Week #3

Week #3 of the (pre) season is slowly grinding down. Monday, week #3 for Masters swim. I still felt pretty bad Monday AM, but went and swam anyways. We did a total of 2400 yds, a bunch of drills, a bunch of warm up laps, drills, drills and more drills. 100x2 FS for time, followed by 3x50 BS. 400 KB, then alternating 100 FS, 3x swim 1x PB, then 3x PB 1xFS. I actually swam pretty good, thought the congestion was making it a bit difficult on the breathing.

Monday at 11am, I saw my physician. She said I was still pretty sick (obviously), so she put me on some strong ass 875mg horse tab type antibiotics for 10 days. She said I did not have bronchitis, nor do I have pneumonia. Yes, I can still workout and keep on swimming. After all, I'm healthy-other than being sick as hell for 3 weeks!

Tuesday and Wednesday, I worked 12 hour shifts each day, plus had drive time on top of that. No, this was unplanned OT, so my days were something like this: up at 5am, out the door at 5:50am. Work, work work, type and type and type some more. Drive back home, walk through the door at 8pm. Kiss my kids goodnight, eat some leftover dinner, get stuff ready for work the next day, go to bed. Repeat. This is life just getting in the way of family life and IM training, its going to happen, I tell myself. In a weird sort of way, I understand it and I'm OK with it. After all, it is life and it will happen, right?

Thursday, finally a day off! I'm feeling something close to better than I have in 3 weeks. So I air up the tires and get kitted up, and ride the TT bike on the trusty trainer for 40 minutes. I did a 15 min warm up, so as to make sure the muscles were good to go-no more pulled or strained muscles now, please. Then, 15 min straight in aero position, with no breaks or getting out of aero. I had lowered my saddle height about 2-3mm prior to the spin, and I think this was a positive. I felt less stress on my shoulders and forearms, and felt like I could ride aero more easily than before. We'll see how the position tweaking works as I ride more in the upcoming days and weeks-more fine tuning might be in order. Finish up with an easy 10 min cool down, then off to grocery shop for my mom, run some errands, then pick up the kids from school.

Today, Friday. It's only about -15 degrees Far when I wake up, but the schools are still open, so off to school go the kids. More errands, to the post office, KMart, fill the vehicles up with gas and top off with gas line treatment. Back home, then its time to update my iPod play list and throw some gear together. The wife and I decided to drive up to Milwaukee to the Pettit National Ice Center, where they have an indoor running track, a total of .28 mile in length (in addition. there is an olympic size oval skate track and two hockey rinks inside the run track). Its cool inside, but comfortable. Tomorrow, they host a 5k, 1/2 marathon and relay and Sunday is the full marathon-all indoors. Race buddie Kim is running the 1/2 tomorrow, good luck Kim!!

So, its time to run. I haven't run in about 3-1/2 weeks now, and many of the December runs were treadmill runs. I change clothes, stretch out good, slowly walk to warm up, then I take off. I feel surprisingly good! I find an easy pace I can maintain without blowing up the heart rate, and manage to go at 2:35-2:40/lap pace for the entire run. The last lap, I kick it up and run faster, making it around in 2:12. I went a total of 21 laps (22 with a cool down walk lap), for 5.88 miles. Not bad, not for so long away from the run. Follow that with a little post run shopping and lunch in Milwaukee-we bought a few kitchen accessories we've been wanting to pick up-I love William Sonoma stores! Tonight, I feel good. My legs are fine-we'll see how they feel tomorrow AM when the alarm goes off at 5am. Yep, back to work.

Five more days to go on the antibiotics. So far, so good. I'm feeling much better. I can run, I've been swimming and I can bike a little. Things are starting to look up for week #4 on the training calendar. Still, keep your fingers crossed and hope this will be the only time I will get sick for 2011. I'm looking forward to week #4 of Masters swim-so much so, I'm contemplating signing up for a 2nd session, running back to back to the 1st. This would give me 16 weeks straight of Masters swim, and would take me right up to (and just past) the 1st running race of the year I want to do on April 9-the Racine/Mt Pleasant 1/2 Marathon.

Oh, and I ordered a new 2 bottle Fuel Belt model, Kiwi green accents. I found a killer price from Active.com-they were 50% off, so I grabbed one up. Next, I will be ordering the CEP compression socks I want, yep, you guessed it, in Lime green-again with a killer price. I want to have some kit that will stand out this year, so I'm going for a black with lime green accented race kit. Now, I need to find a black and lime green accented visor, maybe some black and green accent eyewear too? I'll post some pics when I get the new kit.

Stay tuned-week #4 is bound to be even better. Serious training is just around the corner.

1st Ride of '09.

Well, I got out for a road ride on Friday. I did my out and back loop to I94, about 17.6 miles. This route basically goes up until I94, and then you head back down (with a few small rollers, just to burn the legs a bit!). Needless to say, this time of year in WI there is a bunch of crap on the roads. Salt, rocks, sticks, metal, chunks of unknown junk, you get the picture. Well, I was heading up the last grade nearing i94, when it seemed like the seat was getting bouncy. I was seated and turning a nice, steady cadence, not jamming on it, but just hit my pace and was feeling good! But I was thinking as I cranked, man, this new seat didn't seem that bouncy on the trainer. Hmmm, that's interesting. Wonder why I'm bouncing like that, must be tired. Well, it is the 1st road ride of the year.

Well, I wasn't that tired. And the Fizik saddle isn't that bouncy, really. I looked down and took a hard look at my rear tire, sure enough, it was about 1/2 flat. Dam. And I had just commented yesterday at the LBS that I don't get too many flats, maybe one or two a year, but I was looking for a hand pump small enough to fit in my jersey pocket for back-up air. I'm sure I jinxed myself in saying this, and no, I did not knock on wood.

So I rode the 1/2 flat down a short downhill section to I94, limped it across the Interstate overpass and stopped at a fireworks store on the west side of the intersection. Here is what it looked like:



Lady luck was shining at me, despite my poor luck in my choice of comments the previous day. I had one, yep, one CO2 cartridge with me, so I had one shot at getting the tube inflated (I carry a spare tube every ride, as well as a patch kit; I generally do not patch a tube on the road, too much risk of something not holding and getting stuck with no air way out in the boonies). And I was thinking to myself, as I pulled the tube, found the large metal staple stuck through the tire and tube, you know what happened last time you changed a flat? Yeah, I had one CO2 with that time too. But, that time (last fall sometime), the valve froze and the tube would not hold air. Either that, or I got the one out of one thousand tubes that was defective; either way, that time, I blew the CO2 and the tire was still flat. Game over, time to call the SAG wagon (aka: my wife and the van, hauling kids in two). Today, there was no SAG at home. I started doing a mental run down on who I could call at this time of day to come way out to pick me up.

This time, the tube inflates, and I still had CO2 left over! Wow, that wasn't so bad. I got back home, no other problems. I rode the loop in just over 60 minutes, which is not bad for this time of year. I didn't even have a bike computer mounted, just my Polar F6 for HR. I was OK with that, not worrying about speed or cadence, just riding and going by HR. I might do this more often with early season training on the bike!

By May 1, I'll have this loop down to 56 minutes and change on my road bike, 54 minutes on my TT bike. This route, by the way, is like my tested tride and true ride that I can judge my fitness level on. I can tell if I've had too much coffee that AM, drank too much beer the night before, or if I'm simply off my game. Some days, I feel like complete crap, and don't want to even throw a leg over my bike. But, you know what? These seemingly "bad mojo" days have turned into some of the best riding days I've had since 2006, when I started riding again after my 2nd back surgery. I've ridden this route many, many times, and will do so once again this Spring. I'll post an elevation chart and map one of these days when I get the time.

The weather was fairly nice, especially when you got 10 miles away from Lake Michigan. The temp was 31 deg, it felt like 22 deg with the WC. The winds, speaking of WC, were blowing fairly brisk out of the S/SE at 12-15 mph. So going back in towards Lake Mich was a bit tougher, and a bit slower. Thats another beautiful thing about living in WI; the dreaded winds. Some days, riding into that wind is sheer mental anguish, just pedaling along at 60-65 cad trying to stay upright. But, it adds to that ride, and it sure makes you HTFU and feel good that you did it!

So here's to the start of another road biking season! Whoop, I'm getting psyched up for this one!!

New hoops! And, it's time for lunch.

I just ordered a new wheelset for my long ride in May. PBK.com (Pro Bike Kit, for those not aware of the site) has simply awesome prices, when they have things in stock. I got tipped to this sale on bikeforums.net (another awesome site for bike junkies like myself!), and I'm glad I didn't wait until after my trainer ride to pull the trigger, I ordered the 2nd to last set left in Shimano drive. So within the next week, I should have a set of '09 Mavic Aksiums dressed in black, complete with skewers, for $148 shipped! I could not find them domestically for under $250; yeah, I know I should keep the cash flowing inside the US, help stimulate the economy, yada yada, etc. But, for this price, forget it, the UK gets my green this time! The shipping time from PBK is not bad, based on the reviews I've read online. Time will tell, and I will tell as well.

As a side note on wheels, I have a slightly older set of Mavic Aksiums on my '06 Giant TCR (see the pic on the top of my page, that's it). These wheels have proven almost bomb proof; I have just shy of 3,500 miles on them since new, with only one rear driveline spoke broken during that time. They have stayed true, despite hitting many large potholes, riding in all sorts of weather and even shipping them to Virginia in 2007 for the 250 mile PUT bike ride. Oh, yeah they've managed to hold up to my weight and serious pounding during training, and by weight, I mean my 186 to 204 lb fluctuations! I will post pics when I get them. Now, almost time for some new tires for those hoops...I'm thinking of going with the Conti GP4000 in black, but I love the Michelin Pro Race 2 (now PR 3), so we'll see what I can find a deal on.

Since yesterday was a R&R day, complete with nap and wrestling time with Abbey, today was trainer time. Temps here are again dropping like the stock market, so getting out on a road ride is pretty much insanely impossible. So here are the stats from my spin:

90 min
1055 kcals
143/158 HR avg/max
in zone 84 min/45 % fat cal

Lunch was a soy (chicken simulation Boca) patty, crumpet, yogurt and a homemade iced coffee. Good stuff.

Parties, leg pain and weather blather.

Been busy of late. This weekend, we had our friends' "Christmas" party (we couldn't get everyone's schedule together for Dec.) and we were out very late Sat into Sun AM. After driving back from the hotel, I had just enough time for a quick nap, then off to work. Man was I tired last night. Now back to work today, and tomorrow will be a long one, probably a 17+ hour day at work. Hopefully this won't turn into a 3 day affair, back to back to back 17 hour days are the pits (I did one last March, it took me 4 days to recover from it). Needless to say, I won't be training tomorrow due to the double at work.

I did ride 60 minutes on Sat, pre party, so at least I burned 720 kcals prior to eating and drinking badly! Actually the food and beer was very good, just not good for my training program. But I'd rather do it now instead of in April. The weather is somewhat improved, temps climbed to mid 20s today, 30s in the next few days. I hoping the slush and hard pack snow on the roads will melt enough so I can get a real ride in, maybe on Friday, as I'm off. Low back is feeling better; the one day I worked when it was -25 with -40 WC, my left calf froze up, felt hard as a rock! It was tight for 2 days after, but is feeling better now, and it never really hurt while spinning at 100 rpm on the trainer. Weird, hey? I've got to schedule some pool time this week as well. We did swim a little on Sat at the hotel (more time was spent in the hot tub), and at the time, I talked to my buddy who is an awesome swimmer. I tried some laps with five strokes before breathing, instead of the typical two strokes I do. I was thinking about the benefit of holding the breath in a little longer, to attempt to draw more oxygen out while keeping the HR low. I'm going to have to try this and do a little research online to read more about this theory of mine. Oh yeah, that means I'm going to have to learn to breath on each side, instead of only using my left side.

I did an 80 minute trainer ride today. I will probably run tomorrow, unless the temps go up, then I might get a road ride in. I'm going to start to develop my training plan for the long ride, leading up to May 1; then I need to incorporate some training immediately after the ride to prepare for the Spirit of Racine Tri in July. This should fit into my training plans for running the Milwaukee marathon in Oct '09.

I need to get some pool time in during this early base period. Yippie, swimming!

It's 1:04 am, do you know where...

I am having that black & tan now, mmm, good stuff. I am really appreciating Guinness again recently. I was just sitting here at the mac thinking about riding again tomorrow, my legs are sore right now, partially from running at work last night (most of you do not have to chase people at your job, I do occasionally, sometimes through snow and slush and over fences) and some from my trainer ride today. It actually feels good to start some "interval" or harder effort sessions; not really a true interval like I would do on the road rides, say in another 2 months or so, after getting more base miles in. But, all the same, it was a good effort today on the KK trainer, in the kitchen, doing some hill drills after a 30 minute warm up. One minute on in a big gear, four minutes off, then repeat. Two minute big gear to finish it up, then cool down.

I was thinking about my long ride coming in May '09, where I will head out (on May 1st) for some 1,000 miles over 11 days. A group of about 20 (or so) riders will be starting in Charleston, SC and we will end up in Washington DC on May 12th. I have heard that the longest days' ride will be about 115 miles, and we will average about 98 miles each day for the first 8 days. Then, a rest day on May 9th in Norfolk, VA. May 10th will see us riding a mostly flat century, with some hilly days following on the 11th and 12th. I am really looking forward to this year's ride!

I've also been thinking about what bike I will be taking with me. Last year, I tool the Trek 1500 and she performed flawlessly. 2007, I took the Giant TCR, and of course, that's my bomb, my A game bike, so she was grand. I am leaning towards taking the 1500 again; of course, I am also leaning towards having her stripped and powder coated, but more on that later! She needs some new cables and digs anyways, 3,500+ miles on 'em, plus the brake pads are shot from last years rain rides. And if I do take her, I will NOT be riding the Bonty wheels again, I want to build my own set of hoops or I'll take the Mavics (again, this is another post or three, for another day!). FWIW, the 1500 is my "older" bike, the E7 is my TT/Tri bike, and the Giant you see in the top at the river is my numero uno bike (so far. I would like to get a Cervelo or something else super high end one day, but...)

I was also admiring my new (to me, at least!) saddle I got from Jay in MA, a shout out to him for the great deal on the Fizik Arione Tri black saddle, which will eventually wind up on this here bike:

For the time, the seat is on the Trek, which is so affectionately hooked to the KK trainer in my kitchen, only about 20' away from me as I type this! I love this new saddle, I mean, LOVE, capital letters and all. I love it so much, that I have vowed that all my bikes will be so equipped with the Fizik Arione saddles. Did I say I LOVE the new (to me) saddle??

       Here is a better view:

Yep, love it. Lovin' it! Much better that the Bonty stock saddle, which is junk.

I will post the itinerary of my long ride in the next few posts, maybe.

In the mean time, if you want a little more insight in the long ride in May '09, go to www.firstgiving.com/havs for some more info.

A new blog.

This is the first post in my blog. What should I blog about on my first post? The weather, my bikes, how my training is progressing? Hmmm..well, here is one of my bikes. Man, I've got a lot of work to do on this blogging thing!