Still not running - [read more...]
November 8th 2011

Pending submission.

Posted by Adrian at 6:33PM
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All hail the king of injuries - [read more...]
September 18th 2011

Plantar Fasciitis. Say it isn't so?! I've heard of this before, but never experienced the joys of PF until now. At first I didn't know what it was. "Bruised heel" - I thought to myself. HA!

The run course at my last race was a bit odd. It was almost entirely a trail run. Fine... I've raced such triathlons before. But what I didn't expect to see on the run course was approximately 1/2 mile of basically dirt road that's turned into mud at some point, and then driven over by off-road vehicles. The surface was uneven with ruts left behind by large tires. I had several awkward foot falls there.

The foot seemed fine after the race. But I had some subtle heel pain a few days later during a couple of training runs. Hmmm? Then a few days later, just before my next race, I was running on a nice dirt track near my girlfriend's house. The first 6 miles were routine, with only some minor heel pain. The last couple of miles however I started feeling more and more pain. I was on the wrong side of a lake and had to finish the run to get home. It became obvious what the issue was at that point. The foot has hurt pretty much ever since. That run will be my last until PF heals fully. I've been confined to a crosstrainer until further notice. Cycling and swimming are unaffected.

Contributing to the injury could have been a worn out shoe or shoe insole. Wearing that shoe/insole combination might have had too much arch support. On my last run it felt like the left foot was being folded up right in the middle. Not sure if that was real or just my imagination due to the already-developed PF. I played it safe and replaced the insole anyway. Also, I'm performing the recommended PF treatment: rolling the foot on a can of soup, icing, heating.

This will heel in a few months. But it made me skip my last race of the season. That particular venue was beautiful, the weather on race day was great, and I took the time to go over there and previewed the bike course. (It was uphill both ways!) Bummer. I love that race.

Excuse me while I jump on the crosstrainer. No running for me!

Posted by Adrian at 8:27PM
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Race report - [read more...]
August 29th 2011

I’ll write a more detailed race recap if I get to it. Meanwhile here are some thoughts I sent my coach after the race.

Prep was perfect. Transitions were perfect (other than me leaving the Garmin watch with the bike in T2 oops). The T1 was 1:56 and T2 1:35.

Swim was good. I was in the middle of a strong pack following someone’s legs part of the course. No one hit me. I did all the punching and kicking. Do it to them before they do it to you. My sighting was perfect. I bulls-eyed every buoy. My HR was high again after the swim: 170. That affected my bike somewhat. Not sure why. It doesn’t happen in the pool. Water temp was 73.

Bike was good. I gave it 90% of what I can do in training on the bike alone. My HR was so high after the swim it was hard to get into the groove. Also, there was climbing on the course. At 6’2” and 180lbs that isn’t my strongest suit.

Run was meh. The HR was still high so my pace was a little slow. First mile was brutal, then it got better. ;) My knee started to hurt in the run and my foot was unhappy with me too. It is better today. I didn’t tape the knee. It would have destroyed my transition times.

Next race is an oly distance on September 10.

Posted by Adrian at 9:11PM
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Race report - [read more...]
June 15th 2011

I woke up at 5 AM. The cold symptoms subsided somewhat and my nose was being cooperative. Race stuff was packed the day before, and rechecked with extreme OCD prejudice. Transition bag was sitting pretty by the front door. Bike was already in the back of the Jeep, looking sad and lopsided with the front wheel removed. I managed to get ready in 15 minutes, without waking up Miss. non-early-person non-triathlete. The race is just 10 miles from home so I put on the tri outfit (more about that a little later!), then some warm clothes over that, grabbed the bag, and headed down to the garage.

I usually take everything with me in the bag, go setup the transition, and then huff it back to the car and leave the bag inside. This is also known as a prerace warm-up. I was one of the first athletes to arrive so I got a spot on the racks next to bike exit.

Everything was ready 45 minutes before the start. I just had to put on the wetsuit. I waited on that until the last moment because I planned to use the bathroom before the start. I’m sure this sounds familiar. Wetsuit donned in 5 minutes just in time for mandatory referee briefing when…. HORROR! Remember I put on the tri outfit at home? I forgot the HR band. So I had to strip the wetsuit down to the waist, put on the HR band, and put the wetsuit back on. I made it to the briefing just as the fat lady was finishing the National Anthem.

There was just one other preparation glitch. This is my first race with the Adamo saddle. It has a rack hook in the back so it’s best to pull the bike forward, rather than backward through the rack. I’m used to the opposite (saddle nose on the rack) so my transition stuff was laid out on the wrong side. It wasn’t a big deal. I’ll fix this next time.

The briefing was pretty typical: kayaks in the water, no drafting on the bike, 5 min penalty, etc etc. No sooner than the referee finished her Spiel we all found ourselves down on the beach.

Fancy-shorts Elite wave went first. Swim start was by age group and in waves of no more than 50 at a time. Race organizers were under a mistaken belief that this would prevent people swimming over each other. M30-34 and W30-34 were next 2 minutes apart. Before I could say Suffering Succotash it was my turn. There were 70-ish M35-39 and I was in the second wave of 20. They staged us in waist deep 59 degree water. I was at the front. Both guys to either side of me said: okay guys nice and easy no kicking! I grunted some form of approval while rubbernecking for a familiar face amongst the spectators. My girlfriend was nowhere to be seen. Unbeknownst to me at the time, she arrived when I was staged in the water, seconds before the start, and she started taking pictures.

TEN SECONDS!

HOOOOONK!

Maybe I should swim?

I started nice and controlled, breathing every third stroke. I knew better than to go all-out from the gun. In about 20 seconds the two guys on either side of me were half a body length ahead, and someone else was doing their best to pull me under from the side. Then I got kicked in the face and I felt a nose bleed. Or was it just the sinus infection? Isn’t it funny that non-kicking legs from non-kicking guys managed to kick me, yes? This phenomenon should be studied. I got my face out of the water briefly, then back down (I was on course), then I rolled on my back to check my already congestion-traumatized nose. I didn’t see any blood, but then how could I tell? Somewhere around there I noticed my breathing was elevated and I was barely halfway to the first buoy – big beautiful yellow buoy (BBYB) beckoning – a promise of a distant shore as of yet unseen.

I managed to get my breathing under control by slowing down. This turned out to be temporary. As soon as I tried to get a rhythm going again the breathing and the HR went sky high. I tried breathing every second stroke but that stopped working somewhere around BBYB 1. I swim four miles a week, every week, and it was all for naught when it came time to put that training to use.

The swim between BBYB 1 and BBYB 2 is just a blur. I sort of remember a combination of backstroke and breaststroke, and keeping my head tilted up to protect the nose. I made a few feeble attempts at front crawl and rhythmic breathing, but they were short lived. When I rounded the corner at BBYB 2 I could see the shore and swim exit.

Freeeeeeeedoooooooom!!! Wait no no not yet! I resumed the front crawl to get to the swim exit as soon as possible. This lasted for a bit until breathing every second stroke became insufficient once again. When LO! My feet touched the bottom. Is it? Can it be? I looked up and swim exit was still a long way away. This was just mucky icky shallows that I happened to run across (pun intended) and it disappeared from under my feet just as quick as it appeared. I continued a combination of strokes for a couple of minutes and then switched to front crawl just before swim exit. I knew there were people there taking pictures and I didn’t want to look like a sissy.

Transition was a looong way from the beach. I was so beat up from the swim that I had zero motivation to run to my bike (I’m coming buddy!) and to do a quick T1. But I sucked it up and did it anyway. I took the swim cap and goggles off while my feet were still in the water, then stripped the wetsuit down to my waist while trotting to the bike.

The T1 went okay. Wetsuit came off relatively easily. It snagged on the timing chip for a second or two. (So that’s why they call it the TIMING chip?) I lost time reaching over to grab my helmet off the handlebars (and the sunglasses and Garmin within) because the bike was facing away from me (Adamo saddle!). I also lost some more time when I tried to suck on a gel and it exploded all over my hand. I actually leaned down and wiped the hand on the towel. HA!

My bike was something like 20 feet from bike exit so I put on the cycling shoes and ran in them to the exit. I hopped on without a hitch but the Speedplays decided not to cooperate and I clipped in on the third attempt. Finally I was in my element! Or was I? I did a quick mental assessment and realized I wasn’t in such a great spot. Garmin confirmed what I already felt within: my HR was 170. Yikes! My breathing was still elevated and my lungs were nearly but not quite burning. This was going to be a painful morning. Also I realized my sunglasses were gone. Don’t ask how or why because I don’t know myself.

Getting out of transition and onto open road was quick. I took it nice and easy under 20mph. A first mile of the course was one bike lane split in two by traffic cones. Each “lane” for the first mile was only about 18 inches wide. It was here that I ran across my first slow rider and attempted to pass her. Someone else came up behind and tried to pass me just as I made the pass, just as there was a cyclist returning back to transition down the other side of the split lane. I was the only responsible adult out of the four and at the last second I swerved into car traffic, still in the aerobars. As you very well know the aerobars are designed for one thing: going fast in a straight line. I overcorrected to the right, then overcorrected to the left, and somehow managed to hold the line and not crash. I heard an overenthusiastic “whoa” from a spectator somewhere behind me. I don’t recall passing any spectators. Maybe they were the most recent WTC invention: automatic stealth spectators? The cyclist that passed me so foolishly while I was passing someone else? I caught up and passed her just 2 miles ahead. She was limping at 17 mph. Tsk-tsk. Her bike was really nice though!

The bike leg was an utter disappointment. Bike is my thang, dig? My breathing and heart rate were still very high and I could not get in the groove of things. My average speed was meager 19mph, as opposed to last year’s assistant-rocketman-like 23mph. I passed maybe 50 riders and was passed by probably 30 or more. Last year I passed hundreds and was passed by just two or three. I didn’t drink until about a 1/3 into the bike – I needed oxygen a little more than I needed water. The bike leg was pretty uneventful, save for someone almost swerving into me on one of two climbs. Have they never heard of a small ring??? The return back to transition was also uneventful. I heard later that many riders crashed at a 180 degree turn entering transition.

The T2 was okay, but not without its glitches. First some jerk took my bike rack! I got there and found a very nice carbon bike in my spot. I angrily pushed it aside and racked my Cervelo. Shoes and helmet came off in a flash, visor and (oh hey there were my sunglasses!) sunglasses went on, then the socks. Ah the socks. The socks I used in training, but never with wet feet. The socks all twisted and got stuck when I tried to put them on my lake muck and sweat covered feet. I can’t quite remember if I said SCREW IT out loud or if that was just in my head. I gave up, put the running shoes on with the socks all twisted and began running toward run exit. I ran right past my girlfriend. That was the first time I realized she was there. She was there in T1 too, but I didn’t see her then.

I quickly discovered two things. First the sock situation wasn’t actually bad at all. I’m sure they were still twisted and half hanging off my feet but I couldn’t feel it. And second, HOLY HELL I WAS EXAUSTED! How was I ever to survive the run??? The run was almost entirely on soft trails, with only about ¼ of a mile on pavement near the start and finish. The course was a figure 8, with another loop added to the side. Or for those with poor math imagination: the course resembled a 3-petal flower. I had food and gel on me but I ate nothing. My pace was pretty good at first but I quickly realized I wasn’t going to hold that pace for the duration. The HR was still somewhere between too high and ludicrous. Aaaand the cold I’ve been battling for 10 days caught up with me and I started coughing. I slowed down to a trot and followed an athlete with a visor that said Moab Utah on the back of it. That was to be my carrot for the rest of the run. Half way through loop one I slowed to a walk briefly before reminding myself not to be a sissy and continued trotting on. The same repeated somewhere on loop two. I trotted and coughed the rest of the way and my HR and breathing actually improved just before the finish line. Traitors. The both of them. I picked up to a pretty good pace just before the last bend before the finish line. Who knows, when I crossed the finish I might have even looked like I knew what I was doing.

My girlfriend was there and we hugged. Then I promptly set out to find something to eat and drink.

Posted by Adrian at 12:10AM
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I'm back - [read more...]
June 14th 2011

No I'm not dead. And I haven't forgotten about the blog either. There has been very little to report. The winter of 2011 has been slow due to the knee injury, and more recently a cold that just wouldn't go away. I trained as little as I could, while still keeping fit for the summer racing season and still maintaining some semblance of a training structure. The knee would feel better, then worse, then better, etc... Just as I thought the worst was behind me and I could return to training, the injury would flare up and I had to take it easy again or risk reinjury.

The past 8 months of training looked something like this: swim 3 times a week for an hour, bike 2 or 3 times a week for an hour, and run once a week for 30-45 minutes. That was all! Coach continued to prepare my training schedule, and I tried following it every now and again when I felt good, but kept falling behind and essentially just coached myself.

I'm still not completely on the mend. The knee feels much better than ever post injury. I still need to keep an eye on the signals it gives me and take it easy if it hurts. Later this month will be exactly one year since the injury.

Anyhow, I'm back to training full time again. It is exciting to be back. I raced one event this year already. My performance was disappointing, but at least I'm training and racing again. I'll post the race report.


Posted by Adrian at 8:10PM
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Training again - [read more...]
October 4th 2010

Just a quick blog update because I'm busy TRAINING! The physical therapy has helped, the new bike fit and shoes have helped, stretching all leg muscle groups three times a day has helped, and listening to my body by not pushing past the pain has helped the most.

I just finished my second week of all-out training... with one exception: no bricks! Running after a hard bike ride is not a good idea at this time. That too will come back. I've had some knee discomfort, but no pain! It looks as if this episode has become just a bad memory. I'm back in my comfort zone, where I want to be.

On a completely unrelated note, I just finished redesigning Angela's site. Check it out:
http://www.angelanaeth.com/


Posted by Adrian at 4:10PM
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Rehabilitation - [read more...]
September 2nd 2010

Here I am, two months after the bike ride which led to the knee injury. The hard triathlon training and the hopes of a high finish at a 70.3 event and a Clearwater slot are just a distant memory.

Triathlon is more than a sport to me. It is more than just the races and the community. The training keeps me on track and the races give me a goal to work towards. It is more than love; it is almost a necessity and even an addiction, and I thought I lost it all.

I spent the last two months riding no more than 20 miles a week, and running maybe once a week for 30 minutes. Even that little training was painful. Swimming was unaffected so at least I had something I could do, that is until the pools closed for annual maintenance.

Endurance sport is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one, and I just lost that edge completely.

So what happened with the knee?

It took me a few weeks to discover that myself.

It was the new tri cycling shoes. Although, my knee has been troublesome for years and the knee pain was bound to emerge eventually. Still I would have preferred later rather than sooner. Little did I know that my demise was going to come so suddenly.

My old shoes were inherently tilted outward ever so slightly. That position was apparently perfect for my bike fit. The new shoes did not have that tilt so my knees were tracking poorly. I was riding like this for several weeks before I experienced any pain.

The point of the story is: get a new bike fit after getting new shoes (same applies for cleats, saddle, pedals).

The knee tracking issue was pretty obvious when I went back to a bike fitter. They moved my cleats a few mm, added a 1mm washer to the right pedal, and 1mm wedges under the cleats to once again give my feet a little bit of outward tilt. Those small changes made all the difference.

The new fit fixed the cause of the recent pain. But the old issues this knee has had just got a little bit worse after this episode. How many races do I have left in me? I saw an old Ironman champion not too long ago, walking with a cane. Is a cane in my future too?

I've been working with a sports rehab clinic: Eastside Sports Rehab. That's where I went for physical therapy for the knee pain, and it turned out they also did bike fitting. I was unaware of the underlying reason for the pain until they pointed it out. I'm very very fortunate and happy to have found them. They also made me a pair of custom-fit insoles for the running shoes. I was told there, gently but in no uncertain terms, that I should give up endurance sports. It is wise advice, but I can't follow it.

So 'what now' is the question? I'm trying to slowly get back into a training regimen. I must be ever so careful. The knee is still achy. And I've lost major fitness. My running HR is higher, and I can no longer maintain speeds on the bike I used to be able to. Even more troubling is my lack of motivation.

Long and uncertain road ahead...


Posted by Adrian at 7:10PM
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Knee injury - [read more...]
July 19th 2010

I'm sports injury prone; that much has become apparent. From neck pain to sprained wrist to right foot pain to pulled muscle near the left knee, and that's just this season! My old right knee discomfort/weakness has flared into a full blown injury. The knee has been fine for the 1/2 IM on June 12th. I gave my body two weeks to recover... just light spinning and jogging. The knee stopped working on June 26th in the middle of a first hard ride following the recovery period. Knee pain set in about 45 miles into a 60 mile ride. By mile 50 I could barely turn the right pedal. This has NEVER happened to me before and it was a little scary. Limping home at 15 mph is not what I had in mind.

When I got home I discovered that I was not able to put weight on my right leg with the knee bent so I couldn't climb stairs. Walking was possible but it was pretty painful.

I took a break from cycling for a week and then tried a super easy 20 mile ride. Knee pain returned just as I was getting back home. Next ride was another week later; a moderate 30 mile ride. Knee pain returned about 20 miles into the ride, so again I had to limp home. I need to be careful. No rides longer than 20 miles until this heals! And no climbing!

The issue seems to be placing weight/strain on the knee with the knee bent, so this is only affecting cycling. I can run okay, although I'm taking it easy running too, just to avoid any potential re-injury.

I'm seeing a specialist on Wednesday. I'll update the blog with any further news.

Racing is on hold for the moment. Seafair Triathlon came and went this weekend. I wish I was there. Lake Stevens is less than 4 weeks away. Am I going to have to skip it again???


Posted by Adrian at 10:30PM
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Race reports - [read more...]
June 14th 2010

This has been a busy week! A sprint tri on the 5th and a 1/2 Ironman on the 12th.

I have mixed feelings about the sprint tri. The race wasn’t exactly fun. The race day was sunny… but it’s been raining every day for at least a week prior to the race. The transition was set up at a park on a land reclaimed by draining a wetland once upon a time when such things were tolerated. The rains have turned the area back into a wetland - a muddy mess with standing water everywhere. We all got a good laugh at our own expense, but deep down everyone was disappointed. I threw away my transition towel and brand new socks after the race. My best running shoes are soaking in a bucket of hot water. The cleats on the cycling shoes are beyond help. I found a worm stuck inside them after the race – still squirming. These were old road shoes so I didn't mind. Tri shoes were out of commission on race day - long story for some other time - so I couldn’t use them and had to run through transition with road shoes on.

Race preparations were almost perfect. I forgot to erase a training ride on the Garmin prior to the race. Oops! So I had to fumble for the reset button as I was rolling out of T1. I should turn on the watch before the swim; one less thing to do in T1. And second, I should leave the transition bag in the car and bring only what I need for T1 and T2, and food/hydration of course. I had enough space for the bag, but I’m not likely to need anything in it. That’s it for prep. There were no other mishaps with gear or planning.

The splits:
14
4
44 (including 5 min penalty, apparently)
2
20
=1:24

The swim was slow. I’m an inexperienced swimmer as it is. So when I got swimming in cold water and waves, and got kicked a few times, I completely forgot all my swim practice I built up over the past 8 months and fell back to old bad techniques. Swim was pretty uncomfortable. My breathing and heart rate were high and I couldn’t get them down. The split was 14 minutes; typical times were around 8 minutes. I need more open water training this summer. Lap swim at the pool cannot adequately prepare us for triathlons.

The T1 took 4 minutes according to my timing chip. Whoa! I keep going over this and I couldn’t tell you how or where all that time went to. I ran out of the water and to the bike, unzipped my wetsuit and got it off my arms on the way, it came right off at the bike rack, put on the Garmin watch, the shoes, helmet, and pushed the bike to the exit as fast as I could. Two minutes at most was my estimate. Clearly I need to practice transition.

The 15 mile bike course was a stark contrast to the swim. I got into a groove as soon as I left the gridlock of the transition area and dialed it up to 22-23 mph. I was passed by only three guys. My time on the bike was 39 minutes and change… but my official time was 44 minutes and change. I must have gotten a penalty without them telling me, or I didn’t hear. I passed hundreds of riders so I was weaving left to right the entire time. There was a combined total of about 1 mile of no-passing zones where the race lanes were super narrow and the roads not closed to traffic. Each time in a no-passing zone I had someone slow in front of me, holding me up. Upon entering these zones, the race officials were yelling at me to slow down. No-passing and slow down? I thought this was a race?

The T2 took almost exactly 2 minutes. Not horribly slow, but it could be better. Again, need to practice.

The 3 mile run was interesting. The course was supposed to be on the trails, but they were under water, so it was rerouted to pavement with only perhaps 1K of trail running. Organizers placed down shipping pallets for us to run over in the worst areas where the standing water was deepest. My running time was 20 minutes and change. Under 7 minutes a mile is not bad, but I know I can do better. My HR and breathing were still too high. I’ve set myself up for the hurt in the swim and the rest of the race unfolded accordingly.

The result is a mixed bag - just like my feelings about this race. The slow swim, the slow T1 and a bike penalty have made this an unremarkable result. The bike and run splits were pretty fast though! At least I've learned what I must concentrate on: open water swim and transition practice.

----

The 1/2 Ironman was interesting. The swim, bike, and first half of the run were FUN! I was in a hurtlocker the entire second half of the run course.

I had a banana and a gel before the swim. I got the exact same split as the last time I swam the 1.2 mile distance in training. First quarter of the swim was under 10 minutes, but then my pace started to drop off as I was getting tired. I need to work on swimming! Swim splits will improve with practice. I was tired when I got out of the water. Within a minute or two though I found my legs and was eager to jump on the bike.

I had another banana and a Hammer bar before the bike. Bike was great, as usual. I paced myself by heart rate, instead of my old roadie recklessness of leaving everything out on the road. It worked out great. I felt fresh the entire bike course, other than the interval between mile 40 and 45. For those 5 miles my heart and lungs were willing, but my legs refused to make power. I recovered though and got back up to speed around mile 45. This might have been mental. The course was undulating and also there were two steep 2 mile long climbs. I drank about 55oz of Perpetuem and Heed electrolyte, and ate one Hammer bar and two gels at 15, 28 and 47 miles or thereabout. Bike HR was right around my anaerobic threshold except in the climbs where I was very careful to keep it in check.

The T2 was quick. I dumped the bike and grabbed the running gear. Had one more banana and a gel.

The run started out great! I felt just a little tired but nothing terribly bad. Preventatively I took a salt tablet (Endurolytes) around mile 1 and drank electrolyte from the flask. I felt leg muscles cramping just a little around mile 5 so I took one more tablet. Cramping got better then worse around mile 7.5. I reached to grab another tablet. Horror! I had only one left and it exploded in my pocket. I managed to get about half of it and took that. Muscles didn’t really get any better. I was cramping pretty bad by mile 10. I managed to run almost the entire way as cramped as I was, but my pace suffered obviously. The injured muscle outside my left knee was the worst. Ugh! HR was very high throughout the entire run - much higher than I’m used to seeing, and that was fine apparently. It wasn’t my endurance that killed me today, but muscle cramping.

Legs are still hurting pretty good today. Coach had me take a break Sunday, and today I'm already back in the pool.

There they are! Both will prove invaluable experiences for further training and future events.

Plan going forward is this:

Swim swim swim!
Practice transition!
Further lower the running HR.
Preload the body with salt days in advance of a long course, and start taking salt tablets on the bike in preparation for the run.

There are about 6-7 races I'm considering between now and the end of the season. Wish me luck! I used to think that luck was not a factor in triathlons, except maybe in avoiding flat tires. Oh but luck is very much a factor! Despite my preemptive efforts on Saturday I could not prevent the leg muscles from cramping! A kick to the face in the swim, a bike crash caused by someone else, or a dubious drafting call are more examples of the same.

Next week I'll post some practical triathlon advice. Stay tuned.


Posted by Adrian at 11:30PM
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Race is getting closer - [read more...]
May 23rd 2010

Just a quick blog update today... I've been busy training. Of course! Training has ramped up to about 20 hours per week at this point in the season. A great little sprint tri is in my immediate future: Issaquah triathlon on June 5th. The race organizers are awesome - very serious about putting together a high quality event. They are closing the streets for us. Many Seattle triathletes use Issaquah as the shakedown race for the rest of their season. The field will most likely be loaded with talented athletes. It will be a blast!

I had a fun and productive photoshoot this weekend. Thanks yet again go out to the wonderfully talented Nick Hall and his assistant Elliot Marsing. All three of us spent over 4 hours in 55 degree waters of Lake Washington. The effort had paid off and we got some great shots. They've been posted in the gallery.

Now for some not-so-good news. I've had nagging foot pain for the past several weeks. Tight fitting shoes seem to be making the problem worse. Flip-flops became my best friend as of late. This is just a minor discomfort on the bike, but it could become a serious problem in long runs on paved surfaces. A 3 mile run in a sprint triathlon is one thing. A 13 mile run following a 56 mile bike ride is another matter entirely. And that's precisely what awaits me in about 3 weeks at Ironman 70.3 Boise on June 12th. I'm having this looked at by a physical therapist. Meanwhile I'm doing my best not to aggravate the problem: running on soft surfaces in lightly laced shoes, and using an x-trainer when the schedule calls for an easy run below the anaerobic threshold. Listening to our bodies and not powering through the pain is the best thing we can do in a situation like this. If it hurts: slow down; if it still hurts: STOP!

By the way... Giro d'Italia kicks butt this year!


Posted by Adrian at 4:00PM
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New position found - [read more...]
April 17th 2010

I'm still on the hunt for a proper fitting tri frame, having found out that Cervelo geometry does not suit me. Cervelos are awesome machines, but they are made for riders with shorter legs and longer torso. I'm exactly opposite. Triathlon/timetrail bikes that could possibly fit me are: Scott Plasma, Cannondale Slice, Trek Equinox TTX, and Specialized Transition. I have more research and more test rides ahead of me. Meanwhile I've changed the Soloist geometry. The seat is another 2cm forward, and shorty clip-on aerobars have been replaced with full size bullhorns, with the pads moved 2cm back.

The setup seems to fit me perfectly so far, after two flat rides and one climbing ride. I'll roll like this for the time being. Tomorrow is a bike/run brick with a long fast bike course. I'm eager to see how comfy the new position truly is.

Posted by Adrian at 11:10PM
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Bike fitting session - [read more...]
April 2nd 2010

This past Saturday the fine folks at Sammamish Valley Cycle had spent over 3 hours fitting a triathlon bike for me. The fit session was interesting and fun and very very educational!

SVC operates a computerized fit bike with a spin scan.  That looks like a stationary bike with adjustable frame geometry and a magnetic resistance unit on the back wheel, connected to a computer.

We started with an interview: what were my goals, what I'm looking for in a bike, what is my riding style, that type of thing. Next they took my measurements: height, inseam, reach. Next they made a preliminary setup on the fit bike based on my measurements, and mounted Speedplay pedals to match the cleats on my shoes.

The really fun part followed. I got on the fit bike and started pedaling. The setup was really close right from the start. Brodie was meticulous in his work. He started the fit from my feet to the saddle and knee position, followed by the reach and the height of the aerobar pads.

We had to raise the seatpost a little, lift the angle of the seat, and drop it again :) and then adjust the height and angle of the aerobars just a tiny bit. That was it! I've never felt more relaxed and comfortable on a bike. While Brodie was adjusting the fit, I concentrated on the spin scan graph on the screen in front of me. The graph looked a little squished at first - meaning I was not spinning as smoothly as I could have. With some concentration the graph turned into a perfect circle. I was able to hold it there. The spin scan alone was worth the 3 hour effort.

Brodie then used a tape measure and a laser level to transfer the fit bike measurements onto a real bike: a Cervelo P2. That's when we ran into unexpected trouble. Actually, I wasn't expecting it but Brodie probably did! I'm tall with a long inseam, so with the seatpost raised high there's a pretty severe drop between the seat and the aerobar pads. Even a P2 geometry, which is known for being less aggressive than a P3, had me way too low in the front. We tried a short steep rising stem. That dialed the reach perfectly, but still had me too low in the front by about 2cm.

I was planning on test riding the P2 anyway... maybe an aggressive setup could work for me? Alas I injured my neck swimming just the morning of the fit, so I could make no objective fit observations. I was already in pain. So the test ride was postponed.

Meanwhile, when I got home I used the fit measurements to check the geometry of my Cervelo Soloist road bike. I discovered to my great surprise that the Soloist could fit me perfectly in a triathlon geometry if seat were moved another 2cm forward, longer clip-on aerobars mounted, and the pads moved about 2cm back. I've already adjusted the seat and the pads and had a great indoor spin session on a trainer last night. The bike isn't safe to steer in this configuration however. I need longer aerobars which I hope to remedy as soon as I can get to a bike shop!

I'll ride the Soloist for the next few months until I figure out how to make a real triathlon frame fit my measurements.

Whew this was such an awesome experience. If any triathlon newbies are reading this, go and get fitted! The best bike is the one that fits.

Have fun training and stay safe!


Posted by Adrian at 12:01AM
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Spring is here - [read more...]
March 24th 2010

This is pretty remarkable... Seattle has been warmer than San Diego today! The calendar spring this year has coincided with the arrival of spring weather. I can't recall this ever happening before. It is true what they say about Seattle; we have two seasons: Summer and Rain. Rain usually does not give in to Summer until sometime around 4th of July.

Nice weather can mean only one thing to a triathlete from these parts: long outdoor bike rides!

Saturday's forecast, the official start of spring, looked promising the day before, so I prepared for an epic ride. Cervelo got a new set of Vittoria Diamante Pro II tires mounted on the training clinchers, brakes and shifters adjusted, stem de-squeakified, and the drive components degreased and oiled.

The training day couldn't have gone better! A quick and easy run in the morning while it was still chilly, followed by a swim session in a pool with the swim instructor, followed by the much anticipated ride in the afternoon!

The bike route took me east of the city along highway 202 towards North Bend - a small community made famous as the fictional town of Twin Peaks. Bellevue to Redmond was a warm-up routine due to the heavy traffic and many stops. Redmond to North Bend is the proper training course: undulating road with a shoulder; fast ride with few, if any, stops.

I started out maintaining very high speeds (tsk-tsk). I knew I couldn't hold that speed without pain and suffering, so after about 10 minutes I reduced power to get down to a more reasonable HR. Farmland and picturesque landscape zipped past, Tolt Road came and went, then Fall City, then the roundabout, and before long I found myself at the bottom of the climb near Snoqualmie Falls. I'm not the world's best climber (over 6 feet and 175lbs) so I hit the lap button on the computer to get my averages up to that point. ;) I was expecting the training stats to drop on the climb... well except for the HR. But no actually, I had a great climb and in a matter of minutes the Falls parking lot absolutely packed with cars and tourists loomed up ahead. A sunny day had brought out the crowds. The temperature was around 70F and my power output was high and steady so I found myself with two near-empty water bottles!

The Falls was just an impromptu hydration station stop, before continuing on a few more miles to North Bend. Seeing Mt. Si and Tweede's ("cherry pie and a damn fine cup of coffee!") always brings a smile to my face. As tempting as a nice lunch would have been, I couldn't leave a tri bike outside a diner. So I had a Hammer bar and turned around for home. On the way back, while descending from the Falls at speeds close to 40mph, I had to take an entire lane in a few switchback turns. An SUV flipped on its 4-way blinkers and stayed behind me, almost like a team car. Whoever you were, I thank you!!!

The return ride on this course is usually boring and repetitive: "are we there yet?" Next time I'll try taking 203 toward Carnation and then Union or Novelty Hill Rd. I finally got back to Redmond, stopped the timer, and cycled like a tourist the rest of the way home to cool off.

The computer stats were okay, with room for improvement as the season unfolds. All in all, not bad for the very first long outdoor ride of the year.

I'm satisfied. :)


Posted by Adrian at 10:10PM
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Progress! - [read more...]
March 15th 2010

This past weekend was HARD! Saturday started off with a morning lap swim, followed by a 2 hour sustained effort on the bike, and a grand finale on the treadmill with a hard 30 minute run above the redline. Sunday was an easy 16.5 mile intervals run - good distance but relatively slow. Just a long bout on the feet.

It seems that my run pace has improved considerably since January! The numbers have surprised me and it seems my coach as well. A proper MAF test is coming up at the end of the month. I can't wait to see those numbers!

The largest gains, by far, are in the water. I've always been a pretty poor swimmer. That's changing, slooooowly. Final pieces of the aquatic puzzle are falling into place. I've been rotating my head on non-breathing strokes without even realizing it. Learning to look straight down at the bottom of the pool had made a difference in stroke timing and efficiency.

Summer is coming! Soon I'll take what I've learned in the pool over the winter and try it in open water.

Talking to a fellow triathlete today made me reconsider the upcoming racing season. I may drop a local sprint tri as the opening race of the season and go straight to Ironman 70.3 Boise. I'm still undecided... stay tuned.


Posted by Adrian at 11:10PM
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Run playlist - [read more...]
March 8th 2010

A self serving and pointless post? Isn't that what blogs are for? ;) I'm sure the Intarwebs don't care, but I'll post my running playlist anyway.

A race is a race. Stimuli are constantly assaulting our senses in the form of other athletes trying their best to drop us, or referees just itching to give us a drafting penalty, or spectators trying their best to run into us. Besides we are too busy pretending our muscles and lungs aren't hurting.

Training on the other hand can be boring. A 90 minute run is a challenge to stay motivated. Indoor running on a treadmill is twice as boring. Enter the iPod shuffle... the second greatest running gadget after a heart rate monitor:

Axel F, The Big L., Born in the U.S.A., Danger Zone, Delta Force Theme, Du Hast, Enter Sandman, Eye of the Tiger, Gonna Fly Now, Grabbag (Duke Nukem), Holding Out for a Hero, I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight, I Want Candy, It's the End of the World As We Know It, Joyride, The Look, Miami Vice Theme, Mighty Wings, Paradise City, Princes of the Universe, Rock Me Amadeus, Self Control, Spybreak (Short One), Summer of '69, Top Gun Anthem, The Unforgiven, We're Not Gonna Take It, Welcome to the Jungle, Woo Hoo.

Let the mocking commence.


Posted by Adrian at 10:50PM
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Training training... - [read more...]
February 27th 2010

Back to business as usual after a slow few days due to illness. Last week's training has been great!!! It's always satisfying completing all scheduled training sessions and putting in the required time at the max aerobic HR. Helping the matters, the Seattle weather in mid-February has been cooperative: sunny and high 50s. Past Saturday I had a fun outdoor (for a change) bike ride around the Lake Sammamish loop. The sun was out and the scenery beautiful. The ride reminded me how much the rear tire needs changing. It has worn out on the trainer.

Nice weather never lasts long here. This week has been true to the Seattle stereotype: dark, gray and wet. I'm spending more time on the treadmill and the bike trainer. Ugh it's so boring! Mixing it up with an X-trainer and swimming are keeping me motivated. Also, starting the run outdoors until it got too cold or wet, and then finishing on the treadmill has been useful in breaking up the monotony.

I've completely skipped all training yesterday and the day before due to family matters. Of course I feel guilty now, and apprehensive. The coach doesn't know yet. I wonder what she'll say?

Tomorrow morning's back to the lap lanes with a kickboard, pull buoy and paddles. I'm working on the stroke and the kick separately. Both need improving.


Posted by Adrian at 9:30PM
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Sick! - [read more...]
February 11th 2010

Sinus and ear infection most likely picked up at a pool have kicked my butt this week. This has happened before, but not quite this bad: sore throat, fever, chills, cough, the works. Swimming as well as outdoor running and cycling are on hold until this is over. This week is all about easy spinning on the trainer and light running on the treadmill with HR about 10-15% less than ideal. It's frustrating! I need swim training the most and the racing season is approaching with each passing day.

Besides swimming, a MAF test this past weekend had shown some solid run gains. I was planning on carrying the gains further, but that obviously won't happen this week.

Keep your fingers crossed for me! Let's hope I'll wake up feeling better sooner rather than later. Until then I'll continue to train indoors. Yes it can be boring. So when I'm cycling for two hours, and not going anywhere, I have these four guys keeping me company: BA, Faceman, Hannibal and Murdock.


Posted by Adrian at 10:30PM
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Crash - [read more...]
February 2nd 2010

So I crashed at a photoshoot on Sunday. This was my first crash in over 2 years.

I was on a bike following a truck about 3 feet behind at 25-30mph. The photographer was hanging from the tailgate, his assistant was STANDING on the truck bed holding a strobe light boom, and we had a third person driving. We did at least 50 takes on a little hill (hill repeats yay!) and it all went perfectly. I didn’t contact the truck once.

But on one take I bravely (or foolishly?) continued past our safety zone flag markers. We got into a groove and matched speeds perfectly so I wanted to give the photographer a few extra shots. I made a 180 turn in a different spot further down the hill. Unbeknownst to me that spot was covered in slick mud. Tires just slid under me and off I went into the mud. The driver thought he hit me. :-D

My left elbow and hip are a little bruised. Nothing bleeding nothing broken. Lucky! The only casualties were the left brake lever and also the Speedplay cleat got messed up in ways I can’t even determine.

Did I mention I was in the aerobars the entire time so I couldn’t use the brakes to match the speed of the truck? Oh yeah and we were trespassing. Sort of.

On the upside, we got some terrific shots!!! A few are posted in the gallery.

I felt absolutely drained Sunday night. At least Monday was rest day.


Posted by Adrian at 9:55PM
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Less gear, more training - [read more...]
January 28th 2010

A triathlete isn't defined by our bike (although I'm sure you've heard otherwise). An expensive set of aero wheels won't qualify us for Kona. A fancy GPS enabled wristwatch won't make us faster runners. What makes better athletes? Training makes better athletes! The desire to go faster and longer, passion for the sport, motivation, perseverance, consistent effort day after day... these things make a triathlete.

The following text is a cautionary tale: do not expect your gear to effect any dramatic time split improvements. Our secret for success is in our own lungs and heart and blood. Gear selection at this level of the sport is mostly about comfort and not performance. Craig and Chrissie could use the 2-3 minutes saved by riding ZIPP 808s; the rest of us aren't able to hold the power output necessary to realize even those small gains.

Proper swim technique, and not gear, makes all the difference in the water. A high end wetsuit is not going to turn a mediocre swimmer into a good swimmer. So hit the lap lanes at your local pool at least three times a week for about an hour! Consider hiring a swim coach or at least partnering with a more experienced swimmer.

What helps most on the bike? Training again! Actually, allow me to segue for a moment in order to explain the second most important factor for improving bike splits. Full 80% of air resistance is generated by the rider and the rest is the bike in this order: wheels, fork, frame. What does that mean? It means that our position on the bike is far more important than the wheels or fork, and certainly more important than an expensive aero frame. If we evaluated our training objectively (most of us don't), we'd come to an inescapable conclusion that finding a best position on the bike is far more important than buying a new carbon aero frame or a set of deep dish wheels. Clip-on aero bars are the best possible upgrade we could make if riding a UCI legal road bike. Wind tunnel testing is not out of the realm of possibility. I know it sounds like science fiction to a mere amateur triathlete, but it isn't. Low speed wind tunnels can probably be found in your general area (Google!), and they typically charge less than the cost of a single carbon wheel - money well spent.

Do we even need to discuss the run?! Selection of running gear is entirely a matter of comfort and safety (avoiding injuries).

I can think of only one exception to the rule: a HRM is a good investment for all three disciplines.

To recap:

Swim: practice practice practice under the watchful eye of an experienced swimmer

Bike: frequent long rides, aero bars, position on the bike

Run: frequent long runs at the proper heart rate

Skip the unnecessary gear, save your pennies and hire a coach instead!


Posted by Adrian at 10:18PM
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Here we go 2010 - [read more...]
January 14th 2010

The coach just sent me the first block of the 2010 training schedule. I'll be training about 10-15 hours per week to start, and ramping it up to 25 hours per week by spring in preparation for the summer race season. First race of 2010 is about 4½ months away. That's a tentative schedule at this point. I'm trying to find an earlier sprint tri in the Seattle area, and then I'd replace the June race with a different event in the Olympic distance.

A power test on the bike a few days ago had revealed numbers that aren't too impressive. We'll track those numbers as my training progresses and hopefully see an improvement. Next up is a running MAF test on a 400m track. We need to find my max HR and anaerobic threshold. Bellevue High School have so graciously allowed access to their 400m track. Go Wolverines!!!

Speaking of HR tests... I just received a Garmin Forerunner 305: HR + stopwatch + GPS + bike speed and cadence. This device is everything you've heard and more. I'm in love with it.


Posted by Adrian at 10:39PM
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Transition tips - [read more...]
January 8th 2010

For the uninitiated, a transition takes place between the different disciplines of a triathlon: T1 between the swim and the bike, and T2 between the bike and the run. The time we spend in the transition counts towards the total finish time so a quick transition is essential. In other words: the clock is ticking from the moment we enter the water until we cross the finish line at the end of the run course.

Let's begin. PPPPPP = proper preparation prevents piss poor performance! A good transition begins with preparing your transition zone in the early morning hours before the race. The following is my personal technique. It works for me. It may or may not work for you, so practice the transition. With practice you may find faster and easier methods of your own!

Preparation:

Affix the race numbers on the bike and to your racing belt. Make sure the bike is mechanically sound and the tires are aired up. Check the spare tube/tubular and the CO2 inflator. Rack the bike as per race organizer's recommendations. Most organizers prefer to see the bikes racked on alternating sides: front wheel to back wheel to front wheel etc... So co-ordinate with your transition neighbors.

Fill the water bottles and drop them into bottle cages. Leave your cycling shoes clipped into the pedals and the shoe straps undone. Hang the helmet off the handlebars. Place the eyewear and gloves (if any) inside the helmet. Place your running shoes and visor nearby, but don't let them obstruct the access to the bike. A transition bag can be used for this, or just lay the running gear out on the mat. Prepare the fuel: power bars, gels, etc... Bike fuel is best stored on the bike itself. The running fuel and hydration, if you need them, can be stored near the running shoes.

Relax! Get body markings and wait for the start!

T1:

Unzip the wetsuit as soon as you get out of the water and get it off your arms and torso while running toward the transition area. Let the wetsuit hang around your waist until you get to the bike. Upon reaching the transition area, grab the inside neoprene (yes the inside!) and strip the wetsuit off your upper legs down below the knees. The next part is the hardest, right? Actually it doesn't need to be! Use your feet to get the wetsuit off! To get the wetsuit off one foot, just step with your other foot onto the loose leg of the wetsuit and pull the foot out of the suit! Yes, it's that simple. Repeat the same to get the other foot out. Leave the wetsuit on the ground. Kick it closer to your area if need be. Don't bother picking it up.

Take the helmet off the handlebars and remove the eyewear from inside the helmet. Put on the helmet and then the eyewear. Remove the bike from the rack. You are ready to push the bike to the mount line. Go as fast as you can and be mindful of hundreds of other athletes trying to do the same! Mount the bike just past the mount line. Try not to wipe someone else off their bike while getting your leg over the top tube! If there's a log jam of athletes at the mount line try pushing the bike a little further before jumping on. (Yes this is allowed.) Slide your feet into the shoes and work the shoe straps as the bike begins to roll.

Relax! Don't go too fast too early, and don't blow up on the very first climb.

T2:

Undo the shoe straps as you approach transition. Get your feet out of the cycling shoes and get off the bike just before the dismount line. Leave the shoes clipped in. Push the bike as fast as you can back to your transition area. Rack the bike. Take the helmet off and leave it on the ground next to the wetsuit and the transition bag. Put on the running shoes and the visor/cap. Use the same eyewear you've used on the bike. Grab the fuel and hydration, if any, and run out of the transition zone.

At that point there's just a run standing in the way of the finish line! First 10-15 minutes of the run are particularly hard. DO NOT STOP! Keep powering through the first couple of miles of the run and eventually you'll find your running legs and settle into a comfortable pace.

That's it! Good luck!


Posted by Adrian at 7:00PM
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Swimming - [read more...]
December 31st 2009

The swim. The first of three disciplines in a triathlon. An Ironman opens with a 2.4 mile swim. We have a saying: "you can't win an Ironman in the water, but you could lose it." There are many more miles of racing after we get out of the water. One could expend a lot of energy in the swim and come out of the water up to 5 minutes ahead of the competition... only to hit the wall on the run and lose 20 minutes. A successful triathlete must learn how to be an efficient swimmer, and how to balance the three disciplines.

Let's get back to losing the Ironman in the water! I'm competitive on the bike and getting there on the run. But the odds of placing well in a race and qualifying for the World's without improving my swimming abilities are slim at best. To that end, I've been spending a lot of time in the pools recently. (What's that I hear? Open water? The water temperature of the ocean and the local lakes is 45 degrees Fahrenheit.) The progress has been incremental and slow. When I hired a coach and committed to training in the pool three times a week, I expected a steep learning  curve ending in a breakthrough: ah-ha I can now swim 2.4 miles in 60 minutes and not break a sweat!

No, that didn't happen. I don't think it will ever happen quite like that. Competitive swimming is hard to pick up. The improvements are subtle and slow to come. However, obtaining that bit of wisdom has been crucial to my training. I've slowly become more aware of my head position and body roll, more aware of my kicks - when the kicks are efficient and when they aren't, and more aware of my stroke technique. Every training session brings new and exciting discoveries, and this process is likely to continue for years. I've had a couple of laps where everything clicked together and I felt like I was gliding effortlessly on the surface of the water and had bursts of very fast and efficient swimming. Alas, I'm not able to hold onto those moments...yet. I end up falling back to poor technique and thus waste precious energy.

I will become consistently efficient in the water... eventually. It just takes a lot of practice!

Next week: transition tips! :)


Posted by Adrian at 9:27PM
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Indoor cycling - [read more...]
December 22st 2009

Riding outdoors is such an exhilarating experience! The wind in your hair, warm sun and blue sky, beautiful scenery many miles from home, chance encounters with other cyclists, and my favorite: descending at breakneck speeds! The downside of course is being at the mercy of bad weather.

Riding a stationary bike at the gym may provide adequate exercise for fitness purposes, but it doesn’t offer serious cycling or triathlon training. The bike fit isn’t the same, there are usually no clipless pedals, and the resistance feel just isn’t the same.

Enter a bike trainer. The trainers allow us to train year-round on the same bike we normally ride, with the same familiar fit.

There are three types of trainers differentiated by the methods used to simulate road resistance. Magnetic trainers employ a series of magnets in order to provide resistance; much in a way an electric motor resists attempts to spin its shaft. Wind trainers have a fan providing resistance against the air itself. The magnetic trainers aren’t very smooth, the wind trainers are loud and do not provide enough resistance, and neither increases the resistance level when the rider pedals harder. The cost is pretty much the only upside these two types of trainers have. Both are relatively inexpensive.

The third type is a fluid trainer. The fluid trainers employ a sealed chamber filled with viscous fluid, coupled to a flywheel for realistic coast downs. The fluid trainers offer smooth even resistance similar to the real road conditions. Further, the fluid warms up when the trainer is in use, which decreases the viscosity and increases the resistance level accordingly.

The trainer I chose after weeks of research (yeah I’m one of those!) is Kurt Kinetic Road Machine.

It was packaged pretty well in a sturdy box with styrofoam inserts. The assembly was very easy: extend the legs, attach the resistance unit with a single long bolt, attach the resistance adjustment L-bolt spring and knob, and finally align the axle cones so the bike is centered on the roller wheel. That was it and I was pedaling within 30 minutes of opening the box! Kurt’s comes with an extra rear skewer for those of us riding nice wheels with expensive skewers. I opted to use the skewer provided rather than beat up the Mavic one.

Before moving onto my first training session with Kurt’s Kinetic, I’d like to point out two places where this trainer could be improved. The black rectangular piece holding the resistance chamber and the flywheel to the stand is made of plastic. While I have no doubt that the construction is good enough, it would have been better if that piece was also made of metal like the rest of the trainer. And also, the welds holding the leg brackets seem to be point-welds. I’d rather like to see a nice solid weld bead all the way down the length of the brackets. Despite this, the trainer does appear to be solid and safe.

The first training session on Kurt’s Kinetic was a dream! I set up a box fan in front of me to simulate wind, tuned the TV to Ironman Kona 2009 to stave off boredom, and held 22-23mph at 85 cadence for 90 minutes. The resistance was incredibly smooth and very much resembled a real road. The trainer did not rock or sway much. The often-discussed heating of the fluid resistance unit was not an issue. Cooling fins did their job. The resistance unit was pretty warm to the touch after 90 minutes, but I was able to comfortably grab hold of it for ~5 seconds so there could be no danger of an accidental burn injury.

Other than the bike staying put in my garage, there were just two differences between Kurt’s Kinetic trainer and the real thing. The coast downs were quicker than they would have been on the road: the rear wheel stopped spinning within 10 or 15 seconds of easing on the pedals. And also, I was beginning to miss the subtle bumps and jolts of a real road! One could compare the trainer with riding on an incredibly smooth surface such as a nice velodrome.

That was it for me. I was tired and my tri kit was soaking wet, not unlike returning home from an outdoor ride. I had my glass of Hammer Recoverite after the 90 minute training session, removed the bike from the trainer, and stored it away for another session tonight!

Kurt’s Kinetic Road Machine is a solid trainer and offers a very realistic riding experience. I'd definitely recommend it.


Posted by Adrian at 7:55PM
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Cold spell is over - [read more...]
December 14th 2009

Quick blog update... the cold spell is finally over! The rest of the week will be relatively warm and rainy. I've ran outside a few times these past few days, and had to cut it short after just 3 or 4 miles. It was COLD, even with a base layer and a nice thick long sleeve jersey! :O

The pools near me are heated well so at least I was able to swim. I'm off work all week so I'm trying to swim every day when the pools are relatively unoccupied.

As for bike training, a Kurt Kinetic trainer is on the way. I'm actually looking forward to riding indoors until spring. Now the wait for a brown delivery truck begins. Trainer should be here next Monday. I'll post a review and pictures next week.


Posted by Adrian at 9:35PM
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Staying motivated - [read more...]
December 7th 2009

Motivation is something athletes are intimately familiar with. A motivated athlete is a better performing athlete. Poor motivation on the other hand can negatively affect performance and effectively undo weeks or even months of training.

I'm no expert on the subject, so I will only write about my own experiences. Poor motivation during training is almost always caused by one of three triggers. All three are, naturally, mostly out of my control: stress or long hours at my desk job, poor health or injury, and finally Seattle's unpredictable weather.

I've developed some techniques in dealing with poor motivation.

The work related issues are the easiest to handle, and no I'm not talking about pulling off a Peter Gibbons. Whenever I feel overworked, and risk leaving the office at the end of the day completely disinterested in any effort beyond lifting a cup of coffee or turning pages of a good book, instead I take a break from work and go for a run. The daytime runs help me stay on track, even if they are just 3 or 4 miles long.

That leaves us with health and weather, which brings me to the crux of today's post.

An old knee injury has been telegraphing me lately. I'm not sure why here and why now. I've been running on soft surfaces only, and I haven't been cycling for several weeks. As if that weren't enough of a concern, I think the new swimming pool has been making me sick. On two separate occasions I've developed a sore throat and a sinus infection 36-48 hours after swimming in that pool. Coincidence? I'll give the little local pool one more shot and we'll see what develops. If it happens again, I'll switch back to the King County Aquatic Center even though that facility is 30 miles away.

Running with a problematic knee or swimming with a sinus infection play a continuous record of doubt in my mind: "what if I injure the knee further? what if I get a nose bleed? what if this is a serious problem? I should cut the training short!" And that's exactly what I've been doing lately!

The weather isn't helping the issue at all. The temperatures in Seattle have been hovering between the lows of 20F and the highs of 31F, and the pavement is covered with ice and frost (no snow). Riding outside is out of the question at the moment. Riding indoors on a trainer would be one option, if I had a trainer! So I'll fix that. I intend to get the Kurt Kinetic before the end of the month.

I feel like I should be out there right now regardless, but instead I'm at a coffee house typing on a laptop. Next four months are going to challenge my motivation. (One way ticket to Hawaii, please!)

Here's the plan for surviving the winter: I'll continue my short runs on soft surfaces, and I'll get an indoor cycle trainer. I'll spend the next four months listening to my body and training lightly, while working with an orthopedist on my knee pain, and also fine tuning my nutrition, so I'm ready for more rigorous training in the spring.

See what I did there by turning a negative into a positive? That's what we must do. Motivation is never black and white, but rather an infinite number of gray shades. I want my shade to remain a light gray color until spring. I know it will turn snow-white as soon as the Sun comes out and as soon as my body stops complaining.

Good luck and good training. I'll see you at Clearwater next November. :)


Posted by Adrian at 9:50PM
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First post - [read more...]
December 5th 2009

Here we are... after a long period of contemplation and many delays I've finally managed to put up a training calendar/blog thing. I have very selfish reasons for doing this. :) Sharing my training events with the rest of the World and blogging about my attempts to break into the Ironman races will keep me on track and will help me stay focused and motivated. I hope.

I've done a few local sprint and Olympic distance triathlons in 2009 season. The year was supposed to culminate with a top 10 age group finish at the Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens. Not only have I failed that goal, but I didn't even start the race. A combination of poor motivation and poor health have prevented me from taking place in the 70.3 event. My hopes are high for the 2010 season! I could write volumes about what happened in 2009. Instead, I'm going to quote an e-mail I sent on the day of the race to my friend and now-coach Angela Naeth. The following will, I think, shed light on my frame of mind that day better than anything I could write today:

I'm back at home on a real computer. I sent my last brief message from an iPhone. Becky Lavelle won the women's race. Michellie Jones faded and finished third behind Heather Wurtele. Jones and Lavelle got out of T2 together and were running side by side most of the run course. Joe Gambles absolutely demolished the course and won the men's race.

I don't know where or how to begin. My head is swimming with all sorts of emotions, most of them bad ones.

I drove to Lake Stevens this morning around 9 AM. (Middle finger goes to a dark blue Honda YOU CRACKED MY WINDSHIELD!!!!!!) I couldn't even get out of bed early enough to spectate, let alone race today. More about that later.

The leaders were already on the run course by the time I got there. I picked a great spot near Mike Reilly and his loudspeaker, right in the middle between the two run loops. Like an idiot I put on my USAT hat and Lake Stevens shirt this morning. Looking like a racer I felt like everyone in the crowd knew that I was the guy who dropped out. I felt like everyone was staring at me knowingly and gloating. I tried to dismiss the crazy thoughts and concentrate on the runners. And then Mike Reilly made a comment something about "our athletes who aren't racing today". I've met Mike at the orientation so he probably recognized me. Argh I felt like shoving the microphone down his throat... or running away back to my Jeep (CRACKED WINDSHIELD!!!!). I couldn't decide which, so I stood there in the crowd, big athletic guy so obviously jumping out amongst the spectators, my head swimming, and watched the race for perhaps 30 minutes.

It really was the absolute low point of my year. I've promised myself, right then as I was standing there instead of running the course, that I will never let this happen again. I'm going to repair whatever the hell is wrong with me, and double my training efforts from now on.

I drove back home, nearly causing an accident because I wasn't paying attention, and went to "my" (I'm using air quotes here) Starbucks to collect my thoughts. A familiar surroundings and a cup of coffee and an Ayn Rand novel had rebooted my thoughts somewhat. From there I went to the beach to think further and come up with some sort of a plan for the future. Fixing my funny triathlon tan lines was just a fringe benefit.

I told you about my knee. This is a well known and well understood issue. I can work it out. But I also have a GI tract issue that has been far more devastating. A dentist prescribed some antibiotics last year; a routine procedure which didn't even make me think twice about taking the pills. Unfortunately the antibiotic had permanently disrupted the bacterial flora of my small intestine. My body had lost the ability to absorb nutrients. Worse still, the bad bacteria apparently feasts on wheat and refined sugar and multiplies to a point where my own immune system attacks the intestines and causes inflammation (auto-immune). At least that's the leading theory at this point. I've been surviving on a strict gluten-free diet for the past 2 or 3 months. I thought I could manage the symptoms through race day, but it didn't work out that way. My symptoms have worsened lately and the only treatment that seems to work is (wait for it) eating as little as possible. How can I train when I'm eating a 1000 calories a day? Instead of getting a full night's sleep before the race, I spent most of the last night wide awake with what felt like a CO2 canister had gone off in my GI tract and just got stuck in there. I didn't get out of bed until 9 AM. (Not that I would have been able to race 70 miles eating what I eat.)

I need to find a brilliant doctor able to do something about this. It is a simple problem, but no one seems to have a solution for me other than a special diet. This problem would probably benefit the overweight 50% of the population, nasty side effects and symptoms aside. But to an endurance athlete it is absolutely crushing.

I'm calling a different specialist tomorrow... or make that today. It is after midnight and I'm tired.

Thanks Angela,

Adrian

Posted by Adrian at 9:41PM
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