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.

Week #1.

Training week #1 is done, a bit of a disappointing start if I do say so myself. I logged a total of 5hr 8m of training, with all but 40 min of it in the pool. Absolutely lousy! Don't get me wrong-I need to improve my swim the most out of the three disciplines. But, a 40 min spin and no runs in week #1? WTF?

Well, this has to be about the worst early season start I've had since making a comeback in 2006. First, I got sick and felt like death for over a week. Next, I pushed a bit too hard, too soon on the 40 min trainer spin this past Friday night (doing a 3X variable gearing drill set, pushing a hard gear for 60 sec at about 70 rpms). I warmed up with an easy pace, easy gear for 15 min, and cooled down for over 7 min. Well, the hard gear this early on was a big mistake. On Saturday AM, my left inner calf muscle was screaming. Great, just what I need now. I took Sunday off, when I was going to do a 4 mile run, because the calf was still super sore. Crap.

So I've been gimping around with the sore calf, so much now that my left hip and lower back are sore as hell too. So much, in fact, that I might be making the call to go back to the chiropractor again-I haven't been to one in almost 3 years now. But, something has got to give, and I think I need an adjustment now from walking stupid for days. I hope thats all it is. Double crap.

A positive from week #1? I did 4 swims in 7 days, at 3 different pools, for a total of 5,350+ yards! I've never got this much swim time in one week, ever. Friday was a vac day, so I went for a swim at JMBA and did 2,100 yds FS, plus WU and CD, with a little kick for good measure.

Saturday AM, my day off and I still had to get up at the crack of dawn. I grabbed a cup of coffee, an english muffin and some Nutella, and hit the road for a 40+ minute drive west to Burlington and the Aurora Wellness Center (where my race buds Bob and Kim are members). It is a top notch facility, a killer big pool, an indoor running track and a super spin room. This was another first-a Tri Swim clinic with top notch Coach Alissa who took a very cool approach for instructing. She video taped us after we warmed up, we watched how we looked and she gave us immediate pointers and recommendations on what we needed to do to improve.

Next, yep, you guessed it, drill time! She demonstrated the following: catch-ups, 6/6 counts, 3 strokes and glides, touch backs, right art/left arm, closed fist, and finger drag/zippers. Then, yep, you're right again, we got to do 2x25s or 2x50s of each drill. After drills were done, we got to re-warm up with more FS, then Coach Alissa videos us again, showing what we had done on her tips and reinforcing how the drills are so important in becoming a solid swimmer. Next, we did a serpentine swim course for time. This was a 3x50 with no stops, and you had to pass if there was a slower swimmer along the way. Very tiring, but a fun drill! Overall, a great class and a super value at only $25 for 2 hours!

Today was Masters swim day #2, and I was up before the alarm sounded, at 4:15am. I took a hot shower, trying to loosen up the back/hip/calf ailments (it didn't help much!). I got to the health club, light snow falling from the steel gray monotone morning sky. One of those days devoid of color (kind of like a scene from The Road, if you've read it and have a good imagination, or have seen the movie).

We split into three groups today, and had one more lane which was great. I went with the "slow" group, because, well, I am slow (albeit, I am not the slowest one in the class, if you can believe it)! I am actually the fastest "slow" swimmer, and I might have to go up to the "middle of the road medium" swimmers in the next few weeks, we'll see how I am doing.

Today, warm ups were harder (for me) than the main set. Warm ups consisted of 200 FS, 100 with 3-FS 1-alternate stroke, then 200 kick (still killer hard for me). Next, stroke technique, with one being head out of the water to concentrate on arm entry and full extension of the arms. The coach is big on pushing us to do strokes other than freestyle; he says it will make us better overall swimmers, and I believe him. My fellow slow lane swimmer and race bud Kim said Coach Allisa went to college with the Masters coach-she told us at the Tri swim clinic that he is a "long distance swimmer", and she is a "pure sprinter". She said he has done IM Wisconsin and did the swim in around 50 minutes-one of the faster times put in at IMoo, even by Pro standards. Apparently, he is a long distance sprinter!

On to main sets, where we did 3x150s, with 30 second rests between the 3 sets. If you finished faster as the sets progressed, you got a longer rest. One of the 2nd sets, I did in 2:29, so I got an extra 30 second breather. We did more kick, this time any other stroke besides FS. So it was back and crawl, as I will never probably be able to butterfly and work up to doing am IM in the pool. I did manage to work on my bilateral breathing, and this seems to be coming a bit easier now for me. A 200 FS cool down, and out at 7am, off to work.

This Masters class was 100 times better for me, personally than last week. Being sick, pushing too hard and feeling a bit unsure of myself in the 1st class made me nervous about going back today. Well, I can put the concerns aside, knowing I felt great and did a fairly good swim. The other plus for week #1? My back didn't hurt a bit while swimming-this is a bit of consolation I guess.

So if I'm still gimpy by Thursday, I will be calling my doc and looking to get in so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Masters swim-day #1.

OK, a quick report on my 1st official day of training for IM Wisconsin. Masters swim class #1 went something like this; alarm sounded at 4:20am, got up and dressed, grabbed my gym bag and out the door at 4:39am. Drove about 30 minutes, checked in at the health club, class began promptly at 5:30am.

It is a large class, 10 swimmers going in 2 lanes. About 6 or the 10 are signed up for IMoo (including my race buddy Kim, who saw and treated me at the med clinic-keep reading). 2 others are doing IM Racine. I was feeling quite stiff when I woke up, but not too bad overall. Not bad, when considering I was at Urgent Care less than 24 hours before (walk in, for minor stuff that doesn't warrant a trip to the ER).
I had 2 doses of meds on board, and knew I wasn't nearly 100 percent, but I felt pretty good and was way motivated on the way to the class.

Well, about 25 minutes in, we were in the middle of drills when I came as close to puking in a pool as I ever have in my life. My head was spinning, I got dizzy and literally could feel the gel I sucked down coming up. So I got out, told the instructor the issues I was having, he was cool with it, he said take as much time as I needed. I took a walk to the locker room, closed my eyes for a minute, splashed some water on my face (I know, I was wet, I was in the pool after all). I went back and sat on the deck for a few more minutes, then jumped back in and was able to finish up, but I felt weak and a bit shaky.

Overall, the class is very cool. We did about 200 FS warm up, then the coach talked about technique. We focused on hand entry into the water, elbow position, hooking up for more power. We did 25 yard drills with one arm, with no arms, with our fists balled up. Then we worked on anything but FS stroke; I did some front crawl. I noticed an immediate difference in my hook and power just by modifying my hand entry slightly-so my pinky is up instead of parallel to the water surface.

We also did a bunch of drills for backstroke, which were really cool. One arm drills, kick only, rotation to one side-kick 6-rotate other side-kick 6. We did some kick work-this was the 1st time I've done that amount of kick drills, hold crap! I felt weak (maybe some of it was being sick), but I'd like to think I've got some strong ass legs.

Well, after these kick drills, I will be focusing WAY more attention to kick drills (at least 200 yards a session) as my legs felt like limp noodles. Also-more backstroke, I was digging this stroke, but have never swam it very much before. I am liking this class-this could be the best move I've made in the overall big picture for IM race prep. The coach said the days would get easier-as we would improve quickly-but they were going to get harder at the same time-he will be working us harder and harder each week. An hour and a half of pain. Bring it on!

I think I did about 700-800 yards or so, total. I missed a good chunk, maybe 300-400 while out on the sabbatical walk around. I got back home in time to take the kiddies to school, then I lay down for about an hour. Next, I was back on the road to take my mom to see her ortho doc and get staples/stitches pulled from her arm from her pre Christmas surgery. We ran some errands for her, I got her back home and made her lunch. Then I jetted back home to lay down again for about an hour and a half, still feeling like crap. Next-time to pick up kids, run them to piano lessons, home for homework and reading time. Finally, time for bed (right after this post, as matter of fact!) My hands are like chunks of ice and I still feel slightly ill to my stomach. The back is still aching real good, quads and hips/SI joints are twinging, so the bug is hanging tough! This is one of the HTFU moments, I keep telling myself.

Next up this week: I had planned on a 50 minute easy trainer spin tomorrow after work, but this will be put on a "Wait and see how I feel" basis. If my back/legs/SIs feel this bad, I will hold off another day or two before running or biking at all. Coming up for the weekend: YEAH, more swim related stuff-Saturday AM! My race buds Bob, Kim, Johnny and I are all signed up for a Tri swim clinic out in Burlington from 8-10am, only cost us $25 and the instructor is an elite swimmer/Tri veteran. This should be a fun one, on a weekend off (we might do a group treadmill run afterwards, if I feel better by then. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...I'm begging to be better, praying to the Tri gods...)

So look for another Tri swim report by the end of the weekend. The swim classes are going to pay dividends-I can feel it! Another training report-maybe sooner if I can shake this mother F'er of illnesses by then.

In closing-one pic, this of the drive home after swimming. I sent it to my wife, and said there was at least one good thing about getting out of bed so early! The jpeg you get from my iPhone doesn't do it justice. But it was beautiful!

Due east towards Lake Michigan sunrise!

Last post and...

...out with some more of my cash! The last post of 2010. It will be short and sweet! Some quick updates from the world of workout and the 2011 racing schedule.

I literally JUST signed up for Ironman Racine 70.3 like 2 minutes ago, this way I beat the IM fee increase which takes place at 00:00:01 hrs on 01/01/2011. IM is expensive enough, and the WTC crew makes enough off us without having to pay their higher fees. So, BAM! Another race on the calendar.

And there shall be no New Year countdown here, no sir, not that. Only race day countdowns, sir, no more!

To the IM Racine 70.3 timer:

Racine-it's only 7.5 months away!

and on to IM Wisconsin:

IMoo countdown-Whoop Whoop!

Training will begin on 1/03/11, at roughly 5:30am on that cold, dark Wisconsin winter morning. Man-that got here fast! Yep, Masters swim class starts in 2 days, and runs for 8 weeks every Monday from 5:30-7am. The "Butt Kicking" is set to commence-but I'm ready for this and will welcome it with open arms-I really mean this. I am looking forward in having a coach help improve my technique, work on drills, and having more pool time in general! Recently, I exchanged my leaky swim goggles for some brand spanking new ones, though these have no tint (I kind of like the clear lens in the pool instead of the tint) but we'll see how they work for OWS and in bright sunshine!

I will be mounting the E7 on the trainer in a few days, for the start of some short, easy spins. I will also be taking a ride up to Performance Running Outfitters for new running shoes (my current pair have 475+ miles and are shot). I got some new compression gear and running socks for Christmas too.

On the down side-I'm still fighting some sort of illness, it must be some late 2010 bug that just doesn't want to give up and go away with the end of the year! I have had some joint pain, sore quads and a really bad back ache going and add to this, bad congestion since Tuesday. BTW- I still went for a swim Tue and did a respectable 2,000 yards. My 1K yard time was better than my last few swims, but I faded after 20 laps, I just felt fatigued and had some trouble breathing properly. I still don't know if this was a good idea, but I never had a fever, so I figured it could help. Maybe not so much...

I think there was some type of virus the family spread about, so 3 of the 4 of us in the house were sick at the same time. Thursday-I spent the entire day in bed. I'm still not even 75%, but am hoping to be better by Monday. The low back is stiff yet tonight-since having back surgery, this is where I'm most sore when I get really sick. I guess it hits you where you're most weak, and plus I'm getting old!!

So, the detailed training schedule has been printed, all the reference materials have been placed in a three ring binder. I did a bit of research on calculating HR maximums and effective ranges for the season-this too has been printed and is ready. I even made small copies, small enough to cover in plastic or tape and secure to my Garmin GPS band or my TT bike handlebars, for easy reference!

My training journal-a hand written one which I bought just for the 2011 season-has been started and so far has about 8 pages of reflections, pondering of things and ramblings on in it. I figured with the many long, long, long training hours and long work days ahead in this new year, a written log would be easier to carry with and actually get the info entered right away. There are brick workouts coming up soon, some will be split with one before work, and another after work. A detailed training record-just hand writing my times, distances, how I felt, HR/speed/cadence data, weather, food and nutrition notes, well-you get the idea. I can then transfer over my training data to online files sooner or later-or when I get the time!

I'm still working on shifting around the workouts to fit my work schedule; it will be a bit of a challenge to get it to work as it stands, with my working rotating weekends. But, having the days off during the week and having the kids in school will have huge benefits-this will give me about 6-7 hours each of those two days off to fit in longer training days during the week, so there is more upside than down. This will amount to less time taken away from family time, dinner time, homework time and fewer 4am wake ups to squeeze in one more swim, run or bike ride. Sleep is still a good thing you know!

I still need to look at the specific training periods as they approach my particular races, and how these "training races" (such as the Racine 1/2 Marathon) will fit in to the overall training schedule. One other area that I need to look at is the taper period, and how long out to begin the taper for IMoo. More on this later. I also need to pick up a few nutrition items-mainly Hammer gels for pre swim fuel-this weekend.

Thats all for now-off to bed and more rest. I will report back as to how bad I get my butt kicked all over the pool on Monday AM. Happy New Year everyone!

Race Plans. Or...Racing Dreams?

I was emailing with a race bud last night, continuing into today, talking about training plans (which, FYI, start in earnest around Feb 1, 2011). We were also talking about possible races we'd do as a group next year. I was just updating some race ideas last night, while watching Sherlock Holmes on HBO (funny, I saw a friend on FB say they were watching, so I turned it on too). Here is what I'm tossing about now, we'll call it Draft #1-2011 Season:

April 9-Racine-Mt Pleasant WI 1/2 Marathon
May 7-Wisconsin 1/2 Marathon
June 11-Elkhart Lake Sprint Triathlon
June 26-Pleasant Prairie Olympic Triathlon
July 17- IM Racine 70.3 Triathlon
Sept 11- IM Wisconsin

As draft #1 stands right now, my race buds will be racing 5 of these 6 races. The only one they are not racing for 100% certain is IM Racine, as they will be up in Door County WI racing a 70.3 the same day! They complained the Lake Michigan water was too cold in Racine, I told them "NEWS FLASH", the Door Co. race had some colder water temps than Racine's the past few seasons! Well, actually my race bud Johnny will be doing IM Racine by my side, so it will still be a blast. I'm hoping it won't be 93 degrees and humid like last year, so the kids can come down and see their old man.

All of these races are pretty close to home; the longest drive will be Elkhart Lake, which is about a 75 minute ride from home. The closest? IM Racine, about 2 miles from door to the beach start. BTW, 214 days left till IM Racine (the Iron App on FB just let me know that, pretty cool app IMO).

I just checked the temp, it is 15 deg F outside right now. I was debating an outside short run, but forget it, IT'S TOO DAMN COLD. I did jam out a nice easy 5k treadmill run after work last night. I followed up with a killer ab workout (decline sit ups), kettles bell swings, 20 lb heavy ball squat and toss and bench press/pull downs on the Universal, all 3X12 sets each. The abs were feeling it last night, as I sipped some English tea and watched Robert Downey Jr. I tried to sit up to grab my fleece while sitting in my leather "Dad chair", and whooaaaa!

Today, I feel like 6 bucks and change, ready for another workout. The weight lifting and core strengthening in the off season is a new training approach for me, and I must say I feel like it is working, even after only 4 weeks. Another 6 weeks to go, along with a few new training tools starting January 3rd, 2011. More on this in a later post-I'm excited about a few of them!

And the dreams part. I did not dream about racing last night, not even close. I actually had a dream we had sold our house and moved, and we had said goodbye to the neighbors. I can still even picture the "new" house's basement, as I was planning to remodel it. Weird.

Weekend workout update.

I wish the off season would get over with already! This is the time of year when I usually lack motivation, or as I refer to it, the "Demotivation" demons which haunt us all come calling. Not so far this off season. Maybe it can be attributed to the great weather we've enjoyed here in Wisconsin.

Or, maybe it could be I'm really looking forward to the 2011 race season, and the new year in general! (Note to all-PLEASE, remind me of this post when it gets to be, say, late June and I'm feeling a bit burned out from the bricks, the 6 day per week workouts and the early AM swims/runs, thanks in advance!).

Just a quick update on workouts from yesterday and today:

Friday-trainer spin on the TT bike (bike position tweaked)
60min at 85cad, easy spin in the 39 ring
716 kcals (per the Polar F6, too high, more like 500 or so).
HR avg/max 131/142

Sat-swim at JMBA (1st swim in over a month!)
1,500 yards, easy pace (with plenty of rest stops!)
49min
100 yd cool down crawl/free

Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit warmer, and the entire family will be hitting the pool at JMBA. So, I will swim another 1K-1,500 yds or so, and maybe  get a short run in. I need to get acclimated to the swim again; overall I felt good post swim, just a bit tired. I'm looking for some much better times as I get back into the pool on a regular basis again. I just looked back on my swim notes from the summer; I swam 1,500 yd in 39:39 on August 19, so I'm like 10 min off my pace from 3 months ago. Glad I keep good workout notes!

Turkey Day spin and some wine.

So Happy Turkey Day blogging world. I've got some extra time tonight, the kids are in bed after a big dinner during the day at my in-laws. We came home, full and tired, but we managed to watch Jungle Book without falling asleep! My wife is still at work (pulling a 12 hour holiday shift, this really sucks) and I am tired of watching the Man vs. Food marathon on Travel Channel.

I do love watching Adam Richman eat, he is so hungry, so passionate about what he does. I wonder if he ever gets sick of eating like a pig? And, I'd like to see if he has a workout program and personal trainer. Take a look at some of the older episodes sometime-you can call me crazy, but I swear if you see him at different times in the show's history, he looks like his weight fluctuates. Of course, it's tough to tell what show is what in the timeline. OK, I just looked him up on Travel Channel, he has a Master's from Yale University in Drama and still works in theater productions. Cool. But I'm still wondering how he can eat like that and not blow up like a freakin' Macy's Parade ballon? This show has been on since 2008, FYI.

I kind of answered my own question, to a certain degree-you've got to love the interweb. I checked on Adam's Bio on a website for his show. He is about 3 years younger than myself, so his metabolism is probably still a bit faster. It says he exercises daily-if time allows-and his Dr's check his blood levels for all the usual suspects regularly. It does not say if he has a trainer or what type of exercise he likes to do (or he is forced to do). I posted a comment on the site, telling him I love the show, and asking what type of fitness plan or personal trainer he has to get him on by. I will post up if they (or he) responds.

Back to Turkey Day. I managed to get in a 40 minute trainer spin this AM, before heading to feast. I was busy getting a bunch of house stuff done (you know, dishes, breakfast for the kids, clean up, typical Ironman stuff), so I didn't realize I had not eaten a thing all morning (2 cups of Alterra coffee don't count IMO). I was getting ready to jump on the trainer, so I slugged down one of these:

And the spin commenced. I felt better today than the other day I rode. The legs felt like they had a bit more power, I spun at about 90 rpm and a bit faster speed was maintained. The HR was kept low, I only hit about 135 bpm according to the Polar. A nice easy spin, no hammer time (pun intended). My shoulders are a bit sore tonight. I still need to tweak the TT positioning, move the aero bars lower, position the seat forward a few CMs, maybe raise the seat a very small bit. This tweaking is necessary because I loaned my TT bike to a race bud for our group ride, and he installed his saddle (an ISM Adamo) instead of using my Fizik Tri Arione. I kind of tossed my saddle back on, and had not given it much thought since.

Speaking of Hammer products and nutrition, I have been completely satisfied with all of the Hammer brand nutrition I have used in 2010 for training and racing. And I've used a bunch to get me by, including:

Hammer gels (a bunch of flavors)

Hammer Heed Sport Drink (powder)

Hammer Perpetuem (powder only, so far)

Hammer Endurolyte caps

Hammer bars

Hammer Recoverite powder

I have never had any gastrointestinal issues with the Hammer supps and fuel. Not once, never. And, the online guide and quantified research/data they provide makes planning my nutrition a bit easier, especially for longer events and in challenging conditions, like summer heat. I'm looking forward to getting to the 2011 season and into some of the longer runs and rides, so I can further test, tweak and adjust my nutrition for IMoo, and even for IM Racine. These are going to be my A Races for 2011, so I need to make sure I get nutrition nailed down 100% before then. This will remove one more variable in my IM equation, and hopefully will help me enjoy both of the races a little.

I cannot wait to try the Perp solids that Hammer released late this year-this will make the on bike nutrition much easier. Instead of mixing up 8 scoops of powder Perp in a bike bottle, and having to slug it down (I didn't say it all tasted great after 3+ hours of racing, I just said it didn't make me sick), I will be able to carry the solids and eat those instead. This should help in two ways: one, there will be less weight to carry on the bike, as I don't have to mix a large 24 ounce bottle for fuel. Two, the solid should be easier to consume. This will have to be marked "TBD" until I test my theory out in the spring. Once training begins in earnest, I plan on logging my ride and run nutrition, and I will post it up as well, as I begin to figure out what to use over 12+ hours of racing.

And finally, on to today's wine. A little disclaimer-I am by no means a wine expert and I do not know a great deal about wine. That said, I like wine and have been trying different brands and different types of wine. So my advice is this-TIFWIW! 

We uncorked a few bottles of wine and tasted some solid, budget priced offerings. The first we had was a bottle of Malbec my father-in-law had opened prior to my arrival. I didn't even get the name of it, but it was good, not as dry as some of the Malbecs I've had. It was an Argentinian Malbec, I believe. 

But the real winning selection was the 2 bottles my mom and I brought.  Both were from Chateau Ste. Michelle, a Washington state vineyard (and one of my favorite brands to date!) with excellent priced wines.

The first was a 2009 Columbia Valley Chardonnnay, on sale for $7.99. One of my "go to" wines when bringing a bottle to a friend's or just to keep on hand, it has a clean, smooth taste, slightly fruity but not sweet. Highly recommended!

Next, a bottle of 2009 bottle of Chateau Gewurtztraminer was opened, this was the first time I've tried this grape. And, this wine was rated 88 points (on the 2008 vintage) by Wine Spectator, BTW. Again, a sub $10 bottle.  Cheap-right in my poor azz, post IM race fee paying price range. This was similar to a Riesling, quite sweet, some citrusy flavor, with a bit more of an aftertaste. Pleasant and drinkable, yes, but a bit too sweet for myself. I have had Rieslings that were not so sweet, which I enjoyed more than this one. One glass was OK, but I would not drink 2 or 3 glasses in one sitting. That's all I got for ya, that is about as sophisticated of wine review you will get from me.

And, last thing. I kept the eating in check. Two cups of coffee, one Hammer gel, one plate of food. OK, I admit I had a piece of pumpkin and chocolate pie, and some wine. Not too bad, it was no Man Vs. Food blowout. I give myself a B- overall.

Happy Thanksgiving bloggers!