A little over two weeks to go!

Ok, we're down to just 17 days to racing!  The training has been going pretty well.  Today I did a brick consisting of a fairly hard 50 minutes on the stationary bike (easy warm up for 20 and then a hard TT like effort for 30) then went outside and ran 10 K at a 7:20 pace over all (all of it was under 8, but the 5th mile was under 7 min/mile).  I felt wiped out at the end. One more hard weekend and then I can ease up a little. 

10K time trial today

Ran a 10K time trial by doing two laps on the "Grovin in the Grove" 5K course today. It was slightly hilly and cool and windy out. Given that, I had a decent run: 6:20/mile for a time of 39:20. The heart rate monitor was obviously not picking up because I'm sure I was around my max most of the way! 

One month to Duathlon Nationals

Yikes: only one month to go. Hope I can keep up the volume and intensity until I can taper!
  So far I'm pretty happy with the effort. S and S, strong and steady!

MITCS wrap up

The last Midwest Indoor Tri Championship Series race was yesterday.  I did about the same as in the others but slower in both the swim and bike.  Nevertheless, I feel pretty well trained at this point.  That was three very high intensity workouts over the last 4 weeks. Now I just need to get outside on my bike and put in some longer w/os! 

Ascend cycling workout

Did a fun group w/o yesterday at the Ascend Bike Studio. Ran 4 miles before and afterward. This was a good in between MITCS races workout because it wasn't too taxing but still challenging.

MITCS

Sunday was the 2nd MITCS indoor race.  It definitely went better than two weeks ago, but I ended up with tendinitis in my left knee.  Hopefully this resolves quickly so I can get back to training!  Plus, I can't wait to get out there and so some cross-country skiing since we finally have snow. 

Two months and counting!

Ok, exactly two months to go till the Duathlon National Championship!  I'm already feeling a little over-trained. Maybe too much speed work or HIIT.  I really need to get outdoors.  Yesterday I got into an argument with a guy at the gym who was very slowly jogging with his girl friend in the fast lane on the track.  I need to just keep my mouth shut and deal with it!  That's not like me (although I always think about saying something, I never do). Next time I see him I'm going to apologize.

2018 Triathlon Season Opener

Yesterday was the first Indoor Tri of 2018 at the Wheaton Sport Center. I had my usual swim (24 lengths) and a crappy bike (8.4 miles), but at least my run felt good (2.4 miles). That was a little better than I've done in the last 3 years. So over all, I'm happy with how it went.

Indoor trainer intervals

God indoor trainer w/o this AM. Did 7 2-min hard efforts starting at around 225 Watts and building up to 280 Watts with easy rest intervals. Used a spin bike with Power Meter.

5K Time Trial

I did my first 5K TT of the season today: 19:54 (~6:25/mile).  It has been exceptionally cold so far this year, but today was one of those fluke days in January when it gets above 50.  It was in the low 50s, rainy and windy, but I ran in shorts and a sweater. By the end, my shoes and compression socks were totally soaked. I felt horrible, but that's how you're suppose to feel when you go hard, right?
     Had a weird HR response: first mile felt pretty easy, but starting at the hill at the beginning of the 2nd mile it got a lot tougher. Likely those big jumps in HR represent limitations in the wrist-worn HR monitor (i.e. lack of sensitivity to subtle changes in HR).