Blizzard 2011… Shovel monkey, shovel!

Get diggin'!

Leave it to the nerds from NASA to put my world in true perspective. Their shot from space showed a swath of white covering nearly 30 states, 60% of the lower 48 states were covered in a single storm. It even showed the state boundaries. I didn’t realize you could see them from space? Is there some sort of gigantic wall that I’ve missed? Must work like that yellow first down line on TV. You know the one. It’s the yellow line no one (even NASA) knows how it works. How the players are able to cross over it block it from view all while keeps the cameras perspective across field? That one. Except on a global scale. But my guess is lasers… Okay, my hope is lasers.

Everyone seems concerned whether or not this storm has broken any records, I couldn’t care less. Whether it’s 1″ or 24″, I still have to shovel, and shovel I did. Note from the author: we measured the snow here over 23″ and 48″ in some of the higher drifts. My commute home last night didn’t break and records either. It was slow, two and half hours, but I kept my sanity because we were moving. In case you’re wondering the PR for my commute is over four and a half hours… that’s for 26 miles. I could have literally run home faster that evening and I did lose my mind for a short period trapped in what I was certain was going to be my metal coffin. On a drive like that you do what you have to keep yourself entertained as evidence by the three plays I had written performing two of them using rudimentary sock puppets and my best british accents.

Incidentally what was left of my sanity was lost this past summer on a six-hour trainer ride in my basement.

Back to the snow. All told it took two of us shoveling for over four hours. An eight-hour work day was required to move most of the snow from off the driveway and into even larger visual obstructions on either side. We literally carved a space out for cards to pass through.

My car was buried (not a figurative statement) by the drifting snow it had covered the car almost completely. Which is a better fate than those unlucky souls caught on Lake Shore Drive for 12 hours last night. I would bet each one of those stuck motorists lost a tiny bit of sanity cooped up in those cars. It remains to be seen if any award-winning will result however.

Back to training, this is a triathlon blog after all, or at least that’s what the header claims.

Endurance training is not without its tertiary benefits however, my increased fitness allowed me to shovel like a machine without tiring. Shoveling is an aerobic workout, I was sweating like an easy run, mostly zone 1, but hit zone 2 when digging out a trench in the densest drift. I was supposed to run today, an hour running “hills” on the hamster wheel, but not surprisingly the gym was closed. I’m done with winter, I need spring.

I need summer. (Note to self: Remember that statement when your sweating your !@# off in the 90˚ heat)

Not to be as temperatures are supposed to drop below zero over the next 12 hours, the news has moved on from the rising snow to dropping mercury. I run in pretty cold weather (yes I know I have a cold) but subzero temperatures may even keep me inside. I need to kick this cold that long ago wore out its welcome. I’ve been breathing out of one nostril for the last few hours, eventually I’ll be back to two, that is until it clogs the other side and then I’m back to one. It’s like altitude training, without the benefits. I would ride the bike indoors but I killed myself on that last night in a vain attempt to prove I was better than the cold. I wasn’t and crashed and burned on the last set trying desperately to hold my LT for 5 minutes.

I just needed to keep repeating the mantra: It’s still January, it’s still January… then I remembered it was February and the realization that the season will be here in a blink of an eye, and the training and races will be coming at feverish pace.

In the secondary…

I'm the guy in the foreground.

If this were racing season I would give you a race report, but this is training season and I don’t give training reports. They’re boring. You really don’t (or shouldn’t) want to read what did this week. I’ll just say it was a bunch – which is a relative statement – for me when I compare it to this time last year. Following the coaches plan this year is… harder than it sounds.

If there is any trouble with training this time of year is that there really isn’t anything to (READ: worth) write about. I work, train, sleep, and start all over again the next day. My minimal down time is spent watching the Bears (I don’t have time or interest to actually watch and other games) and working on my other hobby, home-brewing with my brother. To be honest brewing is a nice change from training for endurance sports, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t work. While it’s nice to always have a cold brew around, even better when you’ve given it your own little twist, but it’s still work. Work on top of real work, and a full training load. In full disclosure a lot credit needs to go to my brother for keeping things going, I must admit we have to split a lot of time between my workouts most weekends. But eight or nine batches in and we have veritable cornucopia of styles to fit most anyone’s taste. Unless you only drink light beer (READ: yellow water) in which case your out of luck, watch too many commercials, and asking for such swill might bring us to fisticuffs. (READ: I’m a little bit of a Beer Snob) But even brewing is taking some down time lately, brewing beer (home-brewing especially) takes patience. For example: At the moment our batch of American Wheat Ale is bottle conditioning while a Chocolate (mocha) Milk Stout sits…. aging in the secondary, there is no need to rush.

Which is I suppose, despite to the work involved is why I like brewing my brother, I spend hours (READ: too much time) alone. One of the things about getting a coach is group workouts go out the door. Workouts that used to be done with friends are now spent working on my own (deficiencies… Damn you PLANK!) trying to eeck a little more speed out each week. So brewing a new batch, while sipping your own cold beer is a nice change of pace. It’s slow, and I get to work with someone else and think about something other than what zone I am in. In case you interested home-brewing, while work, is all in zone 1.

I wish I could say there were something more interesting (READ: goofy) to write, but to be honest there really isn’t. I guess I can like this time of year to a fine beer aging in the secondary. Not much happening, a little bit of bubbling every day or so, but not a lot of real action (racing). I may look like beer and taste like beer yet I’m still not ready to drink. But soon enough I’ll be in the bottle, cap on building up pressure. Then, finally, after proper conditioning I will pop the cap and enjoy a tall golden glass of the 2011 racing season. So I wait, training (toiling), learing patience as I go, no need to rush lest I spoil the batch.

Welcome New Year!

The new year has come, 2011, still no flying car in the driveway but considering the cost of gas I’m sure I wouldn’t be even be able to make it to work if I had one. To be honest I don’t really care about flying cars… Lasers… I care about lasers. Moslty in regard to when their connected to giant robots, but that’s another blog entirely, much less a post here.

It also has nothing to do with triathlon…. Which is unfortunate.

That said, I’m not one to attempt great change or proclaim grand statements on December 31st at 11:59PM. I think if your going to make a change it can come at any point in the year if you truly want it bad enough. New Years Resolutions are a copout. It’s an easy time to make a resolution, but also a even easier time for your alcohol fueled resolutions to be easily forgotten until January 2nd. Then the easiest bit, simply discarded January 3rd. Retailers know this, all it takes is a quick look at the Sunday paper. I haven’t seen so many treadmills on sale since… well since last January 3rd.

NOTE: A few notes to those just starting out, and trying desperatley to keep with your fitness resolution.

• Make it easy at least at first…

1. … in pace (keep it slow to start).
2. … in your expectations. If your goal is a marathon put it off a year, wet your feet in something shorter while you build some strength and enduracnce. You’ll stay healthier longer because of it. Think lifestyle change, not run one marathon, then take 5 years off to recover from it.
3. … in time and time management. Keeping too rigorous a plan to begin with can often lead to getting discouraged early, then overuse injury, more missed workouts, then giving up.
4. … keep it FUN! This is supposed to be enjoyable (READ: not work) Most of us are not getting paid to do this.

• Run outside! Cold weather  running gear is a hell of a lot cheaper than any treadmill I saw for sale. Yes I know the cold hurts your delicate sensibilities. Sorry.. toughen up. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. (I know that goes against the prior point, but not everything should be easy)

(Off my soapbox now)

But I have to admit, I am more optimistic about 2011 than I have been in recent years for a number of reasons.

1. I’m healthy, no real nagging injuries and I’m not afraid to jinx it by writing it here. (knock-on wood)
2. More solid and focused base training is going well, and my fitness is improving with eyes solid spring. (being healthy helps)
3. This is the first off-season I’ve had a coach, so I feel someone other than myself, is invested in my progress.
4. Because of my coach I’m not blowing out every workout. I’m learning to go hard at the right times and easy when directed.
5. The key words in that last statement is “I’m learning…” I think from pros-to-joes endurance sports is a work in progress, never finished and never beyond repair or improvement.
6. Finally I’m taking more pleasure in the little things when training. Small bites. Gaining satisfaction from smaller gains as hey come, winter is long I want to race ready in May, not December.

I have some more news coming in the next week or so, so be sure to check back soon or use a news-reader and get updates sent to you in real time. It is 2011 after all, news readers are so 2007. Plus I promise a more ridiculous post as is accustomed here.

 

 

 

If “Trot” is in the name, is it fair to call it a race?

Does not = 5K!

The summer went by in a flash. The vernable Thanksgiving Tueky Trot, an annual right of passage into winter has now come and gone as well. I try to get myself out to a Turkey trot of some sort every year I’m able, it kind of signals the that winter is truly upon us, abandon all hope, there is no warmth in your future. A deeper cold than the on again, off again chill of a midwestern fall takes hold and I burrow deeper under ground (and the covers) of basement trainer rides and chilly (sometimes brutally so) runs in the dark. Much like a mole who never seems to see true daylight. There is no going back, the only option is to dig deep and push headlong into freezing wind.

I did have a decent race the other day, my only goal this fall was to improve my running and see my times drop at each 5K I entered. My speed has suffered greatly between my back injury and knee trouble over the course of the last year and half and I am finally feeling truly healthy again (knock on wood). My overall 5K time did in fact improve each race but I am far from where I would like to be, but am confident with a solid off-season base and some real speed work this spring I should see that continue.

The 2010 Naperville Turkey Trot was a in a word ENORMOUS! 7000 people…. I repeat 7000 people. I remember when that race was 2000 people and even that seemed like a lot. But I guess running has gained in popularity over the past few years and race directors are getting better at motivating the masses off their collective couches. It is only 3.1 miles after all, you could walk it in a negligible amount of time (and people did – that’s why there were 7000 entrants). At least I hope they were walking because they were still finishing as I was leaving, 50-plus minutes into the “race”. They continually announce that you can “Ask for another piece of pie today because you “ran” this 5K.”

Let’s get something straight: I hope our not predicating your mass consumption of all manner of the gelatinous and congealed food groups on a single 3.1 mile run (worse yet a walk). The numbers don’t add up. The amount of calories burned in a 5K can hardly cover an extra sliver of pumpkin pie much less your CostCo sized wedge lovingly smothered with whipped cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The race was self seeded, by this I mean 6 minute mile runners and obviously those with mild senility to the front and all others work their way back accordingly. Needless to say there were a ton of people up at the front this time around and I wasn’t vain enough to think I should be at the lead edge, but many a grandpa was and they were immediately swallowed up my the hoard and spit out the back as the gun went off. I’m not sure if they were trampled, but I tried my hardest not to get any on my shoe.

Here’s a note: If your a passed by 500 hundred pimple faced teenagers who drop 5 minute miles with no warm up, holding a full conversation, running backwards, while juggling, chainsaws (okay – not chainsaws – but that would be cool) you seeded yourself too high! Get to the back back next time Mr.Gebrselassie.

I felt I was seeded appropriately yet still met with traffic in the first few seconds of the race, as evidence by the kid, (Read: teenager – you know your old when teens are now “kids” – let’s be fair and just call him “some punk”) who honestly took himself out by kicking my knee and going down face first. I move left to get around him and his friends and unfortunately for him he moved left as well (I say unfortunately for him because it was good for me to take out some of the competition early). I guess to run three wide with his buddies… in traffic, like no one else was there, aside from the 6500 people behind us. His back foot kicked my knee and he tripped, crashing face first into the pavement. He was OK (I told myself) I wasn’t going to stop and help him up, this is a race, plus when I looked back and saw the masses descending upon him. He was lost… Just let him go.

After that incident the streets started to open up faster guys cruising at the front and everyone else settling into a reasonable pace there after, if by reasonable you mean a minutes per mile faster than they can sustain over the next two miles. It is a 5K after all. It takes years to learn of training and discipline (Read: raw speed) to sustain your first mile speed over the entire course, much less run descending miles. I should figure it out around the time I should no longer seed myself at the front of the race (Read: blue-hair).

I did run a more reasonable race this time out as compared to the previous 5K were my first mile was nearly 30 seconds faster than the next two, and I actually was able to kick out the last portion of race this time as result. I made a mental note of that for the future… (and now the note is summarily forgotten – it’s 5K man just GO!) In the end I had shaved 30 or more seconds off my time from a month ago without any real speed work and my body is feeling better than ever. All signs were looking up, and then the cold struck hard the next morning and reminded me of the long slog till spring yet to come.

The the 5K season for me is over I think, maybe I’ll find another one, but I doubt I’ll be wearing shorts on race day, hopefully no rest-home escapees will be injured in the process.

A short swim…

He swims better than me

I admit it, I sometimes feel it’s a pain or difficult to get myself to the pool and swim. It’s much easier to tie on a pair of shoes and run out the door or jump on the bike for while than get in car drive to the pool, change clothes, wait for a lane, and get in a workout. It’s regimented, time constrained, and indoor. Not very footloose and fancy free, like a brisk run outside. That seems to do good things for my brain. Swimming takes focus, and while I’m not ADD (or is it ADHD today?) I will admit to a bit trepidation before each swim, but strangely each time I leave a sense of accomplishment when finished at times more than I get from the bike or run.

Why is that?

Why is it, and I don’t think I just speak for myself here, that swimming can sometimes be the red headed stepchild of triathlon?

I’m sure the reasons are legion, mostly because it’s not what gets most people into triathlon in the first place and they have to learn to swim if they ever want to finish. I’ll admit as well, I’m one of them. While I sur eI would have said I could swim pre-triathlon, from my current perspective I would label it as I could barely swim. I could survive, but not “really” swim. Perhaps it’s because of all three it takes time to learn, patience, focus and lots of practice. Everyone likes to ride a bike, and we all learned to run not long after we could walk. It’s natural, while swimming is a foreign matter to our normal state.

Oddly though I feel a sense of fulfillment from a long swim much more than I do from the other two. Certainly I like endorphins it brings on, many of us are addicted to that, but more than that I think it’s the mear act of breaking me out of my comfort zone. It’s part completing the task, part feeling the progress, bust mostly just fact that it doesn’t come easily (at all) to me that keeps me coming back. I like the fact that it difficult, even a short swim can be rough, if it were easy everybody would be doing it. It comes down to this: If I only ran, I’d be a runner. If only rode, I’d be a cyclist. Because I swim too, I’m a triathlete.