Schedule week of May 29

This has to be brief because our Internet at home is down and I am running through my phone. Do not want to burn up too much capacity. I will expand on the history stuff later in the week. In the meantime I just want to post my schedule and take a snapshot of my Trainingpeaks stats.

Last week

ATP: 760 TSS
Planned: 798.1
Actual: 651.4

This Week

Week of 5/29 - Build 2 week2
Focus: CTTS

ATP: 760 TSS
Planned: 1,161.5

Mon
AM Run, 3mi + strides
PM Ride, Hawaii Kai loop

Tue
AM Bike, hill cruise intervals
PM Swim, OW

Wed
AM Run, Tempo Intervals
PM Bike, spin class

Thu
AM Strength with Dorian
PM Yoga

Fri

AM Run, 3mi + 4 strides
PM Bike, Hawaii Kai loop

Sat
AM Swim, OW + Long run, 12 mi. (Run home from Ala Moana)

Sun
Tantalus 3x

Next race: 1 week until North Shore swim series #1
3 weeks until CTTS.

Schedule week of May 22

This has been one heck of a week. It began slowly, a little recovery from Sunday's race, then exploded into some major activity. I think I set a new PB for weekly TSS. The previous week scored 736.2, but the pre-race taper pulled down the weekly average. This week came out to be 1,087.1! I don't think I ever got above a thousand.

A high TSS should mean my fatigue is high, and it is. As I write this on Monday morning I feel very tired. Funny thing is, yesterday after a really hard bike ride I still had plenty of energy, enough to go out a purchase a new fan for our bedroom, and install it!

The best part about Sunday's bike ride was that I could do three laps of Tantalus better than my last attempt at two. The key of course was to hold back a bit. I kept reminding myself I was more interested in duration than intensity. As pleased as I am with the results, keep in mind that my total climb was 4,300 ft., not quite half of CTTS at 10,000 ft. Plus I has two nice recoveries in there, the decent plus a few minutes at the bottom. On the first decent I flatted right at the bottom, which imposed an even longer recovery. Strange, because I rarely get a flat. But luck was not with me, because I flatted again, front instead of back, near Honolulu Coffee Company where I go for a post-ride snack. Months without a flat, then two on the same day. Must be something in the air, because my Outback got a slow leak that resulted in four new tires. OK, no more flats!

All this activity gave another big push to my fitness ramp. Last week I predicted a drop, but no sign of one yet. I just hope I don't burn out.

Last week

ATP: 450 TSS
Planned:867.7
Actual:1,087.1

This Week

Week of 5/22 - Build 2 week1
Focus: CTTS

ATP: 760 TSS
Planned:920.2

Mon
AM Run, 3mi + strides
PM Funeral, Dale Hoffman

Tue
AM Bike, hill cruise intervals
PM Swim, OW

Wed
AM Run, 5k Ints 6x1min
PM Bike, spin class

Thu
AM Strength with Dorian
PM Yoga

Fri

AM Run, 3mi + 4 strides
PM Bike, Hawaii Kai loop

Sat
AM Swim, OW + Long run, 10 mi. (Run home from Ala Moana)

Sun
Tantalus 2x

Next race: 2 weeks until North Shore swim series #1
4 weeks until CTTS.

Honolulu Tri race report and weekly schedule

In the goals I set out in my race plan I said I wanted a decent swim and bike, but the focus would be the run. I made that goal, and came pretty close to the pacing and nutrition.

I still pull to my left in the swim. This year I watched for that and corrected sooner than last year, so my course was my straighter. Still a few zigs and zags, but much improved. Also much improved is my sense of comfort in the water. It was a really nice swim. I was relaxed the entire time, felt great coming out of the water, ready to ride. Walked T1 to save feet, surface is rough asphalt.

The bike began with a little frustration. Technology fail. My Garmin Edge 520 refused to display power and heart rate. I stopped twice to try to get it going, and when that failed I did a full reboot while rolling down Nimitz Highway. Good thing the course was closed! When it came back, power was good, still no heart rate, This was not a big concern because my plan was all power based. Heart rate finally showed up on the run, after I fiddled with my strap. Again not a big deal, as my run was pace based.

The only disappointment was the organizers had us skip Lagoon Drive. This makes a mess of my bike time, so throw that out. I have no idea why that happened. There is nothing in the race information about a time limit. This means that I could bump someone. Not cool.

The real win, as I said, was how good my run was. Not that I am fast. The goal was to run the entire thing and not feel as though death was right behind me at the finish. No bonk. No cramps. No vomit. After a couple miles I held my planed 15:30 pace and pushed it above 14:30 at the end. I carried nothing, drank a little water at the aid stations. This was my first time not walking the aid stations, drinking on the run. Came in strong at the finish, but not as if I could have gone any faster.

Here are my plan vs. actual using my Garmin times.

	Plan	Actual (my times)
Swim	0:45	0:51:32
T1	0:05	0:06
Bike	1:26	1:10:57
T2	0:04	0:03
Run	1:36	1:36:48
Total	3:56	3:48:45

Ramp rates and CTS got a big bump. I anticipate a return to normal levels soon.

One goal I missed was my form value on race morning. I was aiming for 4.0 but ended up at -8.5.  This is not a huge difference, especially considering that this was a "B" race. On Monday morning it was -28.3, which is as low as it should ever be and signifies time for some rest. I was pleased to see my intensity factor for the day was 0.80. A 0.85 would have been even better, but given how slow I am this was a reasonable value. Duration is a factor because 1.00 means an all out effort held for one hour. Elites do Ironman races at 0.80 - 0.85, but I am an old guy.

Last week

ATP: 530 TSS
Planned: 647.1
Actual: 736.2

This Week

Week of 5/15 - Build 2 week 4
Focus: Recovery, CTTS

ATP: 450 TSS
Planned: 826.4

Mon
AM Run, 4mi + strides
PM Strength with Dorian

Tue
AM Swim, pool
PM Massage

Wed
AM Run, 6mi tempo intervals
PM Bike, spin class

Thu
AM Strength with Dorian
PM Yoga

Fri (box jellies next three days)

AM Run, 3mi + 4 strides
PM off, optional swim

Sat
AM Long run, 12 mi.

Sun
Tantalus 2x

Next race: 3 weeks until North Shore swim series #1
5 weeks until CTTS.

Honolulu Triathlon race plan 2017

My goal for this race is to have a decent swim and bike, and a great run. In years past I have faded on the run, a combination of going too hard early and insufficient nutrition. For the swim and bike I am less interested in speed than smoothness and consistency, to set up the run.

My approach to nutrition is very different this year. In the past I would drink one bottle of Perpetuem on the bike, supplemented with one pack of chews washed down with plain water in a second bottle. I carried Perpetuem in my run belt, supplemented with water from the aid stations. This year I will push more fuel intake on the bike and only take a little water on the run. On the bike I will have two bottles of Perpetuem, plus a short bottle of plain water behind the saddle. I will have two Bonk Breaker bars in my bento box. I will eat the first bar as soon as I am settled, and the second just before or after the turn-around at the airport, depending on how I feel. The idea is to eat while I am not maxed out and to allow enough time for the bars to digest before the run.

Power on the bike will be zone 2 for the first five miles, then ease up into low zone 3 until Lagoon Drive. On Lagoon Drive start to push, high zone 3, occasional low 4. Do not fight headwinds. At Piikoi back off to zone 2 and spin well to get legs ready to run.

The key to run will be to limit myself to a 16:30 pace for the first couple miles, and only then let it go up to 15:30. I will not walk the aid stations unless I am feeling extremely dehydrated. Use the water more to cool off than drink.

My time estimates

Swim - 0:45
T1 - 0:05
Bike - 1:26
T2 - 0:04
Run - 1:36
Total - 3:56

Schedule week of May 8

 

This was a week of challenges met. Quite a contrast to recent weeks in which results did not meet plans. The result was nice bump in fitness and of course fatigue.

	Last week	This week
Fitness	69.6	78.3
Fatigue	57.5	108.5
Form	13.4	-22.7

The three pics above are supposed to represent swim, bike, and run. The first I took on my Wednesday morning run. The second, me sitting in that back on my Outback, was after my Tuesday afternoon swim. The third one was near the end of today's ride. It was a good, hard week.

This week culminates in a race, so some taper is in order. I have this as a "B" race so I will only do a partial taper. Even for a "B" race you want Form to be positive and I will be aiming for 4.0 on Sunday morning.

Yesterday's long run and today's bike had something in common. A mental strength challenge. The last mile of the run is uphill. Not terribly steep, but enough to make the finish harder than it needs to be. For the entire mile my mind kept insisting I had run enough, that I really ought to walk it in. Like Odysseus lashed to his ship's mast to survive the Siren's call I forced myself to ignore that voice in my head and keep running to the finish. Today I heard those Sirens again, on the second lap of Tantalus. I was tired. At times I was going so slow it was hard to keep the bike upright. But I kept going, and I am fine. Tired, yes, but fine.

About going slow on Tantalus. Today I rode Makani Kekoa, my Cervelo P3, because next Sunday is a triathlon. This bike weighs considerably more than my Merlin road bike and has a 52/36 chainring set. I use the same HED wheels on both, which has a 28 tooth cog. On the first lap I knew I was already slow on the steep section. Cadence was down around 34 RPM. On the second lap I was down to 30. Much too slow. My Merlin has a 53/39 and even so Tantalus feels much easier on it. Could be weight, could be frame geometry. Could be crank length. The P3 has 170mm cranks, the Merlin, 172.5. That is not a huge difference, but the longer crank does give more torque for a given input force. In any case, I have ordered a compact crankset for my Merlin, a 50/34. The effect of going from a 39 to a 34 -- same crank length -- should allow me to bring that cadence up significantly. If that is still not enough I will go to a larger cassette, but that will mean replacing the rear derailleur with one with a longer arm. One thing at a time.

It has been a while since I rode Tantalus so I was not sure what effort to use. My plan called for sweet spot on the climb, and back when I set up the plan that was 148-160 watts. But lately, WKO4 has dropped my modeled FTPm down to 154. I have been advised not to chase that modeled value too much, that it is better to stay with measured FTPs unless the gap becomes significant. I had my FTPs at 169, but that was set last August. The thing is, Trainingpeaks will tell you when it goes up, but not when it goes down.

After today's ride WKO4 bumped my FTPm up to 155. I think the time has come to take that as the actual value. To see the difference I took a screenshot of the Power by Zones chart for today's ride before and after resetting my power zones. With FTP at 169 I spent most of my ride in zone 2. That is not how I felt.

After resetting my power zones in Trainingpeaks to WKO4's modeled values I am shown to have spent more time in zones 3 and higher. That is a better match to how I felt.

Here are the ramp rates for this week. Like I said, got a much needed bump.

That bump in CTL has brought me back on course to my goal for Cycle to the Sun. I see a lot of hill work in the coming weeks.

One more thing. While studying the power thing I spotted a difference in weekly TSS between TP and WKO4. I have not looked into it yet.

Last week

ATP: 700 TSS
Planned: 795.6
Actual: 871.3

WKO4 932 TSS
- swim 36
- bike 267
- run 629

This Week

Week of 5/8 - Build 2 week 2
Focus: Taper/prep for Honolulu Tri

ATP: 530 TSS
Planned: 615.2

Mon
AM Run, 4mi + strides
PM Strength with Dorian

Tue (might swap order)
AM Swim, OW 1800yds
PM Bike, hill cruise intervals

Wed
AM Run, 3mi, base
PM Bike, spin class

Thu
AM Strength with Dorian
PM Yoga

Fri (work day off)

AM swim/bike/run brink
PM Packet pick-up, 3:00 - 6:00

Sat
AM Rest

Sun
Race, Honolulu Triathlon

Next race: 4 weeks until North Shore swim series #1
6 weeks until CTTS.

Schedule week of May 1

Last week was a strange week. Started well, but didn't end so well. Hopefully this week will be smoother.

My Monday run and strength training went well. My Tuesday morning swim was marred by a stronger than usual tendency to turn left, enough to cause me to reach out for help from some swim coaches I known on the mainland. Both offered a video analysis; so far I have not connected with someone to shoot video and static shots just don't show enough. I made that a goal for this week.

Tuesday was a post-race massage for me a Pattie. Late, but soonest possible. I wanted Samantha to get deep into my left thigh. I knew this would set me back a bit, but I would be better for it. She did, and the pain lasted until Friday.

Due to the Haleiwa Metric Century Ride I moved my Saturday long run to Friday, which meant taking the day off from work. Not a bad thing, because I usually fail to take as much time off as I am supposed to and end up with a year-end crunch that wastes some of those hours.

New shoes! Gravity 6.

Jason had me down to do a ten mile long run at a 14:30 - 15:30 pace. I usually do it at a 17:30 pace, but my goal is to run faster, so staying at 17:30 would not help achieve that goal. Going from 17:30 to 15:30 is a big step and I knew it would be hard, but I was determined to try my best. My run went splendidly until mile 6, when I sort of hit the wall. The last four miles were more of a walk. I didn't even bother to log them, but I did complete the distance. I asked Jason how to approach this week's run.

Saturday morning was supposed to be an easy swim with Pattie and Linda, more recreation than workout. The sky was dark and threatening, the wind was howling, and there was a brown water alert due to heavy overnight rain. Linda canceled. Pattie and I went to Ala Moana, surveyed the situation, and decided that with the century ride coming the next day we did not need the aggravation, so we bailed, too, and went to breakfast.

The weather report called for heavy rain Sunday, and for once they called it right. The only time the rain stopped was when we arrived. Thinking that the worst was past and the temperature would soon rise from a frigid pre-dawn 60F I decided not to wear my nice, warm GORE-TEX jacket and instead use my lighter weight Pearl Izumi jacket. I used to wear the GORE-TEX jacket when I commuted, but always had to take it off by the time I got to Makiki because it was too warm.

Wrong. It started raining just before the start, and never stopped. I was soaked, and chilled to the bone. Halfway back from the first turn-around at Camp Erdman I decided to continue would be folly. Besides, Pattie had texted me that she and her friend Sharleen were not even going to start and were hunkered down in the back of our Outback. One more reason to call the day short. As it turned out a lot of other riders made the same call, and some of my best friends didn't even start. I wonder if anyone rode the full course? I, and a lot of others, did less that 20 miles. By the way, very cool that my Forerunner 520 displays incoming texts. I got Pattie;s message without taking out my phone!

My original plan for this week moved my Monday run to Tuesday to allow for some recovery, but since I did not ride much today I moved it back to Monday. I would like to add in another bike workout, but the weather report still calls for heavy rain so that might not be possible. I will have to play it by ear.

Last week's Ramp Report. Friday's run made a nice bump in my CTL, but it should have been a lot higher. The earlier bump was from my morning run combined with my afternoon warm-up run before strength training. I was running well that day!

Summary plan vs. actual, following the plan profile but a bit low in intensity.

Last week

ATP: 450 TSS
Planned: 721.1
Actual: 406.5

This Week

Week of 5/1 - Build 2 week 1
Focus: Increase bike intensity, swim distance, swim straight

ATP: 700 TSS
Planned: 855.3

Mon
AM Run, 3mi + strides
PM Strength with Dorian

Tue (might swap order)
AM Swim, OW 1800yds
PM Bike 

Wed
AM Run, 6mi, ramp to tempo
PM Bike, spin class

Thu
AM Strength with Dorian
PM Yoga

Fri

AM Run, 3mi + strides
PM Swim, OW 1800yds

Sat
AM Long run, 11mi. (details TBD)

Sun
Bike, Tantalus 2x (20mi)

Next race: 1 week to Honolulu Triathlon
7 weeks until CTTS.

Schedule week of Apr 24

Three significant events last week. Admin and IT support for a two day conference that consumed all of Thursday and Friday, my Garmin Forerunner 935 came in at IT&B, and I committed to a more personalized run coaching arrangement. Too soon to see any results, but I am looking forward to exciting times.

The impact of that conference is obvious, as I barely got in half as much training as originally planned. No big deal, that happens to all of us. The most important thing is not to try and make it all up this week.

I did make it to yoga with Pattie Thursday night, where of course we did leg stuff. A whole series of lunges and stretches that focused on some of the key leg movements in Sun Salutations. I say "of course" because this was on top of the leg workout we did with Dorian on Monday in the gym. I actually packed a run kit on Thursday in case there was time at lunch for a few laps around Palm Circle, but a disgruntled computer nixed that. I had planned to do a short but intense bike workout Friday after work, but when Carl from IT&B called to say my 935 was in I decided to pick it up instead, followed by family dinner out at Kakaoko Kitchen.

The decision to do more with Jason Fitzgerald at Strength Running was the result of a long letter I wrote but never sent to one of my swim coaches, Suzanne Atkinson. I never met her in person but we did a lot of one-on-one via the Total Immersion Academy, and she is a co-author of a great swim workout book for TI swimmers called Fresh Freestyle. One of the other authors was the lead coach at the Total Immersion swim camp I attended last year in Kona. I was frustrated with my situation and decided to unload on poor Suzanne, but in the process it became clear to me that things were not bad at all. This is what happens when you compare yourself to people around you, and especially when you are imagining the other folks having a wonderful time. Writing it down was the perfect process for allowing me to see my mistakes. Then, having gained some clarity and insight, along came an offer from Jason.  Running is the one area in triathlon where I have had no personalized coaching. So I decided it was time, exactly what I was looking for without knowing it.

Speaking of yoga, I did a workshop recently with Kofi Busia at Elaine's studio. One of the points he made was that the purpose of doing yoga poses was to create space, in the body and the mind. Rather than struggle to get there, create the space and move into it. So maybe one of the outcomes for me was to create the space to improve my running.

One immediate outcome of signing up with Jason is the return of the long run. I thought I would cut back after Hapalua, but if I want to get good enough to return to Kona I will have to keep the ten mile run in my schedule. This week it conflicts with the Haleiwa Metric Century Ride, so I took Friday off and will run it that morning. Just for the heck of it I decided to take Monday off, too. I never take enough time off!

The downward trend in my TP fitness summary continues. Week before last it was the concert, this week it was the conference. Next week should see improvement.

That improvement is none too soon, as my current trajectory has me sagging well below my plan to get to CTTS.

Last week

ATP: 700 TSS
Planned: 711.2
Actual: 428.8

This Week

Week of 4/24 - Build 1 week 4
Focus: R&R, metric Century ride

ATP: 450 TSS
Planned: 721.1

Mon
AM Run, 3mi + strides
PM Strength with Dorian

Tue
AM Swim, OW 1200yds
PM massage

Wed
AM Run, 5mi, fast finish (get up early) (skip if massage warrants)
PM Bike, spin class

Thu
AM Strength with Dorian
PM Yoga

Fri (off at work)

AM Run, 10mi

Sat
AM Swim, OW

Sun
Bike, Haleiwa Metric Century Ride

Next race: 2 weeks to Honolulu Triathlon
8 weeks until CTTS.