Sand everywhere!
Kate and I did the Lost Dutchman Half Marathon in Apache Junction AZ this morning and had a great time. The weather was perfect, the sunrise was a amazing and the Volunteers were the best. I highly recommend this race to anyone.
Video of Rogers Recap:
Got a nice sunset run in going up and down the Dreamy Draw path to work some hills into the mix. Beautiful sunset and feeling good for long ride and run this weekend.
Today Roger swam 1800 yards in 18 sets of 100 yards each for his half ironman swim training. Coaches pre workout comments were – “Push the pace on these so they are slightly uncomfortable”. He did and they were. Roger also shows Garmin Connect and Training Peak websites and how those help him prepare for the Half Ironman in St George Utah in May 2014.
Today’s workout is a nice spin for 55 minutes on the stationary trainer. Roger explains how this is part of the larger picture training for the Half Ironman in St George Utah in May 2014. He also talks about heart rate training and how to get it setup correctly.
Today I ran a tempo workout which means after warming up I ran faster than I normally do.
This year my wife Kate and I started training for triathlons. We had raced in one a few years back and figured we could just read some stuff on the internet and be fine. We raced in the Pumkinman Olympic distance tri in October and both finished but realized if we wanted to continue doing tri’s then we would need to get smarter about training.
We had taken some swim lessons from Sarah at WannaTri in July and that helped our swim times immensely. I went from trying not to drown to enjoying swim training and feeling very confident in the race. So we signed up with them for their coaching plan and have been working for over a month now.
One of the first things they do is have you do some tests. These are not fun tests either. They call them lactate threshold tests and what that means is you will be in pain during the test. The idea is that you run or bike as hard and fast as you can for about 20 minutes and try not to puke or pass out. During the test you have a heart rate monitor on and then you send your data to your coaches for analysis. From this information they can then determine your heart rate or power levels for various workouts to help build your endurance and power for racing.
If you are interested in racing in a triathlon even just for fun you should give a coach a try and learn more about how train smart and effectively. You might not be interested in winning any races but you will have a bigger smile at the finish.
Kate and I started training for the St George Half Ironman about a month ago. We got just a little data crazy and picked up a couple of Garmin 910XT super watches that have GPS, Barometer, Accelerometer, Heartrate, Cadence, and a bunch of other features to help you be a better athlete. We also have coaches who we can upload this info to on a special website called Training Peaks which lets them assign workouts and then see how we did.
Recently I learned about another site called Strava that lets you upload the workout data but with a more social twist. You can follow a number of people including some professional cyclists and runners and see how slow you are compared to them.
Last Saturday I did a long slow ride for 32 miles. I like to ride up to the Arizona Canal and spend most of my time on it as there are underpasses at the streets so you dont have to stop. Here is the Strava breakdown of the ride:
There will be more…
This weeks podcast is with Sarah and Seth from WannaTri a triathlon coaching company located in Scottsdale and Phoenix Arizona. Sarah recently gave my wife Kate and I swim lessons in preparation for a Triathlon we are competing in October of this year. It changed my approach to swimming so completely that I wanted to have her and her husband and business partner Seth on the podcast.
In this episode we learn about how Sarah and Seth ended up together in Phoenix and what led them to compete in triathlons and eventually to coaching. I recommend that if you have any interest in competing in a triathlon that you give WannaTri a call.
Link Love:
List of upcoming clinics and seminars
Overview of services
Swim Lessons
Testimonials
Newsletter Sign-up
I love riding my bike. This is no secret. I really love riding my bike in Phoenix instead of driving. Sure it’s hotter than siracha sauce but I deal with that.
What I urge anyone who wants to ride a bike in Phoenix to do is buy a ULock. This is because anything less is like dental floss to a determined bike thief. While a ULock is not unbreakable it is more difficult requiring more time and effort on the thiefs part.
Past getting a ULock I also recommend riding a bike that does not have quick release wheels or seat. These are just more low hanging fruit for a bike thief.
Been back in the habit of taking a morning ride around central Phoenix and the Arizona Canal is part of the route. It’s a nice ride as they built underpasses at all the roads so you can cycle non stop for a long time. Let me know if you wanna ride.
