Weekly Update And Race Week

We finally managed to get a week with decent temperatures for training. With those cooler temps also came a resurgence in my running pace. Every run that I had this week felt good, including my 11 mile long run today. The best run of the week came on Wednesday as a part of my brick workout for the week. Due to some rain, I decided to complete my 18 mile bike in the basement but the rain wasn't enough to convince me to run inside so I put on my visor and headed out to run a very wet 5 miles. The rain was pretty heavy, but with light winds it was actually refreshing. That run went ridiculously well as I averaged about 10 minutes per mile with the last 3 miles all under 10. It has been far too long since I have seen numbers like that so elated does not even begin to describe how I felt. 

I know I'm kind of going backwards on this, but my Monday ride went very well too. After work I headed up to Madrid to bike on the High Trestle Trail. I headed East from Madrid into a pretty good wind, but I really wanted to get some miles in on the rolling hills South of Slater. The hills aren't big, but the terrain is very similar to what my long race down in Lawrence will be. I averaged a modest 17 mph for that ride but was also happy to get another good chance to work out with my aero bars. 

With Erin gone for the weekend, I got another ride in on the trainer in my basement on Saturday night. One thing that I have been reading a lot about when it comes to cycling is the importance of keeping a high rpm or cadence. My goal is to eventually get up to a cadence of about 90 - 110 rpm, but right now I'm not there. The idea is that biking in a lower gear at a higher cadence helps to keep my legs fresh for the run. I tend to rely on my leg power too much for the bike and in both triathlons have under performed on the run. My 1 hour ride last night included a 10 minute warm up and cool down with 4 sets of 6 min above 85 rpm, followed by 4 min lower rpm with more resistance. I have a long way to go in learning proper cycling technique, but we all have to start somewhere. 

I decided to complete my 11 mile long run today on a hilly course starting in early afternoon. With temps around 80 degrees, I knew that it was a good day to work on race simulation. Although my long race does not include a hilly run course, I really like to train on hills when I have the chance to help build up my fitness level. As for the race simulation part, I have come to learn that it is very important to try to mimic race day conditions while training several times throughout a training cycle. Although the start of my long race in September will be similar to that of many other races that I have run, the big difference is the length of time that I will be racing. When I sign up for a half marathon that starts at 8 am, I'm usually crossing the finish line well before 11. However, with this race, I expect the swim to take me about an hour and the bike about 3 1/2 hours. This means that I won't start my half marathon run until around 12:30 pm (if I'm doing well). I want to give myself the best shot possible to finish this race, and to do that I want to make sure that I'm ready for the conditions of race day the best that I can be. 

Now it is time for the most exciting part of the blog (and something that I will be saying a lot over the next couple of months). IT'S RACE WEEK!!!! Next Saturday is the Crossroads Triathlon in Dewitt, IA. This will be my first every sprint distance triathlon and I am very excited! The race consists of a 500 yard swim, 15 mile bike, and 5k run. One unique part of this course is that T1 and T2 are at different locations. My strategy for this race is going to be very basic, GO FAST. I plan to hit it hard from the moment that I enter the water until I cross the finish line on the run and everywhere in between. I am in great shape for this race and want to see what I can do on a short course. 

Wish me luck!