After the excitement of Iron Girl, I find myself drifting on the Sea of Life. I am not aimless. Ah, no. Au contraire! (sp?) The current I am riding is pointed at Ironman Florida 08, and I am in a good place.
For those of you who have been following me for a while, you know I describe life metaphorically as a river. We are all riding it to the end. We are being pushed relentlessly. We can use our free will to steer the boat, and for a time, struggle against the current, but in the end, the path remains the same.
When is a funk, not a funk? When it's a happy funk? I'm doin the askin here :-)
On a scale of one to ten, I would put myself at a six or seven. Autopilot. All systems clicking. I am slowly but surely becoming sharp, like the proverbial knife. My training continues to surprise. I'm doing things like riding 58 miles in three hours and running 2.4 miles at an 8:30 pace. I continue to hit the training goals set by my coach, despite what I think are shelled limbs and a concerted effort by the E.L.F. to return my DNA to the primordial ooze.
Up on the horizon looms The Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon, and I find myself questioning the wisdom of this decision. I don't do it often, but I am asking, Why? In looking back, I think the primary purpose was to close the gap in my race schedule. Is that sufficient a reason of itself? Being a "B" or even a "C" race is making it hard to answer the question. After working with Liz for the past month, it has become apparent that there are important questions (beyond why) which need to be answered, thus, giving some importance to this race.
My first, foremost, and only goal is to have a good swim. I'm sure Liz will add others. I am determined to swim Chattanooga without my Swimsafe belt. Yes, its time to wear the big boy pants!! Everything after that is gravy.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July weekend. A bunch of peeps from Beginner Triathlete dot com is meeting at the Bud Plant for a group ride Sunday at 7:30 AM. There is a 45(+12) mile option and a 65 mile option. If you have nothing better to do, come join us!!
Now, if you will excuse me. The breeze is blowing. The music is playing. The beer is cold. The sun is warm on my skin. The boat is drifting. The current is flowing.
Life is good :-)
Wes
OSN (T): 1500 meters, 29 minutes
ORN (T): 3.4 miles, 35 minutes
OCN (W): 22.45 miles, 1:14:26, 18.1 mph
ORN (W): 2.35 miles, 20 minutes, 8:30 mmp
OSN (Th): 2400 meters, 53 minutes
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Gettin Down to Bidneth
It's amazing how truths are often right there in front of us, yet for reasons that later become obvious, the facts often remain hidden. They say that every race teaches us something new, and I would add to that, on a smaller scale, every training day does as well.
The E.L.F. has me doing all these kick ass workouts in preparation for my race this weekend. When I say kick ass, I don't mean they are kick ass as in fun. I mean, they are kicking my ass. In the comments to my last workout, I was teasing her about trying to kill me. I have never tapered like this before a race. But... You know... I don't really have to think about it too much. It's either trust in her expertise, or not, and I'm of the mind to "just do". As I briefly mentioned, I simply trust her.
Monday, my usual off day, I had a thirty five minute open water swim scheduled. I met The Bug at Dallas Landing. Dallas Landing in Acworth is the purrrfect open water swim site. It has a long enclosed swim area (around 100 meters), and it is surrounded by an even bigger no wake zone. This allows one to swim outside the designated swim area without fear of being run over by a boat. Of course, you still need to be aware of the drunk rednecks on the lake, but I only saw two boats the entire time I was there.
I set out to do my thirty five minute swim in deep water. I went through the usual blah, Wes is going to drown, stuff. About the time I got the "I can swim forever feeling", I realized that my nose, throat, and indirectly, my stomach had cleared up. This revelation spoke volumes about my anxiety issues. Certainly sticky stuff in the nose and throat is tied to breathing, and that's kind of important while you are swimming. The trick is to get to "the happy place" before the swim even starts. I have a few ideas I wanna try at Callaway. I'll let you know how it goes...
On the way home from work last night, I got my hair shaved off. You know what that means, race fans. It's on, like Donkey Kong :-)
Wes
OSN: OWS, 35 minutes, ~1500 meters (est.)
OCN: 13.5 miles, 45 minutes
ORN: 1.85 miles, 15 minutes, 8:11 mmp
OSN: 1700 meters, 40 minutes
The E.L.F. has me doing all these kick ass workouts in preparation for my race this weekend. When I say kick ass, I don't mean they are kick ass as in fun. I mean, they are kicking my ass. In the comments to my last workout, I was teasing her about trying to kill me. I have never tapered like this before a race. But... You know... I don't really have to think about it too much. It's either trust in her expertise, or not, and I'm of the mind to "just do". As I briefly mentioned, I simply trust her.
Monday, my usual off day, I had a thirty five minute open water swim scheduled. I met The Bug at Dallas Landing. Dallas Landing in Acworth is the purrrfect open water swim site. It has a long enclosed swim area (around 100 meters), and it is surrounded by an even bigger no wake zone. This allows one to swim outside the designated swim area without fear of being run over by a boat. Of course, you still need to be aware of the drunk rednecks on the lake, but I only saw two boats the entire time I was there.
I set out to do my thirty five minute swim in deep water. I went through the usual blah, Wes is going to drown, stuff. About the time I got the "I can swim forever feeling", I realized that my nose, throat, and indirectly, my stomach had cleared up. This revelation spoke volumes about my anxiety issues. Certainly sticky stuff in the nose and throat is tied to breathing, and that's kind of important while you are swimming. The trick is to get to "the happy place" before the swim even starts. I have a few ideas I wanna try at Callaway. I'll let you know how it goes...
On the way home from work last night, I got my hair shaved off. You know what that means, race fans. It's on, like Donkey Kong :-)
Wes
OSN: OWS, 35 minutes, ~1500 meters (est.)
OCN: 13.5 miles, 45 minutes
ORN: 1.85 miles, 15 minutes, 8:11 mmp
OSN: 1700 meters, 40 minutes
Sunday, June 15, 2008
My Review: Zoot Ultra TT Tempo+
As promised, here is my review of the Zoot Ultra TT Tempo+ running shoes.
One of the nice things about this sport is that we too get to use the same equipment the pros use, if we want to pay the price. Let's face it. There are more expensive options than shoes :-) Zoot shoes cost anywhere from forty to sixty dollars more than my brand of Mizuno. What exactly am I getting for this extra cost:
1. Barefoot technology - socks are not required.
2. Fast drying - the shoes have drainage
3. Quick lace - stick the feet in and go!
4. Optimized for midfoot strike
When the shoes arrived, I was excited to try them on. The instructions were to buy the size for you feet. That is exactly what I did. My shoes came in 10.5, and I normally wear an 11. Some of the reviews I have read said the shoes come in a half size too large. After trying them on, all I can say is that if they are a half size too large, then they are perfect! The shoes fit snug around my heel and ankle, and I have ample room in the toe box. No rubbing to the toes what so ever.
When I took them out to run for the first time, they felt awkward, almost like my heels were raised, and I was running downhill. As I became more and more accustomed to them, this sensation went away. Striking more on the mid-foot is becoming natural (I have always been somewhat of a heel striker).
Another thing that kind of concerned me was the lack of cushion in the insole. Let's face it. Zoots are not really made for the (border-line) Clydesdale. The first thing I do with a new pair of running shoes is replace the insoles. Based on this, I have decided not to run for more than an hour in these shoes until I get used to them. Running barefoot is a new sensation, but so far, my feet have been holding up fine. Having less cushion is taking a little getting used to, but so far my shins and ankles have been holding up fine.
Overall, I can say that I definitely like the shoes. They are very light, very good quality. I don't know that I would bother buying them if I wasn't going to wear them in a triathlon. For long distances, I plan to go back to my trusty Mizunos. Where the shoes will really show their worth is in transition and on wet and sloggy days. These shoes will be my race shoes for all Olympic distance and shorter races.
Hope this was helpful :-)
Wes
OCN: 26 miles, 1:45:00
ORN: 8 miles, 1:30:00, 11:15 mmp
One of the nice things about this sport is that we too get to use the same equipment the pros use, if we want to pay the price. Let's face it. There are more expensive options than shoes :-) Zoot shoes cost anywhere from forty to sixty dollars more than my brand of Mizuno. What exactly am I getting for this extra cost:
1. Barefoot technology - socks are not required.
2. Fast drying - the shoes have drainage
3. Quick lace - stick the feet in and go!
4. Optimized for midfoot strike
When the shoes arrived, I was excited to try them on. The instructions were to buy the size for you feet. That is exactly what I did. My shoes came in 10.5, and I normally wear an 11. Some of the reviews I have read said the shoes come in a half size too large. After trying them on, all I can say is that if they are a half size too large, then they are perfect! The shoes fit snug around my heel and ankle, and I have ample room in the toe box. No rubbing to the toes what so ever.
When I took them out to run for the first time, they felt awkward, almost like my heels were raised, and I was running downhill. As I became more and more accustomed to them, this sensation went away. Striking more on the mid-foot is becoming natural (I have always been somewhat of a heel striker).
Another thing that kind of concerned me was the lack of cushion in the insole. Let's face it. Zoots are not really made for the (border-line) Clydesdale. The first thing I do with a new pair of running shoes is replace the insoles. Based on this, I have decided not to run for more than an hour in these shoes until I get used to them. Running barefoot is a new sensation, but so far, my feet have been holding up fine. Having less cushion is taking a little getting used to, but so far my shins and ankles have been holding up fine.
Overall, I can say that I definitely like the shoes. They are very light, very good quality. I don't know that I would bother buying them if I wasn't going to wear them in a triathlon. For long distances, I plan to go back to my trusty Mizunos. Where the shoes will really show their worth is in transition and on wet and sloggy days. These shoes will be my race shoes for all Olympic distance and shorter races.
Hope this was helpful :-)
Wes
OCN: 26 miles, 1:45:00
ORN: 8 miles, 1:30:00, 11:15 mmp
Friday, June 13, 2008
Flying High
I mentioned to Liz the other day that I was experiencing hallucinations. It seemed that on the bike, I was able to maintain my usual speed with a much lower heart rate. With the heat, not so apparent on my running. Swimming? eh!! I don't use my heart rate to judge my swimming. I did a functional strength routine Wednesday, and I was able to do twenty lunges on each leg at one go. During half iron training, it was hard for me to do two sets of twelve on each leg. What is happening?
Maybe Ironman Florida 70.3 was the crucible. Maybe I like having a professional athlete/coach to whom to answer. I dunno.
Yesterday, I had to go to a dentist appointment first thing in the morning. This basically forced me to move my first brick workout since Florida inside. Last night, I did five minute intervals on the bike. Who knew there was other stuff to do besides pedal, pedal, pedal? LOL!! The intervals kicked my butt!! For your own personal information, spinning at a higher cadence in a lower gear is NOT REST :-)
After the bike, I hit the treadmill for a race simulated run. I started out at 5.5 miles per hour and upped the speed 0.5 miles per hour every five minutes. I could not believe I held 6.5, 7, and 7.5 miles per hour for thirteen minutes, and I never got terribly out of breath. I've had that treadmill for eight years, and I've never done anything like it. That, my friends, felt good. I do believe, as well, that this was pretty close to my first ever sub-9 training run. What a brick!!
I hope every one has a fantastic weekend! To all of my peeps who are racing, especially Stef and Karen, give'em hell and have a R-O-C-K-I-N good time!!!! You got this!!
BTW: I'll be back this weekend with my review of the Zoot Ultra TT Tempo+ running shoes.
Wes
OCN: 19.2 miles, 1 hour, 19.2 mph (trainer miles)
ORN: 2.8 miles, 25 minutes, 8:55 mmp
OSN: 2550 meters, 60 minutes
Maybe Ironman Florida 70.3 was the crucible. Maybe I like having a professional athlete/coach to whom to answer. I dunno.
Yesterday, I had to go to a dentist appointment first thing in the morning. This basically forced me to move my first brick workout since Florida inside. Last night, I did five minute intervals on the bike. Who knew there was other stuff to do besides pedal, pedal, pedal? LOL!! The intervals kicked my butt!! For your own personal information, spinning at a higher cadence in a lower gear is NOT REST :-)
After the bike, I hit the treadmill for a race simulated run. I started out at 5.5 miles per hour and upped the speed 0.5 miles per hour every five minutes. I could not believe I held 6.5, 7, and 7.5 miles per hour for thirteen minutes, and I never got terribly out of breath. I've had that treadmill for eight years, and I've never done anything like it. That, my friends, felt good. I do believe, as well, that this was pretty close to my first ever sub-9 training run. What a brick!!
I hope every one has a fantastic weekend! To all of my peeps who are racing, especially Stef and Karen, give'em hell and have a R-O-C-K-I-N good time!!!! You got this!!
BTW: I'll be back this weekend with my review of the Zoot Ultra TT Tempo+ running shoes.
Wes
OCN: 19.2 miles, 1 hour, 19.2 mph (trainer miles)
ORN: 2.8 miles, 25 minutes, 8:55 mmp
OSN: 2550 meters, 60 minutes
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
I got this!
I've been enjoying this minor epiphany of technological wonders. Just in case you were wondering, I'm trying to slip the word "epiphany" into my blog posts at least once a week ;-)
I got an email from the favorite cycling website everyone loves to hate, offering a "pro" heart rate monitor for $19.99. I was kinda in the market for a new HRM. I mean, the one I have, the Polar B3 works fine and all, but its pretty basic. For that price, surely the "pro" would have many more spectacular features I needed.
Well, it came in the mail and it IS a really nice HRM, and I like it, but the five zones it sets up don't match the zones my coach gave me. I'm a little bummed about that, but the other features and the nice big numbers are just too good to pass up. Plus, it picks up my HR almost immediately with no spittle :-)
On my last couple of rides, I 've learned that I can put the HRM on my wrist, face side on the bottom wrist, put my cyclo-computer on cadence, in big numbers, and the time at the bottom in small numbers, and hit all my training intervals precisely, without ever knowing what the speed was. I find I rather like that. Speed on the bike has become a none issue. I never find out how far or how fast I went until I'm done, and that simply works for me!
I'll let you in on a little secret as well... At Florida 70.3, I wore my Swimsafe belt during the swim. Nobody noticed. Nobody said anything, but I knew it was there. Maybe I should have kept it on for the bike and run ;-) LOL!!! Well, if I am going to grow a bit in this sport, now is the time. For the rest of the year, I'm going to race sans belt. You heard it here first...
Wes
OCN: 18.05 miles, 1:02:31, ~17.4 mph
I got an email from the favorite cycling website everyone loves to hate, offering a "pro" heart rate monitor for $19.99. I was kinda in the market for a new HRM. I mean, the one I have, the Polar B3 works fine and all, but its pretty basic. For that price, surely the "pro" would have many more spectacular features I needed.
Well, it came in the mail and it IS a really nice HRM, and I like it, but the five zones it sets up don't match the zones my coach gave me. I'm a little bummed about that, but the other features and the nice big numbers are just too good to pass up. Plus, it picks up my HR almost immediately with no spittle :-)
On my last couple of rides, I 've learned that I can put the HRM on my wrist, face side on the bottom wrist, put my cyclo-computer on cadence, in big numbers, and the time at the bottom in small numbers, and hit all my training intervals precisely, without ever knowing what the speed was. I find I rather like that. Speed on the bike has become a none issue. I never find out how far or how fast I went until I'm done, and that simply works for me!
I'll let you in on a little secret as well... At Florida 70.3, I wore my Swimsafe belt during the swim. Nobody noticed. Nobody said anything, but I knew it was there. Maybe I should have kept it on for the bike and run ;-) LOL!!! Well, if I am going to grow a bit in this sport, now is the time. For the rest of the year, I'm going to race sans belt. You heard it here first...
Wes
OCN: 18.05 miles, 1:02:31, ~17.4 mph
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
My Back Hurts
If you don't like stories about poop, move on...
We all have kids, and kids do the damnedest things. I come home from work, and my youngest son tells me that he cleaned up some messes the dogs made in the house. I don't think anything about this. I have four dogs. They are all house trained, but if the kids don't pay attention to them, they get impatient. Matthew told me he flushed the PAPER TOWELS down the toilet. He also informed me that it got clogged up, but HE FIXED IT.
Invariably, as Murphy goes, so goes Wes. I rush into the bathroom while making dinner. Imagine the horror on my face when I flush the toilet, and the waters of the sea begin to rise up between my legs. Geeerooossss! As I explained to my lovely wife in bed that night... My first thoughts were I'm about to get nasty. When the water stopped rising before it overflowed, my second thoughts were, "Hurrah! I get to play in shit today!"
You see, I can never get the plunger to break the blockage. Either my kids have extra fortified excrement, I am a lousy plunger, or the opening is just too small. Could be any combination of the three. I almost always have to snake the sucker out, which means I'm arms deep in waste water. This is where my lack of a sense of smell comes in real handy, not to mention my total disregard for all things normal people would see/smell and throw up over.
So after about thirty minutes of plunging and snaking and ruining my lower back, I finally give up and head upstairs to the shower. That's my reward for being a crappy plumber, pun intended. Not only do I get to take showers in the morning and after I work out, but also after playing in the crap again, oh my!! No sooner had I gotten out of the shower, then She Who Must Be Obeyed yelled upstairs that she "got it". She has this way with toilet bowl brushes and managed to clear the blockage. Le sigh...
Now my back is sore, and while it hasn't impacted my training, I have to be very careful to make sure I sit in my chair with correct posture. My company has given me the OK to work from home 1-2 days a week. That means it will be MUCH easier to get in my training. I went to the pool this morning and swam for an hour, then stopped by the park on the way home to get in my forty minute run. It was still relatively cool and having a clear nose from swimming just rocked. I had a fantastic run!!
I hope none of you guys are having a craptacular day...
Wes
OSN: 2600 meteres, 1 hour, ~1:40/100 meters on main set
ORN: 4.1 miles, 40 minutes, ~9:43 mmp
We all have kids, and kids do the damnedest things. I come home from work, and my youngest son tells me that he cleaned up some messes the dogs made in the house. I don't think anything about this. I have four dogs. They are all house trained, but if the kids don't pay attention to them, they get impatient. Matthew told me he flushed the PAPER TOWELS down the toilet. He also informed me that it got clogged up, but HE FIXED IT.
Invariably, as Murphy goes, so goes Wes. I rush into the bathroom while making dinner. Imagine the horror on my face when I flush the toilet, and the waters of the sea begin to rise up between my legs. Geeerooossss! As I explained to my lovely wife in bed that night... My first thoughts were I'm about to get nasty. When the water stopped rising before it overflowed, my second thoughts were, "Hurrah! I get to play in shit today!"
You see, I can never get the plunger to break the blockage. Either my kids have extra fortified excrement, I am a lousy plunger, or the opening is just too small. Could be any combination of the three. I almost always have to snake the sucker out, which means I'm arms deep in waste water. This is where my lack of a sense of smell comes in real handy, not to mention my total disregard for all things normal people would see/smell and throw up over.
So after about thirty minutes of plunging and snaking and ruining my lower back, I finally give up and head upstairs to the shower. That's my reward for being a crappy plumber, pun intended. Not only do I get to take showers in the morning and after I work out, but also after playing in the crap again, oh my!! No sooner had I gotten out of the shower, then She Who Must Be Obeyed yelled upstairs that she "got it". She has this way with toilet bowl brushes and managed to clear the blockage. Le sigh...
Now my back is sore, and while it hasn't impacted my training, I have to be very careful to make sure I sit in my chair with correct posture. My company has given me the OK to work from home 1-2 days a week. That means it will be MUCH easier to get in my training. I went to the pool this morning and swam for an hour, then stopped by the park on the way home to get in my forty minute run. It was still relatively cool and having a clear nose from swimming just rocked. I had a fantastic run!!
I hope none of you guys are having a craptacular day...
Wes
OSN: 2600 meteres, 1 hour, ~1:40/100 meters on main set
ORN: 4.1 miles, 40 minutes, ~9:43 mmp
Monday, June 09, 2008
Get Me Off This Crazy Thing!
Does that not bring back fond memories of "The Jetsons"? That was like one of my favorite all time cartoons when I was growing up as a kid.
Steel yourself. I am joining the bitch-fest about the heat...
Rewind back to last Wednesday. I did my first strength training session since I started taper for the half-ironman. Strength sessions are a big deal. They tax the entire body and make subsequent workouts tougher. This session called for ten exercises, each done twice, 25-35 reps per exercise. Being the industrious soul that I am, I mapped the ten to exercises for the Total Gym and got to work. I was instructed to use light weights and take it easy. I thought I did. I'm still feeling it today.
Note to self: Use LIGHTER weights next time.
Thursday, I thought I would go run while my lasagna was in the oven. I knew it was ninety plus degrees. At least I was smart enough to wear my Fuel Belt. Let's just say my warm up was faster than the intervals I did for my main set. It was entirely humbling to see my heart rate pushing my upper limit while I was running at a twelve minute per mile pace. Gahhhh!
Note to self: No more running in 90 degree temperatures (unless absolutely necessary!).
Friday night, Dee Dee and I took advantage of being kidless to go and watch a friend's band perform at a local tavern. Needless to say, I probably drank too much and I was feeling it when I got up at 9 AM on Saturday morning for my two and a half hour ride. I ate a good breakfast, rehydrated myself and set off on my two and half hour ride on the Silver Comet Trail at 10:30 AM. I was fine on the way out. I drank two bottles of G2 and had one Gu. Five miles from the car I seriously bonked. My rear was hurting from the new saddle. My arms were so tired from the strength session and two 2800 meter swim days. My HR was at the top of my zone, and I couldn't pedal. At all. I was just miserable. I had never ever felt like that on the bike before. All I wanted to do was get off!!! Finally, I got chicked, and that inspired me to get back to it and pedal the remaining miles to the car. Dee Dee was waiting for me and quickly bought me something cold to drink.
Note(s) to self: Wear regular bike shorts, not tri shorts when breaking in a new saddle. Don't drink the night before a 40+ mile bike ride. Take more Gu, even if you don't want it!
While Dee Dee was waiting for me, she was talking to some dude that had done My First Tri that morning. This guy rented a bike for the race, never trained on the bike before, and didn't even know how to change the gears. I thought that was hilarious. He got a quick lesson in training as he had to walk the bike up every hill :-), and he got his butt seriously kicked! ROFL!!!
I felt like a train wreck the rest of the day Saturday. I got a pretty descent night's sleep and got up at 7 AM on Sunday to get my forty-five minute run in. Forgive me, but getting up at 7 AM on a Sunday just seems like the epitome of being nuts!! LOL!! But if that is what I have to do, then that is what I am going to do! All was not lost, as I had a very good run, and it was rewarding to see my pace in the 9:30-ish range at the top of Zone 2 instead of twelve minutes miles!
All right everybody! The HEAT IS ON!! Stay cool and safe out there!!
Wes
ORN: 5.35 miles, 1 hour, 11:30 mmp
OSN: 2800 meters, 57 minutes
OCN: 42.35 miles, 2 hours thirty minutes, 16.8 mph
ORN: 4.45 miles, 45 minutes, 10:04 mmp
Steel yourself. I am joining the bitch-fest about the heat...
Rewind back to last Wednesday. I did my first strength training session since I started taper for the half-ironman. Strength sessions are a big deal. They tax the entire body and make subsequent workouts tougher. This session called for ten exercises, each done twice, 25-35 reps per exercise. Being the industrious soul that I am, I mapped the ten to exercises for the Total Gym and got to work. I was instructed to use light weights and take it easy. I thought I did. I'm still feeling it today.
Note to self: Use LIGHTER weights next time.
Thursday, I thought I would go run while my lasagna was in the oven. I knew it was ninety plus degrees. At least I was smart enough to wear my Fuel Belt. Let's just say my warm up was faster than the intervals I did for my main set. It was entirely humbling to see my heart rate pushing my upper limit while I was running at a twelve minute per mile pace. Gahhhh!
Note to self: No more running in 90 degree temperatures (unless absolutely necessary!).
Friday night, Dee Dee and I took advantage of being kidless to go and watch a friend's band perform at a local tavern. Needless to say, I probably drank too much and I was feeling it when I got up at 9 AM on Saturday morning for my two and a half hour ride. I ate a good breakfast, rehydrated myself and set off on my two and half hour ride on the Silver Comet Trail at 10:30 AM. I was fine on the way out. I drank two bottles of G2 and had one Gu. Five miles from the car I seriously bonked. My rear was hurting from the new saddle. My arms were so tired from the strength session and two 2800 meter swim days. My HR was at the top of my zone, and I couldn't pedal. At all. I was just miserable. I had never ever felt like that on the bike before. All I wanted to do was get off!!! Finally, I got chicked, and that inspired me to get back to it and pedal the remaining miles to the car. Dee Dee was waiting for me and quickly bought me something cold to drink.
Note(s) to self: Wear regular bike shorts, not tri shorts when breaking in a new saddle. Don't drink the night before a 40+ mile bike ride. Take more Gu, even if you don't want it!
While Dee Dee was waiting for me, she was talking to some dude that had done My First Tri that morning. This guy rented a bike for the race, never trained on the bike before, and didn't even know how to change the gears. I thought that was hilarious. He got a quick lesson in training as he had to walk the bike up every hill :-), and he got his butt seriously kicked! ROFL!!!
I felt like a train wreck the rest of the day Saturday. I got a pretty descent night's sleep and got up at 7 AM on Sunday to get my forty-five minute run in. Forgive me, but getting up at 7 AM on a Sunday just seems like the epitome of being nuts!! LOL!! But if that is what I have to do, then that is what I am going to do! All was not lost, as I had a very good run, and it was rewarding to see my pace in the 9:30-ish range at the top of Zone 2 instead of twelve minutes miles!
All right everybody! The HEAT IS ON!! Stay cool and safe out there!!
Wes
ORN: 5.35 miles, 1 hour, 11:30 mmp
OSN: 2800 meters, 57 minutes
OCN: 42.35 miles, 2 hours thirty minutes, 16.8 mph
ORN: 4.45 miles, 45 minutes, 10:04 mmp
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Tres Goodness
Slowly but surely, I have been upgrading the components on Aerowyn to get her to where I want her to be. See, I have this view of the sexiest bike on the planet ;-) First, it was the time trial handle bars. Now, this:
Except of course that mine is blue. Aerowyn only accepts black or blue :-) When it arrived, I was like totally excited to get it mounted. I pulled Aerowyn in to the den and proceeded to ponder how to take the existing seat off. No matter what I tried, I could not get any tool I had to fit inside the little circle on the seat post. I even IMed David to ask for help. The next day, I had a minor epiphany. The socket was on the OTHER SIDE of the seat post. Doh! {smacks self in head} Well, the good news was I didn't try to change it before my time trial last week. When Dee Dee and I took her out on Saturday, I needed to make a few adjustments. Not only is my butt grateful, but so are my soft tissues, and Dee Dee :-)
Now, all I need is a carbon wheel set and she'd be perfect :-D No, don't think so!!
*****
My Mizunos have reached the end of their expected racing span. They are officially retired. I've been in the market for a new pair of kicks. I decided to go with these, Zoot Ultra Tempo+:
This are my new, official, short course kicks of choice. I wanna get another pair of Mizunos later, when my long runs start to get long, but in the mean time, I'm gonna give these a whirl. This is all part of mystrategy diabolical scheme to shave minutes off my time at Callaway and PR ;-) By God, if I can't shave time off my swim, bike, or run, I'm definitely going to shave time off of transition!!
*****
Finally, the tri-fecta picture from Florida 70.3 is in, and it.is.awesome! If you liked the digital version, the detail in the printed picture is just outstanding. I can't wait to get it framed and hung up somewhere. This is the first picture of a race I've actually purchased. A definite keeper.
Training is going well. I started my month off with a 2800 meter swim yesterday. I did two main sets of 1K distance, but mixed it up with ladders of easy and fast paces. It was awesome and totally made the workout fly. I followed this up with an easy peasy 35 minute Zone 1 run in the afternoon.
Hope everyone is having a great week!!
Wes
OSN: 2800 meters, 52 minutes, 1x200,3x150,2x1000,1x150
ORN: 3.15 miles, 35 minutes, ~11 mmp
Except of course that mine is blue. Aerowyn only accepts black or blue :-) When it arrived, I was like totally excited to get it mounted. I pulled Aerowyn in to the den and proceeded to ponder how to take the existing seat off. No matter what I tried, I could not get any tool I had to fit inside the little circle on the seat post. I even IMed David to ask for help. The next day, I had a minor epiphany. The socket was on the OTHER SIDE of the seat post. Doh! {smacks self in head} Well, the good news was I didn't try to change it before my time trial last week. When Dee Dee and I took her out on Saturday, I needed to make a few adjustments. Not only is my butt grateful, but so are my soft tissues, and Dee Dee :-)
Now, all I need is a carbon wheel set and she'd be perfect :-D No, don't think so!!
*****
My Mizunos have reached the end of their expected racing span. They are officially retired. I've been in the market for a new pair of kicks. I decided to go with these, Zoot Ultra Tempo+:
This are my new, official, short course kicks of choice. I wanna get another pair of Mizunos later, when my long runs start to get long, but in the mean time, I'm gonna give these a whirl. This is all part of my
*****
Finally, the tri-fecta picture from Florida 70.3 is in, and it.is.awesome! If you liked the digital version, the detail in the printed picture is just outstanding. I can't wait to get it framed and hung up somewhere. This is the first picture of a race I've actually purchased. A definite keeper.
Training is going well. I started my month off with a 2800 meter swim yesterday. I did two main sets of 1K distance, but mixed it up with ladders of easy and fast paces. It was awesome and totally made the workout fly. I followed this up with an easy peasy 35 minute Zone 1 run in the afternoon.
Hope everyone is having a great week!!
Wes
OSN: 2800 meters, 52 minutes, 1x200,3x150,2x1000,1x150
ORN: 3.15 miles, 35 minutes, ~11 mmp
Thursday, May 29, 2008
In Earnest
While it seemed perfectly logical to me, I do after all NEED a carbon wheel set, the accounting side of mind (a.k.a. Land of Total Chaos) totally crapped on the idea. Dee Dee and I have been making great strides this year in adjusting our finances, and I am not borrowing money (read credit cards) to purchase carbon wheels which may or may not help me on the bike.
What to do... What to do...
Well, since there was a little wiggle room in the checkbook, I signed up for more races :-) After consulting my coach of course. She has PLANS for me, and throwing in more races can make PLANNING difficult. Buuttttt... She said an Olympic in July was fine, and a half iron the first or last week of September was cool. That means that Chattanooga and the South Carolina Half Iron are on my radar!! I'm not registered yet for South Carolina (am for Chattanooga), but it is definitely on my to-do list.
Speaking of coach...
She inquired into my performance at IM Florida 70.3 and as to how my recovery was going. I filled her in and told her I was recovering fine. Lazy, but fine. We both agreed that I could take my LT tests this week. If you guys remember, I took the tests over a three week period starting in February of this year. Now, she has me doing my tests all in the same week in this order, bike, swim, run. She's just smart like that. I did mine in swim, bike, run order cause, quite frankly, that's the way I thought triathletes did things :-)
Anywho, I hit Columns Drive yesterday for my test before work. I did twenty minutes of warm ups, then twenty minutes all out, and twenty minutes cool down. I covered 19 miles in an hour, with 40% of that taking place during my test. My heart rate averaged 158 with a peak of 161, eight points higher than last time. (Liz says that is good!) My speed increased as well. How exciting!! Tomorrow, I get to take the swim test, and Sunday, I'll take the run test in humid Columbus, Georgia.
I am so very grateful to Liz for working with me to knock these tests out before our "official" start date, June 1! That is very sweet and professional of her. I intend to work hard to improve. I am on the Path to Iron, the Path to Pain, The Yellow Brick Road :-) what eva!! I just know that if she says jump, I'm gonna say, "How high?" I got my first repeat tri coming up June 22 at Callaway. I wanna so PR that sucka! I'm already visualizing a 10% improvement over my 53 minute time last year!! Once more into the breach my good fellows!!
Happy training!
Wes
OCN: 19 miles, 60 minutes, 19 mph
What to do... What to do...
Well, since there was a little wiggle room in the checkbook, I signed up for more races :-) After consulting my coach of course. She has PLANS for me, and throwing in more races can make PLANNING difficult. Buuttttt... She said an Olympic in July was fine, and a half iron the first or last week of September was cool. That means that Chattanooga and the South Carolina Half Iron are on my radar!! I'm not registered yet for South Carolina (am for Chattanooga), but it is definitely on my to-do list.
Speaking of coach...
She inquired into my performance at IM Florida 70.3 and as to how my recovery was going. I filled her in and told her I was recovering fine. Lazy, but fine. We both agreed that I could take my LT tests this week. If you guys remember, I took the tests over a three week period starting in February of this year. Now, she has me doing my tests all in the same week in this order, bike, swim, run. She's just smart like that. I did mine in swim, bike, run order cause, quite frankly, that's the way I thought triathletes did things :-)
Anywho, I hit Columns Drive yesterday for my test before work. I did twenty minutes of warm ups, then twenty minutes all out, and twenty minutes cool down. I covered 19 miles in an hour, with 40% of that taking place during my test. My heart rate averaged 158 with a peak of 161, eight points higher than last time. (Liz says that is good!) My speed increased as well. How exciting!! Tomorrow, I get to take the swim test, and Sunday, I'll take the run test in humid Columbus, Georgia.
I am so very grateful to Liz for working with me to knock these tests out before our "official" start date, June 1! That is very sweet and professional of her. I intend to work hard to improve. I am on the Path to Iron, the Path to Pain, The Yellow Brick Road :-) what eva!! I just know that if she says jump, I'm gonna say, "How high?" I got my first repeat tri coming up June 22 at Callaway. I wanna so PR that sucka! I'm already visualizing a 10% improvement over my 53 minute time last year!! Once more into the breach my good fellows!!
Happy training!
Wes
OCN: 19 miles, 60 minutes, 19 mph
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
On Cycles
It's fun, no, I should say, it's imperative that one step outside one's body and/or life and take a look around. It's kinda like putting life on hold, taking two steps back, breathing in a deep breath, and looking around to see what the hell is going on.
As my first A race of the season quickly approaches, I was curious as to how the focus of my mind shifted as the day got closer and closer. Back in my early days (can I say that?), my primary focus was two fold. First, I wanted to stay injury free. The thought of missing out on a race due to injury was painful. I wrote quite a few posts about little aches and pains, only to have hardened and wise veterans come by and tell me to knock it off. Second, as my workouts shifted from max hours and peaking to taper, my posts transitioned more and more to the philosophical side of my endeavors. You do know I like to wax philosophical every once in a while.
Realizing this has given meaning to these last few weeks. I am in truth not a rookie anymore. I know what to expect. Been there, done that so to speak. Yet, I let the thoughts of swimming 1.2 miles in open water, sans wet suit drift back to the forefront of my consciousness this week. This wasn't helped by the fact that I learned there would be no pre-race swim warm up. It's not allowed. Just damn. I've preached and preached about a proper swim warm up to you guys, and now? I can't even warm up on the swim before the biggest race in my life. Somebody shoot me :-)
But, I got to thinking. The distance does not scare me et al. I grasp the cycle of how an open water swim affects my mind. As a matter of fact, I practiced in the pool today. The first hundred meters, I am working strictly on breathing, wondering how the hell I'm going to do this for 1500 meters (or 1.2 miles). Then my arms start to feel fatigued, and I worry that they will give out, and I'll drown. (In the meantime, my nose may or may not be trying to choke me.) Then, at about 500 meters, I feel the strength in my arms, the soreness and achy-ness flee. By one thousand meters, I'm cruising at my race pace.
I know me. I know this cycle. Now, I'm just excited.
True to yet another cycle, I'll be back tomorrow to say fare thee well...
Wes
ORN: 3 miles, 30 minutes, 10 mmp
OSN: 1000 meters, 20 minutes, 2x500
As my first A race of the season quickly approaches, I was curious as to how the focus of my mind shifted as the day got closer and closer. Back in my early days (can I say that?), my primary focus was two fold. First, I wanted to stay injury free. The thought of missing out on a race due to injury was painful. I wrote quite a few posts about little aches and pains, only to have hardened and wise veterans come by and tell me to knock it off. Second, as my workouts shifted from max hours and peaking to taper, my posts transitioned more and more to the philosophical side of my endeavors. You do know I like to wax philosophical every once in a while.
Realizing this has given meaning to these last few weeks. I am in truth not a rookie anymore. I know what to expect. Been there, done that so to speak. Yet, I let the thoughts of swimming 1.2 miles in open water, sans wet suit drift back to the forefront of my consciousness this week. This wasn't helped by the fact that I learned there would be no pre-race swim warm up. It's not allowed. Just damn. I've preached and preached about a proper swim warm up to you guys, and now? I can't even warm up on the swim before the biggest race in my life. Somebody shoot me :-)
But, I got to thinking. The distance does not scare me et al. I grasp the cycle of how an open water swim affects my mind. As a matter of fact, I practiced in the pool today. The first hundred meters, I am working strictly on breathing, wondering how the hell I'm going to do this for 1500 meters (or 1.2 miles). Then my arms start to feel fatigued, and I worry that they will give out, and I'll drown. (In the meantime, my nose may or may not be trying to choke me.) Then, at about 500 meters, I feel the strength in my arms, the soreness and achy-ness flee. By one thousand meters, I'm cruising at my race pace.
I know me. I know this cycle. Now, I'm just excited.
True to yet another cycle, I'll be back tomorrow to say fare thee well...
Wes
ORN: 3 miles, 30 minutes, 10 mmp
OSN: 1000 meters, 20 minutes, 2x500
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Woo hoo!!!
What an incredible couple of days. First off, my numba one son's team won the State Championship last night in the AA/A division of soccer by defeating Dublin 3-1. You can read all about it here!
Second, my darling wife came in first in her division, at the Inaugural Women's Tri the Parks race this weekend, with a time of 2:09 and some change (600 meter swim, 13 mile bike, 3 mile run). Here is a picture of Dee Dee hanging out with her new BFF Carole Sharpless. (I'm trying to get her to write a race report :-)
I'll give y'all the long version of all this stuff later if Dee Dee declines to write a race report.
Numba two son Matthew won his soccer game today! Woot! Way to go Matthew!! He got moved up to the second team for this one and we were excited for him.
What did I do this weekend? Nada :-) Let's see. I bought all my Mother's (My mom, Dee Dee's mom, Dee Dee) flowers for Mother's Day. I bought Dee Dee that HAWT new Zoot tri suit for mama's day. I ran 45 minutes at a 10:26 pace, and I'm thinking about doing a 1:30 hour bike ride at the Silver Comet tomorrow. Oh, and I sherpaed the champion to victory in the Athena Masters division (she's getting old ;-)
Alrighty then... I'd love to stay and chat. But I gots to take the spousal unit out to dinner. I got soccer games to ref tomorrow, so tonights the night!!
Happy Mother's Day all you sweet wonderful Moms out there!!!
Wes
ORN: 4.3 miles, 45 minutes, 10:26 mmp
Second, my darling wife came in first in her division, at the Inaugural Women's Tri the Parks race this weekend, with a time of 2:09 and some change (600 meter swim, 13 mile bike, 3 mile run). Here is a picture of Dee Dee hanging out with her new BFF Carole Sharpless. (I'm trying to get her to write a race report :-)
I'll give y'all the long version of all this stuff later if Dee Dee declines to write a race report.
Numba two son Matthew won his soccer game today! Woot! Way to go Matthew!! He got moved up to the second team for this one and we were excited for him.
What did I do this weekend? Nada :-) Let's see. I bought all my Mother's (My mom, Dee Dee's mom, Dee Dee) flowers for Mother's Day. I bought Dee Dee that HAWT new Zoot tri suit for mama's day. I ran 45 minutes at a 10:26 pace, and I'm thinking about doing a 1:30 hour bike ride at the Silver Comet tomorrow. Oh, and I sherpaed the champion to victory in the Athena Masters division (she's getting old ;-)
Alrighty then... I'd love to stay and chat. But I gots to take the spousal unit out to dinner. I got soccer games to ref tomorrow, so tonights the night!!
Happy Mother's Day all you sweet wonderful Moms out there!!!
Wes
ORN: 4.3 miles, 45 minutes, 10:26 mmp
Thursday, May 08, 2008
These Hands
I know I've reached the bottom of the barrel when I can no longer keep my eyes open in the car on the way home. More than once, I had to jerk myself awake to keep myself from running my car into the jerk in front of me. Hee, hee. I crack myself up... I actually prefer to drive myself home rather than accidentally finding myself riding in the front seat with the person ahead of me.
The entire family is home when I arrive. Dee Dee is home early on Wednesdays. She was taking Jimmy to watch the girl's varsity play their semi final game over by Stone Mountain. I lay down in the bed exhausted, fully clothed, as Dee Dee puts on the finishing touches of her beauty in the bathroom. Somehow, I fail to hear her leave. After about twenty minutes, my internal alarms go off. I'm supposed to be riding, yet here I am, checking my eye lids for cracks. I hurriedly get out bed, gather my things and take Aerowyn out into the neighborhood. Thank God for shorter sessions. I still have time to get my ride in and get Matthew to practice.
My legs feel heavy. In my mind, I know I should be a little more diligent following the plan. Not diligent with time. I am anal about doing my time. Rather, diligent at effort. I tend to train at one pace on the bike. As I pedal up the hills and out of the neighborhood, I can feel the residual pain and stiffness in my thighs, and I hail the call of the plan and take an easy pace. I'm sure I'll get my five minutes of hard effort at SOME POINT in this hill ridden bike route.
As I climb hill after hill, I feel the tiredness, the self imposed slothness, and the pain shed my legs like the shackles that bound the legs of a young Forest Gump. I'm sure you guys have felt it too. The strength returns to your legs and all is well with the world. Now I could of pulled a patented manuever and busted tail for the remainder of my ride, but I did not. I enjoyed the envigorating feeling and stayed within the boundaries of the plan. Taper is taper after all.
I often, these days, find myself staring and pondering the wonder of my hands, and particularly my wrists. I always admired the lean and mean physique of hardened triathletes. I stare in amazement at the paddles at the ends of my arms, at the slimness of my wrists, as if, in my minds eye, I still expect to see the bloated appendages that used to hang there in days gone by. Arms and legs that were fed beer after beer, bottle after bottle of gin and bourbon until my body had no choice but store all the extra fluid in my extremeties.
These hands are mine. They propel me through the water. These arms are mine. They pull me on the swim. These legs are mine. They power me on the bike and take me places on the run. The face I admire in the mirror on the elevator? That's mine too, and it reminds me to never forget.
Wes
OCN: 12.3 miles, accidently reset bike computer
OCN: 13.6 miles, 45 minutes, ~18 mph (trainer)
ORN: 1.5 miles, 16 minutes, ~10:30 mmp
The entire family is home when I arrive. Dee Dee is home early on Wednesdays. She was taking Jimmy to watch the girl's varsity play their semi final game over by Stone Mountain. I lay down in the bed exhausted, fully clothed, as Dee Dee puts on the finishing touches of her beauty in the bathroom. Somehow, I fail to hear her leave. After about twenty minutes, my internal alarms go off. I'm supposed to be riding, yet here I am, checking my eye lids for cracks. I hurriedly get out bed, gather my things and take Aerowyn out into the neighborhood. Thank God for shorter sessions. I still have time to get my ride in and get Matthew to practice.
My legs feel heavy. In my mind, I know I should be a little more diligent following the plan. Not diligent with time. I am anal about doing my time. Rather, diligent at effort. I tend to train at one pace on the bike. As I pedal up the hills and out of the neighborhood, I can feel the residual pain and stiffness in my thighs, and I hail the call of the plan and take an easy pace. I'm sure I'll get my five minutes of hard effort at SOME POINT in this hill ridden bike route.
As I climb hill after hill, I feel the tiredness, the self imposed slothness, and the pain shed my legs like the shackles that bound the legs of a young Forest Gump. I'm sure you guys have felt it too. The strength returns to your legs and all is well with the world. Now I could of pulled a patented manuever and busted tail for the remainder of my ride, but I did not. I enjoyed the envigorating feeling and stayed within the boundaries of the plan. Taper is taper after all.
I often, these days, find myself staring and pondering the wonder of my hands, and particularly my wrists. I always admired the lean and mean physique of hardened triathletes. I stare in amazement at the paddles at the ends of my arms, at the slimness of my wrists, as if, in my minds eye, I still expect to see the bloated appendages that used to hang there in days gone by. Arms and legs that were fed beer after beer, bottle after bottle of gin and bourbon until my body had no choice but store all the extra fluid in my extremeties.
These hands are mine. They propel me through the water. These arms are mine. They pull me on the swim. These legs are mine. They power me on the bike and take me places on the run. The face I admire in the mirror on the elevator? That's mine too, and it reminds me to never forget.
Wes
OCN: 12.3 miles, accidently reset bike computer
OCN: 13.6 miles, 45 minutes, ~18 mph (trainer)
ORN: 1.5 miles, 16 minutes, ~10:30 mmp
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
A Class Act
Almost without exception, unsolicited acts of human kindness recharge my batteries and lower the bar on my bullshit meter. For those of you who have some time and feel the need to be touched deeply in your soul...
Start here.
Then go here.
Finally, here.
My body is tired. Physically. Mentally. Refereeing adult soccer games on Sunday night has taken its toll. Yet, I find that I am enjoying my time on the pitch like never before. I so desperately need some time off to recharge my athletic batteries. I'm hoping that taper has arrived just in time to do the deed.
Along with taper comes my first series of shortened workouts. My swim times have been cut to thirty minutes, my mid week runs to forty. I did 5x300 in the pool yesterday for an even 31 minutes. My son's high school soccer team played in (and won) the semi-finals last night. That gave me the opportunity to run by the river after work. The plan called for forty minutes with 3x2 minutes hard effort with 1 minute recovery. I nailed them and felt better for it.
Happy Hump Day, y'all!
Wes
P.S. Getting five hours of sleep last night did NOT help. I had Chili Verde to cook, people!!
OSN: 1500 meters, 30 minutes, 5x300
ORN: 3.9 miles, 40 minutes, 10:15 mmp
Start here.
Then go here.
Finally, here.
My body is tired. Physically. Mentally. Refereeing adult soccer games on Sunday night has taken its toll. Yet, I find that I am enjoying my time on the pitch like never before. I so desperately need some time off to recharge my athletic batteries. I'm hoping that taper has arrived just in time to do the deed.
Along with taper comes my first series of shortened workouts. My swim times have been cut to thirty minutes, my mid week runs to forty. I did 5x300 in the pool yesterday for an even 31 minutes. My son's high school soccer team played in (and won) the semi-finals last night. That gave me the opportunity to run by the river after work. The plan called for forty minutes with 3x2 minutes hard effort with 1 minute recovery. I nailed them and felt better for it.
Happy Hump Day, y'all!
Wes
P.S. Getting five hours of sleep last night did NOT help. I had Chili Verde to cook, people!!
OSN: 1500 meters, 30 minutes, 5x300
ORN: 3.9 miles, 40 minutes, 10:15 mmp
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Rules of Engagement
For (this) The Everyman (Tri)Athlete
#1 Have fun
Not much needs to be said here. If at the end of the day, you aren't having fun running, swimming, cycling, tri-ing, then you need to look at yourself in the mirror and ask, "What the hell am I doing?"
#2 Do your best
A lot of people, myself included, set time goals for races. I am a firm believer in doing your best on that day for that race, and let the chips fall where they may. Doing your best entails so many options. You might try to PR. You might chase down that professional or age grouper in front of you. You might hit the pace goals for a "B" race as defined by you or your coach. What matters is that at the end of the day, you can look in the mirror and smile, because you KNOW you did your best.
#3 Worry about your time
There are thousands and thousands of athletes that never make it this far. Numbers one and two are good enough for them. Quite frankly, if you do your best, time will take care of itself.
#4 Worry about other's time
This one is on the very periphery of my consciousness. I rarely succumb to the need to compare myself to other athletes, but it does happen, for brief moments. Instead, what I find amazing is the support given by all to all. We like nothing better than getting our ass kicked by a friend of ours because it inspires us to great things.
Twelve days and counting. I guess I better haul out the rubber ducky to make sure it still holds air :-D
What 'tude do you bring to race day? Feel free to share...
Wes
Walk: 1.55 miles, 30 minutes
#1 Have fun
Not much needs to be said here. If at the end of the day, you aren't having fun running, swimming, cycling, tri-ing, then you need to look at yourself in the mirror and ask, "What the hell am I doing?"
#2 Do your best
A lot of people, myself included, set time goals for races. I am a firm believer in doing your best on that day for that race, and let the chips fall where they may. Doing your best entails so many options. You might try to PR. You might chase down that professional or age grouper in front of you. You might hit the pace goals for a "B" race as defined by you or your coach. What matters is that at the end of the day, you can look in the mirror and smile, because you KNOW you did your best.
#3 Worry about your time
There are thousands and thousands of athletes that never make it this far. Numbers one and two are good enough for them. Quite frankly, if you do your best, time will take care of itself.
#4 Worry about other's time
This one is on the very periphery of my consciousness. I rarely succumb to the need to compare myself to other athletes, but it does happen, for brief moments. Instead, what I find amazing is the support given by all to all. We like nothing better than getting our ass kicked by a friend of ours because it inspires us to great things.
Twelve days and counting. I guess I better haul out the rubber ducky to make sure it still holds air :-D
What 'tude do you bring to race day? Feel free to share...
Wes
Walk: 1.55 miles, 30 minutes
Sunday, May 04, 2008
FIBA Point Five
Today was the first annual Fat B's Tri Club Iron Brick Adventure (half :-) My training partner Brian was dying to try out his new wet suit. He drove all the way over to my neck of the woods sose we could jump in the lake together. I got up at 8:00 AM on a Sunday, Lord help me, and Dee Dee did too, dispite working until midnight last night. We ate breakfast, packed up the car, and headed over to Dallas Landing.
Only to find that the park was closed. Total bummer. I have NO idea why they would close the park for a day, but they did. What to do, what to do? We decided we would head over to Gault's Ferry and swim there. On the way through Acworth, I saw a sign that said "Acworth Beach". We pulled into a parking lot and talked it over. It was worth a try.
We made our way back to the sign and drove down to the lake. We saw the beach and made a left turn into the parking lot. What I saw made my jaw drop! There were racked bikes and all kinds of tri chicas in "transition". I thought there was a tri going on. We had accidently stumbled upon 20 to 30 triathletes practicing for Team in Training. I'm pretty sure the chica wearing the Ford Ironman Championships shirt was none other than Carol Sharpless (not really fo really reals sure). How cool was that?
Brian, Dee Dee and I suited up and went for a twenty minute or so swim. Brian and I swam around the ski buoys out in deep water, while Dee Dee practiced inside the swim area. After the swim, Dee Dee headed back to the house. She wanted to ride in our nice quiet neighborhood. No Highway 41 for her. Brian and I were a bit more adventurous. We did three loops of the Acworth Womens Triathlon route. We only had one idiot honk at Brian on Highway 41 on the first loop and that was it. It was a tad bit scary. People were passing us going 55 miles per hour. I'm not sure what was worse. That, the eighteen wheelers, or the big F-350's pulling huge boats. I'm not sure that will be my first choice of routes in the future ;-)
After the bike ride, Brian and I did a woggle run off. I have two soccer matches tonight. Woggling was perfectly OK with me :-)
Thus ended the first annual FIBA Point Five. If you missed it, don't bother tuning in next year, as more than likely, there won't be another one :-D
Wes
P.S. I ran 10.15 miles Saturday!! Woot!!
OWN: 800 meters, ~20 minutes
OCN: 36.3 miles, 2:01:23, ~18 mph
ORN: 2.15 miles, ~26 minutes
Only to find that the park was closed. Total bummer. I have NO idea why they would close the park for a day, but they did. What to do, what to do? We decided we would head over to Gault's Ferry and swim there. On the way through Acworth, I saw a sign that said "Acworth Beach". We pulled into a parking lot and talked it over. It was worth a try.
We made our way back to the sign and drove down to the lake. We saw the beach and made a left turn into the parking lot. What I saw made my jaw drop! There were racked bikes and all kinds of tri chicas in "transition". I thought there was a tri going on. We had accidently stumbled upon 20 to 30 triathletes practicing for Team in Training. I'm pretty sure the chica wearing the Ford Ironman Championships shirt was none other than Carol Sharpless (not really fo really reals sure). How cool was that?
Brian, Dee Dee and I suited up and went for a twenty minute or so swim. Brian and I swam around the ski buoys out in deep water, while Dee Dee practiced inside the swim area. After the swim, Dee Dee headed back to the house. She wanted to ride in our nice quiet neighborhood. No Highway 41 for her. Brian and I were a bit more adventurous. We did three loops of the Acworth Womens Triathlon route. We only had one idiot honk at Brian on Highway 41 on the first loop and that was it. It was a tad bit scary. People were passing us going 55 miles per hour. I'm not sure what was worse. That, the eighteen wheelers, or the big F-350's pulling huge boats. I'm not sure that will be my first choice of routes in the future ;-)
After the bike ride, Brian and I did a woggle run off. I have two soccer matches tonight. Woggling was perfectly OK with me :-)
Thus ended the first annual FIBA Point Five. If you missed it, don't bother tuning in next year, as more than likely, there won't be another one :-D
Wes
P.S. I ran 10.15 miles Saturday!! Woot!!
OWN: 800 meters, ~20 minutes
OCN: 36.3 miles, 2:01:23, ~18 mph
ORN: 2.15 miles, ~26 minutes
Friday, May 02, 2008
Maintenance Mode
If you treat other people with respect and kindness, you kinda expect to be treated that way in return. Right? It's the whole do unto others as you would have them do unto you thing. Now, I treat Aerowyn very well, take good care of her. She rewarded me yesterday with yet another flat tire. At least she's kind enough to go flat over night. I pulled a patented (Wes') idea of "let's fill her up and see how far she could make it" move :-)
I thought it would be a good idea to try and ride my bike while my son was at soccer practice (a first). I dropped him off, filled up the tire and took off on a poorly planned route. As soon as I left the park, I made a right into a subdivision, only to be greeted by a short steep hill that was going straight up. Awesome! Flat routes are not an option for me... Halfway through the ride, I decided to stop and change my tire. It was flat enough to almost be riding on the rim. That's bad. The good news is I had no problems changing my tire on the road. I even used one of those little fangled canister thingees to fill it up with air, and no flat spots! Woot!! Cross that one off my check list.
Since this is a maintenance week, and I don't really know what I'm doing, I cut my swim back to 2500 meters this morning, and I'm feeling it. No strength training for me today. My poor legs just couldn't stand 60 forwards and backwards lunges. I'll try and slip my last session before the half in on Monday, during my first week of taper.
I am in the process of becoming a Trielfling (pronounced: trwelf-ling). What is a trielfling you ask? It is a student of the awesomest coach Elizabeth Fedofsky. I am excited and scared about this arrangement. Excited to be guided to the finish line of Ironman Florida by a superb coach and triathlete. Scared because of the sacrifices I am asking my family to make so I can have a personal coach. I hope to make them proud.
Dee Dee is all registered for IronGirl. Evidently, a lot of my tri-peeps are doing that one. That is awesome. Bring your hubbies and boyfriends so we can partey while you girls rest up for the race :-) Dee Dee has decided to raise money for cancer at this race. She would like anyone interested in helping her to donate money at her fund raising page, which you can find here. No amount is too small during these trying times. I'll drop further reminders as we go along.
Finally, Brian and I have decided to form our own tri club. It's called The Fat Bastards Tri Club. If any women want to join, we'll call it The Fat B's Tri Club. You get the idea :-)
Have a great weekend y'all!
Wes
P.S. Forgot to mention I did my run off at a 9:10 pace. Maybe that's why my legs are sore?!?
OCN: 16 miles, 53 minutes, ~17.1 mph
ORN: 1.65 miles, 15 minutes, 9:10 mmp
OSN: 2500 meters, 45 minutes
I thought it would be a good idea to try and ride my bike while my son was at soccer practice (a first). I dropped him off, filled up the tire and took off on a poorly planned route. As soon as I left the park, I made a right into a subdivision, only to be greeted by a short steep hill that was going straight up. Awesome! Flat routes are not an option for me... Halfway through the ride, I decided to stop and change my tire. It was flat enough to almost be riding on the rim. That's bad. The good news is I had no problems changing my tire on the road. I even used one of those little fangled canister thingees to fill it up with air, and no flat spots! Woot!! Cross that one off my check list.
Since this is a maintenance week, and I don't really know what I'm doing, I cut my swim back to 2500 meters this morning, and I'm feeling it. No strength training for me today. My poor legs just couldn't stand 60 forwards and backwards lunges. I'll try and slip my last session before the half in on Monday, during my first week of taper.
I am in the process of becoming a Trielfling (pronounced: trwelf-ling). What is a trielfling you ask? It is a student of the awesomest coach Elizabeth Fedofsky. I am excited and scared about this arrangement. Excited to be guided to the finish line of Ironman Florida by a superb coach and triathlete. Scared because of the sacrifices I am asking my family to make so I can have a personal coach. I hope to make them proud.
Dee Dee is all registered for IronGirl. Evidently, a lot of my tri-peeps are doing that one. That is awesome. Bring your hubbies and boyfriends so we can partey while you girls rest up for the race :-) Dee Dee has decided to raise money for cancer at this race. She would like anyone interested in helping her to donate money at her fund raising page, which you can find here. No amount is too small during these trying times. I'll drop further reminders as we go along.
Finally, Brian and I have decided to form our own tri club. It's called The Fat Bastards Tri Club. If any women want to join, we'll call it The Fat B's Tri Club. You get the idea :-)
Have a great weekend y'all!
Wes
P.S. Forgot to mention I did my run off at a 9:10 pace. Maybe that's why my legs are sore?!?
OCN: 16 miles, 53 minutes, ~17.1 mph
ORN: 1.65 miles, 15 minutes, 9:10 mmp
OSN: 2500 meters, 45 minutes
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Sayonara April of 08
It was a good month. Not only did I get to start racing again, I put up some impressive training numbers (for me).
Running: 79.3 miles (includes soccer matches)
Cycling: 317.1 miles
Swimming: 14.9 miles
I don't know about you, but that swimmage is just insane. I can't believe I actually did that :-)
I was a bit worried yesterday before my strength training session that I would be too sore from the race to push myself a bit. Ended up being a false alarm. The session went great, and so did my ride yesterday afternoon. I increased my speed over a familiar route, even though I cut my time short. Funny how that works :-)
In other news... It looks like I may be opting out of the 5K open water swim. Dee Dee really wants to do Iron Girl, and she wants me to be there. Soooooooo... I may be adding another triathlon in July to make up the difference, and she's promised to get a kayak and sherpa me on some long open water swims in the lake.
Wes
OCN: 14.1 miles, 53 minutes, ~16 mph
Running: 79.3 miles (includes soccer matches)
Cycling: 317.1 miles
Swimming: 14.9 miles
I don't know about you, but that swimmage is just insane. I can't believe I actually did that :-)
I was a bit worried yesterday before my strength training session that I would be too sore from the race to push myself a bit. Ended up being a false alarm. The session went great, and so did my ride yesterday afternoon. I increased my speed over a familiar route, even though I cut my time short. Funny how that works :-)
In other news... It looks like I may be opting out of the 5K open water swim. Dee Dee really wants to do Iron Girl, and she wants me to be there. Soooooooo... I may be adding another triathlon in July to make up the difference, and she's promised to get a kayak and sherpa me on some long open water swims in the lake.
Wes
OCN: 14.1 miles, 53 minutes, ~16 mph
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Back to Reality
I have a blogger friend, whom I shall here after refer to as Mini-Maestro :-) We were discussing the Langley Pond Triathlon in some emails, particularly the bike portion, when he said something interesting to me...
MPH sometimes got me into trouble. If the winds pick up, you don't realize how much more you are taxing your leg muscles on the bike.
It got me to further thinking about my goals for the upcoming HIM. I've made it pretty obvious that I want to go sub-6. Is that reasonable for my first time? I dunno. Here's what leads me to believe it could be done:
If I spend my usual two minutes per 100 meters on the swim, I'll come in at 38:00.
This is what the web site says about the bike route:
Keep your head up as you are expected to have a fast time on this course with only one section of gently rolling hills.
In order to make sub-6, I need to come in as close to or under three hours as I can. That means an average of 18.667 mph on the bike. 3:00:00
That leaves me with two hours and twenty two minutes for my run and transitions. Any, if any, time I bank on the bike will allow me to run a kinder gentler half mary.
Mini-Maestro brings up a good point, however... Setting MPH as a goal (or even time) takes zero external factors into account, such as hills, wind, fatigue, etc... He recommends that I use heart rate and/or wattage as a guide during the race, and I whole heartedly agree. My original plan was to stay in my "steady" zone on both the bike and run, and I'm going back to that. It seemed like the right answer then. It seems like it now. Hopefully, steady will see me to a sub-6 half ironman....
Yesterday, I did a couple of recovery sessions, nothing to strenuous this close to the last race. I swam 1400 meters in thirty minutes in the morning, and then ran a fairly easy 4 mile recovery run in the afternoon. I'm going to allow myself one more easy session today before getting back into serious workout mode. Taper starts next week, again!!
Wes
OSN: 1400 meters, 30 minutes, 7x200
ORN: 4 miles, 30 minutes, 10:45 mmp
MPH sometimes got me into trouble. If the winds pick up, you don't realize how much more you are taxing your leg muscles on the bike.
It got me to further thinking about my goals for the upcoming HIM. I've made it pretty obvious that I want to go sub-6. Is that reasonable for my first time? I dunno. Here's what leads me to believe it could be done:
If I spend my usual two minutes per 100 meters on the swim, I'll come in at 38:00.
This is what the web site says about the bike route:
Keep your head up as you are expected to have a fast time on this course with only one section of gently rolling hills.
In order to make sub-6, I need to come in as close to or under three hours as I can. That means an average of 18.667 mph on the bike. 3:00:00
That leaves me with two hours and twenty two minutes for my run and transitions. Any, if any, time I bank on the bike will allow me to run a kinder gentler half mary.
Mini-Maestro brings up a good point, however... Setting MPH as a goal (or even time) takes zero external factors into account, such as hills, wind, fatigue, etc... He recommends that I use heart rate and/or wattage as a guide during the race, and I whole heartedly agree. My original plan was to stay in my "steady" zone on both the bike and run, and I'm going back to that. It seemed like the right answer then. It seems like it now. Hopefully, steady will see me to a sub-6 half ironman....
Yesterday, I did a couple of recovery sessions, nothing to strenuous this close to the last race. I swam 1400 meters in thirty minutes in the morning, and then ran a fairly easy 4 mile recovery run in the afternoon. I'm going to allow myself one more easy session today before getting back into serious workout mode. Taper starts next week, again!!
Wes
OSN: 1400 meters, 30 minutes, 7x200
ORN: 4 miles, 30 minutes, 10:45 mmp
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Swim Analysis: Check!!
Dee Dee and I made it out to the Mountain View Aquatic Center for our swim stroke analysis after work yesterday. All I can say is "damn!" Why doesn't our county have a single aquatic center like that? It was very nice. You know what was even more impressive? There were just lots and lots of little rug rats, small and tall, old and young, swimming in the 20+ lanes at a pace that would of kicked my arse :-) I loved it!
We got there a bit early. Our coach was in the small pool teaching a young fishette how to use her fins properly. After about fifteen minutes, she comes by, introduces herself, and moves us to an empty lane in the middle pool. She tells Dee Dee and I to do some warm up laps while she watches us. I take off and do 4-6 laps in the pool, come back to the coach, and she says. "Your swim stroke looks pretty good. I don't think I would change anything at this point." I thought: Wow! This is going to be a really short session. ROFL!!
In her defense, she did ask me if there was anything I wanted to work on, bilateral breathing, flip turns, yadda, yadda, but I am pretty happy with all that stuff. She then spent the next 45 minutes or so working with Dee Dee on her stroke. They practiced balance, body positioning, breathing, and stroke drills. Overall, I was very happy with the results of our session. I got the thumbs up on my stroke, and Dee Dee made some real good progress on improving her stroke, all in one session.
I'm going to count that as my first swim workout of the week. My body was just exhausted last night, from the weekend, and I'm afraid I wasn't a very good husband!! I'm feeling well rested and less sore today. I have a short run with three one minute intervals, and I plan to make the most of it!
Wes
OSN: 1 hour, form and drills
We got there a bit early. Our coach was in the small pool teaching a young fishette how to use her fins properly. After about fifteen minutes, she comes by, introduces herself, and moves us to an empty lane in the middle pool. She tells Dee Dee and I to do some warm up laps while she watches us. I take off and do 4-6 laps in the pool, come back to the coach, and she says. "Your swim stroke looks pretty good. I don't think I would change anything at this point." I thought: Wow! This is going to be a really short session. ROFL!!
In her defense, she did ask me if there was anything I wanted to work on, bilateral breathing, flip turns, yadda, yadda, but I am pretty happy with all that stuff. She then spent the next 45 minutes or so working with Dee Dee on her stroke. They practiced balance, body positioning, breathing, and stroke drills. Overall, I was very happy with the results of our session. I got the thumbs up on my stroke, and Dee Dee made some real good progress on improving her stroke, all in one session.
I'm going to count that as my first swim workout of the week. My body was just exhausted last night, from the weekend, and I'm afraid I wasn't a very good husband!! I'm feeling well rested and less sore today. I have a short run with three one minute intervals, and I plan to make the most of it!
Wes
OSN: 1 hour, form and drills
Monday, April 21, 2008
Jackhole
No, it's not a term of endearment.
I went a little overboard this weekend.
Saturday, we were up bright and early for an open water swim with some tri peeps from Beginner Triathlete. A couple of bloggers were there as well, namely my home girl Sarah and Kevin, who is training hot and heavy for an Olympic distance in June.
The swim went very well. I made a special effort to pull the wet suit up very high on my wrists and ankles, and this seemed to release some of the tension I felt while swimming. I didn't feel nearly as tired in the shoulders and arms as last time, although it did hit me later in the afternoon.
After the swim, I promised some of the new tri peeps I would take them on a 10 mile or so bike ride along the route of the Acworth Women's Tri. The route is nice and fairly flat along the lake, rather pretty too. Once we diverged from the race route (we were on a straight out and back), we went down this really long hill where I immediately decided to turn around. We lost Dee Dee on the way back up :-) I told the other tri peeps to head back to the park and turned around to accompany Dee Dee back up the hill. I know where my bed is made ;-) After making it back up hill, Dee Dee and I returned post haste to the park. We arrived home just in time to get ready for Matthew's soccer game.
The early afternoon was spent napping and watching soccer on TV. I headed out around 3-ish for my two hour run. My legs felt like crap, and I didn't really want to run. About 2.5 miles into my run, some jackhole threw half a bottle of Mountain Dew at my back as I was running down the road. Fortunately for him, he missed, and besides giving him the double hand single fingered salute, no harm was done. Lesson learned. I will no longer run with my back to traffic, unless otherwise absolutely necessary. Some people just suck. I finished my run with a little more angry pep in my step and finished 10.25 miles in 2 hours.
Sunday morning, I got up early, again, to accompany Dee Dee to a cancer related 5K that she was running downtown. Ms. Sarah met us downtown at Atlantic Station before the race, and we had a good time chatting. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a race. It was cool. The sun was shining, a definite ten. The route for this race was a bit different than the route we ran for the Shamrock n Roll. Dee Dee did the 5K in about 35 minutes, and I have some race pics I can post later on, after I download them from my camera.
After the race, we hurried home and loaded the car for the Silver Comet. I managed to get off right around 11 AM and thoroughly enjoyed my ride. Much like my run from the previous day, my legs were sluggish, in pain, and I just couldn't get my speed and heart rate up to where it needed to be. I only made it out to the 26 mile marker in and hour and a half and did the return trip in an hour and twenty seven minutes.
Cap all this off with two adult soccer games, where I probably ran 8-10 miles, and in a word, I am pooped!
Dee Dee and I are meeting a swim coach for stroke analysis today. I'll let y'all know how that goes tomorrow. Here's to a sweet week for y'all and an especially sweet taper week for me. Langley Pond looms dead ahead.
Wes
OSN: 700 meters, ~20 minutes
OCN: 10.3 miles, ~45 minutes
ORN: 10.25 miles, 2 hours, ~11:39 mmp
OCN: 52 miles, 3 hours, ~17.5 mph
Soccer: 8-10 miles, 180 minutes
I went a little overboard this weekend.
Saturday, we were up bright and early for an open water swim with some tri peeps from Beginner Triathlete. A couple of bloggers were there as well, namely my home girl Sarah and Kevin, who is training hot and heavy for an Olympic distance in June.
The swim went very well. I made a special effort to pull the wet suit up very high on my wrists and ankles, and this seemed to release some of the tension I felt while swimming. I didn't feel nearly as tired in the shoulders and arms as last time, although it did hit me later in the afternoon.
After the swim, I promised some of the new tri peeps I would take them on a 10 mile or so bike ride along the route of the Acworth Women's Tri. The route is nice and fairly flat along the lake, rather pretty too. Once we diverged from the race route (we were on a straight out and back), we went down this really long hill where I immediately decided to turn around. We lost Dee Dee on the way back up :-) I told the other tri peeps to head back to the park and turned around to accompany Dee Dee back up the hill. I know where my bed is made ;-) After making it back up hill, Dee Dee and I returned post haste to the park. We arrived home just in time to get ready for Matthew's soccer game.
The early afternoon was spent napping and watching soccer on TV. I headed out around 3-ish for my two hour run. My legs felt like crap, and I didn't really want to run. About 2.5 miles into my run, some jackhole threw half a bottle of Mountain Dew at my back as I was running down the road. Fortunately for him, he missed, and besides giving him the double hand single fingered salute, no harm was done. Lesson learned. I will no longer run with my back to traffic, unless otherwise absolutely necessary. Some people just suck. I finished my run with a little more angry pep in my step and finished 10.25 miles in 2 hours.
Sunday morning, I got up early, again, to accompany Dee Dee to a cancer related 5K that she was running downtown. Ms. Sarah met us downtown at Atlantic Station before the race, and we had a good time chatting. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a race. It was cool. The sun was shining, a definite ten. The route for this race was a bit different than the route we ran for the Shamrock n Roll. Dee Dee did the 5K in about 35 minutes, and I have some race pics I can post later on, after I download them from my camera.
After the race, we hurried home and loaded the car for the Silver Comet. I managed to get off right around 11 AM and thoroughly enjoyed my ride. Much like my run from the previous day, my legs were sluggish, in pain, and I just couldn't get my speed and heart rate up to where it needed to be. I only made it out to the 26 mile marker in and hour and a half and did the return trip in an hour and twenty seven minutes.
Cap all this off with two adult soccer games, where I probably ran 8-10 miles, and in a word, I am pooped!
Dee Dee and I are meeting a swim coach for stroke analysis today. I'll let y'all know how that goes tomorrow. Here's to a sweet week for y'all and an especially sweet taper week for me. Langley Pond looms dead ahead.
Wes
OSN: 700 meters, ~20 minutes
OCN: 10.3 miles, ~45 minutes
ORN: 10.25 miles, 2 hours, ~11:39 mmp
OCN: 52 miles, 3 hours, ~17.5 mph
Soccer: 8-10 miles, 180 minutes
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