The Dark Place

My training, and many other aspects of my life, was thrown off last Friday when I received a phone call about a family member who has possibly hit bottom after a long history of substance abuse. It is a heartwrenching situation because there are kids involved, but ultimately it is for the best for her, them, and the rest of the family. After several days trying to tie up all of the pieces so that she can get the help she needs in a long-term facility, I have not had any consistent training, so hopefully life will stabilize for me and my family this week and I can get back to taking care of my wife and kids (and get back to the training!). It amazes me that there are so many public rehab facilities, but they are held in such low regard, and that there are so many private ones that do not accept insurance but are supposedly the best. It really puts tension in an already difficult situation. It is no wonder so many addicts do not recover easily. Anyway, more to come as this situation unfolds.

She's gonna BLOW!

At least, thats what it felt like as I swam a set of 10 x 50s with my stroke cadence metronome in my cap. Of course, it also felt like my lungs were going to explode as well. Still, in many ways it makes sense to use this device, since it is like interval running or cycling. I did the 50s with 20 seconds rest for the first 5, but then I had to up to 30 seconds rest for the next 5. Greg had originally said to do 25s with 30 rest, but I thought that was too short and too long a rest. I may go back to his rec, though. Its all about muscle memory and increasing fitness at speed. I was swimming my 50s at about a 1:20 pace (40 secs each). I then did a 500 that was torture, but by the last 100 I was feeling better. In the parlance of "racing your strenth and training your weakness" I am going to race my swim and bike and survive my runs by building volume. We do have a run coach who has offered to work with Chris and me on position and cadence, so I will likely do that too. Chris and I did a 20 mile ride yesterday, and I definitely need to work on bike fitness...

Tale of the tape

So, I finally was able to get taped in the pool on Friday with Chris. Greg took the tape after two 25 yd passes, and then converted it on his computer/software. What an amazing program! It was very cool to see my stroke broken down, and the harsh reality of what I am doing wrong with my position/catch etc. The big issue he saw with my stroke was in my catch (too vertical) and my stroke rate (too slow). For the next few weeks I am going to swim with a metronome that you wear in your swimcap that beeps out a cadence. I also plan to work with some special arm paddles that reinforce proper elbow height through the catch phase. Other than that, Greg said my stroke looked good, with the exception of my hip rotation being too slow and not leading my stroke but following it. Lots to work on! Still, so many triathletes are bad swimmers that even at my very humble level, I was ranking in the top 5 AG in most races, and I know I can go a lot faster! Thats it for now...

Spinning...

Went for a short ride this weekend to see how my neck would feel after the last ride. Put on the Zipps to test them out as well. Bike rode well, lots of headwind going out, but I motored coming back. My average was low (17 mph) but I think something might be wrong with my computer because I reset the tire size and I may have messed that up. I did not feel any neck issues, so I posted my position on ST and got some good advice (and only a few flames). Put the longer stem back on to get more stretched out, and raised the seal alittle because it was on the low side for comfort. I am looking forward to coaching being over so I will have more time to ride. I can sneak in runs and swims, but riding takes so much longer and I just don't have those windows when I am going full tilt teaching/coaching. The Zipps rode well, but I noticed a lot of chain skip. They have a DA 9 speed cassette on the rear, and I run almost the identical cassette on my Ksyriums, so that should not have been the problem. When I got back home, I noticed the cassette was loose. Not sure why, but I will try to tighten the locknut to see (hope) if that helps tighten things up. The wheels have Tufo tubie/clinchers (giro twix), and I am too lazy to swap them out- but I am skeptical of their traction at the moment. We'll see. Can't wait to ride more!

Plan this week is to do some video finally with our swim coach so he can adjust my stroke/position and give me some drills to work on to break out of the 1:35 rut I am in. Mostly, I think fitness will be the main thing to develop, but if I can hold a better position and get more efficiency from my stroke, that will be great. Weather sucks at the moment.

Another day...

Banged out a few days of running lately, then the weather turned nice, so I was able to catch a 25 miler this weekend. Rode out with a group of rec riders who meandered at an easy 16 mph, then at the turnaround, I hammered 20 mph in the aero position for about 10 miles. I built up my new frame, a fuji aloha, this winter, so this was the first time I really rode hard in the aero position on the road. Sort of a shakedown cruise. Everything went fine, felt great afterwards, aside from a sore neck and upper back from my low front end. Because I plan to only do sprints this summer as I build back up, I should be able to hold the position for 40-45 minutes no problem. This morning I did my usual Monday TT, and I held a solid 1:35 for the full distance without finishing too winded and with negative spliting the last 200. Soreness is almost totally gone, though I do still have the healing ridges, and I do have loss of sensation above my "junk."
Looking forward to more work this week as we get closer to the summer!