Pro Triathlete career on hold yet again...

Well it's official, I'm officially NOT unemployed (at least until the next round of layoffs). At 8:30 yesterday morning I was pulled into a conference room and informed that I was not impacted by the current head count reduction. So I guess I can hold off on selling my kidney for now. I wasn't sure how to react when my boss broke the news. I had assumed I wasn't impacted so I wasn't surprised. Hearing it from him though was both a relief and a disappointment. Relieved that I don't have to worry about the stress of deciding what to do next. But disappointed that I'm not being forced to explore what else is out there. I also felt a little bit of guilt as some of those I work with that actually need and/or want to work here found out they were loosing their jobs. It made me grateful that I'm in the situation that I am. As far as timing goes it's probably better to not have the stress right now since AZ IM is so close. I found that with CDA IM last year when we decided to close on our house the week of the race and had to move the week after. I think the stress related to the whole buy/sell/move process had some impact on my race. So I am back to business as usual. Training, eating, sleeping, and more training. Just over 5 weeks until Palm Springs training camp. I think I am looking forward to that just as much as the race. The weather has been so bad this year I can't remember what it's like to ride in shorts.


Training is going very well. My running has really improved in the last month. I've gotten to were I can do my long runs (15 to 16 miles) at a sub 7:30 pace while keeping my HR below 150 avg. This is about 30 sec per mile faster then I was able to run 11 weeks before IM CDA. I think a big contributor to this nutrition. I think I finally have it dialed in. The bike is the mystery to me right now. With the weather being the way it is I am having a hard time telling were I am. If I am able to ride outside it's ether really cold, really wet, or both. This usually impacts my energy level and my ability to ride for longer then 3 hrs (because I get sooo cold). Now that I have a power meter though I should be able to start getting a better idea from ride to ride on how I'm doing. This week is a recovery week so things are light. Only 10 workouts totaling just under 11 hrs. It's been nice mentally to have some extra time to get some domestic duties taken care of.

Well.... back to work!

First ride on the new whip.

I picked up the new Isaac on Tuesday night from Athlete's Lounge. I couldn't wait to ride it so I threw it on the trainer for an hour and half. It is soo comfortable! I also got the new Power Tap installed and working for the most part. It seems a little temperamental especially when subject to below freezing temps (more on that in a sec). While riding on the trainer I did notice some flexing of the bottom bracket while pushing the bigger the gears. The Isaac frame is designed to be pretty thin to keep the weight down. For this reason I don't think it's ideal for a trainer since the trainer locks down the rear stays increasing stress on other areas especially during harder workouts. So Jen had a brilliant idea! Build up the old Guru frame for trainer use only. I have most of the parts needed, I just need to dig up a crank and some derailleurs. I think this will be a good use for the old Guru, and if the frame breaks the worst thing that can happen is a little carpet burn.

Yesterday I was able to get the Issac out on the road for a couple hours. I'm still amazed at how well it fits me and how light it is. I wasn't able to tell how fast I was going as the Power Tap was only working intermittently. Once I was home I went to do some trouble shooting and it was working fine. Upon further investigation into the owner's manual I found the a note that mentioned that the PT may not function properly in temps under 32 degrees. It was definitely colder then that yesterday at 11am in North Plains! All and all though I think the Isaac was a good choice. I'm looking forward to the next dry opportunity to get it outside!

Colder then a witch's teat

Wow is was cold this morning. In two hours I am heading outside for my tempo run (5 x 3 min zone 5 with 2 min recovery). One hour total with warm up and cool down. Should be nice and chilly. My fingers are crossed that the Isaac will be ready to come home tonight. My road bike doesn't fit on my trainer so I have been very limited on my riding for the past week. Larry at Athlete's Lounge has been diligently working to get it put together and ready to go. I have 90 min spin tonight and 2.5 hours tomorrow. Based on the outside temp I would rather not have to do all of it outside. Of course if the new bike is ready I will have to ride it for as long as I can outside since tomorrow could be the last dry day for weeks.

With the bike "issues" last week I unfortunately missed a significant amount of time in saddle. Scott had me scheduled for 12.5 hrs of riding last week and I only managed to get in 6 hrs. The Saturday ride that was supposed to be 6 hrs ended up as only 3. It was a tough one. Mid thirties and rain made it very challenging. It was nice to have a group to suffer with though. If I had been by myself I would likely have pulled over to the side of the road for a good cry. Knowing I was only going to get in half of the time I tried to push the pace and effort a little more. After the ride I was definitely tired and my legs were done. Because of this I'm not too worried about the time missed. I think the quality was there. Total for last week was 15.5 hrs with 48 miles of running, 13k yrds in the pool and 107 miles on the bike.

On a different note I have a terrible confession to make. I am hooked on a new TV show that is some what embarrassing. No, it's not American Gladiator (although this is a good show to watch on the trainer). It's Celebrity Rehab on VH1. The only reason I am publicly admitting this is because I found some relevance to training and nutrition while watching the show recently. The show is about a group of B list celebrities that come into rehab for various addictions all while being filmed. What I found interesting is how they talk about the drugs and alcohol. Describing how they would take the pills or what they would drink with so much enthusiasm. It reminded me how I am with sugar. I LOVE sugar! Nothing better then a big piece of Pumpkin Cheese Cake or a big 'ol hot fudge sundae. When I talk about it I am reminded of how some of the people on the show describe taking a handful of pills with a Jack Daniels chaser or smoking a big fat blunt. Granted you can't compare a piece of cheesecake to a line of cocaine, but I think the addiction part is pretty similar. There are times of the day and certain situations when I crave sugar. It's like this part of my mind takes over and I can rationalize it with no issue. Whether I tell myself I can have a piece of chocolate because I am running in couple hours or maybe it's the Snicker bar on the long ride that's ok because I've been riding for 3 hours. For the most part I eat pretty healthy compared to the average American. Even when I do splurge I'll have frozen yogurt instead of ice cream or a Skinny Cow instead of a real ice cream sandwich. I just found it strange that I was able to relate to these hardcore addicts at some level and see some of the same traits. Not really surprising I suppose, as I've have a history of addictions. I guess it started with food, which is how I got so over weight early one. Then there was smoking. Now it's caffeine and exercise in addition to sugar. All things considered it could be much worse, I guess I'm lucky I've made the decisions I have (triathlon over meth). With that being said I'm off to finish my coffee and go for my run!

Guru - The final chapter

Motherly instincts are a little scary sometimes. After my last debacle with the Guru (my Tri bike) being damaged on the flight home from AZ I had it inspected to ensure there were no hair line cracks anywhere. Cracked carbon is a very bad thing. From what I've read and heard Carbon doesn't slowly come apart once cracked. Instead it explodes like a 1977 Ford Pinto that's been rear ended at a stop light (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcNeorjXMrE). Ok, maybe it doesn't actually catch on fire, but it is still supposed to be pretty dramatic. Anyway, I was having issues with the headset continually coming loose even thought the bolt was tight. I took it in to have it fixed and they found the spacers in the head tube were oval'd. It appeared it was caused by some sort of impact to the front fork. Well... my bike case is the fork mount type and based on the previous damage the impact occurred at the front of the case. So this issue was also likely caused by the same incident. Upon further inspection they also noticed a pretty big crack on the down tube behind the front wheel just below the head tube. Based on were the crack is it also appears to have been caused by the same impact. I typically keep my bike pretty clean so I think I would have noticed this in the past. This is why I think the crack through the paint is relatively new. So... I think the Guru saga has come to an end. I am going to test ride a new bike tomorrow. Fortunately I can salvage most of the components so I only need to replace the frame. I think it will be cheaper and much easier then trying to get the Guru fixed. So back at the beginning when I mentioned instincts... After the Guru was damaged initially my sister ( the mother of my 2 year old niece) told me she had a very bad feeling about the bike and wanted me to get a new one. I figured she was just paranoid because my brother-in-law's new steel road bike had broken causing him to crash pretty hard just a couple months earlier. Guess she was right. So what am I looking at as a replacement? Well, Athlete's Lounge has an Isaac (made in the Netherlands) http://www.isaac-bikes.com/uploads/pics/Aerotic_white-Kopie.jpg. If that doesn't workout then I will look at the Scott Plasma http://www.scottusa.com/us_en/category/71/plasma or the new Wilier Cento http://wilier-usa.com/#id=bikes&bike=centoc. Kind of a pain in the ass so close to the race and to have to have to spend the money. But much better then face planting into the pavement at 22 mph in the middle of nowhere. Since I'm a trophy husband I've got nothing if I loose my looks!

Here comes the sun!

After a much better then expected weekend with regards to weather I am anxiously awaiting more sun and dry weather this week. I am heading into my biggest week since spring and am ready to hit it. This last Saturday was forecasted to be a day full of crap (rain). Jen and I decided we needed to get outside as we had spent too much time on the trainer during the week. Expecting the worst we headed out after a swim. It was one of those days when that big patch of blue sky follows you. We managed to get in just under 3 hours with no rain at all. It was a Christmas miracle.

Yesterday was an 11 mile run in the fog and an EZ spin in the afternoon. Good stuff! This week looks sunny and dry. 18 mile run tonight, 5300 yrd swim tomorrow, and a 4 hour ride Wednesday. I'm obviously not going to be working much this week... This weekend will be a 4300 yrd swim, 6 hr ride and a "hilly" 14 mile run. Oh ya, and some Football!!
Nothing much else going. I'm starting to get that car "itch" again. It's almost two years since I bought the GTI, that's usually the amount of time it takes me to get bored. I still love the GTI, but am ready for something totally different. Trying not to think about it too much right now since we have no free time go look at anything. Also, if I do end up getting laid off I will be looking at having no car... Good thing I like biking so much!

When old enemies become friends.

Last night's tempo run was a good one. It was 1 hour broken up into a warm up, 15 minutes in HR zone2/3, 20 minutes in Zone 4, ending with 10 min cool down. Since it was cold, dark, and raining (Again) I decided to do it on the treadmill. I have always HATED the treadmill (this would be the enemy I mentioned in the title). But this year I've turned over a new leaf. I'm starting to find some benefits to running on it. Over the past few weeks I've done my tempo type runs on the treadmill and have noticed a few things:

1. I'm not as sore or tired the next day since the surface is more cushioned then running on the road.
2. When running at faster paces I am able to really focus on form, stride, and breathing. I've found that if I really concentrate on breathing and keeping my form relaxed I can drop my HR up to 5 beats without changing the speed at which I am running. Being able to focus on this with the real time feedback of my HR in big read numbers on the treadmill is great. I'm finding I am able to hold a more constant relaxed stride for longer periods of time since I've been focusing on it.
3. I also find that I am more likely to push myself a little when there is 50 other people around me on treadmills and stair climbers. Realistically I know no one is paying attention to what I am doing, but when I start to get tired I tell myself that everyone is watching so don't slow down.
4. When I'm done I have a whole area right there designed for stretching with all of the tools I need. So I usually get in some really good stretching. When I run outside and get home I am usually cold and wet and the last thing I want to do is stretch. Not to mention the dog is usually waiting at the door expecting his evening exercise. He's not very patient.

So, I am pretty surprised that the treadmill and I have worked it out. Granted it's only one run a week that I'm on it, but that's one more then I have been able to do in the past. Now if the indoor bike trainer and I could just be friends... We are still trying to work out our differences.



Also, last night while running at the gym I had a "moment". There was a husband and wife working with a trainer in front of the treadmill I was on. It looked like their first session. They were both middle aged, some what over weight and seemed unfamiliar with many of the things the trainer was having them do. This got me thinking back to when I first started working out and trying to loose weight. I realized it's been 9 years this spring... Wow how time flies. But damn am I glad I did it when I was young. Seeing this couple now in their early 40's made me realize how fortunate I am that I fixed things when I did. The longer you wait to change the harder it is to actually make the change. Even by changing my lifestyle when I did it still took me 9 years to get to where I am today... I still feel like I have a long way to go. Ok, so I will probably never actually "Get" to where I want to be. The goals always seem to stretch as you make progress. I guess that's what keeps me going. Personally I would have a really hard time having an active lifestyle without some kind of goals to work towards. If there is anyone reading this that is thinking about making big changes, Get On it! The clock is ticking...

Recovery Day, YES!!

Well, I survived last week and am feeling pretty good today. I think my plan worked. I managed to get in all of my workouts (except a 3000yd swim) and I think the cold is almost gone. Saturday's ride was probably the toughest because of the weather. I managed 3:15 outside and 2:45 inside. The outside portion ended up at 47 miles with 3600 ft of climbing. Not much rain, mostly snow since much of the ride was spent on or around Skyline. Sunday's back to back workout went well, especially considering the lack of sleep and quantity of beer consumed at the IH party the night before. The run ended up being just under 16 miles at a 7:34 pace with my HR avg in zone 2 (147 bpm). That last hour of riding on the trainer after the run was the hardest part. I was tired, cold and very hungry. I survived though and slept like a log last night. Totals for the week ended up at 21 hrs which included 206 miles of riding, 34 miles of runing and 12k yrds in the pool. Now today is all about recovery. I have a 2100 yd swim this afternoon and that's it. I decided since the weekend was so crazy that I would take a sick day from work and get a few things done around the house. Murph and I also went up to Forest Park this morning for an easy 4 mile hike on Wildwood and Saltzman. It was perfect! It was snowing and foggy, and very quiet. Murph had a ball carrying around a big ass stick he found in the bushes. He has been very neglected the last couple weeks so I felt I owed him. Today so far has gotten me very excited for sabbatical, except when I'm on sabbatical it will be sunny, warm and daylight at 6 am!!

When is a cold just a cold? Only one way to find out!

So, it's been almost a week since this head cold set in. It hasn't really gotten that much better or worse. Up until yesterday I've been able to get in all of my workouts including a very wet and muddy 1hr 45min Mt. bike ride on New Year's Eve. Also another 1hr 45min big gear interval workout on my TT bike on New Year's Day. Both felt very good, but the BG workout was sooo cold and windy! I decided to take yesterday day off as it feels like the cold is now migrating south to my chest. I don't feel much better today, just well rested. It is getting frustrating as my legs feel completely fresh and ready to go, but I'm struggling with the worry of doing 1+ hour runs in the cold rain and long swims in a chilly pool because I don't want to make it worse. I'm to the point now that I am ready to see what happens if I do push it. I plan to run 10 miles at lunch today followed by a 3200 yd swim after work. Then depending on how I feel when I get home I may jump on the trainer for an 1.5hrs. This will be my test to see how serious this cold really is. I think I can take it. After all if I'm strong enough to fight 24 5 year olds at once I think I can whip this cold.
In unrelated news I find out in 4 weeks if I'm getting laid off. Up until now I have had my fingers secretly crossed hoping that I would be let go. The package that is being given is a pretty sweet deal. I would essentially be on the payroll as an employee from the end of March through mid July. But I learned from an inside source yesterday that it's "highly unlikely" that I'll be affected. At first I was a little bummed but after letting it sink in I was actually a little relieved. Although I'm ready to move on, 2008 is going to be a big year with racing and traveling. This equates to a lot of expenses, so it's probably better to have a constant income flowing in right now. In an earlier post I mentioned I didn't know what my dream job was and I didn't want to jump ship until I had a direction to swim. I think I am making some progress there. I have been thinking a lot about what I truly enjoy and have figured some stuff out. I am planning to explore these areas a little more over the next few months to see if it's really something I want to pursue. I'm not going to spill the beans yet. I've learned over the last year that being too open with some things really forces me to put a lot of pressure on myself if I decide to change direction at the last minute (which I often do). I will say this though, the path I'm looking at is in no way a lucrative one. It would mean a major pay cut, at least for a while. But if I could find the right situation I think it would be pretty cool. Nothing else new right now, I've got a 6 hr ride on Saturday and a funky workout on Sunday (1hr bike/2500yd swim/16 mile run/1hr bike all back to back) that should fill the weekend nicely. 14 weeks to go...