Sunday, February 15, 2009

Sleep is Overrated

Sleep is a valuable commodity to triathletes, especially those who do most of their training early in the morning. I went to bed a little later than normal last night knowing I could afford to get up a bit later for my workout. I'm normally up at 5, often without the need of an alarm, giving me 7 hours of sleep. So at 4:20 AM, I hear Jasmine, our Weimaraner, wretching out in the living room. I sprinted out of bed and tried to get her outside before she did any more damage. That involved opening the door to 20 degrees while in my skivies. Needless to say, the chances of my falling aspeep were slim. I tried, but finally got up at 5. Damn.

Had a good training week, about 11.5 hours. The highlight was my long bike session of the season, two hours. That included a 60 minute time trial in the middle. After downloading the Powertap data, I see my power curve is about 30 watts higher for efforts longer than 20 minutes compared to last year. Good deal. The bike is fairly flat at Tuscaloosa, so I'll need a consistent effort. I wont worry about the shorter, more intense efforts for another several weeks.

2 comments:

  1. Hey STeve!!!! I'm so glad you joined us out here in blog land! It does feel a bit strange at first. I agree. I was very hesitant to jump in. And as I told you, I keep it to myself unless someone asks. It's great for advice or just to get overall support from others involved in this lifestyle.
    sorry you were woken up early on the day you were supposed to sleep in. It Always seems to work that way doesn't it. I've been battling with sleep this past week.
    Thanks for your comment on my blog yesterday. I couldn't imagine who was giving me this great advice and then today discovered it was you! thanks!!!

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  2. ummmmm hello! I'm not on blogs you follow yet! What is up with that!
    My dog pissed all over the bathroom floor this morning if it makes you feel any better.... but that was at like seven a.m., so I suppose I shouldn't complain. Sleep is not overrated. I'm going to have to disagree with that sentiment. :)
    Re Race schedule: I've done Cohasset the last two years. It's a great race. And we'll see you at Mooseman! Ange and I are coming up early and we're doing the 1/2 the next day.
    bye, mary

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