i can and will.

SF Riding

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:39:50 -0500

Anyone know of any good bike loops in the San Fran peninsula/bay area?

Cyclocross is awesome! 1 race and I’m already looking at...

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:26:25 -0500

Cyclocross is awesome! 1 race and I’m already looking at buying a CX bike to get into this, despite getting pulled from a 3 lap cat4b race early. Highly recommend

Alcatraz here I come!

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:58:40 -0500

Really wanted to do escape from alcatraz but not looking to chance the lottery, I found a race that has open registration for 400 with the same swim, the bike out and back over the golden gate, and the run is famous “double dipsea”!

http://www.envirosports.com/events/alcatraz-xxxi-triathlon-escape-from-the-rock/details

"Running takes you home when you are not"

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:51:59 -0400

“Running takes you home when you are not”

Different Tri Experience

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:58:44 -0400

Did a sprint in update NY on July 4th weekend. About 140 participants. What a different experience, it was the complete opposite of my half-IM experience.

Highlights were;

About 10% of the swimmers decided to not wear goggles, and/or were wearing board shorts, and or did some variation of swimming other than freestyle
A 20-something year old hottie swam in her underwear - not complaining, observing - guessing because she didnt know she had to swim in a triathlon. (She wound up SMOKING me in the run later)
About 20 people had bikes older than 40 years. One had a direct drive bike, no gears… very, very impressive on a 1600FT climb over 13 miles

All in all… Much less pressure, much better pack finish, just a fun workout rather than a serious race.

Ten Things You Should Already Know By Now

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:51:49 -0400

1. What’s important today won’t matter tomorrow

Yeah, so you got a problem. Sleep on it, sunshine. Put it off. Most problems can be safely ignored. You’ll be amazed how often they sort themselves out.

And the gravity of any given problem is inversely proportional to the hour of the day. At three in the morning, you’ve got an insurmountable issue. After four whisky and cokes at nine in the evening, you haven’t even got an inkling of a problem.

2. Everybody else is furiously improvising, so you can too

Show me an expert and I’ll show you a charlatan. FAKE IT ‘TIL YOU MAKE IT, amigo.

21 year old lifestyle design guru? Hell yeah! Fat, unemployed life-coach? Why not? Homeopathy professional? Whatever, bring it on!

Choose your path, and then Act As If You’re Wearing A Cape.

3. Nobody thinks about you as much as you think about you

Really. They don’t. For example, I’m not thinking about you now. But I bet you are.

4. It’s OK to piss people off

But if you’re pissing everybody off, all the time, it’s time to stop being a dick.

5. Aspiration is for suckers

(arf)

6. Nobody tells all the truth, all the time

So lower your expectations of people. When put in a spot, people fib.

We men lie about our alcohol consumption all the time.

When we’re young and say we had six beers, we probably only had three. Nowadays, if we say we only had three beers, you can be sure it was closer to six.

It doesn’t mean we don’t love you

7. Life doesn’t get better – only your perception of life improves

There was a little man with a lame left leg. He lived on the outskirts of town in a tumble-down house. He had a hole in his roof, and water would come in day and night. His lame left leg meant he couldn’t go out to work, so he survived on the charity of others, who would give him scraps of food. Sometimes he would go for two days and nights with nothing to eat. One day, the town council decided to fix his roof. The little man with the lame left leg became the happiest person you have ever seen. He was so grateful to be dry that he would smile and sing for the passersby all day long.

***

There was a healthy, beautiful woman who lived in a huge house with six servants and manicured lawns. But alas, she was permanently angry, because Jeannine, that bitch, had told her that her handbag was so last season.

8. Your family comes first, but not to the detriment of everything else

You want to go out with the girls? Tell your husband to make his own dinner. And gents, you don’t need permission for that once-a-year trip to Vegas, you just need to communicate it properly.

9. You’re wrong as often as you’re right

So don’t dwell on either.

10. Men should never wear wigs

[from worldsstrongestlibrarian.com]

Mooseman = Done!

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:15:00 -0400

What a day! Despite the hills and the pouring rain for the ENTIRE RACE, I legitimately had a great day. I remember thinking several times during parts of each leg, that there is nothing more I’d rather be doing… 6 months ago if you told me I’d think that while I’m swimming, biking and running 70 miles, I would have said you have the wrong person.

My recap;

Pre-Race: After Saturday’s race checkin, I decided to drive the bike course and check out these hills. Having done most of my training on flat Long Island, I was nervous about the New Hampshire hills… and rightfully so. I could not believe some of the climbs I was going to have to do, I felt like my CAR had trouble! I drove the course and it hurt my confidence, but at least I knew what I was in for the next day so I’m glad I did it. I got a semi-decent night’s sleep in at a hotel 30 mins away, woke up at 4AM, got there by 5, and ready to start already.

Swim: Of all three legs, the swim was technically my best at just under 41minutes. Being this is only my 2nd tri, I mostly kept to the outside of the pack, although mixed it up a few times at the turns and followed some feet along the way with no issues. Felt like I was cruising so smoothly, and nothing felt better than passing a few people from the previous waves.

What an amazing lake! When you turned for a breath, you could clearly see someone probably 20feet to the side, definitely not like any other OWS I’ve swam in (mostly the long island sound).

When I got out for T1, I felt great, ready to get on the bike. I think once I got in the water my nerves of the unknown finally calmed down.

Bike: Ahh the bike, what an experience this was! By this time, it was raining already and at times POURING. My bike experience consists of about 300 miles on relatively flat roads, so I knew I was in for a long one. The Mooseman course was a 2 loop course with a ride up and down from the loop (picture a circle sitting on top of a V).

The “left” side of the loop was crazy. There was about a 3mile climb capped off with a super steep segment, where about 1 in 3 riders were walking their bikes up. My 1st loop I wasnt sure how I’d feel the next time I got back to this spot, so I popped off and walked my bike a bit to get to the top… to see a woman dressed up as the devil, welcome to hell! :D

The “top” side of the loop felt like all downhill which I felt like I deserved. With the pouring rain and parts limited by the officials, it was difficult for me to break 30mph. I just wasnt comfortable having never ridden in the rain and literally closing my eyes at times because the rain was pelting into my face! (I only had dark sunglasses so didnt wear them)

The “right” side of the loop was great, nice big rolling hills on a highway. I felt like I biked this segment great and was able to pass a few people who passed me on the hillls. (who will later repass me for good on the 2nd loop)

Back-around for the 2nd time at about 25 miles in, and I felt surprisingly fresh and was ready for another round. This time I knew what to expect, and pushed through as best I could, and even powered up the devil hill on my bike having more confidence in my legs.

I got a sense of the time at the end of this loop, I was 3hrs on the bike at mile 45. I kept up on my hydration/nutrition and just powered through the last 10 miles, trying to cycle as best as I could. I finished up the bike at about 3hrs 40mins. At the time, I wasn’t thrilled, but all things considered, it was the furthest bike, my 1st time in rain, and by far the hilliest ride I’ve ever done so I got over it quick.

Run: When I got in for the run, my legs felt like they were toast. I stepped out onto the run, and surprisingly… I felt like “I can do this.” By the time I got to the turn around of the 2loop run, I realized my body is game for this run as long as I can keep my mind in it. I never expected to run the whole 13.1 miles, but I did! As with the bike, I never ran this far. I was slow, but running … and clocked in at 2hrs 20mins. I felt like the tortoise in the tortoise in the hair, because there were people who kept walking and running that I’d keep passing over and over. During the run, it was still raining, but I was starting to heat up so I was glad. They did a great job with the aide-station placement so it was easy to stay hydrated and the calories coming in during the run.

Summing it up:

What a day and what a race. I felt like I prepared correctly and was able to manage my energy and nutrition to last for the full 70.3 miles, I truly felt like I gave my last bit of energy on the last mile and was happy to finish, even it was in 6:57:21 (727/840)

I targeted this goal in December 2009 and am so happy I found triathlon and look forward to getting more time in the water, more miles on the bike, and becoming a faster runner.

Over the past 6 months, I went from an occasional runner to a triathlete.

In the process…

Learned how to swim efficiently and with some speed (from not being about to swim 50m)
Lost 20lbs over 20 weeks of a formal half-iron training program
Completed 2 triathlons spanning 105+miles
Got a tri-bike and learned how to ride it to [try to] be fast and efficient
Woke up early in the snow to swim, ran in the freezing rain at night, and got hit by a damn car on my bike, with the greater goal in mind.
Set a goal, stuck to it and completed it!

All is said, mission accomplished, yah… now time to get back on the bike! NYC Tri Oly coming up 7/18

Mooseman 70.3 this weekend! Bib#761. Time to put my last 20weeks of training to the test!!

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 17:36:40 -0400

Mooseman 70.3 this weekend! Bib#761. Time to put my last 20weeks of training to the test!!

hydration practice

Fri, 21 May 2010 16:59:00 -0400

I spent the previous months training in cold weather, rain and snow, or indoors with controlled temps… I forgot it can get hot out! My last tri was in early May, After the short swim in a cool but comfortable lake and got on the bike, it was already over 80 degrees and sunny. Over the next hour and a half ride, the day gave way to pure sun and approached 90 degrees. I kept jamming away on the bike, and the nice ~20mph breeze kept me from noticing the sweat leaving my body because it evaporated so fast. I felt like I was taking in enough liquid, but when I pulled into T2, I realized I had almost a full bottle of the 2 I planned on drinking. The minute I made it past transition, it hit me. I was hot, very hot, scary hot. I pushed through as best I can but could not beat the heat. Fortunately there were aide stations everywhere, and I pretty much bathed in as many cups as I can grab and drank and drank until the next aide station. Eventually I was just toast and had to walk/run the last mile.

I weighed myself on this race day. 201.8 at 4AM. Drove down to NJ and drank a gatorade, and ate breakfast. Raced, during which I drank 2 20oz gatorades and 6 cups of water, after the race, I drank another 20oz gatorade, 2 16oz waters, ate post race buffet, stopped once on my way home and had a large iced tea and sandwich. During this time I pissed once. When i got home, I weighed 201.8!! Safe to say I did not properly hydrate during the race and was not prepared for the 91 degree day.

With this experience in my mind, I wanted to be sure to pay some special attention to it. Today I put in a nice brick with a 2hr ride and 30 min run (which is about the same duration as my last ‘problem’ tri above), it is sunny, hot, and the place I trained had 0 shade. I went into today with a plan, drink no less than every 5 minutes on the bike, and anytime I desired, and take in a gel at 90mins and 120mins. Also I took a run belt with me for some running fuel. I kept a great pace on the bike, stuck to my plan, and it was like night and day from my last race run. Legs felt good, didnt feel too hot, stomach was fine. With Mooseman coming up in 16 days, I’ll be extending this out to the longer format and hope to be able to hit the ground running with enough energy to make it through.

"The best way out is always through."

Tue, 18 May 2010 20:28:46 -0400

“The best way out is always through.”

- Robert Frost

Me vs. SUV

Sun, 16 May 2010 19:40:31 -0400

I’m 1-0 versus an SUV on my bike. Some lady, thought getting cigarettes at 7-11 was more important than my life. She made a right turn 15ft in front of me going ~21 in aero, needless to say by the time I got to the breaks and locked up my slicks, I planted into the side of her truck. I was able to hit her with the side of my bike and took most of the impact with my shoulder (hurting today). Then I wiped and prayed not to slide under her still rolling truck. I didn’t.

Once I got my sense back I was thankful that I wasn’t too hurt, just some roadrash and shoulder feels aweful. And pissed i cut a 2.5hr effort short with only 3 weeks to mooseman.

The cervelo held up like a champ, just a bent rear wheel. Good thing i went with the p1 alumninum. On the kinda plus side I made an unplanned upgrade to a lighter, more aero wheel…

I’m beginning to realize the race is not on race day, it’s the race to get to race day before you can’t race!

bassman recap (my 1st tri!)

Mon, 10 May 2010 21:28:52 -0400

My 1st triathlon is in the books and everything went relatively smooth. I spent so much time the day before being anxious and excited, that by the time my feet were in the water, I was calm and collected.
The race was in southern New Jersey, and they pegged it as an “international distance tri” although, I cant find another race the same distance - it was close to olympic.

.52mile swim
29mile bike
4.1mile run

For my 1st swim, my goal was to avoid the pack and just find nice clean lines. Being an early season tri, there were about 300 competitors, and about 60 in my wave so it was relatively easy to stay wide and get a rhythm and my swim time was within expectations.

Once I got on the bike, I knew it was a flat course so tried to push it a bit. I hit the road spinning hard but mentally didnt think too much about the total time it would take to cover 29miles and put a little too much out by mile 20. While I kept my speed decent on the last 9 miles, I had some trouble staying in aero, and neglected things like taking in fluids, which hit me hard once I realized the morning breeze gave way for 91 degree sun. I finished up the bike, and remember feeling OK… although looking at my T2 time place, it looks like I took a little longer than everyone else (bottom 3rd!)

Once I started running, I was quickly reminded that triathlon is a 3-sport event and that a normally simple 4.1 mile run was not going to be even close. I was hot and not cooling down in the heat. I told myself to make it 20 minutes before you think about doing anything but run and that bargain worked nicely. At around 20 minutes I caught up with someone who was jogging at about my pace, and we trucked along until about 30 minutes. Right around there I found myself in some trouble, my overheated body started giving me chills… not good. At the next water station I took my time with 3 cups of water, walked for about 2 minutes, then gave myself another 2 minute effort to the next water station and did the same ‘interval’ to get me across the finish line!

While it wasnt the best finish, I am happy with the outing. For a 1st timer and posting ‘mid-pack’ times throughout and tons of room for improvement in race management, hydration, running among others, I am happy! Looking forward to the coming season.

Results; http://www.citytri.com/bassman-spring-triathlon-2010-results.htm

Next stop Mooseman 70.3

1st open water swim

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:03:50 -0400

With my 1st tri coming up Sunday I wanted to make sure I got a feel for the wetsuit, the cold water, and not seeing past your hands in the merky bay. All I can say is wow! Sooo glad my 1st time doing that was not also my 1st tri!

The Bad: + I couldn’t see my fully extended hand, so aside from a glimpse here and there of seaweed or a jelly fish that just hit my face, it was the same as having my eyes closed + I didn’t put any bodyglide on, and now know everywhere I need to put on bodyglide! The back of my neck is sliced from some Velcro I didnt cover + my wetsuit fit good, but there was still some resistance in my stroke, which I think is partly from 6months of no wetuit-wearing training. I feel a little tired in my arms today so it’s either something I need to correct or get used to.

The good; + after the initial shock of 50degree water on my face, I settled in and got in a 24minute swim and covered good distance + I felt like my speed and conditioning was there there with me. + love the bouyancy of the wetsuit, I’d have to go out of my way to swim underwater, going to be nice during the longer swims

All in all there’s a 1st time for everything and in the grand scheme of things this wasn’t so bad. Glad I did it pre 1st race day though and I may even try to get another swim in before Sunday.

Onto another week of base3 and finally my 1st sprint on Sunday!

Having a tough time with recovery week and not doing much, especially after watching ironman kona...

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:13:39 -0400

Having a tough time with recovery week and not doing much, especially after watching ironman kona repeats from the last 3 years on the universal sports channel!

Bike week over, recovery here I come!

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:30:51 -0400

Finished up my “themed” base2 with a bike week and onto a much needed recovery week! 5 sessions and 120miles later, I’m about wiped, especially after this long 3 week stretch of theme weeks. Looking forward to a light recovery week then a nice mix of things in base3.

Weekend rides were somewhat challenging with some aggressive winds and the temperature hovering between not hot but not cold and me missing gear that covers that.

I have my 1st scheduled tri (bassman in NJ) may 2nd which is week two of base 3, excitedly nervous but I’m starting to feel more and more prepared, hoping to catch an open water swim before then to build some last minute confidence.

Enough posting, back to a guilt free Sunday resting and eating!

Run week over

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:18:53 -0400

Base2 run week is over after a 90min run this morning. After some tailgating, a little sunburn, and drinking yesterday I paid hard this morning once I got to minute 50 but pushed through. While it somewhat sucked it was probably good to push through despite the circumstance, a little mental toughness although I’d be shocked to ever see “party day” on a training schedule. Coming up this week on peak hours of base2 and bike week… Weather is looking great and i’ve been really happy with my riding so here’s hoping for a good one! So happy spring is here for optimal outdoor sessions!

swim week over!

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:22:28 -0400

Base2 for my half-ironman training consists of theme weeks, the 1st of which is swim week and I am glad to say its over! 6 swim sessions in 7 days with almost 5miles in the pool at all different RPEs. I’m pretty new to swimming, only really started taking it seriously, so thats an accomplishment in itself, but I guess I’ll have to see in future sessions if there was a payoff in bulking up so many swim sessions. I did record my fastest 50m when I was just playing around after a session one day this week, compared to 5 months ago its almost half! (i was awful when i started) There were also two 30 min runs and 2 one hour bikes this week - so it wasnt ALL swim - and yesterday was a reverse tri which kept the week exciting.

The hardest swim of the week was today, not the swim itself, but just getting myself in the water - after a 30min swim yesterday and 5 this week I fought myself so hard on coming up with excuses but I knew if I didnt get there I would feel like I didnt deserve to say ‘swim week over’

The one thing I did learn about swimming is of the 3 tri disciplines, its got to be the most monotonous in long distances… at least in a pool… head is down, stroke is repetitive, nothing really to see or do but just stare at a lane line and finish. I am definitely looking forward to a long open water swim in the next month or so, at least the conditions will bring some variety and change up swimming, make it fresh for me.

On to “run week” tomorrow, although somehow run week starts the 1st day with a bike and swim!

knowing is doing

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:27:26 -0500

As I train I continue to learn things about triathlon and myself, many of which cannot be taught, read about or explained, they have to be experienced. So far, just about each week has been something new. A new schedule, a new injury, a new personal best, a new unrelated obstacle, a new sacrifice. All of these things are a function of training itself and can only be experienced to be understood.

The experiences themselves cant be avoided and will inevitably be the price everyone pays to line up at the start line with the confidence there was nothing more that can be done to prepare - but with a little mental warfare they can be mitigated, coped with, celebrated or even distracted from (and fortunately these can be taught).

Some of these I’ve picked up;

New Schedule - each Sunday I sit back with a written copy of my schedule and move around each session until it fits into my week. Keep in mind weather, fatigue and recovery - and also try to find one or two slots you can move some things to if an unavoidable obstacle presents itself.

New Injury - First decide if the injury will prevent you from training (this isnt supposed to be easy, only you know if you’re looking for an excuse). If not, look at your lineup and adjust around the injury. Also, considering there’s probably no getting around this one, what I’ve found is pickup a training magazine or jump on a forum - you’ll read stories from amateurs and pros alike all going through the same pain at every level.

New Personal Best - small victory! Take a step back from what you’re doing and acknowledge it! You’re not at race day but you’re on the right path and these little rewards keep you excited through each week.

New Unrelated Obstacle - well, we all cant be pro’s and dedicate our full time careers, and we all have family, friends and murphy’s law to deal with. With a long training season, hopefully you can find a work around that doesn’t sacrifice your work to this point.

New Sacrifice - you knew this one was coming when you started, didn’t you? Well of course, prioritize! but be sure to “man up”, plenty of time to do the other things you want to do when the season ends. Your priorities are only yours. Dont use someone else’s as an excuse. The answer to what you should do will lie in how comfortable you are with how ready you want to get with race day.

In all I’m a short way down a long path but continue to learn and stay excited. At the high level, you’re just doing a bunch of swimming, biking, and running - but once you dive in it is an ongoing learning detailed mental and physical experience you can only know for yourself by doing it.

on to base1!

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:16:11 -0500

Prep period over and feeling good about putting in the time. So far its straight forward enough to follow the swim, bike, and run schedules but my biggest surprise through training has been how important it is to understand nutrition. Proper recovery through eating what your body needs, staying hydrated, and getting enough sleep are all just as important as getting the time in each discipline. Of course all this is compounded running a business and attempting to maintain a social life (of some sort)!

Some of the things I’m more conscious of;

not mistaking hunger for thirst, by drinking water when i feel hungry (and if im still hungry 10 mins after, then eat)
getting in carbs after a morning/day session to replace muscle stores of glycogen
staying away from carbs after night sessions to avoid insulin response and encourage release of natural HGH secretions which are highest during sleep
eat small, often and balanced in between recovery meals

Throughout this, I also have little interest in eating anything thats obviously bad for me - I’m not sure if its a crave thing or just while I’m doing all of this not waste my time with it, either way its working out. Getting through these sessions and feeling strong is the goal. Losing weight and seeing my body composition change is the bonus!

On to Base1 (of 3) there are a bunch of quality/speed building sessions over the next 4 weeks. I also plan on finally getting my tri-bike this or next week and hopefully by the end of this month start to get some more sessions outside (there is a brutal 120min bike this week that I’m going to have to hammer out on the spin bike - not going to be fun).

Back to getting the upcoming week organized and start my week with long swim before work!

http://www.trainingbible.com/resources.aspx

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:00:34 -0500

http://www.trainingbible.com/resources.aspx:

Solid white-papers by Joe Friel on understanding AeT, body chemistry, and fatigue (under ‘training tips’)