Sunday, July 20, 2008
Jackson Hole and Yellowstone
Took a long weekend and went with the Porsche Club on a great tour of Jackson Hole and Yellowstone. Those Tetons are impressive! More details later, but here are some pics:
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Sub-7!!!
Team in Training track practice tonight...what a workout.
1 mile walk warm-up
800m easy
1600m best effort (6:54!!! I beat the 7:00min mark by six whole seconds! woohoo!)
800m recovery (=walk)
1200m T
400m easy
800m I
400m easy
400m R (fast - I did a 1:34 which is great for me)
400m easy
plyos and core
800m easy cool down
that's almost 6 miles of stuff tonight!
Mars is not doing too much better on the prednisone, but I don't think he's any worse. He does seem a tad more stable on his hind legs, but probably no more than 10%. I've got a call into the CSU neurologist, as they said to call atfer 4-5days if no improvement is seen. He didn't call me back today, so I hope to hear from him tomorrow...
1 mile walk warm-up
800m easy
1600m best effort (6:54!!! I beat the 7:00min mark by six whole seconds! woohoo!)
800m recovery (=walk)
1200m T
400m easy
800m I
400m easy
400m R (fast - I did a 1:34 which is great for me)
400m easy
plyos and core
800m easy cool down
that's almost 6 miles of stuff tonight!
Mars is not doing too much better on the prednisone, but I don't think he's any worse. He does seem a tad more stable on his hind legs, but probably no more than 10%. I've got a call into the CSU neurologist, as they said to call atfer 4-5days if no improvement is seen. He didn't call me back today, so I hope to hear from him tomorrow...
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Race Report - Cabbage Head Duathlon
Cabbage Head Duathlon (3 mi run - 30k bike 3 mi run)
Date: Saturday, July 12
Time: 8:00am
Location: Wiggins, CO (farm/ranch/middle-of-nowhere Colorado)
As this was just a 'fun' race, I dragged my butt out of bed at 4am and started on the 130mile drive to Wiggins. I packed up my stuff and showered the night before so I had minimal stuff to do in the morning. At about 4:40am I was on the road. I hit Wiggins at about 7:00am with only toll stops on E-470 and a much needed bathroom stop.
The morning was cool and breezy, with a little bit of cloud cover. Long sleeves were much needed before the race started to keep warm. But by race time after a warm-up, the tri top and shorts worked just fine.
I was in wave 4 with all non-elite women and for some reason a token male.
Run 1: 22:42. My GPS had this really as 2.94 miles, but that works out to be about 7:45ish pace. I was thinking of going 8:00min/mile but the 7:45 felt good. Hard but not extreme. It probably helped that the course was pancake flat (50ish feet of elevation change between lowest and highest point) and at 4500 feet elevtation, which may be lower enough from where I train (my house is at 6800 feet) for me to gain some benefit (more oxygen!) Coming into T1 I felt ready for the bike.
T1: 0:57. Not much to report. Transition area is pretty small so swapped shoes and put on my bike helmet and went!
Bike: 56:58 (~19mph). Again, pancake flat course with less than 100feet difference between high and low points. The kicker on this course was wind! There was a pretty strong wind coming out of the east to south east so those with more aerodynamic bikes had an advantage. This bike leg felt much better than the one at the du I did in May. My quads didn't feel as taed at the beginning. The flat course compared to Boulder might have something to do with it, but it is also later in the season and my legs are in better biking shape. I passed a few people (several mountain bikes) and a few guys on road bikes. Got passed early on by 2-3 ladies who must have been right behind me on the run. Coming into T2 a couple ladies passed me, but it didn't take long for me to pass them back on the run. I do feel I have a substantial amount of improvement I can make in my biking fitness. I fueled well on this leg. I drank mostly my HEED and then with about 15 minutes left of the bike I took a gel from my 'gel-bot.' That thing is great - for short races where you only need 1-2 gels, I can store them right in the water bottle. One stop fueling and no need to mess with gel packets.
T2: 00:49. Pretty simple here. Popped off the bike shoes and helmet, slipped on the running shoes and grabbed my hat and ran.
Run 2: 22:55. Not bad to be that close to the first run pace! It was definitely a harder run, but here is where you find whatever you have left. After that first mile, the legs felt very capable of running (much better than the lake to lake tri!). I passed a few people (mainly the older men who started in an earlier wave) and a few of the ladies who passed me at the very end of the bike course. The second half of the run is ever so slightly downhill, which made the final push into the finish line pretty strong.
Overall: 1:44:18. 2/16 in my age group, 26/78 women finishers (that includes the 7 or so elites). My take home prize was a cool Cabbage Head pint glass.
Date: Saturday, July 12
Time: 8:00am
Location: Wiggins, CO (farm/ranch/middle-of-nowhere Colorado)
As this was just a 'fun' race, I dragged my butt out of bed at 4am and started on the 130mile drive to Wiggins. I packed up my stuff and showered the night before so I had minimal stuff to do in the morning. At about 4:40am I was on the road. I hit Wiggins at about 7:00am with only toll stops on E-470 and a much needed bathroom stop.
The morning was cool and breezy, with a little bit of cloud cover. Long sleeves were much needed before the race started to keep warm. But by race time after a warm-up, the tri top and shorts worked just fine.
I was in wave 4 with all non-elite women and for some reason a token male.
Run 1: 22:42. My GPS had this really as 2.94 miles, but that works out to be about 7:45ish pace. I was thinking of going 8:00min/mile but the 7:45 felt good. Hard but not extreme. It probably helped that the course was pancake flat (50ish feet of elevation change between lowest and highest point) and at 4500 feet elevtation, which may be lower enough from where I train (my house is at 6800 feet) for me to gain some benefit (more oxygen!) Coming into T1 I felt ready for the bike.
T1: 0:57. Not much to report. Transition area is pretty small so swapped shoes and put on my bike helmet and went!
Bike: 56:58 (~19mph). Again, pancake flat course with less than 100feet difference between high and low points. The kicker on this course was wind! There was a pretty strong wind coming out of the east to south east so those with more aerodynamic bikes had an advantage. This bike leg felt much better than the one at the du I did in May. My quads didn't feel as taed at the beginning. The flat course compared to Boulder might have something to do with it, but it is also later in the season and my legs are in better biking shape. I passed a few people (several mountain bikes) and a few guys on road bikes. Got passed early on by 2-3 ladies who must have been right behind me on the run. Coming into T2 a couple ladies passed me, but it didn't take long for me to pass them back on the run. I do feel I have a substantial amount of improvement I can make in my biking fitness. I fueled well on this leg. I drank mostly my HEED and then with about 15 minutes left of the bike I took a gel from my 'gel-bot.' That thing is great - for short races where you only need 1-2 gels, I can store them right in the water bottle. One stop fueling and no need to mess with gel packets.
T2: 00:49. Pretty simple here. Popped off the bike shoes and helmet, slipped on the running shoes and grabbed my hat and ran.
Run 2: 22:55. Not bad to be that close to the first run pace! It was definitely a harder run, but here is where you find whatever you have left. After that first mile, the legs felt very capable of running (much better than the lake to lake tri!). I passed a few people (mainly the older men who started in an earlier wave) and a few of the ladies who passed me at the very end of the bike course. The second half of the run is ever so slightly downhill, which made the final push into the finish line pretty strong.
Overall: 1:44:18. 2/16 in my age group, 26/78 women finishers (that includes the 7 or so elites). My take home prize was a cool Cabbage Head pint glass.
Post race breakfast was egg/potato burritos, which is actually a pretty decent post race recovery meal. After I cooled down, ate my food and got my award, I headed the 130 miles back home.
Later that night...
Drums Along the Rockies!
My friend had an extra ticket to the DCI competition so I had to go (she drove, thank goodness!) So back up to Denver (Invesco Field at Mile High) I went to watch about 8 drum and bugle corps perform. Some were the classic top corps like the Madison Scouts, Cavaliers, Phantom Regiment, Santa Clara Vanguard and the Blue Devils. My high school drum instructor was in the Blue Devils in the late 1980s. They are about a month out from the championships so though not perfect, the shows are coming along. It's been a long time since I've seen a marching band event and it brought back many fun memories. I didn't know that Denver had a corps (the Blue Knights) but they enjoyed their home territory. Even though it was a late night and a very long day, that was a fantastic evening. Almost all of the performing corps hit the entertainment button very well.
Later that night...
Drums Along the Rockies!
My friend had an extra ticket to the DCI competition so I had to go (she drove, thank goodness!) So back up to Denver (Invesco Field at Mile High) I went to watch about 8 drum and bugle corps perform. Some were the classic top corps like the Madison Scouts, Cavaliers, Phantom Regiment, Santa Clara Vanguard and the Blue Devils. My high school drum instructor was in the Blue Devils in the late 1980s. They are about a month out from the championships so though not perfect, the shows are coming along. It's been a long time since I've seen a marching band event and it brought back many fun memories. I didn't know that Denver had a corps (the Blue Knights) but they enjoyed their home territory. Even though it was a late night and a very long day, that was a fantastic evening. Almost all of the performing corps hit the entertainment button very well.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Quick Mars Update
Mars got an MRI on Thursday, which confirmed severe stenosis (shrinking of the channel surrounding the spinal cord) in C6 and C7 (bottom most vertebrae in his neck). It looks like it is pretty far along, which means they don't know if it is reversible or not. So for now we have him on a prednisone treatment for the next two weeks. If he starts to make improvements, then there is the chance that surgery may be an option. If the steriods don't do anything, well, then unfortunately I don't think there is much they can do. If the stenosis gets worse, then it will like lead to paralysis. The prednisone is already making him pee a lot. He used to be able to go quite long without having to go out, now he can't make it a few hours. Not so good on our carpet, but the carpet is pretty old and he went to the back room that was already stained from his digestive issue a week or so ago. Poor guy. I'll keep the updates coming.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Mars Update
Today Mars had an appointment with a neurologist (Dr. Cudden) at the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Ft. Collins. Poor guy wasn't allowed to eat breakfast this morning in case they ran tests that needed him to fast. Since we didn't have to leave until 10:45 I thought it best to feed Juno or she'd be barking at me all morning. Mars sure looked confused when Juno got the food and he didn't. I then wanted to take her for a walk since she'd be home alone all day, so again, he trotted his wobbly trot to the door as I quickly got Juno out. He was still by the door when we got back. But, I think he felt a lot better when he got a 2+ hour car ride all by himself!
At the hopsital, two senior vet students Molly and Dana, did an initial exam. Then they returned with Dr. Cudden for a more complete neurological examination. Mars did a great job letting them bend and pull and hammer away (reflex tests) on him. The end result being that he is definitely neurologically abnormal and the symptoms indicated something in the mid to low neck region. This could be a compressed disc or something called wobbler syndrome, where the spinal cord gets compressed. Or it could be something else. The docs were concerned with his weight loss that has been taking place with no change to his eating habits. He was down to about 95 pounds today. This could potentially add cancer to the mix of problems.
What we decided to do was leave him there overnight so they could take chest and abdominal x-rays. This would let them know if there was anything suspicious away from his neck area. If those turn out clean (and they did- I got a call after I returned to the Springs) they will do an MRI. So we'll have to wait until tomorrow to really have a better idea of what is going on. He is in good hands at the hospital, but it will be really nice to know what has been causing Mars' issues. I'll post again tomorrow.
At the hopsital, two senior vet students Molly and Dana, did an initial exam. Then they returned with Dr. Cudden for a more complete neurological examination. Mars did a great job letting them bend and pull and hammer away (reflex tests) on him. The end result being that he is definitely neurologically abnormal and the symptoms indicated something in the mid to low neck region. This could be a compressed disc or something called wobbler syndrome, where the spinal cord gets compressed. Or it could be something else. The docs were concerned with his weight loss that has been taking place with no change to his eating habits. He was down to about 95 pounds today. This could potentially add cancer to the mix of problems.
What we decided to do was leave him there overnight so they could take chest and abdominal x-rays. This would let them know if there was anything suspicious away from his neck area. If those turn out clean (and they did- I got a call after I returned to the Springs) they will do an MRI. So we'll have to wait until tomorrow to really have a better idea of what is going on. He is in good hands at the hospital, but it will be really nice to know what has been causing Mars' issues. I'll post again tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Banana Split!
It's been a while since my last banana recipe and as it is mid-summer, I got to thinking of the....
BANANA SPLIT! What a delicious work of art! So here's a link to the wikipedia entry on banana splits for more that you could ever want to know about this classic american dessert!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_split
ohhhh- I am hungry! Especially after tonight's track workout!
Here's what we did:
800m easy warm-up
800m T pace
400m easy
800m T pace
400m easy
800m I pace
400m easy
800m R pace
400m easy
plyometrics and core work
800m easy cool down
It was a great night for track - a storm had blown through about 30 minutes prior to the workout cooling things down perfectly!
Monday, July 07, 2008
Paint Pics!
TA-DA!! The walls are 'almond paste' with a 'smoke screen' and 'timeless taupe' stripe. the bathroom is smoke screen. I didn't get to the shower/toilet room, but will make those taupe. It was a lot of work, but I think it turned out very nice.
The walls are pretty high, so I spent quite a bit of time on the top of a ladder. I'm surprised I'm not more sore. Maybe the triathlon training is good for something else as well! Anyway, feel free to let me know what you think!
Friday, July 04, 2008
Project Paint - update!
Slowly but surely I am making progress on the bedroom. Yesterday I managed to get all the wallpaper borter off. The first couple feet were surely on the learning curve, but after that, I pretty much nailed the technique. I was using a diluted fabric softner solution - the trick was to first pull the pattern part off leaving the adhesive so that the solution could wet the adhesive, but to not use too much solution. A little spray follwed by a wipe down was all it needed to come off pretty cleanly with a 3" putty knife. The bits of paper did make quite the mess.
Now Happy 4th or July! To kick off the celebration this morning I went for a 34 mile bike ride in the black forest. Just gorgeous. The views of the front range were amazing. I'm so glad I am able to enjoy such sights. One of these time's I'm going to use a helmet cam on a ride to try to share some of the local landscapes!
Back to the project - my brother stopped by to help move the furniture to the middle of the room so I could get to all the walls. Lots of vacuuming up the paper bits from yesterday and all the dog hair that finds its way behind the furniture. A surprisingly quick trip to Lowe's on this project-packed weekend for many and I had my paint supplies. But no painting yet! I taped up all the trim in the room. By this time it was 3:30 so I needed to get ready for a 4th of July BBQ a coworker was having. The highlight of the BBQ - smoked pork shoulder - delicious! Hung out there for a while enjoying the evening then headed over to my brother's to hang out with him and his family for a little bit.
Tomorrow will be another busy day and I will finally get to paint! The morning will be filled with a TNT workout, a little yard work, and as much painting as possible. Hope to have some time in the afternoon to go to the pool with Elissa and little Joey. Time to wrap things up for the night. The dogs aren't happy with all the fireworks, but I think I've finally got them settled down.
Now Happy 4th or July! To kick off the celebration this morning I went for a 34 mile bike ride in the black forest. Just gorgeous. The views of the front range were amazing. I'm so glad I am able to enjoy such sights. One of these time's I'm going to use a helmet cam on a ride to try to share some of the local landscapes!
Back to the project - my brother stopped by to help move the furniture to the middle of the room so I could get to all the walls. Lots of vacuuming up the paper bits from yesterday and all the dog hair that finds its way behind the furniture. A surprisingly quick trip to Lowe's on this project-packed weekend for many and I had my paint supplies. But no painting yet! I taped up all the trim in the room. By this time it was 3:30 so I needed to get ready for a 4th of July BBQ a coworker was having. The highlight of the BBQ - smoked pork shoulder - delicious! Hung out there for a while enjoying the evening then headed over to my brother's to hang out with him and his family for a little bit.
Tomorrow will be another busy day and I will finally get to paint! The morning will be filled with a TNT workout, a little yard work, and as much painting as possible. Hope to have some time in the afternoon to go to the pool with Elissa and little Joey. Time to wrap things up for the night. The dogs aren't happy with all the fireworks, but I think I've finally got them settled down.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Holiday Weekend Project
What do I do with my time now that I have four days off from work? I've decided to repaint our bedroom/master bath - which will be no small task. Let me just say that the room looks just like it did when we moved in almost 5(!) years ago. Yikes! So I will have the tasks of stripping the wallpaper borders, cleaning up the walls, and painting. If getting the wallpaper border off isn't hard enough. I went to Lowe's this evening and picked up way too many paint chips. Let's hope I picked "the right one's." I know it will suck up a lot of my weekend, but I'm really looking forward to finally having a cozy bedroom without pink flowers around the ceiling.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Track Practice
Phew! My IT band issues didn't bother me today at track! Here's the workout:
1600m walk warm up
800m easy
2000m T pace (~2:03/400m)
400m walk
2000m T pace
400m walk
plyometrics and core work
800m easy
I'm thinking I must have pushed it too hard on the first part of the bike on Saturday, causing some tightness in my muscles around the IT band. They were pretty sore for a couple days, but I've worked on loosening them up. I have a massage scheduled tomorrow which should work out any residual kinks!
1600m walk warm up
800m easy
2000m T pace (~2:03/400m)
400m walk
2000m T pace
400m walk
plyometrics and core work
800m easy
I'm thinking I must have pushed it too hard on the first part of the bike on Saturday, causing some tightness in my muscles around the IT band. They were pretty sore for a couple days, but I've worked on loosening them up. I have a massage scheduled tomorrow which should work out any residual kinks!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Race Report - Loveland Lake to Lake Olympic Tri
First a shout-out to all the COS TNT folks Shannon, Stacey, Sarah and Ben for great races yesterday! Some extra kudos for Ben for hanging in and finishing the race after his "day-before-the-race return from an Alaska trip and half-marathon the week before" fatigued body said "what are you doing to me?" about 10 miles into the 30 mile bike course (read: upset stomach).
Cheers to all the other TNTers who finished the race, and a big thanks to the race organizers for holding such a great race and supporting Team in Training.
And a HUGE thanks to everyone who donated to my Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraising campaign. Because I was not obligated to fundraise as a coach, your money is above and beyond what the LLS was hoping for. THANK YOU!
Now for the race report:
http://www.lovelandlaketolake.com/
Saturday, June 28th, Lake Loveland, Loveland, Colorado. Weather was cool and breezy before race start, overcast during the race with temps probably in the upper 60s during the run (high was supposed to be 81).
Woke up at 4:15am, took a quick shower to get blood flowing in the muscles, ate a peanut butter sandwich and a banana and then headed to the race site with Sarah. Set up my transition area, found the TNT tent to check in, took a warm up jog and found a bathroom. You really can't go to the bathroom too often before a race, if you know what I mean. Got my wetsuit on and headed to the lake for a short swim warm-up.
Race start 6:30am. My wave - 6:34am.
1.5km swim: 38:05. Despite the fact that is a really slow swim time for this distance, it was probably the best feeling open water swim I've had. Water temp was around 70, which is pretty comfortable for a wetsuit swim. My shoulders didn't fatigue and I felt comfortable breathing. Bumped into a few people here and there, but otherwise could swim in my own space. I was able to keep to the buoy line pretty well, except after the last turn heading back to the beach where it took a few tries to confirm that I was really headed in the right direction. The overcast skies were a blessing during the swim as the sun didn't get in your eyes trying to sight those buoys. After I finally made it to the beach, I trotted the 1/4 mile to the transition area feeling pretty good and ready to tackle the bike course.
T1: 01:39. Found my bike without issue, almost fell trying to get the wetsuit off (wet grass), and my wetsuit got caught on the timing chip so it took a few extra seconds to get it off my leg. Could have been a big 'o crap' moment! On with the sunglasses, helmet, bike shoes and off I went.
30 mile bike: 1:33:28 (19.2mph). This is a great ride. The starting elevation is about 5000 feet, with only about 100 feet of gain during the first six miles. Then you start to pick up more elevation and by mile ten you are at 5500feet. Then a little after mile 12 you hit a nice stretch where you gain about 300 feet in a bit under two miles. Within a mile after that peak you lose that 300feet that was just gained. Fun for those who like to descend. A few winding roads on the descent, but really not too bad. If you know the area, these roads go around Horsetooth Reservoir. Then the fun begins, which I like to call "the wall." You need to get as much speed as possible coming down the last hill and unfortunately there is a 'U' curve right before "the wall." Here you gain 200 feet in about half a mile. That's pretty steep - I was going about 6-7mph at the top of this hill! But from here, it's almost all downhill, except for a few rolling hills on the way back into Loveland.
I was hoping that I'd be able to ride this course a in a few minutes less time this year over last, but ended up only about 35s faster. I got a little frustrated in the beginning, as in the cluster of bikes making there way along the course, there was one woman who liked to ride just to the right of the yellow line. One rule of triathlon is to stay right unless you are passing. You are supposed to stay 3 bike lengths behind a bike in front of you and if you decide to pass, you have 15 seconds to overtake their front wheel. After that it is the passed person's responsibility to get out of your draft zone. This lady would pass someone and then stay on the left side of the lane (technically called blocking). If someone needed to pass her, and there were plenty of speedy TT bikes with disc wheels zooming past everyone, they would have to hit or even cross the yellow line, which is obviously not safe. I passed her a couple times (you leap frog a bit on the beginning of the course while people settle into a pace and have different hill climbing abilities). Finally about the third time I passed her, I yelled that she needed to stay right as she's getting in the way. I guess I pissed her off enough that she passed me with a pack and stayed ahead. She's one I hope the motorcycle referee's saw and gave a penalty. OK - enough of my rant.
Fueling and nutrition on the bike...drank water and some of my HEED (like gatorade but with maltodextrin and natural sweeteners instead of the high fructose corn syrup) as soon as I was in a comfortable pace. About 35 minutes into the ride had 1/4 of a clif bar washed down with water. Intermittent drinking of HEED throughout the bike course, and at about 1:10, I did a Hammer gel, washed down with water. Went through about 2/3-3/4 of each bottle of HEED and water, probably 32-40oz of fluid.
Overall feel for the bike course - Pretty solid ride, though my knees did feel some discomfort. On the second half of the ride it did feel like my right knee was being affected by IT band tightness. I could only hope this wouldn't bother me on the run.
The end of the bike course passes through a neighborhood sculpture garden (gorgeous!) and then back into the high school parking lot.
T2: 01:07. Trotted with my bike to find the rack and Stacey yells "you caught me!" She's a faster swimmer, but not as fast on the bike so we hit T2 at the same time. Now if I could only catch Shannon... Thank goodness for the lady who put the pink towel on the bike rack near mine. Found my stuff, threw my bike on the rack, sat down, off with the bike shoes, on with the socks and running shoes, grabbed my race belt with number and my hat and off I went once again.
10k run: 55:09 (9:02min/mile). The run is usually my best split in triathlon. Not this time. For some reason I just couldn't get my legs going under me. The first mile or two are always hard coming off a bike, especially one like this course with hills, so I was expecting at any minute for my body to acclimate to the run and I could settle in a pace. It just wasn't to be. Each aid station I walked through and grabbed some water to make sure I was hydrated. At the turn around, which about 0.25 mile before I saw Shannon heading in the other direction so I knew catching her wouldn't be easy, I took another Hammer Gel and, as always, washed it down with water. I didn't really feel thirsty, I didn't feel hungry, my legs just felt heavy with some aches and pains. My right knee was aching (I curse my IT band!), my adductor/hip flexor area was tight (felt fine on my last run Tuesday night), and a muscle in my glut area was tight. It probably didn't help that some of the run is on canted streets, though I tried to stay on the flattest part possible. I took a few sips of gatorade at the last aid station and just did what I could to keep my legs moving.
The last mile of the run goes back into the park at the lake and then around a pond back to the finish line. This feels like the longest end of a race, since you can see the finish line about 1/2 mile out but basically have to run around it. I went for a final push to open up my stride as much as it I could (by golly you better leave it all on the course!). The TNT folks were right there cheering everyone on the 50ish yards, and Phew! I was done.
Total Time: 3:09:30. 29/58 in the F30-34 age group. Shannon and Ben were right there at the finish to congratulate me. I gave them a smile, grabbed a cup of gatorade and walked to mentally and physically regroup. I was actually disappointed with this time, as it is no faster (well, 7 seconds faster) than my time in last year's race. I figured surely with all the training I had done - sticking as best I could to my training schedule, that I would be at least a few minutes faster. My real goal was to try to hit 3:00:00. I am not sure what went wrong. On the positive side, I did gain a tiny bit of time in every event except the run. 22 seconds in the swim, 13 seconds in T1, 35 seconds on the bike, 27s in T2, for a total of 97 seconds. But I lost almost all of that in the run, and I know I am a faster runner this year.
So what went wrong? Maybe I shouldn't have run so hard in the Sailin' Shoes last weekend. I got plenty of sleep throughout the week and felt well rested. I got a massage on Tuesday to loosen up any tight spots. I was hydrated the days before the race. I did a few workouts the week of the race, but nothing long or strenuous compared to what I had been doing. Did I eat/drink enough on the bike? I took in on the order of 250-300 calories on the bike and another 100 on the run. I felt like that was the right amount. Did I push too hard on the bike? Don't know, as I rode pretty much the same I did last year and I had a great run (53:40) last year.
I may have to bite the bullet and hire a coach, especially if I want my swim time to improve. That is where I have the most room for improvement, and although I've been really focusing on the swim, I just don't go any faster.
But all-in-all, I'm really glad I am able to finish an event like this. Triathlon is a fantastic sport and I am thankful to be healthy enough to just be out there. So I've got a week of recovery ahead of me, then the Cabbage Head duathlon on July 12th!
Cheers to all the other TNTers who finished the race, and a big thanks to the race organizers for holding such a great race and supporting Team in Training.
And a HUGE thanks to everyone who donated to my Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraising campaign. Because I was not obligated to fundraise as a coach, your money is above and beyond what the LLS was hoping for. THANK YOU!
Now for the race report:
http://www.lovelandlaketolake.com/
Saturday, June 28th, Lake Loveland, Loveland, Colorado. Weather was cool and breezy before race start, overcast during the race with temps probably in the upper 60s during the run (high was supposed to be 81).
Woke up at 4:15am, took a quick shower to get blood flowing in the muscles, ate a peanut butter sandwich and a banana and then headed to the race site with Sarah. Set up my transition area, found the TNT tent to check in, took a warm up jog and found a bathroom. You really can't go to the bathroom too often before a race, if you know what I mean. Got my wetsuit on and headed to the lake for a short swim warm-up.
Race start 6:30am. My wave - 6:34am.
1.5km swim: 38:05. Despite the fact that is a really slow swim time for this distance, it was probably the best feeling open water swim I've had. Water temp was around 70, which is pretty comfortable for a wetsuit swim. My shoulders didn't fatigue and I felt comfortable breathing. Bumped into a few people here and there, but otherwise could swim in my own space. I was able to keep to the buoy line pretty well, except after the last turn heading back to the beach where it took a few tries to confirm that I was really headed in the right direction. The overcast skies were a blessing during the swim as the sun didn't get in your eyes trying to sight those buoys. After I finally made it to the beach, I trotted the 1/4 mile to the transition area feeling pretty good and ready to tackle the bike course.
T1: 01:39. Found my bike without issue, almost fell trying to get the wetsuit off (wet grass), and my wetsuit got caught on the timing chip so it took a few extra seconds to get it off my leg. Could have been a big 'o crap' moment! On with the sunglasses, helmet, bike shoes and off I went.
30 mile bike: 1:33:28 (19.2mph). This is a great ride. The starting elevation is about 5000 feet, with only about 100 feet of gain during the first six miles. Then you start to pick up more elevation and by mile ten you are at 5500feet. Then a little after mile 12 you hit a nice stretch where you gain about 300 feet in a bit under two miles. Within a mile after that peak you lose that 300feet that was just gained. Fun for those who like to descend. A few winding roads on the descent, but really not too bad. If you know the area, these roads go around Horsetooth Reservoir. Then the fun begins, which I like to call "the wall." You need to get as much speed as possible coming down the last hill and unfortunately there is a 'U' curve right before "the wall." Here you gain 200 feet in about half a mile. That's pretty steep - I was going about 6-7mph at the top of this hill! But from here, it's almost all downhill, except for a few rolling hills on the way back into Loveland.
I was hoping that I'd be able to ride this course a in a few minutes less time this year over last, but ended up only about 35s faster. I got a little frustrated in the beginning, as in the cluster of bikes making there way along the course, there was one woman who liked to ride just to the right of the yellow line. One rule of triathlon is to stay right unless you are passing. You are supposed to stay 3 bike lengths behind a bike in front of you and if you decide to pass, you have 15 seconds to overtake their front wheel. After that it is the passed person's responsibility to get out of your draft zone. This lady would pass someone and then stay on the left side of the lane (technically called blocking). If someone needed to pass her, and there were plenty of speedy TT bikes with disc wheels zooming past everyone, they would have to hit or even cross the yellow line, which is obviously not safe. I passed her a couple times (you leap frog a bit on the beginning of the course while people settle into a pace and have different hill climbing abilities). Finally about the third time I passed her, I yelled that she needed to stay right as she's getting in the way. I guess I pissed her off enough that she passed me with a pack and stayed ahead. She's one I hope the motorcycle referee's saw and gave a penalty. OK - enough of my rant.
Fueling and nutrition on the bike...drank water and some of my HEED (like gatorade but with maltodextrin and natural sweeteners instead of the high fructose corn syrup) as soon as I was in a comfortable pace. About 35 minutes into the ride had 1/4 of a clif bar washed down with water. Intermittent drinking of HEED throughout the bike course, and at about 1:10, I did a Hammer gel, washed down with water. Went through about 2/3-3/4 of each bottle of HEED and water, probably 32-40oz of fluid.
Overall feel for the bike course - Pretty solid ride, though my knees did feel some discomfort. On the second half of the ride it did feel like my right knee was being affected by IT band tightness. I could only hope this wouldn't bother me on the run.
The end of the bike course passes through a neighborhood sculpture garden (gorgeous!) and then back into the high school parking lot.
T2: 01:07. Trotted with my bike to find the rack and Stacey yells "you caught me!" She's a faster swimmer, but not as fast on the bike so we hit T2 at the same time. Now if I could only catch Shannon... Thank goodness for the lady who put the pink towel on the bike rack near mine. Found my stuff, threw my bike on the rack, sat down, off with the bike shoes, on with the socks and running shoes, grabbed my race belt with number and my hat and off I went once again.
10k run: 55:09 (9:02min/mile). The run is usually my best split in triathlon. Not this time. For some reason I just couldn't get my legs going under me. The first mile or two are always hard coming off a bike, especially one like this course with hills, so I was expecting at any minute for my body to acclimate to the run and I could settle in a pace. It just wasn't to be. Each aid station I walked through and grabbed some water to make sure I was hydrated. At the turn around, which about 0.25 mile before I saw Shannon heading in the other direction so I knew catching her wouldn't be easy, I took another Hammer Gel and, as always, washed it down with water. I didn't really feel thirsty, I didn't feel hungry, my legs just felt heavy with some aches and pains. My right knee was aching (I curse my IT band!), my adductor/hip flexor area was tight (felt fine on my last run Tuesday night), and a muscle in my glut area was tight. It probably didn't help that some of the run is on canted streets, though I tried to stay on the flattest part possible. I took a few sips of gatorade at the last aid station and just did what I could to keep my legs moving.
The last mile of the run goes back into the park at the lake and then around a pond back to the finish line. This feels like the longest end of a race, since you can see the finish line about 1/2 mile out but basically have to run around it. I went for a final push to open up my stride as much as it I could (by golly you better leave it all on the course!). The TNT folks were right there cheering everyone on the 50ish yards, and Phew! I was done.
Total Time: 3:09:30. 29/58 in the F30-34 age group. Shannon and Ben were right there at the finish to congratulate me. I gave them a smile, grabbed a cup of gatorade and walked to mentally and physically regroup. I was actually disappointed with this time, as it is no faster (well, 7 seconds faster) than my time in last year's race. I figured surely with all the training I had done - sticking as best I could to my training schedule, that I would be at least a few minutes faster. My real goal was to try to hit 3:00:00. I am not sure what went wrong. On the positive side, I did gain a tiny bit of time in every event except the run. 22 seconds in the swim, 13 seconds in T1, 35 seconds on the bike, 27s in T2, for a total of 97 seconds. But I lost almost all of that in the run, and I know I am a faster runner this year.
So what went wrong? Maybe I shouldn't have run so hard in the Sailin' Shoes last weekend. I got plenty of sleep throughout the week and felt well rested. I got a massage on Tuesday to loosen up any tight spots. I was hydrated the days before the race. I did a few workouts the week of the race, but nothing long or strenuous compared to what I had been doing. Did I eat/drink enough on the bike? I took in on the order of 250-300 calories on the bike and another 100 on the run. I felt like that was the right amount. Did I push too hard on the bike? Don't know, as I rode pretty much the same I did last year and I had a great run (53:40) last year.
I may have to bite the bullet and hire a coach, especially if I want my swim time to improve. That is where I have the most room for improvement, and although I've been really focusing on the swim, I just don't go any faster.
But all-in-all, I'm really glad I am able to finish an event like this. Triathlon is a fantastic sport and I am thankful to be healthy enough to just be out there. So I've got a week of recovery ahead of me, then the Cabbage Head duathlon on July 12th!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Race Report - Sailin' Shoes 10k and the Starlight Spectacular!
One week out from the Loveland Lake to Lake! I decided to run a local 10k race, (Sailin' Shoes) as my company was fielding a team. We had a good shot at winning the team competiton, as they take the top 5 finishers on the team, divide the total time of those 5 by the total age. I was by over a decade the youngest on the team and everyone can run a very respectable 10k. To have fun with the race as well, since we didn't have matching t-shirts, we all put blue gel in our hair. The guys got blue spikes and the ladies got blue streaks in the ponytails.
Race start: 7:00am with good temps, probably near 60 and clear.
My plan was to run a fairly easy race - maybe start around my 'M' pace (8:53/mile) for the first half and see how I felt to pick it up a little at the end. As is common for quite a few athletes, it is very difficult to "take it easy' in a race environment. I ended up running the thing in 51:30 - my 10k PR so far (previous time was 52:32). Woohoo! I ended up 5th in my age group and only 4 seconds out of 3rd place.
Team results: We did win 1st in the team competition. Not sure what we won, as I couldn't stay for the awards ceremony (had to get to the TNT group workout).
Race start: 7:00am with good temps, probably near 60 and clear.
My plan was to run a fairly easy race - maybe start around my 'M' pace (8:53/mile) for the first half and see how I felt to pick it up a little at the end. As is common for quite a few athletes, it is very difficult to "take it easy' in a race environment. I ended up running the thing in 51:30 - my 10k PR so far (previous time was 52:32). Woohoo! I ended up 5th in my age group and only 4 seconds out of 3rd place.
Team results: We did win 1st in the team competition. Not sure what we won, as I couldn't stay for the awards ceremony (had to get to the TNT group workout).
Spun my legs out a little around downtown on my bike while I waited for the group to get back from their 60 minute ride (I had them start without me on a ride to the Garden of the Gods). Then I did a 2 mile, very easy run on the trail while they were out on their 30minute run after the ride.
Afternoon plans - nap and sit with feet elevated as much as possible, as the Starlight Spectacular was at midnight. This is a fundraiser for the local trails and open spaces. it's a fun, low-key midnight ride through town starting at the Garden of the Gods visitor center. A group of Tim's friends usually do the ride so we joined their team "Brawndo," which did have matching shirts for everyone! This is a reference to the water supply in a move called Idiocracy. I haven't seen it, but the shirts were fun - 'Brawndo - the Thirst Mutilator - it's got electrolytes!'
We opted for the short ride (13ish miles) that didn't ride through the hills of the park. Tim hasn't been on a bike in 2 years, so an easy ride, especially at midnight, was the way to go. Some TNT folks were there as well with their glow sticks and costumes. Some of the costumes and light systems on the bikes were elaborate. After the ride there was a pancake breakfast for all! The last time I had pancakes at 2am was a long, long time ago! We made it home and to bed around 3am.
Now for a relaxing Sunday - the start of Taper Week!
Afternoon plans - nap and sit with feet elevated as much as possible, as the Starlight Spectacular was at midnight. This is a fundraiser for the local trails and open spaces. it's a fun, low-key midnight ride through town starting at the Garden of the Gods visitor center. A group of Tim's friends usually do the ride so we joined their team "Brawndo," which did have matching shirts for everyone! This is a reference to the water supply in a move called Idiocracy. I haven't seen it, but the shirts were fun - 'Brawndo - the Thirst Mutilator - it's got electrolytes!'
We opted for the short ride (13ish miles) that didn't ride through the hills of the park. Tim hasn't been on a bike in 2 years, so an easy ride, especially at midnight, was the way to go. Some TNT folks were there as well with their glow sticks and costumes. Some of the costumes and light systems on the bikes were elaborate. After the ride there was a pancake breakfast for all! The last time I had pancakes at 2am was a long, long time ago! We made it home and to bed around 3am.
Now for a relaxing Sunday - the start of Taper Week!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Circus Trains, Bikes, and Banana Muffins
The circus is in town! The world famous Ringling Bros. Circus train parked on the tracks near the Colorado College track (running track that is!). I saw them a few times when I was younger, but I bet it would be fun to see it again. Probably won't happen this year. It's got to be tough to to travel like that and perform on a regular basis. I suppose it takes a certain type to handle it for any signigicant amount of time. I wonder if any on the train were circus majors at Florida State!
Bikes!
Yesterday was Colorado Springs Bike to Work day, and since I own a bike I participated in the event. To celebrate and encourage cycling, the city holds a free breakfast downtown. So I hopped on my bike and headed the 12ish miles to work. Well, first I dropped my car off to get new brakes and then hopped on my bike and headed downtown. 30 minutes later I was at the breakfast. Not bad - bagels from Panera, fruit and eggs. It was a bit chilly so I opted for the coffee instead of the juice. After filling up my tank, I rode the rest of the way to work (another 15 minutes). Getting to work is pretty easy, as it is mostly downhill. It's the ride back that is more of a challenge. Not only are their more cars on the road, but it is an uphill ride. It took me 52 minutes to get back to the car place to pick up my car. I should ride in more often - with gas prices at about $4/gal, I'd save around $8 on gas each day I rode my bike to work!
Oh and FAI (Female Athletes International) camp (taekwondo sparring camp for females) was wrapping up so I need to swing by and see all the campers I knew from previous years. They are having a great time as always!
BANANAS
I've been a bit remiss in posting banana recipes - so here's one that looks awesome!
Banana Muffins with Marscarpone Cream Frosting
I've got a busy weekend coming up with swim practice tomorrow night, a bike ride in Monument on Saturday morning, the Team in Training pasta dinner that night and the 5430 Sprint race on Sunday. It's my first race as a coach! GO TEAM!
Bikes!
Yesterday was Colorado Springs Bike to Work day, and since I own a bike I participated in the event. To celebrate and encourage cycling, the city holds a free breakfast downtown. So I hopped on my bike and headed the 12ish miles to work. Well, first I dropped my car off to get new brakes and then hopped on my bike and headed downtown. 30 minutes later I was at the breakfast. Not bad - bagels from Panera, fruit and eggs. It was a bit chilly so I opted for the coffee instead of the juice. After filling up my tank, I rode the rest of the way to work (another 15 minutes). Getting to work is pretty easy, as it is mostly downhill. It's the ride back that is more of a challenge. Not only are their more cars on the road, but it is an uphill ride. It took me 52 minutes to get back to the car place to pick up my car. I should ride in more often - with gas prices at about $4/gal, I'd save around $8 on gas each day I rode my bike to work!
Oh and FAI (Female Athletes International) camp (taekwondo sparring camp for females) was wrapping up so I need to swing by and see all the campers I knew from previous years. They are having a great time as always!
BANANAS
I've been a bit remiss in posting banana recipes - so here's one that looks awesome!
Banana Muffins with Marscarpone Cream Frosting
I've got a busy weekend coming up with swim practice tomorrow night, a bike ride in Monument on Saturday morning, the Team in Training pasta dinner that night and the 5430 Sprint race on Sunday. It's my first race as a coach! GO TEAM!
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Race Report - 5430 Sprint "Rehearsal"
I'm 3 weeks out from my 'A' olympic distance race, which is a pretty good time to do a sprint race. In looking for one that fit my schedule, I found an untimed, rehearsal race for the 5430 Sprint. The group that put it on, CWW triathlon, is a non-profit group that helps women of all abilities train in the sport of triathlon. Being untimed it was about half the cost of an official race, but the course was the same. A great way to work out the kinks before my 'A' race. So here's the report:
Got up at 4:30am to leave at 5am so I could make it to Boulder before 7:00. It was a cool and overcast morning (mid-40s) and there was a little rain on the roads in Denver. Boulder was just overcast, but the sun was just starting to peek out of the clouds at the 8am start.
Swim: 750m. Water was about 65 degrees. Not too cold, but still pretty chilly. The wetsuit certainly helps in water like that! Didn't really get much of a warm-up in (don't think anyone did, as the less time spent in the water the better.) The lake also had been closed a couple days earlier for high bacteria counts, so even more reason to spend less time in the shallow end. But with no warm up and only the second time in open water this year, it took my a while to get comfortable in my stroke. I was also getting water in my ears during so adjusted my swim cap accordingly. When I got out of the water and was mostly up the beach I looked at my watch and it had 20 minutes. Sigh. I didn't exactly swim the shortest distance, but it's still pretty darn slow. sigh. I suppose for this season, even after all the work I put into swimming, I will accept that I will not likely be much faster that I've been.
T1: Didn't time this. I took off the wetsuit, put on a dry jersey, sunglasses, my helmet and bike shoes, and off I went. Probably not my fastest, but it was relatively efficient.
Bike: 17.2ish miles, just under 57 minutes (so somewhere around 18mph). This is the same bike course as the duathlon I did a month ago. I think I took about 30 seconds off my time, but it's hard to say, since I forgot to stop the GPS until after my bike was racked and I was changing into my running gear.
The sun came out for the ride and it was another beautiful Boulder morning. Here I needed to make up some time I lost on the swim. I passed a few folks on the road heading out of the reservoir and then a couple more on Jay Road. The beautiful morning was interrupted with the sight of a homeless dude puking on the other side of HWY 36 (not too far from a homeless shelter). NOT what I wanted to see while trying to get my heart rate/breathing under control so I could start drinking. I charged up the road, passed a couple more bikers and then turned on to Neva Rd. A couple rollers and then a gradual descent to pick up the speed. Passed a couple more here and then got passed by one - the only one to pass me. On the highyway back to the reservoir I used my gel bot and got a few more calories in me before the run. My legs certainly felt a lot better this time than after run1 of the duathlon!
T2: Racked the bike, off with the helmet and bike shoes, then on with the socks and shoes. I didn't have my little cooler to sit on so this was a little more challenging than usual. It was here I realized that my feet were pretty numb still from the cold water. Put on my hat and grabbed my race belt and off again.
Run: GPS distance, 3.15 miles in 25:56 (8:13min/mile pace). Not bad for numb feet! Did they feel weird! Passed a few more ladies here. My legs felt good, no real aches or pains and my hip flexor did well today. As we headed back to the finish line, there was a pink tape everyone got to run through as they finished, and we even got medals!
Post race: Free massage! Finally got all feeling back in my feet. Refueled a bit with water and a PB&J bagel. Yum! A pretty small race with maybe 100? ladies. I was not at all disappointed and it was worth getting up at the crack of dawn and driving almost 2 hours for it.
Drove home, did a little yard work with Tim (not much) took a nap, got groceries, ironed some clothes, had dinner (hooray for frozen pizza and pre-bagged salad!), took Juno for a walk, made tomorrow's lunches, did some more ironing, and wrote this. It is definitely time for bed!
Got up at 4:30am to leave at 5am so I could make it to Boulder before 7:00. It was a cool and overcast morning (mid-40s) and there was a little rain on the roads in Denver. Boulder was just overcast, but the sun was just starting to peek out of the clouds at the 8am start.
Swim: 750m. Water was about 65 degrees. Not too cold, but still pretty chilly. The wetsuit certainly helps in water like that! Didn't really get much of a warm-up in (don't think anyone did, as the less time spent in the water the better.) The lake also had been closed a couple days earlier for high bacteria counts, so even more reason to spend less time in the shallow end. But with no warm up and only the second time in open water this year, it took my a while to get comfortable in my stroke. I was also getting water in my ears during so adjusted my swim cap accordingly. When I got out of the water and was mostly up the beach I looked at my watch and it had 20 minutes. Sigh. I didn't exactly swim the shortest distance, but it's still pretty darn slow. sigh. I suppose for this season, even after all the work I put into swimming, I will accept that I will not likely be much faster that I've been.
T1: Didn't time this. I took off the wetsuit, put on a dry jersey, sunglasses, my helmet and bike shoes, and off I went. Probably not my fastest, but it was relatively efficient.
Bike: 17.2ish miles, just under 57 minutes (so somewhere around 18mph). This is the same bike course as the duathlon I did a month ago. I think I took about 30 seconds off my time, but it's hard to say, since I forgot to stop the GPS until after my bike was racked and I was changing into my running gear.
The sun came out for the ride and it was another beautiful Boulder morning. Here I needed to make up some time I lost on the swim. I passed a few folks on the road heading out of the reservoir and then a couple more on Jay Road. The beautiful morning was interrupted with the sight of a homeless dude puking on the other side of HWY 36 (not too far from a homeless shelter). NOT what I wanted to see while trying to get my heart rate/breathing under control so I could start drinking. I charged up the road, passed a couple more bikers and then turned on to Neva Rd. A couple rollers and then a gradual descent to pick up the speed. Passed a couple more here and then got passed by one - the only one to pass me. On the highyway back to the reservoir I used my gel bot and got a few more calories in me before the run. My legs certainly felt a lot better this time than after run1 of the duathlon!
T2: Racked the bike, off with the helmet and bike shoes, then on with the socks and shoes. I didn't have my little cooler to sit on so this was a little more challenging than usual. It was here I realized that my feet were pretty numb still from the cold water. Put on my hat and grabbed my race belt and off again.
Run: GPS distance, 3.15 miles in 25:56 (8:13min/mile pace). Not bad for numb feet! Did they feel weird! Passed a few more ladies here. My legs felt good, no real aches or pains and my hip flexor did well today. As we headed back to the finish line, there was a pink tape everyone got to run through as they finished, and we even got medals!
Post race: Free massage! Finally got all feeling back in my feet. Refueled a bit with water and a PB&J bagel. Yum! A pretty small race with maybe 100? ladies. I was not at all disappointed and it was worth getting up at the crack of dawn and driving almost 2 hours for it.
Drove home, did a little yard work with Tim (not much) took a nap, got groceries, ironed some clothes, had dinner (hooray for frozen pizza and pre-bagged salad!), took Juno for a walk, made tomorrow's lunches, did some more ironing, and wrote this. It is definitely time for bed!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
The Trouble with Swimming
I had Shannon film me again today to see my progress (or lack thereof!). Ok, I shouldn't be so negative, but it certainly can get frustrating when you swim and swim and don't seem to get any faster. But video certainly reveals the truth.
- Body position: not bad - I might lift my head up slightly to breathe, but not too much.
- Kick: could be tighter, but I think it is improved.
- Hand entry: Awful. My right hand does OK, but my left crosses over all the time (it is why I was always pulling right in the open water!)
- Catch: Probably wait just a tad too long to start the catch, but better than I had been.
- Pull: According to Shannon, looks good. I think my elbows are high, though I may cut the stroke a little short?
- Recovery - shoulder problem here. Don't get that high rotation so I tend to swing my arm wide. Trying to get a long reach may be causing the crossing over.
So I'm probably swimming a few extra yards down the pool trying to stay straight (that line on the bottom keeps you on track). I think the biggest thing for me to work on is my hand entry. If I can get it in front of my shoulder and not in front of my face, I'll save myself a lot of energy and some time. It won't be easy since I thought I already fixed this once...
Today's workout:
Swim:
300yd w.u.
8x25 drills
4x300 with 1min rest
100yd easy
8x25 sprint
200yd cool down
Total yards: 2200
Bike
(Cold and rainy today so I did it on the trainer in the evening)
24min w.u.
2x14min @ threshold (hr ~172) with 10min active recovery
13min c.d.
Total time: 1:15:00
Time for bed and some positive visualisation of hand entry in front of the shoulder, not the head!
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Yet Another Mars Report
I took Mars to see the orthopedic specialist today. While he does think Mars probably has an ACL tear in his right knee and agrees with the x-rays showing hip displaysia, he feels the mobility issues Mars is having is neurologic. So that means a trip to see the neurologist at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins. That's probably close to a 2-hour drive from here, so it will mean a full day off of work. I'm going to have Tim take care of this one since I don't have any vacation to burn and he's got plenty!
And now for a training update:
Swam this workout today:
300yds warmup
8x25 drills (single arm and fist swimming)
6x100 with 5s rest moderate
7x100 @ threshold with 45s rest. Well, I didn't do all at threshold - got tired!
300yd cool down
Total yards: 2100
I was pretty slow today - could be that I did my first open water swim last night, and even though it was short, probably 1000yds, the wetsuit constrains my shoulders some. I really need to work on getting it higher in the crotch and shoulders to not be as constricted.
Tonight's track workout:
1mile walk
800m E pace
1600m best effort (7:11 for me - again!)
400m walk recovery
800m T pace
400m walk recovery
400m R pace
400m walk recovery
Plyometric drills and core strength drills (planks!)
800m E cool down.
I am tired - I haven't gotten enough sleep these last few nights, even though I've been getting close to 8 hours. So I think I will talk tomorrow as a recovery day and I better get to bed soon to get as much sleep as possible!
And now for a training update:
Swam this workout today:
300yds warmup
8x25 drills (single arm and fist swimming)
6x100 with 5s rest moderate
7x100 @ threshold with 45s rest. Well, I didn't do all at threshold - got tired!
300yd cool down
Total yards: 2100
I was pretty slow today - could be that I did my first open water swim last night, and even though it was short, probably 1000yds, the wetsuit constrains my shoulders some. I really need to work on getting it higher in the crotch and shoulders to not be as constricted.
Tonight's track workout:
1mile walk
800m E pace
1600m best effort (7:11 for me - again!)
400m walk recovery
800m T pace
400m walk recovery
400m R pace
400m walk recovery
Plyometric drills and core strength drills (planks!)
800m E cool down.
I am tired - I haven't gotten enough sleep these last few nights, even though I've been getting close to 8 hours. So I think I will talk tomorrow as a recovery day and I better get to bed soon to get as much sleep as possible!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Today's bike ride
Hit the east side of town with the fall TNTers today. Started at my house and then headed out on a 23 mile loop. For Colorado Springs, it was actually a fairly flat ride with less than 1000ft of total elevation gain/loss. High point to low point was only about 550ft, but the few rollers out there make the total numbers larger. Pretty fast route as well, but being one of the first weekend training rides for some team members, we took it easy. Don't want to scare anyone off the bike! Probably was a little long for a first ride, but I hope they all enjoyed it. The weather is finally decent enough in the morning to ride around 8am. One person did get a flat - seemed to be due to old tires since I couldn't find anything wrong with the tire/tube and the road was pretty clear, just a little gravel. She said she has often gotten flats when riding, so I think new tires are in order for her! She did get a quick lesson in changing a tube. I prefer the first lessons to be in a controlled environment rather than on the side of a highway, but we got the job done and everyone made it back safely!
When we came back we had some snacks - veggies, hummus, bananas, juice and I made some pancakes for the team. Regular, chocolate chip and cinnamon chip! Delicious!
Well, it's time for bed as I have a 1:20 endurance run to do in the morning...
When we came back we had some snacks - veggies, hummus, bananas, juice and I made some pancakes for the team. Regular, chocolate chip and cinnamon chip! Delicious!
Well, it's time for bed as I have a 1:20 endurance run to do in the morning...
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Banana Scallops
So I am getting sucked into Top Chef season 4 on Bravo. Here's a recipe since I haven't posted one in a while. Haven't tried it, but it looks pretty darn good!
Banana "Scallops"
Other news:
TNT Fall Season has begun - we've got a great team here in the Springs with some members training for the Steamboat Springs Tri in August and others the Nations Tri in September. The Summer Short Course Team races are coming up on June 15th and June 28th! Exciting!
I visited my grandmother a couple weeks ago in upstate New York. The whole family made it up, as she had just turned 90. She was in the hospital with back issues, so it was a bit of a bummer, but her wit is still there! And it was great to see my dad's side of the family.
I haven't posted about my training recently but it is going well. Got some new shoes so my shins don't hurt anymore (waited way too long for that new pair!). I'm still swimming, biking and running about 3x a week in each sport.
Last weekend my grandparents visited town (to meet their first Great Grandchild). My sister-in-law and niece also visited us that weekend so it was a big family weekend for the "long" Memorial Day weekend (which is always way too short!)
Working on some swim footage for the TNTers...time to get back to it!
Banana "Scallops"
Other news:
TNT Fall Season has begun - we've got a great team here in the Springs with some members training for the Steamboat Springs Tri in August and others the Nations Tri in September. The Summer Short Course Team races are coming up on June 15th and June 28th! Exciting!
I visited my grandmother a couple weeks ago in upstate New York. The whole family made it up, as she had just turned 90. She was in the hospital with back issues, so it was a bit of a bummer, but her wit is still there! And it was great to see my dad's side of the family.
I haven't posted about my training recently but it is going well. Got some new shoes so my shins don't hurt anymore (waited way too long for that new pair!). I'm still swimming, biking and running about 3x a week in each sport.
Last weekend my grandparents visited town (to meet their first Great Grandchild). My sister-in-law and niece also visited us that weekend so it was a big family weekend for the "long" Memorial Day weekend (which is always way too short!)
Working on some swim footage for the TNTers...time to get back to it!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Race Report - Better Late Than Never!
I meant to write this earlier in the week, but life, work and workouts seemed to have gotten in the way! Last Sunday (5/4) I participated in the 'tri for your cause' at the Boulder Res. But with the water being about 55 degrees, the race director gave participants the option of doing a duathlon instead. I opted for the du, as getting on a bike after being frozen was not my idea of a good time, especially since it was just a training race. If you're not familiar with a duathlon, it's a run-bike-run event. This one being a 5k run, 17 mile bike and another 5k run.
The weekend began getting up early to be in Denver for a group brick with the TNT folks, followed by the 'Tri 101' clinic. Being a coach this time, I got to stand up in front of the group and share my two-cents worth of knowledge and suggestions on the details of racing a tri, all the way from eating days before the race to after the race. After sharing as much as we could without completely overwhelming the TNT triathletes, Shannon and I headed up to Boulder. She was doing the race as well, and we were going to stay with her boyfriend up in the mountains outside of Boulder.
The first stop in Boulder was Bicycle Village as I forgot my energy gels in the fridge. I had so diligently prepared the flask I was going to use and put it in the fridge. Out of sight, out of mind. At least that was the only thing I forgot. Also picked up some chain lube since I had run out.
Next stop...the Boulder Res for packet pick-up. Gave the water a quick toe test (brrr!) and then let the registration people know we were switching to the duathlon. Hung around for a few minutes to be at the mandatory(?) pre-race meeting. The USAT officials usually go over the rules (no drafting, helmets must be worn, etc). but they weren't able to make it. Instead the race director gave a very abbreviated version and we were on our way up into the mountains.
Let me just say, the drive to Chris' place was fantastic! Up old stage road and left hand canyon was just fantastic. I bet we passed about 30 cyclists on the roads up there. 40 minutes later we were at his house on what I believe is 1200 acres. He doesn't own this land, just works there - it's an educational retreat for kids called Cal-Wood. But my goodness is it gorgeous! We had a well-deserved relaxing afternoon and evening. Early to bed to rest up for the next day's race!
Sunday:
I slept pretty well considering it was the night before a race and sleeping on a couch. But I think not having to swim took a layer of stress/complexity off of the pre-race mental prep! At 6:45am we headed out down the mountain to get to the Res. It was a small race, probably less than 300 competitors, so finding a convenient transition rack wasn't too hard. I was surprised at all the wetsuits I saw. Not surprised that people would swim with a wetsuit (I do all summer long out here in Colorado in a race) but the fact that most people had opted to swim! Granted it was a short 500m swim, but still. Brrrr!
At 8:45am the transition area closed to competitors and we headed to the start line. There was probably about 30 or so 'sane folk' lining up for the du. In the middle of the starting line chit-chat, a lady with a microphone calls out 'duathlon - go!' Guess we were supposed to start with the airhorn that signaled the first swimmers, but couldn't hear it up the beach. Mid-sentence for most of us, we looked at our watches to hit the start button and headed out on the 5k out-and-back course.
Run 1: Wanted to keep this one easy, somewhere around 8:20-8:30 min/mile. Some guy was running pretty much the same pace, so we chatted along most of the course. That helped keep the pace in check, as it is really easy to take off like a bandit. But I had a bike ride and another one of these runs to do so there was no sense in getting tired early! According to my GPS, it was a 3.2mile course and I did it in about 26:45, so right on pace.
Transition 1- Pretty quick here - about 1:30. Just had to get the bike shoes and helmet on and grab the bike.
Bike: I need to work on my mounting skills. Nothing bad happened, I'm just not a 'flying mounter' yet. I'm more of the stop-clip-go type. Once I started pedaling, it was time to see what I could do. I am pretty familiar with the course, having ridden it a few times in other races and training. For some reason my heart rate was pretty high on the ride (about 172). I was a little disappointed in my time (57ish minutes) as that is the same pace I rode my long course race last year at about 10bpm less. But, training race = no taper. And since I've never run a tempo paced 5k then hopped on the bike, my body was probably saying "what the heck!" But overall a good ride. Except when I choked on some water - I was using my 'gel-bot' water bottle that has a space for gels and water to make it easy to consume. Well, the bottle is tall and when I tipped my head back to get some gel and then drink down some water, it didn't go down the right pipe. This on top of a higher heart rate (hard breathing) made drinking a little more challenging.
Transition 2: Hopped off the bike and slipped my running shoes back on. Even remembered to take of my helmet! Took a few extra swallows of my electrolyte drink (HEED) since I didn't get as much gel calories on the bike that I had planned. Then out for run #2!
Run 2: Goal for this run - maintain a strong but comfortable pace. I set my sights on a couple women in my age group (as with most races of this sort, your age is written on your calf so you know what age group people are in). I picked them both off by mile 1 so just wanted to maintain this pace. I didn't look at my GPS to see how I was pacing on this one - just wanted to run. So after another 5k, I crossed the finish line and successfully completed my first duathlon!
A great strong training race for me in some great Boulder weather! The official results are a little messed up, as they have me still in the triathlon results. I was supposed to get switched, but it didn't get done. I even mentioned it to the race director after the race when the preliminary results came out and he said he'd take care of it. I don't think I was the only one with this goof. With the time offset for different wave starts, it's hard to know who really did what. But that's what my watch/GPS was for so I know how I did.
So there you have it - a duathlon! I'd say it was harder than a triathlon since your legs aren't fresh getting on the bike. At least after a swim, as long as you don't kick too hard, your legs feel pretty good. I'd do another one for sure. I think I'll do one on July 12th called the Cabbage Head Duathlon. If anything, it's got a great name!
The weekend began getting up early to be in Denver for a group brick with the TNT folks, followed by the 'Tri 101' clinic. Being a coach this time, I got to stand up in front of the group and share my two-cents worth of knowledge and suggestions on the details of racing a tri, all the way from eating days before the race to after the race. After sharing as much as we could without completely overwhelming the TNT triathletes, Shannon and I headed up to Boulder. She was doing the race as well, and we were going to stay with her boyfriend up in the mountains outside of Boulder.
The first stop in Boulder was Bicycle Village as I forgot my energy gels in the fridge. I had so diligently prepared the flask I was going to use and put it in the fridge. Out of sight, out of mind. At least that was the only thing I forgot. Also picked up some chain lube since I had run out.
Next stop...the Boulder Res for packet pick-up. Gave the water a quick toe test (brrr!) and then let the registration people know we were switching to the duathlon. Hung around for a few minutes to be at the mandatory(?) pre-race meeting. The USAT officials usually go over the rules (no drafting, helmets must be worn, etc). but they weren't able to make it. Instead the race director gave a very abbreviated version and we were on our way up into the mountains.
Let me just say, the drive to Chris' place was fantastic! Up old stage road and left hand canyon was just fantastic. I bet we passed about 30 cyclists on the roads up there. 40 minutes later we were at his house on what I believe is 1200 acres. He doesn't own this land, just works there - it's an educational retreat for kids called Cal-Wood. But my goodness is it gorgeous! We had a well-deserved relaxing afternoon and evening. Early to bed to rest up for the next day's race!
Sunday:
I slept pretty well considering it was the night before a race and sleeping on a couch. But I think not having to swim took a layer of stress/complexity off of the pre-race mental prep! At 6:45am we headed out down the mountain to get to the Res. It was a small race, probably less than 300 competitors, so finding a convenient transition rack wasn't too hard. I was surprised at all the wetsuits I saw. Not surprised that people would swim with a wetsuit (I do all summer long out here in Colorado in a race) but the fact that most people had opted to swim! Granted it was a short 500m swim, but still. Brrrr!
At 8:45am the transition area closed to competitors and we headed to the start line. There was probably about 30 or so 'sane folk' lining up for the du. In the middle of the starting line chit-chat, a lady with a microphone calls out 'duathlon - go!' Guess we were supposed to start with the airhorn that signaled the first swimmers, but couldn't hear it up the beach. Mid-sentence for most of us, we looked at our watches to hit the start button and headed out on the 5k out-and-back course.
Run 1: Wanted to keep this one easy, somewhere around 8:20-8:30 min/mile. Some guy was running pretty much the same pace, so we chatted along most of the course. That helped keep the pace in check, as it is really easy to take off like a bandit. But I had a bike ride and another one of these runs to do so there was no sense in getting tired early! According to my GPS, it was a 3.2mile course and I did it in about 26:45, so right on pace.
Transition 1- Pretty quick here - about 1:30. Just had to get the bike shoes and helmet on and grab the bike.
Bike: I need to work on my mounting skills. Nothing bad happened, I'm just not a 'flying mounter' yet. I'm more of the stop-clip-go type. Once I started pedaling, it was time to see what I could do. I am pretty familiar with the course, having ridden it a few times in other races and training. For some reason my heart rate was pretty high on the ride (about 172). I was a little disappointed in my time (57ish minutes) as that is the same pace I rode my long course race last year at about 10bpm less. But, training race = no taper. And since I've never run a tempo paced 5k then hopped on the bike, my body was probably saying "what the heck!" But overall a good ride. Except when I choked on some water - I was using my 'gel-bot' water bottle that has a space for gels and water to make it easy to consume. Well, the bottle is tall and when I tipped my head back to get some gel and then drink down some water, it didn't go down the right pipe. This on top of a higher heart rate (hard breathing) made drinking a little more challenging.
Transition 2: Hopped off the bike and slipped my running shoes back on. Even remembered to take of my helmet! Took a few extra swallows of my electrolyte drink (HEED) since I didn't get as much gel calories on the bike that I had planned. Then out for run #2!
Run 2: Goal for this run - maintain a strong but comfortable pace. I set my sights on a couple women in my age group (as with most races of this sort, your age is written on your calf so you know what age group people are in). I picked them both off by mile 1 so just wanted to maintain this pace. I didn't look at my GPS to see how I was pacing on this one - just wanted to run. So after another 5k, I crossed the finish line and successfully completed my first duathlon!
A great strong training race for me in some great Boulder weather! The official results are a little messed up, as they have me still in the triathlon results. I was supposed to get switched, but it didn't get done. I even mentioned it to the race director after the race when the preliminary results came out and he said he'd take care of it. I don't think I was the only one with this goof. With the time offset for different wave starts, it's hard to know who really did what. But that's what my watch/GPS was for so I know how I did.
So there you have it - a duathlon! I'd say it was harder than a triathlon since your legs aren't fresh getting on the bike. At least after a swim, as long as you don't kick too hard, your legs feel pretty good. I'd do another one for sure. I think I'll do one on July 12th called the Cabbage Head Duathlon. If anything, it's got a great name!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Bike Camp Report
This past weekend (Friday, Saturday, and today) I was at a Carmichael Training Systems beginner road skills bike camp. As the longest time in a triathlon is usually spent on the bike, the more comfortable I am in bike handling, the better. Plus I might also learn some tricks and tips to help the TNT folks. Friday morning I headed downtown to the CTS building with my bike and riding gear ready to learn...
FRIDAY-
Session 1: Coach Natalie, Kirk, Ryan and intern Rachel took care of us this weekend. There were 8 campers - a great student/coach ratio! We rode to a grassy patch of MVP along the dirt trail (yup, road bikes on the dirt trail) to get some handling skills under our belt. Starting, stopping with and without unclipping the pedals and such. Then attempt the water bottle pick-up from the ground while on the bike. I managed a few times but can still work on that one. Then we rode behind others and next to others, trying to get comfortable next to other riders, as is important while in a pace line. Then we worked on the "track stand." Staying clipped in while completely stopped for as long as possible. Took a few spills on this one, but that is why we were on the grass!
Back to CTS for some lunch from Panera and then a presentation on cornering to get ready for Session 2.
Session 2: Work on cornerning while descending at Garden of the Gods. Rode over to the park and then did a short loop starting at the trading post - up the hill, hang a left, down the couple curves and back around down to the trading post. I think I did that loop about 8 times! Then we did a bigger loop around the Garden - once as a group and once on our own. Then back to the CTS building to wrap up the day!
SATURDAY:
Session 1: Presentation on bike clothing, then presentation on various pace lines. After the pace line we got to practice inside walking. Then we rode over to a residential street where we had about a mile with minimal traffic to try to get the hang of these pace lines for real. Going uphill into the wind (and boy was it windy on Saturday!) definitely felt the benefit of a group more than going downhill with a tailwind. After we got somewhat familiar with these lines, we rode over to Mark Dabling road to use these skills on a longer stretch. And sure enough with that strong wind out of the north, we got to experience the benefit! Then a quick ride back south (downhill and tailwind) to get some lunch.
Lunch from Pita Pit (yum!) and a presentation on nutrition. I was familiar with most of the concepts and CTS is definitely a high carb proponent.
Session 2: The wind was still super strong and a bit chilly, but that won't stop us! we headed out to climb gold camp road. Nice 6% grade or so - fairly comfortable climb. The descent not so much. With that wind you get some good crosswinds coming down so I was a bit out of my comfort zone. Probably didn't go as fast as I could have - I am pretty cautious on windy and wind-y roads. Then back to CTS for a wrap-up. I had a power meter on my bike today so I got to check out my numbers with Coach Natalie. For what it's worth, up the hill I think I averaged about 160(?) watts and a 162bpm heart rate.
SUNDAY:
Legs are a bit tired, but not as bad as I expected. it was really cold this morning so we waited a bit to head out until it was a tad warmer. Then we had our final ride of about 2 hours. Over to Mesa Rd on the west side up to centennial (some "big" climbs here) then a brief descent over to W. Woodmen. A short potty break here at a park, then up the West Woodmen hill back to Centennial, over to Mesa and back to CTS. My legs were feeling it on the steep stuff! But in the flat/downhill parts my legs felt pretty good considering all the riding I've done in the last few days - probably about what I'd get in a week's time, probably even more! Back to CTS for a wrap-up bagel/coffee meal and a chance to chat with the CTS coaches. A review of today's power meter had me at 180ish watts and about 172ish on the climbs. Definitely a harder workout!
Summary:
A good camp - I learned quite a bit and know I have a lot to work on. But I also have some places to ride (though I think I've been at all of them before) where I can focus on specific skills. The coaches were very knowledgeable and friendly so it was a comfortable environment to learn. We did get all the powerbars, powergels, powerbar endurance drink we wanted. They took care of us - made sure our bikes were ready to ride each day (though they did give me mine today with the rear brake open - glad I caught it before we headed out!) As with all camps, it wasn't perfect, but the negatives are minor compared to the positives. It was an enjoyable and educational weekend that went by too fast.
FRIDAY-
Session 1: Coach Natalie, Kirk, Ryan and intern Rachel took care of us this weekend. There were 8 campers - a great student/coach ratio! We rode to a grassy patch of MVP along the dirt trail (yup, road bikes on the dirt trail) to get some handling skills under our belt. Starting, stopping with and without unclipping the pedals and such. Then attempt the water bottle pick-up from the ground while on the bike. I managed a few times but can still work on that one. Then we rode behind others and next to others, trying to get comfortable next to other riders, as is important while in a pace line. Then we worked on the "track stand." Staying clipped in while completely stopped for as long as possible. Took a few spills on this one, but that is why we were on the grass!
Back to CTS for some lunch from Panera and then a presentation on cornering to get ready for Session 2.
Session 2: Work on cornerning while descending at Garden of the Gods. Rode over to the park and then did a short loop starting at the trading post - up the hill, hang a left, down the couple curves and back around down to the trading post. I think I did that loop about 8 times! Then we did a bigger loop around the Garden - once as a group and once on our own. Then back to the CTS building to wrap up the day!
SATURDAY:
Session 1: Presentation on bike clothing, then presentation on various pace lines. After the pace line we got to practice inside walking. Then we rode over to a residential street where we had about a mile with minimal traffic to try to get the hang of these pace lines for real. Going uphill into the wind (and boy was it windy on Saturday!) definitely felt the benefit of a group more than going downhill with a tailwind. After we got somewhat familiar with these lines, we rode over to Mark Dabling road to use these skills on a longer stretch. And sure enough with that strong wind out of the north, we got to experience the benefit! Then a quick ride back south (downhill and tailwind) to get some lunch.
Lunch from Pita Pit (yum!) and a presentation on nutrition. I was familiar with most of the concepts and CTS is definitely a high carb proponent.
Session 2: The wind was still super strong and a bit chilly, but that won't stop us! we headed out to climb gold camp road. Nice 6% grade or so - fairly comfortable climb. The descent not so much. With that wind you get some good crosswinds coming down so I was a bit out of my comfort zone. Probably didn't go as fast as I could have - I am pretty cautious on windy and wind-y roads. Then back to CTS for a wrap-up. I had a power meter on my bike today so I got to check out my numbers with Coach Natalie. For what it's worth, up the hill I think I averaged about 160(?) watts and a 162bpm heart rate.
SUNDAY:
Legs are a bit tired, but not as bad as I expected. it was really cold this morning so we waited a bit to head out until it was a tad warmer. Then we had our final ride of about 2 hours. Over to Mesa Rd on the west side up to centennial (some "big" climbs here) then a brief descent over to W. Woodmen. A short potty break here at a park, then up the West Woodmen hill back to Centennial, over to Mesa and back to CTS. My legs were feeling it on the steep stuff! But in the flat/downhill parts my legs felt pretty good considering all the riding I've done in the last few days - probably about what I'd get in a week's time, probably even more! Back to CTS for a wrap-up bagel/coffee meal and a chance to chat with the CTS coaches. A review of today's power meter had me at 180ish watts and about 172ish on the climbs. Definitely a harder workout!
Summary:
A good camp - I learned quite a bit and know I have a lot to work on. But I also have some places to ride (though I think I've been at all of them before) where I can focus on specific skills. The coaches were very knowledgeable and friendly so it was a comfortable environment to learn. We did get all the powerbars, powergels, powerbar endurance drink we wanted. They took care of us - made sure our bikes were ready to ride each day (though they did give me mine today with the rear brake open - glad I caught it before we headed out!) As with all camps, it wasn't perfect, but the negatives are minor compared to the positives. It was an enjoyable and educational weekend that went by too fast.
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