back into the groove

for a long while there i was not running like i should and my race times suffered greatly... also what suffered was my ability to pace out a race... i was constantly going out tooo fast and dieing before i got to the end... for todays 8k (a two loop affair) i made the plan to be conservative for the first loop and ramp up the second loop... the race went well and i ended in the same minute as folks i started the race with so my pacing was a lot better... the time 44:46 is not great for me but the execution of the race was better...

twitchy

main workout

woke up late so i did not do my lifting this morn so i did it at lunch... i see this particular guy a good bit at the Y where i lift and swim... i gave him the nickname "twitchy"... his lifting technique is neither lifting or lowering the weight its actually putting insane amounts of plates on the machine and "twitching"... he lifts and lowers all of two to three inches... then he looks around as if he is bragging on how much weight he just "lifted"... i try to ignore him, but its to funny to let slide...

second workout

45 min bike bricked with 45 min ellip

too dark too soon

morning workout

leg day

main workout

swim 1000 yards... hey its a start

second workout

had to do my bike/run brick indoors because by 5:30 its pitch black outside... after a 45 minute spin i hit the elliptical for 45 minutes... looks like this is going to be my trend till the daylight keeps up with my workouts...

just lifted...

during lunch today i was at the Y doing my usual lift routine... nothing big, bad or fancy... mainly old school lifting because there is not all the fancy equipment at the Y... after work i was supposed to go out for a run, but i had mercy on my wife and helped her do some grocery shopping... with the busy weekend with going out of town we just didn't have time to go before today... and with the time shift and all it is pitch black outside by the time she got off work and i did not want her in a dark parking lot with out me... good sacrifice...

spencer mountain 10 mi

on a whim i decided to do the spencer mountain 10 mi... i mainly did it because it was going to be just a weekend trip to a race, then the renaissance fair with my wife... of course i had to pick a 10 mile race that went around a stankin' MOUNTAIN (you know the name of the race should have clued me in)... it was a VERY tough course... mile 7 was particularly bad... i mainly kept the legs spinning and was not going for a spectacular time... which was good because i would have been VERY disappointed... The Carolina Renaissance Festival was AWESOME... it made for a great w/e

biggest to the smallest

its often funny how guys compare themselves to other guys as they lift weights... don't think i don't notice because i am guilty of it also... when i started lifting today i was the biggest guy there and every time i would look up i notice other guys looking at what weight i was moving... then a REAL weightlifter came into the room... then i was noticing him and what he was lifting... certain lifts we were the same, but on others he far outclassed me... its humbling and reassuring all at the same time...

second chance

got in to day what i was supposed to get in yesterday... 45 min spin bricked with a 45 min ellip session... ida is now a tropical storm but its putting down multiple inches of rain... this w/e promises to be great for a ten mile race i have planned and a trip to the renaissance fair with the wife...

almost nothin'

hurricane ida is making a mess of the south... so getting in my bike and run brick that i had planned outdoors was impossible... i set my bike up on the trainer and 30 minutes into what was going to be a great session i got a call from work... RATS... hate to say it but that all i got in...

whats going on...

i know its been a while since i posted anything here but i'm not going to put much energy into making excuses... i'm just here to say that i'm back and this blog is the only way i really express myself and what i'm up to athletically... so here it goes...

Lifting...
been really surprised with the weights that i've been lifting... i remember a time that doing a 90 pound bench press was asking a good bit from me... now 225 is more like it...

Running...
i have to say with the adding of lifting that my running suffered greatly... but i'm doing all of this to have fun and get fitter... i'm not worried about slowing down as long as i don't stop

Swimming...
this is where it gets rough... i just don't seem to be getting it... i swim and swim but not get ANY faster... took some time off and will do a complete rebuild on my stroke technique... first off going bilateral and kicking more... i'm doing this with the philosophy of "if what you are doing is not working why are yo still doing it... its time to change"

Biking...
this is my shining star... doing the 40 mile "bike for the bean mountain bike marathon" was a blast and my road bike times got lots faster...

will post more often... i promise

to the finish...

i have to figure out what the deal is with my long course final run... for long course i usually do duathlons where the first run and the bike i'm really doing well at then it happens... i'm reduced to a crawl for the 2nd run... for my third half iron length duathlon (my first i found my self walking the half marathon run and the second i dnf'd) i had the same problem that has plagued me... my legs are cramping bad by the time i get off the bike... i drank plenty and made sure i had my nutrition planned out and everything but i was reduced to a walk/run/sideways shuffle (more on that later) for the half marathon... i even followed a training plan i got of the internet to make sure i had my training up to the task...

run 1 5K 30:49

this includes the transition time so it may seem slow... i kept it conservitive

bike 58.4 miles 3:01:23 19.2 mph average

i did well on the bike... had no problems with cramping and drank well...

run 2 half marathon 3:10:07

this is were it fell apart... i did everything to keep moving forward... when my legs would cramp and my knees would not bend i would shuffle side ways just to have forward momentum...

i can say i finished... and i can say i will keep trying till i get the secret of why i can't seem to get that final run when doing long course... 6:45:22 total time

things to work on...

1, bricks... i did plenty of long bikes and long runs but none of them as bricks... in the past i knew i needed bricks but the plan i was doing did not have them so i did as the plan said not what i knew i needed so its my fault more than the plan...

2, polymetrics and speed work... again things i use to do but stopped...

3, running more... because of my work schedule i did not run like i would have liked...

mountain biking does a road biker good...

did a charity ride today to have a "dress rehearsal" for the bike leg for the up coming half iron du... the course can best be described as rolling with a number of good hills for variety... i did my best not to draft on the others and led a good number of pace lines as i would always try to break away from packs... timed 58 miles (length of bike leg for Bassman Half) at 3:14:19... which according to a speed/distance calculator that's 17.9 mph average... booo yahhh... i really think my mountain bike training has helped my road biking...

Bike for The Bean MTB race

i was supposed to be in Charlotte today doing the Rivers Edge Mountain Bike Marathon... but my wife (known here as The Bean) found her the most perfect road bike last weekend and because it was soo perfect for her i gave her the money for today's race to put down on it... so to make up for it i made my own race... introducing the Bike For The Bean MTB race... of course i'm the race director and only participant so i won the over all... the race was 4 loops of a little over 10 mile course which included two good climbs and a technical part done twice to make up the 10 miles (usually the "big loop" at Harbison is 9.5 to 9.6 miles long but there is a harder detour that is about .25 miles so done twice made it a touch over 10). i was about to make the race a 50 mile race but the back brakes on my main bike were fading on the last lap (had to do the last 4 miles with pretty much no back brakes) so being the race director i made the executive decision to make it a 40 miler... i've got the power why not use it... final stats 40.6 miles 6:18:19...

benchmarks

as a way of benchmarking my progress on the bike i've been doing a series of indoor time trials for 20 miles... the first timed out at 1:11:44 (16.8 avg)... the second timed out at 1:08:50 (17.5 avg)... and last night i timed out at 1:07:46 (17.7 avg)... steadily its getting faster...

slow run + fast bike = same time

i did the Richard B. Russell State Park Oly Du before in 2006 and was really interested in comparing my times... that is if they had kept the run course the same... they moved the transition area to a different parking lot and the turnaround for the run was in a different location so the direct comparison is out of the question but here goes...

run 1... e.t. 26:22 2009 24:31 2006

i know my running over all is slowing down a bit but this is where the transition area being in a different lot really effected my time...

bike... e.t 1:14:16 2009 1:23:20 2006

this is where i really made the improvements... a little under ten minute improvement the bike course was the same so this is a direct comparison...

run 2... e.t. 1:10:19 2009 1:02:35 2006

yep... 8 minutes slower... the wheels came off the cart on the run... was reduced to a walk but not a crawl...

here is where it gets interesting...

total time 2:52:56 2009 2:53:10 2006... i was faster by just a bit even having to walk a good bit of the last run because of the improvement made in the bike split... and when looking at the times of the others in my AG i could have been on the podium if i could have just kept running... oh well there is next year...

2009

5K 0:26:22

T1 0:00:49

22 mile Bike 1:14:16

T2 0:01:08

10K 1:10:19

Total 2:52:56

2006
5K 0:24:31

T1 0:01:05

22 mile bike 1:23:20

T2 0:01:37

10K 1:02:35

Total 2:53:10

week off...

i had to take a week off... it started when i clobbered my ankle last w/e while mountain biking but it really was because i was getting a bit burnt out... and doubts are creeping in about the whole bodybuilding thang... its not the lifting... i love the lifting... its the DIET... i know i could stand to lean out, but the diet is extreme... i've been considering a thing called crossfit and maybe powerlifting a thing where i actually compete not just pose...