Shake it off...

Shake it off, that's exactly what I did this morning. I'll admit, I was a little doubtful about tomorrow just because I wasn't feeling close to 100% yet. The cold was gone but my spirit hadn't yet returned. So I figured just to be safe I'd go for a short brick workout to get a feeling for where I stand. So here's the workout:

Bike: 12 miles on the road bike at 22.0 mph ave.

Run: 4 miles at a 7 min ave pace.

As soon as I started I knew I was better. 22.0 mph on the road bike is much higher than normal for me. I'm usually in the 19.5-21 range depending on ride (if I'm by myself). I suspect if I had been on the tri bike it would've been around 25 mph. Good workout.

The only test left is how I feel for the rest of the day. I could've just destroyed any progress I've made on getting better and tomorrow could just be another rest day (for the sake of $85 it better not be). Starting now, Gatorade, lots of carbs, lots of light food (rice cakes, pasta etc.).

Heart rate monitor today hopefully.

Listening to: Everytime I Die

Feeling: Better (and crossing my fingers)

There is light at the end of the tunnel...

Ahh, I'm still, sick, but feeling much better. I slept 11 and half hours last night. That's more than I sleep in two days sometimes. It was great. I've been eating a lot, and drinking a lot. I've always thought that food is enough to cure anything. That is along with some cold medicine and plenty of rest and relaxation. I stayed home from work today to spare my co-workers from the possibility of getting sick and in hopes of being able to get enough rest to kick this cold out the door.

Now, the real question is if I'll be ready for Sunday. My concern is not whether my body will be in shape for Sunday, it's just whether I'm feeling up to it. If I had to race with the way I'm feeling right now, it probably wouldn't happen. Tomorrow, maybe. The deciding factor may just be how I feel when I wake up on Sunday morning. It will be an early morning. Probably 5ish or a little before. The mornings have been the hardest and waking up that early when you're feeling 100% is still hard. I won't be upset if I can't race. Illness is out of anybodies control and nothing to be upset about, that is unless you get sick right before the big race in September. Then I'd be just a tad bit upset.

I figured with the downtime in training this would be a good time to outline some of my athletic goals for the off season. I've been putting a lot of thought into how to approach this off season. Last winter the focus on swimming was huge for me. I went from a non swimmer to being really strong in the water. The only problem was my lack of cycling and running left me right where I finished last season, after I got warmed up for the season. So, there was a need to figure out how exactly I would maintain during the cold winter months. Here's a rough outline. This will most likely change, but I wanted to start thinking about it ahead of times. It's good to know what to expect for the future.

Swimming: Masters team twice a week, swim on my own once or twice in addition to practice. Speed work and pace work for longer distances.

Biking: Riding with the team. Group rides once or twice a week and spinning/riding on my own once or twice just to keep my legs used to pedaling. No speed work, no climbing practice. Just base miles.

Running: Base miles. Three times a week, no more. I love running, but I can see the tole it takes on one's body. I'd like to get in two short runs (3-6 miles) and one long one (6+ miles).

X-training: Gym. Low weight, high reps. Focus on endurance and form. I don't want to put on any mass just not be all skin and bones. I used to lift weights primarily, so I'm familiar with how to put together a workout plan. I think since I'll be continuing some form of cardio work I'll be able to get stronger, look better, and perform better with out putting on any mass.

Thats the idea. Will it be what I actually do? Hopefully. As long as I can stay between 170 and 180 I'll be happy. Race season weight is 165-175 so a few extra pounds during the winter is OK.

I found this picture from another blog (here). In my opinion these 2 guys are the baddest of the bad. Norman (Kona winner 2004 and 2006) is a monster and Faris (Kona winner 2005 is just an all around nice guy. Read the article about Faris at that blog if your interested. It's pretty interesting to hear how different he is from the rest of the pros. It's an inspiration when you find out somebody like that is really not that much different than the rest of us. Well, sort of.

Long post today. Race Sunday. You'll being hearing about it soon. Hopefully there will be pictures.

Listening to: Pharoahe Monch - Desire

Feeling: Better, finally.

Waiting for sunrise

My cold won't go away. It's sticking around for whatever reason, maybe it likes me. I feel terrible. I tried going to work today and I was miserable and didn't get anything done any way. Tomorrows will be a day to sleep in and recover. The only hope I have for Sunday and a speedy recovery to return to work with full energy will hinge on my ability to get rested and stay hydrated. The worst part, is that I feel better, so I go back to my normal life and then I feel like ass again. Maybe it's a sign I need to sit still for awhile.

Sorry to complain.

Listening to: Breathe Carolina

Feeling: Sick and tired.

Oh the tragedy.

I think I'm sick. My throat hurts like all hell and my nose is congested like an LA freeway. This better not screw up the race this weekend. I will be very angry if I can't shake this off by Sunday. Doctors appt. at 11:15 so I'd imagine I'll be better by the end of the week.

Wednesdays are usually time trial practice and a crucially long run, but I'm thinking today might be a day off. It really sucks that I take a week off to let my body rest and I get sick as soon as I come back. Anyways, I'm not as sore from the workout last night as I thought I'd be. It could be that the soreness has been absorbed by this cold.

More on all of this later.

Listening to: Lyricist Lounge

Feeling: Sick

Excuse me mam' do I look insane?

WHAT A WORKOUT! It was a good one. I got home from work, feeling so so about a big workout tonight. I wasn't sure if I had the energy. I finally got the motivation to get in my car and head up to the pool. The plan was to run while it was still light out, and then swim and drive home in the dark. I originally wanted to run the 3.5 mile loop twice at a decent pace and save some for the swimming. I ended up running closer to 8.5 since at mile 5ish I realized I was thirsty and it was really hot out. And since I was closer to my house than the pool where my car was, I decided to head back home to get some water and cool off for a second. As soon as I stopped running I realized how hot I was. Considering the heat I gladly accepted a ride back up to the pool. I was content with the 8 or so miles I was able to put out.

The swim is where the workout gets interesting. Jumping in the pool was like biting into a huge burger after not eating all day. It was so cold, and I was burning hot. Great combination. My plan was to do interval training similar to the workout we did at masters the other night. Although, due to the intense run which preceded my reawakening in the pool, I decided to do a slow warm up and swim distance working on my form. This lasted for about 1000 yards when I decided I should probably start doing some sort of interval work. I did 10 100's on the 1:35 for the first 4, 1:45 for the next 4, and 1:35 again for the last 2. I was thoroughly tired after all of this.

The hardest part about tonights workout (and the reason it was so great) was because the whole time I had 2 voices in my head. One voice was saying, you are really tired, your legs are worn out, you can stop anytime now. The other voice was saying why are you going so slow? You aren't that worn out, keep pushing. The mental game can be difficult to deal with sometimes and being able to overcome those voices is a great skill to have. Personally I try to find somewhere in the middle. I push myself, but I know when I'm done, even if the voice in my head is still yelling at me to keep going.

Summary:

8.5ish run at 7-7:30 pace

1000 yard swim warmup
4x100 @1:20 pace on the 1:35
4x100 @1:35 pace on the 1:45
2x100 @1:20 pace on the 1:40

Plate of rice and ham/bean soup... Delish

Soon enough I'll decide on what kind of heart rate monitor to get and I'll have some more accurate distances and paces on the running workouts. For now it's going by what I know and what seems reasonable. I've figured them out before using a map so the distances should all be within half a mile.

Also, get well soon to all the guys on my cycling team that have gotten injured in the past few days.

Listening to: Walls of Jericho

Feeling: Great

Never bite the hand that feeds you

After my post yesterday about how mad and bitter I was, I had someone talk some sense into me. I didn't really have any choice. It usually takes an outside source to help you realize the situation. You can't always get what you want. And even if there is something that you really want, there is 9 million other things you should be grateful for. It's reasonable to be angry when there is no discussion and you feel like you're getting shafted. But at that point it's even harder to see everything that you should be happy for. And of course, that's why you will encounter people in your life who will set you straight on more occasion than one. "Old Fashioned" might not seem like it's better, but I think the world would be a much better place if more people were.

After the run yesterday my hip joints were a little sore. I guess it's a lot easier to get back on a bike after a break than to get out for a run after a break. I need to start showing up to work on time so I'm going to skip my workout this morning and get in a nice brick this evening. Probably swim and run. I don't do those very often but I'd like to get a good run in to get my legs back into running shape. So here's the plan. Keep in mind the order isn't so important. Depending on how light it is outside I might have to do the run first.

Intensity workout -150's at varying levels of intensity with 25 sprints mixed in (Similar to masters workout from the other night.)

Distance run - 5-6 miles working on form.

The worst part about coming off of a break is feeling like your back in the groove. You desperately want to get out for a break through workout which is hard to do in the morning before work. We'll see how it goes tonight. I'm looking forward to the race this weekend, it's going to be fast.

Thank you for being "Old Fashioned".

Listening to: Goo Goo Dolls (Go ahead, you can say it)

Feeling: Better

Anger Management

I train harder when I'm mad/bitter/angry or whatever. I'm not sure why, but inside I feel like the only way I'll get over it is if I beat it out of myself. I get even more down on my spirits when it's something out of my control, and there is no dialog for me to present my side of the story. Even if there was I don't think anyone would be listening. "Old Fashioned"is not always better.

I did some ab work this morning. I need to work on my core muscles. It will help all around with swimming, cycling, and running form. I woke up a little later than usual so I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it out for a run, but considering my mood I figured I should.

5k - 6:30-7:30 pace

My goal was to get out for a fast, quick run, to wake my legs up and make sure I remembered how to push on shorter distances (i.e. for sprint races just like the one that's coming up this weekend). Besides it being so humid out it was a good run. My ankle has stopped getting sore afterwards and my knee doesn't seem to be popping as much.

Possibly a swim workout tonight. A few errands to run though so maybe not. Thanks for listening.

Listening to: Gangstarr - Battle

Feeling: Bitter

I feel alive again.

What a feeling! I've been off the bike for a week. I think it was needed in order to let my legs equilibrate. But it felt great to back on. Everything felt just like it should and even better I didn't have any lower back pain and my strokes felt smooth.

Whenever I get ready to start a workout I always try to decide what it is I want to get out of the workout. If I can have something on my mind while I'm out I feel like I'm able to benefit from each individual workout more so than if I'm out there just riding/running/swimming with no purpose. Today I just wanted to focus on getting used to being in the aero position for longer periods of time and keeping a consistent pace with little or no abrupt changes in speed. Basically getting used to how I'm going to need to ride in the race.

I started out with all of this in mind. I figured I'd average 19-20, you know, take it easy and concentrate on my form. No way. I felt so good I just pushed and pushed and ended up averaging 21.1 over 36.9 miles. This was probably a good thing because pushing yourself puts a lot of stress on your form and it takes some practice to keep a comfortable aerodynamic position while pushing your limits. I'm feeling good and really looking forward to the race.

It's going to be long, and extremely difficult but I really feel like I'm preparing myself for the battle ahead.

Listening to: The Sound of Animals Fighting

Feeling: Great

Back on the daily grind...

Birthday week is officially over. It has by far been the most amazing weekend, especially after an epic Friday night which involved ordering off the "Secret List" at our favorite beer house (which has a 30 page beer menu normally that isn't secret") and a massive fresh caught tuna dinner with literally tons of rice, carrots, asparagus and bread. Big thanks to everyone who came out, it was a blast.



Now on to the training. I'm thinking a 30 miler on the bike today with some running afterwards. Nothing crazy, just something to get everything back into the swing of things. The I Love The Tavern sprint race is next Sunday, which I still need to sign up for. Nevermind, I just signed up. It's a 750 meter swim, 18.8 mile bike, and 3 mile run. I'm excited because I think my family might come to this race. It's going to be a good one if I can get out for some good training this week.

For sprints my strategy is usually to keep the intensity up all the way until the Friday before, then take Friday off or just do an easy bike or run, then use Saturday to load up on fluids (mostly Gatorade) and good food so I have plenty of calories in my system. Nothing to extreme, just making sure I eat something at each meal and not cut any corners. This seems to work well since each of the distances is significantly shorter than most of my training distances. It's going to be good.

New video on the left. Michael Phelps is a monster in the water. The music is good but I think there might be a few curse words, so if you're at work, beware.

Listening to: Underoath - Impact Of Reasoning

Feeling: Rested

Off week. Swim practice.

This week has certainly been an off week. No running or biking since Sunday. I've been going to swim practice but I really wanted to give my joints and muscles a chance to rest. I've always felt that a week off from time to time is a good thing. Especially if you take the opportunity to eat plenty of good food and spend time with your friends and family. A great way to recharge your battery and remind what is really important in life. Along with all of this and considering the birthday festivities this week I think it worked out perfectly. Everything will pick back up again Sunday with another hard brick.

Swim practice tonight was great. Long sets of varying distance with a few 100% sprints in between. Amazing. I used to find some of the drills we did overly complicated and some of the sets somewhat silly, but my faith in our coach was revived tonight with the workout we did. We did a few zipper drills with some slow stroke work. It was great because I could actually feel what it was the drills were forcing us to work on (mostly turning my hips with my shoulders). The main set totaled to around 1200 yards and included 150's of different levels of effort and a few 25 sprints. I'm tired and enjoying this chance to take it easy. I'm also looking forward to getting back into the groove and driving myself into the ground. :)

Listening to: Nothing

Feeling: Sleepy

Swim workout without THAT guy

Easyish workout. Did the distance thing again but it didn't feel as long as before which is good. I think next time I'll bump up the distance on each set (i.e. 5x400) or push the pace a little faster (@ 3:00 pace and starting on the 3:15). Bumping up the pace will take some speed work which I'm thinking might just be better for the winter when race season is over. Here's the workout.

5x100 - Warmup, no time, work on form and pull.
5x200 - @3:15 pace, leave on the 3:35
5x100 -@1:25 pace, leave on the 1:35 (this didn't last long)
1x300 - @4:30 pace
1x200 - @3:25 pace
1x50 - Cooldown, 3 kick switch.

Next race is hopefully going to be the I Love The Tavern sprint on July 1.

Oh yeah, it's my birthday too. :)

Listening to: City and Colour - Like Knives

Feeling: Older

The worst of the worst and the best of the best

Before I tell you about the workout today, I'll start by setting the scene. It was 90 degrees and sunny today which made for an interesting day and a nice tan.

I started out on the road bike feeling great. My legs were feeling fresh and I had energy. The bike was loaded up with 3 gels, and two water bottles with roughly 3 scoops of Cytomax(Berry flavored... mmmm) between both of them, which totals to just about 600 calories total. My goal was to have a gel every 45 min and take in Cytomax every 20 or so minutes which turned into every 15 minutes towards the end of the ride. This seemed to work well. I was a little tired of all of the sweet stuff after an hour though. Over all I averaged 19.5 mph over 54 miles which I felt good with since I was on the road bike and it was so hot out.

Once I made it back to home base I strapped on the iPod and running shoes and started out on my run. For me cycling is a sport where I feel great while I'm doing it, but when I'm done it hits me like a brick how taxing it can be on your energy. I never have this problem in Sprint races since the distance is so short that you don't have time to drain yourself. The run today brought me back to 6th grade when I could barely run a mile. My normal 6 mile route felt like 26 miles, and not to mention I was drenched in sweat... awesome. I still kept a 7:45-8 min/mile pace. My goal for the race is to keep a sub 8 min mile for the 13 miles which I think is reasonable.

Here's where it gets bad. I got home and have never in my life felt so drained and void of energy. I tried drinking a large glass of water and could barely keep it down. My face was covered in salt crystals and any remaining sweat somehow found its way into my eyes. Not to complain but I felt like a train had hit me.

So following one of the best workouts in a long time considering the distances I was overcome by the worst feeling ever. I'm guessing this is a sign that I need to drink more on the bike and probably eat something solid (Cliff bar or something similar). I'm feeling confident. I know I'll be able to do it come race day, the question is just how well.

Listening to : Circa Survive again. Their new CD is amazing and borderline life changing.

Feeling : Dead

Time trial...

I got into triathlons because I was a strong cyclist. I still consider myself a strong cyclist, I am faster than most and can keep up on fast paced group rides with no problem. But... here's the but, I'm sure you saw it coming... there is a HUGE difference between a cyclist and a triathlete. I made cyclist bold because I mean the kind of person who cycles and only cycles. The main difference I think is the ability to concentrate on one sport as opposed to three, which is sort of obvious.

At the time trial today I was middle of the pack, but to my relief surrounded by other triathletes (most of who usually do very well at races). I could have been having a bad day, or maybe I'm not in as good of cycling shape as I thought I was. It certainly takes some very powerful legs to be good at it. I'm so used to getting on the bike soaking wet and having nothing to look forward to but a run. The idea of powering for 24 straight miles saving no energy hasn't gotten into my head yet. I won't be quitting tri's for cycling anytime soon.

HUGE workout tomorrow.

Feeling: bamboozled - that's right, i said it

Listening to: Circle Takes The Square

Swim

VA State Time Trial is this weekend. The legs are feeling good. I had a good showing at time trial practice last night with the team. I'm planning for a 50-60 miler on Sunday with some sort of run afterwards. I'm going to try using gel instead of Cytomax (which hasn't been sitting well with me lately). Biggest thing I'm going to work on in the next couple of weeks is distance and race fueling. I'd like to go the gel route as it seems to be the most convenient. I'll have race results and more on the training ride later this weekend.

Pretty crucial swim workout focusing on distance.

1000 Warmup
200x10 @3:10 pace on 3:30 splits
100x5 @1:30 pace on 1:40 splits
5x50 Long form and slow cool down

Listening to: Circa Survive - On Letting Go

Feeling: Tired and somewhat sore.

First post...

OK, so this blog is meant to be a training log and diary leading up to me and my best pal's first 1/2 Ironman. This is my second year doing triathlons and things are progressing well. I generally end up in the top 10% of the field and in the top 3 of my age group. But thats for sprint tris. The next step is the longer distance stuff. I told myself at the beginning of the season that I wanted to do a 1/2 IM this year. Since I'm famous for telling people that if they want to do something they just need to do it, I figured I should take my own advice. I signed up Tuesday June 12, 2007 and have a little less than three months to get myself ready. I'm fairly comfortable with the distances, now I just need to work on my pace and race nutrition.

So, I'll be posting everything from my training sessions, to random stuff, to race pictures and whatever else I feel like typing about. Feel free to comment or e-mail me.