Road to Kona 2006

Workout Summary: 66 miles (4:05, 6200 ft ascent)

Bike with Grant and Gant. Nice ride. Really only worked hard up the 1400 ft ascent of Bald peak. This is a good sustained climb.

Bald peak: 23 min, ave HR 138, mx 154: Power ave 348, max 569

Entire ride, Power ave 201. max 889
power 5 min. peak 372
power 30 min. peak 300

Felt ok on this ride. Nice and smooth with a sustained effort thrown in. Legs feel pleasantly fatigued but were there when I wanted power. I feel like I have good strength, just need a little more time to recover from thursday's hill run. Tomarrow I should feel ok. Plan is to do a short run followed by around 100 miles. After 40, we will do some mixed intervals. Probably some IM pace intervals of 45 min X2, some faster intervals, 2 X 15, and some at 5 min.
We'll play in by feel. I will not overtrain. (too much)

Breakfast: 3 small pancakes and cinnamon roll before ride. small coffee. On ride, typical carbs, starting at 1 hour. Recovery drink after ride. Small coffee for drive home.
Dinner:

Workout Summary: Run 6 (45')/Swim 1200 (18')

am: Brief thought on running 4, but I barely made it to the tub for a hot bath. 30 min soak helped the legs.

pm: Run 6 on TM: forst 1.5 miles in 8 min pace, next 3 in 7:30, final 1.5 in 7 pace. Felt sluggish but ok toward end of run. Cooled down with a 1200 pull swim in 18 min.



Diet:
Breakfast: 1.5 cups oatmeal w/ raisins and bwn sugar. 1 wheat bagel w/ honey and jam. coffee.
Lunch: Pasta, diet sierra mist
Dinner: enchilatas, pork and black beans. 2 glasses of wine, water

Workout Summary: Swim 3200 (53')/ Run 12.5 (1:45, 2960 ft ascent)

6 p.m.: Run Hills. 4 X 1.5 mile uphill repeats with equal jog back down for recovery. From 92nd ave and Johnson creek to top of Mt Scott. This workout, esp the 4th interval, was extreme. Total ascent 2960 ft (each hill repeat 740 ft ascent over 1.5 miles)

To put it into perspective, Ann and I did uphill intervals up to the top of Pilot Butte in Bend during our big week earlier this month. We did 3, and each one was a mile and 450 ft ascent, and each around 9-9:30/ mile pace.

First 2 were steady but hard. Third was much more effort as I pushed up the three 14% grade segments very hard. I did the 4th in the dark. Pushed from the start, getting into zone 5 within 1 minute. Then tried to hold high as possible for the next 11 minutes. This was brutal. Druel, dizziness, nausea. At the top, nearly collapsed but made it. Some blurred vision jogging on the way home but happy otherwise. Vision cleared up after an hour or so. Extreme hills are challenging. They instill commitment. You learn to overcome barriers. At that point when you dont think you can push on, the point where you nearly lose control, you push harder, to exhaustion. This is the moment the adaptation occurs. This is when you get stronger.

1 = 12:00, HR ave 146/ mx 150 (zone 4/zone 5), rest 12:00
2 = 12:00, HR ave 144, mx 156, rest 12:00
3 = 11:45, HR ave 147, mx 157, rest 10:30
4 = 11:45, HR ave 150/mx 160
Came down a bit faster, about 7 min pace on final rest.

Zone Summary:
1 = 55 % (58')
2 = 3% (3')
3 = 3% (3')
4 = 14% (15')
5a = 13% (14')
5b = 12% (12')

*41 minutes in zone 4 and above. 26' in zone 5 is about as hard as I can run.

6:45 am: swim 3200
500 pull wu in 7:35
2 sets of 3 X 200 and 4 X 100, 30 sec. rest between all. Goal to neg. split second set.
Set 1
All 200's in 2:54, 3 100's in 1:20 and 1 in 1:21
1 min rest between sets
Set 2
200's in 2:46,2:46,2:44, 100's in 1:20,1:20, 1:18, 1:17
1 min rest
500 free in 7:02
200 pull cd.

Diet:
Breakfast: 2 hard-boiled eggs, 1.5 cups hot oats with brown sugar. Med. coffee with 1/2 decaf.
Lunch: baked potato with dice ham and vegies, a tbs of sour cream. diet sierra mist, hot tea
Afternoon: non-fat latte and 1 banana
Dinner: small bite of steak, about 2 cups rice, sliced tomatoes. Water. About a cup of low fat ice cream before bed. Nauseated the rest of the night.

Workout Summary: Run 8 in a.m. (65')/Bike 25 (1:40)in p.m.

6 am: Run 65 minutes, 8+ miles. easy on hills. Total ascent 1080 ft. Finished run with 408 stairs up to the neighborhood.

Zone Summary:
1 = 66% (43')
2 = 23% (15')
3 = 8% (5')
4 = 2% (1'20")
5 = 1% (40")
*Pretty much stayed in zones 2and 3 on the hills. The final 100 ft or so of stairs put me into the higher zones.

p.m.: Bike easy 25 miles. Had a brief thought of some spinervals, but legs feel a little too sluggish. Power around 110-130 for ride. easy...easy


Breakfast:
Recovery drink after run: 80 g maltodextrin + 25 g protein, water
Lunch: Baja fresh chicken/rice bowl with black beans, diet shasta
Afternoon: non-fat latte
Ride: cliff lemon bar
Dinner: pasta with marinara sauce, 2 slices wheat bread. 1 beer

Swim 3400 (64')
500 wu: 7:15
500 drills with flippers: 200 of slide and glide, 100 each of finger drag, zipper, one-arm
2 min rest and stretch
1000 free, 14:25 (500 splits in 7:15, 7:10)
1 min rest
200 IM with flippers (2:56)
200 pull (2:50)
200 IM with flippers (2:58)
200 pull (2:53)
*30 seconds rest between each.
100 breast to recover.
500 free in 6:44 (PR 500 prior to today was 7:08)
Drank 1.5 liters water during swim

*very happy with swim considering the way I feel after yesterday's workout. Had 45 min. of ART after work, before my swim, which loosened up my hamstrings very well.
*I am actually enjoying swimming. It has always been so much work for me as my limiter. Even though I have a long way to go for the times I would like, the strides I have made this summer (i technique) will result in a stronger start to next season. I am exited to work on the swim all winter.

Diet:
It's all about high quality carbs and protein today.
Breakfast: egg-beater omelet with mixed vegies and ham. Potatoes. 16 oz water, 16 oz caffeine free tea. 1 small cup coffee after.
Lunch: grilled salmon with about 2 cups of rice, green beans. 16 oz water.
Afternoon: non-fat latte, medium, and cliff protein bar.
Dinner: 8oz chicken breast with about 2 cups of rice.
Before bed: 1 beer. 2 small chocolate covered pretzels.

"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp, or are you going to be strong today?'"

- Peter Maher, Irish-Canadian 3 time Olympian, former world record holder, 25K

My former coach. I thought about him alot today for some reason. He used to tell us before workouts when we were tired..considering 3 speed sessions and a long run, "come on man, be strong". This quote I found is exactly like him. He had the strongest will of any runner I have ever known.



Workout Summary: Run 20 (2:28, 760 ascent), Bike 92 (5:35, 4200 ascent)

This one hurt a little.
Run 20, out 7:30 pace for most. 1st mile and 12th mile in 8 min pace as they were uphill. Very sluggish legs at 10 mile mark. At 14 I decided to run a 7 min mile to see how I would respond. Tough for me but I maintained 7 min pace for the final 6 miles, despite numb legs the final 2.
I finished in 2:28, legs flat out dead. Felt completely glycogen depleted.

10 min transition and didnt even think about what I had planned or I would have quit. Got on bike for 92. At 36 miles I dropped off Ann who met me for the end of her 80 miler to start me off. I felt very depleted but pushed on to 40. At 40, did a 25 mile TT at 21.8 mph ave. A bit delerious but managed to pull it off. Reached back for my last nutrition bottle of 5 doses and it had fallen off the bike. I still had over 25 miles to go so I knew it wouldn't be easy.
I had one dose left in a bottle I was using so I saved it until about 3 miles from the final 700 ft climb to home. I was bonked out but managed to keep spinning. Finished strong out of saddle for the majority of the final climb, pushing watts over 300 for more than 13 minutes.

TT: 25 miles, 1:08, Power ave 195, max 520: HR ave 126 (zone 2) max 145 (zone 5)
Final climb, 1.8 miles, 13 min: Power ave 304, max 418: HR ave 142 (zone 4) max 148

Ride Data, Zone Summary
Entire ride: 5:35, Power ave 195, max 729, HR ave 114 (top of zone 1), max 148 (zone5)
Zone 1 = 46% (2:35)
Zone 2 = 32% (1:48)
Zone 3 = 14 % (47')
Zone 4 = 6.5% (20')
Zone 5 = 1.5% (5')

Run Data : 20 in 2:28
HR final 6 miles, ave 135 (zone 3) mx 142 (zone 4)
Zone Summary
1 = 22% (33')
2 = 55.5% (1:22)
3 = 16% (23')
4 = 6% (9')
5a= .5% (1')

I have gotten more comfortable running and cycling with the sore hamstring. It was sore at about the 10 mile mark on the run, and sore throughout the ride. I am pretty confident I can race on it without too much problem, esp since I wont be running fast (7:30 goal pace) at Kona.
Diet:
1 hour before workout: 1 wheat english muffin with honey, small coffee, water.
During run: 5 doses of 25 grams maltodextrin each in 3.5 oz + 12 oz additional water
Bike: 2 bottles of nutrition, each containing 140 grams maltodextrin.
After workout: 110 grams maltodextrin + 30 grams protein + 10 grams glutamine
Dinner: Chinese, alot of rice, chicken cashew, mixed vegies, light oil. Water, diet sierra mist.
Before bed: bowl of left-over rice, about 2 cups, with warm milk and brown sugar. 1 beer.

Weekly Summary: "rest" week. Had a few shorter intense workouts. Also developed a cold mid-week which hurt my workouts toward the end. Sunday, worked 7a-8p so no workout. Good to rest a day as I am ramping up for a strong 10 days starting tomarrow. Then I will take a couple days rest and hit one more bigger weekend 2 weeks out from Kona. Then 13 days peak/taper.

Total Hours: 13
S/B/R Hours: 12:14
Weights: 45' (3 short sessions of leg weights)

Swim: 11,000 yd (4 sessions) Time 3:13. Pretty much every swim this week had a PR
Bike: 99 miles (2 rides) Time 6:36. Fairly intense rides, 1 with many short spinervals and 1 longer hill ride.
Run: 20 miles (4 runs) Time 2:25. Some good TM runs but otherwise, didnt do much.

Workout Summary: Bike 62 (4:20), 5600 ft ascent

Decided that, because last night Ann and I were extremely tired, I would cancel the big workout. Our last 2 week build/peak period starts Monday anyway. This week was a recovery week so to speak, and I didnt really feel fully recovered as of last night. This morning, after sleeping until 11am, I felt a little better. The cold I have had all week probably contributes I'm sure.
So, we decided to do the hill routine we have done many times in the past, moderate distance, rolling virtually the entire route. This time I have some power numbers however.
Biked out to Bull run, to Corbet along east side of Sandy river. Down over stark st. bridge off state hwy, then back up and through the nursery fields all the way back. Some very large hills at which I hit my split function on the srm to get power data.
Some of the hills...
Hill 1, 11 min. East side of bull run from sandy river bridge. 1.75 miles, 620 ft ascent, ave grade 6.8%: HR ave 139, max 151, Power ave 348, (range 197-514) cadence 70,
Hill 2, 5 min. Up last hill from bull run biking northwest. 0.9 mile, 280 ft ascent, grade 6.9%
HR ave 134, mx 149, Power ave 370 (range 243-473) cad. 64
Hill 3, 2 min 30 sec. Short but steep hill, 160 ft, 9.6% grade.
HR ave 133, mx 146. Power 379 (range 201-603), cad 59
Hill 5, 45 sec. Short steep hill behind springwater trail. 0.3 miles, 160 ft ascent, grade 9.6%
HR ave 133, mx 146, Power 610 (range 393-617) Only hill I was out of saddle, cad. 69
Hill 6, 1 min, 48 sec. Up new development east of mt scott. 0.25 miles, 100 ft ascent, grade 8.6%: HR ave 131, mx 144: Power ave 378 (287-433), cad 61
Hill 7, 7 min 30 sec. up to my house from happy valley park. 1.2 miles, 540 ft ascent, grade 7.3% HR ave 142, mx 154, Power ave 345 (252-599) cad 70

Entire ride: Power ave 245 (0-717), HR ave 103, cad. 68

Zone Summary
1 = 71% (3:06)
2 = 12% (32')
3 = 7% (18')
4 = 5% (13')
5a= 3.5% (9')
5b/c = 1.5% (4')

Diet:
Breakfast: 2 wheat english muffins with honey, 1 vanilla yogurt
Lunch: Nutrition on ride, recovery drink after.
Dinner: Outback steakhouse with Rob and Erin P. 9 oz steak, mashed pot., salad. 2 beers. Some popcorn and pepsi during movie.
After movie, 1 beer and big piece of bread pudding.

Workout Summary: Run 4.5 in am (37')/pm swim 3500 (57")


6:30am: Run 4.5 (37') Easy 9 min pace, HR <100

pm swimm> This is the fastest I have ever done a 2000 time trial (29:12)
Then 5 sets of 100 IM, followed by a 200 free pull. 15 sec rest between. 45 sec rest between sets. Total set 1500
1= 1:36 100 IM/ 2:52, 200 pull
2= 1:37/ 2:53
3= 1:35/ 2:56
4= 1:35/ 2:47
5= 1:34/ 2:48


Diet:
Breakfast: 1 garlic bagel, 1 peach, 16 oz skim milk with 30 grams protein added
Lunch: Baja fresh burrito bowl (black beans, rice, tomato, lettuce), diet shasta
Afternoon: Med. non fat chai, molasses cookie
Dinner: At Kelly and Lori's. Grilled salmon, rice, vegies, 1 beer and couple glasses of wine.
Before bed: 2 cups low fat ice cream.

Workout Summary


6:30am: Run 4.5 (37') Easy 9 min pace, HR <100 first 20 minutes downhill. Then up my stair routine from bottom (408 steps) of hill back to top. HR mid 130's (high zone 2) on stairs. Then easy 8 min pace back to home. Legs sluggish but woke up on the stairs





Diet:
Breakfast: 1 garlic bagel, 1 peach, 16 oz skim milk with 30 grams protein added

Workout Summary Run 6.5 (47')/Swim 3000 (53')

Run on Treadmill
2 miles in 15' in zone 1, then increase to 7min pace for miles 3-4 and 6:30 pace for miles 5-6. Cool down 4 min at 8 min pace. Goal was to spend about 1/2 the run in high zone run and the other 1/2 into zones 2-4
Zone Summary:
1 = 44% (21')
2 = 26% (12' 30")
3 = 7% (3'30")
4 = 21% (10')

Swim after. 500 free wu in 7:30
5 X 200/35, did 3 in 2:44 and 2 in 2:45
2 min rest and stretch
10 X 100/25: PR set: 1 in 1:16, 2 in 1:18, 2 in 1:19, 5 in 1:17
500 pull cd in 7:30

*These 100's were tough.

diet:
Breakfast: 2 vanilla yogurts, 1 cliff bar, caffeine free tea and cup of coffee
Lunch: Turkey and swiss on wheat w/ mustard. 2 ox bag kettle chips, 1 apple, diet shasta
Afternoon: 1 whole grain "breakfast bar" and a med. chai tea latte
Dinner: Sushi: couple of tuna/salmon rolls, miso soup, 2 beers.

This short bike thrashed my legs good. Planned on running 4 off bike but 2 miles at 7:30 pace was sufficient for the feel of the transition.

Bike: 37 miles, 2:16, 2800 ft ascent
worked the hills out toward Sandy, OR. Then did a series of short power spinervals on the way back.
4 X 2 min on gentle slope, each with 2 min rest between
10 X 30 second all out spinervals. First 3 on incline, next 7 on the flats. All with 2 min rest.
4 X 2 min up the final 800 foot climb to the house. Now, these were tough. 2 min. rest. I was trying to do as much anaerobic as possible without blowing up. I nearly did on the final two 2 min. spinervals.

Here is the data (for my future reference. Doesnt mean much to me now)

2' = power 320/ ave HR 130,max 132/cadence 96/speed 25.1 mph
2' = 332/124,134/94/25.3
2' = 360/128,142/90/21.1 (up incline)
2' = 360/132,144/101/28.3 (slight decline)
30" = power 495/ hr ave 130/cadence 104/speed 12.3 (uphill)
30" = 555/118/91/12.3 (uphill)
30" = 553/129/101/13.6 (uphill)
30" = 450/121/129!/24.6
30" = 538/122/110/25.4
30" = 528/125/120!/24.7
30" = 547/128/109/25.7
30" = 554/128/114/25.4
30" = 551/128/119/25.8
30" = 449/125/96/23.4

Now these final 4 X 2 min uphill kicked the crap out of me. Much labor to maintain power. Drueling profusely on the final 2, will into zone 5...anaerobic.
2 = 356/130,144/79/9.7
2 = 381/137,149/82/11.6
2 = 424/139,154/70/8.8 (up the hill with the speed bumps)
2 = 426/143,156/75/10.4 (up final ascent from stop sign to my street)

Total ride ave power 214, max 879 (out of saddle pushing over a small hill)

Diet:
breakfast: 4 pieces of whole wheat french toast, syrup. 20 oz skim milk
Lunch: On ride, 1 water bottle of nutrition. After ride, 100 grams maltodextrin +30 g protein
Dinner: 1 peach, 1 nectarine. Then 8 oz rice with vegie green currie. 2 diet shasta's
Early evening. Bag of low fat popcorn, caffeine free tea.
Got home from work at 10:30. Ate more: 4 oz roast beef and about a cup of rice. Some gummi candy before bed to fill those carb deficits.

Workout Summary: Run 6.5 TM (46'), then swim 2000 (36')

Run Treadmill: Needed to closely monitor pace and hamstring. Tight but manageable.
Progessive pace at 0% incline. Hamstring completely pain free until sub-7
Miles 1-2: 7:30 pace, HR ave 107/max 116
Miles 3-4: 7:00 pace, HR ave 125/max 130 (zone 2 >127)
Mile 5: 6:40, HR ave 135/max 138
Mile 6: 6:30, HR ave 141/max 144
cd .5 mile HR down to 130
Zone Summary:
1 = 54 %
2 = 31%
3 = 12 %
4 = 3%
Light hamstring curls. 20 lbs single leg, alternating every 10, total 30 each leg. (10 min)

Then swim: 2000
500 pull wu in 7:25
1000 free in 14:20, what? My PR for a 500 before today was 7:18. I swam the first 500 today in 7:12 and the second 500 in 7:08. I mentioned to Ann (and Bob Bruce) in Bend a few weeks back that I expect a breakthrough over the next several weeks. Well...here it is.

I hope I can just maintain and have a reasonable swim at Kona. Based on what I have been swimming, I hopefully will PR (for Kona). PR is 1:12 last year. I hopefully will break 1:10. (and not get sea sick like '04)

Diet:
Breakfast: 1 poppy seed bagel, coffee. 16 oz caffeine free tea late morning
Lunch: Turkey with swiss on wheat, mustard, tomato. 2 0z pretzels, 16 oz carrot/orange juice mix.
Afternoon: non-fat carmel latte, cliff protein bar
Dinner: Low fat chicken sausage links on roll with sauer kraut (sp?), corn on the cob. 2 beers.
Before bed. Snack on low fat choc. covered pretzels and some gummi life-savers.

Swim 2500 (51 min)

500 wu in 7:35
4 descending sets: 4(100 IM, 100 free, 200 free): 25 sec rest between and 45 sec rest between each set. I tried to negative split each set and went out a little fast. This resulted in my working very hard to neg. split each.
Set 1 = 100 IM in 1:38, 100 free in 1:22, 200 free in 2:48
Set 2 = 1:36, 1:21, 2:48
Set 3 = 1:35, 1:20, 2:46
Set 4 = 1:33, 1:19, 2:44

*This kicked my ass. Fourth IM really hurt, arms pretty tired. Then turned a sub 1:20 100 and 2:44 200 off it. Dont know how I did that.
2 min rest.
300 of drills: 100 of slide and glide balance drill, then 50 each of zipper, finger drag, fist, and single arm.
1 min rest
100 free in 1:14 to end workout. This is my fastest 100 to date. May not seem that fast to most, but pre CDA, my single fastest 100 at the beginning of a workout was 1:18.

15 min. of leg weights after. Kept sets to 2 X 25 and light weight. Single leg hamstring curl at 20 lbs, alternating sets of 15 to total 60 on each leg. Inner/outer thigh at 65 lbs with 2 sets of 25, leg press and calf press at 120 lb, 2 sets of 25, and single leg quad curl 20 lbs, 2 sets of 25 on each leg.

Diet:
Breakfast: 1 vanilla yogurt and 1 peach, coffee
Lunch: chicken bento, rice and vegies, 12 oz carrot juice.
Afternoon: cup of caffeine free ginger tea and cliff protein bar.
Dinner: pasta with low-fat meat sauce, 1 beer.

"They are denizens of the dark.
They understand the key to solving the Ironman puzzle is simple.
To win is to finish.
To finish is to win."


Bob Babbitt

Nutrition and strategy
Friday, pre-race: Eat pancakes and split a vegie egg-beaters omelet with Ann. Finished drive to Grand Coulee, WA.
Snacked on fruit. Arrive, register, and go for a 30 minute spin to check all gears, breaks, ect. I put on my custom 11/25 cassette and all gears shifted fine. I talked to some locals that were racing and they advised against a disc, as the winds can kick up to 40 mph in the late morning on the plateau. Mostly cross winds from the NW, which can reap havoc on a disc. However, the news and race director stated winds were predicted at 6-12 mph. Plus, all the ITU pro's were riding discs (because they had to I found out later), so I decided to go with it.
Dinner: Light chinese vegies with grilled chicken, alot of rice, about a pint. Drank 150 g maltodextrin + 40 grams protein before bed. During the race, 30 grams of maltodextrin in 6.5 oz water in 27 oz water bottle. Used 2 bottles. Dosing every 20 minutes. Started 20 min after swim, and final dose was 10 min before run. Started run carbs at 20 min into run. 25 grams in 2 oz water, drank about 3-4 oz with each dose at the water stations. Took an expresso GU at mile 6 with 6 oz water. Cramped within 2 minutes and had the cramp for 15 minutes. Final dose of carbs around mile 11, no cramping. After race, 100 grams malto + 30 g protein drink. Then eat an hour later.


Swim of 29:45 (last year 30:50)
Got hit in the face about 5 minutes into start. Filled my left goggle with water and set me dizzy for a few seconds. Got a cut on my eye lid out of it. I simply turned on my side, emptied my goggle and proceded on like nothing happened. I really feel myself moving through the water better recently. I glanced at my watch at the final buoy and realized that I could break 30 if I pushed it, so I did. Nearly caught the second group out of the water.
T1: long run up an incline. No one there to hand me my bag as I watched several volunteers hand other athletes their bags. This took me several seconds to find my bag. Lost about 30 seconds probably.

Bike: 2:43 (last year 2:31, but only mild headwinds for about 10 miles) Total ascent 3800 ft. 20-30 mph crosswind out first 20, tail wind for two 4 mile segments, then 45 degree headwind for about the final 28 miles. I remember coasting the final 8 mile desent last year at 40+ mph. Saturday, peddling in 54/11, 350 watts for 8 miles on a 6-10% down hill grade, at 22-25 mph. This was about the toughest 1/2 I have ever done. The 10 mile stretch uphill against the wind going 10-12 mph killed everyone. Depressing to have guys pass me in spoked tires in their aerobars as I am weaving all over the place trying to maintain contol on every desent.
Power: on first 1000 ft climb over 3 miles, ave 265 W, peak of 570
HR ave 140 (range 130-150)
Cadence ave 75 (range 60-90), speed of 11.9 mph
Power for plateau (39 miles) ave 245 W, total peak of 620, 20 min peak of 275
HR ave 133 (range 125-151)
Cadence ave 89 (range 50-125), speed of 21 mph
Power for desent to the run transition (13 miles) ave 245, peak of 370
HR ave 135 (range 130-140)
Cadence ave 85 (range 80-90), speed ave 25.3
total time: 2:43 (last year 2:31)

The final desent, 13 miles and 1000 ft desent. Maintained high power but the low cadence and low speed are due to the 30+ mph headwind.

T2: No door on the changing tent, so I did a 20 sec loop around before I found the entrance. Otherwise, ok. Someone told me I was 10th off the bike which felt about right. I knew I had work to do because I new there were a couple of masters men in front of me, because they passed me on the long 12-13 mile gradual ascent on the cross wind when I was trying to keep my bike on the road.

Run: 1:30.39 (last year 1:31.30)Had no polar monitor so I ran with heart only. I really thrashed legs on the final downhill because I passed a master at the top, and tried to put as much room on him as I could. The first switch back down to the river, I saw him about a minute behind me. I ran 4 X 3 mile splits on my running watch, goal was to be around 20 minutes on each 3 mile split. 19:40 on first, 19:55 on second at turn-around. This run course has about a 6 mile false flat going back, around 1-2% grade, and a headwind the final 3 miles. Extreme difficulty running 7 min pace, but I managed. Caught the 2 masters in front of me near the turn around. Was being chased by 2 ITU pros who were finishing on the same 3 mile stretch. I thought they were fast runners coming from behind in the 1/2 IM, so I put on several 30 second surges to keep them away from me. I held about a 30 second gap on them for 3 straight miles. Final 1.1 mile is a kicker. Ran a 8:50 and I was pushing! Almost the entire mile is uphill, with a 200 meter double switchback climb of around 150 ft toward the end. Final 400 is a flat circle around the finish.
Time 1:30

Overall, 2nd. Time of 4:47.10
I was happy considering the difficult conditions today. Have to be pleased at 40 to turn a performance like this 5 weeks out from Kona. I will rest a few days, and then do about a 10-14 day cycle of more work. Then taper about 10 days out of race day.

Ann? What can I say. 2nd overall female, 1:38 for the run. She put 90 seconds on last year's overall female winner. She was the fastest female runner and the 11th fastest runner overall. This girl has heart, intensity, courage, and all the attributes of an elite athlete. She will not let down if she has a fighting chance to PR. I am in awe that she managed to run 5:10.57, her new PR, on a course with 3800 ft of climbing and heavy winds. On almost any other course on the west coast, I am convinced she would have broken 5 hours, probably mid 4:50's. The girl in front of her has had a 13th world ITU ranking, and even recently in 2003 carried a 47th ranking. Former pro...its understandable that Ann had difficulty catching her. What I am doing with Ann is working. She will enjoy Kona, thats for certain. If we do Roth or Austria in 2006 she is going to fly.

Driving to Kennewick, WA tonight. Grand Coulee tomarrow

Workout Summary Run 4 in am, bike 12 in pm

6:30 am: Run 4 on Treadmill. 28'
First mile in 7:45, then increased speed by .1 mph or about 4sec/mile every 2 minutes for 18 minutes. Worked up to 6:27/mile pace for final 2 minutes. Then cd at 7:30 pace for a few minutes. Hamstring tight the entire time, actually sore to touch. Not really concerned any more. I will just keep trying to get it stronger without over-doing it on pace.

pm: easy bike for 45 min with 3 X 30 sec hard surges.


Diet:
Breakfast: 3 egg omelet with vegies, mixed vegies. Grapefruit juice. Coffee
Lunch

Workout Summary: 3600 (63')

My swim technique has finally consistently improved!
500 free wu in 7:30
10 X 200, 6 in 2:48, 1 in 2:44, 3 in 2:47
First 5 on 35 seconds rest, final 5 on 30 seconds rest.
I never thought I would be able to finish a 10 X 200 set under 2:50 this season. My PR before my lesson with Bob Bruce was 5 around 2:52-54 average on 35-40 seconds rest. This is a minor breakthrough for me.
Then: 3 X 100 IM alternating with 3X 100 pull, everything on 15 sec. rest. IM 100's in 1:40, 100 pulls in 1:27.
500 "cool down" in 7:26. I didnt feel like I was swimming that hard to swim a sub 7:30. Plus at the end of this workout, the IM's of which killed my arms, esp. the fly stroke. I must have improved my form, as there is no other explanation. 27 oz water during swim.

Diet:
Breakfast: couple of bites of Rob Williams' starbucks cinnamon roll. 2 vanilla yogurts, coffee.
Lunch: Salad with low fat italian, vegies, 2 oz pretzels, diet shasta
Afternoon: med non fat latte and a cliff protein bar
Dinner: 6 oz chix breast, about 6 oz pasta. 1 beer.

Monday long run? Day doesnt matter. Yesterday was too early after the race saturday. Needed to get a long run in. May be tired into Grand Columbian 1/2 on saturday, but long run is more important. Hamstring very tight after, but tolerable. Limping a bit final 4 miles but able to hold pace without too much distress. This was the first decent long run I have had since before CDA.

18 (2:14.20, 740 ft ascent), Forest park.
First mile with Ann in 9 minutes. Then 7:25 pace next 6 miles. Slowed to 7:30 pace for next 4 miles. Final 7 miles in 7:15 pace. I was pretty tired (muscular) at mile 11. Managed to push on to 18 though. Legs are not used to the long sustained pace. I think 3 more 18-20 milers before Kona will suffice to set me up for a shot at 7:30 pace and around a 3:16 marathon. If I can manage 7-7:05 pace this saturday for the 1/2 marathon I'll be very happy with that.
Finished final 3 miles in darkness. Ann had 2 left when I finished so I followed her in the car through the NW area so she could finish her 18. She ran well, ave 8's out and around 7:30 entire way back.

HR zone 1 first 6 miles, then crept into zone 2, then zone 3 as I ran 7:15's. HR stayed within zone 2 and low zone 3 however. Happy with that.
Nutrition: Only carried 12 oz (2 flasks). Each had 40 g maltodextrin. Drank 3 oz at 40 minutes, then 22 minute cycles after that to try to sustain. Ran final 4 miles without fluids or nutrition.
Recovery drink: 120 grams maltodextrin + 50 grams protein.

Diet:
Breakfast: 1.5 cups oatmeal, coffee, water
Lunch: Salad w/ mixed vegies and chicken breast. 1 apple, 2 oz bag pretzels, cliff protein bar. Diet shasta.
Dinner: Didnt get home until 9:30 pm. Bowl of chicken soup and a grilled turkey and swiss, 1 dill pickle. 16 oz carrot juice.

"The people weren't chanting 'Go Tim', they were chanting 'Go USA'.
It gave me goosebumps."

Tim DeBoom
Describing winning Ironman 2001,8:31.18
Soon after the 911 tragedy, knowing he was racing for something much larger that day.

Bike 65 easy with a few mild efforts on hills. From Skamania lodge out west and north. Grant F came by for breakfast, then we rode with him out 25 miles west on his way home. Tried to find a different route off SR 14 from the current but all roads turn to gravel.
Total ascent 3960 feet, all of which was the first 45 miles or so.

Workout Summary: Total bike 51 miles, run 6, swim about 1200 (total time 3:45)

Aluminum Man: The Dalles, OR
*Pretty extreme condition. Wind steady 25 with 40 mph gusts. Swim short about 7-8 minutes probably, but very choppy water, white caps. 4th male out of water. Ann impressive in those conditions. I think what I am doing with her is working. She Biked 19.8 in those conditions with the large hills, then was able to run 6:59 pace in the 10K. She was 3rd overall and if she hadnt urinated for a minute in T1 would have taken 2nd (2nd place only 20 sec. ahead of her). She was 16 overall in bike, 11th in the run, and 12th in the swim. All solid considering her big week last week.

Bike, had the wind assistance for about 10 minutes. The rest were severe cross winds and headwinds. Total ascent 1950 ft, most of which was from 10-20 mile mark. Totally alone on bike. Not one person I could see to catch and no one behind me. Hamstring was good for about 20 miles in aero position, then slowly tightened up to the end of the bike.
Held HR mostly in Zone 3/4, never got into zone 5.

Power ave 255 watts. Hard to hold power under 300 on the hills, spinning 70 cadence and 8 mph. Normally I would likely go around 10, and sure power would have been way too high. Very happy with power numbers. My peak power for 10 minutes was 278. This means my total average over 82 minutes was only 23 watts under my 10 min. peak. This means I am learning to hold a fairly constant power. Ave cadence, 92, speed 22

Run was ok. Against headwind to 5k, then with the wind on the way back. Able to run 6:30 pace out with HR in zone 5 most of time. Tried to pick it up in the turn around to mile 4. Realized I was not going to catch the guy in front of me, so I backed off to around 7 min pace and coasted in. Hamstring tight the whole way, but it has to be improved because I could never run 6:30 pace a couple of weeks ago. When I slowed to 7's, hamstring pain was relieved a bit. I think I could run kona in 7:30 if I can get a few long runs in over the next several weeks.
*I think I need to start riding more in the aero position and enduring the pain a bit more. I think this might help in the long run. The hamstring is tending to feel pretty good the next day after riding if I roll it and stretch it out at night.
Total 22:57

Swim: 16: 24 (7th fastest)
Bike: 1:21.53 (4th fastest, 22.06 ave, 50K distance, 1950 ft ascent))
Run: 41:02 (4th fastest, 6:36 pace)

Overall, felt good about this race,esp with the bike at 31 miles. Very good workout off the big week last week.
After race, ride 1:22., 20 miles easy.

Diet: Race at 9am. 6:45, 1 cup whole oats w/ bwn sugar. Water.
Caffeine tab, 200 mg at 7:45 am.
Race, took 4 doses of maltodextrin on ride and 1 dose at 20 minutes into run.
Recovery drink after race then race day lunch after. Vegi wrap, apple, salad, 7-up
Dinner: Skamania lodge. Trout, potatoes, shared dessert with Ann. 3 beers.
Dinner

Off.

Workout Summary: Swim 3000 (53')/Run 4 (33')/Bike 20 (60')

Quad very tight last night. This morning about 90% better. Some pain in my right inner thigh, which I stretched out after the swim. I am really balancing on the edge lately, with borderline injuries pretty frequent. Will try to keep it just under the red-line.

6:30 am: Swim 3000
500 wu in 8'
5 X 200/30: PR set
2:46, 2:52, 2:48, 2:44, 2:48
1 min rest
then 3 sets of 1 X 200 IM + 2 X 100 pull, all with 15 sec rest and 30 sec. rest between sets.
200 IM' were progressively slower since I actually did fly on the first 50 instead of substituting free, 3:15, 3:25, 3:35. Fly kicked my ass. Extreme difficulty completing entire 50, then it hurt me for the rest of the IM. Must be some good in that.
The 100's were typical, all in 1:25-1:26
300 cd free, 4:45
Again, no lane markers in the pool. Slowed my down a bit on the 200's. However, I really enjoyed kicking up white-caps for the other swimmers during my fly stroke. Looked like a wave-pool when I finished that set.

6pm: Easy run: Warmed up w/ John P for his tempo on fairmont. Carried spray paint and re-painted all the 440 marks on the course. Then home to bike on trainer. Did 10 min wu, then 5 X 5 min Power Intervals with 5 min rest between. Then 12 min continuous power interval varying cadence from 80 to 100 on 2 min cycles, while maintaining the same power.
1 = 5' Power ave 233/max 272, HR ave 112/max 124 (zone 2), cadence ave 105/max 111
2 = 5' P ave 277/mx 306, HR ave 129/max 145 (zone 4), cad. ave 107/max 112
3 = 5' P ave 280/mx 332, HR ave 139/mx 152 (zone 5), cad. ave 109/max 118
4 = 12' P ave 220/mx 240, HR ave 137/mx 144, cad 2 min at 80, alt. with 2 min at 100

*Quad pain is essentially gone. Very little tightness. My gluteus on both sides is now very tight. Trying to roll it out and stretch after, tough to roll ass on that foam roller.

Diet:
Breakfast: 1.5 cups hot wheat cereal w/ bwn sugar, 16 oz caffeine free herbal tea.
Lunch: Thai wheat noodles with vegies, cabbage salad. Sierra mist.
Afternoon: Cliff protein bar, 1 orange, med. coffee.
Dinner: Recovery drink after Spin. Then 30 min later, Pasta with marinara sauce, salad w/ low fat dressing. Diet caffeine free soda, water. 1.5 cups low fat ice cream before bed.

Run 5 (40 ')

Took yesterday off. Tired. Last week hit me hard yesterday. The delayed fatigue caught up. Felt ok this morning. Original plan was to run in a.m. but I was pretty tired this morning so I went back to sleep.

Had to cut workout short. Blew up my right quad on the final hill repeat. Very tight. Iced after and ace wrap. Can barely bend my leg at the knee because quad is in so much spasm. We'll see tomarrow. Try to swim in a.m.

1 mile wu/cd
6 hill repeats: 1st and last long and middle 4 shorter. All = rest back down.
1 = 6 min., 320 ft ascent, HR ave 112/max 114
2-5 = 2 min. each, 140 ft ascent, HR ave on 2/3 = 139/max 151, and 4/5 max of 154 (zone 5b)
6 = Same hill as first, but in 5 min. 320 ft, HR ave 147/max 154. Held 154 HR final 3 minutes. Wasnt really running fast, maybe 8:30 pace. However, quads must have been fatiqued from big week last week, and not fully recovered. I stopped and jogged home easy after.

Diet:
Breakfast: 2 vanilla yogurts, 1 cup caffeine free tea
Lunch: Salad with vegies and low fat italian, 2 oz bag pretzels, diet sierra mist.
Afternoon: med. coffee and cliff protein bar, 1 apple
Dinner: 6 oz chicken breast, about 8 oz scallop potatoes, salad. 1 beer and diet shasta

Workout Summary: Swim 3000m (3200 yd, 56')

Planned on taking the day off but the hanging out with the McMillans so couldnt resist one last swim in the 50 m pool at Juniper park.
Swim:
6 X 400/30 with 3rd and 6th 400 pull. All in 6:35-45
1 min rest
3 X 200 IM/30: substituted free for fly. All 3 in 3:30-40
no cd

Diet:
Breakfast: egg beaters and 3 swedish pancakes, juice, tea
Lunch: 2 fish tacos and side of black beans, chips, diet coke
Dinner: Bowl of shredded wheat and 1 vanilla yogurt. Got home past 9 from Bend. Had a med. blizzard from DQ on the road back.

"It is horrible, yet fascinating, this struggle between a set purpose and an utterly exhausted frame."

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
-after watching Italy's Dorando Pietri collapse three times in the final 100 meters of the 1908 Olympic marathon

Total Hours: 33:24

Swim: 12,000 (3 sessions) Time 4:02
Bike: 368 (5 rides) Time 22:17, 13,440 ft ascent
Run: 51 (6 runs) Time 7:05

Overall, this week was more difficult than my first big week in May. The extra 20 miles of running and 6ooo swimming adds much more quality to the week than pure zone 1 riding. Plan was to bike 40 on saturday to top 400 on the bike, but the long run killed me. Next time, may be wise to have a moderate maybe 16 mile run instead of 20, and a longer mid week run of around 12. I also piled on the quality at the end of the week, because of my recovery from hood to coast last weekend. Did TT for 60 min. on Friday, after 3 X 1 mile uphill repeats and after a 4400 swim. then ran 20 after a 3800 swim on saturday, then large ride on sunday with 90 min surge at the end. These final 3 days really put me under stress. Could have spread out the work a little better, but the priority was to recover from last weekend so I was able to get in the big workouts. Hopefully will benefit in a week or so.
The 600 miles of riding on the May big week was over 8 days. Had we gone to 8 days for this current week, biking 100, the total hours would have been nearly identical for the 2 weeks, around 39. So leaving this factor out, the main difference in our current week were: Increased swimming from 6ooo to 12000 and increased total running from 31 to 51 miles.
I dont feel like I need a week of taper to recover, which is a good thing. Maybe 2-3 days and I think I will be ready to train on a 5 day block, then short 2-3 day taper for Grand Columbian 1/2 IM

Bike 115 (4000 ft ascent, 6:45)

First 20 miles climbed 2200 ft to Bachelor pass. Took a couple of hours to get the 12 mph ave. back up to 16-17.
Plan was to do 3 X 30 min surges at the 4 hour mark, with 10 min rest between. Ann told me she was feeling good, so I decided to take away the 10 min rests, and just do straight 90 minutes. Kept power as low as possible while maintaining around 21 mph. Held cadence 70-80 for first 45 minutes, then held cadence at 110, never dropping below 100 for final 45 minutes. This proved to be tough for 30 minutes. The final 15 minutes, I got used to the constant burn.
90 min Interval:
Power ave 170 watts, max 371. HR ave 104/max 121 (zone 2), cadence ave 91, speed 21.2

Feel ok for the end of a big week. Recovered ok from big run yesterday. My new shin splint feels ok. Felt it on bike but I can tell will be better in a couple of days. Hamstring feels stable. Still nagging 1/5 pain.

Breakfast:
5 eggwhites, slice of cheddar, vegies. 2 big pancakes, 1 wheat english muffin. Juice.
Lunch: On ride. 10 doses of 30 grams maltodextrin each. Started nutrition at 1 hour. Took 2 gels also. Had a cliff lemon bar at half way mark.
Recovery drink after: the usual
Dinner: Pasta with meat sauce, salad, 2 peanut butter cookies. 1 beer, glass of juice, glass of milk. McMillans stopped over on their way back from a race in southern Oregon. Had dinner together, good to chat for awhile.

Workout Summary: Swim 3500m (3800 yd, 1:20), Run 20 (2:49)

9am: masters swim at juniper pool. 600 wu and 500 pull cd.
10 X 50 kick, front, side, and back
200 IM (substitute free for fly on all IM's)3:45
100 pull, 1:30
200 IM
2 X 100 pull/15, 1:35
200 IM
3 X 100 pull/15, 1:35-36
200 IM
4 X 100 pull/15, 1:35-36
200 IM
*arms nice and dead after this one. Could it be the 12,000 of swimming in the past 4 days?
Breakfast
afternoon: Long Run, 20 miles with Ann. 3 miles out to Bingham falls trail. Ran a little more than 14 on trail, out and back. Left hamstring stable, ran easy 8-8:20 pace. Right posterior shin (shin splint) started around 14 miles. Must be from the forefoot running, alot of deep sand on parts of the trail, and rocks. More balance on the forefoot. This stressed my toes and my shins. Ann has multiple blisters on each foot, at the toes. Regardless, she still ran away from me to negative split her final 10. I bonked with 4 to go, struggled to run 8's. Final 1.5 miles around 10 min pace. Very hot, 90 degrees, and dry. I was very undernourished. I lost a full nutrition bottle with 9 miles to go. Ran out of water with 6 miles to go. Still managed to run 1:22.30 out and 1:26.30 back. Recovery drink after, mixed with OJ.
Zone 1 for entire run, high zone 1 for several miles, HR 126 or under.

Diet:
Breakfast: 1/2 egg beaters omelet with vegies, hashbrowns, 3 med. pancakes. Large OJ and water.
Lunch: Nothing. 1 carb bottle with 3 doses of carbs on run. Recovery drink after.
Dinner: chicken pasta with broth, vegies. bread. more bread. about 8 oz jelly beans before bed. 1 beer, 1 glass red wine with dinner. Bailey's before bed.

Workout Summary: Swim 4000m (4400 yd, 1:22)/Run 11 (hills, 1:32)/Bike 51 (2:48, 1400 ascent)

Swim 7:30am: Video taped by Coach Bob Bruce (fmr Oregon State and U of Indiana coach, Dennis Baker's coach). This guy is the best I have seen. 2 major corrections in my stroke. I swam faster on the same morning in the masters workout we did, and with less effort. This guy knows. Detailed analysis of the video both from the side and front, and he is sending a DVD with slow motion and single frame analysis with voice over on monday. All for 50.00 He invited us to join his masters team workout which we did, as well as tomarrow morning's workout. During today's masters workout, he gave Ann and I our own lane (1) and spent the hour coaching us. He (and the others I think) were exited to have 2 kona bound athletes to coach since about all in the water were triathletes. Oh yeah, no charge to swim with his team, outdoor 50 meter pool.

600 wu with video. Then 1200 additonal warm up with drills he showed us.
then:15 X 100m on 2 min cycle. First 2 in 1:30 (shocking) Bob yelled at me to slow the hell down and work on my stroke. Next 13 in 1:35 and I thought I was swimming "slow". The other day, my 100's were 1:38 and I was pushing hard as hell. I hope this will be a break through in the next few weeks. then 2 X 200 relaxed, breathing every third, in 3:25. Cool down pull to equal 4000.
then 10 min transition to run.
Run 11 (1:32), slow wu with Ann as well as cd.
Pilot Butte Hill run X 3. This is a hill. Marked every 440 yd. 450 ft ascent. Total about 1 mile + 200 yds to the top. Equal jog down.
1 = 9:45, HR ave 130/mx 135 (zone 3)
2 = 9:35, HR ave 140/mx 149 (held top of zone 4, tough to do)
3 = 9:25, HR ave 145/mx 156 (zone 5a/b final 5 min)
Remainder of workout in zone 1. Its amazing how high the HR gets with only a 10 second improvement on each run. First 2 controlled effort, and the last one I felt like I was going to faint, then throw up...the entire final 2 mintutes.
Eat lunch, 60 min transition to bike.

Bike 51 in 2:48
First hour easy wu with Ann, about 16 miles. Then 1 hour TT. This was tough! At mile 3, started an ascent over 700 ft against the wind for 7 miles. Final 3 miles flat with a hard 20 mph head wind. I held power 300-350 for nearly 10 minutes at the end. This smoked my legs. Ave power dropped a bit on 2 turn arounds. When you dont pedal for 10 seconds, power goes to zero, which tends to drop average. I took it how it read though.
60 min TT
750 ft ascent
21 mph, ave cadence = 90
ave power = 217, max 512, final 20 ave.= 265, min. = zero (min. over 10 seconds 100)
HR ave 124 (zone 2), max 142 (zone 4, entire final 20 min)
For entire ride, ave power 166, 5 sec. max = 710, 18.2 mph ave, 80 rpm.

Thoughts on the day.
Riding alone out of the mountains as the sun set tonight. Bathed in soft gold light, reflection of emerald off the pines. The only sound is my breath, the chain, and the wind through my helmet. Thinking of my wife, her drive to be the best she can be. My friends in life and in training, Rob and Erin, Dan, Grant, Hannes, Todd, and Garren. The few I "coach" (really only give advice). How they all motivate me in their own ways. My circle of friends I've grown to meet through Ironheads. Of course Scott/Sarah Mcmillan and Rob Williams. The reality of my loss when they leave. Rob taught Ann and I how to swim. The reality that the very few rides we had together meant alot to me. I still imagine Scotty riding with me when I time trial and feel his presence when he's not there. I wonder how long that will last when they are gone for good. The motivation Rob has given me, even though I have never told him as much. That guy is amazing to me. He will hit a big one someday.
I dont know why I feel different about these two, I guess it's because Scott and Rob are the first 2 Triathletes I came to know before I decided to go for Kona in my first season. I have learned much more from them then they understand, just by pure observation of them both. I looked up to them and admired them as the athletes they were, and are. Of course their potential as the elite athletes they will become. I will miss them alot. I know when I see them again, at a race, when they visit Portland, whenever, it will seem like they never left. This is the bond formed when a common goal is shared, through all the work, a common effort to achieve. All these things are why I love this sport. This is what life is about.

Diet:
Breakfast: 3 eggs, 3 pancakes, hash browns, large grapefruit juice, coffee.
Lunch: Turkey and swiss on wheat, 2 oz kettle chips, ginger cookie and a ginger non fat latte.
Ride: 1 gel and 54 oz water.
Dinner: 6 oz steak with mushrooms, pasta shells, 2 ears of corn on the cob. diet shasta and 16 oz carrot juice. 2 ginger cookies and a beer for dessert.