Iron Newman

how far is too far?

2011-06-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

This week one year ago i was in Saratoga Springs for a professional conference. No bike, no pool, and not a lot of time to squeeze in any meaningful training, and only around 5 weeks to go before the taper should begin. A trip planned to Lake Placid for the Tupper Lake weekend would hopefully give me a chance to do my first and perhaps only 100 mile ride, since last July. My back has been giving me trouble and all the stretching and massage i can muster has no positive effect.

Last year I adopted a healthy new perspective, at least new for me, to endurance racing. I forgot about results, finish times, cut off times. I committed to 'just start', and then to 'keep going'. Perfect for someone with a super laid back and easy going personality. Interesting though, I dont always see myself that way, nor do some of the people in my life who know me longest and best. And I did complete the 140.6 mile distance, in itself proof that i wasn't willing to let the day pass without making the effort. This was important to me, even if my mind could play that trick that had me smling and joking through the struggle and pain and into the night.

There's something deep inside me that has me returning. There's something about taking on a challenge. I feel a need to take the next step, to do more, to go farther.

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."
– T.S. Eliot

I had no business starting that race last year, and I made the cutoff by less than 10 minutes. I did finish sprinting and 'strong'. Does the fact that I finished mean I still havent gone too far?

oh yeah i forgot i have a blog

2011-05-22T07:09:00.000-07:00

I need to do the 2010 race report. But first I need to go for a long ride.

that. just. happened.

2010-07-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

post race

as i crossed the finish line my knees buckled. The elderly woman assigned to catch me, caught me. Whats this? i am perfectly fine, my legs just gave out for no apparent reason.Ive often wondered about this, I understand better now. My body was really only along for the ride, my mind carried me over the finish line, and once that was accomplishment it simply stopped holding88 me up, and the legs took a second to get with the program and take over.

They put a medal around my neck and a cap on my head.Then I was all alone as they went on to greet the next finisher. Farrah and Gustavo came up to me and congratulated me. Gustavo looked great, he finished hours earlier and was at the finish line now greeting people. Awesome, dude. They took my photo, and i walked on to find pizza and my bike.

Pizza was all gone, but i got a soggy subway ham sandwich. Next time, guys, order more pizza please.

I went to the massage tent, they were getting ready close down. I had a little finger poking session from the massage student, nothing to write home about there. Memorable, though, was when, as i laid on my back, eyes closed, she standing at my head said "Ooops im sorry". I asked what happened. "Oh i leaned over and my breasts went in your face". Nothing to apologize about, and if you hadnt mentioned it i wouldnt have known.

This story made me laugh, very very hard

Christine and Michelle helped me with my bike and stuff back up the hill, which was much appreciated, although I really think I could have carried my stuff and both of them on my back. I swear I floated up that logn hill in front of the Crowne Plaza.

Back at the house, Phil and Javier had already finished and were hanging out. What a fantastic day. The best day ever. So far...

2009 Ironman North America
Lake Placid, New York
Bib 1977, Male 50-54, 150th of 181, 16:17:37

Run

2010-07-23T04:36:00.002-07:00

Run

The run course starts with a pretty good downhill, and that along with the cheering crowds can trick you into going out too fast. I looked at my watch - 8:30 pace! I forced myself to slow down. Turning right and onto the really big hill I saw Michelle, Farrah and Ch, and not left and Christine. Great to see familiar faces and so nice to have people cheering for +me+ :). I did a pirouette as I passed them. Thats how i roll.

After I jogged out of their sight I tried to walk some, and I stopped at the first portapotty, even though I dint really need to. Anything to get my pace under control.

I ran and walked now, stopping and walking through each aid station, taking water and gatorade at each one.

At run special needs I stopped and changed my shoes. I had planned to do this, and even though my first shoes are dry and my feet feel fine, i change them. This turns out to be a mistake. I do also take a good handful of vaseline and slather my crotch and nipples. The volunteers avert their eyes.

The first loop was challenging, and as i ran down Lake Placid Drive toward the Olympic Oval my mind looked for a way to turn right for the finish line. I guess thats probably not a workable solution, soldier on, left turn and back down the hill.

Its around twilight now, the sun is down but its still light enough to recognize faces. I saw Nathan and Kristine running back into town. Nathan looked at his watch and quickly calculated that I would have enough time to beat the cut off. I still have no idea how he was able to do that, but thanks!

Food selection at the aid stations was starting to get sparse. I pulled a pack of sports beans from my pocket, but realized i was going to need to start eating or else crash and burn. I found the power bar vanilla crunch was palatable enough, for now, but i was becoming concerned about the rest of the race and nutrition.

It was pretty dark now. Turning left past the equestrian center I saw a man vomiting on the way back into town. Across the street, on my side, a state trooper turned his back, his body language said he couldn't help that person and didn't want to watch him in misery. I carried the image of the sick guy with me, to reinforce my need to eat, and to eat the right stuff. I did not want to be him. (I later found out that guy was Brian Brode - Triboomer)

Turning onto the River Road out and back, doing some calculations with distance and time remaining and expected pace. It seems I am in a position to finish before midnight, as long as I keep moving. I met a young woman there who did the math along with me, we were both surprised at our ability to do these calculations. We talked a while, then she ran off ahead.

It gets very dark on River Road. The aid stations are well lit, but in the mile in between you can barely see the road in front of you. They hand out glow sticks so that as the road begins to open to vehicular traffic the runners can be seen.

I reached the turnaround and the 20k timing mat. This is the start of the race, not i start pushing and counting the number of people i pass. I did a Blaiseman Roll over the mat and took off.

I started taking the chicken soup at the aids stations now. And coke and pretzels. The chicken soups is really good, and MAGIC! I am having fun.

You can hear Mike Reilly announcing new Ironmen, even this far out. Sound travels far on clear dark nights like this, and there was a super-gravitational pull at work now.

I saw strange lights on the road. Green and Orange and Yellow, sprites bobbing and weaving in front of me in the distance. As I got closer I could see, these were runners still heading out and away from the finish line, clearly having difficulty even walking in a straight line. God Bless Them, but someone should tell them they have no hope of finishing before midnight. Do they know? God Bless Them.

I'm turning right, done with the out and back and heading up the hill by the ski jump. Run-walking, looking for the next chicken soup and coke. Right turn again at the airport and I'm heading back to town. Up the hill by the IGA and a left turn onto main street. The crowds are still there cheering, very much needed and appreciated.

Up the hill on this final out and back, I am really pushing, although it may not look like it. I'm walking and running. Ive got a bad blister on the ball of my right foot. Its not going to stop me but it does slow me down.

A spectator is yelling at the top of his lungs for someone to run. "Dont walk, run you'll feel better, run, RUN, RUN!!" As I end my walk segment and break into a jog, I hear him scream "Thats it! RUN! Doesn't that feel better? YOURE LOOKING GREAT! I told you it would be better, run, RUN!".

He's screaming at me. I look over and make eye contact. He's stopped yelling now and just smiles. I say "Who the hell are you?".

A guy running just in front of me chuckles and says "He's your coach, didn't you know?".

I really appreciate all the support from the volunteers and spectators, but after almost 11 hours on the road, i am not going to react well to screaming, and I am pretty sure I dont look great. A sincere "Nice job, way to go" will be sufficient thank you.

I am running faster now, down the hill. I can see the lights from the Oval. I can hear Reilly louder and louder. Im running 9:30 pace. At the bottom of the hill I give the volunteer a head fake, as if I am heading out for another loop. Always leave them laughing. I turn right, past the cheering people and into the oval. I'm fying.

8:00 pace, around the oval, and I go under the first inflatable ironman arch, look around and realize, really, where I am and whats happening. I am sprinting now, probably 7:00 pace around the curve, doing the airplane thing from side to side, high fiving the crowd. I hear Mike Reilly say "Wait, Wh.. LOOK AT THIS!". The people in the grandstand are on their feet and roaring. Mike Reilly does the low five thing and I cross the finish line.

Run 5:54:55 13:33 pace

Bike to Run Transition

2010-07-23T04:36:00.001-07:00

So happy to be off the bike. I walk into the changing tent and find a bench, open my run gear bag and start changing. Looking around I see not too much activity here. A medical person is talking to an athlete about his chest pain. Someone else asks a volunteer how long he can stay there before he has to leave and start the marathon. The vollie pauses, puzzled look, then says "Hey you can stay as long as you want, until we close at midnight".

I finished changing and walked out to the run start. I pause here for a few minutes waiting for the Garmin to acquire satellites. I feel really good.

T2 16:30

bike

2010-07-22T18:12:00.001-07:00

I came out of the changing tent and was handed my bike. With a flat front tire.

I think when i had the guy help me with inflating the rear tire, he also hit the front with a shot of pressure, which it didnt need. Overinflated, during my almost two hour swim and transition tent meet and greet, the temp warmed up and pop. Not a problem, if youre going to have a flat anywhere, this is the place to do it. They fixed it for me, 10 minutes and i didnt even get my hands dirty.

I had advice from the guys at Endurance Nation on my race execution. Dont chase people passing me on the climb out of town. Save yourself, you will see many of them later at the end of the bike portion, or certainly during the run. Stay aero, focusing on form on the bike will improve efficiency and preserve much needed resources for the run discipline. They also gave great advice on where to grab nutrition, where you wouldn't be able to (like the 40mph + descent into Keene, no, you dont start messing with a gel packet then).

I also knew from personal experience that I needed to force myself to drink, I should be emptying all my bottles between aid stations. Kona Kola Nuun in every bottle. A gel every 20 to 30 minutes also a must.

Throughout the day I played leapfrog with the same group, being passed by them on ascents, blowing by them on descents. For me at least this wasnt going to be about chasing or making a breakaway. Like I had written on my forearms, "patience" and "purpose" would bring me my own success this day.

At bike Special Needs I stopped and took some time to move off to the side, dismount, restock my Nuun tabs, eat some Sports Beans and have a long drink. And goofed around a little with the volunteers. A nice little break, maybe 5 minutes spent, a good investment with the return being a smile on my face as i left for loops number 2.

Climbing out of town on the second loop I noticed the words on my forearm beginning to fade. Moreso my left arm than right. So my mantra for the rest of the ride was "my patience may be wearing thin, but my purpose is still clear"

I stopped at the portosan on the Haselton out and back and fully utilized the service provided there.

I was feeling a little bonky passing through Wilmington Notch the second time. i broke out my secret weapon, Peanut M&Ms I had saved in my bento box. The sugar really helped to carry me through. I did come out of the saddle up Papa Bear, more to stretch than anything else.

Returning to the oval i went up around the back of the high school, then carefully down a hill,and pass offed the bike.

Bike Time 8:10:14 13.7 mph pace

Swim to Bike Transiton

2010-07-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

On the way into transition i called out my number, and that was passed down the line so my gear bag was waiting for me when i got into the changing tent.

I decided i would be comfortable for this long ride, so i had my bib shorts. After taking my time getting dressed and applying the chamois butter, i went to the sunblock table, oy what a mess.

This was a very long transition, but really set the tome for the rest of my race. Im built for comfort, not speed.

T1 23:12

swim

2010-07-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

Phil, Javier and I walked down to the start. We didnt talk much.

I went to check on my bike. I was having trouble with the valve extension in the rear wheel, so i walked the bike up to the bike techs to figger it out. dropped off the morning clothes and got ready to head down to the lake. The skies had been threatening to open, and many of the racers still remember clearly the 2008 weather: steady rain from the swim start until midnight. Now around 6:30am we felt a few raindrops, and i heard a woman's plaintiff whine "Oh Cmon! Give me a break!" Who was she talking to?

At this moment I felt completely calm and very enthusiastic about starting. All of these outside factors are out of my control, so why worry? I headed down to the lake.

I stayed to the rear. actually standing chest deep. National anthem, some blabber from Mike Reilly, canon blast and we're off.

I stayed a little to the outside and in the back of the pack. While I couldn't see the underwater cable, there were enough swimmers trying to stay on the line that I had no problem slighting and staying on course. Remarkably;y little contact with other swimmers. When I reached the first turn, i missed the buoy and realized i was inside the turn as i reached the marker. I started to turn around to swim around it, but a woman in a kayak there said i was ok and waved me on.

I finished the first inshore leg, was feeling like i was getting in a nice groove, focused on my form, not too hard, glide, keep my head down. Now I got out of the water, walked around the floating dock and back into the water to start the second loop. I paused here for a minute, and I was nto the only one. Just a bit of a self analysis, gut check, deciding whether or not i really want to do this. Sure I do. So off I went.

Now, the course is getting a little more congested, i think because of getting lapped by the faster swimmers. The times when I drifted in toward the cable, I had some contact, but in general nothing too serious. There was one guy, doing the breat stroke, and as i swam past him he gave me a nice frog kick into the solar plexus. That really sucked.

About 200 yards from the swim exit, i just dipped inside the cable and stopped to look around. A guy in a kayak came over wanting to rescue me. No thanks, just taking in this scene. I did notice a pretty good current pushing me inshore, from all those people swimming in a circle I guess,

I came out of the water, plopped myself down and let a stripper help to remove my suit. I usually dont need help, but how often so you get wetsuit strippers? Maybe once a year?

I rolled up the wetsuit to the size of a football, tucked it under my arm and ran down the chute toward T1.

Swim time 1:32:48

wakey wakey

2010-07-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

Sunday July 24

2AM Im up to apply sunblock and drink 500 calories worth of Ensure.

Wont get any more real sleep, but im going back to lay in bed for a couple more hours.

crunch time

2010-07-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday July 25, 2009

Waking this morning and checking my schedule, I realized this would be would be a very short and busy day. Bring the bike down to the Olympic Oval for check in. get on line to register for 2010. Eat lunch. Eat lunch again. Drink lots all day. Go to bed around 7pm.

Im not at all nervous, no anxiety. So much planning, checking and rechecking. Everyone is very quiet, resolved.

check in

2010-07-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

Friday July 24, 2009

its all getting very real now. A visit to the ironman village, bought a trigger point therapy roller, just because its there. same as the 2 red foam rollers i already have, but its got some fancy textures on it and its orange. walked over and checked in for the race. Id given, weighed, waivered, spindled, folded and sent packing with a plastic bag containing special needs bags, stickers, numbers, instructions, and an ironman poster.

I met Iron Crackhead and had a pleasant talk about expectations. I have none. That sounded very odd to me, surrounded by many athletes who are just BUGGING OUT with nervous energy. I had a conversation with one young woman who was a first time ironman participant, asking me questions about the swim, for tips on managing the course, etc. Do i look like i know what im doing? I have that quality, the ability to appear calm and therefore in control, when actually in completely out of control and unmanageable situations. Interesting.

Went into town for lunch at the crepe place, then for a light run and a short swim. The Phil and Javier have arrived. The garage is looking like a bike repair shop, everyone checking cables, tuning gears, and me taping 22 power gel packets to my top tube.

Bed early tonight, 2 more sleeps.

Settling in

2010-07-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

Thursday July 23, 2009

Today's Thursday and Im just settling in to my spot in the house, unpacking my gear, greeting the housemates. I'm do not feel at all prepared for this race, and strangely i do not feel at all nervous either. On the ride up we discussed how i was feeling and how i would approach this major thing on Sunday. I wasn't quite sure how to articulate it, but i think ive got it now. Ive adjusted my expectations and re framed this from a focus on makign cut off times and finishing, to simply starting. I know i can do that. This has always been for fun, for me, and just chucking all the nervous energy really makes this an exciting adventure. its why im here.

later in the day I plan to swim. I havent had more than 4 or 5 swims since the winter. I'll do 2 loops if i can.

Other than that, some healthy eating , a few beers and plenty of rest planned.

Travel Day

2010-05-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

Wednesday July 22, 2009

I packed up the car last night, got the bike on the roof, all the bags in the back, bottled water, quinoa, oats, soy milk, french press and a pound of Columbian.

Picked up Christine and drove to Lake Placid.

Arrived early afternoon, unpacked, went to Price Chopper, back to house for a nice arugula salad with the hummus dressing. Dude took photos.

There is no denying we've cooked together in a previous life.

In the Bag

2009-11-02T17:29:00.000-08:00

July 16

Coach Patrick and Coach Rich of suggested that checklists, making them, checking them, repeating this process, could help to dissipate nervous energy and prevent blowing the taper. I liked Rich's suggestion too about using brown paper shopping bags, to keep things organized and accessible. I stopped by King Kullen this morning and offered to buy 10 bags; the checkout girl handed me 15 and a smile.

Next, I made up checklists. Six of them.

Bike Setup

□ Gels

□ Power bars

□ Jelly beans

□ Power shots

□ Tubes

□ Levers

□ Co2

□ Electrical tape

□ Rubber bands

□ Aero drink

□ 3 bottles water

□ Nuun

□ Bento box

□ Peanut m&m

□ Paperclip

□ Velcro straps

□ Plastic coverup

Race Morning

□ Wetsuit

□ Swimsuit

□ Earplugs

□ Goggles

□ Swimcap

□ Flipflops

□ Bodyglide

□ Timex Watch

□ Towel

□ Light jacket

□ Beanie

Swim to Bike Transition

□ Race belt

□ Bib shorts in plastic bag

□ Jersey in plastic bag

□ Socks in plastic bag

□ Shoes in plastic bag

□ Sunglasses

□ Gloves

□ Bandana

□ Light jacket in bag

□ Helmet

Bike Special Needs

□ Pump

□ Socks in plastic bag

□ Bandana in plastic bag

□ Extra gloves

□ Power Bars

□ Jelly Beans

□ Levers

□ CO2

□ Tubes

□ Extra Lenses

□ Biofreeze

□ Nuun

□ Fig newtons in plastic bag

□ Electrical tape

□ Bandaids in plastic bag

Bike to Run Transition

□ Shorts in plastic bag

□ Short sleeve Shirt in plastic bag

□ Long sleeve shirt in plastic bag

□ Hat

□ Socks in plastic bag

□ Shoes in plastic bag

□ Bandaids in plastic bag

□ Garmin 305

Run Special Needs

□ Socks in plastic bag

□ Short sleeve shirt in plastic bag

□ Long sleeve shirt in plastic bag

□ Shoes in plastic bag

□ Bandaids in plastic bag

□ Vaseline

I printed 4 copies of each, stapled one to each bag, put two copies in each bag and then the last copy in a three ring binder. This Binder also included the Ironman Athlete Guide and an hour by hour schedule covering the drive up right through the day after the race.

Tonight I'll spread the bags out in the living room, along with every piece of tri gear i own, and I will sort it all out and make a shopping list for whats missing.

supernatural running

2009-09-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

July 15, 2009

Thanks to Rich Strauss and Buddha Shakyamuni.

You guys got my head right.

The guys at Endurance Nation provided great guidance on ironman execution. Coach Roach told a story about writing "patience" and "discipline" on his forearms, to remind himself not to blow up chasing cyclists too early in the day. Their mantra "Race Day is about EXECUTION, not FITNESS.” is hammered home in their race kits at triathlonexecution.com, with both general strategy and detailed course guidance.

This morning I was reading Mahamudra Tantra by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Mahamudra is a very specific set of meditation instructions intened to aid in the realization of the "very subtle mind", a supremly peaceful and powerful state of conciousness. Geshela makes reference to Jetsun Milarepa, a Tibetan Yogi, who attained Mahamudra Tantra without the instructions, but instead "through patience and determination".

(Parenthetically, Milarepa boasted of having “crossed in a few days, a distance which, before his training had taken him more than a month." He ascribed his gift to the clever control of ‘internal air’.)

This really is speaking to me. At this point I can do nothign further to improve my skills and abilities and fitness. Only through patiently applying my available abilities, knowing and then keeping concious of my purpose for racing, can i acheive a satisfactory result.

Kerrie asked me last week if i was ready, and why exactly I was doing this. I didnt have an answer then, but i think i have one now. As she suggested, the first reason I am doign this is because i can. And the reason that will get me through the day and the last, dark 6 miles of the marathon: becuase i can do this with a smile on my face, finishign happy and strong.

I need to start to think about packing.

Normally before an execution they offer you a blindfold or cigarette.

2009-09-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

July 4, 2009

I see some tweets about final workouts and taper beginning from prospective Lake Placid Ironman participants. This is disturbing, as I have really not been training enough to call what I do next a taper. In fact, i have barely trained for the swim or run since February. I have a certain comfort level for the bike leg, having done numerous 100 + mile rides, and good familiarity with the race course from last year and a camp in June. It's really sunk in that i am facing the jaws of this beast with no prep, and no time to do anything about it.

Last year I finished Tupper Lake Tinman 70.3 in just under 7:00, so am assuming something around 14:00 for Lake Placid. That assumption was made at the end of last season. Now with my nonexistent training, I am looking at the cut off times, and figuring max time for the swim and biking until the bike cutoff at 530pm, i would have 6:30 to finish the marathon. That would bring me to 17:00, the midnight cutoff.

I reached out to Coach Adam for some advice on how to attack the race. His advice is to focus on 'keep moving forward' and don't burn out in the first 10 miles of the run. Thanks Adam, very helpful indeed.

I also called on Pat and Rich of Endurance Nation for their advice. Beyond the excellent training plans they provide, they have also produced an amazing array of online resources and assistance. "Race day is about execution, not fitness". Seems right up my alley.

A lesson learned about lessons learned.

2009-09-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

Now, 6 weeks after my first Ironman at Lake Placid, NY, I find I have still not begun my race report. It's particularly remarkable considering the achievement. I mean, if i could do Ironman, why cant i write a little race report? The fact that i finished in over 16 hours simply indicates I have a certain degree of determination and stamina, an ability to finish what I start.

And there's the lesson, which I learned so well On July 26, and which I apparently forgot already. The key to finishing is - beginning. And here's the other lesson. Use what you learn.

I will begin this race report and it will be in serial format. It will be in present tense, from the best of my recollection. I hope you enjoy my story as much as i enjoyed living it.

My Ironman Happy Ending

2009-07-28T19:22:00.001-07:00

Ironman Lake Placid 2009
16:17:37

Race report to follow. For now,
I'm going to DisneyWorld.

you may have been wondering...

2009-07-16T03:20:00.000-07:00

You may have been wondering about me, my training and the status of this blog. (Maybe not ;) )

Some time back I started a series of posts on dietary cleansing and ayurvedic eating, never finished. Stopped blogging on my training status. Haven't been logging much on Buckeye. Raced Tupper Lake "Sprint", did Lake Placid camp, but never blogged on it.

Now with 10 days to race day, I feel i need to put my affairs in order. Gees that sounds a little ominous. But no time like the present. And I am thinking I will certainly be blogging my race report and remainder of season, so it'd be good to tie up some loose ends here.

There will be more to come in the next few days. Let me start by addressing the training issue, and my readiness. Due to some unanticipated personal and health issues, I virtually started my taper in February. I have done some long rides, and I am most comfortable thinning about the 112 mile bike leg. I haven't swam more than a dozen times since last October. I am pretty confident I can make the swim cutoff, that's my goal. My longest run this year has been about 10 miles. I have done some 5K and 10K races, one hilly 15k in March, and I have gotten faster, but I am not sure how my body holds up for a whole marathon.

In short, I am overweight and under trained. Yipee, here we go!

whipped up dinner

2009-06-14T16:49:00.001-07:00

Roasted potatoes, rainbow chard, garlic, bermuda onion, tomato and fennel sausage.

A hit.

sandwich

2009-06-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

Grilled Tempeh with hot chili sauce on tomato basil bread, with grilled collard greens, green leaf lettuce, red onion, sliced tomato and sour cream blue cheese dressing.

brick

2009-05-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

Bike from East Quogue to Orient Ferry and back, 80 flat miles averaging 17.5 miles per hour, normalized power 157 watts, average cadence 85 ,TSS 438,4:45 in motion 5:55 start to finish.

3 liters of water, 4 nuun tablets, 3 power gels, 1 power bar, 1 sports beans and 3 oranges.

The house I live in is for sale!

There's this Big Duck...

At the Orient Ferry, they wanted to charge

me a dollar to take my picture.
But I negotiated "for free"

I took a 20 minute power nap

under this Laurel tree, in Laurel.
This was a long lonely day, but
there is something to be said for
stopping and laying down
whenever you want.

Run 3 miles, 27:45

Green Salad, two grilled chicken

thighs, wilted spinach, quinoa
pasta with tomato sauce.
(Couldn't eat the salad, stuffed)

fiddleheads and mussels

2009-05-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

Mussels steamed with whole tomatoes and garlic, fiddlehead fern with olive oil, garlic and lemon, spelt pasta finished in mussel sauce, fresh green salad.

This is how i eat. I need to focus and write my post on my 'spring cleanse' tonight.

100 mile ride and some kind of run planned for tommorow, there will be photos :)

The Backyard Pool

2009-05-30T13:00:00.001-07:00

Going to just do 1 length :)

Ok it was sooo nice in the briney i did 2 out and backs, about 35 mins. Its top of the out going tide, so when i reached the cut out to Tiana Bay i could really feel the current pullign me out, so i turned back.

That's my longest swim since February 14, felt good, and i only bumped into the dock once, sighting was pretty well right on :)

Get in the Door

2009-05-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

When I first started my sport parachute training, the static line method was still the generally accepted method of learning. In the years after I left “student status” the Accelerated Free Fall system came into favor, and I am not sure there are very many drop zones still using the “dope rope”.

The static line is a length of canvas webbing with a clip on one end, which attaches to a D ring on the aircraft floor, and a section of Velcro loops, which attaches to a corresponding section of Velcro hooks on the parachute ripcord. In my experience these static line training jumps were performed from a Cessna 305, a small single engine plane with room for pilot, jumpmaster and three students. Once over ‘the spot’, the jumpmaster signals to the first student to move toward the door, and attaches the static line to the D ring. The jumpmaster then opens the door and signals for the student to ‘get out’. The student carefully pivots on his ass and steps out onto the step, a wide metal plate over the right landing gear. He reaches forward and grasps the wing strut, walks out and drops his feet off the step, and is now hanging under the wing, looking back at the jumpmaster. On signal the student drops away, the static line draws taught and pulls the ripcord, opening the parachute container and pulling the chute out and lines taut, and finally tearing away, student now under an open canopy.

For those who continued beyond the first few static line jumps, the agenda was to get off student status, to be allowed to spot and exit the aircraft on your own, and from higher altitudes so actual freefall could happen. The static line exit altitude was around 3500 feet, whereas a majority of freefall jumps are from 13,500 feet, affording about 60 seconds of free flight before deploying a parachute. On this particular day I was taking a ride up with two static line students for a ‘hop and pop’, an exit and quick manual deployment of my chute.

You can think of the aircraft layout as like a panel van with the interior removed, except for the pilot’ seat, on the left just like a car. The exit door is on the right, just below the wing. The jumpmaster sits on the floor next to the pilot, facing the rear of the plane. One student sits behind the pilot and facing the rear, and two students sit against the back bulkhead, both facing forward. On this flight I would be the last one out, and as usual the jumpmaster would land with the plane.

As the plane neared jump altitude the pilot poked the jumpmaster, who kneeled and looked down through the door and motioned to the pilot with course adjustments. The spot to exit needed to take into account wind speed and direction so the jumpers could easily make it back to the DZ. He motioned to the jumper behind the pilot, clipped the static line in, opened the door and yelled “get out”. I couldn’t see him from where I sat, but as he dropped off the plane dipped slightly as the pilot adjusted for the change in weight distribution. One away.

The jumpmaster reached out and pulled the door closed and motioned for number two to move up. Clip in, open door, climb out, go! With the shift in weight this time the pilot overcorrected and I watched as the jumpmaster lost his balance and lurched out the door! I kneeled to move toward the door myself and saw him hanging from the strut, facing the tail. I will never forget the look of terror on his face. He was too far away to get footing back on the step, and his handhold on the strut wasn’t strong enough to hold him there long. And anyway, landing the plan with someone hanging there was not a viable option.

I kneeled and crawled forward to get a better look. I had placed my life in the hands of this man who now looked back at me with this plaintiff glare, as if I could possibly have some solution to his problem! I moved closer to the door and gauged if I could possibly reach him with a hand to help him back in, but there was just no way. I saw his attitude change from terror to sadness as he resigned himself to his position.

I had heard the pilot yelling but hadn’t really been able to make out what he was saying. I don’t think the jumpmaster could hear him from outside in the slipstream, but he did finally look over my shoulder to see the pilot gesturing. I leaned back on my legs to see him point at the jumpmaster and clearly mouth the words,

“You have a parachute”.

I will never forget the look of peace that came over the jumpmaster as he realized the solution to his problem had been with him all along.

All he had to do was let go.

Habits and Change

2009-05-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

I haven't abandoned the cleanse process, in fact I have started with a pretty significant change to my diet the past week. I wanted to jump in here though to talk a bit about my coffee habit.

I had a pretty substantial coffee habit, drinking about 1 quart each day, usually either sitting in Starbucks reading, or working at my desk, black from a french press. As I started to look more closely at what I put in my mouth, I had to be honest and come to the conclusion that this was ALOT of coffee, and there was no real reason to be taking it in.

I wasn't sure how it would work, but last Wednesday I went a bought a box of Yerba Mate tea. This is an herbal tea which is supposed to contain a small amount of caffeine, should be a good substitute to bridge me off the juice. I drank two cups of that, and i have to say i didn't find it to be a very good substitute for my daily dose of the mother bean. I had a nice headache going, was kind of cranky and really foggy in the head. I felt like crap.

The next day I woke up feeling better, but still missing the usual morning routine. The top of the Yerba Mate box had a recipe for a 'Mate Latte'. I made a cup with hot soy milk heated with some grated nutmeg and ground clove. This was really good! More substantial than the weak tea version. This week I've instituted a new morning and evening routine, brewing up a mate latte with my oats in the morning and before bed at night.

The obvious benefit is I have greatly reduced my caffeine intake. But more than this, I've radically altered my daily routine. The warm spiced drink has enhanced my digestion, curbed my nighttime appetite and improved my nightly sleep.

I've noticed the last few days that my rosacea has flaired up in the morning. I am not sure if this is connected to the Yerba, the withdrawal of caffeine, the change in diet, or perhaps a symptom of the auto immune stuff i am dealing with. This week I am going to eliminate the Yerba Mate, replacing it with a cup of spiced soy milk morning and night.

Beyond what I am learning about the coffee/caffeine habit, I think I might have hit on some valuable lessons about dealing with habits and change.

I don't think I had much of a caffeine addiction, rather I was hooked on this comfortable daily routine that revolved around coffee. Looking at it honesty, i could see it was not in the best interest of my health and was not the best use of my time. I didnt just quit that routine cold turkey, instead i replaced it with a new routine. The new routine is healthier and less time consuming than the old one.

There's something else here about dealing with change, which i am not sure i have quite put my finger on. We all deal with changes in our lives, sometimes minor speedbumps, sometimes mountains rising to block our planned life path. The loss of control when we encounter change is I think what makes dealing so hard. I wonder if taking control and instituting our own changes elsewhere might make dealing with all change easier to handle. Can we train our minds to embrace, rather than resist change?

Anyway, no coffee for me all week, and hardly a drop of caffeine except some sports beans during the century ride last week. Super energy level, my mind is sharp. I am doing something right.

Focus on Food I

2009-05-14T16:16:00.000-07:00

Before even addressing specific foods, here's a few general guidelines I'll follow in my new dietary routine for "spring cleaning":

As much as possible,
Eliminate non fresh foods, like canned foods, leftovers, frozen foods and processed foods,
Eliminate junk food including heavy desserts, fried foods, candy, refined sugars, processed foods, carbonated drinks, caffeine and alcohol,
Eliminate dairy,
Avoid raw foods in favor of cooked foods to aid in digestion,
Avoid cold foods and drinks and drink lots of warm water throughout the day.

As important as what I eat is when I eat it. I will stick to three meals each day with the main meal mid day when digestion is most active. The main meal will not be larger than I can fit in my two hands. After the main meal a short 'lay down' on my left side to aid digestion, then a short brisk walk. Mid morning and mid afternoon snacks to hold me over between meals. Evening meal will never be less than 2 hours before sleep.

My Basic Metabolic Requirement is approximately 2000 calories per day. Assuming 30% of calories are from protein I should take in no less than 150 g of protein a day on a day with no workouts. I will try to maintain that 30% number but if necessary will take in additional calories in the form of carbohydrates rather than fat.

I would like to lose about 15 pounds in the next 60 days, so I will need to wacth the calories closely.

Next - Focus on Food II, the shopping list

Moving Toward Balance

2009-05-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last summer after Ironman week in Lake Placid, the holisticguru, Christine Lynch shared with me some information on Ayurveda, the ancient Indian science of life. Specifically she lent me a book, "Body, Mind, and Sport: The Mind-Body Guide to Lifelong Health, Fitness, and Your Personal Best" by Dr. John Douillard. He is perhaps best known for his book "The Three Season Diet", which is based on the basic Ayurvedic concept that we should eat seasonally and according to our body types.

In short, Ayurveda is based on an understanding of various complimentary cycles and synergistic properties of everything in nature. Everything from body types, to seasons of the year, to times of the day, and foods and activities best suited for each, is described by ayurvedic knowldge. Everything is complimentary or cyclical. There is no 'good' or 'bad' body type, or season, or food. These things just are, described by ayurveda without judgement. However, there may be optimal relatinships between the various parts, and putting the right things together for the right purpose at the right time can help to maximize effectiveness, performance, health and joy.

Anyway this whole topic is huge. As with many areas of knowldge, very often the lessons to be learned are too big to take in one bite. You need to absorb what you can, apply as much as you can, and probably revisit the orginal lesson and start again. Small steps. I've been applying some of what I've learned, establishing my body type or 'dosha' (Pitta), altering some of the foods I eat to compliment my type, changing the timing of my main daily meal, waking and going to bed earlier and trying to do my main excercise early in the day. None of this happened at once and none of it is complete. I am moving toward balance.

I am not in balance. I am moving toward balance.

I have been wanting to post somethign on all this for a while. It's come to the fore now thanks to the Master Cleanse post at the Live and Eat Better blog. I think for me, the idea of a master cleanse doesnt work. What I mean is, ayurveda says your body is natuarly cleansed in the spring, if you do what nature intended. That is, a low fat high fiber diet consisting primarily of fresh greens, plenty of fluids, and lifestyle changes that mirror what happen in nature in spring:with the melting of snows and thawing of ground, the fluids in the body also start flowing more freely, performing an internal cleansing routine to accelarate the flushing of toxins accumlated through the winter.

Also, through the proper selection of foods and their preparation one should promote healthy digestion to reduce "ama", or residual toxins and underdigested food remaining in the body.

Finally, through the skillfull application of lifestyle changes one should promote the rejuvination of internal bodily systems with activities like yogic breathing (for the endocrine system and to remediate stress) and stretching and massage to help restore sore and tight muscial and fascia.

The real key to this 'cleanse', though, will be to continue the positive steps into summer and through to winter. While available foods and normal activity levels vary with the seasons, the importance of watchign the body and staying in harmony with the natural world in what one eats and does shoudl remain.

Tommorow- the food.

Decompression

2009-05-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

Me and my bike, Apple Crisp, had some alone time this weekend.

We rode from East Quogue east to Sag Harbor. The bad economy hasn't completely stopped development in the hamptons. This holistic thing is really catching on.

On the way back I stopped at Duckwalk Vineyard.

People try many different methods to end suffering.

I found these Golden Beets at the organic grocery store. I thought they were a myth!

Finished 50 miles on the bike, took a shoer 2 mile run in the new hood, then whipped up dinner. Oats and red quinoa with golden beets and beet greens, lacinato kale green onions and an egg.

Although my back is still killign me, I feel strong. A good day.

A bunny!

2009-04-12T19:00:00.001-07:00

About 50 windy miles from Somers, NY to Ridgefield, CT and back.

Thanks, my friends , for the fellowship. What a great day! Let's do it again soon.

Pushup Throwdown (#100friday)

2009-04-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

Starting tomorrow we'll be doing push ups. 100 of them. Or trying to. And posting our progress and results in twitter with the hash tag #100friday.

Javier Gomez, triathlete coach, world famous triathlete and founder of Operation Ironman instigated this. We used to all so this on Wednesdays, last summer, but it fell off over the winter. Coach Javier is a bad ass.

SpeedySasquatch will most likely be doing #300friday. I think he says anything over 100 is called a Spartan. Whatever, i gave up trying to keep up with him.

Gusano82, who I know from triscoop, is joining in.

You can play too. Just log onto twitter and post when you're done, with the hash tag #100friday.

Oh, its not just dudes. There's a couple of womans who will probably give it a go, including SKDickey and holisticguru.

So the goal is 100 push ups durin the day friday. If you cannot do 100, do your max and work from there. Personally I will shoot to have my 100 done before 7AM . Great way to start the day. Post a comment here and join in.

Savory Oatmeal with Kale and Mushrooms

2009-03-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

Whoa! This was actually good. Sometimes I surprise myself. Credit to Genevieve Laloue over at her blog Health Food Makes Me Sick for inspiring me with her post earlier this year.

Ingredients
1/2 cup quick oats
1 1/2 boiling water
2 tbl dried porcini mushroom
1 cup chopped lacinato kale
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbl tamari
1/2 tbl sesame oil
1/2 tbl hot sauce
1 soft boiled (4 minute) egg

Reconstitute the dried mushroom in the boiling water, allowing to soak 30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the water and chop them, then add the water with the mushrooms, salt, tamari, hot sauce and sesame oil to a small pot with the instant oats. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, steering all the while until oats are nearly done, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped kale and half the scalions and stir, cooking another minute or so. The oatmeal should be somewhat watery, like a thick soup. Pour into a bowl, break the egg onto the top and garnish with remaining scallions.

The crunchiness of the kale and scallions go well with the creamy soft oats and mushrooms. The rich, salty and earthy flavors from the tamari and porcini play nicely with the dash of hot sauce. And who doesnt love a 4 minute egg! Even so, I am wondering how i might incorporate some tofu cubes instead of th egg, maintaing the protein and makign this vegan. It's all ready gluten free (check the label on your tamari to be sure).

otro ves
I did this one again tonight, but instead of the quick oats I used 1/3 cup red quinoa and 1/3 cup steel cut oats. It needed a little more water and about 30 more minutes of cooking. Egg cooked for 3 minutes. Home run!

Teach a man to fish...

2009-03-01T13:19:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, July 26th, 2009, I will complete Ironman USA in Lake Placid, NY. (Ironman is a multisport endurance event consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run). As a member of RaceWithPurpose.Org, I am combining my passion for community service with athletic performance and working toward something bigger than myself.

My goal this year is to raise funds to serve kids who struggle because of poverty and disadvantaged educational systems. In particular, I will support efforts in Youth Financial Literacy Education through World of Money, a 501(c)3 charitable organization.

(http://www.active.com/donate/racewithpurpose08/TNewman6)

I truly believe that by teaching kids to approach their finances responsibly we can have a lifelong positive impact on them, their families and communities.

WorldOfMoney.Org is committed to prepare under served youth for real world financial responsibility. The Money Track curriculum includes: wealth consciousness, disciplined savings, stock market investment, bank accounts, real estate investing, mutual funds, credit and mortgages, house-hunting and business etiquette. The Summer Financial Literacy Training Institute was launched in 2006 with its mission to give young people empowering tools to survive life’s economic roller-coasters.

The training will serve 75 young people, ages 11-17, over three weeks at The Beacon School in Manhattan. Each youth will receive a Certificate of Completion, book bag and school supplies at the graduation ceremony in August of 2009.

The Money Track curriculum focuses on financial literacy and financial responsibility.

Workshops
Ø Budgeting/Money Management
Ø Investing
Ø Real Estate
Ø Stock & Bonds
Ø Disciplined Saving
Ø Developing Credit
Ø Wealth Creation
Ø Taxes
Ø Responsible Consumption
Ø Poverty Mindset vs. Prosperity
Ø Mindset
Ø Understanding the Stock Market
Ø Banking Experience

Activities
Ø Meeting prominent financial experts
Ø New York Stock Exchange Visit (where possible)
Ø Bank Visit

I am raising money to support World of Money (http://www.worldofmoney.org) , an organization providing education in financial literacy to under served youth in our area. I truly believe that by teaching kids to approach their finances responsibly we can have a lifelong positive impact on them, their families and communities. And having made a commitment to this meaningful cause will help me to stay focused through long months of training and the many hours of actual execution during the event.

I'm asking you to help by making a contribution! Please use this link (http://www.active.com/donate/racewithpurpose08/TNewman6) to donate online quickly & securely. You will receive email confirmation of your donation and I will be notified as soon as you make your donation. I thank you in advance for your support, and really appreciate your generosity!

There is also a link on our home page at www.NewmanCompany.com, for your convenience.

Or, if you prefer to make your donation offline by check, please contact me directly for a donor card and information on how to make your donation in that way.

I’ve set a goal to raise $20,000 for this worthwhile cause. Whatever the size of your contribution, it is appreciated and will help us to achieve our goal. Thank you!

Newman Company
925 Hempstead Turnpike, Suite 340
Franklin Square, NY 11010
(516) 488-1100
service@newmancompany.com

Cash Camp, Inc dba WorldOfMoney.org formed in December, 2005 is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization under Section 501© 3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Robert H Lorsch Foundation is a private 501 (c)(3) organization with a long history of supporting youth-wellness causes.

The Strassburg Sock

2009-02-22T05:09:00.001-08:00

Northcoast Footcare directed me to remove the post on their product. Rather shortsighted, gentleman. As you wish, good day to you!

Red Cheeks

2009-02-05T09:47:00.001-08:00

I went to the dermatologist today. I've had a couple of little skin things kind of bugging me, nothing major or scary. A bump on my chin that i cut a couple of times this month, and a mole or mark on the front of my right thigh that seems to get irritated by my cycling shorts.

What made me finally take action and call for an appointment? The Super Bowl halftime show, and specifically Bruce Springsteen and his public service announcement for The Danny Fund. Read more about it here. Danny Federici was the E Street band organist and recently died of skin cancer.

The bullet points you should take note of:

Be aware of the dangers of the sun
Take precaution, like sunblock and staying out of the sun
Have yourself checked out regularly by a dermatologist from head to toe.

The full body check took no more than 15 minutes. I had a female doc and nurse present, but I suppose if you aren't comfortable you could ask for same gender. I kept my underwear on. I had a silly paper gown on, but really this exam was not a big deal. We all should have it done annually.

The doctor suggested i have rosacea, a reddening of the skin on my face caused by broken capillaries. I don't know, i think I might have been blushing just a little. And it is 20 degrees outside. She gave me a script for a cream to use. I will try it. She also told me to use sun block. Yep, I want to do that too. Every day, even when its cold out!

Thallium Stress Test Results

2009-02-05T04:52:00.000-08:00

I had my Nuclear, or Thallium, stress test on Monday. The whole test took about 4 hours and the staff at Winthrop Cardiology Associates couldn't have been nicer or more professional.

For the exercise part of the test they had me hooked up to an electrocardiogram and wearing a blood pressure cuff. The goal was to get me around 80-90% of my estimated maximum heart rate, which they calculated using the old fashioned and somewhat dubious 220 minus your age formula. I am 50, so that puts my estimated max around 170, and my target for the test around 136-153. I am not sure, not having done a max heart rate test recently, that my actual max is higher. My training is based on percentage of functional threshold power on the bike and pace on the track.

My resting heart rate is around 58, and measured 60 at the start of the test. I beleive my blood pressure was 130/50, not exactly sure of that. The physician assistant raised the incline and started the treadmill and i walked. The plan was to increase incline and speed every three minutes until i cried uncle. At that point they woudl inject the isotope through my IV, then have me stop and rest a bit before more photos.

I got up to about 4.2 miles per hour at a 16% grade before they stopped me. I could have continued, but my blood pressure had risen to 214/90. They seemed concerned by this. My heart rate was 150, or about 90%, so technically the test was completed.

Results came back to my primary care doc, who had his nurse call me to say everything was fine. I asked her about the blood pressure issue. She had no idea what I was talking about, so I asked to have the doc call me back. Later in the day we connected and he took a little more time to read the report. While my blood pressure is usually perfect when i am sitting still, apparently I am about ready to pop 6 days a week when i am doing my interval training.

For now I am doubling my Diovan HCT dosage and have an appointment to discuss in a couple of weeks. Still good to train as far as I can tell.

Oh one intersting thing, when i was in the scanner machine, its kind of like a MRI machine that lowers over you and slowly turns as it takes pictures, makes some noises but not as loud as an MRI. I actually was able to take a nap in that thing both times, 15 minutes each. I think thats the perfect amount of time for a power nap. Need to work that in somewhere.

Name This Photo

2009-02-01T17:08:00.000-08:00

9.5 mile run at Rockefeller this morning, with Coach Adam. Any idea what I am doing here?

UPDATE

I like all the answers. It did feel good on my quads for sure. And I almost could feel the curvature of the earth as I imagined myself hugging the world. Good thing I didnt try to taste the ice, or i might still be there!

There is no answer, really. I do not know what I was doing. Perhaps "dancing naked in the rain", as Roshi Richard Hart recommends, best describes it. Except it was too cold to be naked and the rain had frozen into a sheet of ice on the trail.

Adam said he wanted a picture and I just got down on the ground. We both laughed :)

Say Nuclear

2009-01-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

I am really going to miss President Bush 43. And I am not intending to open a political discussion, I will keep those opinions to myself (for now at least). Regardless your political bent, you are going to have to admit we have had a great 8 year run of jokes. How long will we have to wait before we can start in on Barack?

Actually what made me think of this has nothing to do with politics, I am just trying to lighten up the mood before I begin what some will consider a very serious post. So mom, as you read below, feel free to go back to the video frequently, it should help to put things in the proper perspective.

On Monday at 7:30 am I am scheduled for a Thallium Stress Test (sometimes also referred to as a nuclear stress test). My physician and I agreed it would be wise to do this test based on an episode of lightheadedness and shortness of breath after my December 21 run and my cardiac risk factors. (I'm a male over 50, taking blood pressure and cholesterol meds, have a stressful job, am 'overweight' and have a family history of coronary artery disease and diabetes).

So out of an abundance of caution we started the process by requesting a preapproval from my health insurance, and after an initial refusal they did relent and authorize the test. Here's a desription of the test from the American Heart Association website:

Thallium Stress Test

What is a thallium stress test?

This is a type of nuclear scanning test or myocardial perfusion (mi"o-KAR'de-al per-FU'zhun) imaging test. It shows how well blood flows to the heart muscle. It's usually done along with an exercise stress test on a treadmill or bicycle.

The thallium stress test is useful to determine:

Extent of a coronary artery blockage
Prognosis of patients who've suffered a heart attack
Effectiveness of cardiac procedures done to improve circulation in coronary arteries
Cause(s) of chest pain
Level of exercise that a patient can safely perform

When the patient reaches his or her maximum level of exercise, a small amount of a radioactive substance called thallium is injected into the bloodstream. Then the patient lies down on a special table under a camera ("gamma camera") that can see the thallium and make pictures. The thallium mixes with the blood in the bloodstream and heart's arteries and enters heart muscle cells. If a part of the heart muscle doesn't receive a normal blood supply, less than a normal amount of thallium will be in those heart muscle cells.

The first pictures are made shortly after the exercise test and show blood flow to the heart during exercise. The heart is "stressed" during the exercise test — thus the name "stress test." The patient then lies quietly for 2-3 hours and another series of pictures is made. These show blood flow to the heart muscle during rest.

What does the thallium stress test show?

If the test is normal during both exercise and rest, then blood flow through the coronary arteries is normal. The coronary arteries supply blood to the heart muscle.
If the test shows that perfusion (blood flow) is normal during rest but not during exercise (a perfusion defect), then the heart isn't getting enough blood when it must work harder than normal. This may be due to a blockage in one or more coronary arteries.
If the test is abnormal during both exercise and rest, there's limited blood flow to that part of the heart at all times.
If no thallium is seen in some part of the heart muscle, the cells in this part of the heart are dead from a prior heart attack. (They have become scar tissue.)

What if I can't perform an exercise test?

Sometimes you can't do an exercise test because you're too sick or have physical problems. In this case, a drug such as dipyridamole (di-pi-RID'ah-mol) or adenosine is given. This drug increases blood flow to the heart and thus "mimics" an exercise test. Then the thallium test is given.

Hey by the way I like the idea of a drug to mimic exercise. Why aren't we all using this every day?

Anyway, I scheduled the test as soon as I got the preapproval. In the meantime I am doing about 8 hours a week of intervals cycling and running, and I feel fine. Actually, I feel great. I am even kind of looking forward to this test, treating it like a race of sorts. Maybe I can get them to give me a max heart rate measurement? I will ask them to snap a few photos and post a report.

The worst thing I can see so far is, no caffeine for 24 hours before the test, and its the day after the super bowl, so I need to go easy on the chicken wings and Toasted Lager Sunday night.

Grease the Groove Take Two

2009-01-26T09:53:00.000-08:00

Its been about 5 weeks since I posted first about the 'Grease The Groove' training method. It's supposed to foster neoromuscular facilitation, a big name for a simple concept: alot of reps of an excercise, with light enough resistance so you don't reach failure, is an effective way to improve your performance at that excercise.

I am wanting to develop the ability to do pullups and so i designed my little 6 week plan to build up to some minimal number of reps. I started at the most minimal possible number, that being zero.

Now, 5 weeks havng past, I can report some progress. Very little progress actually, as I have just barely completed the first 2 weeks of my plan. I do notice greater strentgh in my upper arms, shoulders, back and lats. However I think I do need to rethink before continuing.

The GtG plan I had received from an online friend involved daily work, with reps varying in number as a percentage of a 2 minute max test, and sets at different time intervals each day.

While the suggested reps were quite reasonable, i found that some of the frequencies wouldnt work for me in my office, where I will be doing this workout. 15 or 20 minute breaks are just disruptive. 60 or even 90 minute intervals make more sense.

Additionaly, because my pull up bar is in my office, i would have to go in every day in order to maintian the 7 day a week schedule. I'd rather not. In fact I have come to beleive that days off are of great value, even from things you really enjoy :). They allow for recovery and rehabilitation from stress. One day off of a specific excercise for each 3 days on, at least for me, seems to work.

So here is the new plan, to start tommorow with 'Australian Pull Ups'

Day 1 test Max reps in 2 minutes. Remaineder of day do 30% of max every 60 minutes
Day 2 50% every 60 minutes
Day 3 60% every 45 minutes
Day 4 OFF
Day 5 25% every 60 minutes
Day 6 40% every 60 minutes
Day 7 20% every 90 minutes
Day 8 OFF
Day 9 Test max reps n 2 minutes. Remainder of day do 35% every 45 minutes
Day 10 55% every 90 minutes
Day 11 65% every 60 minutes
Day 12 OFF
Day 13 45% every 60 minutes
Day 14 25% every 120 minutes

Let's try that and reconvene in 14 days.

Logging

2009-01-24T13:49:00.000-08:00

Monty Python - Lumber Jack - More amazing video clips are a click away

Em, no. I mean logging workouts. When I first started running, I would log my workouts, but as my workouts became more frequent and I started to get a good 'feel' for what I was doing, I stopped. When I started doing triathlon, again I started a little online journal to keep track of my work outs and progress, but again, I stopped after a while.

Now I am back to using an online log, and here's why.

Ironman training is serious! I should probably keep track of what I do.
I am going to want to look back on what I did this year, because I am already thinking about 2010 and beyond.
I bought a plan (from Endurance Nation), something I have never done before, and I want to be sure I do all the workouts as prescribed.
Having work outs to check off, and a place to ad details, adds accountability.
An online log allows other people to check up on me, another layer of accountability.
An online log, as opposed to an old fashioned paper log, provides so many more options, is secured from loss and accessible wherever there is Internets excess.

I had a few choices. the EN plan was available for download directly into Training Peaks, saving me all that data entry time. I am training with power and so I am using Cycling Peaks WKO+, which goes hand in hand with TP. However, not all of my pals use Training Peaks. Instead, it seems that the online triathlon world that I live in is pretty well tied in with Buckeye Outdoors. So thats what I am using to log my work. In addition, some neat functinality there include:

Log multiple workouts in a day, including time, distance, heart rate wattage and comments.
Calculates estimated calories for most workouts.
Daily sleep, energy level and hydration record.
Food log including USDA and custom food data.
Can set up coach relationship with access to planned and completed workout data.
Ability to set up teams with exclusive access for team members to view and comment.
Blog widget thingy lets me show my worout log over there on the right --->

There's a bunch of other stuff it does that i dont even know yet. The guys who built the app are triatletes themselves, so really understand whats needed. And while they are providing it for free, they are constantly makign updates, many times at the request of their users.

Oh yeah did I mention its FREE.

Hydrostatic Weighing

2009-01-14T15:47:00.001-08:00

One of the things I am keying on in my preparation for Ironman is 'body composition', or to put it more simply, body fat percentage. I want to have more muscle carrying around less fat, that just makes sense. I will be faster and able to go longer with that greater efficiency. I also know its healthier and more attreactive to have a flat stomach!

In early December I set some benchmark measurements, including this dubious online calculation of Body Fat Percent:

My weight is now 220 pounds, up 10 pounds since early October. I measured by body fat percentage last night using an online calculator. The tool uses weight, age and some body dimensions to estimate percent fat. I scored 26.6% (fat). Not sure how accurate the percent is, but the component measurements were as follows: waist (belly) 45 hips 43 forearm 12 wrist 7.5

Last night I remeasured and got

waist (belly) 45
hips 41
forearm 12.5
wrist 7

24.8%

The acuracy of this type of circumfrence test is dubious. Some basic assumptions are made, not the least of which is the accuracy of the measurements in each test, and compared between tests. The difference between these two tests is 1.8%. This could be real prgress, or a difference in the tightness of the measuring tape. That said, I do believe its helpful to periodically measure my waist along with stepping on the scale to guage my progress.

This morning I made my way over to Adelphi University and the Human Performance Program labs for actual hydrostatic weighing, the second most accurate means of measuring body composition. (The most accurate method is cadaver analysis, probably the least popular method). Hydrostatic weighing involves measurement of body density and the application of a mathematical formula to estimate fat mass, and thus the percent of fat compared to the total body mass.

I met one of the two grad students who would conduct the test, in the lobby of the new Phys Ed complex. She walked me down to the locker room, told me to change and meet her in the lab, behind the bleachers at the far end of the basketball courts.

Awesome Human Perfomace grad students
Courtney and Sarah administerd my test

I had my VO2 max testing done here two years ago, in Woodruff Hall, next door. That building is under renovation, and until that's done, the Human Performance lab is in the equipment closet! It's clean and orderly, but yeah, mats and cones and so forth in there. Off to the side there's the tank, a Detecto scale and a couple of computers.

The Tank

First they weighed me, wearing only my swim suit. Next they measured my lung capacity, by plugging my nose, having me take a huge breath, clamp my mouth around this hair drier looking thing and blow out as much as i could. My "vital capacity" was 4810 ml. I believe this must be used to calculate the volume of my body without air in my lungs.

Now I climbed into the tank. It was hot! 34 C or 93 F!!! The tank has a swing hanging in the middle, which is attached to the scale. I hung out in there to get rid of any air bubbles in my suit, dunked my head to get the air out of my hair, fill up my ears.

Next I needed to expel all the air from my lungs, remain completely underwater and not touch the swing seat, so they could get the tare weight (weight of the scale without me on it).

Now the hard part. I put a weighted belt around my waist (this belt was on the seat when measuring tare weight), sat on the swing, exhaled as much as i could and stayed under the water without touching anything inside the tank except the scale. Sarah watched me to see when my bubble stopped, and Courtney watched the monitor which lit up when the swing was completely still. There is a learning curve involved with this, and you don't realize how hard this is, to get all thew air out of your lungs and then hold it, without moving.

We did probably 10 or 12 trys at this to get 10 good results, and ended up averaging the two best readings of the ones we kept. The ladies did their calculations and determined the following:

Weight 217 lbs
% Body Fat 31%
Estimated fat Mass 67.27 lbs
Estimated Fat Free Mass 149.73 lbs
Target Weight at 10% Body Fat 166 lbs.

This 31% number is higher than I expected, based on the online tests and what i have read is 'average'. So I am glad I did this, it really does give me a good benchmark to work from, and a little kick in the ass as well, to shed some of this bodyfat. i think I can still use the online calculator on an interim basis to see where I am at.

On the other hand, this suggestion that my ideal race weight should be 166 lbs...quite frankly i do not see how that coudl be right. Thats 51 pounds ligher than I am today. Ok, maybe over time I could get there, but just imaginign that change between now and July, you'd have to consider checkign me into a clinic for eating disorders. I would be emaciated, a concentraion camp survivor.

That calculation assumes my lean body mass remains static. In other words, lose fat, do not gain muslce. Is there maybe another way to view this? What if I maintain my fat body mass and increase the lean part? With that sssumption, I simply need to add muscle until I weight 670 pounds. This also assumes that a 10% body fat is desired. Is it?

Ok maybe a different approach. Based on those charts you see in the doctors office, for my height I should weigh between 174 and 188, assuming a 'large frame'. So couldnt we just say that instead of being overweight, i am just under height. If I could get up to 7 feet tall I'd be perfect.

On the way back to the office, I stopped at the deli for a ham and swiss in rye. Enjoyed it. Last time I will do that for a whiel I guess. As much as I hate the idea of it, tommorow I start counting calories.

Has anyone seen my patootie?

2009-01-14T08:04:00.000-08:00

Because one of mine froze. I think it might have fallen off out by the garage.

My training plan calls for a run today, and I really am trying to get my work in early in the day. So for this 45 minute run, what I think of as a 'tempo/interval' type workout (WU 15' w strides, 4 x 1 mile at threshold pace with 4' recovery, 15 minute easy warm down), I set my alarm for 5:00 am.

I woke early, a little chilly and hearing the wind whistling outside my window. Waited for the alarm, turned it off and reset it for 6:00. Still cold, the wind still howling, I got up to walk the dog, meditate and reassess.

According the the local news it was 7 degrees Fahrenheit with the wind chill. I aint doin that.

So me and Brandy shared our morning banana, read email and overnight blogs and forum postings, and i rescheduled for tonight, when it will have warmed up to around 25.

The thing about this plan I am on is, I am urged to keep about 24 hours between workouts for recovery, and i have a bike workout scheduled for tomorrow, a day off Friday and then the 'big' days on Saturday and Sunday. I plan to cut out of here by 4:00 pm so I hopefully get done before dark. A hearty dish of chopped beef, tomatoes and rice will be waiting for me when I get in.

2009-01-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

One last recipe post, for now, then its back to 'serious' triathlon stuff (as serious as that can be, considering its me doing it).

Pasta Profundo Inverno

You can use whatever veggies you want for this dish. Make it an adventure and enjoy. I used

1 bunch Swiss Chard chopped
1 medium Eggplant peeled and cubed
1 medium Zucchini peeled and sliced
2 cloves Garlic chopped
yellow Onion sliced
1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half
olive oil
salt, pepper, oregano, basil and crushed red pepper
2 tblspn white wine
half a box whole wheat pasta

This is quick. Saute the garlic and onion in oil until soft. Add eggplant , zucchini and the chard stalks and cook a while. add remainder of chard and the tomatoes, season with salt, pepper, oregano, basil and crushed red pepper. Cover and allow to cook down. In the meantime cook the whole wheat pasta for 5 or 6 minutes. Drain and add to the vegetables with a splash of white wine, cover and heat through, tossing in the pan, about 5 minutes. Serves 4.

The photo is a little fuzzy, as the fam was hungry and it did look good.

Bon apetito.

Triathlete Test Kitchen

2009-01-12T11:45:00.000-08:00

As you know, if you've ever asked me which discipline of triathlon I excel at, it's eating. I'm serious and I do not restrict this activity to races. I eat every day, several times a day.

I really like good food, and so in the 14 years that I lived as a bachelor on my own I developed some basic home cooking schools. Watching Julia Child and the Grahm Kerr and Jeff Smith on public television, I developed the nonchalance necessary to adventure culinarily beyond the basic 5 or 10 dishes my mom made for us growing up. I am not afraid to try new things, and thankfully I have rarely created non-edible meals.

Recently we have been receiving this box of fresh organic produce every week. Each delivery is a little different, and this has been a boon to our dietary variety. We've started eating kale (yesterday's Kale and Keilbasa Stew), eggplant (baba ganoush) , and a variety of squash, and fresh fruits.

Google is the place I start when looking for a proper way to consume the latest 'new' food. Last month we were confronted with 2 weeks worth of yams, and I found the recipe shown below for "Southern Sweet Potato Bread with Pecans" on allrecipes.com.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups organic unbleached all purpose four
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup turbinado sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cupcanola oil
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup golden raisins

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 C). Grease an 8X4 inch loaf pan.
In a Medium bowl stir togther the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar. Add the eggs, oil and milk; mix well until well blended. Finally, stir in the mashed sweet potatoes, pecans and golden raisins. Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow bread to cool in the pan at least 15 minutes before removing. For best flavor, store overnight before serving.

This came out great. Maybe too great. allrecipes provides nutritonal data for its recipes.

Nutritional Information

Southern Sweet Potato Bread with Pecans

Servings Per Recipe: 12

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 322

Total Fat: 17.5g
Cholesterol: 36mg
Sodium: 144mg
Total Carbs: 39.4g
Dietary Fiber: 2.2g
Protein: 4.2g

I can easily eat 2 'servings', and in the context of my off season training I really need to watch my calories. So I am working on eliminating some fat and some sugar. The holistic guru suggested eliminating all the oil and half the sugar and replace with some unsweetened applesauce. I tried this, and it came out ok, but not as good as the original. It was denser, did not rise as much, and the texture was more moist and pudding-like than a bread should be. I tried again using half the oil and half the sugar and some applesauce to acheive the same batter consistency. Still no good.

The great thing about this project is, as the guru suggested, i always make the original version at the same time so I can compare them side by side. So no shortage of sweet potato bread here. If anyone has a suggestion on ways to eliminate oil and sugar from such a recipe, I would appreciate hearing from you!

Busy Winter Sunday

2009-01-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

Busy day today. Dawn is in Orlando recovering from yesterdays Disney Half Marathon (unofficial 2:15, respectable!). Kristen and I are doing the normal Sunday routine, but shorthanded, so its a challenge to keep focused to get everything done. "Everything" includes:

Laundry
Clean bathrooms
Dust and vacuum
Clean Kitchen
Go to church
Bring Christmas decorations to storage
Deal with icy sidewalk and driveway
Grocery shopping
Cook dinner
CYO swim practice

Aside from that, I also need to ride 1 hour on the trainer (MS: 1 x 10' @ 95-100%/Z4-5, 5' Easy, 2 x 12' (3') @ 85%/z3. Remainder of time at 75-80%) and watch the Giants beat Eagles.

And do this blog entry.

Here's dinner

Kielbasa Kale Stew (from allreceipes.com)

Ingredients

6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup butter
10 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 1/2 pounds kale - rinsed, dried and chopped
2/3 pound kielbasa sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

Directions

Place the potatoes into a large stockpot, over medium high heat. Add butter and water, and bring to a boil. Cook potatoes until tender. Reserve liquid and mash potatoes in the pan until smooth. Return the potato water to the pot and stir in salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Stir in the fresh kale and sausage and simmer for another 30 minutes. Serve hot.I like to have a roasted garlic chiabata with this.I get them at Stop and Shop in the bakery section, warm them up in the microwave.

Southern Sweet Potato Bread with Pecans for dessert. This recipe also from allrecipes, i will post tommorow.

Go Big Blue.

I am a rookie.

2009-01-09T06:14:00.000-08:00

I always kind of liked the idea of being a rookie. Like a rookie cop or a rookie baseball player. The word conjures a vision of a young newbie, with the basic, essential training and abilities to start, but still a lot to learn. Endless possibilities, hope for something great, but no guarantee. Promise in a pair of pants.

So it is with excitement and anticipation I bring you news. I am one of two "Iron Rookies", selected at random, to be followed by TriBoomer on his weekly podcast The Stay Tuned Report. You can listen to the introduction on podcast #22. You'll also get to cyber-meet the Running Jayhawk, the other selectee.

I think this will add another aspect to my iron journey, another opportunity to take time out to look at how I am doing, how this affects the people around me, to share with others this very positive experience, and to perhaps make a positive impact on someone I wouldnt have normally come into contact with.

Thanks, TriBoomer, for this opportunity. Good luck, Running Jayhawk! I am looking forward to sharing this amazing experience.

At the tiller

2009-01-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

It's interesting how seemingly disconnected actions and occurrences, when looking back on them, form a path to our current location, as clear a wake behind a boat. You set a goal, an intended destination, and then move one step at a time in the direction you think will get you there. When you start out you may not choose the correct way. Sometimes you get distracted or disoriented. You can keep your eye on the goal, but it also can be helpful to look back at where you've been. What worked, what didn't. Hindsight is 20-20.

Last spring Coach Adam from Race With Purpose put out a call to his team to set several goals for the 2009 season. In addition to being the coach for this great group of athletes, he is also some kind of geeky business consultant. Honestly most of the time i have no idea what he is talking about. But one thing he said was familiar. "What gets measured gets done!", he said. Then he went on to describe a system of setting both outcome and process goals. I hope he wont mind if i copy and paste his definitions:

"Outcome goals - End goals, objectives that can be measured, either you did or you didn't. They should be specific, measurable and have a time constraint to them.

Process Goals - The smaller, behavioral actions that will in the aggregate allow you to achieve your outcome goals. These are the more important of the two types of goals. By achieving your process goals, you all but guarantee you will achieve your outcome goals."

I went through that process and set four outcome goals with associated process goals. Now, as I embark on the 2009 season in earnest, seems like a good time to look back, look ahead, and make necessary course corrections. (The text in red indicates progress to date)

Outcome Goal #1: Improve and maintain flexibility, stay injury and pain free

Limited success so far
a)Daily self massage and stretching

Have done sporadically
b)Develop yoga practice 2-3 days per week

Maybe done once per week
c)Incorporate breathing awareness meditation into daily routine

Successful with this, now doing daily scheduled breathing meditation.

Outcome Goal #2: Reduce body fat to < ls="trans" month="7" day="1" year="09">7/1/09

Body fat now at around 25%, waist at 35.5", cholesterol control FAIL, back on meds daily
a)Make weekly meal plan at home to include “clean eating” principles, low fat proteins, more fruits and vegetables and 6 small meals daily

Started weekly organic produce delivery, weekly meal plan, lots more fruit, eating 1 large meal daily as per ayurvedic principles
b)Make weekly family grocery shopping trip to support meal plan

Sometimes more or less frequent, but this is working
c)Have at least 2 ‘family cooking sessions’ per month, to prepare and freeze meals to support weekly plan

Limited success so far, will continue to try
d)Make 3 day food log at least once monthly as a tool to further refine eating plan

Have not done since summer, will calendar monthly going forward

Outcome Goal #3: Finish IMLP 2009 < style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Race is July 27
a)Through fall and winter, train for sub 4:30 Spring 2009 Marathon

Scratch this, a spring marathon doesn't fit into my training plan
b)Participate in masters swimming program fall and winter 2008-2009

Tried this, got insulted by swim coach, then got sick. Scratch this.
c)Maintain aerobic base on bike through winter with outdoor long rides weather permitting on weekends, and evening trainer sessions during the week

Scratch this until March. 3 one hour bike intervals per week as per plan
d)Continue Tuesday night strength and conditioning (track) through winter

Returned last night. this is where its at for the off season. drills drills drills.
e)Identify and procure coaching services no later than Feb 1, 2009 (20-22 week plan)

Done, Endurance Nation Season plan with power, basic balanced plan.

Outcome Goal #4: Identify a charitable program supporting the development of ‘Youth Financial Literacy’ and develop a giving program to support it
Found several candidates, continuing to discuss
a)Contact centers of influence to identify candidate organizations/concepts

Discovered this wasnt a very helpful strategy, used google instead with better results
b)Establish a meaningful and realistic fund raising target amount

Meaningful yes, realistic? time will tell.
c)Raise donations and awareness in conjunction with IMLP 2009 and RwP among my clients, family and friends.

Need some process goals here.

It's very helpful to not only review progress toward goals, but to reevaluate the goals themselves. I have made some good progress. Now I will be careful not to over correct my course. 199 days till race day.

Adzuki Bean Salsa

2008-12-31T16:51:00.000-08:00

This simple low fat, high fiber mix of beans and vegetables is a crowd pleaser. Everything is raw excepting the rehydrated beans and the vinegar. Add additional seasonal vegetables as available for variety. For example, try adding finely diced yams in the fall and winter, or zucchini in the summer. I suppose you could add, or substitute, small black beans also.

Ingredients
1 pound dried Adzuki beans
4 ears corn
1 large Bermuda onion
1 large red bell pepper
2 jalapeno peppers
3 16 ounce cans diced tomatoes in puree
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
salt to taste (about 4 tablespoons kosher salt)
fresh ground black pepper

Instructions
Soak beans overnight. Drain and rinse, put in large pot and cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer 1 hour. Drain and set aside.

Shuck corn and cut kernels off the cob. Finely dice the onion. Remove and discard the seeds and ribs from the bell pepper and the jalopeno peppers. Dice fine. Rinse and chop the cilantro well.

Combine all ingredients in a lare bowl, stir well and let marinate for at least one day, refrigerated. Stir occasionally and again before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips. Makes about 1 gallon of salsa, serves 2.

Changes

2008-12-27T18:42:00.000-08:00

Still don't know what I was waiting for,
And my time was running wild.
A million dead-end streets and,
Every time I thought Id got it made,
It seemed the taste was not so sweet.
So I turned myself to face me,
But Ive never caught a glimpse,
Of how the others must see the faker.
I'm much too fast to take that test.

"Changes", David Bowie

Did bike functional threshold test after 3 weeks interval training. virtually no gain in threshold power. Maybe lost 1 pound. I am told that improvement can appear at any time, it's not unusual to go several periods with no improvement, then see a big gain. so i keep trying.

I do feel strong and healthy. I wonder how much of my performance gains might turn out to be ability and willingness to work through pain.

One Rolf session to go. i feel so much more in balance, walking and running feel more natural. i can put my socks on while standing on one foot, cant remember the last time i did that. however, the pulled groin is still an issue.

Pulled the yoga DVD out yesterday before my brick. The hip opening, hamstring stretches, definitely helped. I will incorporate yoga into my daily routine.

Re Grease the Groove, i was a little surprised no one asked me how doing pullups would help me perform in an Ironman distance triathlon. Good question, in itself it might not be helpful. However, the upper body work will strengthen my core as well as shoulders and upper back. I think this helps with reducing my stomach size, help me to stay in aero on the bike, and add power to my swim stroke.

It's been hard staying with the daily Grease the Groove workout. My pull up equipment is in my office, so sundays and holidays i need to skip those days. In any case, my 2 minute max for the standing row went from 40 to 50 after 7 days of work. Still cant squeeze out a single pull up, but i am moving in the right direction.

I have not made hummus in a month, i have been buying store bought and eating plenty for lunch. I am gearing up to whip up a batch for new years eve. I am also preparing to romance the adzuki beans for some healthy salsa. I also need to do some testing with my sweet potato bread, tryng to reduce the oil and processed sugar I use. I think I'll post those recipes.

I am seriously considering going vegan, at least through the end of March.

Using buckeyeoutdoors, alongside training peaks, as an online workout log. feel free to take a look and comment of you wish, my user name there is ironnewman

Looking ahead to 2009, i will be looking back at some goals i had set for the coming year, back in mid 2008. I am also looking ahead to the 'on season' training plan from Endurance Nation. And holy shit there is a lot of work to come. And yes I am indeed racing Triple T and Ironman Lake Placid in 2009.

I need to get back to swimming. Will incorporate two days a week at the pool starting next week.

Listened to a podcast while out for my 3x1.5 (5' rest) @ half marathon pace run today, a talk by Daniel Bowling on Right Speech (download link). An interesting discussion on intention, and determining your intention 'thematically' versus 'circumstantially'. I highly recommend you listen to it. Youll also enjoy his charming, touching story about how he met his current wife :).

He also commented on the need we sometimes have to form an 'intelligent question', before we can ask one. What does that say about the theme we are living, that we need to know before we can ask? I like to say "There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers". Seriously. It's ok to ask, and not knowing is the default, and probably the most common for us as human beings.

I want to always remember that there is more of what i dont know than what I do. It's OK to wonder and question. No shame in saying 'I don't know'.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Dont want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I cant trace time

ibid

Simplify, Elimnate

2008-12-18T08:10:00.000-08:00

Reading a book recommended by fellow triscooper moonpie, "The 4-hour work week". I am on page 67, i think i am averaging about 6 pages a day. Not acceptable. Too busy!

But I like the way this guy thinks. Enjoy life while you are living it, don't defer your joy. Accomplish your dreams now.

A couple of things happened recently that kind of pusshed me over the edge. One of my employee's husband died suddenly. A guy in his late 40s with no apparent health issues, heart attack. And a friend of mine caught a cold and stopped posting to me on a web thingy for a day or two. One change of monumental consequence, one inconsequential change, both gave me pause. Rethinking.

Some tactics I am employing so far

Unsubscribed from a ton of email lists that I dont miss.
Bought french press and ground beans, eliminating daily 60-90 minute morning coffee/reading Starbucks timesuck
Chucked a bunch of 'to do' piles in my office, if i haven't gotten to those projects during 2008, i dont know why id spend time on them in 2009.
Moving my workspace into my adjoining conference room, where I will remain available but less subject to interruption by staff

Some things I will be looking at

Eliminate time sucks like gtalk, facebook,twitter. How? I am a little bit addicted :/
Hire people.
Evaluate client worthiness.

Looking forward to more time to read, train, fish, sleep.

Grease the Groove

2008-12-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

Specificity + Frequent Practice = Success

As I work to figure out this whole physical training deal, along the path to finishing Ironman, I'm finding there are a variety of areas to focus on. The word "fitness" means different things to different people, and maybe even different things to one person at any given moment. While I work on improving my speed on the bike and running, I also am concerned with changing my body composition (body fat), altering the physical form my body takes (waist measurement) and enhancing my overall stability and strength (core) and ability to do work effectively over a long period of time (VO2 max/aerobic). The Crossfit Journal of October 2002 lists 10 "General Physical Skills" that might be measured to establish criteria for optimum physical competence.

Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance - The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen.
Stamina - The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy.
Strength - The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.
Flexibility - the ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint.
Power - The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.
Speed - The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
Coordination - The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.
Agility - The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.
Balance - The ability to control the placement of the bodies center of gravity in relation to its support base.
Accuracy - The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.

However you look at it, getting fit is big target, unfortunately cumbersome if you try to wrestle the whole thing into submission sumo-style. With this in mind, I am focusing on parts, and hopefully building a unified approach.

By the way, Crossfit looks pretty cool, heh? The high intensity, core fitness orientation, and high bad ass quotient, make it a natural for Ironman training, i think.

Problem is, I can't do one pull up. I have been able to effectively increase my number of pushups to 3x40, and crunches are coming along similarly. I found that loosely following some of the principle of 'Grease the Groove' gave me good results quickly. Bascially we are talking about excercise specific, low number of reps, high number of sets, resulting in huge number of reps when done periodically all day long. This accomplshes "Synaptic Facilitation", teachign the nueromuscular pathways to perform more efficiently.

Admittedly I do not know what I am talkign about, really. So this is a bit of an experiement. I bought The Perfect Pull Up and installed it in my office. My fellow Endurance Nation Citizen 'Turbomentor' sent me his two week grease the groove routine, as follows

Day 1 test Max reps in 2 minutes. Remaineder of day do 30% of max every 60 minutes
Day 2 50% every 60 minutes
Day 3 60% every 45 minutes
Day 4 25% every 60 minutes
Day 5 45% every 60 minutes
Day 6 40% every 60 minutes
Day 7 20% every 90 minutes
Day 8 Test max reps n 2 minutes. Remainder of day do 35% every 45 minutes
Day 9 55% every 20 minutes
Day 10 20% every 15 minutes
Day 11 65% every 60 minutes
Day 12 35% every 45 minutes
Day 13 45% every 60 minutes
Day 14 25% every 120 minutes

After that I will rest a day or two, then test the 2 minute max again.

I am goign to do the first cycle with 'Upright Row' (a little easier than the standard pull up so I can actually do this ;) ) and regular sit ups. I am thinking that for the next cycle I can move up to 'Australian Pull Ups', and then finally full pull ups, some time in lat January or early February. i will check back in periodically with updates.

End of Week One- Benchmarks and Goals

2008-12-07T07:23:00.000-08:00

Just in from the track interval workout that closes week one of the Endurance Nation "out season" plan. 15 minute warm up with a few strides, then 3x800 at about 'threshold pace' on the East Meadow High School track. The inch of freshly fallen snow made for a little extra fun :) The groin pull is still present but i cant really call it painful, just present. I also noticed my foot falls seem more even. Some of this is from the rolf work i am sure.

The week started with a bike functional threshold time trial on the trainer. I screwed up and didn't push hard enough on the first try Tuesday morning, so redid the test Tuesday night. I don't recommend doing this, twice a day. 2x20' as hard as you you can sustain really sucks. Wednesday morning I could not get out to do a 5k run time trial, so i used the time from the 5 mile turkey trot a week earlier.

The values I developed from these first time trials will be used to set intensity levels for workout over the next 3 -4 weeks, until the next round of measurement. Looking at my numbers in relation to the others I see posted on the EN forum, I could easily become discouraged. I need to remind myself that the idea here is to improve my own performance over time, in relation to myself, not someone else's test scores. It is possible, come to think of it, that the fitness loss I have had with a 2 month lay off really sets me up for significant percentage improvements in a short period of time. Unintentional sandbagging.

Bike
Functional Threshold Power 164
Watts/ Kilogram 1.6
Threshold Heart Rate 137
(This is down from 187 and 1.9 on 9/1/08 measured on Bear Mountain Cent)

Run
VDot 35
5 mile pace 8:53
(This is slighlty up from 33 measured 9/21/08 at Phillie Distance Run half marathon)

My weight is now 220 pounds, up 10 pounds since early October. I measured by body fat percentage last night using an online calculator. The tool uses weight, age and some body dimensions to estimate percent fat. I scored 26.6% (fat). Not sure how accurate the percent is, but the compnoent measurements were as follows:

waist (belly) 45
hips 43
forearm 12
wrist 7.5

That first measurement I think is key to my cycling efficiency also, as I am finding my knees are hitting my stomach and my chest is somewhat constricted in the aero position.

So i have some targets set for the next 15, and I will see how this first period goes.

FTP >190, w/kg >2
VDot >45
Weight 200
Stomach circumfrence 36"
Body Fat <20%

In addition to the running and cycling, I need to add some core work, which will be modeled on the "Grease your Groove" plan using sit ups, crunches and pull ups. Also need to keep focused on the healthy, clean diet, stretching and plenty of rest.

I do feel good this morning, legs a little tired, but feeling healthy and strong.

Begin Off Season Training

2008-11-30T04:47:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, Monday December 1 , I begin 16 weeks Endurance Nation "Out Season" training.

The basic concepts on which EN bases their off season training:

Fitness is the ability to do work,
Improved fitness will naturally follow from doing more work,
To get faster you need to train faster,
Build 'go fast' now, add 'go far' later,
Rest and recovery are as important as work,
Measure for benchmark, set goals, work, remeasure to set new benchmark.

Week one looks like this:

Monday
Day off , listen to podcast and read off season plan overview
Tuesday
1 hour- bike time trial to establish functional power threshold
1 hour- bike time trial to establish heart rate threshold
20 minute run (easy)
Wednesday
1 hour-run 5k to establish heart rate threshold and vdot
Thursday
1 hour bike, main set 2X6 minute 90-100%, remainder 85%
Friday
Day off
Saturday
1 hour bike, main set 8 minute 95-100%, 5 minutes easy, 2x10 minutes 85%, remainder of hour 75-80%
Sunday
45 minute run- 15 min warm up include 4x30 strides, main set 3x800 at threshold pace/zone 4 w/2 min recovery, 5 minute cool down

No swimming! There is no swimming anywhere on the out season plan. I will probably add 1 or 2 swims per week focusing on form/drills on easy/off days. I also plan to do daily core a al Grease The Groove, but will not start that until Iweek 2 or 3 depending on my Rolf series progress.

This first week work totals around 6 1/2 hours, and that's fairly representative for the next 16 weeks. Through March 2009 my main focus is marriage, family, keeping healthy, getting my business in order and getting all my soldiers in a row and ready to launch the main training block, in mid to late April.

I am excitied to see where my threshold numbers start, and to establish some meaningful and realistic goals for improvement.

I can has a gravity.

2008-11-21T04:39:00.000-08:00

Structural Integration (The Rolf Method)

I've been dealing with a few nagging niggles, aches and pains for almost a full year now. Last winter, as I focused on core strength and stability training, I injured myself, a groin/abdominal pull i think brought on while doing planks and crunches.

Even before that, I have had pretty consistent issues with the ITB, piriformis, and plantar fascia, which i attributed to, and were exacerbated by increased running mileage and my adult onset cycling as i trained for triathlon. I've also had some issues with my shoulders and arms that seem to associate with my swim training.

I tried to follow what was suggested for this variety of problems. Rest, strengthening, stretching, massage. All of these were really helpful but only temporarily.

Then recently I became aware of "Rolfing", less commonly but more descriptive called "Structural Integration". Basically this method involves reorienting the body to more efficiently exist in gravity. As this is a force that is constantly pulling on our bodies, even non athletes might benefit by such adjustment. Intuitively we know that gravity is the force that we increase, and sometimes fight against, when running, for example.

Rolfing generally involves a "ten series", each session should not be separated by more than two weeks. At first the therapy looks like massage. It's done by a massage therapist in a massage studio, with a massage table etc. And part of the process involves palpation. But that's where the similarity ends. The first thing i noticed was that the therapist was taking notes! Next, she asked me to walk back and forth and made notes as to how my body moved through space. Then she had me get on the table and began working on my lower legs, just that.

The next week she spent time on my lower back and hips. The following session started with my raising and lowering arms, viewing from front and back. Noticing my right side was tighter than my left, she focused on opening my right shoulder, which we accomplished to some extent, but not completely, by the end of the session.

After 3 sessions I am starting to notice a difference in how i am moving through space. My feet are more solidly, but with less impact, meeting the earth as I walk. My body column feels more vertical, more properly aligned over my feet. Each week I have had some new area of pain, which seems to indicate a shifting of structure based on the prior week therapy.

I am excited to see what happens over the next 7 sessions. I also have some questions. This method seems to assume we are moving upright, walking or running. How does movement in other positions, like swimming or cycling, work into this process? Also, I noticed all of my complaints are on my right side. Are we going to find some deep imbalance on my right side, or will it be on my left and is that causing me to overcompensate to the right?

Oh, and I had my eyes checked this week. I am nearsighted in my right eye. Whats up with that?

Let's get jiggy with the chick pea

2008-11-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

Lately, Texafornia from Triscoop and Holisticguru from Live and Eat Better have been making alot of noise about hummus. I have been waiting for a recipe for about a month now, and finally just had to take up guru's challenge and try my hand at the garbanzo goo.

Traditional hummus is a blended puree of chick peas, lemon juice, garlic, sesame seed paste and olive oil. It's served with pita, raw vegeatbles, chips, etc. You can see by the ingredients this is a healthy, high protein, low fat food. It tastes good and fills your stomach. And its the perfect platform to mix in your own ingredients. Google hummus recipes and see what you find.

Here's a basic recipe I used for my first attempt last Sunday (from About.com)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.

Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional).

Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate.

We've recently started getting a carton of organic produce delivered to our house each Friday, and so always find some new, extra vegetable in our fridge. This week we had some fresh organic spinach, so I chopped up a cup and added it to the blender. It really didnt add much to the taste, but boosted the nutrients and made it look a little like guacamole!

That turned out pretty good, and sitting at my daughter's swim practice Sunday I thought about what else you might put in hummus. How about something sweet? My wife and I both love pumpkin pie, and sure enough I didnt have to lok far to find a recipe for a pumkin hummus.

I whipped this one up tonight (Adapted from allrecipes.com)

Pumpkin Hummus

"Pumpkin puree, nutmeg, and allspice lend a fall flavor to this hummus."

INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) can garbanzo beans

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

juice of one lemon

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup tahini paste

1 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

salt to taste

Drain the garbanzo beans, reserving the liquid. Place the beans and 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid into a blender, and puree until a smooth paste forms. Add the pumpkin puree, lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Cover and puree again until smooth. Use additional cooking liquid as needed to achieve a smooth consistency. Season to taste with salt.

The version you see here was made with a bigger can of chick peas, juice of 2 lemons and 3 cloves garlic. Still good, especially with the graham crackers (a nod to the traditional pie crust ingredient, thanks to my smart wife), but I think the next batch will come out better, a little less spicy, a little sweeter and more pumpkinier.

Please try your own and let me know if you come up with a decent version. Enjoy

Not Feeling So Mighty Man 2008

2008-10-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

Here i sit in the Gig Shack on a somewhat chilly, raining late Sunday morning, sipping coffee and waiting for lunch to start so I can order some fish tacos. This is a pretty cool place, playing world music with "The Blue Planet Seas of Life" DVD splash on a big flat screen.

I should be heading back in toward transition on my second loop of the bike by now, on my way to crushing my Half Iron Man personal record. Instead I am nursing this coffee and taking two advil.

This morning Simeon and I woke at 4:45 (actually the crappy alarm clock in the lousy Atlantic Terrace hotel somehow woke us at 2:45 first. Please contact me offline to hear mostly negative things about this hotel). We had some coffee and some apple muffins my wife baked, and headed over to transition. He got himself situated and I found the staff tent to inform them i wouldn't be racing and turn in my timing chip.

I have been fighting a head cold for about two weeks, and been on the losing end. What started as I think a little fall allergy progressed into head cold, then chest cold, then sinus infection which eventually forced me to take a day off work, unheard of! On Thursday I broke down and went to the doc and he prescribed Azithromicin (Z Pac), a very strong and fast acting antibiotic. I had hoped for the best but so far have not seen any great improvement. One day left on this course, and I have a recall visit with him on Tuesday.

The way I felt last night after dinner, over night and then upon waking today, there was no way I could effectively complete, let alone compete in, a 70.3 event. I toyed with the idea of having the swim and bike and then DNRing. Because I volunteered at the sprint yesterday the race director said she'd make an exception and let me defer this year's entry, not normally allowed. So it really made a lot of sense to allow my body a chance to heal and be prepared for my off season training, to start in two weeks.

Even so, being in transition this morning made me rethink, if even for just a moment. That energy and excitement is clearly one of the great attractions of sport, and what keeps us coming back. As I rode back to the hotel I felt a little better and calculated I could possibly change my mind and get my chip back. On getting back to the room I laid down for a moment as my head had begun pounding again. Back to plan, nap until 10 and then head out to cheer on my friends.

At 9:00 I got up, got dressed and opened the door to walk down to the (nonfunctional) wifi hotspot, and saw it had rained! That was a surprise. But just a passing shower, surely, as the clouds looked to be breaking and the sun shone through over the ocean to the south. After failing again to connect to the interwebs, I packed my laptop in my day pack and rode into town to find a cowbell and a hotspot.

Nary a cowbell could be found on the eastern end of town, but the Gig Shack offers free wifi, and even though they weren't open, the outdoor patio was open and I hopped on for a quick email check before heading west to Montauk Bike Shop to hopefully find some kind of noisemaker. Presently the rain began again.

Ok I have been sitting here pondering now for an hour and a half, and it's still raining. I hope those guys don't mind if I don't ride up to the run course as I had planned. It's really raining, and cold too! This is sort of a replay of my Lake Placid spectating routine, in which i went to the start, got soaked, went back to the house to get dry, and then napped and watched golf on TV all day. Were the girls thinking I was letting my end down, staying inside while they donned ponchos and made repeated trips out to the course to cheer on our teammates? They never said a word, anyway.

Fish Tacos ordered. The skies are brightening, time to check weather.com. I will have lunch, then if the rain hasn't let up it's back to bed for me. Got to get and stay healthy, my sights are now set on Lake Placid.

2008 Phillie Distance Run

2008-10-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

I ran the Phillie half last weekend.

We walked around alot the day before, the expo, liberty bell, constitution hall, ben franklin's grave , had fun, nice family time for the most part (the rest being the 'normal' family stuff that must go along with the Father Knows Best version of life).

I woke up at around 430, got shaved, showered and dressed and stretched some. Then i walked down and across 11th to the WaWa for a donut and coffee, to get things moving. Back up for some more stretching and then about a mile walk down Ben Franklin Parkway to the start.

On the way over I met Marion and Christina from Sunrise Tri . Their dad Frank is my bicycle maven/monger and he had told me to look for them. I laughed at the thought of actualy finding them, but there they were! I also met up with Erin from RwP, a surprise! Correct Erin, you cannot hide with that orange singlet.

Saturn is a major sponsor for this race and does somethign nice at the start, a stretchign area with yoga mats and physio balls. Actually I suggested the balls last year and so glad to see they listened. Next year please properly inflate them. And I also suggested ropes or straps for stretch assistance.

So 15,000 runners went off around 7:30 and what a great crowd of runners and spectators. Great atmposphere, great city, a fun race.

I bought some of these sports beans at the expo, figured i'd give me a try on Sunday. Around mile 3 I opened a package, and found I really needed to walk to eat them, or else dump the whole bag in my bean hoel at once and probably choke. Anyway, as I walked down the sidewalk, an older gentlemen with an australian accent commented on the number of people running.

Yes, 15,000 this year, a good crowd Never seen such a big race Oh this is nothing New York Marathon will have over 30,000 this year No kidding thats amazing Yes its really a great time have you ever run in a race you shoudl try it Well I guess where I am from they have some short runs maybe i would Where are you from? Canada Oh you don't sound canadian Well I am originally from Australia but I moved many years ago.

A small pod of runners weaved up the sidewalk behind us and jostled my new friend as they passed us, and one of them offered a rude excuse me as they conitnued snaking through sidewalkers. If you are racing, and you shoose to use the sidewalk instead of the road where everyne else is running, fine, but should you be surprised that teh city goes about its regular business, buying donuts and coffee on a Sunday morning?

My temporary race walking partner asked me how long it would take me to finish today.

"Depends on how long I talk to you!" I said and we both laughed.

So you start to get the idea. Not a serious race, but enjoying myself.

Around mile 6 I really needed to stop and poop, and there were a bank of portosans there before we turned left and crossed the river. As I exited my potty I found a woman with a baby stroller, waiting there with a sort of befuddled look on her face. I told her the one i was just in had paper, if thats what she was wondering. No, she just didnt know what she was goign to do with the baby while she went in. I offered to watch the baby for her, if she was comfortable with that. After all, i did have a race number on and wasnt one of the disturbingly vocal homeless who youll see in the area.

"oh. but aren't you racing."

yeah but ya know, this is my second stop so far this morning, it wont really make much difference.

And it really only did take a minute, and having done my good deed for the day I felt an extra spring in my step as i rejoined the race.

Runnign up the west side of the Schuykil River I found myself back a little further in the pack than I would normally expect, at about 10:30 pace. I realized this is the spot i really liek to be, with the huffers and puffers, folks workign hard and enjoying themselves.

There are alot of cowbells on this race course. I noticed one guy in cycling gear with what I beleive to be the smallest cowbell ever. About 2 miles later I saw him again, obviously following someone who was about at my pace. about 15 minutes later, again. and at the bridge back over the river there he was with his tiny cowbell.

All along this section of the race Iwas followed, passed by, passed and was followed some more by two young women in matching red shirts, shorts and red compression socks. On their shirt backs one had "Soul" and the other has "Sisters". I picked this couple to keep me focused until I got to mile 11.

Arond mile 10.5 the guy with the mini cowbell appeared again, and appeared to be cheering on the soul sisters! I asked them if he knew that guy. Yeah, he is 'Sister''s husband. I commented that that was probably the smallest cowbell on the course, and I had given him a special nickname, "Tinkerbell". We had a good laugh, and then they told me about the bell's history, the many, many road races that bell had been rung at, by him, to cheer them on.

Thanks Soul Sisters and Tinkerbell, for gettign me to the race that started at 11 miles.

Now it was time to dig in and work. I ran mile 11 at around 8:50, mile 12 around 8:30 and the last mile somwhere around 8:15. Finished in 2:09, 1 minute faster than my adjusted projected finish.

Organizationaly the finish line here just sucks. Pudding with no spoons. Lines to empty water tables. Stacks of sports drink still in shrink wrap, some racers walkign off with whole cases on their shoulders. the greenest bananas in Pennsylvania.

Crocs is a sponsor and they do somethign great, foot ice baths! Highly reccomended. I hope next year they will have the full body ones.

After the race I ran easy back down to the hotel and met my family. They had actually seen me a couple of times on the course, although I never saw them. I showered and we walked down to south phillie to see Pat's and Geno's and have cheesesteak sandwhiches for lunch. This was a very logn walk from old city, but if you can do it i reccomend it, getting out and seeign some of the real city and people.

Pretty happy with the day considering I definitely wasn't racing.

Pull my finger

2008-10-01T05:10:00.000-07:00

Someone suggested I ask my massage therapist to pull my finger. Huh? Well then she directed me here and just told me to read it and be impressed (shut up).

Yes teacher.

Ok so I get it, and i have a series of appointments next week to work on my groin, and I will try this one of those days. A couple of thoughts:

1 Do not eat burrito the night before
2 Ask for finger pulling at the very end of the session.

Feelin Groovy

2008-09-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been making semi-regular visits to the local Zen center. I've had an interest in Buddhism and mindfulness meditation for a few years, and just felt the time was right to move to the next level. I am continuing to work on 'being awake' in my regular activities, and i do some sitting in my office when i can steal 5 or 10 minutes. But actually sitting in a Zendo, incense burning, bells being rung, clappers being clapped, a jikki jitsu keeping time, sitting for 25 minutes without interruption, I found for myself anyway, has shown me significant results in just a few weeks.

I can relate this to the "Grease the Groove" concept, on which I am planning a subsequent post. Essentially greasing the groove is a physical training method based on the precept that "Specificity + frequent practice = success". Do a Google search and you'll find references to the Bulgarian Special Forces, pull ups, push ups and weight lifting. By focusing on a specific exercise using proper form, repeating it many times frequently over time, 'synaptic facilitation' strengthens the neural pathways associated with the exercise. Why wouldn’t the same concept apply to exercises of the mind?

This week I got an email from a friend,
asking me "How are you doing?"

Until that moment I hadn’t really given it much thought. Looking inside I quickly saw that things could be better. I have a half marathon coming this weekend, I scheduled this race a year ago planning to put up a personal record (1:48). I am not feeling it. My "A" race, the Montauk Half Ironman, is less than 3 weeks away and I am decidedly unexcited. I haven’t ridden my bike since the century on Labor Day. Shit, I haven’t even washed my bike since that ride. I haven’t run since a 14 mile run i did 10 days ago. Not even my easy 3 mile recovery, or some strides. I started Masters Swimming two Mondays ago, so I have swam twice, and this week the coach basically told me i suck. I suck bad. I feel like a slug.

At the zendo, the abbot keeps asking me the same question every time i go. How do I become my true self while looking at a stick he holds in his hand? Each time i go back I think i have the answer, but i never do. And one night this week I forgot the specific ritual that goes with meditation and teaching in the zendo, and got up and changed positions at completely the wrong time in the process. I feel stupid.

Dealing with some long standing family relationship issues, I feel “out of place” with little or no hope of getting to a good place. Ever.

My groinulars, which I pulled during the off season while doing my winter speed project, are bothering me again. My lower back is tight on the same side. My knee on that side gets sore on long rides. I feel an occasional tug on the heel, and my toes on the same side are stiff and crampy. I feel wounded.

Last night I went out for a short easy run, 3 miles at 10:20 pace. I felt fine. When I got home my wife was surprised I had gone out at all, expecting I would be resting. She asked me how I was feeling about my final races. I told her, eh, wasn’t too excited, but feeling confident. She wondered if perhaps I had done too much this season. Good question, but I don’t think so. I did a lot for sure, made big strides. A lot but not too much.

I have been thinking about trying Rolfing Therapy to get my right side back in alignment and ready for 2009. I was going to wait until after the half ironman. Now I am changing my plan. Tomorrow I will visit my massage therapist and talk about beginning immediately on this imbalance. If the work changes my gait, or otherwise causes me to need to slow down in these next two races, so be it. I don’t care.

I will go to Philly this weekend with my wife and daughter and enjoy myself. Walk the full expo. Walk around center city, do the tourist thing. Art Museum. Rodin Museum. Franklin Institute. Liberty Bell and Constitution Hall. Eat a cheese steak sandwich. All the walking you’d never do the day before an important race. I will enjoy my family and myself. Sunday, I might just run a 2:10 half, so what.

I will go to Montauk on October 3 and have a blast. I am getting out there Friday night so I can volunteer for the sprint race on Saturday. I am bringing that mini Heineken keg, leftover from Lake Placid, for Saturday afternoon and evening. My new friend Simeon, I promise to stay ok to drive until we get you back from the train. Sunday, I will enjoy the day, and might just PR the course (7:13:54 2007) and distance (6:59:52 Tinman 2008) anyway. But who cares?

I do triathlon because it’s fun. I have a sharp mind. There is something else in me beside mind, I can feel it. I can put all this together, and I am.

You are what you do.

2008-09-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

I love you.

Bear Mountain Century

2008-09-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

Labor Day 2008 I rode from Scarsdale to the peak of Bald Mountain (Bear Mountain State Park) and back. The ride was 106 miles, and including numerous stops it took me just about 10 hours. I will post a turn sheet and data from my power tap, as well as elevation data, soon. In the meantime, here are some photos.

Croton Reservoir

The Goat Path

NYC Skyline

Among the Peaks and Pines

Westchester County Airport

2008 TOBAY Triathlon

2008-08-24T17:13:00.000-07:00

On September 24 I completed the 21st running of the TOBAY sprint triathlon in Oyster Bay, New York.

This was my first triathlon in 2006, and I like to do it every year just to gauge my improvement, if any, from season to season. This season I have been concentrating on Half Iron distance, so it wasn't clear how much gain I would show, but at least I'd get a good high intensity brick workout, and have some fun. This is the largest triathlon on long island with over 1,500 participants.

I arrived at the race location at 5 am for a 7:30 am start. I was not the first person there, i think i woke up a couple of people who had slept in their cars. I stopped at Dunkin Donuts for my regular pre race routine, a medium coffee with milk only and a plain cruller. I rolled my bike into transition and racked it, went over to pick up my chip and got body marking, and paid a visit to the still pristine portosans. I then walked back to my car, got my gear bag, came back in and stretched and did trigger point and some yoga stretches and listened to Zero Seven Simple Things, kind of mellow and cool and relaxing. Around 6:45 I went over and got my stuff set up, shoes on pedals, helmet, gloves and glasses on aerobars, running shoes and hat on towel below bike. No socks. Simple, straightforward, transitions should be fast.

I was in wave 4, Clydesdale and Athena, and each wave was separated by 5 minutes. i got a little splash around in, feeling very calm and comfortable, and just hung out and shat the shot with some of the guys i have met around at races over the last few years, talking mostly about the upcoming Half Ironman in Montauk.

The swim geometry needs some adjustment. I am not sure why, it may be some restriction due to local boat traffic, but the base of the triangle for this swim is too short. In other words, we swam out to the far buoy, turned left and swan only about 20 yards before turning back to shore and the boat ramp exit. The problem with this is we were running into swimmers from later waves who had encroached into the area between the out and the back parts of the swim route. To compound this, I was now catching the back strokers in the waves that went off ahead of me, and they weren't able to sight very well, doing the back stroke and all. And I was following them. So the second half of my swim was serpentine at best.

Swim 22.44 (2007 24:25)

I ran pretty well from the water. I focused on kicking more for the final 100 yards of the swim, and i felt my leg turnover was very quick. As always, my wetsuit came off easily. I found myself fumbling wit my gloves, actually put the left one on my rigth hand and lost some time switching that. I wonder if its really worth it to wear the gloves. I thought maybe because of the large percentage of inexperienced riders and greater chance for a wreck.

T1 3:51 (2007 3:24)

Having the shoes already on the pedals saved me a bunch of time in T1 (which i wasted with the gloves), but i think i need to work on this a little more. The Velcro straps on my shoes had come out of the little metal loop thingies and so i took some time as i rode out of the park getting the straps all properly fixed and tightened. Still, it was faster than sitting down in T1.

i got that all settled before i left the park and started working. my goal is to maintain my cadence near 90, which i did pretty well with speeds up to 27 mph, until reaching Moores Hill Road, at which point I am down to the 60s and 7mph. That hill is short enough, i think .3 miles, and I did manage to get my speed up around 30mph on the big downhill on 25A. You may have heard me screaming "STAY TO YOUR RIGHT", as several fellers on mountain bikes had a leisurely coast all over the road there. Scary as hell.

On the next up hill I dropped my chain downshifting. After stopping to reset it I got my speed back up and promptly had a puncture on my rear tire. That was it then, my race as over, and so I would get some practice changing rear flats on the road. But before that I alked back and cleaned up what appear to be some construction debris, a metal bracket and some sheet metal screws and plastic lags, that littered the shoulder. I estimate the whole process took me 10-12 minutes. I was able to make up some time on Berry Hill Rd with speeds up to 37mph.

I took my feet out of the shoes and pedaled with feet on top for the last half mile or so. I really like doing this, passing all the guys running in cycling shoes. I dont get much chance to pass people any other time.

Bike 43:38 (2007 35:19)

Emptied the spent CO2 cart, levers and bad tube out of my back pockets, sat down and tied my shoes (got to get yanks with the next pair) and headed out for the run. Grabbed a bottle of water from my xlab, noting I hadn't drank at all on the bike. Had a Power Gel as I left T2, mostly for the caffeine.

T2 3:00 (2007 3:08)

This year they moved the first water stop from right outside of transition to a little further down the course, good idea. There are plenty of spectators lining this section and that's always a big help. I noticed, as usual, I was going too fast, around a 7:00 pace. Slow down. After a short flat section I came on the first hill, a short but steep climb leading to another flat section. i struggled up and around the corner and soon enough I started to find my groove, around 8:45 pace.

At the end of this flat section we turned right up a long challenging climb up Underhill Rd toward Planting Fields Arboretum. The course is an out and back and you see the people finishing before you coming down the hill you are climbing. The road is crowned and alot of people run the double yellow because its flattest. I am one of those people.

At that corner the grade steepens, and i walked about 30 yards, then ran up to the turnaround, and now back down, FUN! I was cooking along around 6:30 to 7:15 pace.

About half way down the hill I heard a car coming up behind me, some distance back but you know how you can kind of tell from the sound how fast a car is coming. I looked back and confirmed this white car was coming down the center of the road, straddling the yellow double lines, about 20 miles an hour. People were moving off toward the shoulders to avoid getting hit.As the car passed me I moved off slightly and struck the driver side door with an open hand and shouted "slow down!".

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to see the woman slow slightly so that I could look her right in the eye as she gave me the finger and Yelled "F* YOU".

In retrospect this might have been a good time for me to drop it.

Instead, as she drove off I struck the driver side rear door. Now she stopped and rolled down the window and unleashed a tirade.

Come to think of it this would have been another chance for me to keep running and forget this crazy bitch.

If you know me, you know this stuff happens to me all the time and I suppose I have to take some responsibility for it. So at this point, don't ask me why, I reached down and opened her door. I think this might have been a mistake on my part.

She tried to get out of the car to get at me, clearly agitated. Fortunately she had her seat belt on and so she couldn't get out. Fortunate for me, and also for the several hundred runners in front of her, because the car was still in drive.

I yelled at her "Put it in park! Put it in park!". Alright this was good she was fumbling with the gear shift and we were actually working together toward a common goal. I once took a course in conflict resolution so I knew this was a positive step. As she got it in park, she finally also got her seat belt off and lept out of the car at me.

"You want a piece of me? Come and get it!"

Oh shit.

I backed up quickly toward the front of her car and she started to chase me. I figure she was about 5'5" and 180 pounds, and she looked like she could probably pummel me pretty good before I knocked her out. She quickly realized we were going to run in circles around the car, I was not interested in wrestling. I was yelling for a cop and calling out her plate number (New York CES 7369).

A woman running up the hill yells to the driver "cant you see there is a race going on?".

"Oh shut up, you dont even look good in that outfit!"

wtf?

She got in her car, yelled a few more choice curses and drove off, still too fast, down the course.

I turned left on Lake Ave, running hard now because I was kind of riled up. At the end of lake I found a couple fo Nassau County cops and announced "I want to report a crime". I gave the officer the plate number and told him what happened, and he agreed "She is not allowed to do that". He didnt take my name, but I now felt released of my obligation and starting sprinting the last half mile, at around a 7:00 pace.

Run 27:40 (2007 27:02)

At the finish line I saw a guy vomit! While his effort at the end of the run was obviously impressive, I wonder if he should have eaten all them pretzels.

On my way over to transition I saw a couple of race officials and relayed the story to them as well, and so hopefully someone will be paying that lady a visit.

One of the great things about this race is the free beer from Blue Point Brewery. I had a Hoptical Illusion, a Toasted Lager and an Oatmeal Stout. Oh yeah, and a bagel. I had a nice chat with Teddy Roosevelt and a new friend, Franco Zuccoli.

Awesome day. I would have had a PR for sure without the flat, and my run was great considering the shenanigans. Thinking about a family relay next year. Maybe they will keep me confined to the swim.

Self Supported Montauk Olympic Distance Tri

2008-08-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Jen and I drove out to Montauk to reacquaint ourselves with the Mighty Montauk Half Ironman course. I am registered for the Half, and Jen has been on the fence a bout whether or not she will pull the trigger and register. We planned to swim in the pond, and then do one loop each of the bike and run course (two loops for the 70.3)giving us an international distance course, a good swim-bike-run brick, and a measure of our fitness at this point in the season, preparing for that final peak and taper before October 5.

We arrived at the pond around 9:10. There is plenty of free parking by the soccer field as well as down toward the boat ramp. Good news, swimmers, a new concrete ramp has been installed, so you can hopefully avoid some of the ankle twisting boulders as you enter and exit the water.

We decided, since we didn't have any distance markings for the swim, to go about 15 minutes out and come back. I led the way out toward the big white hotel to the right. Sighting on the way out was not much of an issue, but we did have a slight wind blown chop into our faces, and i did notice one fishing boat seemed to be pushed back toward the ramp. We stopped, turned and returned toward the ramp, using the condominium towers to sight on. Nice swim, done in 22 minutes, probably around 1000 to 1250 yards.

A short walk up to the car for T1, which probably was a leisurely 15 minutes, no rushing.

We headed out on the bike, a somewhat challenging ride with some rollers, and beautiful scenery throughout, especially at the tops of the toughest climbs.

Crossing in front of the lighthouse a group of kids were crossing in the cross walk, and decided to play a little game of whack a mole with Jen. Step, stop, step, stop. She almost took one of them out. Seeing this, I decided not to play, and stopped to let them pass. The ride, for me, was pretty easy. I raced this course last year, and between lake placid and my recent bear mountain ride, these hills really did not cause any trouble. Jen did super too! Thanks, Jen for reminding me to drink. that's where i screwed the pooch on race day last year, making a note for this time. Bike done in 1:14, average 22.5 mph.

We had another relaxed transition, bikes on car and shoes changed and headed out for the run.

Jen wasn't feeling it, so I suggested we take the hills first. I like to do that in case we need to bail, at least we get some work in. The run course is challenging. With sections named "Murder Hill" and "The Pits", i think psychologically alot of people get whipped before they start. I have run this two loop course a bunch of times, enough to really look forward to the hills. And again, because of my hill training this year, you know.

Jen really wasn't feeling it. That, or else I make her physically ill with all my talk of ancient Indian science of life, food and eating, breathing through the nose, and probably other annoying stuff I cant remember. Anyway she headed back to the car, and I felt terrible leaving her, but i had to finish the run. So I hurried. Run done in 1:04, 10:32 pace.

Total time (without transitions) 2:40. I did the 70.3 last year in 7:13:54. Based on my times this day, I guess I could go out on a limb and predict something around 6:40. That would be a significant improvement over my current PR set at Tupper Lake TinMan this year, just under 7:00.

We had a dip in the pond, dried and changed in the public restrooms, and headed by car down to Duryeas Lobster Deck for Lobster Rolls. Then a quick stop for chocolate ice cream shakes, and the day was complete.Jen home by 5:00, me home in time to catch cake at the nephew's birthday party. Everybody happy!

Wednesday Morning High Intensity Breakfast

2008-08-13T04:58:00.000-07:00

My new Wednesday morning routine:

Wake 445AM, walk dog
Brief stretch
2 X 30 pushups
7 mile tempo run 10K pace +:20
4 sets of 10 pushups at mile 3, 4, 5, 6
Push hard last mile
Vomit

I think I can keep this up every week right up to my A race, even during my taper. Maybe need to increase the intensity.

Thanks to Brian Mc Nitt , Coach Adam, Drew Holmes for providing the inspiration to start.

If you are interested in doing pushups for good core strength, health, positive mental attitude and self image, check out http://www.hundredpushups.com/

Bear Mountain Boondoggle Part II- The Disgruntled Bear

2008-08-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

The Ironman Lake Placid bike course is hilly. It’s in the Adirondack mountains! It’s a two loop course and the end of the loop has a legendary series of hills known as the bears. Actually, first there are two hills that make up the ‘cherry patch’, Big Cherry and Little Cherry. Then you’ve got Mama Bear, Baby Bear and Papa Bear.

I don’t want to brag, but I didn’t think the bears were so bad. During my Lake Placid Adventure week, we did the loop twice, with a day rest between, and the bears weren’t so bad. Actually they were easier the second day when we knew what to expect. I am sure that two loops in one day without breaks will be harder, I need to get back to Lake Placid to test that hypothesis. (And also because it’s a little bit of heaven on earth up there. The lower Hudson River Valley is a close contender, see the photo above.)

Anyway, someone decided to call our century the “Disgruntled Bear Boondoggle”. I am not sure who it was, it wasn’t me, but I think I liked that name. After all, a disgruntled wouldn’t be so bad, sort like a bear who got his order screwed up at the drive through. Not happy, but he’ll get over it.

Sometimes Things Work Out Better Than You Expect

Of course after reading some of Adam's posts on www.racewithpurpose .org during the week, a few of us were a little nervous. Someone asked about a SAG wagon. Javier offered to follow us in his car. I was thinking I might want to ride my road bike with the three ring, rather than my tri bike, so I might survive the hills. After all, we were talking about 100 miles, and a mountain.

Don't we look happy? We made the summit in about 3 hours, just short of 50 miles.

A few things to take away from the experience to this point:

1. Plan stops for water, food and bathroom. Organized centuries I've done have them every 25 miles for a reason.

2. Bring lunch. There are no food vendors at the top of the mountain.

3. Use the rest room before climbing. Those portosans at the summit were not approachable.

4. Spend more time at the summit. That's a long climb, hang out a while and enjoy the view.

Sometimes, When You Think The Worst Has Passed, The Really Bad Stuff Starts

I swear it took an hour to climb that 1300 feet to the summit. Does it seem right that we were at the bottom in 5 minutes? Anyway, it got us down to the restrooms quickly which, at least for me, was badly needed. I had intended to practice peeing on the bike, but i just couldn't. And what I did finally do was other than peeing anyway.

Back over the Bear Mountain Bridge to the east side of the Hudson, and here we departed from the route we had taken to get here, and as Adam warned us, we were now into unknown territory. Meaning he hadn't ridden it himself, but he had heard tales of horrible things from some who claimed to have ridden here. Ha! How bad could it be, surely we had this in the bag.

Note to self-avoid routes that include names like "Gallows Hill Road".

Gallows Hills is a long steady climb leading to a nice long downhill, which feeds into a 5-way intersection and Red Mill Road. That is not a road. It is a wall. Christine and Conner were well ahead and out of sight. Adam and I were climbing so slowly I do not think we could have stopped, lest we just fall right over and never get up again. Fortunately Adam found a little side road flat spot and we stopped for a minute. The scene here to the left is apparently from a previous rider who stopped for too long.

Soon we came up on Christine and Conner, buying orange soda from a vending machine. They said they were all right so I kept going and suddenly realized I was by myself. A Breakaway! I was able to stay out in front for about 8 or 10 miles, but they caught me on the long climb up Seven Bridges. Those two are climbing machines.

I waited for Adam, and we rode into Chapaqua. There, on King Street and about 80 miles, he decided he had enough, gave me his cue sheet and went lookigng for a train station. I pushed on, got a little lost as here the cue sheet was lacking.

Adam called and told me he was riding the course backwards (be careful!) and was going to meet me, which he did, and took me in the last couple of miles back to his house. I was really gettign bonky at this point. I couldnt subtract 13 from 116, was feeling nauseous and lightheaded. I had to stop for a gel at one point for fear I was about to lose conciousness.

Finally I saw my car (" I love you, car"), pulled up and racked it on the roof right away. I didn't want to have to sit on that thing another minute.

One more thing to do; a quick run around the block, probably not more than 400 meters. I like to do this after a long ride just to train my legs to move after being in the saddle for so long. That, and I believe moving my muscles in this way helps speed my recovery.

Course Comparison

Everything I do this year is about Ironman Lake Placid, so here is a comparison of the ascent for both routes.

IMLP 112 miles with 8,634 feet climb

Bear Mountain Boondoggle was 108 miles with 19,385feet elevation gain.

Planning to return to do this one again in the next several weeks, and certainly several times next spring and summer. Hey, this is going to be a gorgeous ride in the autumn if we hit it at peak foliage change. Anyone care to join me?

Ride With Purpose 100 mile Bear Mountain Boondoggle Part 1

2008-08-07T16:32:00.000-07:00

boondoggle :work of little or no value done merely to keep or look busy

(from dictionary.com)

I spend probably too much time on the Internet. One of the triathlon websites I frequent is Race With Purpose (www.racewithpurpose.org), populated by a group of athletes who train and race together with the larger goal to raise donations to support youth-wellness causes. Shortly after returning from a week of frolic in Lake Placid, the following email was sent to some of the RwP folks:

Beautiful view of Manhattan skyline from Bald Mountain

summit...behind holisticguru.

From: Javier
To: jen; christine; coach_adam
CC: tomn
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:57:58 -0400
Subject: RE: Warning: Female triathletes, age 25-30, beware...

I am thinking Sunday August 3rd is looking Preeeetttyyy
good for the:

"Ride With Purpose, 100 mile Bear Mountain
Boondoggle"

Whats all of this talk about lederhosen? Are those
the revolutionary german tri suits that are coated with tefflon so that after a
race or workout you can throw them on the fire for for cooking stuff
with?

So this is how the Boondoggle started. Christine had discovered some new cycling skills and got a better bike fit, and Javier suggested a long ride. Unfortunately for Javier, shortly thereafter he took a bad fall and broke his collarbone and was sidelined. Jen got roped into a Sunday conference call for work. We picked up a fourth along the way, Conner. Adam pieced together cue sheets from a variety of rides he had done and produced a draft turn sheet which we would use. The course was sort of a figure 8, and after the descent from Bear Mountain State Park we would depart from the route we took coming out and enter unknown territory. One of the purposes of this ride was to check the accuracy of the turn sheet, gather mileage information for each piece, and identify water, food and rest stops throughout.

In addition to getting to spend some time with a few awesome friends, my purpose for the day was to knock off a hilly century to kick off my training for IMLP2009, and to start gathering power data to establish my Functional Power Threshold. I had a loaner Powertap 2.4 installed on my Cervelo P2C a couple of days earlier.

We all met at Adam’s in Scarsdale Sunday morning around 7:30 and were on the road by 8:00. What a beautiful day, nice puffy white clouds, cool clear air. Adam commented it was really like an early fall day, a special treat considering it was early August during a summer of alternating torrential rainstorms and stifling heat waves.This area, considered part of the Lower Hudson Valley, is extraordinarily scenic and includes gorgeous wooded residential property and public parks and several reservoir lakes that provide drinkign water for New York City.

We attacked the course, and in the early stages the ride was pretty easy, no big climbs, some nice descents, and the turn sheet was right on. I had a 3 liter camelback with Gatorade and two bottles behind my seat. I think everyone else had two bottles each on frame cages. We made one brief stop in some bushes to “wag the dog” ( I think this is a New England expression), and a stop at the mini mart near the base of “The Goat Path” for water. Here I discovered i had left my wallet in the car back in Scarsdale. (Chris I still owe you 5 or 6 bucks.)

The Goat Path is so named because it is steep and narrow, and we rode up in single file, me leading and Adam in the rear. Christine and Connor stayed right on my rear wheel all the way up and back down the other side, where we stopped to wait for Adam before we crossed Bear Mountain Bridge. From this spot you look across the Hudson and up at the mountain, and it is awesome to know you will be climbing that shortly. Adam just blew past us and took off across the bridge and we chased him.

Bear Mountain State Park is about 30 miles north of New York and is popular with picnicking families, motorcyclists and hikers. I did not see any other cyclists as we made the climb up 7 Lakes Drive and Perkins Memorial Drive to the summit. I beleive the summit is actually Bald Mountain and is 1080 feet above sea level. The climb seemed to be never ending, with no respite. My mantra was "Collect Data Points", a phrase I repeated many,many times on this climb as well as on the return to Scarsdale.

Adam and I made it to the top and found Christine and Conner eating cheese crackers.

I'm waiting on an updated cue sheet and elevation data and working on my power distribution graphs, hopefully to be included in part 2.

Iron Newman

2008-08-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

I've been working to discover my perfect self, on and off, for about 50 years now. With this blog I will chronicle some of that effort, and in particular my assault on Ironman Lake Placid 2009.

Let the games begin.