Two More Tri Workouts

Yesterday I did my longest scheduled Brick workout at Haley Farm afterwork: 54 minutes on the bike (~11 miles) and 27 minutes running (~3.1 miles). The run felt hot, humid and difficult - my legs were certainly struggling from the get go. I felt overheated all night. Today and ran down to Eastern Point Beach and did 6 lengths (~0.4 miles). Not many jellies (took one on the left forearm - but not bad) and the water felt wonderful. I swam pretty cautiously looking for jellies - which probably wasn't warranted - I think maybe there are less when you have low tide - or when the tide is heading out. Most importantly, I've borrowed a road bike - which I hope to take for a spin tomorrow at lunch or in the afternoon.

Overall, it's been a pretty solid week of training - with 3 critical workouts already complete: long run, brick and swim. I just want to round out the mileage (I've done ~18 eq. miles so far) and test the road bike over the next two days - and then do some easy workout next Monday and Tuesday.

Long Run Monday

Today I headed out for a 'long' run of 7.25 miles which I finished in 1 hour, 2 minutes and 26 seconds: a 8:37 pace. It felt pretty labored - like I was going much faster. Hopefully that's just the heat. It was the longest run I've done this month - although I've been pretty good at getting long runs - over 6.5 miles every week this month. On injury news - my right foot felt a little sore - like the shoe tread was getting thin or something. I'll have to make sure to do swim or bike workouts for the next few days.

Doable Training Schedule

Damn Jellies!

Hit Eastern Point Beach again today at lunch: teeming with jelly fish. Pretty big ones by our standards (not as big as shown), about the size of a honey dew melon - and lots of them. I made it through 4 lengths with just my arms getting stung - but then my chin/chest got nailed at the turn around between lengths 4 and 5. I finished up quick (lots of breast stroke so that I could see what was coming) then headed in. I'll try and do the postponed brick on Saturday - otherwise I'll just have to live with it and make certain I get 2 rides in next week.

Another Longish Run

Made it out for a 2 loop long run. I did the first loop (3.1 miles) with Dave over 27 minutes then headed back down for another slightly longer loop (3.6 miles) that took 32:20. Total time was 59:20 for 6.7 miles - another sluggish pace on a day that still felt muggy and humid. Worth noting: I had some mild shin splints. I'll probably aim to do the Brick tomorrow morning on the way into work. I'm now recovering with some grape juice. If you take away any training tips from this pretty useless blog - try that one.

Nick Bottone Track Mile

Last night I took the girls over to the Nick Bottone Track Mile at Westerly High School. I had them sit on the infield and eat Utz Salt and Pepper chips (the best chips in the world), while I took the track for the 6-7 minute heat. I ended up finishing second behind some teenage girl, with a 6:03 mile. I thought I'd be able to run her down and was actually worried about being the old dude that passed the innocent kid during the last lap, but she actually beat me going away - good for her. I also did a quick 3 miles at work before departing for the race - as to keep my weekly total looking ok (9.6 total - will probably do another 6 or 7 today).

Eastern Point Swim

Today I did a run/swim down at Eastern Point Beach in Groton. Another warm and muggy day here. The water felt very good and there were a number of other swimmers out today. Mileage: 3.2 miles run, 0.4 in the water (~2.4 eq. miles). I'm hoping to get over to the Nick Bottone Track Mile tomorrow night - so I may not do anything special tomorrow. If I can't make that - then I may try to duplicate last Friday's Brick workout after the kids are in bed.

Kids in Bed Brick

So I managed my Brick tonight: 57 minutes riding (~11 miles, all trail) + 18 running (~2.2 miles). This would be about 5 eq.miles - so a pretty good night. Actually, it marks the most miles and minutes on the bike so far. I'd like to do about 3 more 60 minute bricks (2 with a road bike) before the triathlon. Yes, I'm going to try and do it, and maybe even bike in a few more times after that - can't let the fear of getting run over by a car keep me in one! Although, I have to say - hitting the Bluff Point and Haley Farm trails tonight was awesome - I may have to try that workout again. The 'Twilight Trail Ride'. I saw 2 deer and one ground hog and a few cute baby rabbits.

My totals for the week turned out pretty good: 20 miles running - flat out + 3 eq. miles swimming and about 3 riding - for about 26 total - my largest in a while. Not bad considering how well I was doing mid-week. Hopefully I can bump that up a tad more next week. I'd like to get close to 30 two weeks in a row. And maintain some good cross-training aerobic capacity through August before bringing back some speed and tempo work in the early fall.

Schenecossett Beach Swim

Today I got invited to another Schenecossett beach swim. These workouts really are the best - this beach is great! I ended up doing the 6 lengths (.6 miles), plus the run to and from beach. I'm really glad I made it since I didn't make the Y last night (8:30 closing!). Bonus - no Jellies today. All I need now is the Brick workout - which should be doable sometime tomorrow or Saturday.

The postcard picture is intersting. I found it on a Town or Groton web site. I think the view is looking east towards Avery Point - before the campus was put there - but what's up with the small mountain in the back?

Long and Hot Part II

Tough run today in the humidity. We did 6.75 miles over 57 minutes. It felt difficult. I'm still struggling with the swim/bike part this week. I'll try and head to the Y for an easy 825 tonight in the pool. And I may try to do a brick workout either Friday (vacation day) or Saturday - depending on how life progress.

All Limbs Accounted For.

As predicted, I didn't make the Sailfest run on Sunday, so today was my first day back after getting run of the road on my bike on Friday. I managed 5 pretty slow miles (43:30) in the humidity and on legs that were still feeling battered and bruised. I think they loosened up a little during the run and I feel pretty good right now. Certainly, night time and getting up in the morning is when I'm hurting the most. The question now is how I'll do the rest of the week. Tomorrow I was planning my second brick workout - but I'm not jumping up and down to get back on the bike. I'm also not certain about swimming with still oozing open wounds and news of jellyfish invading the Long Island Sound waters. At the same time, I don't want to pile-up running mileage on legs that may need some rest, or give-up on my aspirations for a triathlon in early August.

First Ever Brick Workout

A bike, followed by a run is a brick workout. Today I biked into work (46 minutes) and then ran for 15 minutes outside of work - down towards Eastern Point. I'll also bike home - so my equivalence mileage should be 4.5 bike (18 total) and 2 run - bringing my total for the week to just over 22 miles (about 11 of which was running). That's not bad, but after my killer Monday, a little disappointing.

This weekend features the Sailfest 5K road race, bright and early Sunday morning. I'm going to try and make it over - should be doable since my in-laws are visiting. I'm really not very certain where my overall fitness is - with so much of my miles coming on the bike or in the water. I suppose I'll find out. The weather, at least, should be pretty moderate for this time of year.

Update: Sailfest may be out. I was side-swiped by an old dude in a mini-van coming home for work yesterday. I don't have many injuries - all things considered - but my leg is a little swollen where the van rubbed against it. Any bikers have suggetions on how to avoid bad drivers? I already take back-roads/trails when possible - but the whole experience has me thinking twice about biking.

Shortened Run

I forgot my socks. I went out anyway and cut short my 'long' run - to avoid getting bad blisters. I ended up going for 4.625 miles. I felt pretty good, minus the feet rubbing on the shoes - although even that wasn't horrible. My stomach is upset now - but I'm not certain it's run related. I plan on doing my brick workout Friday (4.5 biking and ~2 miles running), perhaps with a run/swim at lunch. I'm at 16 miles form the week - and should be over 22 again (possible ~28).

Bike, Run, Swim.

Today is turning out to be my own little triathlon. I biked into work, for the first time in about a month. Then I took advantage of another invite to do the .6 mile swim down at Shenny. Of course, I'll bike home also: 18 miles biking, 0.6 swimming and 3.2 running - which is (in my 'equivalence' world) good for over 11 miles. This gives me a lot of options the rest of the week. I still want to get in a 'brick' bike/run (another 7+ day), and a long (6+) run day - so I may not do much else on the other days - wherever they may fall.

Another Great Run/Swim

Ran down to the beach again and had a nice 0.6 miles swim. The day was beautiful, the water a little choppy and I managed six lengths (~22 minutes of swimming). Total eq.miles was a little over 6.5, giving me 22 miles total for the week. A pretty good week considering the how short it was. It's amazing how much harder yesterday 6.1 was in the humidity, compared to today's swim. Swimming is certainly the easier workout this time of year.

Hot and Long

Doesn't sound like a run, does it? But that's what I did today. 6.12 miles in the hot humid sun. I was lucky enough to run into a slower runner, so I did the first half in 29:30 (9:30 pace!) and then did the remaining half in 27 minutes (~8:40 pace - felt much harder than that). That's a tough run in that humidity. Brings my weekly total up to 15.5 miles - with one day today.

Afternoon Run

Went out today by myself for the 3.8 mile Avery Point loop. I managed to do it in 31:10, which isn't great - but it proves how slow I was last week (33 and 35 minutes - ugh). I'm having a better week, although I won't be getting a bike in and I'll have to think about what to do over the weekend (not sure I wanna go 3 days without doing anything).