Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Train on you Crazy Trainers

Well I haven't been very good about posting my weekly totals or really any workout specifics at all lately but what can you do? ("There's nothing you can do" - "Yeah, that's what I said" - Tony Soprano circa 2007).

This weekend Jen and I ran 12 miles on Saturday in the early summer heat; by the end we were both hot, tired, and ready for some breakfast. Sunday we rode 40 miles with the group and got in some good climbing. We rode up to Lake Del Valle which has a climb of approx 3 miles going up and 2 miles coming back. On the climb up I stood up out of the saddle at the bottom for a bit then decided to see how far I could go before sitting down. Once I approached the half way point I started to think I could get close to the top; at the 3/4 mark I knew I could make it. Sure enough, I climbed the entire time out of my saddle and was able to pass everyone but one guy in our group. The downhill after the climb was sweet - I hit 40.8 mph.

So today I decided to lay out my schedule for the Santa Cruz Sprint which is coming up in early August. I'm currently in a unique situation with my training because I'm helping Jen train for her HIM which is coming up on August 2nd while at the same time training for a sprint tri and a HM. Really I am just ramping up my running for the weeks prior to the HM but still doing quite a bit of riding and running. My volume never gets too bad but after the HM (July 13th) my riding volume increases quite a bit because I will be doing some faster rides solo in the morning then some longer rides in the evenings with Jen. I really need to be sure I keep up on my sleep and most importantly my nutrition during those weeks where two a day workouts are the standard.

I've considered picking up some tri shoes (leaning towards Sidi T2) for my next two races but lately I have been practicing getting out of my Nike shoes as I ride to my apartment and that has been working pretty well. The straps open to the inside so that's a bit annoying but really I only need the shoes for two more races this year and I really don't want to spend the $$ to get them at this point. One benefit from getting them would be that I could have them on my bike in T1 so I can just jump right on and get my feet in the shoes as I head out for my ride. On the flip side, that might only save me like 20 seconds and it's also just one more thing I would have to practice.

1 comment:

Tristram Wood said...

Hey Zach,

Thanks for the note. Yeah, things are alittle more stable with my sister, but it will be a long haul and the woods are deep and dark (not going to be out in a long time, I fear). The bike trip was a blast, especially climbing up 10% grades on a 35 lb touring bike. My cycling legs are definitely back, thats for sure. Got closer to race weight, too. The kids behaved well, and the food they prepared was pretty good, too. One day the heat index was 103 and we had a monster climb, but now the temp has gotten closer to normal, which is good. I have a pair of Pearl Izumi Tri-R3s and they are nice. You should check the ST consigieris for fit and advice- I think widths are an issue with some styles. Have heard good things about the specialized trivent and the new shimano shoes, as well as the sidi. The big island will be great, and I am looking forward to some good open water swims in the wetsuit, and some great runs in cooler weather. My first race is the end of july, so I have time to build, but I am starting to get nervous. I'll post more when we get back from nanticket. Hope all is well with you out west!