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11-32 to 11-34

August 30, 2010

I moving back to 11-34 cassette because I’m a puss.  Last time I ran 11-34 was 2008 and I had a great year.  Reviewing my data files, my cadence was much more ‘stable’ during races.  Running 11-32 my cadence is all over the place.  I can’t find my groove.  Either too easy or too hard.  I was hoping the legs would just get stronger but doesn’t seem to be the case.  I did buy XTR cassette to help absorb the additional weight of a 11-34.  I know it’s minimal, but given how much I suck at climbing, the last thing I am willing to do is add additional weight.

I’m will have to make a decision for next year on what I want to race:  Mountain bikes or triathlons.  Doing both is causing me to perform about average in both sports.  Since doing triathlons, my mountain biking has tanked.  Seriously tanked.  One idea is staying focused on triathlons and moving back to sport category for mountain biking.  Or just do one or two triathlons and focus all on mountain biking.  It will be a tough decision, but something has to give. 

Five Ways To Get Ahead

August 9, 2010

Taken from Triathlon Plus May 2009 Magazine


  1. DON’T OVER FOCUS. It can sometimes be detrimental to over-focus on one specific race.  Putting you ‘eggs in one basket’ can result in you beating yourself up over one bad race.  Instead, if you have a bad race, look ahead to the next one and focus on ways to improve.


  2. STAY POSITIVE. Never give up until the race is over.  This applied to me during Millennium Triathlon this past weekend.  The first mile of the run was just brutal.  I was also getting passed by just about the entire field.  Despite how much I’ve trained for the bike-run transition, I just felt miserable.  Instead, I did everything possible to stay positive, and in the end I had a great run.


  3. PREPARE LIKE A SOLDIER. It’s essential to be organized to have a good race.   Knowing your pre-race routine, and practicing it, will allow you to relax more the day before the race.


  4. LEARN TO CHILL OUT. A little bit of nervousness is good, too much is destructive.  One reason athletes get nervous is that they worry to much about what other people think.


  5. PUSH YOUR LIMITS. Don’t expect to improve if you don’t give 100% during your training.  This is very hard for me because I have nobody to train with.  My structured workouts, coupled with a powertap and Garmin virtual training partner, keep me pushing and pushing.


Building Mental Toughness

July 13, 2010

Triathlete Magazine, June 2010 by Mark Allen (six time winner of Ironman World Championship in Hawaii)


Mental toughness was my strength three years ago.  Back when I spent a lot of time passing people.  Last two years, after moving up to Expert, mental toughness is my weakness.  Being passed by EVERYBODY starts to wear on ones mental state.  I thought this article had some good pointers.


Goal 1: Have Quiet Attention


Exactly what it sounds like.  Quiet your mind to stop all thinking.  This is suppose to prevent any negative thoughts.  If you find yourself moving towards destructive self-chatter, just to yourself to STFU (I added the TF part).  This is something I try to do now.  Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t.


Goal 2:  Suspend Judgment


Here’s an awesome quote: “There is no perfect race, but you can race a race perfectly”.  Basically that means you deal with every situation that comes your way in a calm manner.  Think of the Seinfeld episode: “Serenity Now!!!!!” 


Goal 3.  Find Strength Before You Need It


Where will you draw your strength from when you want to quit?  This is the story of my last two race season.  There are times I pray for a broken chain or flat tire.  Some excuse to end a race.  Think ahead of time where you will draw your strength to overcome this obstacle.   I tend to be very hard on myself, so the thought of looking at myself in the mirror knowing I quit would not turn out good.  Also, there’s the fact you have to tell your family and friends you quit, etc. 


Anyways, I thought these were good tips for mental strength. 

Training for off-road runs

July 12, 2010

As written in Triathlete magazine in August 2010, by Melanie McQuaid (3x winner of Xterra World Championship)


Xterra’s are significantly harder than road triathlons (Olympic and Sprint).  The mountain biking and trail running will test your limits like they’ve never been tested before.  Below are some training tactics I read about in the latest Triathlete magazine.

  1. Hill Repeats. These train not only your uphill strength but your downhill speed.  Short hill intervals followed by easy downhill running will help mimic most trail conditions.  Sample workout includes 6 x 30 seconds and gradually start to increase the length (up to two minutes) as your fitness improves.


  2. Long, Hilly Runs.  Running on flat roads will not prepare one for Xterra style running.  You need to run hills, the bigger the better.  Try to avoid technical terrain so you don’t get an ankle injury.


  3. Trail Races.  Any type of races pushes your limits more than you can even in your best training workouts.  Adding trail races will push your trail running limits and improve your abilities.



The idea of running up hill is not new, I just don’t like it. I usually run up and down the local ski hill.  It’s a killer workout.

Break Through Run

July 11, 2010

I finally saw some real improvements in my run.  I just ran a 5k at a 7.36 pace.  This was a day after hard interval training on my mountain bike, so I had sore legs.  I even stopped a couple times to flush the sweat from my eyes (I couldn’t see).  My previous pace was 8.55.  I’m not much of a runner, so I’m very happy to see this improvement. 

Recovery Secrets from the Pros

July 9, 2010

Article in August Triathlete Magazine had some interesting recovery tips from various pros.  I can’t list them all, but some of the pros include Sarah Hammer (3x World Champion), Samantha McGlone (Olympian and Ironman World Champion), Ruvell Martin (NFL Wide Reciever) and Joe Friel (if you don’t know Joe Friel then you don’t belong here).

 

From this article there are two things that really stood out. 

 

  1. Massage with foam roller.  Now I just started doing this and it is amazing.  I also bought ‘The Stick’ which is great for doing right after a race. 

  2. Compression clothing.  In particular, they mentioned Zoot Tights. Of the eight pro athletes interviewed, five used compression clothes. I’ve been a skeptic of compression clothing and thought it was more marketing than proven science.  However,  given the endorsement from such accomplished athletes, I decided to order a pair.  Now these such is not cheap, which is another reason I stayed away.  However Pro Bike Kit out of the UK had the Zoot tights on sale, plus an additional 15% off with code: PBK15.  I’ll follow up on the results.

 

Some of the other items mentioned were ice bath (even the mention of that causes shrinkage), recovery ride and nutritional needs, such as Recoverite, etc.  I’ve noticed a big improvement when I started using Recoverite a few years ago.  Lately I’ve been using the Gatorade Recovery drink, mainly because it taste good.  There is also good old chocolate milk.  

Myths About Stretching

June 22, 2010

Source: Uncovering the Myths About Stretching by Jeffrey Sankoff, MD (Triathlete magazine July 2010)

 

Can’t find the article on-line and I’m sure not typing the whole thing, but will take some excerpts that I found interesting.

 

First, what are the myths.  I’ve always been told that stretching helps reduce soreness, injury and range of motion.  That makes sense to me, but Dr.Sankoff points out that there has been very little scientifically investigation into these claims. 

 

“While it is true that stretching does improve both range of motion and flexibility, this had not been shown to translate to any other objective markers of performance.  Specifically, large trials have shown that stretching either regularly or before strenuous activity does not prevent DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).  In fact, studies have shown that stretching may be detrimental to performance”

 

Detrimental?  How is that possible?

 

“A great deal of evidence now exists demonstrating that stretching reduces both muscle strength and ability to perform anaerobically…these findings have been constant across numerous types of stretching programs and exercises.”

 

Now I have heard that stretching BEFORE exercise is not good, but I always thought that stretching after is very important.  Dr.Sankoff says stretching doesn’t need to be removed from your exercise plan, but should be done with the understanding of the benefits or lack of.

 

So if stretching helps with flexibility and range of motion, then the focus should be on how flexibility and range of motion help with athletic performance.  At least that’s the next obvious question to me.  Guess I need to research that. 

Testing Your Swim Fitness

June 17, 2010

Testing Your Swim Fitness.

I don’t think I’ve ever actually ‘tested’ my swimming fitness.  I know I’ve improved significantly but never really tested.  I just figured the actual race would be the test.  If I climb out of the water alive, I passed the test.  I will definitely give these tests a try and see if I can start building a benchmark for my swimming fitness.

18 Miles and Short Run

June 3, 2010

Bike Stats
Run Stats

Nice relaxing ride on roads that had minimal traffic.  Suppose to be cruise intervals today, which are very stressful on legs, but I changed to more of an endurance recovery ride since I felt my legs needed that. 

The transition from bike to run is still painful, but after a mile, my legs do just fine.  That first mile is pure torture.   I’ll try to always throw in a run after a bike even if it’s only a mile or two, just so my legs get use to the transition. 

Training Peaks

May 26, 2010

You will notice in the right sidebar that I’ve added training peaks.  I’ve used it on and off over the past year but slowly migrating away from sportracks to TP. I know TP cost money but have access to my training plan via iPhone is awesome.  I also find it much more user friendly.  There are some downsides to it, including equipment tracking.  With ST you can track components (chains and cassette) mileage which helps with knowing when it might be time to replace them. 

You can see my profile by clicking on link, however historical information is not entirely accurate (hours, etc) since I didn’t use it 100% of the time.  I am going to use both ST and TP for the rest of the year and decide then which to stick with. 

Discouraged Racer :(

May 18, 2010

So I’m starting my second year racing expert category and let me tell you it’s not going so well.  I had a stellar year in 2008 and per the rules, which have since been changed, I had to move to expert.  Since the rules did change, I could have moved back to sport, but I wanted the challenge.  I am getting more than I can handle.

During 2009 I raced Expert in MMBA series and Sport in USAC series. I didn’t want to invest in the license required for USAC since I wasn’t sure how many races I would be doing.  Even racing sport, my best finish in the USAC was 5th.  I wrote off 2009 to a training season since I also increased the number of triathlons I was doing.  My training was broken up between swimming, biking and running. 

Enter 2010.  I have 5 races under my belt (and one 10k running race).  The first was the Barry Roubaix dirt road race, which I thought I did okay considering I had the worst gearing possible for the race.  12-21 cassette on a CX bike and tons of hills.  I should have just used my mountain bike (I borrowed the CX bike the night before from my cousin). 

The following races I just couldn’t perform at the level I wanted too.  At Yankee TT, my race time was slower than my training time.  Every time I step on the gas, my engine sputters.  This past weekend really hit home. It was a stage race, meaning two races on Saturday (TT and Crit) and one on Sunday (XC).  I finished last in the TT, which I thought had to do with course knowledge.  Never ridden the course before.  Ran it during an Xterra, just never ridden.  During my warm-ups, I noticed my legs were burning up fast.  Apparently they have not recovered from the 10k race the weekend before. 

Then came the crit race, which I’ve NEVER done before.  Fun race and great crowd.  Again,  I step on the gas and all I get is sputtering. 

Come Sunday and I was dragging my ass to the starting line.  The XC race starts.  I wasn’t sure if I would even do it since my lower back was fried, which after an adjustment on second lap (seat height), that helped a lot.  Wish I would have fixed it during Fort Custer a couple weeks earlier.  I was almost bed ridden after that race my lower back hurt so much. 

Anyways, the first lap I was feeling mentally positive, physically drained. I actually was passing people.  I adjusted my seat post at start of second lap and took off. I started to pass more and more people.  Then boom.  Body had enough.  I continue on the third lap and this is where i was mentally crushed.  An Elite racer passed me (lapped) and he turned around and asked why I was even racing.  Normally I’d invite him to get off his bike so I could shove his bike up his ass, but my ego has taken five races of crappy performance. 

I started to wonder why I even bother to race.  I have a pure breed racing bike, 2010 S-Works Epic, with a basically a beginner racer on it.  I feel like a poser.  My race times would barely register in sport category.  Today I can’t motivate myself to train.  I still ask why I bother to race.  I was crushed by the Elite’s comments to me on the trail. 

I read some of my posts during my stellar 2008 season and it’s just night and day difference.  My HR zones and Muscular Endurance was so strong.  Not so much anymore.

So I have to ask myself: What’s changed?

  1. My HR maxes almost instantly and barely recovers
  2. My legs blow up instantly and barely recover.

Why do I think this is so?

  1. Maybe the break up of training (swim, bike, run) is causing recovery issues and I’m entering races burned out still. 
    1. Fix:  Don’t do as many races or use some races as part of your training if they fit in
  2. My training is not as structured despite having a coach put together a training package. 
    1. Fix: Go back to 2008 and repeat what you did then.
  3. I’m on new medication for ADHD. I asked my doctor if this affects performance and he didn’t think so, however after a google search, there were a ton of information from athletes who say their HR maxes out quickly on this medication, which is exactly my problem. Also weight gain is a side-affect.  I’m 10 pounds heavier and despite all my activity, can’t lose a single pound.
    1. Fix: Change medication.  Have an appointment in two weeks.

I don’t want to stop racing. I enjoy it, but right now I feel like a burden to my fellow expert racers.  I know every category somebody has to finish last but I’m not okay with that.  I hope these changes help. 

Had My First Race…

April 20, 2009

First race of the season kicked off Sunday.  The prior to Sunday was sunny and 65 degrees.  Sunday was rainy and 40 degrees.  I was frozen to the core prior to starting. 

This is my first race in expert and the good news is that I destroyed my time from last year.  I should note that last year we only had to do one lap.  Experts do two laps.  Even my second lap time was 2 minutes slower than last years first lap. 

The good news is that I didn’t finish dead last.  There were 8 people below me and a whole bunch above me.  :)

Things are going to change.  I started this blog to hold myself accountable to my training.  My new job teaching drained the majority of my time which resulted in less training.  The semester is over so it’s time to pick it up.  After getting owned in this past race, I am ready to tear it up. 

Ouch

April 3, 2009

Leaving the gym a couple of days ago and hit my knee on a metal door.  It’s one of those perfect hits, kind of like stubbing your toe.  It damn near knock me down.  Is been a couple of days and it’s still bruised.  It’s annoying because I couldn’t hit it that perfect if I tried.  I’m taking today off from training to see if that helps at all.  Tomorrow is suppose to be nice so I’d like to spend a few hours on the trail.

Kinda Sore After First Ride

March 26, 2009

Finally got on the trail and let me tell ya, I’m hurting this week.  All those hours on the trainer and spin bike doesn’t really prepare you for the stress a real ride puts on your body.  It’s not so much the legs, but all those little stabilizing muscles that you don’t really use on a trainer or spin bike because they are fixed objects.  My lower back is hurting. 

After my ride i did run two miles on the trail which fried my calf muscles. 

Today going out for another ride, after that it looks like rain for a few days.  :(

Friday morning, my goal is to swim a 1/2 mile (in pool), then do spin class.  After that I hope to run a couple miles on the trail.  It’s suppose to rain so that might change my plans. 

Arm In A Brace :(

March 1, 2009

Feel like I haven’t been on here in awhile.  Still get a lot of visitors, it must be my stunning good looks.  ;)

Despite not posting my training log, I am putting in the hours.  Teaching is taking up MUCH more time than I anticipated so I always feel like I’m running around like a chicken with no head. 

(disclaimer:  I’ve never seen a chicken with no head but I hear they freak out and run around, which is the part I can relate too).

I went to the doctor on Friday and they gave me two options to fix my Ulnar nerve (numb pinky and ring finger).  I can wear a brace for a month and hopefully that fixes it or a simple surgery where they release the pressure.  At most I’d be down a week.  I guess that’s good news, not much of an interuption.  I can still ride and I taught spin class on Friday, I just take the brace off.

Have a brace that keeps your arm straight is awkward.  You’d be surprised at how many times you actually bend your arm.  I do have a funny story.  I am on an Peanut M&M kick right now.  I poured some in my hand and went to throw them in my mouth, but with the brace I couldn’t bend my arm so they ended up in the backseat where Hank (My dog) was more than excited to receive them.  I was laughing so hard I thought I’d have to pull over.  What an idiot I can be.  LOL.

I received an email request on putting together a training video.  I never really thought of that but it intrigued me.  I may do that just for the fun of it.  I’m not sure where I’ll find the time though. 

Also, my doctor put me on sleeping medication to help with my insomia. These things are awesome.  I wake up around at 4am for the gym completely energized.  On days I don’t workout, I get up at 7am, wide awake and energized.  I bought a case of 6-hour energy bottles but haven’t touched them.  I’ve never felt so rested, relaxed and energized. I love them. 

Anyways, it’s spring break so I don’t have to teach this week so I may make a workout video and post it here so you can all laugh at me.  I dont even have a camcorder.  Should be interesting. 

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