Yesterday went quite well. I called the Y, and the pool was back online, towels back online, so no extra driving. I got there a little late for me, though, because I started doing things around the house right away and got caught up in little chores. No worries, though!
I did my core stuff first--21 chinups on the assisted station (with very little weight offloaded and all were from a dead henag) with many people watching me--I guess I'm pretty cut (yeah I occasionally look in the mirror or glass while doing this), then headed downstairs and did 60 pushups and 120 crunches, including dead bugs and hanging leg raises. While I was down on the mat, a spin class finished up, and a guy I know, AJ, stopped by to chat. We talked about the weekend weather (isn't that all triathletes talk about on a Friday?), how things were going, and then he left and I finished up and grabbed my jump rope and did 7 minutes worth of that. I'm starting to actually like jumping rope--I guess it reminds me of being a kid, plus you can just see (in a fully-mirrored room) how it affects your core and even arms. Also I can see what's going on in my left leg (which is lacking the ACL in the knee) to see if I am able to really pick my foot up off the floor.
I was surprised that my quads didn't feel too bad, although I was glad that the swim workout was mostly pulling. The pool temp wasn't ideal, but it wasn't bad, either, and I just went back and forth, back and forth, and while my arms protested a bit, it forced me to really focus on my hand entry. 3300 yards later, I had a few minutes to spend in the sauna to stretch before heading home to work.
I got pretty lucky in that the world wasn't blowing up at work, and it was such an increbibly lovely day that I was even able to sneak outside and do a little bit of yard cleanup. Sometimes I limit myself by time, because left to my own devices, I'd be in my flower beds for hours at a time, just gazing at things and smiling. But yesterday I held myself to filling up one of the yard bags, which had about 18" of head room. Of course I kept compacting things to make more room, and I got a lot done in maybe 15 minutes. That short break made me really look forward to running.
Since the world wasn't going to come to an end at work, I decided I would drive to Waterfall Glen. My legs were telling me I had better run on a softer surface than asphalt and concrete. When I got there, there were many cars, and no doubt many people playing hookey to take advantage of the nice weather. I am always amazed that even though I think I train at odd times of the day that I always see a lot of other people doing the same thing!
The plan was to run 1:20, but then I changed it to 9 miles, to see if I could get in 9 in that amount of time. As soon as I started running, my quads let me know I had been beating them into submission, but at least I was on soft surface. Oh my, all the water in there! We had a lot of snow this winter, and we've had a lot of rain this year already, and the ground is so saturated that water is pooled everywhere. Even though I was listening to music, I could hear frogs at every turn of the trail in whatever little pothole they had found! I saw one white-tailed deer, who had its flag down trying to be camo, a hawk's nest, many ducks and tons of birds. It was perfect temps (near 70) to run in there, and I even felt almost hot! I saw many naked runners (guys running without shirts), lots of mountain bikers, many walkers, and everyone had smiles on their faces! This is one of the reasons I like running there so much. It is one of the happiest places I know! Nobody goes there to be in a fowl mood, even though as my run pressed on, I was really feeling it.
My pace seemed good enough to make 9 miles in the 1:20, even though I walked a few hills. I know that if I hadn't run so much the day before or so hard that I could have run faster. Even though I was tired, though, I felt strong. And depleted! I slammed a Coke right before I ran and some Gatorade so I could carry hardly any liquid, but my body was telling me I am going to need to do better on pre-run calories.
I finished 9 in 1:21 for a pace of 9:02, so that was fine for an easy run. That made 27.5 miles in 3 days! When I got back home, I thought I was going to crash, and I did lay down for a few minutes (wearing compression tights), but around 4:30 I motivated and finished up my strength training of mostly legs, which was interesting. OK so it was only 15 minutes, but I really wondered if I should have skipped it.
I ate a huge pile of sushi for dinner, and slept the whole night through, even waking up not really hungry!
My legs are sore, but I really don't feel bad at all--more like I'm just training a lot! I am going to wait for it to warm up so I can ride wearing very little, and drive LGL out to Fermilab and go 4 hours or so, whatever I feel like. There is not supposed to be much wind (forecast calls for "light and variable"), so it will just be me, the bike and the sun. I'm going to try and run :45 off the bike, but we'll see how the legs feel at that point. I have a feeling there's a stop at McDonald's in my future after this, and if I have any energy at all left, I'll noodle around in my yard while it's still nice out.
Happy Saturday!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Breakthrough Run Yesterday!
I don't often write about my running because, well, I think I'm a crappy runner. At least I don't think I'll ever be called fast, but still, I work on my running because it is part of a triathlon. If I only ran, I might be faster, but my ortho says I shouldn't even be running (even though he's a marathoner) let alone doing Ironman, so I'll take what I can get running-wise. Besides, I'm all about the bike!
BUT...this training season is shaping up to be something different. After a lackluster 2007-2008 season and no winter marathon, I had no expectations for my running (or biking or swimming, for that matter), except that I was hoping a little bit of self-imposed (or should I say idiot-imposed) rest (from the back injury) might do me some good.
And I started feeling OK about my running in January since I was able to perform pretty well in the indoor tri series. But then I remembered how good it felt to run really light, and the removal of a few pounds of fat was in order, and at the same time I was starting to jump rope again. And well, all those things seem to be coming together, based on this week's running.
Wednesday's run was good--not really fast, but since I just started running outside regularly recently, and there's hills whichever way I go from home (except north, which is into downtown and I have no desire to ever go that way), so acclimating to hills and pavement all at once can be stressful. But still, I've been noticing that I can run those hills easier and easier, even considering we've had some decent wind lately (pretty normal for April).
I did yesterday's run as a double out-and-back. First I did 7 miles running faster than I had on Wednesday, which normally would make me think I was going to blow up big time for the remainder, but it didn't. I did slow down a little for the last 4.5, but still a respectable pace, and my overall pace for the 11.5 was faster than I've ever run that distance, which should translate into a serious 1/2 marathon PR at some point, even in a 1/2 Ironman (but not Triple T's 1/2 which is stupid hilly and comes on the last day so no PR's then).
The run was made sweeter by the air temp being just over 60. I started out wearing a singlet over my bra top, but warmed up after just 1 mile and took it off and carried. The sunshine was glorious! My legs felt great, and while I wasn't exactly charging the hills, I wasn't slowing down too much on any of them, and I did negative split each of the two out-and-backs.
The run was made even sweeter by the fact that I did effectively 4 workouts on Wednesday (core, swim, lift, run) and I lifted early yesterday morning for about 1/2 hour, too, which included some leg work!
The run was made even sweeter by getting the beginning of a tan!
After I showered yesterday, I put on my compression tights and refueled well, got in almost 1/2 hour of stretching, ate a good dinner of about 4 oz. Porterhouse steak and 4 oz. spaghetti with pesto, a couple of beers, and a small slice of cake. That should get me through the night, right?
FUCK NO!!!
I woke up this morning at 2:30 (at least it's getting later and later, which means I'm getting close to eating enough) and had a half sandwich and a couple pieces of herring, got back in bed and had more weird dreams, but I still got a good night's sleep overall.
Today is going to be another gorgeous day, and my plan is to do some jump rope and core, swim, about 10 more minutes of lifting (legs and back) and then run for 1:20. I was going to drive to Waterfall Glen, but I probably won't have time because I have a bunch of other things to get done today, including just sitting or laying outside in the sun just to soak it in!
And bonus, the weather forecast for tomorrow no longer calls for rain, and it will hit 70 again, so I am going to take advantage by riding for 4 hours! I am sure I will be humbled since this will be my first 4-hour ride this year, but being in the sun will be awesome! And the plan is to run :45 off the bike. Sunday will then be an easy 2-hour spin on the bike and maybe a 1/2 hour recovery swim.
I'll check back in on Monday, and see if I survived all of this! Hope everyone has a great weekend!
BUT...this training season is shaping up to be something different. After a lackluster 2007-2008 season and no winter marathon, I had no expectations for my running (or biking or swimming, for that matter), except that I was hoping a little bit of self-imposed (or should I say idiot-imposed) rest (from the back injury) might do me some good.
And I started feeling OK about my running in January since I was able to perform pretty well in the indoor tri series. But then I remembered how good it felt to run really light, and the removal of a few pounds of fat was in order, and at the same time I was starting to jump rope again. And well, all those things seem to be coming together, based on this week's running.
Wednesday's run was good--not really fast, but since I just started running outside regularly recently, and there's hills whichever way I go from home (except north, which is into downtown and I have no desire to ever go that way), so acclimating to hills and pavement all at once can be stressful. But still, I've been noticing that I can run those hills easier and easier, even considering we've had some decent wind lately (pretty normal for April).
I did yesterday's run as a double out-and-back. First I did 7 miles running faster than I had on Wednesday, which normally would make me think I was going to blow up big time for the remainder, but it didn't. I did slow down a little for the last 4.5, but still a respectable pace, and my overall pace for the 11.5 was faster than I've ever run that distance, which should translate into a serious 1/2 marathon PR at some point, even in a 1/2 Ironman (but not Triple T's 1/2 which is stupid hilly and comes on the last day so no PR's then).
The run was made sweeter by the air temp being just over 60. I started out wearing a singlet over my bra top, but warmed up after just 1 mile and took it off and carried. The sunshine was glorious! My legs felt great, and while I wasn't exactly charging the hills, I wasn't slowing down too much on any of them, and I did negative split each of the two out-and-backs.
The run was made even sweeter by the fact that I did effectively 4 workouts on Wednesday (core, swim, lift, run) and I lifted early yesterday morning for about 1/2 hour, too, which included some leg work!
The run was made even sweeter by getting the beginning of a tan!
After I showered yesterday, I put on my compression tights and refueled well, got in almost 1/2 hour of stretching, ate a good dinner of about 4 oz. Porterhouse steak and 4 oz. spaghetti with pesto, a couple of beers, and a small slice of cake. That should get me through the night, right?
FUCK NO!!!
I woke up this morning at 2:30 (at least it's getting later and later, which means I'm getting close to eating enough) and had a half sandwich and a couple pieces of herring, got back in bed and had more weird dreams, but I still got a good night's sleep overall.
Today is going to be another gorgeous day, and my plan is to do some jump rope and core, swim, about 10 more minutes of lifting (legs and back) and then run for 1:20. I was going to drive to Waterfall Glen, but I probably won't have time because I have a bunch of other things to get done today, including just sitting or laying outside in the sun just to soak it in!
And bonus, the weather forecast for tomorrow no longer calls for rain, and it will hit 70 again, so I am going to take advantage by riding for 4 hours! I am sure I will be humbled since this will be my first 4-hour ride this year, but being in the sun will be awesome! And the plan is to run :45 off the bike. Sunday will then be an easy 2-hour spin on the bike and maybe a 1/2 hour recovery swim.
I'll check back in on Monday, and see if I survived all of this! Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
FOOD CHANNEL!!!
So let's see if I can detail exactly what I ate and drank yesterday:
- Breakfast: hardboiled egg, English muffin with jam, coffee with sweetened creamer
- 20 oz. Gatorade during swim
- Banana and piece of string cheese after swim
- Really thin slice of lamb cake around 10AM and a few jelly beans
- 12 oz. Gatorade during run
- 1 serving Endurox R4 right after run
- Lean Cuisine something or other with some Sylvia's sauce on top for lunch (and of course I licked the plate clean because I love the sauce!)
- 2 Beck's
- Dinner of basically 1.5 servings (I think) of meatloaf and large salad with tomatoes and mushrooms, and 2 servings of the lamb cake
Exercise I did:
- 10 minutes of jump rope
- 9 minutes of chinups, crunches and pushups
- 1 hour of swimming
- 26 minutes of lifting
- 1 hour of running
So I woke up at 2AM this morning and thought I must not have eaten enough. So I had a few pieces of herring in wine sauce and a package (200 calories) of cheese-filled crackers, and then I fell back asleep and had a whole raft of interesting dreams, which I won't go into detail about here.
I definitely need to do a few things nutritionally:
- Take in more calories during the first half of the day, although I prefer working out with little in my stomach, especially running. This just means I have to watch the clock and eat at like 5, 9, 1, 3 and then dinner.
- Finish the damn cake! It's great, but not ideal nutrition. I can switch over to Twinkies, though.
- Maybe take in a little more fat. Left to my own devices, my basic diet is maybe 10% fat. I think that has something to do with waking up in the middle of the night. I've been putting olive oil on the salads, though.
- Time to buy Cheetos! I tend to not eat a lot at any single sitting
- As much as I've come to like salads (and they are good for maintaining or losing weight), I need to get back on the rice for dinner during the week, and pasta 3 times a week to be prepped for long run and long ride days.
I used to have the nutrition epiphany closer to mid-May or June, but I guess I revved up the system a bit earlier this year, and my body is now telling me to catch up on the calories. I know, I know--big problem to have, right?
I'm thinking tonight is going to be a steak and pasta w/pesto. Yum!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
A Day in the Crackheaded Life
Every so often when I'm feeling like I'm running at full throttle, I feel like writing down all the things that go on in my day. And then I can go back and read it at a point in time when I might need motivation or be wondering how the hell I do this. Not like my life is any busier than anyone else's, but I do feel like I've been cramming in a lot lately. Thank God I type fast! So here it is, and it starts at 5:00AM and goes through 4:15PM.
Day in the Life
Wake up. Beat the coffee pot, although 5AM is late for me…had to get up at 1:30AM for a feeding because my metabolism is racing. Run downstairs and turn on the coffee. Take hard-boiled egg out of fridge and English muffin for breakfast. Peel the egg and put the muffin in the toaster. Not starving since had the meatloaf and jelly beans in middle of the night, so don’t fire up breakfast yet.
Run upstairs and open both laptops. Put clothes on. Go back downstairs and pour a cup of coffee. Back upstairs and hook up Ergomo to download yesterday’s trainer ride, which was awesome despite how wiped out I felt. Smile to myself. Look at the Internets and clean out my email.
Go back downstairs and fire up the toaster, go downstairs to laundry room and get swim bag ready to go and throw in jump rope and gloves (for chinups). Back up one floor and get a pair of running shorts and socks to wear.
Take swim bag into upstairs bathroom. Go back to kitchen to get another cup of coffee and breakfast. Go upstairs and have just a few minutes of quality time in the bathroom, and apply defogger to goggles and shoot up nose with Nasonex at the same time (I am the queen of multitasking). Put goggles and cap into swim bag which is now ready to go except for putting on a swimsuit.
Back to computer to chill and eat breakfast. Gotta get it down well before doing jump rope lest I puke like last week. Think about what I have to do today. First meeting at 9AM, but want to start work by 8:30 so I can be done by 5:30, and need time in there to go for a run. Supposed to be good weather today, hope the winds change directions finally!
Decide which swimsuit to wear. Going with the cheetah print bikini. Throw bottom into swim bag, put top on, shorts, socks and my Pink Floyd running shoes. Going to test out the flats for a 1-hour run today, what the hell. Take swim bag down by front door after stopping off at fridge to get a bottle of Gatorade. Open front door and go outside to take recycleables out to curb (it’s garbage/recycleables day). Notice the warmth in the air—it’s going to be a great day to run later! But I digress—I need to go swim first. Pick up the newspaper and go back into house.
Think whether there’s anything I’m forgetting to do this morning. Nope. I can finish my second cup of coffee, brush my teeth, put in my contact lenses, throw on a jacket and head to the Y to do some core stuff, jump rope, and then swim. Oops—look at today’s swim workout. Nice! It’s only 2900 yards. Last minute decision to change into cross trainer shoes. I shouldn’t jump rope in the racing flats.
Drive to the Y. Towel Nazi is at the front desk, and I see a sign that there are NO TOWELS AVAILABLE TODAY. OK, fine, when I’m done swimming, I will just drip all over the locker room and then stand under the dryers until I’m dry enough to put clothes back on. But wait—there’s another sign that says we can only use the shallow end of the pool because of some construction snafu??? What the fuck???
I never know with the Y, so I head into the locker room, put my bags down and walk onto the pool deck. Useless Rasta Guard is on duty. I ask him what’s the deal, and he says we can’t use the deep end. So I’m like basically can’t use the pool. He says, “if you do what that guy is doing.” And he’s referring to this huge fat guy walking around in circles in the shallow end. URG knows me, knows I swim 3-4 times a week, and I am incredulous that he tells me this. I just roll my eyes and walk out.
Now I’m thinking do I skip my swim workout altogether or go with Plan B? I decide that I have enough time to drive to Good Samaritan Hospital Wellness Center to do my swim, but will I have time to jump rope and do some other stuff first? Let’s just get on the road and see. Luckily, there is minimal traffic, and when I get to the front desk, the girl working there is understanding when I flash my Y card and she asks about its pool. I tell her I don’t know what’s going on, but I want to pay a daily rate. She only charges me $7.50, which is nice, since I think the regular charge is $10 or $12.
I’m on a roll, so I put my stuff in a locker and decide I’ll jump rope first. I do it on the basketball court, since another class is just ending on it (it’s almost 7AM now). I’m happily jumping, skipping, running, etc. and I see a small fan club watching me from behind the metal curtain. One of them starts yelling to me (with a smile on his face), but I can’t hear him because I’m listening to music. I take an earbud out to see what’s up and he says I am putting everyone to shame. I tell him that’s my job! I go back on full music, and like 4 guys are watching me do my thing—fast jumping, single foot fast jumping. I do 10 minutes worth, and then I chat with them and one guy asks me how long I’ve been doing this, and I explain I just started back in on the jump rope after about a 10-year hiatus, but that I used to do an hour at a time. This is the second time in a week that someone has been impressed with me jumping rope. I don’t know why—one person was impressed I was doing it one-footed, but hey, it’s just jumping rope.
Anyway, that felt so good that I hunted down the assisted pullup machine and knocked out 15 with yet another strange grip, then went and did 60 pushups and 90 crunches. All good!
I started my swim workout at 7:20AM. The pool was a decent temperature, but this pool is one depth the entire 25 yards, and I always feel like my hands are going to hit bottom, but they don’t. The last time I was here was to race on January 25. I started out sharing a lane for my 800-yard warmup (after politely telling the woman to narrow down her backstroke because she would end up hitting me and I would not like it), but then had the lane to myself. I remembered that there is a huge hot tub, and I wanted to make time to spend in there after my swim. I also thought about how it’s supposed to be nice weather tomorrow, but because of meetings and such, I can’t get in a 2 hour run in the middle of the day (need a tan, you know) and would then need to do it on the treadmill at O-dark-thirty, but then I’m thinking creatively and figure I have time for a 1:30 run tomorrow in the middle of the day and I’ll do another 1:30 run on Friday, when it is supposed to be even nicer! That would make some good run preparation for Triple T, since basically we run 13 miles on Saturday and another 13 on Sunday. What the hell, I’m strong, I can do this!
The swim workout feels great, just great! Also nice that my bikini tops are a bit tighter and the bottoms a bit looser. 2900 yards completed, and I figured I had time for 5 minutes in the hot tub. I wasn’t going to make it to the work start line by 8:30 like I had planned, but that’s OK, it was worth it to get in some hot tub time. I stretched my arms and chest out in there, and believe me, I wanted to stay in for another 15 minutes! But work called, so I got out, showered and shaved, and made it back home and started work at 8:45.
I immediately had a debrief call before my 9:00AM call to summarize the mayhem that had occurred yesterday with a customer, but explained that I had everything under control and things should go well this morning. They basically did, and so now I will just work until about 11:30-12:00 when I can get in an hour run. It’s warming up nicely, but the wind direction is still winter-ish, NNE. What the hell? Oh well, no worries.
10:34AM and I decide I’m going to take a little break and sneak in some weights. Knocked out bis, tris, delts, some chest, and a few abs. 25 minutes. I hope to do another 15-20 minutes after my work day is complete.
11:00AM and another conference call and all I can think about is going for a run. Although it’s not as warm as I’d hoped it would be today, so I check my calendar and I can wait to go until maybe 12:15. It’s cloudy, so no tanning today, and I may need to wear a shirt. Damn! Drinking the last cup of coffee during the call.
Hit the road to run at 12:20, and wearing shorts and a short-sleeved technical top, I’m a little chilled at first, but should be fine. There isn’t too much wind, but I’m going to run directly into it because I dislike having a headwind on my way back in. I fired up a new pair of running shoes—New Balance 903—because I noticed the soles on one of my last pairs of 902’s were wearing pretty thin. I decided against the flat--I'm going to stick with them only for runs under an hour.
Considering what I’d already done today and that I biked really hard yesterday (best wattage for that workout so far!) and felt pretty shelled (which I think was from doing what, 3 workouts on Monday then getting deep tissue massage and having trouble sleeping), my legs felt awesome! I really believe that the jump rope is making me stronger at running. Plus, my back feels better than I can ever remember. I just feel really solid. I’m not running incredibly fast, but I am running strong into the headwind and uphill basically, so I’m good with that.
I ended up running 7 miles at a solid pace (1/2 mary pace basically--I should get faster at that hill route as time marches on), got back inside and stripped down immediately so I could shower since I knew I’d get chilled, put something for lunch into the microwave, showered quickly and got back at work.
2 more conference calls, 4 status reports to produce and I am done working for the day. I’ve decided that I will hold off on any additional strength training. Body is saying enough for today. I will, however, crack open a beer and then stretch for ½ hour, eat some dinner (more tonight so I can avoid the 1AM wakeup call), read for at least an hour, and try and get a good night’s sleep, so I can be ready to go in the morning to knock out at least another 30 min. of strength, maybe some jump rope, and then be ready to enjoy the warm weather with a 1:30 run around noon!
I found out today that I won’t be able to close my Dad’s estate until June because of some Colorado laws about how long things need to be open in that state (the Illinois stuff is pretty much finished). Fuck. But I also found out that a friend in a far away place found something with my name on it, it's available in my size, and it is being purchased and sent to me! I'm not saying what it is, but it's very unique and will bring a huge smile to my face and perhaps someone else's. So to summarize today, there were a couple of setbacks, but 4 good workouts, good productivity at work, a cool thing on its way to me and I can’t complain! The next 2 days will be key to see if I can get through the week continuing to feel strong.
Saturday looks like I might be able to get in some outdoor riding, and Sunday calls for shitty and rainy again. Oh well...this will just make the next 2 days of running in the sun feel glorious!
Life is good!
Day in the Life
Wake up. Beat the coffee pot, although 5AM is late for me…had to get up at 1:30AM for a feeding because my metabolism is racing. Run downstairs and turn on the coffee. Take hard-boiled egg out of fridge and English muffin for breakfast. Peel the egg and put the muffin in the toaster. Not starving since had the meatloaf and jelly beans in middle of the night, so don’t fire up breakfast yet.
Run upstairs and open both laptops. Put clothes on. Go back downstairs and pour a cup of coffee. Back upstairs and hook up Ergomo to download yesterday’s trainer ride, which was awesome despite how wiped out I felt. Smile to myself. Look at the Internets and clean out my email.
Go back downstairs and fire up the toaster, go downstairs to laundry room and get swim bag ready to go and throw in jump rope and gloves (for chinups). Back up one floor and get a pair of running shorts and socks to wear.
Take swim bag into upstairs bathroom. Go back to kitchen to get another cup of coffee and breakfast. Go upstairs and have just a few minutes of quality time in the bathroom, and apply defogger to goggles and shoot up nose with Nasonex at the same time (I am the queen of multitasking). Put goggles and cap into swim bag which is now ready to go except for putting on a swimsuit.
Back to computer to chill and eat breakfast. Gotta get it down well before doing jump rope lest I puke like last week. Think about what I have to do today. First meeting at 9AM, but want to start work by 8:30 so I can be done by 5:30, and need time in there to go for a run. Supposed to be good weather today, hope the winds change directions finally!
Decide which swimsuit to wear. Going with the cheetah print bikini. Throw bottom into swim bag, put top on, shorts, socks and my Pink Floyd running shoes. Going to test out the flats for a 1-hour run today, what the hell. Take swim bag down by front door after stopping off at fridge to get a bottle of Gatorade. Open front door and go outside to take recycleables out to curb (it’s garbage/recycleables day). Notice the warmth in the air—it’s going to be a great day to run later! But I digress—I need to go swim first. Pick up the newspaper and go back into house.
Think whether there’s anything I’m forgetting to do this morning. Nope. I can finish my second cup of coffee, brush my teeth, put in my contact lenses, throw on a jacket and head to the Y to do some core stuff, jump rope, and then swim. Oops—look at today’s swim workout. Nice! It’s only 2900 yards. Last minute decision to change into cross trainer shoes. I shouldn’t jump rope in the racing flats.
Drive to the Y. Towel Nazi is at the front desk, and I see a sign that there are NO TOWELS AVAILABLE TODAY. OK, fine, when I’m done swimming, I will just drip all over the locker room and then stand under the dryers until I’m dry enough to put clothes back on. But wait—there’s another sign that says we can only use the shallow end of the pool because of some construction snafu??? What the fuck???
I never know with the Y, so I head into the locker room, put my bags down and walk onto the pool deck. Useless Rasta Guard is on duty. I ask him what’s the deal, and he says we can’t use the deep end. So I’m like basically can’t use the pool. He says, “if you do what that guy is doing.” And he’s referring to this huge fat guy walking around in circles in the shallow end. URG knows me, knows I swim 3-4 times a week, and I am incredulous that he tells me this. I just roll my eyes and walk out.
Now I’m thinking do I skip my swim workout altogether or go with Plan B? I decide that I have enough time to drive to Good Samaritan Hospital Wellness Center to do my swim, but will I have time to jump rope and do some other stuff first? Let’s just get on the road and see. Luckily, there is minimal traffic, and when I get to the front desk, the girl working there is understanding when I flash my Y card and she asks about its pool. I tell her I don’t know what’s going on, but I want to pay a daily rate. She only charges me $7.50, which is nice, since I think the regular charge is $10 or $12.
I’m on a roll, so I put my stuff in a locker and decide I’ll jump rope first. I do it on the basketball court, since another class is just ending on it (it’s almost 7AM now). I’m happily jumping, skipping, running, etc. and I see a small fan club watching me from behind the metal curtain. One of them starts yelling to me (with a smile on his face), but I can’t hear him because I’m listening to music. I take an earbud out to see what’s up and he says I am putting everyone to shame. I tell him that’s my job! I go back on full music, and like 4 guys are watching me do my thing—fast jumping, single foot fast jumping. I do 10 minutes worth, and then I chat with them and one guy asks me how long I’ve been doing this, and I explain I just started back in on the jump rope after about a 10-year hiatus, but that I used to do an hour at a time. This is the second time in a week that someone has been impressed with me jumping rope. I don’t know why—one person was impressed I was doing it one-footed, but hey, it’s just jumping rope.
Anyway, that felt so good that I hunted down the assisted pullup machine and knocked out 15 with yet another strange grip, then went and did 60 pushups and 90 crunches. All good!
I started my swim workout at 7:20AM. The pool was a decent temperature, but this pool is one depth the entire 25 yards, and I always feel like my hands are going to hit bottom, but they don’t. The last time I was here was to race on January 25. I started out sharing a lane for my 800-yard warmup (after politely telling the woman to narrow down her backstroke because she would end up hitting me and I would not like it), but then had the lane to myself. I remembered that there is a huge hot tub, and I wanted to make time to spend in there after my swim. I also thought about how it’s supposed to be nice weather tomorrow, but because of meetings and such, I can’t get in a 2 hour run in the middle of the day (need a tan, you know) and would then need to do it on the treadmill at O-dark-thirty, but then I’m thinking creatively and figure I have time for a 1:30 run tomorrow in the middle of the day and I’ll do another 1:30 run on Friday, when it is supposed to be even nicer! That would make some good run preparation for Triple T, since basically we run 13 miles on Saturday and another 13 on Sunday. What the hell, I’m strong, I can do this!
The swim workout feels great, just great! Also nice that my bikini tops are a bit tighter and the bottoms a bit looser. 2900 yards completed, and I figured I had time for 5 minutes in the hot tub. I wasn’t going to make it to the work start line by 8:30 like I had planned, but that’s OK, it was worth it to get in some hot tub time. I stretched my arms and chest out in there, and believe me, I wanted to stay in for another 15 minutes! But work called, so I got out, showered and shaved, and made it back home and started work at 8:45.
I immediately had a debrief call before my 9:00AM call to summarize the mayhem that had occurred yesterday with a customer, but explained that I had everything under control and things should go well this morning. They basically did, and so now I will just work until about 11:30-12:00 when I can get in an hour run. It’s warming up nicely, but the wind direction is still winter-ish, NNE. What the hell? Oh well, no worries.
10:34AM and I decide I’m going to take a little break and sneak in some weights. Knocked out bis, tris, delts, some chest, and a few abs. 25 minutes. I hope to do another 15-20 minutes after my work day is complete.
11:00AM and another conference call and all I can think about is going for a run. Although it’s not as warm as I’d hoped it would be today, so I check my calendar and I can wait to go until maybe 12:15. It’s cloudy, so no tanning today, and I may need to wear a shirt. Damn! Drinking the last cup of coffee during the call.
Hit the road to run at 12:20, and wearing shorts and a short-sleeved technical top, I’m a little chilled at first, but should be fine. There isn’t too much wind, but I’m going to run directly into it because I dislike having a headwind on my way back in. I fired up a new pair of running shoes—New Balance 903—because I noticed the soles on one of my last pairs of 902’s were wearing pretty thin. I decided against the flat--I'm going to stick with them only for runs under an hour.
Considering what I’d already done today and that I biked really hard yesterday (best wattage for that workout so far!) and felt pretty shelled (which I think was from doing what, 3 workouts on Monday then getting deep tissue massage and having trouble sleeping), my legs felt awesome! I really believe that the jump rope is making me stronger at running. Plus, my back feels better than I can ever remember. I just feel really solid. I’m not running incredibly fast, but I am running strong into the headwind and uphill basically, so I’m good with that.
I ended up running 7 miles at a solid pace (1/2 mary pace basically--I should get faster at that hill route as time marches on), got back inside and stripped down immediately so I could shower since I knew I’d get chilled, put something for lunch into the microwave, showered quickly and got back at work.
2 more conference calls, 4 status reports to produce and I am done working for the day. I’ve decided that I will hold off on any additional strength training. Body is saying enough for today. I will, however, crack open a beer and then stretch for ½ hour, eat some dinner (more tonight so I can avoid the 1AM wakeup call), read for at least an hour, and try and get a good night’s sleep, so I can be ready to go in the morning to knock out at least another 30 min. of strength, maybe some jump rope, and then be ready to enjoy the warm weather with a 1:30 run around noon!
I found out today that I won’t be able to close my Dad’s estate until June because of some Colorado laws about how long things need to be open in that state (the Illinois stuff is pretty much finished). Fuck. But I also found out that a friend in a far away place found something with my name on it, it's available in my size, and it is being purchased and sent to me! I'm not saying what it is, but it's very unique and will bring a huge smile to my face and perhaps someone else's. So to summarize today, there were a couple of setbacks, but 4 good workouts, good productivity at work, a cool thing on its way to me and I can’t complain! The next 2 days will be key to see if I can get through the week continuing to feel strong.
Saturday looks like I might be able to get in some outdoor riding, and Sunday calls for shitty and rainy again. Oh well...this will just make the next 2 days of running in the sun feel glorious!
Life is good!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Weekly Workout Totals 04/06/2009-04/12/2009 and Weekend Report
I had another solid week of training. I switched up Saturday and Sunday rides because of other things I had to get done on Saturday (like baking a lamb cake) and also wanted to have Saturday be a relatively easy day.
So Saturday I did 2:15 on the trainer, and I rode pretty hard. I surprised myself because I didn't sleep well Friday night for some reason. I just got into the pain, though, and as soon as I finished, I decided to do 200 crunches and 200 air squats, what the hell. That was interesting! I wondered if I would feel at all sore from that the next day, but nope. Which proves that my abs and quads can take a pretty good beating.
Saturday night I went to a dinner party which was tons of fun, especially watching people watch me polish off 2 desserts and I wanted the last one, but someone snatched it up before I could get to it! I drank some wine (I forget how much) and had a beer with dinner, and figured I'd probably have a little hangover on Sunday.
Which I did. Not like this would be the first time I've ever gone riding with one. I was determined yesterday to ride while it was warm out, so I packed up LGL in the car and drove to Fermilab. Unfortunately, it never quite got very warm even though I didn't start riding until 11:15, and the entire time of my 3-hour tour I was wearing tights and a jacket. But it was still nice to be out in the sunshine. It was pretty windy, too, and I was humbled by the wind. It was my first 3-hour stint outdoors this year, and my "outdoor riding" muscles could tell. Whole lot different riding outside than on the trainer. My power was off where it should have been, but considering how I was feeling and how cold I was, I just didn't care.
The fun part would be running off the bike. I hadn't really taken in enough calories while riding, but I was plenty caffeinated, since I'd used my Infinit Money Shot (tm) formula that is pretty insanely loaded with caffeine. I can even remember having some really fun thoughts while I was on the bike because it was almost like I was high!
Anyway, I changed out of the tights into shorts but left my Trashy Cat arm warmers on. That was the first time I'd used them, and I love them! They were just perfect for the cooler temps. As soon as I started running, I was thankful for the flatness of Fermilab, but I did experience immediate brick suck. I knew I would, so too bad. The last few weeks, whenever I feel like crap (tired or otherwise), I just tell myself, "It's going to feel much worse during TTT so HFTU you lazy-ass!" And then I do whatever I need to do. So while my stomach was none too happy, I just took short steps and felt like I was running through concrete, but I'm pretty sure I had a halfway decent pace (for me). I ran out for 20 minutes knowing full well that on my way in I was going right into the east headwind, which of course didn't feel that bad while running. I made it back in the same amount of time, which I was happy for.
Since I knew I was underfed, I decided to pull into the McDonald's which is right outside of Fermilab, and I got a cheeseburger and small fries, and they disappeared pretty quickly while I drove home. I was also drinking some Endurox R4, and all I could think was fuck, I'm tired!
When I got home, I showered and put PJ's on because I was cold and knew I'd stay cold for awhile, downed a beer, prepared some meatloaf and put it in the microwave, and got down and stretched a good 1/2 hour. I thought, oh shit, am I going to be toast tomorrow, but whatever.
I ate a little of the meatloaf and should have had some salad but just didn't want any. I ended up deciding I really didn't want too much meatloaf, either, but that I wanted CAKE! So I cut a thin slice and ate that. It was so good, I cut another slice, but a little thicker. Still hungry, so I had slice #3 and then I decided I still wanted another serving of meatloaf, so I had that and that finally did it for me!
I did some reading in bed, and it took awhile to fall asleep because of all the caffeine I'd ingested, but I think I still ended up getting 8 hours of sleep. When I awoke this morning, I thought oh my fucking God I'm totally shelled, but I suited up to go swim and do some other crap and figured I'd just see how it went.
I wanted to fall asleep while I was laying on the exercise mat at the Y doing crunches, but I still managed to knock out 15 chinups, 120 crunches and 60 pushups, then I chased it with 7 minutes of jump rope. I had brought more coffee with me for this effort, and then I headed into the pool.
The pool was so fucking nice today! I think it was maybe 81. Well, I couldn't leak out on a good swim workout with a cold pool, could I? Hell no. So I finished the called-for 3,050 yard workout and thought maybe I could skip my run today?
But here I sit about to suit up and go get that run done, even though it means driving back to the Y to run on the dreadmill because it's rainy and shitty outside. Later today I get a massage and a haircut, so a little pampering for me! Now if somebody would just come and feed me while I am laying down, I'd be all set!
This week my long run goes up to 2 hours and maybe if it warms up this weekend I'll do a longer ride (70-ish miles) on Sunday. I am happy that I have already done some training today, considering I was seriously considering a rest day! But I'll save that up for when I feel much worse than I do now.
Here are the happy totals for the week:
So Saturday I did 2:15 on the trainer, and I rode pretty hard. I surprised myself because I didn't sleep well Friday night for some reason. I just got into the pain, though, and as soon as I finished, I decided to do 200 crunches and 200 air squats, what the hell. That was interesting! I wondered if I would feel at all sore from that the next day, but nope. Which proves that my abs and quads can take a pretty good beating.
Saturday night I went to a dinner party which was tons of fun, especially watching people watch me polish off 2 desserts and I wanted the last one, but someone snatched it up before I could get to it! I drank some wine (I forget how much) and had a beer with dinner, and figured I'd probably have a little hangover on Sunday.
Which I did. Not like this would be the first time I've ever gone riding with one. I was determined yesterday to ride while it was warm out, so I packed up LGL in the car and drove to Fermilab. Unfortunately, it never quite got very warm even though I didn't start riding until 11:15, and the entire time of my 3-hour tour I was wearing tights and a jacket. But it was still nice to be out in the sunshine. It was pretty windy, too, and I was humbled by the wind. It was my first 3-hour stint outdoors this year, and my "outdoor riding" muscles could tell. Whole lot different riding outside than on the trainer. My power was off where it should have been, but considering how I was feeling and how cold I was, I just didn't care.
The fun part would be running off the bike. I hadn't really taken in enough calories while riding, but I was plenty caffeinated, since I'd used my Infinit Money Shot (tm) formula that is pretty insanely loaded with caffeine. I can even remember having some really fun thoughts while I was on the bike because it was almost like I was high!
Anyway, I changed out of the tights into shorts but left my Trashy Cat arm warmers on. That was the first time I'd used them, and I love them! They were just perfect for the cooler temps. As soon as I started running, I was thankful for the flatness of Fermilab, but I did experience immediate brick suck. I knew I would, so too bad. The last few weeks, whenever I feel like crap (tired or otherwise), I just tell myself, "It's going to feel much worse during TTT so HFTU you lazy-ass!" And then I do whatever I need to do. So while my stomach was none too happy, I just took short steps and felt like I was running through concrete, but I'm pretty sure I had a halfway decent pace (for me). I ran out for 20 minutes knowing full well that on my way in I was going right into the east headwind, which of course didn't feel that bad while running. I made it back in the same amount of time, which I was happy for.
Since I knew I was underfed, I decided to pull into the McDonald's which is right outside of Fermilab, and I got a cheeseburger and small fries, and they disappeared pretty quickly while I drove home. I was also drinking some Endurox R4, and all I could think was fuck, I'm tired!
When I got home, I showered and put PJ's on because I was cold and knew I'd stay cold for awhile, downed a beer, prepared some meatloaf and put it in the microwave, and got down and stretched a good 1/2 hour. I thought, oh shit, am I going to be toast tomorrow, but whatever.
I ate a little of the meatloaf and should have had some salad but just didn't want any. I ended up deciding I really didn't want too much meatloaf, either, but that I wanted CAKE! So I cut a thin slice and ate that. It was so good, I cut another slice, but a little thicker. Still hungry, so I had slice #3 and then I decided I still wanted another serving of meatloaf, so I had that and that finally did it for me!
I did some reading in bed, and it took awhile to fall asleep because of all the caffeine I'd ingested, but I think I still ended up getting 8 hours of sleep. When I awoke this morning, I thought oh my fucking God I'm totally shelled, but I suited up to go swim and do some other crap and figured I'd just see how it went.
I wanted to fall asleep while I was laying on the exercise mat at the Y doing crunches, but I still managed to knock out 15 chinups, 120 crunches and 60 pushups, then I chased it with 7 minutes of jump rope. I had brought more coffee with me for this effort, and then I headed into the pool.
The pool was so fucking nice today! I think it was maybe 81. Well, I couldn't leak out on a good swim workout with a cold pool, could I? Hell no. So I finished the called-for 3,050 yard workout and thought maybe I could skip my run today?
But here I sit about to suit up and go get that run done, even though it means driving back to the Y to run on the dreadmill because it's rainy and shitty outside. Later today I get a massage and a haircut, so a little pampering for me! Now if somebody would just come and feed me while I am laying down, I'd be all set!
This week my long run goes up to 2 hours and maybe if it warms up this weekend I'll do a longer ride (70-ish miles) on Sunday. I am happy that I have already done some training today, considering I was seriously considering a rest day! But I'll save that up for when I feel much worse than I do now.
Here are the happy totals for the week:
| Weekly Workout Totals | 04/06/2009-04/12/2009 This week's totals are sponsored by Harden the Fuck Up |
| Swim: | 10000 yards (5.68 miles) in 3.47 hours; 20% of weekly workout time; approx. 1215 calories burned Canadian: 9144 meters |
| Bike: | Approx. 133.18 miles in 7.03 hours; 42% of weekly workout time; approx. 4106 calories burned; Total TSS=477 Canadian: 214.33 kilometers |
| Run: | Approx. 34.09 miles in 5.15 hours; 30% of weekly workout time; approx. 2335 calories burned Canadian: 54.86 kilometers |
| Strength: | 1.28 hours; 8% of weekly workout time; approx. 320 calories burned |
| All Sports: | Approx. 172.95 miles in 16.93 hours; approx. 7976 calories burned Canadian: 278.34 kilometers |
| Sleep: | 7.64 hours avg./night |
| Stretching: | 2.35 hours. Massage: 1 hours |
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Easter Lamb Cake
While my parents were alive for many years, it was my responsibility (happily) to make a lamb cake for Easter (I was raised Catholic). I started baking maybe in 7th grade, got really good at it while in high school (and I prepared the family meals every night for 4 years), and then while I was married and after, assumed a few baking traditions. Easter lamb cake was one, Christmas fruitcake was another (which has since been taken up by one of my sisters) and always something for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Up until a few weeks ago, I didn't know when the official date was for Easter, but I noted there was Easter candy in my grocery store for weeks, so I stocked up on jelly beans, and stupid me, didn't buy any Peeps and now they are gone.
A few days ago I thought about how much I like lamb cake and thought maybe I should make one. I won't bake just for myself, but luckily I have some friends that will happily share whatever I come up with. So a few days ago I decided to make one. Below are the pics of everything in progress followed by the recipe that I use, which has served me well for many, many years.
Enjoy!
Batter
Greased pan
Greased and floured pan
Batter in the pan
Closed up pan ready to bake
Cake in the oven
Cake directly out of the oven
Cake while cooling
Frosting!
Ready for assembly
Frosted
Finished!
Easter Lamb Cake
1 lamb cake mold (available at Wilton’s or online, although the one I saw online is gay looking—mine must be vintage!)
Cake:
1 cup butter (salted is fine), softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
2 cups cake flour or sifted all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. Baking powder
¼ tsp. Salt
finely grated rind (the yellow part) of one lemon
Preheat the oven to 350
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. This may be done by hand and does not require an electric mixer. Stir in the lemon rind.
Stir or sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, and add to the batter slowly, mixing until blended.
Grease (I use butter, but I suppose you could use a spray cooking oil) and flour both halves of the cake mold. Be especially careful with the head/ears! Put the halves onto a baking sheet to support the thing while it bakes.
Spoon and then evenly distribute the batter into the side of the pan without the hole in the nose. Be sure to get into the crevices and the head and ears.
Cover the battered half with the top piece of the mold, and put a toothpick into the hole all the way down into the batter so its end does not stick out of the pan. This is to add strength to the thing’s face!
Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes. You can remove the top half of the mold after 50 minutes to check that it’s nicely browned and/or use a cake tester. It should be a light to medium golden brown. Remove from the oven, remove the top and let the cake cool while still in the bottom mold for at least 10 minutes. At that point, carefully invert the cake onto a plate for final cooling, leaving the lamb lying down (you might want to play Genesis ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ for this part). Cool cake thoroughly before beginning final assembly.
Buttercream Frosting:
3 ¾ cup confectioners sugar
½ cup butter (salted is OK to use), softened
3-4 tbsp. Milk or cream
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
I don’t prepare this the way the Domino’s package says, because if you do, you will have powdered sugar everywhere! Rather, I start with the butter, very soft, and stir in maybe a cup of the sugar, and then maybe ½ the milk and vanilla. Keep adding sugar slowly until it’s all in there and then sparingly add remaining milk, a little at a time. Depending on your altitude and humidity, you may need more or less milk. Be careful when adding either, because you want the end result to be smooth, but quite firm. Why is it that many recipes sound erotic?
Assembly:
Frosting
Jelly beans
Coconut (optional)
Food coloring (optional)
Ribbon (optional)
Aluminum foil
Choose your serving thing and line it with aluminum foil. Decide where the lamb is going to stand up and put some of the frosting there which will hold it in place.
Frost the entire cake using either a spatula, or you can use a decorating bag for all or part of it. You probably want to leave the face with smooth frosting. Some people like to get decorative with the lamb’s body. Do what you want! Frost the head last, so that you have something to hang onto while you work on the rest of the cake. Again, sorry if this sounds erotic.
I personally frost the entire cake smoothly, and then give the lamb, except for its face, a good coating of coconut, patting it gently in place so it’s evenly distributed. Use the entire recipe of frosting, which will allow you to choose where you want to put more or less.
Cut a black or dark-colored jelly bean in half to make the lamb’s eyes, or use some other candy if you like, and pick another color for its nose. Use frosting to secure these in place. Tie a ribbon around its neck or not.
If you’d like grass, dye some of the coconut green and then scatter at the lamb’s base, and toss in a few more jelly beans for a cute effect.
Cover cake loosely with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated.
This is a rich cake, especially if it’s coated with coconut, so slice thinly and let people fight over which part of it they want. My favorite part is the butt, of course!
Perfect!
Up until a few weeks ago, I didn't know when the official date was for Easter, but I noted there was Easter candy in my grocery store for weeks, so I stocked up on jelly beans, and stupid me, didn't buy any Peeps and now they are gone.
A few days ago I thought about how much I like lamb cake and thought maybe I should make one. I won't bake just for myself, but luckily I have some friends that will happily share whatever I come up with. So a few days ago I decided to make one. Below are the pics of everything in progress followed by the recipe that I use, which has served me well for many, many years.
Enjoy!
Batter
Greased pan
Greased and floured pan
Batter in the pan
Closed up pan ready to bake
Cake in the oven
Cake directly out of the oven
Cake while cooling
Frosting!
Ready for assembly
Frosted
Finished!1 lamb cake mold (available at Wilton’s or online, although the one I saw online is gay looking—mine must be vintage!)
Cake:
1 cup butter (salted is fine), softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
2 cups cake flour or sifted all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. Baking powder
¼ tsp. Salt
finely grated rind (the yellow part) of one lemon
Preheat the oven to 350
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. This may be done by hand and does not require an electric mixer. Stir in the lemon rind.
Stir or sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, and add to the batter slowly, mixing until blended.
Grease (I use butter, but I suppose you could use a spray cooking oil) and flour both halves of the cake mold. Be especially careful with the head/ears! Put the halves onto a baking sheet to support the thing while it bakes.
Spoon and then evenly distribute the batter into the side of the pan without the hole in the nose. Be sure to get into the crevices and the head and ears.
Cover the battered half with the top piece of the mold, and put a toothpick into the hole all the way down into the batter so its end does not stick out of the pan. This is to add strength to the thing’s face!
Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes. You can remove the top half of the mold after 50 minutes to check that it’s nicely browned and/or use a cake tester. It should be a light to medium golden brown. Remove from the oven, remove the top and let the cake cool while still in the bottom mold for at least 10 minutes. At that point, carefully invert the cake onto a plate for final cooling, leaving the lamb lying down (you might want to play Genesis ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ for this part). Cool cake thoroughly before beginning final assembly.
Buttercream Frosting:
3 ¾ cup confectioners sugar
½ cup butter (salted is OK to use), softened
3-4 tbsp. Milk or cream
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
I don’t prepare this the way the Domino’s package says, because if you do, you will have powdered sugar everywhere! Rather, I start with the butter, very soft, and stir in maybe a cup of the sugar, and then maybe ½ the milk and vanilla. Keep adding sugar slowly until it’s all in there and then sparingly add remaining milk, a little at a time. Depending on your altitude and humidity, you may need more or less milk. Be careful when adding either, because you want the end result to be smooth, but quite firm. Why is it that many recipes sound erotic?
Assembly:
Frosting
Jelly beans
Coconut (optional)
Food coloring (optional)
Ribbon (optional)
Aluminum foil
Choose your serving thing and line it with aluminum foil. Decide where the lamb is going to stand up and put some of the frosting there which will hold it in place.
Frost the entire cake using either a spatula, or you can use a decorating bag for all or part of it. You probably want to leave the face with smooth frosting. Some people like to get decorative with the lamb’s body. Do what you want! Frost the head last, so that you have something to hang onto while you work on the rest of the cake. Again, sorry if this sounds erotic.
I personally frost the entire cake smoothly, and then give the lamb, except for its face, a good coating of coconut, patting it gently in place so it’s evenly distributed. Use the entire recipe of frosting, which will allow you to choose where you want to put more or less.
Cut a black or dark-colored jelly bean in half to make the lamb’s eyes, or use some other candy if you like, and pick another color for its nose. Use frosting to secure these in place. Tie a ribbon around its neck or not.
If you’d like grass, dye some of the coconut green and then scatter at the lamb’s base, and toss in a few more jelly beans for a cute effect.
Cover cake loosely with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated.
This is a rich cake, especially if it’s coated with coconut, so slice thinly and let people fight over which part of it they want. My favorite part is the butt, of course!
Perfect!
Friday, April 10, 2009
CrossFit Vs. Traditional Endurance Training for Triathlon Success
There's a discussion going on over in the Slowtwitch forum about this, and while I have opinions, I'm not going to voice them over there, but rather here.
So there's this spinoff of CrossFit called CrossFit Endurance. While I do like their pirate-based logo, I cannot say I agree with some of the claims being made here. I am in no way making a statement about the value of CrossFit as an enhancement to an endurance training program. I think I have enough years of fairly serious exercise in me (18 years of strength training and 11 years of endurance training) to make some observations and comments on my little N=1 study.
First, I'll assume anyone reading here has a basic understanding of Exercise Physiology. There are many good books on this covering things down at the cellular level all the way up to the musculoskeletal system. But to frame things, I'll state the "Basic Training Principles" that you'll find in any of those books:
So there's this spinoff of CrossFit called CrossFit Endurance. While I do like their pirate-based logo, I cannot say I agree with some of the claims being made here. I am in no way making a statement about the value of CrossFit as an enhancement to an endurance training program. I think I have enough years of fairly serious exercise in me (18 years of strength training and 11 years of endurance training) to make some observations and comments on my little N=1 study.
First, I'll assume anyone reading here has a basic understanding of Exercise Physiology. There are many good books on this covering things down at the cellular level all the way up to the musculoskeletal system. But to frame things, I'll state the "Basic Training Principles" that you'll find in any of those books:
- Individuality: what works for you might not work for me. This is from a combination of genetics, prior experience, mental focus, etc.
- Specificity: You won't get better at swimming by riding a bike. Seriously! While developing overall cardiovascular fitness is helpful at maintaining overall conditionining, there is no crossover, especially when you are talking about a skill/technique based sport like swimming or tennis.
- Disuse: Use it or lose it!
- Progressive Overload: You need to push yourself, sometimes to the edge and beyond, to create new gains in fitness.
- Hard/Easy: Contrary to what you see on my blog, it is important to cycle workout intensity!
- Periodization: Overall training loads need to be varied within the context of a training/competition cycle.
I always wondered why there wasn't a principle called Change. It is partly encompassed by Periodization and some of the other principles like Hard/Easy, but not fully. Periodization needs to occur within varying length cycles--we usually think of a training "season," but when you are first starting out at a sport like triathlon, you can't jump right in and begin training 750-800 hours a year, which is what I do. So over the course of a few years you'd build up to that level.
But I digress. If a person did the same training plan from one year to the next, where that plan included all the Basic Training Principles, would they get any better/faster? For a few years, yes, because that is what people are talking about when they say "base building" and also consistency (which is just another form of the Disuse principle). The fact that I've been at Ironman training for almost 9 years means that I have a huge base compared to someone who is in their first year. Which means I am able to do crazier shit than many people with smaller bases (or else I am just smarter about it!).
Eventually, though, your body adapts to anything you throw at it, and on a steady diet of same old same old, you will eventually plateau. You've heard the old adage "it doesn't get easier--you just get faster." Like my bike and run training is time-based, so I run for X minutes, bike for Y hours, and how ever much mileage I cover is what I get. This removes things like terrain and weather and fatigue levels from the equation. On a given day, I might run further in X minutes than the prior week.
When I look across my records, I can document that I am running and biking faster than I have in the past. Not by a whole lot, but it's there. At least in training! We will see how it translates to long course racing in a few weeks. It was interesting the other day that I realized the previous time I won the Indoor Triathlon Series was in 2004, but when I won it this year, I am now 5 years older and faster! Isn't that cool?
Anyway, I keep digressing...the biggest thing I've learned in all my years at this is that the body needs, in fact, CRAVES change. I MUST change up my stretching routine, my strength routine, my swim/bike/run routines, my challenge events every single year and sometimes more frequently, if I want to see improvement. Can I document every subtle change I've made? No...I'm not that anal-retentive ;) But I can look across years and know significant changes I've made, including perhaps resting more, sleeping more, stretching more, doing more strength work, doing various focused sport efforts, etc., and see how it has made a difference.
Is what I've done scientifically based? Hell no. It's been motivated by the fact that I like change, we live in a world of change, and I am always looking for new ways to gain an edge not only competitively, but in how strong I feel in my daily life activities, such as they are.
Whenever I am asked how I have come to be in the shape that I am in, I always point to it being a combination of endurance training, strength training, flexibility, diet, massage and mental training.
I know a few people who are serious into the CrossFit thing and others who are just beginning to dabble in it. I have complete respect for anyone's method of achieving overall fitness--whether it's playing basketball, rock climbing or whatever. As an aside, I think that a serious rock climber is probably in overall generally good condition...
I just happen to have chosen triathlon as one of my vehicles. But I have a longer strength background and I keep that up because I know what it does for me. It was just coincidental that I met some CrossFitters and some other friends started dabbling in it, and I thought, hey, it's time for me to change things up a bit, and so I am trying out a few things here and there.
But my core triathlon training is not changing...I will only get stronger on the bike by working hard on the bike. I will only develop the tendon/ligament strength in my legs for running by running. As to my swimming, well, I'd need a one-on-one coach and at least 15,000 yards per week in the pool to see any serious gains there, and the time investment is just not worth it to me, so I'll settle for my 10,000 yards a week that I enjoy doing and keeps me from slowing down too much and helps my recovery from biking and running.
What about the idea that if I significantly decreased my swim/bike/run training and did more CrossFit type stuff that I'd get faster? I think not. First of all, I have a pretty balanced triathlon training program that includes a big dose of intensity amongst all the LSD stuff. And seriously, I rarely do a 100% LSD workout--my long runs and rides have significant work periods in them, and unless I am 100% shelled, I am able to execute those with regularity. Riding a bike hard works my quads hard. Swimming with paddles works my lats, traps and shoulders hard the same as lifting weights. Running hills fast makes my legs stronger. Do my muscles care that the strength they've acquired is from being on a bike vs. doing squats? I think not. I've been playing around with doing a bunch of squats, and while I haven't tried to max out, let's just say I think my quads are fairly strong, and it isn't from doing a bunch of squats!
I do believe it's very important for triathlon specialists to mix it up, even though there's this notion that because we are training 3 sports that we are cross-training. Bunk! Like I said, your body adapts to anything, and there are many unused muscles and even muscle imbalances created if all you do is swim, bike and run.
There is, I believe, an overall strength component to reducing one's level of general fatigue, and the point at which during a long workout, say an Ironman, one reaches it. For example, it's well-known that it's important to maintain upper body strength to be successful at running, because when your upper body tires, your form can fall completely apart. Ultrarunners in particular need good overall strength since most of their events are quite challenging in terms of terrain, much more so than a silly Ironman!
You also need a helluva strong core to stay on a bike, especially in an aero position, for long periods of time. I want to take one of my CrossFit friends with me on a 120-mile bike ride! Now maybe I can't do 20 repetitions of climbing 100's of stairs with kettlebells, but I'm not training to do that. If I wanted to, though, I could. And yet, I don't feel lacking in my overall general strength, at least not for the life I lead. I think I'm plenty strong, thank you. Although I suppose that if I get trapped in a collapsing building I might be in some trouble...
I do believe that no matter what your chosen sport or physical application that you need to mix it up frequently during the course of a training cycle but also across years. Change is inevitable. If a person is responding in their target sport by changing up their routine to something that favors more CrossFit-type workouts, who can say it's because it's CrossFit and maybe they would get the same results by taking up rock climbing?
It's good to experiment with different exercise modalities for overall health and strength, and also to prevent mental burnout in a given sport. But if you want to be really good at a particular sport, you gotta do that sport. I mostly want to be good at riding a bike and have fun doing it. For some reason, I like triathlon because it introduces some variety by adding in swimming and running. I come from a strength training background, so I keep doing that, too. I've experimented with various types of circuit training, have taught classes in it, have trained for and competed well at stair climbs, volleyball and softball. I may have put some of those things aside for my current tenure at triathlon, but I have never forgotten that I need to keep changing things up. It may not always be evident from this blog, but it's there. So what if I'm a little heavy on the endurance stuff vs. pure strength/functional conditioning? To each their own. My current objective, though, is not to be good or competitive at CrossFit stuff. If that is what I wanted, that is what I'd be doing. I will not apologize to CrossFitters for the way I do things, and I will not belittle what they do. It's all good!
Get out there and exercise, and if you want to compete, good, if you want to just look good and feel good, also good, but don't forget to change things up!
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Another 4-Peat Today
I don't even know how I am doing this...
5:55AM I am at the Y, and I do 10' of chinups, pushups and abs--15/60/120.
6:10AM I am on the treadmill, and I stay there for 1:39 and then head to the track for the last 11' which were supposed to be Z2, but I figured, what the fuck, run how I feel. I felt great, and it felt easy, and I was running tempo. Go figure!
8:30AM I am in the pool, which is still nice and cool for the 4th time this week, and I knock out an easy 1,000 yard cool down swim. The lag time in between running and swimming is yak time--I ran into a few friends.
2:15PM I finished up my strength training for the week (at home), and it only took 22'.
I am at 9.12 hours of training (not counting the extra crap) for Monday-Thursday. Tomorrow will be about 2 hours, and the weekend stuff will be the same as last week. I might go over 18 hours this week, and despite a few blips in the system, I feel pretty damn good.
Rock solid!
5:55AM I am at the Y, and I do 10' of chinups, pushups and abs--15/60/120.
6:10AM I am on the treadmill, and I stay there for 1:39 and then head to the track for the last 11' which were supposed to be Z2, but I figured, what the fuck, run how I feel. I felt great, and it felt easy, and I was running tempo. Go figure!
8:30AM I am in the pool, which is still nice and cool for the 4th time this week, and I knock out an easy 1,000 yard cool down swim. The lag time in between running and swimming is yak time--I ran into a few friends.
2:15PM I finished up my strength training for the week (at home), and it only took 22'.
I am at 9.12 hours of training (not counting the extra crap) for Monday-Thursday. Tomorrow will be about 2 hours, and the weekend stuff will be the same as last week. I might go over 18 hours this week, and despite a few blips in the system, I feel pretty damn good.
Rock solid!
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Four Workouts in a Day--When 2 or 3 Just Isn't Enough
So I'm pretty used to 2 workouts per day. Right now, I am biking 3 times, running 5 times, and swimming 4 times per week. Soon enough I will add a 6th run. My weekly pattern for this is:
Monday: AM swim, PM (mid-day usually) run
Tuesday: Quality bike and brick run
Wednesday: AM swim, PM tempo run
Thursday: Long run, optional (if time) recovery swim
Friday: AM swim, PM run
Saturday: Long bike #1, brick run, recovery swim if time/energy
Sunday: Long bike #2
Saturdays and Sundays will get switched often depending on whether there are available group rides going on (usually Sundays) and I want to ride longer than is on my plan. I can always ride more; it may not be extra hard stuff, but TITS (time in the saddle) is paramount!
On top of this, I have to somehow fit in strength training. Yes, I HAVE to. It is part of what keeps me sound so that I can do so much of the other stuff. I am lucky that I can fit it in here and there because I have all the weights and such at home, in my office. So there's no excuse for me to not do it, and I can get in 10' here, etc.
On top of this, I have escalated this other stuff I've been doing since late February when I decided I needed to lose some weight. I started out with rather modest daily goals (20 pushups, 5 chinups, 50 crunches and 5' of jump rope), but the stuff just got easier, so what was I to do but up the ante?
In the midst of this, I did a few races, won them and started to feel really strong, and my training volume has really picked up. I always ask myself can I do more, and I guess I can! But now with where my training volume is, the optional "other stuff" which I fondly call crap is going to become completely optional. Especially in June when the outdoor pool opens and ride my bike to and from it, not only for the extra bike mileage, but also it's a good thing to do for the environment and saves me some money.
I will always execute my core S/B/R and strength training, and then whatever extra stuff I do will be gravy. When the baseline is 17+ hours, I don't really need to do any more, do I?
Today was a good day, though. I hadn't done any extra stuff since Sunday and felt like I should go ahead and get some in. I was up early enough anyway.
So before I swam, I did 30 or 40 chinups on the assisted station so I could play around with different grips, and then I did 3 rounds of 15 hanging leg raises, 20 pushups, 5 dead bugs 10" hold, 10 regular crunches and 10 bicycle crunches. I yakked with a friend I ran into for a few minutes, then I went and jumped rope for 5' alternating 30" easy jumps with 30" of hard, continuous jumps on one of the wooden basketball courts, because they are nice and cushy.
Right after this I went and swam 3100 yards this workout:
Warmup: 400s, 200kick
Main Set: 8x50 25 rt/lt, 25 build 20"RI
1' bonus rest
1x500 @T-pace+6" 15"RI
2x250 @T-pace+2" 15"RI
1x500 @T-pace+5" 15"RI
5x100 @T-pace 15"RI
cd:100
I didn't do it exactly as prescribed, but I kept up a good intensity and I used the paddles for 1500 of the main set. The pool was nice and cool and I had a parade of characters sharing my lane with me. A friend who is an awesome swimmer was in the adjacent lane, but we didn't get much chat time, which was fine.
At noon I had a meeting scheduled which was me listening in and watching a presentation. I thought, huh, I can do some strength training while this rolls, so I got in about 20' of solid work, chest, back, tris and a few bis and delts.
I thought the meeting would go longer than it did, but surprise, it finished in 40', so I figured I better go and run so I could eat lunch finally! I went and ran the same route I did last Wednesday, only today it felt easier, so I suppose my heartrate was down from last week. At least the hills didn't feel bad at all. Same time as last week, though, which isn't bad considering I really rode pretty yesterday (1:45 for TSS of 127).
So it wasn't 4 BIG workouts, but it was still 4, and now I'm going to get a massage. Well needed, I might add, because I missed out on one last week.
Things will keep changing and I'll keep mixing it up, but bottom line is now I'm signed up for 18+ hours of training per week between now and Triple T, and then well, I'll just keep going at that rate through IMLP. After that, I'm not entirely sure!
But I need to stay healthy and no more dieting or silliness like that. In fact, I've put Twinkies onto my grocery list this week, and it's only a matter of time before Cheetos make an appearance in my house. All good!
Monday: AM swim, PM (mid-day usually) run
Tuesday: Quality bike and brick run
Wednesday: AM swim, PM tempo run
Thursday: Long run, optional (if time) recovery swim
Friday: AM swim, PM run
Saturday: Long bike #1, brick run, recovery swim if time/energy
Sunday: Long bike #2
Saturdays and Sundays will get switched often depending on whether there are available group rides going on (usually Sundays) and I want to ride longer than is on my plan. I can always ride more; it may not be extra hard stuff, but TITS (time in the saddle) is paramount!
On top of this, I have to somehow fit in strength training. Yes, I HAVE to. It is part of what keeps me sound so that I can do so much of the other stuff. I am lucky that I can fit it in here and there because I have all the weights and such at home, in my office. So there's no excuse for me to not do it, and I can get in 10' here, etc.
On top of this, I have escalated this other stuff I've been doing since late February when I decided I needed to lose some weight. I started out with rather modest daily goals (20 pushups, 5 chinups, 50 crunches and 5' of jump rope), but the stuff just got easier, so what was I to do but up the ante?
In the midst of this, I did a few races, won them and started to feel really strong, and my training volume has really picked up. I always ask myself can I do more, and I guess I can! But now with where my training volume is, the optional "other stuff" which I fondly call crap is going to become completely optional. Especially in June when the outdoor pool opens and ride my bike to and from it, not only for the extra bike mileage, but also it's a good thing to do for the environment and saves me some money.
I will always execute my core S/B/R and strength training, and then whatever extra stuff I do will be gravy. When the baseline is 17+ hours, I don't really need to do any more, do I?
Today was a good day, though. I hadn't done any extra stuff since Sunday and felt like I should go ahead and get some in. I was up early enough anyway.
So before I swam, I did 30 or 40 chinups on the assisted station so I could play around with different grips, and then I did 3 rounds of 15 hanging leg raises, 20 pushups, 5 dead bugs 10" hold, 10 regular crunches and 10 bicycle crunches. I yakked with a friend I ran into for a few minutes, then I went and jumped rope for 5' alternating 30" easy jumps with 30" of hard, continuous jumps on one of the wooden basketball courts, because they are nice and cushy.
Right after this I went and swam 3100 yards this workout:
Warmup: 400s, 200kick
Main Set: 8x50 25 rt/lt, 25 build 20"RI
1' bonus rest
1x500 @T-pace+6" 15"RI
2x250 @T-pace+2" 15"RI
1x500 @T-pace+5" 15"RI
5x100 @T-pace 15"RI
cd:100
I didn't do it exactly as prescribed, but I kept up a good intensity and I used the paddles for 1500 of the main set. The pool was nice and cool and I had a parade of characters sharing my lane with me. A friend who is an awesome swimmer was in the adjacent lane, but we didn't get much chat time, which was fine.
At noon I had a meeting scheduled which was me listening in and watching a presentation. I thought, huh, I can do some strength training while this rolls, so I got in about 20' of solid work, chest, back, tris and a few bis and delts.
I thought the meeting would go longer than it did, but surprise, it finished in 40', so I figured I better go and run so I could eat lunch finally! I went and ran the same route I did last Wednesday, only today it felt easier, so I suppose my heartrate was down from last week. At least the hills didn't feel bad at all. Same time as last week, though, which isn't bad considering I really rode pretty yesterday (1:45 for TSS of 127).
So it wasn't 4 BIG workouts, but it was still 4, and now I'm going to get a massage. Well needed, I might add, because I missed out on one last week.
Things will keep changing and I'll keep mixing it up, but bottom line is now I'm signed up for 18+ hours of training per week between now and Triple T, and then well, I'll just keep going at that rate through IMLP. After that, I'm not entirely sure!
But I need to stay healthy and no more dieting or silliness like that. In fact, I've put Twinkies onto my grocery list this week, and it's only a matter of time before Cheetos make an appearance in my house. All good!
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Pain
So I'm getting to the core of some things that are weighing heavily on my psyche today, and despite having slept OK, feel the crush of the grief headache. At one point, I thought I'd practice a little actual meditation, which I like to do lying down, so I got in bed, put earplugs in, a sleep mask on, and focused on my breathing. I'm not exactly sure how much time I spent there, but my little getaway worked wonders, and I went back to work somewhat renewed and more peaceful.
And yet I could tell my body has been taking it up the butt, so to speak, as I've been punishing myself as dictated by my self-imposed training schedule, but also piling extra stuff on just because I want to see if I will crack.
Yesterday morning I swam 2900 yards and then ran for :50 before I started work. My poor little arms were sore from the Sunday morning stuff, and I thought my legs would be a little toasty, too. But I actually swam OK and the run felt, well good. What the hell???
Early this morning, what with the headache and all, I figured I'd at least do some strength training before starting work, since I can almost always do that no matter how tired I am because it's not cardiovascular, and I've been lifting far longer than endurance training. So I got to it about 6:45AM and ended up doing :38 of mostly abs/core and a few other things because I felt like it. My abs are pretty strong and no worse for how ever many extra crunches I do--I could do hundreds a day if I just got down and did them!
As usual, I figured I wouldn't be too useful on the bike, but with some Coke (it's the real thing!) to motivate me, I knocked out one of my best workouts this season. While I was hurting myself on the trainer, I got in some real deep-think time and had some revelations which I will share another time.
As much as I am looking forward to all outdoor riding, I have to say there is something inherently special about being on the trainer. Unlike swimming, where that damn wall keeps coming at you, or running or biking outdoors where you need to pay attention to stuff around you, biking on the trainer allows me to focus on just me and the pain. There is nothing else!
I get to choose how much pain to inflict on myself. It's like the opposite of a pain medication button in a hospital. Please, nurse, I'll take the pain! More pain, please! How can you be bored when you are in pain? This is not to say I won't inflict pain on myself outdoors--I will--which is why I like riding in the controlled environment of Fermilab where there isn't as much distractions as open road--it's just me, a few roads with almost no traffic, a couple of turns, and open sky. I laugh every time someone asks me, "How can you stand riding laps around Fermilab?" Because whoever asks me that question has just told me a lot about him/herself--unable to focus deeply on the pain. I do the work because the work needs to get done, knowing that there will be plenty of opportunities to look at nice stuff. It's all about pain, baby.
Physical pain is nothing compared to psychic pain. Physical pain can make you better able to withstand the psychic variety. I hurt myself and then maybe I don't want to hurt someone else. Sometimes I want others to be in as much pain, but that's usually the psychic variety. Real, true physical pain is something I prefer to claim for myself.
It is such a luxury to be able to choose pain when you want it, isn't it?
I wish I could find a video for Vanessa Daou 'A Little Bit of Pain,' but I can't. Listen to the song sometime.
And yet I could tell my body has been taking it up the butt, so to speak, as I've been punishing myself as dictated by my self-imposed training schedule, but also piling extra stuff on just because I want to see if I will crack.
Yesterday morning I swam 2900 yards and then ran for :50 before I started work. My poor little arms were sore from the Sunday morning stuff, and I thought my legs would be a little toasty, too. But I actually swam OK and the run felt, well good. What the hell???
Early this morning, what with the headache and all, I figured I'd at least do some strength training before starting work, since I can almost always do that no matter how tired I am because it's not cardiovascular, and I've been lifting far longer than endurance training. So I got to it about 6:45AM and ended up doing :38 of mostly abs/core and a few other things because I felt like it. My abs are pretty strong and no worse for how ever many extra crunches I do--I could do hundreds a day if I just got down and did them!
As usual, I figured I wouldn't be too useful on the bike, but with some Coke (it's the real thing!) to motivate me, I knocked out one of my best workouts this season. While I was hurting myself on the trainer, I got in some real deep-think time and had some revelations which I will share another time.
As much as I am looking forward to all outdoor riding, I have to say there is something inherently special about being on the trainer. Unlike swimming, where that damn wall keeps coming at you, or running or biking outdoors where you need to pay attention to stuff around you, biking on the trainer allows me to focus on just me and the pain. There is nothing else!
I get to choose how much pain to inflict on myself. It's like the opposite of a pain medication button in a hospital. Please, nurse, I'll take the pain! More pain, please! How can you be bored when you are in pain? This is not to say I won't inflict pain on myself outdoors--I will--which is why I like riding in the controlled environment of Fermilab where there isn't as much distractions as open road--it's just me, a few roads with almost no traffic, a couple of turns, and open sky. I laugh every time someone asks me, "How can you stand riding laps around Fermilab?" Because whoever asks me that question has just told me a lot about him/herself--unable to focus deeply on the pain. I do the work because the work needs to get done, knowing that there will be plenty of opportunities to look at nice stuff. It's all about pain, baby.
Physical pain is nothing compared to psychic pain. Physical pain can make you better able to withstand the psychic variety. I hurt myself and then maybe I don't want to hurt someone else. Sometimes I want others to be in as much pain, but that's usually the psychic variety. Real, true physical pain is something I prefer to claim for myself.
It is such a luxury to be able to choose pain when you want it, isn't it?
I wish I could find a video for Vanessa Daou 'A Little Bit of Pain,' but I can't. Listen to the song sometime.
Broken
You know how sometimes you want something to come to a conclusion, but then you don't? Like when you are training really hard for a race, and then you hit your taper and you feel like shit, and for me, part of that feeling is that I really enjoyed the training and didn't have to think about the race itself which is the real test, even though the whole reason for the training in the first place was to bring it to an end and do a race.
I've been a jumble of emotions as I've been training hard (and well, it would seem), and I'm coming up on the 2-year anniversary of my Mom's death, and now it looks as if I'll be able to close Dad's estate within a month if I can get my shit together.
I thought I'd processed most of the grief associated with Dad's death, but being Executor, I guess you never really get to "finish" until the Estate is all done and closed. And so here I am on the cusp of that--something that I should really be looking forward to, and all it is doing is making me feel this mix of stuff that is hard to describe. Like what happens when this is finished? Do I all of a sudden become happy? Do I lose any excuse to underperform, to be less than a good person?
It feels like Dad isn't really gone, but now I know he will be, and I am so sick of endings, and I know I can feel all of this right in my actual physical heart, because I've had that sensation too often lately. Actual heartache! Back in 1994 when I broke my right arm, Dad wrote on my cast, "You are broken."
Who sees this in me, who understands, who wants to know? How can someone know how this feels to me, when it appears to be so contrary to my typical projection? Oh yeah, that's right--I have no fucking emotions--I am here to be shallow and narcissistic and self-absorbed and driven and competitive and successful. That stuff is but a shadow of who I am. But I'll put on the smiley face, try and give of myself to others, because God knows, I can't possibly have any problems, can I?
Fuck, sometimes I think I feel too deeply, care too much, want so much for everyone around me to be happy. I feel that I must set the example, show how it's done or at least put on the show. It's a good one, isn't it?
7 weeks until my next big test. And holy fucking crap, it's going to be a good one. I have never felt so strong physically. And that is what will get me through the next 7 weeks.
I've been a jumble of emotions as I've been training hard (and well, it would seem), and I'm coming up on the 2-year anniversary of my Mom's death, and now it looks as if I'll be able to close Dad's estate within a month if I can get my shit together.
I thought I'd processed most of the grief associated with Dad's death, but being Executor, I guess you never really get to "finish" until the Estate is all done and closed. And so here I am on the cusp of that--something that I should really be looking forward to, and all it is doing is making me feel this mix of stuff that is hard to describe. Like what happens when this is finished? Do I all of a sudden become happy? Do I lose any excuse to underperform, to be less than a good person?
It feels like Dad isn't really gone, but now I know he will be, and I am so sick of endings, and I know I can feel all of this right in my actual physical heart, because I've had that sensation too often lately. Actual heartache! Back in 1994 when I broke my right arm, Dad wrote on my cast, "You are broken."
Who sees this in me, who understands, who wants to know? How can someone know how this feels to me, when it appears to be so contrary to my typical projection? Oh yeah, that's right--I have no fucking emotions--I am here to be shallow and narcissistic and self-absorbed and driven and competitive and successful. That stuff is but a shadow of who I am. But I'll put on the smiley face, try and give of myself to others, because God knows, I can't possibly have any problems, can I?
Fuck, sometimes I think I feel too deeply, care too much, want so much for everyone around me to be happy. I feel that I must set the example, show how it's done or at least put on the show. It's a good one, isn't it?
7 weeks until my next big test. And holy fucking crap, it's going to be a good one. I have never felt so strong physically. And that is what will get me through the next 7 weeks.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Weekly Workout Totals 03/30/2009-04/05/2009 and Got it All Done Today
So I did the crossfit-type thing (see previous post), and then I did my 2:15 trainer workout which was this:
WU: 20' Easy, 40' Steady (80-85%), 5' easy
MS: 1 x 20' at FT, 5' easy
20' Steady (80-85%),
1 x 20' 88-93%
CD: 5' easy
Motherfucker my legs were trashed when I got to the last 20' interval at 88%. But the rest went pretty much ok ;) Not bad for having done a decent amount (150) of squats beforehand. Am I fit? I think so. Also when I got to that last interval, my body was screaming for additional carbs, even though I'd had a can of Coke and about 20 oz. of Gatorade. Usually that's plenty for a short-ish ride like this, but I did the shit beforehand so I needed more. Here are the stats for the ride:
Time: 2:15
kcal: 1332
TSS: 151
NP: 163 (IF=.795)
Distance: 44 miles
Pace: 19.6MPH
And when I finished, I suited up to swim and headed to the Y and swam 1500 yards--pretty easy stuff, but I almost did 2000 yards but stopped myself figuring I had done enough.
I got no stinking massage this week and really need one! I also need some decent fucking weather...I need to get in some outdoor riding, and I'm just not doing it if it's below 55 at this point. Although I can't complain--I've been racking up some pretty good TSS on the trainer, and that should make outdoor riding feel like a piece of cake.
OK so here it is--another big week as I continue my march towards Triple T. I included this morning's chinup/pushup/squat festival in the totals, but I actually did an additional .88 hours of crap which would bring me to a total of 18.5 hours for the week! No, I don't know where I find the time except I can tell you that I rarely watch any TV.
WU: 20' Easy, 40' Steady (80-85%), 5' easy
MS: 1 x 20' at FT, 5' easy
20' Steady (80-85%),
1 x 20' 88-93%
CD: 5' easy
Motherfucker my legs were trashed when I got to the last 20' interval at 88%. But the rest went pretty much ok ;) Not bad for having done a decent amount (150) of squats beforehand. Am I fit? I think so. Also when I got to that last interval, my body was screaming for additional carbs, even though I'd had a can of Coke and about 20 oz. of Gatorade. Usually that's plenty for a short-ish ride like this, but I did the shit beforehand so I needed more. Here are the stats for the ride:
Time: 2:15
kcal: 1332
TSS: 151
NP: 163 (IF=.795)
Distance: 44 miles
Pace: 19.6MPH
And when I finished, I suited up to swim and headed to the Y and swam 1500 yards--pretty easy stuff, but I almost did 2000 yards but stopped myself figuring I had done enough.
I got no stinking massage this week and really need one! I also need some decent fucking weather...I need to get in some outdoor riding, and I'm just not doing it if it's below 55 at this point. Although I can't complain--I've been racking up some pretty good TSS on the trainer, and that should make outdoor riding feel like a piece of cake.
OK so here it is--another big week as I continue my march towards Triple T. I included this morning's chinup/pushup/squat festival in the totals, but I actually did an additional .88 hours of crap which would bring me to a total of 18.5 hours for the week! No, I don't know where I find the time except I can tell you that I rarely watch any TV.
| Weekly Workout Totals | 03/30/2009-04/05/2009 This week's totals are sponsored by seeing just how much I can take. I should take more. |
| Swim: | 10700 yards (6.07 miles) in 3.88 hours; 22% of weekly workout time; approx. 1359 calories burned Canadian: 9784.08 meters |
| Bike: | Approx. 131.9 miles in 6.85 hours; 39% of weekly workout time; approx. 4039 calories burned; Total TSS=461 Canadian: 212.27 kilometers |
| Run: | Approx. 34.65 miles in 5.19 hours; 29% of weekly workout time; approx. 2343 calories burned Canadian: 55.76 kilometers |
| Strength: | 1.72 hours; 10% of weekly workout time; approx. 430 calories burned |
| All Sports: | Approx. 172.62 miles in 17.64 hours; approx. 8171 calories burned Canadian: 277.8 kilometers |
| Sleep: | 8.07 hours avg./night |
| Stretching: | 2.88 hours. Massage: 0 hours |
Oops! I Did it Again!
Watch/listen while you read and stare:
So I woke up this morning feeling appropriately tired from yesterday's festival, including a little "fatigue headache," which is something that comes with the territory when I'm training this much. I had some breakfast, did some Intertubes, changed my bed and fired up some laundry. After I went outside (in crappy ass weather) to grab the Sunday newspaper, I brought in a new acquisition that inspired me to go ahead and do this little workout:
10 rounds of:
FUCKING A!
I had company for the workout, and here she is:
This is before we started.
She had to have some help with the chinups, so I strapped her onto the bar!
Her Dead Bug technique isn't as good as mine.
Her air squats left something to be desired, too.
I can't believe she could do pushups on her fingertips--I can't, so I guess I suck!
Nothing felt bad during the workout until I was on the 8th round, and then it was just the chinups that got a bit rough for me, so that's my weak spot in this. Although I am not back at the point where I can do the clapping pushups, either, which I used to be able to do, but I guess that's just something I need to practice.
Here I am (all narcissistic and all, and no I did not wear that cheetah top while doing the workout--I was, in fact, topless!) after finishing up:
Crap my back still looks undeveloped.
It would appear that chinups and pushups are good for my upper body
Me and my workout partner. And NO we're not gay!
I've had this jump rope for over 10 years. It has served me well, and I'm glad to be using it again!
If I look a little tired here, it's because I am. I was a little light-headed, but nothing that some Gatorade and a hard-boiled egg couldn't fix.
Now it will be interesting to see if I can knock out a 2:15 trainer ride and :20-:30 swim. I predict a nap in my future!
So I woke up this morning feeling appropriately tired from yesterday's festival, including a little "fatigue headache," which is something that comes with the territory when I'm training this much. I had some breakfast, did some Intertubes, changed my bed and fired up some laundry. After I went outside (in crappy ass weather) to grab the Sunday newspaper, I brought in a new acquisition that inspired me to go ahead and do this little workout:
10 rounds of:
- 10 chinups
- 15 air squats
- 15 military pushups
- 5 dead bugs each side of body, extended arm and leg about 1" from ground; hold 10 seconds
- 10 1-2-3-4's, which are standard crunches where you lift your torso progressively 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and all the way up slowly and then back down the same way
FUCKING A!
I had company for the workout, and here she is:
This is before we started. 
She had to have some help with the chinups, so I strapped her onto the bar!
Her Dead Bug technique isn't as good as mine.
Her air squats left something to be desired, too.
I can't believe she could do pushups on her fingertips--I can't, so I guess I suck!Nothing felt bad during the workout until I was on the 8th round, and then it was just the chinups that got a bit rough for me, so that's my weak spot in this. Although I am not back at the point where I can do the clapping pushups, either, which I used to be able to do, but I guess that's just something I need to practice.
Here I am (all narcissistic and all, and no I did not wear that cheetah top while doing the workout--I was, in fact, topless!) after finishing up:
Crap my back still looks undeveloped.
It would appear that chinups and pushups are good for my upper body
Me and my workout partner. And NO we're not gay!
I've had this jump rope for over 10 years. It has served me well, and I'm glad to be using it again!
If I look a little tired here, it's because I am. I was a little light-headed, but nothing that some Gatorade and a hard-boiled egg couldn't fix.Now it will be interesting to see if I can knock out a 2:15 trainer ride and :20-:30 swim. I predict a nap in my future!
Saturday, April 04, 2009
The Unbearable Lightness of Being or You Never Know Unless You Try
Big Brick Workout executed! I felt tired (fatigued and emotionally drained) when I started, my legs hurt during the bike workout, but I felt great on the run and even ran a little longer than I needed to.
The bike workout hurt, and then it hurt some more, and then it hurt a real lot like this:
Warmup: 40' @ 65-70%
Main Set: 60' @ 80-85%, 5' @ 65-70%,
40' @ 88-90%, 10' @ 65-70%,
20' @ FT (95-100%)
Cooldown: 6' easy
Stats for the ride (done on the trainer):
Time: 3:01
kcal: 1801
TSS: 205
NP: 166 (my FT on LGL is 205, so that's IF=.81)
Distance: 58.5 miles
Pace: 19.4MPH
Not bad, considering there was 51' of pretty easy in there. I took about 5' to change into dry clothes to run in and headed out into a temp of about 47, wearing shorts and a short sleeved technical top only. I was pretty cool at first, especially running into the NE breeze, but it was pretty ideal running temperature actually. As is usually the case in these runs after 3+ hour rides, I felt like I was moving in slow motion, especially since I have to climb a 1/4 mile hill right from my house. It's not very steep, but it ain't flat, but I don't really mind it because it means I get to zoom down it on my way back in.
I couldn't believe how good my legs felt running considering how crappy I felt when I woke up and how I really had to push myself on the bike (that was my best power output and mileage in a 3-hour trainer ride so far this year) and considering that I'd already run close to 30 miles (I ran Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) for the week. I figured it was just a matter of time before I experienced brick suck, but it never happened. In fact, as I kept going, I felt better and better. Some of it, no doubt, was due to my HARDEN THE FUCK UP bracelet that I have begun wearing for key workouts like my long run on Thursday and then today again. But I even managed to crack a smile despite my mental anguish because how can you not feel good when a run like this feels good? I know that dropping those few pounds really helped, bright sunshine helped, good nutrition on the bike helped, and then I guess maybe I'm becoming pretty fit again? I thought today that maybe I'm even ready for a decent 1/2 Ironman, which is good since Triple T is in only 7 weeks. My average run pace was 8:45 for 4.8 miles, which would be an awesome 1/2 Ironman run pace for me, but the reality is that I should be able to ride harder and faster and still pull off that pace, so I have a few weeks more to achieve that sort of fitness, and I'm pretty optimistic that it is going to come to me. All I need is a few weeks of 4+ hour rides and 2-hour long runs and I will be good to go.
I'm really excited that in 4 weeks I have a big week of biking planned (200+ miles) and the week after that a big week of running (about 45 miles). If I can stay on top of my training until then and then execute those 2 weeks, I'll be ready for...well I'll be ready for an Ironman, won't I?
Right now I'm wearing my compression tights, and basking in the afterglow of a pretty fucking good workout, and next I'm going to have a beer, lay down for just a few minutes, and then head off to see my nephew in a play. After that, it's off my feet and we'll see if I can get up and do it again tomorrow! Tomorrow's plan includes a 30-minute Crossfit-type blast (if I feel up to it--this is optional), a 2:15 trainer ride (yes on the trainer the weather is going to be shitty), and a 20-30' recovery swim.
I may return to my stressed-out-edness later today, but for now, life is good. This is why I do this.
The bike workout hurt, and then it hurt some more, and then it hurt a real lot like this:
Warmup: 40' @ 65-70%
Main Set: 60' @ 80-85%, 5' @ 65-70%,
40' @ 88-90%, 10' @ 65-70%,
20' @ FT (95-100%)
Cooldown: 6' easy
Stats for the ride (done on the trainer):
Time: 3:01
kcal: 1801
TSS: 205
NP: 166 (my FT on LGL is 205, so that's IF=.81)
Distance: 58.5 miles
Pace: 19.4MPH
Not bad, considering there was 51' of pretty easy in there. I took about 5' to change into dry clothes to run in and headed out into a temp of about 47, wearing shorts and a short sleeved technical top only. I was pretty cool at first, especially running into the NE breeze, but it was pretty ideal running temperature actually. As is usually the case in these runs after 3+ hour rides, I felt like I was moving in slow motion, especially since I have to climb a 1/4 mile hill right from my house. It's not very steep, but it ain't flat, but I don't really mind it because it means I get to zoom down it on my way back in.
I couldn't believe how good my legs felt running considering how crappy I felt when I woke up and how I really had to push myself on the bike (that was my best power output and mileage in a 3-hour trainer ride so far this year) and considering that I'd already run close to 30 miles (I ran Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) for the week. I figured it was just a matter of time before I experienced brick suck, but it never happened. In fact, as I kept going, I felt better and better. Some of it, no doubt, was due to my HARDEN THE FUCK UP bracelet that I have begun wearing for key workouts like my long run on Thursday and then today again. But I even managed to crack a smile despite my mental anguish because how can you not feel good when a run like this feels good? I know that dropping those few pounds really helped, bright sunshine helped, good nutrition on the bike helped, and then I guess maybe I'm becoming pretty fit again? I thought today that maybe I'm even ready for a decent 1/2 Ironman, which is good since Triple T is in only 7 weeks. My average run pace was 8:45 for 4.8 miles, which would be an awesome 1/2 Ironman run pace for me, but the reality is that I should be able to ride harder and faster and still pull off that pace, so I have a few weeks more to achieve that sort of fitness, and I'm pretty optimistic that it is going to come to me. All I need is a few weeks of 4+ hour rides and 2-hour long runs and I will be good to go.
I'm really excited that in 4 weeks I have a big week of biking planned (200+ miles) and the week after that a big week of running (about 45 miles). If I can stay on top of my training until then and then execute those 2 weeks, I'll be ready for...well I'll be ready for an Ironman, won't I?
Right now I'm wearing my compression tights, and basking in the afterglow of a pretty fucking good workout, and next I'm going to have a beer, lay down for just a few minutes, and then head off to see my nephew in a play. After that, it's off my feet and we'll see if I can get up and do it again tomorrow! Tomorrow's plan includes a 30-minute Crossfit-type blast (if I feel up to it--this is optional), a 2:15 trainer ride (yes on the trainer the weather is going to be shitty), and a 20-30' recovery swim.
I may return to my stressed-out-edness later today, but for now, life is good. This is why I do this.
Reality
What is reality? Is what we perceive about ourselves real? Are we our perceptions? We are not supposed to be, but yet we must live in a world of perceptions. Perceptions can add valuable input to where we are on the spectrum of self-knowledge and nirvana.
Fuck, would I love to be able to feel not subject to perceptions, to not have to do but just to be. One of the reasons I train so much is that in a perverted way, the harder I push, the more pain I put myself in, the closer I think I am getting to that essence of myself--that place where I am not what I do, what I see, what I feel--I just am.
What does it mean to use something so inherently perception, feeling (physical and emotional) and physically based to try and move to that state? It is just my choice. Others might use drugs (which I wish I had right now!), an immersion in all things family, career or some other hobby, or meditation. Or nothing.
No matter how bad I may feel on any given day, I'd rather have something that I can hold onto that makes me feel alive, like there is something to me other than going through the motions of being a human member of society.
And so right at this moment, I can perceive that I went to sleep exhausted. I awoke after a good amount of sleep feeling exhausted. Some of my muscles may even be sore. I wonder how I made it through the last week with all the things I was asked to do for not myself that were eating me alive. I wonder if any of my close friends really know what's going on inside my head, and I wonder if they care. I'm not easy to know. I need to be pulled out of myself as my energy source is deep inside me. Every once in awhile I meet someone who takes that chance with me, who is unafraid to go into that core of me, and it's a real joy. It's well protected in there but also very fragile like a thing made out of glass. Glass protected by steel. I can feel when the steel is deforming--when it is developing vulnerabilities. I worry about the glass breaking and fixing the outer core.
I will train today because maybe, just maybe, it will reinforce me. I will either emerge from it stronger or weaker. I have to take that chance on stronger. Every day is taking a chance at stronger, even as I willfully weaken myself temporarily, or for what I hope is temporarily. Tomorrow I will know.
Fuck, would I love to be able to feel not subject to perceptions, to not have to do but just to be. One of the reasons I train so much is that in a perverted way, the harder I push, the more pain I put myself in, the closer I think I am getting to that essence of myself--that place where I am not what I do, what I see, what I feel--I just am.
What does it mean to use something so inherently perception, feeling (physical and emotional) and physically based to try and move to that state? It is just my choice. Others might use drugs (which I wish I had right now!), an immersion in all things family, career or some other hobby, or meditation. Or nothing.
No matter how bad I may feel on any given day, I'd rather have something that I can hold onto that makes me feel alive, like there is something to me other than going through the motions of being a human member of society.
And so right at this moment, I can perceive that I went to sleep exhausted. I awoke after a good amount of sleep feeling exhausted. Some of my muscles may even be sore. I wonder how I made it through the last week with all the things I was asked to do for not myself that were eating me alive. I wonder if any of my close friends really know what's going on inside my head, and I wonder if they care. I'm not easy to know. I need to be pulled out of myself as my energy source is deep inside me. Every once in awhile I meet someone who takes that chance with me, who is unafraid to go into that core of me, and it's a real joy. It's well protected in there but also very fragile like a thing made out of glass. Glass protected by steel. I can feel when the steel is deforming--when it is developing vulnerabilities. I worry about the glass breaking and fixing the outer core.
I will train today because maybe, just maybe, it will reinforce me. I will either emerge from it stronger or weaker. I have to take that chance on stronger. Every day is taking a chance at stronger, even as I willfully weaken myself temporarily, or for what I hope is temporarily. Tomorrow I will know.
Friday, April 03, 2009
How Am I Doing?
My version of stress overload is that I am always asking myself questions, because my self-confidence is taking a hit:
- Am I doing OK at my job? I think so...at least one person tells me so.
- Am I doing OK at my training? Too much? I probably should take a rest day, but I'm not.
- Am I checking in with my friends? Do they know I care even though I'm stressed? I am trying, REALLY trying. How I feel is no excuse not to be caring towards them.
- Am I doing all the things I'm being asked to do all of a sudden as Executor? Man, it's been a rough few weeks on that front. But it's getting to be that time again--the 2-year anniversary of Mom's death is approaching, and I still feel like things aren't closed on that front. Mom's memory reminds me every day to try and stay healthy. She'd probably say I'm too skinny right now. I want to get Dad's estate closed, but this ending process is freaking me out. It's been a long time, and I've carried this with me, and maybe it shouldn't feel so stressful, but it does.
- Am I cultivating my family? I'm trying. I never feel like I"m doing good enough on that front. I get some quality time this weekend, which I'm really looking forward to.
- Am I maintaining my integrity? I'm trying. It's hard for me to manage knowing what I should be doing all the time when I feel like I'm juggling a million things.
- Am I lashing out at people because of my stress level? Somewhat. I try and remember to apologize when I can, but it would be better if I didn't need to in the first place. Boy, it would be so nice if JUST ONE THING went smoothly lately. Nothing has been like that!
Thursday, April 02, 2009
I am Failing at Push 10 Gs Criteria
I'm trying, I'm really trying!
Hip bones sticking out of my pants FAIL
Ruler standing on top of my hip bones FAIL
Hip bones sticking out of my pants FAIL
Ruler standing on top of my hip bones FAIL
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