Mooseman weekend

So I hosted Scott and Sonya at the farm this weekend so they could compete in the Mooseman. Sonya ran the International on Saturday. They were up at 5am and down to the lake before 6. She was hoping for a sub 4 hour time and missed it by only a few minutes. She said that the swim was good but that she tends to panic early and that leads to lost time but then calms down and gets back into it. They both admitted that the swim course looked daunting from the beach. Typically, ocean courses only go out beyond the breakers then go parallel to the beach. The Newfound course makes a big arc way out into the lake, really out in deep water. Anyhow, Sonya said that she took advantage of all three chainrings on the hilly bike course but saw some people pushing their bikes up hills. She also admitted that she walked a few times on the run.
Ryan and I went to the beach at 3:00 (beautiful day, couldn't resist) and I was amused at the number of athletes sitting on the beach chugging beer. One girl in a group of about 10 was trying to get the others to admit that they had also walked during the run.
Scott was in the half-iron on Sunday. The weather was pretty crappy, misty, damp and cool. He said he didn't notice at all. His goal was to finish sub 6 hours and he accomplished it! He didn't seem very happy about it, tho. His brother (my buddy Phil) asked him why he was upset. He smashed his personal record on the swim, broke his personal record on the bike and turned in an average time on the run. Phil asked "Would you have done better in Georgia (their home state) because the roads are better and flatter?" Scott's answer was "Yeah!" So Phil says "Then you rode a tougher course and kicked it's ass! What's your problem?" Leave it up to a brother to straighten you out.
Their final word to me Sunday afternoon was that they wouldn't be back. They use Triathalons as destination holidays and didn't find New England all that attractive. I think that they just didn't like the mosquitos. They are ferocious this year, there are clouds of them at the farm.
If you have any questions let me know and I'll try to recall more of my conversations with them.

A bit off topic here...Allergies

Because my allergies pushed me into a sinus infection which then got into my lungs as well. I've done a bit of research as to how this can be avoided. (for next year most importantly, ha!).

The big thing with allergies is that you have to be preventative. You need to have your defenses in place before you run into the stuff you are allergic to. For me that would mean taking something 24/7 for about 4-6 weeks in the spring. I was concerned if that was ok to do. I found this article on WebMD which seems to say that it is.
Antihistamines aren't Addictive! Link
So today the Dr prescribed Allegra-D for me. When I got to the pharmacy it was going to cost me $130. So they still have their pills. I still have my $130. I'll use Claritin. I'm currently in search of the Generic which that article refers to because it's so much cheaper.
Hopefully this will work, I'm disappointed about the Rocky Gap but I'm already thinking ahead to the Tango. It's time to get healthy and back on schedule with my workouts.

Mooseman Results

Matt was kind enough to I.M. me this link recently.

http://www.lin-mark.com/mooseintoof07.txt

It contains the results for the Mooseman of this year. I found it to be helpful in showing how fast we should be doing each discipline if we want to be in the thick of things next year. I was delighted to see that there were people finishing in the top half running 9-minute miles, and one guy (Brian Pare) even ran 10-minute miles (after my own heart, he came out of the swim in 437th place, then rode a blistering bike as the 71st fastest contestant, then slogged along in the run at an average 10:17 per mile to end up at 299th place out of 660 finishers). Congratulations Brian! I hope I can do as well. He appears to have been a biker in a past life.

An eight-minute mile doesn't seem inconceivable to me, though it certainly is at the moment. To find the first 12-minute miler (a steady 5 mph run), one must drop down to 549th place. Now, I suppose the good news is that there are still 100 people finishing behind me if I do that, but I would like to get at least into the 6 mph category by race time. Maybe I'll shoot for 21 mph on the bike. Can't do too badly if I keep up that pace.

At least this shows what we're up against. Had I done this race this year, it looks like I would place somewhere in the mid 500's to mid 600's. I'm in the mood to do better than that.

The Penguin Leaps

Today was a big day, as I ran, biked and swam, all in one day. Now, this was by no means an athletic biking day, as Fiona was with me all the time, but the running was legit, if slow, and the swimming was probably the most like the real thing. In fact, the swim was very interesting to me. This was my first swim of the year; no time like the present. I discovered that there is no way I am going to successfully swim the crawl in the Tango, and probably not anywhere else either, frankly. But I did develop what I think will come to be called the Fat Penguin stroke, which actually worked great. I was comfortably able to swim 6 full laps at a reasonable speed without feeling out of breath or muscularly exhausted. I feel fairly confident that I can keep that up easily for the 9 laps of a sprint tri, and probably indefinitely. I had no fins on either, so my pace in the Tango will pick up considerably. I did try the crawl for one lap, and I did a full speed backstroke for half a lap too (not in the counted laps). The crawl gets me totally out of breath, which is because I have terrible form, but my breathing is my enemy in all sports. I need way too much air to keep all this muscle mass well fed. So the backstroke is great for me. When I did the regular overhand, full-speed backstroke, I really went fast, but I can't keep up that pace very long. It's like sprinting the hundred-meter dash. So like a Fat Penguin, I flap my wings and fly gracefully through the water much more quickly than my heft might suggest, yet without using too much oxygen. I love not having to bear the weight. It is a nice field-leveler. I would really like to construct some arm fins that resemble penguin wings and strap those on for the Tango. I was thinking of making them out of biogel, and molding them to fit my arms like a wetsuit. I'll let you know how that goes when the time comes.

I am now excited to try some fins and eventually get out on a local lake for some long swims to see if this technique will really work for an hour or more. In the meantime, I will continue to try to boost my aerobic capacity.

Slow Goin'

We were supposed to travel to Warren again this weekend for a 4 day weeekend. I've been fighting allergies which turned into a sinus infection which also is in my lungs. Wake up Friday and Genine has a fever of 102. So that sealed it. We aren't going anywhere this weekend.
Eric is up at the Farm hosting a couple racers. I went online to see the Mooseman webcam but I couldn't get it to work.
I was able to locate a number of my swim class in the Mooseman registration. Which then led me to finding this site.
Athlinks
It looks interesting. It keeps track of all your races and your results.

Foot Pain

Ater all my runs this week I have experienced some foot pain. Not during the run, not even directly afterwards. it usually feel it after a shower and getting ready for bed. Not awful but in the arch of my foot. It is only happening in my left foot. My left calf and thigh was tight during my Sunday run. I don't think I hurt my foot so then my calf and thigh are tight. I am positive My calf and thigh were tight and now my foot hurts. I compensated somehow for my tight calf.

I am stretching hard to keep it from getting worse. I think a couple days I will be Ok. It has felt fine all day today.

Just wondered if anyone else has had a foot problem?

I could be a Super Hero

I got my Aqua Sphere WT-80 swimming shirt last night. The tag said XL, but man it looks small. Threw it on. It stretches well, doesn't feel to tight but it is a skin suit. I decided to go with just a swim top for now. This top has Lycra on the shoulders and sides, and a .5 mm neoprene back and chest. I do not think it will make me faster like a full wetsuit, it will only keep me warmer in Rocky Gap lake (72 degrees). I have not tried to take it off wet yet. Will need to test it before then. This shirt should also function well at Kinzua for morning swimming or sun protection or fall protection when water skiing.

If this was a full wet suit I decided I would look like a super hero, not Superman or Batman, but the dad from the Incredibles, you know when he decided to come back into business after a hiatus. Shoulders and chest looks good, it is that little something around the waist.

Looking to go hard on the bike and run tonight, and try to squeeze in a weight train. Easy does it on Friday, then bricking it on Saturday. Then it I am going to taper. I am not the guy to train hard through an event and then use the event as a hard training day. I want to do a good time if I can.

Hey, Matt, have you ever tried honey for your allergies. Tamara told me honey, specifically honey that is harvested during the time of the year as your allergies assists in the production of antibodies to allow your body to combat pollen. I believe the concept is like a vaccine. Essentially digested pollen by the bees left in the honey is a weaker form of the pollen that is knocking you down. You get it in your system and it massages you immune system into functioning more effectively. Of course I don't know how effective it is once you allergies are full blown. Finally, avoid milk products. I know that sounds weird, but milk only helps produce mucus. My kids have drank very little Cows milk (more since they have been in Public School), when they have been sick even from infancy they produce very little mucus. If you think you need the calcium, I could go into a whole thing how milk is a net zero sum game on calcium because your body uses calcium to digest protein. It uses calcium already in your body. It then replaces the calcium in your body with the calcium from the milk. You should check into Kefer or eat more yogurt, because of the active cultures they don't cause your body to form mucus when you eat it.

I can't say enough about Vitamin C. I take two Emergen-C's (it is available most health food stores) every day, and usually two Vitamin C capsules, plus a B complex. The C is also very good for heart and as a antioxidant. I could go on but I will stop here. I attribute it to me not getting very many colds, Tamara's allergies are not as bad as they use to be either.

New phase

I went to the bike store today and bought a new seat out of the half-price bin; one with the hole in the middle, and much nicer feeling than the one I had on my road bike. I had them install it and raise my seatpost, which I had bent my cheap Chinese Allen wrench trying to do earlier. I rode out of the store with the feeling of a light-footed savanna-dwelling creature, able to cruise across the grasslands at alarming speeds for hours on end. Unfortunately, I only had to go to the Post Office, which was about a mile away, but I went at lightning speed. My legs are now more correctly extended at the downstroke, and my tender bottom is suspended delightfully in a bed of comfort gel.

Earlier today, I attempted to run in my target heart rate range for 30 minutes. This was my first real attempt at heartrate training, and I am convinced it will be extremely helpful. I have never done this in my life, even back in high school track, which sadly was the last time I went on extended runs. So sometime in the evenings, I guess I will read some of the sites about HR training, and try to start employing those techniques. I just hope I can scratch out enough time every day to do something.

Battle on, boys (and girl?).

Tango

I didn't get to talk with Todd. Michelle and Jerry will be on vacation that week so they are out.
There is a HS girl that works (or worked) at Genine's parents store that is a triathlete. She ran the one in WV last year. If we are really wanting to be in mixed division we could see if she is interested.
Genine is also digging in, she is hoping that she might be able to do the 4.5 mile run. Time will tell.

Well my allergies have hit me like a ton of bricks. My lungs have been so inflamed, I can't do much of anything. It's very likely that I'll have to skip my swim class tonight.
I'll have to keep this in mind next year. I always have issues from Mid May to Mid June. Hopefully I'll figure out how to keep it in check.

Bike Stores

Today, we went to a couple of Bike stores here to try to buy a new bike for the wife. Technically, the kid needed a new bike, but the wife's existing bike is perfect for the kid, so we decided to see if the wife could find something better, and give the other one to the kid. In the meantime, I tried out a bunch of bikes, including a fixed gear bike. That is a messenger-type bike in which you can't coast. The pedals and chain are always attached to the back wheel, and there are no brakes. You slow down by pushing back on the pedals. The advantage of this bike is that it weighs very little. It was kinda shocking how light it was, actually. Very cool, but I don't think it would work in a race too well. Gotta keep the cadence rather consistent, and that ain't gonna happen on one of these. I also tried a real road bike (Lemond), which put me into a very aero-esque position, and I discovered that this position can be quite uncomfortable for the two little guys who reside near "the area." Not sure how to handle that, but yikes. I didn't find anything that made me jealous. I think I'm gonna stick with my Trek for a while; probably just get a tune-up soon. Both of my hubs are a little loose, gotta tighten the spokes, true the wheels, etc. I think I'm willing to pay a few bucks to have someone else do that for me, so I don't lose my bearings as Craig recently did. I have had that very frustrating problem in the past. I'll put some smaller tires on there and get a better seat, and I think I'll have a pretty nice ride. What the heck? It's not like I'm gonna be winning this thing. I can't imagine a new bike would gain me much more than a minute or two in the whole bike portion anyway. I can live with that.

Rock Gap Approacheth

So, only two weeks to the Rock Gap Sprint Tri. Who's in? Anybody want to go just to watch? I'll have to consider that.

Today I saw, as I dropped off a sleeping bag at a friends house, a clip of killer whales training at Sea World, and it occurred to me that the water might be where I can make up for my size. Killer whales don't seem to have any trouble getting around. They are whales, for the love of Pete. They can get their entire several thousand pound bodies flying completely out of the water. They can catch seals in the water, and seals aren't slouches when it comes to swimming either. So I think I am going to assume the mindset of a migrating whale, able to swim for thousands of miles with nary a second thought. Thinking in this way, I will be able to motivate my significant mass with leisurely effort, yet with the grace of a creature who calls the seas his home.

On another note, I did a new endurance exercise today, which was that I took a walk outside with my trusty 20 pound dumbbells, and I ended up walking for 50 minutes. This definitely made the walk more challenging, as it was destroying my shoulders and forearms, and also adding 40 pounds to my load. This is sort of what I want the swim to feel like. I want it to be as if certain parts of my body are being taxed in ways that many people wouldn't like, but that does not get me all out of breath. I can sweat up a storm and work like a dog all day long (and use idioms like nobody's business) but I just don't like getting very out of breath. I like breathing! Call me crazy.

Swim Class: Round 6

Coach is saying that I've got my head position right, which is a good thing to get right. I'm happy with that.
Of course then he says this is what you work on next. The "S" Stroke. Basically you are looking to find still water to move or push against. I'm thinking of it as pulling to the inside then pushing out to the hip.

I'm not sure what all we did tonight. Something like this.

10 minute swim warmup.
1x300
4x100 stroke count/ long glide
4x100 50 free/ 50 any other stroke
4x100 speed
?
?
Kick at side of pool for 30 seconds, then race to other side with as few breaths as possible. This is where my right hamstring cramped up on me and didn't let go.

4 person Tango

So Shawn and I posted our preferences. Casey and Craig I gathered their preferences from an earlier post and added them to that "Tango Preference" post. Here is a possible event list. Comments welcome.

Half Marathon: Casey
20 mile Bike: Craig
2 mile Swim: Shawn
Orienteering: Casey, Craig (or Matt How lost can I get if I'm with someone?)
4.5 mile run: Matt (or Craig)
Canoe: Shawn Matt (or Craig)

Of course I'll talk with Michelle and Jerry as well. When I was thinking of who else could power a canoe to team with Shawn, I thought of Bob Morrison. Anyone know if he's still working out? Ha!

Couples Racing

I just got an email from a woman who does triathlons with here husband. It is a multisport group in Morgantown here and if you post everyone gets the email. Well, that being said she mentioned that her and her husband missed taking third in the couples category by 1 minute, combined time. The category was listed as "couples <80". I thought that is strange how many people do they have doing it over 80 years of age. So, I went to the web site and saw they had a "couples 80+". So, I check out the times. I was floored how could one 80 year old person do that time, and his wife did this time.

I know I am an idiot. The 80 is a combined age. It was a long Ohhhh, once I realized this.

It got me thinking. An untapped category is Clydesdale/Athena Couple. If a Clydesdale is 200lbs. and Athena I think is 150lbs. Then the couple's category could be like > 350 and 400+. Take it a step farther and you could create a domestic partner category Clydesdale/Clydesdale. It could be >400 or 500+. Now we are talking about something Shawn and I could clean up in. Of course if you are 300 then maybe we could let your partner be 100lbs.

Tango Questions Answered

Alright my friends, Thad has responded.

Here is what he had to say:

Dear Shawn,

Here are some answers to your questions...I hope they help...

- Can we use two ended paddles in the canoe?

Yes

- Are there any rules about fins in the swim portion? Such as are monofins allowed? Split fins? Freediving fins? We just want to know if anything goes there. And how about webbed gloves? Or do we have to have bare hands?

What ever fins you want and webbed gloves are okay.

- Can we use the same canoe for the safety canoe that we use for the race leg? Does the swim leg end in a convenient place to move the canoe to the river race leg? Does the safety canoe need to have two paddlers? If the safety canoeists are not racing, do they have to pay?

Yes you will have plenty of time to use the same canoe for both uses. The swim leg ends at Kinzua Beach...very Convenient.. One will be enough for the safety canoe. They do not have to pay.

- Are there rules about the definition of a canoe that we should know about?

Any open canoe can be used. Kayaks can be used by the solo racers only.

- Will some people have slick racing canoes and others have the traditional aluminum trekkers?

Yes

- Is there a map available of where each part starts and ends? Or is that part of the challenge? Obviously we don't need a map for the orienteering section, but we need to know where the runners will be staged when the orienteering guys come out.

I have attached a map of the transitions points. The start and finish are near the YMCA on Lexington Ave.

- Is there a coed division?

I have not decided on the awards yet but there will be awards for the coed and all female teams.

Call or email me if you need more questions answered.

Fair Winds and Following Seas

Thad

The map is helpful too. I'll try to post it here (Yippee, it worked! -- see top of post -- You can click on it to make it bigger). The bike ride looks to be quite exciting, starting at Kinzua beach, crossing back over the bridge, going up the LSD to Forest Road 492, around a big loop and down into the Elijah boat launch area, where the swim begins. This news of being able to basically wear any kind of apparatus in the swim excites me. (I don't know about you). I wonder what other swimmers will be using.

In case I don't get the map up, here's how the whole race works: Run from the start by the Y on Lexington Ave. all the way to Kinzua beach (that's crazy!), where the bike begins. Bike nearly 20 miles to Elijah Boat launch (no crashing! You're out in the boonies), swim from there back to the beach. Orienteerers start and end at the beach after hitting all the points, then the second run begins there and goes over to the Big Bend boat launch below the dam. The canoe proceeds from there down to the finish back at the Y.

Sounds easy. Maybe we should all do it ourselves. :)

Online Swim Videos

Alexander Popov
Freestyle Slo-mo

More videos and links on the left side of those pages, scroll down a bit.

Tango Event Preferences:

I think we have a good idea as to what we each want to do but we can use this post to dial it in a bit.

I'll start by saying that I have Zero interest in the Half Marathon or the Orienteering.
Then for the others:
4.5 mile run: I could handle that, no major speed but I'd keep chuggin. 10 minute miles?
Canoe: I could make a few trips down the river before the event scope things out, help with the navigation of the islands. Depending on how much flow there can be some shallows that could be bothersome.
Swim: I'm just starting to work on swimming with fins. I'm not very good with them yet. I still have time to improve tho'. Again, I think I'd be able to keep moving through this event. If this becomes my event, I would adjust my efforts.
Bike: I haven't put enough time on the bike yet to feel like this would be a good event for me but cardio wise I think I could chug through it.

I was going to post what I thought might work for 4 of us but why don't we wait to see what everyone has to say. Then we can submit scenarios and then make arguments for or against.

New Training Partner

I found a guy from my church, who is also the dad of one of my daughter's friends, who is somewhat into the idea of training for triathlons. He has done a few in his life, but none recently, and he still regularly does 5 and 10K runs. He was planning on trying a triathlon later this year in Illinois, when he is visiting his parents, so he needs to train. This created an opportunity for me to have a training buddy, at least on the bike. So today we went for an hour-long mountain-bike ride which was about half on-road and half off. It was very enjoyable to have someone to chat with on that long of a ride. Somehow, we averaged 12 mph on this ride, so that gave me some hope that I am not totally screwed for the real thing. It was not physically debilitating, but we did keep up the pace pretty much near the limit of our abilities for most of the ride. Okay, so 12 mph isn't going to set any records but there were tree roots and rocks and stuff all over the place, so I assume we will be able to pick up the pace a bit if the course is all road.

This was the first long ride I have done outside this year. One thing I discovered is that I need some gloves with padded palms. My fingers were kind of numb after a little while. I also experienced for the second time in a year a problem that I might encounter in a race that could be quite bothersome. My eye gets something in it that just feels like acid. I don't know if I am sweating out all the peppers I eat as pepper spray sweat or if there are chemicals on my handlegrips or what, but my eyes get so painful that I can hardly keep them open and there is serious pain involved. I suppose I can douse myself with water if this happens in a race, but dang, it feel like I got maced. Anyone have any ideas about that?

I'm looking forward to more good rides all summer. This was probably my first real endurance workout at my target heart rate (if I was even getting there) that I have been on all year. I am encouraged that I might actually be able to do this.

I think I will need to buy a heart monitor to really get my aerobic fitness where it is supposed to be. I'll look into that soon. If I focus on that for a few months, I'm sure my performance will improve dramatically.

More on the Tango

I e-mailed Thad this evening with all of our questions, at least the ones I could remember.

This is an interesting endeavor. I have been researching swim fins recently, and found some very interesting stuff. One thing of note is that monofins (one big flipper with both feet in it) seem to be the fastest thing going as far as open water swim records go, as well as freediving depth records. I am totally game for swimming with one of those, as I have swum like that for years anyway. I would love to see how fast I can go with a dolphin-like tail. Just so you don't think I'm out of my mind, I did set a course record in the Penn State Scuba Obstacle Course when I took a class in scuba (a few years back...). I have this hypothesis that I might be able to go faster than the safety canoe with a good set of flippers. I asked Thad if there were any rules about that, so I'll be interested in hearing what he has to say. If monofins are allowed, I will definitely be interested in the swim. However, if someone else wants to do that...I'm totally cool with it. I can always swim around on my own! If no one is jumping at the opportunity to do the canoe (which it doesn't seem like), then I will be totally happy doing only that part, as long as we can at least find a willing partner for me. If Craig bikes, I would assume he would be fresh enough by the time the canoe leg comes around. For some reason, this whole thing reminds me of building a team in Dungeons and Dragons. We need a fighter with a high constitution, and an elf with high dexterity...

On another note, following Eric Harr's advice, I have gotten my family involved and have instituted an evening walk for all of us every night. It's not too tough for me, but it burns a few extra calories and does work the legs and if I carry the kid on my shoulders then I get an extra workout. I have also begun in earnest the new summer diet (Volumetrics, with nuts), so the Spartan physique is on its way. By the time of the Tango, I should be under 250 lbs. I know, it doesn't sound that impressive, but for me that will be nice.

Minimum Daily Requirements

I keep thinking to myself how core strength is going to be the key to staying strong for 3+ hours. Yet I really haven't been putting much effort into making steady gains in that department. So I'm thinking of adding some basics on the spreadsheet:
Pushups
Situps/crunches
Pullups
Hindu Pushups are something I've been working on, (from the 300 video on craig's post a while ago).
Let me know of others you may want on the list.
I figure you can either check off the box with an X, or for those who like to see some numbers for motivation, type in a number.

Also check the Tri Calculator link on the sidebar.

Kinzua Tango

How are we looking for this? We have awhile before the signup deadline/price increase. We just haven't mentioned it in awhile and time seems to move quickly.

My air

I have the same problem as Craig, only in all three events. Today I decided I would do a "sprint" on my bike for a half hour, which is to say go as fast as I could the whole time. It was somewhat enlightening. I would say this was the most tired I have been since I started training. I did at one point pass a girl who was wearing bike shorts and had a Camelback on, so I felt like a real man at that moment (because she was obviously hardcore), but then she passed me back on the next uphill, which is where I just bog down like nobody's business. I never experienced any weakness in my legs; I just can't breate enough. I always feel like I'm dying. I did go really fast at one point, I'd say close to 40 mph, with the bike in the highest gear, and still spinning quite quickly. And this was the road bike, which has a bigger gear ratio than the mountain bike. So that was nice. If we could find an all downhill triathlon, I think I would do quite well.

Amy bought me a book for my birthday called Triathlon training in 4 hours a week, by Eric Harr. It is for newbies, and full of inspirational tales and useful info for people like us.

All I need is 4 hours a week. So simple.

Swim Class: Round 5

I found out a good part of my class is going to be in the Mooseman this year. Most are probably doing the Half Iron. So the instructor is already trying to keep the intensity of the workouts kind of low and was just trying to help people with technique as much as possible.
So I got 2 fixes tonight:
First when I was at my max rotation my kick would open up too much. So I had to focus on keeping a tighter kick.

The second one could be a huge fix. When pulling your hand out of the water, you want to lift with your elbow and let it carry your hand to about your ear. Then you start to drive your hand forward.
I was leading with my hand from the moment it cleared the water, driving it forward constantly. It makes you feel like you are working hard the entire time. When I was doing it correctly, lifting with my elbow, it was very relaxing in comparison.
It's going to take some practice, I felt like I was relaxed in the air but I couldn't turn on the power when I hit the water because I was already thinking of lifting the other side out properly.

I really don't think I can list what we did tonight. I was doing easy 50's with 10 sec breaks for quite awhile working on those two things. Longest distance of the night was a 400.

Oxygen every where but none that I can Breathe

Regardless of how often I take a breathe swimming (every stroke currently), the key to getting a breathe is to exhale while my face is in the water. Takes some getting use too. I was in college and lived around some swimmers. I went swimming with them out of season and got cramps real bad. They told me it was more like CO2 posioning rather than O2 deprivation. I still think the muscle cramps from not using it enough all the other time, but I saw on one of the links you had they mentioned this CO2 dilemna. I would suggest you work on exhaling with face in water and only inhaling with face out of water. It is hard to do both for the little time your face is out of the water. Of course I talk like I am an expert, I don't cramp as much as I use too, but I am screaming for air at times.

I ran 4 miles last night. Wanted to do it in 36 minutes, which I did. Had a little issue. I did jumping jacks to warm up then lightly jogged a quater mile. Then I started to run. I felt I was going good, but as I approached my first mile mark I was behind my 9 min/mile pace by 40 seconds. So, I punched it a little. I caught up, I hit the 2nd mile marker at 18:25. So, I continued at this pace, but had a nice down hill on the third mile. Came in @ 26:50. So, my goal was not to go to hard so I backed down. I finished 35:45. I jogged the last 15 seconds, then did a cooldown walk. I was happy with my ability to respond. I carried a stop watch to keep good track of time.

Bike tonight, but the lawn also needs done. Maybe I could call this a Brick?

swimming/breathing

I've been looking for clues as to how to improve my breathing.
Total Immersion Site
Drills
Video of above Drills
Some good stuff here too
I'm not sure I realized how much of a challenge the swim was going to be. Between fighting for air and cramping up after the 90 min swim classes, it makes me realize how far I have to go before I can do a mile swim then hop on a bike...

As for the clydesdale talk. I'm closer to 200 than 210. I'm disappointed that there is still a 2 at the front of that number to be honest. I'm not going to sweat it tho', at some point I'll string a few weeks of very controlled eating together and I'll get down to the next level. I have to say, it's tough to do when your workouts are making your body scream for carbs.

Swim feeling better

Just so my last little rant is not the prevalent post, I'm posting again.

Saw the work Matt was putting in the swim. Sounds Painful. I feel my swim is getting stronger, but I definitely am lacking motivation to push super hard in the swim. The first 100yd I feel great. Body position is strong, arm stroke feels good. Then it falls apart, not totally. But in the longer swims my form is awful after the first 100.

The pool I swim at does not have one of those handy monster clocks on the wall that you can read your lap time off. Also, I only own analog watches, which is hard enough to read when I'm running, impossible to read when swimming. I went to analog watches when I walked into a grade school and saw a digital clock on the wall. I attach this to the dumbing down of America, even though I know in reality it probably has no effect, and is a sign I am getting old and set in my ways. I always digress.

So, it makes it complicated to determine how much I am slowing down when I swim more than 100 yd. I only have an opportunity to see what my total time is. I will need to break down and buy a digital watch. I have seen a Timex iron man watch that is digital as well as analog. This would also be helpful in the run when I lose track of which minute I just passed on my analog watch.

Jumping subject somewhat, I saw that the Rocky Gap Triathlon has a Clydesdale division (210+ lbs). I think it may not be as much of a division as they award a plaque to the fasted "BIG BOY". I have not seen where they award the top three, just the first. I am still well into this category, so here is some motivation to go faster. I also am having trouble taking the weight off this year. Last year I was under 220 at the end of the summer. I then proceeded to put 10lbs on over the winter. Now I am currently maintaining 225. The only thing I can figure is that I do more swimming and weight stuff, which I hope is increasing my muscle mass. I feel good, but it would be nice to be lighter.

Interval run last night. Ran a warm up, then ran hard pace that I could maintain for 1.5 minutes. Then jog 1.5 minutes. Repeated 6 times. Then ran cool down home. Hope to do a interval once a week. Next week I plan to do 2 minutes hard with 1.5 jog. I hope to get to 3 minute hard run a week and half before Rocky Gap. We will see. This should help my run. I also will run two other times during the week, with a good hour run on the weekend.

The bike I have been trying to get on at least once a week. Next week I need to start twice a week with one being a hard 10 mile bike and the other being a 20+ mile ride.

Will let you know how the plan progresses.

Car, Kids & Wife Get in the Way!

Don't think I blame them in any way, but the family puts a crink in the training. Was doing good the week before last. Had a Brick planned for last Saturday. Long Run on Sunday. All came falling down when I was doing a brake job on the car Tuesday night (that would be May 1). Brakes/Strut job, decided to throw the strut in because I thought it would be easy. Well, the nut on the ball joint was rusted, so rather than say let's not do the strut, I broke the bolt with my 24" breaker bar. This made the car non-drivable, because at 6:30 in the evening the auto part stores don't have a ball joint for a 1992 Volvo. I rode my bike to work and home on Wednesday. Wanted to start doing this just not this soon, but Tamara needed other vehicle. Wednesday night, my father-in-law picked up ball joint for me. New problem, old Ball joint will not come loose from control arm (if you don't know what this is, trust me, big pain in the rear). So I disassembled control arm, sway bar, and other arm thingy. Still could not pound ball joint out of control arm. Soaked in what seemed to be a gallon of Kroil Oil (penetrating). Nothing got penetrated, no come loosey. Tamara gets home 8:30. Too late to take anywhere. Below is a picture. It was bound up just below the rubber seal shown here. I know you probably are not that interested, but it was my obsession for three days.
Thursday: Rode bike to work. Tamara comes to get me at noon. Brings control arm assembly because I couldn't carry the extra 20 pounds on bike. Mechanic at work helps me over his lunch break. We put it in the 20 ton press. Took 10 minutes to setup, 22 seconds to come loose, and only three tons of pressure. (I have ordered a small 6 ton press for home off of EBAY this week, this $60 may save my marriage). Took half a day off to go home, put car back together. Just in time for Maddy to get off the bus. Tamara claims I become some what obsessive about finishing jobs I started, I get some tunnel vision by not giving up and sending it to the garage. I really couldn't understand her until I saw the light at the end. I'm working on it.

Did I mention I was getting the car fixed to travel to Hinton, WV for Maddy's Academic Bowl. Well, that was what I was doing. I take car for 10 minute test drive, I shower, I pack clothes for the night, and Maddy and I drive 4 hours to Hinton. Car ran great, if it had broken down, I may have been calling someone here for a non-voluntary sabbatical from my family. Academic bowl was at a summer camp, so I spent the night on a bunk I thought was two mattresses stacked on top of each other, in the morning I would have sworn it was two box springs. I currently am making appointment with chiropractor.

Kids did great. The third and fourth (Maddy's group) grade took 1st in the scavenger hunt. They didn't place in the oral/math competition but were solidly in the middle of the pack (8 schools). End of day, we drove back home 4 hours. Got home around 9:30 PM Friday.

Woke up Saturday, finished setup for annual community yard sale. Did this from 8 - 4pm. Tamara said no food in the fridge, so we went out to dinner. Got home from dinner, I fell asleep early. Sunday went to church, then traveled to Pittsburgh to IKEA for all day shopping trip. Got home about 8 PM. Fell a sleep early again.

This was a little out of control for me over the last week. This week is a lot better. I'm glad my job was mellow. I backed off on the work outs to keep a little sanity. Planning to ramp it up. I have to get a good three weeks of work, then tapper for a week before Rocky Gap Triathlon.

I hope you all are living a stress free, probably not possible, so living with stresses you can handle. I know I went on a little, but it is very therapeutic to write about it. Thanks.

Swim Class: Round 4

6x100 Baton Drill
8x 25 kickboard. 30 sec break in between
6x100 Races
2x200 with paddles, heck of a workout for the shoulders
20x 25 as few breaths possible on odd, fast as possible on even, starting every 45 sec
1x 150 cooldown

The 6x100 races I think my best time was 2:00 and fatigued was 2:12.
As I fatigue I don't pivot as well at the hips, which then puts me more into Craig's drill of no body twist and just "plowing" through the water.
I'm not sure how to work on that other than working on endurance, I'll ask the coach next time around. If I were to guess, I'd say the answer is core strength/abs to carry that pivot from hips to shoulders.

Only one massive Hamstring cramp as I was getting out of the pool. Had a heck of a time trying to figure out how to get rid of that. Which made me think about the swim/bike transition. I seem to have issues leaving the pool after 90 minutes. I'll have to try some 40 minute swim to beach transitions this summer at the lake and see how it goes.

Chiropractor

Finally got there. He confirmed the hip flexor issue. The more interesting adjustment he found was actually my ankle on that same leg. Basically it was jammed and not allowing full range of motion. Which could have actually been the cause of my problem to begin with.
One quick adjustment and now I don't feel like I'm walking short on my right side. Wish I would have gone to him sooner.
Of course I got all the other tune up stuff done as well. Neck, shoulders, back.... I'm just writing this because I know Eric will be jealous. Ha!

Anyhow, tonight is swimming but I'm looking forward to a run on Wednesday night to test out the adjustment.

Swim Class: Round 3

First A Link
The Goal

I think I've lost track of the fact that you are looking to have a low stroke count. I'm probably sprinting in an sad attempt to try and keep up with the class. So my stroke count is somewhere around 24 or more, depending how fatigued I am. (for 25yd).
Later this week I'll try to see if I can slow my pace down and have a better chance at swimming longer distances. My previous attempts to slow down has made me feel like I start to sink.... so there that to contend with as well.

Class was cut short tonight due to extreme lightning. Of course we were all wondering if that's necessary in an indoor pool.
Indoor Pool Safety

Well tonight we started with 6 100's. Drilling high elbows with fingertip drags as we swam away 25, then strong regular swim back.

After that we went into "how many laps can you do in 30 minutes?" Once again, I'm struggling with thinking on everything else. So I figured I'd just count how often the other guy in my lane lapped me. He finished 250 more yards than I did. Which put me at 1500 yards if his count was correct.
I'm guessing he was a bit on the high side because I'm not sure I could have possibly maintained 50yds per minute for 30 minutes. I was happy that I never stopped the entire 30 min. Which was accomplished by being much less concerned with speed and just getting the flow going.

Then big lightning storm came along and they pulled us out.

Go Craig!

Will you do a brick workout soon? (no break between exercise).
Also do you know if that Rocky Gap Tri fills up? I'm still not sure I can make it but I'd like to.

I think I'm going to go to my Chiropractor to have him check out this hip flexor. I doubt it's an alignment issue but he's really good at the reflexology. So I'm hoping he will be able to tell me what's up.
The adjustments are always great anyhow.

I went to the pool tonight. Did 50's mostly, working on pushing all the way to the end of the stroke every time. Naturally I lost count of how many laps. Too many things to think about. 45 minutes, then went home and did some quick shoulder work with weights.

Bike Parts

I found this chart awhile ago and forgot what site it was on. So I'll post it here so I can't lose it again.
I can't keep track of the Quality levels this chart makes it easy. Here is the site it is from.
Buying a New Road Bike

From Ebay:
Campagnolo Veloce $549
Campagnolo Chorus Carbon Group: $1,100
campagnolo Record Carbon Groub: $1,550

Swim Class: Round 2

OK. This is kind of funny. I got beat up so badly last week I'm actually somewhat anxious about going to class tonight. I did practice on Sunday... I'll post more after the class.

I forgot to get the workout sheet today. But he strayed from it anyhow. What I remember.
Start off with an 800... LOL.

Then we did a 50 Drill holding a baton in front, You would have to keep it there and grab with the other hand before continuing. It's supposed to teach where your reach into the water should be.
3 75s
1 300
4 x 50,25,25 (the 50 was a stroke, stay on side 6 kicks, Quick stroke to other side repeat). Then a technical 25, Then an all out 25.
1 50 Baton Drill again
1 150

I know I'm missing stuff. There were more in the class today so we had 3 lane. I did the novice stuff which I listed. The pro lane finished the night doing a 1000, while we were doing our drills. The 2nd lane was doing 50 more than us for most of the longer distances.

Anyhow, I didn't have nearly the problems cramping that I did last week. When I got home from work I walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes, then did about 20 minutes of stretching. I'm guessing that helped.
As for the swimming. The coach is telling me my form is good for short distance. I've got to keep my chin lower so my back will arch less. (one of a dozen things to work on).
I'm going to have to structure my workouts now. I'm starting to feel like I can swim with decent form for all of 30-40 yards, then fatigue makes me lose it. I'm going to work on 50's with strong/fast finishing strokes to the hip. I feel that as I fatigue I just don't finish the stroke which messes up your ability to breathe properly as well. I've got to build those muscles up.

Swim Class

Ha. These folks are serious.

200 Swim/Drill by 25s
100 Kick
200 Pull

4x <4 x 25 Build :40
<1 x 125 Free Race 2/2:30
<1 x 75 Easy Back 2

2x <1 x 400 Free Pull 7:30/8
<2 x 100 or 75 Free Race 1:50

2x <1 x 100 Stroke Count (2)
<1 x 200 Free Race (2)
<1 x 50 Fly/ Free (1)

100 Cool Down

3700 Meters
4048 Yards

Ok. that was the workout for the night. I have no idea how much of this I got through. I'm easily the worst swimmer in the class of 8 or 9.
So they threw in the back stroke. Well remember how I said my kick was bad. Well it's worse on my back. It instantly cramped my calves so bad I had to hop out of the pool to work them out. I don't know about you but once they start you know it's going to come back.
Anyhow, some of the fixes. When I breathe in I wasn't bringing my face to my shoulder enough. Also was holding my breath too much, it would seem you shouldn't at all really. More on that later once I get it figured it out.
I've never used a pull buoy before. I can see how this can help with your rotation. Of course I had very little clue but I can see how it will help.

There you have it. It can only get get better from here.

Blew the Carbon out of the Cylinders

Good weekend all the way around for me. Not only did I get two runs in, a bike, and 40 minutes stretch & strength, but I spent time with the kids. Took them to a local volunteer fire hall craft sale. They sold pizzas for lunch/dinner, so the kids had one of those and I got an excellent steak sandwich. Had mozzarella cheese and peppers in a red sauce on the sandwich. Very good. Then we enjoyed our new family favorite show America's Funniest Home Videos. The Kids love it, and it is on constantly in reruns on WGN. It is wonderful that Levi knows HEAD, GUT, or CROUCH. I am very proud.

Now my challenge is not to go hog wild with the training. I can feel the fatigue in my legs today. It is strange, because I still would like to work out again, but I won't. I need the rest today (maybe 20 minutes strength & stretch tonight, not too hard). I agree with Matt I do miss running when I can't. Must be all those endorphins.

Bad Pedal

I still don't think I should be running. So I'm not. I did some biking instead.
With those new Crank Brothers Quattros.
Well I have to send them in for repair already. The right pedal has a bad bearing. I'll be without the pedals for a week at least.

Hoping to hit the pool tomorrow AM and sign up for the Tuesday Swim class if the class isn't filled already.

I had thought I'd be ready to go for the Rocky Gap Sprint Tri with Craig. I'm starting to doubt that is going to work out for me. I guess I'm glad that this happened now rather than this time next year. Hopefully I'll be able to keep better track of my training and not over do it.

I may go to my chiropractor to talk with him regarding this hip flexor problem. I'd love for it to be gone already. Who knew I'd miss running!

Thanks for the 300 Training video Craig. I should look like those guys by this time next year. Ha!

Easter Bunny Slowing Us Down

Started feeling bad about my lack of effort. I had a cold last week, but still did some stuff. I was excited about Easter, thought I would feel better. We traveled to Williamsport (Sorry for not looking you up Shawn) to visit Grandma. We stay at a hotel now to keep Grandma from working too hard. The hotel had a Treadmill, Exercise Bike, and a pool. I took two sets of shorts so I could workout at least two days. The extent of my workout was splashing in the pool with the kids for 1 and half hours. That cold I had manifested into something worse in my chest (which I haven't experienced for a while). Fatigue overcame me. I have been in bed by 9 pm every night and sleeping in whenever I can.

I did decide to swim last night. Pool was closed. Not sure why, but one person really manages the pool and does almost all the life guarding, so if she is sick, there goes the good time. So, I did what any dedicated athlete would do, I played Levi's Gameboy for about an hour. Read a magazine and went to bed, got all that in by 9.

I hope everyone else is well. I went to the spreadsheet this morning and realized, except for Eric, who already identified his fatigue, we have fallen off the wagon a little. So, I plan to run tonight and do some weight training. Woke up this morning without the coughing and tightness in the chest, so I should be good to go. Not to hard tonight. I think 30 minutes easy running, and then 20 minutes weight stuff, easy.

My Brother sent me to the site below to see some Skateboarder racking his junk against a rail, then getting run over by a car. While watching, I saw a another video thumbnail stating "300 Spartan Workout Training. Home Version". Most of it doesn't look to bad, but when you look at the quantity of reps, it would probably get you there. Here is the link:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/514640/300_spartan_workout_training_home_version/

Electric Vehicles

Ah! A passion I never get to do. I created a new post to give you a couple hotsport links. Your motorcycle idea, I believe is excellent. DC powered vehicles have very little that will not make them run. Usually just bad batteries. Here are some examples of motorcycles, you can poke around for other vehicles:

http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/type/MTCY

Shawn's project would be a good one. If I remember it is somewhat of a small bike, but I guess we are not talking about traveling 50 miles, maybe just 20 or so before a charge would be needed. Take a look at this scooter:

http://www.austinev.org/evtradinpost/index.php?method=showdetails&list=advertisement&rollid=1200&fromfromlist=classifiedscategory&fromfrommethod=showhtmllist&fromfromid=19

A little out of your price range. I called and spoke to them, a while back. They take the original scooter, which could only do 20 to 25 mph, with a range of 20 - 25 miles, and make it go 30 mph with an effective range 30 to 40 miles. I believe they upgrade the batteries from a total 38 Ah (amp-hour) to 50 Ah with 48 volts. Which we all know Amp-hours is what drives the range in Electric Vehicles. This vehicle is pretty cool, because the others I have seen had to drop voltage to 24 V or 36V to get this type of range, but with the lower voltage run closer to 20 MPH.

For Shawn, I evaluated prior to this because he mentioned it to me before, we would need to get a 36 volt motor to move his carcass and any booty at let's say 20 mph. I believe the size of Shawn's bike would limit us to 36 volts. This would require 3 12Volt batteries. Each battery weighing minimum 40 lbs each. The gas engine is replaced essentially lb for lb for the new electric motor. So we would have the current weight of the bike, plus the batteries, plus Shawn. Now, using a 24 volt motor, which is probably more available, could be an option. This could reduce weight. You would only need two 12 Volt batteries, you sacrifice speed (maybe 15 mph), but would gain range if you bought slightly better batteries.

I demonstrated how this works with one of those little kids battery powered 4 wheelers. Neighbor was throwing one a way because the battery was bad and a small wiring problem. I took it, put two 12 volt sealed cell batteries in it. Worked good with the two youngest kids, but would not push poor Maddy (about 65 lbs at the time) up the hill. I determined I could take the two 12 volt batteries and wire them up 24 volt to the motor (a little hot for the motor, but it was free why do I care). Don't worry I put a fuse in-line for each battery. My mistake was I used too small of wires. Maddy jumped on, and BAM! Wheels were spinning, she was going up the hill as fast as she was going down before. Had a great time for about a half hour. Then Levi flipped it over going too fast down the hill. While I was nursing him, Maddy took it up the hill and then it stopped. It had blown a fuse, because the wires had heated up enough to melt the plastic on the outside of the wire, and two wires that should not be touching arched across each other and fused together. We went back to the slower 12 volt system after a little rewire. Also the batteries need charged because it was draining them fast.

Shawn has touched a real passion for me. But my big project for the summer is to install an earth coupled heat pump. I also have plans to wire my shed with a solar panel and an inverter. I also have plans to make an electric riding mower (Snapper, rear motor style, best choice, no variable speed switch needed, transmission already does it for you), I also want to make an electric go-cart for the kids, also train for triathlons, also work my full time job, also be involved with the kids, also try to keep a relationship with my wife, also want to buy a sail boat, also want to go camping every weekend, . . . . I digress.

Sure Shawn let's take a look. Send me a photo of the bike, so I can remember what it looks like.

Motorcycle

Yesterday, I tried to get my motorcycle running for the spring. It has been sitting for a few months, as it always does in the winter. Well, as usual, it wouldn't start. So I decided to try to push-start it by pushing it down the hill in front of my house. This is sort of like trying to run while pulling a 500-pound sled. Well, it didn't work, which caused me to have to push it back up the hill. This was another innovative and challenging workout for me. I have activated yet more new muscles in this process, though I don't think I am going to make a regular practice of this exercise. In fact, this has convinced me that the thing to do is convert this thing to electricity. So...here's where our team comes in. Craig, I want you to help me figure this out. We talked a little about this last year, but it is time to put it into action. I will pay for everything. And I'm serious. I never ride this bike farther than 3 miles from my house. It is basically worthless to me because it's such a pain to get it running and I never have time to sit there working on it, and I have always wanted an electric motorcycle anyway.

I figure we can keep the chain, and just drop an electric motor of your choice into the space where the transmission is now, and weld the front sprocket from the existing transmission onto the spindle. We stick a couple of deep-cycle batteries in the big hole where the motor was, convert the throttle to a variac and we're good to go. I even have a heavy-duty variac already. What do you think?

Name Dropping

I understand name dropping for obscure, yet somewhat successful triathletes may not be to impressive, but I taped the Ironman 70.3 on Saturday, then sat down to watch it and saw someone I knew. The pro woman who took 3rd, who they highlighted a ton, because she was such a good runner and looked to be in contention for a top 3, I know, or as stated earlier, I had contact with and recognize, even though they would have no clue who I was.

Here is the story. In 2005 I showed up 6 am in the morning to volunteer for the Mountaineer half Ironman/Olympic triathlon. I had the pleasure of writing, with permanent marker on peoples bodies. Number on both arms, back calf of left leg distance (either H or O), and class (age group, pro, elite, Clydesdale, etc.) on the right leg. A cute little blond comes up. She was in shape. She starts talking and you can tell this girl isn't from America, had a distinct Australian accent. She tells me her number and I write it on her arms. She turns around, I kneel down to write distance on her left leg. She tells me Olympic, so I put a big "O" on her leg, she then says "NO, NO I am doing the Half". I say are you sure, she says yes. So the "O" becomes a smiley face, and a "H" is written below it. Next I ask her class, she looked at me strange, so I was helpful by saying you know your age. Oh! she says 23, but I believe I am in the elite class. So, I go to make a "E" on her right leg, she says "NO, NO I am a PRO!". I stop and say, "Just so I got it straight, you are here to do the Half Ironman, and you do this for a living, correct". She laughed and said absolutely. And I proceeded to put a big "P" on her right leg.

As she walked away another volunteer standing next to me said I will be surprised if she finds the finish line. To my shock not only did she find the finish line, but was the first woman to find it. The girl held her own in the swim and bike, and put the hammer down in the run. By far the fastest woman runner, 3rd fastest run overall, all contestants. Top 10 finisher in the Tri, even compared to the men. Miranda Carfrae is her name. She is still under 25, I think. If you watch any tri's you will see her again.

Longer break / Hip Flexor

Everything I read online regarding hip flexor strains is 4-6 weeks. Work on stretching and strengthening.

Not being on a treadmill for a month will be tough but I think it's probably the right thing to do. The question is do I think the charts on this link are accurate.

Activity and Muscle groups Link

Do you think if I get my cardio by spending time on the bike that it's going to give my hip the time it needs to heal? I'm going to try it I guess I'll find out.
Sadly it's tough to know if it's getting better unless I do some jogging to test it.

I do like that link for the listing of muscles that aren't being worked in certain activities. Reminds you of the groups you need to work on elsewhere.

Bike comparison

Today, I trotted out my older Trek road bike, which I used regularly up until last spring when I bought a new Trek all-aluminum mountain bike. My old bike is very tall, and was rather expensive when I bought it (in 1987). Cripes, it's 20 years old. That's older than some of the competition. Anyway, I was comparing the geometry, crank length, cassette teeth, and general feel. I found that the road bike definitely has a more efficient feel to it. The crank housing is dropped down, whereas the mountain bike's is pretty much level with the rear axle. This allows me to lower the seat on the road bike while achieving the same leg angle, meaning I have a lower CG on the road bike, which is good. The handlebars are also lower, putting me into more of a natural aero position. This could be painful over the long haul, but I guess no triathlon I do is going to take that long. I rode 186 miles in 3 days last Spring, on dirt, so anything else should be a piece of cake. That hurt, but that's another story.

Now, to get either bike ready for a race, I am going to need new tires, which if they are any good, cost at least 25 bucks each. I guess I would need these eventually anyway, so I'll have to live with it. The guy at the bike store was not convinced that I needed to get the clipless pedals and shoes. Of course, if you want to be the most efficient and use your other muscle groups, those are great, but then you have to change shoes in the transition. He suggested getting toe clips and just using my running shoes. Then the bike to run transition is almost instant. I am thinking at the moment that because I am not "serious" about winning, and that I am a grad student making poverty wages (literally) that I am just gonna stick with the BMX pedals I have and rely on my quads (or as one article from Matt's recent web site says, my "best workers.")

I don't know how to do a very scientific study of which bike works better. They both have some advantages. I'm also thinking that one of the biggest weight issues on the mountain bike is the tires, so if I put little road tires on there, it might weigh close to the same as the road bike. The suspension fork is way too beefy, but I can't swap that. Parts are so dang expensive. I looked at seats at the bike store today and they were between 30 and 100 bucks.

I guess I'll just ride them both back and forth to school and see what feels better, and throw in an occasional sprint workout to make sure they each work under load. The good news is I don't think anyone would steal the old one.

Bike Fit Stuff

Tri Bike Fit Link
I've never done much bike riding other than for easy fun rides. I have absolutely no clue as to how everything should be adjusted. So I've read a bunch of stuff to try to make sense of it all. Then yesterday I worked on making adjustments. I'm going to list the things I did and why.

Keep in mind I don't have a racing bike. This is a hybrid/mountain bike. No dropbars or tribars.

1: Seat tilt, I had the front tipped down (trying to improve comfort to "the area"). That tilt is no good if you are going to be riding any distance. The result of that tilt is you put a ton of weight on your hands as the seat isn't really supporting you with this angle. So I adjusted it back to flat. Sure enough my hands/wrists no longer feel as much weight.

2: Seat location forward and back. I'll have to look for a link about this. The method I used was the plumb line off the knee when the pedal is at 3/9 o'clock. The weight should go through the ball of your foot. That moved my seat back considerably and created a straighter back.

3: Seat Height: This is where I really became confused while I was on the bike. I would power my downstroke and instead of finishing at the absolute bottom of the pedal (6 o'clock) I would be in front of it. I couldn't make sense of that until I read Method 2 of that link above. Which reads.
I don't like to consider 6 O'Clock the bottom of the pedal stroke. I rather prefer it to be that point where the crank arm is parallel to the line drawn up to the greater trochanter (i.e., more or less parallel to the seat post)
So basically you have to tip the clock more closely to the angle of the seat post. Then it all makes a bit more sense. This bit of info also helped me understand why the seat post angle is the big difference in road/tri bikes. I now see how the geometry is going into play. (hope this helps someone else too).
So do I have my seat height set properly. I don't know yet, work in progress.

Also in progress is my handlebar height. If anyone else has a great link of how to setup your bike "properly". (Again hybrid/mountain no dropbars). Let me know.

I also realized I didn't mention that I did buy the Crank Bros. "Quattro Pedals" and the Shimano Tri Shoes to go with. So far so good, easy in/out of the clip once you figure it out.
The other purchase was the "kurt kinetic trainer". This may seem totally stupid to many of you but it's tough to find a safe place to ride here. I don't want to have to load the bike onto the car and drive somewhere every time I want a bike workout.
Also I checked it out on ebay. If it turns out I never use this thing after a year. I can get nearly the selling price back. I bought it from ebikestop.com

More new training ideas

This week, I developed some new training techniques, none of which will help me win a triathlon, but all of which will help with the Spartan physique. First, I had a pile of logs on the side of my house from when the borough cut down a tree down the block. I had carried these home earlier in the year and piled them next to the house (for our fireplace). This week, I decided they didn't look good there, so I had to move them. They weigh between 30 and 115 pounds (I weighed the biggest and smallest today just to see what I was dealing with). I have noticed that a 115 pound piece of a tree feels much heavier than a 100-pound plate at the gym. Obviously there are no handles, and the shape is just downright unwieldy. So that was a pretty good workout just getting them to my back yard. No tools (like a wheelbarrow) were allowed for this exercise. Then, since I have always wanted to do the caber toss, I took the small log (30 pounds) and started throwing it as far as I could. Now I know the caber toss is all about flipping accuracy, not distance, but you nonetheless have to be able to put some muscle behind the pole if it's going to flip. I threw this log several different ways, including like a shot put, and up over my head backwards. It makes a very satisfying thud when it hits the ground. I also just threw it straight up and tried to catch it. It's kind of like a solid wood, cylindrical medicine ball, with a flaky, scratchy surface.

Well, I learned today that those high intensity movements definitely worked some new muscle groups. Yes, indeedy. The log toss is going into my regular cycle of heavy activity.

I also did the mountain-stone grip routine that was demonstrated in one of the movies I posted earlier. Fun stuff.

I agree with Craig that this forum of communication is motivating, even though I am not really doing the same things as you (I will eventually, I swear). It is still helpful in the effort of keeping me on track doing some kind of fitness activity.

Swim Drill Should Make me Faster

Did 6 sets of 50 yard drills in the pool after my warm up. Originally thought I might do 8 to 10. I did one drill then the next. After 6, I decided to stop drills because I wanted to get 400 yd without stopping and arm fatigue was setting in.

Both Drills worked the way they were suppose to.

Drill #1 Buoy (has a longer name, for this will call it the Buoy). Swim 25 yd without twisting body in water. Essentially this causes your chest to be driven down and you absorb a full frontal amount of resistance. Designed to cause you to raise your hips and legs in the water. Very effective, tiring but not killer. The second 25 you swim regular freestyle focusing on good form. Then rest 30 sec to a min.

Drill #2 PUNCH IT. Swim freestyle 25 yd. Instead of opening your hand to get an effective pull/push, you clench your hand into a fist and focus on using your whole forearm as the paddle. Designed to increase efficiency of stroke by making you use your whole arm. Works, works well. Secondary effect is you tend to sink more because your arm stroke is not helping you maintain buoyancy. Hence, I had to kick harder. The second 25 you swim regular freestyle focusing on good form. Then rest 30 sec to a min. Killer! I have felt comfortable in the water until now. Half way down the pool on the first 25 I felt uncomfortable. Panic is not the word I would use because I knew I could stop doing it at any point. Really caused me to focus on the stroke, mainly because I was not getting a good rhythm to breath, which I believe was the real problem. I was not getting enough breathe when my face was out of the water. I will continue this drill, hopefully next time it goes better.

I will take a second to say this format has really inspired me to work harder. I would say the last two years this early in the spring I would not have gone this hard this quick. I also have planned well to get to the pool, which is always a hassle, mainly to keep up with Matt. Also Eric is logging some time on the bike which makes me want to get on mine, which I am going to do this weekend.

Thanks, keep it up. The information has also been great.

Trampoline

Last summer, I bought a trampoline at a yard sale. It is a full sized round one, like all the kids have these days, but it has no safety features. No pad over the springs, no netting around the sides, etc. It was an incredible bargain, in my opinion, at 25 bucks. It had been $50, but we showed up in the last hour of their sale, so I talked 'em down to half price. I'm one tough customer. We set it up in the back yard, and have been bouncing ever since. It was kinda hard to use in much of the winter, but we had a beautiful day yesterday, drying everything out, and it was still pretty nice today, so I decided rather than running, I would bounce for 10 minutes. That's it! 10 minutes. With no break. And no, I didn't have my 20-pound dumbbells with me. So what I determined in this 10 minute period was that this is a very enjoyable way to get an excellent aerobic workout. I throw in a lot of variation, like knee drops and back drops, and one-legged hops, so unlike running it is kind of exciting. My treadmill doesn't handle the back drops very well. They say that trampolines are excellent for your core, because you have to stabilize your guts and spine well, or you have trouble. By throwing in the back drops, I find that the stomach muscles get more than just stabilizing work. It's like doing really big crunches. It's also good for kinesthetic sense development and balance, which I figure can't hurt.

If anyone wants to come to my house and bounce, feel free. (No liability is assumed. Bounce at your own risk. You have been informed of the dangers.) I'm gonna work up to 20 minutes, I think, once the weather is reliable, and combine that with the weights, kettlebells, and medicine balls (not on the trampoline) for a nice well-rounded and fun fitness routine. Of course I still need to get the bike and swim in there too, so I'm sure it will alternate.

Speaking of the bike, I have decided that everywhere I go on my bike, which I ride to campus 3 times a week, sometimes twice a day, I am going to go as fast as I can. I'm sure this makes for some funny looks, as I must look like a nut, but it has already helped with the breathing recovery efforts. I think my best triathlon would be the 2 lap swim, the 1 mile flat or downhill bike and the 200 meter dash. I would be really good at that. And of course we require everyone to carry 20-pound (or bigger) dumbbells in each hand for the sprint. I just figured since I have to ride my bike anyway, I might as well make a race out of it. Things are going well.

Ironman 70.3 WorldChampionship on the Tube

http://www.ironmanlive.com/events/ironman70.3/worldchampionship70.3/nbc-to-air-the-ford-ironman-world-championship-70.3-from-florida-on-saturday

The ironman 70.3 World Championship (half-ironman) is going to be televised this Saturday (Mar 31) 2pm on NBC. Two points of interest for me. A guy, Vinnie Monseau, who won the triathlon I competed in (beat me by almost 20 minutes) and is a local here, competed in this Championship. He was 430ish, but is only an amateur.

The second point of interest is the dude (Christopher Legh) who won the half-ironman they do in Morgantown, WV (which I volunteer for) took fourth place in the Championship that is going to be televised.

So, my point is even though neither one of these guys could pick me out of a crowd, I know them or know who they are. Actually, the Mr. Legh, after winning the triathlon went back to his hotel and packed up his stuff. Then he decided to drive closer to the awards ceremony area. I was working traffic control to keep people from driving into this area. So, when he tried to make a turn into this area, he forced me to yell at him, I even went so far as to tap the hood of his SUV to get him to stop. He was nice, since it was a rental, and informed me who he was. I said "I don't care who you are, my instructions are to keep any and all vehicles out of this area, so beat it dirt bag". No, I didn't say that. I folded like a cheap lawn chair on a windy beach. "Park over here Mr. Legh, by all means, run over the person in 250th place, they probably slowed you down anyways when you lapped them on the bike and deserve it".

I believe it is an hour coverage of this event from Clearwater. They always show the winners than follow two to four people on the human interest part. Someone making a come back, someone disabled, someone old, and someone who had their head severed and reattached, and without use of half their body still seem to be able to train 40 hours a week, finishing the event under the time limit. Just kidding, but it is usually good stuff.

Improving the Swim

There is still a ton of room for improvement here but there are improvements already.
Last night I worked on 4 stroke/breath to see what that would do for me. (I was only swimming 50's). Well at the end of the hour I was still managing 50 in about 55 seconds, much better than my 1:10-1:15 from my post earlier this month.

I decided to try 4 stroke so that I would always breathe on my strong side, just to get an idea of the results. It proved to me that I need to spend much more time working on my weak side breathing technique. (I'll post my weak side time on my next trip to the pool).
I also felt that by sticking with my strong side and breathing less often. I'm starting to feel the swim much more. One of the things I've read online is to make your forearm part of the paddle, not just your hands. I've been trying to remember to think of that. I can't say I'm successful there yet.

Anyhow, I hope to have as much improvement in swimming as I've had with running over the last 5 months. I guess I'll find out in 5 months.

Pause?

We've taken a brief respite from the blogging, it appears. Just to keep it going, I'll post something. Today I walked a mile carrying the 20-pound dumbbells. I walk about 3 miles an hour, so this took almost exactly 20 minutes. Now, admittedly, a 20-minute mile is not something that is going to strike fear in the hearts of my competitors, but I do what I can. While walking, I do curls, overhead presses, triceps raises and other such things just to keep it exiting, but I never set the dumbbells down. That's my rule for this exercise. This is about holding onto a 20-pound hunk of steel in each hand for 20 minutes, while walking. Very simple.

After that, I did some kettlebell style arm swings until I was unable to safely perform them. These actually provide a better aerobic workout than the walking, but I like the muscular durability that the 20-minute-long carry affords. When I started, 10-minute walks with the dumbbells were pretty difficult, so I must be getting stronger, but looking like a Spartan is going to require a calorie cut for me, which is something I have trouble doing for long periods of time. Our semester is more than half over now, so the stress is really ramping up and the deadlines are coming fast, consequently my eating tends to suffer. I'm hopin that when May hits, it will feel like a weight has been lifted and I can really make progress with the weight. Assuming I stay on top of the workouts, I should have a good Spartan body underneath the fat that is just waiting to be revealed.

Pushed too hard

I keep thinking that a big key to improving is better core strength and weight training. Yet I haven't really done much about it.
Well I've got a very mild case of what the guy in this link had.
hip adductor
Pectineus
I'm not in pain the way these guys are/were. I'm just noticing that something is going on and I don't want it to turn into a big problem.
Exercises
Stretches
I was impressed with the site so I figured I'd post them here.

Kettlebells!

Due to my quest for Spartan fitness, I have discovered the kettlebell. For the uninitiated, a kettlebell is basically a canonball with a comfortable handle on top, and a flat bottom, so it doesn't roll away when you set it down. They come is all sizes up to really heavy, like 150 pounds. These things are supposedly the secret of the soviet supermen of old olympic glory. Old-school real-world lifting and moving. The exercise I started is just a "simple" one-armed swing from between the legs and up in front to slightly above shoulder height. Back and forth like an elephant trunk, swaying gently in the breeze. I do 25 with each arm, then do something else, like run on the treadmill for 5 minutes, then jump back into the swings. They are even kind of fun. These things provide an incredible payoff for the time, including aerobic dividends. If you try to reach as far behind you as possible on the downswing, you get your quads involved handsomely, you get hammies, glutes, all kinds of "core" parts, shoulders, and super grip strength. The core is where all the power is for people who have functional strength, rather than "workout strength." Unfortunately, I don't have a kettlebell, so I have to use a regular dumbell, but I employ the same movement. Supposedly, due its different weight distribution, the kettlebell gives you a somewhat better workout, though it can't be terribly huge. I'm having wonderful luck with the dumbbell, but my birthday is in May (hint? A 50 pounder would be cool).

I am also hoping to start playing with some kind of medicine ball. 25 pounders look good. Anybody up for a game of catch?

HR Check up

From Early February: I ran 32 minutes at 6mph. HR started in the 172bpm range early on and got to 185 at the end of the run.

Tonight's Run:
5.5 mph 10 minutes = 154 bpm
6.0 mph 10 minutes = 164 bpm
6.5 mph 7 minutes = 174 bpm
7.0 mph 3 minutes = 180 bpm

Not an identical run for comparison but I feel that it does show improvement.
Without the blog I probably wouldn't be keeping track of this information nearly as well.

Also for the sake of record keeping. I put the HR monitor on when I woke up the other morning to see what my resting HR was. 54 bpm was my resting HR. Lowest it dipped to was 48 bpm.

Wet Suit Options on Internet

A couple wetsuit vendors I found in my search for a "cheap" wet suit to minimize my outlay for what some people in family may see as non-essentials.

EBAY Seller - looks like a good price for the sleeveless

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160096303123&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1

Other - Multiple suits - also prices look pretty good

http://www.wetsuitsonsale.com/shop.html?lang=en-us&target=d256.html

More Tango Questions

I read the updated Tango website. Here are the questions that remain for me: What is the definition of canoe? If people have long, sleek, ocean-racing canoes and we have an old aluminum fishing canoe, that would not be a very even match. I went looking online, and what people call canoes seems to vary widely. Are there rules about foils, keels, and rudders? Foot braces? What are the rules about paddles? Can we use two-ended paddles? Are there square-inch limits on the paddling surface? In one picture on the site, people have double-ended paddles. But in "real" canoe races (http://www.ohcra.com/molokaihoe/racerules.htm --This is what a rules page should look like!), you can't use doubles. Can the same canoe be used for the safety canoe in the swim as in the canoe portion of the race? How do we transport them if that is the case? Is there a map available of this course? That might help answer some of those questions. Any size limits on the swim fins? I would love to show up with 4-foot long fins and see if anyone says anything.

The two-person complete teams require both people to each do all the events. If two of us chose to do that, what are the rules about separating? Do you wait at the beginning of each leg (if you choose to separate), or are you required to be basically near each other all the time? Can you tie each other together? (So in the swimming section, Craig could water-ski on a rope tied to my waist). Initially, I thought the two-person complete was a two-man relay. I was mistaken. That makes it much harder.

I wonder what kind of competitors are in this thing. Are they like us, or are they hardened race nuts who train all the time and are gearheads to boot?

Anyway...just wondering.

Kinzua

Kinzua Tango Stuff. I got to thinking about our abilities. This isn't to show how good we can do, but maybe how people decide what event they might want to do. This chart shows each leg with the distance, then two scenarios which I have listed as "Good" and "Not as Good". The "Good" is based on min/mile pace I believe I could go if I only had to do this one event and I was in good shape or worked on this event. The "Not as Good" pace was established as being 25% slower than the "Good" rate. I believe as a collective group this is our effective range of time.

The best thing to think about is that someone is going to do this all by themselves probably the winner will be not only faster than the "Good" pace, but much faster. You can see your big time losses would be in the half marathon or the swimming if you had someone implode. Of course that orienteering is a wild card.

Bike Gear

Crank Bros. Quattro SL
The link above is to an ebay auction. Seems like a fairly good deal from what I've seen. I just looked again. The black ones have sold out already. Other colors are available.
Of course buying these means you need to buy the shoes too...
Shimano TR02 Tri Shoe

Who doesn't love stuff

Running Outside

Felt good to get outside yesterday. Ran three miles. Took it easy on my legs by running 9 minutes, walk 1 minute. Did this cycle three times. I do not have a heart rate monitor, but wanted to check my heart rate to see what it was doing. You guys got me interested.

I took it for 10 seconds and then multiplied it by 6. I could only take it when I was walking, tried to do first 10 seconds of walk, hence three intervals. 1st walk - 136 BPM (first 9 minute run started slow and built up) 2nd walk 156 BPM, kept higher pace whole 9 min. run. 3rd walk 168 BPM - really picked up pace last 2/10's of this run.

By no means did I feel I was truly redlining, even though last run burned bad. I have never taken during a race or test day. I assume by feeling, it could be 20 or 30 beats faster than high number above. I believe these seem like reasonable numbers.

Started a book by Eric Harr, Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week. The books subtitle says "from Beginner to Finish Line in Six Weeks". He has a whole plan to take you from Couch Potato to finishing your first sprint tri in this six week period. He then has three other six week plans based on your fitness level. I have chosen to start with the one above beginner. My Rocky Gap triathlon is in twelve weeks, so I do the 2nd level the first six weeks, reset and do the 3rd level the next six weeks. Walla, I do a nice finish.

Also, I am reading a book called Total Immersion. Strictly a swimming book. I plan to really work on my swimming this year. This book talks a lot about being long, and slippery in the water. Also, talks about making your body like the hull of a sailboat rather than like a tugboat. Looks like it is a work smart exercise rather than just working harder.

Saw an infomercial this morning, thought of Shawn. It was called Power 90. Claims you can look like an out of shape dope, and in 90 days you look like a Greek God (or Spartan Warrior) I believe the claim was six days a week, 40 minutes a day. The said in and out of the gym in an hour (if you shower quick). Most of the people they showed were our age to 10 years older than us. Quite impressive results. They almost had me picking the phone up to call.

Goggles or Mask

I've got the Aquasphere Mask for swimming. I'm a big fan. Super comfortable mask. Just figured I'd mention this in case anyone is looking to buy swim gear.
Here is a link

AquaSphere Mask

KC Tango

Ok, so far I think there are 4 of us interested. Craig, Casey, Shawn and myself. I thought I would make a chart gathered from posts and talks I've had with people regarding their interests.

1/2 Marathon: Casey
Bike: Shawn, Matt, Casey
Swim: Craig and Shawn
Orienteering: Shawn, Casey
Run: Matt
Canoe: Shawn, Matt, Casey

I may be too cautious of a bike rider to make good time on the bike. Maybe we can find out what the trail is and I can try it out this summer.

Obviously the list is a work in progress

Let me know where I need to make adjustments to this list. I'll edit this post. If there are other people that think they can make it let us know.

A good day

Made it to the pool again today. Swam laps for an hour. Still stopping for a short break after every 50 yds. Early in the hour I went 50 yds in 1:05. At the end of the hour it was more like 1:15-1:20.
I'm not concerned with anything other than building up some endurance at this point. I plan on joining a class in a couple months. I'm hoping that will be inspiring rather than totally intimidating. We will see.

A few hours after swimming I hit the treadmill. I've been wanting to put some longer distances up all week and just couldn't get there mentally, I kept giving up after about 35 minutes. Well I got there today. I did a short 2 min warmup. Then ran 6 miles in 62:20. 5.5mph for the first 20 minutes (I think) then 6mph the rest of the way out.

After I finished I realized I probably should have run 6.25 miles so that it was 10K. Ah well... next time.

Road Rate!

It is a beautiful day in New Hampshire so I took the bike out of the garage and took it for a spin. It's a LOT harder work than an excersize bike! Traffic, wind, road debris all play a role. The thing that totally shocked me is that I push myself way harder on the road. Even though I only went 12 miles in 53 minutes I pegged my max heartrate at 225!!! I didn't even know it would go that fast. The average rate was 153 which is typical for my indoor rides. So I really pound the hills and still only average about 13mph. Oh well.

Spartans Unite!

Okay, I just got back from 300. I feel so soft. I have so much. I want to run around the block carrying a tree. Maybe I should hire someone to hit me with a stick every time I slow down on the treadmill. I would love to feel like this for months. I could do so much. Of course I would probably abandon schoolwork. Who needs that crap? There's no glory there.

There were some pretty good lines in that movie, but I won't utter them here. Go see it for yourself. It's a heck of a guy movie.

Spring Break!

My last official school obligation before the break was last night at midnight. I turned in my assignment at 11:41 PM. Of course I have many unofficial deadlines and have to put in about 60 hours of work over the next week to try to catch up but I am hoping I get to do a little exercise. We're going to Williamsburg VA for 4 days, so maybe I can run outside like Matt. I just finished 21 days of antibiotics today, trying to kill this sinus infection. I have felt great in the head since I started, but kind of lethargic in the motivation. (Don't know if the drugs have anything to do with that or not.) I think I am going to see the movie 300 tonight to treat myself for making it to Spring break without missing any assignments. My goal is to look like the Spartans in that movie. I already like the Spartan lifestyle, why not get the Spartan physique?

http://www.movieweb.com/movies/film/30/3730/gal2479/38.php

I need to get back in the right mindset. Help me, people! It's been cold and dark here for the last 3 weeks. Trying to save money, I keep the heat low. That makes my body want to pack on the insulation. Girl Scout cookies suddenly look very tempting. Girls Scouts are nefariously undermining our nation's efforts to lose weight! This is madness!

No. This is Sparta!

Finally in the pool

I went to the pool this afternoon. My heart was racing after just a few laps. I guess it didn't know what to make of it all. It settled down and I was able to continue swimming for about 50 minutes before my calves started to cramp up on me. (I think I have horrible kicking technique).
So I would swim up and back which I think is 50 yards in about 1:15-1:20. Then I'd break for a few seconds before going again. So I'm guessing I put in 1506 yards in, which is .855 miles. I'll try to keep better track next time.

I'm hoping to be able to do my run tonight as well. I'm curious how that will go.

Update

I am still elipting and biking in the gym at work. It seems to be going pretty well. I also just received confirmation that the spinning class I signed up for is going to happen. Still no start date yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

Also, shoulder is still giving me fits. PT has yielded little progress. I have regained a lot of strength, but no relief of the impingement. The doc says to continue PT through July-ish. Because the MRI ruled out a tear, If there is still ino improvement, then he recommends a subacromial decompression procedure.

In my case, the impingement is caused by a hooked shape acromian, which is the top of the scapula and is the roof of the shoulder socket. The xray shows where the tip of the acromian is riding the ball of my shoulder joint, causing a thickness in the bone (shows up as a shiny white spot) and irritation with the rotator cuff tendon. A decompression consists of going in and cutting off the tip of the bone to enlarge the passageway. From what I have been able to find out, it isn't as bad as it sounds. It is an outpatient procedure, and most patients are back to full strength and range of motion in 6 weeks or less.

I am still in no hurry to be cut on, but if PT doesn't work out, it doesn't seem to be too horrible an option to consider. Until then, swimming is still out of the question, so I will continue with the bike and eliptical.