July 4th Lessons in Training

A favorite scene along the Mt. Pony Bike Route Culpeper VA

When my triathlon coach said that it would get tougher after the early June Raleigh IM 70.3, I know what she meant. At first glance the workouts in Training Peaks look ok. It is when they land one right after the other that they begin to add up. On Friday I put in about 4 hours of work. On Saturday, I put in about 8 hours. An on Sunday, another 4 hours. Some of the time was for stretch and foam rolling. I added some to a few workouts which accounted for some of the volume. Nonetheless, the weekend was a constant workout with one thing in mind.... Kona will be tough and now is the time to train...

Saturday was loaded with great work. I began the day swimming against the current in the continuous swim TURTTLE pool at Powell Wellness Center in Culpeper. I swam the first 45 minutes against a two mph current and then another hour against a one mph current. The pool is one of the best tri-swim environments. It enables a continuous swim forcing very efficient strokes against the current while swimming next to fellow swimmers. A great triathlon training asset.

At the entrance to one of the many farms along the
Mt. Pony Bike route in Culpeper VA 

I had invited some of my fellow triathletes to join me for a 50 mile bike ride afterwards. No takers, but a great ride. We call the course Mt. Pony for one of the "hills" on the ride. The roads and mountain views are almost hypnotic enough to forget that the temps were on the rise @ 80 degrees by the 9 am start. On my second loop the ride seemed especially smooth. As I turned around, it was clear why - the wind was at my back. I faced the wind back to home base for the last 10 miles. A quick 20 minute run brick and the main part of the work out were over. I returned to Powell Wellness Center for a stretch and foam roller cool down. The day started at 6:30 am and concluded at 2:30 pm.


Lesson - I had a problem with my Speedfill water resevoir. The angle mount came loose and the reservoir swung loose into my pedaling range. One of the screws was missing and I needed a solution. Fortunately I was near a church and stopped in the parking lot. Inspiration... I had purchased a side mount mirror which did not work at all for my application. However, there was a velcro strap that would work for the Speedfill mount. Tinkering sometimes has unanticipated benefits.

Run route July 6th 2013 Culpeper VA 

I wondered how my Sunday morning ride would
feel after the 50 mile ride on Saturday. The day started meeting a few fellow triathletes for a 6 am ride. The temp was 72 degrees at 6 am. Plus I had about two more hours of run time on the agenda for the day. Getting started early was a good decision. One of the triatletes' planned a 112 bike ride for the day. I would only join him for the first loop of the Mt. Pony course. Tough group....

The temps rose quickly and the air was thick today. Typical July in central Virginia.

Lesson : Buy two pairs of shoes when in training for a Full IM Triathlon. The early am workout will leave the shoes soaked. The afternoon workout is better with dry shoes.

Lesson: Summer endurance training requires upgrading water supply from bottles to gallons.