Server Problem

I planned to write a hefty post tonight about pushing through injury and knowing when to hold back. Unfortunately, I kept getting a 404 error trying to access the site until just now. I'm on my iPhone, in bed, an ice bag affixed to my left hip. Despite the 61 miles and 5,700 feet of climbing and a short run after, I feel OK. Tight, but OK. I learned an important lesson today. Mainly, progress is sometimes uncomfortable. And can be scary. I almost sat out this entire weekend because of a muscle strain the likes of which I hadn't encountered before. But, with treatment, a little bit of rest and some faith, I got through 2/3 of my training weekend. I also knew when to stop, as I could have run the full hour of my scheduled brick today. But I didn't. Why? Because there's a fine line between pushing and listening. My legs were tight. Richard said I was limping or at least favoring one leg on my run. And I felt grateful enough for the gift of being able to hang tough through the weekend while playing it relatively cautiously.

It's almost like this little server issue. I could have not written anything tonight and given up. Instead, I tried something different and found a way to overcome the problem.

I think this will come in handy in five weeks. A blend of strength, resourcefulness and a dash of just plain stubbornness.

35 days and counting...from my iPhone.

Just When I Thought I Had it Together

Since yesterday's video blog seemed to go over well, I'm trying it again today. And for good reason. Just when I thought everything was breaking in my favor, I go out and injure myself. Yep, that happened. Fortunately, I think it's fixable.

36 days and counting!

Where the Heck I've Been...

Where have I been? Where haven't I been since the last time I wrote?

This video blog attempts to explain!

Also, here's my Garmin data from the Palos Verdes Half Marathon, in context now with how I chose to run the race.

It's good to be back!

37 days and counting!

Sure, Why Not?

Chalk one up to timing. Tomorrow, I've got a two-hour run scheduled on rolling hills.  I'm supposed to stay within heart-rate zones 1-3.

Guess what?  It just so happens the Palos Verdes Half Marathon is tomorrow! Rolling hills and all.  So, is this going to be a good idea,or a bad one?  I'll let you know tomorrow at around mile 10!

The timing seems to be working in my favor though.  I didn't train much yesterday since I didn't swim and I had run two days in a row prior.  Today was my off-day.  An unintentional taper, but a taper nonetheless.

On the other hand, am I weak from being sick and missing six hours of combined training last week?  I honestly don't know. I have trained seven hours this week so far, illness and largely fatigue free.  I feel fresh, strong and eager to run tomorrow, so I suppose that's a good sign.

The real challenge is going to be holding back at the event.  But I'm going to treat it as an Ironman training run, meaning that despite the adrenaline I need to figure out how to hold back and pace myself even when I feel particularly strong.  This is not a strength of mine.  But it needs to become one.  More important, I have a LONG training day on Sunday featuring a 6.5-hour brick AND an hour swim before that.

In other words, I'm doing a mini-Ironman on Sunday.

If that doesn't force me to pace myself tomorrow, I don't know what will.  But ya know what?  This is what it's all about -- challenging yourself constantly.  Surprising yourself, and your body.  For better or worse, I'm going to put myself out there tomorrow, on a tough course I haven't experienced before, and try to enjoy the journey.

Why not, right?

Race report tomorrow night.

44 days and counting.

Observing, Not Particpating

This morning I finally gave in to visiting an urgent care center for my flayed fingers.  Shannan, my trainer, and some of the other trainers at my office complex gym, took a look at my exposed fingers following a strength training session and grimaced.  I'll admit, I kinda dug the attention as it reminded me of being a kid when you'd show off cuts and bruises to the girls and make them recoil. Boys will be boys.

At the doctor's, the physician indicated that my fingers were going to be fine (as I expected all along).  Fortunately though I have an updated tetnis shot and am currently on antibiotics from my upper respiratory/sinus infection.  Thus, infection was ruled out for the most part.  The issue now is keeping my fingers dry for the next couple days so they can air out properly.  Sadly, that means no swimming until at least Sunday, which also means that I've got 1.5 days of rest since tomorrow is an off-day. Normally I wouldn't complain, but after interviewing Chris McCormack ("Macca") last night and after seemingly finding a better bike pace, I'm fired up to train!

Why is it that when we want a break there isn't one in sight, and when we don't need one we get more than necessary?

So tonight, instead of swimming, I'm going to train in a different way: Atop the deck at VNSO pool.  I'm going to shadow Gerardo and see what he's seeing.  Maybe I can even help out a bit.  I think that maybe I can learn to become a better swimmer tonight by watching, not doing.  Then, on Sunday, I can mimic what I see in the water.

I'll let you know how it goes then.

45 days and counting.

Aha!

Hard as it was, I held back the effort and kept the heart rate lower for the bike portion of my early morning brick workout.  On the hills I normally attack at Griffith Park, my heart rate can accelerate to the upper 150s, even low 160s if I'm pushing hard.  Then, I'll wonder why my trail runs are at a 9:00 pace at best. Today was different.

I never exceeded 152 bpm at the toughest point of my climbs, typically staying within the 130s and low-mid 140s.  I'll have to review the data from my ride when I eventually get home, but I don't think I was dramatically slower than if I had pushed harder.  Fortunately, Fortius teammate and buddy David was riding up the Griffith Park Observatory road as I was cruising towards it, so we shared part of our ride.  This further kept my heart-rate down and my effort level in check.

When it was time to part ways and head back to the car for my run workout, I felt fresh and energized.  I was eager to see if the "stored" energy as in fact ready for use on the run.

It was!  Granted, I only had time to run for 30 minutes instead of the full 60 thanks to my amended cycling route and pacing.  But, I averaged just over an 8:00 pace while keeping my heart-rate in the low zone 3 area or even zone 2.  This is huge news for me, and hopefully proof that saving myself for the run more effectively may just be the ticket to a better Ironman result.

I don't like the idea of sacrificing speed and power on the bike for the greater good.  Cycling is my favorite sport, as we all know by now.  BUT, if this is the best way to come close to breaking 12 hours in Coeur d'Alene I'm all for it.

I'll continue to put this theory to the test in the coming weeks and report the results.

The idea of slowing down to ultimately go faster fascinates me.  Perhaps this should apply to other areas of my life too?

46 days and counting.

PS: Fingers update: May be going to doctor's tomorrow after lifeguards at the pool and a teammate doctor indicated last night that there is an infection risk for the cuts I sustained.  I called the doctor's office today but they're closed on Wednesdays -- apparently the "urgent" message I left wasn't deemed important enough.  More to come.

Fall Down Go Boom

You ever hear of that adage about how most car accidents happen within a few blocks of your home? It applies to bikes too.

Yep, I went down this morning, on a slippery hill at Dixie Canyon Road.  Luckily, I was coasting just a few miles per hour when I hit a watery stream and my road bike came out from under me.  I had enough control of the bike to know I was going to fall but remembered being so surprised that I didn't have enough time to even tense up.

It's not serious though, outside of the two bloody fingers on my right hand that made me quite the vision as I put the chain back on.  Blood makes injuries look a lot worse than they really are!  But, my bike helmet is toast, a fine crack towards the left front side.  My Giro 2 has lasted me more than two years so I suppose it was time to replace her anyways.  The grips on the bike are shredded too, so that will need to be replaced sooner rather than later as well.

The irony, of course, is that on Mondays I usually ride on my trainer for recovery workouts.  I just didn't feel like it today.  I wanted to get outside and just ride for the pure enjoyment of it!  Which I did, until I found myself staring at sky unintentionally!

I suppose my harmless little spill taught me a few things.  First, I have so much more respect for the pro cyclists who do this all the time in races and get right back on the bike to pedal at 30-plus miles per hour.  I can't imagine that!  I just had to ride a few miles home, wash myself off, bandage myself up, and go to work for the day.  These guys have such a high threshold for pain.  Second, my heart goes out to the fallen cyclist today from Team Leopard Trek, who crashed at the Giro d'Italia and died.  Granted, he must have been riding at massive speed for his accident, but since my helmet cracked from a silly fall it's easy to see how quick something horrible can occur.  Finally, despite learning the lesson the hard way, I was proud of myself for how I handled it.  I laid on the ground for a minute, realized I was bleeding, but that I had to get home as I was riding alone.  I picked myself off, fixed the chain with shaking bloody fingers, and got myself calmly home.

Literally, I fell and got back up.  I managed the pain, and finished the ride.  There's a lesson in there somewhere.

Yeah, like keep recovery rides indoors!

48 days and counting.

Gone With Z Wind?

To Z-Pack or not to Z-pack, that is the question. It's been roughly a week since I got sick and I'm really starting to see signs of improvement.  For instance, I ran a fairly easy 9.25 miles in just under 1.5 hours this morning, the first 20 minutes at an especially mild pace with Stephanie.  While I continued to cough junk up, it wasn't as frequent even as yesterday.  Same went for my third pool workout in as many days.  This time I had a strong 3,100 yard swim filled with 300s at descending T-pace times.  If only I had felt as good at Wildflower in the water as I did today!  I even clocked a 5:03 300, which is pretty solid for me.

I survived my first real double workout day since before the Half-Ironman.  No pain, no aches, no real feelings of illness.

However, tonight at my sister's condo I made the mistake of coughing and my parents freaked.  They think I absolutely need to crush what's left in my system with a Z-pack -- the medical congestion equivalent of an antibiotic nuke.  My doctor originally told me that a Z-Pack should only be used if I wasn't seeing improvement.  However, I've clearly been getting better day by day.  My folks (and Stephanie) think that I could suffer a setback given I'm back to pushing myself on training.

Not sure whom to listen to here.  I can't afford to miss more workouts, but am I compromising my body's own ability to heal naturally with unnecessary drugs?  I just don't know.

I'll sleep on it tonight and decide tomorrow.

49 days and counting.

A New Way to Race?

OK, it's starting to sink in: After one Ironman and two Half-Ironmans, I'm learning the hard way that the key to a successful race is pacing towards the run and not trying to set PR's on the swim and bike. At least I think so?

I put this theory to practice today in a pedestrian 3.5 hour ride with my buddy Frank.  We twice replicated the Amgen Stage 8 route from last year, Agoura Road to Cornell to Mulholland up Rock Store and down Decker.  Our pace was slow (trust me), but I kept my heart rate mostly in zone 2 (typically south of 141 bpm).  This also was because I chucked up a fair amount of mucus from chest and nose through the first half of the ride.  But, by the end I felt pretty decent -- though my body was telling me a third loop would be a mistake.

The highlight of the ride was spotting Team HTC/Highroad (Cavendish, Martin, Renshaw, etc.) at Westlake Boulevard on its way presumably to Hidden Valley or up Decker.  Granted, the "big three" aren't with this particular team as they're at the Giro d'Italia according to the curt German team mechanics I quizzed as I visited the team's truck.  They're training in Southern California instead of Northern because, as the jerky bike tech said, "you want them to train in the snow?"

Gee, thanks dude.

After the ride, I did something I rarely get to do following a workout -- sleep!  Steph is trying on her wedding dress down south today and that meant I could take a nap that I desperately needed.  It's quite clear my body is still fighting infection as an alarm had to wake me up nearly two hours later.  But I still rallied to jump in the pool for 40 minutes and I'm glad I did.  My performance was much better today than yesterday, which is encouraging.

Maybe I haven't lost as much fitness as I thought.

That said, I probably couldn't have gone much harder on the bike today even if I tried. Which brings me back to my main point.  I may have to accept the realization that if I want a faster Ironman time, I need to hold back a bit on the bike and swim.  I simply need more energy to expend later in the day and can't get caught up in trying to PR any one particular area of my race. I did have that kind of mindset at Wildflower, as I feel like what's the point of racing if you're not trying to outdo yourself in each of the three sports every time?  But, ultimately it's how you finish the race -- not how you start or complete a particular segment.  The fact is that it's probably a lot easier to make up time on the run than anywhere else.  On a swim we're talking a matter of minutes between a PR performance while still turning in a respectable time.  On the bike, what's 15 more minutes on the road if it ultimately means saving 20-30 minutes on the run?

I need to focus on the long-term goal. Finishing the race in my goal time.  Not what split I've achieved.

Easier said than done, but today was a good lesson in that area.

Let's see if it sticks.

RS

50 days and counting.