As I had mentioned in previous posts this week is test week. Last night was a 2 mile, all out time trial. Warmup (not a problem in this heat) then run on a track a 2 mile test as fast as you can. I have never to my knowledge ever ran this averaging less than a little over 7 minute miles. I have never been fast so last night was the night I was going to break 14 minutes. My previous time was 14:08 seconds. Last night was the night.
My first mile started out fast (for me). I have a very commonly used watch that most triathletes/runners use that use GPS to track distance, route, speed, cadence, heart rate etc... basically every datapoint that an athlete needs it tracks. One of the most beneficial things about these watches are that it tracks all of this real time so at any time I can look down and see how fast I am going. Everything is logged and recorded which I send to my coach. She then can take that information and figure out my workouts and just as important, at what intensity to best prepare me for whatever event. Shorter events - more speed prep. Longer events are more endurance. Anyway, Lap 1 started out pretty fast and I was consistently running sub 7 minutes. I finished my first lap 6:57 - so far so good.
The 2nd mile was tougher but I was determined to break 7 minutes. I pushed but I was really stuggling to keep my speed. There wasn't enough air, my legs were burning, and my heart felt like it was going to explode. Going into the last 1/8th of a mile I looked at my watch and thought I had an outside chance of making 7:00 minutes so I sprinted as fast as I could (which could not have been that fast) only to finish with a total time at 14:03. Missed it by 3 seconds but I had nothing else left in the tank. Oh well, I will get it next time. 5 second improvement when you are going as fast as your body will take is a big dal for me. Just to prove that I had nothing left my heart rate maxed at the highest it has been since I started recording it at 178 BPM. My theoretical max is 182 Beat Per Minute. I am not sure what happens when I approach the max but based on last night it has to hurt.....
Tonight is a 45 minute swim that should equate to about 1.5 miles. no test, just a swim so I am actually looking forward to an easy workout. Tomorrow is a bike test and that will stink... so one day at a time and before you know it, a couple hundred workouts from now and I will be in 16 feet of water with 2,000 people getting ready for the the challenge of a lifetime. Until then, get the workout done and stay healthy and the day will hopefully take care of itself.
Until next time,
Have a good weekend....
Tracy
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tempe town lake Dam burst - literally
Hello All,
It is back to training this week and is still a light week. The only explanation that I have is that all of my training thus far this year was to build a solid base and then to peak for Racine. Now that Racine is over, I rest, recover, and start building all over again for the IM in November.
So this week is mostly tests. I had an easy bike ride for an hour on Tuesday with a swim test on Wednesday. This test was warmup, swim 750 yards (30 lengths in a regular pool) as fast as I can. The good news is my time was nearly exacltly what it was the last time I did this test. The bad news is that I didn't get any faster. Oh well, my IM isn't about speed, it is about being able to keep going for up to 17 hours. So tonight I have another bike ride and 30 minutes of strength training after vacation bible school.
Now, a possible problem with IMAZ. The man made lake venue for the swim is Tempe Town Lake. Imaging a dry river (it is the desert) with a section of it dammed using an inflatable rubber bladder system. Well, one of the bladder literally blew up last Thursday draining the 1 billion gallons of water in the lake. No one was hurt, the empty river was able to accomodate all of the water. However, there is no water and and Ironman is not a wade, bike, run. All indications are that they will have it repaired by November 1st and refilled by then giving 21 days before the event. Many people have asked if I am worried but it is silly to worry about what I can not control. My training continues just as if the lake is still intact. They seem to be well aware of the contract with Ironman and working hard to get it done in time for the event. Now, I just work hard, watch, and let the chips fall where they may.
More to come.
Tracy
It is back to training this week and is still a light week. The only explanation that I have is that all of my training thus far this year was to build a solid base and then to peak for Racine. Now that Racine is over, I rest, recover, and start building all over again for the IM in November.
So this week is mostly tests. I had an easy bike ride for an hour on Tuesday with a swim test on Wednesday. This test was warmup, swim 750 yards (30 lengths in a regular pool) as fast as I can. The good news is my time was nearly exacltly what it was the last time I did this test. The bad news is that I didn't get any faster. Oh well, my IM isn't about speed, it is about being able to keep going for up to 17 hours. So tonight I have another bike ride and 30 minutes of strength training after vacation bible school.
Now, a possible problem with IMAZ. The man made lake venue for the swim is Tempe Town Lake. Imaging a dry river (it is the desert) with a section of it dammed using an inflatable rubber bladder system. Well, one of the bladder literally blew up last Thursday draining the 1 billion gallons of water in the lake. No one was hurt, the empty river was able to accomodate all of the water. However, there is no water and and Ironman is not a wade, bike, run. All indications are that they will have it repaired by November 1st and refilled by then giving 21 days before the event. Many people have asked if I am worried but it is silly to worry about what I can not control. My training continues just as if the lake is still intact. They seem to be well aware of the contract with Ironman and working hard to get it done in time for the event. Now, I just work hard, watch, and let the chips fall where they may.
More to come.
Tracy
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Yes Coach... I hear you
Following big efforts it is important to take days off so that the damage done to the muscles can be repaired and supposidely your muscles gain strength. With that said, I read my workouts on Monday from my coach and here they are: "I know it is going to make you crazy, but you need to take this week off. Really"
I like the fact that she adde "Really" to the end. Sunday was so tough, she will get no complaints from me. It is Wednesday night and I am pretty sore. My quads are really sore and the week off it good. I am out of town this week so it works out really well. Next week I start to build for Ironman Arizona (IMAZ) so this week will be he last week truly off until after thanksgiving.
No more posts this week. Next week will begin anew.
Tracy
I like the fact that she adde "Really" to the end. Sunday was so tough, she will get no complaints from me. It is Wednesday night and I am pretty sore. My quads are really sore and the week off it good. I am out of town this week so it works out really well. Next week I start to build for Ironman Arizona (IMAZ) so this week will be he last week truly off until after thanksgiving.
No more posts this week. Next week will begin anew.
Tracy
Sunday, July 18, 2010
1/2 Ironman Racine was a success
You will notice some of my time is missing. One of the mats must not have picked up my sensor so therefore, no time.
The day started at 4:00am after a not very restful night. I never sleep very well before big races and I was actually awake at 3am. We got to transition at 5:10 and I got setup and ready to race. The actual swim start was a point to point swim so we had to walk a mile down the beach. I was in the 4th wave and following the national anthem the cannon went off and so were we. It was a beach start and the beach here goes on what seems like forever. Swimming is always faster than running through the water so you want to get swimming as soon as possible however, we had to run for 50 to 100 yards before we could start. The swim was a little rough, the wind had kicked up the wave a bit and it was choppy. At about the 1/2mile mark I remember riding the waves and figuring out to breath when you are at the crest of a wave and not a trough. Breathing in a trough = sucking water. Two things of note on the swim: 1) I swam up on someone doing the breast stroke and as I turned his way to breath he kicked me square in the stomach/ribs knocking the wind out of me. 2) First, swimming etiquette is that rarely do swimmers actually "swim over" each other. No one really wants to get tangled up with a fellow swimmer, it just happens and when it does (in my limited experience) you both try your best to spread out if possible. With that said, there was a faster swimmer in a wave swim up on me and he literally climbed over the top of me, multiple strokes up my back and side, he didn't care nor did he break pace so... it really made me mad so my next stroke on his side was with a very closed fist punching him somewhere as hard as I could. I am not an angry swimmer but that really made me mad. My swim was fast and right as I had planned. The run up the beach to transition was probably 150 to 200 yards.
The bike was as planned however the roads were horrible. They were filled with pot holes and poorly patched pot holes. At one point a rider asked if we were riding on cobblestones. There were water bottles everywhere that were knocked out of riders cages when they hit bad spots ont he roads. I'm not complaining, ashpalt roads in Wisonconsin and all of the salt etc.. has to be tough for crews to stay on top of.
The run was hot and humid. The high today was 95-96 degrees with over 75% humidity. My run was slow and I understimated the heat and its effects. I was glad to finish the 1/2 marathon. I was very glad to see the finish.
When the race was over, I immediately walked down to Lake Michigan and cooled off. Got something to eat and called it a day.
The race was a success. I hit all of my numbers except the run but I chalk some of that up to conditions.
Great day, resting now and driving home tomorrow.
Tracy
Saturday, July 17, 2010
It's go time
Getting ready for a long race is always a little nerve racking. Today started a little later than I had wanted just because the kids slept late, ate breakfast and had to drop the bike off in Transition. With 2,000 Athlete having to rack their bikes it is always a little crazy. Athlete meeting was today at noon where they go over all of the "special" things with the course. This one is no exception, we talked about the plan for thunderstorms, they told us the roads had many sections with asphalt patches running lengthwise down the lane and to "choose a side" trying to cross some of them will cause you to crash. Mostly the athletes meeting is quite a downer because they don't talk about all of the great stuff on the course, only what to do if things go south. I then racked the bike, took the kids to the beach where they played and Rene and I took turns swimming. Lake Michigan and North Beach is beautiful! The water is so clear it is nice to have an Open Water Swim where you can see for a change. The water will be a brisk 62 degrees tomorrow, in the wetsuit it will be perfect.
Once the swims were done, we drove the bike course. The roads are pretty bad but should only be a problem if we do get the rain they are talking about. If that happens, all speed goals are off and it turns to have fun and survive. There aren't any real big long climbs but many slow and gradual long ones. On the way back, any hills that you climb you get to come down on the way back, it will be a welcomed change. After driving the course, I did took a 30 minute run just to stay loose and get my legs ready for tomorrw, streteched really good and went to dinner.
Tonight consists of a lasagna meal and the Olive Garden, back to the room by 7:00, get my race bag and race gear ready for tomorrow and lights out by 9:30. We will be up at 4:00 and to Feedom Park at 5:00. There are 19 waves that will go off about 3 minutes apart. My age group 40-44 has 4 waves. So after all of that, my race will start approx 7:14 am and I should be done between 12:45 and 1:00PM.
signing off for tonight. When the National Anthem is played tomorrow before the cannon goes off this will turn from training to the Playoffs for me or as the saying in our family goes... All Business.... until I am done. I don't know what the day will hand me but I will deal.
More to come later.
Tracy
Once the swims were done, we drove the bike course. The roads are pretty bad but should only be a problem if we do get the rain they are talking about. If that happens, all speed goals are off and it turns to have fun and survive. There aren't any real big long climbs but many slow and gradual long ones. On the way back, any hills that you climb you get to come down on the way back, it will be a welcomed change. After driving the course, I did took a 30 minute run just to stay loose and get my legs ready for tomorrw, streteched really good and went to dinner.
Tonight consists of a lasagna meal and the Olive Garden, back to the room by 7:00, get my race bag and race gear ready for tomorrow and lights out by 9:30. We will be up at 4:00 and to Feedom Park at 5:00. There are 19 waves that will go off about 3 minutes apart. My age group 40-44 has 4 waves. So after all of that, my race will start approx 7:14 am and I should be done between 12:45 and 1:00PM.
signing off for tonight. When the National Anthem is played tomorrow before the cannon goes off this will turn from training to the Playoffs for me or as the saying in our family goes... All Business.... until I am done. I don't know what the day will hand me but I will deal.
More to come later.
Tracy
The Butlers and IronMan world champion
Getting ready for IM Racine and my wife spotted Craig Alexander. The defending IronMan world champion. Pretty cool. I hope fast rubs off on me.
Tracy
- read about my inspiration Deborah ... www.olneyfamilyonline.com
Tracy
- read about my inspiration Deborah ... www.olneyfamilyonline.com
Location:Kewaunee St,Racine,United States
Friday, July 16, 2010
What is better than 1/2 IM.....
Doing one in the rain. The forecast is calling for a 50% chance of rain on Sunday. I haven't seen if it is just rain or thunderstorms but we will see. My race goal may change from 5:20 to finish. We will see... Awesome...
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