Countdown: the final 20

Bloomington to Bedford. One of the best Boston preparation courses consists of a long run from Bloomington to Bedford. Nine of us ventured forth today to finalize our races. In attendance were Allen, Ryan, John T., Miller, WinD, Jimmy, Larry, Robin, and myself.

The weather? Perfect! Fifty-five degrees and overcast, light wind, humidity tolerable. We had plenty of supplies to carry us through, the pace target was easy, and everything was in place for a successful run.

It was for most. Robin had some quad trouble towards the end, and Larry had calf trouble almost from the start. He and I split from the group early, starting at mile 2, and by mile 4 he was growing concerned. By 6 it was certain - his calf was cramping hard. We discussed getting to Johnny's Junction, and failing that, waiting on WinD's cell phone.

We missed the 2nd water stop, slightly. We overran it and decided it wasn't worth running back 50 yards. For me it didn't matter because the berry Gatorade was making me sick anyway. Larry just didn't want to reverse direction for any reason.

Around mile 8 it was over for Larry. He sent me on, and realizing it was hopeless (and really not even desirable) to try to drag him through it, I moved on. We had been going on an 8:10 pace overall, which should have been easy for him. Shame about that calf.

After I left him I let things settle into a more "normal" feel. It turned out to be right at 7:30-7:35 pace. This offered no difficulty whatsoever, and the miles melted away. Even the uphills weren't any problems. Steady effort all the way.

I think this run illustrates how my overall fitness has improved due to biking. My energy levels are very good these days, and it never seemed I would flag or falter today - and I didn't.

The finishing time for me was 2:36:29, faster by over a minute from the run we did 3 weeks ago. That's what should have happened I suppose, if fitness improved as it should have. The make up was different this time - last time I started hard and alone and finished with Larry; this time Larry and I started a bit faster, slowed down, then I did the last part faster. More or less the same result either way.

We ride from Lighthouse Books tomorrow at 1:30 PM. All welcome!

Allen and Mike

There were only three of us, but as far as I'm concerned, we were the right three for the task. ;)

Mike, Allen, and I met at Lighthouse at 5. I rode down so I could sneak in a few more miles. The weather was quite pleasant, coolish with a light northeast wind. We headed for Amish country, and it never disappoints. The greens of the fields grow deeper each day even as the sun shines brighter and longer.

Southward we traveled with Allen at the head. His new wheels sang softly to him, and he let them loose with a 25+ mph leg through the straightaway. Over and over he tested them, and I have to tell you, they looked pretty sweet. Those suckers really look nice on his Talon. And fast.

We all practiced streamlining and aero positions. This continued to Huck's, where yes, I did stop for a Milky Way and a Diet Coke. Traditions must be observed, after all.

On the way north, Mike took over the lead for the 2-mile straightaway. It's slightly uphill, so it was impressive to see him pull up at 20 mph into a light quartering wind. His knee was giving him grief off and on, which was a shame.

The rest of the way back to IN 37 was a series of glides and aeros. Once back at the highway I took the lead for the first time. This was the final straight, and we did a pretty good job of it. It was a solid ride all around, not too hard, but with some nice stretches of riding in it.

I left the guys and was soon at home. A quick bite, and out to the pool with Erin. We swam! I did only 1000 yards, and it wasn't particularly pretty. No matter. It's the second swim of the week, a victory all by itself.

Tomorrow is off - Saturday, Bloomington to Bedford run, 20 miles!

There is a price

At a certain point in your life, you have to balance the risk and reward ratio on your body. It's great to work out hard, to hit numbers you've not seen in a while, but you harbor the sure knowledge that the next day won't be pleasant.

And today wasn't.

Yesterday was a great day of exercise quality, hitting a high number in both the ride and the run. The ride, at over 21 mph, was one of the best so far this year. The run was the best 10-miler I've done in a year. That they happened on the same day compounded the soreness I've felt all day long today.

I wasn't the only one. Jimmy had a rough go of it. Miller wasn't there, though that probably had nothing to do with last night's run. Rand looked remarkably fresh, even running out ahead again tonight, finishing first. And it isn't as though we were going particularly slow - we were under 40 minutes for 5, pretty good. Rand never looks better than when he doesn't have a race. Well, he looks so good I hope he finds a race soon. Hate to waste it.

After supper I headed to the gym for weights. Forty minutes of weights added to the run gave me a bit over an hour and a half of exercise, enough for today.

Tomorrow we ride! Lighthouse Books at 5 PM. Amish Loop, 31 miles, easy. Bring the dog and grandma.

Very good training

My computer desk sits directly under my "Wall of Shame" (a term I freely admit was stolen from Larry Moffatt), and every time I write about exercise topics I look up to see my smiling face in the running portions of races. They seem forever ago, a moment of perfection frozen in time, halcyonic images of fitness bliss, real or imagined. The times associated with the pictures are not earth-shattering - they certainly weren't good enough to win the races - but they represent milestones of my personal athletic achievements. I knew even at the time my athleticism was fading, and it was now or never. Still, at those moments, I was invincible.

Flash forward 4-5 years, and there are precious few examples of similar performance to be had. What I considered to be routine only a few years ago seems mostly unreachable now. But occasionally things do swing my way, the stars align, and it's like the old days again.

Tonight was one of those nights.

Lately I've been pushing my luck somewhat. I've stacked workouts together in a way that should have been disastrous, but have come out on the winning side. It's not that I'm 100% healthy - I'm not - but maybe I've gotten a better understanding of what my present limitations are and how to manage them.

My overall fitness goal at the moment is 130-150 miles of biking, 45-50 miles of running, three days of weights, and a couple of swims a week. To make it all fit I must double often, sometimes tripling. This is the life of a triathlete, nothing special there. What complicates matters is Jimmy.

Jimmy has a way of upsetting my plans. I lay out a week, then Jimmy needs to make an adjustment. I don't have to change my schedule, but dangit, he's so charming, how could I not? The result is sometimes I get to do a hard run one night and a 20-miler the next morning, or a hard ride and a hard run on the same day.

Tonight it was the latter. I needed to ride in order to make mileage for the week; Jimmy decided to run a 10-miler at 6:50 pace. This is pretty aggressive for me right now because we haven't much practiced this pace or distance, and certainly not together. I knew for sure it would be a hard run. I made it harder with the ride.

The ride was a thing of beauty. The Truth, how I lover her! She's getting dialed in, oh yes! my Precioussss! My conditioning is starting to reap results, I'm finding my rhythm, and I've done this course so many times I know every nuance, every place to gather a little energy, where to expend it, how to maximize results from effort.

Today there was a southeast wind of about 10 mph. This makes a headwind for the trip out, the southern leg comprising a little over 10 miles. This portion was accomplished at a bit over 19 mph through efficient riding. I wasn't pressing hard, but I wasn't giving up any advantage I could take. And, other than the truck hauling the trailer which nearly ran me off the road by the recycling center on Old 37, I didn't have to slow down for much.

Once turned north, and with a quartering tailwind, things really took off. The segment to Lighthouse Books went 30+ mph. After that things got a bit weird as I began to feel gusty bursts in my face, which slowed me to 24 mph or so. Regardless, the ride finished with an average pace of 21.2 mph. That would mean I averaged around 23 mph all the way home, including the cut. Not bad.

Obviously there was a danger the ride took something out of me, either my legs or fluids or both. I drank a bit of Gatorade, ate a Cliff Bar, grabbed a couple of carBooms, and headed to the track. At this point, whatever happened happened.

We had a large group tonight, and notably present were Aaron Ritter, Tim Miller, Josh Anderson, and Nick Tyree. Yikes... that was going to put pressure on us. Me. Whatever. A couple of these guys have GPSs, not that it ever really helps, but there was a chance, a slim chance, that perhaps tonight it would help. Then the question was asked and my hope was dashed.

"Who wants to lead?"

I guess it isn't so much the question that killed my hope as it was the response. None. Nada. No one jumped up to volunteer to lead. So I did. I knew I could get us to the mile on or around pace. I would take it one mile at a time.

So we kicked off, and since I knew where the quarter was, I got an early assessment of our pace. 1:37 for a quarter was 20 seconds per mile faster than we needed. This was confirmed by Miller's GPS. So what did Miller and Josh do? You guessed it, they sped up. That wasn't going to help us very much! I held the pace I was running, and my breathing was quite labored. I knew we were ahead of pace, I know where the mile mark is (I laid the course out years ago), but a minor "discussion" with one of the runners in the loose pack resulted in a recorded time that was slower than our target. 6:57 to be exact.

Ok. We'll get back on pace then.

I decided the best course of action would be to catch the two guys ahead of us that were supposedly on pace. I didn't really mash the pedal, I just pressed only slightly harder than we were running until we caught them. Slightly. The second mile? 6:20. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.

Okay, so I didn't plan to run that pace the rest of the way, so I backed off to a more controlled pace. It so happened I'd gapped Ritter and Jimmy, Nick was with me, and Josh and Miller were still ahead. I didn't want to wait on the others, that would be giving up hard-earned time. I didn't necessarily want to run at the front, because I didn't feel it was a pace I needed. I was just going to let the gap slowly open.

Nick and I held the gap, running basically the same pace as the front two, until we hit Industrial. Then, as we started the downhill, I became curious. Josh never runs the downhill tangent, ever. I wondered if I could close the gap by the time we turned onto the next road. So, by using tangents, we closed the gap down completely by the turn. Miller decided to get back on the plan and slid back to Jimmy; Josh continued on. As we rounded the corner, I was side-by-side with Josh. We hit the mile mark under 6:30, and I said again I didn't need it, and backed off.

Then Nick passed me. What? He started to close the opening between us and Josh, and the competitive juices boiled over. If he could do it, so could I, and we slid up on him. By the time we were on Washington we had caught him, and around the circle Josh and I ran together. Nick was with us, staying until the mile 5 turn, then he headed straight back. Josh and I were alone.

This back-and-forth continued as Josh pulled ahead a bit as we left the circle the second time, and once again, he ignored the tangent. By running the tangent I was on him again before the turn onto 39th, and we remained together until Industrial. I told him then I would be careful to slow down on Industrial so as to avoid spiking my heart rate (thus ending the run). At the base of the first pitch, about a quarter mile from the top, Josh dropped. His hip has been giving him trouble, and it flared up. I was feeling fine enough to continue, and I did.

Now it was a mile-to-mile game. 6:50 was over; now it was a matter of extending the effort as long as it could last. My competitive nature pushed me up where I didn't belong - my pragmatic nature understood I was doing something I hadn't been able to do for a long time. I had to see where it could go now.

After topping Industrial and as I was preparing to turn onto 35th, I heard talking close behind me. It was Aaron passing Josh, maybe 20-30 meters back. Aaron was clearly making a move to catch me. This was of course exactly what I needed to motivate me to keep up the effort... could I hold him off?

Mile 7 was 6:33, which included Industrial, so it was a good indication I still had something left. Relax, get into rhythm, stay loose, relax... mile 8 was 6:38. This was good because this is a notoriously slow mile (for whatever reason). Up the final long, grinding hill and into mile 9 at 6:53 - okay, I was beginning to fade, but the gap between Aaron and myself was growing. Mile 10 was back to 6:50, and the final time of 1:06:20 was a perfectly acceptable reward. The goal had been 1:08:20, so I'd beaten it by 2 minutes. Considering I didn't know if I could do the original goal, I'm very pleased it went the way it did.

Aaron came in quickly, and about a minute after came Miller and Jimmy. Josh struggled in with his hip hurting like mad. Too bad, he had a good one going. Everybody beat the time, so that was a major positive overall.

The second group comprising Allen, Rand, John, Kathy, and Ryan also beat their 7:50 per mile goal. I don't know if they fragmented as much as we did - I think they may have based on the times we crossed one another on the course.

It was confidence boosting effort for me. I had a great ride and a great run on the same day. That bodes well for triathlon season coming soon.

Tomorrow will be a run only I think due to a staff meeting. I will try to lift and swim later if time allows. Needless to say I didn't lift tonight after the run - I looked like a french fry with all the salt covering me. I was concerned about muscle spasms and passed. 

First day back and other stuff

As I'm writing this, I'm sitting like a pretty pretty princess in my new biking shoes - Shimanos - and feeling the comfort that only an old friend can bring. Ahhh... my old set is so totally worn out. Can't wait to get these ready.

It was a 5-mile run tonight, then a swim later. I'd planned on riding too, but I twisted my back out at school again, so the workouts were limited to two. I guess it was wise after riding long and running yesterday anyway.

The run wasn't comfortable, with the back nagging at me, but we managed a good pace. We were under 39 minutes, not fast, but faster than normal. Miller, Bartlett, and Heatherly can be thanked for the pace. They kept pushing, and I just kept up.

The swim was interesting on many levels. Erin has expressed a desire to get out there a few days a week, so it will give me just the impetus I need to go. Upon arriving, the lanes were already busy with folks. We got ready and staked out our spots, and went. My plan was to do 1000 yards of pulling, which went remarkably fast. 13:33 is a pretty quick 1000 yard swim for me, even with a pull buoy. That would equate to a mile in under 21 minutes, which would have been no trouble at all.

I took a gamble at the end of the year and joined a fitness club primarily to lift (and run if the weather got bad - which it didn't). One of the benefits of lifting I hoped to gain was improved swim times. If tonight was any clear indication, it worked. By comparison, my normal time for such a swim would have been 15-16 minutes.

Rand was coaching Allen again. Allen is making progress! Good job Rand!

I was lucky enough again to be able to coach Erin a little bit on her turns. Within 5 minutes she had the fundamentals nailed and was really beginning to pound the turns. It could make a huge difference next season.

On to tomorrow...

Jimmy has it in his mind to run 10 miles at 6:50 pace. This means we'll jump off right at the beginning from Parkview and hit it. There won't be a lot of talking! I feel I'll be okay, so long as my back holds out. We'll see if Jimmy can handle it. I'm getting the sense our Tuesday nights have been all over the place in goal, and the inconsistency of the workouts has me more than slightly worried about the outcome.

I will ride after school tomorrow to warm up for the run. Not far, only 20 miles, but it should be enough to take a bit of the running edge off (with the trade-off of warming up the hip). It may backfire, but I'm going that way.

Thursday ride from Lighthouse Books, 4:30 or 5:00 PM? 31 miles?

A full day

The final day of break was a keeper. The weather couldn't have been much better, and I managed two, make that three, workouts.

First was the run. Jimmy, Rand, Kathy, and I met at Parkview for the regular Sunday 5. Kathy pulled the pace, so it wound up quicker than usual. It was a good run nonetheless.

I had enough time, so I headed to the gym for weights. The main advantage to this approach is the gym was almost empty. Taking full advantage, the weight workout was knocked out in no time at all.

After church and lunch I met Galloway and Dan at Lighthouse. We were up for the Amish loop, which went by quickly. There was a north wind around 10 mph, so the way out was quite easy. Not so much so for the way back. I definitely wouldn't call it hard, just harder.

The loop is only 31 miles or so, and since I wanted 60-65 miles, I was forced to loop again. I turned back onto the course at the St. Bernards. Bernard to Bernard is 16.5 miles, I can now report.

Since I was alone, I dropped to aero and rolled with it. Heading south, the speed built up to 30 mph on the straightaway. Understandably this leg went very quickly, and before I knew it I was headed east to Huck's.

Passing Huck's, it was back out onto 337, then turning north for the return leg. I was holding in the 20 mph range on the climb into the wind - bless the new wheels! A couple of turns and a couple of climbs and I was back at the Bernards.

Turning west again, I repeated the loop one more time. This time I made my second Huck's stop for a Milky Way and Diet Coke. After this short break it was time to head for the barn. I was beginning to tire a little so this trip wasn't quite as fast, but in the end the 64-mile ride went 3:26:25 for 18.6 mph average.

All this and I got the grass mowed too!

Weekly Goals Met

We are at the end of the NLCS spring break, and all exercise goals for the week have been met or exceeded. Domestic goals... not so much. The garage is still messy and the spare room is still cluttered, and that will hold until summer. On the bright side I did lay around a whole lot.

This morning was cooler than most this week, and the long run everyone had scheduled was as untroubled as such events can be. If only Boston turns out to be such a nice day! Three weeks from Monday - hard to believe!

It was a 10-miler for me this morning, slow, and it doesn't matter a bit. We got to see Bartlett for a short time before he ran away from us, John before he turned away, and Rand off-and-on as he surged and returned to us. Poor Galloway's calf troubled him a mile and a half into it and he turned back, and there were no Miller sightings at all.

Jimmy, Rand, Allen, and I went to Bob Evan's after the run for breakfast, then it was a long afternoon of nothing for me. I even took a nap! Morgan and her beau dropped by, dinner, then the family watched a rented movie. And that's a wrap.

I'm actually glad the break was a low-key affair. Jimmy and I differ on this point... he likes to always go somewhere and do something. I think there's a great deal to be said for just lying around once in a while. I know my blood pressure sure appreciates the break. It'll be a long stretch until summer, so I can take all the calm I can get until then... 

Day off - deserved

I had the option to be off or do an easy workout today. I chose to be off. The 20 yesterday morning wasn't a terrible run by any means, but it came at the end of a long series of hard workouts. My body needed a rest. I will be swimming in a bit, but that's it.

This spring break is coming to a close so fast. It's been great so far, and we do still have a few days left. The weather is the best I can ever remember for a spring break. That's compensation for not going to Florida or any other warmer climate.

The only things I have left to do are to run one more time, bike one more time, and swim once. The swim will happen tonight. The ride tomorrow, the run Saturday. I will also lift a couple more days, but that's not really where the emphasis is right now.

Bikes
It seems we are dividing into two basic camps in this exercise community. There are the Kestrel riders, and there are the Cervelo riders. For the ease of reading, we'll call them the Kestrel Kombine (KK) and the Cervelo Cissies (CC). It's not clear yet how we'll handle the Tuesday Pace Line Ride (tm) this season, but a good place to start would be to separate the real riders from the wannabees. It would seem we've all self-identified... ;)

We still need to consider breaking the group up into waves, perhaps two, according to speed. It may not be popular with everyone, but it is practical and possibly necessary. If we want to continue to offer a workout that is accessible to everyone, we have to provide graded workouts that allow people to participate regardless of fitness or ability. It's simply sound coaching philosophy.

We also need to consider if we should start the season with a time trial. If one of our goals is to measure progression (individually) throughout the season, then we need a benchmark early on for use later. Of course the weather has a lot to do with getting a proper time trial (headwinds skew results). My guess is we should probably give it a shot.

Restarting the blog

Without fanfare the blog is back. I've had a number of people ask about it, not overwhelming you understand, but as I like to write and apparently some like to ridicule, we can marry our needs here daily.

The transition of seasons is ongoing. Yesterday was the first official day of spring, and temperatures have been in the mid-80's all week. Change is coming- the weather will turn south later this week. No matter. I can't remember a nicer spring break weather-wise.

Training has been outstanding. Just today Jimmy and I ran 20 miles in the morning, then I lifted later. This week has also included three good rides, one 65 miles, and solid running. If I can slip one swim in I'd be ecstatic.

The 65-mile ride was a real keeper in that it featured a fast 10-mile time trial. I went 22:03, good for 27.2 mph. I would have been faster had I not been nearly run off the road by an errant driver passing a buggy (Amish country). It is true there was a nearly 10 mph wind from the south which did help the ride; regardless, it's the fastest solo ride I've had, period.

It's becoming apparent the expense of the wheels this winter was worth it. I've made an adjustment or two to my seat, and the bike is getting much closer to being dialed in. It's starting to feel fast, really fast.

Boston is about a month out. I can't wait for it to be over. I mean, I like the idea of going, it's just the training is so hard now. The low back won't hold up much longer...