9/11/2006 Strength & Speed

Strength Training

There is nothing particularly interesting about this workout. I didn't bring up the weight on the lat raises today like I thought I might. I did think of a possible idea for bumping it up without going the full 5 to 20 lbs. I'm going to see if they have some 1 lb. or 2 lb. ankle or wrist weights and use those. I don't know if it will work, but I figure it is worth a try.

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 crunch w/overhead 8lb ball 2x25

Speed Work

I cranked out some more speed work today. It is terribly fun to try and run fast after doing strength training....not. It seems to be working out to be the best day to do the intervals though since I'm already at the gym with the track. Today I ran 4x400 intervals with a 400 meter jog in between sets. I'll crank it up to 5x400 for the next two weeks, and probably take a week off the first week of October. After that I'll be ready to kick it up to 6x800 in the first week of the 8 week training schedule for the Thanksgiving Day Race.

Only 4 days left until my first Century ride!

9/09/2006 Running & Softball Tournament

Running

In true Adam fashion now that I've decided to start the 8 week training program for the Thanksgiving Day Race I've kind of become obsessed a bit with it and will probably be starting the basic workouts with 3 day a week runs a little early(Long run, paced run, intervals). It is actually what I should've been doing all summer, but you know how that goes, intervals aren't really that fun, so it was easy to skip those.

I did a long run yesterday. It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable runs I've done all year. Using the suggestions for the program I kept my pace fairly slow. It turned out to be a little more of a moderate pace, but I felt comfortable with the pace. I could've easily carried on a conversation during the run, and felt that I could've kept going even at the end of the run. I found the trick for me was to load up the mp3 player with some mid-tempo to slow tempo songs (and a few fast for variety) and concentrate on sort of matching the tempo of the song. It was also an incredibly beautiful morning, so taking my time and enjoying the day was helpful.

Some of the tracks I was listening to while running:


Birds of a Feather - Phish
KT Tunstall - Black Horse & The Cherry Tree
Pickin' up the Pieces - Widespread Panic
High Speed - Coldplay
Saving Grace - Tom Petty
All These Things that I've Done - The Killers
Holes to Heaven - Jack Johnson
Smiley Faces - Gnarls Barkley
Last Tube - Trey Anastasio
Daylight Robbery - Imogen Heap
Shut Your Eyes - Snow Patrol

This was a nice long 7 mile run, and here are some stats from my hrm.

Distance: 7 miles
Avg HR: 157
Peak HR: 240 (have to question this reading)
Min HR: 83
Total Cal: 1048
Time: 1:04.05


I ran my typical route looping through Meghan's Run then down the hill to Rt. 222 to 132 up the hill and back toward home. I did a second loop through Meghan's Run to finish with 7 miles. Like I said I was comfortable the whole time, except for maybe the last mile I could feel my calves tightening up a bit and my right knee aching just a bit. It's not really surprising though for this distance.


Softball Tournament

The softball tournament was a lot of fun. I was able to play in the first two games, before leaving to go to my daughter's soccer game. We had about 20 players, so I didn't get to play a full game in either game. I did get to bat once in each game and pulled a single and a triple. I don't think I'm going to be running out to join a softball league anytime soon, but I'd definitely be up to play if it happens again next year! That's me cracking my triple! woo hoo!

9/07/2006 The Good, The Bad, The Ugly & Commuting

It was quite an interesting ride in yesterday morning, a bit scary even. It's been dark more and more often as I'm leaving which is no big deal. I've ridden in rain plenty of times, and while unnerving at times I can still deal. Yesterday morning it was foggy. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to see the road and worse yet the drivers wouldn't be able to see me. I decided to get off the main route and take one of the side country roads that would get me out of traffic. This was a mistake as I knew it would be darker, but I had no idea how dark and foggy it would be. With no street lights and no lines on the roads I propelled myself through the soup with only a vague knowledge of where the edges of the road were and the turns in the road. It really took all my concentration to stay on the road and squash thoughts of would happen if I hit something or mistakenly made a turn where there was no turn to make.

After I made it back on to the main roads I was at once relieved and thrilled by the ride and being on high alert for the last 20 minutes. It was the first time that day that I brought my own sanity into question, but not the last. The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. I made good time.

Morning Commute:
Odo: 1,341.3 miles
Dist: 25.92 miles
Time: 1:38.59
Avg: 15.7 mph
Max: 25.5 mph

The minor ordeal that followed really brought me to think that it's time to check myself in to the nearest mental institution. After a couple hours at work someone pointed out to me that my front tire was flat. That's okay! I was prepared with a patch kit, spare tube, and a pump. Certainly I was covered. Let the series of unfortunate events begin. During lunch I changed my tube out with the spare I had brought along. The change went smoothly, and I spent the next 45 minutes pumping up the tire with my tiny air pump. While it is nice that it's so small and portable it really isn't that practical for trying to pump 100 psi of pressure in to a road tire.

Once I got it pumped up I set it aside to see if it was going to hold air since it was a patched tube. After about 10 minutes there was a sudden pop! and the familiar sound of air escaping. I took a look at it, and the tire was still inflated. Turning the wheel to inspect it I realized I had pinched the tube and the pinched part had inflated and then popped leaving a whole about the size of a contact. DOH! Back to the first tube which was also a patched tube. After examining it I realized the air was escaping from the edge of the patch, not good. I tried to double patch it, but it was just no good, it wouldn't hold air. At this point I probably should've just called it a day, but I will not be defeated! There is a bike shop a couple of miles from my workplace, so after work I got changed, packed up, grabbed the bike, and jogged it over to the shop. Sounded easy at the time, but it turned out to be quite a tough jog, up and down hills, across a college campus, and finally to the shop.

After a quick tube change I was on my way. By this time My shoulders are tired from fighting with the air pump, and my legs are tired from the run to the shop. You know what? It was a beautiful afternoon, so I decided to suck it up, swing on my 15 lb. backpack and take the long way home. It's official I'm insane, send out the men in white coats.

Afternoon Commute:
Odo: 1371.7 miles
Dist: 56.33 miles
Time: 3:47.16
Avg: 14.8 mph
Max: 30.6 mph

9/05 - 9/06/2006 Softball, Strength & Speed

9/05/2006 Softball

I haven't played baseball in 20 years. I've only played softball a couple of times since then on co-ed teams. In general I don't have a lot of interest in softball or playing on these types of co-ed teams. When we got the request for players in the interdepartmental tournament at our company picnic I decided to take them up on it. I figured it would be a good opportunity to meet some employees from other areas of the company, and maybe meet a few of the managers and directors. I found out two things at our practice last night. The first thing was, that hitting a softball is fun, and I'm not so bad at it. I thought that I'd get up there and whiff it a few times. It was okay, I was prepared to look like a fool. Turns out, I can smack a big, fat, slow moving softball pretty well. Second thing I learned was that I need to do some more core work. Later last night after practice my lower back was pretty sore. It's really not surprising considering I haven't swung a bat in so many years, but it was a bit of a sign that I need to do some more work to strengthen those muscles up so I don't hurt my back.

I would definitely consider it a good workout. When I wasn't hitting I played centerfield, so I got to run down quite a few hits. Chalk up 2 hours of softball practice as my Tuesday workout!

9/06/2006 Strength Training & Intervals

I had some extra incentive to get up this morning and get into the gym. Today is my father-in-law's birthday, so he wants to go to a buffet for dinner. I'll try to restrain myself, but you never know what's going to happen when faced with all those delicious dinner choices and dessert choices. I'll drink a big glass of water before dinner to try and fill me up a bit. Must. Not. Gorge.

The strength training went really well this morning. Moving up to two sets on the wall sit with bicep curl/shoulder crunches has been really tough. It's not so much the bicep as the shoulders. I was able to complete the first 60 seconds without to much trouble, but that second set is a real challenge. I lasted about 40 seconds today before having to bring the weights down for a moment. I was able to get them back up for the last 10 seconds. I just keep telling myself that it will pay off in the kayak on race day. I'm gonna try to bring up the weight on the lat raises to 20 lbs. I wish they had 17 or 18 lb. weights to make the move up a little easier. Going up 5 lbs. on those has turned out to be a real challenge.

Elliptical = 10 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 crunch w/overhead 8lb ball 2x25

I also wanted to work in some speed work today. I have not been good about doing this part of my running regiment at all. With that training schedule for the Thanksgiving Day Race and what I've been reading in Runner's World I decided I should start working that back in. I need a little more structure to my running program now that I've got my base level of fitness down. Of course in my haphazzard first attempt at using the program I screw it up. For some reason I thought I was supposed to do 800's, but the program calls for 400's. I probably read the 800's in the Runner's World. Anywho I ran on the Healthplex's indoor gym which is 1/6 of a mile and ran 3x800 intervals with a 1 lap jog in between sets.

9/04/2006 Mercy Metric 10K

I wrote: "Last year I finished this race with a time of 52:29. This year I'm fully expecting to bring in about a 45 minute time. I've been training 6 mile runs at about 50 minutes, so maybe it's expecting a little much, but we'll see." - me

Official Results:

Overall: 26 Time: 43:41 Pace: 7:02 Age Group: 3/6 Sex: 23/70

I really could not be happier with the results of this race. I decided that when I went out there this morning that I was just going to leave it all on the course. I was going to push it as hard as I could and hope for the best. It wasn't the easiest strategy, but it paid off in the end. One thing that was different about this race was my focus. I got off to a fast start, bringing in the first mile at 6:41, and I really thought that it was going to hurt me later in the race. Instead of letting myself get down though, when I would feel my breathing start to get ragged, or my stride start to tighten up I would relax. I used the same method that I've been using on the bike. I mentally went through a checklist and relaxed my body and controlled my breathing. I concentrated on the little things that I could control and let the rest go.

It was definitely not an easy race. The race takes place every year at Lunken Airport around the airport and golf course. It is a flat fast course with long stretches of straight path. Along some of these stretches the path is lined with trees on both sides. This makes for some pretty boring running. It's kind of like running in a tunnel where you have no sense of how fast you're going. It made the stretch between the mile 2 marker and mile 3 marker seem to take forever. After that third mile I was definitely wondering if I had pushed it to hard early on. With a 20:41 for my first 3 miles I knew I was either in for a 10K PR or a blow up in the last couple of miles. Fortunately for me it was in those last couple of miles that I caught a break, or more correctly a break caught up with me.


A guy pushing a running stroller comes cruising up alongside me. I was obviously a little surprised at first, because he was cruising along so easily. I gave him a nod and made a comment at how well he was doing as he cruised by and right behind him a guy came along. He said to me "he's my pacesetter". I said cool, and let them move a little ahead. I heard one of them say something about a 7 minute pace. At that I picked up my pace and let the pace setter lead me in to the last mile. I hung with them as long as I could, but fell off a little bit in the last mile or so. Without that little boost though I probably would not have been able to hold that pace until the end. So my thanks go out to the mysterious pace setter that I never caught up with after the race.

Here are my splits from my watch:

mile 1: 6:41 mile 2: 7:04 mile 3: 6:56 mile 4: 7:14 mile 5: 7:13 mile 6: 7:05 mile 6.2: 1:25

With this new personal record I have really set the bar for the Thanksgiving Day Race! It has me pumped though, so with this 8 week training program I'm hoping to bring my running game up to the next level and maybe break 40 minutes.

9/03/2006 Kayaking

With my 10K race coming up tomorrow I knew I didn't want to do anything today that would wear my legs out, but it was a beautiful sunny morning. I couldn't take it! So, I decided to ring up Rick and go do some kayaking. The Little Miami Triathlon is less than a month away! I need all the kayaking I can get, seeing as this is definitely going to be my weakest leg of the race. I've decided to approach this leg of the race like Melanie McQuaid talked about the approach she takes to the swim portion of the triathlon. The approach is to just get through it without losing to much time and expending to much energy. That's not exactly what she said, but it's the basic idea. I definitely feel stronger in the kayak than I have ever before, but I'm still not good. I'm just going to try and relax, stay hydrated and bide my time until the run, and even moreso the bike.

We got in close to 3.5 miles of kayaking up and down the lake in about an hour and a half. This included a few stops to relax, chat and enjoy the morning, the weather, the wildlife of course.

9/01/2006 Bicycle Commuting

All I can say about the morning commute is it was cold, wet, and dark, and I loved every moment of it. Weeeell almost every moment. There was the moment that I almost ran off the road because I couldn't see, and the the other moment when I was almost run down by the driver that wasn't paying attention. But, you know, that's pretty typical. For the most part though it was a good ride despite the rain. I was definitely soaked and began to think that I might need to look for a different route if I'm going to commute in the early morning darkness. It's just too busy on Rt. 50 and the drivers aren't very appreciative on a good day.

1st half of the commute:
Odo: 1288.0 miles
Dist: 25.19 miles
Time: 1:30.20
Avg: 16.7 mph
Max: 28.1 mph

The ride this afternoon replaced rain with wind. I think I prefer the rain, maybe. It was still very cool, maybe mid-60's which is such a shock from the heat that we've had all August. It felt more like October weather. It got me thinking about the end of the riding year. I'm gonna get quite a few miles in for September, but will start easing up in October. I know I'm going to do an 8 week running program up to the Thanksgiving Day Race. That will probably cut in to riding time, and honestly I don't know how much commuting I'll be able to do after the end of September. The weather can be so unpredictable that it might be a lot and then again it could be very little. I am so not a fan of cold weather....so we'll see....

Odo: 1315.4 miles
Dist: 52.57 miles
Time: 3:11.17
Avg: 16.4 mph
Max: 34.2 mph

With the holiday coming up, and the sudden blast of cold on Friday has really gotten me thinking about the end of summer and the end of cycling season. I still have a lot of cycling to do in September and October, but it feels different than pounding out the miles in the summer heat. It's been an incredible summer where I've cycled, and ran for that matter, more than I ever have. It makes me kind of sad that it's coming to an end, but really makes me excited for the year to come. I'm hoping to use this year as a springboard for even bigger and better things next year. Now that I have a nice base level of fitness I want to do some cross training over the winter, so that when spring comes I'll be ready to be more competitive.

8/30/2006 Doubling Up

Running

It was a cloudy cool morning that was threatening rain. I really wanted to ride yesterday, but I wasn't sure if it was going to hold out for any good riding time. I decided to do a run just in case, plus I felt like I needed a few mor miles in before the 10K. I didn't feel like dealing with to much time on 222, so I decided to keep that time short. I ran the usual 1.3 mile route back Meghan's Run, followed by the run around 222 to 132 and up the hill. That was where things got a bit interesting. I was feeling a bit good on the run, so without much thought I pushed it up the hill. I didn't time the ride, or the run for that matter, but I'd guess it was the fastest I've taken the hill. It was definitely the most control I've felt over the .5 mile bitch of a hill. I finished up the run with another trip down Meghan's Run and back home. It was about 5.6 miles in approximately 50 minutes.


Bicycling

I decided to brave the elements and ride in the rain. It was either that or sit and wait to get my oil changed. I'll take the rain! It was actually pretty nice despite the pelting rain. At least it was cool. I rode out from the mechanics on 125 about 10 miles out to East Fork State Park. It was a mostly flat ride out there with a few rolling hills. It nothing to get out of the saddle for, just rolling around. Once I hit the Park I wound my way back to the beach which took me down one hill to climb back up. I decided to wander around the park a bit and wandered down to two different docks which brought me down two other hills to climb back up. I worked on staying in the saddle for the climbs and then sprinting up the last 5-10 yards. It turned out to be quite a workout.

Odo: 1262.8 miles
Dist: 25.62 miles
Time: 1:27.07
Avg: 17.6 mph
Max: 25.5 mph

8/28/2006 Strength Training

Nothing interesting to see here move along. It was another day of strength training. I didn't make any changes to the routine today. I have about a month left before Little Miami, so I probably will stick with this routine until after that race. It seems to be working just fine.

elliptical = 10 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 crunch w/overhead 8lb ball 2x25

8/26/2006 Bicycling

I was really hoping to get out really early and ride for 50+ miles. Unfortunately the need for sleep won out....a little. I did get in a very nice ride. I rode a nice route out 222 to Greenbriar through Owensville to Benton. I added a new road to my route as I explored Stonelick-Olive Branch Road. It adds a nice flat 4 miles to the route that allows me to stay in aero position and pound out the miles.

A couple of the highlights to the ride revolved around some hills. I decided to do the hills primarily seated if I could on this ride and was surprisingly successful. On one hill in particular that is very steep I was able to scoot back in my seat a bit and really pour my energy into my legs. It was a great feeling to pump up that hill with some power. I had a nice average of about 17.5 mph kickin' until I got home, then I was screwing around the last couple of miles, so that dropped the average pretty quickly.

Odo: 1237.1 miles
Dist: 37.04 miles
Time: 2:14.40
Avg: 16.5 mph
Max: 38.2 mph

8/23 - 8/24/2006 Bicycle Commuting & Running

8/23/2006 Commuting

One of these days I'm going to learn my lesson and be sure to pack a spare tube and my pump everytime I commute. Unfortunately for me I was not careful and it was on a day that I ended up with a flat. It was on my way home, and the only saving grace was that I was close to one of the town centers, so I was able to walk the bike into town and meet my wife for a ride home. I was still able to get in almost 34 miles including the 2 miles that I walked with the flat. Maybe this winter I'll keep my eye out for a used bike to buy and use specifically for commutes. That way I can load it up with lights, pump and tougher, heavier tires leaving the Fuji stripped down for races and fun rides.

Odo: 1,200.1 miles
Dist: 33.98 miles
Time: 2:29.48
Avg: 13.6 mph
Max: 34.1 mph

8/24/2006 Running

It was an early morning run that I really didn't feel like doing, but was really glad I did when I was done. I did a fairly standard run around up and down our road with the few dips and hills that are there. 3.5 miles in 31:17

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.