IMLP 2014-Week 21 Training Update-The Final Build

My final build week before Lake Placid was a fairly decent one. I took a rest day on Monday since I felt like I needed it. It was very hot and humid early in the week which upped the intensity a bit for my Tuesday night run.

A few “yellow” workouts abound after some weather conditions and trainer rides shortened things up a bit. Hopefully the increased intensity made up for it!

The weather for the week…

The weather later in the week did not cooperate too much and I ended doing trainer rides on both Wednesday and Friday. It was probably a good thing since I get a much better and more consistent ride on the trainer. I also don’t need to spend as much time on the trainer as an equivalent road ride since you are constantly peddling and not coasting and stopping like you do on the road.

I was able to try out my new IMLP bike loop videos from my new GoPro during my trainer rides this week. PRetty cool! I memorized every crack and pothole on the descent into Keene.

My Thursday night run was cut in half due thunder and lightning. It had started out to be a really good rain in a downpour, but I bright flash and a boom occurred at the 30 minute mark. The rain never stopped until Friday afternoon which worked out since we were going to a picnic that day. I skipped my LSD swim on Friday just for lack of time.

4th of July Picnic-Nothing like a IPA you can drink all day! The Founders “ALL DAY IPA”

Fun downhill section overlooking farm on Huffs Church Road

Cows in Field-Somewhere near New Smithville, PA

All the weather issues early in the week paid off because Saturday was BEAUTIFUL! I did a ~97 mile bike and then a 25 minute brick after. I kind of winged it with my route and hit some different territory over in the Oley Valley/Lobachsville area. Had some pretty nice climbs on Sweetwood Road in Macungie(cat 3) and Lobachsville Rd(cat 3-4). Ended up with a pretty good 4k+ feet of climbing.

Old passenger rail car they are restoring on the Ironton Rail Trail

Sunday was my last long(over 2 hours anyway) run for the training season. I headed over to the Ironton Rail Trail for some 5.5 mile loops and a 5 mile out-and-back spur. It is fairly shaded too which helped. It was a pretty hot day, but a good breeze kept things in check.

I starting getting a weak, shaky feeling about 2 miles into it and was wondering if I was going to make it the planned 3.5 hours. I ate the Amrita Bar in my FuelBelt and instantly felt better within a mile or so. Guess I was a little low in blood sugar or something. I also had a non-typical breakfast that morning of chia waffles with maple syrup which could have played a part. It didn’t have the same gusto as my smoothie does.

They don’t call them LSD runs for nothing! I think I was hallucinating on this run. 🙂

My PMC chart shows the forecasted plan for the rest of the days until Lake Placid. My TSS(Yellow shaded area) shows me to be VERY rested by race day. My drop in ATL is a little more than I would like so I may do a couple more easy workouts in lieu of total rest days to keep that up a little bit.

Heart Rate Variability(HRV) made a HUGE comeback this week. Kind of odd since it is my 2nd week in a row of build. I either respond better to more volume/intensity or my recovery is just severly delayed.

Other Items of Interest…

Leg Shaving…If you read Triathlete magazine you may have read the latest Jesse Thomas column about how shaving his legs during a recent wind tunnel testing session at Specialized. Jesse, being a fairly hairy fellow and high on the “Chewbacca Scale”, saved a whopping 15 watts by shaving his legs. The guys at Specialized created a video about it which is below.

Guess I could use a shave anyway?

I have never shaved my legs before and really haven’t found much justification to do so. Until now. They say on average this could have 5-10 minutes on an Ironman distance event, which is pretty huge. I am trying to cut about 25 minutes off my bike leg this year and getting a free 5-10 minutes could make that that much more obtainable. My wife was not real keen on the idea, but I what the heck it grows back. Anyway, here is the video…

My wife Denise also skydived on Sunday morning. I told her to just let me know when it is over. I have no interest in that. I did tell her to get the video, so I could watch it later. It was pretty cool to watch. Anyway, here it is.