As I mentioned in my last post, the schedule for this week hasn't been too heavy, primarily because there were a few test sessions involved.
I did the first on Thursday morning. A bike test of 20 minutes all out. I did the test on one of my gym's spin cycles, since they have a watt meter and HRM installed on them. I don't train with power on my bike, but at least I can use that as a reference point for future tests. After warming up, I dove in, and felt pretty good about the effort:
Time: 20 minutes
Avg HR: 161, with a max of 171 near the end.
Avg Wattage: 296
RPMs: 96
This morning was a run test. After warmup, 4 miles, with 1-minute rest periods, each at 70% of my Heart Rate Reserve (HRR). The idea is to see if you're able to maintain speed without spiking up the HR. If so, it's time to ramp up the intensity of the runs a bit.
I think the results were good. Speed stayed the same or got faster as I went along, while keeping the AHR below the 70% HRR. I was surprised to find myself running at marathon pace with such a relatively easy effort -- guess the discipline of holding back this winter has been paying off.
1 - 8:24 - 134 AHR
2 - 8:17 - 138 AHR
3 - 8:15 - 140 AHR
4 - 8:20 - 138 AHR
We'll see what Coach Debi has to say about where I stand, but I'm feeling pretty good about that.
The rest of the week is pretty light: an hour easy ride and 4 mile run on Saturday, then an 8 mile run with some speed towards the end on Sunday. I'll post totals and look ahead on Monday.
Showing posts with label ken nail triathlon bath county men's 4-miler racing running age group. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ken nail triathlon bath county men's 4-miler racing running age group. Show all posts
Friday, January 13, 2012
Monday, June 20, 2011
Dual Race Reports: Bath County Tri and Men's 4-Miler -- 6/18-19/2011
Summary: A busy Father's Day weekend.
Saturday -- Bath County Tri -- 1:17:58. 2/8 AG, 20/131 OA male.
Sunday -- Men's 4-Miler -- 26:41. 4/48 AG, 53/449 OA
Bath County Sprint Tri:
A small field, beautiful scenery, and a course with a few tough wrinkles summed up the Bath County Tri. Bath County is located in the Allegheny foothills of western Virginia, and is notable for bed-and-breakfasts, The Homestead Resort, and miles of beautiful and wild rivers favored by anglers. A scenic but long drive deposited me at Lake Moomaw, a small reservoir with clear mountain water in the George Washington National Forest.
Packet pickup and setup was uneventful. I chatted it up with a 50-year old on my rack who saw my Boston hat. "2010, huh? I've got the same hat. It was windy this year..." We chatted a bit more as we sized each other up. Nice guy, but probably my competition. A short jog, a little practice with my shoes on the pedals mount/dismount, and a little swim and it was time to race.
Second wave for the swim, a long rectangle in nice mountain water. 76 degrees, so I wore my wetsuit. Thought I sighted well, and moved up through the first wave as I went along. Stopped my watch at 15:24 for the swim, which seemed slow. Based on other times, I think the course was a bit long.
Swim -- 15:24. 3/8 AG, 32/131 OA male.
Wetsuit off in a jiffy at T1 -- plenty of BodyGlide this time around. Helmet, glasses on, grabbed the bike and ran. Smooth shoes on the pedal mount and off to the bike.
T1 -- 1:03. 1/8 AG, 20/130 OA male.
The bike was an out and back on closed roads with pretty smooth asphalt. There was a steep climb about 1/2 mile in that caught me by surprise and in the wrong gear while I was grabbing a drink. Weaved embarrassingly across the road while I got into the right gear. I hammered down the other side of the hill and then into the false flats and small climbs of the outward leg. There weren't many on the course around me, but I overhauled a few riders. 21 minutes and change for the first 6.2 miles.
At the turn-around it was hammer time and I really got rolling. This was fun! Payback came on the return of the course's first hill, but at least I was ready this time. A nifty barefoot flying dismount and it was into T2.
Bike -- 37:00. 1/8 AG, 21/131 OA male.
I noticed that my rival's bike wasn't into transition yet as I racked. Maybe I could hold him off, since I figured he'd have a strong run leg. Shoes on, grab my hat, belt and gel and go.
T2 -- 0:36. 1/8 AG, 9/131 OA male.
Not a good start to the run -- there was a nice hill right out of the gate, and I couldn't get my legs on track right away. After about a mile in the course leveled off and I got into a good rhythm.
Then my shoe came untied. I ran with it for a while, but finally decided it had to be tied. The second I knelt down I saw a figure with a "50" on his calf zoom by me. C***!
I took chase, but he had too much speed for me on this day. Nonetheless I made up for a disappointing start for the run with a strong finish over the last mile. Not a good run though, even factoring in a hilly run course.
Run -- 23:56. 3/8 AG, 32/130 OA male
Overall, I thought my run let me down a bit. I'd done everything I'd needed to win my AG until that point. Anything near what I think I'm capable of would have sealed the deal. But hey, I won an insulated lunch bag!
Overall -- 1:17:58. 2/8 AG, 20/130 OA male.
Men's 4-Miler
This race, which benefits prostate cancer research has always been the junior partner to the Women's 4-Miler. This year, with the date changed to Father's Day, and the location changed to UVA, there was a much bigger field. I think a lot of us looked forward to the on-field finish projected onto the stadium scoreboard video screen. Pretty cool.
I started towards the front, near Mark Robbins. As we got onto the course he pulled about 5 seconds ahead. In our last race together that was the end of it, and he crushed me by over a minute at the MJH 8K. Today I didn't let the string snap and kept him in sight, but couldn't quite find the speed I needed to overhaul him.
Had a good finishing 1/2 mile or so, and came in strong. Really fun to emerge out of the stadium onto the field. Overall a good run on a warm and humid morning.
26:41 (just off my 2008 PR). 4/48 AG, 53/450 OA.
Saturday -- Bath County Tri -- 1:17:58. 2/8 AG, 20/131 OA male.
Sunday -- Men's 4-Miler -- 26:41. 4/48 AG, 53/449 OA
Bath County Sprint Tri:
A small field, beautiful scenery, and a course with a few tough wrinkles summed up the Bath County Tri. Bath County is located in the Allegheny foothills of western Virginia, and is notable for bed-and-breakfasts, The Homestead Resort, and miles of beautiful and wild rivers favored by anglers. A scenic but long drive deposited me at Lake Moomaw, a small reservoir with clear mountain water in the George Washington National Forest.
Packet pickup and setup was uneventful. I chatted it up with a 50-year old on my rack who saw my Boston hat. "2010, huh? I've got the same hat. It was windy this year..." We chatted a bit more as we sized each other up. Nice guy, but probably my competition. A short jog, a little practice with my shoes on the pedals mount/dismount, and a little swim and it was time to race.
Second wave for the swim, a long rectangle in nice mountain water. 76 degrees, so I wore my wetsuit. Thought I sighted well, and moved up through the first wave as I went along. Stopped my watch at 15:24 for the swim, which seemed slow. Based on other times, I think the course was a bit long.
Swim -- 15:24. 3/8 AG, 32/131 OA male.
Wetsuit off in a jiffy at T1 -- plenty of BodyGlide this time around. Helmet, glasses on, grabbed the bike and ran. Smooth shoes on the pedal mount and off to the bike.
T1 -- 1:03. 1/8 AG, 20/130 OA male.
The bike was an out and back on closed roads with pretty smooth asphalt. There was a steep climb about 1/2 mile in that caught me by surprise and in the wrong gear while I was grabbing a drink. Weaved embarrassingly across the road while I got into the right gear. I hammered down the other side of the hill and then into the false flats and small climbs of the outward leg. There weren't many on the course around me, but I overhauled a few riders. 21 minutes and change for the first 6.2 miles.
At the turn-around it was hammer time and I really got rolling. This was fun! Payback came on the return of the course's first hill, but at least I was ready this time. A nifty barefoot flying dismount and it was into T2.
Bike -- 37:00. 1/8 AG, 21/131 OA male.
I noticed that my rival's bike wasn't into transition yet as I racked. Maybe I could hold him off, since I figured he'd have a strong run leg. Shoes on, grab my hat, belt and gel and go.
T2 -- 0:36. 1/8 AG, 9/131 OA male.
Not a good start to the run -- there was a nice hill right out of the gate, and I couldn't get my legs on track right away. After about a mile in the course leveled off and I got into a good rhythm.
Then my shoe came untied. I ran with it for a while, but finally decided it had to be tied. The second I knelt down I saw a figure with a "50" on his calf zoom by me. C***!
I took chase, but he had too much speed for me on this day. Nonetheless I made up for a disappointing start for the run with a strong finish over the last mile. Not a good run though, even factoring in a hilly run course.
Run -- 23:56. 3/8 AG, 32/130 OA male
Overall, I thought my run let me down a bit. I'd done everything I'd needed to win my AG until that point. Anything near what I think I'm capable of would have sealed the deal. But hey, I won an insulated lunch bag!
Overall -- 1:17:58. 2/8 AG, 20/130 OA male.
Men's 4-Miler
This race, which benefits prostate cancer research has always been the junior partner to the Women's 4-Miler. This year, with the date changed to Father's Day, and the location changed to UVA, there was a much bigger field. I think a lot of us looked forward to the on-field finish projected onto the stadium scoreboard video screen. Pretty cool.
I started towards the front, near Mark Robbins. As we got onto the course he pulled about 5 seconds ahead. In our last race together that was the end of it, and he crushed me by over a minute at the MJH 8K. Today I didn't let the string snap and kept him in sight, but couldn't quite find the speed I needed to overhaul him.
Had a good finishing 1/2 mile or so, and came in strong. Really fun to emerge out of the stadium onto the field. Overall a good run on a warm and humid morning.
26:41 (just off my 2008 PR). 4/48 AG, 53/450 OA.
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