Ink-Free Communicatin'

She speaks! Like going from silent film to talkies. Pen and pad have been cast aside at Devereaux.

After having some hardware removed, M can really talk. Very good to hear her voice and converse. Even headed back to work as energy allows. And, the menu is getting a bit more solid, I saw some mashed potatoes. Nothing truly tough or chewy for quite some time to come, better not to stress test the surgeon's workmanship prematurely. I sampled some green soup whipped up by D this weekend, once again, excellent stuff.

Turning the food spotlight on me for a bit... I recently was laid low for a week with a stomach bug, and discussion came around to a straight forward question: "what do you eat?" Hmmmmmm.

I suspect, okay, I know, my rep in some circles is one of being the crazy healthy eating guy. At work, I'm the one, the health freak, the "super healthy" eater. Likely identified with more interesting terminology when I'm not within earshot. I'll lay bare my nutrition habits, my usual practices compared to my recent GI bug recovery eating.

I steered well off my usual food track in dealing with the illness. Whatever it was it brutalized my GI system. Left me quite depleted. At rock bottom a pair of angry girl scouts could have knocked me down and stolen my lunch money with no trouble. No exercise for at least a week.

During the roughest stretch it was a few days of watered down Gatorade and Pedialyte. Don't normally consume either. Progressed to yogurt, frozen and regular (- say what?! yep, dairy :O need that easy-on-the-tummy probiotic content, restore the natural flora of the gut), bananas, pea soup with some broken up baked white potato mixed in, Keebler saltine type crackers, fig newtons, nabisco chips ahoy cookies stirred into blueberry yogurt. Every day started with two capsules of a broad spectrum of probiotics. Wasn't long before I gained back the ~4-5lbs I had lost and added a couple more.

Back on my standard fare now. It's not a conscious effort to eat the same thing daily, but it typically works out that way. I favor low glycemic over high glycemic stuff except during and immediately after exercise, and avoid "processed" stuff (perhaps machined and coming out of package but no hydrogenated, corn syrup, chemical type contents). Immense quantities of nutrient dense food - veggies, fruit, whole grains, healthy protein. The more active the more immense the quantity.

Something like this:

Starting the day: probiotic caps (gonna stick with these for a while), 20-30mins later a small banana, half or whole clif bar, glucosamine/chondroitin supplement, and coffee.

If I swim in the a.m., that is followed up with an electrolyte drink, and within 60mins of the swim a big bowl of: whole grain cereal, soy milk, protein powder, banana, frozen mixed berries, raisins, chopped almonds.

Mid morning snack as needed - banana, kiwi fruit, berries.

Lunch - turkey sandwich, carrots, chopped and green red bell pepper, multi vitamin.

Afternoon snack - banana, frozen berries and/or kiwi fruit, clif bar.

Dinner - turkey or roast beef sandwich, carrots, chopped and green red bell pepper, glucosamine/chondroitin supplement.

Evening snack - generous pile of assorted whole grain chips/crackers, humus, a thick dip comprised of sweet potato or pumpkin puree (canned), spinach, peas, butternut squash or sweet potato soup, a crushed brown rice cake, flax oil, turmeric powder. Maybe half a turkey sandwich.

While riding: bananas, water, E-gel or Hammer Gel sports gels, Clif bars, longer rides include some maltodextrin/protein/electrolyte sports drinks, longer the ride the more cals and protein I'll use for these drinks.

There you have it. I often hear where's the soda? beer/wine? what of salad dressing, condiments, ice cream and dairy? do you ever eat out? It works for me. I recommend nothing. If someone wishes to survive on pop tarts, twinkies and Genny Cream Ale, more poer to you.

Cheap stuff was $3.55 (on 4-25) at my undisclosed red state location.

An article that is a dif angle and actually a little more than a horse-race opinion on the political veneer of "the Reverend Wright story." Even political junkies like myself get a bit soured on the shallow analysis typical of this and some other campaign related events. Bill Moyers opens a window to shed light beyond the short youtube clips, and the only news it makes is experts taking 30secs to question why Wright is venturing into public where he can only hurt Obama, and how many % points he'll lose as a result.

Training Update & Race Radar '08

RUNNING
Long run recently up to 50mins with no knee trouble. Still no real flow to my roll, a real absence of running mojo. It will take time to get my form back near where it was 12/07. Stomach bug setback doesn't help. Anyway, running every other day. Started at 10mins six weeks ago and added a few mins each time. Slowed the progression when I reached 30mins, stayed at 30 for a few, then bumped to 35 for a few, then 40, then 45, now 50. Thinking I'll keep it here and vary 'em between 40-55mins for awhile, maybe try some 35-40min runs on back-to-back days.

The 1979 Raleigh, spruced up.

RACING
Officially pulled out of the Memorial Day weekend of triathlon madness known as the American Triple T - 4 triathlons in 3 days. The race organizers agreed I can transfer my entry to the 2009 race.

Currently entered in just one race for 2008. The Nation's Tri here in DC in Sept. 14 (Olympic distance: swim 1500meters, bike 24.8miles, run 6.2mi). Couldn't resist. Registered at the last minute just as it was filling up. Only a few years old, and the only tri in DC, it's grown to 3,500 racers. This is huge for a tri. Hay-yoooj. I can only guess how many waves of swimmers this will be broken down into for the start, maybe 40? 50? More?

Meanwhile, the priority for me is to get healthy so as to really train and enjoy the summer, and to really race in Sept. Plan to enter some small fitness-tester races for fun along the way. These races are not likely to fill, so I can do last minute entry. Everything will be short distances until September. If I'm feeling good at that point I may go longer (my preferred distance) to finish the season.

All together, currently on my 2008 race radar:

• June 29 - General Smallwood Oly distance race in Indianhead, MD. Have raced here a couple times years ago. Really like the rolling course.
• July 12 - Diamond in the Rough Oly distance race in Perryville, MD. Did this a few years ago as well. Hilly bike, flat run.
• August 16 - Cheat Mountain Challenge. Cycling only. Snowshoe, WV. 105mi and 68mi options. Mountainous terrain. This would be a decent fun training day in prep for the Sept. 27 Aqua Velo. In 2006, 93 finishers, 20 DNF for the long ride, most finished in 7-9hrs, first finisher just under 6hrs, last ~10.
• August 17 - Northeast Oly distance race - North East, MD.
• September 7 - Annapolis Oly distance race.
• September 7 - Delaware Diamondman Half Iron race (swim 1.2mi, bike 56mi, run 13.1mi). Bear, DE. Pancake flat. Raced here many times. If healthy, I'll be tempted to go for a PR here and forget about a true peak effort or AG competitive race in DC Sept. 14.
• September 21 - Savageman Half Iron distance race. Perhaps return to Deep Creek, MD seeking some vengeance for a tough day there last year.
• September 27 - ChesapeakeMan Aqua Velo. An interesting option here, the Ironman without the run - swim 2.4mi, (super flat) bike 112mi. Would be a great opportunity to get a taste of the Ironman experience, get a notion of swimming and biking for 8hrs and contemplating a run of 26.2 after.
• October 12 - Brierman Half Iron race, Boonsboro, MD. Race day driveable.
• October 12 - American Zofingen long distance duathlon, New Paltz, NY (5mi trail run, very hilly 84mi road bike, 15mi trail run). Maybe this will be the year to cross AmZof off the life to do list.

Progress at the Cat Spa.

The curve is turning upward. Much progress at Devereaux. From patient-in-bed status to living the lifestyle of a disciplined pro athlete . Monitoring all the components of health. Hours of sleep, mins of exercise. Breaking down the nutritional content of all things consumed. Eating frequently and moderately. Power napping - rest is when the body heals, of course. Daily weigh-ins.
Talking is still limited, numerous little rubber bands keeping things closed. (Finally, the rest of us get to lead a conversation.)

Cards, flowers, books, phone calls, visits... good stuff. Is this too being tracked, lists kept, generosity ranked, files filed? One can only imagine the guilt that would accompany landing in the bottom slot. Feel free to enclose "get well" checks.

The Kaiser of the Kitchen is becoming the smoothie guru, with particular skill at sneaking protein into his concoctions. Burned through at least one blender. May also be getting a handle on his personal nightmare of plantar fasciatis that has been dogging him for weeks. PF is a pernicious beast, it doesn’t go away fast.

B kicked off her new job with a gathering at a new, brand new, DC area convention center. Nothing like meeting dozens (hundreds?) of new work people in the space of a day or two. Turns out The Gaylord was not quite ready to open. But they did, and the result was less than enjoyable for the guests. Good bonding time. B was fortunate not to leave with food poisoning. News reports 60+ guests from her event were not so fortunate.

Work remains steady for me, signs point toward indefinite extension of the comfy fluorescent womb that is the contract I've been on for over a year. The knee is also coming around. Doc has me attempting a gradual return to running. Every other day. Started at 12mins, now up to 31mins. Not 100% free of discomfort but fairly close. Thoughts of racing by midsummer are nudging their way into the mental mix.

Misc celeb sighting: Katy Kay (or a perfect look-a-like with a soft accent), at my swim site. Apparently with her 12ish daughter, I passed Katy (not in a swim suit, darn) chatting with the swim coach. Coach: encouraging youngster re running to supplement swimming. Katy: enthusiastic, perhaps hoping to infect child with same (or flirt with fit young coach? Nah.). Child: cornered and squirming.

Gas: $3.36 for the cheap low test at my secret red state source.

Blog to be Sponsored by Oesterizer?

It's time for the final hurdle for the Devereaux cat herder. This week brings the last stage in the oral health project: surgery. Ouch.

Rather than dwell on the details, let's look for the upside...

• with appropriate pain killers the 35min CNN news loop will really be "breaking news" every time
• blog time, baby, blog time
• in fact, Oesterizer and Ensure will be bidding to sponsor the intomysixties blog
• great excuse to max out that Netflix membership
  
• D can order the college basketball cable package, wallow in march madness and blame it on the patient when the bill arrives (You don't remember insisting on access to GMU v Notre Dame?)
• anything you want to get off your chest? Drugs and delirium = free pass for no-guilt venting
• communication efforts will enhance the creative side of the brain, and/or building mad skilz on the quick erase board (Russert will be jealous)
• want to dodge a touchy subject? Pretty easy when you literally can't open your mouth.
  

So, yeah, it's pretty much a few weeks chock full of roses, hugs and smiles, eh?

Congrats to B on a step up and out in the job world. Charting new personal territory career-wise will no doubt be exciting and challenging. Just navigate the seas of transition and calmer waters await, right?

A little tri chatter. Even with no running since 1/6/08 (yikes) other than the latest aborted attempt, I'm getting some decent volume in over the last few weeks. Below are the weekly numbers for swim, bike, run (ha!) and core work in time and distance.

WEEKLY TOTALS
Week
ending

Sun. 3-2 11:41 (S 4:05/4.75mi; B 7:02/132mi; R ---; Core :35mins)

Sun. 3-9 12:19 (S 3:47/4.95mi; B 6:47/134mi; R ---; C 1:35)

Sun. 3-16 13:20 (S 3:49/4.65mi; B 8:07/152mi; R 0:19/2.4mi; C 1:05)

Gas is $3.28 for the best deal on the cheap stuff (87) last time I bought.

Pedal and Pull, no Stride.

Took the plunge (yah) on aqua running, gave it a go Fri. Tough to keep my cadence anywhere near 90. May give it a go again, see if I can figure out the art. I'm not changing my stripes yet, still a "runner."

Mario

Felt really good, really normal, so was cocky when heading out for a run attempt Sat.
No luck (cue sound of air leaking out of balloon). Right knee there again after 10-15mins and progressing toward bad as ever, well, bad as Jan. 6 when it threw the monumental you're-gonna-gimpwalk-3 miles-home tantrum.

Feeling benefits of the deep muscle therapy, just not in the knee. Yet. I hope. Scheduled to get a gait analysis in conjunction with my next therapy/chiro appointment.

Managing to thrash myself nicely on the bike and in the water. Rode the trainer last Wed., Fri., Sat. and finished outdoors Sun. with a nice 3hr hilly ride in crisp sunny 40F weather Sun.

Tue./Thur. 6-7a swim sessions are getting tougher. Gotta push the envelope. I go harder and faster in these sessions than solo. Nice thing about swimming is you can feel absolutely shattered at the end of a workout but recover much faster than with a similar run, with biking being in the middle ground there recoverywise.

American Levi Leipheimer (5'7", 140, age 34) won the recent Tour of California, the biggest pro cycling race in the U.S. He finished 3rd in the 2007 Tour de France, 31 secs behind the TdF winner and fellow Discovery Channel team rider Alberto Contador (5'9", 140, age 25). Discovery thereafter got out of the cycling sponsor biz.

Making like Dan Snyder, team Astana, (sponsored by the Astana group, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan and named after its capital) signed little Levi and Alberto, and a slew of other top pros. Astana looks to be the strongest team on the circuit, at least on paper. But... earlier this month Tour dF organizers recently announced they are banning Astana, apparently deeming their complete change in team makeup and management insufficient corrective action after recent doping issues with prior team riders.

Levi fans have initiated a petition to the Amaury Sport Organization under the name Let Levi Ride, requesting Levi be allowed to race due to his distance from the cited doping incidents. Perhaps Levi's win in Cali will add some oomph.

(Daily Peloton)

At nearly 41, Mario Cipollini has returned to the pro tour. The Italian fashion horse and long time sprint champ was signed to the American owned Rock Racing team and rode in the Tour of California last week.

Shout out to Wayne in Fla.
Ever notice how some of the best people sometimes get hammered with bad breaks? Well, if the Karma Police are out there, listen up, you've got a rogue element attempting to administer some very misguided punishment. Hang in there W! They'll come around and you'll be back in action soon.

Showing some wear, but moving forward.

Two weeks later and still as repetitive as a stump speech...

Not running. Have made 3 attempts, tight knee symptoms return after ~20mins each time. Continuing with the deep tissue massage, stretching, some yoga, some targeted stability and strengthening. Vowing (again) to try deep water "aqua" running this weekend. Picture me and a herd of blue hairs sporting floatation belts, slooooowly circulating in a small section of the pool, avoiding each other and eye contact. I'm closing in on blue hair club eligibility myself but I'll feel young in their midst, even if the feeling is mere denial, damnit!

Biking and swimming as much as I can, no knee issues there. Actually making some gains in the pool.
Down from mid 10mins to almost 9:08 for a 500yd TT, laid that down on my birthday in fact. Knocking out consistent 1:4x for 100's and threw done some low :40s for 50yds.

This is all incredibly slow for real swimming, but it's progress for me. And, doing it all one year older. When you really suck, it's possible to get faster with age. Set the bar low and every notch up is huge.

An excellent dinner out at Devereaux last Fri. to mark the occasion. Super soup, steamed salmon, carrot and raisin salad, asparagus. All very good, and yes, good for ya. Old albums were unearthed. Remember those killer custom curtains up on The Heights? Great background material.

Cool cards from the intohersixties gal. But that number kinda packs a wallop, eh?

Thanks Ed for the cycling-specific card, spot on. Not hand made, but it made me grin.

Close with a little aging rider humor to close.

Sadly, these physiological declines are just the beginning for maturing roadies. Getting older unleashes a raft of devastating conditions. For example:

• You become acutely aware of the ages of your riding partners. If you beat someone who's 3 months younger than you, you're elated for days. When you get dropped by somebody who's 10 years older, you sagely proclaim that "age is just a number."
• Digital displays become smaller and dimmer. When browsing for a cyclecomputer, you look not at the list of functions but at the size of the numbers. The teenage salesperson at your local bike shop snickers when you ask why they don't stock bifocal Oakleys. (Bifoakleys?)
• You are unable to get through a 2-hour ride without stopping to tinkle. Twice.
• You gravitate toward bib shorts. For comfort, of course, not because they help corral that extra 5 or 10 pounds.
• You start wearing a cycling cap under your helmet. For comfort, of course, not to keep the sun off that bald spot.
• Upon reflection, you realize the 6-hour century you did in '02 was actually pretty close to 5 hours. And you describe your 29th place at the '95 District Road Race as "finishing just off the podium."
• Overnight, your body develops mysterious creaks. Just like your bike.

http://www.roadbikerider.com/sos.331.spin

A Workout Post

How about some exercise content?
Still not running. Plan to attempt a short run in the next few days. If that goes poorly I'll take an SIU pill and try some pool running.

The last few days:

Tue. 8-5
Missed 6a swim. Not happy.
ART massage, Lara. Right glutes better than last week. Not as painful. I'm calling it progress. Right heel had felt bruisy when stepping on it for last 4-5 days, when rolling out of bed and after sitting. Some hard attention to the area from Lara. It's 95% gone the next day.

15mins upper body strength at home.
Super Tuesday primary night. Wow (!)

Wed. 8-6-08
Bike & 15mins of Core after bike
QR trainer. Intervals. Hard data below.
Warmup.
4x6mins (w/2min recvry btwn);
5mins easy;
3x2mins, alternating seated/standing every :30 (w/1min rcvry btwn)
Warmdown.

Watched mountain stage of the '01 TDF.
After this session I'm guessing my CP (max avg wattage I could hold over 60mins) is ~210-215watts maybe less, down 10-15%.

Entire workout (179 watts):
Duration: 1:23:22
Work: 895 kJ
TSS: 95.5 (intensity factor 0.829)
Norm Power: 191
VI: 1.07
Distance: 27.586 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 289 179 watts
Heart rate: 76 169 144 bpm
Cadence: 34 198 85 rpm

Power-Tap #1:
Duration: 6:00
Norm Power: 206
Distance: 2.191 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 157 224 206 watts
Heart rate: 140 156 152 bpm
Cadence: 59 95 92 rpm

Power-Tap #3:
Duration: 6:08
Norm Power: 222
Distance: 2.303 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 126 250 221 watts
Heart rate: 138 160 155 bpm
Cadence: 80 91 89 rpm

Power-Tap #5:
Duration: 6:00
Norm Power: 223
Distance: 2.244 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 257 223 watts
Heart rate: 137 165 157 bpm
Cadence: 59 93 89 rpm

Power-Tap #7:
Duration: 6:03
Norm Power: 231
Distance: 2.121 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 117 270 231 watts
Heart rate: 137 169 161 bpm
Cadence: 72 91 88 rpm

2min Intrvl #1:
Duration: 2:03
Distance: 0.72 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 176 289 236 watts
Heart rate: 144 167 159 bpm
Cadence: 67 87 83 rpm

2min Intrvl #2:
Duration: 2:01
Distance: 0.698 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 188 260 226 watts
Heart rate: 145 168 160 bpm
Cadence: 79 91 83 rpm

2min Intrvl #3:
Duration: 2:01
Distance: 0.709 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 162 274 234 watts
Heart rate: 152 166 161 bpm
Cadence: 73 87 82 rpm

Thur. 8-7-08
Swim 6a-7
300 warm-up
3 vertical kick
5x50 kick bd
500 free w/zoomers
400 free no zoomers ~:54-57 per 50yd pace
6x75 ~1:22-25 each (guess?)
100 cool
1850 total

Bike pm - QR trainer recovery ride
Entire workout (144 watts):
Duration: 1:01:47 (1:05:23)
Work: 531 kJ
TSS: 43.1 (intensity factor 0.647)
Norm Power: 149
VI: 1.04
Distance: 19.41 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 226 144 watts
Heart rate: 71 143 128 bpm
Cadence: 36 236 85 rpm

Fri. 8-8-08
Bagged planned swim and run attempt, feeling run down.
Yoga – 45mins (video at home)

Caged Runner.

Rock Creek, U.S. Park Stables
2-4-08

Update for the record.

Haven't run since Jan. 6 when the right knee went wacky. Tried once last week, after quite a few days of it feeling fine walking around and biking. Had to abort after .5 mile.

Went to Sport & Spinal for an exam. Very unlikely that there is a discrete/acute injury or problem with the knee or surrounding tendons and ligaments. My upper thigh and glutes are tight and my range of movement for the upper leg is significantly limited. Knee moves (dives? falls? collapses?) to the inside when I perform a standing one-leg squat. My feet are still flat.

All together, text book IT Band syndrome characteristics. As are the symptoms of Jan. 6 and the days thereafter. I know, however, that ITBS is a large catchall bag for many causes and symptoms. Identifying the true cause is difficult, e.g., is a tight muscle pulling the pelvis out of alignment? Or vice versa? It's a chain with many links. Finding the twisted link is the challenge.

Continuing some deep massage work, with the range of motion problem areas providing some guidance. Last visit to the therapist uncovered some real trouble spots, upper hammies and glutes. Me face down on the table, Lara perched on top grinding and driving her knees into my derierre. This may have been the most painful session ever for me. I'm officially a tight ass. I was a sore, but not quite as tight, ass for another 24-48hrs after. After that I was, of course, just my usual ass.

All of this is good news. It may amount to discovery of the underlying cause - the hard part. I'll proceed as if it is for now, focusing on the problem areas for 30-45mins a night on my own.

Tools for nightly muscle manipulation.

Continue to swim, seeing some small improvement. Biking as well. Bike legs are weak but not totally gone. Almost all trainer (hampster wheel) sessions, 60-90mins, long warm ups into some steady efforts then long warm down. All of it sitting up, no time down in the aero bars - no need to put added pull on the IT/glutes.

Got outside for a ride yesterday. 2.5hrs in near 60F mostly sunny no wind. Rock Creek Park. Lots of folks out on Beach Dr. Stopped to see some sights and stretch. Nice to be outdoors.

Bike, swim, no run yet.

Thoughts go out to J & N and the entire Oberlin crew. I hope you are getting through this time as best you can.

****************************
Starting to think of slipping on the run shoes for a test drive. Holding off for now. The last three days:

Sat. 1-19-08 Swim-Bike
Swim 60mins. Free (~300-400), side(200), stroke and glide (250), kick bd (50), free (50), fist (300), free (50), 3x100yds (1:45-48)
Swim was 2-3p after working 9-1. Ride was ~3:40-5:40p after swim.

Bike
QR trainer watching Terps beat #1 UNC at UNC. No aero time. No hard efforts, more time at steady, steady+ efort than recent rides. No knee trouble.
Entire workout (164 watts):
Duration: 1:58:16 (2:00:02)
Work: 1167 kJ
Distance: 39.002 mi

Heart rate: 145 bpm avg
Cadence: 87 rpm avg
Speed: 19.8 mph avg

Sun. 1-20-08
Swim 60mins easy, steady nothing hard
~400free, ~350 side r/l (w/zoomers; trying to find high body position, looking barely fwd, and 45deg angle not 90) ~350 stroke and glide (w/zoomers), 50 kick board, 50 free, ~150 fist, ~400 free. ~1750 total
Core/Lift 35mins
2 x (fonda leg raises r/l, lat pulls downs, cable side bend (obliques) r/l, cable side arm raise r/l, tri pushdown, seated row, side plank)
3 x (bicycle crunches, feet together crunches, plank)

Mon. 1-21-08
Bike QR trainer. No aero time. Gradual warm up to some extended steady time. Watched Bourne Ultimatum.
Entire workout (165 watts):
Duration: 1:51:31 (1:55:44)
Distance: 36.768 mi
Heart rate: 137 bpm avg
Cadence: 86 rpm avg
Speed: 19.8 mph

Tue. 1-22-08 Swim 6-7a

Knee barely stiff out of bed. Taking stairs normally. ART tomorrow. Overall assessment at Sport & Spinal Fri.

Really wanted some more sleep.
Body was screaming sleep! Eventually I managed/decided to tune it out. Did I chose poorly? Ignoring the bod is high on the ingredient list for injury or illness. We'll see.

Solid hr of swimmin’. No one else showed = individual lesson.
Today's flaw fix - Keep my pulling hand at/near/under/traveling past belly button!!! Don't swing it out wide! This is a tough bit of muscle memory to break.

300 warm-up
10x100 alternating left/right breathing every 25 (:30 rest) (fastest 1:48, slowest 1:52)
500 with zoomers, same alternating breathing
5x50 on 1:30 (:48-:50)
100 cool down 2150 total

Hard to get a hold of, feel for grabbing water with the dif hand/arm pull position.
New (?) spots on shoulders, lats feeling the slightly dif use pattern - also carrying some fatigue from recent addition of back/shoulder weight work.

Digging a New Groove

Forcing myself to find a run-free regimen. Hope to get into a long term routine of swim, easy bike and prehab/rehab of broadening my core and minor muscle group work. Work the stuff that is neglected or is a secondary supporting muscle group as related to those that get all the work when engaging in the primary three.

Will blend running back into the mix when it's prudent. The ultimate 2 words of runner desperation - water running - have popped up and bounced around my big noggin. For a nanosec. I just know running in a pool would suck. It will be a last resort.

This evening, walked down the metro escalator with a normal gait and no discomfort for the first time in nearly 2 weeks. Knee not bothering me swimming or biking, tho not testing it with any heavy loads, intensity or long duration. Still stiffens up over night, and probably when sitting at work.

The last few days:

Wed. 1-16-08
Right knee status quo.
Core 30+mins

Thur. 1-17-08 Swim, Bike
Right knee quite tight out of bed, after swim. Sore spot is area and above below outer corners. Sigh.

Swim
6-7a coached session at G'town Prep, ~56mins in water
200 free warm-up
2x50 side (w/zoomers)
2x50 1 arm "
2x50 stroke and glide "
2x50 catch-up "
500 free "
5x100 w/:40 RI - swam 1:49-50 for all.
100 cool
1700 total yards

Bike
Bike QR trainer, gradual warm up and stay in small ring 39x14/13, into big ring 53x15-16. A few 20-30sec easy standing. No knee bother at all while riding.
Entire workout (158 watts):
Duration: 1:03:50

Fri. 1-18-08 Bike-Swim-Core/Lift
Bike QR trainer, easy like yesterday
Entire workout (159 watts):
Duration: 1:02:17 (1:03:54)

Swim 40mins - Free, side, stroke and glide, fist, free, kick bd, free
Core/Lift 30mins - (back/abs/sides/tris/delts)

Bilateral = Hypoxic

Humor up front. Bikesnobnyc gem re wooden handlebars. Yep. Wooden handle bars. The prime line:

Together with a brakeless bike, wooden bars will transport you to that next level of sublime uncertainty, and simply arriving at your destination with all your teeth will feel like a Tour de France stage win.

Tue. 1-15-08
Swim-Bike-Core
Right knee better out of bed not too stiff (only 5hrs of broken sleep, less time to stiffen up?), can walk 95% normal ROM out of bed but still funky, full and tuggy feel in spots around knee.
6-7a Swim, solid 60mins wet.
Pretty worked by the time I crawled out of the pool.
Def felt whipped at times mid session, esp for the 2nd half of each bilateral breathing 100. Hello hypoxia. Lats begging for O2. Slight nausea as blood diverted from gut to extremities.

• 200 easy free warm-up
• 6x50 kick bd (25 at 90% effort, 25 at 70%)
• 10x50 w/zoomers (25 hard free, 25 moderate stroke and glide looking for 10 or fewer strokes)
• 7x100 free bilateral/3rd stroke breathing (:30 RI)
• 2x50 hard "bucket" effort (if you aren't wishing for a bucket at the end of the 50 you didn’t go hard enough) (:49 & :52 for the 50s)
• 100 easy free cool down
  

1900yds total

Bike - 40mins easy QR trainer half 39x14, then 53x15, cool in 39x14

Core – 15mins

Swimfest. 1-11 thru 1-14-08

Doing what I can do. Swimming and lifting and stretching and self deep massage. No run or bike since 1/5. Hitting the quadballer, roller and tpball hard every eve after dinner. Hip to heel.

After 2 weeks of The Wire, I'm liking it. I was a little shaky on it after episode one of this final season. Here's an interview of the man behind the show, creator, writer and producer David Simon. Spoiler free. Talk of Dickens and the classic Greek structure, casting decisions, mixed in with Simon's Baltimore experience, including some his dealings with B-more folks from the street to the city gov't to Mayor O'Malley.

Fri. 1-11
Swim 43mins,
lift at MAC 30mins - 3 x (pull downs, cable lean, cable 1-arm raise across body, seated row, tri push down, plank, crunches)

Sat. 1-12-08
Swim 45mins (side, stroke & glide, fist, free)
Core 30+mins (front fwd steps-ups,pushups, crunches, planks, Fonda lying leg raises, curls).
Dinner at Devereaux. Good Indian dishes!

Sun. 1-13-08
Swim 57mins (side, stroke & glide, fist, free)
Knee tight when wake, better over course of day. Felt very close to normal after swim, no bother during, pushing off but not aggressively on turns. Going down steps normally in eve. Getting some feel for the water back, felt like was catching decently today.
Lift 35mins at MAC after swim. Lat pull down, rows, cable arm raise, cable side leans, tri pushdowns, crunches, planks, Fonda lying leg raises.

Mon. 1-14-08
Swim 45mins in eve, not bad, nothing hard, decent grip on the water, stroke and glidfe and fist drills in between steady free. No knee trouble in the water.
Bike QR trainer 20mins very easy, knee okay, a tad funky just below knee cap on outer side.
Knee stil stiffens overnight, loosens earlier in day now, going down stairs is not bad by eve. Loosest of all after swim.

Blankety-Blank 1/6 - 1/10/08

The last couple months I've been more consistently injured than training. If not for injury venting this training journal would be blank. Makes for generally boring, depressing, repetitive tri blogging. Anyway for the record, the latest injury. At least, it happened while actually training, not raking leaves or taking out the garbage.

Sun. 1-6-08
Run
Beach Dr. path run 50mins easy, ~6.5mi. Right knee, lateral side of knee and just under lower front right corner developed growing ache, spread some both up ITB and down leg, stopped and walked last couple miles, walking was quite uncomfy too, uphill better than downhill. 75+min all togther.
Iced it at home. Refused to think negatively. (denial?) Still riding the joygasm that was the problem-free 3hr Sat. ride outdoors.

Mon. 1-7-08
20mins core.
It's official. Right knee all fouled up, can’t bend it. Iced a few times during day.

Tue. 1-8-08
Skipped swimming. Right knee no good.
ART massage, hard on both legs, found a little line of some scar tissue in right knee area, not sure if existed before this problem.

Pattern becoming evident. Over night the area tightens like an Enron exec stuck in an elevator with Michael Moore and his camera. I have to walk funny and deal with limited ROM in the a.m. During the course of the day it loosens a la Ed McMahon at an all day wine tasting - slowly but surely.

Eve - Attended coach Dan Brafman's base training talk at Bike Rack 1412 Q St NW, learned a little. Ironically, I can't train but it distracted me from whining to myself about not training, losing fitness, etc. Before the month is out I may see Dan for a "movement screen," find the strength and flexibility imbalances, it's been a couple years since last assessed.

Wed. 1-9-08
Eve - 25mins core
(3 x circuit: pushups, crunches, 6”, Jane Fonda-esque side leg raises, plank, curls). Long deep session on the roller and quadballer working on any knots ("trigger points") I could find from ankle to hip, both legs.

Again, knee tightened over night, have to keep it straight when walking in the a.m., can go up stairs okay but not down, loosens some over day, but same deal p.m. with stairs but up is even easier and and down not quite so nasty but def undoable. Decided not to try swimming tonight, will miss the Thur. a.m session tomorrow.

Thur. 1-10-08
Fairly close to walking normally by end of day. Descending stairs still no fun.
More core and stretching and roller, etc. in the eve. Probably could have done some swimming. A little gun shy. Can't afford to lose much more time, really need to establish a deep well of fitness for DATT weekend in May. Picked up some fresh run shoes, latest iteration (13th) of the Asics DS Trainer. My fave for a few years now. Current pair has ~400miles on them, not excessive but enough.

Bye to Bill Richardson. Fred Thompson next?

Weekend of 1-5-08 - Tri Training, Music, Politics

Sat. 1-5 & Sun. 1-6-08
Marathon Blog session

A full weekend. A little work, a dose of outdoor exercise, college basketball (Terps win) presidential campaign heating up with Iowa and NH, the final season of The Wire starting up (link). Augmented by the HD Radio for xmas - I can now revel in not just one NPR station and one Cspan but three of each (ital)

SPORT
Sat. 1-5-08
Bike: Fuji, outdoors, 3hrs, 50mi, 38-40F, no real wind, gray, dry. Heavenly.
Swim 33mins easy-recovery, some drills.

Sun. 1-6-08
Run 50mins, right knee feeling a little funky. Walked some, iced it after.
Core/strength 20mins

The sweet misery of a good hilly ride, that was Saturday. A good ride hurts, you know? Soooo nice to be outside. Tuckerman-Falls-Glen-Seneca-River Rd. Lots of riders out. Chit-chat at intersections but stayed solo, just out to play at my own pace. Jazzed to be out, no desire to engage in any weekend world championship duels. No need to take a caning and damper my day.

Putting on the snow gear (Dec. snowsuit post, below) as a kid has nothing on the prep for a cold weather ride. Getting out in cold temps is time consuming, esp given my penchant for wearing and carrying enough gear to comfortably survive a weekend on the Alaskan Range or lost on the trail of Big Foot. The 45mins of devising and redevising a layering strategy, prepping food and water, actually donning the gear, etc.- all worth it. Got it about right today, no cold bits.

Getting out provided a rude reminder of the cruel rewards of clean living (and clear head pipes). An enhanced sense of smell. No scent is good, it's all overwhelming. Perhaps accentuated by the dry cold atmosphere, everything is a tart smack to my finely tuned olfactory unit.

The worst: auto exhaust, tobacco, car scent trees and heavily perfumed occupants, all of which I do indeed smell via my finely tuned schnoz. Notable was the tag team of a fume spewing school bus and an old dirty-burning diesel Benz slowly accelerating past as I grind up a long, lung busting hill. No place to go, no way not to breath. It's not like the metro where I can avoid the nasal irritation and/or headache by jumping to another passenger car when Mr. Toomuch Cologne or Ms. Canaday de Hairspray boards.

Saturday ride data for the propeller heads.
Meat of the Ride:
Duration: 2:30:47 (2:33:24)
Work: 1584 kJ
TSS: 181.5 (intensity factor 0.851)
Norm Power: 196
VI: 1.12
Distance: 43.917 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 409 175 watts
Heart rate: 105 172 151 bpm
Cadence: 28 106 74 rpm
Speed: 2.7 38.9 17.5 mph

Entire workout (170 watts):
Duration: 2:54:38 (2:59:05)
Work: 1776 kJ
TSS: 202.9 (intensity factor 0.836)
Norm Power: 192
VI: 1.13
Distance: 50 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 409 170 watts
Heart rate: 70 172 149 bpm
Cadence: 28 106 74 rpm
Speed: 2.5 38.9 17.2 mph

2007 Bike Data
Year cumulative:
5500+ miles (4,924 for Jan. - Oct.)
291.9 hrs
179,244cals
Avg Power 172watts
Avg Normative Power 186watts
Avg Heart Rate 139bpm
Avg Cadence 80rpm

Biggest month of 2007: May
686 miles; 36.7hrs; 22,888cals

Biggest Week of 2007: Jan. 8-14 (followed by the 2nd and 4th weeks in May)
198miles; 10.3hrs; 6,830cals

• Only 8 weeks over 160miles
• Only 1 week over 100miles after 8/26
• Longest ride: 82miles 8/11/07
• Only 10 rides 65+ miles
• 30 rides 50+ miles
  

MUSIC
Hopped online in search of "Anyday" performed by Susan Tedeschi (think younger Bonnie Rait) with the Dereks Trucks Band at Eric Clapton's 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival. Derek is on lead guitar (slide), Mike Mattison is the impressive male voice. The song's been rolling around my head since I caught the PBS broadcast of the show a few weeks ago. That's got to be a sign I'm nearing the geezer tipping point, rocking out to PBS. To Youtube I go. Bam there it is. Beautiful thing that YT. Here it is.



Nodding and bopping to the music on my exercise ball chair (trigeek alert), I multitask over to the bikesnob blog. I'm dangerously behind in my snob reading. The Snob's latest entry (Fri. 1-4-08, he's a M-F guy) is re Clapton as trend setting cyclist, or at least lover of bikes as fine objects d'art.

And, the final stage of this marathon Big Ring digression session...

POLITICS
Sad that Biden is out. Plug for a friend - Here's a video put together as an evening project a few weeks ago by a fellow Biden-ite. Biden on Iraq voiced over images and with some music. Heavy, def not humor. Maybe if we'd seen more coffins the last few years would've been different.



Folks were certainly fawning over Obama's Iowa victory speech. Hard not to swoon. Soaring stuff.


Just when I thought Iowa was the last chance to get any level of policy discussion, the NH debate Sat. actually got into some. Except Bill Richardson. Yeeesh. Take that fork out of your back Bill, have a donut and get some sleep, you're done. Meanwhile you're taking yourself out of VP contention. How much better might that debate have been if Joe Biden, or Dodd, was in the 4th chair? Uh, much, much better.

HiIlary landed a blow equating a vote for the likeable, change, all-for-unity Obama to the error that was a vote for likeable , grab-a-beer, uniter not a divider GW. O wasn't too bad on specifics and defended his hope talk pretty well I thought. Edwards, fiesty and appealing but maybe too much anger coming across, fogging over his agreement re the desire for change/unity/bipartisanship.

Q: Was the Iowa turnout a fluke? Esp new and/or young and/or independent voters?
A: Not a fluke.

Q: Can Hillary dissolve the experience v change dichotomy that seems to have solidified?
A: Maybe blur it some.

Really off on a a horse race tangent...
Q: Will Ron Paul stay in to the end? Go indy? Be a spoiler for a Repub?
A: Yes, yes and yes... I hope.

Send Ron a little $, eh?
Or, maybe the Dems won't need any spoiler help.

Road ID on the bike.
Thanks B.

Steering back into the groove

Thur. 1-31-08

Back in the pool. I mean, BACK IN THE POOL!!

Triumph #1 - Beating back the strong desire to go back to sleep when the alarm went off at 5a. 18F on the Cougar-ometer at oh-5-40 didn’t scare me back indoors. Sliding into bed and getting to sleep would have been sooooo easy.

Triumph #2 - Surviving the swim session, staying relatively "on", not just going through the motions to finish a set.

Best of all: no noise from the high chest strain, finally!

Form wasn't as terrible as I feared, I'm still far from sprouting gills, and fitness is ugly. If the effort was anything but very easy it quickly felt hard. Fortunately, coach went easy on us. I wasn't the only one returning to the water after a layoff.

200warm up
2x50 drills of each, all w/zoomers: side swim, 1 arm, stroke and glide, catch-up
500 free hard w/zoomers
500 free steady no zoomers
3x25 very easy
1x25 hard

Evening - Bike
1hr20mins on the trainer. Just riding. A little standing and a little pushing the effort now and then. My attempt to ease the legs back into things.

Fri. 1-4-08
Run steady 60mins, ~7.8-8mi, feeling a bit more like a runner, not quite back to form or HR:pace tho.
Upper 20's, crisp.
15mins core.

How about Obama and Huckabee in Iowa?
The high turnout pleases me greatly. Might there be hope for a record (respectable) percentage of eligible voters to get out to the polls in November?

On to Oh-Eight

The cats are doing just fine, keeping the help in line for another year.

How about that strong family finish to '07: Welcome to Taran! Will Taran get shortened? To "T"? Tary? Plenty of time to sort that out. Well done and good luck to parents P & N.

Thanks to the folks who sent the annual update holiday cards. How can you be so busy and still put together the update letter? Maybe I'll hop on Craigslist, find a future ex and have a couple kids so I have some good material for an oh-8 Christmas update.

Dorothy Z. sounds great, apparently still on top of her game in Vegas, taking down the one-armed bandits and who knows what else. What happens in Vegas....

Word through the grapevine of other items of interest including tai chi mastery out West and thoughts of corn roasting in '08.

There's a new Capo at the helm of the East Coast Soup Mafia, flexing his soup muscle and kitchen control out at the Devereaux cat ranch/high end knitting factory. Giving truly is receiving when the gift is a french cooking lesson. That lead to great soup for the Nov. - Dec. holiday run. But no soup for the NY's eve meal. Instead, Indian - Vindaloo.


For the first time since Thanksgiving my health is coming around. I can swim! Well, I can find water and thrash from one end of the lane to the other without chest/shoulder pain. Looking forward to getting back to coached group swim sessions every Tue & Thur. Five weeks of inactivity has added 10-12lbs to the pale whiteness that is my belly and 10 beats per min to my HR. With the atrophied muscle and rusty parts I feel like raw pizza dough thrown over an old shopping cart, the one with the shaky, dragging wheel.

Snow

Backyard, Troy Road

First of the '07-'08 winter has arrived.
Two, maybe even three or 3.5 inches here near Rock Creek. Probably an extra inch due to creek effect.

My do nothing streak may not survive the week, even with the bad weather assist.

Down time and snowmobile suits.

In the quest to stay sane while doing nothing the internet has proved itself an invaluable and unquenchable time sponge. Thank you Al Gore, thank you.

Makes me wonder, how did youngsters survive the 150+ days of darkness that is a WNY winter without it? Building indoor forts. The Guiding Light. Clue, Monopoly and Masterpiece. 500 piece puzzles. Cookie dough. Time consuming attempts to play D & D. And after Thanksgiving....

There was some outdoor time, voluntary or otherwise. No doubt it took a motivated parent to spend part of a day squeezing Pop Tart and Honeycomb fueled kids into more layers than a tray of baklava. The complex layer ordering is under appreciated science, involving two or more pairs of socks preferably including something wool and itchy and something with an exposed red stripe, plastic bread bags (Stroehmann's Sunbeam or Wonder) on each foot. This was key - it was semi-water proof, but was also the grease that enabled oversized foot into boot with something less than a hernia and crying jag inducing 10 min pilates work out for parent and child.

Up from the feet: long johns, jeans/cords, a polyester turtle neck and/or button down oxford shirt, full body snow (snowmobile?) suits or the two-piece option of a coverall style ski pant and jacket, hat(s), mittens, scarf (or 2)... Did I miss a layer? And, later, another 45 mins chipping through the ice encased zippers and shoe laces and stripping the wet clothes when the monsters were allowed back in at sunset.

Back to the internet. A few items I've read recently and partially remember more than 24 hrs later. First, an obligatory fitness item, breaking news: Exercise is good, running spurs nerve growth. Related study ongoing - sloth leads to vacuous blogging.

Extroverts, I think we've got you out numbered. Treat us nicely. Don't make me say it out loud. This is the 2nd time I've stumbled into something from The Atlantic. The first was that Obama piece by Andrew Sullivan, which sticks with me, so here it is again.

Finally, some knee-slapping, choke-on-your-(iced)-coffee funny stuff, at least for cycling geeks. NYC cyclist poking fun at cyclists re reactions to the arrival of autumn weather, and on the snow theme, how to continue not having fun biking when the white stuff hits. It's a small but stubborn niche and this daily blog is king of that little realm.
Check out the right sidebar loaded with new twists. I'm also adding random labels, because I can. Cheap unleaded is $3.29 in monied Montgomery County.

I think I can not... I think I can not...

I'm working on a weakness, focusing 110% on doing nothing. Going all out to find my inner slug. Six days so far. That's some pretty decent consistency, maybe even a new DN PR. I'm no Jabba the Hutt yet, but why not aim high?

The internet is an excellent slugability enhancer. A beautiful blackhole, with an amen corner for every persuasion. Even within the fitnet, encouragement to slack abounds. The body needs a break, and the mind will relish the change, they instruct. Firm up the foundation. Lay the mental and physical ground work for good health next season command the gurus. Even the NYT echos the chorus suggesting there's an upside to just not doin' it for a bit. Ignore the HTFU crowd.

So, go ahead: Find some new interests. Reintroduce yourself to neglected friends, family and/or pets. Gain some weight - don't burn those great holiday meals, build on them. Shop, on line of course, $3.19 for the cheap gas, ouch. Sleep more, blog at great length(ahem), read more, work more? Enjoy some college B-ball (avoid Dicky V.) Restful down time now for fewer down days over the long term. Sounds rational, right?

Taking it easy doesn't necessarily feel better. It feels worse, at least for awhile. And I've yet to make it past awhile. Rest indeed seems to be rust. Sluggish becomes the norm (Jabba) and does wonders for a dipping cranky curmudgeon factor. Yeah, I'm a strong perfomer on the CC achievement scale as it is. But, I'll buy into all the faffle, file it under doing the right thing and claim the mental victory of successfully doing nothing.

I was nudged in this direction, via an ornery achilles tendon and a high chest strain of some sort (never should've raked those leaves). Not hurtin' enough to prevent exercise. Cold weather and diminished daylight gave that nudge some added oomph, more of a stiff-arm. Seven days worth of oomph? Ten days? Let's not get crazy. All things in moderation.

Logging In, Getting the (b)log up to Date

Mon. 11-12
Off

Tue. 11-13 S, R
Swim 6a
Bit of a crap day, just not feeling any spark, neither physically nor mentally "on", not having any good connection of mind to body.
200 warmup
10x50 bilateral breathing, steady/easy effort, form focus, start on 2mins, ~1min per 50.
3 x (100 hard, 200 steady, 50 bilateral easy; :30 rest btwn each) held 1:50 for the 100's, nothing special there.
1750 total

Run 42mins evening, ~5.5mi, foggy, ~55F

Wed. 11-14
Massage
Swim 35mins

Thur. 11-15
Swim 6a-7 Not good. Been dragging all week, no change today.
Felt a little better than Tue. Physically, but big downer re my swim speed.
200 wup
100yds of drill -side swim; -one-arm; -stroke and glide ; -catch-up; -fist
500yd TT 10:29
compared to 9:34 on 10/16 ! WTF!? Did I underswim by a lap on 10/16? Overswim today? don't think so.

100 free with zoomers
100 cool
1500 total

Bike 33mins trainer, cut off session
Core/lift 10mins

Fri. 11-16
Run 42mins, ~5.8mi
Bike QR trainer after run
Swim 38mins

Sat. 11-17
Swim 55mins, trans to run
Run 67mins, ~9mi, pretty frisky.

Great meal at Devereaux - killer soup, steelhead, Ireland tales. Good stuff.

Sun. 11-18
Bike Fuji outdr, 2:30, 44mi
Swim 22mins recovery

Mon. 11-19
Off

Tue. 11-20
Swim 60mins 6a-7a
250yd warmup
3x1min vertical kick, w/1 min RI
5x50 kickboard, w/~30sec RI
Ladder main set w/30sec RI:
500 (w/zoomer fins)
400 (")
300 no fins
200 no fins (1:50-52 100 pace)
100 no fins (1:50)

2000yds total + vertical kick

Felt much better than last week. Was dragging all day everyday most of last week.
Could've done 10min flat or faster for a 500TT today.

Run 57mins in eve, ~7.7mi

Wed. 11-21
Run 37mins, ~5mi, 5min trans to bike
Bike QR trainer
Duration: 1:15:21 (1:15:32)
Swim 40mins