31 March 2012

Squak and Cougar repeats

Today's post could also have been called, "Team (of one) Ride" or, "Squak, Squak, Cougar, Cougar, Uncle"; take your pick.

It was wet, it was cold, I was alone, there was snow on the top of Cougar and my hands - in spite of me utilizing a super secret warming technique - suffered.

The plan was to meet Dave Hecht and RC Rogers in Issaquah for some hills. RC was going to drive there which sounded intelligent as I did not want to spend any more time in the cold and rain than necessary to get this workout done. On the other hand I have been quite the fair-weather rider lately and after hemming and hawing all morning I finally decided to HTFU and ride from home.

Now I had to scramble…!

As I threw on my clothes I did two things differently from my usual routine; I used some embrocation on my legs and I put on some examination gloves between my liners and my OR Gripper gloves. In the process I learned/re-learned a few things.

First of all regarding embrocation.

  • In addition to always applying chamois cream before you apply embrocation, you should always apply the embrocation after you apply your shorts. I got the first part right but because I was wearing knickers today I was not able to comply with the second. And it almost bit me. I got a little of that warm feeling 'below the belt' if you get my drift but thank goodness it was not too severe. Until later that is.
  • The 'later' bit was when I took a shower after my ride. I was frozen and so turned up the heat and the instant the hot water touched any skin that had embrocation on it I felt like someone had just poured burning napalm on me. It was amazingly uncomfortable. That was when I discovered there was just a little of the warming cream down there where it doesn't belong. Ouch. I had to wash myself with soap and cool water before I could turn up the temperature.
  • This shit lasts for ever! I had forgotten how tenacious it is and believe you me, it's still as strong after four hours as it is after one.

Secondly regarding wearing examination gloves as liners to keep warm.

  • It does not work for shit. My hands froze just as much (perhaps more?) than when I just wear my gloves. Why is this? I figured these things would be great; they'd trap the heat, keep me toasty, all that. Well no dice. It's not like my hands got soaked from sweat or anything, I'm assuming it was just the convection from my soaking wet and freezing cold out gloves and the rubber simply conducts the cold better. Whatever, it's a dumb idea.

So I get on my bike and head east. And I totally misjudged the amount of time it takes to get to Issaquah… For some reason I thought I gout jet over there in about 30 minutes. Nope. It takes about 50. As this realization began to dawn on my I rode faster and faster but I still arrived about 15 minutes after the ride was supposed to start. Not surprisingly, no one was there and I don't blame them. My iPod? Oh yeah, it was at home. Oh well.

The first time up Squak was great. Sure it was wet and I was alone but I got into a good rhythm and kept the power on.

The second time up Squak was also pretty good. I took a slightly different route for the lower section just to mix it up and passed a woman running up these wicked steep hills. Nice.

Next up was Cougar - zoo style. By now my hands were getting pretty cold. So cold that on the previous hills I had to stop riding at the top in order to fish my gel flask out of my jersey pocket. Always a bad sign. Still, as I climbed I found a good pace which was not slow and I was still able to shift up on all the flatter sections. Still being able to shift probably gave me a false sense of security. :) As I got to the saddle/bus stop and turned left for the final bit I rounded the first corner and saw snow on the ground. Really? Do we still need this? By the time I got to the top there was an inch of slush on the road where car tires had not displaced it.

The last hill was Montreux. This hill always kills me - even if I'm fresh which I was not. from the bottom of Cougar to the bottom of Montreux I rode super slow and swung both arms to try and get some blood back into my hands. It helped a little but it's only a few blocks between the two hills so a little was all I got.

Right away I felt pretty tired. Now my pace was pretty tame and was by no stretch of the imagination 'fast'. The first steep section put me in the granny and I did not shift out of that gear until it leveled off. To my credit I did not die or get off or slow down but all I could do was maintain my plodding pace.

Originally I had hoped to do maybe five or six hills but today that was not happening. First off all my fitness is probably not up for that many and secondly my hands were now hating life. Interestingly, my chest was also getting chilled on the descents in spite of my raincoat. So I headed home.

When I was riding east the wind was howling and thankfully it had let up a lot on the way back. Nothing like whitecaps whipping up and over the floating bridge railing to make you feel super confident on the bike.

Those last five miles I just wanted off the bike and into someplace warm…

Looking at my data file below it seems the altimeter was not working so hot. My second peak in elevation should be exactly as high as my first and where is my fourth climb? You can see it if you look at my heart rate and speed graphs at least. Sure wish I had power on this bike…

I was surprised by how little I ate and drank but I had consumed a super solid breakfast and I was very hydrated so I suppose when it's wet (which makes you less thirsty) and cold (which makes it hard to eat) you can survive this long on fewer calories.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:00 AM - 2 bananas, apple sauce, 1 scoop protein powder, 2 scoops Perpetuem, walnuts
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 2 scoops HEED, flask of gel
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 7:45 AM
Workout Type intervals (hill)
Weather 40, rain, wind
Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Rain Bike
Clothing Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, Louis Garneau raincoat, Polypropylene gloves, OR Gripper gloves, cap

30 March 2012

core (read: abs)

I got to the gym this morning and realized I had left my watch at home. Doing the plank with no watch is tough so I figured what the hell, I'll just work abs today instead of doing the same, tired core routine.

Guess what, it was hard.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
incline board sit-ups 60
incline board twisters 2 x 50
incline board leg lifts 2 x 10
leg extensions 60
back extensions 60 - 150 lb.
push-ups 20
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

29 March 2012

Cougar Mt trail run

Nice!

I got out this morning for a run on Cougar Mt with Justin Angle and in spite of the fact that it was raining like hell I HAD A GREAT TIME. So much for quitting the running game… :)

We chatted about watches, about clothing, about how fast elite racers really are, about how to take yourself out of the game and advanced lacing techniques for when you have foot issues. Good times.

I started out breathing like crazy - which seems to be my modus operandi these days - but soon I settled in and was able to contribute to the conversation. We left out one of the hills on the usual 10-mile route and inserted a bit of a wall towards the end that we opted to walk. Justin's goal today was, "Not to do anything too hard." I was down with that.

One item of note is I was in my Brooks Cascadia shoes again and they felt fine! I am so glad my foot is healed up. I gotta say, the Hoka Combo XTs are great for comfort and they really saved my bacon when I had an injury but the traction and trail feel is not what I would ideally like. I guess ideally my feet and body would just tolerate any shoe I wanted to wear… Alas this is not the case. Still, any quibble I have with the Hokas is minor, I am VERY grateful these comfy shoes exist as it sure beats not running at all.

As usual the mileage from my GPS seems to be at least one mile short. With all the twists and turns on Cougar this is not surprising. You can see that my heart rate never got up very high, we were talking all the way to the end. It is interesting that 150 bpm feels much more strenuous on foot than it does on the bike… Just one more thing I am getting used to about running.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 6:00 AM - banana, applesauce, protein powder, walnuts, water
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED, gel
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 9:00 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather upper 40s, rain
Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Cascadia
Clothing shorts, Patagonia long sleeve Merino shirt, Patagonia Houdini
Technorati Tags: ,

28 March 2012

Cycle U CompuTrainer | bike commute | core

Who is that lonely cyclist in the dark? Oh it's Martin. All by himself. Just another day at Cycle University, because I'm too much of a wuss to ride outside when it's raining.

CycleU_2012-03-28
Truth be told I am super thankful to have this facility available to our team but man is it hard to finish these workouts alone. On a whim I took my iPod along today and boy was that a stoke of luck as it saved my bacon. Without music or company I probably would have just turned around and headed home.

I started this workout at a threshold setting of 320 watts because 1) I was alone and 2) I just was not sure how I was feeling. Half way through the first interval I upped the threshold power setting to 330, during the break between the intervals I upped it to 340 and half way through the second interval I upped it to 350. I guess I was feeling okay and could have started a bit harder.

Here is the CompuTrainer summary.

Name: CRIMINALE, MARTIN
Gender: Male
Athlete Type: Recreationa
Date of Birth: 0/0/1900
Weigh-in: 200
Track Position: 5
Finish Time: 50:00.00 Seconds
Anaerobic Threshold: 350
Average Speed: 22.03 MPH
Peak Speed: 25.42 MPH
Average Power: 277.71 Watts
Peak Power: 381.00 Watts
Average Pulse Power: 0
Average Watts/Kg: 3
Rolling Resistance after 5 Minute Warmup: 1.95 Pounds
Average HR: 0 BPM
Peak HR: 0 BPM
Average RPM: 0.0
Peak RPM: 0.0
Average PP: 0.0
Peak PP: 0.0
Average WPKG: 3.1
Peak WPKG: 4.2
Average SS: 0.0
Calories: 820.8


And here is my PowerTap data. You can see that I had to quit pedaling briefly twice during the second interval. :( This was due to the lack of company to motivate me. I kept it in the same gear throughout this workout today.

At lunch I got down to the IMA for my core routine. Here is my commute. Just because it seems I am now recording every pedal stroke I ride on a bicycle…

Sleep 7
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast 5:00 AM - Clif Bar, Odwalla bar
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day 6:00 AM
Workout Type intervals
Weather
Course trainer - 2 x 20 w/hills
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 20 sec leg lifts on each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 21
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment trainer - Road Bike
commute - Town Bike
Clothing

27 March 2012

Madrona repeats | treadmill run

Back in the day - the 'day' being sometime in 1983 - I would train one day of each weekend on the 'flats' which meant I would ride down and back on the Burke-Gilman Trail and one day on the 'hills' which meant I would ride to Seward Park and then come up the switchbacks on my way home. I know, MAJOR hills. Plus on the flat day I was 'that guy' who would TT the trail… AT least back then there was much less traffic on the trail. What the hell did I know, I had been riding for exactly one year, had just started racing and did not have a clue.

As I got more fit I would look for more hills and lengthen my rides. Eventually I was riding all the way to Marymoor Park and back on my flat day and doing Madrona more than once on my way home for a hill workout. I was NUTS.

This morning totally took me back to 1983.

I left home around 5:45 after attaching a couple of red, flashing lights to the back of my bike with zip ties. :( Can you say 'fair weather rider'? I knew you could.

ASIDE - why don't all seat bags have a loop of fabric to slip a flasher onto? They should. Damn it.

I headed down to Seward to warm up while visions of six or eight (ten?) repeats danced in my head. About two miles into my ride it was time for the first nose blow and something did not feel right. As I got to a street light I touched my white sleeve to my face and sure enough it came away red. Shit. I think I have had three nosebleeds in the last week, what is up? Am I dehydrated? The answer is probably (I blame alcohol) but still, this seems excessive.

Now I'm riding with a finger of my left hand pressed against my right nostril so blood won't drip down onto my clothes or my bike. Ten repeats was looking less likely to happen.

I was also realizing that my headlight kinda (read: really) sucks. I have this 2 Watt Planet Bike thingy and had it on flashing mode to conserve the battery and it just was not lighting up the road surface. I rode through the I-90 pedestrian tunnel and then headed south down the switchbacks and man did I have to slow down… way down. At this point I was still needing to press my hand against my nose some but also had to use both brakes, pretty comical I'm sure.

Once down on Lake WA Blvd I realized that my legs felt less than ideal; so much for 10 (I was high anyway…) repeats.

At Seward the restrooms were thankfully unlocked and well lit so I cleaned up my face, cautiously blew my nose and feeling confident that I was in the clear headed back. As I got closer to Leschi I tried to get psyched up for six (note the decreased quantity…) repeats.

The first hill was in the saddle at a moderately difficult pace; no heroics as I wanted to see how I felt. Hill number two was out of the saddle all the way in the big ring (50-tooth on my rain bike). Sounds impressive but I also have a big cassette on this bike so still no heroics. After this hill and after looking at my watch (could you tell how I seamlessly segued into an excuse there?) I decided that four were going to be just fine thankyouverymuch. Hey, I had to get to work.

Number three was back in the saddle in the same gear as number one but it felt smoother and I think I went slightly faster.

Number four was back in the big ring and out of the saddle and after going about 50' I looked up and saw a group of cyclists way up the hill so decided to give it a little bit extra to see if I could catch them. It was just the motivation I needed.

I caught the last rider as I crested the first part of the hill by the duck pond, I shifted up and began to chase down the main 'pack' that had dropped this guy. I went about as hard as I could on the second part of the hill and was really struggling with the burn but just missed catching the rest. At least I zoomed past a few feet beyond the summit. :) And you know what? Just as I was going around this bunch of four or five riders someone said, "Hey Martin!" I was caught off guard and only managed a lame, breathless "Good morning…" and then I was already headed up Union and on my way home. I did not recognize the guy that knew who I was. :(

That was pretty short but quality. If I can start just a little earlier and if I can motivate myself to do a couple more repeats then it would be a pretty good workout. Welcome back into my life Madrona.

Oh yeah, that max heart rate is obviously bogus but everything else seems legit. Sometimes the technology just does not work the way you want it to. Too bad I don't have power on this bike, I would love to know what the hell I am putting out.

At lunch I went for a run at the IMA as my ride was not very long, I wanted more volume and I'm loath to give up running 100%. It felt pretty good! I was breathing easy the whole time and it felt like being on cruise control. I love that feeling.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 181 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:00 AM - Clif Bar, water
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food ride - half a large bottle w/ 1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED
Injuries  
Therapy 12:30 PM - 10 min sauna
Time of Day ride - 5:45 AM
run - 12:00 PM
Workout Type ride - zone 4 hills
run - endurance
Weather ride - mid 40s, wet ground, dry sky, calm
Course  
Results  
Time run - 30 min
Distance run - 4.2 miles
Pace run - 5 min at 7:30, 25 min at 7:00
Equipment ride - Rain Bike
run - Hoka Combo XT
Clothing ride - Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, wind vest, Polypropylene gloves, OR Gripper gloves, cap

Technorati Tags:

26 March 2012

core

Nice! After two longish rides this weekend my legs feel good. Somewhat tired but good.

Time for a rest day. And by rest day I of course mean do something, just not anything aerobically strenuous.

I'm curious, at what point did rest start to mean 'go easy'?

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 180 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy 12:00 PM - 30 min stretching
12:30 PM - 15 min sauna
Time of Day core - 5:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 20 sec leg lifts each leg
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 18
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

25 March 2012

team ride (on a single speed)

Another excellent day had been forecast. I'm okay with that.

pulled the single speed out of the garage again! I sure like this bike.

I met Greg Kauper and RC Rogers at Caffe Umbria and since no one else showed up we took off. We had not ridden one mile when RC's chain snapped! Luckily he did not go over the bars or anything so we pulled over to asses the damage and weigh our options. Since my house was only a couple of miles away RC found a sunny spot and Greg and I rode home, got a chain tool and a spare link and headed back. The repair only took a minute and soon we were on our way. Nice.

Crossing Mercer Island we had to contend with the Mercer Island Half Marathon (it seems I am on the island every year for this event…) but we made it through in fairly short order.

Riding north through Bellevue along the water is awesome. We chatted and soaked up the views. In Kirkland I got a flat but we got that sorted in short order.

The pace was very moderate today but I was still working on the climbs which is just what I was looking for. In my experience, running leans you out and I needed to get stronger for cycling again. Climbing Juanita Drive I think I went a little fast - I was just trying to find a cadence that would not bog me down so much but it was not so social there for a few minutes. :)

In Kirkland Bellevue I removed my wind vest and I took my gloves off in Kirkland. Not too shabby.

After dropping off Greg and RC I found myself wanting just a tad more so I went up and over Dexter on the way home. The Fremont Farmers Market was in full swing, loads of people were riding on the Burke-Gilman Trail, My legs still felt good, it was an excellent day.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 7:30 AM - banana, applesauce, protein powder, walnuts
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food large bottle w/3 scoops Perpetuem, large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED, 2 Odwalla bars
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 9:00 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather low 40s to low 50s, mostly sunny, light wind, dry
Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Single Speed Bike
Clothing knit shoe covers, knee warmers, bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest. cap, knit gloves

24 March 2012

Snoqualmie Falls on a single speed

Yesterday felt really good so today It was time for a longer ride. Finally.

Everyone else was racing so I was solo but with my iPod I was fine. And since I was solo I opted for my Single Speed Bike. Just for fun.

Heading out my legs felt kind of slow and heavy but the longer I rode the more they warmed to the effort. Climbing up to the top of the Issaquah plateau was tough but by the time I climbed up to the falls I felt much better.

Which was a good thing because riding west/home on the old Issaquah-Fall City Road on a single speed is a grunt! I just tried to find my pace and I think I found it but there are a couple of sections that feel like you are in the gym on leg day regardless.

I was looking for four hours on the bike and so added Mercer Island on the way home. I had pushed the arm warmers down riding west through Issaquah (finally!) and once I got to the island I said screw it and took off my knee warmers and gloves. It ended up being just warm enough and felt SO good.

Oh yeah, I blew by four cars descending Black Nugget Road. FUN.

As I was finishing my lap of Mercer Island Jeff Dunn caught me and kept me company across the bridge and up Madrona. It was good to catch up. On this last hill my legs were finally complaining, I was pretty tired.

There were a lot of cyclists out - very good to see. There were also a lot of motorcycles out. Also kind of good to see.

I was surprised I only ate and drank what I did today, those smoothies really carry me…

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 7:30 AM - Smoothie 2.0
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food 1.5 large bottles each w/3 scoops Perpetuem, Promax bar
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 10:30 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather low 40s to mid 50s, dry, sun at the end, fairly calm
Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Single Speed Bike
Clothing knit shoe covers, knee warmers, bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, knit gloves, cap

23 March 2012

cardio | bike commute

My legs felt MUCH better this morning. Nice. And the sun is shining, time for the long commute home. :)
In the gym I hit the elliptical trainer again (just because it seems like a safe, zero-impact way to bring the legs back I guess…) and right away my leg speed was climbing. I finished going faster than I have ever gone on this device. Wee.

Riding to work I finally felt good getting out of the saddle as opposed to a bag of wet cement like I did Monday. Nice.

Did I mention the sun was shining all damn day? It sure as hell was. Oh yeah, I did not sleep so hot but so what, the sun is out. On the way home I ran a bunch of errands and it was such a pleasure to get them done on the bike.

Sleep 5
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day cardio - 5:30 AM
Workout Type cardio - the elliptical trainer version of form sprints maybe…?
Weather upper 30s in the AM, about 50 in the PM, dry, SUNNY, calm
Course cardio - elliptical trainer, 12 incline, 12 resistance, 140 rpm to start, 150 rpm almost instantly and I finished hovering around the mid 170s
Results
Time cardio - 30 min
Distance
Pace cardio - my heart rate climbed slowly and steadily into the mid 130s by the end
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing

22 March 2012

cardio | core

Another active recovery day. If you need it you need it and pushing through rarely makes sense.

The elliptical trainer at my gym has handles that you can grab to measure your heart rate and interestingly mine was 5-10 beats lower today than Tuesday. Normally I would say that a lower heart rate means you are not as recovered but in this case I'm fairly sure it means the opposite as the work felt easier today than Tuesday and my cadence was slightly higher.

But I'm no doctor/trainer/sports physiologist and so this is just guessing on my part.

Core felt good. As good as it can anyway. My leg lifts while doing the side plank are coming along and hopefully soon I can try for 30 seconds. I recall vividly the first time I tried this maneuver and how freaking hard it was… I think I was able to hold my leg up for about three seconds. Literally.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 181
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day cardio - 5:30 AM
core - 12:00 PM
Workout Type active recovery
Weather  
Course cardio - elliptical trainer, 12 incline, 12 resistance
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 20 sec leg lift on each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 21
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time cardio - 30 min
Distance  
Pace cardio - 140 rpm to start, 150 soon after, low 160s for the last 10 min, heart rate in the upper teens for the last half
Equipment  
Clothing  

21 March 2012

Cycle U CompuTrainer

Oops… I tried to come back too soon.

Today was my first hard (and by 'hard' I mean I thought I was going to go hard) workout since the Chuckanut 50k.

Amazing that one hard run could blitz my body for so long. Then again, I guess it's normal that you need to adapt to this sort of thing (this sort of thing being running long distances) and that is something I have not yet done.

CycleU_2012-03-21

It was just Tim F and I at Cycle University today. Tim was on a rest week and I was hoping to dial in about 320 watts as my threshold setting but no dice. I felt super tired just spinning the pedals before we even engaged the workout so before we started I made sure the threshold was set to just 300 watts. That worked.

Although I had doubts during the first 10 minutes… thank goodness it got better as the workout progressed. The second 20-minute interval was actually quite tolerable. Still, I think tomorrow will need to be another active recovery day in hopes of getting in some quality work this weekend.

Here is the CompuTrainer summary.

Name: CRIMINALE, MARTIN
Gender: Male
Athlete Type: Recreationa
Date of Birth: 0/0/1900
Weigh-in: 200
Track Position: 5
Finish Time: 50:00.00 Seconds
Anaerobic Threshold: 300
Average Speed: 21.72 MPH
Peak Speed: 24.34 MPH
Average Power: 247.21 Watts
Peak Power: 334.00 Watts
Average Pulse Power: 0
Average Watts/Kg: 3
Rolling Resistance after 5 Minute Warmup: 1.93 Pounds
Average HR: 0 BPM
Peak HR: 0 BPM
Average RPM: 0.0
Peak RPM: 0.0
Average PP: 0.0
Peak PP: 0.0
Average WPKG: 2.7
Peak WPKG: 3.7
Average SS: 0.0
Calories: 761.9

And here is my PowerTap data.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:00 AM - banana, Clif Bar, water
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 6:00 AM
Workout Type tempo
Weather  
Course 2 x 20 w/hills
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Road Bike
Clothing  

20 March 2012

cardio | core

Whew, my body seems to be on the mend.

Cardio felt way better today than it did yesterday. I think I might be ready for a cycling 'workout' tomorrow.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight 11:45 AM - 181
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day cardio - 5:30 AM
core - 11:45 AM
Workout Type active recovery
Weather  
Course cardio - elliptical trainer, 12 incline, 12 resistance
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 20 sec leg lifts each leg
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 20
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time cardio - 30 min
Distance  
Pace 140 rpm to start, mid 150s throughout, heart rate in the mid 120s
Equipment  
Clothing  

19 March 2012

cardio | bike commute

Just another regular day. Except my feet and ankles are swollen from Saturday. Sheesh… Of course standing around all day yesterday didn't help either but hey, it was a good time.

I was incredibly stiff this morning and my right Achilles tendon seems to be irritated. Consequently it took me about 10 minutes to get rolling on the elliptical but I think it was the right choice of activity today. Running was out of the question and getting all geared up for a bike ride seemed too daunting. Plus this was zero impact which is just what I was looking for.

My commute to work and to downtown felt really, really slow. After my massage I felt 100% better and the ride up the hill was actually enjoyable. Thank you Mobility+ Healthcare.

Sleep 7
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy 6:00 PM - 60 min massage
Time of Day cardio - 5:30 AM
Workout Type active recovery
Weather
Course cardio - elliptical trainer, 12 incline, 12 resistance
Results
Time cardio - 30 min
Distance
Pace cardio - 140 rpm to start, 150 rpm most of the time
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing

Technorati Tags:

And then reality sets in…

Holy crap.

If you are one of the two people that read this blog you will know that I went for a little run in the forest Saturday also known as the Chuckanut 50k.

ASIDE - why isn't it know as the "Chuckanut 50 km?" Whatever.

I was totally prepared to feel like this:

tired

But instead I feel like this:

I feel like the snowman.

My body is kaput! If my long-winded, self-aggrandizing race report was not enough to make you throw up, here is what is essentially part two, "Chuckanut 50k redux. AKA a list of ailments I am currently suffering from because of this run."

  • swollen feet
  • swollen ankles
  • sore back
  • extreme fatigue

One of the things a friend of mine said when I expressed concern about the distance was something like, "It's going to hurt, but that's part of the challenge, right?" Right you are old buddy.

What is blowing me away is the after shock. When I finish a long and/or grueling bike ride I am super tired but my body is not so beat up. I guess that's whey they call running an impact sport and cycling isn't. Eventually even Martin catches on…

I'm sure the fact that this was my first attempt at this distance contributed to the damage AND the fact that there was a long downhill in the race AND I was trying to go fast.

Another thing that surprised me is how much my back is complaining. Up till now, only cycling bothered my back and running was comparatively stress-free in that department. Maybe it was all the bending over on the steep climbs or all the ducking under snow-laden branches? Not sure. I am sure however that it's pretty sore.

Every time I try to stand up and take a few steps it's like I just removed two plaster casts from my legs after six months of traction and the accompanying atrophy makes me feel crippled. Leaving my desk and walking up stairs makes me appreciate things like this. A lot.

What Martin wishes he had right now.

I sure hope my body adapts to this abuse because I intend on running some more. Just not today. Or tomorrow.

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17 March 2012

Chuckanut 50k

It was up at the crack of [insert your favorite expletive here] to meet Justin A, Bill H, Brad R and Bryan E at the park & ride for the massive carpool hookup. Which was a good thing, nothing like driving yourself to one of these long events and then having to drive yourself home (dirty, wasted, sleepy, etc.) after.

My loving wife made me some hard boiled eggs to eat on the drive, she rules.

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Fair warning - these reports of events that are momentous to me tend to ramble on a bit… I guess I want to get all my emotions down on 'paper' because I will otherwise forget the details. So grab some coffee or a glass of wine and relax.

I was excited! For sure my nerves were WAY more under control than two days ago but this was a big deal to me. It was going to be my longest run ever and it was a race. And I was heading up with a van full of pretty fast guys.

Of course the entire drive was non-stop banter (Bill was in the car after all) but I just tried to chill and only occasionally interject a quip. And it worked - I stayed calm. We arrived at the start one hour before the gun and got in the check-in line just in time before it ballooned. Nice.

Did I mention that it rained the entire drive up? And that about 20 miles from Fairhaven the rain turned to snow? HEAVY SNOW? Oh yes, we were all trying to psych ourselves up for an epic outing. Or maybe that was just me. :(

With our numbers in hand and 45 minutes to spare we steamed up the van by pinning numbers and changing clothes. Then Justin and Bryan went for a warm-up jog. Brad, Bill and I stayed in the car. I felt relatively loose and saw no sense in getting wet early as I was planning on starting out mellow anyway. Plus, I'm still so new to this that warming up for a 50 km run seems sort of like puling the trainer out prior to starting STP. Not. Gonna. Happen.

ASIDE - speaking of starting, because of the much higher number of entries this year runners were let go in waves. To determine your wave they asked what your fastest marathon time was when you signed up and being the running n00b that I am I said 4:30 as that was roughly my time at the ONLY marathon I have done which was a pretty difficult trail run marathon. The result? I was the only guy in our car in the second wave. Bummer. Hopefully this would not result in a long and lonely run.

I was all dressed and had decided to take my vest with me as someone said it would be windy up top and then at the last minute Justin had a wardrobe crisis. He was debating whether or not to wear his vest (a Patagonia Ultra Running Team jacket  - complete with massive logo on the back - with the sleeves cut off) or not and finally decided against it. My vest is old school and made for cycling and has a high collar and when I saw him throw his vest back in the van I asked if I could wear it and he said yes. Bingo. Suddenly I looked totally PRO.

I went to the start to see off the crew and was amazed that I recognized some ultra running faces, among them Hal Koerner, dressed in nothing but a freaking tank top! I was predicting hypothermia.

Go!

Off I went… at a very moderate pace. As soon as the trail leveled off I was checking my watch pretty frequently to ensure I did not go too fast. Which was hard - I was feeling terrific! I was resolved to keep my pace between 7:30 and 8:00 for the first 10 km as I had been advised to run this first flat trail portion at a speed that I could maintain on the way home and my optimistic guess of what I could do coming back was 8:00 pace. Because of my restraint about five guys slowly started to ease up the road. One of them I recognized at the start from the Grand Ridge Marathon, it was Chase M.

In anticipation of needing all the motivation I could muster I took my iPod Shuffle along today but was resolved not to use it until necessary.Silence for now.

After about three miles the front four or five guys from my wave were out of sight but I was slowly reeling in one person. Because I caught him so slowly it seemed to make sense to run together and we did. He was about my height and weight so I was hoping we would be compatible for a while at least. About five miles into the run there was a break in the trees to our left and when I looked up you could clearly see the stark snow line roughly 500' above us. It looked impressive! At the time I was in front and pointed to the snow and my companion let out one of those uber enthusiastic whoops which only lacked the accompanying arm pump. My hopeful companion sure was motivated.

Just as I was starting to 'feel' the first aid station approaching I saw a couple of people up the road and just before we pulled into the aid station we passed them. I casually glanced down at their numbers (the first wave had green numbers and the second wave had red) and saw green… No way! My mind was way to amped to do the math and figure out what it takes to make up 10 minutes in 6.5 miles but it seemed incredible to me. Either I was going faster than I thought (not likely) or these folks were in for a loooong day. And how the hell did they get in the first wave in the first place?!

I had told myself to eat and drink at every aid station so dutifully I pulled in and took stock of my supplies. I had barely touched my bottle as I had been hydrating all the way up to Fairhaven and my three gels that I was carrying were for emergencies so I grabbed one gel from the table, sucked it down while noticing that my companion had blown right on by without stopping. Damn… I grabbed a handful of Shot Bloks and took off.

From aid station #1 the trail goes up to Fragrance Lake. It's not wicked step but for some people it already meant hiking. Justin had told me that these switchbacks were not so bad but get a little steeper at the top so I resolved to at last try and run in the beginning. While choking down bits of Gummy Bear-like food I tried to find a comfortable pace.

After two or three switchbacks I had finished the Shot Bloks and I could see my earlier companion up the trail. It was here that I started to blow through traffic. I was amazed by the number of people I was passing and 99% of these people were from the first wave. By now I was laughing at my earlier fear of running alone.

Maybe one mile up the hill I caught my companion. I had to push just a little because this guy was NOT hiking at all. But he also was not surging and so far this pace felt good so once I caught him I just stayed behind him. We ran together up into the snow and around the lake and down to the aid station #2.

I stopped again and this time in addition to eating a gel and grabbing a handful of Shot Bloks (hey, it worked once…) I also drank a couple of cups of electrolyte drink. I heard someone say the next aid station was only three miles away so since my bottle was still half full I think I did not top it off. Boom.

Justin had told me that this bit was on the road and climbed all the way to the next aid station. Once again it was not supposed to be very steep in the beginning but it would get steeper toward the top.

ANOTHER ASIDE - Justin had given me several well-intentioned tips the night before this run. At the time I was smiling thinking that no way was I going to remember them all and that they were really tailored to someone that had done this race before but now I was surprised at how many were coming back to me. A nice surprise for sure.

The road was all covered in snow. It had been packed down where a car had driven up and the leaders had run in the tire tracks so that is what most of the people around me did as well. I did too until I started passing people. What…?! That's right, I was having a stellar day and had yet to walk a single step. My pace must have been appropriate for my fitness and I was thinking how easy it is to go just a little too fast trying to keep up with someone that is better/quicker and then you and invariably you end up paying the price. I was still hoping that was not the case today and that I had gotten it right.

Going up the road I found that the snow in the middle was not deep enough to slow me down and it frequently offered better traction so soon I was running wherever I wanted and just taking the shortest line around corners. Oh yeah, on this section I left my companion behind. Rats. But I was in the groove! My pace still felt awesome.

At aid station #3 my bottle was empty so in addition to gulping two cups of electrolyte drink I filled my bottle. Then I had the usual gel and seeing there were no Shot Bloks I had another. Then I spotted some cubes of chocolate brownie-like stuff with coconut so I grabbed dour of those and took off down the Chuckanut Ridge Trail.

I had been warned by several people that I should exercise caution on this portion of the run. I had been told it was going to be cold, that there was exposure, that the footing was sketchy and that there were lots of short, sharp ups and downs so I should not be afraid to walk.

Right away the trail got technical and when I say 'technical' I mean FUN. I am by no means a wizard when it comes to running gnarly singletrack but on this day and on this trail I was doing VERY well compared to the people around me. So well that I just kept right on passing people going down and up. There was about 4-6" of snow on the ground here and a 10" wide muddy trough down the middle of the trail. Usually it was best to stay in the middle but frequently I would run in the snow for extra traction or just to get around someone and it felt fine. I did have to walk some short ups, especially when I was caught behind traffic, but I was still in the groove and still feeling fine. I kinda sorta hooked up with another runner here. I felt he was fitter but I was descending faster and so after I passed him I noticed he stayed with me and we ran together for a stretch.

It was here that I got the first of what I shall refer to as a 'vest comment'. I don't recall the specifics of them all but I think I got four on this day.

Remember, I was wearing this full-on team Patagonia vest and as I passed one person they said, "Justin…?!" I laughed to myself and answered, "Nope, just a friend of Justin." Later on the ridge someone else said, "Are you on the Patagonia Ultra Running Team?" As much as I was tempted to make up an elaborate story about how I was on the team and how I was coming back from some massive injury - hence my second wave start - I opted for honesty and said, "No, I just wanted to feel important today." Too funny. To me at least.

At the end of the ridge we took a hard right and were first on N Lost Lake Trail followed by S Lost Lake Trail. All of this was a huge traverse and was the muddiest section of the run. My earlier companion had told me he was up here just one week ago and that it was, "Shoe suckingly deep." Nice. Luckily it turnout out not to be so bad. I think the first wave had displaced lots of the mud and here I was again able to run in the snow on the side of the trail at times avoiding the worst of the slop. Not always, but most of the time.

Here I started to experience fatigue for the first time. It has been said that in every long athletic event you will experience highs and lows and that athletes who do well simply acknowledge this and deal with and work through the lows better than others. I guess I was trying to steel myself.

It was also on this section that I finally stopped to take a leak. OMG, I had been holding this in for freaking ages! Why? Because I am an idiot. The urge to pee first hit me at about mile 10 but I was so worried about letting people get away from me that I knew I could run with that I waited and waited. And waited. The straw that finally broke the camel's back was a guy I was running with stopped. I continued on, got a good gap and then pulled over too. Laughable.

Going into the traverse there was a pack of about six runners in front of me. They had perhaps a 100 m lead and so I focused on that and tried to shrink it. For a while nothing happened. Then suddenly the pack started to splinter just a bit and slowly one then two guys drifted back to me and I went past him. Finally (it took several miles!) I caught up to these two guys on the same team (they had on matching shoes, shirts and hydration packs anyway) and fell in behind them. And here is where I started hiking.

There were stretches of uphill that were pretty sloppy here and traction was far from ideal so instead of wasting energy trying to run and recovering from the inevitable slips I walked. Walking meant I slid less and wasted less energy and probably did not slow down any. It just so happened the two teammates in front of me walked every time I did so we got to the next aid station together.

Chainscraper time! I had been told this was the hardest climb of the run. Not ready? Too bad. The only problem was I did not know where I was…

Having just run a stout section of trail I was looking under the aid station tent for something slightly more substantial than gel and found it in some doughnut holes. I stuffed three in my mouth, chased it with a quarter of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a gel, topped off my bottle and headed up the trail. That's when I saw the Chainscraper sign. Nice.

Most of this climb was a hike. But looking around others were hiking all of it so I felt pretty good. I was still amazed to be able to jog the flat sections and to transition to running pretty instantly when the trail leveled off. How long was this going to last? I had tried to be careful/methodical about my pace but you still have doubts and I could not shake the feeling that this pace was going to cause me to come crashing down and reduce me to that classic guy who goes out too hard and then totally implodes. I found myself saying to no one in particular, "Please let it not happen to me this one time…"

And then I was at the top. How did I feel? Still really good! Holy shit.

Almost as good, I remembered yet another bit of advice from Justin which was I was about to hit a massive descent and that it was not technical. Fly!

YET ANOTHER ASIDE - at this aid station (#4.5 I guess as the course map only shows five) I saw Rory M from BuDu Racing. They were providing the timing for this event and once I said hi and he recognized me a woman ran past me while I gulped yet another gel and two more cups of electrolyte drink. "Don't get chicked!" he shouted. Too late.

'Not technical' is right, I was on a dirt road so let 'er rip. The course went down maybe one mile of road, took a sharp left onto a wide trail (I was still flying) and then after maybe one more mile was back on road. I had passed another three or four people on this descent including the two teammates but on the second section of road I was becoming acutely aware of my quads and how much I was pounding them. Running downhill 'easy' is a super valuable technique and it's one I have not mastered so I opted to pull in the reins just a tad and tried to walk the thin line between braking too much and letting loose too much. Bottom line is I had to slow down or I would have been wrecked at the bottom.

I had passed the woman that run by me at the previous aid station but then I had to take my second nature break towards the bottom of the road descent. By this time I did not care too much about losing or making up ground and besides, it seemed like other than this woman there was a pretty big gap in front and of me and behind me. She had obviously not been too far behind me on the road and when I stopped she went roaring by.

By the time I got to the bottom of the road my legs were pretty toast and my stomach was a little upset from all the food that I had consumed at the top and then bounced around all the way down. Since I was feeling pretty full and since my bottle was mostly full (and since I was still carrying my original three gels) I only stopped for two small cups of Coke at the last aid station. Justin had told me to shorten up my stride toward the bottom to ease the transition to the flat and I thought about it but could not/did not take his advice. Not sure which. As I turned right through a paved parking lot and got on the gravel path that led back to the finish slowing from what must have been sub six minute miles on the descent to whatever that first half mile was felt like my speed got cut in half. Ouch.

Oh yeah, then I remembered I had music! As I tried to coax my leg speed back to something reasonable I reached down and clicked on my iPod. Wham. Instantly I was transported to another world. In this other world my legs were still full of concrete but my mind suddenly cleared up significantly. It was really nice.

One last nice surprise was that as soon as I got onto the trail I saw the woman that had passed me on the descent in the trees. I guess she had to pee too and this time I ran by her.

Here I started looking at my watch again and the first time I saw something like a 8:30 or 8:40 pace. After a bit I saw 8:20 and then I saw 8:10. I tried to coax myself under 8:00 but it was just not happening. On the upside, before I started I would have bet money on me walking some of this trail and so far I was not feeling defeated enough to resign from running. Plus, I knew if I walked once, it would be MUCH easier to justify more. So instead I focused on just keeping the legs turning over. And over. And over. You get the idea.

I won't say this was easy, far from it. But for the first time in my life I was able to dial in a kind or auto-pilot and thank GOD that auto-pilot was set to about a 8:10 pace. I also still had the presence of mind to attempt some mental math and perhaps one mile into this section of trail I suddenly realized that finishing in under five hours was possible. Wow.

Prior to the start I had told myself that I would be happy with 5:30. After a casual pre-start chat with Bill he guessed I could do 5:15. Unless I had a major melt-down, 5:15 was going to be well in hand and so once again I tried to coax my legs into speeding up.

There was some guy in front of me with a took on. No shit, it was complete with ear flaps and the string that no one ties but is supposed to go under your chin. By now it was much warmer than up on the ridge and I was casting a shadow. I considered taking off my hat and gloves (and maybe the vest too) but then decided against it because 1) stripping would cost time and 2) I was not over heating by any means, I was just a little warm. So instead I focused on trying to reel this guy in. It. Took. For. Ever. But I did it. And then I left him behind.

At this stage I know I was not running any faster, but I was not slowing down which is sometimes all you can ask for.

There was one more guy within sight. He was easy to spot because he had on white compression socks but it looked like I was not going to manage this gap.

And then we hit the dips.

Overall I would describe this trail as flat but there are some big dips that take you down to a stream and then back up the other side; there are perhaps four of these on the way home? Climbing the first dip I went straight to the granny gear (but did not hike!) and at the top when I looked up again white socks seemed like he was closer. He also seemed like he was running with really stiff legs… After the second dip he was closer still but on the flat I could do nothing. The third 'dip' has the biggest climb and after the first short stretch in the woods you pop out, cross a road and head up an exposed path. About 50' up this path white socks cramped so abruptly that he almost fell down. Yikes! That was the last I saw of him.

Where the hell was the finish? I had totally forgotten that there were mile markers on the road and when I looked at my watch it said I had covered about 29.5 miles so even though my GPS is usually a little short I knew I was close. C'MON FINISH. Man was I tired.

Then I was finally crossing a bunch of paved roads - this meant I was really close. Was I going to make five hours? EXCITEMENT. What was hilarious was how little I could do to affect the outcome.
And then there was a person standing in the trail telling me to turn left and that the finish was only 500' away. I looked at my watch and it said 4:58.

Instantly the suffering melted away. It's amazing really, one second you are absolutely on the edge at your limit doing all that you can just not to slow down and the next you are speeding up. It really is all in your head.

Objectively I probably did not speed up that much but I did my best. And it was not that ridiculous all-out sprint that you see at some marathons which make you wonder how much the person who is suddenly doing a six minute pace for the last 100 m could have bettered their time by if they had milked that effort just a little out on the course but instead a slow, steady acceleration to the line. It's all about style baby. Hearing the announcer call out my name - and pronounce it correctly - was such a thrill.

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As I crossed the line and stopped my watch it was almost exactly five hours. So what if that was moving time (which I had totally forgotten about), I had hardly stopped on this day and I was on cloud fucking nine.

Who should I stagger into after crossing the line than Marlis. Thanks Marlis for 1) keeping me from falling down and 2) for all the nice things you said.

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After stiffening up and hobbling around I found the food and drink tents. Hello warm soup, you are my friend! After hooking up with Brad, Bryan and Bill and since the finish was at least a half mile from the start we had to walk back to the van to clean up and change clothes. If not for the sun this would have been miserable but Mother Nature cooperated for once. After changing we drove back to the finish, had more food and I wandered around listening to all the competitors and friends of competitors spin yarns and rehash the memories that always get rehashed at athletic events. Today was also brad's first 50 km run so we got a picture.

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Euphoria is a funny thing. It kept me going for most of the rest of the day.

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 5
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast 4:15 AM - banana, applesauce, 1 scoop protein powder, walnuts
5:30 AM - 2 hard boiled eggs
6:00 AM - large bottle w/3 scoops Perpetuem
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food I started carrying a bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED and 2 gels… I think I consumed three bottles of fluid, a few small cups of electrolyte drink, 2 small cups of Coke, about 20 Shot Bloks, about 8 gels, 3 doughnut holes, part of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some yummy chocolate/nut/coconut cubes.
Injuries None!
Therapy
Time of Day 8:10 AM
Workout Type race
Weather 40 and drizzle at the start, lots of snow and mid 30s up top, sun and dry and mid 40s at the finish
Course Chuckanut 50k
Results Men 40-49 - 16th (out of 107)
Overall - 83rd (out of 550)
preliminary results
official results
Time 5:02:52
Distance 50 km (31 miles)
Pace 9:45 min/mile
Equipment Hoka Combo XT
Clothing shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Patagonia long sleeve shirt, Patagonia vest, Patagonia gloves, SmartWool hat

16 March 2012

treadmill run | core

Goal: keep the legs loose
Mission accomplished: easy treadmill run

Today I felt MUCH better than yesterday, I think I got a good night's sleep, I did not stress eat all yesterday and I did not drink a bottle of wine or anything last night. Bonus.

My run felt EASY, just the way it's supposed to. I even carried a water bottle on the treadmill and drank often.

At lunch I did my core workout and now I'm done. Wish me luck if you want, I would appreciate it. And thanks to Mick W who already did, I appreciate it very much. Tomorrow will be another adventure.

And yes, I am probably making a mountain out of a molehill but hey, it's my first ultra. Plus hype/hyperbole is my nature. :)

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 181 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries I felt the slightest twinge in my right knee running but it went away after 15 or 20 minutes.
Therapy 12:30 PM - 15 min sauna
Time of Day run - 5:30 AM
core - 12:00 PM
Workout Type active recovery
Weather  
Course run - treadmill - 1% incline, 8 mph (7:30 min/mile)
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 20 sec leg lifts each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 21
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time run - 30 min
Distance run - 3.9 miles
Pace run - 7:30 min/mile
Equipment Hoka Combo XT
Clothing  

15 March 2012

cardio (and nerves!)

As I spend my days freaking out about my run on Saturday I realize that the stress level of an upcoming athletic event is pretty much (read: exactly) proportional to what you make it.

Honestly, I'm not so sure why I am dealing with this one so poorly. I have run a trail marathon (which is only five miles shorter), participated in La Ruta de Los Conquistadores and TransPortugal and not been this wound up. The human brain is too complicated…

Anyway, I got to the gym this morning and figured some easy cardio would be just the ticket as today is scheduled to be a 'rest' day and this would just kinda keep my legs moving. I got on the elliptical trainer and quickly realized I was just too stressed to do even that. I had to climb off after 20 minutes just because my mind was going a million miles per minute.

Oh well.

I hope to sleep well tonight (ha!) as tonight will be more important than tomorrow night, go for an easy run Friday and then do my best on Saturday. Boom. My only regret is I won't be able to watch Milan-San Remo live Saturday morning. But you can, just go here.

On the upside, there is far less gear required for running than cycling and since the forecast for Saturday is the same as it has been all week I will most likely just show up in the same thing I have been running in for the last month (I am not one of those guys that trains in layers and then races in a singlet). Shorts, an undershirt, a long sleeve shirt and gloves. Done. Perhaps I can find some solace in the simplicity of my wardrobe.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:45 AM
Workout Type active recovery
Weather  
Course elliptical trainer - 12 incline, 12 resistance
Results  
Time 20 min
Distance  
Pace My cadence started out at 140 and by the end was in the mid 160s.
Equipment  
Clothing  

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