This morning was a very important day for me mentally. My running has been struggling the last month or so and I have had to scale back a bit some of my run workouts due to some of the pain I had been experiencing in my feet, knees, and hips.
I set out this morning to run 15 miles to prove to myself that I still could run long distance. I needed to run a little longer than the half marathon pace to see how I would feel as I know going into my race after the bike and swim I won't be running on fresh legs. Today I was quite pleased with being able to run 15 miles despite not running double digits since 5/26/12 when I ran around 13-14 miles. It has been a month since my last real long run.
I was up at 3:45 after a terrible night of sleep. I got in my usual coffee and waffles and set out to meet whoever was going to show. Jen P., Josiah, and Emily were all ready to go.
The first loop was 8 miles. We had to head back for Jen to make it home in time for Jeff to leave for a race. It was nice running with Jen. She pushed the pace a little for me and it was good seeing that I could sustain a sub 8:30 pace for miles 3-8. I felt really good. I switched shoes back to my Ravenna 2's. I had two brand new pairs I bought a while back and tried running in them again instead of my tri shoes. I love my Ravenna 2's. This is my 4th pair I have run in and I had zero hip or feet pain. My knees hurt, but that is more from the amount of biking I have done lately.
We made it back around 5:45 and since people don't show up until 6 Josiah and Emily and I ran one more mile while waiting.
At 6 we met up with Jen H., Katie, and Chad. We head back out for another 6 miles. It was great seeing everyone as it has been too long since I have ran with Katie and Chad. I was starting to struggle a little bit around 12.5 miles, but was able to maintain and finish sub 8:30 the last few miles.
This was a huge motivational boost for me. I ran the 15 and felt good overall. I sweated like crazy with the humidity so I took extra water, a GU, and a can of Pepsi. I was glad to get this run in to remind myself that I can endure and run this distance. It was well needed and thanks to everyone for giving me company and conversation.
I came home and ate eggs, toast, and bacon. My legs are shot, but I hope they rebound quickly because I have a 40 mile ride tomorrow.
Speaking of which, yesterday afternoon I rode my trainer in my garage for 40 miles. I wanted to get a ride in with Jay, but my day just did not work as planned. It was hot and humid and no air movement. I went through three water bottles, a can of Mountain Dew, a banana, and two Hammer Eloctrolyte pills.
I had to ride 3 x 10 miles at race pace. I tried to pick the pace up and teach myself to endure when things are tough.
I rode mile 1 as warmup. Miles 2-11 was my first set and I was able to ride at 27 mph or higher pretty consistently. I took another 1 mile cool down and did my second set where I tried pushing a little more. I was able to get several miles at 28-30 mph. It was tough, but I was able to push through. At this point I stopped briefly for more water and I tried eating a banana. I will never eat a banana again. My stomach killed me. I will be trying other food tomorrow and I know bananas are not a good choice for this body.
My last set I worked to keep above 27 mph. I was tired and sweating like no other at this point. I had to really dig. The last 7 miles I just rode easy and it was weird because riding at 24 mph felt so easy after these three sets. I rode easy to get to 40 miles. It was a good workout, but my legs were tired for sure.
I am slowly gaining all my confidence back in myself that I am capable of doing great things in Racine. I have one more day to this week of training and one more big week next week before the taper.
Off to birthday parties and hopefully not too much poor eating. This will be tough because since the run this morning I have been starving no matter how much water and food I consume.
I try my hardest to make sure that my training has the least effect on my family and especially Amanda. Hence the reason why I have yet to sleep in this summer as I continue to rise and shine at 4 - 4:30 am each day to get my workouts done before the family wakes.
Looking ahead to this weekend we have three birthday parties(none of which are close by) as well as the regular things that we try to get done each weekend. The last thing that needs to happen is me being gone to train. My training is something that I feel I have kept in perspective and not tried to allow it to be all encompassing. Amanda probably disagrees with this statement, but I really feel that I have not allowed it affect life much. The exception would be this week and next week as these are my two most crucial weeks of training. I need to get my running miles in this week and finish next week with my biggest training volume to date. I have put in a great amount of time and effort into my training, but I still feel like it has been inadequate. My running is not where it should be. My bike could be stronger if I could just figure out the nutrition side of training.
As you can tell right now in my ramblings my brain is in a swirl. The race is close. The athlete guide arrived yesterday and this made me nervous. My mental side has just been a mess with the ups and downs. I guess the key to this is the unknown factor. I don't know the course. I don't know what to expect. I can't predict what will go well and and what won't go well. What if I get a flat? I can't change a tire for the life of me. What if it is 100 degrees like the last few days? All these questions are things I should not worry about because I have no control over them. Like I tell my own kids, my players, and students we should not worry about things we cannot control because it does us no good. Here I sit pondering over things I cannot control.
I am not sure where this rambling is going so I am going to end it and just move on to this morning.
Last night I decided to switch things up. I had my long endurance swim planned for tomorrow after my 14-15 mile run. Looking at the timing of everything and then thinking about how I might feel awful after this run I decided to move my swim to today. This then bumps my bike workout to later today which Amanda said would be fine. I feared that tomorrow I won't feel like swimming after this long run.
I have only ran 13+ miles twice in the last two months. The last 13 mile run was May 26th! I knew I have not ran long very much, but checking my data this really put a sense of panic in my mind. I was cranking out long runs every Saturday for months and now when it is of most importance I have dropped the ball. Tomorrow I will get it back on track. I need one good long run to reassure my brain that I am capable. If I feel like crap after the run then I know I have my swim workout done. I swam my big workout today so if I can only swim 1000 - 3000 yards it is not a big deal because I have my swim workouts done. As opposed to having two potential bad training sessions in one day I will only have one. Hopefully, I will run good, feel good, and enjoy the swim afterwards. I need a good long run that goes pain free. That has not happened in a looooooonnnng time.
Today I did the following
Warm-Up
200 Free @ 3:37
200 Pull @ 3:37
100 Kick @ 1:56
My training plan called for a 2200 yard swim. This is 88 lengths. There is something to be said when you have hit 28 lengths and realize you still have 60 more to go. What a mental wall! I hit length 80 and decided why not go for 100 since I am so close? What is another 12 lengths. So, I did just that and swam 100 lengths which is 2500 yards.
2500 yards @ 47:11
Since I swam an extra 300 I cut that out of my paddle workout.
800 yard with paddles @ 13:30
200 yard kick cool down @ 4:04
Looking at race day I have to swim 1.2 miles or 2112 yards. I checked my time at 88 lengths which is 2200 yards and I was at 41:45. I don't have huge expectations for my swim except I know that if I swim this slow I will not be happy. I want to be under 40 minutes and preferably in the 35-37 minute range. However, I don't know if I can shave that kind of time off from today to race day. Knocking off 4-5 minutes is not easy. I just better not be over 40! I know the wetsuit helps, but I don't know if it will help that much.
Total Swim Time: 1 hour 13 minutes and 57 seconds ( I believe this is the first time I have swam over one hour. Yes, this swim time only takes into account when I am actually swimming, not rest periods).
Total Distance: 4000 yards
It was a good workout. I feel glad to have this done and marked off. I have a 40 mile ride to get in today and tomorrow we will be up and running at 4:30 am starting at Crow Creek Park for those interested. We will be running 90 minute loops. I think some of us will be swimming after the second loop if you wish to join.
I think this was most I have sweated during a run in a long time. This morning it is around 73 degrees with 80% humidity so it was not terrible, but probably the warmest morning we have had yet during our runs. I just sweated profusely.
It was a good run. This was to be one of two runs today. I wanted to run this morning and again at Bix @ 6, but it looks like that has been cancelled due to the heat. I am not sure what I will do. My legs are tired and my feet hurt again. I have the flattest feet ever and the Dr. Walden told me that my nerves just all clumped together from my training. It was a bit more scientific than that, but that is how I understand it. I am hoping to get in today to have him work it out.
This morning it was Jay, Emily, and myself. We took the run pretty easy to start. It took some time for my legs to wake up.
Around mile 4 Jay had to hit up a bathroom and I was on my own. Emily was a little bit behind me. I decided that there is a chance I might not get another run in today so I opted to push my body a little bit. I decided to crank my cadence and test my body. This has to be a big week for my running. My running has fallen to the wayside lately. Talking with Jay afterwards we were both talking about how when we started this training our running was our strong suit and our area of confidence. Now, running has become my weakest part and one that I struggle with most mentally. I wanted to remind myself that I can push it when tired. I picked up the pace and you can see I was around 7:22 on mile 5 with most of the second half of that mile around 7:00 mile pace. Mile 6 I ran sub 7:00. It felt good. It felt good to see the numbers under 7.
I taper my running next week which seems weird as I have not been putting in a lot of miles running which is maybe why my running feels like it is struggling. My running takes a two week taper and my swimming and biking only one week.
This was a good run. I just need to figure out what to do now that the Bix @ 6 is cancelled.
I have been meaning to write about my past weekend in Noblesville, IN to watch my favorite band of all time - Dave Matthews Band. I traveled to Deer Creek with my two brother in laws and my college buddy. My brother in law, Adam, my college buddy, Tommy, and my friend, James, who I have been friends with since we were 4 months old have traveled each summer watching Dave for at least the past 5 years. This two shows put me over seeing Dave 15 times. I have been to quite a few shows, but nothing in comparison to other fans who are in the 100's.
I don't know how to describe the experience. Dave has an energy that the crowd just feeds off of. I have been to too many concerts to count, but Dave is one of the very few that just puts you in a trance with his music and the crowd. You become part of something much larger than yourself. You never know what song you are getting next and with a two night stand you love the fact that both shows will be completely different.
We headed out Thursday night around 5 which is 6 Indiana time. It is about an 5.5 hour drive. About 3 hours into the drive we stopped at a McDonalds for some grub and it was here that I realized I did not pack my wallet. No wallet means I did not have the credit card for the hotel and did not have my drivers license to show for ticket pickup for will call and also for getting into the pubs around town that have music both before and after the shows. Friday morning Amanda was nice enough to send my identification via UPS overnight with a 9:30 am guarantee. That was a nice $80 price tag, but worth every penny.
Thursday night we made it to my buddy's house who lives in Indy. We stayed up until about 4:30 playing ping pong and old Mario Cart. It does not take much to entertain us!
Friday morning we headed out to the hotel and for some lunch. We got things figured out and headed to the venue around 4 for some Dave tailgating which is such a great time listening to music, talking with other fans, and playing bags. Friday night we had upper pavilion seats and got in to see Gary Clark Jr. open up. He put on a great show. To the left is our seats during the opener. We had to ask people to switch seats so all 5 of us could be together. People are so awesome that nobody even gave it a second thought.
Just as the sun was setting I snapped a picture of the crowd behind us. I love this venue. It might be my favorite venue of all I have been too. There is not a bad seat in the venue.
Here is the setlist for N1
Dave Matthews Band
June 22, 2012
Klipsch Music Center, Noblesville, IN
Everyday
Eh Hee
The Stone
You & Me
Proudest Monkey »
Satellite
Everybody Wake Up (Our Finest Hour Arrives)
Crush
So Right
Mercy »
Out of My Hands
All Along the Watchtower
Squirm
Gaucho
Funny the Way It Is
Typical Situation
Don't Drink the Water
-----------------------------------
So Damn Lucky »
Ants Marching
Typical Situation was the highlight. It has not been played by the full band since 9.10.09 which knocked it off the liberation list. I loved Watchtower with Gary Clark Jr. on guitar midset. Nobody saw that coming. I honestly thought this was a rocking show. I loved it. I sang my heart out and I had proof as the next day my stomach muscles and chest were super sore from yelling and singing. Many people we talked with thought the show was mellow, but I dug it big time. Little did I know that N2 was going to be epic by many standards. The new songs sounded great and it won't be long until the crowd joins in the sing alongs with Gaucho. It is just too new and I remember Big Whiskey songs feeling the same way a few years back and now the crowd just sings their hearts out. I can't wait for the new album.
Friday night we were back in our hotel around 3 am. It was late by the time we gathered everyone as some of us never made it back to the van. We have a one hour rule and if you are not back by one hour after the show we leave you behind. This sounds mean, but our hotel is less than a mile away and it is probably faster to walk than drive with the way they route the cars.
Saturday morning I was up and ready to get going. All of a sudden we realized this was our last night to our weekend. Around 11:30 we headed over to the venue (well, those of use that were awake). Box office opened at noon and we were told we could get our tickets. My UPS package had arrived and off we went. Unfortunately, all tickets could be picked up except PIT tickets. Yes, we had Pit tickets for N2. We hung out a bit and came back around 3:30 for the 4:00 pick up time. We started tailgating super early and just enjoyed the sunshine, people, and music again. I stood in line, grabbed my ticket and made another ticket exchange for two more pits. We were waiting our last two pit tickets, but we were stood up by a fellow WH member. Luckily, I found two more tickets for my friends so they could see the show.
I made my way to the pit and just was blown away. I have never been so close and I just absorbed it all. I loved watching the interactions and the nonverbal communication of the band. It was so cool. On top of it all the setlist is one that is going to be hard to beat. I later learned Minarets was supposed to start the encore, but for some reason it was scratched. Had they played that it would have been a miracle setlist.
The Dancing Nancies into Warehouse made it for me. I love Warehouse. This song just gets the crowd so into it and this has always been a favorite of mine. If Only is going to be one of my favorites I can tell. I love the vibe of this song. Two Step was mind blowing as always and they completely jammed out hard to end the mainset. Boyd was able to let loose several times during this show and I just love watching him go crazy. Pig was epic. The stuff animals of pigs in the Pit and the excitement this song brings. It just has all the highs and lows that make Dave music so great. You are chill one minute, and singing on top of your lungs the next.
I was dead center and about 15 feet back from Dave
A 20 minute Jimi Thing with a sing along to start, Dave scat(my favorite part of any show), nice jam was just unheard of. Then the crowd started singing Thank You. Dave caught on with Rashawn and next thing you know they are singing Sexy MF along with the crowd. It was just too cool to put into words.
I had no idea what to expect during the encore. I prayed for Halloween. I know it has been in rotation lately, but I have never heard it live and always plead and beg for it. It is one of my all time favorites that I have always wanted live. I got it!!!!!! It was spectacular. I recorded the entire encore, but for some reason the audio cuts out and I can't hear anything. My phone is all messed up. It started acting up during the weekend where it would just go crazy. It works, but nothing is very easy. It was one of those weekends with not bringing my wallet, phone going crazy, and ticket issues of being screwed out of two VIP Pit tickets. However, it was all worth it due to the amazing shows the band provided.
Below is the setlist. I have listened to this show at least three times since this weekend. I feel so blessed to have been part of this show. You must listen to this show if you are a Dave fan. It will capture you for sure. Head to DMBsteam.com and listen to it. It will make you eargasm.
Thank you DMB for giving me probably my best Dave weekend ever and one of the best shows of all time. I cannot put this show into words anymore. You had to live it, breathe it, and be there to understand how amazing it was.
Yes, I think I am almost back to being recovered from three night of being up until 5 am. This body does not do that anymore as usually by 5 am I am working out not going to bed.
I was not sure what to expect in my swimming as I was quite sore from the run and bike yesterday. My knees hurt more than anything, but my legs feel quite tired.
Started off with the following warm-up
200 free @3:36
200 Pull @3:32
100 Kick(50 with board, 50 on back) @ 2:06
From here I decided to jump into my paddle workout and keep my speed work towards the end when I was tired.
1100 yards with paddles @ 18:27
I then took a quick 15 second break to take paddles off and decided to swim another 700 to get a sense for swimming a mile as I have not swam that distance in a straight shot.
700 free @ 12:18
Combined with paddles that put my mile time around 31 minutes. I have to swim 1.2 miles in the race so I am hoping for a 35 minute swim in Racine.
4 x 100 with 30 second rest @ 1:25, 1:26, 1:24, 1:24
60 second rest to stretch out cramps
4 x 50 with 30 second rest @:37, :38, :38, :38
60 second rest to stretch out cramps again
4 x 25 with 15 second rest @ :17, :18, :18, :18
I was spent at this point. It was a great workout. Body feels a little better after this and hopefully by the end of the day it will be ready to rock out some more running tomorrow with a run in the morning and the Bix @ 6 at night.
I woke up at 4 am this morning and headed out to run to the Y to meet the CRAZIES at 5am. I decided these next two weeks I really need to get my confidence back in my running because since the brick run attempt last week I have been quite hard on myself and really doubted what I can do.
At 4:36 I headed out by running to the Y. I ran nice and slow to just regain my sense of running and letting my body get used to moving again after four days off and destruction.
I made it to the Y and was joined by Emily, Jen, Chad, Ben, and Brian. We headed out on our normal loop. Ben, Chad, and Brian eventually broke away at a faster clip, but I knew it would be stupid to try and keep up. I held on at a good pace and as we made our way back to Crow Creek I took a right and headed back home. This would give me 9 miles instead of the 10 I was planning on, but my legs were getting tight and my hip was starting to flare up a little bit. I would be happy if I could keep this average
After this run I ate some breakfast and went back to bed since all was quiet in the house. I woke back up around 8 am as Amanda was leaving and ate a little bit more before sending the kids off to park board and daycare for the day. They go one day a week to keep routine at the daycare they go to all year. It also helps Ava remember the place and the people so she does not freak out come school time.
Around 9:15 I started to get ready for my bike ride. I have a 66 mile bike ride on the schedule for today and knew today would be the perfect day to get this done as nobody was home. Yes, I really wanted to just sit on my deck and read all day and do nothing but listen to Dave Matthews(especially the concerts I just attended), however, that would not help get ready.
I headed out with somewhat tired legs. The sun was out, but not too hot early on and the wind was decent. After about 10-15 miles I really loosened up and my legs felt great. I decided to take a new path. I headed down Utica Ridge(the road that destroys me when I have to ride home) and decided to jump on some new roads and explore.
I headed out towards Park View and rode through Scott County Park. I have never been in the park before and it was awesome riding through the park. I was flying on the roads until I exited on St. Anne's road. I continued on this road all the way out until the end and decided to try and find the Wapsi. I eventually found the Wapsi Environmental Center, but could not reach it due to the gravel road that brings you in so I rode through Dixon and kept on until I hit mile 33. I stopped on the side of the road, ate a Bonk Breaker bar and headed home.
Sure enough the wind was a battle most of the ride back. It must have changed direction because I thought for sure this route would be wind friendly as I rode in a different direction. I was able to keep on and felt good until the late 40's where I slowly started to lose my mental edge.
Around mile 50 I knew I only had 16 miles left and just wanted to see my time at mile 56 which is race distance. I hit mile 56 in 2:41. Looking at race times from last year I want to ride faster than this. I would like to be around 2:35, but I have to remind myself to race my race and not get caught up in results(but it sure is hard not too!!)
Mile 58 I hit my wall. I was out of water, out of food, out of GU, and out of mental toughness. I just wanted to quit, but when you are on the bike you have no choice but to keep pedaling. I love this comment from Emily who left this on my DailyMile account last week when I struggled.
Emily S. Only people who travel on two wheels understand the horrors of
birds and wind. I find that cool about biking though, the wind will be
blowing so hard and you can get angry, yell, curse at it, but there's
really nothing to do but keep pedaling. Forces one to keep working cuz
there's no one else to hear complaints or care but you and your bike. I
think it's cool!..after of course :)
This comment resonated with me at this point. I knew I just had to keep working. I knew that the more I pedaled the closer to home I would be. I won't lie I struggled really bad until mile 62 when I hit landmarks that I recognized as being close to home. A the 53rd intersection I pulled up next to Donna and her daughter so it was cool to chat at the light. I was also pulled up by a car along the country roads and that scared me. This guy just crept up and I kept looking forward, but eventually I had to look his way and he needed directions. I am the wrong person to give directions. I hope I did not get him lost.
In the end I survived and the last mile I felt so proud of this ride. I rode through the ups and downs and know that I can overcome the mental obstacles.
I won't lie. My legs are dead. I can barely walk. My quads and absolutely fried and it hurts like something else to go up and down stairs. I came home ate grilled chicken, yogurt, raspberries, and some chips along with major cups of water before laying in bed in a heap of mess. I slept for about an hour and barely made it out of bed.
I look forward to swimming tomorrow.
Today I put in over 4 hours of training. I am breaking this body down to get it ready for Racine. I will be ready. I will ensure that this mind and body is at full throttle come July 15th. Today was a day to test the limits and move those barriers back a bit.
I know I need more nutrition. I did not have time to make the rice cakes mentioned by Carsen, but here is what I had and I know I need more.
1 30 ounces water and GU Roctane powder
1 Bonk Breaker
1 20+ ounces of water
1 GU gel
4 GU chomps
I need more liquid on these hot days and more real food. I will try the rice cakes on my next ride.
I have not posted a book review in a long time, but my reading itch has finally returned. You will not believe which one I will be posting first.
Let me just say that it is one more than 49 and shade darker than black. Yes, that book and yes I did read it. Review coming shortly once I figure out how to write about it properly. In the meantime I have started many new books thanks to one amazing librarian and my mass collection of books in my TBR pile.
Four days off of training, normal lifestyle, and routine structure.
Four days of acting like I was in my 20's again.
Three nights of staying up until 4-5 am.
I have returned from dancing the night away all weekend with Dave Matthew Band.
I have returned with a body that has gained serious weight and probably a few setbacks in training.
More of the weekend to come later in another post.
This post is about GO Time. 20 Days until the day. 20 days of pure focus, streamlined thought process, and one thing on my plate - Racine 70.3.
I knew this weekend was coming. I had two great weeks of healthy living and eating leading up to the weekend. I dropped some serious weight and was feeling great. This weekend destroyed all things healthy, but I am okay with that because sometimes we just have to live life. I also knew today would return me to a state of mental toughness to keep me engaged on my goals for 20 days. There will be no let up.
This morning I woke up at 5 am after my first good night of sleep in a long time and headed to the pool. I really wanted to just sleep, but Amanda has call all week so I need to be home all day this week.
I decided to go with one of the swim workouts that would allow me to just get some long distance swimming in so I could refocus, find my groove, and get back on track. I only swam once last week after not finding time to get my other two swim workouts in. At first it felt like foreign territory, but I eventually got things going and it was great to be back training. I really enjoyed working out.
I did the following
Warm-Up
100 free
100 pull
100 kick
2 x 900 yds with 60 sec rest @ 16:00 and 15:42
200 yard @ 3:27
400 pull @ 6:47
300 free @ 5:16
I then sat in the steam room and sauna for a total of 15 minutes to sweat out all the unhealthiness in my body. Today is all about eating super clean and healthy to retrain my body.
Total Swim Time: 52:39
Total Yards: 3000
Weigh in tomorrow and ideally not the smartest time to do so as this would be my 20 weigh in check. Last week I was almost to my lowest weight, but weighing in this morning I was at my heaviest ever since March. I am hoping that most of this is just water and salt weight. You live by your actions and I knew I did not make the best decisions when it came to food and calories this weekend.
Here is to my biggest training week ever. I missed three workouts last week that did not get me to my biggest training volume except on the bike. I need two quality weeks of all disciplines especially running. I must get in a long run to remind myself that I can run 13 miles. It is just a mental block I have that I must knock down. It will be knocked down this week. GETTING IT DONE has just bee kicked up a notch!
Today I woke up early and had to force myself out of bed. My alarm went off and I fell back asleep which seems to a be a pattern this week. I finally got up ate my waffles and cup of coffee and headed out on my third and final bike ride of the week. It was another 36 miler, but I hit the roads before it became too warm. I took off on my usual route on Forest Grove to PV Junior High, out to McCausland and then back up Utica Ridge. It actually makes a perfect 36 mile loop for me. This ride started off great. I felt good, it was warm, but not hot and my legs did not feel too bad.
Then I realized that the wind was going to be my best friend and worst enemy ever. Check out the mile times. I bet you cannot guess when I had to turn around ride right into the 25 mph wind? There is the stretch there from miles 14 - 20 where I am riding over 25 mph on average and it was easy. I knew that I was going to have a nightmare in front of me.
I will be honest, I remember nothing of the easy part of this ride. When I turned to head home I literally hit a wall of wind. I could not pedal. It took all my might not to crash my bike. The wind was swaying me everywhere. To make matters worse I had hill after hill to climb and by the third one I was ready to quit. I was so defeated and ticked off. I really wanted an easy ride because I wanted to come home and get my long run it. I knew that at mile 25 I was not going to be running 14 miles today. I fought like mad the last 12 miles to make it home. I had to use up all my mental strength to make it home. I was not happy one single bit. It was the hardest ride ever and I hated every single minute of it. There was not enjoyment in this ride.
To add fuel to the fire I about crashed big time when a gust of wind hit me hard. I swayed big time right into the middle of the road and prayed no cars were coming. I heard a noise and assumed it was a car so I turn around........
and a redwing blackbird is literally eye level with me flying right at me and was about 6 feet away. I felt like I was in a Alfred Hitchcock movie. I turned around in TERROR and tried to pedal away but I could not go any faster. I got super low in my aero and that was when I felt the attack. The bird was going right at my back. It was insane! I bet it was around mile 26 when you can see my max HR up at 192. I won't lie, I was scared out of my mind having this bird attack my back.
I did survive and was so happy to be off my bike. I then quickly changed shoes, drank some pop and headed out on a run. My original plan was to do 14 miles, but I changed course and ran my 6 mile run instead.
I started off on this run feeling fantastic. I made one rule for myself and that was not too look at my watch one time. I wanted to run by feel to compare how I felt with my goals in my mind. Mile 1 felt so easy and relaxed. Mile 2 felt the same way. I sweating a ton and regretted not bringing water with me. Mile 3 I still felt good, but this mile did not go by quite so fast. Mile 4 was another story. About halfway through I hit a wall. My brain started to turn negative. My legs started feeling heavy. My HR felt like it was going insane. I started to doubt everything. I wanted to stop. I wanted to walk. I refused to do so. I fought like crazy to make it to mile 6. I know the course so I had to talk my way to each point. I really did not think I was going to make it. I felt like I was crawling the last mile. It was such a weird training day to go from the easy relaxed pace early on to completely hitting a wall. Perhaps it was the tough bike ride. Perhaps I did not fuel properly. Perhaps it was the heat as I have not ran in heat much at all. Perhaps I am just not ready to run 13 miles after a bike ride. I have not ran long in a few weeks. I don't know what it was, but it was the worse I have felt ever! I came home and had to get water and protein in me. I was slightly light headed and a little dizzy. I was a mess.
I did walk a cool down just to gauge my HR. It was dropping at a good rate so that was good to see.
I will be honest. I needed to hit that WALL. I hit is HARD. I have doubts about this 70.3. There was no way I would be finishing a half marathon today. I would have had to walk. I have some things to sort through and figure out in the next 25 days. I need to toughen up mentally. I need to modify my nutritional intake because today did not work. I need to get some more endurance type training runs in. I will get myself ready. However, today reminded me that I am not ready. I am close, but not there yet. I have less than a month to figure it out. I will be GETTING IT DONE!
For myself to note. My nutrition intake(this was not enough today)
20 ounces of water on the bike
4 GU Chomps at mile 20
1 Mountain Dew on bike and in transition
Tuesday after my run of feeling like I had dead legs I had to get in another bike ride. To be honest I knew the schedule only allowed me to ride on the trainer and I was not too motivated to ride on the trainer. I thought I had a nice chunk of time to ride in the mid morning to knock out the 36 mile training session, but after realizing my sensor needed to be replaced and then I could not get it to work I ended up wasting some quality time.
I ended only having one hour to ride which was a bummer because I really got into a nice groove and was hammering the bike and feeling good. I rode in my garage and just made a sweaty mess.
You can see in that one hour I had a great ride. I had to jump off to tend to Ava and I was surprised how fresh my legs felt. I had to take care of lunch and then head off to robotics. After eating dinner, some Hy-Vee Chinese, and putting Ava to sleep I was able to get back on the bike to finish up my 36 miles by putting in 11 more miles. Thanks to John O for his tweet to help get me back on the bike.
I rode easier for this ride knowing I would be up early riding again so I needed to keep them somewhat fresh. I got it done, but it was not easy.
Headed out for a run with Jen, Emily, and Ben this morning. There was a large group this morning headed to the track for a workout, but I enjoy my 6 mile run and don't really have any desire to do the track workout.
I woke up at 4:56. Actually my alarm went off around 4:15 so I could get two miles in before, but I fell back asleep and woke up in a panic. I dressed and flew to the Y making it there by 5:02.
I headed out and my legs felt tired. I wanted to swim, bike, and run today. My plan for today was to run about 8 miles and then do some hills, but after waking up late and having tired legs I am adjusting that also. I know where I was last week with pain and injury and how that hurt me mentally and don't want to go back down that path with only 26 days until Racine.
I was able to maintain our regular pace, but it was harder to maintain than usual. I got in a good workout this morning. I won't run anymore today giving my legs a break from the run. I opted to move my swim back will swim tomorrow and Thursday. I do have to get in a bike ride today of 38 miles. I might have to ride this on the trainer with the schedule we have today.
I did weigh in today and have continue my quest to be in shape and a good weight for my race. I have dropped a few more pounds. I have to remind myself that I did not eat my waffles this morning as I normally do so the data might be off a pound or two, but I will take the progress. Yes, I am still Clydesdale material, but getting closer to being removed from this category. I am still eating a lot of food, but just not AS MUCH junk. I am not eating perfect, but it has improved.
If I can walk away from this weekend without too much weight gain I will be a happy man and be down to 200 for Racine ready to rock the race.
Now, off for my waffles, Dave Matthews music, and figuring out a schedule to get in two bike rides, two runs, and two swims in by Thursday morning.
Monday I woke up to get one my swim workouts completed. I had planned on swimming and doing a hill workout. I wanted to try hills to replace the track workout since the last two times I have completed a track workout I find myself hurt and injured. When I woke up Monday my lower legs from the calf down were very sore and not in a good. I decided to skip the running and just do the swim and give my body a little rest from the QC Tri and the 60 mile ride the next day.
I had a good workout in the pool. The pool was packed and I was really hoping to have a lane to myself, but I guess that is just being greedy.
Warm Up
100 Free
100 Kick
100 Pull
1000 yards with paddles. I had to stop after 10 laps when my wedding ring shot off my finger. I had to put the ring in my water bottle. The first 250 was done in 4:57. The next 750 completed in 15:17. I did stop one time during this to switch lanes.
100 Kick Recovery
4 x 100 with 30 sec rest @ 1:22, 1:23, 1:24, 1:25. I was whooped by the last one. My legs were shot and I was breathing heavy.
100 Kick
4 x 50 with 30 sec rest @ :40, :39, :38, :37
100 Pull
4 x 25 with 15 sec rest @ :19, :17, :18, :17
Recovery/Cool Down
100 Kick on Back
200 free @3:15
300 pull @5:13
Total Swim Time: 51:09
Total Yards: 2900
This was a good workout. I was spent by the end. Rest the rest of the day to let the body get back on track. This of course messes with my training knowing I have only until Thursday morning. Listening to the body is more important than listening to a training plan.
I woke up this morning feeling pretty good a day after the QC Tri. With the week I have ahead of me I have to get in my biggest week of training to date in starting today through Thursday morning before I leave for my Dave Matthews Shows. I got myself moving around 6 and headed out for my biggest bike ride yet around 7 am. I had 60 miles to accomplish today.
My goal for 70.3 Racine is to ride the 56 miles in 3 hours. Today I was able to ride 60 miles in 2 hours and 55 minutes. I actually rode a little faster than that as I was stopped by a train and I forgot to turn my watch off so mile 32 was clocked in at 6 minutes.
I felt good overall. My lower legs are quite sore tonight as to be expected. I had to ride in my bike shoes that were still soaked from the rain yesterday. That was not enjoyable. It was a beautiful morning, but it heated up as each hour passed by. This was another good training day as I hit mile 56 today at 2:44. That put me in a good frame of mind considering the hilly route I took. I don't know how hilly Racine is, but if I can ride my route today under 3 hours I will be in good shape.
I will be honest and tell you that getting off the bike I could not imagine running 13 miles. That is something that I must practice after one of these rides is just getting out and running a short bit. My legs were shot and my left knee was hurting, but it was a great ride and a great way to start the day.
I ate too much for the cookout we had tonight for Father's Day, but I needed a big meal like that.
I am not sure how to put together this race recap as I have many thoughts, emotions, and ideas floating in my head.
Basically, I have felt unmotivated and not in a race ready mindset all week leading up to this race. My fellow readers know I have battled a few injuries(or more pain really) and with a recovery week this past week my motivation went right out the window.
I needed this race. Flat out plain and simple. I needed something to refuel my passion for training and pushing my personal limits and barriers.
I woke up at 3:30 am which I know many think is crazy for a local race. I have a routine that I don't like to mess with that I have followed for my road races and my first triathlon a few weeks back. I ate my waffles, drank my coffee, and just chilled on the internet checking for Dave tickets. Around 4:40 I headed out to the park to get a good parking spot. When I arrived I met up with some LIVE UNCOMMON people and slowly started to get set up.
I grabbed my race chip, realized my bike was not shifting properly so I had that fixed, racked my bike, set up all my gear and was getting ready to do a short run when it started to run. I decided to scrap the run. It started to rain more and more and I decided to sit in my car. The rain just kept coming down and I sat there in silence in my car thinking how in the world was I going to ride my bike on wet pavement when I can barely turn and navigate in the sunshine?
Around 6:15 I decided to quit chilling in the car and get my wetsuit on and do some swimming before the race to try and eliminate the sense of panic I had at Bluff Creek. Trying to put on a soaking wet wetsuit while wet was not fun. It took me forever to get it on. I headed to the water and swam some laps. That is some very unclear water. You can't see squat. The warm-up really helped. I felt nice and calm in the water when the race started.
The race started and I decided to head towards the front because my thought was there would be less people and by the time I was comfortable others would catch me and it would not be a big deal. I don't think to many people passed me and I felt very comfortable in the water. My breathing was rapid but I think that was adrenaline and trying to push faster.
Looking at my swim time I can swim faster than what was time chipped. I did swim more than 600 yards looking at my HydroTracker. I wore this device to see how I swam. My data has me swimming faster than the race. I know the race results are based on 600 yards. Plus I stood on the timing mat for a little while before leaving so I think that added a few seconds. However, this stuff is a moot point because it is the same for everyone. It helped me knowing that I was swimming sub 1:30 pace with my Hydro Tracker because I felt like I was swimming faster than training.
My race results showed 9:35 for 1:35 pace/100 yard and ranked 40th overall. I am happy with this. I know swimming is not my fastest part. I just want to come out in a good standings and feeling good to hit the bike.
Moving to transition I realized that I have transition time to work on. My T1 time was 2:16. I need to get faster. I could not get my wetsuit off. I had to sit down and really pull. My goggles got stuck in my arm sleeve. I quickly adjusted. I started to cramp right away like in Bluff Creek. At Bluff Creek I tried taking more GU than needed and it hurt me during the run. This race I decided to go with one GU before the swim and one Pepsi on the bike. That was it. I could take no more unless I took some water on the run or during transition. I did drink water in transition before heading out on the bike praying I would not cramp. I headed out with my legs feeling off, but it was not long before I felt really good. I just kept pushing to see what I had. I found a nice pace on the bike that did not feel overly difficult yet I was cranking 20+ mph. I started passing people and it felt good. I kept passing more and more and it was motivation to keep going. I hit a few spots where I eased back a bit knowing I would crank hard on the hills. I went hard on the hills and one hill I passed 7 people. I could not believe how good I felt on the bike. I really surprised myself. I just prayed that I did not spend all my energy on the bike and left myself empty for the run.
I finished the bike in 38:12 for 23.6 mph pace and 9th best bike split overall. I cannot tell you how surprised I was with this time. My bike was my weakest link in all my training for the last few months, but the last month I have really worked hard on my bike training. So much so that my run has really fallen apart in training. However, my hard work has helped me along with a new bike. This was great to see.
My T2 time was 1:13 so much better. I slipped my shoes on and headed out. My legs felt HORRIBLE! I was really worried I went too hard on the bike. I was right with Jay and I told him my legs might not hold. I started to cramp in my hips in T2, but they did go away. The first part of this run was through gravel and mud. The holes in the bottoms of my Iso Transition shoes allowed all that stuff to come through. It was hard to run through. I fought through it and once I hit the road I was able to pick up the pace. I wish now that I had pushed sooner on the run because I know I could have hit sub 20 on this 5K. I had some left in the tank when I finished. I ended up running 20:34 which is a 6:37 mile pace.
I had a great race. It was exactly what I needed with Racine 4 weeks away. I was not sure how I finished overall, but I was very happy when I found out. I was first in Clydesdale and had I entered my age group I would have been first as well which is even more important to me. Even cooler is that I was 11th overall in the entire race. Looking at how close I was at cracking the top 10 I know my simple slow transition time in T1 and perhaps swimming a little faster cost me from a #8 or #9 spot. Being my first sprint tri and my second tri ever I am very happy with this. I could not ask for more.
This was an excellent triathlon. I will be back next year for sure. There was an awesome showing by the LIVE UNCOMMON crew. Jeff Paul won overall and Jen took third for females which is not too shabby being her first triathlon not really training at all for one(this has to really make some people mad:)) Jay, Chad, and Josiah all tore it up. Jay won his age division on his new sweet ride. Chad raced awesome considering his crazy schedule of skiing and bruised ribs. Josiah knocked off a ton of time since Bluff Creek so everyone is LIVING UNCOMMON and continuing to make themselves better.
Thanks to Phil for the photos. He is the man. When not riding 200 miles in 25 mph winds he is all over the QC taking photos. Thanks to everyone who was out there cheering and supporting all the athletes. It was a great day despite the early rain.
This week I have lost my training mojo. Flat out gone. All week.
It stemmed from my foot pain over the weekend and my pity party for myself.
I then improved after seeing Dr. Lake Tuesday. I did have a good run Wednesday, but motivation has still been missing.
This week has been a recovery week for me which has been nice for my body to heal as I feel like it is ready to collapse and fall apart. Knowing I have three BIG weeks of training coming up I know my body needed time to recover.
Yesterday I ran at 5 am with the CRAZIES. It was a nice run with a few of us. It was the perfect morning. This was my third day of running as I wanted to make sure I got my running in as this has been the one aspect of my training that has really been struggling as of late. I just have not felt efficient and my hip and foot always hurts during the run. I felt pretty good during this run. It was nice to hear Jen talk about her tri thoughts. We had Josiah join us which was a nice surprise.
We kept the run steady and easy which was nice.
I needed to ride my long recovery ride Thursday, but I was not able to get it done. Between Lego Robotics Camp, Amanda tutoring sessions, and me meeting different people for Dave Matthews Tickets I could not find the time to knock out the 30 miles.
This morning I got up and rode. I decided to forgo my swim workout and get the bike ride done as I have only rode once this week. I needed one more ride. My legs felt like crap. They were flat and not really in the mood to ride. I kept the ride easy as I have the QC Tri tomorrow.
After my ride I headed to Dr. Walden to have him work on my body some more. He really worked me out spending about 30 minutes prepping me for the race. He worked my hip and my foot to get me ready. My hip is tender, but everything seems ready to rock and roll.
I need to get my mind in focus for the race tomorrow. For some reason I am just not feeling it. I am hoping that grabbing my packet tonight gets me in gear. Not sure what my deal is. I know I am very excited to head to Dave Matthews concerts next weekend. Perhaps a weekend of acting like I am 21 again and realizing I am not 21 will be enough to make me feel gross and ready to get back in the groove of training. Scary to think in 30 days I have 70.3 miles to tackle.
I could not get out of bed this morning. It just felt too good to lay in bed. I did not get up until 6 am. Around 7 I decided to get my run in. I need to get a run and 30 mile bike ride in, but since I slept in I will probably ride tomorrow as I don't have much time today.
I had a 7 mile run to get in as this will be my long run of my recovery week. After missing out on my 13 mile run last week due to foot pain I knew I needed to get this in.
I have not ran by myself in quite sometime. This morning was beautiful and perfect. I ran all along 53rd to the roundabout and then to the Y to Crow Creek back to my house.
I felt good for once. I have not felt good on a run or really any training as of late so it was nice to have something feel easy and effortless and enjoyable for once. I have been losing focus, becoming frustrated with not training well and feeling injured. This was needed today.
My foot had some tenderness, but it was the best it has felt in a long time. My hip was not noticeable at all until a few hill climbs, but nothing in terms of discomfort, just feeling the presence.
Now after the run my body feels sore and beat up, but for this hour run I felt good. I even did a cool down walk which I never do.
I was right where I wanted to be. I was to run at least 4 miles at marathon pace which for me is currently 7:54. I was about 10 seconds under this pace for most of the run, but when I went slower it did not feel right. This was a good mental boost for me.
Yesterday I had a good day of training. I know my post title sounds negative, but overall it was good. It felt good to be back doing my training again after some days of rest and pain.
I was up at 5 am ready to run with the CRAZIES. There were only four of us - Chad, Emily, Jane, and myself. Some ran over to the track for a workout so there were others out working hard like Dave, Katharine, Phil, and others.
We took off on the usual loop. I was concerned with my foot pain. I went to Kaminski the day before and Dr. Lake worked me like crazy. I have never felt pain like that before. It helped with the pain, but the pain/soreness was still there. The good thing was it was not as bad. I was able to run.
As we rain my pain started to go away, but my left hip flared up again big time. I have had this hip issue for the past two weeks when running. I don't feel it at all while biking or swimming, but when I run it kicks in. The pain in my hip eliminated all thoughts of foot pain. I was able to run through it, but it was not comfortable.
We started easy and picked up the pace. Overall, my pace time was dead on where I should be running at my marathon pace of 7:54. I stretched after the run and then headed to the pool with Chad to get in another short swim.
Warm-Up
100 Free
100 Pull
100 Kick
3 x 350
Set 1: On my own
Set 2: Chad drafted off of me so I could get used to having my feet touched(gross!!!). It is amazing how hard it is to swim with someone using your draft. This was a good workout
Set 3: I drafted off Chad this time working on staying in the draft zone. How amazing how this makes the swim so easy. I finished without even breathing hard. I really need to use the draft in my races. This was a good wake up call for me.
Kick Cool Down 100 yd
Total Yards: 1450
After my swim I came home and ate some breakfast and drank water since all I had was coffee.
I weighed in and was very happy to see the pounds go down since last week when I committed to getting back into race shape. I had allowed my weight to go back up to a number too high. I ate healthy all week. I did splurge a little through the weekend, but nothing major. I hope to keep this fitness in check leading up to Racine. I think the added weight does not help with the injuries I have been dealing with nor the unhealthy food.
Late morning I jumped on my bike for an easy 18 mile ride. I decided to hit up the bike path for something different. I will never ride on the bike path again. What a pain! I had to constantly stop for either people, dogs, or streets. I never was able to get into a good flow while riding. The only positive was working on my steering while on the bike. I need my country roads.
It was a good of training. This week and next week are crazy busy with Robotics camp and other things going on so it is not as easy to get things done. Today was good to get all three in. I am hoping my body continues to feel better to prep for the race this weekend.
So here I am about six days out from the QC Tri and less than 5 weeks from my 70.3 Racine race and I can barely walk normal. I don't get it. To say I am frustrated is putting it mildly.
Last Friday I swam and then Amanda headed off to Chicago. I had put in some serious training the week leading up to Friday and planned on some days of rest to give the body a break. I did nothing the rest of the day Friday except some serious deck sanding.
Saturday was the Race For The Cure in which I walked the race with my kids. So, once again another easy day of training. I did do some more sanding and that is when the pain in my foot started to kick in. I don't know if it was just too much time on my feet from the training prior and the sanding or what, but my foot started to give me fits. I took it easy that evening thinking I just tweaked it a little.
Sunday I woke up and could barely walk. I had a 13 mile run to get in Sunday when Amanda returned to complete my training for the week. I was hoping that the pain would eventually go away as the day went on, but instead the pain remained and kept me from doing anything. I thought about being really stubborn and stupid and running anyway, but I came to my senses and did not. I slept terrible last night as I have so much energy from from I feel has been 3 easy rest days. I could not fall asleep last night.
I woke up this morning hoping all pain would be taken care of. It was still there. It was raining so I did not ride this morning, but I did go to the Y for my swim. This week is a recovery week in my 70.3 Ironman training so the plan called for only 1400 yards of swimming. I wanted to put in a killer workout as I have so much energy, but I stayed the course.
I did the following
Warm-Up
100 free
100 pull
100 kick
50 kick on back
50 one arm swims
500 swim with paddles
2 x 100 @ 1:25
100 kick
2 x 50
100 pull
2 x 25
It was weird being done in under 30 minutes. My foot pain is still there. I am really hoping Kaminski can help today. I am really hoping it is a tendon or nerves and not bone/stress fracture.
I am going to try and get in a bike ride if I am able to pedal, but I will wait until after Kaminski.
This week starts Lego Robotics Camp so I spent a good hour getting ready for this at school and this will cut into training times as well.
Not a good way to end a great week of training last week nor a good start to this week.
Today I woke up the trio early to get them ready for the Race For The Cure. They have grown used to sleeping in a little bit longer than 6:45. Amanda is in Chicago for the weekend with her friends having some time away from the daily grind and I decided to register the kids and let them experience the race atmosphere.
Ava ready to run...
In some ways this was nice to share this with the kids. However, I won't lie and tell you that placing the bib on my shirt and the timing chip did not make me flip my competitive switch. I would have liked to give this race a go to see where I am at in terms of pushing the limits. But, I had a great time with the kids.
It was great seeing so many people out supporting those who have battle cancer especially breast cancer. As I stated on FB this morning when you stop to think about everyone affected by cancer it is scary and alarming. Right now there are a lot of people in my life both in family, friends, and teaching circles that are battling cancer themselves or have a child battling cancer. It makes me stop to appreciate my health and give these fighters much credit for not giving up hope and staying strong. When I am sore from a long bike ride I really should not complain when I stop to think about how lucky I am.
Ready to Race!
This morning it became hot fast. LIVE UNCOMMON had a great turnout and the new shirts were SWEET!
When we finally got there we had quite a walk to the LIVE UNCOMMON area. I think that was about half the race. We hung out for a bit and then made our way to the start. We were way in the back which I am not used to. It took forever for us to get to the starting line. Ava was in no mood for the stroller as she was tired of looking at butts and wanted me to carry her so she could people watch(like her mamma).
Here is the view from where we were
After we finished we ate some cookies, popsicles, and of course found the jumpers for the kids. We met many people and I even met someone who is looking to jump in a and train with us in the mornings. I love these crowds and these people who are all about making themselves better in whatever pursuits they have.
So far I have survived The Solo Adventures of Hanging with Dad. Below is a slide show of pictures from the weekend so far. I will continue to add to this throughout the weekend. I can assure you that the best is yet to come.
All in all I bet we walked close to 3 miles between walking to and from the car, the one mile race(Ava was in no mood for 2 more miles), and just walking around. Addy came home and crashed for a 3 hour power nap. Ava slept about 2 hours and during that time I sanded the deck. Aiden lost a tooth.
For lunch Ava decided to put ravioli in her hair(pictures coming soon to the album) and I am trying to pick up the house a little bit before Amanda comes home.
Here is the slide show of the weekend so far. More will be added throughout the weekend.
Trying to rest as much as possible the rest of the day. I have a 13 mile run to get in tomorrow night and then a recovery week in my half Ironman training leading up to the QC Tri and then things get crazy as I cram in a major week of training in four days before I leave to party and dance the night away with the Dave Matthews Band for three days. By the way, I have a ticket available if anyone is interested in one wild weekend where anything can happen. One ticket is open and one spot in the Tailgate Beast Van.
Alright, back to meeting the demands of my girls.......
Headed out to Lake G this morning at 7:00 am for some open water swimming. It was a perfect morning to get some swim work done. Met up with Tritt and we each had our own little workout planned. The sun was bright and when you swam and had to breathe with the sun in your face it messed up my breathing. Not sure why, but it did. The water was pretty clear and with the heat rising the plants are starting to grow and several times I was smacked in the face a plant. I hope it dies off because I like how clean this water is on the surface.
My plan this morning was to get in around 3000 yards of swimming with one long swim. I tried to gauge my swim based on previous swim times. My long swim I needed to go for about 30 minutes or one mile, but I came up a tad short. Not a big deal as still reached my 3000 yards. Now that I have marked the lake a few times with my HydroTracker I should be set with now getting dialed in the distances that I need. I swam a few new lengths to test out new swim patterns. I have a 250 yard swim and a 200 yard swim dialed in for some repeats coming up in the next few weeks.
It was a great morning for a swim. I find it so relaxing and peaceful. I hope to find the open waters nice and relaxing when I race! I feel much more comfortable in the open water and I don't think having all the people around will bother me like it did at Bluff Creek. The key for me is to keep my heart-rate and breathing under control. Perhaps some warm up runs and such to get the body primed will help with this problem.
Well, the rest of the weekend shall be interesting without much training until Sunday night when Amanda returns. She has her girl weekend in Chicago and she is off and running this morning. I look forward to hanging with the kids all weekend. We have a busy weekend planned with the Race For The Cure, gymnastics, and sanding of the deck. It shall be intriguing to see what happens.
Below are my swims, but not in correct order. The first one was my last swim of the day. I wanted to test my 600 yd swim for the QC Tri. I was under 10 minutes which I am happy with. I don't know if I can swim much faster without wearing myself out completely, but I think swimming around 9:00 will be ideal for me. We will see as I am not quite primed for this tri next weekend. It just seems like a burden in my training.
This one was my second swim and for some reason I thought I swam much farther than this. Looking back at it I don't know why when I know that the lake is about 900 yards around so I was confused while in the water. Next time I will swim two loops around the lake - DUH!!
Total Yards - 3001.97
Total Swim Time: 48:42
Have a great Friday!
Here is just a run down of the many things I have learned this week
1. I am working on a new name for my bike and it is harder work than expected. I shared the following names on Twitter, but heard nothing back so perhaps these names are no good, but here is my current brainstorm list.
Jose Cervelo - I don't drink tequila, but this just has a ring to it. This one seems to be standing out to me over the rest, but I am not sold yet.
Chick Magnet - This is simply because I am dive bombed by red wing blackbirds on EVERY SINGLE BIKE RIDE.
Karnov - a great old NES video game that is highly underestimated
Alice In Chains - So far every bike ride my chain has popped off
Marsellus Wallace - do I need to say more?
Vincent Vega - ditto
2. I am coming to realize all the stories and blog posts about weird tan lines and the use of sunscreen. I did not use sunscreen while riding my trainer in my driveway earlier this week. Here is the result. It hard to see in the picture, but there are about three shades of burn on my bike from when I had a shirt on, took the shirt off, and then sanding the deck.
Also, I don't recommend sunscreen in the middle of sanding as it locks in the sawdust and white paint powder to your arms. It does not come off. Trust me, I know.
My legs have several layers of burn from tri shorts, running shorts, and not shorts(just kidding).
3. If you ride over 22 mph, the red wing blackbirds will not attack. I tested this theory today with 100% accuracy while out on the roads. You can bet your bottom dollar that when I see a shadow lurking I am pedaling like crazy.
4. You do walk funny after putting in a lot of miles on the bike. My groin area hurts in places that should never hurt.
5. When open water swimming and you come to shore with four younger kids(I call them kids, but they are probably in their 20's) who just got done smoking weed and you appear in a full body wetsuit you just messed with their heads big time. I don't know if they would have been able to save me, but it would have made for an interesting debacle.
6. Backwater Gamblers ski show people are insane. Who in their right mind jumps off a dock with a boat going 40 mph so they can land on their backs and just get tossed around to only stand up and barefoot ski.
7. I hate hair as you know. I have not problems shaving my arms, but I just cannot get over the idea of shaving my legs. I have pondered it. I don't know why. I think......actually I don't think anything and this was just completely random.
8. Drinking pop on the bike leaves me with a weird metallic taste in my mouth the rest of the day.
Another big day of training this morning. I had choice but to suck it up and GET IT DONE! this morning as Amanda leaves tomorrow morning for the weekend for a getaway with her girlfriends. With a broken bike sensor(broke it on my last ride) and three kids working out is not gonna happen. No way, now how and I look forward to some rest.
Woke up this morning and headed out with the amazing CRAZIES this morning. We hit up the same route(yes, next week I am creating a new route). We have had a solid core of runners each morning of Jen, Jay, Ben, Chad, Emily, and myself. Phil joined in this time as well as he wanted to loosen those legs up for TOMROV.
Here is a summary of our run
I was nervous about my hip as it was sore again yesterday. I started out and it felt fine, but it always does when I run slow. When I pick up pace or have to go uphill the pain kicks in. Around mile 2 it started to flare up, but this time it never really got severe. It started to fade away. Either it is getting better or I am just growing used to the feeling kinda like a bad fart where it smells horrible, but after a little bit you cannot smell the aroma of butt anymore. By the end of the run we were moving at a good pace and it felt good. I liked picking it up a little bit.
In the back of my mind I was thinking let us not go any faster as I had plans for more work afterwards. I stretched out at the Y and then headed home.
My plan was to jump on the bike right away after eating some waffles, but I realized by phone was dead so I had to wait because I don't ride without my phone. I decided to lay in bed while it charged and next thing I know I woke up with drool all over my pillow and little Ava talking from the crib about getting out.
After that little power nap I had no motivation to get out riding. I was going to jump on the trainer instead, but then realized I broke my sensor again so that left me no choice but to head out to the country. I tried a new way out to the country roads and it was terrible. I will never venture that way again. However, I did find a new road out in the middle of nowhere that became my favorite road. I will explore this road more on my next long ride, but it was smooth and fast! The ride out my hip and my knee was killing me. Yesterday I adjusted my seat and the height of my seat hoping that would help. I was thinking that would solve all the problems being the bike pro that I am:) I will admit I felt more powerful and pedaling was easier with a raised seat. At the turnaround I consumed some water and headed back and miraculously my hip and knee no longer hurt. Maybe my joints were just thirsty.
I really tried to crank on the bike today when I could. I wanted to mimic race pace as much as possible whatever race pace actually is. I wanted to get off the bike with dead legs to practice running with legs feeling empty. I got home quickly switched to my new racing flats, drank some water and headed out for a two mile run before Amanda left to tutor. I have not ran sub 7:00 in a long time so I wanted to remind my legs how much running at this pace hurts.
My legs felt horrible. I refused to look at my watch except to gauge my mile turn around point. I wanted to run by feel to gain a sense of how to adjust mentally. I am happy with my run. I was not feeling like I was under 7:00 to be honest. This was not easy. I do think I had another mile left in me and I think given race conditions I could have picked up the pace a little bit more the final mile. Not too bad for a workout today. My only nutrition on my bike was water and a can of pop. I was running on empty, but that is a good sign for me that next weekend I might not need anything more than a can of pop on the bike ride. That is what I am going to train and prepare for. GU before the swim, pop on the bike, and hang on for the run.
Time to get some things done around the house. Sorry for the long post.
7:00 am tomorrow morning we will be open water swimming at Lake G. Join us if you want.
