Shelbyville Triathlon Report

My race day started at 12:00am Sunday morning as I was leaving the airport parking garage. After spending less than 24 hours in Miami, I wasn't able to get an earlier flight home...so needless to say, this wasn't the best way to rest up for a race.

By the time I got home and settled in, it was after 1:00am. Since I had been out of town, I hadn't had a chance to get all of my race gear ready. I normally do this a day or two before the race, but I was forced to set my alarm early and do this race morning. So after only a little under 5 hours of sleep, I was up at 6:00am going over my checklist and packing everything I needed.

The large unknown was what I was going to wear during the bike and run. A quick check of the radar and forecast revealed what I was afraid of...rain...and wind! The temperature was in the high 40's, which is actually pretty ideal for a race, but when you add in some rain and wind, 40 degrees isn't quite as nice. I decided to pack two options: 1)a racing singlet (with no sleeves) and 2)a pair of swim shorts and a long sleeve Under Armour shirt.

I packed up all my gear and left the house around 10 minutes till 7:00. Race start time was 8:30.

Once I arrived, I decided to go with option 2 on the clothes...it was cold!

Despite the fact that I registered the first day the race opened up, my name was not on the list. Fortunately, they were accepting race day registration (which is not always done). So I got my bib (#644) and had my transition to set up when it started to rain. It was about 8:15, so after getting everything set up, I headed in to the pool for the pre-race breifing.

The swim start was staggered based on anticipated swim time. Since they didn't have me registered, I was thrown in the middle (started 44th out of 88). After talking with the people in line around me, we all expected to have swim times in the 7:00-7:30 range, so I was excited not to have to try and pass many people in the pool.

It's kind of discouraging standing there, still waiting to enter the water when you see the first few competitors already exiting to the pool heading to T1! I was so eager to get in the water that I took off way too fast. I'm not sure what my time was for the first few laps, but I passed two people and quickly realized that I was running out of juice! One of the guys that I passed caught back up and I tucked in behind him for the remaining 2 laps.

Swim time was 7:16.6, which was almost a minute faster than last year, but still not where I want to be. It ranked 33rd out of 88 people...that's not good. Looking at swim times for people with comparable bike and run times as mine, I need to knock about another minute off. I'm sure it can be done, my form is better, but still needs some work!

Despite going out too fast, I felt good leaving the pool and wasn't surprised that it was poring down rain as I headed outside. I was surprised to hear Jessica's voice saying "Yeah, go Daddy!" as I ran from the pool to outside. I wasn't expecting her and Kate to be there. I told them to stay home when I left because of the weather, but my loving wife came out to support me anyway!

Transition 1 was a slow! The main reason was the extra time that it took me to try and put on my Under Armour shirt. Ever try and put on a tight, long-sleeve shirt when you are wet? Not easy. I knew that this would be tough, so I had a few towels there - with the thought of drying off first - but the pouring rain left the towels soaked.

T1 time was 2:00.3 - which was 35 seconds slower than last year...about the amount of time it took me to put the shirt on! My time was somehow still 10th fastest...what are these people doing??

Socks, bike shoes, helmet, glasses...and out of T1 onto the bike. The clear glasses that my parents got me for Christmas really came in handy. It was too dark to wear sunglasses, but riding in the wind and rain without any eye protection would have been a big problem!

I love the bike portion of triathlons because it's my strongest discipline. I started to pick people off left and right. The hills were tough and my legs were burning, but I continued to make it my goal to pass as many people as I could. After the first few miles I was completely soaked. The bike route was an out-and-back. Six miles out, then turn around and go back. I didn't notice the wind until I made the turn around...then I really noticed it! I'm not sure what the wind gusts were, but they were blowing me all over the road. Not to mention the extra power required to get up a hill when the wind is blowing right in your face! My calves started to cramp up about mile 9 or so. I started to down Gatorade to try and keep the cramps from getting worse...I was starting to worry about the run!

As I headed back into transition, my legs were burning but my confidence was high. I think I passed around 12-15 people during the short, 12 mile ride. My bike time was 36:49.8, which translates in to 19.6 miles per hour. My bike time ended up being 10th fastest out of 88 racers. Not too bad considering some of the expensive bikes that I saw some people pushing!


Not wanting to run in wet socks, I had another pair tucked into my running shoes. They were wet, but not soaked. The change of socks is to blame for the additional 25 seconds in T2 this year compared to last year. T2 time was 1:04, which is very slow for T2.

Trying to get your legs to run after riding a bike as hard as you can for 36 minutes is difficult...much more difficult than I remembered. They first half mile or so of the run I felt like I was running with 10 pound ankle weights on! Since were no mile markers on the 5K course, I really had no idea how fast  I was running. I just kept my legs moving as fast as I could.  The calf cramps never came back, so that was a relief! I passed three people and even heard a "I hate runners" comment. What? I'm a runner? I've never thought of myself as a strong runner, but as I heard this comment, I got a little boost of energy to help me make it up the last hill. As usual, I forgot to hit my watch as I passed over the mats heading into and out of transition, so I really didn't know what my run time was. All I know is that I had nothing left as I ran back into the parking lot to the finish line.

I checked my watch at the finish line and was happy to see that it was 1 hour, 10 minutes and some change. My goal was to beat last year's time of 1:13:41, so I was happy. Despite the weather conditions, I was able to knock 2 minutes and 52 seconds off of my time from a year ago. Training pays off after all!! Good first triathlon of the year...can't wait for the next one!!


Here's some pictures of the race courtesy of Tricia, whose husband Bob also did the race...and knocked almost 4 minutes off of his time from last year!!

This is me in T2, changing socks before my run.

Very wet transition area!!

Me heading towards the finish line. Not sure why it looks like I'm running so crooked...maybe this is how I run when I'm completely out of gas!

Updates on my last few days of training will come tomorrow.

Shelbyville Sprint Triathlon Results

I'll give a full race report tomorrow, but here's my official results from yesterday's race:

Swim - 7:16.6 (31:36 min/mile pace)
T1 - 2:00.3
Bike - 36:49.8 (19.6 mph)
T2 - 1:04.4
Run - 23:38.0 (7:37 min/mile pace)
TOTAL - 1:10:49.1

Goal was to beat last year's overall time, which was 1:13:41...so mission accomplished.

Here's my comparison vs. last year's race, numbers in parentheses represent time difference from last year:

	2009	2010
Swim	0:08:14	0:07:17	(-0:57)
T1	0:01:25	0:02:00	(+0:35)
Bike	0:36:56	0:36:50	(-0:06)
T2	0:00:39	0:01:04	(+0:25)
Run	0:26:26	0:23:38	(-02:48)
Total	1:13:41	1:10:49	(-0:02:52)

So my times for each discipline were faster, but my transitions were slower (for a reason)...more details on this tomorrow!

Here's how I stacked up against the rest of the field:

Swim - 6th out of 8 in my age group, 33nd out of 88 overall
T1 -2nd out of 8 in my age group, 10th out of 88 overall
Bike - 3rd out of 8 in my age group, 10th out of 88 overall
T2 - 5th out of 8 in my age group, 38th out of 88 overall
Run - 4th out of 8 in my age group, 21st out of 88 overall
TOTAL - 4th out of 8 in my age group, 14th out of 88 overall

As you can see, I'm in a really strong age group (30-34). My overall time would have been good enough to win the 20-24 or 25-29 age groups!

Finishing in the top 15% isn't bad, especially considering that I've been building my aerobic endurance over the last 3 months with very little time spent on my anaerobic capacity...which is what is used for a sprint distance race like this.

Shelbyville Sprint Triathlon

Sunday morning's race in Shelbyville will be my first Triathlon of the 2010 season. It's a short race and I've labeled it as a Priority C race...meaning that it's not the race that my training is focused on. However, I'm really excited about the race and I'll give 100% from start to finish!

The races consists of a 400 yard swim in an indoor pool, followed by a 12 mile bike and then a 5K run.

The main reason that I'm doing this race is because I competed in it last year and I want to see how I have improved over the last year.

Here's my times for last year:

Swim: 8:14.20 (35:48 min/mile pace)
T1: 1:25.0
Bike: 36:56.8 (19.5 miles/hr)
T2: 0:39.4
Run: 26:26.0 (8:32 min/mile)
TOTAL: 1:13:41.4

I feel confident that my swim and run times will be faster...so if I can maintain my pace from last year on the bike, I should see an improvement in my overall time.

Forecast is calling for low 40's and rain...should be interesting!!!

Struggling...

The last two weeks haven't been/won't be very productive from a training standpoint. I got in a good run last Wednesday, then got on a plane to Vegas. During my 5 days and 5 nights there, I was only able to squeeze in one short (7 miles) run. After flying back all day Monday, yesterday was my first day of training after doing nothing for 4 out of 5 days. Wasting away in Vegas combined with the jet lag associated with a 3 hour time change, made for a tough workout yesterday...and today wasn't much better.

I've got my first triathlon of the season this Sunday morning and that's on the heals of a quick 2-day trip to Miami this Friday and Saturday. Needless to say, I'm not exactly feeling good about the race. On top of all of this, I seem to be getting a little bit of a virus in the form of a head full of mucus...which doesn't make it very easy to breathe when training. Is that enough excuses???

YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT:
1h15m on the bike. 45 minute spin class with some zone 2 riding before and after. I was sweating like someone that had big bucks on Michigan State in that game against Maryland on Sunday (it was a close game if you don't know what I'm talking about). My heart rate was higher than it should have been and I never really felt comfortable on the bike. This is all to be expected after not spinning the wheels for over a week!

Swam 1104yd in 24:00
5 minute warm-up with some drills, then two 408yd (as close to 400yd as I can get) intervals. 400 yards is the distance of the swim portion of the race this Sunday, so I wanted to see how my time looked. Completed the first interval in 7:12 and the second in 7:15 (this is 25 seconds slower than what I did a month ago). Finished with a few minutes of cool-down.

TODAY'S WORKOUT:
Ran 12.95 miles in zone 2. Time was 1:46:09 (8:11 min/mile). This is about 15-20 seconds slower per mile than I thought I was running, which isn't a good sign. I actually felt pretty good during the run, but I guess my body wasn't quite ready for this one!
Average HR = 155 bpm

Max Heart Rate On The Bike

So things got a little crazy in spin class this morning. I usually do this class as part of my longer rides, only getting my heart rate slightly above zone 2 for a minute or two during the class. Today was different.

The instructor informed us that today we were going to find out what 100% effort felt like. He had a workout planned that would get us close to our max heart rate. My workout for the day called for 2h25m in zone 2, but I was excited to see what I felt like going completely anaerobic (max effort).

Bike HR zones that I've been using in my training (based on VO2 Max test done last October):

Zone 1 (recovery): 102-124

Zone 2 (extensive endurance): 125-137

Zone 3 (intensive endurance): 138-142

Zone 4 & 5a (threshold): 143-158

Zone 5b (anaerobic endurance): 159-162

Zone 5c (power): 163-170

So here' what we did...

I had already been on the bike 40 minutes by the time class started, so I was good and warmed-up. Another 15 minutes of riding and then we started ramping things up. First it was 5 minutes of hills, then 1 minute of a fast flat. We repeated this process three times. My heart rate had climbed to the mid 140's by this time. Then it was 2 minutes of all-out effort on a hill...heart rate was up to 160...then we finished with 30 seconds of literally pushing as hard as you could (sprint). Heart rate peaked at 174.

We did this cycle 3 times. My max hearts were 174, 173, and 168. So predictably, I couldn't repeat this sort of effort more than twice.

The max my heart rate reached during my VO2 Max test back in October was 175. So I'm still reaching the same heart rate on the bike at max effort. The difference that I saw today was that my heart went back down to 124 after a two minute recovery. My heart rate after two minutes of recovery back in October was 132 (and we only ran the test once then, not three times like today).

So the fact that my heart rate recovered quicker means that I'm in better shape now than I was 5 months ago...which I knew. It was a fun test, but one that I don't want to do again any time soon!

TODAY'S WORKOUT:
2h25m on the bike.
10 minute warm-up
30 minutes in zone 2
45 minutes of spin class (description above)
50 minutes in zone 2
10 minute cool-down
Avg HR - 134 bpm
Max HR - 174 bpm

I Thought I Knew What Hills Were

Today was the first day of running from home since we moved. My training plan called for me to run for 1h40m. So I took a quick look at a map and planned out a route. The thing that I didn't look at was the elevation of this run. I quickly found out what I thought were hills before...were just small inclines. These were some hills!! For instance, how about climbing 174 feet in just under 1.4 miles (see miles 9-10 below)! Check out the elevation chart from my run this morning:

The hills were killer, but the scenery was unreal! Being up on top of these hills provided an awesome view. Not to mention that there is a creek running next to the road that contains several waterfalls. It was a beautiful morning and I can't wait to get my bike out on some of these country roads!

YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT:
2 hours on the bike in zone 2. Legs were feeling pretty tired and it was a struggle to keep my heart rate in zone 2.
Avg HR = 128

TODAY'S WORKOUT:
Ran 12.17 miles in 1:40:50 (8:17 min/mile pace) in zone 2.
This pace may look slow, but I assure you that I was pushing it. The total elevation change for the entire route was 748 feet!
Avg HR - 156
Max HR - 172

TOTALS FOR THE WEEK:
Swim - 1h09m (1.9 miles)
Bike - 6h00m (107 miles)
Run - 3h46m (27.1 miles)
Total - 10h55m (136 miles)

Calories Burned vs. Calories Consumed

I burn a lot of calories. It's just the nature of the beast. Training for long distance triathlons requires high volumes of swimming, biking and running...which all burn lots of calories.

Depending on what my week looks like, I usually burn around 1000-1200 calories a day from training. This doesn't include the calories I would burn anyway, without exercising, which is around 1900 per day.

I looked at my distances for the last month, and even with the knee injury, I still burned an average of 3562 calories per day (workout + normal activity). Calculated based on this website.

So that seems like a lot...which I guess it is. The question then becomes...how do I replace all of these calories??

Before I get into how much I eat, I want to share something that is written in Joe Friel's book titled "The Triathlete's Training Bible":

[A group of researchers] had six endurance-trained men create a 1,000-calorie-per-day deficit for seven days by either exercising more while maintaining their caloric intake or eating less while keeping exercise the same. With 1,000 calories of increased exercise daily - comparable to running an additional 8 miles or so each day - the men averaged 1.67 pounds of weight loss in a week. The subjects eating 1,000 fewer calories each day lost 4.75 pounds on average for the week.

Cutting back on the amount of calories you eat appears to have a greater return than increasing the amount of exercise you do. So don't think that because you exercise a lot, you can eat whatever you want!

A few weeks ago I logged what I ate and how many calories I consumed each day over a 3 day span. I scarfed down around 2800-3200 calories per day. I try to eat healthy, so finding healthy foods that are packed with calories isn't easy. I eat every 1-2 hours all day long, starting with a beagle and PB around 5:00am and ending with a snack before bed around 8:30pm.

Good news is that even though I'm burning more than I'm taking in, my weight has remained the same over the last month or so...meaning that I've shed most of my excess body fat and I'm probably close to my ideal weight. Joe Friel describes the ideal male triathlete as weighing 2.1 to 2.3 pounds per inch of height (1.8 to 2.0 for women). I'm 5'11" (71"), which translates to a weight of 149-163. I currently weigh 175, but anything that I lose at this point will be muscle mass...which I'm trying not to lose!

TODAY'S WORKOUT:
2 hours on the bike. 45 minute spin class, followed by 1:15 in zone 2. Some good hill intervals in spin class.
Avg HR = 133 (right in the middle of zone 2)
15 minutes of weights (legs)

Here's a few pics from last Saturday's Anthem 5K...all photo's are copyright of Brightroom Photography.

Hello Spring, Nice To Meet You

No gloves.
No toboggan (they still called that?).
No Under Armour.
It was 52F this morning at 5:30 when I set off on my run...and I took off in a t-shirt, shorts and hat...and was comfortable.

One draw back to the warmer weather is the fact that I sweat more, which caused the tape on my knee to come loose about 30 minutes into my run. I contemplated stopping, but since the knee has felt good for the last week or so, I decided to run without it...worked out fine. No pain.

TODAY'S WORKOUT:
Ran 9.97 miles in 1:20:01 (8:00 min/miles)
Avg HR = 158 bpm
I stayed in heart rate zone 2 for the entire run and felt pretty comfortable. Can't wait until the Build Phase where I can mix in some faster runs out of this aerobic zone!

Swam for 25 minutes. Did mostly drills and a few sprints. I did four 48yd sprints with 30 seconds of rest in between. Times were 40.23, 40.56, 40.93, 42.10...and I was DONE! I wanted to do 6-8 sprints, but as you can tell based on that last time, I had nothing left!

YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT:
Ran 6 half-mile intervals with 1 minute rest in between. Instead of just resting, I knocked out 30 set-ups between each interval. Here's the workout with interval times and avg heart rates:
1 mile warm-up in 8:11
1) 150 bpm : 1/2 mile time -3:23
2) 158 - 3:23
3) 162 - 3:23
4) 165 - 3:25
5) 166 - 3:28
6) 164 - 3:31
1 mile cool-down in 8:05
Total workout = 5 miles in 45:02

Swam a total of 1.20 miles in 43:23
5 minute warm-up
1 mile in 33:12
5 minute cool-down

Anthem 5K Race Report

I spent all day Friday filling boxes full of everything in sight in preparation for our move on Saturday. This was after logging 2 hours on the bike and 25 minutes in the pool Friday morning. I was worn out by the time my head hit the pillow Friday night around 11:00pm. I normally love waking up on race morning, but the 6:00am alarm was not something I was excited about!

Due to my urgency to get to sleep Friday night, I didn't lay out my clothes that I planned to race in. So I was using my cell phone light (so that I didn't wake Jessica up) to try and find my Under Armour long sleeve shirt and my black shorts. Finally found the black shorts in the dirty clothes...they didn't smell too bad, so I put them on anyway. Put some peanut butter on half a beagle (this was the only food that had not been put into boxes...and it was done on purpose) and headed out the door.

I parked a few blocks away and got down to Slugger Field around 7:15am. I walked inside the stadium to tape up my knee, then it was out on the road for a few minutes to get loose. I jogged a few blocks and then did some dynamic stretching. I'm shocked by the amount of people who will stand out in the cold and try to do static stretching (bent over toe touch, pulling your heal up to your butt, etc.) before a race. Stretching a cold muscle is a horrible idea...don't do it!

I moved up towards the starting line about 10 minutes before the start of the race. I jumped around and tried to stay warm. I love running in the cold, but I don't normally have to stand there waiting to run! I positioned myself about 20 feet from the starting line.

National Anthem was sung and then the race started. Despite being so close to the front, I still found myself passing slower runners for the first 1/4 mile or so. This really frustrates me. People know approximately how fast they will run the race. If it will take you 25-30 minutes, WHY are you lining up next to people that will do it in half that time? Seriously, you know who you are.

My legs felt heavy from the beginning. I thought they were just tight from standing there waiting for the race to start. I got to the 1 mile mark in 6:49, right where I wanted to be. I thought that I was running faster than this, but it's hard to tell.

The second mile contains the only hill of the course, and I passed a decent amount of people. I guess all of that hill training is paying off. Time at the 2 mile mark was 13:57 (7:08 minutes for mile 2). My pace had slowed considerably, but this was due to the hill. I don't know anyone that can hold the same pace on a hill as they do on a flat...especially in a 5K sprint.

I knew that to meet my goal time of 21:45, I need to push it the last mile. The legs were still heavy and I knew at this point that I wasn't going to get into a comfortable rhythm, so I just pushed through. The last mile seemed to take forever. I wasn't that familiar with the course and I thought that each turn would be the last and that I would see the finish line...there were a lot more turns that I thought!

I ran the last 1.1 miles in 7:26 (6:45 minute/mile pace) to finish in 21:23. I never once looked at my watch after the 2 mile mark. I was running as fast as I could and looking at my time wasn't going to make me run any faster! The last 100 yards or so were an all-out effort (I can't image what my heart rate was)! Sprinting to the finish is fun and I had enough kick left to pass a few guys in the last few yards.

I grabbed a PowerAde and a banana in the finish shoot and walked straight to the car, then straight to U-Haul to pick up the rental!

I finished 60th out of 522 in my age group (30-34). 304th out of 3611 men, and 348th out of 8518 overall finishers. So if you do that math, 44 women beat me...is that good or bad? Hopefully none of them were over 70 (that happened to me in a half-marathon once).

TODAY'S WORKOUT:
2 hours on the bike folllowed by 20 minutes of weights (legs) and stretching
Avg HR = 135 bpm
Seemed like my HR was higher than normal during the whole workout. I had to keep backing off to stay in heart rate zone 2. I have a feeling that my body is worn out from moving this weekend. We'll see if the legs fire for tomorrow's running intervals!

Anthem 5K Results

Time - 21:23 (6:53 min/mile)

Division (male 30-34), finished 60th out of 522

Overall finished 348th out of 8518 finishers

Accomplished my goal time of 21:45.

Complete race report later.

First Race of the 2010 Season

The Anthem 5K is this Saturday. I'm really excited to finally "race". Truth be told, I enjoy the training almost, if not more, than the actual races. That being said, I'm still eagar to get that feeling that standing at the start line before a race gives you...nothing else like it in the world!

This 5K is being used more as a training run than anything else. With my focus over the last 3 months being on building endurance, this short 3.1 mile sprint isn't exactly what I've been training for.

I have my race season pretty much planned, as you can see here. What you don't see on this list is which races are a priority for me. I have assigned each race either an A, B or C.

A-Priority Races are those that are most important to me this year. All of my training is designed around these races.

B-Priority Races are those that are not as critical as the A races. I want to do well, but they are not a top priority. I will rest a day or two before them, but I will not do Build and Peak training phases leading up to them.

C-Priority Races are those that I want to do for either experience or tune-ups. There will be minimal rest (if any) leading up to these races. Some of them I'm doing just to try and set a PR.

Now that you have all of that info, I will tell you that this Saturday's Anthem 5K is a C-Priority Race. Keep in mind that race priority has no bearing on how hard I will push myself. The main difference is how the races are prepared for. I'm going to log around 12-13 hours of training this week...my legs aren't exactly going to be fresh! It's still a race, and I will be giving it all I have...not that my competitive side would let me do any less!

Goal for the race is to finish under 21:45. This would be a 7:00 min/mile pace...which I think I can sustain for 3.1 miles...we'll see.

YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT:
Ran 12.50 miles in 1:40:02 (8:00 min/mile pace)
This was an endurance run in heart rate zone 2 (154-162bpm)
Avg HR = 157
My HR was high for the first 3-4 miles and I had to slow down to keep it below 162. Then it settled in and I was able to run at a faster pace with my HR staying in the high 150's. Not sure why, but it seems to take my body about 3 miles to get warmed-up.

TODAY'S WORKOUT:
2:30 on the bike. These long bike workouts are just as challenging mentally as they are physically. The spin class only lasts 45 minutes, so I've got 1 hour and 45 minutes on the bike with my thoughts...in an empty room. Keeping an eye on my heart rate helps the time pass a little more quickly. Zone 2 on the bike is between 125-137bpm.
Avg HR for today's ride was 130.

I'm still taping my knee before every run and ride and icing once I'm done. No pain at all on the long runs, but after the rides it aches a little. Hopefully this will subside at some point.

Louisville Ironman

Volunteer registration for the Ironman Triathlon here in Louisville opened up yesterday. My triathlon ability has not taken me to this level (yet), but I really enjoy being a part of this day. I volunteered last year and it was a great experience. I've already signed up to work in Transition 1 (swim to bike) again this year. It takes over 2,000 volunteers to put one of these races together, and the outcome is pretty impressive. This year's race is on Sunday, August 29, 2010.

If you have a group (school, church, work) that you want to get together to work an aid station, you can do that too.

Here's the link to sign up:

Louisville 2010 Ironman Volunteer Registation

See you there!!

TODAY'S WORKOUT:
45 minutes of weights (back, chest, shoulders and abs)

52 minutes in the pool
5 minute warm-up
1 mile swim in 33:39
10 minutes of drills and cool-down
Total Workout: 2448yd (1.39mi) in 52:00

Joe Friel

If you follow this blog, you've heard me mention Joe Friel before. He's written many, many books on endurance training and trained athletes for over 30 years now. I'm currently using his book, "The Triathlete's Training Bible" as my guide through my 2010 season.

Joe Friel came to Louisville this past Saturday for a day of coaching and lecturing. Athlete's could opt for an entire day with Joe for $100 or just go to his 2-hour lecture for $10...I went with option #2.

Most of what Joe covered was how to set up your training season, based on the principles outlined in his book. Even though I've already implemented most of what he said, I did pick up a few good ideas and tools. I was starting to think that I had thrown 10 bucks away when he mentioned the words "dealing with an injury or illness during your training." I immediately got my pen ready.

Before I tell you what he said, first I will show you what my training plan originally looked like:

 

Base phases are used to build up endurance (all those Zone 2 workouts). Build phases are used to focus on getting your body up to race speeds and working on specific limiters that you may have.

After taking it easy for 5 weeks, I wasn't exactly sure how the rest of my training heading up to the Triathlon on May 15th. Thanks to Joe's lecture on Saturday, I now know that I need to cut off some of the Build phases and just pick-up where I left off on the Base building. For a long-course race, such as a half or full Ironman, the Base phases are most important. So here's what the plan looks like now:

 

So it's a couple more weeks in Base 2 and then on to Base 3. Build phase now becomes one long 4-week period instead of 3 smaller 3-week phases. 

TODAY'S WORKOUT:

2:30 on the bike in zone 2. Nice workout with 45 minute spin class at the beginning. 

10 min. warm-up Avg HR = 113

2:10 workout Avg HR = 135

10 min. cool-down Avg HR = 99