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
Monday, August 11, 2008
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
Monday, June 9, 2008
Miserable Mountains, Gimmicky Gadgetry, and Hellish Heatwaves,
Well, it's been a while since we last blogged together. Not to worry, I have been thinking about you and I have many things to tell you. When last we spoke I was preparing to tackle the Mountains of Misery. A 101 mile ride with 10,000+ feet of climbing. This eventful ride takes place in Southwestern Virginia very close to Virginia Tech. Before I get into the gory details of the ride let me first give thanks to the people who made the ride possible. First and foremost, my wife for being understanding during those long weekend hours I spent on the road and in the gym. She was quite helpful, being very supportive of my training and I can't thank her enough. I also want to thank my buddies, Jeff and Chris, who did the ride with me and made a long day in the saddle not only tolerable but enjoyable. All these accolades beg the question, "How miserable was it?" Surprisingly, not nearly as miserable as I had anticipated.
The day started out ... COLD! Evidently its cold early in the morning in the mountains. I was decked out in my King of the Mountains climbing outfit for the day and the only thing that kept me from freezing my gonads off was the, imagine this, constant climbing. We went barely 200 yards before the first climbing started. As we were climbing for the first hour I saw an old guy (not me or my buddies) weaving up one of the easier climbs. Since we were less than 20 miles into the ride I couldn't help thinking, this guys is in for a BAD day.
After climbing more or less steadily for the first 20-25 miles we hit what is probably the highlight of the ride, in terms of fun, a 7 or 8 miles switchback descent. It reminded me of being in France and swooping down the Alpine descents. At the bottom was one of the friendly rest stops stocked to the brim with everything a hungry century rider could want. Fruit, PB and J, water, Gatorade, all kinds of stuff. This was also the point where you had a fateful decision to make, 101 or 124 miles. I looked incredulously at some of the riders who followed the 125 mile sign and set off in the other direction. The next 30 miles or so were rolling hills but very manageable. This despite the fact that my riding partners were by this time cursing me out for convincing them to do this ride. I would have felt worse for them, except that I DID NOT convince them to carry enough gear to sustain a small army. Granted my jersey pockets were stuffed with food but I think Chris had a KFC restaurant in his back pack (more on that later...).
At mile 55 or so you hit the last rest stop before the first BIG climb. Now I have done some big climbs in my day so I should have remembered that some of the worst climbs start with the what seems relatively easy slopes. So when I began cruising up this first BIG climb I should have been suspicious. NOPE, I just kept going at a good pace oblivious to what might wait ahead. The slope curved slightly to the left and into the trees, still cruising, up ahead I started to see people walking hmmm... Slope now turns slight right OUCCCCCHHHHHHH! in what seemed like 2" the slope went from 4-5% to 12-15%. Talk about leg burning! I saw (no lie) in the 10 feet in front of me, about 10 people walking, 2 people fall from the sudden slope increase, and a carbon fiber recumbent rider stuck in the middle of the rode unable to get started again. So now I'm dying, trying to avoid the mayhem in front of me (did I mention I only had a 39x27) and then this guys comes cranking by me, hits the now STEEPER part, gets a cramp and rides right off the rode! No he wasn't hurt, but it gives you an idea of how hard this particular section of the climb was. Luckily there was a rest stop right over the top. This was the only rest (other than the finish) that I REALLY REALLY needed. About a minute of 2 later Jeff and Chris roll over the top cursing me for the next, oh, 10 minutes or so.
Luckily for us the next 10 miles or so are downhill or mostly downhill and it also took us back past the start line. Chris who by now has been complaining about feeling dead decides to put the rucksack he was carrying on his back in the car. Feeling 10 pounds lighter he began to feel better (imagine that...). This was the very deceptive / demoralizing part of the ride. From mile 80 to about mile 90, some of the steepest climbs in the entire ride reside. These would have been bad enough in a 40 or 60 mile ride but at mile 80 they really sap your strength. I felt proud that I got over all of them but I would pay later.
Mile 90 to 95 is kinda cool. Mostly downhill, you would think this is good except for the fact it makes you climb the last 5 miles out of the hole you just descended into. The first mile or so, not so bad..... the next 2 miles, uh tough, but manageable. The last 2 miles, I think I have blocked them out like any bad experience. It took me 30 minutes to go the last 2 miles. It was also the only climb I really had to stop and rest on. I really needed out about another 30 gear inches or so. What the made the entire experience worthwhile was
1) Getting my shirt
2) Getting a massage at the finish.... (the food was pretty good too)
What sucked...
1) Some guy did it in a bit over 5 hours ( 8.5 hours ride time for me).
2) Jeff and Chris couldn't get shirts to fit them (somebody copped em first)
Would I do it again? Ask me in a year.....
Gadgets......
I love gadgets. I am a geek I confess. Bike gadgets are some of my favorite gadgets but I must confess they have a history of letting me down. So it was with some trepidation that I purchased the Garmin Forerunner 305 (on sale at REI). The forerunner is a GPS enable running / bike computer. It will tell you how far, how fast, your pace, your heart rate, your elevation gain/descent while running or cycling (you can also get cadence with an accessory). It also comes with some cool software to let you download all the information onto your computer. So here is my impression so far.
The Good
1) Its much smaller than the previous Garmin GPS running computers. Still a bit bulky, but significantly better than previous models.
2) The software works really well. Downloads are easy and the information can be viewed graphically to impress your friends!
3) The GPS mileage is much more accurate than guessing how many miles you ran.
4) One option allows you to pace yourself or race against yourself, very helpful for speed work and tempo runs.
5) There a bunch of other features I haven't even tried yet but they look promising, such as creating workouts with the software and uploading them into the watch for use when you train.
6) The battery seemed to last much longer with the newer model.
7) You can now record a brick workout with 1 device!!!! YEAH!
8) Moving the watch from the bike to the my arm for the run is easy with Garmin's multi-sport accessory.
The Bad (minor stuff mostly)
1) Heart rate is VERY VERY small and hard to read making it practically useless when running.
2) With so many functions it can be tough to remember the correct sequence of buttons to press to do something.
3) If you forget to switch sports on the watch your run can end up looking like a REALLY slow bike ride (which I did once by accident).
Even with those minor problems I think the Forerunner is worth the investment.
Another gadget I've been playing with is training peaks software which is supposed to give you all kinds of revolutionary information about how your training is progressing. I will give a complete report once I have used up the 14 day free trial.....
The HEAT IS ON!!!!!!
During the mountains of misery ride we were blessed with near perfect weather. However, the last few days have been anything but! I went running Saturday and didn't stop sweating until almost Sunday! Sunday, as luck would have it, I was doing the Bicycle Place ride so at least the ride was done by 10:30 AM. With less than a week until my last scheduled triathlon of the season I plan on waiting out the heat even to the point of getting on the treadmill if necessary. This next race is somewhat special since this race was the first triathlon I ever did. I hope to better my course time, at least in the swim, since that is by far my weakest link in the sport and the one I have the best chance of improving on. I'm just hoping the weather cooperates.
Until we get some relief from this heat.....
Stay frosty......
Peace & Luv,
Rob
The day started out ... COLD! Evidently its cold early in the morning in the mountains. I was decked out in my King of the Mountains climbing outfit for the day and the only thing that kept me from freezing my gonads off was the, imagine this, constant climbing. We went barely 200 yards before the first climbing started. As we were climbing for the first hour I saw an old guy (not me or my buddies) weaving up one of the easier climbs. Since we were less than 20 miles into the ride I couldn't help thinking, this guys is in for a BAD day.
After climbing more or less steadily for the first 20-25 miles we hit what is probably the highlight of the ride, in terms of fun, a 7 or 8 miles switchback descent. It reminded me of being in France and swooping down the Alpine descents. At the bottom was one of the friendly rest stops stocked to the brim with everything a hungry century rider could want. Fruit, PB and J, water, Gatorade, all kinds of stuff. This was also the point where you had a fateful decision to make, 101 or 124 miles. I looked incredulously at some of the riders who followed the 125 mile sign and set off in the other direction. The next 30 miles or so were rolling hills but very manageable. This despite the fact that my riding partners were by this time cursing me out for convincing them to do this ride. I would have felt worse for them, except that I DID NOT convince them to carry enough gear to sustain a small army. Granted my jersey pockets were stuffed with food but I think Chris had a KFC restaurant in his back pack (more on that later...).
At mile 55 or so you hit the last rest stop before the first BIG climb. Now I have done some big climbs in my day so I should have remembered that some of the worst climbs start with the what seems relatively easy slopes. So when I began cruising up this first BIG climb I should have been suspicious. NOPE, I just kept going at a good pace oblivious to what might wait ahead. The slope curved slightly to the left and into the trees, still cruising, up ahead I started to see people walking hmmm... Slope now turns slight right OUCCCCCHHHHHHH! in what seemed like 2" the slope went from 4-5% to 12-15%. Talk about leg burning! I saw (no lie) in the 10 feet in front of me, about 10 people walking, 2 people fall from the sudden slope increase, and a carbon fiber recumbent rider stuck in the middle of the rode unable to get started again. So now I'm dying, trying to avoid the mayhem in front of me (did I mention I only had a 39x27) and then this guys comes cranking by me, hits the now STEEPER part, gets a cramp and rides right off the rode! No he wasn't hurt, but it gives you an idea of how hard this particular section of the climb was. Luckily there was a rest stop right over the top. This was the only rest (other than the finish) that I REALLY REALLY needed. About a minute of 2 later Jeff and Chris roll over the top cursing me for the next, oh, 10 minutes or so.
Luckily for us the next 10 miles or so are downhill or mostly downhill and it also took us back past the start line. Chris who by now has been complaining about feeling dead decides to put the rucksack he was carrying on his back in the car. Feeling 10 pounds lighter he began to feel better (imagine that...). This was the very deceptive / demoralizing part of the ride. From mile 80 to about mile 90, some of the steepest climbs in the entire ride reside. These would have been bad enough in a 40 or 60 mile ride but at mile 80 they really sap your strength. I felt proud that I got over all of them but I would pay later.
Mile 90 to 95 is kinda cool. Mostly downhill, you would think this is good except for the fact it makes you climb the last 5 miles out of the hole you just descended into. The first mile or so, not so bad..... the next 2 miles, uh tough, but manageable. The last 2 miles, I think I have blocked them out like any bad experience. It took me 30 minutes to go the last 2 miles. It was also the only climb I really had to stop and rest on. I really needed out about another 30 gear inches or so. What the made the entire experience worthwhile was
1) Getting my shirt
2) Getting a massage at the finish.... (the food was pretty good too)
What sucked...
1) Some guy did it in a bit over 5 hours ( 8.5 hours ride time for me).
2) Jeff and Chris couldn't get shirts to fit them (somebody copped em first)
Would I do it again? Ask me in a year.....
Gadgets......
I love gadgets. I am a geek I confess. Bike gadgets are some of my favorite gadgets but I must confess they have a history of letting me down. So it was with some trepidation that I purchased the Garmin Forerunner 305 (on sale at REI). The forerunner is a GPS enable running / bike computer. It will tell you how far, how fast, your pace, your heart rate, your elevation gain/descent while running or cycling (you can also get cadence with an accessory). It also comes with some cool software to let you download all the information onto your computer. So here is my impression so far.
The Good
1) Its much smaller than the previous Garmin GPS running computers. Still a bit bulky, but significantly better than previous models.
2) The software works really well. Downloads are easy and the information can be viewed graphically to impress your friends!
3) The GPS mileage is much more accurate than guessing how many miles you ran.
4) One option allows you to pace yourself or race against yourself, very helpful for speed work and tempo runs.
5) There a bunch of other features I haven't even tried yet but they look promising, such as creating workouts with the software and uploading them into the watch for use when you train.
6) The battery seemed to last much longer with the newer model.
7) You can now record a brick workout with 1 device!!!! YEAH!
8) Moving the watch from the bike to the my arm for the run is easy with Garmin's multi-sport accessory.
The Bad (minor stuff mostly)
1) Heart rate is VERY VERY small and hard to read making it practically useless when running.
2) With so many functions it can be tough to remember the correct sequence of buttons to press to do something.
3) If you forget to switch sports on the watch your run can end up looking like a REALLY slow bike ride (which I did once by accident).
Even with those minor problems I think the Forerunner is worth the investment.
Another gadget I've been playing with is training peaks software which is supposed to give you all kinds of revolutionary information about how your training is progressing. I will give a complete report once I have used up the 14 day free trial.....
The HEAT IS ON!!!!!!
During the mountains of misery ride we were blessed with near perfect weather. However, the last few days have been anything but! I went running Saturday and didn't stop sweating until almost Sunday! Sunday, as luck would have it, I was doing the Bicycle Place ride so at least the ride was done by 10:30 AM. With less than a week until my last scheduled triathlon of the season I plan on waiting out the heat even to the point of getting on the treadmill if necessary. This next race is somewhat special since this race was the first triathlon I ever did. I hope to better my course time, at least in the swim, since that is by far my weakest link in the sport and the one I have the best chance of improving on. I'm just hoping the weather cooperates.
Until we get some relief from this heat.....
Stay frosty......
Peace & Luv,
Rob
Monday, May 12, 2008
The year ahead.....
With my biggest race of the year behind me, I had to decide what to do with the rest of the year. Being a personal trainer I often have too convince my clients not to try to do too many things so they can maximize their goals. So of course, what do I do? I try to train simultaneously for a 101 mile century with 10,000 feet of climbing and a sprint triathlon. I knew this would be tough since trying to do enough climbing and endurance work would ultimately blunt my speed and make speed work on the track more difficult. So taking my own advice, I decided to make my sprint triathlon a lower priority and concentrate on the century. If I can't practice what I preach, I might as well stop preaching.
The ride I'm doing is called the Mountains of Misery. I haven't done a century in quiet some time and this is a tough one. It ends with a 5 mile climb. Check out the link for all the gory details.
My training has been going pretty well. I have been feeling strong on the bike and the last few weekends I have done upwards of 50 miles each day with lots of climbing and felt pretty good at the end of the ride. For those of you familiar with the climbs along Beach Drive, I have even started going up Forsythe Ave. on my way home just to try to get an idea of how to suffer at the end of a tough ride (for those not familiar with Forsythe Ave, it is about a 20% grade with speed bumps!, Ouch!).
I plan to take a short break after my June 15th Sprint triathlon and then start preparing for my first 1/2 marathon. I realize that my weakness in triathlon lately has been my run ( I know my swim is my weakest event, but I have been steadily improving in that event). My running seems to have been deteriorating a bit so I decided to focus on it for a while in an attempt to finish strongly in any other tri's I decide to do (either this year or next).
I have been trying to include more and more of my friends on my weekend rides so if I don't have your e-mail address, drop me a line and I will include you on my weekly e-mail ride list.
Hope to see you all soon.
Peace and keep training.....
Rob
The ride I'm doing is called the Mountains of Misery. I haven't done a century in quiet some time and this is a tough one. It ends with a 5 mile climb. Check out the link for all the gory details.
My training has been going pretty well. I have been feeling strong on the bike and the last few weekends I have done upwards of 50 miles each day with lots of climbing and felt pretty good at the end of the ride. For those of you familiar with the climbs along Beach Drive, I have even started going up Forsythe Ave. on my way home just to try to get an idea of how to suffer at the end of a tough ride (for those not familiar with Forsythe Ave, it is about a 20% grade with speed bumps!, Ouch!).
I plan to take a short break after my June 15th Sprint triathlon and then start preparing for my first 1/2 marathon. I realize that my weakness in triathlon lately has been my run ( I know my swim is my weakest event, but I have been steadily improving in that event). My running seems to have been deteriorating a bit so I decided to focus on it for a while in an attempt to finish strongly in any other tri's I decide to do (either this year or next).
I have been trying to include more and more of my friends on my weekend rides so if I don't have your e-mail address, drop me a line and I will include you on my weekly e-mail ride list.
Hope to see you all soon.
Peace and keep training.....
Rob
Monday, April 28, 2008
The Day After.....
Well my first big event of the year has come and gone and like most of life there was were some good things and some not so good things. Let's start with the good stuff.....
The Triathlon....
2 big thumbs up, WAY UP! For an event that has 4000 + participants, this is one of the best events I have ever entered. I fully intend to enter this event next year. Every thing was well organized, every thing went off on time and the event and sport expo was great even if I didn't buy anything.
The Competition
Every once in a while a pro or top level amateur shows up at an event I do, well there were at least 3 whole waves of both at St. Anthonys! When I arrived at the transition area on Saturday I came across Faris Al-Sultan. For those of you not familiar with Faris he is the 2005(?) Hawaii ironman world champion. I also noted that Faris' bike was probably in excess of 10 grand (hell his handlebar assembly looked to be around 2 or 3 grand. There is nothing like riding with the big boys to get the adrenaline pumping. U.S. Olympian Matthew Reed ended up winning in the ridiculous time of 1 hour 46 minutes and change. Andy Potts who finished second completed the swim in a ridiculous 18:21! When I entered the swim - bike transition I heard the race announcer say the Greg Bennett was chasing the two leaders (mentioned above) while running at a 5 minute per mile pace! So make no mistake, there were some amazing athletes present.
The Course
The swim was in a bay so that was a good thing. The day prior to the race I saw a dolphin jumping around so that was kind of cool as well. The water temperature was a comfy 74 degrees. So what could go wrong you ask? The waves were a bit high so it made getting a good rhythm going tough, and when we turned for shore the tide was constantly pushing me away from the swim exit. I actually ended up swiming perpendicular to the swim exit to compensate and I ended up getting out of the water in 41:38 about 3 and a half minutes better than my previous best. So I was happy about that.
The Bike.
Rumoured to be completely flat, the bike was MOSTLY flat. There were some stretches of false flat but you really couldn't ask for much flatter. The one downside to the bike course was the number of turns which made it a bit hard to keep your speed up. All in all, a very doable course, I was slightly off my projected bike time, but only by about 1 or 2 %. Coming so early in my season I really can't complain about that.
The Transitions
When you do a race with more than 4000 participants the transition area is HUGE! Most of my bike - run transition was just getting out of the transition area! I will say that the speed laces I purchased must have knocked a good 30 - 60 seconds off my transition, so I highly recommend them. I will also highly recommend Body Glide for the swim - bike transition. For one thing it prevented the nasty neck rash that I developed the last time I did an olympic distance tri, a result of the wetsuit rubbing as a turned my head to breathe. It also made getting the wetsuit off immensely easier.
The Run
OK the run is on a nice out and back course, it is also under the BLAZING Florida heat! When I got off the bike I was right on schedule to break the 3 hour mark (my goal for the race). I needed to run a 9 minute mile for the 10k, something I normally can do, no problem. Somewhere during the run (by my recollection about mile 1.5), someone cut off the power and I struggled to a 1:03 10K. Arrgh! I missed my mark by about 6 minutes! that was the minute per mile that I lost in the 10K. My last Olympic tri I ran 56 minutes for the 10k so I guess I have to focus on the run for next year.
The Miscellaneous
We found a good English pub before the race and I had the best mixed drink I've had in years. It's called a dark and story (Dark rum and ginger beer very invigorating). They also made excellent black and tans (they received a 1999 perfect pour award from Guiness), top that off with the Guiness burger (beef marinated in Guiness and onions) and you everything a hungry triathlete needs post race.
Random thoughts...
2 days prior to the race there was a report of a triathlete attacked by a shark in San Diego. This seemed like a bad omen, but the sharks evidently were alarmed by having 4000 people in the water and they left us alone.
Use tri bike transport.... I used the service this year which allows you to drop off your bike locally and pick it up at the race. As someone who has traveled frequently with my bike, I must say, this saved alot of time and effort. On top of that it's only $25 more than the airlines charge and it's a whole lot more reliable, plus there's no need to assemble / disassemble your bike, a nice perk.
Pre-Race neurosis....
A race buddy of mine, who shall remain nameless, evidently was a bit perturbed that the hotel they were staying at had the nerve to book a wedding reception the night before the big race. After verbally abusing the hotel staff my buddy managed to compose themselves enough to actually try and get some sleep. Alas, all the water my buddy drank to hydrate for the race, undermined their effort by forcing them to wake up every hour on the hour. Moral of the story: Be nice to others or the race Gods will get you.......
Things to icky to comtemplate....
What do you do at the 750 meter mark in the swim if you have to pee???? Well if you ask most guys they will say just pee..... If you ask most women, apparently, the thought of having their own urine in their wetsuits with them makes them say "I'll just hold it..." We did find one woman who admitted to peeing in her wetsuit and we noticed no one was willing to carry her wetsuit for her. The moral of this story: If you're a girl just lie about it.....
In conclusion.....
Well it was an EXPERIENCE....... I look forward to it again next year (after I get over the soreness). Now I move onto to my next goal, a century in four weeks time (more on that later). Till then keep safe and keep training.....
Peace
Rob
The Triathlon....
2 big thumbs up, WAY UP! For an event that has 4000 + participants, this is one of the best events I have ever entered. I fully intend to enter this event next year. Every thing was well organized, every thing went off on time and the event and sport expo was great even if I didn't buy anything.
The Competition
Every once in a while a pro or top level amateur shows up at an event I do, well there were at least 3 whole waves of both at St. Anthonys! When I arrived at the transition area on Saturday I came across Faris Al-Sultan. For those of you not familiar with Faris he is the 2005(?) Hawaii ironman world champion. I also noted that Faris' bike was probably in excess of 10 grand (hell his handlebar assembly looked to be around 2 or 3 grand. There is nothing like riding with the big boys to get the adrenaline pumping. U.S. Olympian Matthew Reed ended up winning in the ridiculous time of 1 hour 46 minutes and change. Andy Potts who finished second completed the swim in a ridiculous 18:21! When I entered the swim - bike transition I heard the race announcer say the Greg Bennett was chasing the two leaders (mentioned above) while running at a 5 minute per mile pace! So make no mistake, there were some amazing athletes present.
The Course
The swim was in a bay so that was a good thing. The day prior to the race I saw a dolphin jumping around so that was kind of cool as well. The water temperature was a comfy 74 degrees. So what could go wrong you ask? The waves were a bit high so it made getting a good rhythm going tough, and when we turned for shore the tide was constantly pushing me away from the swim exit. I actually ended up swiming perpendicular to the swim exit to compensate and I ended up getting out of the water in 41:38 about 3 and a half minutes better than my previous best. So I was happy about that.
The Bike.
Rumoured to be completely flat, the bike was MOSTLY flat. There were some stretches of false flat but you really couldn't ask for much flatter. The one downside to the bike course was the number of turns which made it a bit hard to keep your speed up. All in all, a very doable course, I was slightly off my projected bike time, but only by about 1 or 2 %. Coming so early in my season I really can't complain about that.
The Transitions
When you do a race with more than 4000 participants the transition area is HUGE! Most of my bike - run transition was just getting out of the transition area! I will say that the speed laces I purchased must have knocked a good 30 - 60 seconds off my transition, so I highly recommend them. I will also highly recommend Body Glide for the swim - bike transition. For one thing it prevented the nasty neck rash that I developed the last time I did an olympic distance tri, a result of the wetsuit rubbing as a turned my head to breathe. It also made getting the wetsuit off immensely easier.
The Run
OK the run is on a nice out and back course, it is also under the BLAZING Florida heat! When I got off the bike I was right on schedule to break the 3 hour mark (my goal for the race). I needed to run a 9 minute mile for the 10k, something I normally can do, no problem. Somewhere during the run (by my recollection about mile 1.5), someone cut off the power and I struggled to a 1:03 10K. Arrgh! I missed my mark by about 6 minutes! that was the minute per mile that I lost in the 10K. My last Olympic tri I ran 56 minutes for the 10k so I guess I have to focus on the run for next year.
The Miscellaneous
We found a good English pub before the race and I had the best mixed drink I've had in years. It's called a dark and story (Dark rum and ginger beer very invigorating). They also made excellent black and tans (they received a 1999 perfect pour award from Guiness), top that off with the Guiness burger (beef marinated in Guiness and onions) and you everything a hungry triathlete needs post race.
Random thoughts...
2 days prior to the race there was a report of a triathlete attacked by a shark in San Diego. This seemed like a bad omen, but the sharks evidently were alarmed by having 4000 people in the water and they left us alone.
Use tri bike transport.... I used the service this year which allows you to drop off your bike locally and pick it up at the race. As someone who has traveled frequently with my bike, I must say, this saved alot of time and effort. On top of that it's only $25 more than the airlines charge and it's a whole lot more reliable, plus there's no need to assemble / disassemble your bike, a nice perk.
Pre-Race neurosis....
A race buddy of mine, who shall remain nameless, evidently was a bit perturbed that the hotel they were staying at had the nerve to book a wedding reception the night before the big race. After verbally abusing the hotel staff my buddy managed to compose themselves enough to actually try and get some sleep. Alas, all the water my buddy drank to hydrate for the race, undermined their effort by forcing them to wake up every hour on the hour. Moral of the story: Be nice to others or the race Gods will get you.......
Things to icky to comtemplate....
What do you do at the 750 meter mark in the swim if you have to pee???? Well if you ask most guys they will say just pee..... If you ask most women, apparently, the thought of having their own urine in their wetsuits with them makes them say "I'll just hold it..." We did find one woman who admitted to peeing in her wetsuit and we noticed no one was willing to carry her wetsuit for her. The moral of this story: If you're a girl just lie about it.....
In conclusion.....
Well it was an EXPERIENCE....... I look forward to it again next year (after I get over the soreness). Now I move onto to my next goal, a century in four weeks time (more on that later). Till then keep safe and keep training.....
Peace
Rob
Monday, April 14, 2008
28 #&@!!#^ degrees.....
Sorry about the blogging delay, but with my first big event of the season coming up (not to mention taxes and family) I have been a bit preoccupied. So what does the title of this months entry mean? Well that was the temperature at start time of my first race of the season, the Central Park Duathlon (March 30th). Yeah it was that cold! Luckily (if you can call it that) I had brought clothes to change into after the race and I was able to use those to stay warm in the race itself! I had hoped to better my time from last October when I did this same race. The weather, however, had other plans. In addition, I found out one of my tri buddies, Eric, was injured and would have to miss both this race and the St Anthony's tri in April. I felt bad for Eric knowing how hard he was training. At least he can defer the St. Anthony's race until next year. I did however, have his sister Melissa for company and she soldiered on with me in the brutal conditions. What amazed me more than anything about the race was the insane racers in SHORTS! Yes, people we racing as if the temperature was in the 60's not the 20's! I managed to finish in a respectable 1:19 for the 2m run, 12m bike, 2m run. My bike time was almost identical from last year, but my runs were substantially slower (it was really hard to get and stay warm). Anyway I tried out my reconfigured Kestrel (replaced the drop bars with cowhorns and aero bars) and the new setup worked OK. I say only OK because, the bars were slipping just a bit and I still think I am a bit too stretched out. I may go to a shorter stem for a bit more comfort.
Other than the trials and tribulations of racing, training seems to be rolling along well. I took 5 days and jetted off to St. John with the wife for a relaxing vacation. Nothing like splashing around the Carribean to take the edge off. This was a recovery week in a big way. I came back feeling refreshed and rested and my first time back on the bike the legs felt great. I am looking forward to renewed vigor for the remaining weeks of training. Hope to see you all in Tampa.
Peace
Rob
Other than the trials and tribulations of racing, training seems to be rolling along well. I took 5 days and jetted off to St. John with the wife for a relaxing vacation. Nothing like splashing around the Carribean to take the edge off. This was a recovery week in a big way. I came back feeling refreshed and rested and my first time back on the bike the legs felt great. I am looking forward to renewed vigor for the remaining weeks of training. Hope to see you all in Tampa.
Peace
Rob
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Unremarkably consistent...
As a personal trainer, I always tell my clients that the one thing that will benefit them, above all, is consistency. Well I have been unremarkably consistent for the last 3 months and I have seen the benefits in a few different ways.
1) I have dropped about 5 pounds from my high of 183 pounds.
2) I have increased my continuous swim length to 800 yards (about 1/2 my projected swim).
3) I have steadily increased my intensity.
So while my training hours have stayed more or less constant, I have started to push the pace a bit. Of course I would have done well to remember the old driving safety commercial, "Speed kills". Ignoring this has caused me to experience all manner of small aches and pains. A sore back here, tired arms there, sore Achilles etc... U get the picture. Some of this was due to the sheer enthusiasm I have experienced at being able to go and actually ride my bike OUTSIDE!!!! While I am enjoying my new trainer, there is no substitute for the great outdoors. I went out on one of my favorite (hilly) rides this weekend and felt great... until about 5 hours later when my back began to acknowledge the stress of riding up and down actual grades. Still it was worth it to experience that "wind in your face feeling...".
I am planning to really push the next few weeks racing both this weekend and the next. I will be attempting my first USCF race in 2 years followed by an easy run. Then the following weekend I head to NYC for a duathlon. These races are just a way of seeing where I am in my preparation. In fact, the duathlon is approximately 1/2 of the St. Anthony's tri so it will give me some perspective on my race legs, even if there is no feeling quite like the second run in a duathlon.
After pushing myself for the next 2 weekends I plan to jet off to St. John in the Caribbean and take a much needed rest. This will be the start of my taper for Tampa. I feel fairly good about my progress, but now I need to get serious about my nutrition to make sure I have the fuel necessary to make the most of my training. Here's hoping everyone is doing the same.
Peace,
and good training....
Rob
1) I have dropped about 5 pounds from my high of 183 pounds.
2) I have increased my continuous swim length to 800 yards (about 1/2 my projected swim).
3) I have steadily increased my intensity.
So while my training hours have stayed more or less constant, I have started to push the pace a bit. Of course I would have done well to remember the old driving safety commercial, "Speed kills". Ignoring this has caused me to experience all manner of small aches and pains. A sore back here, tired arms there, sore Achilles etc... U get the picture. Some of this was due to the sheer enthusiasm I have experienced at being able to go and actually ride my bike OUTSIDE!!!! While I am enjoying my new trainer, there is no substitute for the great outdoors. I went out on one of my favorite (hilly) rides this weekend and felt great... until about 5 hours later when my back began to acknowledge the stress of riding up and down actual grades. Still it was worth it to experience that "wind in your face feeling...".
I am planning to really push the next few weeks racing both this weekend and the next. I will be attempting my first USCF race in 2 years followed by an easy run. Then the following weekend I head to NYC for a duathlon. These races are just a way of seeing where I am in my preparation. In fact, the duathlon is approximately 1/2 of the St. Anthony's tri so it will give me some perspective on my race legs, even if there is no feeling quite like the second run in a duathlon.
After pushing myself for the next 2 weekends I plan to jet off to St. John in the Caribbean and take a much needed rest. This will be the start of my taper for Tampa. I feel fairly good about my progress, but now I need to get serious about my nutrition to make sure I have the fuel necessary to make the most of my training. Here's hoping everyone is doing the same.
Peace,
and good training....
Rob
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