2.5 Hour Bike/Run brick workout!

My goal this morning was to have a nice comfortable paced 30 mile bike ride followed by a one hour tempo run.

I felt great on the bike trying not to push too hard.  I wanted to keep the speed under 19 for an average and of course I pushed the limit average 18.9 through 30.87 miles.  Go figure!

My initial goal was to run a 7:30 pace off the bike for an hour.  Once I got off the bike and started running I decided I would try and run whatever was comfortable and then try and maintain that through the 8 mile run.  I felt great through the first 3 miles holding a 7:05 average pace.  About half way through mile 4 mile heart rate began to rise a little higher than I would have like so I was forced to slow the pace, 7:14 mile. It just kept getting slower from there through mile 6.  By the end of mile 6 I had to stop to refill the water bottle.  A perfect excuse to stand around much longer than I should have.  I finished the final 2 mile at a 7:55 mile pace.  By this time my heart rate was way to high for comfort to push any harder.  Good thing, I still kept the pace under an 8 minute mile.

I have my HR split up into 10 zones.  Here is the breakdown of how long I was in each zone.  The percentages are broken down based on my Heart Rate Reserve.  I would have preferred the my HR would have stayed in Zone 6 and 7.

Recovery Run - Yeah right!

Today was suppose to be a recovery run.  Two days after my Olympic Distance Triathlon and my legs are feeling every bit of the work I put in on Saturday.

The training plan called for an easy 6 mile run.  I managed to do the easy part, just not the 6 mile part.  I ended up running 7.8 miles.  I felt fine heading out, just heavy legs and they were feeling better as I was running.  Before I knew it I was almost 4 miles into the run.  I still had to turn around and run back.  Oops!  Pay attention to what you are doing.  Follow the plan, not the people you are running with.

Silly boy, nobody to blame but yourself.  Now for an "EASY" ride tomorrow.

Embrace the Pain

48 days until Ironman Augusta 70.3.

It is not a whole lot of time to get prepared to race strong.  I am ready for the swim and the bike, but I have a lot of work to do to be able to run strong for this race.  I just don't want to come to a walk like have done for every 70.3 that I have raced.  Physically I am ready.  It is all a mental game for me.

I did learn a lot on Saturday on what I do or where my mind goes when I begin to feel the pain.  I thought back to Macca's article in this month Triathlete Magazine. Embrace the Suck, because during a race of this distance you will have pain and it will begin to suck, but it will only last for a little while.  Saturday with nobody around to talk to on the run, I focused on my running form and the next small goal;  the next turn, mile marker or the turn-around.  It kept me moving forward, but when my mind would focus on the pain I would begin to slow and suffer in my pain.

I also try to focus on my surrounding, God's creation.  It helps me keep a smile on my face and in return helps me keep moving forward and forget about the pain.  God's word is great to recite or even singing hymms, not out loud, helps me stay focused.

What do you do to embrace the pain?

Chattahoochee Challenge Olympic Triathlon Race Report

The stats:

Official times and distances
Finish Time: 2:13:14
Swim (1500 meters): 21:30, includes run to transition.
T1: 30 seconds
Bike (22.4 miles): 1:01:11, 21.9 mph
T2: 35 seconds
Run (6.80 miles): 49:31, 7:17 pace

4 a.m. I awake to thunder.  I get up and start to get ready for the race.  It wasn’t raining at the time, just some thunder and lightning.  By 4:30 it was a downpour and God was showing an awesome light show all around.  So I decided to video it.

5:15 a.m. I get to the race site and it is just pouring and by 6 a.m. it had stopped raining for the most part with some sporadic showers.  Due the thunderstorms the race was delayed 30 minutes.

7:30 a.m., Scott Rigsby (double amputee) lead off the race.

Scott Rigsby Waiting to Start Race

Scott Rigsby Swimming

Swim: The race was a time trial start. I didn’t get in the water until 8:07 a.m.  I felt great in the water.  I felt as though I was spotting well and I knew I was passing people in the water.  The first 1000 meters was with the current and I could see the river bed just flying by and then I finally hit the last buoy to make the turn for the final 1500 meters against the current.  I had to work a whole lot harder going against the current.  I felt good, as I continued passing people.  Finally the exit of the water at approximately 20 minutes and then I had a nice little jog to the transition area crossing the timing mat in 21:30.  

Me Entering Water

Me Swimming (on Right)

T1: I ran to my bike, helmet on, number belt on, grabbed the bike and out of transition I went in 30 seconds.

Bike: I mounted the bike, slid my feet into my shoes and off I went.  The first 1/4 mile went down a hill and around a brick sidewalk that was wet, so I kept it slow to stay on the safe side.  Once I cleared the turn it was on.  My goal was 22 mph.  A few minutes into the ride I notice I wasn’t getting any speed on my Garmin. Oops! I had the GPS turned off.  Quickly I scrolled through the settings to turn it on so I missed the first two miles or so of data on the bike.  I tried my hardest to keep the speed above 22 mph on the flats and down hills.  When I came to the beginning of the second loop I was right at 22 mph and feeling great.  I picked the second loop up and passing lots of people just beginning their first loop.  I was hitting speeds in the mid to upper 20s.  About 5 miles out it started to rain again and the course narrowed on the riverwalk and it was much more difficult navigating through slower traffic.  The rain only last for 5 minutes or so. As I was nearing the end of the bike leg my Garmin was showing 22.4, but my average speed didn’t include the first 2 miles or so which I knew was much slower than 22.  I rolled into transition at 1:01:11, 21.9 mph, close enough to my goal.

Bike Out

Bike In

T2: Slid my feet out of my shoes and dismounted the bike. Ran into transition, racked my bike, helmet off, running shoes on, running hat on and off I went in 35 seconds.

Run: My goal was to run the course in under 45 minutes which equates a 7:15 pace for a 10k.  However, the course ended up being quite long.  I headed out on the run feeling pretty good and ran the first three miles with a 6:53, 6:55, and a 7:18.  Mile 3 had a nasty little hill in it which I felt like a came to a crawl getting up, but I was still under a 7:15 pace and feeling ok.  Mile 4, 5, and 6 the legs started getting heavier and it was getting much harder to maintain my speed running a 7:17, 7:30, and a 7:29.  By this time I realized the course was going to be way long as the finish line was a good way off.  I managed to pick-up the pace and push to the finish with the last .83 miles at a 7:18 pace.  I finished the run in 49:31 giving me an average pace of 7:15 based on my Garmin, right on target! 

Starting Run

Three Miles Complete

Almost Done

Finished!

I placed 10th overall with a time of 2:13:14 and 2nd in Age Group.

Happy to be Complete