Swimming and running PB's

Determination and perseverance move the world; thinking that others will do it for you is a sure way to fail. - Marva Collins

Yesterday was a scheduled off day. I do not do these well. I did let the legs rest but I worked my abs and back and then had a swim class after work. Mary really pushed me during this session again. I am feeling strong and making improvement. I did another 100 yard time trial. I started way to fast, like I was doing only a 50 yard TT - I had to hold on for the second lap. I finished the 100 yards in 1:22 - a personal best by 2 seconds. I think I have some more time in me (my kick is improving).

I rode the rollers this morning for 30 minutes. The rollers put a lot of pressure on my wrists. You do not notice how often you move your hands around around when you ride. I am getting very comfortable on the rollers but not enough to just be able to take my hands off of the bars.

At lunch I decide to try and redeem myself from the running time trial that I failed at last week. This was a little different. It was cool outside and I ran a known 5k route on the long leaf trace. There has been some construction so I am not completely sure of the exact distance so I added about 30 feet to the start / finish. This is an out and back and the back is just a little bit up hill. I ended up splitting this run perfectly. At the turn around I was at 9:55 and finished at 19:50. This would be a personal best. My average heart rate for the 19:50 was 173 with a max of 189. My complete max heart rate is right about 195 and I have been really close to this (194) during a real 5k. I might have just a little bit more speed in me yet. This is a good thing since my real 5k PB is 19:56. All of the 5k's are starting soon - should be a good year.

Valentine's Day

They did not have Valentine's candies like that when I was a kid! Maybe I am just cynical but that's a little creepy.

I rode the rollers for 45 minutes this morning. I was practicing a higher (normal) cadence in the 90's. On the rollers my cadence has fallen. I bounce a little with the high cadence but I think that is the purpose of the rollers - to smooth out your riding and make you better. I also started to lift one hand off the bars for 15 seconds at a time. It is much easier with my right hand. I am not comfortable yet but I can at least wipe the sweat from my eyes.

Swimming and rollers

No one's star-struck here. You puke right next to the best of them. - Catharina Hedberg

I had my swim class last night. I worked on POWER. It was a tough workout. Lots and lots of laps. The hardest sets started at 2 x 100 yards then 3 x 75 then 4 x 50 then 4 x 25 with decreasing rest intervals. By the last 25 I think I was only getting like 5 seconds rest. I thought that I was going to puke that last lap. I think Missy understands something about this.

I did 30 minutes on the rollers this morning in the garage. I almost made the entire 30 minutes without stopping, however, I still can't take my hands off of the handle bars very well. I tried to make it the last five minutes but the drops of sweat on my eye lashes were very distracting. I still have to master the one handed roller riding before I put the tri bike on the contraption.

For lunch I worked on more swimming. I just did lots of small sets for a total of 2000 yards - warm up plus 10 x 50, 10 x 100, cool down.

Riding in the rain

Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?' - Peter Maher, Irish-Canadian Olympian and sub-2:12 marathoner

I rode the rollers in the garage for 15 minutes and then hit the trace. It had been raining and there was a light mist in the air. I got soaked almost immediately.

The workout called for a 10 minute warm up followed by ten minutes of hard (at LT) followed by 2 minutes easy recovery - time 5. I did not do so well with this workout. I am not sure of my cycling LT level. I had to do several short LT sessions of 2 or 3 minutes with the last one being 10 minutes. These were fast no doubt but not sustainable. Maybe it was the rain or maybe it was the heavy legs from all of the hill work this weekend. I only rode outside for 30 minutes. I would like to try this workout again in the near future. I know that I can do better.

At lunch I did 30 minutes of easy spinning followed by chest strength training. I had intended to add an extra swim session at the end of the day but I thought better of it - it was not scheduled and I was very tired and still had a ballroom dancing class later in the evening.

I have an hour of easy spinning in the morning and I am going to try to do most of this on the rollers - it is mentally as well as physically demanding but I believe it will enhance my bike handling skills.

At lunch I have the following:

Run TT - KEY WORKOUT - Assess Fitness - 55 minutes
After 10 minute warm up, you are going to run for 30 minutes as hard as you can for the entire 30 minutes. After starting the run, hit your 'Lap' button so you record the average HR over the last 20 minutes. This can be run on a track or on a measured course. 15 min CD

In January I ran (I added 5 minutes to the cool down for an even 1 hour) 7.7 miles in an hour with 4.5 of those miles being during the time trial. I took my heart rate average for each 'set' - for the second part of the time trial I averaged 174 beats per minute. You can read about that LT TT here. 4.5 miles in 30 minutes is a 6:40 minute / mile pace. 4.6 miles will be a 6:31 minute / mile pace. This will be tough.

I have another swimming class after work tomorrow.

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):

Stadium - To the top

Wednesday has become Stadium day. We have started to run the stadium stairs - up and down each row. I spoke with Coach Wayne in the gym if this would have benefit in racing, specifically swim-bike-run. He said that hills had a lot of benefit for sprinters (100M, 200M, 400M & 800M) and not so much for endurance athletes. However, he did say that it was effective for adding lower body strength and would add power and stamina on any hills during a race. For the time being I think that I will keep this up instead of adding lower body weight exercises.

Back to the stair run. As with most group activities there is a bit of competitiveness. Chad and Vic left the gym a few minutes before me - in fact, they were leaving the gym as I arrived. I told Chad that I would beat him. He said to the stadium - I said YES. I changed clothes and raced to the stadium. To get the the top of the bleachers you have to run up the ramp. Round and round I raced up. When I got to the top of the first staircase, Chad was behind Vic pacing him up the second flight of stairs. I quickly started down the flight at full speed. No rest, no recovery.

Chad saw me coming and passed Vic and pushed the pace. My goal was to "stair" Chad - pass him by a complete flight. It would not happen on the first lap.

We regrouped at the end of the first session. I had run the 'lap' in 5:39. The second 'lap' I was able to 'stair Chad on the last flight. Once again my time was 5:39. Pretty consistent but I had some recovery before this leg. I pushed the pace on the last lap. You can always did a little deeper knowing that the end is near. I 'staired' Chad with two flights to go. I completed the final 'lap' at 5:27.

We ran back to the gym but I wanted to hit the ROTC area. Chad and Vic went inside the gym - I ran on. A few minutes later I got to the ROTC area and looked up at the rope climb. It is a little daunting and I did not realize how much of your legs you have to use. There is a skill set involved. Last week I was not able to reach the top. I had new shoes (the blue ones) and they have a soft tread compound. I did not want to damage them.

With 'regular-old' shoes on I was able to reach the top! Then I hit the chin up bars and back to the gym. Saw Chad and Vic in the WOZ - work out area and they were doing medicine ball push ups (someone throws the ball and you catch it and do the crunch - the 10 - 12 pound medicine balls are a challenge.)

This morning got up early and hit the rollers for 30 minutes zoned out reading the Lance Armstrong book. Met the guys for the group ride at 6:10 AM and got another 1:15 on the bike.

Pretty good cycling day so far.

No go on the swim - bike trainer again

There was a no go on the swim this morning. My training partner, Jim, stayed up a little too late studying (those PhD programs can be hard I guess.)

Last night I put my "new and expensive" seat on my "old" road bike. This seat has just not worked out for me. While it has a huge cut-out I still get some discomfort on my "soft tissue." It also has an interesting beak.

I did not have any real discomfort with this seat on the road bike. I put several hundred miles on this saddle while it was mounted to my TRI bike. With the TRI bike more of my "soft tissue" is exposed to the saddle. With the road bike it is really only my "sit bones."

So, I jumped on the bike trainer for just shy of an hour. I hooked up the "Speed Reader" and zoned out to "Lance Armstrong's War." It is about the 2003 TDF. A good read. The sweat drops are a little nasty though.

Obviously you can't do intervals or anything on the trainer while reading, but for a recovery or low zone 2 I don't think you can beat it.

Jumped off of the trainer and onto the TRI bike to commute to work. Nice easy early morning ride. Looks like rain later today.