Trying to plan a season

The Old Bobby is coming back...is this a good thing or a bad thing?



Ok for the first in nearly two years I'm trying to plan out a season. Last year was crazy as I was trying to figure out if the Navy was going to take me, plus some crazy life issues. Now I've signed up for another Ironman. Now this time my Ironman will be different. In 2008 and 2009 Ironman New Zealand was my season opener. I essentially spent four months training with no races on my schedule. This year Ironman Kentucky is toward the end of my season, which now means I have to give thought into what races I should enter as qualifying for Kona is my ultimate goal. Now in a normal year I usually do 2 halfs, 2 olympics and 2 or 3 sprints. I know my body is capable of doing 3-4 halves but with the Ironman I have to watch my finances as well as my body as doing 140.6 miles in the peak of my season is a whole new ball game.

So 2011 has my inner coach fighting the inner accountant.
Initally I was planning on doing the Rev3 half at Quassy and the Patriot half. The positives to these two races is Patriot is $50 cheaper than most of M-Dot 70.3 races and Rev3 is in my own backyard so that cuts out a hotel. . Essentially I would spend the first half of my season building base and then work on going fast for the mid portion of it and then maybe race Montauk or Long Course Nationals to close it out. I wasn't planning on being able to get into an Ironman but when I saw that Ironman Louisville still had spots after Christmas I figured I would go for it.
So now I need to try to break my season down to be at optimal performance for August, which now has me wondering if I should break my season down further. Enter my inner coach.
My inner coach is saying well Rev3 or Patriot would be a good option and I should do Providence 70.3 as it falls in mid-July and would give me a good last warm up before Louisville. The problem Providence is more expensive than Patriot, and would require at least a one night hotel stay, and from experience a hotel for 2 nights in Providence would cost me the same as 4 nights with a rental car in Louisville.
I consulted another area athlete who has her degree in this stuff, essentially her call was play it by ear, and if I decided to race Providence to use it as a training race. $500 between race entry and hotel for a weekend in RI sounds like an expensive tab for a training day, so it looks like I maybe creating my own LD training race in mid July. Likewise I do have some shorter distance races that I usually do on the schedule. The Griskus Sprint like always, is on the list and my goal for that race is to try to top 15 as I was in the top 25 last year. I may go back up to Holliston and race my girlfriend's hometown Sprint, granted they shortened the distance, and I was thinking about going back to Park City to avenge a disappointing finish from last year. Ideally I want to do 5 races the thing I need to decide are which ones.

R.D.

Here we go again...

Well I finally committed to my third Ironman and this time it's a little closer to home.

Yep that's right I signed up for Ironman Kentucky. I've heard some good things from my teammates from HEAT who have done it in year's past. There will be somethings I'll have to get used to, first of all this will be the first Iron distance race I've done measured in miles, likewise it will be the first Ironman where I'll be biking on the right side of the road, and oh yes it falls in the middle of a good ol' hot and humid southern summer. The heat isn't serving as a deterrent as I've raced well in the heat. I nearly got a Kona slot a Eagleman a while back and I managed to podium in my age group last year at the Griskus. If I make sure I'm slathered in a good layer of sunscreen I should be fine. The other major change is this time my Ironman will be toward the end of my season instead of the beginning. Ironman New Zealand served as my season opener in 2008 and 2009, I put in training but had no races for nearly 4 months before, it will be interesting to see how I'll perform after a few races and nearly 6 months of training instead of the "Clyde Crashcup School of Ironman Training." I'm hoping that I'll be able to get that coveted Kona slot granted my fear is I don't want to burn my legs out early in the season. Likewise last season I didn't do anything longer than an olympic distance try or any runs over 20 miles. So there will be some more time spent in the weight room this winter trying to build my legs and core likewise I'm been putting in some marathon treadmill sessions, so mentally and physically I'll think I'll be tough enough to get this thing done.

So breakout the Bourbon Boys Bobby's going to Louisville

R.D.

Snowpocalypse Now!

"You smell that salty smell, that smell smells like wet salt, that's brine, I love that smell, it smells like , like victory."

Ok before I start writing a 2 hour epic based on plow drivers stuck in the Northeast, loosely based on Conrad's The Heart of Darkness, I'll explain the title. The weather guys in the Northeast have been calling our continual storms Snowmagedon and Snowpocalypse. This week blizzard/ winter storm number 7 or 8 in a row is scheduled to hit Tuesday, Wenesday and Thursday, really throwing a crimp in my workout plans. ( Looks like no run or swim for Bobby, breakout the bike trainer.) Seriously this weather is starting to get old...in fact it's more than old I'm getting tired or cleaning my car every week and hearing how much over our annual average snowfall we are. I'm tired of my drive way being covered in a thick layer of ice. I'm tired of not being able to run on the streets because the snow drifts have clogged the far right lanes and shoulders I normally run in. I'm tired of snowmounds that are nearly double my size. I'm done with weathermen smiling with glee at their doppler radars and doomsday forecasts. I'm tired of this cold icy mess sucking my soul into a cold icy pit of despair. (Ok I went a little overboard on the last part.) Ok meltdown over. Last week was productive on the run front as I was able to gut out a couple of 4 mile speed session and a 10 miler on the treadmill. I did two pool sessions and hit the trainer. It looks like this week is going to be spent on the trainer, with my dvd collection. Likewise my income tax refund comes rolling in so I'll be able to throw down for my Ironman if there are still spots. Things are looking ok but there has been some personal/ family drama and like the snow it's more than old. I don't know why but my natural defense mechanism is to withdrawl and isolate myself, maybe I feel shitty if I go over in the corner and feel shitty by myself, it'll pass faster or make less people feel shitty but regardless that's besides the point, right now I just want to get my ass entered in some races and possible have a mid winter thaw show up so I can run outdoors again.

R.D.

Learning to love the Dread...I mean Treadmill.

Well this winter has been probably one of the coldest and snowiest in New England in recent memory. We've already received our average yearly snowfall in the course of 20 days and even more is expected this week. We've gone in to our annual cold snap of like 4 days where the temperature will not get above 20F, in fact tomorrow's high will be a balmy 8F. ( note to self I really need to move to someplace warmer.)

Reading Claire's, Charisa's and Bree's Blogs really makes me jelaous of those people who live in climates where 40F with a slight breeze is considered an Artic Blast. I haven't run out side since the end of December so to cope with the ice the snow and temperatures that would have an eskimo shivering I've had to start using to the indoor training tools. Now I'm not one to give kudos for the treadmill. In fact I rather layer up and suck it up in the cold but with nearly 4 feet of snow clogging up the road sides the treadmill seems to be the safest running option. As a result my Thursday run session saw me running a 10 miler on the treadmill. Now for a short distance and speed work the treadmill is a valuable tool as it can test your fitness and hold you to your goal pace. On Monday I did a 5k at 7:30 pace on varying grades. Thursday's run wasn't anything special. I kept the grade at 0% and ran at 8:00/mile pace. As I gutted out the miles I kept thinking of one of Hillary Biscay's workouts where she talked about doing a treadmill marathon. Apparently getting over the tedium of running to nowhere is supposed to build mental toughness. After an an hour and twenty minutes on the minutes on the treadmill I could understand why. Most people will gut it out for 10-20 minutes, occassionaly some will go for 30 even fewer for 45 and only a hardcore few will go for an hour or more, and almost all of them will have ipods. So I did feel a little badass after my run. With more snow and icy cold temperatures predicted in the forecast it looks like I'll be trying to up my mileage on the machine. But despite the mental toughness factor and the fact that I sweat out more calories than a weightlifter in a sauna I can't wait to run outdoors again.

R.D.

Blizzard Training

Well, we are dealing with our second major storm within a week in New England. We just got two feet of the white stuff. My siblings and co-workers have heard my why the hell am I still in New England and not in California, Hawaii or someplace warm rant for the 50th + time. The roads are closed and with 2 feet of snow on the road and counting so I can't really run but the bike trainer is set up I have plenty of Dvd's and waterbottles so it looks like I'll be getting some bike base in.
With my cassette and chain wear I am able to keep the bike in the big ring on the front so I'll be keeping it on the 15 cog on the back, and focus on building aerobic strength. I'm hoping to send out my entry fee for Ironman Kentucky next week ( hopefully there will still be general entry slots.) My training has been hodge podge for the last couple of weeks with the storms, the holidays and a head cold that will just not seem to kick loose. Tomorrow after switching with a co-worker I'll have a day off so if the roads are passable I'll try to get a swim and a lifting session in ( with maybe an outdoor run or treadmill session.) I feel like I'm always planning but only follow through on a portion of what I want to get done. Upon stepping on the scale and seeing my weight was 179lbs ( from an underabundance of training and an over abundance of Candy, cookies and other Christmas treats.) I need to get my rear back in gear so I can be in ironman shape for August , granted I have gotten myself race ready in shorter time than this. But my goal is I want to qualify for Kona, and while 11 hours is a good time, I want to see if I can break into the 10 hour bracket. So today I have an hour on the trainer scheduled and then some corework.

Happy Training
R.D.

The Rut.

Well every winter we all hit it. That week or so where the training goes to hell in a hand bag, as the weather is bad or other obligations get in the way. This year I've hit the rut early with Christmas and a massive blizzard shutting down my Workouts and then New Years then this week a head cold and car troubles tonight kept me from the pool. So I haven't worked out in a week which has me feeling a little worried and a little down. I need to get my bike to the shop and replace rear cassette and chain so I can ride my trainer when all else fails. Essentially I have racing goals that I need to take care of this season and I want to be in better shape than I was last season. This week I was hoping to come out of the gate like a raging bull but I came down with a head cold which kept me laid up yesterday. Then today as I was making my way to the Y my car suddenly lost power on the highway and began making a loud clanking sound. In my head I ran through the check list of what could have let go. It wasn't a tire or anything in the suspension because it wouldn't effect the engine A belt? No The car sounded like it was misfiring but I just replaced the plugs and wires in the summer. I crept into a rest stop and called for my dad to come take a look at the car with me. I figured worst case I could use the roadside assistance plan I have through my wireless plan to get a tow. Upon opening the hood I noticed nothing was wrong with the belt. I turned the car on again and heard a misfire. My dad came down and noticed the spark inlet in the side of the block and the plug hanging by a wire. Apparently it had blown clean out of the block. After a trip to Auto Zone and then a trip back home for tools. We replaced the plug and wire, but not in enough time to get to the gym. But the most important thing my car is operational, and thankfully my dad was able to help me get it back up and running. Tomorrow I will have to set time in the morning to try to do doubles.

My run sessions haven't been as long as I've wanted but I have been getting some quality speed work on the treadmill and I have been using the spin bikes at the Y to try to get my cycling strength and cadence up. They are talking more snow this weekend, but I'm hoping that it won't be as heavy as the foot that received two weeks ago, so hopefully the shoulders of the road will be clear enough to run on.

On the professional side I'm seriously looking at coaching. I was talking to one of my friend Alex who is a trainer at the Waterbury Y and one of the head honchos of the Y tri club. I ran the idea of tri coaching past him and he told my to get in touch with the head of the tri club to see if they would give me a shot. Part of me is scarred in that I'm a low tech, hodge podge rag tag triathlete that won't be taken seriously. I have decent results but let's face it I'm not Mark Allen or Dave Scott. I never won a race overall, and haven't won my age group in a race in nearly four years. I don't use a heart rate monitor myself, I eat what ever nutrition I can find on the sale rack essentially I'm not sure if my Clyde Crashcup school of training will work for everybody. I know the basics, I know how to coach swimmers and runners, I'm learning more on training in cycling. I've done two ironmans, three stand alone marathons, seven half ironmans 4 of those in under 5:05. According to some people I have something to offer, I'm just hoping my results have been by doing something right on the training front and not from being a freak. So I'll run it by the Y honchos either this or next week, figure the worst that anyone can say to me is no.

Well that's all from me
Happy Training.
R.D.

Training like I used to.

The past few weeks have been good on the training front, especially in the pool. I'm back up to over 4000 yards per session, well ok I do a slacker workout ( 3000-3500) as a recovery workout.

I did attempt the Spinervals 2 hr. Base Builder on Monday only to give up 15 minutes into it. Sadly again the reason was not physical, it went down sort of like this:
Coach Troy: Alright let's kick it into the big ring 15 for 30 seconds.

I would try to shift and it would take nearly 30 seconds for it to get into the big ring. Not to mention the gears felt like they were slipping the entire time I was pedaling. The problem is I know my cassette and my chain are shot but I was hoping to change them in the spring, after Monday's Fail it looks like there is a trip to the bike shop in my future. ( So Santa if you can drop off an Ultegra 11-25 10 Speed Cassette and a 10 Speed Ultegra Chain, you would make Bobby Very Very Happy this year.)

The running has been a little lack luster due to the freezing temperature and the fact that I get out of work later at night. I did get a 11 mile run in on Sunday and I have been starting to use the treadmill for my shorter weekday runs inorder to throw in some tempo and speed work. I think I already mentioned my beastly 52 minute 7 mile workout.

So today since it's my last day off for the year I've got a long run on tap I'm hoping for 10-15 miles I'm debating if I should do it in Wolcott where the traffic is psycho or if I should move it to Middlebury where the roads are a little more peaceful. In either case there will be rubber hitting asphalt today.

Happy Training
R.D.