Weekly Ramblings - 2/7/11

Workouts:

My bike workouts have been pretty good, last week I had a set of 6x4', the 6th being a bit higher than your 20' FTP by 3-5 watts, then that acted as the baseline for this weeks set.  I managed to squeeze that out, but I was walking funny afterward!  The battery in my Quarq died, and surely I did not have a spare in the house so Wednesday and Thursday Bike/Run got swapped, not ideal, but I still got them in.  Biking at 5AM takes a whole different mentality, and I can tell that I did not have as much in me, it was hard to get going and push some numbers out. 

Monday: S- 2000 Yards (37 Minutes), B-18.85 Miles (65 minutes)

Tuesday: R-  6.5 Miles (55:48 Minutes)

Wednesday: S-  2800 Yards (52 Minutes), R-  6.5 Miles (55:02Minutes)

Thursday: B-  15.57 Miles (56:05 Minutes)

Friday: B- 22.67 Miles (80:52Minutes) 

Saturday: B- 25.50 Miles (90:01Minutes)

Sunday: S- 1500 Yards (25 Minutes), R - 10.06 Miles (88:20 Minutes)

	Distance	Time
Swim Totals	6300 Yards	1 hr 54 min
Bike Totals	82.59 Miles	4 hr 52 min
Run Totals	23.06 Miles	3 hr 19 min
Total Volume		10 hr 5 min

My first 10 hour week where I have not felt like I was taken out back and beat to a pulp! Sunday was 48 degrees in the Twin Cities, so I took advantage of a nice long run outside.

Week-In-Review:

I am quite happy with how my nutrition has been going, despite the one goof-up from the Superbowl, I have been doing well and think I have finally gotten it dialed in for the time being.  I am seeing weight come off at a fair rate, not too fast as to affect performance, but also not so slow you need a postal scale to measure it.  Thursday morning I hit the absolute lowest I have been in nearly 10 years if not longer.  My energy levels are through the roof, my performance in all sports continues to build, and I am feeling good.  I cannot wait to get on the new Kestrel bike and get outside to see how it translates on the road.  Here is an example of a day for me.  I have not gone to the extent of counting calories, and I probably could afford to do it a few days to get an idea of what I am taking in.  I know when I start getting into some build weeks my intake will have to go up for performance not to suffer.

• Breakfast:  
• Oatmeal
• Early morning: 
• Cup of tea
• AM Snack: 
• Banana with PB and sometimes rolled in some granola
• Lunch: 
• Leftovers typically (Turkey Burger, pasta and sauce, soup, or turkey roll-ups with peppers and some cheese) 
• Peppers or Carrots with hummus
• Snack:
• Green Smoothie(Kale, Banana, Frozen Strawberries, and Orange or PB depending on the day)
• or fruit such as Red Grapes, Orange
• Late Snack/Post Workout:
• Laughing Cow Cheese with Pretzels 
• or
• 3 or 4 Turkey/Cheese on club crackers
• Post Workout Drink: Skim Milk mixed with a bit of Hershey Dark Chocolate Syrup
• Dinner:
• Main Course: (Turkey Burgers, Soup, Pasta/Sauce, BBQ Chicken Pizza, Taco Salads w/ ground turkey, Spinach/Basil Stuffed Chicken Breasts)
• Sides: Cottage Cheese is big in our house, sometimes green beans or corn
• After-dinner treat:
• I am on a huge kick of the Dove Dark Chocolates, 1.. ok maybe 2 

By no means is this the only way, the best way, or the way for you.  It is what I have found to work well for me so far.  One thing I plan on doing in the future (probably after we end up moving into our new place) is post more recipes.  I have been finding all sorts of new things to try that are great to shake up the norm, some have even become regulars on our menus.

I had a successful weekend of eating which sets me up nicely for this week.  I am at the same weight as I was on Friday, meaning my weekend did not put me off track much if any!  My energy has been great during workouts and I am feeling like I am headed in a great direction for success!

Sunday's long run was outside in 48 degree weather!  This felt like the tropics since only a week ago, it was -18! 60 degree swings in temp are quite nice when they are going up.  The run was a bit windy, some pretty heavy winds from the west made running that direction a bit harder than expected, but when it was at my back, I was warm!  I was overdressed to say the least.  With as much snow as we have had paired with the higher temps, there was a lot of slush, and water runoff.  Most of the run was manageable, but one section I trudged through was 20 steps at pace, through 4 inches of ice cold water, BURRRRRRRRRR!  I was wet up to my knees, luckily I had wool socks on, so a few minutes later my feet were toasty again. 

Trakkers:

I received a care package from Carole and Rev 3 Tri on Friday! What a nice gift with a new Trakkers visor.  My wife's first comment was "Sweet now I will be able to spot you easily!"  Thursday I received my first shipment of TriSwim products, and I had to wait until Sunday to use it!  I was a bit disappointed, but schedules did not allow me to get to the pool to try out my new products! A shout-out to SBR Sports Inc I must say it only took one use to be convinced!

• Foggle: This stuff is pretty sweet, I have no problem spitting in my goggles to prevent fogging, so this was probably the least of the products I was eager to try.  I took a pointer that you can reuse the cloth up to 5 times by storing it in a ziploc baggie.  I gave it a shot, and I was shocked, what I thought was poor vision to my goggles being cloudy, was probably more cloudy from my spit.  Highly impressed with how well this works, and still no fog!  

• TriSwim Products: I was super thrilled to get these in.  I know some swimmers and triathletes believe 'chlorine' is a growing cologne scent, but I am not particularly a fan, and the female I am trying to impress is even less impressed with the scent.  There were 4 bottles: Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, and Lotion.  I gave the first 3 a shot, and I even got approval from my sweetheart (Hey! It is Valentines day!)

• TriSlide: I gave this a shot on Saturday for my long ride, and wow.  It is hands down better than lathering up with chamois cream.  I was quite impressed with how easily it applies and keeps things friction free! I also decided to use it on my long run Sunday with some running tights that tend to give a little chaffing, no problems after 10 miles!

I also received my new Avia Bolt-IIs.  I got them for a quick spin, but did not use on my long run this week, I want to break them in slowly.  They are nice and light.  Looking forward to putting in some good miles on these shoes! 

The last box  I received had my wheel set that I will be riding this year.  A set of HED Stinger 90s.  These puppies look speedy.  I cannot wait for some dry roads and warmer temps to get out and see how they ride.  This is my first time on tubular tires, so I will need to get some new brake pads for full carbon rims.

 

Take a peek at our Trakkers uniform designed by bettydesigns.  This is one sweet kit, ready to be sported at a race near you!