2 2 2

A lot of 2's over the past 2 days. I did my 2nd tango lesson. We learned how to turn and the women learned the "ocho." In other words, Im doing a lot of standing while the woman does all of the work. We improved a LOT over the past week. We had been struggling a bit with the basic parallel step, but since learning the turn and ocho, the basic parallel step suddenly feels easier.

Then this morning I got out for my 2nd run back. I will admit first though that my quads were sore yesterday from Monday's run. Amazing! Months and months of building it up, 2 weeks to lose it. haha!

The run this morning felt great with some more awesome running weather. Did 3.1 for a slow 29:40 or a 9:34 pace. Just went slow and steady.

Running season started TODAY

OH! and what a glorious morning it was for running! This is the running weather you dream of: 57 degrees, clear skies and a slight breeze. NO humidity!

So this was my first run in exactly 2 weeks. I did my usual 3 mile route in 26:50 for a 8:57 pace. Perfect. Not too fast, not too slow. I felt great at the finish. Only thing that was wierd was my body felt a little awkward. I think thats with anything you drop for 2 weeks after religiously doing it.

Then, right now, I am finishing up my breakfast of champions:
Cider Donut
Fresh Apple Cider
homemade Blueberry pancakes
REAL maple syrup
bacon

Ok, a little high on the glycemic index, but man, what a perfect Fall breakfast.

Fall is truly my favorite season.

woah, we kicked butt yesterday

I found the results for our race yesterday: OVERALL RESULTS

Bob, our swimmer had the 2nd fastest swim OVERALL!!! with a time of 11:06 for a 1:15/100 pace. He shaved off 1:25 from last year. He obviously had the fastest relay swim split.

My bike was 42:55 for an average of 21 mph flat. (I shaved off 1:42 from last year). I had the 14th fastest bike overall and the 2nd fastest bike for the relay division. The guy who came in after me told me that he was trying to catch me the entire time, but couldn't. Man does that not make you feel like a rockstar?!?!?! This is compared to the 31st fastest bike split last year.

Our runner, Stewart, did a 37:48 for a 7:33 pace. 48th overall and 3rd fastest for relays.

We did 9th overall!!!

Relays are awesome and are sooooooooo much more relaxing to do.

last race of the season

I did my last race of the season this morning, the ITPMan sprint triathlon. I did it as part of a relay team, like I did last year. I did the biking part. So this was a good race in that I could basically measure a year's worth of progress.

Well! I progressed! Actually our whole team did!

So we came in 9th overall and 2nd in the relay division. The first place relay team took the overall honors. We beat them in the swim, but I was soon caught within the first 3 miles by the cyclist. No worries though, as I was out there to improve from last year and also do my first race on the new bike.

I was able to get in a 30 min warmup by bringing my road bike and my trainer. As everyone else was getting ready for the swim, I was on the trainer spinning away. It helped I think, but I soon realized that I should have done some harder efforts similar to the race to REALLY get warmed up.

I stripped all non essential stuff of the bike to bring it back to its fighting weight of "this bike is really freaking light!!!"....so that helped a bit on some of the ups.

I did the 15 miles in about 42:3X for an average of 21 mph flat. That is new bike average for me. PERIOD. I have never sustained a pace like that ever. I am curious to see how I did overall.

Good race for us! It was also a good breakthrough year for our swimmer, who raced competitively through college, but had to give it up as life got in the way. He shed 40 pounds since last April, got his butt back in shape and put up probably a top 10 swim split for us. Look out for next year!

Our runner, fresh off of an Ironman and half Ironman also put up an amazing 5 mile run with a 7:33 min/mile pace.

Cold, but crisp and beautiful fall day for a race. I was glad I didnt have to jump into that water this morning!!!

Doing the Tango

I started tango lessons last night! That is, the Argentinian Tango. A friend is getting married and he wants to do the tango @ his wedding, but he wants another couple to be able to dance it as well, so we volunteered for the job.

Its fun! We started off with the parallel step, which is an 8-stepper. We picked it up quickly, but now the finessing part is gonna be tough. I have two left feet, mind you, so this is gonna be interesting.

La, dee dee da! Dee dee da!

back @ it on the bike

After 5 full days off of doing nothing (besides 3 days of kayaking) I hopped back onto the bike this morning and knocked out 21 miles. My legs didnt feel fast, but they were fast. I was able to average 18mph for the entire ride despite doing intervals. When I was going fast, I was going fast, otherwise, it was @ a recovery pace.

Another good ride. Last race is this Saturday!

off to go kayak camping

Heading up to Long Lake, NY tonight to do 3 days of kayak camping. Time to become one with nature!

I have a feeling my arms are gonna hurt by Sunday, but I hope to see some nice scenery and enjoy the peace and quiet of nature.

And the goal setter in me has set two goals for the weekend (both involving FIRE!):

#1: Bow drill fire starter:
http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/bowdrill/pmoc/basicbowdrill.html

#2: Coke and Chocolate bar fire starter:
http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/cokeandchocolatebar/index.html

This will give me 4 days off from biking and everything else. This will also bring me to a full week of no running. Wow.

speeeeeeeed work

Up @ the crack of stupid yet again this morning and headed up to Purchase for some laps to work on speed.

I did 6 laps:
Lap 1: Warmup
Lap 2: half warmup, other half 3 short speed increases
Lap 3: controlled all out effort
Lap 4: go harder
Lap 5: go EVEN harder
Lap 6: recovery and cool down

I have really enjoyed the PowerTap this season. Helps me know when to take it easy and when to go hard, especially during races. I think the biggest help was @ Timberman where it helped me find my "go hard, but not too hard" pace so as to finish strong without burning out.

road bike fitting

So yeah, I was WAY stretched out on the road bike, by 5 cm. We shortened the stem by 3cm and moved the saddle forward 2cm. What a difference! No wonder my lower back would hurt so bad after a 20 mile ride.

It was funny: as soon as I got onto the bike the fitter immediately chuckled and said, "Yeeeaaahhh, thats not right."

So bike fittings are done and out of the way and I have single handedly stimulated the US economy in the process. Too bad the season is ending :(

sprints!

Did some anaerobic work on the road bike this morning. Started off with a 12 mile warmup then hit the gas for a 2.5 mile all out effort. Cooled down then did 4 all out sprints. I was huffing and puffing on a few of em! Its always great to get down into your drops and stand and just hammer it!

Got in 21.5 miles. Good solid ride. I was on a few stretches where I was going only about 18 mph where I knew had I been on my TT bike, that I coud have upped it a few more miles per hour.

NOW I can really understand the riding difference between my road and TT bikes. I yearn for those long flat straight aways on the TT bike where I can just haul 23-25 mph. However going up hills on that thing is a different story....whereas on the road bike, I hit a hill and I can just gas up it with ease. Took me long enough to figure that out!

29 miler

Boy oh boy were my climbing legs COMPLETELY shot! Otherwise, on the flats I was going pretty fast. Yesterday's race took a bit out of me. However! The weather this morning was absolutely PERFECT!

2010 NYC Marathon. Ill see you there!

That is if you can find me amongst the 45,000 others in 14 months time :)

I did my last NYRR qualifier this morning around Central Park. It was only a 4 miler, but it hurt a LOT. I didnt realize how humid it was this morning! At least it didnt rain!

So I did no warmup other than walking and my splits came out as:
7:33
8:00
8:30
8:15

I basically gunned it from the start and then faded. I did this on purpose. I just wanted to go hard to get the blood going and then settle in for the final 3 miles.

I saw a little bit of the destruction in the park. When we turned left onto the 102nd street transverse, I saw HUGE mounds of mulch. I also noticed when you turn from the 102nd street transverse onto the west side drive that there used to be a huge tree @ that corner that gave a lot of shade. There is now a huge hole there. So sad. I can only imagine the destruction had we gone further north.

So I have 14 months to get my butt into marathon shape!

tried the breast stroke

It was prolly amusing to whomever was watching.

I used to know how to do both the breast and back stroke when I was a kid. Amazing what happens when you haven't done either in 14 years.

Anyways, I got in about 1000 yards freestyle.

2 x 250 WU
3 x 100 (1:39, 1:39, 1:37)
200 (3:25)

Im thinking about doing an 800 yard time trial next week as a new base time to improve upon this off season.

back on the road bike, OUCH!

Got onto the road bike for the first time in about a month. Since riding my new Cervelo I guess I am used to riding much more forward because as soon I as I got going on the road bike, I felt like I was 10 feet back from the handlebars. It was not comfy @ all!

And the funny thing is that nothing has been adjusted on the road bike for 3 years....

So I am guessing that the position was wrong to start with and I just got used to it?

I am going in next Tuesday for another fitting on this bike. It really amazes me that my position could have been wrong for so long.....

But I got in a 17 mile ride @ lunch. My legs felt great. I always ride so much easier on the road bike (despite the position). I can climb like nobody's business on that thing. Last night I was comparing the weight of TT bike vs the road bike all loaded up minus water and they feel about the same weight. The TT bike might be a smidge lighter? And yet while riding the road bike feels like a feather in comparison!

back in the pool

Got in the water for the first time in 2.5 weeks. Felt wierd @ first and my arms felt a bit soft and my form was "off".....it came back sorta. I think its mostly a confidence thing.

So now its a motivational thing to get into the pool.

What motivates you to get into the water? What kind of goals should I set for myself to keep my head in the swimming game? My first swim competition wont be till next June!

bike fitting part 2, and the resulting ride

Took yesterday completely off other than bike fitting #2. With the new spacers under the aero pads, we messed around with the seat position. We slightly lowered the seat and slightly scooted it back. The position felt good spinning on the compuTrainer, but you can only go so far with that.

So this morning I was out on the road @ 7AM on one of my usual routes where I can stay in the aero position for a long time. The fit worked!

My neck and upper middle shoulders do NOT hurt @ all. Im not kicking my arms with my knees anymore (due to raising the cockpit a total of 5cm) and my triceps didnt hurt as much. I think I just have to ride more in this new position to get used to that.

And finally, the real clincher that the fit is working was when I was booking 27 mph on a 2.5 mile stretch of flat road. Incredible! It felt like a blur because I was going so fast. Usually I am doing 23-25 mph on that section. I kinda went faster this time :)

I ended up with almost 27 miles in around 90-ish minutes. Good ride, even though my climbing legs were shot.

faaaast run

Went out for a 3.5 miler this morning and hit the gas about half way through the run. I ended up with an 8:12 pace! Woah!

This reminded me that next Saturday I have my final NYRR qualifier race for the 2010 NYC Marathon. Its only a 4 miler and I can walk it as long as I start and finish it. Im thinking about gunning it!

59 miler/a.k.a tour of Westchester.

long slow ride this morning. Such gorgeous weather! Discovered some new roads and some roads that I haven't ridden in 2-3 years that I have forgotton about. Route 100 is a time trialists dream road.

another short run

I really like only having to run 3-4 miles at a time. Such a relief! The distances are so short compared to what I was doing all summer long that I sometimes forget if I even ran two days ago.

Well I better enjoy it while I can, cuz Sept 15th is when it all starts over again for a 10K race on Nov 8th.

Now for biking news.....I got the new spacers for the cockpit and have installed them. Im supposed to do a 60 miler tomorrow and I'm gonna use the Cervelo!....it could either be REALLY painfull, or it could be quite enjoyable. Its been almost 2 weeks since Timberman, so the legs can do the distance, its the position that could ruin things. Regardless, this will provide GREAT feedback for fitting #2 next week.

another ride and bike fitting #1

Went for a 23 miler after we got out of work early. Man this weather has been incredible!!!

Then I went for a bike fitting. I found a good fitter! He knows his stuff, which is a huge relief. He also did some flexibility tests, and I am NOT very flexible. Oops! He mentioned that becoming more flexible will help my position out on the bike because I wont be straining myself to hold the aero position, even with a good fit. Regardless, I think some more flexibility would be a good thing.

The seat height is good, but the cockpit is too low, and that is why I have been putting some strain on my arms and I have been hitting my knees into my arms. So he flipped the steam which gave me 4cm of heigh and that helped, but more will be better. So I need to call the bike shop and see if they have larger sized spacers.

So then I will go back in next week with the new spacers and he will adjust the seat angle and back/forward position.

His setup is really good. He had me on a Computrainer and had a video camera to get a profile view. That was pretty cool. Unfortunately my aero bars are a fixed length and cannot slide forwards or backwards, because sliding them towards me will help with my support and take the load off of my triceps.

got indirectly called "masochistic"

So a coworker and I went for a lunch time run today @ work. My office is on top of this huge hill that always kicks your butt @ the finish. I rode up the thing this morning and yesterday @ lunch on the bike. I guess I have just gotten used to going up it over time whether I am riding it or running up it. Hills are good for you! just like eating your vegetables.

So we run to the top of the hill and we walk it back to the entrance of the building. We see this guy on a road bike stop near the top, flip his bike over, fiddle with the rear wheel and sit down on the curb. We think he is broken down so we ask him if everything is ok. He just says, "Im fine, just resting. You gotta be a masochist to go up that thing[the hill]!"

We just smiled :)

checked my ego @ the door

I heard this expression last winter. I really like it cuz I used it this morning.

I went out for an early morning ride and I didn't use the big ring. I stayed in the small ring the entire time and just spun the legs out. I felt great! I remember my high school cycling coach tell me that learning restraint is one of the hardest things to do with endurance training. Basically it was knowing when to take it easy even though you feel like you can and should go hard all the time.

So I have learned this morning one way to go easy is to just not use the big ring.

felt like poo on the bike, again

But i know why! I gotta slow down! haha

Or i need to do an actual warm up.

I have it in my head because I am on my new bike that I can automatically hold 20 mph forever. WRONG!

Like anything, I need to warm up. And i learned that if I dont warm up, ill never get really loose and just feel like crap for the rest of the ride, like today.

Warm ups are GOOD things!

run is getting better!

Went out for a 3.65 miler this morning and I knew right from the start that my legs were feeling good. Finished the run in 31:10 for an 8:32 pace. I didnt think the running was gonna be that good considering last night's not so good ride. I guess that homemade pizza for dinner last night did the trick!

It was actually cold this morning! Within a week the weather has changed so drastically. I really like this dry weather.