Multisport Markus

New Bike, New theme of for the year.

2011-03-21T14:52:00.002-05:00

There she sits. 2011 Cervelo P2 with 2011 Reynolds Strike Wheels. More details tomorrow!

As I was picking this bike up from the store, I got a new theme for this years Triathlon season from Chad the bike guy. "No Excuses" He said it jokingly, but its going to be my new theme.

German running

2011-03-08T16:30:00.002-05:00

Hello folks. I am in gemany! And I am eaing WAY too much (thanks Grandma'). But I'm running too. And its amazing. It is very warm here. Almost 55° . So I am running in shorts. Outside. Yea it's cool. I don't have any pictures to post, but the landscape is fantastic too. Hope the snow lets up before I return on March 20th. Til then...ttyl

Current Training Load

2011-02-26T10:15:00.002-05:00

Well, as the 3rd week of 2011 training ends, here's an update to what the current training load is, bearing in mind this is all aerobic base training. I'm currently alternating one day of spinning onthe trainer, and the next swimming and running. Rinse, and repeat. My spins are usually 60 minutes long, all aerobic. The running is usually 30minutes and increasing slowly to prevent any injuries that have plagued me last year. Also, with the fivefinger shoes, my calfs are still pretty sore after 30 minutes! The swimming was the hardest to pick up again, after a 3 - 4 month break from the water. I am currently around 2500 to 3000 yards a workout and every time I feel better in the water, but my times are still not where they where last year. But the comfort and familiarity of the water is back, which is nice.

New Shoes

2011-02-24T17:28:00.004-05:00

Well, after researching these bad boys, and after talking to some people I know that use them, I decided to give the Vibram FiveFinger Shoe a try. The Model I purchased was the KSO, along with some Injinji Toe socks (to reduce any possible friction rubs). The idea behind this odd looking shoe is the "barefoot running" movement. Naturally, we land on the ball of the foot when we run. However with padded running shoes, most people tend to heel strike. Heel striking produces a lot of stress that travels up through the heel to the shins through the knees up to the hips and lower back. Non of these body parts are designed to absorb shock. Many people muse this is where frequent joint injuries come from (there is no conclusive scientific evidence to support this, but then again there's none to deny it either). Having had my fair share of issues with my knees in the last years, the promise of a pain free and more enjoyable run (and running career) sounds good to me! There is nothing to lose!

My coach Jeremy also is a believer in the running barefoot model, however he runs with minimalist running flats (same concept as the fivefingers, but in a shoe form. No padding to encourage natural movement. I would eventually like to switch to that also, because it is very much easier to use during triathlon transition. For now the fivefingers are being used as a tool to bridge the gab from padded running shoe to flat). After discussion with him, I started incoorporating my new shoe into my workouts. The idea is to start with short distances, like 1/2 mile at first, to not over stress the achillies and the calf muscles. These are not used to the stresses of barefoot running but build up relatively quickly. I am up to a mile and 1/4 in the fivefingers before switching to my running shoes for the remainder. The key is to focus on transfereing the proper running technique of forefooot landing to the traditional shoe also.

I don't know if its a purely psychological effect, or a truly physical happening, but when I switch from the fivefinger to the mizuno shoe I feel different and more uncomfortable within minutes. It's not a acute pain I feel, but my knees and hips feel different. Like I said, that might all be in my head. But I like it! I hope to be 100% in barefoot style shoes by the time outdoor running starts and I would LOVE to compete in my races this year in this style footwear. We will see if the proper mileage can be added in safely to achieve that.

Other than running, swimming and biking are also going well. I will post an update on my current average weeks workouts next time.

* 2011 News updates *

2011-02-19T23:40:00.003-05:00

Ok, let's get right into this.... here's the updates:

After my 1/2 marathon foot issues I took several months of from running. This then also led me to take of some time from swimming. And biking. And lifting. And eating healthy. And lastly, from being skinny :-x 14 pounds of plumpness added. Along with lost muscle, this was a crappy off season.
When the City of Salamanca was hit with it financial crisis, I stopped paying for a coach (and because I was in the process of the above bullet). Then when I was ready to start up again, Chad's roster was full. So, I switched to a new coach. Jeremy Cornman.
Started up again in middle of February. Right in the middle of my fitness comeback right now. Hardest part??? Eating right. But it feels good to be back in the swing of things!
My new job (At Victor Farmington Ambulance) allows me lots of time to work out, which is awesome!
Just bought new shoes (will be featured in next post)

Check back soon. I WILL UPDATE. Mainly for you, Pat ;-) and for my family abroad.

UPDATE: 1/2 marathon and injuries

2010-09-13T07:25:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday (the 5th) I ran my first 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) and had a GREAT time. I finished in 1:52 and felt great.

Later that day I started having a weird pain in my left foot. I went to work at the station that night and could barely walk. Since that sunday, my foot has slowly gotten better. I have had several x rays and have a tentative diagnosis of stress fracture...

After 7 full days of NO training (it hurt to swim, bike and of course, run), I am back at work for the first time and the foot feels ok. I am supposed to race in my last race of the year next sunday (the 19th) in Canandaigua (Finger Lakes Triathlon). We will see if that works out....

Dissapointing week...

Splits for Willow Creek

2010-08-08T14:03:00.003-05:00

There where 3 time mats at the Triathlon, one at the end of the swim (right before T1) one entering T2, and one at the Finish Line. So there are no broken up Transition times. Here are the times they recorded:

Swim 300 meters(and up to but not including T1): 4m 27sec
Bike 15 miles (incuding T1 time, up to just before T2): 47m 13sec
Run 3 miles (including T2 time, up to finish of the race): 23m 35sec

total Time: 1hr 15m 15sec

August 7th

2010-08-08T11:54:00.002-05:00

Willow Creek Triathlon
to benefit Disabled American Veterans

300 meter swim
15 mile bike
3 mile run

I left my house at 6:50 am after getting up at 6am and taking my time showering, getting my dog fed and walked and packing my bag and bike into my truck. Getting to Quaker Lake in Allegany Sate Park (the swim start) I was the 3rd or 4th athlete to arrive, around 7:15am. Official registration/check in was to start at 7:30am so I was one of the first to get checked in and get my bags. Bags you might ask? Yes. This was a non USAT sanctioned, straight line triathlon. At check in we were provided with 2 bags, one to put our running things in and the bag would be transported to the T2 area and one bag to put our swimming stuff, shorts, t shirt, whatever we wanted at the finish line into. This bag would be taken to the finish line after all competitors had left T1. There was a shuttle that would drive from the finish to T2 and the start line, so after the race, once the bag from the start with my shorts and keys made it to the finish line I could hop into the shuttle, be taken to my truck and then go to pick up my bike and head home. Interesting triathlon in that aspect, but it was well run and worked out fairly well also. After checking in I had 1 ½ hours until the pre race meeting so I sat around for a while, then stretched and ran for a bit to warm up. At the meeting I learned I would be in the first heat to head out.

SWIM
The water was quite warm at the swim start, about 80 degrees. The swim was an out and back type swim, 150 yards out to a buoy and back to shore. 20 of us in the first wave lined up on shore and dashed into the water for our start. As I hit deep enough water to swim and dove in to do just that, my goggles where dislodged and the right eye filled with water completely. The left was about ½ full but I could see out of it (and I closed that eye when breathing). I kept the right eye closed and decided to go at it with the goggles full instead of fixing the situation, because it was such a short swim. Pretty much right away, 2 guys in my wave pulled about 5 body lengths ahead of me and they ended up building that lead to about 10-15 lengths by swims end. No other complications during the swim and I left the water 3rd with about a 20 length lead to the next swimmer.

T1
The dash up to T1 was about a 45 second run through Quaker Lake’s bath house. At the bike I slipped my socks and shoes on, grabbed my helmet and sun glasses and then threw my goggles and swim cap into the bag that already contained my shorts, shoes and shirt. Up on the bike and off. T1 felt slow, I don’t know why but it seemed slow. Will have to see what the actual time was when splits are posted.

BIKE
Leaving transition 3rd and about 10 seconds after the 2nd place racer I got into a decent rhythm early and passed the leader out of the water shortly after the 2nd place racer did. Riding in 2nd place for several minutes we turned out of State Park and headed up Rt280. I was passed by 2 competitors early in the race, one on a fully aero, carbon Cannondale with Zipp’s and an aero helmet (he ended up way ahead) and the other on a Wal Mart special Mountain Bike, riding with gym shorts, no shirt and no helmet (yea…not a USAT sanctioned event!!!), holding his iPod and working his head phones. Yea that one hurt just a little. He stayed ahead of me, but within sight the entire bike stretch, sometimes close, sometimes he gained on me. Later in the bike portion, I had a total of 3 other riders pass me and the 4 of us and Mountain Bike guy finished the bike ride pretty much as a group. Later, when talking to some of them, I learned that 2 of them where from the 2nd wave of athletes. The bike ride was a pretty steady uphill, with some flat spots and also some small downhill sections. Max speed was 33mph for just a bit, and avg was in the 18.9mph area. Was not a hard bike, but not easy as it was generally uphill.

T2
Racking our bikes to the right of the bike finish, there was a line of bags with race numbers on it to the left of the bike racks. I found my number (39) and tore the bag open and put on my shoes and grabbed my visor and off I went on the run. T2 felt pretty fast, minus the part where I had to look for my bag.

RUN
3 miles, all uphill (moderately). Here I finally and for good passed Mountain Bike guy. The run felt very good. I had no pain anywhere. I was passed by a couple other guys before I caught up to one that was about my pace and the two of us pushed each other to the finish. 3 Water stations provided adequate cooling and hydration. Although the event had started off relatively cool (60 degrees) by this time in direct sunlight I was sweating pretty good.

FINISH
The clock read 1:15…something…when I finished, and being in the first heat, I would imagine that was the correct time. They were having some issues with the printing of times and did not have results posted when I left in the shuttle to the start to collect my truck and head home to work in the afternoon. Results should be posted (hopefully) soon online. Overall I felt good. No pain anywhere. I was pretty beat at the end; I don’t think I could have pushed much more without adverse results. I thought it was a fun race and had a good time!

Weekly Report

2010-08-01T20:39:00.001-05:00

All 4 runs this week went fairly well. Wednesday went the best, with a tempo run in the morning (60 minutes) and an easy run in the evening (35 minutes) that both went off without a hitch, no complaints at all, no pain in any body part. Friday I had a moderate run scheduled for 1 hour and 35 minutes, that was cut short at an hour and 15 minutes due to a cramp in my right thigh. This was the first time I can remember ever having gotten a cramp, let alone one bad enough to end a workout. Before cramping commenced, I had no pain and was not having a hard time keeping my heart rate in the proper zone, so I still consider this run a success. Sunday I had a 10 mile run. It started around 3:30pm and it was quite warm and VERY humid out. I was drenched before I made it to the main street Y (5 minutes). I don't know, but suspect that this caused my heart rate to run high the entire time, being about 5 to 10 beats above the high end of the heart rate zone the entire run (avg of 160 with a max of 165). I felt a slight tinge of pain in the left knee around mile 8, but that did not slow me or cause any real discomfort and went away quickly with icing after the run. My avg. mile pace was 10:29 for the long run. Nothing spectacular, but the best I could do without blowing the heart rate way out of the proper zone. All in all the weeks runs felt good and I am looking forward to the next 12 weeks.

Coach Chad's Race at Iron Man Lake Placid

2010-07-25T21:22:00.001-05:00

Coach chad raced Iron Man Lake Placid today, and he did outstanding, earning himself a slot for the World Ironman Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Below are his splits from the Ironman website...

Chad Holderbaum

BIB	AGE	STATE/COUNTRY	PROFESSION
316	30	IRWIN PA USA	Engineer

SWIM	BIKE	RUN	OVERALL	RANK	DIV.POS.
57:21	5:20:38	3:18:31	9:42:22	26	2

LEG	DISTANCE	PACE	RANK	DIV.POS.
TOTAL SWIM	2.4 mi. (57:21)	1:30/100m	80	12

BIKE SPLIT 1: 30 mi.	30 mi. (1:14:04)	24.30 mph
BIKE SPLIT 2: 56 mi.	26 mi. (1:24:43)	18.41 mph
BIKE SPLIT 3: 86 mi.	30 mi. (1:14:58)	24.01 mph
BIKE SPLIT 4: 112 mi.	26 mi. (1:26:53)	17.96 mph
TOTAL BIKE	112 mi. (5:20:38)	20.96 mph	33	7

RUN SPLIT 1: 5.7	5.7 mi. (37:50)	6:38/mile
RUN SPLIT 2: 11.9 mi	6.2 mi. (47:26)	7:39/mile
RUN SPLIT 3: 26.2 mi	14.3 mi. (1:53:15)	7:55/mile
TOTAL RUN	26.2 mi. (3:18:31)	7:34/mile	26	2

TRANSITION				TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE				4:19
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN				1:33

Mini-Musselman Split Times

2010-07-19T09:32:00.003-05:00

Here are my split times from the Mini-Musselman last weekend:

SWIM: 12:12 (1:38/100m)

T1: 1:34

BIKE: 51:42 (18.9 mph avg)

T2: 1:30

RUN: 28:16 (8:50/mile)

TOTAL: 1:35:14 (28th out of 45 in age)

full age group results, click here

Thursday July 15th

2010-07-15T22:22:00.002-05:00

So, I have decided to run a Marathon this October. This will be a lot more challenging I think than the triathlons I had planned to do, and will change the next 12 weeks of my training drastically (more running of course). Long runs will soon be nearing 3 hours instead of 1 1/2 hours. I am looking forward to it. This marathon "revelation" has also changed my race schedule slightly, with now the top priority race for the year being the Marathon instead of the Olympic Tri in Canandaigua....so here's the new and revised race schedule for my remaining season:

August 7th - Sprint Tri in ASP
September 5th - 1/2 Marathon in Geneseo
September 19th - Olympic Tri in Canandaigua
October 3rd - Marathon in Corning

Looking forward to this challenge! I will try to post more often again...maybe not daily...but weekly. Thanks everyone!

2010 Mini Musselman Race Report

2010-07-10T21:43:00.000-05:00

Mini Musselman July 10, 2010

Official race start for the race was 9am, and transition opened at 7am. I had picked up my registration packet the day before so I planned on being at the park at 7:30am with my friend Jim to set up transition and get ready for the race. 5:45am my alarm went off and I shaved and showered and had a cliff bar at 6am, followed by 2 ensure drinks between 6 and 8am. I packed most of my transition stuff and a bag with back ups (goggles, shorts, jersey, shoes/laces etc) the night before, so it did not take long to put my bike, pump and bags into the truck and I headed to Jim’s house at 6:30am. I picked him up and we headed to Geneva at 7:10am, arriving at the State Park at 7:30 as planned. After arriving we got body marking and timing chips and set up our transitions. I ended up having to run back to my truck twice, first forgetting my helmet, then my swim cap. Every time I went to the truck to get more stuff I left more there (the shoes/shorts/shirt I was wearing pre-race). By the time transition was set up I had nothing but keys to leave with my stuff in transition and finished setting up just in time to meander over to the swim start for the pre-race meeting. The swim was 750 meters, from point A to point B. Up the canal, one left turn to the boat launch and exit at the boat launch. The bike was a 16.1 out-and-back bike loop, that went 2 miles up hill then some rolling hills for 12 miles, then 2 miles downhill back to the park. The run was a very flat 3.2 miles along Seneca Lake shore in the State Park. My age group started 2nd, in a floating/trading start in the mouth of the channel. There were 53 in my age group (male and female). They allowed 6 minutes between waves, and after the first wave took off, it took almost all that to get my wave into the water and out to the buoys to where we were starting. That was the only part of the race I thought was not well planned out.
SWIM
When I made it to the start line I heard “45 seconds to start” and found myself in the middle of the group, about 3 rows back from the front. I had originally planned on being on the far right of the start, preferably in the 1st row, as I was hoping for a relatively strong swim start. The horn sounded and I was immediately in traffic, stuck behind a large group of slow(er) swimmers. It took me roughly 150 to get through the initial thrashing of passing slower traffic, and wasted a lot of energy on my part. After that the swim went smoothly. In the last 100 yards I ran into heavy traffic from the wave before mine. At this time splits have not been posted so I will update this once they are.
T1
Came out of the water easily thanks to the lovely mats placed in the water on the boat launch (I watched a girl right in front of me stand up to early and comically slip over and over trying to get to the mats). The run to transition was stony but I passed several people hobbling along the path. No issues putting on socks and shoes. I did forget my sunglasses for the ride, but I did not notice that until about 6 miles in.
BIKE
Started the ride well, slowed a little in the middle and ended strong I thought/felt. The middle 4 miles I was getting passed a little too much and after a personal pep talk I took back some of the places I had lost. In the last 5 miles I started feeling some pain in my abdomen. I was not sure if it was from riding in a weird position or what, but it was not much of a concern. No splits posted yet, will update this once I get splits.
T2
Got off the bike and immediately felt crappy. Hard to breathe with a pretty intense pain in the area of my right kidney and the abdominal pain that started in the bike was still there too. I hobbled to transition and had some difficulties with my running shoes (just fumbling getting them on) because bending over was causing me more pain. Made sure to grab my sunglasses this time!
RUN
On the way out of T2 I passed my friend Jim who had started in the wave before me, so I was pretty happy about that (personal rivalry hehe). I started the run pretty strong even though the pain in my gut was still present. The kidney pain had gone away luckily. Mile 1 had no other issues. I found my stride and was having a fun run. Around mile 2 the pain in my abdomen was turning more crampy and I was having problems keeping my pace and I slowed way down and started to get passed by a lot of people. Around mile 2.5 I had to stop and spent about a minute doubled over/sitting on the side of the course with a very intense pain, and considered dropping out/walking back to the finish at this point. After waiting for a while I started back up and ran the rest of the way at a much slower pace, but finished the run running. Put some effort into the last 200 yards but did not have a spectacular finish. I would guess I lost 3 minutes on the run do to the abd cramp/pain.
FINISH/POST RACE NOTES
Spent a little time sitting after the race and the pain slowly went away with nothing but rest. Took a dip in the lake to get the sweat off and went to eat a bagel and drink some water. Felt fine about 20 minutes after the race. Finishing time was 1:36. I don’t have splits or age group info yet. I think I’ll be around the middle of my age group. I think if I had the choice of starting my swim where I wanted to and had a better run I would be a lot happier with the race, but all in all I had a lot of fun and that is what counts. I won’t really know how I did until results are posted and I will pass that information along when it becomes available.

Thursday April 8th

2010-04-08T22:12:00.001-05:00

For some interesting reading about Coach Chad's recent Louisville Iron Man Training Weekend, Check THIS out. Wow is all I can say!

BIKE
2 Hours, 35 miles. No problems to report. Coach adjusted my zones (see table on the right of the page) so this was fun. I stayed right in the middle of the "Long" zone at an avg. 145bpm. Towards the end my legs where getting tired and I actually had a hard time staying in the zone towards the low end, which was new for me, usually I go way to high.

SWIM
2700 yards, about an hour and 10 minutes. Moderate Zone. Felt slow and sloppy. Probably because I was tired. But I got through it. Nothing else to say...

Wednesday April 7th

2010-04-07T23:03:00.002-05:00

Today was a R/B/S day. All three sports in one day! Exciting, right? Weather was iffy from the start, with Thunderstorms in the forecast. However as the day progressed these kept getting pushed back but never happened. This post is in the order that I did everything today (I did not follow the s/b/r order)

BIKE
40 minute tempo ride, at the upper end of my aerobic range. It was pretty windy out, but dry and it was a good ride. Went about 13 miles today.

RUN
35 minutes in the "moderate" zone. This was (as usual) hard for me to maintain my zone, so I ended up running it about 5 beats higher than the high end of the zone (zone ends at 144 I ran at 149bpm). No problems other than that to report, so I'm OK with that.

SWIM
2000 yards, about 50 - 55 minutes at the Y. Really nothing to say about this. Felt good. My last 100 of the set was 1:10 so I was happy about that. I want to do a 'fresh' 100 off the starting block someday. I think I can get sort close to my High school Personal Best of 57seconds.

Monday April 5th

2010-04-05T21:54:00.002-05:00

Well, Happy Easter! Hope it was good for everyone! I had a good one. Busy but good. Worked at the Rheinblick Restaurant a lot, but managed to go to the Easter Vigil, which is my favorite Mass all year.

Sorry I have not been posting much lately, but between working and driving back and forth and working out, I have not had much free time! So instead of catching up day to day, I'm just going to say that I've been working out every day, and everything has been going well. The runs are getting longer and feel good. Now I will continue as if I had been posting all along....So without further ado:

SWIM
5 x 500 yard swims. Kind of a simple workout, but very effective. The first one was a warm up, then I loosened up. The 3rd and 4th I was doing about 1:20 100 splits. Felt great!

BIKE
1:10 moderate ride. Chose a moderately hilly course around my parents area. The ride north was great, felt good and fast (hit 51mph on a downhill) and was a lot of fun. Then when I turned West and South I was hit with a 20mph head/cross wind and the ride back was hell. A hill I had coasted down at about 25mph the other day I pedaled down and hit 15mph today. There was no coasting or else I would fall over. Windy! But all together it was good. I am in love with my bike. Hope the rides get longer soon!

Playing Catch up...

2010-03-31T21:19:00.003-05:00

Haven't posted anything the last few days so here is a very quick run down of what went down:

Sunday March 28th
3500 yards in the Pool (no issues)
35 minute run (no issues)

Monday March 29th
Work day - Lifting is all I did.

Tuesday March 30th
2500 yards in the Pool (no issues)
35 minute run (no issues, felt great!)

Wednesday March 31st
2000 yards in the Pool (no issues)
1 hour on the bike (no issues)

I will make a point to post more in detail again, I was just pretty busy this week!

Saturday March 27th

2010-03-28T14:00:00.001-05:00

BIKE/RUN
Scheduled to be a 1:15 bike ride, and a 30 minute run, it turned into just tad more and I ended up with a 1:30 ride followed by a 30 minute run after about 5 minutes "transition". Weather was ok at mid to high 40s and sunny. Rode to Elicottville and back basically. Had a lot of fun, but my legs where pretty tired after everything was said and done. Can't wait for more of these types of workouts!

Friday March 26th

2010-03-28T13:56:00.002-05:00

SWIM
A moderate 2500 yards. Felt fine, not much to say really. I like swimming...

BIKE
40 minutes in the tempo zone. Cold (30's) but enjoyable. Can't wait for temps to go up another 15 degrees or so...Also nothing else to say.

Wednesday March 24th

2010-03-25T12:11:00.002-05:00

SWIM
2500 yard tempo swim. Good workout, felt a little sluggish in the 100's. Times in that set was about 1:22 to 1:25. I can live with that. Also bought my Olean YMCA membership yesterday. I now hold memberships at 2 YMCA's. Neither will let me use their membership at the other for more than 10 or so visits, so this is the only way.

RUN
25 minutes, moderate. No issues. God willing my knee issues will stay away and I can focus on this discipline, as it is clearly my weakest.

Swim: 1:50/week
Bike: 1:00/week
Run: 0:50/week
Lifting: 0:45/week

Tuesday March 24rd

2010-03-25T12:03:00.001-05:00

BIKE
1 hour, moderate, OUTDOORS! I was so happy to ride outside! Felt awesome. Got new tires and some new "cold" riding apparel and had a great time. Heart rate spiked a little at first, but settled in nicely during the ride. Took it pretty easy, did about 15 miles in an hour.

RUN
25 minute, tempo run. Met up with our Janitor and all around good guy Pat and he was gracious enough to slow down and run with me. He is a marathoner and my pace is certainly slower than his. Luckily it was an easy day for him. I enjoy running with people much more than with my mp3 player! Surprisingly, my heart rate did OK. I went above my tempo zone a bit, but nothing like before. Maybe things are improving in that department!

Monday

2010-03-23T23:58:00.003-05:00

Back in the states, I went back to working out! Now I need to get back to writing a blog ;-) The trip was amazing by the way. Every aspect great. The kids and the people where awesome. The weather was great. I love it! But I do love being closer to sea level again, too! I can breathe here!

SWIM
2000 yards, moderate. A nice way to get back into a pool after 9 days. Main set was 300 and 100's. The 100's felt good. Smoked them at 1:15 each. Felt really tired, overall, from travel, but smooth in the water.

Ecuador

2010-03-17T17:37:00.000-05:00

Went for a run last night. Wow! The altitude really does mess with me! I went anaerobic within 4 minutes, gasping for breath and my heart rate sky rocketing. Was a neat experience tho. We are at almost 10,000 feet above sea level!

Blog Break

2010-03-12T23:02:00.001-05:00

Well, as some of you may know I'm in Ecuador until the 20th. I will try to run some to stay active. I will surly post all about it as soon as I am home (and maybe some while I am there if I have wifi). Until then...good day!

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Wednesday March 10th

2010-03-10T16:33:00.002-05:00

SWIM

1 hour, 15 minutes (3000 yards) in the tempo heart range. Once again, the swim felt good. The main set was a bunch of 200's, and I was very happy to report that I swam the last one in just a hair under 2:30. I thought that was pretty good. My free visits are now officially all used up and it is really time to buy a membership at the YMCA now. Great!

Swim: 1:15 (2:15/week)

Bike: 0:00 (0:30/week)

Run: 0:00 (0:00/week)

Lift: 0:00 (0:35/week)

Tuesday March 9th

2010-03-10T16:26:00.003-05:00

Work Day. Busy Work Day. Lifting today. 35 minutes worth. That's all, folks!

Swim: 0:00 (1:00/week)

Bike: 0:00 (0:30/week)

Run: 0:00 (0:00/week)

Lift: 0:35 (0:35/week)

Monday March 8th

2010-03-10T16:12:00.002-05:00

First off, Happy Birthday Dad (or, Herzlichen Glueckwunsch zum Geburtstag). The big 5-2. huh? Enoy it! There, that's done.

Moving on...today I have a swim and a bike workout scheduled.

SWIM

2500 yards in the moderate heart rate range. Everything felt good. Felt smooth in the water. The main set had 9 x 100's in it (among other sets), and I kept the times at 1:20 so I was happy with that.

BIKE

Moderate ride for 30 minutes on the trainer. Nothing to say about it, not too hard not too easy. My tires are pretty shredded, so I will have to look for some new rubber soon. Yay, more money :-)

Swim: 1:00 (1:00/week)

Bike: 0:30 (0:30/week)

Run: 0:00 (0:00/week)

Lift: 0:00 (0:00/week)

Sunday March 7th

2010-03-07T14:30:00.002-05:00

Well, I thought yesterdays swim was as low as I could feel about a workout, but then...along comes today's run!

RUN
This is supposed to be a minor workout. 35 minutes in the 'easy' heart rate zone. Just a simple run. I have to say here that I have had trouble with keeping my heart rate down during runs, but I have worked on that and gotten better during base training, and now do about 6mph on the treadmill at 145bpm. Well today I ran outside for the first time in 2 months (its 40 here!). As soon as I took off, my heart rate spiked. I mean, right off the bat. And I took it as easy as I could. So I walked some to get it back down into the right zone, and ran again. Within 2o seconds my HR spiked from 129 to 161. Awesome, right? So I ended up running about 10 minutes out of a planned 35, and walked the rest. VERY VERY FRUSTRATING. Not to mention I fell and hit my knee. But that feels ok. This run sucked. Nothing else to say. Will see what coach has to say about this.

Swim: 00 minutes (3:30 this week)
Bike: 00 minutes (2:35 this week)
Run: 35 minutes (1:15 this week)
Lift: 00 minutes (0:00 this week)
-----------------
total this week: 7:20

Note: I ended up skipping both lifts this week, I can't really say why, because I don't know. I just sort of forgot. Wont happen again!

Saturday March 6th

2010-03-07T14:24:00.003-05:00

This morning we did an Ice Rescue Class with work. I spent a total of about 45 minutes in ice water, playing victim and rescuer, so that was fun. Class lasted a total of 2 hours. It started early so all I had to "breakfast" was Cliff Bar. Then I had a donut after. Why am I discussing my eating today? Well I think that along with the lack of sleep and cold water training had an effect on training today...

SWIM
I totally crapped out. Had 3500 yards in the "long" heart range scheduled. I felt terrible. Sloppy stroke, could not find a rhythm, my heart rate was all over the place. I hurt in my arms and back. I struggled to finish the 300's coach had me swimming. It was truly terrible. I will make a point to at least eat better before a workout next time I have a lack of sleep. Nothing else to say about this.

After the swim, I went home, had a smoothie and sandwich and made a point to eat some fruits and relax. Took a nap. Just stayed in bed and chilled. Then at 6:30 I got up and went over to work

BIKE/RUN Brick
I did my first brick workout of the season today (one sport followed very shortly (less than 15 minutes) by the next in sequence...i.e Bike to Swim). 45 minutes on the bike and then about 4 minutes later 20 minutes on the treadmill. Both felt good. I kept in the heart rate range no problem and had fun doing this. I look forward to more of these type workouts!

Swim: 80 minutes (3:30 this week)
Bike: 45 minutes (2:35 this week)
Run: 20 minutes (0:40 this week)
Lift: 00 minutes (0:00 this week)

Friday March 5th

2010-03-05T21:09:00.002-05:00

I am working today, and again coach Chad has nothing scheduled for me, although I did get a little workout today hauling some stuff out onto the ice for a rescue drill we are doing tomorrow on one of the lakes in ASP. Anyway, I was just posting some pictures for the post yesterday, and was reflecting on what this bike means to me now. It was a great deal for me to get this bike, thanks to my step dad. He had gotten it but barely used it and I got it at a VERY attractive price from him. And it was a sweet bike right away and I enjoyed the heck out of it last year. Now, gearing up for this seasons rides, I have put some effort and energy into it to make it what it is now...over the last months I have spent a pretty penny (more than what I paid for the bike...) and done some major upgrades. These include:

New Crankset
New Pedals
New Shoes
New Helmet
New Seat Post and Saddle
New Stem
Fitting to make it a true TT/Tri bike

Now, lets just home all that and the work I'm putting in now and will put in over the summer will equal some great rides and results!

That's all for today...just a little bicycle reflection :-)

Thursday March 4th

2010-03-04T21:39:00.013-05:00

The big day...my bike fitting. I arrived at Geneva Bike's at 11am and met Chad, who would be doing my fitting. Upstairs, the fitting started with Chad doing a physical assessment, kind of looking me over to see if I had any obvious physical needs that would make the fitting difficult. He also asked me a bunch of questions about my physiology and medical history as far as any orthopedic needs. After this I hopped up on the bike (in the trainer) and started pedaling while he did an initial assessment of what was going on. Then we started moving and switching parts. Without going into all the details, here is the end product: I got a new seat post and saddle, both triathlon/Time Trial specific. We also put in a new handlebar stem, after flipping my old one (it was low enough but still to far forward, the new one is a lot further back) and deciding the old one did not fit the bill. All these adjustments mean that I now have a more compact riding position. When in aero position, my elbows are directly under my shoulders, letting me support my upper body weight more comfortably on my shoulders. With the new seat and post, my hips and knees are now at the ideal pedaling angles, making for a more comfy and efficient stroke. My bike is now a whole new beast! After getting out I went to swim at the Y and then drove to Salamanca, where I did a trainer ride.
SWIM
2800 yards in the tempo range. 6 x 100's and a 500 was the main set. The 500 felt fantastic. Not much else to say about that.

BIKE
Here's the big one for the day. Not because it was a long set (it wasn't), or because it was high intensity (it wasn't). But because it was my 'new' bike. She looks so different now, and feels it too. I did 50 minutes in the moderate range. Felt very comfortable. Much better in aero position than before the fitting. And the new tri/tt saddle is more comfortable in the area of....important body parts. All in all a very good ride. I really CANNOT wait for snow to go away so I can ride outside!

Swim: 70 minutes (2:10 this week)
Bike: 50 minutes (1:50 this week)
Run: 00 minutes (0:20 this week)
Lift: 00 minutes (0:00 this week)

Wednesday March 3rd

2010-03-04T21:23:00.003-05:00

BIKE
Last bike ride before the pro fitting. In my parents basement on the trainer, watching some TV. Today was a 'speed' bike for 1 hour. This was something I was looking forward too, because it's quite a bit higher heart rate than my usual workouts. I did 3 x 5minutes at maximum output, which ended up being about 175 bpm. It was a good workout, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to more like it!

Swim: 00 minutes (60 minutes this week)
Bike: 60 minutes (60 minutes this week)
Run: 00 minutes (20 minutes this week)
Lift: 00 minutes (00 minutes this week)

Tuesday March 2nd

2010-03-02T16:52:00.006-05:00

Workday yesterday. Lifted while at work. Today, I drove to Canandaigua in the morning for 3 days. I have something very cool coming up on Thursday...a bike fitting at Geneva Bikes. Can't wait for this. More on Thursday! On to today's doings...

SWIM
2500 yards "moderate". Good swim, but the problem I ran into was that swimming in Canandaigua, I know EVERYONE it seems like. So lots of people tried to talk to me and chat away while I was trying to do my workout. So some of my rest periods where longer than they where meant to be. I'm too nice to just say "hey I cant talk I need to swim" and people can't figure out that while they are there for I don't know what, I'm there to do my workout. Ehh...minor issues, right?

RUN
20 minutes, easy heart rate. "Save energy for more important workouts" - Check. No issues with knees or anything.

Tonight, Family Dinner at the Family Restaurant (Rheinblick German Restaurant). We'll see what I can find on the menu that fits into my diet....

Sunday February 28th

2010-02-28T21:16:00.002-05:00

RUN
I was at work off and on for overtime and covering a buddies shift, so I ran at work. Interrupted once for a car fire, I then restarted the run and finished with no problems (knees or otherwise). 30 minutes "easy" recovery run. No problems. Ice and smoothie afterwards. I have to say, I LOVE my new HRM! Makes things much easier as far as keeping track of and staying in heart rate zones.

Swim: 00 minutes (3:35/week)
Bike: 00 minutes (3:05/week)
Run: 30 minutes (0:55/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (0:30/week)
--------------
total for week: 8:05

Saturday February 27th

2010-02-28T21:02:00.004-05:00

Well, today was something I had looked forward to since Coach Chad posted the workouts online. It was my longest swim to date, followed by a hour and 15 minute trainer ride. Lets jump right into the meat of things here...

SWIM
4000 yards, 1 hour and 20 minutes. In the "Long" heart rate range. Main set was 30 x 100yards. Coach wanted me to keep my times close in these 100's. I kept them between 1:20 and 1:25. The last three I swam where 1:22, 1:20 and 1:15. I was pretty happy with my times. And pretty proud of what I've accomplished so far. A few months or even weeks ago I was not able to push out times like that consistently.

BIKE
After the swim I drove home and pretty much changed and hopped on the bike right away, about an hour after getting out of the water. Hour and 15 minutes in the Long Heart Rate. Felt good, although I was having some pain in my feet again. I think I need better insoles in my bike shoes. I will look into that this week. I watched most of the movie "Lucky Number Slevin" during my ride. Great flick if you haven't seen it!
As for the picture to the right, it's my bike in the trainer. I ride in the basement at work. It is a nuclear bomb shelter! With kitchen and food storage to last for...I don't know how long (we don't have access to it, only Civil Defense does). It's kind of weird. But a nice cool place to ride! Please excuse my expression (LOL), and the shoes are still my old ones.

Swim: 85 minutes (3:35/week)
Bike: 75 minutes (3:05/week)
Run: 00 minutes (0:25/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (0:30/week)

Friday February 26th

2010-02-26T18:05:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a workday, so I had the day off from workouts. It was a pretty quiet shift, considering it was snowing quite heavy. Couple of accidents and ambulance calls, that was it.

As for today, Swimming scheduled. Drove to the YMCA in Olean in the snow, which is pretty standard for up state NY, but I love it every time. Normal driving is so boring, right?

SWIM
3000 yards, Tempo heart rate. I was in the water for about an hour and 15 minutes. Felt pretty good. I was the only one in the pool, which pretty much was due to the weather I would imagine.

Tomorrow seems like it will be fun. Longer Swim workout followed by a Bike ride. It's going to be good!

Swim: 75 minutes (2:10/week)
Bike: 00 minutes (1:50/week)
Run: 00 minutes (0:25/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (0:30/week)

Wednesday Fenruary 24th

2010-02-25T18:23:00.002-05:00

BIKE
Today is a bike day. One hour ride, on the trainer, with my new shoes and pedals. Finally! I was more than excited for this ride, after all I have been through with these pedals and crank arms. The ride was in the moderate zone, which is nice and easy to maintain with my new HRM, because it will alarm me when I leave one of my custom zones. Anyway. Good ride all in all, average heart rate was 133. I watched most of Zombieland while riding, and I stretched it a little to just a little over an hour ride. I do have one small complaint, and that is that my feets where a little sore after. I think I need to get a different insole than the one that came with the shoes. I need different support. But that's an easy fix.

Swim: 00 minutes (0:55 minutes/week)
Bike: 65 minutes (1:50 minutes/week)
Run: 00 minutes (0:25 minutes/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (0:30 minutes/week)

Tuesday February 23rd

2010-02-24T13:45:00.003-05:00

Day 2 in Canandaigua, and Day 2 in taking care of some Triathlon related chores. Today, heart monitor. A while ago, my old heart monitor died. And I had $100 in gift certificates to my favorite store, Tri Running and Walking, in Victor NY. So I had gone to see the owner, Glen, and I picked out the HRM I wanted. It needed to be ordered, and when it was finally delivered, it was the wrong one. So it was sent back and now...the right on had arrived. Today was the first chance I'd had to pick this baby up, so I was excited! The model I had decided on was the Polar GS300x, a middle of the road model, with optional accessories such as GPS I can add at a later date. As per usual, I ended up spending about 1 1/2 hours at the store, and walked out with a new pair of shoes as well (so I don't end up wearing my running shoes as regular sneakers I picked up a pair of couple year old running shoes Glen had on sale to wear around). Good fun! Then I went to the YMCA.

SWIM
2500 yards in the moderate heart rate zone. I felt really good in the water. Fast and clean. It was a lot of fun. I wanted to keep swimming at the end of the workout, so I ended up doing a little longer cool down. I also had an old friend of mine (from when I worked at the YMCA) who teaches stroke clinics look at my stroke and made some minor modifications. All in all, this was the best workout in a while. Good stuff!

After that, I simply went to the Restaurant, at lunch, and drove back to Salamanca. There I spend some time studying the new HRM and then tested it out with a short run.

RUN
25 minutes, easy. Felt fine. Left knee is a little swollen, from Bursitis I think, but with icing and knee support, it ended up just fine.

Swim: 55 minutes (0:55 minutes/week)

Bike: 00 minutes (0:45 minutes/week)

Run: 00 minutes (0:25 minutes/week)

Lift: 00 minutes (0:30 minutes/week)

Monday February 22nd

2010-02-24T13:15:00.007-05:00

I drove home, to Canandaigua, today. It is finally time to take care of the bike issue! I went pretty much immediately to Geneva Bicycle Center, and guys got me right in. As I imagined, my crank arm was toast. After looking to see if just the arm could be replaced and mated to the rings, they determined this was not possible, but that when it was possible the part would have cost $100. They then looked to see what they had around the store, and found a Bontrager Crank set, very lightly used, that matched my crank set EXACTLY (apparently Bontrager had bought out the original manufacturer). So they installed the whole new crank set (it matches so closely my chain still works perfectly without any adjustments to the front derailleur). They also slapped on my new Look Pedals finally. All together, it ended up costing me $107 including labor. So I made out pretty good. Now I just have to get back to Salamanca and put the wheels back on and go out for a spin (or stay in and spin on the trainer)!

For today, I have a bike ride and lifting scheduled. I did the lifting yesterday at work. As for the bike ride, the plan was to ride at the YMCA as usual, but I talked to my friend Jim and he told me he works out at Marcus Whitman High School while his daughter is at swim practice. So I decided to join him, and did my ride on an old but nice exercise bike there.

BIKE
Scheduled as a moderate 30 minute ride, I ended up riding a moderate 45 minute ride. Jim was doing his thing and I didn't have anything else to do so I extended the ride a bit. My heart rate stayed at the low end of moderate. Was a good ride, no issues. I definitely miss my bike. Can't wait to put it back together and ride it.

After the workout I went to dinner at Jim and Brenda's house and had a lovely evening of conversation and laughter (and a great dinner) with them.

Saturday February 20th

2010-02-20T21:43:00.003-05:00

What a gorgeous day outside! Sunny and about 32 degrees (I know that freezing is supposed to be cold but for us its warm, after 2+ weeks of constant below freezing temperatures!) I was originally planning on running outside, but I put it off too long (and ended up working some overtime) and I ended up running on the treadmill again. I also wen to Olean for a swim.

SWIM
2500 yards, felt slow and sloppy. I was not too happy about the whole event. I don't know if its because I was lifting yesterday or because I swam too hard the other day, but I just felt sloppy today. Got through it ok, and I did feel ok...during the cool down. But I guess there'll be ups and downs. It'll be better the next pool session!

RUN
25 minutes, long heart range. No issues. Below, finally a picture of my knee equipment:

Swim: 50 minutes (1:45 minutes/week)
Bike: 00 minutes (1:15 minutes/week)
Run: 25 minutes (1:05 minutes/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (1:00 minutes/week)

Friday February 19th

2010-02-20T21:39:00.003-05:00

So, seeing how the bike is still busted up (I will be going to Geneva Bike Center on Monday or Tuesday) I have no choice but to to a long ride at the YMCA. The bikes there are OK for exercise bikes, but they are no nearly as comfortable to me as my bike on the trainer. But what am I gonna do, right?

BIKE
Scheduled to do a 1 1/2 hour session in the 'long' range, but I ended up doing just a tad over 1 hour and 15 minutes. I just did not feel comfortable, and my left knee (!!) was starting to just feel tight, so I called it at that. I have 3 free visits left at the YMCA before I have to get a YMCA membership in Olean too (already have one for Canandaigua YMCA)

Swim: 00 minutes (0:55 minutes/week)
Bike: 75 minutes (1:15 minutes/week)
Run: 00 minutes (0:40 minutes/week)
Lift: 30 minutes (1:00 minutes/week)

Thursday February 18th

2010-02-19T13:38:00.002-05:00

I worked yesterday, and Coach gave me a day off from training. Today I had a swim scheduled. I'm still waiting to hear from the bike shop to get my ride down there and fixed. The picture below is a recovery smoothie that I drink after my workouts. Its organic yogurt, frozen berries (no sugar added), skim milk, 100% raspberry juice, and some organic peanut butter. Great for recovery and a good way to get some fruits. Its very good!

SWIM
2500 yards in the tempo range. Good workout. I swam in a lane next to an 11 year old girl who was kicking my butt. I mean, pride made me swim faster than her, but from about 2200 yards on I had nothing left. I stayed in the heart rate range by 1 point. But man that little kid could swim!

Swim: 55 minutes (0:55 minutes/week)
Bike: 00 minutes (0:00 minutes/week)
Run: 40 minutes (0:40 minutes/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (0:30 minutes/week)

Recovery Smoothy

2010-02-18T18:07:00.000-05:00

My nutritious and tasty alternative to the beverage usually served in this glass. Thanks Coach for the recipe!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Tuesday February 16th

2010-02-17T14:15:00.002-05:00

Well, like I wrote yesterday, today I was supposed to do a moderate bike ride (1 hour, 30 minutes full throttle) and a run. Well, as luck would have it, my bike is giving me issues and wasn't ride able (I know, when I'm not broke, my equipment breaks). I'm having the issue looked into Thursday or Friday hopefully. But for now I'm without a bike. Instead I elongated my scheduled run and went a little faster in that as I have in the past.

RUN
I ended up doing 40 minuets, I did a moderate warm up for 10 minutes at about 140bpm heart rate. Then I sped up, increasing my speeds up to 7.3mph on the treadmill, and letting my heart rate go into the 160-170 range. I spend 20 minutes running hard(er than usual), then took it easy for another 10-15 minutes before getting off. As usual, knee braces on both leg, and icing right afterwards. No pain to report so that's nice.

I'll keep everyone up to date on the bike situation as it unravels. Pictures soon too.

Monday February 15th

2010-02-15T22:55:00.004-05:00

Lifting today, 30 minutes worth. Nothing else to say. More tomorrow, when I get to do 30 minutes during my moderate bike ride at full throttle in a mock race. It'll be on the trainer because we're getting more snow, but it will be awesome to really go. Some Olympics on TV and then bed.

Sunday February 14th

2010-02-15T22:46:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentines day! I had a day off Yesterday (from working out, tho not from working. I spent 30 hours or so at the Fire Station). Today is a simple day with only a run scheduled. Before we get into that, update on my bike purchases. I took my new pedals to work and during some down time started to work on my bike. The left pedal (which is reverse threaded) came out no problem at all with a pedal wrench. When I spun around to the right, as soon as I put wrench to pedal it started spinning freely in the crank arm, but not unthreading. So I don't know whats going on with that, if the threads are stripped, or what's going on. To make things more fun, all the Bike shops in the area are closed. So I will probably end up taking the bike home to Canandaigua to Geneva Bike Center unless I hear from my LBS (I called Pete on the off chance that he'd be in the shop) before I go home next. Until then, I'll continue to ride with my Shimano pedals and old Mt.Bike shoes. As far as I can tell whatever issue there is with the threads and/or crank arm, it doesn't affect the pedaling.

RUN
30 minutes, moderate heart rate. As usual with two braces on the knees. I'll post a picture of me running in my "armor" one of these days. Ice before and after workouts on the knees, and I must say they feel pretty good. Thank you God! I need them knees!

Swim: 00 minutes (1:45 minutes/week)
Bike: 00 minutes (0:45 minutes/week)
Run: 30 minutes (0:50 minutes/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (0:30 minutes/week)

Friday February 12th

2010-02-14T00:07:00.003-05:00

SWIM
1500 yard swim, moderate heart rate. No issues, except that at this distance only the last 1/4 of the swim feels really good, the rest feels like I'm warming up.

I drive home tonite after working at the Rheinblick and I get to work at the Firehouse at midnight. Fun, eh? I love it!

Swim: 35 minutes (1:45 minutes/week)
Bike: 00 minutes (0:45 minutes/week)
Run: 00 minutes (0:20 minutes/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (0:30 minutes/week)

Thursday February 11th

2010-02-11T23:02:00.005-05:00

Met up with my buddy Phil today and went to spend some money (tax return burning a hole in my pocket). First stop was the Triathlon Store in Victor. Talked to Glen the owner (amazing guy, so very helpful!) about my Heart Rate Monitor which I ordered 3 weeks ago but that hadn't arrived yet and he explained there was some mix up and the wrong one got sent. A little frustrating, but nothing I can do, and nothing I can do but wait until next week. Then I talked to him about getting insoles for my work boots to help with my knee issues. So we spent about 25 minutes trying on about 5 different styles and figuring out which fit the boots and me the best. Like I said, Glen's very helpful. Finally I got a great set, and so far today they feel great!

Then Phil and I headed accross the county to Geneva to the Bicycle Center, which is a great bike store. Spend another hour and a half here, browsing various items including my future bike (hopefully next year, I'm starting to save now!). In the end the owner (I forget his name) helped me out a lot in finding a new pair of bike shoes and pedals. I have been riding with my old mountain bike shoes and Shimano pedals. I grabbed up a pair of Bontrager RL Road shoes and Look Pedals. This should improve my power output quite a bit on the bike. Then to top it off I got a new helmet too. My current is also left over from Mt Biking and is pretty beat up. Now for the workout today...

SWIM
Short but quick swim today. 1500 yards in the tempo zone. Kind of a nice switch from longer "slower" sets. Felt good. Tomorrow I will try to swim with a friend here in the area, we'll see how that works out.

Swim: 30 minutes (70 minutes/week)
Bike: 00 minutes (45 minutes/week)
Run: 00 minutes (20 minutes/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (30 minutes/week)

Wednesday February 10th

2010-02-11T22:51:00.002-05:00

Tuesday was a day off, well from working out. I worked at the Firehouse. Today I drove home to Canandaigua through some of the worst weather and certainly the worst roads of the year. The drive took about 45 minutes longer than usual. Yay winter. Today is a run and bike day, to be done at the Canandaigua YMCA.

RUN
20 minutes easy, with instructions to "save energy for more important workouts". Kind of weird how I wear two braces on my knees now when I run. Like the bionic man. No problems with the run. Still weird to keep my heart rate so low. Slooowwww running.

BIKE
45 minutes on the exercise bike at the Y. Its not a bad bike, but not like my "real" bike. But it does the job while I'm here. And it's better than lugging my bike AND trainer to Canandaigua for 3 days. No problems with the ride, it was in the moderate heart zone.

Swim: 00 minutes (40 minutes/week)
Bike: 45 minutes (45 minutes/week)
Run: 20 minutes (20 minutes/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (30 minutes/week)

Monday February 8th

2010-02-09T20:42:00.003-05:00

Whats up, ya'll. Today was a swim and workout day. And a pretty easy one at that. Not much to write really...

SWIM
An easy 2000 yards in the long heart rate range. 3 500's as the main set. Felt good, still want to do some stroke work tho. 100 splits where about 1:25-1:30. I have come to the end of my free uses at the Olean YMCA (I have a membership in Canandaigua, so I got 14 free visits in Olean). I will join the Olean YMCA next months after my last few free visits and I will then be carrying 2 membership cards! At least they agreed to waive the $75 set up fee!

LIFTING
Endurance lifting phase lifting today. Same stuff as before, but 2 times around at 12-15 reps. Good stuff. I'm skipping some of the leg stuff to be nice to the knee!

Swim: 40 minutes (40 minutes/week)
Bike:00 minutes (00 minutes/week)
Run: 00 minutes (00 minutes/week)
Lift: 35 minutes (30 minutes/week)

Sunday February 7th

2010-02-08T18:13:00.004-05:00

Swim Bike Run...that's what it's all about, right? Today was a good day! Now before we get into the sport part of it, I have to apologize for not writing every day. I was miserable and sick last week. Bed ridden for a couple/3 days, the whole 9 yards. I think in the long run for my knees and my body it was sort of good to be ill, because I had a good recovery period saying off my knees and I made a point to ice them a lot, before and after seeing the doctor about them. So then Friday I worked my shift, well, the night part of it, I took the day part off sick. Saturday I worked the day part of the shift for Matt and then I came home and was beat and slept like a rock. Today I caught up on some workouts and got back on the ball!

SWIM
I made up yesterdays swim today, 2500 yards at the moderate level. Was a good swim, and after the break I had I was full of energy and put in some good times, I think. Glad to be back swimming after several days off! I contacted my old swimming coach from back in high school also, to see if I can meet with him and have him do some stroke work with me.

BIKE
1 hour and 15 minutes in the Long range. This ride was also a make up that was scheduled for yesterday originally. Good ride, I watched some TV while I rode. I made a short video of my ride too, to send to Coach Chad to have him analyze my bike set up a bit. I want to get a pro fitting at some point this year, but until then, his input will be invaluable!

RUN
Here's the big one for the day...coach had a 50 minute run or 30 minute water run scheduled, deepening on the status of the knees. So, after my week sick and icing my knees, they felt really good. So I took the leap! I wore knee braces on both knees, and started out very slowly. I worked my way up and ran for 35 minutes. I felt good when I stopped, but I wanted to stop while I felt good, not run until it hurts! So this is a good step, and its exciting to me! Back on track, baby!

So that was my end to the week! I though it was a good one, and I'm looking to carry that momentum into next week. Superbowl and chicken now. Then sleep. Goodnight!

Swim: 50 minutes (1:45 minutes/week)
Bike: 75 minutes (2:00 minutes/week)
Run: 35 minutes (55 minutes/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (00 minutes/week)

Thursday February 4th

2010-02-05T20:12:00.001-05:00

Went to the Ortho doc and had my knees looked at. The right one is still tendinitis, the left one has bursitis. I will post more on this later, but right now I am still recovering from my cold/flu/whatever it is, and I just want to go to bed.

Wednesday February 3rd

2010-02-03T14:32:00.002-05:00

Today is a day off from working out, which works out well, because I am sick. Which in itself is kind of a neat story. The last two years I was sick pretty much once every 4 to 6 weeks with a cold or bronchial infection. Literally. It was awful. This year, this is the first time I've been sick. So that's a good thing. Doesn't change the fact that I feel like a truck rolled over me...but with rest, zinc and day/niquil I'm sure I'll be back on my feet soon!

Swim: 00 minutes (55 minutes/week)
Bike: 00 minutes (45 minutes/week)
Run: 00 minutes (20 minutes/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (00 minutes/week)

Tuesday February 2nd

2010-02-03T14:12:00.002-05:00

After spending 51 hours at work, I finally got to get out of there and headed to the YMCA to get some workouts in before my nap.

SWIM
Today Coach had a 'long' swim scheduled for me, with the main set being 4 500's. Things went well once I got warmed up. At first I felt tight, especially my left shoulder. After about 1500 yards I was warmed and stretched and I really got going, putting in the last 2 500's with 1:25 to 1:30 100 splits. Not as good as I used to be in HS, but I was pretty happy!

RUN
Well, this is a sore subject. The knees are putting up a fight, and I am water running again. Doctors appointment on Thursday to see what's going on. Today I just did a moderate 20 minute run in the water. Nothing else to say about that. It was boring.

BIKE
I did 45 minutes on the bike at the 'tempo' heart rate. It felt very good, I kept my heart rate around 148 for the majority of the time. I've been playing around with the set up on the bike a bit, as far as the saddle angle and location. I am thinking I will get a fitting done on the bike this summer before I start to race.

Swim: 55 minutes (55 minutes/week)
Bike: 45 minutes (45 minutes/week)
Run: 20 minutes (20 minutes/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (00 minutes/week)

Sunday January 31st

2010-01-31T16:04:00.008-05:00

I am working a 48 hour shift today and tomorrow. 24 for my buddy Dan and 24 for my own shift. Dan will pay me back when I go to Ecuador in March. I origionally had a run scheduled for today which I could have done downstairs on the treadmill, but because of my knees that has been put on hold and the knees are being rested. Tomorrow I have some lifting scheduled, but today I am using as a rest day for my legs (in between emergency calls of course). I'm taking the time to kick back and Ice the knees when I can. More tomorrow...Enjoy Sunday!

Swim: 00 minutes (2:30/week)
Bike: 00 minutes (2:30/week)
Run: 00 minutes (0:30/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (1:20/week)

Saturday January 30th

2010-01-30T21:27:00.004-05:00

This morning I got a call from my dad saying that he fell and broke several bones and tendons in his leg. Puts my knee issues in perspective, huh? Anyway, feel free to join in my prayers for his speedy recovery! He is supposed to visit me in the US in April!!!

On to workouts...

BIKE
Today was a 1 hour 30 minute session in the "long" heart rate range. I spent a large portion of that in the upper area of the zone. Watched most of The Bourne Supremacy. Good stuff. No issues on the bike...thank god!

LIFTING
Twice a week I lift, number of reps and number of times around the circuit depends on the day, however the excercises are always the same, here they are: Lat Pull Dwn, Leg Ext., Leg Curl., Bench Press, Squat / Press, Pullover, Bent Row, Walk Lunges, Side Lat Raise, Bicep Curl, Triceps, and Calf Raises. If you don't know what they all are...google 'em! I skip some due to the knees, such as the lunges and the leg extensions (sometimes).

Had a run scheduled tomorrow, but because of the knees I am not going to be doing that. Instead I'll be resting as much as I can (I am working a 48 hour shift).

Swim: 00 minutes (2:30/week)
Bike: 90 minutes (2:30/week)
Run: 00 minutes (0:30/week)
Lift: 40 minutes (1:20/week)

Friday January 29th

2010-01-30T11:29:00.003-05:00

Today I had a swim and a run scheduled however continuing problems with my knees cut my run short and canceled my Sunday run to rest the knees more. It used to be just the right knee, its been hurting all day not just while running. The pain is more a soreness than pain and doesn't increase while running. So that's a good sign, I think, that its just leftover soreness from working out. To add to this my left knee was swollen and feeling very 'tight'. I talked to Coach Chad and my knees are getting some rest and I'm making an appointment with the ortho guy again. I'll keep posting about how that's all going.

SWIM
The swim today was a 2500 yard tempo swim. Everything went well. This was when I noticed my left knee swelling.

Swim: 45 minutes (2:30/week)
Bike: 00 minutes (1:00/week)
Run: 00 minutes (0:30/week)
Lift: 00 minutes (0:40/week)

Wednesday January 27th

2010-01-28T14:23:00.002-05:00

Today is a recovery day, meaning I do nothing. Literally. No workouts. No work, nothing. I sit in bed and read and watch TV. I take a nap. I am in heaven :-) In theory. In actuality I went to work for an overtime shift. But beyond that I really did nothing. I just focused on recovering. I ate oranges throughout the day for lunch and I had my usual chicken and green bean dinner.

As I mentioned before, I am currently in Base Training, and I said I would post more information on this, so here I found a good article by Tri Coach Matt Russ that explains what Base Training is. Enjoy.

Tuesday January 26th

2010-01-26T22:59:00.003-05:00

Couldn't fall asleep last night, so I slept in til past 11am this morning! By the time I was up and around it was past noon. Today I had a swim and bike on the planner.

SWIM
Today Coach Chad had me do 3000 yards in the long range. Everything went well, and I ended up swimming a little bit extra as a cool down. After I hopped into the "therapy" pool (aka a big hot tub) and stretched real good and took like 10 minutes to just relax. THAT was nice!

BIKE
Biked at work this afternoon about an hour and half after the swim. Watched the 8th season (I think) of Scrubs while I rode - actually I just started it, watched the first 3 episodes. I'm getting very used to watching TV while on the trainer. I don't know if that's good or bad? Its nice tho. The ride went fine, it was a "tempo" ride and I spend almost the whole hour I was on the bike at around 146 to 148 bpm. Good stuff!

Felt good right after the bike (and swim) but I have to admit I'm pretty tired now. Hoping to fall asleep before 2am tonight. Well see. Dinner was (as usual) broiled chicken breast and veggies. Today was sugar snap peas. I have to say, that's my new favorite food. Really good stuff! Any who...goodnight.

Swim: 55 minutes (1:45/week)
Bike: 60 minutes (1:00/week)
Run: 00 minutes (0:30/week)

Monday January 25th

2010-01-25T22:59:00.004-05:00

What a dreary day! Cold and rainy. Like a nasty autumn day. Definitely not pleasant. Coach had a run and swim on the schedule for today, and I was debating whether to run at the YMCA on the track or run on the treadmill...

RUN
This afternoon I ended up getting some overtime at the Fire Department, so I took that opportunity and did my run at the station, hence getting paid for my workout. It was a 30 minute easy run. After yesterdays knee soreness I was interested to see what would happen today. I am happy to report that there was no knee pain then or now and I am icing and resting it as a precaution.

SWIM
After the run, I headed to Olean and hit the Y for a 2500 yard swim workout in the "moderate" heart rate zone. Felt good in the Water. Seems like its taking me about 1000 yards or so to really 'warm up' and feel good. But it was a good swim!

Home tonite was low key. I've been addicted to Executive Orders by Tom Clancy, probably my favorite book ever (3rd time I'm reading it) and I'm working on finishing the last couple hundred pages tonite...or something like that. Chicken and green beans for dinner. Now some sleep :-)

Swim: 50 minutes
Bike: 00 minutes
Run: 30 minutes

Sunday January 24th

2010-01-24T20:19:00.004-05:00

Today I am working my 24 hours at the Fire Department. Coach had a recovery run and lifting scheduled. However I was sitting at the computer doing some paperwork (I was working as acting officer today - go me) when I noticed my right knee was pretty sore. So I emailed Coach and decided to put off the short run today, instead making sure I rest my knee for this upcoming week. One good thing, coach pointed out, was that the knee didn't actually hurt during my run like it has before. This time it is just some residual soreness it seems like.

For a little history, I have never been a runner. And I don't know if last year I over did it getting into running too fast or what, but I was diagnosed with Patellar Tendinitis. Basically (in lay mans terms) its inflammation of the tendon that runs over the knee cap (enlarge picture to the left to see more detail of the anatomy). It hurts but there is no real structural damage to the knee. I spend some time water running and rehabbing the knee, and started running outdoors, on the indoor track, or treadmill a few weeks ago.

As far as the lifting goes, I will post more about the lifting plan Coach has me on on another day.

Saturday January 23nd

2010-01-23T22:41:00.003-05:00

I spend most of the day just doing small chores and things, like going to the store, and picking up my new cell phone at At&t (BlackBerry Bold 9700). Then in the afternoon, as I was getting ready for my swim and bike workouts, I got called in for some overtime, which worked out nicely, because I ended up getting paid to workout downstairs in the station.

BIKE
Coach had a 40 minute recovery bike ride scheduled today, I kept in the 'easy' heart rate zone, and finished the Star Trek movie I started yesterday. No biggie here.

RUN
Then I hopped off the bike, got a drink and jumped onto the treadmill (which I'm not the biggest fan off) and did 40 minutes in the 'long' zone. This felt good too, the knee did well (I was wearing my knee brace) the whole time. I had some troubles keeping in the correct heart rate zone as I usually do with runs, but I kept the heart rate hovering around 152 by keeping my pace slow (about 5 1/2 miles per hour according to the treadmill...if you believe that).

Quick shower and chicken and green beans for dinner, then a movie and now its time for bed. Work tomorrow. Good night!

Swim: 00 min
Bike: 40 min
Run: 40 min

Friday January 22nd

2010-01-22T23:31:00.003-05:00

SWIM
I went to the YMCA in Olean this morning and did my swim workout for the day. Coach Chad had a 2000 yard workout in the "tempo" range. Everything felt good, except that I had gotten a tetanus vaccination yesterday in my left deltoid, so my arm was very sore during and after the swim.
After spending the middle of the day taking advantage of the decent weather and taking the BMW for a spin, I went to the Fire Station this evening for my bike workout

BIKE
Today I did a 55 minute Trainer Ride in the "long" range, of which I spent about 25 minutes towards the top of the range. I started watching the new Star Trek movie during my ride, and am looking forward to finishing it on the next trainer ride. That is one thing that indoor riding has over outdoor riding. But I would chose an outdoor ride any day!

Swim: 40 min
Bike: 55 min
Run: 00 min