8/22/2006 Strength Training

I was back in the gym today for some strength training. I moved up to the grey JC bands for the lunges and rows. I also added 5 lbs. and the second set to the bicep curls and shoulder press and brought the time of each set down to 60 seconds. I was going to up the walking lunge weight to 20 lbs., but I think the combination of increasing the bicep/shoulder press and the lat raises was too much. I got about 4 in and decided to drop back to the 15 lb. wts.

elliptical = 15 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Grey Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/25 lb. wts.
2 sets bicep curls = 60 seconds each
2 sets shoulder press = 60 seconds each
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 95 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 95 lbs.
clamshell crunches w/overhead 8lb ball 2x25

I might have to take at least a couple days off after today. I think I strained my right calf at the race on Sunday. It was stiff and sore this morning, but I decided to go ahead and work out to see how it would feel. It felt fine during the workout, but the rest of the day it's ached. Whenever I sit for a long time, and get up to walk it is so tight and painful. A littl break will probably do it some good. Unfortunately that means I might not be able to do my bike commute this week, but better that than aggravate the strain further or worse; get 15 miles into my ride and have it cramp up. That would completely suck.

8/21/2006 Recovery

I guess this is a good sign, but it is hard some days to do nothing. After the race yesterday I went home showered, ate and left for work. By the time I got home at 11:30 pm I was wiped out. I decided that today would be a day off. I didn't have to work until 4:30 pm, so I really wanted to sleep in and just relax during the day. Of course 7:30 rolls around and the morning sounds start to come through the window and the sun is shining. I immediately start to itch like a junky. I really wanted to get out and ride! I had some other things to do, so I was able to restrain myself do some much needed paperwork and get some reading in on the porch. The local cat food thief stopped by for a visit. That racoon gets bolder everyday. It's already made peace with the cats as they sit within feet of it as it eats their food. I'm expecting the thing to be sitting there one of these days when I bring food out in the morning.

I couldn't resist the whole day. I did get out on my hybrid and ride around in our neighborhood for a while. I got in about 6 miles at a nice easy pace. It was a beautiful afternoon.

8/20/2006 Great Buckeye Challenge

The Great Buckeye Challenge was a great race! I'm not going to analyze it to death. I'm very happy with the results. I was able to carve another 1 minute 48 seconds off my time from the race in July and finish 2nd in my age group. Yeah, so there was only 3 guys in my age group, but judging by other times for this event in years past the second is legitimate. I finished 8th overall for the sprint distance duathlon. tres impressive, no? It is my last duathlon of the year and a fantastic way to finish up a great run at Caesar Creek. I decided not to wear my heart rate monitor and just let it fly. I did wear my watch, and here is what came from that.

	1st 5K total - 23:27
Mile 1 - 7:48	Mile 2 - 7:01	Mile 3.1 - 8:38
Transition 1 - 1:18	Bicycling - 38:53	Transition 2 - 1:07
	2nd 5K - 24:00
Mile 1 - 8:05	Mile 2 - 7:34	Mile 3.1 - 8:21
	Total - 1:28.49

Looking at the splits puts a smile on my face. I ran a complete race from beginning to end. I didn't hit it to hard at the beginning of the race, and there was no blow out late in the race.

I did learn something from this race. Always eat at least one banana before the race. I usually eat one on the way to a race, and I haven't had a problem with cramps all year. The morning of Great Buckeye I forgot to pick up a banana and it was so early that none of the stores on the way that would sell fresh fruit were open. About 10 yards in to my second 5K both of my calves cramped up so hard. For about the first kilometer I thought that I was done. I was ready to stop and walk when it luckily eased up, and I was able to pick up the pace to finish the race strong.

Official Results:

Age Group: 2 Overall SD: 8 1st 5K: 23:28.11 Pace: 7:34 Transition 1: 01:17 Bicycle: 38:54.60 Avg: 19.1 mph Transition 2: 1:07 2nd 5K: 24:00.92 Pace: 7:45 Total: 1:28:48.66

8/19/2006 Preparing for Caesar Creek

I spent the morning cleaning road grime off my bike, cleaning the chain, and fixing a punctured tube. I was very careful this time to find the culprit that caused the puncture, so I don't have another multiple puncture issue like I did earlier in the summer. As it turns out there was a tiny sliver of glass wedged in the tire. It wasn't even poking through as I felt along the inside, but it must have either broken off in the tube or the pressure while on the road pushed it just enough to puncture. It was such a small one that it was a slow leak that I had to use water to find. I'm really glad that I found it before tomorrow's race!

I am returning to Caesar Creek one final time this summer for a duathlon tomorrow. On the previous outings I've had some success on this course. Not to mention that it is just a very nice course in and around one of the state parks. Check it out! Anyway, I was able to improve upon my time by nearly 4 minutes the 2nd time on the course despite a slightly longer bike course.

4/23/06 5K/20K/5K 1:34:30
7/09/06 5K/22K/5K 1:30:33

I'm hoping to improve upon that time one more time and break the one hour 30 minute barrier. Actually, I don't know why I should even look at it that way. I'm going to have fun and try to use my new mental exercise, "Think light!" Just be positive in the knowledge that I'm lighter, faster, and better prepared than ever. Man I'm going to crush that one and 30 minute time! :)


Update on the century ride. At this point I am most likely going to skip the September 2nd ride, or do something less than a century if I want to ride with a couple of friends that might go. I have to work at 2pm. With the hour drive to get there and back I might not make it in time, plus I want to be able to enjoy the ride without constantly worrying about my time. I do enough worrying about time during races. I just want to enjoy this time on the bike. I am definitely doing one on the 16th! I've confirmed that I have the day off work, and The Oxford Odyssey is all lined up!

8/17/2006 Bicycle Commuting

The morning commute was fine. There was nothing terribly exciting here. I got up, I dressed, I rode. The end.

Odo: 1121.5 miles
Dist: 25.23 miles
Time: 1:32.17
Avg: 16.4mph
Max: 33.4 mph

The commute home was slightly more eventful, but in an entirely stupid way. I decided to ditch my back pack at work again, since I knew I wasn't riding in Friday morning. I filled up my jersey pockets with the things that were necessities, wallet, iPod, glasses, cell phone... in zip lock bags to keep them dry. Besides spare tube and the usual essentials I've found the most useful thing I can carry is a couple of extra zip lock bags to store stuff in that need to stay dry from either possible rain or definite sweat.

So, I jetted off minus a backpack, but plus pockets loaded. Apparently I was not very careful with stowing my glasses. I should mention with my glasses that have brand new lenses from a brand new prescription. As I was leaving they jumped out of my back pocket and on to the road. I didn't notice and went on my merry way. A good 30 minutes later I reached in my back pocket to check things and had a minor, although not life threatening, heart attack. By the time I had back tracked to where they escaped at least one car made them much flatter for me. I guess the good thing is that I got to work out my frustration with myself and my stupidity on the bike, so I'm not really beating myself up over it anymore.

Odo: 1146.8 miles
Distance: 50.6 miles
Time: 3:10.03
Avg: 16.7 mph
Max: 33.4 mph

8/16/2006 Bicycling

It was a wonderful, sunny day for cycling. The humidity was relatively low, and the temperature started in the 70's and by the end of the ride was in the low 80's. I started on an old route and added a new leg on to it. I started on 132 to Greenbriar and around to Owensville. From there I broke off from the standard route on to Benton Road. It has become one of my new favorite roads to ride on, with little traffic and a nice variety of hills and flat sections.

Odo: 1096.3 miles
Dist: 27.49 miles
Time: 1:39.24
Avg: 16.6 mph
Max: 37 mph

It was the type of day that I would've loved to stay out all day long and just ride around exploring Clermont County. One of these days, I'll take a full day and just ride all day. Speaking of riding all day, I might have to put my first century off just a bit longer. As it stands I have to work on September 2nd which is the day of the BCBCBCBC Ride. I could still go and ride, but it seems a bit of a drive to do it. The Oxford Odyssey is on September 16th, which is also a work weekend, but I'm trying to work one of the days off. Fingers crossed!

8/15/2006 Running

I've been doing some shorter runs lately, so I thought I should get in a longer 6 mile run. One goal I've been shooting for in the back of my mind is finishing this 6 mile route in less than 50 minutes. Today I finally did it. I was hovering around the 50 minute mark all summer. Sometimes I'd come close to 50 minutes other times I'd hit it at about 53-55 minutes.

6 Mile Run
Avg HR 163 bpm
Peak HR 184 bpm
Min HR 84 bpm
Total Cal: 860
Time: 49:25

2 minute Recovery
173-134 bpm

I don't think I was running a lot faster for most of the run, but I did try a different mental approach when attacking the hills. On the route there is a fairly steep .25 mile hill and a very steep .5 mile hill. Each hill is definitely a chore and the least fun part of the run. After reading an article about climbing hills in Bicycling I decided to apply the same mental approach to running. I concentrated on thinking light thoughts, and more specifically a rabbit. I've always identified with the rabbit, and even though I don't think of myself as spiritual I think of it as my "power animal". Part of it goes back to childhood and the rabbits in the field at my grandparents. Another part is how I view them. They are not very physically imposing, but are quick and have powerful rear legs.

A little deeper look into the rabbit as a power animal actually reveals that it is quite apt for other reasons. According to one website:

"In many Native American traditions Rabbit is named the Fear Caller. It is believed that it shouts out its fear of the predators who rank it high on their dining list so loudly that it attracts them, and thus brings that which it fears into being.

If we look at this idea with deeper understanding we see how well Rabbit teaches us that we create our lives with our thoughts and feelings. Rabbit experiences fear, projects it outward, and creates in the external world conditions which mirror its inner terrors."

That is so incredibly fitting on so many different levels, besides running and bicycling. I'll have to give it some more thought.

8/13 - 8/14/2006 Kayaking & Strength Training

8/13/2006 Kayaking

Sunday Rick and I were able to get out on the kayaks and do some work in preparation for the Little Miami Triathlon. It is, by far, the event I have been looking forward to the most this year. A big reason that I've been doing any strength training or spending any time in the gym this summer is to build some upper body strength for the kayaking portion of the race. Otherwise, I would've probably just stuck with running and bicycling to get my exercise all summer.

It was a beautiful morning, and we spent about 90 minutes out on the water and paddles 2.75 miles according to the good ol' gmap-pedometer. For the most part it felt fairly good. My shoulders started aching, but I was able to work through it and find a nice, steady pace and get it loosened up. I know I won't be setting any records in the kayaking portion of the race. I just want to feel comfortable enough to get through that part of the race with a reasonable time, so that I can make it up on the run and bike. I really want to crush my time from last year and more than that beat my friends this year! Is that so wrong?

Of course, we weren't working hard the whole time. There was some paddling and then some relaxing. It was such a great morning, we couldn't help but take some time to enjoy it.

8/14/2006 Strength Training

It was another day in the gym. I increased the weight on the hipp adductor/abductor by 5 lbs. Next week I'll be increasing the bicep curl and shoulder press time. I'm going to split it up into two one minute sets for each. That way I can get in two complete sets for each workout.

elliptical = 10 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Blue Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 90 seconds
shoulder press = 90 seconds
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 95 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 95 lbs.
clamshell crunch w/overhead 8lb ball 2x25

8/12/2006 Brick Training

In answer to your question Tuco, this is my ride.

One part of my training that I've been pretty lax on this year is brick training. I always end up doing one or the other. I always think it's going to take too long. It's really my fault, because when I get on my bike I like to ride and ride and ride. I'm like a little kid, a little is never enough! I made myself buckle down and do a short ride and some running to get some brick training in before the race next weekend. It will have been a month since my last race, so I thought it was in order.

I rode 12.23 miles on the bike to get close to the 20k distance of the race. I thought I would be sore on Thursday or Friday from all of the commuting time Wednesday or Thursday, but I didn't feel it until Saturday morning...on the bike. For the first 4-5 miles of the ride my legs were so stiff and sore that I could barely keep the pace above 17 mph. It was a brutal beginning. I eventually loosened up and enjoyed the new route I found. It was mostly flat with one steep hill that was about .3 miles long. I look forward to exploring more of this road in the future.

Odo: 1068.8 miles
Dist: 12.23 miles
Time: 42:56
Avg: 17.1 mph
Max: 35.1 mph

The run went very well. I ran about 3.5 miles trying to maintain an 8 mile/minute. I nailed it. I don't have any hrm info this time. For some reason my hrm crapped out during the bike, and I just didn't feel like taking the time to mess with it.

Split 1 Bicycle: 42:24
Split 2 Transition: 1:24
Split 3 Run: 28:16
Total: 1:12.06


Bring on the Great Buckeye Challenge!


*Map created at www.gmap-pedometer.com.

8/10/2006 More Commuting

After yesterday's commute I was feeling pretty good. I felt so good that I decided I would get another day of commuting in today. I was wondering how it would go over since this is the first time I've done it two days in a row. Typically even when I do my workouts I alternate them so I run one day, then bike, then weights. I was pretty sure that I would be sore this morning. Surprisingly I was not. I got up at 5 am, ate a good breakfast and hit the road. I was able to keep up a good pace.

Odo: 1028.3 miles
Dist: 25.30 miles
Time: 1:30.30
Avg: 16.8 mph
Max: 28.8 mph

Once again there were predictions of thunderstorms for just about the time I was to make my commute home. Once again I dodged the bullet. I was just behind the front as it rolled through the city, so I got some wet roads and jittery drivers but no rain. I ditched my backpack at work in case it did rain, so I wouldn't be carrying an extra 20 lbs. of wet backpack. That made the ride quite a bit easier and more fun. The final hill was the most interesting part of the ride. The hell hill that usually kicks my butt, and I can only crawl up in the easiest gear is finally starting to crack under the pressure of repeated ridings. I was able to keep up a good pace by attacking the hill instead of approaching in a more timid manor like I usually do. It was still tough because it was wet and slick so my back wheel kept slipping. I was able to combat it a bit by shifting my weight back, but it only helped marginally.

Odo: 1056.5 miles
Dist: 52.91 miles
Time: 3:11.57
Avg: 16.5 mph
Max: 28.8 mph

8/09/2006 Commuting by Bike

I had a great ride in this morning! It was relatively cool and cloudy, so I was very comfortable the entire ride. The new wheels felt fantastic and smooth the entire way, and I credit them for a much faster ride than I've had in the past on commutes. I checked the average at the end of the ride, it was 17 mph time 1hour 20 minutes, but I forgot to take the computer off the bike. It continued to run as I was pushing it into the building and down the hallway. It's neither here nor there, because the ride felt amazing and that is what really matters. Even with only 5 hours of sleep I now feel wide awake and ready to work.

Odo: 975.5 miles
Dist: 25.29 miles
Time: 1:30:20
Avg: 16.7 mph
Max: 34.6 mph

I'm gonna crack the 1000 mile mark this afternoon! I'm very happy to be getting in so many miles this year, and it's really just half over. As we go into September I'm gonna try to up my number of commutes to twice a week. Between the commutes and my planned century I may very well break 2000 miles by the end of the year!

Commute Total:
Odo: 1,003.6 miles
Dist: 53.42 miles
Time: 3:15:39
Avg: 16.3 mph
Max: 34.6 mph

The ride home was sweet. It was fairly cloudy but not raining, so that kept the heat down a bit. As I hit about 997 miles the clouds broke open and the sun shined down on those last few miles. It got me pretty pumped up. Now I'm looking forward to upping my commuting miles and a couple of centuries. Maybe I'll hit 2,000 miles by the end of the year.

8/08/2006 Running

I decided to do the unimaginable today, well at least unimaginable to some people. I decided to go for a run at noon. I had intended to get out and run earlier in the morning, but working until 1 am isn't very condusive to getting up and running first thing in the morning. So, after a bit of a lazy morning I decided it had to be done before I go in to work.

I went for a short, fast run today. I figured the less time I spend out in the heat the better. It was a relatively short run at 4.0 miles and, not as fast as I'd like, but considering the heat keeping 8 minute miles was fast enough. I jogged out the first 1/2 mile to warm up and get my legs loose. I then picked it up to approximately 8 minute miles for the rest of the run. I was able to maintain the pace for most of the run until the last mile when I could feel the heat starting to wear on my mind. In my mind I started to play the little game. Oh okay you can stop now. It's very hot, and you've run far enough. I must say that I won the game. Instead of stopping I picked up the pace and kept on running. I even finished it off with an alright sprint.

As a side note I was listening to my new mix while running today, and even though I didn't put it together specifically for workout purposes it works out pretty well. There is one exception when it comes to running. Maybe it was just the mixture of heat and mind games that got to me but Manic Depression by Jimi Hendrix, a song that I normally love to hear, just got on my nerves. It just wasn't happening for me today. The rest of the mix was a lot of fun to listen to while running.

Some Stats:

Avg HR: 169
Peak HR: 186
Min HR: 115
Total Cal: 493
Split 1: 7:56 1 mile 1
Split 2: 10:38 2.5 mile
Split 3: 8:07 1 mile
Total 26:42

8/07/2006 Swimming & Strength Training

Swimming

I was hoping to get out on my bike yesterday. After seeing the bike races on Sunday and opting out of both The Morning Glory Ride and East Fork Duathlon on that day I've been feeling restless to get out and ride. Unfortunately, it will have to wait until Wednesday when I do my first commute of the week. We decided to hit the swimming pool for some fun time, so I decided to sneak a little workout once everyone else was worn out and hit deck for some sun.

I swam for approximately 20 minutes changing strokes about every 5 laps. I did 5 laps of freestyle, side stroke (each side), breast stroke, and then back to another 5 laps of freestyle. Between the laps and carting my daughter back and forth across the pool as she swam around me I figure it counts as a workout!

Strength Training

I decided to get my gym time out of the way early this week. It was so hot outside by the afternoon there was really nothing else worth doing anyway. I think next week I'm going to up the weight on the bicep curls and shoulder press to 25 lbs. and go back to 60 seconds. I'm also going to up the hip weight by 5 lbs. I'm really glad that Lisa added the hip workout to the routine. I think it has made a big difference in my cycling this year. I feel a lot more comfortable in the saddle.

elliptical = 10 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Blue Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 90 seconds
shoulder press = 90 seconds
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
clamshell crunches w/overhead 8lb ball 2x25

8/05/2006 Cycling with New Wheels!

Got my problems taken care of, hopefully for at least the rest of the year (crossing fingers, knocking on wood, tossing salt over shoulder). I took my bike into the shop over lunch break on Friday and talked to one of the techs about the issues with breaking spokes to find out what would be the best route to take. There had to be a better way to deal with this instead of just replacing spokes all the time. He suggested replacing the wheels. That's always a way to deal with a problematic part. He told me that once you start breaking spokes that it will continue to happen because of the stress that is being put on the spokes. I don't think I explained that correctly, but anyway I got some new wheels. It's even an upgrade, so I was okay with it since I was thinking of upgrading my components next year anyway. I'd really like to have a good race ready ride.

Got out yesterday morning for a nice long ride, and what a difference! The wheels were responsive, stiff and smooth throughout the ride. The old wheels felt sluggish and soft by the end of a long ride, and I thought it was just me getting tired. I think now that they were warped in some way that was causing the wheel to stress over the course of a ride and breaking spokes throwing the wheel out of alignment. So, a big thumbs up to the new wheels!

I took the same long route to Bethel and around to Owensville and back. I am really loving this ride. It provides a nice variety of hills and flats, as well as the advantage of being a loop so there is no out and back. I always disliked out and back routes. I added a few miles on by taking a little side road to the bottom of the spill way at East Fork. It adds mileage as well as another 1/2 mile hill to the course. Just thinking about it makes me itch for another run at it.

Stats:
Odo: 950.2 miles
Dist: 54.79 miles
Time: 3:15.56
Avg: 16.7 mph
Max: 39.1 mph

Looking forward to the milestone of breaking 1000 miles for the first time this week!

8/03/2006 Commuting by Bicycle

I got off to an early start this morning. I was about 20 minutes early getting out the door, so I was able to relax and take a little more time on the commute in. It worked out nicely because my legs were a bit tired after yesterday's double workout. I was still able to maintain a reasonable pace on the flats, but I was definitely not in top form. It was a great ride though. The only thing that keeps these commutes from being great is dragging my backpack on my back.

1st half of the commute:

Odo: 869.5 miles
Dist: 25.37 miles
Time: 1:38:31
Avg: 15.4 mph
Max: 34.6 mph

I can't believe it! Early on during my ride home I broke yet another spoke. It is just unreal that this keeps happening. I'm taking the bike back to the shop today to have it looked at. There must be something wrong with the rear wheel that this keeps happening. With the broken spoke I ended up dragging my back wheel home as it wobbled and rubbed the rear brakes the whole way. It really slowed me down and made the ride grueling. By the time I reached the final hill on Filager I was completely wiped out and had to walk part of it. I stopped about half way for a rest, but made the final push up the hill.

Total Stats for ride:
Odo: 894.6 miles
Dist: 50.53 miles
Time: 3:22:19
Avg: 14.9 mph
Max: 34.6 mph

8/02/2006 Strength Training & Running

Strength Training

This was a much needed workout day. I was having a low energy day yesterday, and very easily could have been a lazy couch potato all day if I wouldn't have gotten to the gym. It was so hot outside and I had a day off so there really wasn't any reason to go outside. Pile on to that the fact that I was having a bad morning and it could've easily turned into a do-nothing day. I'm glad that I got out and did the workout. It left me in a better frame of mind. I decided to double up and do some running.

eliptical = 15 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Blue Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 90 seconds
shoulder press = 90 seconds
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
lower leg raise w/overhead 8lb (abs) 2x25

Running

Since it's been entirely too long I decided to run some intervals. I'm gonna try to get some more of these in as preparation for the remaining races this year. I was also interested in how I would feel doing the intervals and how my times would hold up. Earlier in the year when I tried these I would wear out pretty quickly. I'm very happy with the results. I ran 1/2 mile intervals for 3 miles. The first interval was the slow and second fast as is pretty clear from the splits. I was able to maintain a consistent pace throughout and even kick it a little on the last split. I would've been pretty happy with this time as a race time last year, so to see it as a training time is great. It's little things that keep me motivated!

In Zone: 5:42 I set it for zone 5 (171-190) so it appears I overestimated what my heart rate would be.
Avg HR: 160 bpm
Peak HR: 181 bpm
Min HR: 103
Total Cal: 402

1st split: 4:25
2nd split: 3:27
3rd split: 4:34
4th split: 3:26
5th split: 4:36
6th split: 3:21
Total Time: 23:47

2 min. Recover
177 bpm - 119 bpm

7/29 - 7/30/2006 Running & Bicycling

7/29/2006 Running

With my bike still in the shop on Saturday I had to get outside and exercise. I decided to get out and do a longer run. I was actually hoping to get up over 6 miles, but it just wasn't happening. Once the heat started kicking in the thoughts of going longer quickly vanished. The longest runs I have left this year are a couple of 10k's and the 6 miles for the Little Miami, so I feel really good about the run despite not raising my mileage. I did my usual course for the long run. I started out by running back through Meghan's Run and then circling back around down Filager out 222 and back up the Hell Hill that is 132. The key to this run for me is seeing how I recover from the hill, and so far things are looking good. I was able to recover and finish the run at a strong pace. It was a 6 mile run in 52 minutes.

7/30/2006 Bicycling

This was my longest ride of the year, and maybe the hottest ride of the year! I wanted to get out early, around 7:30, but faced a little setback in the form of an exploding tube. I was pumping up my tires and the rear tire suddenly exploded in a loud pop! It literally sounded like a gun going off in the quiet morning. Luckily I had a spare and quickly changed it. I guess that's one benefit of all the issues and flats I've had this year, I've become fairly adept at changing tubes.

Once I got out on the road I was off to a bit of a slow start. The morning was foggy and cool, which was nice, but left me feeling a bit groggy and sluggish. I felt more like cruising and staring off into the fog. It is definitely one of those times where I wished I had a camera with me. Actually I do wish I had a camera to carry with me, because I also got very close to some deer inside of East Fork Park. One of these days I'll get one that I can carry with me. By 10:00 the fog had all burned off and the sun was bright and burning. It made for a tough second half, but well worth the heat to ride.

The ride was a big loop with a couple of little side trips into East Fork State Park. While I was riding in the park there were other people riding and running in preparation for Sunday's East Fork Triathlon & Duathlon. I am very tempted to do this race, but I really just want to take some time off from racing over the next couple of weeks and go into The Buckeye Challenge fresh and ready to race. I might ride over there on Sunday while the race is going on to check things out, but I am going to resist the urge to race.

All in all it was a great ride. It works out perfectly as a course. At about thirty miles there is a place to stop in Williamsburg and refresh with a snack and my new favorite biking break drink. The Starbuck's Frappuccino Coffee drink is 9.5 oz. of energy in a bottle. It is a perfect boost to get me going for the second halfo of the ride. I don't know if it is the best thing to have, but it is delicious and refreshing, especially after drinking lukewarm water and gatorade for an hour and a half.

Odo: 844 miles
Dist: 50.58 miles
Time: 3:03:28
Avg: 16.5 mph
Max: 37.9 mph

Here is an overview of the ride. It was a bit cumbersome and time consuming to map it out with the gmap pedometer, but it is also cool to see the distance that I travelled.

7/28/2006 Strength Training

I have nothing particularly interesting to say about this workout. It was very early in the morning and I worked out.

eliptical = 10 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Blue Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 90 seconds
shoulder press = 90 seconds
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
lower leg raise w/overhead 8lb (abs) 2x25

7/26/2006 Running

I was torn as to what to do this morning. Every other Wednesday is a tough one, because I work Tuesday night until midnight and then am due back in at 9 am. It makes for a slow, agonizing morning. I really wanted to get to the gym, but decided to run instead. I just couldn't get myself to drive a half hour to workout when I could just walk out the door and run. It all worked out for the best. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and the run got the blood pumping and woke me up.

I ran 6 miles starting with a loop through Meghan's Run and then down to 222 and back up 132 hill. I was able to complete 6 miles in 50:45. I felt good about tackling the 132 hill today after letting it beat me the other day. I paced it out and my heartrate never reached over 179 bpm. I'm not sure what that means, but I didn't peak out, and was able to maintain steady breathing.

Here are some more stats from my hrm:

Avg. HR: 155
Peak HR: 179
Min HR: 67
Total Cal: 822

I also tried out the recover function on the monitor. I did a 2 minute recover, and it started at 160 bpm and ended at 118 bpm. I'm not sure what this means just yet, but I had intended on bringing the manual with me to read up and forgot. I'll have to find out more about this.

7/23 - 7/24/2006 Backpack Trail Run & Bicycling

7/23/2006 East Fork Backpack Trail Run

Close to 5 miles of running through the woods up and down hills jumping logs and running through creek beds trying not to go face first into the dirt because of a stump or a root. I aaaalmost made it without biting it, almost. This is one of the toughest races I have attempted. Since this is the second time I ran it I thought I would be prepared, but nothing can prepare you for the disorienting feeling of running through the woods. There are no mile markers, and nothing to really mark your distance just tree, tree, tree... and a narrow trail to try and pass people on. It's actually fun, really.

I don't know what the exact mileage for the race was, as the course was changed by the park service. They figured that it was close to 5 miles, so that is what the pace and other figures were based on. The official time for my race was 45:27. I am pretty happy with the result considering it was a very tough course with lots of hills and lots of obstacles. As I referenced earlier I did take a dive. Luckily it wasn't a bad one, but it was a full on Pete Rose dive on to the trail. The most unfortunate part of it was that I had my sunglasses in my hand and crushed them in the fall. Bummer.

7/24/2006 Bicycling

It was an incredible day for a ride and I made the most of it. I decided to try to crank out some miles today by trying a new route out to ride. It was a nice long route that took me out 132 to Bethel and back around 133 through Williamsburg to 50 to Owensville and back to Batavia. The only thing that marred the ride was in the last mile two spokes unexpectedly snapped for no apparent reason. Other than that bit of unfortunate luck it felt great to get out and ride just for the sake of riding. It was perfection.

Odo: 793.4 miles
Dist: 43.59 miles
Time: 2:35.03
Avg: 16.8 mph
Max: 40.5 mph

7/19 - 7/20/2006 Running & Commuting

7/19/2006 Running

I haven't been running as much over the last month or so as I was earlier in the summer, and when I do run it is usually with Rick on 3 to 3 1/2 mile runs. I need to get my mileage up to prepare for the upcoming races. I was able to do that the other day by knocking out a 6 mile run in approximately 53 minutes. It was a pretty good run, although I did get stopped by the 132 hill. I made it about halfway up before I had to stop. I walked it out for about 25 yards and then finished up the run strong.


7/20/2006 Commuting

The first half of the ride was smooth as usual. It was a warm morning, mid 70's, so it didn't take long before I was pouring sweat. I took the route through Milford again. It has turned out to be a nice route, especially in the morning with enough range of terrain to keep it interesting and challenging. It was a pretty uneventful ride.

Odo: 724.4 miles
Dist: 25.49 miles
Time: 1:35:38
Avg: 16.0 mph
Max: 29.2 mph

The ride home was a different story altogether. The first half of the ride was pretty smooth. Coming down into Fairfax though I started to feel some weariness in my legs and more problematic a severe pain in my ass as some chafing started. By the time I reached Rt. 50 and Rt. 222 I was extremely tired and my ass ached. So the ride home was a test of endurance and pain threshold. It was also a lesson. I need to pack a bottle of gatorade or something for an energy pick up in the afternoon. The ride was miserable.

Total Stats:

Odo: 749.8 miles
Dist: 50.86 miles
Time: 3:16:40
Avg: 15.4 mph
Max: 29.2 mph

7/17/2006 Strength Training

It was about 95 degrees today, so I decided to avoid the heat and hit the gym. Here ya go.

eliptical = 20 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Blue Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 1 minute 30 seconds
shoulder press = 1 minute 30 seconds
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
lower leg raise w/overhead 8lb (abs) 2x25

7/12 -7/14/2006 Running & Bicycling

7/12/2006 Running

Rick and I did some running on Wednesday evening. I do most of my running and racing in the morning, so whenever I run in the evening it feels....different. Rick is starting to get into the running a bit. He hasn't complained about his legs hurting as much the last couple of runs, which means he is feeling better, or he is just learning to cope with the pain. The trials and tribulations of a runner, why wouldn't everybody want to run? or why would anybody is probably a better question. Anyway, his times are getting better as well. He says he wants to be able to run our 3 mile run in 21 minutes which is a bit of a stretch at this point. He's at just over 25 minutes, so it will take a while to get down that low. Hell, I would like to be able to run a 21 minute 3 mile just in training runs. I think I convinced him to set a little more reasonable goals for now and just concentrate on gradually getting faster and farther to get ready for the Little Miami instead of getting hung up on our dinky 3 mile training run. We ran the usual, and I did 3.5 miles in approx 30 minutes. I think I've convinced him to do the backpack run with me too, so that will be fun!

7/14/2006

I'm to lazy to write something new, so here is a re-print from what I wrote in the sparkpeople message board.

I'm back on the commuting trail today. I took a different route today which allowed me to spend some time off the road and on our local bike trail. It was a very nice ride, but I tell you what it was already hot at 6:30 am. I may be looking at a tough ride home. Weather's calling for 88 degrees and 75% humidity. Wish me luck!

I got really lucky on the commute home. It was storming in various parts of the city as I was leaving work, but I managed to miss the rain. As a bonus the rain cooled things down a bit. Since it was so nice I too my time and added a few miles. I'm gonna shoot for 2 commuting days next week.

The stats:

Odo: 698.9 miles
Dist: 51.19 miles
Time: 3:13:26
Avg: 15.8 mph
Max: 32.8 mph

7/11/2006 Strength Training

I've always approached weight lifting and strength training in the past as a process of building muscle. I would always work toward adding more weight in some endless quest to get stronger. What I'm coming to learn is that what I'm doing now is different. Strength training has become more of a way to keep the muscles strong to improve performance in running, bicycling and the like. It is a way to keep my knees and back strong so I don't get injured. This realization adds a new perspective to my workouts and has allowed me to relax a bit more in the gym and just concentrate on good form rather than trying to add more weight.

eliptical = 15 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Blue Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 90 seconds
shoulder press = 90 seconds
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
lower leg raise w/overhead 8lb (abs) 2x25

7/09/2006 Caesar Creek Duathlon

Let me begin by saying that I was very, very close to ditching this race. I worked the night before, and didn't get home until close to midnight and had to get up the morning of the race shortly before 6 a.m. I also didn't sleep very well, so the morning of the race I seriously contemplated shutting off the alarm and going back to sleep. I'm really glad that I didn't. Because of the contemplation though, I got a late start and cut it pretty close getting to the race site.

I showed up to Caeser Creek State Park to a packed parking lot with people scrambling around to pick up packets and get prepped for the 8 am start. After a long wait in line to pick up my numbers and timing chip I had just enough time to set my bike up in the transition area and get to the starting line with less than 2 minutes to spare. That left no time for warm up and very little for stretching. Aside from the being physically unprepared it left me feeling a little bit unprepared mentally. I was already getting a bit of a defeatist whisper in the back of my mind. I tried to push it down and concentrate on relaxing and having a good race. My goal was to beat my previous time on this course of 1:34:30 and maybe even breaking 1:30:00. Most of all, I wanted to relax and have a good time, because these times mean jack in the scheme of things, but I want to enjoy these races otherwise there is no reason to be there. I set up my stopwatch/heart rate monitor and let it fly.

I'm not going to analyze this race to death right now. I am very, very happy with the results. Despite the rushed start, and some doubts early on in the race I was able to meet my goals and almost....aaaaaalmost beat the 1:30:00 time. The secret to the race seemed to be something I've been striving for which is to (and this sounds kind of dumb) run smarter, not faster. Here are the official results:

Age Group: 3rd Overall: 27th
1st 5K: 24:11.16 Pace: 7:48 Transition: 01:23 Bicycle: 39:07.07 Pace: 19.0 mph
Transition 2: 01:09 2nd 5K: 24:42.51 Pace: 7:58
Total Time: 1:30:33

I am very happy with the times I posted for the two 5K runs. One of the things I wanted to do was to run a complete race. Often times I come out fast and then fade on the second 5K. I was able to hold back just a bit on that first 5K to save something for the bicycle and the second 5K. I am very happy with the improvement in the bicycle time over the last race. In April I pedaled the 20K course in 41:55 at a pace of 17.7 mph. You can see from the stats above there was a great improvement on virtually the same course. I think the mileage I'm putting on commuting is really helping to improve my cadence and ability to handle the larger gears to push up to faster speeds.

Here are some more stats from my bicycle computer:

Odo: 647.7 miles
Dist: 12.93 miles
Time: 41:07
Avg: 18.9 mph
Max: 31.4 mph

and a whole mess of data from my new toy. I'm not sure how I'm going to put this information to use just yet. It is interesting though to see how my new heart rate monitor can keep all this for me. Maybe after I gather some more information I'll be able to analyze it and get some help in improving training.

Heart Rate in zone: 01:16:00 (Zone 5 169-188)
Avg. Heart Rate: 173 bpm
Peak Heart Rate: 186 bpm
Min. Heart Rate: 93 bpm
Total Calories burned: 1757

Split	Time	Avg. HR
1st 5K mile 1	00:07:06	171
mile 2	00:08:34	178
mile 3.1	00:07:23	182
Transition???	00:01:05	182
22K Bicycle	41:18:17	170
2nd 5K mile 1	00:07:27	172
mile 2	00:09:10	174
mile 3.1	00:07:36	178

The improvement in this race really lifted my hopes for the rest of the year, and raised the possibility of signing up for the series next year. It would be fun to approach the races as a season, and give a real focus to my training over the winter and next spring. Something to think about...

7/07/2006 Commuting by Bike

I finally got back on my bike again after a couple of flat tires and our trip for a commute! Thankfully this one went smooth. I was nervous on the morning commute, because I fully expected the tire to blow, so everytime I hit a bump I checked it. It turned out to be a great ride on a nice cool morning. The average when I reached the hospital was actually 17 mph. It dropped to 16.3 after I got to the hospital and cruised around the hospital to kill a little time and add a couple miles.

Odo: 616.6 miles
Dist: 24.03 miles
Time: 1:28:00
Avg: 16.3 mph
Max: 46.3 mph

The ride home was a little tougher. Well, actually I didn't go home. We decided to go to the movies and dinner, so I rode to Milford. I'm actually glad I didn't have to ride home, because I avoided the 32 hill which is always a killer. I was feeling a bit stiff from sitting all day, and the added weight of the backpack was causing some pain in my lower back.

It was a good ride though. It would be a nice alternate route to come home. It's only a couple miles longer, and I would get to avoid the brutal hill.

Odo: 633.5 miles
Dist: 40.92 miles
Time: 2:34:28
Avg: 15.9 mph
Max: 46.3 mph

7/06/2006 Strength Training

It's been entirely too long since I've done any strength training. I've decided I need to re-commit to my training program so I'll be ready for the Little Miami Triathlon in October. I've been doing a lot of bicycing and running, which is good. I've let the upper body work slide though, so I need to get back into that and working core and back. I'm also having some back pain issues while riding. Usually when I hit 20-25 miles on the bike my back starts to ache. If it's fatigue the workouts should help strengthen the muscles.

eliptical = 15 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Blue Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 1minute
shoulder press = 1 minute
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
lower leg raise w/overhead 8lb (abs) 2x25

6/30 - 7/03/2006 Running & Running in Muskegon

6/30/2006 Running

Friday morning I decided to get in one last run with Rick before leaving for Michigan. It was hard telling whether I was going to get around to doing anything during the trip. We ran the usual 3 mile course together in about 24 minutes. I finished up the last 1/2 mile for a good 3.5 miles in about 30 minutes.

7/2/2006 Running in Muskegon

I woke up before everyone else Sunday morning. After spending 10 hours on the road on Saturday a run was definitely in order. The house we stayed in was in a nice little subdivision with lots of roads and to run on. I can't say precisely how far I ran, but I ran for 45 minutes at a steady pace, so I'm guessing it was about 5 miles in 45 minutes.

7/3/2006 Running with Eli

Monday morning I took Eli, the border collie, with me on my morning run. He is such a cool dog that stayed right next to me the whole time. Our dog Gracie could learn a thing or two about walking on a leash from him. Gracie yanks and pulls so much that it's just no fun to run with her. Anyway we ran for about 35 minutes for about 3 miles. We had to make a few stops along the way.

6/26/2006 Ditched Run

I don't have a whole lot to say about this run. I got up early to run, and usually once I get out on the road I wake up and feel pretty good. On Monday it didn't quite work out that way. For some reason I felt nauseous the whole time I was running. After about 2 miles I just stopped and walked the remaining half mile or so home. Once I was walking I felt a little better and decided to give it another shot. It just wasn't meant to be I guess. Oh well, not for lack of trying. I ran/walked 2 1/2 miles in 30 minutes.

6/24/2006 Bicycling

I had a nice ride this morning from our house to Milford (about 13 miles one way)to try out the new section of the bike path (a rails to trails project). It was packed with walkers, rollerbladers, and families on bicycles. It was nice new black top, so it was worth the minor inconvenience to have a nice shady smooth 10 miles.

The mystery of the blown tire was solved this morning. The tire was clearly punctured. It looked to be a nail or tack, as it was clean hole punched right through the tube. I also found my computer was down this morning. Either water got in the casing, or the battery just happened to go dead after that ride. I only knew my mileage because I've ridden that route several times before, and the mileage was marked once I hit the bike path. I rode a total of 36 miles in about 2 1/2 hours.

6/22/2006 Running & Commuting

This was my first training run in almost 2 weeks. I got out with Rick early and we did the usual 30 minutes 3.3 minutes. My running felt nice and smooth with no pain. I kicked it up a bit in the last mile and dropped Rick pretty quickly. What can I say? I was feeling good and my legs took over.


The first half of my commute was a nice ride. I used the same trip that I used the first commute day and it seems to be working out pretty well. I did feel some back pain during the last 4-5 miles of the commute. I'm beginning to wonder if it's my positioning on the bike. I'll have to ask Jason about that the next time I go in to have my bike tuned. Other than that is was a smooth ride. The trip home will be tougher today. We're looking at 90+ degree heat and heavy traffic. Good times.

Odo: 513.4 miles
Dist: 21.92 miles
Time: 1:23:20
Avg: 15.7 mph
Max: 46.1 mph

The trip home was quite an adventure. Heavy thunderstorms moved in during the afternoon, but I decided to try to push through anyway. It wasn't too bad really. I got dumped on a couple times, which was actually okay considering the alternative, had it not rained, would have been 95 degree heat. The first time was in Mt. Lookout, where I got pelted with a heavy hard rain. By the time I reached the Beechmont Levy it was completely dry as I had moved out of that storm front. I ran into another one going into Eastgate and once again got pelted with a heavy rain that eased up to a light rain.

It was looking like everything was going to be fine until I blew a tire five miles from home in a down pour. Luckily I was close to some restaurants where I was able to take cover and call for a ride home. I was too wet and exhausted to look at the cause when I got home. My father-in-law thought it might have been the temp differential between the heated up tire and the cold rain. I'll have to check that out.

Total Stats for commute:
Odo: 529.4 miles
Dist: 37.93 miles
Time: 2:25:33
Avg: 15.6 mph
Max: 46.1 mph

6/18/2006 5 For Father's 5K Race

I felt a bit of disappointment over this race for the first time this year. In retrospect, I shouldn't have been too disappointed under the circumstances of the race, and quite frankly I ran a good race. I was able to run a solid race with a kick at the end. Unfortunately I was tired and sore from the previous day, so I didn't run at 100%, and I made a tactical error during my run.

The day prior to the race we spent the day at the river boating, tubing, and riding jet skis. That night we camped out, so the morning of the race I woke up sore and with very little rest. Sounds like a lot of boo hooing and whining, but just wanted to set it down, so when I look at this after the next race I will be confirmed, or look at this and know it had nothing to do with the race. As for the race itself, I screwed up. I didn't have my watch to keep track of my splits during the race which was a bit annoying. I ran a very solid 6:36 first mile. As we went through the 2 mile marker I fell into pace with a runner that seemed to be keeping a similar pace. During that 2nd mile he fell off, and in turn I did to a 7:22 mile. Realizing the slow down during the 3rd mile I picked up that pace and dropped him. Unfortunately I didn't pick it up enough. I finished up the last of the race with a 7:48 finish. This is a race where I wish I had one of those computers that keep pace and distance, so I knew early on when I started to fall off.

Official Results:
Age group: 3/7 Overall: 23/70 Time: 21:46

The most irritating part about the thing was that I finished up just 33 seconds behind the second place finisher in my age group, and I really think if I would have caught the drop in pace earlier I could have corrected it and caught the runner. The thing is, I had no idea who I was running against so didn't know he was even there. In the grand scheme of things, it was a good run.

6/15/2006 Bicycling - 1st Successful Commute

It was the first day of what will hopefully be my weekly commute to work by bicycle. It was a great experience and I definitely look forward to doing it again. The first set of stats were for the commute to work in the morning. The second set is for the full trip. The ride in the morning was really nice in the cool air of the early morning.

Odo: 468.5 miles
Dist: 23.06 miles
Time: 1:23:15
Avg: 16.6 mph
Max: 46.6 mph

The trip home turned out to be the tougher of the two legs of the trip. It was hotter, the traffic was more aggressive and irritable. It made for a more difficult ride, but not bad. The hill coming up Rt 32 out of Newtown is also a much steeper hill than the one out of Batavia.

Odo: 491.4 miles
Dist: 46.01 miles
Time: 2:49:54
Avg: 16.2 mph
Max: 46.6 mph

6/13/2006 Bicycling: A Failed attempt at Commuting

I made my first attempt at commuting on my bike this morning. I got about 3 1/2 miles down the road, actually up the road as in up a big hill, when I realized I forgot something important I needed for work, doh! I had to turn around and go home, and after that there was no way I would've made in time.

The attempt was a good lesson though. I realized the extra weight from my bag is going to be more of a challenge than I thought, especially at the beginning where I'm faced with a mile long hill to climb on Rt. 32. So, even though the ride was only 7 miles I got in two very challenging hills. Due to road construction I had to come up Filager hill instead of going up 132 hill to Filager. Filager hill is grueling on its own, but with an extra 10 lbs. on my back it was extra, extra, extra, super hard. There was an interesting benefit that may come of the commuting though. I found it much easier to stay in my seat to climb rather than jumping up out of the seat. Lifting an extra 10 lbs. will keep me firmly planted which will make me work on my weakest point, the dreaded seated climb. Another realization: it is still very, very dark at 5 am. I thought I would have at least the beginnings of sunrise, but that doesn' happen until closer to 6 am. I rigged up a head lamp that I use for camping on the front of my bike, but it was essentially useless.

Odo: 445.4 miles
Dist: 7.06 miles
Time: 29:27
Avg: 14.4 mph
Max: 37.1 mph


The failed attempt didn't bother me to much; any time I can spend on my bike is time well spent. I'll give it another go on Thursday when I can leave at 6 am in the light.

6/09 - 6/11/2006 Running & Bicycling

6/09/2006 Running

I wasn't really planning on doing any running this week. My knee was bothering me a bit during and after last Sunday's race so I thought I would take a week off the running and let it heal a bit. I really wanted to put in more bicycling time, but after I had to take it to the shop I realized that wasn't going to happen either. So we roll up on Friday evening, and I'm faced with an evening to myself. So what do I do? I let Rick talk me into going running with him! Doh! Ahhh, I probably would have wasted the few hours I had playing on the computer anyway, so it was nice to get outside. We ran 3+ miles in 30 minutes. I say 3+ because I'm not sure how far exactly; I ran to meet him and then we took off together.

It was a good run and much needed. My legs were really sore from Thursday's strength training session, more sore than they have been in a long time for some reason. I think it was because I did it early in the morning and then sat on my ass at work all day. The lack of blood flow to the muscles probably made them ache all the more. Just a guess. Anyway, it was a good run that helped ease the soreness.

6/11/2006 Bicycling - Cincinnati Cycle Club River Rendezvous.

After I got my bike back on Friday evening I was faced with a day of pouring rain. So, there was no riding on Saturday. I was beginning to think there would be no ride today either, because I woke up to more down pours. I decided to pack up and drive on down in hopes of catching a break in the rain. Lucky enough, we did! It spit and sputtered every once in a while, but for the most part it stayed dry. We spent 2 hours and 45 minutes riding the mapped out roads aroung Northern Kentucky. It was a great time. Here is a quick breakdown:

Odo: 438.2 miles
Distance: 42.59 miles
Time: 2:41:36
Avg: 15.8 mph

I was riding with 3 other people of varying ability. One guy was a machine and could easily outride us all. He would ride on up a few miles, slow down to let us catch up or turn around and ride back to bring someone up. He's a tough rider. The two ladies were slightly below my level. Well, one was pretty close to me, but I frequently outpaced her during the ride, so I would say a little below. It left me in an interesting position. Often I found myself fighting to keep up with super stud, or slowing down to let the other two riders. It made for an interesting ride. Actually, just getting out and riding in a group was very enjoyable regardless of how fast or slow we were riding. Having someone to talk to made the miles fly by.

I didn't feel any real discomfort until we hit about the 35 mile mark. At that point I started to feel the typical discomfort and back pain that I get sometimes on the bike after a while. It was concerning me for a while, but I'm beginning to think that it's just fatigue and as I work more core muscles and get stronger it will be less of an issue.

This ride has sparked an interes in taking part in more group rides. It was a lot of fun, and with the right group it could be very productive.

6/06 - 6/08/2006 Bicycling & Strength Training

6/06/2006 Bicycling

I decided to try to commute to work at least once a week, maybe twice if all goes well. The question was, how long would it take me to do it, and which route to take. I could take the back roads which would take longer (not necessarily a bad thing), or I could take a more direct route which would be quicker, yet have more traffic. As it turned out the more direct route is going to be the one. While it does have more traffic it will still be safer. There is a good 5-6 foot area to ride on off the side of the right lane. In the heaviest traffic areas I won't have to be on the road at all. It should work out nicely.

I rode approximately 30 miles in 1 hour 50 minutes. I don't have the details from the ride with me, so I'll come back and edit those in later. It is going to be a good commute of about 25 miles with a good sized hills to climb, including a monster mile long hill at the beginning, and flat runs. I'll be good and awake by the time I get to work, and will allow me to put on some good mileage this year.


6/08/2006 Strength Training

I had to take my bicycle into the shop to have some loose spokes adjusted, so I was unable to start my commuting this morning. In leu of that I decided to hit the gym for some strength training. I didn't have time to do the eliptical work, but I did some stretching after I was done. It felt good.

JC Bands Lunges with rows, Blue Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 90 seconds
shoulder press = 90 seconds
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
lower leg raise w/overhead 8lb (abs) 2x25
Stretching = 10 minutes

6/04/2006 Reds Run For Home 5K

I look at Sunday's race with mixed emotions. I am at once happy with my performance, frustrated with the course, and disappointed in my final mile dropoff. Had this been a full 5K the race the time would have been a personal best for me. I ran the race at 20:07 according to my stopwatch. Come to find out after the race though that the course was short. At least that was the word that was floating around the runners after the race. The question is, how short was the course? Judging by my splits I can take a guess:

mile 1: 6:30
mile 2: 5:54
mile 3: 7:05
mile .1: :38
Total : 20:07

I think the 2nd mile was short by probably 30 seconds. I will probably never know for sure. Regardless of this little snafu, it was a good race and even with the added 30 seconds or even a minute I exceeded my goal of 22 minutes. I just need to keep working and pounding away at the minutes. I am still seeing a significant drop in the third mile of my run. If I can (I should say when, not if) get to the point of running 3 solid sub 7 minute miles by the end of the year that would be awesome.

Official Results:
-Overall Place: 103 -Division: M3034 -Division Place: 11 -Sex Place: 91 -Time: 20:10 -Pace: 6:31

I guess my timing was off by 3 seconds, oh well. The race was also a big eye opener as far as the competition. While I may be able to compete in the smaller races, when it comes to these high profile races there is some serious competition out there. I will continue to work toward my own goals. To end on a positive note, I must say that I was happy with my pace setting. I was able to run my own race and not get sucked into pushing to hard at the beginning of the race. I set my own pace and stuck to it. Pat on the back to me.

5/31-6/02/2006 Catching up and Setting Goals for Sunday's Race

5/31/2006 Running

Tuesday night I ended up working overnight, which means I worked from 3pm on Tuesday until 8:30 on Wednesday morning. That, my friends, is a long, long night. I get home take a 3 hour nap, get up do a little cleaning and such and decide I'm going to go for a run. In my exhaustion clouded mind I didn't think about the fact that it was 90+ degrees outside and very sunny. Where am I going with all this? Well, I get about 2.5 miles, and to the top of the first climb of run, into a 5 mile run and the heat and exhaustion hit me like a ton of bricks.

I ended up half running, and half walking the rest of the run. I don't really see this as a big failure, because it was more stupidity and I shouldn't have gone out in the first place. In the end, I finished a 5 mile run/walk in 60 approximately minutes. Not too shabby.

6/01/2006 Strength Training/Abs Class/ Spinning

eliptical = 10 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Blue Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 1 1/2 minutes
shoulder press = 1 1/2 minutes
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 90 lbs.

Abs Class.

What can you say about 30 minutes of abs other than oooouuuuch!

Spinning Class.

This was a 60 minute interval class. It was a nice mix of in the saddle, and out of saddle, sprints beginning with "flat" road and moving into "mountain" sprints. This is my favorite class, well maybe this or race day. Race day is so much fun and I always get really pumped for those days.

6/02/2006 Running

This morning is going to be the last run before Sunday's 5K race. I really wasn't planning on running this morning, except Rick called me out, so I had to answer. We ran a 3 mile run in 26 minutes. It wasn't at a tough pace, but comfortable. I ran on another mile or so back and forth to the meet up point. It was a very nice last run for the race.


The Race: Redlegs Run For Home 5K

I had a personal best during the Tri for Joe on the 1st 5K with a time of 21:25.52 and a pace of 6:55. I was thinking about setting a 21 minute goal for this race. I am beginning to think that is a little unrealistic considering that course was completely flat. I don't know anything about this course, and there is a chance that it could be a flat course if they take it along the river. On the other hand if they take it over the bridges or into the city there could be a lot of hill running. With that in mind, I'm going to set a more manageable goal of 22 minutes. This is running at a 7 minute 4 second pace. I think this is a very reasonable goal.

5/29/2006 Running and Kayaking

It's Memorial Day, a day of rest and relaxation right? No way! It's a day to work out and sweat my butt off. Well, maybe not that extreme, but I did get a couple of nice work outs in. I started early with a 3.3 mile run in about 30 minutes. It was nice to start off the morning with a nice light jog to get awake and loosened up for the morning's events.

The main event was getting out in the kayaks with Rick. We took the kayaks up to Stonelick Park outside of Owensville, which is a nice small lake that doesn't allow motor boats. We didn't stay out for a long time, maybe a little over an hour, but it was long enough to get a feel for the paddles and what I need to do to prepare for the Little Miami in October. We paddled a little over 2 miles. It didn't feel to bad. It seems the core workouts and the program Lisa set up for me is working. I'll have to keep up the workouts and try to get out on the kayak at least twice a month to get prepared for the race.

5/26-5/27/2006 Running and Bicycling

5/26/2006 Running

We did a little switch up in the running schedule on Friday. Instead of running in the morning we decided to do an evening run. I didn't find that I ran that much better or quicker in the evening than in the morning. If anything, I felt more stiff from sitting at work all day. It did feel good to stretch out and run though. It was a long run Friday, because I decided to go ahead and run instead of waiting for Rick.

I ran 6 miles in 51 minutes by myself to start. I stayed up on Filager and Meghan's Run. I ran 2 laps on Filager and then 3 laps on Meghan's Run. After Rick came in I decided to run with him. I didn't run the full distance with him, but I figure I ran another 2 miles in 20 minutes. It was a pretty tough run.

5/27/2006 Bicycling

I hit on an idea that I didn't think of to extend my normal route with out doubling back or starting on a different route. I'm not sure why I didn't think of this before, but it worked out really well. Once I hit Owensville, instead of coming back down 133 to home I continue through Owensville to Rt. 50 and back around Rt. 222.

Odo: 364.7 miles
Dist: 26.90 miles
Time: 1:41:55
Avg: 15.8 mph
Max: 39.4 mph

I wasn't pushing as hard this ride, because I was feeling a bit sore from the running the night before, but it was a great ride. I'm such a stats geek, that it feels good to let go of the stats and the training and just ride.

5/24-5/25/2006 Swimming, Running, Bicycling

5/24/2006 Swimming

I was feeling pretty sore Tuesday after the race. I took the day off Monday and just relaxed, but I did have to a lot of driving, about 2 hours, and worked, which means sitting on my ass for 8 1/2 hours. I did get out and walk on my lunch break, which helped a bit. Tuesday morning I was feeling stiff and really wanted to do something. We took Aiden to our gym and the indoor pool to do some swimming. While they were playing around I decided to do a few laps in the lap pool to see if I have any swimming skills left. I also need to get in some more upper body work this summer to get ready for the fall Little Miami Triathlon.

It was pretty tough. I swam 10 lengths or 5 laps. That would be 250 yards or 228 meters. I'm not sure why this matters, but a sprint distance triathlon is 750 meters. So, if I want to do another tri, which I'm not planning right now, I'm gonna have to get that distance up. It is something that I would like to do again at some point, maybe as a change up when I get tired of the duathlons.

5/25/2006 Running and Bicycling

It was quite a busy day today beginning at 6 am with a run. Rick and I got out and ran our customary route on Meghan's Run and Filager. We pushed Rick's mileage up a bit from the 2.3 miles that he had been running to approx. 2.8 miles with the extra loop on the back side of Meghan's Run. It took approx. 30 minutes, which is shows progress. We are getting closer to getting him under a 10 min/mile which is where he needs to be to get a respectable race time.

I went on to run 3.6 total on Meghan's and Filager and an additional 3 mile loop around 222 and 132. I was able to run 6.6 miles in 61 minutes. I was very happy with the run, and was able to kick it up a bit at the end, which was even better. I split out a time on the 1/2 mile hill and came out with 5 minutes 5 seconds. It is getting easier to climb the hill, and I'm finding that the recovery at the top is easier.

Bicycling

I had some time yesterday while our dog was at the groomer, so I decided to get some cycling in on my old turf in N Ky. I rode from Ludlow out Rte. 8 and back. It's a nice long straight stretch along the Ohio River with lots of rolling hills. I stayed on this road along the river, so there were no major climbs, but the accumulation of the rolling hills was a very good workout and wore me out. Here are the stats:

Odo: 337.7 miles
Dist: 30.72 miles
Time: 1:51:33
Avg: 16.5 mph
Max: 32.2 mph

I found that I started to wear out at about 20 miles, and found it hard to keep up a pace above 18 mph. This isn't bad though, and much better than a cruising pace of 16 mph that I used to fall back on. A new goal I have set for myself for this year is to complete a Century ride, 100 miles in a day. I could probably complete it now, but it would definitely hurt a lot. By the end of the 30 mile ride my back was sore, and I was ready to get off the bike. It was a great ride along Route 8 and I finally got to see where the West direction ends. Lots of fun. :)

5/21/2006 Tri for Joe Race Day!!

I think about the Tri for Joe with a mixture of joy and frustration. I am very happy with my performance and once again exceeded my own expecations and goals set. On the other hand, I go back to look at the results and see that I finished 61 seconds behind the leader in my age group. I see that 61 seconds and I start to tear apart my performance to see if there is anywhere that could have made a difference. In the end though, I realize that I put forth my very best effort, and yesterday he was just 61 seconds faster than myself. I will take this experience and hopefully learn from it for future races.

The goals I had established: 1st 5K= 24:00 Transition 1= 1:00 Bicycle= 60:00 Transition 2= 1:00 2nd 5K= 24:00 Total: 1:50:00

Here are the results: 1st 5K= 21:25.52 Pace= 6:55 Transition 1= 01:06.87 Bicycle= 53:23.48 Avg= 19.7 mph Transition 2= 01:05.85 2nd 5K= 24:25.28 Pace= 7:53 Total= 1:41:27

For the record this was a very flat course. There was an announcement before the race stating that this was the fastest tri/du course in Ohio. This is true in theory, but what this course lacked in hills it more than made up for with head wind.

I decided before the race started that I was going to put it all out there this race and go as fast as I can. The first 5K pace and time pretty much proves that. The first 2 miles of the race I ran a 6:50 and 6:51 respectively. It was the fastest beginning of a race and the fastest 5K that I've run in a long time. It was an excellent beginning.

The bicycling portions of the races are beginning to frustrate me a bit. I am happy with my pace compared to what I was riding at last year and that should be enough. But, when I am out on the course and being passed by people riding at a 22-25 mph pace it gets a bit frustrating. I have to keep in mind that I'm still fairly early in my training. It's all about perspective at this point. I did have a very good ride as shown by the 19.7 mph average. One thing that did concern me was that I started to get some pain deep in my chest about 10 miles into the ride. It may have just been the beginnings of exhaustion but, I will have to keep an eye on it.

The second 5K was a test in pain. I thought I was in big trouble when I first got off the bike and back into my running shoes. My legs were aching and stiff unlike the Ceaser Creek race. It was probably due to the simple fact that I was pushing myself much harder this race. The first mile was agonizing and was making me wonder whether I was going to finish the race. It's all the fun of the duathlon. Anyway, somehow I managed to keep up a sub-8 minute pace. All in all, I am very satisfied with the results!

5/18/2006 Strength Training

It was an early morning strength training session. I added an extra 15 minutes of eliptical after the strength training.

eliptical = 15 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Blue Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 1minute
shoulder press = 1 minute
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 85 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 85 lbs.
lower leg raise w/overhead 8lb (abs) 2x25
eliptical = 15 minutes on Fat Burning

5/17/2006 Running & Tri for Joe Race Goals

Rick and I hit our running again this morning. It was quite a nice morning, very cool and foggy. It was perfect running weather. I was coming off a late 2nd shift so I was a bit tired after getting about 4 hours of sleep. The run really woke me up and got me going for the day. We ran our customary 2.3 miles. I don't have a time on it, but I'm guessing it took about 30 minutes. Actually, mine was a little longer as I started to run toward his house to get warmed up. After we finished up I decided to run the 3 mile loop backwards. This means I ran down the .5 mile hill on Rt 132 and then back up the extremely steep .3 mile monster on Filager. That hill hurt... a lot.

I was running up to the base of the hill wondering what the hell I was thinking, and maybe if I walked just a little that would be ok. I didn't give in to those urges. I pushed on up the hill feeling every painful step and trying not to gasp for breath. I'm learning to better control my breathing while I run, which seems to be key to running a good race. If I can control my breathing and keep from gasping I find that I can recover more quickly once reaching the top of the hill and find my pace again. I ran 6.5 miles in approximately 65 minutes.

It shouldn't be an issue this weekend because it is a very flat course. I'm looking forward to seeing how the hills translate into flat speed if at all. I'm also looking forward to testing out the new shoes!! I have set up some very specific for the Tri for Joe.

Tri for Joe Du goals:
24 minute 1st 5K
60 minute Bicycle
24 minute 2nd 5K
1 minute per transition

Total: 1 hour 50 minutes

2005 Race Results

I've been looking up race results from 2005 to compare results and set goals for the races coming up this year. Instead of continually looking up results I decided to gather as many as I could and list them all in one place.

Date	Race	Result 2005	Miscellaneous
11/24/2005	Thanksgiving Day Race 10K	50:15
10/28/2005	Run Like Hell 5K	???
10/2/2005	Little Miami Triathlon - Fall	2:59:48	Jake: 2:54 Chris: 2:53
9/24/2005	Kicks For Kids River Run 5 mile	43:31
9/5/2005	Mercy Metric 10K	52:29
7/23/2005	East Fork Backpack Trail Run	???
7/3/2005	Ft. Thomas Firecracker 5K	???
6/19/2005	Father's Day 5K	26:52	pushing Aiden in a stroller!
6/4/2005	Run For The Gold 5K	25:25

5/15/2006 Bicycling

I am so tired that I am going to keep this short and to the point. I had a nice ride today. It was a bit cold and windy, but otherwise it felt good to get out and ride. Here are the stats:

Odo: 289.6 mi
Dst: 30.31 mi
Time: 1:51:10
Avg: 16.3 mph
Max: 35.7 mph

I was lolligagging a bit and taking some pictures, plus I bonked a little bit at the end so the average was down a bit. That's neither here nor there, it was a good ride. I just noticed as I was looking at the pictures that I still haven't taken the numbers off my helmet from the Ceaser Creek Duathlon. Doh!

5/13/2006 Running

Brilliant run today! I didn't particularly feel up to putting in a tough run today, but once I got out there I was happy that I pushed on. I ran the 4.7 mile loop that includes the .5 mile hill, and then went on to run the shorter 2.3 mile loop with the shorter but steep hills for a 7 mile run with a time of 1:01:38. I ran it through a pace calculator which came out with a pace of 8:48. This was a very descent run for a training run.

Looking forward to next weekend's race.

5/11/2006 Running/Abs/Spinning

Running

Thursday 6 am Rick and I went out for our run. We did our usual 2.3 miles. I am going to suggest we pick it up a notch and add the back loop on to the run. We need to start building some distance for him. I went on to run an additional mile for 3.3 miles in 35 minutes. I kept it short knowing that I would be doing some spinning that evening.

Abs Class

I missed the first half of abs class due to crap traffic. So I got in 15 minutes of abs. I figure it's better than nothing.

Spinning Class

It was a 45 minute Strength Class. I dislike these classes the most, and I probably need these classes the most. I need to work on staying seated while pushing up hill and big gears. As we pedal "uphill" during strength class there is always a portion of the class devoted to seated climbing. It is sooo painful, but I'm guessing so helpful.

We will see next weekend, as I've signed up for the Tri for Joe Duathlon. It's gonna be 5k run 30k bike, and another 5k run. It should be a sweet race as it will be along Rt. 50 which is completely flat. Can't wait!

5/09-5/10/2006 Running/Strength/Bicycling

5/09/2006 Running

I'm feeling pretty pumped after coming off the Flying Pig. I really wanted to get out and do something on Monday, but there just wasn't enough time. I was able to get out early Tuesday morning with Rick to do some running. I ran the 2.3 miles with him at his pace. After he dropped off I went on to run an additional 3 miles for a total 5.3 mile in 56 minutes. I split out a time on the half mile hill which was approximately 4.5 minutes. I'm gonna keep working that hill as it seems to be helping.

5/10/2006 Strength Training/Bicycling

Strength Training
eliptical = 15 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Blue Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 1minute
shoulder press = 1 minute
walking lunges = width of court/back
2x12 lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 85 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 85 lbs.

Bicycling
It was a rainy day yesterday, but there was no way that was keeping me off my bicycle. It had been far too long since my last ride and I was itching to get back on the bike.

Here are the stats:

Odo: 259.2 mi.
Dist: 22.29 mi.
Time: 1:21:00
Avg: 17.1 mph
Max: 32.1 mph

I rode a route that was a little different this time. It was a little more flat and straight than my normal route, but it was a great ride. I'm questioning the distance a little bit, because it seemed that it should have been longer. This just may be because of the fact that it was a more flat ride, that it seemed longer. The usual ride has a mix of hills and flats that breaks up the ride into sections. The rain wasn't bad. It was intermittent, and it wasn't too cold. Lot's of fun!

I'm thinking of adding on a different race to my race schedule replacing the June Little Miami. There is a Tri/Du coming up in a week and a half that might fit in nicely, and it's less expensive. Besides the money factor I haven't touched a kayak yet this year, so I don't really feel very prepared. We will see...

5/07/2006 Flying Pig Race Day!

It was a fantastic day and a fantastic race! I am so happy with the results from this race. I saw a large improvement in this race over the Mini-Heart. It was a very different course, but to go from a 8:30 pace to a 7:44 pace is improvement all the way around. One reason for the faster time is that I felt a little extra motivation since I was running as part of a relay team, and I really wanted to set the fastest pace. It brought out my competitive nature.

There were 4 legs to the race:

Leg 1 6.8 miles: 1:03:57/ pace: 9:24
Leg 2 5.2 miles: 47:57/ pace: 9:13
*Leg 3 7.3 miles: 56:33/ pace: 7:44*
Leg 4 6.9 miles: 57:10/ pace: 8:17

These times were taken from the chip breakdown of the different legs, and then run through a pace calculator for the resulting pace. The *third leg* was the longest leg, and also one of the flatter legs along with the 4th leg, so it may be a little unfair to compare between the legs, but it was not completely flat and had some tough, short, steep hills that I like to call momentum killers. They are deceiving, because they look short, but they will sap you in a hurry. I had faced these hills a few years ago in the Mariemont 5K. They crushed me then, but not this time. I was feeling strong and quick.

Here is the breakdown of the 7 miles from my stop watch. I'm not sure how the .3 worked in because the race started before the 12th mile and after the 19th mile, so it was a little hard to tell where the total leg began and ended with the exchange area.

mile 1: 7:06:78
mile 2: 7:45:88
mile 3: 7:54:69
mile 4: 7:32:57
mile 5: 7:39:00
mile 6: 7:37:46
mile 7: 7:30:82

My goal was to run it in 60 minutes and at a 8 minute pace. I definitely exceeded those expectations, and between this race and the Mini-Heart I have a good base of information to set my goals for upcoming races. My next goal is to do a 5K race with a 7 minute pace. This may be reaching a bit to bring my pace up that much, but I think it's time to start challenging myself.

More information on this race:

Flying Pig Marathon

Sight and Sounds

Cincinnati Enquirer Article

5/04-5/05/2006 Everything

5/04/2006 Strength Training, Abs, Spinning

eliptical = 10 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Blue Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 1minute
shoulder press = 1 minute
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 85 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 85 lbs.

I was thinking it was going to be a quick workout today and then on home. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I ran into Lisa and was quickly roped into staying for spinning class. I'm actually glad it happened, because I needed a kick in the ass to get me in gear. I was feeling a little lazy and not wanting to workout at all. The strength training was good; I went up from the yellow bands to the blue bands for the lunges and rows. Everything else remained the same.

Abs class was also good today. I can definitely feel a difference between where I am now and the last time I took the class. All the exercises that require me to hold my legs over my head are still a bitch. It feels like the blood is running out of my legs, and it is nearly impossible to keep them up. I wonder if this is the case, or if I'm just a wimp! It was a 30 minute ab class.

Spinning Class was a 45 minute Strength class. I must admit I went in to it thinking that I was only going to put forth 60% effort. Once I got into the class I probably put out about 85% effort. Get me on a bike and no matter how bad I feel I'm gonna put forth a good effort. Besides, she was playing my song. Actually, she was playing the mix I made for the class, which made me happy. :)

5/05/2006 Running

A very light running day with Rick. I ran the 2 miles with him and called it a day. It was a nice little stretch out after last night's classes.

I am now in resting mode until race day Sunday.

4/30-5/01/2006 Strength Training & Running

4/30/2006 Strength Training

eliptical = 15 minutes on Fat Burning
JC BandsLunges with rows, 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
bicep curls = 1
minuteshoulder press = 1 minute
walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 85 lbs.
hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 85 lbs.
lower leg raise w/overhead 8lb (abs) 2x25

It has been almost 2 weeks since my last strength training session. oops! I'm gonna have to be a little more consistent and try to get in once a week.

5/02/2006 Running

Rick and I ran the first 2 miles again. He's looking pretty good, although it's pretty obvious he's not enjoying this at all. Some people just aren't runners, but I'll keep working with him as long as he wants to. After finishing up the 2.3 mile loop I threw down and decided to go long. I ran the 4.75 mile loop through Batavia by myself. It will probably be my last long run before the Flying Pig and it felt damn good. I'm really looking forward to this race with my buds. The total for this run was 7.05 miles in 75 minutes...approx. once again no stopwatch. It's all good.