Indoor Training and a Weekend Win.....

Well, let's start with the win part.  I guess I need to clarify this a bit.  I won T2 with a T2 time of :33.  This was the fastest T2 time in the whole race at Mach Tenn this past weekend.  Now, I didn't win the overall race but this was a nice feather in the cap.  I try to make up time on the runners in my transitions.  This quick T2 put me out on the run carrying over the momentum from the bike.  This led to a good run and a first place finish in the clydesdale division with a win over the second place finisher by 10 minutes.  This was a tough course with a hilly bike and a very hilly run.  The run course punished me a bit due to the hills and the heat but I got through it and was glad to put it in the books.  The weekly racing is starting to take a toll on the legs.

This also was my first race in my new SLS3 Tri suit.  I have to say that I love the new suit.  It was a hot and sunny day and my cool black suit performed perfectly.  No chafing or seam issues on the suit equals no complaints from me.  After the race I slipped into my compression sleeves for a bit of recovery so I could get ready for my long Sunday run.  Great stuff...if you want to try it out head to their site and use this code for 20% off (20Callahan)
Speaking of fatigue from training and racing, let's talk a bit about my new training regiment.  I have decided that I need to focus my time and energy during my workouts a bit more.  The swim kind of takes care of itself as there aren't a bunch of options outside of the pool and black line.  However this has not been the case for me with cycling or running.  My coach would give me the workouts and I would head outside with the best of intentions.  It would start out well but as the training session progressed I would find myself drifting from the workout and into a "finishing" mindset.  I would shift my focus from the set program and just start focusing on the time.  This was not what my coach wanted and not how I needed to spend my valuable time.

So, how did I address this?  I moved indoors.  Now I control all the elements of my training.  I cycle train exclusively on my Powerbeam Pro indoor trainer.  This trainer is phenomenal and has allowed me to take my coach's workouts and transfer them to a very structured workout session.  Now my 1 hour rides are truly 1 hour rides and I hit all of my coach's goals, whether it be a threshold, tempo or recovery workout, I am hitting the goals.  I have also begun to do the same with my running.  Moving all my running to the treadmill.  This has been a bit more difficult transition as it has required a lot more mental determination than the trainer has (not sure why).  I will be interested to see how the first few months of this new training goes, but I am excited about the early results.  Oh yeah, and this also means that I won't get clipped by some 16 year old girl on her cell phone, so that makes the fiancee happy.

Well, off to bed with my SLS3 compression tights on to get ready for my morning ride and Buster Britton this Saturday.  This will be another hilly and hot race so hopefully I can keep the streak rolling.