Keys To The Race

I have been watching a lot of playoff basketball lately and before every game , some former basketball player always gives his "Keys To The Game", in other words, it is what he thinks the team needs to do to win the game. So with that in mind, I give you the first ever Daily Trainings keys to the Race; Memphis in May Olympic Triathlon.

The Swim:
This race is a time trial swim, meaning athletes start out every three seconds. I highly doubt that it will be wetsuit legal since we have had high temps in or near 90 this past week. The lake is only 6ft deep max, so I am not counting on wearing a wetsuit. I have to get into a pace soon and remember that a steady swim is best for me. I am looking to go sub 30 minutes on this swim. If I come out of the swim feeling strong, not tired or winded, then I should be set up for a strong bike. It is an unusual shaped swim, and once I make that first turn around the buoy, it is a fairly straight shot throught he channel. This swim is very spectator friendly, and nice to hear loved ones cheering you on!

The Bike:
The bike is one area where I have to not crush it so hard that I am out of it when it comes time to run. I am looking to average around 21mph for the ride, which will put me in a great position to have a solid run and meet my goal times. I need to ride my ride and not worry about others passing me or be too concerned about passing people. I want speed, but I do not want to go out too hard.

The Run:
Thihs is what I have struggled with the past three years. I burn out on the run. I am hoping my bike fitness is better, and I can finally overcome this obstacle. Here are the times from my last three MIM races:

Year                                           Overall Time                        Run Time                   Pace
2008                                              3:44                                    1:27:14                   14:03
2009                                              2:57                                    1:01:07                     9:50
2010                                              **** went on a cruise no race****
2011                                              3:00:57                                1:11:23                   11:29

Not great numbers there (although the run course was 1/2 mile longer than it should have been). I have known for awhile that the run is where I need my most work, and I have really tried to focus on it this year. So with that in mind, I have three main goals for the run this year.

1. No walking what-so-ever. I know that the first walk leads to the second walk, which leads to the third walk and so on and so on. I have to keep a steady pace.
2. Get to the 4 mile mark. Once I know there is only two miles left, something hits in my brain that tells me I am almost done and it flies by.
3. Under 1 hour. I need to get my run under the one hour mark, and when I do that, I should have a new PR on my hands. I know I do not have to haul balls to hit that mark either, but the further under the hour I go, the better.

I do have high expectations this year. Last year the bike and run were done in a thunderstorm, and I was on a borrowed bike that I picked up 3 days before the race, and I still would have PR'd if the distance was marked correctly, which would have continued my trend of getting faster, but I am looking for a significant time difference this year. I am shooting for a 2:45-2:47. Wish me luck and send all fast thoughts my way Sunday morning! Thanks for reading!

I Hate Swimming...

or at least I did this morning. My plan called for a 2600 yd swim. I was pumped to do it last night. Actually looking forward to it, but then after some early morning work calls (like 3AM early), it pushed me waking up a little later, which meant I got to the pool a little later and set me up for a crap swim.

I got to the pool and I started my swim. After about 10 laps, I just didn't want to swim anymore. So I stopped at the wall after about 600 yards. I was really trying to figure out a way to break up the swim by maybe doing some 250's, or 100's, but nothing seem to get me excited about swimming. I really did not want to log a 600 yard swim, so I decided to man up and give it another go. I felt strong in the pool. It wasn't a problem of being too tired physically, I just didn't want to be there. So I stopped at 1000 yds and headed to the locker room.

So all day I have been wondering what my deal was? One thing I thought might have contributed to my apathy was that I have almost swam as many yards this year as I did last year! In 2011, I swam  84,992 yards and in 4 months of 2012, I have already swam 67, 831 yards, which does explain my swim time improvements. I still have about 2 more weeks of good training, then a taper week, then my Olympic Tri. After that, I start training for my HIM in Sept, so I know I will crush 2011 numbers in the water!

I think that we all have days where we hate a certain discipline of triathlon. I have had spells where I hate to run, or where I hate to bike, today it just happen to be swimming. I really questioned if I should just have made this a mental toughness thing and somehow squeaked out another 1600 yards, but that's not "Bringing It" is it? Remember how I vowed to "Bring it" every work out and all that "Fear The Hat" crap??? Sometimes, I think it is best to know when to not force something, that it is OK to shut it down once in awhile. Now, if this continues, then I have problems, but I have been very close to my training schedule and I have been flexible when I had to be.

I feel like I am in the best shape of my life at 40! (Still no six pack either), and I know that I could go out right now and PR my Olympic triathlon. My confidence is high, so I am just going to count it up as one of those days. My next swim is scheduled for Thursday, it is going to be 2100 yards. I will Bring it!

Time To Bring What I Brought...

One of the things I hate about New Years is resolutions, which is precisely why I have not not made any. Resolutions to me are things that sound like good goals to say for the benefit of other people, but you really have no intentions of doing those things. So why bother even writing them down?

My only goal is to "Bring It" in my workouts.  (previous post) I vowed to "Bring it" in every workout, so that it would be "bringable" on race day. And I have to say, I have been having some pretty strong workouts lately. I know it is early and I have only been in "Bringing it" mode for a week or two, but that dang post I wrote keeps popping up in my mind whenever I do not want to train. Those days when it is cold outside, or my schedule gets moved around, I still want to "bring it", because I said I would. It is sometimes a struggle to manage work, life, family, family, work and life and still try to be a well train, oiled machine. But they say, you make time for what is important to you. So, that means either early morning workouts, or late night workouts. I am still a husband and father first, and an age Grouper second.

So I think I have found a good schedule for me. It is an Olympic based training plan that has a balanced workout schedule, meaning I swim, bike and run three times a week. The 9th is a Monday.

Monday is a short swim, medium bike for me. The bike is usually a trainer ride right now due to it being dark early and all, but it works out for me.
Tuesday  is a  long swim. Mostly intervals, but always has a drill set in there (still loving the closed fist drill)
Wednesday Medium run, and this is a focus of mine, I have been adding repeats to this workout because I really want to get faster on the run portion.
Thursday is a medium swim and a short bike
Friday is my longest run.
Saturday is a long bike and short run
Sunday is rest day.

Some interesting things about this schedule:

1. I find it weird to call a 7 mile run, my long run after my marathon training.
2. I purposely decided to go run heavy on the back end of the week because I wanted to get used to running on tired legs.
3. I did not intend to swim three times a week, however; the extra fitness should have me coming out of the water in better shape and not grasping for air.
4. Once the weather gets nicer, the Saturday bike/run brick will benefit me alot.
5. My resolve attitude has been totally different this year than any year in the past.

I really want under 2:45 this year at MIM. My previous best was 2:57, which was two years ago. Is 12 minutes faster to much to shoot for? I have never been very good at setting time goals in races before, but I honestly think I can go sub 2:45, which would be great for me. So, yeah, that's my goal, my resolution, my time to bring what I have brought! OK that makes no sense, but I am looking for good things to happen at MIM this year.

Drills and Repeats

So far, the first week of my training for Memphis in May Olympic Triathlon has gone really well. It felt good to get back on the bike again, I think the last time I rode was Ironman Branson 70.3!  So it has been awhile. Also I have bee hitting the pool more, with a plan!  I am not just swimming to get laps in anymore, I have a purpose, and same with my running. Before I had the mindset of running 5 miles because my plan said I should, now I am running the 5 miles with a goal set, meaning I want to get under a certain time. I have been doing alot of 1/2 mile repeats lately, and I am really liking them. I think they are actually kind of fun, and I expect to be a faster runner after doing these!

In the pool, I found a new drill!  Well, it is not new, but it is something I have never done before. Swimming with a closed fist. Yes, I look very awkward as I try to make my way to the wall and back swimming this way, but on that second lap, when I can swim freestyle, I feel like I am flying through the water! I feel like I am pushing myself through the water like a submarine firing a torpedo! So this is something I will continue to do.

Another thing I have added to my swims are vertical kicks in the deep end. I usually do these on days that require me to use a kickboard. Once down int he deep end of the pool, I hold the kickboard above my head and kick, trying to keep my head above water for one minute! I am using fins during this, but it gets hard. I feel it in my core too!

I understand that one can get to wrapped up in doing drills, but I think a drill or two every other workout really breaks up a long swim, and I think I will see massive results from the closed fist drill. I have also been told to do golf while swimming (swim stroke + time equals score), but I hate golf, so forget that.

So here is the question?  What are your favorite drills in the pool? I hate the fingertip drag drill!  But do you have others drills you do