Sunday, September 18, 2011
Back on the Trails
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Getting Back Into Tri Shape
Ok...so for the past 3 weeks I have not run...at least till today. Tomorrow morning I go see Dr Stark, my orthopedic doc. Gotta get my left foot checked out. For the last week I've been in the pool doing an average of 1,000 yards each work out. It may not seem like much, but I need to work up to longer distances. My right shoulder that I jacked up 9 weeks ago is sore and I need to not take on too much mileage at this point.
I managed to get in a 50 mile ride yesterday. Needless to say my crotch is sore from the ride. Trying to get as much time in the saddle as possible. I'm surprisingly strong on the bike right now and it feels effortless even though I've been hitting the hills. Think it's my leg strength from he past 4 months of training in the Rockies, trail running, along with the extra red cells.
Weight is in check at about 176lbs....feeling fast...feeling light....feeling strong.
Cheers!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Progress.....
Yesterday I went out for my 20 mile ride out and back in Brentwood. It's the same route as last Friday. With my left foot still giving me problems I'm focused on the swim/bike routine for the next few weeks. So...last Friday I went out in the windy afternoon heat with temps around 98F. It was hot. It was also my first time on the bike in quite a while. was 16.8MPH and it took me 1 hour and 13 minutes. Admittedly my goal that day was to just get in a nice ride, the heat had my HR averaging 139BPM. Yesterday with the temps around 65F, or less than 30 degrees lower than on Monday, and heavy rains and winds I hopped on my bike at around 12:30PM. With my speeds averaging 19.6 MPH I finished in 1 hour and 2 minutes. The clincher....my HR averaged 133.
I felt great in the cooler temps, my state of mind was clear, I wanted to ride so I pushed it. Throughout the 1 hour ride I probably also put on 2-3 pounds from the heavy rains. Overall I was pleased with the ride. Once again my 3 toes on my left foot went numb as did my 2nd and 3rd toe on my right foot. My bike shoes were not tight at all and I was not wearing my inserts, so no abnormal pressure to either of the feet. Thinking that today it was just the cold, wet weather.
During the ride I was thinking about why did I feel so good today, was it my state of mind, the cooler temps, a days rest from riding, improvement from my previous ride, the egg over easy on a bagel, my hydration, etc. I also, thought about what my aunt use to say when she worked at Harry's dry cleaners in Syracuse. She could never get out a blood stain if the blood was the result of a fight. There was a chemical in the blood, perhaps adrenaline, that made it impossible to get the stain out. So that got me thinking once again about the state of mind of an athlete, nutrition, body chemistry and its impact on overall performance. When you hear the saying mind over matter, I'm thinking that's what that means....This area needs much more attention. This is an area that I intend to focus on. I'm on a SWA flight right now and landing in a few minutes...more to follow.
PT
I felt great in the cooler temps, my state of mind was clear, I wanted to ride so I pushed it. Throughout the 1 hour ride I probably also put on 2-3 pounds from the heavy rains. Overall I was pleased with the ride. Once again my 3 toes on my left foot went numb as did my 2nd and 3rd toe on my right foot. My bike shoes were not tight at all and I was not wearing my inserts, so no abnormal pressure to either of the feet. Thinking that today it was just the cold, wet weather.
During the ride I was thinking about why did I feel so good today, was it my state of mind, the cooler temps, a days rest from riding, improvement from my previous ride, the egg over easy on a bagel, my hydration, etc. I also, thought about what my aunt use to say when she worked at Harry's dry cleaners in Syracuse. She could never get out a blood stain if the blood was the result of a fight. There was a chemical in the blood, perhaps adrenaline, that made it impossible to get the stain out. So that got me thinking once again about the state of mind of an athlete, nutrition, body chemistry and its impact on overall performance. When you hear the saying mind over matter, I'm thinking that's what that means....This area needs much more attention. This is an area that I intend to focus on. I'm on a SWA flight right now and landing in a few minutes...more to follow.
PT
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Bicycle, Bicycle......
I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike, I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride it where I like.........Like Nice France in June 2012. I haven't been able to run since the Leadville 100 as I've tweaked my left foot and not certain what the issue is at this point...maybe plantar fasciitis....maybe achilles issue at the point of insertion...maybe a bone spur(s). The symptoms are a pinching pain on the right base side of the heel when stretched, also the 3 middle toes are numb on occasion and sometimes feel like I've got a small lump in the soft middle padding of my left foot. Hmmm....not certain, so headed off to see Dr. Stark in the next week, or as soon as I can get in.
The pain hasn't stopped me from riding my bike, however, it seems as the riding my bike contributes to the numbness of the three middle toes. I've experienced this before and it kind of comes and goes. Gotta do more research on contributing factors, possible diagnoses and potential exercises to rehab it....much more to follow.
On Friday On got in a late afternoon 20 mile ride on the FB2PRO, a fast bike. It was my first time on the TTbike in months. My last bike experience was in the Leadville 100M MTB race, when I DNF'd at mile 60 after 8 hours and 15 minutes. That's a long time on a bike......So after a long break from the bike and a 2 week break from really any exercise per se, I hopped on my bike and gave it a go. Didn't push super hard, but in the 98F heat and afternoon winds, my average pace was a little of 17MPH. On this track I usually average 18-20MPH, depending on the conditions as well as my goals for the ride.
Yesterday, I stepped it up and got in a 40 mile ride. I left at about 2PM when the mercury was bubbling up to 100F. It was sunny. It was hot. At about mile 3 I flatted my back tire and skidded of the road into a field as i was cornering a turn at about 25MPH. For those of you that have experience this, it's a little scary at first, especially when in aero position as your hands are away from the brakes. Because you're not expecting to flat, your first thoughts are always one of confusion and wondering if you're hitting a rough patch on the road. Sometimes, if you're lucky you'll hear a bang or pop sound which alerts you of a flat, but most of the time, that doesn't happen. So without a tree in sight, I proceeded to change out the flat as I baked in the sun....not a good way to start my ride. It took me 2 CO2 cartridges to fill the new tube as I had issues with the stem extender. Once fixed, after about 10 minutes, I got back on the bike and hoped for the best.
Overall it was a good ride, i consumed about 35 Oz of water with Heed. I had plenty of energy, my HR averaged about 130BPM and minus the tire change it took me about 2 hours to go 40 miles. There were tough head winds on the out and on the back I had an occasional tail wind, but cross winds seemed to prevail and it made for a long back. I was dehydrated from the heat and needed more water. On a day like this I should be consuming 30 oz/hr to avoid dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.
So let's talk about the saddle....clearly the weak link in my chain....my butt is not saddle worthy yet. I know that I have to start back up the 1 hour per day spin classes in Denver to get both my bike legs and butt back into shape to handle the long rides. As I begin to prepare for IM Nice, France I need to review my bike training and technique so that I can conquer the rolling hills and climbs that the French Riviera will throw at me. I suffered for 7 hours on the bike in Lanzarote and I need to be off it in 5:30 in France....this will be a tall task...and will require a thoughtful training plan.
Today, I'm headed up to the gyn with Jack to shoot some hoops and jump in the pool for a 30 minute swim. I haven't been in the pool in months so this will be interesting. I'm going to need to get serious this winter in the pool so I can get my swim times down in the 1:15 range, which I know I can do if I drop a few pounds and get my butt in pool at least 3-4 days a week.
It all sounds good right now....time will tell.
Cheers!
The pain hasn't stopped me from riding my bike, however, it seems as the riding my bike contributes to the numbness of the three middle toes. I've experienced this before and it kind of comes and goes. Gotta do more research on contributing factors, possible diagnoses and potential exercises to rehab it....much more to follow.
On Friday On got in a late afternoon 20 mile ride on the FB2PRO, a fast bike. It was my first time on the TTbike in months. My last bike experience was in the Leadville 100M MTB race, when I DNF'd at mile 60 after 8 hours and 15 minutes. That's a long time on a bike......So after a long break from the bike and a 2 week break from really any exercise per se, I hopped on my bike and gave it a go. Didn't push super hard, but in the 98F heat and afternoon winds, my average pace was a little of 17MPH. On this track I usually average 18-20MPH, depending on the conditions as well as my goals for the ride.
Yesterday, I stepped it up and got in a 40 mile ride. I left at about 2PM when the mercury was bubbling up to 100F. It was sunny. It was hot. At about mile 3 I flatted my back tire and skidded of the road into a field as i was cornering a turn at about 25MPH. For those of you that have experience this, it's a little scary at first, especially when in aero position as your hands are away from the brakes. Because you're not expecting to flat, your first thoughts are always one of confusion and wondering if you're hitting a rough patch on the road. Sometimes, if you're lucky you'll hear a bang or pop sound which alerts you of a flat, but most of the time, that doesn't happen. So without a tree in sight, I proceeded to change out the flat as I baked in the sun....not a good way to start my ride. It took me 2 CO2 cartridges to fill the new tube as I had issues with the stem extender. Once fixed, after about 10 minutes, I got back on the bike and hoped for the best.
Overall it was a good ride, i consumed about 35 Oz of water with Heed. I had plenty of energy, my HR averaged about 130BPM and minus the tire change it took me about 2 hours to go 40 miles. There were tough head winds on the out and on the back I had an occasional tail wind, but cross winds seemed to prevail and it made for a long back. I was dehydrated from the heat and needed more water. On a day like this I should be consuming 30 oz/hr to avoid dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.
So let's talk about the saddle....clearly the weak link in my chain....my butt is not saddle worthy yet. I know that I have to start back up the 1 hour per day spin classes in Denver to get both my bike legs and butt back into shape to handle the long rides. As I begin to prepare for IM Nice, France I need to review my bike training and technique so that I can conquer the rolling hills and climbs that the French Riviera will throw at me. I suffered for 7 hours on the bike in Lanzarote and I need to be off it in 5:30 in France....this will be a tall task...and will require a thoughtful training plan.
Today, I'm headed up to the gyn with Jack to shoot some hoops and jump in the pool for a 30 minute swim. I haven't been in the pool in months so this will be interesting. I'm going to need to get serious this winter in the pool so I can get my swim times down in the 1:15 range, which I know I can do if I drop a few pounds and get my butt in pool at least 3-4 days a week.
It all sounds good right now....time will tell.
Cheers!
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