long run, goggle maint, lyme disease mgmt

Well, my next race is 2 weeks, 2 days away. I probably shouldn't be doing long runs this close to the race, but I could not find a time until now. I got up early and ran 17 miles. It went well. Those hamstring strength training exercises are starting to pay off. It was a beautiful morning before a hot day. It rained pretty hard last night, leaving a cool steamy morning.

I tweaked my neck swimming last night and that made the run a bit less comfortable - sleeping last night wasn't that great either. I've got to remember to stretch my neck before swimming or pay the penalty.

I also had trouble with my backup goggles, so it was off to the sporting goods store tonight for 2 new pair. I've got to remember to keep them out of the hot sun and to rinse them after pool swimming, otherwise life span of the goggles is really short.

The lymes disease doesn't seem to be having a big affect, knock wood. Taking the antibiotics, so that should help.

car troubles

my wife's car broke down yestday, resulting in a late bedtime, resulting in no workout this morning as planned. I was hoping to do a mid-week long run, but it will be way too hot the rest of the day. So I'll swim on my way home and do an hour of eliptical trainer after dinner, then maybe some weights. Weight training really seems to be helping my hamstring.

bike, run, bike

Did my first long weekday workout (3 hours) with a bike into work, a 50 min run at lunch and a ride home. It was pretty tough, but I managed to do some of the strength training (that Jan suggested) when I got home.

Yesterday I ran 7 miles at lunch then swam 2000 meters after work, making today a bit of a challenge.

what did I learn from this last race?

Swim:
- Always start with new goggles
- Warm up for the swim if there is a chance
- Avoid the crowds in the swim ( I could have stayed to the left and completely avoided the crowded water)
- Kick more in the swim - wearing a wet suit makes me not want to kick since my legs aren't sinking, but that undoubtedly slows me down
- If you can focus on a long distance target on the swim, do that, instead of swimming from one bouy to the next
- When I do inevitably bump into someone, get back into a streamlined form asap and stay there

Transition:
- Run faster as soon as exiting the water (avoiding people was difficult)
- Get the wetsuit off the ankles faster (not sure if there is a trick to this, but it took me at least 15-30 seconds longer than it should have)
- Figure out how to get around people better when running bike to exit

Bike:
- 2 CO2, 2 tubes - no exceptions
- Practice using CO2 - get a case if spares if necessary
- 1 Bottle didn't really give me fresh water and I got thirsty - may have been ok for this distance, but concentration was too high (16 Oz with 3 scoops of Heed and some Hammergel)
- Watch for potholes - focus on the present, especially when going very fast

Turn in Timing Chip and Check out with a Race volunteer

my first DNF!!!

Yesterday was the Philly Triathlon (Olympic distance 1.5km Swim, 40km Bike, 10km run). Given my current fitness level, the distance wasn't going to be a problem (ok the swim is always a problem). I've been doing some speedwork on the bike and run, and after looking at the results from the 2 last years I figured I had a good chance to place in my age group.

I don't normally race this distance, so preparation was a bit off. My basic principle was to keep the weight down on the bike, since it was going to be hilly (8 climbs in 25 miles). That meant 1 bottle with a electrolyte / carbohydrate drink, 1 spare tube, 1 co2 cartridge and thats about it.

At the pre-race meeting they said the water temp was fairly warm and that wetsuits might not be allowed, but the morning of the race we found out that wetsuits were legal.

I parked at the top of the hill and road my bike to the transition area. I was surprised on how many people walked their bike down (about a mile). After a brief bike warmup (1.5 miles maybe), I went to the transition area and set up my gear, then got on the bus to the start on the other side of the river. I was in a later wave and had to wait 1.5 hours before I got to start - the only advantage to this was that I didn't have to wait long for the port-o-john. 5 minutes before the start, I had 2 hammer gels and finished my water.

The swim was an in-water start, so we got to tread water for 5 minutes before we actually started. I did a little warm up, and realized my goggles were leaking. I did what I could to get a good suction on my face, but they kept slipping (I should have bought new goggles). So the swim starts, and I swim about 50-100 meters, clear my goggles, swim another 50-100, clear my goggles, etc. Basically, my goggles would fill completely with water and I couldn't see a thing. I might have been better off with nothing. The good news was that I caught up with the wave in front of us, and a few people in the wave in front of them. The bad news was I couldn't see and kept stopping forward progress as I bumped into other swimmers.

I finally finished the swim in just over 28 minutes, which is what I though I would do, but was hoping for better.

This is where the race gets much better... I get through transition fairly quickly, slowed by a few end of pack racers from earlier waves. Sena and Erika came to cheer me on, and that gave me a big pick-me-up. Once on the bike and feet in shoes, I looked at the speedometer and realized I was going 27mph and felt great. I charged the first hill and was passing 10 people every 30 seconds. I got through the hill and flew through the downhill, navigating around hundreds of other bikes. On one of the flats I realized I had forgotten to turn on my Garmin - the record of what looked to be a brilliant ride.

I finished the first loop with Sena and Erika cheering me on. On the 5th hill, legs were a wee bit tired and I held back just a bit to let them recover. Then I charged the next 2 hills. As I was riding through a flat section away from the Art Museum at maybe km 35, I hit a pothole. A minute later I had a flat!!! Ok, I'm still in this, I kept telling myself as I started changing the tube. After quickly getting the new tub in, I put the CO2 cartridge disenser on my presta valve and released the CO2. Dammit! I didn't screw on the dispenser proplerly and my CO2 just released into the air. No spare! Race over!

I looked around for some help. Another racer experiencing a double flat offered the rest of his Co2, which ended up being empty. So we walked back together.

Oh well - need to figure out how to avoid flats.

Philly Tri Expo '07

I went to the expo today to get my race number, attend the mandatory race meeting etc. I ran into Jay, the Philly lawyer I helped last weekend fix his flat. He turned to a friend of his who will also be racing tomorrow and explained that I was the guy he told him about... not sure what that meant.

Later he said that they were thinking about a full Ironman next year and did I have any advise.... hmmm, yeah, maybe I have an opinion on this particular subject ; ) Basically I asked him if he had 10-20 hours a week to train for 6 months - if so, it is a great life experience. He and his friend looked at each other and laughed (I didn't get the feeling they had that kind of time). They asked my how long was my longest training run (22 miles) and my longest bike (120 miles). I asked Jan the massage therapist the same bike question (she was also a professional triathlete) and she told me 100 miles, but her husband, Ken Glah did more than that.

Anyway, the expo was pretty lame, but they did have a speaker doing a triathlon 101 thing. He was pretty good, but they didn't give him a microphone and there were 100 people crowded around him and he was extremely hard to hear unless you were in the first row.

Getting my race number was easy and well organized. Parking was at a premium because the Sprint Tri was running today at the same time, using the same parking as the people required to get their numbers.

The pre-race meeting had a couple of points of interest. The water may be warm enough to not allow wet suits... that would be a first for me, but good experience for Hawaii. Overall, I think it would help me, but it would be a more difficult race. We'll see tomorrow.

The other thing that occurred to me is how challenging the bike is going to be with all of the other waves in front of me and 8 sharp downhill turns. Some asked the head ref if passing on the right was allowed around a left turn when slower riders were hugging the inside lane, and he said yes. This particular rider got a penalty last year and he wasn't sure why, but he thought it was from passing on the right. hmmm.

Afterward the meeting I did one more quick tour of the Expo, and found the Philly Tri Club booth. Might be something I look into.

So when I got home, I learned my daughter's car battery was dead and my wife pulled a big chunk off the bathroom wall that was disintegrating from water. Too many things to do in a day!

Jan, the Pain Queen

Well, I finally found the time to get with Jan to work on my hamstring and hip (Jan is a deep muscle / active massage therapist). It's been a few years since I went to Jan. She is a miracle worker really, and she will give deep active massage on a tight muscle until you say "Uncle!". She is pretty good at getting you talking while she is working to take your mind off of things, but at a point I was like "I can't talk any more, this hurts too much".

So I'm feeling bruised and sore right now, but I know it's best in the long run.

She also told me the things I need to work on so that I don't have these problems. Basically I was stretching too much and not doing enough strength training. I blame the basement flood for not building enough strength this winter before the long bike rides and runs kicked in. I don't need to do strenuous training, just enough to activate the less muscles so I don't have such an imbalance. She gave me some good ball exercises to do to supplement my weight training.

Didn't get a chance to swim today as planned, but did do 4x1mile on the treadmill last night at 6 min pace, 5:50 pace; 5:45 pace; 5:40 pace; 5:40 pace. It was a good muscular endurance session. A bit close the the race, but I'm not doing too much more this week, so plenty of time to recover.

I really need to clean up my bike and put my race wheels on for the weekend and get a practice ride in to make sure everything is setup right. Busy, Busy!

Poison Ivy, Lymes Disease, and a Death in the Family

It's been a rough few days. Sena's uncle died and we'll be attending the funeral on Friday.

I've had a rash for a week, then a 2 inch round red patch on my leg this morning. Went to the doctor and apparently I have Poison Ivy and will be treated for Lymes disease.

Oh well, life goes on...

Fathers day

My kids are well into their teenage years and aren't really into early mornings with dad, so I went for a long run with Pete and Ann. I was planning on 12, but it stretched into 14.5 if I wanted to drink the water left on the course by Pete (thanks Pete!). I felt pretty good, but trying not to over do it. I was able to keep my heart rate around 140 most of the run, except going uphill.

When I got home, one daughter had gone to work, the other was on her way, so I had a nice breakfast with my wife Sena. After reading the paper, I was totally exhausted and crashed for about 30 minutes. Sena and I then ran some errands including going to the local Bike Shop (who was having a sale) and Home Depot, my two favorite places. We all went to a movie in the afternoon, then had some awesome spring rolls that Sena and Rachel made up - yum, yum... followed by fresh berries with whip cream, nice.

Anyway, it should be an easy workout week this week leading into the race. I'll want to swim early in the week and really just focus on stroke and form. Very little strength training the week before a race, just lots of sleep and trying to keep away from junk food or food that is hard to digest.

Planning + TnT

I rode up to Philly today to check out the course I'm going to do next week. As I got to the first of 4 climbs, I met a couple of local guys who offered to ride part of the course with me. They gave me some useful pointers. One of them got a flat and I helped them fix it (apparently fixing a flat was a new experience for them and they had no tools, patches, tubes to do it).

Anyway, I'm pretty excited about the course. I wasn't riding particularly well today, but it should be interesting to do eight climbs on a 40K course. The course has a center loop and 4 outer loops, each outer loop moves away from the river and takes you uphill, then back downhill to the center loop. You have to go around the whole thing twice. The first hill seems to be the hardest and I'm sure I won't be warmed up on the bike when I hit it the first time around. The second hill looks to be medium length and medium grade; the third is very steep, but short; and the forth hill is medium grade and a bit longer than the second hill. I'm mostly concerned about loosing time on the downhill turns since I don't want to loose time, but I don't want to crash.

A friend of mine did Eagleman last week. He is slowly building his triathlon capability and seems to have worked out the nutrition and endurance stuff, and now needs to work on run and bike speed. Here is a simple workout routine that I sent him that seems to work for me...

TnT - Recommendation for improving speed on bike and run: At least one speed session every 2 weeks and one tempo session every 2 weeks starting 8 weeks before a big race, but not the week of the race (doing these once a week is better, but hard on the body). For run speed, you should start with 12x1x1 (1min hard 1min easy 12 times) and working to 6x6x1 (6 min hard 1 min easy six times). For bike speed, do 12x3x1 working to 20x10x1. Alternate each week where one week you work on cadence (>95) and the next week you work on strength / speed (i.e. as big a gear as you can manage as fast you can go). For run tempo, start with 2 miles at 90% effort and work to 4-6 miles at the same effort. For tempo bike, go at 90% for 20 minutes 3 times and work to 6 times (for IM distance training). When you are not 8 weeks before a race, you should add some speed into a training session.

metamorphosis

This is my third year training for an Ironman. It is my 6th year of endurance racing (marathons, etc.).

One thing I noticed while riding home yesterday was how good I was starting to feel. Up until now, I was mostly feeling tired during each workout.

There are 1 or 2 points during the training cycle where you know you just turned a corner and your body actually feels different - almost like you're in someone elses body. I got that feeling riding home yesterday. It truly feels like a metamorphosis. Based on my past experience, I expect this to happen at least one more time before Hawaii if my training goes well. At that point, the full cycle will be complete and every muscle will feel tuned and ready to roll.

I celebrated this great feeling with an ice cream bar last night - didn't feel quite so good after that ; )

when going fast makes you faster

I did running speed-work after work-work - 8x800 @2:50, 2:51, 2:50, 2:50, 2:51, 2:48, 2:48, 2:42 - the last one just about killed me ; )

My speedwork is feeling a bit awkward - I just haven't been running enough - and with the track closed to the public, I'm not getting those shorter sessions in. Shorter speed - like 200s and 400s really make you faster, if you can stay injury free. I should probably find the time to do speedwork with the run club.

58:50 - smokin'

I pushed the ride into work pretty hard, had a detour that probably cost me a minute, but still finished in my best time this year. I still think I can break 58 this year. Particularly if I get a break on the traffic patterns (really hurts my time when I have to slow down so I don't get smashed by a car).

The ride was beautiful, sunlight pushing through the trees, runners siloetted by the brightness.

The Philly Tri in a couple of weeks has me a bit nervous because the course will be more technical than I'm used to on a tri-bike. That is why I pushed the course this morning.

when going slow makes you faster

I did the Highland Orchard Run yesterday (Sunday) - 16 hilly miles. I didn't push myself and was surprised how tired I got - I was toast by the end.

I've read that you should do your long runs at a slow pace and you will more benefit from them. I hadn't had the patience until this year to try this approach when I pulled my hamstring weeks before Broadstreet run. It turns out that my Broadstreet run was really good. I suppose there are several advantages to going slow - first you use different muscles, second you teach your body to burn fat instead of carbs, third you feel pretty good the following day.

After my run I spent ALOT of time stretching my lower back and hamstring. Then I did several hours of yard work. Legs felt pretty good today.

Today I ran 6.5miles at Valley Forge. I started out easy, then there is this 1.5 mile flat stretch that I absolutely love - curvy, single track, flat, shady, along the river - lots of wild life. I do 20 seconds hard x 20 seconds easy. I was able to do 10 of each - felt great. This is a really fun workout. After the slow run on Sunday, I felt like I needed to do something fast, but I didn't want to over do it.

I swam a mile after work today. My stroke count went way up (18-20 strokes for 25m), but I'm trying to increase my stroke rate, so I'm thinking thats ok. Then this guy gets in the lane next to me and just flys through 100meters with a stroke count at 13 per 25m .... I've got a lot to learn.

Tips and Tricks (TnT)

I'm going to start posting Training Tips and Tricks that work for me on this blog. I'll post them as I think of them. I'm doing this to help those friends that read this, but also to aid my failing memory. Postings with "TnT" in the title will have at least one training tip at the end of the blog.
Swam with Masters this morning. Finally starting to get into the swing of things and was able to hang on for the full 1000meter time trial they do every Saturday. (Might have had something to do with the fact that I had an energy drink this time). I think we finished in under 17 minutes. We do the 1000m after 100-200 warmup, then we do the rest of the workout!

I followed this workout with a long, easy bike ride. I ended up doing 70 today in under 4 hours. It was windy and I took it pretty easy. My Garmin actually ran out of memory during the ride and started flashing an alert at me until I deleted some laps from previous rides. Here is a map of the ride.

When I got home, I did a mile on the treadmill, then a shower, a recovery drink and a nap.

Tip 1: Tighten your shoes on the bike to get more power. I often forget this, but did it about mid-ride today and noticed a big difference.

Tip 2: Post Workout Recovery Drink: 2 bananas, 1/8 of a bag of frozen berries (from Trader Joes), 2 cups of OJ, 1 Scoop of Recoverite (from hammer nutrition), 1 cup of cold water, any remaining protein drink from the ride.

6 Flags Great Adventure / 650vs700 / 8x800 / 50m pool

Thursday was Erika's birthday and we went to 6 Flags Great adventure. It's been a while since I was at an amusement park. It was fun and nice to spend time with Sena, Erika and her boyfriend (Rachel had school). I took the day off of exercise - good thing because I ended up doing all the driving and there was plenty of walking around, roller coasters, and standing in line in the sun.

Dave, Erika's boyfriend asked me what I think about during all those hours of training. Hmm, good question. A lot of the time I let my mind wander, sometimes I just try to focus on form, usually I think about what is going on in my life and the life of Sena and my daughters. I often come up with endorphin induced eureka ideas that I typically forget or they turn out to be pretty lame ideas after the endorphins wear off.

Dave is studing physics down at UNC Chapel Hill, so I posed the 650c wheels versus 700c wheels question to him. His initial view is that 700c would be the overall more efficient wheel, but he would really need to think about all the factors - we'll see what he comes back with.

Today (Friday) I drove to Valley Forge / Betzwood trail and did speed work 8x800. Turned out pretty good - still not as fast as I should be - I felt pretty solid, but later in the day after sitting at my desk all day, my hamstring was really tight and sore.

On my way home, I stopped by the Upper Mainline Y and did a mile in the 50 meter pool. It was tough getting used to 50 meters, but by the end of the workout I felt pretty strong.

wildlife

swam yesterday morning (no wildlife there)
ran yesterday, saw a groundhog with 2 babies heading for their hole
biked in this morning, saw a duck with her ducklings
plenty of geese and deer everyday

off to six flags tomorrow - will try to get an early morning run in - we'll see

wife at the shore, not much motivation...

indoor trainer today; big gear - 20x2mins with 1 min rest; about 1hour 15min total with warmup and cool down

not much motivation today

restful weekend

I'm coming to the end of a very restful weekend. No big home improvement, no travel, just a normal workout schedule followed by long naps and reading.

I fired up my training log... I have a strong suspicion that I was over training and had no way to track it. So last week I knocked out 15.5 hours (run=35miles, swim=2.5miles, bike=153miles), and this week 14.8 hours (run=40miles; swim=3.5miles; bike=138miles).

This is clearly more than I need for the Olympic distance race in 2 weeks, but I'm planning ahead for the half IM in July and trying to build a base for Hawaii.

I am finding it difficult to build a base whilst training for a shorter race where speed is of the essence. Any suggestions, please post.

Today was my long run. I did 14 miles with mile 12-13 at about 6:30 pace. Hamstring felt pretty good until I got home and it started to tighten up. I'm getting the feeling it is just something I'll have to manage this year.

Yesterday I did about 55 miles on the bike after a very tough swim workout with the Masters group - I'm just out of swimming shape. We did 3000meters and my workouts are usually only 1600. So the bike ride after felt very shaky - but that is what I need right now - get my body used to the Swim/Bike transition. In the end I averaged 18mph on the course, which is actually pretty good for this course, so I'm being a bit hard on myself. Here is the elevation/heart rate/pace profile. Looks like I took it easy for the first 13 miles.

beat the heat

drove to Valley Forge before work and ran 7.5 miles taking it easy - this was good for two reasons - I avoided morning rush hour and I got my run in before it got too hot. I had a lunch appointment too, so it would have made it very difficult to get a run in.

I'll do some hot day runs later in the summer, but it is too early to stress my body even more.

I went to the pool after work, but just couldn't get into it, so after about 600meters I went home to be with Sena and begin to enjoy the weekend.