John's Weeks 8 & 9

Okay, it’s been too long since my last post.  As usual, life steps in and eats up a good portion of any free time you have between home and training.  The past couple of weeks have been great.  Week 8 produced just over 120 miles on the bike with one ride at 75 miles (longest ride I have done so far).  And all of them were indoors on my Rock and Roller.  Crazy!!!!!  My wife is a great support team.  She kept my water bottles topped off, changed out DVD’s (Spinerval Kona) and even gave me a dry shirt at mile 55.

My swims are going great averaging about 5 to 6 miles a week now.  I am working on trying to get my pace down around 1:45/100.  My last 4000 yard swim I averaged around 1:50/100, getting closer, but still a long way to go. 

The 4^th of July weekend was really nice with cool early morning temps warming later in the day.  So getting outside early and putting in some miles on the bike and running was really nice.  This past weekend I capitalized on this nice weather pattern and hit the water early in the morning on Friday.  Got in a nice 3,600 yard swim, headed home from the pool, hopped on my bike and went for a nice ride.  Put in 40 miles before heading back home and a quick off the bike 2 mile brick run before the temps started climbing.  It was a very nice morning of training.

40 mile ride.  Tried simulating a part of Lake Stevens a bit.

I found a street not far from my place that had a nice short hill, perfect for some hill repeats, and a nice 2 mile warmup run getting to them as well.  I added a few laps to my run yesterday to try them out, as hills are my weakest part of both running and riding.  Lake Stevens ½ Ironman is in a couple of weeks and is a somewhat hilly course.   I will be anxious to see how I do.   My running has improved.  The early focused training for the Eugene Marathon this year I think really helped.  Not to mention, I am down 16 pounds since the start of my program.  And the Hoka One One Bondi B 2's I picked up have been great!!

Hilly LSD 14 mile run with 1,362 ft elevation gain

This week has a mini tri at Hagg Lake on Wednesday evening (300 yd swim, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run), should be fast and fun (David is also participating).  Then the Thursday night Open Water swims start at Cathedral Park through the end of September or the week of the Portland Triathlon.   I did these weekly swims last year and they were a lot of fun and great open water experience.  Also, it is on the course for the Portland Triathlon, so if you are participating in the Portland Tri, which I highly recommend, as Athlete’s Lounge puts on a fantastic event, then this is an awesome opportunity.  Depending on the crowd that shows up, they sometimes will emulate a mass swim start for those that want to participate.  Otherwise, you head out from the boat ramp, turn and swim along the shoreline to the St. John’s Bridge and back.  It’s about 500 yards each way.  They have kayakers on the swim course to help you if needed and keep you from veering off course and into the main part of the river and boat traffic.  It is also a great opportunity to meet some new training partners.

This should be a fun week for training with the mini tri on Wednesday night and the open water swimming on Thursday night. I'll definitely get some swimming in this week.  I have to make sure I get a lot of riding in also this week.  I should get a 60+ mile bike ride in as well.