Jeff's Triathlon Journey: Part Two

My last three weight checks have been 215. That makes it official. September 2nd I was at 220, so that's 5 pounds in 6 weeks. Not exactly the dramatic results I had hoped for, but I'll take it. The next 6 week block brings us to Thanksgiving and through the surgery and recovery. Weight loss may not be as evident, but if I can keep from gaining any weight I'll call it another victory. We'll see. At this rate, I won't see 200 pounds by New Years (like I wanted) but I might see it by the middle of February

I picked up my Computrainer pieces from Racermate yesterday and assembled them when I got home from work. After a 20 minute warm up, I calibrated the unit and it worked perfectly. Then I loaded up an IM Canada course and rode until I hit the downhill coming in to Okanagan Falls (about an hour or so). I didn't write down all the stats, I have the the "silver guy" (my virtual opponent) set at 150 watts right now, so up hill, downhill, flat, he puts out a constant 150 watts. I maybe averaged 125 for the ride including a warm up. That 25 watts was worth almost 2 miles an hour. At one point "he" was ahead by one and a half miles (in like 6 miles). By the time I quit for dinner, I had closed the gap to .4 miles.

Tonight is Testing night at Cycle U. I'm skipping my lunchtime workout to be fresh for the test. Instead, I'll just warm up a little and maybe get some stretching in. I'm looking forward to getting some good numbers to train from for the rest of the class. (btw, the next session starts on 12/13 for another 10 weeks and I'm already looking forward to it. The winter session will be working on more intensity and threshold workouts.

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2010-10-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

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2010-10-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

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2010-10-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

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Weekend

2010-10-11T09:00:00.001-07:00

Saturday morning I did a drop in at Cycle U (I'm only signed up for Tues & Thurs) but since I'm going to miss a lot of November I thought I'd get as much time in there as possible. So far (the first week) we did some power building, some tempo and some threshold. The wattage all looks about the same, with the cadence and the heart rate changing (that is, when I get out of that comfortable 80-85 cadence an up to 95, heart rate takes a jump).

We got to watch the start of the Ironman in Hawaii on the live feed from ironmanlive.com (instead of the usual bike racing videos). And, to my surprise, Nike and Darlene from the bike group showed up so I had some company.

Sunday was group run from Gasworks, 9 miles, around Lake Union, in the rain. It really wasn't to bad as the rain slacked off a bit. I think we had maybe a group of six to start with, June, Niki (2), Cari(?), Laura and a little later Becka. Had a little pause at the beginning because the Fremont bridge went up. I dropped back somewhere around South Lake Union to run with June who was hanging back (even though the pace felt painfully slow, my HR was about 140). We caught some of the group at the top of the hill and stayed together until we got on to the BG. At the Burke Gilman, I left the group by picking up the pace a little, not paying any attention to HR, just how I felt. Back at Gasworks, my watch should have stopped at 1:47:23, but after walking around for a while I noticed it still running (Crap!). Finally stopped it at 1:54:something. Downloading at home I noticed my HR was way above normal... like average was 152, peaking at 212... crap! was that real? I didn't feel badly, dizzy or anything like that. I admit that at one point I was thinking about Chris McCormack's finish the day before (although I had no sponges to throw out).

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2010-10-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

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2010-10-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

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2010-10-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

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2010-10-06T10:59:00.001-07:00

I had an exceptionally crappy nights sleep last night which falls on the heels of Friday, Saturday and Sunday also being crappy for sleep. Ugh. Sleep study scheduled for next week. I expect to find nothing wrong biologically and that my problems are environmental (dogs, cats, wife, phone, etc.)

Monday I worked my way through a lung function test. Surprisingly, I had done the same test 10 years ago, which was handy because we had a baseline for comparison. No surprises there. Everything seems to be working fine. (when I asked about a test that included exercise, I was told that they didn't have any facilities for that and they weren't sure who did).

I dropped my Computrainer off at Racermate yesterday afternoon to get it checked/serviced/ replaced and then killed a couple of hours, sitting in the sun, napping, thinking about meal plans, nutrition and weight. Later I went to Cycle U for spin class. Left the HR monitor Home and the bike computer wouldn't download, so no stats.

Os Trigonum Syndrome

2010-10-04T09:49:00.001-07:00

Who knew? I have a syndrome. I met with my surgeon's PA last Friday. He was able to explain things a little better to me (or maybe I was listening better). Besides removing the bone spur on the tibia in the front of my foot, the surgeon will also remove the os trigonum bone... cool, huh?

http://www.livestrong.com/video/3627-os-trigonum-syndrome-health-byte/

http://www.foothealthfacts.org/footankleinfo/os_trigonum_syndrome.htm

I have tentatively scheduled surgery for October 29th. Two weeks on crutches and then the stiches come out. Eight weeks to full recovery, but I can swim, use an eliptical trainer and bicycle (with pain being a guideline). I can also use the "not running" time to do some upper body work and maybe focus a little more on nutrition

On another note, I am basically brain dead today. I've been having trouble getting to sleep and then sleep is interrupted by cats and dogs and phones and possibly even a little pain. I may take the afternon off to sleep.

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2010-10-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

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Tipping Points

2010-10-01T13:44:00.001-07:00

I was wondering about tipping points today.

So is it 15% for lunch and 20% for dinner unless the service is exceptional (either way), or

That point at which the cow's center of gravity is no longer above the quadrangle formed by it's four hooves, or

when you start losing fat faster than you're putting on muscle.

Much to ponder here. Do you lift their legs before tipping?

Is it more strength training? less food? More Cardio? More muscle, less Muscle Milk?

(in spite of the best intentions, my weight did not go down this week as desired)

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2010-09-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

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2010-09-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

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2010-09-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

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2010-09-24T17:37:00.000-07:00

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Lung doctor

2010-09-24T08:55:00.001-07:00

Wednesday I went in for a chest x-ray. Yesterday I got in to see a pulmonary doctor. Nothing new yet (although she suspects a kind of exercise induced asthma)... trying a couple new medications, scheduled for a lung fucntion test and a sleep study early next month.

Last night I hopped on the bike trainer for a while. I kept the intensity down deliberately, trying to stay below some threshold which might trigger the coughing. There does seem to be a "mental" threshold... like up to 45 minutes where I think this is hard and when will it end, and after 45 minutes where it feels like I could go on forever. We'll see this weekend.

BTW, I am thinking about going over to Ellensburg for the Manastash Metric next weekend if anyone is interested. Breakfast on the way over, maybe another one on the way back?

This morning it was back on the rowing machine, once again keeping the intensity down to keep the coughing under control.

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2010-09-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

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Ugh.

2010-09-22T09:57:00.001-07:00

I hopped on my bike trainer yesterday after work. I had an hour planned with a couple of power building sessions in between. What I ended up with was 30 minutes of coughing and hacking. With my HR at a whopping 114, I thought I was going fall off the bike. This morning on the rowing machine wasn't as bad, but certainly not a stellar performance... just doin the time. I even skipped core work on my back because I knew I wouldn't be able to breathe.

So... I'm trying to make an appointment to see a lung doctor.

Yeffstein's Theory of Relative

2010-09-20T10:32:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I think I'm my own worst enemy. I get some stoopid idea in my head and I have to find peace with it before I can move on. Right now, the stoopid idea is getting an accurate benchmark of my cycling fitness on my indoor trainers. Now I suspect that if I ride my bike six days a week I will improve. It's just that Yeff needs to have the numbers. He proposes a 10 mile time trial as his benchmark.

So, Bike "A" is sitting on a fluid trainer in the living room. Regardless of resistance, if the back wheel spins around enough times, I get to 10 miles. If I don't change anything, all the following sets of 10 miles will at least bear some resemblance to the first 10.

Bike "C" is sitting on a Computrainer in the basement. It will measure all the parameters, right? So I plotted out a 10 mile course and took off and get done in some ridiculous time compared to Bike "A". I smoked that course, like 22 mph instead of 13mph on Bike "A". As much as I'd like to believe, I had doubts. The trainer wouldn't calibrate (I suspect one of the dogs may have anointed the load generator, argh!).

New plan, Bike "B" has a Powertap hub. I can measure the power over 10 miles. The power won't lie, will it? Take Bike "A" off the fluid trainer, install Bike "B". Try to get the resistance set the same, start pedaling . No data to the bike computer. Crap! Back to Bike "A". Take Bike "B" to the shop. Get a new battery in the hub. Technician says, "Boy, this power is way off on this... we should send it back for calibration". Bike "B" stays at shop.

Maybe power isn't it... maybe HR and time?

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2010-09-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

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2010-09-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

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10,000 meters

2010-09-17T10:22:00.001-07:00

Getting up at 4:30 in the morning has been a challenge. Getting some exercise in before work has been the reward.

So, you may as well know that I am a sandbagger, setting easily achievable goals. Today I hit my goal of rowing 10,000 meters (at the expense of doing my core). Nothing remarkable mind you, but now I have a benchmark, a place to improve from. (10k in 0:48:32, 2:25.3/500m) I think maybe the last half of the row I was doing (or trying to do) 2 minutes at or near a 2:10 pace... a half assed set of intervals (sort of). I'm shooting for a 2:10 pace for no particular reason other than that Amy had me at that pace last week for 2 minutes (and I died)... anyway, I guess we'd be looking at a 10k time of 43 or 44 minutes maybe. Let's jump out of the comfort zone (and keep the AED handy).

I'm still debating when to do foot surgery. I feel like if I did it right away, that I would lose the little momentum I have going right now. Maybe better to keep working until after the holidays, achieve some short term goals, then take a little (8 week) break, then jump back in to it. (If I wait until February, I can maybe row in Ergomania)

Think Oz

2010-09-16T19:58:00.001-07:00

Some of you out there may be wondering about the timing and validity of some workouts lately... like how can I post a ride tonight, yet the ride didn't happen until early tomorrow while I'll still be in bed. My GPS is bewitched. At first I wondered about the Oz witches and then I tried to think where in literature I may have come across colors, like a red witch or a blue witch or in this case a green witch (as we seemed to be uploading on her time) Have it figured out now :-)

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2010-09-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

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Christmas Shopping, Raisenettes and Suffocation

2010-09-15T08:51:00.001-07:00

I bought a book Monday night, Selene Yeager's Ride Your Way Lean. In a nutshell: ride your bike a lot, add some intervals and power builders, lift some weights, watch what you eat. Nothing really new, but lots of success stories (which makes me feel good). Of the several "plans" in the book, I was looking at the "Big Weight Loss" plan, for those that want to lose 35 - 50 pounds (well... because I need to lose 35 - 50 pounds). The plan has you cycling 6 days a week for 15 weeks. 15 weeks from Saturday is Christmas. If you know me, I love Christmas shopping and giving gifts. This is one I could give to myself. I'll keep you posted.

Goobers or Raisenettes? Ain't that the eternal question? I saw the orthopedic surgeon yesterday about my ankle. On the bottom of the tibia, I have a rather large bone spur. This not only grabs at tissue when flexing, but prevents a full range of motion. (btw, this has been a chronic condition, but not why I went to the doctor) The other issue, the swelling achy heel/ankle/achilles thing is (he thinks) being caused by an enlarged bone, binding and rubbing where it shouldn't. Both problems are solvable with surgery. Both could be done on the same surgery. 10 days on crutches, elliptical trainer in 2-3 weeks, back to running in 8 weeks. I'm just not sure when is the right time and what training to miss.

Last couple of days I've been hacking. Yesterday with Amy. I could barely breathe during the workout. Last night on the bike, at 115 BPM, I was out of breath. This morning, while on my back doing core (honest) I felt like I was suffocation and would have to roll over on my side to breathe. (Maybe the lung doctor will be the next step).

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2010-09-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

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2010-09-13T08:26:00.001-07:00

This Weekend I spent some quality time with my Computrainer (finally). I rode the first 25 miles of the IM Arizona course (mostly flat) using a Real Course Video. While that was up on screen #1, screen #2 was showing the Men's ITU World Championship. Anyway, I managed 25 miles (my goal for the day) in something like 1:53:00, but when I "saved the data", it saved to somewhere I haven't found yet. I hadn't ever paid much attention to the spin scan function before (shows power distribution for left and right sides). For the most part, mine was pretty even (like 48/51) but as I squirmed around on the saddle, it varied a lot.

Sunday was group run at Magnuson Park, a 6 mile loop (I had 6.3 on my GPS, but once again I did a little extra) Time was 1:15:42. No rain, cool. I felt stronger on the hills than last week and was able to push a little (for a while at least). Ankle felt alright while running but by evening it was very very crabby. (I see doctor tomorrow PM)

This morning it was back on the rowing machine. (Cheryl had sent me a link to Ergomania 2010 (www.nwergomania.com ) an indoor rowing event in January. I will probably sign up and compete in 2011.) Anyway, after 30 minutes of rowing, I spent another 30 doing core and some strength training. I will probably spend a few more weeks of "just rowing" before I start thinking about specific goals of pace, wattage, and distance.

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2010-09-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

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2010-09-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

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2010-09-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

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2010-09-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

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2010-09-10T14:55:00.001-07:00

Up early again this morning. A quick hop on the rowing machine before work, and then a little core and some weights. I thought about Amy's comment that "Rowing machines are Evil". I'm sure she meant that in the same vein that slide boards and BOSU balls and those little squishy things that you stand on are evil... Anyway, I don't have a specific goal with rowing yet. Not like a million meters, or rowing my way to Mars. Maybe work up to 10,000 meters (time wise) and then work at bringing that time down. Luckily, I have a coach that probably knows as much about using rowing ergometers as she does running and cycling (amazing, huh?) I see some brain picking in my future.

Lunchtime had me jogging out to Spencer Island. I went out with a plan to keep my HR in check, but the last leg back became a little more deliberate. Will post results when I upload.

weight today was 221 at 30% bodyfat according to my office scale. (this is the single biggest factor that needs to change for my future race plans)

Wheezing Gasping Noises

2010-09-09T10:54:00.001-07:00

I had my personal training session with Amy this morning. Nothing fancy today. I warmed up on the rowing machine and before I could hop off, it became a speed workout of sorts (just 5 more minutes, but hold a 2:10 pace). Piece of cake only 5 minutes into the workout. After the upper body, lower body, middle body work, the last two minutes at the same pace had me making little "I can breathe" types of noises. Note to self: start integrating some intervals into your rowing routine (probably bike and running too, huh?).

Test

2010-09-09T09:23:00.001-07:00

Testing Email posting

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2010-09-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

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Shock Therapy

2010-09-08T16:27:00.000-07:00

Are you lying down? I'm back. Sort of.

I know... Shocking!

I'm not going to dwell on the past or look in to the future. Just gonna take it a day at a time. As such, I will disclose that I have done no exercise today (yet). I have however been working on infrastructure (today, mainly hooking up a bike trainer and swapping saddles).

Since the middle of July I've been entertaining a new injury... some ankle, heel, achilles, calf thing. It doesn't hurt much while running, but afterwards it gets angry. Really not sure how to proceed. Next Tuesday I'll see another new doctor.

I have started uploading workout data from my gps to Garmin Connect and sharing from there. Haven't tried to look at it from here but let me know if you can see anything.

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2010-07-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

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2010-07-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

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Lunch Run - Smith Island by jeffkerwin at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-07-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

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2010-07-07T21:52:00.000-07:00

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Interesting weekend

2009-06-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Maybe interesting isn't the right word.

Since I didn't get my hundred mile ride in last Tuesday, I was hoping for Saturday. Saturday I was exhausted, and was having language problems... completing sentences, searching for nouns, keeping focus... all signs that something wasn't right... possibly having little seizures. I never got out on my bike.

Sunday, I got up early and headed south for the group run. Somewhere along the way I realized that I had forgotten my band aids... not a big deal for a short run, but a major deal a long run. I made a mental note to check the car when I parked. I arrived at Japanese Gardens and the lot was empty (since the group was at Gas Works)... waited around for a bit, forgot my band aids again, and headed for Seward Park. I didn't make it to Madison before my GPS died (again). At that, I went back to the car, drove home and went back to bed.

About noon I got up, applied band aids, and headed down to the Centennial Trail. I think maybe I got in 14 0r 14.5 of my 15 mile run before I quit. My knees were killing me and making me wonder If I needed new shoes again. My hips were doing something weird, and my left foot was pointing to the right and my right foot was pointed even farther to the right and I was doing this little crab walk thing down the trail, which wasn't very efficient, but entertained me for a bit.

It just wasn't there...

2009-05-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

I finally got my butt into the lake this morning. Gorgeous morning! Flat calm water. What a way to start my day.

My internal clock might be a bit screwed up and that my memory is "faulty" is a given, but I'm guessing that we must have gotten in the water way earlier than I did today (a little after 6:00). I waded into the water and that creeping cold that comes into your wetsuit wasn't there... never happened. I theorized about how tight my wetsuit was and that not even water molecules could migrate around, but in the end I'll just call it a fluke. My torso was actually dry when I went to towel off.

Satisfied with just getting in the water after so many moments of good intentions, I swam down to the tennis courts, enjoyed the mountain and the sun and swam back to Madison. My glasses were not where I had left them, but weren't too far away, so I went in and out of panic mode fairly quick (although I had visions of ordering coffee and driving to work with my goggles on).

My toes got a little cold, my lips got a little cold (which made the whole exhaling thing kind of interesting) but all in all it was a great morning.

2009-05-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday I got to Gasworks a little early, unloaded my bike and then loaded it back up and left. I wasn't feeling great, but a cup of tea at Starbucks and a quick tour of the facilities and I was feeling a little better.

I rode with the group (sort of... as in I kept some of them in sight for a while) as far as I-90 on their lake loop, where I split off to do Mercer Island. Back at Gas Works, I headed out for a run and felt absolutely dead, but I was actually running at an 11:11 pace which for me is on the fast side... either way, it felt good to get off the bike. I decided that I didn't like the flat Vision handlebars on the bike, do I dropped it off at Speedy Reedy to install something else.

Sunday's run seemed long... and unlike Saturday's run where I was going faster than I thought, Sunday's run was a little slower than usual. Yeah, the bridge was up and we stopped to fill water bottles, and I stopped to pick up a dime in the middle of the street, but it didn't make that much difference... I was just slower. I did use a new fuel belt which worked out much better than the old one, so I was happy.

Yesterday I commuted to work on my bike. Construction on the route is basically done. 39 minutes and change to get to work, more like an hour to get home.

Today was tempo run, 4 miles, 3 at tempo. First mile was a warm up (11:33) and then a 9:33, 9:28, 9:27. Not sure I could have kept that pace up for 3 more miles, but we'll see what October brings at the Columbia Crossing.

Cinnamon scone and honey butter

2009-05-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

Today is Bike to Work Day. I rode in to Everett Station and met a coworker there for the rest of the ride out to Smith Island. REI had a booth as well as Community Transit, Everett Parks, and Great Harvest Bread Company (who happened to have scones and honey butter). Two demerits, Not sticking with the plan. (but the day is young, I might pull it all together)

Tuesday I did my hill repeats up at Legion Park. Performance was way off. I could not get my legs to turn over. I was thinking about the children's book Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. But the promised thunderstorm hadn't come, the sun was shining, the osprey were chirping, the swallows were out eating bugs (did I mention the sun was shining?)... it was really a pretty good day, I was just a little slow.

Swim clinic got replaced by (yet) another car breakdown crisis. Resolved... sort of. I had a crappy night of sleep Tuesday night and stayed home sick on Wednesday. Yesterday my vision was blurry all day and I still wasn't feeling great so I skipped my run.

Hoping to leave work early today and get to the water.

It's a process...

2009-05-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

I sacrificed my bike ride Thursday night to go out and test drive new cars (and by the way, I hate shopping for cars almost as much as I hate buying clothes for myself). We met Kaitlin and her room mate for dinner afterwards and the long and short of it was that I was up way too late and unprepared to get up and throw myself in the lake Friday morning. I went out to lunch, rationalizing that nutrition would be important for Saturday's ride and I can't remember what happened Friday evening.

Saturday I got up early, had some breakfast and headed down to Logboom Park for the group ride. It was one of those mornings where I could get my thoughts or actions together and everything felt like an out of body experience... probably some pre-seizure activity that I wasn't cogent enough to recognize. Anyway, I went out out for a warm up ride before the group... got in a whopping 5.56 miles and I was so out of breath that I watched the group leave and then I went home.

Yesterday we ran from Magnuson. A couple of miles into the run, I had a brain spaz and thought that I had forgotten to lock the car, so we stopped and left a message for Cheryl that my keys were in my purse in the trunk... but it was booby trapped... the alarm was set, but it wasn't locked. (sorry about that Chief) The pace was a little slower than usual for the run, but in light of the day before, I thought that was okay, and just plodded through most of 14 miles. By the time we made it to the University, the pace began to pick up a little.

This morning I commuted to work on my bike... all the usual coughing and sniffling, but no shortness of breath (and no rain :-) I'll take it.

Focus, Form, Flying

2009-05-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to pay attention to focus lately (as in I at least make a mental note when I notice that I have stopped focusing). It is so hard. Cadence, Heart Rate, Oh look, there's a Corvair... I haven't seen one of those in years. Use your abs, watch your arms, posture, I wonder when the Osprey will start hatching this years chicks...

...but focus a little... incorporate those abs, focusing on my breathing, pay attention to my posture and my form and all things are possible.

I have a goal for this year, that by the end of the year (hopefully at the Columbia Crossing 10k in October) that I will run a 10k under an hour... kind of a random goal when I think about it, but something to keep working at.

Today I was supposed to do a tempo run... 5 miles. I sneaked in a little extra so that I could get a 10 k in, so 6.26 miles with a time of 1:02:11. That is so close to my goal that I can almost smell it (I think I need to average 9:36 a mile). First mile was a warm up at 11:33 with the following miles going by at 9:47, 9:16, 9:43, 9:51, 9:23 and a 2:16 quarter at the end. And on top of that, I get all the endorphins I can use this afternoon. Cool, huh?

Did I happen to mention...

2009-05-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

that I don't have a hernia. Ha.

Today I went in to the clinic again... this time for allergy testing. I did this before in 2000, and as with the testing in 2000, I have no allergies. I blew into the spirometer and popped the bubble gum bubble on the animated test (and was assigned a test age value of 26 for my lungs). The doctor was pleasant and thorough. He thinks that I may have "Silent Reflux". Initially it may be hard to confirm (until the chronic sinusitis has cleared up), but we're starting out with some pre-ride, pre-run, dosing of Pepcid Complete and see if it helps. More drastic measures like eliminating coffee and chocolate may come later.

Tuesday = Full Day

2009-05-06T07:41:00.000-07:00

I managed to stay busy yesterday (although I didn't get much work done). Up at 4:30 to be in Ballard at 6:00 for my weekly with Amy. Back to Everett for a shower and some toast before heading to the Everett Clinic to see the Otolaryngologist (nose and throat doctor, who it seems I saw in 2000 for the same reason). No surgery scheduled any time soon, as he thought it might be 4-5 weeks before I was out running again. Anyway, he's trying some more drugs (with confusing schedules). I go back in 4 weeks.

After the doctor, I went back to work and got in a four mile run before heading to the dentist (checkup and cleaning). Went to the pharmacy and picked up the new prescription, went home and had a bowl of soup and then headed back to Seattle for swim clinic.

Working 5 to 9

2009-05-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

So... Friday morning I had an appointment with the ENT people at the Everett Clinic. No hernia, no sinus infection, but I do have a deviated septum and my right nostril is almost totally blocked. Hoping to get that corrected. ...and about the runny nose and coughing... "well some people just have runny noses". Not buying that one... seeing an allergist on Thursday.

Saturday was bike day. I met Seujan at Gasworks. She had 90 on her plan and I was going to try and do 80 at least. Still in the parking lot, I was short of breath. We had an understanding that she would let me slow her down and that I could find my way home... I had hoped I could hang on a little longer. We got down to Lake Washington Blvd and at about 5 (4.91) miles, I was watching Seujan's orange jersey disappear... and even working hard, by 9 miles she was gone.

I went around the bottom of the lake and over to do the Mercer Is loop and ran into Karen Wolfe and part of the regular Saturday group. Last week I could hang with them fine and Saturday I just watched them disappear too. I saw Ann Judd next while I stopped for a snack, and then I headed back over to the east side and north to Juanita. By the time I got back to Gas Works, I think I was doing about 11 mph and was having trouble getting breath. I didn't do my brick. I loaded up my bike and started the car up and sat. I was a little dizzy and was starting to fall asleep and had this weird thought that if I fell asleep I would never wake up, but I abandoned myself to sleep and I did wake up later... engine still running.

Sunday was group run by myself again. Not so much because of pace... more because I showed up at Magnuson Park and everyone else was at Gasworks. I didn't know they were at Gasworks, but I gravitated there anyway and saw route maps on the Cathy's back window. Cathy appeared, we talked about routes and she ran with me up until the University Bridge. When I finally got to the Fremont Bridge, it was going up for boat traffic, so that made up my mind as to route and I continued down to Ballard (where as luck would have it, the bridge went up as I got there). It was an okay run, no shortness of breath, no dizziness, I probably could have taken in more food and water. Ended up with 12.8 miles and called it good.

It took me as long to get from Gasworks to Green Lake as it did to get from Green Lake to home... and somewhere along the freeway I was trying to convince myself that as long as I kept one eye open, I wasn't actually sleeping.

It's confirmed

2009-04-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

It's confirmed. I do not have a hernia in my sinuses, and my allergy screening came back negative. I've been referred to the Ears nose and Throat clinic tomorrow at 8:00 (not because of anything in particular)... nice to get in so quickly, just gets in the way of jumping in the lake tomorrow. I can be at my best with a head full of pool water though.

Ran some intervals at lunch. Pleased with where that's going...

Meeting Cheryl after work... pleased with that too.

Maybe dropping by a Dahn Yoga center on my way home... they do a combination of Yoga and Tai Chi... maybe get a handle on those hamstrings?

Joined the bike commute team here at work today... only need to commute one day a week by bike and I get a free pair of bike socks (woohoo!) Monday may be the only day I can squeeze it it... we'll see.

Good News, Bad News

2009-04-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

The doctor's office called just a few minutes ago with the results of my CT scan... appears that my sinuses are normal and clear. The bad news is that I have a hernia... "of my sinuses? Does that make sense to you" "uh, no... but the doctor wants you call for a follow up appointment." "Is there a chance you have me confused with another patient? One that has a hernia?" "Possible... let me sort this out and I'll get back to you"

btw, I was asked not to use the woman's name in my blog or the Everett Clinic she works for.

Well... as this mornings pool water still resides in my head, maybe I have a valve stuck shut or something... lets water in but not out after a swim, but it switches when I get on the bike and then drains out... Maybe it's all in my head. I 'll get back to you when we sort it all out.

Tuesday is the new Friday (or something like that)

2009-04-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

I think I mentioned that I move my personal training session from Friday mornings to Tuesday morning. In part to make Fridays available to swim, but mostly to be less sore and tired on Saturday and Sunday mornings. That soreness is now reserved for Wednesday and (I expect) Thursday.

So I'll back up just a little. I ran at lunch yesterday... 4 miles. Normally when I run, my Heart rate starts out high and then settles down... yesterday was just the opposite... it was low and I had to push a little to get it elevated. Ended up running at a 10:12 pace, which for me is uh, well, fast(er).

Went to swim clinic last night... went to the pool this morning. Pool wasn't open because the life guard didn't show. When it finally opened, I swam Monday's workout today (because I was up too late on Sunday to get up Monday). Shoulder didn't do too badly and I could feel every muscle that had worked out yesterday. A mile and a half today seemed a lot farther that two miles three weeks ago.

New goggles, Part I & II

2009-04-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, last week was a crappy week but totally. I got in to see the Chiropractor on Thursday and Friday I traded my workout for a massage and spent some time stretching, met the boys for lunch and was offered a plan for my ashes once I'm departed.

Saturday I met the group for a 40 mile ride on the Edmonds loop (but in the other direction). My back felt a little puny at first, but the second half of the ride I felt pretty strong. I ended up with 36 miles on my computer but it might not have been on the whole time.

Sunday was an 8 mile run with the group and a potluck afterwards. While exiting the house on my way out, bowl of fruit in hand, the remained open a tad too long and Chester (evil dog No. 2) made a break for it. I was finally able to catch him by playing dead on the sidewalk until he became curious enough to investigate (it probably won't work next time). Anyway, I was running late and considered not going but what the hell... I ended up running with running with Theresa (who btw runs at a perfect pace for me right now). Again, the back was a little crabby and the pace was slower to start out, but we were picking it up the last 2 or 3 miles and I felt okay.

Yesterday I had an appointment with my GP and he finally did an initial screening for allergies and ordered a CT scan of my sinuses to try and figure out my drippy , hacking, coughing issues. I go back again in a week.

I get to meet with Cheryl on Thursday to go over the next part of the plan. After looking at my schedule and trying to see what works, it has also become apparent that my first race is 5 weeks from Sunday, and that 2 days after that I'll be riding the IM Canada course. Hmmm... 5 weeks huh? And the Bike commute challenge is upon us and I'm tyrying to integrate that as well.

Yesterday I received the first of the 2 pairs of goggles that I had ordered. I'm looking forward to trying them out tonight at the swim clinic. I'm also thinking that since my Friday mornings are free now, I may do my fiirst open water swim this friday (Uno de Mayo). I know there is a group that meets at Green Lake on Friday mornings but there's something homey about swimming at Madison.

Triathlon Training Hell

2009-04-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

Triathlon training Hell is the place that isn't Triathlon Training Heaven (unless you need a purgatory in there to sort things out)

Training heaven is when it's all going right... you get your share of endorphins, you're following "the plan". Body parts are functioning normally. You're on top of your nutrition and certainly not least... your head is in a good place.

Oh... but take something away and it's down the slippery slope... to hell in a hand basket so to speak.

I'm not sure where exactly my path to hell started (no doubt with good intentions). My shoulder was a little crabby last week so I skipped a swim or two, and Monday my low back started hurting, and my knees are clicking, and my hips are cattywampus.. and the demons that call me names and challenge my sensibilities emerge. ..and another run goes by and a bike workout and there's no hotline to call.... no verses of Cheryl to recite when I'm weak, no representative artifact to brandish and yell "demons of sloth and gluttony, get thee behind me".

The best I can manage is changing flat tires, making doctor appointments, ordering new goggles, and looking at new gear online , but it's not enough for my salvation. I despair and the flames grow hotter (and races grow nearer).

Biscuits and Assuage Gravy

2009-04-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

I like exercise more when body parts don't hurt.

I didn't swim Monday because my shoulder hurts. I went for a really marginal bike ride instead. Yesterday was supposed to be an interval run, but (besides my trail being closed for work) my low back is crabby again... crabby like I'm walking funny, crabby like my hips aren't where or how they should be. It took two miles of hobbling before things warmed up enough to get any power.

Last night was swim clinic. I wasn't going to go, but it was either swim or help Kaitlin move to her new apartment. I went swimming. I was overly guarded about my shoulder, deciding to just plod through the speed stuff and work on rotation and my hip snap... do you suppose low back plays into any of that? Anyway, Karen and Kaitlin showed up at the pool and we went for food and ended up being out way later than I would have been in bed normally for a 5:00 AM swim...

...so I didn't swim this morning either. My plan right now is to stretch as much as I can today, maybe try to get in for an appointment of some kind... maybe another marginal bike ride to appease my soul and guilt of not keeping to the plan. Maybe a another short run where I keep going left (because I'm leaning that way).

Things that bug me.

2009-04-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my low back was really grouchy... walking like a pirate, hips kind of out there. I suspected tight hamstrings and spent my entire lunch hour trying to loosen them up. (still hurts today, but not nearly ad bad).

I might have mentioned that I took yesterday off from swimming... giving my shoulder some recovery time. In its place was an easy spin (what could easier than an easy spin?)

After getting home from work, and exhibiting all the avoidance behaviors I could think of, I grabbed my bike and took it out to the car. I was squatting down in front of the bike taking the front wheel off when I saw a little sparkle. Crap! A piece of glass in my tire. I took the wheel inside for surgery... got a tiny screw driver and pried out the shiny, but then I looked at the rest of the tired... cut here, cut there, another piece of glass and a cut that had a piece of glass in it that I couldn't remove. Time for a new tire (which I didn't have in stock), so I just grabbed another wheel set and headed for the trail.

Again, this was supposed to be an easy spin, and 2 miles down the trail my quads (down close to my knees) were complaining. Even when old guys were passing me, I had to stay cool and just spin nice and easy. This of course made me a target for the bugs... flying bugs... bugs in my ears, bugs in my eyes, bugs under my helmet, bugs in my hair, bugs in my mouth and bugs up my nose... that last one causing me to spit out my last shot block which for a moment I confused with the mother of all flying insects.

And the beat goes on...

2009-04-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

Thursday was nice out. I left work early to go pick up my bikes at Speedy Reedy. I must have hung out too long. By the time I got home my motivation to go for a ride had evaporated... that and the world was in chaos, since Kaitlin's flight home from Beijing was getting in to Vancouver at 11:00 instead of Seattle at 4:00. (she actually got home somewhere around 1:00 AM Friday morning).

Friday was my workout with Amy (I'd swear that I can still feel the ab routine). We made plans to switch from Friday mornings at 7:00, to Tuesday mornings at 6:00 (leaving Friday mornings open for swimming at the lake. yeah!). Tuesday morning routine will start the 28th and we'll see how that goes.

Saturday I met Ann at Matthews beach for a 66 mile ride. We rode out to Marymoor and then round and about over to Kirkland for two and a half repeats of Juanita (over, back, over, back, and over again). Towards the last couple of times over (or back) I was thinking that this was probably about the pace that I be going up Richter Pass and almost at the same mileage... and while it wasn't a route that I would have designed for myself, that I would probably be thanking Cheryl for it at the finish line. I got used to watching Ann disappear (ahead of me) on the hills and glad for the occasional stop light that would slow her down a little.

Yesterday was group run at Madrona. Beautiful day, sunny, warm. For reasons I'm not certain about, my heart rate was much higher than it was supposed to be. Last week I averaged 133, yesterday it was 148. Maybe I hadn't recovered from Saturday's ride, maybe it was some medication, or possibly dehydration. Either way, it was just high... didn't seem to change performance much, just breathing a little heavier than normal. I was glad to have Cheryl's company and to have her pushing me a little the last 5 miles. I had 13.6 miles from my GPS and a time of 2:35.

Today I skipped swimming to give my shoulder another day to recover. I get to trade it for an easy spin (woo hoo!)

Why is it... ? Mysteries of Life.

2009-04-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

Why is it that last night my goggles were fine and today they fogged up every 10 seconds. I dunno.

Why is it that while running, if my knee or my foot hurt, I would stop and walk, but if my shoulder hurts while swimming, I keep going until my form disintegrates? (maybe cause I can't walk while I'm swimming? I dunno)

A spare pair and peaches...

2009-04-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

Friday was my weight(s) day with Amy. She took new measurements, and as promised last week, here they are:

9/12/08 4/10/09

Biceps 12.5/12.5 12/12
Chest 48 47
Waist 44.5 43
Low Abs 46 42
Hips 38 38
Thighs 24/24 24/24
Calf(s) 17/17 16/16
Weight 222 215

Overall, I'm pleased. I would like to have seen the weight go down a little more, but it's a process. I'm guessing that the next measurement won't happen until after IM Canada (19 weeks out by the way). Nothing like progress to motivate, huh?

I'll progress to Saturday and a bike ride. It was a little rainy, but nothing like it has been. It was a little windy. It was a little hilly. The item of note (for me at least) was the 20 minute run afterwards. My legs were fine, but my core let me know it was there. Nothing really hurt, but I might describe my low abs as crabby. Not sure if that was a function of Friday's workout, or position on the bike, or the hills or what...

Sunday was a 12 mile run. Instead of meeting the group, I ran from Madison Beach so that I could participate in the Annual Easter Swim. Other than being rainy, the run was fine. Kept my heart rate where I wanted it. Somewhere on the way back of my out and back run, I realized that I had forgotten my goggles (they were still in my swim bag, but I hadn't brought my swim bag, just the bag with my wetsuit). I contemplated the disaster of showing up for a race without goggles and decided to buy at least one new pair of goggles with my new Rx by summer and maybe a generic Rx pair and probably another spare pair as well. Lots of time to plan and think on long runs.

So, the swim was the main attraction for the day was the swim. A swim with crazy people (Ann, Gisela, Barbara Rose & Abby, and Seujan), doing crazy things. 20 minutes to get ready for a 3 minute swim. You gotta love it. We all met at Starbucks afterwards for coffee and warmth. Good times.

And now the peaches... I can't wait for the drive back from Penticton this year... loading up on boxes of peaches... hmmm, peaches in my cereal, peach cobbler, peach pie (maybe it's lunch time already).

Pluses and minuses (seizures and sinuses)

2009-04-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

It's a little hard to rate this week... one, it's not really over yet, but I'll reflect a little anyway.

Saturday's bike ride: Plus on the company and distance, minus on overall performance.

Sunday's run: Plus, sort of. My left knee hurt afterwards and both knees have been crabby all week... crabby to the point of worry. Today they don't hurt, but are clicking.

Monday's swim: Plus. 2.25 miles in like an hour thirty five. Got a condo reserved in St George for May 2010. Really happy about that. 2 bedroom. with a sleeper sofa (so sleeps 6) and a hot tub on the deck. Can't wait. Excited. Big Plus.

Tuesday: Crap shoot. must be sleep deprived... trouble focusing and concentrating, thinking. Went home and slept. Swim clinic with Julie and Duncan. Actually did some flip turns without hitting my head... huge! Gets a plus.

Wednesday morning up at 4:00. (gets a minus) Pool at 5:00. Somewhere through the second set my left shoulder started complaining. It's still complaining, all the way down into my bicep. Big minus. Sinuses were getting to me (a minus) but I went home for the rest of the day, so maybe a plus or a minus depending on perspective.

Thursday was feeling a little sleep deprived and sinuses were angry, so I stayed home. Tried to sleep, tried to breathe... maybe a minus. I met Mike for sushi last night which is always a plus (both Mike and the sushi).

Today isn't over yet so I can't pass judgement. Up way too early (thank you cats and dogs) Definitely a minus. Went to Ballard for my workout with Amy (which, as much as I complain, is always a plus). What was on the minus side was pounds and inches, as we re-measured body parts and jumped on the scale. When she sends me the numbers, I'll post. (it also sets up this dilemma for me... since I've made progress, I really don't want to give it up, which was my plan when open water swimming starts. I may need to meet with my coach and see how we can fit it all in :-)

You'll note that there is no running mentioned this week, nor did I manage to get on my bike. Both big minuses. This is also my last week of being a pseudo bachelor (both pluses and minuses here), as Karen returns from China on Monday and I'm hoping that my schedule returns to normal by Tuesday (big plus).

Raising my hand, changing direction. Since my other other bike is in the shop, I'll be riding my TT bike tomorrow. I am flirting with the unknown here as I'll be riding on tubular tires. I have never changed a tubular tire, but my race wheels have tubular tires and I need to develop confidence in them, and more, in myself. Not that hoping to flat, but I need to be sure what I''ll be doing on race day... whether it's replacing the tire, or filling it with sealant or whatever. And race day (Oliver Half Iron) is only 8 weeks away.

Picture Jeff in braids...

2009-04-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

So before I mention the ride this last weekend, let's go back to the previous weekend and that ride. Rainy, cold, and bike operating poorly. At coffee after the ride, I remember telling Ann that my bike was having trouble shifting, both front and back, at that it was time for a tune up. Jeff the procrastinator did nothing, so no surprise that the same problems persisted throughout this last ride... rear cassette shifting on its own on the hills, front derailleur not shifting up, and oh yeah... brakes. When I was making evasive maneuvers to keep from hitting people last week, there was no connection going to the brain to ask why (I'll blame the cold).

So after the ride on Saturday, I finally dropped the bike off to get a check up. We'll start with a new chain and a new cassette, new brake pads, new cables, cable housings, bar tape, and possibly some calibration on the Powertap hub (while speed and distance were fine, power numbers were unbelievable... peak watts over a 1100, average watts about 700).

So, the ride... A 70 mile route with Barbara Rose, Ann Sloan and Seujan. I new I was in trouble early on. My legs just felt dead and unresponsive really early, like about the time we hit Lake Washington Blvd. I felt like I was just pushing too big of a gear, but noticed that I was actually in my small chainring, and in a fairly easy gear. I was falling off the back quickly and couldn't even catch up to tell the group to go on without me. Luckily, they stopped for me after a short climb and I mentioned that I didn't want to slow the group down ( as there was a pace goal for the ride) . I hung on the back for a while, fully expecting to let them go and just go around the lake by myself, but I kept following and they kept waiting on me at the tops of all the hills (thank you all btw).

We were at mile 60 or so when Ann and Seujan left the trail and headed over Juanita for a longer ride and BR and I headed back to the cars. We finished with 72.8 miles at a pace of 14.6 mph... not quite the 15 we were shooting for.

Yesterday was group run from Golden Gardens, one of may favorite routes. Just seven miles. Again, at the beginning of the run I just felt dead... probably up until about mile 4 or 5 I just could not get going. My hamstrings were tight and threatened a mutiny on one of the hills. The 3 miles at tempo was probably more like a mile at tempo. Later at home, my left knee was cranky. I sat in the living room, propped my leg up and promptly fell asleep and slept through a party I was going to attend.

And now, today. Many of you probably can't share in this situation, but it's Jeff in braids. Specifically, it's Jeff in the pool and it's the hair in my left armpit that seems to get all braided together. This isn't the first time either... at first it was just an annoyance, but halfway through the workout I noticed I could use it as a training tool... it would only tug and pull if I was reaching far enough... if it wasn't tugging, I wasn't reaching far enough. Cool, huh?

Friday, Payday, Amy Day, Blue Sky

2009-04-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

Wednesday afternoon I was starting to feel a little marginal. Yesterday I woke up with a headache and sinuses yelling at me... my cheeks hurt, my teeth hurt... the dogs and I stayed home. I did not run, I did not ride, that I was slacking I can not hide.

But nothing to drag me out of slacking like my mornings with Amy. I feel like I have made so much progress that I don't really want to give this up in May when I (we) switch over to Friday morning open water swimming. Neither do I think that I would have the energy to do a normal friday morning workout after swimming. Hmmm... a hitch in my get a long. How to fit in just one more workout... just a wafer thin mint?

From where I sit right now, I see blue sky. I am so looking forward to bicycling without the benefit of the character building weather we've been having. Now I just need to remember to eat something tonight and maybe again in the morning.

Adaptation

2009-04-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

Power was out when I got home last night, and the wind had deposited a couple of the neighbors dead alder trees across my fence. Since there was still a burning electrical smell in the air, I chose to skip swim clinic and stay home and make sure my house wasn't burning and then made sure the yard was secure for the dogs.

The dogs are adapting to my bachelor schedule and ways. Normally, they whine, whimper and woof when they need to go out (or when they're bored at 3:00 AM). Normally, I pretend to sleep through it and Karen takes them out. Karen is not here, but I still pretend to be asleep so they resort to pawing the blankets off of me and attacking me, and sometimes (like this morning) Chester sits on me.

Being Wednesday, it's also garbage day. You might expect that being alone I would generate less stuff, but I have been "cleaning" in the absence of supervision. Funny, but I've sort of lost touch with names of the days... it's either a swim day, or a run day , or a run bike day... something like that. Today was Garbage/swim day. I was a little late getting to the YMCA, but was still the second one through the door and first one in the pool. I ended up having a lane to myself for 90 minutes. My fueling hasn't been really great lately (dinner was a bowl of cereal that I shared with Chester). I could really notice a lack of energy on the pool. Tonight maybe I'll cook something.

A new lens?

2009-03-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

Just like using the lens of a magnifying glass to focus energy from the sun and start something on fire, I have become very focused on my training. There are times though, when I realize that my training and focus tend to make me more self centered (in a bad way) than I normally am. I plan my life out years in advance, making spreadsheets to plot out a course of action. Especially right now, I look forward to my training, to see the improvements, to feel faster and lighter and healthier. It's all really about me.

And then things happen. A friend is missing. You may have seen this on the news. http://findconniemarie.blogspot.com/ While I'm complaining about being cold and wet, Tim and Hope's mother is missing. When I'm feeling pretty good about my 11 mile run, others are driving around Stevens Pass.

Of course, other friends have other situations... some much happier, some life changing. In the light of so many things though, who cares what my pace was today or how far, or what race I'm planning to do 4 years from now. Really. I've become rather myopic. I need new glasses for life.

btw, under 11:00 minute miles today. Woot!

It goes by so quickly...

2009-03-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a week since my last confession (blog entry).

I swam last Wednesday... I might have walked the dogs... dunno, long time for brain cells to hang on to stuff.

Thursday I ran hills. Same hill, pretty much the same times as last, but my heart rate was down a couple beats across the repeats so that must mean something good.

Friday was an Amy morning. I felt okay leaving there. Went for sushi at lunch. Can't remember dinner. I know I invested a lot of time into preparing for Saturday's bike ride... including replacing a tube on the rear wheel... the valve stem had broken off. Go figure. What the hell goes on in that house when I'm not there?

Saturday. Bike ride with Ann Sloan and Seujan. I was apprehensive about this ride. I expected the weather to start out bad and get worse, and it didn't disappoint me. I also expected to be lagging behind and spend the whole ride, trying to keep up. Again... wasn't off the mark. We had 70 miles on the schedule and ended up cutting the ride short due to weather (although I admit to being tired as well). Besides being cold and wet, my front derailleur was shifting well and the back was shifting voluntarily (time for a check up?). I think I spent a half hour in the shower when I got home. Long enough that the dogs would stick their noses in to check on me. Later that afternoon, the delayed soreness of the Friday workout hit... my hamstrings and glutes were angry.

Sunday was lovely. The group met at Gas Works. I had 11 miles on my schedule. (did I mention my glutes and hamstrings were sore?) By mile 2, I had my coat off. Rachel caught up to me and we ran together most of the way back. While not a speedy run (2:04), I was able to keep my HR about where I wanted it the entire run. At the end of 11 there was plenty left in the tank.

Monday (today). Swim morning. Up at 3:30. Both dogs needed to pee. Alarm went off at 4:20. Did my drills. pool is getting crowded... I had to share a lane today (ha ha). And, sometime before my brain received any nourishment from breakfast, I signed up for Ironman St George, in Utah, for May 1st 2010. And, it turns out that a coworker may have a time share available in St George (with a hot tub on the deck no less). I know it may be silly to commit to a race so far in the future, especially when I haven't completed my first Ironman yet, but if that's what it takes to keep this process going, then so be it. I know I won't meet my fitness goals by the end of August, and I won't master my swim strokes as well as I would like by then... I'll need something out there in front of me, keeping me motivated. I am feeling so upbeat right now, I just don't want it to end.

Anyway, I'm already planning a trip to Las Vegas (I mean St George) to check out the bike route. It's mostly a two loop course, with each loop starting at about 3,000 ft elevation, climbing to around 4,700 ft, dropping to about 2,800, lather, rinse, repeat.

Bachelordom? Bacheloring?

2009-03-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

Call it what you will, but I'm single for three weeks.

Karen and Kristina (Kaitlin's friend) left for China yesterday and Karen will be gone for three weeks. I missed my swim yesterday, but I missed my bike on Saturday and my run on Sunday so I took all three strikes.

Anyway, Today was my first official bachelor day. I woke up refreshed and thinking that I could get used to sleeping by myself. I made some coffee and then took the dogs out for a walk before I left for work. I have spent a little mental energy on rearranging my workout schedule to be more accommodating to the dogs.

Today's run was an interval run (1/4 x 10). I did notice that my HR was a little high on my warm up and that it didn't recover very well between intervals. Not sure what that means, but I'm paying attention.

Tomorrow I have a vision appointment first thing (not sure if I'll swim before or not). They're testing (retesting) my peripheral vision and eye pressure.

If I don't write again...

2009-03-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

I just made a sandwich for lunch and noticed afterwards that the pull date on the Miracle Whip was Nov 2005. mmmmm.

Infrastructure breakdown. I probably didn't mention that Sunday morning, just before the run, the zipper broke on my cycling/running jacket. Monday night I went out and bought new stuff.

Today, I noticed that having a "running" jacket (rather that using my cycling jacket for running) there's more material in the front and my belly doesn't hang out and get cold :-) Today was a tempo run, 3 out of 5. If I can believe my GPS (which has shown to be unreliable), I ran 5.8 miles in 0:57:07. My weight was at 213 for the second week, so at least that's not a fluke.

Tonight is my last (scheduled) Cycle U session. Now we'll see how disciplined I can become without structure and peer pressure.

Are you excited?

2009-03-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my next to last session at Cycle U. I got to see Stacey W. and her new bike. Workout wasn't anything fearful or awesome... just time on the bike.

Went to the swim clinic after Cycle U. Julie asked me if I was getting excited about Ironman. I confessed that I was getting excited, but not so much about Ironman as all the little pieces right now. My weight is done. My blood pressure is down to normal. I'm stronger (a little) on the bike. My run times are improving. I'm excited about all those things. I excited to think that my weight will continue to go down, my runs will get faster yet, and that I will continue to build strength on the bike. You'll notice that I didn't mention swimming.

We watched videos of ourselves swimming last night. Now I just need to pee my pants in public and get caught mumbling the lyrics and singing off key on Karaoke night, then the humiliation would be complete. How could someone like that swims like that expect to do an Ironman? Crap! If my brain could just multi task a tiny bit better... tying all those things together might be a little easier. In the locker room after class I was chatting with Duncan about doing another Ironman in 2010. I told him that there was no way I was going to have this swim thing all figured out by August, so I was going to have to do another one.

In the pool this morning, I was a one trick sea horse. Focusing on one aspect but forgetting everything else. I feel like I may need something even more remedial that what Julie and Duncan are doing... and only working on just one thing at a time until I get it right.

Weight for me.

2009-03-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

What's new? Everyone has heard about the huge snowflakes on Sunday, so that's not news. I did get to the bike expo Sunday afternoon, but nothing newsworthy there either.

Monday (that would be yesterday), I swam at the Y. I did my drills instead of distance. Had as much success with lap times as I did on Sunday which is zero. Me thinks my HR monitor is either in need of an overhaul, or a replacement.

Later Tuesday morning, I saw my neurologist, who suggested that I take both of the twice daily meds, instead of the just one that I had somehow gotten used to.

I was looking at the IM New Zealand site today. I had thought that registration was open already, but I was wrong. I couldn't find a link. It is probably silliness on my part to be thinking about a second race before I complete my first, but I'm feeling pretty confident this week. IM New Zealand is 353 days out. I reckon that training would start right after IM Canada and there would either be some very long indoor sessions, or some trips to somewhere dry to ride.

I ran my hills today at lunch. Times are a little faster that last time. My weight is also down just a little. 213 today. I would like to be under 200 by the time of the Desert Half Iron in July and at least down to 195 by IM Canada.

Indoor Fantasy, Outdoor Reality

2009-03-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

I'm warm now. My quads are sore and my abs have been worked hard (and I've never had that complaint on a ride before) A few hours ago I wet and cold.

Today was a group ride from Japanese Gardens, I-90, Mercer Island, and around the south end of Lake Washington. For company (good company too btw) I had Ann Sloan, Ann Judd, and Barbara Rose. My bike computer (which may have been off part of the time) gave up stats like these: 39.64 miles. 2:43:38 (moving time). Avg speed of 14.52 mph. Work 2280 kj (that's a days worth of food). Avg cadence of 87 (which considering the coasting, is great for me). Average watts of 233.

Ann Sloan (who has become a demon on her bike) led the group. It was all I could do to hang on and keep her in sight. I was seeing numbers on my power meter that I haven't seen in months of working out at Cycle U. I've had this fantasy that I've been getting stronger and faster, but that fantasy was born indoors on a trainer. No hills, no wind, no rain, no cold, no stop lights or traffic. Today's ride was a healthy dose of reality with all those real world things.

Somewhere before we got to Coloun Park, I caught up to Ann and asked how much we would cut off by not doing the hill. I was cold and wanted to be done. We stopped at Coulon Park. There were hand dryers in the bathroom that I probably over used and held up the group. I had to share the dryer with a homeless man that was warming up a sandwich, but we took turns. I changed gloves before we took off and that provided a short respite for my hands (especially my thumbs, which were hurting).

I think we were supposed to some 5 mile time trials in there somewhere, but I felt like trying to keep up with Ann, that all of Mercer Island was ridden like a TT. Likewise, when we left the airport, it was like a TT all the way to Seward Park, and then again from Seward to Madrona, trying to catch Barbara Rose (who has gotten much much faster).

At 233, my average watts today was 35 over the hardest workout I've had at Cycle U so far (that's huge for me), and over a third of the ride was over 275. In terms of my Cycle U training, most of this ride was at or above threshold. Way to kick my ass Ann.

Delusion, Foundation, Completion, Speculation.

2009-03-13T10:26:00.000-07:00

I have at times been delusional. Yesterday was one of those times. It was a run day and intervals were on the menu. I drove to the track at lunch, warmed up, did my 800s, cooled down, went back to the office and downloaded my GPS. This was the start of my delusion. I should have been content that my 800s were about 40 seconds faster than last month, but what I keyed in on was the distance and pace... 6.04 miles at 9:18. Holy Crap! I'm amazing. I met my 10k goal for the year and then some. Wow!

Later, I headed down to Seattle. I was trying to do the math in my head, which on a good day is hard, but after a workout is impossible. I got a haircut on 35th, down by Starbucks, grabbed a cup of tea, and since I was in the neighborhood, dropped in on Cheryl, my foundation. My bubble quickly popped. Adding up the laps, I ran 8400 meters (5.2 miles). That brings my pace down to 10:48. BooHoo. What? I've been in the 11s and 12s lately. 10:48 is awesome... just not as awesome.

At Cycle U we did VO2 max stuff again. Two sets of 6 min, then 4 min, then 3, then 2. Totally kicked my ass but made up for it with all those drugs that my brain has come to love. I did find out that (since I'm with the group on Saturdays) I only have 2 sessions left. Just when I felt I was starting to make progress, it's over. Complete. I'm hoping to maybe do some drop ins on the next session, and already looking forward to the fall.

This morning was my workout with Amy. I felt unusually energized and motivated today. As we chatted, I mentioned that even after Ironman Canada, I may not meet all my fitness goals this year. We discussed starting up personal training sessions again in the fall. I also blurted out that I may have to pick another Ironman race next year to my motivation going... did I hear that right? So now we speculate. Arizona? Coeur d'Alene? New Zealand? I'll have to talk to my coach.

Benchmarks, numbers and stuff

2009-03-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

Tuesday is one of my run days. It's also one of my bike days at Cycle U, and as of last night it is now also one of my swim days. I guess I sort of did my first triathlon yesterday, but I got it totally backwards.

I started with the run at lunch time. It was a benchmarking day as I was redoing my pacing exercise. Given the same heart rates, pace has improved about a minute a mile across the board since the last test 5 weeks ago.

The intensities of the workouts at Cycle U have certainly been increasing... more VO2 max and threshold workouts. Last night was a short night. Two 20 minute blocks in Zone 4. The first set it seemed a little hard to get settled in... maybe I didn't warm up long enough or hard enough. The second set went much better, with my HR starting at about 135 and at 142 or so by the end of the block. Why does that effort seem so much harder on the bike than running?

Anyway, if the threshold and VO2 stuff aren't directly translating into improving my running as well, then at least I know I can hold a certain HR for a given time and not explode.

I left Cycle U and made my way to the Seattle Athletic Club at Northgate. Julie and Duncan are putting on a triathlon Swim clinic. As another benchmark, we tested our 100 yd time (1:43) . Hopefully, like running, 5 weeks from now I will see some improvements. We did some drills and got videotaped (there's really no tape anymore is there?). Towards the end of the session, I was getting cramps in my calves. Not sure if it was a hydration thing or a stretching thing or both, but I'll practice both a little more before the session next Tuesday.

This morning it was up at 4:20 again and into the pool, workout card in hand. Drills and sets of stuff that I'm sure I'll get used to. In theory, it all added up to 2000 yds. The 200 yd at the end seemed like it took me forever (4:18), but now I have another benchmark to work against.

Weather Weenie Yeff

2009-03-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'll admit it. I have become a weather weenie. Weeks of indoor cycling at Cycle U have spoiled me.

Saturday morning I got up and it was snowing. The dogs were more excited that I was. I got my cycling stuff together and headed to Japanese Garden for our first group ride. It was mixed rain and snow there. Not exactly what I had hoped for. With the group huddling underneath a big tree, it didn't take much to convince me to opt out of the group ride and head for Cycle U. It was a mediocre workout, but I sort of dry (except for sweating) and sort of warm. I had formulated a plan to go home and duplicate the ride on my trainer, but it never happened.

Saturday night I didn't sleep well. Headaches kept waking me or wouldn't let me fall asleep. Combined with snow Sunday morning convinced me to bail on the 9 mile group run, which in hindsight, was probably the right thing, as I was pretty much brain dead all day long. I swapped my rest day from Monday to Sunday.

Monday, in spite of the snow, I got up early and made it to the pool. I did my 100 yard test, but must have fumbled the lap button since I didn't get the time. I did my 2 miles, which I've broken up into 4 half mile segments... mostly because it keeps the lap numbers low. Perception creeps in here. By my last half, I felt like I really moving and all the pieces were coming together. In reality, it was the same pace as the half before... I was just working a lot harder to maintain that pace.

Since Sunday was my rest day, I decided to do my long run on Monday. Once again, it was snowing and doing a really good job at it. I headed out and enjoyed the weather. I never got too cold, but it was really coming down. My tracks on the way out were gone and filled in, I couldn't tell the pave from the grass. Snow was clumping up on my sleeves and covering my watch. Footing wasn't slippery, but it was definitely different, mushy and clingy. I just focused on keeping my HR up at 133 which only seemed to be an issue for the first couple of miles (I'm a slow starter). I felt like only stoopid people would be out running and yet invigorated at the same time. I managed to keep my pace up and hold an 11:08 pace for 9.5 miles, which probably would have been challenging for me on a good day when it was dry. Maybe it was the rest day on Sunday...

These weeks are flying by.

2009-03-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

13 weeks until the Half Iron in Oliver.

Wednesday I swam. I was supposed to retest my 100 yd time, but trying to visualize my plan while I was doing laps, all I came up with was drills. I'll test next week before the swim clinic with Julie.

It's a recovery week. I had a 4 mile aerobic run @ HR 133 on my schedule. I had actually thought that I would need to work at slowing down to keep my HR low enough, but quite to the contrary, I had to work just a little bit to keep it up at 133. Nice short run out to Spencer Island. Kept my Avg HR at 132, but in the process get a little faster than normal, and managed a 10:47 pace.

Keeping with the recovery week theme, the workout at Cycle U was light as well. Nothing over Zone 3, but I was still soaked by the time we finished. Drove to the Seattle Athletic Club afterwards to get an idea for when I need to leave Cycle U to make it to Julie's clinic on time.

This morning was the start of my last 10 weeks with Amy. I'm already thinking that I'll start this process up again, maybe in the middle of October.

Tomorrow is the first group ride. ...debating adding some fenders this evening.

Happy Birthday Josh

2009-03-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

Today is Josh's 30th birthday!

And not that it has anything to do with Josh's birthday, but I woke up from a dream this morning. Kaitlin had moved back into the house and we were cleaning out bedrooms by lobbing hand grenades into them. Of course, one of the grenades didn't explode, so I spent the rest of the dream searching for it, hoping that the dogs wouldn't find it and think it was a toy...

This week is a rest week. I understand the concept. I'm sticking with my plan. Today was a interval run of sorts. A four mile run with two 1 mile intervals at an HR of 149. My first mile I managed a 9:09 pace and the second, a 9:19 pace. If I can stretch that out a little longer, meeting my goal of a 10k under an hour should be a snap. I think the Columbia Crossing will be the test in October.

I also signed up for Julie and Duncan's swim clinic which starts next Tuesday at the Seattle Athletic Club in Northgate.

Tonight, I'm skipping Cycle U and getting a short ride in at home before we go out and celebrate the birthday. I can practice restraint and try to eat intelligently and think about the weight I'm losing and about getting faster.

I

The usual suspects...

2009-03-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

My workout with Amy on Friday left me with a suspicion that my glutes would be sore on Saturday and that my abs would be sore by bed time. Little did I suspect the hamstrings. The jumping squats, one legged dead lifts, and lunges all took their toll. Thanks Amy :-) Ten more weeks of abuse and then it's Madison Beach and the Essential Bakery for my Friday mornings.

By Friday evening my voice was a couple octaves lower and I was congested to the point where I contemplated bailing on bicycling the next day. Saturday I felt a little better. I showed up at Cycle U with the idea to get out on the trail afterwards, but the workout was progressive hill climbs, like last week. I sat through both sessions and had a pretty good work out with the last two intervals sustaining watts that I haven't hit before. I also had a gal next to me that talked with me about her Ironman experiences and helped dispel a little bit of terror by telling me how much fun I was going to have. I called it quits at the end of the second session even though I only got 53 of my 60 miles in. Considering that I was fighting this sinus/chest thing, I didn't think it was worth the effort to go out on the trail just to get 7 miles in.

Yesterday was group run at Gas Works. Ugh. My legs had nothing in them. I can't remember a time when my hamstrings were complaining as much. Going up Roanoke, things started to seize up a little, so I backed off a little. By the time I got to the BG, I started feeling a little normal and could pick the pace up a little. and even though I felt like I was having a crappy run, it wasn't as crappy as I expected or as I felt like it was.

This morning I was awake at 4:00 waiting for the alarm clock to go off at 4:20. Again, I thought I was tired and thought about sleeping instead of swimming, but I got dressed, let the dogs out, and headed to the Y. First thing before I even got in the water, my goggles broke at the bridge between the eye pieces. Luckily, I had a spare pair (non Rx) in my bag, so back to the locker room I went. I swam a little longer today and got in 3600 yds by the time I quit (1:23:20).

Sort of like a rest day

2009-02-27T10:21:00.000-08:00

I struggled to get my lardiness out of bed this morning... just 5 more minutes...

This morning was another session with Amy. I think I have 10 sessions left which should take me right up into May and swimming at the lake. Besides my usual stalling and sweating and wiping the drips from my glasses, I managed to cough up something green onto the mat in the middle of a set of push ups, thereby confirming a conversation with the doctor yesterday and a reminder to pick up the Rx for some antibiotics.

I'm getting a little excited about improvements I've seen in the last few weeks. ... have to keep this thing rolling and see where it takes me.

60 miles on the schedule tomorrow. Like last week (when I didn't stick with the plan) my plan is to go to Cycle U, do the workout, and then ride from there to make up the balance of the 60 miles.

Pete and repeat.

2009-02-26T20:19:00.000-08:00

Busy day. Had a doctor appointment. Got drugs for my sinuses. Blood Pressure was normal (yeah!) 120/82. Weight was down a little. I don't have diabetes. Back in 6 months for some more tests.

Dill my hill repeats out at Legion Park again. Froze my ass off (well at least my hands) with the wind blowing in off the bay. Times were a little faster but HR was up a little too.

Had my meeting with Cheryl this afternoon to go over the next part of "the plan". She seemed to be happy. I was happy. 5 more weeks of stuff.

More VO2 max stuff at Cycle U this evening. Warm up, then six 3 minute intervals at (or above) Zone 5. Pleased with the workout.

When not to swim

2009-02-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

Since my swim stuff was in my office, I didn't swim in the early morning yesterday as usual. Instead, I got to the Y at about 3:30. The pool was packed. Packed with old people, packed with parents and toddlers, packed with children, and probably the worst of the bunch, the teens and pre-teens. The lap lanes were full of water toys and the children retrieving them, old people swimming zigzag courses (swimming by braille?), water walkers, and un-official swim teams races. Top this off with leaky fogging goggles and foot and leg cramps, it wasn't my best workout. Then again, it might have been good preparation for the start of the IM swim. I endured for an hour and went home.

Today I get to squeeze in a doctor appointment, hill repeats, a meeting with Cheryl, and Cycle U(which will probably be another VO2 session).

Sort of like a hood ornament...

2009-02-25T14:19:00.000-08:00

...my bicycle that is. Sort of like a hood ornament but on the roof of the car... locked to my bike rack. It's been there since last night after spin class at Cycle U, and since the bike group meeting at Cheryl's house (where I left my vest and my house keys and my work keys and the key to the bike lock). But before I entered into my senior moments, I actually had a good day.

Sunday was a group run day at Japanese Gardens. I love the route. Wasn't too awfully spry following the bike ride the day before... it was one of those runs where I felt really good and thought I had a fantastic run, but the stopwatch said otherwise. Later Sunday, I went out for a short bike ride with Mike and Wally, out to Granite Falls and back to Machias. One little attack on a hill and my legs were toast.

Monday was another trip to the eye doctor, scheduling more tests next month and the likely prospect of (yet another) daily medication for the rest of my life... but it beats the do nothing option and going blind.

Tuesday was tempo run at lunch. I managed to keep my HR up in that 145 (85%) range and pull off a 10:12 pace for 4 miles. Amazing! (for me at least) Later at Cycle U, we did VO2 max stuff again, building up to four 3 minutes efforts above zone 5. HR was progressively higher on each effort. At 86-88% I was doing okay, at 92% I was probably close to hyperventilating (or at least making lots of noise). Either way, it was a good workout.

And besides forgetting my keys, I left my swim bag at work, so today's morning swim before work has become today's afternoon swim on the way home.

Beautiful day, and I stayed inside :-(

2009-02-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

Today at Cycle U we had progressive hill climbs... starting the hill in mid zone 3 then high Z3, then low, mid and high zone 4, 2 minutes at each stop for a 10 minute climb, repeat four times. With some warm up time, some "spin moneys" and a cool down, I was 23 miles into my 55 for the day (avg HR 117 Max 144).

I brought gear to change in to, planning to get out and ride afterwards, but I thought I'd actually get a better workout if I just stayed and did the hill workout again with the second class. So that's what I did.

The second session, my HR was a little higher (avg 127, max 155) but I was well warmed up and felt like I could push more. Total ride was 55.17 and (except for a chamois cream break at half time) and time was 3:31:49. average watts was 187, and I like to bump that up a little work toward averaging 200 watts (which will probably be easier on the trainer than out in the real world).

Delusions and hair care products of my youth

2009-02-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

First the delusions. Wednesday I snuck out of work and went for a (make up) ride. Right out of the blocks, my power tap fail to send info to the bike computer. This of course was disappointing on one hand, but on the other, allowed me to think that I was going fast. I left Machias and headed out to Monroe and the High Bridge Rd. I really enjoyed the delusion part. I stopped at the car back at Machias and ate a banana and then headed north on the Centennial Trail for an out and back. at least 50 miles, maybe 55?

Thursday, I went to the Stadium at lunch to run my 800's. No delusion here. I was trying to do the math while I ran, and I should know better, but I was thinking of the pace I would need to get my 10k time under an hour... maybe The Columbia Crossing in October?

Last night at Cycle U we did VO2 max intervals again. VO2 reminds me of Alberto VO5, and that takes me down the road to Dippy Doo, Brylcream, and all that hair stuff... My parents used to plaster some kind of crap in our hair that turned our hair into an exoskeleton... probably a precaution since we didn't have bike helmets then. Hmm?

This morning Amy didn't beat me up too badly, although I'm sure my glutes will tell me different tomorrow.

Alberto VO2

2009-02-18T07:36:00.000-08:00

Whether it was Mike's chili, or dinner at the Asian Bistro Friday night, Saturday was worse than blah. I made it to Cycle U for spin class which happen to be a recovery day which was good because I just couldn't get it going. My plan to jump on the BG after class for my 50 miles became, go home and see if I feel better later. And later I was worse. No miles, lots of TV. I skipped the Sunday group run as well.

Monday I felt fine. I did my two 20 minute tests on the bike for Cheryl and since the Tour de California was on, rode for another two hours. I think it's somewhere around the two hour mark that I start thinking about chamois cream.

Yesterday I drove out to Legion Park again and did my hill intervals (in place of stairs). Then it was down to Cycle U for spin class. We got our results from last weeks re-test, and all (both) my numbers went up... so each zone is 20-25 watts higher now, which seemed like bad timing since we started VO2 max stuff last night. After running hills yesterday, I didn't think I was ready for another hard workout, which after warming up, consisted of four 3 minutes jaunts above Zone 5. Wasn't really a big deal (I thought). ...drove home, had dinner, went to bed, and my legs were in rebellion... and since I had hydrated so well, I was up every hour to go pee.

Alarm went off at 4:20 this morning. I had already contemplated skipping swim this morning if I didn't sleep well enough, but I got up and was doing laps by 5:08. The rest of the plan for the day is to skip out of work after our staff meeting, go home and grab my bike, and perform penance for missing Saturday's ride... I'm think maybe I'll end up on the High Bridge Road...

Off the island

2009-02-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

Tempo run today... 3 of 4 miles, so I decided to run off the island. I did a mile warm up and then ran the next 3 miles at tempo. First mile out to the stop sign at the freeway overpass (my hill), mile 2 ends up at the 3 way intersection by the concrete plant. Mile 3 is just past mid-span on the Hwy 529 bridge over the Snohomish River, and the turn around at 4 is at the weather station on Marine View Drive on the way the to waterfront, and overlooking Possession Sound.

I think my plan was to recover and just run at some fat burning aerobic zone on the way back, but I felt great, so I kept the pace up. 46:08 going out, 46:43 coming back.

And then, out of nowhere...

2009-02-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

I love conspiracy theories. The idea that the world is plotting against me isn't new and weaves rather well into this post (the main theme being re-testing wattage at Cycle U last night, in case I get lost)

So last week on Thursday I started with this chest cold thing. This week the cats (in on the conspiracy) plotted to deprive me of sleep. Easy work out day on Wednesday, moved Thursday tempo run to Friday so that I'd be fresh for the test made sense. Then, out of nowhere comes this very acute pain in my right hamstring. No exercising, no excessive stretching, just moved in without an invitation. Then I could only finish half of my lunch (the other half of which I'm eating now). Test anxiety?

Anyway, test went as well as I could hope for. I was afraid that my leg would seize up and I'd fall off my bike and cause a domino effect, but leg did fine. I also had a vision of my lunch on the mat in front of me also start a similar change reaction but that didn't happen either. Just a non eventful short class.

The 5 minute test I went out a little too hard and tried to recover from it the rest of the time. The 15 minute test, I probably sandbagged a little, but towards the end when I thought I could maybe squeeze out a few more watts, I did the math and realized that it wouldn't change the average. Numbers were higher than the last test which must mean something, but either way, I think my plan for getting faster revolves more around losing weight than anything else.

Something's wrong

2009-02-12T10:43:00.000-08:00

I more than a little antsy. I took sort of a rest day yesterday and I moving my Thursday run to Friday so that I'll be well rested for the power retest tonight at Cycle (well rested, but hacking and sniffling). So what's wrong is that I'm starting to feel like if I'm not working out, something is wrong (trying not to confuse myself too much here). I'm sure the time will come soon when I appreciate when I'm not doing anything.

Anyway, so we'll retest tonight and we'll get new power training zones. And, since the Tacx trainers we're using are different that the Powertap, I'll make some kind of correlation. Which reminds me that I still owe Cheryl some test results for two 20 minute TTs. Then she can give me even more numbers to train with.

Did I mention that I signed up for Danskin? Twice. Once for Kaitlin, once for Karen. So much for "Let's only have one member of the household training at a time".

2009-02-11T10:34:00.000-08:00

Picking up from last Thursday...

Thursday evening was spinning at Cycle U. 3 15 minute TTs... Zone 4. Somewhere along the way I started getting this familiar hack and joked that it was just pneumonia (little did I know). The guy next to me had done IM Canada last summer, so we talked about the bike course during the breaks. From how I felt on the second TT, I figured the last one would show a bit of a decline, but I plugged along and did okay.

Friday I got up and drove to Ballard for my workout with Amy. She sent me home sick. I was hacking and running a fever and she didn't think I should be doing a hard workout (probably didn't want to follow behind me with a disinfectant spray bottle). She gave me an Rx for Vitamin C and chicken soup, (which I picked up at the store on my way home) and no hard workouts.

Saturday I felt worse, but with some other added symptoms, so I bailed on going to Cycle U. It was maybe about 2:00 PM that I started feeling better. I stuck my bike in the trainer and rode for two and a half hours (one break to change DVDs and apply some ointment to a little saddle store). I kept the resistance low, HR low, cadence high (for me) and managed a "recovery" level ride.

Sunday was group run at Gasworks. Not quite 6 miles, and again I kept the pace easy, not wanting to give this cold/flu/disease/pneumonia thing any opportunities to rob me of a week of training.

Monday was a swim/core/weight day.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was interval run at lunch. Just a little bit of snow falling, cold, breezy... very wintery. Jumped in the shower, grabbed some lunch, and headed to Cycle U for spin class. Luckily, it was a rest night... just some one legged drills and then a easy paced endurance ride (which still seemed hard).

This morning I was in the pool again, and for whatever reason, my arms and shoulders were sore and cranky. I did a lot of visualizing the IM swim course, the bodies, the splashing, the buoys, the drafting... which of course, prompts me to wonder "What lap was that?". I was also noticing that my left side is still much weaker that the right and that if I don't reach and rotate just a little on my right, the left arm doesn't track where it needs to go (doesn't follow through) and makes a shortcut to the surface (bad lazy arm).

One Scoop or two?

2009-02-05T14:13:00.000-08:00

Did my hill workout at lunch... 30 minutes or so of up and down sandwiched in between a little warm up and a littler cool down. Drove to the mainland (off the island) and up to Legion Park in Everett and did my running mostly on West Marine View Drive, from the waterfront up to the park. Averaged about 2 minutes up each time and HR in the mid 150's for eight round trips. We'll call it a benchmark to compare against. Ran by Scoop Jackson's house on my cool down.

One,Two, Buckle my belt.

2009-02-05T08:25:00.000-08:00

Once again, I find myself counting calories (and grams and stuff) in yet another attempt to shed some pounds. Pounds that once shed will liberate me from the Laws of Physics, much like the Keds sneakers of my youth that let you run faster and jump higher (I just want to climb hills on the bike easier with less drama associated with my breathing)

Anyway, without much science behind it, I have assigned some random values to nutritional goals, plug the numbers into a spreadsheet and wait to see what happens. As has happened before, I am amazed at the amount of food I can eat if it's even close to being healthy... I feel like I'm eating continuously. I do find that I am more conscious about my food choices. (do you realize that a little handful (1/4 cup) of walnuts is about 200 calories? Nibble on those 5 times a day and half my food budget is gone)

Today is Hill day for running and I may break with my "overpass" tradition and actually drive to a hill (I'd run, but it's 4 miles to the closest hill and I only get so long for my lunch hour). Tonight is spin workout Cycle U and we've been warned on Tuesday that this week will be intense (so I said "Like Nomads!") Tuesday we did a short workout... something like 10 min at zone 3, 10 in zone 4, 10 in zone 5. By the end of the session my zone 4 and zone 5 looked a lot alike... holding at about 89% of my max HR. By last night, my legs were still sore.