Category Archives: Testing

How did you spend your Saturday? 112mi/6hr bike, 6mi/1hr run

Excellent bike and brick run on Saturday 🙂 Race rehearsal time, so 112 miles on the bike in 5:57:38, and then a 1 hour brick run _easy_ to get dialed into my Ironman target run pace of 10:00/mile + :30 (10:30/mile) … Continue reading

Posted in Achieving Goals, Biking, Cycling, Dad's Blog Posts, Ironman, Planning, Racing, Testing, Training | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Pondering my ‘final’ bike training zones

With 8 weeks before Ironman, 5-6 weeks of training, and a 2-3 week taper, I’m starting to _really_ get serious …alright…you’ve probably thought that I’m pretty serious up to now …that was me being relaxed 🙂 With my last bike … Continue reading

Posted in Achieving Goals, Biking, Cycling, Dad's Blog Posts, Planning, Testing, Training | Tagged , | 2 Comments

5K run test: new 41 vDOT wow! 4:22:00 Ironman run ‘possible’

Looks like shedding those few pounds has indeed helped my running speed 🙂 …the goal that I set for myself 9 months ago on December 7, 2010, was to be at a vDOT of 41 prior to Ironman Florida, to set up … Continue reading

Posted in Achieving Goals, Dad's Blog Posts, Ironman, Ironman Florida, Planning, Racing, Testing, Weight loss | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Bike Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 270-280 Watts

Trying to fit in my bike test this week was a bit of a challenge…particularly since I also wanted to get in a running test, and be back at normal training volume for the weekend. …and I also will be … Continue reading

Posted in Achieving Goals, Biking, Cycling, Dad's Blog Posts, Ironman, Ironman Florida, Planning, Racing, Running, Testing, Training | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

1 day off from exercise…too funny that it’s noteworthy

We took a little trip out-of-town this past Labor Day weekend, so in the spirit of ‘recovery’ and ‘vacation’, I actually took 1 day off from exercise …only noteworthy, since it was my first day off from exercise in 6 weeks 🙂 … Continue reading

Posted in Achieving Goals, Biking, Cycling, Dad's Blog Posts, Ironman, Ironman Florida, Planning, Racing, Recovery, Running, Testing, Training | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

staying the course 205 to 185…losing 20 pounds

With my weigh-in on Friday at 189, I again pondered what my weight goal should be. When I started on July 9, 8 weeks ago, I was at 205 pounds, and set an initial goal to be at 195 in 4 … Continue reading

Posted in Achieving Goals, Dad's Blog Posts, Planning, Testing, Weight loss | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Biking in the wind…a few lessons learned

Fun day on the bike yesterday, off the back end of Hurricane Irene…no rain left, but still windy…18MPH (29KPH) gusting to 26MPH (42KPH)…and hot…going out the door at 76F (24C), and finishing at 88F (31C)., with dripping humidity. So with a planned 4 hour ride in … Continue reading

Posted in Achieving Goals, Biking, Cycling, Dad's Blog Posts, Ironman Florida, Planning, Racing, Testing, Training | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

and yes, I’m also biking…fast…and long

A lot of recent focus on kicking my swimming up a notch…and yes, I’m also biking and running 🙂 Yesterday’s bike ride is a good example of my long ride with HIT (High Intensity Training) for almost half of it…typically every Saturday…I … Continue reading

Posted in Achieving Goals, Cycling, Dad's Blog Posts, Ironman, Ironman Florida, Planning, Racing, Testing | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Swimming…getting faster…cool

Taking an almost painfully methodical approach to improving my swimming appears to be producing some results…nice Over the past month, Coach Dinah Mistilis and I set out a plan to find my particular combination of stroke rate and stroke length that … Continue reading

Posted in Achieving Goals, Dad's Blog Posts, Swimming, Testing | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

12 hour Ironman…maybe, just maybe on a brilliant day

As a followup of my recent post about the possibility of a 12 hour Ironman https://irondaughterirondad.com/iron-dads-12-hour-ironman-goal-can-it-be-done/ here’s what I’m seeing based on my most recent training results: Swim: 1:20:00 / 1:55/100 yards This is going to be a stretch…swimming in a … Continue reading

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Swimming: time to get serious

A funny moment at the pool on Friday when Coach Dinah Mistilis told me that the folks at Total Immersion (TI) had noticed a recent mention in one of my posts: https://irondaughterirondad.com/swimming-efficiency-finding-my-stroke-rate/ …and had pointed it out to the TI instructor staff …like everywhere…so … Continue reading

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Swimming efficiency: finding my stroke rate

My work in the pool continues with trying to find the correct balance between stroke rate and stroke length, to move me through the water as efficiently as possible at a sustainable effort …the chart summarizes the Total Immersion goals for the … Continue reading

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5K run test: new 39 vDOT

I was reminded today of why most age group athlete’s don’t test their fitness level very often…if ever…it’s HARD…and SUFFERING Here’s what pain looks like in a Heart Rate download chart…near the end you’ll notice the little notch above my … Continue reading

Posted in Achieving Goals, Dad's Blog Posts, Planning, Racing, Running, Testing, Training | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Bike Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test result: 270 Watts

Well, the steady improvement continues as my FTP test on the bike today indicates a new 270 Watt FTP Personal Record (PR) …alright…YEAH! …okay…enough of that…another move upward from the last 2: April 4, 263W,  (1 month ago) Janury 3, 249W (4 months ago) … Continue reading

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Great early season results!

Congratulations to all our friends that were racing this weekend…some excellent results out there! Iron Anne Boone was once again first and only in her Try Charleston Half Ironman 65-69 Age category, racing faster than her time goal, and almost 15 minutes … Continue reading

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