I'm still weak February 13, 2006
Posted by clayton in : workout , add a commentI was able to wake up at 6am and do some training in the morning, not the amount that was planned but tried. Tried…just trying isn't fulfilling my needs anymore. I wrote that I'll do 2 or 3sets of trainer drills+10km run but I wasn't even able to complete one.
The brick: It was my first workout after changing my bike settings. Other than the one leg drills, everything went fine. The run was horrible. I did feel a bit sick and out of oxygen plus my shoulder also hurt a little but I thought it'll get better during the run. I went out and noticed that I thought wrong. The feeling sick and out of oxygen was gone but the shoulder pain only got worse. I stopped after 2km, 10:15. I did push myself out for the run but not being able to push myself through the run just leaves me with weakness. Today's workout left me with a lot of homework to do.
I thought about it and decided that I'll have a revenge match with that same workout that was planned. I'll go three sets on Saturday.
Tomorrow: I'll wake up at 6am, no going back to bed this time. If I feel up to it, stick a run in, if it rains, switch to the indoor trainer. No workouts other than swimming at night due to tests…
No workouts for a few days February 12, 2006
Posted by clayton in : workout , add a commentI had a 400m swim which I wouldn't call a workout on Thursday, no workouts on Friday and did some bike settings today. Setting the bike was a bit fun though…
Bike setting: First, I put my eyes on the cleats of my shoes. I noticed that when I pedal, my feet are facing a little bit outwards and that it was hard for me to pedal hard. I used a good long one hour just to set my cleats, time flies when you focus, doesn't it? Now, I've got my cleats in perfect position. Then, I messed around with my saddle. My saddle height before was 68.5cm but I lowered it to 66.5cm. Don't know if it's the perfect height but according to the magazine I read, that's the best height for a person with my legs. It's not that I have extremely short legs, I'm just a short guy(164cm, 52kg, 10% fat), hehe. I don't know if that info is right because my little high-tech scale that shows all the weight/fat% etc is broken. I also set my saddle so that it'll be parallel to the ground.
Tomorrow: I WILL have a workout and it's already planned. The 30~50min trainer session and then a brick, 10km run. 2 or 3 sets of that and then I'll go buy myself a new high-tech scale and study my butt/ head off for the rest of the afternoon. Thinking of studying for 6hours.
I woke up!!! back to bed in 5min… February 10, 2006
Posted by clayton in : workout , add a commentYes!!! The first mission was accomplished. I woke up at 6am and stood awake for 5min, hehe. Some of you might be laughing but that's how lazy I am in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon too. No training today, well, I did go to the pool but I wouldn't call it a workout.
The swim: I went to the pool, did the 400m warm up and went home. I just couldn't focus…Not much tiredness in the body, just couldn't focus. I was gonna tell the coach that I'm gonna go home but since he was in the office or wherever he was, I asked another coach to let him know and then snuck out. It was planned to be a 3600m swim and yes, it's tough on Thursdays but I like it that way. I get to use one lane for the last hour or so but today was different.
Tomorrow: Wake up in the morning and stay awake for 10min this time?? Naaa, maybe I'll have somewhat of a workout in since I'm gonna have to study my butt off for the weekend. The pool is gonna be closed for 3days so I'll be missing those tough Saturday swims, hehe. It's tough but FUN cause there aren't so many kids around… No offense to the kids but it's just relieving when you don't have to think about your hands hitting some of the kids while butterflying, right? Never hit one before, it's just scary.
How can I get stronger in the morning? February 9, 2006
Posted by clayton in : workout , add a commentI just can't wake up. Well, I did but ended up going back to bed and waking up at the usual time. No run, but had a bike ride to the pool and swam a bit.
The swim: Swam a total of 2300m. 200m warm up, 100m forming(checking the streamline), 100m scarling/dog paddle, 50m one hand pull/ 100m pull, 2sets of these. Then the intervals, 400m*2 (1st forming, 2nd speed, 8min both), 100m*8(1st 4 forming 2min, 2nd 4 speed, 1min50sec). I'd say it was an easy swim. Yes because I've been swimming a lot with the faster guys and that's really tough. Everything feels easy on Wednesday.
Tomorrow: I won't say I'll run but instead, I'll wake up!!! I'll use all three of my alarm clocks this time. After school, I'll run if I have time but it'll be short because the test is coming up, then I'll have a swim. The pool is closed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, perfect time to study.
The deal February 8, 2006
Posted by clayton in : workout , add a commentUsual day at school, came home and ran, finally. A good short 8km on my new 2km course, easy jog. Some studying and then the Tuesday swim which is always speed training, I always get a little dizzy after every sprint.
Run: I ran just to check my pace. How long I'll be able to hold a 5min30sec/km pace. My goal for the marathon is to just be able to live and get to the finish line in time. So, my 8km lap times were, 1-10:25, 2-11:04, 3-10:50, 4-10:34. I guess I still don't know how to keep my pace steady. My plan is to have 2 20+km LSD runs before the marathon and plenty of short pace runs. The problem is that I have a test coming up…
Swim: Swam a total of 1600m. 200m warm up, 150m*6 kick, pull, swim (3:00), 50m*8 sprints, 100m cool down. I was an inch away from getting myself a good little cramp, hehe. The coach said that our sprint's average time had to be PR+1sec or else we have to swim 10m for every 0.1sec that we couldn't make. There was this one boy whos average was PR+5sec and he ended up having a 400m sprint after the 50m*8sprints, poor guy, hehe. Luckily, I renewed my PR by 0.2sec and didn't have to do that.
Tomorrow: Wake up early in the morning and RUN!!! Go to school, come home, do the short bike setting/ forming on my trainer(30min?), study and then go for a swim.
What happened? February 7, 2006
Posted by clayton in : workout , add a commentI woke up this morning and it was another usual morning, whaaa?!?! I was planning to go out for a short run in the morning and I know I set my alarm clock for 6am but I woke up at 7am. I don't remember myself stopping it either. I guess my arm's getting pretty good at banging the alarm clock without me noticing. After school, I had a headache so I took some medication and a short nap. Woke up and went for a swim.
The swim: Swam a total of 3350m, planned to be 3450m but since we we're out of time, the coach took 100m off of the plan. It was suppose to be a cool down swim anyway but it feels weird getting out of the pool after sprints. 400m warm up, 200m*3 IM (5:00), 100m*5 freestyle (2:00), 50m*5 anything other than freestyle(1:10), 50m*8 IM 2 each(1:10? don't remember, didn't really care either), 400m*1 pull pads (8:00), and I don't remember the rest…All I know is that it was some sprints, all freestyle.
Tomorrow: Run, don't know if I'll bike but will go for a swim.
Wow, that girl's FAST!!! February 5, 2006
Posted by clayton in : workout , add a commentYesterday, I went for a run(unwillingly, hehe) and two swims. Today, nothing.
Yesterday's swim/run: Got to the pool at 7:30am and not many people were there. Yup, nobody comes after they're done with a race. Ran 6km, I don't know how long it took me but I did do it. Then I swam 2300m which was planned to be a 3200m swim. I wasn't expecting myself to get through the whole thing because it was made for the fast swimmers but I'm still a bit mortified. This one other girl was able to finish it, hehe. HEY!!! Atleast I ran faster:-) I guess I'll start my run earlier and be able to finish the "planned" swim next time.
Night swim: Swam a total of 3500m which was planned to be 3400m but the coach had me do some "on the spot??" sprints after I was done with the sprints I knew I was gonna do. I was a bit shocked because I swam my butt off like 30sec before the sprint started but my goal for this month was to get faster, so, I didn't really have a reason for not doing it. Amazingly, I wasn't knocked out after it…Does this mean I wasn't pushing enough? Absolutely, my fastest 25m was 19.00sec. Yes, I was tired after all that swimming but I could've gone faster. One of the girls went 16.7sec breast stroke, what did I do? Ummm, I just looked at her, smiled and laughed. After the swim, we had a tiny little meeting where the coach told me to swim 50m freestyle in 35sec by the end of March. I thought he was joking so I laughed but then he said, "don't worry, I'll get you there." Oh no…hey, wait, this month's goal was…
You know what? I think I'll start posting in the morning. I just can't get enough sleep when I post at night. Plus, my brain works much better that way. I really gotta run, 3weeks till the marathon and I'm not running at all. The biggest problem is that I still think I could finish it!!! Is that suppose to be good or bad??
Tomorrow: I'll have somewhat of a workout in the morning, most likely, a run. I don't think the people downstairs will be to happy with me using my trainer early in the morning. After that, go to school, come back, trainer(form, bike settings), study and then swim.
February, 2006 goals and reviews on January, 2006 February 4, 2006
Posted by clayton in : goals, reviews, schedule... , add a commentSo what's it gonna be like this month…
Swim: I'm thinking maybe 35000m total. Gotta get faster…Everybody says I got some stamina but nobody says I got faster. So I'll get faster this month.
Bike: 600km or so. I'll focus on the trainer rides to get some speed for me. I need more power or else I'll never be able to catch up with the other triathletes on the flats. I'm fine with climbing hills but still wanna get faster.
Run: I won't say how long. Just some consistency which I haven't been having since the half marathon last November is what I need. I REALLY need it, I almost forgot that I have a marathon coming up in the end of the month. The last time I ran 20km(last week) I was pretty much dead, hehe, that'll be some motivation right? If I don't run, I'll be dead;-)
Reviews on January, 2006
Swim: I swam a total of 49750m(28hrs). I'd say I achieved my goal of not slacking out. Went to most of the swims but I need the speed!!! I'm finally getting used to the distance but those fellow swimmers are just way too fast.
Bike: Rode a total of 810.5km(26hrs40min22sec). A little shocked because I swam longer than I biked, but still, I think that's a lot. Mostly because the challenge lasted until January 9th, I rode 385km during the first week.
Run: Ran a total of 66km(5hrs59min23sec). A bummer run month but atleast I'm back at it. All because the group run and running with the swimmers. That kinda forced me to run.
A killer swim February 3, 2006
Posted by clayton in : workout , add a commentI don't know why but I'm really having a hard time trying to get to my own blog. When I try blogging at night, it doesn't work…But, I've still been training, A LOT for the swim.
Wednesday: After school, I went for my first workout on the trainer. I probably posted this workout before because it was on a magazine last summer but it went like this. 10min warm up, 3min*3(60~80rpm) one leg drills(right, left, both legs), 10min(50~60rpm) pedaling with the heaviest gear on your bike, 2min hard 1min easy*3(hard 100~120rpm, easy 100-rpm) then cool down for 10min and the short little workout is done. I needed this short workout so that I could study before I go to the pool.
I went to the pool afterwards with my mtb, 20km. Swam 2300m. 250m warm up, 50m making the streamline, 50m*2 one hand drills, 50m*2 scarling(is that right?)+100m form*2. Then the next 30min was intervals. 50m*10(1:00 descending, the thing where you have to make your time faster every 50m), 100m*5(2:00, again, descending), 500m*1(descending, every 100m). That felt easy though, after swimming everyday I'm getting used to things;-)
Thursday: Same trainer workout as yesterday except the warm up and cool down were 5min each, so the workout was 38min. Studied Math and Modern Literature and then went for the Thursday Killer Swim. Did a total of 4100m and I don't know if I could write the stuff I did because I had some short memory loss from too much swimming, hehe. I'll do my best. 400m warm up, 50m*16 swim(1:00), 100m*3 kick(3:15), 50m*5swim(1:00), 200m*3 pull with pads(4:00), 100m*3 pull(2:00) and the weird intervals. 100m*1(1:50)+25m*4(0:40), rest 30sec, 100m(2:00)*3, 50m*1 sprint, 25m*4 sprint, 400m cool down. Wow that was a lot, I think I was drooling from all the tiredness after the swim, it was a nice day.
Today, I think I'll have pretty much the same thing as yesterday.
So…will I go backstroke? February 1, 2006
Posted by clayton in : workout , add a commentHad another usual day at school, came home around 4:25pm. I guess today is the first time I ever did what I said the day before. It's all because it was easier than usual. I set my road bike on the trainer, studied and went for a swim.
Bike setting: I was so shocked after Sunday's ride. I just couldn't believe that I wasn't able to stick with the group. Well, I wouldn't be so suprised if it was 80km or so but 60km…So, I changed a few settings on my bike. First I worked on the aero bars, just fixed them straight because it was a bit crooked. Then, saddle height. Pulled it up 2cm and we'll see how things go tomorrow.
The swim: 1900m total, speed training. I'm still in need of motivation. 400m warm up, 200m*4(swim, kick, pull, swim) 4:30, 25*4(12.5m hard, 12.5m easy, 12.5m easy, 12.5m hard, 25m*2 sprint) 0:40, 2sets. Then, 50*8 sprints(2:30), 100m cool down. After the swim, I talked to the fast guy(who goes to the same highschool as me) about the relay, asked him if it was for real and what was I expecting, ofcourse it's for real. The three other guys are fast with everything but backstroke. It seems like I'm gonna have to go backstoke….You know what? I still drown once in a while when I swim backstroke, hehe.
Tomorrow: First ride on the trainer, study and out for the swim I go. Wednesdays feel sooo easy after I started swimming with the "big guys." Two weeks till the FINAL exam for the term!!! I've got a plan for these two weeks, hope it works well.