Training Week of 4/11/11

Feeling recovered from the 4/2/11 mtb race.

4/12/11 - 7.75 mile run - Ran my 6 mile loop in a 6:55 pace. This was in very heavy rain and in some places ankle deep water. Felt good and didn't go all out. Probably a 85% effort.

4/13/11 - 6 mile run at the Cove. Legs are a bit sore from the run yesterday. Ran the road to Buck, up Buck, and down Hi-Dee-Ho. Ran Buck pretty hard and then hammered down Hi-Dee-Ho. Legs were really sore on Thurs.

4/14/11 - 8 mile mtb at Explore Park wearing my chainsaw pack (the weight has a great training effect). Got out to do some trail work. Cut out 5 trees and cleared a lot of debris.

4/15/11 - 7.1 mile run at Mariners Landing following the SML 4 Miler. Very hilly out there.

4/16/11 - 8 mile run from the house to the Roanoke River Greenway and then back through some of the Raleigh Court neighborhoods. 7:38 pace with a HR ave of 134. Good run.

- Went out for a 20 mile road ride shortly after the run. up Starlight to the BRP, up Mill Mountain, and then back home. The wind was high and made things a bit challenging at times. The legs felt alright considering the ride was post run.

Week totals: 28.85 running, 8 mtb, 20 cycling.

Training Week of 4/4/11

Now I have to recover from all that saddle time at the 6 hour race.

4/5/11 - 6.7 miles at an easy pace.

4/6/11 - 5.35 miles at the cove. Did the 4 gorge trail out to the fireroad and back. 8:55/mile ave. Legs felt heavy.

4/8/11 - 7 miles of marking the Mill Mountain Mayhem 10k Course.

4/9/11 - 7 miles of cleaning up the Mill Mountain Mayhem 10k Course.

4/10/11 - 30 mile road bike ride (Vinton Loop). Then ran 3.5 miles of road and trail in Five Fingers.

Week Totals: 29.45 miles or running and 30 miles of cycling.

Race weeks are tough on my training schedule. Seems like there are a lot of things that pop up that take time away from my schedule. I'll getting it ironed out sometime. Probably when I commit to my next race.

Training Week of 3/28/11

Well, I'm out of time for training for the 6 hr race this weekend. Compared to a year ago I am in the best running shape I've ever been in and well behind on my mtn bike training. I'm hoping that my aerobic fitness will pay off on Saturday.

3/29 - 6.6 miles on the road at 7 minute pace.

- Rode my mtn bike for 6.5 miles later at night.

3/30 - 6.8 miles at the Cove - Road, comet, tuck-a-way, Kerncliff, Comet, and back on the road.

4/01 - Pre rode the race course - 12.5 miles at an easy pace. Course was in perfect condition.

4/02 - Race day. Sold out race (48 hours after posting registration being up). Rained hard at night. The course was wet and sloppy. This was the first race I was using Stan's No Tubes mtb conversion kit. I was able to ride at 30psi and able to get some traction on the slick course. I hit the woods in about 42nd place, passed about 12 people, and ended the loop happy in 30th 1:06 or so (I was never pressured by a rider behind during the entire loop. Perfect).

Kenny hit a hard loop, with much less mud, and turned a 1:05 and passed 14 or so more people. My second lap was 1:12, I was passed by one rider. My legs were starting to feel "it." Kenny pulled another stellar lap of 1:07 moving us up to 13th overall, all while I was worrying about a 3rd lap and the almost definite chance of cramping (Kenny rode both laps without getting passed).

About this time we were told we were in 6th place in the Duo Class. Dreading it, I went out for our 5th lap. I was able to ride smooth, carry momentum, and hit the hills at a slow controlled pace. Everything was going smooth until the cramp monster showed up at about mile 10. This was only a problem on the climbs, which are right at the end. I had to walk up about 3 hills to work out the cramps (never stopped), and then got back on and rode until I seized up again. My last lap was a 1:17. We ended up 18th overall out of 280 teams, 8th in Male Duo out of 36, and 9th out of 50 Male Duo teams.
We did really well. It is just sad to do the what if. Had we been able to get in more riding miles we could have crushed it. I'm looking forward to 2012.

13.2 miles running and 56.4 miles of mtn biking