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This second job I have doesn’t pay but it has good health benefits (in theory). I’ve been putting in 16 hours per week the last four weeks which is approx. 64 hours. Good thing most of the hours are on the weekend and Matt is also doing the second job so he understands us not being able to do a lot together.
Good thing my boss (AKA: coach) is starting to cut down the hours the next two weeks before the big work event on 3/27.
Here’s this weeks job productivity.
M: 50 mi bike
T: off
W: 20 mi bike followed by 12 mi run (BRICK)
TH: 4,000 yds at masters
F: 10 mi run with hill repeats
S: 65 mi bike followed by 3 mi run (BRICK)
S: 13 mi run, rest, 20 mi bike, rest and now headed to the YMCA for a 3,000 swim with Matt
Totals:
Swim: 7,000 yds
Bike: 155 mi
Run: 38 mi
Hardest week yet. I’m not sure I would say I’m cracking, but I’m definitely feeling a bit trashed. This is the third week in a row that Heidi and I have both been pushing it pretty hard. I made a bit of a mistake and had Gina (aka “The Elbow”) do an hour of ART/bodywork on me on Friday afternoon. It was definitely nice to have that done after a tough week of training. (I’ve never had any type of bodywork done before, but I think it’s really helping. Gina is pretty tough, really knows what she’s doing. I’m super-glad she’s helping me out.) But, it was not so nice to do before two pretty tough days of training.
Backing up a couple days… I did a tempo 10 mile run on Wednesday and it felt really good. I was able to hold 20 minutes at a 7:30 pace and then dipped down to 7:15-7:25 for 4×5 minutes. No leg pain (above and beyond the usual burn, that is) so that was nice.
It was supposed to rain on Saturday and Sunday so I wasn’t sure how the weekend was going to pan out. After two weekends in a row of spending hours on the trainer, I was resolute about riding in the rain. But, the rain held off till late Saturday afternoon so I was able to stay dry and get my brick done in the morning. A pretty spicy bike ride out to Camp Pendleton (50 miles) and then right into an 8 mile run. The second part of the bike was tough due to the wind, but it was good mental training. Most of the 70.3 bike course is on the base so it’ll most likely be windy (it’s always windy there). I averaged 8:32 on the run, which included some hills at the end. Overall I was pretty happy, considering how tired my legs felt.
On Sunday Heidi and I swam Masters at the Encinitas Y. First time in forever that my calves didn’t cramp and it was a pretty tough set. I was supposed to do 4000m, but only did 3600m. (Feeling really good in the pool. Looking forward to the 70.3 swim.) I was feeling pretty spent and still needed to do a 13 mile run later in the day. After a huge brunch at Naked Cafe and a little siesta on the couch, I hit the road and knocked out my 13 miler. It was supposed to be at an easy pace so I ended up with an 8:45 average. I was surprised at how good I felt. My nutrition was on and I felt really strong throughout the entire run. I can’t tell you how many longer runs I’ve been on where I’ve imploded and really had to fight just to make it home. Even after a tough training week that didn’t happen on my big run of the weekend. Hopefully that means I’m getting stronger.
Here are the numbers for this week.
03/01/2010 - 03/07/2010
Swim: 8600 meters
Bike: 134 miles
Run: 36 miles
Three weeks to 70.3….
My desktop has been acting up a bit lately (i.e., hanging during POST) so I decided to get some new parts and upgrade it. It was the first computer I ever built from scratch (in 2003). We’ve been through a lot together (XP, Vista, Windows 7, CPU upgrade, RAM upgrade, video card heatpipe installation, etc.) and I’ve kind of grown attached to it. But, like all things, change is inevitable.
After some research on NewEgg it became evident that my $500 budget wasn’t going to cut it. I finally said, “screw the budget” and just bought the stuff I thought I needed to get a solid box that would last me another 6.5 years. I wasn’t going after a crazy gaming machine — just an above average box on which I could run Windows 7 x64.
Here’s what I ended up buying (I was able to re-use my Lian-Li aluminum case).
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 (LGA 1156; Intel P55)
Processor: Intel Core i5-750 2.66GHz LGA 1156 quad-core (Lynnfield)
Memory: G.Skill 4GB DDR3 1333
Hard disk: Samsung Spinpoint 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0
Video card: EVGA GeForce GT 240
Power supply: Corsair 650W
I really wanted to go with 8GB of memory, but thought I would see how things ran with 4GB. There are open DIMM slots so adding another 4GB won’t be a problem. But, for now I don’t think I need it. Windows 7 x64 is completely smoking on the new hardware. Without a doubt the fastest box I’ve ever had. Actually, let me back up a step. I’ve never, ever had such good luck building a computer from scratch as I did with this hardware. I mean, something always goes wrong during the initial configuration/power-up. But seriously, not this time. I ripped out all of the old hardware from my case, cleaned it up, put in the new components, cabled it all up, and hit the power button. Successful boot up on the first try. Unbelievable. And, so far no issues at all with the 64-bit version of Windows 7. I was expecting at least a couple app/driver issues, but so far everything is working.
Not as sexy as a Mac (maybe someday), but so far I’m completely loving the new box.
All-in-all, a decent week of training. I missed a swim workout and was 18 miles short on one ride during the week. Otherwise, I pretty much hit everything on my program. Saturday was probably the toughest day. Not that it was the hardest workout, but just that I was in a funk for most of the day. It was pouring all day so I wasn’t able to ride outside. And, because it was raining and I had no reason to get out of bed (to ride), I ended up sleeping late (8:30), which completely messed me up. After I shook off “the lazies,” I decided to try to spin at home for 3 hours so I could get my 50 miles in, but just couldn’t do it. I made it 2.5 hours and had to stop. I was hoping the rain would stop by the time I had to do my 7 mile run, but it continued to pour all afternoon. So, I went to the YMCA and ran on the treadmill for 7 miles (about 62 minutes). From a training/mental health perspective, it was brutal. I’m spoiled by our good weather so when I have to exercise inside, I go a bit crazy. (Aside: just so you don’t think I’m a complete wimp, I did spin inside last Saturday for 3 hours and then followed up on Sunday with another 3 hours.)
Anyway, I had a good brick today — about 3300 meters at Masters and then right into a solid 55 miler on the tri bike. No real injuries to report for the week. My right leg is feeling a lot better, but I’m still getting calf cramps in the pool. I’m eating tons of bananas and taking potassium/magnesium supplements to see if that helps. Also, I had my first “bodywork” session this week with Gina (one of Heidi’s friends). It was pretty awesome; I’m scheduled to go back on Friday.
That’s it. Here are the numbers.
02/22/2010 - 02/28/2010
Swim: 8600 meters
Bike: 137 miles
Run: 30 miles
I think this has been the first week I’ve actually done every single workout on my schedule. And, I was even on-call, which included a night with only 4 hours of sleep. I’m pretty happy with how my legs are feeling. My calves are still super-tight at times and I occasionally have some cramping issues. But, compared to how things were looking a few weeks ago, I’m feeling a lot better, especially when I look at the mileage I’m starting to log. Nothing too spectacular, but good for me. And, I’m definitely starting to feel both stronger and more tired. That’s part of the program, though.
It’s too bad a single workout or even a single week can’t make the difference when you’re training for a big event. There are times when you feel like you’re pulling off a miracle by just getting in your 2 (and sometimes 3) workouts for the day. But, it’s really the cumulative and sustained effort that really makes the difference. So you plod on and hope your hard-work pays off. A bit like life in general, I guess.
02/15/2010 - 02/21/2010
Swim: 9600 meters
Bike: 146 miles
Run: 30 miles