Total Time = 25:40
Then immediately after Circuit
Run = 20:00(treadmill)
Add on Edit: Later in the day it was so nice that I took my mountain bike for a little spin. I acually went pretty hard. The route was from my house, to Rock Cut State Pk, 2 loops around the park and back to a friend's house.
Mountain Bike
Total Bike for the Day
No rest in between sets!
Total Time = 24:00
Then immediately after circuit:
Bike Trainer = 25:00
Is it possible to swim fast without swim training? Obviously swimming practice/training is the best way to swim faster. But I think I might have stumbled upon 2 ways to swim faster without actually getting wet.The 1st way I stumbled upon by accident. It is circuit-cardio weight interval training. NOT any old circuit weight lifting, but a very specific type. They are what I have called "Fat Blasters" in previous workouts. The "Fat Blaster" consists of a series of 7-14 different multi-joint weight lifting exercises sandwiched around a cardio activity such as jump rope, burpees, or nordic track ski machine. So, to review, here is an example: 1) Jump Rope full speed for 2 minutes 2) Pullups to failure 3) Jump Rope full speed for 2 minutes 4) Dips to failure, continue alternating a cardio sprint activity with a mult-joint weight lifting activity until you cry uncle. Here is the kicker - no rest in between. Sometimes I do these workouts at home, but when I do them at the gym, people look at me like I am Ivan Drago from a Rocky movie. While they are all waiting in between lifting sets, I am running from speed Jump Rope, to Pullups, to burpees, to power cleans, etc. without resting. I am sweating like a pig and out of breath with my heart rate sky high. They are waiting for their next set or watching paint dry, or something.
I think it has helped my swim for this reason: Every year I begin swimming after a long layoff of many months. When I first get back in the water, initially I am only able to swim about 100 yards before my form seriously begins breaking down. So in that first month, I usually do a lot of 50yd and 100yd intervals with rest in between (workout total 800yds). This year after doing "Fat Blaster" workouts I was able to do 5 x 400 and 6 x 400 at a pretty steady clip. That is at least 4x the distance per interval and 3x the total workout distance!! Although I can not prove that the lifting intervals are the only reason for the dramatic change, it is the only thing I can identify that is different this year compared to the past. I think the lifting intervals help because they mimic the strength/endurance requirements of swimming. In triathlon style distance swimming, it requires the ability to perform repetitive multi-joint upper body strength movements while at an elevated heart rate. The "Fat Blaster" workouts require the same type of thing. This new discovery gives me another reason to try and keep fitting these "Fat Blaster" workouts into my schedule...To hear about my second way of swimming faster (without swimming) check back later.
Swim 6 x 400 Yards (Tot = 2,400 yds)
IronCraig http://schlawin.blogspot.com/ and I then went for an easy spin outside since it was so nice. Our route took us from our neighborhood to Rock Cut State Park, and then one loop around the park. This was the first time that I have been outdoors this year. We had to stop often for traffic and roadblocks, etc. and we took it real easy for the most part.
Bike
QuickLift(No Rest: 3 minutes total)
The picture above was not from my actual swim workout today. This is me 16 years ago (age 16) in my first triathlon. It was the original Pigman. Back then I was bulking up and training for football. Times change.From a swim training standpoint this was not a smart workout to do. I probably should have done some drilling and shorter intervals concentrating on form. But I wanted to test myself a little to see how the layoff had affected my swimming fitness. Although my form broke down quite a bit and I wasn't the fastest, I was pleased to be able to do over a mile without training.
Total Time = 38:30
Total Jump Rope Reps = 2,750
Overall I felt a little lethargic. My time was not as good as I normally could do. But I definitely did get stronger as the workout went on. I was coming out of my funk and was beginning to stop feeling sorry for myself.
This injury is going to cause me to deviate from plan. Even though I hate non-lake swimming, some lap swimming may be in my future.
That makes for 1 hour total ride time. 41 minutes were @ my estimated Functional Threshold Power (FTP). Stay tuned for workouts 4-6. Power Up. Weight Down!
Close Grip Pull-ups = 18
Dips = 22
That makes for 1hr, 10 min total riding (20 minutes was at a violently painful pace). The heart rates for my 4 intervals in sequence were: 173,178,183,181. During the easy spin portion, I quickly recovered to a heart rate in the 130's.
Thanks again to Ron Mattson of Freeport Bicycle Company for this workout. He contributed 3 out of the 6 bike trainer workouts I will be doing. Stay tuned for workouts 3-6. Power Up. Weight Down!
This is one of the toughest workouts I do. Ethel Avenue hills. It takes me about 9 minutes from my house to run at a warmup pace to the bottum of Rockford's hardest and most steady hill (in my opinion). It is a great place for running hill repeats. At just under a quarter mile, it slowly punishes you. Hills like these certainly make for a stronger runner though.Total Running Time = 42:21
Total Running Distance = 5.11M
Power Up. Weight Down!
In total, there was 27 minutes of riding that was close to the effort level from my 10k TT. 9 of those minutes were slightly above that effort level. My HR for the high effort intervals was within 5 beats of 177. My HR for the lower effort intervals was within 5 beats of 167.
Thank you to Ron Mattson of Freeport Bicycle Company for this workout. He contributed workouts 1-3 of my 6 part bike trainer series. Stay tuned for workouts 2-6...Power UP. Weight Down!
Total Time = 23:30
***Immediately After: Treadmill Run = 10:00
Today, my friend Kim Edler and I went to Freeport Bicycle Company to compete in an indoor time trial. The race is done on a Computrainer, so it simulates a real race on the road in every way from a speed and power standpoint. It even accounts for a rider's weight. So a heavier rider has to work harder going up a hill --just like on the road.
Results
I came in 5th place out of about 25 males. I was 1 minute and 18 seconds off the course record. The close loss made me think of the 2! times I came completely unclipped from my pedals. Oh well.
Value as a Training Tool 
