Last night I had a 35min progressive tempo run after a 1h ride and when I started the run my legs were feeling pretty heavy... They just didnt have any 'pop'. I eventually worked my way into a decent pace but it was certainly nothing special. Additionally I was running through a neighborhood I run through fairly frequently and just didnt have any motivation to really push the pace. However, with about 15 minutes to go I came out of the neighborhood and into a rather large strip mall parking lot. Within the span of a couple of minutes, I had a few incidences which, got me going a bit and provided some entertainment for the rest of the workout.
First, a guy yelled, "Get after it, son!" out the window of his truck. I'm sure he was mocking me but ironically it was a nice little bit of motivation. Next up was a "nice legs" comment from a group of middle school girls. (Incidentally, Target is apparently the new hangout for middle schoolers. It seems every time I run by there is a group loitering outside.) Finally, I passed by a Cold Stone and caught a whiff of the scent of freshly cooked waffle cones emanating from inside. Soooo yummy. For whatever reason, the short distractions provided a bit of mental break and made it a lot easiery to really push it for the last 10 minutes or so without too much trouble. In the end it was still a pretty tough workout but at least I had some entertainment along the way.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Go Gators!
"The University of Florida can raise a glass to another national title -- best party school in the country."
"The fact that we have three national championships in two years is probably a major contributing factor," spokesman Steve Orlando said. "We know our students like to have a good time."
Of course the best part of this article had to the be caption for this picture:
Florida and Georgia students celebrate with a multi-person drinking apparatus known as a beer bong.
"Multi-purpose drinking apparatus known as a beer bong..." Gotta love the AP.
"The fact that we have three national championships in two years is probably a major contributing factor," spokesman Steve Orlando said. "We know our students like to have a good time."
Of course the best part of this article had to the be caption for this picture:
Florida and Georgia students celebrate with a multi-person drinking apparatus known as a beer bong."Multi-purpose drinking apparatus known as a beer bong..." Gotta love the AP.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Jul21-27
S: 20,300yds
B: 14h 52min
R: 6h 7min
Total: 26h 4min
All in all a pretty huge week. I am pretty sure that's the most I've ever ridden my bike in a week which not surprisingly also led to an all-time high in total number of hours. After all its pretty easy to pad the hours with lots of bike miles. Anyway, the good news is that I'm feeling much better on the new position as power numbers from Saturday's and Sunday's rides were much better than the previous weekend's. More importantly though I'm feeling much more comfortable in the aerobars which is rather imperative for fast riding. Hopefully I can keep things rolling for a few more weeks and be ready to rock and roll in Almere!
B: 14h 52min
R: 6h 7min
Total: 26h 4min
All in all a pretty huge week. I am pretty sure that's the most I've ever ridden my bike in a week which not surprisingly also led to an all-time high in total number of hours. After all its pretty easy to pad the hours with lots of bike miles. Anyway, the good news is that I'm feeling much better on the new position as power numbers from Saturday's and Sunday's rides were much better than the previous weekend's. More importantly though I'm feeling much more comfortable in the aerobars which is rather imperative for fast riding. Hopefully I can keep things rolling for a few more weeks and be ready to rock and roll in Almere!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Taking the good with the bad
The past few days have been a nice little reminder that while consistent high quality training will ultimately lead to good results, there may be some bumps along the way. Wednesday's afternoon workout was not so great and then Thursday's 2x20 was just downright terrible. Or aweful... whichever is worse. The PE was high but the power just wasnt there. And it wasnt just barely not there... it was like Zn4-intervals-at-Zn3-power" not there. On the other hand, Friday I had a great workout. It was a 1h bike + 50min Zn3 run + 10min cooldown and I hit the last two miles of the Zn3 part in 5:45, 5:38 and felt nice and relaxed. Similarly, Saturday's 3h ride, the third workout of the day, also went really well as I had no problem keeping the wattage in upper Zn2 on the flats and Zn3 on the climbs. So the moral of the story? While quantitative feedback is great, every once in a while you have just take a bad workout for what it is, move on, hope the next one is better, and remember that it is just a workout and not a race. Plus lets face it, if every workout goes great then you probably arent training enough.
Friday, July 25, 2008
SEC Media Days
Ahh yes, nothing like a little college football talk to get you through the dog days of summer. Although the Tour has been incredibly exciting, it still doesnt hold a straw to the excitement of the college football season. The passion, especially here in the south, is simply unreal.
This year the media throng culminated in Birmingham for the annual SEC Media Days where columnists from across the country get to drill SEC coaches and players. One of the the main attractions this year was last year's Heisman Trophy winner and all around good guy, Tim Tebow. Seriously, is there anything this guy cant do? Here is his recent schedule, taken from this article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In addition, he is working on a cure for cancer and solutions for the world food and energy crises, so we'll let you know when he finishes those up.
This year the media throng culminated in Birmingham for the annual SEC Media Days where columnists from across the country get to drill SEC coaches and players. One of the the main attractions this year was last year's Heisman Trophy winner and all around good guy, Tim Tebow. Seriously, is there anything this guy cant do? Here is his recent schedule, taken from this article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In addition, he is working on a cure for cancer and solutions for the world food and energy crises, so we'll let you know when he finishes those up.
TEBOW STAYS ON THE RUN
Since the end of Florida's 2007 regular season and the beginning of preseason practice in August, Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow will have traveled more than 15,000 miles to be honored by 15 different organizations in nine different states. He has also made three mission trips. Here are just the highlights of his travel schedule this year:
Jan. 1: Plays against Michigan in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.
Jan. 10-13: Walter Camp All-America weekend, New Haven, Conn.
Jan. 18: After team meeting, goes to locker room to tape an intro with ESPN's College Game Day.
Jan. 19: Honored at halftime of the Florida-Kentucky men's basketball game.
Feb. 17-19: Davey O'Brien Awards, Fort Worth, Texas.
March 6-8: Maxwell Awards, Atlantic City.
March 8-16: Spends his Spring Break in the Philippines doing missionary work. Does minor surgical procedures in the local clinic.
March 19: Spring football practice begins.
April 1: Flies to New York and back on the same day to accept the Sullivan Award.
April 11: Receives Ben Hill Griffin Award from athletic department at hall of fame dinner.
April 12: Spring practice concludes with Blue and Orange game. ESPN's College Game Day visits and Tebow is honored with a sign on the façade of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
April 13: Organizes a powder puff football league from Florida's sororities in that raises almost $10,000 for orphans around the world.
Apri 19: First free Saturday since December. Visits two area prisons to minister to the inmates.
April 24: On a day with no classes and no final exams, Tebow joins UF President Bernie Machen on a visit to the state Capitol in Tallahassee. They meet with governor Charlie Crist and were recognized on both the Senate and House floors.
May 1: Speaks at a banquet for the North Florida Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
May 2: He spends the day with his family as his brother, Peter, graduates from high school.
May 4-11: Visits Croatia with his family on a mission trip.
May 17: Spends Saturday playing golf with Danny Wuerffel, the 1996 Heisman Trophy winner.
May 28: Spoke to a youth rally of over 2,500 in Starke, Fla. Was invited by the First Baptist Church of Starke.
June 21-28: On break between summer school sessions, Tebow goes to Thailand on a mission trip,
July 11: Flies to Atlanta to see his sister and attends a Kenny Chesney concert the next day.
July 14-17: Travels to Los Angeles for the ESPY Awards.
July 23: Attends SEC Media Days in Birmingham.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
BUGS
Yesterday was one of those days where it was realllllly hard to get out the door. I was struggling all day at work to stay awake and the storm which popped up just before I left the office was the perfect excuse to skip the afternoon workout. Unfortunately though the clouds disappeared, taking my excuse with them.
Once I finally got going I had a 1h ride + 35min tempo run + 10min cool down. Everything was going fine until about 20min into the run when I was attacked by a swarm of bugs. Technically though I guess I actually attacked them but who really knows. All I know is that I was running along the sidewalk and all of the sudden I was immersed in a sea of swarming insects. Here is what I looked like when I finally got home and this is after wiping a few off:
Once I finally got going I had a 1h ride + 35min tempo run + 10min cool down. Everything was going fine until about 20min into the run when I was attacked by a swarm of bugs. Technically though I guess I actually attacked them but who really knows. All I know is that I was running along the sidewalk and all of the sudden I was immersed in a sea of swarming insects. Here is what I looked like when I finally got home and this is after wiping a few off:
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Caffeine post workout?
"But unless you're an Ironman triathlete planning for another three-hour workout later in the day, you don't have to rush this process."
I had to chuckle when I read that quote as I found it quite relevant, especially on multiple workout days when eating "real" food becomes a chore... All kidding aside, even though the article is from a Runner's World blog, it gives a nice overview of studies regarding what kind of calories to consume and when. This discussion/debate was brought to the forefront again due to a soon to be published study which suggests that consuming your post workout calories with caffeine helps improve glycogen production. This is promising as more glycogen production means more glycogen available for your muscles to store which is a key component in recovery. What does this mean in a practical sense? No that I needed one but this sounds like a perfect excuse for my post swim, pre work cup of joe.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Hot ride, cool watermelon
Its always fun when you glance at the temperature on your desktop before heading out for a ride and it reads "104F". And lets not kid ourselves... this is no "dry heat." Regardless of the heat, it was a pretty nice ride last night out on the Arsenal with lots of wildlife. I hit a couple of large bugs which were quite annoying but I also saw what appeared to be either a fox or coyote. I'm not much of a biologist so I'll have to ask around about the natural predators out here.
After the ride though I had some cool, ripe, sweet watermelon waiting for me. Loaded with antioxidants in addition to a high water content and high GI value, watermelon is the perfect post workout snack. It is also incredibly delicious and refreshing when its hot out. Best of all, they are in season now and very reasonably priced, so load up!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Jul14-20
S: 19,700 yds
B: 13h 22min (TSS = 704)
R: 5h 40min
Total: 23h 58min
Overall a pretty solid week capped by a great weekend. My friend Philip and his girlfriend Katherine were in town for the weekend as Philip was racing his bike in a road race on Saturday and criterium downtown on Sunday. While he was racing, I had a nice standard 10h training weekend so things worked out well.
While we got in plenty of exercise we also had some time to hang out and catch up on things. On Saturday afternoon/evening we picked up some Sam Adams Summer Ale to enjoy while watching the tour before having a kick ass dinner at Mezza Luna. Not only was the food awesome, but one of the guys on Philip's team who ate with us is really good friends with the owner so we scored a couple of free appetizers.
B: 13h 22min (TSS = 704)
R: 5h 40min
Total: 23h 58min
Overall a pretty solid week capped by a great weekend. My friend Philip and his girlfriend Katherine were in town for the weekend as Philip was racing his bike in a road race on Saturday and criterium downtown on Sunday. While he was racing, I had a nice standard 10h training weekend so things worked out well.
While we got in plenty of exercise we also had some time to hang out and catch up on things. On Saturday afternoon/evening we picked up some Sam Adams Summer Ale to enjoy while watching the tour before having a kick ass dinner at Mezza Luna. Not only was the food awesome, but one of the guys on Philip's team who ate with us is really good friends with the owner so we scored a couple of free appetizers.
Friday, July 18, 2008
New bike position
The weekend before last I made a few fairly significant changes to the bike position, mainly to ease some pressure off of my piriformis but also to get into what is hopefully a bit more aerodynamic position. Changes include:
1. A new adjustable stem which allowed me to lower the front end over 1cm
2. Flipping around the seat post to the "forward" position in addition to moving the seat forward on the rails.
3. New fizik Arione TRI2 Wing Flex saddle. Although admittedly I bought this saddle solely due to their recent awesome add campaign, I have actually really enjoyed riding it and it has been a welcome upgrade from my previous saddle.
4. I switched from the T2+ Cobra bars to the Sonic CSX bars. These have taken a little getting used to but they are SO much cleaner and more stable than the Cobras.
5. New bar tape. A necessity when you get new aerobars.
On to the pics where its out with the old, Euro-pro bike position:
And in with the new, tri geek position:
So far things have been good with respect to the butt but the new position will certainly take a little while to get used to. Early returns (from 2x20 workouts) indicate a loss of around 10W @ FTP but I'm fairly confident I'll be able to make that up relatively quickly.
1. A new adjustable stem which allowed me to lower the front end over 1cm
2. Flipping around the seat post to the "forward" position in addition to moving the seat forward on the rails.
3. New fizik Arione TRI2 Wing Flex saddle. Although admittedly I bought this saddle solely due to their recent awesome add campaign, I have actually really enjoyed riding it and it has been a welcome upgrade from my previous saddle.
4. I switched from the T2+ Cobra bars to the Sonic CSX bars. These have taken a little getting used to but they are SO much cleaner and more stable than the Cobras.
5. New bar tape. A necessity when you get new aerobars.
On to the pics where its out with the old, Euro-pro bike position:
And in with the new, tri geek position:
So far things have been good with respect to the butt but the new position will certainly take a little while to get used to. Early returns (from 2x20 workouts) indicate a loss of around 10W @ FTP but I'm fairly confident I'll be able to make that up relatively quickly.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tuesday Night Worlds "Race" Report
I had a fun ride last night out at the Tuesday Night World Championships, the local group ride here in Huntsville. I was ready to put in a hard effort so right from the start me and another guy took off and stayed away for about 40 minutes before a strong headwind foiled our chances of making it to the finish alone. Naturally after we were caught the pack slowed down for a bit before the attacks began again in earnest. Nothing really stuck until about 1h15min into the ride when a group of 5 of us got away. Although there were only three of us really doing any work, we hammered pretty hard and I was starting to hurt. We kept the fast pace up until we were within a few miles to go at which point everyone started playing the "cat and mouse" games in order to win the spint. I was feeling pretty tired and knew I wouldnt be able to put up much fight so I took a couple more hard pulls to get us to the finish a bit quicker. Eventually the final acceleration came about 300m from the finish but I was shot and had little response. I went as hard as I could but three of the four others easily rode away from me.
While I didnt have any kind of a sprint at the end, I didnt mind because I'm pretty sure I inflicted enough pain throughout the ride. Now while I certainly wasnt riding with the calibur of riders The Professor, it was still nice to be dishing out the hurt while on a bike as opposed to the other way around...
While I didnt have any kind of a sprint at the end, I didnt mind because I'm pretty sure I inflicted enough pain throughout the ride. Now while I certainly wasnt riding with the calibur of riders The Professor, it was still nice to be dishing out the hurt while on a bike as opposed to the other way around...
Monday, July 14, 2008
Jul7-Jul13
S: 21,900 yds
B: 11h 30min
R: 4h 5min
Total: 21h 7min
After having the week before last off, last week it was back to the grind. I also changed my bike position up which is an especially aggravating and time consuming operation when you are the person fitting you is in New Mexico and you are trying to take pictures of yourself on the bike after every incremental change. This led to a few late nights and this lack of sleep and increased training load caught up to me around Friday which was unfortunate timing with the race on Sunday.
Speaking of the race, looking back at the results it appears I had a nice 2h Zn3 workout which led to a fairly embarrassing results. But the focus now it Almere at the end of August and learning how to ride my bike with this new position. Because I'll have to ride 120k, this means a lot time in the saddle which my butt really isnt looking foward to.
B: 11h 30min
R: 4h 5min
Total: 21h 7min
After having the week before last off, last week it was back to the grind. I also changed my bike position up which is an especially aggravating and time consuming operation when you are the person fitting you is in New Mexico and you are trying to take pictures of yourself on the bike after every incremental change. This led to a few late nights and this lack of sleep and increased training load caught up to me around Friday which was unfortunate timing with the race on Sunday.
Speaking of the race, looking back at the results it appears I had a nice 2h Zn3 workout which led to a fairly embarrassing results. But the focus now it Almere at the end of August and learning how to ride my bike with this new position. Because I'll have to ride 120k, this means a lot time in the saddle which my butt really isnt looking foward to.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Sh*t Show
Back in the 'ville so this will serve as the official Waterfront Triathlon race report. As the title indicates, the race went pretty poorly for me. I was really disappointed with my swim, had an expectantly slow bike ride, then a very sub par run. I could list a myriad of excuses but they would be just that... excuses. Anyway, I think I was 4th but I could very well have been lower if any age groupers beat me (which certainly is very possible given the less than stellar performance on my part.)
Other than that, the trip to the Chattanooga was a lot of fun. We had a really fancy dinner the night before the race and then hit up Lupi's for pizza and beer after the race. Eric and I split a kick ass pizza with spicy chicken, basil, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, and red onions and I washed it down with a St Peter's English Ale. The great food, drink, and company almost made up for the shit race. Now its off to Club Pub!
Other than that, the trip to the Chattanooga was a lot of fun. We had a really fancy dinner the night before the race and then hit up Lupi's for pizza and beer after the race. Eric and I split a kick ass pizza with spicy chicken, basil, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, and red onions and I washed it down with a St Peter's English Ale. The great food, drink, and company almost made up for the shit race. Now its off to Club Pub!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Off to Chattanooga
So after a nice 3k swim with the kids this morning followed by a 2.5h ride over the hills and through some rain, its off to Chattanooga for the Waterfront Triathlon tomorrow. This likely won't be my most impressive performance ever but I've heard there is a great pizza place near the race which also has an impressive selection of microbrews so I'm hoping to at least have a nice post race meal...
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