The Waiting Game

Today I'm playing the waiting game.  I've ordered this.  I'd like to use it for my swim that I have scheduled today.  Should be swimming for about 45 minutes and it would help the time fly (if not me).  Usually I'll workout late morning but today it might have to be in the afternoon.

I've already done my laundry, gone grocery shopping, ran an errand to the school...now I'm eating lunch.  Fedex says it is on the truck for delivery.  Will it get here in time?  Should I just suck it up and go?  Will I ever find the perfect fan to put next to my bike trainer?  Nobody knows.

9/24 1400m at 2:13
9/25 4.05 miles at 7:54
9/27 1600m with 10x100 in 1:55-2:00; 36.1 bike at 18.0 mph
9/28 4.69 at 7:44

Rain + Bike Workout = Bleh!

Today I had a bike workout on the schedule.  Of course I should be more flexible with these things and could have done a swim workout instead but I stubbornly held to my well-intentioned plans.  So that meant I had to hook up this

to this

Hooking them up is no problem.  Riding them together is.  I mean OMG! (I know, I know, too old and too male to use the abbreviated things.  But seriously, OMG!)  The bike trainer is way worse than I ever remember.  It is hard, it is slow, it is boring and it causes chafing.

Recently I've gotten the speed up to 18-19 mph on average outside.  Not bad.  This thing wouldn't let me do that though.  I had to work hard just to get to 15 mph!  WTF!  Really hard too not just sort of hard.  And there was no coasting.  Ever.  At least outside if I have to struggle to get up a hill I get a rest on the downside.  Oh no, not on the trainer.  If'n I work hard and get the speed up and then try to coast it pretty much just stops within seconds.  I didn't want to cry so I could only LOL.

AND it was hot.  No nice breeze cooling me off as I cruise through the countryside.  I was stationary.  In my basement.  Sweating like a pig.  I guess this isn't the time of year to buy a fan either because I went right out to Target to get one and they didn't have ANY.

AND for some reason I was irritated down there in the nether regions more than normal.  Seems like that wouldn't change for any reason but it did.  Maybe because more hotter = more sweating = more chafing.

Even though I had a computer, TV, music and cell phone all at my disposal this was waaaaaaay more boring that a treadmill.  Way.  Unfortunately I'm afraid that this is a small glimpse of my future from November (I can only hope) to March (again with the hoping).  Dread.

9/20 1400m (10x100, in 2:00-2:03 with 10 sec rest)

9/21 29.3 miles at 18.3 mph

9/22 4.05 miles at 7:46, 1800m at 2:20 and 3.5 miles on the bike to and from the pool

9/23 27 miles on the Bore-a-lator 2000 (What I'm calling the bike trainer.  Bike is named Kuro-san which is Japanese for Mr. Black but even after 2 years I'm still not sold on that name.  Let me know if you have a better one.  Oh yeah, I actually rode for 90 minutes at about 15 mph but I was definitely working hard enough to be going 18 mph outside so that's how it's going into my log and blog.)

PS:  As for all those initial thingies.  I really never use those.  In fact I insist on proper grammar and spelling in all my texts.  Don't want to get too lazy.

Blogging While The Blogging Is Good

Why is the blogging good you ask? Well, just because I had a couple good workouts this week is all. My swimming, close to 2:30 per 100m a couple months ago and about 2:22 per 100m a couple weeks ago is now around 2:15. I'm happy with the progress. Still not fast, still short distances (1,200m-1,600m) but progressing and that's all I'm looking for at this stage.

The bike is getting better too. Usually I've been around the 17 mph range (although the 50 I rode last weekend was 16 mph but that is because I'm not trained to ride that far yet (oh, and the wind)) but last Thursday I rode 23 miles at 19.2ish. I say ish because my bike computer fell off when I went over some bumps at the 19 mile mark so I had to keep time on my watch from there. Not a long ride but if I just stay at that speed I'll be happy. If I ride at 18.67 mph for the Ironman I'll hit my goal of 6 hours on the bike.

Now you want a good laugh? Check out my running totals for the week. All of 6.6 miles at an average pace of 7:46 per mile. Cutting back on the miles to increase the speed and to allow me to do my swim/bike workouts. I'll be building those miles up too.

9/13 1200m swim at 2:18; 24 mile ride at 17.8 mph
9/14 3.3 run at 7:46 pace
9/15 1600m swim at 2:16
9/16 23 mile ride at 19.2 mph
9/17 1200m swim at 2:15
9/18 3.3 run at 7:47 pace

First Week

I guess I jumped back into it pretty well; I worked out the last seven days in a row but today I'll be resting. This week I swam three times, ran twice and biked twice. Just hoping I didn't do too much for getting back into it. Some triathlete guy that I can't remember who it is but I read his quote once said something or other like this "Do as much as your body can absorb, not as much as you can. There is a difference." Biggest danger of doing more than I can absorb was yesterday's 50 mile bike ride. I haven't ridden that far since June of 2009. Fifteen months ago. I haven't ridden more than 23 miles at a time since. Yeah, likely it was too much.

I rode with my ironman training buddy, Jason as part of the Jesse James Bike Tour. A well run event with lots of little candy bars at the pit stops. Riding in the wind wasn't so much fun, I just wanted to turn around and get more candy bars.

9/8 16 mile ride, 18 mph
9/9 1000m swim, 2:17
9/10 3 mile run 7:51, felt better than Monday's run at least and not so sore later
9/11 50 mile ride, 16 mph
Weekly hours: 6.32 (Triathletes often track their training by hours per week since you can encompass all phases of your training with that. Did you know that? I didn't before I started doing triathlons.)

Working Out Again

Two and a half weeks since my last run and I headed out on Monday. Tired of running slow, I sprinted (ha!) off at a 7:30 or better pace. Yes, I'm tired of running slow. I let a close to 9:00 per mile pace creep into my long runs a couple years ago and somehow it stealthily made it's way into all of my runs. I believe large part of my problem is that I not longer to speed work. Something that was left in Tokyo along with a great group of running friends. Speed workouts are hard to do by yourself. I know I need to but...but...but nothing, I know I need to do them.

Luckily I couldn't find my HR monitor so I didn't have to see how hard I was working to keep a moderate pace. It didn't feel so bad but I was working way too hard. I didn't care if I only ran 3 miles or even 2. Actually the less the better was how I was feeling. I finished 3 miles at a 7:55 pace and 24 hours later I was feeling it a lot more than I should have been. I guess that's what so much time off will do to you. I guess that's what only 51.21 miles a month (exactly; for both July and August. Strange isn't it, I didn't even try to do that.) will do to you. Oh well, I'm going to do it again and again and again until I get it right.

Two swims already this week and I'm heading out for a short ride later today. On Saturday I'll be doing an organized 45 mile ride with 1,300 of my closest friends. Really only one friend that I know of and the rest will be going anywhere from 10-100 miles. I'll be doing the 45 though and having a hard enough time with that.

Okay, that's my blog. Off to make up some reading on all of your blogs.

9/5/10 1200m OWS; much straighter and slower because I sighted more than usual, 2:31 per 100m
9/6/10 3 miles at 7:55
9/7/10 1000m pool, 2:22 (kept it short, I'm just getting started afterall)

Checking In

No not dead. Yet. Summer schedule just isn't as easy for me. Getting back into it (working out and blogging) next week. Promise.