Good work today

Today was encouraging! Just being back home and getting somewhat normal sleep and making a nice chicken dinner really helps I think.

On the bike I spun easy for an hour and then did: 30min/10/10/10@250 watts with 5 minutes easy in between. This power is 91% of my current 275 watt FTP. It is also 85% of my 2007 FTP of 293 watts. 85% is roughly my targeted work rate for a Half-ironman effort. My plan is to try to drive my FTP up to 293 or so again and then try to train myself to be able to complete a computrainer workout that looks something like: 60 min/30/30@250 watts with 5 easy in between. If I can get there before Oceanside (and Steelhead for that matter) I should be able to deliver a very competitive bike split.

To put this in perspective. The last time I did Eagleman I did a 2:24 on an average power of 221 watts. This is 23.3 mph. At 250 watts, theoretically, I'd be able to go 4.2% faster (given the cubic relatiobship between power and speed) than this or 24.3 mph. this would translate into a 2:18. There just aren't many guys in my AG that can touch that. It's a long way from 30/10/10/10 to 60/30/30 but that's where I'm heading. Next week I'll do 40/20/10 and we'll see how it goes.

After the bike I went right out and ran 6 miles at a comfy 8:30 pace. I thought my knee might tweak out on me but I really focused on my left leg alignment and I was able to run pain free after the first 5 minutes. People now tell me that I look like I'm limping when i run which is probably a reflection of my management of my gait to minimize the pain. My recent streak of stronger running continues and I'm thinking about pushing into the 40s next week--before we head to Rome.

Then did an easy 2000 yards in the pool--just maintenance work. My real swim work won't begin untill January.

Almost 4 hours of work today and reasonable quality. I feel pretty good. It's only December 17th. I'm very motivated. 2011 could get good.