NUW Security

I stopped by the Y today to get some laps in the pool, and had a product idea that is (dare I say?) brilliant! I shall call it the N.U.W. Security System, and it will be a valuable tool in protecting your semi-valuables in an unlocked locker. The key to this system? Nasty UnderWear. Who would want to reach through soiled panties or manties to root around in someones pockets? Now, they don't have to be actual soiled skivvies; it amazing what a schmere of brown shoe polish will do. And the deluxe model? They come with some dark colored curly fibers all over them.

Honestly ask yourself: would YOU touch them to get what's past them if you didn't know who's they were? I think not.

So, as I previously alluded to, I swam this evening. It sucked, but I'm glad I did it. I need to do it more often, and in greater volume. (that's what she said) Rest time is over, though, and it's base time. I also need to hit the gym and do a lot of muscle training. Ah, the off season!

And, since it's Christmas time, I thought I'd give my lady readers a gift:

Stay warm and hydrated. And no, Marcy, cosmos out of sippy cups don't count for hydration. Look it up.

Aquaman

Is it seriously only Wednesday? Geez, it feels like Friday at least. And today (at work) took FOREVER to end! Part of it is the anticipation of a long weekend, but part is that I've stepped up the training this week. I took an unplanned "rest" couple of weeks, with limited intensity, and it actually wound up being a great time to start the season anew. And Monday of this week I heard the most wonderful news of all: No kid's swim lessons this week at the Y!!!

The last couple of weeks, since school let out, have been awful in the pool. I've submitted my displeasure to the aquatics director, and maybe they will do something. Several days I've showed up to swim in one of the 3 lap lanes, only to find one is filled with physical therapy oldies, one has 2-3 people doing laps, and one has private kid's swim lessons going on. I don't have all day to wait, so I turn around and walk out. Talk about a motivation killer (for me)! At that point I may squeeze in a short run, or just go back to work so I can leave early and get a run or ride in. But not this week! I've swam 3 days in a row, and plan on finishing out the week in the same fashion. Add to that the other workouts (running and cycling, with a brick tomorrow) and it's a recipe for one tired David.

As far as the spectator report for IronGirl Atlanta '08, Wes, Scott, and I were duty-bound to suffer through 700+ sets of spandex clad boobies. Being a supportive husband isn't always easy, but at least it shows I care. Seriously, though, it was great to see Mendy, Denine (Mendy's friend), Robin, Jackie, Dee Dee, and Lauren have fun and do well, as well as all the other ladies (of widely varying physiques and speeds) tri-ing their best and doing something good. And believe me, it was a tough course! I told Scott I was glad I wasn't racing that day. See Mendy's blog for the pictorial. Of course, the preceding night's dinner was fantastic, and a great chance to meet Kevin and Cathy, along with all the other suspect characters. All the fixins of a great weekend!

I swear I'm going to get around to all the other blogs and check on my homies. Sorry for the absence - life has left little spare time lately.

M-W-F

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I'm presented with my greatest challenge and temptation. Those are my swim days. Those are the days I walk out to the parking lot, around the back of the cafeteria, and smell the aroma of food frying (soaking up grease) and start to taste it in my mind's palate. Other days, when I'm going to ride my bike and/or run, I'm not quite so tempted. But swim day? Well, those are easy targets for me to postpone. Or rather, "postpone", since I probably would make extremely little effort to make up those swims. Still, I walk on. I get in the car. I go to the stupid pool, and I try to pretend that I'm not about to drown.

In last month's GO Magazine, my friend and teammate G-man wrote an article about getting in your head and figuring out why you do what you do, why you are performing a workout, and why the basic human response to complain or make excuses can be the biggest damage. It's a good article, and goes a long way to explain why he's so messed in the head. And I mean that in the nicest possible way: Chris is an animal when it comes to training, and doesn't seem to experience the same fatigue and pain reactions that humans do. Perhaps he's really from another planet. Back to the point, it shores up the words underneath the title of my blog. Have you noticed them? It's a thought that occurred to me a while back, and have experienced more times than I can count. It has haunted me, limited me, propelled me, and energized me. There is no greater opponent in life than your own self doubt.

I have to brag on Mendy for a bit: She struggles with self doubt a lot, yet her courage to keep going inspires me. Sometimes she pretends not to listen to advice on how to improve, but she hears it and later I find out that she has tried it and either likes it or thinks the advice giver (usually me) is stupid. Well, maybe not that extreme, but she will decide if the technique or change is for her or not. Keep it up, Mendy, and don't let "it" catch you. You're doing great!

So, why do I keep walking to my car? Why don't I just turn around and go have a big plate of fries and a slider, then sit in the sun and doze off? I go to the pool to get better at swimming and more fit. I want to be better at triathlon, but it also helps me when I'm cycling and running. And when I'm doing those, I pass by people waddling out of the hamburger joint...again. I'm glad I'm not living that life, and can provide a healthy and active example for Grace for her life. I'm glad I will live long enough to enjoy lots more life with her and Mendy (as long as I stay away from the business end of bridges). And hopefully, to at least one person, I can be an example. When they ask, "Hey, long lunch, huh? Where'd you go?" I can reply, "I went and swam intervals for over a mile" or "I had to get some bike time in, so I blasted out a quick 24 miles" or "I needed to run, so I knocked out a quick 5 miler." And maybe one person will look at themselves, and make a change in their life, and enjoy extra days that they won't have by going to the burger joint.

But I wouldn't wish today's workout on ANYONE! LOL
200yd wu
50yd x 6 on 1:00
100yd x 4 on 2:05
200yd x 2 on 4:30
100yd x 4 on 2:05
50yd x 6 on 1:00
200yd cd

2200yds
49 minutes (total time in pool)
3.7 gallons of pool water swallowed

Have a good weekend!

I should have swam, instead

Funny how plans can take on a mind of their own. So, tomorrow I'm going to wolf down some Thai food with Eric, Chris, and Mendy. That means my normally scheduled Friday pool suffering has to shift. That means the brick I was thinking of doing after work had to move, too. So, the plan was to knock out the brick at lunch, and then swim after work as early as possible so Mendy could get to the tri clinic.

It was all going to plan, until I got a flat. See, the last time I rode my tri bike, I broke a spoke on my training set of wheels (yes, I'm that freakin' awesome!), so I had to mount a spare wheel. This was the first time riding it, and the wheel, tube, tire, and cassette (gears) went together moments before the ride. I normally have zero time to spare on a lunch brick, doing about 13.3 miles on the bike and 2.4 on the run. As soon as the road started feeling bumpy and the bike started to fishtail, I knew what it was. Damnit!!! So, do I change it and go home? Do I walk it home and use my sailor words the whole way? Do I quickly change it and continue with the brick? I chose the last option, but cut the bike route short (to 9.5 miles).

As if that wasn't enough, at the turn-around point on the bike I went to take a drink from my bottle, and sprayed Powerade right into my eye and all over my body and the bike. Are you serious? I was mad enough to quit, but I didn't. I could still salvage this! I hammered it home and went out for the run, which actually went rather well. The weather was beautiful (71-72) with almost no wind! And my run time was only 13 seconds slower than the stupid morning run I did yesterday, and that was without cycling prior. Yay!

Another interesting thing happened. Some mystery box arrived at our house around lunch time.

I wonder what the contents could really be?

It's probably not a prom dress; we are WAY too old for that, and still too cool to be chaperons to a prom. Hmmm, maybe Mendy can fill you all in this evening...

Update: nevermind! Swimming still sucks worse than changing a tube in the middle of a ride. Doing speed intervals when you are dog-tired, after doing a bunch of pull ups, is worse than changing tubes and attempting to blind yourself with blue, sugary, electrolyte drink!

Happy Hump Day!

Hope everyone has a humperiffic day today, and may all your humpiness be humptastic!

I have to swim today. Well, I don't have to, but my tri friend Pam is giving me a bunch of crap about having no purple (swim minutes) in my training log graph. Apparently, as she reminded me, swimming is actually part of triathlon. CRAP! Okay, so I'll go do some laps. I'm thinking I need to run this afternoon, since the weather will be nice. That may not happen if it's too windy, though.

So, with the pre-season essentially over, I'm starting to think about multiple workout days (i.e. bricks, swim lunch/run evening, etc). I'm anxious to get going, but with any big change in routine it's best to do ramp up, not just jump in. I'm WAY more inclined to do the latter, but I'm determined to play it smart(er) this year. So, I will probably start with a couple of swim/run days, and then maybe a couple of bike/run days, and then in a week or two start doing a brick every week or two. As the season gets going, I will be doing at least one, but probably two +, bricks per week. I really got a lot of benefit from that last year.

I also need to fix my back! I've had a couple of vertebrae out of alignment for about a year now, and it's most likely what's causing the upper ham/lower glute pain I get after running hard. The sensation is very similar to slipping on the ice and falling on one cheek hard: sort of a deep tissue soreness. I just need to suck it up and go to a Chiropractor, though I'm sure there will be much laughter when he examines my wonky back.

Which reminds me: why is it that EVERYONE knows a good Chiro? Nobody ever says, "Man, my Chiropractor is a total POS! He's really rough and doesn't seem to know his butt from a hole in the ground!" In fact, nobody ever even says, "My Chiro is pretty okay, I guess. You could do better." No, it's always, "Oh, I know a GREAT Chiropractor! You should totally go see him!"

Swimming is like golf

In more ways than one! Both frustrate the crap out of me, take far too much practice time to improve at, and reward finesse (not the shampoo) with results. I'm really beginning to realize how clumsily I was swimming before. My friend and fellow triathlete Pam has been giving me lots of pointers with swimming technique, and even took me under her wing a couple of weeks ago for a lunch time swim drills session. It's become quite clear to me that I try to attack the pool as I would if I were riding or running, and wind up fighting the water using my upper body while my legs drift along.

Anyway, through drills with names like butt-tap, tarzan, catch up, 1 arm, and finger drag, I'm starting to get some style...and improvement. Today I hit the pool for drills, focusing on the glide and kick aspect. Drill days always wear me out, but they are almost immediately apparent in their worth. Friday, after riding to the gym as a warm up to start my mini-tri, I swam 500yds in 8:23 @ 1:41/100yds. Today, after 700yds of drills and reinforcement laps, I swam 500yds in 8:13 @ 1:38/100yds. 10 seconds faster, and I was less fatigued! And after the drills!!

The changes I'm making are just relaxing my upper body and using a smooth stroke while concentrating on a steady, rapid kick. Concentrating on my stroke has had me forgetting to kick and dragging my legs through the water, further slowing me, and making me work harder still with my arms. I'm stretching out fully, gently placing my hands in the water, and while turning my trunk I use the rotation to power the previous stroke arm. After getting this process in motion, I can forget about it and focus on head position and kick, gliding and streamlined.

I guess the difference is that if you wear spandex or a blue speedo to golf in, the old men will look at you funny. Oh, and you can't drink beer while swimming. Seriously, I've tried!




Tonight is our weekly pilgrimage to some delicious south o' the border treats. The week is going by slowly for me (as opposed to screaming by for Tiff and Jess, I'm sure), but this marks the downward slope. I just hope Grace is in a good mood. Mendy's always in a good mood, so I don't sweat that...

:-)

I guess plans can be good

What an awesome weekend! Friday really set my mood in motion, and I kept positive Saturday and Sunday, even becoming more hopeful of my performance in the upcoming Hickory Knob Sprint tri in a couple of weeks. I already picked out two really fast dudes, so right now the best I can realistically hope for is 3rd in my age group. Not downing myself, just reality; I haven't been doing this long, and my swim doesn't do me any favors. But, I think I can do well, and intend to be in the top 5. Or should I say "plan"?

At the end of my last entry, I mentioned planning on doing the group ride with Carolina Triathlon on Saturday morning. I also alluded to not planning on setting any land speed records, meaning I was going to try to have an easy-ish ride, hopefully hanging off the back of the B group. Half of that wasn't meant to be. I did join the group ride, but they decided (without consulting ME!!) to join the A (lightning fast) and B (pretty fast, but comfortable for me) groups, essentially creating a B+ group. The alternative was the *ahem* more conservatively paced C group, but that would have just made me irritated. {sigh} So, B+ group it was. We wound up going at a pretty fast pace in a lot of sections, but I held on okay. I pulled some, but tried to not push too much. One of the shop guys leading it, Sideshow (real name Tim, but nicknamed for his hair), had to peel off and get back to the shop, so we took a shortcut. Truth be told, everyone was supposed to take it, but the lead group didn't hear that, so they zigged when we zagged. Anyway, we wound our way back, and I wound up pulling the 3 of us up a ~2 mile stretch that's mostly a shallow uphill. At the light near the shop, I made a futile attempt to sprint finish, but Sideshow walked away from me. Still, it was a great ride:

42.76 miles in 2:14:50 @ 19.03 mph avg

I went straight to the coffee shop (Lava Java) to meet my ladiez, already gettin their grub on. I sat there in my spandex, looking goooooood, and chatting with our friend - the shop owner. Grace ate a whole bagel & cream cheese to herself! Then we went home, did some chores, and I talked Mendy into going to Northampton Wines for some relaxation and grub. Sooooo delicious!

Sunday started before I had planned, since I stayed up to watch Bug (not bad, but don't let the kiddies watch - boobies and wiener), but I did enjoy the trade off: we enjoyed a family breakfast out at our favorite diner. Then we were off to church to see Chris Sligh (of American Idol fame) play for the last time at our church. He left today for Nashville, where he is beginning his music career: Christian music, not country music. I had forgotten how great he harmonized with the lady that sings, and how well it all sounded with the band. Man, we are going to miss his contribution, but wish him well!

After church, we came home again, and were off to the park downtown, cameras in hand. Grace had a BLAST playing on the slides and all the other playground toys. Then we had ice cream from the little truck (Grace ate a Dora head ice cream - kinda disturbing), and got thoroughly messy. What fun! Time to get in the water, right? We drove up to main street and parked, then wandered down to a new kids play area with a waterfall and fountain that shoots jets up at random patterns. The water was freezing, and the air wasn't hot (78 deg and in the shade), but Grace wanted to play. I decided she should change into her swim suit (yeah, a bikini) to play any more, since we would need warm clothes to change her in to. She flashed everyone before we could react, and then got her changed surfer style, behind a towel. After about 20-30 minutes, she was getting pretty cold, so I was somehow able to talk Mendy into going to the Mellow Mushroom for some grub. Perfect ending to the perfect day.

Okay, so it wasn't the end: we came home and sat out on the back deck enjoying the evening. Grace finally fell asleep around 9:30 and her parents were able to enjoy some nice shiraz. Awesome evening, mostly unplanned, but perfectly according to plan.

Today was back to the pool for some moderate distance and a nice run after work:
Swim: 1500yds in 25:54 @ 1:44/100yds (8:21, 8:51, 8:42 splits)
Run: 4.28 miles in 29:16 @ 6:50/mile

That is all: carry on...

In the name of health!

I was contemplating breakfast this morning: Honey Nut Cheerios, with some skim milk, and about 2/3 cup fat free PLAIN yogurt on top. It made me notice (but not quite question) my dedication to eating healthy things on purpose, at the expense of any sort of flavor. Seriously, fat free PLAIN yogurt is something that I would never wish on anyone as a noticeable ingredient. It would be okay as part of a curry dish, or maybe with a lot of additions for taste, but as a prominent flavor...blech. Still, I eat this stuff, and often.

Now, I'm no monk when it comes to food. I will occasionally be seen eating pancakes, or even scrambled eggs with cheese and ham (gasp!). I enjoy some barley sodas in the evening, or a nice wine. I do eat fairly tasty food for dinner often. Truth be told, I LOVE food. As much as or more than any person I know, and I relish rich and (pleasantly) flavorful foods. I guess I just have a weird suffer gene when it come to choosing meals that really don't matter for flavor, but matter a ton for correct carbs, light texture and food weight, low fat content, and overall health. Does that make me weird? Perhaps just dedicated? I do enjoy great food intensely when I get that kind of treat, perhaps more so due to the "suffering". I don't mind so much.

Anyway, yesterday I did take Robin's advice and layed off the calves after work, having only done a swim at lunch. I did hit the roller a little, and just relaxed. Anyway, stats are:

1500yds in 26:34 @ 1:46/100yds

Not bad, but not what it was. And my endurance was off, as my pace suffered in each successive 500yd split. And it was difficult. I felt beat afterwards.

Today was a new day, and I decided on a brick at lunch. The wind was about 14-16 mph, but I decided to do it anyway. Do race directors stop the wind? Uh, no. So, here was the result:

Bike: 14.23 miles in 40:30 @ 21.08mph avg
Trans: leisurely 1:36
Run: 2.4 miles in 16:56 @ 7:04/mile

My pace was off, probably due to the wind, which likely affected my run also. It was weird, though, since I felt like I was hammering on the bike and hitting higher speeds at the key points on the route that I normally monitor. Hmmm. Oh well, I guess it makes me stronger for next time. I can look forward (with tongue firmly in cheek) to swim drills tomorrow. *sigh*

Back in the ring

After sitting out the last 2 races of the SCTS season, I have signed up for a local race this weekend. It's a sprint tri, with a deliciously short swim. 300yd water, 20k bike, 5k run. Ah, this is my format! Especially with my state of training. Speaking of which...

I went to the pool today and linked up with a local triathlete friend who was a former competitive swimmer. To say she is fluid and ridiculously fast in the water is an understatement. Anyway, I was able to complete the first HALF of her scheduled workout before *ahem* having to go back to work. Thank goodness for that! In approximately 45 minutes (including rest breaks) we did:

100yd swim
8x25 drills (single arm, catch-up, butt-tap, Tarzan, finger tip drag)
100yd swim
200yd swim
8x25yd alternate 1 drill, 2 swim ( side kick)
3x25yd sidekick switch, single arm
1x25yd swim
100yd swim

Son of a mother, I was whooped after that! I mean, I could have floated through maybe about 1000 more yards, but not with any pace I would have been proud of, and I couldn't have moved much afterwards. As it was, returning to work was like...uh...hard work. I have some catching up to do in the pool, but more over I have a lot of work to do in the off season. Which had me looking forward.

This off season, I am seriously looking toward some horrible weather so that I am forced in to the gym and on the trainer. That was my intention last winter, but the season was so mild that I was never forced off the roads, and cycled all winter. That is one big reason that my cycling was so strong this season, but it is also the reason my training has been off kilter for training structure all year. It's been an 15 month long season so far, and with the good there is some bad showing. But, maybe it works into my plan...

I would like next season to be such that at almost any time from about March on, I'm able to complete a Half IronMan if posed with such. It kinda goes with my personal drive to maintain an elevated level, but others are like that I believe. I see people like Paul that go out and do a 14 mile "recovery" run while injured, and see that this is a realistic goal if properly prepared for.

Anyway, the baby race this Saturday is my first step back to that goal. I hope my mind can pull out all stops, and let my body put the limits. Maybe I'll reward myself with a couple of bacon strips afterward! Hooray racing!

Today's word: hyperhydration

a.k.a.: water intoxication or water poisoning

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

Marcy had asked a while back if I weigh myself before and after every run or ride. The truth is that I do try to, mostly because I have become concerned with my fluid weight loss and staying hydrated. And with that, hydrated properly without the risk of killing myself. Seriously! It's common for me to experience a net loss of about 5-6 lbs of fluid (considering approx 3 lbs of fluids consumed during ride) or 3-5 lbs during a 4-6 mile run in the heat (with no intake), or more with a longer run of 10-13 miles. So the immediate reaction is to just blast down a bunch of water, right? Well, we have to ensure the electrolytes are being replenished; they help balance fluid retention, cooling abilities of the body, and maintain proper muscle function. There is a very real and serious danger by either not replenishing them, or drinking so much water that you are essentially displacing the vital electrolytes in your system. As you all know, your heart is a muscle. The fibers are much more refined than skeletal muscles, however: they are smooth muscles that have an incredible amount of endurance for their density and weight. But if you rob them of what it takes to balance function, problems can arise. Please educate yourselves on this nutrition phenomenon, and hydrate appropriately. Steady water intake over long periods (vice blasting down a couple of gallons within a few hours of exercise) along with periodic moderate dose electrolyte replenishment (more so after long and/or particularly sweaty exercise) is what I would recommend to everyone as a base plan. Know your body, know the signs, and know when to stop.

So, other than that, I've been going at a pretty decent pace with the training. Last Thursday I essentially had 4 separate rides: a brick at lunch of 14.25 miles followed by a 2.4 mile run, a ride to the tri clinic of about 9 miles, 11 miles of sprint and coast with the tri clinic "students" trying to assist as many riders as possible and guide traffic, and then about 9 miles home. I was beat! Next day was a difficult 1500yd swim. By the time Saturday came around, I was happy that the group ride fizzled out due to rain: only about 5.25 miles and a lazy day.

Feeling lazy and inspired by the multitudes of people out riding and running (including Mendy's brother and his friend), I decided Sunday was a great day for hill repeats on the bike. I doubt I could have picked a more muggy day, however, especially as the sun came out and liberated all the recent rain from the grass and roads. I did okay, and knocked out 5 sprint repeats up a really steep and hateful climb, and then 2 more up a longer, more steady climb. Could/should have done more, but wanted to get back in case Mendy wanted to do something.

Yesterday was a "rest" day, mainly because Grace was out sick (congestion and boogers), so I couldn't really do anything during the day. After Mendy got home a nice thunderstorm decided to come out and play. Oh well, I guess there's nothing to do but go to Moretti's and get an Italian Flag pizza. Delicious! The guilt from that meal inspired me to do a quick 2.4 mile run at lunch (way off PR, BTW) and the Tuesday night group ride with the local tri/bike shop. We hammered pretty good for most of it, but also had to stop or ride slow many times for people to catch up. Still, a solid 31.5 miles with a lot of sprints, hills, and high speed pace.

I have been needing some bike work of late, so I'm glad to have ramped that up. I am feeling the need for running speedwork and long runs, however. I think about the G-man's pace for long runs and I wonder how it's humanly possible. He has reported holding a ~6:30/mile pace for 13 miles. One day, maybe, I'll be there too. At least I'm not too far off his swim times! :-) By the way, Chris, thanks for the props on your site!

Well folks, that's the high-level view of the last week. I honestly hope that, if you read anything, read and research the hyponatremia information. Especially you freaks living really close to the sun out in Arizona.

Time to get off the keister

Okay, so I didn't take an immediate rest day after the race. Instead on Sunday I rode about 22 miles to and around Donaldson Center where the Reserve Center is before I went to drill. I felt tired, but still fairly potent on the bike, and would have liked to go further. Time cut me short, though.

21.99 miles in 1:08:02 @ 19.39mph

Then, in honor of the schedule of the Tour de France, I took a rest day on Monday. It was great! But as those riders ramped back up again Tuesday, I got lazy and took another day off. I felt guilty, lazy, fat, and slow. I'm also starting to feel the beginning of burn out from the season, and a sense of no direction in my training. Time to go nutz and get this thing rolling.

Run at lunch:
4.28 miles in 29:26 @ 6:53/mile

I was actually holding a higher pace, but started to melt down in the last mile. Time to ditch the hat, and maybe try out a visor. It was only 84 deg, but 60% humidity, and I just started to cook with no head ventilation.

Swim after work:
1500yds in 25:00 @ 1:40/100yds

This surprised me! It's absolutely a PR for my 1500yd straight swim, and the consistency is way better, too:
1st 500yd: 8:10 @ 1:38/100yd
2nd 500yd: 8:26 @ 1:41/100yd
3rd 500yd: 8:24 @ 1:41/100yd

Tomorrow I'm planning on a very high intensity brick at lunch, weather permitting. I will concentrate on my hydration and nutrition all morning, and try to really knock this thing out. I figure I'll go mental for about a week of training, and then reign it in to a more controlled and structured level. Kinda shock the body a bit.

Man, it's nice to shake the lazy bug, though. Oh, and if any of you multi-sporters out there have some suggestions on tri shoes, I'm all ears. I like the Sidi T1, but have heard great things about the Shimano TR-02, and read a glowing review of the Nike T-Speed.

One last bright spot: tomorrow is Thursday, aka bowling night, aka Jess's entertainment for all night. Woo Hooo!

Um, call it tapering?

I really wanted to do a brick at lunch to give me the high intensity/low duration cap to my week before an easy swim tomorrow and pre-race rest on Friday. A peek outside just before lunch showed the wind kickin' like karate, somewhere between 16 and 18 mph. Um, no thanks. I could do it, but I'd rather not put any bad vibes into my noggin from slow times before Saturday. So I finished watching the Tour de France on the web and grabbed some sammich fixins, returning to my desk early. The afternoon floated by, and I got a lot done, but I absolutely HAD to do something today.

I get home, walk up to get Grace, and Mendy is returning from the gym on our way back. We get to the house and I tell Mendy I'm going for a quick run. Or rather, I hoped it would be quick. Into my new C9 tank from Target and some shorts, and I'm warming up. No need for Garmin, I'm doing my standard 2.4 mile out-and-back. It was cross wind almost the whole way, so there wasn't much I could blame on wind. I could, however, clearly tell my nutrition wasn't ideal for this effort level. It would have been at lunch, but I was low on carbs. Not a bad run, but a few ticks off my PR last week:

2.4 miles in 15:13 @ 6:20/mile

I was pretty drenched after the run, though I won't go into an R rated discussion about peeling my soaked clothes off like Jess did! ;-) So, what better way to celebrate Wednesday, no thunderstorms today, a run, and...whatever else?

Yes, sports fans, it was Mexican food night for us! Though they didn't have DosXX (again!!!) the mole sauce on the pollo poblano was absolutely the best! Grace was reasonably well behaved, for a terrible 2, and no stinkies while there! Grace has a tendency to unleash the most foul of movements particularly while we eat Mexican. Since the place is frequented by lots of local construction workers all day, the dudes' bathroom isn't so awesome to change a diaper/pull-up. Poor Mendy gets that "honor" most times, but she's a trooper about it...usually. :-)

As I mentioned, tomorrow is a mild swim to round out the week, and we are going to the tri clinic tomorrow night. Mendy is a participant, and I'm a mentor/assistant/case study. I may even be asked to speak to the group as a relative tri newbie, albeit kicking some serious "A" in my first competitive season! LOL

Speaking of swimming, I think I missed a day. Here's yesterday's workout:

500yds in 6m 58s @ 1m 23s /100 yards
5 X 100yd sprints
1st 1:17
2nd 1:19
3rd 1:21
4th 1:29
5th 1:32

I was getting pretty bushed, as evidenced by my increasing times. Stupid swimming!

We are family...

Ah, that old Sister Sledge tune. That's the first thing I thought of when preparing this picture. As you can see, my rides tower over Mendy's by a good bit. Hence, my statements about hers being the Garanimals model. But, it's actually a decent size, and perfect for her: easy to control, easy to mount/dismount, and not nearly as small as Grace's. :-)

Mendy tried to go on a ride tonight, but I'll let her tell that tale. Suffice to say, the South Carolina summer tradition of evening thunderstorms helped ensure my belly got full of fajitas and a gigantic beer (no DosXX, they were out *boo hoo*). At least I got mine...

Lunch swim:
1500yds in 25:36 @ 1:43/100yds - This may actually be a PR for me at that distance
1st 500yd: 8:11 @ 1:38/100yd
2nd 500yd: 8:45 @ 1:45/100yd
3rd 500yd: 8:39 @ 1:44/100yd

After work run:
8.01 miles in 59:55 @ 7:29/mile
Avg HR:167 1238 cals (per Garmin)

I kinda wanted to go longer on the run, but I was hot and sweating like a pig. It was only 88 deg (yeah Chad and Lisa, I know I'm weak), but the humidity felt pretty stinkin' high. A quick before-and-after on the scale indicate 6.5 lbs of fluid lost. A large bottle of Smart Water helped me replenish much of that. Seriously, folks, check this stuff out! It's good tasting water with the right electrolytes for athletes. Anyway, I held back at points on the run and finished strong, but honestly had some struggles at other parts: my HR rocketed up at one point when my breathing was off. The entire time I was fighting shallow breath issues. Gotta fix that before the...

Sunday in Hell: the South Carolina Half IronMan on Sept 30. Chad had asked what my future plans are, and this is (almost for sure, for sure) on my schedule. Honestly, I'm intimidated by it. I can do the swim (1.2 mile), and I can easily do the ride (56 mile), and at any other time I could do the run (13.1 mile/half marathon), but the run after the ride is daunting. And by the time I get around to that, it will be hot. This is mostly the same course as the Festival of Flowers tri I did a few weeks back, with the brutal swim conditions. Similar swim length (that was 1500m), but double the bike (no prob) and more-than-double the run (yikes!). My main enemies are hydration and cooling. If I gotta stop and cool at the aid stations, so be it.

Other than that, life is good. I did slice the back of my knee tonight while removing follicle matter in the shower. I think I just got in a hurry and the razor went a bit sideways. Gotta replace that blade...

And now, to all you fine folks' blogs. Yay, Monday is over!!!

Saturdays rock!

I think Saturday has become the focal point of my week. On some levels I suppose that's sad, but I would counter that I don't neglect opportunities in other days; I simply celebrate Saturday for the glory that it is. Now, before I jump off into a Cure-esqe breakdown of the days of the week (yeah Marcy, you know that song I'm sure), each day has their own special purpose and I have tried to build some periodic joy into the weekdays also. It's just that Saturday is like the 80's WWF cage match of the days o' the week: No rules, lots of spandex, some chest pounding, and lots of sweat. I wake up when I'm darn well good and ready (read: no later than Grace is ready to get up), and leisurely prepare for my AM blast to torture the asphalt for existing where I decide to ride (or rather: negotiate a long ride to fit into the day's plans of Mendy's schedule and what we need to accomplish). Then the day is mine! (to go shopping, figure out somewhere to eat, possibly shop more, and make a futile attempt to watch a movie in the evening).

Doesn't sound that spectacular, does it? The big advantage Saturday has over M-F: Saturday has lots of flexibility in scheduling, there's time for a long ride/run/swim (or some combination, thereof), Mendy and I get to spend all of the non-exercise moments together, and we get a whole day with Grace. So, Saturday is like a like a little birthday/Christmas/Father's Day, once every week. My lovely wife plays a huge part in the success of my Saturdays, and I'm terribly grateful for her in that. Grace, though challenging at (many) times, is really a sweetheart with lots of love and personality. These ladies are such a blessing to me. Anyway, before I go all soft:

Friday I wasn't feeling it, but I swam after work. It was cut short due to lightning, though. Drat! It was shaping up to be a good swim:

675.00 yards in 11:05 @ 1:38/100yds

I fully intended to join the group ride at 8 AM this morning, but I stayed up watching Hannibal Rising (awesome flick, BTW!) and really enjoyed sleeping in with Grace this morning. So, I got up at 9 and got my stuff together to go for a ride (and possibly brick run). Lots of drama on the road with inconsiderate drivers and such, but it was a decent ride overall. Seems I had some brake rub, but at least my seatpost didn't shrink into the frame like last week. I barely made it back in time for Mendy to go meet a friend for a swim/bike workout, however. I expected a faster pace, given the race wheelset choice and aero helmet. I even got a 46mph top speed at one point. I must have just gotten lazy a few too many times and let my pace drop:

44.17 miles in 2:07:45 @ 20.75 mph average

So now I'm watching Coming to America after SNL has ended. I guess I'll get up to bed soon to get a start on Sunday. I am looking forward to church, and some family fun afterwards. I hope to get a long run in tomorrow, but we'll see. But, bottom line, I would like to thank Mendy for being such a trooper, so supportive, and such an ideal companion in the journey through life. She's pretty cool, understands what drives me, and puts up with an awful lot of car karaoke, but above all she shows that she loves me and would never take advantage of me. I hope you all have the same experience and joy. Thanks, Mendy!

Gotta love mini-Friday!

Even though I was super busy today, I was so happy it was a mini-Friday, or day before a mini-weekend. I still don't have complete plans for what we could do tomorrow, but it should be a fun day at any rate. I just hope Grace doesn't get too scared by the fireworks.

I was fortunate to have several snippets from the Monster Ballads commercial stuck in my head all day, but the recurring offender was Warrant's "Heaven". And the complete joy of this affliction is that the songs only play in 5 second increments, just like the commercial. I shake my fist angrily at that gosh darn commercial!

I apologize for that ugly outburst.

:-)

In other news, it's been a great few days for my personal performance, on the path to being the greatest athlete the world has ever known. If I can live to be 130 years old, and not age for the next 40 years, I'll nail that for sure! Bored yet? Probably. Anyway, Saturday I did another long brick. I planned for a longer ride, and absolutely a longer run, but at about 20 miles into my ride I noticed my seat post was sinking into the frame. I hadn't tightened the bolt enough after a last minute adjustment, and now my efficiency was going way down with my speed, and my knees were aching. I turned around and found a tractor repair place where I could move the post back up. That held up for a while, but the bolt holding the post was stripped out a bit, so I couldn't tighten it completely. To make a long story longer, I was beat by the time I got home, and my knees were killing me (proper bike fit is VERY important!) I was pushing so hard to get the run done, I started overheating badly. A tough workout, for sure. Here's the results:

Bike - 40.54 miles in 1:56:51 @ 20.82mph average
Run - 4.01 miles in 32:18 @ 8:03/mile

Sunday was lazy day, and Monday was a swim day. At lunch Mendy and I were able to get some good laps in, and I was again trying to focus on refining my stroke. I think this is starting to pay off, and the times are slowly improving:

1500yds in 26:00 @ 1:44/100yds
1st 500yd: 8:32 @ 1:43/100yd
2nd 500yd: 8:49 @ 1:46/100yd
3rd 500yd: 8:38 @ 1:44/100yd

Then I decided to do a baseline time trial run of my normal 2.4 mile brick run route right after work. I probably could have warmed up more, but I'm fairly happy with the results:

2.4 miles in 15:00 minutes @ 6:15/mile (128 feet of climbing)

Today was a brick, and what a brick it was. Man, I felt ON today. The bike started off kinda slow, but I kept pushing harder and harder. For some reason, I felt I had been foolin' myself about my previous attempts. Ah, f-f-f-foolin'! Yep, Def Leppard in the brain today. Oh well, the bike rocked, but the run REALLY rocked! It also started a bit difficult, but got stronger and stronger:

Bike - 14.19 miles in 39:49 @ 21.38mph average
Run - 2.4miles in 16:00 @ 6:40/mile

Thats a PR for the brick workout, and the transition was only :45 today. Nailed it all around. My neighbors think I'm nutz, though. I came around the corner with my bike as they were outside smoking on the back deck. I said hello, as did they, and ducked under my deck. Less than a minute later I'm running back out without a bike, but with running shoes on, and say hello again. Oh well, maybe I'll inspire them to quit smoking and/or get more active (hopefully "and").

I hope you all have an awesome 4th of July. Happy Birthday, America! And many moooooooore...

Stay safe, don't drink and drive, and run/bike/swim like it's your last time ever!

Jukebox hero

I'm not sure if it's come across yet, but I'm seriously guided by a strong internal jukebox. Most times it seems to be stuck on the 80's or early 90's, but sometimes tosses in some 70's. I actually play a game with Mendy (this is the clean one, actually) wherein I ask her what band it is every time a Led Zeppelin song comes on. She's caught on and knows what to say now (since I only do it for Zep songs), but she's often amazed by the variety of their music.

Anyway, when I'm out doing the do, exercising and pushing myself, I have a lot of grunting and groaning, a lot of sweat, and a lot of self-talk. I say stupid little things to encourage myself or validate my efforts. Many times, surprisingly, this puts some song in my head that would otherwise make me want to climb a water tower with a high powered rifle.

Yesterday I did a lunchtime brick, and as is customary during the recent ones, I'm pushing hard in the heat. Motoring. Just like Sister Christian. Yep, that gets locked in my nugget as soon as I tell myself, "Yeah, really motoring on now! Motoring, David!" Stick a fork in, I'm done. Anyway, it wound up being a decent brick:

Bike - 14.21 miles in 40m 07s @ 21.25 miles/hr
:54 transition
Run - 2.40 miles in 16m 45s @ 6m 59s /mile
Clear, sunny, wind 7mph, 48% humidity

Today I went to the pool (finally!) and got some laps in. I'm still trying to get comfy with my new swim style, and embed it into muscle memory. It felt okay, I suppose, and the last 500yds I progressively increased my effort. The last lap was full on sprint, and I was loving the feeling. Anyway:

50yd warm up
1st 500yd: 8:27 @ 1:41/100yd
2nd 500yd: 9:02 @ 1:49/100yd
3rd 500yd: 9:11 @ 1:50/100yd
4th 500yd: 8:35 @ 1:43/100yd
50yd warm down
2000.00 yards in 35m 18s @ 1m 46s /100 yards - avg 8:49/500yd

I wanted to run this evening, but I got tied up at the car dealership after lunch and didn't get to leave early. The plan is to do another long brick tomorrow, so hopefully that will work out with Mendy and I's collective plans.

In other news, I'm quite happy to now have a copy of a pic saved to my computer with Marcy jamming one of her digits somewhere into her sinuses. I wasn't in need of much uplifting before, but now I'm giddy! I hope she doesn't get the song Sister Christian stuck in her head now, as she motoring around in her runs and on the rower. :-)

It's not the age, it's the mileage

That's what turns a once sexual powerhouse band like Loverboy (below) to the middle-aged Porsche pilots you see here. That's the bad mileage, though, and the polar opposite of what is driving me these days. I gotta admit, though: they do still look goooooood! LOL

Oh, and I feel just awful that Marcy still has the song stuck in her head. Just AWFUL! ;-)

I did feel guilty about the 5K. Not at the time, but the next day; I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with friends and consuming tasty adult beverages. So, I ran the same area as the 5K was held on...eventually. That was the middle part of my long run, and the hills that adjoin the race course are pretty brutal 6 miles into a run. Still, I had a decent run for the heat and lack of proper hydration, though off my previous pace on the same basic route:

12.73 miles in 1:46:46 @ 8:23/mile
87-90 deg, 1911 calories, 9 lbs gross fluid loss

Friday was a swim almost identical to Thursday, except about 1 second faster...after 1750yds. BIG improvement! *rolls eyes*

Sunday evening we all loaded up and went to Cheeseburger in Paradise, a Jimmy Buffet-themed restaurant with awesome burgers and a nice atmosphere. We both wanted burgers, but didn't want to go too nuts. So, we got the mini burger appetizer which is 4 Krystal/White Castle size burgers, but WAY better! Grace had her own with some fries, and we devoured 1 1/2 each before our delicious food (chicken satays with rice and curry peanut sauce for me). Ah, happy belly...

Today I was still feeling rather dehydrated, so I didn't push too much in the pool. It felt like crap anyway, and I wanted to save something for tonight, for some special plans. (he he he)

1000yds in 16:50 @ 1:41/100yds

Tonight I went over to my friend Jim's house (who is a Pro 1/2 cycle racer and Elite cycling coach) for a full computrainer assessment and fitting. We changed a lot of measurements and settings on the Chariot of Dreams, and I got a great baseline of my performance potential and capability. I was happy with a 244 watt average output during the 10 minute time trial ride (averaging about 22.5 mph), but he said I would likely have seen more power if I kept my cadence about 90 rpms (vs. 105+ rpms), and it is most likely would equate to more efficiency for me. Good to know! I also found out that my right leg is slightly shorter than my left, which explains some things that happen to me when cycling and running, and is probably the only part of this whole paragraph that most of you understand! :-)

Tomorrow is maybe a brick, or maybe track. We'll see. All I really know is that I'm working for the weekend. (you're welcome Marcy)

Stagnation

Well, after the great gains I had seen last month in pace for running and swimming, I seem to be at a plateau. I guess it should be noted (here, and in my mind) that I am trying some refined techniques in both areas, attempting greater efficiency. While the running seems to be less draining, it's not speeding up. The swimming, however, is working different muscles harder, so I'm tired in all new and exciting ways! The short of it: for running I'm trying a shorter stride with focus on forefoot action, and for swimming I'm trying to reach full or near full extension before my hands enter the water. Both seem much more efficient, but the change is causing me to step back a bit in progress I suppose. Stats from last 2 days:

Wed:
Brick - bike 14.18 miles in 40:24 @ 21.06 mph
transition 1:05
run 2.4 miles in 16:36 @ 6:55 mile
10 mph wind & 82 deg

Thur:
swim 1750 yds in 30:07 @ 1:43/100 yds
run (non-brick) 4.25 miles in 29:01 @ 6:49/mile

Strangely enough, the brick run seems to be easier than the regular run, since I would expect a significant difference between the two paces. In fact, it seemed like an easier run, with more speed available had I wanted. It's possible my legs were still recovering from the great ride and good run yesterday, but the didn't feel like it. Oh well, speed work should fix it I guess.

I'm looking forward to the 5K this weekend, but I fear I won't do as well as I hope to. Of course I want a PR (duh!), but I want it to be by a minute or more. My last 5K was in January I believe, and it was a PR by about 4 minutes, but I trained a lot in the 9 months between those two races. I'm probably over thinking it, really. It's 3 freakin miles, for goodness sake! Okay, that settles it: I'm blowing the doors off of it!

Come on Friday! Work has been a drag lately, and I live for the weekends. Just like that old Loverboy song. Yeah, you know the one... (now just try to get it out of your head, ha ha ha!) Since I shouldn't really do a long ride Saturday morning, perhaps we'll have a big family breakfast instead! Man, I love doing that. Reminds me of special times as a little guy, and I want Grace to have those memories also. Of course, Grace doesn't get to experience the super unhealthy crap I used to enjoy (sausage, fatty bacon, regular eggs, instant pancakes, etc...) I hope she grows up without the need to find a healthy diet, though. If things go as I plan, it will be ingrained in her. Well, with some pizza thrown in, but only in moderation. Right? :-)

Hammock or bicycle?

I gots the shakes, I've been a way so long! I guess that means I had a great weekend, right? Even extended it a day, as Mendy noted. Well, for a quick catch up, Saturday morning started later than I had anticipated. It had been many weeks since we had a Saturday morning family sleep-in, and I just didn't want to miss out on it. So, after slowly getting out of bed and a leisurely morning routine, I set out on my ultra brick workout. I planned a great bike route, and wound up doing about 49.5 miles. My plan for afterwards was a long (8-10 mile) run, but some right quad cramping cut it short. I'm just not looking to incapacitate myself with a stupid injury in the middle of the season. Here's Saturday's stats:

Bike: 49.46 miles in 2:22:15 @ 20.86mph avg
Run: 4.0 miles in 31:32 @ 7:53/mile (about 2 min slow transition)
Consumed 6.5 lbs fluid, but lost 12 lbs fluid gross, and est 4,328 calories burned

Bring on the wings!! We went out with Scott and Robin for some delicious treats at Wild Wing. I had no fear of calories for the evening. What a great time, and especially when they came back to our house for some more beers and some pool in the Man Lair. If I had a keg cooler in the room I think Scott would leave Robin for me. :-) Then again, maybe not...

Sunday we played hooky from Church and had a nice family day. Sadly, that usually means shopping until we have visited every single store in town. It was still fun, though: we met the F-I-L and B-I-L at Mellow Mushroom for some eats and bev's, and escaped the heat for a while. It was a really fun time, and a great way to spend Father's Day. I decided to take an unplanned but much enjoyed rest day, and grilled up some chicken, squash, and corn cobs while Mendy was off experimenting with Biofreeze. :-p

Monday morning started late. Mendy woke me at 7:45 asking me if I heard her before when she said to get up. I said, "Huh?" Then she told me that she had previously said to get up and my reply was "What?" I'll let you decide if I actually heard her. Anyway, I suddenly was overcome with rectal glaucoma: my butt just couldn't see getting out of bed. Yay, 3 family mornings in a row! The plan was to get some chores done, but we just screwed around all day and had fun. We finally made it to the Y to swim, but it was packed. Mendy did some laps, but I gave up and ran home. A couple of tough climbs, but it was a decent run in the 87-ish degree temps.

4.38 miles in 30:48 @ 7:02/mile

Today was back to the pool (and work..blah) for some much needed laps. I'm trying to clean up my stroke and overall style, but it's leaving me feeling like I'm working my butt off while not going any faster. I hope this starts to pay off soon.

1500 yds in 25:57 @ 1:44/100 yds

Oh, and for the title, we were trying to decide this weekend if we should get a hammock for mommy, daddy, and Grace to enjoy, or a bicycle for Grace to try and enjoy and daddy to develop hunch back teaching her to ride. Which do you think won?

TGIF!

Ah, finally it's Friday! I've been swimming a lot this week, and my upper body is tired. It's reflecting in my pace, too. I'm really looking forward to a long ride and long run tomorrow. Just gotta stay hydrated. More on this weeks stats in a minute. First...

So, I was looking at Marcy's blog, and I was intrigued by the celeb look-alike thing. So, I ran mine. Here's what came up:
MyHeritage - share black and white photos with facial recognition technology">
Some of those are pretty damn cool, some are weird, and some I just don't understand (maybe in part because I don't know the "celeb"). And of course I don't have many great pics of myself; I'm allergic to cameras unless I've drank my weight in tequila and/or Jaegermeister already. Then all bets are off! Here's another pic's results:


So, I've been swimming the last couple of days. I want to really push myself beyond simple fatigue to a new level, as far as my swim muscles are concerned. I'm done with the pool for a few days now, having reached my goal of a serious personal effort I believe. Tomorrow is cycling and running, extreme style. I'm not going to commit to it on here yet, but I'm planning on going outside myself a bit. Here's the swim stats for the last couple of days:

Thursday:
Warm up - 50yd free & 50yd catch up
1050yd tempo pace in 17:06 @ 1:38/100yds
Warm down - 25yd supine kick & 25yd catch up

Friday:
50yd warm up catch up and keel
1500yd tempo pace in 26:05 @ 1:44/100yds

I agree with Chad that it makes no sense at all that I can hold this pace in the pool, and add almost a minute per 100m during a race. I think my mental state isn't right during the races, and I'm not really finding the groove I need to. I have to work on that...a LOT!

Otherwise, I've been wondering where Nikki is. I posted a pic especially for her, and she has been MIA for a week now. Hope all is well.

Best wishes to Chad for the 5k tomorrow, and to all the others doing big training runs, rides, or swims! Later, dudes...