Don’t be a wuss. I know winter is a ways away but I’m starting to think about the winter training to come so I thought I’d make a couple notes about winter training. The nice thing about winter training is it scares a lot of people away. If you can train through the winter you will be killing those guys in the spring races. Read the rest of this entry »
Best Bike Workouts
August 23, 2010Here are some of my favorite bike workouts. They are my favorites because they are fun but also help me drop time in my racing. These aren’t base workouts they are for building speed and anaerobic endurance. Once you have your endurance base build you can start incorporating some of these workouts into your weekly schedule. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | 
Training | 
Permalink
Posted by flerdahl
Weight Training Program Phase 1
August 21, 2010Now that my life is calming down a bit after the wedding I’ve started exercising again. Race season is a ways away so I’ve started a lifting program. I’ve figured that muscular strength and endurance might be one of my bigger limiters. My resting heart rate is usually really low and I figure my cardio strength is pretty solid. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Training | Permalink
Posted by flerdahl
Closing thoughts and epilogue
July 20, 2010Well now that my racing season is over its time to spend some good time reflecting on what I did or didn’t accomplish. As far as racing is concerned I got faster at running cycling and swimming just not at the same time. I’m a little disappointed that my swim is at its best in July when my run was at it’s best in March and my bike at its best in June. On the other hand I am excited that I’ve seen my swim improve big minutes from last year to this year. I know I ran a 17:40 5k after a 30 mile ride training in February and I can get back to that level. My best race this year: Lake Havasu Triathlon, 2:09 for a pretty difficult Olympic distance race. 22:15 swim, 1:06 bike, 38:15 run plus transitions.
The positives of this season are many. I made a few choices that sacrificed training and racing for other more important things. Besides preparing for my upcoming wedding I was able to keep my full tuition scholarship and do lots of other important things. No regrets.
The next athletic step is the 10k open water marathon swim in august. If you know me you should know I can’t sit around and do nothing. I’m hoping to do the swim under three hours averaging a little faster than 30 minutes per mile. Last night I saw 4 miles. 550 warm up 100o kick no breaks no fins under 20 minutes then 3 miles straight, the last mile in 26:40. I think I should be able to go under 3 hours for the 6.2 miles if I sight well and have a wetsuit.
2 Comments | Lifestyle, Racing | Permalink
Posted by flerdahl
Resting Heart Rate, a glimpse into the Mind of an Endurance Junkie
June 21, 2010Ok, If you aren’t some sort of endurance junkie then you might not appreciate the significance of a low resting heart rate. Resting heart rate can be as exciting to endurance athletes as the bench press max and the 40 yard dash times are to pro football players. Its really exciting to see if you have a lower than normal resting heart rate because that means each time your heart beats it pumps more blood than an “untrained heart” would. According to Wikipedia the average RHR for health adults is between 60-80 BPM (beats per minute). Read the rest of this entry »
3 Comments | Lifestyle | Permalink
Posted by flerdahl
Benchmark Workouts
June 21, 2010Last week I had a couple good benchmark workouts. I like to use specific workouts that are going to be the same each time I do them so I can measure my fitness. You will find that you can improve faster if you can measure your fitness and get feedback on what you are doing. In order to really test how your fitness is doing you need to find workouts that can be controlled. You don’t want to measure your bike fitness on a road that has tons of traffic and lights for example. Read the rest of this entry »
Epic Trail Run
June 15, 2010A couple weeks ago today I went for a 90 min (actually 91:30) run. I’m engaged to a girl who lives about 40 minutes from where I live so I often do workouts in her neighborhood after I get off work. There are lots of nice biking/hiking/running trails in the foothills by her house so I decided to go exploring. Read the rest of this entry »
Finding a Balance
May 25, 2010Triathlon can be as demanding as you want it to be. Sadly you don’t have any guarantees it will be as rewarding as you want it to be. The thing that makes triathlon training and racing difficult for me is the realization that my success is almost completely up to me, the amount of time I spend carefully training largely determines I success. The reason this becomes a dilemma for myself and many athletes that I train and race with is that we want to become great triathletes. Most triathletes are overachievers to some degree, many of us are chronic perfectionist, and some of us put extraordinary pressure on ourselves to succeed. This is why it can be hard to find a balance that allows the rewards from racing to match the demands it puts on you. Read the rest of this entry »
