Woohoo!!! I weighed myself Mon am -- 195.8! Now I know that is b/c I am dehydrated from the 80 mile ride yesterday, but I will take it. After all, that is after having a large bowl from 1 Fresh for lunch/dinner yesterday -- black rice, 2 chicken, 2 egg, carrots, spinach, black bean, corn, sweet baby rays bbq sauce, and raisins. Mmmm mmmm good.
The next few weekends are gonna be pretty interesting. Next weekend I have either the Dothan crit (followed the next day with a metric or full century ride) or Springtime Tallahassee 10k. The weekend after that is Red Hills Sprint Tallahassee. Two weeks later is Beach Blast, then May 7 is the bike relay of gulf coast 70.3
So anyway, I slept like crap last night. I felt bad this am, so I decided to sleep in and skip the morning swim. I will try to make up for it by swimming at lunch. Figured sleep was more important right now.
Tue -- Swam 1000 or so short course at Morcom. 30 min eash on stationary bike pm. Still 195.8
Wed -- went to the pool and started my 12 week swim program all over (swimming workouts for triathletes). Last week was week 12, so I had to restart. Last time I did the shorter workouts, but this time I am going to do the longer workouts. I think my body can handle longer distances now. So my first workout was Test 1. Basically determine my threshold pace. Since this morning at Trousdale was long course, my T100 pace test was done in meters. Last time I did a T100m test wa 2/14 and my average pace was 1:53 (yes, slow, I know). Today I pushed pretty hard, but have changed my stroke somewhat (today). I tried to focus on anchoring my catch in the water and then using my hips/core to glide over the catch -- rather than use my catch shoulder to propel me forward. Anyway, mt new T100 is 1:47! I can live with that. The test was 3x300, with each set of 300 having to be within 20 sec of the other two sets. My times were 5:19, 5:22, 5:20. I know in the big pix it is slow, but I am very happy with knocking 6 seconds off in a month and a half. Oh yeah, still 195.8. Will take it, but I have got to get lower. Would love to make that 175.8, but I gotta take it in stages. First break 195, then break 190, then 185, 180, then to 175 and re-evaluate how I feel.
Thurs -- Insanity in the morning. I still get my ass kicked doing insanity, but I can tell that it is making my core stronger. In all honesty I really, really need to do more core work. I got off to a late start that afternoon, but still managed to run 7 miles at Tom Brown in about 80-85 min. I really enjoy these runs. Cool weather, breeze, running on mtn bike and multi-use trails. I do run with my droid and headphones, but use the music to keep me company.
Friday. April Fool's day. While I weigh myself every day, I record all my measurements on the 1st and 15th of each month. So today, 195.6 lbs, 56.7 water %, 23.6 body fat %, 45.7 muscle %, bone density 6.0. So looking at the trend the last few months, my weight is slowly dropping (not slow enough), h2o is maintaining, body fat has dropped a couple of percentage points, and muscle mass had gained a percentage point.I still don't really understand bone density, but it hasn't changed and my bones are pretty freaking hard anyway so I am not that worried. Morning workout was Trousdale. Swam 3400 am, longest swim to date. Took me 1:18:xx, but it was a mixture of swim, kick, pull, and form drills so time and distance did not really correlate. Friday night Sissy and I met Eric (my bro), Christie (my sis-in-law) and Charlie and Sandy at The Filling Station in Mid-town for dinner. It was a last minute thing, but lots of fun. Springtime Tally was the next day so we had to cut it short.
The rest of the weekend will be in my next post.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Week 12
So here we are... the infamous week 12.... Last year while training for August 70.3 week 12 is when the wheels fell off and I turned a recovery week into a recovery month. That has not happened this year... yet.
Strange, but my first year, the wheels fell off 6 weeks into a 12 week schedule. The second year (last year), the wheels fell of 12 weeks into a 18 week schedule. So I expect for this year the wheels to fall off around week 15-16, which just might take me to the taper for IMFL. So, cross you fingers.
This week has been very... interesting. I was bitten by a spider Sat, and the infection kept getting worse (the infection was swollen, angry red and 8cm in diameter) so I decided to go to the doc mon am. antibiotics and steorids later, it has slowly gotten better during the week. So for some reason I wore a blue shirt on Monday. Last time I did that, our General Counsel announced she was leaving to go to another agency. So this Monday... the Commissioner announced that he was resigning effective end of school year. Blue Shirt Monday sucks donkey-balls. Big time. Gets worse, b/c later that week the chair of the SBE resigned in protest of the Commissioner's handling. So we had an emergnecy SBE meeting. Plus lots of "rush" legislation and contracts. All in all, a shitty, shitty, bang, bang week at work. Lots of stress and uncertanity in the future.
Training-wise, I swam Monday, Wed and Fri for the first time in a couple of weeks. Swam 3300 wed, my longest swim to date. Loved it. Rode my cx to work tue http://connect.garmin.com/activity/74582393 and then went back to the scene of the crime and rode munson hills tue pm on my "way" home. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/74582385 Wed pm I was hoping to do the Chaires ride, but had to stay late at work.So I think I just rode the stationary cycle for an hour or so wed pm. Sissy had girls night out so I broke down and had a little ceasar's large pepperoni pizza. the. whole. pizza. damn.
did a trainer ride thursday am, followed by a nice and easy trail run thurs pm at tom brown park. wonderful run. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/74911311 Friday I swam in the am, rode my bike to work, and then rode the bike home after work. It was 43 in the am, so I wore my new Gulf Winds Triathletes K-Swiss wind jacket. It rocked (and looked very stylish by the way). Really like how they did the vents. Now if I can just get some of those new K-swiss shoes.
So it is 11:42 Friday night, and I am watching FSU in the sweet 16. Currently they are down 8. Suprise, suprise. But hey, they did make it this far.
Oh yeah, on twitter this am I posted a comment to Jordan Rapp, asking him about how to work on the catch when swimming at speed (other than to practice). In fairness Rapp said that he was wearing a speedsuit to work on his catch at speed. Rappstar responded with "MORE practice." Sounds like Rapp knows me fairly well -- what I need, not necessarily what I do.
Saturday I took it easy. Did a one hour easy ride on the stationary bike in the am, followed by a 2 hour easy bike ride down the smt with the Sizzler.
Woke up Sunday am, weighed myself -- 198.6 -- seriously I gotta work on that. We started off Sunday with a swim in Lake Hall. Water was great, lot of fun George Palmer gave the Red Hills first timers transition set-up clinic and Sandy Holt gave a demo on how to put on and take off a wetsuit. I got one question -- how the hell do I get a 4-pack like that? We followed the swim up with a 80 mile hilly bike ride. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/75370609 There was a pretty big group -- Charlie, Sandy, Mike, Shannon, Brooke, and about 5 others. Nice group -- faaaaast! I held my own for the most part on the flats -- my "extra-weight" was great downhill, but I got my ass smoked time and time again uphill.
Like I said before, I seriously gotta work on loosing this freaking belly. So I have decided, no more pizza. What I really mean by that is no more Little Ceasar's Pizza (or Hungry Howie's, etc.). I will try to make my own pizza -- healty-ish if I can. And focus on portion control. But all in all -- pretty good week.
Strange, but my first year, the wheels fell off 6 weeks into a 12 week schedule. The second year (last year), the wheels fell of 12 weeks into a 18 week schedule. So I expect for this year the wheels to fall off around week 15-16, which just might take me to the taper for IMFL. So, cross you fingers.
This week has been very... interesting. I was bitten by a spider Sat, and the infection kept getting worse (the infection was swollen, angry red and 8cm in diameter) so I decided to go to the doc mon am. antibiotics and steorids later, it has slowly gotten better during the week. So for some reason I wore a blue shirt on Monday. Last time I did that, our General Counsel announced she was leaving to go to another agency. So this Monday... the Commissioner announced that he was resigning effective end of school year. Blue Shirt Monday sucks donkey-balls. Big time. Gets worse, b/c later that week the chair of the SBE resigned in protest of the Commissioner's handling. So we had an emergnecy SBE meeting. Plus lots of "rush" legislation and contracts. All in all, a shitty, shitty, bang, bang week at work. Lots of stress and uncertanity in the future.
Training-wise, I swam Monday, Wed and Fri for the first time in a couple of weeks. Swam 3300 wed, my longest swim to date. Loved it. Rode my cx to work tue http://connect.garmin.com/activity/74582393 and then went back to the scene of the crime and rode munson hills tue pm on my "way" home. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/74582385 Wed pm I was hoping to do the Chaires ride, but had to stay late at work.So I think I just rode the stationary cycle for an hour or so wed pm. Sissy had girls night out so I broke down and had a little ceasar's large pepperoni pizza. the. whole. pizza. damn.
did a trainer ride thursday am, followed by a nice and easy trail run thurs pm at tom brown park. wonderful run. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/74911311 Friday I swam in the am, rode my bike to work, and then rode the bike home after work. It was 43 in the am, so I wore my new Gulf Winds Triathletes K-Swiss wind jacket. It rocked (and looked very stylish by the way). Really like how they did the vents. Now if I can just get some of those new K-swiss shoes.
So it is 11:42 Friday night, and I am watching FSU in the sweet 16. Currently they are down 8. Suprise, suprise. But hey, they did make it this far.
Oh yeah, on twitter this am I posted a comment to Jordan Rapp, asking him about how to work on the catch when swimming at speed (other than to practice). In fairness Rapp said that he was wearing a speedsuit to work on his catch at speed. Rappstar responded with "MORE practice." Sounds like Rapp knows me fairly well -- what I need, not necessarily what I do.
Saturday I took it easy. Did a one hour easy ride on the stationary bike in the am, followed by a 2 hour easy bike ride down the smt with the Sizzler.
Woke up Sunday am, weighed myself -- 198.6 -- seriously I gotta work on that. We started off Sunday with a swim in Lake Hall. Water was great, lot of fun George Palmer gave the Red Hills first timers transition set-up clinic and Sandy Holt gave a demo on how to put on and take off a wetsuit. I got one question -- how the hell do I get a 4-pack like that? We followed the swim up with a 80 mile hilly bike ride. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/75370609 There was a pretty big group -- Charlie, Sandy, Mike, Shannon, Brooke, and about 5 others. Nice group -- faaaaast! I held my own for the most part on the flats -- my "extra-weight" was great downhill, but I got my ass smoked time and time again uphill.
Like I said before, I seriously gotta work on loosing this freaking belly. So I have decided, no more pizza. What I really mean by that is no more Little Ceasar's Pizza (or Hungry Howie's, etc.). I will try to make my own pizza -- healty-ish if I can. And focus on portion control. But all in all -- pretty good week.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Week 11
It is Tuesday morning, and I am still sore from Sunday's bike ride. My whole body hurts. My left shoulder is getting sorer and sorer from my cx crash saturday.
I slept in Mon am and did a short (40 min/1500y) recovery session in the pool Mon pm. Did insanity cardio this am, it was a 37 min "recovery" workout. Hard, but I liked it. I am seriously thinking about incorporating p90x or insanity into my triathlon training. Maybe Tue/Thurs am, and one or two sessions during the weekend. It really helps the core, which is one thing I need.
Another update, I have decided to shuffle up my eating plan (can't say diet b/c this is supposed to be change for life, not some temporary thing). So instead of counting calories with a goal of 1400 calories per day, I am going back to what was successful for me last year at this time. I got it from a book written by one of the editors for Runner's World -- something like training for endurance athletes or the like. Basically it is a modified points system. Positive points are fruits (up to 4 servings a day), veggies (up to 4 servings a day), lean protien (up to 3 servings a day), 100% whole grain (up to 3 servings a day), lowfat dairy (up to 3 servings a day), and essential fats (up to 1 serving a day). Negative points are refined grain, sweets, fried food, full-fat dairy, fatty protien. Goal is to have no negatives, and to find a good point total for positivies. Last year I was eating 25-29 points (with no negatives), and stalled at around 188 lbs. So this year I am going to see if reducing a few points (i.e, dropping the 4th serving a fruit and veggie, and the third serving of whoel grain and lowfat dairy), as the mas, which will put me at 25 points, maybe with a minimum of 20 points. May be harsh now, but I noticed last year that as I lost more and more weight I could eat less and less (i.e., I kept getting fuller and fuller eating the same amount).
This (tue) pm, I am planning on skipping intervals and riding the cx at tom brown park. My left calf is a little tight and I don't want to push it. Plus, cx is fun (when not crashing). Ended up doing cx for 90 min, toward the end my left brake started malfunctioning -- gotta look at that, but had a blast riding. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73294461
Wed I swam 2900m at Trousdale -- my left shoulder is still pretty sore from the crash so it made swimming a little tough. I have got to pay attention to my shoulder (and to pine trees on the trails). I had to work late so I missed the Chaires ride, and just decided to rest wed pm, bc my legs are pretty tired.
Thursday -- Woohoo!!! Down to 196.0!!! I haven't weighed that little since early September. Did Insanity Plyometrics Cardio this am -- kicked my ass. Time for a recovery protien shake. Also -- good news on the horizon on the triathlon front. Don't want to reveal it yet, it will probably be next month, but I will update you when I know for sure. Don't want to jinx myself.
So thursday I went on a trail run at forrest meadows. Took it nice and easy, had a blast. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73581336
Friday was swimming. 2700 or so. My left shoulder was still sore from the cx crash last weekend. I went by Doughnut Kingdom before work and took 2 doz doughnuts into work. I ended up eating 4 during the day -- red velvet, glazed, maple, and glazed. Man, they were good. Rode the stationary bike for an hour friday night.
Sat am, I still weighed 196.0 (for the 3rd day in a row -- luckily after all I ate yesterday). Walked down to Bruegers for bagel and coffe first thing in the am. Yardwork till 11. Then ran errands and finally went mtn bike riding at munson (cx is on the dl, brakes aren't working or something). http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73934611
I didn't get to bed until lat Sat night, so I slept in a little sun am, but still managed to get out to fm for 5 miles of trail running. I deliberately made myself go slow -- tried to keep my hr around 140-145, except for the last couple of minutes when I kicked it up a notch. Fun run. I would have liked to gotten out there earlier and run with the weekly group, but I know I am not ready for that yet. They are too fast for me, and if I run w/ them I will run harder than I need to and will increase the chances of reinjuring my achilles tendon.
Spoke with Sean and Mandy Hudson before my run, they are looking like they are about ready for Boston. You can tell Sean has been training hard -- he looks to have lost 5-10 lbs from last year, which when you are about 6'1 and about 178 or so to begin with, that is a significant drop (I'm ballparking these weights, etc.). Eye of the tiger bro!
I slept in Mon am and did a short (40 min/1500y) recovery session in the pool Mon pm. Did insanity cardio this am, it was a 37 min "recovery" workout. Hard, but I liked it. I am seriously thinking about incorporating p90x or insanity into my triathlon training. Maybe Tue/Thurs am, and one or two sessions during the weekend. It really helps the core, which is one thing I need.
Another update, I have decided to shuffle up my eating plan (can't say diet b/c this is supposed to be change for life, not some temporary thing). So instead of counting calories with a goal of 1400 calories per day, I am going back to what was successful for me last year at this time. I got it from a book written by one of the editors for Runner's World -- something like training for endurance athletes or the like. Basically it is a modified points system. Positive points are fruits (up to 4 servings a day), veggies (up to 4 servings a day), lean protien (up to 3 servings a day), 100% whole grain (up to 3 servings a day), lowfat dairy (up to 3 servings a day), and essential fats (up to 1 serving a day). Negative points are refined grain, sweets, fried food, full-fat dairy, fatty protien. Goal is to have no negatives, and to find a good point total for positivies. Last year I was eating 25-29 points (with no negatives), and stalled at around 188 lbs. So this year I am going to see if reducing a few points (i.e, dropping the 4th serving a fruit and veggie, and the third serving of whoel grain and lowfat dairy), as the mas, which will put me at 25 points, maybe with a minimum of 20 points. May be harsh now, but I noticed last year that as I lost more and more weight I could eat less and less (i.e., I kept getting fuller and fuller eating the same amount).
This (tue) pm, I am planning on skipping intervals and riding the cx at tom brown park. My left calf is a little tight and I don't want to push it. Plus, cx is fun (when not crashing). Ended up doing cx for 90 min, toward the end my left brake started malfunctioning -- gotta look at that, but had a blast riding. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73294461
Wed I swam 2900m at Trousdale -- my left shoulder is still pretty sore from the crash so it made swimming a little tough. I have got to pay attention to my shoulder (and to pine trees on the trails). I had to work late so I missed the Chaires ride, and just decided to rest wed pm, bc my legs are pretty tired.
Thursday -- Woohoo!!! Down to 196.0!!! I haven't weighed that little since early September. Did Insanity Plyometrics Cardio this am -- kicked my ass. Time for a recovery protien shake. Also -- good news on the horizon on the triathlon front. Don't want to reveal it yet, it will probably be next month, but I will update you when I know for sure. Don't want to jinx myself.
So thursday I went on a trail run at forrest meadows. Took it nice and easy, had a blast. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73581336
Friday was swimming. 2700 or so. My left shoulder was still sore from the cx crash last weekend. I went by Doughnut Kingdom before work and took 2 doz doughnuts into work. I ended up eating 4 during the day -- red velvet, glazed, maple, and glazed. Man, they were good. Rode the stationary bike for an hour friday night.
Sat am, I still weighed 196.0 (for the 3rd day in a row -- luckily after all I ate yesterday). Walked down to Bruegers for bagel and coffe first thing in the am. Yardwork till 11. Then ran errands and finally went mtn bike riding at munson (cx is on the dl, brakes aren't working or something). http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73934611
I didn't get to bed until lat Sat night, so I slept in a little sun am, but still managed to get out to fm for 5 miles of trail running. I deliberately made myself go slow -- tried to keep my hr around 140-145, except for the last couple of minutes when I kicked it up a notch. Fun run. I would have liked to gotten out there earlier and run with the weekly group, but I know I am not ready for that yet. They are too fast for me, and if I run w/ them I will run harder than I need to and will increase the chances of reinjuring my achilles tendon.
Spoke with Sean and Mandy Hudson before my run, they are looking like they are about ready for Boston. You can tell Sean has been training hard -- he looks to have lost 5-10 lbs from last year, which when you are about 6'1 and about 178 or so to begin with, that is a significant drop (I'm ballparking these weights, etc.). Eye of the tiger bro!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Week 10
Tue PM -- Hell, I don't know what week it is right now. Feeling a little -- no a lot -- beat down right now. Just eating crap, sleeping less, slacking in the exercise department, since Saturday. Weight seems to be stabilized around 197-200. Much better than 209, but I have definately hit a plateau. Gotta get focused again and shake things up.
I was looking forward to intervals tonight, but got my ass handed to me. 3 x 1600 again. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/72042902 I did pretty good the first mile, but my hr was anerobic the last lap and I think I popped. I just didn't have it the second mile. Third mile I had to quit at .5, and cool down. Finally managed to get it back together and finish it off.
I had no energy, felt like I was about to puke, allergies kicking, hard to breathe, etc.... I suspect it was a combination of going out too hard, sugar crash from pm snacks, left leg being tight, etc.
Probably being the first day of session didn't help any. Whole new level of stress just got dog piled on a whole lot of people. The next 60 days -- heck probably the next 9 months -- are going to suck ass big time. But I just have to remember that I can't worry about what I can't control. I just have to harness all that stress and take it out on the swim, bike and run.
Speakingn of that, time to go to bed so I can be ready to swim tomorrow AM. I am actually looking forward to waking up at 5AM to swim. Hell yeah!!!
So I forgot to set my alarm clock, so I missed the Wed AM swim. Did a few minutes of P90X AbripperX to try and make up for it. Stationary bike wed pm.
Swam 2400 thurs am in the rain. We got started late b/c pool staff did not get the pool uncovered until about 5:50 (the pool is supposed to be open and ready at 5:30) Was going to do a trail run thurs pm, but about the time I reached to turn off my computer I got an e-mail asking me to review a 100 page document asap (which meant right now b/c I was going to be out of the office friday). So, I had to stay late at work and knock it out -- which meant no trail run. When I got home I rode the stationary bike.
Woke up on time Friday and made it to the pool. Stationary bike friday pm. Did a 55 min trail run saturday with Sandy and Charlie (well, with Sandy b/c Charlie was waaaay up ahead), all I could handle. My left achilles tendon/calf was a little tight in one spot, so I didn't push that hard. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/72697325 They went for about 1:45 or so.
Saturday pm I went cx riding at Munson Hills... My bro called and wanted to go, but he was half an hour out, so I just messed around the trails some with a short out and back. The out went fine. The back was... interesting. In a set of downhill switchbacks, with two pine trees at the bottom forming a chute, I was going to bunny hop the bump in the chute until I realized the trail took a sharp left. So I tried to dive into the curve... and dove into the pine tree. Clipped my shoulder, went over the bars, across the trail, and into the woods. Ouch. Luckily, the shoulder is just bruised, but I bent my rear derailer, right hood, and seat, and broke my garmin speed/cadence sensor. And as I am sitting there in the trail, who should ride up but Doug Beason -- a good bud I haven't seen in about 8-9 years. We used to work together at DEP. Shot the breeze, caught up, etc., and headed back to the trailhead to meet my bro. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/72697322
Didn't get to bed until after midnight Sat night, so waking up early Sun for the 4 hr ride sucked. I would post my garmin, but at the first break when I took off my windbreaker I accidently stopped the timer... so no data of any use. Ultimately 74 miles, 3:74, avg was somewhere between 18.5 and 19. I was struggling, but so was everybody, so I can't complain. Fun, very cold to begin, warming up to pretty hot at the end. Did a 10 min brick after. I have really gotta lose this spare tire around my waist. Of course I say this while munching on a sugar cookie.
I was looking forward to intervals tonight, but got my ass handed to me. 3 x 1600 again. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/72042902 I did pretty good the first mile, but my hr was anerobic the last lap and I think I popped. I just didn't have it the second mile. Third mile I had to quit at .5, and cool down. Finally managed to get it back together and finish it off.
I had no energy, felt like I was about to puke, allergies kicking, hard to breathe, etc.... I suspect it was a combination of going out too hard, sugar crash from pm snacks, left leg being tight, etc.
Probably being the first day of session didn't help any. Whole new level of stress just got dog piled on a whole lot of people. The next 60 days -- heck probably the next 9 months -- are going to suck ass big time. But I just have to remember that I can't worry about what I can't control. I just have to harness all that stress and take it out on the swim, bike and run.
Speakingn of that, time to go to bed so I can be ready to swim tomorrow AM. I am actually looking forward to waking up at 5AM to swim. Hell yeah!!!
So I forgot to set my alarm clock, so I missed the Wed AM swim. Did a few minutes of P90X AbripperX to try and make up for it. Stationary bike wed pm.
Swam 2400 thurs am in the rain. We got started late b/c pool staff did not get the pool uncovered until about 5:50 (the pool is supposed to be open and ready at 5:30) Was going to do a trail run thurs pm, but about the time I reached to turn off my computer I got an e-mail asking me to review a 100 page document asap (which meant right now b/c I was going to be out of the office friday). So, I had to stay late at work and knock it out -- which meant no trail run. When I got home I rode the stationary bike.
Woke up on time Friday and made it to the pool. Stationary bike friday pm. Did a 55 min trail run saturday with Sandy and Charlie (well, with Sandy b/c Charlie was waaaay up ahead), all I could handle. My left achilles tendon/calf was a little tight in one spot, so I didn't push that hard. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/72697325 They went for about 1:45 or so.
Saturday pm I went cx riding at Munson Hills... My bro called and wanted to go, but he was half an hour out, so I just messed around the trails some with a short out and back. The out went fine. The back was... interesting. In a set of downhill switchbacks, with two pine trees at the bottom forming a chute, I was going to bunny hop the bump in the chute until I realized the trail took a sharp left. So I tried to dive into the curve... and dove into the pine tree. Clipped my shoulder, went over the bars, across the trail, and into the woods. Ouch. Luckily, the shoulder is just bruised, but I bent my rear derailer, right hood, and seat, and broke my garmin speed/cadence sensor. And as I am sitting there in the trail, who should ride up but Doug Beason -- a good bud I haven't seen in about 8-9 years. We used to work together at DEP. Shot the breeze, caught up, etc., and headed back to the trailhead to meet my bro. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/72697322
Didn't get to bed until after midnight Sat night, so waking up early Sun for the 4 hr ride sucked. I would post my garmin, but at the first break when I took off my windbreaker I accidently stopped the timer... so no data of any use. Ultimately 74 miles, 3:74, avg was somewhere between 18.5 and 19. I was struggling, but so was everybody, so I can't complain. Fun, very cold to begin, warming up to pretty hot at the end. Did a 10 min brick after. I have really gotta lose this spare tire around my waist. Of course I say this while munching on a sugar cookie.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Week 9 -- Gulf Coast is back on Track! -- sorta
Good news -- I am doing Gulf Coast -- sorta. Going to do the bike leg of a relay team. I would love to race the whole thing, but just don't want to risk re-irritating my achilles tendon. Plus this way, I can still do the Beach Blast Oly and Madison Oly -- which will be a lot gentler on my AT.
More good news -- I ran intervals Tuesday night for the first time since Nov 2. I was really worried about being slow or having my AT act up, but things turned out ok. We ended up doing 3x1600 (i.e. 3 x 1 mile runs). Obviously my times were a little slower than last year, but I was actually very impressed. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/70834810 I thought I would struggle to break 2:00 per lap, but ended mostly being in the 1:45 range, with mostly negative splits. My HR was higher than it was last year at these times, but I am not complaining b/c have not really run since November/December. For not being in running shape, I am thrilled with where I am.
I think part of what helped is that I am trying to run differently than before. Way back in the day I ran with my legs out in front of me, heels striking first. Bad, especially when overweight. I slowly worked that back to being a mid-foot striker, and worked on quicker turnover, but didn't have much push off. After watching videos of Craig Alexander, Chris Lieto, and Rinny, I am trying to be more consious about running taller, pushing off more, keeping my hips/core/chest in line, keeping my feet under, trying to have a "power band" or whatever it is called, etc. Basically I notice that I run taller and use my glutes/hamstrings more. That means less beating on my calves and quads. We will see how it works out.
Other good news. During my swim Wed morning, I was supposed to do 2750. The main set was 3x (2x100 at Tpace plus 10 RI; 4x50 at Tpace plus 10RI; 50 slow at 2:00). During the second set, my body kept saying that I was tired, needed to take it easy, and not do the third set. Well, I finished the second set, and sat there in the pool trying to decide what to do, when a little voice in the back of my mind said -- "Jason, you know that when you race you think back about all the training you did. What do you think is going to happen when you are suffering at IMFL and think back to your training and remember that you quit and didn't do the 3rd set?" So I sucked it up and did the third set. So glad that I did.
So to recap the week -- Monday was a recovery day from the Sunday bike ride. You know what I did tue and wed (rode the stationary bike we pm).
Thurs was an incredible day. I went to bed late, so decided to sleep in till 6AM. Woke up, rode the stationary cycle for 15 min to warm up, and then did P90x Plyometrics X. According to them, "it puts the X in p90x." I call BS. Compared to Insansity -- this was a recovery session. It was still hard, but nothing like Insanity at all. Still enjoyed it though, b/c I was hoping to do a trail run thursday PM.
So I managed to get out of the office at 5:30, (on time, but actually early for as busy as we are) and headed over to Tom Brown Park. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/71121604 When you reminisce about how much enjoy running -- this is the kind of run you (at least I) think about. Temp was a touch on the cool side, sun going down, absolute silence -- all I could hear was my breathing, the wisper of a breeze in my ear and the sounds of my feet on the pine straw, dirt, etc. I. was. in. heaven. Just a easy trail run. This is why I have been so misreable the last few months -- not being able to do a run like this.
So Friday I woke up on time (5AM) and hit Trousdale. Did "Workouts in a binder -- Swim workouts for Triathletes" Anerobic Endurance Workout Number 5. 3150m in 1:16:30. Reason it took so long was I did a lot of sets with a certain swim interval, so I did not keep exact times. The pool opened 15 minutes late, so by the time I was done it was 7:15 and I had to haul ass to get to work. I still had a blast, b/c that is the longest workout I have done to date (by 50m).
I ate bad Friday -- Hopkins for lunch -- Ultimate Turkey Sub, conga bar, sweet tea, sugar cookies in the pm. So I did a 90 min easy spin session on the stationary bike friday night while watching IMNZ.
Saturday, I decided to give the TRBC 5k a shot. I have not raced a 5k since the FSECC 5k on November 4 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/71337423 so I was not expecting much today. The course had some hills, and I was a little worried about re-irritating my achilles tendon(s), so I was hoping to maybe break 24 minutes. Well, I did it. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/71337423 I had forgotten how painful 5ks could be, and I didn't push that hard until the end. For most of the race I stayed a heartbeat or two below my anaerobic threshold. I was a little worried about crossing that b/c I have not been training in the "pain cave" of late. Anyway, as I sit here typing this, my legs feel fine -- although I am wearing my zoot compression socks.
So for lunch I went to Ted's Grill and had a bison burger with bbq sauce, cheese and bacon. mmmmm.... good..... and fries.... mmmm.... better..... After lunch I ran some errands -- I also went by sunshine and saw a pimped out speed concept. Holy shit!!!! If I had $8k lying around I would have bought it on the spot. It was even green like Turbo Curbeau's. http://turbeaucurbeau.wordpress.com/pictures/ The level of detail and thought that went into that bike is absolutely sick. I mean there was a fairing of sorts around the stem, etc. So I then went by Higher Ground and got some new gear for my bike.
So all motivated, I went back to the house and started working on my 2009 Felt B12. I mean my bike is freaking sweet -- so says Tom Demerly -- http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/FeltB12-2009.shtml
I did make some basic mods to my bike -- I swapped out the oem stem 130mm for a 80mm stem that is raised up an inch. I also swapped out the seat (which was pretty darn good) for a cobb saddle. But the problem is that last weekend my water bottles ejected 5 times. I now know this was from a weak o-ring on my profile design water bottle holders, but after seeing that speed concept, it was time to upgrade.
So I bought a profile design kit that puts a water bottle horizontal on (i.e., perpendicular to) the aerobars. I have other things (40 oz. speedfill -- which mounts where the water bottles are mounted on the seattube/downtube -- and a profile design aerobottle -- that goes between the aerobars), but wanted to give this a shot. I also got some specialized water bottle holders for my profile design behind the seat attachment, and added another specialized water bottle holder on the seattube (where my 40oz speedfill usually goes).
Took it out for a spin today. Left the house and went one hour down the St. Marks Trail and turned around. You can see the results here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/71444504 was the outbound ride, and this was the way back -- http://connect.garmin.com/activity/71444497 what this doesn't show is that I had a 12 mph headwind going out and the opposite coming back. Big reason (obviously) why my speed back is faster and hr is lower. Of course, I also attribute that to the changes I made to the Felt.
So I can hold 4 bottles right now -- one on the aerobars, one on the seattube, and two behind the seat. If I wanted to, I could go up to 4 hours without needing to refill. Also, I am thinking of getting a flat xlab bag to put under my bike seat. The bag fist under -- almost within -- my seat and will likewise cuase less drag compared to what I have now (profile design full zipper bento box upside down under the rear of my seat). For race day, I suspect that I will get rid of the bag and bottles behind the seat, and maybe even the bottle holder on the seat tube (for sprints or olys anyway).
I also have to figure out how to clean up my front end. Option one -- lower the bars and add raisers for the armpads. I gotta see if they make stems that are 5mm long. Option two -- find a fairing or the like to cover up my not so aerodynamic stem (this is basically what I saw on the Speed Concept today and it was baaaad ass). I have to think about this some and see what I really want to do. The first option is cleaner but my brakes will be 1.5 inches lower so it will put more pressure on my wrists when riding w/my hands on the brakes (i.e., I sense the Malissa ride would suck big time with that kind of setup). For the second option -- I gotta see if there is a aftermarket fairing or the like.
Tomorrow I am going back to Blountstown for happy hour with the fam. But I am taking my wetsuit and going for a long swim in Lake Mystic. I have a 1500m course mapped out, and plan to do two loops. That should put me at 1.8 miles. Of course if I feel better, I may try to do add another lap or so to get it to 2.4-2.7. Will be good practice for Red Hills. I am going to take the TYR Cat5 Hurricane and see what that baby can do (if I can even fit in iet). Also, gonna see if my bro will join me for the swim. Should be interesting if he does -- first time in a wetsuit and in cold, murky water.... First time I did that I had a panic attack in the middle of Lake Hall.
More good news -- I ran intervals Tuesday night for the first time since Nov 2. I was really worried about being slow or having my AT act up, but things turned out ok. We ended up doing 3x1600 (i.e. 3 x 1 mile runs). Obviously my times were a little slower than last year, but I was actually very impressed. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/70834810 I thought I would struggle to break 2:00 per lap, but ended mostly being in the 1:45 range, with mostly negative splits. My HR was higher than it was last year at these times, but I am not complaining b/c have not really run since November/December. For not being in running shape, I am thrilled with where I am.
I think part of what helped is that I am trying to run differently than before. Way back in the day I ran with my legs out in front of me, heels striking first. Bad, especially when overweight. I slowly worked that back to being a mid-foot striker, and worked on quicker turnover, but didn't have much push off. After watching videos of Craig Alexander, Chris Lieto, and Rinny, I am trying to be more consious about running taller, pushing off more, keeping my hips/core/chest in line, keeping my feet under, trying to have a "power band" or whatever it is called, etc. Basically I notice that I run taller and use my glutes/hamstrings more. That means less beating on my calves and quads. We will see how it works out.
Other good news. During my swim Wed morning, I was supposed to do 2750. The main set was 3x (2x100 at Tpace plus 10 RI; 4x50 at Tpace plus 10RI; 50 slow at 2:00). During the second set, my body kept saying that I was tired, needed to take it easy, and not do the third set. Well, I finished the second set, and sat there in the pool trying to decide what to do, when a little voice in the back of my mind said -- "Jason, you know that when you race you think back about all the training you did. What do you think is going to happen when you are suffering at IMFL and think back to your training and remember that you quit and didn't do the 3rd set?" So I sucked it up and did the third set. So glad that I did.
So to recap the week -- Monday was a recovery day from the Sunday bike ride. You know what I did tue and wed (rode the stationary bike we pm).
Thurs was an incredible day. I went to bed late, so decided to sleep in till 6AM. Woke up, rode the stationary cycle for 15 min to warm up, and then did P90x Plyometrics X. According to them, "it puts the X in p90x." I call BS. Compared to Insansity -- this was a recovery session. It was still hard, but nothing like Insanity at all. Still enjoyed it though, b/c I was hoping to do a trail run thursday PM.
So I managed to get out of the office at 5:30, (on time, but actually early for as busy as we are) and headed over to Tom Brown Park. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/71121604 When you reminisce about how much enjoy running -- this is the kind of run you (at least I) think about. Temp was a touch on the cool side, sun going down, absolute silence -- all I could hear was my breathing, the wisper of a breeze in my ear and the sounds of my feet on the pine straw, dirt, etc. I. was. in. heaven. Just a easy trail run. This is why I have been so misreable the last few months -- not being able to do a run like this.
So Friday I woke up on time (5AM) and hit Trousdale. Did "Workouts in a binder -- Swim workouts for Triathletes" Anerobic Endurance Workout Number 5. 3150m in 1:16:30. Reason it took so long was I did a lot of sets with a certain swim interval, so I did not keep exact times. The pool opened 15 minutes late, so by the time I was done it was 7:15 and I had to haul ass to get to work. I still had a blast, b/c that is the longest workout I have done to date (by 50m).
I ate bad Friday -- Hopkins for lunch -- Ultimate Turkey Sub, conga bar, sweet tea, sugar cookies in the pm. So I did a 90 min easy spin session on the stationary bike friday night while watching IMNZ.
Saturday, I decided to give the TRBC 5k a shot. I have not raced a 5k since the FSECC 5k on November 4 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/71337423 so I was not expecting much today. The course had some hills, and I was a little worried about re-irritating my achilles tendon(s), so I was hoping to maybe break 24 minutes. Well, I did it. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/71337423 I had forgotten how painful 5ks could be, and I didn't push that hard until the end. For most of the race I stayed a heartbeat or two below my anaerobic threshold. I was a little worried about crossing that b/c I have not been training in the "pain cave" of late. Anyway, as I sit here typing this, my legs feel fine -- although I am wearing my zoot compression socks.
So for lunch I went to Ted's Grill and had a bison burger with bbq sauce, cheese and bacon. mmmmm.... good..... and fries.... mmmm.... better..... After lunch I ran some errands -- I also went by sunshine and saw a pimped out speed concept. Holy shit!!!! If I had $8k lying around I would have bought it on the spot. It was even green like Turbo Curbeau's. http://turbeaucurbeau.wordpress.com/pictures/ The level of detail and thought that went into that bike is absolutely sick. I mean there was a fairing of sorts around the stem, etc. So I then went by Higher Ground and got some new gear for my bike.
So all motivated, I went back to the house and started working on my 2009 Felt B12. I mean my bike is freaking sweet -- so says Tom Demerly -- http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/FeltB12-2009.shtml
I did make some basic mods to my bike -- I swapped out the oem stem 130mm for a 80mm stem that is raised up an inch. I also swapped out the seat (which was pretty darn good) for a cobb saddle. But the problem is that last weekend my water bottles ejected 5 times. I now know this was from a weak o-ring on my profile design water bottle holders, but after seeing that speed concept, it was time to upgrade.
So I bought a profile design kit that puts a water bottle horizontal on (i.e., perpendicular to) the aerobars. I have other things (40 oz. speedfill -- which mounts where the water bottles are mounted on the seattube/downtube -- and a profile design aerobottle -- that goes between the aerobars), but wanted to give this a shot. I also got some specialized water bottle holders for my profile design behind the seat attachment, and added another specialized water bottle holder on the seattube (where my 40oz speedfill usually goes).
Took it out for a spin today. Left the house and went one hour down the St. Marks Trail and turned around. You can see the results here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/71444504 was the outbound ride, and this was the way back -- http://connect.garmin.com/activity/71444497 what this doesn't show is that I had a 12 mph headwind going out and the opposite coming back. Big reason (obviously) why my speed back is faster and hr is lower. Of course, I also attribute that to the changes I made to the Felt.
So I can hold 4 bottles right now -- one on the aerobars, one on the seattube, and two behind the seat. If I wanted to, I could go up to 4 hours without needing to refill. Also, I am thinking of getting a flat xlab bag to put under my bike seat. The bag fist under -- almost within -- my seat and will likewise cuase less drag compared to what I have now (profile design full zipper bento box upside down under the rear of my seat). For race day, I suspect that I will get rid of the bag and bottles behind the seat, and maybe even the bottle holder on the seat tube (for sprints or olys anyway).
I also have to figure out how to clean up my front end. Option one -- lower the bars and add raisers for the armpads. I gotta see if they make stems that are 5mm long. Option two -- find a fairing or the like to cover up my not so aerodynamic stem (this is basically what I saw on the Speed Concept today and it was baaaad ass). I have to think about this some and see what I really want to do. The first option is cleaner but my brakes will be 1.5 inches lower so it will put more pressure on my wrists when riding w/my hands on the brakes (i.e., I sense the Malissa ride would suck big time with that kind of setup). For the second option -- I gotta see if there is a aftermarket fairing or the like.
Tomorrow I am going back to Blountstown for happy hour with the fam. But I am taking my wetsuit and going for a long swim in Lake Mystic. I have a 1500m course mapped out, and plan to do two loops. That should put me at 1.8 miles. Of course if I feel better, I may try to do add another lap or so to get it to 2.4-2.7. Will be good practice for Red Hills. I am going to take the TYR Cat5 Hurricane and see what that baby can do (if I can even fit in iet). Also, gonna see if my bro will join me for the swim. Should be interesting if he does -- first time in a wetsuit and in cold, murky water.... First time I did that I had a panic attack in the middle of Lake Hall.
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