training triumphs and tribulations

The last 10 days or so of training have been marked by some distinct highs and lows, but I guess that is all part of the process and what makes you stronger in the end. Almost two weeks ago now, I spoke of the beginnings of a potential sickness of some kind, and sure enough, this progressed a little bit further down the road than I had hoped. Coming up on the end of January and heading into another big weekend of training, my gut really started acting up and providing me and those around me with all sorts of discomfort and disruptions. I thought at one point it may have been due to the internet acquired almonds that I had been eating en masse and I feared tainted, but in retrospect it was probably the initially suspected bug. This did not keep me from my training however, and not this past weekend but the last, Jocelyn and I joined the IM crew again for another big session. Lisa, myself, and Jocey pictured below in Jen and Chad's basement.
We did a 3.5 hr trainer ride followed by a 30 minute transition run on the cold streets of Irwin, and then after a nice recovery brunch at Casa de Holderbaum, it was off to the Greensburg YMCA for perhaps the most ridiculous training leg of all, a 1650 time trial. As former pool swimmers, Jen and I lead off in the 1st heat and got things warmed up for Chad and Jocelyn. Strangely, this swim was the portion of the day that I feared the most for both stomach related troubles and performance shortcomings, but was pleasantly the most solid of all. I swam a 21:45 for the 1650, which works out to be about a 1:19 pace per 100y. I'll take it, after 4 hrs of earlier workouts and some tight hamstrings on those late flipturns.
Chad, Jen, Jocelyn, and myself.
The following (last) week went pretty well, I starting coming around health wise by Monday or Tuesday and didn't really miss any planned workouts due to The Bug. I did have a couple shorter bike sessions on T/TH than I would have liked, but I was also at work a little later than ideal and this made for late starts. Swimming continued to flow pretty well, running was average with no foot discomfort, however some of those aforementioned bike sessions left me feeling a little bit more flat than they should have. I read an article Thursday night about racing weight and coupled with a surprisingly low scale reading Friday morning, this got me paranoid about the pitfalls of my Paleo ways. I will reserve judgment and blame The Bug for now. And with Super Bowl Sunday coming up, my bottom line was sure to be padded just a little.

This past Saturday we had another trainer session planned at another friend's house and of course I was really keyed up for this again, when the infamous Blizzard of 2010/Snowmageddon/Snowpocalypse hit overnight Friday. When Jocelyn and I woke up to no power and 20 inches of new, wet snow, we knew the group trainer streak was going to come to an end. While initially this was very upsetting in a tri-myopic sort of way, once we ventured outdoors, we soon found alternative activities to keep up entertained. We briefly considered doing our 3 hr trainer ride, just the two of us, by headlamps or candlelight, with a portable battery powered dvd player, but quickly called an audible for snow shoveling cross-training and then a cross country ski trek into Sewickley and to a warmer shelter. And now, as the skies previously dumped snow on the mid-Atlantic region, I shall dump my photos on the blogger-nets.
Jocey striding through an idyllic Ponterfract Park.

Me crossing over LSC.

As the crow flies or the train goes by to Sewick-town.

Nice.

After a relaxing rest of the day Saturday, Sunday dawned and it was time for the weekly long run. Chris, Joe, and Steve joined Jocelyn and I for a planned 10 miler through the snowy, 8 degree countryside. A shot of all of the runners synchronizing our swatch....er...Forerunners before the run. We'll have to send this one into Garmin, and yes, we know we're dorks. Fast dorks.

Jocey, Chris, Joe, and Steve heading out away from town.

Steve, me, and Jocey about a mile further down the road.

Joe, Chris, Steve, and Jocey heading past the first of many downed trees on a usually moderately traveled country road.

Steve, Chris, Jocelyn (foreground, pushing the pace!), and Joe passing under a big one. This was amazing, we had this whole road to ourselves, and yes, this is a road! This looks a lot like the trails that are on top of the adjacent ridges!

Chris and I post-run, we got in an unexpected 13 miles, but the time just flew by and I felt like I could have run 30 that day. Maybe my most enjoyable run of all-time.

After the run, we then came home to our 41 degree house. Our power was still out (nearly 37 hours later) but even this could not bring me down after that epic snowscape run.
About an hour later the power was finally restored and the rest of Sunday was spent relaxing and preparing for the Super Bowl. Jocey and I went over to the Filauri's and met back up with Steve and Joe, along with Joyce and Fay among others, for some football fun and the promised padding of the bottom line. This was an excellent and more normal end to a strange, but very memorable weekend. I learned that things might not always go to plan with the training schedule, but you just have to make the most of what the conditions give you, have fun, and knuckle up!

return to the blogosphere, 01.12.10

Back by popular demand, Knuckle Up Triathlon returns to the blogosphere for the "tens" (2010)! I suppose a lot has happened since my last blog post, which was an inexcusable 6+ weeks(!) ago, but really not too much has happened in the way of significant training or anything on the racing front. I'll mention some of the things that stand out to me, but really just start fresh with the New Year.

Definitely the most tri-applicable news is that I am now on a new tri bike for 2010, a 2009 Felt B2 Pro. After five great years of training and racing on the trusty Cervelo steed, I have retired this bike to the pastures and I am stoked to be on the full carbon rig for the new season. The Felt is super comfortable (I think I have a nearly identical fit to my P3 dialed in now on the B2), and I can't wait to see what it can do on the open roads. It just looks incredibly aero and sharp with the Zipp wheels and DA drivetrain. Hopefully some of this snow will melt soon and we'll get one of the unseasonably warm winter days that I've been telling everyone we're bound to get and I am so desperately hoping for.The biggest non-tri news without a doubt is that my younger brother Chris got engaged to his longtime girlfriend Alyson. CONGRATS guys! They are planning a summer wedding of this year and I can't wait for that and for them, they are a great couple and this is going to be huge! Christmas and New Year's came and went, and I enjoyed the time off from work and as always had some nice time with my family and my newly minted inlaws. Wonderful gifts, wishes, and holiday love and cheer was spread far and wide. New Year's Day Jocelyn and I went to the Y for one of our traditional New Years Day workouts, and once we were done swimming, took some fun underwater pictures and also a few practical ones and video for some stroke analysis.
Friends Jim, Leslie, and Bill. Jim is our masters swim team's self-appointed "spiritual leader", Leslie a northern VA swimmer visiting her USMS buddies, and Bill is our masters coach and resident super-swimmer at the SEWY Y. Note the swedes on Bill as proof of his speed.
Unfortunately I have yet to find my groove with the indoor cycling this winter and have been struggling to get in real long sessions on the weekend. So in place of some of the volume that my sanity is not currently allowing for, I have been supplementing with a little more intensity than usual and am getting in some focused, steady to mod-hard sessions. Not having the group CompuTrainer sessions like we have the last two winters has definitely made a difference, but some talks are in the works to put together some basement sufferfests with friends! In the meantime though, Jocelyn and I are trying to make the most of this old school, snowy Pittsburgh winter with a little cross country skiing. Last Saturday the wife and I went up to Sewickley Heights Park and did some xc on trails we had previously only run or biked on.
Saturday night we had dinner at our friends' Joe and Fay, where they made some awesome homemade Chinese, with some mongolian beef and coconut curry vegetables and rice. There was also a case of Hofbrau House Dunkel on hand, as well as some sake and the night was definitely full of great tastes and indulgence. Below is the tasty wedding cake made for us by Fay's mother, which all of us made quick work of after the Chinese feast!
Pictured from l to r: Judy, Jocelyn, Steve, Fay, and Joyce. (not pictured: me, Joe, and Russell)
Sunday morning was a little rough seeing as I am now a lightweight, but Joe and I met for an 11 mile progression run in the 8 degree temps. It was a struggle to get going, but after 5 miles or so I found my legs and we started clipping along around 7min pace and below. JV and I post-run trying to warmup and let hats and beards thaw.
Sunday afternoon Jocelyn and I saw Avatar which we thoroughly enjoyed - I must admit, I'm a sucker for visually astounding, reality bending, consciousness questioning sci-fi flicks. I had the same sort of feeling after seeing the original Matrix for the first time. Sunday evening we had dinner at my rents' house, and afterwards my mom pulled out my old swimming warmup jacket that she found while cleaning some unseen corner of the house. This was a huge blast from my AG swimming past with the Sea Dragons, and probably from about when I was eight or nine years old, judging by the progressive swim lesson patches and the size of the thing. It would be so cool to sport this relic from my first days as an endurance athlete to a current masters swim meet, but I doubt I could get this tiny hoody around my shoulders or zipped at all!
So until the weather warms considerably, I'm going to have to stay motivated by watching the upcoming winter games, and following along with the ongoing Epic Camp in NZL for the next 5 days. I better start getting into that champion mindset myself though, because the first race of the year is only about three months away! Happy training-