IMCHOO Build 1 recap

While I haven't been slacking so far this year, Apr 6th saw the start of the first "IM Choo" build cycle, and somehow naming it makes it more real.

There are going to be 8 build cycles, which doesn't sound like much. 24 weeks to get from "pretty good base" to "ready for an Ironman"?!

Like all of the other TeamZ IM athletes that have come before me, I'm repeating to myself "do the training, trust the training". Hopefully, I'll see some reassuring signs as the summer goes along.

Review of last three weeks

• 2x Skipping Monday bootcamp
• 3x Weds strength training
• 2x Yoga
• Swam
• at 7 swim practices
• at 1 swim meet with a PR at the 1000y FR
• Ran
• 2x Monday night run lead
• 1x Monday Run to Happy Hour
• 2x run commute
• 2x track practice
• Broken 9 miler in between other Saturday events
• Broken 8 miler in between cheering at event
• 1x recovery birthday party trail run
• Biked
• 1x Uphill toodle
• 1x trainering
• 1x hills workout with a single hill and 1x trippple hill
• Hilly 52 miler out of Monocacy
• Daffodilly 55 miler out of Boyds
• 1x recovery long bike
• 30 assorted commute miles

Resolve for next build cycle

• Go to 1 Monday bootcamp
• Do 2 bike hills workouts with 2x and 3x trippple hill
• Run 11 while on vacation
• Drop bike off for annual tune-up over a vacation weekend 
• Race Chattanooga 1/2 as an Ironman/2
• Eat rationally while on vacation and on race weekends 

Tri games: Uphill Toodle

Sometimes a ride just needs to be a ride, and 20 minutes in one direction, a U-turn and 20 minutes back will work.

Sometimes that sounds like the worst idea in the whole world and a recipe for 60 minutes of suffering smashed into only 40 minutes of actual time.

I had unstructured bike-time on my schedule a few weeks ago, and it was pleasant out, so I wanted to make the outdoors seem more appealing than Netflix.

With this goal, I made up a game to help with Z2 climbing and also to help the time go by.

Uphill Toodle Rules

1. When the ride feels stagnant, at the next intersection either go
1. Uphill, or, 
2. Away from home
2. After more than half of your ride time has elapsed, at the intersections either go
1. Uphill, or,
2. Towards home

Yeah, so it's not so complicated, but it didn't need to be for me to get to experience some new side streets and discover a new route for the work-to-track-practice commute.

I also found what essentially looked like a log cabin in the midst of million dollar homes. Would've been a great time to have a camera for more thrilling blog documentation :)

Triumphant return to the trippple hill

Thursday night is for biking hills. Over the last few years, I've made a lot of progress, and while I don't love hills by any stretch, my first trip back to the "crit" was a nice surprise.

I got to revel in feeling *powerful* on the bike.

It's a pretty mean little hill combo. You come around a downhill corner into 0.2 miles of 12% grade, U-turn at the top, shoot back up 0.1 miles of another steep hill, U-turn at the top and get back up that first hill.

There's the added "fun" of avoiding any other climbers while bombing down the hill and trying to turn without adding too much recovery to the interval.

For the first hills ride of the season, I did a single hill, then on the next loop went for the trippple hill. I felt strong in both, and looking at Strava data afterwards, there was a good reason for it as both of them were faster than any of my previously recorded efforts.

One of the leaders suggested that I do it in the big ring next time -- which seems like a laughable notion -- however, I'll probably see if it's possible to get up it in the second-easiest gear next time I try.

This week, I'll be riding random hills following the rules of "Uphill Toodle", to be described in a later post.

2015 Rumspringa Half Race Report

A whirlwind 25 hours worth of driving, sleeping, racing, and eating, and I managed to squeeze in a half marathon PR.

 A friend suggested this spring-time half after seeing the awesome finisher prizes and I bought into the idea. Originally, I thought I would still feel run-over after the marathon and planned to go enjoy some sunshine and sausage, but since feeling pretty sprightly (or even manic) after the immediate marathon aftermath, I started to think about actually racing it.

I planned to start off in high Z3 and then try to hold on to whatever pace that put me at, but unlike the carefully executed marathon, when I felt good, I just threw that plan out the window and raced recklessly downhill.

My HR monitor stopped monitoring accurately around mile 8 (or I suddenly started running with about the same effort as industrious emailing), but until then, I was averaging a low Z4 HR and a 9:22 pace. That got me through the worst of the hills in the middle of the loop, and then I just had to will myself into finishing strong on the uphill return on the stick of the lollipop.

This included some of my favorite mental tricks, including counting to 8 over and over again, and telling myself that 4.5 miles is really just 45 more 0.1 mile segments!

I gave in to 4 hill-induced walk breaks in the last two miles, but managed to hold on to a 9:24 overall pace for a 2:03 finishing time.

Previous best half-marathons include
1. 2014 Shamrock - 2:35
2. 2014 Watermans Half-iron - 2:17
3. 2015 First half of RNR Marathon - 2:13
4. 2015 Second half of RNR Marathon - 2:11

So I had hopes of a 2:0x result, but this was better than my expectations. There are very few moments in that run where I think I could have gone any faster. Perhaps I could have used a little more fortitude to not succumb to one of those last walk breaks, but overall, I'm exceedingly happy with this result.

Looking forward, I plan to be disciplined over the summer and work on staying in Z2 for long runs. While this might make me have to run a smidge slower, it is still much faster than I was running last summer, and it now fast enough to make it feel like I am really going somewhere when I run for a few hours.

After the race, my travel buddy and I managed to fit in a full day of food-centered-touristing as well with visits to
1. Wonderful Good Market - some delicious olive bread and artisan cheese
2. Achenbach's Pastries - I had high expectations that they didn't quite live up to, but I got to try a "Long John" and got a tasty Boston Creme doughnut to tide me over to lunch.
3. Strasburg Creamery and Deli - Lunch and tasty ice cream with a fresh waffle cone

Great adventure. If I come back again, I'd wear a costume to have a better chance for one of the prizes

Perhaps not the most useful Garmin910 review, but very amusing to me

This website has a "review" of the Garmin 910xt that I like to read way more than is reasonable. I'm very grateful that they have provided this info to the world because it amuses me so much. 
I'm afraid that the text might disappear from this transient internet, so I'm quoting them here:

If you like to channelize your potential by indulging in multiple sports then Garmin has come up with their best-till-date product Garmin 910xt for you. It is a striking widget that can help you to optimize your performance in cycling, running and swimming. With this exquisite range of attributes, it cannot possibly let you down.

Swimming is a great sport which works out all your major muscle groups, and thus brings out an overall well being, but what would be even better is if you could measure how well you are performing. The 910xt by Garmin is designed both for open water as well as pool swimming. There is a one button switch that shifts you from one sport to another.

As you pick swimming, it gives two basic options, Open Water or Laps. Based on the length of the pool, it provides seconds per length for that pool and gives you performance parameters such as strokes per length, time taken per 100 yards, tracks pace, distance, heart rate and elevation. Other swim metrics including swim stroke recognition, heart rate in beats per minute, distance, pool lengths, average, and zones, swim pace, swim interval time, stroke-per-length and stroke count also come in handy with this appliance.

Not only Garmin 910xt gives the ability to compare swim workouts but also has the ability to read Swim Golf (swolf) score to determine your proficiency by determining the time taken and the number of strokes taken per lap. Combination of a sturdy design and simple operations make it useful for water sports other than swimming too. Another good point for the swimmers, Garmin 910xt watch can also demonstrate graphical stats to for swim workouts.

To track Heart Rate under water, it gives you the liberty of measuring your distance without pressing the lap button each time, which of course is a hindrance in your swim activity. The lap button can be pressed to take a break, and resume later. An excellent feature is that it also keeps a track of switch between the stroke style, and it adjusts it automatically. If you opt for Open Water option, gadget comes forward with capacity of stroke distance over swim. While if you go for Pool setting, distance-per-stroke is computed for each lap.

Garmin 910xt is also compatible with ANT+™ power meters, like Vector™ and Garmin’s pedal-based devices. It does not only provide you with real time data so that you can see how well you are performing under water, but it also lets you transfer your data to satellite or to your personal computer so that you can set goals for yourself and then keep a track of how well you are achieving them on swim metrics.

Easy-to-read and sturdy look and feel combined with an easy-to-wear and carry wrist strap makes Garmin 910xt a favorite among swimmers. Also if you combine running and bicycling experience with swimming, it is an optimal device for you. Go for this versatile gadget and you would not regret it.

By Kathrine Switzer is an ardent cyclist and devoted writer. She is obsessed with high tech gadgets like Heart Rate Monitors, Bicycle Computers and related fitness apparatus. She would be delighted if you follow her writings on various fitness, health and technology blogs or simply on twitter @KathrineSwitzer

Thanks @KathrineSwitzer for putting these paragraphs out there! When a ride gets hard, I thank Garmin for helping me channelize my potential.