Weekly Training Log: Week of March 16th, 2015 - Week #9: Four weeks to first 2015 race

In Life:  Mom and Dad were in Africa this past week and Beth and I got by in Boulder.  After a tough week last one, it was a rather uneventful few days for the week of 3/16.

Spring has sprung and life moves on.


In Training:  I was planning on getting in a few 50+ mile run weeks, but have failed to do so in prep for my first race of the season down in New Orleans.

Since Kona, I have focused on my cycling and have held less than 40 miles per week more often than being over.  This is a first and I am hoping to see a stronger swim/bike translate into a better run.

In the past, I have usually done a long run focus over the winter.  This year it has been consistency and time on the bike instead.



Weekly Totals:
Swim: 7,200 yds 
Bike: 526 TSS - 7+ hours all on trainer
Run: 38 miles 

Looks like a zoo.  Not a zoo.

Swim lessons on Thursday with Aiden

Aiden has been riding his bike a lot.

Weekly Training Log: Week of March 9th, 2015 - Week #8: A tough one.

In Life:  Beth and I had a very tough and emotional week.  I will leave it at that and move on.

My parents also took off to head over to explore the continent of Africa for a few weeks.  I am wishing them safety and good times.  Im also looking forward to having them around Boulder over the next couple of months.

Spring/early summer in Boulder is the greatest time of year.



In Training:  I took one day fully off and one day with a very short swim (so, essentially two days off) over this past week.  Despite two days off, I was able to get in a fair amount of work and was happy with how last week shaped up.  Swim is still very low, but my background as a swimmer has been helping me out. 5 to 10 x 100's on 1:15 is not very tough for me to hold.  Hopefully I will easily be holding 100's on the 1:10 by next month.

I remember doing 15,000 - 18,000 meter days as a swimmer.  Doing less than 5k per WEEK would seem like a joke.  But, I guess I am quite a different athlete now.

I am also a hell of a lot slower in the pool now too.  Specificity I guess.  I can be mediocre at three sports, do them all in a row, and call myself elite.

....


Anyways, my fitness and ability to do the work is there, but my top end does not want to get much higher at the moment.  It's possible that it was due to the stresses of last week, or that I am at the upper limits of volume and intensity that I can hold while working a full time job and trying to be a dad/husband.

It's a bit frustrating right now not to hit those new training highs, but I am hoping to see some good results when I hop back into races in the near future.

That short four mile race on valentines day (where I set a 5k pr) does give me hope in what I am doing.


Weekly Totals:
Swim: 4,350 yds 
Bike: 546 TSS - 7.3+ hours all on trainer
Run: 31 miles 

Dropped Mom and Dad off. Bus ride then off to South Africa.

Continued to take Aiden swimming.  I have been taking him to lessons and also swimming with me.

I have a new hat that Aiden likes.

This is our third dog - Marley.  He is essentially Aidens dog.  Puts up with tons of abuse and plays well.  He is a blessing and a little bit of a curse ;)

Weekly Training Log: Week of March 2nd, 2015 - Week #7: March is here

In Life: Spring has arrived in Boulder, thus life should start to get substantially better by the day.  That bad stretch of cold and snow ended this week and the sun an warmth have come.  I am someone who has energy/mood that is very tied to the weather and temperature, and spring tends to be my favorite time of year.

Having a good forecast is often enough to motivate me to get through hard(er) days.

This past weekend, I was able to spend a few quality times with my son, Aiden.  He is almost four and a half years old right now.  I really love this age.  He is a sweet, sweet kid.

I took him out to the Harlem Globetrotters on Saturday evening, then swimming on Sunday.  I am really going to enjoy doing so many things with him this summer.


In Training:  I had a needed day off and have been able to swim a little more.  My bike and runs feel strong and my stroke is feeling stronger by the session.  Even though I am not swimming big workouts, I am consistent.




Weekly Totals:
Swim: 5,650 yds 
Bike: 604 TSS - 7.5+ hours all on trainer
Run: 31.2 miles 

Aiden showed us what he is working on at his Montessori school on Thursday evening. 

Our group of IPA Endurance athletes out at pear izumi

He was laughing for hours straight at the Harlem Globetrotters.  The kid likes to laugh and he loves sports.  It was a good combo.

The game started at 7:30 - His usual bedtime.  He was a trooper and was two minutes from passing out in the car in this picture.

Oreo cookie mouth before I took him to swim on Sunday

Weekly Training Log: Week of February 23rd, 2015 - Week #6: Boulder Finally Got a Winter

After a tough and emotional stretch over the previous week, this past one provided the boost that I needed at this time of the year.

Boulder had an absolutely amazing January and February.  There were many days that were in the 60's or even 70's.  Then we got winter back in full force.  Look at that first pic below - that's rare for the front range of Colorado - 8 full days of clouds and snow doesn't happen too often.

The school district that I work for didn't even get a snow day out of the deal.

Training:

That treadmill has been very useful for all of the mornings where I didn't feel like getting in that snowy car and driving to the gym.  Having that thing is the greatest decision I have made this year - even if I'll be paying for it over the next 18 months.

Overall, I had a very good week of hard training.  I felt consistent and able to get in the work without being too worn down from it.

The balancing act of trying to be a dad, working full time, and getting in the training to try and make a run at racing as a professional goes on...

I have no idea if it'll work this time around, but I never want to wonder what I could have been capable of.


Weekly Totals:
Swim: 3,200 yds 
Bike: 620TSS - 8+ hours all on trainer
Run: 44.7 miles 

Until I start skiing much again, this sucks.

First longer run on my ND1750

Go ahead and try to guess what Aiden was drawing here.

I bought the kid a half priced book, then took him to Burger King.  Cheap date.

Aiden plays soccer at 11am on Saturdays at Boulder Indoor.  It was fun to go watch him this week as I am usually coaching then.