Weekly Workout Totals 12/18/2006-12/24/2006, Dysfunctional Family Christmas and Feeling Good

First, accountability:

Swim: 7000 yards (3.97 miles) in 2.48 hours; 23% of weekly workout time; approx. 869 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 53.96 miles in 3.08 hours; 29% of weekly workout time; approx. 1662 calories burned Run: Approx. 23.8 miles in 3.54 hours; 33% of weekly workout time; approx. 1764 calories burned Strength: 1.68 hours; 16% of weekly workout time; approx. 420 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 81.73 miles in 10.78 hours; approx. 4715 calories burned
Sleep: 9.11 hours avg./night
Stretching: 3.23 hours. Massage: 1.5 hours

Good week, training wise. Completed all workouts (a little light on the swimming, though), except for my Friday run. Since my calves were still fried from the Wednesday treadmill festival, I decided it wouldn't hurt to rest them. Had a good 1:30 ride on Saturday, and ran :30 on the track afterwards. Clearly, my legs prefer running NOT on a treadmill right now.

It was interesting on Saturday after a 2-hour workout that I didn't feel like I had "done" anything. Ah, the beauty of tapering and a shortened long-ish ride.

Sunday was reserved for baking a cake, watching the Bears almost lose, er...win, and cutting out 2 pairs of pajamas. I am using one pair right now, store bought, and I am tired of them and I need a spare. They will hopefully get sewn next weekend.

The cake was for today. Last Sunday I had lunch with my brothers, their wives, my dad and one of my nephews. My sister in law invited me and my Dad over for Christmas Day, or so I thought. So I thought I'd bring a nice dessert. I made a 3-layer coconut pecan cake. Yesterday I called my brother to confirm, and he insisted he hadn't invited us. Oh well, I wished him a Merry Christmas and hung up. He's been depressed and angry for years--since he lost his last "real" job--and he has some issues relating to my Dad (that's been going on for years, too--I have no idea exactly what the issue is). Since Tom (my brother) picked up the phone instead of his wife, Robin (who is extremely sweet), I guess he figured he could back out of it. That gave me a good cry--not because of not being invited, but it was typical behavior for Tom, and I am saddened that he can't bust out of his problems. If I was interviewing him for a job, I wouldn't hire him either, as it's completely apparent that he is angry with the world and feels put upon.

I called my younger sister, Lisa, and nobody answered the phone. She and her husband tend to screen calls (without call waiting--just wait to see who's voice leaves a message and decide whether to pick up or not), and I wasn't sure she was "talking" to me, so I chalked it up to she probably still didn't want to talk to me. She also is unemployed for several years and if you ask me, depressed as all get out, but just like Tom, not seeking professional help. God forbid it would help to talk to someone about your distorted feelings about yourself and the rest of the world! Hey--I've been there, done that, and while I still have my issues, I've learned that being angry doesn't accomplish anything.

The good news is that Lisa called me back later in the day, telling me she was "resting" from all the cooking (just for herself and her husband). Yes, she has such a hard life I guess that she needs a lot of rest from it! Anyway, we had a pleasant enough conversation, and it made me feel good that she was at least willing to communicate with me. Although she did let on that she couldn't come up here (she lives in Indianapolis) because she was still so distraught over my Mom's death that she can't bear to go into our childhood home. What the hell! How does she think my Dad feels? How does she think he feels to not see her for many, many months at a time, even though she doesn't work and is not suffering for creature comforts? Sure, she has issues--her husband's Mom is in a nursing facility suffering from Alzheimer's, and that puts a strain on her son and as a result, on Lisa.

We all have problems, don't we? Me--what do I have to show for myself? Spending another Christmas holiday alone for the most part. It is what it is. I wouldn't even notice it except for the fact that I am tapering for a race. But it does give me pause to consider how I got where I am today. I have plenty of acquaintances and even a few people I consider close friends. But alas, they are all married with children, and I am not the sort of person they would think about this time of year, which is fine. I tend to feel like a third or fifth wheel (depending on the family size). And it's not like I'm in the dating game.

Let me tell you it is no picnic being 50 and single. I am noticing the aging changes each year, and frankly, they SUCK. While I have very good muscle tone, my skin not so much. It's especially noticeable in the winter when my tan fades and all I'm left with is pasty-white, saggy skin. Gravity is good for some areas of the body--like the abs--in terms of the extra skin falling someplace else--but not so good for others like in my face. It's one thing if you've been with someone for years, so I suppose they wouldn't notice or care about such changes, but it's another thing if you're single. Oh well, another thing that there isn't much to do about it. And no, I am NOT considering Botox. I will look like what I will look like based on how I care for myself, and I think I'm doing the best that I can.

At one time I thought that maybe I'd meet someone (i.e., a GUY) doing something I loved, aka triathlon. Well, I have met and made plenty of friends, both men and women, but no single men that would be attracted to me. Perhaps it's true what someone said to me a year ago--that I am just too dedicated to training stuff and too competitive for most men's tastes. And then there's my age. Oh well, I should have been smart enough to know that taking up another hobby surely wasn't going to cure my social ills, and it hasn't. Some people who know me think I'm quite the extrovert, but what do they know? Sure, around my "game" and knowledge I am. But really, I'm the biggest social klutz. Don't take me to a party and leave me alone! I will fold up in a corner and drink myself to death!

But the way I look at it, at least I know this about myself. And I also know that feeling sorry for myself is not productive and that in the end, we all are alone. And I realize totally that there are so many people much, much worse off than me. I have a job, I have a roof over my head, I am not starving and I'm in good health. Things could definitely be worse!

So to those of you who think I never discuss anything personal here, there you have it. I am just not that "personal." If nothing else, I've learned that I am not my thoughts or feelings, and I just try to live in every moment as much as possible--whether that means doing the things that we must do to exist in this society or sometimes to ponder on my feelings.

After being shut out of my brother's today, I decided to go and see Casino Royale today with my Dad. It got him out of his house and me out of mine. I really enjoyed it, and Daniel Craig is H-O-T! Geez, what a physique on that man. I am asking Santa belatedly for one of those.

On the Goofy front, I'm feeling pretty good. The thought occurred to me today that if I can lollygag to 2:30 in the 1/2 and go 4:05 (Boston Qualifying time) or less in the full, then the sum is about the same as the sum of both race times last year. So it makes sense to me that if I go longer and easier in the half that I should have the gas left for the full. At least it is making sense to me today! My left calf is better in the sense that the outside part is no longer feeling like a problem, but the medial side is now tight, but that's OK, I'm working on things.

Today I lifted weights is all, and it felt good, since I did ZERO yesterday. I thought it would be prudent to have a protein shake afterwards since I had upped the weights (and besides, extra protein is good during a taper), so I put a scoop of egg protein powder into a glass and some glutamine and added water. Then I remembered I had bought a bottle of Bailey's Irish Creme to take to my ill-fated brother's house today, so I thought what the hell, put some of that in there. Turns out it was quite the tasty recovery drink! I can see having some Bailey's in my coffee this week, which is a bad thing to do, but I'm tapering and besides, I need to practice up in case I decide to have that beer if I locate the beer mile during the Disney marathon!

Life sucks AND it's great.

Keeping My Fingers Crossed

WARNING: ADULT LANGUAGE CONTENT

It's getting perilously close to Goofy showtime. While everyone else is enjoying their holidays by schmoozing, shopping and sleeping--me? I've been running. My legs, or more specifically, my left leg was majorly fucked up after Sunday's run--the calf has been in knots and there's been some weird tightness behind my knee--so I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to knock out today's run.

On Monday I really worked on my legs--I used all of my self-torture devices (after all, I am a masochist at heart) to do all sorts of things to them, including kneading, rolling on hard objects, digging with my thumbs, digging with pointy objects and actual stretching. Things felt OK yesterday before I got on my bike, but biking isn't exactly gentle on one's calves (especially since I pushed the envelope a bit by increasing my time spent at FT watts by 15', ya think that might have been dumb?), and afterwards things felt pretty well fucked up again.

But no worries, I worked on myself, emphasizing my calves, last night, honing in on what I thought might be culprit muscles--popliteal (behind the knee rotational thing) and plantaris. When I woke up this morning, things felt better, at least it felt like I was back where I was before I got on my bike on Tuesday. But for safety's sake, I decided to work on things a bit before I headed off to run.

I spent 2 hours on the treadmill, and I think because of my acute awareness of potential issues, I kept feeling various things telling me maybe I should stop. But the funny thing was that the faster I ran, the better I felt. I think that I have truly spent too much time on the treadmill. Oh well, I needed to get the run done. After 2 hours, I knew I could just stop, but I'd planned for 2:15 and thought I could complete it. So I ventured to the indoor track.

Wow! As soon as I began running NOT ON THE FUCKING TREADMILL, I felt great! Although my HRM stopped picking up for some reason (I wore the HRM today just to see where my HR was during the run--more on that later). I felt good enough to gently ask several walkers to move to the outside lanes of the track so's I could get my run on. I returned to the room with the treadmills and stretched about :15 on the mats. Boy, did that feel good!

I ran a few easy laps and then headed to the locker room to change for a swim. My swim plan was for 1500 yards minimum; more if I could stand it. I got in, and it felt great to swim! Probably because I hardly swam last week, and probably also because I took the day off from work so there was no concern about needing to get home quickly. I decided to do my drill workout, and everything felt just great. But I ran out of Gatorade, so I threw my bottle to the guard, asking him to fill it with water, since I needed some hydration.

I ended up doing 2300 yards, took a nice shower, got home, slammed some Endurox R4 and calculated how much I had run. 15.07 miles in 2:15, for 8:57/mile pace! I have never done that! My Boston Qualifying pace is 9:21/mile, for a marathon time of 4:05, and I'm beginning to think I can get it done, even with a 1/2 marathon the day before. My HR at that pace is about 118, which is 73% of my maximum HR. This is why I'm keeping my fingers crossed. In the last 8 days I've run 55 miles, today I ran faster for 2:15 than I did 10 days ago, and my HR is checking in at a nice low number! I spoke with my coach yesterday to let him know that I had decided I wanted to go for the marathon PR at Goofy, and we talked about what I should do in the 1/2. I will be walking a lot--my objective is to do a 2:30 (really, REALLY slow for me) 1/2 marathon on Saturday, ice up my legs, stretch, and hopefully cruise through a nice 4:05 marathon on Sunday.

After I ate lunch, I had a nice 1.5 hour massage, and I feel GREAAAAAAAAT! Well, much better than after my 16.5 mile run on Sunday. And I think my legs will come around. No running or biking tomorrow--just a nice swim.

I'm ready for Goofy now, all I need to do is stay healthy and we shall see!

Weekly Workout Totals 12/11/2006-12/17/2006 and Too Much Time on a Treadmill

Here are my happy totals for the week:

Swim: 4200 yards (2.38 miles) in 1.42 hours; 11% of weekly workout time; approx. 496 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 65.91 miles in 3.77 hours; 29% of weekly workout time; approx. 1981 calories burned
Run: Approx. 39.62 miles in 6.17 hours; 47% of weekly workout time; approx. 2806 calories burned
Strength: 1.75 hours; 13% of weekly workout time; approx. 438 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 107.91 miles in 13.11 hours; approx. 5721 calories burned
Sleep: 9.39 hours avg./night
Stretching: 3.07 hours. Massage: 0 hours

It turned out to be a pretty good week. I was shelled on Tuesday, so I skipped a swim and a bike, which is why my weekly hours are a little lower than planned (about 2.5, to be exact). But I executed every single run, which is the point of my training right now, so that was a good thing. I didn't get a massage (crap), and I need one. My calves are full of trigger points. I worked just on my calves for 10 minutes this morning! I kneaded them, rolled them on a TP massage ball, used The Stick on them, and they are still full of knots.

But look at that sleeping! I think I'm wired like ancestors of centuries ago, since I tend to want to sleep a lot in the fall/winter. I don't like getting up in the dark, and I avoid doing so whenever I can.

Pretty good stretching total there, too. The last 4 weeks have all been 3+ hours. Think it has anything to do with all the running?

Today was my longest pre-Goofy run. 2:30. And I ran all of it on a treadmill. During the 2nd of 2 quick breaks I took, one of the trainers asked me if I was doing all of it on the treadmill. Yes. Doesn't that makes your knees hurt? Nope. Just my brain. I explained that the treadmill is one of the softest things you can run on, and the mental monotony of it makes running 26.2 not seem so bad. REALLY!

I wore out a cheapo CD player this week (that I use when on the treadmill) that I had for maybe a year? So I went to buy a new one yesterday and picked up a couple of new CD's. I picked up 2 dance CD's that I had no idea what was on them, but the one I played today was pretty good. Good enough to motivate me after listening to Madonna's "Confessions on a Dance Floor" first, which is pretty good in my book.

After 1:30 on the treadmill (break #2), I decided I needed a little more cooling action, despite being positioned on a machine just below a ceiling fan. So I grabbed one of the small towels and soaked it in ice cold water from the filtered water dispenser. I wrung it out slightly, and then I wore it on my head for about 30 minutes. With the fan blowing on me, it was like a personal air conditioner! About 10 minutes after donning my new head gear, I switched from Gatorade to Ultra Violence, which perked me up even more. Yes, I plan on loading up my Fuel Belt with the Ultra Violence for Goofy Challenge both days, but won't use it before the halfway point of each race.

I don't remember the last time I ran 2:30 on a treadmill. Not last year, and not the year before (I checked--remember I keep records!). Actually I haven't done many 2:30 training runs in the last 3-4 years. The only reason I scheduled one this time is that I thought I should go for it. I doubt my coach would have scheduled a 2:30, but we will see what happens. My longest run last winter prior to Goofy Challenge was 2:10, unless you count the solo marathon I ran in October. So I won't have a marathon under my belt 3 months prior to Goofy this time, but I have been running a lot and solidly.

So my taper is officially beginning. On Wednesday, though, I'm running 2:15. I think I'll be as prepared as possible for Goofy, and I'm faster, so hopefully that will translate into race results. If not, well there are many, many beers waiting for me in Epcot the day after!

Merry Christmas, Mom

I suppose as it draws nearer to Christmas, that anyone who has lost their mother goes through this thought process. It's been almost 8 months now, and the pain comes in very real doses every so often. I cry less often than a few months ago, but it's hard.

When I finished Ironman Brazil, I couldn't call my mom and tell her that I was OK.

When I got sick, I couldn't count on her to tell me it would be all right.

When I turned 50 this fall, it was my first birthday without her, and I thought back to when she was only 50.

When I won my age division in Miami, I couldn't call her and share my joy with her.

On Thanksgiving Day, I thought about her before, during and after the 5K race I ran, and I couldn't call her to tell her I set a PR. I roasted a leg of lamb that day for my Dad and me instead of turkey--I didn't tell him, but maybe he figured out that it was because to me, the lamb honored Mom. While she was very sick over Easter, I gave her a Beanie Baby lamb, Meekins. Since she was very religious and also had a sense of humor, I told her it was the "Lamb of God." Which made my youngest sister bust out in tears, as she and I both knew how sick Mom was. Mom held that lamb close every day, and I buried it with her. I bought one for myself and it sits next to my work computer to remind me of her every day. So that's why I made lamb instead of turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.

I was the smallest child, and even into her 70's, Mom would let me sit on her knee and she would bounce me up and down--not with as much vigor in her 70's as in years past, but still, it was always a tender mother-daughter moment for me. Who else can make you feel like that?

Mom always thought that everything I did was because I was such an independent spirit. But behind it all, I always wanted to make her proud of me, and I knew she was. Was she hurt when I took up crocheting and became quite good (and fast) at it? No. She made me show my grandma how quickly and effortlessly I could do it. Was she jealous when I took up sewing and began turning out complicated dresses and even sewing for the rest of the family for a few years? No. She was happy that I enjoyed doing it, and I was happy to take a burden off of her. Did she compare herself to me when I took up cooking with a vengeance and spent my high school years cooking the family dinners? No. She told me how great everything was, and again I was glad to help her, following in the footsteps of my older sister who was off in college.

She sometimes told me she wished I wasn't so independent and stubborn. But she saw in it my drive for excellence, finishing things and setting a good example for others. Did she outwardly encourage the behavior in me or push me into things? Never. She was just always there to share the joy I took in learning new things, creating new things, and accomplishing things. She never really fawned over me, but she had this incredible memory for clothes I had made (she would request that I wear certain things for important family gatherings) and dishes that I had cooked. Sometimes I would get angry at her when she would ask me to make something for another person, but I know that she didn't ask me out of a sense of obligation but out of a sense of pride in that the other person would receive something very special.

I think Mom knew I was much stronger than I ever thought I was. As I write this, I don't feel so strong, yet I know that I am.

My brother, Tom, made a beautiful CD of some of Mom's favorite music, and it was played at her funeral. He gave all the kids a copy, and I just couldn't bring myself to play it until a few weeks ago. I put it on, had a good cry, and enjoyed the music and memories. Of course, now as I keep a classical music station on during the day softly while I work, I find myself hearing many of these melodies!

A few of my siblings and their family members are getting together this weekend. I know it is going to be hard for all of us to not have Mom physically with us this Christmas. But she's here in spirit with me every single day.

I love you, Mom, and Merry Christmas.

How to Shell Yourself, Part Two

The saga continues....

After a great run on Sunday, yesterday I thought I'd be fine since I took a day off from work. I felt tired, but not wasted, so around noon I decided to lift weights. Last week I did 2 sets of 12 reps, and this week I was scheduled to add another set, and so I did. The effort didn't feel bad, it just felt like a looooong workout, taking about 1:10. If you recall, I have all the weight equipment in my house, to I don't have to wait for someone to vacate machines or free weights or anything. In 1:07, I did 3 sets of 12 reps each of the following:

• 4 triceps exercises
• 4 pecs exercises
• 11 delts exercises
• 5 biceps exercises
• 4 lats exercises
• 10 leg exercises
• 16 abs/core/PT exercises (only 2 sets of 15 reps of these)

I think it would take me a lot longer to do all of that at a gym.

I felt tired after the workout, but I expected that. At 4:30 I headed to the Y to run. While I didn't really feel like running, I didn't want to not run until Wednesday, so I thought I'd see what I could do.

Clearly my legs were a bit toasted, so I dialed down the treadmill speed to what I would have done like 2 years ago! Easy, easy, easy. I had scheduled myself for :50, but decided to cut off :05, and I was still able to end the session with some strides. I followed up with some stretching, and didn't feel any worse for the wear, figuring a good night of sleep would fix me right up.

WRONG! I slept 10 hours last night, and I feel shelled today. I was going to swim in the morning, but wisely opted to sleep in, and even with all that sleep, I feel pretty fried. So probably no bike workout today either. Guess I didn't just need a day off from work--I needed a day off from workouts, too.

Weekly Workout Totals 12/04/2006-12/10/2006

Swim: 9000 yards (5.11 miles) in 3.15 hours; 20% of weekly workout time; approx. 1104 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 84.01 miles in 4.8 hours; 31% of weekly workout time; approx. 2529 calories burned
Run: Approx. 38.95 miles in 6 hours; 39% of weekly workout time; approx. 2730 calories burned
Strength: 1.5 hours; 10% of weekly workout time; approx. 375 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 128.07 miles in 15.45 hours; approx. 6738 calories burned
Sleep: 9.21 hours avg./night
Stretching: 3.53 hours. Massage: 1 hours

It was a good week; it was a tough week. I tried to remember how I felt last year around this same time when I was training for Goofy Challenge. Tired! I have trouble understanding how ultrarunners can run so much every week. They must be built differently than me!

Yesterday I ran almost 15 miles in 2:15. That's the fastest I've ever covered that distance. I did 2 hours on the treadmill, and as I approached the 2 hour mark, considered whether I wanted to finish up on the indoor track or not. When I'm doing shorter workouts, I have a tendency to run faster than I need to when I run on the track. But having already covered 13 miles, I didn't think I was in danger of overdoing it today. The transition to the much cooler basketball court/indoor track area revealed that in fact, I stunk. Oh well, not much I could do about it.

As I started running, I noticed I felt almost weightless. At least I couldn't really feel my legs! I didn't feel like I was running that fast and I wasn't breathing too hard. There was a very tall, fairly large man on the track who was running much slower than me, and when we'd approach corners, he kept taking the inside lane. I think he probably didn't understand track etiquette--slower folks get outside lanes. Anyway, I enjoyed passing him, knowing how much ground I had already covered on the treadmill.

I ran a mile in 8:25. Not bad after 13 miles down! I finished out running 8:34, and then I took a nice, slow walk around the track, and then I went back into the cardio room and to lie down on a mat to stretch. I wanted to just curl up into a ball and go to sleep, but I decided to stretch about 10'. I couldn't spend more time, as I was out of Gatorade and needed to get some post-run nutrition in me quickly.

I showered, went home, slammed a bottle of Endurox R4, and then got to work on my pizza. I was tired, but knew that all I had to do was roll out the dough (which had been rising while I was running), bake the crust for 30', then cool slightly, fill and bake the final product. Good thing my appetite hadn't kicked in right away after running.

My dad arrived while the unfilled crust was baking, and he noticed I was pretty tired. Once the thing was finished, we each had a "slice" (about 1/8 of an 18" diameter 3.5" high pie) and enjoyed it. After which I cleaned up the kitchen just a bit, and then we moved to the living room, where I laid down on the big couch and my dad sat on the love seat, and we listened to some nice music for several hours and chatted. At some point, I was able to move off the couch and do some more stretching.

Today I am taking the day off from work, but I have the phone company coming to check out intermittent problems I've been having with my DSL line. Of course right now as I sit here writing this, there have been no problems today. Oh well, I just hope they come and go quickly so I can get on with the rest of my day, which will hopefully include a nap. I don't feel too badly right now, but I know that after I lift, I will need some quality rest time, and I am going to try and get in a run today.

This week's training will be tough again--long run up to 2:30, rides increase a bit more in duration and intensity, and strength training adds another set (ouch). This is my biggest week, and then I begin a much needed taper!

Things Go Better with Coke

Got on my bike today and it was a completely different story than on Tuesday.

The plan was to repeat the Tuesday workout, only do it with a few more watts:

15' wup, 3' su, 9' Z3, 3x10' (2') FT, cd 5', 10 x 30/30's, cd 4'

During the warmup, I was hitting good watts in an easy gear (meaning the Force was with me!), so I had high hopes for the FT stuff. I also drank about 12 oz. of Coke right before I started. Whereas the Coke seemed to bother me a bit yesterday before I ran (or was that bananas too close to run time?), there were no issues with it today.

When I began the first FT interval, I intentionally took it a little easy for the first minute or so. And then I just tucked in and was going. The effort didn't feel too bad (it never feels great, trust me), I was holding good cadence, and mentally I wasn't struggling like I had on Tuesday. So when I got to 10', I figured let's keep going, and I hung out at FT for 15'. AWESOME! See, I am supposed to do a 2x20' FT test in 2 weeks, and I was thinking I wouldn't be able to do it, but it looks like I'm reacclimating to the hard trainer work (this stuff isn't so hard outdoors, trust me).

I took my 2' of rest, and then started on the 2nd FT interval. Since I had already knocked off 15', I gave myself the option to make this interval shorter, but then I figured I should go at least for 10' to meet the stated workout duration. When I got to 10', I felt like I had more gas left, so I hung in for another 5', and it was good! I finished up with 2 extra 30/30's, so the final workout ended up like this:

15' wup, 3' su, 9' Z3, 2x15' (2') FT, cd 5', 12 x 30/30's, cd 4'

I feel like I'll be able to do that FT test in 2 weeks, and now I know to expect to perform like crap next Tuesday because of all the running I'm doing. BUT, I'm taking Monday off from work, so that might help. And I might get back on the Ultra Violence for that workout. I definitely intend to use it for the FT test workout.

I'm not exceeding my FT wattage that I tested at back in late August, but I wasn't expecting to. My "get faster on the bike" training begins in January after Goofy Challenge. While I made significant progress last year at this time on the bike, I'm at a good output level right now, and will be quite happy to maintain where I am through January, but move things up by March.

Tomorrow is a relatively easy day--I'll swim about 2700 yards and run for an hour--depending on how I feel, the running will be easy to steady or maybe upper steady. We shall see. I don't want to push it too far so I'm "rested" for the weekend festival.

I Think I'm OK

This morning I didn't want to get out of bed, but I had had 9 hours of sleep by 6AM, so I figured might as well get up. And I had plenty of time to get in a swim before work, so off I went.

The swim went well--I swam the entire 3,000 yards bilaterally, and it felt fine. I am even not feeling like I'm missing any oxygen, although I'm sure I slow myself down to handle the less frequent breaths.

When I got home, I did not feel shelled. I felt like I'd be good to go for today's run, and I pretty much was, but my stomach did not feel right while I was running. It might have been the Coke I drank right before, but usually that doesn't bother me. Maybe I ate my fruit snack too close to the run, and it included some figs, so that may have been the problem. Stomach feels just fine now.

Good thing I have a massage scheduled for tonight because I can tell my legs are getting beat up. And I want to have a good ride tomorrow.

I had a tree service come out today to tell me how much it will cost to have a tree removed and some other pruning. About $1200. Merry Christmas to me! None of the 3 neighbors that adjoin to my property ever have taken care of their trees. The tree that's coming down technically isn't mine, but it is dying and I want it out before a giant piece of it breaks off and hits my power line. Trees are expensive--cheap to plant, but it takes time to rake the leaves, and then we have to pay to have the leaves removed, and then there's pruning. I love the trees on my property--I appreciate the shelter that the 3 Colorado blue spruce provide to birds year round, I enjoy the shade from my neighbor's ugly maple that overhangs my bedroom, and I appreciate the environmental good provided by the trees.

Now about the food I eat--I read a disturbing article in Rolling Stone magazine about Smithfield Corporation--you know, the folks who make the famous Smithfield hams. I have never been a big fan of pork, but now I think I need to swear off it 100%. The amount of excrement produced by hogs and other waste, including carcasses of pigs who die from the rampant diseases promoted by close "living" quarters plus all the antibiotics they are injected with in an effort to keep them healthy, and then all the lagoons, literally pig shit lakes, that leach into ground water and pollute. Now I know some of the same problems exist with beef and poultry, but from what I've read, pork has them beat hands down. I am 100% off mass-produced pork until further notice (I have no issue with the Parma ham/Italian prosciutto that I occasionally buy, as it's not produced en masse).

I'd also like to eliminate beef and poultry from my diet, too, due to the way they are mass produced, but I just like beef, chicken and turkey so much. However, I am now considering making an effort to purchase organic/non-mass-produced varieties.

Then there's fish--I like sardines, tuna, salmon, just about any fish/shellfish. I guess it's time for me to begin investigating where and how things are caught. I know there are issues with some catches where they literally throw away a lot of the catch needlessly, but those fish are hurt and usually die from the trauma. What an incredible waste. I already don't eat swordfish unless I'm at the source in Hawaii, since most stuff you will get here on the mainland has been caught by long line, and swordfish are meant to be mainly a sport fish. So if I ever go out sport fishing for them, I will appreciate the fish and set it free.

I know we live in an imperfect world, but as an individual, we get to vote every single day with our $$. If we buy it, it will continue to be produced. I do prepare most of my dinner meals from whole, unprocessed foods (with the exception of the meats as explained above), and I can do a better job of eliminating even more processed foods from my diet in an effort to be a better steward of this planet. I'm not yet prepared to become vegetarian, but I can see it in my future at some point. For now I will just try and eat as close to the whole food as possible, and begin understanding where that food is coming from.

I'm not a germ freak, in fact, I will eat fruit without washing it most of the time, and I understand that there are pesticides sprayed on the fruit and vegetables and grain crops that I partake in. I should probably go organic there, too. It's not because of what's on or in the stuff that I eat, it's the methods used to grow the stuff that pollutes.

My current car isn't a gas guzzler, but my next car will be as fuel efficient as I can get. I feel good, though, that I work at home and do not use my car as much as most people. I remember as a child when we'd have a snow storm and school would be cancelled, it was so much fun to play in the snow and try to walk somewhere in it or just stay inside and do inside activities. Last Friday when it snowed here and school was cancelled, I saw few kids playing it. No doubt they were asking their parents to drive them somewhere to "do" something. That's just wrong! I'm glad I like to read so much. It's one of my favorite winter pasttimes.

How to Shell Yourself, Part One

I racked up a good amount of training last week, and now it's Tuesday, and I am still feeling the effects, i.e., I have not achieved 100% recovery, but that's just the way it goes. Last week went like this:
M: Swim 2500, run 5.5 miles, abs/core for :34
T: Lift :30, Bike 1:15
W: Swim 2500, run about 6.6 miles
Th: Bike 1:15, lift :33
F: Shovel snow 2:00, run 5.5 miles
Sa: Bike 2:00, run about 5 miles
Su: Run 13.5 miles, swim 2200

And so far this week we have:
M: Lift :55, Run 5.5 miles
T: Swim 3000, Bike 1:21

I felt unrecovered yesterday, which was why I didn't swim in the morning like I usually do on Mondays. I toyed with skipping the run, too, but thought I'd get in a strength workout and see how that felt, and it was fine, and I remembered it's all about running right now, so I marched my butt to the Y after work and ran. My legs felt like lead, but actually the faster I ran the better they felt, but as always, the treadmill sucks. So I did my strides on the track, and then ran for 5' on the track to end the workout and what do you know, 8:00/mile, even though I felt like I was running much slower.

This morning when I woke up, I felt pretty good and headed to the pool. I actually had a good swim workout. I've been playing around with spending a lot more time breathing bilaterally (which is good for my spastic left arm/hand and also for rotational beauty), and it was the first time I did significant time during my main set bilaterally, and it was good! But then when I got home, I felt completely shelled, so I stuffed my face with 2 bananas and a can of mandarin oranges (what are those things, anyway?), drank a bunch of water, and hoped for the best when I got on the bike.

I could tell right from the first pedal stroke that the bike workout was going to be a challenge. My poor legs are just feelin' it. Not as much force available in the lower gears, meaning I had to keep up a pretty high cadence to produce decent power. I tend to gravitate to 90-95RPM as my ideal cadence, so when I have to push 95+ just to generate the watts I need, it is not going to be a good day.

I managed to salvage a decent workout anyway, but it was not pretty. I hit 2 out of 3 FT intervals, and on the third, I just put a towel over the SRM and did the best I could, which was actually pretty crappy (OK so it was still 91% of FT, but crap compared to 95-100%). But I let go of it knowing that I am still not quite recovered, but will probably be there tomorrow. I also kicked myself for not shooting a can of Ultra Violence before the workout. I will remember that on Thursday!

Tomorrow I swim a little less (50 yards, to be exact) and do a tempo run. I think I'll be OK for both workouts. And then Thursday I get to sleep in, so that should fix me right up for the big weekend ahead.

I decided I am going to take the next 2 Mondays off from work, since I know I will feel like crap or at least won't want to wake up anytime quickly to do a workout. These days off will follow 2:15 and 2:30 runs, so I think I am making a wise decision. Yes, if I really feel rotten, I will skip a few workouts, but I don't feel rotten, so onward.

Tonight I'm cooking up a big pot of brown rice and plan to eat a lot of it with some roast chicken. I may not have carbed up enough on Sunday after my big run, but then again I don't keep track of that stuff any more, but feeling bonky-ish several days running usually points to a lack of carbs. Maybe because I ran out of Halloween candy...perhaps I need to buy some Cheetos and gummi bears. I've been trying to stay off of that stuff, but with all the running, maybe I need it. Since I'm not using my HRM, I have no clue how much I'm burning in my run workouts and may be undereating.

I feel fine right now--a bit tired, and I do need to stretch for at least :30 tonight--and I think I'll be good to go tomorrow. We shall see!

I am not, repeat AM NOT doing a winter marathon next season! Although sometimes I wonder what it would be like to just run and not bike and swim at the same time. I am looking forward to my taper already. 5 more weeks. And then I don't have to run this much until....May?

Weekly Workout Totals 11/27/2006-12/03/2006

Swim: 7200 yards (4.09 miles) in 2.52 hours; 16% of weekly workout time; approx. 881 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 79.63 miles in 4.55 hours; 28% of weekly workout time; approx. 2363 calories burned
Run: Approx. 35.99 miles in 5.6 hours; 35% of weekly workout time; approx. 2548 calories burned
Strength: 3.37 hours; 21% of weekly workout time; approx. 843 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 119.71 miles in 16.04 hours; approx. 6635 calories burned
Sleep: 8.86 hours avg./night
Stretching: 3.8 hours. Massage: 1.5 hours

Blogger appears to be fucked up, so excuse my formatting.

Can you tell I'm getting my STRETCH on? That's the most I've ever stretched during a week. It might be related to the amount of running I'm doing. I checked my 2005-2006 season totals to see how many weeks I ran 5+ hours. ELEVEN. The count so far this season is 4, and I've got 3 more up to and including Disney, putting me at 7. I think I am going to hit many more this season. Last season, I learned that in weeks when I am running a lot that it helps to stretch a lot.

Let me explain about my stretching sessions. They aren't just stretching--they also include trigger point work and yoga poses. I have an arsenal of body work tools that I use--a tp massage ball, 2 tp rollers, a Theracane, tubing, and the large size "The Stick." They all get used, but not all of them in every session. As far as I know, there are no studies that support the notion that stretching prevents injury, but that doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is that it feels good, and it seems to help me recover from workouts, and also helps me to prepare for an upcoming workout. I am by nature pretty flexible (used to be more flexible, but ah, then I began to run), but I've noticed that as I've aged, that my muscles seem to crave more stretching than they used to. Maybe it's because my lifestyle doesn't provide enough serendipitous stretching. If I was truly utilizing all my muscles in my daily activities, I wouldn't need to work out, either. So I stretch "cold," in the morning, sometimes, before I swim, and then I really like the post-workout stretching. It seems to remove kinks and such. My massage therapist tells me that based on the amount of training I do that theoretically I should get a massage every day, and I believe him. Look at professional athletes who workout several hours a day. I am pretty sure most of them get a daily massage, and massage can replace the need for stretching, provided it's sports massage which includes assisted stretching.

So just as like last winter when I began training for Goofy Challenge I committed to regular stretching, I've kept it up, and I like what it does for me. I can almost say that increased stretching allows me to train harder and longer. I can't prove it, but it seems that way, or maybe it's the reverse, who knows? I would definitely prefer to get a 1 hour massage every day, but I cannot afford the expense. Of course, I am looking for a partner who would do that!

I also looked at my running speed this fall/winter as compared to a year ago, and I am running faster. Right now my biking and swimming are taking a back seat to the running, but that all ends on 1/7/2007, so I can wait a month. But at least I was able to bring my biking back to "normal" levels, meaning I did 3 solid workouts with good amounts of FTP work. I was a bit worried there that either I had lost power, but this week it came back. Damn, those bike workouts are hard and they suck. I am still looking at increasing my FTP from 186 to 200 by March or so, but I know it will be hard work. I am constantly tickled that I just turned 50 and I am still getting faster.

I did not get to the James Bond flick last weekend or this weekend. Last weekend, I was too shelled from ramping my training back up after the 1/2 Ironman. This weekend, it was more of the same, including 2 hours of intense snow shoveling on Friday--we got a nice ice/snow storm, and I am a bit anal-retentive about a perfectly clean driveway (notice any correlation to triathlon???), and the snow was wet and icy, so I decided to power shovel on Friday morning. I ended up counting it as a strength workout, because it WAS, and since I had strength trained on Thursday, my body kind of went HEY WHAT THE FUCK TWO DAYS IN A ROW WORKING THE SAME MUSCLES??? and so I had really noticeable DOMS in my right mid- to lower-back and left arm Friday afternoon through Saturday evening. But I worked on those parts a lot on Saturday afternoon, and things came around for today's workouts.

I managed a 2-hour ride yesterday and shortly thereafter a 45-min. run. First brick workout since MiamiMan. My legs actually felt GREAT on the run as opposed to Friday afternoon's run, where I really wanted to just bag it, but instead held myself to easy Z1 running, knowing I'd come around the next day. After all that, I got a hair cut, did the grocery shopping, and went to a book store. I got a huge laugh when I got to the Psychology section (I like to browse Mystery, Fiction, Cooking, New Age, Spiritual/Religion, Psychology, Self-Help and Health/Fitness areas), and saw a book called "The OCD Workbook." I thought, hey this is right up my alley, and so I opened it, and what do you know, it was really a workbook for OCD sufferers! I almost bought it as a joke so I could take the tests, you know, to see how I would do. I checked out one page that had an exercise for someone who compulsively checks the locks on their doors and consequently takes a long time to get anywhere out of the house. The first stage was to lock the door once and then not leave the house for 10 minutes. And it progressed to locking the door once and leaving the house for 10 minutes, and then 30 minutes, and so on. I thought, gee, I could do this! I was laughing hysterically, and remembered that occasionally I leave the house and wonder if I really did lock the front door.

All in all, it was a great week of training, and I am looking forward to the coming week. Next weekend I am making my famous (at least to me and some friends/family) Prime Number Pizza, which is a deep-dish extravaganza that will take me about 2 days to fully make. I have all the ingredients, and I will begin preparations on Friday night, and the finished product will be unveiled next Sunday after a 2:15 long run (which should net me about 15 miles--shit, when I just typed that I realized that's the fastest I will ever have run 15 miles, but I know it is going to happen). If anyone wants the recipe, let me know, give me your email address and I will send it. Or maybe you want to wait for the photo. The thing will feed like 10 people, but in my case, it is for me and my dad, and we get to freeze the leftovers.

The Bears won, too, even though they played like sloppy crap for the first half, but then they got into gear. Of course, the Vikings weren't exactly on fire, but the Bears have won the division, so one step closer to a Super Bowl appearance. That would be the best.

Oh, and for those of you who are cat lovers, check out this website: http://stuffonmycat.com/ I miss my cats, but I know that when I move out of this house, I will be getting some new kitties.

I guess I should think about Christmas shopping, too. I'm thinking next winter that I will not be doing a marathon...

Work vs. Fun

I must be recovered from the 1/2 IM, and from all the yard work I've been piling on the last few weekends, as today I nailed my bike workout the way I'm supposed to.

It was this workout: 15' wup, 3' spinups, 3x(2'Z3, 1' CD), 3x8' (2') FT, cd 5', 8 x 30/30's, cd 7'

I figured I'd be prepared to hit the FT stuff dead on today, since I was extra careful to hold myself back while running yesterday. OK, let me back up. Sunday I ran 13.2 (possibly more) miles in 2 hours. I had done a 1:40 long run the Sunday before, and the week before that was Miami Man 1/2 IM. So that's pretty fast to ramp back up to a 2 hour long run. I increased my total training hours to 15 from just shy of 10 the week prior, which is not something I'd recommend to someone else, but I had "extra" recovery in that I did not work on Thursday or Friday (or Wednesday afternoon, thanks to an early dismissal by my manager). Plus, I know myself pretty well and have made volume jumps like that before, so I figured I'd be OK. I've increased my strength training a bit, and am back on my periodized regime that will get harder soon enough. My bike workouts have sucked donkey balls the last 2 weeks, because I have let them. Saturday I didn't get on my bike until after I had already swum and then raked for 3.5 hours. I had decent power, but not as much as I'd like. I was fried. And I had considered running afterwards, too, but wisely dismissed that idea, thinking that maybe I'd be able to run 2 hours on Sunday rather than my planned 1:50. The ride I did on Thanksgiving was preceded by a 5K race plus about 3 miles of warmup and cooldown, and my legs were toast when I got on the trainer (but not too badly toasted as I still managed to get in a decent TSS/IF for the ride).

So now back to yesterday. I was sufficiently tired after my long run on Sunday, but managed to do another 2 hours of yard cleanup (cutting down and covering 17 rose bushes and removing assorted perennial plant debris) to complete shelling myself for the week. Yesterday I had a swim and run on my schedule--I've been self-coached for a few weeks, no worries, and my goal for this week is to bring up my running to 5.5 or more hours, and to get back on my bike workouts. I could tell yesterday morning that I was expectedly fried, and now I know that when I really do not want to do a workout it probably means I am pretty tired. But I figured some time in the pool would be good for recovery, so I went anyway, and held myself to 2500 yards, mostly easy stuff with a good dose of drills. Side note: This fall I have taken to bringing a commuter mug full of coffee with me to the pool rather than Gatorade or water. I LOVE MY COFFEE! After the swim, I was still tired, but wanted to get outside and run while the weather was still good (it's been near 60 here for 5 days). When I began running, my legs didn't feel so much muscularly tired, but just this general fatigue of having ramped up my training. I told myself I could turn around and go home and skip the workout, but I've been in this position before, and knew that I would feel great the next day as long as I held the intensity down. So on I ran, and I had to force myself to take walking breaks to keep my pace low.

When I finished working yesterday, I even managed to do :34 of abs/core work. I didn't want to have to do my full strength routine today so that I could have a good bike workout. I finished up with a good :35 of stretching and called it a day.

I slept 10 hours last night--usually I let myself stay up a little later on Mondays because I don't have to get up to swim, but right after 8:30PM last night, my body was saying lights out, so I did. I felt really refreshed this morning, and knew I had done the right thing by going ahead and getting in that run workout yesterday.

I was going to ride outside today, as the weather is still good, but it was raining a bit, and something told me I didn't want to go all rooster tail on wet roads, and my outdoor hoses are put away for the winter, and I didn't want to have to wash my bike! So I put my Bitch back on the trainer (I did ride outside on Saturday, which was a total treat--at one point I had some dork sucking my wheel after I passed him, which didn't bother me one bit) and got ready to rock 'n roll.

Right away I could tell I had "legs" today. I was able to generate good power in a low gear during warmup, and as I moved up to the Z3 stuff (which is basically HIM range), things felt great. I looked at the SRM and had a chuckle, because the power I was putting out was near my FT power just a year ago! How f'in cool is that?

I started on the first FT interval, and I knew I could hold it for 8 minutes. 8 minutes doesn't sound like a long time, but when you're on a trainer and there's no terrain or wind or just air, it requires focus. It's WORK. I got this perverse smile on my face remembering that I need to just settle in and do the WORK. It's not fun, but I don't expect it to be fun. In a flash, I realized I was recovered from the 1/2 IM and that I was ready to do some serious WORK, not just today, but for this new training season. How many of my 2005-2006 training season bike workouts were like this? At least 95%. So they were all tons of WORK. But I could see before me in plain numbers how all my hard work has paid off. Sheesh, the numbers on the SRM were things I only DREAMED about a year ago. Hell, being able to run 13 miles in 2 hours in a TRAINING RUN was not something I had thought I'd be able to do a year ago, either. My running improvements have also come at the expense (or as I think of it, pleasure) of lots of hard WORK.

I also had the flash today of that adage, "the training doesn't become easier--you just get faster." SHIT YEAH!!! So I did the same workout today (or close to it) a year ago with almost 30 less watts on the meter, but it's just as hard now as it was then, only now I go faster. There will come a time when the work will only get me to maintaining speed or even some decline, but I'll know when I'm there, and I ain't there yet.

What about FUN? To me, it's not so much about FUN, as it is about the realization of the fruits of the WORK that I enjoy. Do I enjoy the WORK? Yes, because I know that my gratification will surely come. The FUN happens because of spurious details like wearing eye-catching clothing while training or racing, or being able to be light-hearted at points during training or racing when I'm already dialed into my effort level. To me, fun is an emotion that can be present during hard work, but I don't feel at all compelled to experience "fun-ness" in order to enjoy something. I am puzzled by someone who says they are racing to "have fun." Fun is jumping around in a huge container filled with bouncy balls. It does not require you to be engaged or make much of an effort. Racing is work, and sure it can be pleasurable, but I tend to put it into perspective and believe that if I am executing the way I should, then that's plenty of enjoyment for me. I have the same view of training. If you don't view training as WORK, then how will you be 100% engaged during racing when it's all about the WORK?

As my coach likes to say, "Work is speed entering the body." I am back on my game, and I'm ready for some serious work. Last season is so OVER. It's time for me to get faster and stronger. I feel like I've got that spark back that I had last fall when I had decided that changes were in order. Those changes worked like a charm, and I've added some new challenges for myself this year, and I'm ready to go to WORK. I better be, because I have another marathon in 6 weeks that I want to PR at!

Weekly Workout Totals 11/20/2006-11/26/2006

I thought it might be time for me to start being more accountable to the blogosphere again, and perhaps to provide some motivation to myself and to others.

How am I doing on my goals for the season?

• I'm maintaining my weight, and I assume my body fat percentage. I won't take any measurements for another month, which will be interesting to see how a big uptick in running affects the old body.
• I haven't scheduled my follow-on medical appointments. BAD GIRL!
• I'm doing a good amount of stretching. I keep finding new stretches and adding on to my repetoire. Plus I have more time now that I'm not training so much, and yard work season is coming to a close (yeah!).
• I bought a 12-lb. medicine ball for my ab workouts and have been using it for 2 weeks now. I haven't caused any DOMS by moving up from 10 lbs., so it makes me think I could go heavier, but this is enough for now.
• I have been doing an extra delts/lats workout weekly. I am not sure whether it's doing any good, but it doesn't seem to be hurting anything either!
• I had arranged for some private swim coaching, but it hasn't come together yet. No worries--I have found a Plan B, and until I get the privates, I'm doing a 4th swim workout of primarily drills, and I think it is helping me.
• Biking is taking a minor back seat to a current swim and run focus. I don't think I can improve my FTP much between now and Goofy Challenge; at best I hope to maintain it. It sure is nice to be spending less time monkeying around just to go biking.
• Despite my disappointing 1/2 mary time in Miami, my running is still holding well. I ran 2 hours yesterday and covered 13.2 miles, so I am not losing any fitness there. And I feel prepared for 5 straight weeks of 2+ hour long runs to be ready for Goofy Challenge.
• Still, I've kicked off my 2006-2007 season with a first in AG win at Miami Man 1/2 IM, and set a minor PR at the 5K distance. Not a bad way to kick things off!
  

So now the focus becomes to not get injured while putting up some serious running time. What will that take? Continued attention to stretching, sleeping plenty and good nutrition. I didn't really go crazy with food on Thanksgiving, and now I'm at the point where I need to make sure I'm getting enough calories with all the running I'm doing.


Weekly Totals 11/20/2006-11/26/2006
Swim: 11000 yards (6.24 miles) in 3.93 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1377 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 79.92 miles in 4.57 hours; 30% of weekly workout time; approx. 2297 calories burned
Run: Approx. 33.46 miles in 4.97 hours; 33% of weekly workout time; approx. 2407 calories burned
Strength: 1.53 hours; 10% of weekly workout time; approx. 383 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 119.62 miles in 15 hours; approx. 6464 calories burned
Sleep: 8.93 hours avg./night
Stretching: 3.6 hours. Massage: 1.67 hours

Not a Great Race, but still a Great Week

See if you can spot the Crackhead in the photo. Trust me, I'm in there!

On Thanksgiving morning, I ran a 5K. Going in, I thought I might be able to win the 50-59 age group, or at least set a minor PR. I am not good at the 5K distance. 10K and up, I do much better. But this race starts a mile from home, and the weather forecast was great, as compared to last year.

Last weekend, I looked up 2005 results and turns out I was 6th in the entire 40-49 age group, and was the highest placed, oldest finisher there. Ha! Last year when I ran the race, it was very cold, and I had not run outdoors in quite awhile. Encouraged by last year's results and in looking at 50-59, I figured running 8:15/mile might get me the win. So I even pre-registered.

Thursday morning dawned cool, and based on Weather Underground, I didn't expect it to be much over 40 at race start. Still, not bad running weather. So it was going to be tights and long sleeves. Initially, I wanted to wear all pink (what I wore for the Disney 1/2 last January), but then decided I needed to be slightly more dressed, so I opted for my Ironman Canada tights (mid-weight, as running tights go) and my new Desoto whatever it is black zip technical top, a regular running hat, and gloves. If nothing else, I was dressed very aerodynamically.

I warmed up running south to the end of my street and back home, which is about .5 mile, and the clothing choice felt perfect. I drank a little more water, and jogged on up town.

There were lots of runners warming up all over the place. I went by the finish line and asked some volunteers where I could puke when I was done. They pointed at a garbage can which has a raised lid on it. I told them they would need to take the lid off! We had a good laugh at that. I ran around some more and needed to pee one more time. In true Crackhead fashion, I found an alley, and funny thing is someone else had already peed there, so I didn't feel at all bad by adding to the puddle.

At the start area, I ran into Mike #1, a guy I know who unfortunately, DNF'ed at IMWI this year. But we didn't talk about that. He looked good, told me I looked good, and we wished one another a good race. He actually beat me last year, and I threatened to beat him this year, but I doubted I would--as I've said, I am no good at 5K distance, but he is. We are both 50 years old.

Waiting for the start, I ran into Mike #2, a guy I know from a few years back that I did a couple of training rides for IMWI with. Nice man, and awesome swimmer. He said he was suffering from some hip issues, and was just going to try things out today. I wished him luck.

I lined up in the 8:00MPM area, knowing full well there were lots of people who were seeded improperly. Last year it took me too long to reach the start line, and this race is not chip timed, so it's all about gun time. But I was optimistic I could pick my way through.

BANG! The gun goes off and we are....SHUFFLING. Mike #1 tells me to just shuffle, and hey, I know, but my time started already so I need to get running. I began picking my way through folks who have absolutely no idea of their running pace, but that's OK, as I began to head for the outside. We were running to my house, or close enough. After about 1/4 mile I was finding clearer space to stay in the center of the road.

I didn't wear my HRM, since I've not been wearing it for a few months now. I also really didn't want to look at my watch, nor did I want to see a race clock. But I DID see the stinking race clock at Mile 1, and it was 8:13. I think I went out too fast, because it must have taken 10" at least to get to the actual start line. Oh well.

Because I saw the stupid clock, I consciously decided to slow down. STUPID, STUPID. It's not like I was going to blow up totally--I just don't know how. But, I could feel the lactic acid building up in my legs, and it didn't feel good, but I didn't want to slow down too much.

I hit Mile 2 at 16:43, so it was 8:30. OUCH! I slowed down big time. Now I knew I only had 1.1 more to go, and hey, I'm not going to die here, I should be able to pick it up. I spotted a woman ahead of me that looked younger who was running a good pace. For about .5 mile, I just decided I needed to not lose her. After that, I don't remember too much except to keep going and forget about how it felt.

I crossed the finish line in 25:37, which is a PR for me, at 8:16/mile. Turns out I ran the last mile in 8:05. Crap! I should have been able to run the entire thing that fast or even faster. Oh well! Thing is I could have kept running another 3.1 at about that pace.

At any rate, my goal was 8:15/mile, so close enough. But would it get me a top 3? I didn't think I'd get first. I got in line for a massage and was behind the woman I had chased near the end. She thanked me for pushing her. What? Apparently, I passed her with about .5 mile to go, and then she said she tried to catch me but couldn't. I thanked her back, saying she made me pick it up there at the end. Turns out she does Olympic distance triathlon, so we chatted a bit about that. She had noticed the M-dot on my hat while she was chasing me. I told her, yeah, I do Ironman, but hey, any distance triathlon makes you a triathlete, and that the shorter stuff is just as hard!

When I got on the table, I got to say hello to a massage therapist I used to go to named Cindy. We are catching up while someone I don't know is working nicely on my legs. After they finished up with me, I chatted some more with Cindy and she introduced me to a guy from Iowa that will be doing IMWI in 2007 as his first Ironman.

I had a few cups of coffee, since I was going to bike when I got home, and stuck around for the awards. Based on what they announced, I didn't even make top 3! SHIT. I looked online yesterday and the times they posted are all messed up, so I don't believe what they posted, but it is what it is, and at least it was a tiny PR. I ran into Mike #3 that I know from my YMCA. He's a really good runner who just started in his late 30's. He qualified for Boston in his first marathon 2 years ago, and this past April, he qualified for Boston AT Boston. I am blessed to know so many really strong athletes.

I ran home, got the leg of lamb ready to roast, put it in the oven and got on my bike for 1:15. Oh man, legs were not willing to hit the FTP that day. So I settled for 90% of FTP, still not bad for having run a 5K. But while I was on the bike I was thinking what a crappy duathlete I would make. But then when I thought about it, a lot of people wouldn't be able to ride at 90% of their FTP right after a 5K so maybe I would not be such a crappy duathlete. At any rate, I seriously looked forward to getting off my bike and starting in on some EATING.

My dad arrived around 1PM, and I was just about to shower. I told him to make himself comfortable, and I got in the shower and moaned. 2 hours of workout (I ended up running total about :45 plus 1:15 of biking) with some real intensity thrown in there. I ate. A LOT. But not so much to be uncomfortable. We waited about 1.5 hours after eating and then had pie with ice cream. Yum. I drank a split of Champagne, toasting myself for having raced that day, and FINALLY toasting myself for doing some pretty good training and racing for the last season.

Looking back on the 5K, I probably shouldn't have run :50 tempo the day before, eh? But whatever. Getting my run frequency and volume up this week is more important than the 5K. Yesterday I did 3 workouts (4 if you count raking leaves)--an abs/core workout plus additional delts/lats (:43), then I swam 2700 yds. (1800 of it was pulling, which feels really good after you've blasted your shoulders and lats), and then I ran 4 miles real easy in :35. The running did not feel very good--my legs were heavy, I started at 2:15PM and hadn't eaten since breakfast (plus 2 pieces of fruit), and had already spent about 1.5 hours raking leaves. But I've learned that sometimes you just have to go even when you feel like you are dragging ass, because it is good for you mentally.

When I finished running, I laid into some Thanksgiving leftovers--I ate some lamb, a baked sweet potato, homemade cranberry sauce, and drank my Endurox. I thought I'd be all in after all that, but I managed to go back out and rake leaves for another 1.5 hours until it got dark, and then I was pretty well toasted for the day.

I've been doing a lot of stretching this week with the extra time that I have, so I'm not really worried that the jump in run volume is going to kill me or anything. I'm not biking that much! Today I have already swum (2800 yard drill workout), and now I'm going to finish the leaves, then ride my bike (outside, I think!), do a short :40 run and then I'm getting a massage. And I am sleeping in tomorrow morning before my long run, and then I'll be going to see the new James Bond movie with my dad.

I'll rack up about 15 hours of training this week and over 3 hours of stretching, which puts me right where I need to be now in preparation for Goofy Challenge. I have GOT to beat the times I posted last year. Can I? Stay tuned....

Miami Man 1/2 Ironman Race Report

I won my age group, although it was only my 2nd best HIM time, 5:44. It just goes to show you that it really does depend on who shows up, as I was disappointed with my time, but happy with the award. AND, I qualified for Long Distance Worlds in France next July, but since I'm already signed up for Lake Placid, I won't be going (this time!).

I'll go backwards a bit. I got to the Miami area last Thursday night, and have been staying with a man I met in Brazil. Peter lives in Hallandale, which is really close to Ft. Lauderdale, and he's been a most gracious host. Peter has only been doing triathlons for 2 years, and generally races Clydesdale division (and he doesn't get upset with me ragging on him to lose weight).

Peter did this race last year as his first HIM in a time of 6:01, so he was looking to PR. I, theoretically, was set to PR, as my running had been going very well. The thing that was different for me this time, about my training preparation was a very steep run taper, which I've never done before. Well, you never know until you try something, so it was game on.

My wave went off at 7:15AM, and Peter's at 7:30AM. Before we started, Peter said he was going to try and catch me on the bike. I knew he's a better swimmer than me, but not by 10 minutes, and then he'd need to really haul ass to catch me on the bike. The day called for light winds and a high of maybe 82, on a pancake flat bike course, and I mean flatter than the flattest areas in Illinois (except, perhaps for the area right around Champaign-Urbana), and even though I hadn't been outside on my bike since October 1, I figured I'd be in good bike shape. But I figured, more power to Peter if he can catch me.

My wave was all women 40+. The swim was in a small man-made freshwater lake of normal colored water, I mean not that black coffee stuff you see in many Florida lakes. No gators, either! We took off, and I just swam. There wasn't much pushing or shoving. There was a woman in my wave who tried to draft off me for the first lap, staying on my left. She smacked me a few times, but not hard, and for awhile I thought "she's my buddy." But on the second lap, I decided I'd had enough of her and kicked hard to move ahead. In between laps, we had to run up on the beach for a really short jaunt before heading back into the water. When I was getting in for lap #2, a big guy from an earlier wave was coming in, too. He bounded in with knees high, did a nice dive in, and then proceeded to breaststroke! My second lap went just fine, and I was out in :37. Not a stellar swim, but hey, I can swim at that pace all day, so life was good.

T1 was a rather long run from the lake back to the transition area, so smart folks (me included) had left flip-flops or other slip-on shoes at the swim exit to wear for that run. We ran on asphalt and some grass and roots, and I was glad for the extra foot protection. I had used my one-piece Orca wetsuit, as I didn't want to have to test my shoulder flexibility using the two-piece DeSoto T1 that has the slip-on top without a zipper. Still, I wasn't exactly hurried in T1, but my total time was I think 5:30 or something.

Onto the bike, and the weather is here--I wish you were beautiful! It was low-70's and nice. There was noticeable humidity, but I wasn't concerned. I had established power zones on the lower end of wattages I have used before at HIM distance, because I wanted to have a good run. Nonetheless, for the first :30, I rode easy, easy, easy, in the small chainring and at or below 70% of FT, which is a typical warm-up pace for a training ride.

After 30', it was time to move up a bit in power, and I did, and I noticed how exceedingly flat the terrain was. All good, no worries. I had tilted my aerobars a little bit down from where I usually position them and had raised my saddle a hair, which put me in a pretty aggressive aero position that seemed to be working like a charm. Note to self: get this measured and implemented professionally. I am flexible enough and my core is strong enough that I can do this now, and so I should!

I was sure I didn't have the fastest swim time in my age group, so it was time to look for the ladies on the bike, and I passed 3 of them strongly. That was fine--all I wanted to do was place top 3 in my age group.

I absolutely FLEW on the bike in 2:39, and could have gone faster. I held back on my watts even more than my coach and I agreed to because I knew I'd still have a good split and hoped I would be able to run well. I even had to stop twice--once to remove a flapping sticker from my rear wheel stay, and dropped my chain once. I only used my small chainring (11-23 on the disk) for the first :30 and also the last 10 miles. Needless to say, there were some VERY fast bike splits, but I'm happy with what I did there, and believe the taper was spot on. There was also some blatant drafting, but that is bound to happen in many races, especially flat ones. I only saw the draft marshall twice.

The only problem on the bike other than the 2 stops was that they served Amino Vital and not Gatorade. I didn't think the Amino crap would bother me, but as it turns out I was wrong. I should have added to my nutrition article that sometimes you can be fine on race day taking in something you aren't used to, other times not. Note to self: carry my own Gatorade, since I only need 2.5 bottles, or start using Infinit Nutrition again.

It started out nice and cool on the bike, but the heat and some wind picked up about halfway through. The heat didn't seem to bother me on the bike except for the Amino shit not sitting well in my gut. I felt a little bloated on the bike and at around 35 miles I really wanted to pee. But I could only get a little out. That may have been due to the salt loading I'd done in the days leading up to the race, which was another shock to my system, not to mention going from 30's and 40's to 80's.

I think the bike course was short by a mile, too, but I can't download my power data until I get home tomorrow.

In T2 after I dismounted, I slammed my right shin into the left pedal, which hurt and drew blood, but I wasn't worried about it. I got through T2 and headed out to the run, but wasn't sure where was the end of T2 and the start of the run. In the end, it doesn't matter, right?

As soon as I started running, my gut didn't feel right. Probably a combination of factors--heat, humidity, Amino Vital, but I was pretty sure that I didn't go too hard on the bike. At any rate, right away I needed a potty stop and there were no porta-potties in sight. We were going into the Miami Zoo, and I found a small area of vegetation that would work. I felt a bit better right away, but then about another .5 mile later I had to pee. This time, I really emptied my bladder well, and thought that now maybe I'd start running like I knew I could.

Nope--I never did feel normal and couldn't get below 10mpm. It was hot, and about 4 miles in I started asking for ice at the aid stations. Believe it or not, they didn't have cups of ice ready for us, but I got some anyway, and then I guess the aid stations wised up and started preparing cups of ice for us. I loaded my visor, my bra top, and even my bottom with ice in an effort to bring my core temperature down. It made me feel at least not so crappy. I had no choice but to drink the Amino Vital, and while the taste didn't bother me in the least, I guess it just didn't do the trick for me. Oh well.

The run goes through the zoo, and that at least lent an air of festivity to the run! On the first loop, I noticed the elephants, only it was confusing as they were a clay red. I had never seen elephants that color--it turns out they had been rolling around in red clay soil. And then one of them was taking a shower! I saw various African ungulates--addax, oryx, kudu and some others, which is not your usual run scenery. On the first loop, the chimps and gorillas were making a bunch of noise and running around, almost like a cheering section. On the second loop, I finally saw the zebras, and I had a few words for them, as I was wearing a zebra-striped top, although sadly there was no race photographer available to get a photo with me and my namesakes.

My run time was 2:18, which I think is a personal worst for a 1/2 marathon, although I have been slower in a HIM run. At any rate, I was a bit PO'ed, but at least in the last 4 miles I made myself just run continuously, as I wanted to at least beat my 2006 Racine HIM time of 5:48.

When I finished, of course I looked around to see if I saw any other women in my age group, and I didn't, but there was no way I figured I did well given my crappy run. Oh well, some days it's just not your day. I figured I had some time before Peter finished, so I went back to my transition area and got out of my wet running shoes and changed my hat.

I saw Peter come down the chute, and that was exciting as he looked really happy, and I was sure he had set a PR. He may even have beat me. He thought he had gone 5:34, but inside my head I was thinking he would have needed to finish really close after me, and it was at least 10 minutes later. But, I was happy for him and he said he could tell I was a little bummed out about my race. But I couldn't complain that much--it was still my 2nd fastest HIM time, and I had come from the North and raced in Miami heat and humidity. It is what it is.

Results weren't posted for the 5:15+ finishers for a bit, so we got some (bad) post-race food and cleaned out our transition areas and put everything back in Peter's car and loaded the bikes on the back. Then we went back to see the results.

There were 2 surprises waiting for us: first, I saw that I had won my age group. Even though I was and am still disappointed with my finishing time, I think I jumped about 6 feet into the air and pumped my fists when I saw this. A win is a win! Seriously, though, the day before the race I had stalked all the women in my age group and there was only one that I was concerned about (assuming I did 5:45 or less). Turns out she won female masters overall! She even beat someone I know from back home who is a really strong, fast athlete. The winning masters woman is 50 years old, and she beat my fast 44 year old friend! I was duly impressed. Because of that woman's placement in the masters, she was left out of the age group awards, which meant I got first instead of second.

The second surprise was that Peter's time was not what he had thought it was. It was actually 5:47, and it was still a PR for him, but I could tell a bit of the wind went out of his sails. But he was, in true friendship form, happy for me, and we stuck around so I could collect a cute little plaque. Unfortunately, it doesn't say the age group, just 1st place. But still it will be a nice memento of this experience.

So, if I am going to be disappointed in my time, I need to learn some lessons, and here are the ones I have so far:

• It's tough for me (not everyone, but me) to go from 30's and 40's to 80's in 2 days and run effectively.
• Amino Vital is not my cup of tea, and I should ALWAYS bring my own nutrition for a HIM. I only need 2 bike bottles, so it's not like I would be paying a weight penalty for carrying them.
• Steep run tapers do not work for me. That is something I will discuss with my coach.
• I can handle a more aggressive position on my bike, and will get that adjusted before next year's racing season begins. Thing is, when I ride on the trainer, I do not spend a lot of time in the aerobars, at least I haven't been yet. I will do more of that, and maybe a new position will encourage it even more.

Side note: at the expo/packet pickup, I met Michael Hanreck, who took 2nd overall at Ultraman in 2005. I told him I had that race in the back of my mind, and we got to chatting and well, maybe 2008? Whenever I have had encounters like this, they have been omens. After all, I only ended up getting into triathlon in the first place because a man in Kona told me I should, and he also told me that I would do an Ironman. That was in 1999, and look what happened! So, I'm a bit tingly that I met one of the top Ultraman competitors, and that he told me that he thought I could do it. I know that a huge component of these things is your DESIRE to do it. And I know that once my desire for something is strong enough, that I will go after it and get it done. Next comes DEDICATION, then DISCIPLINE, and I know about those things.

So even though I said I was disappointed, that is a very temporary state of mind. I am happy that I am healthy enough to have done this, I am enjoying a little R&R today and tomorrow, and I may have been blessed with desire for my next major athletic challenge.

Getting Race Nutrition Right

A theory I have about long-distance racing and nutrition is this: either through superior fitness (think years of base) or being very light in weight or both, it helps to get your body to the point where you can keep going on as FEW calories as possible. And then as many experienced IM'ers know, mostly liquid is easier to process than solids.

I've read that you are doing well in an IM if you're able to replace somewhere around 50-60% of the calories you are burning.

Step 1 of getting it right is knowing how much you are burning. If you are estimating, it can take a few years or so to get this right (in my case, I had my RMR measured and from that and VO2 Max measurement, worked with an exercise physiologist to calculate burn rates for me), but through trial and error, you will eventually (hopefully) figure it out.

Step 2 is to find out what % of the calories you are burning you can tolerate replacing while racing. This will depend on your speed and the distance you are racing. The faster you go, the less calories IN that you can handle, and the slower you go, the MORE. The longer the race, the HIGHER the % of calories burned you need to shoot for, or should--thing is you can make more nutrition errors in shorter races, since you don't have as much time for them to manifest themselves in a big problem.

For example, in a sprint race you can pretty much go without or a few sips of Gatorade here and there. Olympic, you need to be more concerned with hydration and more calorie intake. HIM, most people can get by on maybe 200 calories/hour (assuming you go 6 hours or less). IM--rules of thumb are something like 250-350 calories per hour while on the bike, and then do the best you can on the run. So if you race different distances, your race nutrition is going to be slightly different in terms of how much per hour.

Step 3 is to train in such a way as to make your body an efficient system. The more fit you are, the less calorie intake (as % of burn rate) you can get by on. These are small % variations based on fitness, though, but it does make a difference. The less nutrition your body has to deal with, the more reserves it has available to make your muscles work.

As an N=1 sample, the first 2 years I did triathlon, I was taking in 300+ calories per hour during long rides and long runs or else I would seriously bonk. Now I'm down to maybe 250 on the bike and 200 or less on the run, AND I'm going faster. Maybe that presents a chicken and egg puzzle--not sure. But I can say that even a difference of 25 or 50 calories per hour is significant when you are calibrating race nutrition. It's enlightening to visit the Infinit Nutrition website, answer the questions, and see what they come up with as a personal formula for YOU. When I did this, bang, it was almost dead-on 250 calories per hour.

My definition of "training in such a way as to make your body an efficient system" consists of regular training to maintain or lift AeT (or whatever you want to call it), which also happens to make you faster, and always providing my body with a steady stream of carbs. That latter thing is not scientific, but just my observation. Even if I go out for a 30-minute run, I take some Gatorade with me and will have 1 or 2 sips. My body expects to always have blood sugars available, and I generally don't finish a workout wanting to eat the entire refrigerator contents, which bonus, contributes to weight management.

Step 4 in the nutrition game is to calibrate your race pacing, both planned and by making real-time adjustments, in order to get the nutrition you need. Here's where it gets to be chicken and egg. If you speed up, you must slow down your calorie intake and vice versa. But you have to go into a race with a plan, and then know/learn how to make adjustments due to pacing changes, weather and stress.

Step 5 is to make sure your glycogen stores are topped off before you even begin the race. This ensures you can "fast" while waiting for the race to begin and get through the swim. I personally have 700-800 calories the morning of an IM, and maybe 600 before a 1/2 IM. In the days leading up to the race, I'm not overeating, just emphasizing carbs a bit more, and maybe some extra salt 1-2 days prior.

I'm not going to talk about hydration here, but there are similar issues to consider in terms of body weight, speed, heat and sweat production.

Even if you don't *think* you are experiencing GI issues during a race, you might be slowing yourself down unknowingly by asking your body to either process more or less calories than it needs, or by utilizing inferior energy sources or hard to digest foods. Or, you might be going faster than your GI system can manage (i.e., you didn't adjust your intake up/down as your speed decreased/increased). Which is why, I guess, nutrition is called the "4th discipline" in long-distance racing. Also why it's so easy to slow down significantly during the IM marathon--nutrition and pacing are so closely linked that it can be difficult to separate the two.

Again, remember that liquid wins over solids during a race anytime, even if you use solids in training. Carbs win over proteins and fats. It takes more work for your body to digest solids than liquids, and more work to process protein and fat than pure carbs. Heck, on 100+ mile rides, I will eat all kinds of things--I was even (gasp!) seen eating a custard-filled donut on one ride this summer. But I know that in training I can tolerate just about anything. When I race, though, it's strictly liquids and occasional gels. Even when I think I want something solid, my good sense gets the better of me and the thought passes. I do usually put cheese-peanut-butter crackers in my bike special needs, but I end up putting 2 or 3 in my mouth, taking a big swig of Gatorade and they just sort of melt.