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It’s been forever since I last posted. To all 10 of my readers, I apologize. As is so often the case, life gets in the way and I’ve neglected this blog.

My last few posts were dedicated to my training for Vineman 140.6. While I wasn’t completely up to the task on race day. I did have enough fitness in the bank to get through the course. My plan was to be conservative and I was. The swim was fine and I think I finished somewhere in mid pack taking it nice a easy with bilateral breathing, long strokes and a few occasional breaks which consisted of treading water. One of the lifeguards was giving me a hard time for stopping. What did she care? I felt like telling her to F-Off but that would have been bad karma so I bit my tongue.

Transition to the bike was a muddy mess and the Vineman folks need to do something about that next year. Mud was everywhere.. bikes, clothes, water bottles, bare feet, etc. The bike course for me was torture, not because of the distance but because my ass was killing me. Fortunately, it started to go numb at about mile 60 and I was good to go after that. I was a slave to my Garmin watch as I watched the miles tick by. The good thing about this course is that the scenery in the Sonoma Valley wine country is absolutely stunning. Lots of fields, pastures, cows and miles and miles of really pretty rolling vineyards. The course was a two looper and I was really glad to finish #1 and start out on #2.

I finally made it into T2 which is in the town of Windsor, CA and quickly walked to the racks where my shoes, glasses and hat waited for me. Figuring that I had a marathon to run, I decided to take it easy and not rush through transition. I think my T2 time was something like 8 minutes! The marathon went OK but my legs were stiff and sore so I focused on a quick turnover with some walk breaks thrown in every half mile or so. This strategy seemed to work for my body and I actually felt like I was getting a second wind. Nutrition was right on and I kept cool by putting ice cubes under my hat (good tip by the way). Anyways, right at mile 20, I felt a stinging pop in my right foot and could feel my toenail peel back and lift off of my foot. Total pain. “FU#K” I said as I hobbled to the side. I then committed one of the worst mistakes anyone doing a distance event can do, I sat down and took off my show and sat there for approx 5 minutes. While I was examining my toenail, my muscles started to cool and then quickly cramp. I put the shoe back on and took a few steps and realized that my legs were totally locked up. I also started to shiver uncontrollably. After about 5 minutes of effort to get back on the course, I realized that I was finished. Total FUBAR!

DNF-ing was not something that I intended to do that day. I had put so much time, money and effort into the training only to see it wasted. I took the shuttle bus back to the starting point in Guernville (where the swim and T1 took place), got my car and then drove BACK to Windsor to get my bike. Realizing that I had DNF’s only made this chore more depressing. I drove home by myself and almost went off the road a few times because I kept falling asleep. The only consolation was that we were heading to Maui a few days later so I would have something to take my mind off of this whole affair.

My training took a nosedive after the race and it’s been a while since I was able to think about getting back on the bike or in my running shoes. Oh, the brutal case of plantar fasciitis didn’t help matters either. I’ll save that ordeal for another post.  I’ve been running and riding for the last two weeks now and am glad that I started up again.  Nothing is more depressing than realizing that you’ve gained weight and lost fitness.  I’m now in base training mode and will be following (hopefully) a strict protocol of aerobic-only training for the next 2 months.  This is not a period where I will be pushing myself in interval sets or cranking out the long miles.  Low heart rate and easy effort will be the focus.  Will share more of this strategy on my next few posts.

Oh man,  it’s hard to keep yourself motivated and current on your training plan.  I’ve been doing pretty good with my bike and run workouts but it’s the swim training where I’m seriously lacking.  Getting to the pool,  undressing,  swimming,  showering, dressing again and getting to work is a huge time chunk.  Look at it this way:  If your workout calls for a 50 swim,  what you’re really talking about is at least 90+ minutes of time devoted to getting the pool time in.  That an hour and a half! My swim training is therefore falling behind and I need to get my ass in gear. Time to break out the wetsuit and go to Aquatic Park in SF, a superb open water swim area. I need to see how far my training has gone and how I do in actual open water. I just wish it wasn’t so damn cold…

Other than that,  the rest of it is going pretty well.  I’m currently in week 13 of my 34 week training plan.  The fitness it coming along and I’m starting to lose some body fat thanks to the longer and longer aerobic sessions that I’ve been doing.  My run is OK but I’m having problems with keeping my hear rate monitor at a reasonable level.  Oh,  and my Garmin 305 battery has decided to only give me around 3 hours of total charge so there’s no way that I can use it on an extended bike / run session.  I’m also depending on this unit for the actual 140.6 mile rate as well so I’m going to have to send it back to Garmin and have them fix it.  Triathlon costs so much $$$

Immersing myself into the lifestyle and really taking my training personally is where I find myself these days.  I’m constantly trying to squeeze in workouts here and there throughout the day.  I kind of feel like this guy in the video below but shudder to think that this is what I’ve become. What do I have in common with this dude? Well, let’s see:

1. I wear Newtons
2. I have a blog
3. I’m obsessed with my bike fit
4. I train on a bike trainer
5. I constantly complain about my aches and pains.
6. I’m always on the lookout for new crap to buy
7. I love triathlon to the point where it’s becoming ridiculous.

I’ve taken the plunge and now have a dedicated Facebook page.  Please make sure that you take the time to check it out and click the “LIKE” box.  There’s not much there in terms of content however so please be patient.

30 something days ago,  I decided to embark on a push up challenge.  I’m usually terrible when it comes to remembering that I have certain things to do in my training.  I do however respond well to goals,  especially when they’re written down.  I decided to do a push up challenge and had a check off sheet that I put on my fridge.  I’m happy to say that with a few minor exceptions,  the challenge was completed. I can really see some good definition in my back, upper arms and shoulders and can feel the difference it makes in my swimming and cycling.

The Challenge:  90 pushups a day for 30 days (3 sets of 30

Start: So far,  so good with the exception of day 5.

30 day pushup challenge: Days 1-6. I missed day 5 for some reason

Finish:  I missed a total of 5 days for the entire period

90 pushups a day for 30 days.. Done! (i did miss a few days here and there but still.. Not bad.)

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I’ve gone through pretty much every brand of running shoe out there.  Asics,  New Balance,  Newton, K-Swiss.  For the last few year’s I was a die-hard Newton fan.  I decided to give them a try because the shoes were light and also because the technology intrigued me.  There was something about those little lugs on the bottom of the shoe that caught my eye.  Plus,  Craig Alexander uses them so what’s good for Craig must be good for me too right?  I guess I’m exactly the type of target consumer that the Newton marketing folks are trying to reach.

Newton says that humans naturally run on the mid foot or fore foot.  Try running barefoot in a park or on the beach and you’ll understand.  They further contend that the running shoe companies encourage heel striking by constantly reinventing the padded heel which in turn encourages bad running form because It’s soft and squishy and you think that it’s where you’re supposed to land.  Bottom line is that heal striking transmits the force to the knees and hips which eventually cause injuries.  Newton designed their shoes around the natural running form theory and installed the lugs on the forefoot as a sort of landing pad target I guess.

I’m a sucker for innovation so a few years ago,  I decided to look at these shoes a little more closely.  The first thing I noticed was the $175 price tag.  That’s a HUGE chunk of change to drop on a pair of shoes.  Second was the outrageous color scheme that they chose for each and every model.  Nevertheless,  I decided to commit and give them a try. My first two pair was from their Motus line which is their answer to a stability shoe.  From there,  I switched over to their new  Sir Issac model which, in retrospect,  I should have tried first because it’s designed more as an entry level shoe to get runners use to the new running style and the overall feel of the lugs.  I then decided to try the less expensive Distancia ($155) which is what I currently have on right this very minute.

Last summer,  I started to have some problems with my hips and my calf muscles.  I stretched regularly,  drank plenty of water,  used a foam roller and even had massage work done to work out the tightness.  Nothing seemed to help so I decided that it might be the shoe itself.  I noticed a few folks complaining about calf and achilles pain while using Newtons so I began to wonder if the shoes were catching up to me.

I started to look around and try a brand that I had never used before and finally settled on the K-Swiss.  I picked up a pair of Blade-Lights which ran me around $100 or so.  I used these shoes for a while and did notice some of the calf pain subside but I then began to develop pain in the ball of my right foot.  What the $@%& was going on with me?  Frustration really started to set in and to this day,  I still can’t figure out what the problem was.  I was limping everywhere,  my foot was very tender to the touch,  and I was having problems standing for extended periods of time.  I eventually got over it but only after I increased my running hours per week.  What a mystery.  I guess I’m getting older and my body is starting to fall apart.

I liked the KSwiss but but ultimately decided that they didn’t provide me with much arch support.  I was able to run in them reasonably well but my legs were always fatigued.  I experimented with laces,  wore calf sleeves,  etc but I never had that spring in my stride that the Newtons gave me.  I’ve recently returned to the Distancias and did a quick 8 miler the other day.  What a difference!  I was able to run the entire distance at a sub-8 minute pace and felt great afterwards.  My legs were a little sore the next morning but I fixed that with some stretching and a nice swim.

The jury is still out on my shoes.  I still wear the K-Swiss from time to time but I’m currently leaning more towards the Newtons.  I feel better in these shoes.  I just wish they weren’t so flashy.

The Newton "DISTANCIA" model. Note the "lugs" on the forefoot. The laces are aftermarket speed laces made by Yankz!

KSwiss Running shoe - Bladelight model

Week 9 is now history and I’m into the 10th week ot training for Vineman.  The amount of hours each week is really increasing and I find myself doing two workouts a day on a regular basis.  While the actual intensity and duration is increasing,  I find that my biggest problem is one of scheduling.  I just can’t fit everything into a day and have come to the only conclusion that I need to get up earlier to get the first workout in.  This means that I have to rise and shine around 0430 hrs… Yuck.  I hate waking up early.  My morning routine also takes me a while to get through.  You know what I mean.. coffee,  brush teeth,  eat something,  use the bathroom, etc, etc.

There’s no way to get around this.  I need to be an early riser so that means that I need to get to bed early the night before.  Training for a full distance triathlon really takes some dedication and I’m just starting to grasp the enormity of it all.  I can imagine that it’ll only get worse as the season progresses.  I’m really concerned about my long bike rides which are beginning to increase in duration.  Because of family obligation,  I’m having problems fitting everything in on the weekends so I’ll have to figure out how to get the long rides in during the week.  Can you say “vacation days”?  Yes,  I’m going to have to take time off from work to get the really long rides in….  There’s just no other way.

Anyways,  week 9 is done thank God.  I was able to get everything done for the most part except for a missed swim on Monday (pool closure).  Friday was a rest day so I swam that day instead.  Saturday was a 2+hour indoor trainer ride followed by a 40 minute run on the treadmill (it was raining).  Sunday was supposed to be a 1.5 hour long run followed by a 50 minute bike but it was football Sunday and I spent it watching the AFC and NFC championship games.  Watching the San Francisco 49ers lose destroyed any hope of getting a late afternoon workout in….  Yeah, yeah… excuses..  I had Monday off so I did the long run and bike that day instead.

Here is week 9′s breakdown in terms of hours per discipline:

Swim:  2:30

Bike: 5:40

Run:  3:45

Total:  11:55

In case you’re wondering where I got my plan,  I’m currently using this one which is free and doable for me.  I’ll go into more detail about all of this later.

Fitness levels are starting to increase and I can feel the difference.  I’m also still doing my 90 pushups a day for 30 days program and have been pretty good about it except to 2 days so far that I missed.

I also did another swim test set earlier in the week.  Here are the results.  Nothing impressive but I did shave a little off of my previous week’s time. I hope to break the 1:39 barrier the next time I do this.  I’ve also got to start thinking about dusting off the old wetsuit and hitting Aquatic Park in San Francisco for some open water sessions.

I’ve been in this sport for a few years and have been running and swimming even longer than that.  The first two years of my triathlon “career” were spent trying to make up for lost time.  I immediately started with a merciless training regimen,  spend untold amounts of money on gear and race registrations fees and caused my wife to question what the hell I was doing while I drove myself into the ground with all of the ill found training that I subjected myself to.  I’m amazed that I’ve been able to stick with it after those first two years.  I’m also lucky that I didn’t come out of all this with a stress fracture or some other sports-related injury that might have sidelined me for months.  Most guys in my position would have quit long ago,  sold their bikes and bought golf clubs.  Luckily,  I’m still here and in the thick of it. I guess I found my calling.

In my first year as a triathlete,  I must have signed up for every single event that the greater San Francisco Bay Area offered.  Most of them were Olympic distance in length but part of me always looked enviously at the guys with the Ironman M-Dot tattoos and stickers on their cars.  I really wanted to be in that club so my second year was spent ramping up my training and trying to get to that next level of fitness.  I emerged a while back ready to tackle the half Ironman events.  To me at the time they were merely training sessions towards some greater glory that I envisioned myself doing down the road…. St. George?  Coeur d’Alene? Kona?  The half ironman year unfortunately was very dark for me.  I was pushing myself towards an unrealistic goal and was not having fun doing it.  I was burning out but still training and my fitness level suffered as a result.  Bottom line was that my two half IMs were very disappointing and I was fed up with the whole thing. I had pushed myself too far,  too fast.

Who was I kidding?  I’m a 40+ year old age grouper and given my hectic work schedule and full family life,  my skills as a triathlete will improve only marginally even if I do adopt a solid and smart training plan.  I let my fitness level lapse almost to the point that I had lost it completely.  It really freaked me out because I was starting to gain weight,  slow down,  drink too much beer,  smoke too many cigars,  etc, etc.  A few month’s prior to Thanksgiving,  I decided to get back into the sport again.  This time,  I decided to do it for a different reason.  Training for triathlons should be and actually is fun if you have the right mindset.  As long as you don’t kick the SH#T out of yourself with some God awful training program that you realistically can’t handle or push yourself towards some unreasonable objective like a Kona spot,  you can actually enjoy those trips to the pool and the training rides and runs.  Who gives a crap what kind of carbon fiber bike you don’t have?  Do you have a bike?  Good!  Use it!  Don’t have that lean triathlete body?  Don’t worry about it.  You’re middle aged and you’re not supposed to be lean!  In the end,  it just feels good to work up a sweat and once you get into a solid routine,  it’s easier to develop a different mindset towards diet and a reasonably healthy lifestyle.  Speaking personally,  I started to eat better once I got back into my normal (yet fun) workout routines. It also sets a good example for your family because they aren’t watching you suffer through your weekly training schedule.  I guess what I’m trying to say is having a positive and REALISTIC attitude about your training and why you want to do it makes all the difference.

This year,  I’ve only signed up for one race,  the full distance Vineman.  I decided that I would dedicate my training towards that one event and have fun doing it.  I promised myself that I won’t obsess over my lack of high priced, carbon fiber equipment and I’m not going to punish myself for the doughnut that I decided to eat the other day and it’s OK to have a cheeseburger and a beer once in a while.  Get your long runs in and you’ll burn it off.  My feelings are that you should train,  live as healthy a lifestyle you can,  spend time with your family and work and have fun.  Don’t sweat the small stuff.  Triathlon is a lifestyle.  It’s not about the races that you do.  The race should be a celebration of the dedication that you’re put into the sport.  Does that sound really cheesy? Yes, yes it does.

I saw a guy at Vineman 70.3 last year that was absolutely KILLING it on the bike course.  He had the balls to go full speed ahead on the downhills while the rest of us were sitting up in our saddles, on the brakes and trying not to go flying off the road.  This guy was aero the entire downhill and I noticed that he had this little smile on his face.  The thing that really got me about this dude was that he was fairly overweight.  He didn’t let that bother him however and his attitude on the bike really let that mindset shine through.  He was having a ball and must have beat me to T2 by at least 15-20 minutes.  Sure,  I caught up to him on the run but he had his run strategy down pat and eventually finished the race at a time that he was happy with.  I decided to go up to him afterwards and compliment him on his bike handling skills. He was totally cool and had this big old smile as he admired his finisher’s medal.  That’s the kind of attitude that I want to have as I continue with my training this year:  I’m just an age grouper, nothing more and I want to finish my race and have as much fun as I can while I’m doing it.

Last week went fairly smooth for me.  I was able to complete all of my workouts with the exception of a missed swim practice on Wednesday.  I figure that if I have to miss one session,  the swim would be it.  It’s such a pain to gather all your stuff together,  drive to the pool,  change,  swim,  shower / change and then head to work.  I can usually finish the bike and run  workouts without any problem however because most of those are done close to my house.

Having a set schedule each week really helps me stay consistent with my training.  I print it out at the beginning of each week and then refer to each day’s workout the night before so I know what’s in store for me the following day.  If I see that I have a big ride or run session later in the week that conflicts with my schedule,  then I can easily shuffle things around so that I can get them in.

Today’s workout calls for a bike session of 1:10 and a run of around 40-50 minutes.  It’s now 7:54 and I haven’t even had breakfast.  I need to get my but in gear for the day and am also dealing with a little burnout.  I’m getting tired of the bike because most of it is done on the trainer.  I really wish that I could get outside more often but my work schedule plus the kids at home plus the lousy weather here in NorCal prevents me from doing so.  My burnout prevention strategy is to force myself to get the workout in.  Once finished,  I feel a sense of accomplishment and can usually get myself motivated for the next session.  Putting your workout clothes on is step one towards the defeat of procrastination.  If you feel yourself losing the battle and letting your workout slip for the day,  change into your clothes as fast as you can and sit around dressed like your ready to head out.  Chances are high that you’ll end up hitting the road since you’re already dressed.

I need to get back outside on the bike sometime this week.  I think that’s my problem.  The trainer has become so mind numbing that I’m mentally recoiling at the thought of another indoor session.  My HED race wheels are hanging in the garage too and I haven’t been on them since last August.  Maybe I’ll slap them on the Cervelo before the rains start.

This is all part of the lifestyle.  You find yourself wondering what the hell am I doing?  Why did I eat that crap for dinner last night?  How come I’m so tired?  Why aren’t I working on my core more often?  It’s a mental game that you have to play with yourself.  OK,  I”m going to march to the room and put my cycling clothes on so I can get this damn workout in.  I’ll run later this afternoon.

Oh and one more thing.  Hey Apple Computer!  Where’s my FU%$*N# iPod?  I had an ancient Nano that was recalled because of a fire hazard and Apple has offered to replace it for a new Nano.  I went to the website,  entered my information and got my shipping box.  This was last Monday.  I dropped it off at Fedex that same day and confirmed that it was delivered the following Tuesday.  It’s now 1 week later and zilch.  No Nano.  Everyone else seems the have received theirs within 4 days so WTF?

I did a swim test set today and am logging it so that I can track my progress towards my Iron-distance race in July.  I won’t call it an Ironman because it isn’t.. just like I wouldn’t call an RC Cola a Coke.

I used my Suunto T6D obviously because my Garmin 305 isn’t waterproof and I can’t afford to buy another one if it craps out on me because I was stupid enough to wear it in the pool.

My test set called for 12 x 100 freestyle with 10 seconds rest in between each interval. Prior to this,  I did a good warm up in order to bring my heart rate up to a decent level.

Warm Up

400 Swim

200 Kick

300 Pull

6 x 50 with 10 seconds rest (easy / hard)

Main Set

12 x 100 Freestyle with 10 seconds rest.

Cool Down

4 x 75 easy (I decided to use a pull buoy and paddles).

Total yardage = 2700

The main set results are as follows:

Theoretically,  if I stick with my training,  get enough sleep,  eat well, and drink lots of water, I should see an improvement in this average time of 1:39.6.  Granted,  I’m not a super fast swimmer and my times became noticeably slower as the number of repeats increased.  I also lost count and missed my last interval (duh!).  The benefit of this little exercise is that I’m able to get an average time over several intervals which gives me a really accurate idea of my swim fitness level.  I’ll do this again in another month and hope to see an improvement.

By the way, there’s also a run version of this called a MAF test.  I’ll do that one later next week to gauge how my running’s going.

So far,  so good!

I’m currently in week 8 of my 38 week ironman-distance event training.  It isn’t an official Ironman event (even though the distance is the same) so I feel a little weird about calling it an Ironman.  I sure ain’t getting an M-Dot tattoo after I complete Vineman.  I figured that if I were able to finish at least 3-5 actual Ironman races,  then,  I might consider a tattoo.

Training is going well.  My plan this week calls for a little over 10 hours of training. It’s broken down as follows:

2:30 hours of swimming

4:40 hours of biking

3:00 hours of running

I noticed that the total run volume is picking up over thge last few weeks which and I’m glad.  Frankly,  this plan seems to be placing a lot of emphasis on the bike and swim portion og the training load but not as much on the run.  Sure,  running is the most damaging to the body and takes the longest to recover from but still..  a little more emphasis on this particular disciplin would be good.  I ran for a little over an hour yesterday and was having problems controlling my heart rate.  I’m putting it down to a combination of factors including not enough sleep,  dehydration, lack of a good pre-workout meal.  I spent the first 15 minutes trying to controll my racing heart rate and finally got it into my 75% zone which is around 150 bpm.  The rest of the workout wasn’t that good and I still have to do a 40 minute bike brick once the bike portion was over.  My legs feel pretty mushy this morning as I write this.

So this week is going to be more run focoused.  Good,  I can use the training because I’m getting a little worried.

My swim is a little off as well because of the 2 week holiday break when my public pools were closed due to furlough.

I’ll check in a little later this week.  Have a good one!