Last Workouts Before the Big Race Weekend

Well, let’s talk about my last good swim, bike, and run.

• SWIM:

Yesterday afternoon, I went for a short, hard swim to see how I could expect to do in the indoor triathlon on Sunday (which has a 10 minute swim). Here were my splits:

1:27
1:33
1:36
1:35
1:34
1:37
1:35

- 11:00 (on the nose) for 700 yards (1:34.38 / 100 average)
- 650 yards in roughly 10:12

About a year ago, I was gearing up for my 4th indoor triathlon. I went for a similar short, hard swim a few days before the race, and I posted this on my blog:

1:26
1:32
1:34
1:36
1:35
1:35
0:47 (50 yards, 10:08 total time)

- That’s 650 yards in 10:08.
- Which is 594 meters.
- Which means I SHOULD be able to get 23 lengths in a 50 meter pool (575 meters) in 10 minutes during the triathlon.

Well, I only got 22.5 lengths in a 50 meter pool during that indoor tri (I can’t seem to swim as fast in a race as I can during workouts - I think I go out too hard and lose my breath too early). So I guess I can HOPE for about the same distance on Sunday. But... then again... I’m doing that 10 mile race on Saturday, so I’ll be swimming a little fatigued. We’ll just have to see what happens. Swimming the day after that 10 mile race will probably feel like this....

• BIKE:

My last real bike ride was the 2 hour “Ride of a Lifetime” spin class that I talked about in my last post. And again, if you want to see more photos from that World Record setting event (1,052 people in 1 spinning class!), click here to check them out on my Examiner page.

And really, there’s NOTHING you can do to prepare you for spinning at 140 RPM with little resistance for 30 minutes like you do in the indoor tri. Last time, my lower back was SO SORE for 2-3 days after the event! And Hannah (CVA Tri Club member who’s done the last 2 indoor triathlons with me) said that after her last indoor tri, she bent down to pick up her cat, and “got stuck.” Ha! That bike ride really takes a lot out of you!


• RUN:

I guess I have 2 runs to mention here. As I posted on Saturday night, I had a decent Saturday morning run that was 9.25 miles in just under 6:40 pace. That was my last solid long run to help get me ready for this Saturday’s 10 mile race. Good confidence boost going into a non-PR race.

Then, last night at the Metrodome, I had my last “good” run before this weekend, which was “easy” intervals. But when are intervals EVER easy? Never, that’s when. I’ve been doing a lot of bigger ladder intervals lately (600, 1200, 1800, 1800, 1200, 600), so I figured it was best to just do some shorter / quicker intervals as to not burn myself out before this weekend of 2 races - so THAT’S what I mean by “easy” intervals.

I did 3 x 1500 every 7:00 (2.5 laps is about 1502 meters). My lap splits were all over the place, but I ran even 5:08s / 1500 (that’s 5:28.5 / mile pace). I could have pushed it harder in the last interval, but I didn’t want to overdo it. Here’s what I ran:

2:03, 2:03, 1:02 = 5:08.
2:03, 2:05, 1:00 = 5:08.
2:04, 2:03, 1:01 = 5:08.

And being it’s the last week the Dome is open for runners until sometime around Thanksgiving, I had to take these following photos so I could reminisce about my wonderful winter at the Dome:

My last $1 entry fee to Dome Running. (Best 7 bucks I spent all winter!)


MDRA guys at the “guard.”


Last time peeing in the trough. (That’s not my pee on the floor...)


Mileage chart that’s probably older than I am!


My starting / finish line: the crack between section 211 and 210.


Kicker Ryan Longwell and running back A.P. watch me start and finish my intervals.


The directional arrows: counter-clockwise and 7+/mile on the outside,
clockwise and sub-7/mile on the inside.

Thanks MDRA and all the people at the Dome! See you next winter!

I hope to have my “100% Irish For a Day 10 Miler” report up on Saturday night or Sunday morning, and the indoor tri report (along with a bunch of CVA students) up on Monday morning. But watch my Twitter feed this weekend to see how those races go! I’ll tweet about them as soon as I can! (You can also see my 5 most recent tweets over there >>>>> in my sidebar - near the top.) Thanks all! Time to get ready to RACE!