07/08/07: The Week in Review

The good, the bad and....well, there wasn't really any ugly.

Let's start with the bad. I got a speeding ticket on the way home from last night's beach run. I vaguely recall someone warning me about a lot of cops being out a week or so ago. Yip - Lori was right.....enough said.

Now, if I may, a bit of a divergance - and since it's my blog I certainly may....I'm a pretty tolerant person, although there's one thing that absolutely drives me up a wall - selfishness.

Imagine this: you join a swimming group for the sole purpose of improving your swimming technique while building some endurance. You have a coach for spefically that purpose. The coach gives you, and the 6 or 7 other people in the lane, a set to do. 6 of the people are doing it, and one person decides that they'd rather do their own thing and are slowly paddling along doing the backstroke, while everyone else is trying to swim. Can you guess what happens? Total gridlock in our lane :(

When I politely point out to the person in question that she's holding everyone else up and that with this many people in the lane she really needs to be doing the same thing as the rest of us, she of course realized how frustrating we were getting with her holding us all up, right? Of course not; instead, I had to hear about how things were at the pool three years ago. UGGGHHHH.....

Note to self: never mud wrestle with a pig. You get dirty and the pig likes it.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Now, onto the good.....

This week I had planned 10 hours: 3 swim, 4.25 bike and 2.75 run.

I ended up with 12.31 hours:

Swimming: 4.5 hours, going 4.1 miles. I'm ok going over here. I had originally build my plan around 3 1 hour swims. The group swims are 1 1/2 hours each. Plus, since swimming is 0 impact and doesn't take too much of an aerobic toll, no harm done.

Biking: 5.06 hours, going 88.73 miles. The overage came today on a group ride. I was scheduled to do a 2 1/2 hour ride today. The group ride was slated for 50-60 miles. We ended up doing 58 miles in just over three hours. The nice thing about riding in a group is drafting. It made for a very easy ride, even with the time I spend up front pulling. Overall I went over the schedule by 45 minutes - I can live with that, especially since today's ride was pretty easy, even if it was longer than I had planned. After the ride I ate pretty much everything in sight, even though I drank 750 calories worth of perpetuem plus had 2 gels on the ride (another 200 calories). Hmmm....

Running: 2.75 hours, going 17.96 miles: right on target. I particularly enjoyed running on the beach at low tide last night, which is by far my favorite run. Fortunately, if you don't like the weather in Florida, wait 15 minutes, it'll change. At 7:15 there was a severe thunderstorm watch and heavy downpoors at the beach. By 7:30 it was sunny with a beatuful rainbow over the ocean......

Overall, a very good week. Time to go eat again :)

07/06/07: Update

Lori was busily crafting a response, but was sidetracked when she felt the sudden need to immediately inventory all of her personal care items, ensuring that I wasn't using any of them as "gear"....

Stay tuned.....

07/06/07: Priceless

1st, a quick training update:

Last night's swim went well. Seems like I'm making progress every time I hit the pool, with much thanks and gratitude to Greg, the masters swimming coach. When I 1st started swimming with him, I was swimming 3 min / 100 with a certain amount of effort. I'm now swimming 2:20-2:30 with virtually no effort. Still slow by any standard, but major progress nonetheless, so I'm happy with it and look forward to continued massive improvement. That is, by the way, what keeps me going to the pool every Tuesday and Thursday night after work when there are about 100 other things I'd rather be doing.

When I got home from the pool it was running time, since I promised myself that I wasn't going to skip the workout. There's a man-made pond close to my house, and it's about a 1.5 mile trip out around the pond and back, so I took Kramer with me (of course). He used to be great for 3-4 miles. Unfortunately, after being a sedated, lifeless ball of fur for a month (see previous days musings), not so much anymore. He did great for the 1st 1.25. The last little bit we had a nice walk back. Of course, he was a trooper and got some nice, well-deserved water and treats when we got home. I then headed out for the rest of my run.

I inserted about 6 20 second accelerations into the rest of my run, with a few minutes in between each, to work on running form. Overall run was 45 minutes and 4.75 miles.

Since I have plans for tonight (see tomorrow's blog entry), this morning it was up early and on the bike on the trainer for a 45 minute recovery ride. Nothing too interesting to report, so on to the fun stuff.

More often than not, it's the little things in life that make all the difference. For my most recent example, let's discuss the aero bottle for a bit. It's a brilliantly thought of concept, making it really easy to drink while staying aero. It's a great little water bottle that fits right between the aero bars.

There's one little problem with the aero bottle - two actually, but I digress. Instead of having a top, it has a little yellow mesh-like thingamajig (yes - that's a perfectly acceptable technical term) that allows you to refill the bottle while on the go, and acts as a splash guard. What's the problem you ask? Well....if you ask anyone who has ever used one, they'll all give you the same answer. Two problems in fact:


1. Someone forgot to explain to the yellow thingamajig that it's supposed to act as a splash guard. Getting constantly splashed with water is not too bad I suppose. Having myself, my bike, my bike computer, and anything else within a 10 foot radius covered in gatorade is a bit more unpleasant.

2. Someone forgot to explain to the yellow thingamajig that it's supposed to stay in the bottle. Apparently the thingamajig has it's own agenda and would rather be lying on the road than staying in the bottle, because all it takes is going over a really small bump and it's long gone. It's actually pretty funny to see the road covered in yellow thingamajigs at some races.

What's the solution? After doing quite a bit of research (translation - searching the forum on beginnertrathlete.com), I found the ideal solution: the shower poofything (again, a technical term)



The shower poofything does an ideal job at both keeping itself and the water/gatorade in the bottle. I realize that some of you reading this right now are thinking, "DUH....doesn't everyone know that?" Well, to me this has been an earthshattering discovery, so let me enjoy it for a bit.....

Tri bike: Way too much $
AeroDrink: $14.95
Aerobracket: $11.95
Replacement parts kit with yellow thingamajig: $7.00
Gatorade Endurance: 3 for $4.00
Shower poofything: $0.94
Ability to ride without being a sticky mess from gatorade splashing all over me: PRICELESS

Ah yes, sometimes it's the little things in life.

Live with purpose....Enjoy the adventure.

PS - Lori - a minor thought: using the shower poofie thing in the shower would probably have about the same result as using my razor on your legs without telling me: really really really bad consequences!!!! :)

07/05/07: A quick training update

Gotta love having a day off of work in the middle of the week. Catch up on some sleep, stuff around the house, laundry, and still have time for some training.

Tuesdays run and swim went well. Run was just a 1/2 hour.

Swim set was 2200:

300 wu

700: 50 breast 50 swim; 50 breast 100 swim; 50 breast 150 swim; 50 breast 200 swim

4 x 150 50 kick, 50 swim, 50 pull

6 x 50 easy, medium, hard

300 cd

Yesterday I got in an hour form ride. It was particularly nice because I was able to do it outside for a change. Doing ILT drills outside is definitely a bit tougher then doing them inside on the trainer.

Last night I decided that sleep was going to be more important than waking up early to do a 45 minute run this morning, so I'm going to do a 30-45 minute run tonight after swimming.

Once again, the power of public commitment at work. Even though I know I'm not going to want to run after swimming, I pretty much have to do it now, since I typed it on here....

07/04/07: 50 Signs You're A Triathlete

50. You are over 30 and there is still someone in your life that you refer to as "coach".
49. Your last bike cost more than your first car.
48. You have peed outdoors more times in the last year than you did in your first year of university.
47. You think of mowing the lawn as a form of cross-training.
46. You've worn a heart-rate monitor to bed.
45. And it wasn't when you were sleeping.
44. You refer to the front hall of your house as the "transition area".
43. When you get home from a training session at the pool, the newspaper is just being delivered to your house.
42. You have changed more flat tires this year than light bulbs.
41. The most frequently used software program on your computer is the one that keeps track of your workouts.
40. You have no idea why they call Cal Ripken Jr. "Iron Man" when, after all, he was a baseball player.
39. The first three items on your grocery list are Gatorade, power bars, and gels.
38. When you floss at night, it's to get the bugs out of your teeth.
37. Your legs move in a cycling motion while you are asleep.
36. When you see a drop of blood, your first reaction is that you spilled some red Gatorade.
35. You know how far you biked and ran last year, to one-tenth of a kilometre.
34. You think the ultimate form of wallpaper is about 64 racing bibs.
33. A 19-year old kid who works in a bicycle shop knows more about you than your nextdoor neighbor.
32. Your children are more likely to recognize you if you put your bicycle helmet.
31. You have a vanity license plate with the word "Kona" in it.
30. About half the shirts you own have at least a dozen logos on the back of them.
29. You don't find the word "fartlek" in the least bit amusing.
28. When you refer to your "partner", you mean neither your spouse nor the co-owner of your business but the person you run or bike with three times a week.
27. You shave your legs more often than your wife.
26. The closest you came to punching somebody was when they disagreed with your position on whether wearing a wetsuit amounts to cheating.
25. It doesn't feel right that you can't "clip " in and out of the pedals in your car.
24. There is a group of people in your life about whom you are more likely to know how fast they can swim 100 metres than their surnames or occupations.
23. Some of the shorts you wear today are tighter than the ones you wore in high school.
22. You are frustrated with the latest Garmin Forerunner because its live readings have a margin of error of approximately three per cent.
21. There's a separate load of laundry every week that is just your workout clothes.
20. One of your goals this year is to be faster at getting out of your wetsuit.
19. You failed high school chemistry but you could teach a course on lactic acid.
18. All you want for Christmas is something called a carbon crank set.
17. You wore a digital watch to your wedding.
16. You have to have completely separate meals from your spouse because he or she is on a lowcarb diet.
15. Your bicycle is in your living room.
14. You have stocked up on a brand of cereal because it has a coupon that will save you money on your next two pairs of running shoes.
13. In order to establish a new personal best, you considered peeing without getting off your bike.
12. One of your proudest moments is when you lost a toenail.
11. When a car follows too closely behind you, you accuse the driver of "drafting".
10. When you went for a job interview, you wrote your social security number on your arm in black marker.
9. Your spouse cried during Terms of Endearment; you cried during the television coverage of the Hawaii Ironman.
8. You are comfortable discussing the sensitivity of your nipples with other guys.
7. Your spouse is looking forward to the day when you will slow down and just run marathons.
6. You have paused in front of the mirror in your wetsuit and thought, "Hey, I look like Spiderman."
5. You see no issue with talking about treatments for chafing or saddle rash at the dinner table.
4. You recently asked your spouse out for dinner by asking if he or she wanted to "fuel up" together.
3. For you, "bonking" no longer has a sexual connotation.
2. The magazine secretly tucked under your mattress has pictures of really expensive bicycles in it.

And the No. 1 sign you're a triathlete:

1. Most of this list doesn't seem like a joke to you.

07/03/07: Another Day....

...another 3.5 miles....

Since having started training for the Rock n Roll Marathon back in Jan 06, I've taken very little time off from training. I've rested for a couple of weeks after both marathons and after the 1/2 ironman, and that's about it. Other than those few brief periods, it's been training as usuual 4-6 (and sometimes 7) days a week. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy every 4th week, aka recovery week?

What's my point? Lately it seems like one workout just runs into the next. I don't seem to really give them too much thought anymore. When I first started training for the marathon, every day seemed like a new challenge. That's no longer the case.

Most days start off with: alarm clock goes off WAY too early...what day is it? Tuesday....ok - I need to get up and run...but it's REALLY early and I want to sleep in....I can sleep after the ironman - suck it up, get up and run....so I get up and run.....

Becuase I do like having a quite a bit of variety in my life, I of couse have an alternative...alarm clock goes off WAY too early...what day is it? Wednesday....ok - I need to get up and bike...but I want to sleep in....I can sleep after the ironman - get up and bike....but it's dark out and I hate being on the trainer...too bad....suck it up......so I get up and bike.....

Ahhh - much better - variety....

Thus another 3.5 miles this morning...

This sarcasm has been sponsored today by.....oh yeah - I still don't have any sponsors...nevermind.....

Speaking of variety, tonight's a swim, which is always full of variety, thanks to good coaching. Plus, as an added bonus, my stellar swimming ability has led me to one very important and very enlightening conclusion: any swimming night that I don't drown is a very good night. Let's hope for a very good night tonight.

:)

There's a local 5k tomorrow that I'm thiking about doing - may be fun to push myself a bit and see how much time I can take off of last year's. I'm also considering doing another local sprint tri on the 14th. As much as I enjoy racing the sprints now, since the whole race only takes a bit over an hour, I'll still have to get in an hour swim, three hour ride and 1.75 hour run...hmmm...have to give that one some thought.

I hope everyone has a fantastic (and safe) holiday!!

Live with Purpose. Enjoy the Adventure.

07/02: One Down....

One training block down....5 to go. Somehow that sounds better to me than 18 weeks to go.

Bike time trial was great on Friday. With all of the longer, slower, "easier" workouts that make up the vast majority of training, it's nice to be able to go really hard on occasion. For the last couple of months I had been using a guesstimate for my biking lt based on my running lt, which I did test. I was close, although a little high. As it turns out, my biking lt is 171, versus the 175 I had been using. Close enough.....(lt = lactate threshold = aerobic vs anaerobic).

Gotta love recovery weeks. I enjoyed a complete day off on Saturday, which was especially nice after trashing my legs on the bike Fri night. Sunday I enjoyed one of my absolute favorite activities - a really long afternoon nap - the thunderstorms blowing through the area certainly helped that along.

I was scheduled for a 2 hour brick, and since it was still raining, I hopped on the trainer for 1:15 ride and did a 30 minute run. I've already whined enough about biking on the trainer, so I'll leave that part alone for the time being. Don't worry....over the next 18 weeks I'm quite certain I'll complain about it several more times....

Overall, the 1st 4 weeks went really well. So far I've swam 12 miles, biked 205 miles and ran almost 54 miles, logging a total of 35 hours. YIKES - looking at the numbers, I suddenly feel very tired....

So far everything's right on track. Thanks to www.breakingthetape.com for making it so easy to track all of the training and link the numbers to my blog (shameless plug).

My reward for all of the hard work (and long afternoon naps)? Lori made us a fantastic dinner last night. Thank You Lori!! Ahhh - the way to an athlete's heart....

:)

Live with Purpose....Enjoy the Adventure