I'm (way over) packed at ready to head north this afternoon! As soon as my 7th period class ends at 2:30 today, I'll be hitting the road. It should take about 7 hours to get up to my coworker's house, which is about 20 miles from Lake Placid. This is pending not tooo much traffic. No matter how long it takes - I'm pumped! The plan for the weekend is pretty intimidating (to me at least), but I know it will make me stronger.
Plan: Saturday- ride the bike course (112 miles). Should take me about 6 hours. I'll do a short 30-40 min t-run after and call it a day. I'll be interested to see how the ride goes bc I haven't gone this far ever before, and I didn't get that new cassette yet so I'm still riding a 54/42 on the front and a 23/11 on the front. In layman terms that means I don't really have an easy gear... I'm sure that will beat up my legs a little bit on the second loop.
Sunday- Get in the cold water for a full 2.4 mile swim. Take a little break and eat. A 2 hour ride to loosen up the legs, and then a 2 hour run to get my long one in for the weekend. I'm not totally sure my legs have recovered from the race last weekend. This week has been tough. The legs just felt heavy even though I haven't been going very hard or long... We'll see what the weekend brings!!
OK- I'm off! Pictures and stories to follow!
Happy training!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Final thoughts on the race and moving forward
Now that Jerseyman has come and gone I only have one race left this year... Ironman Lake Placid. And according to the little ticker at the bottom of my blog, that's about 60 days and 20 hours. Where has the time gone?
Anyway, I was disappointed with my swim and bike at Jerseyman. The swim was terrible by the standards I'd like to hold myself to. I can make excuses all I want, but the fact is I let the swim slip, and it was ugly because of it. Luckily, I think the swim is something that I can pick up again rather quickly. As soon as baseball and school wrap up I'll be in the pool 4-5 times a week. Period. I'll do one swim per week of 4500+ yards. Period. If that doesn't get me to where I need to be, I don't know what will.
The bike was also a little bit of a let down. My speed just wasn't there. The tough part is that it's hard to build speed AND endurance at the same time, and I don't have enough time left to really focus on one. I can either focus on getting faster and hope I can make it 112miles or I can make sure I can get 112 miles comfortably and just hope I can carry the speed I have. I think I'll try the latter. The idea is to get in 5+ hours every Saturday from here on out. I'm also planning a 7 hour ride 4 weeks out. With the summer fast approaching I'll be able to bump up the volume during the week a little too, which should help.
This weekend (pending a baseball season ending loss today or Thursday) I'll be headed up to Lake Placid. No better way to start off the most important weeks in an IM program. The tentative plan is to ride the full bike course Saturday followed by a short transition run. Then Sunday swim 2 loops in the lake, take a 1-2 hour ride on the bike to loosen up the legs, and then head out for a 2 hour run. Monday I'll just hop on the bike for some active recovery before heading home. We'll see how all that goes because I'm not really staying in Lake Placid, but rather I'll be staying about 30 minutes outside LP with a coworker in his summer cabin.
I'm tinkering with my training program right now, but should have everything from today through LP planned out by the end of the day. Being self coached, I like knowing what others are doing for their last build and taper, so feel free to check it out and give me some feedback! (it's the blue link that says "training program" on the right if you haven't seen it before)
Anyway, I was disappointed with my swim and bike at Jerseyman. The swim was terrible by the standards I'd like to hold myself to. I can make excuses all I want, but the fact is I let the swim slip, and it was ugly because of it. Luckily, I think the swim is something that I can pick up again rather quickly. As soon as baseball and school wrap up I'll be in the pool 4-5 times a week. Period. I'll do one swim per week of 4500+ yards. Period. If that doesn't get me to where I need to be, I don't know what will.
The bike was also a little bit of a let down. My speed just wasn't there. The tough part is that it's hard to build speed AND endurance at the same time, and I don't have enough time left to really focus on one. I can either focus on getting faster and hope I can make it 112miles or I can make sure I can get 112 miles comfortably and just hope I can carry the speed I have. I think I'll try the latter. The idea is to get in 5+ hours every Saturday from here on out. I'm also planning a 7 hour ride 4 weeks out. With the summer fast approaching I'll be able to bump up the volume during the week a little too, which should help.
This weekend (pending a baseball season ending loss today or Thursday) I'll be headed up to Lake Placid. No better way to start off the most important weeks in an IM program. The tentative plan is to ride the full bike course Saturday followed by a short transition run. Then Sunday swim 2 loops in the lake, take a 1-2 hour ride on the bike to loosen up the legs, and then head out for a 2 hour run. Monday I'll just hop on the bike for some active recovery before heading home. We'll see how all that goes because I'm not really staying in Lake Placid, but rather I'll be staying about 30 minutes outside LP with a coworker in his summer cabin.
I'm tinkering with my training program right now, but should have everything from today through LP planned out by the end of the day. Being self coached, I like knowing what others are doing for their last build and taper, so feel free to check it out and give me some feedback! (it's the blue link that says "training program" on the right if you haven't seen it before)
Monday, May 23, 2011
Hard to be disappointed with a new PR (and a trophy!)
Yesterday I raced the Jerseyman half iron distance. It was fun! This was the first small race I've ever done, so it was a different experience than the Ironman (brand) 1,500+ entrants I normally line up against. There were only about 150 people in the race (including relays and aquabike). I slept well, got up and felt good, had my coffee, pb&j and banana, and Mad and I hit the road. We got to the park, got checked in, etc., and I still had plenty of time. I was in very good spirits, and I was excited to see how the race would go. Although, the weather was a little gloomy (60ish degrees and cloudy/wet).
Swim: Warming up felt good. Putting on the wetsuit for the first time this season was a dream. It makes you so buoyant! The plan was to go out hard and then cruise. The big unknown was how I would respond to the swim being that my swimming yardage has been way down over the past 2 months bc of baseball, and I hadn't been in a pool in over a week due to the bike accident 10 days ago. I went out hard, and felt good. I reached the first buoy with a pack of good swimmers. That's about the only good thing I can say about the swim... My goggles fogged up pretty badly, and mixed with the fog on the water I was almost completely blind. I had to start treading water and pull up my goggles 4-5 times to figure out which direction I was going. On top of that my arms were really tired, and I lost all form by the time I got to the turn around (which I actually hit at 16 minutes). During the duration of the swim I was stopped by a kayaker 3 times and told that I was going off course. I exited the water in 36.xx. No improvement from the Syracuse swim (in terms of pace).
Grade for swimming: C-
Notes: No improvement from the last 70.3 I did is unacceptable. From here on out it's a necessity that I swim longer and more often.
Bike: As soon as I got out of the water I could feel my legs starting to cramp up a little bit - not good. The bike was chilly and wet, which also didn't help me get loose. I felt like I was mashing just to get my legs going. As much as I tried, they just wouldn't go. Within the first 5ish miles I was passed 4 times. Overall I think I might have passed 2 people, but got dropped by far more than that. I had no idea how fast I was going either bc my cycling computer (which was just fixed last week) decided not to work on me! I couldn't get my HR up either. When my legs were burning, and I was slaving to get them to push through, I looked down expecting to see 170+ and it was only about 154... That is honestly the first time I've ever been in that situation. I'll put some blame there on my relaxed approach to the week and not doing any high intensity stuff since before the accident. Anyway, I hit the halfway point (where I actually had to stop and get off the bike to get a water bottle bc I missed the volunteer's hand) at 1:25 and figured I would get home in about 2:50. I ended up getting back a little better and got off the bike after 2:43. Not the split I was hoping for, but not terrible.
Grade for biking: C+
Notes: I've GOT to spend more time on the bike. Longer miles and higher intensity. One positive, I didn't feel very mentally or physically drained after the bike. Those 3:30-4+ hour rides definitely helped me.
Run: Saved by the run! My feet were numb from the cold bike and not wearing socks. It took about 10 minutes before I could actually feel anything except the impact of the ground. I started getting a little crampy after the first mile (ugh!), but slurped down a powerbar gel (**see note below) and they went away quickly. I was moving pretty good, but there weren't ANY (not a single one) mile markers on the course so I really had no idea how fast I was going. I did what I planned and kept my HR below 162 for the first half, but I was hunting down a guy that was about 1 minute down the road. I really wanted to catch him. It took me 7ish miles, but I did finally catch up to him on a decent sized hill. He was cramping, and although I started to again, I was yet again saved by the powerbar gel. He tried to hang on for the next few miles, but when I kicked it up a bit around mile 10, he fell back pretty far. I was happy to earn some places back on the run, passing about 7 people and only getting caught by 1 kid (in the last mile!). He did run about a 1:22, so I didn't have a chance. I crossed the line in 1:30. Right on pace with where I wanted to be. I'm very happy with the run.
Grade for running: A
Notes: I'm happy. I felt strong. I even had more in me if I needed to keep going.
Overall: 4:54
17/113 overall
2/8 in age group (which earned me my first trophy since I was about 10 years old!)
**powerbar gels are awesome. I found a great deal at Philadelphia Runner and bought 2 boxes (48 gels) for $20!! I love them because they have a ton of electrolytes and salts in them that other gels don't have. So when I start to cramp up, I slurp a gel and they go away. This happened 3 times on Sunday, and I got through each one of them. (I am by no means affiliated with powerbar, but if anyone working for powerbar wants to send me free stuff, I'll gladly accept. I'm a big fan of it.)
Finally, I was able to have my recovery 5 Guys burger. I think God was the founder of 5 Guys. It's that good.
Swim: Warming up felt good. Putting on the wetsuit for the first time this season was a dream. It makes you so buoyant! The plan was to go out hard and then cruise. The big unknown was how I would respond to the swim being that my swimming yardage has been way down over the past 2 months bc of baseball, and I hadn't been in a pool in over a week due to the bike accident 10 days ago. I went out hard, and felt good. I reached the first buoy with a pack of good swimmers. That's about the only good thing I can say about the swim... My goggles fogged up pretty badly, and mixed with the fog on the water I was almost completely blind. I had to start treading water and pull up my goggles 4-5 times to figure out which direction I was going. On top of that my arms were really tired, and I lost all form by the time I got to the turn around (which I actually hit at 16 minutes). During the duration of the swim I was stopped by a kayaker 3 times and told that I was going off course. I exited the water in 36.xx. No improvement from the Syracuse swim (in terms of pace).
Grade for swimming: C-
Notes: No improvement from the last 70.3 I did is unacceptable. From here on out it's a necessity that I swim longer and more often.
Bike: As soon as I got out of the water I could feel my legs starting to cramp up a little bit - not good. The bike was chilly and wet, which also didn't help me get loose. I felt like I was mashing just to get my legs going. As much as I tried, they just wouldn't go. Within the first 5ish miles I was passed 4 times. Overall I think I might have passed 2 people, but got dropped by far more than that. I had no idea how fast I was going either bc my cycling computer (which was just fixed last week) decided not to work on me! I couldn't get my HR up either. When my legs were burning, and I was slaving to get them to push through, I looked down expecting to see 170+ and it was only about 154... That is honestly the first time I've ever been in that situation. I'll put some blame there on my relaxed approach to the week and not doing any high intensity stuff since before the accident. Anyway, I hit the halfway point (where I actually had to stop and get off the bike to get a water bottle bc I missed the volunteer's hand) at 1:25 and figured I would get home in about 2:50. I ended up getting back a little better and got off the bike after 2:43. Not the split I was hoping for, but not terrible.
Grade for biking: C+
Notes: I've GOT to spend more time on the bike. Longer miles and higher intensity. One positive, I didn't feel very mentally or physically drained after the bike. Those 3:30-4+ hour rides definitely helped me.
Run: Saved by the run! My feet were numb from the cold bike and not wearing socks. It took about 10 minutes before I could actually feel anything except the impact of the ground. I started getting a little crampy after the first mile (ugh!), but slurped down a powerbar gel (**see note below) and they went away quickly. I was moving pretty good, but there weren't ANY (not a single one) mile markers on the course so I really had no idea how fast I was going. I did what I planned and kept my HR below 162 for the first half, but I was hunting down a guy that was about 1 minute down the road. I really wanted to catch him. It took me 7ish miles, but I did finally catch up to him on a decent sized hill. He was cramping, and although I started to again, I was yet again saved by the powerbar gel. He tried to hang on for the next few miles, but when I kicked it up a bit around mile 10, he fell back pretty far. I was happy to earn some places back on the run, passing about 7 people and only getting caught by 1 kid (in the last mile!). He did run about a 1:22, so I didn't have a chance. I crossed the line in 1:30. Right on pace with where I wanted to be. I'm very happy with the run.
Grade for running: A
Notes: I'm happy. I felt strong. I even had more in me if I needed to keep going.
Overall: 4:54
17/113 overall
2/8 in age group (which earned me my first trophy since I was about 10 years old!)
**powerbar gels are awesome. I found a great deal at Philadelphia Runner and bought 2 boxes (48 gels) for $20!! I love them because they have a ton of electrolytes and salts in them that other gels don't have. So when I start to cramp up, I slurp a gel and they go away. This happened 3 times on Sunday, and I got through each one of them. (I am by no means affiliated with powerbar, but if anyone working for powerbar wants to send me free stuff, I'll gladly accept. I'm a big fan of it.)
Finally, I was able to have my recovery 5 Guys burger. I think God was the founder of 5 Guys. It's that good.
 |
| double cheeseburger lettuce, tomato, mayo, pickles, onions. please excuse the excess on my face. |
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Jerseyman 70.3- Race plan
Prerace: It's nice to finally have a race that is pretty close to home. Jerseyman is only about 30-40 minutes from Maddy's parents' house so we'll probably drive the route to the swim start on our way up there so we don't get lost on race morning. Saturday night we'll have dinner in Easton, at Maddy's house. There's a place Pizza D'Oro that has the most AMAZING chicken parm in the world. That will be my pre-race dinner, hopefully early. Of course I'll check all my gear and my bike to make sure everything is race ready. I'll try to do a little stretch before bed and be tucked in by 9:30.
Raceday: Get up around 5-5:15am (which is basically sleeping in on a race morning!), have some coffee, pb&j and a banana while getting on the road by 5:45. Arrival at the park by 6:15, which leaves plenty of time for packet pick up, body marking, bike check, etc. I'll set up my transition area, drink some water, use the bathroom. Get the wetsuit on by 7:25 and maybe do a little warm up around 7:30. 7:45 I'll probably down a goo, and 8am is the race start.
Swim: I want to go out hard for the first 300-500yds. This should get my HR up, and get me in the groove. Of course, I want some feet to follow, but I'm never very good at finding then or staying on them. I'll focus on long strokes and deep breathing. A big problem in the past has been feeling like I can't get enough air. Making my way around I'll start picking up the pace again about 150-200yds out, and I'll start kicking to get some blood to my legs. Hopefully I'll exit the water as close to 30min as possible. Realistic goal is to get out in 32min, I'd still be ok with 34min, I'd be disappointed with 36 or worse.
T1: Get out of the wetsuit, get to the bike. Helmet on, glasses on (not sure if I'll go socks or barefoot yet bc of the cut on my foot from the crash - if barefoot I'll leave my shoes clipped on and hop right on the bike, if not I'll put on socks and shoes then run out with the bike). Goal: 2:30.
Bike: Pop a clif bar asap. Then, just like Syracuse, which went well for me, I plan on getting the legs going fast first. Spin if I have to, but start moving! The first half is pretty flat with some rollers (course w/ elevation). I want to hammer it. There's a big downhill right about at the half way mark, which I plan on easing into to save the legs a little bit, then there is one big climb right after the half way point. Up, over, and on my way. I'll set my watch to go off every 17minutes to remind me to eat/drink something. I should be good for about the first 40-50 minutes on just liquids and the clifbar I'll eat as soon as I get on the road. Then I'll start powerbar gels every 30 minutes. That should keep my calories/hour at about 250, which I was told is where I want to be on a half distance. I'll start spinning a little more around mile 52 and try to hit transition with a bike split close to 2:30. Syracuse was 2:40, and I want to beat that. I know that "there is no good bike followed by a crappy run", but I'm going to lay it out there on the bike and see what happens.
T2: Hopefully be faster than I traditionally am. I'll ditch the wheels, helmet, shoes, and sit down to put on my socks and shoes. I think I'm going to just wear running socks, not my CEP compression socks... Also toying around with either a bandana or a hat. Not sure which yet. Should be out of transition in 2:30 or better again.
Run: This is the first place I'm going to start out conservatively. I want to negative split the run. I think I took it out a little too easy in Syracuse last fall, so I'll try to keep my HR around 162 for the first half. I'll probably down a gel in with caffeine during the first mile or two, then every 30min thereafter. I'll definitely hit the aid stations for water, but that's probably it on the run. The second half I'll pick things up a bit, but saving (or trying to save) myself for a little kick at the end. Ideally I'll cross the line in time for a 1:30 run split. We'll see how it goes.
This would put me right at 4:35. That's a 24min PR. Can I do it? Have I gotten that much faster/stronger? Will everything go right? I don't know. We'll see. That's pretty much the plan though.
The only other thing I want on Sunday is a 5 Guys cheeseburger and some fries with a soda. That should get me started on the recovery just right!
**Stay tuned tomorrow and Saturday as I might make some changes to this as I think everything over.
Raceday: Get up around 5-5:15am (which is basically sleeping in on a race morning!), have some coffee, pb&j and a banana while getting on the road by 5:45. Arrival at the park by 6:15, which leaves plenty of time for packet pick up, body marking, bike check, etc. I'll set up my transition area, drink some water, use the bathroom. Get the wetsuit on by 7:25 and maybe do a little warm up around 7:30. 7:45 I'll probably down a goo, and 8am is the race start.
Swim: I want to go out hard for the first 300-500yds. This should get my HR up, and get me in the groove. Of course, I want some feet to follow, but I'm never very good at finding then or staying on them. I'll focus on long strokes and deep breathing. A big problem in the past has been feeling like I can't get enough air. Making my way around I'll start picking up the pace again about 150-200yds out, and I'll start kicking to get some blood to my legs. Hopefully I'll exit the water as close to 30min as possible. Realistic goal is to get out in 32min, I'd still be ok with 34min, I'd be disappointed with 36 or worse.
T1: Get out of the wetsuit, get to the bike. Helmet on, glasses on (not sure if I'll go socks or barefoot yet bc of the cut on my foot from the crash - if barefoot I'll leave my shoes clipped on and hop right on the bike, if not I'll put on socks and shoes then run out with the bike). Goal: 2:30.
Bike: Pop a clif bar asap. Then, just like Syracuse, which went well for me, I plan on getting the legs going fast first. Spin if I have to, but start moving! The first half is pretty flat with some rollers (course w/ elevation). I want to hammer it. There's a big downhill right about at the half way mark, which I plan on easing into to save the legs a little bit, then there is one big climb right after the half way point. Up, over, and on my way. I'll set my watch to go off every 17minutes to remind me to eat/drink something. I should be good for about the first 40-50 minutes on just liquids and the clifbar I'll eat as soon as I get on the road. Then I'll start powerbar gels every 30 minutes. That should keep my calories/hour at about 250, which I was told is where I want to be on a half distance. I'll start spinning a little more around mile 52 and try to hit transition with a bike split close to 2:30. Syracuse was 2:40, and I want to beat that. I know that "there is no good bike followed by a crappy run", but I'm going to lay it out there on the bike and see what happens.
T2: Hopefully be faster than I traditionally am. I'll ditch the wheels, helmet, shoes, and sit down to put on my socks and shoes. I think I'm going to just wear running socks, not my CEP compression socks... Also toying around with either a bandana or a hat. Not sure which yet. Should be out of transition in 2:30 or better again.
Run: This is the first place I'm going to start out conservatively. I want to negative split the run. I think I took it out a little too easy in Syracuse last fall, so I'll try to keep my HR around 162 for the first half. I'll probably down a gel in with caffeine during the first mile or two, then every 30min thereafter. I'll definitely hit the aid stations for water, but that's probably it on the run. The second half I'll pick things up a bit, but saving (or trying to save) myself for a little kick at the end. Ideally I'll cross the line in time for a 1:30 run split. We'll see how it goes.
This would put me right at 4:35. That's a 24min PR. Can I do it? Have I gotten that much faster/stronger? Will everything go right? I don't know. We'll see. That's pretty much the plan though.
The only other thing I want on Sunday is a 5 Guys cheeseburger and some fries with a soda. That should get me started on the recovery just right!
**Stay tuned tomorrow and Saturday as I might make some changes to this as I think everything over.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Healing
Some highs and lows this week. Of course the low is the bike accident and the injuries from it. One of the most annoying parts of this is that I haven't been sleeping well. That is a huge problem for me because I can ALWAYS sleep. I've been trying to let the cut on my hip get some air at night, but it burns so badly I just can't relax. Last night my legs were feeling restless so I eventually put some neosporin on it and threw on my recovery tights. This is the 3rd night in a row that I haven't been sleeping well. I've even cut out any morning workouts this week because I want to be rested come the weekend. Let's hope this starts to heal soon.
The positives are that I don't think the crash will affect my performance too much on Sunday, and it seems to be on it's way to healing. I went for a 1:30 easyish ride on Sunday and aside from some tightness in my left hip and swelling after riding, everything was fine. I cranked it up for a couple 30sec intervals just to see if it would hurt, and it didn't. I ran yesterday, an hour at varying paces. Again, a little tight, but no bad pain. If anything I actually feel a little rusty because I had such an easy week last week... I would think I would feel more fresh, but the time off actually made me feel a little awkward when I started to pick up the pace. I'm sure the rust will be shaken off by the weekend. On the bike/run at least. I haven't been in the water since Friday, and honestly I probably won't swim until the race. This isn't ideal, but the wounds still burn when they hit the air. I don't know what the chlorine would do to them. 2 additional notes - the Y where I swim is kind of nasty so I don't want an infection, and second I don't know what the rule/protocol is for swimming with open wounds. I don't think bandages would stay on in the pool for an hour. I'll just have to make what I can out of the swim...
Something else bittersweet- I found out yesterday that the State Championship baseball game is on Saturday 5/26. It would be amazing if we could get there and win, but I'll be missing my one and only chance to get up to Lake Placid to train.
Back to the race this weekend. I'm going to write up my race plan and goals some time later this week, but it will go a little something like this. I'm scaling back my goals ever so slightly... I'm thinking of shooting for a 4:40 and anything better is icing on the cake. I want to PR all 3 disciplines and beat my transition times from Syracuse. Lofty goals, but I think I'm capable.
The positives are that I don't think the crash will affect my performance too much on Sunday, and it seems to be on it's way to healing. I went for a 1:30 easyish ride on Sunday and aside from some tightness in my left hip and swelling after riding, everything was fine. I cranked it up for a couple 30sec intervals just to see if it would hurt, and it didn't. I ran yesterday, an hour at varying paces. Again, a little tight, but no bad pain. If anything I actually feel a little rusty because I had such an easy week last week... I would think I would feel more fresh, but the time off actually made me feel a little awkward when I started to pick up the pace. I'm sure the rust will be shaken off by the weekend. On the bike/run at least. I haven't been in the water since Friday, and honestly I probably won't swim until the race. This isn't ideal, but the wounds still burn when they hit the air. I don't know what the chlorine would do to them. 2 additional notes - the Y where I swim is kind of nasty so I don't want an infection, and second I don't know what the rule/protocol is for swimming with open wounds. I don't think bandages would stay on in the pool for an hour. I'll just have to make what I can out of the swim...
Something else bittersweet- I found out yesterday that the State Championship baseball game is on Saturday 5/26. It would be amazing if we could get there and win, but I'll be missing my one and only chance to get up to Lake Placid to train.
Back to the race this weekend. I'm going to write up my race plan and goals some time later this week, but it will go a little something like this. I'm scaling back my goals ever so slightly... I'm thinking of shooting for a 4:40 and anything better is icing on the cake. I want to PR all 3 disciplines and beat my transition times from Syracuse. Lofty goals, but I think I'm capable.
More to come later this week. Bring it on, Jersey!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
First big setback of the year...
So I got knocked off my bike on Friday night by a car pulling into a parking lot... She didn't hit me too hard, but I hit the pavement going about 18mph and slid maybe 15 feet on my side. The bike is ok (just a couple things that need to be readjusted). I will be OK, but I decided to take Saturday off because my left hip is very tender. It's not deep enough to bleed a lot, but the raspberry on my upper leg/hip keeps oozing through gauze, bandages, my underwear, and pants. It's extremely frustrating. It couldn't have come at a worse time either. Next week is my first race of the season - a 70.3 in NJ. It is by no means my "A" race of the year, but I still would have liked to do well, and this little bump in the road is going to affect my performance. I was able to ride home from the spot where I got hit (about 6 miles), but I was pretty hopped up on adrenaline. Today I'm going to try and get out for a medium distance (but very low intensity) ride to see how things feel. I think (HOPE!) it's just a bruise and cut, so it shouldn't need anything except a little time to heal up.
I'm really still in shock that this happened. I hate the dangers that come with the bike. This is the second time I've crashed, and although I wasn't going as fast this time, it hurt even more. Is it just an inevitability that if you ride a bike, you will crash?? I don't know who was at fault for the accident... I was riding in the shoulder of the road passing cars because there was traffic and she (without using her directional) pulled into a parking lot right as I was passing the entrance. The worst part though, was that the girl (talking on her cell phone at the time) just opened the door long enough to see me get up, then drove out of the parking lot without as much as a word to me. What's possibly more shocking, there were probably 30 cars in the area because as I said there was a lot of traffic, and NO ONE said anything! Not a single person rolled down the window to ask if I was all right....nothing. Maybe it's because I got up so quickly...maybe not everyone actually saw this girl hit me with her car... I don't know. But it's been a somber weekend in terms of training.
On a positive note, Maddy has been wonderful. She helped bandage me up as soon as I got home, and was nice enough to switch sides of our bed with me last night since I can't lay on my left side.
There's more to write, but I'm just not into it right now. I'll check back in either tonight or early this week. Hopefully good things!
Here are a couple pics of the aftermath....
There's a pretty bad cut up the side of my left forearm too. And various nicks down my left leg. I also ripped a hole in my NEW bib shorts, my left shoe has a hole from sliding across the pavement, and of course I get hit on my bike the day I pick it up from a tune up... OK - enough complaining for now.
Be safe out there.
I'm really still in shock that this happened. I hate the dangers that come with the bike. This is the second time I've crashed, and although I wasn't going as fast this time, it hurt even more. Is it just an inevitability that if you ride a bike, you will crash?? I don't know who was at fault for the accident... I was riding in the shoulder of the road passing cars because there was traffic and she (without using her directional) pulled into a parking lot right as I was passing the entrance. The worst part though, was that the girl (talking on her cell phone at the time) just opened the door long enough to see me get up, then drove out of the parking lot without as much as a word to me. What's possibly more shocking, there were probably 30 cars in the area because as I said there was a lot of traffic, and NO ONE said anything! Not a single person rolled down the window to ask if I was all right....nothing. Maybe it's because I got up so quickly...maybe not everyone actually saw this girl hit me with her car... I don't know. But it's been a somber weekend in terms of training.
On a positive note, Maddy has been wonderful. She helped bandage me up as soon as I got home, and was nice enough to switch sides of our bed with me last night since I can't lay on my left side.
There's more to write, but I'm just not into it right now. I'll check back in either tonight or early this week. Hopefully good things!
Here are a couple pics of the aftermath....
There's a pretty bad cut up the side of my left forearm too. And various nicks down my left leg. I also ripped a hole in my NEW bib shorts, my left shoe has a hole from sliding across the pavement, and of course I get hit on my bike the day I pick it up from a tune up... OK - enough complaining for now.
Be safe out there.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Another Tuesday morning
I woke up this morning to my alarm at 4:44am thinking "God, I'm sick and tired of this...is it June yet? I have been getting up before 5 for 4 months now and I'm just sick of it..." blah blah blah. It's taking a toll on me mentally. But, I had some speed work on the program this morning - another 4x1mile workout. The annoying part is that I hadn't really seen too much improvement in the previous 2 times that I'd done a 4x1... UNTIL TODAY!
I'm super excited with the times I threw down today. Big improvements from a couple months ago, and I really didn't think I would be getting faster at this time of year, I thought I would just be maintaining speed and building endurance. Let's have a look at the numbers...
January 25 4x1 (1min rest)
5:40, 6:24, 6:17, 6:07
Not bad.
April 12 4x1 (1min rest)
6:09, 6:06, 6:05, 6:01
Better.
May 10 4x1 (1min rest)
6:08, 5:54, 5:53, 5:35!!
NICE!
Very happy with the run this morning. Getting anything in the 5:xx's puts a smile on my face. Getting 3 of the intervals there, all faster than the previous, AND that last 5:35 make me super happy! I hope the high intensity stuff on the bike is paying off equally as well, although it will be much harder to judge seeing as how I still don't know how fast I'm going...
I'll probably forego the speed work next week for a 'baby taper' into the Jerseyman half on the 22nd, but absolutely back to it come June. Maybe a 6x1 or 4x2 to beef up the mileage though. Full blown Ironman distance training starts May 24 for me.
In other news- I ordered a new pair of Asics Hyperspeed 4's. They are $55 at runningwarehouse.com, and if you are an active.com member you save 15% on top of that plus free shipping. Find me another shoe that I can get for less than $50, AND that is worn by pros like Macca and Ryan Hall. It's the best deal out there - period (I am in no way endorsed by or related to Asics - but if there are any Asics reps reading this, please send me some free stuff!). Also taking my bike to get a tune up this week. I can't take much more of the squeaking. Maybe they can fix my little cyclocomputer too - fingers crossed.
Happy training.
Do great work.
I'm super excited with the times I threw down today. Big improvements from a couple months ago, and I really didn't think I would be getting faster at this time of year, I thought I would just be maintaining speed and building endurance. Let's have a look at the numbers...
January 25 4x1 (1min rest)
5:40, 6:24, 6:17, 6:07
Not bad.
April 12 4x1 (1min rest)
6:09, 6:06, 6:05, 6:01
Better.
May 10 4x1 (1min rest)
6:08, 5:54, 5:53, 5:35!!
NICE!
 |
| Speedy Gonzales |
Very happy with the run this morning. Getting anything in the 5:xx's puts a smile on my face. Getting 3 of the intervals there, all faster than the previous, AND that last 5:35 make me super happy! I hope the high intensity stuff on the bike is paying off equally as well, although it will be much harder to judge seeing as how I still don't know how fast I'm going...
I'll probably forego the speed work next week for a 'baby taper' into the Jerseyman half on the 22nd, but absolutely back to it come June. Maybe a 6x1 or 4x2 to beef up the mileage though. Full blown Ironman distance training starts May 24 for me.
In other news- I ordered a new pair of Asics Hyperspeed 4's. They are $55 at runningwarehouse.com, and if you are an active.com member you save 15% on top of that plus free shipping. Find me another shoe that I can get for less than $50, AND that is worn by pros like Macca and Ryan Hall. It's the best deal out there - period (I am in no way endorsed by or related to Asics - but if there are any Asics reps reading this, please send me some free stuff!). Also taking my bike to get a tune up this week. I can't take much more of the squeaking. Maybe they can fix my little cyclocomputer too - fingers crossed.
Happy training.
Do great work.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Quality long ride
A free Saturday meant there was time for a nice morning swim before my long ride. For the first time in about a month I actually felt good in the pool. Lots of drills (about 2000 of the 3600 yds), but by the end of it I really felt like I had a strong stroke - even closing with 6x100 all out. Once baseball season ends I hope I can get out of the habit of "short" swim workouts (ie less than 4000yds). A good start to the day though.
A couple hours later I hit the roads with David, a gnarly triathlete who can (and did) crush me on the bike. The plan was to go 3-4 hours, take it easy on the ride out, hammer some hills, and then a couple short intervals on the way back. Well on the ride out I looked down at my watch/hr monitor to see that my heart rate was at 200! We were going up a decent hill, but that is not taking it easy... On the flatter sections I was still in the 170s. We were also making great time. I have no idea how far we went or how fast we were going because as I've mentioned before my little cycling computer is broken and David has never ridden with one. Well despite ripping out there, we still stuck to the plan and hammered the hills with a couple intervals on the way back. I was very interested to see what my average heart rate would be... Average for 3:40 was 160! That also includes a 10 min spin down at the end of the ride where I was completely fried and just getting back to my apartment. I got out for a quick 30 min run after (hr167). The short runs after my long rides go by like the blink of an eye.
I feel like I raced yesterday. I packed myself into my zoot recovery tights after I stretched, foam rolled, and showered. My legs still feel pretty beat up. Today's run will not be the focal point of the weekend. I just plan to get through about 12ish miles and have a nice long stretch afterward.
Let's hope this bike yesterday makes some serious improvements in my general ability. I've been thinking a lot lately about how hard IMLP's bike course is going to be. And how I tend NOT to stay within myself...something I can't afford to do there.
Anywho, off to spin the legs out a little before my run. Keep up the great work. And happy Mother's Day! I love you, Mom.
A couple hours later I hit the roads with David, a gnarly triathlete who can (and did) crush me on the bike. The plan was to go 3-4 hours, take it easy on the ride out, hammer some hills, and then a couple short intervals on the way back. Well on the ride out I looked down at my watch/hr monitor to see that my heart rate was at 200! We were going up a decent hill, but that is not taking it easy... On the flatter sections I was still in the 170s. We were also making great time. I have no idea how far we went or how fast we were going because as I've mentioned before my little cycling computer is broken and David has never ridden with one. Well despite ripping out there, we still stuck to the plan and hammered the hills with a couple intervals on the way back. I was very interested to see what my average heart rate would be... Average for 3:40 was 160! That also includes a 10 min spin down at the end of the ride where I was completely fried and just getting back to my apartment. I got out for a quick 30 min run after (hr167). The short runs after my long rides go by like the blink of an eye.
I feel like I raced yesterday. I packed myself into my zoot recovery tights after I stretched, foam rolled, and showered. My legs still feel pretty beat up. Today's run will not be the focal point of the weekend. I just plan to get through about 12ish miles and have a nice long stretch afterward.
Let's hope this bike yesterday makes some serious improvements in my general ability. I've been thinking a lot lately about how hard IMLP's bike course is going to be. And how I tend NOT to stay within myself...something I can't afford to do there.
Anywho, off to spin the legs out a little before my run. Keep up the great work. And happy Mother's Day! I love you, Mom.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Good things
Lots of good things happening or coming up. The baseball team I coach is 11-0 right now and ranked #2 in the state of Delaware. We had a comeback win yesterday in the bottom of the 7th (high school baseball only plays 7 innings) to beat a team that far outmatched us in terms of individual talent. This the first time the baseball team here has gone 11-0 to start a season in 17 years, and we're right on track to keep it going.
Mad and I also have a relatively free weekend. Saturday at least is wide open, and it looks like the weather will be nice. Also, Sunday is Mother's Day, and it's always nice to head home and have a meal with the family.
I have my first race of the year coming up in just over 2 weeks! I'm doing the Jerseyman half iron distance. It's not an ironman sponsored race, so it was waaaayy cheaper (~$165), and I'm excited to see how I've improved since last year. I also think I might have a chance at getting on the podium, which I've never done before. That's definitely something I'm gunning for.
I also heard this week that I got accepted to a program at Villanova University. I'll start some graduate coursework in Hispanic Studies this fall and be on my way toward an MA degree. I'm very excited to start back in the classroom as a student.
Meanwhile, Maddy just finished her last classes for her MA in Education. All that is left for her is student teaching in the fall, which she already has lined up.
It's a good day.
1:15/:30 brick on the schedule tonight. Up tempo - gotta get fast, fast.
Do great work.
Mad and I also have a relatively free weekend. Saturday at least is wide open, and it looks like the weather will be nice. Also, Sunday is Mother's Day, and it's always nice to head home and have a meal with the family.
I have my first race of the year coming up in just over 2 weeks! I'm doing the Jerseyman half iron distance. It's not an ironman sponsored race, so it was waaaayy cheaper (~$165), and I'm excited to see how I've improved since last year. I also think I might have a chance at getting on the podium, which I've never done before. That's definitely something I'm gunning for.
I also heard this week that I got accepted to a program at Villanova University. I'll start some graduate coursework in Hispanic Studies this fall and be on my way toward an MA degree. I'm very excited to start back in the classroom as a student.
Meanwhile, Maddy just finished her last classes for her MA in Education. All that is left for her is student teaching in the fall, which she already has lined up.
It's a good day.
1:15/:30 brick on the schedule tonight. Up tempo - gotta get fast, fast.
Do great work.
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