Lol, recovery week my ass. This week was pretty brutal.
Monday -- 5:30 swim at Trousdale. Was supposed to do 2600, ended up doing 2900m in 1:09:xx. My shoulders were a little tight. Drove down to Titusville Monday, ate lunch at 4 rivers bbq in Orlando -- incredible. Ate dinner at dixie crossroads in Titusville -- incredible seafood. Did the ellipse machine for a hour Monday night. Achilles tendon felt fine.
Tuesday -- Woke up at 5:30 and did an hour on the ellipse machine. Achilles tendon still felt fine. Lunch at Chef Larry's in Titusville -- great food. Dinner at David's Real Pit BBQ in Gainesville -- incredible. Made it back to Tallahassee at 11 PM.
Wednesday -- 5:30 AM swim at Trousdale. Supposed to swim 2750, ended up swimming 2900m in 1:03:xx. I was tired from the day before. Made a visit to Doc Thompson to look at my achilles tendon. I haven't run since the 10 mile challenge in early december when I really tore my achilles tendon up (well, except for a few easy bricks). Doc cleared me to run again, and it was so thrilling. I had really missed running, and am really out of running shape. I know I have to slowly work my way back into running, but plan on seeing what I can do. Red Hills is about 5 weeks away, and then I have either Beach Blast Olympic or Gulf Coast 70.3 -- prob BB b/c I don't think I can ramp up to a half marathon by then. Wed pm, rode the stationary bike for an hour.
Thursday -- woke up at 5:30 AM and did p90x kenpoX workout. Achilles tendon held up, no pain. Thurs pm, I did my first run back - -an easy jog around the neighborhood. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/69952110 Achilles tendon felt fine, althought I could tell that my muscle memory was gone and I had no idea how fast/slow I was running.
Friday -- woke up at... wait for it... 5:30 and went to Trousdale. Supposed to swim 2800, but cut it short at 2000 in 47:53. I was tired and actually very sore from running the day before. I had my Charter School Appeal Commission meeting Friday, but it went ok. No exercise Friday pm, but I had fish tacos at The Filling Station in Midtown.
Saturday -- I slept in -- felt wonderful. Woke up at 9AM. Ran some errands and then went to Morcom and swam with Sandy and Charlie. Swam 3100y in 1:00:27. I also learned that short courses are 25 yards, and long courses are 50 meters. Never got the difference between yard and meters before. It also explains how my threshold pace is 13 seconds different when swimming long v. short course. Went to the Godby track and ran 45 minutes Sat pm. 3.5 miles total, achilles tendon felt fine. I am trying to emulate Craig Alexander when I run, which is a new running style for me so it will take some getting used to.
Sunday -- I should rename this Painday. Rode 65 miles with Sandy and Charlie (and gang). Headwind both ways. Beautiful ride to Thomasville. Water bottles ejected 5 times total (haven't had any eject in the prev 2 years), so I have got to fix that. I bonked the last 15 miles or so. I could manage 15-16 on the flats, and could get some speed downhilld, but the uphills was at 6 mph or so, all I could do to move the pedals and not fall off the bike. 3:35:xx, 18.1 avg mph. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/70438754
Did a quick brick afterward - achilles tendon was a little tired, but not sore. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/70438754
I pigged out Sun pm. 2 gatoraid recovery drinks, grande vanilla frappuccino, and 3/4 little ceasars large pepperoni pizza. So I pigged out.. again. I was 197.0 the last couple of days, so let's hope I don't gain too much weight. But no travelling next week so I can focus on eathing healthy again.
Edit -- Monday monring update -- still weighed 197.0 this am, despite all the junk I ate yesterday. That ride must have really taken it out of me. I slept in until 7:25 this AM, decided to skip the swim in lieu of rest. My body is sooooooore right now. Peace out.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Cleared to Run
I will do a full week 8 (recovery week) update later on, but wanted to share good news. I saw Doc Thompson at TOC yesterday morning. He took a look at my achilles tendon. Gave me some warm-up and stretching exercises and cleared me to start running again. SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So hopefully after work today I will try a short run, maybe a trail run or the like.
So hopefully after work today I will try a short run, maybe a trail run or the like.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Week 7
Wow, this week really blew by. As I previously posted, I went to Port Charlotte Tuesday for a hearing Wednesday. We drove back Wednesday night, and I finally got to bed aroune 11:30 PM. The Wednesday hearing was continued until Friday, which we luckly held in Tallahassee. On top of that, I had to schedule a trip to Titusville this coming Monday and Tuesday to interview witnesses for a PERC hearing (which I will be going back to Titusville on March 7, hearing March 8, and return March 9). So moving on to my workouts...
Monday, I swam, did my 3x300 swims to establish my T-pace. This was the first time I did this test in a 50m pool -- my other tests were in the 25m pool. Anyway, my time was 1:53, which is a step back for me. However, I am not going to worry that much, b/c I did a hard workout the day before and was knocking back 100's in 1:36, so it is understandable that my times were slower. Cruised on the stationary bike Monday PM.
Tuesday I don't think I did anything. Maybe some crunches, etc. in the AM. Wednesday, I woke up early in Port Charlotte and rode the stationary bike for an hour. Felt good. Thursday was definately a day off. Friday I swam 2500. It was "force" workout where most of the work was pulling and using paddles.
Today I am going to swim and then take the cx and ride the entire Munson Hills trail. Tomorrow is a 40 mile bike ride.
Far and away the best news this week was my weight. I have really been struggling since really before Augusta. Last May I got down to 186, but that slowly crept up until Augusta (I raced at 202), and even got to 209 in November. Basically I was so worried about not eating enough and loosing strength for Augusta that I overdid it. I could tell it really hurt me on the run. Also, after Augusta I ate like crap for a long while. Anyway, after hitting 209, I got pissed off (seems to be a yearly habbit now), and started exercising more and watching what I ate. So the good news is that Thurs, Fri, and this morning, I have weighed less than 200 pounds!!! I was 199.x Thurs, 198.2 Friday and today. Definatly not "celebrating," rather using this as motivation to keep up the good work.
Last year at 186, I could tell that I was faster/stronger, but still had some weight to loose. I was still about 20% body fat then. So I hope to work down to 175 and evaluate how I feel, etc. I think my strength, speed, etc, will suffer a little bit, b/c I am more focused on loosing weight, but will try to rebuild strength, etc., once I find and stabilize at a happy weight. I may decide to go up to 180, be happy at 175, or even try to drop to 170. As reference, in high school I was 158 my sr year (basketball shape -- legs cut from stone, but otherwise a beanpole of skin and bones). I remember 175 in college and think that should be a pretty good weight. Of course, that is another 25 pounds on top of the 10 I have lost already -- gonna be tough to get there -- but I will give it a shot.
Monday, I swam, did my 3x300 swims to establish my T-pace. This was the first time I did this test in a 50m pool -- my other tests were in the 25m pool. Anyway, my time was 1:53, which is a step back for me. However, I am not going to worry that much, b/c I did a hard workout the day before and was knocking back 100's in 1:36, so it is understandable that my times were slower. Cruised on the stationary bike Monday PM.
Tuesday I don't think I did anything. Maybe some crunches, etc. in the AM. Wednesday, I woke up early in Port Charlotte and rode the stationary bike for an hour. Felt good. Thursday was definately a day off. Friday I swam 2500. It was "force" workout where most of the work was pulling and using paddles.
Today I am going to swim and then take the cx and ride the entire Munson Hills trail. Tomorrow is a 40 mile bike ride.
Far and away the best news this week was my weight. I have really been struggling since really before Augusta. Last May I got down to 186, but that slowly crept up until Augusta (I raced at 202), and even got to 209 in November. Basically I was so worried about not eating enough and loosing strength for Augusta that I overdid it. I could tell it really hurt me on the run. Also, after Augusta I ate like crap for a long while. Anyway, after hitting 209, I got pissed off (seems to be a yearly habbit now), and started exercising more and watching what I ate. So the good news is that Thurs, Fri, and this morning, I have weighed less than 200 pounds!!! I was 199.x Thurs, 198.2 Friday and today. Definatly not "celebrating," rather using this as motivation to keep up the good work.
Last year at 186, I could tell that I was faster/stronger, but still had some weight to loose. I was still about 20% body fat then. So I hope to work down to 175 and evaluate how I feel, etc. I think my strength, speed, etc, will suffer a little bit, b/c I am more focused on loosing weight, but will try to rebuild strength, etc., once I find and stabilize at a happy weight. I may decide to go up to 180, be happy at 175, or even try to drop to 170. As reference, in high school I was 158 my sr year (basketball shape -- legs cut from stone, but otherwise a beanpole of skin and bones). I remember 175 in college and think that should be a pretty good weight. Of course, that is another 25 pounds on top of the 10 I have lost already -- gonna be tough to get there -- but I will give it a shot.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Weeks 5 & 6
I have been a little busy the last couple of weeks, so I haven't been updating the blog like I would like to. Work has really gotten busy, but that is a story for another day. For a recap of the last two weeks:
I rec'd the results from my VO2 Max test. In short, I have a lot of room for improvement (trying to look at it from the good point of view). Comparing the results from this year to last year:
March 5, 2010 -- Run Test, 202 lbs.
Vo2Max -- 50.2, 195 bpm
AT VO2 -- 46.2, 185 bpm
AeT -- 32.6, 154 bpm
3/24/10 -- resting/sleeping hr 58
January 29, 2011 -- Bike Test, 204 lbs
Vo2Max -- 45.8, 184 bpm, 450 watts
AT VO2 -- 31.2, 153 bpm
AeT -- 23.7, 132 bpm
2/15/11 -- resting/sleeping hr 56
I know it is hard to compare apples to oranges, but damn, that is disappointing. Even though I haven't been running since early december, am a couple of pounds heavier, and have been doing slow hr high rpm bike rides, I was hoping that the base I got for Augusta would have put me a little better than last year's test. I expected by VO2Max to be a little diffent, but was really suprised at my how different my AT and AeT was comparing the two years.
I just have to realize that I don't need to fret about comparing this year to last year, and just focus on using this test as a starting poing for this season. In that regard, there are some positives -- my max hr on the bike is in a pretty good spot. My swim times are getting faster/stronger, and I am getting better on the bike. And IMFL is a long way away. Running -- well resting the achilles tendon still.
Week 5
Got in all 4 swim workouts -- 2700, 1600 (lightning ended it early), 2700, and 2000. That brings my swim total up to 39,500. Notable workout was a 1000 TT, splits at 9:11 and 9:26. I was pushing, but not going all out. Much faster than red hills my last two years -- 11:26 and 11:30, and that was with a wetsuit.
Biking -- stationary cycle and spinner during the week, 3 hr bike ride on sat (cx, road and munson hills), followed by a 1 hour ride on sun (blountstown).
Week 6 --
Swim -- off week. slept in monday, freezing wed so Trousdale closed, swam Friday but staff closed the pool after 500 b/c chlorine was too high. So Sunday I did 2800, felt great. I thin kthe rest really let my body recover and get stronger. I was consitently knocking out 100s at 1:36 -- very good for me. Total distance for GC training - 42,800.
Biking -- stationary cycle on Monday, Tue and Wed am. Wed pm, I rode the cx off-road at Munson Hills for an hour. That was a blast. Sat I did a 3 hour ride -- southwood to chaires to Wacissa, firetower hill and then tram road back to southwood. 43 miles. headwind on tram road sucked donkey balls. I was whipped. However, good news in part -- Saturday am I weighed myself and was 199.8. That is the first time I have been under 200 since September 1. And down from a high since then of 209. Training and healthy eating is starting to pay off. Of course to celebrate (and b/c I was famished after the ride), I had 1 fresh for lunch and a tombstone pizza for dinner, so sun am I was above 200 again (but will be below 200 permanently soon enough).
This coming week, I have to go down to Charlotte County for a hearing. Driving down Tuesday PM, hearing Wednesday. Drive back Wed PM, catch up Thursday, and finish the hearing in Tallahassee on Friday. So My training this week may not be that good. Maybe the hotel has a gym and I can ride the stationary cycle some Tuesday night/Wed am. Cross your fingers.
Finally, I have decided that I am not going to race Gulf Coat. I haven't been running, and can't risk injuring my leg further and screwing up IMFL. So, as an alternative, I am hoping to do the following races this year (leg permitting). I am not going to worry about training/tapering for the sprint races; rather, just do them as them come along as part of my training for IMFL. In the meantime, I am going to stick with my Gulf Coast training schedule, which will get me through Madison. After that, I can recover for a couple of weeks and then start working up training for IMFL.:
4/9 -- Red Hills Sprint
4/23 -- Beach Blast Oly
5/14 -- Madison Oly
6/25 -- Jax Sprint 1
7/16 -- Jax Sprint 2
8/6 -- Jax Sprint 3
8/28 -- Hammerhead Olympic
9/25 -- Augusta 70.3
11/5 -- IMFL
I rec'd the results from my VO2 Max test. In short, I have a lot of room for improvement (trying to look at it from the good point of view). Comparing the results from this year to last year:
March 5, 2010 -- Run Test, 202 lbs.
Vo2Max -- 50.2, 195 bpm
AT VO2 -- 46.2, 185 bpm
AeT -- 32.6, 154 bpm
3/24/10 -- resting/sleeping hr 58
January 29, 2011 -- Bike Test, 204 lbs
Vo2Max -- 45.8, 184 bpm, 450 watts
AT VO2 -- 31.2, 153 bpm
AeT -- 23.7, 132 bpm
2/15/11 -- resting/sleeping hr 56
I know it is hard to compare apples to oranges, but damn, that is disappointing. Even though I haven't been running since early december, am a couple of pounds heavier, and have been doing slow hr high rpm bike rides, I was hoping that the base I got for Augusta would have put me a little better than last year's test. I expected by VO2Max to be a little diffent, but was really suprised at my how different my AT and AeT was comparing the two years.
I just have to realize that I don't need to fret about comparing this year to last year, and just focus on using this test as a starting poing for this season. In that regard, there are some positives -- my max hr on the bike is in a pretty good spot. My swim times are getting faster/stronger, and I am getting better on the bike. And IMFL is a long way away. Running -- well resting the achilles tendon still.
Week 5
Got in all 4 swim workouts -- 2700, 1600 (lightning ended it early), 2700, and 2000. That brings my swim total up to 39,500. Notable workout was a 1000 TT, splits at 9:11 and 9:26. I was pushing, but not going all out. Much faster than red hills my last two years -- 11:26 and 11:30, and that was with a wetsuit.
Biking -- stationary cycle and spinner during the week, 3 hr bike ride on sat (cx, road and munson hills), followed by a 1 hour ride on sun (blountstown).
Week 6 --
Swim -- off week. slept in monday, freezing wed so Trousdale closed, swam Friday but staff closed the pool after 500 b/c chlorine was too high. So Sunday I did 2800, felt great. I thin kthe rest really let my body recover and get stronger. I was consitently knocking out 100s at 1:36 -- very good for me. Total distance for GC training - 42,800.
Biking -- stationary cycle on Monday, Tue and Wed am. Wed pm, I rode the cx off-road at Munson Hills for an hour. That was a blast. Sat I did a 3 hour ride -- southwood to chaires to Wacissa, firetower hill and then tram road back to southwood. 43 miles. headwind on tram road sucked donkey balls. I was whipped. However, good news in part -- Saturday am I weighed myself and was 199.8. That is the first time I have been under 200 since September 1. And down from a high since then of 209. Training and healthy eating is starting to pay off. Of course to celebrate (and b/c I was famished after the ride), I had 1 fresh for lunch and a tombstone pizza for dinner, so sun am I was above 200 again (but will be below 200 permanently soon enough).
This coming week, I have to go down to Charlotte County for a hearing. Driving down Tuesday PM, hearing Wednesday. Drive back Wed PM, catch up Thursday, and finish the hearing in Tallahassee on Friday. So My training this week may not be that good. Maybe the hotel has a gym and I can ride the stationary cycle some Tuesday night/Wed am. Cross your fingers.
Finally, I have decided that I am not going to race Gulf Coat. I haven't been running, and can't risk injuring my leg further and screwing up IMFL. So, as an alternative, I am hoping to do the following races this year (leg permitting). I am not going to worry about training/tapering for the sprint races; rather, just do them as them come along as part of my training for IMFL. In the meantime, I am going to stick with my Gulf Coast training schedule, which will get me through Madison. After that, I can recover for a couple of weeks and then start working up training for IMFL.:
4/9 -- Red Hills Sprint
4/23 -- Beach Blast Oly
5/14 -- Madison Oly
6/25 -- Jax Sprint 1
7/16 -- Jax Sprint 2
8/6 -- Jax Sprint 3
8/28 -- Hammerhead Olympic
9/25 -- Augusta 70.3
11/5 -- IMFL
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Week 4 -- Recovery Week
This has been a very busy week, work wise -- so I am grateful it was a recovery week. Nevertheless, a lot went down this week. Here is the recap.
Monday, my Felt F35x cyclocross bike came in. I took it out for a spin Monday pm, and it was fun. I slept in Monday, so missed my swim session.
Tuesday it rained, but I was able to do my swim -- a test session. I found out that. My t-pace has dropped from 1:52 on 12/30/10 to 1:49 on 1/3/11 to 1:40 on 1/25/11. Great news!!!!
Wednesday, i rode the cx to work. It was fun. I was also able to do a endurance swim workout. Since it was a recovery week, I swam 1900 instead of the book's scheduled 2500. However, I realized that the frame is one size too big, so I had to subsequently replace my stem and work on the seat to find a compromise position.
Thursday, I took it easy, but hit the gym during lunch. Friday I took it easy also. I did this, because my VO2Max test was Saturday. I rod the bike for the test (instead of running), as I have not run much in several months since my achilles tendon is irritated. Ian, giving me the VO2Max test, also told me that I needed to run/train 4 months for a 70.3, so that seriously put my hopes of doing Gulf Coast (May 7) in jeapordy. If I don't do Gulf Coast, I might do beach blast oly or madison oly as an alternative.
I don't have full results from the test, but if I recall my VO2Max was 46, max hr was 184, and i maxed out 90 rps at 450 watts. The Vo2Max and max hr on the bike is roughly the equivalent to last year's test on the treadmill. I was thrilled to hit 450 watts.
So saturday afternoon, I took the cx on a 33 mile road/trail trip. Man, that was super fun. The stem/seat as adjusted worked just fine. I also saw several turkeys on cap cir, 2 of which had beards.
Sunday I went hunting in the am, saw a spike. Didn't shoot him. Although I later found out that my uncle shot a 6 pointer that night on his way to the stand i was hunting that am. Sun pm I swam an anaerobic endurance session at the pool 2200m. I also bought a new scale. My old one did weight and body fat. The new one does weight, body fat, water %, muscle %, and bone density. I need to ride the bike for an hour, but haven't done that yet. We will see.
.
Monday, my Felt F35x cyclocross bike came in. I took it out for a spin Monday pm, and it was fun. I slept in Monday, so missed my swim session.
Tuesday it rained, but I was able to do my swim -- a test session. I found out that. My t-pace has dropped from 1:52 on 12/30/10 to 1:49 on 1/3/11 to 1:40 on 1/25/11. Great news!!!!
Wednesday, i rode the cx to work. It was fun. I was also able to do a endurance swim workout. Since it was a recovery week, I swam 1900 instead of the book's scheduled 2500. However, I realized that the frame is one size too big, so I had to subsequently replace my stem and work on the seat to find a compromise position.
Thursday, I took it easy, but hit the gym during lunch. Friday I took it easy also. I did this, because my VO2Max test was Saturday. I rod the bike for the test (instead of running), as I have not run much in several months since my achilles tendon is irritated. Ian, giving me the VO2Max test, also told me that I needed to run/train 4 months for a 70.3, so that seriously put my hopes of doing Gulf Coast (May 7) in jeapordy. If I don't do Gulf Coast, I might do beach blast oly or madison oly as an alternative.
I don't have full results from the test, but if I recall my VO2Max was 46, max hr was 184, and i maxed out 90 rps at 450 watts. The Vo2Max and max hr on the bike is roughly the equivalent to last year's test on the treadmill. I was thrilled to hit 450 watts.
So saturday afternoon, I took the cx on a 33 mile road/trail trip. Man, that was super fun. The stem/seat as adjusted worked just fine. I also saw several turkeys on cap cir, 2 of which had beards.
Sunday I went hunting in the am, saw a spike. Didn't shoot him. Although I later found out that my uncle shot a 6 pointer that night on his way to the stand i was hunting that am. Sun pm I swam an anaerobic endurance session at the pool 2200m. I also bought a new scale. My old one did weight and body fat. The new one does weight, body fat, water %, muscle %, and bone density. I need to ride the bike for an hour, but haven't done that yet. We will see.
.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tue Update
For some reason, I didn't set my alarm clock Monday, so I didn't get my Mon am swim workout in. Not complaining as the temp was 24 or so. My cyclocross bike did come in, so I picked it up first thing Mon am. Went to work and found out that my boss is taking a job at another agency, so I am not sure what work is going to bring. Hopefully it will all work out. I left work a little early and took the cx bike to Tom Brown park to work it out some. I really like it a lot -- that sucker is faaast. Gonna have to swap out the stem for something shorter though.
So Tue morning, I wake up at 5 and hit Trousdale pool. It is raining off and on, but I had to make up for Mon. Today was a Test session where I find out my approximate lactate threshold pace. basically 3 x 300 with 30 sec rest in between, average them out to get a T1 pace for a 100 distance.
I previously did this test on 12/30 and my T1 was 1:52 (went out kinda easy). Did it again on 1/3 and it was 1:49 (I think I knew what to expect). This morning I really went at it, and it was 1:40. Sweet!!! I knew the swim workouts were working, but this is great news. Really gives me a boost, and now you all know.
So Tue morning, I wake up at 5 and hit Trousdale pool. It is raining off and on, but I had to make up for Mon. Today was a Test session where I find out my approximate lactate threshold pace. basically 3 x 300 with 30 sec rest in between, average them out to get a T1 pace for a 100 distance.
I previously did this test on 12/30 and my T1 was 1:52 (went out kinda easy). Did it again on 1/3 and it was 1:49 (I think I knew what to expect). This morning I really went at it, and it was 1:40. Sweet!!! I knew the swim workouts were working, but this is great news. Really gives me a boost, and now you all know.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Gulf Coast Training Week 3 Summary -- Pizza, Pizza and Beer, Oh My!
Whew what a week.
Confession -- I ate like shit this week. Large pizza (entire pizza) sun night, pizza (mom's slice) beer mon night, wings wed lunch, 5 guys thurs lunch, shitload of baked spaghetti thurs night, chicken pad thai fri lunch, chicken pad thai sat lunch, wings and fries sat night, kfc bbq sandwich and fries sun lunch. At least one beer every night but tonight (ny-quil instead). Tomorrow is a new week though, enough of this shit.
Monday night was the monthly Gulf Winds Triathletes Meeting. Club members were able to sign up for the Red Hills Triathlon before it was opened up to general public (120 members signed up, leaving 180 spots for general public -- the public spots were filled by noon). I signed up, and this will be there third year I will have competed in RHT. In fact, RHT was my very first triathlon. I still vividly remember it. The water was 64 or so, my heart was racing on the bike, I used my calves too much while pedaling and my calves cramped the entire run. I could barely walk for three days afterward. I questioned if this was what triathlons were like, why the heck were they so popular. I quickly realized I was just out of shape, and I got better/stronger with each race. Looking forward to this year to see how I compare. Last year, I took 8 minutes off my time -- I really want to knock a chunk of time off this year as well. I think I will be able to, but it will be interesting to see how the run does.
Speaking of run, I haven't run all week. My achilles tendon has just been too tender. I tried to run Saturday as a brick after the bike ride, but didn't make it 100 yards. Too cold and tendon too stiff. I am a little concerned about not running, especially b/c I am supposed to do a VO2 Max test this coming Saturday. I may have to switch it from run to bike. I really want to run, but am afraid that I will mess up my leg and ruin my plans for Gulf Coast 70.3 in May, maybe even IMFL in Nov -- and that can't happen. So I am taking it easy in the running department. Am doing some ellipse during lunch at work. Stretching, night splint, etc. It really is driving me crazy though. I can remember what it feels like to run on the trails here in town and... man oh man.
Swim-wise, it was a pretty good week. I made every workout (4 workouts). My left shoulder was a little tender, and my right shoulder was a little tender after the wed workout -- so I slowed down some Friday and Sunday. Although my 600 yd pull (with paddles) today, I ended up using paddles for 500 only b/c I tweaked my left shoulder. I still feel pretty good though, form is improving, getting stronger.
Biking -- I have been spinning this week. No specific exerciset, just sit on the stationary bike (or spinner) and spin for 90 minutes while watching tv. Sat was a small chain-ring 2 hour bike ride with Sandy and Charlie, et al. I tried to keep my hr low (it averaged 135) and cadence high (averaged 90), so I was about spot on. The cold wasn't so bad, it was the wind. I have got to get some lobster-claw gloves or the like. Something with insulation.
On a side note, I went hunting this morning. It was clear and cold. Ice was on the ground, dirt was even frozen. In fact, when I got out of the stand at 9AM, it was still 28 degrees. I loved it. Didn't see a thing (dang dirty bears); however, dad and I put up a feeder and stand in a new location so we will see how it turns out in a week or so. Looks promising. Hunting season ends Feb 20, so plenty of time to try it out.
So Saturday night I had my first nightmare about IMFL. I can't quite remember what happened, but somehow I ended up doing/forgetting something and it cost me 8 minutes of extra time in T2 (but somehow the 8 min meant everybody -- and I mean everybody was at least 8 min ahead of me). For some reason I was so upset that I wasn't going to finish the race. I actually sat down and was done, and then someone told me to at least try one lap. So I sucked it up and ran. I don't remember the lap (and the lap wasn't on the real course, but in my dream it was the real race... go figure...), but got done and was worried about my achilles tendon so I quit again. I kept telling myselt to get back in it -- that this was IMFL, and I didn't pay $600 to quit like a little biop. Anyway, I woke up before it ended. I can't believe tri season hasn't even started and I have already had my first IMFL nightmare. Chalkig it up to anxiety about not being able to run like I would like.
But, I am gonna say this -- if I start, I will finish that freaking race. I don't care if I mess my leg, achilles tendon, whatever, up so bad that medics have to chop my leg off afterward, I am not going to stop until I cross that finish line. Nighmares, injury, etc., be damned, I WILL NOT QUIT!
Week 4 is a recovery week. I am looking forward to it.
Oh yeah, I shot the breeze with Roger at Higher Ground Sat, and think I will rent some race wheels from him for Gulf Coast. If I end up liking that, I may buy some (and maybe rent them out when I'm not racing in them to pro-rate the cost -- thinking about SRAM S80, Zipp 808/1080, HED???).
Oh yeah, oh yeah, Sandy told me that her TYR Cat 5 wetsuit is awesome -- so now I want one of those too. I found them for about $480 online, and am seriously thinking about ordering one (thanks to selling my single speed and getting my verizon rebate cards in--I would only be out $60 in "actual" dollars) -- it probably wouldn't fit at my weight now, but by April/May should be perfect.
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, I bought a cyclo-cross on ebay -- new-in-box (09) felt f35x, 105 equipped, and got it for over half off. I feel bad about not buying it locally from Higher Ground, but the only cx they have in stock is like $2400 -- they don't have any late-model new-in-box cx bikes on sale, and I didn't want to spend that much on it. Plus, I just can't refuse a deal that good -- and I have bought 2 of the 4 bikes I own from Higher Ground and spend enough dough in the shop anyway. Still feel guilty though, but I will get over it.
Confession -- I ate like shit this week. Large pizza (entire pizza) sun night, pizza (mom's slice) beer mon night, wings wed lunch, 5 guys thurs lunch, shitload of baked spaghetti thurs night, chicken pad thai fri lunch, chicken pad thai sat lunch, wings and fries sat night, kfc bbq sandwich and fries sun lunch. At least one beer every night but tonight (ny-quil instead). Tomorrow is a new week though, enough of this shit.
Monday night was the monthly Gulf Winds Triathletes Meeting. Club members were able to sign up for the Red Hills Triathlon before it was opened up to general public (120 members signed up, leaving 180 spots for general public -- the public spots were filled by noon). I signed up, and this will be there third year I will have competed in RHT. In fact, RHT was my very first triathlon. I still vividly remember it. The water was 64 or so, my heart was racing on the bike, I used my calves too much while pedaling and my calves cramped the entire run. I could barely walk for three days afterward. I questioned if this was what triathlons were like, why the heck were they so popular. I quickly realized I was just out of shape, and I got better/stronger with each race. Looking forward to this year to see how I compare. Last year, I took 8 minutes off my time -- I really want to knock a chunk of time off this year as well. I think I will be able to, but it will be interesting to see how the run does.
Speaking of run, I haven't run all week. My achilles tendon has just been too tender. I tried to run Saturday as a brick after the bike ride, but didn't make it 100 yards. Too cold and tendon too stiff. I am a little concerned about not running, especially b/c I am supposed to do a VO2 Max test this coming Saturday. I may have to switch it from run to bike. I really want to run, but am afraid that I will mess up my leg and ruin my plans for Gulf Coast 70.3 in May, maybe even IMFL in Nov -- and that can't happen. So I am taking it easy in the running department. Am doing some ellipse during lunch at work. Stretching, night splint, etc. It really is driving me crazy though. I can remember what it feels like to run on the trails here in town and... man oh man.
Swim-wise, it was a pretty good week. I made every workout (4 workouts). My left shoulder was a little tender, and my right shoulder was a little tender after the wed workout -- so I slowed down some Friday and Sunday. Although my 600 yd pull (with paddles) today, I ended up using paddles for 500 only b/c I tweaked my left shoulder. I still feel pretty good though, form is improving, getting stronger.
Biking -- I have been spinning this week. No specific exerciset, just sit on the stationary bike (or spinner) and spin for 90 minutes while watching tv. Sat was a small chain-ring 2 hour bike ride with Sandy and Charlie, et al. I tried to keep my hr low (it averaged 135) and cadence high (averaged 90), so I was about spot on. The cold wasn't so bad, it was the wind. I have got to get some lobster-claw gloves or the like. Something with insulation.
On a side note, I went hunting this morning. It was clear and cold. Ice was on the ground, dirt was even frozen. In fact, when I got out of the stand at 9AM, it was still 28 degrees. I loved it. Didn't see a thing (dang dirty bears); however, dad and I put up a feeder and stand in a new location so we will see how it turns out in a week or so. Looks promising. Hunting season ends Feb 20, so plenty of time to try it out.
So Saturday night I had my first nightmare about IMFL. I can't quite remember what happened, but somehow I ended up doing/forgetting something and it cost me 8 minutes of extra time in T2 (but somehow the 8 min meant everybody -- and I mean everybody was at least 8 min ahead of me). For some reason I was so upset that I wasn't going to finish the race. I actually sat down and was done, and then someone told me to at least try one lap. So I sucked it up and ran. I don't remember the lap (and the lap wasn't on the real course, but in my dream it was the real race... go figure...), but got done and was worried about my achilles tendon so I quit again. I kept telling myselt to get back in it -- that this was IMFL, and I didn't pay $600 to quit like a little biop. Anyway, I woke up before it ended. I can't believe tri season hasn't even started and I have already had my first IMFL nightmare. Chalkig it up to anxiety about not being able to run like I would like.
But, I am gonna say this -- if I start, I will finish that freaking race. I don't care if I mess my leg, achilles tendon, whatever, up so bad that medics have to chop my leg off afterward, I am not going to stop until I cross that finish line. Nighmares, injury, etc., be damned, I WILL NOT QUIT!
Week 4 is a recovery week. I am looking forward to it.
Oh yeah, I shot the breeze with Roger at Higher Ground Sat, and think I will rent some race wheels from him for Gulf Coast. If I end up liking that, I may buy some (and maybe rent them out when I'm not racing in them to pro-rate the cost -- thinking about SRAM S80, Zipp 808/1080, HED???).
Oh yeah, oh yeah, Sandy told me that her TYR Cat 5 wetsuit is awesome -- so now I want one of those too. I found them for about $480 online, and am seriously thinking about ordering one (thanks to selling my single speed and getting my verizon rebate cards in--I would only be out $60 in "actual" dollars) -- it probably wouldn't fit at my weight now, but by April/May should be perfect.
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, I bought a cyclo-cross on ebay -- new-in-box (09) felt f35x, 105 equipped, and got it for over half off. I feel bad about not buying it locally from Higher Ground, but the only cx they have in stock is like $2400 -- they don't have any late-model new-in-box cx bikes on sale, and I didn't want to spend that much on it. Plus, I just can't refuse a deal that good -- and I have bought 2 of the 4 bikes I own from Higher Ground and spend enough dough in the shop anyway. Still feel guilty though, but I will get over it.
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