Open Water Swim to Start My Sunday

I am so excited this morning over having completed my first Open Water Swim (OWS.)  It was incredible to have swam 1100 yards in the open water of Lake Grapevine.  I had such a blast becuase of the effort that I put in but also because of the fact that it is another learning experience for me.

Learning to deal with the waves and the various currents that come and go against your body.  Sighting is a big difference as there is no big black line on the bottom of the lake floor to follow.  I am really learning to enjoy the water and I almost feel like going out to the pool this evening for more swimming but not sure Coach C would want that (I've already emailed her to find out.)

In searching for ways to get better at the OWS I found an article written by Hazen Kent for TriNewbies.com that essentially says the best way to get better in OWS is to practice in the open water.  With that being said the 1100 yards this morning seems more and more important to my overall plan of doing Ironman then I would have thought.  Coach C told me she just wanted me to swim and that is essentially what I did and it was great practice for me.  This article reinforces that idea while also giving me some tips and drills for working on in the pool that will help me in the open water.

The link to the article is right here:     Open Water Swimming Tips For Triathletes: Overcoming Your Fears

After putting in 1100 yards of swimming which was essentially 50 and 75 yard drills with :20 RI I had a 9 mile easy run to put in.  The 9 miles was fairly smooth and easy.  My average HR was 145 with a max of 156, but that was always on the uphill portion of the run.  The average pace for the 9 mile run was 10:10 and I couldn't be happier with that run as it was so easy.

In looking at past easy Sunday runs the HR was slightly lower but they were more difficult and most likely because of the fact that I completely ignored my HRM and just ran.  I did not feel like my body was tired or dehydrated and that I could have run for miles at that pace and felt great at the end.

All in all, the Sunday training session was one to remember and one to build off of.  Next week when I head to the open water it will be another set of drills where I'm doing 75 and 100 yards with :20 RI to get in 400 yards and then maybe heading out and around the buoys for the last 600 yards and do those with the rest intervals of floating on my back and kicking to keep moving.  Now that I have done an OWS the intimidation is fading and the competitor in my is starting to show through.

Here is the map with some data of my run this morning:

Cadence In Cycling and Running

After waking up from my mid-day nap......yes even those training to become an Ironman need a nap.....I checked my phone and came across an article on Facebook that was in reference to the art and science of cadence in cycling and running.

Figuring that I just did a ride that was at a high cadence I wanted to know more.  More of why I was doing it.  More of why it was important.  More of how it will make me better at both legs of the triathlon that I am strongest in and how I can improve those legs.

Looking for that edge to beat out my nearest competitor.  The ability to cross the line, even one second, ahead of the next racer is what I'm looking for.

I read this article and I have to say that it was somewhat over my head.  I will have to read it again to figure out the point of the article, but from what I was able to take in I feel as if the repetition and ability to not feel fatigued while going at a high RPM is of most benefit to these training rides.

Having gone 18.1 MPH at a cadence that averaged 90+ RPM and not feel fatigued is a step in the right direction of getting faster for longer on the bike.  I was able to not only average a faster pace at 18.1 MPH but to do it over 17.5 miles is an accomplishment.

Working on my cadence for running will be next (tomorrow really) as I have a 9 mile easy run.  I will be counting my SPM which are normally 40 and hopefully get it to 45 while maintaining a lower HR.  Of course I will be doing this after my first open water swim that is to be 1000 yards.

Here is a link to the article that was written by Dan Empfield for Slowtwitch.com:

On the art and science of cadence in cycling and running

Great Way To Start Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend got off on the right foot this morning.  The training was great and the weather was just as perfect.

Today's workout consisted of a 60 minute ride at 90 RPM followed by a 20 minutes run.

As usual Robert and I headed out to Lake Grapevine around 6:30am to get our workout in.  The bike was awesome although I lost Robert after the first 2 or 3 miles.  The point of the exercise today was to keep a high cadence going and that cadence was to be 90+ RPM.

One of the best things about today's workout, or any workout at high cadence, is that you learn to use your gears in order to keep your legs spinning.  The lowest speed I averaged was 15.7 and overall for the 17.5 miles that I rode this morning I averaged 18.3 MPH which is 1.8 MPH faster then my time in Grapevine last year.  That has me very excited because that means that I should be shaving some good time off of my bike portion next week.

Here is a map of the ride:

The run that followed was to be a 20 minute run.  I took the HR alerts off to allow me to just run and overall it was not that bad for the two miles.  My HR averaged 158 with a pace of 8:29.  I covered 2.31 miles today and I know that if I push myself that my pace will be faster then last year's pace at the Tri Grapvine.

Here is map and some information on the run:

Overall I feel great.  I need to stretch but my energy is there and I don't feel fatigues one bit.  I actually told Robert that I could have run at least another 5 miles and maybe not at 8:34 but certainly could have gone at a 9:00 pace for the next 5 miles.  I'm thrilled with where I'm at after about 3 full weeks of training.

I'm prepared both mentally and physically to beat last year's time and to be able to compete in my age group and be close to my time of 1:18:53 in the Caveman Tri.

Now, onto stretching then the shower and most importantly time with my family at our pool bbq'ing and laughing.

Memorial Day here we are.

Breathing While Swimming

As any reader of this blog knows, swimming has been my biggest weakness but I'm getting better and better.  I try to read as much about swimming as possible so that the weakest link becomes just as strong as my cycling and running.

Here is a list of articles on practicing breathing, breating efficiently and effortlessly, etc while swimming and all of them will help you to improve your swimming.

These articles can be found on Active.com:
Breathing While Swimming

Glorious Training This Morning - May 27th, 2010

I cannot begin to express what I feel is a tremendous breakthrough this morning during my bike/run brick training workout.

The workout was to consist of 20 minutes at 90 RPM followed by 20 minutes of recovery followed by 20 minutes at 90 RPM followed by a 30 minutes run.  The 20 minutes of recovery was to be at 135 HR.

Well Robert and I took off on the bike and hit the 90 RPM pretty quickly and rode for 20 minutes but it really seemed like 5.  The 20 minute recovery felt like forever b/c the pace while not slow was not about spinning your legs, but then the next 20 minutes was gone in a flash as well.

Averaged 17.7 MPH with a HR of 147.  Maximum HR got up to 164 and burned 954 calories but overall the ride felt great.  Averaging 17.7 MPH while going down to a recovery of 135 HR is awesome for me.  During the 90 cadence periods I was at an average of 19.0 MPH which is 2.5 MPH faster then the last tri I did.  Not to mention my HR was never higher then 164 and probably averaged around 155.  I am getting very excited for the Grapevine Tri on June 5th because of this.

After the run we hit the road on our feet.  I turned off my HRM to allow myself to just run.  After 30 minutes of running I covered 3.19 miles at an avg pace of 9:18 with a HR of 149.  This also picked up my spirits that all the training is coming together.

During a race my HR is probably close to 170.  Having the ability to be more efficient in the water will allow me to ride faster and run faster at that same HR because I won't have burn so much energy getting through the water.

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Going to be heading to my first open water swim on Sunday.  Coach C wants me to do 1000 yards and thinks that it should be fine.  If I get tired she said to just flip over and float on my back for a while and then back around but that the 1000 should be ok.

I agree with her considering that I have been doing 1500-1800 in the pool already but the open water swim is a little intimidating for my first one but at the same time 1000 is about only 60% of what I normally swim.  Either way I am fired up for it.

This article has convinced me that it isn't going to be as bad as I think it is.  This is from USAT and was written by Dr Mitchell Greene.     Searching for Confidence

Once out of the pool it will be time to run 9 miles.  I am ultra pumped for this weekends training as it should be tough but tons of fun as well.

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This morning there was a knock on the door and it was the UPS man.  I got my hopes up that the order from SwimOutlet.com had come in with my new goggles and bag.  I got to the door and there were two boxes there.  One was for Karen and the other for me but it wasn't from SwimOutlet.com it was from 24 Hour Fitness and was a sort of care package.

I posted a link to my blog on their FB page and they sent me a nice gift.  It had a gym bag, water bottle, running socks, wristbands, pins, t-shirt and a gift card.  It was totally unexpected and so very nice of them to do.  Completley unnecessary as I'm trying to get viewers to my blog but will be very well received as well.

'I CAN'T' should always be 'I WILL'

I WILL.....

This is a great article about the will of a NYC Firefighter who was crushed by a bus but had the will to survive and carry on and compete in Ironman Lake Placid.

An inspiration to all of us

I WILL FOUNDATION

Swimming is getting easier, but not easy

This morning was the 2nd of 3 swim sessions during my week and I can say it is getting easier for me, but I would not use the word easy.  It is still a challenge and I love that as it pushes me to keep getting better.

One of the best parts of this training is that as I get better I look at the other swimmers in the pool for tips on how I can improve.  I used to be intimidated by these swimmers and just try to swim (muscle) as fast as I could through the water to get out but now I watch them and study them.  When I finish my session I sit on the bench for a few minutes and notice how they get their elbows up and out of the water.  How they turn their hips.  How the breathe.  How the kick.  Swimming is truly an amazing workout and it is even more interesting as you keep getting better, just like anything in life.

So today, I had a simple warm-up of 4x50 with 20 :RI followed by 1x200 and 2x100 and 8x25.  When I was previously training doing 200 was easy in that I would just power through it and go home.  Now with the training and swimming 100s and 50s and drills the 200 was getting intimidating.  I didn't think I could handle the distance, but today was a different story.  Previously I broke it down to 2x100s but today I broke it down to 4x50s since that was my warm-up.  When I was done with that initial 200 I felt I could swim 300 without being taxed b/c it was only 2x50 at that point.  Strengthening the mucsle between my ears is as important as getting stronger on the bike, pool or run.

After this main set came my drills.  All drills are performed with :20 RI and I believe this is done so that you can focus on form and not speed so you aren't spent.  On the catch-up drill I found that my right hand would drop before I could get through the recovery on the left hand and Coach C provided advice that I breathe every third stroke.  This worked perfectly for the first 35 meters but then my breathing was struggling and I went back to the every other stroke breathing and forced myself to glide more so my arm did not drop.  I think the fear of having to hold my breathe for three strokes was scarier then dropping my arm and I did not drop it the rest of the way.

Today I got to use all the equipment that I had bought from swimoutlet.com (SwimOutlet.com)  I got a kickboard, a pull buoy, hand paddles and fins.  I used the pull buoy and kickboard during the drills that call for them.  I swithced to using the hand paddles for the RT/LT drill where I am just stroking with one arm.  They seemed to help as they pushed a ton of water under me.

I also got do to the drill I love the most.  The fist drill.  I worked my way through that and focused on gliding and then when I did the finger-drag drill I was cruising.  I felt so much faster, just like Coach C said I would.  It was amazing to feel that fast.

At the end of the session I was required to do 2x50 at a HARD pace.  I wound up doing the first 50 in 50 seconds and the second in 54 seconds.  I don't think I can handle that pace for longer then 50-100 but it is amazing how much faster that is in comparison to when I first started, which would have been around 1 minute.

I ordered my first wetsuit today as well.  It is an Xterra Sleeveless and you can't go wrong for $99.  They are running a Memorial Day special right now that expires on Saturday.  This would be a beginner suit but I need to get used to swimming in one before I invest big money in a more advanced suit.

If you are interested in getting one for that cheap, or a different Xterra suit here is the link:    Xterra Wetsuits
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On a personal note today is Man's Day in our house.  That means that I take my step-son to school in the morning and then we have dinner at night together alone.  It helps build a bond between us and also allows Karen to get her own training in.

I am also going to be signing up for the Metroplex Tri which is an open water swim tri once I find out if I have to go to NY for work.  This is going to be a great challenge not just in the race, but we are also hosting a wedding shower for our close friends Jill and Cary as they are getting married later this year.  Going to be a long but very exciting day.

Great Article on Running

Just finished reading this article on how to get better at running and what is described as Rule #4 certainly pertains to me.

As I have pointed out the muscle that needs the most work for me is the brain.  I need to not focus on the HR, or the speed but just focus on the run and then analyze and see where it was hard and where it was easy.  Where the breathing was rapid, or where the pace fit the hurt.

Here is rule #4 from this article written by Marty Munson on the USAT website:     4 New Rules For Running Better, Faster, Stronger

4. Run as fast as you want to, not as fast as you think you can. Who’s imposing your limits? Sometimes it’s you, says Elizabeth Waterstraat, coach and founder of Multisport Mastery (multisportmastery.com) in Chicago. “Especially when athletes train heavily with technology, they can become wrapped up and limited by where the numbers should be, rather than where they could be.” Unplug the technology now and then, she says, “and tune into how running fast feels in your legs, what it sounds like in your breathing, and what it speaks in your head. If you look down at your device and see you’re approaching 5K pace, you might begin to fear that you will blow up or not be able to hold it. But you just might be breaking through in that workout. Save the evaluation for later. Don’t let your fears and worries limit how much you are willing to give.”

Learn how to define what’s truly hard for yourself. “Many athletes look to coaches or formulas to tell them what hard is by heart rate, pace, or percentage of VO2max. Hard is hard. You run hard. Until you connect to that, you will not run as fast as you want to; you’ll run as fast as someone tells you to go.”

Then, listen to what you’re saying. “You may be focusing on the negative (I am so slow) rather than the positive (I am getting stronger; this is a solid starting point). Running fast is so much about managing the physical pain; there is no hiding behind equipment (bicycle) or conditions (waves); it’s usually just you and the pavement. Your legs must be strong, but your head must be stronger,” Waterstraat says.

“To know your limits, you have to be willing to test them,” she says. “The best athletes take logical risks in training so they know how far they can go in racing.” Don’t be surprised if it’s farther than you thought.

Exciting News Received Yesterday

I have a profile on ActiveAmbassadors.com which is a site that allows active people to submit their profiles to become sponsored Ambassadors for various companies/products.  A few months ago I submitted my profile for Team Snickers Marathon and was selected as a finalist with being informed that we would know by mid-May if we were selected for the team.  It is now May 25th and I have not heard back from them but yesterday after my strength and core regiment I found out that I had been selected for Team Jamba Juice.

At this point I just need to fill out the contract and send it back to become a team member.  This is a great honor b/c this is an open invitation that gets whittled down to finalists and then a team is selected from their.  I am honored to have been chose to represent such a terrific product.

Jamba Juice

After I get more details as to the exact nature of my involvement I will post them here and get you the information on Jamba Juice.  I'm very excited.

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Yesterday's strength and core workout went great.  I was pretty tired after having woke up at 5am on Monday to get 1500 yards of swimming in and then a long day at work.  This happens to be our busiest part of the year so work is constantly coming at you and you are working on 5 projects at the same time and just hoping not to cross paths of those projects and end up with the wrong conclusions based on faulty analysis.  FUN TIME!!!!!!

So anyway the workout was a hard one.  I pushed the weights to my max according to my workout and I was done after the last core workout and came home.  After 8 years of watching this show it was about to come to and end.  That show is 24.  Jack Bauer, Choloe O'Brien, President Taylor.....all gone from my life.  Not a moment too soon I can tell you.  The show had gotten to be a bit ridiculous.

Not to mention I wanted to watch the Flyers-Canadiens hockey game.  The Flyers had the opportunity to get into the Stanley Cup Finalsbut I could not watch it b/c Versus is not carried by DirecTV.  Flyers wound up winnign 4-2 and are in the Finals for the first time since 1997 where they were crushed by the Red Wings.

A Flyers championship coupled with Duke already having won the NCAA Tourney would have 2010 off on the right foot from a fan perspective for me.

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This morning's workout consisted of an easy 45 minute ride followed by a 5 mile tempo run with 8x 1minutes at a pace 30 second faster then the tempo run.

The ride was smooth and easy.  Got in 12.66 miles at a pace of 16.6 MPH with a max of 27 MPH.  This makes me happy b/c when I was doing the tri in Flower Mound I averaged that pace for the ride but I was spent.  I felt like I was barely moving during this ride so I know I can go much faster.

After the ride it was time to run.  The 5 mile run was to be at a pace of 8:30-8:45 with those 8x1 minutes at 8:10 and 2 minute recovery.  The pace was fine at the beginning but the increase was much faster then the 8:10 and thus the recovery was slower then the 8:45.  In the end I covered the 5 miles at an average pace of 8:39.

These two results from today show me that I can go faster at both the bike and the run and couple that with the improvement in efficiency in swimming and I won't be as tired and be able to push my body even more.

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Speaking of swimming there is an open water swim on Sunday that I would like to try.  Have to make sure that Coach C is ok with switching up the timing of the workouts and do the swim in the AM and the run in the PM.

This week is Memorial Day weekend and hopefully the outdoor kitchen will be fully done by then.  The plantings were completely done yesterday so let's hope the dogs don't mess with them and thus allow us to enjoy the beauty of our backyard.

Pics will be up between today and tomorrow of the process of developing an outdoor kitchen.

Coach C wins Xterra Trail Running Event

Coach C won her Xterra Trail Running event this past weekend in Waco, Texas.  She not only won the femail division but placed second overall.  Amazing Job Coach!!!!  An inspiration to all your athletes.

Here is the article about the race:     Xterra Trail Running - May 22nd, 2010 Article

Here is the video from the race:     Xterra Trail Running - May 22nd, 2010 Video

Creating Distraction to Clear My Mind

Yesterday was a long day of training as Sunday has become but it was still great to workout.  The day started out with going to Katy Trail (Katy Trail) and doing an easy 8 mile run.  Karen and I picked up Barabara around 7am and headed down there.  It is a gorgeous path that is a 3.5 mile out and back for a total of 7 miles that is flat going out and uphill on the way back, but a terrific spot to run and plenty of people out there getting in shape.

So I have to keep my HR b/t 135 and 145 during these easy runs.  I have my Garmin set to alert me when I go above 152 which would be too high, but I get paranoid and try to keep it down to 145 so I end up looking at my watch so often that I forget about running and worry that my HR is going up.  As an example during the run I got lost in my own head and forgot about the HRM.  It never beeped to alert me that my HR was too high but I glanced at it and I was going at a 9:38 pace with a HR at 138.  I was cruising and not working hard at the same time.  Once that happened though it kept lookign at my watch thinking that I was going to fast and sure enough the HR started to spike.

After emailing Coach C about this she gave me advice that basically said that I need to listen to my body as that is what the HRZ training is all about.  It's about learning your body and what your body can do without all the gizmo's and gadgets.

After the run I went and picked up my buddy Juan (who is also a triathlete) and we went to watch the Rangers-Cubs.  The seats were perfect and the game was very good.  HRs hit by both teams and pitching settled down but in the end the Rangers could not mount enough offense to overcome the 4 run 1st inning and they lost.

Came home and sat down for an hour before heading to the gym for my Sunday evening swim session.  The session started out great, but then came the fist stroke.  The drill I despised the most.  I always feel like I'm drowning and never doing it right.  Seems just like swimming when I first started out but now I enjoy it and can go long distances without tiring as much as I used to.  Anyway get through the fist stroke and I mean it that way to move on.  My goggles have been bothering me lately as they feel as if they are crushing my face so I tried to adjust them.  Get ready for the 200 and water gets in them.  Stop after 25 to adjust and snap goes the strap.  Now I'm flustered, but as I figured out later I was just making excuses to not do the 200 straight through.  It seems as though I have gotten efficient at the 50 and 100 that I don't want to push myself to the 200.  I finished by doing 125 straight and then 75 straight to complete the 200 total.

After the swim is over I email Coach C about the strap disaster and the fist stroke.  She tells me to learn to love the fist stroke and to always have extras of everything.  Sneakers for running, goggles, socks and have it all in separate bags and leave one in your car so you are always ready to train.  Great ideas and why I hired a coach in the first place.

So this morning I was going to embrace my distrcation and my inner fist stroke.  My warm-up consisted of 4x50s with :20 RI and then onto the drills.  The fist stroke is usually after the kick and this time I started to struggle again until around 15 yards and then it all sunk in.  I embraced my inner Fist Stroke and started to glide and really focused on form.  I wasn't going fast but I wasn't sinking and I felt good.  50 yards of Fist Stroke completed without totally hating it.  Breakthrough.

After 4 sets of 100 it was time to face the 200.  I broke up the 200 in my own mind into 2 sets of 100.  So now it was not a big deal as I just did 4 sets of it.  I started out slow and focused on gliding in the water and not pushing so hard as there were 200 yards of this to do.  After the first 100 intead of couting 125, 150, etc I started back at 25 and I got through that 100 easy.  After the 200 was over I fist-pumped and said to myself you just did it and you aren't breathing hard and you could have handled 300 if not more.  Totally fired up and love seeing the progress on the swim.

Strength/Core workout this evening.  Thinking that 50% of the weight is going to be used for shoulders and back since I have swam 3300 yards in less then 12 hours and I can feel the tiredness there, which is good b/c it is not fatigue.
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I have been recommending Coach C to anybody interested in working with a coach b/c I think she has made me a better athlete in just two weeks and certinaly more organized.  I have also carried it over into my personal life in terms of being more efficient at work, as a husband, as a step-father and friend.  Life is easier when you are able to be efficient at what you do an focus your energy in the right spots.

A friend of ours has emailed her and gotten the forms that usually starts the process of hiring Coach C.  Another friend of mine emailed me yesterday after I gave Coach C a shout out on my FB page about how well the training is going.  Maybe he will hire her as well.

I get satisfaction out of the idea that others are willing to train to get themselves healthy and to try to accomplish different feats.  I think it is important that we all try to live a healthy lifestyle that incorporates working out.

On Katy Trail on Sunday I saw some people that were overweight but they gave me great motivation.  Here they were trying to better their lives.  Instead of cowering in the corner, then are going out and attacking life.  Telling life that they are going to live their lives and not hide from it.  I think it's great and anything I can do to help them life a healthy lifestyle I am going to do.  And that is why I blog. 

I don't always have great training days but I work at them.  I work at getting better and if it is the worst workout at least I'm doing something and keeping moving and I want all those to know that it isn't always easy but the results are always worth it.  If not physically, then mentally.

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE !!!!!

High Cadence Interval Training - May 22, 2010

Today's training was a High Cadence Interval Brick. Essentialy this is high intensity where you are keeping your cadence between 90 and 100, whether you are going uphill or not. You want to keep your feet spinning and get the HR into an anaerobic state. So I start out with 10 minutes of warm-up with a HR between 135-145 then do 4 intervals of 3-5 minutes at 90-100 cadence followed by recovery for the same amount of time I rode at the high cadence then finish up the hour with a cool-down.

That is immediately followed by an easy run. An easy run is defined as being between 135-145 HR for me and that usually puts me at a 10:30 pace. That pace is very difficult for me to maintain not because it is so fast but the exact opposite. I'm used to running much faster then that so this pace is slow. The odd thing is that as soon as I get off the bike and start the run the HR jumps to 151 and I have to truly focus on slowing myself down so that my HR comes down.

Today was special because I got to do my brick workout with my wife. Karen came out b/c she had her own brick workout to do today with a 60 minute bike and 10 minute run. She did great and I think the cross-training will help her running in the long-run. Tomorrow we are going to run Katy Trail again and she will be running with our friend Barbara and I'll be running with our friend Robyn. It is going to be a great time.

In addition to being with my wife another friend of ours (Steffanie) came out on her bike to meet us. She is going to be doing the Grapevine Tri on June 5th as well a few other friends of mine. Check back on June 5th for the results right here: Tri Grapevine Results

I am hoping to finish in the top 5 of my age group. Last year, which was my first tri ever, I finished with a time of 1:26:53 and as you may recall my time from The Caveman (Caveman Triathlon Results) was 1:18:53 so an improvement of 8 minutes.

If I finish at 1:18:53 again I will be 3rd in my age group which will be a great accomplishment. I believe that I can do that since I am more efficient in the water and thus will have more energy on the bike and run. Throw in a better bike and a better training program and nutritional guide and the stars are aligned with a 1:18:53 finish or better. I am not going to get psyched up though as the true test of this tri is to be better at the swim and not necessarily in time, but in efficiency.

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Team iRuniTri news:
Coach C was competing in an Xterra down in Waco today and I sent her an email after the brick workout to wish her luck and if the race was over how she did. Her email came back with the news that she WON in the female category and finished 2nd overall in the race which is downright amazing. I am more and more impressed by Coach C everyday on how well she runs her business and still is able to compete at a high level. You can find her results here: Xterra Trail Run Results

Coach C is really Claudia Spooner and I recommend her to anybody and everybody who is willing to put in work to get the best results out of their body and be prepared to succeed because she builds your training around you and your lifestyle.

Her website is iRuniTri and you can just click and be on your way to a leaner, stronger, more efficent body and excellent race day results.

Tomorrow she has 3 athletes competing in Waco with 2 of them shooting for Nationals and the other being her husband whom she says is doing it for fun, but once you toe the starting line your adrenaline takes over and your body is ready to attack so it becomes a race.

I can't wait to hear about the results for our team members on Team iRuniTri.

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The rest of today is going to be great as Karen and I head to the Ballpark at Arlington for a fun day of watching Texas Rangers baseball. The Chicago Cubs have come to town and we will be in the stands cheering on the home team. Will post pics tomorrow or later tonight after we get home from the game.

Tomorrow's run will be followed by another trip to The Ballpark for me but this time with another triathlete/friend of ours. Once that is over it will be time to come home and spend some time with Karen before we head to the gym for my evening swim workout. Another Sunday with 1850 yards of swimming and I am pumped. I have gotten so efficient in the water that 1850 is no longer a daunting task nor is a straight 300. I am ready for this swim as I am now focusing on getting to Grapevine and beating the 6:55 that it took me last year to swim 300 yards.

Until tomorrow please remember that SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE

Bike - Run Brick - May 20th 2010

Today's training involved Hill Cruise Intervals.  This is basically setting your gears so that you are peddaling at a low cadence and going up hills for 30 seconds then recovery for 30 seconds.  Do this for 10 reps then a solid 5 minute recovery then back at it for another 10 reps.  The total ride was to be 60 minutes and you were to be training at an anerobic level where your heart rate is elevated.

My HR was as high as 159 during these intervals but would drop considerably during the recovery phase but shoot right back up.  It was amazing and tough.  My legs were feeling it after this 60 minute ride.

And oh, did I mention this was to all be done in the aero position.  I finally realized that Coach C meant by doing bicep curls will help with leverage during the climb on the bike.  I was pulling on those bars so hard I thought they might rip off.

Below is the map of my ride along with distance, elevation gained, time and calories burned.



Well I wasn't done yet. After that I had to do a 30 minute run and try to keep my HR below 148. As soon as I took a few steps my HR shot right up to 150 and it was time to slow it way down.

I got it down in a jiffy but my Max HR wound up being 151. I was really trying to be no higher then 148. My avg though was 144 which is great. I ran my miles in 11:28, 10:54 and 10:41 so as the run got longer I got faster and was able to keep my HR down.

Below is a map similar to the one above but this is just the run. If you have a Garmin and use Garmin Connect you can track all of this data and it will help you analyze your training and hopefully improve your performance.


When I was training at a high BPM my Garmin was useless to me, but now training like this I see the benefit of having one and will not train without it.  Even when I go to the gym to use the treadmill I have my Garmin so that it tracks my HR.  Great device.  I am looking at getting another watch though for the races since the Garmin is not waterproof.  Getting a Timex Ironman (similar to the one I have now) but with a HR monitor on it.  Guess I should check out if it is waterproof or not, otherwise it will be pointless to me.

Now I get to rest. The rest of Thursday and all day Friday and so the next training is Saturday with a Bike-Run Brick with the bike the focus again. I believe Karen and I are heading to Grapevine as she has a bike-run brick to do as well.

Spitz, Phelps, Bahamundi.........Maybe Not......

Today's swim training was in a word AWESOME.  I was a tad nervous this morning b/c I did not get into bed until 11pm or so and normally on a swim eve I like to get as much rest as possible so I'm not panicking in the pool and forgetting everything I have learned to date.

So when the alarm went off at 4am, and I hit snooze until 430a I felt like I was running late.  I knew I had to be home by 6:15a so Karen could get to work and I could take Jackson to school at 7am.  I did not want to rush the swim or miss any part of it, but I have to be in the water by 5am otherwise I won't make it.  DO NOT PANIC I told myself.  Get there and go slow and you will actually be faster.  Sounds odd, but its true.

I got through the warm up with no problems.  Got through the drills with ease, got through the first 100 of the main set in a breeze.  The 200 is where I had my only issue today and it was not from fatigue or anything else other then the fact that I swallowed some water and it affected my psyche.  I swallowed the water around the 75 yard mark and from 75 to 100 I was discombobulated.  I stopped after 100 for 10 seconds and right back at it with my head clear.  Once that was done it was smooth sailing.

For the first time during these swim drills I tackled the 25 yards hard the right way.  I swam faster then the drills, etc but I also did not kill myself so I wasn't able to breathe and I got through those 25 spints faster then ever before.

One trick (tip) I used today was the hip rotation.  I read about this in an article from the USAT and applied to today's training and it allowed me to breathe easier and longer.  All those yards were much easier for me then ever before.  Here is the link if you are interested in reading more about hip rotation in the pool:

Use Your Hip To Power Your Swim

This was a great way to start the day after the way the day ended yesterday and the good times are rolling.  Last night I played in our softball teams Spring Season Championship Game.  We came out a little flat in the first inning by not scoring a run but in the bottom of the 1st I walked two batters before a line drive was flagged by our shortstop to end the inning and any rally they had going.  We scored 8 in the 2nd and just kept going from there.  We ended up winning 17-4 and captured the trophy.  Great ending to a season that started out with us 0-2.  We never quit on ourselves or each other and won out.

Brick Work - May 18th, 2010

Today was a brick day, but this one focused on running at tempo pace as oppose to a long bike and short run.

The bike was 30 minutes and I managed to go 7.73 miles during that time but the most important thing is that I did not fall down on the new bike.

The bike was making some weird noises at first and I think I was babying it instead of riding it, but give me a break that is an expensive bike that I did not want to ding in anyway on the first ride.

Riding on that bike was smooth and effortless.  It went by without any issues whatsoever and is fast.  Very little peddling gets that bike going at a good speed.  Question is whether or not to use it in the Grapevine Tri.  Not sure I want to just yet but at the same time I have got to use it at a race at some point.  It might help push me toward the top of the age group.

The run today was to be a 6 miler b/t 8:30 and 8:45 pace with 4x2 at 8:15.  Finished the run at a pace of 8:44 but I think that the increase pace was faster then 8:15 and the recovery was slower then 8:45, but all in all it was great run.

Karen started her training yesterday with Coach C and she like it a lot.  We both have a lot on our plates right now in terms of training and work, so we need to make sure we balance our lives together at the same time.  This is going to be fun comparing how we are doing in our training.  I am beyond happy for her to go out on this limb and try something new and do something for herself.

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Today I get inagurated into the Board of Directors.  What a great moment!!!!!  I can't wait to sit at the table to discuss items that not only affect my family, but also affect those families of my neighbors and those in the community that I don't know.

Being at the table and having a voice is what I ran for.  Being at the table to get a better understanding of Castle Hills is what I ran for.

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Once that meeting is done I have a different type of brick to do.  Board meeting from 430-630p then off to playoff softball at 645p.  Probably won't make it there on time but will be ready to go when I do get there.  Our team hasn't been to the playoffs in about 4 or 5 seasons so this is exciting.  We have a very good team and one that can win it all if we eliminate the mistakes.

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Swim tomorrow and I'm excited for it.  Going to have a great night and a great morning of training.

Until tomorrow.......don't forget to Tri everything you can in life b/c it is too short.

Back In The Pool.....

So after yesterday's disappointing swim session, this morning was back in the pool for another 1500 yards.

Before I get into that I want to share with you what Coach C emailed me after I told her about what I thought was a disappointing swim:

Everything looks good and solid,, and you will have some ups and downs.. That's training.
I am sure your tired, I have you swimming more then you ever have, I am expecting that.
Also, the excitement of a new bike, the fitting, that all plays into your day. I'd rather be on my new bike then swimming any day..LOL.. that may have been in the back of your head.. and that is PSYCHE ... I totally understand that.

Butt up head down... Keep practicing... it's KEY in efficient swimming and staying on top of the water.
 
So with those encouraging words in mind I got up at 4am today to hit the pool.  I needed to be in the water by 5am the latest b/c today Karen and I were trying something new.  I was going to take my step-son to school so I needed to be home before Karen left for work which is around 6:30am.
 
The training was W/U - 100y; Stroke Drills: 50 catch, 50 pull, 50 kicks, 50 fist all with :20 RI, followed by 2x100 :15 RI.  Main Set: 1x 100 @ 75%, 1x200 @ 80%; 4x 50@ 80%; Stroke Drils of 4x 50 catch, Sprints of 4x25 (:15 RI); Cool Down of 1x 200.
 
The swimming went great.  I slowed myself down to the point that it was almost effortless.  I felt like my kicks were stronger and when I rotated my hips to breathe and rest my left arm my kicks were still strong.  In the past when I rotated my hips my legs would stop.  It was great, especially the first 1x200 where I did it and felt that it was almost easy.  That is a great feeling coming on the heels of not coming close to 200 straight yesterday.
 
I love the positivity out of Coach C.  It helps keep me motivated and to keep pushing me to perform at my best and to get better.
 
As I told my step-son on the way to school today.....Practice Makes Perfect as well as Nobody In This Family Quits.  Words to live by.
 
Taking him to school today was special.  It felt like a great bonding moment and he kept asking me to take him to a baseball game again.  I took him opening day and he obviously loved being there so taking him will be a pleasure.  I am looking forward to that day.
 
I found this picture online this morning and thought it appropriate.......

How a good training day goes south

So the training day started out great with a great 8 mile run.  Karen and I went to Katy Trail and it is a 7 mile out and back (3.5 mi each direction) and my goal was to do 6 miles EASY aerobic (135-145 HR) and then at around mile 6 to do 10x30 pick-ups at about 90 SPM.

The 6 miles went by fairly easily and during that time I counted that my SPM were about 80 so there wasn't much of an increase to 90.  I got through those 10x30s easily and the final .75 mi was a great cool down where my HR was lowered to the 135-145 range.

I finished with an average HR of 140 with a maximum of 154.  The fastest pace was 10:34 and the slowest was 10:52 so I kept a very even aerobic pace throughout the run.

Then the best part of the training day was going to RBM and buying my newest toy.  A Specialized Transition Comp (see pic.)  The fitting lasted about 2 hours and I gotta tell you during the laser portion of the fitting where they needed my cadence b/t 80 and 90 for what should have been 2 sets wound up being 3 sets b/c they forgot to set one of the shoes.  When the 3rd set was done I was sweating profusely and dripping.  Jeremy (the best bike rep there is at RBM) had to get me a 2nd bottle of water.  Once I walked out of that shop with my new bike and a host of other items I was ultra excited.  I couldn't stop from smiling all the way home.

This evening I got to use my new outdoor kitchen.  Grilled pork loin with red, yellow and orange peppers along with asparagus.  It was a great meal, especially when you put horseradish and whole grain mustard on the pork.  Unreal.

After that, it was time to hit the pool for the longest swim of the training to date.  That did not scare me at all as I was excited to hit the pool tonight.  BUT this was the toughest swim for me.  I could not get through the 300 yard warm-up without stopping at 150 and then doing 3 sets of 50 until I finished the 300.  I then did the 4x50, followed by drills but during the main set I was finished.  I could not do the 300, 200, 100 at all but I also did not stop.  I kept doing drills since I was already in the water and need to work on my stroke.  I did the 2x100 pull buoy that was part of the day, I did the 50 catch-up, the 100 RT/LT, the 50 kick, 50 fingerdrag and then I added in another 50 pull buoy and 50 kick plus 50 fist stroke.  The 4x50 HARD was great and for the best part the last 50 was the best 50 of the entire swim.  All in all I got in 1400 yards of swimming.

Just like in golf the last 50 lead me to believe that tomorrow's swim is going to be awesome.  I'm going to be great at the swim training tomorrow.

Back in the Saddle.....literally

Got back to training this morning.  I gotta say that being off for even one day is a lot for me.  I'm used to going at 100 mph all day every day and having a rest day was probably the hardest part of this training for me.  I know that it is necessary to do but that doesn't make it any easier.  Think of the dentist.  You KNOW you have to go every 6 months but that doesn't mean that you enjoy it or that you even want to do it.  So from now on I am looking at rest days like the dentist.  Hate it but gotta do it.

Today's training consists of a 60 minute ride followed by a 20 minute run.  These are called bricks.  Why?  No clue, but if I had to guess it is because you are builing your house for the tri.  Or maybe b/c your legs usually feel like bricks going from the bike to the run.  Not sure, but will google in a bit to educate myself some more.

Speaking of which, this whole training is like learning a second language.  I actually went and googled training  phrases yesterday so I wouldn't bother  Coach C too much with all my questions.  For example tomorrow's training involves pickups, spm, RT/LT......had no clue what any of that meant.  Found out through this phrase bible and Coach C that pickups are short but relaxed increases in speed for 20-30 seconds.  My pick-up will be at 90 spm.......spm = strikes per minute.  I will count my right foot strikes to the floor and need to have 45 in the 30 second pick.  These are used for speed turn-over.  RT/LT......right side only/left side only during the swim.  So basically one arm out in front while kicking and the other arm strokes.

Anyway, back to today's training.  The 60 minute ride wound up being 63 minutes with an avg HR of 141 and covered 17.42 miles at a pace of 16.6 MPH.  Today was to be hills and my overall max elevation was 620 feet, so while not climbing a mile the elevation was pretty good and the hills were fairly tough.  I could tell b/c my max heart rate was 161 and that was usually on the hills only.  I looked for as many hills as I could find.  My training partner, Robert, hates hill and everytime I would find one you could almost hear him grunt.  He will get better and start to enjoy them the more we do them.

The run was 20 minutes and covered 2.17 miles at an average pace of 9:14.  My HR on average was 142 with a max of 150 so in other words......PERFECT to where Coach C wanted it.

Amazing that running at that pace which is not super slow and I could keep my HR that low.  Normally at that pace my HR is high and pounding, but being in control has been a huge help for me.

As mentioned before getting down to 145 is going to be key for me.  I think that is where I'm fastest and strongest.  This morning I weighed 149 lbs so I have lost 3 lbs since last Monday doing this training.  Continuing to eat right and getting my rest will get me down to 145 lbs in no time.
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My Newest Prize?

Went to RBM yesterday to get my road bike re-taped and a cateye put on while also having the aero bars fixed since I put them on myself.

While I was there I spoke to Jeremy (sold Karen her Bianchi) and figured it was time to talk shop on a Tri Bike.  So I told him about the Blue that I had the opportunity to get down in Austin and the price range and he showed me a Specialized Transision Comp for about the same price.  The bike is gorgeous.

He fitted me to the bike for about an hour and it works.  It is fitted for me.  With my inseam a small or medium would work but the Comp takes a lot of fitting and we weren't sure it would work since they have no smalls.  The medium was fitted to my body type and I have to go back on Sunday for about 2 more hours of fitting......an entire day ordeal.....but worth it.

When I hired Coach C to train me I knew I was committing.  When I signed up for 70.3 California I knew I was committing.  By buying this bike  I am committing.  This is going to be a lifestyle change for me.  I am going to be a triathlete.  I knew at the beginning of this year when I told Karen that if I got into the NYC Marathon that was the last one I was doing.  I didn't get in, but I do plan on doing one more marathon and essentially being done with that as I focus on the triathlons.  Maybe Coach C will want me to participate in long races (1/2 marathons) for training for the distance and short races (5k to 15K) for speed but I think that my days of focusing solely on the run are over with this purchase.

I have goosebumps just thinking of making this type of investment but in my heart of hearts I know this is the right thing to do for me.  I will talk to Karen more about this but I think I am almost fully convinced that this is right.  One thing to keep in mind with the new bike is that I have to keep my family first throughout this process.  Spending as much time as possible is going to help get me through the tough days of training.  Having their full support is going to be critical.  I love my family and miss them right now as when I got back from my training Karen went to the gym to get her training in.  I know it will work like that weekend mornings but we have all day together, and trust me with the weather today it will be all day together, just hopefully not inside.  Gloomy out there.

So that is probably all for today, but keep reading and find out how the 1850 yards of swimming tomorrow evening go.

Rest Day......

What do I do?  Today is a rest day.  ALL DAY.....what am I supposed to do?  I'm used to being at the gym everyday and working out or doing something.  Our Friday softball league looks like it is not going to happen so that leaves me with NOTHING to do all day.  Most people would love this but I feel lost.  I slept until 7am which is abnormal so I don't know what to do.

I feel good after this week's first training session.  Nothing major hurts, just a little soreness in my left hamstring that if I had stretched properly would most likely not be there.  I have to make it a point to stretch more often.....there you go that is what I can do today.  Get more flexible.  Stretch a little and help relieve that soreness.  Sounds good to me.

Another idea that Karen and I spoke about last night is to take my bike in to get the bars wrapped again since they got killed on the MS ride.  I will also take Coach C's advice and have the aero bars fitted to my bike and I.  At the same time I'll have them install a cateye on the bike and might as well shop for a new tri bike and see how that goes in terms of cost.  I'm looking at $1500 to $2500 to spend knowing that I can get a Blue down in Austin for $2500 so let's see what RBM has to offer in that price range.

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Outdoor kitchen is 95% done.  The mason work is all completed with just the electrical to go but we could BBQ tonight if we wanted to on the new kitchen.  We do have to look for barstools that would compliment the look of the kitchen along with the firepit, pool and dining table.  The backyard is coming along nicely and we will talk to the landscaper about having the grounds cleaned up a bit right in front of the kitchen so we don't have two mud pits.

Pictures will be on the next post as I have to email them from the blackberry.

Can't wait to have great parties over here after all the training.  Grilling up chicken and turkey sausage and the occasional red meat.  Veggies on the grill and pineapple and peaches for dessert on the grill.  Going to be an awesome summer at the Baha Oasis.

Here is the Goal......

Here is the header from the event page and one that I will keep as a motivation and an inspiration during these training miles and pushing my body to limits I never thought I could do.

Low HR...Low HR...Low HR...Low HR

This is essentially my new mantra for training.  As Coach C says.....slow and steady wins the race.  She emailed me to tell me that you can't win a 70.3 or 140.6 by having a HR of 170 the entire time.  Your body will not be able to sustain that pace so with that knowledge she has me working in Zone 3 which is 135-145 BPM.

Yesterday afternoon was a strength/core day and you start out by going 2 miles at a slow pace.  When I first started out my Garmin was going nuts b/c my HR was too low and it took me to about 0.15 miles before it picked up.  From there the rest of the 2 miles was easy but I was sweating.  I ran the 2 miles in 20:52 and had an avg HR of 140 with a max of 147.  In other words PERFECT!!!!!

After that came the strength.  I kept the HR monitor on and was anywhere from 121 to 155 during this portion of the workout.  I can say again that it kicks your butt and not b/c of the amount of weight but because of the resistance on the way down.  The exersion is fine it is the resistance that taxes the body.  I will say that getting funny looks when you are curling 15 lb dumbells and actually grunting is hilarious.  The behomeths that walk around there curling 90 lbs don't understand the HR training obviously and just wonder what is that guy doing.

This morning was a 60 min ride / 30 min run brick.  The ride was all to be at 135-145 and the run was to be 10 minutes at that HR then do 5x1minute at 155-165 and recover for 1 minute then followed by 10 minutes again at 135-145.

The bike ride was 1:02:56 over 16.65 miles with an average HR of 141 and max of 156.  It was perfect.

The run was 30:01 over 3.15 miles with an average HR of 153 with a max of 167.  I got the first 10 minutes and interval part perfect but the recovery and the last 10 minute run was hard to get my HR down.  About 2 minutes after the run was over and walking back to the house my HR was down to 121.

Coach C says that the more I train in this area the faster the HR will decrease.  It is amazing the science behind all of this stuff.  I'm also thrilled to finally be using my garmin in the way it was intended and I don't feel like I just spent money on nothing.

I have to get my bike to RBM b/c since the fall it is making an odd noise in one gear.  The MS ride did a number to my handlebars in terms of the tape so that needs to be repaired as well.  I am also going to have a cateye added to the bike so that during the training I know my cadence as that is going to be important down the line.

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Personal note.......work is beyond hectic right now.  I am taking 5 minutes to myself to write this blog piece but it is already 11:40 in NY and I don't know where the morning went.  Seems like everywhere you turn there is another project that needs to be done.  This is our busy time of the year and it usually makes the day fly by but it seems like it is going faster now then ever before.

On the outdoor kitchen the progress has been great.  The mason and his boys are just about done.  He is here alone today to cut the hole for the grill so that means that the electrician needs to get here and then we are finished and able to enjoy our backyard oasis.  Need to order bar stools for the outdoor kitchen as a last and final touch.

Summer BBQ'ing will help the diet for sure and just allow us to have family and friends over to enjoy the pool as well.

It's Official

I am now officially registered for the event.  Registrations started at 12pm EST and I signed up right then.

There is no turning back now.

Find a great Coah ----- check
Register for Race ----- check
Train for a year ----- let's hope so
Compete ----- NO DOUBT

Today is the Day

The registration for Oceanside opens today at 11am.  I couldn't be more excited about this race.  And yes I'm calling it a race b/c I plan on finishing at a competitive time.  Not to be completely exhausted and hurting like after the San Antonio marathon.  I EXPECT to finish strong and to cross that finish line with my hands in the air.  Grab a banana a drink and Karen and my step-son.  I am beside myself right now and have goose bumps just thinking about signing up for this race.

Not to mention that yesterday I booked my hotel at the Hilton for the Toyota Open Championships.  I just think the more stuff I can remove from going wrong the better and being able to wake up at 5am and walk out the front door to the event is better then waking up at 4am and having to drive to the event.  It honestly didn't matter what it cost for the room I was booking it.  I want to be able to remove any hindrances from a good race, especially one of that length that I would never have done before.

Onto today's training.  Another 1500 meter day in the pool.  Another successful day in the pool.  I love having the drills as it breaks up the monotony of going back and forth and following the line and seeing the end and turning around.  So much better for the psyche.

For the second swim in a row the pull buoy was my favorite drill and the fist stroke my most hated.  The fist stroke makes me feel as if I'm almost drowning.  I have to ask Coach C the point of this stroke and what I should be focusing on so that I don't feel like I'm drowning and just trying to get through the drill.

The hard part of today's swim was the 1x200 after the warm-up.  I was tiring at that point being that I just swam 500 yards and was not trying to swim a straight 200.  About halfway through I started pulling my head up and the swim became even harder.  I had to focus on putting my head down and slowing down like Coach C told me to do in our email exchanges after the first swim.  It was not as easy as I expected.  After the 1x200 I had to do 2x100 and on the second 100 I felt better and slowed myself down and concentrated on the swim.  I tried to emplore the catch method so that I would glide through the water.  In the 4x50 I was able to actually swim that portion with my head down more so then in the first 200 and this was after 900 yards.

During the 4x50 though on the 2nd 50 I did a pull bouy drill and that allowed me to focus on my breathing and stroke count.  The 3rd and 4th 50 were so much better.  The next set of 50 was the catch-up drill and I was doing that better then I did on day 1 so that is progress.  The 4x25 Hard was again one of the best parts as that is all out with :20 RI but it forces me to keep my head down and focus on the swim and not let anything else get in my way.

One of the items of today's swim that I'm most proud of is that there were 4 women in the pool who swam competitively and I did not let that get in my head.  I focused on my technique and my drills and the plan from Coach C and not about racing or beating these 'competitors' in the pool.  A much better way to attack the training.

My RHR this morning was 78.  I keep forgetting to take while in bed but take it pretty much 5 minutes after waking up while eating breakfast.  During the swim at one point it was up to 138.  After the swim training it was back down to 96.  Right now it is at 90.  Slwoing down and not racing......good stuff.
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Tonight we are going to Karen's parents to bring her Dad a birthday card since today is his b-day.  Lastt night on the way to softball I bought him a card that had to do with farts.  To any lady reading this, no we don't ever grow up when it comes to passing gas.  That is who we are and it makes us laugh.  We are not mature when it comes to this and that will never change.

Last night our team won again this time by a score of 16-4.  We have only lost two games all season and we are looking good.  The team is playing as a unit and we are hitting the ball hard and at opportune times.  Gloves have started to play much better as well.  We could make some noise in the playoffs which is something we haven't done since spring of 2008.  Go Magically Delicious.

When I got home from softball last night Karen greeted me at the door and told me she had just gotten off the phone with Coach C. They spoke for about an hour regarding a training program and an elevated HR and how Coach C can help Karen out training for a marathon.  I couldn't be happier about this.  Karen and I can't 'coach' each other.  We are just not wired for that.  This way Karen will have a training program of her own and can follow that and ask Coach C questions without my getting involved and I can just be the encourager and provider of love.  I'm good at that as my coach style is militaristic and what I say goes and that doesn't work in a marriage.

Tonight is strength/core again and I'm fired up.  I have lost 3 lbs since Monday and I can see the definition in my shoulders starting to take place already (3000m of swimming will do that.)  I feel stronger then ever and losing the weight is helping me.  I have thought that at 145 lbs I am at my strongest and fastest but I have been hovering between 150 and 152 for almost 4 months and not able to shed those pounds.  Now they are coming off and not because I'm eating any less but because the training is burning so many calories.  I eat all day long to rehydrate and replenish and it is still burning off.  Once I get to that 145 I will have to think about my caloric intake and make some adjustments.  Maybe bigger meals then the ones I eat now during the day.

Till later tonight after the strength/core portion or tomorrow morning after the bike-run brick.

TRAINING HARDER AND SMARTER

5/11/10 - Tempo Run

Before we get into today's AM training session let me inform you of what occured during last night's strength training/easy run.

So I set out around 4:30p on a 3 mile easy run. An easy run is used to get your muscles warmed up and really not to push yourself. Unfortunately I don't know how to do that so my EASY run was at a 9:03 pace. I think that is easy b/c I have run in the 8:30s and well it wasn't that difficult outside of the 90 degree temps and high humidity. Looked like I just walked out of the shower I was sweating so much.

In the car and go to the gym. My wife is there somewhere and I ended up walking right past her. Find her say hello and she continues on her 4 mile run and I move onto strength training.

This training is unlike anything I have ever done. There are 14 excercises that you do 2 sets of 12-15 reps at a weight that is 50%-65% of your 1 rep max. Sounds like light weight b/c you have handled more right? WRONG. You are now counting to 2 on the way out (exersion) and 4 on the way in (resistance.) I was bench pressing 115 pounds and by the 12th rep on the 2nd set my chest was burning. On fire I tell you.

By the time I finished that 14th exercise my goose was cooked, but in a good way. I felt stronger then before and actually felt like I gave myself a workout. I was nervous about the tempo run this morning after working legs but I have to believe that Coach C knows what is right for me and what I can do based on past performance.

Do I even have to mention that I slept like a baby? Asleep around 9:45p last night. This training thing might turn out better then I thought for that reason alone.

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This morning up at 4:37am to get my run in. This is a tempo run where I am to keep my pace around 8:30-8:45.

I eat my breakfast which consisted of a whole wheat waffle, some honey, some chocolate chips and a tablespoon on peanut butter with coffee. Tastes so good and good for you too. After eating it is time to run to our meeting spot here in Castle Hills.

It is 1 mile to the starting line and I do that in about 9:02.....uh-oh!!!!! Once everybody is there and we take off we are doing sub 8-minute miles and I have to slow down. It was hot out there this morning even for 5:15am. Not the easiest weather to run in and especially at that pace.

Get through the run and finish at 8:40. It was within the time, but I would like to become more consistent throughout the mile and maintain that pace as opposed to sub-8 then 9:20 then back down again. All in all though each mile was right around 8:35 - 8:40 so I guess that is consistent.

Home to breakfast number two and walking the dogs. Walking the dogs is a great cool down after running that hard. It is an easy 15 minute walk that allows my legs to recuperate.

Breakfast number two is a protein loaded smoothie. I put in a cup of milk, a serving of Greek Yogurt, 1.5 tbs of Peanut Butter, a splash of honey plus rasberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and bananas. Throw in some flax seed and you feel full for hours, have consumed calories and protein and carbs and fiber so it is healthy for you as well. Tastes so good.

Rest up the rest of today except for softball this evening and then back in the pool for another 1500 meters. Reading the drills and I'm not intimidated anymore. That is progress already.


Best part of training......EATING......I ate so much yesterday and still have dropped 2 lbs in the day. Tells me I need to eat more. Not a problem.

Until we meet again.....

BTW I have changed my motto from NOBODY WILL TRAIN HARDER THEN ME to.....

NOBODY WILL TRAIN HARDER OR SMARTER THEN ME

First Day of Training

Today was the first day of training as I received my schedule from Coach C last night. The schedule covers the next four weeks and is broken down to regiments for the AM and PM. Most of these portions will take an hour or less so I will get to spend time with my family while still maintaining an active lifestyle that will get me in shape for the Ironman.

So today's first session was a swim. Not just any swim, but 1500 meters. The furthest I have ever swam was 725 so more then doubling the distance was first shocking, but then I figured that if I have to swim 1.2 miles on race day might as well get going now.

So the alarm went off at 4:06am and I got out of bed around 4:20 to have breakfast. Pre workout breakfast consists of toast, orange, coffee and half a protein bar. Off to the gym around 4:50am.

Get there and there is one person in the pool. Did she sleep there?

Anyway, I have to do 1500 meters, but thankfully not all at the same time. It is broken down into warm-ups, drills, main set, sprints and warm down.

I get into it and I realize how much I like it. I like having the structure of a coach and a reason for doing things. Previous swim training was just power through it so that I know I won't drown during the race.

Here is my take on the training session:

I love the buoy pull. This made me work just my upper body but my legs floated as I had a float between my thighs. This makes your legs useless for kicking, but since my previous swimming was just like that the benefit of having them float was huge.

I struggled with the fist stroke. Make a fist and swim through the water. This was so hard b/c you have no speed since your hands are in a ball.

Coach C asked that I take :15 intervals but at one point it was closer to :45 but I'm not upset as that will improve with my stamina for swimming 1500 meters.

I really loved the 4x25 hard as that forced me to keep my head down in the water and be more streamlined so that you actually move faster.


This afternoon I will have a 3 mile easy run, and then this evening I will go to the gym for strength/core work.

My heart rate this morning prior to breakfast was 62 bpm, then after the swim it was 94 bpm and two hours after the swim it was 82 bpm. I plan on taking my heart rate every two hours.

Happy Mother's Day

Today was Mother's Day and I have three special women in my life that I need to recognize and the first is my lovely wife. I love you honey. The second is my mother and the third is my sister. I love you both as well.

Each in their own way has helped me shape who I am today and how I go about my life.

For example, my wife is competitive and she keeps me going. She is the bedrock for me and her attitude allows me to compete in all of these events as well as push myself. Since we are both competitive we can have a tenedency to compete with each other but I also think that because of who we are we know how important it is to each other to train and to get out and race.

This morning my wife's one wish for Mother's Day was to run with her friend. So at aroudn 6:30am she left the house for a 7-8 mile run. She got home and seemed so relaxed and she truly enjoyed her run. It is great to have a wife who knows what it takes to compete and to always look to challenge yourself.

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I got my first four weeks of training today from my coach and I'm fired up and nervous all at the same time. My first workout tomorrow is 1500 meters of swimming. The most I have ever done is 725 so this is more then double that, but the best part is nothing is longer then my longest non-stop swim of 325 yards. I think that with me going out at 1500 on day one and again on day 3 that by the time that Grapevine hits on June 5th I will be able to swim those 300 easy.

In our email correspondence today she also pointed out that she wants me to do open water competitions and that there are two coming up. One is on June 12th-13th and the other is on June 20th down near Austin. Going to Austin to do the race and buy a new bike sounds kind of awesome. Going to explore these two dates some more. Karen and I love going to Austin and spending time down there. Great people, great atmosphere, tons of fun.

I will be back on this blog early tomorrow morning to let you all know how the first swim training session went.

Also, big day tomorrow in that I should be getting my transition bag delivered. Good times all around.

Going to lay on the couch with my wife and to bed early as tomorrow is a big day.

Later.

NOBODY WILL TRAIN HARDER THEN ME.

Training, Museum and Elections all in one day

Today turned out to be a very good day. This morning I had a great workout with Robert over in Grapevine. We ran the and rode the course for the Grapevine Tri in June.


We started out with the run to essentially tire out the legs before getting on the bike and then finished that up with another run to get the feel of trainsitioning from the bike to the run.

The first run we did was 3.5 miles followed by a 12.05 mile bike then followed by a 3.05 mile run.


The best part of this was that there was a stronghead wind and there are lots of tough hills on this course but at one point we took it slow and probably averaged 14 mph but at the end of the ride we finished at 16.8 mph which is 0.3 mph faster then the race last year and 0.2 mph faster then Caveman. I am excited as I think I can break 17.0 mph at Grapevine on June 5th.


The two runs averaged 8:36 and 8:13. We got faster on the 2nd run and that was after a fast first run and bike. I am excited to see how this all translates on race day, but I have to keep in mind that my bigger goal is Toyota in October, California in April and then 140.6 in 2012.



All in all it was a great training session.



From the training session I got home and showered up as the family was going to the museum today to check out the dinosaur exhibit. Lots of interesting facts about how the dinosaurs occupied Texas. There has been mammoth findings right near Loop 12 and there is an archeological dig going on right around Arlington. Fascinating information, and man were those dinos big.

My step-son seemed to have a great time while checking out the dino exhibits but I think he enjoyed the extra exhibits more. They had one on light, one DNA, one on farms and animals. Things to keep kids intrigued but what I found amazing was all the information that was available to adults to keep them interested.

I also got to see the Cotton Bowl upclose after all those years living on the East Coast and seeing it on TV.

Lastly, today was election day. I ran for a seat in our local government and based on unofficial results look to have won. The experience was incredible and such a valuable learning tool for myself. It was not just winning but the fact that I participated in something historic for our community of Castle Hills. A bunch of us got together down at Mezza Luna for an election night dinner and to find out the results together.

As it turns out 'unofficially' 9 independent residents got elected. We had been part of a Project RoundTable that discusses issues in the neighborhood and what we like/dislike and what can we actually change. From these informal gatherings I became more and more interested in being a bigger part of the solution and not just stand around to watch all go on around me.

Link to the election results: http://elections.dentoncounty.com/go.asp?Parent=75&Link=1116

I ran in District 1-B.


My first board meeting, once these votes become official, is most likely going to be on May 18th. I will be sworn in at that meeting and take the time to absorb all that I can so that my service on the board will be worth the while it took for those who voted for me. Thank you to everybody who voted whether it be for me or other candidates. Congratulations to all those that won today and I look forward to working on the Board of 1-B.


It is late and I will be watching the little man in the morning while Karen is out getting her own training in. She is looking to do a 7.5-8 mile run tomorrow AM. I hope it doesn't rain and that she gets a great run in. Go get 'em honey.


One last thing.....outdoor kitchen is looking great. Be on the lookout for full transformation of backyard in the very near future.

Swimming......if that is what you want to call it

I had a friend of mine video me in the water yesterday so that I could send to my coach to have my 'technique' broken down and to get help with my swim since this is by far my worst discipline.

I am posting this awful video so that as I get better I can see the transformation. I want this as a reminder of where I started.

I will post more about my training today after the election party tonight. Hopefully the election party is a celebration party.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP4rZCsbXbI

Ugly Swimming This Evening

Headed up to 24 Hour Fitness to have my swim stroke filmed by my buddy with his underwater camera. I have known that my stroke is inefficient and just plain awful. I know that I just try to power my way through the swim and get out of the water as quickly as possible, but what I saw on video makes me thankful that Toyota is not until October 10 and that California is still a little under a year away.

What I saw was a lot of flailing and plain ugliness. Strokes were not in rhythm and neither were what you could call kicks. I am a little disappointed in myself right now in that I am just not that good at the swim portion. Hopefully with some training I can turn that around. Anywhere I can make up time I am looking for.

Stay tuned for the video as I will post it as soon as I have access to it. I am going to post it as a reminder of how bad I was. Yes, was because I am determined to get faster.

One positive I can take out of this is that while I did the first 50 I felt faster and I was trying the technique that my trainer had spoken of on Monday. I am going to go back to the pool early Sunday morning to put in training and not try to be a speed demon b/c that is where it falls apart.

Heading to bed now b/c tomorrow will be a training day of 4 mile run, 20 mile bike, 4 mile run. Trying to train myself that when I get on the bike, winded and having done some aerobic activity, to get the legs turning over. After that the bike-run brick will take hold and allow me to get through that feeling of your legs not cooperating at the start of the run.

6am start tomorrow......training......gotta love it.

NOBODY WILL TRAIN HARDER THEN I DO

2010 Race Schedule

Here is my 2010 Race schedule and I will post the results as they come in:

April 25: Caveman Tri Finished this in 1:18:53.2
Swim - 275 yards in 5:28
T1 - 1:17.0
Bike - 12.8 miles in 46:16.7
T2 - 54.0
Run - 3.1 miles in 24:57.5

I finished in 125 overall out of 547. 17th place out of 53 men in my age group.

June 5: Grapevine - Paddle, Peddle and Pound
July 24: Cooper Summer Spring (tentative)
August 8: Pioneer Sprint Tri
September 5: Old College Tri
October 10: Toyota Open
December 5: Las Vegas Rock N Roll (tentative)
December 13: White Rock Marathon (tentative)
January 16: Phoenix Rock N Roll (tentative)

I'm sure there will be other races thrown in here throughout the year but this is the schedule for 2010.

Motivational Words

Today's training was going to be swimming. I need to get in the pool since I have only swam once since the Caveman Tri. Get to the pool and it seems that everybody was swimming this morning. It was nuts, but of course I got there around 5:40am when I wanted to be there at 5a. That's what I get for not moving in the morning.

Was the day shot? No way. Got my spin class pass and right on the bike in what seems to have been the sauna. Even with the fans on the room was so hot. During the warmups I could feel the sweat dripping. But then again I love sweating as it tells me that I'm working. During the class I figure I'll go for 40 - 45 minutes as that is around the time that the bike during the sprint tri would take me. After the spin class I would run to the treadmill and put in 3.7 miles as that is the distance for the run on the next sprint Tri on June 5th. I'll list my upcoming schedule after this post.

The spin class was great. The instructor keeps it interesting and has great music so your cadence goes with the beat fairly easily. Lots of sprints and lots of hovering so your quads and hamstrings are always engaged.

Once my 40 minutes is up I treat the last portion like the race and open up my cycling shoes and then dismount the bike and transition to my running shoes. I run to the treadmill and get it going at first at around 9:13 per mile. Going at a slower pace to starts mimicks actual race transitions with the bonk in your legs.

Your legs once you get off the bike feel like cynder blocks. It takes me about 1/4 to 1/2 mile to get my legs under me before I feel like I'm actually running. After about 1/4 mile today I ramp up the speed and keep increasing it every 3/4 to 1 mile until the last 0.2 miles and I go all out at a 6:30 pace. Training the fast twitch muscle fibers at close to lactate threshold.

Now this all sounds like I cruised through this, but I certainly did not. I had to coax myself into keeping up with the treadmill. My tank was empty. After running 7 miles yesterday, Karen and I decided to go for a bike ride down by White Rock Lake. The ride was 16 miles and while we took it easy we were still around 17 to 18 mph for the ride.

Not to mention I wiped out on the bike. My front tire got into a grove between the pavement and the grass and I couldn't turn the way the road wanted me to go and I completely bit it. Wiped out, went down and across the path. The cycling gods must have been on my side b/c nobody was coming in either direction and I managed to barely get any strawberries on my elbows or a*s. Fortunately for me I didn't break anything on my person or my bike.....although breaking the bike would not have been a bad thing as I am dying to find a reason other then want to buy a new tri-bike.

So during the run on the treadmill which is already deadly boring and now I'm facing fatigue I see on the wall of the gym the following:

Push Your Limits

Exceed All Expections

And then on the TV as an infomercial for who knows what with the slogan:

I Can Do It

I saw all these sayings and it just pushed me towards the end and while pushing myself I kept saying to myself as well:

Nobody Will Out Train Me. Nobody is up right now pushing themselves this way. Nobody.

I may not win awards in my age group or qualify for Kona come April 2, 2011 but it won't be from a lack of trying or effort.


Great Mail Delivery Last Night as well. When we got home from dinner sitting on the front porch were my new aero bars for my bike. They are just clip ons but they will help during the upcoming sprint events I have on my schedule. They will also allow me to train on my current road bike while using my new tri bike for racing only......that is when I get one.

Tonight a friend of mine will be filming me swim in the pool so I can forward to my trainer and have her critique my stroke and my effort and efficiency. I am excited about that b/c as you have found out I hate the swim portion of the triathlon.

Hope you have a great Friday and don't forget to wish a Happy Mother's Day to your mom and to all the women in your life that are mothers.