Update from beyond

I have been totally remiss in posting to this blog- mostly because I had better things to do, not because I had nothing to post.  In fact, since that last post, significant changes have happened in my life.  Not most important, but most personal is that I was diagosed with two herniated discs in my neck this spring just before the triathlon season, and as a result, have not raced and am rethinking my approach to racing.  It was a blow, since I had just purhcased a Cervelo P2, built it up in the basement, and had everything set to have a screaming season this spring/summer.  Alas, it was not meant to be.  But, the good news (for me, anyway) is that I am back to running and biking, and my swim is getting better, but I have to make adjustments.  I just sold my P2 and bought a Soloist Carbon frame, and I am building that up in the hope that I can race it in a more comfortable position, but I have to wrestle with the reality that I am no longer going to be at the point end of my age group.  We will see how that plays out.

My son is living the dream at Grinnell College in Iowa, playing ultimate frisbee for the "Grinnelliphants" and make a bold and so far successful transition to college life.  He comes home in a few weeks, so I will know more about how that is really playing out when we have some face time.

My daughter Phoebe continues to shine at Peddie, playing varsity field hockey this fall in a new role as center midfielder, and she recently scored her first high school goal- she is fantastic and fun to watch!

My daughter Bridget is off to a fast start in her final middle school year before (hopefully) coming to Peddie. She is also playing field hockey when she is not hanging out with her friends or watching "How I Met Your Mother" on Roku...

More to follow- just a snapshot for now...

Catching up

I have been remiss, as usual, in posting to the blog. So, here are some updates. I am 31/50 in the 100 runs in 100 days challenge on Slowtwitch (I took 15 days off due to illness and xmas in December, so that accounts for most of the missed days). Running is going well, building slowly, waiting to target speed. Training updates are boring, though, so I will cut to the cool stuff:

My son and I are building a bike in the basement for him to use in his next race, which is in April. We are still waiting on parts (and, I went ahead and put the headset in), but once they get here, we will get started on that- which should be fun. Next, my wife and I are heading to Scotland for a 9 day trip as our 20th anniversary present to eachother. It should be cool, literally and figuratively- since we are traveling in early March, and the weather will be, well, scottish! Also, my buddy Chris and I will be holding another youth tri clinic at the above race the weekend before it happens, and we are in the middle of planning that, along with a possible cross country camp this summer here on campus. Other than that, just trying to stay warm in this weird winter weather this year...though I can't complain, since I love the snow. Thats it for now- more to follow.

Remember me?

So much for new years resolutions, and so much for writing on the "interweb" with the thought than anyone actually reads these self-absorbed musings. Yes, it has been awhile since I last posted, and a lot has happened, some of it related to triathlon, but most of it entirely outside of the sport. I did begin my long-awaited sabbatical, and I had some interesting plans to both train like a mad man and do significant research into learning issues. First stop was to a conference at Landmark College, which was pretty cool, and then to the USAT coaches certification clinic in D.C., which was also very cool. If you check facebook, you'll know that I am now a level 1 coach, and I have helped run two very successful clinics this spring/summer- one for adults, and one for kids. But, the mos significant event was on April 17th when I found out that my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a long spring and summer of surgeries, tests, waiting, more surgeries, more tests, more waiting, but now, finally, we have some closure on the first phase of her battle, which is that she is cancer-free, her genes are not involved, and with only one minor surgery on the horizon, it looks like we may be moving out of the woods and into the light. Was there triathlon mixed in there? Yes, but to be honest, I don't remember much, and it wasn't particularly successful. Thats ok, since what needed to be successful, a healthy wife, was and is. So, thats it for now- but I have much more to share...

2010 USAT Nationals

Last night, I was reading on Slowtwitch about the various disgruntled USAT musings, and something stuck out, so I did some digging, and I realized that based on my race at the NJ State Triathlon last July (placed 5th out of 71 in my AG), I qualify for the 2010 USAT Age Group National Championships! Wuhwhat! Now, they are in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and I have zero interest in going there, and they are on September 25th, when I am working, so that makes it an even easier choice. Still, its pretty cool to be in the top 10% of my age.
On Friday, I will be getting online to try to snag a spot at the Baltimore USAT coached clinic to become a level 1 coach. Not sure how that is going to work out, but I am psyched to give it a try. Staying in Baltimore will be cool, too.
Looking forward to my sabbatical, even more so now as I am shooting to qualify for the 2011 USAT nationals, which will be in....Burlington, VT! In August! I can totally do that, and I will push myself to try and qualify. The new pool will be opening soon, and that will be very interesting to see how my shoulder is doing. My left hip is really sore from all of the running I am doing, but I am up to 25/29 runs, almost 1/3 of the way through the 100/100 challenge. I am thinking about shooting for the full monty, but we'll see how I hold up to injuries. Bought a pair of K-Swiss K'ona running shoes, and they are pretty sweet. I have been trying to adjust my stride to more midfoot/forefoot, and wearing more minimal shoes, like my Nike Frees, so we will see how that experiment works out. Finally, I am trying to cut down on the crap I ate over break so I can lose some unwanted lbs. Sort of a wake up call to stand on the inlaws scale and see how far it was tipping in the wrong direction. Thats it for now...

2010- a New Year!

I am ringing in the new year with a new push to post to my blog more regularly. Not sure how this is going to work, but I do want to change up my postings so that they are not always about triathlon. This one, though, will be. I am in the beginning phase of this years 100/100 challenge, currently running at 16 days out of 20, having missed 4 in a row when I was up in Maine taking care of my dad when he had mack surgery. Its been cold, adding a challenge to this year's deal. One other note before I sign off is that I will be on sabbatical, and one of the objectives for the time off is to get my USAT level 1 coaching certification. More on that as it gets closer, more next time. Just letting anyone who ever reads this thing know that I am still alive and kicking...even after my rotator cuff injury this fall...

Lactate Testing

This week I was a lab rate for Chris' advanced exercize phisiology class, and they did two rounds of lactate threshold testing with me. We did it on a stationary bike with a powermeter and did a 3 stage protocol. The first test set was screwy, which we think was a result of some bad blood measure strips for the measuring mechanism. Today, we did a second test, and it went off flawlessly. Very interesting experience, and it showed that my cycling LT is between 150-160 watts, which seems low, I guess (thinking of the big dogs who can hold 250+ for a long time). My LT HR seems to be about 135-140 when cycling, which seems about right. As I work with the numbers, hopefully I will have more specific details about my training protocol, too. Pretty cool to have this, and to have it done for free...

Gold!

Finished up the Slowtwitch 100/100 challenge on Tuesday with my 90th run, putting me at the gold level for the contest. I was originally shooting for 70 runs, and then 80, but I was able to reel in some runs at the end to climb up to the gold level, which is cool. The last two runs were hard, though, and my legs and back were tired on Wednesday. So, to follow the concept of periodization, I am taking a week off from running and then starting up again this week. Swam again on Friday, an easy 1000, and I went for a nice ride at the end of last week. So, now it is time to being to ramp up and even things out. I have lots of time before my first race in July, so that is good.

We start our lacrosse season, and that is going to be a challenge on two levels. From a training standpoint, I will have much less time in the afternoons and on weekends, which will require some creative training choices. On the other level, I have a pretty big squad, 26 kids, and a divergent talent level, so I will have to coach at a high level for the kids to have a good season. Lots of behind the scenes juggling of new players and experienced ones, all of whom want playing time. More to follow- but we did lose our first game 11-4, which isn't terrible given we have a goalie and two defenders who have never played before, but the other team only had 9 players and played man down the whole game without subs- but, then again, they were all very strong, and I was playing everyone equally, including kids with no experience. So, all things being equal, it was a good day!

Wheeltags Secret Agent

So, I just found out that I was selected as a secret agent for Wheeltags, a decal company that makes cool stickers for bike wheels. They come in many sized, ranging from a traditional bike wheel to the deeper rim race wheels, and even disk wheels. My role will be as a rep for the company, and I will be able to offer anyone interested a 50% off code on any of their products. Since I can't post the code, you will have to contact me for the information. The link is http://www.wheeltags.com/

Getting closer...

I have not updated the blog in awhile, partly because work and life have been really busy, and partly because of the self-indulgence that has been noted on some of the forums lately regarding triathletes who blog about their workouts. I guess it can be pretty dull to read how far, fast, sweaty, etc someone is, or what new gear they just got, or what race they are peaking for, or tapering for, or just got back from, etc. So, I had lost interest there for abit. But, now it is final exam time, and I am trying to find some convenient excuse to not grade the pile of papers sitting in front of me, and this looked like the best option with the least guilt.
The running has been going very well lately. There was a stretch after the last post where I started to get some associated shin pain, and I thought for sure I was headed towards shin splints. But, ironically, I stopped wearing those Asics Cumulus shoes, put the cardboard Gel-Kayanos back in the rotation, and miraculously my shin pain went away. Hmmm. In my never ending quest for better running shoes, I picked up a pair of Saucony Grid Sinisters on ebay for a song, and I have run in them once for a short tempo run and they felt good, but I am not holding my breath that they will continue to feel good after proclaiming the Cumulus as the next coming of the sneaker jesus.
Oh, and as for the Slowtwitch 100/100, I am chugging along and am currently at 71/79 with 3 weeks left (from today!). Legs are tired, but not dead. I have done a few tempo runs lately, but I plan on building the speedwork after the final day of the 100. I don't have any races on the horizon until June or July, unless CB talks me into Devilman in May (Brrrrrrr). I have not been swimming lately, just focuing on the running. Once this period is over, that will pick up as well. But honestly, I get more time off the run than off the swim- I am already pretty decent in the swim by comparison, but my running is woeful. Thats it for now- maybe I'll post more after exams and comments are done and in- before we head up to Maine for a short vaca...

Monday check-up (day 58)

I am up to 51 runs, reeling back some lost mileage from Christmas...So far, I am logging slow mileage to get consistency. Once March hits, I plan to increase cadence and work on speed more with some tempo runs. Alot depends on my body, though. So far, so good. So, I bought a slightly used pair of Asics Kayano 13s on ebay as a winter/slop shoe. Man, these shoes are not great. I have been alternating between my Nimbus and these, and the Nimbus is much more smooth. Then, I found a pair of Cumulus for $20 at Marshalls, and scooped them up and put them in the rotation, and they are cloud-like. I have moved the Kayanos out of the rotation and into the kick-around shoe vein. Clearly, I need more of a neutral/cushion shoe, and I am glad that my legs have held up so far. Thats it for now...

Oooohhhh Half Way Theyah...

Half way through the 100/100, things are lookin' good! Out of the 50 days, I have logged 42 runs, totaling 150 miles. Aside from missing those 9 days in Maine, I have run every day for 31 days, with one double thrown in. On the down slide side, I plan on reeling in some doubles to get up to the gold level (90/100). Gotta stay healthy, though. Some new gear is getting me pumped for the spring/summer, too. I sold my LG Chrono helmet and picked up a Darth Vadar-black Giro Advantage 2 that I will be rocking at races. It should match my bike well, but the new kit might not look so good with it- we'll see. I also got a Garmin Forerunner 305 that I have been running with lately, and it is awesome! So much easier to regulate runs and distances with heart rate. I was toying with doing some Olys this summer, but a few of my races are already almost Olys, and the other Oly is in nasty water, so I will just do the sprint and have fun with it. Thats it for now...

33 day checkup

I am now 1/3rd of the way through the 100/100, and my body is responding well to this running every day deal. I started with some associated pain in my PF, claves tight, slight IT band twinges, and now I am feeling good. I am at 25/33, which if I keep pace puts me squarely in the "Bronze" range. However, that count includes 8 days off while I was in Maine, and that isn't happening again (well, a three day weekend at the beginning of Feb), and I plan to reel some of those days in with some doubles in mid to late Feb, so my new plan is to go for Silver. Or Gold. My mantra is "just keep running...."

100/100 update #1 (quarterly report)

I am now 1/4th of the way through the 100/100 ST challenge. I must so, thus far I have faired pretty well with my stretegy to go easy and try to get consistency before mileage. Aside from the break while we were in Maine, I have been running every day for at least 30 minutes, with my average being about 3.2-3.5 miles. Right now, I am at 17/25, and if I keep this pace I will easily get to the "bronze" level. However, I do not plan on losing 9 days in the next quarter, so I hope to get up to the "silver" level (80/100) by the end of the challenge. I am combining this with my new swim routine, which will be more aggressive than last year as we are now training with a masters coach who is pretty driven towards nationals in the spring. Cycling will have to wait until I have completed the ST challenge, and the weather gets better. Thats it for now!

0909090909!

Back from Maine, and MD, and gearing up for school/classes/the January slog. Had a blast in Maine this xmas, skiing with the kids. They did a great job for their second time on skiis. By the end of the 2nd day, Duncan was off skiing intermediate trails by himself. The girls were sticking to the green dots, but they were throwing down some hell-acious power wedge action as they hummed down the slopes. All in all, the were great troopers and really progressed alot. I was able to get my legs back under me, and by the end of the 2nd day, I was banging some strong arcs, but not pushing it too much so as to blow out a knee- not like last year's hernia debacle. I am progressing on the 100/100, and am currently at 12/20 (I took basically a week off while in Maine, so I am behind). You could say I need to htfu since that is 8 days of sloth, but the weather, snow, wind, and temp were all working against me up there. I'll check back in a few with updates!

100/100 looming

Just keep running, just keep running, just keep running, Just keep running, just keep running, just keep running, Just keep running, just keep running, just keep running....

Gearing up for the ST 100/100 challenge, loggin miles and time in sweet expectation of rocking these bad boys at my first race and finally having the base to race my run rather than survive it! I doubt I will get close to gold, or silver, but I am shooting for bronze (70 runs in 100 days) and I think I can do that so long as I can run a few times over the christmas holidays when we are in the wilds of the western Maine mountains...a challenge for sure!

Back in the GAME again!

After what seemed like an incredibly long running layoff while my heel pain subsided, I have now gone for three runs in the past five days. First was an easy 2 miler, minor twinges of pain, not bad afterwards. Then, two days ago I did another two miler, moderate to easy pace, and again felt no pain. Yesterday, I ran with my soccer team, did about 3 miles with some faster intervals, and there was no pain while running or afterwards. Finally! Feeling good! Now, I can start building back up again. Pool workouts start in two weeks. Can't wait to get back to training!

Mudmudmudmud...

Here are some older DQ Tri photos from July!

Snotty September

Since the last post, I have been on IR for about a week. I went out and scrimmaged with the kids on my soccer team last Monday, and the next morning, could barely walk with pain in my left heel. Otherwise sore in legs as well. No worries, felt better on Tuesday and even better on Wednesday, so much so that I went for a short run to try out my new Pearl Izumi Streak race shoes (very excited and very RED!). My heel started bothering me again, so I cut the run short at 2 miles. Went to practice, was scrimmaging again, and came down hard on my heel. Instant pain. Stopped, massaged, took advil at home, and next morning I could barely walk. So I was thinking PF. CRAP! Saw our trainer, and he thought it might be a combination of a heel bruise and some associated PF. I have been resting it, icing at night, massaging, stretching, and today it feels much better, but it is still there. I have the time to rest now since my racing is done and I was planning on maintainance this fall anyway, so I am eating poptarts and getting fat as I rest and relax. Also, lusting after a new bike, but that is nothing new!

Back in Jersey

Made the migration back to New Jersey, and we are now bracing for the start of school (Kids, us). My training has dropped off to maintainance now that my racing is done for the year. I flirted with doing the Endless Summer tri on LBI, but I will be helping run a local race that same weekend instead. My plan is to keep up with my running, add some more base miles this fall, maybe do a half marry in Novemer (Philly). Ride when I can on the weekends. Maybe swim once or twice a week in the fall. More as the plan unfolds, but I am thinking of ramping up for the Timberman 70.3 next summer, so I am thinking of the long(er) strategy.

Timberman Race Report

-- "More than a Feelin'" --

After spending too much time driving around trying to find my motel, having to backtrack, stop and ask directions from a bar (thanks, Google Maps), I found the River View Motel and settled in for a sleepless night in the last room, a smoking single. I had driven the bike course and seen the hills, and I was alittle nervous for this aspect of the race. So, I watched Michael Phelps grab gold #7, and then tossed and turned until 4, when I packed up and rolled to Ellacoya Park to get parking before the masses converged. Turns out I didn't need to, since most people arrived later than me, but I think having that extra time to settle in helped. The sky was ominous, but the air wasn't too cold and the water was a tepid 73 degrees- perfect. My transition number was set up right by the bike in/out, but at the opposite side of the swim in/run out gate. Still, I decided not to pre-clip my shoes since it was literally a 30 yard run on a carpet to the mount line. I had forgotten my goggles in my mad rush to get everything packed- a whole different and complex story involving septic systems, high water tables, laundramats, and a visit to Wolfeboro, where Leigh and I used to live and work...maybe I'll get into that another time- So, I bought a pair of Tyr goggles at the expo before the race and I was all set. Everything ready, headed off to the beach to get a swim warmup, and then it was time to ROCK! (Serious butterflies flopping around thinking about that bike and the elevation gains on the out leg...)

Swim: "I Feel Good."
Got to the outside from the start, and didn't see a sole near me the entire swim. Angled in tot he first buoy and then followed the leaders and stoked long and strong. Water was crisp, clear, and pretty shallow. I just tried to pace it out because I was worried about the hills on the ride. No worries for the swim at all!
Time: 9:00 flat, 120/990, 7th AG

T1: "We Jammin'"
I had a blast at the transition. They had a wetsuit stripping station that everyone was going to, but I just veered off, ran through some footwash tubs, and kept going to my bike to the shock of the strippers and some fans. I flew out of the suit, quick grab of the bike, and I was off. Fast and clean!

Bike: "Flirtin' with Disaster"
I immediately felt good on the bike, and I had read on ST that some bike gurus had been suggesting pushing lower cadence and higher gears, so I tried that and it felt good, so I kept with it over the first few rollers. Passed some guys from the first 3 waves. Then, we hit the hill. It was about 2 miles of constant climbing, maybe 5% grade so nothing major, but a hurtin' for some of the riders. I danced up, flew by many guys, and felt great. I was shocked, but mashing was working and my HR wasn't through the roof. Hit the turn around, gobbled a Gel, and mashed up the last major climb, then a long, long descent that I really motored on (35-40mph mostly). Guys were weaving out into the road, and there were cars driving with us, so it was alittle sketchy. Then, I came up to a group of four guys stacked from the shoulder out, and a utility truck was next to them trying to pass. They did not streamline to the shoulder, but were riding next to eachother. I was out behind the truck trying to get some passing space, and motoring at 35 when the truck hit its brakes. A well meaning cop had tried to stop the truck by standing in the road and throwing his hands up. I thought I was a gonner. Went into a skid trying to brake, with no room to my right since the guys were stacked there, and oncoming traffic to the left. I was able somehow to swerve, miss the bumper of the truck, and slide in behind the last guy, and then recover. With the adrenaline pumping, I flew by those guys and never looked back, playing cat and mouse with another AG guy for the rest of the ride. Rolled in to T2 feeling good and ready to run.
Time: 45:55, 19.6 ave., 100th OA, 8th AG

(Course was out to mile 7 and back)

T2: "The Final Countdown"
In, out. Fast.

Run: "Disco Duck"
My legs took a long time to adjust to running, but by the end of the first mile, I was feeling good, HR where it should be, and I was passing guys! Often! I was passed by a few AG guys, but that was it. Then, it came! With 1/2 mile left ont he run, I passed this guy who looked like he might have some kick. He was tall, wearing a hot pink headband, blond hair flowing over the top, and rocking a psychadelic tie-dye speedo. My only thought as I ran the last 1/2 mile was to get enough space so that this guy was not in my finish photo (It was a looooong finish chute). Success, and I felt great and had some kick, too.
Time: 22:30, 7:28 ave, fastest 5k after a hard ride EVER!

In summary: This was my best complete race this year. There was nothing I feel I could have done better than I did, and though my final time and AG placing isn't great (1:22:xx, 13/67 AG, 120 OA), I am totally psyched with the race and the result and feel like it was a great final race of the summer for me. Pictures to follow!