Starting the run again... at Alki

Okay, I can't describe the hole that's been in my life, since I haven't been running. Ever since my surgery, I've been concerned about getting my ass back out on the run. I've always hated the first couple of days of running, but today was not too bad, somewhere between 2.5 and 3 miles. A couple of stops for stretching, and my lower back is killing me, it's a posture issue though, I think I'm leaning into the run too much. However, I'm pretty happy that I'm out running again, and a big kudos to the BAT for stickin' in on the run. I'm back and it is good, GOOD!!! Oh yeah, there was some issues with a stitch in my side, which I was just reading up on, you know, what causes them, and how to fight against them, it turns out that they are actually caused by your liver... Who would of thought, huh? Today was very cold, upper 30's, but I was out running in my shorts anyway, at least the wind at Alki wasn't too bad... :D Well, enough for now, stay safe all... And merry christmas!!!

Dirt, Old As

Back on the bike today, quick run up to the junction, then down around Alki and Beach Drive. I like this route, it knocks out a 314ft climb in the first mile or so, then peaks and drops down to Alki, where it's a pretty flat run until Beach Drive, which throws a few little hills, nothing bad, then home... Then, maybe a 50ft of vertical incline to the house... The upside is 10.09 miles at a 15.6mph pace in 38.41... Gooooo ME!!!

Here's the Route

New Bike Trainer....

Well, found a great deal on craigslist on Saturday, and picked it up, it's an indoor bike trainer, which is basically a stand and a roller that provides resistance against your rear tire, and allows you to change your bike into a stationary bike, and gives you the ability to ride inside... :D Luckily I picked it up just in time, with record low temperatures forcasted in Seattle for this week, I am definitely not road riding this week. Well, yesterday I did a quick 20 minutes, and will probably hit it back up again today, since I can't run yet, courtesy of that f'k'n appendix... Well, looking forward to the tri season, bring it on!!!

Life just screws with ya sometimes....

Well, if it's just not the damnedest thing... I was running and training, but again, life kinda jumps up and kicks your ass.... Okay, so at the begining of November, I was admitted to Harborview ER with an appendix that had broken, and was leaking into my abdominal cavity. That pretty much sucked... The operation to fix it involved a nice little 3" scar on my lower abdomen, and it's a pain in the ass to run or bike, and there's a nice little lump right under the surface, where the tissue is healing... Well, running is pretty much out of the question right now, but I did get the road bike out for the past two days, and even though I can't really maintain aer0 because of the motion against my abdomen, if I remain upright, I'm okay, so I've been riding my bike around West Seattle, the other day was 10 miles at a 15.9 mph pace, with some pretty serious hills, and on Wednesday, I had to run some errands in the Junction, so it was another 4 miles, with some incline work, so far I seem to be holding up, but it's also f'k'n cold here, and it gets dark early, so I've added lights to the bike, and new tights. I've got to get in the pool with a swim coach though, if I'm going to be competitive on the sprint circuit next year, but that's gonna have to wait until my stomach is fixed, the doctor said normal activity by the middle of december... Luckily I've got about 5 months until tri season again. I want to hit this season hard, but we'll see what life has got in store... I'm looking at purchasing a wetsuit, and getting in the lake early this year for some Open Water Swims, and getting some decent swim coaching in, which was my weakness last year at the Federal Escape. I need to get my 5k time down, but that's just practice... I'm also looking at doing the xterra next year, which means I'm going to have to refit one of my mt. bikes, but it is gonna be a great season, as long as I can keep life from boning me... Well, here's to recovery!!!

Okay, I quit....

Ugh, unfortunately life gets in the way sometimes, and as of today, my triathlon season 2007 is over. I was hoping to get one last one in before the end of the year, but my training hasn't been where it needs to be, to be competitive. Not so much the biking and running, but the swimming, I've done one OWS since the Federal Escape, and that's not going to cut it for the 1/2 mile OWS at the Kirkland Tri. I also need to invest in a wetsuit, and a new bike. So in the interest of next year, I'm done. This winter will be spending quite a bit of time in Swim Classes and mini-competitions. This seems to be my weakspot, and if I'm going to compete next year at the Timberman, I need to unfuck my swimstroke. Well, that being said, I'm also training for a Half-Marathon in October, so all my effort is moved to that right now. Well, I'll keep things updated as I can.

Wow, long time no write....

Okay, well, here's the low down, I'm back on the training routine, training up for the Kirkland Sprint Tri. There will be more updates as I go, but here is it so far.

Sunday started with a 14 mile ride, down Alki to the bridge and back, it's a flat ride, my average pace was 19.5 mph. Very happy with this. Sunday night I bought a second cassette that is a very short block of gears, 11 - 19, seven speeds. This is much better for me, as I was topping out my 13 in the back way too soon. Now I just have to get it into the bike shop to have it changed out.

Monday was weight lifting day, I've gotten very weak since I've started tri training, having spent probably 5 days total in the gym, all my other workouts have been tri focused, but today was chest day.

Tuesday was an hour spinning class, which I have to say the SPD clips on the spin bikes at 24 hour fitness SUCK!!! I went through the entire spin class with only the front half of my cleats catching, so it drove my feet into the front of the shoe, about 45 minutes into the class, my feet were killing me. End it all with a quick mile run, and it felt good, oh, god, it felt GOOD!!! I'm feeling my addiction!!!

Bike Day

Wow, didn't know I had it in me.... :D Okay, so I get a text message from a friend of mine up here in Victoria, Sabrina, who asked me if I wanted to prerun her olympic distance bike run with her... And if you know me, I'm always up for a challenge, then came the truth... it was a 24+ mile ride (40 km for you Canadians...) I've never riden this bike further than what I planned to race at the Federal Escape, but I figured, fuck it, I'll give it a try. Okay, so grab the bike, head out to Hamsterly Beach, to meet up with Sabrina. Well, surprisingly I made it, actually didn't do half bad! Today I set a PR for myself, I was aiming for 40mph, and got really close, 39.8mph but I had topped out my gears, and didn't have anything more to push out. I need to look further at my casette on my rear wheel, I have 7 gears, and the highest is 13, with a 53 on the front, but I'm topping out coming down hills. hmmmm Time to upgrade. Well, let's see, quick rundown on the ride, 24.56 miles in 1hr 33min. Average speed of 15.7mph on a relatively hilly route. I'm very happy with this result, especially since I just got my bike a month ago, and I've put 116 miles on it so far. Well, thanks to Sabrina I've found out another thing that I can do, and I might have to start looking at Olympic distance races, my run time is adequate, with 7.25 miles in 57min 15sec, I think I might be able to do the Olympic distance. :D Well, enough for now, but I'm very, very happy.

I think my Polar is broken... nope...

Okay, maybe I'm just not paying attention, but I believe when your polar isn't reading your HR properly, it maybe because you're pushing a leeeettteeel bit too hard.... And I thought it was broken... Jeeeez, dum me. ;) Okay, well here's the low down, 4.24 miles today with some seriously pain in the ass hills, time was 35.17 so that gives me a 8 minute 19second/mile. I'm good with that. Not my flat ground speed, but given the hills and the heat, I'm okay with that. :D Oh, here's the course...

Esquimalt Run

Thursday

Okay, grab a straw... Today was a good ride, 10.5 miles, a little over half an hour average speed of 16.8, did have a front tire blow out, and did a tube change on the side of the road. Well, that's all for now, I'm exhausted, way too much work, not enough training. More tomorrow...

Sometimes life just does...

So anyway, given some latest developements, I haven't been able to keep up my training routine, so I guess that life just gets in the way sometimes. Anyway, it was back in the water yesterday in Lake Washington for an Open Water Swim, wow, okay, that was an eyeopener. Not like the pool at all, did feel more comfortable in the lake though. Did about a 300 yard swim in 8 minutes or so, not too bad, I'm much more comfortable in the lake or open water than I am in a swimming pool.

Blogging...

Wow, who would of thought that recording it would be the most monotonous part of training for this triathlon? Well, here ya go. I took the bike out today, and ran a quick 8.55 miles. Total time on the bike was 33 minutes, give or take, because dum-me I didn't reset the computer on my bike before I left so I don't have hyper accurate numbers to report. I'm starting to realize the discipline needed to compete in an event like this. To go from mashing up a hill immediately back to aero takes some commitment!!! Well, enough for now, time for my breakfast and coffee then off to work. Look hard, train harder, stay hardest.... :P

I suck....

at blogging, what were you thinking? So anyway, yesterday, holy hungover... It sucked, but I sucked it up, and hit the bike. I took a look at the route before I left, but got a little lost, but it was okay, I'm good with that. So anyway yesterday was a PR (personal record) for me, I hit 38.4 mph which I guess for you Canadians is 61.79 kph, on my bike, it was a nice sloping downhill, I stayed aero, and pushed it out!!! Now I want to break 40mph... Anyway, nice bike ride, 11.3 miles, average speed 16.9 mph, finished a little over 40 minutes. Today was just a quick unmeasured run for 24 minutes, felt good, had a good stride, would guess at probably around 3 miles or so. On the upside I met some other triathletes here, and they invited me to work out with them!!! Yay!!!

It's all coming together now...

Okay, had a quick run today, up the hill, through Beacon Hill park, down along the water, up Government, and back to the hotel, 3.07 miles according to Run.com. Well, I think that I've figured out my tricep problem, I need a massage... ;) Just kidding, I need to alter my running style, I run with my hands very close and high on my chest, to minimize movement and wasted effort, well, apparently it's taking a toll on my triceps, causing minimal movement, but thousands of repetitions of lightweight tricep extensions. It's over use. I figured it out about a mile into the run, as my right tricep started aching, and a couple of minor adjustments to my hand positioning, and it stopped aching. Well, all fine and good I guess. Anyway, the results, 3.07 miles in 24 minutes 44 seconds which puts my pace at 8 minutes 3 seconds/mile. I'm very happy with these results. I just have to look back a couple of months ago, and I was running less than 2 miles before needing to take a quick break. My legs felt pretty heavy today based on my long run two days ago, but still turned a good time. Well, after the run, it was a quick bicep workout, then off to the room for my morning coffee. Well, that's all for now -m3

I was running

Okay, so nothing done today, my body is kinda acting wierd, my right arm is fuckin' up, it feels like I tore a muscle, my tricep is sore. It's okay until I flex it, then it feels like an electric shock. But anyway, yesterday I went running, and took over a minute off my time from the previous long day. So anyway, took the long run course, and ran 7.25 miles. I corrected the course on run.com but they're still .2 miles off, they're showing the course at 7.03-7.05 miles while my bike computer is showing 7.25 miles. Anyway, I ran it yesterday, and I felt terrible, couldn't get my stride right, even half way through it, couldn't get a good extension on my stride, felt kinda choppy, but then on the last mile I couldn't believe my time. Anyway, pulling into the hotel, hit the stop on my watch. Looked down, and 7.25 miles in 57 minutes 15.58 seconds. I'm happy, yay!!!

I learned a lesson today...

Okay, day started out well, woke up late, planned to ride 10+ today, and it was sunny. Bike was working well, headed out of the garage, and about 2 miles into the ride, I realize "damn, I forgot my fuckin' waterbottle." Well, okay, so I figure, no problem, I've done it before, it'll be okay. Then about 3 miles in, I'm riding in traffic, no problem, but I'm coming up fast on another biker, who's riding a road bike. It looks like he cuts out into traffic to make a lane change, but the truck in front of him hits the brakes, and bike meets tailgate, at about 15 mph. I stop, he's alright, but he almost got sandwiched from the car behind him. This is probably when I should of said, "fuck it" and gone home, but nooooo, I'm not that smart. So, I cut right out of the heavily traveled streets, and find some hills, okay, I'm pushing it hard on the hills, out of the saddle, trying to keep my speed. Up on hill, down another, up one hill, down another, okay, so maybe I'll try a different route home. I know where I am, kinda, and I figure I've got about 3 or so miles back to the hotel. Down one hill, back up another, and just as I crest that hill, my front tire hits a bump, and then feels wierd, I look down, and my front tire is flat. "Fuck" I realize I don't have my flat kit with me, ugh, and I can't walk on these bike shoes, okay, fuck it. Off come the shoes, off come the socks, okay, barefoot, I think I'm kinda close to the hotel, well, about 40 minutes later, and 2.5 miles, I'm back at the hotel, with sore feet. I might not run tomorrow, we'll see how the feet are doing. Well, enough for now, and I've gotta buy another tube...

Huh, what day is it?

Okay, today, slept in (felt good, oh, it felt goooood) got up around 11ish (my alarm is usually set for 10. Went for my run, today it was "Around the point" 3.48 miles, per run.com. I'm kinda curious about run.com though, for my long run, I paced it out on my bike, and it was 7.25 miles, but run.com when I mapped it out, reported 6.93 miles. Hmmm, there's something afoot at the circle k... I trust my bikc computer more I think, since it was the exact same track I run and bike. Well, my time was as usual, 28min 38sec for 3.48 miles, which for times is as follows...
8min 13sec/mile. I'm good with that.

Is it friday already?

Okay, since I've been slacking on updating the blog (thanks stephanie). I'll try to blog as soon as I get in. Here's the lowdown for today.

Bike 7.11 miles in 26min 22sec

This sucked! Unfortunately because of traffic, and a couple of scooters, I had to keep my speed in check through the first couple miles. City riding is fun, but it can be interesting at times. Well, here are the highlights, in miles per hour:
Average 16.1
Max 34.3

At about 4.39 miles I threw in the brick, and ran 1.12 miles in 8min 19sec, which isn't too bad all things considered, I threw down for the the last 100 yards or so, so I'd guess my pace would of been around 8min 15sec mile, but that's just a WAG. So yesterday a friend and I were talking about running, depending on OP Tempo, and where in the world I am, I'm considering doing the Half or Full Seattle Marathon. I'll keep you all advised. -m3

Ugh, thursday

Okay, so I didn't update yesterday, but here ya go.
Wednesday, 7 mile bike ride
Thursday
25 yards warmup
50 yards warmup
50 yards 1min 4sec
100 yards 2min 3sec
50 yards 1min 2sec
50 yards 1min 10sec
50 yards 1min 5sec
50 yards 1min 12sec
50 yards 1min 2sec
50 yards 1min 14sec
50 yards not timed
50 yards not timed
50 yards cool down
25 yards cool down

I need to spend more time in the pool, the pool opens to 50 yards so I'll swim again then.

Tuesday

Ugh, I've gotta stop partying so damn hard, this city is gonna be the end of me... :D Anyway, though I was out late last night partying with a Firefighter from Vancouver, and a Canadian MP, got home at 0430ish... Slept in most of the day, had it off from work, but I knew today was gonna be the day. So, up at the crack of 1430 (that's two thirty in the afternoon for you civis) start slamming water, because today was the long run day. I had a track that I was using for my bike rides, 7.25 miles, so today was the day I was going to run it. I figured a good time for the course would be 1 hour, but being hung over, I wasn't too sure how I would do, well, given that it would be a little over an 8 minute mile, which incidently I considered a workout to run 2 miles at that pace when I started a couple of months ago. Well, long story short, up, dressed, stretch, put on my country MP3s, and start out, nice little up hill, ugh, down to the water, running with about a 4-5mph breeze, and bright sun, so it was stifling hot, I wasn't going fast enough to generate wind, because it was blowing the direction I was running. Well, right at about mile 2.5 I turn and head back, and running into the breeze, wearing underarmour, really helped to regulate my body temp, and was a god send, my pace picked up, and my hr started dropping. I was running about 165-171 HR for most of the run, I realized I was past half, and finally got my stride right, everything was firing!!! Well, I ran from the hotel, to beacon hill park, down the coast to the end of the beach walk, then back up the coast past the heliport, and back into downtown, on my bike computer, it's 7.25, on my New Balance 719s, partially hung over, it's 58min 50secs, and I know I could of probably cut a couple of minutes off that, given crossing signals and all. That puts me on pace for 7.25 miles at 8min 6.9secs. I'm happy today, and will be sore tomorrow!!!

Monday

Okay, nice little bike ride today, didn't figure out until oh, mile 4, that I was on the lower ring on my forward derailer, I kept wondering why I was topping out so damn quickly... I usually never go the lower ring, but I must of bumped my shifters or something. So anyway, I left the inner harbour marriott, out through West Victoria, headed out to the Esquimalt Graving Yard/CFB Esquimalt, back through West Victoria, over the Johnson Street Bridge, down past the Sea Plane docks, out to the shore, along the shore line to the Victoria 0 mile sign, then back to the hotel. Here's a picture of me at the 0 mile sign...

Updates

Okay, I've been busy with work, but here's what's been going on...
Thursday: 7.5 mile bike ride, beautiful ride along the water
Friday: Couldn't find the pool, yeah, I know, but I got lost
Saturday: 7.12 mile bike ride, 1 mile run (brick)
Sunday: Weights only

Not exactly the slow run I was looking for....

Okay, first day in Victoria, and it was spent running here, running there, waiting for guys to pick out shoes.... (long story) Well, the long story short, is I'm a very independant person, and I don't like having to wait, but that's one of my weaknesses, and I need to realize that the team makes sacrifices for me as well. Anyway, by the time we got out of our meeting at almost 1900, I was needing relief. Most everyone headed for the bar, the owner of the company offered to buy the first round, so there was definitely something wrong with me when I passed up free beer. All I could think about was lacing on my shoes, and I ran, I ran so far away, and I ran, I ran all night and day..... Not really, I ran this course
http://www.run.com/showroute.asp?map=76234
But it felt right, the legs were firing properly, and even though I was in pain with my quads from about the first 2-3 minutes, through out the run, it felt right. My stride was right, I was stretching my legs, rather than chopping, and I was feeling sore but good. Well, enough for now, tomorrow is the road bike... -m3

HATE IT, Hate It, hate it....

Okay, today just isn't my day.... I went swimming today, now I didn't do anything else because I pushed myself pretty hard the last couple of days, and frankly, my legs ache... So, I figure, I'll get a good pool workout in, right? WRONG!!! Today was the first day in what I'm going to wear in the swim, and I wasn't happy. Oh, btw, I picked up a pair of Nike square cut swim trunks. Anyway, my times on the 50 yard were 53-55 seconds, okay, not what I was looking for with the reduced drag... My 100 yard times were even worse 2min 10sec - 2min 15sec.... Ugh, what do I have to do here? Swam about 700 yards in 50 and 100 yard segments, but wasn't happy. Well, I did learn a couple of things today;
1. Rest: I've been lacking on this big time, both in recuperation time, and in actual sleep time, today it caught up with me.
2. Alcohol: Not good for training, I went out Sunday night with a friend of mine, and drank too much, Monday was a wicked hangover, and I powered through a bike ride, but today it caught up to me.
3. Food: I've been slacking here, in preparing for my trip, I haven't had the time to make sure that I'm getting enough food, eating maybe one a day or so, combine that with little sleep, I had no energy
4. Water: I've been slacking here too, I'll grab a diet coke on the way out the door, instead of water, my body isn't happy.
5. Breath: Okay, this is a positive, I've moved from the breath every other stroke (breathing on every right stroke) to every third stroke (alternating left and right) this feels more natural for me, and helps me keep my head down, yay, we had a positive today (yes, WE, me and the other voices in my head...)!!!

Okay, well, I guess the first stage of fixing the problem is to recognize the problem, okay, check.... But I knew better, well in the words of Baby Powder, "I need to slap my damn self." Tomorrow I'll probably do a short easy run, and I'll be updating the blog from my hotel room...

I'm registered!!!

Check it out Y'all!!! Yeah, baby, I'm in it to uh, finish it!!!

AthletesLounge.com Confirmation
Luke Noury,Thank you for registering for the Federal Escape Triathlon.
Your confirmation is as follows:
Confirmation #1956-168-268858
Name: Luke Noury
Birthdate: 1975-12-04
Gender: M
Shirt Size: L
Address:
Event: Federal Escape Triathlon - Sprint TriEvent
Date: July 28th, 2007
Event Time: 9:30:00

Hate the wind, love the bike!!!

Okay, took the new bike on the road today for a quick shakedown. I've gotta adjust the derailer a little, but other than that, it works very well, it was a good deal. I've added a computer, as well as new pedals, and my new tri shoes. Anyway, it was a clear fast run out to the end of Alki, and then back to Starbucks for a mmmmmm, mocha frap lite... mmmm... Well, I had a good deal of speed out, and rode well, took a little bit to find my comfort spot, but then it was nice. I need to buy some aerobars, but other than that, it looks like my setup is complete. Okay, here are the numbers... And according to the stationary bike, seem pretty spot on.

Totals (Trial + Cooldown)
14.27 Miles
47min 26sec
Avg Speed 16.9
Max Speed 27.9

Shakedown trial time
10.53 Miles
30min 32sec
Avg Speed 18.9
Max Speed 26.2

Six Mile Sunday

Well, almost 6 miles, more like 5.9, took the outer track at greenlake, then the inner track. Very nice fun little run, if I do say so myself. I went up for the "Running Poets of Green Lake" hosted by AKA, got the t-shirt, and ran my long day. It was really cool to see 100 poems on people's backs and to watch the reactions that everyone else had. I had a blast though. Anyway, since I'm interested in times, 5.9 miles in 49.40 which is a pace of....
8min 25sec/mile!!!!

Also, just to throw down for some people, PERFORMANCE Bicycle in the U-district is the shit!!!! I went there on the recommendation of a friend, and they had triathlon bicycling shoes on sale for 59.95!!!! Check them out, they've got the hook up! Well, 6 miles in the books, time to take a nap, then call the buffalos, and see if they're training.

Saturday, rain, ugh...

Okay, Saturday is usually my off day, and today was no exception, except I did arms... No big deal, quick bi/tri workout. But, I did buy my bike today!!!! It's not anything super highspeed, but I think it will do the job, and it will be traveling with me so I will begin training on it. I attached a computer today, and still need to add aero bars and pedals. But I've gone from the chicken to the pig... (it's a joke) In a ham and egg breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed... :D Well, here's the new (to me) bike...

Friday

Good day, I'm happy.... :D I was swimming at the pool and ran into 3 other people who were training for various triathlons. It's kinda cool, you know, all of a sudden you've met up with other people who are experiencing the same kind of misery that you are, and you've all got the same goals. I was happily swimming my 50 yard laps, and next to me are two swimmers, that are making it look easy, okay, I hate them, I really hate them... Then I look over, and one of their water bottles says "Ironman" ugh, oh, great, it's the competition... Well, friendly me, I strike up a conversation, apparently they just got back from SD running a marathon, and they're training up for the half ironman in a couple of weeks. Cool! Then another guy who's eves dropping I find out that he's training for the Seafair Triathlon. Who knew so many triathletes trained at 24 hour fitness downtown seattle, huh? Anyway, my back is pretty tight from all the boxing yesterday, and I started my workout with a chest/weights workout, so here's the times today, in surf shorts.
50 yards 1min 4sec
50 yards 1min 4sec
50 yards 1min 3sec
50 yards 1min 2sec
50 yards 54sec
50 yards 56sec
50 yards 1min 1sec
50 yards 54sec
Tomorrow is off day, and just weight training for my arms.

Thursday, yeah baby!

Okay, was swimming, unfortunately I didn't have my G-Shock, so no times on the swim, ugh... Well, I'm swimming tomorrow as well, so I'll have times then. Felt good to be back in the water again though, two days of spinning/running were okay, I guess, but I was happy to be swimming again. Anyway, went back to the house 'o buffalo, no sprinting today, well, I guess that's a good thing. Continued with my boxing, wow, while my cardio is good for it, no weak legs, my arms were dead. Couple of rounds with the heavy bag, then four rounds of sparring, I forgot how rough that was... Good to see my close in work is still adequate, but my closing the distance needs work again, as I'm just bulling my way back in, but once I'm back inside, I'll throw my combo, and then step back out. I need to work on my counter punch. I did realize that I've still got my ability to walk straight down the pipe. I need to buy myself some 18 or 20 oz gloves if I'm going to get back into fighting. I realize that the mma gloves are 4 oz, but I need to build my shoulders back up to the point where I can throw down for 6-8 rounds with the heavier gloves. Well that's all for now, -me

Wednesday

I'm back in the groove again... Something a little odd happened today though, I was in spinning, keeping my HR between 145-155, and I noticed that as I increased load, which forced my RPMs down, it also dropped my HR, and as I dropped load, but increased my RPMs, my HR would remain constant, or even raise. The only thing that happened that even made remote sense was that under extremely heavy load, (the type you have to put all your body weight on a pedal) my HR would raise. HMMMMM, something is a foot at the Circle K.... Anyway, as I spin with different people, I think I am getting the idea that this class (Weds 0930) is more of a power workout. I guess that would make sense, as much time as I have spent in the gym lifting heavy, I guess my muscles are used to that, but the higher RPM less stress causes my muscles some confusion, resulting in the elevated HR. Well, it's an idea I guess, feel free to comment!!! Anyway, wrapped up with a quick treadmill mile, 8min09sec. I'm building back up to where I am running a 5k after my spinning sessions by the time the race comes around.

Tuesday... Spinning/Running

Okay, today was spinning at 1100, running a mile immediately afterwards total mile time 8.30, I've decided that probably the best way to approach this is to increase my cardio endurance factor. After my benchmark day, I've noticed that I was maintaining a HR between 160-170 for the entire event. Taking this to the next level, I continue to train and push my HR and train my body to maximize recovery times. This means that spinning and running need to maintain 160-170 HR for the duration of the event, unless there is a decreased load i.e. downhills, and my body needs to maintain cadence and recover during these times. I also use a little trick from shooting to reduce HR, which has been working well. Oh, yeah, monday was a complete day off.

Dry Run, Federal Escape

Okay, okay, today was the moment of truth, and I admit, I was a little apprehensive. Today was my inside dry run, for the Federal Escape. This was done at the 24hr fitness in bellevue.
I started out on the quarter mile swim, a 12 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run.

Quarter Mile Swim = 7min 03sec
Transition = 8min 20 sec (this sucked because I had to dry off and change out of my shorts into my running gear)
Bike (stationary bike level 5) 12 miles = 33min 30 sec
Transition = 2 min 57 sec (had to wipe down the bike)
Run (3.1 miles) = 26minutes 5 sec (this was including the ramp up time to running speed)

Total Time including T1 and T2 = 1 hour 17 minutes 55 sec

Okay the proof is in, I can do this, tomorrow off for recovery, then back to my routine!!!

Just Gym Saturday

Okay, nothing big here, just a quick arms workout... :D

Just Gym today....

Wow, I guess that the gym isn't really that difficult after all. After slogging through countless miles, and cycling the lifting part doesn't seem too hard anymore. Today was chest and shoulders, and you can definitely see the effects that all this f'n cardio is having. Starting to see some striations/veins in my shoulders on lifts now. Well, tomorrow is arms, then Sunday will be my dry run. :D

Early morning workout

Okay, I know, I know, what the fuck was I thinking, I don't know, besides that the 1100 spinning class in Bellevue was canceled, and the only other option was a 1730 class and I'd have to put my rats in Kid's Club, and I haven't seen them since Monday. Not really feeling that option either, so I grabbed a straw, and I was up at 0530 and in the 0600 spinning class. This one sucked today, my legs are shot and bruised from the past week of workouts, and I can feel my splints. Anyway, enough whining... Spinning from 0600 to 0650, then two miles in 16.08, I'm feeling pretty good!!! Not a half bad brick if I say so myself. :P Although those were treadmill miles. Well, for the next two days I'm takin' it easy on the exercise, and heavy on the 800mg pills of heaven, then Sunday I'm going to benchmark my performance with an indoor version of the Federal Escape. I'll post times when I get finished, but based on my swimming times, I'm feeling pretty confident. The only issues I see is me just getting bored, not really feeling the whole static thing. Also, got a happy little surprise today, after getting off the spinning bike, and walking to the treadmill (apx 1.30min) my hr was 118, then I had to go under a 7.30min/mile to get my hr above 160!!! I'm happy. 1h30m of workout and 800mg Motrin later....

Wednesday

Okay, today was a good day!!! Only swimming, no running, and my legs are thanking me. :D I'm not sure, but I paced out the pool at the Bellevue 24hour fitness, and it was 28 paces, or as close as I can figure, about 25 meters, but I'm not 100% sure. Well, I guess I will have to still train at a measured pool to be sure, but assuming that it is 25 meters, my day is as follows.
100 meters 1.47 min
100 meters untimed
50 meters untimed
100 meters 2.00 min
200 meters 3.42 min (personal best)
100 meters 1.45 min
50 meters .45 min (sprint)
50 meters .45 min (sprint)
50 meters .50 min (sprint)
Total 800 meters
Point of clarification times are written as min.sec I've got cycling and running at 6 am, and I finished the day off by playing almost two hours of beach volleyball with the Buffalos. Much better than running!!!

Trying Tuesday

Okay, good day overall, went had a good workout at cycling, then off to train with the Buffalos. The hill sprints sucked today, and it was fuckin' hot, but I noticed even more that the run up there, since I usually run without anything in my hands, and the run back just felt really strange, not like, hey, you're holding a water bottle, but really just like having that there threw me soo far of my game. It was very strange. Anyway, 45 hill sprints, once around the track, and my left leg is gonna be bruised. Working on low kicks with a couple of fighters, they're coming along though. They've got some good talent, but teaching them to think combos, and making the other person reliably react to what they do is taking some time. Well, that's all for now, my body is beat, and it's swimming tomorrow. -me

Memorable Memorial Day

Okay, today started in the pool, with the following.

1. 100m 2.12
2. 100m 2.44
3. 100m 2.30
4. 50m 1.18
5. 50m 1.15
6. 50m 1.17
7. 50m 1.12

Then off to Alki, new route, 3.14 miles in 24.24 which is a 7.46min/mile pace.

I'm starting to think that I'm hitting over training, and will have to force myself to back off a little, the shin splints are starting to kick up a little more, and I'm having constant pain in my legs. Classic impact injuries from running too much :D. Well, nothing Ibuprofen can't take care of, a little lesson from Uncle Sam, relief comes in 800 mg pills. Okay, tomorrow, it's gonna be spinning, and then to the house o' buffalo.

Grinding, Shineing...

You know what I keep in the lining... Just kidding, today was the long run day, which I guess in retrospect wasn't that long, but it felt good. Today was the bridge, my first time ever running the I-90 bridge. Here's the course Battle the Bridge. I enjoyed this run today, the wind was blowing out of the north, and running in underarmour I was dry until I got out of the wind on the Mercer Island side. I took this course blind, so I had no idea how many hills were on the island, jeez, up and down, up and down... Well, total distance 5.29 miles, time 48.13 which puts my pace time at 9.0688 minute/mile or 6.58 mph over the course of 5+ miles and with some significant hills. I like this course, it's a fast start from the Seattle side, starting downhill, then through the flats, then the suck hits, starting up the bridge on to the island, and the hill just keeps going up, finally topping out, then diving down to 75th, then fairly flat to 77th. Starting back instead of the trail, going straight up the hill on SE 24th, this hill gassed me, but just think of it as a gut check. :D Then it's down hill to the bridge, down the bridge, across the flat, then back up the other side to the finish. My body is better suited to uphill rather than downhill, it's always been that way, short muscular legs take a beating running down hill, but allow me to sprint through the uphill on that last leg of the run. Good day, tomorrow swimming ;).

Saturday

Okay, no running today, I'm happy though. Gym workout, though, quick arms/chest workout, I don't want to look like these skinny ass triathletes... :P Back to the grind tomorrow. :D

Last day of the training cycle... :D

Translated, I get tomorrow off!!! Well off of the run/cycle/swim rotation, still hitting the gym tomorrow. Today I went back to where it all went wrong... Green Lake, the reason that I'm going to do the triathlons this summer. It was interesting, I pushed pretty hard today, put down my first mile in under 6.30, with the entire run at 22.08, this is a considerable improvement over my time two weeks ago, which was 23 minutes. My time today was 7.54 min/mile for the distance, which I consider to be adequate for as long as I have been training, and that I've had a pretty hard training routine for the past 6 days, and I'm sore from the sprinting/hill yesterday. Well, I'm happy to be taking tomorrow off, then it will be a nice slow and long run on Sunday.

With any luck I'll be
Swimming Monday/Thursday end with a run
Spinning Wednesday/Friday end with a run
4+ mile run on Tuesday

Countdown to Federal Escape 9 weeks....

Thursday

Okay, great day!!! I jumped in the pool, after an absence of several (many) years, I read up on a couple things, and reminded myself what I needed to accomplish. I jumped in the pool in surf shorts, not the best to swim in, and got it on. My distance that I need to swim, assuming that I compete at the Federal Escape is 400m, I knocked that down in 8.12. I realize that this is an indoor environment, but also take into account that I was swimming in surf shorts, not the most hydrodynamic wear... :D Okay, if I can swim that distance in 8.12 now, with a little practice, and some open water swims I should be able to dial that number down. Then it was off to the home of the Buffalos, and I took a 3 mile run MMA Run before meeting up with Will, and later Tim for some mini-hill sprints, ugh, those sucked. About a 15ft climb (vertical) and jog down, but here's the killer, it was 3 sets of 15 each. After that, we ran back to the "House 0' Buffalo" and met up with the other guys for a training session. Day was over a little after 8, and back to the house. I'm happy with my swim time today, and now I'm sure that I'll be able to complete these sprint tris. :D

Wednesday....

Okay, today started fairly normally, wake up, make lunches, drop kids off at school, come home, have coffee... However, I called a friend of mine who has been doing tris for a while yesterday, and he returned my call today. I told him that I was planning on doing a few this summer, and I asked his advice. Well, let's just preface this by I'm highly impressed with this person, I have much to learn from him. We've worked together before (we're in the same career field), and I always learn something from him, everytime we talk. Just an amazing person. Anyway, enough of that. He had some great advice for me for begining these, especially with sprints, and how some people are very competitive and amazingly fast, and others just want to finish. I, of course feel that I'm in the latter group. We discussed bikes, and what I should buy, and what he had, (a 6k fricken bike, well, he's been at this a while), what my training emphasis should be on, especially for sprints, positioning myself for the swim, running, and speed work. I also brought up that I don't have a bike yet, and I'm doing my cycling indoors, and asked about spinning classes. Well, apparently that's a good idea. He also said I could e-mail him any questions I have, as he's not always available by phone (see career field...). I appreciate this very much. Well, I head out to my local 24 hour fitness, and I'm in a spinning class at 0930, my first one, thank you... A little different than my cycling workout yesterday, a whole lot lower rpm, (think, not changing gears...), other than that, pretty fun, I'm going to be sore tomorrow, but hey, tomorrow is running in the morning, Mixed Martial Arts in the evening, a friend's getting ready for a fight, and I said I'd spar with him. No, I'm not a grappler, I used to fight as a kickboxer, and a full contact fighter. ;) Well, 60 minutes later, it's over, good workout, not the high rpms on the pedals that I think it should be, but definitely interval training, besides the pedals are moving for 60 minutes. Off of there, quick stretch, on to the treadmill. Start slow, speed up through a quick mile, total mile time 8.15. I'm happy today.

Kickin' bricks....

Well, okay, so maybe not bricks, maybe more like brick... I've never done one before, and I'm not sure that I can even call this one a "real" brick, but I will say that I was more scared of how it would be than it really was. Today was a gym day, so I was in the gym working my arms, and had planned to finish up the day and try a "brick." For all my friends who don't know, and yes, I just learned this, a "brick" is a training rep, that combines two disciplines from the triathlon. Leave it for today for f'n 24hour fitness to turn the damn heat on in the building, the place was like a sweatbox, just working my arms, I was sweating, not to mention the "brick." The brick I did today was stationary biking 5 miles then treadmill running 1 mile, apparently this is a difficult transition for your body to accomplish, from the muscles used in bike riding, to the muscles used in running. To be honest, this had a me a little scared, I have read up on how people had issues making this transition, and how bad these bricks can be. Well, yesterday I got a blister on my right foot from running, not a good thing for today, so that's kind of what pushed me into an "alternate" training routine. Long story short, I jumped on the stationary bike at the gym, and started off, weight 210lbs, level of difficulty 5, random course. I wanted to push myself to see what I could do, pedal rpms were running about 140-160 for 5 miles, approximately 13.30, my heartrate never climbed over 161, which I was very happy about!!! YAY!!!! After 5 miles, I stepped off the bike, and over to the treadmill, approximately 1 minute or so, and started running, starting at 7.1mph, I guess it's about 8.27 minute/mile or so for the first half mile, not too bad, punched it up to 7.5 mph or 8min/mile for a quarter mile, feeling really good, up to 8mph or 7.30min/mile for .15 of a mile, and finishing strong at 8.5mph or 7.04min/mile for the last .10 of the mile. I think I realized today, that as long as my swimming comes along, I can really do this. I'm happy.

Case of the Mondays....

Okay, was going to run this morning, but had an interview at 1100, and I was draggin' ass this morning, most of the night tossing and turning, having bad dreams about ugh... triathlons, and getting lost on the running course??? Anyway, long interview, not to sure about this one, but had to go running to clear my head. So, home by 1530, and I have to pick up the daughters by 1800. I'm cool... Okay, running shorts, underarmour top, I'm driving to alki, gonna go running the alki course. Finally get to alki at 1630 (yeah, had some errands to do) no warmup, no stretch, just throw on the mp3 player, jump out of the truck, and go.... Not too bad, but quickly realized the underarmour top was way too warm for today, overheating isn't fun, it really does slow you down!!! Well first mile 8 min, second mile 8 min 10 sec, now I can stretch, and head back, third mile 8 min 5 sec, fourth mile 8 min 30 sec. Yep, grand total of four miles in ugh... 32.45, I'm not happy. Well, there's always tomorrow.

Sunday, rainy sunday....

Another rainy day in Seattle, okay, today was one of those "you said you were gonna do it, and the easiest thing you can do right now is find an excuse not to." Pouring rain, new running route (running the Lowman-Lincoln Park Route in reverse so that I get the hill climb out of the way first), it puts about a 150ft hill climb into the first 1/3rd or so of a mile the the rest in flats and some small up and downs. The whole route has an elevation change of 184ft up, then back down. Not too bad of a time, 2.85 in 23 minutes, could do a little better on that one though. Well the pic is me post running, soaked through the underarmour, but luckily I wrapped my mp3 player in a plastic bag before putting it in my armband. I hated the idea of going running, and when it was drizzling earlier, I kept putting it off, but I gave myself a deadline that I had to be running by 1800, no excuses. Then the skies opened, and it started pouring. I guess that's when I had to dig deep and accept no excuses. Once I was dressed, things started to get easier, and by the time my key was in the lock, walking out the door, I was over the apprehension, and I was just feeling good about it. Then the cold rain, wet pavement, and a 150ft climb, and I was feeling great, wondering why I procrastinated for so long. Music pounding in my ears, and I knew that even though it was no marathon, and not even close to a triathlon, that today I had won against my procrastination. Today was one small win against myself.

Saturday

Okay, today is gonna be my off day, I've got daddy duty, so we're gonna go walk down on the beach... Tomorrow back to the grinder...

Aloha Friday

Okay, just got back, 3 miles, down at alki, I'm really starting to love that flat course, but I still hate down and backs, I prefer loops. So training today was 3 miles at a leisurely 11 minute/mile running with my friend Kris-mys.

Okay, here goes

So, this is my attempt to record my training and to blog my running, swimming, working out, and hopefully bike riding in my quest to triathlon.... Here we go.... yeah!!!!