Training or Working Out?

Working Out involves doing some form of exercise that may, just may, keep your fitness levels steady.  Something that counters the desserts or beer you shouldn't be consuming.
 
Training however is a focused attempt to improve your overall fitness and take it to the next level.  Training involves a goal either immediate or long term that will allow you to perform at your best when needed.

Unfortunately I have been catching myself working out instead of training. 

My running is definitely in the shitter.  I'm just trying to get myself back up to a good per week mileage.  Essentially I am in base mode which sucks because there is no speed in the legs.  This past Saturday the legs felt heavy and sluggish but I still got in 90 minutes.

Swimming has also been lackluster.  I'm focusing on drills and technique instead of speed and fitness.  My shoulders are very tight from Crossfit lately.

Crossfit is also throwing a big old monkey wrench into the "training" lately.  I have gotten caught up in the CrossFit Games Open Workouts.  Five weeks of worldwide competition WODs to see who will go to the Games in California in July.  The Coca Crossfit "team" has 39 members signed up and I also wanted to see how I would compare against other "masters" in the 45-49 age group. 

I've quickly learned I would have quite a bit of strength work ahead of me to be "competitive".  So the stress of rowing 45k meters, swimming 7k yards and the Crossfit Open WODs has fried my shoulders. 

Now my cycling has been doing pretty well.  The weekly Tuesday night spin at our team sponsor Ride & Workout has been going well.  I also have Aimee's 90 minute spin sessions on Sunday to keep me on the bike.  It's the one area I actually feel good about. 

This may be the year of the bike.

To help with my training I have finally filled out my calendar.  Hopefully it will keep me focused and on a consistent routine with some f'in focus.   

I really need to get my Game On.

Recovery is 90% Mental

....the other 10% is in your head.

Recovering from an injury is hard for any athlete. Not being able to do what you love. Not being able to spend time with friends. Wondering when you will be at full strength again in order to start training hard for races undetermined because of the recovery cycle.

Rest and rehab. That's about all I can do. With the incisions I can't get into the pool. I can't run. I'm slowly getting back onto the bike with my max effort being 40 minutes so far.

Tri season is starting without me this weekend at Deer Creek Triathlon.

I can't run in a local 5k benefiting Girls With Sole.

I missed the 14 Hills Death Ride last weekend with my Snakebite teammates.

I am fortunate though that Aimee has been very supportive and makes sure I am cautious about what I do. Unfortunately I snapped at her today not meaning to...bad hubby.

I think it's part of the "seclusion" from doing what I want. Today was a perfect day to ride the bike or run in the park, but alas I didn't....couldn't.

I have been getting my workout fix in with Crossfit. Being able to go up to Coca Crossfit has helped me keep my balance. If I feel I can't do the workout of the day (WOD) I hang out and socialize or provide support to the people pushing through the workout.

If I do workout, it's upper body stuff like shoulder presses, push-ups, chin-ups or other miscellaneous exercises. But the most beneficial aspect of going to the "box" is the community. Unlike running or cycling we all stay at one spot for the workout so we encourage each other, learn from each other and build friendships....not that we don't do the same thing with running/cycling.

I miss my tri buddies a lot and can't wait to get back into the pool/lake or on the bike with them. But the crossfitters at Coca have provided some great mental support lately. They ask about my knee and keep my fire stoked as I watch them complete their WOD and reach new levels of fitness. It's a community very similar to triathlon. We are all at different levels but we all enjoy it very much.

So as the weather gets better...I get better..and soon I will be able to enjoy the nice weather outside on my bike...swimming in the lake....running on the trails.

Game On.

CTC Swim Challenge

1/30/2011

It was time to the second annual Cleveland Tri Club Swim Challenge and Clinic. We had the Cleveland State University pool for 3.5 hours to swim whatever distance you wanted to. The major options were
100 x100's
75 x 100's
50 x 100's
25 x 100's

There were also two swim clinics available. Last year I committed to the 50 x 100 (5000 yards) and felt good enough to finish with 8000.

This year I was joining quite a few others in a group being called the Big Dogs because we were going for the complete 10,000 yards (100 x 100s).

My strategy was to swim in groups of 500 and take a small break....no more than one minute between 500's. I was very happy with my swimming as I kept a pace between 7:35 and 7:45. I finished in under 3 hours which was a little goal I had set for myself.

Muscle Milk has been attending the CTC events this year and they donated a case of their product for each person who completed the 10k yards. I split a case of chocolate and vanilla with a friend. It was a much appreciated gift.


Game On.

Broken

I guess it's bound to happen. When you want to be competitive and have set certain goals for yourself it's....just....bound to....happen.

Hopefully it's nothing serious. Maybe the muscles are just sore, tired or strained. The goal is to avoid a full blown injury like a tear, serious inflammation, stress fracture, sickness, blood. Oh please don't let there be blood.

Sometimes we just feel broken. I watched several friends become broken this past year. Jason is currently dealing with foot issues. Patty is recovering from hers. And I can't keep track of who is sick.

I feel broken today....because of yesterday.

Tuesday is typically a double workout day. Crossfit in the morning and run speed work in the evening.

Kate put us through a skill set and regular WOD.

The skill involved 5x3 Hang Power Clean to max. Description and video.

I was on my last set of three at max. I managed to pull two but not the third. I had terrible form on the second and quite possibly strained my right trapezius and index finger. Index finger? Don't ask me how but it hurts today.

The WOD consisted of:
21-15-9
Back Squat
Kettlebell Swing (55 lbs)

I took it easy on the squats and went with a lower weight than prior. Partly due to the number of repetitions and second the run workout I would have in the evening. Today my inner quads are sore.

I felt great after I was all done at Crossfit. I wouldn't feel the effects until later in the evening and morning.

My evening run workout was done on the treadmill due to some rainy crappy weather.

I preferred the treadmill since I had some goal times/pace to hit. I needed to complete 4 x 400m. I haven't told you about my current training goals so lets just say the pace was fast. Each interval needed to be complete around 1:20. I'll let you do the math to figure out overall pace and speed.

I knew it was going to be hard but I had to suck it up. This is the training plan I signed up for and Aimee had done the same workout in the morning.

Intervals 1 and 2 were good. I could feel a twinge in my right glute/quad so I kept things under control during the hard push. Interval 3 was a struggle but I kept it together. Interval 4.....definitely the hardest effort. I had to really focus on what I was doing to make sure several things didn't happen.....loose my legs and fall....get spit off the back of the treadmill......puke. Actually I didn't feel like puking until I completed the last interval and was sucking in as much air as possible next to the treadmill.

I'm not sure how much the evening workout contributed to my soreness this morning but I feel a little like the picture below.......broken.

Fortunately I will mend faster than the window. It's been like that for over a year.....two winters for sure. I'll fix it in the spring...right after race season.


Game On

Rev3 Training Day/Course Preview

Yesterday the Cleveland Tri Club hosted a course preview day for the Rev3 bike course. The day wasn't just the bike ride though. We swam in Lake Erie and received some open water tips from area swim coach Leah Nyikes of Liquid Lifestyles.

We regrouped for the bike ride and divided the 100+ people into four groups, A (fast), two B's (moderate) and C (easy). I took the lead for one of the B groups. We had a good time, I pointed out important parts of the course and I got a good workout riding back and forth checking on the group.

Overall we rode 56 miles. Unfortunately I couldn't stick around for the 3 mile run or informational sessions that were scheduled for the rest of the day.

I did take some pics during the group ride. I had a great group and I think we had fun.

We headed out through the town of Huron. We stayed together and took it easy until we moved through town and got onto the open roads.

Yes you could say the course is fairly flat.


But here is one of the bigger climbs. Nothing much but still elevation gain.


More flat

Eric Opdyke, the Rev3 race director, rode the course also. He will be back for a Rev3 course preview day in August.


Game On

How NOT to ride 80 miles.....

.... and still run well the next day.

That about sums up my weekend of training. First the details then you can see the results at the end of the post.

On Saturday I had a brilliant idea.
Aimee was going to meet her sister after massage and leave her car at the office. I would meet them later for dinner and pick up Aimee. Instead of worrying about getting the car after dinner I would plan my ride so that I finished at her office and pick up the car, the Pilot of course.

This sounded good and I would get outside for a ride. The weather called for an overnight low of 44. Awesome because then I could get a mid morning start and ride for around 4 hours.

Well the morning temps were more around 30 and I didn't want to bundle up that much since it was bound to get warmer as the day progressed. I hung out and got my stuff put together and waited until 10AM to head out. It was still a little brisk but I had a warm jacket, leg warmers, hand warmers tucked inside my toe covers, gloves and mittens and a beanie.

Sure I would be a little cold to start but I would warm up eventually. I also packed three bottles of fluid, two containing Perpetuem, a Clif Z-Bar, banana and a fruit smoothie PowerBar. I also packed money in case I needed it for more food or drink.

I headed south first which was nice because the winds were coming from the north across the lake. I was enjoying my ride. At one point during a hard effort I saw, caught up to and passed a golf cart on the road. Mind you I was in farm country so anything goes. It was fun zipping by the two kids and saying hi.

Eventually I had to head east and that meant going into the wind. I just geared down into the small chainring and spun it out. Things were going well. I was heading in the direction I wanted to go. I had made it to Medina with no problems. I felt that everything was going according the plan as I made my way towards the Metropark Reservation in Hinkley.

As I exited Medina my route headed northeast. I still had a bit of wind to contend with. It was only 9 miles to Hinkley but I could feel my energy starting to fade. My energy and the wind would come and go. I would feel strong but would soon feel zapped.

I didn't worry about the pace since I was still moving forward. The wind was still blowing and the damn temperature didn't seem to be getting any warmer. I was still comfortable but I could have used a better base layer up top.

Once I reached Hinkley I was 2 hours 13 minutes into my ride. I wasn't quite sure how long it would take me to get back. Only one way to tell. Full speed ahead. Well maybe 3/4 speed or half speed at times.

The rest of my ride would be almost directly north. Some of it would be west but it didn't help much. I was getting tired.

Eat, drink, spin.......eat, drink, spin.....eat, drink, spin.

I started to break up the remaining part of my ride into small segments. Make it to the next intersection. What is next? Oh yeah, make it to Wallace Lake. Oh good Cedar Point Road. Next marker Mastick golf course. Keep going.

A couple of times I found myself drifting away from the edge of the road. Partly due to the bad road conditions, partly because of my lack of focus. I just had to make it to the end of the park and climb one last hill.

Within one mile from said hill the inner thigh of my left leg started to cramp up BAD. I had to keep spinning from fear of simply falling over. I forced myself to breath through the cramp. I just hoped it wouldn't return while climbing the hill.

I made it to Aimee's office and the safety of the car. It took me another 2:15 to finish my ride. I had logged a total of 4.5 hours and 79 miles. As I emptied out my pockets I realized where I had failed.

On the seat in front of me was the banana, Z-Bar and half the PowerBar. Two bottles were completely empty and there was a little bit left in one Perpetuem bottle. I had completely ignored my nutritional needs. That was probably the worst bonk I have had to date. BIM Active says I burned up 3785 calories. I maybe consumed 800 calories on my ride. What a dumb mistake.

I still managed to get in a 15 minute run but it was a slow one. I made my way home and sat in a cold water bath for 20 minutes to help the legs recover. I was due for a long run the next day, Sunday. Time to HTFU.

I met Aimee, Becky and Kyle for dinner and we made it to bed before 9:30. Sunday morning arrived and we slept in. We didn't roll out until 8AM. We planned our day; running then grocery shopping. Meal plan was made for the week then we headed out for our run in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

I wanted some hills, as you can see below, and I found them. After a flat 3 mile warm-up I started with the hills. I was happy with how things were going. I was powering up the hills and recovering quickly once I reached the top of each one. When I reached the highest point of my run I reversed it and screamed down the Buckeye trial inside the Brecksville Metropark.

Once I made it back to the road I had the final rollers to attack and I was still moving well. Back onto a trail in the park I continued to push the pace all the way back to the parking lot. Of course most of the remaining mileage was downhill or flat resulting in the quick pace on the splits chart.

By the time I made it back to the car I was toast. Legs done. Stick a fork in them.

I walked to the Towpath trail and soon saw Aimee returning from her run. We both had good runs. I was happy my left thigh didn't cramp on me during the run. It only hurt when I tried to take off my shoes or put my sweat pants on.

After we got home from grocery shopping I took another cold water bath for 20 minutes. The legs really needed some relief. Other parts weren't happy with the cold water but it's a "small" price to pay.

Check out the information from BIM Active as I recorded the bike ride and run on my phone. There might have been a little bit of elevation on each day.

Remember, if you take food with you on a bike ride....EAT IT!!!!!

Game On

Saturday's Bonk-a-pottomus Bike Ride

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 875 ft Location: North Ridgeville, OH, Elev. Gain: -16 ft Date: 03/20/10 Up/Downhill: [+3530/-3546] Time: 02:30 PM Difficulty: 5.0 / 5.0 Weather: Mostly Cloudy 36 F temp; 79% humidity 36 F heat index; winds NE 13 mph Performance Distance: 79.14 miles Time: 4:34:30 Speed: 17.2 mph Pace: 3' 29 /mi Calories: 3785 Map Elevation (ft)

Posted from bimactive.com

Sunday's Most Awesome Hilly Trail/Road Run

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 757 ft Location: Brecksville, OH, Elev. Gain: -6 ft Date: 03/21/10 Up/Downhill: [+1135/-1141] Time: 12:25 PM Difficulty: 3.8 / 5.0 Weather: Partly Cloudy 50 F temp; 58% humidity 50 F heat index; winds NNE 6 mph Performance Distance: 10.75 miles Time: 1:45:34 Speed: 6.1 mph Pace: 9' 49 /mi Calories: 1241 Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 44 -1' 05 6.9 +0.7 -6 ft 2 8' 23 -1' 26 7.2 +1.0 -10 ft 3 9' 47 -0' 02 6.1 +0.0 +30 ft 4 14' 29 +4' 40 4.1 -2.0 +32 ft 5 12' 30 +2' 41 4.8 -1.3 +151 ft 6 9' 31 -0' 18 6.3 +0.2 -6 ft 7 11' 06 +1' 17 5.4 -0.7 +82 ft 8 10' 12 +0' 23 5.9 -0.2 -39 ft 9 8' 44 -1' 05 6.9 +0.8 -108 ft 10 6' 55 -2' 54 8.7 +2.5 -105 ft end 7' 31 -2' 18 8.0 +1.9 -26 ft Versus average of 9' 49 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Do or Do Not.....There is No Try

Wednesday mornings swim workout has been one of my favorites from Coach Angela. My interpretation of this workout has many aspects.

First, it's a great race simulation workout. Go hard, settle in, bridge up to the next group, settle in, break from a group.

Second, this workout helps test your fitness. Instead of a straight time trial, mix it up and go hard and steady. Can you recover by keeping a steady pace or go hard when you need to? What is the time differences between a hard effort and a steady effort?

Third, do you have what it takes to rise to the challenge and push? Push beyond the comfort zones. Push beyond the tired arms. Push beyond the lack of oxygen the lungs are screaming for.

This is one of the hardest workouts in my arsenal. Over the weekend I knew I wanted to do this workout at some point. I pushed it from Monday to Wednesday because I was still a little tired from working the weekend and this requires a rested body.

I was getting pumped up for the workout. I was up for the challenge and wanted to test myself.

I'm happy to say I nailed this sucker. I never hesitated starting the next set. In the past I would need to refocus and commit myself for the next 1000 yards.

But this time my focus was solid the entire time. Maybe it was because I got pumped up about the workout. I felt that my stroke and body position was on target. I felt fast but under control. I was just below the anaerobic threshold that would be put me in deep hurt.

The table below shows the breakdown for each 1000 yard interval. I've included my splits for reference.

Interval	First	Second	Third
200 hard	03:01.2	02:54.3	02:56.8
300 steady	04:52.2	04:40.9	04:42.3
100 hard	01:31.1	01:28.2	01:29.8
200 steady	03:07.8	03:09.8	03:12.3
100 hard	01:27.8	01:28.2	01:29.9
100 easy	01:44.5	01:40.4	01:48.8

Except for the easy efforts at the end of the interval I kept pace between 1:27 and 1:37. I can live with a 10 second swing. Actually I think it's awesome.

Next month I will do a fourth set. I may need an extra day to get psyched up for the workout.

All I know is that once again I will Do.

Game On.

Early season training status

February. Cold. Snowy. Dark.

Early season base training is definitely a hard pill to swallow. Almost everything is indoors during these winter months.

Ride your bike on a trainer.

Run on a treadmill.

Recover on an elliptical machine.

Swim in a pool.

I can tell the days are getting longer. The sun is staying up later in the day, provided you even see it at all through the clouds or snow.

The real difficult portion of training lately is that Aimee and I are both moving out of base training. We have major events in May, Aimee @ Ironman St. George and me @ Triple-T.

The hours on the trainer are getting longer.

Running outside in cold temperatures is getting longer.

Last week was a recovery week for Aimee. Out schedules are not in synchronicity right now. A forced off week for me has me adjusting my schedule. I'm using this time to test myself and see where my Red-Line is. I thought I wrote about this before but I can't find the post.

The red line is the point at which your training become detrimental instead of beneficial. Pushing ones self to the point of exhaustion where the recovery may be too long or an injury will surface.

It's an overload where the body is being trained to push past barriers and come back stronger. It is a fine line to walk but if done properly can reap huge benefits.

I know I'm close to the line. Last week was some great training.

Going back to Thursday I stayed home for a two hour trainer ride instead of going to the group spin. Time was not on my side but the efforts were exemplary.

Friday I managed to run outside again (damn I have a race report to write). The weather on Friday was great for northern Ohio. Blue skies and warmer temperatures...mid 30's. The best part was running for 1:16 pain free. My right hamstring was doing well and letting me run at a good pace. It was nice to let it open up.

Since I did a longer ride on Thursday I didn't fret about my ride on Saturday. Work had me busy for the morning and I didn't ride until noon. I had some great repeats during my hour ride in the basement.

Saturday was a big swimming day. The Cleveland Tri Club had a swim challenge at Cleveland State University. There was a clinic with a local swim coach or the challenge.

The challenge consisted of completing certain numbers of 100's.
25 x 100
50 x 100
75 x 100
100 x 100

I signed up for the 50 x 100 (5000 yards). I've done 5000 a couple of times in training for IM USA and MOO but typically you don't need that much yardage.

I swam with Mikey Donuts and Mikey Zig-Zag (how bad can you zig-zag in a lane?) for about 4500 yards. We drafted off each other and broke it up in 500 yard sets.

I moved over to another lane and swam the rest on my own. I felt good and decided to push myself to a distance I have never been to.

I swam 75 x 100 and finished with 500 cool down...so 8,000 yards total. I won't be hitting that distance any time soon again but it was a nice boost to the training and confidence levels.

Several people did the 100 x 100 including my Snakebite Teammate Mark. He was in the pool for 3 hours.

I was pretty tired after my swimming but Monday morning I felt pretty good. I had a nice solid 45 minute run and will spin tonight.

Each day I am going to see how close to the red line I am and make day to day decisions about when my recovery period will start. I'd like to make it to the weekend.

My competitive fire is starting to build. I am getting more and more excited about Utah and Triple T.

Big efforts bring big rewards.

Game On.

St. George Training Weekend - Friday

Some of you may be wondering why I'm writing from St. George.

St. George?

As in Utah?

And my response is, "Yes, St. George, Utah." Site of Ironman St. George on May 1, 2010.

Please flash back to this quick post back in March, here.

I expressed my nervousness on that day. Something that likes to sit in pit of your stomach. Well the someone I referred to in that post was Aimee.

Aimee is the one who signed up for Ironman St. George. She has several half-distance races under her belt and when this race was announced it just felt right for her to take the step up to the Full distance.

Aimee ran her first marathon in St. George back in 2003. We had a nice group from Cleveland doing the race and it was a great experience.

The IM training cycle began in November. Things are going well so far with the base training. We are putting the plan together ourselves and I like how things are progressing. We are working together on this pretty well.

So we looked at our calendar and decided to take some time off and travel out to St. George. Some early training on the course and see what this race is going to be like.

So we flew out today. It was a long travel day. The flight from Ohio departed at 6:45AM which means we had to be up at 4AM to get ready. My dad transported us to the airport with our bikes. This is a new thing for us since all of our races have been drivable. It was more convenient and actually cheaper for us to fly the bikes out with us.

We flew to St. Louis where we had a 3 hour layover. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be as we read the paper, talked and ate some lunch. The final legs of our flying took us into Las Vegas...3.5 hours of flying. In Vegas we got a rental car and drove the 2 hours to St. George.

During our travels we had stops in all four time zones.....Vegas is Pacific and St. George is Mountain. It was confusing the keep our times straight.

After we checked into the hotel we drove the run course and headed to dinner. I'll save my review of the run course until I actually run it and will put my comments in a separate post.

We ate at a highly recommended local restaurant, Scaldoni's, and absolutely loved it. Our waiter, Dave, was awesome. He made some recommendations that were perfect. While Aimee and I were reviewing the course maps Dave made comment about seeing the maps. We started talking about the race which he is very involved with locally. Dave is an avid cyclist and is on the city's race committee.

He provided us with some brief insight regarding the course and made us feel very good about how the race is really being embraced by the city. Being able to talk with a local about the race was very nice.

So far the weather is not the best. Average temperatures in St. George for this time of the year ar 58 degrees. It's the mid 30's this weekend. Possible snow/rain for the weekend. We are going to do the best we can with the weather. We do have plan B.

Saturday we run the course and will drive the bike course. More information to follow.

The mind.....

is a terrible thing to waste. Yeah is sounds very cliche but I do have a point to make.

Yesterdays post had been brewing in my mind for a couple of days as I completed my training for the Double Mussel in two weeks. The Fourth of July weekend presented some final training days that provided some important feedback on my readiness for the race.

Friday I rode a brick with the high school girls Aimee, Sara and I are working with. I followed that up with a fantastic 2 hour hill ride that left my legs tired.

Saturday Aimee and I ran in the Medina YWCA Twin Sizzler 10k. Despite my tired legs I had a great run breaking 40 minutes for the first time in 5 years.

But it was more than just my physical fitness that is in top form.

Mentally I am at a level that I have not been before. Six years in the making I have reached a mental awareness and toughness that is helping me push further and deeper than before.

Two thoughts keep running through my mind:

"I can do anything for 20 minutes." Mark Durno

"Push the Mind, and the Body Will Follow" Eric Banks.

These I have learned from two great friends and will be with me at every race or training day.


Professional and world class athletes develop this early on or just have this mental capacity from the beginning. For others it takes longer to develop due to many circumstances that a average person must deal with day to day. Some people never find it....and that is when it becomes a terrible waste.

During and after the 10k on Saturday, especially after I crossed the finish line and tried not to puke or pass out, I realized what a powerful entity the mind it. My mind has helped me accomplish some great things this year. I may be six years older than when I started to seriously train for triathlon, but I sure don't feel any older.

Game On

How do you know.....

when you are ready? After all of the training and hours spent preparing for a single event.....how do you know you are ready.

First we look at our training logs.......

• Swimming....drills, intervals, yardage back and forth in the pool, open water swims wearing a wetsuit.
• Biking....seemingly endless miles, for hours are a time, climbing hills, eating gu's and drinking "calories", feeling your toes, ass and crotch grow numb, riding indoor during the cold early season days.
• Running....in rain and snow and heat, 6 miles here......14 miles there, off the bike, up the hill, on trails and streets and treadmills, buying new shoes at the same time as getting an oil change (3 months or 3000/300 miles), chafing, blisters, black toenails, tight sore legs.

Second we look at the key milestones during training......

• The half marathon training race. Letting everyone else go when you needed to follow the "plan"....steady pace, practice nutrition, it's not really a race...for you.
• The practice tri to make sure you have it down pat and remember what transitions feel like....and possibly how much it sucked ass when you got pummeled in the water or flatted on the bike or bonked 3 miles from the finish line.
• The time trial bike race where you felt the bike fitness was at it's peak only to be passed by not 1 or 2 but three riders who started at minute intervals behind you.....while your legs are burning and lungs are screaming for air.

Third we remember the lessons learned from all the cumulative days of training/racing....

• The pre-race meal that fueled you just right and helped the next day.
• How to keep your swim stroke fluid even when tired.
• What a certain pace feels like.
• How to get the dropped chain back on without stopping.
• Knowing you can pee on the bike....without stopping.
• Gu makes you puke.....Hammergel fuels the body.
• You can cover the distances.....plus some more.

We have completed a lot during training. We have become stronger; physically and mentally. We have lost weight. We have gained weight. We have become sick. We have recovered. We get depressed. We celebrate milestones.

The muscles have many miles and yards in them. Our eyes have seen nothing but a black line for hours at a time, but they have also seen nature and the world around us during the journey. Our legs have spun in a circle millions of times and our feet have moved us forward many miles.

Our mind has become razor sharp as we feel the changes. These changes register in the mind of a triathlete, or any other athlete. These changes allow the mind to answer....

"Yes.....you are ready."

Game On.

Another Weekend Update

I knew it. I absolutely knew it. There was no way I would be able to recap the weekend on Monday. Way too much stuff going on. It hurts just thinking about everything I had to do on Monday much less the weekend. Fortunately I took notes at my brothers house during our Mother's Day dinner.

Yes I took notes. I had to since I didn't want to forget key points of another epic weekend with awesome results. So let's get at it. Oh.....and you better have a cup of coffee and a bagel...or better yet read this during lunch. It may get long.

Thursday and Friday last week turned into rest days. At least I think they were. I haven't been keeping track on my workouts but I definitely remember the key ones. Yeah......they were both rest days. I'm sure of it.

So Saturday would be the day to run. Our friend Jane told us about the SMILE WITH ME! 5K Run and 1M Walk to support Heart Arrhythmia Research & Community Scholarships. We arranged to meet before the race so we could get in some additional mileage. Aimee and Jane put in about 7 miles and I managed around 10. It was a pretty good warm-up for the 5k.

We drove to the race and got signed up and waited for the start. We were starting to cool-down so I went for a short run to get the muscles warm again. There weren't too many people at the race but when I lined up at the front I could tell who would be leading.

Originally I was going to run a progressively faster pace starting around 7/mile and go faster from there. Well as soon as the bell was rung that went out the window. The adrenaline pumped through my body and I was off to the races.

Now I wasn't going to try and stay with the front runners. I would have blown up after mile one. I sat back and ran on the shoulder of two others I was with in positions 5 - 7. There were two guys in front of us that I kept in check.

As we turned off the main street into a neighborhood I surged around the corner to try and break the spirit of the two guys with me. The first mile marker was 75 yards from the corner. As I passed through the first mile they called out 6:11 as my first split. DAMN. I wasn't expecting that. Now I had to hold on for two more miles.

During the second mile there is a significant downhill/uphill combination. I used the downhill to create a gap between me and the guys behind me. I could hear the footsteps growing fainter and I let loose down the hill. The flat before the uphill lasted for about 100 yards. I tried to maintain a good pace going up the hill and focus only on the 10 feet in front of me trying not to think about getting to the top. I knew I would get there eventually.

But then I started to hear footsteps behind me again. Crap he was catching up to me going up the hill. Don't worry, stay steady, keep it moving forward. He never did pass me. I wasn't going to let him.

Once I reached the top of the the hill I saw that the two guys ahead of me had split. One was starting to fade and I was reeling him in. I passed him running strong to let him know he was owned. See ya at the finish line.

The winds from the south were evident at this point during the final mile. I also knew that once I hit the main street heading back to the finish line there would be an even stronger wind coming from the west. I reminded myself that everyone would have to face the wind as well. One more mile. Only one more mile. Keep pushing it hard to the finish. The mind was definitely in control and helped keep the legs moving.

I crossed the finish line in 19:32. Not a PR but I wanted to be below 20. I did manage a fourth overall which guaranteed first place in my age group. We sat around with friend and waited for the award ceremony. Aimee's co-worker Dan Van, actually he is more friend than co-worker, took second in the my age group so we were able to have out picture taken together for the Smile with Me website.

And this was just the beginning of the weekend. We also had a wedding to attend for one of Aimee's co-workers and of course that includes a reception. But before that I cut the grass, first because it needed it and second I wanted to keep the legs loose.

We did our bricks Sunday morning since time with our mothers would be in the afternoon. I wanted to get in one more round of hills. Yes....this means the Death Ride hills again, but on very tired legs. Aimee and I both woke up with unsettled stomachs. Maybe it was the food and alcohol from the reception. Maybe it was lack of sleep and the bodies needed more rest.

I knew this would be an important training day. Not physically but mentally. In addition to the iffy stomach the temperature wasn't going to be very high, overcast and winds from the west. I pulled Aimee aside and made sure she understood the purpose of the days training. Tough it out and be strong mentally.

Over the course of the next four hours I would climb the hills to warm up and bomb the descents loosing the warmth I had created. I would see the standard dead animals in the road. But this time I was saddened by the sight of a baby red fox and intrigued by a buzzard feasting on the carcass of a raccoon.

My mental battle was Boston Mills Road. The legs were tired from the 5k on Saturday and the hills leading up to the steep road. For an hour leading up to the hill I went back and forth trying to decide if I was going to ride it. As I approached the intersection of Riverview and Boston Mills I turned without hesitation toward the hill and told myself, "Harden up F@cker".

I may be this tired at the end of Triple T and I would have to suck it up during the race. Train like you race....right? Suck it up and do it.

After a couple more hills, including the 3 mile Snowville Road, I made it back to the parking lot. I slipped on my running shoes and headed out for a 30 minute run. What struggle. I settled into a steady pace and chugged it out. It wasn't pretty but it was helpful to remember how much of a struggle the transition from bike to run can be.

When I was all done with the run....I was all done for the day. Stick a fork in me and ring the bell for dinner. I packed up and headed over to my brothers house to shower and get ready for our Mother's Day dinner. I'm glad my brother cooked because I was worthless after my brick.

We had a good dinner with mom and Aimee had a nice brunch with her mom. Aimee's brick went well despite the cold. Her feet didn't warm up until AFTER she was done with her run. But her toughness is building for the upcoming tri season and the Half IM we are doing in July.

Monday I had an accupunture session with the witch doctor and boy did it help revitalize the body. All the trapped heat and stress from training was released during the session. It was almost like another training session.

That's about all I got for now. Time to get to bed and rest up.

Time to taper for Triple T. With rest and preparation it will definitely be Game On in two weeks.

What Am I Doing?!?!?!?!?

Obviously not posting on the old bloggie thing. I don't like it when the blog gets ignored and I don't post for over a week. I mean it's not like I'm working and training enough as it is.

But I will admit that work has thankfully been busy lately, next two weeks will be worse, and I am getting in the last of my big training for the Triple T. So of course my blogging suffers. My reading of other peoples blogs is still on par, but my writing it suffering. Quality over quantity, right.

Moving forward I'll give a brief recap of training.

Last weekend I decided to overload the running. I was working out of town Friday to Saturday and taking your running shoes is so easy when traveling.

• I ran Wednesday, don't remember where or how far.
• Thursday was a rest day, floating rest days have been popular this year.
• Friday I wanted to run long after I was done with my customer. I had found a route that was going to be awesome. I drove the route earlier in the day and I liked what I saw. Unfortunately the early evening rain came through and put a kabosh on that idea. The rain was falling at a 45 degree angle, can you say windy? I wound up running 70 minutes on a treadmill at the local Y....on a Friday night....at 7PM. How exciting.
• Saturday I worked in the morning and drove home. I ran our 6.5 mile loop in about 51 minutes, 8/min pace. I kept it easy since my long slow run wasn't going to happen.
• Sunday Aimee and I rode for 2.5 hours together. I did several strong intervals just to test out the bike legs. I hopped off the bike and ran the 6.5 mile loop again, reverse this time, at a much higher intensity. Finished the loop in 45 minutes this time, roughly a 7/min pace. Wicky Wicky What What! Boy did that feel good.
  

The final run of the weekend was the high point of training last weekend. I felt great and had a blast pushing the pace and keeping it fast.

This past week I had two good swims. Great intensity and yardage. I think both were around 4000 yards. On Wednesday I did some short hill repeats in the rain. That was a good workout. The rain wasn't coming down too hard and the temp was warm enough for shorts and a shirt. My warmup and 2 miles between repeats was at a strong pace. The hill repeats were "hill bounding". Short strength repeats lasting 10 - 20 seconds. Not the long 90 second repeats or run to the top type of repeats. I also read an article about hill sprints in Running Times that I will have to try, but I digress.

The one thing I really liked about that run was being free. I didn't have my watch with me. I had forgotten to pack it in my bag. So......

• I don't know how far I ran.
• I don't know how long I ran, time wise.
• I don't know how long each hill repeat was.

And I really didn't care. I went by feel and it felt great. Finishing the workout I felt good. These types of repeats aren't supposed to drain you. I came away feeling like I could do more, but I also knew that what I had done was enough. There would be benefit from what I accomplished.

So leading up to this morning.......I woke up at 4AM to pee and have been up since. Early to bed on another exciting Friday night has me ready to go for the weekend. We have to manage our training around a wedding today and Mother's Day tomorrow. I still think it will be quality. At least I hope so. This is the last opportunity for "big" training for Triple T. It's coming up fast.

I will be back sooner than later for another post. Sunday night. I will post by Sunday night. I will. Really. Must.FOCUS.

Game On people. Get that damn Game On.

What - A - Weekend

Spring has definitely sprung here in northern Ohio. Temps were in the 80's all weekend and that meant for some prime training. Four weeks out from Triple T and the next three weeks of training will be very important. Unfortunately work is going to make it tough to schedule quality sessions.

But this weekend worked out perfectly. One customer pushed off his weekend work so I had all weekend to play.

Thursday was a forced rest day so I decided to do a long run on Friday (normal rest day) in prep for the weekend. I put in 13.5 miles before 9AM that morning. I held a 8:13 average pace and it felt great.

Saturday would afford a great opportunity to ride the hills in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Some of you will remember the 14 Hills Ride (aka Death Ride) as I prepared for both Ironmans. Well I need the hills for Triple T as well. The best part was starting at 7:30AM with no extra clothes. The temp was around 60 degrees and would warm up quickly. It felt like it was the middle of summer.

All said and done I put in 68 miles, 3:45:00 and 9 hills. I also managed to take some pics from the ride.

Stream along Boston Mills Road. I'm sure not too many people get to see this because the road isn't used that often by cyclists due to the incline and motorists are not looking for it.

Oak Hill Road. This is the steepest of the Death Ride hills. I skipped it this time. I'm looking straight across at the base. I'm not looking up at all. Yeah it's that steep.

Hale Farm and Village


Heron nests on Bath Road.


Obligatory shadow picture.

I found this guy trying to cross the road. I snapped a picture first then carried him across the road. "Like a Frightened Turtle"

Sunday's finale was the NCN Racing Buzzard Duathlon. This race has been the season starter for this area for 9 years. The 3 mile run, 15 mile bike, 3 mile run is on the rolling streets around the Cleveland Metropark's Hinckley Reservation. Each lap starts by going uphill.

The goal for this race was to finish well. With two big days of training under my belt I wanted to push the envelope and complete the weekend on a high note. I'll try to post a race report but I will say that it was a success. I felt good the entire race and finished 3rd in AG.

Later in the day Aimee and I visited the Witch Doctor; aka acupuncturist. We both had good sessions which help recharge the legs with good energy while releasing the toxins and stress of training.

Of course we also had to treat ourselves to some Dairy Queen after dinner. A small reward for our hard work this weekend.

Three more weeks of training before I taper for Triple T.

Game is On track. I hope it stays that way.

Fatigue

Yes fatigue. We have all experienced fatigue in one form or another.

Physical, mental, material.

Did I just say material? Yes I did.....and you will see why as you keep reading.

Since my game was back on after three weeks of illness, which culminated in pleural effusion, I was ready to get back to some serious training. I needed some long saddle time this weekend and I didn't want to do it on the trainer, especially 3 hours.

The weather forecast called for clear skies but cold temps. No problem because I would layer appropriately and use some hand and toe warmers for the extremities. Woke up around 7AM and started to get fueled up and gather my riding gear for the day. The temp was showing 35 degrees and The Weather Channel was saying the wind was NNE at 10 - 20 MPH.

One thing I always take into account is wind chill. Not only do I worry about the reported wind chill but also my average riding speed, 20MPH. So I wore my heavier tights and a wind vest to fight of the natural and riding wind chills.

I headed out and was looking forward to the ride. I went south first knowing I would have to battle the winds coming from the north during my return. It would be good mental and physical training for riding in less than ideal conditions.

I had my camera so I took some pictures along the way.

Obligatory shadow picture.



And a couple shots at different angles. Trying to offer something new.





With the wind at my back I was feeling warm and toasty, almost overdressed for the ride. But I knew that the wind would be right in my face so the extra layers would be helpful. Yes another picture. Notice I am outside and NOT on the rollers going with no hands. It's also a country road so there was no traffic around when I did this.

I reached the southern-most part of my planned route and started to head east. The winds were felt immediately. My speed was hovering around 17MPH. As I crossed over one of the major state routes I noticed something very peculiar. My pedal stroke was shortening up. I wasn't getting the full extension of my legs at the bottom on each stroke. I looked between my legs at my seat and noticed the seat post had slipped down.

When I stopped and swung my leg over, the seat moved so loosely it twisted. I had to take a picture of my seat.

I told myself, "Okay, no problem. You have your multi-tool and can tighten the clamp." When I went to loosen the bolt I noticed something very interesting. Fatigue. Of the material type. In this case....aluminum is the material....fatigue results in cracks.


Yes there are three cracks highlighted by the red circles. Not sure how this came about but it didn't bode well for my ride. I was at the furthest point away from home with a seat that wouldn't stay up. Fortunately I wasn't too far from potential help. There were two friends I would be riding by on my route and I could see if they were home to help.

I figured all I needed was some duct tape to help hold the seat post in place. I didn't let this minor set back dampen my spirit. Stuff like this happens. Unfortunately I was looking to road race a little this year and now it may not happen. These cracks have potentially ruined the entire frame....unrecoverable.....worthless......damaged beyond repair.

My faithful GT ZR3000 is dying. I will mourn my ride later once I get a full diagnosis.

So I continued with my ride feeling like a kid on a tricycle. My legs spinning in little circles with my knees barely moving away from my chest. I was able to spot this pig roaster next to a guys barn. I couldn't help but notice the bicycle wheel he used as part of the spit. Definitely worth the picture.




I rode to Patrick's house to see if the family was home. Patrick and his wife Linda got me on the bike in the first place so I knew he would be interested in seeing the damage. No luck. These people are busier than a bee hive in August. With three kids playing soccer and getting in their cycling it would have been a miracle that they would be home.

So it's off to stop number two. Scott and Jane live one city north from Patrick. Not much farther to go on my lowered seat. Please be there Scott. BINGO. Scott was working on their basement and provided me with four strips of duct tape. Looks like it would hold up for the final push home. This is what the tape job looked like once I got home. The seat tube still slipped some but at least it wasn't all the way down.


The remainder of my ride home was uneventful, thank goodness, except for the stiff winds hitting me straight from the north. There is nothing quite like a stiff breeze while going uphill.

All told my ride time was 2:50:00 and 50 miles. Total trip time was more around 3:30 considering the stoppages due to my mechanical difficulties. Overall it was much needed time in the saddle. The entire body is tired from the effort but it's training money in the bank.

What's next for the GT? Not sure. I hate to think the worst but it may come down to retirement for the frame. But I'm not giving up hope yet.

But man, he sure has helped me get my Game On.

Weekend Training and Racing Report

This weekend has been a great two days of training. The Snakebite team managed to get about 10 of us to ride on Saturday. I had my BimActive going on the phone and the results are shown below, love that elevation profile. The actual elapsed time was 3 hours but once I took out the stops the 2:45 ride time matched my bike computer.

It was a great time to reconnect with old and new friends. This was definitely going to be a fun group ride. I had a hard trainer ride the Thursday prior and a 15k run on Sunday that I needed to keep some legs for.

I enjoyed riding with Linda and was able to catch up with the family. Patrick and I worked the front of the group, especially when we knew a county line or city limits sign was to be contested. I managed to sneak in three sprint wins at Bath Township, Akron and Peninsula. I was a sneaky little bastard for all of them since I usually can't out power some of the guys.

We managed to have awesome weather in the upper 60's and avoided any rain along the way. The only time we got wet was from road spray. I have pics and video that I will post later.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 984 ft Location: Strongsville, OH, Elev. Gain: -4 ft Date: 03/07/09 Up/Downhill: [+3480/-3484] Time: 03:09 PM Difficulty: 4.7 / 5.0 Weather: Cloudy 70 F temp; 64% humidity 70 F heat index; winds SW 15 mph Performance Distance: 46.24 miles Time: 2:44:49 Speed: 16.8 mph Pace: 3' 34 /mi Calories: 2037 Map Elevation (ft)

Posted from bimactive.com

Sunday was race day. Well....kind of race day. I'm not in prime racing condition, at least not where I usually am at this point of the season. So I wanted to use this as a hard training effort. I recently read an article in the April issue of Running Times about Go Zone Racing. It's a great article about how to approach a race, break it up into four parts and mentally tough it out when the going gets hard. This will be my mental focus this season.

In order to keep it a mental race I didn't take any electronics with me. No watch. No heart rate monitor. No phone with BIMActive. I wanted this to be all about perceived effort and racing smart. This race was also a battle with the elements. Saturday was a beautiful day to ride with the rain staying away and temperatures getting close to 70. Sunday the rain came in and the temperature was in the high 30's. It was going to be a wet and sloppy run.

I took it hard but conservative for the first half of the race. I was comfortable. I was managing my pace well. I kept those in front of me in sight and slowly picked several off. Just after mile 5 I put down a PowerGel and grabbed two waters at the aid station. Turning onto Lake Road, it truly is along Lake Erie, we would finally have the wind at our backs. This was the start of my Go Zone. If I was going to gain any ground on the people in front of me this would be the perfect opportunity.

I focused on staying loose and keeping my breathing under control. I increased my leg turnover, or tried to keep it, around 90RPM. Quick turnover equates to more speed. Half way along Lake Road I passed the runner in front of me. She would cross the finish line as third overall female. When the race course turned off Lake Road I was within striking distance of two more runners. I finally recognized John Z in front of me and another woman. John is a very good runner at age 50. I passed the female just as we turned east into the wind and then started working on catching John.

Halfway to our next turn I made my pass and re-focused on my pace so that I would keep the intensity all the way to the finish line. Around mile 8 I saw the last person I had a chance to catch. I didn't think it was going to happen but I was shortening the distance between us. At the final turn I realized it was Dave G. We finished 1 - 2 in our age group last year at this race, I just wasn't going to be able to get him. I finished strong in 1:05:xx and took third in the age group. I was very excited by the finish time because I was really expecting something closer to 1:10:00.

I was most pleased with "how" I ran a race. I executed my plan perfectly. I didn't loose my mental focus and kept the intensity high during the tougher part of the race. I'm also happy that I am actually on par with where I was last year. Maybe my half-marathon in April will have some good unexpected results as well.

I manually put the race into BimActive to show the course and my stats.

Game On.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 609 ft Location: Avon Lake, OH Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 03/08/09 Up/Downhill: [+150/-150] Time: 08:30 AM Difficulty: 2.8 / 5.0 Weather: Rain Fog/Mist 38 F temp; 100% humidity 38 F heat index; winds NE 7 Performance Distance: 9.26 miles Time: 1:05:00 Speed: 8.6 mph Pace: 7' 00 /mi Calories: 1196 Map

Posted from bimactive.com