The Coach Buzz ...

Saturday Mar 31 Ahhh the airport...I am writing this blog from the Orlando Airport Terminal, I have about an hour until my flight leaves. Note to self, hang out in the Continental Gate, the internet is free. I don't know if it is at everywhere, but I hope that I have it in Houston, which is where my lay-over is, because I would like to follow the race out in Cali via the net. I am excited to head to San Diego for a few reasons. First, I have never been there. It is the 'other' triathlon mecca, the other being Boulder. I don't think that I will get a chance to see much when I am there, but I am anxious to go either way. Secondly, I am looking forward to team camp. Once a season, the entire Timex Team has a camp somewhere around the country. This year the camp is at the awesome palisades Resort in S.D. We get a chance to get to know everyone on the team, a chance to met representatives from all of our sponsors for the year, as well as time to just relax. Having "a te

Friday Mar 30 Well, looking back on my 2004 log (which is partly what I am using for this build), I saw that this weekend's key session is the one where I should see higher numbers...well, I did! Here they are for your enjoyment: The day started out with a 4250y swim in 1:02. 2500 mod. straight to start. Then 5x200p mod-hard on 2:40(all were 2:25-30). Then 5x100 build by 25 to all hard by the end. Then I finished with 250k mod-hard. Straight onto the bike. 15min easy, then the following set: 60min 230 target: 235w - HR 138 10min easy 45min 240 target: 240w - HR 143 10min easy 30min 260 target: 261w - HR 151 10min easy 15min 315 target: 318w - HR 172 - Highest I have seen in a while. (Cherry lake Road) Finished steady, total ride of 3:31 and 121 km. Run off the bike of 5km, avg 6:52 pace with HR of 140-45. Massage at 3 and then packing for the rest of the day. I fly out tomorrow morning for the Timex Team Camp and will then spend the last 10 days in Tempe putting in my final prepara

Wednesday Mar 28 Today I had another good day...that almost wasn't. The swim was the highlight, so I will start there. I was SOOOO tired this afternoon, even after a 90min nap, that I almost didn't make it to the pool. Well, I finally made it there at about 4:30. Here was the swim, maybe the best times that I have seen thus far in this build. Funny how things work sometimes. Warm-up: 600 mixed, 600 d/s Mainset: 800p strong on 11:00 (9:48) 100 easy 4x400 swim hard on 5:30 (4:48,4:49) 100 easy 2x200 pull strong on 3:00 (2:14, 2:16) 100 easy 4x100 swim on 1:15 (1:09,1:11,1:10,1:12) CD to 4k. Morning was a good also. Last long run of the build. 1:45 total time and 24km. Here was the outline...all on the treamill. HR's were really high for me today...dehydration, tired...not sure. It was hot on the treadmill, no fans in there. 25min wu build to IM pace. Then 5x through: 10min at IM 6:53 pace (150, 153, 153, 157, 156) 2min at HIM 6:00 pace (166, 167, 168, 168,

Tuesday Mar 27 Good day today. Swim first at Lake Louisa with Natasha. 50min total time, about 3000 yds. 10min wu, then 8x100 strokes(about 150 m) hard with swim back recovery. Cooldown after...no gator sightings. Directly onto the bike. 30min wu into 2 x 10:00 at IM effort with 5:00 recovery 2 x 5:00 at HIM effort with 2:30 recovery 4 x 2:30 at 40k effort wtih 1:30 recovery Here is the data: 10:00 intervals : (#1 237w, #2 249w) 5:00 intervals : (#1 278w, #2 277w) 2:30 intervals : (#1 289w, #2 299w, #3 295w, #4 295w) The data is not all that consistent because of the rolling hills and turns in the park. Had to do a few U-turns, etc. Happy about the ability to raise my HR. Total ride was 1:40 and 51 km Run off the bike of 6km and 22min. 800 hard off the bike HARD, then easy for 400, then IM pace to 5km. Ran well today on the roads. Exactly 6:52 per mile pace. Massage with MONA.....finally she is back! In Clermont I have Mona, in Boulder I have Nikki and in Madison, I have Cindi

Monday Mar 26 Early run of 40min and 8 km easy steady on the path around Lake Minneola. Felt good. Swim with Natasha at the NTC 1:21 and 4800 yds. 1k wu mixed with a few drills 8x50 on 2 patterns of 4. 3,6,12,all hard with cruise 25 for recovery Mainset: 3x (400pull mod-hard on 5:30, 4x150 HARD on 2:30) #1 400(5:04), 150's (1:51,1:49,1:49,1:48) #2 400(4:58), 150's (1:50, 1:48, 1:47, 1:45) #3 400(500), 150's (1:50, 1:46, 1:44, 1:44) Easy cd. Very happy with the 150's hard, but comfortable swimming in that zone. Afternoon ride that was HOT and WINDY. Very exciting route today (Very sarcastic). 561 to 33 to Green Pond Rd to Van Fleet and Back Bay Lake, Lake Erie). Ride was 2:48 and 88km. All easy/steady. +++++++++++++++++++++ Sunday Mar 25 (3 weeks out) Very tired and hungry today. Managed 2000 LCM (2200 yds). Too shelled even to do a longer float swim. 45min total. Long nap in the afternoon and lots of water helped. Calf is tight, so recovery day is welcomed. 3 weeks

Saturday Mar 24 - Last Race Sim Morning swim of 3.8km LCM in 57min (4250 yds) 500 EZ mixed in wetsuit. 2500 Timed in wetsuit(HOOOOOT) 1500 in 19:54 2000 in 26:27 2500 in 33:01 8x100 pull with pads on 1:30 (1:24-6) Simulated race transition and out to ride. Total ride was 4:38 and 153 km 40min EZ to steady 40min build to IM effort 40min @ 250 target (HR 143) 15min EZ 45min as 3x(12IM/3HIM) target was 240/270 15min EZ 40min @ 250 target 10min EZ build to HIM watts home Right onto the treadmill with cal bottle, coke and water. Run was 10k as 5x1mile with 15s recovery to get in cals. #1 - 7:21 - HR 126 EZ #2 - 6:48 - HR 136 Build to pace #3 - 6:39 - HR 139 Pace #4 - 6:39 - HR 143 Pace #5 - 6:39 - HR 145 Pace Cooldown Good stretch after and some stength stuff later in the evening. about 7hrs total for the day. +++++++++++++++++++++ Friday Mar 23 Open water swim in the am 1:05 and 4500 yds mix of easy building to hard. (5000 total for day) Set was 10strokes

Thursday Mar 22 - Back at the track Today was a good day. I got back on the track...first time in 2 weeks and I have confirmed a few things. I lost nothing and my taper is starting to build. Rode over to the track on the bike, 45min and 20km wu, then warmed up for 3.6k building to AT and then LT over the last 200. Did 400 broken 50 strides, 50 walk, 4 times through. This workout is great for IM athletes. The 600's help teach you to hold back and patience. The effort required to run a 600 at AT after running an 800 at LT is very little. Much the same as the first part of the marathon, it is VERY easy to go to hard. I checked HR, but wanted to go by feel...good for race day. It was hot at the track, 80* and sun, so you can see the HR drift. But I was really stoked to see what without seeing splits as I went, the times were within a second or two of each other with one or two exceptions. Here is the data Then 4 x 2400 as outlined 600 @ AT 100 EZ 800 @ LT 200 EZ 600 @ AT 100 E

Tuesday Mar 20 Well, after my ART apt yesterday, I decided to head out for my first 'long' run since I pinched the nerve in my ankle. I had sushi lastnight with Natasha, Graham, Stacy, Gavin and Kimberly...and I thought it would be the perfect pre-long run food. Actually turned out to be awesome! Maybe a regular thing????? We'll see. Anyway, the plan was 30km out at the clay trail. 15min warm-up, 1:45 at IM effort and then 15min cd. The run went great. I lifted my arch up in my shoe and am running with more of a forefoot strike...this takes a lot of pressure off of both my ankles and my quads. My calfs did pay the price a little bit in the last 20min. Not terrible tho. I now feel that I have the confidence back for my run to be ok on race day. I will shut it down now, with a few key runs here and there before race day. Today's sessions: Run 2:15 30km Swim 20min 800 yds, mostly kick to get the junk out. Erin Kummer, an athlete also racing on Timex is in town for a few ni

Today it really seems like it is all coming together...I think that by focusing on staying healthy and getting strong in the next few weeks, I should be ready to roll. I am getting close to my race weight, was 156 this morning, with my goal at the beginning of my build being 155. I started out at 172 after the holiday season and was 165 when I arrived down here in Clermont. I have made sure that my power numbers have not fallen at all, infact they have gotten better. Meaning my power to weight have gone up a bit. I will continue to eat healthy, keep my glycogen stores up and see where I go in the next few weeks. Had a big day today: Swam with Natasha this a.m. and set a few PR's. Total swim was 1:15 & 4600 LCM (5100 yds) Started out with a warm-up of 200, 2x100 and 2x50 descending effort in wetsuit. Then 2000m Timed. PR'd here by a bunch, here are the splits: Went through 1km in 13:11, then through 1500m in 19:41, 1.9km in 25:01 and 2km in 26:20. Average was 1:19 per 10

Saturday Mar 17 Quick recap of the last few days: Swim 12x400 on 6:00 SCY on the pattern of swim, pull with pads, then add the band :) 200 cd. Ride of 1:45 and 51km easy steady in new position on TTX. Feel pretty good. The bike is so much more stiff!! Weights for 60min. 2 x 20 @ 135 , then ad-ab ductors, calf raises, good core, push-ups and long stretch on the cage. The active release ( www.activerelease.com ) really seems to have helped. Friend, Kevin Purcell ( www.coachkp.com ) recommended that I find a chiro that had the certification. I did and he is great. His site is www.mckeonchiropractic.com Thanks Doc, see you monday! ++++++++++++++++++++++ Friday Mar 16 Swim of 1:00 and 3600 yds, 5x200 on 2:55, 4x200 on 2:50, 3x200 on 2:45, 2x200 on 2:40, 200 fast. Then 500 pull and 100 easy. Ran on pavement after ART appt. for 56min and 12km. Felt great! Hopefully it will continue. Evening ride on new bike. 1:29 and 44 km. easy/steady.

"The New Rig" Thursday Mar 15 Today was basically a total recovery day. I spent most of it getting my new ride ready to roll. Hopefully I can ride it as fast as it looks!! Today was a mixed 2500 yds swim in 50min and 30min of strength work. +++++++++++++++++++ On another note, I am really starting to like Clermont as a place to train. The pool is AWESOME, the riding is great and the running about the same... it does get pretty hot some days and there are a lot of trucks on the roads, but you have stuff to deal with wherever you go, right??? Anyway, the other upside of training here is getting to know athletes from all over. I thought I would drop a few names. This year seems to be the year of the women so far. Lisa Bentley, Dede Greisbauer, Katja Schumacher and Natasha Filliol. A little over 2 weeks until I head out west for the Timex Team Camp. I will be back for Florida 70.3 though. ;) Hope everyone is doing well. BB

Wednesday Mar 14 Last Big Day before IMAZ today. Solid all around and the best part....the foot felt strong! The swim was 4k straight to start. 500 build to pace and then mod-hard effort effort with a head-out 25 every 400. I picked the pace up over the last 500 and finished in just under 53min. I then put on the paddles and pulled 4x200 mod-hard to finish. The 200's were 2:32, 2:31, 2:32, 2:29. Then 200 cd. Total swim was 1:10 and 5000 yds. Ride was 6:09 and just under 200km. The mainset was 3x40km and the rest as I felt. The first 40k was at IM watts, the second was actually 42km and was 6x(5km in 53-11 moderate effort, 2km recovery), last 40km was IM watts again. Run off the bike very easy...picked it up as I started to feel stronger(even the ankle) toward the end. 25min and 5km. Good day to end with build phase with. 7:45 total aerobic...we'll see if I can motivate myself for 30min of strength stuff tonight. Maybe save it for tomorrow ;) Anyway, if the foot contin

Tuesday Mar 13 Good day today, I have to head to bed for an earlier start tomorrow. SO here is a quick recap. Swim 1:10 and 3600 yds. Mixed 1500 warm-up with some drilling and builds. Then 60x25 on :30 3hard/1easy, half with big paddles. (held :13-:14 for most of them.)...easy cd after that. Run: 30min aqua jog after the swim. Had a good talk with Dede Griesbauer. She is a very nice person and hope that she does well this year...I don't think she needs luck tho. She is an animal in the water. Afternoon vo2 ride of 2:27 and 65 km in the hills. 75min warm-up steady into 8x1:30 at best avg power up sugar loaf to fist set of telephone lines. Did the repeats on 90s recovery. Pleased with the data, but I think that I can hit 500w just 1x this year....maybe a goal for later this summer. I had a lot of questions on what do AP, NP and HR mean, so I thought I would clarify AP is Actual Power Output NP is Normal Power Output HR is Heatrate #1 Avg HR 160, Max HR 176, AP 412, NP 429

Monday Mar 12 Sometimes it seems like one thing after another doesn't go according to plan and needs fixing or taking care of. Well...I guess that is life and I feel I have a pretty good one, so I won't complain. I do believe that something good can come out of almost everything, or at least everything has a silver lining and happens for a reason....so I will try to write about the good that will hopefully come out of things going on down here. Ok, my ankle is still causing a little annoyance, but is getting better. I saw the podiatrist today and the conclusion was that I 'pinched' the nerve that runs into the foot along the posterior tibial tendon. I have to continue icing, elevating and running as my body allows. The doc said that things should be better within 2 weeks(I am already 1 week into it)...so I'll cross my fingers. In the mean time I have had some great chats with other athletes and gotten to know a few a little bit better. Triathlon, even at the higher

Saturday Mar 10 Before I write about my training, I figured that I would talk about something else that might be of interest. My good friend Cindi Bannick( www.madisonmultisport.com ) told me that I need to write about some of the wildlife that I see out while training...especially after my ride earlier this last week. I was out on a longer ride this last Thursday and riding on the Van Fleet Trail. We always joke about disappearing out there, because you are riding through the swamps of Central Florida...there is nothing out there. Anyway,It was about an hour before sunset and I remember thinking to myself, "this would be the time to see an alligator." After a few more km's had passed, I looked ahead and saw something that looked like a dog on trail. As I got closer I saw that it was about the size of a medium sized dog, but looked like a brown cat with a short pointy tail. When I got within about 100 yds I yelled at it. It turned and then took two bounds into the swamp.

Thursday Mar 8 Today was a solid one all around. I slept 10+ hours lastnight and was still tired this morning. As a result I got a bit of a late start. Swam first this morning, 1:20 and 4900 yards with a tough mainset in the HOT pool. Mainset: 12x100 on 1:40 building by 4's to sub 1:10 pace. 4x400 on 5:30 (4:58,4:56,4:53,4:55) 3x300 on 4:30 (3:40,3:39,3:37) Then 30min water run with Lisa Bentley. She is giving me some good advice on water run training. She is a huge advocate of it. I am going to exclusively water run for at least a week. Had a great afternoon long ride. 168km in 4:47. The mainset of the ride after a 1hour build to IM watts was 6x25min alternating 250-60w target with 230-40w target. The set was done on 5min rest. Here is the data: 60min build to IM effort, then 6x25 on 5min rest below: #1 38.9 kph / Avg HR 146 / NP 255 #2 36.8 kph / Avg HR 133 / NP 232 #3 38.6 kph / Avg HR 144 / NP 259 #4 36.8 kph / Avg HR 136 / NP 235 #5 38.7 kph / Avg HR 146 / NP 251 #6 35.4 kph/

Wenesday Mar 7 Today was a looong day and I need to head to bed, but I am now back in Orlando after a whirlwind was 24 hrs. After returning to Clermont, I headed out for an easy ride of 2:01 and 61 km. I rode my usual Bay Lake loop with several steady sections. It is amazing how fresh that one feels with rest. After the ride I had to see what it was like to run on the ankle. I headed out for a 2 mile run off the bike and it actually went well. Nothing was irritated while running on the grass(soft surface) and just a slight discomfort on the pavement. Lets how it continues to get better :) Anyway, the weather is great and it looks like it will stay that way right through the weekend. More to come tomorrow! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tuesday Mar 6 Today I am in Kansas City, KS promoting some product for Spenco Ironman Products. They have a new cycling glove out this year that is SPECIFICALLY designed for triathletes and it works great. The entire back of the glove opens to

Monday Mar 5 Well, today I got a little scare. I had a long run today that was a little over 20 miles/32km. The format was 2miles wu, then 18miles averaging 3hr marathon pace(6:52). I got out and new right away that I would have no problem hitting the times. I went through 2 miles in about 15min and then pinned it at 6:50 pace and just cruised. I went through the 18 mile mark and felt great...just what I am looking for 6 weeks out. Then, about a half a mile later I developed a sharp pain in my right ankle...it dulled a bit, but continued to bother me. I did not have to stop and con't at pace through 20 miles, but I feared that it was a stress fracture. So, last night I headed in to the PT and got it checked out. The thought is that it is just a strained tendon, so I have two days of rest while I promote the new Spenco Ironman Gloves in Kansas City. This morning, the ankle is already feeling a lot better and I hope it continues. Here is a quick summary of the day, as well as

Saturday Mar 3 (6 weeks out) - Big Day The idea of today was to go longer and slightly harder than IM effort. One of my biggest fears when racing Ironman was riding too hard on the bike. A goal of mine before I started this build was to get past this. After today, I feel like I am. By training to go longer and harder than race effort, I don't have to worry about being 'forced' to ride a bit harder than I like at times when racing. I know that I can handle it and get right back in the zone. Swam this morning. 1:20 and 5100 yds total. Started off with a 4500 straight swim mixing up efforts that ranged from easy to hard. The last 600 was a mix of some harder stuff with a cd at the end. 55* and windy/couldy at the pool. On the bike about 30min after completing my swim. I decided to cut down the easy riding throughout this ride, as well as the top end stuff. I wanted to simulate the IMAZ course as much as possible. 3 loops, each one goes gradually up and down. Here was the struc

Friday Mar 2 Good swim to start. 1:19, 5000 yds. swim was 8 times through (3x100 on 1:20, 200 on 2:40) + 3x100 on 1:20 end. Total swim time for the 4300 was 53:45...felt good holding 1:12-1:16 on the 100's and around 2:30 for the 200's). Pool was 82*...HOT Steady ride after of 2:35 and 81 km. REALLY WINDY and warm. 87* with gusts over 40mph. Rest of day off...got to follow IMNZ, always seems like this race kicks off the start of the season. Looks like rain tomorrow, may ride tomorrow or move big day to sunday...we'll see.

Thursday Mar 1 Today I had a tough track workout in the morning. 30min 6k wu and then broken 2000's. Here was the pattern and efforts. Aet effort was 6:40 pace and LT effort was about 5:40. It was windy(20mph+), so i tried to go by HR more than pace. 4k 20min cd. 200 easy, 1600 Aet, 200 easy 700Aet/100easy/200LT/100easy/700Aet, 200 easy 600Aet/100easy/400LT/100easy/600Aet, 200 easy 500Aet/100easy/600LT/100easy/500Aet, 200 easy 400Aet/100easy/800LT/100easy/400Aet, 200 easy 200Aet/100easy/1200LT/100easy/200AeT, 200 easy 100AeT/100easy/1400LT/100easy/100AeT, 200 easy Next week I will add the 300/100/1000/100/300. And then in 2 weeks I will add 1 mile of LT and 1 mile of AeT at the end. The workout in 2 weeks will be just over 30km total distance and will serve as my long run for that week. That is 4 weeks out. Total Run today was 1:38 and 24 km. Was going to swim after, but was totally shelled. Managed 1300 in 30min. Afternoon ride was good after a nap. 1:58 and 63 km Moderate day tom