Before we begin, I wanted to preview my race report with a little clarification on a definition.
BOMBED: (bombd) 1; v. the past tense of bomb, which is to cause a explosive device to detonate on a specified target. 2; adj. intoxicated by alcohol or drugs. 3; See Murtha's post below...
PRELUDE
Lets begin the night before, where I worked both jobs on Friday, and the manager for the night was nice enough to let me off a bit early. I think I got home somewhere between 10 and 10:30, and by the time I got done packing everything up, I got in bed around midnight. However, I don't think I fell asleep until about 1am. I woke up at 3:30am, took a quick shower, and downed some Gu and Gatorade. Got in the car and over to Jackie's house at around 4:40am. We packed everything up and then stopped back by McDonald's around 5am, and I got a Southern style chicken biscuit and some water.
YOUR DRIVING WHERE???
Flovilla, GA. Yes, about 45-50 minutes south of Atlanta. I have been close to there before cutting down Christmas trees, and I used to go camping at Indian Springs when I was younger with the family. There are some minor annoyances that I have with the race organizers of this "Tri the Parks" series, and I think most of it stems from the fact that they can get cheap venue setups by using the Georgia park system, and it benefits the park because we have to pay to get in the park (not included in race entry fee). I will state, however, that the park officials were "with it" this time (and the fact that we were not late due to freeway construction) and there were three guys moving cars through and taking money as fast as they could
MOUNT TRANSITION (DOOM)
It figures that my tri life is doomed. I don't know if I wrote about it on Thursday's post, but James told me that the best place to have my bike setup in transition is close to the bike exit, so that you run very little with your bike in T1 and T2. Of course my bike was at the very opposite end. I would not put too much emphasis on this, except that it was a parking area on a hill!!! Not a slight incline, but a hill!!! Again please see my aforementioned comment about the agreement between the organizers and the park system for this reasoning. I was at the end of the row, YES!!! extra room for my setup!
"YOU COULD NOT PAY ME TO TOUCH YOUR FEET....... BUT WAIT, THAT'S WHAT YOU GET PAID FOR!"
The only other issue I was worried about pre-race was my feet. For some reason they went to heck the last few days before the race, so I had to tape them up. Funny story, a lady, just before the race began, gave me a concerned look. I said hello, and then she asked me if I was racing with a broken foot. I was not paying attention when she told me that. Jackie then relayed the message to me, and I got a good chuckle out of it.
RACE TIME - SWIM (16:31.31, 24th/27 in AG)
I got in the water and swam about 100yds before the race began, and felt good. Gun went off, and I think I started the first 150M too fast because in the middle of the swim I had to breast stroke for about 50M to catch my breath. Otherwise, my breathing was good (bilateral) and I was breathing every 3 strokes. My sighting was also good, just that I purposely stayed wide of the bouys to avoid any hassles. The funny part was that slowed down once to sight, and I found someone drafting off my feet (i.e. running into me). I thought that funny seeing as how I finished almost last in my AG. I did get through it about 30 seconds faster than last race, but I felt like I did it 2 mins faster. Maybe because I was not swimming as hard as I needed to the last half.
MOUNT T1 (1:06.06 6th/27 in AG)
I had to run up sand and rocky forest area before I got to the top of the parking lot for T1. Forgot to have water up there, so I wiped my feet on the towel for a quick second and then planned what I practiced. Then I had to run my bike down the steep slope with my shoes undone, I was kind of paranoid, but made it out. I forgot to turn my Garmin on before the race began, so the satelittes did not pick up until 1 mile into the race.
BIKE - WHAT I THOUGHT WAS FAST REALLY WAS NOT (39:54.54 19th/ 27 in AG, 19.25mph)
Kind of worn out from the swim, and it took me longer than I needed to get velcro on shoes, since the velcro came out of the loops. Then the first thing I had to do was put up with the largest elevation climb of the ride (which would have normally not been that bad, but it was the first thing after the swim. Big geared it for most of the ride, and thought I did much better than my stats posted, since my Garmin was averaging 22-24mph. I guess I never looked down when I was going up those hills, and that first mile where my Garmin was down I was going pretty slow. I felt confident though, since I only had 4 females pass me this time, where I had probably a dozen catch me last time. Coming into T2, I took off my shoes and pedaled on top of them, and had no problems dismounting.
MOUNT T2 (1:30.30, 23rd/ 27 in AG)
Ok, so you ask, "how in the heck can you go from 6th in your AG to 23rd in your AG on T2?" Well, first off you have to have your rack position at the very top of the hill, such that you have to push your bike to the top. Then you have to have issues with your taped left foot and your running shoe, such that you lose 15 seconds playing with it. That would have put me down to 17th in my AG. I finally got out of there quickly after the tape debacule.
RUN - WHERE I "BOMBED" (30:00.00, 23rd/ 27 in AG, 9:40 min/mi pace)
I definately left the majority of the wad I wantd to blow on the bike portion of the course. Within the first half mile, my right hamstring locked up, and I had to stop for about 15 seconds and stretch it. I walked about 15-20 seconds, and then began jogging small strides. There was a female AG'er that was probably in the top 10 that I tried to stay with for about 100yds, but that was not happening. Hills were worse than John Tanner tri I did earlier this year. I got to about mile 1.5, when I had to walk part way up the hill because of my quads. the around mile 2.25 I had to do the same thing. With about .75 mile to go, my right hammie locked up again, and I walked it off for about 30 seconds, the jogged to the finish.
Total Time: 1:29:02.02, 21st/ 27 in AG
Thoughts... Well I missed my goal by just over 9 minutes. Do I care...? NO! I leared alot from this race, and also how my training has led up to the results of this race. I think the big problem is that I needt to figure how much letting off in one area will have an impact in another area. The problem therein lies that I don't think by letting off (for example) 1-2 min on the bike will significantly impact my run performance in a positive manner. I think I just need to up the volume a bit more OR change my training technique. I also did not taper for the event, as it is more of an event just to do leading up to my big race in the fall.
The biggest thing I have noticed is how I emotionally feel about my performance. I really don't care how I finished, just that I did finish (kinda the reason I got started in this whole tri thing three years ago). Even the fact that this was my slowest finish ever in a Sprint distance event does not seem to bother me.
I did not get to see Renee this weekend, mostly due to me having to cut out of the race as soon as I got finished to go up to Clayton (I did not get home until 1am Sunday morning, after being up for almost 24 hours). She got 7th in her AG! I am so proud of her! Totally kicked my butt by almost 4 minutes!!!
I will try and post pictures Tuesday if I have time, and get some of the other John Tanner pictures up as well.
Murtha...
Monday, June 25, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Last workout pre-race
T-minus 15hours and 15 minutes (roughly) before Tri the Parks, Indian Springs State Park!!!!
Excited is the word I would use right now, not nervous. Ready to get this thing the hell on. Do I think I am going to best my fastest sprint time? I am not sure, but I am going to have a good time doing it.
Last night was my last workout this week before my race. Actually I really slacked this week, but it will turn out ok. Bike + Transition Practice (yes I will get more to this later) on Thursday, full tri on Saturday (so it picks up 3 workouts) and then an open water swim on Sunday. So my week will be lopsided, but that is ok.
So last night, James was to help me out with my transition times. My fastest times in a Sprint race have been a total of about 2:20-2:30. So last night we practiced in his cul-de-sac, and although the distance was shorter than my average run through transitions, we compensated for this by adding 10 seconds to T1 and 10 seconds to T2. I think the point I want to hammer home to everyone (and I am sure that I am preaching to the choir, save the people that have never actually practiced their transitions), IS TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A (SOME) SYSTEM IN PLACE, MEMORIZE THAT SYSTEM, AND THEN EXECUTE THAT SYSTEM!!! Other than that, you can skin the proverbial cat anyway you want (**Note** - no cats were injured in the creation of this post ;-)
Here is my break down: Total times for both T1 and T2 in practice (including the added 20 seconds) 1min 20 seconds!!!! An improvement of 1min 10sec-1min 20sec!!! Cutting my time in half! Here is what I did to achieve this
1) NO SOCKS!!! I have been told any race shorter than an Oly you do not need to wear socks, but take the appropriate precautions by a) training without socks and b) athletic tape, band-aids etc... or better yet band-aids and then tape over them so they do not fall off during the race.
2) Rack bike (within race regulations) so that your bike is facing the most efficient way towards the exit of transition. If you have the option of putting your bike wherever you want, put it close to the bike exit (this gets complicated when the bike and run exit are on the opposite sides, but getting there early can help you determine location).
3) Set up your system as efficiently as possible, and anything that is mandatory goes where I have to move something (i.e. sunglasses and helmet on aerobars, race number goes on top of running shoes). I also have my running shoes equipped with the slip on shoe laces (where you fix the elastic laces to how tight you want your shoes to your foot) and my bike shoes are already opened up as much as possible.
4) Do not clip/strap down shoes until you are on the bike (from t1)!!! What you say??? Won't they fly off! I thought so too, and then I went through three practice runs. The trick is to run and take smaller steps so that you are not flexing your foot as much with the possibility of it flying out. I have noticed people during races not locking down there shoes until they are a mile down a road once they have started.
5) Practice unstrapping your shoes before you get off and leave them on there (run barefoot to your spot in T2). My shoes scraped against the ground a few times, and once my rear wheel popped up because my right cleat got caught on the ground, but I just kept running with my bike. If you have a downhill, you can unstrap them earlier (1/4 mile left to go). If it is an uphill or turns you will have to wait later.
6) Do not be afraid to just throw the stuff you don't need anymore anywhere in your space.
7) Make sure you "run" through transition!!! This is an ok time to max out your heartrate. The shorter the race the more T1 and T2 count.
8) When you are coming into T1 or T2, then you need to be visualizing what you are going to be doing in transition.
After my transition practice, we went on an 18.5 mile bike ride through roswell on some fast flats and steep hills. He kicked my butt, but got me averaging 24mph on the flats (maxed out on 28.5 on flats) and then had to granny gear it on the hills, I could not handle it.
I'm ready...
Excited is the word I would use right now, not nervous. Ready to get this thing the hell on. Do I think I am going to best my fastest sprint time? I am not sure, but I am going to have a good time doing it.
Last night was my last workout this week before my race. Actually I really slacked this week, but it will turn out ok. Bike + Transition Practice (yes I will get more to this later) on Thursday, full tri on Saturday (so it picks up 3 workouts) and then an open water swim on Sunday. So my week will be lopsided, but that is ok.
So last night, James was to help me out with my transition times. My fastest times in a Sprint race have been a total of about 2:20-2:30. So last night we practiced in his cul-de-sac, and although the distance was shorter than my average run through transitions, we compensated for this by adding 10 seconds to T1 and 10 seconds to T2. I think the point I want to hammer home to everyone (and I am sure that I am preaching to the choir, save the people that have never actually practiced their transitions), IS TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A (SOME) SYSTEM IN PLACE, MEMORIZE THAT SYSTEM, AND THEN EXECUTE THAT SYSTEM!!! Other than that, you can skin the proverbial cat anyway you want (**Note** - no cats were injured in the creation of this post ;-)
Here is my break down: Total times for both T1 and T2 in practice (including the added 20 seconds) 1min 20 seconds!!!! An improvement of 1min 10sec-1min 20sec!!! Cutting my time in half! Here is what I did to achieve this
1) NO SOCKS!!! I have been told any race shorter than an Oly you do not need to wear socks, but take the appropriate precautions by a) training without socks and b) athletic tape, band-aids etc... or better yet band-aids and then tape over them so they do not fall off during the race.
2) Rack bike (within race regulations) so that your bike is facing the most efficient way towards the exit of transition. If you have the option of putting your bike wherever you want, put it close to the bike exit (this gets complicated when the bike and run exit are on the opposite sides, but getting there early can help you determine location).
3) Set up your system as efficiently as possible, and anything that is mandatory goes where I have to move something (i.e. sunglasses and helmet on aerobars, race number goes on top of running shoes). I also have my running shoes equipped with the slip on shoe laces (where you fix the elastic laces to how tight you want your shoes to your foot) and my bike shoes are already opened up as much as possible.
4) Do not clip/strap down shoes until you are on the bike (from t1)!!! What you say??? Won't they fly off! I thought so too, and then I went through three practice runs. The trick is to run and take smaller steps so that you are not flexing your foot as much with the possibility of it flying out. I have noticed people during races not locking down there shoes until they are a mile down a road once they have started.
5) Practice unstrapping your shoes before you get off and leave them on there (run barefoot to your spot in T2). My shoes scraped against the ground a few times, and once my rear wheel popped up because my right cleat got caught on the ground, but I just kept running with my bike. If you have a downhill, you can unstrap them earlier (1/4 mile left to go). If it is an uphill or turns you will have to wait later.
6) Do not be afraid to just throw the stuff you don't need anymore anywhere in your space.
7) Make sure you "run" through transition!!! This is an ok time to max out your heartrate. The shorter the race the more T1 and T2 count.
8) When you are coming into T1 or T2, then you need to be visualizing what you are going to be doing in transition.
After my transition practice, we went on an 18.5 mile bike ride through roswell on some fast flats and steep hills. He kicked my butt, but got me averaging 24mph on the flats (maxed out on 28.5 on flats) and then had to granny gear it on the hills, I could not handle it.
I'm ready...
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Countdown.... (Yet again), And pro sightings in Atlanta!!!
I was a total slacker yesterday. It was one of those days where Jackie was allowed to call me out for being lazy. She even drove out of her way to go to my gym because they had a class later in the evening that she wanted to attend. No excuse. Oh well, you can't win them all, can you?
So I am participating in Tri the Parks, Indian Springs State Park this weekend. Renee is competing in the event as well, and I am kind of excited about that. Hopefully we can hook up.
This time there is no road construction that splits the freeway and makes the left lane an express one, so we should be ok on getting to the race site at a decent hour of the morning.
I will also once again be representing Team Javelin, so I will definately be visible (probably from space) with my highlighter yellow and green suit.
Tomorrow it is double duty on my workouts (that is what happens when you slack off), however, both of them are light workouts so as not to make me wake up Saturday morning sore as hell. James is going to help me with transitions tomorrow night, in the hopes that both my transition times will be sub 1 minute (forgoing any 50 mile treks from the water to t1). He told me straight up the other day that socks are not allowed. NO SOCKS!!! Oh well, I suppose Band-aids are cheap, as well as Neosporin. Who needs feet? At least I am not battling with plantar fasciitis again.... (boooo!!!). Maybe I will be worthy of a 2007 foot picture entry on Kahuna's blog.
I think the fastest transition time I have logged was just over 1 minute, and that was mostly due to the fact that I had to back track a bit in T2 during a sprint race because of where I was located. I need all the help I can get if I finally want to break 1hr 20 min... ;-)
Have I told you I am kind of excited? This is only my 2nd tri of the season (and 3rd event). I really need to log a few road races over the summer. They are low maintenance, and they are much cheaper than a triathlon (no $9 USAT one day fee!). I am still signed up for the Tri-PTC in September. I think I am going to make that a yearly event, unless some other tri event or lifestyle change prevents it.
I am also thinking about starting my own tri team... Wha? (like i need to add anything else to my plate!!!) I dunno... I think what I really need to do is join Tri-Atlanta or North Atlanta Multisport first, and then see where that leads me. What can I say, I am just a sociable person, and as well all know, this sport can be just downright lonely at times. For now I think this subject will be on the "back burner".
And guess who was in ATL last weekend??? I'll give you a hint, the winner of the 1st Ryka IronGirl Atlanta event (at Lake Lanier).
Michelle Jones!!!!!!!!
I had to work at Wolfgang Sunday morning, so I missed my opportunity! Oh well, I am sure once my "habit" takes me to some larger events, I will see many more tri-personalities. I was kinda suprised about her winning time, but I think a week or two before she had just competed in a major event and this was more of a recovery thing. Hey, she beat my best time in a sprint tri.... I think Wes went with his wife, and I told a couple other people about it who were interested, but I have not heard of anyone else who went.
If any of you ladies are participating in the Ryka IronGirl event this year, I (meaning Jackie) would love to hear about it.
Signing off for now,
Murtha...
So I am participating in Tri the Parks, Indian Springs State Park this weekend. Renee is competing in the event as well, and I am kind of excited about that. Hopefully we can hook up.
This time there is no road construction that splits the freeway and makes the left lane an express one, so we should be ok on getting to the race site at a decent hour of the morning.
I will also once again be representing Team Javelin, so I will definately be visible (probably from space) with my highlighter yellow and green suit.
Tomorrow it is double duty on my workouts (that is what happens when you slack off), however, both of them are light workouts so as not to make me wake up Saturday morning sore as hell. James is going to help me with transitions tomorrow night, in the hopes that both my transition times will be sub 1 minute (forgoing any 50 mile treks from the water to t1). He told me straight up the other day that socks are not allowed. NO SOCKS!!! Oh well, I suppose Band-aids are cheap, as well as Neosporin. Who needs feet? At least I am not battling with plantar fasciitis again.... (boooo!!!). Maybe I will be worthy of a 2007 foot picture entry on Kahuna's blog.
I think the fastest transition time I have logged was just over 1 minute, and that was mostly due to the fact that I had to back track a bit in T2 during a sprint race because of where I was located. I need all the help I can get if I finally want to break 1hr 20 min... ;-)
Have I told you I am kind of excited? This is only my 2nd tri of the season (and 3rd event). I really need to log a few road races over the summer. They are low maintenance, and they are much cheaper than a triathlon (no $9 USAT one day fee!). I am still signed up for the Tri-PTC in September. I think I am going to make that a yearly event, unless some other tri event or lifestyle change prevents it.
I am also thinking about starting my own tri team... Wha? (like i need to add anything else to my plate!!!) I dunno... I think what I really need to do is join Tri-Atlanta or North Atlanta Multisport first, and then see where that leads me. What can I say, I am just a sociable person, and as well all know, this sport can be just downright lonely at times. For now I think this subject will be on the "back burner".
And guess who was in ATL last weekend??? I'll give you a hint, the winner of the 1st Ryka IronGirl Atlanta event (at Lake Lanier).
Michelle Jones!!!!!!!!
I had to work at Wolfgang Sunday morning, so I missed my opportunity! Oh well, I am sure once my "habit" takes me to some larger events, I will see many more tri-personalities. I was kinda suprised about her winning time, but I think a week or two before she had just competed in a major event and this was more of a recovery thing. Hey, she beat my best time in a sprint tri.... I think Wes went with his wife, and I told a couple other people about it who were interested, but I have not heard of anyone else who went.
If any of you ladies are participating in the Ryka IronGirl event this year, I (meaning Jackie) would love to hear about it.
Signing off for now,
Murtha...
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Awake Time (5:30a-12:30a) + 2 workouts = WORN OUT!!!
My body (and eyeballs) are composing this post under protest!
Tuesday was a good workout. I did not keep time, HRM, anything. I just let my body do the talking and completed a bike sprint workout (8x1 minute sprints), with what I thought was about a 5 minute rest in between each sprint. Legs were pretty torn up after that!
Wednesday morning I was in the pool by 5:45am and I did a straight 1/2 hour with no stopping. Again, just feeling, working on technique, and there were a couple of laps that were breast stroke and butterfly. I lost count of laps (what else is new), but I know for a fact that I completed somewhere close to 1500 M give or take a few hundred.
After work yesterday I went straight to Chastain park for a track(hill) workout. 8-10 minute warmup and then I found a good hill on the run where I did 5x1 minute hill sprints (actually it went 1:24, 1:11. 1:11, 1:10, 1:13). Notice the hill was a bit longer than 1 minute to complete, but I did not complain. I did not get in 8X1 min, but that is due to the fact I got tired out, and there were three more hills for me to jog up back to the car on my cooldown.
I met up with Jackie yesterday evening and we ate at Cheyenne Grill in Buckhead, and then went to the Landmark movie theatre in the Highlands where there was an independent film contest called the 48 hour special. All over the country are people who put together mini movie clips in 48hours or less, and then the audience in each city that they do the competition in votes on the best so they can go to the national competition.
It was supposed to start at 9:30, but did not get started until 10:00pm. I have to apologize to a couple of people who made a few of those movies, I fell asleep during two of them. I was really tired, and I was slumping in a comfy chair and it was dark. Most of them were pretty good, and there was one that was really funny because it had a fight scene and the sound effects were about 10 seconds behind the actual action sequence. Jackie's co-worker had a movie and it was pretty cool, I voted it number one for the night, and then we went home. Got in bed about 12:30am, and did not sleep well last night. I need to go next door and get a starbucks double shot.
I might scrap tonight's workout in favor of getting some rest, I am almost 100% from this sinus thing, but not quite yet. Also, Jackie has a small work shindig with her co-workers, and since I am an unofficial employee (for moral support) of her company, I feel only obliged to show up and partake in the ongoings of drunken debauchery that will ensue tonight :-)
I am going to try and post some more pictures from my tri at John Tanner State Park. I also have the Tri the Parks - Indian Springs state park next weekend!!! Wow, next weekend already?!?!?! Oh well, how time flies. My weekend is packed. I have a swim, endurance run, brick, and I should have one more workout in there somewhere, but I might scrap it. Next week is week 5 in my training plan, and I will make it light for a) reovery from weeks 1-4, and b) it is a race week, even though it is just a sprint. I do not need to be extra sore waking up Saturday morning for a race.
Murtha...
Tuesday was a good workout. I did not keep time, HRM, anything. I just let my body do the talking and completed a bike sprint workout (8x1 minute sprints), with what I thought was about a 5 minute rest in between each sprint. Legs were pretty torn up after that!
Wednesday morning I was in the pool by 5:45am and I did a straight 1/2 hour with no stopping. Again, just feeling, working on technique, and there were a couple of laps that were breast stroke and butterfly. I lost count of laps (what else is new), but I know for a fact that I completed somewhere close to 1500 M give or take a few hundred.
After work yesterday I went straight to Chastain park for a track(hill) workout. 8-10 minute warmup and then I found a good hill on the run where I did 5x1 minute hill sprints (actually it went 1:24, 1:11. 1:11, 1:10, 1:13). Notice the hill was a bit longer than 1 minute to complete, but I did not complain. I did not get in 8X1 min, but that is due to the fact I got tired out, and there were three more hills for me to jog up back to the car on my cooldown.
I met up with Jackie yesterday evening and we ate at Cheyenne Grill in Buckhead, and then went to the Landmark movie theatre in the Highlands where there was an independent film contest called the 48 hour special. All over the country are people who put together mini movie clips in 48hours or less, and then the audience in each city that they do the competition in votes on the best so they can go to the national competition.
It was supposed to start at 9:30, but did not get started until 10:00pm. I have to apologize to a couple of people who made a few of those movies, I fell asleep during two of them. I was really tired, and I was slumping in a comfy chair and it was dark. Most of them were pretty good, and there was one that was really funny because it had a fight scene and the sound effects were about 10 seconds behind the actual action sequence. Jackie's co-worker had a movie and it was pretty cool, I voted it number one for the night, and then we went home. Got in bed about 12:30am, and did not sleep well last night. I need to go next door and get a starbucks double shot.
I might scrap tonight's workout in favor of getting some rest, I am almost 100% from this sinus thing, but not quite yet. Also, Jackie has a small work shindig with her co-workers, and since I am an unofficial employee (for moral support) of her company, I feel only obliged to show up and partake in the ongoings of drunken debauchery that will ensue tonight :-)
I am going to try and post some more pictures from my tri at John Tanner State Park. I also have the Tri the Parks - Indian Springs state park next weekend!!! Wow, next weekend already?!?!?! Oh well, how time flies. My weekend is packed. I have a swim, endurance run, brick, and I should have one more workout in there somewhere, but I might scrap it. Next week is week 5 in my training plan, and I will make it light for a) reovery from weeks 1-4, and b) it is a race week, even though it is just a sprint. I do not need to be extra sore waking up Saturday morning for a race.
Murtha...
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Yeah!!! Its Here Finally!! And other things...
So Tuesday the joy of my month (other than my fiance, which is every month), came in the mail. I skimmed it real quick while doing the laundry (I got let go a bit early from work due to the sinus bug from lake Altoona, more on that later) and said I would wait until at least tomorrow to plow through the magaznine.
Today we were late at work, so I came home and put in a speed workout on the bike. 8 x1 minute sprints with 5 minutes of recovery/80% of race pace in between. I did not focus on distance or cadence. Just feeling. It felt good. I did it on the SCT of course to ensure fairness (oh I think I mean flatness).
Cutting down my hours for June was a great idea! I am getting to spend more time at home, working out, and of course with Jackie ;-). I am also getting in at minimum 85% of my workouts each week now, where as before it was more like 40-50%. I am on Tomorrow(2x), Thursday(2x), Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. Wes is getting out on the SCT with his wife Dee Dee early Saturday morning, but I cannot get out there because I will be at the bank. They also have me on the opening Sunday shift at Wolfgang Express, so I should be done about 2pm, and then it is soooo on!!!
So far I have made it through about 54 pages of my favorite magazine. I love this month's point-counter point! I kinda side with both people though on the issue.
Well as for last weekend, I put in a 2 hour ride on Saturday for about 32 miles (there was a 2 mile portion where I forgot to turn my watch back on. When Jackie bought me my newest tri gear for my birthday, the shirt is a bit narrower in the back than my others (Zoot is always a bit smaller than Sugoi), so I now have tan, burn, and white on my back. Sunday I swam about 1000-1200M and I got burned then too. It was in lake Altoona again solo, on the same route that Wes and I swam a few weeks ago, but in reverse. I also did not stop when I got to the other end, but immediately looped back and finished. I swallowed a bit of water due to boat wakes (there were a lot out) and I kinda got a light case of sinusitus. I am back at about 85% of normal now, I have been sucking down Sudafed like crazy!!! Odwalla C-Monster helps out as well.
Lastly, for the few of you who read my blog (just kidding, I look at the stats from time to time on who is reading), I want some advice (both generally and technically). I want to keep better track of my stats on a long term basis (i.e. my garming training center, Microsoft Excel, etc). I also want to post my weekly monthly stats on my blog, but I have not figured out how to do the table in the sidebar yet. Any thoughts or suggestions on how do to either or both? How do you keep track with you long term stats? Really with the table, I just need someone to give me some code and explain it to me so that I can manipulate it every week/month and post it to my blog.
I will hopefully be back again on Thursday, if not I will keep up with all of your blogs and get back to you this weekend. Jackie and I are going to watch some Independent film contest tomorrow night that one of her co-workers is involved in.
Murtha...
Today we were late at work, so I came home and put in a speed workout on the bike. 8 x1 minute sprints with 5 minutes of recovery/80% of race pace in between. I did not focus on distance or cadence. Just feeling. It felt good. I did it on the SCT of course to ensure fairness (oh I think I mean flatness).
Cutting down my hours for June was a great idea! I am getting to spend more time at home, working out, and of course with Jackie ;-). I am also getting in at minimum 85% of my workouts each week now, where as before it was more like 40-50%. I am on Tomorrow(2x), Thursday(2x), Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. Wes is getting out on the SCT with his wife Dee Dee early Saturday morning, but I cannot get out there because I will be at the bank. They also have me on the opening Sunday shift at Wolfgang Express, so I should be done about 2pm, and then it is soooo on!!!
So far I have made it through about 54 pages of my favorite magazine. I love this month's point-counter point! I kinda side with both people though on the issue.
Well as for last weekend, I put in a 2 hour ride on Saturday for about 32 miles (there was a 2 mile portion where I forgot to turn my watch back on. When Jackie bought me my newest tri gear for my birthday, the shirt is a bit narrower in the back than my others (Zoot is always a bit smaller than Sugoi), so I now have tan, burn, and white on my back. Sunday I swam about 1000-1200M and I got burned then too. It was in lake Altoona again solo, on the same route that Wes and I swam a few weeks ago, but in reverse. I also did not stop when I got to the other end, but immediately looped back and finished. I swallowed a bit of water due to boat wakes (there were a lot out) and I kinda got a light case of sinusitus. I am back at about 85% of normal now, I have been sucking down Sudafed like crazy!!! Odwalla C-Monster helps out as well.
Lastly, for the few of you who read my blog (just kidding, I look at the stats from time to time on who is reading), I want some advice (both generally and technically). I want to keep better track of my stats on a long term basis (i.e. my garming training center, Microsoft Excel, etc). I also want to post my weekly monthly stats on my blog, but I have not figured out how to do the table in the sidebar yet. Any thoughts or suggestions on how do to either or both? How do you keep track with you long term stats? Really with the table, I just need someone to give me some code and explain it to me so that I can manipulate it every week/month and post it to my blog.
I will hopefully be back again on Thursday, if not I will keep up with all of your blogs and get back to you this weekend. Jackie and I are going to watch some Independent film contest tomorrow night that one of her co-workers is involved in.
Murtha...
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Getting Impaitent...
Boy, am I frustrated right now...
WHERE IS MY ISSUE OF TRIATHLETE MAGAZINE!!!!
Ok, I know that they are already nice enough to send it out to customer's a month before the publication date on the magazine. I also know that you get it about 2 weeks or so sooner by subscribing rather than going to your local bookstore (However if you go to your local tri shop they have it at the beginning of the month).
But it is the expectation of receiving the magazine! I spend the rest of my monthing going through Bicycling Magazine, Runner's World, Running Times, Inside Triathlon, and the other triathlon publication (that I cannot remember). And let's not forget the quarterly publication for the USAT magazine.
How come there is not more quality content? I dunno, maybe what we (I) need to do is create some form of media for triathlons that has current daily content, and I can make money at it (I don't have time to do things for free right now, except charity and training).
I just feel that there is so much information and stories that the average triathlete is missing out on, and tri - geeks like myself seem always starved for more of it. I have links to all the major (and minor) tri websites and I am part of the Tri - Blogger Alliance. And while I do not read everyone's blog, I get to quite a few of them. Although the pro scene isn't even as large as some women's college sports, There is quite a more bit of depth I feel than some of the major sports.
I mean what other sport has three different types of races (now four with the tri One o One race series) and competes worldwide at all levels (pro, amateur, age group, clydesdale/athena, club teams, relays)? We've got the sponsors, and there is no shortage of sponsorship from private to club (ie team gu, javelin) to pro.
There are more races every year than hockey, baseball, football, and basketball combined (based off of number of games each team plays in a season, I think, don't quote me on that yet :-b) and let's not forget the training, and days leading up to and following major races. Expo after Expo, Interbike (need I say more), training camps both near and far(exotic), Team In training stories (and any other organization using triathlon for the bettement of community and society), and anything else that I could not think of goes here.
There are even podcasts with about 3-4 bloggers from the tri-blogger alliance who have weekly podcasts (You can probably guess that I am impatient with Iron Wil and the Kahuna right now, but I still love those guys!), not to mention that USAT now has a podcast and I think that ironman has live event podcasts and videos.
If I could figure out a way to put all of this together, have fun doing it and make money ($$$) at the same time (to support both my private and triathlon lifestyle), I would quit my jobs right now in a heartbeat!
Not that I need to add any more to this post, but I just went to Ironman Live's website, and there are 46 officially sanctioned Ironman events (both full-distance and 70.3). That's almost 4 per month, averaging almost 1 per week! Then you have the ITU series, USAT series, Escape from Alcatraz series, Lifetime fitness series (going to be the biggest prize purse yet), Xterra series, and I think there is one other major series as well. Please note that these are only series that are familiar to us in the North America and does not include any popular ones overseas.
Again my question from earlier arises yet again; how come it does not feel like there is enough content out there for the volume and depth that surrounds our sport? I don't know if there is enough ad revenue (actually there probably is I am just being pessimistic) for a TV channel, but there could be a supersite like espn.com where it would encompass all parts of the sport, and then have contributing reporters, video, podcasts, interviews, etc...
I am a tri-geek! So sue me! I want more! So who is going to help me launch this concept? My email is at the top of the page if you are interested...
Murtha...
WHERE IS MY ISSUE OF TRIATHLETE MAGAZINE!!!!
Ok, I know that they are already nice enough to send it out to customer's a month before the publication date on the magazine. I also know that you get it about 2 weeks or so sooner by subscribing rather than going to your local bookstore (However if you go to your local tri shop they have it at the beginning of the month).
But it is the expectation of receiving the magazine! I spend the rest of my monthing going through Bicycling Magazine, Runner's World, Running Times, Inside Triathlon, and the other triathlon publication (that I cannot remember). And let's not forget the quarterly publication for the USAT magazine.
How come there is not more quality content? I dunno, maybe what we (I) need to do is create some form of media for triathlons that has current daily content, and I can make money at it (I don't have time to do things for free right now, except charity and training).
I just feel that there is so much information and stories that the average triathlete is missing out on, and tri - geeks like myself seem always starved for more of it. I have links to all the major (and minor) tri websites and I am part of the Tri - Blogger Alliance. And while I do not read everyone's blog, I get to quite a few of them. Although the pro scene isn't even as large as some women's college sports, There is quite a more bit of depth I feel than some of the major sports.
I mean what other sport has three different types of races (now four with the tri One o One race series) and competes worldwide at all levels (pro, amateur, age group, clydesdale/athena, club teams, relays)? We've got the sponsors, and there is no shortage of sponsorship from private to club (ie team gu, javelin) to pro.
There are more races every year than hockey, baseball, football, and basketball combined (based off of number of games each team plays in a season, I think, don't quote me on that yet :-b) and let's not forget the training, and days leading up to and following major races. Expo after Expo, Interbike (need I say more), training camps both near and far(exotic), Team In training stories (and any other organization using triathlon for the bettement of community and society), and anything else that I could not think of goes here.
There are even podcasts with about 3-4 bloggers from the tri-blogger alliance who have weekly podcasts (You can probably guess that I am impatient with Iron Wil and the Kahuna right now, but I still love those guys!), not to mention that USAT now has a podcast and I think that ironman has live event podcasts and videos.
If I could figure out a way to put all of this together, have fun doing it and make money ($$$) at the same time (to support both my private and triathlon lifestyle), I would quit my jobs right now in a heartbeat!
Not that I need to add any more to this post, but I just went to Ironman Live's website, and there are 46 officially sanctioned Ironman events (both full-distance and 70.3). That's almost 4 per month, averaging almost 1 per week! Then you have the ITU series, USAT series, Escape from Alcatraz series, Lifetime fitness series (going to be the biggest prize purse yet), Xterra series, and I think there is one other major series as well. Please note that these are only series that are familiar to us in the North America and does not include any popular ones overseas.
Again my question from earlier arises yet again; how come it does not feel like there is enough content out there for the volume and depth that surrounds our sport? I don't know if there is enough ad revenue (actually there probably is I am just being pessimistic) for a TV channel, but there could be a supersite like espn.com where it would encompass all parts of the sport, and then have contributing reporters, video, podcasts, interviews, etc...
I am a tri-geek! So sue me! I want more! So who is going to help me launch this concept? My email is at the top of the page if you are interested...
Murtha...
Friday, June 01, 2007
Some much awaited pictures (and more to come)...
Hello All,
Here are a few pictures from my Tri the Parks - John Tanner State Park and a couple of pics from the NY bike tour. I have some more from the Tri (on the bike), but I have to scan the pictures in first. Funny how the swim cap matches the uniform. I think the color is growing on me.
Murtha...
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
"That's life...."
What a buzzkill...
I have now learned that I am too nice of a person, and I have issues saying no. Why is this? Because I feel I have always been a team player and just a helpful person in general. I figure that somewhere down the line that I will get something back out of what I do for others. Does it usually occur? Nope, but I always hope it will.
How this relates to this blog?
Tuesday I am all ready for my ride. 25 miles with the Sandy Springs group, and my boss from my 2nd job is planning on showing up (the uber good duathlete/triathlete).
About 2 'o clock, the front of house mgr comes over to tell me that two people are not showing up for work and she could really use the help. Insert "Mr. Good Guy/Team Player" here...
I told her I would do it for her. I get there at 5:30 pm in a kind of bad mood, but decided if I was going to be there, I would work. 45 min later, she says, "You know, I'm sorry it is really slow, do you want to go home?" Hmmm let me think... YES! So I literally run out to the car and get my gear, come back in and change, then head up to the ride (which I will be late for, more on that later). As I am on the way I call my boss to let him know plans have changed yet again (it went from riding to not riding back to riding again), and if he is still up for it, to bring it on! He says traffic is bad, but he is on his way. As I am pulling in the parking lot, he calls and is about 10 min away, but that is not the problem. The problem is that he forgot his bike cleats(shoes) at home. He said he had his running shoes, and was going to the Chattahooche to run instead.
So I am off at around 7:00p, and I immediately decide that in 10-15min the A group will be starting the 2nd half of the course, so I might as well start there. Not to mention the fact it would be almost completely dark outside if I tried to do the whole ride. Tried pushing it, but was not working (due to hard workout weekend?). I did ride in some bigger gears spinning just as hard as I would normally in a smaller gear, which was an improvement on some hills. And there was a roller section where I pounded through without gearing down.
I got caught almost halfway around Chastain park (almost done with the ride) and came to the last section of big rollers. When I got to the bottom of the first, I moved to my small ring......and the chain came right off!!! And it was not just that the chain came off, it did in such a way that it got stuck around the bottom bracket and the chainrings. Needless to say this killed my momentum. It took an extra few minutes to fix, and luckily somone was passing me by and I sucked their tail all the way to the finish.
Better some training than none, right?
On a positive note, I changed my entire schedule for June at my 2nd job to be more tri friendly!!! Only 3 days a week, and no Tuesday/Thursday (in case I actually want to do those group rides. Also I have that next tri on June 23rd. I have been really thinking about doing the Callway Gardens with Wes, but the distance is even shorter than a sprint, and I don't feel like getting up at 3am for a race! I also don't want to get a hotel room for a local GA event. So that leaves doing a race that is closer. I used to camp at Indian Springs/High Falls State park(s), so I know how to get there, and I know the area fairly well. Should be some nice hills on the bike course. Maybe we will even go over the bridge on the ride by the waterfalls, that would be cool.
Talk to y'all soon...
Murtha...
I have now learned that I am too nice of a person, and I have issues saying no. Why is this? Because I feel I have always been a team player and just a helpful person in general. I figure that somewhere down the line that I will get something back out of what I do for others. Does it usually occur? Nope, but I always hope it will.
How this relates to this blog?
Tuesday I am all ready for my ride. 25 miles with the Sandy Springs group, and my boss from my 2nd job is planning on showing up (the uber good duathlete/triathlete).
About 2 'o clock, the front of house mgr comes over to tell me that two people are not showing up for work and she could really use the help. Insert "Mr. Good Guy/Team Player" here...
I told her I would do it for her. I get there at 5:30 pm in a kind of bad mood, but decided if I was going to be there, I would work. 45 min later, she says, "You know, I'm sorry it is really slow, do you want to go home?" Hmmm let me think... YES! So I literally run out to the car and get my gear, come back in and change, then head up to the ride (which I will be late for, more on that later). As I am on the way I call my boss to let him know plans have changed yet again (it went from riding to not riding back to riding again), and if he is still up for it, to bring it on! He says traffic is bad, but he is on his way. As I am pulling in the parking lot, he calls and is about 10 min away, but that is not the problem. The problem is that he forgot his bike cleats(shoes) at home. He said he had his running shoes, and was going to the Chattahooche to run instead.
So I am off at around 7:00p, and I immediately decide that in 10-15min the A group will be starting the 2nd half of the course, so I might as well start there. Not to mention the fact it would be almost completely dark outside if I tried to do the whole ride. Tried pushing it, but was not working (due to hard workout weekend?). I did ride in some bigger gears spinning just as hard as I would normally in a smaller gear, which was an improvement on some hills. And there was a roller section where I pounded through without gearing down.
I got caught almost halfway around Chastain park (almost done with the ride) and came to the last section of big rollers. When I got to the bottom of the first, I moved to my small ring......and the chain came right off!!! And it was not just that the chain came off, it did in such a way that it got stuck around the bottom bracket and the chainrings. Needless to say this killed my momentum. It took an extra few minutes to fix, and luckily somone was passing me by and I sucked their tail all the way to the finish.
Better some training than none, right?
On a positive note, I changed my entire schedule for June at my 2nd job to be more tri friendly!!! Only 3 days a week, and no Tuesday/Thursday (in case I actually want to do those group rides. Also I have that next tri on June 23rd. I have been really thinking about doing the Callway Gardens with Wes, but the distance is even shorter than a sprint, and I don't feel like getting up at 3am for a race! I also don't want to get a hotel room for a local GA event. So that leaves doing a race that is closer. I used to camp at Indian Springs/High Falls State park(s), so I know how to get there, and I know the area fairly well. Should be some nice hills on the bike course. Maybe we will even go over the bridge on the ride by the waterfalls, that would be cool.
Talk to y'all soon...
Murtha...
Monday, May 28, 2007
A long Memorial Day Weekend...
It's Almost over (writing this at 10:00p on a Monday night).
It started on Friday, where I had to work at both jobs, and the same went for Saturday. Sunday after work, I went out for my brick workout (the stats are below). Jackie just rode for a straight two hours.
Sunday morning, it happened...
I GOT TO HANG OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH A TRI - BLOGGER!!!
And who was it you ask? Well it was none other than Wes, who just happens to be up the road from me (actually about 45 min up the road). Wes has been talking about getting some open water swims in, something that I am much in need in, and so I thought I would oblige. Sunday I thought I would send him an email to see if he was still interested, I knew he had a pretty busy weekend scheduled. Lo and behold on Sunday evening I had and email that was in my inbox, and started like this...
"Woo hoo! It's on :-) Dee Dee just asked me the same question. I guess I can't back out now ;-) ..."
Needless to say I was excited. I did not get a great night of sleep since my roommate is having issues with the HVAC running cold, so I did not actually get to sleep until about 3:00am. Up at 6:45am, I quickly got ready and headed out. Made a wrong turn on the way, but Wes quickly guided me back to where I needed to go and soon I was at his humble abode and met him and his wife, Dee Dee. Nothing but wonderful, I tell you!
We were then off shortly thereafter ( I got to see the new ride in person as well, it was sweeet!) and got to the lake close to 8:30. There were a number of cars in front of us, and the gate booth is not as quick and high tech as most things I am used to, so it took a bit longer. There were about 20-30 cars in there as well, and people already grilling, children swimming, etc. Off went the exterior clothes and there we all were in our swim gear, goggles and caps.
I asked Wes how he wanted all of this to go down, and it ended up being like a rectangular swim, close to shore. Which was fine with me, I was not about to get run over by some drunk people piloting jet skis and boats (come to find out later I had some friends at lake Lanier that experienced something similar). We completed 4 laps of somewhere close to 400 meters per lap. We thought it closer to 350, but on the last lap, after the final turn, I stroke counted similar to what I do in the pool, and I came up with about 150M from pole to shore. Who knows.
I think I finished everything in about 42minutes, with breaks inbetween each lap, so in all, not too bad consider we collectively swam about a mile. Wes was sporting some great form, and his sighting was great. He was usually ahead of me, and I would end up about 50 yards on either side of him. For those of us who joke about adding a few meters to our final distance due to getting of track, that was definately me today. Thought I felt a snake in the water at one point, but I think it was a piece of rope coming off one of the shallow bouy markers that I got close to (I hope). Dee Dee was not so fortunate, finding a dead snake in the water, and she was done.
Wes, it is so on for the rest of the year until it gets cold again!!! It is great getting away from the pool and swimming in an element that you will compete in eventually.
That is about all for now, more to come later. Due to the holiday weekend and such, I will forego posting my stats and just let you know that Sunday afternoon I bricked it with a 17mile ride and a 5K, and then Monday was the (some where close to a) mile swim with Wes.
Murtha...
It started on Friday, where I had to work at both jobs, and the same went for Saturday. Sunday after work, I went out for my brick workout (the stats are below). Jackie just rode for a straight two hours.
Sunday morning, it happened...
I GOT TO HANG OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH A TRI - BLOGGER!!!
And who was it you ask? Well it was none other than Wes, who just happens to be up the road from me (actually about 45 min up the road). Wes has been talking about getting some open water swims in, something that I am much in need in, and so I thought I would oblige. Sunday I thought I would send him an email to see if he was still interested, I knew he had a pretty busy weekend scheduled. Lo and behold on Sunday evening I had and email that was in my inbox, and started like this...
"Woo hoo! It's on :-) Dee Dee just asked me the same question. I guess I can't back out now ;-) ..."
Needless to say I was excited. I did not get a great night of sleep since my roommate is having issues with the HVAC running cold, so I did not actually get to sleep until about 3:00am. Up at 6:45am, I quickly got ready and headed out. Made a wrong turn on the way, but Wes quickly guided me back to where I needed to go and soon I was at his humble abode and met him and his wife, Dee Dee. Nothing but wonderful, I tell you!
We were then off shortly thereafter ( I got to see the new ride in person as well, it was sweeet!) and got to the lake close to 8:30. There were a number of cars in front of us, and the gate booth is not as quick and high tech as most things I am used to, so it took a bit longer. There were about 20-30 cars in there as well, and people already grilling, children swimming, etc. Off went the exterior clothes and there we all were in our swim gear, goggles and caps.
I asked Wes how he wanted all of this to go down, and it ended up being like a rectangular swim, close to shore. Which was fine with me, I was not about to get run over by some drunk people piloting jet skis and boats (come to find out later I had some friends at lake Lanier that experienced something similar). We completed 4 laps of somewhere close to 400 meters per lap. We thought it closer to 350, but on the last lap, after the final turn, I stroke counted similar to what I do in the pool, and I came up with about 150M from pole to shore. Who knows.
I think I finished everything in about 42minutes, with breaks inbetween each lap, so in all, not too bad consider we collectively swam about a mile. Wes was sporting some great form, and his sighting was great. He was usually ahead of me, and I would end up about 50 yards on either side of him. For those of us who joke about adding a few meters to our final distance due to getting of track, that was definately me today. Thought I felt a snake in the water at one point, but I think it was a piece of rope coming off one of the shallow bouy markers that I got close to (I hope). Dee Dee was not so fortunate, finding a dead snake in the water, and she was done.
Wes, it is so on for the rest of the year until it gets cold again!!! It is great getting away from the pool and swimming in an element that you will compete in eventually.
That is about all for now, more to come later. Due to the holiday weekend and such, I will forego posting my stats and just let you know that Sunday afternoon I bricked it with a 17mile ride and a 5K, and then Monday was the (some where close to a) mile swim with Wes.
Murtha...
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Aaannnnnnnnnd There Off!!! (And I really mean I am off and going!)
HI!!!
So, I came up with this brilliant plan a couple of weeks ago, and announced it to you recently...
So far, so good! I put the Stats so far this week at the bottom, so that if you do not want to bore yourself with my data, I don't have you scrolling through everything.
I hate to say it, but after the back to back weekend workout (and lets just say I have not exactly been consistently working out), I actually felt great on Monday, and could have done a workout. However, I am having electrical problems at the house, and I also just did not want to go (I had more important things to do). This morning I got up and ran (you can see the breakdown above) and it was great. Not quite light yet, I got to use my Valentine's Day gift for the first time (other than fumbling around in my dark bedroom this morning). And LED head lamp!!! It was great, since it was cool, and there were no people out there to run into.
The other night was Tuesday night ride with the Sandy Springs Cycleworks group. I was not able to get my hill repeats in before the bike ride, since I was trying to get my cadence/speed sensor to work. This was my endurance ride for the week, so I would not have been worried if I had destroyed my legs before I went on the ride. Instead of killing the first hill like I usually do trying to keep up with the pack, I held back, and I was able to hang until I got up and around the golf course into our next set of elevation changes. There were two other people that I rode with in the back (one of which was on team Cycleworks, must have had an off day if they were riding with me). I also saw one of my Fraternity brothers, Kevin, with one of his GA Tech team cycling buddies. They got a flat in the first 4 miles, and they passed me again around mile 11-12. Kevin said that his teammate was pulling him at around 21 mph both UP and DOWN hills to try and catch up with the front group. They got lost at one point and put in a couple of extra miles, so they never actually caught up with the group.
I don't know why, but I got blisters from my Tuesday morning run. I hate blisters. They always put a cramp in my training. I had Wednesday off, since I was working a double, and then Thursday I was down and out with the flu. I could not keep down breakfast or lunch, and then I finally made it through dinner. It made Friday even worse, since we had a potluck to wish someone off on their last day at the bank. Tons of food, I was directed to the chicken noodle soup, ham sandwhich, and a couple of chicken fingers with no sauce for saftey. Worked both jobs on Friday.
Wes, you are the man! I am going to try and get in with you for Memorial Day morning swim, and then after that we can play it by ear...
As for everything else, I have my eyes on the horizon for the Tri the Parks towards the End of June (Indian Springs???). I have not signed up for it yet, but after the next paycheck, depending on training, it is looking pretty promising.
Hopefully soon I will be able to get back on my computer at home. We have had a change of email policy at work, plus some other stuff going on in my extracircular life, and so I really need to play catch-up and sift through all the emails I just forwarded to my gmail account.
Now to my workouts this week. I need to work on a spreadsheet and some weekly totals, I think I will "borrow" some of your blogger ideas.
05/19/2007 (Saturday)
Workout - Endurance Run
Time: 52:29.00
Distance: 5.50 mi
Pace: 9:32.54/mi
Tot Cal: 727 calories
Avg Hr: 171 bpm
Max Hr: 186 bpm
05/20/2007 (Sunday)
Workout - Brick (Bike Run)
Total Time: 1:25:14.00
Bike Time: 57:00.81
Bike Distance: 17.08 mi
Avg Speed: 18.0 mph
Max Speed: 26.6 mph
Avg Hr: 136 bpm
Max Hr: 169 bpm
RPE: 5
Run Time: 28:14.00
Run Distance: 3.02 mi
Run Pace (AVG): 9:21.00/mi
Avg Hr: 169 bpm
Max Hr: 179 bpm
RPE: 7
05/21/2007 (Monday)
NONE - Rest Day
05/22/2007 (Tuesday)
Workout - Light Run
Time: 30:58.00
Distance: 3.13 mi
Pace (AVG): 9:53.00 /mi
Avg Hr: 163 bpm
Max Hr: 174 bpm
Cal: 446 cal
RPE: 6-7
05/23/2007 (Wednesday)
None - Both Jobs
05/24/2007 (Thursday)
None - Sick - Flu
05/25/2007 (Friday)
None - Both Jobs
Workout (05/22/2007) - Endurance Ride (Sandy Springs Tue Cycleworks)
Time: 1:35:27.80
Distance: 24.93 mi
Avg Speed: 15.7 mph
Max Speed: 39.3 mph
Avg Hr: 147 bpm
Max Hr: 175 bpm
Cal: --- (not accurate on bike, calculates based on speed as well)
RPE: 5-8
Murtha...
So, I came up with this brilliant plan a couple of weeks ago, and announced it to you recently...
So far, so good! I put the Stats so far this week at the bottom, so that if you do not want to bore yourself with my data, I don't have you scrolling through everything.
I hate to say it, but after the back to back weekend workout (and lets just say I have not exactly been consistently working out), I actually felt great on Monday, and could have done a workout. However, I am having electrical problems at the house, and I also just did not want to go (I had more important things to do). This morning I got up and ran (you can see the breakdown above) and it was great. Not quite light yet, I got to use my Valentine's Day gift for the first time (other than fumbling around in my dark bedroom this morning). And LED head lamp!!! It was great, since it was cool, and there were no people out there to run into.
The other night was Tuesday night ride with the Sandy Springs Cycleworks group. I was not able to get my hill repeats in before the bike ride, since I was trying to get my cadence/speed sensor to work. This was my endurance ride for the week, so I would not have been worried if I had destroyed my legs before I went on the ride. Instead of killing the first hill like I usually do trying to keep up with the pack, I held back, and I was able to hang until I got up and around the golf course into our next set of elevation changes. There were two other people that I rode with in the back (one of which was on team Cycleworks, must have had an off day if they were riding with me). I also saw one of my Fraternity brothers, Kevin, with one of his GA Tech team cycling buddies. They got a flat in the first 4 miles, and they passed me again around mile 11-12. Kevin said that his teammate was pulling him at around 21 mph both UP and DOWN hills to try and catch up with the front group. They got lost at one point and put in a couple of extra miles, so they never actually caught up with the group.
I don't know why, but I got blisters from my Tuesday morning run. I hate blisters. They always put a cramp in my training. I had Wednesday off, since I was working a double, and then Thursday I was down and out with the flu. I could not keep down breakfast or lunch, and then I finally made it through dinner. It made Friday even worse, since we had a potluck to wish someone off on their last day at the bank. Tons of food, I was directed to the chicken noodle soup, ham sandwhich, and a couple of chicken fingers with no sauce for saftey. Worked both jobs on Friday.
Wes, you are the man! I am going to try and get in with you for Memorial Day morning swim, and then after that we can play it by ear...
As for everything else, I have my eyes on the horizon for the Tri the Parks towards the End of June (Indian Springs???). I have not signed up for it yet, but after the next paycheck, depending on training, it is looking pretty promising.
Hopefully soon I will be able to get back on my computer at home. We have had a change of email policy at work, plus some other stuff going on in my extracircular life, and so I really need to play catch-up and sift through all the emails I just forwarded to my gmail account.
Now to my workouts this week. I need to work on a spreadsheet and some weekly totals, I think I will "borrow" some of your blogger ideas.
05/19/2007 (Saturday)
Workout - Endurance Run
Time: 52:29.00
Distance: 5.50 mi
Pace: 9:32.54/mi
Tot Cal: 727 calories
Avg Hr: 171 bpm
Max Hr: 186 bpm
05/20/2007 (Sunday)
Workout - Brick (Bike Run)
Total Time: 1:25:14.00
Bike Time: 57:00.81
Bike Distance: 17.08 mi
Avg Speed: 18.0 mph
Max Speed: 26.6 mph
Avg Hr: 136 bpm
Max Hr: 169 bpm
RPE: 5
Run Time: 28:14.00
Run Distance: 3.02 mi
Run Pace (AVG): 9:21.00/mi
Avg Hr: 169 bpm
Max Hr: 179 bpm
RPE: 7
05/21/2007 (Monday)
NONE - Rest Day
05/22/2007 (Tuesday)
Workout - Light Run
Time: 30:58.00
Distance: 3.13 mi
Pace (AVG): 9:53.00 /mi
Avg Hr: 163 bpm
Max Hr: 174 bpm
Cal: 446 cal
RPE: 6-7
05/23/2007 (Wednesday)
None - Both Jobs
05/24/2007 (Thursday)
None - Sick - Flu
05/25/2007 (Friday)
None - Both Jobs
Workout (05/22/2007) - Endurance Ride (Sandy Springs Tue Cycleworks)
Time: 1:35:27.80
Distance: 24.93 mi
Avg Speed: 15.7 mph
Max Speed: 39.3 mph
Avg Hr: 147 bpm
Max Hr: 175 bpm
Cal: --- (not accurate on bike, calculates based on speed as well)
RPE: 5-8
Murtha...
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The Jumpstart (Mondays!!!)
Well,
I would say my friend who I train with, but I should actually call him my pseudo coach (for kicking my butt!!!), James, was nice enough to go out with me on my run last night. We went over to Chastain park and took the Garmin so that we could finally get the exact mileage for the loop.
05/14/2005
Workout: Endurance Run
Breakdown
Distance: 5.12 miles
Time: 50:59.00
Avg Pace: 9:58 min/mi
Tot Cal: 707
Avg Hr: 177 bpm
Max Hr: 192 bpm
Basically I blew my wad in the first mile and a half, and then struggled the rest of the first loop (which has the majority of the elevation). By that time I had decided to let him go and get his workout (as nice as he was to stay back with me, I did not want to feel as if I was holding him back). He went and did two more laps, and I completed one more. I had to stop twice for about 45 seconds or so to get my heart rate back down to below 160 before I got started again. For some reason, no matter how slow I was running/jogging, I could not keep my heart rate below 180 bpm.
2nd lap was just miserable. I can tell you why though
1. Treadmill in temperature controlled gym.
2. Silver Comet Trail (technically flat)
Yesterday's run. 85 degrees and humid, and hills. What a difference a course makes!
After we both finished we sat down a talked for awhile, mostly about base mile training and staying under a certain heart rate max %. I think that makes a lot of sense, considering that I usually do not jog at an easy pace, even when it is a fun run.
I got caught up on my blog reading over the weekend, and it is nice to see that everyone seems to be finding themselves in races and other tri events.
I am considering volunteering for the first time soon. There is a free Sunday (I think) that I will have coming up soon, and I would like to see if there is any way I can get in there and volunteer.
I don't know if I previously mentioned, but I signed up for the Tri-PTC (peachtree city GA) on Sept 8th. I do not know how many years that they have been hosting this event, but it has been selling out now, and it has quickly jumped to a not selling out 300-400 people to a sell out of just over 700 people in 3 years.
I think next week I am going to sign up for one of the next Tri the Parks series races in June/August. There is Indian Springs on June 23rd, and then there is High Falls on Saturday August 18th. There is an event in July, but It would take me about two hours to get there, and I really do not want to get up any earlier/obtain a hotel room, for a race I want to be considered a "local event." Yes, I know that will decrease the number of events that are available to me, but we all know that this is an expensive and time consuming sport. Anywhere you can cut costs and save time/santity can be well worth it.
Next week begins week 1 of my 20 week HIM training schedule. I am kind of excited. I was not able to get to the pool this morning. I have to go and get a Bike pump after work since I left mine in NJ (present for uncle Les). tonight is speed work/hills on the bike. Depending on what time I get home, I might be able to get the swimming in as well. Otherwise I can move the swim to tomorrow morning.
(Quads screaming, Hammies screaming, we all scream for ice cream!)
On some of the other blogs, people (the Kahuna) have been posting about future potential races. I am all about me some Nevada triathlons, especially when they are near my family, I mean Las Vegas...
;-)
Murtha...
I would say my friend who I train with, but I should actually call him my pseudo coach (for kicking my butt!!!), James, was nice enough to go out with me on my run last night. We went over to Chastain park and took the Garmin so that we could finally get the exact mileage for the loop.
05/14/2005
Workout: Endurance Run
Breakdown
Distance: 5.12 miles
Time: 50:59.00
Avg Pace: 9:58 min/mi
Tot Cal: 707
Avg Hr: 177 bpm
Max Hr: 192 bpm
Basically I blew my wad in the first mile and a half, and then struggled the rest of the first loop (which has the majority of the elevation). By that time I had decided to let him go and get his workout (as nice as he was to stay back with me, I did not want to feel as if I was holding him back). He went and did two more laps, and I completed one more. I had to stop twice for about 45 seconds or so to get my heart rate back down to below 160 before I got started again. For some reason, no matter how slow I was running/jogging, I could not keep my heart rate below 180 bpm.
2nd lap was just miserable. I can tell you why though
1. Treadmill in temperature controlled gym.
2. Silver Comet Trail (technically flat)
Yesterday's run. 85 degrees and humid, and hills. What a difference a course makes!
After we both finished we sat down a talked for awhile, mostly about base mile training and staying under a certain heart rate max %. I think that makes a lot of sense, considering that I usually do not jog at an easy pace, even when it is a fun run.
I got caught up on my blog reading over the weekend, and it is nice to see that everyone seems to be finding themselves in races and other tri events.
I am considering volunteering for the first time soon. There is a free Sunday (I think) that I will have coming up soon, and I would like to see if there is any way I can get in there and volunteer.
I don't know if I previously mentioned, but I signed up for the Tri-PTC (peachtree city GA) on Sept 8th. I do not know how many years that they have been hosting this event, but it has been selling out now, and it has quickly jumped to a not selling out 300-400 people to a sell out of just over 700 people in 3 years.
I think next week I am going to sign up for one of the next Tri the Parks series races in June/August. There is Indian Springs on June 23rd, and then there is High Falls on Saturday August 18th. There is an event in July, but It would take me about two hours to get there, and I really do not want to get up any earlier/obtain a hotel room, for a race I want to be considered a "local event." Yes, I know that will decrease the number of events that are available to me, but we all know that this is an expensive and time consuming sport. Anywhere you can cut costs and save time/santity can be well worth it.
Next week begins week 1 of my 20 week HIM training schedule. I am kind of excited. I was not able to get to the pool this morning. I have to go and get a Bike pump after work since I left mine in NJ (present for uncle Les). tonight is speed work/hills on the bike. Depending on what time I get home, I might be able to get the swimming in as well. Otherwise I can move the swim to tomorrow morning.
(Quads screaming, Hammies screaming, we all scream for ice cream!)
On some of the other blogs, people (the Kahuna) have been posting about future potential races. I am all about me some Nevada triathlons, especially when they are near my family, I mean Las Vegas...
;-)
Murtha...
Friday, May 11, 2007
The Plan!!!
I am writing this on one of my few free nights, but I am not sure if I will finish it tonight (not that you will know anyways, it will all show up at the same time).
I began listening to the GYGO podcast last night before I went out to run some errands, I did not get that far through it, and I was only halfway paying attention, until I heard Iron Wil exclaim something about flashing. I will have to spend some extra time to listen all at once.
In other news, my youngest sister's graduation is Saturday morning at my old Alma Mater, the University of Georgia. I cannot believe that she is already graduating. She has a job already lined up in the fall, and will be moving to Atlanta in the late summer.
Also, I might not have mentioned in previous posts, but I have found some fraternity brothers (whom have moved back to Atlanta since graduation) that are participating in endurance and multisport events. It seems at this time that our schedules conflict, but I hope to be able to trian and maybe even complete a few races with them.
Ok, now on to business (right....).
Since my last race and the bike tour last weekend, I have been working on a plan for the rest of the year. It involves only 2-3 races later in the summer and is spread out through October. I have only signed up for one of them, due to selling out early, and the fact that I have made a point to complete the race every year (Tri - PTC). The rest of the races I am going to completely play by ear, so that if I don't want to do them or can't, it will make no big difference.
It is a 20 week program, and I have about 2-3 weeks before it begins, and hopefully will culminate in either a Oly or Half Iron distance race at the end of the 20 weeks. I am also trying to get some sort of consistent schedule going with my second job (if that is possible) so that planning my training on a week to week basis is not so screwed up. Usually I do not find out my schedule until around Friday afternoon for the following week. I am also planning to take a full week off of my second job before I start this whole "PLAN", so that I can make sure I have all the little things taken care of (I need to get caught up on some stuff anyways.
When I look at last year as compared to this year, I see many differences in what was/is going on in my life, but one major difference is that I had some sort of gameplan to take me throughout the entire year. This time around (2007) I just decided to wing it. Fast forward to today, and I can see now how that just was doomed for failure, combined with what all is going on.
Another certanity is that I will promise to use and rely on the support of my family, friends, bloggers, (i.e. anyone) who is willing to help me with this small cause in my life, as well as all other aspects of my life. As some other people have stated in their blogs (and i whole heartedly agree with them), this is a loner sport at times, and you tend to become selfish, self-sufficient, and/or individual-centered due to that fact. There are some ways around it, such as joining a club/team, masters swim programs, yet at the end of the day it will be the course and yourself. Because of this I have unconsciously shunned the support of my family and friends who have wanted to provide support that would most ultimately lead to my own personal success and betterment (not just in triathlon, but in general).
This week I have tried to put everything in perspective (including your comments) and I have greater positive mental attitude about things than in previous weeks. Happy Andy is back :-) (not that he ever really left...).
The Picture Nazi (he he he, just could not help myself J, sorry!) still has not let loose on her death grip of the pictures from the last two weeks, but I promise that I will get them out there as soon as possible (she distracted me last night by making me replace the fixed tire back on her Jeep).
I am going to take some of you up on that open water swimming offer here in the next few weeks if I can find out when I get some free time on the weekends. I still owe Wes a ride on the SCT, or I need to get up on Kennesaw and ride around the mountain with him.
Mutha out...
I began listening to the GYGO podcast last night before I went out to run some errands, I did not get that far through it, and I was only halfway paying attention, until I heard Iron Wil exclaim something about flashing. I will have to spend some extra time to listen all at once.
In other news, my youngest sister's graduation is Saturday morning at my old Alma Mater, the University of Georgia. I cannot believe that she is already graduating. She has a job already lined up in the fall, and will be moving to Atlanta in the late summer.
Also, I might not have mentioned in previous posts, but I have found some fraternity brothers (whom have moved back to Atlanta since graduation) that are participating in endurance and multisport events. It seems at this time that our schedules conflict, but I hope to be able to trian and maybe even complete a few races with them.
Ok, now on to business (right....).
Since my last race and the bike tour last weekend, I have been working on a plan for the rest of the year. It involves only 2-3 races later in the summer and is spread out through October. I have only signed up for one of them, due to selling out early, and the fact that I have made a point to complete the race every year (Tri - PTC). The rest of the races I am going to completely play by ear, so that if I don't want to do them or can't, it will make no big difference.
It is a 20 week program, and I have about 2-3 weeks before it begins, and hopefully will culminate in either a Oly or Half Iron distance race at the end of the 20 weeks. I am also trying to get some sort of consistent schedule going with my second job (if that is possible) so that planning my training on a week to week basis is not so screwed up. Usually I do not find out my schedule until around Friday afternoon for the following week. I am also planning to take a full week off of my second job before I start this whole "PLAN", so that I can make sure I have all the little things taken care of (I need to get caught up on some stuff anyways.
When I look at last year as compared to this year, I see many differences in what was/is going on in my life, but one major difference is that I had some sort of gameplan to take me throughout the entire year. This time around (2007) I just decided to wing it. Fast forward to today, and I can see now how that just was doomed for failure, combined with what all is going on.
Another certanity is that I will promise to use and rely on the support of my family, friends, bloggers, (i.e. anyone) who is willing to help me with this small cause in my life, as well as all other aspects of my life. As some other people have stated in their blogs (and i whole heartedly agree with them), this is a loner sport at times, and you tend to become selfish, self-sufficient, and/or individual-centered due to that fact. There are some ways around it, such as joining a club/team, masters swim programs, yet at the end of the day it will be the course and yourself. Because of this I have unconsciously shunned the support of my family and friends who have wanted to provide support that would most ultimately lead to my own personal success and betterment (not just in triathlon, but in general).
This week I have tried to put everything in perspective (including your comments) and I have greater positive mental attitude about things than in previous weeks. Happy Andy is back :-) (not that he ever really left...).
The Picture Nazi (he he he, just could not help myself J, sorry!) still has not let loose on her death grip of the pictures from the last two weeks, but I promise that I will get them out there as soon as possible (she distracted me last night by making me replace the fixed tire back on her Jeep).
I am going to take some of you up on that open water swimming offer here in the next few weeks if I can find out when I get some free time on the weekends. I still owe Wes a ride on the SCT, or I need to get up on Kennesaw and ride around the mountain with him.
Mutha out...
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
30th New York Bike Tour - May 6th, 2007
Hello All,
First off, thanks for all the responses and support after my last post. I think I am stressing out over nothing, but I just need to focus where I am at in my life right now, and adjust accordingly.
I hope that everyone got a great start to their week. I just got in late tonight from my trip back from NY/NJ where I completed a bike tour with Jackie and her Uncle Les. Here is the story...
Friday
Left for NY at 5:00am - Nice ride until we got to VA. It takes forever to get through VA. We stopped there for lunch in Petersburg at around 1:30p. Just being off the freeway for that short period of time scared me. No one in VA knows how to drive (at least off of the freeway)!!! It was plainly crazy. Not knowing how to yield at a 4 way stop, not knowing how to properly merge, etc...
Hit rush hour in both DC and Baltimore. We got in to Red Bank about 9:30 to meet up with a fraternity brother for dinner and coffee. We would have went out for drinks if we would have had more time, but it was late and we only got 3 hours of sleep the night before.
Saturday
Visited both sides of Jackie's family with her uncle, and then picked up some bike gear which Uncle Les was nice enough to get on his dime (I appreciated it very much if you read about race day). That evening before bed we set up all our gear, portioned out our nutrition and bottles, and then went to bed around 10:30-11:00p.
Sunday - Tour Day!!!
Did I tell you that this was the NY Bike Tour, or the NY Bike/Walk/Stand Tour? Well it was more of the latter. We parked at South Beach on Staten Island at around 6:00am and I had a banana (for those of you who know the NY area) and then biked five miles to the ferry. Oh and that light windbreaker that I got the day before ... I wore that on top of a long sleeve tee and a bike shirt, regular bike shorts, summer gloves, and the wind chill was 33 degrees. How about them apples? The ride to the ferry was a warmup, but then we waited about 20-30 minutes to get on the ferry since there was a crowd of cyclists that filled the car ramp. After we got on the ferry I used the facilites, took some pictures and then we arrived in lower Manhattan. Got off and went about 2 blocks north before we stopped dead with all the rest of the people waiting to start... We would walk and then stop, repeated the process until around 9:00 where we were up to the world trade center area, and then we were able to get on our bikes and slowly ride to the start line. We passed the official start at around 9:20am. Felt numb at that point but excited abou the ride.
Somewhere between miles 2-3...
We stopped!!! What, stop you ask? How could you possibly stop during a bike tour. Well here is your answer. Have one in the Greater New York City area. For some reason (later to find out there was one street where the police and race marshalls had to let traffic and pedestrians bleed through a particularly heavily traveled street (somewhere between 51st and 55th Street on 6th Ave). It took us almost an hour to complete a 5K. We then again got on our bikes and traveled north to Central Park only to be stopped again dead in our tracks. This time the bottleneck was due to the fact of 1)pedestrians trying to get to and from Central Park and 2) they were splitting the riders into two different parts of central park (later to be merged again), which caused us to have to stop again.
Central Park ...
We rode through a quater of a mile of Central park and then again had to dismount and walk another half mile or so before we could start biking again. We got through Central Park and it was almost 12:00p. At this point it began to thin out.
Bridges, Bridges, and Freeways Oh my!
I think the best part about the ride other than the sightseeing portion, was the ability to go on roads, bridges, and freeways that on the other 364 days of the year, are for the most part a no-no for riders.
We had multiple stops for me (it seems that if I get too much potassium in my diet in the morning with a combo of hydration, I need to make frequent stops), and witnessed some really bad accidents, which in some places were kinda crazy since it was uphill or somewhere where riders were going really slowly.
THINGS OF NOTE...
This also brings about the point of the casual rider. Those of us who have decided to take the next step and make riding more serious in our lives (at whatever level, cycling, triathlons, etc) have taken the time to figure out riding etiquette, tips and tricks of cycling, etc. Those of whom are of the more casual rider alone on their street, or some large park, do not know what in the heck they are doing when they get on a tour or race.
1) I saw more weaving by sober cyclists than drunk drivers leaving a Falcons Football game. How hard is it to ride straight when you are able?
2) Certain bikes should not be allowed on tours/races. These include tandem bikes, the kid add on bike to the back of yours, tandem with the kid add on the back, and seated two wheel bikes. Oh wait and those kid carrier 3 wheel ones you hook to the back of your bike. I personally witnessed these devices wreaking havoc on other cyclists!
3) Do not bring kids younger than a certain age to ride, or kids that have not learned how to ride in large groups. I saw one kid get plowed because he wanted to take a break and just stopped right in front of this guy that was 6'2" and riding about 15mph. Was not pretty.
4) DO NOT STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN EMEREGENCY!!! If you were riding where I was on the tour, and you decided that you needed to stop for some reason, did it not enter your head that there might be about, oh a combined 15-20,000 more riders coming up behind you collectively? There was an asain guy who wanted to stop for some reason, and literally stopped fast (in the middle of the street) and a 15 year old girl slammed right into him, almost endoed over her handlebars.
Other than all the previous stuff written, both good and bad, I had a wonderful time!
The whole entire ride (standing and walking) took just under 5 hours. I have not looked to see any stats, just due to the fact that this was not really a race in nature, so what is the point in analyzing the data when there is really nothing to analyze. I know that I did not push that hard due to the pace we were going, and I am fine with that.
POST RACE
Then there was the 5 mile ride back from the Staten Island Park (not too far away from the Varazano Bridge (?), which was the home stretch of the ride) to South beach where the truck was to take us home. I am glad that we did not park in Manhattan, since there was a 45 min wait to get on the ferry to get back to Manhattan.
However, I did sleep for almost 12 hours Sunday night!!! I was just plain worn out! Which is really funny considering that I felt I did not do much of anything. Post race pizza and beer was great (compliments of Jackie's uncle). I think I had 8 slices of pizza. Still did not feel full when I was done with those, but I knew better than to continue. That was to make up for all the actual food that I did not eat during the race.
That is all for now. Someone has the camera hostage right now, which has prevented me from posting any pictures from either event. I will remedy that as soon as possible. Bye for now...
Murtha...
First off, thanks for all the responses and support after my last post. I think I am stressing out over nothing, but I just need to focus where I am at in my life right now, and adjust accordingly.
I hope that everyone got a great start to their week. I just got in late tonight from my trip back from NY/NJ where I completed a bike tour with Jackie and her Uncle Les. Here is the story...
Friday
Left for NY at 5:00am - Nice ride until we got to VA. It takes forever to get through VA. We stopped there for lunch in Petersburg at around 1:30p. Just being off the freeway for that short period of time scared me. No one in VA knows how to drive (at least off of the freeway)!!! It was plainly crazy. Not knowing how to yield at a 4 way stop, not knowing how to properly merge, etc...
Hit rush hour in both DC and Baltimore. We got in to Red Bank about 9:30 to meet up with a fraternity brother for dinner and coffee. We would have went out for drinks if we would have had more time, but it was late and we only got 3 hours of sleep the night before.
Saturday
Visited both sides of Jackie's family with her uncle, and then picked up some bike gear which Uncle Les was nice enough to get on his dime (I appreciated it very much if you read about race day). That evening before bed we set up all our gear, portioned out our nutrition and bottles, and then went to bed around 10:30-11:00p.
Sunday - Tour Day!!!
Did I tell you that this was the NY Bike Tour, or the NY Bike/Walk/Stand Tour? Well it was more of the latter. We parked at South Beach on Staten Island at around 6:00am and I had a banana (for those of you who know the NY area) and then biked five miles to the ferry. Oh and that light windbreaker that I got the day before ... I wore that on top of a long sleeve tee and a bike shirt, regular bike shorts, summer gloves, and the wind chill was 33 degrees. How about them apples? The ride to the ferry was a warmup, but then we waited about 20-30 minutes to get on the ferry since there was a crowd of cyclists that filled the car ramp. After we got on the ferry I used the facilites, took some pictures and then we arrived in lower Manhattan. Got off and went about 2 blocks north before we stopped dead with all the rest of the people waiting to start... We would walk and then stop, repeated the process until around 9:00 where we were up to the world trade center area, and then we were able to get on our bikes and slowly ride to the start line. We passed the official start at around 9:20am. Felt numb at that point but excited abou the ride.
Somewhere between miles 2-3...
We stopped!!! What, stop you ask? How could you possibly stop during a bike tour. Well here is your answer. Have one in the Greater New York City area. For some reason (later to find out there was one street where the police and race marshalls had to let traffic and pedestrians bleed through a particularly heavily traveled street (somewhere between 51st and 55th Street on 6th Ave). It took us almost an hour to complete a 5K. We then again got on our bikes and traveled north to Central Park only to be stopped again dead in our tracks. This time the bottleneck was due to the fact of 1)pedestrians trying to get to and from Central Park and 2) they were splitting the riders into two different parts of central park (later to be merged again), which caused us to have to stop again.
Central Park ...
We rode through a quater of a mile of Central park and then again had to dismount and walk another half mile or so before we could start biking again. We got through Central Park and it was almost 12:00p. At this point it began to thin out.
Bridges, Bridges, and Freeways Oh my!
I think the best part about the ride other than the sightseeing portion, was the ability to go on roads, bridges, and freeways that on the other 364 days of the year, are for the most part a no-no for riders.
We had multiple stops for me (it seems that if I get too much potassium in my diet in the morning with a combo of hydration, I need to make frequent stops), and witnessed some really bad accidents, which in some places were kinda crazy since it was uphill or somewhere where riders were going really slowly.
THINGS OF NOTE...
This also brings about the point of the casual rider. Those of us who have decided to take the next step and make riding more serious in our lives (at whatever level, cycling, triathlons, etc) have taken the time to figure out riding etiquette, tips and tricks of cycling, etc. Those of whom are of the more casual rider alone on their street, or some large park, do not know what in the heck they are doing when they get on a tour or race.
1) I saw more weaving by sober cyclists than drunk drivers leaving a Falcons Football game. How hard is it to ride straight when you are able?
2) Certain bikes should not be allowed on tours/races. These include tandem bikes, the kid add on bike to the back of yours, tandem with the kid add on the back, and seated two wheel bikes. Oh wait and those kid carrier 3 wheel ones you hook to the back of your bike. I personally witnessed these devices wreaking havoc on other cyclists!
3) Do not bring kids younger than a certain age to ride, or kids that have not learned how to ride in large groups. I saw one kid get plowed because he wanted to take a break and just stopped right in front of this guy that was 6'2" and riding about 15mph. Was not pretty.
4) DO NOT STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN EMEREGENCY!!! If you were riding where I was on the tour, and you decided that you needed to stop for some reason, did it not enter your head that there might be about, oh a combined 15-20,000 more riders coming up behind you collectively? There was an asain guy who wanted to stop for some reason, and literally stopped fast (in the middle of the street) and a 15 year old girl slammed right into him, almost endoed over her handlebars.
Other than all the previous stuff written, both good and bad, I had a wonderful time!
The whole entire ride (standing and walking) took just under 5 hours. I have not looked to see any stats, just due to the fact that this was not really a race in nature, so what is the point in analyzing the data when there is really nothing to analyze. I know that I did not push that hard due to the pace we were going, and I am fine with that.
POST RACE
Then there was the 5 mile ride back from the Staten Island Park (not too far away from the Varazano Bridge (?), which was the home stretch of the ride) to South beach where the truck was to take us home. I am glad that we did not park in Manhattan, since there was a 45 min wait to get on the ferry to get back to Manhattan.
However, I did sleep for almost 12 hours Sunday night!!! I was just plain worn out! Which is really funny considering that I felt I did not do much of anything. Post race pizza and beer was great (compliments of Jackie's uncle). I think I had 8 slices of pizza. Still did not feel full when I was done with those, but I knew better than to continue. That was to make up for all the actual food that I did not eat during the race.
That is all for now. Someone has the camera hostage right now, which has prevented me from posting any pictures from either event. I will remedy that as soon as possible. Bye for now...
Murtha...
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Ford Ironman Florida 70.3...........NO MORE
Hello Everyone,
So I told you that I would have an announcement to make pending an email that I was supposed to be receiving. Well, I never received the email from NA Sports, so I decided that I would go ahead anyway, and inform all of you what is going on.
During the last mile of my race this past Saturday, I realized that if I was completing the Ironman Florida 70.3, I would have to do what I was doing then 4 more times (to equal the 70.3 distance, roughly). I then thought to myself, "Andy, if you really drive your butt all the way down to Orlando and attempt to do this upcoming race, you are either a) going to be in the medical tent DNF with multiple IVs in you, b) in one of Orlando's finest Hospitals, or c) possibly worse than the first two."
Nice positive mental attitude while attempting to finish a race, eh? I thought so too. On the car drive home, I told Jackie of my intentions, and she was in full support of me no matter what I decided. On Sunday I composed an email and sent it to NA Sports (after reviewing their NEW cancellation policy), and my heart sunk just a bit further knowing there would be NO REFUND, and most likely NO RACE TRANSFER. I have yet to hear from NA Sports concering this matter.
I have now had plenty of time to let this marinate in my head. I know I made the right decision, but it has led me to view my 3rd year in the sport as uncertain. Just yesterday there was an incident at work that prevented me from getting in my afternoon workout (on top of the fact I did not get up early enough to go swimming), and then my other job called me to try and pick up a shift someone dropped. Being the nice guy (sucker) I am, I said yes instead of going home and "taking care of business."
Training is spotty, motivation is not there everyday, etc...
I have seen a few other posts from people's blogs having this same situation occur. I would like to see how they panned out.
I am still going to complete the NY Bike Tour this weekend (due to the fact that I will probably be riding 12-15 mph for 42 miles will not be a problem for me), but the rest of the season is really up for grabs. I still want to do the South Carolina HIM in October, but I am not sure about my race schedule for the rest of 2007, and if I do complete any other races, they will probably only be sprint races to save my sanity.
One phrase, mental turmoil, describes it all.
One person cannot do it all, and like the prelude to my race report in my previous post, triathlon has definately not been my priority of any sort this year.
I am working on a schedule (about 22 weeks to South Carolina HIM) that should have me ready for the race, but the problem can and will most likely be the execution.
Now I am just ranting... I will leave this subject for now, I know it is a downer for the rest of you and I want this blog, as well for all you reading it, to be a most enjoyable reading experience. And while reading both the ups and downs are great, it seems as of late there have been more downs than ups.
Good Luck training/racing,
Murtha...
So I told you that I would have an announcement to make pending an email that I was supposed to be receiving. Well, I never received the email from NA Sports, so I decided that I would go ahead anyway, and inform all of you what is going on.
During the last mile of my race this past Saturday, I realized that if I was completing the Ironman Florida 70.3, I would have to do what I was doing then 4 more times (to equal the 70.3 distance, roughly). I then thought to myself, "Andy, if you really drive your butt all the way down to Orlando and attempt to do this upcoming race, you are either a) going to be in the medical tent DNF with multiple IVs in you, b) in one of Orlando's finest Hospitals, or c) possibly worse than the first two."
Nice positive mental attitude while attempting to finish a race, eh? I thought so too. On the car drive home, I told Jackie of my intentions, and she was in full support of me no matter what I decided. On Sunday I composed an email and sent it to NA Sports (after reviewing their NEW cancellation policy), and my heart sunk just a bit further knowing there would be NO REFUND, and most likely NO RACE TRANSFER. I have yet to hear from NA Sports concering this matter.
I have now had plenty of time to let this marinate in my head. I know I made the right decision, but it has led me to view my 3rd year in the sport as uncertain. Just yesterday there was an incident at work that prevented me from getting in my afternoon workout (on top of the fact I did not get up early enough to go swimming), and then my other job called me to try and pick up a shift someone dropped. Being the nice guy (sucker) I am, I said yes instead of going home and "taking care of business."
Training is spotty, motivation is not there everyday, etc...
I have seen a few other posts from people's blogs having this same situation occur. I would like to see how they panned out.
I am still going to complete the NY Bike Tour this weekend (due to the fact that I will probably be riding 12-15 mph for 42 miles will not be a problem for me), but the rest of the season is really up for grabs. I still want to do the South Carolina HIM in October, but I am not sure about my race schedule for the rest of 2007, and if I do complete any other races, they will probably only be sprint races to save my sanity.
One phrase, mental turmoil, describes it all.
One person cannot do it all, and like the prelude to my race report in my previous post, triathlon has definately not been my priority of any sort this year.
I am working on a schedule (about 22 weeks to South Carolina HIM) that should have me ready for the race, but the problem can and will most likely be the execution.
Now I am just ranting... I will leave this subject for now, I know it is a downer for the rest of you and I want this blog, as well for all you reading it, to be a most enjoyable reading experience. And while reading both the ups and downs are great, it seems as of late there have been more downs than ups.
Good Luck training/racing,
Murtha...
Monday, April 30, 2007
2007 Tri The Parks, John Tanner State Park Race Report
04/28/2007
Tri the Parks, John Tanner State Park
600 M Swim, 11.2 mi Bike, 3.1 mi Run
Prelude...
As most of you know, I am employed both with Regions Bank and Wolfgang Puck Express in Atlanta. This has caused havoc on my season thus far this year, but you have to place priorities in life. This year triathlon has not been near the top. And again this past weekend, it was close, but not quite there.
I was scheduled for both jobs on Friday, and my boss at Wolfgang had the genius idea to schedule me to come in immediately after I finished my first job. So 8am-11:45pm on Friday, and then home to pack my transition bag, etc... Did not get to bed until about 2am.
4:30am came, and I thought I woke up late. 5 min later I laughed at myself due to freaking out when I woke up. I got ready and called Jackie to make sure she was on time to come and pick me up. Got there at 5:29am (there is a reason that I put that exact time, I told her to be there between 5 and 5:30, so she technically was...). I racked my bike left my extra water bottle on the back of the Jeep (it was still on the street when I got back home), and off we were.
I wanted some snackage and coffee on the way, so first we stopped at Starbucks (closed, not open till 6am on Sat), then the McDonald's in Austell (closed, not open till 6am on Sat). MISERABLE.
Finally we were about 15-20min away from the park via I-20, and we stopped at a McDonald's there. Southern Style Chicken biscuit (forgot the coffee). Back on the Freeway, we passed two construction LED signs that said something about local traffic right, all other traffic left... We ignored it, much to our surmise.
The split then came, we both freaked out (exit 11 was in about a mile or so) and we went left since we were already in the left lane. BIG MISTAKE!!! The left lane went across the median to the other side of the divided freeway, and we were stuck there for the next 12 miles (passed our exit) until we got to Alabama to turn around and come back.
Once we finally got all the way back to our exit (this is why you should ALWAYS leave early for your event if you are traveling the morning of), we got off and headed to the park. There was a line at the gate, and we both looked at each other and said, "WTF???" They were CHARGING athletes for ENTRY!!! Now normally I do not have a problem with paying an entry fee for a park, but that should have been included in our entry fee so that when we got there on race day, all I would have to do is show my number and then drive through. I have no problem with non-race vehicles having to pay. This happened at Emerald Pointe last year and all you had to do was show your race number, and you were in (funny it was the same entry fee too!).
Parked and then took my stuff to transition. YES!!!! I got an end spot on the rack! I love those because you can spread out a bit more. Got labeled, and then went to the bathroom. Jackie and I then went down to the beach where I stretched a bit, and then checked out the water. MMMmmmm 70 degrees. But wait, the air temp was like 54 degrees. I quickly calculated that this would be miserable in T1 and the first five minutes on the bike. Our local USAT ref was there giving us instructions on the course (the bike was an open course this time) and then we were ready to go.
Swim: 600M, 17:01.1
It was miserable. Let me preface by stating if you read the first paragraph in the prelude you can probably assume I have not spent enough time in the pool, and there is NO where around me for open water swimming. (Any of you local bloggers who know about any local open water swims in Atlanta or Georgia in general, please let me know. I would probably go out of my way to do these if I have the time.) I think I need new goggles, or I need to tighten them because after about 200 yards, my right goggle began leaking water. I made it through the first 200 alright, although I was breathing every two strokes rather than three (the cold took the air right out of my lungs.). I turned on my back to fix the problem and when I rolled back over someone kicked about a gallon of water into my lungs. Almost lost all the water plus my McDonald's at that point. I breast stroked at that point for another 150 M until I was somewhat composed again and tried to freestyle the rest. Probably my worst swim ever!!!
T1: 1:54.8
The distance to get from water to my station to the bike exit was kinda long. I was still not feeling right from the swim and the water still in my lungs (had trouble breathing) so I sat down while I put my socks and cleats on. Other than that, not too much to say about T1.
Bike: 11.2 mi, 37:27.0, 17.9mph
I got on the bike and tried to get my breathing under control. There were a few small uphill rollers on the way out, and there were some people that did not want to push hard, so to avoid drafting penalties, I just stayed behind them until we got clear of that area, then I passed them. I did not want to blow my wad in the first mile of the bike. There were no serious elevation changes again until after about 4 miles. I did gear down, but not as much as I normally do. There were a bunch of people who "granny geared" most of the uphill elevation, and I was suprised. From mile 6 to about mile 9, I passed a bunch of people just staying in 1-2 higher gears than what I normally would do. And of course, I used the big ring as much as I could on the rest of the course. The last mile to 1.5 miles, I picked up the pace and was averaging 22-23 mph. As I was coming into T2, there was a guy who was picking up his bike perpendicular to the flow of the bike traffic I almost ran into. Turns out he pulled the perfect endo trying to avoid something/someone as he was attempting to dismount.
T2: 1:13.2
Again, you had to run a good distance to get from bike entry to run exit. I could have been down in the 50's or better, but i was really in an, "I don't care" mood at this point. Needed to have a better positive mental attitude, but did not.
Run: 3.1 mi, 27:24.9, 8:50 min/mi
The first mile or so of the run looped around the lake we swam in at the park and then went off on some driving trails out the back of the park to the road. around 1.75 miles I had a mini bonk going up a hill, and was jogging slow enough that it appeard to be at a speed walk. Luckily there were just as many down hills as there were up hills (that may sound stupid, but if you have done as many point to point road races as I have, then you will know that this situation is not always the case). There was a guy about 100M away from the finish that I came next to, and we looked at each other and gave each other the "look." Then we sprinted. I won. Small victory for me!!!
Finish
16/20 in Age group (M 25-29)
(Company did not have overall times broken down)
1:25:00.9
Post race stuff and thoughts...
This is my first race of the year. Despite all that I have gone through since November, I feel that I did ok. I know that my aerobic and physical indurance has improved, since I know I was not in top form and I was within one minute of my very first race time that I trained for and busted my butt (exhausted) to finish.
I think that Tri the Parks series could do some things different, and I will send an email of constructive criticism to hopefully help them improve future races.
I did get to eat Oreos, oranges, and bluberry bagels post race, they were good.
In the last mile of the run, I had an epiphany, and it will be the topic of my next post, which will be a very big announcement. I am waiting on an email for final confirmation before I say/post anything to my blog.
I began working on the rest of my season as far as training and races go. I did not get too far, but got started and that is what really matters. I am also working on a schedule as well.
GARMIN was awsome! I did not hit the split times right due to how their timing mats were set up really weird, but the end times came up the exact same as my overall time posted by the race officials. And that is what matters. Garmin also loves sprint distance water. But don't expect it to tell you how far you swam since it does not track under water.
Pictures for the race will be coming soon, both from Jackie and from the picture company for the race.
More to come from my announcement later...
Murtha...
Tri the Parks, John Tanner State Park
600 M Swim, 11.2 mi Bike, 3.1 mi Run
Prelude...
As most of you know, I am employed both with Regions Bank and Wolfgang Puck Express in Atlanta. This has caused havoc on my season thus far this year, but you have to place priorities in life. This year triathlon has not been near the top. And again this past weekend, it was close, but not quite there.
I was scheduled for both jobs on Friday, and my boss at Wolfgang had the genius idea to schedule me to come in immediately after I finished my first job. So 8am-11:45pm on Friday, and then home to pack my transition bag, etc... Did not get to bed until about 2am.
4:30am came, and I thought I woke up late. 5 min later I laughed at myself due to freaking out when I woke up. I got ready and called Jackie to make sure she was on time to come and pick me up. Got there at 5:29am (there is a reason that I put that exact time, I told her to be there between 5 and 5:30, so she technically was...). I racked my bike left my extra water bottle on the back of the Jeep (it was still on the street when I got back home), and off we were.
I wanted some snackage and coffee on the way, so first we stopped at Starbucks (closed, not open till 6am on Sat), then the McDonald's in Austell (closed, not open till 6am on Sat). MISERABLE.
Finally we were about 15-20min away from the park via I-20, and we stopped at a McDonald's there. Southern Style Chicken biscuit (forgot the coffee). Back on the Freeway, we passed two construction LED signs that said something about local traffic right, all other traffic left... We ignored it, much to our surmise.
The split then came, we both freaked out (exit 11 was in about a mile or so) and we went left since we were already in the left lane. BIG MISTAKE!!! The left lane went across the median to the other side of the divided freeway, and we were stuck there for the next 12 miles (passed our exit) until we got to Alabama to turn around and come back.
Once we finally got all the way back to our exit (this is why you should ALWAYS leave early for your event if you are traveling the morning of), we got off and headed to the park. There was a line at the gate, and we both looked at each other and said, "WTF???" They were CHARGING athletes for ENTRY!!! Now normally I do not have a problem with paying an entry fee for a park, but that should have been included in our entry fee so that when we got there on race day, all I would have to do is show my number and then drive through. I have no problem with non-race vehicles having to pay. This happened at Emerald Pointe last year and all you had to do was show your race number, and you were in (funny it was the same entry fee too!).
Parked and then took my stuff to transition. YES!!!! I got an end spot on the rack! I love those because you can spread out a bit more. Got labeled, and then went to the bathroom. Jackie and I then went down to the beach where I stretched a bit, and then checked out the water. MMMmmmm 70 degrees. But wait, the air temp was like 54 degrees. I quickly calculated that this would be miserable in T1 and the first five minutes on the bike. Our local USAT ref was there giving us instructions on the course (the bike was an open course this time) and then we were ready to go.
Swim: 600M, 17:01.1
It was miserable. Let me preface by stating if you read the first paragraph in the prelude you can probably assume I have not spent enough time in the pool, and there is NO where around me for open water swimming. (Any of you local bloggers who know about any local open water swims in Atlanta or Georgia in general, please let me know. I would probably go out of my way to do these if I have the time.) I think I need new goggles, or I need to tighten them because after about 200 yards, my right goggle began leaking water. I made it through the first 200 alright, although I was breathing every two strokes rather than three (the cold took the air right out of my lungs.). I turned on my back to fix the problem and when I rolled back over someone kicked about a gallon of water into my lungs. Almost lost all the water plus my McDonald's at that point. I breast stroked at that point for another 150 M until I was somewhat composed again and tried to freestyle the rest. Probably my worst swim ever!!!
T1: 1:54.8
The distance to get from water to my station to the bike exit was kinda long. I was still not feeling right from the swim and the water still in my lungs (had trouble breathing) so I sat down while I put my socks and cleats on. Other than that, not too much to say about T1.
Bike: 11.2 mi, 37:27.0, 17.9mph
I got on the bike and tried to get my breathing under control. There were a few small uphill rollers on the way out, and there were some people that did not want to push hard, so to avoid drafting penalties, I just stayed behind them until we got clear of that area, then I passed them. I did not want to blow my wad in the first mile of the bike. There were no serious elevation changes again until after about 4 miles. I did gear down, but not as much as I normally do. There were a bunch of people who "granny geared" most of the uphill elevation, and I was suprised. From mile 6 to about mile 9, I passed a bunch of people just staying in 1-2 higher gears than what I normally would do. And of course, I used the big ring as much as I could on the rest of the course. The last mile to 1.5 miles, I picked up the pace and was averaging 22-23 mph. As I was coming into T2, there was a guy who was picking up his bike perpendicular to the flow of the bike traffic I almost ran into. Turns out he pulled the perfect endo trying to avoid something/someone as he was attempting to dismount.
T2: 1:13.2
Again, you had to run a good distance to get from bike entry to run exit. I could have been down in the 50's or better, but i was really in an, "I don't care" mood at this point. Needed to have a better positive mental attitude, but did not.
Run: 3.1 mi, 27:24.9, 8:50 min/mi
The first mile or so of the run looped around the lake we swam in at the park and then went off on some driving trails out the back of the park to the road. around 1.75 miles I had a mini bonk going up a hill, and was jogging slow enough that it appeard to be at a speed walk. Luckily there were just as many down hills as there were up hills (that may sound stupid, but if you have done as many point to point road races as I have, then you will know that this situation is not always the case). There was a guy about 100M away from the finish that I came next to, and we looked at each other and gave each other the "look." Then we sprinted. I won. Small victory for me!!!
Finish
16/20 in Age group (M 25-29)
(Company did not have overall times broken down)
1:25:00.9
Post race stuff and thoughts...
This is my first race of the year. Despite all that I have gone through since November, I feel that I did ok. I know that my aerobic and physical indurance has improved, since I know I was not in top form and I was within one minute of my very first race time that I trained for and busted my butt (exhausted) to finish.
I think that Tri the Parks series could do some things different, and I will send an email of constructive criticism to hopefully help them improve future races.
I did get to eat Oreos, oranges, and bluberry bagels post race, they were good.
In the last mile of the run, I had an epiphany, and it will be the topic of my next post, which will be a very big announcement. I am waiting on an email for final confirmation before I say/post anything to my blog.
I began working on the rest of my season as far as training and races go. I did not get too far, but got started and that is what really matters. I am also working on a schedule as well.
GARMIN was awsome! I did not hit the split times right due to how their timing mats were set up really weird, but the end times came up the exact same as my overall time posted by the race officials. And that is what matters. Garmin also loves sprint distance water. But don't expect it to tell you how far you swam since it does not track under water.
Pictures for the race will be coming soon, both from Jackie and from the picture company for the race.
More to come from my announcement later...
Murtha...
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
My comings, goings, new teams, new gear, and upcoming races...
Hello Again!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful week! The weather in Georgia is great again, and my training is probably at about 70-80% of being normal again. I will not bore you like previous posts and try to update all of my workouts since my last post on March 26 (not that there has been a workout every day, but there have been enough to make it long and boring).
My first race of the year is this Saturday morning at 8:00am at John Tanner State Park in Carrolton, GA. It is a sprint race and is part of the Tri the Parks Series in GA. There are about 20-21 people in my age group, and I am not planning to try and podium after the year I have had thus far.
The following weekend is the 5 Burrow's Bike Tour in New York. If any of you are going to be in it, please email or post to my blog to let me know. It is a 42 mile bike ride beginning in Manhattan and ending on Staten Island. It will be fun, since we will be riding with her uncle, as well as meeting some more of her family and also probably going to see 1 or 2 of my fraternity brothers whilst I am there. And oh, I have NEVER been to New York before (other than sitting in JFK for three hours).
Then two weeks later it is................ Ironman FLORIDA 70.3. I am really exicted. Again, due to training, I am not expecting anything, although I would like to at least match last year's time, if not beat it by 1-2 minutes. What I am excited about is that it is a real sanctioned Ironman event. So hopefully I will get a small taste of what I am up for in 2008 with a full Ironman (except for the distance part!!!) I completed the Gulf Coast Triathlon last year (which is a great race and copies most of the bike and all of the swim and run for the Ironman FL course every November), and I know what I did wrong there. This year I have had lots of trouble with training and getting my act together, but since I am not trying to break any records, I should be ok.
And.........................Say hello to my new friend, Garmin!!!
Garmin Forerunner 305 to be exact (with speed/cadence sensor on the bike, of course)
I still have not hooked up the bike sensor yet, and I have not installed the computer software, but I THINK that this is the last gadget I will ever need with respect to a HRM or stopwatch, etc.
The only drawback is that I have read a couple of reviews that it does not do too well in water, and Garmin says that you should only wear it in water for no longer than 30-40 minutes (my half iron swim is 45 min). I would think they would have fixed this problem. Splashing water ok, swim, the jury is still out with me.
I also would not trust the calorie burning monitoring unless you are running or riding at slower speeds. When you get up fast enough at long distances it tends to skew it (I dunno, can you possibly burn 4100 calories riding 56 miles averaging 18.5mph for a 27yr old male???)
I would not even consider the calorie thing as a drawback, since that is not why you are purchasing the garmin in the first place, and if you are dedicated enough, you will probably know how many calories you burn per hour anyways.
I could probably write for an hour about all the cool features for the forerunner 305, but I will let you buy one from Amazon.com for really, really cheap (over $100 off) and experience it for yourself.
In other news.....
I am officially on the Javelin (amateur) triathlon team!!! For those of us who cannot be on a real triathlon team (other than my beloved team raceAthlete, you are my favorite!!!)
Above is the 2007 official race outfit. The only thing I had to do other than a small fee is to make sure I wear it at all my 2007 triathlon races. And I really do not have a problem doing so, since almost everything I wear is Sugoi, and I am very comfortable with the brand.
Jackie got a new suit for my birthday for me, and when I get some pictures together I will post them for you. Be looking next week early for some pictures of this weekend's triathlon. I should have results of the race by then as well, but do not look for me to be breaking any records. I should be a bit faster on the swim and the bike, but I am not sure how I am going to do bricking all three sports together with my broken training (am I beginning to sound like a broken record with this year's training, just let me know).
That is about all I have for now, be looking for something early next week, and hopefully after the next 25 days I will be closer to 100% back on track for this year.
Murtha Out....
Monday, March 26, 2007
Congratulations!!! Two Tri-Geeks Unite!!!
I thought you might like this. It happened on Feb 20th, 2007, a day after it was scheduled to happen. Needless to say my Tri-partner in crime was very suprised!!! I had to ask her twice, since she did not believe me the first time. See if you can guess where it is at.... I will give you a hint at the end of the post.
Hint: One of the final scene's from Ocean's Eleven.
Murtha out....
What is interval swimming again...
Got to my second job tonight. Very few nights do I have an attitude (not negative) that says, I really am not in the mood to be here today. We have been very slow for the last two weeks, and I elected that if anyone go home early, it be me. 7:00p came, and the Manager on Duty, said "get outta here!!!" Don't have to tell me twice!
Wait that means I have time to actually workout! Yeah!! (And the peasents rejoiced)
Here is the workout...
03/26/2007
Workout: Interval Swim
Breakdown;
100M Warmup
2x100M Paddles (no legs)
100M Freestyle
Intervals;
10 x 50M Freestyle
01: 00:55.6
02: 00:53.5
03: 00:53.0
04: 00:55.5
05: 00:53.1
06: 00:52.6
07: 00:52.7
08: 00:51.5
09: 00:52.2
10: 00:50.5
100M Arms Only
100M Cool Down
RPE: 4-8
Definately did not leave everything on the table, but as many workouts I am dropping due to jobs and other obligations, the last thing I need to do is pull something. Oh and I lightly sprained my ankle this weekend in the dark going across a street that was two different levels due to paving.
More to come later....
Wait that means I have time to actually workout! Yeah!! (And the peasents rejoiced)
Here is the workout...
03/26/2007
Workout: Interval Swim
Breakdown;
100M Warmup
2x100M Paddles (no legs)
100M Freestyle
Intervals;
10 x 50M Freestyle
01: 00:55.6
02: 00:53.5
03: 00:53.0
04: 00:55.5
05: 00:53.1
06: 00:52.6
07: 00:52.7
08: 00:51.5
09: 00:52.2
10: 00:50.5
100M Arms Only
100M Cool Down
RPE: 4-8
Definately did not leave everything on the table, but as many workouts I am dropping due to jobs and other obligations, the last thing I need to do is pull something. Oh and I lightly sprained my ankle this weekend in the dark going across a street that was two different levels due to paving.
More to come later....
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Non-posted workout logs...
Hey Again,
Some workouts that I completed but had not posted. I was on vacation from Feb 18th - Feb 22nd. Other than that I have been a complete slackass. With two jobs it has been really hard to fit in workouts, my life, and sleep. Oh wait, do not forget about eating! I love to do that.
I am kind of worried about my races, so I have decided to change my goals for my first few races of the year so that I am just compelting them, and not trying to break any world records, and break my body instead.
02/13/2007
Workout - Run
Distance: 2.75 miles
Time: 30 minutes
Pace: 10min 54 sec/mile
RPE: 3-4
This was base run just to get some miles under my belt for the day. Nothing too serious, and I did not want to strain anything.
02/15/2007
Workout - Swim
Distance: 1050M
Time: ???
Pace: ???
RPE: 6
This was base swimming for distance purposes. I felt really good when I completed this distance, although my legs just felt a bit wobbly.
02/18/2007
Workout - Run
Distance: ~3 miles
Time: 23:21.60
Pace: 7min 47sec/mile
RPE: 6-7
Running in the hills of Henderson, NV is just great!!! especially on a Sunday morning when no one is up yet, it is very quiet.
03/04/2007 (Sunday)
Workout - Bike
Distance: ~22 miles
Time: ~1hr 30min
Avg Speed: 14.67mph
Max Speed: ???
RPE: 5 with low to mid gears.
Easy Day, was fairly cold and really windy. Took it easy considering the situation. C'mon! The faster I pedaled, the colder it got, how miserable is that. I also forgot to take my bike computer with me, I felt naked without it. Hmmm naked and cold, how miserable?!?!
03/11/2007 (Sunday)
Workout - Bike
Distance: 33.88 miles
Time: 1:56:21.00
Speed: 17.4mph (Average)
SpeedMax: 28.5mph (Max speed, and this was on flat road!!!)
RPE: 6-9
I got pulled one time and pulled two separate people one time each. I think the average of each pull was somewhere around 24mph, and the 2nd pull that I did was somewhere between 22-24mph. How about that Max Speed on the flats!!! I looked down at my computer and was like, "OMG!!!"
I felt really good on this ride and made one important change. I was aero almost the whole time AND I was in the big ring almost the whole ride. I cannot believe how much big of a difference it makes when you are in the big ring for long periods of time. In my defense I will have to say that for the longest time I went on rides that had large hills, so I needed to gear down every time I went up one of these hills. My average speed was low due to the fact it took me a while to get going (I had a long week and it was the Sunday morning of the time change), but when I got going I was easily averaging over 20mph on the way back.
03/12/2007 (Monday)
Workout - Swim Drills
Total Time: 13:43.80
1 x 50M Warmup
2 x 100M Arms (W/ hand paddles)
1 x 400M freestyle: 9:15.40
2 x 100M freestyle: 2:16.00
2:12.40
1 x 50M Cooldown
Nothing really to say here other than I was not at the top of my game that night.
03/13/2007 (Tuesday)
Workout - Run/Bike
Run (WARMUP)
Time: 12:27.10
Distance: 1.??? miles
Bike (Spin Class)
Time: 58:29.40
RPE: 4-8
Class was great. Instructor felt really bad and thought that she was not interesting, but I told her I welcomed the change of riding in a straight line over and over again.
03/19/2007 (Monday)
Workout: Run
Time: 1:00:00.00
Distance: 6.1 mi
RPE: 5-7
(Indoor - Treadmill)
Stretched 5 min prior
Stretched 5 min post workout
03/24/2007 (Saturday)
Workout: Bike - Part of 3 Gap, Dahlonega, GA
Distance: 11.15 mi
Time: 47:58.00
Max Spd: 39.3 mph
Avg Spd: 13.9 mph
RPE: 6-10
3 Gap is 50 miles total, and half of the full 6 Gap which also follows some of the same course. Elevation change of 3 Gap if you finish all of it is almost a mile. Let's just put it this way
Round 1: 3 Gap - 1, Andy - 0
I have honestly not done any serious hills in quiet some time, and while riding on the Silver Comet has helped increase my overall average speed, it has not at all helped my endurance with real world courses (exempting of course Ironman FL in Panama City Beach, that is really flat).
I want to definately try again, but I need to do some hill drills before then.
That is all I have for now.
Murtha out...
Some workouts that I completed but had not posted. I was on vacation from Feb 18th - Feb 22nd. Other than that I have been a complete slackass. With two jobs it has been really hard to fit in workouts, my life, and sleep. Oh wait, do not forget about eating! I love to do that.
I am kind of worried about my races, so I have decided to change my goals for my first few races of the year so that I am just compelting them, and not trying to break any world records, and break my body instead.
02/13/2007
Workout - Run
Distance: 2.75 miles
Time: 30 minutes
Pace: 10min 54 sec/mile
RPE: 3-4
This was base run just to get some miles under my belt for the day. Nothing too serious, and I did not want to strain anything.
02/15/2007
Workout - Swim
Distance: 1050M
Time: ???
Pace: ???
RPE: 6
This was base swimming for distance purposes. I felt really good when I completed this distance, although my legs just felt a bit wobbly.
02/18/2007
Workout - Run
Distance: ~3 miles
Time: 23:21.60
Pace: 7min 47sec/mile
RPE: 6-7
Running in the hills of Henderson, NV is just great!!! especially on a Sunday morning when no one is up yet, it is very quiet.
03/04/2007 (Sunday)
Workout - Bike
Distance: ~22 miles
Time: ~1hr 30min
Avg Speed: 14.67mph
Max Speed: ???
RPE: 5 with low to mid gears.
Easy Day, was fairly cold and really windy. Took it easy considering the situation. C'mon! The faster I pedaled, the colder it got, how miserable is that. I also forgot to take my bike computer with me, I felt naked without it. Hmmm naked and cold, how miserable?!?!
03/11/2007 (Sunday)
Workout - Bike
Distance: 33.88 miles
Time: 1:56:21.00
Speed: 17.4mph (Average)
SpeedMax: 28.5mph (Max speed, and this was on flat road!!!)
RPE: 6-9
I got pulled one time and pulled two separate people one time each. I think the average of each pull was somewhere around 24mph, and the 2nd pull that I did was somewhere between 22-24mph. How about that Max Speed on the flats!!! I looked down at my computer and was like, "OMG!!!"
I felt really good on this ride and made one important change. I was aero almost the whole time AND I was in the big ring almost the whole ride. I cannot believe how much big of a difference it makes when you are in the big ring for long periods of time. In my defense I will have to say that for the longest time I went on rides that had large hills, so I needed to gear down every time I went up one of these hills. My average speed was low due to the fact it took me a while to get going (I had a long week and it was the Sunday morning of the time change), but when I got going I was easily averaging over 20mph on the way back.
03/12/2007 (Monday)
Workout - Swim Drills
Total Time: 13:43.80
1 x 50M Warmup
2 x 100M Arms (W/ hand paddles)
1 x 400M freestyle: 9:15.40
2 x 100M freestyle: 2:16.00
2:12.40
1 x 50M Cooldown
Nothing really to say here other than I was not at the top of my game that night.
03/13/2007 (Tuesday)
Workout - Run/Bike
Run (WARMUP)
Time: 12:27.10
Distance: 1.??? miles
Bike (Spin Class)
Time: 58:29.40
RPE: 4-8
Class was great. Instructor felt really bad and thought that she was not interesting, but I told her I welcomed the change of riding in a straight line over and over again.
03/19/2007 (Monday)
Workout: Run
Time: 1:00:00.00
Distance: 6.1 mi
RPE: 5-7
(Indoor - Treadmill)
Stretched 5 min prior
Stretched 5 min post workout
03/24/2007 (Saturday)
Workout: Bike - Part of 3 Gap, Dahlonega, GA
Distance: 11.15 mi
Time: 47:58.00
Max Spd: 39.3 mph
Avg Spd: 13.9 mph
RPE: 6-10
3 Gap is 50 miles total, and half of the full 6 Gap which also follows some of the same course. Elevation change of 3 Gap if you finish all of it is almost a mile. Let's just put it this way
Round 1: 3 Gap - 1, Andy - 0
I have honestly not done any serious hills in quiet some time, and while riding on the Silver Comet has helped increase my overall average speed, it has not at all helped my endurance with real world courses (exempting of course Ironman FL in Panama City Beach, that is really flat).
I want to definately try again, but I need to do some hill drills before then.
That is all I have for now.
Murtha out...
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Ironman Florida 70.3!!!
Registrations for this year have finally begun!!
I decided that I would get some more motivation over the past weekend by actually signing up for some of my races. I looked at my calendar, looked at my work schedule, days off, etc, and came up with my first couple of races for the year.
I am going to have to update my blog for my 2007 schedule, as well as my time countdown clock.
Here we go
Tri the Parks (Georgia) Series Race #1 - John Tanner State Park, Carollton, GA
April 28th
Ironman Florida 70.3 - Orlando, FL
May 20th
I still have one more race to sign up for in this timeline, and that is the "5 boroughs bike tour" in New York. This is May6th. You might be asking if that is too close to IMFL 70.3? Maybe but it is not a serious race. It is a leisurely 42 mile bike ride through all the 5 boroughs, and it is not supposed to be a race unless you are in the pro race circut. I have never actually been to New York before, so I thought it would be a good experience.
My next leg for the year will be completing the Peachtree Road race (assuming I get signed up for it) on July 4th. I will schedule no races during this time so I get about two months off until my next set of races that will run me from August until the South Carolina Half Ironman in October.
This will set me up for my 2008 season, where I will actually complete an Ironman! I will have to sign up for the event in 2007 due to the popularity of the Ironman North America series. I mean, this is Kentucky's first year, and they sold out fast. IMFL sold out in an hour. I really do not want to wait until late in the year in 2008 (i.e. IMFL) to complete a full Ironman, so I will have to look to other races to complete. Maybe Arizona! I could go hang with the Commodore if he completes it in 2008, and my family would only be a 3 hour drive away from the event, and my grandparents would be in Mesa.
Also, I know I am jumping the gun here, but depending on how far down the top 8-10 slots for my age group in IMFL 70.3 go, there is a slight chance I could qualify for Clearwater (IM 70.3 championships) in October. I am not going to be in the top 10 in my age group, but the other issue is that not everyone that finishes the race before me will want to (or have the money to) go to Clearwater. Last year it got all the way down to 5 hours and 40 minutes in my age group before the last person took the final slot.
If this happens, then obviously I will be sub'ing Clearwater for the South Carolina HIM. We shall see.....
Murtha...
I decided that I would get some more motivation over the past weekend by actually signing up for some of my races. I looked at my calendar, looked at my work schedule, days off, etc, and came up with my first couple of races for the year.
I am going to have to update my blog for my 2007 schedule, as well as my time countdown clock.
Here we go
Tri the Parks (Georgia) Series Race #1 - John Tanner State Park, Carollton, GA
April 28th
Ironman Florida 70.3 - Orlando, FL
May 20th
I still have one more race to sign up for in this timeline, and that is the "5 boroughs bike tour" in New York. This is May6th. You might be asking if that is too close to IMFL 70.3? Maybe but it is not a serious race. It is a leisurely 42 mile bike ride through all the 5 boroughs, and it is not supposed to be a race unless you are in the pro race circut. I have never actually been to New York before, so I thought it would be a good experience.
My next leg for the year will be completing the Peachtree Road race (assuming I get signed up for it) on July 4th. I will schedule no races during this time so I get about two months off until my next set of races that will run me from August until the South Carolina Half Ironman in October.
This will set me up for my 2008 season, where I will actually complete an Ironman! I will have to sign up for the event in 2007 due to the popularity of the Ironman North America series. I mean, this is Kentucky's first year, and they sold out fast. IMFL sold out in an hour. I really do not want to wait until late in the year in 2008 (i.e. IMFL) to complete a full Ironman, so I will have to look to other races to complete. Maybe Arizona! I could go hang with the Commodore if he completes it in 2008, and my family would only be a 3 hour drive away from the event, and my grandparents would be in Mesa.
Also, I know I am jumping the gun here, but depending on how far down the top 8-10 slots for my age group in IMFL 70.3 go, there is a slight chance I could qualify for Clearwater (IM 70.3 championships) in October. I am not going to be in the top 10 in my age group, but the other issue is that not everyone that finishes the race before me will want to (or have the money to) go to Clearwater. Last year it got all the way down to 5 hours and 40 minutes in my age group before the last person took the final slot.
If this happens, then obviously I will be sub'ing Clearwater for the South Carolina HIM. We shall see.....
Murtha...
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Saturday Workout...
Good Morning...
Yesterday morning my plans got cancelled. While that totally freed up my day to do "whatever" I wanted to do, I have to reschedule it yet again. Now that I am working two jobs (oh yeah, I am also now working at Wolfgang Puck Express cicra Christmas week for some extra money), it is really hard when you have something to do, finally get it scheduled in to your life, and then it gets cancelled.
In lieu of all this, I decided to go for a run. Chattahooche river run in Marietta. It was about 37 degrees out there, so it took most of the run before my hands finally warmed up
01/27/2007
Workout - Run
Distance: 2.25 miles (5K total)
Time: ~19 minutes (+ the other 15 minutes from walking, explained below)
Pace: 8min 26sec/mile
RPE: 4-5
Jackie and one of her friends said that they would be there walking about 6 miles or so. I got there much later, so I ran until I saw them on the backside of the 5K loop, and then I walked with them (it was a pretty good pace walk) until we got back to the cars.
Group of older male runners (prob 50's) drinking beer in the parking lot post run. Must be for that carb recovery....... Oh wait Andy, didn't you just say that you were running in a state park? Isn't drinking there illegal? Why yes it is! But did I care, heck no! I would have asked him for one acutally....
Going to get out there and do something here in a little while. I have not ridden my bike since I have put the aerobars on it (Yes I know! I still owe you guys pictures!! If I can set up a pic account online today, then I will post them). I know it is only 40 degrees out there or something, but I think I can handle putting some "base miles" in (i.e. meaning slow ones so I do not feel any colder).
Went to all3sports yesterday and picked up some more nutrition! For all of you raceAthlete members out there, I hope you will be happy, I am going to try some NuuN!!! I got the citrus flavor.
I also have a little announcement to make, but I will do so in another post. I feel it deserves one.
Murtha...
Yesterday morning my plans got cancelled. While that totally freed up my day to do "whatever" I wanted to do, I have to reschedule it yet again. Now that I am working two jobs (oh yeah, I am also now working at Wolfgang Puck Express cicra Christmas week for some extra money), it is really hard when you have something to do, finally get it scheduled in to your life, and then it gets cancelled.
In lieu of all this, I decided to go for a run. Chattahooche river run in Marietta. It was about 37 degrees out there, so it took most of the run before my hands finally warmed up
01/27/2007
Workout - Run
Distance: 2.25 miles (5K total)
Time: ~19 minutes (+ the other 15 minutes from walking, explained below)
Pace: 8min 26sec/mile
RPE: 4-5
Jackie and one of her friends said that they would be there walking about 6 miles or so. I got there much later, so I ran until I saw them on the backside of the 5K loop, and then I walked with them (it was a pretty good pace walk) until we got back to the cars.
Group of older male runners (prob 50's) drinking beer in the parking lot post run. Must be for that carb recovery....... Oh wait Andy, didn't you just say that you were running in a state park? Isn't drinking there illegal? Why yes it is! But did I care, heck no! I would have asked him for one acutally....
Going to get out there and do something here in a little while. I have not ridden my bike since I have put the aerobars on it (Yes I know! I still owe you guys pictures!! If I can set up a pic account online today, then I will post them). I know it is only 40 degrees out there or something, but I think I can handle putting some "base miles" in (i.e. meaning slow ones so I do not feel any colder).
Went to all3sports yesterday and picked up some more nutrition! For all of you raceAthlete members out there, I hope you will be happy, I am going to try some NuuN!!! I got the citrus flavor.
I also have a little announcement to make, but I will do so in another post. I feel it deserves one.
Murtha...
Friday, January 26, 2007
Wednedsay Workout...
Hello,
They let me go from work early on Wednesday night, so I hurried home, for me that is about 30 minutes, and went to the gym. Did a run on the treadmill and a bit of stretching before the gym closed.
01/24/2007
Workout - Run
Time: 32.29 (5K only)
Distance: 5K then 2min cooldown
Avg Pace: ~10min 28 sec
Avg Speed:5.7 on treadmill (started at 5, moved up to 7.5 by the end of workout.)
RPE: ranged from 4 at the beginning of the workout to 7-7.5 at the end.
Basically the last half mile or so I increased my speed every 15 seconds.
At my new gym location you can see the pool from the cardio area upstairs, and i saw that they had fixed the lane bouy already from the other night. If I see those two kids, I am definately turning them in.
I have some prior obligations to attend to Saturday during the day, so no outside workouts for me, I will have to get to the gym before it closes at eight. I will most likely swim, and then ride during the day on Sunday.
That is about all for now.
Murtha...
They let me go from work early on Wednesday night, so I hurried home, for me that is about 30 minutes, and went to the gym. Did a run on the treadmill and a bit of stretching before the gym closed.
01/24/2007
Workout - Run
Time: 32.29 (5K only)
Distance: 5K then 2min cooldown
Avg Pace: ~10min 28 sec
Avg Speed:5.7 on treadmill (started at 5, moved up to 7.5 by the end of workout.)
RPE: ranged from 4 at the beginning of the workout to 7-7.5 at the end.
Basically the last half mile or so I increased my speed every 15 seconds.
At my new gym location you can see the pool from the cardio area upstairs, and i saw that they had fixed the lane bouy already from the other night. If I see those two kids, I am definately turning them in.
I have some prior obligations to attend to Saturday during the day, so no outside workouts for me, I will have to get to the gym before it closes at eight. I will most likely swim, and then ride during the day on Sunday.
That is about all for now.
Murtha...
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
New Blogger Everyone!!!
(dee dee d d dee dee dee d d d......that news music thing you used to hear on SNL)
Breaking news!!!
Jackie now has her own blog!!! She will now be able to comment on everyone's (specifically Jessica's blog) blog and have her own posts. The blog is currently under construction by your's truly, and then she will begin posting. If you want the link, or you want to hyperlink it on your page,
krawczyktri.blogspot.com
Gotta love those Polish last names!!!
Breaking news!!!
Jackie now has her own blog!!! She will now be able to comment on everyone's (specifically Jessica's blog) blog and have her own posts. The blog is currently under construction by your's truly, and then she will begin posting. If you want the link, or you want to hyperlink it on your page,
krawczyktri.blogspot.com
Gotta love those Polish last names!!!
Isn't there supposed to be a lane bouy there?....Wait! Hey you f'ing kids!!!
Late night (or early morning depending on what type of person you are)...
Had trouble sleeping tonight.
Anyways,
First my workout. Nothing special other than swimming.
01/23/2007
Total Time: Aboout 30 minutes (off and on)
Workout: 100 and 200 M intervals. Mostly freestyle, and tried working on my technique
a bit. Mostly trying to hit the "10 and 2" spots on my entry, and my pull
(which still is not that great, but better than the old windmill moves).
Now onto my post title. So I get to the gym around 8:20p and change. I get out to the pool area and there are two hispanics just hanging out in the first lane, and there are two kids who look to be putting the lane bouy back in place to separate the 2nd and 3rd lane. I then noticed that the pieces that fit on the line to keep the thing bouyant were all over the pool. One of the kids (there were two) was trying to put it back together, and the other kid was sitting on the steps in the first lane trying to get the other guy to leave. Oh, and there was someone in the spa (which is important).
They get out and leave and I start bitching about how people break stuff. I have everything on in the pool and about to take off (thank god for lane lines), when the person from the spa comes over to inform me that the two teenagers that were in the pool attempting to fix the lane bouy (is that what they call it?) were the ones that broke it!!! Supposedly they had been horsing around in the pool, cannonballs, etc... and one of them laid on or landed on the line and broke it at the connection. I later found out from mgmt that it was going to cost $400 to fix. The wire line snapped at the connection. Nice to know that my monthly gym fee is going towards something.
Mgmt did say though that they water aerobics class would love it since that is one less lane bouy that they would have to take out and put back in the pool.
Great! Thanks a whole bunch spa guy..... Don't go tell any of the mgmt or sales team about it, don't yell at them for doing something wrong, just wait and tell me after they leave the building and I get in the pool so none of us can do anything about it.
I told the management about it after I left for the evening, and I told them I would be on the lookout for them if I saw either of them again. By the way this is a well renowned adult gym (LA Fitness), not some fly by night outfit for immature teens to play at. I am sure that their parents are paying for the membership, and will never find out about this (unless I catch them, and I will).
I will have some pictures for you posted tomorrow of my new gear (aerobars and some cool bike socks I could not be without!!!). If anyone has any suggestions on one of these free picture sites, please let me know so that i can get one going.
I have seen flickr as well as the blogger pic site. I also want to do a big overhaul of my blog, to catch up with all the big fish (i.e. banner, pics, opinion polls, etc) to make it more appealing. I think it is just the natural evolution of things. You get started with something and then feel accomplished, and after awhile just doing it is not good enough, you want to do better. Hmmm, that quote might work well in triathlon as well as in life in general.........
Murtha...
Had trouble sleeping tonight.
Anyways,
First my workout. Nothing special other than swimming.
01/23/2007
Total Time: Aboout 30 minutes (off and on)
Workout: 100 and 200 M intervals. Mostly freestyle, and tried working on my technique
a bit. Mostly trying to hit the "10 and 2" spots on my entry, and my pull
(which still is not that great, but better than the old windmill moves).
Now onto my post title. So I get to the gym around 8:20p and change. I get out to the pool area and there are two hispanics just hanging out in the first lane, and there are two kids who look to be putting the lane bouy back in place to separate the 2nd and 3rd lane. I then noticed that the pieces that fit on the line to keep the thing bouyant were all over the pool. One of the kids (there were two) was trying to put it back together, and the other kid was sitting on the steps in the first lane trying to get the other guy to leave. Oh, and there was someone in the spa (which is important).
They get out and leave and I start bitching about how people break stuff. I have everything on in the pool and about to take off (thank god for lane lines), when the person from the spa comes over to inform me that the two teenagers that were in the pool attempting to fix the lane bouy (is that what they call it?) were the ones that broke it!!! Supposedly they had been horsing around in the pool, cannonballs, etc... and one of them laid on or landed on the line and broke it at the connection. I later found out from mgmt that it was going to cost $400 to fix. The wire line snapped at the connection. Nice to know that my monthly gym fee is going towards something.
Mgmt did say though that they water aerobics class would love it since that is one less lane bouy that they would have to take out and put back in the pool.
Great! Thanks a whole bunch spa guy..... Don't go tell any of the mgmt or sales team about it, don't yell at them for doing something wrong, just wait and tell me after they leave the building and I get in the pool so none of us can do anything about it.
I told the management about it after I left for the evening, and I told them I would be on the lookout for them if I saw either of them again. By the way this is a well renowned adult gym (LA Fitness), not some fly by night outfit for immature teens to play at. I am sure that their parents are paying for the membership, and will never find out about this (unless I catch them, and I will).
I will have some pictures for you posted tomorrow of my new gear (aerobars and some cool bike socks I could not be without!!!). If anyone has any suggestions on one of these free picture sites, please let me know so that i can get one going.
I have seen flickr as well as the blogger pic site. I also want to do a big overhaul of my blog, to catch up with all the big fish (i.e. banner, pics, opinion polls, etc) to make it more appealing. I think it is just the natural evolution of things. You get started with something and then feel accomplished, and after awhile just doing it is not good enough, you want to do better. Hmmm, that quote might work well in triathlon as well as in life in general.........
Murtha...
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Last Weekend of Summer (During Winter!!!)
Hey!!!
Andy got his groove back!!! This is my first official week into the 2007 season (although about 10 weeks late). I don't consider this a big deal though, since as amateur triathletes, we can make our own race schedule. I don't think it is really going to affect my race schedule that much, but we shall see.
Yesterday was beautiful here in Georgia. Flowers are in bloom, it was almost 70 degrees, you would think it was spring time with the Masters around the corner in Augusta. Nope. It was January 13th. I'll take it. I hate riding in cold weather so much, that I acutally do not do it. I then go inside to spinning classes.
Here are my stats for yesterday
Location: SCTrail, Georiga
Time: 1 hr, 17 min 6 sec
Distance: 22.6 miles
Avg Speed: 17.5 mph
Max Speed: 25.4 mph
I had one section where I was pulling about 22mph for at least two miles. It was a very slight downhill, kind of a false flat but going down rather than up. Completely rocked some guy with a carbon Quintanna Roo with Zipp 404's yesterday, but to give him credit, he was probably on a light training ride whilst I was busting my butt.
I don't know if I will be out today or not, since I have plans with my best friend and his wife for the afternoon. I have tomorrow off for MLK Day (I love bank holidays), and I will get out there in the morning, it should be fairly quiet since some people still work on the Holiday.
It's great to finally be back, now I just need to see what all the rest of you are up to. It seems now I look at so many blogs/podcasts, that I am burning at least 10 hours a week looking at them. It is well worth it!
Murtha...
Andy got his groove back!!! This is my first official week into the 2007 season (although about 10 weeks late). I don't consider this a big deal though, since as amateur triathletes, we can make our own race schedule. I don't think it is really going to affect my race schedule that much, but we shall see.
Yesterday was beautiful here in Georgia. Flowers are in bloom, it was almost 70 degrees, you would think it was spring time with the Masters around the corner in Augusta. Nope. It was January 13th. I'll take it. I hate riding in cold weather so much, that I acutally do not do it. I then go inside to spinning classes.
Here are my stats for yesterday
Location: SCTrail, Georiga
Time: 1 hr, 17 min 6 sec
Distance: 22.6 miles
Avg Speed: 17.5 mph
Max Speed: 25.4 mph
I had one section where I was pulling about 22mph for at least two miles. It was a very slight downhill, kind of a false flat but going down rather than up. Completely rocked some guy with a carbon Quintanna Roo with Zipp 404's yesterday, but to give him credit, he was probably on a light training ride whilst I was busting my butt.
I don't know if I will be out today or not, since I have plans with my best friend and his wife for the afternoon. I have tomorrow off for MLK Day (I love bank holidays), and I will get out there in the morning, it should be fairly quiet since some people still work on the Holiday.
It's great to finally be back, now I just need to see what all the rest of you are up to. It seems now I look at so many blogs/podcasts, that I am burning at least 10 hours a week looking at them. It is well worth it!
Murtha...
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
I turned to the Dark (USAT) Side!!!
Ok,
So today I sat down and look at my potential schedule for my 3rd triathlon season, and saw how many races that I wanted to attempt to complete...
It's that $9 fee!!! The previous two years, I have only done just enough races for it to economically not make sense to sign up with the USAT. At this point in time, joining the USAT is only for economic reasons, up until the time that the organization actually has something to contribute, OR, I become a semi-pro/pro athlete where being in the points system to qualify for nationals and/or worlds would be worth it. If you look at my blog, I am planning to do 6 races, and possibly more. That would pay for my entry fee about 1.5 times in saving $9 per race.
Its Official!!! For the first time (and probably not the last) in my now 3rd season of being a triathlete, I am an official member of USA Triathlon. I am granted all the rights and responsibilities that come along with being a member of USAT.
More to follow.....
So today I sat down and look at my potential schedule for my 3rd triathlon season, and saw how many races that I wanted to attempt to complete...
It's that $9 fee!!! The previous two years, I have only done just enough races for it to economically not make sense to sign up with the USAT. At this point in time, joining the USAT is only for economic reasons, up until the time that the organization actually has something to contribute, OR, I become a semi-pro/pro athlete where being in the points system to qualify for nationals and/or worlds would be worth it. If you look at my blog, I am planning to do 6 races, and possibly more. That would pay for my entry fee about 1.5 times in saving $9 per race.
Its Official!!! For the first time (and probably not the last) in my now 3rd season of being a triathlete, I am an official member of USA Triathlon. I am granted all the rights and responsibilities that come along with being a member of USAT.
More to follow.....
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
OK, My posting (and training) has become ridiculous
Hi Everyone,
So after I have told everyone I am back on the posting (and training) bandwagon, I suck it up once again. Last actual day of training was December 23rd, which was around the last time of my posting.
I was going to go and swim tonight, but I really wanted to watch the Orange Bowl, and I am listening to the Tri Geek Dreams Podcast right now (most recent one). After last night's football game, I am all about some football where teams come from nowhere (Louisville, Wake Forest, Boise State).
So here are my stats from December 23rd. I was out with Kevin (GA Tech Cycling team), and it was really, really windy, but our average came out better than expected.
Course: Silver Comet Trail - Georgia
Time: 1:12:25
Distance: 20.86mi
Avg Speed: 17.2 mph
Max Speed: 25.3 mph (this was on flat ground actually, don't ask me how this happened in windy weather, because I do not remember).
Yes, I am the biggest slack ass you guys (and gals) know. I have been thinking, I am going to try working on my training schedule the rest of the week, and then (FINALLY, LAZY BUTT!) start my 2007 season (officially) over the weekend.
I really need to get my schedule and training under control, and then I will be able to better execute when I actually have a plan. (See I am now writing the rest of this a day later).
Alright I am going to bed now, worked both jobs today.
Murtha...
So after I have told everyone I am back on the posting (and training) bandwagon, I suck it up once again. Last actual day of training was December 23rd, which was around the last time of my posting.
I was going to go and swim tonight, but I really wanted to watch the Orange Bowl, and I am listening to the Tri Geek Dreams Podcast right now (most recent one). After last night's football game, I am all about some football where teams come from nowhere (Louisville, Wake Forest, Boise State).
So here are my stats from December 23rd. I was out with Kevin (GA Tech Cycling team), and it was really, really windy, but our average came out better than expected.
Course: Silver Comet Trail - Georgia
Time: 1:12:25
Distance: 20.86mi
Avg Speed: 17.2 mph
Max Speed: 25.3 mph (this was on flat ground actually, don't ask me how this happened in windy weather, because I do not remember).
Yes, I am the biggest slack ass you guys (and gals) know. I have been thinking, I am going to try working on my training schedule the rest of the week, and then (FINALLY, LAZY BUTT!) start my 2007 season (officially) over the weekend.
I really need to get my schedule and training under control, and then I will be able to better execute when I actually have a plan. (See I am now writing the rest of this a day later).
Alright I am going to bed now, worked both jobs today.
Murtha...
Saturday, December 23, 2006
A little inspiration...
Good Morning,
Yes, I have been a slacker this week. Between Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, and whatever else I was doing at the time, it kept me from working out. No, that is not an excuse.
I am going out for a ride with my Georgia Tech cycling buddy today. Weather is nice it is going to be about 65 degrees this afternoon.
I have had a post that I have been wanting to put up on both my sites, due to the fact it is both sports related and a good post in general. For some reason I never got around to doing it. Since it is slow today, I thought it appropriate.
My best friend Matt is a Police officer with the Peachtree City (GA) Police Department. I have known him for about 12 years now, longer than any other friend I have known AND kept in touch with. We have always been there for each other, and inspired each other with lots we have done. When it comes to sports, Matt was very involved with martial arts when he was younger, and is still involved with weightlifting, although not at the same intensity that he used to. Due to the physical problems that have developed from weightlifting, he does not really get involved in sports where there is a lot of running or long term physcial stressors involved (unless their are breaks, timeouts, etc...). I on the other hand, have been doing some sort of physical sport, whether organized or personal, since I was about eight. The triathlon phase of my life (which I hope will now continue until I die) has now been in full swing for almost two years now, and he has seen me and supported my efforts. I always nag him, that he should get involved in running or triathlons, but he always says he could not make it the first mile. Whenever we used to work out at the same gym, I would sometimes get there just a bit earlier so I could run for a longer period of time than him, before we worked out. Recently his wife has gotten involved with running and has now completed a couple of 5K road races that were local ones in Peachtree City.
Weeks ago, I was working on Saturday morning, and I got a phone call on my cell around 10:30a or so. I called Matt back on my work phone and asked him what was going on. Right now he works the night shift, so he usually does not call me in the morning unless it is something semi-important. He called to tell me that he had just completed his first 5K event! He did admit that he walked and ran the event, but that he finished. It also happened to be the weekend when it was 18 degrees outside that Saturday morning. For those of you who have never lived in the SE United States, 18 degrees is damn cold for us. But he completed the event anyways. He said it was a really good experience, and that he would like to repeat so that maybe one day we could both run together in one.
I do not know all of his reasons for completing this event, whether it was solely for health reasons, wanting to do one with his wife, etc..., but I would like to think I had some small part in him completing his first event. Needless to say that I am very proud of him, that he was motivated enough to complete something he did not think he could do, and did anyways.
I will post some more later today with my bike stats for the day, so I am not quite done yet...
Yes, I have been a slacker this week. Between Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, and whatever else I was doing at the time, it kept me from working out. No, that is not an excuse.
I am going out for a ride with my Georgia Tech cycling buddy today. Weather is nice it is going to be about 65 degrees this afternoon.
I have had a post that I have been wanting to put up on both my sites, due to the fact it is both sports related and a good post in general. For some reason I never got around to doing it. Since it is slow today, I thought it appropriate.
My best friend Matt is a Police officer with the Peachtree City (GA) Police Department. I have known him for about 12 years now, longer than any other friend I have known AND kept in touch with. We have always been there for each other, and inspired each other with lots we have done. When it comes to sports, Matt was very involved with martial arts when he was younger, and is still involved with weightlifting, although not at the same intensity that he used to. Due to the physical problems that have developed from weightlifting, he does not really get involved in sports where there is a lot of running or long term physcial stressors involved (unless their are breaks, timeouts, etc...). I on the other hand, have been doing some sort of physical sport, whether organized or personal, since I was about eight. The triathlon phase of my life (which I hope will now continue until I die) has now been in full swing for almost two years now, and he has seen me and supported my efforts. I always nag him, that he should get involved in running or triathlons, but he always says he could not make it the first mile. Whenever we used to work out at the same gym, I would sometimes get there just a bit earlier so I could run for a longer period of time than him, before we worked out. Recently his wife has gotten involved with running and has now completed a couple of 5K road races that were local ones in Peachtree City.
Weeks ago, I was working on Saturday morning, and I got a phone call on my cell around 10:30a or so. I called Matt back on my work phone and asked him what was going on. Right now he works the night shift, so he usually does not call me in the morning unless it is something semi-important. He called to tell me that he had just completed his first 5K event! He did admit that he walked and ran the event, but that he finished. It also happened to be the weekend when it was 18 degrees outside that Saturday morning. For those of you who have never lived in the SE United States, 18 degrees is damn cold for us. But he completed the event anyways. He said it was a really good experience, and that he would like to repeat so that maybe one day we could both run together in one.
I do not know all of his reasons for completing this event, whether it was solely for health reasons, wanting to do one with his wife, etc..., but I would like to think I had some small part in him completing his first event. Needless to say that I am very proud of him, that he was motivated enough to complete something he did not think he could do, and did anyways.
I will post some more later today with my bike stats for the day, so I am not quite done yet...
Saturday, December 16, 2006
NO!!!!! NOT THE BIKE!!!!! OH THE AGONY!!!!
Hello All,
Well Wednesday night I went for another swim, and saw a few of the guys I had met on Monday night there. I kind of kept track this time. I know you guys (and girls) are saying I need a set training schedule, but I really need to get back on the ball before I can "do any tricks." I basically did a warmup, and then a 400M free main set, and then a 8 X 50M free sprint set. I finished up by sitting in the hot tub.
Friday I was going to work out, but I had some community service to complete. Don't ask. Long story. The weather has been nice here in Atlanta, and my community service for the day was to rake leaves at one of the cemetaries in downtown Atlanta. I raked leaves all day long, and I swear I raked at least an acre by myself. It actually got warm enough yesterday that I could have work shorts there (but it was cold in the morning). I burned so many calories doing that, when I finally got home and took a shower I did not want to do anything else. So Friday's workout was 8 hours of raking and bagging leaves. There is your CROSS TRAINING for you!
I am thinking about hitting the pool again today here in a little while. Jackie and I are going to ride the Silver Comet trail tomorrow for some base riding. Oh, and her sister totally hit her bike with the car when coming in from downtown late last night, and I will have to plug CYCLEWORKS big time for this one. Jackie was devastated when she saw what happened, since she was going to ride today. So she took the bike to Cycleworks where she bought it and they fixed the whole thing for FREE! And it was not even the store's fault. They kick ass.
Well I hope everyone is having a productive workout weekend, as the weather here in the SE United States kicks butt this weekend.
Murtha...
Well Wednesday night I went for another swim, and saw a few of the guys I had met on Monday night there. I kind of kept track this time. I know you guys (and girls) are saying I need a set training schedule, but I really need to get back on the ball before I can "do any tricks." I basically did a warmup, and then a 400M free main set, and then a 8 X 50M free sprint set. I finished up by sitting in the hot tub.
Friday I was going to work out, but I had some community service to complete. Don't ask. Long story. The weather has been nice here in Atlanta, and my community service for the day was to rake leaves at one of the cemetaries in downtown Atlanta. I raked leaves all day long, and I swear I raked at least an acre by myself. It actually got warm enough yesterday that I could have work shorts there (but it was cold in the morning). I burned so many calories doing that, when I finally got home and took a shower I did not want to do anything else. So Friday's workout was 8 hours of raking and bagging leaves. There is your CROSS TRAINING for you!
I am thinking about hitting the pool again today here in a little while. Jackie and I are going to ride the Silver Comet trail tomorrow for some base riding. Oh, and her sister totally hit her bike with the car when coming in from downtown late last night, and I will have to plug CYCLEWORKS big time for this one. Jackie was devastated when she saw what happened, since she was going to ride today. So she took the bike to Cycleworks where she bought it and they fixed the whole thing for FREE! And it was not even the store's fault. They kick ass.
Well I hope everyone is having a productive workout weekend, as the weather here in the SE United States kicks butt this weekend.
Murtha...
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Slowly but Steady...
Hi Folks,
I am getting there, I promise you. I really want to update my blog for next year as well, so we will see if I can create some kind of banner and maybe some other cool stuff. If you have any idea how to create all that cool stuff you see on these other blogs, or you went to some website and paid to have it done, just let me know how you did it. Thank you.
I eluded to Saturday's run in my last post. By the way, even though the post says December 2nd, I finally finished it on December 9th. Here is how it panned out.
Distance: ~3 miles (do not have a pedometer or Garmin, and where I live I have not measured it out by car yet)
Time: ~31 minutes
Pace: 10:20/mi
I was really taking it easy, seeing as how the last time I ran was when??? Oh yeah, long time ago.
Monday night I went swimming for the first time since October 8th. Ok, yes you can scold me now. I spent about 30 minutes in the pool, although I was not swimming the enitre time. I am going to the gym in about 15 minutes and I am going to run on the treadmill for a little warmup, and then I am going to spend a bit more time in the pool tonight.
I am going to have a bit of free time, oh wait, no I am not. Well I will FIND some time this weekend to get a full schedule going, with weight training.
If you have not seen my post on raceAthlete.com about weight training, check it out here.
Speaking of raceAthlete.com, I just have been trying to get caught up on everyone's blogs, and I saw the new cycling Jersey for 2007 for team raceAthlete. I definately want to get one.
Oh well, it is off to the gym for me, and hopefully this will finally be the start of my 2007 season!!!
Here we go.......
Murtha...
I am getting there, I promise you. I really want to update my blog for next year as well, so we will see if I can create some kind of banner and maybe some other cool stuff. If you have any idea how to create all that cool stuff you see on these other blogs, or you went to some website and paid to have it done, just let me know how you did it. Thank you.
I eluded to Saturday's run in my last post. By the way, even though the post says December 2nd, I finally finished it on December 9th. Here is how it panned out.
Distance: ~3 miles (do not have a pedometer or Garmin, and where I live I have not measured it out by car yet)
Time: ~31 minutes
Pace: 10:20/mi
I was really taking it easy, seeing as how the last time I ran was when??? Oh yeah, long time ago.
Monday night I went swimming for the first time since October 8th. Ok, yes you can scold me now. I spent about 30 minutes in the pool, although I was not swimming the enitre time. I am going to the gym in about 15 minutes and I am going to run on the treadmill for a little warmup, and then I am going to spend a bit more time in the pool tonight.
I am going to have a bit of free time, oh wait, no I am not. Well I will FIND some time this weekend to get a full schedule going, with weight training.
If you have not seen my post on raceAthlete.com about weight training, check it out here.
Speaking of raceAthlete.com, I just have been trying to get caught up on everyone's blogs, and I saw the new cycling Jersey for 2007 for team raceAthlete. I definately want to get one.
Oh well, it is off to the gym for me, and hopefully this will finally be the start of my 2007 season!!!
Here we go.......
Murtha...
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Here I am!!!
Hi All,
Yes, I am alive. If you look at my last post below, I will have to say I did not get better (finally) until about the 26th-27th. Since this thing was viral, my body had to fight it, and it had a real problem getting rid of this sinus cold or whatever the hell I had. I did OJ, Odwalla Citrus C Monster, Chicken Soup, Sleep, Rest, Not going out, basically everything you are supposed to do. I was able to get out last weekend (two days in a row!) and ride on the Silver Comet Trail. Here are the stats;
11/18/2006
Distance: 20 miles
Time ??? (I really did not care, Jackie and I were taking it easy that day)
Avg Speed ???
11/19/2006
Distance: 36 miles
Time: ~2 hours
Avg Speed: ~18mph
11/26/2006
Distance: 33.29 miles
Time: 1:55:50
Avg Speed: 17.2 mph
Max Speed: 25.8 mph
(There was a hell of a lot of wind this day. Real big pain in the ass. Made have a bit more appreciation for people who have been on the Queen K.)
So I am about four weeks behind (I am finishing this post on 12/09/2006) in my "2007 Triathlon Season." I am not too worried, since I was getting started extra early. I was trying to get "ahead of the game" so I would not have to worry about sickness, proper taper before first race, etc. Well I blew my wad with the sickness deal. I did get a few emails from a couple of you wondering where in the heck I was. I appreciate it.
I am also trying to get a second job to pay down some debt and get some money saved in the bank. I have had a stacked schedule like this in college at one time, but I was not training for triathlons. So I will have to see how this whole thing is going to work out. I think I am going to have to do fewer, but more quality workouts each week. I know from experience that the minute you try to do too much, your body is going to break down and you are going to have problems (i.e. pneumonia, acute sinusitus, etc... basically stuff I have gotten from overdoing it).
I went out running today for about three miles I think (I will have to measure it when I take my bike out next time). It was at the Silver Comet Trail. The temperature was about 49 degrees. I was a bit bundled up, but I ended up leaving most of it in the car, and I was just fine. It is that first few minutes of stretching and getting ready to run that kills me in the cold.
I hope all of you have had a great past 3-4 weeks with the holidays and your off season training. I am going to try and get caught up on some of your older posts, so don't be suprised if you see me commenting on something that you don't remember writing about the previous day.
Going to cut down my Christmas tree tomorrow. Have a great weekend!
Murtha...
Yes, I am alive. If you look at my last post below, I will have to say I did not get better (finally) until about the 26th-27th. Since this thing was viral, my body had to fight it, and it had a real problem getting rid of this sinus cold or whatever the hell I had. I did OJ, Odwalla Citrus C Monster, Chicken Soup, Sleep, Rest, Not going out, basically everything you are supposed to do. I was able to get out last weekend (two days in a row!) and ride on the Silver Comet Trail. Here are the stats;
11/18/2006
Distance: 20 miles
Time ??? (I really did not care, Jackie and I were taking it easy that day)
Avg Speed ???
11/19/2006
Distance: 36 miles
Time: ~2 hours
Avg Speed: ~18mph
11/26/2006
Distance: 33.29 miles
Time: 1:55:50
Avg Speed: 17.2 mph
Max Speed: 25.8 mph
(There was a hell of a lot of wind this day. Real big pain in the ass. Made have a bit more appreciation for people who have been on the Queen K.)
So I am about four weeks behind (I am finishing this post on 12/09/2006) in my "2007 Triathlon Season." I am not too worried, since I was getting started extra early. I was trying to get "ahead of the game" so I would not have to worry about sickness, proper taper before first race, etc. Well I blew my wad with the sickness deal. I did get a few emails from a couple of you wondering where in the heck I was. I appreciate it.
I am also trying to get a second job to pay down some debt and get some money saved in the bank. I have had a stacked schedule like this in college at one time, but I was not training for triathlons. So I will have to see how this whole thing is going to work out. I think I am going to have to do fewer, but more quality workouts each week. I know from experience that the minute you try to do too much, your body is going to break down and you are going to have problems (i.e. pneumonia, acute sinusitus, etc... basically stuff I have gotten from overdoing it).
I went out running today for about three miles I think (I will have to measure it when I take my bike out next time). It was at the Silver Comet Trail. The temperature was about 49 degrees. I was a bit bundled up, but I ended up leaving most of it in the car, and I was just fine. It is that first few minutes of stretching and getting ready to run that kills me in the cold.
I hope all of you have had a great past 3-4 weeks with the holidays and your off season training. I am going to try and get caught up on some of your older posts, so don't be suprised if you see me commenting on something that you don't remember writing about the previous day.
Going to cut down my Christmas tree tomorrow. Have a great weekend!
Murtha...
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