Last week was one of my best training weeks of the year. Not withstanding that I haven't swam a lap in 2 weeks, my running was solid and my cycling was, well FUN! For only the second week in my training I actually completed my prescribed run training to the letter. No missed workouts, no dialing down the intensity. Just followed my training to the letter. As I enter the last 4 weeks until my 1/2 marathon I am feeling stronger and stronger. My running as improved greatly, and I am even starting to feel like my sub 8 minute miles may be returning to me (hopefully for good).
I had started to ponder the eventuality of losing fitness due to age. Then I chanced across this weeks Washington Post magazine which told the story of two African-American brothers ages 84 and 89 who were competing in the Senior Olympics. These guys have been swimming for 50 years or so and apparently have no plans of stopping! I figured if these guys can keep going then I have no excuses. That, coupled with the fact I went on a 50+ mile ride and ended up being the YOUNGEST rider, made me feel I have a long happy athletic career ahead of me.
On October 4th the 12th annual Becca's Run 5k takes place in my Woodmoor neighborhood. The start is up the block (literally) from my house and I have made it a tradition of hosting a post run coffee and donut party (donuts from the FABULOUS Woodmoor bakery) at my house. All are welcome, all you have to do is trudge the 3.1 miles and RSVP with the number of donuts you wish to eat. Showers are available as well. Please arrive early if you do attend as the streets are closed off to accommodate the race.
Coming soon to Tri-ing Times Ahead.... Calculators!
Ever wonder how fast you need to go to say finish that 12 mile ride in 40 minutes? This is the type of thing I ponder all the time before races. So to make that a little easier for me and all those involved, Tri-ing Times Ahead will be adding calculator gadgets for swimming, running and cycling in the not to distant future. I hope you find this helpful the next time you need to calculate your next 40k time trial (or 5k run, or well you get the picture).
Random Thoughts....
Summer seems like a great time to plan your winter schedule so I am planning a few winter indoor training sessions. Trainers provided but you need to bring your own bike...... My wife made me a deal the other day, if I could get ride of three bikes, I could get a new one. Well 1 bike is gone, another I have a buyer for so 1 to go..... Now I just have to figure out what other bike I want. Of course these are the types of problems I like to have........
Peace and keep training.....
Rob
Monday, August 18, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Re-evaluating the season. Again......
It's been fun competing this year. I achieved most of my goals or came very close. So now with all of my goal races for the year finished, I started to consider how best to use the rest of the season. Since running was a weakness I decided to focus on running for a while. I have probably run more in the last two months than I did in the last six. Hopefully this will pay off on Sept. 14th when I attempt my first half marathon. So far my speed work has been encouraging and my endurance has been OK. If I can stay consistent for the next 5 weeks, hopefully my goal of a sub 2 hour race will come to fruition.
Looking back on the season is often overlooked as a means of improving your FUTURE performance. By reading over my training journal, I realized that one of the main reasons I suffered such a poor 10K at St. Anthony's triathlon was because I failed to take in enough fuel. I also didn't adequately hydrate on the run. Part of that was due to the fact that the swim and bike took place while it was relatively cool. However by the time the run rolled around the temperature had risen 5 - 7 degrees. This was enough to significantly increase my water intake needs. By carefully scrutinizing my diary I was able to correct this when I did the mountains of misery and I never felt drained for energy the whole ride, despite the fact that it was a significantly longer event. I also realized that scheduling a race so early in the season was probably, if not a mistake, then an over estimation of my ability to train adequately during the cold Maryland winter. Accordingly I have schedule my first Olympic distance race a month later next year. If I can train more diligently during this winter I will consider returning to St. Anthony's in 2010.
Having reviewed my training for the year, and still possessing a fair bit of fitness, I plan to try to participate in a few bike races or duathlons just for fun to finish off the season. However, before I begin to focus to much on next year a few acknowledgments are in order. So without further ado, I present the Rob's Training Awards for 2008 (hell everyone else has an award show, why not me?....)
Best Training partner: Jeff - Aside from his ride anywhere, anytime, mentality, he's a good friend to boot and since I can't drop him any more he pushes me just as much as I push him.
Best Non-training partner: Lisa, my wife, has been very supportive , what with the long hours in the pool, on the bike etc. That said, next year I want you to take the Best Training partner award HONEY :-)
Most missed training partner: Miguel, I know you had your first born, but we MISS you man! Drop all the running and get back on the bike!
Most improved: Mike M. Very impressive Mike, now if you can cut down those 8 minute transitions you may just win your age group!
Of course I enjoyed training with everyone, remembering the funny stuff, and trying to forget the suffering.
One pet peeve for the year tho..... no one wants to come with me on the Sunday fast ride, c'mon guys, I know it's fast but hey we've all been dropped before, no shame OK?????
Gadget review:
As I mentioned in a earlier blog this year I purchased a Real Axiom trainer. Over all I have been pleased, but since the weather has been so nice I haven't used it that much. I have used it more than the last time I blogged so here are a few more things of interest.
I dropped $40 on the Alpe D'Huez DVD. Now I have actually ascended the Alpe twice. I must say the actually climb is MUCH HARDER! Now this shouldn't really be news. Its hard to completely and accurately reproduce any real climb on a trainer. One of the more obvious limitations of the Real Axiom trainer is it only reproduces grades up to 8%. Of course the Alpe has grades up to 12% and has an average grade of 8.5% so that explains some of the discrepancies. The course is easy to install and the video is of very good quality. It's a bit amusing watching the "real riders" who are struggling up the climb. In fact, watching some of the video riders will give you an impression of just how hard the climb really is. At 8.5 miles it a good hill climbing workout. On the Real Axiom sight some people have posted times in the 32 to 33 minute range for the climb, which is impressive and makes me think they don't really need the trainer! On little thing I missed are the switchback signs. On the climb up to Alpe D' Huez each switchback has a sign that tells you what number it is and they counts down all the way to 1. This was a great source of motivation as I got closer to the top of climb when I did it 1994. Unfortunately the signs are not really visible on the video. I did, however, see the grass I laid down in when I bonked on my first attempt in 1993. I have to admit, I had to chuckle as I zipped by it on the video. Since Alpe D' Huez is such a monumental climb and such an icon of the Tour de France, after the season winds down I will be throwing a ride the Alpe party featuring French wine, cheese, baguettes, and an opportunity for those so motivated to ride the Alpe (on the trainer of course). Best time wins a bottle of wine!
I'm still working on a full review of the Real Axiom, probably to arrive sometime in September so stay tuned. And if anyone out there has done any LAN racing with it yet I would like to know. I tried a preliminary setup but couldn't quite get it to work. I'm stubborn though and I haven't given up yet.
Peace and keep training.....
Rob
Looking back on the season is often overlooked as a means of improving your FUTURE performance. By reading over my training journal, I realized that one of the main reasons I suffered such a poor 10K at St. Anthony's triathlon was because I failed to take in enough fuel. I also didn't adequately hydrate on the run. Part of that was due to the fact that the swim and bike took place while it was relatively cool. However by the time the run rolled around the temperature had risen 5 - 7 degrees. This was enough to significantly increase my water intake needs. By carefully scrutinizing my diary I was able to correct this when I did the mountains of misery and I never felt drained for energy the whole ride, despite the fact that it was a significantly longer event. I also realized that scheduling a race so early in the season was probably, if not a mistake, then an over estimation of my ability to train adequately during the cold Maryland winter. Accordingly I have schedule my first Olympic distance race a month later next year. If I can train more diligently during this winter I will consider returning to St. Anthony's in 2010.
Having reviewed my training for the year, and still possessing a fair bit of fitness, I plan to try to participate in a few bike races or duathlons just for fun to finish off the season. However, before I begin to focus to much on next year a few acknowledgments are in order. So without further ado, I present the Rob's Training Awards for 2008 (hell everyone else has an award show, why not me?....)
Best Training partner: Jeff - Aside from his ride anywhere, anytime, mentality, he's a good friend to boot and since I can't drop him any more he pushes me just as much as I push him.
Best Non-training partner: Lisa, my wife, has been very supportive , what with the long hours in the pool, on the bike etc. That said, next year I want you to take the Best Training partner award HONEY :-)
Most missed training partner: Miguel, I know you had your first born, but we MISS you man! Drop all the running and get back on the bike!
Most improved: Mike M. Very impressive Mike, now if you can cut down those 8 minute transitions you may just win your age group!
Of course I enjoyed training with everyone, remembering the funny stuff, and trying to forget the suffering.
One pet peeve for the year tho..... no one wants to come with me on the Sunday fast ride, c'mon guys, I know it's fast but hey we've all been dropped before, no shame OK?????
Gadget review:
As I mentioned in a earlier blog this year I purchased a Real Axiom trainer. Over all I have been pleased, but since the weather has been so nice I haven't used it that much. I have used it more than the last time I blogged so here are a few more things of interest.
I dropped $40 on the Alpe D'Huez DVD. Now I have actually ascended the Alpe twice. I must say the actually climb is MUCH HARDER! Now this shouldn't really be news. Its hard to completely and accurately reproduce any real climb on a trainer. One of the more obvious limitations of the Real Axiom trainer is it only reproduces grades up to 8%. Of course the Alpe has grades up to 12% and has an average grade of 8.5% so that explains some of the discrepancies. The course is easy to install and the video is of very good quality. It's a bit amusing watching the "real riders" who are struggling up the climb. In fact, watching some of the video riders will give you an impression of just how hard the climb really is. At 8.5 miles it a good hill climbing workout. On the Real Axiom sight some people have posted times in the 32 to 33 minute range for the climb, which is impressive and makes me think they don't really need the trainer! On little thing I missed are the switchback signs. On the climb up to Alpe D' Huez each switchback has a sign that tells you what number it is and they counts down all the way to 1. This was a great source of motivation as I got closer to the top of climb when I did it 1994. Unfortunately the signs are not really visible on the video. I did, however, see the grass I laid down in when I bonked on my first attempt in 1993. I have to admit, I had to chuckle as I zipped by it on the video. Since Alpe D' Huez is such a monumental climb and such an icon of the Tour de France, after the season winds down I will be throwing a ride the Alpe party featuring French wine, cheese, baguettes, and an opportunity for those so motivated to ride the Alpe (on the trainer of course). Best time wins a bottle of wine!
I'm still working on a full review of the Real Axiom, probably to arrive sometime in September so stay tuned. And if anyone out there has done any LAN racing with it yet I would like to know. I tried a preliminary setup but couldn't quite get it to work. I'm stubborn though and I haven't given up yet.
Peace and keep training.....
Rob
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Where I was, where I am, where I'm going and my apologies for being gone so long....
I've missed blogging..... but I have been busy. So a little catching up is in order. When last we spoke (or I spoke I guess) I was preparing for one of my A races and reviewing gadgets. My legs were also rubbery for climbing all Memorial day. So what happened?
Tri-to Win Sprint Triathlon June 15th Westminster MD.
The race went well for me. I set a new PR for the course taking 2 minutes off my bike time and running slightly faster than 2 years ago. My swim time was only slightly faster which was disappointing, but I plan to devote significant time to swimming in the near future since this is clearly my limiting discipline. The other cool thing was I convinced a couple of friends who had never done a tri to participate. They did great although one of them had an 8 minute transition time due to having their race number blowing away a few times! Other than that, the race was great. We had great weather and the race organization did a great job as always. I plan to participate next year as well.
Once the Tri- to Win was over I had accomplished most of my major goals for the year. I was a little lost. I hadn't planned anything for later in the year so I just decided to relax and go with the flow, ya know, run when I felt like it, swim when I felt like it, ride when, well you get the picture. With the improving weather and longer daylight I decided to resurrect an old ride that used to take place a few years ago.
Thursday thunder is now a staple for myself and a few friends. This ride hits just about every tough hill in Rock Creek park. Its a great test of your climbing legs and a great way to get your appetite ready for Thursday's dinner. Climbing with your friends builds great camaraderie (or animosity depending on their climbing ability and gearing).
After doing a few weeks of this I started to notice my fitness was improving. Realizing I was near a season peak I decided to jump into a training race in Greenbelt. This series is run every Wednesday evening from April through August and is a great way to test your bike form. I went into my first bike race in over two year not really expecting anything. Bike racing form and triathlon form can be very different things. Despite this, I managed to hang with the lead group and managed to finish 16th. My 16th probably could have been better but I forgot some golden rules of road racing. First and foremost, be in the first 5 to 10 riders and avoid using all the unnecessary energy that results from having to chase past riders being dropped from the field. I spent WAY TOO MUCH time in the back of the field doing just that. I did eventually move up but I was toast by the time the sprint started. I went back two weeks later hoping to improve to a single digit placing, but was instead rudely dropped with 3 miles to go. I managed to chase hard enough to snag 20th place. Not great but at least consistent. It also struck me that if I want to do more road racing I need to change my training to adapt to the much less steady pace by incorporating some shorter harder intervals.
All this lazing around made me decide I needed to add a goal or two for the end of the season. Since my run had let me down to some extent at St. Anthony's I decided a 1/2 marathon would be in order to get some run focused work into my training. So on Sept. 14th I will participate in my first foray into the double digit running world. I'll keep in touch and let you know how that works for me. I was also looking for a late season triathlon but nothing really fit into my schedule so I had decided to just bag any more serious training until next year, when I came across an add for a triathlon in Jamaica in late October. Hmmm seemed perfect, the wife wanted to take a vacation this might be a good chance to get a last race for the season in. I also ran across an add for a race in Bermuda, so there may be some warm weather races in my future.
Gadget Update
I have been using Garmin's forerunner 305 quite a bit lately so I wanted to give everyone an update. In my last post I noted a few minor quirks let me update them.
1) Heart rate is so small as to be useless. Well as it turns out you can change what is displayed on each and every screen. I put heart rate into a window which made it easy to read and created a display with all the data I was interested in seeing.
2) Too many options to remember the correct sequence of buttons to push. Well the ability to create screen with the data you want to see more or less solved this problem. The good thing is the instructions are pretty clear and helpful. You can set the watch in the mode you want BEFORE you head out making the need to switch the display more or less unnecessary.
3) With time you don't forget to switch sports, however, if don't reset the watch after switching sport a run and then a bike on the same day ends up showing up as a multi sport workout instead of s separate run and separate bike. I find this somewhat annoying.
I did have the opportunity to record a course (that is, save a workout over certain terrain for reuse). I could then compete with myself over the same course. This is a good way to push yourself when running alone. I will test the workout feature this month and get back to all those who are interested. Oh one other thing, when I started using the Garmin on my bike I didn't remove my bike computer. It was interesting to note that my bike computer's speed readout seems to accurate for instantaneous speed, although I think distance wise the Garmin is more accurate. I still have a lot to learn about the Garmin but the more I do the more pleased I am. I may even splurge for the cadence accessory (although at $40-$60 I think it's overpriced).
Future stuff.....
I'm planning an Alpe d'Huez party. Since this year Tour de France was decided on Alpe d'Huez (apologies to my wife who became a tour window for 3 weeks) I decided to invite folks over for French food, French wine , famous Alpe d'Huez moments (including some of my own) and offer them a chance to ride the fabled mountain. My trainer has a video of the fabled climb so any one wanting to make the climb will be more than welcome. I did the actually climb in 80 minutes in 1994 (about twice as long as it took Carlos Sastre this year's winner on the Alpe). There will be a bottle of wine in it for the fastest to the top.
Well that's all for now.... I'll be back much quicker this time with news, ideas, stories, and general trivia for all who are interested. Send me some feedback about what you like, what you don't, and what you'd like to see included. I'll do my best to include it.
Peace and good training....
Rob
Tri-to Win Sprint Triathlon June 15th Westminster MD.
The race went well for me. I set a new PR for the course taking 2 minutes off my bike time and running slightly faster than 2 years ago. My swim time was only slightly faster which was disappointing, but I plan to devote significant time to swimming in the near future since this is clearly my limiting discipline. The other cool thing was I convinced a couple of friends who had never done a tri to participate. They did great although one of them had an 8 minute transition time due to having their race number blowing away a few times! Other than that, the race was great. We had great weather and the race organization did a great job as always. I plan to participate next year as well.
Once the Tri- to Win was over I had accomplished most of my major goals for the year. I was a little lost. I hadn't planned anything for later in the year so I just decided to relax and go with the flow, ya know, run when I felt like it, swim when I felt like it, ride when, well you get the picture. With the improving weather and longer daylight I decided to resurrect an old ride that used to take place a few years ago.
Thursday thunder is now a staple for myself and a few friends. This ride hits just about every tough hill in Rock Creek park. Its a great test of your climbing legs and a great way to get your appetite ready for Thursday's dinner. Climbing with your friends builds great camaraderie (or animosity depending on their climbing ability and gearing).
After doing a few weeks of this I started to notice my fitness was improving. Realizing I was near a season peak I decided to jump into a training race in Greenbelt. This series is run every Wednesday evening from April through August and is a great way to test your bike form. I went into my first bike race in over two year not really expecting anything. Bike racing form and triathlon form can be very different things. Despite this, I managed to hang with the lead group and managed to finish 16th. My 16th probably could have been better but I forgot some golden rules of road racing. First and foremost, be in the first 5 to 10 riders and avoid using all the unnecessary energy that results from having to chase past riders being dropped from the field. I spent WAY TOO MUCH time in the back of the field doing just that. I did eventually move up but I was toast by the time the sprint started. I went back two weeks later hoping to improve to a single digit placing, but was instead rudely dropped with 3 miles to go. I managed to chase hard enough to snag 20th place. Not great but at least consistent. It also struck me that if I want to do more road racing I need to change my training to adapt to the much less steady pace by incorporating some shorter harder intervals.
All this lazing around made me decide I needed to add a goal or two for the end of the season. Since my run had let me down to some extent at St. Anthony's I decided a 1/2 marathon would be in order to get some run focused work into my training. So on Sept. 14th I will participate in my first foray into the double digit running world. I'll keep in touch and let you know how that works for me. I was also looking for a late season triathlon but nothing really fit into my schedule so I had decided to just bag any more serious training until next year, when I came across an add for a triathlon in Jamaica in late October. Hmmm seemed perfect, the wife wanted to take a vacation this might be a good chance to get a last race for the season in. I also ran across an add for a race in Bermuda, so there may be some warm weather races in my future.
Gadget Update
I have been using Garmin's forerunner 305 quite a bit lately so I wanted to give everyone an update. In my last post I noted a few minor quirks let me update them.
1) Heart rate is so small as to be useless. Well as it turns out you can change what is displayed on each and every screen. I put heart rate into a window which made it easy to read and created a display with all the data I was interested in seeing.
2) Too many options to remember the correct sequence of buttons to push. Well the ability to create screen with the data you want to see more or less solved this problem. The good thing is the instructions are pretty clear and helpful. You can set the watch in the mode you want BEFORE you head out making the need to switch the display more or less unnecessary.
3) With time you don't forget to switch sports, however, if don't reset the watch after switching sport a run and then a bike on the same day ends up showing up as a multi sport workout instead of s separate run and separate bike. I find this somewhat annoying.
I did have the opportunity to record a course (that is, save a workout over certain terrain for reuse). I could then compete with myself over the same course. This is a good way to push yourself when running alone. I will test the workout feature this month and get back to all those who are interested. Oh one other thing, when I started using the Garmin on my bike I didn't remove my bike computer. It was interesting to note that my bike computer's speed readout seems to accurate for instantaneous speed, although I think distance wise the Garmin is more accurate. I still have a lot to learn about the Garmin but the more I do the more pleased I am. I may even splurge for the cadence accessory (although at $40-$60 I think it's overpriced).
Future stuff.....
I'm planning an Alpe d'Huez party. Since this year Tour de France was decided on Alpe d'Huez (apologies to my wife who became a tour window for 3 weeks) I decided to invite folks over for French food, French wine , famous Alpe d'Huez moments (including some of my own) and offer them a chance to ride the fabled mountain. My trainer has a video of the fabled climb so any one wanting to make the climb will be more than welcome. I did the actually climb in 80 minutes in 1994 (about twice as long as it took Carlos Sastre this year's winner on the Alpe). There will be a bottle of wine in it for the fastest to the top.
Well that's all for now.... I'll be back much quicker this time with news, ideas, stories, and general trivia for all who are interested. Send me some feedback about what you like, what you don't, and what you'd like to see included. I'll do my best to include it.
Peace and good training....
Rob
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