Today's ride.

Average HR = 127

Week of March 14

Sunday: 9.3 miles, zone 1-2

Monday: weightlifting; 4 miles run, zone 1

Tuesday: bike 60 min, cadence drills

Wednesday: Swim; run 3-mile pace test

Thursday: Weights

Friday: Swim, pace test; run 4 mi

Saturday: bike 85 minutes, zone 1-3

26 weeks out

Monday marks 26 weeks to raceday. It's a bit of a turning of the corner, as I'm starting the Ironman training plan by coach Gale Bernhardt.

Since the start of the year, I've steadily built my fitness base, and am actually a bit ahead of the first week of the plan. So I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks of lower volume as the plan "catches up" with my fitness.

Training for the first 10 weeks of the year went as well as I'd hoped.

I've dropped about 15 pounds, which is good; in fact, I'm just about at the weight I'd want to race at. I've maintained my strength (squats, presses, deadlifts, bench press) while losing weight.

My running and swimming results (threshold run) have steadily improved since the beginning of the year. I haven't retested cycling (threshold watts / kg) since the first week of January, but I do sense my fitness has increased there as well. Once I get my Computrainer back--supposedly this week--I'll re-test.

Sunday: Run 9.3 mi (zon 1-2)

Mon: Weights; run 5 mi (fartlek, zone 2-3)

Tues: Bike 65 minutes (spinups, zone 3)

Wed: Swim 2800 yd; run 5 mi (zone 1-2)

Thu: Weights

Fri: Swim 2700 yd; run 4.5 mi (zone 1)

Sat: Bike 2:15 (zone 1-2)

Week of Feb 26

Another week in the book.

This was the last week for swimming at Mayfield High School; it's closing for six months for renovation. It's a shame, because its a decent pool and very convenient. But, I'll head back to CSU (also a nice pool) starting next week, and use its pool until June, when the outdoor Parkview pool opens.

I've also signed up for the Towpath Trilogy half marathon on April 1. I got a free registration, as Progressive sponsors the race and gave away several entries to employees. The half in four weeks should be a good test/checkpoint. I'm adding steadily to my longer runs. I also still have the numbers from my performance at the fall Towpath half last October. The spring edition is on a different area of the path, but its really the same kind of terrain ... so, I'll see where my winter training has gotten me.

Sunday: Run--9.3 miles

Monday: Weights--deadlifts and bench; Run--5 miles / fartleks (excuse me)

Tuesday: Bike--65 minutes / hill workout

Wednesday: Swim--2700 yd / w/ 1000-yd interval; Run--5 miles / easy

Thursday: Weights--squats and presses

Friday: Swim--2800 yards; Run--4.5 miles easy

Saturday: Bike--2 hours / various sets