Sunday, November 15, 2009

2009 Rockledge Rumbe 30K Trail Race



The day after my first official trail race and my legs seem to be recovering nicely. In fact, as I learned yesterday, about 2:15 into the race as I passed through the last aid station with about 5 miles to go, my legs were more than up for the task-it's my gas tank that needs to be worked on.


Having seen the trail over a half a dozen visits these last 6 weeks I felt comfortable with the trail and figured I could finish comfortably between 3-3 1/2 hours. What I didn't anticipate were two things:


1. The little extra distance at either end of the trail for starting and turn around

and

2. The discrepancy in distance from what was reported 30k (18.6 miles) and actual trail distance (about 20.6 miles, according to GPS) due mainly to new trail maintenance over the past year.


That being said, I cruised comfortably into the turn around aid station (Twin Coves Park) having taken 1 gel and just passing the 2nd place runner, heading out on the second half of the run with my watch showing 1:28-two minutes under ideal pace.


I cruised inbound until the final aid station (Murrell Park) where I stopped to throw away my 2nd (and final) empty gel packet and take in some water. I must've looked worse than I felt because I was offered an e-cap by a nice gentleman and was quickly on my way out, still right on pace.


It wasn't long after leaving the aid station that I took my first walk break and began to realize that I simply had nothing left in the tank.


I knew that a run this long (thinking 18 miles) would push me to find my limit. Prior to this race, my longest ever event was an olympic distance triathlon in about 2:40 and my longest ever run was the preceding Sunday at 1:55 on a very flat greenbelt trail.


However, I was relying heavily on the slower pace required to navigate the terrain on the Northshore trail and the fact that I don't (hardly) ever take on nutrition in training but would be carrying gels in my pocket and stopping at aid stations for water.


Thus, while I am EXTREMELY disappointed that I dropped from 2nd place to 7th or 8th in literally the last 5-10 minutes of the race (more than accounted for by the longer than anticipated distance) I am overall EXTREMELY happy with the overall outcome of the event, finishing in 3:21.11 by my watch, only 20 minutes slower inbound despite what felt like a LOT of walking towards the end.

Additionally, my pace, energy level, and attitude/mental outlook right up until those final miles was more than I could've ever hoped for, and even once I was relegated to walking/running, I didn't let my attitude slip with the pace and crossed the finish line (walking) satisfied knowing I had left it all on the trail with hopes of continuing to build my endurance for more events in the future.


And finally, I cannot understate the significance of having my 1st coke (soda, pop, whatever you call it) in well over a year as I sat in the finishers' tent while stuffing my face with peanut butter and jelly sandwich bites, pretzels, m&m's, and delicious red beans and rice with sausage (apparently a race specialty and tradition). But OHH MAN did that cold coke taste good, just as I remember them tasting and exactly why I must continue to abstain (except now for race days) lest I regain the 40 lbs I've lost in the last 2 years.

Monday, October 26, 2009

19 days till Rockledge Rumble 30k Trail Run

19 and counting


I don't like the post I wrote yesterday, it sounds inflated and artificial.


I tried to run Northshore last Thursday after a day or so of rain but was turned away at the gate because the trail is closed for at least 2 days after any significant rain, so I drove the nearly hour to Erwin park hoping to still get some decent running in before sunset. Mildly frustrated at spending over an hour and a half in the car, I ended up getting about 37 minutes of running at Erwin in what was also some fairly wet terrain and learned that I need to find the headlamps I know we have stashed away somewhere so that I don't have to call it quits right at sundown.


We had discussed going to Northshore on Saturday for a recreational walk/hike without the dogs, but ended up taking care of some errands and such so I decided to get up early Sunday morning to get in an hour and a half or so before the house woke up. Sunrise was at about 740 and I ended up pulling into the parking lot right about 8.


The group of 4 or 5 women and the "token male" companion as they called him were friendly with some basic advice on the west end of the trail since I seem to be working my way east to west with each visit, but I found out that I ended up failing to follow the trail completely to it's end since it requires some navigation through the twin coves park, which I thought I did, but just not enough.


I gave up for the time being on using the CU pack with the bladder and just stuffing a water bottle in the bladder pocket and this has worked somewhat well for a couple of runs, but once my shirt got heavy with sweat and I took it off, it only took 20 minutes for the pack to rub a raw spot on my lower back. I'm about to the point where hydrating pre-run and carrying a couple gels (or not for runs 1-2 hours) may end up being my preferred set up. I simply don't have the patience for running with unnecessary gear and I don't know if it was taking off my pack and dropping it off at my car at the 60 min mark or the fact that it just took my legs that long to get the rhythm but from 60 minutes to 90 minutes I felt better than I did at all during the first hour.


Of course I had my obligatory right ankle roll which took somewhere in the nature of 20 minutes to stop throbbing and I even managed to soak my right foot in the creek for about a minute on the way back which felt great but reminded me that I need to do some more Krupicka-like modifications, specifically taking out any stuffing in the tongue.


I'm also still unsure of just how long to anticipate a full running of the trail on race day since I'm still in the exploring stage and took no less than 4 rabbit trails yesterday as well as two turn-arounds on the later half hour. While I am getting a fairly good idea of the general layout of the area, there's some new single-track that I'm not sure will be part of the course and that would add a bit of distance. Though all said and done, and after looking at last year's results a couple more times, I still think a time of about 3:00 is reasonable, though I should be focused on just finishing and not set myself up for a disappointment like the Open just 2 weeks ago.


Finally, while it always hurts at first, I managed to make it through the initial rubbing of my heel as with all new pairs of shoes and the right shoe shows significant signs of the resulting blood even though, as I mentioned earlier, I soaked the shoe in the creek on the return trip. I'm not sure of the significance, but there seems to be some correlation between the rubbing of my heel and running immediately after rolling my ankle, I don't remember much pain if any once I got my stride back and the heel rubbing is much worse on the right than the left.


The rain's been falling now for at least 18 hours which means it will be Thursday at best before I can make it back out there, but that should be just about perfect to see about making it all the way to the far west end and back again towards the east a bit, assuming I'll have to park at the MADD shelter again, maybe I'll get in some more track work this week after a successful session of descending intervals last week (400, 2x200, 4x100, repeat) and I've been trying to figure out the best way to get over to the hill in Little Elm on the original bike route without having to do 20 miles total round trip or else having to ride my bike over there first. From measuring it out on the map it looks like I can cut through smotherman and be on 423 for a few hundred yards and cut the distance to the hill to about 3.5 miles each way, which if I then did 2 laps of the hill stretch at a mile each way (4 miles total) that'd be an 11 mile total, but I'll just have to see how it works out when I have more time.


Better, still not completely happy with it,


Ryan

Sunday, October 25, 2009

20 Days and Counting

Till the Rockledge Rumble 30k that is...

After learning my lesson about the Northshore trail officially closing for 2 days following any decent rain, I made it back out to the scene of the crime this morning for what ended up being about an hour and a half run. Upon arriving at the parking lot near the MADD shelter (because the Murrell Park lot was apparently still under water) I was fortunate enough to meet a few fellow runners who will be participating in the 15k leg of the Rockledge Rumble and one member of the North Texas Trail Runners (NTTR) group who was accompanied by her two canine companions (the two of us both enjoyed the sight of a helpless mountain biker trying to pop a wheelie in the parking lot but falling flat on his back at the end of my run).

The fact that I was forced to park at the MADD shelter meant I was that much closer to the west end of the trail, the end I've yet to explore, but that in order to get a run longer than 90 minutes I'd have to come back to the parking lot and head towards the east end of the trail (or so I thought). Turns out what I thought was the west end trail head wasn't quite the end of the trail, but that's ok, now I have an excuse to go back earlier than I would've otherwise.

Since I posted on my hydration options, I devised a system by which I use the CU pack
but remove the bladder and place a small REI bottle in the main compartment and thus have the use of the pack without the hassle of a leaking bladder hose. However, today I learned that the pack is only good if I'm wearing a shirt since I now have a nice raw spot on my back from where the pack rubbed after I took off my shirt 40 minutes into the run because it was getting heavy with sweat.

Also, I officially broke in my $20 Asics
from Marshall's today, and by break in I mean soaked the heal in crimson as my sockless heel finally baptized the shoe in callous forming blood, the mark I always used in highschool to mark the successful break in of any new shoes for cross country or track season. I thought to take pictures of my heel but decided against it, though I may still snap a shot of the shoe, but that's a decision I can make down the road.

Back on the issue of hydration and the accompanying pack, I'm more towards abandoning the pack on any regular basis and either just carrying a bottle for extended runs or really learning the available watering stations on my favorite runs, even the race has an aid station every 5 miles. Plus, after reading Anton (Tony) Krupicka's blog today in which he described his 5 1/2 hour, 37 mile run carrying only a 16oz bottle and 3 gels I felt like a big sissy worrying about a pack for any runs I'm doing or will be doing in the foreseeable future.

Overall, things are looking well for the race on the 14th, after a slow start to get the legs turning over well, I felt strong at the end of the run, deciding to head home only to maintain a slow weekly built, otherwise I'd have been tempted to keep running another hour or more. Forecast is for severe thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow morning so I'll have some time to let the new blisters heal up a bit before heading out tomorrow afternoon or Tuesday and I may even get back on my bike this week for the first time since the US Open triathlon on October 11.

More to come...

Ryan

Thursday, October 22, 2009

23 Days till Rockeldge Rumble

The app on my iphone says I have 23 days until the Rockledge Rumble 30k trail run on November 14th. Here's a picture from the trailhead taken a week ago.


30k is approximately 18.6 miles and will be the farthest I have ever run, and it will also be quite possibly the longest event I've ever completed (depending on my time).


I'm beginning to feel some concern as it's been a huge struggle to even get out the door the past couple of days, and in fact I've only managed one run of about 10 minutes since Sunday and that was cut short because I chose the wrong pair of shoes and was forced to quit because of blisters.


However, not all is completely lost, and in fact I'm getting very excited about the race as I've truly come to love trail running despite the ongoing struggle to figure out what hydration strategy will work best. I simply hate running with anything more than shorts and shoes-socks are okay if necessary and while I'm used to a hat and sunglasses on the road, I'm realizing it's not all that necessary on the trail.


But I know I'll need to carry something with me for the duration of the event so as to not rely totally on the aid stations.


Both of my current "pack" options were inherited by one means or another, and while neither of them is that bad of a choice, I guess I'm just not used to having something around my waist yet while running.


This one has a water bottle holster on either side of it's way too large compartment for something like a 30k, and may be useful for longer solo training runs in the future, but I've yet to even see how it fits or feels with anything in it and it's simply sitting as back up right now.


On the other hand, I have tried this one and it's not bad. It's not necessarily great either though, my right leg ended up fairly soaked with Gatorade as the nozzle tends to seep even when "closed" and if I decide to use it regularly, I'll have to buy a new end for it. The fact that it's a bladder system is also iffy in my decision so far, it holds about 24oz or so, not as much as two smaller water bottles, but enough to last me probably 2-3 hours at my normal consumption rate (I think). I also like the idea of having this one to show my support for my former alma mater CU - Boulder (thanks sister-in-law for donating this!)


There's also the consideration of just holding a bottle in my hand, something I tried once on a run in Colorado this summer, but I do like the idea of having the storage of the pack for something like a granola bar or gel. I guess time will have to tell, it rained like crazy yesterday and last night so my Thursday evening trail run might not be the best this week for experimenting, though I'll find out for sure how well my shoes work in the mud!!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Thank you Podcasters

Age grouper- Thank you Jeff and Eric for being my first ever triathlon podcast and making me laugh throughout the "nothing new on race day" episode-I now keep my legs shaved pretty much year round so as to not have that sneak up on me race day eve. Your show truly has improved with time, but don't let that discount your earlier shows at all, interviews with tri-shop owners and world champion Aussie's are great, but so are conversations between two friends who love this sport we do.


Stay Tuned Report- Thank you Brian for producing the closest thing we have in the triathlon world to a dedicated sportscenter report, including interviews and live race coverage. Though your cowbell may nearly blow out my eardrum every time, no other show out there does half the job of representing our sport so professionally as yours.


The Fredcast- Thank you Dave for providing the most comprehensive coverage of the cycling world and all of it's aspects in a professional, entertaining and well put together show. Though I've never had any of my equipment recalled, I can rest assured that I'd hear about it first from you, and your passion for all things cycling is infectious to the point that every time I listen to a new episode, I can't wait to get back on my bike and "pedal just a little bit harder."


Running with the pack- Thank you Jeff and Allan for providing me with my first opportunity to write in to a show's creator's with advice to Allan when he decided to try his first triathlon. Thank you guys as well for having the conversations about running that make me wish I had someone as dedicated to the sport with which I could have similar conversations.


Brandon's Marathon- Thank you Brandon for inspiring your listeners both as an athlete as well as in the time and energy you dedicate to your listeners' input. I can easily say that no other podcaster spends near the time and energy you do promoting their listeners and it really shows your character and genuine concern for them. Let's not also forget that you're a pretty badass athlete and congratulations on completing your first Ironman this year, keep up the good work.


Phedippidations- Thank you Steve for producing one of the most professional podcasts out there, period, regardless of genre. The production of your show makes the time that much more enjoyable and your ability to cover such an array of topics keeps me guessing from week to week what on earth you'll decide to talk about next. Finally, so help me God when John Michael finally grows up to move away to college, for I'll probably cry like a little girl when he's unable to make his regular appearance on the show, the banter between the two of you is one of the highlights of my week and gives me something to look forward to someday if I'm ever blessed enough to have such a family.


Zen and the art of Triathlon- Thank you Bret for teaching me about karma, like when I got stung by a bee on a bike ride the day after listening to your episode in which you got stung by a bee. Thank you as well for teaching me that sometimes, all it takes is to ask myself "what would someone who is training to be a better triathlete do?" and then simply going out and doing whatever answer I come up with for that question. Thank you finally for putting on your ironbaby self supported race to raise money and awareness for charity.


Three Apples Tall- Thank you Dana for representing the younger generation out there in the running podcast world. Your show gives me hope for our generation and I find myself looking forward to your new episodes more than most every other podcast I listen to, maybe one of these days I'll actually get around to calling in sometime!


Kelownagurl- Thank you Deb for kicking ass as both a triathlete and teacher. I'm in grad school specifically to become a teacher one day and your attitude throughout your experiences is awesome!


Endurance Planet- Thank you Kevin for bringing great stories to the podcast world that are inspiring and encouraging. Every time I listen to a new episode I wonder why I haven't joined your club, keep up the great work, and maybe once I get myself a job I'll man up and join.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Waking Rip Van Winkle

So I feel as though I've awaken from a wonderful sleep and remembered I have a desire to write down all that has happened in the last however many weeks.

And exactly what has happened you ask? 

I was supposed to ride my first century in April, for which I stopped running for three weeks in order to build my bike mileage, and as a side benefit give my shins a rest from the pounding of running in the suburbs. However, three days before the scheduled ride in the Wasatch mountains (mountains used loosely here) of southwestern Oklahoma was cancelled due to the last minute bailing out of about half the anticipated riders. While I could have been, and to an extent was, fairly upset about the news, it so happened that the small Texas town of strong German influence, Muenster, was holding its annual Germanfest festival the same weekend which happens to include a metric century popular among cyclists in north Texas who appreciate a cold Shiner beer following a windy ride.

So thus we began, my uncle and I, early Saturday morning with about 30 preliminary miles around the small lake where he lives, and then we drove the thirty minutes to Muenster to begin the metric on a clockwise loop (beginning at about 3 o'clock if you imagine it) on what turned out to be a VERY windy day, with the wind blowing out of the south. Thus the last 10 miles were a hot, fairly miserable leg with not enough fellow riders around to form anything resembling a pace line and suffering through the wind alone, wishing the headwind would at least bring about the aroma of brawtwurst and sauerkraut, but alas, it did not.

Muenster was over three weeks ago now, and much else has happened, including, but not limited to:
 my first ever time trial 
helping a colleague select the best pedal/shoe option
getting back into running
dealing (again) with shin pain
missing my first regular swim practice in months
checking out a new masters swim club
realizing my first "A" race, with which I hope to qualify for the US Open elite wave, may not actually meet qualification requirements
my new appreciation for mapmyride.com
progress on my fixed gear conversion project
my struggling attempt to maintain my workout/diet journal
recent podcast reviews
and... 
an upcomming trip to Colorado where I hope to complete a 22 mile ride which includes a 9 mile leg with 2500 ft of climbing

So brace yourselves, the firehouse of new posts might be opened soon, I'm in the middle of the spring and summer semesters with much too free time on my hands and the creative juices are flowing,

P

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Ok...So I blew it

Swimming in the pool this morning did little to reassure myself that I really didn't waste my vacation as bad as I've been thinking since returning home Sunday night.

After ranting a while back that I wanted to swim anywhere besides a pool while knowing I would be spending 10 days in the clear blue waters of the Bahamas, I swam a full, count it, 1 time during my trip, and that amounted to little more than 2o minutes or so of actual swimming. Add a few ancillary swims while snorkeling and jumping off cliffs and I essentially did nothing to justify packing my swim fins, paddles and two sets of goggles. 

Perhaps you're thinking, well that's ok, everyone needs their rest and I'm sure you still managed to compliment what little swimming with some regular running, right? 

Wrong

The running was almost as bad as the swimming, granted I ran 40 minutes my second day there and another 20 minutes on day 7 or 8, neither workout justified the inordinate amount of food I ate nor the liberal amounts of Bahamian beer with which I cooled myself off.

All said and done I came back 3 pounds heavier than I left, a 6 pound deficit considering I was hoping to LOSE 3 pounds and while I needed some rest, I successfully peaked a full 3 months before my first A race of the season.

Not to be one to end on a bad note, I have a great tan now and the weather in Dallas is finally starting to look conducive to bike riding, learn from our mistakes to better ourselves going forward...

Sunday, March 1, 2009

2009 recap

So here's the deal...

I started a post to do a quick "recap of the last week or so" and ended up putting all of 2009 into spreadsheets for the last 30 minutes and it is truly an eye opening experience in how it allows you to see true distribution of workouts across all 3 disciplines.

And now, after wasting an hour trying to get things posted on here, I'm just going to give you an overall recap with some additional notes below with which I began this post.

January Recap -
Total Swim Time/Distance 6.5 hours/13,800 meters (8.6 miles)
Total Bike Time/Distance 5.2 hours/95 miles
Total Run Time/Distance 6.4 hours/50.2 miles

February Recap -
Total Swim Time/Distance 8.8 hours/16,900 meters (10.6 miles)
Total Bike Time/Distance 9.0 hours/161 miles
Total Run Time/Distance 9.4 hours/64.3 miles

Total to date - 
Total Swim Time/Dist 15.3 hours/30,700 meters (19.2 miles)
Total Bike Time/Dist 14.2 hours/256 miles
Total Run Time/Dist 15.8 hours/114.5 miles

**NOTES FOR FEBRUARY WORKOUTS**

Sunday March 1 - 45 min tempo run - approx 5 or 6 miles, running the first 3 miles as a warm up with my wife

Saturday Feb 28 - Biked 61 windy minutes up and down about a 5 mile stretch of road near the house to get an interval type workout, overall the average speed was around 17mph, not bad considering the conditions.

Friday Feb 27 - Ran for an hour at a slow even pace, covering almost exactly 8 miles, nothing extra ordinary about the whole event

Thursday Feb 26 - Usual hour swim at 630am

Wednesday Feb 25 -Ran 6 X 400m (1:30 per lap) intervals with a slow jog lap in between on the track after 1.5 mile warm up and ended with 1.5 mile cool down, overall time 47:31

Tuesday Feb 24 -Swam approx 2350m at the morning swim and ran an easy 18 minutes with the wife

Monday Feb 23 - Biked the same route as the day before, but on the road bike instead of the tri bike. Windier today but overall time was comparable for a first test between the two bikes

Sunday Feb 22 - Took the tri bike out for about 19 miles, out and back on a new route, ran an easy 19 minutes with the wife

Saturday Feb 21 - Ran 5 miles in 37 minutes

Friday Feb 20 - Ran about 8.5 miles in 66 minutes

Thursday Feb 19 - Swam for an hour at the usual 630am time

Wednesday Feb 18 - Ran 40 minutes including 4 x 400m @ 1:30 per lap with an easy jog in between laps

Tuesday Feb 17 - Swam 2550 meters in about 70 minutes at the usual time

Monday Feb 16 - All my notes say is that I ran, don't know the details on this one

Sunday Feb 15 - Rode the new road bike to the Post Office to pick up dad's mail while he's out of town, hour out and hour back, overall about 35 miles

Saturday Feb 14 - No notes for today

Friday Feb 13 - Rode the new road bike on the lake short loop, about 17 miles in 53:10

Thursday Feb 12 - Swam for a full 80 minutes, no notes on the overall distance

Wednesday Feb 11 - Rode my bike for 51 minutes, covered about 17 miles

Tuesday Feb 10 - Normal swim outing, went for 75 minutes

Monday Feb 9 - Ran 6.8 miles in 61 minutes

Sunday Feb 8 - Ran 6.5 miles in 47:34

Saturday Feb 7 - Rode White Rock Lake with Rachelle and uncle John, easy pace, 23 miles in 93 minutes, outbound leg into a 20mph headwind

Friday Feb 6 - Ran 4.6 miles in 30:50

Thursday Feb 5 -Regular 60 minute swim

Wednesday Feb 4 - Ran about 6.5 miles in 50:19, average HR 162

Tuesday Feb 3 - 65 minutes in the pool

Monday Feb 2 - 45 minutes on the bike

Sunday Feb 1 - Ran about 7 miles in 48:55

Monday, February 23, 2009

A matter of cycles




These are my two babies.

There's a third, the bike that actually got me hooked on this consuming obsession, but it's hanging upside down from the garage ceiling right now and isn't very photogenic without a saddle on it. Just so you know, it's a Panasonic DX-2000 that my dad got back in the eighties and then sat in his attic for an unknown amount of time until a year and a half ago when the house sold and he was finally forced to clear out the "junk."

Since then, I've become a collector of sorts, most recently adding the Specialized "epic" in exchange for my old mountain bike from college.

What I wanted to know today, though, is how these two bikes (Cervelo and Specialized) compare side by side, something I've yet been able to test since acquiring the Specialized a week and a half ago. So today, after riding a fairly straight forward route yesterday on the Cervelo, I rode the same route on the Specialized. There was a decent amount of wind both days, but today seemed to be a bit stronger out of the south.

Today's results are as follows:
Outbound split - 34:25
Inbound split - 26:14
These splits are as measured by my watch, which continues to run during stops, the total elapsed time equaled 1:00:39, less than a minute more than my elapsed time yesterday of 59:17 (I think, I forgot to note exact times).

While the two bikes utilize two different computers (cateye estrada with cadence on the Cervelo and Bell 8 function wireless on the Specialized) the distances reported were within reasonable difference and the total "wheel spinning" time between the two were again within a minute of each other.

While this test is far from scientific, it's a beginning point for comparison and I will continue to test the two bikes on other routes and results will be posted accordingly. But so far it seems any differences are negligible at this time.

Till next time,

Peanutt

Thursday, February 19, 2009

I'm so ready to get out of the pool

Not in the sense that I want to stop swimming, I just want to swim somewhere ELSE besides a 25m chlorinated pool.

Somewhere like the Bahamas. Where the water is as clear as a swimming pool but there's no wall to kick off of just when you start to get going and where there's no such thing as lane lines or master's club with whom to compete for lane space. Just you and the water, some sand below and a fish (or nurse shark) every so often to drive home to point that you are NOT in a pool.

Oh, and the water's warm too.

I'd even take some time in a lake at this point if the lakes in Texas weren't still too cold to attempt without a westuit I don't have. Though I admit I have confidence that the water will warm soon enough, not like the lakes in Colorado that "warm" up to a balmy 69 degrees in the middle of summer.

It's just a matter of time, and for now that means grunting through laps at the crowded, chlorinated pool, 25 meters at a time.

But soon...oh how soon it is......That's looking west into the sunset from the anchorage at Staniel Cay in the Exuma island chain of the Bahamas and will serve as my training "pool" for the week of spring break, if it ever comes, in March.

Or even......Possum Kingdom Lake in Graham, Texas - The only place I call home in the sense that it has been there since before I was born, and for someone who's moved almost 30 times in only 25 years, that means something.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Triathlon in real life

I spent almost 3 hours watching Stage 2 of the Tour of California on TV yesterday.

Not that there's anything inherently wrong with watching professional cycling on TV, many people watch other professional sports on TV, like baseball, football, hockey, basketball, again, nothing inherently wrong there.

But to be honest, I don't have 3 hours to spend watching TV, or at least I SHOULDN'T have 3 hours to spend watching TV. I'm not a professional athlete, despite what my allusions of grandeur are and nice as that would be, but in reality, I'm just a lowly full time grad student who's also looking for a job.

I don't know what I'm going to do in the meantime to fix the situation, but the first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

I don't necessarily blame triathlon directly for my diversion from the work I should be doing, I've become a master of that on my own through a lifetime of practice across a variety of disciplines. Triathlon just happens to be the current flavor, granted it has lasted longer than many of the other flavors and as undoubtedly improved my life at least as much as it's potentially harming my life through distraction.

I mean it's hard to argue with the 30 or so pounds I've lost through both the increased activity as well as the intentional focus on healthy eating for health's sake, my wife sure seems to appreciate THAT change.

Nor can I complain about the people I've met through my training and competitions, triathlon company is certainly better than the company I kept as an unhappy EMS helicopter pilot.

I guess what it comes down to is a realization and definition of actual goals and priorities, being careful not to confuse dreams with attainable goals. Nor should I be negligent as to the danger of sacrificing valuable time to be productive for excessive time to enjoy something that is secondary.

None of this is easy for me

When is it going to warm up in Dallas?

As I've mentioned before, I have a goal of breaking 2:00 in an olympic distance triathlon this year and in order to do that, I'm forecasting a bike leg split of an hour. One of the reasons I'm fairly optimistic about this goal is all the time on the bike I got last semester commuting to and from school 2-3 days a week in addition to regular training rides on the weekends.

When it comes to riding my bike to school, the following issues come into play:
-Which bike will I ride?
-Will I take the train or ride the whole way?
-Do I have to pack my clothes or are there some that I've stashed in my locker in the library?

But most recently, the only issue I've been dealing with is the nasty weather we're having in Dallas.

Which bike I ride has essentially taken care of itself since last Thursday when I traded my old MTB for a road bike that, though it's not new, wasn't built in the 80's when they still put shifters on the downtube and made handlebar grips out of hard plastic.

I'm counting on these rides to help me towards my goal, not to mention to save on the $6 on tolls and gas it costs each day to drive, but it's looking like it won't be till after spring break when I can ride to school...Oh well.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

New carbon steed


There it is, my new ride. Turns out, after I listed my MTB on craigslist and had a few offers that didn't really pan out, I got a response from a guy who lived less than a mile from my house who had this carbon Specialized Epic Pro (with Sidi shoes) and was ready, willing and able to trade the same day.

Took it out for an inaugural ride out by Possum Kingdom lake, about 100 miles west of Dallas, and it did great. Even for being an "older" bike, it's got full Dura Ace components and it performed beautifully. Though my wife doesn't fully appreciate my "addiction" with bicycles, she's happy that I'm happy and it didn't cost a cent to acquire, props to the magic of craigslist connected bartering.

Peanutt

Monday, February 9, 2009

Trading/Selling my mountain bike

Quick post to announce I've officially determined it's time to get rid of my college mountain bike that never saw anything more than the campus of CU Boulder because I never got into mountain biking. It's a ~2002 Specialized M4 S-Works that I paid $1500 for in 2002, used from a bike shop mechanic in Aspen.


I'd prefer to trade the bike for a road bike sized for someone 5'6-5'7 in the Dallas area for ease of transaction.

Thanks,

Peanutt

First Tri Basics

I've copied a comment I posted to a runner's podcast (Running with the pack) in response to one of the guy's consideration to doing his first triathlon. He's a strong swimmer and has been running for several years but has virtually no bike experience. Listening to him over the last few podcast episodes, it's easy to forget how many seemingly mindless details we accumulate over our experience in training and competing in triathlons. While this list is definitely not all inclusive, it does, I think, settle some of those novice concerns. At least, I know these are things that I was worried about way before I was concerned with disc wheels, aero water bottles and helmets, and the like.

If you're thinking of doing your first triathlon, or know someone who might be considering it, but has some questions, I hope this helps.

[Name removed],

You mentioned that you're doing your first sprint triathlon in July, which I want to congratulate you for setting that first date and welcome you to the weird world of triathlons! I don't mean to hijack your running podcast with so much tri stuff, but I'm a former dedicated runner turned triathlete and would love to encourage you to keep at it and to answer any questions you have.

To play a little devil's advocate here, though I mentioned doing a sprint before an olympic distance, if you have the goal of moving on to olympic distance at some point, there's no reason you can't shoot for a sprint earlier than July and set yourself up for an olympic soon after, perhaps even by July.

From the sound of it, your swimming and running won't be a problem, especially at the sprint distance, and the bike training will build quickly. The best advice I heard when I got into biking (6 weeks before my first sprint) was to just ride the thing as much as I could. My first ride was 15 minutes out and 15 minutes back and I thought I'd never build up to anything worth mentioning. But over the following 6 weeks, at about 2-3 rides a week, the 15 mile leg of my first sprint was taxing enough to make me feel like I had accomplished something, but it also didn't drain me for the rest of the race.

Another thing to consider is to look for an early season reverse (as opposed to the traditional swim-bike-run order) sprint in which you run first, then bike, and finish with the swim in a local pool if the weather is still cold, which I'm sure it is where you're at. These can be great races if you can find one local because they are typically smaller and more easy paced as far as the transition set up goes and gives you a chance to meet some other athletes. Also, it works great to get you used to the whole multisport thing while leaving you wanting more and giving you the confidence to go for the longer distance without making you wait till mid summer to get your first taste.

A few basics I remember searching for and wondering before my first race to pass along (you may already know these, but some are worth repeating):

-A good pair of tri shorts are one of the best investments you'll make, and don't be fooled into thinking you need a WHOLE lot of padding, I do all rides up to 50 miles in tri shorts and save the dedicated biking shorts for really long rides.

-When it comes to cycling shoes and clipless pedals - use what is most comfortable, if that means cycling in your running shoes, do it and just put straps on your pedals to secure your feet. If you really take to the shoes and pedals from the beginning-you're going to want them if you keep your bike past the first race so just make sure you get something good from the beginning so you don't have to upgrade when you feel "ready"

-If you decide to use shoes and clipless pedals, you'll see other triathletes who leave their shoes clipped into the pedals and put the shoes on once they get on the bike and get going - for your first race, just put the shoes on your feet IN the transition area and don't feel rushed or feel like you have to do what the other guys are doing - I tried it for my first race and it didn't save enough time to justify the akwardness of trying to put on shoes that are clipped into a moving bike while trying to pay attention - it's a skill that takes more than a few practice attempts.

-Don't worry about finding a tri specific top for your first event - there will be plenty of time to research all the sweet geek gear there is for triathlons once you get hooked - and personally, a one piece tri suit is the best option anyways. I find that I wear my tri shorts and standard bike jersey for most training rides and like the one piece sleeveless suit for races and longer rides - I got a tri top on sale and have worn it maybe once - they tend to ride up like girls' belly shirts and a one piece provides more security and comfort during all 3 legs of the race anyways.

-If you're used to using a gel or energy bar during events, the tri thing to do is to tape it to the top tube of your bike if its a gel and if it's a bar, take it out of the wrapper and simply mold it onto the top tube (I recommend this method as it requires the least amount of fiddling while on the bike, which is where I recommend taking in energy drinks and bars)

-When you start cycling, it's better for your form and efficiency to pedal an easier gear at a higher cadence (RPM) than a bigger (harder gear) at a slower cadence for any given speed. The higher RPM is not only more efficient but it more closely resembles your run turnover and will save your legs from draining before the run leg.

-I love my tri bike and wouldn't give it up for the world, but I also wish I had a better road bike than the 1980's panasonic my dad gave me from the garage which got me into cycling in the first place. My point is, you'll sacrifice very little if you get a road bike and put clip on aero bars rather than going straight for a tri specific bike. A road bike will be easier to learn shifting and you are actually more stable on a road bike than on a tri bike, which makes riding with groups easier and more comfortable. And in fact, some groups won't allow tri bikes or if they do, you can't ride in the aero position in a group anyways because your hands are not on the brake levers when you're in aero position. A road bike, on the other hand, incorporates the shifters INTO the brake levers so you have to move your hands very little- hence, safer when riding in a group. To operate, you simply squeeze the levers to brake and push the lever sideways to shift gears, kind of a two axis joystick type movement.

-Get a set of lace locks, speed laces, whichever brand your local running store carries. I only discovered them once I got into tri's, but use them for all running occasions now. They're elastic which allows you to take your shoes on and off without adjusting the tension setting and the lace tightness/pressure is always constant from one to another. No more tying shoes, just easy on, easy off

-A lot of triathletes cycle and run barefoot simply to save time in transition. If you're used to wearing socks, use socks for your first race and if you get to where you want to take it seriously then worry about training barefoot to get your feet used to it - it hurts if your feet aren't well adapted for it

-Shaving your legs - I did it at first because I figured all cyclists/triathletes do it. I've kept it up because (a) the first time I got road rash from a bike fall I was SOOO glad I didn't have to deal with hair in the midst of all the healing and scabbing and (b) my wife loves the cleanliness and smoothness, and, I have to admit, so do I - If you decide to do it though, do it WELL BEFORE your first race, as in weeks before. The Age Grouper Podcast has a great episode about one of the guys who decided to shave the night before his first triathlon, it's not recommended.

I guess the best way to summarize what I learned at my first tri is that you shouldn't worry about changing anything you already know how to do just because your doing a triathlon. Take your time in transitions and use what you are already using and comfortable with, don't worry, you'll get hooked soon enough and with more experience on the bike and with triathlon preparation you'll have a better perspective on what tri specific gear is most suitable for your taste and goals. Try too much on your first race and you'll likely miss out on how much fun it is doing the different disciplines and you'll be less likely to want to return.

But take your time, have fun with it and do what you already know how to do and you'll have a blast and then you'll have a real desire to go longer and faster and spend all kinds of time, money, and energy looking for fun gadgets and techniques to achieve your goals.

Looking back over this I realize I wrote a lot more than I anticipated, but I hope it helps. Please feel free to ask me whatever questions come to mind - I did my first tri (a reverse sprint) last Feb 2008 and did two Olympics (July and October 2008) along with the swim leg of a team relay tri in August and I'm still learning new stuff everyday.

I love listening to your podcast and want to thank you for the twitter answer, I added you today (PeanuttPursuit) and hope you continue to consider and stay excited for your first triathlon,

Something I forgot to mention is the race belt. Like the lock laces, it’s something I found only once I got into triathlon but would use for any running event outside of triathlon as well. I made mine out of a piece of climber’s webbing and a basic plastic clip from an old back pack, but you can buy a nice elastic one from your local shop for a few bucks anyways.
Nice thing about this, in addition to time savings in transition, is that you don’t have to deal with swimming with your number on but rather just attach your race number to the belt before the race and in transition, either before the bike if required, or after the bike if not required on the bike, and that’s it. No soggy race number and safety pins to worry about during the swim and if it’s not required for the big leg, no worrying about a flapping race number on the bike. This is also another place some triathletes put energy gels and such for easy access and some of the fancier belts include mini water bottles - like I said, there will be plenty of opportunity to scout out sweet gear when you get hooked, but a basic belt is highly advised. Hopefully that’s it for now,
Ryan

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Bike sailing

I probably could've just simply opened my jersey and let the wind blow me back to the car today at White Rock Lake in Dallas. The wind was gusting over 20 mph out of the South, and while the first half of the ride made conversation among myself, my wife and my uncle difficult, it's always better going out into the wind and riding the tailwind all the way home.

White Rock is a great place to ride if you ever find yourself in Dallas as it offers great riding without having to deal with the less than friendly Dallas drivers on the roads. Essentially a three legged ride, the trail begins 7 miles North of the lake, winding along the White Rock Creek and then goes 9 miles around the lake, located right off the East side of downtown Dallas. Add in the 7 mile return trip to the trail head and your basic "lake loop" is 23 miles, add a second lap around the lake before getting back on the trail and you've got 32 miles...Not bad for being in the middle of Dallas.

Though considered an easy day by most standards, it was none-the-less a very enjoyable ride with the wife and extended relative, completing the basic 23 miles jaunt in a hair over 90 min, this coming weekend I'll ride solo in the hill country and that same distance should take less than 1:10...It will also be a great opportunity to test out the new bike computer - a Cateye Strada with Cadence sensor. Somehow I've managed to go a full season on my (kind of) new 1 year old Cervelo P3-SL.

I probably survived the whole season by riding the same handful of known routes over and over while keeping time with my Timex Bodylink with HR and occasionally using the optional GPS receiver when I felt patient enough to wait for the thing to sync with the satellites.

Depending on how tomorrow goes, I may only barely fall short of the weekly goals, but the official recap will have to wait for now. Suffice it to say that today was windy, but fortunately the wind was from the most advantageous direction.

Thanks for reading,

Peanutt

Friday, February 6, 2009

Things pertaining to bicycle commuting I wish someone had told me instead of having to learn on my own

1. If you're going to use your bicycle for regular commuting and don't have to wear wingtips at work, get yourself a pair of mountain bike shoes, even if you're commuting on a road bike. I'm not talking about hardcore bike shoes, but something you can wear off the bike and walk in comfortably - whatever you do, do not try to pack a pair of cowboy boots in your bag and wear your road shoes with look style pedals, especially if you have to walk across a tiled lobby to get to the bathroom where you change clothes.

While there are a number of options to accomplish this first task, I personally recommend from my own experience Pearl Izumi's X Alp Seeks...
The beauty of these shoes is that they combine the comfort of a high quality running shoe with the benefit of a relatively stiff sole and inset cleat attachments that make cycling more efficient while still allowing you to walk around comfortably.

I know, I know...You're not supposed to walk around that much in your cycling shoes. I know it wears down your cleats, even if they're recessed as they are with mountain bike shoes. I know these things, yet after a semester of commuting with these shoes, I've yet to replace my cleats and the option to use my egg beater pedals (see below) is worth it.


2. What could be more cliche when it comes to riding a bicycle than wearing a messenger bag, especially if that bag is a timbuk2? I found out why it's cliche...it works.

Imagine if you will my first few commutes, riding down the oh so cycle friendly roads of Dallas on an early 80's Panasonic DX-2000 with a bright yellow internal frame day pack filled with cowboy boots, slacks and pressed shirt, trying to look over my shoulder in traffic and then trying not to fall on my rear in the lobby of the office building in my tri shoes with thick plastic look style pedals that caused me to walk like a rookie on ice.

While I knew the backpack idea wasn't going to work over the long run, I was still skeptical of the whole messenger bag idea, could it really be that more comfortable and efficient while staying put on your back while riding through traffic?

Well...yes, actually

I ended up with the timbuk2 brand for 2 reasons: 1 - my wife had always had one since she's from Colorado and that's how they roll up there, and 2 - Marshall's had them on sale for all of 15 bucks and you can't beat that. I've checked on a few occasions since and they still show up from time to time, like so many other things, timing is the key to success.

When it comes to actually riding with the messenger style bag, here's what I've learned - You don't need something that big. I have a medium sized timbuk2 and I can get all the books I need for a day of class, pants, a shirt, and clean underwear, plus a couple of snacks with no problem. The key to getting the clothes in the bag as well as to work without wrinkles is the rolling method. You can't beat the efficiency of sizing and maintaing the wrinkle free appearance of rolled clothes verses folding.

Additionally, a messenger bag does in fact work well when riding, and it will stay in place high on your back, if, and that's a big IF, you use the strategically placed cross strap across your chest and you hike the main strap tight - as in so far up your armpit tight you think you look stupid tight - trust me, you don't look stupid, what looks stupid is the person who doesn't pull the strap tight enough and keeps having to adjust the bag on their back as it moves around because, well, it wasn't strapped tight enough. Also, the tightness puts the bag higher up on your back which is infinitely better than carrying the load on your lower back.

3. Lights - Lights are key to success here. In fact, once I started riding with a light, I actually found that riding in the dark is much more comfortable than riding during daylight. The main reason for this is the fact that bike lights are bright, very bright, and obnoxious, very obnoxious. The kind of obnoxious that if you ever find yourself behind a cyclist in the dark, you will do whatever you need to do to give as much room as you can when you pass in order to avoid eye damage, or, simply turn off the path you're on and take a different route all together, thus leaving the cyclist with the road all to themselves.
Try the Planet bike SuperFlash, I highly recommend it.

There is a catch - batteries. The day you buy a light, or "blinkie" as they're affectionately called in the commuter world, buy a set of spare batteries and put them in your saddlebag, immediately. I know you're tempted to think "it's ok, I'll put some in there before the light needs them replaced," which is understandable, those batteries just don't lend themselves to being real convenient to packing in your saddlebag, all bulky and all. But neglect this recommendation and I can almost guarantee that you'll find yourself waiting outside the local grocery store at 5:55 am with a dim blinkie waiting for the morning shift to open the doors so you can buy a set of double A batteries at the inflated grocery store price just so you can finish your commute without feeling that your life is in peril.

Now that we've covered the rear, let's talk briefly about looking ahead. Here to the left is the Cateye hl-el135. I picked up one of these after I lost count of the cars coming from the other direction turning left in front of me in all lighting situations, and now the Cateye's strobe setting takes care of that problem. Once the ride is done, it clips out easy and it's size makes it convenient for tossing in the bag till you're ready to hit the road again.

That's enough for now, the Dallas Stars are beating the New York Rangers right now and all of the sudden I feel the need to pedal my bike up and down the street, curse the cold mornings right now...soon the vacant 5am Dallas streets will be mine again,


Peanutt

No strings attached

This morning, after sleeping in, I went for a 30 minute out and back run (15 min out 15 min back). It is absolutely amazing how nice it feels to run with no headphones or music or gloves or hat or anything after a season of running all layered up.

Running with music is something I've only picked up in the last couple of years and have yet to really become attached to. With the proliferation of podcasts out there now, however, I find my self running and cycling with one ear plug in more and more. But after sleeping in this morning and checking the weather to see that it was mid fifties and a 15-20 wind out of the south, I decided to just throw on a pair of light tights and a wicking t-shirt and head out the door - no setting my iPhone to whichever of my billion podcast I've infected my playlist with or trying to figure out the best way to attach the phone to my body since I've yet to splurge on an arm band for the thing.

So off I went, into the wind first of course, and immediately I remembered why I initially was so hesitant to run with music in the first place. I felt light, I felt free, and I could hear everything around me and there was absolutely nothing to distract my mind from wandering wherever it pleased.

No doubt I'll return to my mind numbing musical distractions soon enough, but today was a wonderful escape from the web of wires and heavy accessories that has recently invaded my runs.

As usual, the wind didn't help and even though I went out into the wind first, I was unable to negative split the run and ended the 4.6 miles in 30:50 with an average HR of 166.


Peanutt

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Morning swim

I have come to learn to love swimming. Swim workouts are my most anticipated workouts during the week...except one part - the initial jump in the water.

It's absolutely amazing how close I come every day to aborting my entire swim because I dread the initial dip.

Once I get in however, it's great. There's just something to be said about the smoothness of the swim technique and the lack of impact compared to running or even the burn of cycling, I relate it to a long stretching routine (most of the time and when pull paddles aren't involve - but more on that at another time).

A few years ago, that was not quite the case. My first year of organized swimming was my junior year of high school and had I known what I was getting myself into, I would have stuck with something else. Not only did I get passed by freshman girls on nearly every drill and described by my girlfriend of the time as a turtle stuck on land when it came to my form, but I literally threw up every single one of the morning practices.

6 years out of high school, though, I found myself too overweight to run without pain, and looking to get myself back in shape. It so happened that our town was opening a new fitness center, billed as an aquatic center, and I began for some strange reason to actually want to swim again.

My story is no different than many other triathletes, but the lesson's worth repeating...

I began one day in October 2007 with little ability to make it down and back a 25 meter pool without stopping to rest while my heart exceeded its normal threshold maximum. But day after day, I worked on extending that range 1 length at a time, somedays only 1 meter at a time, and in a matter of 8 or 10 weeks I was able to work up to a full 15 minutes or so of continual swimming, albeit slow. It just goes to show that the small, daily efforts truly add up to a mountain over time and what was once a pipedream can in fact become reality,

And to prove that point, here's what I did today, a typical workout lately:
500 warmup
200 pull
100 kick
100 pull
4 x 25 alternate easy - fast
4 x 50 alternate easy - fast
4 x 100 alternate easy - fast
400 timed time trial (6:54)
100 pull
25 breaststroke

Oh, and not a single puking episode since February 2002 when I still wore a school colored snakeskin patterned speedo.

Finally...one last tip: GET A COACH, or someone who can watch you from outside the pool, or join a master's club. Just do anything you can do to involve someone besides yourself in your regular swimming. More on that at a later time,


Peanutt

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Formal introduction

It has occurred to me that it may seem I am hiding myself by my choice of picture (or lack thereof) on my profile. However, I chose that picture because it was created by my wife and I think it's great, I'm a fairly simple guy and a Texas flag and triathlon does a great job of capturing that.

But a stick figure doesn't do a great job of familiarizing anyone with who I am, so I'll post a few pictures to help the introduction along...



This was taken Feb 24, 2008 at my first ever triathlon, a reverse sprint in Flower Mound, Texas through tri4life, which I believe has ceased putting on races. Yes, it was chilly.



My beautiful wife and I after I rode the Germanfest 40 mile ride in Munster, Texas. It's a great excuse to drink a cold Shiner Bock beer in a small German Texas town after a good ride. It was my longest ride and first group ride ever up to that point. My uncle Jack (not pictured) was also there, but he was still pedaling along doing the metric century at the time the picture was taken. (Note** Picture was taken by my good friend Kathi who kept my wife company while I rode)



My new favorite hobby, cross country skiing, again with my beautiful wife and my good buddy (wingman) TJ's wife from Boulder. TJ was actually there, but he took the picture. This was on the Cordillera golf course in Edwards, Colorado this winter (2008-2009) and to be honest, we are snowshoeing in the picture, but cross country skiing rocks!!



T2 at the US Open in Dallas, Texas October 2008. Check out the one piece tri suit, got it on sale through sierratradingpost.com and love it.



My former life as an EMS helicopter pilot for Texas LifeStar. It was fun, but left little room for learning and acquiring new skills, so I left after 2 1/2 years to go back to school to get my master's in Theology from Dallas Seminary


Hope you enjoy the pictures, they cover mostly the last year since I got hooked on the triathlon lifestyle, I'll post soon with some before and after pictures on the difference tri training has made in my life, makes Jenny Craig look like kid's stuff.


Peanutt

I speak of shoes

I mentioned earlier that I would explain how I survived my first tri season on a 10 year old pair of cross country racing flats and with which shoe I eventually replaced them. While I don't have a picture of my old shoes to post right now, I'll work on getting one up soon so as to help with the appreciation for their age.

First, however, it needs to be discussed why and how I chose to run a season on such old and worn out shoes rather than any of the viable options sitting in my closet...

While I don't personally own, nor I have I used, the Newton shoes, check out their website http://www.newtonrunning.com/run-better to get an introduction to the idea of forefoot running as opposed to heal striking. This helps to understand part of the reason I had recurrent issues when I increased my mileage with traditional heavy heeled shoes such as Asics or Salomon trail running shoes. Not only was I naturally a heavy heel striker, I found that when I put on my old racing flats, I achieved essentially the same benefit as the barefoot running idea and found that running was more comfortable and efficient without so much padding on my heels.

However, over a season of irregular running schedules, my feet rebelled against the poor internal structure of the old shoes, particularly the poor choice of seem placement and my choice to run barefoot in preparation for and in racing triathlon.

Thus, after my scare with plantar fasciitis after the 2008 US Open and the full foot blistering, I went to Luke's Locker in Dallas, one of those great places where they actually take a look at your foot structure and form and recommend a shoe based on your stride rather than just aesthetic preferences. The shoe I ended up with and have been highly satisfied with since mid October with regular running is...



The Saucony Grid Type A2, and I now wear socks on all training runs and will save the barefoot running for races only. You may notice there still is not much heel, but that's the idea, with a reduced cushion in the heel, I have learned to adapt my running stride from a severe heel strike to a more efficient forefoot stride.

Additionally, something I came across only after researching triathlon gear, but would recommend for all runners is my locklaces, check em out at http://www.locklaces.com/home.html . Not only do they make transitions fast by eliminating the need to tie shoes, but for regular training runs, it keeps pressure constant from day to day.

That's all for now, there's more to come,

Peanutt

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

A rationale for hallucination

My rationale for hallucination

I have a goal - to finish the 2009 US Open of Triathlon under 2:00.

Go ahead…

Laugh at me, mock me, scorn me, criticize, cheer me on…do whatever you need to do.

I finished the Open in 2008 in 2:29:22, no, that is not near to 2:00, it’s not even close. So what is my reasoning in setting the goal that I have?

1st reason: Read the quote above by Michelangelo… I don’t remember when or where, but I do know I heard that from my grandmother, a woman who was swimming or walking an hour everyday well into her 80’s before the bastard of pancreatic cancer took her prematurely in 2006.

Point being, I may break 2:00, I may not. However, if I do not set it as my goal, I will most certainly reduce my chances of doing as well as I would with such a lofty goal and fall guilty of achieving a lesser goal questionably worthy of celebrating.

2nd reason: This one takes a little longer to explain and it will sound rather like a bad excuse, but here it is…

• My splits at the 2008 Open were as follows:
o Swim 33:01 (2:12 per 100m)
o T1 1:54
o Bike 1:07:38 (22.05 mph)
o T2 1:27
o Run 45:24 (7:18 per mile)
• As for the swim split, I had not actually swam for the 6 weeks leading up to the race, certainly I can do better this year with a regular schedule and the help of the coach I have picked up since last October.
• As for the bike split, I began riding a road bike in January 2008, again with no regular schedule, and had been commuting upwards of 50 miles a day, 2-3 days a week, up to and including the week of the race. Certainly I can do better with a schedule and a true taper.
• As for the run split, just like the swim split, I had not run for the 6 weeks leading up to the race, and in fact so shocked my system that I suffered a rash of plantar fasciitis in the days following. This year I plan on actually running in the weeks preceding race day, once again following an actually training schedule.

Excuses aside, my plan for a sub 2:00 looks as follows:
• 20:00 swim
• 60:00 bike
• 40:00 run

Actually, that’s my original plan, transitions absorbed somewhere in there.

Thought out a little more since training has begun this year, it’s starting to look more like this:
• 21:00 swim (1:24 per 100m)
• 1:00 T1
• 61:00 bike (24.44 mph)
• 1:00 T2
• 36:00 run (5:47 per mile)

So there it is, or at least there part of it is. I will update as necessary with progress or changes in the distribution of time, but the goal will remain constant at 2:00.

P.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Not (necessarily) triathlon related

According to my weekly training recap, I reached my "Prep" period weekly goal of 7 training hours. This is of course based on the legendary Joe Friel's ¨The triathlete's training bible¨annual training plan. The week was evenly divided into 150-165 minutes each of swimming, biking, and running - next week marks the first week of Base period 1, which means little more than weekly hours go up to....10, I think....I'm still ˆbrandˆnew to the whole blog thing, so I'll have to check out the details and edit later if necessary.

Concerning the post's title...I don't particularly prefer to be awake this close to midnight, but I've been working on flash cards for Greek and it's all I can do to stay motivated this early in the semester. For those interested, in the Greek dialect used during Jesus' day, known as Koine Greek, one word can be used in place of an entire English sentence. I'm sure it was great for condensing conversations back in the day, but it makes translation difficult due to the different inflections it can involve and the lack of context which usually provides all the necessary subtleties that make accurate translation easier. For example λελυμἐνος is the single Greek word for the English phrase "after having loosened (for myself)" as opposed to λελυκώς which means "after having loosened (for someone else)." 

If you're still reading at this point, we both need to go to bed, I hope to include in upcoming posts the following topics:
  • How I survived my first season of triathlons on a pair of 10 year old cross country spikes and with which shoe I finally chose to replace them.
  • How I can justify a goal of completing an Olympic distance triathlon (US Open) in under 2 hours in only my second season of training (***See quote above in title for partial answer***)
  • Why my dad's 20-something year old Panasonic DX-2000 road bike gets more mileage than my beloved Cervelo P3-sl.
  • How I came to realize that swim fins and hand paddles are ˆnotˆ just for wimps who want to go faster during swim drills and take it easy on themselves.
Till then, good night,

P

Just saw them off and call me tenderfoot

My shins that is, but not above the bottom of my calf muscles- after years of distance running in high school I have just now developed something resembling a respectable calf from cycling and I'm not quite willing to give those up. But the shins, they can go, right there in the middle, just like the movie Gataca (sp?) where they sawed his shins in half and inserted implant rods, I'll take a set of titanium implants, something not so fragile that won't ruin a perfect 65 degree sunshiny day for running.

And the blisters, they remind me of those days in high school track when the Texas sun would shine down in the middle of the afternoon and by the 15th or so repeat 400 it literally felt as though your shoe were melting away and you were testing your manhood infront of the tribe by walking across the coals...except, again, its a perfect 65 degree day with a slight breeze, no reason they should feel this bad. 

In recap...I ran about 7 miles, according to google maps, out and back starting into the wind and it took 48:55 (23:50 out 25:05 back) and I could've done without the shins, I'll recap my week at a later point in time, but this should do for my first post...

Peanutt