Sorry yall, it's been a while. School started last Thursday and I've been trying to get into the swing of things. I have been working out and I have been thinking about the race. I've been running and swimming more than biking unfortunately. It's just a lot easier to put on my running shoes and head out the door than it is to put on my uniform, get on my cycling shoes, find my helmet, warm up and then finally get on the road. But that's OK. That's what Wednesday night time trial practice and weekends are for. I'm looking forward to getting in a good long ride this weekend. It won't be intense, but it'll be long and easy. I'd give you a recap of all the workouts from the past week or 2 but I honestly don't remember all of them. I know my running has been good. I've been keeping my heart rate up and pushing a 7 minute mile at times. My swim workouts have been awesome. I started using fins again and it's doing tons for my kicking. Along with the fins I've gone back to my swim workouts from last semester with a few ladders, drills and a long set. It's always a good workout. I can usually tell the next morning.
I had my running VO2 max tested this past Tuesday. Apparently for MOST people their running VO2 max is higher than their biking VO2 max. That is, except for me. haha. I'm an anomaly it looks like. I honestly haven't looked at the results yet but I do know it was higher than 60 (which is good) but still lower than 65.7 (which is strange). Here's where it gets interesting. I met with the head trainer at Endorphins (the local tri training facility) about setting up a workout plan for the off season. We sat down and looked at my race results, test results, talked about my goals and what kind of schedule I had. He seems to think that I have a lot of potential for improvement, especially on the swim and run. After talking about my workout plan he said I'm doing a lot of good stuff but I need more structure and technique work. Which I agree with. Structure and technique work is not something you do on your own, at least at first. Basically it comes down to becoming more efficient on the bike (which I am not), having better running form (which I defineatly do not have) and being more comfortable in the water. To do these things, you need someone to give you feed back and help you see your problems. Since his suggestions were reasonable and he was speaking from experience I'm willing to go a long with it. Most of their athlete's are usually in the top 10 at races and I figure that's enough for me. I don't know, maybe the power cranks and endless pool they have persuaded me a little bit too. haha. I'm really looking forward to getting in there and getting some good training in this winter. I'll probably be starting sometime in November after my last race.
Time to get ready for class. Golf tonight, bike tomorrow. We'll see.
Listening to: Not hardcore.
Feeling: Like it's Friday.
8.31.2007
8.23.2007
Race report
Good morning ladies and gents. I'm finally back from racing and vacation. It feels great to be back and relaxed and ready to start classes (and get back to training). My first class is today at 11 so this morning I'm getting my stuff together, cleaning up my room and doing some laundry. I was thinking about hitting the pool, but I really didn't want to rush and be late on the first day of class. So enough jiba jaba. There's some exciting stuff to type about the race.
So as you may know, the race on Saturday was my first Olympic distance race. I'll admit I was a little worried about it. I wasn't sure how I was going to do with the longer distances and the last thing I want to do is break half way through and not be able to finish. On top of this, if I could survive an Olympic race, I knew I was at least one step closer to finishing the Patriot's Half. So I was in Lurray all by myself, which by the way is an interesting experience. Finding yourself in a place that's sort of in the middle of no where and slightly isolated by yourself with crappy cell phone reception is a very... ummm... strange experience. Well, anyways, enough about that. The night before I had a HUGE dinner. Crab salad, blue cheese burger (cooked medium of course), fries, bread, bread pudding. I'm used to pigging out the night before races and Friday night was no different. I sort of feel like if I go to bed feeling full and good, I'll wake up feeling full and good. Plus, this way there's no worry of being calorie deficient, which would be strike number 1 for a longer race.
The swim was 1500 meters in Lake Arrowhead (I don't think it's a natural lake). They had a 750 meter triangle loop and we swam 2 laps around it. I felt fine with the swim, and actually didn't do half bad. I think I was 58th out of 35o people at 29 minutes. That's OK, I guess. The bad part is that the 3 guys ahead of me in my age group all swam 22 minutes. So I was 7 minutes back before I even got on the bike. So with that being said, I'm really happy that I did so well on the swim compared to everyone else, but unfortunately feeling good doesn't win races. I think my plan from now on will be to just do some 100-200 splits on a certain time to work on keeping pace for longer distances. The best part about the swim was that I never ran out of breath and I really never thought about quitting. My horrible experience from Giant Acorn is well in the past.
After the fun in the water, the run to T1 was quite long. It was on sand, over grass, up stars and through trees. Once I made to my bike, the transition was, umm, OK. I know I've been faster. Comparatively I was 45th fastest. That's good for me, but I need to find a faster way to get on my heart rate monitor and race top when I'm soaking wet. So once all that was figured out I was out on the trail. I felt good, and knew that I had it in me to power through 25 miles of beautiful roads at the foothills of the mountains. This was the most scenic and most interesting course I've ever ridden on. It was absolutely breath taking. There were fields, mountains, old barns, rivers, hills... it was amazing. It was also very dynamic. One minute you were on a flat, then it was a massive climb (which by the way I blew by people on), then it was a huge downhill (I actually hit 45 mph at one point), then flat again. The bike course looked like a lollipop, and we did 2 laps around the outer loop. The nice part about this was the 3 mile long gradual climb on the back side of the outer loop. Man it was awesome. HAHA. Holy crap. It honestly looked flat, or even down hill a little bit. But when I was struggling to do 16 mph, and I was passing people, I got the hint really quick that it wasn't flat. The second time around it wasn't nearly as bad since I knew what to expect and had some idea how long it was supposed to last. After the second loop they had us coming back towards the lake, but... first we took a quick detour. They brought us up the steepest hill I've ever ridden on my tri bike. I've hit some comparable hills, but on my road bike. Climbing on a tri bike just isn't as smooth. OK, I will say one thing about this hill so you can get a nice friendly mental picture. I was going 8 mph, max, and I passed 4 people on this hill. I honestly thing some of the back of the pack people probably had to walk their bikes up it. It was intense and cruel in some ways as well. And on the way into T2, before the bike dismount, the really scary looking guy with the US Coast Guard uniform on with the badass bike coming in right next to me damn near smashed his face. I don't know what he did, I don't know why he did it, but out of no where I heard a loud noise and I look to my left and this guy is on his front wheel and his rear wheel is quickly coming from behind. Sort of like when you were a kid and you hit a huge hole on your Huffy and you flipped over the handle bars and you thought it was going to hurt but when you got up you were OK. Just like that, except his bike was really expensive and his feet were firmly attached to his pedals. Bad news. He must have jammed on his front break, for whatever reason. Needless to say, I was a little worried considering he was 3 or 4 feet to my left. He made to the run with out any scratches, luckily. OK, so 20th fastest bike with a time of 1:15. A little longer than I had liked, but the course was a bit hilly, so I'll take it and go with it.
T2 was fast. I got in with my bike, racked it and then put my shoes on, and for a second stopped and felt like I was forgetting something. Once my head kicked in I should be running I was out the door. For some reason, running 6 miles after all of this was a little worrisome. I wasn't sure how I'd feel at mile 4 or even at mile 2. I knew it was going to be tough. I did the smartest thing I could do. I caught up with a guy I passed on the bike at the very end, and stuck with him. The run was hilly also, but not as bad as the bike. I was able to pull out a 45 min 10K. Not too much to be said about the run. I mean, what do you want me to say? I ran.... for 6.2 miles.... I had on my running shoes? Haha. It was good times. I didn't crack and managed to pass a bunch of people too. The idea of running 13 miles is looking more and more reasonable every day.
Nutrition wise this race was great. I sucked down as much water and Heed as possible. I used 2 gels on the bike. One at mile 8, and one at mile 20. Then on the run at mile 3ish I had another one. Before the race I did the usual, bagel, banana, and Gatorade. Right before the swim I did have some shot blocks (basically gels in the form of gummies). I had enough energy to make it home, and then to VA beach, so I guess I did something right.
So... here's the exciting part. For my first Olympic race, I was 40th overall. I'm very very pleased with this. I was 4th in my age group, and it's only because they beat me on the swim, I beat them all on the bike and we were fairly close on the run. Close enough that the swim is what dealt out the awards that day. The good thing, I know now exactly what I need to work on.
The beach was amazing. I didn't do anything. I did a little surfing, but other than that, I didn't do anything, except, eat sleep and lay around. It was great. OK, I did run a few times, but it was only so I could say I ran on the beach. I didn't even put on my HRM. It was great. I feel relaxed and ready to go. Honestly I'm really glad to be starting school today, because it sort of shifts my schedule back into place and hopefully I'll have some more time in the mornings to train.
Thanks for reading guys. Swimming tonight, downtown hopefully. Hope you enjoyed the report and pictures.
Listening to: Nothing
Feeling: Tan
So as you may know, the race on Saturday was my first Olympic distance race. I'll admit I was a little worried about it. I wasn't sure how I was going to do with the longer distances and the last thing I want to do is break half way through and not be able to finish. On top of this, if I could survive an Olympic race, I knew I was at least one step closer to finishing the Patriot's Half. So I was in Lurray all by myself, which by the way is an interesting experience. Finding yourself in a place that's sort of in the middle of no where and slightly isolated by yourself with crappy cell phone reception is a very... ummm... strange experience. Well, anyways, enough about that. The night before I had a HUGE dinner. Crab salad, blue cheese burger (cooked medium of course), fries, bread, bread pudding. I'm used to pigging out the night before races and Friday night was no different. I sort of feel like if I go to bed feeling full and good, I'll wake up feeling full and good. Plus, this way there's no worry of being calorie deficient, which would be strike number 1 for a longer race.
The swim was 1500 meters in Lake Arrowhead (I don't think it's a natural lake). They had a 750 meter triangle loop and we swam 2 laps around it. I felt fine with the swim, and actually didn't do half bad. I think I was 58th out of 35o people at 29 minutes. That's OK, I guess. The bad part is that the 3 guys ahead of me in my age group all swam 22 minutes. So I was 7 minutes back before I even got on the bike. So with that being said, I'm really happy that I did so well on the swim compared to everyone else, but unfortunately feeling good doesn't win races. I think my plan from now on will be to just do some 100-200 splits on a certain time to work on keeping pace for longer distances. The best part about the swim was that I never ran out of breath and I really never thought about quitting. My horrible experience from Giant Acorn is well in the past.
After the fun in the water, the run to T1 was quite long. It was on sand, over grass, up stars and through trees. Once I made to my bike, the transition was, umm, OK. I know I've been faster. Comparatively I was 45th fastest. That's good for me, but I need to find a faster way to get on my heart rate monitor and race top when I'm soaking wet. So once all that was figured out I was out on the trail. I felt good, and knew that I had it in me to power through 25 miles of beautiful roads at the foothills of the mountains. This was the most scenic and most interesting course I've ever ridden on. It was absolutely breath taking. There were fields, mountains, old barns, rivers, hills... it was amazing. It was also very dynamic. One minute you were on a flat, then it was a massive climb (which by the way I blew by people on), then it was a huge downhill (I actually hit 45 mph at one point), then flat again. The bike course looked like a lollipop, and we did 2 laps around the outer loop. The nice part about this was the 3 mile long gradual climb on the back side of the outer loop. Man it was awesome. HAHA. Holy crap. It honestly looked flat, or even down hill a little bit. But when I was struggling to do 16 mph, and I was passing people, I got the hint really quick that it wasn't flat. The second time around it wasn't nearly as bad since I knew what to expect and had some idea how long it was supposed to last. After the second loop they had us coming back towards the lake, but... first we took a quick detour. They brought us up the steepest hill I've ever ridden on my tri bike. I've hit some comparable hills, but on my road bike. Climbing on a tri bike just isn't as smooth. OK, I will say one thing about this hill so you can get a nice friendly mental picture. I was going 8 mph, max, and I passed 4 people on this hill. I honestly thing some of the back of the pack people probably had to walk their bikes up it. It was intense and cruel in some ways as well. And on the way into T2, before the bike dismount, the really scary looking guy with the US Coast Guard uniform on with the badass bike coming in right next to me damn near smashed his face. I don't know what he did, I don't know why he did it, but out of no where I heard a loud noise and I look to my left and this guy is on his front wheel and his rear wheel is quickly coming from behind. Sort of like when you were a kid and you hit a huge hole on your Huffy and you flipped over the handle bars and you thought it was going to hurt but when you got up you were OK. Just like that, except his bike was really expensive and his feet were firmly attached to his pedals. Bad news. He must have jammed on his front break, for whatever reason. Needless to say, I was a little worried considering he was 3 or 4 feet to my left. He made to the run with out any scratches, luckily. OK, so 20th fastest bike with a time of 1:15. A little longer than I had liked, but the course was a bit hilly, so I'll take it and go with it.
T2 was fast. I got in with my bike, racked it and then put my shoes on, and for a second stopped and felt like I was forgetting something. Once my head kicked in I should be running I was out the door. For some reason, running 6 miles after all of this was a little worrisome. I wasn't sure how I'd feel at mile 4 or even at mile 2. I knew it was going to be tough. I did the smartest thing I could do. I caught up with a guy I passed on the bike at the very end, and stuck with him. The run was hilly also, but not as bad as the bike. I was able to pull out a 45 min 10K. Not too much to be said about the run. I mean, what do you want me to say? I ran.... for 6.2 miles.... I had on my running shoes? Haha. It was good times. I didn't crack and managed to pass a bunch of people too. The idea of running 13 miles is looking more and more reasonable every day.
Nutrition wise this race was great. I sucked down as much water and Heed as possible. I used 2 gels on the bike. One at mile 8, and one at mile 20. Then on the run at mile 3ish I had another one. Before the race I did the usual, bagel, banana, and Gatorade. Right before the swim I did have some shot blocks (basically gels in the form of gummies). I had enough energy to make it home, and then to VA beach, so I guess I did something right.So... here's the exciting part. For my first Olympic race, I was 40th overall. I'm very very pleased with this. I was 4th in my age group, and it's only because they beat me on the swim, I beat them all on the bike and we were fairly close on the run. Close enough that the swim is what dealt out the awards that day. The good thing, I know now exactly what I need to work on.
The beach was amazing. I didn't do anything. I did a little surfing, but other than that, I didn't do anything, except, eat sleep and lay around. It was great. OK, I did run a few times, but it was only so I could say I ran on the beach. I didn't even put on my HRM. It was great. I feel relaxed and ready to go. Honestly I'm really glad to be starting school today, because it sort of shifts my schedule back into place and hopefully I'll have some more time in the mornings to train.
Thanks for reading guys. Swimming tonight, downtown hopefully. Hope you enjoyed the report and pictures.Listening to: Nothing
Feeling: Tan
8.16.2007
Yarg
Wow, I'm in a really crappy mood tonight. I don't know why but everything is making me angry. Even more of a reason to come here and type about something that will cheer me up. And by the way, the weather is pretty crazy at the moment, so if the power goes out... you won't be reading this. So as I said earlier, there's a lot to talk about. Big race this weekend, which I will, unfortunately and unexpectedly, be doing by myself. My girlfriend has to work so she can't make it and my training partner is M.I.A. Oh well, sometimes you just have to tighten your bootstraps and get serious. A few of my teammates and myself had our VO2 max levels checked earlier in the week and I've had a few good workouts. So sit back, get some popcorn and relax (just don't fall asleep).
Lets start with the VO2 max testing. So, they set your bike up on a trainer and hook all these wires up to it. Along with all of the wires they put a nice book sized box on your bars that tells you a whole bunch of stuff. Some of it I didn't even recognize. Random numbers everywhere. Then (here comes the scary part), they put this mask on your face which covers your nose and mouth. The idea being that any air that you breathe out is picked up by the machine. It also has a valve that opens when you breathe in. Needless to say, you have to take slightly deeper breathes to make it open. When I was telling my buddies about this, they all said "Oh, yeah, like the Gatorade commercial". Yes, just like the Gatorade commercial, just not as smooth looking or feeling, and oh yeah, we all had sweeter bikes. So they start the test at 25 watts of resistance. You are told to pedal at a cadence of 80-90 rpm. The test will go on as long as you can maintain that cadence. Sounds easy? Of course it does, only because I forgot to mention that they increase the wattage by 25 watts every time your heart rate stabilizes. Everything is OK until you start breathing hard and you need every bit of air you can get, and the damn valve stops you from taking those breathes just enough that it gets a little scary at times. So from this test we should be able to get an idea about different training zones (i.e. for endurance, or speed etc.) and of course we can get an idea of how "fit" we are by our VO2 max. So my total was 65.4 (if I remember correctly). It was in the mid 60's I do remember that. The guy who ran the test for us said that the majority of people who come there to get tested are in the 50's. A few people are in the 60's (us apparently), and almost nobody gets in the 70's. So I think I passed. No training zones yet though. We're just waiting on him to send us our reports.
Workouts for this week. Let's see. Where did we leave off. Oh yes, golf on Sunday. So Monday evening I hit the gym as usual. This time I was pretty sore from all of the twisting and turning from the golf range. There are some very interesting ab muscles that get a workout when you play golf. I ended up getting a great workout in though. I did a lot of my sets to burnout, so by the end everything was pretty worn out. Especially my biceps and abs.
Tuesday we had VO2 max testing. Luckily it was early enough that I was still able to make it to swim practice and then run. We did 2000 meters at swim practice with A LOT of work on our transitions. Meaning transitioning from right arm stroke to left arm stroke and getting as much power out of it and making it as fluid as possible. It really was one of those practices where I made some significant changes in the hour I was there. Thanks Pat for fixing my stroke. Now I just need to work on my kicking. The run afterwards was good. I feel better and better every single time I put my running shoes on. I'm looking forward to working on my running this winter. I think I could be a strong runner next season.
Yesterday was time trial practice. It was supposed to be an "easy" effort since it was in the upper 90's to low 100's. Well, easy for the several cat-2 and 3 cyclists and world class triathlete and duathlete that were there. Jeez. I love time trial practice because its really a great workout and I get a lot of feed back from the people that are there on my form and other things, but man can I get a break??? I'm doing almost 30 mph at some points and I'm barely keeping up. Something seems off here to me. 30 mph... easy workout... barely keeping up.... Or maybe they're just monsters, oh yeah, I forgot, that's it. Same thing with the run. It was supposed to be easy. I was guessing 3 miles at an 8 min pace. Thats pretty easy. Nah, it was 4.5 miles at a 7:15 pace. Good god. It's good for me though. I keep telling myself that. It's why I succeed against other people in my age group at races.
Today... I just went to the gym. No cardio. I didn't want to wear myself out and spoil my legs for Saturday. I did light weights on everything in hopes of just keeping everything alive and awake with out tearing up too many muscle fibers. Then I came home and ate a ham sandwich, and damn was it good.
So now it's time for some race strategy. Crush it. It's longer, but not long enough that I feel like I should pace myself too much. I'll pace on the swim, a little bit, maybe in the begining, but as soon as I'm out of the water, it's on like Donky Kong... uhhh, ok maybe not like that. But it's gonna be crazy. I'm comfortable doing the 25 miles on the bike, and 6 miles on the run is just a matter of finding that rhythm and sticking with it. Since most of my training has shifter to longer distances, I'm confident that I'll be able to find that cruising pace and stick with it. In fact, I think I actually struggle at shorter distance races because I'm so used to a more long distance type pace. Not a a sub 7 mile for sure. Between 7 and 8 is more reasonable for distances over 3 miles. So that's what I'm shooting for. Goal time... under 2:30. I'd like to be under 2:27 so I can hopefully take the age group, that is if the competition is the same as last year. We'll see.
As soon as the race is over... it's off to the beach for 5 days. Finally I'll have the chance to even out my triathlete's tan. I'm really looking forward to running on the beach. And laying around, and reading, and eating good seafood, and doing nothing. I'm just disappointed my lady frined won't be able to make it. It'll be time for some self reflection... haha, maybe not. Maybe just some rest and relaxation. Who knows maybe she'll be able to get a day off work and make it down. That'd be great.
Good night ladies and gents. I'll be back on the 22nd. See you then!
Listening to: Thunder
Feeling: Edgy
Lets start with the VO2 max testing. So, they set your bike up on a trainer and hook all these wires up to it. Along with all of the wires they put a nice book sized box on your bars that tells you a whole bunch of stuff. Some of it I didn't even recognize. Random numbers everywhere. Then (here comes the scary part), they put this mask on your face which covers your nose and mouth. The idea being that any air that you breathe out is picked up by the machine. It also has a valve that opens when you breathe in. Needless to say, you have to take slightly deeper breathes to make it open. When I was telling my buddies about this, they all said "Oh, yeah, like the Gatorade commercial". Yes, just like the Gatorade commercial, just not as smooth looking or feeling, and oh yeah, we all had sweeter bikes. So they start the test at 25 watts of resistance. You are told to pedal at a cadence of 80-90 rpm. The test will go on as long as you can maintain that cadence. Sounds easy? Of course it does, only because I forgot to mention that they increase the wattage by 25 watts every time your heart rate stabilizes. Everything is OK until you start breathing hard and you need every bit of air you can get, and the damn valve stops you from taking those breathes just enough that it gets a little scary at times. So from this test we should be able to get an idea about different training zones (i.e. for endurance, or speed etc.) and of course we can get an idea of how "fit" we are by our VO2 max. So my total was 65.4 (if I remember correctly). It was in the mid 60's I do remember that. The guy who ran the test for us said that the majority of people who come there to get tested are in the 50's. A few people are in the 60's (us apparently), and almost nobody gets in the 70's. So I think I passed. No training zones yet though. We're just waiting on him to send us our reports.
Workouts for this week. Let's see. Where did we leave off. Oh yes, golf on Sunday. So Monday evening I hit the gym as usual. This time I was pretty sore from all of the twisting and turning from the golf range. There are some very interesting ab muscles that get a workout when you play golf. I ended up getting a great workout in though. I did a lot of my sets to burnout, so by the end everything was pretty worn out. Especially my biceps and abs.
Tuesday we had VO2 max testing. Luckily it was early enough that I was still able to make it to swim practice and then run. We did 2000 meters at swim practice with A LOT of work on our transitions. Meaning transitioning from right arm stroke to left arm stroke and getting as much power out of it and making it as fluid as possible. It really was one of those practices where I made some significant changes in the hour I was there. Thanks Pat for fixing my stroke. Now I just need to work on my kicking. The run afterwards was good. I feel better and better every single time I put my running shoes on. I'm looking forward to working on my running this winter. I think I could be a strong runner next season.
Yesterday was time trial practice. It was supposed to be an "easy" effort since it was in the upper 90's to low 100's. Well, easy for the several cat-2 and 3 cyclists and world class triathlete and duathlete that were there. Jeez. I love time trial practice because its really a great workout and I get a lot of feed back from the people that are there on my form and other things, but man can I get a break??? I'm doing almost 30 mph at some points and I'm barely keeping up. Something seems off here to me. 30 mph... easy workout... barely keeping up.... Or maybe they're just monsters, oh yeah, I forgot, that's it. Same thing with the run. It was supposed to be easy. I was guessing 3 miles at an 8 min pace. Thats pretty easy. Nah, it was 4.5 miles at a 7:15 pace. Good god. It's good for me though. I keep telling myself that. It's why I succeed against other people in my age group at races.
Today... I just went to the gym. No cardio. I didn't want to wear myself out and spoil my legs for Saturday. I did light weights on everything in hopes of just keeping everything alive and awake with out tearing up too many muscle fibers. Then I came home and ate a ham sandwich, and damn was it good.
So now it's time for some race strategy. Crush it. It's longer, but not long enough that I feel like I should pace myself too much. I'll pace on the swim, a little bit, maybe in the begining, but as soon as I'm out of the water, it's on like Donky Kong... uhhh, ok maybe not like that. But it's gonna be crazy. I'm comfortable doing the 25 miles on the bike, and 6 miles on the run is just a matter of finding that rhythm and sticking with it. Since most of my training has shifter to longer distances, I'm confident that I'll be able to find that cruising pace and stick with it. In fact, I think I actually struggle at shorter distance races because I'm so used to a more long distance type pace. Not a a sub 7 mile for sure. Between 7 and 8 is more reasonable for distances over 3 miles. So that's what I'm shooting for. Goal time... under 2:30. I'd like to be under 2:27 so I can hopefully take the age group, that is if the competition is the same as last year. We'll see.
As soon as the race is over... it's off to the beach for 5 days. Finally I'll have the chance to even out my triathlete's tan. I'm really looking forward to running on the beach. And laying around, and reading, and eating good seafood, and doing nothing. I'm just disappointed my lady frined won't be able to make it. It'll be time for some self reflection... haha, maybe not. Maybe just some rest and relaxation. Who knows maybe she'll be able to get a day off work and make it down. That'd be great.
Good night ladies and gents. I'll be back on the 22nd. See you then!
Listening to: Thunder
Feeling: Edgy
Coming soon...
Huge post coming tonight. Lots to talk about. Training since Sunday, race preperation, race tactics, VO2 max results, shenanigans, drugs, sex, and rock and roll. It's going to be awesome. Tonight, I promise.
Listening to: Roland Kirk
Feeling: Like a nut.
Listening to: Roland Kirk
Feeling: Like a nut.
8.12.2007
Golf
Yesterday's workout was a huge burnout for me. It was too hot for the kind of workout I did and I didn't refuel the way I should have. I had a headache for the rest of the evening and woke up with one. I was thinking of trying to swim today but defineatly wasn't feeling up to it. Instead, I decided to wash my car and mow the lawn... in the heat. Probably not a good idea, but it needed to be done. It's amazing how much the heat will take out of you, it really is debilitating.
Later on in the afternoon when it started to cool down one of my pals, who is really good at golf, and I went to the driving range. It's really only the second time I've went with serious intentions of working on my swing. You might not think so but golf is really tiring. It works muscles in your back that don't get worked on a daily basis. It also stretches them out, which is good since my back has been so tight lately. I was sweating by the time I was done. My swing was getting pretty good too. I just need to work on rotating my hips during my follow through.
Sorry for the pointless post.
Listening to: Coltrane
Feeling: Hungry
Later on in the afternoon when it started to cool down one of my pals, who is really good at golf, and I went to the driving range. It's really only the second time I've went with serious intentions of working on my swing. You might not think so but golf is really tiring. It works muscles in your back that don't get worked on a daily basis. It also stretches them out, which is good since my back has been so tight lately. I was sweating by the time I was done. My swing was getting pretty good too. I just need to work on rotating my hips during my follow through.
Sorry for the pointless post.
Listening to: Coltrane
Feeling: Hungry
8.11.2007
85 with a heat index of hot
So in the last post, if you may recall, I had fallen on my wonderful 30 mile ride on Tuesday. Well, Tuesday night I went to swim practice and ran afterwards. Not so bad. I was fine. I got to practice early and swam just under 1000 before practice and we did 2000 during practice. Most of it was a long set which I altered myself to make some of the distances longer. So the rest of the team was doing shorter intervals (mostly 100's and 150's), I was doing 300-500's. Which was good since the Olympic race is next week. It's going to be awesome. I'm feeling good about myself in the water. I have the endurance, now it's just pushing myself to go faster (who would've thought you'd want to go fast in a race?). After practice I ran suicide trail, complete with the extra detours and gravity hill and it came out to just under 4 miles. It was a good workout. The last thing I want to do this winter is stop running or biking because when the season comes back you're starting from scratch. It's taken me this long to really get my groove again. The key will be maintaining it.
Today my plan was to get in the pool and swim for about an hour and get in 2000 meters. But.... since I do have a life and decided to stay out a little later than I usually do last night, I didn't wake up until 11, and figured a bike/run brick would be appropriate. So on the bike I did 30 miles, averaging 21.1. 10 minutes of the ride was the one foot pedal drills, which by the way are even harder in the aero bars. It was hot, but I was drinking and pouring water on my face to stay cool so I was feeling pretty strong when I got home. That was until I started running. The first mile was absolutely torture. I don't know what was wrong, but it was the longest mile of my life. My legs were heavy and I was thirsty. After that though, everything fell into place as it usually does. I brought a water bottle with me which made a huge difference. I had my rhythm and I just went with it. Total distance was 5.8 miles at a 8 min pace so I was out for a little under an hour. It was so hot. At mile 4.5ish my heart rate was up to 185 which was a little scary but I think the heat had a huge part in that. I was drenched with sweat and I still feel pretty dead. Next on the list of things to do is eat as much as possible. Great workout today. Good prep for the race next week. Total calories... 2450... which is exactly why I'm leaving you to go eat.
Have a good night ladies and gents.
Listening to: My heartbeat
Feeling: Awesome
Today my plan was to get in the pool and swim for about an hour and get in 2000 meters. But.... since I do have a life and decided to stay out a little later than I usually do last night, I didn't wake up until 11, and figured a bike/run brick would be appropriate. So on the bike I did 30 miles, averaging 21.1. 10 minutes of the ride was the one foot pedal drills, which by the way are even harder in the aero bars. It was hot, but I was drinking and pouring water on my face to stay cool so I was feeling pretty strong when I got home. That was until I started running. The first mile was absolutely torture. I don't know what was wrong, but it was the longest mile of my life. My legs were heavy and I was thirsty. After that though, everything fell into place as it usually does. I brought a water bottle with me which made a huge difference. I had my rhythm and I just went with it. Total distance was 5.8 miles at a 8 min pace so I was out for a little under an hour. It was so hot. At mile 4.5ish my heart rate was up to 185 which was a little scary but I think the heat had a huge part in that. I was drenched with sweat and I still feel pretty dead. Next on the list of things to do is eat as much as possible. Great workout today. Good prep for the race next week. Total calories... 2450... which is exactly why I'm leaving you to go eat.
Have a good night ladies and gents.
Listening to: My heartbeat
Feeling: Awesome
8.07.2007
OUCH
Well. I went to the gym last night and got in a good workout. I did my normal a little bit of everything workout but focused a little bit more on back and biceps. Basically I just did an extra set of each. Next time I'll do chest and triceps. I'm not so keen on the idea of specializing each workout to a certain muscle group, especially since I'm there for fitness and muscle endurance, so for this reason I'm going to stick with the multiple muscle group workouts. It seems to be working. I feel stronger and don't look as soft (haha, at least I hope not). Great workout followed by some brown rice and steamed dumplings. mmmm.
I was up early this morning for a 30 miler. I told myself that I really need to start riding more, so I got up this morning and went for a ride. It was a good ride. I averaged roughly 20 mph and the calorie count was just over 1000. Pretty good for before 8:30 in the morning. On the way back I decided to do some pedaling drills. I've never tried these before but many have suggested so I figured why not. So the idea is to unclip one shoe and leave the other clipped in. All of the work is put on that one leg that is still clipped in. It sounds a little silly and pointless, but oh is it painful. I did 1 minute on each leg, 3 times.I rested about 15 seconds between each leg, so it was roughly 10 minutes of these things. It's not so bad at first, but after awhile you start finding muscles that didn't exist 15 minutes ago. I can defineatly see the advantage of doing these types of drills. It helps with having a smooth pedal and develops a strong circular pedaling form, which I apparently do not have. So here's where it gets exciting, or maybe not so exciting. I was on my way up one of the last hills. Crankin' it. My legs were feeling good since I just finished the drills and I was on my way home. I came around the corner at the top of the hill.... hit some gravel... and hit the ground. Talk about scary. The part that hurt the most was that I had fallen on gravel so not only was I all cut up but there was shit all over me. One woman stopped and asked if I had a cellphone, and then kept driving. There was a truck driver who was nice enough to stop, ask if I was OK, and then wait to make sure I was on my way. He offered to give me a ride, but I wanted to make it home myself.. You can see the extent of the damage below, or... well, maybe not. I'll spare you all the pictures since I think a few ladies read this. Luckily my bike wasn't damaged and I wasn't seriously injured. My arm is cut up and my leg and knee are scraped up a little. I looked worse than I felt when I got home. The ironic thing, was that when I was doing the one footed pedal drills, a woman stopped and asked if I was OK. I guess I looked like I was in pain. I was a little surprised by this since most drivers aren't so considerate towards cyclists. And then 10 minutes later I wiped out. I dunno, maybe it was an omen, or just a coincidence, or maybe I just have a really miserable looking game face.
Well there is a good side to this. I still managed to average over 20 mph and get a good workout, and I now know what it feels like to ride home bloody and sore. Haha. Well hopefully it's not only the first but the last.
Hope everyone has a good day. Swimming and running tonight.
Listening to: The most epic trance set ever made...(you know which one I'm talking about)
Feeling: Stingy (not stingy like cheap, but stingy like my arm stings)
I was up early this morning for a 30 miler. I told myself that I really need to start riding more, so I got up this morning and went for a ride. It was a good ride. I averaged roughly 20 mph and the calorie count was just over 1000. Pretty good for before 8:30 in the morning. On the way back I decided to do some pedaling drills. I've never tried these before but many have suggested so I figured why not. So the idea is to unclip one shoe and leave the other clipped in. All of the work is put on that one leg that is still clipped in. It sounds a little silly and pointless, but oh is it painful. I did 1 minute on each leg, 3 times.I rested about 15 seconds between each leg, so it was roughly 10 minutes of these things. It's not so bad at first, but after awhile you start finding muscles that didn't exist 15 minutes ago. I can defineatly see the advantage of doing these types of drills. It helps with having a smooth pedal and develops a strong circular pedaling form, which I apparently do not have. So here's where it gets exciting, or maybe not so exciting. I was on my way up one of the last hills. Crankin' it. My legs were feeling good since I just finished the drills and I was on my way home. I came around the corner at the top of the hill.... hit some gravel... and hit the ground. Talk about scary. The part that hurt the most was that I had fallen on gravel so not only was I all cut up but there was shit all over me. One woman stopped and asked if I had a cellphone, and then kept driving. There was a truck driver who was nice enough to stop, ask if I was OK, and then wait to make sure I was on my way. He offered to give me a ride, but I wanted to make it home myself.. You can see the extent of the damage below, or... well, maybe not. I'll spare you all the pictures since I think a few ladies read this. Luckily my bike wasn't damaged and I wasn't seriously injured. My arm is cut up and my leg and knee are scraped up a little. I looked worse than I felt when I got home. The ironic thing, was that when I was doing the one footed pedal drills, a woman stopped and asked if I was OK. I guess I looked like I was in pain. I was a little surprised by this since most drivers aren't so considerate towards cyclists. And then 10 minutes later I wiped out. I dunno, maybe it was an omen, or just a coincidence, or maybe I just have a really miserable looking game face.
Well there is a good side to this. I still managed to average over 20 mph and get a good workout, and I now know what it feels like to ride home bloody and sore. Haha. Well hopefully it's not only the first but the last.
Hope everyone has a good day. Swimming and running tonight.
Listening to: The most epic trance set ever made...(you know which one I'm talking about)
Feeling: Stingy (not stingy like cheap, but stingy like my arm stings)
8.04.2007
Motivation
The hardest thing about this sport is staying motivated to train hard with enough sustained intensity to reach your goals. There are days that you will wake up and not want to do a damn thing. Why? Not because your injured, or because you've plateaued, just because you don't want to do it. If you ate the same thing for breakfast every morning, there will come a day when you really just want something different. So what is the prescribed fix for this? Get out and do it. I was once told by one of my professors that he could tell me exactly what I needed to do to win the Nobel Prize. I was thinking he was going to say something corny and it would involve hard work and studying a lot. But I was surprised at what he told me. He said, you need to love what you're doing, be passionate about it. And most importantly, you need to be persistent. Not everything is going to work the way you want it to. But if you keep trying and approach your endeavors with a positive attitude and a genuine interest in succeeding you will not dissapoint yourself, or anyone else for that matter. I have commented previously on the struggle of balancing training with work and social stuff as being a really hard part about being a triathlete. I think that having the mental stamina to want to succeed every day is just as hard, and not something everyone can do.
"Some dream of success, others wake up and work hard at it"
So with that being said. I was pretty burnt out Thursday night. I really wasn't in the mood to swim or run any more. So I dragged myself to masters practice. The workout was interesting. It was put together around 300 m sets. We did our normal warmup and then went right into a 300 build by 50. Then we did 300 m of drills focusing on rotating in the water. The we did 6 50's. We repeated this with each set of 6 50's on a faster interval. It was a great workout to help work on some body positioning in the water and still get an aerobic workout. As usual, it was roughly 2000 m.
Afterwards I got the running gear on and set out to run suicide trail (appropriately named by my pal because of the terrible hill at the end). I added a few twists and extra turns so It would come out closer to 4 miles. My legs were tired. I feel a lot better on my feet than I did at the beginning of the season, but man I can tell when they're tired. I kept a 7:30 mile for most of the way and called it a night after the 4 mile loop. Usually, 2 loops isn't such a problem, but considering the previous workouts this week, 1 was OK for me.
Friday was a day off. I needed to let me legs rest so I could be revamped for the Saturday morning group ride.
My alarm clock went off at at 6:45 this morning and I had just about 30 minutes to wake up get on my uniform, get some water bottles and head out the door at 7:30 hopefully. I rode the 7 miles out to the meeting point. We had about 12 guys. At 8:03 we were on the road doing a solid 23 mph, which didn't stop the entire way. I sprinted up a few of the hills and did my turn at pulling for 10 or so miles maybe. I almost (keyword almost) got dropped on a few of the hills. I usually end up in a crappy position on the hills and am either trapped behind some guy who is out of shape or I'm pulling until the bottom of a hill when a few guys blow by me sprinting up the hill and I'm not in any condition to follow. The total ride distance was 51 miles with an average of 22.5 mph. Calorie count was at over 2000 and I didn't notice my heart rate get above 175. I was sweating a slightly more tan when I got back at just after 10. Not many people can say they did so much before 10 a.m. on a Saturday. I've been sitting around since then. My legs are tired and sore.
I'm thinking of building a serious track machine for off season solo training. You'll hear about the progress here. My pal said he'd sell me his track frame for $30-40 which is an awesome deal if you ask me. And since I'm such a savvy e-bayer now I think it'll be a fun project. No rush on it though.
I hope everyone is enjoying your air conditioned houses/appartments/places of occupation because it's humid out.
Listening to: Darude - Salmiakki Sessions #16 featuring Above and Beyond
Feeling: Like I should be taking EPO (just kidding).
"Some dream of success, others wake up and work hard at it"
So with that being said. I was pretty burnt out Thursday night. I really wasn't in the mood to swim or run any more. So I dragged myself to masters practice. The workout was interesting. It was put together around 300 m sets. We did our normal warmup and then went right into a 300 build by 50. Then we did 300 m of drills focusing on rotating in the water. The we did 6 50's. We repeated this with each set of 6 50's on a faster interval. It was a great workout to help work on some body positioning in the water and still get an aerobic workout. As usual, it was roughly 2000 m.
Afterwards I got the running gear on and set out to run suicide trail (appropriately named by my pal because of the terrible hill at the end). I added a few twists and extra turns so It would come out closer to 4 miles. My legs were tired. I feel a lot better on my feet than I did at the beginning of the season, but man I can tell when they're tired. I kept a 7:30 mile for most of the way and called it a night after the 4 mile loop. Usually, 2 loops isn't such a problem, but considering the previous workouts this week, 1 was OK for me.
Friday was a day off. I needed to let me legs rest so I could be revamped for the Saturday morning group ride.
My alarm clock went off at at 6:45 this morning and I had just about 30 minutes to wake up get on my uniform, get some water bottles and head out the door at 7:30 hopefully. I rode the 7 miles out to the meeting point. We had about 12 guys. At 8:03 we were on the road doing a solid 23 mph, which didn't stop the entire way. I sprinted up a few of the hills and did my turn at pulling for 10 or so miles maybe. I almost (keyword almost) got dropped on a few of the hills. I usually end up in a crappy position on the hills and am either trapped behind some guy who is out of shape or I'm pulling until the bottom of a hill when a few guys blow by me sprinting up the hill and I'm not in any condition to follow. The total ride distance was 51 miles with an average of 22.5 mph. Calorie count was at over 2000 and I didn't notice my heart rate get above 175. I was sweating a slightly more tan when I got back at just after 10. Not many people can say they did so much before 10 a.m. on a Saturday. I've been sitting around since then. My legs are tired and sore.
I'm thinking of building a serious track machine for off season solo training. You'll hear about the progress here. My pal said he'd sell me his track frame for $30-40 which is an awesome deal if you ask me. And since I'm such a savvy e-bayer now I think it'll be a fun project. No rush on it though.
I hope everyone is enjoying your air conditioned houses/appartments/places of occupation because it's humid out.
Listening to: Darude - Salmiakki Sessions #16 featuring Above and Beyond
Feeling: Like I should be taking EPO (just kidding).
8.01.2007
Good brick
So tonight was supposed to be time trial practice, and this morning was supposed to be a long run before work downtown. Well, 6 o'clock rolled around, and I called my pal, just like I said I would, to let him know I was coming his way. Well, I got no answer, and since it was 6 a.m., and it was 6 a.m., I went back to sleep. And what do ya know... my contacts got ruined before heading to work (it's a long story not worth telling), so time trial practice was out of the question, since running with my glasses on would be a miserable experience and I can't see without them. So after work, I decided to head home for a run/swim/run brick. Oh yes, not your standard run/bike brick. I could do those all day everyday, in fact, I don't think I ride my bike without running afterwards. It's standard. But running to the pool and swimming and then running back... now that's something I don't have the opportunity to do every day. OK, so what I did tonight:
Run: 3.5 miles at 7 min pace (it was quick)
Swim: Total workout distance - 3100 yards (damn it was long)
Warmup - 3x200
Set - Ladder x 4 - 300,200,100
Cooldown - 50 easy
Run: 2.5 miles in the dark (fast enough to sweat, slow enough to see where I was going)
The run to the pool tonight was crucial. I kept the pace up and focused on keeping my form "poppy" and "quick", if that makes an sense at all. I have a problem with slouching when I get tired or hot and becoming sluggish. I wanted to keep myself standing up straight and have fresh footing the whole way. It was an awesome run. I was drenched in sweat when I got to the pool.
The idea for the swim workout tonight was to just get the distance in. I wanted to give my arms a chance to feel what 3000 yards feels like. I kept a reasonable pace the whole time. Nothing so fast that I was dying, but fast enough that I had to work to keep the pace. It ended up being around a 1:40-1:45 pace. I'm happy with that. I only rested about a minute between each length and set. I didn't really need much longer (if that gives you an idea about the workout intensity). It was a good distance workout, you know how I know that? It was boring as hell. I'm glad I did it, but jeeze sprints would have been more fun.
The run home was interesting. It was dark out. Nothing too exciting. Just 2.5 miles home on another route. Once I got home I could tell I was running out of fuel. I just had that feeling. I was a little sick to my stomach too. Probably not a good thing. No worries though, I'm always happy to put the calories back. I'm guessing it was a 2000 calorie night. Need to eat more during the day.
Time to sleep... finally. Goodnight everyone.
Listening to: Silence
Feeling: Empty
Run: 3.5 miles at 7 min pace (it was quick)
Swim: Total workout distance - 3100 yards (damn it was long)
Warmup - 3x200
Set - Ladder x 4 - 300,200,100
Cooldown - 50 easy
Run: 2.5 miles in the dark (fast enough to sweat, slow enough to see where I was going)
The run to the pool tonight was crucial. I kept the pace up and focused on keeping my form "poppy" and "quick", if that makes an sense at all. I have a problem with slouching when I get tired or hot and becoming sluggish. I wanted to keep myself standing up straight and have fresh footing the whole way. It was an awesome run. I was drenched in sweat when I got to the pool.
The idea for the swim workout tonight was to just get the distance in. I wanted to give my arms a chance to feel what 3000 yards feels like. I kept a reasonable pace the whole time. Nothing so fast that I was dying, but fast enough that I had to work to keep the pace. It ended up being around a 1:40-1:45 pace. I'm happy with that. I only rested about a minute between each length and set. I didn't really need much longer (if that gives you an idea about the workout intensity). It was a good distance workout, you know how I know that? It was boring as hell. I'm glad I did it, but jeeze sprints would have been more fun.
The run home was interesting. It was dark out. Nothing too exciting. Just 2.5 miles home on another route. Once I got home I could tell I was running out of fuel. I just had that feeling. I was a little sick to my stomach too. Probably not a good thing. No worries though, I'm always happy to put the calories back. I'm guessing it was a 2000 calorie night. Need to eat more during the day.
Time to sleep... finally. Goodnight everyone.
Listening to: Silence
Feeling: Empty
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