Endurance bike on the SCT
Mavell - Hiram - Mavell

Yep, it was a little warm out there. According to the thermometer on the 0.0 mile post it was 96 at the start and 96 at the finish. Biking in the heat is still better than running in the heat.

If anyone wants to enjoy some high-temp training I'm heading out from Mavell Rd. at around 6:15 this evening for a 1:30 ride. It should have cooled down to about 96 by then.

Woohoo! I have passed my bike and swim distances for last year and July isn't over yet. I still have some work to do on the run though.

Brutal Masters swim this morning. My shoulders are really, really tired. The coach said to not look at the clock and only pay attention to my level of effort. Apparently when I'm looking at my time I tend to go out too hard. I did pay attention to my time on the last 300 since I was supposed to go all out anyway.

WU: 200 swim
MS: 3x500 1) 100 catch-up/100 distance per stroke
                 2) pull - 100 breath every 3/100 breath every 5
                 3) swim - build to 90%
       3x400 1) kick 100 easy/100 all out
                 2) swim - build to 90%
                 3) swim - maintain at least 90%
      3x300 1) fartleks
                2) build to 90%
                3) "nothing left in the tank" (5:20)
CD: 200 easy

I'm happy to report that my feet are almost back to normal today. The pain has lasted long enough to hopefully keep me from doing a similar stupid thing again. And the swelling on my forehead has gone down enough that it is not very noticeable from 10 feet away.

This week's plan:
M - Masters swim, Endurance bike 1:30
T - off
W - Masters swim, Base run 1:00
Th - Core, 2:00/:30 Z3 brick
F - Masters swim, Base run 1:00
Sa - Blazing Saddles Century - 78 mile option (probably)
Su - Off - Drive to VA

Endurance run at Riverside Park

My feet are still bothering me and bothered me a little on the run today but the discomfort was manageable.  I don't run again until Wednesday so I hope they can heal by then.  I definitely got too dehydrated today.  In the four hours after running I drank more than 3 liters of water and gatorade and am finally feeling better.  My legs are feeling a little beat though. 

I could have run this morning when it was cool outside but that would have been smart. Instead I decided to head in to work for a few hours and then run once it was 93 degrees and humid. My legs actually felt pretty springy considering the ride and yard work yesterday. But the heat and dehydration got to me pretty quickly. I was barely sweating after the 20 minute mark which was not a good sign considering the temp. I had to stop for a potty break after about 35 minutes and really wanted to quit. But I decided to get in the time even if it would be a very slow last 10 minutes. My quads are a little sore now but otherwise but otherwise I'm all right.

I ran into John and his girlfriend right before starting the run. They had just gone for a ride and he was going to ride a few more miles before doing a 9 mile run. He looked pretty strong when I saw him as I was headed in.

My face really looks bad now. It is as if someone stuffed a half a baseball under the skin of my forehead. Tomorrow morning I may be too shy to make it to Masters if the swelling does not go down.

Base ride on the SCT
The ride was too long to upload successfully.

8:20pm  -  Just past Powder Springs something bit/stung me on my head.  It must have gotten caught in one of the holes in my helmet.  It hurt much more than a simple bee sting and shortly afterwards I had chills for about 5 minutes.  They went away and even though the spot still hurt I didn't think much of it.  After mowing/edging/trimming the front and back yards (I felt pretty good after the ride) my forehead right below the bite/sting started to swell.  Now I look like a freak boy.  I went to an immediate care place and when the doctor saw me he exclaimed "Wow, what did that to you?!".  Aren't doctors supposed to make you feel better?  Well, two shots and four perscriptions (two antibiotics, a steroid, and an epi-pen) later I'm about ready for bed. 

Last week I did 85 miles in 5 hours. My goal going into today's ride was to see if I could do 90 miles in 5 hours. On the way out I just couldn't keep the pace that I usually can. My HR was alright but my speed didn't match my RPE. I told the guy I was riding with that I just didn't have it today. After he turned around at mile 25 things got very quiet (we were talking the whole way out). I started hearing a swishing sound that I couldn't identify. At mile 26 I got off the bike and looked it over. The @#**%#@!!! rear brake was rubbing the wheel. When I changed the tires yesterday I must have bumped the caliper so that it was rubbing. I adjusted it, got on the bike, and it was like I had suddenly lost 30 pounds. Life was sweet! From that point I cruised int Rockmart where there was some kind of fair going on. I stopped for a few minutes to ogle the classic cars that were on display. About 3 miles past Rockmart I hit a rock that skipped out to the side but not before it had caused my rear tire to go flat. Fortunately there was a bench nearby. Unfortunately I didn't see that the area was carpeted with ants until they were all over my bike. I replaced the rear tube without much cursing and bleeding and got back on the bike. I made it out to Grady Rd. (mile 44.7) in 2:32 so I figured that I had no chance of making it back in time given the loooong climb from Rockmart to the Brushy Mountain tunnel. I stopped at the convenience store at Coots Lake to refill my bottles and use the rest room. While I was in the store someone took one of my bike bottles. I am sure that all 3 of them were on the bike before I went in but when I came out the manly pink bottle was missing. Very strange. I guess I was a little pissed off because I started hammering the ride. By the time I got back to Powder Springs I thought I might have a chance to make it back in 5 hours. Fortunately it was hot enough that the trail wasn't packed. I made it by less than 10 seconds. As you can see from my laps, I was determined to make it back in 5 hours. With about .5 mile to go I got a cramp in the inside bottom of the back of my left leg. I worked hard to keep from firing my left hamstring after that. I tried to run off the bike but the spot was going nuts on every step so I gave up.

My hydration/nutrition was better but I still didn't drink enough.

Autolap was set to 10 miles:

Nutrition/Hydration:
Breakfast:  uncrustable - 210 cal,  bottled frappuccino  - 190 cal, 500ml water

On the ride:  2 uncrustables - 420 cal, one pkg sport beans - 100 cal, 48 oz gatorade - 300 cal, 1.5 liters water

After ride:  16 oz. lowfat chocolate milk - 380 cal

Potty breaks during ride - 2 - a record for me!

Yesterday I had a regular follow-up with the doctor on my high blood pressure. I was excited because I thought that since I was getting in much better shape that I might be able to drop one of my medications that has a side effect of inhibiting muscle recovery. Unfortunately my BP hasn't improved a bit in the past year even though my weight is down and I am in significantly better shape. On Tuesday I go in for an MRI of my kidneys. The doctor said something about a stent for my Renal artery being a possibility. I am not particularly excited about this.

Masters swim at Marist

Swam Masters at Marist.  I was able to do the "B" group swim at the indicated intervals except for the next-to-last 50.

WU:  200 swim
         50 kick w/fins
MS:   400 - 100 drill/100 swim/100 drill/100 swim
         100 all out to set time - 1:24
         400 pull - breath 3/5 by 100
         100 pull all out, stay within :05 of swim time - 1:25
         2x200 kick w/fins - 50L, 50R, 50B, 50F
         100 kick w/fins all out, stay within :10 of swim time - 1:27
         5x100 build :10 rest
         10x50 @90%, 5 on 1:00, 5 on :55
         100 all out, fastest of the day - Nope-1:32
         16x25 swim - (1/2 easy-1/2fast, 1/2fast-1/2easy, build, desc) x 4
 CD:  100 swim easy

Last night I really used poor judgement when I decided to walk my bike from Florence Rd. to Powder Springs.  My feet really hurt today.  I definitely won't do that again.  At least yesterday's intervals were going well before the blowout.  I felt strong and was looking forward to the run.

I intend to HAMMER the ride tomorrow, at least as much as I can given my HR constraints.  I just hope my blisters and bruising on my feet don't hamper my riding.

Aborted brick. I updated the time to cut out the time spent replacing my tube.

Today's brick started out well.  The first two intervals were good and the third was also going well until my rear tire blew out.  It looked like someone had shaved down a spot about 3 inches long.  I used two bills and a band-aid in an attempt to strengthen the spot so that the replacement tube would hold but it blew about 200 yards down the trail.  Courtney and Leslie headed back to Mavell Rd. while I should have stayed at Florence Rd. to wait.  But I had this stupid idea to just start walking my bike and see how far I would get.  After about 1.5 miles I got close to QT so I decided to wait for Leslie there.  My bike shoes would have been very uncomfortable to walk in so I took them off and walked in my socks.  Now each foot has a huge blister and I have very sore spots on both feet.  Kids, definitely don't try this at home, especially if you weigh over 240.

A big thank you goes out to Leslie for coming to get me and saving my wife a long drive from Roswell.

I found it interesting that not a single female asked if I was alright or if I needed anything.  All of the people who showed concern were male.  Leslie suggested that the women on the trail are riding a little scared, even of a guy pushing a bike with no shoes on. 

Did 20 minutes of Yoga this morning. After work I get to do two hours of Z3 intervals on the bike and then a 30 minute Z3 run. Yippee!

Masters at Marist

Base run at Riverside Dr.

I ran at Riverside Dr after work.  The run started well but quickly went downhill.  To top it off, with about 30 seconds left in the run I jumped up on the curb and felt a sharp pain in my left knee.  It's a little swollen so I'm icing it. 

I made it to the Masters swim at Marist. There were alot fewer people than there have been at Westminster (the pool there is closed for maintenance) and only one woman. The water was warmer than I would prefer but otherwise it the pool was fine. We did a bunch of Fartleks and other fast swims which fatigued me pretty good.

WU: 200 swim easy
100 pull
50 kick
MS: 4x200 (50 swim, 50 kick, 50 drill, 50 swim)
500 pull fartleks (25 easy, 25 fast, 50 easy, 50 fast, etc.)
2x500 swim (75 easy-50 fast, 50 easy-75 fast, 25 easy-100 fast, 125 fast)
10x50 on 1:10 @ 90%
CD: 100 swim easy

I have a 1:30 base run scheduled for after work that I will probably do on Riverside Dr. so I may see the intervalers out there.

A funny/sad story from yesterday: Right around the corner from my office is a small arena called CenterStage used for concerts that can't fill Phillips or other larger arenas. Yesterday my co-worker and I walked by and there was a large mass of young, slim women lined up outside. The last time we saw something like that was when the Backstreet Boys were playing, except that the crowd back then was a bit older. It turns out that they were there for "America's Next Top Model" tryouts. Word got out around the office and alot of guys decided to walk over to Atlantic Station to have lunch, conveniently going by Centerstage. The sad part about this story was the sight of a bunch of out-of-shape guys giving up halfway through the 1-mile walk to Atlantic Station.