BAD AWKWARD T-SHIRTS

Alright, so I'm in Ft. Lauderdale right now and before you start saying "oh lucky you sap you", let me tell what's up. So, I'm here on business which means no beach time, no training, and no fun. I've been here since Monday morning and if all goes well I'll be heading home tomorrow. I made an attempt to get a swim in on Monday afternoon, but was thwarted at the local Y due to 2 year old swim lessons. I mean come on. These guys need to learn how to swim and all, but how can you take up the whole pool? The guard said that I could have a lane if I came back at 8:30 that night. Well, I passed. I needed to eat and who wants to get in the pool after it's been a bunch of two year olds' bathroom? I did manage to get a short run in yesterday, but that's been it. I've been stretched for time and just plain exhausted after being on the move all day. Hopefully, I'll get to come home tomorrow and see my lovely wife who I miss dearly. Now for the rant...
I've been thinking about this for a while. It seems that every time I go to pick up my race packet prior to an event, I reach inside to grab a size large of cotton disappointment. It's just another shirt that I'll never wear. What's up with these shirts? I remember back in college we'd rack our brains to come up with the coolest t-shirts designs for a fraternity party. We wanted a cool shirt that promoted our fraternity, but also one that the girls would want to wear. Now 98% of those shirts have worn out their welcome in the drawer due to holes in the arm pits and stains on the front. I've kept a few due to the memories they hold for me, well that I still think some of them look cool.
Now, back to these shirts. Just like fraternity parties are what you really join a fraternity for in the first place, these races are the reasons my training my butt off. For those of us who don't get to walk away with an over sized winner's check, these race shirts provide a cool keep sake of the event. Instead of a cool keep sake, we get this 4 holed mistake in print sporting colors no grown man should ever be seen wearing. I've walked away with a turquoise shirt depicting pastel figures swimming, biking, and running. There's a race not too far from home who's traditional tie-dyed shirts have been disgracing runner's backs for years. It's an incredible race. You'll not find a smoother run race, but damn, those are some ugly shirts. My favorites are the long sleeve shirts with writing down the sleeve. Come on! This style was popular back when Panama Jack was king, but no more!
So until the standards for race shirts are raised, I'll keep stuffing my boxes marked for Goodwill with another donation. I'm still hopeful for this year. I'm an optimist at heart and truly feel that I'll see a change this year. 2007. The year of the Race Shirt?

Have some bad shirts to post? Send me a pic and I'll put together a pictorial.

Goggles And An Update

During my last couple of swim workouts, I’ve had a leaking problem. No, I don’t pee in the pool (anymore). It’s my goggles that I’m referring to. I’ll be swimming along, head down, finger tip drag, exhale, exhale, when all of the sudden water will start leaking into my goggles. I end up having to close one eye until I get to the end of the lane and then stop to readjust. If this was just once during a workout I could live with it, but it’s happening way too often. I’m currently using Speedo goggles. I have two pair that I’ve switched out over the last two years. They’ve worked great up until recently. So now I’m in the market for a new pair, and I need some advice.
On all3sports.com they have several choices all within the $15-$25 range. I’m a gear head, and if I can get the newest, latest, coolest gear for $25, then I’m going to buy it. They have traditional goggles and more of a mask design to choose from. I’ve seen some of the top athletes at races use the mask, so I feel comfortable that they’re at least worth using. I wouldn’t mind trying a pair if they can guarantee a better seal around my eyes. There’s nothing worse than having to stop during a race to clear out your goggles. Advice Please!

As for training, it’s still going well. I find myself craving bike time. This past week was the first “Tuesday Night Ride” for the area cyclists. Now that the time has changed, there’s plenty of time to ride after work. It’s staying light enough to ride until almost 7. So with this “Tuesday Night Ride” there are two groups. The “A” group and the “B” group. You can figure out what they mean. I took off with the “A” group this week, something I wouldn’t have even considered last year. This group includes some seasoned riders with monstrous calves and huge lungs. Oh, and by the way, they can freaking fly. I found this out quickly. I stayed with them until about mile 14. The peleton of 50 or more riders was pushing speeds of 35 mph on the flats. It was all I could do to stay with them. Like I said, they dropped me around mile 14 on this scary ass hill. I finished up strong with some other riders who’d gotten dropped. Thankfully I wasn’t the only one. It was a challenging ride, and I look forward to seeing how far I can hang with them next time.

Two bricks on the schedule for this weekend. They are both going to be a little long, so I’m eating now in preparation. Hope all is well.

I Am That Guy

I am that guy that runs around the neighborhood in Tri-Shorts.
I am guy that's also wearing a bike jersey, because I just got off my bike.
I'm that guy in the office that smells a little like chlorine because I swam before work.
I'm that guy that is sweating a little in the afternoon because I ran hill repeats at lunch.
I'm that guy who brings cottage cheese and almonds to the office for snack.
I'm that guy drinking water instead of the blessed sweet tea at dinner.
I'm that guy that can't buy that latest flat screen TV or an XBOX 360 because I'm saving up for a new helmet and better rims.
I'm that guy that always has his bike in the back of his car.
I'm that guy who goes to the bathroom ten times a day because he's hydrating for a race.
I'm that guy at the pool with chain grease on his leg because I biked that morning.
I'm that guy drinking that weird powdery mix in the break room.

I'm also that guy negative splitting his miles in a race.
I'm also that guy passing you on the hills because I've done a thousand of them in the preseason.
I'm also that guy who's smiling and looking for more after the swim portion.
I'm also that guy with plenty in the tank after the bike portion.
I'm also that guy hitting his goals and making it all worth it.
I am a Triathlete. I am that guy.

A 5K, A Marked Man, and Lawn-More Repare

Today I ran the first 5K of the season. It may be the only one. I don't know. I had high hopes for today. I was planning on running sub 20 minutes for the first time. My previous PR for a 5K was 22:36, but I've been training my butt of so I knew I could do better. I stayed ahead of my pace for 2.5 miles of the race. After that I was just hanging on for dear life. Coach ran with me which I really appreciated. It gave me that little bit of encouragement and put a little pride on the line. There was no way I was going to give up in front of Coach. With about 3/10 of a mile left, Coach tells me he's toast and to go on. At that point I gave it a little extra, but really didn't have much left in the tank. I was feeling beat and was wearing it on my face. I knew I was close to finishing, but looking at my watch let me know that my goal was not going to be reached. I had a cleared road in front of me. No one close enough to catch so I kept my stride as I came within feet of the finish line. To my surprise, here comes coach wizzing past me like a freaking gazelle. DAMN IT! He was sandbagging! Coach is an incredible athlete, a gifted trainer, and now I know he's intelligent racer. He played like YoYo Ma on the violin. We both finished in 20:24, but he beat me. So here's my official notice to Coach. You are a marked man. I've got a bulls eye on you that won't be washed off for a while. Can't wait to race again. Thanks again for pushing me so hard. By the way, we finished 16th and 17th overall respectively and both won our age groups so I was happy about that.

After the race, I hopped on my bike for a ride. Powerman is just under a month away and the more I think about it, the more I think it's going to suck. It's a 5 mile run, a 34 mile ride, and another 5 mile run. I can see me killing myself to put up a good time in the first 5 miler and then having nothing left for the remaining portion. I'll have to pace myself.

So back to the ride. I took off through Irondale through this little community that sits next to a train track. So you can imagine, it's not the nicest of communities. I've ridden this road numerous times, but today I noticed something different. A little homemade sign out in front of this ram shackled house read "Lawn More Repare." I nearly laughed myself off the bike. I love this about small towns. Just a little sign that states we're not all perfect, but we're trying. I think I'll give him some business.

Tonight, I'll be sipping on a few beers, grilling some burgers, and hanging with some friends. It feels like spring outside, and it's absolutely gorgeous. I'm not going to miss enjoying it as long as I can. Happy Day Light Savings Eve to everyone. Tomorrow is the big day. Can't wait!

Good-bye to Ellis Porch

Our area lost an avid runner today. Ellis Porch died today after collapsing during a Half-Marathon run on Sunday. Here’s what the Birmingham News had to say about Porch in an article yesterday. Note: this article preceded his death:

Gerald McGwin Jr. has run many races against his friend Ellis Porch III, and Porch has won most of them.
Today, McGwin is hoping Porch wins one more race.
The 30-year-old Porch, one of Birmingham's fastest distance runners, collapsed while running the Seaside Half Marathon near Destin, Fla., on Sunday. He was airlifted to UAB Hospital, where he was in critical condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Porch, of Meadow Brook, collapsed near the Mile 12 marker of 13.1-mile race. McGwin and other friends in the race administered CPR until paramedics arrived. Porch had no pulse and was not breathing, McGwin said.
"He has many more miles to run with us," McGwin said Monday. "He needs to come back from this and avenge the fact that I passed him in this race. That thought alone should be enough to get him through this."
Porch ran his third Boston Marathon a year ago and for the second time in a row he was the first Alabamian to complete the course. He did it in a personal-best time of two hours, 38 minutes and 11 seconds.
Following that race, McGwin called Porch "the big toe of our running group, the one we all aspire to be like."
"Ellis is a known entity in the running community," McGwin said Monday. "If he's not winning it, he's working pretty hard to come in second place."
McGwin and Porch had run the Seaside event several times and Porch won his age group there a year ago. The two had their sights on again making Boston their next race.
"We went to the Red Sox game every year the day before the marathon," McGwin said. "It was something we started a few years ago. He was looking forward to that."

I’m not sure if Porch had a history of heart disease in his family or not. It’s extremely scary to think that someone in such good of shape could still be subject to heart problems. Runner’s World did an article on this situation not too long ago. So, wake up call to everyone. Take the time to get checked out. Know your family history and take measures to lower your risk. I didn’t know Porch or his family, but my heart and my prayers go out to them.

New Jersey and other gross stuff

I'm sorry if I offended any mobsters with that heading. I meant that I wanted to write about my new cycling jersey not the state. As for the gross stuff, more on that in a bit.
So yeah, I got a new jersey today. I've been sporting two "Discovery Team" jerseys for a while. One is from the 2006 season and the other is a cheap replica of the Malliot Jaune of the Tour de France. Don't ask why I just bought Discovery Team jerseys. I ask myself that question a lot. I look like I'm quite the team enthusiest. So to remedy that I logged on to my favorite discount store "eBay" and found a cool jersey. Oh Lookie.

It has several sponsors listed on there that I have no idea what they make. With my luck, there are probably some that make VD creams, condoms, or female products. I'm taking my chances.

As for the other gross stuff, this morning I went on a 38 mile ride with some local guys. The ride takes us through some pretty rural areas south of Bham. I was leading the pace line when up ahead I see something in the road. It's large and triangular. I motion to everyone that there was something in the road, so we all slowed down a bit to take a look. It was deer's head with it's spine and a few ribs. I've never seen anything like it before. No body to be found. I don't know if someone it the deer and separated it's body from it's head or if it fell of the back of some meat processor's truck. We were all utterly grossed out.

So my apologies to the state of New Jersey. After today's experience, I don't want to wake up to find a deer's head in my bed.

Making Deposits

Every financial expert will tell you that you need to save money for retirement. Some say that you should save @ 10% or more of your salary for the future. "Live like no one else now, so that you can live like now one else in the future" is a phrase financial Guru Dave Ramsey likes to say. Making small deposits now will pay off down the road when you need it the most. I can get a little giddy when I start thinking about compounding interest and the like. Now, this isn't a post on financial planning or really anything about money. I have a friend who said that he was going to post periodically about finances and investments but that never panned out. What happened there? I guess he's been too busy losing weight like a mad man to worry about our financial situation.
Ok, back to my point. To be able to perform at your best come "game time" you're going to need to train your but off in the preseason. These are just like making little deposits into the Bank of Ironman. Do you want to insure that you'll be on top of your game when the gun goes off? Well, you need to train. You need to start making deposits. The Bank of Ironman promises a rate of return that exceeds all of it's competitors. You'll never see the First Couch Potato Bank matching it's performance. The Bank of Excuses can only offer you a toaster oven to make itself attractive. The only way to hit your goals is to start planning now. I have to remind myself of this all the time. I fight the lazy demons all the time. "Why are you getting up? It's 5:00 am! What? You're doing hill repeats after swimming 1500 meters?" They're all deposits. I'm looking forward to making a withdrawal this year and making it all worth it. Sounds real good doesn't it?
Don't give in to the urge to slop your way through the preseason. Pay your dues now. The Bank of Ironman is waiting. Train like no one else now so that you can race like no one else later.

A Change In Weather!

Wow, it’s good to be in the South right now. Despite a short band of thunderstorms that came through Saturday night, we’ve had unbelievable weather for the last week. The temps have stayed around the high 60’s low 70’s in the mid afternoon. Spring is coming, and yes I know it’s still February but we’re close. In fact, I was just reading the other day that Day Light Savings Time has been moved up by 3 weeks! That means in just about 2 weeks I’ll have time to bike after work again. This is huge. I’m lucky to live in a community that attracts a lot of cyclists. This is largely due to the great support of a local bike shop, Homewood Cycles that serves as a starting point for most rides. Every Tuesday night a big group of cyclists head out from the shop for a 28 mile loop. This shop is a mile from my house and work. So needless to say I’m pumped about the change in time and weather over the next few weeks.

So how’s my training going? Well, pretty good as a matter of fact. I set a new PR for a 5 mile run at 34:11. Don’t know why. I just felt good that day. I’ve been feeling really good on the bike as of late. Between two rides this weekend, I logged 58 miles. 28 of that was part of a brick on Saturday. I’m still not in love with swimming right now. I have the most room for improvement here. I really need to work on form when I fatigue and breathing. I’m doing a few exercises to help expand my lungs and improve my endurance which are freaking killing me right now.

A big congrats to Levi Leipheimer who won the Amgen Tour of California this weekend. Levi did the unthinkable by keeping the Yellow Jersey from the first stage to the end. This is a huge confidence booster for team Discovery. Last year’s ATOC champ, Floyd Landis, went on to win the Tour de France.

On another note, Jan Ullrich is calling it quits. The former Tour de France winner was Armstrong’s biggest rival during his stretch of seven wins finishing 2nd to Lance 4 of the 7 times. If Armstrong’s retirement was like Babe Ruth retiring, Ullrich’s would be like Ted Williams.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Cue the Sound of Music soundtrack. In light of the up coming season (of which I’m getting more and more excited about each day), I’d like to share with you a few of my favorite things I’ve discovered in Triathlons:

1.I love to bike! Man, I am jonesing right now for a good ride. Nothing beats the open air and pounding those pedals.

2. Favorite energy gel – GU Strawberry Kiwi. 15 before every 45 it says. It’s the perfect size. I like the Powergels, but they take too long to get down.

3. Favorite sports drink mix – It’s gotta be the Cytomax Cool Citrus – It’s a little on the sweet side, but its heads and shoulders above the rest in taste. Oh yeah and in performance it kicks. 190 mg of sodium, 95mg of potassium, and 35 carbs.

4. I love my new Zoot tri shorts – comfortable as “all get out.” Plenty of padding in all the right places and they even come with a couple of pouches so I can stow fav #2. Thanks to Jeff M. for suggesting these.

5. Favorite run - Red Eye 10K – I don’t get to do this one very often, but every Saturday morning a group of local runners meet up to run through one of the ritzier parts of Birmingham. The distance is perfect for me as well.

6. Favorite ride – Cahaba Cycles 38 miler – great distance with a great group of guys. This ride features tons of back roads which sadly will soon be over taken by suburban sprawl. For now, it’s a fast course with little to worry about other than keeping up.

7. Favorite swim – don’t have one yet. Sometimes I love the pool, sometimes I hate it. Kinda hate it right now. Oh, but I do love the swim portion of races.

8.Favorite post ride ritual – Every Saturday ride is followed up with one of Super Sam’s own Bacon, Egg, and Cheese sandwiches!

9. Favorite time of race day – Oh, this is great. Pre-race in the transition is so weird, but still so cool. There’s a lot of nervous energy out there and it’s cool to see how different people prepare.

10. Favorite portion of the race – This has to be T2 – For most, this is the fastest transition. You’re tired, legs are burning, but this is the last leg and it’s time to go.

11. Favorite Tri Read – I’ll read anything about techniques for improving my “game.” Whether its gear, nutrition, or training regimes, count me in. Can’t get enough.

12. Favorite stat after the race: I love them all. Bike splits, pace per mile,

13. Favorite feeling – PAIN – I love to suffer. It’s when I know that I’m pushing myself the hardest. I remind myself that 99% of America is sitting on the sofa while I’m busting my tail to obtain my goal.

14. Favorite benefit – Community – The fact that we’re all quirky enough to post blogs and have group runs and training sessions are simply too cool. It wouldn’t be half as fun without the community.

And I thought only beer makers made funny commerials...

Clif Bar one-up'd all the beer makers with this one. Hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3S0wu4Zbfk

Tagged - my, my, my

Well, I've been tagged by Mr. Fistfight himself so here goes:


1: Describe a memory from your first triathlon ever: My first Tri was an Oly in Philadelphia, Miss back in 2004. It was in July mind you. I received an invite from a client to join him in competing in the tri and being the adventurous and cocky guy that I am, I jumped at the chance. The triathlon is just one of the many events during a two week county fair for this rural area of Mississippi. All of the stereotypes that you can think of would probably be justly earned. I was at about mile 3 of the 7 mile run portion when my client’s father comes riding by in the back of a pick up truck. “Hey Matt, wanna bair?” he yelled. “No sir, I do not want a beer, but stay close. I may want a ride” was my response. He laughed as they took off down the road.

2: Describe a memory from your most recent triathlon: My most recent tri was the Frantic Frog Sprint Tri in Scottsboro, AL. It was the first time I had incorporated proper nutrition in to my pre-race preparation. It was also the first time I was able to complete the race with gas in the tank. I finished going all out. To date, it was my fastest time in a sprint and drove home the importance of nutrition.

3: What’s the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in a tri? I’ve been lucky so far, but my near breakdown in last year’s Heart O’ Dixie Oly Tri was enough get me to start training harder and being better prepared for races. I totally during the run portion of the race and ended up walking more than I ran. I nearly pulled out of the race. This more than anything is the monkey that I need to get off my back this year.

4: What’s the most thrilling thing that’s happened to you in a tri? No podium finishes or high age group placements to speak of, so nothing dramatic to report. But what I’ve enjoyed most is seeing my wife at the end of the race and having her tell me how proud she is of me.

5: What is something you discovered about yourself by doing triathlons? I’ve discovered that mental toughness plays a major role in endurance sports. It’s been a bumpy road, but I’ve learned how to manage my mood during a race by focusing on positive thoughts rather than the negative. I’ve also learned what I look like without chunky cheeks. Face cheeks that is.

6:What is The Big Goal that you’re working towards? My “A” race this year is the Rock N Roll ½ Ironman in Macon, GA. I’d much rather be doing a sexier race such as one in the 70.3 series, but this one fits in the schedule.

My turn to tag. Let's go with ZBuck, Jeff, and Neese

Mercedes Half Marathon

Well, today was the big day. My first 1/2 Marathon. My first race of the 2007 season which I've decided will be my breakout year. The morning started off with a 4:00 am wake up call for breakfast. Two packets of Oatmeal and a Snickers (Half) Marathon bar. Because of careful planning the night before, I was able to jump back in bed and sleep for another hour. My stuff was all ready to go so why stay awake?

Lauren and I arrived at the race site about 45 minutes prior to the start. It was 28 degrees out. For all the northerners out there, that's pretty cold to us Southerners. So don't start. I wore shorts, a long sleeve shirt, a visor, and my biking skull cap (which I lost along the course!). There were approximately 3000 racers of which 800 were slated for the full marathon. The Mercedes is known for it's hills. Here's an elevation chart so you can see what I was facing:

As the race started, I couldn't get over the joy I had of running with a pack of people. They were my kind of people. I felt at home. Maybe it's because I've been running alone for most of my training, but it was a really odd (but enjoyable) feeling.

To find my pace, I started looking for the first mile marker around 7 minutes. Didn't see it. 8 minutes. No where in sight. What the hell? So I sped up. I couldn't start off this slow. At about 9:30 I figured out why I didn't see it. I was running too fast and ran past it without noticing. After 2 miles I clocked in at a total time of 13:10. Wow, too fast. I was planning on staying around a 7:30-7:40 pace so I was a little taken back. I slowed the pace a little, but I kept seeing times well below my expectation. Mile 3 - 7:07, mile 4 - 7:14, mile 5 - 7:15. Still feeling really good. I kept telling myself to not over do it. Don't peak too soon. Ahead was the dreaded Greensprings Ave. It's mile 5-6 on the elevation chart. Over a mile it gains over 200 feet in elevation. It's like the hill that never ends. It got my attention, and I put in a slower 7:45 for mile 6. Mile 7 - 7:24, followed by another two miles of elevation changes where I put in two 7:45 miles. It was down hill (elevation-wise anyway) from there. I hammered down a bit and put in miles of 7:35, 7:34, 7:21, and 7:20. This left one mile to go. Still feeling good and my times were still dropping so I hit the gas. The course didn't mark mile thirteen so I didn't catch my last split, but I crossed the finish line at 1 hour and 36 minutes. Unofficially though. I was really pleased with my time. It turned out to be around a 7:19 pace and for me, that was well above my expectations.

Overall, it was a great experience and a great start to the year. I really needed this race to get started off on the right foot. There's a lot of vindication in doing well after working hard. So needless to say, I'm really looking forward to this year's season.

And I have to say thank you thank you thank you to my lovely wife who stuck it out in the cold and waited for me. If you knew how much she hates the cold, you'd know how big that is.

My Motivation

Everyone’s gone through it. Something bad happens during a race, and you never seem to recover. You might as well take it on to the house, because you’re done. Sometimes it’s your goggles filling up with water or a getting a flat on your bike. The typical response is to blow up. You’re pissed, and why not? You’ve worked really hard to get to where you are only to be held back by something out of your control. Or lets say you’re way off your expected pace. You’re not “feeling it” and you’ve realized you’re not going to put up the time you’d hoped. These events can all lead to you mentally breaking down and losing focus.
I’ve been worrying about this very thing all week. There’s a lot of anticipation building up for me in my first race of the season. I’ve worked hard and paid my dues. What happens if I tire? What happens when people start passing me? What happens when my expected time is starting to look like nothing more than a pipe dream?
Well, I ran across this video below and it reminded me of a story from “Every Second Counts” by the great Lance Armstrong. In 2003, Lance was going for his 5th straight Tour title. Throughout the tour Lance struggled mentally and physically to maintain the yellow jersey. Everyone was saying his was too old, too rich, or too American to win the coveted 5th title. Over the last couple of days, Jan Ullrich had begun taking big chunks out of his lead. With just three stages left, Ullrich was set to win it all. The press was having a field day with Lance’s demise. Ullrich’s team manager had made a snide comment to one of the Postal team’s staff about taking the Malliot Jaune after today’s stage. It was relayed to Lance who’d finally had enough. Lance told his teammates that the Tour was over. We will win it today.
At the foot of Luz Ardiden, the last major climb, Lance took off. Ullrich couldn’t keep up and Lance had dropped him by 20 seconds. Lance was literally breaking Ullrich when the unthinkable happened. As Lance passed the crowd, a young boy was waving his souvenir yellow Tour bag when it got caught in Lance’s front tire. Lance flipped over his handle bars and crashed. Ullrich took advantage and sped past to take the lead. A defiant Armstrong fixed his biked and took off like a mad man, screaming every profanity he could think of, and chased down Ullrich. What ensued would be one of the greatest recoveries ever in the Tour. Lance wound up winning the stage and putting Ullrich a full 1:07 behind him in the Tour thus virtually locking up the win. “How do you like me now! How do you f-in like me now?” shouted Armstrong to his teammates. Victorious! Check out the video clip. I’ll be thinking about this on Sunday during my race. I’m not giving up or giving in. This is my motivation.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RRJQoUVe2I

Protein+Protein+Protein = YUCK

I’m still following my coach’s guidelines for eating and such for this ½ Mary on Sunday. Tuesday, my directions were to eat soluble proteins and no carbs. I was actually looking forward to this. I mean who doesn’t love meat and protein smoothies? I started out the morning with a plate of Egg Beater eggs. High in protein and no carbs. No problem. Salt and Pepper to taste = delicious. Mid morning snack was an Apex Protein drink – 40g of protein with only 1g of carbs. Pretty good stuff. Lunch – more eggs and some ham. Getting kind of old. By the time my mid afternoon snack rolled around a headache had set in, and I was dragging. My snack was another delicious protein shake. Choked it down with a grimace. Finally dinner time rolled around, but my fridge was empty of all things protein! I had some Progresso Chicken and Rice soup – only a few carbs in there. I had to have some ham too as I was still hungry. The headache was getting worse and my energy level was still dropping. I felt like a wad of poo.
Needless to say, I probably could have set myself up with better choices to eat, but didn’t have a lot of notice on what to prepare for. Next time I’ll be better prepared. I know that I do need and crave carbs. Luckily today is a carb day. It’s still early and I’ve already had two bowls of cereal, Yo Crunch Yogurt, and some oatmeal. My headache is gone, and I’m feeling more energized.
Eating with a plan is still fairly new to me. This is only the second time I’ve prepared for a race this way. This first time was a huge success compared to my previous races. I know it’ll work out, but I’m not really looking forward to next time.

I'm off for a short 3 mile run to keep the legs fresh.

Weekend and Down Hill Problems

Well, it’s Half Mary week. This is the final week before my first Half Marathon on Sunday. I’m a little nervous about it, and I’m wondering just how I’ll do. This is my first race of the season as well, so there’s some anticipation there as well. I just received some diet instructions from my coach for the week and forwarded them over to my wife who by now is having a cow because she just went to the grocery store yesterday and stocked up on groceries for the week. Now we get to go back for more.

I did swim this morning, but that’s about it for the week except a few runs to keep the legs fresh. I hit a PR for the 1000 m at 16:31. Feeling good right now about my swim, but I still need to work on form and being fluid. I’m a bulldozer in the water.

The camping trip this weekend was a blast. Not as cold as I expected. I even stayed on my “diet” and stayed away from too many fatty foods. I packed several pieces of fruit to curb any cravings. We did however end our trip with breakfast at Cracker Barrel. You gotta live a little right?

I picked up with a buddy of mine, Justin, on Sunday afternoon for a ride with some of his friends. Justin raced for 7 years on the pro circuit and has calves the size of my thighs. The boy can move. Luckily, he took it easy on us. The guys we were riding with were a little more experienced than I was and were all riding road bikes while I was on my “Tri” bike. I ride a 04 Cervelo Dual. It’s been a great bike, but I’m learning that it was meant for going straight not for hair pin turns and the down hill. For one thing, I’m a big ole sissy when it comes to going down hills. I can stand about 37-38 mph, and then my back bone turns to yellow and cat whiskers start growing on my face. Roadies just blow me away. It has a lot to do with my nerves, but also a lot to do with my bike. Tri bikes have a higher center of gravity than typical road bikes which make it more susceptible to a speed wobble. This only sharpens the color of yellow on my back and the makes the whiskers on my face grow even longer. I may even throw out a “meow” or two.
Luckily, I’m climber and was able to catch up and pass these guys going up hills. Except for Justin who’s waiting for us at the top.

More on the ½ Mary latter this week.

Back in the Pool and Camping. What?

Well, I was back in the pool this morning for 2000 m. I didn't know how it'd go, but after pretty much taking the last two days off, I was anxious to push myself again. Here are the stats:

1000 m - 17:02

500 m - 7:52

300 m 4:46

200 m 3:02

Not too terribly bad. It wasn't my fastest 1000 m, but I was happy with the other times. I beat my previous week's 500 m by 22 seconds, the 300 m by 3 seconds, and the 200 m by 6 seconds. I'll take that.

As for the camping, I'm headed to the woods this weekend to "live deliberately" per Mr. Thoreau. Camping and hiking were my first big interest prior to this wonderful sport called Triathlon. Nothing too exciting, just some friends hanging around a campfire eating meat and being men. Both of the guys I'm going with are having a rough stretch around the house and desperately need some time away. I'm glad I can fill that need and be a little selfish by enjoying myself too.

By the way, I hate hate hate "office" coffee. It's not doing the trick this morning.

The Blahs

Do you ever get the blahs? "The Blahs" according to Webster's dictionary is the "lack of emotion or general excitement about training." It's true. I just looked it up. Right now, I'm just kind of bored with training and generally just not as excited about it as I usually am. It's not indicative of my life in general right now. Things are great. I just don't have the drive right now. I noticed it for the first time last Friday. I was in the pool for a relative easy session, but I found myself just wanting to get out, find a book, and read for a while instead. I had plenty of energy, but it just didn't interest me to keep doing laps. Yesterday, after work I had a five miler scheduled. I had planned to run with a group from the Trak Shak. There are always some elite runners there that let me tag along. These guys do a good job of pushing me to run a little faster. They were no where to be found. Was it too cold? It was 43 degrees per the Rover, not teeth chattering cold but chilly. So with no one to run with, I took it to the house. It just didn't interest me to run at that point by myself. This is disappointing, but as I'm typing this I think I need some more training partners. Maybe that will help. I think the community aspect of training with friends is key for me. Nothing gets me more excited than riding with a group on the weekends, but the thought of monotonous sessions alone at 6:30 in the morning is just beginning to wear on me. Sorry for the depressing posts, but what's a blog for anyway? Today, it's for hashing out a few thoughts.

Training at the Beach

Lauren and I headed down to Perdido Key Friday after work. I snuck out an hour early to beat the traffic out of town. We were able to make it down to LuLu's, a restraunt in Gulf Shores owned by Jimmy Buffett's sister, Lucy. It's an open air seafood restaurant that always always always has a good band playing. Friday it would be a Cajun band from Lousinana that was on stage. They were incredible. After pigging out on shrimp about the size of my thumb, we made our way over to the condo.

Saturday morning, I brought the bike out for a little ride. The plan was to do a 30 mile ride at a quick pace. The flat roads and lack of traffic made it easy to scoot on down the road. I stayed in the aero position for the majority of the ride and keep my speed around 23-24 mph. It felt pretty good to keep that kind of pace. Believe me, it's not normal for me. At mile 15, I decided to turn around and head back. What hit me next was unexpected. A heavy wind had been at my back the whole time helping me keep that speed around 23-24, and I was about to ride right back into it. As soon as I faced it, it almost took my breath away. It felt like I was going backwards, and all of the sudden my legs felt very tired. My speed quickly dropped to 17-18 and I was struggling to keep it there. Oh, it was painful. I worked very hard for that 15 mile trip back home.
Today I had a long run scheduled. 11 miles. I'd never done 11 before so I was a little nervous. I took two Gu packets with me and a 16 oz Gatorade. To simulate the 1/2 marathon in a couple of weeks I had designated certain times to drink and certain times to hit the Gu. With my Ipod in tow, I took off. No problems until about mile 7 when I began to feel that familiar rub in my new Asics. I knew I'd be sporting two new blisters by the end of the run, but I kept going. 3 miles to go and my knees starting aching and telling me that they weren't enjoying this. 2 miles to go, I kicked it in. My feet were killing me and my knees were talking jibberish at this point. They could only manage a few slurred cuss words. 1 mile to go and end in sight. I knew I was going to hurting for a while, but I stuck it out. I was happy to be done, but humbled at how my body broke down. I felt great cardio-wise. My heart rate was fine, breathing was normal, but damn my body hurt! Overall time was 1 hour 26 minutes 32 seconds. Just about the pace I want for the 1/2.
Overall, a great weekend. Great food and family time always tops the list. It's a little bonus when you get some training in as well.

New Shoes and an update

Thanks for all of the helpful advice on the power gels and the energy drinks. I'm going to try them all soon and give you my thoughts with a grade for each one.

Tuesday I broke down and purchased some new shoes. I've been hearing a lot about the new Asics 2120s, so I decided to give them a try. I did my first run in them last night. A fast 5 miler that I finished in 35:20. Toward the end of the run, the shoes started to rub the inside of my foot. The "medial side" I assume. I'm going to chalk it up as my feet getting used to new shoes rather than a poor choice in shoe selection. We'll see tomorrow when my next run is scheduled.
I'm heading to the beach this weekend for a little relaxation. To all my Northern Friends, this is another perk of living in the South. Nice sandy and warm beaches in close proximity. Not to mention the BBQ, sweet tea, mild winters, College Football, and pot luck dinners at church. If all goes as planned I'll be able to train on flat beach roads for the first time in a while. Looking forward to that, but also the grouper, shrimp, and silly rum drinks at Tacky Jacks.

Hope everyone's training is going well. I'm ready for race season. Can't wait to see if all of this hardwork has been worth it. Take care.

Looking to tap some knowledge

I still consider myself a “newbie” when it comes to triathlons, training, and nutrition. After three years of competing in triathlons, I have only competed in 8 races and am just now getting serious about seeing how far I can push myself. I read anything and everything I can find about competing and training. A man that seems to have the nutrition thing down is Crash. Check out his site for some excellent insight on nutrition, lactate threshold, etc.
Now to my point, I’m always looking for the next best way to fuel and replenish my body during training and racing. While at Homewood Cycle, I picked up Gu’s GU2O sports drink. I usually just keep water or some kind of red Gatorade in the water bottle, but I thought I’d give this stuff a whirl.

With my new drink in tow, I headed off with some buds recently on a training ride. After a few miles, we stopped for a red light so I decide to hydrate. GYAACK!!! Oh, this GU2O tasted like POO! I made a face that brought a few laughs by my fellow riders. Oh man, it was bitter. I’d chosen the lemon lime flavor which isn’t something I particularly like anyway. Nevertheless, I continued to drink it throughout the ride. After all, it was all that I had. I had to learn to hide the grimaces. Despite it’s taste, overall I felt pretty good throughout the ride. Now, this is in 40 degree weather not the 90 plus with 100% humidity weather that I’ll see this summer, but nonetheless it worked. So I give it a D- in taste, but atleast a B+ in performance.
So here’s my question, have any of you found a sports drink that you have found both pleasing to the palate and to the body’s needs?

FRIDAY - DRINK UP!

Oh it's Friday my friends. Grab your pals, family, neighbors and have a drink on me. Water is the healthiest choice of course.

My time in the water this morning went like this:

500 m all out - 8:14
300 m all out - 4:49
200 m all out - 3:08
100 m all out - 1:26

Training update - 1/18/07

Hello all. Well this week has been tremendously easier than last week. I really needed a break. Here are the stats from last week:

Swim - 3900 meters
Bike - 72 miles
Run - 20 miles

Monday was a designated swim day, but thankfully my gym was closed for MLK Day. So I took the day off (training anyway). Tuesday I was back at the gym for spin class. Wednesday was the toughest. 2200 meters in the pool (200 warm up, 5 x 100's, 10 x 50's, 5 x100's, 10 x 50's) During the second set of 100's I was dying. My form on the 2nd lap was sloppy. Dogs could have swam better than me at that point. I got my second wind on the 2nd set of 50's. I was able to keep my 100's in the 1:36 range and my 50's in the 41 second range. These absolutely wear me out. I ran 5 miles in the afternoon in 35:14. My best time yet.

Today, it'll be hill repeats on the bike. Woohoo! It's sloppy and rainy outside. Gotta love that.

Overall, I'm feeling strong. I'm a little weary about the 1/2 Marathon coming up in a few weeks. I know I can do the distance, but how long is it going to take me? I ran a bit of the course this weekend and it has some incredible hills in it. We'll see how I hold up.

Scars

Lauren and I were talking tonight about scars. Physical scars, not the emotional type. Scars are our body's way of telling a bit of our story. They are a constant reminder of our adventures, our trips and falls, or something stupid we did because we thought the girls might find it cool. Luckily I don't have too many deep scars to show off. I have remnants of strawberries from sliding into second base with shorts on or from wrecking my Haro "freestyle" bike. I have a scar on my finger from where I sliced it open while opening a can of dog food when I was 14. I can still make out the stitch marks. The ugliest scar that I have is on my forearm from scraping it on a hook attached to our back door. The hook was quickly removed while I yelled profanities. I have three tiny scars from when I had my appendix removed. A fraternity brother of mine had his appendix removed the same weekend, but went to a different hospital. This hospital left him with a 6 inch scar across his abdomen. I guess I chose the right hospital. My wife, Lauren, has a few scars from her battles cats. Nothing else scars her as she is tougher than most you'll run across.
Lance Armstrong has a small cavity in his chest to remind him of the catheter the stayed in him during his chemo-therapy. He is very proud of that scar. So if you haven't done so in a while, look back over your scars, physical or emotional, and think about your life and your adventures. Chances are you'll find yourself smiling and remembering good times. Just a reminder, God gave you this life and all that comes with it. Take time to give him the proper thanks too.

Saturday Rides and Flat Tires

Greetings and salamanders to all. It's freaking gorgeous outside right now. 68-70 degrees and sunny. It's January for crying out loud! I took advantage of this warm snap this morning and met up with some guys from Cahaba Cycles for a 38 mile ride. It's an easy paced ride, but fairly hilly. CMyers met up with us for his first ride in a month. And how did the road treat him after such a long lay off you might ask. Well, about mile five it greeted him with a flat back tire. POW! It sounded like someone had shot his tire out from under him. CMyers wasn't the best at changing flats so some pros took over. After replacing the tube, we found that he not only had a hole in his tube, but also his tire. The tube wouldn't hold any air. Why? I don't know. I'm not well versed in bicycle repair. Well the good guys from Cahaba Cycles called one of their techies to come pick him up. Luckily for CMyers they had a training class going on back at the shop to teach people how to change tires and such. I was told they would be serving coffee and donuts. I also put a hole in my tube so I could join him.
The rest of the ride was easy going. I can't say enough about the weather. I tried to stay in my high gears and spin at a higher cadence to save my legs. Tomorrow we're doing a brick. 20 mile ride and 7.5 mile run. Going to be a good husband now and plant flowers with my wife. Lateskees!

The week so far...

It's been a tough week. As you can see from my post from earlier, my scheduled training is a little more intense than what I've been doing. Tuesday was the toughest. I had an hour long spin class then I bricked a 7 mile run. I was totally wiped out by the time I made it to work. I didn't fuel properly, and the run left me feeling wasted. I had an odd feeling after the run. I couldn't get warm. Now, it was cold out, but not so cold that it would effect me like this. This is an odd experience for me as usually I'm a hot natured person.
The swim yesterday was killer. 200m warm up, 5 x 100m, 10 X 50m, 5 x 100m, 10 x 50m. I was toast after the first set of 10 x 50m. Maybe I pushed it too hard. It felt like I was swimming through peanut butter. I had zero strength left in my arms and chest. It's days like yesterday that remind me that I've got a long way to go.
This morning I completed my 15 sec biking sprints on the hill. They were surprisingly easy, but I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow.
Almost finished reading "It's Not About the Bike" by Lance Armstrong. Religiously, Lance is not someone who I'd ever suggest anyone mirroring their life after, but I can't say enough about the guy's ambition and drive. The man went through hell with cancer and fought back like a champion. His work ethic and love of cycling is intriguing and inspirational. I'm still amazed at how he's giving back to the community with his foundation. Very impressive Lance.

Shaving

I had an interesting conversation with my wife yesterday. We were discussing cyclists shaving their legs. I've never done it and have no real plans to do it in the future. I'm not a hairy guy anyway, so it's not like it'd be a big difference. There are tons of reasons why I should, namely road rash. The absence of hair is supposed to reduce the grip the asphalt has on your skin when you wreck. Also, it's a lot easier to dress and keep clean. In discussing it with my wife, I wasn't expecting her to have such an adverse reaction to the whole thing. It was funny watching her get fired up about it. "I love your legs the way they are. I don't won't your legs to be smooth! What happens when we go to the beach?"
Well, I'm not planning on shaving my legs. I may regret it if and when I have a wreck, but for now I'll stay the way I am. I may not look like an elite cyclist, but that's not who I am. I'm a husband. I'm a guy who enjoys being active. I'll just take my chances. Maybe I'll consider it when Team Discovery calls and asks me to lead the peloton.

Training this week:
Today: swim 1000 m all out: completed in 16:44
Tues: Spin Class and 7 mile run
Wed: swim drills over 2200 m and 5 mile run
Thurs: Bike - 6 sets of 15 sec sprints on hills
Friday: swim 1100 m drills and 5 mile run
Saturday: 2 hr ride
Sunday: Brick! 20 mile ride and 7.5 mile run

Good Week

A new year and a new week for training. I took Monday off to relax and get some things done around the house so no training to speak of. I wasn’t as sore as I thought I’d be after the brick on Sunday. Wednesday was the first day I was able to get in the pool since my ear infection sidelined me a couple of months ago. I’ve finally been given the green light by the Doc, so I hit water. Or should I say it hit me? What a humbling experience. After a short warm up, Coach told me he wanted me to swim 500m all out and time it. I did it in a paltry 8:32. Ouch. That’s 12 seconds slower than my 600m swim in my last race. Right then and there I decided that I wasn’t going to miss another pool session. This has to improve. Today I was able to try it again. I focused on form and felt a lot better. I did it in 8:10. Not good at all, but better. After hill repeats during the week, I was ready just to get out and run today. It was gorgeous at lunch so I took advantage of a lax afternoon and took an extended lunch. I ran 5.75 miles in 42:38. Not breakneck speed, but I was happy with it. While I was running, I was listening to my ipod and thinking about running music. I know there’s a lot with the opinion that real runners don’t listen to music while running, well this runner does. So, here’s a list of songs on my “running” play list.

“Eye of the Tiger” – Survivor (Could this be the best motivating song ever?)
“Lose Yourself” – Eminem (enough said - just go)
“Are You Going to Be My Girl” – Jet (I actually looked like a fool rocking out to this song today. It was so good I had to listen to it twice)
“Ms. Independent” Kelly Clarkson (go ahead and make fun of me now, I’m shameless)
“Home” – Marc Broussard (I decided today to take this song off of my list – too many things going on with the melody. It threw me off my rhythm.)
“Ring of Fire” – Johnny Cash (now this is more like it, simple beat, nothing to think about, just Johnny doing his thing)
“Juicy” Better Than Ezra (I love this band!)
“Thunder Struck” – AC/DC (gritty, helps me run when I’m mad)
“Free Bird” – Lynyrd Skynyrd (Given the right run, this song is great. It’s too slow of a start, but finishes strong – good for a 5K)

Any one have any additions?

That’s all for now. I’ve got a long ride tomorrow, then a day off for good behavior. Latski’s

Brick Mason

The forecast for today was pretty much rain all day. The likely hood of getting the brick in today was looking pretty slim. I'm not a big fan of riding in the rain and didn't think everyone would show up as planned. About 1:30 I decided to head over to see if everyone would get together to at least do the run portion. And yes I took my bike just in case. The rain had slacked, but it was still soggy out when I arrived. To my surprise, there were two other guys waiting and wondering if we were going to ride. Then all of the sudden our coach comes out with his helmet and singlet on. Guess that answered that question. The brick was on. The plan was to do a 20 mile ride followed by a 7.5 mile run.
The road conditions were sketchy. Not too slick, but enough to keep me at a slower pace. Breaking was difficult needless to say. Within like 10 minutes of the start the bottom fell out again and it started pouring. I ditched my shades due to water build up and took on the wind and the rain with my bare eyes. Seeing a little was better than not at all. Luckily the rain broke and we could see the clouds behind us clearing so we knew the ride back would be easier. About half way into the ride, we hit some dryer areas and really started to push it. I felt a little more confident with the conditions and pressed the accelerator a bit. My legs held strong on the hills, and I really started to feel good.
Back at home base, we made a quick change and hit the roads. The route took us along a busy road which wasn't perfect for running but we made due. I could really feel the hills in my quads. Cardio-wise, I felt strong and started to hit my stride on the flats. It was those damned hills that got me though. The last mile I pushed it hard. I was so ready to be done, but really glad that I had the chance to see what I could do.
Final stats on the day: 19.5 miles at a 18.9 mph avg and 7.5 miles in 54:45 which is a 7:26 pace. As I sitting here typing my legs are already sore. I know tomorrow is going to be even worse. Will have to ride a little to work the soreness out.

The rain held off!

The last couple of days have been great for training. I took only worked until noon yesterday so I bolted home and strapped on the running shoes. It was gorgeous out. The temp had to be in the mid 60's. I ran 5 miles in 36:55. Not earth shattering, but a good run. As for today, I had a bike ride scheduled, but was unsure about getting it in before the rain came. Luckily, the rain held off. We won't be getting any until tonight. So I took off this morning and got 28 in before meeting the guys for breakfast at Super Sam's (home of the best bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich in the world) I was able to show off my new yellow Team Discovery Jersery. Gotta love eBay.
Tomorrow, we're doing an end of the year brick. The ride will be 20 miles followed by a 7 mile run. Going to start hydrating now. Really looking forward to this, we'll see how my legs handle the transition. I've only done one brick in the past month.

Time to get back on Track

Count 'em off: Thanksgiving, gone! Office Parties, bye bye. 12 days of Christmas parties, see-ya! Christmas breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all that snacking in between, poof! Be gone! Oh and left overs? You don't exist at this house. Eating is so difficult to manage over the holidays. Oh and I made the most of it. I took advantage of every sausage ball, every cheese dip, and every cookie with sprinkles on it that I could find. Enough is enough. It's time to get back on track. It's time to really start seeing some results and get ready for Triathlon season. It's starts today.
I started the day off with protein, chicken and salad at lunch, low carbs at dinner, and small snacks in between. Not perfect, but it was better than the past three weeks. We were traveling today so I did the best I could.
I made it out for a quick run today. The sun was still out, but the temp was dropping quickly. I didn't feel like doing the prescribed hill repeats so I decided to run three miles through a hilly section of town at a quick pace. I managed to do 3.25 miles in 22:11 which puts my time at a 6:48 pace. Not too bad. My knee felt great which is encouraging. Tomorrow will be hill repeats on the bike. You know I'm really enjoying my time on the bike these days. Didn't think I'd ever get to that point. Bad news ahead though, the long ride I was planning on doing on Saturday will be rained out more than likely. Maybe if I had a trainer like someone I know, I'll call "BZuck", it wouldn't be so bad. But alas, instead of training on my own bike, I'll be in the freaking gym. Yeah me.
I picked up two books for Christmas. Lance Armstrong's "It's Not About the Bike" and "J. Edgar Hoover" by Curt Gentry. I started reading the book on Hoover this weekend. With each page I am becoming more and more disenfranchised with our country's actions following the first World War. The sinister actions of a few have forever put a black mark on the history of how our great nation handled emigrants and those seeking freedom. I'll post more on this as I read more, but needless to say J. Edgar will not make my list of heroes.

Christmas In Mobile

I've been in Mobile now since Saturday morning. The weather was gorgeous. Sunny and about 70 degrees, until the sun went down. But since then, the temps have been in the 50's and low 60's. Despite the rain on Sunday, I was able to get a run in of 5.5 miles. I took Christmas day off except for a round of golf. According to a local club's website, there was to be a ride leaving this morning at 5:15 so I woke up early to join these guys. It ended up just being 3 of us. I've never ridden much in the dark which as it turned out much of this ride was in. The temp was 43 according to the bank's sign. Not too bad. Mobile is much flatter than Birmingham so I had no trouble on the roads. The pace was a little slower than I usually keep, but it was good to get out and stretch my legs. I was disappointed to find out that the ride wasn't going to be the 28 miler that was advertised, but rather 19 miles. Oh well, just glad to get a ride in. My wife met me at a coffee house for breakfast. It was good to enjoy the morning with her. I didn't realize how much I'd missed our time alone to talk. Going to play a little more golf with the father in law. Here's a pic from yesterday. We're not as weird as this looks, promise. We all decided to put something on that we got for Christmas. Tail winds..

Cool pic from SI.Com and Travels

Check this pic out. It's from the start of the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. Amazing. The water is just white from all the churning. It gets me out of breath just looking at it.

I've only competed in races with staggered starts. Every 5 seconds. Have any of you competed in a race with a mass start? With all the chaos of a staggered start, I can't imagine what it must be like in a mass start. Lots of kicking and grabbing I'm sure. Sometimes I feel like I'm apologizing for the full length of the swim.

I'm headed to Mobile, AL this weekend to see my wife's family. They are great folk. I'm sure I'll be playing a bit of golf, but I'll also find time to train as well. Sunday will be my long run, 9 miles. I found a group to ride with on Tuesday morning. My only beef is that they start at 5:15 am! It's not even light outside yet. I've been wanting to get a ride in down there, so I'll suit up and turn my lights on for this one. Should be fun. Merry Christmas everyone.

Why do I do it?

Sometimes I'm a jerk. I'm really short tempered with people who don't know what their doing, who don't put thought into their actions, or who are oblivious to others around them. I really lack patience for these people. For instance, I'm at a stop light and the person in the car in front of me is chatting away on their cell phone while the light has already turned it's fourth shade of green. I am the type that will honk the horn. I don't gesture or make faces, but if they aren't paying attention and it's been 5 or 6 seconds, they're getting a honk. I don't feel very good about it, but for the love PAY ATTENTION! Yesterday, I contemplated letting a guy hit my car when he pulled out in front of me. He was clearly in the wrong and wasn't paying attention. He would have paid "out tha nose" to fix my car. This would have given me tremendous satisfaction, because I could have been like - "What were you thinking?" But I showed restraint and hit the brakes.

All that to set up this situation. At work, I'm used to dealing with professionals or people who are in the industry and know what they're talking about. As of late, I've had to do a lot of work with a good number of Joe Schmoes;people off the street with no more knowledge of my industry than Anna Nicole Smith (so it's safe to say that I'm not in the business of loud obnoxious drunks, marrying rich old men, sleazy movies, or trim spa) I'm in insurance by the way. These Joes are not my customers or even my customers' customers - so no love there.
So I get this call and from the word go, I know it's a Joe because it's the 30th call I've received of this type today. It goes like this:

"This is Matt, may I help you"
"Uh yeah, this is Joe Schmo and I was told to give you a call."
"Ok, who told you to call me?"
"Uh, my dad." - by the sound of his voice, Joe was my age.
"Alright, why did your dad tell you to call me?"
"I don't know, he just told me to call and said that you could help me."
At this point I knew why he was calling and what he needed, but I'm a jerk and I really wanted this guy to know why he was calling me.
"Help you with what" I ask.
"Uh, I don't know, he just said to call"
"Well Joe, can you have your dad call me, I can't help you if you don't know why you're calling me."
"Ok, bye"

I had ample opportunity to help this guy out, but I'm a jerk and I didn't have the patience for him. It's pretty tough when you can see one of your short comings so clearly. The mirror is pretty tough to look at sometimes. Thankfully I am loved despite my short comings. So is Joe. I need to do a better job of remembering that. - John 13:35

Long Week

I've kind of had a love hate thing going on with this week. It's been long and boring due to work, but the nights have been fun with Christmas parties nearly every night. I am ready for a night off though. As for work, I'm almost ready to close the chapter on the year 2006. It's been a successful year so no complaints there, but I've had to start working on production for next year which isn't always fun. It all starts again. Same thing with triathlons, except that I'm stronger and faster -which is pretty freaking cool. Hopefully I'll be able to not suck it up on the run in each race this year. I had some pretty disappointing finishes this past year due to endurance and bonking issues on the run portion. Hopefully, that will not be a problem again.
One good thing of note, I went to the doctor on Monday and my ear was issued a clean bill of health. He suggested that I stay out of the water for another month, but said it wasn't necessary. He was concerned that the ear, while healed, might still be susceptible to getting infected. I'm going to give it until January 1 and then take the plunge. I'm ready.
Does anyone have any preference on brand of Tri Shorts? I have two pair. One is wearing thin and the other rubs me the wrong way. So, before I start the race season I'm going to need to buy some new shorts. Please send me any suggestions.
This weekend includes a 5 mile run (in about 30 minutes), a 2 hour ride and weights tomorrow, and a 9 mile run on Sunday. Here's praying for mild temps and a tail wind. Later.

2 Runs and a Ride with a Pro

The weekend has gone pretty well training wise despite the chilly weather and Christmas parties thrown in. I took advantage of the warmest part of the day on Friday (43 degrees) and ran my prescribed 5 miles during lunch. I knew there was no way I was going to want to run after work if the temperature continued to drop. On Saturday, I waited until the mid afternoon to ride. The temp was supposed to get in the 50's which sounded just perfect for a good long ride. My riding buddy was still Christmas shopping with his wife (where are his priorities?) so I was on my own for the ride. I took off from the house and after a few miles caught a glimpse of another rider heading off in the direction I was going. I caught up to him at a stop light and asked where he was heading. He said that he was just finishing up. He'd already done 56 and had downed a cup of coffee. After a short talk, he changed his mind and agreed to ride some more with me. We headed off through Mtn Brook toward Old Leeds Road which is a popular spot for cyclists as the road is long and fairly straight. Starting off, I took the lead on a hill and did my best to keep up a good pace. He was right there with me the whole time. We started talking again and I caught his name. I knew who he was as soon as he said his first name. He's a local who competes in Tri's and Duathlons professionally. It all made sense. So I thought "great, he's going to kill me on this road." For the first couple of miles I stayed with him. I took the lead and pushed the speed up to put on a good show, but at the first hill I lost it. It was all I could do not to coast for a while. He took the lead and I nearly dropped off completely. I pushed it hard to get back in his draft so I could rest a bit, but just doing that wore me out. Mercifully he slowed down a bit to talk. He said he was going to turn back at the next road. He said his legs were "spent." Keeping up appearances, I thanked him for riding with me for a little while and took off on a hard pace as he turned around. I've got a lot to work on before I can keep up with the big boys. Nice guy.
Today was my long run. 9 miles. I was a little apprehensive about the run today since my knee was aching after 8 last Sunday, but I thought I'd give it a try. Just moderate pain throughout the run. Just a little discomfort, but I am going to make a point to stay off of it for a few days. Over all the run went well. DCavin ran the last 3 with me which was helpful. Cardio wise, I felt like I could run for days. I could tell I needed to take some fuel with me next time. My energy level was low during the last miles.
By the way, did anyone happen to catch the Ironman World Championship from Hawaii on TV this weekend. Wow! A two hour spot on TV for Ironman. Loved every bit of it. I'd love to be there one day. Buck, you're going to have to get there this year without me, but I'll be extremely jealous.

Doesn't this look good?

Don't know why this is so appealing right now. But wow, how cool would it be to be able to earn this logo. Going to have to settle for a half for now.

So the last couple of days have been really good as far as training goes. Monday I took a much needed day of rest, but was back at it on Tuesday with a 5:45 am spin class followed by a little weight training. Today I did a first, running hill repeats. I have a good sized hill just up the road from my house. I couldn't manage the cold this morning before work so I did them at lunch. I'm lucky in that I live close to work and can get a work out in during my lunch hour (and a half). I told my coach today that I hated them, but also loved them. I felt so good after I was done. Definitely felt like an animal. Overall, I'm loving training. I'm loving how it's changed my energy level and helping me achieve my goals. Tomorrow, hill repeats on the bike. Golden!

If you get the opportunity, check out joepurdy.com. You can listen to all of his albums for free. I'm listening to Sessions from Motor Ave right now. Good stuff.

Tough Run

Per my training guide, I was supposed to spend 45 minutes on a trainer today, but yawn.. excuse me, I had better plans. This 45 minutes was supposed to include some focus on my technic with no resistance. Did they not know how beautiful it was outside. Was I supposed to spend my afternoon at the gym? Well, I took out on my own. I ran 8 miles today. Haven't done that in a while. I'm still planning on running my first 1/2 marathon in Feb. and I've been a little concerned that I haven't been putting the miles in running wise. I'm on the bike 4 times a week and in the pool three times. So far, I've only had to do moderate paced runs of 3 or 5 miles. My goal for the 1/2 is to finish in 1:45. That would be just over a 7:40 pace, I think. So today I took off and finished 8 miles in 1 hour, which is about where I need to be. That was encouraging. What concerns me is that my knees started aching a bit. Don't know if it was distance or if it's time for some new kicks. Maybe I made that second one up. I haven't run that much recently so hopefully, their not wearing down under the stress. Tomorrow is an off day so let's see how they feel after a good rest.

Cold, cold morning

I met BGillis this morning at 6:45 for a early morning ride. A cold front moved in over the last day and dropped the temp this morning to 35 degrees. Oooh, it was so cold. I was fine just standing there at the car, but as soon as I got on the bike and started moving the wind just ripped through me. The problem areas were my ears, toes, and worst of all - my fingers. I need to buy better gear I guess. My partner was not "feeling it" today so our pace was a bit slow. We ended up just over 25 miles. I've had a good two weeks of training since coming back from Italy. I can definitely see some improvements in my strength on the hills. Still have some work to do on maintaining a higher speed in the flats.
Overall, training is going well. I just wish it was a little warmer.

Oh, I'm hurtin....

My belly is a rumblin. Oh why do I do it to myself? Overeating that is. Some of the guys from the office took off to Dreamland BBQ today for lunch. If you've never been there or heard of it, you're missing out. For the longest time, they only served ribs and sweet tea. Recently, they've branched out to serving side dishes and desserts like banana pudding (oh sweet Jesus).
At Dreamland, you are immediately served a loaf of white bread still in the plastic bag and their secret sauce for dipping. While they are working on your order, you dine on this delicious soft white bread that's been smothered in the sauce. It's a golden time. It's like a foretaste of what's to come. And then, they bring the ribs. (insert heavenly music here) It doesn't take long for them to bring them out, cause they've been cooking for hours. Man they're good! Once they hit the lips, it's soooo good. And this is what gets me. These wonderful ribs and the fluffy white bread just sits in my belly reminding me of what I've done. Oh tummy, why do I torture you?

So I'm thinking ahead to tomorrow's ride. With this wonderful lump of meat and bread in my belly, what's my energy going to be like. Will I throw up at mile 20? Will I bonk on the hills? Well, we'll find out. I may have just set my training back a whole week, but to tell you the truth.. it was worth it.

Saturday Ride - Cahaba Heights

Wow, had a great ride this morning. I met a group over at Cahaba Cycles in Cahaba Heights for a 7:30 am group ride. I'd never ridden with this group so I was nervous about being able to stay with them on the road. They announced that we'd be ridding a 42 mile loop. This was slightly daunting as well as I had never ridden over 30 miles at one time. Well, the temp in the parking lot was 46 degrees. I felt that I was dressed warm enough, but after a couple of miles we dropped into a valley that was in the shade and the temp dropped about ten degrees. My face immediately froze, and I lost all feeling in my toes. I decided right then and there that I needed to buy some toe covers.
The route took us through some farm communities and back roads. The weather turned out to be just right after a few more miles. I enjoyed meeting these guys and they kept a pace that I was comfortable riding. Some times you'll get in groups like this and everyone puffs their chests out and sees who can pee in the tallest grass, but this group was very easy going and easy to get along with.
I nearly had my first wreck today. We were only about a mile from the end of the ride, and I was going around a curve going down a hill. I over compensated for the curve and found a big rut off the shoulder. I let out a few cuss words, my handle bars bent forward, and I braced for impact just knowing that I'd flatted both of my tires. To my surprise, I stayed on the bike and both tires were still with me. It scared the crap out of me to say the least. Not a good way to end a ride, but I'm glad we were close to the end, because I was a little jittery after that.
So the stats on the day ended up being only 38 miles, avg HR was 143. Not bad. I'm going to feel it tomorrow. I hope not too much, because per my coach, I've got another hour and half ride to do tomorrow followed by a 3 mile run. I'm going to stretch now.

Pics From Italy

ITALY TRIP

Just wanted to share some pictures and some thoughts about my trip this past week. Lauren and I arrived in Rome on Thursday the 16th around 9am. We spent three nights there then took a train to Florence for 2 nights.
While we were there, we attempted to see most of the majors sights and get a good feel of the life there in Italy. Overall, we had a blast. We saw some amazing places. I'm still amazed at the age of the buildings and their condition. Such as the Pantheon, built around 125 A.D. Wow. It's the oldest building in Rome and in incredible condition. The inside was simply amazing.
We visited St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday. I was a little turned off by how opulent and over the top the decorations were. Lots of gold, marble, etc. I know that was the style when it was built, but I really had to wonder if God was really happy with us for this building. Here's the square outside.
Some of my favorite sights were, the Pantheon, The David (in Florence), and the coliseum. The things I didn't enjoy: walking everywhere! (I love my SUV), the pushy beggars (they were mostly clean and well dressed), the cost of everything, and tiny showers. About the expense, the dollar is worth only .75 Euros. On top of that, everything is jacked up for the tourists. $3 waters were not uncommon.
I'm so glad that I went. I had a wonderful time with my wife. She's so amazing and beautiful, and I'm so lucky to have a travel companion like her.

Oh, and the statues. Don't know why, but they impress the hell out of me. Paintings are kind of lost on me. Maybe I'm an idiot, but the statues were incredible. I'd like to have one some day. Maybe of Lance Armstrong or Mr. T or someone. They would definitely have clothes on though. There are too many statues with exposed parts if you ask me.

I'm back in the pool and weight room this afternoon.

Back In the US

Made it in from Italy this afternoon (5:00 pm in AL, but 12:00 am in Italy). I'm writing now just to stay awake. I have to go to work in the morning and need to hold off on going to sleep for a while. I've been up for 24 hours now. Will definitely post some pics and stories from the trip. I will tell you that I wish I would have "trained" a little more for this trip. Lauren and I visited Rome and Florence and covered a number of miles each day on foot. We went back to our hotel each day just beat from all the walking. Both cities are easy to walk around to see the sights, so we avoided the buses and subways and opted for walking instead.
Glad to be back in the US though. I loved visiting, but I really enjoy where I am and my routine. Also, it won't bother me at all if I don't see any pasta for a while either. Pass the green beans and black eyed peas please, oh and yes, I would like the big gulp of sweat tea too.
Back into training tomorrow too. No rest for the weary or jet lagged.

Elton John's Comment

You may or may not have read the article regarding Elton John's comment on religion or better yet organized religion. It's below. I'll let you read it.

LONDON, England (AP) -- Organized religion fuels anti-gay discrimination and other forms of bias, pop star Elton John said in an interview published Saturday.
"I think religion has always tried to turn hatred toward gay people," John said in the Observer newspaper's Music Monthly Magazine. "Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays."
"But there are so many people I know who are gay and love their religion," he said. "From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. Organized religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate."

At first glance I rolled my eyes at the article. Being a Christian, of course I was a little offended. Then I thought about it and realized that Elton was right on so many levels. As Christians we have failed to show him the love of Christ. Donald Miller wrote a book called "Blue Like Jazz." It tells of a time when he was in college at a very liberal school in the Northwest. He and his buddies dressed up like monks and set up a confession booth on campus. A few people stopped by out of curiosity and found that Miller and his friends weren't there to take confessions but to give them. They started by asking for forgiveness from them for the acts of Christians throughout time (Crusades, 1960's etc). They then asked for forgiveness for not being loving, for not feeding the poor, for not loving those who persecute them, basically for not representing Christ well. As a faith, I believe we are at fault because the biggest impression we have left on people is our bigotry and intolerance. Not love and compassion. People have a strong reaction to what they see on television (the TV evangelist, religious groups marching pushing their beliefs). The few have changed the perception of the many. Basically that sucks, but it's perception and we've done nothing to change it.
So to wrap up, I apologize for myself and my faith for not loving our neighbors, for not feeding the poor, or clothing the hungry, and finally for not representing who Christ really was. Please understand that those of us who claim to bring Christians are just big messes themselves still struggling with sin.

Two State Parks in One Day

This weekend I headed up to Cheaha State Park with some gents from my community group from church . We found a good spot away from the crowd and set in the night. Temps were in the low 30's, high 20's. Perfect camping weather. It was so good to sit around the campfire, drink a few beers, and really get to know the guys. Conversations ranged from favorite movies, books, football, and then faith. It's reassuring hearing how these guys struggle in the same areas that I do. I believe God redeems us through relationships, and I'm so glad I had the chance to spend this time with these guys.
So, this morning we broke camp and headed to Cracker barrel. Cracker barrel on Sunday morning in small town Alabama is a sight. I forget how different Birmingham is from the rest of the state. Memaws and PaPaws lined the rocking chairs in front of the store as countless others shopped for worthless swag. Oohs and ahs could be heard as two gray hairs admired an "authentic Tennessee quilt." that was probably made in Taiwan.
After breakfast, I headed home and after a short nap headed to Oak Mountain State Park which is considerably closer and for a bike ride. Despite sucking in campfire smoke all night, I felt pretty good on the bike. Legs were good, lungs held strong. I was able to try out my new HRM. I averaged 19.1 miles per hour on the ride and my heart rate averaged 168 bpm. Looking forward to figuring out how to really benefit from it, but it was fun to play with. Tomorrow I'm in the pool for 700 yard as fast as I can go. We'll see how it goes.
Oh yeah, I'm headed to Italy in a couple of days. Gotta start packing.

Back in the pool

I've had a couple of days of training under the new regime, ala the Coach. The weight training was fairly easy. Toughest part was the core workout, mainly the planks. Today though, I finally made it back into the pool. The new ear plugs worked well. I kept the ole ear drum dry as bone. I did 1100 yards. Wasn't too bad. I mainly focused on my form. I need to work on keeping my head down. This will really help in getting my hips and legs higher in the water resulting in less drag. Overall, I loved it. I could tell I hadn't swam in a while. It was awkward at first, but after a while it all came back. Now if I can just get my endurance back up.
Tomorrow, I'm headed out for a ride in a.m. before heading up to Mt. Cheaha for a little camping trip.

Training Officially Started Today

Met with my coach this morning at 5:30 am for a work out session. We went through the exercises in the gym that he'll want me to perform. I thought it was kinda cool. I definitely had to push myself through some of them. Formerly, my weight training involved big weights with a focus on getting bigger and stronger. I come from a baseball background, which doesn't exactly translate well for triathlons. Over the past three years I've really made a concerted effort to drop the amount of weight that I'm doing and focus on low weights and high reps. I've notice a huge decrease in my weight. This may have something to do with the amount of R/B/S'ing that I've been doing as well. I would say 4 years ago I weighed 209 pounds. Hey, I could compete in the Clydesdale division is races. Now, I'm weighing in at 176. Clothes wise, a big decrease and an even bigger decrease when considering the amount of power needed to push myself on the bike or keep myself afloat in the water.
So, I'm excited about these new work outs. They involve a good deal of body core workouts along with quads and hammys. I never workout my quads and hammys. I thought that's what the bike was for.
Getting pumped. 1/2 IM will be here before I know it.

Vulcan 10K - mission complete!

This morning was the Vulcan 10K. I woke up around 6 am and starting eating my oatmeal. It took me a while to really wake up. I was so sleepy that I decided to stand up to eat. The morning was a crisp 38 degrees with clear skies. The run would be nice once the sun started shining.
There were a little over 1000 participants running in the race. A decent event for Birmingham. I never felt really good before the race. I don't think it was nerves, but I never really got the pre-race shot of adrenaline. That worried me a bit. I worked my way to the front of the pack before the race started. There's nothing worse than being stuck behind a group of joggers running four wide.
Mile 1: Started well out of the pack. I couldn't really tell my pace, but just ran a comfortable speed to get my legs going. I had the worst feeling you could possibly have during the first mile, I think I have to pee! How could this be? I just went. Oh, I hope I can hold it. I passed the first mile marker at 6:26! Gulp.
Mile 2: I looked back at this other runner and asked if that right? It didn't really feel like full mile. He affirmed that he was on his pace. Still felt good throughout mile 2. I knew that after I hit the 2nd mile marker I'd have to start climbing, so I tried to keep up my speed. Legs felt good. The need to pee went away, so all was fine in that area. Sun was shinning. Temp was just right. Mile 2: 6:47.
Mile 3: I was almost 1:15 under my goal and I knew I'd need the extra time. Over the next mile a half the route gains 150 feet. It was painful. I kept trying to surge and recover, but my surges started looking like my recoveries. Mile 3: 7:51.
Mile 4: Once the terrain leveled off, I knew I had to make up some ground so I started pushing it a bit. This mile winds in and around a really cool section of the south side of B'ham. Highland Ave has a lot of historic plantation homes built by the elite of society around the early 1900's. I say this because, I don't remember seeing one of them. I was focused. Mile 4: 7:20.
Mile 5: Now I get the benefit of a little downhill. I started taking long strides and getting a little air under my feet for a 1/4 mile or so. It gave my lungs a "breather." I was in the straightaway headed back for Downtown. Felt great and I was cruising. Mile 5: 7:02
Mile 6: Despite being so close, fatigue started setting in. I could feel my body start to slump a little. You probably could have pushed me over with a finger at this point. I knew I was so close. Kept pushing. Mile 6: 7:09.
Finishing line: with .2 miles to go to the finish, I knew I would beat my expectations for the race. I did my best to make a strong push for the finish. I made a good showing for the spectators as I sprinted across the finish line at 44:03. What a relief.
Wow, great race. I felt like I ran just about as well as I could have. My time really shocked me. I never really felt the adrenaline surge, which worried me that I might not run well. Things worked out though and now I can relax for a few days. Training officially starts Tuesday for the 1/2 Ironman.

I've made up my mind

I can't stand it any more. I'm still fighting with this ear infection due to the hole in my ear drum. I haven't been able to swim in a couple of months, and it's killing me. Can't tell you what an animal it makes me feel like to cut through the water and get the laps in. I've gone with out long enough. I've invested in some decent ear plugs. Cover me Johnny, I'm going in. Gotta get the laps in. I'm starting to train next week with my coach, and I'll be a monkey's uncle if I'm going to miss out on swimming. If I read one more blog about someone else swimming while I'm stuck on the bike or just pounding the pavement, I'm going to go freaking crazy. As for the ear, I'm going to see the doctor on Nov 27th. I'll do my best to keep it clean and dry as recommended, but it's held me back for too long.
Two more days until the Vulcan 10k. Ready to fly.

RACE WEEK!

Alright, I know it's just a 10K, but I get really pumped for races. This week I've taken it easy with just a couple of easy runs and stretching. I even managed to eat only 1 piece of Halloween candy. Now, I did however wear the nacho cheese dip out though. It had sausage in it. That's protein right? Well, after this weekend's race which is the Vulcan 10, I hope to really start my off season workout. I will officially start on the "program" on Monday with my trainer. Looking forward to his suggestions and being able to push myself again. I'm feeling good about this weekend's race. I hope to run anywhere between 7:00 and 7:20 minute miles. That should put me around 45 -46 minutes.

I haven't biked all week and it's killing me. Can't wait to get back out there. The mornings are perfect right now. I also get my heart rate monitor next week. That ought to be cool too. Later.