STATS:
Swimming: 20,200yds in 5 sessions
Cycling: 256 mi in 4 sessions
Running: 42 mi in 6 sessions
Total: 24.1 hrs
Ave Weight: 164 lbs

GOALS FOR LAST WEEK:
Last week was my last week with an endurance focus and this week I will switch my focus to race pace intensity for the next 4 weeks.

* Continue to be patient and keep everything under LT minus 10 bpm (155 bpm bike & 165 bpm run).
* Continue to focus on nutrition.  Need to drop 2-4 more lbs by Clearwater in November.
* One strength session.
* Swim 20K, Bike 300 mi, Run 42 mi

RECAP:
I hit my swim and run goals this past week but I missed my Wednesday bike ride due to a hectic schedule.  I had to make a choice between my run or bike and I chose the run.  I also didn't get in any strength sessions this week so I absolutely need to do some strength work next week.......at least in my problem areas.  I did a pretty good job with my maintenance routine but I just didn't log it so can't remember exactly how much time I spent in that area.  I know I did it 4 days though.  My workouts for the week were quite a success and it looks like the 6 weeks of bigger volume definitely have my aerobic system very fine tuned and topped off. 

On Tuesday I did 30 mins at HIM effort on the bike (what I call Steady) which is about LT minus 10-15 bpm (155-160 bpm).  I did my steady work on the IOS ride and pullled the small group for 30 mins from the base of the last hill on West Blvd to the stop sign before turning left on Steele Creek.  My average HR was 160 bpm and average pace was 25.5 mph which I thought was pretty good for that course since it's got some pretty decent hills.

On Thursday I did a run workout of 6 X 60s hills and did 1/2 mile of steady before and after the hills @ 5:31 pace.  My legs were a little tight but that's expected at the end of the 6 week block.

On Saturday I took a bunch of pulls during my 100 miler at steady efforts for about 5-10 mins.  This wasn't a planned workout but got in some work anyway.  Then on Sunday I had my 2 X 3 miles Steady (HIM) running workout where I wanted to see what paces would correlate to 165-170 bpm.  I was actually very surprised since my paces at these HRs have never been this fast (maybe aside from college).  I ran this workout at McAlpine which is gravel and as flat as it gets.  Here were my splits on my Garmin:

1 mi wu @ 6:28 pace (134 bpm ave)

3 mi Steady (SPLITS):
Mile 1: 5:35 (153 ave)
Mile 2: 5:32 (157 ave)
Mile 3: 5:32 (160 ave)

1/2 mile easy (downed a 20 oz Mtn Dew)

3 mi Steady (SPLITS):
Mile 1: 5:27 (152 ave)
Mile 2: 5:15 (166 ave)
Mile 3: 5:07 (168 ave)

1/2 mile cd

GOALS FOR NEXT WEEK:
Next week I plan on taking a 3 day recovery block to start off the week since I am feeling some residual fatigue and can tell that my mood is starting to change for the worse.  After that I will keep my volume a bit lower and continue to focus on 1/2 Ironman intensities in my workouts.

* Early recovery focus then very specific shorter workouts.
* Continue to focus on nutrition.  Need to drop 2-4 more lbs by Clearwater in November.  Need to stop eating desserts since I'm 6 weeks out.
* One strength session.
* Swim 15K, Bike 175 mi, Run 30 mi

NEXT WEEK'S KEY SESSIONS:
* Thursday Swim: 2000m Long Course TT.
* Thursday Bike: 45 mins Steady (LT minus 10-15 bpm :: 155-160 bpm) ~25-26 mph
* Sunday Run: 2 X 4 miles Steady (LT minus 10-15 bpm :: 165-170 bpm) ~5:25-5:35 pace 

THOUGHTS:
I'm very pleased with my initial HIM intensity workouts.  My paces are either right where they need to be on race day or even faster than they need to be and I've got 6 more weeks of specific prep work to increase them further.  I started taking the whole First Endurance Nutrition System a few weeks ago and I think it's helping me to recover from my workouts faster.  The added electrolytes in the EFS Drink and Liquid Shot seems to force me to drink more water which is very important for me since I have a very high sweat rate.  I've also been taking the Multi-V and OptygenHP every day and have been taking the Ultragen recovery drink after each tough session.  So far I've been overly pleased with all of the products and so far my favorite flavors are the Lemon Lime EFS Drink and the Ultragen Orange Creamsicle recovery drink.

Aside from training I've been pretty busy with work and a new idea for a website that I hope to have completed by December.  I've been laying the foundation for it over the past couple of weeks and have the database structure finished.  It is related to triathlon but that's all I'm going to say for now.  I'm having a lot of fun mining data and thinking through the concept.  Stay tuned.