Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon: January Training Recap

Wow, that went by quickly.  Hard to believe we are already 4 weeks into our training for 2013.  Lets hope February goes by just as fast.  Overall, this was a pretty successful month of training.  I continued to build on the foundation that was built over the holidays.  I've settled into the following training schedule:

Monday:  Speed work - I warm up for 1.5 to 2 miles then do a series of 6 intervals of 800s.  My pace for these intervals are slightly faster than my 5K pace.  I rest for 400 in between intervals and then another mile cool down.

Tuesday:  Spin class at Psycle Therapy

Wednesday:  Swimming

Thursday:  Spin class at Psycle Therapy

Friday:  Swimming

Saturday:  Cycling / Run brick training

Sunday:  Swike!!  Swim / Cycling brick training

I'm pretty satisfied with the results i've seen in my riding and running this year.  We were fortunate to have a couple 60 degree days here.  It was a gift from Mother Nature to get outside and see where I was at and I was very satisfied.  Swimming was another story.  My form this offseason has improved dramatically.  Unfortunately, my endurance in the pool hasn't improved.  I've narrowed it down to not sitting high enough in the water.  Its been a struggle keeping my butt high in the water.  To help counteract this, I've been doing more work in the pool with a pull buoy.  I really didn't want to do this as I wanted to swim the bulk of my training without it, but in the long run.  Its not as big of a deal as i'm making it as I will be racing again this year in a wetsuit.  I'm a bigger guy, so its hard for me to stay higher in the water.

Thanks to Bryan @TriDocB for this photo.  I was having a swim panic meltdown about my training and this helped a lot.

Here's the totals from this past month:

Miles ran:  53.53

Miles ridden:  484.24

Miles swam:  8.38

Total miles:  526.16

Calories burned:  37,548

Time training:  40:01

I hope everyone's training is going as well as mine.  February will be much more of the same for me. I may even sprinkle in some 5k's and Indoor Triathlons!!

BEAL

You asked, Siri answers.

I was lucky enough to be due for a cellular contract renewal and even luckier to be one of the first to get the new iPhone 5.  This will be my 4th iPhone, so it's safe to say.  I'm a big fan of them.  Since this will be my first with Siri.  To have some fun, I decided to let people on Twitter and Facebook  choose some questions for Siri.  Below is what you guys requested.

Question:  Where's the closet place to find bacon?

Siri:  I found 11 restaurants in your area whose reviews mention the word bacon.


Question:  Talk dirty to me?

Siri:  The carpet needs vacuuming.


Question:  What mile will Christian Heller puke during his marathon?

Siri:  Searched the web and found Christian's blog.


Question:  Where have you been all my life?

Siri:  There are 15 churches in your area.


Question:  Where is the meat?

Siri:  I found 4 restaurants in your area that mention meat.


Question:  When will the Cleveland Browns win the Superbowl?

Siri:  Sorry, even I can't predict the future.


Question:  Where do the cougars hang out in Westlake, Ohio?

Siri:  According to reviews.  Savannah Bar and Grill is a cougar hang out.


Question:  How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Siri:  I imagine ground hogs would prefer a different question by now.


Question:  What is a cheater bike?

Siri:  According to reviews, the Specialized Shiv is a cheater bike.