Greeting all!
So there is a LOT to update on - first, the highs!
I went out and finally broke in my new road bike last week! I decided that a trip to the BWI trail was in order, as it's really long, hilly, and has great scenery when you're not on the roadways. The weather looked great, but this IS Baltimore, so naturally that was misleading.
Started out pretty well but then, not being familiar with the trail, I exited onto the BA trail, which runs I think to Annapolis, much off the route I wanted to take - uh oh! No biggie, I just remembered the cross streets that I had encountered and I figured I'd be fine getting home. What I didn't count on was Mother Nature throwing a tizzy. So I get about 4 miles into the trail when the clouds roll in and a little bit of drizzle starts coming down. I'm fine, so I keep riding. By mile 7 the skies opened up and it's torrential downpour with howling winds. That's when I decided it'd be prudent to start heading back. The next 4 miles were torture - I was pedaling into a 30-40mph headwind, the trailways were flooded, and I'm on a bike with tires thinner than my thumb. I was not comfortable. I was soaked, my riding glasses were fogged up, and damn the wind! Well I conquered this steep hill and got to the top and it's still pouring. I raise a hand to the sky (I actually did this, so feel free to picture it) and yell up to that bitch "Is that all you've got?!?" Yeah, mistake. She REALLY gets mad and the rain is now stinging the drops are so big, and the wind kicked up. So I keep pedaling.
I get to Route 100 and bike up the incline to go over and I'm gassed. Damn this incline won't quit! I make it up to the top and finally the wind dies down, the rain passes and it's actually sunny...in a matter of 5 minutes. Yeah, mid-Atlantic weather patterns! I make it back to the Observation Park where I started, encountering little in the way of memory loss on how to get back, and coast triumphantly to my car. Some fellow park-goers, huddled in their vehicles, stare wild-eyed at me as I dismount, lean the bike against my car, rip off my shirt and throw it in the air, pumping both fists and beaming from ear to ear. I did it, and I was stoked! A quick towel-off and I was good to go! Hungry, thirsty and proud of myself!
I then get a call from a recruiter from a job I'd applied to months ago- they received a second contract and need boots on the ground in Iraq ASAP. Well THAT throws a wrench in the works, doesn't it? I'm trying to raise money for LLS and do a triathlon in September, get myself into shape and whatnot, and this opportunity comes up that I really want, pays well and allows me to be overseas again! So yeah, I jumped at it. I'd put my chances of deploying at about 85%. I still need to pass the medical evaluation and weapons qualification, but aside from that, I'm ready to go!
So due to my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary in NY last weekend (I took 3 days off training) I've had a tiny setback, but nothing too severe. Crashing my bike due to dehydration did me in on Tuesday, but today I'm swimming 80 minutes.
Now, as for LLS/TNT: I'm trying to hammer out a way to do the triathlon concurrently while in Iraq. I know some marathons and events do a similar thing for those deployed, and I'm hoping to raise awareness for LLS and continue with my fundraising commitment. The local chapter has been very understanding of my situation and helpful, and we think we've found a solution - the only problem will be fundraising, as events will be difficult. So if you're reading this and have some dollars burning a hole in your pocket...help me out! It's for a TERRIFIC cause!
Anyway, have to hit the Y to get my swim on - be well, all!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
A week already?
Wow, so I just realized that I neglected my blog for a week! I suck! OK, so to update:
I love swimming. There, I said it. I love it and I want to swim every day. When I get in a rhythm it's like a diesel engine pounding away, boom boom boom boom boom. I'm not fast, but how many diesels do you see on the race track? It's a cardio exercise that I can sustain for long periods of time without stopping, which is probably a huge contributory factor to my liking it so much. I finally hit the 2000 yard mark non-stop! Did that yesterday. I went 1900 yards on Wednesday and was on a roll but the swim team needed the pool so I had to stop dead in my tracks, 100 yards short of my goal.
My week consisted of a lot of swimming, biking and a round of golf on Thursday. While we didn't walk the course, chasing after my slices was enough of a workout, as I walked roughly 3 miles and swung the club 110 times (I did manage a few drives over 300yards though, which is normal for me at the driving range but abnormal on the course. Drove the green on a par 4 but 3-putted for a par, because my short game is horrible!)
My brand-spanking new Scattante R-330 arrived on Wednesday, and I was stoked! Took that baby out for a test spin on Saturday around Rocky Point and was happy, truly happy, with the experience. For about 100 yards a little bunny was running along next to me - how cool is that?!? It was a slow, leisurely cruise of 7 miles to break the bike in and learn it a little, and also to remember how to RIDE a bike. I need a mirror for my helmet, because cars have a way of sneaking up on you! I am going to forgo the gym cycle as much as I can because while I love being surround by roided-out teens and sweaty but hot soccer moms, I enjoy nature more. Oh, do road bikes simply not come with a kickstand? How the hell am I supposed to rest it somewhere?
I HATE running. I get bored easily and winded even easier. I need to do it more because I've been a bad boy and replacing a lot of my running with swimming. Hey, at least I didn't replace it with vegging on the couch.
This is supposed to be a light week training-wise but according to the monthly schedule I've missed about 2 1/2 hours of biking and a ton of running, so I'm going to make it up this week. I also have off work Thursday so that'll be spent moving into the basement and more than likely teeing off around 2pm somewhere in Baltimore.
Speaking of the basement, that's where I need to be right now! Have to spray it with pesticide (environment-safe, organic pesticide, of course, with menthol and lavender oils!) and lay some carpet. Fun fun fun!
Be well, all!
I love swimming. There, I said it. I love it and I want to swim every day. When I get in a rhythm it's like a diesel engine pounding away, boom boom boom boom boom. I'm not fast, but how many diesels do you see on the race track? It's a cardio exercise that I can sustain for long periods of time without stopping, which is probably a huge contributory factor to my liking it so much. I finally hit the 2000 yard mark non-stop! Did that yesterday. I went 1900 yards on Wednesday and was on a roll but the swim team needed the pool so I had to stop dead in my tracks, 100 yards short of my goal.
My week consisted of a lot of swimming, biking and a round of golf on Thursday. While we didn't walk the course, chasing after my slices was enough of a workout, as I walked roughly 3 miles and swung the club 110 times (I did manage a few drives over 300yards though, which is normal for me at the driving range but abnormal on the course. Drove the green on a par 4 but 3-putted for a par, because my short game is horrible!)
My brand-spanking new Scattante R-330 arrived on Wednesday, and I was stoked! Took that baby out for a test spin on Saturday around Rocky Point and was happy, truly happy, with the experience. For about 100 yards a little bunny was running along next to me - how cool is that?!? It was a slow, leisurely cruise of 7 miles to break the bike in and learn it a little, and also to remember how to RIDE a bike. I need a mirror for my helmet, because cars have a way of sneaking up on you! I am going to forgo the gym cycle as much as I can because while I love being surround by roided-out teens and sweaty but hot soccer moms, I enjoy nature more. Oh, do road bikes simply not come with a kickstand? How the hell am I supposed to rest it somewhere?
I HATE running. I get bored easily and winded even easier. I need to do it more because I've been a bad boy and replacing a lot of my running with swimming. Hey, at least I didn't replace it with vegging on the couch.
This is supposed to be a light week training-wise but according to the monthly schedule I've missed about 2 1/2 hours of biking and a ton of running, so I'm going to make it up this week. I also have off work Thursday so that'll be spent moving into the basement and more than likely teeing off around 2pm somewhere in Baltimore.
Speaking of the basement, that's where I need to be right now! Have to spray it with pesticide (environment-safe, organic pesticide, of course, with menthol and lavender oils!) and lay some carpet. Fun fun fun!
Be well, all!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Swimming, and How I Suck At It - the Ryan Robertson Story
I've been neglecting my blog for no good reason - laziness perhaps? It was a rough week. Not so much rough as in the training was rough, but I had one of my dreaded "bad weeks" mentally. I think my allergies hitting full bore had a little to do with it - all week has been brutal with that. But I was just in a gloom all week, floating along, and even when the weekend hit I wasn't feeling all peaches and cream. Maybe this week will be better in that respect?
Anyway, my training - I had to force myself to work out a few times, and have yet to implement P90X in as I'm now afraid of re-aggravating the elbow tendinitis I've JUST gotten over. As has been a scourge to my weight training for years, my muscles gain strength and size in an extraordinarily fast amount of time, but my tendons and ligaments can't adapt as quickly. So I find myself routinely neglecting the cardinal rule: only increase 10%/week (oh yeah, that's a rule in triathlon training, too). I'd jump 30%, 50%, sometimes even 100%, lifting as much as muscle memory and strength gains would allow, and inevitably I'd go down with an injury. I've been lucky in that I've never snapped or torn a tendon or ligament (to my knowledge) and all weight lifting injuries have healed 100% but it's a systematic problem that I seem to follow like a lemming over a cliff.
With that in mind, I need to follow my triathlon training and NOT jump like I'm prone to do, and I also need to listen to my body, which I'm innately good at. This week I've been plagued with pain in the back of my left knee. This only occurs while biking, and it gets progressively worse regardless of stretching or rest. I think it has something to do with my leg position but I'm not sure how to fix it, there are only so many ways to pedal a bike. It's one of those things I'm going to have to suffer through.
I've been replacing my running with elliptical work as I'm worried my weight will cause knee problems. It had become evident after having a swim/bike day, getting home and having my knees scream at me. I need to be careful about that - at my size a knee injury can be devastating and potentially derail my efforts for a very long time.
We had our first TNT team swim this weekend. It was a basic swimming drills practice, and I nearly drowned half a dozen times. Apparently the only things I was doing correctly were finding myself in the pool and cinching my swim trunks securely. Coach threw pretty much everything else out the window (as she should have) and I had an insanely humbling moment during kick drills.
I will preface this by saying that I leg press over 1400lbs. and can rack out just about any leg curl/leg extension machine. There I am, arms resting on a floating board, being told to ONLY kick the length of the pool. Sure, no problem. So I kick and kick and kick and kick and kick...a rubber ducky floating in the pool passed me. That's how slow I was going. How is it that I can lift a small car with my legs, but I can't kick my fat ass 25 yards in water? I didn't get it. As I moseyed on back during the return lap and settled at the end of the pool, Coach walks over and says "That's OK, Ryan, in your tri you get to wear a wetsuit so you're not gonna have to kick like the rest of the group will. But I still want you do to the drills."
Two things: first, that's fine about having me do the drills, I need to do the drills, I want to learn how to swim properly. Second - how the heck does wearing a wetsuit all of a sudden negate the need to kick?!? I'd have asked her that second one but she sent me down for more laps to work on my breathing, as my head does a full 360 rotation and she'll have none of that. Yeah, almost killed myself trying to breathe - apparently we humans can't breathe water!
It turns out that I was bringing my trail arm forward as I was breathing in, causing a wave of water to rush toward my face. It took 4 laps to finally develop a rhythm that allowed me to breathe an adequate amount and not kill myself. This required the implementation of a hitch in my swim stroke to allow for breathing. So, to recap my sports mechanics quirks: I have a hitch in my golf swing (at the top of the stroke right before I come down on the ball), a hitch in my billiards break shot, a hitch in my baseball/softball swing, and now a hitch in my swim stroke. What the hell?
Anyway, to move on to more fun matters: I bought my bike! And no, not the Fuji - as I was browsing Performance Bike's website Thursday I saw that the Scattante R-330 was back in stock! So I went to the store, spoke with the guy who ordered the Fuji, and he looked online and confirmed it. You'd think that corporate would contact the stores to say "Hey, remember those bikes that were selling like hotcakes until we ran out? Yeah, we got more in." but nope, more lack of communication. So Matt ordered the Scattante, and as Performance was having a "10% off everything" sale, the bike came to $539, down from $599, which was down from $999. Megascore. I also bought a bike carrier, fat boy saddle, spare tubes, a pump...all the essentials. Oh, and I went to Trader Joe's and bought a metric shit-ton of White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clif Bars...those things are dangerously good.
With that in mind, happy training, and be well!
Anyway, my training - I had to force myself to work out a few times, and have yet to implement P90X in as I'm now afraid of re-aggravating the elbow tendinitis I've JUST gotten over. As has been a scourge to my weight training for years, my muscles gain strength and size in an extraordinarily fast amount of time, but my tendons and ligaments can't adapt as quickly. So I find myself routinely neglecting the cardinal rule: only increase 10%/week (oh yeah, that's a rule in triathlon training, too). I'd jump 30%, 50%, sometimes even 100%, lifting as much as muscle memory and strength gains would allow, and inevitably I'd go down with an injury. I've been lucky in that I've never snapped or torn a tendon or ligament (to my knowledge) and all weight lifting injuries have healed 100% but it's a systematic problem that I seem to follow like a lemming over a cliff.
With that in mind, I need to follow my triathlon training and NOT jump like I'm prone to do, and I also need to listen to my body, which I'm innately good at. This week I've been plagued with pain in the back of my left knee. This only occurs while biking, and it gets progressively worse regardless of stretching or rest. I think it has something to do with my leg position but I'm not sure how to fix it, there are only so many ways to pedal a bike. It's one of those things I'm going to have to suffer through.
I've been replacing my running with elliptical work as I'm worried my weight will cause knee problems. It had become evident after having a swim/bike day, getting home and having my knees scream at me. I need to be careful about that - at my size a knee injury can be devastating and potentially derail my efforts for a very long time.
We had our first TNT team swim this weekend. It was a basic swimming drills practice, and I nearly drowned half a dozen times. Apparently the only things I was doing correctly were finding myself in the pool and cinching my swim trunks securely. Coach threw pretty much everything else out the window (as she should have) and I had an insanely humbling moment during kick drills.
I will preface this by saying that I leg press over 1400lbs. and can rack out just about any leg curl/leg extension machine. There I am, arms resting on a floating board, being told to ONLY kick the length of the pool. Sure, no problem. So I kick and kick and kick and kick and kick...a rubber ducky floating in the pool passed me. That's how slow I was going. How is it that I can lift a small car with my legs, but I can't kick my fat ass 25 yards in water? I didn't get it. As I moseyed on back during the return lap and settled at the end of the pool, Coach walks over and says "That's OK, Ryan, in your tri you get to wear a wetsuit so you're not gonna have to kick like the rest of the group will. But I still want you do to the drills."
Two things: first, that's fine about having me do the drills, I need to do the drills, I want to learn how to swim properly. Second - how the heck does wearing a wetsuit all of a sudden negate the need to kick?!? I'd have asked her that second one but she sent me down for more laps to work on my breathing, as my head does a full 360 rotation and she'll have none of that. Yeah, almost killed myself trying to breathe - apparently we humans can't breathe water!
It turns out that I was bringing my trail arm forward as I was breathing in, causing a wave of water to rush toward my face. It took 4 laps to finally develop a rhythm that allowed me to breathe an adequate amount and not kill myself. This required the implementation of a hitch in my swim stroke to allow for breathing. So, to recap my sports mechanics quirks: I have a hitch in my golf swing (at the top of the stroke right before I come down on the ball), a hitch in my billiards break shot, a hitch in my baseball/softball swing, and now a hitch in my swim stroke. What the hell?
Anyway, to move on to more fun matters: I bought my bike! And no, not the Fuji - as I was browsing Performance Bike's website Thursday I saw that the Scattante R-330 was back in stock! So I went to the store, spoke with the guy who ordered the Fuji, and he looked online and confirmed it. You'd think that corporate would contact the stores to say "Hey, remember those bikes that were selling like hotcakes until we ran out? Yeah, we got more in." but nope, more lack of communication. So Matt ordered the Scattante, and as Performance was having a "10% off everything" sale, the bike came to $539, down from $599, which was down from $999. Megascore. I also bought a bike carrier, fat boy saddle, spare tubes, a pump...all the essentials. Oh, and I went to Trader Joe's and bought a metric shit-ton of White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clif Bars...those things are dangerously good.
With that in mind, happy training, and be well!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
How I hate the morning...
It's early right now, and I really would much rather be curled up in bed, but I have to leave for work. OK, so I'm procrastinating by writing a blog entry. THEN I'll go to work.
At least the morning means I get to have my oatmeal for breakfast. It's a small treat, but a treat nonetheless. My knees are sore, a result of biking two day straight. 48 minutes Monday, 53 minutes Tuesday. I love how beginnertriathlete.com is religious about increasing time by 10% without rounding up or down, regardless over how funky the number is. I have a minor OCD thing where I really want numbers to be divisible by 3. 48 worked...53 did not.
The job front is look less bleak than before - granted, the positions I'm being offered are merely the same as the ones I have, only with better pay, full benefits, and a longer commute. I guess the better pay would help assuage my disdain for the longer commute (all the way to downtown DC!) and when I want a new toy (like a Garmin Forerunner) I will be able to afford it!
To that end, I've decided that the Y at 1800 is basically a teenage zoo with some soccer moms interspersed. I was shocked to find an open bike, and a little less shocked that the damn thing was glitchy. It's one of those Expresso bikes that has the screen in front, you can choose different tracks and trails and a pacer. Neat in theory, but the execution was horrible. I couldn't run people over, the pacer was taunting me, and the handlebars, when straight, veered to the left not-so-subtly. About 8 minutes in and I had had enough of that, switched it over to manual, and the thing didn't even have the common decency to have the TV hooked up! Good thing I had my music...and it definitely saved me. I've come to realize that as much as I dig swimming, I hate cycling. OK, I hate indoor cycling. I'll give outdoor a fair shake once I get my road bike.
I skipped all the running in the first week of the program - with how my knees felt after biking and swimming, I knew running would be pure destruction. I'm going to ease into it - if that means extra swimming and biking, so be it, but I'm not tearing my Achilles completely this time around. That mother hurts.
The bottom line is that I need to drop a lot of weight in order for this to work long term. I'm going to injure myself if I stay around 300 and train like I've been training. I don't have a team of medical staff at my beck and call, I don't have hydrotherapy tubs or masseuses ready to ease my muscles and joints at a moment's notice. I need to get down to a healthier weight, and fast, and keep it off, if I want to train seriously. I'm glad I'm an athletic dude, because it's helped me thus far. I can't wait to see the gains I'll make when I'm svelter!
At least the morning means I get to have my oatmeal for breakfast. It's a small treat, but a treat nonetheless. My knees are sore, a result of biking two day straight. 48 minutes Monday, 53 minutes Tuesday. I love how beginnertriathlete.com is religious about increasing time by 10% without rounding up or down, regardless over how funky the number is. I have a minor OCD thing where I really want numbers to be divisible by 3. 48 worked...53 did not.
The job front is look less bleak than before - granted, the positions I'm being offered are merely the same as the ones I have, only with better pay, full benefits, and a longer commute. I guess the better pay would help assuage my disdain for the longer commute (all the way to downtown DC!) and when I want a new toy (like a Garmin Forerunner) I will be able to afford it!
To that end, I've decided that the Y at 1800 is basically a teenage zoo with some soccer moms interspersed. I was shocked to find an open bike, and a little less shocked that the damn thing was glitchy. It's one of those Expresso bikes that has the screen in front, you can choose different tracks and trails and a pacer. Neat in theory, but the execution was horrible. I couldn't run people over, the pacer was taunting me, and the handlebars, when straight, veered to the left not-so-subtly. About 8 minutes in and I had had enough of that, switched it over to manual, and the thing didn't even have the common decency to have the TV hooked up! Good thing I had my music...and it definitely saved me. I've come to realize that as much as I dig swimming, I hate cycling. OK, I hate indoor cycling. I'll give outdoor a fair shake once I get my road bike.
I skipped all the running in the first week of the program - with how my knees felt after biking and swimming, I knew running would be pure destruction. I'm going to ease into it - if that means extra swimming and biking, so be it, but I'm not tearing my Achilles completely this time around. That mother hurts.
The bottom line is that I need to drop a lot of weight in order for this to work long term. I'm going to injure myself if I stay around 300 and train like I've been training. I don't have a team of medical staff at my beck and call, I don't have hydrotherapy tubs or masseuses ready to ease my muscles and joints at a moment's notice. I need to get down to a healthier weight, and fast, and keep it off, if I want to train seriously. I'm glad I'm an athletic dude, because it's helped me thus far. I can't wait to see the gains I'll make when I'm svelter!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
A tired man I am I am
Despite having a 16 hour work day Friday, I was able to sneak in TWO workouts! I biked 13.33 miles in 45 minutes (hit the wall AGAIN at 41 minutes, what's up that THAT?!?) and swam a personal best 1300 yards in 52 minutes (700 yards non-stop in 20 minutes). Actually, the only thing that stopped me was the lifeguard going ape about the fact that it was 15 minutes to close and her wanting to "peace out". I was in a groove - not the groove that some people get into where their mind wanders and they go through time unaware that they're even swimming/biking/running/driving (guilty of that last one there), but an extremely mechanical groove of pick an apple, put it in your pocket. Pick an apple, put it in your pocket. Take a breath. Oh look, a wall fast approaching! Touch, turn, pick an apple...
I felt AWESOME getting changed and driving home...but the 25 minute drive was enough to stiffen my legs, and I waddled from the car to the house, plopped down on my chair, and watched The Office, trying to ignore what could only be described as nuclear war going on in my quads and knees. I think it has something to do with how I kick when I swim. My legs sink. They're short, stubby, and muscle-laden, creating an anchor determined to keep me from moving forward. It's a constant battle to keep them moving, and I'm often swimming with my body at an obtuse angle, nowhere near 180 degrees. I am a tug boat in a world of Chris Crafts. The wake I leave is humorous though. It makes me smile :-) Plus I keep chugging along, much to the amazement of the lifeguards, who must be devising plans of action in the event I croak in the middle of the pool. I'm sure it involves drawing straws to see who has the unenviable task of jumping in and dragging me to safety.
Biking, however, was a different story altogether. Oh, to backtrack. Apparently the $599 deal on the Scattante R-330 was SO good that everybody and their brother decided to buy 6 at a time and Performance Bike Global is sold out, so they're offering the '10 Fuji Newest 2.0 at the $599 price as a replacement. After test riding the Newest 1.0 (they didn't have a 2.0 in stock) in steel-toed work boots because I'm a derrrrr, I threw some money down and they ordered me a bike. I'm pretty stoked.
With that in mind - I went to Snap and rode the Cybex because I NEED to ride. I forgot my lovely padded bike shorts at home so my nethers were in revolt, and I may as well have been sitting on nails because my butt REALLY hurt on that seat (I went to a different Snap, Millersville instead of Joppa, because it was closer to work). I was in a pretty good rhythm thanks to Five Finger Death Punch when, at 41 minutes, the white flag was waved. I cooled down and called it a workout. I really need to figure out how to get through that energy wall!
Oh - Snap membership runs out end of May, and then it's exclusively the Y! There's one in Ellicott City that has a rock climbing wall, and a sauna, and midgets to massage you while you watch baseball. I'm sure I'm too hoi polloi to be allowed into such an exclusive Y.
On that note, I have a big day of relaxing and at SOME point I need to bribe my legs into going to the gym to ride for 80 minutes. I may have to drop the cadence and resistance down, because I'm getting my damned 80 minutes! At least I'll be alone as I grunt, grimace and growl my way on that bike...Snap is always empty Saturday nights. Maybe I'll go shoot some pool too...
I felt AWESOME getting changed and driving home...but the 25 minute drive was enough to stiffen my legs, and I waddled from the car to the house, plopped down on my chair, and watched The Office, trying to ignore what could only be described as nuclear war going on in my quads and knees. I think it has something to do with how I kick when I swim. My legs sink. They're short, stubby, and muscle-laden, creating an anchor determined to keep me from moving forward. It's a constant battle to keep them moving, and I'm often swimming with my body at an obtuse angle, nowhere near 180 degrees. I am a tug boat in a world of Chris Crafts. The wake I leave is humorous though. It makes me smile :-) Plus I keep chugging along, much to the amazement of the lifeguards, who must be devising plans of action in the event I croak in the middle of the pool. I'm sure it involves drawing straws to see who has the unenviable task of jumping in and dragging me to safety.
Biking, however, was a different story altogether. Oh, to backtrack. Apparently the $599 deal on the Scattante R-330 was SO good that everybody and their brother decided to buy 6 at a time and Performance Bike Global is sold out, so they're offering the '10 Fuji Newest 2.0 at the $599 price as a replacement. After test riding the Newest 1.0 (they didn't have a 2.0 in stock) in steel-toed work boots because I'm a derrrrr, I threw some money down and they ordered me a bike. I'm pretty stoked.
With that in mind - I went to Snap and rode the Cybex because I NEED to ride. I forgot my lovely padded bike shorts at home so my nethers were in revolt, and I may as well have been sitting on nails because my butt REALLY hurt on that seat (I went to a different Snap, Millersville instead of Joppa, because it was closer to work). I was in a pretty good rhythm thanks to Five Finger Death Punch when, at 41 minutes, the white flag was waved. I cooled down and called it a workout. I really need to figure out how to get through that energy wall!
Oh - Snap membership runs out end of May, and then it's exclusively the Y! There's one in Ellicott City that has a rock climbing wall, and a sauna, and midgets to massage you while you watch baseball. I'm sure I'm too hoi polloi to be allowed into such an exclusive Y.
On that note, I have a big day of relaxing and at SOME point I need to bribe my legs into going to the gym to ride for 80 minutes. I may have to drop the cadence and resistance down, because I'm getting my damned 80 minutes! At least I'll be alone as I grunt, grimace and growl my way on that bike...Snap is always empty Saturday nights. Maybe I'll go shoot some pool too...
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Blub blub
Went swimming today for the first time in 11 years. It was interesting, to say the least. That water is very deceptive...I got in there and thought "hey, I can swim, no problem!" Well, problem. I sank like a rock, and you'd think being 300lbs I'd float because I'm not the skinniest berry in the bushel but I guess my muscle mass simply counteracted the fat. So swimming was an adventure.
The damn silicon swim cap was so tight I felt like I was swimming with a midget on my back, squeezing hard around my temples. About 300 yards in that bad boy had to go. The goggles had a vacuum lock around my eyeballs that would make Mr. Dyson proud, and my shorts weren't tied properly so they were constantly falling down, but hey, I didn't drown! I made it 500 yards in 24 minutes, which is HORRIBLE time-wise, but for a first trek out it could have been a lot worse. I need to work on my technique and cardiovascular fitness (shocker there) as I was only able to go 50 yards without stopping. Attempting to backstroke nearly killed me - that water saw its chance and it went for it, right up my nose and down my throat.
I've also determined that my freestyle is simply a rolling sidestroke...or maybe more like a kayaking type stroke. My power stroke switches depending upon my mood at the time, and my head rolls allllll the way around 360 degrees, into the water breathing out through my nose, out of the water taking a deep breath, and repeat. It's strange but not painful in the least, although the water in my ears tells me perhaps plugs are in order.
I'm tired. I didn't think 24 minutes of swimming would tire me like this, but I'm tired. Very, very tired. I was supposed to bike tonight but moved it to tomorrow because...you guessed it...I'm tired. And I have to be up at 0430 to get to work on time, so that means off to bed for me! Be well, all!
The damn silicon swim cap was so tight I felt like I was swimming with a midget on my back, squeezing hard around my temples. About 300 yards in that bad boy had to go. The goggles had a vacuum lock around my eyeballs that would make Mr. Dyson proud, and my shorts weren't tied properly so they were constantly falling down, but hey, I didn't drown! I made it 500 yards in 24 minutes, which is HORRIBLE time-wise, but for a first trek out it could have been a lot worse. I need to work on my technique and cardiovascular fitness (shocker there) as I was only able to go 50 yards without stopping. Attempting to backstroke nearly killed me - that water saw its chance and it went for it, right up my nose and down my throat.
I've also determined that my freestyle is simply a rolling sidestroke...or maybe more like a kayaking type stroke. My power stroke switches depending upon my mood at the time, and my head rolls allllll the way around 360 degrees, into the water breathing out through my nose, out of the water taking a deep breath, and repeat. It's strange but not painful in the least, although the water in my ears tells me perhaps plugs are in order.
I'm tired. I didn't think 24 minutes of swimming would tire me like this, but I'm tired. Very, very tired. I was supposed to bike tonight but moved it to tomorrow because...you guessed it...I'm tired. And I have to be up at 0430 to get to work on time, so that means off to bed for me! Be well, all!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Week 1 recap
I'm official a Team in Training member, scheduled to compete in The Nation's Triathlon in DC on September 12th. It's an Olympic distance triathlon, and it'll be my first, so my work is cut out for me (I've always hated that term.)
I initially figured I'd follow the BeginnerTriathlete.com 16-week 3x training program, then realized that I know me better than they do. So I'm 86ing one of the running blocks per week and incorporating some P90X into it - Plyometrics, X-Stretch, Chest/Back, and Arms/Shoulders. This way I work on strength training, explosiveness, flexibility, and save my knees a bit from the pounding.
The Y around the corner doesn't open until early June so I need to find somewhere to swim until then. I'm thinking I'll swim at 0530 because it'll be less crowded and a terrific way to start my day. Now that my one job has no hours for me and I'm at 3 days with the other, I have more time to concentrate on training, which is bittersweet...I really need the money. The bike I'm looking at is $599 (Scattante R-330 from Performance Bikes) and that's before all the accessories (better saddle, higher quality rims, pump, spare tires/tubes, etc...). I guess I picked the right hobby, because I'm a "stuff" guy, and triathlon is definitely a "stuff" sport!
This week has been interesting. Biking at the gym is awkward and leaves my legs feeling strange. I've also noticed that I wobble when I bike. By that I mean that on the right leg downstroke I lean left, and vice versa. I know from a physics standpoint this is wasted energy but I just can't seem to get my leg around correctly without the wobble. To that end, I remember doing this when I biked as a kid. I'm not sure if it's an acquired behavioral trait or a physiological adaptation.
Anyway, have to run! Literally and figuratively - visit me at http://pages.teamintraining.org/md/nattri10/rrobertwku if you would like to donate - every little bit helps! Thanks, and be well!
I initially figured I'd follow the BeginnerTriathlete.com 16-week 3x training program, then realized that I know me better than they do. So I'm 86ing one of the running blocks per week and incorporating some P90X into it - Plyometrics, X-Stretch, Chest/Back, and Arms/Shoulders. This way I work on strength training, explosiveness, flexibility, and save my knees a bit from the pounding.
The Y around the corner doesn't open until early June so I need to find somewhere to swim until then. I'm thinking I'll swim at 0530 because it'll be less crowded and a terrific way to start my day. Now that my one job has no hours for me and I'm at 3 days with the other, I have more time to concentrate on training, which is bittersweet...I really need the money. The bike I'm looking at is $599 (Scattante R-330 from Performance Bikes) and that's before all the accessories (better saddle, higher quality rims, pump, spare tires/tubes, etc...). I guess I picked the right hobby, because I'm a "stuff" guy, and triathlon is definitely a "stuff" sport!
This week has been interesting. Biking at the gym is awkward and leaves my legs feeling strange. I've also noticed that I wobble when I bike. By that I mean that on the right leg downstroke I lean left, and vice versa. I know from a physics standpoint this is wasted energy but I just can't seem to get my leg around correctly without the wobble. To that end, I remember doing this when I biked as a kid. I'm not sure if it's an acquired behavioral trait or a physiological adaptation.
Anyway, have to run! Literally and figuratively - visit me at http://pages.teamintraining.org/md/nattri10/rrobertwku if you would like to donate - every little bit helps! Thanks, and be well!
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