Tri Indy RR - DNS

That's Did. Not. Start. I've had better days.

I stayed in Louisville last night with Mike and Katy (thanks guys). I had to get up early and drive to Indy at about 4 am. No worries, I got some coffee, cruised on up and arrived in plenty of time at around 6 am. Check in and body marking was a breeze. Then I got my transition area set up and walked back to the car. After some body-glide application, the last thing to do before walking to the swim start was put the keys away. I crouched down to slide them out of sight and felt and heard a familiar click. This happened in January. I tried to stay calm as I stood up, hoping I could get whatever it is that goes awry to go back to right before the race. Trying to relax and stretch it didn't work. A bounce home test was also negative.

Hence, I had to gimp over to Transition, get my bike and turn in my timing chip. The drive home sucked and it was painful. The knee still hasn't come back to normal. Last time it took about a day and a half with some PT, so I'm going to keep stretching it out and working on it, just hoping for the best. Frustrating day.

Note to those looking to swim better: Swim outside

Why? Let's break it down, shall we? First, you have the sun which does wonders for your desire to swim that extra 500m when increasing yardage versus the mind numbingly dull fluorescent lights of the globo-gym pool. Second, you can swim 50m lengths, instead of laps, which adds to the interest factor, and is more long-course/open-water specific training. (Did I already mention the sunshine?) Third, you can bring people with you even if they don't share your love for a long swim (read: they can swim and then chill out and read by the pool). Fourth, you can see cool stuff by the pool like the Luna moth pictured above.

Finally, it's summer and winter looms with fierce dread. Brrr. Get outside!

A Bit of a Breakthrough

So a typical ride for me over the past two months has been one of two types: 1) Group ride with a couple guys who ride competitively (Sam hangs for as long as possible until getting wrecked, usually during difficult efforts) or 2) Solo ride of some sort.

All rides have been in road configuration sans aero bars. Well, yesterday things began to look up. We were planning to do a brick (for those that don't know, that's a bike followed by a run). The plan was to ride easy beginning and end, but in the middle include 5x(4-min effort w/2-min rest interval). Thus, the tri configuration was set up prior to the ride. I honestly forgot how much I like being in the aerobars with some skeletal support as opposed to musculature support of the road configuration. So effort number 1, we stay pretty even most of the way, with the training partner getting ahead at the end of the interval. Breakthrough came in interval 2, we had done about 2 minutes, and I was about 20 feet behind when we slowed, turned right and started going uphill. From somewhere (perhaps the suffering of all the previous rides) I found some power to go past the training partner (who is light and usually trounces me on hills) and continue accelerating on the hill. Closed out the interval feeling like a champ and held on in front. The next two we stayed pretty even, and he trounced me on the fifth with his endurance. But all the same. It was good to remember (by feeling) that I can throw down a little on the bike when I want to.

I think there's just something about being aero from which I get more power (ahh, the joys of fitness).

(is this a sweet looking bike or what?)

The run off the bike was a bit tough as the legs were feeling gelatinous near the end of the ride, but a planned upon fast first mile was cut by 15 seconds (probably due to group workout nature) and the following 2.8 miles were hard but good.

Lesson for today: keep going, keep mixing it up and don't overdo it. The breakthroughs will come.

Photos courtesy of velonews.com

Getting Trashed (No, not like that)

You'll have to ask Amber if I looked like this when I got back from my ride last night, but I can assure you this is how I felt. I decided I'd ride with the fellas after commuting to and from work. Maybe not the best idea, but a good way to grind out some endurance nonetheless. I tried to take it easy on my work commutes, and still ended up averaging right around 18+ mph. In retrospect, I should be setting my MHR a little lower when I know I have a long day, just to stay fresher longer.

So everything was going great and we were cruising along (rather quickly, I might add) when I hear a shewwwww coming from my tires. Thankfully, I had realized I'd forgotten a spare tube on my commute and with my luck riding with the fellas (numerous mechanical/bike issues), I wanted to have it just in case.

Jeff and Casey were contending for county line and bridge sprints throughout the four counties we rode in yesterday. I usually attempt to do this when I'm fresh, but I just let them go today. I believe the score was Jeff 4, Casey 3, with Jeff pulling out a nice acceleration to take the last sprint.

Anyhow, around mile 55, Sam popped. The 20+ mph pace became too much and climbing became a thing of pain. We returned to Lexington (around mile 75), and I was a little scared I was going to pass out on my bike. For the first time since training for my half last year, I just wanted to lay down on the side of the road and take a nap. No questions asked. After I split off to head home, I decided I need to stop and infuse my body with some sugar. 44 oz. real sprite anyone? I got a couple of powerades as well, just to make sure I could ride the last mile home.

I was pretty much a zombie the rest of the evening, and thankfully my wife is pretty awesome, as she rubbed my legs for me (while reminding me that she didn't feel bad for me because I decided to ride "a billion miles" :D )

The main point is this: when you're riding off the back of the pack as much as I was yesterday, you have two choices. You can quit, pack it in, pull out the cell phone and get a ride (which is not always a bad decision), or you can fight the voice inside that's calling you stupid for trying to do more than you have before, for trying to keep up with people who are "better" than you, etc., etc., etc. I think everybody has it. You hear it often when people are worried about not feeling in control during a workout. I've learned from riding with these two ,who have much better fitness than myself, that simply accepting where you're at and not worrying about it is key to success. If you constantly beat yourself down about not being fast enough, bla bla bla, you'll never have the motivation to get out and do it the next day. Just know that in whatever area you might be working, playing, you're out there extending yourself, and it's a good deal better than sitting on the bench. I would also advise riding with some people who are weaker than you on a semi-regular basis to keep self-confidence high.

By the way, a link to an article about the pool in the last post can be found here.

Running in the snow/ice/wet trails

So I decided last week that since it was February, I should probably start doing some training again. And since Febtober is usually the month we get more snow and ice than any other month here in KY, that it was time to construct the el cheapo saucony ice cleat. So I snagged about 50 6x3/8" sheet metal screws and drilled them into the bottoms of my shoes in much the same manner as you see pictured above (those aren't mine, but I liked his craftsmanship, and I think using his pattern on the asics is a good idea).

So last night, I was busy until about 8:30, but was hoping the snow and ice would keep coming, so I could give these pups a try. Mother Nature cooperated with continued snow, and halfway through my run (about 5 miles), it also began sleeting and icing. It hurt a bit on the face, but there's nothing like running in the snow. It's hard to beat.

How'd the el cheapos perform, you ask? Admirably, to say the least. I felt like I was running on an indoor track. Seriously. It wasn't much besides snow at the beginning, but at the end, the only track I left consisted of screw holes entering the ice, and I had great traction with zero slips. One suggestion though: if you're of the male persuasion, make sure you wear some form of insulation around the manhood, else (to borrow the phrase from moonpie), the tip of your bayonet might go numb.

I'm taking these babies camping with me this weekend too for a trail run. It should be muddy, so we'll see how they do. Happy running!

Crossfit

After a lot of reading and approximately a month of thought, I'm convinced that Crossfit is an excellent way to stay in shape, especially if done consistently.

Going for it.

"The ultimate is not to win, but to reach within the depths of your capabilities and to compete against yourself to the greatest extent possible. When you do that, you have dignity. You have the pride. You can walk about with character and pride no matter in what place you happen to finish." -Billy Mills

Credit to Phedippidations for the quote. He did a podcast on running legend Billy Mills. I have to say, this is one of the truer statements I've heard regarding pushing oneself. It was originally intended for athletics (and I totally agree with it), but it works for a lot of sectors of life. I encourage you to push yourself to safely push yourself to your limits, and never to quit. Because, as it was made popular by the Ironman videos..."You can quit, but nobody cares, and you'll always know."

Let's Roll

I sometimes forget how mental all sports are. However, this is especially true for endurance sports. While many people close to me would probably say I never stop thinking and talking about it, but I sometimes do. Anyway, it's good to know that there's at least one thing that can be controlled when it comes to races, as well as life: How will you react? This is especially important for people who weren't given the best genes, don't have all the best experience or natural speed or anything like that. Grinding is what I like to call it. When it looks bad, so what. If you're hurting, get going. If it's hot, whatever...

I say all that to say this: nothing really looks bad and I'm ready for Miami. But I don't know what race day holds. Fair weather, a storm, wind, severe heat, cramps, flat tire. Whatever. No matter what on sunday, I'm settling in and sticking it to that Miami course. Man, I love this crap!

Buck Creek International Triathlon

(I do not as of yet have any pictures to post, but as soon as I get some, I'll slap 'em on here) The Buck Creek Triathlon was Sunday Morning. The Madre came up friday and we hung out friday night, and drove up saturday afternoon. There was a massive T-storm on our drive over to the park and I was excited at the prospect of an overcast day for a race.

Packet pick up was smooth, We did a little pre-race exercise at the hotel just to work out the kinks from traveling in the car, then it was off to dinner for some fish and a sweet potato, along with a salad...and some bread...and some of mom's salad...and some of her steak...I think I was done after that. Got back to the room and set up the bike and got all my stuff out and ready to go. Didn't sleep well at all, but that's typical the night before the race. I need to figure out a way to solve this.

I don't like showing up too early at races as I hate sitting around. That said, i was there at 6:40 and had almost two hours to get ready. Plenty of time. had the Garmin FR 305 all set up with Multi-sport function and ready to go. It was pretty warm, but they said the water was 76.5 F. I didn't buy it, but really wanted to give my wetsuit a shot at a race. Humor of the day: as the sprint race was getting ready to start, some dude walks up to the guy with the Megaphone...Dude with megaphone delays race start and asks if anybody has experience in popping shoulders back in place because dude would like his shoulder in correct position before starting his swim wave. Unreal.

After all the sprint waves, the 0-39 International distance wave (mine) was set to go. I was chatting with some dude before the start. He said he signed up elite and was hoping to go 2 hrs. He wasn't convinced though. He also said he thought the swim was a bit long. I had thought that the day before, but didn't really care as I was planning on going out easy on the swim and then pushing on the bike and run. My swim isn't exactly a strong point.

Swim, 1500 m + run up massive hill into transition: 32:36
I went out easy just like I had planned. The current was such that the out leg of the rectangle was tough and the back was easier. I gained on a lot of people on the back of the first lap, then lost a lot to them on the second lap. What happened was that I am not a very good open water swimmer, and I was all over the place. It's totally my fault, but I'll bet I swam at least an extra 200m if not more. I pushed a bit at the end and came out winded, thus going pretty slow up the hill to T1

T1: 2:23 :
No big news here other than my transitions need practice. I couldn't get that dang wetsuit off. Bike, 40k (23.7 miles) : 1:07:03, 21.2 mph I felt pretty good on the bike most of the time. It was rolling, but mostly flat. Definitely flatter than what I ride in KY most of the time. For the most part, people were riding a really clean race. Except for one guy, he was drafting everybody he could. It was ridiculous. I passed him on the second lap only to have him bridge the gap and draft me for 3 miles heading back to T2. I didn't want to waste energy on him out there, but I kind of wish I would have seen him after the race to let him know people know he's a rat fink putz.

T2: 1:38 :
No big deal still need to speed it up here.

Run, 10k, 44:50, (7:14/mile)
I had taken in a bottle of gatorade and two gels on the bike, which I thought was pretty good, but there was definitely some cramping going on during the run. It was pretty flat with the exception of a couple tough hills. I wanted to go a bit harder but just couldn't really on the second lap of the run. I came in feeling pretty good, all alone.

Total: 2:28:31, 6/12 in 25-29 AG, 21/90 total Int'l finishers.

I need to speed up the swim just a bit, and definitely get the sighting worked out. I need to keep improving bike fitness as it was definitely in better shape. And transitions, I think I could easilty take a minute off just by working on those. Other than that, nutrition needs to be figured out for the 1/2 in miami. Let me know if I missed anything.

Oh ya...It's on!

Here we go. Bring the jitters and the excitement. It's race week. The race is the Buck Creek International Triathlon. The course maps can be seen here. The race organizers describe the course as rolling to sometimes hilly, but from looking at it on Google Earth, and it being Ohio, It looks kind of flat to me. But we'll see.

I certainly pump the excitement as I write here, but the most difficult thing with all this stuff is staying relaxed around the race. So that's the focus for the week, especially friday through sunday. I'm looking forward to testing myself and pushing it this weekend. We're also hoping to be able to stop by IM Louisville on the way home as well. Should be gangbusters. If moonpie wants to make an appearance, he should bring it.

Motivation?

Check out some George Sheehan quotes here.

There's a Noreaster moving in...

Sometimes people travel to see friends and still want to get in a little workout. Sometimes they get to said place and the weather has changed. Not wanting to let circumstances dictate behavior, these same people decide to carry on as planned. And oftentimes, these same people have a great time running 7 miles in sleet and wind. The dude in the pictures is Nate, a buddy of mine from college. Nate's getting back into running and is racing a 5-miler in a month or so. This was his longest run in years. Life is good.

Sick & Flow

Well, I'm hoping this will be the beginning of some more writing. I went to the gym and did a quick leg workout on saturday; and ever since have been quite sick. I'm coming around, although I didn't sleep at all last night. Not a good start on my new year's resolution to sleep more. Oh well, that's what tomorrow is for. Always believe it.

A friend just finished up a masters degree in Psychology and shared a very interesting paper with me on the subject of "Flow." This could be described to most people as being in the zone. The research noted that flow is most likely to occur at a point where someone is challenging themselves at a high level, has a clear understanding of their goal(s), and is confident they can achieve with their given (or sometimes only perceived) skills.

Looking at this research explains to me some of the phenomena of how a slower, chubbier kid (like me) with a ridiculously huge ego relative to actual physical talent was able to be successful in sports against much more athletic kids. Very few people seem willing to tell themselves that they can and should win because they may fail. The few who continue to tell themselves they're winners in spite of early failures are the truly successful. I believe this principle of perseverance applies to myriad areas of life.

Another interesting thought that flow brings about is how do we achieve an "in-the-zone" like state in our life? I'm not saying we should shut off our brains, but if one believes that they are truly designed for a purpose, but yet do not have clear goals, this state is nearly impossible to achieve. (e.g. "those who fail to plan plan to fail."). What do we do to truly harness all of our potential to truly live with purpose and passion?