Tri Gramps

Seagull Century Ride - A wonderful experience!

2011-10-18T04:24:00.000-07:00

Bike packed and ready to go! I only need to throw the wheels on top.

The road to Assateague Island. You can see two of the only four hills on the course in the distance.

The wild horses on Assateague.

Pie and ice cream under the shelter at the last rest stop. :)

Go Team! :)

My adventure started last Wednesday when I spent about an hour trying to fit my bike into the small case I rented to ship the bike on the airplane with me. I started by removing the seat, post and all, and the handlebars from the vertical post. Then, off came the pedals. It's always a little tricky to figure out which way to turn the pedal wrench since it is different for each side. Finally, I removed both wheels. After fiddling for another half hour I figured out the best way to orient the handlebars on the frame to have the best chance of getting everything in the case. But, it was still not good enough. I removed the rear derailleur. Close, but not quite enough. Finally, the skewers came out of both wheels and the case closed easily. I took a picture so I would remember when it came time to pack it up again.

I met my teammates at the airport on Thursday morning for the 1 hour flight to Baltimore. Our coach had driven the day before to Salisbury, MD. taking the tandem bicycle that one couple on our team would ride on Saturday. A two hour shuttle ride from the Baltimore airport brought us to our Holiday Inn in Salisbury and we set about unpacking an assembling our bikes. That evening, we road (by car) to Ocean City, MD. to take a walk on the boardwalk by the sea and to sample the local fare at a very nice restaurant.

The next morning, I was up early for a 10 mile ride with the team to check our bikes and warm up for the ride on Saturday. At the expo that afternoon, I bought a couple of CO2 cartridges for my pump and a pair of bicycle shorts, and picked up my official Seagull Century shirt. Later that evening, we all went to the TNT inspiration dinner and turned in early for the big event on the morrow. I had brought my heart rate monitor and discussed with the coach my plan to start the ride with a slow warmup, making sure that my heart rate generally stayed below about 120 bpm. He was fully supportive and planned to stay back in case anyone on the team needed assistance. I was expecting to do about 12 mph. But, as it turned out, that was a low estimate.

On the morning of the big day, we were all up at 6AM grabbing bananas, orange juice, bagels, or whatever to fuel ourselves for a long day. The start was a rather informal affair. The expectation was that every one of the 8,000 to 9,000 registered cyclists would start some time between 7AM and 9AM. We left the hotel on our bikes at around 7AM and a mile and a half later merged with the riders about 2 blocks from the starting line coming out of the tunnel that we would enter on our way to that same line for the finish of the ride some 9 hours later.

There were nine people on our team. Six took the lead. The coach, myself, and one other rider stayed together a short distance behind the leaders. We met the lead group at each of the 4 rest stops on the course and close to the end of the ride where we all finished together. The day was clear with ideal temperatures from 50 to 70 degrees F (10 - 20 C). The course was mostly flat with only 4 sizeable, but short hills. The real challenge was the wind. It was mostly at our back on the way out. But, for the last 30 - 40 miles we faced up to 30 mph head winds most of the time. The rest stop at about 65 miles was on Assateague Island, where we stopped to admire the wild "animals" with their bicycles and a few wild horses. The real treat was the apple pie and ice cream which was served at the 85 mile rest stop. This has come to be a much anticipated tradition for this particular ride. I ended up in a ditch at the side of the road when I clipped the rear wheel of a teammate while negotiating a narrow shoulder in a fierce head wind. Nothing wounded but my pride, I was quickly back up and on my way. The whole team reassembled a few miles from the finish and ended our ride with our famous cheer - "O" "H" ... "I" "O". It was a gratifying end to a long and enjoyable day!

Seagull in a little over a week!

2011-10-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

In another week I will be winging my way to Baltimore in order to participate in the Seagull Century on Saturday, October 15th. The training has been going well. I have finished a number of 25 mile and 50 mile rides. I have also completed two 75 mile rides, the last one in 5 and a half hours. Now I have begun to taper off a little to save my strength for the event.

I actually rode the wheels off my bike with that last 75 miler. Really! After the ride I took my bike to the shop because I could hear the bearings clacking in the rear wheel. When I got my bike back a week later they had replaced both wheels, the bearings in the front tube that holds handle bars, the crank bearings and the chain. It's practically a new bike now. All ready for the big ride.

I also got the go-ahead from the cardiologist after passing a stress test on Monday. That was an interesting experience. When I got on the treadmill, the doctor commented, "This may take awhile". My resting heart rate is typically around 60 beats per minute and the stress test goes to 161 which is my nominal maximum heart rate. I'm getting along better with the cardiologist these days. I think he's finally figured out that these endurance events are important to me and is willing to work with me on this. The SPECT scanner they used to take the pictures is an old Picker Prism. I worked on the software for this scanner when I was at Picker. I recognized the blue and gray UI with the old Motif widgets. Brought back memories of my start in Medical Imaging.

We'll be taking our bikes on the plane with us. That will be a new experience. I'm renting a bike case for the trip. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

Thanks a lot for all your support. I hope to continue this worthy effort for a number of years, my cardiac issues notwithstanding. :)

48 days and $115 to go

2011-08-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

I'm back in the saddle. And, feeling pretty good. After 8 weeks of cardiac rehab, which ended early this month, I have steadily increased my mileage on the bicycle to get ready for the Seagull Century in early October.
Sorry I haven't written sooner. But, I'm still trying to make sense of this. I have never had recognizable symptoms, but I'm glad they found and fixed the blockage when they did. Now, instead of no prescription medication, I am taking 5 pills a day, including a regular aspirin and Lipitor. My cholesterol level has dropped from 270 to 135 and my blood pressure is better. Instead of America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride which was held in June, I will be participating in the Seagull Century next month. I figure sea-level and flat is probably better than 1 mile up with lots of hills. Well, maybe next year for Tahoe.
So, back to the training. I've been riding at lease 10 miles most mornings on the weeks I am at home and getting in an occasional 20 miler during the week. Two weekends ago (Saturday), I completed a 50 miler in under 4 hours. Last weekend I was in Ft. Lauderdale but I walked for about 5 hours on the beach with a colleague from Mako. That walk started out very pleasant, but at the turn-around with the sun getting higher in the sky we both knew we were in for a long walk back to the hotel. Yesterday I completed a 62 mile ride in 4 hours and 44 minutes. That's about 13 miles per hour. At that rate, I should be able to finish the 100 mile ride in just under 8 hours. I figure if I can get to 75-80 miles in training I should be all set. We'll see. I'm not looking to beat anyone, just finish.

Seagull Century! Here I come!

2011-05-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't written for a while. To be honest, I've been feeling a little sorry for myself and trying to make sense of my new situation - two Cardiac stents and a new sense of vulnerability. But, I'm over that for now. :)

All is not lost! Yes, I'm afraid America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride around Lake Tahoe is not in the cards for me this year. Maybe next year. But, Team in Training is allowing me to transfer most of my funds and my event selection to the Seagull Century Ride. The ride is in Maryland on October 15th. This should give me plenty of time to train and to convince the Cardiologist that this is the best thing for me to do. The course is relatively flat and at sea level. A better venue for me right now than mile-high Lake Tahoe with a course that involves a number of very challenging hills. I'm psyched!

Go Team!!

Lake Tahoe

2011-04-19T05:03:00.000-07:00

The good news is. I have raised $2,985 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I am only about $700 short of my fund raising commitment with only about a month and a half to go.

The bad news is. Although I will have raised a significant amount of money for a very worthy cause, I may not be able to go to Tahoe for the event. Friday a week ago, I was in the hospital for a cardiac catheterization. The surgeon placed two stents in my left anterior descending artery, the one they call the "widow-maker". Now I have gone from no medication to 5 meds a day including aspirin. Two blood thinners, two blood pressure meds, and a statin to lower my cholesterol.
The wierd thing is. I have never had symptoms that I could detect and I still feel fine. What prompted this was findings on a chest CT that I had done for a completely different reason, which turned out to be nothing.

Major bummer! But, I plan to be back on my bike as soon as the weather clears and I will see what I am able to handle. God willing, I'll be able to try again next year.

San Diego Rock 'n Roll Marathon - the day of the race.

2010-06-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

3:30AM on the west coast, June 6th, I am up and out of bed, girding myself as if for battle. Sweat band, cycling cap, RFID timer and emergency information tag laced into my shoes, and, yes, compression socks all added to my armament. I remind myself that this is the anniversary of the day the Allies invaded "Fortress Europe" during World War II. My effort pales in comparison, but it is still my effort. And I feel a little, just a little, trepidation because I know I am not adequately trained. But, I am resolved to complete the distance, 26 miles and 385 yards.

We board the bus, which will take us to the start, at 4:30AM. Balboa Park is a surreal collection of klieg lights, UPS trucks, tables, tents, port-a-potties, and, of course, runners. There are 30,000 of us at the start. We fill the street for about a quarter of a mile behind the starting line. We are in groups, called corrals, based on our anticipated finish time.

The first group starts at 6:15. My group starts sometime between 6:30 and 6:45. We spend a long time "inching" toward the start before beginning our race. We start in what the locals call "June Gloom", what I would call "morning fog". The fog lasts until about 10AM and spares the slower runners, like me, much of the heat from the morning sun. I run with one of my team-mates for about 6.5 miles until her "trick knee" sidelines her for a short while. She ends up beating me to the finish, probably passing me at around mile 16, but I don't see her again until after the race. It's a long race.

Through much of the first 10 miles we run through Balboa Park (twice), downtown San Diego, and along the harbor. It is a lovely course with live bands every 2 miles or so. Very inspiring. After that is a 4-5 mile stretch of freeway which they have shut off to traffic for the race. I busy myself watching for the many Elvis impersonators who are running and enjoying the many people who have turned out to cheer us on.

About half-way through the race, I felt like I might need something other than the aide drinks to fuel my run. The easiest thing to take at a time like this is this stuff called Gu. Sure enough, that's what they are offering at the aide station just before mile 14 on the course. So, I grab a raspberry and a vanilla flavor packet. Now, for me, injesting this concoction is a real challenge. It is very thick and extremely sweet. Every time I try to swallow this substance, it immediately triggers my gag reflex. So, determined to get it down in order to fuel the rest of my run, I squeeze the entire contents into my mouth and ignore the impulse to immediately expell it long enough to down a full cup of water. It works and I am on my way again.

At 16 miles, I know I am finished. After that point in the race, I am only able to manage maybe a 100 yard trot at rare intervals, but I know I am walking most of the rest of the race. The bottoms of my feet are each covered with giant blisters. I have made the rookie mistake of dumping one cup of water over my head at each water stop early in the race in an effort to keep cool. The water has soaked my socks and is causing me to rub blisters into the bottom of both of my feet.

Mile 18 brought us to Mission Bay. The run around Mission Bay and Fiesta Island took forever. The discouraging thing is that you can look across the bay to the island and see a long line of "ants", runners who are a full 4 miles ahead of you on the course. I have the strongest urge to turn this into an aqua run (partial triathlon?) and swim across the bay to cut 4 miles out of the run. But, I just continue on dry land, putting one foot in front of the other. It is a long slog in what is now a full sun. Occasional cool breezes across the bay serve to slightly reduce my misery. The greater the misery, the sweeter the finish. I am determined to persevere! Live bands along this stretch of the course still inspire if only for a short while and the hundreds of volunteers and supporters are very much appreciated.

We finish at Sea World. I manage a half-hearted trot/shuffle and a heart-felt smile while crossing the finish line. My official time is 6 hours and 6 minutes. Not pretty, but I'll take the finish. I will do this again, but I hope to be better trained next time.

The race is billed as the San Diego Rock 'n Roll Marathon to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the purple shirted runners from Team in Training were everywhere you looked. 4,000 runners from chapters all over the country competed and together raised over $12,000,000 to find a cure for blood cancers. That is, afterall, what this is really all about.

19 days and $1809 to go.

2010-05-18T04:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who contributed my place on the San Diego team is assured! That's the good news. Also, my calf cramps seem to be totally cured with my use of the compression stockings. But...

Now, for the "not so good" news. After my 18 mile run about 3 weeks ago, I planned an easier week with a maximum run of about 12 miles on the following weekend. I ended up walking the last two miles of that run with a muscle cramp or pain in my right hip. I haven't been able to run more than about 3 miles since that day without the pain returning. It doesn't seem to be the joint, thank goodness, but it has definitely knocked me "off my game" with the training. I may be walking a good bit of the marathon in San Diego, but I am determined to finish. The Dr. has diagnosed iliotibial band syndrome, so I am working hard to stretch and strengthen the muscles - hip abductor (tensor fascia lata), gluteus minimus, and gluteus medius - and tendons running down the right side of my right leg. I'm learning about muscles I didn't even know I had!

As I read the material on iliotibial band syndrome, I came across a discussion of greater trochanteric bursitis. This actually matches the symptoms I am having very closely. The cause (building mileage too quickly) also matches. The treatment is anti-inflammatories, moderate rest, and strenghthening and stretching of the muscles I mentioned above. So, that's my plan for the next 3 weeks until race day.

41 days and $2885 to go

2010-04-27T06:17:00.000-07:00

A total of 38 miles this week and no sign of my calf cramps! I really feel like I can start pushing the mileage now. My goal will be at least one 20 mile run before the race day.

I wore the compression socks every time I ran this week and was able to rack up the mileage. Last week I covered a total of 30 miles, ending with a 15 mile run on Sunday. This week I covered 38 miles and ended with a Sunday run of 18 miles.

I took this last monday off to recover from my 15 mile run. Tuesday, I ran 5 miles. Wednesday I ran 10 miles. I was feeling pretty good after that run. It was not so long ago that 10 miles felt like a real accomplishment to me. Not wanting to push myself too hard, I rested on Thursday. I finished my weekday runs with another 5 miler on Friday.

After resting on Saturday, I felt ready to tackle my longest run to date on Sunday. I planned a triple "out and back" on a 6 mile course. That gave me the opportunity for a couple of "pit stops" for drinks and a bathroom break as necessary. I have to tell you, though, it was really hard to turn around and go back out on the course the second time I returned. By that time, my legs were really heavy. But, no calf cramps! Halleluja!

Mostly recovered, I started this morning with an easy 3 miler. I am going to make this an easy week to let my body heal from last week's efforts.

49 days and $2885 to go!

2010-04-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

A real cure for my calf cramps? Two words - "compression socks".

Dave Scott, Mr. Triathlon, highly recommends them. Many long distance runners use them. Now, I too am a believer.

The reason I am feeling so optimistic about this is that I have covered 30 miles this week without any real issues with calf cramps. My current regiment, which seems to be working, is to wear the compression socks when I run and stretch my calves thoroughly after the run when my muscles have fully warmed. I'm not completely ready to declare victory yet. But, the indications are certainly encouraging.

The compression socks make sense, because the cramping can be caused by localized ischemia in the muscles of my calf during prolonged exercise. Improving the circulation with the use of compression socks should prevent the cramps from starting. That, at least, is my theory. Time will tell.

Here's how the week went. Tuesday, wearing my compression socks, I covered four miles walking one minute out of every ten. My calves were feeling good after that run. Wednesday would be the first real test of my theory. I planned to run eight miles. Again wearing the socks, I ran the first four miles without stopping and ran the second four miles walking one minute out of every ten. I stretched my calves after the run using the "stair stretch". My calves were feeling good after the run. That was an excellent sign. On Thursday, I walked to rest my calves. A three mile run on Friday ended my weekday workouts. The final, real test for the week was a 15 mile run on Sunday. I completed this run in just under two hours and 40 minutes. I am very happy to report that my calves are still feeling good. Despite a few aches from the long run, I now feel like I can begin my build-up to the marathon distance in earnest. Yes, so far the compression socks seem to be doing the trick.

56 days and $2985 to go!

2010-04-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

Having problems with my right calf... Again!

Two weeks ago, Easter week, I got in some pretty good training. Four miles on Tuesday, seven miles on Wednesday, and three miles on Thursday. I am still walking one minute out of every ten to make sure I pace myself properly and to try to keep my calves from tightening up too much. I then took a break on Friday and was planning to run ten miles on Saturday morning while we were in Cincinnati for Easter weekend. The evening before the run, I went to the store to look for an electrolyte replacement drink, Gatorade or something like that. The drink I found that had the highest sodium and potassium content was a V-8 fruit and vegetable drink. So, I bought that.

My brother asked if I wanted to ride with him on Saturday as well. Never one to pass up an opportunity like that, I unhesitatingly said "yes". So, we set the time for the ride to be about an hour after I finished my run. I told him not to expect much from me after the long run. The run course consisted of two five mile "out and backs". It's a little disconcerting to return to the starting point after the first "out and back" only to realize that you are half done. But, this is the best way to ensure that I can drink enough fluids during a run of more than an hour. I completed the ten miles in a little under 2 hours, rested an hour, then rode to my brother's house to start our 10 o'clock ride.

I was more than a little tired, but he lives on one of the hills ringing the downtown Cincinnati area so the ride started with a long downhill. This was a good way to loosen my muscles after the long run earlier in the day. We rode around downtown Cincinnati, had a hamburger at Findlay Market and rode back up the hill. It was a total of about 20 miles. Needless to say, I rested on Sunday. Whew!

This past week, I managed a three mile run on Monday and a seven mile run on Wednesday. That last run left me hobbled for the rest of the week. I have been recuperating and stretching since then, trying to get my calf back in shape. Only 8 weeks to go. I had better rethink my training strategy, I'm not getting the longer runs because of my calf problems. I will finish the race in San Diego, the only question is: "What kind of shape will I be in at the finish?".

70 days and $3185 to go!

2010-03-29T04:54:00.000-07:00

Because I have agreed to be an assistant coach for the TNT Greater Cleveland Triathlon Team, several weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to learn triathlon coaching from the master, Dave Scott. It took a little creativity, however, to get to the venue because I had already scheduled a trip to Florida on the preceeding week. So, after spending the week in Florida, I returned to Hopkins Airport in Cleveland at around 2:30PM on friday, 3/19. With no time to get home, I waited in the airport for about 5 hours to catch a 7:15PM flight to Washington, D.C. I was travelling light with my customary one "carry-on" so I managed to stuff bathing suit and exercise chords in with my running shoes and shorts.

The flight to Washington, D.C. was uneventful and the plane landed around 8:30PM. My plan was to take the Metro to "Foggy Bottom" (I love that name) which would leave a 10 minute walk to the hotel. After puzzling over the fare machine for several minutes, I finally solved the riddle with a little help from another rider and managed to purchase a one-way ticket. The ride from the airport was a straight shot on the blue line. But, I accidentally got on the yellow line. My error wasn't apparent for several stops since the trains parallel each other for several miles. After seeing 2 or 3 stops that I didn't recognize, I decided to get off and take a closer look at my map. Backtracking for several stops on the yellow line and heading in the opposite direction on the blue line eventually got me to "Foggy Bottom".

The weekend with Dave Scott was a great experience and I spent time with a number of great TNT coaches, including Dea, of whose courage I spoke last week. It was a very busy and exhausting weekend, but I learned a lot about triathlon coaching.

I returned home on Sunday and crashed! My training this week was back on schedule, with three mile runs on tuesday and thursday and a 6 mile run on wednesday. After a day of on friday, I tackled my longest distance so far, 13 miles, on saturday. The weather was perfect and I covered the distance in about 2 hours, 15 minutes. I'm still walking 1 minute out of every 10. That seems to keep my calf cramps at bay. However, I have had to work on them with "The Stick", massaging every hour, to loosen them up again. Yesterday, I took my first bike-ride of 2010, covering about 12-13 miles. It felt very good to get back on the bike. And after the long run on saturday, it was a good change of pace.

75 days and $3185 to go!

2010-03-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to talk about training this week. I did spend the weekend in Washington, D.C. learning from Dave Scott, one of the truly great Triathletes. But, while I was there, I met a truly inspiring woman who reminded me why I am part of Team in Training. And, she is happy to let me share her story with you.

Dea is a young mother of two lovely little girls, Lauryn and Jordyn. Two years ago her then 4 year old daughter, Lauryn, was diagnosed with Leukemia. It has been a difficult 2 year journey for Dea, Lauryn, and Jordyn, but in a few short weeks they will be able to throw Lauryn's meds away. She is truly on her way back to full health. Dea is raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society by training for the Steelhead half-ironman triathlon. She knows first-hand the good that the society does for people who are battling cancer.

You can see Lauryn's very touching story of tragedy and hope here.

84 days and $3235 to go!

2010-03-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

My schedule called for a light week. And, that's exactly what I did. After last week's 31 miles, I dropped back to 18 miles this week. After a rest day on monday I ran 3 miles on tuesday, 5 miles on wednesday, and 3 miles on thursday. I'm fighting a little muscle tightness just below my right calf - probably as a result of the high mileage of last weeek. So, the easier week should help to resolve that.

A rest day on friday, which consisted of my 15 minute yoga routine was followed by yoga and a 7 mile run on saturday. The 40 degree temperature accompanied by a very cold drizzle seems to have aggravated the muscle tighness below my right calf. So, today I went for a walk. It's feeling better now.

This week, I plan to up the mileage to 24 and end the week with my longest run to date, 12 miles. I will be in Florida for the week and the morning temperatures should be in the 50s. Next weekend, I will be in Washington, D.C. to be certified as a triathlon coach. The training will be conducted by the legendary Ironman Dave Scott. Well, he is certainly legendary to triathlon wonks like me. :) I can't wait!

91 days and $3460 to go!

2010-03-07T17:49:00.000-08:00

This week I stepped up the mileage, covering a total of 31 miles. My strategy of walking about 1 minute out of every 10 is working well to keep my leg muscles from cramping up. Monday I took the day off. The schedule I am following includes two days a week of rest, usually monday and friday. Depending on whether or not I am travelling, I may rest on different days. The rest days are an important part of this schedule, allowing my body to recover from the long runs.

Tuesday, I covered 9 miles. The long runs are typically done on saturday. But, since I did not have the time to do the run on saturday, I determined to get it in at the first opportunity, which was Tuesday. I felt strong throughout the run and even though I was a little weary at the end, my legs felt good afterward. I covered the distance at about an overall 9:30 pace. Pretty good, considering that includes the walking intervals.

Wednesday and Thursday were shorter days for me. I covered 3 miles on each of those days. The weather in Florida was unusually cold this week, averaging in the low 40s for the mornings, which was the time I did my running. Luckily, I heeded my wife's advice and took my long sleeve pullover with me on the trip.

Before I left Florida on Friday, I ran 6 miles. I'm still waiting to pick up my new shoes. I called the store on my way home on friday to discover that they had received the wrong size. Not what I ordered. So, I will have to wait a little longer.

Saturday was a day off, and today I ran 10 miles. I covered the distance in 1 hour, 33 minutes. This averages just under 9:20 per mile. I will slowly work my way up to a 20 mile run by increasing the distance of my long weekly run by a little each week.

98 days and $3610 to go!

2010-02-28T07:40:00.001-08:00

I was in Salt Lake City two and a half weeks ago. I went for a couple of 30 minute runs while I was there. The weather was nice, but the combination of the thin air - Salt Lake City is at an average elevation of 4,226 feet - and the hills just about killed me. Still, as Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.". And, I'm still here. :)

One week ago, I was in Florida. Since I need to step up the mileage for my race in June, I added a couple of 6 mile runs to my scheduled 3 milers. I have been cautious about increasing my mileage this time, not wanting to endure a repeat of the leg cramps and muscle injuries that have plagued my previous endurance training. My current practice is to walk 1 minute out of every 10 minutes of each run. This seems to help, buy giving my muscles a chance to recover during the run. It's also useful on race day to walk each of the water stops to make sure to get enough hydration during the race. Strategy, strategy. We'll see how it holds up.

This past week, I was back in snowy Mentor. The image above was taken out my front door. Snow always makes the running a real challenge. Slipping and falling is definitely NOT a good thing for me to do. If the roads are clear and the traffic light, I can easily get out and cover the 3-6 miles which are part of my current schedule. This past Tuesday morning, I thought the conditions were right. But, overnight the temperature had dropped significantly, freezing a thin sheen of ice at the foot of our driveway. I headed out the door and promptly slipped and fell into a puddle as soon as I hit that patch of ice. That was the end of my morning run. Throw the wet clothes in the dryer. Later in the day, when the ice had melted, I was able to get out for a three miler.

I had planned on attempting a longer, 9 mile, run this weekend. But, we have had a good foot of snow over the last 3 days. It's not worth the risk to try it here. I'll be in Florida this coming week. That will be a good opportunity to work in a long run. Training for an early Spring race is definitely a real challenge.

I went shopping for a new pair of running shoes yesterday. I decided to go to a regular running shoe store this time to get fitted properly with a good pair of shoes. Of course, they had to order the shoes. That's ok, I want to make sure they fit properly and feel good. That's the most important thing. I don't much care how they look. I'll wear pink shoes if necessary to get the best fit. :)

The big race!

2009-09-20T18:45:00.002-07:00

We arrived in Washington, D.C. around noon on Friday and spent the rest of the day checking in to the hotel, attending a briefing for the race, and registering. The hotel was awash with Team in Training athletes. There's something really cool about seeing a bunch of grown kids lugging gear and bicycles around the lobby of an upscale Washington hotel, the Hilton. Most of the 585 Team in Training members who were registered for the race were staying in the hotel. The day before I had started saturating my body with vitamin C to combat an incipiant cold.

On Saturday, we took the bus to the race start/finish/transition area to get our bikes, which had been shipped earlier that week. I fastened my number, 5396, to my bike and found my spot on the bike racks in the huge transition area, which was big enough to hold the over 4,000 bikes which would be ridden in the race. By shear luck, I had been given a spot at the edge of the route I would be running through the transition area. I would be able to position my bike and equipment right along that path! We then collected for a short Q and A with Dave Scott, 6 time Iron Man World champion. While he was speaking I noticed that a boat on the Potomac, which was a short distance away, seemed to be drifting fairly quickly with the current. Since we would be swimming about half of our 0.9 mile distance going upstream on the following day, that made me a little nervous. So, I was keen to test the water when we entered the Potomac for our warmup swim a short time later. While I was swimming, I stopped a couple of times to see how quickly I drifted with the current, only to find that I was barely moving. That gave me a big boost of confidence for the swim. Now, if only it will be "wetsuit legal" tomorrow.

My Sunday started bright and early at 4AM. We loaded onto buses at 4:30 with all our gear to ride to the transition area, lay out our gear, and wait for our race starts, which were from 7AM to 8:33AM. At 6:45AM we left the transition area and collected in the "swim pen", all 4,000+ of us. The race was wetsuit legal, so all but a very small number of us had wetsuits. It was a surreal sight in the shadow of the Washington Monument as 4,000+ "penguins" watched the sunrise and waited for their chance to jump into the Potomac to begin the race. I waited for an hour and a half as the crowd of penguins gradually thinned and it got closer to my race start time.

Finally, 8:30AM came and I jumped into the water with the rest of my "wave". The gun went off and we were on our way. In my two other triathlon experiences, the initial "crush" at the swim start thinned within a short while. In this case, however, since waves of people had been starting every 3 minutes for the previous hour and a half the crowd never really did thin out. For the next 37 minutes I had to swim around slower and dodge faster swimmers. Finally, I completed the circuit and was making my way out of the water, stripping off my wetsuit and heading for the transition area.

I easily found my bike at the edge of the path through transition, removed my wetsuit and continued out onto the bicycle course. The course was a beautiful combination of rolling hills with plenty of shade. But, my cold was beginning to sap my strength. I could tell this immediately when I began riding. For the next hour and a half, my energy would wax and wane as I struggled to maintain my pace.

I finally returned to the transition area to begin the final run leg of the race. I felt strong when I began the run with no sign of muscle cramps. Walking through the water stops to make sure I remained well hydrated was proving to be a good strategy. At about mile 4, however, my cold was again sapping my strength. I had to slow down a bit and walk for maybe a half mile at a time to save something for the finish. My overall time for the race was 3 hours and 26 minutes. Not my best effort, but reasonably good given my struggles with the cold.

It was a great weekend and an amazing experience. Our group of 10 from northern Ohio raised over $58,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Most impressively, the 585 TNT participants in this one triathlon raised over $2.4 million for the Society.

I am hoping to join Team in Training for the Wildflower Triathlon in California next May.

5 days and $0 to go!

2009-09-08T06:37:00.001-07:00

Spent most of last week in Florida where I made several 3 mile and one 6 mile run. I think I'm ready for the run leg on Sunday. I'll take one salt tablet before each leg of the race. That should help me fight off the leg cramps.

On Saturday, several of my team in training friends were getting together for a swim at Headlands Beach. Since my wife had the car, I decided to bike to Headlands to meet my friends for the swim. It's an easy 20-25 minute ride from my house to Headlands... usually. The swim was at 7:15 AM, so I left home at 6:30. Plenty of time. I was about half-way to the Beach when I realized that I wasn't wearing my helmet! That never happens since I am very careful to always wear my helmet when I am riding. Well, it happened this particular morning. So, I hurried back to my house to get my helmet. Now, I am definitely running late. I slapped my helmet on my head and hurried back out to the Beach. I was half-way to the Beach again when I realized that my rear tire felt a little mushy. A short time later, it was flat. Of course, it's always the rear tire. Becuase that is the hardest to change. It was a struggle since I had both saddle bags on my bike to carry my gear for the swim. Well, I finally arrived at Headlands at 7:30, about 15 minutes late. Happily, my friends were still waiting.

We had a nice swim and I rode with them for a short time after the swim then headed for home.

On Friday, I'm off to D.C. Wish me luck!

14 days and $0 to go!

2009-08-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

Two steps forward, one step back. It's been a rough week, but I'm getting back "in the saddle", so to speak.

I started the week on Monday with a round of yoga. I rested from any other activity after my swim / run on Sunday. On Tuesday after yoga I went for a 6 mile run. About 4 miles into the run, I took a tumble after I missed an uneven spot on the sidewalk. A quick "duck and roll" maneuver left me with a little "road rash" on my right leg and left elbow but no other "damage". Nothing really hurt but my pride. I finished the run with slightly bloodied socks from my wounds. On Wednesday I did my yoga and laid off the other activities to let my leg heal.

With beautiful weather on Thursday morning I decided to go for a 10 mile ride out to Headlands Beach and back. It had rained the night before, so I should have been extra cautious. But the exceptional weather lulled me into a false sense of security. Rounding a rather sharp bend, I encountered a small patch of sand on the asphalt path. Who would have thought there'd be sand at a beach ;). That was enough to send my bicycle to the right as my body was going to the left :(. With my feet securely fastened into the pedal clips, I wasn't able to jump clear of the bike, so I did what I tought was the next best thing. I put out my left hand to brace myself against the inevitable fall.

I thought I had escaped with nothing more serious than a slight case of road rash. But, I was wrong. A severely sprained wrist was the result of my attempt to keep myself from hitting the road too hard. I spent a sleepless night downing aspirin and ibuprofen and wrapping and unwrapping my wrist to try to get comfortable. This was followed by a full day of periodically icing my wrist in the hotel ice bucket. We were out of town and staying in a hotel for my son's wedding. There's a certain symmetry to this since on the day my son was born my arm was in a sling due to a separated shoulder, which happened when I fell while running. So, on the day he was married my sprained wrist from a bicycle fall was wrapped.

Well, my wrist is feeling much better today. It is definitely on the mend. On to Washington, D.C. It's only 2 weeks away!

20 days and $0 to go!

2009-08-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

I finally got some salt pills! I'm hoping that will resolve my periodic problems with leg cramps and pulls.

The week started pretty well with yoga and a 3 mile run on Monday. The team got together on Tuesday at a local beach on Lake Erie. I was there. We started with a half hour swim in the lake. This is the first time I have been swimming since vacation. It felt good and I was able to maintain a strong stroke for the entire time. The water was pretty rough, which added to the challenge. We had all brought our bicycles. So, after the swim we biked for about 45 minutes then finished up with a 2 mile run. It was a mini-triathlon. I picked up my new "Team in Training" Tri shorts and top. Pretty cool! No matter how I do in D.C., at least I'll look good. It was really good to get together with the rest of the Team. I really don't have the opportunity to do that too much.

I did yoga on Wednesday, but nothing else since I wanted to rest up from the workout on Tuesday. On Thursday, I started with yoga and went for a 6 mile run. I completed 5 miles and waked the last after I felt a sharp pain in my right calf. I knew if I continued running it would just get worse, so I walked the rest of the way. That's when I decided to look for salt pills.

On Friday I did yoga and gave my legs a rest. On Saturday I rode about 6 miles. On Sunday I met up with the Team again and swam for about 45 minutes in Lake Erie. After the swim, we ran about 2 miles. A beautiful day for a nice workout.

Oh, yes. And I ordered a bottle of salt tablets I found on the internet. They're "SaltStick" brand and have all the good stuff - sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. They even have some Vitamin D to help the absorption of the calcium. Hope they work.

27 days and $0 to go!

2009-08-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

The Pittsburgh skyline as seen from Mount Washington. The bridge that is visible spans the Allegheny River. The Ohio River is in the lower left. The Monongahela River comes in from the upper right but is not visible in this picture.

My daughter with the biggest owl I've ever seen.

Yoga and running. That comprised much of my training this week. Tuesday and Wednesday, I did my joga routine and ran about 3 miles. No real problems with the calf cramping. That's a good thing. Hopefully, I am past that. I definitely need to start gearing up for the big race, which is less than a month away. I decided to step up the distance on Thursday, covering 5-6 miles on my morning run.

Thursday evening, I was in Pittsburgh to visit my youngest daughter who was interning for the summer at the National Aviary. She is staying on Mount Washington on the shores of the Monongahela River, which joins the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River at the base of Mount Washington. Two blocks from where she was staying is a stunning view of downtown Pittsburgh. Friday and Saturday morning, I ran the length of the aptly named Grandview Avenue along the crest of Mount Washington. It was indeed a "grand view". It was also quite a workout! The crest of Mount Washington is actually quite hilly!

I finished the week by biking about 10 miles on Sunday, after doing my joga routine, of course.

35 days and $0 to go!

2009-08-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have met my fundraising commitment and goal. A big thanks to all who contributed. Your generosity is helping those who are truly in need... and, one tri-geek to participate in a truly wonderful event. Thanks!

I spent most of the week running in the "Big Easy". I'm still nursing a slightly pulled left calf but it's definitely improving. Regular Yoga before my morining run is helping a lot. I must stay flexible and that seems to be the best way for me to do that.

On Monday, I ran a total of about 3 miles from the Hotel to the Super Dome and back. This was not a particularly interesting course. So, on Tuesday through Friday I decided to take a more well-worn path through the French Quarter. Much more interesting. Interesting architecture, interesting people, smelly streets - at least early in the morning before they get a chance to hose everything down. You have to dodge the occasional tipsy pedestrian unsteadily wending their way back to their hotel after a night of merriment. In admiration, I hailed the garbage collector who was doing pullups on the side of the truck while it was moving. First time I've seen that done. A couple of times, I passed a warehouse full of women shucking oysters for the days repasts. All in all, a very interesting place.

On Saturday, for the first time since vacation, I climbed on my bike and rode about 10 miles. I had intended to ride out to Headlands Beach but the Greater Cleveland Triathlon was in full swing. I hadn't realized it was this weekend. So, after gingerly dodging a few runners to keep from interfering with their race, I headed back home.

42 days and $120 to go!

2009-08-02T05:21:00.000-07:00

I started to get back to the regular running regime this week, but my old nemesis, the pulled calf muscle, got in my way. Back from vacation, I flew to Florida for the week hoping to get in some good running. So, Tuesday morning after a 20 minute session of Yoga, I went for a 3 mile run. I noticed about three quarters of the way through the run that my right calf was beginning to tighten a little. By the end of the run, it was clear that I probably had trouble. It stiffened up over the next day or two, so I was only able to walk. The walking seemes to have loosened it up a little. I was able to run 2-3 miles on Saturday morning, but I am still feeling a little stiffness in that muscle.

In the mean time, I have decided to concentrate on my Yoga routine. My left knee, which has had a couple of surgeries over the years seems to do much better if I flex and stretch the surrounding muscles regularly. I have gotten away from the Yoga a bit lately. Getting back to it will be a good "tune-up" for the big race, which is only 6 weeks away now.

49 days and $120 to go!

2009-07-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

I actually took a bit of a vacation this week from the training. After all, I was on vacation.

Monday, Heather and I took the kayaks to the south inlet and paddled to an island about 1 mile from the shore. On the way back, we noticed that the skies were darkening quickly and we saw flashes of lightning. We started paddling harder when we noticed about 3 or 4 dolphin had joined us. They are magnificent creatures! They shadowed us for about 10 minutes, once startling me when one of them exhaled loudly through his blow hole right behind me. I almost fell out of the kayak! What an amazing experience. We made it back to shore before the dark clouds closed in.

Tuesday, I got serious (for one day) and ran around the island once more. It was a good run and I felt strong when I finished.

The rest of the week involved two more trips to the south inlet with the kayaks, numerous kayak excursions up and down the beach with Heather, and a 200-300 yard swim between two break-waters with my brother and sister - an annual ritual of ours. Saturday we drove straight home, leaving Edisto at around 7 AM and arriving back home to Mentor at around 9 PM.

This morning I went for a 6 mile run. Now starts the really serious training for the Nation's Triathlon in September. I can't wait!

56 days and $220 to go!

2009-07-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

My first week of training on vacation went very well. On monday I ran around Edisto Island from our cottage to the south inlet, out on the beach for about a half mile, then back to the road, down Jungle Road and back up Palmetto to the cottage again. It took about an hour and a quarter, a distance of about 7-8 miles. I finished out the day's training with a one hour bike ride through the state park. Check out the cool pictures of my route.

On tuesday, I did a shortened "brick" workout riding for a half hour, then jumping off the bike for a quick half hour run. Wednesday, I hopped back on my bike for a one hour ride through the park again. Gee, I love that route!

I thought Thursday would be a good day attempt another long run. I was wrong. The humidity was up and there was no wind. So, even at 6:30 AM it was tough going. Half way through the run, I got a little worried about dehydration, so I stole a drink from the garden hose of a house I was passing. Now, Edisto water is so bad tasting that everyone who vacations here gets their water in bottles from the local firehouse, so this is decision I made out of pure desperation. Anyway, I finished the run and immediately jumped into the pool.

Friday, I went for any easy ride with my brother, sister, and my daughter, Heather. Saturday, Heather and I went kayaking up and down the beach. To finish out the week, I decided that Sunday morning would be a good time to try another long run around the island. The humidity was down and there was a little bit of a breeze. The run went well.

63 days and $950 to go!

2009-07-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

Got in some good running on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week. Also, raised another $300 for the cause! I started out with about a 3 mile run on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday I decided to push it a little and managed about 7 miles on each day. But, I was particularly encouraged by my run on Thursday. After a 1 mile relatively easy warm up, I felt strong through the rest of the run. Maybe my "aerobic base" is really beginning to build.

My training for the rest of the week was sporidic at best since we left home on Friday morning to drive to our vacation on the South Carolina coast. I am sitting under the deck of our rented beach house at Edisto Island composing this. It is the middle of a beautiful day at the beach but I am not ready for all that sun just yet.

On friday, we drove to Hendersonville, North Carolina, to stay the night and finish our drive to Edisto on the following day. My brother and I rode our bicycles into "Historic Downtown Hendersonville" on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful place and a nice ride that took about 1 hour. After breakfast in the hotel, we decided to check out one of the local sights before heading to the beach. An easy half hour drive took us to Chimney Rock Park where a stark pillar of rock (see the first picture) offers an amazing view of the surrounding countryside including Lake Lure.

I ascended several flights of steps to get to the top of that rocky perch and be greeted by a stunning vista of the valley and the lake below (the second picture). Several more flights took my brother, sister, and I ever higher so that we could actually look down on Chimmney Rock and its flock of eager tourists (the third picture). We left the park only reluctantly, but another four and a half hours brought us safely to our vacation destination at Edisto Beach. The perfect place to train for a triathlon! (the final picture)

70 days and $1250 to go!

2009-07-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

Another good week of training, but the fund-raising has slowed considerably. I'm guessing that with the current economic situation, it is harder for people to budget for charity. This makes me all the more grateful for the support of those of you who have already given to this cause. Thanks so much! If you have any friends or family who are able to support a worthy cause, please pass on the following website to them and ask them to consider a contribution. Thanks.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/noh/nattri09/larata

As I said, the training this has been good. After resting Sunday and Monday to recover from my 100 mile ride with my brother I ran Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday while I was in Florida on business. Tuesday's run was an easy 3 miler to start off the week. I decided to go a little farther on Wednesday and was able to cover about 6 miles. That is close to the distance of the run for the Olympic course that I will be doing in Washington, D.C. Thursday I "dialed it back" but just a little, covering 5 miles.

Friday was a rest day and a travel day since I flew back home on that day. Since it has been some time since I have run a long distance, I went for a long run on Saturday, covering about 8.5 miles. I don't want to jinx myself by saying this, but so far my legs aren't cramping up on the longer runs. That's good news! Anyway, I finished the week with a long bike ride today covering a little over 30 miles. Feeling good and ready for the next week's adventures.

77 days and $1485 to go!

2009-06-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

This has been a good week. I've been looking forward all week to my brother's century (100 mile) ride, which was Saturday. But, I'll tell you about that later.

The training week started for me, as usual, on tuesday with a three mile run from home, looping through the park and returning home. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet some of my TNT team members so I joined a training ride that evening in Chagrin Falls. I flatted about a mile into the ride but we still completed about 24 miles, one mile short of the olympic distance ride. I met two of my TNT members and enjoyed a cold drink with them at the local pub after the ride.

The next two days, I ran five then three miles. I'm feeling rather sluggish on the runs, so I discussed that with one of my friends, who just completed her first iron man. Awesome! She suggested that I plan a one mile easy warmup to let my muscles ease into the run. I'll try that this week when I run.

I have a second road bike that I use on the long rides with my brother. It has a rack for saddlebags and works well for touring. I haven't ridden it for a while so I checked it on thursday only to discover that the rear tire was flat. So, I went to the bike store and bought four tubes, four patch kits, chain lube, and bike cleaner. After replacing the rear tube and giving my bike a quick cleaning I judged that I was ready to go.

Saturday, the day of the century ride, in Cincinnati was sunny and clear with temperatures rising into the 90s during the day. Seven people started the ride. Two people, my brother and I, finished. The secret for me was making sure I had plenty to eat and drink during the ride. I started with a big bag of trail mix and three full water bottles. I grabbed a handfull or two of trail mix each time we stopped and sipped water every few minutes. Breakfast was a three egg omelet with a side of bacon and the biggest glass of orange juice I've ever seen. Lunch was a bowl of beef barley soup and a spinach salad.

My legs felt good after the ride but I was pretty wiped out. I'm still smiling, though, as you can see from the picture. But, I took the next two days off. Back to running tomorrow. :)

84 days and $1485 to go!

2009-06-21T18:58:00.000-07:00

I sprained my foot this week. Actually, that's the good news. I first thought it might be a stress fracture. But, it appears to be easing. The pain and swelling are on the top of my left foot, just behind the toes. This set me back on the training a little, but I am going to come back strong.

I did get in three good runs this week. My foot actually didn't hurt too much on the runs. It seemed to gradually increase in pain and swelling as the day wore on. So, on the days that I ran, it loosened up quickly on the early morning run being pretty much pain free for most of the run. That's the strange part about this injury, it didn't hurt much during the run but gradually got worse during the day.

Tuesday and Thursday were three mile runs. Wednesday was a five mile run. I missed the planned 10 mile run scheduled for Saturday because I decided to give my left foot a chance to heal. Instead, I celebrated Father's day with three of my four children and all four grandchildren by having a breakfast picnic in the park near our house. It's always a special treat when the family can be together.

91 days and $1565 to go!

2009-06-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

I started this past week with a 3 mile run on Tuesday. Remember, according to my marathon training schedule, Monday is always a "rest" day. After I ran, I received an email from my TNT coach for the Nation's Triathlon asking if anyone on the team was interested in a 6PM bike ride starting in North Chagrin Reservation. I thought this might be a good opportunity to meet some of my team mates, so I emailed back that I would be happy to join. Biking is not on my schedule right now but I thought, "What the heck!"

Well, I met up with the group that was planning to ride. None of the TNT people showed up, so it was the coach, 3 other people from the Cleveland Triathlon Club and me. In other words, 4 - 20 or 30 somethings, and me! Well, I ended up chasing the other 4 for about 38 miles up hill and down dale on my bike for a rather gruelling couple of hours. Actually, they spent a good deal of their time waiting for me to catch up with them. One very nice young woman who was on a "rest" day in her training schedule spent much of the ride keeping me company in the back of the pack. Don't get me wrong, there were moments when I was able to charge ahead for brief periods of time, but I was definitely outclassed.

This was a very nice group of people, and I did have a good time, getting together with them at a nearby bar after the run. Anyway, back to the ride. I was able to more or less hold my own for about the first 30 miles before I really ran into trouble. I found myself completely out of energy and barely able to pedal. I was talking to the coach about "collapsing" on the side of the road and waiting for him to come back in his car and pick me up. It was that bad! Instead, he gave me a power bar and asked me to hang in there for a little while longer. I don't know what was in that power bar, but 2 or 3 minutes after finishing it, I found myself amazingly re-energized and planning to finish the ride with the rest of the group (who were doing just fine).

I ran into trouble once more as I started up the final hill back into the park. Both quads suddenly developed a charley-horse. Both! I didn't know what else to do, so I hopped off the bike. Bad move! Very bad move! At least when I am on the bike my legs are bent most of the time. When I try to walk, my legs are mostly straight and that's when the very painful charley-horse kicks in. Note to self: Stay on the bike when fighting a charley-horse! So, I hobbled along for awhile until my coach came back and gave me a bottle of his water. I made plans with him to come back with the car and pick me up thinking that this time I was really "done-for". He rode on ahead. Amazingly, after downing the water in a couple of minutes the charley-horse eased up. I quickly hopped back on the bike and rode the rest of the way up the hill. Sometime after reaching the top of the hill, I passed my coach in his car going in the other direction and cheering me on and finished the ride.

Seems I still have a lot to learn about nutrition, electrolyte replacement, and hydration for these long runs. And, this is just the group from which to learn it. I took the next day off, ran about 3 miles on Thursday, and about 9 miles today. All in all a good week. Now I'm shopping for salt pills and power bars!

97 days and $1835 to go!

2009-06-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

This weeks training was uneventful. Monday and Tuesday I was traveling. Home from Las Vegas on Monday and down to Florda on Tuesday. So, I had no time to train at all on those two days. My first run this week was on Wednesday. The three miles went easily after several days rest. A four mile run on Thursday and another three mile run on Friday finished out the weekday training. So far the gradual build-up in the mileage appears to be giving my leg muscles time to acclimate to the running. There is little sign of the leg cramps that plagued me off and on last year. My back also seems to be doing quite well. That's good news for my training.

Yesterday, after three straight days of running, I switched to my bike for a little cross-training. The weather has been perfect this weekend for training. A tem mile ride took me from home to Mentor Beach State Park. I love riding the path near the beach. It's really a beautiful place. When it warms up a little more, I can do some open water swimming there as well. A headwind on the return trip made for slightly slower going, but a really good workout. This morning I finished the week's workout with a five mile run.

Next week, I should be able to stick closely to the scheduled runs. The plan is to step up the distance of the longest run to nine miles. I'm still thinking adding about a possible marathon (the Akron Road Runner Marathon) after the Nation's Triathlon in September. But, I still have a lot of work to do.

104 days and $1835 to go!

2009-06-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you what I did over the weekend because I was in Vegas (for business, not pleasure) and we all know that "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". :)

In any case, I wasn't able to train at all from saturday through today. I knew that was coming. So, I shifted my schedule to complete the weeks running by friday. It worked out very well and I was able to finish the four scheduled runs, including a 7 miler on friday, with a little yoga thrown in for good measure. Monday, tuesday, and wednesday were each 3 mile days according to the plan. Thursday was a rest day. So, I did a 20 minute yoga routine but no running. On friday, my 7 mile run went very smoothly. My right calf stiffened a little about 4 miles into the run, but it loosened up a little while after that and I finished the run without further incident. I am very happy to report that I am having no problems with my back these days. That's a wonderful feeling!

I will tell about one thing that happened in Vegas. I met a young lady who is an ultra-endurance athlete. My hero! :) She has competed in "double" ironman races. Yes, that would be a 4.8 mile swim, 256 mile bike, and a 52.4 mile run - an over 30 hour effort! She is currently training for the bicycle "Race Across America". All that, and she's smart too!

I'm looking forward to running in Florida this week. It is a relatively easy week with two 3, one 4, and one 5 mile runs.

112 days and $1885 to go!

2009-05-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

"Back" on track! Pun intended. :)

I restarted the 18 week marathon training schedule and completed the first week. I was in Florida this past week and was able to run the 3 miles on each of tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. My back was feeling good through that effort. According to the schedule, monday and friday are rest days, so I did nothing on monday since I was travelling to Florida on that day. On friday, I did a 20 minute Yoga routine. It felt good to get back to the Yoga. Yesterday was my first run this season of any real length, 6 miles, and I completed it feeling pretty good. According to that marathon schedule, today is a day for "cross-training". So, I hopped on my bike for 6 miles then planted four azalea bushes, two hydrangeas, and layed down 10 bags of mulch in our front garden. Some "cross-training", huh? Guess my back's doing pretty well. All-in-all an uneventful week, pretty much to plan.

The usual weekly schedule has monday and friday as "off-days", saturday as a long run day, and sunday as a "cross-training" day. But, I will have to shift the schedule a bit this week since I will be travelling next weekend. So, thursday will be my "off-day" and friday will be my long run day (7 miles is the plan). I'll just do some walking and some Yoga next weekend while I am out of town.

119 days and $2060 to go!

2009-05-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

I had some trouble with my back again this week. I started the 18 week marathon training schedule. But, it looks like I will have to start it over this coming week, provided that my back cooperates. Here's how it played out.

After my long ride last saturday, I took it easy on sunday. But, my lower back was feeling a little stiff. According to the marathon training schedule, monday was supposed to be a "rest" day. So, I did my yoga routine hoping that would help to loosen my stiff back. Well, it might have aggravated things a little. Tuesday, determined to start the training, I ran the prescribed 3 miles. My back felt a little better. Another 3 miles on wednesday and my back was still feeling ok. However, on thursday when I had another 3 mile run scheduled, I bailed because my back was feeling worse. Darn!

I spent a little time on thursday researching online to try to understand the cause of my pain. The symptoms actually don't feel like a bulging disc this time. So, I have decided that the problem is stress on the facet joints from too much, not too little, arch in my lower back. My fear of causing discs to bulge posteriorly has me arching back too much and putting pressure on the facets, the vertebral joints which limit this backward arching. That's my diagnosis. It actually does make sense, at least to me.

Turns out that a healthy back is the result of a balance between abdominal and paraspinal muscles that keeps your spine within reasonable limits of its proper curve. It is important to maintain this balance (posture) when sitting, standing, walking, running, and bicycling. The only time that you get a pass is while swimming. It's probably really hard to have problems with your back from swimming.

My back is actually starting to feel better now. I ran 3 miles yesterday. This is shorter than the training plan, but I'm just happy to get back to it. I'll go for a short 7-8 mile ride today. So, where my back is concerned, I will concentrate on the basic set of "core" exercises and stretches I was taught in physical therapy and work on maintaining the proper posture for all my activities.

126 days and $2060 to go!

2009-05-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

Thursday a week ago, when I went to the Team in Training kickoff meeting, I met one of my coaches for the Nation's Triathlon. He encouraged, no urged, us to begin running immediately - to start to get used to running for long distances. He stressed that the run can make or break the triathlon for many competitors. I've read this before. And, having competed now in two triathlons and one duathlon, I believe it. Being the last leg of the race, the run finds you at your most vulnerable. In the water you are relatively fresh, on the bike you can coast from time to time or find other ways to momentarily relax. On the run all you can do is stop or walk. You probably can't gain a lot of time on the run. But, you can lose a lot of time, particularly if your energy is spent or you are unprepared.

I have had real trouble on the 13 mile run in both of my half ironman efforts. In both cases I probably walked 1/3 to 1/2 of the distance, losing much time in the process. Largely as a result of this and of the coaches comment about training for the run I am seriously rethinking my strategy for preparing for this next race. What better way to enjoy, and to do well, in this race than to really prepare for the run.

I know I can cover the swim distance. And I don't expect to shave much time off of that effort. I just bicycled about 30 miles yesterday - then cut the grass. So, I know I can handle the bike portion which is 25 miles. What I really need to work on for September is the run.

With that in mind I have found an 18 week training schedule for a marathon (http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/novices.html). Since I last ran a marathon about 20 years ago, I consider myself to be a novice. Yes, I am still thinking about the Akron Marathon which will be held two weeks after the Nation's Triathlon. We'll see how the training goes. I still haven't fully decided to enter this marathon, but I will try to stick to this training schedule and see how I am running after 8 to 10 weeks. Wish me luck! :)

133 days and $2085 to go!

2009-05-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

I rode the crank off my bike this week! Literally!

I have toe clips on my bike. I know, to the unfamiliar it sounds like a medieval torture device but they are actually quite handy. They consist of a short plastic cage and a strap to keep the toe of your shoe on the pedal. Sometimes, on long rides, they can actually feel like a medieval torture device. I don't tighten the strap because when I fall - and I do fall - I don't want to be fastened tightly to the bike. But, keeping your feet securely in the pedals while you are riding is definitely a good thing. Well, back to the crank. I was about 7 miles into a 10 mile loop on tuesday when I noticed that my left pedal seemed to be a little loose. Something actually started clicking against the frame of my bike. It was the crank. I was rounding a bend about 3 miles from home when I found that the left pedal and crank were just hanging by the toe clip from my left foot. Just like that the whole left crank popped off of the bike.

At that point, I decided to turn my 10 mile bike workout into a 7 mile bike, 3 mile run "brick" workout. So, grabbing the crank and pedal in my left hand and guiding the bike with my right, I jogged the 3 miles back home to finish the workout. Now my Cannondale is in the shop and I am riding my trusty Specialized. This is the bike I use for touring with my brother.

Thursday was a magical evening. It was the Team in Training kickoff celebration for the summer season. It was great to see two of my Philadelphia Triathlon team members at the party. No matter how many of these events I may do, the first one in Philadelphia along with the people with whom I shared it will always be special to me.

This morning, for the first time this year, I completed the 30 mile loop from my house which follows the Greater Cleveland Triathlon course. It took me about 2 hours. This coming week I will be running in florida.

140 days and $2385 to go!

2009-04-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

I received a flier in the mail this week that got me thinking... I had intended to sign up for a half-ironman race at Headlands Beach in August near my home. I wanted a second challenge this year since the Nation's Triathlon is an Olympic Distance Race. I was disappointed to learn that the Headlands race would not include the half-ironman distance this year. Darn! This brings me back to the flier. Two years ago, I ran the last leg of a relay at the Akron Marathon. Since then, I have been getting notices in the mail about this race. I almost threw this one away, not intending to run a marathon this year. Then I started thinking...

If I truly want a second challenge, what better than to attempt a marathon this year. I last ran marathons in my 30's. My fastest was about 3 hours, 15 minutes. My "best" was about 3 hours, 30 minutes. I say "best" because that second one was at a very even 8 minute per mile pace. I wouldn't expect to do anything like that this year. I would be happy with a finish in under 4 hours, 30 minutes. Actually, I would be happy with a finish. Funny that the thing that caught my attention and really got me thinking about this possibility was a notice on the brochure that all full marathon finishers get a free Brooks "Tech" Jacket. Now, there are much easier ways to get a jacket. And, I really don't know if it's that good of a jacket. But, I do know that there is only one way to get this particular jacket. And, that is to finish the Akron Marathon. That alone makes it special.

Will I sign up for the Akron Marathon? I don't know yet, but it's definitely got me thinking...

Oh yeah, my back seems to be doing pretty well. I ran a couple of 3 milers this past week and rode my bike several times. Got a flat tire on the ride this morning, so I'm planning to spend the evening patching a few flats which are left over from this and a few previous rides.

147 days and $2385 to go!

2009-04-19T16:17:00.000-07:00

It's a little strange to me when I think about last year's Wildflower Triathlon. This time last year I was winding down my training for the triathlon which was held on the first weekend in May. May! that's barely 2 weeks away! Boy, do I feel like a wimp right now! This time last year I was trained and ready to take on what is generally acknowledged as one of the most difficult Half Ironman courses in the country. This year, I'm still dragging around my winter weight and trying to get my training started for this years triathlon season. What a difference a year makes.

For the second weekend in a row, I travelled to Cincinnati. Last weekend for Easter, this weekend for my youngest grandson's first birthday. We also took the opportunity both times to attend Miami University's production of the musical "UrineTown". My youngest daughter, Heather, plays the part of "Soupy Sue" in the musical. It is a very entertaining play (I loved it so much I went twice) with a very weird name.

I think my back is ready for the start of some serious training. I will be in Florida this week. So, this is the perfect opportunity to gradually start training for the running leg of the triathlon. The trick for me, as always, will be to start slowly, giving my body time to adjust. I will have Miranda's magic powder to help ward off the leg cramps and the exercises and stretches from physical therapy to keep my back in shape. We'll see how it goes.

154 days and $2735 to go!

2009-04-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to do too much training this week but I have been working on my back exercises and I did get in a fun 45 miles around Cincinnati with my brother, Jim, on Saturday.

I have two issues affecting my training that I am still trying to get a handle on. My periodic back problems which seem to interrupt my training at the most inconvenient times and leg cramps. First the back. I went to physical therapy on Monday. I told the therapist that I just wanted to figure out what to do so that I could keep training without worrying about being periodically "side-lined" by back problems. He gave me a series of exercises for my abdominals and lower back muscles and stretches which target my hip muscles. Hopefully, this will do the trick. We'll see.

My dear friend Miranda, who is training for an Iron Man, left some powder in a bag on my desk at work with a label reading "For Louie". This got more than a few chuckles from my colleagues and a quizzical email or two since I was not in Florida this past week. After the Corporate Run I had discussed my leg cramping with Miranda and she helpfully suggested this training and racing preparation (the powder) that she was trying in preparation for her big race. She offered to let me try some of this "magic powder". So, there you have it - a bag of powder appeared on my desk. Thanks, Miranda!

Now to the fun stuff! Whenever I get to Cincinnati to visit my family, I try to get in a bicycle ride with my brother, Jim. He picks great routes around the city and in the surrounding areas. This time, he mapped out a tour of the best overlooks around Cincinnati. It was, of course, a great "hill" workout. Not sure I was fully ready for it since it's been a while since I have ridden hills. But, I worked it out and managed to handle each hill, although I had to shift into "low low" toward the end of the ride. And my butt was definitely dragging going up that last hill. Our first stop was Eden Park on the east side of town where we also checked out an outdoor art exhibit. Our next stop was Mt. Adams where we got a cup of coffee to break the morning chill and enjoyed a beautiful view of the Ohio River. A harrowing ride down a winding road found us in downtown Cincinnati where we visited the huge display of pansies at fountain square and stopped at "Lytle Park" which is named after William Lytle, a Cincinnatian and a Civil War General who was killed that the battle of Chickamauga. He was also a noted poet of his time whose death was mourned in both the North and the South.

We then crossed the River and rode around Ft. Thomas, Kentucky, looking for a view - which we never found. Our most memorable view of the city was from Devou Park (see the photo), which is also on the Kentucky side, but at the other end of the city. Recrossing the river, we rode up to Mt. Echo on the west side of town for our final view of the Ohio River. After lunch at Findlay Market we rode up to Fairview Park, the final overlook on our tour. All in all, a very enjoyable ride on beautiful day!

Starting the push for the Nation's Triathlon!

2009-04-05T05:08:00.000-07:00

I am psyched! Here is the description of the "Nations Triathlon" course from the website ( http://nationstriathlon.com/course-overview.html ):
"The swim course is in the scenic Potomac River with the Washington Monument operating as your sight line to the swim exit... The bike route takes competitors along the Potomac River and through Rock Creek Park on wide smooth roads perfect for aerobars. The run route is a challenging single loop into downtown DC past the monuments, memorials and history of the Nation’s Capital." It is described as a fast, flat course. I hope to better my Philadelphia time of just under 3 hours.

I am psyched! I'm recovering from one of my periodic bouts with back problems. It started about a month ago. I don't really know what triggered it. This time it didn't respond to the exercises so I went to the Doctors and got some anti-inflamatory medicine and a prescription for physical therapy. The good news is, I was able to participate in the Corporate Run in Florida last Thursday and I actually ran the whole 3 mile course - at an easy 10 minute pace. My hope is to determine a strategy by working with the physical therapist (my first appointment is tomorrow) to keep my back from interrupting my training like this again... I can only hope.

I got on my bike yesterday for the first time in almost a month. Rode for a little over 30 minutes. It felt great. The day was clear and sunny. The temperature was in the upper 40's. I plan to get back on my bike for another ride today before the rain starts later this afternoon. I'm just waiting for it to warm up a little.
Happy Easter everyone!

Vacationing and training.

2008-08-02T17:22:00.000-07:00

Got back a week ago from two weeks at Edisto Beach. Sun, sand, relaxing, reading... and training for the Greater Cleveland Triathlon which is only a week away.

A beautiful sunrise at Edisto

Ditto, sunset.

A little relaxation with mom on the deck of the house we rented.

Edisto is the perfect place to train. Except for the absence of hills, swimming, running, and biking are all easily accomodated. Although, I still have this unreasonable fear of sharks when swimming by myself even a short distance from shore. Some days, I combined two of the events. I was able to start each day with at least one of the three with perhaps a little "yoga on the deck" thrown in for good measure.

I think I'm ready. Just have to taper down this week and stay loose. Next sunday is the big day.

Another grandchild on the way

2008-08-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

Found out a few weeks ago that my second oldest daughter is pregnant with their first... my forth... grandchild, that is. :-)

Taking shelter in Harrison's tomb

2008-06-29T06:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I joined my brother and some of his friends on his 100 mile bicycle "Le Tour de Hamilton County". Much of the charm of these long distance rides is in dealing with the unexpected, like getting lost (which we do at least once in every ride) or dodging thunderstorms. The weather around Cincinnati yesterday was characterized as "isolated violent thunderstorms". Ok, sounds interesting. Intrepid bicyclers that we were, we decided to go for it anyway.

Our first downpour hit at around 25 miles and was very quick, just enough to get us thoroughly soaked in time for breakfast. For the next 50 miles or so, the weather was ideal. We thought, mistakenly, that we had pretty much dodged the thunderstorms for the day. Not so...

We were about 80 miles into the ride near North Bend, Ohio, when it hit. The sky darkened quickly and shortly after that the rain began to pour. The tough thing about rain like that, besides the fact that it makes the road rather slippery, is that it reduces visibility for those of us who wear glasses. Anyway, when the lightning started hitting a little too close, we took shelter on the side of the road. As the rain continued to pour, making us ever more cold, wet, and somewhat miserable, we noticed that about 200 yards up the road was the tomb of William Henry Harrison (9th president of the United States). Harrison has the dubious distinction of being the president to have served the shortest term in office - 32 days. He died after contracting pneumonia on his inauguration day. Bummer!

Be that as it may, his tomb now served as an excellent shelter for 3 weary, wet, and cold travellers. Once we were safely inside, I called my daughter to say we were safe and to get an updated weather report to see how much longer we might be delayed. 20-30 minutes later, the sky cleared and we were on our way.

Here are the 3 intrepid travellers after about 103 miles on bicycles. 7 started, 3 finished. All in all, a great day!

Evan and Me...

2008-06-25T08:10:00.001-07:00

Swimming in the lake...

2008-06-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

I joined the TNT group that is going to the Nation's Triathlon in an open water swim last evening. We were in Lake Erie at a place called "Columbia Park". That place is a magnet for open water swimmers. I saw my roomie from the Philly Tri at the swim. He is planning to do the Nation's Tri. It was good to see him again and catch up on his plans. Maybe we'll get together for a bike ride some time.

Wetsuits

2008-06-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

I attended a free wetsuit fitting and demonstration last evening. Tried on a $600 "Zoot" brand wetsuit. Very nice. Very expensive. I took my two "Team In Training" wetsuits to get an opinion from the "experts" on how they fit. Their conclusion was that my long sleeve wetsuit that I wore last year in the Philadelphia Triathlon was one size too loose. Of course, "too loose" in a wetsuit still means that it is very difficult to squeeze into. The sleeveless wetsuit that I wore for Wildflower was judged to be the proper size. That's actually good because I prefer the sleeveless suit anyway.

Saving turtles...

2008-06-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

Watch out for the snapping turtles!

Riding a stretch of road through Mentor Marsh, I came upon a turtle making slow progress crossing the road. Not wanting to see it squashed by a passing car, I reached down to pick it up and deposit it on the side of the road. I expected it to retreat into its shell when I reached down but... It attacked! I didn't think a turtle could move so fast. I narrowly avoided having it bite into my finger. I managed to nudge it gently to the side of the road with my foot.

The moral of the story is verify a turtle's intentions with a stick before deciding on the correct "Good Samaritan" strategy. :-)

Le Tour de Hamilton County

2008-06-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

My brother has just set the date for his annual century ride, June 28th. I'm planning to join in the fun.

The Gobi March...

2008-06-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

A very interesting race started yesterday. I signed up for updates...

12:44 am, 7 June 2008, Kashgar, China: Competitors, staff and volunteers have now arrived in Kashgar, anxiously awaiting check-in early in the morning. Competitors will depart for the first campsite in the Gobi Desert at 3 pm, with a large cultural show expected by the locals later in the evening. The bidding for the hot showers continue with a bid reaching US$2130. The Gobi March (China) 2008 website is now live.

12:53 pm, 7 June, Kashgar, China: Check-in is now almost complete. The competitor with the lighest backpack was Juan Encina of Chile weighing in at 6 kg., and William Calarese of Team Microsoft Unlimited Potential had the heaviest backpack weighing in at 17 kg. Competitors will depart for the Gobi Desert in just two hours.

2:30 pm, 8 June 2008, Taxpuxkha: Ryan Sandes of South Africa has won Stage 1 of the Gobi March followed by Siu Keung Tsang of Hong Kong in second, and Juan Encina of Chile in third place.

15:24, 8 June, Taxpuxkha, China: Lia Farley of the United States was the first female to cross the finish line of Stage 1, while Team Lieda of Spain was the first team to cross the finish line. Carlos Dias of Brazil is struggling through Stage 1. Temperatures are around 35 C (100F). Tonight competitors will stay with local Kirghiz families.

1:45 am, 9 June, Tashpushka, China: Competitors are now resting. Two competitors are expected to withdraw before the start. Stage 2 will contain one of the most difficult sections of the stage. The temperatures were very hot for Stage 1, and several competitors required I.V.s.

Check out the 4 deserts series website.

My "baby" is home from China

2008-06-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

She returned to Columbus, Ohio, last tuesday, and back to Mentor for the summer on Wednesday. Her dad is so glad to see her. :-)

My "Jury Duty" ends

2008-05-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

Not with a bang but a whimper. :-)

Ok with me. I was basically "on call" for three weeks. I had to "check in" each monday evening after 5PM. Turns out they didn't need any of us. Never even went to court. Just had to be available. :-)

More news from my (20 yo) "baby" in China...

2008-05-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

Hey daddio, I'll let you forward this to everyone else. :P

I'm in Xi'an and absolutely amazed by the history here! It is astonishing. Xi'an has a 600 year old city wall, which is not at all old in comparison to ruins from 1,500+ years ago. I am really excited to go out and see all the sights... including the terracota warriors.

I'm sure you heard about he 5.8 aftershock that hit earlier. Xi'an did feel it, but no damage. I was actually in the air when the aftershock hit. So all is well :)

So I have to say, nobody mentioned how hard it would be to climb the Great Wall. That thing climbs into the mountains, and there are portions of it where it feels like the steps are going straight up. I had to brace myself on the slippery rocks a few times :P But the view is spectacular, I got a little emotional because I was just so excited to finally be there.

Oh, and Tianamen Square is not all its cracked up to be... it just has a 15 foot picture of Mao (I took lots of pictures). It was interesting though because when we all got there, people wandering around stopped and gathered around us because I don't think they are used to seeing so many foreigners in one group. One old woman actually stood in front of our circle and had her picture taken.

After Tianamen Square we went to the Forbidden City. the history of that place is simply fascinating, and the architects put so much thought into how to properly construct it to show respect to the emperor and his consorts. It is absolutely huge; they weren't lying when they said it had 9,999 rooms.

Ok, so after we did all our stuff in Beijing, we went to this little village about 4 hours outside of Beijing called Gengcun. this village is famous for its storytelling. When we got there, the villagers were all waiting for us and the women of the village started dancing for us. It was a pretty easy dance so many of us joined in, including myself. It was a blast. The villagers were all so welcoming, and all the little children were so excited to see foreigners. It was funny though, we were split up into separate groups to go to different households with interpreters to hear the villagers stories. These stories were so amusing and inventive. I'll tell them to when I get back. Now the funny part was that after the women had told a few stories, they asked us to tell a story. We could not think of one and decided to tell The Three Little Pigs. It seemed like they enjoyed and politely clapped afterwards. Later our interpeter told us, the villagers already knew the story. We were completely owned :P Oh and when we were leaving, a little old lady came up to and said "huai lai" repeatedly, which means "come back." The people here really are beautiful, and really any people who can come back from the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, and still have so much spirit.... truly amazing.

So I get to look forward to digging for artifacts (maybe), exploring the history of Xi'an, and then going to Guilin. Oh it'll be so much fun.

I miss everyone, and can't wait to get home. Hope all is well.

Transitions...

2008-05-23T06:00:00.001-07:00

There's something exciting about watching the transition area fill up on the day of the race.

Empty transition area the day before the big race.

Filling up, the day of the race.

Graduation day.

2008-05-22T11:31:00.001-07:00

One of the software engineers on my team at Mako Surgical graduated this spring with a PhD. from the University of Miami. Smart guy! Since I was on his committee, I was invited to don the professorial attire and participate in the ceremony. I had a great time. I always get a little choked up over the serious tone and the history that underlies such events. But beneath all that regalia...

Beats the heart of a Triathlete! 'Nuff said! :-)

Use it or lose it!

2008-05-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

It's my new philosophy of living. I am discovering more and more about my physical (and mental) self as I am pulled inexorably deeper into my fitness craze. Several years ago, after I had surgery on my lower back for a badly herniated disc, I thought that my active fitness days were behind me. The surgeon advised me to "take it easy" since I only had half a disc left. Well, I'm happy to report that the disc has regenerated. I know that from a recent X-Ray. And despite the fact that I no longer make "bend-at-the-waist" and touch your toes part of my regular exercise routine, I am certainly flexible enough to do that easily thanks to a regular Yoga regime.

My left knee, which is missing the top third of the knee cap, and which I had scoped some years ago for a torn meniscus, is feeling just fine these days thank you very much! Running and bicycling has proven to be just the thing to keep it limber and pain free. If I don't use it regularly and vigorously it will tend to stiffen up on me. So, "use it or lose it".

"Take it easy, you're getting older"? No sir, not me!

One more cool picture.

2008-05-20T16:20:00.001-07:00

The start of the Wildflower Triathlon:

Nothing more to say. :-)

My "Baby's" trip to China...

2008-05-20T07:52:00.001-07:00

My youngest is on a two week tour of China. Here is what she writes about her first day:

Hey everyone!
My goodness, China is way cool... once you get past all the pollution :P Beijing is absolutely beautiful with roses everywhere. When I first arrived, jetlag was kind of slowing me down, but once I got over that I was able to get excited and really enjoy the scenery. I have taken so many pictures, so be prepared.

*sigh* Today we went to see the Temple of Heaven, famous for the Echo Wall. The architecture is very interesting, and it is just amazing to me how much thought was put into the design of the whole thing, and the scale of it is simply astonishing. Then for dinner, we had the famous Peking Duck... so good! I was worried about the food, but so far it's been very good. Also, I don't think you'll believe this... but after dinner we were walking through Beijing, and their were street vendors selling varying kinds of shishkabobs... and I tried scorpion and cricket (very crunchy and salty, but not bad), and I attempted silkworm, but it was a little too juicy, I had to spit it out :P

We also went to a very famous silk store (it was huge!) and learned how the silk was made while watching the whole process. So expect some silk souvenirs, as this was probably the cheapest place I could buy silk in the world.

I may not write in awhile as internet access is kind of expensive, but I miss and love you guys.

The Akron Aeros vs. the Altoona Curves

2008-05-20T05:59:00.000-07:00

Last evening my wife and I joined two of our friends at Canal Park in Akron at a baseball game pitting the Akron Aeros and the Altoona Curves. This is the first I've heard of either minor league baseball team. When I first heard the name of the Akron team I thought they were the "Arrows" not the "Aeros". We had a great time!

We parked the car with plenty of time to see the start of the game at 7:05PM. But, we hadn't seen our friends for several years so we decided, "the game can wait", and went to dinner. After a pleasant time and great food at a slightly upscale restaurant we slipped into the ball park noticing that the Aeros were down 3-0. I immediately recognized the ball park as the venue for the finish of the Akron Marathon where I competed in a relay race last september. Small world! I remember running into the park to the finish line which must have been near where home plate was this evening. Cool!

Anyway, we must have brought the Aeros luck since shortly after we arrived they started scoring. The game ended with the Aeros winning 5-3. All in all a very enjoyable evening!

Jury Duty?

2008-05-20T05:46:00.000-07:00

Well, my "jury duty" started on tuesday last week. We have been instructed to call a number at the court house after 5PM on monday to find out if we will be serving on the following day, tuesday. Last monday I called the number to discover that our services were not needed last week. The instructions continued to say that I should call the same number the following monday (week two) to find out if I was needed the following day. So, I called the number last evening. I will not be needed tomorrow.

I'm starting to get the picture here. Being on jury duty means being "on call" and available for three weeks on the chance that there is a trial which needs your services. One more week to go. I will call the number next monday to see if they need me at all next week.

I feel like I'm going through "southern Florida" withdrawal. I am so used to travelling there every other week that it seems strange to be home for even two weeks in a row, let alone three. I have scheduled a trip for the first week in June. We'll see what happens next week with the jury duty.

Cleveland Marathon

2008-05-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

I went to the Cleveland Marathon today. Not to run, to volunteer at the Team in Training tent to welcome team in training people after the race. We had competitors in the half and full marathon. The weather was great if you were running - not so great if you were standing around, like I was. The temperature was in the low 50s most of the time, raining at the race start but partially cloudy later. I saw one person from the Philadelphia Triathlon last year and another person who did the Chicago Triathlon last year. It was a wonderful time spent with wonderful people.

Another 1/2 Iron Man

2008-05-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

I've signed up to do another half iron man. It's on august 10th and it's about 5 minutes from my home. I'll be racing in the Greater Cleveland Triathlon. Should be fun. :-)

Wildflower wrapup - fund raising

2008-05-15T04:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the support of many generous people my Northern Ohio Wildflower Triathlon Team in Training group raised a total of $78,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. Nationally, the Team in Training groups participating in Wildflower this year raised $1.7 Million. That's just for one event!

In the 20 years since Team in Training was started participants have raised over $850 Million for Cancer research.

Wildflower wrapup - with pictures!

2008-05-11T19:37:00.000-07:00

Final tally, $5142 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Thanks!

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
- Goethe

The weekend was amazing. We flew out to San Francisco on Thursday, 5/1, rented two vans, stuffed everyone with luggage in the two vans, and headed south on the 3 hour drive to Lake San Antonio. Stopped half-way to eat lunch and pick up food and other essentials. My two "critical" supplies turned out to be a set of ear plugs (for sleeping) that I brought from home and a $15 air mattress that I bought at Target (as an afterthought) on one of our stops. Both items ensured several full night's sleep particularly before my event on Saturday. Very important!

On Friday we went for an early morning swim after posing for a team photo and picked up our bikes which had been shipped from Cleveland. I tried out my bike on a couple of the steep hills near the lake and judged it "ready for action" for the following race day.

After a good night's sleep thanks to my ear plugs and air mattress, it was time for me to head down to the transition area from the camp site to get ready for the start of my race. The temperature in the morning was cool, in the 40s, but warmed up pretty quickly once the sun burned off the morning fog before the 9:05 start of my group. The race started at the end of a boat ramp into Lake San Antonio. The swim start was on the left side of the ramp and the swim finish on the right.

Our campsite.

The transition area filled with contestants readying for the race.

Triathlons are an individual sport. In general, the "rules of the road" specify that the athletes stay to the right, pass quickly on the left, and above all not interfere with the progress of the other competitors. This applies easily to the bike and to the run. It does not, however, apply at all to the swim. The triathlon swim is generally recognized as a "contact sport". You can see what I mean in the two photos of the start of one swimming wave. My strategy was to get away from the crush of bodies as quickly as possible even if it meant staying toward the back and swimming more slowly at the start. About 5-10 minutes into the swim I found some room and was able to make steady progress toward the far buoy. Before I reached the far buoy, the wave of women that started 5 minutes behind us started to catch up to me and the water got a little more crowded again.

43 minutes and 1.2 miles after the start of my wave at 9:05AM I am regaining my footing and starting up the ramp to remove my wetsuit and get into my bicycling gear. I grabbed my helmet, put on my shoes, socks, and gloves, and about 6 and a half minutes later headed out to the 56 mile bicycle course. The course is notoriously difficult consisting of several very challenging climbs one of which, "nasty grade", is a 1,000 foot continuous climb over a 4 mile stretch. I hit the course hoping that the hill work during my training was sufficient to keep me going.

One big difference between the Olympic distance and the Half Iron-man distance is that you have to eat during the race. In my Olympic distance race last year I just needed to stay hydrated. In the longer race you must replace the 400-500 calories per hour that you burn during the bike race. I'm not sure what all I shoved down my gullet during the almost 4 hours I spent on the bike. I do know that I learned to peel a half banana while pedaling at about 15 MPH. Bananas, oranges, goo, power bars, all are standard fare for the triathlete on a bicycle. I tried everything!

The hills yielded to my efforts. I was pleasantly surprised that "nasty grade" was not as difficult for me as I had thought it would be. I even enjoyed the large pink bunny positioned near the top to cheer us on. 3 hours and 53 minutes later I was back in the transition area ready to begin the third and final leg of the race.

In and out of the second transition in 5 minutes and I'm off on the 13.1 mile run to finish the triathlon. The run was about 40% roads and about 60% trails with an elevation change of about 400 feet. I started the run and immediately knew it was going to be trouble. The swim and the bike went by pretty easily compared to the run. I battled muscle cramps in my calves and a charlie-horse in my right quad through much of the race. Luckily, there were water stops about every mile and my race ended up being a series of 1 mile run/walks between water stops. But, of course, I made sure to run every time I saw a camera. 2 hours and 36 minutes after starting I was approaching the finish line for a "photo" finish and one final pose wearing my finisher's medal to show that I was still standing.

After the race we all walked back up to the camp site. This last picture is a beautiful view of the venue. Lake San Antonio is in the background with the start of the swim in the center of the picture. We had to walk up and down this hill when going to and from our camp site.

On Sunday, I screamed myself hoarse cheering for my teammates (and everyone else) in the Olypmic distance race.

I did it!

2008-05-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

On May 3rd I completed the Wildflower long course race in 7:23:35!

Evan and me

2008-05-10T14:48:00.001-07:00

Less than 1 week to go! Over $5000 raised!

2008-04-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

Remember, what you get by reaching your destination isn't nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals - what you will become is the winner you were born to be!
Zig Ziglar

On tuesday, I ran my last 13 miler before the triathlon. Each time I finish that distance I feel a little better and I recover a little faster. This time, I walked the day after this long run only attempting a second long run on the second day following. 8 miles on thursday went smoothly and 5 miles on friday left me a little tired but my muscles felt fine, definite progress!

This coming thursday, I will be flying with my team to California to participate in the Wildflower Triathlon long course next Saturday. The training for this event is over. My goal this week is to stay loose, pack up, and prepare mentally. Our team has a total of 15 participants, 9 women and 6
men. We will meet at the airport.

My race will start next Saturday at 9:05AM Pacific time, 12:05PM Eastern. That's when my group, 50+, will enter the water and begin the 1.2 mile swim in Lake San Antonio. Some time later, I will grab my bike and begin the 56 mile ride over the hills of Monterey County California. After the ride, I plan to complete the race with a 13.1 mile run over some of those same hills.

Next Saturday, I expect to be competing for over 7-1/2 hours, but I hope to enjoy (nearly ;-) every minute of it.

I received this timely advice from a friend who has been there:
"Don't be nervous, you've done all the hard work. Relax and have fun. You know you can swim the distance, the bike is down-right fun and you can always walk some of the run if you have to. Its that simple Louie.
Remember to hydrate on the bike even when you don't think you need to. Have a blast and remember the race is always easier than the training. Luck is for the ill-prepared Louie, break a leg!"

Thanks!

13 days to go and I have collected $5112!

2008-04-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

"If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, triathlon must have taken Him completely by surprise."
P. Z. Pearce

Today, while packing my bike to be shipped to California, I actually heard about a, possibly, crazier event. It is 3 days of triathlons. The first day is a sprint distance triathlon. The second day is two Olympic distance triathlons (32 miles each). One in the morning and one in the afternoon. The third day is a half-ironman triathlon (70 miles). The guy I talked to was planning to race all four. Crazy? You tell me!

Wildflower is just around the corner and, man, has this been an eventful week! It all started friday a week ago when I received a summons in the mail to appear for jury duty this tuesday, 4/22. This is not something you can just ignore. I immediately saw my plans for Wildflower going straight down the drain. I started thinking about a plan "B". I promised to complete a half-ironman for all my wonderful donors and, by golly, I am going to complete a half-ironman - even if it ends up being the Cleveland triathlon in August instead of Wildflower in May. Well, I may still sign up for the Cleveland triathlon but I WILL be going to Wildflower afterall, thanks to an understanding judge.

Early tuesday, while I was waiting for word from the judge about my jury summons, I went for my third 13 mile run while in south Florida. The run went well and I felt like I was recovering nicely so I ran 3 miles the next morning and 5 miles the morning after that, Thursday. Well, the 5 mile run was a little more than my legs were ready for. And my left quad let me know it in no uncertain terms. Seems like bicycling, not running, is the best way for me to recover from a long run. Anyway, the best I could handle on friday was a 3 mile walk.

In the mean time I got word on Wednesday that my oldest daughter had gone into labor with my third grandchild, a boy, Evan Louis. Mother, father, and new son are all doing just fine. She left work at 3PM and Evan was born at 7PM, just 4 hours later!

Yesterday, back home in Mentor, I got together very early in the morning with some of my half-ironman wildflower teammates for a 56 mile bike ride. We were riding in the Cuyahoga valley on a beautiful, warm spring day. The ride included a number of sizeable hills which were good training for the Wildflower course. My left quad, still a little injured from the long run early in the week did not give my much trouble at all but I had to beg off on the run (after the ride) because I was afraid of doing more damage. That's now looking like a very good decision because an easy 12 mile bike this morning has me almost fully recovered from yesterday's long ride and my left quad is feeling pretty good. Although, I do think I detect a touch of tendonitis in the back of my left knee. Better get the ice pack!

As I said, it has been a VERY eventful week.

Evan Louis has arrived!

2008-04-18T04:41:00.001-07:00

My third grandson, Evan Louis, was born on wednesday, 4/16, at 7:04 PM. At birth he weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces. Unlike his grandfather, he has a full head of hair. :-)

Jenny left work at 3PM and Evan was born at 7PM the same day!

My third 13 miler

2008-04-16T05:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I ran my third 13 miler. It was a cool south florida morning. I was up at 5AM and on the road a little before 5:30. I ran for just a little over 2 hours. It's still a bit of a struggle to complete that distance but the real news is that I am recovering much faster after the run. My quads were not very sore at all after this run. I still have a small knot (trigger point) in my left quad but with the massage it is holding up fine. A few twinges in my right calf are also responding to the massage. I have time before the triathlon for one more 13 miler next week. The following week will consist of very easy training since that is the last week before the event.

Today I did yoga and ran an easy 3 miles. Feelin' good!

Here come 'da Judge!

2008-04-16T04:49:00.000-07:00

Last friday I received a summons in the mail to appear for jury duty... on April 22! I have no problem fulfilling my civic duty and serving on a jury. But, the timing definitely threatened to kill my hopes of competing in the Wildflower triathlon. At times like these I start by getting philosophical and try to put some perspective on my problems. In the grand scheme how bad is it? My "not going" to Wildflower is trivial compared to what the people I am raising money for go through on a daily basis while battling cancer. But I really want to go! In another year, what will it matter? But I really, really want to go!

After I received the summons I called the judge's office and spoke to a very nice lady who told me to fax a letter to the judge explaining my situation along with copies of my plane tickets. She said she would present the information to the judge and he would decide. So I faxed the information right away last friday and waited... The waiting is hard and I began thinking about alternatives. What if I have to appear on the 22nd? That's the day my bike is supposed to ship to California for the race. If I send the bike and don't make it to California, will they store the bike and ship it back? Or, do I just keep the bike here and can the whole thing? At times like this it's probably better not to think at all. On the other hand, should I have provided more details in the letter? Is that my only shot? Or, will I be able to argue my case. Stop thinking!

Yesterday morning after jumping every time my cell phone rang on monday I finally received the answer from the judge's office. The judge would grant my request for a delay in my service. Besides that, however, the judge would like to know how much advance notice I would need to be able to appear. I thought, "I'm dealing with a very reasonable person here. Not at all the heavy-handed attitude I was half dreading." So, the same very nice lady said there was a summons going out for May 13th. I replied, "I'll be there." And it was done. I'm looking forward to meeting the judge!

20 days to go and I have collected $5112!

2008-04-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking."
-- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author of Sherlock Holmes)

Monday evening TNT hosted a "transitions" workshop. They talked about how to shave seconds off your time in the transition between swim and bike and between bike and run. I listened attentively and pretty much kept my mouth shut. In Philadelphia I spent 7 minutes after the swim and about 4 minutes after the bike legs. In the triathlon world, that's practically having a picnic! But, I figure I want to make sure that everything is "just so" before I hit the road on the bike or on the run. If I hurry out of transition and I have forgotten something or am not completely ready, it's going to be a long and probably more painful leg. So, I say, take your time and get it right. But, I didn't say that at the workshop. :-)

My goal is to finish the triathlon (70 miles total). To that end I am concentrating these last three weeks on building my stamina. Since the run is the last leg of the triathlon, maintaining my stamina through that segment is crucial. So...

After taking monday off, just a little yoga and a half hour walk, I tackled my second 13 miler on tuesday. This time, my recouperation lasted no more than about 2-3 days. At the end of the run, I was walking kind of slow since both quads were "screaming" at me. I could tell I have developed a "trigger-point" in my left quad and my right quad was just overall sore. six to twelve mile bike rides on wednesday and thursday along with a lot of massage - mostly using the "stick" and my thumbs on the "trigger-point" trying to knead out the knot - cleared up the soreness in short order. Now, that's progress!

This is one of the few weeks in which I have actually trained in all 3 sports. Bicycling formed the core of the training. This is usual when I am at home. But I also had the long run and this morning I had the last swimming workshop before the race. I am one of the slowest swimmers in the workshop but I am able to complete the hour and a half workout strong. As I said, I'm all about finishing this thing.

I've started thinking about what, and how, to pack for the trip to the race. I went shopping at Dick's sporting goods and picked up a good bike lock and a small flashlight. I mounted two water bottle cages on my bike since our coach said for the 56 mile bike it's best to have two water bottles especially if you miss one of the bottle exchanges. Finally, I mounted my small "flat fix" pack under my saddle. It has a spare tube, tire levers, patch kit, and a CO2 trigger with two cartridges. I really should try that CO2 trigger out at least once before the race.

My second 13 miler

2008-04-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

After my "day off" yesterday, I decided to attempt another 12 to 13 mile run. My previous run went well but left me with about a week long recouperation. After a rather tentative start, I gained confidence as the miles slipped by beneath my feet. I was starting to drag about an hour and a half into the effort but I knew that as long as my muscles held out the effort I put into the latter stages of this long run would pay off. I finished in two hours and 9 minutes with my energy pretty well spent but no serious problems with my muscles. My quads are very sore but I can already feel them starting to recover. The next 3 days will be easy ones for me, alternating running and riding. I hope to shoot for another 60 mile ride on saturday.

27 days to go and I have collected $5082 so far!

2008-04-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

"Runners like to train 100 miles per week because it's a round number. But I think 88 is a lot rounder."
Don Kardong

Well, I hit 133 miles for the week - 3 walking, 23 running, 107 bicycling. That's not a round number any way you look at it, but I think it's a good number.

It has been a busy and a fun week on the training front. Monday, I was travelling so I took the day off. No time, really, to run. I have to do my running very early in the morning when I am in Florida. My training week started on tuesday with a 10 mile run in about an hour and a half. The important thing about this is that I am getting much smarter about recovering from these long runs, understanding and compensating for the extra stress they put on my muscles. I no longer dread the effects of a long run on the rest of my training week. With that in mind I ran a modest 3 miles on wednesday to recover, asking a co-worker to punch me in the nose if I ran farther. I didn't, so my nose is still intact. :-)

Thursday was a fun day! We had a large group from my company attending the annual "Corporate Run" in Ft. Lauderdale. Mako set up a tent and had a great spread of food and "munchies" catered. At least a couple dozen people showed up with friends and family. Not wanting to wear myself out for the event, I "walked" 3 miles in the morning just to loosen up. The Corporate Run is a 5K (3.1 mile) run/walk and is heavily attended. I took the opportunity to "tri" out my "triathlon" outfit. Pun definitely intended! It was not my best time, but it was the best I was going to do for this specific event. I finished in 25 minutes, 54 seconds. I was struggling from the opening gun - not really sure why. The fun for me actually started after I finished when I quickly downed some water, grabbed two cups and doubled back on the course to offer water and cheer on my colleagues. I had a great time! The next morning I went for a "leisurely" 1 hour run.

Now for the "real" miles. The time till the triathlon is growing short. It's lss than one month away. I have resolved to experience at least the full distance for the bike and the run. So, yesterday, I decided to try for a 60 mile bike in around 4 hours. I was approaching 45 miles in about 3 hours when a poor split-second decision landed me in a pot-hole. I managed to "jump" the hole with my front tire but for the back tire, there was no avoiding it. The back tire went "spongy" on me almost immediately and I knew my ride was finished. Still, not a bad effort.

I had resolved to try again next weekend, but what the heck! Although I was nursing a very saddle sore posterior, I changed my plans to take advantage of today's excellent weather. I wasn't sure how long I would last, but I held on for the full distance, riding a little slower than the day before. Saturday's ride had sure taken it's toll, but today's ride turned into a good "mental toughness" test for me. I am now recouperating.

Think I'll take the day off tomorrow. Maybe just do some yoga or go for a short
walk. :-)

I did it!

2008-04-06T14:33:00.000-07:00

It wasn't pretty, but I did it. Another nice day found me on the bike at around 10 AM planning to do a 60 miler despite the "saddle-soreness" from the yesterday. The first 30 miles where not too difficult although I was pedalling at a slightly slower pace than yesterday - around 14 miles an hour. Yesterday's ride had definitely taken a toll. The second 30 miles were a real struggle, but the farther I got the more determined I became to finish the 60 miles. I definitely limped through the last 6 miles but made a total distance of 62 miles in 4 hours, 23 minutes - an average speed of just over 14 miles per hour.

The interesting thing was that, except for part of the last 6 miles, I was able to "charge" all the hills. Stepping up the effort and the pace to climb quickly and steadily. It actually felt better when I hit the few short uphills on my route. The other interesting thing is that the course is pretty flat - there are no real hills in Mentor - so my effort throughout the 60 miles was pretty constant. If there are no uphills you can't coast down any downhills.

I'm recovering now.

45 miles in 3 hours

2008-04-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

It was supposed to be 60 miles in 4 hours but I had a flat. Beautiful sunny day in the 50s with dry pavement, perfect for my first attempt to conquer the half ironman bicycling distance (56 miles). Alas, it was not to be. Bad judgement and a pothole in the wrong place pinched a small hole in my rear tire. I could tell immediately that the tire had gone "spongy" on me. It had a slow leak that did not leave me with much remaining riding time. It's ok. The ride left me just 11 miles short of the triathlon distance and well within reach of my 60 mile goal. I definitely feel strong enough to complete it on my next attempt.

I should be able to reach that goal by next weekend.

34 days to go and I have collected $5052 so far!

2008-03-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

Predawn ride, I pass my neighbor on a run. "Why are you riding a bike?" he asks. "Running gets you in shape faster." It's not about that. It's about how riding makes me feel. The speed. Leaning into gentle curves. Charging up hills. How strong my legs feel. Riding gets me fit. But thats just luck. I don't ride to get fit.
-R. Todd Barker

37 miles. That's about how far I rode today. Took me a little over 2 and a half hours. That works out to about 14 miles an hour. 37 miles is about two-thirds of the 56 miles I will be riding for the triathlon. Yesterday, I rode about 25 miles. I felt strong after both rides, although I did feel a little stronger on yesterday's ride since I had rested the day before. I was planning to go for longer yesterday, I stopped a little early when I could no longer feel my toes. The temperature for most of the week has been in the low 30's so I have not been able to ride for more than an hour and a half on any given day. Today it got into the 40's and I had planned to ride for longer but decided not to push it to the point where my legs got too sore. I will probably shoot for the 56 miles next weekend. Looks like it will continue to warm up. It is, officially, spring afterall!

My legs seem to have fully recovered from the 12-13 miler I ran almost 2 weeks ago. I have been using "the stick" to massage not only my calves but my quads as well. This seems to have done some good.

My strategy continues to be one of gradually building up my mileage for the bike and for the run. I have, maybe, two more swimming workouts I can go to. I think the swim will take care of itself. I will have to prepare myself mainly for the bicycle and running courses. Tomorrow will be a day off since I will be travelling to Florida for the coming week. I am looking forward to "warm weather" runs while I am down there. I will try to add one or two longer runs as well.

Since the triathlon is only about 1 month away, I will also have to prepare for the trip. I got a box for my bicycle which will have to be shipped to California in about 3 weeks. I will also have to shop for a mattress to go with my sleeping bag. That will be an experience, trying to get enough sleep for the triathlon while camping out for the weekend. So much to think about - so little time. :-)

41 days to go and I have collected $5052

2008-03-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

"If you are always allowed to stop training whenever you feel discomfort, you will find it too easy to give yourself permission to quit."
- Attributed to Jet Li

I bit the bullet and pushed myself to a 12-13 miler on Monday. Just had to see that it was possible. Trying to exorcise the running demon from my mind. That last leg of the triathlon still seems the most challenging. It was a long slog and I felt the strain through the second half of the run but I completed it. That was a big step.

The following day, I was determined to get back out to prevent my muscles from tightening with the mild injury I undoubtedly induced the day before. The weather was absolutely miserable but I got out on my bike for about a half hour. I was riding well but returned home soaked to the bone. My left quad is still feeling the effects of Monday’s run, but with regular massage is healing nicely.

Wednesday and Thursday were off days for me. The weather was terrible on Wednesday and on Thursday we drove to Cincinnati for Easter. I dropped of my new bike on the way for its first tune-up to be ready for the triathlon. I took my other bike to Cincinnati for the weekend, planning to ride with my brother on Friday. It’s wonderful having a second bike!

My brother and I toured Cincinnati on our bikes for almost 3 hours on Friday. This is the really fun part of training. Most of the riding was pretty easy, but we threw in a few tough hill climbs. I can tell the effect of my training since the hills are actually getting easier. Hills which I used to dread facing are still tough, but not the killers that I remember. We also stopped to get a little “culture” at the Art Museum.

Bicycling around the town...

2008-03-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

Whenever I go to Cincinnati for the weekend to spend time with my family I always check with my brother to see if he wants to go bicycling while I am in town. He always does. So, yesterday, I met him around 1 PM at a neighborhood restaurant and we headed down to the Ohio River. With all the recent rain we have had in the midwest the river is running at about 25-30 feet above "pool" stage. The serpentine wall at the river front only had the topmost step visible above the river level. Normally, there are about 10-15 2 foot steps visible. We rode along Sawyer Point for a short way until we couldn't continue because of the high water level.

Then we headed inland and up a sharp hill (about 300 feet) to the top of Mount Adams. The picture above was taken at the top of Mount Adams. You can see the Ohio River well below us in the background. That was a steep climb and good practice for me leading up to the Wildflower Triathlon. While we were in the area, my brother suggested we stop at the Cincinnati Art Museum. We parked and locked our bikes and walked around for about a half hour. This proves that two sweaty guys out for an afternoon ride can actually absorb a little "culture" along the way.

We continued the ride back to my brother's house covering about 25 to 30 miles and ascending several more challenging hills along the way. The final hill, as usual, is a street called Glenview which is about 250 feet and always ends the days ride. It is my nemesis, although on this day it felt like a good climb. A definite (and necessary) confidence builder for my Wildflower adventure.

Recovering from my 12-13 miler

2008-03-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

The recovery actually went quite well. Yesterday, I rode for about a half hour. The weather was miserable, drizzling and in the upper 30's. I got home soaked through and through and miserably cold. The ride, however, did a nice job of loosening up my quads from the long run the day before. Today, my legs feel very good with only a little residual soreness in the quads. My calves feel great!

12-13 mile run

2008-03-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

I started thinking about this yesterday. I wanted to do a run that was long enough to convince myself that I can complete the last leg of my upcoming triathlon. So, I settled on completing two circuits of my 10 kilometer route (12.4 miles). Add the few tenths at the start and finish and I have a run which is closer to 13 than to 12 miles. Good enough.

I woke up around 7 this morning. The temperature was in the low 40s. There was a very light drizzle which persisted throughout the run. It's all about persistence, toughing it out even though the conditions are not ideal. And, they were definitely not ideal! Anyway, I persisted for nearly 2 hours and covered the distance I had set out to complete. My quads (particularly my left) have taken a beating. But, it's training pain I am living with now not injury pain. Big difference! I'll take it easy the next few days - maybe some light bike riding - to give my legs a chance to recover. Building confidence for the race. It's all good!

48 days to go and I have collected $5052 so far!

2008-03-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

"If you don't have confidence, you'll always find a way not to win."
Carl Lewis

For the next few weeks my training will be aimed at bulding my confidence for the big race. How will I do that? By piling on the miles on the bike and the for run. At this point I think the swimming will take care of itself. I'm confident I can cover that distance in a reasonable period of time. Also, it's the only portion of the course that doesn't have hills. :-)

This has been, for me, a week of testing. Since my recent back and knee problems seem to have abated and since the weather in the north seems to be cooperating, I have resolved to gradually increase my biking and running mileage. The intent is to be able to test myself at least once at the race distance for the bike (56 miles) and for the run (13 miles).

This week while in Florida I went for 4 runs. I alternated "hard day", "easy day" and bumped my maximum distance to about 10 miles. I want to thank my cousin for giving me the information about the muscle "trigger point" discussion and my colleague at Mako for pointing me to the "myofascial release" page. For me, regular massage of my calves and quads has proven to be the final answer to my muscle cramps while running. I look forward to gradually building my distance over the next few weeks. Running is becoming fun for me again!

Yesterday I went for a long bike ride. Right now I feel like I can go forever on the bike. I am really looking forward to the warm spring days that I know are right around the corner. I will build up to a continuous 60 mile ride in preparation for the race. What about the hills? I don't think I will be able to train specifically for those since it is not hilly enough around my house. I am counting on my general fitness to see me through that challenge.

Not forgetting the swim, I participated today in the second last swimming workshop at Oberlin College. For the first time, I used my new "semi-prescription" swim goggles. Amazing! I can see! It will be wonderful to be able to sight the bouy easily in the race. We covered at least 2300 yards (1.3 miles) during the practice. The last drill was a set of 25 yard swims with the coach surprising us by telling us how to swim the 25 yards only 5 seconds before the start. The choices were easy swim, sprint, underwater, and one of several drills. He started us off with an easy swim, then two underwater lengths back-to-back. I made the first one on one breath, but my lungs were screaming as I neared the wall at the opposite end. I didn't even try to to the second underwater swim on one breath, taking a second one at the half-way point.

The next weeks are all about building mileage and the confidence that goes with it. Wish me luck! :-)

Back in the saddle... rackin' up the miles

2008-03-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

After a week of warmer weather up north, the foot and a half of snow that fell around my house has half melted away. At least the roads are clear and mostly dry. The temperature today is in the mid thirties but the sun is (mostly) out. It's a good opportunity to get my bike out and see how long I can go. With the triathlon only a month and a half away I am anxious to build my mileage in the bike (56 miles) and the run (13 miles). The swim will have to take care of itself.

When I started riding I was planning to sort of play it by ear and go for either one or two hours and 12 to 25 miles. As I rode, my muscles loosened up and I became more comfortable and felt stronger on the bike. Still, it was a little cold to be out for any length of time. I was able to finish 30 miles in about 2 hours. I returned home still feeling fresh enough to do more miles, but it was really too cold for me to stay out any longer. I'm very happy with the effort and will be building my mileage over the next few weeks. When I got home today I took a long hot shower.

Hitting my stride

2008-03-13T06:05:00.000-07:00

With less than two months to go until the big race I need to increase my running mileage to be able to handle the last leg of the triathlon. I am in Florida this week. This is the perfect place to work on the long slow runs. My old nemesis, "calf cramps", seems to be at bay thanks to my daily routine of massaging those muscles. So, here's how it has gone so far this week.

Tuesday morning was my long run "shake down". I covered about 8 miles in just over an hour. My lower left calf stiffened up a bit toward the end of the run but I felt strong the whole way. When I finished and started massaging my left calf, I could feel a small knot in the muscle that was a little tender. I can still feel it today but it is much less tender after several days of massage. Yesterday, I ran and walked for about 30 minutes. "Hard day, easy day" is my strategy so that I don't overdo it and injure myself. Here's the great news. I covered about 10 miles today in around and hour and a half. I felt strong for the whole run and my left calf which was a little stiff initially loosened up during the run and felt very good at the end.

I feel confident that with this strategy and the daily massage I can build up to the 13-15 miles I will need to feel confident about finishing the triathlon in May.

55 days to go and I have collected $5027 so far!

2008-03-09T16:52:00.000-07:00

I'm not finished collecting donations but, thanks to your generosity, I have surpassed by minimum commitment of $4900 - the requirement to participate in the Wildflower triathlon. Thanks!

"Where else but in San Francisco would characters such as Sister Boom-Boom, a transvestite who dresses in a miniskirted nun's habit, and a punk rocker named Jello Biafra run for seats on the Board of Supervisors? And where else would 75,000 runners dress like centipedes, gorilla, and six packs of beer to participate in the "moving masquerade ball" otherwise known as the Bay to Breakers Race?"
-JoAnne Davidson, journalist

My oldest daughter emailed me about a 101 year old man training to run the London Marathon on April 13th. I don't know what else to say, but... Amazing! Apparently, if he finishes he will be the oldest person to have completed a marathon. Go man go!

I was able to squeeze in a 12 mile bike on monday before I headed for San Francisco and the weather in Cleveland took a turn for the worst. On tuesday I got to the hotel a little after noon changed into my running duds and headed out towards fisherman's wharf. I'm guessing that the hotel where I stayed is about 3-4 miles from the wharf. The weather in San Francisco was just about ideal all week. A little beyond fisherman's wharf is a public pier that curves around opposite Alcatraz. From the pier is a beautiful view of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. I slowed down a bit and took it all in. The other side of the pier was a nice sheltered cove. If I had my wet suit I could have gotten in an nice open water swim or two. I think I need to concentrate on the running, however. That final 13 miles is looming larger and larger in my imagination these days. In a little over an hour I was back at my hotel.

The next two days I got up around 5:30AM and headed out for a 30-45 minute "hill" run. I actually found someone else who was crazy enough to keep me company on these runs. Wouldn't you know it, he's a former Marine. Kinda figures. :-) He and I ran up and down Nob Hill. Nob Hill is a gradual climb for about 4-6 blocks but just when you think you're almost there you hit the last 1 block uphill which is an absolute killer. It's a significantly steeper grade than the previous climb. It provides great practice for just "gutting" it out to get to the top. My legs think they are running but my body is moving at an agonizing crawl. Heading down hill is not much better since your legs take a real pounding on those steep grades.

On friday morning I had to be at the conference by about 7AM so I wasn't planning to run. However, I found myself wide awake at 3:30AM (6:30AM EST). So, I headed out for the hour round trip to fisherman's wharf one more time. On the way I saw a baker taking a 4 foot crocodile out of the oven. It was a loaf of sourdough shaped like a croc. :-) Aahh! The smell of freshly baked bread is well worth waking up for. It was a nice finish to my San Francisco runs.

I left Frisco that evening on the red-eye, wondering when I would make it home. All of Ohio was by then in the middle of a record setting late season blizzard. I expected to get stuck in Charlotte, which was my intermediate stop, on saturday morning. But I did make it at least close to home that day. However, I didn't actually get home until the following day, sunday. After all that, I'm really glad to be home!

I had a pair of prescription swim goggles that I had ordered last week waiting for me when I got home. What a treat. Now I may actually be able to spot the bouys on my open water swims.

I'm off to florida tomorrow where I hope to continue to build up my running mileage.

Airport adventure... Not!

2008-03-09T10:06:00.000-07:00

I spent most of the week in San Francisco at a conference. Got 4 good runs in while I was there. Ran up Nob hill twice and out to Fisherman's Wharf twice. On friday, I took the "red-eye" home to Mentor. That is when the "fun" began.

My first leg was Frisco to Charlotte, N.C. I left Frisco at 10:40PM (1:40AM EST) and arrived in Charlotte at about 6:45AM EST. So far so good. To be completely honest, before I left I fully expected to get stranded in Charlotte since there was a fierce blizzard raging over pretty much all of Ohio starting some time on Friday and continuing through Saturday. I was very surprised to find that the plane bound for Cleveland took off right on time at 8:05AM. Turns out, that was just a "teaser". The ride to Cleveland was uneventful but when we tried to land they were plowing the runway and the snow was just too deep to attempt a landing. The pilot then diverted to Akron/Canton to try to land there. Cleveland Hopkins airport is about 45 minutes from my home. Akron/Canton is about an hour and 15 minutes from home. Still ok. We were able to successfully land at Akron/Canton, so I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing at this point. Very happy to be so close to home.

They refueled the plane and gave us the option of trying a second time for Cleveland Hopkins. Of course, if we were unable to land there we might end up in Pittsburgh or even back in Charlotte. That's a no brainer, I'm staying put at Akron/Canton. So, it's about 10:30AM on saturday and I am only a relatively short car ride from home. So close, and yet so far away. Problem is, with the blizzard howling away outside the interstates were a mess. Maybe if the weather lets up a little I can still get a ride later in the day. Not a chance! It wasn't until after midnight that the snow and the wind began to abate giving the snow plows the opportunity to begin clearing the roads.

I was hanging out near the gate at which I had entered the terminal (nice and quiet) until security told me I would have to move out into the terminal. Watched CNN most of the night, unable to sleep for more that short periods - this is the night following my all night "red-eye" flight! Got really sick of seeing the Larry King interview of Janet Jackson. They repeated it 3 or 4 times during the night!

Finally got a ride home. I'll try to get a little sleep and get ready for my flight to Florida tomorrow. But, I've got a lot of snow to shovel :-(

62 days to go and I have collected $5027 so far!

2008-03-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

I'm not finished collecting donations but, thanks to your generosity, I have surpassed by minimum commitment of $4900 - the requirement to participate in the Wildflower triathlon. Thanks!

"Life is an endurance sport!"
Lou Arata

It's true! Whether you're raising children or trying to keep up with grandchildren, building a new career or keeping up with the demands of a more established career, life requires endurance! My addiction to life drives my addiction to my chosen sport.

Speaking of endurance events, the Iditarod started today. What's the Iditarod? It's an 1150 mile sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska.

I struggled a bit to get on the bike this week. I was able to get in a couple of 12 mile rides and a six mile ride but the weather kept me indoors for two days. Looks like milder weather is on the way, though. Spring can't be far off. The good news is, my right knee is back to very nearly 100%. In fact, at the moment I have no real physical complaints. Hope it lasts. :-)

Yesterday, I participated in a spinning workout organized by our Team in Training coach. A spinning workout is an hour long session on a stationary bicycle in which you try desperately to keep up with the coach - in this case, an accomplished "Iron Man" triathlete. I am dripping with sweat - not a dry spot on me - after about 10 minutes. The workout involves continuous pedalling while simulating hills by increasing the resistance. We finished the workout with a rousing chorus of "Macho Man", which was a little strange since over half of the team are women. But, they may have been singing "Nacho Man" - I think I heard that once or twice.

I haven't had much pool time during my training for this event. Maybe an hour and a half each month so far. I'm not really concerned, since the swim is only about a third longer than I faced last year in Pilly (1.2 miles instead of 0.9 miles). The bike and the run are over twoce the distance of the Philly triathlon. I figure, I just want to complete the swim without getting too beat up. You see, in the triathlon swimming is a contact sport. It's pretty much a "free for all" with people swimming into and over you at least at the start and later on as well when the wave that starts 5 minutes behind you catches up. I maxed out my pool time today, however, finishing an hour and a half workout in Oberlin then driving an hour to do an hour Team in Training workout in Macedonia. I think I'll do ok in the swim.

This coming week I'll be in San Francisco. I'll be attending the biggest orthopedic conference in the nation. It will be my company's big chance to debut our products. I am looking forward to running the hills in San Francisco. It's a great city for running and great preparation for the Wildflower course. Oh, and the conference should be pretty cool too. :-)

California Dreamin'

2008-02-27T13:16:00.001-08:00

As in "It's a nice place to visit, but...". Yesterday and today we got hit hard with snow. I'm "snowed in" at the moment and going a little stir crazy. With just a little over two months to go until the Wildflower Triathlon and plenty of training to do after my recent troubles I can't seem to get a consistent week of workouts in. Well, for most of the next two weeks I'll be in warmer climes. Next tuesday through friday I'll be in San Francisco for a conference. I've been poking around the internet for some good routes around Frisco to do a 5-10 mile run. Maybe I'll just wing it when I get there. The hills will be good training. I will take full advantage of them

The following week, from monday through friday, I'll be in florida. I know my routes there. This will be a good chance to start to rebuild my running stamina. Long, slow distance will be my mantra for the next month or so. Got to build up to 13 miles for the race in early May.

69 days and $503 to go!

2008-02-24T17:21:00.000-08:00

"Number one is just to gain a passion for running. To love the morning, to love the trail, to love the pace on the track. And if some kid gets really good at it, that's cool too."
Pat Tyson

I think I'm starting to hit my stride again! I'm definitely regaining my passion for running. I know that injury is all part of this "game" I have chosen for myself, but injury has a way of taking the fun out of it as well.

In florida this week I made a tentative effort to rehabilitate my injured right knee and build back up to a reasonable running distance. Tuesday, wednesday, and thursday saw me gradually build up to a continuous 3-4 mile run. I am definitely seeing some success in getting back to the training necessary to complete the 13 mile final leg of the triathlon I will run in May.

What gives me even more confidence is that yesterday I completed a 5 mile run while I was in Houston for a conference. It was an enjoyable run and to round it out I walked an additional 8 miles (4 each way), between the hotel and the venue for the conference. My quads are a little sore, but that's a "good" pain, signalling only that the muscles are growing stronger.

After I returned home today I donned my cold weather "layers" of clothes and went for a 12 mile ride on my bike. I'll probably give the running a bit of a rest this week since I'm home and work on the bike instead. Gotta find a way to get back in the pool! :-)

A runner's Mecca

2008-02-24T16:28:00.000-08:00

One of the cool things about travelling to a new place is that I get to try out a new route for my morning run. I was in Houston, Texas yesterday for a conference. On the shuttle ride from the airport the previous day the driver was talking about this great park near our hotel with a parcours and a 3 mile running trail. So, naturally, I was intrigued and he assured me that it was only about a mile from the hotel in which I was staying. I asked at the desk and found out the the complete route from the hotel to the park (Memorial Park), around the path, and back to the hotel was about 5 miles. So, I resolved to make that my route for yesterday's morning run.

Needing to get an early start, I was up a little after 5 and out the door a little before 6. I didn't need to take the map with me bacause the directions were very easy. Not sure exactly what I was looking for and not sure what I would find when I got there, I was a little apprehensive, wondering if it was a good idea to strike out on my own in the dark in a strange city. I had visions of a lonely run around a dark course in a park I didn't know, perhaps filled with muggers! Where's that pepper spray when you need it! :-)

Well... I headed out the door on a chilly (45 degree), dark morning. The run to the park was along a road with no sidewalks. The light traffic meant that I could run in the road part of the time (facing the cars of course). I was beginning to wonder whether I had missed the park entirely when I crested a rise in the road to see... lights! and... people! There it was, the park and the running course that, apparently, never sleeps! There were dozens of people visible on the well lit trail. There may have been upwards of a hundred or two people in the park at that time of the day enjoying the brisk weather and the company of other runners. It was great!

After covering about a mile, I pulled even with a woman who was going about my pace and struck up a conversation. No, as a guy I don't feel compelled to pass every woman I meet while running. I'm too old for that stupid macho stuff :-) Anyway, we had a nice run and chat for the remaining 2+ miles of the course. I was so absorbed in the conversation that I completely missed the turn to go back out to the road and return to my hotel. I only figured it out when I started noticing things that looked familiar along the course, like the parking lot. At that point I said a quick "good bye" and headed back. On the way back to the road, I spoke briefly with a guy who was wearing a "Team in training" shirt. It was a wonderful time.

Fixing my knee - the wrong way and the right way

2008-02-20T05:22:00.001-08:00

A little over two weeks ago, I took a slow speed tumble off my bike and banged my right knee on the asphalt. I finished the ride and my knee felt ok but later that day it began to stiffen up. That evening, I could tell that it was a little swollen so I iced it a few times and took some asprin. That seemed to bring some relief so I resolved to "run off" the remaining affects of my bike tumble. Bad idea!

I tried running on it the following week with, I thought, some early success. However, my knee was still stiff, indicating that the swelling had not subsided. Three more days of pushing the running and I was hobbled by what I believe to be a case of bursitis. The swelling, which was originally general, had become localized (I think) in my prepatellar bursa. This effectively shut me down completely from running or even from much walking.

I spent the next week (last week) icing my knee hourly and taking a lot of aspirin. With this treatment the bursitis seemed to resolve itself to the point where I was able to ride about 25 miles total on the following (this past) saturday and sunday. The swelling seemed to have subsided leaving only a residual pain from the bump.

This week I have slowly resumed the running. Yesterday, I completed a 3 mile course by alternately running and walking in half mile segments. I was a little disappointed that the knee pain was still there during the running, but I waited to see how my knee felt as the day progressed. Not only did my knee not swell, but it began to feel better throughout the day. This morning, I ran the first and last mile of the three mile course and walked the middle mile. While there is still some tenderness, the swelling has not returned and my knee felt better during the running today.

So, the moral for me is: don't try to run through a swollen knee. The best way to treat it is lots of ice until the swelling goes down. On the other hand, when there is no swelling, put up with a moderate amount of pain to resume your normal activities. As in all things, it is important to find a proper balance.

76 days and $503 to go!

2008-02-17T13:33:00.000-08:00

It's something I find enjoyable. Whether it is a road bike or mountain bike or tandem bike. I enjoy riding a bike.
-Lance Armstrong

Me too! I think I've been getting a little cranky this week. The need to keep icing my knee and weather that was totally uncooperative kept me grounded monday through friday. I didn't even get out for a walk!

Finally, yesterday the weather cleared. It was still in the 20s but the sun was out and the sky was clear so I went for a couple of 10K (6.2 mile) rides. After each ride I iced my knee. My knee is actually feeling quite good. It is still a little tender and I still feel an occasional twinge but I feel strong on the bike, particularly after all the rest; and it feels very natural to me to be riding again.

Yesterday, ABC had an hour and a half recap of the 2007 Hawaiian Ironman competition. Ok, now I'm really psyched! So many interesting individual stories from the 60 something blind grandpa to the man who had both legs amputated below the knee - both finished the race. It got me thinking a little about why I should be attracted to training for and competing in triathlons. It's not just for fitness, although that is an excellent reason to compete. Clearly, it isn't necessary to train for a 70 mile race if your main goal is to stay fit. It's really about challenging myself physically the way my job challenges me mentally. It's about building the mental toughness to persevere under extreme circumstances. To build that toughness sometimes you just have to "invent" those extreme circumstances in a triathlon competition. It's about going after something that you would never consider because it just seems somehow out of reach.

Today, the temperature is in the 40s and very windy. Earlier we had light rain which let up enough for me to get out for a 12 mile ride. It really feels great to be back on my bike!

83 days and $603 to go!

2008-02-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

"Some people endure pain better than others. All things considered, the ability to withstand - or even deny - pain would seem to be a valuable ally for the long distance runner in search of significant improvement. In truth, it is probably a double-edged sword, since medical experts tell us that pain is the body's warning signal to back off, and that to ignore such signals is to roll the dice with both body and mind."
Mark Will-Weber

Will I ever learn? Maybe not! I caught the second edge of that double-edged sword this week by running through the pain. Not a good idea in this case.

It all started last sunday. I took a slow speed tumble on my bike and slammed my right knee on the asphalt. My knee loosened up as I finished the ride so I didn't think too much of it. Later that evening, my right knee started to stiffen up on me so I popped a few aspirin and iced it a few times. In florida this week, I ran tuesday morning doing a short 3-4 mile route at an easy pace. My knee was a little tender but it seemed to do ok. The rest of the day it felt fine.

I thought I was being smart by just fast-walking on wednesday morning a couple of miles. In reality I should probably have rested completely. Thursday morning I ran about a mile and walked another mile but by then it was pretty obvious to me that my knee was getting worse, not better. By friday, when I returned home I was no longer able to lead with my right leg while walking up steps. My body had called a halt to things, telling me it needed time to heal!

Self diagnosis is a tricky thing, but the fact that the initial problem involved swelling and stiffening of the knee which only got worse with activity leads me to believe that it is probably bursitis. In any case my body is telling me to stop and attend to the swelling and pain until that is resolved. So, that is what I am doing.

The last two days I have been downing aspirin every 4 hours and icing my knee for about 15 minutes every hour. I am happy to report that the symptoms are definitely improving. If the weather cooperates and my knee feels better I hope to get back on my bike later this week. I will run again next week but only if the pain has completely subsided. I promise!

I gave up a perfectly good (and rare) chance to train in a pool today in order to stay home and ice my knee. It's for the better.

90 days and $603 to go!

2008-02-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

"Restlessness is discontent - and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man - and I will show you a failure."
Thomas Alva Edison

Restlessness, that's the story of my week. Both the weather and my ailing back were conspiring to keep me from doing much training. The weather, not because of the temperature, but because of the road conditions - too much snow, slush, or ice. I won't ride if I think there is a better than even chance that I will take a spill on the bike. My back is actually rehabilitating rather nicely but I didn't want to push it until all the pain is gone.

Anyway, here's how the week went. Monday was the one nice day this week so I was able to take my new bike for a spin. It rides great! I'm really going to enjoy it. When I went for my second ride on tuesday. I decided to get a new saddle, one that was more like the saddle on my road bike. I spent the next 3 days indoors concentrating on my hourly exercises to help mend my aching back. Yesterday, I went for a short ride to and from the bank just to cash a check. Yes, it still counts as training, light training anyway. Today, I took the new bike out for another 12.5 mile ride. Felt good and the discomfort in my back seems to have gone entirely.

I'll be in Florida this coming week, so it will be a good opportunity to ease back into the running and see if my back has really healed. Looks like I will have to pay regular attention to maintaining the health of the discs in my back. Every time I get a little complacent because I am not feeling any lower back pain I seem to get myself in the same fix - bulging discs.

Well, I have about 3 months to go until the triathlon. The weather should start getting milder. Spring is around the corner. Now the training starts in earnest.

A new saddle

2008-01-31T19:20:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, I rode about 12.5 miles on my new bike, my second ride. Feeling more comfortable with the shifters. No longer reaching my thumb out when I need to shift to a smaller sprocket. Getting used to using my fingers to push the brake lever and the shift lever sideways to do my up and down shifting. But, I decided I didn't like the feel of the saddle. I've gotten used to saddles which have a center cut-out to relieve the pressure on the peroneal nerve. Keeps me from getting numb in a place where most men really don't like being numb - if you know what I mean. Anyway, I took the bike back to the place where I bought it and they swapped the saddle that came with the bike for one that I picked out of a "grab box". This new one almost matches the saddle I have on my trusty "Specialized" road bike. I know that one works since I have ridden up to 80 miles in one day on that saddle. Now I should be set.
The weather has gotten really cold here in the last couple of days. My back is feeling better but I should probably give it another day or two before I get back into the training seriously. The hourly exercises really seem to be helping.

Shakedown cruise

2008-01-28T14:19:00.000-08:00

It's a balmy 40 degrees outside, not much wind, full sun, and a (mostly) dry road. Perfect weather to take my new blue cannondale bike out for a spin. My back, while not yet back to full strength is healing nicely and I think I am ready. I'll just do the 10km circuit from my house and back. Seems like a nice distance and I don't want to push it too hard yet. I'll give my back a little more time. The bike rides like a dream! The fit is great. At 20 pounds, it's about 3 pounds lighter than my "Specialized" road bike. I try the aero bars briefly - only briefly because for now I want to keep my back as straight as I can. I'm having a great time! Did I mention the bike rides like a dream? :-)

I will have to get used to the shifters. My road bike has thumb levers to shift to a smaller sprocket in the front and rear. The new bike has smaller finger levers to shift to the smaller sprocket. Not really a problem. It's a great bike!

97 days and $603 to go!

2008-01-27T16:38:00.000-08:00

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
Confucius

It seems if it's not one thing, it's another! Put another way, the story of this week for me is: Two steps forward, one step back.

I was looking forward to some good training runs in Florida this week. The weather was great! I laced up my new pair of running shoes at 5:45AM on tuesday morning. Having left home the previous morning with the temperature at about 15 degrees F, I was anticipating my 65 degree morning run. It started out well, I was cruising along and feeling good for about the first 25 minutes of the run when, at the half-way point, I felt a very strange and unsettling sensation in my lower back. It felt like someone was pulling a wire out of my lower back, a rather shivery sensation. I had been doing back exercises to heal what felt like a mildly bulging disc; just a periodic dull pain in my lower right back. I don't know what happened at that halfway point but I slowed down a little and straightened my back a little and managed to finish the second half of the workout without further pain or wierd sensations. I thought to myself, "Now I've really done it!".

That day I started the regular hourly back exercises (press-ups) that I have done in the past to heal a herniated disc. Expecting to wake up the next morning unable to get out of bed, I left my cell phone within reach on the night table. I was a little worried to say the least. I was able to get out of bed the following morning (wednesday), thank goodness! Although my lower back was noticeably more sore. The good news is that so far I haven't felt the characteristic pain in my legs signaling that a disc is pressing on the nerves. Not wanting to completely miss my morning activity, I substituted a 30-40 minute walk for the anticipated run. The rest of the week was morning walks followed by regular hourly exercise. Later in the week, I added an exercise to strengthen the para-spinal muscles. These are the back muscles which help to support the spine.

I hope to get in a ride or two this coming week, weather permitting. But, I'll stay off the running until the pains in my lower back completely subside. This will tell me that things are completely healed. My longer term plan is to pay more attention to my lower back with regular exercises to strengthen the muscles accompanied by regular press-ups (wimpy push-ups as I like to call them) to keep my spine flexible and the discs between the vertebrae where they belong.

104 days and $753 to go!

2008-01-20T13:41:00.001-08:00

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.
-Mark Twain, "Taming the Bicycle"

Well, I did it. Yesterday, I took the plunge and bought a new triathlon bike. I saved 25% by buying a 2007 closeout - a "Cannondale". The really neat part about it is that for the price of the bike I also got a professional fitting of not only the new bike but also of my old faithful "Specialized" road bike. It took about 2 hours of measuring and fiddling and measuring again; also adding, changing, and trying out different components. When it was done I had two carefully fitted bikes. Unfortunately, the temperature is in single digits yesterday and today and we have about 3-4 inches of new "lake effect" snow on the ground. So I will have to wait until the week after next to try out my new bike. I'm really looking forward to it! Riding with the aerobars will take some getting used to.

It's been pretty cold this week. Starting in the mid 30's and going down to the high 20's by friday. But I was able to ride on 4 of the 5 weekdays. It's always good to get out if the roads are clear.

I also picked up a new pair of running shoes. I have really wierd feet! Short and wide. The right foot is a half size longer and a half size narrower than the left. My left big toe is also shorter than the second toe. I think that's a throwback to our simian ancestors. My feet seem to "average" about an 8-4E. Not something you can find in the usual running shoe store. The only brands I know of that come in that size are Nike and New Balance. I have the best luck with New Balance and I can usually find what I want at J.C. Penny. Go figure!

Yesterday was an eventful day. In addition to buying the new bike I also attended my first "spinning" workout. Pretty brutal. It is done on a stationary bicycle, holding a "cadence" of about 100 to 110 revolutions per minute for an hour. To simulate different types of terrain you increase or decrease the friction on the flywheel making it harder or easier to pedal. To prepare us for the hills at Wildflower we simulated a 9 minute hill climb. Great workout.

Finally, this morning I attended my third swim clinic and practice. Rob, the coach explained his philosophy of training for the swim. Since swimming is all "technique" and "even tempo", he emphasizes drills and intervals of 25, 50, and 100 yards. I really hate the kicking drills! But, I noticed and interesting change. Last year when I started training for my first triathon, I couldn't finish even one 25 yard kick. The instructor at that time actually commented that I seemed to be moving backward when I was doing the kicking drill. Well, I don't think I was actually going backward, but I certainly wasn't moving forward much at all. Now, I can actually do the kicking drills and cover the distance in a reasonable amount of time. But, I still hate the kicking drills.

Cold Weather Riding

2008-01-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

Living in the far north, hating to use a stationary bicycle, and being hooked on bicycling year round, I have had to adapt to riding in the cold. It's actually not bad - if you dress appropriately. As long as the roads are clear (free of ice and snow) and reasonably dry and the temperature is not below freezing, I'm up for a ride especially if the sun is out.

Appropriate dress being a requirement for a reasonably comfortable ride, I always start with about 3 or 4 pairs of underpants. I know, too much information, but it's also a practical necessity on a cold weather bicycle ride. I'm am nothing if not practical. A pair of long sweat pants go on next along with a warm pair of cotton socks. I have a long sleeve cotton turtle neck pullover and an old t-shirt I wear tucked into my sweat pants. If the sun is not out, I will add a thin fleece vest. Warm gloves, a helmet liner, and a pair of gym shoes complete my sartorial ensemble. That's it, I'm good for at least an hour ride, as long as it's followed by a long warm shower. :-)

Happy Calves - How I overcame my leg cramps!

2008-01-14T16:55:00.000-08:00

I want to summarize my experience in fighting and, I think, finally overcoming leg cramps as I have increased my running mileage. I'm not yet where I want to be in preparing for the 13 mile run in my half-ironman. I am running a comfortable hour at a time. I need to increase that to about 2 hours. I am definitely on my way to that goal. The short bullet list, ordered according to my sense of importance is:
1) Massage
2) Massage
3) Massage
4) Hydration
5) Minerals
6) Stretching
7) Warmup

Did you get the point about the massage? I really think that is the key. It is important that the muscles be completely relaxed when you do the massage. So, I sit on the floor with my knee flexed and my foot flat on the floor. Also, I repeat each stroke 30 times for each calf. I have found 3 ways to do the leg massage. 1) By hand. Using lot's of lotion if you have hairy legs like mine you press in with both thumbs at the back of each leg starting at the heel and sliding up to the knee. This is the way I massage my legs when I am in Florida since I'm sure I wouldn't be allowed to carry something like a massage stick onto the plane. 2) Using theStick. No lotion is necessary. You simply grasp the stick with both hands and slide it up the back of each leg. 3) Using a foam roller. The technique is known as Myofascial release. This concentrates specifically on those painful "Trigger Points" that can develop when you run.

So, there you have it. For now I am running practically pain free and looking forward to the increase in my mileage.

111 days and $871 to go!

2008-01-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

"I ran and ran every day, and I acquired a sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never, give up, no matter what else happened."
Wilma Rudolph, US track star

The weather in Florida is great this time of the year. And I took full advantage this week. At 6AM it's just about ideal. The temperature is in the middle 70s and the road is dry. Five days of Yoga and running.

Happy Calves:

Based on this week's running, I think I have figured out the secret to keeping my calf muscles happy and free of cramps on these long runs. Here is my list, prioritized according to my experience:
1) 3-4 times daily massage using either my hands (with a lot of lotion), theStick (which I find to be very useful), or a foam roller (which I haven't yet tried). This seems to be a really critical thing for me and it really only takes about a minute for each massage. 3-4 minutes out of my day is a very small price to pay for "cramp free" running.
2) Hydration - drink lots of water.
3) Minerals - bananas or oranges.
4) Stretching - for me, yoga.
5) Adequate warm-up - a 3-5 minute fast walk before I start to run.

As I said, I'm pretty confident I've got this thing figured out based on my experience running this week. I ran all five days when I was in Florida and my calves felt great. The first two runs were just under an hour (probably 6-7 miles), the next two were just over an hour, and the final run (I admit that by then I was beginning to tire from the week's workouts) was about 45 minutes. Except for a single mild "twinge" on 2 or 3 of the runs, my calf muscles felt great throughout. In the coming weeks I will begin to step up my mileage so I will be ready for the 13 mile finish to the triathlon in May.

This week, I am back home and plan to spend my training time on the bicycle.

118 days and $921 to go!

2008-01-06T17:42:00.000-08:00

All Bicycles weigh 50 pounds; A 30 pound bicycle needs a 20 pound lock. A 40 pound bicycle needs a 10 pound lock. A 50 pound bicycle doesn't need a lock.
-Bicycle Law

A little Yoga, a little bicycling, a little recouperation. That was my week.

I have fully revcovered from my bout with the virus that seemed to be roaming around my body for the last week. It started in my head, then settled in my muscles for awhile, finally it spent a little time in my stomach before finally leaving for good sometime this week. I think that while the Holidays are a great time to get together with family and friends, they are also a perfect opportunity to swap germs. But hey, I won't let that stop me from enjoying the festivities!

So, between being "under the weather" inside and having less than ideal weather outside - it's not the cold so much as the ice and snow that will keep me from riding - I wasn't able to do too much training. I managed two days outside on the bike and 3 days indoors doing some yoga. The most interesting thing that happened this week was the squirrel in our basement. But that has nothing whatsoever to do with training. :-)

My running shoes are almost totally worn out. So, I ordered a pair of New Balance size 8 4Es at J.C. Penny. I'll pick them up next weekend. Until then, I hope to get in a full week of running in florida - as long as my current shoes hold out. :-)