Training the week of March 25 - 31, Happy Easter + allergy

The spring is here and I have a feeling all pollen in the area wants to m ake my day a little bit harder. Yes I have pollen allergy, in fact I am allergic to every tree in Washington state and for all of you who have been here, we have a lot of trees. The medication works, but on days with a lot of nice weather and then a lot of pollen I will get tired and have a headache. But I am used to it and I like spring so I will survive.



Enough of excuses, how was my training last week. Actually really good. I got all the important workouts in and I feel that I am getting stronger. Now I just need to keep doing what I am doing. I have to admit that my coach Tony DeBoom knows what he is doing. Slowly but surly I am turning into a triathlete. I know I will have the strength and endurance to participate in long distance races and knowing that helps on the confidence.

 

I manage to get two good swim workout in last week. I am pulling a lot to get stronger and it starts to pay of. Now I am seeing progress, but I will always be a Norwegian cross country skier trying to be a fish :-)

I biked three times and had a mixture of long tt intervals, low cadence and harder shorter intervals, all over three workouts. All together 7 hours of biking, all on the trainer so no downhill.

I ran three times last week. My interval day consisted of 20 minutes warm up, the 5x3 minutes with 1 minute rest, then 20 minutes run, then 15 minutes threshold run, and finally 5 minutes cool down. On Saturday I got a 50 minutes t-run after 3 hours on the bike and Sundays long run was cut short due to Easter brunch and traveling, but I got 1.10 hour in Oak Harbor.

On Easter Sunday we all went to brunch with my wife's family. My son Henrik loves the ferry.



 

Norseman's finish line Gaustatoppen today

My brother will be my main support during Norseman. He is currently enjoying Easter break in Rjukan and has been so nice to check the finish line for the race. Hopefully it will be less snow in August. I really miss skiing with my brother and father.

Training the week of March 18 – 24

This week was another solid week for me. With solid I mean good training in combination with a good work and family life. For me to be successful I have to put my ambitions where my training is, by doing that I will be able to enjoy life and training a lot more.

All together I got 12 hours of workout in, 7 hours of biking, 2 hours of swimming and 3 hours of running. Best of all I feel stronger on the swim. I still swim like a rock, but I am a faster and stronger rock now. I am also starting to get some running speed back and my biking is also going in the right direction.

Consistency is the name of the game the next four months. If I keep this going I will have a fair chance to get the black t-shirt and finish at the peak of Gaustatoppen.

Time to think about equipment upgrade for Norseman

A fun part of my old sport cross country skiing and my newer sport (I actually had my debut in triathlon in 1988) triathlon is equipment. Just take a look at all the questions, openings, debate and agreement/disagreements on any triathlon forum and you understand that “stuff” is part of the charm.

 

Until now I have not been an equipment geek. Last season I usually had one of the oldest bike on the rack in T1, my good all Felt road bike with regular training wheels. My goal was to train for speed before I bought some speed. Not to say that good equipment is not important, it was no fun getting past going downhill by people with better wheels. So yes I am looking at a bike and an aero helmet.

 

I will not buy any power meter since I struggling to get enough time to bike, I do not have time to look at graphs and files for hours after biking. Can a power meter be helpful, yes, but both me and my wallet will pass this time.

 

After five years in my old beginning wetsuit I need to upgrade. After I start swimming more (and training more), my tummy is smaller but my shoulders are broader. I am looking for something to help my poor form and of course something comfortable to swim in.



Let the hunt begin……

Training week of March 11 – 17

Back to the North West and the North West weather, no more running in the sun or watching sea turtles during the swim. But biking in the garage, running on a treadmill and looking at the black line during the swim is not that bad.

 

Workout vise this was a good week. After swimming in Hawaii I felt stronger during my two swim workouts, my running is getting better and stronger and the cycling is going around and around. My main goal now with four and a half months left to Norseman is consistency. I “just” need to stay motivated and make sure to build endurance.

 

During the week I swam, ran two and biked four. All together for the week, eight workouts and 12 hours. I also had a wonderful time with my son at the pool, even though it was not a workout.

Long distance triathlon running

Is triathlon running different? It sure feels different start running after swimming and biking, but the question is, what about the mechanics? One thing is sure, very few triathletes look good during the running leg, I know I have been and  I am sure I will be one of them at Norseman 2013.

Luckily for me Todd Kenyon, the aero guru behind www.ttbikefit has an interest for running. And he has put together a video where he discuss the different between the gliders and gazelles. It would have been nice if he had added my category, the zombie.



So what is the answer for me? In my head I am a gazelle, I hope to be a glider, but I usually end up like a typical age grouper - running like a zombie.

 

Training the week of March 4 – 10, Kauai, Hawaii

One week of vacation on Kauai, Hawaii is not too bad. It was nice to get a break from the daily grind and weather, and get some sun and energy. My plan was to run and swim, and I did just that. For some reason both my feet hurt like hell so I ran less than planned, but I still got some days with running twice a day.

I swam every day and ran three days. Sunday was traveling day. Ok week and now I can keep pushing.

The hard life of vacation ;-)

The vacation life is so hard. Being on Kauai, Hawaii is hard...... Well not exactly. I have time to work on my tan and play with my son.



Actually I have time to both run and swim. Life is good........

Training last week of February

Good news, my Kurt bike trainer is working, bad new my Kurt bike trainer is working. The last week of February go a lot of cycling, three 2h ride on the trainer and one 3h. I also swam 1h and ran 2h. All this over six days. Sunday was traveling day to Hawaii. Nice to get a break from the winter and daily grind.

I can easily feel when I try to increase the volume of my training. Training on top of working, being a husband and dad can be hard. But that is nothing new for any age grouper trying to train for a long distance race.

Now it is vacation time, but still training time.