A busy training week. The volume totals: 5900 yards swimming, 92 miles on the bike, 41.25 miles running.
Monday is my usual lighter day after a big weekend - just a 50 minute swim in the pool. Tuesday was a 50 minute swim, followed by a 2 hour treadmill run of 13 miles. Wednesday I did the max VO2 testing, which was actually a lot of fun and a tough workout in itself. Thursday had a 2 hour trainer ride followed by a 30 minute run.
I skipped Friday night's planned 2 hour trainer session and 30 minute run - the sun was shining, it was in the low 60s, and I decided the best way to spend the evening was with Theresa out on the deck, enjoying a few glasses of wine. Much as I enjoy training, life is too short to make that the only thing in my life. And a day of recovery couldn't hurt.
Saturday morning was a series of hill climbs with Jill and my triathlon team. First we climbed "Zoo Hill" on Cougar Mountain (2.6 miles, 1200 foot elevation gain, 10% average gradient). This was my first climb up what is often considered the toughest climb in the Seattle area. I usually don't ride this, because I frequently ride most of 153rd Ave home at the end of rides, and I don't need a lot more hill climbing.
Anyway, it was tough the first time, especially since I didn't know what was around each turn. I'd driven down the hill once a few months ago, but that's totally different. I got caught on the inside of the tightest switchback, and I really had to grunt out that climb. Never get caught on the inside of a switchback. Jill's instructions for the hill were to stay at AeT+10 (158 for me) to AeT+25 (173). No problem...
We rode down (with me doing alternating braking to avoid overheating my Zipp carbon wheels), and then rode up right back up Zoo Hill again. The second climb was actually easier since the anxiety of not knowing what to expect was gone, and I didn't have try to keep something in reserve for the second climb.
After the second climb, we headed over to and then down Lakemont Blvd and then climbed it twice, standing for the first mile (!!) then riding all the way to the top past the park and almost back to the top of Cougar Mountain before heading back down to do it again. My rough GPS data shows we climbed about 900 feet in 3.1 miles on each ride. My heart rate was steady at 160 or so during the standing climb. I was really happy with that, because only a few months ago the idea of climbing the bottom of Lakemont Blvd while standing would have been crazy talk. Those trainer workouts have really paid off...
All rides end with a run, so after I headed home (climbing over the top of my own local hill, another 200 feet of climbing) I headed over to Redmond for a 60 minute out-and-back run on the Sammamish River Trail. Theresa and my daughter Lana came along; they shopped at Redmond Town Center while I ran my 6.4 mile run.
Sunday I went for a 3 hour out and back run on the same trail, with Shannon and Mark who are also training for IMAZ. It was great to have running partners to talk with and share tips and stories. We separated on the way back so we could each run at AeT pace. My 148 bpm pace was around 8:30 or so, which is a big improvement over last year. The run totaled about 18.7 miles or so. After the run, I headed over to the Pro Sports Club (aka "ProClub") and did a 50 minute, 1750 yard swim session. The kickboard work was tough, and my arms were surprisngly tired as well. Next time I think I'll swim first...
This week marks the end of high volume training before IMAZ on April 15th. Now the nature of the workouts will change to more specific strength building and maintenance.
IMAZ 2007 should be quite an event for me and my family. My training is solid, the house rental was worked out, the whole family is coming - I'm really excited about it.
Bruce,
Nice work @ IM-AZ07. I checked out your results & it looks like you made marked improvement in all disciplines as compared to 2006. And, from my research 2007 looked to be a more challenging day with those winds we faced!
Posted by: Bob McRae | Saturday, July 14, 2007 at 07:00 PM