The question is: will this make me faster?

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Ankeny,IA 
Today
Moderate rain High 58FLow 55F
  • Temp: 54F
  • Hum: 93%
  • W: 13mph ESE
SUNDAY
Overcast
High 65F
Low 61F
MONDAY
Overcast
High 65F
Low 63F
TUESDAY
Thundery outbreaks in nearby
High 66F
Low 65F
WEDNESDAY
Sunny
High 66F
Low 65F

August 12

Swim
  • 28m 49s
  • 1640.42 yards
  • 01m 45s /100 yards

I've lost some fitness in the pool, due to the fact that I haven't really been swimming much lately. Hopefully, I can get back on track in the next few weeks.

  • Health data: Sleep: 3 Stress: 3 Soreness: 3 Fatigue: 3 Sick: 2 Overall Workout: 3

August 11

Did anyone see the men's 4x100m freestyle finals last night? I stayed up watching because I knew it was supposed to be the biggest challenge to Michael (Ian) Phelps' quest for 8 golds. The French were actually heavy favorites. If you haven't seen it, you can watch the whole thing including commentary on MSN.com today. The Australians take the early lead with a WR in the 100m on the opening split, in something like 47.2. The Americans take the lead on the second leg, and then the French take it on the 3rd leg. Alain Bernarnd, who had the 100m WR before the race began, swims the last leg for France. Jason Lezak swims the anchor for USA. Bernard was the guy who was talking trash about "smashing" the Americans in the final. Well, Bernard swam very well, but Lezak swam the race of his (or anyone's) life, closing in 46 flat. Splits are faster than opening legs and individual swims, but still...that's the WR fastest split. He swam a perfect race, and I mention it here because I think we can all learn from it. On the first 50, he hugs the lane line to get a draft off of Bernard. He is able to maintain Bernard's pace, but presumably conserve energy by catching the draft. On the turn, he makes up about 3 feet on Bernard, moving from his ankles to his waist. And then in the last 25, he just steps on the gas. Watch the last leg...he swims so fast, he's starting to come out of the water. It reminds me of when a speedboat starts to hydroplane and lift its front end out of the water. I know he's not really doing that, but it's kind of cool to see the analogy. He really does lift himself out with each stroke, though, and I think that helps to speed him along as it's easier to move through air than water. Anyway, it's just a great race, and it was fun to see us beat those Frenchie weenies. You could say I have a little more appreciation for the swimming, now that I know how hard it is and how fast these times are. I mean, I've always liked watching the swimming, but I can just appreciate it more now.

  • Health data: Sleep: 3 Stress: 3 Soreness: 4 Sick: 2

August 10

Bike #1
  • 1h 06m 22s
  • 24.86 miles
  • 22.48 Mi/hr

New PR by over 2 minutes. I started out hard like I planned to do, and I was able to maintain the intensity for the whole distance. I still think I could have ridden harder as my average HR was lower than on Friday. Even though I've ridden this distance many times, I'm still getting a feel for the ideal intensity. It was a great morning for a bike ride - 65 degrees and a light wind from the NE.

Bike #2
  • 15m
  • 3.00 miles
  • -----

2 mile warmup and 1 mile cooldown, plus some stretching.

  • Health data: Sleep: 3 Stress: 3 Soreness: 3 Fatigue: 2 Sick: 2 Overall Workout: 5

August 9

Had to work today. And with Anisa's family in town, I decided to take the day off. I'm going to try for a 40K PR on the bike on Sunday.

  • Health data: Sleep: 2 Stress: 3 Soreness: 2 Sick: 2

August 8

Bike
  • 47m 57s
  • 18.15 miles
  • 22.71 Mi/hr

Feeling it today!!! Man, I wish I could have done 6.7 more miles, because I know I could have kept up this pace, but unfortunately I needed to get back to work. I was just hammering, and it went very well. I think my problems with why I've plateaued is that I need to start out harder instead of saving myself. If I start out pushing hard, I can kind of settle into a groove and just hold it there. I think I can keep my HR around 150-155 for the whole hour+ it takes to ride a 40K.

At this pace, I was looking at less than 18 more minutes to finish 40K, which would have put me at 1:05:40 or so. I know I have that in me. Maybe I'll see how I'm feeling on Sunday and try for it.

Ortho appointment today. He noticed an effusion again, which was not present prior to the basketball incident. I told him how I felt much better after the steroid injection, and then after 5-6 weeks it wore off. There wasn't much else besides the effusion on exam. So we're going to do another MR, this time with contrast, next Thursday. This is preparatory for likely arthroscopy in the next month or two, depending of course on the findings.

  • Health data: Sleep: 2 Stress: 3 Soreness: 3 Fatigue: 4 Sick: 3 Overall Workout: 5

August 7

Swim
  • 38m
  • 1640.42 yards
  • -----

Finally made it back to the gym for a swim.

250m warmup
1000m drills
250m cooldown

Ortho appt. tomorrow morning. I wonder how it will go.

  • Health data: Sleep: 3 Stress: 3 Soreness: 2 Fatigue: 3 Sick: 2 Overall Workout: 3

August 6

Bike
  • 2h 46m 30s
  • 56.00 miles
  • 20.18 Mi/hr

Half-iron distance ride.

I started out planning to do 50 miles. I just started out into the countryside, following whatever paved roads I could find. There was one part where I wasn't really sure where I was or how far away from home. As I got close to 50 miles, I started thinking it'd be cool to do 56 miles so I could notch a half-iron distance, so that's what I did.

Here's a riddle:

Q: What stinks in August?

A: Pigs.

I was trying to keep my HR in the 130's, and it was for most of the first half of the ride. It was in the 140's for most of the second half. I drank 2 water bottles and ate 3 gel packs. After about 45 miles, I was really starting to feel pretty bored. There's not a lot to think about when you're riding your bike.

  • Health data: Sleep: 3 Stress: 4 Soreness: 3 Fatigue: 2 Sick: 2 Overall Workout: 5
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robfornoff's Training Log


 August 2008 
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Volume

Time
Distance

Actual vs Planned

Time

Upcoming races

Totals

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