Wed run

~40 minutes on the trails around work. pretty good clip, but not too hard.

Tues ride & an observation

Rode to and from work, 30 miles. 19F when I left in the morning, but up in the low 30s on the way home. Could push a gear that once would have indicated a great day, but just felt average. So I'm definitely improving. Now--keep the consistency going.

I also noticed something today. When it gets cold and/or mucky out, there are two kinds of people that make up the sparse population still out on the WOD. The first group is people that are serious about their sport (runners, cyclists, etc.) and willing to endure the conditions for it. The other kind is the people at the low end of the fitness ladder that are tough and decide that the weather won't get in their way. During harder weather like this, the fair-weather exercisers fall away, and the picture is pretty interesting, I think. I really respect the people that are running 12 minute miles when it's 20 degrees out.

Long and almost solo (Sat, 27 Jan)

Rode to Leesburg and back on the WOD, 57 or 58 miles. Pulled two of the old guys from the Starnut group on the way out, (got a muffin out of it). Rode a solid but very maintainable pace. Remember that easyish spinning feeling in the legs and repeat for future long solo (or pair) rides. Old guys fell apart on the way back, so they let me go and I rode home a touch faster than the way-out pace. good ride, even if the mileage wasn't impressive. Maybe all the way out to Purcellville would be good-that would make a full 80 miles. And it would be nice to see the countryside past Leesburg.

riding in the snow!

rode to and from work, 30 miles. on the way home, it started snowing and got progressively harder--I was a bit white by the time I got home. woohoo! go outside and do a snow dance!

Tuesday run

~45 minutes. sunny and ~36F. wore new running shoes, which felt fine other than being a little stiff on the heel to toe transition. I think that typically breaks in pretty fast. stopped on the way back at the community center <5min from the USGS for a much-needed bathroom break.

two days off

well, between my need for sleep and the snow, I didn't get any serious riding in this weekend. I'm going to try and get a short run in this evening, but it looks unlikely (with the snow on the W&OD) that I will be able to ride tomorrow. maybe I'll try and go for a swim or something like that.

although two days off might not have been a terrible thing. my body still doesn't feel capable of absorbing more than about two weeks of continuous, solid training (at least not as long as I have to work). so some easier days right about now might have a silver lining.

wimpy 'ride'

rode the trainer, 1:15. at least 20 miles. blech.

Friday swim

600 warmup (mix of swim, kick, pull, and drill)
4x200
4x150
4x100
6x50
with pace increasing over the sets
300 cool down

3000 yds total. despite a general lack of swimming (often only once a week), I'm getting stronger in the water again. 3K workouts like this are no problem as long as there aren't a lot of fast intervals. main focus on volume rather than intensity.

thursday reflection

didn't feel so hot today so I played it safe and skipped the ride to/from work. felt fine by about 10AM, but I feel like I made a good choice. I'll swim tomorrow and ride on Sunday with maybe an easy run on Saturday. maintain consistency first.

I've been following Epic Camp and the miles that those guys have been putting in this spring. It amazes me the way their bodies can absorb miles and keep going. Today I looked at Challenge Queenstown (or Challenge Wanaka, depending on who you ask), an independent IM-distance event that is being held at the south end of NZ. It looks fantastic--something to think about for the future. (avoiding the crazy crowds that go with IM-branded races would be a big plus. I'm not in this to qualify for Kona, that's for certain.) The scenery is incredible, with great courses for swim, bike, and run. Cold water, well, I'm all right with that. Had a great race in ~16C water at Pacific Crest in 2005, and I'm probably better now than I was then. Well, start dreaming and we'll see in five or ten or more years...

wednesday run

ran 48 minutes at lunch today with a couple other fellows from the Survey. 5.3 miles, according to one of them. ~28F outside today, but nice and sunny.

going to yoga tonight.

long (not-so-slow) distance

went riding out into MD with Loren today. did 70-80 miles, we think (edit: 78 miles), although I got a stiff reminder that you have to sit at a lower effort level when you're riding long and solo (or nearly solo).

went out through Rock Creek Park (saw Caitlin), headed up Tuckerman, turned left at the bridge, and headed to Poole's store. Continued out to Darnestown Rd (Rte. 28), bore L on White's Ferry, then looped around on Partnership/Sugarland/Montevideo and came back in on River Rd.

after getting back to Loren's I discovered that my front brake had been rubbing for a while. wonder how long. got home, drank OJ and had a quick bite, showered, at a slightly too-large meal (so easy to do after long rides) and then put my feet up and napped for a while. pretty tired. it appears I can do 60 miles no problem, but when you get in the neighborhood of 80 I have to push it somewhat.

easy run

down to Bluemont Park and back yesterday (Saturday) with Chelsea, solid pace, 35 minutes. right hamstring had been nagging just a bit that morning, but felt good (and feels good on Sunday morning).

Friday swim

swam 2650 tonight. nice workout from Amy.

250 warmup with some drills thrown in there
2x 150 swim (50 bk, 50 br, 50 free)
150 kick (50 bk, 50 br, 50 free)
5x200 on 3:45
500 at strong but comfortable (IM swim-like) effort
4x25 on 0:30, two breaths per length
200 cool down

That 500 was great--I think I need more intervals like that to work on the mental aspects of, say, an olympic or IM swim. but not every workout.

The first rule of fight club is...

Rule number one – know what you are doing, why you are doing it and how it should be done. If you understand and believe in the reasons why then you are more likely to stick to the plan.

Rule number two – do it right. The goal of “this” specific workout presents your first opportunity to succeed at the long-term goal. 99.7% of your time in endurance sports is spent preparing – not only must you succeed on a daily basis in doing the workouts correctly and to the best of your ability in order to win on race day, but you must attempt to succeed in each workout if you are to look back with pride and satisfaction at all the work you've done.

Rule number three – do it right. Warm up, allow time to build intensity in harder workouts, finish strong, warm down. remember to stretch!

Rule number four – do it right. Workouts must be done at prescribed intensity. This is the most oft broken rule. Just because the group starts hammering doesn't mean you have to be at the front. Or that you have to tack on the extra three miles of rollers that the faster people are doing. Keep your ego in check and your brain in focus.

Rule number five – do it right. Don’t race unless it’s a race. If you are supposed to do a workout at a specific pace then your buddies pace may or may not be correct for you. Have fun racing for the city limits if it fits with where your training is, but know when to say "sorry, I can't this week." Win the workout by doing it right.

Rule number six – do it right. Know your limits. Sometimes you have to push them, but doing so inadvertently is a great way to kill part of the training you've just done and the training that you were going to do next week.

Rule number seven – recover right. Eat, drink, rest. Recovery is vital. You will not only be able to perform again sooner but you will get a lot more from the workout if you eat (protein and carbs) right after training and if you hydrate before, during and after training. Not doing this is a huge cause of illness, overtraining symptoms and general foul-mood. Eat good food three meals a day (or more), a protein/carbo snack after each workout and for everyone who is training hard a healthy snack in the evening as well. Eating and hydrating well makes such a difference.

Rule number eight – consistency. Training must be done year round. If you had to stop for whatever reason, don’t let that keep you from starting now, just don’t stop again. Consistency is key.

and...if this is your first night at fight club, you have to fight.

Adapted from the Team Today website. I love reading about the training those guys and gals do week-in and week-out. Now that's gotta take some focus.

a week of catchup

Saturday, 6 Jan: easy 30 minute run on the WOD with Chelsea.
Sunday, 7 Jan: rode 60mi with Squadra Coppi. usual fast pace. Felt much better than two weeks ago.
Monday, 8 Jan: rest day. went to dinner with Coppi. had a great time.
Tuesday, 9 Jan: rode 30mi to and from work. felt strong.
Wednesday, 10 Jan: ran 30 minutes at lunch; went to yoga after dinner
Thursday, 11 Jan: rode 30mi to and from work. felt so-so; cold (~22F in AM) temps.

looks like I did pretty well except for the swimming. one workout a week (Friday) is definitely not enough.

4 Jan 07

rode to and from work, 30 mi total. felt strong, especially coming home.

discovered that my Swix windbreaker makes for a super-comfy ride to work. and the new gloves my brother got me do the same. my only mistake was not planning for the 55-60F ride home, which I had not anticipated after riding in the low 30s on the way to work.

Checking in with the goals

I thought I would check in with my goals for the winter:

1. build good cycling base (ride at least 3X per week)
I've been doing 3x per week, (two commutes, one longer on the weekend). riding with Squadra Coppi is going to be huge for developing my cycling.
2. swim regularly, at least 2x per week.
aside from recent holiday travel, have been doing 2x a week.
3. start running again. enter a 10K or a half marathon to have a good goal.
Doing well here. Have been running at least 2x a week, often more.
4. learn to XC ski.
Ummm...so far have been foiled by lack of snow. praying that this will change...

that's pretty encouraging. now, keep it up. consistency is key!

2 Jan 2007

hey...finally got my Mozilla fixed, so I'll be posting regularly again. and just in time--lots of news.

but first, the day's workout: rode with Amy for ~2 hrs, easy, ~30 miles.

in more exciting news, I'm thinking that Mooseman will be my half-iron race for the summer. and I'm strongly considering joining Squadra Coppi, a local road racing club team. rode with them last weekend (the one before Xmas) and it was an awesome ride. I was pretty spent at the end, but loved every bit of it. Even when I got motored off the back of the paceline on Clara Barton Parkway at nearly 30mph.