Edge 500 - The Edge of Truth?

I made a virtually Jimmy-esque bargain on a slightly used/highly loved Garmin Edge 500 cycling GPS over the weekend. I didn't steal it from the guy - he was slobbering, I just wiped his chin - and we both left the deal feeling we got the best of it. Win/win.

Garmins are fairly simple to set up and run, which is fortunate as this one did not include English instructions. Once again, my interest in history bailed me out. How? It's because I love history I studied German. The Garmin had German instructions, ergo I had usable directions. Sure, I could download English, but this was funner. Win/win/win.

The Edge was easily mounted to my favorite steed, "The Truth" (my black-and-white Kestrel Airfoil). I'd already put a ride on it Monday afternoon, the day I received it, and noted a few changes I wanted to make to the setup. In particular I wanted to have the ability to stop time when the bike stopped for a break. That was easily corrected by setting autopause to kick in when the speed dropped below 2.5 mph. Why not zero? Because mobile GPS's are not precise instruments, and it's possible a lower setting might have detected satellite searches as movement. By setting a slow speed below a reasonable riding speed, I overcorrected for a possible problem. Worked like a charm. Win/win/win/win.

There are 5 possible screens for use, which you cycle through using the Enter button. Each screen is customizable from approximately 20-30 options. Each screen can display up to 5 options. Pretty neat! I set up 4 of them with a variety of purposes, including heart rate, speed, time, distance, grade, calories... the list goes on. Win/win/win/win/win.

The only problem I had was getting the Edge 500 to sync up with my Garmin software on my computer. It just wouldn't. I already have the software set up for my 910, so it should have been a snap. I wound up having to manually search through my Garmin directory for the particular file to upload to Garmin Connect and Beginner Triathlete. This is well beyond the capabilities of the average user. Major loser.

I have been running the GPS and bike computer side-by-side. The lag on the GPS is slightly longer, and of course the distance always winds up shorter, but in truth no two computers ever display exactly the same either. I'm sure the bike computer is far more accurate in instantaneous speed change, but who's to say which is more accurate on total distance - one is dependent on radio connection, the other on satellite. Also, the bike computer's accuracy largely depends on being successfully calibrated. I figure the difference is insignificant so I won't sweat it.

The one final thing I think I want to set is mile split alerts. It's nice to see how speed varies over a course, and to match that speed with terrain changes. That's for next time.

Forty-two miles tonight with a stiff WNW wind, 18 mph average. Not an easy ride, but not too hard either. Looking to ride again on Saturday. 

Rides and stuff

The riding season is ramping up even as the running racing season peaks with the upcoming Louisville and Indy minis. The winter hasn't been nearly as pleasant as last year, and it's been awfully hard to get in steady training on the bike - other than to spin, which is not as much fun. For this reason, when the opportunity presents itself to ride outside, we take it.

My chief cohort in cycling has been Allen, though a close 2nd and 3rd would have to be Dan and Galloway. John T. has tossed in a couple as well. Oh, and Roy! Yup, I guess there have been a few of us regulars that are trying to get a jump on the season.

Over the last few weeks we've been able to make something happen on the weekends. Saturday and Sunday afternoons have featured rides between 30-55 miles. These aren't big rides by common standards, but considering the weather we've had, it's good. Often temperatures have been in the lower to mid-50's, which though not impossible can be uncomfortable if the conditions aren't right. Windy, cloudy, and damp makes this temperature range hard to take.

That's where Allen has been so great. He's the first to call when the conditions are marginal. There have been times when I wavered between spinning and riding, and his call made the difference. It's nice to have reliable training partners.

Just this past Monday four of us went out - Allen, Galloway, Dan, and I. We started from Lighthouse and headed to Huck's, where Galloway and Allen turned back. Dan and I wanted more miles, so we continued to the county line.

The way out was mostly uneventful - it was a beautiful day, warm and sunny with virtually no wind. In other words, a perfect riding day. Except for the bugs. Galloway learned this the hard way, when, on the way back from Huck's, a bee struck and stung his lower lip. After an hour or so his "Elephant Man" Halloween mask was ready to go.

The other event that transpired came in two parts - one before the split, one after. The first part featured not one but two riders going off-road. Galloway did it first, on the "Amish Super-2" as he likes to call it. I'd like to give you a cause, but there really was none. It's as if he got tired of being on the road and just left. He pulled it back on though, no harm done. Allen, ever the Galloway wannabe, soon followed, again for no reason, and pulled it back on the road. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they say.

After the split, it happened again - Allen again left the road on the Amish Super-2, this time taking the stunt to new heights of daring-do. Rather than reporting, let's hear it from participants in the act.

IronBill(IB): So, Allen decided to take the show OFF the road on the way back, eh?

Allen's Calves(AC): I know, right?! We were like, just cruising along, like, talking and stuff, and he like goes all spazoid.

IB: Spazoid?

AC: (rolls eyes) You know, like freakin' out. Omigosh, and did you hear that scream?

IB: Don't tell me!

AC: Sissyest. Scream. Ever.

IB: That's a pretty high bar. Were you there in the infamous "Corn Incident" last fall?

AC: Are you kidding? We were all like, "stop flailing us around in all directions", and like, "put us back on the pedals" and stuff. We were flopping around on top of that bike like a bronco buster. All the time he's screaming like a girl scout in a haunted house.

IB: This was worse than the Corn Incident?

AC: Absolutely. For one thing, he was like headed for these like huge rocks. Then we were all like in the air, and time like, slowed down. That's when we saw it.

IB: It?

AC: Ya. We looked up then, and we like saw why we were off the road.

IB: Why?

AC: He was staring at us. Again. That same like, creeper stare. Like that creepy guy in math class that keeps looking at you and smiling that creepy, weird smile, but like never talks to you.

IB: Let me get this straight - you're saying you went off the road because Allen turned his head around to stare at you guys?

AC: Duh! That's what we're saying! (sighs, rolls eyes) Look, we know we look all, like, fabulous and stuff. We get it. But no need to get all creepy and stuff about it.

IB: Okay, okay... but what about a scream? Allen's scream is famous. Did you hear one?

AC: Yes and no. Yes, once he like realized we were going off-road, he started to let out a scream. But it stopped, only it didn't stop. We could see his Adam's apple bouncing up and down, so were all like, "That's REALLY weird", but no sound came out. It must have been really, really high, where maybe like, only dogs could hear?

IB: Or maybe Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston? Okay, seriously, so you guys walked away from it, I see.

AC: Yes, somehow we did. We're that good. We were all like, "Hah! We just saved your BUTT!", but you know what? That dumb butt didn't even thank us!

DE: Did someone say, "Butt"?!

Tempos and stuff

Why waste time?

Athlete	Mile 1	Mile 2	Mile 3	Mile 4	Mile 5	Mile 6	Total	Avg
Aaron R.	6:13:00	6:27:00	6:31:00	6:22:00	6:17:00	6:40:00	38:30:00	6:25:00
Bill	6:51:00	6:50:00	6:53:00	6:44:00	6:46:00		34:04:00	6:48:48
Jimmy	6:52:00	6:49:00	6:53:00	6:44:00	6:46:00		34:04:00	6:48:48
Scott	6:52:00	6:49:00	6:53:00				20:34:00	6:51:20
Tim G.	6:52:00	6:53:00	7:10:00	6:53:00			27:48:00	6:57:00

Jimmy (whom I hate) popped it on me this week (finally) that he planned to race Indy. Race, as in going for a sub-1:30 time. This had been denied over and over, and foolishly I bought it, though every fiber of my being knew it to be a lie. For that, I have only myself to blame. I've known him for over 20 years, I have no excuse.

It wouldn't be a problem ordinarily. What is not ordinary this year is my poor running fitness. I had made the choice to pare down my running to try to get healthy before resuming training. So much for that.

Of the options for this Tuesday's workout provided by the nameless one I hate, the 5-mile at 6:52 appealed to me most. It had distance at pace, and the way I saw it, answered two questions at once. Could I run far, and could I run that pace? Might as well find out.

It went surprisingly well. We struggled to hold the pace down, which is a good sign. I feel confident I could have doubled the distance tonight and kept the pace overall. Beyond that, I can't say, but does it matter? I figure if we get to 10 miles before I collapse, at least I will have helped him that far. Beyond that, well, he's on his own.

Scott stayed with us for 3. Jimmy tried to work his magic and get him to go farther with us, but he played that card too early. Just after the 2-mile mark he started talking about going on after 3. It was way to early for Scott to wrap his mind around it, and the opportunity was blown. An experienced runner is already lying to himself, saying he will stop, knowing he will go on. It's a silly mental game we all play. If you run enough, you know what I'm talking about. Scott isn't there yet, but soon will be. Jimmy misjudged.

Next time he waited a bit longer to drop the line - on me. As we were in the final 1/10th straight for the 5th (and agreed upon final mile) he started saying, "okay, when we hit the end of the mile, let's go on for another half."

"What? Are you playing me? Look, if you want to run 6, just say so!" I said sharply. Toy with me, will you?! Truth is, I was already considering 6. I didn't let him know that though. Remember, I hate him.

We climbed Industrial one final time. I was pretty concerned about it, because we were over 8 miles of running by this point, the place where my back can really start to hurt. Pressing up the hill would definitely aggravate it. Thankfully it was okay, if a little slow. We hit the half and stopped. I was soooo close to going on, but didn't. Better safe than sorry.

Galloway had lost us in the second mile, but manned up and went 4. Aaron did 6 miles at a good average pace, even if his splits were all over the place. I must admit, listening to him talk about his run afterwards reminded me that the two of us interpret our results very differently. More than one way to do things, I suppose.

I know Danny G. and Chris both ran tonight, and Chris in particular ran very well from what I could tell. I didn't get splits from either, as we were still running when they finished.

We're coming down to the wire now, with less than 3 weeks until the race. Guess I'd better get my miles up...

Special Interview

I've been holding this piece of special interest news for a while, and with the advent of true riding season I felt it was time to get it out there.

Over the last few weeks, stalwart riders have been making the effort to get out there and ply their fortunes on the roads of Amish country. While it may be true the numbers were low, the quality of the attending riders was nonetheless high. The training affects were immediately noticed. Most notably, athletic fortunes changed as Allen B’s calves suddenly acquired sentience.

Your author wasted no time garnering an interview. The following is a transcript of the taped conversation.

IronBill(IB): So… as the newest member of this riding community, how does it feel to get out there and hit the roads this spring?

Allen’s Calves(AC): I tell ya, it’s just great. Getting outside I mean… we mean… well, you know what I/we mean. What you may not know is our training actually started indoors.

IB: Oh?

AC: Yes. Allen spent at least 30 minutes a day flexing in front of a mirror, admiring himself. In fact, that’s where we awoke. Our first memory was of him turned away from the mirror, staring over his shoulder, admiring us. It was creepy. We’re not sure how we feel about him right now, so we try to keep turned away from him when possible.

IB: I suppose that would be a tough situation. Has it impacted your performance?

AC: Not at all. We’re pros, you know, and we have a job to do. We get the call to stomp on it, we stomp. And that call comes more and more often nowadays.

IB: It seems Allen isn’t the only one who’s noticed you lately.

AC: You’re right. Brett S. has been sending us love letters since we shared a ride. They say things like, “I can’t believe how big you’ve grown”, or “I can’t take my eyes off of you.”  As impossible as it sounds, that was even creepier than Allen. We had to take out a restraining order, so it may be a while before Brett S. rides with us again.

IB: Ugh.

AC: Tell me ‘bout it. It’s like that everywhere we go, though not often that bad.

Miller’s Abs(MA): Hah! You think YOU have it bad? Every chick in town is in love with us!

AC: We would LOVE it if every chick in town loved us. Heck, we would be happy if only one chick in Orleans loved us. But noOOOOooooo. Noooo, she doesn’t even know we exist. It was a crushing realization. We won’t go into it, but suffice to say she’s into younger calves. Or at least taller, darker ones.

Denny’s Eyes(DE): Did someone say “chicks”?!

AC: Oh, for the love of compression socks, can’t you guys control yourselves?

DE: Oh, excuse US! Is it wrong to admire fitness? Is it wrong to admire beauty? Anyway, that photo was misinterpreted.

IB: Uh-huh…

AC: Anyway, Huck’s used to be one of our favorite stops. No more. Once we learned our fan base was much smaller than we’d thought, well, all thoughts of a cool, refreshing drink melted away. We’d rather ride on by. Maybe the Amish chicks will dig us.

DE: Did someone say “chicks”?!

<end tape>

'Nuther night, 'nuther tempo

We had a nice crowd tonight! Ten runners left Parkview track, ten returned, though not all did the tempo. S'Ok, it's your run too! The results of those participating weren't bad. Let's look.

Athlete	Mile 1	Mile 2	Mile 3	Total	Avg
Aaron	5:59:00	6:04:00	6:08:00	18:11:00	6:03:40
Josh A.	6:19:00	6:10:00	6:18:00	18:47:00	6:15:40
Scott	6:49:00	6:48:00	6:29:00	20:06:00	6:42:00
Bill	6:51:00	6:43:00	6:30:00	20:04:00	6:41:20
Jimmy	6:51:00	6:43:00	6:39:00	20:13:00	6:44:20
Tim G.	6:50:00	6:43:00	6:50:00	20:23:00	6:47:40
Chris S.	7:08:00	7:22:00	7:03:00	21:33:00	7:11:00
Dan G.	7:29:00	7:53:00	8:02:00	23:24:00	7:48:00
Kathy	7:42:00	7:28:00	7:26:00	22:36:00	7:32:00
Sandy	8:15:00	8:45:00	8:43:00	25:43:00	8:34:20

The short synopsis: Aaron and Josh were in another zip code, so we didn't have a lot of contact or discussion. Clearly they both ran well, though I'm guessing Aaron wasn't pleased with his pace since he went three. He generally pushes for the 6:00-6:05 range, and the third mile was outside that range. Don't be too hard on him though... he recently learned he is going to be a papa. Congrats!

Josh had a very solid run. The middle split was a bit fast, but it didn't cost him on the the third. Very nicely done, especially with the uphill final mile.

Kathy put a ring in Sandy's nose and drug her through the run. It was hilarious to see Kathy up there, 5 yards ahead of Sandy jabbering away. No way Sandy could hear her. It didn't matter, it was enough to keep Sandy going, and she did a great job.

Dan got ahead of his pace a bit early and paid later, but it wasn't nearly as severe as he first made it sound. Downhill first mile, good second mile, slipped a bit on the last uphill. Really not that bad. Overall time was pretty good, considering.

Chris tried for the 7-minute time again, and slipped a bit in the middle. However... that Garmin won't read accurately for the second mile, giving a long mile (and therefore a short third mile). SO... realistically we're talking about a pretty even run. I'm guessing the second mile was slightly slow and the third mile came back to pace. Chris has enough experience now I think he can control the pace for that long.

Now we come to Jimmy, Galloway, Scott, and me... Jimmy was in charge of the run. He wanted 6:52 pace, and for the first mile it was nearly perfect at 6:51. We headed into the second mile pretty smoothly. I warned Scott that this course requires a bit of pressure right at the start of the second mile (because of the incline), then smooth back out at the top, finally gliding downhill to the end of the mile. He did the first two steps alright, but as we headed downhill on Washington Avenue, Scott picked it up. That would have been fine, in fact I kind of thought it might happen since we were running a slower pace than last week. The trouble was Jimmy kept pace. He finally said something as we rounded the circle, Scott slowed, but the damage was done.

Our second mile was 6:43, a lot better than it would have been if we hadn't slowed, but faster than the plan. We (Galloway, Jimmy, and I) continued to encourage Scott to extend away if he felt able. Over the next half mile we took turns talking about where to make a move, how to do it, the purpose, etc. The plan I tried to sell was for Scott to start the move as soon as he felt recovered on the flat before the final drop. Runners are weakest as they top a hill, so if your conditioning is good and you can recover fast, that's when you want to move.

As we started the downhill I made one more plea for Scott to start his move. Then Galloway offered his advice: wait for the last 50 yards and out kick us. That was good advice of course, because Galloway correctly understands that Scott has a much better kick than any of us. Since a lot of my strategy was designed to defeat a kicker, I decided to make my point - right then.

I eased away. Jimmy and Galloway undoubtedly knew what I was up to, and I can't be sure if they sent Scott after me or he did it on his own, but he did follow. Good. I used the downhill to press harder and harder, not all at once, I just let the pressure build. I didn't want to be flat-out before the start of the hill. I simply wanted the pain to build and doubt to creep in.

As the course turned up for the final time, Scott was immediately to my right and slightly behind. I was watching his shadow cast by the setting sun; it reliably gave me his position at all times. If he moved to draw up to me, I ran a little harder, watched for the shadow to fall back a bit, and carried on. He kept making micro-pushes at me, and every time I did just enough to discourage the move. It wasn't like I had a lot of gas - I was getting close to my limit too. However, the plan was to project as much strength as possible. Above all, I didn't want him to draw even. If he did, mentally he would have conquered me and would have easily sprinted past. By keeping him slightly behind, even though he ran the exact same mile pace I ran for the whole mile, I discouraged a kick I couldn't hope to cover.

Now I hope this doesn't read like a great big pat on the back for me - it's not my point. Racing isn't just about the physical training, it's also a chess match. It's situational, and you have to be able to think and adapt as conditions change. If your race focus isn't there you stand the risk of losing to inferior athletes. Tonight I was the inferior athlete who simply has more racing experience I was able to exploit.

I think one of the truisms of sport is one of the best ways to beat an opponent is to get them to play the game the way you want to play. If you can do that, you can play to your own strengths and nullify theirs. In tonight's example, when Galloway made his observation, I had a snap decision to make. With half a mile to go, I had precious little time left to break Scott's will to sprint. It was truly a "now-or-never" moment, which I took. This time it worked out. Scott, if he reads this, will know better next time, and will realize that no matter what I do, he can still out kick me in the end. It may hurt, but if he decides to go, there isn't a darn thing I can do about it. His only task is to be there when the time comes to kick.

I'm really up about this group we have this year. The four newcomers (Scott, Chris, Dan, and Sandy) have all grown immeasurably during this cycle, and will all make great racers. I see a time in the not-too-distant future when Chris and Scott won't be able to train with us any more -we'll be too slow for them. I think big time drops are on the way for all of them, way more than they can imagine. It'll be fun to watch.

Tempo!

Tonight's tempo was a breakthrough run for a few of the runners. I don't know if it's because of the weather (which was nice, comparatively speaking), if it was the increased daylight, or perhaps because we lost the dead weight (Jimmy is in Florida; Allen stayed home), but it was a great one.

Here are the numbers:

Athlete	Mile 1	Mile 2	Mile 3	Mile 4	Half	Total	Avg
Aaron	5:56:00	6:05:00	6:05:00	6:05:00	3:00:00	27:11:00	6:02:27
Scott	6:26:00	6:38:00	6:39:00			19:43:00	6:34:20
Bill	6:26:00	6:38:00	6:48:00			19:52:00	6:37:20
Tim G.	7:08:00	6:56:00	6:57:00			21:01:00	7:00:20
Chris	7:05:00	7:26:00	7:13:00			21:44:00	7:14:40
Danny	7:57:00	7:56:00	8:00:00			23:53:00	7:57:40
Sandy	8:10:00	8:48:00	8:19:00			25:17:00	8:25:40

Of course the fastest runner was Aaron. He's been pretty consistent over the last few weeks, remaining in that 6-flat range. I know he'd like to break 1:20:00 at Indy, and if he can get on a 6:10 pace on race day and stay there, he has a shot.

Chris was feeling a bit down, but I encouraged him to give it a shot anyway. He was game, and hit 7:05 for the first mile. His middle mile faded a bit, then he picked it back up. Way to fight back!

Danny had his best run ever in my mind. Look at those splits! Sure, perhaps he might have had a faster overall time before, but he's never run so evenly. It's an important first step to getting faster, to control pace. This was a great workout.

Sandy's times are dropping week to week. Like Chris, her middle mile was a bit off, but overall it was a very good effort. She's dropped over a minute since we started doing this!

Tim G. did not really go for a hard one - he raced over the weekend and was suffering some leftover effects. Still, he accelerated throughout the run as you can see. Old pro!

Then there was Scott. Taking a cue from Tim G. from last week, I grabbed him and told him to stay on my heel. Scott did a beautiful job! We were fast the first mile (shock!), but settled in after that to the pace I'd hoped we'd hit. He didn't talk throughout the run - smart. It was hard on him, but he never faltered one step. Then, with the final hill before us, I sent him on. He didn't resist, he went. I don't know if he believed he could run so fast, but those of us who've been watching knew he could. Sometimes it takes someone to put a hook in your nose and drag you, but guess what? The glass ceiling has been broken. A couple of weeks ago someone suggested Scott should break 20 minutes. Hah! He could have done that tonight! I would be far more aggressive... I think he'll be knocking on 18 before the year is out. 

Windy Tempo in March? Who would guess?

It wasn't an easy run, but we did it. The wind down Industrial Park was something, wasn't it? Let's just get to the numbers...

Athlete	Mile 1	Mile 2	Mile 3	Total	Avg
Bill	6:41:00	6:28:00	6:27:00	19:36:00	6:32:00
Jim	6:41:00	6:28:00	6:27:00	19:36:00	6:32:00
Allen	6:59:00	6:50:00	6:43:00	20:32:00	6:50:40
John T.	6:59:00	7:02:00	7:06:00	21:07:00	7:02:20
Tim G.	6:58:00	6:57:00	7:00:00	20:55:00	6:58:20
Scott B.	7:16:00	7:09:00	6:43:00	21:08:00	7:02:40
Sandy	9:00:00	8:45:00	8:52:00	26:37:00	8:52:20
Dan G.	7:40:00	7:43:00	7:38:00	23:01:00	7:40:20

I think all things considered it wasn't a bad job. Notice too that the novice runners are improving a great deal, not only in overall speed but in their ability to hold a steady pace. Remember, check the first mile vs. the overall pace. Good job, folks!

Things are picking up

This past week was the first time my cycling broke 100 miles this year. By design. The low back/hip combo has been worsening, so in an effort to heal it, I've rested longer. I've hated the process mentally, but that's what had to happen.

I am currently doing 40 miles per week running and 70-100 miles riding. Hopefully it will warm up more this month and the riding miles will go up. That's the plan.

That's the update in training. Now to the discussions.

This morning I stated Indiana was one of the poorest states in the country. That statement was roundly booed by the group, so I promised to research the issue deeper. Now before I go further, I want to clarify I acknowledged the Indiana budget is in the black, one of the few states in the country to be able to say that currently. That however is not my measure of wealth. Employment, or rather the quality of employment, is an important indicator of how wealthy a state is. A state full of fast-food workers is not wealthy, even if the unemployment rate is low.

Here are some numbers I rounded up:

39^th in household income.

21^st highest poverty level.

15^th in job loss in 2012 (mainly public sector).

40^th in quality of life assessment.

37^th in access to capital (for business development).

34^th in educational spending.

Non-farm employment dropped nearly 10% in the last decade.

The good news:

Indiana ranks 14^th in states with the best business environments (meaning business-friendly).

9^th in job growth (mainly construction). Don’t get excited – we’re talking 0.60% growth here.

7^th in cost of living.

What this all means will depend on how you wish to analyze it. At first glance they appear to conflict, particularly with regards to employment gain/loss. To start, non-farm employment dropped nearly 10% over the last decade, yet in the last year construction jobs helped Indiana become 9th in job growth (albeit at an anemic 0.60%). Additionally, the Daniels push to reduce the public sector jobs made Indiana 15th in job loss in the country. As I said, mixed bag. 

Now let's look at household income. Indiana ranks 39th in the country, not the worst, but certainly not good. Fortunately this is offset somewhat with a low cost of living in most of the rural parts of the state, but that too comes at a price. With the reduction of automobile manufacturing in the state, tax revenues are naturally correspondingly reduced, which means services are cut back. This contributes to Indiana ranking 40th in quality of life.

It's true the state has heavily courted business with whatever tools at our disposal, which usually means things like tax abatements (which reduce services) or relaxed regulation. There is plenty of available property for development and expansion. Interstate access is improving all the time. Basic infrastructure is there, and there is a willing workforce. 

My Summary: 

Indiana is still a largely agrarian state. The industrial base shrank over the last two decades, and wages actually decreased over the period. HOWEVER.. Indiana is not the poorest state. Never mind I never said that... I will concede it isn't. I stand by my point it is a poor state, and all things considered one of the poorer states in the country.