Back From Florida

We were scheduled to be back Monday. That storm Sunday/Monday cancelled our flight and re-scheduled us for Wednesday AM. 2 more days in the sun how can that be bad?

I ran 3 times down there. I'll log that on the spreadsheet soon.
Craig had mentioned that you can run a bit faster outdoors, with what feels like the same effort. The interesting thing was that my Quads were tested. Going down steps the next few days I could really feel the quads working. Not sure if this is because of running faster, a treadmill "assist" or a bit of both.

Temperatures were Mid 70's to 80 down there. I can only hope that's the temp in Bristol for the Mooseman. On the lower humidity day, the run was very comfortable.

Swimming is painful

Ah! Here is a swimming picture. Who is that big dope. I have been trying to figure out if it is nicer to swim in a pool or the open water. The last time I swam open water was last summer on Kinzua. I swam across a small bay and back five times. No wall to push off of . Just turn and swim, which takes some energy. But in the pool you have to turn every 25 yards and start your rhythm over again. This could be an ageless question, never to be answered.

Warming up here. Getting into the 40's during the day. Still not enough daylight after work, but days are getting longer and daylight savings is coming up (sill have to patch the computer so it knows daylight savings changed). I'm looking to hit the pool on Wednesdays and run at least three days a week. Will probably pick up the bike Mid March to early April - cool breeze in my hair on the bike in the spring, especially downhill is not much fun.

A final note, if we decide to do the Kinzua Country Tango, I'm in it to have fun. Placing is not an issue. I have no strength in the five events and am willing to fill in where needed. I should be in decent shape by then, so a combined effort of 2 hours or 2 1/2 hours should be reasonable (of course a rest between stages would be most appreciated). Shawn should be a good choice for the canoeing. I went White water rafting once with him and we had little trouble maneuvering the boat, even in the middle of rapids. Ah! The good old days, no kids, and we were invinsible.

Flu

I had the flu last week and at the same time got strep throat. I'm still taking antibiotics for that one. The flu is gone, but I missed some time there. Felt like crap. Running wasn't in the forecast. Hopefully I can get back on the horse here this week. I think I lost weight, though, from not eating for several days. So maybe that's the good news. Unfortunately, I think I'm making up for it this week.

Is it just me?

Or is our spreadsheet MIA?

Well I just enter my run here.
5 miles 54 minutes.
20 minutes @ 5mph
20 minutes @ 5.5mph
15 minutes @ 6mph
cool down...

Things Are Heating Up Down Here

After a few weeks in the low 20's, we finally hit 65 today, with more of the same for tomorrow! Now THAT is what I'm talking about! Oh, I live in Richmond, VA these days, in case anyone is wondering.

There is a double meaning in the title of this blog because I also grabbed a hot pan and burned all four fingers of my right hand this evening. I hate getting 2nd degree burns to my fingers. Typing is slow going.

I have not been keeping up with the spreadsheet, but I have been working out pretty regularly for the past few weeks. In addition to physical therapy (shoulder...remember?) twice a week, I have also been hitting the bike for 25 minutes and then the eliptical for 15 every other morning at the gym at work. I am finding that it is kicking my ass so far.

I have decided against using the heart rate method to train for now. The machine says my target HR is about 159-ish. Because I am so out of shape, I end up hitting 189 pretty quickly and then machine wants to pause so my HR will come back down. My desire to not appear as a total woose in front of everyone is pitted against my fear of my heart exploding in my chest right there in the gym. So far vanity is winning out. I will continue to monitor my HR to make sure it will starts to improve.

Also, I shared a link the Matt earlier regarding an annual event in Warren. It is called "Kinzua Country Tango" and info can be found at www.kinzuacountrytango.com. It looks pretty gruelling, but also a lot of fun. My brother is planning to participate this year (August). He was going to be on a team with Andy Keverline. Since Andy's passing, he feels more strongly than ever to be in it. So far, I have agreed to be there for moral support, and also safety canoe person for the 2.2 mile swim. If I am somehow able to get myself in shape by then, I will attempt to participate with him.

With the weather finally turning towards Spring, I believe I will get up early and go for a run before work. I have to wear a suit tomorrow anyway, which makes shower logistics that much more difficult for me...it is the tie that messes everything up.

I hope everyone is doing well and managing to maintain at least some form of physical activity. I know I have not been doing my share with making postings and I will try to get better. I will also make an attempt to keep up with the spreadsheet to record my workouts.

Baby, it's cold outside.

It appears that Craig is correct and the posts are slowing. It's probably because the damn groundhog lied and everyone has some form of seasonal affective disorder. I am currently having difficulty rotating my excercise routine around work and sleep. Tomorrow will be another 16 hour shift serving and protecting, interrupted only for a few hours by some rest. This is one of the reasons I will not be giving up caffeine. It's my drug of choice, thank you very much.

I'm thinking of splurging on a trainer for my bike so I can add something else to my program and break things up somewhat. There's room in the basement next to the treadmill with a view of where the TV is going to go. I guess that will provide some motivation to move the TV now.

Speaking of motivation. I've also been reading different training books/articles/magazines, etc. in anticipation of training myself properly, including my head. After reading 'Ultramarathonman' an Olympic distance triathlon seems less daunting. It's the book by Dean Karnazes, the guy who ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days last year. He's done runs of over 200 miles at a stretch, with only brief bathroom and eating breaks. The book is interesting.

So, these are some of the things I've been doing. The exercise helps keep me warm and also allows me to eat good things and some not so good things. I feel that it all balances out. Hope everyone is doing well and the training plans are progressing. Last one across the line has to buy the drinks.

Bike Fitting

Not that it's warm enough to do any riding....

Bike Fitting Link

Riding Skills Link

Busy Busy

The company I work for is at max capacity right now, hasn't been this busy in years. This week is my 10 year anniversary with the company, time flies when you are having fun.
We also made a trip to NH to visit Eric and Family last weekend. Then next week we are flying to Florida to visit my Dad. Trying to fit everything in has been tricky.

I was hoping to start with the Heart Rate Training stuff this week but I'm seeing now that it's probably not going to happen for a couple more weeks. I'm just trying to get the time on the treadmill when I can.

That's the news from NJ.

Conference Exercise blues

Sorry fellers,

I was at a conference for educators last weekend, working all day, every day, for 4 days. I was working as an intern as part of my school experience. The conference was pretty cool, but I didn't exercise to any real extent the whole time. My room was probably over a quarter mile from the sessions though (all in the same building) so I did cover a lot of ground, if that's any consolation. I think I also lost weight since I never had time to eat much. This was a technology conference, and I have to say there is some pretty crazy stuff coming down the pike, and we should get on the bus with some of it. Of course this blog is sort of a step in the right direction. Now of course all we need is to write something useful and start putting google ads on the sides, and we'll all be rolling in dough in a couple of weeks. Or something like that. Looks like we might want to buy stock in some company called Apple too. Everybody is using those new-fangled devices they have now. P-pods or something.

This 4 days away from homework has also resulted in my being behind with homework, so now working out for any significant time is going to take a hit, but I'll squeeze some short ones in. 10 minutes here and there.

I am definitely thinking of starting a blog or two about topics related to my research now. It could help to establish a repository of information about any given idea, entity or area of interest. It's going to be wiki-world soon, and the hive-mind will transform information availability. M.I.T. has already put every course they have completely online for free, for anyone to take. Check that out here -- http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html

If only I could learn my way through a triathlon.

Where is everyone!

I see we are starting to wane a little on the posting. So, this means I will just start producing random thoughts. For starters, I have become somewhat of a WVU basketball fan. I can go to the games pretty cheap and they have been real good of late. You missed a heck of a game this past Saturday when WVU beat UCLA. Wow. I was trying to work on our van, but had to keep coming inside to catch it on the TV. I really thought they were going to blow it when they let there 19 point lead dwindle down to 4 points in about a 6 minute span. Of course they had been pasted by Pitt last Wednesday, and got blasted by Georgetown last night.

No real second thought, but I have been down right out of it on training. I mean nothing. I did a paint job, and built a loft bed for Maddy and absolutely wore myself out doing this in the last month. So, I am ready to get started, of course the snow and weather is on my side. Not enough snow to cross country ski and a little to cold to run outside.



Here is another picture of what it looks like to be in a triathlon.

Central Park Run

Hey Craig,
I'm not sure what kind of free time you will have when you are in NYC in May. If you think you would want to do some running in Central Park, I could probably meet up with you. Keep it in mind.

Running map of Central Park

Here is the Map of the Beach to the Farm in NH

I forgot to turn on the elevation option for these maps. You can turn it on without messing up the map. Another nice feature.

Google Maps are the Best!

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=696028
The Mooseman Bike

You can build any map at this gmap-pedometer.com site. Very simple. Nice to be able to figure out mile markers so easily.

Also it looks cool if you switch to satellite. It's easy to spot the farm too. I'll post that later. The fact that we mow the fields makes it pretty easy to spot if you know where it is.

XTerra Nissan World Championship

It seems a week after they do the Iron Man in Hawaii, they do what is called the Xterra Nissan World Championship in HI. It is closer in distance wise to an Olympic, but I do not believe the times are that great.

I caught the TV coverage on Saturday. It is Cross Country meets CycloCross meets Triathlon. It was nasty. The mile swim before the "mountain" bike (lots of people carrying bikes up hill) only lent to contestants taking some horrific wrecks on the side of some volcano, with real sharp volcanic rock to stop your fall. One girls leg was messed up, she was a pro in second place at the time. It was most impressive to see the 62 year old woman cross the finish line, then to find out this would be the sixth year in a row she won her age group.

One girl, after four flats, rode the bike in on the rims. Another dude, got blisters so bad he was running bare foot and carrying his shoes. His feet were not pretty.

Did I mention they said the heat was stifling. These people were a tad obsessive about there training.

By the way, I got a Barnes & Noble gift cert. for Christmas and I am buying two books.
1)Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier, by Terry Laughlin, and John Delves. The reviews sound good and I definately need to be longer and smooher in the water while using less energy. This is the books mantra.
2)Triathlon Training for the Rest of Us: From Couch to Starting Line in Four Hours a Week, by Eric Harr. I have skimmed this book at the book store and it looks pretty good. It looks like a good Beginner/Intermediate level book, which is what I need.

I will let you know how they read.

Of course if I do not pick up the training I will have plenty of time to read the books. I am just trying to let Shawn catch up to me.

Being a real "iron man"

I've been talking to friends I know that have either marathoned or biked long distance. My buddy, Phil, said that he knew he was in top form when his resting heart rate was around 30. He's done it all, track, cross country, biked a century, tri, even raced canoes. He's a bit competetive so he felt that if he was going to do it he wanted to finish near the top. He said that it's good to be a little obsessive about the training. There's a real commitment to getting in shape to be a top finisher.
He also mentioned that his brother is still running tri's and will be in this years Mooseman to try to qualify for the Iron Man in Hawaii. I'm hoping to meet him and get some info from him.

Wahoo! 5K at 6mph

I did it! I ran 32 minutes at 6mph. My polar watch died on me during the cool down so I don't know what my average HR was. I do know it started in the 172bpm range early on and got to 185 at the end of the run.
Obviously, with those heart rates 6mph is near the top of my range. I'm going to need to work those numbers down. Intervals and hills I suppose.

I haven't decided what my next plan is going to be. Do I buy the 10K advanced trainer CDs for my treadmill? Or do I try to follow the Heart Rate Trainer book and create my own schedule? I finished both of those books already, not sure if I mentioned that. My commute allows for quite a bit of reading time in my day. I thought they were both good books. Now that I've read them both and know the whole story, it probably makes sense to skim through with post-it notes to mark the stuff I need to know.

I do know that if I go with building my own plan, I should decide on what races I'm going to do this year. If I'm going to do the Sprint Tri with Craig he has a program I can start 12 weeks before that event. It's supposed to help you keep from under/over training and let you peak on race day.

After that event we are less than a year away from Mooseman 08 but I think I'm going to do the 10K run at the NH marathon in Bristol on Sept 29th. Genine and her parents will be doing the 5k walk run. Let me know if you want to join in it's a great mid-point run. It's 238 days from now, after that it's 252 days to the Mooseman.

I think I'll add a few more counters to our web page. Craig's Sprint Tri and the NH Marathon 10k/5k let me know if you have and event you want me to add.

Caffeine Free MC

OK. It's been over a week without caffeine. I'm officially free.
I thought I might be draggin' a bit by not having it but that hasn't been the case.

The heart skips have decreased significantly as expected. Even tho' I know what causes them it would always freak me out a bit. So this is probably a good thing.

Fortunately I don't notice much of a difference between Decaf Coffee and Regular in regards to taste so I don't feel like I'm giving anything up.