24 days.
Holy crap.
I better start doing some planning.
But for now, my 5th Quarter Report covering July 18th to August 14th. Only one more of these to go and I will probably combine it with a pre-race goals post.
| Running | Swimming | Biking | Core | Totals | |
| Number | 20 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 53 |
| Total Distance | 125.76 | 36,000 yards | 621.30 miles | 767.50 | |
| Time | 12h7m | 11:10:49 | 33h14m | 1:15 | 62h48m |
| Average Pace | 8:10 | 3:13 |
High Points
5k PR
I actually never posted about this except on Facebook, but I had a huge 5k PR last week. After coming off a long weekend with a 127 mile bike ride and 20 mile run, I had no idea how my legs would handle a little speed work. However, Jennie found a fun evening 5k on Tuesday at my alma mater. I went out strong and held on for a 18:56 final time – a 45 second PR and my first time under 19:00 minutes ever. It earned me 7th overall and 1st in my age group.
Super Successful Dress Rehearsal
As you probably already read in my last post, I had a great race at Steelhead for my final prep race before IMWI. Thank you to everyone who commented with congrats and advice. It truly makes my day. Despite the cancelled swim, it was a perfect way to make sure I have my ducks in a row. And best of all, I finally got my revenge on the Steelhead run course.
Flatting Out
I got a flat on my long ride last weekend. So how is flatting out a good thing? Well, because it was my first ever on the road flat. I took a little more time than necessary to change the tire because I was a little shaken up from nearly crashing and it was pouring rain, but I am now confident that I can successfully do an on the road change.
Low Points
Broken Workouts
I can really only think of one low point during this entire quarter. I blogged about it here. It was during my Sunday long run and I was just struggling both mentally and physically. Despite the struggle, I did turn it around and make the most of it so it is hard to call it a truly low point.
What’s Working
Swimming Long
I have been firing on all cylinders in the pool. Each Friday is my long straight swim and they have all gone terrific. I use my stopwatch to count laps hitting the lap button every 5 laps (250yds). When I started this season, I would shoot for hitting each 250yd split in 4 minutes flat. In each of my last 3 long swims, I have managed to hit those same splits at sub 3:50. That’s a 4 seconds per 100 yard improvement.
Nutrition
After letting my nutrition slide a bit last quarter, I’ve gotten things back on track. Not only is my daily nutrition on track but my I have my workout nutrition nailed down as well. I recently picked up 3 more canisters of Powerbar Perform (Buy 2 Get 1 free!) as well as 3 more boxes of Gu Chomps. At the beginning of the season, I worried about finding a good race nutrition strategy. I am confident I have it figured out and that is a huge weight of my mind.
What’s Not Working
Running
I know what you are thinking. How can I add “Running” as a What’s Not Working after a 5k PR and a successful race at Steelhead. I admit, the running started to come together in the final week of this corner, but leading up to it, I was struggling on my runs big time. It’s not they were necessarily bad runs (except for this one), but they just weren’t up to speed with what I used to do. Coming from a running background, I still struggle with the fact that my weekly running mileage isn’t what it used to be. Couple that with the fact that it seems like every time I run I am doing it on tired legs and it begins to wear on me mentally. A couple of good runs towards the end of the quarter really helped bring things into focus though.
What’s Coming Up
This week and next week are going to be a tough ones. Both have 6+ hour bike rides and 3 hour runs scheduled on the weekend. I’m hoping to get in at least one or two open water swims as well on my long swim days. After that, training tapers down a bit for the final two weeks. Other than that, I have serious planning to do to make sure I am fully ready for race day.
18 comments
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Kristin @ Lazy Marathoner
August 17, 2011 at 8:35 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
My running is awful, I am so tired of being tired. Looking forward to taper! Sounds like all is well over here.
Kristin @ Lazy Marathoner recently posted..Following Your Heart
elizabeth
August 17, 2011 at 8:46 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
You are doing great. Keep up the good work!!
elizabeth recently posted..Track this, baby
CouplaHounds
August 17, 2011 at 9:28 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Congrats on the PR. I wish I could run like that!!
Seems like you are ready for IMWI like, yesterday!!
Good luck with the long rides coming up.
CouplaHounds recently posted..Needed a pickup tonight
Jeff Irvin
August 17, 2011 at 9:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
You’re doing awesome Kevin – taper will be here before you know it!
You are a freaking s/b/r machine right now and are going to own IMWI!
Jeff Irvin recently posted..HA HA!
Matt Smith
August 17, 2011 at 9:34 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Holy Cow, 24 days! That’s amazing! You’re going to do so well for 2 reasons: first, you’re the man, and second, you’ve put the training in. I don’t feel like you ever cut any corners in your training and you have been faithful to the plan. IMWI won’t have anything for you that you can’t dominate. Good for you, buddy! It’s gonna be awesome!
Matt Smith recently posted..Steelhead 70.3 Ironman Race Report
Regina
August 17, 2011 at 10:47 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Wow, you are so organized. Congrats on the 5k PR! I’ve got some 3 hour runs on the horizon, minus the swim and bike. I’m exhausted just reading your post. Keep up the great work!
Heather
August 18, 2011 at 8:12 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
It’s so close I CAN FEEL IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait to get this one under our belts! You are SO READY!!! Great job on all your hard work!
BDD
August 18, 2011 at 8:15 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
You are ready and your going to have the day of your life.
I was going to question your math skills with 5th qtr, till I read Jeff’s tweet, I change my mind, 5th qtr is brillant, is there going to be a 6th qtr?
BDD recently posted..My Mother
lindsay
August 18, 2011 at 8:37 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
other’s training plans/periods seem to fly by vs. being in my own… 16 weeks of marathon training draaaags by, yet i feel like this IM has just come out of nowhere. i’m sure you don’t feel that way after many long months of training and that’s ok, at least you still have your orange shirt.
if you ever have “team kevin” shirts made, i hope they’re in orange. i’ll buy one.
lindsay recently posted..a’s to the q’s (part 2)
Jason @ Cook Train Eat Race
August 18, 2011 at 9:14 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
A sub-19 min 5K after riding 127 miles and 20 mile run? Seriously? Seriously?
Holy Guacamole man…..that is speed burning. You are going to be great out there at IMWI.
And I said it on Twitter but maybe your proximity to Canada has you getting 6 Quarters out of a year due to the exchange rate.
Jason @ Cook Train Eat Race recently posted..How Far Will You Go?
Matt Oravec
August 18, 2011 at 9:20 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Having read all your posts no real surprises here except the running comment.
I get it. Believe me, starting this year off I was a mental mess with my running. I have accepted though that a slower pace during training still achieves essentially the same thing.
Just make sure you get your distance or time (depending how your plan judges it) in on the run. In my opinion, you are going to gain or lose any speed this late in the game. This is just keeping the endurance machine satiated until race day.
You got these weekend workouts buddy, one step at a time! 24 days baby!!!!!!!!! BOOYAH!
Matt Oravec recently posted..Perspective…
Jon
August 18, 2011 at 11:16 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Now the question is: Is Kevin human or robot? I think he has exceeded grizzly bear status, passed unicorn status straight to robot status.
A blood test will confirm.
Dude you have seriously been hitting it lately!
Jon recently posted..An Open Letter from My 87 Year Old Step Grandfather Re: Triathlon, excess, and balance
Chris @ Tri4Success
August 18, 2011 at 11:35 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Great job on the training and congrats on the 5k PR! I can’t even comprehend approaching that time.
Chris @ Tri4Success recently posted..Rockwall Criteriums
Jill Agresta
August 18, 2011 at 12:06 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
You are SO ready! Don’t stress about your “bad” running (I want one of your bad runs to replace my good runs!) Your legs are jsut tired from everything… they’ll feel amazing a good taper.
Viper
August 18, 2011 at 1:07 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I take comfort in those sluggish runs. I’ve found that they typically lead to some kick-ass running later. Chin up. Cheers!
Viper recently posted..Review: Invisible Shoes (aka Commercially Made Hippy Shoes)
katie
August 19, 2011 at 12:07 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
wow, PRing the 5K in IM training is serious business, nice!
katie recently posted..random friday facts
Beth
August 22, 2011 at 1:23 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
That 5k is super impressive! You may be the first person I’ve ever heard of to PR a 5k leading up to an IM. Congrats!
Beth recently posted..Pissed Off Monday
Derek
August 23, 2011 at 7:43 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
you are totally on it
Ill be interested to hear how the final big workouts go
and
from experience – dont look forward to the final two weeks as “taper” – I would personally re name those tabs as “workout weeks” or something….some tuff workouts in there! I seemed to struggle in the taper and in the future I will jsut consider it “training”
high5
D