My Steed Has Returned to the Stable

I picked up my Cannondale Slice from the bike shop yesterday. I had them strip it down so when I get a new frame I can have it rebuilt. It was sad to see the old girl all stripped down and especially sad that after all the time I spent sweating, spitting and GUing all over her we didn't get to finish the deed. (That sentence could probably be in Penthouse Forum. Sorry.) It's also sad that I won't be riding a Cannondale again. The "deal" they were offering me was no "deal" and didn't instill brand loyalty. So, I found a better ride for way less money (more on that in a later post.)

The question remains - what to do with this frame? I have included some pics of the crack. I could probably have it repaired and keep it as a spare frame or sell it ultra cheep. Suggestions appreciated.

Stripped. Sad.

The Crack

It's a pretty big crack, but I can't believe bad packing caused it.

A different angle.

Bike Question

I currently have a Trek Madone road bike with Shimano Ultegra components and clip-on aero bars. It's only a couple years old with not a ton of miles on it. It has served me very well as a tri bike. It fits great and is comfortable for long rides in the aero bars. Late next summer I will be doing my first full Ironman. The question I have is: With limited funds and a wife with a limited taste for more gear would I be better off buying a set of deep rim wheels (I have been riding with the crappy wheels the Madone came with) OR picking up a sale tri bike with a decent frame (like a Felt B16 w/105 components) and swapping components from the Madone? A gently used tri bike I guess would also be an option.

Thoughts and suggestions are welcome. Also welcome are recommendations for brands or models and potential outlets with good deals.

Sorry this will bore some of you to tears. Everyone else with helpful suggestions - thank you. (D - just move on, you're not needed here right now.)

Wednesday

That title has nothing to do with anything. I just can't come up with any sort of witty title.

There really isn't much happening here. Fall continues to come and go and come and go in the north country. One day cold and rainy - one day sunny and beautiful - three days cloudy, cold and rainy - half a day sunny - etc. - etc. This has been one of the suckiest falls in memory. It will all just make winter seem that much longer. I better figure out something to do to entertain myself (No! Not that way, you dirty birds.) I mean in addition to running and biking on the trainer.

Speaking of running and biking on the trainer - I have started an off-season training program. Monday was my first day. It was stellar! It was also a rest day. Yesterday, was my first real day of training - one hour on the trainer. Oh, I should point out that my daughter was home sick (more about that later) so I had a terrible time finding time to do something I don't really like to do anyway. But I completed it - heart rate in the target range. This morning I ran. Not like that is any news, but I didn't run with "the ladies." I have been encouraged to run with "the guys." So "the ladies" and I are currently separated, for no other reason than they know I want to run faster. This morning's run was good. I could tell I hadn't run since last Thursday and biked yesterday, but it was good. "The guys" were very welcoming and well behaved. Actually, the conversations were considerably tamer than "the ladies" - no talk of vaginas, poop or snot. Not to say "the guy's" conversations were "better," just different (football, bars, news.) But now my back is sore. Like right in the middle. It has to be from the bike. Somewhere along the line here I have to work in some weights and core work. It's a lot to schedule!

It seems like the kids have been trading off sick days from school lately. The crazy thing is their illnesses are the most innocuous illnesses ever. No seasonal flu, no Hini flu, no explosive diarrhea - just a cough, a mild ear infection or a low grade fever with no other symptoms. E has been home four days in the last two weeks with a mild cough and a minor ear infection that is being treated with antibiotics. If I was my mom and E was me, she would be in school, but because we are not those people, she gets to stay home - and it's pure torture. She leaves a trail of destruction behind her wherever she goes so the house is a total disaster. She is a tremendous lallygagger as well. An hour of homework takes her three to complete because she gets distracted and insists on fighting with A and I about getting her work done. It is not this way when she is in the classroom. Arrrgghh! Please, go back to school!

So, there. That's Wednesday. As boring as a Wednesday can be. Carry on!

New Training Methods

With only a few days left of vacation I have decided to stop fooling myself and just not run. I will run with my peeps when I get home. I still have about 8 weeks until the Twin Cities Marathon and I am not going to be all fat and out of shape if I don't run until Saturday, right?

I have not sworn off all training however. I have been using some new training methods and some new training partners and they are really working me. 

To keep me focused and minimize distractions they insisted on taking the ferry to Washington Island with only our bikes for transportation on the island. (OK - that was my idea, but they agreed.) When we arrived we got right down to business.

E is a very serious training parter. Notice she is keeping her eyes focused keenly on the prize.

F is a bit friendlier, at least with the camera on him.

F likes to pull the train.

I was having a tough time holding onto E's wheel a lot of the time. Those little legs turn a HUGE gear at a very high cadence.

Time for an open water swim. Our goal - the iron ore ship on the horizon.

First some core work. Take these rocks and throw them as far as you can.

E and F understand that so much of training is mental. We spent some time practicing patience, finding balance and reaching a state of Zen.

E and F also helped me better understand nutrition. On the return trip we refueled with Cokes and raspberry Milano cookies.

Our pit-stop really helped. Coke is an excellent fuel for 7- and 9-year-olds. It's like high-octane race car fuel. The speed of the return trip was so high F was blowing his hair out the top of his helmet.

Finally waiting to board the ferry back to the mainland. A good hard day of training complete.

(A got a day without the kids. Aren't I a nice husband? Actually, she insisted I take the kids and give her some alone time. When I say "insisted" I mean "ordered," but then you already knew that.)

Finally, A Good Monday Swim

Masters this morning was pretty good. I have been struggling with the Monday workouts lately. (If you recall, last Monday there was a lot of pouting by me and I cut out really early.) This morning's workout went really well. I wasn't "chicked," made all the intervals and and swam every meter. Hopefully, this is a good sign for Saturday. 

I was hoping to get a ride in this afternoon, but it looks like it might rain so that plan might be changed to riding on the trainer in the garage. whoopee!

Sweet Ride

Sunday was a gorgeous day here in Minnesota. What a difference one day makes. It was a little windy, but there was low humidity, mild temps and clear skies for our 50 mile bike ride. MS and I were both very glad we waited a day to ride. 

I got to MS's house at 8:00 AM - a much more leisurely start time than what we are used to. We were ready to roll in very short order. I practiced peddling with my feet on top of my shoes and then sliding them in. I took my time and got them in pretty quickly with no drama.

We headed out west on our usual route. We pick up a bike path that runs near MS's house and wind through residential and light industrial areas - not at all picturesque. Our goal was to ride around one of the local lakes and through the small towns that line the shores. I brought a camera but I need to do a better job taking interesting pictures. (Saw a HUMONGOUS snapping turtle sunning itself along the side of the road and didn't bother to take a picture.) 

(My picture would have been WAY better.)

Here is a picture of our steeds as we take a bathroom break. We probably shouldn't  have parked such hot rides right by the propane tanks, but we like to live dangerously.

Here is a picture of MS trying to sell her bubble bike.

Here is a picture of Main Street in Wayzata. It was really quiet and idyllic at 9 AM on a Sunday morning. (You can see MS up ahead of me - she was wondering if I had stopped to window shop or something.)

Here is a picture in the other direction - you know, variety.

Here is a picture of a park by Lake Minnetonka (Zzzz - even I think this is boring.)

There is MS up ahead again. (Don't worry the pictures are almost over.)

All total we did 51.5 miles. Plenty good for a couple of people with spouses and kids. I practiced getting my feet out of my shoes while still riding and again - slow and steady - was able to get them off without issue. We did a two mile run right off the bike for a little added interest. My legs felt way better than my last brick in the blast furnace. 

The ride was not intense (although I did hit over 40 miles an hour on a slight decline with the wind at my back. I also hit over 38 miles an hour peddling hard on a steep downhill with a stiff wind in my face. MS told me she had a "day-mare" on that. She pictured me launching over the front end of car at full speed and she had to call my wife to tell her I had hurt myself.) More than anything it was good to spend several hours in the saddle and the aero position. My lack of saddle and aero time was one of the things that held me back on the bike last year. I am also very happy to say that my bike is extremely comfortable this year. The new seat and setup is really nice and should definitely contribute to faster times coming up. 

I parked my car in front of LF's house (MS and LF live right next to each other) and I came back to this view through my windshield. That is a lot of bird crap. I had no idea there were such hate filled birds in the Farrell yard. What a mess!

This morning was Masters again. There were some new people joining us so the lanes were a little more full than usual - even for a Monday. There were fast people in the slower lanes and slower people in the faster lanes. I was a big baby. It started out OK, but when we got into the main set I decided I didn't like it and would do some then pout, then do some more then pout. About half way through I put a fork in it and called it done. Not a total waste, but not stellar - what-ever. I will try again Wednesday.

I am getting super excited for my upcoming races. I am feeling way more confident now and know the races will be fun and should be fast. Now I just have to take it one day at a time and not be an idiot (or more of an idiot.)

tRain

The operative part of "train" this morning was "rain." MS and I were going to get up and go for a 50+ mile ride so our longest ride of the season did not happen during our last race of the season (like last year for me.) We were hoping the weather folks would get the forecast wrong and we would not have thunderstorms in the morning, but they actually were pretty accurate for once. The lightening had passed hours before and now it was just a steady rain. We decided to postpone the ride until tomorrow and run instead.

Of course when we got to the lakes to run, it had stopped raining and was Amazon humid. Aww, crap. We should have biked. Lo and behold (how many times do you get to say that much less type it?) it started to rain lightly, then it stopped - should have biked. Then it started to rain lightly again but for a longer time - glad we were running. Then is stopped - should have biked. Then it started to pour and it poured for the rest of the run - really glad we were running. The run was over 10 miles, but our pace was very easy. Part of me felt like I needed to go faster, but what I really needed was an actual recovery run. Over the next week, my body will thank my mind for holding back. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be a much nicer day and we are all ready to bike. We will be going out a little later in the morning so I will get to sleep in a little bit. We will run a couple of miles right off the bike for another brick session.

In other training news, I made it to Masters three times last week. Friday was sprint day, nothing over 100 m, but high intensity. I really think those workouts are more difficult than a set of longer swims and I used to be a sprinter in college. I hope that I will be able to get the same amount of training in next week maybe with some more biking. The week after that is about half a week of training and then the Liftetime Fitness Olympic tri. (I hope I can rub shoulders with some of the big time pros and maybe get a picture with Emma Snowshill. I saw her last year - teeny tiny and super cute - oh, and F-A-S-T, fast.)

Oh yeah, one last thing - I am a winner! I responded clumsily to a Twitter contest from Garmin and won a Garmin running tank/singlet. (Now if I could just figure out how to win a new TT bike, that would rock!)

Bric

Yes, I left the "k" off of "brick" because I didn't really finish it. After swimming this morning and then returning to the pool with the kids for a few hours in the afternoon, I decided to do a brick. A got out of work on time and came to the pool to relieve me (that was news to her) and I went home to hop on the bike for a hard hour ride followed by a two mile run. Why so short you may ask. Well, I had to make dinner and it was 92 with a 97 degree heat index. Just a little toasty. 

I slathered on the sunscreen, got dressed and put together a couple of water bottles. Yesterday I rigged up a water bottle cage between my aero bars. I have seen it on a couple of pro bikes and I saw it on a couple of bikes at the race on Saturday and it looked pretty easy to do with a handful of zip-ties. I like it better than an aero bottle because I can put whatever bottle in the cage. I used to have a couple of bottles behind my seat, but on a few rides this spring I spent more time retrieving ejected bottles than actually drinking from them. And they were not particularly easy for me to grab and replace. I will give up a little aerodynamic advantage for speed and ease of use. 

So, I drop some Nuun tabs in a couple of bottles, let them fizz till they were done, snapped the tops closed and I was off. Now, I have two kinds of bottles I use. One is your typical bike bottle but the other one is a fancy Camleback bottle. I like these bottles because you can use their little bite-valve and suck instead of having to crane your neck to get that last gulp. The Camleback bottle has a lid you can twist to turn it "on" or "off". I usually leave it "on" because nothing really spills too much. (I know - "Your water bottles are FASCINATING, please go on and on and tell us more. We are RIVETED!" Fine, I will change the subject.)

I decided to practice getting my feet in my shoes on the bike. First lesson - go slow. I get one shoe flipped over with my foot on top and proceed to coast down the driveway. I flip the other shoe over and get my foot on top of it and pedal slowly down the street. Our street is a mess right now because they are about to tear it up to replace all the sewer and water lines. They haven't fixed a pot hole all spring - very bumpy. Peddling down the street I am feeling pretty good.

What the hell!? What is spraying me in the face. I can't see. It's my Camelback bottle in the aero bar cage geysering out of the bite valve back into my face. Apparently, when you use those Nuun tabs and then seal them in a bottle and then shake said bottle, the fizz causes the liquid to spout out all over the place. I almost crashed - blind, stocking footed and sweaty - trying to stem the tide of Triple Berry Nuun juice. I regained control and turned the lid to "off" - just ridiculous.

I proceeded to get my feet in my shoes with no problem. I will continue to practice that maneuver as much as I can. 

I biked around the lakes to the entrance to the bike/pedestrian trail we like to ride on. As I was waiting at the stop light to cross to the entrance, I decided to grab a drink. I pulled the Camelback bottle out of the handy aero bar holder, turned the lid to "on" and shot myself in both eyes and up my nose as the pent up pressure came spewing out the bite-valve again. I swear I am a moron! I did get the valve to my mouth and had a drink without falling over in traffic. From then on the ride was smoooooth, fast, hot, sweaty sailing. 

*Warning* Do Not combine these two things with a bumpy road!

I hammered it an hour holding 24+ mph on the straightaways to really get my legs burning (my average speed - from leaving my driveway to returning home - was 19.9 mph.) I also practiced getting my feet out of my shoes while on the bike and that went amazingly smoothly. Again, I took it slow and I will keep practicing. When I got home I got the running shoes and shorts on and headed back out to click off a couple of quick miles.

The heat caught up with me almost immediately. I was working hard. I really pushed the pace and in the future I will take it a little easier. I got about a half mile in, started to get a side stitch was breathing uncharacteristically fast and decided I had made my point. I turned around and started back and got about another quarter mile and then walked that final quarter. It was a good enough outing for the first time in this kind of heat. That and I will be running at least 10 miles tomorrow morning. 

The weather says we will have another day of this heat and then possibly a cool down. Who knows?

Pedicures, Training and Racing

Last weekend was a fairly big training weekend for me. With no marathon training necessary, I changed my Saturday run to a Saturday brick - the first one of the season and long overdue. I rode the only route I am comfortable with these days (I am such a wuss) but it incorporates a loop of nice hills - so I did the loop five times. Total mileage was only about 34 miles, but with the hills it counts for more. (Right? That and dragging my lard-ass around, that counts for more, too. Right? You people need to cut a guy a break.)  Below are the profiles from my bike. You can really see the profile of the hills - both by elevation and heart rate. Kind of crazy.

I rode home and had all my running stuff laid out and quickly got off the bike and into running attire. I decided to run sans socks knowing I would more than likely get some rubbing somewhere from my fairly new shoes. It started almost immediately, but it never got very bad. It was rubbing right under my ankle bone on both feet. Better to find out now and be able to lube it up than to find out during a race. My legs felt crazy-weird. I don't remember them feeling quite so weird last year, but I also don't think I hammered a bunch of hills and then decided to run. 

The run really went pretty well. I was clicking along pretty comfortably at a 7:30 pace (yes, I know I am not setting the world ablaze with my speed.) Four miles in just over 30 minutes. Now, I have been working on my running economy lately. I am a natural forefoot striker/very mild supinator so I have been working to take advantage of my natural gait and trying to become more efficient. I concentrate on not over-striding (which I used to do last year) and keeping my feet underneath me, staying light on my feet with a quick consistent turnover. It seems to really be helping as evidenced by my fast half-marathon and my consistent marathon recently. It really made a big difference on the brick as I don't know if I could have run that pace at that effort last year. I am probably doing way better than I figure I am.

The rest of Saturday was super lazy. We had no plans. We got outside and did a bunch of work in the yard and played with the dog and the kids. A decided that she needed a pedicure so she went up to the little Vietnamese nail place in the neighborhood. E decided she wanted to go with. I thought E was just going to hang out and talk while A got her toes painted. E came home with this.

This is cute on so many levels. First, the color she chose is the most attention-getting green. Second, she got a flower added to her big toes and third, she has the cutest little sausage toes ever. (The pictures are slightly out of focus because E took them herself and couldn't stop laughing.) She has been wearing flip flops everywhere to show them off.

My first race of the year is on Saturday and now I am having all sorts of anxiety. I am a middle of the pack age group type guy (OK, maybe more first quarter of the pack, but still) so it's not like I have a whole lot of pressure to "win." I do want to go faster and by "faster" I mean "fas-ter". I just hope I have enough bike legs and run legs - I should have more than last year just by virtue of experience and additional training. We have yet to get out for an open water swim this year and I am somewhat concerned about that, but not too much. It will be a wetsuit legal swim, I should be able to go sleeveless and the swim course is a point-to-point with the beach to the right the whole way. Since this is a sprint I have been paring down the crap on my bike. I switched to the small Fizik bag that clips to my Fizik saddle. Lost the seat mounted water bottle holders and will probably ditch the bento box in favor of tape or carrying gels in a pocket. I want transition to be simple and fast, but I have yet to practice a bike mount. Maybe Wednesday. Anything will be better than last year when I put on socks because I hadn't run without them at all and I had just put my aero bars on an wasn't comfortable with them so I was only in the drops. I also ran in my bike shoes in transition instead of leaving them on the pedals. Novice!

Today was the third day of Masters at the outdoor LCM pool. Monday is distance day so we had a bunch of 200's. I am feeling better, although I was just hanging on at the end. I have put myself in the fast guy lane and have been brining up the rear, but not out of touch with the super-fast leaders. These guys are younger and they are "swimmers". I don't hear much talk about marathons or tris from these guys, so I guess I should feel good about my situation. I hope each session gets better - I'll keep working at it. 

This week looks a little rainy, but I will need to get on the bike - I can run and swim in rain, no problem. Saturday is supposed to be sunny and clear if not a little warm. It should be a beautiful day to race - I hope the weather man gets the forecast right. Off to bed - run tomorrow.

Back in the Saddle, Again

Got on the bike this morning with MS. LF wanted to go for a short run. We laughed at her. My legs thanked me for biking instead of running. I was going to swim this week as well, but the usual pool is closed and the alternate pool is a little too much of a drive (more than 10 minutes) and the outdoor pool doesn't open until next Monday. So this week is biking and recovering and that is it. Feels good to be back on the bike. This might be a really good tri season. Let's think positive.

Single Speed Obsession, Boston Qualifying and Some Other Crap

I am obsessed with getting a single speed bike. Since I saw Charisa's super fly new ride and I checked out some blogs, manufacturer's sites and did some other reading I am totally coveting two wheels and one gear. I am not sure I can say I want to go all the way to fixed-gear (I do have a family and live in a state with stupid drivers when bikes are involved) but, I like the idea of a bike that is super simple that I can hop on and ride and fully take care of myself. I have kind of settled on the same manufacturer as Charisa because for a very reasonable price you can get a custom colored ride. I just have to cobble together some funds, maybe it will be a single-speed fall.

It is a HUGE race weekend this weekend. Let's see, there is: Ironman 70.3 Hawaii, Ironman Brazil, Rock & Roll Marathon San Diego, the inaugural Minneapolis Marathon and some others I am sure I am forgetting or unaware of. I know a few people racing in Hawaii so that will be fun to track. I know no one racing in Brazil but it will still be interesting to read about. I know one person running the marathon in San Diego (as a training run - I am so sure) and then there is the Minneapolis Marathon. I know a handful of people running this race and although I wish them all well, I am only concerned with three people - MS, LF and me. In case you weren't aware of it, MS and LF are turning 40 next year and they have decided that they want to run the Boston Marathon as part of their celebration. This is going to be the qualifying race. Why am I involved? Because I volunteered to be the pacer. 

Now, I am fully confident that we will run under the qualifying time. The three of us have trained together for the full cycle and we have been running faster and more consistent than we did last year. There have been some mental setbacks, but I think we have our heads on straight (especially MS) and we will be in good shape. The weather is supposed to be good - perhaps a bit warm, but at least not raining - so the dirt trail portion should be in good shape. (Yeah, dirt trail. Not the ideal course, but we are familiar with it.) I am super excited and relaxed because: I know what I need to do, I ran a faster marathon last fall, I have run a considerably faster half marathon recently and I know what to do regarding pacing and running in the heat (after screwing up my first marathon a year ago.) All the training is done. On Sunday it will be full-on. (When we qualify those ladies for Boston there will be more pressure on me, because then I will want to qualify and that qualifying race will be Twin Cities Marathon in the fall, but hey, one race at a time.)

When I started writing this there was some "other crap", but now I can't remember what it was. When I think of it, I will add a separate post.

I Think I Could Do That Every Day

I swam AND biked today. It wasn't technically a "brick" because in between the two I got the kids off to school and took the dog to Boot Camp. 

Masters was great. Wednesday is always IM day and it seems to keep attendance down. Our main set today was:

2 x 75 fly

3 x 100 IM

2 x 75 back

3 x 100 IM

2 x 75 breast

3 x 100 IM

I drilled the 75s fly but was able to do the full 100 IMs. I have been thinking that my backstroke has been clunky and my breaststroke just plain awful, but coach asked if I swam IM in college. I told him he should know the answer to that by the look of my breaststroke. (I would swim it occasionally.) He said he was surprised because my fly and back looked good. Then he asked if I swam 200 fly. My response was a flat, "No." (I could never finish it when we time-trialed it in college.) He was kind of surprised. My fly and back did feel particularly good today and when those feel good my free feels particularly strong. All in all a good session. LCM outside starts June 8th - can't wait (really, I can't.)

MS and I had scheduled a bike ride for the morning. The weather was sketchy - it had been raining or drizzling and extremely windy for about the last 12 hours so I was worried (hoping) we would get rained out. I had to bust a move over to MS's house after I got home from dropping the dog off so I didn't even get to take a proper shower and smelled kind of "bleachy" from the pool. We rode for an hour and a half and avoided all rain and wet roads and even got a little sun at the end. Two hours later it was pouring rain. Very strange weather. 

I would love to be able to get two workouts a day in everyday. I guess I will have to take them when I can get them. I hope they come more often after the marathon in a few weeks, but then I will be shuttling the kids to all their summer activities. Ah, I'll make it work.

Bike Porn

In Milan for Design Week I came across the Biomega bike showroom. These bikes are high-design concept commuter bikes typically with shaft drive. And they are SUPER cool. These are from left to right - the Amsterdam, the Copenhagen, and the Boston.

The really cool stuff was inside. 

This is a concept bike from Ross Lovegrove (a superstar designer.) Carbon fiber with a shaft drive.

This one was the most exciting.

It is a bamboo bike. Fully production ready after five years of development. The tubes are real bamboo and there is no reinforcement running from the aluminum joints/lugs. It is like a work of art! And they know it, so they included some features to make it easier to hang on your wall. The pedals "butterfly" so you don't poke a hole in your sheetrock and the handlebars have a keyed quick-release on the stem that allows you to rotate the bars independently of the front wheel. It also works as a security feature - making the bike very difficult to ride.

I think the Amsterdam model is available from Design Within Reach for like $1,600. By no means cheap, but great to look at.

AWE-SOME!

(To be said with a little sing-song tone in your voice.) That is the only way I can describe my bike ride with MS this afternoon. Let me back up to yesterday.

Yesterday I was a slug. 

I didn't do a damn thing. Oh, wait, I did some core work late in the evening and even cut that short because I wasn't into it. To make up for my slug-itude I was determined to do my usual run and bike outside for the first time. 

Done and done! The run this morning was mile repeats. We rocked 'em. They were about 20 seconds faster than we anticipated and we were very consistent. It felt great and we are feeling much more confident about our training. 

This afternoon I met MS at her house and we hopped on the Three Rivers Trail (or at least I think that's what it's called) and headed west. We had a little headwind, but we also had 65 degrees and sun. It was was GLORIOUS! We were totally cruising along - I was holding about 20 mph with little effort and it felt so good to be actually going somewhere rather than peddling in place. We got to the end of our loop where we do hills. We decided to just do one set as it was our first time out. I actually felt good. I am super excited about biking this year. 

On our way back we caught up with a bike cop who was riding our trail. We started chatting and ended up cruising back with him. He was really nice and entertaining and I think he was happy to ride with somewhat normal people. 

(Not actually the guy we rode with.)

So the ride didn't end up super fast, but that really doesn't matter. It was so nice to be out and spinning the wheels. Just a really fantastic time. 

I have to say this as well. I LOVE my bike setup this year. The new seat and the adjustments I made to my aero bars make it heaven to ride. I really felt like I could ride forever. It really helps that I spent way more time in the saddle this off season than last, so I am sure that has a lot to do with it. I hope this is a good omen for the rest of the season. I am excited for my next ride. Whee!

Have You Seen My Wagon?

Because I seem to have fallen off of it. It shouldn't be too far away though. I didn't work out today. I was going to go on a ride OUTSIDE for the first time this spring but couldn't find anyone to go with me and then I had to meet the painter at my in-laws to pick a paint color for their new garage door and then A was coming home early so she wanted to do some yard work. So, after a couple of weeks of "6-for-7" I am off the wagon. However, tomorrow we have our usual run - mile repeats at the track - and MS and I are going to go for a bike ride. It is about fricking time. So, missing a workout today but doubling up tomorrow makes everything even out, right? 

At A Loss

I am at a loss as to what to title this post. It has been busy since I posted last. Probably too busy to put in one mammoth and potentially tedious post, so I will break it up. First up, training.

Training has been going pretty well. We did our first track workout last Thursday - 800's. Since this was our first real speed day we played the number of reps by ear. Our first one started out too quick and we all felt like we were going to be in for a brutal morning of trying to not projectile vomit on each other. By the second 400 hundred of number 1 we had settled down a bit and came in only slightly quicker than our goal time. We decided to do four reps and reps 2 - 4 were way better. We were within a few seconds on each rep and once we got into the groove we felt pretty good. I would have liked to go a little faster - because I am dumb, but we agreed to stay together - after all I am "pace-boy" for the marathon. In order to work it a little harder I ran in lane 3. It wouldn't seem like much, but those extra feet or yards make a difference. Overall, we ran all four reps about 10 seconds faster than we originally planned and figured we could hold that in the future. The runs to and from the track were kind of poky, but then all they were supposed to be was warm up and warm down, right?

Friday, I blew off masters swimming. Was that awesome Wednesday workout a fluke? We will never know now, will we? I skipped it for no other reason than, I did not want to drag my butt out of bed - lame, lame, lame. To make up for it I determined I would ride my bike. Yet another trainer ride because I am a lazy wimp. I procrastinated it most of the day until I had about an hour and a half before dinner to do it. Well, it was "now or never" and I didn't want to lose a whole day of training. One problem, A and the kids were home. It was Good Friday so the kids had school off and A took the day off. If you weren't already aware of it, I hate to train when my family is around. I told A earlier in the day I would need the time to ride and in hind-site I should have gone earlier, but here I was. Now, the weather is beautiful here (finally) so the kids had been outside for a lot of the day, but they were starting to get squirrely. A decided to take them to Caribou. I think she needed the coffee and just wanted the kids to settle down some, so she stuck her head down the basement stairs to let me know her plan. 

There I am, about half way through my ride, watching Hogan's Heros, sweating like a whore in church, peddling my little bike to nowhere and she gives me the "eye-roll." Ugh! I just hate that. They leave, I finish. I have been grinding a big gear at a moderate cadence to build some leg strength, especially since I haven't been lifting. It went pretty well, but I really need to hike up my bike skirt and get on the road. There is nothing good on TV anymore. 

Saturday was our long run day. We did our first 20 miler the Saturday before so we were down to 16 or 18. There were family Easter obligations so we decided to go shorter, but we decided to run the middle 6 miles at marathon pace. MS was not feeling well at the start. There were mentions of contraception and poor food choices, but I tuned out at "contraception" and never made the connection. MS has also been having some anxiety about our race pace. It seems daunting, but I keep trying to assure that by race day it won't be at all. We worked our way through the first five miles at what we thought was our typical LSD pace and made a pit stop before we launched into "race pace." MS used the porta-loo and I stood near by making loud fart sounds with my hands because I am really a 12 year old boy at heart. But everyone else laughed, so. (It may have been embarrassed, uncomfortable laughter, I have a hard time discerning - not that it would necessarily stop me.) The six miles at race pace flew by. We were actually able to talk pretty well through the whole thing and our average pace for each mile was about 10 seconds faster then our goal. We were feeling pretty good about it. The last five miles seemed poky in comparison, but they were actually faster than they felt. Over all our average pace was 30 seconds per mile faster than our goal and our slowest mile (the first mile) was the only one right on pace. It felt great! And MS has much more confidence. (And her stomach actually felt better the longer we went - thank goodness for that.)

Sunday is my rest day and in what has become typical fashion for me on every major holiday, I overindulged, but I love ham. And lamb cake.

Which brings us to today and masters swimming. It was not my best day. I did get in about 2,200 yards in about 45 minutes, but it sucked. Or more accurately, I sucked. We got into the main set and the wheels came completely off the bus causing said bus to sink to the bottom of the pool and grind away on the brake hubs while the water slowly filled the passenger compartment and drowned my will to continue. I didn't realize it, but my legs were very tired from Saturday. I have never felt them when I kick like I did this morning. Flip turns were terrible. I was either jammed in the wall or floating back to get a toe on it. My head was not in the water. The ham and potatoes and lamb cake and ham and potatoes and lamb cake were taking their collective toll. So, I made an excuse and cut it short - and this is really the workout I should have ground out. Distance and more distance. Now I feel shame. 

But what's done is done. I would like to get on the bike to make up for my miserable performance this morning, but I still have a lot of Easter dishes to do. Hmmm, dishes or bike? It's a toss up at this point. 

Re-thinking "The Plan"

Bike: Ready to go outside. Weather is not cooperating (read: I still don't want to ride outside.)

Legs: Lower legs well shaved, upper legs still a little patchy. Now that the majority of the hair is gone, I kind of want it back. With no hair my legs look very pale and kind of spindly. They are also really dry - time to break out the lotion. I guess to some extent I am starting to get "running legs" and I am not used to it. Hopefully, a few days of Florida sun will get some color on them and I will get used to seeing them. Then, when I get home the weather should be nice and I can start running and biking in shorts (wishful thinking.) Baby steps.

Working "The Plan"

I have made progress on "the plan" from my previous post. I got the bike off the trainer, put the outside tire on. Filled it with a CO2 cartridge, because I had never done that and wanted to see what to expect when I need to do it in a race or a ride. (Those things fill a tire quick and are seriously only a one shot deal.) This morning I started to shave my legs. The first time takes for-ever. I decided to stage it instead of one marathon session (hey, I have other things to do, too.) Today has been pouring rain all day, so no outside bike for me, but I could always pop my bike back on the trainer. 

I did get a good swim workout in. We had a set of 200s that left my arms feeling like little noodles (you know, the super thin Chinese rice noodles, not the fatter, but equally delicious, udon noodles), but it was good to really put them to work. Mmmm, noodles. Oh, look! Lunchtime.

I Think I Have A Plan

And here it is. Sunday: Get bike off trainer. Put on "outside" tire, but leave trainer skewer in (just in case.) Shave legs.

Monday: Ride outside if I can stay between the raindrops. The weather folks haven't been real accurate lately, so let's hope they get this wrong, too. If rainy, ride inside. 

Rest of the week: Ride as much as possible, preferably outside. The following week is no good - in Florida for Spring Break. 

It's not much of a plan and I talk a good game. Let's see if that leg shaving thing provides any motivation.

Nope

Nope. I didn't make it to Masters this morning. A wanted to walk with her girlfriends. She hadn't walked with them for weeks, so I couldn't argue. It just means that I have to get on the bike, but it's difficult when she is around (Wednesday is her day off.) Which brings me to my current issue - bike training. I just can't seem to get a good handle on it. Motivation is an issue because I am riding the trainer for now. Ignorance is another issue. Swimming I have nailed - I know how to get the most out of any workout, I have been doing it for so long. Running - I have a "coach" with enough experience to give us a good schedule of workouts and I have been able to figure out the pattern and make adjustments as needed after two marathon cycles. The GPS helps too, as I can tailor my pace and distance without guessing. The bike thing befuddles me. 

Let's see if I can break down my hang-ups. (At this point I would like to solicit any advice.) I am the king of excuses for not riding. I could list them here, but I would only be reminding myself of how stupid they make me sound. Let's just say there are many. (Upon further reflection, I realize that all the following "hang-ups" are actually "excuses" - let's call these "The Bigguns.") 

No one to keep me honest. I have a Masters team to meet at a set time and set days. I have a running group to meet at a set time and set days. I don't have that for the bike. 

I have coaches for swimming and running. I am a sheep. Tell me what to do and I will do it. I do a pretty good job of pushing it past the limit, especially if I fool myself into thinking someone is keeping track. I do much better if someone gives me a workout to do - all that thinking makes my little brain hurt.

I don't know where to go. Living in a metro area makes it difficult to find good open roads that stretch for miles and miles. When I was living with the 'rents in Wisconsin in college the rural roads went forever. I just need to find some good routes that allow me to ride for a couple of hours at a stretch. Some with hills. Some for TTs. (See - totally lame excuse. How about I get a map or look at Google Maps or talk to my buddy at the LBS? I am just lazy.)

The conditions aren't any good. I will run in damn near any weather - and have. I have swum in rough oceans, ice cold lakes, weedy lakes, pools, rivers, and would probably swim in a septic tank if I had to. I want perfect conditions to bike. No sandy, pothole strewn roads (like we have right now). Not too cold. Not rainy. Not too dark. Blah, blah, blah. I have so much gear that cold or rain or sun or wind really shouldn't be an issue. Sandy roads - really? Potholes - they are so big you can see them half a mile away and avoid them. Too dark - maybe, but I have all day to ride. 

It's lonely out there. This might be the only issue. I don't have someone to ride with. I could ask about joining in with a bike group, but those guys scare me (Not really. Again, just lazy.)

Why so worried about the bike? Because I could shed a lot of time off the bike leg this year and I want to kick ass! 

So there it is - my bike anxiety. Any help is appreciated. Maybe keeping my little blogosphere updated will help to keep me honest - doubtful, but there is always hope, right?