Last week, when I was riding home with my parents after the Iron Girl race, Karel informed me that he crashed on the group ride. He taped a wheel in a 5-man breakaway on a training ride.
Karel posted this pic and comment on Facebook:
For sell: LCA Team Jersey and bibs. Lightly used.........;-))
Well, I am glad he has a sense of humor because no matter how many times I hear "I crashed" from Karel, it never gets easier for me. As much as cycling is exciting to watch, my life as a cyclist's wife is never stress/worry-free. I asked Karel if he was ready to switch to Triathlons after his crash and he just laughed at me (I would never ask him to do that since he is and always will be a cyclist). Just a side-note, if you ever need gauze, band-aids and neosporin and second skin, just give me a call or stop by...we got it all here!
So, I was a little nervous to ride my tri bike with the group at the beach on Saturday morning because it's been a while since I have rode with this group.
And, considering that I was about to do the ride that he crashed on, I was extra nervous as we were driving to the beach. But like usual, the nerves went away once I hoped on my bike and warmed up with Karel.
Karel got me new training/race wheels and I have fallen in love with tubulars. Don't worry, Karel already gave me my lesson of changing a flat with tubulars.
Did I ever tell you that before my first IM (IMFL 2006) Karel made me change a flat for 30 minutes straight. On and off, on and off, etc. He said that was the only way I would learn and feel confident and well, I sure feel confident changing a flat tire!
Still loving the new ride....
The group ride was fast. Curtis, Ralph and Karel (all LCA riders) pretty much controlled the whole ride and me and the other 20ish guys (yep, I was the lone woman cyclist) rotated and responded to attacks. This group ride is fun because it is on a really safe road with 3 90-degree turns. We do 2 loops in Nocatee (developing neighborhood near Ponte Vedra beach) so there are lots of opportunities for the guys to pick up the pace. Karel and a few of the other guys were impressed with my skills but I had no time to chat....I was in total focus mode the whole ride (with a smile of course). Every time we rotated and Karel would pass me on my rt he would tell me "great job babe". I just love hearing those words from Karel.
After the two loops in Nocatee, Karel finished the ride with the group to head back to the beach Trek store (where we parked) and I rode my bike home. The ride is kinda in the middle of the beach and our place so I had planned on doing the group ride as my "intense" part of my workout and then finishing off my ride with 2 x 30 min. pace w/ 10 min recovery. I ended up with 3 hrs and 24 minutes (65 miles). The group ride was around 35 miles (we averaged around 23-25mph) so I had a good amount of time in the wind to ride alone.
After the ride I headed out for a tempo/comfortable run and although hot, I was able to stay pretty steady with my pace. It sure took a while to gain my strength back in my injured leg but I am pleased where I am right now and I am hoping it only gets better.
Sat run off the bike:
32 minutes
4.2 miles
7:38 average pace
Mile 1: 7:41
Mile 2: 7:34
Mile 3: 7:35
Mile 4: 7:35
Sunday was a great morning. Karel headed to the beach to do some hilly neighborhood circuits w/ Curtis and Clint and I headed out for a run. I did 2 x 7 mile loops under a beautiful overcast sky. I had my music and fuel belt and it was great to put my tired legs to work.
My training philosophy this year is "quality over quantity" so I am not doing more than 15 miles or 2 hrs running before the Rock n' Roll HalfMan in Macon, GA on June 5th (as for biking I am not going more than 70 miles or 4 hrs riding). I have devoted the past few months to improving my efficiency as a swimmer, cyclist and runner and because of it, I am finding myself getting faster at a lower HR. I think lifting a few times a week has helped as well and I contribute much of my steady, yet slow, improvements this year to a variety of nutrients in my diet. In my opinion, food for fuel is more than just calories..it is most important to understand what is in the calories we are eating and how those nutrients can positively or negatively affect our training/exercise goals (or for some individuals, weight loss/maintenance goals). So, with this improved efficiency, I have also taught my body to perform off very little fuels/calories during training. I have never been a big calorie consumer for my long distance races and I don't plan on being one. I believe anyone can teach their body to metabolize fat for fuel and because faster at a lower HR. When I write workouts for my athletes, I really stress the importance of recovery and intervals during the week and understanding their individual nutrition needs during long workouts on the weekends. I find that way too many athletes want to train and race fast all the time and while there is nothing wrong with going fast every now and then, no nutrition product or nutrition strategy is going to help you maintain your elevated HR if you are pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, in a zone which you haven't trained it to do. Sure, you can try to pound down the sport drinks and gels to prevent bonking or cramping (I believe much of cramping is due to the contraction of muscles and not sodium related) but at a high HR for a prolonged period of time you will only end up with GI upset and a race performance that you didn't plan for...however, I could go on and on....
So, after spending over 2 months building up from running 6 miles comfortably, to 9 miles and now 14-15 miles, I am finally able to add intervals into my long runs. I do running intervals on the treadmill on Wed before swim as well.
Here's the workout for Sun w/ my stats:
3 mile warm-up
2 x 1 mile half ironman pace w/ 1 mile tempo recovery
2 mile pace
2 x 1 mile half ironman pace w/ 1 mile tempo recovery
3 mile pace/warm-down
+ 1 extra special Campy mile (10 minutes)
14.03 miles
1 hr and 50 minutes
7:52 min/mile pace average
Mile 1: 8:10
Mile 2: 7:55
Mile 3: 7:51
Mile 4: 7:22
Mile 5: 7:59
Mile 6: 7:25
Mile 7: 8:06
Mile 8: 8:02
Mile 9: 7:59
Mile 10: 7:35
Mile 11: 7:56
Mile 12: 7:25
Mile 13: 7:59
Mile 14: 8:08
This morning I took my time waking up (No alarm on Mon) and eventually got to the pool for a 30 min swim (2500 yrds).
These guys have it made....what a life...
Karel posted this pic and comment on Facebook:
For sell: LCA Team Jersey and bibs. Lightly used.........;-))
Well, I am glad he has a sense of humor because no matter how many times I hear "I crashed" from Karel, it never gets easier for me. As much as cycling is exciting to watch, my life as a cyclist's wife is never stress/worry-free. I asked Karel if he was ready to switch to Triathlons after his crash and he just laughed at me (I would never ask him to do that since he is and always will be a cyclist). Just a side-note, if you ever need gauze, band-aids and neosporin and second skin, just give me a call or stop by...we got it all here!
So, I was a little nervous to ride my tri bike with the group at the beach on Saturday morning because it's been a while since I have rode with this group.
And, considering that I was about to do the ride that he crashed on, I was extra nervous as we were driving to the beach. But like usual, the nerves went away once I hoped on my bike and warmed up with Karel.
Karel got me new training/race wheels and I have fallen in love with tubulars. Don't worry, Karel already gave me my lesson of changing a flat with tubulars.
Did I ever tell you that before my first IM (IMFL 2006) Karel made me change a flat for 30 minutes straight. On and off, on and off, etc. He said that was the only way I would learn and feel confident and well, I sure feel confident changing a flat tire!
Still loving the new ride....
The group ride was fast. Curtis, Ralph and Karel (all LCA riders) pretty much controlled the whole ride and me and the other 20ish guys (yep, I was the lone woman cyclist) rotated and responded to attacks. This group ride is fun because it is on a really safe road with 3 90-degree turns. We do 2 loops in Nocatee (developing neighborhood near Ponte Vedra beach) so there are lots of opportunities for the guys to pick up the pace. Karel and a few of the other guys were impressed with my skills but I had no time to chat....I was in total focus mode the whole ride (with a smile of course). Every time we rotated and Karel would pass me on my rt he would tell me "great job babe". I just love hearing those words from Karel.
After the two loops in Nocatee, Karel finished the ride with the group to head back to the beach Trek store (where we parked) and I rode my bike home. The ride is kinda in the middle of the beach and our place so I had planned on doing the group ride as my "intense" part of my workout and then finishing off my ride with 2 x 30 min. pace w/ 10 min recovery. I ended up with 3 hrs and 24 minutes (65 miles). The group ride was around 35 miles (we averaged around 23-25mph) so I had a good amount of time in the wind to ride alone.
After the ride I headed out for a tempo/comfortable run and although hot, I was able to stay pretty steady with my pace. It sure took a while to gain my strength back in my injured leg but I am pleased where I am right now and I am hoping it only gets better.
Sat run off the bike:
32 minutes
4.2 miles
7:38 average pace
Mile 1: 7:41
Mile 2: 7:34
Mile 3: 7:35
Mile 4: 7:35
Sunday was a great morning. Karel headed to the beach to do some hilly neighborhood circuits w/ Curtis and Clint and I headed out for a run. I did 2 x 7 mile loops under a beautiful overcast sky. I had my music and fuel belt and it was great to put my tired legs to work.
My training philosophy this year is "quality over quantity" so I am not doing more than 15 miles or 2 hrs running before the Rock n' Roll HalfMan in Macon, GA on June 5th (as for biking I am not going more than 70 miles or 4 hrs riding). I have devoted the past few months to improving my efficiency as a swimmer, cyclist and runner and because of it, I am finding myself getting faster at a lower HR. I think lifting a few times a week has helped as well and I contribute much of my steady, yet slow, improvements this year to a variety of nutrients in my diet. In my opinion, food for fuel is more than just calories..it is most important to understand what is in the calories we are eating and how those nutrients can positively or negatively affect our training/exercise goals (or for some individuals, weight loss/maintenance goals). So, with this improved efficiency, I have also taught my body to perform off very little fuels/calories during training. I have never been a big calorie consumer for my long distance races and I don't plan on being one. I believe anyone can teach their body to metabolize fat for fuel and because faster at a lower HR. When I write workouts for my athletes, I really stress the importance of recovery and intervals during the week and understanding their individual nutrition needs during long workouts on the weekends. I find that way too many athletes want to train and race fast all the time and while there is nothing wrong with going fast every now and then, no nutrition product or nutrition strategy is going to help you maintain your elevated HR if you are pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, in a zone which you haven't trained it to do. Sure, you can try to pound down the sport drinks and gels to prevent bonking or cramping (I believe much of cramping is due to the contraction of muscles and not sodium related) but at a high HR for a prolonged period of time you will only end up with GI upset and a race performance that you didn't plan for...however, I could go on and on....
So, after spending over 2 months building up from running 6 miles comfortably, to 9 miles and now 14-15 miles, I am finally able to add intervals into my long runs. I do running intervals on the treadmill on Wed before swim as well.
Here's the workout for Sun w/ my stats:
3 mile warm-up
2 x 1 mile half ironman pace w/ 1 mile tempo recovery
2 mile pace
2 x 1 mile half ironman pace w/ 1 mile tempo recovery
3 mile pace/warm-down
+ 1 extra special Campy mile (10 minutes)
14.03 miles
1 hr and 50 minutes
7:52 min/mile pace average
Mile 1: 8:10
Mile 2: 7:55
Mile 3: 7:51
Mile 4: 7:22
Mile 5: 7:59
Mile 6: 7:25
Mile 7: 8:06
Mile 8: 8:02
Mile 9: 7:59
Mile 10: 7:35
Mile 11: 7:56
Mile 12: 7:25
Mile 13: 7:59
Mile 14: 8:08
This morning I took my time waking up (No alarm on Mon) and eventually got to the pool for a 30 min swim (2500 yrds).
These guys have it made....what a life...
