Life after Ironman

Life after the Ironman is bitter sweet.  I very much enjoyed my road to Ironman.  Race day itself was amazing and a day I will never forget.  However I am glad the training is over. I needed a break. The Ironman goal has been with me for so many years and was a large part of my life this year, and now it is over.  In some ways it is like there is a piece of me missing now.  There are many items from personal, professional, and athletic that I said would have to wait until after the Ironman.  I am now tackling them. 

But what is next?  I have no idea.  In some ways I miss have the looming goal of a massive endurance event.  I have some ideas for events to do in 2012 and beyond but nothing is concrete.  I also enjoy not having the pressure of needing to train.  I recently one morning turned my alarm off and went back to sleep.  It was great.  I did not feel guilty or the need to make-up the missed session. 

SeeYa!

Photos from the event

CFE in hindsight after an Ironman

Ironman Louisville was my first Ironman but I have had competed in numerous triathlons from sprint to half iron utilizing traditional endurance training protocols.  This was my first year of triathlon using the Crossfit Endurance approach.  Historical I have been a good swimmer, a much better cyclist and a weak runner.  Every triathlon I have done always presents itself with those results when compared to the rest of the field.  Using CFE I felt very good and confident with my swim and bike training. 

My swim training volume was low, drastically low, compared to my peers however my intensity was through the roof.  Most of the training season I swam twice a week using in intervals in a 25 yard pool.  I rarely did a tempo or time trial swim.  I didn’t feel like I needed it.  Looking back I would have changed only one thing: start swim training later to allow time to concentrate of the other sports. 

For the bike I typically did one interval session (usually hill repeats) and one longer bike ride.  My rides ranged all the way up to 100 miles but typically stayed in the 30 – 60 mile range.  This is a bit longer than called for in the CFE protocol, but significantly less than the traditional approach.  My bike weekly mileage was over a 100 miles less than average Ironman participant (in accordance to the athlete guide information).

The run is my Achilles heel.  I do think the no brick approach that CFE has is wrong.  However I don’t believe it is necessary to do more than 1 every 10 – 14 days.  The recovery cost is high.  It is unfortunate that I discovered late in the season the intervals sessions that worked best for me.  Mile and ¼ mile interval session seemed to work best.  I do agree than any training run over the 10 – 13 mile distance is not needed.  Whatever fitness is gained from the longer runs is lost to the extended recovery.

I consistently showed up to my crossfit gym 3 – 5 times a week.   At times this is less than the CFE protocol requires, but it worked for me.

I will do another Ironman at some point in the future.  If I had to decide now what training protocol I used it would be CFE with some changes.  Every 4 – 6 weeks I would throw out Crossfit and Crossfit Endurance and train with a traditional LSD approach.  This would allow to mix-it up, thoroughly test nutrition, and mostly gain confidence.  Below is how I would schedule a CFE week:

Monday: Crossfit (usually a longer WOD)             CFE short swim intervals
Tuesday: CFE run mile intervals                                                Crossfit or long swim intervals
Wednesday CFE Bike hill intervals                           Crossfit
Thursday: Crossfit                                                           CFE run 400 intervals
Friday: Crossfit or long swim intervals
Saturday: Longer (40 – 70 miles) but hard bike and possibly followed by a 20 – 40 min run

The above would be my approach for an Ironman.  It is what I feel would work best for me.  That has to and will differ from person to person.  I would absolutely agree with and RX CFE for a sprint or Olympic distance triathlon.  The reason I feel as though I need more distance for the Ironman is a reflection of the event itself, my weak run, and mostly because there are just some issues that can only be encountered over a long distance.  Please do not take this as anti-CFE but rather adaption for myself for such a great distance spanning 4 sports: swimming, biking, running, and Crossfit. 

The biggest downfall to the CFE method for me was that I mostly went at it alone.  There were training groups in the area riding and running miles upon miles but my format didn’t match well to theirs.  Obviously I had my crossfit class, but my swim, bike and run WOD’s were typically done by myself.   At times it was tough to motivate myself.  I expect that would be different if I had some people to train with. 

Through this experience starting from my CFE cert in November 2010, I have learned a great deal about myself, crossfit and crossfit endurance.  Both the websites, the Crossfit journal, the forums, and my local box were instrumental in getting me to the finish line.  However my wife was by far the most supportive person and best cheerleader I could have asked for. 

IM Louisville Race Report

Pre-Race: My morning started out at 3 am.  I woke before my alarm went off.  I had a protein shake and a cliff bar.  I made it to transition around 4:45.  I checked out my tires, put my starting fluid on the bike, and handed in my special needs bags (which I never saw again).  I made my way down to the swim start where I found a friend already in line close to the front.  I sat down next to him and waited.  This is a time trial start where we lined up based on first come, first served.  There is nothing too exciting to report about the waiting in line process.  The race officials handled the line well in an attempt to get everyone started quickly.  I heard it took less than 30 minutes to get everyone in the water.  I was in the water within 2 – 3 minutes.

Swim:  (1:14:32) Even though it was a time trial start it was still crowded, but I was told it was not near as bad as other IM swims.  Being a point-to-point swim, most of the swim was with the current.  I could tell there was a current while swimming which was nice.  Overall the swim was uneventful.  

T1: (6:55) The swim exit and the large transition area was about ¼ mile apart.  I jogged to my bag, went into the tent, put on my tri top (with some help since I was wet), stuffed my nutrition in my pockets, stopped by the porta-potty to pee and then ran to my bike.  

Bike: (6:12:32 avg 18.1 mph) First of all no flats on the bike which was awesome.  I removed the rear bottle cages on my bike to save a little weight as the aid stations were well stocked and usually about 10 miles apart.  There were lots if hills which I prefer since I could rest on the downhill.  On the course there is a short out and bike which has some of the worst hills.  At one point some guy was dressed as the devil with pick fork running along cyclist encouraging us to get up the hill.  Next is the 2 loops around a small town in Kentucky. About half way through the first loop I was passed by the leading pro on his second loop.  This was very cool and I used the moment to speed up to stay with him just to enjoy the race atmosphere in of its self.  Of course that last about 30 seconds.  On the second trip through the town I spotted my wife and friend waving me along.  That was very cool and gave me a bit of an energy boost.  Eventually the energy tapered, but before I knew it I was passing the 70 mile mark.  It is funny how long 112 miles seems, but looking back it went by so fast.  I tried to enjoy each and every pedal stroke.  I was good until about mile 80 when I started to get stiff from being in the aero position and on the bike for so long.  At that point I wanted off the bike.  The last 12 miles into transition seemed to last forever.  Overall I am very happy with my bike.

T2: (7:52)  I got off the bike and handed it over to the volunteer.  I thought about yelling at them not to worry because I didn’t pee on my bike, but before I knew it was gone.  In hindsight, I should have left my shoes on the pedals because the trot down to the bags and changing tent was slower than I would have preferred.  Once I was in the tent I switched over to my run gear.  Once again I had to pee, but this time it seemed to last forever.

Run: (5:50:52 avg 13:23/ mile)  The run started with a short little out and back half way down a bridge.  From there we went on a 2 loop course which was really another out and back twice.  The run is by far my weakness, and this run course was boring.  I ran straight for the first 3 or so miles (except walked through aid stations).  Then the dreaded run walk process started.  I made constant deals with myself that if I ran to some sort of marker down the way I would walk.  Somewhere around mile 10 or 11 my stomach felt upset.  I started taking in water, pretzels, and chicken broth.  That made a world of difference.  At the turn around I saw my family. I kissed my wife and my daughter.  They were so happy to see me.  A friend of mine ran with me for about a mile.  It was nice to have someone I knew with me.  That gave me a bit of energy that lasted until close to the turnaround.  For some reason I became obsessed with finishing the marathon under 6 hours.  I started calculating where I needed to be and when.  A one point I struggled to run, but I didn’t want to slow down to a walk.  So I resorted to power walking…. Like a mall walker.  I was passing people that were walking.  That was funny.  Finally I hit mile marker 26.  I looked behind me, and there was nobody there.  Just in front of me was one runner.  I wanted to cross the finish line by myself.  Yes I wanted the stage to myself.  So I sped up and ran (almost sprinted) and crossed the finish line by myself basking in the glory of finishing the Ironman.

Below is a picture of me just after I finished with my daughter.  She was very excited about the whole atmosphere and kept calling me an Ironman.

I am an IRONMAN!

I finished with a time of 13:32:22

Swim – 1:14:32
T1 – 6:55
Bike – 6:12:13 (avg 18.1 mph)
T2 – 7:52
Run – 5:50:50 (13:23/ mile)

Race Report to come soon. 

It Is Time

Well I am less than 3 days away from the event.  At this point I am second guessing myself and my training.  I put in significantly less volume than anyone I have talked to.  I did however drastically increase my run volume the last 4 – 6 weeks.  This did lead to shin splints.  For weeks I have been on the border line of shin splints.  I also iced them so much I got some small burns.  I do believe that my longer than CFE prescribed taper should have let them heal enough.  I am hopeful that the lack of a good taper was the downfall of my 70.3 and Olympic triathlon this summer.   Also the run is supposed to be flat which should help a lot.  On a very good note the weather forecast looks positive with the high in the low 80’s and lower humidity.  Of course now I am just rambling. 

Track me on Ironmanlive.com.  My bib number is 1473.

It’s Getting Close

I have been on new programming approach and the run volume has obviously increased a lot.  The 1 mile and 5k repeats definitely have a longer recovery period than I am used to.  The heat and humidity has been very high lately causing slower runs than I would like.  I am still amazed that I haven’t lost much if any weight during this.  My diet is fairly clean and I am obviously burning a lot of calories.  I do fear the 195lbs that I currently weigh will have some very negative repressions on the run.  Oh well, there is nothing I can do about it now. 

This week I was side tracked with a sinus infection that hit me hard and fast, but with all of the air quality alerts we have had, I guess that is to be expected.  The doctor put me on prednisone to quickly address the inflammation, but it will come with other side effects that will not be desirable. 

Tomorrow I have my last crazy long workout consisting of 3 rounds of 30 mile bike + 4 mile run.  I anticipate that this will take anywhere from 7 – 9 hours.  I got this workout from a former triathlon coach who used more of a traditional approach rather than HIIT as CFE does.  This was the workout he recommended to do 3 weeks out and that is where I am. 

Next week will be my last full week of training.  10 days out is when the taper starts to go into full effect.

Link to training plan

70.3 Reflection and change to my programming

I have spent quite a bit of time reflecting on the 70.3 from hell and what went so wrong.  Although this was a bad race, I think it was an invaluable learning experience.  I have a new set of tires.  I will ride with more than one extra tube.  I will address my neck issue by a possible stem change and/ or not looking up so much.  I will also drastically increase my run volume.  I also realized my taper was not as good as it should be for such a long race.  At the end of the day, my goal is and always has been just to finish the Ironman.  I am comfortable I could do that now with a proper taper and the flat running course that makes up the marathon portion.  One thing I will admit is that the CFE approach has worked for me on the swim and bike.  I have spent so much less time swimming and biking as compared to previous years.  I am truly happy with my swim and bike fitness. 

The change in my programming will be very much like CFE, but will differ in some ways.  There are some themes I will keep.  I will not run over 2 – 2.5 hours.  I believe and my experiences tell me so that the additional fitness gained from a longer run is lost on the extra recovery time required.  However I will include more transition runs.  My bike distance will also increase, and I will do bikes closer to 6 hours.   I am dropping a CrossFit WOD and replacing it with a CFE run interval WOD.  So my new typically week will consist of:

·         Crossfit – 3x a week (will avoid heavy met cons)

·         Swim – 1 CFE short interval session + 1 CFE long interval session

·         Bike – 1 CFE interval session (probably hill repeats) + 1 long ”er” slow ”er” session of 60+ miles with up to an hour transition run.  The pace will be in between Tempo/ TT and Long Slow Distance

·         Run – 1 CFE short interval session (400’s or 800’s) + 1CFE long interval session (1 mile or 5k repeats) + 1 long ”er” slow ”er” session of 10+ miles.  The pace will be in between Tempo/ TT and Long Slow Distance

Link to training plan

Cardinal 70.3 Summary

The bike course takes primarily on the IM Louisville course, and that is the reason I choose the race. 

The swim was a 2 loop course.  Half of each loop was against the current, so my overall swim time was slower than I expected, but I did well in comparison to others in my age group. 

Once I got on the bike the race went downhill.  I flatted less than a mile into the bike course hitting a pot hole.  I should have gone back to transition and picked up an extra tube, but that did not dawn on me for some reason.  Until mile 45 the bike went well although my neck did hurt a lot.  I will need to address that with a bike fit change.  I flatted again at mile 45 without an extra tube.  I had to sit on the side of the road until some nice lady gave me an extra tube.  With the flats my bike time was horrible.  It was one of the worst in my age group.

The run was a 2 loop very hilly course.  This is where the race went from bad to worse.  The hills were no joke and forced me to walk at least half of the 13.1.  I took me over 3 hours to finish the run which was by far the worse run time in my age group and put me dead last in my age group by over 20 minutes.  My final time was 7:23 which is just downright embarrassing. 

I continue to reflect on why my run went so bad.  One thing is for sure that I will need to change my training regiment.  I will either drop CFE or move to a heavy run biased CFE programming.  For now I am on vacation this week, which I will enjoy and only run a few times. 

Old Hickory Sprint Tri recap and prep for 70.3

The Old Hickory Sprint tri had a strange format of 400 meter swim, 1 mile run, 12 mile bike, and 2 mile run.  This was primarily because the race organizers could not get the transition area close enough to the water.  I was very happy with my results, but unhappy with my placement in my age group.  My swim was good.  My bike was very good.  I averaged over 23 mph and past a lot of people.  I believe that was in the top 5 bike split.  I really enjoyed passing all of the cyclists with aero helmets and zipp wheels.  However my run, which was better than I had personally ever done in a sprint tri, was still not good enough to earn me a place on the podium or even anywhere close.  The run is my weakness.  It always has been, and I’d imagine it always will be. 

On Saturday I will be participating in a small 70.3 in Louisville which is primarily on the IM Louisville course.  This serves as a test run for me.  I am certain I can predict my results of a good swim, above average bike, and a meltdown on the run.  The question is how much will I meltdown as compared to the 70.3 I did 2 years ago with traditional LSD training and very little strength training.  I will admit I weigh about 10lbs heavier than the previous 70.3, but I am significantly stronger.  I have also spent a lot less time swimming, biking, and running than I did 2 years ago.  That time 2 years ago was 6:21:31. 

After the race, I will be heading straight to vacation on the beach which is nice.  For the few (if any) that read this I will attempt to quickly post how the race went.

Link to training plan

Harpeth River Ride & My Day in Court

On July 11^th I completed my first century of the year, the Harpeth River Ride.  It was an organized ride through Franklin TN and surrounding areas in Williamson County.  Lance Armstrong was even there, but I only saw him on stage shortly before the ride began.  He did ride the 100 mile route but with his personal SAG team.  It was very very hot.  I felt great except for the last 5 miles when the heat got to me.  However this was a great confidence boost.  Apparently I was holding my head incorrectly as my neck started to really hurt after 60 miles or so.  I was looking up too much.  That is something to work on. 

I also recently attended traffic court for my ticket for not stopping at a stop sign on my bike.  I am still really pissed about this whole thing.  Why this overweight deputy felt the need to issue me and other cyclist citations is beyond me.  I noticed that during the traffic court all of the sheriff’s deputies seem to have weight issues.  I don’t get it.  Why are these law enforcement officials overweight and obviously out-of-shape?  As a resident of this county I find this embarrassing.  Anyways, the judge enforced the ticket.  Now I will be heading to traffic safety school for 4 hours because some stupid deputy decided to harass cyclist….

My training is going well.  I am competing in a sprint triathlon this weekend and a half-iron in about 2 ½ weeks.  These will be a great test for CFE and my programming.

As far as my switch up to include some LSD, I have been fighting over training symptoms at time.  I think I will pull back a little on this but lean towards longer interval and tempo work on the bike and run.  I believe I can get by with 13.1 being my longest run, but 30 miles on the bike isn’t long enough.  I will need to sprinkle in some longer distance.

Link to training plan

My Growing Concerns with Crossfit and Crossfit Endurance

This is by no means a CFE bashing blog, but I do have 2 concerns about the methodology for me.  Everyone is different, so these may not impact others.

1.   I am too heavy.  My body fat is lower than I can ever remember, but on the scale I simply weigh too much as I am just under 200 lbs.  This is impacting my running and causing me to be slower than I would like.  I am by no means a fast runner, but I should be running faster than I currently am running.  I think the combination of Crossfit and lots of anaerobic training (CFE) is increasing my muscle mass.  If I wasn’t training for an Ironman, I would be very excited about this, but I fear this weight will have a major negative impact on the run leg.

2.   I cannot pace.  It seems through all of the CF and CFE WOD’s I have lost my internal gut feeling of how to pace a long swim, bike, or run.  However I think this can be easily solved by just a few practice “long slow distance” sessions.

To accommodate for these two concerns I am switching up  my programming for 4 weeks to include “LSD”.   These weeks will look something like this:

Monday: CF WOD, CFE Run WOD

Tuesday: Long Swim

Wednesday: CF WOD, CFE Bike WOD

Thursday: Long Run

Friday: CF WOD, CFE Swim WOD

Saturday: Long Bike

Sunday: Rest

This format will allow me to hit an interval and an LSD session per sport per week.  I do fear I may run into recovery and over training issues, but I will adjust if needed.  In the end of the 4 weeks, I hope to see that I weigh less and run faster. 

Link to training plan

In the meantime, here is my favorite Ironman motivation video.  It really starts to get good about a minute into the video.

Brick Repeats and Disney

Well my pure volume week went well.  I ended it with a crazy brick repeat session of 4 rounds of 20 mile bike/ 3 mile run.  Time wasn’t my concern, but it did take over 7 hours to complete which included bathroom breaks, drink refills, etc.  This was a good workout but it if I didn’t have scheduled time off after, my training would have been hampered as it took several days to recover from. 

I got a long delay during my second round while a Williamson County sheriff deputy who was concerned for my safety issued me a $197 citation for running a stop sign.  Keep in mind I was on my bike.  She seemed happy to inform me and another cyclist that she had caught others.  It seems as though we were targeted.  To be honest the deputy would better serve herself to get on a bike instead of harassing cyclist.  To say the least she appeared a little out of shape.  I did get a laugh when she commanded me to dismount my bike.  I guess she was afraid I would try to speed away, but obviously I couldn’t out run her patrol car.  My question to her, where are they when dump trucks almost run us cyclist over.  Well my opinion of the sheriff’s department is not good.  If I go to court I wonder if they will send me to cyclist safety school. 

Last week I went to conference in Orlando then spent several days at Disney with my family.  I did not train during this week as I just wanted to spend time with my family.  I walked a total of what seemed like 50 miles and stood on my feet in long lines.  My diet consisted primarily of fast food like meal (e.g. bacon cheeseburger, French fries, and coke).  Somehow I lost 5 pounds, but my AM Crossfit WOD today took a serious performance hit.  I also ended up with some indigestion and other GI related issues that I will not describe here.  I am ready to get back on track now.

This week, I have a short training week that ends with Muddy Buddy. 

Link to training plan.   

Not My Day

Well on April 30^th I ran the ½ Country Music Marathon.  During the week I had some conferences and seminars to attend which required me to pull back on my training due to scheduling issues.  It setup me up for a nice taper.  Friday morning I was feeling good about the race and hoping to PR a ½ marathon.  Then later in the day I started to feel head cold like symptoms come on.  They just got worse through the rest of the day.  When I got home from work I had a massive head ache.  I knew then that the ½ marathon wouldn’t go well.  I woke up Saturday morning feeling worse.  I would not have trained feeling the way I did, but I was already registered for the race and didn’t want to waste the money.   So I went ahead.  I started off a little too fast then got into a nice pace.  I momentarily had delusions that my head cold would not slow me down.  Around mile 6 I was hurting and slowed down.  I ended with 2:08 which I find horribly disappointing.  However the ½ CMM is not my goal of the year, so I told myself to let it go and move on.  I will just write it up as another crappy CMM.  Last year I attempted the full but was cut short for 4 miles due to bad weather which really wasn’t that bad. 

After a short recovery, I have about a week of pure volume training outside the CFE protocol that I will now put in until I take a week off for a conference and vacation.  My goal is to simply put lots of yards and miles in and then recover during the trip. 

Link to training plan

Pushing Through

Well I have been back to the CFE methodology for a few weeks.  I consistently perform 4 CF WOD’s and alternate 4 CFE Interval WOD + 2 Tempo/ Time Trial and 5 CFE Interval WOD’s + 1 Tempo/ Time Trial per week.  The 2-a-day (1 CF & 1 CFE) workouts are tough from scheduling and physically dealing with 2 high intensity workouts in one day.  This approach has me finished training for the week by late Saturday morning.  Sunday is my day off.  Sometimes I feel a bit conflicted seeing all the other LSD weekend warrior endurance athletes pushing through long workout on both Saturday and Sunday, but I remain committed to this training protocol.  I had my first run in higher heat and humidity than I have been used to.  It was very tough, and pace was downright disappointing.  However, it is still early in the year, and I still have time to train and acclimate to the heat (whenever it comes back). 

I am also completing in the Crossfit open sectional WOD’s.  My current rank is so bad it is a joke.  Hopefully I can use this year as a benchmark for years to come.  The ½ Country Music Marathon is only a few weeks away.  If the weather cooperates I hope to PR my half marathon time, but the course will not make this easy. 

Link to training plan

LSD (or volume) Week

This is a week where I abandon the CrossFit Endurance approach and just focus on volume of training and not necessarily quality as prescribed by CFE.  I started with a 50 mile bike/ 4 mile run brick on Sunday.  The weather was great and it was nice to be outside!  However that workout left me drained for days.  My long swim workout a few days later didn’t go very well as I was still fatigued.  I also spent 2 hours on the trainer and scheduled for a 10+ mile run on Saturday.  I can tell my CFE WOD’s are working for endurance training.  I felt very strong on the bike, and I expect to see the same on the run.

Link to training plan

By the way I watched the movie Kick-Ass while on the trainer.  It was surprisingly a very good movie.  Here is a clip from one of my favorite scenes. 

This Is Not A Shortcut!!!

Well I am finishing off my 7^th week of training.  The week included long intervals (long for CFE):

Swim 3x500

Bike 3x10 miles

Run 3x5k

This definitely took a toll on me and looking forward to Sunday, my day off.  On the Crossfit front I PR’ed Fran (21, 15, 9 reps of 95lbs thrusters and pull-ups) with a 5:46 time.    

I have heard and read many endurance athletes say that CFE will not work and there is no shortcut.  I guess because there is less time involved, there is a perception this is a shortcut.  From my experience, completing a Crossfit WOD and a CFE WOD on the same day (which CFE methodology calls for) might consume less time but it is no shortcut.  Two anaerobic high intensity training sessions a day for 3 – 4 times per week is tough as hell, and I am physically wrecked by day’s end.  However since the sessions are shorter, I do recovery quickly.  The fast recoveries are what it is all about. 

Link to training plan and results

Cedars Frostbite Half Marathon

I decided to use this half marathon as a training run.  I probably wasn’t ready for the distance, but I wanted to put CFE and myself to the test.  I finished in 2:03 with a 9:27 pace.  I must admit I was disappointed but it was a tough course.  The first 3 miles was still very slippery with packed down snow, slush and even ice from the recent snow.  After the snow we had 2.5 – 3 miles of gravel.  The gravel was packed down on the side where car wheels would roll, but it was uneven.  The middle was very rocky.  There wasn’t really a good place to run.  I ran a very conservative 1^st mile then averaged 8:30 until mile 9 when the ice and gravel caught up to me.  I slowed down more than I wanted.  There were also only 3 aid stations.  Four would have been better.  The absolute worst part of the race was that the advertised post race pizza was absent.  I walked away with a long sleeve technical shirt and the race only cost $22, so that was very nice.  In the end I am glad I got the experience in, and I will still forge ahead with the CrossFit and CrossFit Endurance approach.

By the way this morning’s CrossFit WOD turned out to be 45 155lbs clean and jerk for time.  That was crazy!!!

Link to training plan

There have been better weeks

Halfway through the week I completed all of the CFE interval training I will do this week.  I do have 2 long time trials coming up.  My times so far this week have been disappointing, but that is probably due to several events over the week.  Friday was a concert with some friends where we eat like crap and drank way too much.  Saturday I attempted to recover from a hangover, and Sunday was the Super bowl, where I ate like crap again.  Work has been usually stressful so far this week.  All of these factors have played into slower times.  I am hoping to get back on track with the 2 longer time trial to include a half marathon on Saturday which will be my first test of CFE.  

Link to Google spreadsheet of my training plan.

20 Minute AMRAP

Last week I did a 20 min AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) for swim, bike, and run.  In each workout the rest was included in the 20 minutes, so the entire workout was 20 minutes.  The swim was 20 minutes of 50 yd sprint rest 30 seconds.  This was not too difficult.  Next time I do this particular workout I will increase length, increase time, and/ or decrease rest.  The bike was .25 mile sprint (on the trainer) with a 30 second rest.  The run was a 200m sprint with a 30 second rest.  Both the bike and run was very tough.  This CFE 20 minute AMRAP is highly recommended. 

Link to Google spreadsheet of my training plan.

5k PR

Well Saturday I ran in a 5k at the Nashville Zoo.  It is neat because it actually runs through the zoo.  Although I cannot say that I paid too much attention to the animals as I was focusing on the race.  I wanted a PR, but I did not expect to PR by 46 seconds with a 22:00 time and a 7:06/ mile pace.  I was very excited about this time until I realized that I will now be doing TABATA and other treadmill WOD’s that use the 5k PR pace at a 15 second faster pace.  That will suck! 

My wife and 2 year old daughter also participated in the race.  My daughter thought that she too could run the race and refused to stay in the stroller.  She ran a total of about a mile.  Here is a picture of us finishing together as a family… well I guess my second finish. 

The Training Plan

And so it begins.  My training plan to Ironman Louisville began on 1/17/2011.  I am working on the programming for the plan and it will be available for viewing in a Google Doc format.  I will update it as I proceed.  As a constant I will attend 4 CrossFit Middle TN WOD’s a week with only a few exceptions.  There will be weeks that I will throw out the Crossfit Endurance Methodology and concentrate on just going long.  These weeks will be for testing myself, testing my nutrition plan, testing pace strategy, and building up my confidence that I can indeed go long.  However I do not believe these weeks will do much to increase my aerobic capacity.  That will be increased through the CFE methodology. 

The plan will begin with slowly building up the number of CFE WOD’s each week.  The goal will be to maintain 4 Crossfit WOD’s, 4 CFE WOD, and 2 Tempo/ Time Trial WOD’s per week.  I have also included some time off for planned activities. 

Link to the plan

Jan 9 – 11

Jan 9

CFE – 6 x 200m with about a 90 seconds recovery… fastest 200 was 34 seconds

CF  - CrossfitMT WOD.  This one was tough

Jan10

35 minute time trial Swim – 1900 yards

Jan 11

80 minute time trial on bike on trainer… disappointing 20 miles by the computer.  I am thinking the new fluid trainer is tougher than the road

Jan 6 & 7 2011

Jan 6

Crossfit WOD 6 rounds + 2 jumps.  I used 35 lbs Kb and 2 tires (35” high) for jumps

CFE WOD 30:20 x 8 with bike fresh from the shop and a new fluid trainer.  Was in such an anaerobic fog at the end I lost count so I may have done than 8 rounds

Jan7

Just Crossfit WOD – 9:32

Jan 5 2011

Just the Crossfit WOD today.

Jan 4 2011

The Crossfit WOD at my local Crossfit gym didn’t appeal to me so I used a spin class at a local gym as a tempo/ time trial workout instead.  I know that is not the correct approach but it worked for what I have.  I should be getting my bike back from the shop and a new fluid trainer soon.  Until it gets warm out, I will use the trainer for bike workouts. 

Jan 3 2011

AM CF WOD

Back Squat 3-3-3: 260 on the last set.  That is a 3 rep PR for me!

                             then

15minute AMRAP 10 pull-ups 20 air squats: 12 rounds

PM CFE WOD
4x5 minutes with 3 min rest:  I did this in a 25 yd pool and hit 300yd each round

Back to Just Crossfit

For the time being I have gone back to just doing Crossfit WOD’s 4 – 6 times a week.  It is too early for full swing CFE Ironman training.  I anticipate I will start this in mid January to mid February.

Dec 24 2010

70 min Time Trial (TT).  Decided to break this up between swimming and gym spin bike… I just couldn’t see myself spending all 70 minutes on either one, and I didn’t feel like I was ready for that long of a run.  I covered 2,000 yards in the pool first and finished the time on the bike.

Dec 23 2010

AM WOD Fran 6:38 plus Diane not timed

Lunch WOD 2×5/5×1 on the rower plus a bonus of 5X1 on the gym’s spin bike

Trying to get back into it

Although I have been very consistent with Crossfit, I have not really been doing much with CFE.  I decided to run a few two-a-day’s this week with a Crossfit WOD in the morning and a CFE WOD later.  On Tuesday 12/21/10 I started the morning with GI Jane and then ran 4 x 800 with 90 seconds rest on the treadmill later in the day.  I cannot remember my splits, but it was the first time running in awhile, so I really wanted knock the cobwebs out of my running shoes.  Today I started the day with Ron Burgundy is the Balls and a Tosh swim later.  These two-a-days are tough and mentally challenging.  When I get into full swing I will be doing 4 of these.  It will be tough, but fun!

A start to a pool swim triathlon a did a few years back