The weekend is going to be great for training and doing nothing but enjoying the sun, relaxing and recovering for 2 weeks of hard training starting today.
18 Degrees at 8am?? Whhaatt???Friday, May 29, 2009
How Often?
How often do we see this sort of weather up here? Let me tell you, not very often… Today at work everyone is happy and talking about the weather, and so am I.
The weekend is going to be great for training and doing nothing but enjoying the sun, relaxing and recovering for 2 weeks of hard training starting today.
18 Degrees at 8am?? Whhaatt???
The weekend is going to be great for training and doing nothing but enjoying the sun, relaxing and recovering for 2 weeks of hard training starting today.
18 Degrees at 8am?? Whhaatt???
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Race Report – Shawnigan Lake Triathlon – Olympic Distance
Place Overall: 2/119
Place 20-29: 1/14
Total Time: 2:04:53 (44km Bike Course)
As I mentioned previously, Saturday was not an ideal pre race day:
- Training felt off: Shins bothered a bit on the run, very fatigued on the bike, stiff on the swim
- Very little relaxing: Training, traveling, checking out race wheels from a guy, pre race meeting/bike drop off took most of the day. Only relaxed 2 hours in the Lake where I tried to nap unsuccessfully
- Tired: did not sleep well, and definitely not enough on the previous 2 nights
However, nutrition, a key aspect of the day, did go very well. Had my usual breakfast, a chicken sandwich with tomatoes and yam for lunch, some fruits and cereal in the afternoon, pasta dinner with tomatoes and pesto sauce, and a bagel with PB before bed.
At 4.45am Kamal and I were up. We both set the alarms for 5, but none of us got a great night of sleep and at that point there was nothing we could do. Just have breakfast, get to the race and do the best we can.
Arrived to transition only 1:20 before start which was not good at all. I would have liked to have more time, but somehow we managed to get there pretty late for my liking. Went for a 20 min bike ride on the course and had some race accelerations immediately after arriving. Needed to leave before 7am because the ½ Iron was starting. Prepared some things in transition. Went for a 10 min jog, did not have any more time, had to come back quickly to finish transition setup and get wetsuit on. No stretching whatsoever, pretty stressed and rushed. Got wetsuit on and 4/5 min swim, ½ min stretch and that’s it.
Swim: Found Simon Whitfield at the start line and lined up close to get a draft off him. Was able to do so for about 300m, after that I got into my ideal pace instead of his and swam well and strong. I exited the water with Kelly Guest on my feet.
T1: Poor transition. Second time trying to put the shoes on the go and not much smoother than the first. Elastic bands snapped while running out of T1 and therefore putting the shoes on was hard once again. Luckily I got that sorted out without wasting much time.
Bike: Kelly Guest went past me after my slow transition and did not want him to get away. Lost a little ground, about 100m over the next ¾ of the first lap. At that moment I decided to push a bit harder and caught him before the end of the first lap. Focused on staying with him on the second lap. Legs were quite tired and burning, and did not have the energy to pass him and stay in front. Pushed really hard up hills and tried to recover legs on downhills while staying strong in the flats (not many sections). Last 10-15 min were relatively easy and was able to up my cadence, and rest a bit for the run. No problems taking shoes off and dismounting.
T2: Average T2. Fast dismount, racked bike, slipped on shoes with some trouble, grabbed race belt and off I went. At this point I was about 10 seconds down on Kelly Guest.
Run: Started very strong right from the beginning, wanted to make a move to bridge the gap but legs were feeling the hard bike effort. Keeping cadence high and trying to focus on forefoot strike. Muscles were not really hurting, but were definitely fatigued. I was not breathing very hard, however I could not go any faster. He was not gaining much for the first 4 or 5 km, but after the turnaround the gap started to increase and before I knew it he was gone. Nothing I could do about it. 3rd place was quite far behind and therefore was a sure 2nd place if nothing went wrong. Increased speed for the last km just as “drill”.
Overall was a great race. I was very happy with my swim pace and bike split, somewhat happy with the run and T2, and once again quite unhappy with T1. Need to work more on that as well as leg turn over speed.
Sunday Post Race was good, got lots of food in me right after the race. Relaxed and watched friends finish the ½ Iron, bought a set of Easton EC90 TT carbon wheels, prepared backpack and took the ferry home. Great weekend!
Thanks again Kamal for letting me stay at your triathlon/bike shop (you know why…=p), it was awesome! Thanks to Engineer Enej and Engineer Jason for the rides and congratulations on your graduation!
Place 20-29: 1/14
Total Time: 2:04:53 (44km Bike Course)
As I mentioned previously, Saturday was not an ideal pre race day:
- Training felt off: Shins bothered a bit on the run, very fatigued on the bike, stiff on the swim
- Very little relaxing: Training, traveling, checking out race wheels from a guy, pre race meeting/bike drop off took most of the day. Only relaxed 2 hours in the Lake where I tried to nap unsuccessfully
- Tired: did not sleep well, and definitely not enough on the previous 2 nights
However, nutrition, a key aspect of the day, did go very well. Had my usual breakfast, a chicken sandwich with tomatoes and yam for lunch, some fruits and cereal in the afternoon, pasta dinner with tomatoes and pesto sauce, and a bagel with PB before bed.
At 4.45am Kamal and I were up. We both set the alarms for 5, but none of us got a great night of sleep and at that point there was nothing we could do. Just have breakfast, get to the race and do the best we can.
Arrived to transition only 1:20 before start which was not good at all. I would have liked to have more time, but somehow we managed to get there pretty late for my liking. Went for a 20 min bike ride on the course and had some race accelerations immediately after arriving. Needed to leave before 7am because the ½ Iron was starting. Prepared some things in transition. Went for a 10 min jog, did not have any more time, had to come back quickly to finish transition setup and get wetsuit on. No stretching whatsoever, pretty stressed and rushed. Got wetsuit on and 4/5 min swim, ½ min stretch and that’s it.
Swim: Found Simon Whitfield at the start line and lined up close to get a draft off him. Was able to do so for about 300m, after that I got into my ideal pace instead of his and swam well and strong. I exited the water with Kelly Guest on my feet.
T1: Poor transition. Second time trying to put the shoes on the go and not much smoother than the first. Elastic bands snapped while running out of T1 and therefore putting the shoes on was hard once again. Luckily I got that sorted out without wasting much time.
Bike: Kelly Guest went past me after my slow transition and did not want him to get away. Lost a little ground, about 100m over the next ¾ of the first lap. At that moment I decided to push a bit harder and caught him before the end of the first lap. Focused on staying with him on the second lap. Legs were quite tired and burning, and did not have the energy to pass him and stay in front. Pushed really hard up hills and tried to recover legs on downhills while staying strong in the flats (not many sections). Last 10-15 min were relatively easy and was able to up my cadence, and rest a bit for the run. No problems taking shoes off and dismounting.
T2: Average T2. Fast dismount, racked bike, slipped on shoes with some trouble, grabbed race belt and off I went. At this point I was about 10 seconds down on Kelly Guest.
Run: Started very strong right from the beginning, wanted to make a move to bridge the gap but legs were feeling the hard bike effort. Keeping cadence high and trying to focus on forefoot strike. Muscles were not really hurting, but were definitely fatigued. I was not breathing very hard, however I could not go any faster. He was not gaining much for the first 4 or 5 km, but after the turnaround the gap started to increase and before I knew it he was gone. Nothing I could do about it. 3rd place was quite far behind and therefore was a sure 2nd place if nothing went wrong. Increased speed for the last km just as “drill”.
Overall was a great race. I was very happy with my swim pace and bike split, somewhat happy with the run and T2, and once again quite unhappy with T1. Need to work more on that as well as leg turn over speed.
Sunday Post Race was good, got lots of food in me right after the race. Relaxed and watched friends finish the ½ Iron, bought a set of Easton EC90 TT carbon wheels, prepared backpack and took the ferry home. Great weekend!
Thanks again Kamal for letting me stay at your triathlon/bike shop (you know why…=p), it was awesome! Thanks to Engineer Enej and Engineer Jason for the rides and congratulations on your graduation!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
As promised: Weekend update
Thursday night I went to sleep pretty late to finish making my backpack for the weekend, which included all race gear and training/race food (and therefore took longer than expected and some thinking/planning involved).
Friday was a busy and tiring day. Waking up in the morning to swim was hard, but since I was going to travel to Vancouver Island in the afternoon it was going to be my only workout of the day, I had to make it and work hard! Work was short, 7:30 to 3pm. At 4pm I met with Enej at his house, and he drove me to the ferry terminal for the 6pm ferry. Without him, I would have been screwed and had to either ride to the ferry, about 35km with a backpacking backpack completely full, or take the bus and rack my race bike in there, not the safest idea. At the other end Kamal offered a ride and was waiting for me. We had some food, chatted for a bit, and went to sleep.
Saturday morning was tough. I slept on the couch, which is a very very comfortable couch for regular seating purposes, but not for sleeping. It was a 3 piece, but that is not long enough for a 183cm long body. Either my legs were up on the arm rest, or my head, or I was on the side (and on a slope) with my legs bent. The night was long, but hey, better than camping! In the morning had a 30 min jog, and 1hr ride. Lunch, and we headed to Shawnigan for bike drop off, swim in the lake and some relaxing. By 6pm we were back in Vic, pasta dinner, cereal, baguel with peanut butter, and anything else I could find. Seriously, Kamal had to stop me, I was anxious and eating helps…
Sunday morning we set the alarm at 5. Both of us were up by 4.45, none of us had a great night of sleep again. What can you do? Nothing, just eat, relax, and hope that you don’t feel the fatigue. Warm up was a little rushed as we arrived to transition about 1hr20min before the race. 20 min ride, stretch, set everything up, 10 min jog, stretch, finish setting stuff up, wetsuit on, shit! Only 8 min to the start, 5 min swim, find Simon Whitfield, and get ready. The race went well, more on that on the race report coming later. After the race I just ate, ate, and ate. Probably about 8 Recovery Powerbars, 2 Baguels with Peanut Butter, 5 or 6 large cookies, and a muffin. All of the above between 10 and 2pm (from finishing the race until end of awards). After awards we headed once again back to Vic, picked up a set of used Easton EC90 TT wheels to pimp my ride, and to the ferry. Thanks Kamal for your hospitality, rides, and so on. You are welcome to stay at my place whenever! In the ferry I found David and wife, great chatting with them as the 1.5hr seemed much much shorter… This time Jason picked me up at the terminal and gave me a lift home. Thanks for that!
Monday I was lazy and my energy was zapped. I was not sore, but energy levels were just not there and therefore took the day off from training. Instead I went to Speed Theory were I bought a new set of tubular tires, valve extenders and carbon brake pads for my new wheels. On Saturday I will go back to learn the science of gluing tubulars, it seems easy but tricky, and they will show me all the ins and outs.
Congratulations to all people racing on the weekend! Everyone seemed to have a good time =)
That is it for now, I will do the race report soon and post a couple more pictures. Bye now.
Facundo
Friday was a busy and tiring day. Waking up in the morning to swim was hard, but since I was going to travel to Vancouver Island in the afternoon it was going to be my only workout of the day, I had to make it and work hard! Work was short, 7:30 to 3pm. At 4pm I met with Enej at his house, and he drove me to the ferry terminal for the 6pm ferry. Without him, I would have been screwed and had to either ride to the ferry, about 35km with a backpacking backpack completely full, or take the bus and rack my race bike in there, not the safest idea. At the other end Kamal offered a ride and was waiting for me. We had some food, chatted for a bit, and went to sleep.
Saturday morning was tough. I slept on the couch, which is a very very comfortable couch for regular seating purposes, but not for sleeping. It was a 3 piece, but that is not long enough for a 183cm long body. Either my legs were up on the arm rest, or my head, or I was on the side (and on a slope) with my legs bent. The night was long, but hey, better than camping! In the morning had a 30 min jog, and 1hr ride. Lunch, and we headed to Shawnigan for bike drop off, swim in the lake and some relaxing. By 6pm we were back in Vic, pasta dinner, cereal, baguel with peanut butter, and anything else I could find. Seriously, Kamal had to stop me, I was anxious and eating helps…
Sunday morning we set the alarm at 5. Both of us were up by 4.45, none of us had a great night of sleep again. What can you do? Nothing, just eat, relax, and hope that you don’t feel the fatigue. Warm up was a little rushed as we arrived to transition about 1hr20min before the race. 20 min ride, stretch, set everything up, 10 min jog, stretch, finish setting stuff up, wetsuit on, shit! Only 8 min to the start, 5 min swim, find Simon Whitfield, and get ready. The race went well, more on that on the race report coming later. After the race I just ate, ate, and ate. Probably about 8 Recovery Powerbars, 2 Baguels with Peanut Butter, 5 or 6 large cookies, and a muffin. All of the above between 10 and 2pm (from finishing the race until end of awards). After awards we headed once again back to Vic, picked up a set of used Easton EC90 TT wheels to pimp my ride, and to the ferry. Thanks Kamal for your hospitality, rides, and so on. You are welcome to stay at my place whenever! In the ferry I found David and wife, great chatting with them as the 1.5hr seemed much much shorter… This time Jason picked me up at the terminal and gave me a lift home. Thanks for that!
Monday I was lazy and my energy was zapped. I was not sore, but energy levels were just not there and therefore took the day off from training. Instead I went to Speed Theory were I bought a new set of tubular tires, valve extenders and carbon brake pads for my new wheels. On Saturday I will go back to learn the science of gluing tubulars, it seems easy but tricky, and they will show me all the ins and outs.
Congratulations to all people racing on the weekend! Everyone seemed to have a good time =)
That is it for now, I will do the race report soon and post a couple more pictures. Bye now.
Facundo
Monday, May 25, 2009
Shawnigan Lake Olympic Triathlon
I will keep it short today; a headache is not letting me focus on anything at this very moment. Tomorrow I will write about the whole weekend, and maybe I will also post the race report. “A picture is worth 1000 words”, so here is my 4000 word update.
Friends Racing(L to R): Ryan-Olympic, Kamal-Sprint, Derek-Half
Friends Racing(L to R): Vincent-Half, Choppy-Sprint, Jody-Half
Olympic Overall Podium. Congrats to David that came in 3rd!
2 Times Olympic Medallist, the one and only, Simon Whitfield. Ridiculously awesome =)
Friday, May 22, 2009
Ready to head to the Island
Things are going well, however I must admit I am still a little tired from the race on Monday. 6 days between the 2 races are barely enough to recover, do some intensity, have my Thursday or Friday easy day, and Saturday do the usual pre-race workouts. Everything is on track and after today I should feel ready to tackle the race on Sunday.
On that note, today I am traveling to Vancouver Island for the race. Today after work I will be aiming for the 6pm ferry, hopefully is not full and I don’t have to wait until the 7pm. I will be staying in Victoria with Kamal. He has been really kind to let me stay at his place and make a bed on his couch. It should be good times as he is very easy going. By getting to the Island today, I will be making tomorrow much less stressful. More time to go for a short bike/swim/run, as well as attend the pre race meeting, drop off bikes, and less time traveling. Today is my day off anyways and after my morning swim I was not going to do anything else anyways.
The weather is really cooperating these days and is supposed to be nice for a couple of days (including Sunday). For this very reason and because I want to be as fast as I can possibly be, I will by racing my Cervelo for the first time. I am sure the bike will save me some time and leave the legs feeling fresher for the run as it is more comfortable. Also, it will play a psychological role, and I think that is as important. The bike makes me fast, and makes me think I am fast, both are great benefits!
I will be away from a computer until Monday or Tuesday, and I am very happy about that. Next time, an update from the trip, pictures, and the race report. Good luck to me!
Facundo
On that note, today I am traveling to Vancouver Island for the race. Today after work I will be aiming for the 6pm ferry, hopefully is not full and I don’t have to wait until the 7pm. I will be staying in Victoria with Kamal. He has been really kind to let me stay at his place and make a bed on his couch. It should be good times as he is very easy going. By getting to the Island today, I will be making tomorrow much less stressful. More time to go for a short bike/swim/run, as well as attend the pre race meeting, drop off bikes, and less time traveling. Today is my day off anyways and after my morning swim I was not going to do anything else anyways.
The weather is really cooperating these days and is supposed to be nice for a couple of days (including Sunday). For this very reason and because I want to be as fast as I can possibly be, I will by racing my Cervelo for the first time. I am sure the bike will save me some time and leave the legs feeling fresher for the run as it is more comfortable. Also, it will play a psychological role, and I think that is as important. The bike makes me fast, and makes me think I am fast, both are great benefits!
I will be away from a computer until Monday or Tuesday, and I am very happy about that. Next time, an update from the trip, pictures, and the race report. Good luck to me!
Facundo
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
North Shore Sprint Triathlon Race Report
Monday morning the alarm goes off at 5:00 am. Even though my race was at 10:30am (if previous waves were on time) I was getting a ride to North Van from my friend Ryan, and he was racing at 8:30 am. I had a normal night of sleep, about 8hrs, like nothing special was going on Monday morning. After a big bowl of Vector and Mueslix I was out the door. By 6:15 we were in transition, which was still being set up by the race organizers and volunteers. With 4hrs 15min to kill before my race, I racked my bike and went into the Community centre to relax, listen to some music, stretch and have my usual breakfast about 3 hours before the race. The multigrain bagel with peanut butter and banana with half a liter of chocolate milk with instant coffee never fails.
Two hours before race time I went into transition and quickly set everything up. Things have become simpler over the last couple of races and the only things in my towel were my racing shoes, and my race belt. No socks, no extra jackets, no bottles, no socks, no cycling shoes, nothing! 1.5 hrs before the race I started the warm up with a 20 min jog on the first section of the course. After that I went out for a 20 min bike ride along the course to figure out were to push it and were to take a break. It was good practice as the bike course was rolling. At the pool I started a dry land warm up thinking that we would not be able to swim, but fortunately I was wrong and we got a 5 min warm up which was good enough. The Sugoi Velocity Tri suit I bought at Speed Theory one week ago felt very very slick, tight but comfortable. It was a great purchase, and so much more comfortable than a 2 piece.
The plan with Kamal Rae and David Roulston was to do a pace line on the swim, doing about 2 laps (out of 20) each. Then work together on the bike to drop/catch the junior elites. Probably catch them as they are all very fast swimmers. The race started and I went first, feeling strong and very smooth after my 2 laps I found I had already opened a gap on Kamal. At that moment I decided not to wait and just went for it. The swim was uneventful, strong but not all out. Came out of the water with the main pack and was feeling good.
T1 was a disaster; first time trying to put my shoes on the bike did not go smooth and I probably lost 15+ seconds standing next to the mount line. Next time I will try the rubber band technique until I get more comfortable with flipping the shoes up and getting my feet on top of them… On that incident a group of about 5 juniors that came out of the water with me flew by. Once I sorted out my shoes, I was pissed and on the hunt. 5km into the bike course I had passed 7 or 8 juniors and opened a 30 seconds gap on them. At that point I was in third place, about 1 min down on the leader, 30s down second place, 30 sec ahead of a then organized drafting line of juniors, and about 45 sec ahead of Kamal and David which were working together (the only 2 Elites I was allowed to draft). Waiting for them was not an option, so I kept working hard by myself. At the end of the 20km gaps were almost identical as after 5km, and I was glad that the juniors did not make up any ground working together.
T2 made up for T1, I was in and out like a lightning. Shoes did not give me any trouble despite having a short tongue and I probably was 10-15sec faster that second place guy. I could now see him through the forest, and I was not stopping till I caught him. 7 min into the run I did catch him, stayed with him for 20 sec to catch my breath and before he could think a strategy I dropped him fast, not allowing for any comeback. I was now in the hunt for the first guy, but I could not see him even in long flat sections. I kept pushing hard as the group of juniors working together on the bike were going to have fresh legs. Before I knew it the race was over, I was second and feeling great. My run has been a weakness in the past but I had the fastest split of the day and felt very speedy through the forest.
I had my well deserved recovery shake, about 2 bananas, 1 orange and like 6 mini multigrain bagels at the finish line. Awards ceremony, home, relax and stretch, dinner, 1hr spin on the trainer, bed. Very good day, very happy with my swim (time includes 10+ sec of running to the timing mat), and extremely happy with my run.
Two hours before race time I went into transition and quickly set everything up. Things have become simpler over the last couple of races and the only things in my towel were my racing shoes, and my race belt. No socks, no extra jackets, no bottles, no socks, no cycling shoes, nothing! 1.5 hrs before the race I started the warm up with a 20 min jog on the first section of the course. After that I went out for a 20 min bike ride along the course to figure out were to push it and were to take a break. It was good practice as the bike course was rolling. At the pool I started a dry land warm up thinking that we would not be able to swim, but fortunately I was wrong and we got a 5 min warm up which was good enough. The Sugoi Velocity Tri suit I bought at Speed Theory one week ago felt very very slick, tight but comfortable. It was a great purchase, and so much more comfortable than a 2 piece.
The plan with Kamal Rae and David Roulston was to do a pace line on the swim, doing about 2 laps (out of 20) each. Then work together on the bike to drop/catch the junior elites. Probably catch them as they are all very fast swimmers. The race started and I went first, feeling strong and very smooth after my 2 laps I found I had already opened a gap on Kamal. At that moment I decided not to wait and just went for it. The swim was uneventful, strong but not all out. Came out of the water with the main pack and was feeling good.
T1 was a disaster; first time trying to put my shoes on the bike did not go smooth and I probably lost 15+ seconds standing next to the mount line. Next time I will try the rubber band technique until I get more comfortable with flipping the shoes up and getting my feet on top of them… On that incident a group of about 5 juniors that came out of the water with me flew by. Once I sorted out my shoes, I was pissed and on the hunt. 5km into the bike course I had passed 7 or 8 juniors and opened a 30 seconds gap on them. At that point I was in third place, about 1 min down on the leader, 30s down second place, 30 sec ahead of a then organized drafting line of juniors, and about 45 sec ahead of Kamal and David which were working together (the only 2 Elites I was allowed to draft). Waiting for them was not an option, so I kept working hard by myself. At the end of the 20km gaps were almost identical as after 5km, and I was glad that the juniors did not make up any ground working together.
T2 made up for T1, I was in and out like a lightning. Shoes did not give me any trouble despite having a short tongue and I probably was 10-15sec faster that second place guy. I could now see him through the forest, and I was not stopping till I caught him. 7 min into the run I did catch him, stayed with him for 20 sec to catch my breath and before he could think a strategy I dropped him fast, not allowing for any comeback. I was now in the hunt for the first guy, but I could not see him even in long flat sections. I kept pushing hard as the group of juniors working together on the bike were going to have fresh legs. Before I knew it the race was over, I was second and feeling great. My run has been a weakness in the past but I had the fastest split of the day and felt very speedy through the forest.
I had my well deserved recovery shake, about 2 bananas, 1 orange and like 6 mini multigrain bagels at the finish line. Awards ceremony, home, relax and stretch, dinner, 1hr spin on the trainer, bed. Very good day, very happy with my swim (time includes 10+ sec of running to the timing mat), and extremely happy with my run.
Me hurting? What?
Done, 56:26, where is the food?
Next stop, Shawnigan Lake Olympic Tri on Sunday
Facundo
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Weekend Update
Having the North Shore race on Monday meant that Saturday and Sunday were going to be a little more relaxing than normal. 3 day weekends are usually better than the normal 2 day weekend, but having the race on Monday, training was more relaxed as well...
Saturday started off with the morning swim from 6:30 to 8am. I wanted to work hard but not over do it, so the plan was to do most of it easy, relaxed, working on the stroke, and then go out hard a couple of times to get me ready for Monday. After the swim I went home and applied the same concept to running; 40 min on the treadmill with 15wu, 6x2min (1min 3:15/km, 1min 5:00/km), and then 8 min cool down. At 10am was time for a second breakfast and the famous bike repair/cleaning/tuning/check before a race. About 3 hrs later that was all done, including setting Draft legal bars on my training bike (I did not want to race on my new bike), truing the rear wheel, cleaning the whole drive train (cassette included), and so on. I kind of enjoy doing all that, but I always find it very very time consuming and tiring. After lunch I went out for a 2 hr ride to North Vancouver to pick up the race package and buy new flippers at Team Aquatic Supplies with a Race gift certificate that I HAD to use before expiry. At home I got all race stuff sorted out and packed, had dinner and went to bed early.
Sunday was awesome! Waking up with 14 degrees and sunny skies already makes it a great happy day. After a power breakfast involving 8 pancakes, bananas, strawberries, nutella, maple syrup, chocolate milk and lots of peanut butter I was ready for an easy 1hr ride with some race efforts. The ride did not feel great, I was kind of tired despite an easy day on Saturday, but it was expected after a couple of really hard weeks of training. I kept telling myself that the fitness was there, the power was there, and on Monday I was going to flip the switch and go. After the ride and lunch I headed to Kits pool, which finally opened this weekend. It was like 20 degrees and sunny, and I just wanted to get my 1hr swim over with to sleep in the sun. Said and done, 1hr nap in the grass. The swim did not feel great either, but using the same tactics I used earlier in the day I did not panic. The fitness is there, the power is there, and on Monday I will flip the switch and go… I was feeling very tired while making pasta and salmon for dinner, but was relaxed and feeling ready to race. Thanks to a day in the sun I went to bed early and had a good sleep before the race.
The race report will come later on today or tomorrow. I am tired of writing and therefore I assume you might be tired of reading. Ohh, I also watched lots of the Giro online while cooking, preparing stuff, fixing the bike, etc. Universalsports.com lets you watch the whole stage (all of them) online on demand any day anytime for free. Crazy! Nothing is free anymore, but this is… Can’t wait for Stage 10 today.
Saturday started off with the morning swim from 6:30 to 8am. I wanted to work hard but not over do it, so the plan was to do most of it easy, relaxed, working on the stroke, and then go out hard a couple of times to get me ready for Monday. After the swim I went home and applied the same concept to running; 40 min on the treadmill with 15wu, 6x2min (1min 3:15/km, 1min 5:00/km), and then 8 min cool down. At 10am was time for a second breakfast and the famous bike repair/cleaning/tuning/check before a race. About 3 hrs later that was all done, including setting Draft legal bars on my training bike (I did not want to race on my new bike), truing the rear wheel, cleaning the whole drive train (cassette included), and so on. I kind of enjoy doing all that, but I always find it very very time consuming and tiring. After lunch I went out for a 2 hr ride to North Vancouver to pick up the race package and buy new flippers at Team Aquatic Supplies with a Race gift certificate that I HAD to use before expiry. At home I got all race stuff sorted out and packed, had dinner and went to bed early.
Sunday was awesome! Waking up with 14 degrees and sunny skies already makes it a great happy day. After a power breakfast involving 8 pancakes, bananas, strawberries, nutella, maple syrup, chocolate milk and lots of peanut butter I was ready for an easy 1hr ride with some race efforts. The ride did not feel great, I was kind of tired despite an easy day on Saturday, but it was expected after a couple of really hard weeks of training. I kept telling myself that the fitness was there, the power was there, and on Monday I was going to flip the switch and go. After the ride and lunch I headed to Kits pool, which finally opened this weekend. It was like 20 degrees and sunny, and I just wanted to get my 1hr swim over with to sleep in the sun. Said and done, 1hr nap in the grass. The swim did not feel great either, but using the same tactics I used earlier in the day I did not panic. The fitness is there, the power is there, and on Monday I will flip the switch and go… I was feeling very tired while making pasta and salmon for dinner, but was relaxed and feeling ready to race. Thanks to a day in the sun I went to bed early and had a good sleep before the race.
The race report will come later on today or tomorrow. I am tired of writing and therefore I assume you might be tired of reading. Ohh, I also watched lots of the Giro online while cooking, preparing stuff, fixing the bike, etc. Universalsports.com lets you watch the whole stage (all of them) online on demand any day anytime for free. Crazy! Nothing is free anymore, but this is… Can’t wait for Stage 10 today.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Can't even think straight
I just came back from an All You Can Eat sushi lunch at one of my favorite places, Shabusen, and I am very very very ridiculously full right now. Actually, I should correct myself; it is one of my favorite places before I go in, and I can’t even think about it when I come out (at least for a day or two hehe).
Yesterday was again a hard training day. I have decreased my training hours by 10% this week, and have done some easier than normal rides and swims. However, I have increased the intensity in some key running and cycling workouts. I wanted to get a good week of intensity before the Sprint Triathlon this weekend and Shawnigan Lake Olympic next weekend. The 6 days in between will be a mix of recovery with some intensity to keep me sharp. After these 2 races I will have 3 or 4 weeks, depending on what race I do next, to put in some solid training.
The morning swim was good, then off to work. At 4:30pm I was back at home and by 5 on the treadmill. I warmed up, run 10K at 4:10/km pace, and cooled down. Right after that I went for a bike ride. The bike ride was kind of similar to the one on Tuesday, but completely the opposite, as confusing as that may sound. I went out again on the same loop as Tuesday, again not caring at all what my speed was, again after a tough run, but this time the goal was to have my cadence high, very high. On Tuesday the goal was to be low, very low. Well, after one hour I was close to home, my average speed was strangely and surprisingly EXACTLY the same as on Tuesday, 33.6kph, but my average cadence was 108 instead of 67. I have to admit, it was a really tough workout. 15 minutes into the ride I knew that I was going to be as my glutes and especially hamstrings were already feeling the work… I would be doing this kind of workouts more often to work on power and speed throughout the summer.
Today in the morning I was tired. Had an easy swim, a massive lunch, will go for an easy 2hr spin after work and will call it a day. Saturday and Sunday should be good as I have done most of what I usually have to do like cooking, buying food, etc during the week. Only training and relaxing, eating and sleeping before the race. Ohh yeah, and watching the 2 back to back NBA Playoffs game 7 on Sunday, as well as the Giro on Saturday, Sunday and maybe even Monday morning to keep me motivated! (Race is at 10.30am)
Facundo
Yesterday was again a hard training day. I have decreased my training hours by 10% this week, and have done some easier than normal rides and swims. However, I have increased the intensity in some key running and cycling workouts. I wanted to get a good week of intensity before the Sprint Triathlon this weekend and Shawnigan Lake Olympic next weekend. The 6 days in between will be a mix of recovery with some intensity to keep me sharp. After these 2 races I will have 3 or 4 weeks, depending on what race I do next, to put in some solid training.
The morning swim was good, then off to work. At 4:30pm I was back at home and by 5 on the treadmill. I warmed up, run 10K at 4:10/km pace, and cooled down. Right after that I went for a bike ride. The bike ride was kind of similar to the one on Tuesday, but completely the opposite, as confusing as that may sound. I went out again on the same loop as Tuesday, again not caring at all what my speed was, again after a tough run, but this time the goal was to have my cadence high, very high. On Tuesday the goal was to be low, very low. Well, after one hour I was close to home, my average speed was strangely and surprisingly EXACTLY the same as on Tuesday, 33.6kph, but my average cadence was 108 instead of 67. I have to admit, it was a really tough workout. 15 minutes into the ride I knew that I was going to be as my glutes and especially hamstrings were already feeling the work… I would be doing this kind of workouts more often to work on power and speed throughout the summer.
Today in the morning I was tired. Had an easy swim, a massive lunch, will go for an easy 2hr spin after work and will call it a day. Saturday and Sunday should be good as I have done most of what I usually have to do like cooking, buying food, etc during the week. Only training and relaxing, eating and sleeping before the race. Ohh yeah, and watching the 2 back to back NBA Playoffs game 7 on Sunday, as well as the Giro on Saturday, Sunday and maybe even Monday morning to keep me motivated! (Race is at 10.30am)
Facundo
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Hard day at the “office”
Yesterday started off at 4:20am, about 25 minutes earlier than it normally would. I woke up feeling refreshed and quite alert, and right away I knew that trying to fall asleep in the next 25 minutes was going to be next to impossible. I went into the kitchen and switched the usual rushed bowl of cereal to a delicious baguel with peanut butter and honey, and a hot cup of Nesquik. Waking up with time makes the morning start so much better. I wish I could do this more often, but that means I have to be in bed earlier than 8:45pm; very unlikely as I barely make it everyday as it is.
The swim was good, I was feeling strong and technique was good. I usually feel strong in the pool the day after a good gym workout involving triceps, lats, shoulders and so on. Main set was 6x(400 strong on 6:00, 2x50 fast on 1:00). My arms were done at the end of the 4.9K workout.
From the pool I went to work, and then at 4pm I went back home for some intervals on the treadmill and big ring work on the bike. I wanted to run 6x1km at 3:30pace, with 1:30 recovery in between at 5:00pace. I ended up running 1 hr as planned, but only did 5 reps instead of 6. I have no problem holding this speed on the road or on the track, but on the treadmill a 3:30 pace requires a faster turnover rate or a longer stride. I was happy with the workout.
Right after the run I went upstairs, had a banana, and went out on the bike for my 1hr loop around UBC Area including 16th Ave and Chancellor Blvd. I did not care what the average speed of the ride was, as long as the cadence stayed low. Mission accomplished, 1hr, 33.6kph, 67 Av. Cadence. At the end of the ride the legs were still feeling good and strong, and only the hamstrings were feeling a little tired. I guess its also due to the fact that Jeremy at Speed Theory made some position adjustments on the bike and moved the seat forward a little bit.
Dinner time included some yam, squash, tomato soup and steak. 10 minutes of stretching, foam roller, the magic Stick, and I passed out before I remember finding a comfortable sleeping position.
Today I have a shorter training day with 1hr in the gym (core and arms) and 1.5 hrs on the trainer (yes, its raining outside) with 20x(2min hard, 1 min ez). The North Shore Sprint Tri is in 5 days and I already want to go at it =)
Facundo
The swim was good, I was feeling strong and technique was good. I usually feel strong in the pool the day after a good gym workout involving triceps, lats, shoulders and so on. Main set was 6x(400 strong on 6:00, 2x50 fast on 1:00). My arms were done at the end of the 4.9K workout.
From the pool I went to work, and then at 4pm I went back home for some intervals on the treadmill and big ring work on the bike. I wanted to run 6x1km at 3:30pace, with 1:30 recovery in between at 5:00pace. I ended up running 1 hr as planned, but only did 5 reps instead of 6. I have no problem holding this speed on the road or on the track, but on the treadmill a 3:30 pace requires a faster turnover rate or a longer stride. I was happy with the workout.
Right after the run I went upstairs, had a banana, and went out on the bike for my 1hr loop around UBC Area including 16th Ave and Chancellor Blvd. I did not care what the average speed of the ride was, as long as the cadence stayed low. Mission accomplished, 1hr, 33.6kph, 67 Av. Cadence. At the end of the ride the legs were still feeling good and strong, and only the hamstrings were feeling a little tired. I guess its also due to the fact that Jeremy at Speed Theory made some position adjustments on the bike and moved the seat forward a little bit.
Dinner time included some yam, squash, tomato soup and steak. 10 minutes of stretching, foam roller, the magic Stick, and I passed out before I remember finding a comfortable sleeping position.
Today I have a shorter training day with 1hr in the gym (core and arms) and 1.5 hrs on the trainer (yes, its raining outside) with 20x(2min hard, 1 min ez). The North Shore Sprint Tri is in 5 days and I already want to go at it =)
Facundo
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Race Schedule
Over the last couple of weeks with the racing season almost underway, lots of people have asked me what races I was doing, what distances, etc. I have also found myself asking people over and over when is their next race, only to forget their answer 5 minutes later. So, I know this is not going to prevent people from asking: When is your next race? But at least they will have a place to check when they forget 5 minutes later =)
2009 Race Schedule
The schedule is not bad at all. I wanted to race a triathlon every 2 or 3 weeks max throughout the whole race season this year, and how my body handles that kind of physical and psychological load. 2 or 3 weeks in between races will allow me to recover from a race, get a solid week of training or 2, and then go easier for 2 days or so before the next race. I also scheduled some swimming races, and it really does not matter when they are as I do not find them taxing at all on my body. I can do a 4K open water race and do a triathlon the day or 2 days after and my swim time will barely get affected.
For most races I will barely taper (ie. my weekly Thursday easy swim/recovery day followed by 2 easier days before the event). I would like to peak for the Kelowna Apple National Championships as I will be racing elite/draft legal, and peak again 3 weeks later for the World Championships in Australia. That should be very achievable, and all races leading to those events are either “B” or “C” priority. If I feel like skipping one, I will, as long as I consider it beneficial in preparation for the “A” races.
On a side note, most of you know that I don’t have a car, and therefore getting to and from races that are not close on the lower mainland is not easy and requires of either tagging along with someone, or replacing the race that I would like to do with a race that I am not so keen on doing, but it is easier to get to (ie. either Cranbrook or Maple Ridge if I don’t find a ride). With that said, if anyone is doing any of the races on my schedule, and would like someone to pay for fuel and talk on the ride, send me an email or give me a call and then we can sort something out. Trust me, I am good company…
I guess its time to work… Thanks to everyone that left comments and gave me feedback on the blog!
Facundo
Monday, May 11, 2009
New Shoes + Weekend Update
I have been looking for a pair of racing shoes for a while, and for one reason or another, I did not like any of the 5 or 6 pairs I tried over the last 2 months. Some of them fit right, but the inside lining was definitely going to give me blisters wearing them barefoot. Some of them had a great “velvet” feeling lining, but the fit did not feel right. After reading in some blogs about the Nike Lunar Racers I decided to go on the hunt and find a shop to try them on. They were ridiculously light at 5.6oz, but seemed to have great cushioning, exactly what I was looking for. I called Sportcheck, Sportmart, The Right Shoe, and Forerunners and they did not have it. Crap, where else could I check? Right, the Nike store... Called them, only 2 pairs left size 9.5, blue sole, 100 CND instead of 150 because of the “lack of sizes and colors”. 1hr later I was out of the store with a new pair of shoes… I run on them on the weekend for about 30 min with no blisters or chafing anywhere, great cushioning, light, lightning fast, awesome!
My wallet is heavier than this, and trust me, I don't have much cash in there...
The weekend was busy, like always. Saturday started with our 6.30 swim in which we did lots of racing and sprinting. I definitely felt off, weak, powerless. After 1200m of warm up that did not change and therefore I suffered through the Timed 200, 2x100, 4x50. We finished a bit earlier than usual and I went home for a second breakfast. After that I was out the door to Safeway, the produce, the bank and cut my hair. Later on I will post a picture of my new hairstyle, but let me tell you, it’s quite short. After all that I had lunch and went to Speed Theory, picked up my new Cervelo S2 (the replacement, for the ones that know…) and off for a ride. Bike feels great, I loved it, and the weather was sunny and relatively hot (~16C). Came back from the ride at 5, showered, went for a BBQ in Jericho beach hosted by my friend Enej, and then off to Andras house to watch the game at 7:30. After 4 hours there I was ready for bed, actually, I could not wait to get to bed!
Sunday was almost as busy. Gym in the morning, run right after (on the new shoes), lunch, bike ride to Iona with lots of sprinting, shower, Whitecaps game vs Puerto Rico Islanders in Swangard Stadium, dinner and bed. Once again, by 11pm I could not wait to be asleep. Once again I did not have 1 hour on the weekend to sit on the couch and do nothing, there is always too many things to do, especially because during the week I can only afford to work, train, and eat. Each day has only 24 hrs and therefore everything else is on hold until the weekend.
Anyways, I think next weekend will be better. It is 3 days long, and on Monday I race the North Shore Sprint tri, so Sunday will be a relatively easier day. I can’t wait for the race on Monday and 6 days later the Shawnigan Lake Olympic tri. Race season is underway, yey!
Until I find myself some more time to write, goodbye…
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Not so hard...
Ok, that was cool and was not that hard. I was able to post, picture looks right, text has the right width and so does the side bar. I think there is still a bunch of things to add, like links to the blogs I follow the most (and that is long let me tell you), but one step a the time. If I do all at once, then I will become one of those that does not post for a long time, and that is not cool (think about the people that open your blog every 3 or 4 days to see what if up and sees nothing but a 2 week old post, it sucks!)
I guess I will post a bit about training and races coming up. On May 18th I will be doing my first Elite race at the North Shore Sprint Triathlon. I am quite exited to go out and be able to draft and play tactics, it will be interesting. 6 days later I will be racing in the Shawnigan Lake Olympic Triathlon, which is also exiting as it will be the first open water swim of the year for me.
Training has been going well, I have been really really tired lately but it is expected. Training an average of 24 hours per week and a full time job (Engineering, at least is not physically demanding) leaves little time for relaxing days, naps, etc. Next week, starting Monday or Tuesday I will decrease my training volume, and keep some race specific intensity efforts until both races are finished. Then I will start another solid block of training.
Time to eat some cereal and get ready for my Wednesdays afternoon run intervals and bike TT (short day but hard)
Facundo
I guess I will post a bit about training and races coming up. On May 18th I will be doing my first Elite race at the North Shore Sprint Triathlon. I am quite exited to go out and be able to draft and play tactics, it will be interesting. 6 days later I will be racing in the Shawnigan Lake Olympic Triathlon, which is also exiting as it will be the first open water swim of the year for me.
Training has been going well, I have been really really tired lately but it is expected. Training an average of 24 hours per week and a full time job (Engineering, at least is not physically demanding) leaves little time for relaxing days, naps, etc. Next week, starting Monday or Tuesday I will decrease my training volume, and keep some race specific intensity efforts until both races are finished. Then I will start another solid block of training.
Time to eat some cereal and get ready for my Wednesdays afternoon run intervals and bike TT (short day but hard)
Facundo
Trial and Error
So, here it goes my first post. I created my Blogger account quite a while ago, but like everything, it was quite exciting in the beginning and got bored/busy before I even started posting…
The main purpose of this blog will be to keep people informed of what is happening with me in general, training related or not. Like every other blog, I will have posts related to training, races, trips, friends, and all sort of other random stuff. I also decided to start my blog because I really enjoy reading other triathletes and runners blogs, and I thought: “well, if everyone is like me, then there would be nothing to read…”
I was told many times that a picture is worth 1000 words, so maybe I will just post a picture of myself (if I figure out how) as a brief “graphical” introduction
The main purpose of this blog will be to keep people informed of what is happening with me in general, training related or not. Like every other blog, I will have posts related to training, races, trips, friends, and all sort of other random stuff. I also decided to start my blog because I really enjoy reading other triathletes and runners blogs, and I thought: “well, if everyone is like me, then there would be nothing to read…”
I was told many times that a picture is worth 1000 words, so maybe I will just post a picture of myself (if I figure out how) as a brief “graphical” introduction
I think I am a little leaner now, but this is me a while ago =)
BTW, I think now I know why I have taken so long to write the first post. It was hard, but I know it will go easier once I get this out of the way and I can just post whatever I feel like =)
Until the next post (and hopefully I am one of those that at least posts once a week)
Facundo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
