Gainesville
After four days off and a skipped fast on Yom Kippur (figured it wasn't a good idea to not eat the entire day before an important training ride. One year. I think God will understand) I felt ready to rock and roll for my first 100-mile bike ride. Ever. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm, but not really hot, and my body felt good. I didn't sleep particularly well but other than that I felt well-prepared. And I needed a good ride to try and reverse the trend of bad workouts.
Bike - 5.5 Hours
2 Lipodrene
3 Advil
1 Salt Tab
I started out on this ride like gangbusters. Just flew down 2nd, then down Waldo, and hit the trailhead in under 7 milutes (a record). Then continued my speed down Hawthorne, hitting Nigbridge in 25 flat and getting to the end of the trail in 55:02. Remembering that this was taking me about 1:03 in the beginning, I felt this was a major stride. Just missed breaking 55 minutes, and averaged 19.9 on the first trip. I was a little worried abount nuking the village here, but in my experience you are generally just as tired at the end of a long ride like this whether you go hard the first 20 miles or pace it. So I went hard.
I took another salt tab and headed back up. I realized then that I had had a bit of a tailwind, and that may have accounted for my record trip. But whatever. I made it back up at 1:40, and my average speed was still 18.9, despite the wind. Here I took 2more Advil and another salt tab, and headed back down. I tought I'd have another great trip given the tailwind, but I noticed it had died down, and only made it to the halfway point at 2:40, meaning it was about 12 minutes slower than my first trip. I was losing speed fast.
On the way back on trip 2, I found myself gettng tired. Not my legs, or even my back so much, but just general fatigue. My back had been hurting from about the 1:15 mark, and despite flooding my body with Advil, I found myself having to take brief, 30-second breaks about every half hour if I was not stopping already. I'm not sure how this is going to work raceday, but it's one of those things that I get mentally fatigued and start going like 15 for a while. Then I'll stop and be able to hit 20 again. Anyway, this last trip I kept slowing down, and having to tell myself "You're better than this" repeatedly to get my speed back up. At the 3:30 mark I took a short break, and felt like taking a nap. It was then I realized I had 2 more hours left. Well, nobody said this was gonna be easy.
Turned around to make my third trip, taking my last 2 Advil and another Lipodrene. I now didn't feel like I needed to take a nap, but getting over 19 was tough. It didn't help that like an idiot I cruised right by the only water fountain for about 20 miles, leaving me with about a bottles worth for that entire stretch. So I think dehyydration my have played a part here too.
I had nothing left on any sort of incline, and was only able to hit 20-22 on declines. I think I averaged about 17 on this last trip, which isn't terrible, but is slower than I want to do. And it was one of those rides where I reeally felt done about an hour and 15 minutes before it was over. But, you perservere. I think that's what the Ironman is about, just keeping it moving when you feel like you're done. And I realized today how hard that is really going to be.
The 90 mile rides had been challenging, but not exhausting. This one had me wanting to stop 2 hours before it was over, which is a big mental obstacle. I talked to Trevor via IM about it last night, and he said I probably need to do at least 2 more to be ready for the big race. I am going to Panama City next Tuesday to do the course, then I think there's a Gainesville Century ride the next weekend. Much as I'm dreading it, I know it's something I have to do to have a good Ironman. Such is life.
I ended up back home at 5:29, having done 98.9 miles. So no, not quite a century, and yes, another mile wouldn't have killed me. But there's plenty of time for that. If you do the math, I averaged just under 18, which had been my goal. So I came just short of my goals today, but had some bright spots. Not a bad first century (almost) ride, but I'm definitely looking to improve on the next ones.
The ride also left my perennium incredibly sore, to the point I couldn't really sit down. Later in the evening I looked at it in the mirror and found I had gotten my first ever hemhorroid. Thanks Ironman! I don't see this hindering training much, but it does make me feel old. But really, after that much time on a bike, I figure it's more like a battle scar. I'm sure that's what fat-ass bus drivers say too. Anyway, hopefully it doesn't hinder training, but I'll keep you posted. The forearm, however, is fine now. Full aero a lot of the ride.
Run - 20 minutes (treadmill)
I got home and had my last gel (I'd done gels every 45 on the bike, with Cliff Bars at 2:15 and 3:50 or so. Still felt fatigued, so I may need to bring more food on my next century ride). Went upstairs, had a Powerade, answered a couple of texts, and went down to the gym at Jefferson. I put the treadmill on 6.2, faster than I usually do for post-ride runs, and it actually felt pretty good. I mean, I kept looking at the time, but the speed felt comfortable. Now, am I going to be able to keep that up for 26 miles? Hell the fuck no, I won't. But the fact that this wasn't completely laborious gave me a little glimmer of pride after an otherwise-difficult workout. That's it for Week 6. 5 weeks of training to go in 39 days. I'm staying in Gainesville until the Miami Beach Half Marathon to just train hard and get myself ready. Home stretch, and it will pay off.
Showing posts with label low back problems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label low back problems. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
T81 - CRASH - Bike/Run Brick
Gainesville
I'm not liking these shorter days. I woke up at about noon on Tuesday and realized that in order to get in this 5 hour bike ride before it got dark, I had to leave by 2. Which was cool. Gave me a chance to watch Maury before I left. But still, I would have liked another hour or so to get mentally prepared.
Bike - 5 Hours
2 Lipodrene
3 Advil
1 Salt Tab
Today was to be a ride that went almost 3 times down Hawthorne and back. I am very encouraged by the fact that every time I do this trail, I am setting a new record in the time it takes me to get to the end. Today it was 56:10 for the first trip down, averaging almost 19. And I wasn't even that tired. I was low on gels, so I took a gel at 45 minutes and 90 minutes, then a bar at 2:15, which I think worked well. I seem to lose about .2 of a mile per hour off my average each trip, which I'm not thrilled about but I figure it's better to go hard that first 2 hours, because I think I'd end up doing 18 or so either way by the last trip down. Point is, I had a record first trip today and that was good. Took a salt tab at the turn around, then another 2 Advil at the end of trip 1.
Trip 2 also went nicely. Made it down in under an hour still, would have been 58 if you factored in the extra time from my house to the trailhead. Took a 3rd Lipodrene at the 2:30 mark, figuring that was about all the booster I'd need for the remainder of the ride. Finished the second trip at about 3:40, which I felt was a pretty solid time for 71 miles. Turned around for trip 3 and popped my last 2 Advil and a salt tab. Gels were working well. Body was feeling ok. my low back went in and out of pain, which I'll chalk up to Advil wearing off and kicking in. My shoulders also started to feel a little sore from all the time in Aero.
Anyway, I turned it around at the 4:17 mark, and wouldn't you know it it started to rain. Which I'm usually ok with, save for the filth it adds to my bike. Well I was trying to push the fast spots so I could end up averaging over 18 (my goal was 18 average, 90 miles for the ride)and this may not have been the best idea. I hit the final big curve (marked by a sign that reads "Big Curve") at about 22-23, and began to apply my brakes where I usually do. Unfortunately I seem to have forgotten that brakes do not work as well in the rain as they do when it's dry. Next thing I know I'm skidding around the curve at about 18, slamming my right side into the ground, and watching my bike fly over my head. I just said there thinking "Fuck, this hurts," and looking at my various new body parts that lacked skin. My right forearm got the worst of it, pretty much skinning the entire thing from my elbow half way down.
I did make a point to keep my head up to avoid another concussion. So I got up pretty quickly, dusted myself off, and re-did the chain to get ready to move. Then I noticed my handlebars were pretty much at a 45 degree angle to the frame. Yeah, definitely fucked my shit up. I bent them back to about a 10 degree angle, and biked the final 4 miles home like that. Which put a lot of stress on my left shoulder, which was already sore since it never leaves the handlebars. Sadly, I was not able to get into aero for any of the last part of the ride, and ended up averaging 18 and doing 91 miles in just over 5 hours. Would have been 18.1 or 18.2, but the last 4 miles were a lot slower than I would have liked. A lopsided, fucked up bike doesn't help. I got home covered in filth and blood, leaving a nice blood stain on my door, and necessitating a shower before I hit the treadmill.
Run - 30 minutes (treadmill)
I showered off, had my last gel, and hit the treadmill. The exposed flesh burned like a motherfucker in the shower, and I knew the sweat wasn't going to be any better. So I put a wristband over as much of my raw right forearm as I could, and hit the Jefferson 2nd Treadmill (thought some of the sorority girls down there might have been a little grossed out by a giant bleeding arm running next to them too). After the 91 mile ride, I felt a speed of 6 would suffice for today. And it was hard. Not brutally hard, but it was definitely a strain to keep that speed up for the whole half hour. I did it. Didn't like it, but I did it. I seriously hope I can at least start at this speed for a while during the Ironman. I know I'm not setting any records in my marathon, but I'd like to finish in a respectable time.
I'm relatively certain I'm not injured from the crash, and it wouldn't be a training cycle without at least one accident. Hopefully this is the only one, but you never know. Maybe the fatigue had something to do with it. but for now, I'm going to blame it on the rain.
I'm not liking these shorter days. I woke up at about noon on Tuesday and realized that in order to get in this 5 hour bike ride before it got dark, I had to leave by 2. Which was cool. Gave me a chance to watch Maury before I left. But still, I would have liked another hour or so to get mentally prepared.
Bike - 5 Hours
2 Lipodrene
3 Advil
1 Salt Tab
Today was to be a ride that went almost 3 times down Hawthorne and back. I am very encouraged by the fact that every time I do this trail, I am setting a new record in the time it takes me to get to the end. Today it was 56:10 for the first trip down, averaging almost 19. And I wasn't even that tired. I was low on gels, so I took a gel at 45 minutes and 90 minutes, then a bar at 2:15, which I think worked well. I seem to lose about .2 of a mile per hour off my average each trip, which I'm not thrilled about but I figure it's better to go hard that first 2 hours, because I think I'd end up doing 18 or so either way by the last trip down. Point is, I had a record first trip today and that was good. Took a salt tab at the turn around, then another 2 Advil at the end of trip 1.
Trip 2 also went nicely. Made it down in under an hour still, would have been 58 if you factored in the extra time from my house to the trailhead. Took a 3rd Lipodrene at the 2:30 mark, figuring that was about all the booster I'd need for the remainder of the ride. Finished the second trip at about 3:40, which I felt was a pretty solid time for 71 miles. Turned around for trip 3 and popped my last 2 Advil and a salt tab. Gels were working well. Body was feeling ok. my low back went in and out of pain, which I'll chalk up to Advil wearing off and kicking in. My shoulders also started to feel a little sore from all the time in Aero.
Anyway, I turned it around at the 4:17 mark, and wouldn't you know it it started to rain. Which I'm usually ok with, save for the filth it adds to my bike. Well I was trying to push the fast spots so I could end up averaging over 18 (my goal was 18 average, 90 miles for the ride)and this may not have been the best idea. I hit the final big curve (marked by a sign that reads "Big Curve") at about 22-23, and began to apply my brakes where I usually do. Unfortunately I seem to have forgotten that brakes do not work as well in the rain as they do when it's dry. Next thing I know I'm skidding around the curve at about 18, slamming my right side into the ground, and watching my bike fly over my head. I just said there thinking "Fuck, this hurts," and looking at my various new body parts that lacked skin. My right forearm got the worst of it, pretty much skinning the entire thing from my elbow half way down.
I did make a point to keep my head up to avoid another concussion. So I got up pretty quickly, dusted myself off, and re-did the chain to get ready to move. Then I noticed my handlebars were pretty much at a 45 degree angle to the frame. Yeah, definitely fucked my shit up. I bent them back to about a 10 degree angle, and biked the final 4 miles home like that. Which put a lot of stress on my left shoulder, which was already sore since it never leaves the handlebars. Sadly, I was not able to get into aero for any of the last part of the ride, and ended up averaging 18 and doing 91 miles in just over 5 hours. Would have been 18.1 or 18.2, but the last 4 miles were a lot slower than I would have liked. A lopsided, fucked up bike doesn't help. I got home covered in filth and blood, leaving a nice blood stain on my door, and necessitating a shower before I hit the treadmill.
Run - 30 minutes (treadmill)
I showered off, had my last gel, and hit the treadmill. The exposed flesh burned like a motherfucker in the shower, and I knew the sweat wasn't going to be any better. So I put a wristband over as much of my raw right forearm as I could, and hit the Jefferson 2nd Treadmill (thought some of the sorority girls down there might have been a little grossed out by a giant bleeding arm running next to them too). After the 91 mile ride, I felt a speed of 6 would suffice for today. And it was hard. Not brutally hard, but it was definitely a strain to keep that speed up for the whole half hour. I did it. Didn't like it, but I did it. I seriously hope I can at least start at this speed for a while during the Ironman. I know I'm not setting any records in my marathon, but I'd like to finish in a respectable time.
I'm relatively certain I'm not injured from the crash, and it wouldn't be a training cycle without at least one accident. Hopefully this is the only one, but you never know. Maybe the fatigue had something to do with it. but for now, I'm going to blame it on the rain.
Monday, September 7, 2009
T76 - Putting the "Labor" in "Labor Day"- Bike/Run Brick
Gainesville
It was Labor Day. And I figured what better way to spend Labor Day than working out for 5+ hours. But today wasn't so much a workout as a true training day. Like everything I did today was direct preparation for the Ironman. And it felt good.
Bike - 4.5 Hours
2 Lipodrene
3 Advil
1 Salt Tab
I went into the longest bike ride I'd ever done not dreading it, but wanting to do well. The goal was to average 18, which I'd struggled to do on shorter rides early in training, but figured was a reasonable goal for today. And lacking any originality when it comes to bike rides, I opted for 2+ laps of Hawthorne as my course.
The first trip down and back went well, making it to the end in 57:10 (a new record, I think) and back to the trailhead at 1:47. Meaning I took about as long to get back as I did to get down since the trailhead is 7 minutes from my house. My low back was starting to hurt at 1:30, even with having taken the Advil, which I do not find encouraging. But knowing I only had 3 more Advil for 3 more hours, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to hold off. I thought it might, but that did not stop me from taking the last three at this turnaround.
It took about half an hour to work, but it made me feel a lot better. Though on the second trip I found it difficult to keep my speed at 21 or so as I had the first time, I was still encouraged that I was hitting 21 to 23 in a lot of spots on the way back. I made it to the end of the train for the second time at 2:44., still under and hour, but considerably slower. I took my next two Lipodrene at this point and another salt tab. Filled my bottles as well, but I went through them both before I even got all the way back, and had to fill up agian right before the final incline. I ended up going up the final big hill in the hammock at sub-10, as I knew my legs were shot.
I've kind of decided to play to my strengths on these long bikes. I know I can fly through straightaways, and I am going to use them to make up times I am going to lose on inclines. For some reason I feel like if I fight through the inclines, my legs are going to be shot and my flat times will suffer. Plus, I don't want to shoot my legs out when I have to go 112 miles then run a marathon. It was this philosophy that led me to ride down to the Alachua Lake Lookout on my third trip down instead of going to the hammock. I hadn't been to the lookout since like my 3rd or 4th ride ever when I lacked the coordination to make the turn onto the long trail. At any rate, I did that, went up the less-steep half of the hill, turned around at the top and headed back. I ended up getting back to Jefferson at about 4:20, having gone just under 80 miles. I had wanted to do a full 80, so I biked up to 12th and turned around in the roundabout, making it home at just over 81 miles in 4:25. Yes, I cheated myself out of 5 minutes, but I did end up averaging about 18.3. So I felt good.
I also felt like, ok, if you put a gun to my head and said "Do Hawthorne and Back one more time" I could have. that distance would have been just over the Ironman course. Not so sure about running a marathon after, but in 2 months I'll be there.
I do think I kind of underestimated myself today, though, and that's why I got back early. I didn't think I'd go as fast at the start, and also figured my last trip down would be much worse. So I'll try and set my goals a little higher next time, as at the very worst it will lead to my not cutting myself short.
Nutrition wise, I took a gel every 45, as prescribed, and opted for the Cliff Bar at 2:10. A little early, but I was fucking starving by that point. I think 1 cliff bar was enough for a ride like this, and by the beginning of the last lap my stomach felt like shit. I seriously wanted to vomit about an hour after taking Lipodrene 3 and 4. But, you know, a lot of things are going to hurt on race day. I'll just add my stomach to the list.
Run - 30 Minutes (Treadmill)
I had some Powerade and headed down to the treadmills here at the gym at Jefferson 2nd. I have decided that for my brick runs for the next few weeks, I am going to start utilizing the treadmill to give myself a faster muscle memory when it comes to strides. I know had I run on the road I would have just chopped it out for 30 minutes because I was so sore, but the hope here is to train my legs to go at 6 mph after a long ride so I can go at that pace at the Ironman. At least to start out. My last 3 bricked runs have all sucked, so I needed to figure out how to make those better.
Treadmills are easy, as was this run. I just trotted along watching the Cincinnati-Rutgers game, and enjoying the AC and bevvy of ethnic looking girls who came in after I started. Ended up going 3 miles in 30 minutes, a pace I hope I can keep on race day.
All in all, a tough training day to be sure. But I have at least 3 more like this, plus the race. The feeling of exhaustion is good, but I may actually be able to get to bed early tonight.
It was Labor Day. And I figured what better way to spend Labor Day than working out for 5+ hours. But today wasn't so much a workout as a true training day. Like everything I did today was direct preparation for the Ironman. And it felt good.
Bike - 4.5 Hours
2 Lipodrene
3 Advil
1 Salt Tab
I went into the longest bike ride I'd ever done not dreading it, but wanting to do well. The goal was to average 18, which I'd struggled to do on shorter rides early in training, but figured was a reasonable goal for today. And lacking any originality when it comes to bike rides, I opted for 2+ laps of Hawthorne as my course.
The first trip down and back went well, making it to the end in 57:10 (a new record, I think) and back to the trailhead at 1:47. Meaning I took about as long to get back as I did to get down since the trailhead is 7 minutes from my house. My low back was starting to hurt at 1:30, even with having taken the Advil, which I do not find encouraging. But knowing I only had 3 more Advil for 3 more hours, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to hold off. I thought it might, but that did not stop me from taking the last three at this turnaround.
It took about half an hour to work, but it made me feel a lot better. Though on the second trip I found it difficult to keep my speed at 21 or so as I had the first time, I was still encouraged that I was hitting 21 to 23 in a lot of spots on the way back. I made it to the end of the train for the second time at 2:44., still under and hour, but considerably slower. I took my next two Lipodrene at this point and another salt tab. Filled my bottles as well, but I went through them both before I even got all the way back, and had to fill up agian right before the final incline. I ended up going up the final big hill in the hammock at sub-10, as I knew my legs were shot.
I've kind of decided to play to my strengths on these long bikes. I know I can fly through straightaways, and I am going to use them to make up times I am going to lose on inclines. For some reason I feel like if I fight through the inclines, my legs are going to be shot and my flat times will suffer. Plus, I don't want to shoot my legs out when I have to go 112 miles then run a marathon. It was this philosophy that led me to ride down to the Alachua Lake Lookout on my third trip down instead of going to the hammock. I hadn't been to the lookout since like my 3rd or 4th ride ever when I lacked the coordination to make the turn onto the long trail. At any rate, I did that, went up the less-steep half of the hill, turned around at the top and headed back. I ended up getting back to Jefferson at about 4:20, having gone just under 80 miles. I had wanted to do a full 80, so I biked up to 12th and turned around in the roundabout, making it home at just over 81 miles in 4:25. Yes, I cheated myself out of 5 minutes, but I did end up averaging about 18.3. So I felt good.
I also felt like, ok, if you put a gun to my head and said "Do Hawthorne and Back one more time" I could have. that distance would have been just over the Ironman course. Not so sure about running a marathon after, but in 2 months I'll be there.
I do think I kind of underestimated myself today, though, and that's why I got back early. I didn't think I'd go as fast at the start, and also figured my last trip down would be much worse. So I'll try and set my goals a little higher next time, as at the very worst it will lead to my not cutting myself short.
Nutrition wise, I took a gel every 45, as prescribed, and opted for the Cliff Bar at 2:10. A little early, but I was fucking starving by that point. I think 1 cliff bar was enough for a ride like this, and by the beginning of the last lap my stomach felt like shit. I seriously wanted to vomit about an hour after taking Lipodrene 3 and 4. But, you know, a lot of things are going to hurt on race day. I'll just add my stomach to the list.
Run - 30 Minutes (Treadmill)
I had some Powerade and headed down to the treadmills here at the gym at Jefferson 2nd. I have decided that for my brick runs for the next few weeks, I am going to start utilizing the treadmill to give myself a faster muscle memory when it comes to strides. I know had I run on the road I would have just chopped it out for 30 minutes because I was so sore, but the hope here is to train my legs to go at 6 mph after a long ride so I can go at that pace at the Ironman. At least to start out. My last 3 bricked runs have all sucked, so I needed to figure out how to make those better.
Treadmills are easy, as was this run. I just trotted along watching the Cincinnati-Rutgers game, and enjoying the AC and bevvy of ethnic looking girls who came in after I started. Ended up going 3 miles in 30 minutes, a pace I hope I can keep on race day.
All in all, a tough training day to be sure. But I have at least 3 more like this, plus the race. The feeling of exhaustion is good, but I may actually be able to get to bed early tonight.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
T29 - Always Bring a Spare Tube - Bike
Sacramento
Bike - 85 minutes out, 85 minutes back
2 Lipodrene
So despirte binge drinking at Jill and Eric's wedding last night, and waking up earlier than I wanted to again, I was determined to get in the long bike before the week was over. And surprisingly, the bike felt really good. The AR trail was crowded as fuck, but it was a pleasant 82 and not humid, and after a slow start my legs got warmed up and I has a good pace going. My dad's bike doesn't have a computer, so I couldn't really see what my speed was, but I"ll guess it averaged around 17.5, since that's about what I do when I am not paying attention.
The ride was really nice, going along the river to Folsom lake and up a hill towards the famous prison. The hill was a good, solid climb, and the best part was on the way down I didn't pedal for a good 10 minutes. And the climb felt really good, even in the big ring. My legs felt strong, and when I got to the top I stopped to use the bathroom, have a Power Bar, and refill my bottle.
The interesting thing about low humidity is how much less water you are inclined to go through. I put back 2 bottles on this ride, usualyl what I do in an hour in Florida. Again, this high heat and humidity training I do down there is paying off. I even got in some serious hill traning by the Nimbus Dam, and used the small ring on a ride for the first time in alomost a year. The shifting on my dadn's bike is so easy, I didn't even hesitate to do it. On mine, I avoid changing rings at all costs.
Anyway, about 8 miles from the end I get a flat. Which is a pain in the ass enough, but because we'd had that fiasco with pumping up the tires on Wednesday, there was no spare tube in the back. And becasue my dad's hand pump likes to snap off valve stems, I couldn't use a patch kit either since I snapped off the valve stem in my attmept to reinflate the tire without changing it. God knows why I thought THAT would work. So I had to call my dad and have him come pick me up, which was not fun. If I wasn't training for an Ironman, I think it woulda been one of those "Sorry I let you down," kinda moments, where Dad is silent not becasue he's angry, but becasue he's disappointed. Not the case here, though, since A) My Dad is too old to even process what happened and B) It's a fucking Ironman.
Anyway, it sucked because I ended up cutting the ride about 30 minutes short, and I hate unfinished workouts. My back also was starting to kill at about the 2:15 mark, not bad considering I had no aero bars and it usually starts to kill a lot eariler. I'm going to take this to mean that my back is getting better conditioned, but still has a ways to go. Much like myself. And I will now make it a priority to ensure I have an extra tube with me every time I go out.
Bike - 85 minutes out, 85 minutes back
2 Lipodrene
So despirte binge drinking at Jill and Eric's wedding last night, and waking up earlier than I wanted to again, I was determined to get in the long bike before the week was over. And surprisingly, the bike felt really good. The AR trail was crowded as fuck, but it was a pleasant 82 and not humid, and after a slow start my legs got warmed up and I has a good pace going. My dad's bike doesn't have a computer, so I couldn't really see what my speed was, but I"ll guess it averaged around 17.5, since that's about what I do when I am not paying attention.
The ride was really nice, going along the river to Folsom lake and up a hill towards the famous prison. The hill was a good, solid climb, and the best part was on the way down I didn't pedal for a good 10 minutes. And the climb felt really good, even in the big ring. My legs felt strong, and when I got to the top I stopped to use the bathroom, have a Power Bar, and refill my bottle.
The interesting thing about low humidity is how much less water you are inclined to go through. I put back 2 bottles on this ride, usualyl what I do in an hour in Florida. Again, this high heat and humidity training I do down there is paying off. I even got in some serious hill traning by the Nimbus Dam, and used the small ring on a ride for the first time in alomost a year. The shifting on my dadn's bike is so easy, I didn't even hesitate to do it. On mine, I avoid changing rings at all costs.
Anyway, about 8 miles from the end I get a flat. Which is a pain in the ass enough, but because we'd had that fiasco with pumping up the tires on Wednesday, there was no spare tube in the back. And becasue my dad's hand pump likes to snap off valve stems, I couldn't use a patch kit either since I snapped off the valve stem in my attmept to reinflate the tire without changing it. God knows why I thought THAT would work. So I had to call my dad and have him come pick me up, which was not fun. If I wasn't training for an Ironman, I think it woulda been one of those "Sorry I let you down," kinda moments, where Dad is silent not becasue he's angry, but becasue he's disappointed. Not the case here, though, since A) My Dad is too old to even process what happened and B) It's a fucking Ironman.
Anyway, it sucked because I ended up cutting the ride about 30 minutes short, and I hate unfinished workouts. My back also was starting to kill at about the 2:15 mark, not bad considering I had no aero bars and it usually starts to kill a lot eariler. I'm going to take this to mean that my back is getting better conditioned, but still has a ways to go. Much like myself. And I will now make it a priority to ensure I have an extra tube with me every time I go out.
Friday, June 12, 2009
T10 - Nonsex not nearly draining as sex-sex - Bike
Gainesville
I'm gonna channel White Dade here for a minute.....there's a reason I don't mess with Latin girls. Seriosuly. I'm up around 1:15 Wednesday night/Thursday morning and I get a text from that girl who'd stayed over a couple weeks ago, asking if she could come over. I figure, shit, it's 1:15, she's obviously been out all night, and she's asking me to come over. This can only mean one thing. But, you know, I'm trying to consider training here, so before responding I had to think how this would work.
She'll get here around 1:45. Figure 15 minutes of small talk and maybe a drink, then we'll start hooking up by 2. Fucking by 2:30. Asleep by 3. That leaves a solid 8 hours of sleep before I had to get up to interview this guy for my final project. No problem. So I tell her to come on over.
Well, the girl gets here and in the course of the 15 minutes of conversation, it comes out that she's Cuban. Ok, I figure, she's fairly Americanized so I can tolerate it. Although this time I did notice her noticeably-Cuban ass and stomach. But whatever, she was cute and nice enough. So we get to hooking up and this girl doesn't even want to take her top off. Apparently she takes sex a little more seriously than I do, and for the second time wouldn't go much past second base. And spent the night. Well, not having gotten off, and having gotten my adrenaline going during the middle-school makeout session, I didn't fall asleep until about 4:30. The whole time I was thinking "I could be getting valuable rest right now. thank you for wasting my time."
I woke up again at 8. She left at 9, once again making out, and once again stopping before pants came off. Seriously, I don't think ANYONE has ever stayed over twice without fucking. Not even my last girlfriend, where I can only remember one time that happened. And few with any girlfriends before that. This is what I get for messing with a Latin chick. Catholic guilt and overprotective fathers and whatnot. No more, I knew my "Whites Only" policy was there for a reason. And I doubt I'll be hearing from her again.
The good news, though, is that I learned nonsex, despite the lost sleep, is not nearly as bad for your workouts as regular sex.
Bike - 2 hours
2 Lipodrene
This was definitely the best bike I've had so far this training cycle. Hit 20 on most of the straightaways, stayed in aero as much as I could, and ended up averaging 17.9. Which, while not blazing or even up to my standards of past cycles, is the best I've had in a while on a solo training ride. Especially with the hills and streets and whatnot involved in the Hawthorne ride. So I guess losing some sleep isn't so bad, and nonsex is not so exerting. The girl still wasted my time, but at least she did me the favor of letting me conserve energy.
My low back still was ready to stop at the 1 hour mark, which is not good. I stopped at the halfway point for about 30 seconds to turn around, have a gel, and refill water (went a little longer than 2 hours to get to the end of Hawthorne where there's water fountains), but had to take a break again at about 1:23. Felt good after that, and was mulling another stop at Waldo when I got a flat at about 1:52. And despite my almost being out of water, and it being uncomfortably humid while I changed the tire, I felt a lot better after that 10 minute break and went hard the whole way home. The Cliff bar I had while changing the tire didn't hurt either.
All in all, the main issue with the bike is getting my low back to a point where I can bike for more than an hour without wanting to stop. I can maintain a fairly good speed, but pedaling hard drains my back, and I'm not sure how to condiiton it better. Improved posture is not an option.
Also, my knee continues to be extremely sore all the time, and even felt tight on the ride. Like it was swollen or something. Training is definitely going a lot better this time around, but I need to get this knee healed up or this Ironman is not going to go well.
I'm gonna channel White Dade here for a minute.....there's a reason I don't mess with Latin girls. Seriosuly. I'm up around 1:15 Wednesday night/Thursday morning and I get a text from that girl who'd stayed over a couple weeks ago, asking if she could come over. I figure, shit, it's 1:15, she's obviously been out all night, and she's asking me to come over. This can only mean one thing. But, you know, I'm trying to consider training here, so before responding I had to think how this would work.
She'll get here around 1:45. Figure 15 minutes of small talk and maybe a drink, then we'll start hooking up by 2. Fucking by 2:30. Asleep by 3. That leaves a solid 8 hours of sleep before I had to get up to interview this guy for my final project. No problem. So I tell her to come on over.
Well, the girl gets here and in the course of the 15 minutes of conversation, it comes out that she's Cuban. Ok, I figure, she's fairly Americanized so I can tolerate it. Although this time I did notice her noticeably-Cuban ass and stomach. But whatever, she was cute and nice enough. So we get to hooking up and this girl doesn't even want to take her top off. Apparently she takes sex a little more seriously than I do, and for the second time wouldn't go much past second base. And spent the night. Well, not having gotten off, and having gotten my adrenaline going during the middle-school makeout session, I didn't fall asleep until about 4:30. The whole time I was thinking "I could be getting valuable rest right now. thank you for wasting my time."
I woke up again at 8. She left at 9, once again making out, and once again stopping before pants came off. Seriously, I don't think ANYONE has ever stayed over twice without fucking. Not even my last girlfriend, where I can only remember one time that happened. And few with any girlfriends before that. This is what I get for messing with a Latin chick. Catholic guilt and overprotective fathers and whatnot. No more, I knew my "Whites Only" policy was there for a reason. And I doubt I'll be hearing from her again.
The good news, though, is that I learned nonsex, despite the lost sleep, is not nearly as bad for your workouts as regular sex.
Bike - 2 hours
2 Lipodrene
This was definitely the best bike I've had so far this training cycle. Hit 20 on most of the straightaways, stayed in aero as much as I could, and ended up averaging 17.9. Which, while not blazing or even up to my standards of past cycles, is the best I've had in a while on a solo training ride. Especially with the hills and streets and whatnot involved in the Hawthorne ride. So I guess losing some sleep isn't so bad, and nonsex is not so exerting. The girl still wasted my time, but at least she did me the favor of letting me conserve energy.
My low back still was ready to stop at the 1 hour mark, which is not good. I stopped at the halfway point for about 30 seconds to turn around, have a gel, and refill water (went a little longer than 2 hours to get to the end of Hawthorne where there's water fountains), but had to take a break again at about 1:23. Felt good after that, and was mulling another stop at Waldo when I got a flat at about 1:52. And despite my almost being out of water, and it being uncomfortably humid while I changed the tire, I felt a lot better after that 10 minute break and went hard the whole way home. The Cliff bar I had while changing the tire didn't hurt either.
All in all, the main issue with the bike is getting my low back to a point where I can bike for more than an hour without wanting to stop. I can maintain a fairly good speed, but pedaling hard drains my back, and I'm not sure how to condiiton it better. Improved posture is not an option.
Also, my knee continues to be extremely sore all the time, and even felt tight on the ride. Like it was swollen or something. Training is definitely going a lot better this time around, but I need to get this knee healed up or this Ironman is not going to go well.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
T4 - Gettin Better - Bike
Gainesville
Bike: 90 Minutes
2 Lipodrene
Well, I'm never circle swimming for anyone ever again. That's all I'm gonna say.
At any rate, I made good on my plan to ride first thing on bike days, so after breakfast and a little "Will and Grace" I got the bike ready to go. I got my computer fixed so I could actually monitor my speed, time, distance and whatnot. But my rear wheel kept catching for some reason, and I had to fuck around with the brakes for like 10 minutes to get them to line up properly. This happens every time I put my bike in the car (Saturns, not really made for bike transport) and is another reason why I'm glad I'm not taking the bike to Miami.
It had rained all night, but stopped by this morning, so the water was coming up like steam the whole ride. I mean it was like biking in a steam bath. No problems, though, as I kept a pretty steady pace the first half down Hawthorne trail. Got going 20 or higher through most of the straightaways and pedaled hard through the hills. Spent probably 60% of my time in Aero, which is good for this early on I think.
Then I hit the way back. At about the 1:06 mark, my low back started hurting. My low back is really my main problem on the bike, as my legs are not usually tired but my back wants to die. It got so bad I was going a steady 13 in spots where I'd been going 19-21 on the way down, and the wind wasn't even a factor. So I did something I rarely do and just flat out took a break at 1:14. The mosquitoes noticed this and pounced immediately, so it was a short break. I came out and was doing a steady 19 for 12 minutes until my back was killing me again. So I stopped AGAIN at the first street crossing for Hawthorne, and did a steady 19 on the ride home. Ended up doing 26 miles in 1:33. Not stellar by any stretch, but I've done worse.
All in all, I was pleased with my first half, but concerned that my back went out so fast. It did the same in the Orlando race, and I think that's a big part of why my bike split was so bad there. Not sure what to do here except keep cycling and hope it gets conditioned by November. I still need to find better bike motivation too, as after the one hour mark it was seriously just "Are we fucking there yet?!" Up early and off to Miami tomorrow.
Bike: 90 Minutes
2 Lipodrene
Well, I'm never circle swimming for anyone ever again. That's all I'm gonna say.
At any rate, I made good on my plan to ride first thing on bike days, so after breakfast and a little "Will and Grace" I got the bike ready to go. I got my computer fixed so I could actually monitor my speed, time, distance and whatnot. But my rear wheel kept catching for some reason, and I had to fuck around with the brakes for like 10 minutes to get them to line up properly. This happens every time I put my bike in the car (Saturns, not really made for bike transport) and is another reason why I'm glad I'm not taking the bike to Miami.
It had rained all night, but stopped by this morning, so the water was coming up like steam the whole ride. I mean it was like biking in a steam bath. No problems, though, as I kept a pretty steady pace the first half down Hawthorne trail. Got going 20 or higher through most of the straightaways and pedaled hard through the hills. Spent probably 60% of my time in Aero, which is good for this early on I think.
Then I hit the way back. At about the 1:06 mark, my low back started hurting. My low back is really my main problem on the bike, as my legs are not usually tired but my back wants to die. It got so bad I was going a steady 13 in spots where I'd been going 19-21 on the way down, and the wind wasn't even a factor. So I did something I rarely do and just flat out took a break at 1:14. The mosquitoes noticed this and pounced immediately, so it was a short break. I came out and was doing a steady 19 for 12 minutes until my back was killing me again. So I stopped AGAIN at the first street crossing for Hawthorne, and did a steady 19 on the ride home. Ended up doing 26 miles in 1:33. Not stellar by any stretch, but I've done worse.
All in all, I was pleased with my first half, but concerned that my back went out so fast. It did the same in the Orlando race, and I think that's a big part of why my bike split was so bad there. Not sure what to do here except keep cycling and hope it gets conditioned by November. I still need to find better bike motivation too, as after the one hour mark it was seriously just "Are we fucking there yet?!" Up early and off to Miami tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)