tough ride

My legs werent firing on all cylinders tonight, but I still rode somewhat fast.

I really weighed my bike down by putting on a rear aero wing that fits my tube and tire level bag, CO2 cartidges and inflator. I can also attach water bottle holders to it. I also put on the large bento box. I can really feel the weight difference. Kinda disappointing :(

Strange ride tonight. On one road, they put down crushed stone for a 2 mile stretch. Talk about sketchy! Not only was I worried about flatting, but it was like biking on ice due to the loose gravel.

Then at the bottom of that hill I was going over a small bump and as soon as I got over it there was a huge deer right there. We both made eye contact with "WTF!!!" looks on both of our faces. The deer I think panicked and froze cuz it didnt know what to do. It was pretty funny! We were within 5 feet of each other. I'd say that was one of my closer encounters with deer.

Finally, I heard this metallic clunk when I hit a bump. I thought nothing of it until I got back and realized one of my CO2 cartidges was no longer there. bummer.

OH! And the days are really getting shorter. Finished my ride @ 7:15 and it was getting to the almost too dark stage to ride.

run is coming back

I went out for the same 3 miler that I did on Thursday. I did it 1:30 faster for a time of 26:15, or an 8:45 pace. Considering the nasty humidity out there, I'd say my running legs are slowly coming back to life.

faaaaaast bike

I got out for my first official ride on the new Cervelo. Oh man is it fast!

I did this loop that has great rodes to time trial on and I did it twice to get a feel for the bike. Because I am in a different position (more aggressive) my arms aren't used to supporting me that way, so my triceps were burning a bit after these 10 min efforts that I did. Its ok though, this happened with my last bike.

The thing that amazes me with this bike is the lack of hesitation of power from my legs to the wheels. When I hit the gas, the bike goes!

And the other thing is weight. On a few ups, I didn't feel like I was climbing. I was just riding like normal, but at a pitch. This bike is soooooo much lighter that it almost feels like I can climb it better than my road bike.

Simply an amazing machine. I just gotta get the engine tuned up a bit :)

plan for the fall/early winter

So because I got my ass handed to me on the run @ Timberman, guess what I am going to work on this fall/early winter. RUNNING!

I was turned onto Hal Hidgon's running plans. I really like them; they make sense to me and other than having one long run a week, most of the runs in the beginner/intermediate plans are short distances, but multiple times a week. So it will be new increasing my running frequency, rather than distance. I think this is really going to improve my running.

So I am thinking about doing a 10K on November 8th down in Lindenhurst on Long Island. Its the Long Island Run for the Warriors. Im going to follow Hal's intermediate plan minus one day of running for this race. I will start this plan Sept 20th.

I found this race using a REALLY awesome running race finder website called runningintheusa.com

The search method is easy to use.

And finally, after the 10K, Im going to start building up for a 12 week plan to run the NYRR Manhatten Half Marathon next January 24th. This plan starts the day of the 10K.

This should keep me VERY active through the off season and should maintain what I have and build it up to give me a solid run base going into the start of the next season of triathlon.

Timberman Power

Here is the power file from Timberman. I had a personal best ride! (I was not wearing a HRM)

hit the reset button

So everything has changed almost overnight. After Timberman, I felt a release or a break from the season. The weather has actually done the same. This morning the weather was NOT humid, and it actually felt quite cool. There were leaves on the ground already!

This is why I mentally hit the reset button this morning. The season as I knew it is over with. No more triathlons till next year. Kinda sad, but the 4 that I did this season were all HUGE successes and I'm looking forward to another year.

So I went for my first run this morning and did 3 miles in 27:45 for a 9:15 pace. It didnt feel like my legs were connected to the ground for about the first mile. I didn't hurt, I was just slow. By mile 2 and 3 I was feeling back to normal on the run. I finished feeling the best. Im going to stick to 3 mile runs for the next week just to make sure I dont come back too hard and burn myself.

post race

Its been 3 full days since Timberman. I have done nothing but eat really greasy food/bbq and ice cream. Oh man oh man oh man has it been good :)

My quads are what still hurt, but not as bad as yesterday. My recovery has improved a full 100% since yesterday. What a difference a day makes! My back still hurts a bit from the sunburn, but even that has improved immensly since yesterday.

So now the triathlete in me says, "NOW WHAT!?!?!"

Well, I want to have some fun this fall and challenge myself.

I have been thinking about doing this for awhile. I call it the "5 Broken Sprint Tris in 5 days" challenge. Basically you do this:
-swim 900 yards in the AM
-bike 15 miles @ lunch
-run 5K after work

you start it on a monday and finish it by friday. You do it at a normal pace, so no need to race it, unless you naturally feel up to it, meaning if you feel like you can push it, push it. If you feel sluggish, then do it sluggish.

The point of this challenge is to do 15 workouts in 5 days and see if any trends appear, such as each day you get slower and slower, or you see if you get faster and faster. Or maybe you start out strong, stutter, but then get faster by the end of the week. Its a fun way to stay motivated, yet not kill yourself. Im curious to see what my times do as the week progresses. I just hope the weather stays consistent and I dont get rained out, since I'd like the bike and run to be outdoors, otherwise you are at the mercy of the machine you are on and I hate that.

Another challenge is to do compare my old TT bike vs my new one. I think I am going to tackle this one first because it will make me ride hard for my upcoming bike relay in 4 weeks. Basically you ride the same course using 2 different bikes putting up two different times. I hope over 5 days I find a trend. I will ride the old bike first, then ride the new one 2nd.

Two things can happen with this:
#1. I go slower on the old TT bike because my position is not as good and the bike is not as light.
#2. I am warmed up from the old TT bike and I will go faster on the new bike anyways.

Its not a very scientific test, but its fun to try and should make me work hard on the bike, which is really what counts @ the end of the day. I wish I had a 2nd PowerTap for this test, but I cant switch the wheel between the two bikes because the Cervelo is a 10 speed, and the old TT bike is a 9. I will have to use time instead.

Not sure when I will start these challenges, but its something to keep me busy on the start of the off season.

Timberman, the full race report

First off I have to mention that Timberman is a REALLY great race to do. I didn't worry once about things going wrong. Transportation was taken care of by the race and there was plenty of space wherever you went. I never once felt claustrophobic by the experience, not even at the swim start. That being said, I HIGHLY recommend this race as a first HIM experience.

I also have to say that this race was an entrance for me into the Major Leagues of triathlon. Overall there was a higher calibur of racer. (and then there was me :) ) So you could just feel the experience in the air of people who have done this stuff seriously for a number of years. (and then there was me :) )

So here goes!

Overall time: 5:55:47

Prerace:

Up @ 3:30 and had gotten 7 full hours of sleep the night before. I felt refreshed. It was dark outside. I put down 2.5 bowls of cereal and half a banana. Couldn't stomach any more food at that point.

Left by 4:30, went to Gunstock to park the car and hopped onto the bus to the race site. It was a mini city at the race site. People everywhere and announcements going off every two seconds. I set up my spot quickly and realized that I had a ton of time to kill. So, I casually walked back forth by the pro area. I was like a little kid! There was Chrissy Wellington and Andy Potts. WOW! That was inspiring!

The race then was postponed for 30 mins due to a truck flipping over on the race course.

Swim: 36:51/1:44 pace

Finally the race got going @ 8:15 for my wave. I lined up in the water and the water was soooooooo nice. It was one of those swims where you don't want to get out. I grew up on this lake, so I knew this water. Did I mention it was really nice?

I held back when they told us to go so there was ZERO contact in the water. I think it was the cleanest start I have ever done.

I got into my groove and started playing the bouy game. I wanted to find some feet, but typical me I drift left and stayed out on my own, which was fine. After we rounded the first turn and about halfway to the next turn, the wave behind caught us and I found some feet. Oh man was it great! I was swimming with less intensity and going faster. Unfortunately I lost him at the next turn and was mostly on my own till the finish. Not bad of a swim for a first HIM.

What to work on: DRAFTING! The difference between not drafting and actually drafting is HUGE. I also have to stay more to the RIGHT. I feel like I could have shaved off a full minute by not drifting to the left. My swimming has come a LONG way this season, even more than the run I feel. I also feel like I have a ton more room for improvement.

T1: 2:35

This is the first race where they have wetsuit strippers. It was great! You flop down on some astroturf and someone grabs ur suit and yanks it off, hands it to you and you go! Unfortunately as I was getting up, another guy was going down and his head wacked me right in the left quad. OUCH! So the resulting charlie horse kinda hurt a LOT! haha.....it went away on the bike. I also didnt run the transition as much as I did in other races. I was more concerned about the times on the swim/bike/run, then getting changed. When I become competitive @ this distance, Ill go quicker.

Bike: 2:49:47 / 19.8 mph course

I totally surprised myself on the bike. A realistic goal for me on this course was around the 3:10:00 - 3:15:00 range. A 3:00:00 flat time would have been amazing! The fact that I did 2:50:00 and almost held 20 mph on a course this long just shocked me!

Right from the start you climb. I was passing people right there. I thought I was going too hard at first, but my legs were pedaling like normal. I figured that that was an appropriate pace to get me through 56 miles without dying. So I went with it.

Between mile 9 and 10 you hit the steepest climb on the course. People were already walking up the hill. I felt great in my easiest gear and felt even better if I stood up. I was blowing by people!

So this is what I realized right there and then. If you train on hills all season long, guess what you are gonna be strong at? Hills! This was a theme throughout the ride.

At the bottom of this hill (which I would climb some 36 miles later) we hit route 106, which I think of as the bulk of the bike course. The pro leaders were starting to pass me on their way back while I was about 2/3 of the way down the hill. Simply amazing seeing Bjorn Andrerson and Andy Potts cranking out a ride that fast.

So onto 106 I got into the aero position and went into auto pilot mode. Only within about 5 miles did I see Chrissy Wellington flying past in the opposite direction. She was standing up going up an incline and just hammering it! She is amazing...

Route 106 goes for a net loss in elevation, even though it feels like you are on a flat rolly road. There were a few stretches were I was booking a consistent 26 mph! Good thing the wind was non existent and there was an ever so slight downhill pitch. I knew though on the way back that it was NOT going to be this fast.

At the turnaround near mile 28 I started to feel my lower back getting sore. I tried and tried to stay in the aero position but it was just too painful. My lower back was in some really bad shape. So I tried to stand and ride and coast and stretch a few times. It helped and I would get back into the aero position for maybe 15 seconds before it was too unbearable. There is no rule stating you HAVE to be in an aero postition, so I went from there on out with my hands on the bars sitting up. I was still passing people, just not as fast. I felt better this way and it got me through the course.

The rest of the ride was a blur until I got to the final long gradual uphill before one of the route 11s that is a pyschological killer because it just numbs the brain from being so boring and that right pitch that will drag out the climb. So I did a combination of standing and sitting. The standing bits saved the ride for me. I felt SO strong when I stood and hit the gas. Those are usually my reserve muscles at the end of a long ride. My back felt so much better too from standing and hitting it.

Finally, with less than 3 miles to go, I saw the end parts of the run course and people already on it. I didnt realize that the run went this far out. I swallowed my pride and just said to myself that you will deal with it when you get to that point.....twice. haha

Getting off of the bike was easy as they give you this loooooooong flat and straight corridor that gives you plenty of time to get out of your shoes on the bike, if you want to do that. I didn't, but now I know if I do this race again.

What to work on: Riding in the aero position for longer periods of time. I think now that I have my new Cervelo that this might become a non issue since the Cervelo has some correct geometry that will make me more comfy by default.

T2: 3:24

My right foot has had a lot of blisters all season long. I always dress them with moleskin and athletic tape and that does the trick to limit the damage. So I premade the same dressing and slapped it on some wax paper ahead of time and put it into a sandwich ziplock back to stay dry. It didnt work. My foot was too moist and dirty for the dressing to stick. So I threw that plan out and just went with socks and the shoes. This took up a lot of time during transition figuring this out and not going through with it. I also didnt use speed laces this race, which I think have been the reason for my blisters all season.

Run: 2:23:11

I am totally shocked that I pulled off this good of a time considering I felt like I walked half the thing. I blew up on the run. This run was a good learning experience. I really felt like I had never ran before in my life after about 4 miles, which I did non stop and felt kinda good. At mile 5 I met some guy from Rye and we have done similar races so talking with him made the next 2 miles melt away.

At mile 7 I bonked. My brain was flashing a big red "NEED FOOD! SYSTEM CRASHING! NEED FOOD! SYSTEM CRASHING! NEED FOOD! SYSTEM CRASHING!" sign. Maybe it was around mile 8 that I found an aid station that had some. I didnt care, as they had food.

Sooooo, I concocted this masterful recipe because this is all they had:

-Pretzels

-Salt and Vinegar Chips

-Espresso GU

-Gatatorade

-chocolate powerbar sticks

mmmmmmmm....i took it all and stuffed into my mouth and chewed. It was one of the best tasting things EVER. I felt like I was eating Thanksgiving dinner!

Somehow I got to the next aid station and shoved similar stuff into my mouth. Again, soooo tasty!

After that I felt like Pop Eye after he chugs a can of spinach. I even heard his trademark song going off in my head. Not that I went any faster, but I did knock off a few miles.

Finally when I hit the mile 12 marker, I said to myself, whats another maybe 10-11 mins of pain to knock off the final 1.1 miles? So I did it and was super happy to finish that dreadful run. Definately the worst run I have ever done in a race and the first that I ever had to walk.

Things to work on: RUN!.....more. A LOT more. I think before I attempt this distance again, that I need to become a solid half marathon runner. I need to break the 2 hour mark with confidence and consistently do that. My running has come a long way this year, but half way through the season I lost a lot of my form. I'd like to do most of the NYRR Half Marathon's next year in anticipation of NYC 2010.

Post race:

Still was in shock that I finished that thing. That 13.1 of running was long, but it felt short. Not sure why. Maybe cuz it was broken up into 4 parts? Who knows.

Now will I ever do another HIM? Yes. When? Not sure yet. Next year will be full of Olympics and sprints for sure. I want to master that Half Marathon distance first before I attempt another HIM.

finished!

More details to follow, but I beat my goal of 6 hours with a finish time of 5:55:47

swim: 36:51

bike: 2:49:47 (19.8 mph on a semi-hilly course!!!)

run: 2:23:11 (iiiiiiiiiiiii fell apart....haha)

and!!! I had chrissy wellington put my finishers medal over me!

aaaaaannnnddd.....i got really badly sunburned. This is NOTHING compared to my back/shoulders.

the day before

Woke up naturally this morning @ 7 AM, went down to the beach and swam without the wetsuit for a few hundred yards. Arms feel good.

Changed, hopped onto the bike and rode not far just going through the gears making sure that nothing skips or hangs. Gears CHECK.

Then it was off to the race expo/packet pickup/prerace meeting/bike dropoff.

Welcome to the major leagues!!! I wish I had my Cervelo just so I could look like I belong to the club. Man this race is MUCH more of a big deal than any other race I have done, including NYC. There are people here looking for Clearwater spots. I saw my new bike a bunch of times with difference wheel configurations. I got some ideas for race wheels next season :)

I met Saul Raisin. I have been following him for a few years and its wild that I will be competing against him?!?!? Nice guy and I bought his book.

The transition area was a bit confusing at first, but I found my spot. LOOOOONNG area to ride in and get out of the shoes for a flying dismount. Im not going for anything other than to finish my first 70.3, so Im gonna do the usual stop, get off the bike and run in the bike shoes.

This is a test race :)

About to go eat some pasta. Race day tomorrow and Im not that nervous. Strange!

maiden voyage

Doubt no longer exists. I had a HUGE confidence boost this morning because of.....

:)

I picked it up yesterday. It was a glass slipper when I got onto it. After a few measurements of my legs, NO adjustments were needed. It fit perfectly! I had the front crank and cassette upgraded to a Dura Ace 53x39 from an FSA compact. This bike is sooooooo light!

I went up to SUNY Purchase as soon as I got up. Felt a bit like Christmas this morning. As soon as I got onto it, I could feel the stiffness of the carbon fiber frame. Now my old TT bike is gonna feel like riding a sponge!

Within 300 yards I was already going up a slight incline. I threw caution to the wind, shifted to a harder gear, stood and hammered it. Man this thing can climb!!! Did I mention that this bike is really light?!?!? Every ounce of energy that goes into the pedals goes right into propelling this thing. It doesnt feel like the frame is absorbing the energy and spitting it out like garbage like on my aluminum TT bike. You put the hammer down, you better hold on to this thing! Just amazing how well this thing climbs!

I finally got to a section where I could get into aero and big ring it with some speed. The bike flew. But that lasted for a whopping 30 seconds before I realized that the cockpit was slipping downwards. The connection from the stem was slightly loose. Booooooo!!!

Oh well. So I had to stop, manually bend it back up and unfortunately I didnt have any tools on me or in the car, so that basically ended the ride. I rode the remaining mile back very cautiously trying not to put too much weight on the bars.

Other than the handlebar incident, the bike is going right back into the shop first thing when I get back. The brakes are way too wide so breaking takes a bit more than it should. The extra bit of front derailer cable @ the end that sticks out of the derailer is too long and is in the way of the pedal stroke. And finally, I cant turn the cockpit more than 20 degrees to the right because the cables are either too short or too tight. However, I can turn the cockpit a full 90 degrees to the left. Im also going to swap out the rear wheel with my DT Swiss with the PowerTap. Oh, and the gear shifting is not right. Even though the rear shifter is indexed, the gears are still not smooth. When I hammered it up that hill the rear gear slipped twice. Just a little unsettleing.

Very exciting though! And the above reasons are why I am NOT riding it this weekend @ Timberman. I don't know the bike yet and I am sure a few more little things are going to show up.

getting closer to "R" day

I hopped into the pool this morning for a stressfull 1000 yards. My 250 yard WU hurt; I couldn't get under 1:41 for each of my 5 x 100's. And the anticipation of finishing my 250 CD was just killing me.

The "doubt" factor is setting in. I'm not the only one, I have found out. This happens to a lot of athletes as I have been reading in a number of triathlon blogs. We are hitting that point in the season where the days are getting shorter (and yet hotter, wtf?) and a lot of folks are narrowing down the season for their final races, usually their "A" race. Which means that taper madness is setting in for those folks. I am reading more and more (and I'm in the same boat) that we dont feel at our peaks or we feel super guilty about missing ONE workout.

I always look back at my logs when I start to feel this way. I have done the work! There is NO way anyone can workout 7-10 times/week (at a minimum of 30 mins, max of 3.5 hours) and not be in shape.

I also remind myself of that one ride I always have anywhere between 2-4 weeks after my last race of the season where I end up putting in my fastest (and best feeling) ride of the season by accident. Why? Because unknowingly, I had been sorta tapering without meaning to.

So its time to STOP feeling so guilty about not kicking my own ass day after day and letting it loose this coming Sunday. What do I have to lose?

slow 4 miler

Went MUCH slower this morning. My legs felt great, but I just went slow.

Thats all.

last hard swim

Strange to say that tonight's swim was my last hard meaningfull swim of the season. I didnt even go that hard overall, but I put up some nice times.

I did:
2x 250 WU
3 x 100 with consistent 1:34 times
3 x 200, going 3:12, 3:14, 3:13 (I LIKE THOSE TIMES!!!)
3 x 100 EZ
2 x 200 EZ
1 x 100 CD
----------------
2300 yards in 46 mins including rest.

I felt fast when I was going fast, so thats a good thing. Just gotta rest up my arms.

I will admit, swimming in that 44 yard length pool really did a # on me! A friend of mine just got a membership @ the Greenwich Y with the brand spanking new 50 meter pool. She has a bunch of guest passes :) Im gonna check that out after Timberman.

legs feel better, finally

I didnt think my legs were ever going to feel better after the other weekend's suffer-fest. I got out this morning for a quick 16 miler and my legs felt smooth. I didnt really push it too much and I stayed in the aero position as much as I could. I also took it super easy on the hills.

Completely random, but Im not that big of a fan of Grapefruit juice out of the carton. I prefer fresh squeezed.

simulated run

Its hot today. 90 degrees. And I went for a run in it. Probably a really stupid thing to do, but I have a feeling that this is what its gonna be like next weekend. I started the run around 11 AM, which is what I am estimating as being the start time for my 13.1 miler next Sunday. It sucked but the shade felt a LOT better than being in the sun.

I did 3.5 miles in 29:26 for an 8:26 pace. Ill take it.

I feel so guilty during tapers. I mean, yesterday I biked a whopping 17 miles and swam 1 mile; today I ran a whopping the 3.5 miles. I am going through that, "Geeze, if that 3.5 miles hur that bad, Im gonna die next weekend!".....amazing how quickly your mind THINKS it is losing it. Oh the madness!

strange 2 days: Giving back

Was supposed to do an hour ride yesterday morning, but I got lazy, so that went out the window.

Then I volunteered @ NYRR headquarters on 89th street handing out T-Shirts and goodie bags for this weekend's NYC Half Marathon. I have to say it was quite the interesting experience, especially the crazy old control freak guy who worked along side me. "Step down please! Next in line!" is what he would yell out every 10 seconds, even when no one was there. Bless his heart, he is retired and this is how he spends his time. No wonder NYRR is such a great organization and puts on great races.

Im glad that I did my volunteering requirment so early. Interacted with all kinds of runner folks. There were the total fear in the eys gotta tell everyone its my first half marathon cuz Im so scared folks. They old women who ask me to check them out so I can tell them what size they are. Then the I dont know what size I am so Im gonna spend the next 5 mins holding up the line figuring it out asking me if I knew if they ran small LAST year (that guy proceded to scold his poor hippy child for touching the shirt by accident). Ahhhhhhh, NYC.

Again, Im glad I got that out of the way.

I was wiped after that, went home, ate, and fell asleep. The pool closed before I woke up.

Then this morning I gave back to the community again and went up to Harriman to watch my friend and coworker compete in her 2nd ever triathlon. She did great and finished it like it was a piece of cake. Fun being on the sidelines for once.

Got home from that, hopped onto the bike for an hour's worth of intervals on the bike. So depending on the pitch of the road, I can hold 24 mph @ threshold wattage. Daaaaammmnnnn. I like that! Then I get on a flat section that is slightly pitched up, and I can hold 20 mph @ threshold. Too bad I'd kill myself if I held that wattage for the entire Timberman ride. One can dream....

Then finally I went to the local community pool and tried out a 44 yard pool. I have to admit that I got my butt kicked. Amazing how that much less rest can really kill you.

Im so tempted to move my membership over to the Greenwich Y @ there brand spanking new 50 meter pool. So tempted! I really think swimming with that much less rest would pay even more dividends. Im gonna think that one over...

made myself feel better today by....

treating myself to this: :)D


...my legs still feel like shit, but oh boy do I feel HAPPY! Its in the shop getting the front cassette swapped out for a 53 x 39 vs the compact crank thats on there now. I pick it up next week.

I have been doing research for a few weeks now on which bike to get and all indications pointed towards this bike. Yesterday I learned that the bike shop 3 miles from where I work and from where I started so many rides the past 2 seasons started carrying Cervelo about 6 weeks ago. I walked into the shop @ lunch today, looked left, and there it was in my size and color. I took it out for a spin, it spoke to me, and I spoke back with "Fuck this thing is fast!!!"

The bike fit me like a glove with a 2 second seat adjustment. I can only imagine what this thing is going to ride like with a proper fit.

Now the hard part. I can't ride this for Timberman. No way. No how! From that test ride, my position was already in a super aggressive position compared to my current TT bike. Its gonna take me a good 2 weeks to learn this bike and become comfortable on it.

Basically Im gonna save this baby for the ITP Man relay Sept 26th. Im gonna break all personal records that day on this thing.

Oh man oh man oh man!!!

5 miler

Man, I really did a number on myself last weekend. My legs didnt feel as bad as Tuesday's run, but they still didn't feel "right" this morning either. Fortunately, I am done for the day. So I am gonna chug water all day long and just take it easy until my ride tomorrow AM.

Come on legs! Feel better!

a really hard, but rewarding swim

Tonight's swim was one of those hard one's where you know its gonna be hard going in, but yet you know its gonna pay dividends. I did 2500 yards and the goal was to do short but intense on less and less rest, then rebound and see if you can hold it again at some longer distances.

So, tonight looked like this:
2 x 250 WU
3 x 100 on 2:00
3 x 100 on 1:55
3 x 100 on 1:50 (ouch!!!)
1 x 400 recover
3 x 200 on 4:00
100 CD

For the 9 100's, I was ranging between 1:32 and 1:35.
For the 200's, I went 3:21, 3:20, 3:16!

These times are a bit slower than what I was doing earlier this season, but I feel like I can get it back and maintain it over the next week.

So basically the past 3-4 weeks I havent really been pushing myself in the pool, other than putting in huge volume. I was really pushing myself to keep those 100 times down. I mean, harder than I really should have been. So in other words, I have learned tonight that once you start gaining speed in the pool, DONT slow down completely. Volume is cool, but it hurts speed. I should keep the speed sets up!

Good swim and a BIG confidence booster.

easy spin

Put in a 17 miler this morning. Just went easy and spun the legs out. I could still feel some soreness from last weekend. This ride helped loosen me up further. Im hoping to be back 100% by this weekend.

ouchy run

Put in a painful 3.5 miler this morning. My legs felt utterly stupid for the first mile, then felt really painfull for the second, and finally at about 2.5 miles I almost had to stop. But suddenly that lightswitch went off and I felt great for the final mile. Strange. I liken it to the rust having to get rubbed off of the muscles.

Got home and put in a good stretch.

back in the pool

Back into the pool tonight for some RnR. My legs are REALLY freaking sore today from this past weekend's adventures. My arms weren't that much better.

I stayed to shorter distances tonight (max 200 yards at a time) with some kicking on the back. Kicking hurts like hell, but it always makes them feel better long term. Ended up with 2000 yards.

One a couple 100's I tried to push it but ended up with a high 1:37. Im pretty gassed!

over the top of the mountain

This is the last major weekend of training before Timberman and my goal was to do one thing: obliterate my body.

I did just that. After my 2 mile OWS yesterday followed by the hilly 46.7 miler, a running buddy and I drove down to the City this morning and ran 2 loops around Central Park. Take that Soupy Humid Weather! Its 2-1 in my favor now!

We did the 12.1 miles in 1:52 flat for a 9:15 pace.

It was a good run though. Definately one of the hardest of the season for me. I had to stop twice and get my bearings. The humidity really took a toll one me but I am proud to have done a strong run despite feeling like dog crap the entire time.

Since last monday, I have ran 27.4 miles. Thats the most amount of volume for me ever in a week.

And so starting tomorrow, the taper begins!

oh what a day!

I completed with ease the Greenwich Island Beach 2 mile swim this morning. What a swim! It was freaking AWESOME!!! I did it in 1:08:00, which for 3520 yards came out to be a 1:56 /100 yard pace. Thats really really slow. Basically the way out was fast, but the current on the way back wrecked me. I wasnt the only one. My friend wound up with a 1:17:00, but her way out was 31 mins and change.

Yeah, I was hurting a bit more on the way back and my line wasnt that great, but the current was really throwing me around at times. These huge swells would take you up and would kill your pull.

Whatever, Im doing that swim again next year and the Greenwich Island is spectacular! I could have stayed out there all day. Next time Im brining a giant cooler and charcoal and will grill out and drink beer and relax. Such a great place!

Then when we returned to shore, I hopped onto my bike and went out for a 46.7 mile ride. It was a hilly ride! I went up a couple hills where in my easiest gear and standing, I was having a hard time getting up to the top.



Good ride though. A bit more punishing then I would have liked, but its gonna make the Timberman 56 miler that much easier.

Good day 4 hour day of volume!

attack of the......TICKS!

and by ticks, i mean DEER ticks....yes the lyme disease carrying deer ticks.

I was gonna hop on the dreadmill for 30 easy mins @ lunch today, but my buddy/coworker convinced me to go on the 1 mile hike on the trail behind the office.

4 of us went and we were immediately in knee high grass. We took our time; the weather was beautiful. We some deer prancing in the woods; two giant wild turkeys took off right in front of us.

It was a fairy tale hike that only Walt Disney could animate.

Until we finished the hike and the ex boy scout that i am mentioned that we should all check for ticks. I NEVER get ticks. But I found one normal sized one on my jeans. Whatever, I flick it off.

The other three find really tiny small ticks crawling on them.

Long story short, at one point today I was hopping into the shower @ work frantically scrubbing my body after I found half a dozen deer ticks crawling all over my socks and inside of my shoes.

I found three more on the shins.

When I got home, 3 more were found, including one that had stuck its head into my skin!!!!

YIIIIIIIKKKKEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!!!

Kelly checked my entire body over and all of them are removed.

Lets just say, a beautiful day ended kinda tragically and now I am UBER paranoid of missing one of those tiny little fuckers and contracting Lyme disease. EEEWWW!!!!

My coworker was able to save one of the ticks and is hopefully gonna be able to send it in for analysis.

Hopefully my 2 mile swim tomorrow off the coast of Greenwich will take care of anything that has decided to attach itself to my body.

I am officially creeped out.

27 miles of hills

This is one of my last "just go out and slaughter your legs" rides prior to Timberman. Boy am I confident in my climbing abilities! Take for example this good 1-2 mile hill that I attacked up the entire way and still had enough to sprint over the top.

In other words, my legs were firing on all cylinders tonight! I felt soooo strong on the bike. I dusted off my road bike and took that out instead. My road bike is REALLY light compared to my time trial bike. So much so that when I loaded my bike into my car this morning, it felt as heavy as a toothpick compared to the TT bike.

After my swim and bike on Saturday, Im right down the street from the Greenwich Bike shop. I am going to first have them weigh my TT bike, then see what they have in stock. This is my 2nd season on this TT bike and its a great bike, just the weight while climbing is a bit frustrating knowing that I can climb SO much faster on my road bike. Plus I need a much more aggressive position on the bike that my TT bike (which is a road bike frame fixed up with TT fixings) cannot provide.

Just in the exploration mode right now....

just didnt have it

My goal was to get in at least 2000 yards tonight in the pool. Wound up with 1200 instead. I felt flat and my arms hurt. Oh well. Just gonna take it easy till Saturday.

I stole an idea from a fellow triathlon blogger and put in this buckeyeoutdoors.com workout tracker/log. I just input my workout, and it will update that tracker on the right. Its super cool!

SHW 1, Me 1. Were tied!

I had some revenge on the Soupy Humid Weather this morning. I was able to do my 6 miles this time!

Another slow paced run with a 9:20 min/miles. Im not worried about the speed right now, just volume to get my mind back to "knowing" that I can run whatever distance. Its purely pyschological @ this point to round out the next 2.5 weeks till Timberman.

I am fortunate to have a number of coworkers and friends with whom I can swim/bike/run with any day of the week. Its amazing how having someone else with you on a workout takes your mind off of your legs or your breathing and makes the workout go by that much quicker.

oh boy, Timberman is starting to "hit" me

The Timberman race director sent out the pre race email with the weekend race schedule, including swim wave times. Oh man this is getting REAL!

Like NYC, and probably most large races, they require you to rack your bike the night before. I am a HUGE fan of this because it makes the race morning that less stressful. Just show up, setup your bike and run stuff, hop in your wetsuit and your off! They even have wetsuit strippers when you come out of the water.

Needless to say, I feel ready for this race even if it is 19 days away.

Oh and this morning I did a super easy 17 miler to spin my legs out from yesterday.

and a good 3000 yarder

My arms wanted to fall off @ 3000 yards, but I was averaging a 1:40 steady pace in the pool. I did:
500
2 x 400
3 x 300
3 x 200
2 x 100

Gonna taper it a bit for Saturday's 2 mile swim. Might do a super easy 500 tomorrow. 2000 nice and steady on Wednesday and a super easy 500 on Thursday.

finally, a decent long run

Went out for 9 miles this morning and completed 9 miles. Didnt matter how fast/slow I went, I HAD to do it. Averaged a 9:21 pace....slow yes, but it got the job done and basically saved my season.

After last weekend's terrible 10K and last friday's soupy mess of a run, I was starting to have serious doubts about my running ability.

I did a bunch of 3/4/5 NYRR races this past winter and every race I was holding sub 8 min miles and finishing strong. When Tri season started, I stopped doing those speedy runs, and guess what happened? My run started to suffer because of it, even with consistent volume.

I actually think this is a good thing that this happened. Had I continued to do those races, I would have never realized that those races were the reason why my running paces had dropped signifigantly from last year. I was doing mostly 4 milers. They were perfect races. 2 mile warmup. 4 miles HARD, followed by a 2 mile warmdown. Not only could I get in decent volume, but half of it is @ anaerobic threshold. Plus there are toilet facilities and food @ the finish. Can you beat that? I am actually starting to miss those NYRR races.

I know what I am doing next winter!

I actually only have 1 more NYRR race to run (which will be done Sept 12) and then I am volunteering Aug 14th @ packet pickup to fullfill that part of the 9+1 Marathon entry. I am almost there!

the abuse continues!

with 62 more miles on the bike. Ouchy ouchy! That last hill just about did me in.

So the bike was broken up like this:

Left from Suny Purchase and did 34 hard miles by myself with a couple good hills thrown in.
When I got back to Purchase, I met up with my friend Kathy and we did 2 loops around Purchase. Then we headed out for a 21 miler on some roads I had already done with a really good sized hill. Then we did 1 more loop so she could round out 40 miles and I could round out 62.

Then we put on our running shoes and headed out. She needs to do a 10K. I didnt need to do anything, so I went .5 miles out, said, "Cya Kathy!" and I turned around and called it a day. It was a good 4+ hour workout.

I am supposed to run for 90 mins tomorrow.....uuuuhhhhhh, I dont think so. I am gonna take tomorrow off, then do it on Monday. Gotta rest!

One more weekend of this stuff, and then the taper for Timberman begins.

I am starting to feel that this season is getting looooooooooong.