A mathematical equation for training errors

 Well, this was a week to make a classical Joe Friel training error.  It is something that I am sure everybody who is busy in life and trying to be as in shape as they can has made.  I figured I would sum it up in this elegant equation:

(Stress_Grades + Incomplete Recovery)^{Lack of Sleep} X 6 Days = Sucks

Yeah, it really was a pretty classical mistake of making my easy days too hard, and as a result my hard days were way too easy.  I knew I was going to be really busy on Tuesday, so I moved the bike portion of my workout to Monday and just ran on Tuesday.  That would have been fine normally, except instead of resting on Wednesday I went and pretty much worked my butt off all day.  Not really training related, so I did not notice it, but I definitely did not recover.  My resting heart rate showed that my recovery was adequate, but come Thursday my run felt extremely sluggish.  It was like I had lead in my veins.

That might have been alright, but Thursday is a two-a-day for me, so I went over to the Strom later and stretched out like mad.  I spent an hour just stretching, then I lifted weights.  I was going to stretch out again for another hour, then swim, but the stretching alone was fatiguing by that point.  So I packed my stuff up and went home.  After eating like a horse, I settled in for a good night’s sleep, the first out of most of the week.  I had been really stressing about one of my classes for the first half of the week, and the grade was posted and I had made what I needed plus a little bit.  With that burden off my shoulders (and the mounting fatigue) I slept soundly and felt good that morning.

Since I had missed part of my workout the day before, I decided to fill in what I had missed on my day off, Friday.  That is when I had the saga with tracking down a pool, as detailed in this post.  I figured, somewhere in that exercise addicted brain of mine, that since I wasn’t going to use my legs to swim it would be okay.  We all know how much more of an effort swimming for thirty minutes is than running for thirty minutes.  So I wasted myself again.

Finally today I struggled out of bed at nine o’clock.  Slowly got everything ready and headed out to the fort for my long day.  The bike was agony, it was like any pep had been siphoned off my legs.  Although I could feel a gain in power from the trainer ride and the lifting, those gains had not been fully realized because of inadequate recovery.  Oh well.  The run was okay, holding at least a 9:20 mile pace for eight miles (actually closer to an 8:45 pace) so I was at least pleased with that.  Even though the bike felt so unresponsive, my pace was actually faster than last week, so I can be happy about that.  After two hours of biking and an hour of running, though, I finally admitted to myself that rest was what I needed.  Sometimes not training is the hardest decision to make.

Drew what you’ve got to Drew

Okay, that was a really bad pun.  So I was looking around for a place to swim yesterday, as both of the university pools were closed.  I went to the Strom Thurmond Wellness center on campus first, where I stretched for about an hour and then walked down to the pool.  It turns out that the pool was closed for some sort of construction on the ceiling, so I was out of luck on my first attempt.  “No problem,” I thought “I’ll just walk over to the OTHER campus fitness center with a pool.  So I stroll casually to the Blatt, getting myself used to the idea of swimming in their dungeon for a while, and when I arrive I stop on the way in to check the winter break hours.  [December 15-January 1  Pool Hours: 11:30-2:30]  Current time: 3:00.  Well crap.

No worries, I live by a community pool.  It’s a balmy seventy four degrees out, in December (I hate this state).  Global warming anybody?  I can certainly swim in this, I have swam in colder, I guarantee.  Walk the block back to my apartment.  Walk the half a block past my apartment to the pool.  There’s a few cars in the parking lot, this might actually work.  Oh wait.  What does that sign say?  [Operational for 2006 until September 4th.]  September 4th?  It was still hitting triple digits!  Who closes a pool before the weather is consistently below seventy!

Okay, I remember passing a pool while I was driving a buddy of mine around to physical therapy.  Can’t find it online, okay, let’s just drive out.  Pulling into the parking lot of the Drew Wellness Center, things appear promising.  Turns out this is a city funded center, that is open year-round, with a heated indoor pool.  Awesome, now I have a fallback for when BOTH (or is it BOLTH) of the university pools are closed/under construction/have dead bodies in them.

Along the same note, I once was told by a staff member that I could not swim in the Blatt pool because it was flooded.  My response, “That’s supposed to happen.”  “No, really, it’s flooded.” “I promise it’s okay, I don’t think it broke anything.” “umm, it’s underwater, and we can’t let anybody swim in it.” “So, when you get the water out, can I swim in it then?” “Of course.” “But without water, I can’t swim in it.”  The conversation literally lasted about five minutes like this.  At some point, it just became fun to see how long I could keep it going.

Okay, point is, I finally got a swim in, which would come back to bite me in the butt, as you will see in the next post up!

Training Update

Well, I am about fourteen weeks away from my first event of the year and am pretty happy with where I stand fitness-wise.  I have been putting in weekly six hour bike/run sessions at an endurance pace.  The three and a half hour bike ride results in about 55-60 miles, which is about 16-17 mph pace, or roughly the same training pace with which I raced 18.7 mph last year.  It is the run which has begun to amaze me.  At two and a half hours I am covering about 16 miles in addition to the bike ride.  That is a 9:23 mile pace at a very sustainable heart rate after having rode my race distance.

Looking at these numbers, I can now refine my goals somewhat.  I would like to be able to train between 17 and 18 miles an hour on the bike, as a sustainable effort, and have an 8:40 mile pace at the same heart rate by the Half Ironman.  Perhaps, if that happens, I can really shatter my expectations for that race.

Right now I am very much looking forward to next season.  I already have a list of goals for the first race, I have already examined my split times.  Now it is just letting the next three months go by and staying motivated to keep training well.  The hours are really starting to mount, and I am not only becoming more conditioned for the endurance, but am also increasing speed at that longer distance.  Last four week training block had 38.5 hours, this one will be 43.5; looking forward to it!

Some things are ending, others are just beginning

As the semester nears it’s (hectic) finale, I am becoming more and more drawn to the other, more enjoyable, parts of my life.  I just checked out the Set Up Events website and got my race schedule for next year, so here it is!  I will also post it on the Season 2 page since it really should go there as well.

Paris Island Sprint - 3/17,  Clemson Sprint – 5/12,  Lake Murray Sprint – 5/20,  Greenwood Olympic – 6/10,  Tri the Pee Dee Olympic – 7/14,  Greenville Sprint – 8/19,  Hartsville YMCA Olympic – 9/9,  South Carolina Half Iron – 9/30,  Hickory Knob Olympic – 10/13

As you can see it will be a full year, and I hope to remain healthy and injury free for all of it.  My goal is less about winning or placing in any particular race and more about overall season standings.  I am definitely focusing on the Half Iron, however, since it is my favorite distance.

 Also, for those of you following the roommate story, he is doing wonderfully on his diet!  He actually is looking bigger as he loses weight, it’s crazy!  I lose two pounds and my swim coach starts to worry that I will freeze to death in the pool.  But seriously, it really is getting colder in the indoor, heated, climate controlled pool.  I’m not that skinny.  What?  Russell has lost about thirty pounds as of last weigh in, and has taken off about 5 percent of his body fat, so it is solid fat losses.  I am definitely proud of him!

Christmas will be an evil distraction this year, as I have decided to keep the monetary spending low and the family visiting a bit higher to make up for it.  Mostly because I’m broke.  Tis’ the season to go down to the local bike shop and drool.