Pushing the Mind to Push the Body

My last three training sessions have been tough.  I had to push my body through some tough workouts, but with that I had to push my mind through them.  I had to convince myself that I could do them and really break it down.

Telling myself I only had to go 1 minute or 2 minutes and once I hit that mark tell myself it was just another 30 seconds or whatever it took to get my body to keep performing at the highest level it could and to really push it past that.

Last night I had a 60 minute run on a rolling course where my HR was to be 50% in Z2 and do not touch zones 3-5.  I wound up running in the rain and it was important for me to run yesterday b/c you never know what you are going to be facing on race day.  Running in the rain at first was liberating as the temps were in the mid-70s as opposed to the mid-90s, but as the time passed the rain came down harder and made my clothes feel like they weighed 100 lbs or so.  This was the first test of my mental capabilities.  Could I do this run for 60 minutes and get through the rain?  It was a successful run as I spent the majority of my time in Z2 where my avg HR was 2.3.  My max HR was 147 with an avg of 138.  I covered 5.57 miles in that time at a pace of 10:22.

This morning my training involved me on the trainer for 1hr 15m and simulating hills.  To do this you have to change gears.  I figured on the trainer I would be good and that this would be easier then it actually turned out to be.  After riding for 1hr 15m I was gassed and I looked like I had just come in from that run in the rain.  I was dripping with sweat but what a great ride it turned out to be.  I really pushed my limits and raised the bar for myself.  I was intent on not going below 90 on my cadence even when the gears were setup to be difficult.  So you know how hard I pushed myself my avg HR was 153 with a maximum of 170.  Throughout the ride I told myself ride for 2 minutes then change gears and sometimes I would go easier and sometimes I would go harder.  I broke down the time into 5 minute capsules meaning that I just had to get through 15 5 minute capsules.  Once I got through one I would count that off and it made the riding easier, but I really pushed myself and my mind to stay at a high cadence and to get my HR as high as I could stand it.

After the run I went to the gym to do strides on the treadmill.  It is still raining here and when I was done with the bike it was still dark out so I skipped the outdoor work for the treadmill.  I had a 10 minute warm up then did sets of 20 second strides where I was to have a cadence of 30+.  Throughout the up and down hill running I was right at 30-31 strikes per those 20 seconds.  I was getting a pretty fast turnover at a high speed.

After the workout I downed an Athlete's HoneyMilk, a banana and a pluot.  Through the ride I took one gel and drank about 1.25 bottles of accelerade electrolyte drink.  Working on my nutrition and finding what works when is important and something not to take lightly.  I don't want to be riding 56 miles or running 13.1 miles and not know what works for my stomach and allow me to push my body to another level.

Tomorrow is back in the pool for a very different type of swim training and one that I'm very much looking forward to.

Staying Mentally Strong

I always think about not just pushing my body but training my mind to do the things I want to do.  I always think about the positive to what I'm doing.  I'm getting stronger, I'm getting leaner, I'm getting faster.

I can do this.  I can do that.  Staying positive even when the chips are up against you.

I got a newsletter from Athlete's Honey Milk today and there was a link to an article written by Andrew Goodman, D.C. titled When 'Mind Over Matter' Matters.

It is a quick read with 5 points to focus on to get yourself mentally tougher.

Obviously #4 is my favorite, but the other 4 points are very valid as well.

Today I was nervous about my swim but kept telling myself that it was just 300 and nothing more and that I could do it.  As you previously read I managed to keep getting faster and faster in the water and swam sub-6 minute 300s for 3 out of 5 swims and those first two were really pace setting swims.

Click on the link in the title of the blog to read the article.

Descending 300's......oh yeah !!!!!

That alarm seemed to go off sooner then it need to this morning.  After a hard workout yesterday afternoon getting up this morning was not a welcome call.

This is our last week with Jackson before he goes to his dad's for the month of July so I want to spend as much time with him as possible.  So getting up early so I could take him to daycare this morning was important for me.

Left the house at 4:35am and was in the water by 4:50am.  Time to swim.  The warm-up was different and a lot of fun.  I had a 100 easy, 50 kick, 100 easy, 50 kick moderate and then 100 moderate.

After that it was time for descending 300s.  What this means is that my 300 times are to get faster and faster with each set that goes by so you can imagine really pushing yourself on that 5th set to make sure it is faster then then the 4th set but remember the 5th set is after having swam 1650 yards.

I have to say that I was nervous b/c swimming 300 yards, while not daunting anymore when I'm just swimming is sort of daunting when you add in that I have to swim them faster and faster.  I am ready to push myself more and more in the water.  Usually this is not a place where I think I can make up a lot of time on the field but as every traning session goes by I am getting stronger and faster in the water.

My first set was done in 6:24.16.  This is 15 seconds faster then my time at Tri Grapevine.  I did not feel fatigued and thought that I probably should have gone slower but hey 6:24 is a great start.

Second set was done in 6:11.15.  A 13 second improvement and again did not feel fatigued.  I am now 28 seconds faster then my Tri Grapevine time.

Third set was done in 5:54.85.  A sub 6 minute 300 yard swim.  Is that real?  It certainly was and while feeling a bit more tired and breathing a little heavier I did not think I was spent.

At this point there was a 50 yard kick to be done to break up the swim.

Set oun on the forth set and completed it in 5:44.63.  Another 10 seconds off of my fastest time and again this is after 1350 yards and have now swam 1650 yards.

My fifth set was done in a time of 5:53.48.  Yes it was slower then he 4th set but again faster then the third set and yet again another sub-6 minute 300 yard swim.  I was so fired up.  This is a 46 second improvement on my time from Tri Grapevine which can be an eternity.

Finished up with a 100 yard buoy swim where I practiced bi-lateral breathing and then another 300 swim.  This was to be easy and my time proved it.  I finished in 7:03.29 so you know I was cooling-down especially after such a tough swim and a total of 2350 yards of swimming.

Swimming is becoming my favorite discipline in the triathlon.  It is great to see the improvement and to think it was nothing more then form.  Of course I am more fit but really improving the form with which I am swimming is what is truly helping me get faster.

The rest of today will be hard at work followed by a 1 hour run and a core/strength session that I am excited for.

Swim-Run Brick

Ahhhh......it's Sunday.  The day of rest, but not for those training to compete in Ironman.  Read that again as it does not say complete or just finish.  It says compete.  That is my goal.  My goal is to be competitive and to push those that are better then me even further and to pull those behind me up to me.  This triathlon community is a fraternity and the more we push each other the better we will all be.

When I hired Coach C I told her I didn't want to just finish but that I wanted to compete.  I wanted to run across that finish line with my hands raised high and feel strong and feel like nothing stopped me from competing with those in my age group.  Her training plan has me on that path and I can feel it.

Today was a morning in which I was not up before the sun to run or bike or swim.  I slept 'in' until around 6am.  It felt great to wake up that late and know that I was going to be hanging with Jackson until Karen was done with her morning run.  Karen was going to run for as long as she wanted to today as that is what her training called for.

Sometime around 8am or so Karen called that she was done running and we all decided to meet at Le Peep in Flower Mound for breakfast.  I had already had a breakfast of a greek yogurt parfait with grape nuts and mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.)  At Le Peep Karen got a healthy version of french toast (whole wheat bread dipped in egg whites only.)  I got what they called a Breakfast Banana Split and a mini veggie omelette without cheese and dry whole wheat toast.  I figured I should load up a bit b/c of the training session I was going to have.

I decided to wait an hour or so after breakfast to go out on my training session.  I figured I would let the food digest before heading out.  My session today consisted of a 2050 yard swim followed by an 8 mile run.

My swim was a 150 yard warm-up, followed by 3x100 drills that included catch-up, RT, LT and kicks.  This was to be followed by 300 N/S, 200 N/S, 100 N/S, 100 Kick,and then an easy 500.  After that it was 8x25 HARD another 100 yard kick and a 100 yard cool-down.

I loved the N/S swims.  I proved that I could go out easy and pick up the pace in the second half of the swim.  I felt strong after each of the N/S and while my HR was elevated I did not feel overly fatigued.  I really enjoyted the 8x25 HARD as that showed that I could swim with good form and be faster if I just pushed myself.  I thought about the Disco Triathlon and doing a 400 N/S swim up there and think that would be a great strategy as I want to get used to the water and the swim before I turn it on.

Once complete with my swim it was on to do an 8 mile run.  Mind you that when I was leaving for my run it was around 12:30pm and the heat was starting to rise.  I wound up running 8.46 miles through a new course and it was great.  I was able to maintain a fairly low HR for this type of heat.  Iwas at an average HR of 143 with a max of 163.  In this type of weather Coach says that you could take off 10% from your HR so we are looking at an avg of 129 and a max of 147 which is great.  My pace was a tad slow at 10:48 or 10:41 moving but again this heat in the middle of the day saps you.  I had two gels about 40 minutes apart.  I had one after mile 2 and one after mile 6.

I weighed myself before the swim and was at 146.5.  After the run I was down to 143.5.  These were on the scales at the gym.  I consumed a protein bar and a chocolate milk to get my proteins and carbs to help fuel my recovery.  Once home I was still hungry and made a fruit smoothie and a PB&J with a banana and dark chocolate chips inside as well.  I weighed myself at home and was down to 139 which is very low.  Once I ate though I was up to 145 and the nutrients and calories I consumed aided my recovery for sure.

Now it was time to go to our own pool and hang out with Jackson.  We played in the pool for about two hours and now it is time for dinner and movie watching and relaxing.  Love Long Sundays!!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Buffalo Springs Ironman 70.3 was today and Coach C participated in it.  That is not saying enough of her accomplishment.  Coach finished 5th in her age group which is just flat out awesome.  I'm waiting to see if that qualifies her for nationals.  I'm super excited for her accomplishment.

We also had another 2 friends run in the event.  Jeff Bennett finished 17th in his age group and had the fastest time of all 3 of our friends.  Della Irby finished behing Jeff at 5:04 but also finished tops in her age group so she could possibly have qualified for nationals as well.

Great race run by our friends and such a tremendous motivation for me to keep pushing my body and my mind (more importantly) past any hurdle that shows up.

In the Saddle for 2 hours.....feeling great

Just another typical training day for the life of an athlete training for Ironman, except that today was to be a longer ride then ever before.  Today called for 2 hours in the saddle with HR in Z2 followed-up by a 15 minute run.

After resting all day yesterday I was ready to get back out and train.  I will say that I enjoy my rest days now unlike when I first started training and felt I was not doing enough b/c I was sitting around all day.  That is no longer the case.  As the training begins to get more difficult and longer I relish those Fridays to not just sit around but to spend with my family.  Last night we played Mario Kart for about an hour and a half and had a blast laughing the entire time.  Getting that time is important because Jackson won't always be 4 years old and as training gets more intense it will take me away for longer periods of time.

I left this morning to pick up Robert at 5:30am so that we could get to White Rock Lake just as the sun was coming up and we could beat the heat of the day.  We had to ride for 2 hours so figuring we would start around 6am we would be done at 8am and the sun will have barely poked its head out.

I will say that the first hour or so there were a ton of runners out at White Rock which prohibited us from riding hard, but we eventually found some side streets that helped us get our speed up.  By looking at my laps I can see that my speed was much faster on the 2nd half of the ride while my HR was much lower as well.  I managed to stay in Z2 though for the entire 2 hours as my avg HR was 143 with a max of 161.

I can tell you exactly when my HR spiked as well.  As I said there were a ton of people out there today and not everybody follows the rules of the road.  Runners run against traffic and biker ride with traffic.  Seems simpe right?  Well it isn't and especially when cars can't follow the rules of the road.  We had a white SUV pass us and then about 5 minutes later she was coming back towards us (mind you she could have made a right instead of a U-Turn) but instead of being in the right hand side she was in the left lane or let's be real.....THE WRONG LANE.  Headed right towards us.  I had to veer to the right and as I did I hit a huge pothole.  Needless to say I was not happy and my Garmin beeped for what seemed an eternity as my HR had spiked.

That wasn't the only time that is spiked though.  At one point Robert and I were trying to figure out if we wanted to go down a certain road.  Well as we were deciding that I had to do a U-Turn and I was going so slow that I dumped over on the bike.  I couldn't get my shoe out of the clip fast enough and fell.  Luckily I was going slow enough to not hurt myself or really hurt the bike.  The clip has a scratch and so does the water bottle cage but we are all 100% healthy now.

One thing I wanted to practice was taking in calories via gels and electrolyte drinks while riding my bike.  As it turned out it wasn't that hard.  The gel was the more difficult of the two in trying to get it out of my trisuit.  Once I did find the pocket and remove it then consuming it was easy.  You can't do this in the aero position and have to sit up to do it but it takes about 30 seconds and won't kill your time.  After taking in the gel I reached behind me and grabbed my water bottle out of the cage and took two swigs and put it back easily.  So let's say one item on the practice session that I wanted to perfect I did.

I think that without the traffic and stop and go we had that the average speed would have been closer to 18 mph over the 2 hours and I think we could have done that with ease.

Once the ride was over it was time for a 15 minute cool-down run.  Coach wants me in Z1 for these runs and it is very difficult to get down that far.  We took about 5 minutes transitioning from the bike to the run and my HR was down near 109 before we started running.  Before 2 minutes of running was up I was at 150.  I averaged 148 with a max of 153 so I was slightly above Z2 but I can say that it was conversation pace and I think that I could have run that way for at least an hour if not more.  In the 15 minutes we covered 1.61 miles.

My body feels strong right now.  I am at 143.2 lbs which is pretty good for having weighed 145.2 when I left the house right now and being out training for 2 hours and 15 minutes.  I bured 1789 calories during the session.  After we finished I consumed Athlete's Honey Milk and I can say it is a great tasting product that comes with 26g of protein.  I ate 2 bananas and 1 pluot plus 1/2 of a Promax Protein Bar.  I don't feel fatigued or sore at all and truly feel strong. 

I am very happy with how the training is going and knowing that I can ride for 2 hours and not feel fatigued is a huge confidence boost for me.  In calculating my times based on this 2 hour ride a 5 hour and 30 minute race for 70.3 miles is well within reach.  I am not goal setting yet but based on how well the training is going I think that this is feasible, but time will tell if that gets better.

Now it is time to enjoy family and friends.  Heading out in about an hour to pick up my buddy Tim to go see the scorching hot Rangers play the Astros.  Sort of a Subway Series for Texas except that there is no subway here.  I guess this is the I-35 series.

I have to also give Karen her surprise.....it is a cycle trainer.  Since her fall she has been hesitant to get out on the bike and I hope that this is one way to build her confidence and get her out riding again.  Not to mention I can always use it when the weather is not cooperative plus the three weeks of winter that we face here in Dallas.

Enjoy your Saturday!!!!!

TRAIN SMARTER

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE!!!!!

Look of an Ironman in Training

Not everything is glorious in the world of Ironman training. 

Here is a pic taken by Karen this morning around 6am on the 6th consecutive day of training.  Heading out for the 1 hour bike ride.

On A Roll......and some might say with buttah (butter for those non-Northeasterners)

Ever since my swim yesterday my training has been on a roll.  The swim while tough was tremendous b/c I proved to myself that I have the endurance right now to do that type of swimming for that length of time and distance.

Yesterday's core/strength was even better.  I was looking to do a perfect workout yesterday after I got started on the treadmill.  I ran for 30 minutes to warm-up and it felt great.  My peak HR was 138 and my avg HR was 128.  I never felt like it was hard or that I wanted to just jump off the treadmill.  I was actually very comfortable at my pace and was running close to an 11:00 min/mile which is decent for being in that HR Zone.

Once I finished that and did the first workout for my legs (leg extensions) and moved onto leg curls and then leg press and manged to do 15 reps of each at the weight level which is closer to 65% of my 1 rep max I started thinking I could have a perfect training session.  For me a perfect session would be one in which I did 15 reps of every excercise.  I felt strong and then broke down the excercises into two sets of 7 and 8 reps so psychologically I could do it.  I got this idea partially from my swimming, but then was reinforced after reading an article on Daily Triathlon about Chad Soileau. 

Mr Soileau used to weight 464 lbs and decided to have gastric bypass surgery and had a bucket list with completing an Ironman on it.  During his training he said he would break everything down into achievable goals so that he could keep going.  It reminded me of my swim and thus I used it to get through the strength training yesterday as well.

I managed to do everything for 2 sets of 15 reps except for the bench press in which I got 12.  I almost went back and did another 3, but that would not have qualified.  In the end though I now have a new goal to reach for and that is the perfect strength session.  If I can get through a session perfectly I can then push the weight up 5-10 lbs on each excercise knowing that I have the strength to do more weight and thus allow me to get stronger at all three disciplines sine the weight training is triathlon specific.

Coming off a great swim and an even better strength session I was ready for my ride this morning.  As has become routine Robert arrived at my house to start our 1 hour ride in Z2 at 6:00am.  Slightly later then the 4:45am swim-wakeup call.  I told myself that I wanted to have a better ride then Tuesday and keep the momentum going.

Lo and behold I was spot on.  Today's right was great.  We hit some hills and some nice flats where we could pick up some speed.  Overall we wound up going 17.64 miles at an average speed of 17.1.  My avg HR was 143.  Compared to Tuesday's ride of 16.54 miles at an average speed of 16.7 today was much better.  On Tuesday my avg HR was 139 but I never felt like I was pushing the HR Z2.  I felt like I was coasting through much of the ride.  Today I was working and it shows in that the Garmin calculated a 913 calorie loss compared to 834 on Tuesdy.

After the 1 hour ride we had a 15 minute easy run.  Today the pace was 10:53 that covered 1.38 miles with an avg HR of 146.  Tuesday was at a pace of 11:03 that covered 1.36 miles and an avg HR of 143.  The runs were not much different but that means that I'm getting stronger b/c I was much better on the bike and so overall today was a better brick then Tuesday and this leads me to keeping this up for Saturday's long ride and run.

Saturday will consist of 2 hours in Z2 followed by a 15 minute run.  Sunday is 1850 yards of swimming followed by an 8 mile run.  I am so looking forward to pushing my distances this weekend.  I know I can do it all but having to prove it is another thing and this weekend I will get to prove it.
----------------------------------------------------------
Personal Notes:
Yesterday was a really great day personally.  Outside of work which has been a bear lately my time spent with Jackson was terrific.  I take him to daycare on Mon/Wed and so yesterday after the swim I came home and watched some boob-tube with him.  We killed about 30 minutes then off to the 'Green Machine' for a ride to school.  He calls my Xterra the Green Machine.  Reminds me of the Hulk and I like that.

On the way to daycare I usually sing a silly song to him about going to school.  Yesterday I wasn't singing it and he said to me that he would like to have me sing.  So I did andwe laughed from that point all the way to the front door of the daycare.

After work on Wednesday we spend time together while Karen goes to train for her marathon, which she is doing awesome at.  So Jackson and I had dinner and then it was pool time.  At first I was apprehensive about getting in the water again, since I had just swam 2200 yards that morning but decided to get in with him.

We fooled around the whole time and I'm so proud of the fact that he is no longer afraid of the water.  he goes under, he swims across the pool and he has a great time in the water.  So much so that he now wants me to throw him across the pool.  He goes under and pops back up yelling.....'I'm OK, I'm OK!'  Hilarious and a great time.

Maybe the great time I had with Jackson led to a great workout at the gym for me.  I'm not sure but I do know that he and I had fun together swimming in the pool.

Stay tuned for my updates on the long workouts on Saturday and Sunday.

USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!

I am just beside myself right now.  I am so out of breathe, and my HR was be through the roof but what just happened in the World Cup will not be justified by the words on this blog.

The US HAD to win this game against Algeria in order to advance.  See, some will read that and say well they could have tied, but that is not how I roll.  I like to take situations into my own hands and take control so the only outcome would have been a Win.  Yes, a tie could have done it too, but why leave it to somebody else to move you along.

So, through 90 mintues of pure pressure and one fortunate bounce off a post the US was tied 0-0 to Algeria while England was winning 1-0.  If the games end that way the US boys are coming home.

In extra-time Tim Howard made a great play to advance the ball to Donovan.  The Great Lando pushed the ball upfield amnd then it all turns fuzzy for me until Landon puts the ball into an empty net and give the US a 1-0 lead and a shot at advancing.

Just truly amazing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Training notes --- thankfully I'm in shape so that my heart could take that game, but today was a swim day.

Since today is Wednesday I had to make sure I'm home in time to bring Jackson to daycare.  Karen usually leaves around 6:15a so I know I need to be in the pool by 5:00am the latest.  Well, since I now want to get at least 5 to 10 minutes in the hot tub after the swim it means that I need to be in the water by 4:45am.

With that in mind I was up at 4:03am and out the door by 4:34am and at the pool by 4:45am.  Way to start the morning with a 2200 yard swim.

Warm-up was 200, then followed by 8x50 drills then just pure endurance swimming after that.  I was to do set s of 300, 200, 300, 200, 2x100.  I got through those sets and moved onto 4x50 followed up a cool-down that I requested from Coach.

Coach originally had me stop after the 4x50 so I emailed her to ask if that was the ONLY amount of swimming I was going to do.  So she added the 2x100 cool-down.  Well, I was doing the cool-down but figured I would ask in case there was a reason to stop swimming.

I really had to focus on form as I was getting fatigued on these long swims.  I really pushed my elbows up and then getting my arms back in the water just above my head with my hands turned out before extension and pull.  I never pushed myself to go fast, but really had to focus on form and with good form speed comes.

I am very happy with where I am after 8 weeks of swim training and if I am able to make the jump that I just made then in another 8 weeks the swim could be my best part of disciplines.  Since I had so much improvement to make the swim  is clearly the one area that I'm happiest b/c I know that every time I am getting better.

I'm thinking Nutrition today.....

Nutrition has been on my mind for a week or so now in terms of training.  All the questions swirl.....Am I getting enough protein?  enough fat?  enough Vitamin D?  enough carbs?  and today I come across an article that questions whether or not endurance athletes are getting enough magnesium.......great something else to have to worry about.  But really in the end I don't worry about it.  I do watch what I eat but I don't count calories and I just listen to my body.

If my body tells me I'm hungry then I eat, I just make sure it is a proper portion size and is healthy for you.  Consider what I have had since dinner last night.

Dinner - 1 piece of salmon probably around 6-8oz.  Spinach salad with 1/2 avocado, 2 grape tomotoes, red onion slices, broccoli sprouts, fresh mozarella cheese, mushrooms, yellow squash, sun-dried tomatoes, garbanzo beans, and zucchini.  No dressing on the salad and the salmon was grilled with no oil.

I went and did my strength for triathletes training yesterday which consisted of a 45 minute run on undulating hills (funny story here....stay tuned) and then weight lifting that took me another 45 minutes or so.

After working out I had a peach, a 170 calorie protein bar and a pluot (best fruit on earth....go get some now if you have never had them before....juicy and sweet.....heaven.)

This morning I woke up at 4:00am and had a Thomas' Thin English muffin with about 1 tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter, 1 serving of chocolate chips and a squeeze of honey.  I had a full cup of coffee to go with this, which is not the norm for my mornings.

My workout this morning was a 1 hour ride in Z2 where we hit some decent hills and got a great ride in.  We were not going super fast (avg around 16.6 MPH) but we toured the neighborhood and again hit some decent hills.  We followed up the ride with a 15 minute run (Garmin map below) that was a great way to cool down.  We were not going particularly fast but it helps to get the feel of getting off the bike and running while trying to maintain a low HR.

My post-workout meal consisted of 1/2 banana, 1/2 protein bar, a pita pizza that had pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, red onion and 1 egg white on the top (egg white had tobasco sauce on it) and another cup of coffee......I drink coffee for the taste and not for the caffeine as I'm pretty much wide awake once I'm up and I have never had a problem falling asleep after a cup of joe.

You will notice that unless I point out how much of a particular item I ate I really don't know if it's a cup, a tablespoon or a teaspoon.  I just eat.  I eat to get the nutrition and not to be bloated and feeling like I just ate 4000 calories worth of food.

It is tremendously important for me to stay hydrated and have the proper balance of macronutrients in my diet and to date I think I am doing a great job.  I have lost about 7 lbs since I hired Coach C but I think that is because I have virtually eliminated beer from my diet.  I can go out now and have 1 beer and feel good the next morning of not waking up dehydrated and not ready for the day.  I have also just about eliminated beef, which could be against the law in Texas, but I don't find the need to have it anymore.  A hamburger yes, but a steak these days not so much.  I would rather eat lean proteins like chicken, turkey, pork and fish.  As a matter of fact I took out a pork loin for dinner tonight that I will serve with onions, spinach, squash and zucchini as a soft taco.  Maybe a side of brown rice and some beans and we will have all we need to keep properly nourished.

Here are two articles that I read this morning dealing with nutrition:
Understanding the Importance of Protein

Pip Taylor: Why Endurance Athletes Need Magnesium

-------------------------------------------------------------------
So the story of the treadmill that wouldn't work, or was it that I did not know how to operate the machinery?

Yesterday Evening's Session was a 45 minute run in Z2 followed by strength/core.  The run was to be on undulating hills.  I could have run them in the neighborhood but I always find it easier to run on the treadmill on the days that I'm going to be lifting and doing core work, and on top of that 24 Hour Fitness has a treadmill that will lift up in the back to simulate running downhill.  Surely, they must have a random feature.

I get to the gym around 7:00pm and low and behold there are 2 of these treadmills open.  I get on one and within seconds the one next to me is being used.  The one on the right was occupied and the gentleman must have had an incline of 1290 because he looked like he was walking up Mt Everest.

Anyway, I go through the motions of plugging in my numbers (age, weight, speed, max elevation, etc) because this is my first time on this machine and I'm not looking to get hurt.

So I hit the quickstart button (mind you the guy on my left got there after me and he is already going) and nothing happens.  I start to push the treadmill a bit to get the conveyor to operate and nothing.  I stop the machine go through the motions again and hit quickstart and again NOTHING.  What was going on?  I repeated this (like washing your hair...wash, rinse, condition, rinse, REPEAT) and again nothing.  After 10 minutes of frustration and at this point embarrasement I moved to the normal treadmills and got my run in.

I need a lesson on this treadmill b/c it looks like it would be great for running hills, even if I hate the treadmill.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Workout:

Cycle


Run

Back in the Pool.....getting stronger at the swim

After yesterday's OWS my confidence is continuing to grow that I can become a stronger swimmer, and not just stronger but much stronger.  Last night while watching TV with Karen I mentioned to her that I wanted to get back in the water to do the OWS again b/c I feel like I left some swimming out there.  Now that I know I can do 600 meters around the buoy's in the open water I wanted to continue doing them.  It was all mental and I beat myself so now I want to go at it again and prove that the first complete lap was not a fluke.

Well, I was too situated watching The Proposal with Karen that getting in the open water was not happening......but luckily Coach has me in the water again this morning.  Oh, it was tough waking up but once I got my body going it was full steam ahead to get in that pool and tackle another swimming session.

Of course at this point I wanted my wetsuit.  It really did make swimming easier.  So I had a 5 minute warm-up where I did a 50 Free, 50 Pull Bouy, 50 Paddles and another 50 Free.  I practiced bi-lateral swimming on all of them and while I am better then last week I still need to practice.

The drills were sculls again.  3x (4x50 sculls - front, side, rear for 25, then 25 free.)  This time I decided to do a set of each 4 times instead of doing all front, then side then rear.  It broke it up and kept it interesting.

Once the sculls were done it was time for the main set.  The main set was 2x500 with 1' rest in an aerobic state.  Bascially keep my HR below 135, so this was slow and steady wins the race.

I broke down the 500 into 10x50s in my head.  On the way out for the first 25 I would tell myself this is 1 and you are starting 2 which is basically telling myself that I was not stopping after 25 and this helped as it just kept the counter goign foward.

I did the first 500 in about 12 minutes with my HR at 130.  Simple enough and no issues, but with only 1 minute to rest I had to do another 500.  This is the most I have swam straight through outside of yesterdays 600.

So at exactly 1 minute I started my 2nd 500 set.  Again, I told myself to break it down and that slow and steady won the race.  Well, I must have started daydreaming of other things b/c I lost count around 450 and wound up doing 550 since my time was just about 14 minutes.  Again, my HR was low at 132 and I now know that I can do 550 without any issues as well.  Just keep getting stronger and the speed will follow.  Speed is all about technique in the water.

After that it was 400 yards of kicking followed by 5 minutes of cool-down.  Again on my cool-down I focuses on bi-lateral breathing and slow and steady.

Great session in the pool this morning and I can't wait to hit the strength part of the training tonight as well.

Slow and Steady Wins The Race.......

Avatar (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]

OWS = Improving at each 600 meters

Today I had my second open water swim training and I am calling it a success.  Not just a success but a tremendous success.  I started out and got to the first buoy and was mentally beat so I flipped over and kept floating and I would say that I got through about 50% of the first lap on my back.  Each lap I am saying was 600 meters although the group that setup the swim says it is anywhere between 600 and 800.  I'm going with the lower number.

2nd lap I manged to get to the 2nd buoy before having to flip over and float.  I would say it was about 70% swimming and 30% on my back.

The third lap was the best lap.  I managed to swim the entire distance without flipping over, stopping, breastsroke or swalling 1 gallon of water.  I did the last lap in 12:00 which was awesome and something for me to hang my hat on and to set as a base line to improve on from here on out.

I am thrilled with my outing as I can see the improvement from one lap to the next and I know where my problems were.  The problems are not physical but truly mental.  I need to remember to warm-up first even with a 100 yard swim, then remember that I'm a strong swimmer now and that I can get through those 600 yards with no issues.  Maybe next time I do 600 after a warm-up then try and go for 1,200.  If I can only get to the first buoy then so be it but I need to continue to push myself and get better.  That is one thing that I did during the descending 100s and it showed.

After the swim Robert and I set out on an 8 mile run.  At this point it was probably around 94 degrees out.  It has gotten so hot here in Texas so soon that I'm thinking that August will be an inferno.  I have a word for days like today and that is scorcher.  That is what these days have been like, but fortunately today was not humid and that was a plus.

My goal from Coach C was to do the 8 miles with a HR less then 147 and she put a smiley face next to that.  Nothing like a challenge to spice up my life.  So with the idea of doing 8 miles in 94 degrees and having a HR under 147 I started by putting one foot in front of the other.  For the first 4 miles my HR was never at 147, and the closest it was to 147 was 145.  I got to the 4 mile turn around point in essentially 40 minutes so I was running a 10 minutes pace.

After the turnaround and a gel to get some calories and carbs in my system for the final run back the pace was even and never seemed to speed up or slow down.  The way back has some more hills to them so my HR jumped a tad but still just barely above 150.  At the end of the run Robert started to pull away from me but I kept to my pace of 147 HR and never broke stride with that.  I finished the 8 mile run in 1:17.53 or a 9:44 pace.  I was so pumped to see my avg HR at 143 which is below where Coach wanted it and at the same time run a 9:44.  Excited.

After the run Karen and I went to Le Peep for some breakfast where at this point at 4:58pm I am still somewhat full.  It was not a ton of food, but plenty of protein as I had egg whites with spinach and mushrooms along with a chicken breast and a whole wheat pancacke.  Full the gills as they say.

Now Karen and I just got in from our pool and are going to sit down with some dinner and a movie to wind down the weekend.  Of course that is after I print up what Coach C has in store for tomorrow's swim training in the pool.  Fun times ahead.

It is getting HOT out there.....

It is the middle of June and it feels like we are in August already it is getting so hot here in Dallas.  Today's temperatures during my training were 92 with a heat index of 98.  As you can imagine keeping my HR down was quite a chore, but making sure that I was hydrated and had enough calories in me was very important as well.

Last night I packed a small carry cooler with a banana, a peach, a pluot (if you don't know what they are go find them.....the sweetest, juiciest fruit I have ever eaten and I can't get enough of them,) an orange, 1.5 protein bars, 1 bottle of electrolyte water, 1 bottle of water and 1 serving of chocolate milk.  I made sure that I was going to have enough calories, protein, fat, carbs and hydration as I knew it was going to be a scorcher.

I picked up Robert around 5:45am this morning and we were heading to White Rock.  Karen and I love going to White Rock for a couple of reasons.  One is that it changes up the monotony of running/biking the same areas, two is that the lake is beautiful as are the houses and the third reason is the motivation and inspiration you get from all the other athletes out there.

Today's training called for 1.5 hours in the saddle at Z2 on undulating hills followed by 45 minutes of running in Z2 with 5x20sec downhill runs followed by 30 hops on one foot, then 30 on the other plus walking up the hill to the starting point again.

So we got to White Rock around 6:30a and it was time to ride.  White Rock Lake all the way around is 9 miles so you can get a good amount of riding in and it has some hills and flats and some climbs so it's a great workout.

The one issue you have at White Rock is that it is very croweded and you have to really work your technical skills as well which is just as important as going fast.  There are times when you have to almost come to a complete stop to get around some runners but be careful not to get in the line of a cyclist coming in the other direction.

After the first loop we stopped b/c Robert left his water bottle in my car and as I said it was a scorcher out there.  It was too hot to think that he could go 1.5 hours without water.  I had put a water bottle in the new Turbo Arm that I had installed on the back of my saddle.  It looks great, but it will take some time to reach behind me for a bottle of water and I ended up not even trying during the ride.  I took in some water before we left the parking lot and then again took some in at the stop plus I took a GU Proctane gel, which has 100 calories plus carbs and protiens in it.

The ride totaled 1:30:17 and we went for 25.0 miles at an average speed of 16.8.  My top speed was 24.5 and I wound up burning 1,247 calories on this ride.  My average HR was 142 with a max of 156.  My HR was truly between 140 and 150 the entire ride with very few peaks and valleys so it was a very consistent ride and it felt great.

Once off the bike it was time to run.  I had a very hard time keeping my HR down during the run.  It was too hot to really keep it down.  Once we got to the hill portion of the run I turned the max alert on the HR off.  There was no way I going to keep my HR down while hoping up a hill on one foot.

One look at my Garmin data and you can see exactly where the hill training came in.  The drill was to be at 400m race pace downhill for 20 seconds then turn around and hop back up the hill for 30 hops on each foot and then walk the rest of the way up.  After hopping back up and walking I would look at my HR monitor and it would be at 169 which is very high.  This drill was taxing on the body and not so much b/c of the workout but because of the heat.  Once our 5 sets were over we took about a 2 minute break before we did a 5 minute cool-down run.  I had to keep my HR monitor off b/c while I waited until my HR was at 133 to start the c/d it soon spiked up.

I feel strong after the workout and mentally I feel stronger.  I have stretched a bit, but will need to do more stretching to get the lactic acid out of my calves before doing the OWS tomorrow morning.

Here are my bike and run maps around White Rock Lake.  If you click on the details you will see all my data in terms of calories burnt (1,756 total with the run which means I can eat just about anything today and won't gain any weight - but of course I won't and will stick to my regular routine of 7 servings of fruits and vegetables along with whole grains.)





Tomorrow is the 1,800 yard OWS followed by an 8 mile run with HR below 147, but until then it is lunch with my gorgeous wife followed by poker with some friends.  Normally I would eat about 15 cookies as I am a cookie monster but with the training and putting myself in the open water tomorrow the amount of cookies and beer being consumed will be very limited.  I'm not afraid of the swim, but I am afraid at how not being cognizant of what I put in my body will hurt me in the water and an 8 miler in what is going to be another hot one.

Until tomorrow's posting remember to not just train hard, but train smart and as Coach C would say 'MOST OF ALL HAVE FUN'  That is exactly what I did and there is nothing like the high five and congratulations to your training partner after you have completed a tough workout.

Rest Day = Much Needed

This has been a long week in terms of work.  The days have flown by but the amount of work seems to have tripled over night.  And it figures b/c I was supposed to be at a bachelor weekend and out there playing golf and hanging with my boys but duty called.

Unbeknownst to me though not going on the weekend may be a reward in disguise.  I need the rest b/c this weekend is a big training weekend.  I am doing a 1hr30m ride tomorrow at 135-145 HR and then a 45 minute run which will involve some hill training.  I am heading down to White Rock lake with Robert and Karen for this training tomorrow.  Want to get there as early as possible because it is supposed to be very hot this weekend.

Then on Sunday I am planning on doing 1800 yards in an open water swim with Gorilla Multisport.  Follow up that 1800 yards with an 8 miler with my HR >147.  So as you can see resting up today is certainly what the Dr, or in this case, Coach called for.

I have to remember to pack up a small cooler for myself tomorrow with some protein bars and gels, fruit and a recovery drink b/c it will be hot and I don't want to bonk or get dehydrated.  And then repack that same cooler on Saturday evening for Sunday's big day.

My plan for Sunday is to do the first 600 and take a breather of 1-2 minutes before going out and doing the next 600.  At that point if I have to stop for about 5 minutes then so be it.  We have 90 minutes out there so if it takes me 15 minutes for each 600 then I should have plenty of time to do 1800.  I have to remember to work on sighting and going around the buoys.  Also, remember that slow and steady wins the race and if need be do the breaststroke until I can get my wits about me and then keep going.  It is going to be a ton of fun and I'm excited for it.  Count my strokes and know that at 48-50 I will have done 100 yards.  So I basically need 6 sets of 50 strokes and I'll be done.  Easy.......just have to break it down and stick to the plan.
------------------------------------------
Since I have more in my life then training, let me vent for a moment about the World Cup and what unfolded today in South Africa.

The US was playing Slovenia.  This was a huge game for the US as a loss would just about elminate them from the Cup.  They came out flat and were beat in just about every way possible, but the ref also did not call a good game.

The 2nd half came and the US looked like a totally different team.  They were attacking and Landon Donovan let loose a rocket of a shot that the goalie only had one thing to do and that was get out of the way.  The US scored again and it was now 2-2 and they were playing really well.

Then came a free kick on which the US looked to have scored, but the ref blew the whistle and disallowed the goal for a reason only he still knows.  Nobody was offside, nobody was fouled.....well 3 of the US players were dragged down but the call did not go against Slovenia it went against Uncle Sam.

The game ended in a 2-2 draw and now the US needs England to win their next two matches and for them to win their next match against Algeria to advance.  Going to be a tight World Cup.

Descending 100s.....AWESOME Training Session

Yesterday was one of the busiest days I've had in quite some time so I was nervous about my swim this morning and being somewhat fatigued.  Yesterday not only had a full day of work, but then I had a 4:30p Board Meeting followed by an 8pm softball game.  The Board Meeting went very well and while it sounds sort of crazy my confidence in my training has led to more confidence in my life.  I went into that meeting not really knowing what I was looking at but then in the middle of the meeting started asking questions and that helped build more confidence.  Made a suggesstion that the other board members agreed was a great suggesstion so I was flying high.  Went to play softball and I was the pitcher so not a lot of exersion.  We won the game 9-2 and now stand 2-0 and trying to repeat as champs since we were the Spring champs, why not add Fall champs to the list.

So this morning when the alarm went off at 4:04am again I did not hit snooze, I just turned it off.  I woke up about an hour later and instead of being panicked as I would normally be I just went about my business.  Had to relax myself before this swim.  Had to focus my energies on what was important which was swimming and not that I got up at 5am (4:45 really!!!)

I left for the gym at 5:10 am and was ready for this session.

This was to be descending 100s again.  What that is is that you swim a certain number of 100 yard sets and they should be faster with each one.  After that you do a certain number of sets at the last 100 of the previous set which should be your fastest pace yet.

Had a warm-up of 300 yards which was nothing.  Then had 5x50 drills which were to be 25 drills, 25 freestyle.  I did pull bouy, catch-up, paddles (practiced breathing bi-laterally), finger drag and front sculls. 

Then came the main set......(can you feel the suspense building?)

First 100 was done in a time of 2:10....not bad but not slow enough either.  Coach told me to do the first 100 slow so that you can build up speed and then maintain that in the 3x100.

Second 100 was done in a time of 2:08....great.  Two seconds faster but not tremendously faster.

Third 100 was done in a time of 2:02.....WOW!!!!! A 6 second improvement and I did not feel as if I had pushed the pace.

Fourth 100 was done in a time of 2:03.....probably lost that second due to fatigue from the 6 second pick-up in the previous 100.

Fifth 100 was done in a time of 2:00.....great job in getting faster with each set and getting down to 2:00

Took my 2 minute rest at this point and focused on being faster the 2:00 for 3x100.

I did my first 100 in 1:51.....WHAT a 9 second increase!!!!!  Am I setting myself up for failure?
Second 100 in 1:54.....WHAT....still 6 seconds faster then #5.  Surely this last 100 will be slow
Third 100 in 1:51.....WHAT faster then #2 and still faster then the #5?

How did this happen?  I will tell you.  It started with HIGH ELBOWS.  Remembering the finger drag drill as well as seeing the swimmer on Monday and remembering how high his elbows were on the recovery.

With the high elbow I was able to have my hand enter the water slightly closer to my body and then extend it out on the catch and pull that much more water past me.  Also I turned my hand slightly on the entrance so they were more in the scull position and able to pull the water around me.

I finished that last 100 and looked at my HR and it was at 130.  I was not breathing heavy and just cruised through 100 at my fastest time ever.  If I were able to maintain that pace then I would swim a 300 in 5:30:00......HOLY COW!!!!!  I would have shaved over a minute from my time in Grapevine.

I know I am getting more and more comfortable in the water b/c when I followed up my main set with a 300 yard steady kick I lost count.  I was enjoying the water and being in the pool that I think I did 350 yards of steady kick.

After that it was time to cool-down and do a 200 to finish up the session.  I know I was doing an easy 200 b/c my time was 4:42:15.  That is a 2:21:08/100yds so I definitely cooled down.

Put myself in the jacuzzi for 5 minutes to relax my muscles and to reflect on what I just did and my strength training this evening.

I am also adding in a new core excercise called the windshield wiper.  This will help my core get stronger which will allow for a longer pull on the swim, a better position on the bike for stronger pedalling and then also to help my form on the run which will allow my strides to get longer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Karen - I know you read this so I just want to say Thank You and I Love You.  Anybody who wants to train for an Ironman needs support from family and friends and I have both in you.  Thank you for the inspiration, motivation and strength to go forward on this journey and I would not want to spend it with anybody else.

It's a Brick Morning.....

As has become routine my alarm went off at 4:04am and I decided to hit snooze, because as anybody knows in order to perform your best you need proper rest.  I stayed asleep for another hour before waking up and having breakfast and coffee.  First time in almost a month that I drank a full cup of coffee in the morning and boy it tasted good.

Karen woke up around 5:45a and I got to see her for a few minutes before I headed out on my ride.  The ride this morning was a maintenance and recover ride.  90+ RPM while staying in Z1-Z2 or essentially 125-145 which should be fairly easy to do.  BUT this morning I was having a difficult time getting my legs going for some reason and my HR was up around 135 while my cadence was 85.  This did not make me happy.  I couldn't figure out the issues.  Was I still tired?  Were my legs fatigued from the strength workout last night?

BUT when everything seems bleak, the skies opened up.  I saw the most beautiful sunrise on the ride and it reminded me how much I love living in Texas.  I can't recall seeing a sunrise like that in New York, at least not near the city.  We had some gorgeous sunrises in Oswego while I was in college but this was perfect.  Texas land as far as the eye could see with a purple sun and white clouds shrouded in a grey scale.  It was unreal.

So my cadence picked up a bit then and I felt much better, then the real cake topper happened.  I was riding and passed another rider on his bike in the aero position.  I always say hi.  I wave or nod my head.  We are a fraternity.  We are there to help each other as much as we are to beat each other.  The guy didn't even give me the courtesy wave.  My competitiveness flaired up right then and there and I got up to 95+ cadence and kept my HR very low and managed to do that for the remainder of the ride which was about 20 minutes.  I just kept thinking of picking him off as we inched closer to the finish line and I would not let him beat me.

Average speed was 15.0 MPH covering 15.08 miles in 60 minutes.  Average HR was 122 with a max of 141.  Burned 690 calories.

Then after that it was time for a 30 minute run.  I was ready to run today.  I felt good getting off the bike and figured this was going to be a great run.  Within my 30 minutes of running I was to do some drills which consist of high knees, carry over, straight leg and what Coach C calls hiney kick (or what I call ass kickin' - bring your heals to to your glutes.)

None of these drill is designed to go fast while doing the drills but to help you while your are running.  Doing these drills go my HR up even though I was barely moving.  Looking at my Garmin you can see where the drills were started and where they ended and when I was running.  The pace drops dramatically and the HR picks up.

Before the start of training today I was 145.8 lbs and when I was done I was down to 143.4.  Had a protein bar and a banana after the workout to get the proteins back into my system to help my recovery.  It is coming up on 9:15am and time to have a snack of fruits and probably a PBJ sanwich.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomorrow I am back in the pool and Coach C has me swimming quite a bit these days.  Last month I was around 1500 yards at most and now I'm up to 2000-2200 which is almost a 50% increase and I can tell the difference in my back and shoulder muscles.  They are a little more tired then normal and this is something that will happen when you change routines and shock your body.

But I can say how excited I am and how much confidence I'm building in the water.  These distances in one session were nothing but a dream and now they are reality.  So much so that Gorilla Multisport is hosting another OWS this weekend and I cannot wait to get in the water.  I am planning on doing 1800 yards or 3 laps since the bouys are 600 yards apart.  It is going to be a challenge but you can't get to the starting line of Ironman 70.3 without staring challenges in the face and then beating them.  All I have to do is remember my pool swims which are slow and easy and the 600 will fly by.  High elbows, proper hand entrance into the water, and if you panice slow down even more.  Easy....create a plan and stick to it and everything turns out fine.

Plus I will try out my new wetsuit.  Good times ahead.

Much Better Swim Training Today.....

Today's swim training session was so much better then yesterday's so I blame the party the night before more then anything else and that leads me to another lesson I have learned on this journey.

I have said multiple times that this is a lifestyle change and a choice that I made.  I made the choice to not just compete at 70.3 and 140.6 but I have this theory that I want to live forever.  Of course nobody does but that is my goal and the only way to do that is to live a healthy lifestyle and one that has balance.  Life is not easy and nobody ever said it was but balancing work and play will lead to a very rewarding life.

So while I fully enjoyed my time with my friends and having some beer and cake (too much cake) I realized that the training the next day was hard, and it was supposed to be hard, but I did not realize that it could have been the late night and early wake up call to get in the pool.  It affected me more then I thought it would.

Today's session I warmed up with 2x50, then into the pyramid of long easy sets starting with 400 and down to 100 and then back up.  I finished up with 2x50 cool down and 10 minutes in the jacuzzi to relax my muscles.

I did all the sets with 1:30 RI and never wavered unlike yesterday when I stopped after 100 of my 1st 300 set.  I defeated myself before I could ever get going and while I pushed through it and convinced my mind that it was not a big deal today was so much better and different.

I never once felt like stopping.  At one point during the 2nd 200 I said to myself and this pace and this rate I could do the 400 now and keep doing 400s it felt so smooth and relatively easy.  I didn't care how fast I was going just cared about technique.

I tried to swim with the idea of sculls in my head plus watching a video of hand entrance on the catch.  I noticed that the hand was turned with the thumbs toward the water as they entered and then elongated in from about 3-5" from the top of the water before the pull.  I realized that this is like the scull in making figure 8s and when I tried I seemed to move through the water faster.  I did not do it on every stroke but it was something that I noticed helped my technique and essentially my speed even though I wasn't looking for that.

Another way I helped my technique was by looking forward.  In the open water you have to sight to make sure you are on course.  I was not doing a sighting drill but I kept my head forward during the swim to engage my neck muscles and to help build up strength there so when I do the sighting drills mhy neck won't be sore from lifting my head.

One other drill I did but only during the warm-up was bi-lateral breathing.  Not every three strokes but I swam 25 with my head turning to the left then the next 25 with my head turning exclusively to the right.  It was more difficult then I could have imagined and most likely b/c I have been swimming for 6 weeks to one side (left only.)  I need to improve my bi-lateral swimming for the open water b/c you never know who/what is going to be on one side causing massive waves that you could end up swallowing.

I watched a guy in the water today after my swim.  He was excellent in his form and technique.  He breathed every three strokes in a bi-lateral way and it seemed that on the breath he slowed his motion down and glided to get the most air into his lungs.  I love watching swimmers that are better then me so that I can 'steal' there techniques and form so that I can improve and get better at swimming.

Now it is back to the grindstone and the upfront.  Hopefully we are able to get things done today b/c I have a board meeting tomorrow evening coupled with a trip over this weekend that I would like to go on and most importantly we have been negotiating for two weeks now and it seems to be at the point where we are the finish line we just have to cross it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday afternoon while Karen and I did absolutely nothing I watched the Ford Ironman Championships from Clearwater, FL.  I literally got goosebumps watching the pro athletes and also the stories of the age groupers were awesome.

I could not watch enough of it.  I was like a head football coach dissecting techniques trying to pick up little things that the pros do that can help me perform at my best.

I noticed that there are volunteers for everything.  People who take your bike for you at the end of the ride, people who it seems hand you your helmet as they also help you pull of the wetsuit.  I had no idea but that obviously saves you time in T1 and T2.

I watched how they ran, how they rode and tried to get a fix on the swim and how hectic it is at the beginning.  I noticed that the swim for the age groupers is a drop in similar to what we do in the pool, at least for this event but I'm not sure about CA and will have to find out.

One person that the piece was on was Rocco DiSpirito.  He is a celebrity chef from NY and had his own show for a bit awhile ago.  I came to dislike Rocco as the TV personality since I do not know the man personally.  Watching him during this Ironman made me want to be better then him and his time.  I looked it up and he finished in 6h6m.  Not a bad time at all but I think I can beat it.

I am definitely going to forget about his time by the time the race roll around and not mention I am on a different course under different circumstances so beating him is nothing more then a way to get myself fired up for training.  This race is not a race against Rocco but for me to prove that one year of training will get me into the best shape possible to not just cross that finish line but to cross that finish line with arms up high and a smile on my face.

I called my mother this weekend and left her a message that I thought it would be great to have her and Bill out there with Karen, Barbara and Mari.  This is going to be a great accomplishment and the more people I have there to celebrate and push me on the better.

Until tomorrow folks always remember to tri but more importantly have FUN!!!!!

Swim Training......I LOVE IT!!!!

If you have been a reader of my blog you will no doubt have read that when I first started training with Coach C I hated the swim.  And no, HATE is not even the best word to describe how I felt about swimming, but that word hasn't been created yet.  I always thought to myself do 300 and get out.  Never once did I worry about technique or breathing.  Just worried about how fast I could get out of the water and onto the bike or run.  I couldn't stand doing swim training.

Now, I am at the point where it has become a favorite of mine.  I love the training b/c it is so challenging and rewarding at the same time.  Knowing that I could barely swim 300 yards to pushing myself to not only swim 400 yards in a session, but to do it twice and that is the rewarding part.  Yes go and back and forth can be mundane but when I'm done and I sit back and think about what I just did my feelings about swimming explode.  I love it, I loved doing it and I now know I can swim further then I ever thought I could before.

Today I had a 2000 yard training session.  I was to do an inverted pyramid where I would start at 400 and go to 300 then 200 then 100 and back up again starting at 100.  The point was to focus on technique and not worry about speed.  Get the technique right and the speed will follow......can anybody say 'build it and they will come.'

Anyway I started by doing 2x100 warm-up.  At this point in my training I know that those first 100 or 200 yards are going to be the worst.  Getting my body warmed up in the water takes the longest in comparison to warming up while running or biking.

After the warm-up the first 400 went very smoothly.  I finished about 8:30 and took my first 1:00 rest.  I started the 300 and my mind just outboxed my body.  What I am saying is that my mind told me I couldn't do the 300 at this point and so I stopped after 100.  I took about a 2 minute break and psyched myself into the idea that this was nothing.  This 300 was just another sprint tri swim.  And after that I had a simple 4xcontinuous 50 for 200 and then an easy 100.  I also made it a point to sort of punish myself and not give myself that second 100 since I used my mulligan while doing the 300.

Did the 300, then 200, then 100, then 200 then 300.....and in the midst of the 300 I got a cramp in the back of my leg.  I think my body was dehydrated from the wedding shower the night before.  I had a few beers and really the killer was the 2.5 pieces of cake that obliterated my diet.  Fortunately I did not consume many other calories in the form of chips but I did have 2 cookies as well (forgot about those in my email to coach -- selective memory.)

But I never stopped in the 300 as I had used my phone a friend earlier.  I just flexed my foot and kept on swimming.  After that 300 I hit the 400 and about 300 yards into it another cramp hit but again I did not stop and focused on my technique and going even slower.

When I started the session I was about 23 strokes per 25 yards and when I finished I was at 26 strokes per 25 yards.  I was focusing on form and technique and didn't care how long it took me.

I finished up the session with 2x50 and then a 10 minute rest in the spa.  My muscles thanked me for that 10 minutes as I was able to stretch in the spa as well and just relax.

I have now completed my longest swim ever and I can say that the confidence I have in the pool is climbing to an all time high.  I am ready for the next OWS and think that I can do the 600 yards in Lake Grapevine without any problems.  If I have to turn over and float for a bit or do the butterfly to rest up and conserve some energy then that is what I do so long as I keep moving forward and work on sighting.

Tomorrow's workout will be the same as today's and tomorrow's will be better for sure.  For one thing I won't be having all the cake and cookies and beer, but I do have 1/2 of what seems to be a 7lb egg white omelete in the fridge.  I'm not sure getting egg whites with spinach, mushrooms and broccoli is any good when the omelette is tremendous and most likely cooked in butter.  My one buckwheat pancake was very good though and I am full.

Now to enjoy the rest of a fun Sunday with my wife doing jack-nothing.

LOVE IT !!!!!

Back to Training

After enjoying a day off from training and getting off early from work it was back at it this morning.  I didn't sleep all that well and actually set my alarm for 5:04pm instead of 5:04AM so when I woke up at 7:15am I was not happy.  I gathered myself up though and said that I will start around 8am to train and get the anxiousness out of my system.  No reason to be stressed on a ride or run as it defeats the purpose of doing the training.  Training is to be fun and not stressful.

So after having my breakfast and coffee and playing with the dogs I got myself ready and was out the door by 8am.  I was ready to ride hard today and fast.  I had 3 gels in my gear b/c it was to be a 1 hour and 40 minute ride followed by 30 minutes of running.  I wanted to make sure I was properly hydrated and that I had enough calories in my system during the training b/c it was going to get hotter and hotter throughout the ride.

My first mistake was not reading Coach C's instructions again and just went out there.  I thought I was to do 30 seconds of sprints and not 30 seconds of spin-ups.  The difference you might ask is all out in sprinting and spin-ups are gradual increases in pace.  MAJOR MAJOR difference.  So after my 30 seconds of riding in Z2 I went to the newest part of our community.

To my surprise there are no cars over there except for workers and the roads are as straight as an arrow (by the way I want to see Peter Pan....looks like an English version of Gladiator but I digress.)  So once I found these roads I found where I would do my sprint work.  The beauty of this road was not only was it carless but it was also at a slight elevation change for a long haul.  So more difficult in one direction but easier in the other.

The ride became a game for me.  On the uphill sprint I wanted to get to 19.0 MPH and maintain that speed and on the downhill I wanted to get to 29 MPH and maintain that speed.  This was a way for me to trick my brain into thinking that I was not tired, and it worked tremendously.  I was capable of sustaining the uphill speed of 19.0 MPH even with a fairly stiff headwind.

After doing the sprints I rode around for another 30 minutes in Z2 but unfortunately I put my head down at the wrong time and actually hit a parked truck.  The fortunate part was that I was able to swirve my bike out of the way and only hit the truck my my arm.  Nothing jarred and nothing hurt except for my ego.  I got back on the bike and started riding again.  Went towards the apartments that Karen and I used to live in before buying the house and into a new development.  The community was rather nice but I'm glad that Karen and I bought this house and not in that development b/c we did look over there.

I also went down the area where Karen wiped out about a week ago.  She took a hard fall in our neighborhood and gave her Bianchi a good scratch but also gave herself some nice bruising.  She is starting to heal thankfully but I know she hurt herself pretty good.  Last night in talking to Juan (who finished 4th in his age group at the Metroplex Sprint this morning) he told us that he saw a guy wipe out in the same spot as Karen just the other day.  I went down that street on my ride this morning and unfortunately there was a car behind me so I had to do what Karen and the other rider did and my wheel started to slide out from under me as well.  I think there is oil there and your tire just slides out from under you.  I came away unscathed but I know for sure that I won't be going down that road anymore.

Overall I covered 24.21 miles in that 1 hour and 40 minutes and had a max speed of 30.4 MPH.  Average moving speed was 14.3.

After the ride I was to do a 30 minute run with 5 minutes in each of Z1 and Z2.  Coach told me 125-135 and then 135-145 but I probably spent the majority of the time in Z2.  I ended up running 2.19 miles in that 30 minutes for an average pace of 13:28.  What I found out during this run though that is a huge help is that by counting my cadence and ensuring that I was at 21+ for 15 seconds that my HR dropped and dropped dramatically.  Instead of shuffling b/c I think that is how I cam going to slow myself down the proper way to do it is to make sure that your cadence is high so you are essentially taking quicker steps but this makes you focus on that and not your speed.  Learn something new everyday in training.

After my training and much needed shower it was time to go to RBM.  Why you might ask?  Well I kept thinkign that during these longer and longer rides I am going to need hydration.  I wanted to get a hydration system for my bike and also wanted to make sure that nothing happened to the bike on the slight crash into the parked truck.

While I was there I also wanted to make sure that I was situated properly on the bike and that my aero bars were correct.  During Grapevine I kept feeling like I had to reach to change gears and that I would focus on that and not the ride.

I also wanted to do something nice for Karen and that was to get the new tape that we got her put on.  We bought her the Celeste tape from Bianchi.  Celeste is a color that is equivalent to turqouise but you can essentially only buy it online from Bianchi.  I found it online on eBay.  Cost much less as well.

So while Karen's bike was getting the new tape I was getting re-fitted.  I also had them put new water bottle cages ont the back of the bike and they are awesome.  They are black with red accent stripes and match the bike perfectly.

I got fitted again and they also adjusted my cateye so I was looking up and not straight down at the computer while on a ride and potentially crashing into something again.

Here are Karen's new bars with the new tape.  It looks awesome and matches the bike perfectly.

So now that all the training for the day is over I am getting ready for a barbeque this evening.  Karen and I are hosting a wedding shower at our house for Jill and Cary.  We are expecting about 30 people and while we did 90% of everything yesterday now is a matter of doing the small things to make this a success for our friends.

Before going to bed tonight I will read Coach's instructions and make sure that I'm doing them perfectly.

Time to relax and enjoy the day and make sure that I keep the balance of life/work/training in order.  Training was done this morning and now onto life.

Physical Fatigue and Mental Fatigue

I am just about finished with my 5th week of training.  I have less then 300 days until Ironman 70.3 California and I started wondering today about physical and mental fatigue.  300 days is a long ways away and training 6 days a week can lead to fatigue both for the body and the mind.

The one thing that I trust the most about my training is that Coach C knows what she is doing.  I have nothing but the most complete trust and faith in her methods.  They have to work, just look at her accomplishments.  They are amazing and something that I would love to tout in the future.

So while on some days it is harder to wake up then others I know that once I get started I am going to finish strong and that will help build my mental toughness.  They call these endurance sports and really it is tough to endure physically but more then anything else you have to become mentally tough.  You have to know in your mind that you can do something b/c you did it during training.

I have a long swim coming up on Sunday.  I am doing several long, easy sets.  I am starting out at 400 and doing a pyramid down to 100 and then back up with 1:00 RI.  In the past I would have looked at that and said is Coach kidding me?  Now I look at it and wonder what is the warm-up, what is the cool down.  Is it only 2000 yards?  I am getting more and more tough in my mind when it comes to the pool.

Today I did ILT (Isolated Leg Training) to become stronger in each leg while peddaling on the bike.  I ran 4 miles in Z1, not just to help build my treshold for running but to also develop the mental toughness of having to run that slow,  It is not easy to run in Z1 or Z2 but you fight through it so that you can say that you did it.  When you get out on the course and hit a hill and it is difficult and you feel like you are slowing down you can tell yourself it's not a big deal as it is nothing more then Z1 that you are in and you can then push yourself once you crest.

I know along this trail of getting prepared for California I will hit bumps in the road but it is the athlete you can smooth out those peaks and valleys that will be better on race day.  I started this training by saying that nobody would train harder then I do, and while I still believe that I have added that nobody will train harder or smarter then I do.  When I don't want to wake up at 4:00am to go to the gym to swim 1900 yards I repeat that mantra.  I know there are people out there doing it, but they don't work out at my gym and getting to be the best in this area at what I do is my goal.  By notching 2nd overall at Grapevine I proved to myself that all the hours of sleep 'lost' and time at the gym and in the pool has paid off and will continue to pay off.

Also, because of beign able to work from home I have been able to find quite a few helpful techniques which will help me be more efficient and a smarter triathlete.  For example I found a video that shows the proper technique for hand placement when entering the water and I can't wait to try it out.  It coincides with the scull work I have been doing and beign able to add one and one together is going to help me get better and faster without really doing anything more then adjusting your hand placement.  Amazing, and that is what keeps me coming back to the pool or to the gym to lift when I don't think I have anything left.

Coach told me that she has entered a 70.3 trying to win it.  I am amazed by this because she decided to do it essentially at the drop of a hat.  I know I have planned California in April and would love to do Buffalo Spring in June and then another at the end of the year, but I want to be in such shape that I can say I am doing this event in one month without blinking.

Getting stronger physically will allow me to make those kinds of decisions and getting stronger mentally will make it happen.  I have already started to see that type of change.  There is a Tri Rock series on the 12th of September, but I'm already registered for the Old College Tri on Sept 5 and then the Jailbreak on Sept 19th.  But in all honesty why not do a sprint tri on the 12th with OWS to get used to the feel prior to Toyota on October 10th.  Of course I have the Martindale Triathlon on the 30th of October, but that is not an important race and will be nothing but fun.

As Coach says.....these races are like a drug.  Only difference is that this high leads me to a better more efficient lifestyle and hopefully the goal of living 'forever' as opposed to the other drugs that suck the life out of you.

Keep on Swimming - June 9th, 2010

Today my training session called for 1900 yards in the pool.  I remember when I was 'training' for the first Tri Grapevine and I would do 300 and haul out of the pool area.  No way that water was going to keep me in there.  I was out after 300 and time to get on the bike and run.  Now I look forward to swimming and I was really looking forward to today.

The training for today was a 300y W/U followed by 8x50 (25 drill, 25 swim.)  After that I was to do 5x100 with declining times.  The first easy and then faster and faster.  Rest for 1 to 2 minutes then do 3x100 at the same pace as the last 100 from the previous set.  A 200 steady kick and a 200 W/D.

The 300 W/U was excellent.  Just told my head that it was 6x50 and take your time, no rush and not a race.  I did the 300 and did not feel tired one bit.

For the 8x50 drills I did catch-up, pull bouy, finger-drag, fist, kick, LT, front scull and paddles.  Always doing the 2nd 25 felt so much faster.

Then came time for the 5x100s.  I did the first 100 in 2:07 and the 2nd at the same time.  The third was a big improvement to 2:02.60 followed by 2:01.89 and then 2:02.39.

I took my 2 minute rest and started the set of 3x100.  The first 100 was done in a whopping 1:57 but the next two were at 2:06 each.  I was not happy with the last 100 and actually slapped the water when I was done.  This is the competitor in me.  I felt like I was pushing myself to get faster throughout the 100 and my HR told me I was b/c when I stopped my watch it said my HR was 160.  I was just not going faster and this leads to Coach's mantra that no matter how fast you think you are going you are not going to be fast if your technique is not good.  And there in lies the secret.  My technique had to flawed somewhere in those last 2 sets of 100 where it must have been near perfect in the first 100.  I can't recall having issues with them other then pushing to hard and thus must have been rushing the stroke and not gliding on the recovery enough.

The hardest part was the final 200.  I used my flippers for the 200y kick and I got a cramp in my toes.  I obviously don't know how to use them properly, so when I went to do my cool down I had cramps in my toes and it made it difficult.  At around 125 yards the cramping went away and I finished the final 75 as strong as I started the 300.

Great training session and most important is that I learned a few things:
1- Swimming is all about technique and not strength or brawn.
2- I can swim 300 yards cold and complete 1900 total
3- I am no longer afraid of the swim or long distances and actually want to swim long distances.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personal Notes:
1- It looks as if our Upfront is nearing an end.  After about a week of super late hours of work and training followed by early wake up calls for training there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Getting back to a somewhat regular routine will be huge.  I get my rest in during lunch with a 30 minute nap usually though so I do feel refreshed throughout the day.

2- Hopefully today I can take my step-son to dinner since Wednesday is Man's Day for us.  I take him to school and dinner and it is a great bonding experience for us.  Teachs him that Mom doesn't always have to be in the other room, while teaching me patience in dealign with a 4 year old.  He is better at his lesson then I am right now.

3- Less then 300 days to IM 70.3 CA.

4- Today is my sister's birthday and exactly one week from today is her son's birthday.  Happy Birthday to both of you and the cards will go in the mail today.  HOPEFULLY!!!!!  I'll try not to forget.  I already sent a text to my sister.

5- Time to really plan the party we are having this weekend for my friend Jill and her fiance Cary.  We are having their wedding shower at our house.  The backyard is all setup and ready to go so it it now the time to determine food and everything that goes with a party.

6 - Read #3 again.......Less then 300 days.  Yee-Haa!!!!!  I should tell my mother to plan a trip out there as well with us so I can have my family with me when I cross that finish line with my hands up high.

Slow Down You Move Too Fast.....

That was the theme of today's training, and really of this week's training.  It is all about form, which will lead to efficiency which will lead to speed.

So with that being said I set out on my maintenance and recovery ride of 60 minutes in Zone1 this morning at 6am.  The sun was barely up and the weather was crisp.  Felt nice outside.

I started peddling and of course the HRM goes off that I'm too low.  That changes pretty quickly as I get my cadence up and for the most part I don't hear the HRM the rest of the ride.  The one time it let me know it was still working was going up Polser.  Polser is a big hill near my neighborhood that is about a mile long.  It is fairly flat for a bit but then climbs quickly.  I never got above 132 on that stretch but that is Z3 basically.  Come down off of Polser and back to my Z1 range.

I decide that after about 50 minutes of riding that I'm taking on Polser again and will not let my HR get above Z1.  How I plan to do that I have no clue but I'm making a game in my head for this ride.  I get to the climb and then start the descent and lo and behold not one chime from the HRM.  I had climbed Polser without my HRM going nuts.  Accomplishment.

After the 60 minute ride it was time to run.  Had to run in Z1 for 30 minutes and to check several time on my cadence and make sure it was 21+ for 15 seconds.  As soon as I took one step the HRM went off.  So for the next 30 minutes it chimed but it never exceeded 120 and I kept my average around 114.  I myself am classifying this as a success.  Remember the nice morning for the ride?  Well that went away during the run.  By the time I was done running I was soaked and had trouble taking my jersey off as it was stuck to me.

I started the morning at 145.2 lbs and when I was done with the run I was down to 143.6.  I weigh myself every morning to make sure that I'm eating enough and I want to be right around 145 lbs.  I feel I'm my strongest and fastest at that weight.  So I step on the scale in the morning and then again right before bed.  Before bed I want to be around 147 lbs as we tend to lose around 2 lbs overnight.

Weighing myself is a little OCD but with the training I have to make sure that my nutrition is sound.  I made a lifestyle decision about one month ago and to date it ranks up there with one of the greatest decisions I have ever made.  I am getting healthier and more fit by the day and being able to share it with my wife and my step-son has been a tremendous growing experience as well.  It's tough someday b/c of work to fit it in, but because I chose to do this and I am holding myself accountable as well as being accountable to Coach C I always get myself to the gym or out on the road.  Being able to get in this kind of shape is liberating.

I am so psyched for 70.3 California right now.  The person who sort of gave me the impetus to do this race was here this weekend and I can't thank her enough for giving me the idea.  It all started on Facebook with a comment about going to see the athletes do the Tri, and from that point forward I said I was going to not just do one but to be competitive at it as well.  I am excited and with the backing of my wife and Coach I think I have a great shot of finishing this race standing up holding my head tall.

Slow and Steady Wins The Race......

.....that is the lesson from the tortoise and the hare correct?  Well, slow and steady almost killed the triathlete yesterday.  Oh my, is it tough staying in Z1 while trying to get 3 miles in and really it might have been best to do it outside.  I did it on the treadmill b/c I had strength/core afterwards and when I tell you going 45 minutes on a treadmill with it barely moving is a struggle.

I emailed Coach last night that this was quite possibly the toughest workout yet.  Not because I sweating profusely, or my legs were sore, or I couldn't breathe but more about getting that muscle between my ears (there's that muscle again) to understand that there was a point to this.  We are building a base for quick turnover of the feet so that you do get faster, but the theory of going slower to go faster is tough to understand epecially when you just hate the treadmill.

I had my head phones and listened/watched the Rangers-Mariners game on the tube ahead of me and I tried not to look at the miles as they ticked off on the treadmill but you wonder how far you have gotten.  Baseball is a long, slow game (that I grew up on and love watching) but when you can go a few innings and still not have gone 1 mile you know you're going slow.

Anyway, I got the 3 miles done in about 45 minutes.  I counted my steps every now and again and at some points I was 21-23 steps per 15 seconds or essentially 84-92 steps per minute.  The 21+ SPM was something I recalled reading in my training for this week so I used that as a base.  Doing what I was doing was right in that zone so it was successful and I know what it is like to have quick turnover and all the training is about muscle memory.  Getting your body to say to itself 'oh yeah I remember this and I can do this' while convincing your brain that you have done it and it's no different now then during the training.

Today I have a 60 minute bike ride in Z1-Z2 followed by a 30 mintues run in Z1 with a cadence of 21+ (now I remember where I saw that.)

Again, slow and steady wins the race.  At least this time I'll be outside.

NOBODY WILL TRAIN HARDER AND MORE EFFICIENT THEN ME