2017 - Week in Review - 17 April - 23 April

New shoes - Mizuno Wave Creation 18 - Clownfish Orange

Weekly Reflections and Focus

Well today, I am writing this a day late and from a delay in the SLC. It was a great start. Hit the shuttle timing about right. Juniper our little 21 month old was agree-able, slept well. Older brother that didn't sleep the night before stayed in bed after giving me a travel hug goodbye. Liz, the wife, the wonderful wife, had a good morning and we made the exchange. I hit TSA ready to rumble and breezed through in 2 minutes.

Battle face ready for TSA

Well TSA was disappointing, curb to through in 2 minutes. Then I receive the dreaded push notification from Delta. They rebooked me on the SLC - BOS direct, but with a UG to 1st. I could take other segments, but oh well. Reduced a connection but lost family time.

THIS WEEK
6h 55m
Swimming - 1h 18m
Cycling - 2h 1m
Running - 3h 36m

Let's start with my long ride on Saturday. Oh wait I did a full rehearsal day. 1 mile swim, 35 miles cycling, and 5 mile run. I learned that I am ready, and I have to think about nutrition and hydration as I ran out of gas on the run. I had a very solid swim and bike, but need to think about caloric intake in the saddle. I use Probars and find those so far to be best. I took one bar an hour and it wasn't quite enough. I drank 28 oz of water and also about 1/4 of my between the handles hydration system - approx 28-30 oz.

It was way chilly but everything felt really good, especially pushing through the climbs, and then pedaling out from the steep climbs. I even, for me, bombed down Meridian hill at 27 - 34 mph. I was able to just 'let go' and not be white-knuckled the whole way. Even in the wind i felt ok and was able to just let it happen. I hope I can do that from snow canyon down and not feel the need to ride my brakes into town.

So where am I at? Gut check. I am somewhere in the 90% of where i was last year. I have kept my expectations tame. I want to at least meet last year if possible. The game changer will be the weather, but that is an equation to deal with during the day. Last year it was cold and rainy, this year we will see. I need to remember to have the jersey ready just in case.

My other workouts have been pretty solid. honestly, i am feeling the effects of accumulation and pushing over 7 hours training a week. It has been a stresser on Liz, and we have been trying to get things to come together. Liz has taken on a new endeavor - Agnes & Dora - Most recent Party Site ; So she has been a bit stressed trying to make this a success and so far doing well.

So, back to the props of my podcast sources. This podcast was very good for me -

When I reached out with a comment in the closed facebook group, coach robbie and podcaster mike tarolly both appreciated the reach out. The overall concept was to not wreck your race/event mentally before it has begun. For me this year has been more of enjoy the ride and stay strong. I was not as focused this year as last. Having a newborn, a strong willed 11 year old and another pregnancy tends to juggle piorities. I love the lifestyle of #familybalancetri and I have really had to be mindful of what matters most and adapt many times. I also incorporated more recovery and rest when slightly off focus to maintain the overall balance I seek. My swim has seen solid leaps. I am curious to see how that translates in the Sand hollow Resrvoir this year in Utah. I am anticipating 60 degree waters with all the snowmelt this year. It takes about 400 yds to the first left turn to groove in. Hopefully I can do so and just get it done.

My new shoes finally arrived, and so far, Mizuno, knocked it out of the park. They have finally listened. It makes sense why they reduced the color line as it seems they made a few modifications. The only problem I have thus far, is the laces tab between the two front holes. It causes a small bunching but nothing I cannot manage with the laces I use.

nathan's lace locking system. Elastic and circular.

Managing my dry feet is always a fun thing as I am travelling. I am hoping that on my trip to Boston my feet will be good enough to not be problematic during the run. I am anticipating heat in St. george during the event. I have not seen the projected weather reports just yet and am not going to look really until next Sunday.

So, cycling. i had a strong ride on the walk through I did. I wore my tri kit (SLS3) with sleeves under and it was mad chilly:

Just crushed the Meridian Hill climb

After heading out and getting a roll in, I felt good once I got to the turn out to hollow Road. I used Hollow as a feed zone and took in the Pro Bar. I then climbed out of BSFC strong putting, Ian Butler's wreenching and tuning to its test. It was great to have gears back. It was a strong and consistent climb out. Then back to taking it easy and maintaining a solid cadence out to the next climb. I had a truck on my 6 as I mad the turn to climb out from the Hyrum Resrvoir and he throttled around me in a questionable space. but I made sure to back off enough but not lose everything. As I came out of things, I prepped for the next climb, a Cat 4 known as Meridian Hill (Upper). I rolled into very strong and cut 1:30 minutes off my last best effort. I did lose all momentum at one point as i tried to grab a salt pill, that was jammed. I left it and just got back to it. The interruption was good because I needed to be able to work through the disruption. The thing is of course, Ironman events (70.3 and 140.6) are complex problem solving scenarios. From arriving and taking care of transitions 1 and 2 quickly and leaving those the day before, to adapting to any changes that occurred - weather, people setting up, sleep and so many more minor things.

Anyway, I think that is about what I have for this week. I need to sit down and try and alter a few adjustments on my bike as I have not had a formal fitting and was a bit uncomfortable on my ride. It is a good fit and I think I am where I can be at this time.

As always, I can't say enough about having a supportive family. My wife that allows and tolerates my shenanigans and training needs. I think she will have a fun go with the full I would like to do next year. We will have to feel that out and see if it is manageable. This is afterall a hobby and a lifestyle. I think I need to do an Olympic once a month to make sure I maintain the fitness and health levels. then I can inter mix some running and other cycling events. I just don't really see a need to pay for medals all the time. For me, I enjoy the journey, watching others engage and discover what I have found to be my passion, Also it is great to watch when others build the camaraderie I seek as well. To have an activity that mellows them out to allow then to concentrate on what truly matters in this world. All of this, Liz nudged, and kicked and pushed, and persuaded and tolerated until I came around and woke up from my zombie like approach I had fallen into.

Our children have been good campers too. I sure hope that Dennis has a good time this year and does what he would like to achieve when he does Ironkids. Even further, having his cousin Blake there makes it that much more fun for him to do. Blake has begun track and we think him being around this event will help him see the passion that is possible.

Ok, until next week when I am in taper. That could be fun. Cheers.

Activities - Strava Logs (Shane's Strava link)

(Look for rollover links if you are Strava stalking me :) )

Monday
Activity 1 - RUN 1, RUN 2, SWIM
Tuesday
Activity 1 - RUN, SWIM 1, SWIM 2
Wednesday
Activity 1 - SWIM
Thursday
Activity 1 - RUN
Friday
Activity 1 - RUN
Saturday
Activity 1 - SWIM, BIKE, RUN

Summary - Click Here

STATS

Weekly low 195.5

Targeted Activity and Focus Points

SWIM

Hips lead the rotation, breathing and not over/under swimming. Ready for the event, and the impending sex change in the water for the first 15 minutes.