Training and racing is a great escape from the rest of the world. Typically, it's no problem leaving it all behind and focusing on the ride and the races ahead. Today was different. I returned from vacation to learn of an "unfortunate event" at work. Admittedly, I'm still seething, so I may not be thinking clearly. However my perception is that, while no guidelines or rules were broken, a moral code was. And that burns me up. Even though I learned about it four days ago, the feelings are strong enough that I could think of little else on my ride. It was hard to appreciate the warm temps, 5:30 daylight, lack of traffic, and first long ride of the year on my TT bike. Shit, shit, shit.
After two hours, and ending with a good effort, I had a very quick transition to a run. It felt good to put on the racing shoes for the first time. I ran hard for the first mile to get that "race" feeling for the first time this year. And oh, did I feel it. We all know that feeling...heavy and huge quads, shakey legs, tight upper body, etc. I didn't look at my watch until I hit the mile marker, and thought I was probably around 7:00. I came in at 6:16. I WIN. Not the events at work, but ME. I WIN.
While I can't expand on the events any more, suffice it to say a certain individual is signed up for Polarbear on Saturday. Toast.
Speaking of Polarbear, it's the season opening sprint at Bowdoin College. 525 yd pool swim, 11 bike, 5k run on road and trails. Last year at this time I was just coming back from "daddy prevention surgery," and did well. This year I'm coming off a great 8 day, but far from relaxing, vacation. I did some running in Florida, including a 9 miler. And thanks to a stomach issue, I didn't stuff or drink myself silly. So I think things are falling in line.
My races this year are sprints and olympic distances, so every one of them is intense. No better way to improve than to go to the mat every time. A long winter, big end of the year goals and lots of training with a lack of racing have me keyed up. Oh, yeah...and there's that other issue.
Bring it on!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Snap
For those of you with families and a few years of triathlon under your belt, you'll understand. We get so friggin' wrapped up in ourselves that we cheat the really important things and people in our lives. Every year or two I need to "get my suspenders snapped" to get back to the way things should be. That happened about 10 days ago, and it was very appropriate. Sure, I've learned and improved over the years, but it's still an issue. I spend so much time and mental energy doing and planning for workouts and races that even when I'm home, I'm on the road.
So something(s) had to change. For training, I'm cutting back to a maximum of 10 hours per week. [Keep in mind my target race is USAT Nationals, an Olympic distance, not an IM.] Think about that. 10 hours. How can you pack in three sports, varying distances and intensities, plus lifting, and do it all in 10 hours? It's actually a facinating exercise. It forces you to focus on making every workout have a specific purpose. It gets rid of the empty miles and yards. It gives you more rest during the week, allowing for a higher intensity. The big risk with this is the possibility of injury due to fewer recovery miles. I'll just have to be careful with that. My default schedule is to have Wednesday mornings and all day Sunday off. Tuesdays and Thursdays only have one workout. I'm sure that my best coach ever, Tufts Swimming Coach Don Megerle, would approve. He believes in quality, not quantity.
This was my second week of track intervals. Last week was 6 x 1/2 mile, then this week was 10 x 1/4 mile. If you have a chance, read Running With the Legends: Training and Racing Insights from 21 Great Runners by Michael Sandrock. The two big takeaways are track intervals and trail running.
Today I had a great brick, and I could feel the benefit of the track intervals, even if it's mental at this point and not physiological. I started with a 1:45 bike on the trainer (I'm getting tired of this.........). The last hour was supposed to be race pace-ish. I averaged 246 watts, a hair better than Mooseman last year, and a whole lot better than any workouts before mid June. Cool. After a long transition, about 8 minutes, I hit the road. I have a 6.2 mile loop from the house, and know right where 3 miles is. To be fair, it's an overall decline of about 150 feet. I pegged it from the start, and hit 3 miles at 19:09. Double cool.
While I still occasionally feel my rib injury, I can swim hard without a problem. This week went much better, so there's hope. On Wednesday we head to Orlando to visit Mickey and then we go on the cruise ship. No biking or swimming for nine days. Just a few laps around Seven Seas Lagoon- in 70 degrees! I'm not too concerned about the missed time, as long as I don't eat and drink twelve times the calories I burn.
For those of you in the Portland area, we discovered a great restaurant in Freeport- Buck's Naked BBQ in Freeport. Great food, quantities, beer and prices. It's also very friendly for kids. Maybe we should have lunch there after Polarbear.
So something(s) had to change. For training, I'm cutting back to a maximum of 10 hours per week. [Keep in mind my target race is USAT Nationals, an Olympic distance, not an IM.] Think about that. 10 hours. How can you pack in three sports, varying distances and intensities, plus lifting, and do it all in 10 hours? It's actually a facinating exercise. It forces you to focus on making every workout have a specific purpose. It gets rid of the empty miles and yards. It gives you more rest during the week, allowing for a higher intensity. The big risk with this is the possibility of injury due to fewer recovery miles. I'll just have to be careful with that. My default schedule is to have Wednesday mornings and all day Sunday off. Tuesdays and Thursdays only have one workout. I'm sure that my best coach ever, Tufts Swimming Coach Don Megerle, would approve. He believes in quality, not quantity.
This was my second week of track intervals. Last week was 6 x 1/2 mile, then this week was 10 x 1/4 mile. If you have a chance, read Running With the Legends: Training and Racing Insights from 21 Great Runners by Michael Sandrock. The two big takeaways are track intervals and trail running.
Today I had a great brick, and I could feel the benefit of the track intervals, even if it's mental at this point and not physiological. I started with a 1:45 bike on the trainer (I'm getting tired of this.........). The last hour was supposed to be race pace-ish. I averaged 246 watts, a hair better than Mooseman last year, and a whole lot better than any workouts before mid June. Cool. After a long transition, about 8 minutes, I hit the road. I have a 6.2 mile loop from the house, and know right where 3 miles is. To be fair, it's an overall decline of about 150 feet. I pegged it from the start, and hit 3 miles at 19:09. Double cool.
While I still occasionally feel my rib injury, I can swim hard without a problem. This week went much better, so there's hope. On Wednesday we head to Orlando to visit Mickey and then we go on the cruise ship. No biking or swimming for nine days. Just a few laps around Seven Seas Lagoon- in 70 degrees! I'm not too concerned about the missed time, as long as I don't eat and drink twelve times the calories I burn.
For those of you in the Portland area, we discovered a great restaurant in Freeport- Buck's Naked BBQ in Freeport. Great food, quantities, beer and prices. It's also very friendly for kids. Maybe we should have lunch there after Polarbear.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wins and Smiles
I heard a great story on my trip from a guy who was one of nine that attempted a climb of Mt. McKinley. Before the climb, each of the nine were videotaped separately. One of the questions was, “what do you think it’s going to take to make it to the top?” The four that didn’t make it all said, “we need to stay focused on the goal.” The five that did make it to the top of North America all said, “find joy in each day.”
Training can be a lot like climbing a mountain. We struggle to find enough time, fight injuries, deal with equipment, go through emotional highs and lows, and try to eat right. It can all be a bit overwhelming. Because it takes so long to train for a target race, it can be a slog. Simply focusing on the end goal can be overwhelming.
I try to find little wins with nearly every workout. Sure, there are those shorter, easy recovery runs and rides where we aren’t challenged. But there are plenty of workouts where we have specific goals and we get challenged. Today I rode for 2 hours on the trainer, keeping it at 65% the whole way. Then I hit the road for almost nine miles. Getting down to a 7:30 pace was easy. So today’s wins are…only my second two hour ride this season, my first long brick, the realization that my running has reached a whole new level, and that I did it all in 40 degrees and rain.
Look for small victories.
We can all get a bit too serious out there. We “gut” it out. Take a look at these two pictures:
Other than dominating Kona for the last decade, what do Natash Badmann and Chrissy Wellington have in common? They have reputations of smiling their way to wins. I’m not sure, but I think I’ve heard that there’s actually a beneficial chemical reaction when you smile. Try smiling during your next tough workout or race. See if you have some sort of lift. It seems to work for me.
Last night we went to Nick’s last indoor track meet- the regional “festival”…they avoid the pressure of calling it the season ending championship. He placed fifth out of 19 in the high jump (he was one of only five 7th graders, the rest were in 8th grade). He also ran a great 240, coming from way behind to win his heat, just nipping his best friend at the tape. Here’s a video of one of his jumps.
Friday, March 27, 2009
From S.F.
Waiting to fly home from S.F. I have been comletely seduced by the weather and the Stanford campus. Wednesday morning's run turned out to be very similar to Monday's. Total run was about 8 miles in about 1:05 and had to keep slowing down because I was under 7:30 pace, and occasionally got under 7:00.
The highlight of the trip was swimming in the OUTDOOR 50m pool. The pool was a perfect temperature and there were only about 3 people in my 50m lane. My ribs felt quite a bit better, even after 2000m. I'm looking forward to regaining my swimming shape over the next couple of weeks. The only problem was that the sun was too bright. So tough.
Yesterday I put in 11.5 in 1:30. That's the longest distance and time this year. The legs felt good. Today it was another 5.5. After Sunday's run, this will likely be the most miles I've ever done in one week (38-40). I'll do two more of these by the end of April, then it gets scaled back to a high of 32 for the rest of the season as I add more intensity.
While I'm not looking forward to the redeye tonight, I am looking forward seeing the family again.
The highlight of the trip was swimming in the OUTDOOR 50m pool. The pool was a perfect temperature and there were only about 3 people in my 50m lane. My ribs felt quite a bit better, even after 2000m. I'm looking forward to regaining my swimming shape over the next couple of weeks. The only problem was that the sun was too bright. So tough.
Yesterday I put in 11.5 in 1:30. That's the longest distance and time this year. The legs felt good. Today it was another 5.5. After Sunday's run, this will likely be the most miles I've ever done in one week (38-40). I'll do two more of these by the end of April, then it gets scaled back to a high of 32 for the rest of the season as I add more intensity.
While I'm not looking forward to the redeye tonight, I am looking forward seeing the family again.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Strange Bunch
Somewhere between D.C. and S.F…..I normally only blog once per week…yes I have other things to do…but given this painfully long flight and the last two days, I thought I would check in.
For some reason I woke up around 4 yesterday. Out of bed at 4:45, and out the door at 5:15. It was spectacular. Sure, it was still cold (25), but the starry sky was beautiful. I noticed it as I waited for my Garmin to synch up. I hit the road thinking I would stick to my plan for 6 mi. Early on, I felt much lighter and looser than normal. It probably had a lot to do with using the roller last night. I need to do much more of that. By mile 1, and without effort, I was already down to an 8:15 pace. As the run progressed, I felt better and better. So good, in fact, I entertained adding a bit on. By the time I got to the decision point, I was cranking along at 7:30-45, felt great, but realized another mile or so could hamper future workouts. So I decided caution was in order and stuck to my planned route. The next ½ mile was generally up hill. It took a bit more effort, but I didn’t slow down much. Around mile 4, the endorphins were really flowing and I got the pace under 7. Keep in mind that my 10K race pace is somewhere around 6:20. At mile 5, I slowed down to bring it home...It turned out to still be under 8:00. What a great run.
I followed that up with an hour on the trainer. I knew I had a threshold test to do today, so I didn’t want to blow it. After a warm up, I alternated 5 minute periods, 220w seated and 260-280 slower cadence (75-80) standing (FTP is about 275). That went for 35 minutes.
Today I woke up at 2 friggin’ 30 thinking about the FTP test the same way I think about races. It was impossible to go back to sleep. I probably got another 30 minutes of sleep until I got up at 5. After the K.P. warm-up protocol, I dove into the test, stepping up 20w every 4 minutes, starting at 160w. I did this in January and failed after about 30 seconds at 300w, about the same as last year. After I hit 220w, I was sick of the TV, so I put on the iPod and turned the TV off. At 280w the volume went up. Bottom line? I failed after 2 minutes at 320w, a huge improvement over January. That’s my “win” for the day. Total ride 90 minutes.
Afterwards, Christine and I had a good laugh. Now keep in mind I am a total morning person, and she is far from it. I alluded to my win this morning. I said, “What a great ride. I sat on my bike in the garage, it was 39 degrees (yes, inside the garage), I was alone, pushed myself to failure, and all the while didn’t travel an inch.” We triathletes sure are a strange and driven bunch.
I’m looking forward to unleashing this energy on the competition.
For some reason I woke up around 4 yesterday. Out of bed at 4:45, and out the door at 5:15. It was spectacular. Sure, it was still cold (25), but the starry sky was beautiful. I noticed it as I waited for my Garmin to synch up. I hit the road thinking I would stick to my plan for 6 mi. Early on, I felt much lighter and looser than normal. It probably had a lot to do with using the roller last night. I need to do much more of that. By mile 1, and without effort, I was already down to an 8:15 pace. As the run progressed, I felt better and better. So good, in fact, I entertained adding a bit on. By the time I got to the decision point, I was cranking along at 7:30-45, felt great, but realized another mile or so could hamper future workouts. So I decided caution was in order and stuck to my planned route. The next ½ mile was generally up hill. It took a bit more effort, but I didn’t slow down much. Around mile 4, the endorphins were really flowing and I got the pace under 7. Keep in mind that my 10K race pace is somewhere around 6:20. At mile 5, I slowed down to bring it home...It turned out to still be under 8:00. What a great run.
I followed that up with an hour on the trainer. I knew I had a threshold test to do today, so I didn’t want to blow it. After a warm up, I alternated 5 minute periods, 220w seated and 260-280 slower cadence (75-80) standing (FTP is about 275). That went for 35 minutes.
Today I woke up at 2 friggin’ 30 thinking about the FTP test the same way I think about races. It was impossible to go back to sleep. I probably got another 30 minutes of sleep until I got up at 5. After the K.P. warm-up protocol, I dove into the test, stepping up 20w every 4 minutes, starting at 160w. I did this in January and failed after about 30 seconds at 300w, about the same as last year. After I hit 220w, I was sick of the TV, so I put on the iPod and turned the TV off. At 280w the volume went up. Bottom line? I failed after 2 minutes at 320w, a huge improvement over January. That’s my “win” for the day. Total ride 90 minutes.
Afterwards, Christine and I had a good laugh. Now keep in mind I am a total morning person, and she is far from it. I alluded to my win this morning. I said, “What a great ride. I sat on my bike in the garage, it was 39 degrees (yes, inside the garage), I was alone, pushed myself to failure, and all the while didn’t travel an inch.” We triathletes sure are a strange and driven bunch.
I’m looking forward to unleashing this energy on the competition.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
ITPRDYL?
Sitting here in the Shawnee Peak base lodge while Nick and friends ski all day. It would be incredibly boring without my laptop, projects to work on and my iPod. [Phil Collins playing] I’m actually making all sorts of progress on multiple fronts. It’s rare that I get free time like this. This coming week I get even more time as I fly to San Francisco for work. While there, I hope to swim in one of their three 50m outdoor pools with temps in the high 60s! I’ll also get in a bunch of running.
One of my projects is figuring out my training schedule in much greater detail for the rest of the season. When you figure in all of the progression and periodization, 22 weeks to my target race really isn’t that much. That’s especially true when you figure adaptations take several weeks [The Fray] at a time. For those of you aiming for IM LP, in training terms, it’s right around the corner!
Two thirds of my training was great this week. Biking was strong and included a good ride OUTSIDE yesterday. On the run, I’ve just started to add some quicker paces which feel great. It’s amazing how much faster the easy running gets after a few quicker strides. My latest tool/toy is the Garmin Forerunner 305. Even though I have more to learn (S.F. trip), it’s already met my expectations. On Tuesday I ran 10 in Hartford on streets I had never been on. Eventually I found a good out-and-back, making the turn when the watch read 5 mi. [Elton John] It’s amazing how a Garmin or Powertap on the bike can keep you honest or make you more competitive. The numbers don’t lie. The downloads don’t lie. And the analysis is what it is. If you want good and improving numbers, you have to put in the work.
The one third that wasn’t so good was my swimming. My injured ribs caused a good deal of pain on every left arm pull and flip turn. I got in 4 days, SUPER SLOW, for a total of about 6k. Yesterday, after running 6, swimming 500, and kicking 500, I had to get out due to the pain. Damn.
The whole situation with B2B filling up is ridiculous. I read countless stories about those who were on the computer at the designated hour and the connection wouldn’t work. I feel the worst for those who use B2B as their target race and have done it every year since its inception. It seems like the organizers have plenty of ‘splainin to do. [Def Leopard] I understand why organizers have registration limits, but it’s a shame they can’t figure out a way to get more people in. Let’s take Polarbear as an example. That race is limited due to the pool swim and the fact that they have to wait for all of the slow swimmers to finish before starting the next heat. They should organize it so half of the pool is for slow swimmers, half for fast. The fast ones could [U2] run two heats for every one of the slow ones. I bet you could increase the field by 30-40%. The idea here is to get more people racing, whatever the sport. [Axel F]
I get a kick out of the texting language Nick and other kids his age do. You’ve probably seen the “BFF” commercial, so you know that one. How about a few other basics- BRB [Bill Conti (Rocky)], IDK, JK, or JJ? We should develop verbal texting for races. Air is at a premium, so we should economize. [REM- OK, I know I’m slow- I’m distracted] Let’s try:
YLG- You look good.
TFTP- Thanks for the pull (running only).
QDYA- Quit drafting, you asshole.
IGKYA- I’m gonna kick your ass.
YS- You suck.
IH- I hurt.
IFLS- I feel like shit.
TWS- This weather sucks.
[Doobie Brothers]
OYL- On your left (my favorite!)
G- Gatorade
ITPRDYL?- Is that pee running down your leg?
[John Melloncamp]
[Jim Noir]
YBCYS- Yeah, but can you swim?
ITTTS- I’m training through this race.
Now accepting submissions for the Triatlete's Guide to Texting.......
One of my projects is figuring out my training schedule in much greater detail for the rest of the season. When you figure in all of the progression and periodization, 22 weeks to my target race really isn’t that much. That’s especially true when you figure adaptations take several weeks [The Fray] at a time. For those of you aiming for IM LP, in training terms, it’s right around the corner!
Two thirds of my training was great this week. Biking was strong and included a good ride OUTSIDE yesterday. On the run, I’ve just started to add some quicker paces which feel great. It’s amazing how much faster the easy running gets after a few quicker strides. My latest tool/toy is the Garmin Forerunner 305. Even though I have more to learn (S.F. trip), it’s already met my expectations. On Tuesday I ran 10 in Hartford on streets I had never been on. Eventually I found a good out-and-back, making the turn when the watch read 5 mi. [Elton John] It’s amazing how a Garmin or Powertap on the bike can keep you honest or make you more competitive. The numbers don’t lie. The downloads don’t lie. And the analysis is what it is. If you want good and improving numbers, you have to put in the work.
The one third that wasn’t so good was my swimming. My injured ribs caused a good deal of pain on every left arm pull and flip turn. I got in 4 days, SUPER SLOW, for a total of about 6k. Yesterday, after running 6, swimming 500, and kicking 500, I had to get out due to the pain. Damn.
The whole situation with B2B filling up is ridiculous. I read countless stories about those who were on the computer at the designated hour and the connection wouldn’t work. I feel the worst for those who use B2B as their target race and have done it every year since its inception. It seems like the organizers have plenty of ‘splainin to do. [Def Leopard] I understand why organizers have registration limits, but it’s a shame they can’t figure out a way to get more people in. Let’s take Polarbear as an example. That race is limited due to the pool swim and the fact that they have to wait for all of the slow swimmers to finish before starting the next heat. They should organize it so half of the pool is for slow swimmers, half for fast. The fast ones could [U2] run two heats for every one of the slow ones. I bet you could increase the field by 30-40%. The idea here is to get more people racing, whatever the sport. [Axel F]
I get a kick out of the texting language Nick and other kids his age do. You’ve probably seen the “BFF” commercial, so you know that one. How about a few other basics- BRB [Bill Conti (Rocky)], IDK, JK, or JJ? We should develop verbal texting for races. Air is at a premium, so we should economize. [REM- OK, I know I’m slow- I’m distracted] Let’s try:
YLG- You look good.
TFTP- Thanks for the pull (running only).
QDYA- Quit drafting, you asshole.
IGKYA- I’m gonna kick your ass.
YS- You suck.
IH- I hurt.
IFLS- I feel like shit.
TWS- This weather sucks.
[Doobie Brothers]
OYL- On your left (my favorite!)
G- Gatorade
ITPRDYL?- Is that pee running down your leg?
[John Melloncamp]
[Jim Noir]
YBCYS- Yeah, but can you swim?
ITTTS- I’m training through this race.
Now accepting submissions for the Triatlete's Guide to Texting.......
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Love it! Hate it!
I love this sport because of all the stuff. Sure, it sounds materialistic, but let’s face it- it’s fun. There’s always more gear we can go out and get. It keeps getting better, so there’s always a gadget that will make training or racing better, faster or more comfortable. My latest target is a Garmin Forerunner.
I hate this sport because of all the crap you need. Trying to plan and pack for a race never ends. God forbid I forget my electrical tape, salt tablets or allen wrench. Long winter runs take short tights, long pants, shirt, jacket, gloves, fuel belt, bottles, gel, iPod, body glide, reflective vest, head lamp, sneakers, hat, and probably something else I’m forgetting.
I love this sport because there’s always something going well. Three disciplines and something is always feeling good. I love basking in the internal glory of a great workout . Maybe the run wasn’t so great in my brick, but that’s because I kicked ass on the bike.
I hate this sport because something is always suffering. If I bust my ass in the morning on the road, it’s a losing game in the pool at noon when I’m with the masters swim group. [These wimps are only doing one workout today.] It’s tough for my ego to have people pass me who have no right doing so. And have you ever done a race where all three parts were spot on? Maybe the race overall was good, but there’s always something that wasn’t as good as it should be.
I love this sport because I have no trouble falling asleep at night. Up at 5 for a 1-2 hours workout, go to work, swim at noon, back to work, home for the night, head hits the pillow, and GOOD NIGHT!
I hate this sport because I have no problem falling asleep...anywhere or anytime. It’s a struggle sometime to get through work in the afternoon. And it isn’t exactly good for marital relations when my head rolls off my shoulders at 8:30. I end up trying all kinds of things just to stay awake until 9:30.
I love this sport because of the satisfaction I get after pushing my limits in races. I tend to focus on the Olympic distance which requires red lining for two hours. Finding that extra gear at the end of a race to pass (or prevent from being passed (A.B.)) feels great. That kind of effort stays with me physically for a day or two, reminding me that I did something few other people even attempt.
I hate this sport because of the anguish we go through while red lining. “This sucks.” “Why do I do this?” “I’m going to pick up curling next year.” “I wonder if my kids are out of bed yet.” “Come on, give me better directions.” “Come on, be ready with the Gatorade.” “My crotch is killing me. ” “I’m never doing an Ironman again.” [By the way, for those of you going into your first one, you will say this repeatedly. Then within 5 minutes of finishing, you’ll want to sign up all over again.]
I love this sport because of the positive stress it generates. I think about training and racing constantly. It’s a great diversion from the negative stress in life, in particular my work. It’s fun to design the next workout, training paces, average power or whatever. Then I get to download the workout data to the computer and analyze it even more. I’m a dreamer, and it literally gives me shivers to think about running down Alii Drive. Or pulling on a USA uniform. Life would be boring without dreaming about reaching new levels.
I hate this sport because of the attention it requires. It’s nearly year-round and permeates so many parts of life, including diet, sleep and the calendar. I know I haven’t given my family as much mental attention as I should. I think I'm getting better.
I love…eating without limits after races, staying fit, breaking down barriers, sharing ideas, camaraderie, rolling out of bed and feeling yesterday’s workout, hill repeats, surging out front at the swim start, and winning.
I hate…chlorine, cold hands and toes, poor etiquette, pain in certain personal areas, poorly organized races, drafting, toe tapping in the swim, injuries, stretching (duh..think there’s a connection?), hill repeats, and losing.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
My ribs wouldn’t let me run until this weekend when I hit the trails on snowshoes. After a few minutes, the endorphins masked the pain. Included a run/hite to the top of Ragged Mtn. I didn’t even sniff the pool all week. I was fine on the bike, so pushed that pretty hard. The highlight was meeting with Coach Kurt and coming to the realization that I’m setting myself up for a great season. I thought as much, but it’s nice to get confirmation. Although there’s plenty of physical refining and work to do, mentally, I am so ready to bust out a good race. Polarbear won’t come soon enough.
Found a good weekly IM podcast on iTunes from a couple of guys from New Zealand- IM Talk. In particular, check out the 5/26/08 podcast with Dave Scott and 5/7/07 discussion on training with power. In particular, he talks about eliminating the power spikes in an IM bike. They really sap your energy for the run.
Finally, I signed up for Crank the Kanc. I strongly suggest others do the same. It's a great test at a good time of year. If you do, maybe we can do a bit extra on the end.
I hate this sport because of all the crap you need. Trying to plan and pack for a race never ends. God forbid I forget my electrical tape, salt tablets or allen wrench. Long winter runs take short tights, long pants, shirt, jacket, gloves, fuel belt, bottles, gel, iPod, body glide, reflective vest, head lamp, sneakers, hat, and probably something else I’m forgetting.
I love this sport because there’s always something going well. Three disciplines and something is always feeling good. I love basking in the internal glory of a great workout . Maybe the run wasn’t so great in my brick, but that’s because I kicked ass on the bike.
I hate this sport because something is always suffering. If I bust my ass in the morning on the road, it’s a losing game in the pool at noon when I’m with the masters swim group. [These wimps are only doing one workout today.] It’s tough for my ego to have people pass me who have no right doing so. And have you ever done a race where all three parts were spot on? Maybe the race overall was good, but there’s always something that wasn’t as good as it should be.
I love this sport because I have no trouble falling asleep at night. Up at 5 for a 1-2 hours workout, go to work, swim at noon, back to work, home for the night, head hits the pillow, and GOOD NIGHT!
I hate this sport because I have no problem falling asleep...anywhere or anytime. It’s a struggle sometime to get through work in the afternoon. And it isn’t exactly good for marital relations when my head rolls off my shoulders at 8:30. I end up trying all kinds of things just to stay awake until 9:30.
I love this sport because of the satisfaction I get after pushing my limits in races. I tend to focus on the Olympic distance which requires red lining for two hours. Finding that extra gear at the end of a race to pass (or prevent from being passed (A.B.)) feels great. That kind of effort stays with me physically for a day or two, reminding me that I did something few other people even attempt.
I hate this sport because of the anguish we go through while red lining. “This sucks.” “Why do I do this?” “I’m going to pick up curling next year.” “I wonder if my kids are out of bed yet.” “Come on, give me better directions.” “Come on, be ready with the Gatorade.” “My crotch is killing me. ” “I’m never doing an Ironman again.” [By the way, for those of you going into your first one, you will say this repeatedly. Then within 5 minutes of finishing, you’ll want to sign up all over again.]
I love this sport because of the positive stress it generates. I think about training and racing constantly. It’s a great diversion from the negative stress in life, in particular my work. It’s fun to design the next workout, training paces, average power or whatever. Then I get to download the workout data to the computer and analyze it even more. I’m a dreamer, and it literally gives me shivers to think about running down Alii Drive. Or pulling on a USA uniform. Life would be boring without dreaming about reaching new levels.
I hate this sport because of the attention it requires. It’s nearly year-round and permeates so many parts of life, including diet, sleep and the calendar. I know I haven’t given my family as much mental attention as I should. I think I'm getting better.
I love…eating without limits after races, staying fit, breaking down barriers, sharing ideas, camaraderie, rolling out of bed and feeling yesterday’s workout, hill repeats, surging out front at the swim start, and winning.
I hate…chlorine, cold hands and toes, poor etiquette, pain in certain personal areas, poorly organized races, drafting, toe tapping in the swim, injuries, stretching (duh..think there’s a connection?), hill repeats, and losing.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
My ribs wouldn’t let me run until this weekend when I hit the trails on snowshoes. After a few minutes, the endorphins masked the pain. Included a run/hite to the top of Ragged Mtn. I didn’t even sniff the pool all week. I was fine on the bike, so pushed that pretty hard. The highlight was meeting with Coach Kurt and coming to the realization that I’m setting myself up for a great season. I thought as much, but it’s nice to get confirmation. Although there’s plenty of physical refining and work to do, mentally, I am so ready to bust out a good race. Polarbear won’t come soon enough.
Found a good weekly IM podcast on iTunes from a couple of guys from New Zealand- IM Talk. In particular, check out the 5/26/08 podcast with Dave Scott and 5/7/07 discussion on training with power. In particular, he talks about eliminating the power spikes in an IM bike. They really sap your energy for the run.
Finally, I signed up for Crank the Kanc. I strongly suggest others do the same. It's a great test at a good time of year. If you do, maybe we can do a bit extra on the end.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
