only and headed out to set up my transition area.
The team was ready and in wetsuits at about 6:40am and we headed out the cabin door and literally about 30yds from the water entrance. David and I debated on whether or not to jump in the water and warm up since we were going off in the 2nd and 3rd waves, but when the director came on and said that we were going to wait a little longer to start the race to allow the fog to lift off the lake we decided to wait it out. At about 7:10am the director came back on and said that we were going to delay the start will 8am because we couldn't see the sight buoys and the conditions were still dangerous. It was nice to be so close, so we just headed back to the cabin and relaxed on the beds.
If the director would have waited till 8am to make the final call, we would have swam, but instead he made the call at 7:45am that we would be doing just the bike and run (I say JUST when obviously those are the major events in the triathlon and the swim doesn't really matter at all but still we all were ready for the swim and trained to complete the WHOLE thing, not 90% of it...). Anyway, after running back and forth from the transition they started releasing us from the water exit spot in 2 sec intervals so that the transition area was not a cluttered mess. We ran from the dock into the transition area and we were off...
On the bike, I didn't have to fight the usual sluggish start after the swim and was able to start cranking away right off the gun. At 60 mins in I was over 22 miles and at 90 mins in I was just over 34 miles. Unfortunately, I realized that I was running out of my 400 calorie/electrolyte laden beverage in my water bottle and I was down to my last Accel Gel out of the 4 that I had packed with me (2 of them were Honey Stinger gels at 120 calories). I knew that I was going to be in danger soon and when I hit the 40 mile mark draining both (leaving only water left), it was just a matter of time before something was going to happen. That something happened at mile 50...
At mile 50, cramps started setting in and my 22mph pace came to a halt as I had to actually dismount the bike with 3 to go because I couldn't turn the pedals without the hamstring cramping. I got off and started to stretch until I could straighten my leg out and felt better. I needed electrolytes and was looking forward to getting to the aid station at the 1.5 mile mark of the run.
I slowly came in to the transition area and left not knowing for sure what was going to happen. I had to walk most of the first mile for a 10 min pace and was not thinking that I was going to be able to finish. At the first chance I had, I started taking the electrolyte tablets with water and grabbed a towel and squeezed it over my head. After 10 mins of so I actually started to feel better and I began to proactively take the tablets at almost all of the stations with water until I came to the last marker at mile 10 and then I just toughed it out from there. David passed me at mile marker 3 but then I caught him and we ran together for awhile at mile marker 5 or so. At mile 7-8 he started to die off and so I started to pull away. I hobbled in with minimal cramps and was able to close sub 7 min mile again and felt great at the finish line.
I pulled around and lined up with Zimm to watch the others come in when I started to feel a little sick. I walked over to the shade and still didn't feel so good so I headed over to the medical area. Here, they took my BP at 110/70 when I got there but in the 2 mins that I was there it dropped to 70/50. At this point, they hooked my up to a EKG and saw a spiked T-wave. This indicated an elevated potassium level and they did a quick blood scan to confirm. Once they realized that there was potassium in the "salt" tablets that I was taking they quickly put in an IV and began pumping in a saline solution to pull the potassium out. After about 2 hours of sitting in a beach chair with blankets around me, I finally started to feel better but missed all the others finishing. I didn't get to drink the beer with Tom and I didn't get to eat any of the free food... boooooo.
All said and done, the race itself went fine. I had decent times that could've been better, but considering the cramping, I was happy. I was on pace to PR on the bike for 56 miles (and still was close) and I just beat my B2B time on the run despite the 10 min first mile and cramping throughout. The rest of the team did great as well. Morven managed to run faster on the White Lake half marathon than the open Tobacco Road marathon a few weeks before, which is absolutely remarkable. She never had any type of cramping and looked strong throughout. I am so proud of her. David and Tom had some struggles. David, hit the wall on the run and his hamstrings tightened up limiting his movement. A strong runner he struggled the back half of the run. He also was penalized 4 mins for drafting which didn't help. Tom, couldn't find any luck when his chain snapped and he needed to wait about 15 mins or so for someone to come and help him link his chain. He, too, had cramps and struggled on the run as well. Zimm came through in the clutch for perhaps the greatest day of us all with some great pics that I hope to have uploaded soon on this post. But most importantly, I was happy to be alive and able to get home and see my family again. Another race done...
 |
| Kangaroo and Ruby outside the hut |
 |
| Morven and Zimm putting down some grub |
 |
| View out our cabin door - inches from the finish |
 |
| Morven, Zimm, and Tom |
Tom and David showed up a little later and we were able to move the cars around so that we were parked right to the side of the cabin. We then headed down near the lake to hear the logistical meeting and ate a nice spaghetti dinner provided by the local White Lake Baptist Church. Even though it was rustic, it was nice to share in a team dinner at our picnic table inside our cabin. It was fun to share stories and to get ready for the mornings adventures together. We took a walk out to the water exit dock (about 200yds or so from the cabin entrance) and hung out under the stars for a little. I am thankful for friends like them and memories like that... something I will always remember.
We headed to the outhouse to finish cleaning up and then shut out the lights (well at least the ones INSIDE the cabin...there were still plenty of others on outside that were shinning in). Even though we settled in around 10:30pm or so, I felt like I was constantly tossing and turning until at least 2-3am. In that time, I got up twice and walked around outside and went to the bathroom. I kept a water bottle near my head and was drinking all night to stay hydrated. I think around 3am I finally fell into a deeper sleep only to have Morven pulling on my feet at 5am to wake me for some breakfast.
 |
| Indecisive about the helmet - aero or vented? |
 |
| Getting the shoes ready |
 |
| Morven lining up her belt |
 |
| David breaking out the suit |
I had my usual pre-race meal of 2 packets of Trader Joe's Organic Oatmeal with raisins in it. I usually have orange juice as well, but this time I just started downing my Nalgene filled with BCAA's and Gatorade powder. After breakfast, I filled my protein mix water bottle and another one with water only and headed out to set up my transition area.
 |
| No sleep = No probem |
 |
| Breakfast |
The team was ready and in wetsuits at about 6:40am and we headed out the cabin door and literally about 30yds from the water entrance. David and I debated on whether or not to jump in the water and warm up since we were going off in the 2nd and 3rd waves, but when the director came on and said that we were going to wait a little longer to start the race to allow the fog to lift off the lake we decided to wait it out. At about 7:10am the director came back on and said that we were going to delay the start will 8am because we couldn't see the sight buoys and the conditions were still dangerous. It was nice to be so close, so we just headed back to the cabin and relaxed on the beds.
 |
| David and I are loaded up and ready to get the suits on |
 |
| Putting a wetsuit on takes awhile |
 |
| David, Morven, Me, and Tom |
If the director would have waited till 8am to make the final call, we would have swam, but instead he made the call at 7:45am that we would be doing just the bike and run (I say JUST when obviously those are the major events in the triathlon and the swim doesn't really matter at all but still we all were ready for the swim and trained to complete the WHOLE thing, not 90% of it...). Anyway, after running back and forth from the transition they started releasing us from the water exit spot in 2 sec intervals so that the transition area was not a cluttered mess. We ran from the dock into the transition area and we were off...
 |
| Coming out of T1 |
On the bike, I didn't have to fight the usual sluggish start after the swim and was able to start cranking away right off the gun. At 60 mins in I was over 22 miles and at 90 mins in I was just over 34 miles. Unfortunately, I realized that I was running out of my 400 calorie/electrolyte laden beverage in my water bottle and I was down to my last Accel Gel out of the 4 that I had packed with me (2 of them were Honey Stinger gels at 120 calories). I knew that I was going to be in danger soon and when I hit the 40 mile mark draining both (leaving only water left), it was just a matter of time before something was going to happen. That something happened at mile 50...
At mile 50, cramps started setting in and my 22mph pace came to a halt as I had to actually dismount the bike with 3 to go because I couldn't turn the pedals without the hamstring cramping. I got off and started to stretch until I could straighten my leg out and felt better. I needed electrolytes and was looking forward to getting to the aid station at the 1.5 mile mark of the run.
I slowly came in to the transition area and left not knowing for sure what was going to happen. I had to walk most of the first mile for a 10 min pace and was not thinking that I was going to be able to finish. At the first chance I had, I started taking the electrolyte tablets with water and grabbed a towel and squeezed it over my head. After 10 mins of so I actually started to feel better and I began to proactively take the tablets at almost all of the stations with water until I came to the last marker at mile 10 and then I just toughed it out from there. David passed me at mile marker 3 but then I caught him and we ran together for awhile at mile marker 5 or so. At mile 7-8 he started to die off and so I started to pull away. I hobbled in with minimal cramps and was able to close sub 7 min mile again and felt great at the finish line.
I pulled around and lined up with Zimm to watch the others come in when I started to feel a little sick. I walked over to the shade and still didn't feel so good so I headed over to the medical area. Here, they took my BP at 110/70 when I got there but in the 2 mins that I was there it dropped to 70/50. At this point, they hooked my up to a EKG and saw a spiked T-wave. This indicated an elevated potassium level and they did a quick blood scan to confirm. Once they realized that there was potassium in the "salt" tablets that I was taking they quickly put in an IV and began pumping in a saline solution to pull the potassium out. After about 2 hours of sitting in a beach chair with blankets around me, I finally started to feel better but missed all the others finishing. I didn't get to drink the beer with Tom and I didn't get to eat any of the free food... boooooo.
All said and done, the race itself went fine. I had decent times that could've been better, but considering the cramping, I was happy. I was on pace to PR on the bike for 56 miles (and still was close) and I just beat my B2B time on the run despite the 10 min first mile and cramping throughout. The rest of the team did great as well. Morven managed to run faster on the White Lake half marathon than the open Tobacco Road marathon a few weeks before, which is absolutely remarkable. She never had any type of cramping and looked strong throughout. I am so proud of her. David and Tom had some struggles. David, hit the wall on the run and his hamstrings tightened up limiting his movement. A strong runner he struggled the back half of the run. He also was penalized 4 mins for drafting which didn't help. Tom, couldn't find any luck when his chain snapped and he needed to wait about 15 mins or so for someone to come and help him link his chain. He, too, had cramps and struggled on the run as well. Zimm came through in the clutch for perhaps the greatest day of us all with some great pics that I hope to have uploaded soon on this post. But most importantly, I was happy to be alive and able to get home and see my family again. Another race done...
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