Week 20 Recap / Charlottesville, VA

With the recovery week at hand I tried to keep my level of effort low and volume of training about half. I noticed a possible trend in my training log that indicated I get sick and/or injured every five weeks so I wasn't taking a chance. Everything was going well until Saturday arrived and I headed up to Charlottesville, VA to have my first experience cycling in the mountains.

Thanks to the Charlottesville Bicycle Club I printed out a ride map ahead of time. Not being one to wuss out on a ride I selected Crabtree Falls - Devils Knob. This route offers an option of 44/53 miles with 115/120 feet of elevation per mile respectively. Here's a look from Google Earth and a profile I made using my Garmin:

I started from Beech Grove as recommended but rode the route in reverse because I wanted to challenge myself early while I was most fit. In hindsight this was not a great idea. I later found out my first test was Reeds Gap (elev. 2637). About five miles and one hour later, and 1700+ feet higher than I began, I was standing at the top contemplating what would be a very quick decent to the car. But I thought, who goes to the mountains just to ride 10 miles? I also thought about how my heart almost exploded during the climb. Against my better judgement at the time I proceeded but skipped the extra 9 mile leg that had promised killer climbing.

I easily cruised the picturesque Blue Ridge Highway for 10 miles until I reached Big Spy Mountain Overlook (elev. 3200). I snapped off a few pictures to give readers an idea of the beauty I enjoyed along the way.

About Mile 20 I learned riding in the mountains can be spectacular as well as extremely dangerous. Decending from 3200 feet is a frightful ordeal when the slope is steep and the roads are curvy. What makes it worse is when you're trying to keep it under 40mph and then realize your brakes are too hot to be effective. To say the least I was happy to make it down without incident. I even managed to stop near Crabtree Falls for a picture of the river.

After it was all said and done I took a dip in the frigid water.

When I added the trip to the workout log I ended up with a total of 6 hours. That put me at 2200 yards swimming, 62 miles biking, and 10 miles running for the week. It was a good recovery most of the week and concluded with a solid test of my legs on the bike. I proved I'm ready for serious hill training in preparation for MoM.

Swim Stroke Analysis

One of the perks to joining the Coastal Racing Team is having access to training seminars provided by Joel Bell of SISU MultiSport & Endurance. Last March Joel was kind enough to video and analyze my swim stroke for free at the local dive shop. Here's what I learned...

From above the water the important things to note are head position, a high elbow, relaxed recovery, and where the hand enters the water. I have all of the above except my hand enters too close to my head. I've indicated where it probably should first touch the water.


When observing your stoke from below the crucial thing to look for is body position. To swim streamlined you need to be level. As you can see, my body is parallel to the water surface. To do so I continually remind myself to "lay on my lungs" thanks to Terry Laughlin and his Total Immersion DVD. This helps keep my body well balanced. Also, you may notice my leg kick is a bit wide. I was told it should not exceed the "hole" in the water my body passed through.


Apparently my largest stroke deficiencies are in the catch and pull. In the picture you can see I keep a relatively straight arm. Proper arm position (shown in green) keeps the arm bent in an almost 90 degree bend. This allows you to catch more water while utilizing your stronger lat muscles. To correct this issue I need to concentrate on hinging at my elbow and then keeping that elbow higher during the pull.


Shortly after the analysis I purchased swim paddles to help strengthen my lats. They also help technique by forcing your arms to follow the correct path. Without the wrist strap the paddle will fall off your hand unless you use the good form. So far I enjoy the paddles but I haven't noticed any gains in my swim times.

Week 19 Recap

Week 19 was, like the past two weeks, excellent. I've been able to achieve the volumes I'm targeting in preparation for the looming Memorial Day weekend ride at MoM. I rounded out the week with a shade under 9 hours of training. That's 4500 yards swimming, 69 miles biking, and 27 miles running. The amazing part so far is the fact I don't have any serious injuries. It's a nice change from last year's constant battle with my hamstrings. My IT Band has been annoying but constant icing and anti-inflammatory medicines have done a good job keeping me moving.

I had hoped to break 10 hours this week but the weekend didn't go as planned. Mother nature decided to drown me a mile into my 15-mile run. Since the weather report said the temperature would be 58 with light rain I had opted to wear pants. When it was all said and done I only finished 13 miles. When I got home I discovered my outfit weighed 10 pounds soaking wet. At that point I had enough of rain, and water in general, so I didn't get my third swim of the week in. My mental toughness had been tested enough by sticking out the downpour for almost two hours. It must have been a sight to see.

Next week should be a nice recovery although I think I could have taxed myself awhile longer. But I'll play it safe and stick to the plan.

Garmin Forerunner 205 / Google Earth

Given that the Garmin Forerunner 205 is a GPS reciever it only made sense when I learned you can view your workouts overlaid on spacially referenced maps such as Google Earth. Here's what you need:

1) Garmin GPS unit with data logging capabilities
2) Garmin Training Center software
3) Google Earth Pro
4) ForeConv (freeware)

Once you've completed a workout and downloaded the data into Training Center you need to export your history to a TCX file. Then use ForeConv to convert the file to a KML file. From here you select File>Open in Google Earth Pro. Under Places you should notice a folder called History-Data Garmin. All you need to do now is select the workout you want to view. You'll end up with an image like this one of the Noland Trail in Newport News, VA.


At first glance the accuracy of the data looks quite impressive. But a closer look may discourage you from relying on a GPS receiver all together. I noticed substantial deviations or 20 feet or so from the start. As the run continued the margin of error only increased. By the conclusion of my second mile I was around 50 feet off the path, which can be seen below.


When I crossed the final long bridge a little after 4 1/2 miles I'd estimate the receiver had me 200+ feet off course.


It's tough to say at this point if the Garmin Forerunner's poor data collection is the culprit for the errors or if Google Earth's aerials are true orthophotography.

In one of my earlier posts (February 2008) I stated I had difficulties duplicating distances on clear days during the winter while tree cover was minimal. Based on the randomly weaving data points on straight, open sections of the course it is pretty evident something is up with the Garmin GPS receiver. I still maintain the unit is good for letting you get a decent idea of how far you've run on easy and long run days. The Noland Trail is five miles long and the Garmin Forerunner 205 has always given me a similar mileage total. With a tool like this you can run aimlessly through town, into a park, and down a street you’ve never been on with reasonable accuracy.

Week 18 Recap

I'm not sure what's changed but I've been able to rock all my training sessions for the past two weeks. My volumes for Week 18 came in at: 5000 yards swimming, 72 miles biking, and 28 miles running. This equated to 9 1/2 hours of solid training.

Early in the week I was able to score a nice 33-mile ride through the hills of southeast Connecticut with my buddy Jeff. It was a treat since I had to board an airplane back to Virginia three hours later.

On Friday I headed over to the 1/2 mile hill I've been killing myself on for the past few months (see weeks 4, 10, and 13). My PR for a single interval had been 2:55 until this week's 2:51. I had hoped to do six repeats but my IT band had other ideas. I kept the workout short so I could ride comfortably the next day.

Saturday's group ride turned more into a time trial. I found myself alone twice, battling the strong wind, and riding 20-22mph trying to bridge the gap between pace groups. It was a great workout. I felt so good afterwards I ran three miles to stretch my legs.

Week 17 Recap

Since I felt like I had been in a perpetual taper for the last month it was time to get back to serious business. I've decided to skip the two VTS circuit races I had planned to focus on building my cycling base. I mapped out a plan that increases mileage approximately 10% a week for the next 10 weeks. The goal is to be fit enough to comfortably ride Mountains of Misery with my tri club during the Memorial Day weekend. To give you an idea of the pain that awaits me; the course traverses 125 miles and contains 13,000 feet of climbing. Sounds fun doesn't it?

I knew this week would be a bit short on volume due to a mini-vacation I took on Friday to Connecticut. But I went ahead and worked out as planned and hoped to get at least a long run in while I was gone.

From Monday to Saturday I felt like a million bucks. Everything I threw at my body was well received. I had the minor aches and pains of a triathlete but nothing worth mentioning. On Wednesday I substituted my Yasso 800 workout for 4x1200s. I read that I should be looking for longer intervals given the distance and pace I'm aiming for. I'll probably continue with this line of thought for a few months and see how things go. On Saturday I got the opportunity to take a leisurely 10-mile run along the Thames River and through Gales Ferry Village. It was a peaceful, sunny morning. Sunday afternoon I had planned a 20-30 mile ride with my old high school buddy who's gotten the extreme road biking bug but we had to postpone it to Tuesday.

Instead of riding on Sunday I decided to relax and get a deep tissue massage from a serious Sports Massage Therapist that works with the WNBA's Connecticut Sun. She's a friend/coworker with a member of my family so I got a sweet deal. All I can say is, "Ouch!" I got worked in places I didn't even know were sore. She attacked my IT Band for a solid five minutes of excruciating pain. I hobbled around for the remainder of the day. But the next morning I wasn't sore anywhere. And for that reason, I would recommend getting a good massage anytime you get that deep fatigue in your muscles. It's magic.

Even with two days off this week I logged a shade under 7 hours. I cranked out 4800 yards swimming, 28 miles biking, and 24 miles running.