Brick # 4

Brick 4 proved to be difficult. For starters, I've had the beginnings of a cold. Not a full-blown cold, but not I've definitely felt less than 100%. It kept me off the bike on Thursday and I've had a general lethargic "blah" kind of feeling for the last few days.

It was also colder than any previous Saturday in April which, unfortunately, is about par for the course when it comes to spring in Colorado. Nevertheless, I managed to drag myself out of bed and go through the usual rituals.

On the outbound portion of the ride, I actually felt pretty good. I did not have my Garmin displaying my MPH, but I felt like I was putting some good power into each rotation and cruising along at a steady speed. I turned around into a fairly strong wind (the wind has pretty much blown constantly all month) and that slowly wore me down. By the time I was back on the sulphur gulch trail for the last four miles, my energy was low and I did not want to push too hard since the run still lay ahead.

I rolled up to the driveway and trotted into the garage for my transition. It did not go very well. I struggled once again with my orthotic inserts. I'm now thinking I may have to go see my podiatrist, Dr. M, for another set that I'll use just for running. I can then more permanently insert them into my running shoes.

Once I was transitioned into running mode, I headed back out on the same four mile course as last week. Unfortunately, like week one, my Garmin got screwed up and suddenly said I had run--get this--over 26,000 miles. That mean rather than having a reliable gage,  I more or less had to guess when I reached four miles. Fortunately, I know my running routes quite well and I guessed right, finishing at just a smidge over four.

So it was not a great day, but I did go longer than any previous brick and I managed to get out when I was feeling less than fantastic. Next week is the last of my five bricks. I'm hoping for better weather, a reliable GPS and most of all, more energy.

On other notes, I'm still very pleased with my running and swimming. Both saw modern day PR's this week. On Tuesday, when I was still feeling well, I did five miles in 44:32 or 8:55 pace which is the first time I broke the 9:00 barrier for that distance this year. I was feeling it at the end, but I really felt good during the first part of the run.

Friday also saw more progress in the pool. I increased the workout time by 200 yards to 1500 and swam it in 34:01 which is a little better than 44 yards per minute which is as fast as I have ever swam.

When I got home from the pool, my new Orca S3 wetsuit had been delivered. I somewhat had to guess on the size but I got it right and after trying it on, I know it will work for my swim. I'm anticipating my first open water swim in about two weeks. I'm excited to see how it goes. I'm also a little nervous.

Another week is about to commence and the big day is now four weeks away. I'm hoping mother nature will cooperate so I can do more outdoor rides.

Brick 4 Results:

1) Bike : 15.09 miles, 55:27, 16.3 mph average
2) Transition: 2:41
3) Run: 4.03 miles, 38:45, 9:37 ppm average

Brick # 3

Three Saturdays in April and three bricks. Workouts are actually going pretty well.

Before discussing this morning's brick, I wanted to update my progress in the water. Beginning with this month I cut my pool work down to once a week. At the time, I had been making steady progress and felt like I needed to add more rest considering the intensity of the bricks.

Two weeks ago I swam at a pace of about 42.72 yards per minute which was slower than previous workouts by about a whole yard. Knowing that progress is never a straight line, I didn't let it bother me. Last week I resolved to work harder to improve my speed. And I did--by all of 0.16 yard per minute. I was also exhausted during the entire swim.

Last night, I decided not to worry about speed. Instead I just worked on being smooth. Prior to heading to the pool I spent a couple minutes watching the Mr. Smooth animation at the  Swim Smooth website. Once in the water I went easier on my first hundred yards and I only checked my watch when hitting the lap button every four laps. The result: I ended up going at about 43.87 yards per minute, faster than I have to date. It's just more proof (as if I needed any) that swimming is more about good technique!

Today was a lot like last week. At 4:00, my alarm went off and I trudged down to the kitchen to mix up the peanut butter and banana smoothie. It was very satisfying. Remembering last week, I also made a point of finishing a big glass of water and then it was back to bed.

Four hours later I rolled out again was on my way out the door within 15 minutes. It was another cool morning but I felt good and seemed to making good time. I even passed a guy who in all fairness was probably wrapping up a 30 mile ride while I was just doing 12.4, but it still did my ego some good.

Transition is still pretty hard for me. I managed to get my shoes out of the pedals before tipping over, but it was close. Then up the driveway and into the garage. I had a little trouble getting my ruining shoes on. I wear orthotics and they were slipping. I may need to come up with some kind of Velcro solution for that.

I left the transition on the run tracking pretty short strides, but I felt good. Sort of a "I'm really doing this" as I went out and commenced my four mile run.

The run pace was, as expected, much slower than it had been in the last two weeks. I was more interested in going further than faster today. I figure being a little over-trained for the event (which is now five weeks away) rather than trying to gain marginal amounts of speed.

All in all, I was still pleased with my results. Next week includes the same four mile run, but I'll be riding 15 in front of it.

Brick 3 Results:

1) Bike : 12.4 miles, 44:14, 16.8 mph average
2) Transition: 1:51
3) Run: 4 miles, 38:21, 9:26 ppm average

Brick # 2

The second Saturday in April brought my second brick. It was easier this week mostly because I had a better idea of what to expect.

Just like last week, the day began well before it began: I got up at 4:00 and blended up 2 cups of milk, two tablespoons of peanut butter and a frozen banana. Very tasty. I also made a point of having a big drink of water. I was back in bed by4:05 and asleep again by around 4:10.

Once up for good I was fairly ready to go. The bike was already upstairs and I had all of my things on my transition towel. That just left backing the wife's car out of the garage to give myself a good transition area.

The bike was not fast, but it went well. On the more uphill portion of the out and back course I stayed in aero position except to make sharp curves or maneuver around others out on the bike path. I got myself transitioned in a little under two minutes and then it was off on the run.

The run still felt hard, especially at the beginning, but I've never heard it described any other way. I did start out on a more or less down hill for the first half mile this week and that felt better.

The other piece of good news was that the FR305 performed as it was supposed to. No doubt leaving it in the driveway helped.

When it was all over, I had done the run portion in 28:26 or about 9:10 pace and I'm glad about that especially since I felt much slower.

The bike was slower and while part of that was to save some energy for the run, I'd still like to see it get a little faster. The presence of so many hills makes it difficult to get an even pace going. At some point in the next six weeks, I'd like to do a test ride on the SOST course which is nice and flat. At least I'll have an idea of what I can do on a more or less level playing field.

Another week much like this one awaits. Good weather has been holding on for Saturday mornings. Here's hoping that continues!

Brick 2 Results:

1) Bike : 12.7 miles, 47:41, 16.0 mph average
2) Transition: 1:49
3) Run: 3.1 miles, 28:26, 9:10 ppm average

Brick # 1

Since I decided to start the process of training, Saturday's have almost always been swim days. The wife goes to Zumba class as the rec center and I hit the pool for anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. Yesterday was the first break in that routine.

I set my garage (a.k.a.: transition area) up with a saw horse along with my transition towel. I then mounted the bike for a 10 mile ride using a simple out and back ride along the Sulphur Gulch and Cherry Creek trails. It was an ideal morning to be training. There was a bit of wind, but nothing terrible and while warmer, it was still cool enough to be enjoyable.

As I may have alluded to before, I live at the top of the hill so any ride or run that starts at home invariably results in an uphill return and so it was yesterday. I pushed hard to finish my slightly more than 10 mile ride and ended up in front of my garage door huffing and puffing. My legs were pretty tight as I pushed the bike into the garage and hung it on the saw horse.

Right after dismounting the bike, I hit the lap button my Garmin 305. It had been set up for auto multisport mode and it went right into transition. After a hurried change into my running shoes, I hit the lap button again and the run began. I had not even gotten out of the driveway before the watch started beeping lap changes at me every second and before I knew it, I had gone 26 miles!! Well not really, but clearly there was something screwy with the GPS signal while I was somewhat inside. Fortunately the time was accurate but I was not entirely sure of my distance.

Much as expected, the start of the run was hard. My legs were sore, sure, but more than anything, I was breathing hard and my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. I guess that's not a surprise because my HR monitor showed an average of about 156 bpm which is about 15 above my normal rate. Also, because of the issues with the distance on the watch, I had no really good idea of my pace. I felt slow.

I managed to struggle through the course and finish what I guessed was around 3 miles, possibly a little more. Later on I mapped my distance on Gmap Pedometer and found it to be just over 3.1. That gives me an estimated time for the run of 29:31 or 9:31 per mile which I think is pretty respectable.

Clearly I learned a few lessons from this first brick that will help me when I go out next time:

1) Get plenty of water before hand. I'm usually pretty good about drinking water during the day before a run and usually go out well-hydrated. I did get up early in the morning (around 4:00) to drink a smoothie, and I should have downed a big glass of water then. Given the warmer day we had yesterday, it's not surprise my HR was up due to dehydration.

2) Leave the Garmin outside during transition. I'm a little surprised I lost reception just standing in my open garage, but that seems to be what happened. Next time, I'm going to leave it in the driveway and snap it onto my wrist afterward.

3) Drink lots of water the night before. I don't do very many morning runs so I don't have a hydration routine for them. That needs to change.

4) Consider easing back the last part of the ride. It's great to have a good head of speed on but easing back the HR before transitioning probably makes some sense for the long run.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how this first brick went. That said, I'm also glad I have four more scheduled. They definitely push me in terms of effort and more importantly mentally prepare me for what's ahead:

Brick 1 Results:

1) Bike : 10.14 miles, 35:36, 17.1 mph average
2) Transition: 1:43
3) Run: 3.19 miles, 29:31, 9:31 ppm average

Goals Update

Late last year I posted about my goals for each event. Some were modest, others overly aggressive. As I get ready for the first of my brick workouts, now seemed like a good time to post my progress.

The Swim

Swimming started out as something of a source of frustration for me. Even though I had read a great deal about not being able to just power through as you would on a run or ride, I still approached it that way. What can I say? I come from a running background.

Eventually, I learned to make a few improvements to my form that in turn made my power more efficient. Specifically, I rotated my body more smoothly through each stroke and I made the pull stage of my stroke more complete. The result was an improvement that put me ahead of my goals: 
  

The Bike

It’s hard to make anything truly meaningful out of the bike. There are multiple reasons for this. First, I changed bikes back in February from my reliable but old and heavy Trek hybrid to the sleeker, lighter and much faster Cannondale. Second, there’s a great deal of disparity between my speed on the trails and my speed on the trainer…especially with the new bike.  Third, in order to keep things interesting, I’ve been doing a lot of different courses. I live in area that offers everything from steep hills to flat straight-aways.  As a result, you get a pretty odd looking chart:

I’ve found the most reliable indicator to be my most recent outdoor MPH average which is presently 15.9 which is below my goal of 16.7 but can also be chalked up to some pretty long hills on my last ride. My first event, the Summer Open Sprint Triathlon boasts a fairly flat bike circuit (three times around a four mile loop) so I hope to take advantage of that. If I can ride the 20K course in 40 minutes or less, I’ll be happy.

The Run

I may not be giving myself enough credit here. Given how slow I was running when I established these goals, a 9 minute per mile average seemed fairly ambitious. I’ve also considered that my pace may be slower after swimming and riding and I still think that’s valid. This Saturday’s brick ought to be my first indication of how fast I can run after the stress of a ride. In any case, I’m doing better than I thought I would:

 

While the trajectory looks pretty good (especially after doing 5 miles at just over 9 minute pace yesterday) I still think it’s going to level off. I’m not a fast-twitch guy and I think a sub 30 finish in the run leg of the first tri would be just fine with me.

April is always a pretty dicey month from a weather stand-point. Even though we’ve had a pretty dry spring, you never know when ambitious plans to get outside will be doused by a spring snow storm. Hopefully I’ll get to do most if not all of the bricks outdoors. While the trainer and treadmill are
adequate substitutes, I also look at the brick as transition practice. If the weather keeps me indoors, I may need to practice transitions in addition to the actual workout.

This Saturday is looking pretty good. I plan to be out in the morning well before we reach the mid 70’s high that’s in the forecast. I’m pretty excited about the workout. I’ve done a lot of prep work, but this feels like my first real foray into multisport. If I find the time and am not too tired, I’ll do a post talking about it.

Aero Position

Back in January, I commented about the early in-the-week forecast being rosier than what I actually experienced. Fortunately that cuts both ways. Early this week, I expected to be on the trainer today since the forecast said it would be damp today. While my lawn could use the moisture, it really was a nice day to ride.

One of the challenges I've faced on my rides is using the aero bars for any meaningful length of time. Part of that is my fault. It's obviously much easier to ride in the traditional position. Part of it is not wanting to try and steer and control using the bars when I'm riding through a crowded space at 20 mph. And part of it is the difficulty of obstacles on the bike path. I generally stay off the street because too many drivers would sooner run you over and kill you than move a few feet over to give you some space.

One of the nice things about the route I've been riding is that it is relatively free of pedestrians, dogs, sharp curves and other factors that require more steering. That allowed several (mostly) uninterrupted miles in the aero position. No doubt I have more to do but it was the most I've used them outside.

Most of my training is going otherwise well. That said, I've definitely felt more challenged in the last week. While I'm getting stronger and faster, I'm also feeling more tired. Hopefully I'll be rested up this week.  This coming Saturday marks the first of my bricks. Between now and then I'll post an update to my goals.

Southwestern Heat

Hello from warm Phoenix. It feels more like mid July than mid March but it's not totally unpleasant either. Given my long day of travel (capped off by a few beers this evening) I've decided to postpone tomorrow's run until Friday. I've been tired on my last few workoutys so two days in a row off actually makes sense.

One thing is certain--the run will be in the morning. Afternoon highs are going to be in the upper 80's and that's just too hot for me right now!

Back at It

Another week and more training.

Yesterday was kind of crappy out so I went back to the trainer. No question it's an easier ride, but I tried to make it harder by spending about half the time in aero position. Still managed to do 20 miles in just over 45 minutes. Yeah....it's still a lot easier than riding outside.

This morning I hit the pool. It's been going a lot better as of late. I felt pretty good today (or as good as I could feel at 6:30) and it showed in the results. I swam at an average rate of over 43 yards per minute which is my fastest yet. It's good to see some progress in the water.

Wednesdays are my two a days so after work it was a four mile run. After having run so well on Sunday, I felt obliged to pick up the pace. It was a little hard but I manged to finish in just over 36 minutes so again, it's the fastest pace I've turned in since I started this whole thing.

There's no question that there is still a lot to do and just over two months to do it. Nevertheless, I'm feeling pretty good about where I am. Another run, swim and bike still lay ahead for the week.

After a getting in a couple more early next week, I'm off to Phoenix for work. Just a run planned for there, but I am looking forward to running at low altitude again.

Race Report - Pueblo Spring Runoff

It's been quite a long time since I've done a 10K. Specifically it was the 2009 BolderBoulder and it was a fairly weak effort. I think my finish was something like one hour, five minutes. I was just happy to finish it.

So although I've done a  couple of six mile training runs in the last couple of months, I was a little nervous about doing a race this morning. It didn't help that I had been struggling on my last couple of runs.

It was--for me anyway--a good morning for a run. The temperature at the start was in the upper 30's/lower 40's with now wind and a thin overcast. It was also a pretty flat course. When it was all over, I ran one of my best 10K times in the post-35 (years old) era. I finished the day at 57:40 which works out to a 9:15 pace. My brother ran a much faster and considerably more impressive 42 minutes. It was obvious when he passed me on the return trip that he was in the lead pack.

As for the race itself, well, there was good and bad:

The bad:

Starting Line - This is a multi-race event with a 2 mile walk, a 5k, 10k and 10 mile plus to shorter races for kids. Which race was which depended on both the color of your bib and a colored sticker (like a mailing label stuck to the front of it). This was confusing. What's more, there was no marshal in the starting area to make sure no one started in the wrong group. I actually ran with the 5k wave for about a minute before realizing that it was not my start time yet.

Traffic Flow - The two mile walkers went with the rest of the group and the turned around one mile out. That's right, they turned around and walked against the rest of the traffic. It would have made much more sense to have them start after the runners. Then everyone faster would have already run past their turn around point.

Finish Area: The race finishes into Dutch Clark Stadium with a 3/4 lap clockwise turn on the track. That's actually a nice way to finish a race...similar to the BolderBoulder. No problem there. However, once you finish, all of the post-race provisions were back up at the top of the stadium (it sits in kind of a pit so you walk back up to street level) to get water, food, etc. It's a steep walk and there is only one narrow gate to access the steps. Additionally, there were no regular announcements about the location and time of the kids races.

Results: As of 8:45, the results still have not been posted. I have no doubt that it takes a while to get them done, but the 5k was posted on paper at the event. If you're going to have a race, you need to get the results posted on the same day. Even a rudimentary text file on a webpage would work.

The Good

Course: This was a nice flat, fast course with no bothers from traffic. While a good portion took place on a bike path that runs along the Arkansas River, that did not occur until a couple of miles in--after the field had spread out a bit. Runners coming back on the path were lead by a bicycle and its rider did a good job of clearing the path.

Shirt: When I ran it five years ago, the Spring Runoff sported one of the ugliest running shirts I've seen. Not this year. It's a good looking long sleeve black technical shirt. A distinct improvement.

Finish: The shoot was clearly marked and as I ran toward it, an announcer called my name and town. It's a small thing, but a nice touch all the same.

Overall, I did enjoy the race. I particularly liked that I did so well. I'd say that there's a pretty good chance I'll be back next year. That said, I do hope the race directors will get their logisticall issues sorted out.

Race Updates

My 2011 season is about to kick off.

I'm running the Pueblo Chieftain Spring Runoff. This one is a little bit sentimental for me. The last time I ran it, I was training for the 2006 Rock and Roll Marathon. At the time, a 10 mile run was kind of an easy day for me. Now...well I'll be challenging myself to do a 10K. Still, it's a nice course with a fairly small crowd which makes for a more enjoyable race.

I've also committed to running the Greeley Triathlon. It's shorter than most sprints--500m swim, 10 mile bike, and a 5k so it ought to be fun to go a little harder in those first two events. What's more, my parents live just a few miles from the start so it will mean more rack time and less time on the road.

Training has been more difficult this week due mainly to some minor injuries. The surgery site on my right foot has been bothering me and both knees have been complaining about the running miles. Fortunately, ice seems to be keeping the problems at bay.

Hopefully a couple of days off from running will help.

She's a beauty!

Yep, I got it! The LBS had the model and size of bike I wanted so I spent two hours there yesterday getting the right accessories and being properly fit.

It's a Cannondale CAAD8 with a Shimano Triple shifter. It's light, rides well and is pretty good looking to boot. Since this is my triathlon bike I added a couple of other features to make it more triathletic:

The guy at the LBS and I worked on spacing these aerobars so that I'd have a little daylight between my fingers. Overall, they have me sitting in a nice straight-backed aero position.

I also had some clipless pedals added and got some Bontrager road shoes to fit. As you can see here, the Garmin Cadence Sensor has been installed. There is not much room left on the handle bars for the bike mount so I may have to just either wear it on my wrist or get creative.

There's no question that the bike was the most significant purchase as I prepare for the May 22 event (just over three months from now). I'm planning on doing a long trainer ride (20 miles) to get me used to riding in the aero position as well as getting used to the clipless pedals. It's also pretty cool out today so not a great to do ride outside.

Another challenging week awaits but I'm excited about it. Swimming has been going better (I've finally cracked the 40 yards per minute barrier) and my running and riding paces are ahead of scheduled goals. Hoping I can stay healthy and keep my motivation as strong as it's been. More adventures to come, I'm sure.

Taking The Ride...Outside

To say that the weather has been harsh since the first of the year is to put it mildly. After the return from sunny and warm Southern California, the thermometer took another plunge.

I started my weekly two-a-days a week ago Wednesday. On my way to the rec center, the temperature was all the way down to negative 12. Sure we have real winters in Colorado, but that's pretty ridiculous. It's Colorado, not Minnesota....or Canada!

But since it is Colorado, that mean the weather had improved to the 60's by the weekend. So on Sunday, I got to take my first outdoor ride since early January:




Considering all of the snow-fall, I was not too surprised to find the trail to be a little sloppy. The bike was kind of a mess afterward, but a few sprays from my water bottle and fast dry in the warm sun cleaned it up.

The nice weather continued on to Tuesday so I was able to do the ride again. It was a little cooler, but still pretty nice.

Since then it's been back in the pool and back on my feet. The run portion of my two-a-day a couple of days ago was a little rough. Despite being only a three mile run, I felt pretty winded. Today's six mile felt much better.

_______________________

While I'm not seeing bike-riding weather on the horizon, tomorrow might be the day I upgrade the bike. It depends on a number of factors, not the least of which is whether or not the LBS has the model I want in a frame that fits me. Considering that, tomorrow might not be the day....but maybe...

Temecula

Cold and snowy Denver is behind us and we're (we = wife + me) enjoying very fair weather here in Southern California.

We arrived a little before 8:00 Thursday night. Our flight was delayed by about forty minutes, in part due to the need to de-ice before we left. Southwest has introduced WiFi service on their flights and I was looking forward to sending a post from 35,000 feet. Unfortunately, for reasons I cannot understand, the blogging page was blocked by their Internet service. Alas, no post until today.

I got up Friday morning for a four mile run and was pleasantly reminded of how easy it is to run at low altitude after doing most of my training at around 6000 feet. Four miles around Santee went very easily. I forgot my heart rate monitor, but I doubt I was ever much above 145.

After spending the morning around town, we hit the road to Temecula at about 2:00 and, after stopping for lunch, got here around 4:00 or so.

As I mentioned the weather has been good though it does cool down into the low 50's once the sun goes down. It's still much better than what we experiencing just a few days ago.

From around town:

Sign in front of the local town hall

The Town Hall clock tower. Even more impressive when viewed from the bottom of the hill on which it sits.

I have a five mile run planned for tomorrow morning. For today, it's just hanging around the Old Town, tasting wine and simply enjoying the fact that it is in the 70's!

Goals Update

Four weeks of my training program are done so this seemed like a good time to update my progress. Given the struggles I've had swimming, I re-did those goals to be more realistic. And so far, so good. Here's the run down:

Swimming:

Biking:



Running:

It's a good start, but there is still a lot more to do.

As I write this, weather.com says it currently is 10 degrees below zero and it feels like minus 31. So, no, I did not run outside. Instead I did four on the tread mill. Glad I have it because outdoor training has been difficult ever since Christmas.

The good news is that I am off to Temecula, California this weekend where, also according to weather.com it's going to be in the 70's. Sounds pretty good to me.

A good week

Though I'm not swimming any faster, I'm fairly pleased with the progress I've made this week. Both of my runs were ahead of goal pace and the six miles I did on Friday actually felt pretty good. I rode on the trainer twice, Monday and today and today was easier.

As for the pool, well....still pretty slow but I think I've found a week point in my technique. I found that I was not pulling my hand far enough back during the power phase of my stroke. When I made a more deliberate effort to pull all the way back to my hip, I found I was faster. What's more, I found this at the end of my work out when I was fairly tired. It will be interesting to see if I gain any yards per minute when I focus on this aspect of technique for the entire work out.

There's another eventful week coming up that includes increased mileage on the bike and my first two-a-day work-out on Saturday. That's more of a trial for later on in February when I'll have them every week.

The following week will also be busy and will include out-of-state travel. More on that later.

Swimming Struggles

Most people new to triathlon say that the swim is their biggest challenge. That seems to be the case with me as well. While I think the Finis Tempo Trainer I've been using is helpful, I'm still falling short of my goal pace. Last time in the pool, I swam about 36.5 yards per minute. Not too bad considering that I went 40 minutes without a rest. Still, when the Summer Open Sprint rolls around in four months, I'd like to do the swim in 20 minutes (maybe even a little less).

Much as I respect everything I've read about proper form and technique, I'm thinking I may have to just try and swim as fast as I can for 750 meters without regard to anything other than speed. I'd like to see where I am vs. where I want to be. I'd also like to see how much I have left after that.

Along those lines, I thought I would see how it felt to run after a hard bike ride. Yesterday afternoon I rode 9 miles on the trainer with the resistance set pretty high and kept up about 15 mph. I wasn't too spent, but I was definitely feeling it. Lot's of people tell me that the transition from bike to run is the hardest and I think that makes sense. So after hopping off the trainer I got on the treadmill and went for 0.1 mile just to see. Yep, it's hard. My first brick isn't until late March so I've got some time to build up my strength. Good thing.

It's snowing again in Colorado tonight so my 3 mile run this evening was indoors. Even if I wanted to tough it out and run in the snow (and I didn't) it was way to slick to be running out doors. Fortunately, the Garmin Foot Pod is performing well.  In addition to pace and mileage, I'm also seeing what my foot cadence is:

Friday's forecast is for 50 degrees and I'm hoping to do 6 miles. It will be interesting to see how the foot pod works in conjunction with GPS.

Toys!

Anyone involved in triathlons who tells you they don't care about the stuff that comes with the sport is a liar...a bald-faced liar, a f----ing liar:

http://www.moviesoundscentral.com/sounds/liar.wav

:-)

While it's not all about the toys, they are a nice fringe benefit.

And as it happens, some toys can be very useful. This week, I've been putting some of those to use. If you live in Colorado you know not only has the snow been on the ground since Sunday, it's also been friggin freezing! I know some hard cores will go out and run when it's 14 degrees outside, but I say no thanks.

So yesterday it was a treadmill run. It was also my first time using the Garmin Foot Pod. If you're not familiar with it, basically it tracks your distance and cadence when a satellite is not an option. It worked as expected. It's pretty just a matter of telling your Garmin that you have the accessory (it's on a list) and it finds it in short order. The pod itself is very small (about the size of the top half of your thumb only thinner) and easily clips onto your shoe laces.

As for accuracy, it's pretty close. The .006 difference between my treadmill readout and what showed on the FR305 could easily be attributed to inaccuracies in the treadmill. To be certain, when the weather gets better, I'm going to run the calibration on a track.

It was a whole 15 degrees warmer tonight so, no, I did not take the bike out and ride it in the freezing cold and dark. Fortunately, I have another toy to track indoor rides. Well, two toys, actually. The first is the previously non-functional trainer. The missing hardware arrived on Monday. I was able to connect the resistance unit to the frame and also mount my bike.:

Of course, a data geek like me doesn't just want to jump on and start a stop watch. I want info. That's where another Garmin accessory comes in. The Cadence Sensor picks up not only speed based on wheel rpm but also cadence based on pedal rotation. The sensor fits on the chain stay on the side opposite the cassette:

The result is cool charts like this one:

 Now my calorie data will more closely reflect real efforts. If nothing else, it keeps me honest about how hard I am or am not working.

One last thing I wanted to share. I'm planning a trip to Road Runner Sports in Broomfield this Saturday. I'm overdue for a new pair of shoes. I had also planned on spending some money on a recovery drink. I've read a lot about the importance of getting recovery within 15 minutes of finishing a workout. Makes sense. There's a more scientific explanation, but basically your body is so revved up at that point, the nutrients in the recovery work more effectively.

What never would have occurred to me was that chocolate milk was one of the best recovery drinks out there. Don't take my word for it, though. Check out this post on DC Rainmaker's blog:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/03/chocolate-milk-vs-endurox-r4-recovery.html

Until next time...

Too cold to ride?

Early in the week, the forecast said Friday would see a high of 50 degrees or so. It got me to thinking. If I could leave work early enough, I could get home and go enjoy a ride outdoors.
This was especially good news because the trainer I got for Christmas is missing a key bolt that connects the resistance unit to the frame. The friendly guy at Saris cycles was more than happy to send me the part...but only after they finished inventory this week. So I was stuck with no training option.
When I got home at about 3:30 this afternoon, that 50 degrees had deteriorated to about 43. As I rode, it got even colder--helped by a strong wind out of the east. Not as bad as what I encountered in Florida but not exactly ideal riding weather.

Despite the adversity, I did manage to get 18 miles in and I did it ahead of my goal speed. I do hope my trainer parts show up soon. Winter is coming back just as it did a week ago. I really need to keep riding and I don't think outdoors is going to be an option for a while.

It's been a pretty good week. I got three miles on the tread mill on Tuesday and ran four miles outdoors last night. I'm also planning on swimming tomorrow and using the Tempo Trainer to try and reach my goal pace of 40 yards a minute. We'll see.

Swimming with the Finis Tempo Trainer.

I spent 30 minutes in the pool using the Finis Tempo Trainer for the first time. It took a minute or two to get it comfortably clipped to my google strap, but once there, it held in place.

The metronome interval can be set in tenths of seconds from 0.2 seconds to 9.99 seconds. I've heard of people setting it chime once for each step of the stoke (a beep for the spear, a beep for the catch, etc.) but I thought it was a lot easier to set it for just one beep per stroke.

Overall, it worked pretty well. Once I found a comfortable tempo (1.1 seconds per stroke) it seemed to help me swim evenly. In fact, I found I settled into a rhythm fairly easily. A few times, I had trouble hearing the beep over my own exhale or the noise at the pool, but that problem was intermittent. Additionally, because I did fall into kind of a rhythm, missing a beep or two didn't seem to throw me off time.

Today was also my second attempt at working on technique. The more I read about swimming, the more I've learned it's more about good technique than just swimming harder. I've always thought I have pretty technique. Breathing on both sides at regular intervals comes pretty easy. I also have no problem keeping my head down and exhaling while my face is in the water and taking full inhales when I turn my head.

But I'm also not very fast. I swam 1200 yards in 31:29 this afternoon which works out to about 38.1 yards a minute. So to get faster, I know I have technique to work on. The one element that I think I'm missing from my stroke is good body rotation. I'm making my arms do too much of the work.

Last time out, I worked on that rotation, but it was hard. Too much of the effort started at my shoulders. Today, after having done some reading, I initiated my rotation from my hips and it made a big difference. I'm not so much faster, but I think I'm getting there. It felt good to actually be able to execute a technique I've read about.

There's a lot more swimming to do, but I think I'm going in the right direction.

Happy New Year

According to weather.com last night, the windchill in Red Feather Lakes was negative 28 degrees. No way for me to know if that was accurate, but I can say that after two minutes of waiting for my dogs to do their thing outside, I was chilled to the bone!

The fierce wind continues today even though the sun is out and the scenery is beautiful:

It's pretty much a do nothing day. I've been enjoying my first ever copy of USA Triathlon Life. Appropriately enough, it's the Beginners Issue so I've read some good tips.

Still planning on a 30 minute swim tomorrow afternoon and I'm hoping to have a successful first use of the Finis Tempo Trainer. Not easy, but I am going to try and focus more on technique and worry less about how far I actually swim.

Until then...