Tue. 8/28 - Sat. 9/1

Fellow psychos from the Savage course ride 8-25. Mile 35ish at Howe's Store and Gas Stop.
Me, Craig, Susan, Don, Reid and Sean. I think.
Pic courtesy of Joe Howe.

Tue. 8-28
Argh! Headed out for an easy run. Left Achilles barked sharply for a few strides about 2miles/15mins in. Stopped, walked, cursed, prayed. Eased into walking, running again. Okay for another 10-15mins, then again with the sharp twinge. Walked home. No discomfort from the achilles other than those handful of strides with the sharp twinges.

15mins of core stuff.

Wed. 8-29
Dentist visit. No exercise. Notice here that swimming is conspicuously absent from the log, despite my desire to do a heavy swim block. The pool is closed for cleaning 8/19-9/4. Timing couldn’t be worse.

No complaints from the Achilles, felt fine walking around. Worried I may have to bag the race in 2 ½ week if this thing doesn’t play nice. So, I’ll baby it along with the knee now.

The sky is not falling, the sky is not falling…

Thur. 8-30
Previously scheduled visit to the massage therapist. 30mins of ART work.

I let Lara do as she wished after giving her the exec summary of my last 2 weeks of training and explaining how the left Achilles and knee area have really reared up. In her opinion, not a tear or discrete injury. More like a strain given that it is not a constant thing. Her instinct was to go to town on the trouble spots, standard breaking up of adhesions and such, both legs. Yeeowza.

I’m generally leery of attacking a spot that hurts. Scared silly actually. Any time something has fired up on me, esp in anything resembling an acute fashion, I’ve put the cuffs on her - go easy on the area. I'm particularly fearful of hard work on the Achilles. It is such a skittish area even when completely healthy. Hell, I stay away from even stretching that damn thing, 'cause I've tweaked it that way. So, as I say, I’m hesitant to set her loose on any precise spot that is hurting. Anything that might make conceivably, 1 in a million chance, make a problem worse, well, no thanks.

I mustered the courage, relinquished control, closed my eyes and hoped for the best. I survived the session. We’ll see what the deep work does for me.

$2.54 for the cheap petrol in Annandale, VA. (compare to $2.80-85 in Rockville)

Fri. 8-31
Great weather, low humidity, sunny, 70’s. No knee or Achilles trouble walking around. Some soreness where Lara went deep. Nothing unusual.

Quelled the urge to run. Reach a mental compromise and get on the trainer for an indoor bike session, that way I can hop off at any time, no risk of something going funky on me miles from home. Been off the bike since Sat., it should be ready for a little activity.

Went very easy. Some knee ache came on 45mins in, pulled the plug at 60mins.
Not thrilled. The downside of the sporting life. Oh well.

On a positive note, had a very nice visit out to Devereaux. Great evening hanging in the backyard enclave with Jim, Cindy, Mom and Dad. Pretty solid crowd, all looking healthy and happy. And oh, the stories I heard. The dirt… the gossip… the (perhaps) embellished tales…

Thur. 8/23 thru Tue. 8/28 - Perspective

Drove a few hrs up to Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland last Thursday. Purpose was dual - to check out the country road race course for the first annual Savageman triathlon (9/16) and rendezvous with some of my old gang for a night of poker.

The race course:
Buh.
Roo.
Tull.

Quad shattering climbs on the bike route. Long and steep, a lovely combo. My perspective on "hilly" is greatly expanded. A 6 mile climb that goes over the continental divide (according to the race site) is one of the highlights. Much sterner stuff than I'd ever experienced. I loved it. I need to get my swim in gear so I come out of the water relatively fresh going into the bike and run. The legs will certainly not object to a swim emphasis and less bike/run for a bit.



Arrived at about 3p Thur. and got in a solo ride of the 56mi course. Enjoyed about 8 "bonus" miles thanks to a wrong turn.

Friday I did a short swim in the lake near the race area and ran one loop of the 2 loop run course. The middle 4-5 miles of the 6.6 mi course are on hiking trails. Technical and hilly. More long stretches of steep uphill... If the legs aren't screamin' after the bike, they will be not long into the run.

Friday night was poker. The one night the boys would all be in town at once, a gathering motivated as a final get together before 2 of the moved to Fla. and New Mexico 9/1.
Up to about 5 years ago we'd get a house on the lake for a week every summer. These days it's an event if we see each other once a year on our home turf.

This time around only a few fellas maintained the beer and boating and water skiing tradition during the day. But all posted for the poker. I won early and lost late. Oh well. The cards were really just an excuse to hang out.

Saturday I rode the bike course again, this time with six other racers in to check out the route. This time the hills did not seem quite as nasty. They hurt. A lot, the way cycling can. But the mind blowing aspect was not as severe. Wide range of age and abilities in our group. One of the group is part of the race organizing outfit. The elder statesman, Don, is a retired state trooper who has been doing tris for a few years. Ironman USA in Lake Placid is on his schedule for next year.

The first real climb, the 6miler, split up the group explosively. There's no slowing down to stay together on these things. You crawl into your own little cave. It's a matter of get in the easiest gear you've got, find a tempo if you can and try to keep moving enough not to fall over. It's that steep at times. Don and 2-3 others fell back, resorting to the "paperboy" tactic of weaving back and forth across the road.

As we waited to regroup at the top, I found out that Don was shot in the chest as a trooper and was left with one lung. Jeezus this! and Holy that! was the head shaking refrain. He's doing this on one @#!*&% lung! Yeah. Perspective again, on a few levels.

A misc image to close out on a light note...

I didn't see this guy
but he looks like a mountain man.

A competitor in Ironman Kentucky (Louisville) held this past Sunday.
He finished. Cut off jeans all the way I hear.

Oh, hold on. I drove back to Rockville after the group ride on Sat.
1 hr (flat!) run on Sun.
Easy 40min run Mon. 8/27. Left knee and achilles barking at me since Thur. Bark, but no bite so far. Not pleased with the punishment they took in the mountains.

$2.79 for the cheap stuff in Deep Creek.

Mon. & Tue. August 21 & 22; Aeros on the Road Bike

From the big bin of unused bike stuff.
Every once in awhile the hording pays off.

Tue. 8-21 Run-Bike

Run 34 mins easy, ~4.5mi, 70F mist overcast
6min trans to bike

Bike Fuji indoor trainer with clipons, trying ‘em out before going to Deep Creek to pre ride Savageman course, played with clip on bars while riding, def am stretched out even with bars all the way back, at least on the trainer. No arm rests, just taped some padding on top bar, worked all right, albeit for the short ride.

Entire workout (163 watts):
Duration: 59:48 (59:57)
Work: 584 kJ
TSS: 56 (intensity factor 0.75)
Norm Power: 172
VI: 1.06
Distance: 19.187 mi

Min Max Avg
Power: 0 255 163 watts
Heart rate: 82 145 126 bpm
Cadence: 39 94 83 rpm
Speed: 2.4 22.4 19.3 mph

Wed. 8-22
Bike-Run

Fuji outdr Rock Creek, ~70F, overcast, no wind.
Easy, ride-as-you like day. Rare weekday outdoor ride.
Put Deda arm rests on to go with the Deda Black Clip clip ons, also QR seat pad. Felt okay, surprisingly, not significantly stretched out.

Entire workout (162 watts):
Duration: 1:29:05 (1:30:28)
Work: 862 kJ
TSS: 86.7 (intensity factor 0.765)
Norm Power: 176
VI: 1.09
Distance: 26.528 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 344 162 watts
Heart rate: 76 148 126 bpm
Cadence: 28 108 77 rpm
Speed: 2.4 31.5 17.9 mph

Run 30mins, ~4mi, regular steady run, 6min trans from bike, nice cool night.

Taking it easy so far this week, aiming to recover completely from the Sunday race and be ready to go for the Savageman course pre ride/run this weekend.

Mon. 8-20 Do Nothing, Talk Big

Day off. Feeling pretty good, upper quads a bit sore. Slept 9+ hrs.
Reeeeeeeally hit the carbo lounger hard last night. But, no carb hangover. No injury, well, a touchy spot on me butt bone if I sit just right (here's to you nancy newbie, despite the rubber tires bikes are not like bumper cars). Mentally, feeling much dif than after the swampy Cambridge du debacle 6 weeks ago. So.... feeling (over) ambitious for the final few races, esp duathlons, I'll ramble along those lines tonight.

Currently, I'm registered for one more race, a tri on 9/16. Savageman Half Iron distance in Deep Creek, MD. "Savage" due to the mountainous bike course and tough run.

Now, I'm adding 2 fall duathlons (commit mentally now, with my wallet closer to race day). Barring the unforeseen, I will head to the rolling hills of Malabar Farm State Park in Mansfield, OH for the Powerman Ohio duathlon held 9/30 (5mi-36mi-5mi). The competition will be as tough as it gets in the U.S., at least as strong as the Lums Pond field was weak. The top 6 amateur finishers in each age group qualify to race the world long distance champs in Richmond 10/21. Yes, I can dream. Here is a one-page article/review of the race going into the 2006 running.

Two weeks should be enough to recover from Savageman, but enough to get the full snap back in the legs? Taking a thrashing in OH wouldn't be the worst thing. Can't place if you don't race and all that.

Savageman (9/16) - a challenge race but not quite a gotta do once in my life race - a big training day, tough-is- fun session two weeks out from...
Powerman (9/30) - push the envelope, let it ALL hang out, do it smart, race for the place - top 5 in AG.

And then... I'm dangerously close to entering a race that's been calling out to me since inception.
American Zofingen (10/14) - a "gotta do this race at least once," serious challenge.

"AmZof" is a long distance duathlon, named after the notoriously hilly and long-standing premier du in Europe, Powerman Zofingen (Switzerland). Held in New Paltz, NY a couple hrs north of NYC it's been in around just a couple years. B - prepare your escape clause, if I do this race I'll probably try to swing into the city for a visit.

It's the duathlon version of an ultra distance trail run. The 5 and 15mile runs are on hilly off road trails, and, the list of entrants/finishers is short (fewer than 50 in 2006). After the 5 and before the 15 is the bike, an 85 mile road course with 8K feet of climbing (gulp). The distance and duration would be new territory for me. I'd look forward to again feeling that mix of fear and excitement, going into the unknown. Rough guess, it'd be an 8-10hr day. Cheaper entry fee than a measley 5-6hr Half IM - that's $ worth, eh?

Well, it's nice to have the health and the time for these [insert your descriptive word] endeavours.

Sunday 8-19-07 Short Race, Long Report

Transition area post race

Thoughts are with my Olean Memmott cousins and all of the Sheridans this weekend. I did not spend a lot of time with her, nevertheless I somehow have a firm impression of Mrs. S- smart, well defined sense of right and wrong, smart (again), and maybe a little feisty. I imagine those who knew her well are fortunate.

Sun. 8-19
Lums Pond Sprint Du

2mi run-19.5mi Bike - 3.1mi run
Lums Pond State Park
Bear, Delaware
Flat course. Sprint distance triathlon is held concurrently, the sharing bike and run course.
About 100 folks in the du, maybe 250-300 in the tri.
~70F, gray, occassional sprinkles, no wind.
Pretty much ideal conditions.
Full aero wheels setup and aero helmet. No skin tight top, but a not too floppy sleeveless shirt.

Made good time driving up 105mi. Banana and cliff bar and small bit of choc spelt donut (healthy donut?), left ~3:45, sipped coffee and water in the drive. Arrived 5:30a, first one in the lot, avoided the 20min backup that others suffered later. Also avoided bathroom lines (no lines first two visits, short line last time) having to park in a distant lot and having to scurry frantically about to get set up, stretch, warm up. Another banana, sip or two of coffee about 1:15 pre-race.

However, I did have some unusual prerace drama - collided with another rider prerace on my warmup ride. Head on. Two young ladies (jus using that phrase means I'm officially getting old) riding into the park from a satellite lot, me riding out. Outbound lane was closed to cars. I was in that lane following the white line, staying to my right as is the rule. I dodged the first gal who was meandering at me along the white line (!) but gal #2 was just off the white line, perfectly positioned for a direct hit if she didn't move over. She didn't. We had a rude introduction.

Not going too fast thankfully. Probably looked good, I think I heard a couple "oh my god!"s and "holy s--t"s from the grid locked cars in the inbound lane. Can't say who got the worst of it. She had a bloody knee but was eager to untangle the bikes and get to the start area. I took my time, inventoried the body and the bike. No physical or mechanical trouble riding back to the start area. Had to adjust one arm pad and one aero bar, the seat nose had rammed into my rear end (ouch) and not moved a millimeter (hence the ouch), and a few knuckles got scraped. Probably will sport a bruise and some band aids this week. Very lucky overall. Nothing that a small serving of HTFU won't overcome.

The early arrival paid off here, allowing time to make the adjustments and tape up my scrapes, and still get in some warm up running. Gear shifting was slightly off during the race, jumping cogs on the rear cassette a bit but no big deal.

Late race start, 8a, not 7:45.

Run starts and finishes on grass,
a little bit x-country

Held back at the very start, then started leaning on the gas gradually, but never fully stepped on it. Went fairly fast over the 2nd mile, hoping to limit the gap to the front folks. These guys really shot out of the blocks, and I didn’t see most of them again until the finish. Probably let 1-2 guys get away that I might have stayed with on the bike. Maybe.

Felt pretty good on the bike. No knee or ITB problems going hard. Aimed to keep the cadence high, 90+ with some dips into the 80’s.

Nice, spread out riders for first half of the ride. Slowly chased down a few lone riders. Yippee! Passed 4-5 guys. A little pack with a couple of these guys caught me with 7-8 miles to go. Myself and one other guy got a little vocal about the bunching up. People were neither falling back nor going hard enough to pull away. Hard to know whether it was intentional or guys who were strong enough to hang on but not make a successful pass yet refused to fall back out of the draft.

I was determined to ride legally. After falling back out of the draft I decided to dig in and pass the whole crew, and try to get away off the front – to drop them. Got away briefly thought I made it far enough to snap the rubberband, but was only a few mins before the guys came up on me again.

Tried once more before the final turn back into the park. Same result. Fine. let them get off the bike just ahead of me - just have to run them down. I succeeded.

The short distance stuff is fun, in a hurt-so-good way I guess, easier to push the personal pain envelope - c'mon wuss, you can dig deeper, just a few more minutes. Part of the fun of the short stuff, let it all hang out if you want. Esp when the conditions are cooperative.

Finished in 1:20:36 unofficially.
1st out of 11 in my AG. Top o' the Podium, woohoo!!
Of course, that does not include a 39er who finished 3rd overall.
10th overall out of about 93 finishers.

Run1 11:01 (11^th overall out of 93 - 11^th%)
(2006 - 10:03 (5:35 pace?) 25^th out of 156 - 16^th%)

T1 0:54
(2006 - 0:50)

Bike 51:18 (15^th overall, 16^th%) 22.8mph
(2006 - 50:48; 23mph, 29^th out of 156 (18^th%)

T2 0:51
(2006 - 1:00)

Run2 16:33 (5:21 pace?) (6^th overall, 6^th%)
(2006 - 17:34 (5:40 pace?) 13^th out of 156 (8^th%)

Finish 1:20:36 (10^th out of 93, 10^th%)
(2006 - 1:20:13, 27^th out of 156, 17^th %)

A 20 something DC HS track/x-country coach I sometimes ride with finished 2nd overall. May see him again at Powerman, OH 9-30-07.

Note - the run distances are never spot on at this race, and, unfortunately they may not even be consistent in the inaccuracy year to year. Will be interesting to see how the official chip splits compare to prior years.

A little lonely at the finish line for the BOPers

Note - did not wear HR monitor, it was acting funky prerace.

Bananas, water, clif bar post race waiting for results and awards. More bananas, water and Gatorade on the drive home as I listened to the cspan rebroadcast of the Dem debate. The alleged front runners seemed to get significantly more time and attention than everyone else. All sounded a little slicker and better at getting their message out ina smooth fashion even as it failed to provide an answer to the question.

Scene

Entire workout (218 watts):
Duration: 50:16
Work: 658 kJ
TSS: 78.6 (intensity factor 0.969)
Norm Power: 223
VI: 1.02
Distance: 18.906 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 353 218 watts
Cadence: 39 124 88 rpm
Speed: 4 27.4 22.6 mph

2006 Lums Bike leg:
Entire workout (214 watts):
Duration: 50:42
Work: 649 kJ
TSS: 77.2 (intensity factor 0.956)
Norm Power: 220
VI: 1.03
Distance: 19.402 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 400 214 watts
Heart rate: 139 166 156 bpm
Cadence: 37 100 86 rpm
Speed: 3 28.3 23.0 mph

T-Shirt AND a paperweight

Saturday 8-18

Sat. 8-18
Run and swim
Run 54mins easyish ~7.25mi, neighborhood rollers, ~81F sunny, low humidity.

Swim easy/steady 35mins about 40mins after run, usual catchup w/3rd stroke breathing into free with mixed 2nd-3rd stroke breathing.

Racing Lums Pond Sprint Duathlon tomorrow in Delaware. 2mi run-19.5mi bike-3.1mi run. super flat.

Low priority training race, intensity session.
Legs should be fairly fresh at the end of a light/recovery volume week.

Friday 8-17 Run-Bike

Fri. 8-17

Run - Bike
Run 60mins, ~8mi+, 143 avg HR. Down Rock Creek/Beach to Cedar and up hill, turn around at Saul Rd.
Mile 7 pace was ~7:12
~4-5mins trans to bike

Bike
QR trainer after run.
Easy-steady, some brief standing.
Left ITB/Quad spot okay.

Entire workout (165 watts):
Duration: 55:49
Work: 551 kJ
TSS: 51.7 (intensity factor 0.745)
Norm Power: 171
VI: 1.04
Distance: 18.649 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 253 165 watts
Heart rate: 85 158 142 bpm
Cadence: 32 94 86 rpm
Speed: 2.5 23.9 20.0 mph

Thur. 8-16 Run & Bike

Thur. 8-16
Run-Bike
Theory tonight is run will loosen things up in the left hip-> knee area, have it ready to function well over greater range of motion on tri bike after.

No soreness from Active Release Therapy ("ART" deep massage, ouch!) yesterday. Minor ache in the a.m. and after sitting for long stretches, nothing by end of day.

Run - Easy-steady effort 47mins, ~6.3mi, avg HR 141
hi 80'sF, muggy side
Felt good after 1st 20mins, left ITB/quad spot was there for a bit a first, then loosened, faded.

Bike - QR trainer after run, ~5min trans from run
easy ride, felt fine, left ITB/quad spot just barely "there" at times

Wed. 8-15 Horizontal

Wednesday 8-15-07
Getting horizontal.
Visit to the Chiro/Massage Therapy office, followed by an appointment with the dentist, and later a 30min swim.
Basically, a day off, and a recovery week taking shape.

Tue. 8-14 Run

Run 57mins, roughly 7.5mi, neighborhood run, rolling hills.
Taking it easy, kind of a recovery week. May not get on the bike again until Thur., will decide tomorrow whether to swim and/or bike in the pm
No left leg problems, old quad/ITB spot "there" for a few short stretches.
Right knee felt a little full.
10mins of core work after post run stretching.

The oldest woman in the world is 114 and lives in Indiana.
How 'bout them apples?

Mon. 8-13 EZ Day. Have lefties lost their fave punching bag? Keep in touch Karl.

Purple Pepper (Eater)

Swim 38mins & 15mins of pushups, crunches, situps, planks.
1st 10mins - Catchup drill for form work, breathing every 3rd stroke.
Remainder - straight free mostly breathing to right side every 2 strokes, some 3 stroke. Trying to get a balanced roll, pull and overall stroke.

Decided to go without the nose clip. Nasal rinse upon returning home.
Not sneezing like crazy so far. Little bit of a tickle, random sneeze and runny nose now 2hrs after climbing out of the pool. Maybe the MAC water is pretty clean? Or, not swimming consecutive days, not in the water longer than 30-40mins, the nasal rinse, all helping minimize the chemical irritation.

~~ ~~ ~~

Pasty K. Rove leaves his WH desk. Of course, he can advise G-Dub from afar. Maybe he'll find some cush digs and eventually ('08) bring fat donors and some political skill/muscle to the RNC such that he the R's get control and drive some policy changes into effect.

Real question, will he get a book out someday? Yes.
Any time soon? My guess, no.
Maybe a quickie pure political weapon in the short term. Not likely tho, eh? Perhaps a real historical tone setter some day after he truly hangs up his political guns - no time soon.

Were wedge issues and fear hyping his tactics, or the tactics he identified as the way to win?

Get some sun Karl.

Weekend August 11-12

Sat. 8-11-07
Ride – Longest of year.
Fuji outdoor ride. Out past Poolesville to Dickerson, Sugarloaf Mountain (that is, "mountain"). Route map and elevation profile here.

Very nice day. Mid 80's low humid, sunny, light winds.

Really managed every hill, leaned toward hi cadence. Little bit of a Smell the Roses kind of ride.
Not many flat stretches. Endless, but nice rolling terrain. A few stretches of annoying bad road. Memorable - huge field of sunflowers along the road past a little past Dickerson.

Mileage landmarks -
Home->Poolesville at Elmer School Rd & Whites Ferry 34.5mi (2hr7min mark of ride)
Home->Dickerson just past store 41.2mi (2hr38min mark)
Home->turn onto Peach Tree Rd off Comus 47mi (3hr mark)
Peach Tree-> Home 34miles (1hr50mins+ to get home from this point)

Pre ride 137lbs
Post ride 131lbs. Dang it! Added 2 additional bottle holders, so had 4 bottles on board. Drank quite a bit, ate okay. 4 pits stops, progressively less voluminous.
Menu - 2 large bananas (240cals), 2 Egels (300 cals), 1 clif bar (250cal), .5 Efuel pack (~100cals) in water, ~4 large bottles straight water.

Bought 20oz cold water in Dickerson convenience just before Mt. Ephraim Rd (Marc stop there). Stuck in a long line there. Two young fellas in front of me looked like they had crawled out of a chimney, or been spray painted black, or... just finished their shift at the mine. Dog tired and ALL black , every inch head to toe except for the whites of their eyes. They had a tougher day than I.

900cals over nearly 5hrs. Less than 200cals/hr. Not enough? Apparently.

Not bonky, but last hr of ride was tough. Long ride may just be this way, even with more cals.
Some standard cardiac drift evident toward end of ride.

Break up meat of the ride into 4 parts (67mins each)

1^st: HR avg 134; AvgWatts 174/NormPower189; Cad avg 76rpm; Dist 19.15mi

2nd: HR avg 133; AvgWatts 159/NormPower173; Cad avg 74rpm; Dist 16.4mi

3rd:HR avg 141; AvgWatts 162/NormPower 179; Cad avg 74rpm; Dist 19.7mi

4th: HR avg 146; AvgWatts 161/NormPower 180; Cad avg 73rpm; Dist 19.6mi

Entire workout (161 watts):
Duration: 4:45:33 (4:59:31)
Work: 2749 kJ
TSS: 285.6 (intensity factor 0.775)
Norm Power: 178
VI: 1.11
Distance: 82.023 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 375 161 watts
Heart rate: 86 168 138 bpm
Cadence: 29 105 74 rpm
Speed: 2.3 37.3 17.3 mph

Sun. 8-12-07
Bike-Run
Bike QR outdoor easy recovery effort ride.
Beach Dr. flat route down to end of closed road and back/.

Left outer upper knee aching, upper outer left thigh tight, left upper glute/lower back tight - tightness and achy or at times sharp ache came on in that order. Knee seemed to squawk at top of pedal stroke, but a bit hard to pinpoint for sure.

Not a sharp pain when it is there and not exactly the same spot as old 2005 injury, but close.
Seems like tight ITB could be cause of all this, or maybe slight hip misalignment pulling on ITB.
Brought on by yesterday long ride?
Day off tomorrow, or just swim, give the bod some time to recover, rejuvenate. Do some deep stretching and hurt-so-good roller massage.
Cold water soak yesterday for 15-20mins after ride.
Today ~13mins in the tub post run.

Entire workout (144 watts):
Duration: 1:20:36 (1:21:56)
Work: 696 kJ
TSS: 60.6 (intensity factor 0.673)
Norm Power: 155
VI: 1.07
Distance: 24.572 mi

Min Max Avg
Power: 0 275 144 watts
Heart rate: 84 146 127 bpm
Cadence: 23 102 80 rpm
Speed: 2.1 31.3 18.3 mph

Run
62mins, ~8.5mi after 5-6min transition from bike ride. Avg HR was ~147/48, kinda high, lots of time in the 150's over second half of run. Probably no mile faster than 7:20. Left leg not a bother at all.

Nice hi 80's, not too humid, carried an Egel and frozen flask, ate 2/3 of the gel, squeezed remainder into flask about 15mins into run.
Post run weight 131
Pre bike weight 136.5
2 stops to water bushes
1 bottle of water and 1 bottle ~2 Hammer gel servings mixed in water.

Run-Swim-Run; Keep Swinging Joey B.

Fri. 8-10-07
Run-Swim-Run

Run 22 mins, ~2.8mi to MAC;

Swim 35mins
catchup 3rd stroke breathing 10mins, headache coming on, took off nose clip, sucked water in when left breathing but not right (wth?), so did freestyle breathing right side 2 every strokes, actually got in a rhythm, tried to roll evenly, fully to each side. Maybe the swim muscles are coming back to life a bit.

Run 21mins, ~2.8mi home from pool.

I'm still liking Joe Biden. He's been growing on me for a good year or so. Even with his annoying verbal crutches. Look... The fact of the matter is... The truth of the matter is... Oy. grates after the 12th time he drops those in a matter of mins.

Of anyone running, he's sounding like our best shot at recovering international credibility. I guess this means I value that over "change." He dwells on, or is asked more often about, foreign affairs. But I don't perceive JB as weak in domestic policy areas. He's got some life experience, a bit of the gravitas vibe. My perceptions, for they're worth. He feels obvious the way Kerry felt like the obvious candidate to me at this point 4 years ago if only because he had combat experience.

Bike-Run, eyeing the weekend

Thur. 8-9-07
Bike-Run
Bike indoor trainer QR
Easy-steady ride before a run. Stayed conscious of keeping cadence hi, 90-95rpms.

Trying to get comfy on the T1 saddle, build the spot-specific toughness of the ol' undercarriage. Dif spots now feeling the wear and tear after switching from the Adamo. Fingers crossed for the T1. Riding at about 80deg effective seat angle. (saddle nose 2.5cm in front of bottom bracket center; bottom bracket center -> up to saddle top stop 14cm back from nose = ~74cm)

Have I got the, um, guts to take the QR out for the long ride on the weekend?? Hmmm. Regardless, I should get over the 80mi barrier this weekend. Temps will be dropping back to normal says the weatherman.
Entire workout (179 watts):
Duration: 1:01:32
Work: 661 kJ
TSS: 66.4 (intensity factor 0.805)
Norm Power: 185
VI: 1.03
Distance: 20.494 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 259 179 watts
Heart rate: 72 155 137 bpm
Cadence: 39 95 87 rpm
Speed: 2.9 23.7 20.0 mph

Run
~5min trans from bike, 29mins, ~4mi, avg HR 142, pretty frisky steady run.

Radio/Podcast recommendation: Fair Game with Faith Salie. Charlie Rose meets Johny Carson. Available free on Itunes. She's a Rhodes Scholar with a bit of Jon Stewart and David Letterman mixed in, former Sex in the City contributor and Oprah writer.

Note - The Nats are pretty darn hot. 8 out of last 9 I think.

Basque-ing in the barn at 413 leading up to Geneva weekend.
Stands out nicely, the orange and black of the LV Panthers.
(or, Basque country orange - nod to the TDF)

Blah days, charmed life.

Wed. 8-8-07

Planned long run but 105+F heat index, questionable air quality. Opted for a swim instead.

Swim 41mins, 3^rd stroke breathing, catchup then free, last 15mins 2-3 stroke breath free. Did not feel good at all, no groove. Maybe run before swim, as on Mon., is a helpful warmup? 3rd stroke breathing felt more taxing today, never became comfortable. Headache came on again.

Core – 15mins - crunches, etc., push ups, curls.

The good life it is.

Health. Air conditioned comfort. Clean water never more than a few paces away. Likewise, food. Time and ability to pursue hobbies. A family loaded with solid citizens. Far removed from the hardships prevalent elsewhere. A bad thing, that removed part? Maybe. Maybe not. No point here, just living the charmed life, living it thankfully at the moment.

NYC Spring "Biathlon"
Central Park
March, 2000
(banana boy even then.
wonder how many thousands have I consumed since?)

Tuesday on the hamster wheel

Tuesday 8-7-07 Bike
Very hot today. Heat index 105F+. I'd be indoors on the trainer even if I had a choice of in/outdoor.
QR tri bike on the trainer.
Spinerval dvd Totally TT.
warm up, then 3x15min intervals with 2 min recovery.
1st interval was highish cadence focused.

*Felt twinge at old left ITB/quad spot when walking during day, maybe just "there" now and then over rest of day and during ride.

Entire workout (189 watts):
Duration: 1:19:23 (1:27:16)
Work: 893 kJ
TSS: 101.1 (intensity factor 0.877)
Norm Power: 202
VI: 1.07
Distance: 26.511 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 270 189 watts
Heart rate: 65 167 145 bpm
Cadence: 25 109 86 rpm
Speed: 2.1 24.3 20.1 mph

Power-Tap #1:
Duration: 14:57
Work: 187 kJ
TSS: 20.7 (intensity factor 0.91)
Norm Power: 209
VI: 1
Distance: 5.498 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 108 246 209 watts
Heart rate: 129 165 155 bpm
Cadence: 78 102 97 rpm
Speed: 19.4 23.4 22.1 mph

Power-Tap #3:
Duration: 15:00
Work: 203 kJ
TSS: 24 (intensity factor 0.981)
Norm Power: 226
VI: 1
Distance: 5.277 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 169 268 225 watts
Heart rate: 138 167 162 bpm
Cadence: 80 91 88 rpm
Speed: 19.4 22.1 21.1 mph

Power-Tap #5:
Duration: 14:57
Work: 200 kJ
TSS: 23.5 (intensity factor 0.971)
Norm Power: 223
VI: 1
Distance: 5.229 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 155 270 223 watts
Heart rate: 133 162 157 bpm
Cadence: 69 84 79 rpm
Speed: 19.6 21.8 21.0 mph

Monday 8-6-07 Run-Swim-Run

Mon. 8-6-07
Run-Swim-Run-Core.

Hope Barry B. does not get his record homer against the Nat’s, they start a series in San Fran tonight. 1-0 Nats bottom of the 1st, pop foul out for Barry. Hank will always be the man, crazy stats including 3 gold gloves, 2200+ rbi, over a dozen all star starts.

Muggy. Run to/from pool 41mins (21mins and 20mins), ~5.5 mi.
Legs fine, pretty decent/normal all day, credit to the ice bath?

Swim at the MAC 34mins, 3rd stroke breathing entire time, catchup then free. Felt a pressure headache coming on after ~15mins. Not as strongly as last couple swims. Took off the nose clip and it sort of faded, reclipped for last 10mins. Is the clipped nose the cause, backing things up, pressure? Goggle strap too tight? YTBD

Core/Lift 15mins back at home - crunches, pushups, curls

Summer will soon start to fade... Edging toward committing to the menu for the remainder - 8/19 short flat du, then a flat Half IM tri (DE), 9/16 hilly Half IM tri (Deep Creek, MD), 9/30 national long course duathlon champs at Malabar Farm State Park, OH, and slapping a thick layer of icing on the '07 race cake with a long hilly duathlon finale 90mins north of NYC 10/14.

Support team kickin' it lakeside in Geneva (7-15)
upwind from the blue comfort closets, eh?

Birthday and Heat.

Weekend of August 4 - Big Birthday and Hot Weather.

Loggin' and Bloggin'. My latest approach to more frequent blog posts. Not sure why I have this goal but I do.

Throwing my short and sweet daily workout log entries up on the blog should make it easy, light on the time and labor. Must resist the urge to do too much polishing and embellishing. Just might result in more regular posts. We'll see. Could end up a little heavy on the training minutiae.

Sat. 8-4
Dad’s Birthday party tonight. Great meal after his morning long run (17mi) and outing to the Legg Mason tennis tourney, saw Roddick match among others.

B made it down for the celebration, managing back trouble throughout. She joined D for the tennis. Both were completely "with it" and looking fresh late into the evening, even downed some Sierra Nevada with ease - impressive.

No beer for me, but even sober I almost killed Eli the cat. Sorry I stepped on you Eli. You made me spill my water. I forgive you, even tho you tried to bite me, I think. I suspect I'll continue to walk into dark rooms without looking for feline floor hazards. Beware.

Long Ride today. Super Hot. 90+F, humid, sunny, little wind
Poolesville loop on the Fuji road rig, really tried to manage the hills particularly early on, took it easy throughout. Result was a slow day and low power numbers.

3 stops to water the roadside hedges of Potomac (:15 into ride, :55 and about 1:45, all looked clear best I could tell). Consumed lots of water (4-5large bottles worth), 2 large bananas, ~.5+ large bottle Efuel, 2 Egels, .5 clif bar, 2 Ecaps, ~1 tablespoon of Electrolyte fluid bottle mix from MOM’s in first water bike bottle.

Had more gel on board but did not take it. Maybe should have anyway. Never got distinctly hungry. Big late meals last night. Never felt weak or bonky. Grabbing a Coke never occurred, which would if really felt a strength/energy crash (bonk) developing. Def fatigued in last hour. Pounding more cals early might’ve helped that?? Food for thought, eh.

Gels and liquids went down fine. Clif bar went in about 2:45 mark, tasted great, nice to chew on something but seemed to bring on some queasiness, likely stomach dealing with the tougher digestion when it had relatively little blood resources available. A battle for resources – dermal system vs. muscles vs digestion.

Maybe feeling slightest hint of chill toward end of ride, localized to thigh if it was actually there at all – heat rash? Early indication of heat illness? Or just my imagination? No goosebumps, HR was responsive both up and down, still putting out sweat. Maybe just sensitivity to temp change when rolling through a cooler shady section.

Water stops: First at Seneca Rd convenience store, “Bill’s” or “Bob’s”? A 24oz+ bottle and a 20oz. Killed the 24 topping off bike bottles, stuck the 20oz in my jersey (in the front - nice and cold! on the stomach, then on back/neck, ahh!) and drank it over the next half hr then moved on to the bike bottles.

Later stopped at McDonald’s in Poolesville for ice and water (free). Final stop at Broadway Pizza at Seven Locks & Tuckerman for 2 cold 16oz bottles and cup of ice. Only 30mins from home but what the hell, not trying to pull off a hard or fast ride, may as well be cautious, also let the stomach finish off the Clif.

138lbs before ride, 133 after. Guessing half urine output, half sweat.

Nose strip stayed on all day. Once again the alcohol wipe down of the nose before sticking on the strip worked like a charm – nice dry oil-free surface to lock onto.

Dinner at Devereaux!

Ride data:
Peak 20min avg power: 202watts
Peak 30min avg power: 194watts
Peak 60min avg power: 188watts

Entire workout (168 watts):
Duration: 3:47:26 (4:06:24)
Work: 2288 kJ (CALORIES)
TSS: 241.5 (intensity factor 0.799)
Norm Power: 184
VI: 1.09
Distance: 68.176 mi

Min Max Avg
Power: 0 399 168 watts
Heart rate: 84 170 144 bpm
Cadence: 23 108 75 rpm
Speed: 2.7 38.7 18.0 mph

Power-Tap #1 (Meat of the ride - after warmup, before cooldown)
Duration: 3:25:45 (3:43:28)
Work: 2106 kJ
TSS: 223.2 (intensity factor 0.807)
Norm Power: 186
VI: 1.09
Distance: 62.069 mi

Min Max Avg
Power: 0 399 171 watts
Heart rate: 100 170 145 bpm
Cadence: 25 108 75 rpm
Speed: 2.7 38.7 18.1 mph

Sun. 8-5-07
Ice tank project at Devereaux 12-2p. More here.

Run 84mins, ~11.4mi. A little on the frisky side.

Humid, no sun, not too hot ~85F, Beach path out and back flat run in Rock Creek.
Avg HR 149 – a bit high even for a slightly frisky effort/pace.
Ran 7:10-7:15 for miles 7-10 with HR in low-mid 150’s. Carried two frozen flasks.

15-20mins in the new ice bath tank. One bag of ice, a frozen water bottle, and 2 tupperware containers of frozen water were enough to make the water cold.

WEEK
11hrs 7mins training time

Running 3:38
Biking 6:20
Misc swim and core work to round it out.

Tour de Floyd

I visited the fairly well known DC bookstore Politics and Prose last night. First time I've been there. P-n-P hosts authors almost every night. The author speaks, entertains a few questions then shifts to a table to book signing. CSPAN is often present taping the event. Last night was a packed house for Floyd Landis, pitching his new book Positively False. All manner of cycling geeks - guys and gals, old and young, solid to skinny.


Floyd grew up in a Mennonite family in Pennsylvania. He won the Tour de France (TDF) last year but samples taken during the Tour indicated high levels testosterone. In particular, samples taken after he put out a legendary day of riding in the mountains to overcome a deficit previously assumed insurmountable.

He's lost his sponsors, is banned from pro racing and will officially loose his TDF crown absent a decision in his favor regarding his appeal. Decision expected shortly. Meanwhile, he's had previously planned surgery for a hip condition - which along with his Mennonite upbringing served as ready material for a personal backstory to his victory. He's now come out with the book and embarked on the Tour de Floyd to sell it and proclaim his innocence.

Is he a victim telling his story, or, just out to make as much dough as he can before he is formally cast as a doper and sees his income opportunities completely flushed? I don't know. Hard to get around the science. I bought a book and got it signed. Maybe I'm a sucker.

well, the gal behind me looked steady of hand,
sportin' a serious looking camera and multiple lenses

Floyd seemed down yo earth, intelligent, personable and pretty persuasive (and shorter than I expected, maybe 6'). No one had the guts (temerity?) to really grill him during the Q&A tho. He pretty much vaporized any schadenfreude sentiments. Too nice. Doper or not, I admit he is one of the strongest cyclists in the world.

Tri Geek + video

Happy Anniversary to the Devereaux Duo!
Hope a cork or two was killed in celebration - what better way to recover from the Fla. trip, eh?

Below, more tri-related material, fodder for a blogsperiment. Checking out the blogger video capability. This kind of thing happens when one goes into taper mode, dialing back workouts leaves time to kill.

First a couple of static shots.



More taperitis, adding homemade wheel decals to the get up. Not sure if they're keepers.

Unfurling the trigeek flag and waving it high.

Today was a test-the-race-kit ride. Make sure tires hold air, gears shift smoothly and such. Aerodynamic wheels, helmet, jersey, yada yada. Pic is taken on the hamster wheel, er, in the "speed lab," after a 2hr ride in Rock Creek Park. Speed lab in the same sense that the fine "wood" panelling you see actually came from a tree. I swear my legs aren't actually that skinny, hmmm, must be the angle, yeah.

Hold the phone. After further consideration, I have a new calling. I'm going into leg modeling, my sticks are fabulous. Man legs or chick legs? you ask, go ahead you make the call wiseacre, and keep it to yourself. This particular 140lb ball of Irish fury races in the male division.

And now, about 30 secs of the blue hamster churning...









Like how the rear wheel appearance changes when spinning?

Alert - Tour de France just a week away now. Like I needed to remind anyone. It could be interesting, maybe even dope-free. It starts in the UK this year, a rarity.

What the heck one more addition.
This will soon be a backyard post ride/run ice bath tank.

Pretty nice time of year - summer temps, tri/du racing in full swing, blueberries, MLB heating up, Wimbeldon, the Tour...

Gas down to about $3.10 for the cheap stuff after peaking in the upper $3.30's

Recommended podcasts: WNYC's Radio Lab, Fair Game with Faith Salie (PRI).

Hope all are well.