A Mackinaw Peaches Day

I had a great day, and I've come up with a term for it- it was a "Mackinaw Peaches Day." Seinfeld fans know what I'm talking about. For those that don't, or those that want to see the skit again, click here:

The day started with a two hour trainer ride. My goal was to include a one hour TT effort and average over 240w. I took that from TrainingPeaks WKO+ which showed that my best one hour effort since August was 235w. Now don't get me wrong- two hours on the trainer and a one hour TT both fit squarely in the category of serious misery. But after lots of intervals recently, I felt a desire to crank this out. After 25 min of warm up, I started in. My countdown timer went off every 10 minutes, getting me to stand up for about 2 minutes. This went on...and on....and on.... for an hour. I hated it after 15 minutes. I moved the towel to the side occasionally to check on my effort, and generally saw it between 240 and 260, so I thought I was doing fine- not feeling fine, but doing what I set out to do. As it turns out, I averaged 247w. The only single day that was better since 1/1/09, including races, was the Crank the Kanc TT last May. Three other days were within a few watts, including Mooseman which registered 246w. So this was one of my best long steady-state rides ever. Given that last week was my first week this season with more than 2.5 hours of biking in a single week, I'm thrilled. Woot!

After the ride I went for a short 3 mi. run with our weimaraner in the warm weather (38*). I didn't worry at all about the pace, and didn't hit the first mile until about 8:15. But near the end, still without effort, I was down to about 7:10.

I then moved on to a great breakfast sandwich- two eggs, salami and american cheese on oatmeal bread. While I'm on the subject of food, I finished my smoked mussels for lunch, and had a great homemade clam chowda' for dinner.

This afternoon I caught lightning in a bottle when Leah asked to "build something" out in the garage. We had a great time designing and building a rack for Nick's snowboards. I got her to use her math, taught her about countersinking, and she was a master with the drill. After a while she moved on to her own project- I'm not sure what it is, but it was all hers. We both had a great time.

Then the two of us went to the basketball game between the school where I grew up, (Cape) and where we live now (Falmouth). This was the third game between them this year, splitting the previous two, which were each other's only losses of the season. Falmouth won, sending them to the state title game. While I won't admit it too loudly, I was pulling for Falmouth. I will say, however, the Cape fans are far more enthusiastic.

Today wrapped up a huge training week for me. For a couple of years now, I've made this week a sort of "training camp" with lots of volume. I find it vaults me to a new level. I'll probably put in a few more this year, but always 6-8 weeks apart. I started on Monday, a holiday, with a two hour ride and 3 mile run. My elbow and swimming are improving, and I put in three 1,500 yard days, still without any intensity. I've also "graduated" from PT. Total hours were 10:45, about 50% more than what I've been doing. Biking went from 2.5 hrs to 6.2 hrs. Next week I'll take the volume back down, somewhere between this week and what I was doing.

To be honest, this electronic age (blogging and FB) acts as an incredible motivator. It seems like everyone around me is training really hard and already putting up some good early results. I feel more pressure from folks around here than I do thinking about Worlds.

"The Mackinaw peaches, Jerry, the Mackinaw peaches!"

Race Report: Mid Winter 10 Miler- Welcome Back

The 2010 race season kicked off today, and I'm thrilled with the results and how I got there. But to get the full story, lets back up for a minute....


1. My broken elbow got me out on the road much more than last year, starting about six weeks ago. In the last nine weeks, I've logged 205 miles, including snowshoeing. That compares to 137 miles last year. That's all good, except for the possibility I have an injured achilles tendon. 2. On Tuesday this week, I had an exhausting two day, one night trip to Orlando. I was up at 4 AM Tuesday, and back home at 11:30 Wednesday night. I did get one warm run in outside, which felt great. 3. On Thursday, the mass of airport germs beat my immune system, and I went downhill. I briefly wondered if I should race, especially considering it was 10 miles, but come on, it's just a cold. 4. Our dog Jasmine woke me up at 3 yesterday morning, and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up at 4 to get all kinds of work done. So in summary, this has been a tough pre-race week- I'm tired, didn't train much, sick, but the last two months of training have been good. Needless to say, I wasn't quite sure how this would all work out.


Last year I hadn't run more than 6 miles at once before this race. I used the first 2-3 miles as warm up, and proceeded to descend each mile, finishing in 1:14:53. At the time, I was happy with the time considering my base. My competitive spirit, however, noticed a slew of friends were all tight together, and about 3 minutes ahead of me. It seems like everyone has been working really hard, 3 minutes is a lot to make up, so again, I wasn't sure how it would work out.


Given it's early February, the weather was about as good as it could be- somewhere around 15 degrees and a bit of a cold NW wind. Once the race started, the entire bunch I wanted to stay with shot out and had 50+ yards on me within the first 1/2 mile. A peek at my Garmin told me I was going 6:50 pace. Way too fast for the start, but I didn't want to give up too much distance. So I backed off a bit and tried to relax. A bit later, I noticed Jeff behind me, and I happily dropped back to join him for what turned out to be seven miles. We hit the first mile in 7:05 and agreed that was plenty fast enough. The second mile got into some hills, but we stayed around 7:20. These hills were by no means huge, let's call them four big rollers, and my HR was well over 160. Given my HRmax is about 174, I knew I shouldn't go any harder so early.

I should also note I have never raced with my Garmin (I bought it last March), and haven't raced with a HR monitor in several years. I just don't need it for Oly (or shorter) triathlons. The data really helped, and I feel I was still able to run my own race using feel- the watch was a guide, not a dictator.


Jeff and I continued on, likely each thinking the same thing, "Man, I'm working hard, I hope I'm not holding him back, I really should slow down." We saw Mary about 50 yds. in front of us, and she stayed right there. Bob and Mark were together, about 200 yards further up. My plan was to stay at this pace, and not worry about running them down until mile 7 or so. Starting with mile 3, we split 7:16, 6:54, 6:52, 7:04 and 6:51. I'm willing to bet that if the course was flat, each mile would have been within 5 seconds of each other. We are similar runners- swimmers, really- big for runners, not a lot of experience, overstriding and heel striking.

Just before the crest of the last meaningful hill, just before mile 7, I saw I was catching Mary. I kept up the pace and figured it was time to start to move up in the field. After the top of the hill we had a long gradual downhill- perfect for me- not too steep, not too shallow. Then the road was flat until another long down hill just before mile nine where I caught Mark and Bob who were still shoulder to shoulder (mile 8 was 6:36). It took considerable effort to catch up given the pace and headwind, so I decided to tuck in and stay behind these two for as long as possible. Ideally, I didn't want them to know I was there, but that idea didn't last long. I stayed tucked in behind them as we headed back up a gradual hill, and planned to stay right there until we reached the Fowler Rd. intersection, about a 1/2 mile from the finish (mile 9 was 6:55). Just before that point, Mark started moving out, so I got up to his shoulder. I couldn't afford to give him an extra step at this point. At a 6:33 pace, I knew I was at my max. We turned into the High School, and Mark was able to accelerate away through the three turns enough so I knew that race was over. Now I just had to worry about Bob. I couldn't hear him, that was probably due to the headwind. I actually wondered if he was willing to turn himself inside out for this. With 50 yards to go, I heard the announcer say Mark's name, then mine, then someone else- the guy I just passed. That told me Bob wasn't close, and I thankfully backed off just a tad. The last mile took 6:38, but the last half mile was 3:00. I had nothing left. And as it turns out, Bob was willing to turn himself inside out- he vomited just as we turned into the school.

With a finishing time of 1:09:25, I improved by 5 1/2 minutes over last year. My average HR was 163, much higher than I thought I could handle. I was very consistent, with the difference between my fastest and slowest miles just 44 seconds. I owe a great deal to Jeff who kept me consistent for the first 7, Mary who had a lovely target on her back, and Mark and Bob who dragged me to the finish. It probably would have been a different story without those motivations. It felt great to have those pre-race butterflies again, see and chat with all of my friends, and dig deep at the end. I can't wait to do it again.

Showshoe Heaven

While I don’t recommend it, breaking my elbow has its benefits. Sure, I haven’t been in the pool at all, and it’s going to really suck getting back in. However, my combined run and bike volume has expanded from about 4 hours to almost 7 over the last six weeks. On the bike, I doubled my time from 1:15 to 2:30 per week, and my results are showing it. For running, I went from 20 to 28 miles, which is perfect timing for the Cape Midwinter 10 mile race this Sunday.
Even better, I’ve been out on my running snowshoes a bunch of times. These shoes are made for running- they’re narrow, shorter and lighter. Here’s a picture from the internet:

So far, I’ve been up to Sunday River, Blueberry Lake and Ole’s in Warren, VT, and the Mt. Washington Hotel. I’ve found I enjoy trails much more than open fields, which tend to be tedious. Trails are constantly changing. I head out with a Camelback waist system that holds a water bottle on my left hip, and has three pockets that separately hold keys, iPod and a gel flask. I typically stop about every 15-20 minutes for nutrition- it’s awkward to drink while on the move. These frequent stops also allow me to go for a pretty good distance. Three of the runs have been between 1:30 and 1:45. At an average speed of 6 mph, that’s 9-10 miles, a worthy workout. I also have a feeling that this is doing some good for my run mechanics- my stride tends to be shorter, and I’m striking the front part of my foot.

Importantly, the trails are just a great place to be. Nearly all of the trails are groomed, which lets me move along at a good clip. It’s all new, quiet, changing, and there are only a few others out there- just enough to keep things interesting. I’m surprised I haven’t seen any other snowshoers- they’re all on XC skis.

Last weekend we went to the Mt. Washington Hotel with three families from Winchester, MA. On Saturday, I headed out on the trails around noon, after waiting for the temperature to finally get over minus 5*. Even with that cold, I only had on a thin long sleeve shirt and my Team Nor’Easter biking jacket. For gloves, I have a fleece-like underglove and shell-like overglove. On the bottom, I wore compression tight shorts and pants that are looser and thicker than tights, but aren’t baggy. On my feet, it was just short socks and trail running sneakers, topped by gators. This was all topped off with a beanie hat. In other words, even though it was frigging COLD, I don’t need to wear that much. It’s probably a sign that it’s a good workout.

As I headed out, my f-ing Garmin told me the battery was dead. Typically, I like to know how long I’ve run, and want the data uploaded to the computer for tracking purposes. So I stated the stopwatch on my iPod and resisted throwing the 305 into the snowbank.

If you haven’t been to this resort in the winter, put it on your list. The trails are great, and there are many views of the mountain- which is spectacular on a clear winter day. Here are two:

Near the end, things started going downhill. I was gassed and had a bad blister on my toe. I finally got back, and had this view of the back of the hotel-

Along the way, I noticed my jacket collar was frozen solid and my earphones seemed to be iced to my ears-

The next day was even colder- by 10 AM, it had warmed up to minus 9*. That didn't stop the kids from enjoying the outdoor pool-

Beating Boredom- Part 4: Run

I love long runs. I love hard runs. Both present a challenge. They also have changing scenery, beautiful sun rises, other runners and different routes. My winter rule is 10 degrees and clear roads. So far, this winter has been great for running (jinx). But there are always those days when I have to hit the treadmill and I lose all of those great attributes of an outside run. Still, stifling air, other people controlling the TV remote, and the threat of a 30 minute time limit suck. The treadmill certainly has the potential for some serious drudgery.


The keys to actually feeling good about it are really no different than the swim and bike- it's about attitude, intervals and variety. The one additional variable that a treadmill offers is the pitch. So along with varying the times and speed, also change the pitch. Also make the intervals easy to remember- like every even minute or every multiple of 5. As a point of reference, my best 10k at the end of a tri is 41:10.


1. Strides. Pick a comfortable/easy cruising speed, say 6.5. At the beginning of each two minute interval, throw in a harder 30 second effort. Start at 7, then increase it by 0.5 on each one until you hit 10 (or feel like you're barely able to stay on). Then repeat the set at a 2 degree pitch. 28 min set.


2. Progressive speed. Once you've warmed up at 6.5, up the speed by 0.3 every 3 min. That's a small enough increment so you don't really notice the difference from the previous 3 min, but it doesn't take long to go from 6.5 to 8.9 (24 min). If you have more time, drop it back to 7 and start over, or 6.5 and add some pitch.


3. Progressive time. Using an easy base of 6.5 and a high end of 8.5, go 2 min easy, 1 min hard, 2/2, 2/3, 2/4, 2/5. 25 min set.


4. Progressive pitch. Keeping the speed constant, and higher than the base speeds mentioned above, say 7, make your easy intervals flat and increase the hard intervals by 1 degree each time- 0/1, 0/2......0/8. Play with the times so you can finish the set- the last run at 8 degrees should be pretty tough. If you change every 2 min, it's a 32 min set.


5. Long run. If you are trying to run for more than an hour, the above sets might be a bit much. Set the speed at 7 and change something every 5 min for 1 min. Up the speed or pitch, or both. This will help you stay out of a rut.

6. Roller coaster. Go 4 min each 6.5, 7.5, 8.5, 7.5, 6.5, back up & down again. Or keep the speed at 7 and change the pitch- 0, 3, 6, 3, 0, back up & down. 36 min.

7. Anchored yo-yo. With the "anchor" set at 6.5, take three steps forward and two steps back, returning to the anchor each time. 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 6.5, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 6.5, 8, 8.5, 9- 3 min each is 36 min. Or take the same idea with pitch, keeping the speed at 7. 0, 2, 3, 4, 0, 3, 4, 5, 0, 4, 5, 6.

8. Floating yo-yo. Just remove the anchor. Go 6.5, 7, 7.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 7.5, 8, 8.5. 4 min each is 36 min. Again, the same can be done with pitch. For both #7 and #8, you can change it so it's 4 steps forward and three back. Essentially, this is a way to "sneak up" on faster running.

9. Pyramid. The faster you go, the less time you put in. 3 min at 7, 2 @ 8, 1 @ 9, repeat a few times. Or keep the speed at 7 and go 3 min at 2 degrees, 2 min @ 5, 1 @ 8.

Now let's get silly...

10. Floating pyramid yo-yo. 3 min @ 7, 2 @ 7.5, 1 @ 8, 3 min @ 7.5, 2 @ 8, 1 @ 8.5, 3 min @ 8, 2 @ 8.5, 1 @ 9. Repeat for 36 min.

11. Progressive compound roller coaster. All intervals are 2 min. 6.5, 7, 7.5, 7...pitch goes to 3...6.5, 7, 7.5, 7...flat...7, 7.5, 8, 7.5...pitch to 3...7, 7.5, 8, 7.5...flat...7.5, 8, 8.5, 7.5...pitch to 3...7.5, 8, 8.5, 7.5, 7. 50 min.

I think you get the idea. You spend so much time thinking about what's next with these sets, and you're focused on the clock for just a couple of minutes at a time that it's impossible to get bored. Enjoy!

And the road is always better than the treadmill.

Beating Boredom- Part 3: Bike

Pretty much 100% of my biking in the winter is alone. I also do it at about 5:30 AM, and the temperature in the garage ranges from about 35 to 42 degrees at the start. So it's early, cold, I have no company, and the scenery doesn't change as I crank out the miles. Plenty of reasons to get bored and skip a workout. But being the sicko trithlete I am, I actually enjoy it. Other than what was mentioned in Part 1, here are some specific workouts that get me through. I use watts to guage my effort, but I guess you could use mph or heartrate (although a big lag effect) also. For a reference, I race an Oly at an average of about 265w. My average power for the Crank the Kanc TT was 276. I should also mention that I'm SURE certain coaches (in Brunswick) will say I could be doing better workouts. But in my mind, I'm just trying to get some time in on the bike, work hard, and have variety. I also find it really helps to write the workout down on paper the night before and leave it right next to my bike. As you know, it can be hard to think or remember where you are in a set when you're working hard or your mind wanders. You can also write down the total elapsed workout time next to each set, and keep a stopwatch going.



1. FTP test. This is one serious grind. The point is to go to failure. After a 32 min. warmup that includes some intervals, the set starts at 160 watts. Every 4 min, I add another 20w. This week I matched last year's effort, where I failed after 2 min @ 320w. I think I could go a bit further if I had company (competition). At the end, it's not only a real physical struggle, but mental as well. After a recovery, the workout takes 1:20. I definitely use my countdown timer for this one.


2. Long grind. Most of my rides have a bunch of intervals, but I'll occasionally throw in a 45-60 min effort at 200-230w. Every 5 min, shift to a harder gear and stand up for a minute. That loosens up your back and fanny, and is a good mental break.


3. Over / under. This is a great effort set. The idea is to split the time between easy and hard in equal amounts of time, but the easy ain't so easy. For example, do 4 min at 280w, then 4 min at 240w. The midpoint is close to race pace. Repeat 5 times.


4. Ladder the hard. Start at an easy rate, say 180w. This stays as the easy interval. The hard interval starts at 200w and adds 20w each time. To make things interesting (and to keep your mind occupied), change up the times. Try something like 1 min ez, 3 min hard or equal times for each (2/2), but take the ladder up further.


5. Ladder the easy. As opposed to #4, your base is 270w for the hard, and you keep increasing the "easy." It would look like- 160, 270, 180, 270, 200, 270...and so on. Again, play with the times. The total set should be somewhere between 30 & 45 min.


6. Combination ladder. Combine sets 3&4- Start at 160w and work the hard intervals up to 270. Then without a break, keep 270 for the hard, and start increaseing the easy. If you go 3 min hard and 1 min easy, the whole set should be something like 48 minutes.


7. Time ladder. With this one, keep the hard and easy efforts the same, but change the times. You can either keep increasing the hard while keep the easy the same (1 hard/1 easy/2/1/3/1/4/1/5/1), or keep decreasing the easy while keeping the hard the same (5/5/5/4/5/3/5/2/5/1).


8. 3 min base. Each set has 3 min of near maximum effort (I was well over 400w for the first 3 sets), and has an equal amount of time for very easy spinning. Start with 9 x 20 sec with 20 sec between each. Then proceed to 6 x :30, 4 x :45, 3 x 1 min, 2 x 1:30, and 1 x 3 min. Spin for an additional 2 min between each set. So it looks like- 9x(20 hard, 20 easy), 2 min easy, 6x(30 hard, 30 easy), 2 min easy, and so on. Very tough set, especially if you bust hump. Set the countdown timer for 8 min.


9. Beat the computer. With TrainingPeaks WKO+, you can easily see your previous max power outputs for various lengths of time. A few weeks ago, I did a 30 min effort with the goal of exceeding all four times- 1 (304w), 5 (266), 10 (240) and 30 min (211). As it was still early in the season and I hadn't put in any really hard rides, these hurdles were relatively easy. I did a straight 30 min ride with the goal of riding over 310w for the first minute, then over 270 for the next 4 (cumulative time is now 5 min), over 250 for the next 5, and over 220 for the last 20 min. By definition, if I do this, I will beat all of the benchmarks by a good bit because the big 1 min effort is also reflected in the 5 min effort, and so on. (I ended up at 354, 294, 271 and 243.)

As you can see, most of these sets involve constant changing. Long intervals are only 5 minutes. That way, you're only focused on the next few minutes, not the next hour grind. Just take one step at a time. Sure, we need to put in some longer, steady state rides, but the idea of this post is to keep your mind engaged and work hard.

Beating Boredom- Part 2: Swim

In Part 1, I reviewed a whole bunch of things that apply to the swim as well as the bike and run. This will focus on sets that are specific to the pool. Two things to keep in mind- first, you need to adjust swim times and intervals for your own ability. Second, I am of the less yardage / more quality school. As a sprinter at Tufts, under the tutelage of the great Don Megerle, it was all about race-specific, high quality training. I got good at 100 yards (:49 free), but typically crapped out at 150 (never under 1:52 for the 200). As a result, many of the distance ideas here are from seeing what "Lane 2" was doing, talking with Coach, experimenting, and the Y group.


1. The long, straight swim. Like riding over 80 or running over 18, different things happen when I go more than 1,000-1,500 yards straight. My core hurts all over and my technique falters. So it's obviously something that needs work. But a long time trial is incredibly boring and easy to bail out of. Two things help. First, get someone willing to do the same in the lane next to you. Notice I said in the next lane. This is best done when you and friend have lanes to yourselves, or at least can lead the lane. Friend can help with the pacing and provide a little competitive energy. Second, wear a watch with a countdown timer that you can hear underwater. I set mine for 2:36, and pay attention to where I turn every 200 yards. Not only does this keep me at an even pace, I'm also able to count yards. Otherwise I'd lose count after 150. Wondering how far you've gone is a sure thing for losing interest.


2. Rotating strokes. Often during warmup, I'll cycle through 100 free, 50 back four or six times. Again, it makes counting easier, and I'm always close to some sort of change.


3. Blasting. Swimming really fast is fun. Every now and then I'll dedicate a workout to swimming a couple of 100s at max effort. The entire workout is only a little over 2000 yds. Warm up for 500, descend 6x100 on 1:30, then 8x50 on 1 with 25 at max. That 25 can be the first 25, last, or middle, which incorporates the wall. The main set is 3x100 on 4. We do this so everyone gets a lane to themselves and clean water. Every swim is FAST, trying to break 1:00. The last 30-40 yards of the last one is pure hell. There's also time in there for an easy 50 inbetwen each one.


4. Tricking the body. Some fast 50s can trick the body into swimming a faster "controlled" pace. For a main set, do 3 x 4x200 on 3 with 6x50 on 1 (2x(ez, med, hard)) between each group of 4 200s. Drop your times on each set.


5. Use thinking as a distraction from the boredom and pain. Make the set so involved, with lots of changes, so that you really have to think to figure out what's next. Go 6 x (50, 100, 150), on a 45 sec per 50 yd. base interval, rotating easy, medium and hard- easy 50, medium 100, hard 150, medium 50, hard 100, easy 150, etc.


6. Turn it off. Occasionally, it's OK to tuck in and draft. Turn the mind off, let someone else do the counting, and enjoy the ride.

7. Know when to work. Instead of slogging through an entire workout at an even pace, alternate hard / easy. A great set is to alternate 8 x 150 with 8 x 100, all on 2. Descend the 150s. An interval of 2 forces you to at least put in some moderate work, even on the first one. The 100s are really slow, allowing you to focus on the 150s.

8. Start a challenge series with the group. On Wednesdays this fall, we did 30x100, 3000 mixed, 40x100, etc., up to 8000. Everyone knows what's coming, and in a sick way, looks forward to it.

Variety, from one set to the next, and one workout to the next, is the key. Enjoy!

Beating Boredom- Part 1: Overall

Yesterday, I sat on my bike in the cold garage for 1:25, working fairly hard, then drove to the club for an hour run on the treadmill. This morning, I got up at 5 to drive to the club (2 minutes away) so I could get on that same damn treadmill for 1:15. It's time to start ramping up for the Cape 10 mi which is in 5 weeks. Early on, I realized I'm engaging in potentially incredibly boring activities. Add staring at a black line on the bottom of a pool, and you've got a recipe for committal. So it got me thinking....what is it that allows me to engage in this insanity, especially during the winter when we are inside and don't actually travel for many of the workouts. (Just to clarify, I actually run outside more than 1/2 of the time.) In no particular order:

1. Dream up blog postings. This one will deal with training in general, then I'll do one for each sport. I'll even throw in some specific workouts that I find interesting and productive. I should also include one big fat disclaimer- like many triathletes, I'm probably a bit off my rocker. I also have certain buttons, that when pushed, work well for me. I'm sure others have additional solutions.

2. Beat past workouts. Obviously, this needs to be done in moderation. You can't just keep beating previous efforts and not expect to get injured. I use Training Peaks WKO+ to upload data from both my Powertap (bike) and Garmin (run). With the software, you can see things like what your best 1, 5, 10, and 30 min efforts have been at any point in a given time range. This works especially well for the bike. These observations frequently lead to specific workouts, which I'll list in subsequent posts.

3. Competitors. For me, just thinking about Jeff, Rob, and Bob keeps me going. I know they are working their tails off. I need to do the same.

4. Competitions. Early season competitions are a great motivator. They also may lead to modest changes in the routine, which can be refreshing.

5. Music. The iPod is perhaps the greatest training aid to come along in recent history. Set it to random shuffle so you don't know what's coming next. You might even hear a song you haven't heard in a while.

6. Vary time, distance and intensity, within the workout and from one workout to the next. Vary the gearing on the bike and pitch on the treadmill. more on this later. It's critical to mix things up- not only mentally, but also physically- you end up working different energy systems.

7. TV can work well, especially if it's a lower intensity workout. Personally, I find music to work much better when things ramp up.

8. Nutrition. It's easy to get bored if your performance trails off, which happens easily if you don't replace calories and liquids. For a 1:15 ride, I'll go through 2 full water bottles and a nutrition bar.

9. Company. Our swim group can be up to 20+ strong. It's a great group, and very competitive. I may be a good swimmer in the world of triathlon, but on a good day, I'm somewhere in the middle of this group.

10. Podcasts. I like IM Talk, The Competitors and Endurance Planet, all from the iTunes store. IM Talk is two guys in New Zealand who cover triathlon training and racing, spending more time on the IM distance. They can be a bit goofy, and one of them (Bevin) has one of the highest pitched voices I've ever heard. They can also get good interviews. This one is weekly. The Competitors are Bob Babbit and Paul Huddle. They get one good interview per episode, and do it once or twice per month. They do more triathlon than other sports, but also cover biking, running and other special interest stories. Good stuff. Endurance Planet has evolved over the last year or so, and is now a weekly one hour call with three interviews each. More endurance running, but also triathlon and other sports.

11. Have a plan. Knowing what you will do, and committing to that idea, can help to get to the finish. It's even more helpful when you have a weekly plan that this workout is a part of. If you just show up with no daily or weekly plan, it's easy to get off early because you aren't failing.

12. Break the time up into manageable chuncks. Focus on just gettign to the next time threshold. Intervals work for this. You can also eat a 1/4 bar every 15 minutes. Or stand up on the bike every 5 minutes for 60 seconds.

I'm sure there are other things that help fight off the boredom. Bottom line, do whatever it takes to stay engaged. So what works for you?