long overdue recap pt 2 (Matt)

OK, more as I remember it...

Thursday, March 15
I think I did a brick. In the schedule, it was supposed to be a 35/10 brick, but of course that is an awfully short amount time. So, I rode to the Rose Bowl, warmed up, and did 4 loops at kind of a race pace, trying to hit 8:45 or so on each one. 4x8:45=35:00! See how scientifically I determine race pace? It's actually pretty close to what I hope to actually hit. The Rose Bowl is about 3.05 miles around, so doing that in 8:45 would yield 20.9 mph, which would give me about a 2:40 for 56 miles. I'd be happy with that.
Someday I'll find the actual times written down somewhere, but it was something like 8:40-8:44-8:49-8:44, which was good, but the HR was in the upper 150s, which I certainly hope I'm not at during the race.
I biked back home, quickly changed (like 2 minutes!), and ran out of my house at a decidedly un-70.3 pace, about 6:40/mile for 1.5 miles. That was my 10 minutes right there, so I backed off a lot, and shuffled home. I will NOT be doing that pace on July 22.

Friday, March 16
I don't see anything written down, so maybe I swam, or not. I have not terribly good at remembering to record swim workouts. But I also remember that my feet were hurting me, and not in a good way. I thought I was developing stress fractures, but 5 days off just told me I had done a perfectly bad combination of too-steep hills, too fast speed on concrete, and too many miles on 18 month old shoes. Live and learn, hopefully.

Saturday, March 17
Biked after a long day (6 or 7 hours) at the pool. 25.2 miles, 17.3avg, descent amount of hills. Using this tool, http://www.sanoodi.com/route/matt-connery/unnamed/2007-03-31/14-20-00/
It only shows 22 miles, but it also shows the elevation gained and lost, and a profile map, all TdF style.

Sunday, March 18
no run in the AM, as my feet still needed a break. I swam in the afternoon, and while I can't remember the warmup, the main set was simply 1x900, moderate pace, but timed. The first timed swim I did for the this training was awful, averaging something like 1:22 or 1:23 per 100, and felt worse. I had run in the morning before that swim, and I think it had an effect. This time I was expecting better, and I got it-12:03, 1:20+/100. This I can accept. it may not seem fast to you speedsters, but while training for those IMs a few years ago (Ironmans, not Individual Medleys!), my goal was simply to hold 1:20s as easily as possible for an hour. In training my pace got faster than that, but come race day, with no walls, and an intense desire to save my eneergy, I took it relatively easy, and got exactly that pace, whhich got me out of the water around 60th OAL! Steve, when you were saying your pace would make you faster than 90% of the people racing you were off by a bit-it's gonna be more like 99%. In other words, don't sweat the swim, literally or figuratively. And especially don't be doing swim workouts so hard that they affect your other more important disciplines. Just make sure you do some 2000-2500 straight swims, and as much open water stuff that you can fit it.

Monday, March 19th-off

Tuesday, March 20th
Swim
400 (75fr-25k)
2x150 free k-d-s
200IM k/d
4x50 1:00 (12.5fast-12.5ez-25drill) my version of strides in the water
4x25 :35 (called for in schedule)
4x100 1:45 hold 1:15s (called for by Danny Lowe)
total: 1500/30 minutes

Wednesday, March 21
Run 35:01 HR 145avg/162max
relatively flat loop at Y

Thursday, March 22
Bike at noon ~80 degrees
1:32:28/136avg/18.3mph/28.2 miles
Surface streets to Rio Hondo Bike Trail and back
Swim
900 straight=(25flyK-50fr-25basw-50fr-25brK-50fr)x4
6x150 free k-d-s (3-2-1 (75/50/25), 3-1-2, 2-3-1, 2-1-3, 1-3-2, 1-2-3)
18x50 free=(6@:50, 5@:48, 4@:45, 3@40) see, they all add up to even numbers of minutes, so you always start the next set of intervals on the 60!
100 easy
total 2800/45:00
twas a good swim week for me!

Friday, March 23
Run 37:58/143avg/159max/5.0miles/7:35 per mile
rolling hills, 72 degrees

Phew, more later...