Wednesday, November 30, 2011

In a Funk

The last 2-3 weeks have not been good in terms of triathlon. Unless the downtime actually magically heals some of my aches and pains.
Initially the trouble was not enough time in the day. There were a few things that had to be taken care of that normally aren't in my schedule. These things proved to me just how little spare time I have, especially during the week where I lose 3+ hours a day to commuting.

To make things worse, I completely lost my focus on the diet. I was spot on for just over 6 weeks then... not so much.

Now to really throw a wrench into the works. I'm in day 4 of a sinus infection which also has me talking like a frog. Actually, I can whisper well, but normal volume is all cracked up. I'm hopeful that once I get through this one, I'll be done with them for awhile. I probably get these things at least 3 times a year. Nasty stuff.

Looking forward to putting everything back on track.
Not much of a post, was it? Hmmm. How about I post the trailers for the movies my co-workers worked on and try to make this worth looking at? (We are a sound design company)

Hugo


Boardwalk Empire Season 2


Moneyball


Salt


Win Win


Jack Goes Boating


Another Happy Day


George Harrison Documentary

Monday, November 21, 2011

NYRR 4 miler "race to deliver" Report

I'm on my own for my last 3 NYRR races. Todd has completed his 9 already. Genine may run the Jingle Bell Jog with me in Brooklyn. I'm still hopeful that friends from Brooklyn will register as well.

Genine was out of town for the weekend. So I set two alarms to wake up at 5AM. I went to bed early. I didn't fall asleep for 2 hours. Then the remaining 5 hours, I woke up at least 5 times. Very unlike me. It was frustrating. I woke up on time tho'.

The drive into the city was simple. I wish I had a way to take some shots of downtown Manhattan, the Freedom Tower is a definite presence on the skyline now and it's not yet full height. I know many people that didn't live here when the Twin Towers were here and this building is just another building to them. For me, I'm not sure exactly how to describe it. I find myself checking it out any time it's in view. My attention is just drawn to it. I'm surprised at how important it seems to be to me that it's being built. I'm looking forward to it being completed.
For a view of it being built go here select camera 3 and click time lapse. Or watch it being built real time during the day.

Alright onto the race. Awesome weather for racing. I think it was about 50 degrees. I wish I had worn shorts but it was much colder at 6AM and I knew I'd be standing around for awhile because I had to pick up my number on race morning.
I started my warmup 30 minutes before because I wanted to get into the right corral this time. I hadn't run in a week but I was actually thinking I should put in a hard effort anyhow.
I forgot my watch. It never crossed my mind. Ah well, there are clocks at each mile.

Mile 1: It felt like a much less congested start than the 5K a couple weeks ago. I think I was over an 8 min mile for the first mile tho.

Mile 2: In a groove but unlike the 5K, I'm feeling like my cardio is being taxed. I remember that the 5K was pretty flat. The hills are mixing it up for me. I seem to be holding ground with the crowd on the uphills, and some people are getting by me on the downhills. Definintely under 8 minutes, not sure how far under.

Mile 3: Much of this is uphill. I stay on the gas but I feel like I'm losing a bit of ground to some of group I was within. I keep telling myself the last mile is mostly downhill, not much further. Looks like I'm under 8 min mile again.

Mile 4: Alright, I definitely don't have the downhill speed I'd like to have. Way too many people are going by me. It doesn't help that I'm starting to think that it would be nice to just coast in. It's not like it's going to be a PR anyhow... I must not have been suffering too much because that thought didn't last long. They had a new "1/2 mile to go" sign. There was no extra gear to shift into I just maintained and got to the finish in 30:54.
That worked out to a 7:44 pace. I'll take it.

My hamstrings were feeling tight as I was walking out of the park. It's about an hour drive home, so I took the time to stretch a bit before driving home. (cramping while on the interstate would be bad) My right foot was very sore the rest of the day. I've started to wear the boot at night in hopes of getting that back on track. Quads were sore on Monday. Guess it was a good workout!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Genetically Modified Foods. Good or Bad?

Yep, another post regarding the food we eat. I know a number of people that have very strong opinions regarding this subject. I on the other hand, didn't really know enough to have much to say about it. So I did some digging and this is one of the things that I felt brought up a number of the issues and was very watchable. I was very surprised about Europe's position on this compared to America's.
Can GM Food Save the World

When I finished watching. I had to wonder if there were "Organic" GMO foods on the shelf out there. Seeing how being Organic has nothing to do with being GMO or not. Well here ya go. GMO-Whole Foods. I have to admit that when someone writes "Frankenfood", I can't help but think they are using scare tactics rather than facts to "educate" their readers. I want to read both sides of these issues tho', I just have to looks past that nonsense.

One of the issues I do think should be a big concern is the accidental creation of "superweeds". Which are plants that are are tough to kill. Read this. Or go here to see the list of resistant weeds out there.

Plenty of tough choices out there. I like how the documentary summed it up. You've gotta support the research. The tough part is making the decisions on how it's going to be put into place.
I can't help but think the reason the US is so different than Europe is because our politics is driven by Big Business. But I don't know enough about Europe's politics to know if their corporations can "fund" them as just as well.

Oddly enough, I just finished a book called "The Windup Girl" (Sci Fi "biopunk"). It was set in a future earth where we had not only exhausted all the easy energy sources but there are also massive issues growing food. Interesting read. (fair warning, there is some nasty stuff in there as well)

Training and diet is going well. (had to throw some triathlon related stuff in, haha)

Saturday, November 5, 2011

NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K Report

Just a quick report.

This run started outside of Central Park. It started in front of the UN Building over on First Avenue and 47th Street. We decided to get the race early enough so we could park near the finish and then jog over to the start line. Probably a 2.5 mile jog to the start.
Well we got to the start as the were bringing the athletes onto 1st avenue. I wasn't overly concerned about being up towards the front. There is no chance that I'll be trying for a personal best or even a NYRR best. Todd on the other hand, he needed to be further up in the pack. So he worked his way forward.
Because the NYC marathon is tomorrow, there were some big groups from many countries. I found it kind of interesting that all the clothes and shoes people were wearing were all brand names I've heard of.
Once the horn sounded, it took me awhile to get to the start line. Even worse, when I got to the start line we were still shuffling. I didn't bring my watch today. I wanted to run completely by feel. Because of the "groups" when you passed people, it was often 4-6 people wide running side by side. Many of them taking video and pictures along the way. Fortunately, the city streets were plenty wide on 42nd Street and by the mile mark, I had sorted my way through into "my pace" of runners and from there on, I was running.
I reached the 1st mile mark at exactly 9 minutes on the clock. Not sure what my start time was tho. That made it easy at mile 2 to determine what pace I was running. I ran a 7:35 min/mile for the 2nd mile. That was not surprising to me, about what I expected.
The surprising thing is that I'm guessing I was running in zone 4. I really wasn't breathing that hard. For a 5K, I should be maxing out. I really didn't have any more kick in me tho. I guess my legs aren't quick enough at the moment to tax my cardio. (add hills and it would have been a different story).
We ran over the Marathon finish line. I finished in 24:07 or a 7:47 pace. Nothing to write home about. The good news is that I felt that my hamstring held up very well. I wasn't sure how it was going to respond. My right foot... well I made sure I iced it when I got back home. That is still something that bothers me and is frustrating.

Todd finished in 20:52. He didn't have much commentary regarding that.