End of the First Month.....

Yet again I fell off the blogging wagon but to be perfectly honest there wasn't a lot going on that would have been of interest to the few people that actually read this blog anyway!

It's been the first four weeks of the preparation for Ironman St George on May 5th so it's been pretty much eat, work, train, work, train, sleep for the month. The good thing is that training has been solid and it is a much better start that my prep for IM last year, when the shop was getting going and crazy busy. We are still crazy busy but I think I have a much better handle on how to fit everything in now....the Computrainer studio certainly helps.

So the numbers for the first month (skewed slightly by the first week being a recovery week)

Hours: 49hrs 04mins

Miles: 645.61m

TSS:3213

Importantly it has been a consistent number of hours per week and I feel in the perfect place to build into some big weeks now.

What better way to start the big weeks than this week....I have an 8-hour trail running race this coming weekend down at Lake Anna State Park. Sounds simple enough, whoever runs the most miles wins! http://www.athletic-equation.com/ICY-8_HR_ATR.html It's all part of a much bigger masterplan :-)

The Week That Was: Dec 17th - Dec 23th

Summary
Still on a running recovery period but beginning to ramp up the cycling and swimming to get ready for the January build. Had a few solid bike workouts, a couple of easy runs and then swims to get the feel of the water back. At the moment most of the riding is base work but the Computrainer sessions give some threshold work on a weekly basis. The rest of December will be pretty much a base building period.

Sat Dec 17th: Indoor ride at Parvilla, rode the Columbia Triathlon course.....feels way harder indoors than it does on race day. Solid intensity factor of .86 and a TSS of 91.

Sun Dec 18th: Cold ride outdoors through Upper Marlboro, included a dirt road to scout some training routes for Battenkill. Intensity factor gain was in the 0.85 range and a TSS of 202. Still working on base and need to do an FTP test to make sure the training zones are right, they may be a little low at the moment.

Mon Dec 19th: Went out for an easy hour run at lunch. Using WKO+ enables the rTSS to be computed which is really cool. Just about 8.5miles at IF of .84 and rTSS of 78. Legs felt ok after the marathon which is now 10 days go.

Tues Dec 20th: Swim at lunch with some harder intensity work in between endurance sets. IF of approx 0.75 and TSS of 57. The swim is gradually getting back. Rode on the CT after work and worked hard through a VO2 max set (IF 0.82 and TSS of 82)

Weds Dec 21st: Another swim set at lunch. Felt a bit tired so took it easy for endurance workout at lower IF of 0.7 and TSS of 45.

Thurs Dec 22nd: Snuck an hour run in after work. This run felt easy but IF showed 0.85 with a TSS of 89. 2nd week of Jan will be testing week for training zones.

Fri Dec 23rd: Furlough day from work so time for Fixie Friday for a primarily flat 3.5hrs with Ace and Pat. No power or HR numbers so had to estimate IF and TTS: 0.7 and 172


Total Time: 12hrs 53mins
Total Mileage: 185miles
Total TSS: 819

Rehoboth Beach Marathon Report....5th Overall

This is my marathon report taken from the Peaks Coaching Group blog....

New PCG coach Iain Banks ran his way to 5th place at the Rehoboth Beach marathon this past weekend with a 2hrs 43mins finishing time. Running with the lead group through 10 miles at 59mins, he passed the halfway mark in 1hr 17mins and then hit the headwinds of the Atlantic Ocean. The winds took their toll on the field and split the lead group over the coastal roads heading back to town. Holding strong Iain finished 5th overall and first in the 30-34 age group (by 12minutes). Iain said "the plan was to go out with the front group and hold fast for the first half. The 2nd half was always going to be hard with the winds and it proved to be". The run created an rTSS of 223.....a solid workout for the middle of December!

This race was fun, as much as a marathon can be fun and certainly gave me a good run focus heading into the winter. Once again thanks to Ecco for the great Ecco Biom A running shoes, they are my go to racing and training shoe.

The Week That Was: Dec 10th - Dec 17th

Summary

The week started with the Rehoboth Beach marathon on Saturday morning, the race that has been the focus for the last 8 weeks or so. The weather turned out to be almost perfect for marathon running with the exception of a strong wind in the back half. The race turned out great with a 2hrs 43mins finish for 5th place overall. The rest of the week was pretty uneventful in terms of workouts as it was really recovery. I did manage to get a nice solid 4hrs on the fixie on Friday taking advantage of a day off work.

Saturday Dec 10th: The race - Rehoboth Beach marathon. I felt good the whole race until about 23miles when the gravel trail begun to take its toll on me. Went through 13.1miles in the lead group in just over 1h 17mins and then the wind out in Cape Henlopen was brutal for the journey back. Pleased with this result, not quite a PR but gives me my Boston qualifying time for 2013! Run - 26.2miles TSS: 270

Sunday Dec 11th - Day off. Took the advantage to hobble to breakfast and eat some pancakes.

Monday Dec 12th: Recovery swim afterwork. Legs were still feeling like mush so just did some longer endurance sets. Swim TSS:20

Tuesday Dec 13th: Had a very unpretty run at lunch. I just wanted to get the legs moving again so went out for 30mins real, real easy. Just a smelling the roses kinda run. After work headed indoors to the Peaks Power Training Center and did half a threshold interval workout before cruising into the finish. Run/Bike: TSS:88

Wednesday Dec 14th: Another easy swim at lunch. No real structure to the workout. Swim TSS: 10 (real easy)

Thursday Dec 15th: Felt much better today and headed back to the Training Center for the same threshold workout as Tuesday. Legs are not less mushy and better on the bike at least. Working on a power FTP of 280 at the moment.....it's about time for an FTP test. Bike TSS:72

Friday Dec 16th: Day off work so took advantage to get 3hrs 45mins out on the fixies. Great weather and was purely an endurance day. Went out and did the Davidsonville route for the first time in a while. Legs were hurting towards the end but I love riding the fixie. Bike TSS:220

Total Time: 10hrs 41mins
Total Mileage: 142miles
Total TSS: 679