The Longleaf Trace Companion

My close friend Tony has written a book- “The Longleaf Trace Companion.” In my opinion, The Longleaf Trace is the jewel of the Hub City. Chances are if I am not at work or home I am somewhere along the trace. It was a deciding factor of where I live. This rails to trails provides a ribbon through the piney woods for all of my recreation / training needs. I am excited that there is now a reference that will provide the history of this scenic trail.

Tony is a fellow athlete (He did Kona a few years ago!) and has been gracious in his training knowledge and is always so encouraging. He is doing a couple of book signings this month. I’ll be checking him out Monday, July 13 at the Oak Grove Library – and getting my signed copy of the book.

If you would like more information: The Longleaf Trace Companion

Back on the bike

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race - Calvin Coolidge

Wednesday after work I did a 12 mile TT on the race bike. The sun dropped like a rock and before I knew it it was pitch black and I had to abort - it is a good thing that I am on the trace - no cars. I slowed way down but I could hear all of the night animals scurrying about.

It has been cold (cool) and windy here for most of the week. The weather turned beautiful on Thursday. I was able to get a nice 20 mile bike ride (including another 12 mile TT - getting slower - 20 seconds off pace) in before work on Thursday - the last one before the time changes. I also took a ride with Chris a lunch (got a flat - 4th since Christmas)and I still needed to ride home from work. I ended up with 58 miles for the day. Not bad for a work day.

I woke up on Friday and got dressed for work - I was going to the gym for an hour swim. I thought to myself - "Why are you not riding into work?" I packed my work clothes and jumped on the bike. I still got a half hour swim and really enjoyed the ride to work. During the swim I did a 1500 yard TT - 24:30. I can do better but I was pleased with the volume. That is the longest, continuous swim I have done in some time. Everything has been working on drills or speed.

A another beautiful day so I got a nice and easy 7 mile run in at lunch. The pace was easy and my heart rate stayed where I wanted it, but the perceived effort was higher than I wanted. I'm getting a little tired.

Today calls for a lot of volume. I am planning a 50 mile bike (on the race bike) followed by a 6 mile run. Nothing fast - just volume.

Four weeks until 70.3 New Orleans!

Beautiful days and lots of biking

It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle. - Ernest Hemingway

I swam for an hour at lunch on Friday. It was hard to stay indoors. The weather has been in the high 60's / low 70's for the past few days. I'm not sure of my speed in the water but while doing the 'Swim Golf' drill where I count my strokes I am seeing definite improvement. Last year it took my right around 20 strokes to go the 25 yards across the pool. I know - that sucks. I was able to get it down to right around 17 strokes by the end of the year. After last week and making some minor adjustments to the way that I pull I was hitting 14 strokes when I concentrated. Once, with a hard kick - and I do not have a hard kick - I was able to do the length in about 12.25 strokes. This is not sustainable but I do see improvement. I made up for the indoor sessions this weekend.

I met up with Sam, Chris and Shawn on Saturday for a trace ride. We got off of the trace and did some hill repeats. We found a hill that was just about a mile long and dropped into a gear that would allow for us to spin up it. We repeated this 5 times. The first couple were pretty easy but they got harder. Shawn was hacking up a lung left and right. My goal was to stay ahead of him. Mission accomplished - phlegm free. The total ride ended up being about 35 miles.

I did a very easy 30 minute / 3 mile brick following this bike ride. Nothing hard. I did not push anything. I am going to have to do some hard bricks in the near future. I used to look forward to these runs but I am feeling a little afraid. I just need to HTFU!

Sunday was also good weather. I am continuing to try and learn to use the rollers. I rode for 3 sets of 10 minutes with my road bike and clip less pedals. Not too bad. I had to stop every 10 minutes wipe the sweat streaming down my face. I am not comfotable enough to lift my hands from the bars.

Then I got back on the trace and replayed the route from yesterday minus the 5 times hill repeats. I went out a little further and got a total of 30 miles.

I met the group ride as they were heading out and jumped on the end of the train. It did not take long to get near the front. John and Ty were really hammering and I was just trying to hang on. We regrouped at Epley station and I realized that everyone else was really strung out behind us. It was only John, Ty and I at the front.

As luck would have it, for the third time this weekend I rode the exact same hills. I did not stay at the front of these at all. I let the fast guys rise up out of their saddles and attack. I just stayed back.

On the return trip it was my turn to pull just past Clyde depot. I was giving a strong effort at just about 24 MPH. I had pulled for about 1.5 miles and was nearing my limit when Ty pulls up next to me and yells for me to 'Did deep' or something like that. He was passing me easily. I told him I would just grab his wheel. And that is what I did - I did indeed need to dig deep just to grab on to that wheel. It would not have been a big deal if I had just not completed my pull.

Now firmly on his wheel we were going 27 - 28 MPH for several miles. My heart rate had descended to a more comfortable range and we just cruised. We had to slow for an intersection (the road I turn off on) and I noticed that once again no one was behind us.

It was a fast ride!

Trail running

Once again, no swimming was done.

The training plan called for a hilly run today. It had rained much of the night and the ground was wet this morning. There was also a light mist coming down. I decided to head to the gym and do my hill work on the treadmill. I have established a base line with the 'alpine trail' on the treadmill. It is a challenging workout. However, there is never any down hill on the treadmill -only less up hill.

Got to the gym at about 9:00AM and it was closed. Completely dark in there. I had assumed that the gym would be open on the weekends even though classes are still not in session. Well, you know what happens when you assume - sometimes you are wrong.

Ran my errands and by the time I got home the sun had started to peek through the clouds. Put on some old trail running shoes (I need a good pair of trail running shoes - yeah, like I need more shoes) and decided to run the only hills that are nearby - the mountain bike trails. It was fun but I was soaking wet and muddy and grimy almost immediately.

After about 12 minutes I made it to the circuit that I like to mountain bike on. It is hilly with several switch backs but pretty short. I ran the first lap and timed the effort (4 minutes). I took a 60 second rest interval and repeated. This time I clocked in 30 seconds faster - I was now reacquainted with the route. Again and 8 seconds faster than the previous. I did this a couple more times. The rain started to pick up and my glasses were fogged up. I headed home and called it a day with about 5 miles delivered. I would like to get just a little bit of seat time on the bike trainer this evening. We will see.

Long bike ride for tomorrow (4 1/2 hours) .

Back to the routine.

First week back after the holidays is in the books. Tuesday there was a slip on the diet but the training has been in check and followed pretty close. Except there has been no swimming. The pool is still closed for the drain modification. I was also supposed to do a LT time trial run on Wednesday but I was under the weather. Instead I ran the football stadium steps albeit much slower than last year. Today I got in a five mile run.

I have a long run and a long ride (4.5 hours) planned for the weekend. I also hope to get out to a lake for an OWS in the wetsuit.

Holiday is over - back to the plan.

I can not wait for the gym to open back up after this long holiday break. Even though it is tough and I generally dread it - I have missed the swimming. I am excited about getting back into the pool. My training plan is only calling for swimming on Tuesday and Friday of the coming week but I think that I will have to supplement that with a few extra days. It might take a little time anyway to just work back up to the prior volume. I am sure that my upper body has atrophied some during the past couple of weeks.

The training plan calls for a 2 1/2 hour easy hill run for today. I will run in Heart Rate zones 1-2 - just long and steady. There are not many hills here in Southern Mississippi so it will just be along the rails-to-trails. I might be able to venture off the trace for a little hill work but it has been raining. The horse and mountain bike trails will be muddy - (read slippery, standing water, the fall down and get hurt slick kind of slick). There is a chance of more thunderstorms later in the day. This will be wet, hard day. I am actually looking forward to it!

Starting the third day and still doing well on the NO-S Diet: 13resolutions

Trace intervals -

A little stir crazy and not prepared for my New Year's Day race (Steam Whistle 12K Run/Walk)I decided to do some intervals. I ran a few on the 1/8 mile inside track at the gym the week before Christmas break with Vic but not really any speed work since then. Where I live out on the trace there are only mile markers, nothing smaller than that. Little orange cones in hand I set out for the trace. My plan was to do a slow warm up jog for about 8 minutes - about a mile. Drop a cone and continue for another 2 minutes and call it a quarter. I was wanting to do 10 1/4 mile repeats with 90 seconds recovery. While jogging on the trace (battery in the heart rate monitor replaced - FYI) I saw that there was a stenciled mark on the pavement that read 1 1/2 mile. I dropped my first cone. I jogged for longer than 2 minutes but no new marks. I finally came upon a 2 mile stenciled mark. I dropped the second cone and my water bottle. My 1/4 mile intervals turned into 1/2 mile intervals. I thought I might do six. There is a very slight gradual slop in this area of the trace. It would be interesting if my times would vary much.

The first interval would be up the slight slope. I completed it in 2:54 - a good sub 6 minute mile pace. To make an uneventful story shorter I ended up doing 8 1/2 mile repeats and each one got slower. The last couple were at a 6:30 - 6:40 minute pace. There was no correlation between the runs up hill or down hill. They just got slower. My times seem so slow compared to last summer. I guess that is why they call this the off season. However, I was pleased at how well my heart rate dropped after each interval.

A slow jog home put the cap on the running session at about an hour. Tired but not exhausted I decided to put a few miles on the bike. I have trouble keeping the rides slow - my heart rate was up and I was reeling in the few bikers out on the trace. I did pass and slow to talk with Mike V. - a local triathlete that lives in my neighborhood. He did Ironman Switzerland last year. I noticed that he was on a new bike. He said that the BMC fit him much better than Cervelo. I slowed down and rode with him to Sumrall. Mike is a fast runner and biker. The only reason that I had to slow down to ride with him is that his new bike (the BMC - not sure which time machine) also had a new power meter. Mike was trying to keep his power in zone 1-2. He is new to training with power and it will be interesting to see the progress he makes this year.

Training - this is not hard work - it is hard play...

Back from travelling and spending time with family. Got home late Monday evening feeling a bit sluggish from little to no exercise. About all that I got over the weekend was a long walk with my sister (good talk but it was about 30 degrees outside).

On Tuesday I went for an hour long run followed by an hour long bike ride. Nothing too taxing or strenuous. It was good to get back to the grind. On Wednesday, Christmas eve, I went for a slow one hour and twenty minute road bike ride followed by a 30 minute mountain bike ride. I do not posses much mountain bike skill. This was actually the first time that I had been on a trail in a couple of years. It was about 65 degrees and the sky looked like rain. After a slow warm up just getting used to the trail I found a challenging loop - challenging for me anyway. A single track trail that weaved up and down some slight hills. I was tentative the first time I did the loop. As always, I decided to time the loop the second time. Just over three minutes. With no rest I did it again. It had now started to rain pretty hard. There was pine straw strung all about the trail. With the rain the trail was getting slippery. Riding hard I cut about 8 seconds from my time. I knew in the back on my mind - subconsciously - that I would continue to get faster and faster until I hurt myself. That is my general modus operandi. Sure enough, on the forth loop I slipped off of the pedals in the rain and busted my right ankle. I had to push the bike up one of the hills. Demoralized I called it a day.

Pride a little damaged I made my way home - just another 10 minutes or so and I was home. While washing the bike off I noticed the nice red stain that was produced on my sock. A little older and a little (very little) bit smarter I was able to call it quits before any serious damage done. In past years the carnage would have been much worse.

Exchanged gifts on Christmas eve and everything that I received was training related - go figure - this is a lifestyle. I got enough GU gel packs to get me through my 1/2 Ironman in New Orleans and a really cool TYR triathlon transition bag. This bag should allow for me to pack every possible item and in addition each item will have its own specific space. Should cut down on pre-race packing stress. In fact, I am going to use the bag to permanently store much of my race gear - like my race number belt, transition towel, etc.

Christmas day I decided to go for a bike ride. The temperature was in the 60's and overcast. I started off and soon noticed that my heart rate was all over the place. It was reading much too low and then at times reading zero. Must be time for a new 'watch' battery in the strap. I hate these little specialized batteries but they are so much better than having to send the entire strap back to the manufacture for replacement. So, no heart rate to gauge my effort. Passed Sumrall (the 10 mile mark) and because of the cool weather I did not need to fill any water bottles. Pushed on to Bassfield ( the 25 mile turnaround ). I had thoughts of riding a little further - maybe 70 miles total. About 2 or 3 miles out of Sumrall my bike started to get a little squirrelly. The back tire was losing air quickly. I stopped on the trace near a small house. I thought about simply filling the tire with CO2 and heading back - the tire was not completely flat. While removing the wheel and getting my tube, tire levers and CO2 out of my seat bag I noticed that the tire was completely flat. I examined the tire and sure enough there was a very small flat sharp rock embedded in the tire. These little rocks are every where. Every time that I have had a flat these rocks are the culprit. They look like very small shark's teeth - I will have to get a picture next time - and I am sure that there will be a next time. I put the new tube in the tire and and puffed it up with the CO2. All was well with the world again even though the tire was a little under inflated with just the 12 gram cartridge. I keep an extra cartridge on me but I though to myself that I might need it if I have another flat. I never filled the tire completely up to pressure even though I knew that I was all out of tubes. I used to carry a frame pump with me. The pump would allow for me to put a little air in the punctured tube to locate the hole so that I could patch the tube. Now that I have a different bike - and a bike that the frame pump just does not fit I will have no way to find the puncture. I better reevaluate my repair procedures.

Anyway, I pushed on to Bassfield which was another 12 miles away. I had visions of doing this 50 mile ride on bonk (well not complete bonk since I had a small bowl of oatmeal earlier for breakfast). I'm not sure why I think like this. What is the benefit of not taking any nutrition in and is it possible to really come back after bonk? At the 1 hour 30 minute mark into the ride - past half way with an hour to go - I start to lose power and feel funny. I put some Gatorade sugar water in my water bottle and took a big swig. I did not feel better immediately. Soon I had some of my strength back but not like I should have had. I started to get a little cold. The ride was hard. I stopped again with only 20 minutes left in the ride and put some more calories in my water bottle and drank the entire bottle. I was pretty slow getting home but I persevered. I am glad that I did not just turn around an call it a day after the flat. The 50 miles did me good. All things considered this was a very good Christmas ride.

Later I went to PBJ (Paul B Johnson) state park and walked around the lake. I thought about bringing the wetsuit and trying out the lake. Glad I did not bother. The park service was in the process of draining the lake. Not sure why but the lake was too low to get a swim in. It actually looked really bad. I am ready to get back in the pool before all of my swimming endurance is gone.

Working the plan...

Saturday's two hour run did not go as expected. I put the time and miles in but I had intended to run at comfortable pace of 90 minutes and then accelerate to a tempo pace for the last 30 minutes. I ran out for 65 minutes and then turned around. at the 90 minute mark I tried to pick the pace up but I was not successful. I just could not sustain the faster pace. I am not sure if I am not fully recovered from the 1/2 marathon two weeks ago or that my volume has been too high or that I am not doing the easy stuff easy enough. The run ended up being a little longer than 2 hours.

On Sunday I road 20 miles solo and then another 37 miles with the group. This could have been (maybe should have been) another easy ride but I am not disciplined enough to keep the pulls light. I have been pulling like I am doing intervals. I really am going to have to try and make the easy stuff easy.

The diet is still suffering. Three holiday parties this week at work and then the holiday with family. Good thing that there is a New Year's day race on the first.

Snow in the Hub City

'The Rock'

Having lived in the midwest for more than a decade I am not as enamoured with snow as most Mississippians. A light dusting is very pretty in the morning but as the winter drags on that pure white snow becomes dingy and grey. Not for me. This snow that fell this morning actually closed all of the public schools and almost none of my co-workers made it to work. I would classify this as a wintry mix at most and possibly just a heavy rain. In fact, it has already turned to rain and will be gone in no time. I do, however, understand the mentality. My father lives in Texas and the area has been in a drought for many years. Therefore, my father will hardly leave the house when it is raining, storming or even a chance of precipitation. I guess that is just different perspectives.

I had a fair LT run on the treadmill yesterday at lunch. Not fast and my hamstring was still noticeable. I did a really, really slow first mile (10 min) and then 4.25 miles in the next 30 minutes (only 7.03 min / mile pace)followed by another really, really slow 10 minute mile.

Today I have an easy hour on the bike and an easy 45 minutes on the treadmill. I have heard and read that most self-coached athletes never go easy enough on the easy days and never go hard enough on the hard days. I am sure that my training falls right in the middle of this adage. I am going to make the easy days truly easy and work on pushing the hard days.

I do hate the snow.

This is my preferred commute to work (The Long Leaf Trace).

The last day of exams. These students are very proud of their snowman.


Maybe a 'snow' eagle.

Snow covered bushes in front of the 'Dome'.

This is about all of the snow that you can expect in southern Mississippi.


Not quite Lambeau field - I think that I have seen it just a little more snow covered. Still, this is where Brett Favre got his start.

Road race to recovery

I have read that recovery after a road race takes approximately 1 day per mile raced. This being said then the 1/2 marathon race last Saturday would take about 2 weeks to completely recover. This was the longest road race that I have competed in (I have done triathlons where the total time was longer - for example - The Heart of Dixie was 1/2 mile swim, 27 mile bike, and 7 mile run - 2:22). I do not remember the recovery for that race lasting more than just a few days.

So this week following the 1/2 marathon last Saturday my legs have been hurting and very tired. I only swam or rode the bike trainer until Wednesday (4 days after the race). On Wednesday I ran 6 miles into work at a very conservative pace. This run should not have had hardly any effect on me. It was probably one of my worsts runs ever. I felt as if I was dragging my legs every step of the way. My time was at about an 8 1/2 minute per mile pace - any average training run.

Later that day is when we got out on the field for a little football. This was humbling. I run a lot - long runs, fast runs, intervals, etc, but just running around the field was hard. There is a different intensity when you are chasing someone and even more so when someone is chasing you.

Everyone was sore the rest of the week. I stayed off of my legs. So at this point I am not sure if I was sore after the football because of the lack of recovery from the 1/2 marathon or if the intensity of the football was really that high.

My training plan called for 1:45 minute run today. I was not sure how this was going to go and I was not looking forward to it. The temperature was low for Mississippi at about 35 degrees. I bundled up and hit the trail. Surprisingly the run went well. My legs worked themselves out and I was able to complete the prescribed 1 hour and 45 minute run with few difficulties. My right hamstring did get tight at the 10 mile mark but it worked itself out. Total mileage for the run was 12.5 miles for a just under 8 1/2 minute per mile pace.

I have been planning a full marathon for the spring of next year. Considering the recovery I am now having second thoughts. The recovery for a full marathon could cause my fitness to suffer.

Happiness is NOT a box of kittens...

I have not been talking about my training that much lately - needless to say I have been biking a lot, swimming a little and running somewhere in between. I am getting psyched up about starting a 'REAL' 1/2 ironman training plan next week. In addition I will be starting a 'REAL' weight training program like I used to do - meaning I actually go into the gym with a 'REAL' plan and execute said plan. I will even be documenting the exercises and charting my progress. What is it that they say - "If you don't have a plan then you plan to fail."

Well, today was Thanksgiving Eve and per normal the university shut down a little early. Knowing that this would probably happen I planned for a short bike ride with Jodie. The sun was out and the air was just starting to get crisp.

A few miles out from the house along the trace we saw a congregation of people. We had to slow way down to see what was going on. A couple of older people and 2 or 3 kids were all but blocking our path. There were 2 then 3 very small kittens in and along the trace. These kittens were tiny - still with piercing cold blue eyes. We rode past.

On our return trip we came upon the kittens again. This time they were all alone. We slowed and then stop. Two of the kittens charged us. They wanted out attention and then some. I did not know what to do. Jodie did.

I rode home to get something to put the kittens in so that we could rescue them from the elements. True this is only Mississippi but it has been freezing at night. I got one of my many nylon bags (the SWAG bags you get at many races).

Jodie picked the kittens up and put them in the bag and we rode home slowly. We were a little afraid of losing one on the trip home - one was a climber.

Once home we called the vet. For them to take the kittens we would have to guarantee any and all treatments for them. We were not prepared to do this. We called the no kill shelter and this being a holiday they were not available.

We fashioned a make shift home for them out of a box in the garage. Jodie feed the kittens some of Rufus's sloppy food (from the can) - he was not please but he got some too.

Two flat tires and a microphone...

I set my old road bike up on the indoor cycling trainer. I purchased a trainer recently that hooks up to a computer and allows you to ride on different types of road courses. It even comes with DVD's that go faster or slower depending on how fast your are pedaling. I downloaded the 112 mile bike course from this years 2008 Louisville Ironman so that I can practice the race before I get there. You can download the .crs files from GPS devices like garmin, etc.

So I hooked my old road bike up to the trainer. I pumped up the tires to the normal 120 PSI and then tightened the trainer to the back tire. This worked fine for a few days but the bike was so slow. I felt very weak and disheartened. I had to drop into the smallest chain ring to just ride on level ground and had to stand up on the pedals to go up any amount of incline.

Day two the back tire was flat. Not only was the tire flat but there was a cut in the tire (Rufus?). I removed the bike from the trainer and changed the tire (patched the tube). Today I went for a ride on the trainer in the morning - it was 30 something degrees outside and I wanted to stay in. About 30 minutes into the ride something starts to feel funny - no not my soft tissue - but the bike is getting squirrelly. The back tire is flat again.

Fortunately I have some spare tires (both old and new). I pulled the bike off of the trainer again and changed the tire. I put in a fresh (previously patched) tube in and another tire on the rim. This time I tried to be a little smarter. I only pumped the tire up to 100 PSI and then mounted the bike back on the trainer. I adjusted everything and then picked another course to tackle. The bike performed so much better. The speeds were much more realistic and I had a lot of fun setting new bench marks. I will beat these records later this week.

With the new road bike, I headed out for the 1:30 Sunday group ride. The temperature was still in the upper forties / lower fifties. I dressed warm. I was running late and really had to make time to get the the trail head. I think this was one of my fastest times ever - about 16 minutes. The new bike is easily the most comfortable bike that I have ever ridden - soft tissue, once again stays soft while riding - but not when you need it. Also, the bike feels fast. It wants you to ride it hard. It feels like my triathlon bike but more forgiving.

Did a fun 35 miles with the group and called it a day. Total mileage was about 55 miles today (inside / outside).

FYI - pop tarts are a great mid-ride fuel...

More bikes = better...

Friday I tested the ankle again by running a slow and steady five miles on the treadmill during lunch (43:00 minutes). The Achillies was fine but I do not want to damage it further. Jodie and I went 'Ballroom Dancing' on Friday night - it consisted of a 1 hour class and then a social mixer dance. There were all ages at the dance and many talented people. Not knowing ANY dance steps was definitely a liability but I am confident that I can gain the basics and then really enjoy myself.

Saturday I decided to have an easy bike ride (once again did not want to test the Achilles). Road a moderate 40 miles with no discomfort at all. Stopped and talked with some friends - no need to push the pace. The twenty miles out took 1:12 and the return (no talking or stops) took just over an hour - 1:02. This was a bonk ride - I ate nothing prior to leaving and did not have any calories while riding. In theory this should (over time - meaning years) allow your body to more efficiently process fat for energy. Almost all of my early morning exercise is with out calories. I've been doing this for a while. I can easily go for about 2 hours at a moderate pace, however, when the pace is elevated, an hour is about the maxmium.

On Sunday, after the success of the previous ride I hit the trail again. Since I was planning on riding a bit faster I ate my cup of oatmeal with a little brown sugar. I started out harder but still stopped and talked with Jodie for a few (she was doing a 10 mile run) and took my time at the Bassfield turnaround (4 minutes - bathroom, fill water bottles, etc). A few miles out from Bassfield on the way back I started to lose my steam. Fearing a bonk - I pulled over and added some powdered Gatorade (with electrolytes) to the water bottle and took a big hit. I think this was just enough to fight the wall off. I completed the 50 miler at 2:34 - just under 20 MPH average - of course, if you take out the talking and stops then just over 20 MPH - but, you don't do that of course.

On a side note, I really do not believe in many spontaneous purchases - I prefer to research and 'get the best deal.' This can be a gift and a curse - it can really cripple some of my purchasing decisions. Anyway, I bought another bike on Friday. This will make 3 bikes (6 total if you include Jodie's bikes - yes 6 bikes for 2 people). I bought my road bike - a Scott Speedster 60, an entry level road bike with entry level components (SORA) - (my first real bike) in February of 2006.



I only put about a thousand miles on it the first year - I did not have any really good routes in Terre Haute and Jodie and I only road on weekends in Bloomington. After moving to Hattiesburg with the Long Leaf Trace the miles started to add up. This bike became my everything - commuter, weekend rider, triathlon racer, etc).

I also had a pretty significant crash on the Scott. I was in a group ride and three of us went our own way. I was at the tail end of the group and I hit a very small bump in the rode. For what ever reason, the chain sucked down between the frame and the crank and locked up. The bike stopped immediately (at a little more that 20 MPH - I had my polar heart rate watch on and it recorded the 20+ to zero speed drop in about 1 second) - I did not stop and did a classic high side crash. I landed on my right side - elbow, knee, thigh, etc and rolled across my back to the other side all the while obtaining road rash. Luckily, nothing was really hurt - I landed flat and except for the bruising and rash everything was okay. By the way - road rash on top of sun burn is extremely uncomfortable.
It took about 20 minutes to dislodge the chain and limp home the 20+ miles. This chain suck action would happen several more times, generally when I was starting to stand up on the bike and really crank. No further accidents but the fear factor was high. I have become hesitant to ride the Scott hard.
I ended up getting a dedicated triathlon bike this spring (2007 - Giant Trinity A1). I purchased the bike new off of eBay for a little less than 50% off of MSRP. This triathlon bike immediately cut time off and added MPH's to all rides. It was many pounds lighter (about 8 lbs less than the Scott with area bars).

I do not have a cyclometer on my triathlon race bike - I do not care how fast I am going but only that I am going as fast as I can. However, if I look back on my training logs I am sure that I could get a pretty good idea - my guess would be about 1500 since spring. A dedicated triathlon bike doing commuter and distance and everything riding is not the best choice.
Hence, to my point, just as I set specific criteria when I purchased the Giant, I have been looking for a replacement road bike for about year (even before the crash). I have been looking for a certain level bike for a certain price. Last week I found such a bike. Once again the location was eBay. I found a 2008 Madone 4.5 full carbon bike with 71 miles on it.

This bike retails for $2400+. To seal the deal the seller was offering free shipping and a reasonable 'buy it now' price - these attribute of the sale were important. Microsoft, with their live.com search engine, offers a cash back incentive for many retailers. eBay is one such retailer at this moment. Not to go into too much detail but with this transaction I was able to get $200 cash back. This made the purchase enter my buying zone. I am excited about the planned spontaneous purchase of the new bike.



Although the bike is the lowest Madone that Trek offers it is still full carbon and an enormous step up from the entry level Scott.

Crack the Vote!!!

Woke up early this morning - I forgot to change the timer on the coffee pot - it started brewing at 3:45 AM. I was already starting to wake so it was not a big deal. Decided to jump on the rollers for a 30 minute session. I beat my previous average MPH and then towelled off to ride to work.

Jodie had to drive. I gave her my backpack and I left the house at a good clip. I was able beat her to work. (I must mention that there is a detour due to road construction and that gave me a couple of minutes.)

I also rode the exercise bike at lunch and then did some abs. I am taking the Achilles tendon issue seriously. I have grown to depend on exercise for not only physical health but mental health as well. When I do not exercise my mood will change. Ask anyone about this! When I taper for a race (take a rest day before the event) I become a major grouch.

I will also ride the bike in to work in the morning and I am pretty stoked that the voting / polling precinct for my district is on the Long Leaf Trace. I will be able to just hop off the bike and cast my vote.

*** SOAPBOX ***

I don't care who you vote for but please vote. This is a special privilege that we should not take for granted. And I honestly do believe that every vote does indeed count.

*** SOAPBOX ***

Another side note - went grocery shopping this weekend and the young clerk thanked me for saving the environment. (We always use canvas bags when shopping.)

Someone sent me the following (funny stuff):

Track on Tap - Halloween Edition

I skipped the workout at lunch on Friday since I was doing the Track on Tap (in costume) that evening. I knew that it would not be a 'real' workout but I have been trying to take care of my ankle.

Jodie and I arrived near downtown at about 5:30 PM. Others soon started to gather and there was a photographer from the news paper working the 'Halloween Beat'. We ran down a popular trick or treating street in full get up and caught many eyes. The marines ran ahead (the guys without their shirts) and parted the hordes of ghouls with their swords. Our first stop was the 'Live at Five' concert in the park. The beer wagon had 'Southern Pecan' on tap and I of course par took (I think I par took 3 times at that stop). I also got a little hungry and bought a steak sandwich from a cute nurse (see picture) - and it really was a damn good sandwich.

We trekked over to brownstones and sat out on the balcony for more liquid refreshment. The legs and lips started to loosen up at this point. A few pints later we made it across the street for some pizza.

Charles, the rainbow colored pirate, was lobbing up easy pitches and I, was of course, knocking them out of the park with little mercy - there was no 10 run limit tonight. Lots of laughs. Soon enough the steak sandwich selling nurse was making her rounds and I had, after all, sampled her wares earlier. She stayed and played for a little while and posed for some provocative photos.

We ran past the Sanger Theatre on the way to the vehicles. Audrey was in back and must have been people watching. She was following close behind a runner and did not notice that they moved to the left. Full force, she was clothes lined at the knee cap by a cast iron bench. Ouch! I heard the clang from about 20 feet away. We all stopped. She was able to make it back to the vehicles.

Stopped at Wal-Mart and got some beer and cookies. The cookies never made it out of the car.

Feeling good with a headache and dehydrated (it must have been the cookies - damn cookies) I decide to go for a long run on Saturday. I was feeling good - really. I hit the turn around point for my twelve miles and pushed on - I was going to turn this into a 15 miler. After the 6 mile turn around point I jumped on the dirt horse trails. The soft surface and uneven terrain is good for the knee and ankle joints. I hit my new turn around point and after 10 miles I jumped back on the asphalt of the Long Leaf Trace. As soon as I did that my Achilles tendon flamed on and shut me down. I had to walk. After a few minutes I ran a little more but I could tell that this was going to end up being a death march. It was easier to transform my run to a heel strike - still this was not going to be pretty. I suppressed my pride and gave Jodie a call and requested an evak. I still had several miles to walk to the next station.

Made good time on the 10 mile run (it was intentionally slow - but a solid run) and horrible time on the 3 mile limp - Total time was 2:13 for 13 miles (a slow 10:13 pace).

There will be lots of recovery this week with little to no running and a lot of ice on the ankle. From experience, this type injury can be very persistent.

Speed laces

Lacing up some shoes. I have been transferring these quick laces between new shoes for a couple of years - this is about the 6th pair to have these laces. I also use the yankz laces for racing. Who has time to tie shoes in a transition area.

I have been riding the rollers each morning for the past couple and I am actually getting used to it - although I am only riding for about 30 minutes. I continue to try to push a bigger gear - tough work but I think it will pay dividends come spring.

I have been staying off on the ankle. Still a little tender. I am doubling up on the bike, however, by riding the exercise bike at the gym. It has also let me read some bicycling and triathlon magazine (I know I am a little obsessive). Still doing the strength training - I know this is in complete contrast to my other goals but I can not waste muscle mass - I have too little to begin with.

I have been following the diet and it has been pretty easy. I have strayed a little this year with all of the racing an training a forgot about feeling hungry. Once you get used to it, it's not such a bad feeling. I would like to lose a little body fat for the coming half marathon. Lite makes right and I am looking for any speed I can gain.

I will, however, go off of the diet tomorrow night for Halloween. There is a special 'Track on Tap' Halloween edition (costume mandatory). T on T is a month get together of the pine belt pacers where you get together and run from pub to pub. It is really a lot of fun. This one will be downtown with a lot of neat bars that I have not frequented.

The time is now!

Got down to freezing last night and I enjoyed a brisk run into work. It was about 35 degrees when I left the house. I was dressed just about right and got a good workout in without getting chilled or overheating. I have done enough of these runs in the past that I have a pretty good idea of how to manage. I did the 6 miles run in a comfortable pace of 8 minute miles. This is a conversational pace for me and I am just adding base miles. It is much easier to run in cool / cold weather than bike. Many more layers are necessary with a 20 MPH wind chill.

My Achilles tendon started hurt just a little towards the end of the run. I need to baby this so that it does not get out of control and actually affect my training.

At lunch I decided to skip the "Dot Race" (everyone was pretty wussy with the temperature outside anyway) and I rode the exercise bike for 30 minutes. A pretty challenging effort but I was still able to read most of a Women's Fitness magazine - good stuff. After the bike Richard, Chad and I hit the WOZ (workout zone) for arms. I generally do not do isolation exercises so these always kill me.

So, it's true, I am very goal oriented. I firmly believe that if you plan something then you will succeed! Write down what you want to do, make it a priority and you can achieve it (sounds like an infomercial - you'll be saying sham wow everytime). I found a social networking site regarding goals ( http://www.43things.com/ ). Not sure if this is the site for me but I registered and put down my exercise goals - (complete half marathon, complete full marathon, complete half ironman, complete full ironman, lose body fat). You can also encourage others on goals that you believe to be worth while. It might help to motivate a little. BTW - do not do a search for fat girlfriends - you will find this guy - link ... and whatever you do - please do not go to his myspace page - link ...

Anyway - back on track -

A glass of water was knocked over on the alarm clock last night - not sure how that happened - the lights go out early at my house. Anyway I awoke to the 'zero hour'. Wake up call?

zero hour - The scheduled time for the start of an operation or action, especially a combat operation of great size. Thesaurus: A decisive point: climacteric, crisis, crossroad (used in plural), exigence, exigency, head, juncture, pass, turning point. See decide/hesitate.

I used to listen to a podcast from (I think) everydaysystems that had an episode about resolutions not just being for New Year's. Why put everything off to one time of year? Why not do resolutions (forming positive habits / breaking negative habits) all year long. So starting next month I am going to pick a new resolution and attempt to stick to it. They (I don't know who they are) say that it takes 21 days to start / stop a habit. A month should be plenty of time for self improvement. I've got tons of stuff that I would like to improve on - and fortunately I have already started some good ones and broken some pretty bad ones. (I already exercise a lot and I don't smoke anymore - if you do these then this is the place to start - let me know if you need any encouragement or to be slapped around if you slip - I'm good at this.) I'm going to try to stick to a little better diet and lose some body fat. I already eat fairly well but I get into trouble as the week goes on. I get in a calorie deficit and I overcompensate with bad food (binge - I like the cake). I have started tracking everything that eat with http://www.fitday.com again. Complete transparency! - my fitday - I'm going to track everything.

For the good ol' American life -- for the money, for the glory, and for the fun. Mostly for the money.

I worked a short day on Friday. I has some pressing things that needed to be attended to and, in addition, I just was in need of some time away from the office. I never got any exercise in even though I had the time.

I felt I was spinning my wheels. I had a lot to do but was not sure of the best way to get it done. I am trying to prioritize the things that are important to me. I had a job that was all about responsibility and accountability at one time. It was hard and people always looked to you for the right answers. Decisions were a part of the job. I never had any problem making decisions at work. It was by the book - very little grey area (unless you really looked. And you never had to look - that was also part of the job).

At home it was different; it was personal. Decisions are harder when they are full of grey and have a seemingly permanent impact. but I digress, the reason that I brought up work was the lessons that I learned. In priorities there are two attributes to consider - urgency and importance. Sometimes they seem like they are the same but there not.

urgency - the state of being urgent; an earnest and insistent necessity

importance - Strongly affecting the course of events or the nature of things; significant

"What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important." - Eisenhower

Only if it meets both of those criteria then it has to be done now. However, what one person thinks is important (The water in the break room is getting low) and someone else thinks is urgent (There is a huge sale at the dirty-mart that only lasts to 3PM we have to go now - or virtually any phone call I get at work) may not be either to you. (Not good examples I know, sorry.)

Anyway, I have been trying to prioritize my objectives for the coming year. Going over these I first had to look at importance and rank everything. Then I had to look at what steps were necessary to achieve these goals. And finally look at what was important and was also urgent and needed immediate attention. These objectives were taken care of today.

These are grown up ways of looking at things and the decisions can be hard and not immediately gratifying. Being a grown up is tough work sometimes.

I slept late on Saturday and really did not know exactly what kind of run I wanted to do - the day off of exercise did my body good so I decided to run a hard 10 miles. I had wanted to do 12.9+ (or 13) miles but I was not sure if I would be successful considering the pace that I was planning.

I took the first mile out at a medium effort at my comfort level (a little less than 7:45 pace) then picked up the pace to LT. I cruised the next mile and felt pretty good. Not Green-Goblin-god-like good but doing okay. (By the way, I love the Green-Goblin-god-like feeling!) That second mile was at 7:17. This mile included some acceleration and I knew more speed was to be had if I wanted it. My slowest mile was the third mile simply because I saw a few comrades and stopped to speak with them for a minute or so (8:42 pace). The next 8 miles were all less than 7:15 with the fastest mile clocking in at 7:01.

The total time of the run was 1:14:09 (74 minutes and 9 seconds for a 7:24 minute / miles pace). If I deduct 3 minutes for the warm up and talking I get a much closer to my goal pace. 1:11:00 equals 7:06 minute miles.

To meet my fantasy goal for the 1/2 marathon all of the miles need to be 6:56. Sub seven minute miles for 13.1 miles is such 'a long way to go with a short time to get there'.

As a side note - Big Lots is out of tuna pouches...

Panic

Ended up riding the bike home on Tuesday. Nice cool weather. Jodie and I enjoyed the ride.

I had planned on getting up and running to work again. Jodie had to drive so I would not have to run home. We went to bed a normal time, however, we were both awaken by the door bell ringing non-stop. It was after midnight. I jumped out of bed and put on a pair of jeans and a shirt. The ringing had turned to banging on the front door. We live in a quite neighborhood. This was very odd.

I went to the front door and it was Phil from across the street. We have been over to Phil's house for a cookout and we are very neighborly.

Phil was very pale and not breathing well. He had his blackberry out and was talking to someone. I told Phil to come into the house. He was having problems breathing. He was trying to speak with his son on the phone. I took the phone and spoke with Scott - Scott does not live in town.

Scott said that this has happened to Phil before and that we has acid reflux and has trouble breathing. Phil was also in full blown panic. I tried to decide whether to call an ambulance or take Phil to the hospital.

I am ashamed to say that if it were more serious Phil would have died in my house. Eventually I went with Phil to his house and we talk and he felt better.

I got back to sleep at around 3AM.

I drove in to work with Jodie. I was dead to the world. When my schedule gets interrupted it is hard for me to get started. So no morning workout.

Wednesdays are "Stadium Days." Ran the steps with Vic, Chad and Richard. The weather was cool and I felt strong. I post a 5:37, 5:22 and a 5:23 on the stadium sessions. We then went out on the field to attempt a few field goals. Chad, a former soccer player, had made Vic a wager that we could nail 9 out of 10 from 23 yards. The same distance that the Mississippi State kicker had recently missed.

It turned out that Chad probably could not hit 1 out of 10 much less 9. We all made a few attempts at the field goal. I was the only one to hit one. Did abs and shoulders in the gym.

Ended up driving home with Jodie.

As a side note - I did not do the Dot Race on Tuesday but Vic clocked a 6:4x! He is getting fast.