#83: Killing the chaos monkey

as it turns out, there is such a thing

There are hopeful expectations and then there's reality.  Sometimes those two things come together at the same time and place, however it's pretty rare....at least in my life it seems to work out that way.  If life is a slow steady march up the stairs to heaven, I'm pretty sure that the person climbing them just ahead of me is quite the prankster.  A few marbles to step on here or there, the occasional Indiana Jones step (where your foot goes all the way through) and my perennial favoriate the grease on the rail trick leaving the unsuspecting climber on their face for a minute......yeah, it's like that, never easy (and never particularly pretty) but is generally forward-upward movement.....and I'm learning.....


So we press on.


This week was a trap on the staircase......either that or as I slept last Sunday night all snuggled in my bed, the chaos-monkey (if this isn't one of those old life characters, like the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc it should be) crept into my iPhone and started really screwing with my calendar for the week.  That mean-spirited little sucker managed to put something on my calendar for just about every night of the week and when there wasn't something, something crazy and random was inserted just to keep me on my toes.


Monday - Advantage Mike (1-0): the monkey was still sleeping apparently and I was able to get a swim AND recovery ride in...blissful.


Tuesday - Push (1-0): the monkey was stirring, two of my children were to perform in a piano recital that evening (which was really very good and WAY more than just piano, it was a legit concert w/guitars, singing, harp, drums, etc) but I was generally in need of a day off, so after 30 minutes of swimming, I was done for the day.....equally blissful.

You decide, what is this?

Wednesday - Advantage Monkey (1-1): I got back from work and needed to get out on the bike and the plan was to run off the bike all in time to pick up my children and take them to the local summer festival at our local church.  About 15 miles into my ride (Alexandria Township, NJ) I heard a very strange wooshing sound from the wheat field (or some type of grass/grain) on my right.....sort of like a mini-helicopter......and about 10 yards in front of me out bolts a deer.  When I say bolts, I almost can't describe it....deer (we have MANY of them) sort of jump through the fields usually....and given their speed, even when being chased (by a dog for example, they usually quickly accelerate and then bound again).  This one was on a flat-out sprint, like nothing I've seen before.  Ears were literally pinned back and it was running more like a horse coming down the backstretch.  Sounds crazy, but it almost had a scared look (chased by chaos monkey?)......it ran across the road so fast that when it it the brush and thicket on the other side it literally bounced off and then scrambled sideways, found a hole and took off again.  Out loud as I craned my neck, I mumbled "what the F was that?" and kept riding.  There've been a few articles about Mountain Lions in our area.....including an image taken by a hunter's auto-camera that is blurry but sure looks like something big.  They are of course being brushed off by most experts......but that's what kept popping into my head......what would chase a deer enough to get it going like that?  Anyway, I kept going.  A few miles later (now 18-ish in and a solid 12 from home) I heard another sound....something far more recognizable.....the rhythmical rubbing of a tire out of "true".  I got off to assess the situation and it wasn't good.  The tire itself was worn almost completely through (fibers exposed) and I knew it wouldn't be long before the tube blew.  I called Lindsay (who was already at the festival volunteering and so out of the loop) and as I crept along I got a call from my brother-in-law Jeff, who also cycles and I'm sure could feel my pain, offering to pick me up.  "I'll see how far I can make it" I said....but kept the pace slow so I wouldn't lose control.  A couple miles further and "BANG" goes the chaos monkey. CRAP!  Thanks to Jeff, I didn't have to walk 6 miles in bike shoes.....by the time I got back, it was a wash.  To the festival.


Thursday - Advantage Mike (2-1): well, without a bike wheel, running was my only option.  13.5 miles in the heat......can't catch me monkey!


Friday - Advantage Monkey (2-2): still waiting for the wheel, I decided to take out the road-bike that I had loaned to my brother.  A minor seat adjustment and it was in business.  Not ideal, and certainly a different feel (from TT bike to road bike, is a bit of a switch), but all was well.....I would make up for some of my lost time (and miles).  Until......CHAOS Monkey.  A few drips and drops, some rumbling and then a text "Are you OK?  Should someone come pick you up?".  It hadn't started raining by me, but apparently only a few miles South (BaseCamp31) it was pouring.  After talking it through with Lindsay and seeing a big flash of lightning, I decided to head back......18 miles.  Ugh!


Saturday - Advantage Monkey (2-3): Hoping for the best (and another 100 miles on the bike) the Chaos monkey hit me again.  Turns out the soccer tourney for kid #1 (1.5 hours away) was going to start SMACK in the middle of the day.  Aaaaaarrrrh!  So, 100 miles heat acclimatization became 55 miles with an early AM start.

Sunday - Advantage Mike (3-3): Back to the soccer tourney, but I came prepared.....bike on the rack and the plan to ride back home (+/- 75 miles) and run off the bike (10K).  Despite not knowing where I was going, riding through a few neighborhoods where it seemed like they had never seen a cyclist before (a little unnerving), and some roads that felt like a washboard on my butt, I made it unscathed, from Neptune, NJ to Hunterdon, unsupported.  I was pretty beat (and a little dehydrated) when I got back home, but I managed a 10K on my "hilly route" at what I would consider slightly better than race-pace.  So a successful day.


Overall, the week turned out OK.  

• Got >200 miles on the bike (214.5) which was the primary goal.  
• Had to sacrifice my long-swim today, which isn't good, but I was happy to get the brick in.  
• Was able to pull in nearly 20 miles of running which I'm happy with.
• Managed to salvage 16 hours of training in total, not 20, but considering the chaos, is a win. 

Where from here?

This week is a (welcomed with open arms) step back on the total volume as I begin to prep for half ironman on 7/8 in Providence and let my legs refresh a little.  I'll have some harder (intensity) sessions and need to get 4 sessions in the pool, but I'll flip a long-run for a track session and my mid week rides for some intervals or a tempo ride.

All said, I think I'm on track generally.  It's a little tough to tell right now, because I've been pushing pretty hard the last couple weeks (consciously) and am feeling the effects.....aches and bumps and bruises......so I'll reevaluate when I'm feeling a little more fresh....but overall, my paces and session-stats are pretty good, nutrition is coming along nicely and body is holding up.

When you see him, tell the monkey I said Hi,

Mike E.

#82 The line between breakthrough and breakdown

Last week was meant to push me toward a breakthrough, another big step in training and fitness.  It was long on miles, heavy on workload and fatiguing; and as it turned out, there wasn't enough time in the week.  When I got to the YMCA after writing my last blog entry, I came to realize they close @ 8P on Sunday......so my long swim would have to wait until Monday.  Having a little more time to relax was welcoming, but knowing that I would be doing a little bit of make-up this week wasn't the best news.


When Monday came, I was able to hit it hard.  I did my long "endurance" effort in the pool, which translated to about an hour of continuous swimming.  I went into the session with the objectives (in order): complete 1 hour continuous, maintain good form, swim at a sub-threshold, but still challenging pace.  Mission accomplished.  I started very easy and built over most of the session until the last 15-ish laps I was going at/near what I would consider an Ironman race effort.  All said this was a success (at catching up for last week) and I was still figuring on a 30-ish mile bike ride.....nothing crazy, just miles.  


WAG MORE BARK LESS

Cool idea

It went well except the cleat on my R bike shoe finally decided it was ready to retire about 5 miles from my destination and (big PITA) right before I was to go up the steepest portion of the ride.  This is not ideal b/c it left my R foot not securely in the clip and wanting to pop-out every few yards and take a real effort to clip back in.  Pedaling up a steep incline with 1 strong leg and 1 at about 1/2 power due to fear of unclipping and winding up on your head is pretty crappy actually.


In looking back, I'm wondering if this was my payback for frustration @ BlackBear Triathlon with a rider in front of me while we were coming back into the park.  For safety there was a no-pass zone and as I came screaming into the park I had to slow down A LOT so as not to pass in that zone.......I was so frustrated b/c here was this rider ahead of me that was just sort of coasting along clipping and un-clipping her pedal over and over again.  UGH!  My emotions finally got the better of me and my (not so friendly) "Aw C'mon" escaped, well, loudly "enough".  Having never had this experience I'm now wondering if that was what the rider was dealing with.  I hope not.  Wouldn't it be ironic if it was that particular racer that pulled up and asked "are you OK?" as I sat there obviously struggling to get started up the steep portion b/c my clip just wouldn't stay put.  


TOE THE LINE

Training at this level is tough on the body, no doubt.  I consider myself very lucky b/c having years of experience in the "what/when/why and how to comeback from" injury business of Physical Therapy I'm pretty good at recognizing when I'm up against a hard spot that might deplete me to the point of injury or illness and when I'm just tired but ok to push through.  That coupled with the suite of analytics I use to keep an eye on my training quality and I feel like I am able to keep a close eye on things.  


But overtraining can be a dreaded foe, as many of the hard-fought training victories can easily be erased with an injury or prolonged illness and the body's ability to fight even the simplest infection when it's trying to recover from a very hard training effort is significantly suppressed.  Tuesday AM, I was reminded of this:  Looking back the clipping episode on Monday marked the beginning. I ended the ride portion of my swim + bike day at a soccer scrimmage that was cold and windy (not exactly the best recovery environment).

Blue Death

Then, that evening, I made the fatal error for the week, my body's blue screen of death (for my fellow computer nerds), one that I've made so many times but still get wrong every once in a while......I let my body's arch enemy into the house that night.....having a cool breeze on me at night is my kryptonite; and sure enough, I woke up on Tuesday with a little sniffle.  Doesn't seem like a big deal, but knowing how I felt physically and knowing that I had been hard at it for 14 days without a break and was running in the negative side of the stress curve pretty substantially, I decided to back it down and take Tuesday off and try to get some rest.  I was wonderful.  I backed that up with a higher intensity and lower duration track session on Wednesday which was tough, but only 35 minutes long which at this point seems like a warm-up.....GLORIOUS.


By Thursday, I was hitting the peak of my feeling run-down.  The cold was losing steam and besides just being plain tired, I decided an easy brick (20 mile on the bike 4.5 run) was the best bet. I felt surprisingly strong on the run portion which is always welcome.


Friday I threw in another rest day to try an rest up for what I knew was a big weekend.....and this weekend did not disappoint.


Saturday I had a pretty solid ride - my first 100 miler of the season.  I found a +/- 34 mile loop and did it 3 times with the first 2 at or better than race pace and then the third significantly slower.  It was a pretty tough ride (about 2000 feet of climbing per lap), but the real objective was to get the right amount of calories and hydration in the system and spend most of the ride in the aerobars.  I was able to take in around 2400 calories, which was actually a little more than I needed.  I probably should have just gone with straight water every third bottle.....something I'll keep tweaking.  I was also taking about 35 oz of water in per hour which is a major victory for me.  Based on my weight loss for the ride, this was still a little low.  But (not to be gross) based on my bladder, I probably need to go a little lighter in the beginning and drink more as the day wears on instead of using an "even throughout" strategy.

Today I backed up the century ride with an absolute MONSTER run.  18 miles of hills. I hooked up with a few guys who are always up for a long run.....but I don't think they were really on board with what I had in mind.  One of them was targeting 12 miles and the other said he'd be up for 14......which is what my pre-run mapping said it would be.  I did give fair warning that I was going for hill work, but it turned out to be closer to 8 than 7 at the turn, which put us at 16 for the day.  I stretched it out to 18 (my big goal for the day) and felt surprisingly well.....but this was a big ask and I owe them one for staying with me.  Pace was solid at 8:10 with roughly 3400 feet of climbing.....so a successful day and very happy to have one of my "long runs" done with.


WHERE FROM HERE?
With 2 weeks out from my final test (70.3 Providence) before Ironman, I'll have a big week this wek and then a little less the following - so it'll be about big bike miles, intense running and quality sessions in the pool.


The pool early in the week to give my legs a little break from the bigger miles on the run will be welcomed and the timing is good to start working higher intensity into the equation (more track work), which cuts back on the duration some.  Push-recover-push-recover.


The bike volume continues to be important and I need to try to get over 200 miles for the week. If I can get another 100 miler in on the weekend I will, probably with a more substantial brick component b/c the long run this week won't be so terribly long.....but I'll be up against summer kid activities - so finding the time won't be easy.


Gettin' to crunch time!


Happy Father's Day,


Mike E.

#81: Big miles, Biometrics and Beer-envy, it must be build phase

To everything there is a season and a time and purpose under heaven - Ecclesiastes 3:1

The Endurance World's version of this passage is known as "periodization", which means that there are cycles for just about all aspects of training.  This isn't just endurance sports of course, most sports follow a similar concept.  For me, this generally means:  Base training followed by build (x1-3 cycles) and then peak training right before the "big" race......and with roughly 2 months out from my big race (Ironman US Championships in NYC on 8/11), I'm in the thick of build season.

Build season is marked by (as the name implies) slowly building up endurance, strength, power with the general concept being to ramp up the workload as much as possible without accumulating too much fatigue (i.e. enter race-day fresh) and not incur setbacks from injury; and when it comes to the volume required for ultra-endurance events, it's a surprisingly delicate balance.  Push too hard or too fast and you'll give back your gains (and then some).....not push enough and you'll be left wondering what "could've" been.

BIG MILES

For me, this week was the first of a 5 week "hard-build" phase which is where the bulk of my building will be done prior to my next racing checkpoint (Ironman 70.3 in Rhode Island on 7/8).  The main goal is to continue to build my miles (especially on the bike) to improve strength, muscle endurance and resiliency to the rigors of the event.  All the while I need to continue to work in the pool, not so much for speed (which I don't suspect there's much more major gains to be had b/t now and race-day), but for endurance enough to maintain the speed I do have for then entire 2.4 miles.  And....then of course there is the run miles which have the greatest potential to beat you up during training, but make-or-break the race.......my longest to date for this training has been 16 (last week), and so I'll need to get that to 18 in the coming week(s).....oh, and I can't forget that I need to do this in the heat (Aug in NJ/NY is not generally real cool) and still need to nail down my nutrition (the make or break OF the make or break)......plenty to do.

ON THE BIKE

So, with the weather not super awesome....and not super hot, the focus of this week was to get the time in on the bike.  The first 2 sessions I was relegated to the computrainer.....so include "not super exciting" in there as well.  The boring part is outweighed by the effective part though, in the back of my mind, I know it's a higher quality workout (no coasting and more precision).....so something I'll keep working into the mix......I was able to get outside from mid-week on, which was more exciting for sure.  I had my "big" session yesterday and was able to get 90 miles in, which was the lower end of my 90-100 mile goal.  I could've pushed out those last 10, but I was starting to decline and still wanted to get some run-off-the-bike miles so I went for quality over quantity.  

In general, it was a good week in the saddle, the CT sessions were emphasizing lactate threshold work and the long session was, well, long.  I guess you have to really love cycling to not think 90 is long.....but I'm getting there, the first 50 felt solid and the next 25 went surprisingly fast.  It was really just the final 15 where I felt like I was grinding it out, which I consider a success at this point in the training.  

THE BEST PART was that I was able to get 1400 calories in during this time.......this is HUGE HUGE HUGE for me.  I have had to really focus on this and just haven't been able to get it done......which always leaves me depleted early (running the car w/o gas isn't so smart).......and although it's still no where near the 2600 I expended during the effort, it's a major step in the right direction because I was able to get off the 90 miles and run at about the right pace......now I was tired, so I only ran 2, but I ran on a hilly course and felt no worse for the wear (and didn't feel like I was going to puke)......I'm not ready to reveal the magic just yet (mostly b/c it still feels like magic).......but I'm going to keep tinkering.

I wrapped up the week with a very easy hour-long spin today around town just to move the legs and prep for another tough week.  It was tough to get going, but I'm glad I did.....felt so much better walking in than I did walking out.....so a success. All said, I got in more than 10 hours on the bike, which was my goal for the week, so this was a win.

ON THE RUN

Pretty much uneventful.....according to plan.  I ran a hard 8 miler following a 1 hour hard bike workout early in the week.  The course is pretty hilly, but after doing some recon early in the week (I happened to be up by the George Washington Bridge so I stopped in to drive the "Ross Dock Park" area where transition and the first 1/2 of the run will be) I decided this is EXACTLY what I'm going to need.  The course is a bunch of up and down for the first 14 miles.......something that is going to "soften up the legs" for sure........and since that's when I'll be about ready to break mentally, I need to feel confident and strong.  The bad news is, that's going to suck.  The good news is, there are plenty of hills to train on in good ol' Hunterdon County......and now that I've seen it, I'll only have myself to blame if I don't prepare.  The other runs of the week were a few miles off the bike here or there and then a 10 miler I was able to do late in the week which turned into a heat-acclimation run.  It was tougher than I had expected, but I was glad I got it in.

Also under the run category - I got 12 miles in on the Elliptigo - which continues to be a great alternative when my legs are feeling beat up, but I need to log the time in a running motion.  Good solid workout, heart-rate in high aerobic range and fires the running muscles w/o banging the running joints......so if you include all "running-related" I got in around 3.25 hours, with about 20 miles true-running.  Not bad for a lower mileage week (i.e. no "long run").....so this was a win as well.

IN THE WATER

Well......we're not done yet.  Even though it's 7:15P on a Sunday, the work(out) week is not over quite yet.  I got 2 of my 3 swims in and still need to do my "long swim" for the week......this generally translates to about an hour of continuous lap swimming at the local Y......not exactly super exciting, but needs to be done.  The other 2 were good sessions.......on Monday I did a very easy recovery swim in order to not over-do after the OLY at BlackBear.......and Wed I got in a fairly hard swim doing tempo repeats.....not super-fun, but productive.  

BIOMETRICS

Pinch an inch?

This is also the time of the training season where I needed to do some checking related to my physique.  I only know it's the time b/c I've had multiple people tell me how skinny I look......some with the "are you alright" look on their face.  This is the sure sign that we're nearing race weight.....I read an article by a prominent triathlon coach who said that ideal BMI (in his opinion) for a male Triathlete is around 21.....(+/- 19 to +/- 25 is considered "healthy" normal), with a body fat %-age of around 8% . So on Saturday I stopped in the office and took my readings (it's nice to have all the equipment at your fingertips).  I was 8.5% body fat and my BMI was 22......so not that far off.  The interesting thing is that I'm about 6 lbs OVER the race-weight goal I had set for myself, which is still about 3 lbs OVER the "ideal" (per this coach).  I can't imagine losing another 9 lbs......I think I'm going to stick with 6 lbs.  I know, it doesn't sound like that much of a difference......but consider this.......my goal weight on race-day is the same weight that I wrestled at as a senior in HS......and for those that know anything about wrestling......let's just say I was pretty lean during those days.  At least there are no weigh-ins for triathlon.

Along those same lines, this is the part of the season that I need to be especially careful not to breakdown and have soft-tissue issues or issues related to accumulated fatigue (colds, lack of energy, etc).....with the harder workouts and increased mileage, I'm toeing a fairly fine line.   This week I could feel the cranky L shoulder starting to "chat" with me as I got near the end of the harder swimming set, the R knee and hip barking a little early in the week (the battle I waged late fall/early winter) presumably following the run at Blackbear and the continued give-and-take with my L achilles......I've been treating them to regular cold-baths and we're on speaking terms.....but I need to be careful.  To that end, I probably need to plan in a week off soon......maybe after Rhode Island.

BEER ENVY

Now THAT'S and ice-bath

Seems kind of silly, but build phase is a lot about sacrifice.  The training hours are really starting to accumulate (not likely to hit 20 hours this week, but pretty close) which basically cuts out many of the simple pleasures.  I was reminded of this earlier today as I rode through picturesque Clinton, NJ......the ultimate quaint town.  There, on a front porch out of the victorian era sat a couple, the guy w/his feet propped up on the rail, each in a comfortable chair w/cold beer in hand.  "Why do I do this and not that?"

This followed yesterday when, after 90 miles of cycling and an immediate 2 mile run I got back to the driveway and there were the neighbors looking satisfied at their latest lawn-care effort, both with cold beer in hand......"that seems so much more normal" I thought to myself as I waved and trudged into the house for an ice-bath.

But call it like it is - this is the phase where great racing efforts are made......and knowing this.....we push on.

Now, to say good night to my kids.......and go find a swimming lane.

We push on,

Mike E. 

Addendum: Y closes at 8P on Sunday. CRAP! Oh, well, maybe I'll have a beer. 

#80: Solid training w/smart recovery works for a PR this time

If I only had those shoes....

And so, my journey continues....this week was a race week and therefore a step back from the training volume, but I didn't want to lose too much ground since this was still just a "build" race and not my big race by a longshot, so I tried to only trim the weekend back and keep the week pretty solid.  From a quality standpoint, I was pretty happy with my sessions:


Monday - was Memorial Day and I took a much needed day off to rest.  Wise choice, I needed the break physically AND mentally.  It was nice to head down to celebrate w/Linds' Mom for her birthday and just veg around the BBQ.


Tuesday - long run x 16 miles in the heat w/4600 ft of climbing, but was able to keep the pace where I wanted, maybe a little better even.  Of course, when I finished my legs were pretty well beat-up so I went back to the well and went chest deep into the chill-tub followed by calf-compression sleeves......it's enough to take your breath away at first, but to do that kind of run and not feel any ill-effects from the workload the following day is pretty unbelievable.....


Wednesday - I got 36 miles on the bike, which was about what I was looking for.....probably could have stretched it to 40, but was up against the clock some and had to settle for 36.  With some hills, flats and descents, it was the right course and a solid workout.

See, even Ultramarathon Man gets it

Thursday - I put some time in at the pool, something I had sort of neglected the week before in favor of the bike.  I also was able to get about 15 minutes for stretching which I was in BIG need of.....my legs were again really starting to feel beat-up (confirmed by my training stress balance well into the negative, but stretching and swimming have an amazing power to restore.....great recovery session.  To that end, I skipped my run and opted for 14 miles on the Elliptigo to get the volume in without trashing my legs.....again happy with the choice to focus on recovery and not pushing it.


Friday - I knew with a race 2 days out I had to take either Friday or Saturday to lay-low (or off completely), so I opted for Friday since the weather wasn't as cooperative.  30 min hard swim session


Saturday - Wanted to go easy, but still get something in on the bike, so I emphasized hills and cadence (to prep the nervous system for the BlackBear Triathlon course that promised to have plenty of up and down the next day).  Got a little over an hour in prior to kid-soccer.


Sunday - RACE Day - The BlackBear Triathlon is an Olympic Distance Tri run by CGI Racing (a husband-wife team that does several races in the NJ/PA area).  

Yeah, I think that says it all.

As a quick aside, they deserve a shout-out for always putting on solid events.  I've raced their NJ State Tri (OLY) x 2, Run their UNITE 1/2 Marathon (@ Rutgers U) and now done the BlackBear Oly in Lehighton, PA and will likely race another of theirs if I get the chance. It's so refreshing to work with a company who tells you what they're going to do and then does it.  Unfortunately the absolute meltdown that is brewing for me in dealing with the company who is working on our racing gear has been the exact opposite.....and although I'm not ready to publicly flog them over the blogosphere, they've been an amazing letdown so far......maybe when the ordeal is over, I'll take a short break to "review" (as in diatribe) why they have been a nightmare to work with and why promising and not delivering is a pathetic excuse for running a business.....but I digress.


ANYWAY - BlackBear is a 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run, the standard "Olympic Distance".  The most notable item is the bike course which is really never flat.....no huge climbs really....but up and down pretty much the entire time.  My previous best in the OLY distance was a 2 hour 42 min performance last summer at NJ State Tri which is very flat, but very hot course.  I left that race feel pretty down about my swim (probably the impetus to really get serious about my swim technique), good about my bike, mixed about my run (really hot) and awful about my slow transitions......one of the other "big items" on my training plate.


Swim: I decided to go out as relaxed as possible on the swim and see if minimizing the "freak-out" factor was a good thing.  Turned out to be a good thing.  With the addition of the wetsuit (a pretty big help) and the added training time in the pool (a really big help) I was able to shave about 10 minutes off my swim....which is huge.  Results are not out, but that rate puts me on track to meet my open swim goal in Ironman.....the whole point.  Cool.


Transition 1:  Well, endurance athletes everywhere understand the need for enough "lube"....for various high friction areas.....and today I was running low.  I had to decide if I'd go w/anti-friction for parts affected on the bike, or parts that make getting a wetsuit off easier......is it really a question?  Well, running into transition, I learned first hand why triathletes lube their wrists and ankles so well (something I usually do, but wasn't sure it made that big of a difference....IT DOES).  I took my top off (my wetsuit is 2 pc) and got it over my head and down to my wrists where it abruptly cinched.  It must have looked like someone wrestling an alligator, for the life of me I could not get that friggin' suit off.  I finally got pissed enough that I just ripped it off and repeated on my lower half......by the time I got on the bike, I had wasted 3 minutes and 21 seconds....and even though this was a far chute, it was too long.....blew that objective.


Bike:  Knowing that I do a decent amount of hill training made me think I could probably push some there.....so I did.  Perhaps a bit too much.  I was pretty happy with my bike split of 1:13-ish putting me in the 19.5-ish mph range, but I was pretty tired by the time I got to T2.  It was a lot of up and down, some sharp curves and one guy who was absolutely HURLING.  I chuckled to myself as I went by, not laughing at him really, just feeling his pain as he lost A LOT of reddish something......too much gatorade perhaps?  


T2: Was a lot more of what I was looking for except that I forgot what a long run it was to the actual bike racks.  I had one shoe basically off and then picked up my bike and ran.  Shoe kept coming off and I was tripping up a little so I ripped it all the way off and ran w/bike on one arm, 1 shoe off, 1 shoe on.....looked pretty goofy I'm sure, but it only took 1min 30 sec.....much more like it.


Run: was pretty standard, except on loose gravel and path most of the way, which is never kind on my cranky heel......this is where I realized I had given a little too much on the bike....I didn't have the same strength I had a few weeks earlier.  I was able to hold on and beat my "safe" time of 45 minutes, coming in at/near 44:16, a solid run and about 8 minutes off the flatter (but MUCH hotter) NJ State Tri course.  


All said - I took about 18 minutes off my previous best, which earned me 29th overall and 9th (I think) in my age group....a solid day.....but still some room to improve.  Looking forward to seeing the official results and splits.


_____________________


Bottom Line - I'm feeling pretty decent and basically on track for where I want to be.  I need to continue to stretch out the miles in all 3 disciplines and continue to ramp up the intensity (so more hours AND more effort).....but that's the game.


5 weeks before Providence,


Mike E.