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Triathlon
2 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
I was up at 5am but distracted by work. By 8:15 I had sauntered into the pool with a couple hours of good work under my belt. My swim was basic... back and forth slowly but consistently for a half hour. I'm starting to feel some strength near the end of my second week of, well, swimming. Imagine that, eh? But I'm holding back so that I don't fall into the trap of anaerobic work too soon.
A short but hard weights workout. And then out to the comet for a ride. After some elbow pad tweaks my steed felt manageable and I did a comfortable 20 miles at 18.6mph. Still not yet training with heart rate. Saw Blair Folkes out there... she ended up doing 13 miles on the run. Good stuff.
0 Comments | 0 Images
3 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Another boring but necessary and fulfilling LSD swim. For some reason I woke up at 4:44am and just went with it. The alarm was going off in 15 minutes anyway. Little core workout after the swim. Then off to The Comet for my first ride there in a while.
You know how I've said about 80 times that I've got my aerobar fit "dialed in" or "perfect"? It's not. Cups aren't cupping my elbows. Will work on it.
Cool morning. Extra layers and numb hands. But the sunrise was spectacular.
0 Comments | 2 Images
4 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Body's feelin' it. Not the low speed aerobic fitness work. The squats I did on Sunday. With the weight vest. I knew I should have done them on Friday afternoon. But I kept thinking that maybe I'd get a weekend workout in. Yesterday they got very sore. Today they're killing me. I had a bike planned but I'm abandoning. Need to get the legs somewhat recovered.
One win on the swim. I'm getting that feel of fitness backed by aerobic depth. For the early part of the season I was gaining speed and strength. But it wasn't backed by aerobic depth. Not really an issue for a half ironman or less. But at the full distance I need to be backed. Today I felt the smooth, lung comfort of a little acceleration with aerobic backing. It's snuggly. Something I felt for my first few seasons but haven't felt in a while now.
Mod hard core weights workout following the swim.
0 Comments | 0 Images
5 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
I took the weekend off. While everybody else turned out great mileage. Swim this morning felt good. I continue to be amazed at how much work low speed can be and how additive it is. I can't really claim that I feel much faster but I do feel better in the water. Morning bike was a bust... legs sore. Afternoon bike was a bust... just wasn't into it. So when we decided to take Aves and Emme to the pool I decided I'd run there. On the hills around the neighborhood. In the heat.
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7 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Nothing special here. Swim felt fine. Run felt fine. This concludes my week goal of getting back onto the horse with a ten hours week. Not sure what next week holds. Maybe an incremental increase. Maybe none. At this low intensity and given the time until the race I should be turning out closer to 17-20hrs but given where I've been recently, I'll take 10. Met Jim in the pool who's apparently a mad man because after I got out, did a 30 min weights session and my run he was still swimming. He's training for the Chattanooga Oly. Still no heart rate monitors in my life these days. Nice change.
0 Comments | 0 Images
9 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Amazing how three days of actually slowing it down and hitting the aerobic zones works. Today's swim felt great. The Austell LA Fitness morning swim couple was there. They're a cute couple and swim their laps in sync, although I've seen her mini-resting at the wall as I think she's a bit faster than him... that's dedication! Anyhow, they were there and it was nice having some company in the pool, even though I've never spoken to them. At one point we had four people in the pool turning laps. Four swimmers. Almost unheard of for the early morning. I kept the workout slow and it felt good.
Then back home for the bike. Low hr. Not as fun but I listened to an audiobook and cranked it out.
0 Comments | 0 Images
10 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Odd how the body works. Yesterday the swim was miserable. Today it felt great. Mental? Water temp? Actual body difference? Who knows, I just enjoyed it. Solid core weights workout and a nice little 6.5mph treadmill ditty, like Jack and Diane. Resisted the temptation to go overboard with more speed... and the desire to show off for the spandexed blonde nearby. Ah, restraint.
1 Comments | 0 Images
10 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
This was a hard day to continue the goal of 2hrs/day this week. Swim felt rough, sore muscles, weak rhythm. But I muscled through without stopping. A solid, if slow, 45 min. Then onto the bike. Where nothing worked so I cut the workout short. All day I stewed on it, hating that I had abandoned again and blew the week's goal. The stewing worked and this evening I got a nice 45 min on the bike to bring me to two hours for the day. Working way too hard for it but at least I'm working.
0 Comments | 0 Images
12 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
I got my two hours in this morning by getting up and to the gym by 5:20. I took it easy on the swim and got a non-stop 45 minutes done. Then a core weights workout. And a run. I need to get better at letting go of my fast paces when I have a dip in fitness. That's just beating my head against a wall. Today I turned the treadmill to 6.5 mph and cruised. I wanted to go faster. But more than that I wanted to not abandon this workout. I finished with a desire to do more and go faster. That's a good thing and at this early stage of the week it's how I need to be ending workouts. One day down... four to go. Goal is two hours each day.
1 Comments | 0 Images
13 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
I'll spare you the whining. Another crappy workout. Just can't seem to pull myself into the game. I'm well-rested. I want to get these workouts done. More than anything I just feel like it's way too high a hill to climb. I know, of course, that if I could string together a 10hr week and a 15hr week I'd be back at it, have momentum, etc. But nothin's poppin' right now.
1 Comments | 0 Images
15 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Low power still got the heart racing. I have no power... where hath it gone?
0 Comments | 0 Images
17 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Pool water seemed chilly which was a nice change. Weights. Silver Comet around sun-up. Starting this workout around 5am I was very tired throughout... unable to ignite any sort of passion for the mechanics required.
0 Comments | 0 Images
17 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Morning swim. Not great. Arms and back fairly sore. But I made up for it in the afternoon with a good bike and short run session. This is the first workout in about a month that I've felt good about. My actual numbers are dismal (175w avg @ 150bpm avg) but I actually completed it and then added a short run on the treadmill. I came away from it feeling some sort of fitness buzz. That's nice. The key was mental. I got a lot done for work today and had the time blocked off and dedicated to the workout so I was able to get my head into it.
0 Comments | 0 Images
18 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Continuous swim... actually felt good. Then weights and a 35 min run... outside. Which was hot.
0 Comments | 0 Images
20 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Decent but short workout.
0 Comments | 0 Images
22 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Another muggy morning run. Sweatin' with the oldies. Legs mad sore because of the squats two days ago. But nice to be sore... feels like I'm actually, you know, training.
0 Comments | 0 Images
23 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Same workout I did on Tuesday. Still hurts.
0 Comments | 0 Images
24 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Slow run on the comet. Humid at 7:30am?
0 Comments | 0 Images
24 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Holy tamole! A decent workout. Call the press. Heart rate started out in aerobic zone, climbed to steady and then crossed into no-man's-land. Oh well. It's all about getting back onto that horse. I watched half of Good Luck Chuck (don't tell me how it ends... lol) which I think the Lowmans recommended... I could be wrong. Entertaining little love diddy.
0 Comments | 0 Images
29 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Enchanted Rock State Recreational Area is the Texas version of Stone Mountain. Nice park and trails to run on. I did their 4 mi loop twice and ended up at 10 mi.
Big bonus: snake! I didn't want to leave without seeing one. It wasn't a rattler but I was happy nonetheless.
1 Comments | 1 Images
30 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
After all the research yesterday I settled on the Scenic Loop for some miles today. I set out from the Starbucks near Boerne. And got clobbered by 25 mph winds (35 mph gusts), crappy/tight roads and traffic. The combination of everything made it unsafe. No traffic and wind, I'd be ok. No wind, I'd be ok. But combine it all together and it was unsafe. And, more importantly, unfun. Once I got away from the interstate access roads the traffic died down a bit and the scenery got decent but it wasn't anything super-special, the roads were intermittently choppy and the wind was still howling. Apparently everybody's talking about this wind.
WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CDT THIS EVENING...
STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS OF 25 TO 30 MPH WILL PERSIST THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WINDS WILL FREQUENTLY GUST TO 35 TO 45 MPH. BY LATE EVENING WINDS WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE TO 15 TO 20 MPH.
Heat wave. Wind. Unforeseen road crappiness. Mechanicals.
MegaWeek is now MiniWeek.
I've actually been getting a good bit of work done. Some coding. Lots of email. Some powerpoint. And I've been visiting with mom and the fam. I'll hit Life Time Fitness for some swim, weights and run. It's not a lost week. Just not the MegaWeek I was looking for. Oh well.
Really makes me appreciate The Comet, Stone Mountain, Silk Sheets, Serrano Route and The Gaps. We have a ton of great riding around Atlanta. Yes, the traffic sucks but trust me, it's a lot worse out here. People ride on highway access roads with cross streets every 3/4 mile while saying "there really aren't that many interruptions." Uh huh.
It could be that the weather is conspiring to make me not like the San Antonio cycling scene. And it could be that I'm not really going native. But so far I haven't been able to catch a break when it comes to San Antonio and the bike.
Actually, one break. The bottom bracket isn't making noise any more thanks to the guys at Bike World.
Mark's out on the motorcycle looking for me right now. I'm at the house on the computer. I called him a few minutes into my ride to tell him I was bailing. He had planned on catching up to me. Sorry Mark. Blame the wind.
2 Comments | 0 Images
30 Days Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
My first time at a Life Time Fitness. Wow. Felt like I was in that movie Gattaca. An engineered world. Almost as many security people, trainers and helpers as people working out. Everything in granite and wood. Four pools, indoor and out. When Kate blogged it I wondered what was up. Now I know.
I turned out a nice little swim in the saline lap pool. Then I did a long weight/core workout.
Before I went to the gym I hit a couple local tri and bike shops, settling on Bike World. Their people were more helpful and a lot more "in the know" than the other shops. They rebuilt my bottom bracket... it was gunky. And they tightened my cogset. Nice guys. Vince is doing IMLV so I'll touch base with him before the race.
Aside from bike fixin' my other goal was to identify good routes to ride. Got some good ideas. Generally, if you leave the city you get crappy roads. If you stay you get traffic. Frustrating because it's beautiful out here and once you leave the city the roads are empty. Wide open and waiting to be ridden. Motorcycle heaven. Cyclist hell. Like a strip club... you can look but you can't touch.
So a good transition day to get back into MegaWeek. I'm planning a ride and run tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. Headache still lingering but generally gone. Final blame goes to glycerol. I won't be using it again.
4 Comments | 0 Images
1 Month Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
08:47:06 AM: Somewhat surprised I'm up and talking about workouts today. I'm at Pedernales Falls State Park. I'm early. They open at 8am (I know the datestamp says this was posted after 8am... the server's in Atlanta). Nice morning. Pretty sky.
05:29:00 PM: Nice hot run through Pedernales. Afterwards I visited the LBJ State Park. I've been reading about LBJ for years... Robert Caro's work. It's a beautiful part of the country.
Only ran 7.5 miles today. Legs got stiff, terrain rocky and hilly. Heat came out and I decided to not burn myself too early in the week. It was a hard 7.5 miles.
0 Comments | 5 Images
1 Month Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
06:09:59 AM: Heading out to do the Doctor Doolittle Death Loop today. Many thanks to course co-originator Bob Neurath for the recommendation![Description by Bob Neurath, course co-originator.]The D3L started back in 1987 when my friend Chris Giordanelli (www.Giordanelli.com) and I set out on an easy 40 mile ride through the hill country. As a map we had a placemat from a restaurant we ate at in Bandera. The 40 miles soon turned into 100 with no stores along the way. We ran out of water and Chris just laid down on the side of road. We found water on the back of a Texas DOT truck. The workers were down the road a piece so we helped ourselves to gallons of water. Hence the "DEATH" part of the ride. The Dr. Doolittle part comes from all the exotic animal ranches we passed along the way. Stories of our ride circulated through the bike community and everyone want to ride the Death Loop. We had t-shirts made up for all that completed and even talked someone to sag for us on several rides. It's gonna be hot. My main challenge is that there's no water after the 25 mile mark. About 70 miles of 98 degree weather in the middle of texas. Literally the middle of nowhere. Normally I'd bring 3 or 4 water bottles and an Ensure. Today I have 3 and a 70oz Camelbak to cover that last 70 miles. It should be enough. Goal is to be very slow today because I've got a week or workouts lined up. No need to burn mysself out Day 1. Not sure if I'll have cell reception out there but I'll try to give updates.
07:23:57 PM: D3L is done.
I don't have a sense of humor about this ride. The drive back to my mom's house was two hours. I got french fries. I thought I'd be laughing by now.
They've changed the road surface since Bob setup the course. It's now that tar and gravel pack. I have pictures to prove it. I rode 95 miles on a gravel road.
The shaking broke my aerobar shifter and loosened my bottom bracket. You know when you hit bumpy road too quickly and it jars you. Now imagine 95 miles of it.
The road sucked from the start. But it had to get better once I made it to the first turn. It didn't. Then it had to get better later on. It didn't. In fact, it consistently deteriorated until I found myself 50 miles out unable to go over 12 miles an hour because of the vibrations.
Worst ride of my life.
It was mid-nineties. But I was cool with it. Good bit of climbing and rollers. I was cool with them too.
It was just that damn road.
My hands have hot spots. Wrists hurt. Elbow hurts. Blisters on my feet... from riding a bike! That's not distance. Road.
More later. Maybe.
08:45:43 PM: Sorry all, not up for a big summary today. Here are the highlights:
Up at 4:30am. Two hour drive to ride start at Leakey, TX.
Beautiful part of the country. Still a lot more green than I expected.
No heart rate monitoring.
Mile 0, road sucked.
Big climb early.
Mile 17 road turned to total crap.
Gas station stop for Gatorade.
Made first turn onto new road. It sucked but I had another turn in five miles.
Made second turn and road got better but would still be crap in GA.
Knew I could still turn around. Decided to go on.
Road deteriorated bit by bit.
Rattling shook the shifter off of my aerobar. Bolt stuck inside. Couldn’t fix so taped it.
Worked for ten miles but shifting was difficult. Made riding rolling hills very tedious and difficult.
Stopped and attempted another fix. It worked.
Saw pack of kangaroos. Bizarre. And some of those gazelle-like-but-smaller-with-a-stripe things that always get eaten in nature shows. Elegant.
Lots of deer.
One dead six inch scorpion.
Packs of buzzards eating dead deer carcasses.
Cross county line around mile 45 and road turns even worse. Almost unrideable. But I’m beyond the point of no return.
Finally make it to the top of the loop. Road no better.
Can’t ride aerobars because my balls vibrate together too much and hurt.
Wind now a sidewind.
Making slow progress. Averaging 15 mph but working like 20. Road is slowing me down. Can’t descend things fast.
Heat picking up. Lots of sunscreen… four coats today.
Tar in road bubbling up, getting all over me.
Rationed water out… had enough.
Stopped peeing for a while but recovered.
Last three hours miserable. Lots of yelling. Nobody around.
Turn in for final leg. Straight headwind, steady 15 gusting to 25. Road sucks. Heat up. Steady rollers with steep climbs now and then.
Then the cattle stops begin. Have to dismount bike to get around them. About fifteen of them in final 30 miles. Not cool. Repeat, not cool.
Little shade to hide from the sun.
Beautiful vistas.
Made it back to car. Packed up and headed home.
Oh, no cell phone coverage for an hour driving away from ride start to city… that’s how remote it was. Middle of nowhere.
Without pavement being gravel this would be a great ride.
5 Comments | 21 Images
2 Months Ago | Posted to: Triathlon
Up at the butt crack of dawn for a morning run. Well, I'm not sure 5:30 fulfills Nat's definition of butt crack. But it was early and it was raining. I'm still running sans heart rate monitor or gps these days. Just trying to remember how to slow down and go long. I keep getting my heart rate way too high. As soon as Jack Johnson's soothing tunes get me thinking about something other than running I find myself hammering. Today I decided to walk whenever I consciously realized I was going too hard. Three times I reluctantly stopped and walked to slow myself down. I said it a long time ago... going slow is a skill. Combined with the pacing issues I'm also dealing with distraction issues... work is just too exciting, necessary and survival-allowing for me to not think about it.
1 Comments | 0 Images
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Most Read Last 7 Days
| 1 | 12 Mile Morning Run in Atlanta, 6 Mile Evening Run in Connecticut | | 2 | Evening 8 Mile Treadmill | | 3 | 23 Mile Run on Comet | | 4 | 30 Min Swim, 4 Mi Run, 30 Min Bike, 7 Mi Run | | 5 | 40 Min Run | | 6 | 45 Min Swim, 4mi Run, 20mi Bike, 4mi Run | | 7 | 30 Min Swim, 30 Min Bike, 30 Min Run | | 8 | 2007 Peachtree Road Race | | 9 | 30 Min Swim | | 10 | 45 Min Swim, 1hr15min Run | | 11 | 45 Min Swim, 1hr15min CompuTrainer | | 12 | 50 Min Morning Swim and 30 Min Comet Ride | | 13 | 45 Min Swim, 8 Mi Run | | 14 | 50 Min Swim, 30 Min Spin, 40 Min Run | | 15 | 45 Min Swim, 1hr15min CompuTrainer |
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