Already a busy weekend

This training schedule I have myself on is crazy. So far no walking while I figure out why my right IT band is being stupid. In the mean time I'm getting a LOT of swimming and biking done.

Yesterday was a dedicated swim day. The workout was pretty straightforward but long:

Warm Up

400 Swim - 200 Kick - 200 Pull

Main Set

1200 Swim minimizing strokes per length and keeping it aerobic
60 second rest
800 Swim minimizing strokes per length and keeping it aerobic

Cool Down

4 x 50 slow

That took about an hour to get done. Today's workout was just about as crazy. Today was a bike followed by a run. I skipped the run because of the nagging IT band but definitely got the bike done.

The bike was essentially 30 miles comprised of two sets of 11.2 miles, three sets of isolated leg training, and two 20 minute gearing pyramids.

Needless to say I was spent at the end of that and needed to take a nap.

Anyway, my training is still on track and I'm still hopeful I can pull out a full IronMan by the end of August.

Tuesday Cycle

I'm going to try to be a bit more prudent with my postings. That doesn't really leave me with a lot of time to post lengthy articles but at least I'm getting something up here for all to see.

This past weekend I "downgraded" to a Garmin Forerunner 305 from the newer (and extremely shitty) Forerunner 405 and feel much more happy already. The one disadvantage I find so far is its inability to load into Garmin Connect. We're still using Motionbased. Motionbased isn't bad at all but the problem part is it won't upload a workout unless there's actually GPS data involved. Which means if I'm sitting inside with the GPS off and using it with my cadence monitor on my stationary bike it won't upload the workout. My workaround to that is the below picture. It's a screen shot from Garmin's Training Center program and has the data listed about today's workout.

Not a bad workout all things considered. I also had to do some core workout and some cardio but I'm skipping those in favor of seeing a college buddy of mine who's in town for business. I'm thinking this is a fair trade off.

Keeping Busy

I haven't forgotten about the blog. I'm sure my avid readers (that'd be you) are anxious to know what's been going on. To assuage your curiosity I've been following an IronMan training schedule from trifuel.com that keeps me pretty busy 6 out of 7 days of the week. On top of that I'm keeping up with strength training so that I reduce the possibility of injury this season. I also took back that shitty Garmin Forerunner 405 and replaced it with a 305. Don't get me started on that. Garmin made a huge engineering debacle out of the new Forerunner and there is absolutely no reason to "upgrade" to the 405 unless you think you look like an idiot with a 305.

Also, on my quick synopsis of life events, my bike building friend told me he can get the rest of the stuff I need (wheel set, drop down handlebars, seat and stem) for around $1,100. That just leaves me with having to buy the aerobars, handlebar tape, cables, and the expense of putting the thing together. That aside I'm going to have a rockin' bike when this is all said and done.

Finally, in a bit of unfortunate news, during todays 6 mile trot my right knee just started to bother me a bit. This is horribly disappointing and almost frustrating to the point where I'm going to see a doctor, get x-rays, MRIs, whatever, to figure out EXACTLY what the hell is wrong and fix it once and for all. I'm not giving up hope that there's a cheap and quick way to fix this using massage, foam roller, and ice. But one step at a time.

In any case, next week starts week 5 of the IM training so hopefully things will keep going as they have been.

Here's today's map:


UPDATE: I went skiing at Elm Creek Park Reserve with Drew, my friend from Team in Training. He's a super athlete and really gave me a run for my money. Ironically I skied further today than I ran.

Here's today's ski.

So far so good

It's been my first full week back into training mode and so far everything is coming along well. At this point I'm training by myself but just found out that one of my chums from Team in Training belongs to the same club I go to. That's very exciting. She and I may have to do some spinning and swimming together to help each other out.

The training isn't intense at all right now so I'm still left with some time to focus on other things like cross country skiing and my bike and other little things like laundry and eating.

What's most encouraging so far is I've been able to run pain free. Granted it's been on a treadmill and it's been very low intensity running. But it's been pain free. And that my friends is worth all the time I took off. Let's hope this keeps going. I'll still pay special attention to it but I think the key is to spend the time stretching and getting deep tissue massages about once a month. That'll help loosen the tension and break up that scar tissue.

Another factor has to be the strength I'm developing in my glutes. It's weird to have to re-learn to use a muscle. It's like learning to walk all over again. Things that seemed so subconscious now take an extreme amount of attention. But, again, in the end it'll all be totally worth it.

Here's hoping to at least 35 more weeks of injury free training. I'll keep you posted.

The craziness starts already?

I'm back from my hiatus. It's been a crazy December full of traveling, eating crappy food, playing with crocodiles, and doing minimal exercising. To be perfectly honest, I couldn't think of a better way to spend it either.

2008 has been a crazy year. With two sprint triathlons, two olympic triathlons, one half IronMan triathlon, five marathons, two half marathons, and around a dozen other races it's no wonder I crashed and burned. And that's not to mention work insanity and my new bike project. I'm still not completely over it all yet but have found happiness again in being active. Right now I'm strength training and loving every second of it. Feeling strong is refreshing and amazing. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Plus, it gives me a chance to strengthen muscles which have been laying dormant for... well... ever.

Part of my strength training has been focusing on activating my glutes. Believe it or not, my glutes don't fire. Put another way, my butt muscles don't work. The work they should be doing has been compensated by my lower back, quads, and ham strings. For the past few months I've been focusing on trying to make them fire when needed. It's a long and arduous process but it is coming along. I'm noticing a difference already but still have a long way to go.

I also found happiness in cross country skiing. I'm finally embracing Minnesota for the frozen tundra that it is and getting some amazing cross training done in the process. As it turns out cross country skiing is an amazing workout for lots of different muscles including the glutes. My glutes don't naturally fire so it's very slow going on the skis making sure I perform the mechanics correctly.

All this aside I also put together my 2009 race schedule. The main idea is simple: Don't repeat 2008. I'm scheduled for two marathons (Fargo & Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon) and a few triathlons (Lake Minnetonka Sprint, Chisago Lake Half Iron, and Square Lake Half Iron). I'm also working into the schedule my own full IronMan triathlon. Hopefully this won't be too much of a stress but it's definitely a reprieve from last year's schedule.

Starting Monday I'm starting my training but this time it's going to be one tracked. I'm doing full IronMan training and using that to prep me for the marathons. I have no intention to be competitive this year but instead to do them for fun. Hopefully this will help me keep a positive perspective going into 2009.