24 mile Winter run with Zoolinder

·         Cat wakes me up at 4 and I put him out to catch mice in the snow – take that you little bastard

·         Just getting back to sleep when the alarm goes off at 4:50 –get your ass up, it's time to run

·         Zoo texts me at 5 sharp – ready to roll

·         Put all my stuff in the car, but can’t take a dump– screw it, the snow will hide it on the trails

·         Roads are snow covered – looks cool – no snow plows yet

·         2 miles from home and realize I forgot my watch – damn it

·         Get to the start, freezing my ass off waiting outside for Zoo to get ready in his nice warm car – what the hell is he doing in there?

·         5:40, on the trail, dark – new fallen snow, crunch, crunch, crunch of snow under the feet – easy on the legs, nice – I could do this all day…

·         Crunch, Crunch, CRASH – Whoa – Zoo takes a spill – he’s ok, good– now I can laugh my ass off

·         Beautiful Snow falling, quiet, head lamps - should've brought my GoPro camera, left it in the car – easy does it – it’s going to be a long one

·         Porta John stop – nice, no need to go in the woods – dark - cold, wet seat – damn it

·         Climb the hill – footing a bit slippery, but good enough – easy does it

·         Tire tracks to run in – nice, good break on the legs

·         Loop 1 done… easy does it

·         Loop 2 done… starts raining on and off – sheet of ice forms on my vest, hat, eyebrows – what the hell are we doing out here?

·         Loop 3 stop at car, get fuel, drop headlamps, check time – Zoo can only go a little longer

·         8:15 - Loop 3.25, Zoo turns around to take care of wife and kids– good man that Zoolinder

·         Loop 4 done after one more porta john stop – still feeling ‘ok’ – Zoo said the record is 4 loops - how long was each loop? 4.6 miles + the run from the car - can I do one more?– wish Zoo were here to work through this, it's gonna hurt – roll the dice – go for it Kona – you can do this

·         Get to turnaround before big hill, see 2 more runners about to start - dumb bastards

·         Start the climb – plow has been through but what is left is a sheet of ice – small steps Kona, easy does it, find the traction…

·         Damn this hurts, back, legs, foot – relax, just keep moving –you’re too wet and it’s too cold to slow down

·         9:30 – Loop 5 done – get to car, start ‘er up – drink a shit load, eat banana, soaking wet - no place to stretch in the snow – painful ride home as legs start to stiffen up – get home and stretch like a mother – hot shower – food – nap - read – rest is history

I love this epic shit – you only live once, gotta soak it in

Getting back into the swing of things

I did the Ragnar Relay after the Poconos 70.3 and then shut down for a while.  The holidays really slowed me down and I put on some pounds.

It's time to get started again.  I've got my races planned for the year and the beginning of a workout schedule. 

I rode 51 miles today after swimming 3000 yards.  I took it easy for the first half of the bike and did the last 10 miles pretty quick.

Neck has been sore for months.  Right hip has been sore for about a week and it's messing with my sciatic nerve, which made for an interesting bike ride.

I plan to do a longish run tomorrow - I've been doing loads of trail running in prep for my first race - Hat Run in March.  It will probably be a suffer fest, but I'll train as much as I can.  I don't expect to do great, just going for a finish.  Something about doing a 50K now that I've turned 50. 

Poconos Ironman 70.3

I did Poconos 70.3 a week ago.  I had what I would consider a terrible race, but still managed to get 2nd place in my division and qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships.  The benefit of turning 50 and racing in a new age group.

The swim was cancelled due to heavy rains and a very swift current in the Delaware river.  This worked to my benefit I believe, as my swim is not great.

Race prep was logistically a pain in the ass.  The expo was pretty far from T1, but we were required to go there first to get your race numbers etc.  T1 and T2 were separate by a long distance.  We had to drop the bike off at T1 the night prior, and of course it rained all night.  We also had to drop our running kit off at T2 prior to race start and were not allowed back in on race morning.

On Sunday morning, the buses were lined up to take us from T2 to T1 bright and early - I took the 5:30 bus.  Fortunately the rain had stopped and managed to hold off the entire morning.  Because the swim was cancelled, there was a TT start; that is, 1 bike after another only 2-3 seconds apart.  I had a low number (211), so, after the pros went off, there was only one wave in front of me (women 40+ and athenas), and about 20 in my age group before me.  This was good, but there were also a lot in my age group behind me, this wasn't so good because I couldn't keep track of them.

Well I learned that the swim is actually a good thing for me, because it forces me to ease into the bike.  Since the swim was cancelled, I hit the bike hard from the words 'ready, set, go!'.  There was a 50ish yard run from the timing mat to the bike mount area and I had already passed 3 people in my age group by the time I mounted.  I passed another 3-4 racers in the 200 yards across a parking lot to a 'speed bump' (yes, a speed bump), then another 3 going up a short hill after the speed bump.  That is when I hit the major traffic of the older women and athenas on River Road. 

They changed the course slightly on race day due to flooding, so we had to turn left onto River Road, ride about a mile, then do a 180 degree turn and come back the same way.  Given that we started on the left side of the road, everyone was confused on whether they should stay to the right or the left. 

Fortunately I am a somewhat technical rider and passed and passed and passed for the next 3-5 miles, on the right, on the left and sometimes in the between 2 riders because there was just no other way.  I let the riders know I was coming and where I was going to pass them.  It was a bit slow going because the road was wet and there were some nice descents with some turns on which less experienced riders slowed significantly.  By the end of River Road, things had cleared quite a bit and it felt more like a triathlon, except there was almost no one left to pass.  I passed the occasional woman rider in the next 5 miles on hidden lake drive, but after that, it I was alone, with the pros so far ahead and the rest of the age groupers behind... it was a bit surreal.

Riding alone was mostly good.  The course was marked extremely well, with cones marking the entire course.   This was fantastic!  It was hilly and I had to take it easy on the wet downhills with sharp turns since I didn't know what was coming around the next bend.  My legs were kind of shot after hitting the first few miles pretty hard - especially the up hills. So I got into a nice rhythm and waited for people to pass me...

The hills were relentless and I felt like my spare water bottle wasn't going to be needed so I dumped most of the water from it around mile 20.

It wasn't until mile 25 that a rider 20 years younger than me passed me on a straight away.  Dude had a damn nice bike - way better than my 2003 $1800 QR with Spinergy wheels.  Envious, yes.  Made me resolve to get a new bike if I keep racing. 

I realized around mile 35 I was running out of nutrition and water - what was I thinking.  I also knew I did not leave a water bottle in T2 as I usually do.  I was getting thirsty and trying to conserve the little water I had left - not a good place to be.  I was hoping for a water stop soon. 

The course goes from kind of hilly to very hilly after mile 40 and my legs were not holding up well on the climbs, but I was managing ok on the flats and downhills.  At mile 50, they placed a water stop at the bottom of a downhill - I was going too fast and couldn't grab a bottle - damn it.  I just kept going.

I was struggling with the last few climbs and 2 more guys from the 30 age group passed me around mile 53.  I kept them in sight through the end (not drafting of course). 

I zipped through T2 and ran the first mile in 7:02.  I was breathing too hard for this slowish pace, but had to slow more.  When I hit the first water stop, I grabbed a quick sip and kept going.  What was I thinking!  I should have walked through and just guzzled water and powerade

Well no one in my age group passed me, so I was feeling like I should do ok - not sure because it wasn't a wave start.  As it turns out, one guy ran faster than me, bike a tad slower and took his time in T2, but still beat me by 30 seconds or so.  I never saw him which is a bit frustrating, but pretty happy overall with the placement. 

Training leading up to the race was sub par.  Race day execution was very poor.  I am hopeful that I will do much better in Vegas next year at the world champs when I work out the kinks in my racing.

How to Win MM 2012

So I did MM a week and a half ago.  Finished well, but did some things wrong:
- average swim
- trouble getting wet suit off in T1
- tried to balance a water bottle on aerobars with a gel pack while running out of T1 - had to abort that idea and lose the bottle and stuff the gel pack in my shorts
- gearing to hard to start the bike - wobbled sideways to get started
- went out too hard on bike and lactic acid took all the fight out of my legs in the first couple of miles and had to recover for the better part of a short bike
- missed dismount zone
- didn't sprint out the finish
- didn't do a bike warm up

So I finished in 57:12; the winner was 53:31 - so how do I make up 3:41 next year?
- 30 seconds off the swim - go out behind a fast swimmer and follow their feet - clear water - doable
- 45 seconds from T1 - just learn to get out of wetsuit fast out of the water and don't screw around with a water bottle on the bike - others were 45 seconds faster or more, so this is doable
- 2:20 minutes off the bike
     - 30 seconds will be gained from getting up the hill faster, mounting right and not balancing a water bottle and tucking a gel in my shorts
     - 1:40 faster by: warming up on the bike, faster mounting start (easier gear), and starting don't burn the legs out too early (easier gear)
    -10 seconds with a good dismount
- 15 second  faster run - push hard at the bottom of the hill to the finish

Man, this is a tight race - no mistakes!

Good season so far...

Just read my January post.  I've continued to build throughout the season with only a few set backs.  I haven't gotten much faster, but a bit more comfortable.  I have done 5 races this year:
- Broadstreet 10 mile in Philly at a 6:20 pace (went out hard (sub 6) and faded)
- Escape from Fort Delaware Olympic (Swim kicked my ass, and felt like I never recovered) - finished 2nd in age group
- Pat Griskus Olympic in CT - NE Regional Championship (3rd in my age group - fought through some hip injuries and didn't train like I wanted)
- Marshman Sprint Tri - 4th overall, 2nd age group - pretty good showing, but could have done some things differently
- A 5 K down in NC with my daughter - Tiger something.  19:02 or something like that - went out too hard and went into oxygen debt in mile 3 and never recovered

So far so good.  Poconos 70.3 is next weekend.  Then Ragnar Relay. 

Running again and signed up for races

Well, I'm running again. Three days a week right now.  Tuesday (Intervals); Thursday (Tempo) and Sunday (Long). 
It took me a looong time to get back, and while I'm still not 100%, I ran 12.5 miles yesterday with only a slightly sore foot afterwards.

I am wearing the Vibrams everywhere I can, except for running and they are helping - not only strengthening my feet, but also they are very supportive - or at least they feel better than wearing shoes.

I had to creep up to add the miles, and while 12.5 isn't easy, I'm still pretty damn comfortable at a sub 8 minute pace and can drop it down to sub 7 minute pace for the last couple of miles.

My tempo runs are 4 miles at a 6:30 pace, so pretty good there too.  I have dreams of getting back to a 6 minute pace, but not sure if these old bones (and heart and lungs) can get there.  We'll see.

I'm signed up for Escape from Fort Delaware Olympic distance triathlon in May.  Somewhat of a redemption race, as I really screwed the pooch the first time I ran it - bad swim and flat tire on the bike.

I'm also signed up for Poconos half Ironman.  I hope my foot can handle the training required for a half IM. 

Oh yeah.  For those of you that want to know what I did about the torn plantar fascia...
- I stopped trying to stretch my calf and foot (bad idea as that only made it worse)
- I started foot strengthening exercises
- I messaged it very often, including the calf to increaese blood flow
- I gave up on Prototherapy, although that might have helped
- I decided NOT to do PRP as the doctor was a bit skittish and suggested that he might hit a nerve, etc. and if it wasn't really bad I should wait

Enough for now. If you're reading this, let me know what you think.

Improving my swimming through video

I've been bringing my underwater high def camera to the pool.   Not perfect since no one is actually following me with the camera, so I see a few strokes than get too far away, 20 seconds later I'm coming back in the other direction...

Anyway, I bring my video in one panel and Phelps or Thorp in another panel.  Then I compare strokes (why not compare the the best).  On one side I do ok - that is, when I breath to the left and my right hand is in front.  However, when breathing to the right, I completely SUCK.  This is the side I used to breath on exclusively until I learned how to bi-lateral breath. 

It took me a while, but I really studied it TODAY with BEER IN HAND.  My whole body twists for air... my legs splay to balance... and my left arm is ineffectual in lengthening my body. 

What a revelation!  I kind of knew this WAS happening a while back, but thought I had mostly worked it out.  But the VIDEO DON'T LIE brother.  So, I've really got to improve my left hand entry and my right side breathing.  Two main things will be to lead with the top of my head and keep my legs in check.  I must fix this first.

first new pair of running shoes in 2 years

I bought a new pair of running shoes today.  I've been running pretty regularly with a mishmash of older shoes.  I settled in on a 6 year old Brooks Adrenaline that I didn't originally like and therefore had few miles on them.  But they felt pretty good so, that is what I've been primarly using for the past month.  I bought the latest model today.

I'm also looking to get the Vibram 5 finger 'barefoot running' shoe.  I have to say, just waling around the store with them on felt 'right'.  Not sure that I can explain it.  I'm thinking I'll get them for Christmas, but may pick up a pair sooner.

Running has been going pretty well, but my foot really bothered me after running 8 miles on a Sunday (~7:15 pace) then doing speedwork on a Tuesday on the treadmill.  So I've taken a week + off and the foot is feeling good again.  Tomorrow is thanksgiving, so hoping to do a run first thing in the morning with the new shoes.

Morale of the story - Prolotherapy didn't fix things, but I think it made it better.  More importantly, I STOPPED STRETCHING my foot and started messaging it and my calf several times a day and at night and first thing in the morning.  Makes a BIG difference to helping the blood flow and circulation.  Not 100% yet, but getting there.

Also, the speed work on the track seems to work better than speedwork on the treadmill - that is, I can go faster and more repeats on the track with less pain later (~6min pace 800s for example).  However, I can do longer runs at a slower pace on asphalt - 10min pace, no problem, 7min pace or faster over becomes a problem.

Learning, but hopeful things are going in the right direction.

Checking in...

I haven't raced this year - I kind of miss it...

I've been running a bit - my foot is usually sore afterward and pretty weak during... oh well. 

I did 6 miles last weekend - 3 with Sena - 3 on my own.  Gravel trail.  Ran about a 7:15 pace for the second half - felt 'ok', but hobbled around the rest of the afternoon. 

I think it is safe to say that Prolotherapy was a bust.  8 treatments and a year later and I don't feel like I've gotten any  better.

Did 3 miles this morning - 1.5 with Sena, 1.5 on my own.  Didn't bring my Garmin, so not sure of the pace, but did a relatively hard pace - probably 7min pace or so.  Focused on control - solid foot steps.  Foot feels ok today.  Defnitely not 'race to win' shape, but hopefully it will strengthen over time - baby steps.

Got new tires for the bike - was feeling a bit unsafe on the old tires.  Haven't been riding much. Will try to get out tomorrow.

Swam my fastest ever this past week.  80 second 100s x 4.  Goal is 75 second 100s x 8.  Not sure why I swam so fast, but can't complain too much.

Saw a chiropractor to check out my hip this past week.  The left hip gets out of place over time.  Not sure it made much of a difference.  Might need to try someone else.

Need some goals. 

Foot update - starting to run...

Went to the foot doctor a couple of weeks ago to get my PRP treatment.  I told him my foot was feeling pretty good - of course, I hadn't been running and it should be feeling good.  He suggested that instead of the PRP, I should try to start running again.  So I started...
on the treadmill,
Day 1: 1/4 mile walk, 1/4 jog, 1/4 walk
Day 3: 1/4 mile walk, 1/4 mile at 9 min pace, 1/4 mile at 8 min pace, 1/4 mile at 7:30 pace, 1/4 mile walk
Day 5 1 hour on eliptical, then to the treadmill... 1/4 mile at 9 min pace, 1/4 mile at 8 min pace, 1/4 mile walk, 1/2 mile at 7:30 pace, 1/4, mile walk
Day 7: 1/4mile walk, 1/4 at 9 min pace, 1/4 mile at 8 min pace, 1/2 mile at 7:30 pace, 1/4 milew walk
Day 10: Track workout - packed limestone track: 1/4 mle walk, 1/2 mile slow jog, stretech, 1 mile at 7 min pace, 1/2 mile walk, 1/2 mile in 3:10, walk 1/2 mile
Day 13: Back to treadmile: 1/4 mile walk, 1/4 mile at 8 min pace, 1/2 mile at 7:30 pace,1/4 mile at 7:20 pace, 1/4 mile at 7:10 pace, 1/4 mile at 7 min pace, 1/2 mile walk

whew - that's a lot to type.  My foot is a little sore today, 2nd day after the last workout.  Trying to decide if I should run again today.

My legs are tired too.

I have also been swimming and riding. 

Ride to the Oregon Coast

Had a nice ride from Eugene to the Coast a few weeks ago.  Route below with some pics.  Riding a vintage Mercier 10 speed with standard pedals and camelpack backpack with bladder (no water bottle holders).  Nutrition wasn't that great - had to stop when I wanted something other than water.  Sore knee in the last 20 miles, but it was a fun ride... OLD SCHOOL STYLE.

Not so fast, are you now?

Riding home from work 2 days ago.  Backpack on - waiting for the light to change green... when it does, another rider comes flying past me in a Time Trial bike - he gets in is aero position and puts down the hammer.  I decide to jump on his wheel.  Usually these guys are wanna be speedsters - this guy was for real.  Shot from 12mph to 30mph in a few seconds and held it for half a mile, until we got to the next traffic choke point coming into West Chester.  We hit a slight incline and he slowed - I could have easily passed him a that point, but I didn't want to be a dick.

He turned to check traffic and the look on his face was priceless when he saw that he didn't drop me.  Ha!  take that TT boy! 

I love being a speedster.

54:51 - Racing the Clock

Fastest time into work today by far.  I knew I could break 55 if I had just the right conditions, a bit of luck with traffic, and was feeling strong.  I hit every intersection just right, no delays for stopping - always slowing to check for traffic.  I was in the zone the second half of the ride - not so much from the start.  So damn fast - I don't think I'll be breaking this time anytime soon.

160 BPM

Riding with a group yesterday, trying not to go too fast that I fragment the group.  I found that if I ride at heart rate of 160, they can keep up.  When I get to 165, I lose them.  I can go for a good period of time at 160.  I can probably maintain 165 for only about 10 minutes before my legs start to feel like rubber.  My heart rate usually gets that high only when I'm climbing or pulling at the front.  I peak out at about 180-185 - I can only hold that for about 30 seconds on a steep climb out of the saddle, and then I really have to slow down to catch my breath.  It's good to know this sort of thing when you're trying to keep the group together.

Swam today

YMCA by jlsturino at Garmin Connect - Details

57:14 - another fast ride into work

80 degrees at 6am - feeling pretty good even though I rode hard yesterday too. I believe this is my fastest ride to date.

That bike crash last week really did a number on me...

Man, I am still very sore from that crash.  Ribs, Chest, Back - all on the left side.  Swimming was painful yesterday - had to do back stroke and breast stroke... forget about freestyle... also did kicking... lots of kicking... I hate kicking, but I know it is good for me.

Trying to do yard work, but that hurts too.  Finally taking some ibuprofen - maybe that will speed things along.