Gettin' in Shape

44 minute run with 8 x 1 minute hill/sprint intervals at 4% incline and 9mph.  

Drill sets,  base interval, sprint intervals, and kick sets for the swim. 

Foundation run for today.  I finished with 8:06 min/mi average.

Drill sets, fartlek, and speed intervals in the pool. 

I finally got the STG Ironman course the other day and got it downloaded on the computer. For the ride, after warming up on the trainer for 10 minutes, I rode the first 33 miles of the STG Ironman course.  I pulled an average of 191 watts with an average speed of 18 mph.  I think being able to ride the course on the trainer is going to be a big help in preparing for the race.

A little slower pace for the run averaging 8:34 min/mi.  I think I pushed a little too hard on the bike yesterday and I wanted to take it a little easier today so my legs are ready for a long ride in St George tomorrow.

For the swim I had my first 2 mile time trial.  The training schedule only called for 2800 meters but I push that out to 3200 just to see what I could do it in.  I wanted to finish at or under 60 minutes and ended up coming in at 58 minutes.  I was surprized to come in 2 min under 60 min.  My fastest mile swim is 27:30 so I was excited about the 58 min time for 2 miles.

Two of my brothers and I went down to St George to ride the Ironman bike course. We started in Washington, followed the course into St George, rode the loop, and finished at the intersection of Tabernacle and Main street where the bike to run transition will be located. It was nice weather and was good to get out on the road. We got a little cold after the Veyo hill with the sun lower in the sky and higher speeds of all the down hill coming into St George. My neck also got quite sore. I guess while on the trainer I'm not spending enough time holding my head up in the proper position.

We rode a total of 56 miles finishing with a 16.4 mph average. It felt like we we're a little slow through some sections. My brother still doesn't have a tri bike and I coasted down most of the hills and still matched his pace.

As for the three big hills, their rideable with a 39/53 crank and 11/28 cassette. On the first short steep one I was on the 39 and 28 rings and was out of the saddle the whole way up. For the second big hill I was on the same 39 and 28 rings and stayed down for the first half of the hill but then had to get out of the saddle for the last half of the hill. On the last hill (Veyo) I was on the 39 and 25 rings for the first third of the hill then the 39 and 28 rings for the rest of the hill and was down in the saddle the whole way up.

The first two hills really took it out of me and it took some time to recover after reaching the top. On the Veyo hill I felt good all the way up and my legs were in good shape and ready to go after reaching the top. I think the course is doable with this set up and for now I'm going to hold off on getting a compact crank. I did finally get the STG Ironman interactive course for my Computrainer and have riden the first 33 miles. I need to ride the first two big hills and see what wattage I'm pushing to get up them. Also, I need to ride two loops of the course and see how my legs feel the second time through the hills. After that I should know if the current set up will work.