Summer, is that you?

Wow, what a great weekend! The temps were absolutely perfect for exercise - a bit brisk in the shade, but wonderful when the sun hit, and there was plenty of sun. It seems like forever since we've had a day-ful of clear skies, and this weekend we got two (2) in a row. It's about time.

Saturday, Drew and I ran 90 minutes on the lakefront path (Cath had to work early, so we went stag). My legs felt a little fatigued for the first half, but the back end was great. Probably did 8:15 - 8:30s for most of it.

Sunday, the Plan called for a 2:30 ride, followed by a 15-minute brick, but Drew and I (Cath was, thankfully, unavailable to kick our asses again) decided to just do a straight three-hour ride and ditch the brick part. Again, I felt pretty flat for the first 15-20 miles (heart rate stayed firm at 129, despite feeling like I was working much harder), but additional nutrition along the way got me feeling a little more peppy. At least for stretches - it seemed like my energy was wholly tied to my gel-intake. Felt great after I had one, then would quickly sag again. Still need to do a better job of carb-loading the day before and/or getting a better brekky the morning of our longer training days.

The Plan backs off an hour of training this week, which is nice. Last week seemed to take a lot out of me. And it's a rest day today! And my beloved Pittsburgh Penguins play tonight!

Hopefully, it's the start of a very good week.

Phriday Phun

Nothing too exciting going on today - swam 1,600 yards this morning before work (ladder: 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 100 CD) and did a bit of strength training afterwards. Tomorrow, Drew and I are running for 90 minutes along the lakefront. Sunday, the Plan has us riding for 2 and one-half hours and bricking it for 15 minutes.

I'm on the hunt for a new pair of running shoes. I was a devoted Asics guy for many years, specifically the DS-Trainer line, but they made a few tweaks to it over the years (don't they always!?) and I cooled on them. I currently switch off between a pair of Ascis Speedstar 3s (longer stuff) and Nike Lunar Racers (shorter stuff). Honesly, I'm not thrilled with either of them - they're fine, but not great. No pain, or anthing, just not "Oh, these feel so GREAT to run in!"

So, I poking around, thinking about changing to some other model/brand. I'd like to go back to Mizunos, which I had for time a few years ago, but the arches on those things were crazy high and ended up giving me plantar. Or I might go back to the DS Trainer (which went back to a former last, and is rumored to be much nicer than recent versions). Or the Lunar Trainer, which is just a beefier version of the Racer.

(See, I told you today wasn't very exciting).

Anywho, that's all I got - have a great weekend, peeps.

The blog-o-sphere

I guess I really have turned into my dad, because I keep thinking of more and more things lately that have developed and become popular during my lifetime - CDs, DVDs, cell phones, the internet, etc., etc. An off-shoot of that technology is, of course, the blog-o-sphere. A year ago, I don't think I had ever read a blog, let alone maintain one of my own, although there are a couple of message boards that I keep up with on a regular basis (on one, believe it or not, I actually met my now-wife!).

I was thinking about this last night before my run, probably because I didn't really want to do it - I was up early to swim, had a pretty involved day at work, and the sofa was pleading with me to take a load off and relax a little. But I resisted, in part because I knew that somewhere, out there, bloggers I follow were no doubt leaving their sofas to get in a second workout of the day. They probably didn't feel any better than I did, but they'd be out there. And I'd read about it the next day. And it gave me a boost of motivation to get out there and get 'er done.

Perhaps it's a bit strange that people who I've never met - and will likely never meet - can provide inspiration just by documenting their triathlon or marathon journeys, but it also makes a ton of sense. Endurance sports are still not normal pastimes, despite the ever-increasing number of participants worldwide, and I think it's fair to say that most people I know think that training for an IM (especially after you've already done one) is just plain nuts. They don't understand why you'd ever devote this kind of time, effort, and expense to something so extreme and painful. Friends and family may be supportive, but, not being in it, their words can only bring so much comfort, especially when the Plan calls for yet another early morning swim session.

But there are people out there that understand. I read their blogs and post on the same message boards. And we appreciate each other's efforts, victories, and dissapointments in a way that others cannot. Because we've been there - the early mornings, the bricks, the intervals, the uncertainty, the pain, the joy. There's that shared body of human experience that creates a bond, despite never having shaken hands or said 'hello'.

So, I guess, even if other people think we're crazy, we can be crazy together. Out here on the internet.

The weakest link

So, I'm not a big fan of swimming. I think I've mentioned that before, and it's still true.
Despite many, many attempts to embrace the calm and zen-like nature of the act, I still can't say that the swim and I are on good terms. If not for triathlon, there's pretty much no way I would ever visit the pool (except on vacation, perhaps, and with a drink in my hand). I'm not good at it, which might be a chief contributor as to why I'm not a fan, but I'd like to think that it's more than just that. I can't quite put my finger on the reason(s), but I've never been able to move past the "just tolerating it" point of the swim.
The reason I mention this is because Tuesday morning is swim day, per the Plan, and I arrived at 6:30 a.m. to find a Masters class warming up in our outdoor pool. I've been out at this time a couple times before (the outdoor pool opened at the beginning of the month), and basically had the thing to myself (don't be jealous), so this was a bit of a shock. Luckily, they let me take a lane to myself along the wall, and we each did our own thing (me: 2500 = 4x500, 2x200, 1x100).
However, even clositered in my own little lane, let me just say that I have very rarely felt so inept and unskilled in my whole life. These kids were kicking my ass in eight different ways. And I mean all of them - underwater, I could see four or five lanes of swimmers all passing me. And the strangest thing is, I can't understand why they're so fast and I'm so slow - I swear I'm doing exactly what they're doing, just not moving as fast. Pfft.
So, yeah, good times. At least no one kicked sand in my face.
Needless to say, while I'm happy to have put in the yards, my confidence is a bit low and my feelings about swimming haven't changed.
It still sucks.

Marc Herremans

Ironman is such an incredible event, in large part because of all the amazing stories - almost the to the point of being unbelievable - that come from it.

I was watching an old NBC recap of the 2002 IM Championship over the weekend, and was reminded of Marc Herremans's story. Marc was a professional triathlete from Belgium, who finished sixth at the 2001 IM Championships, and had high hopes of someday winning the event (He had finished fourth at IM Australia earlier that year). Sadly, just three months after that race, while training in the Canary Islands, Marc crashed his bike and landed on some rocks, breaking his back. He was paralyzed from the chest down. Undaunted, Marc trained throughout 2002 for a return trip to Kona, this time to compete in the wheelchair division. He started that race, just 10 months after his accident, but was unable to finish. In 2006, Marc not only finished, but won the wheelchair division of that year's IM World Championship.

It's really an incredible story, and my re-telling of it here doesn't do it justice, but this is just one example of many where people have shown an incredible amount of resolve and determination in the context of an athletic event. There are, no doubt, similar stories throughout the world of sport, but considering how difficult an IM is for a Regular Joe, these stories always seem to put IM racing apart in my mind as something completely distinct from any other physical endeavor. If you've done one, you know this, and if you haven't yet, you will. It's truly something special.

Anywho, we had a great weekend of training:

- Saturday was a 90-minute run. I probably took it a little bit too hard (about an 8:15 pace for most of it), and it was warmer than I anticipated, so I was pretty tuckered out at the end.

- Sunday we rode 60 miles up to Highland Park and back. I put the new ride together, and, after making a few mechanical tweaks, everything felt great. Cath killed the pace on the way up, and I was hurting by the time we stopped for coffee, but felt great on the way back (even through the waves of thunderstorms that blew through). It felt nice to leave the trainer in the closet and get some "real" miles in. I need to work on the nutrition plan, though - I burned through my breakfast (PBJ on a wheat tortilla) well before we hit the turnaround, and the Infinit alone wasn't enough. I was way hungry by the time we stopped, but, luckily, the coffee and lemon loaf (thanks Starbucks!) totally did the trick. I either need a bigger brekky, or take in a gel or two earlier in the ride. Hmmm....

So, welcome to week 11 - today's a rest day, which I'm totally embracing. Hope everyone a great week of training.

A little food, a little wine...

Well, our plan for an early morning brick before work fell apart. I had family in town last night, and I think I knew that a morning session was doomed when I ordered that first gin and tonic. Two bottles of wine, a (fantastic) filet, and dessert later, meant that I'll be going into the gym after work instead. We had a great time, though, and I'm again reminded how fortunate I am to have such wonderful, loving people in my life.

On an unrelated note, I tried the other day to post a video from YouTube, but messed it up. (Stupid technology). It's here, and it's a great piece of inspiration for those days when my motivation is lagging: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSe_ZQJQoNU

Hope your week is going well.

Things are picking up

Whew, it's been a bit of a whirlwind, training-wise, this week.

Monday is actually took the prescribed rest day, mostly because I was a bit pooped after going a couple of weeks without one. Tuesday I swam 2500 yards in the morning before work (4 x 500, 5 x 100) and ran an hour after work (tempo, probably around 7:30 pace). This morning I did 50 minutes on the trainer before work, alternating between intervals of 100+ rpm, seated climbs, and standing climbs. Tomorrow, we plan on riding an hour before work, to be bricked with a short (15-20 minute) run.

This is the last week in the base phase of our training plan, and it starts to get hairier from this point on - 12+ hour weeks, with an increased emphasis on strength and speed. This next period (the build) goes for another 10 weeks, and includes an additional swim session (the third) and another brick (the second) per week. I'm excited to mix up the intensity a bit - so far, the plan has us training consistently at Zone 2, and, frankly, it gets a bit boring (hence today's mixed session and last night's tempo run). My only concern is the scheduling - it seems that IM training comes down to one part physical effort and one part time management, with the time part often being the harder of the two.

Anywho, my new ride is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, and I'll (hopefully) have it ready to go this weekend. Now, I just need the weather to cooperate...