I guess i'm tired?

odds and ends...

My final TT from last week was a bike TT...I am happy to say...i improved my speed by 1mphto 19.5mph for 30mins and did it at a lower heart rate than last time in pretty darn windy conditions. Note to self: Don't do a TT when people are wind surfing in the same vicinity as you are riding your bike!

Granted all this TT from last week made my back freak-out...in a major way. I had a 7ish mile run on Sunday planned and after 5 miles...no MAS. Usually these things ease up and loosen up with some time but I was in pain the whole time and just thought: this is stupid....so I stopped.

Went to a massage therapist on Monday because my back was bothering me and I have concluded I think i'm the only person in the world who probably hates massages because they hurt so much. I hate those pictures of people looking all relaxed and happy when they are getting






(see this lady looks sooooooo relaxed. Maybe this place where this picture is from gives really good massages or something. )
a massage...for me I have to focus and relax into the pain. Then the lady tells me: you are too hard on your body you need to not be so stressed out. Yea...good luck with that one lady.



I think i'm broken...

Had a great run on Wed where I increased the pace incrementally over each mile and i really enjoyed it...granted the last few miles my right hamstring started to sorta pitch a fit and not be too happy. But i ignored it...stretched a lot when I got home...but was still feeling it today.

Had another 7ish mile run on the books today and headed out during lunch to get it done. Zone 2 and 3...nothing really special....but I kept looking at my HR...and started to wonder: am I broken or is my HRM? My HR was reading in the low 100s. Actually for awhile...I was seeing between 70-90bpm. Uh...what? Granted I wasn't going terribly fast...AND I was going down a hill, but i've run this course so many times I knew something wasn't right.

So I tested the HRM...run faster....yep HR will pick up...but then rapidly would bottom out. I wasn't going very fast mainly because of the hamstring, but the HR's I was seeing were so low you would think I was walking. My avg HR was a mere 118bpm for a pace that was only 1 minute per mile slower than I did last week...with an avg HR of 154bpm.

Verdict from my coach ...i'm not broken, but probably need to ease up a little bit...i might on the slightly over trained side. So sadly no track tonight...but as I sit here and type this...I guess I am a little tired, so I'll go to bed on the earlier side tonight...take it easy for a swim tomorrow because....

SATURDAY I AM DOING A BIKE RACE!!!!!!!!!AKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Little mortified about that...but I think it's scarier in my head.

More pics and another great test

I just got sent a few new pics from last weekend's adventure up to the ADT track in LA. I like this pic of the track better as it gives sorta a better 'feel' of the curvature of the track.








And well...I like this picture cuz it's COOL. Yep...that IS me. I like the pic. I can at least pretend I was going really REALLY fast or something.














Running Time Trial

I was very happy with it! It's a 30minute time trial to basically see fitness/LT with it. Last time for the 30 minutes the first 15 minutes I was averaging about 8:34mpm pace...and then...well...i got a massive side stitch and the wheels fell off. The last 15minutes were divided into 5 minute increments looking like: 8:37mpm, 9:14mpm, 9:02mpm.

This time things went much better! I broke the 30minutes into 10-5-5-5-5 minutes to help me focus.
1) First 10 minutes 8:17mpm 168bpm
2)5 minutes 8:17mpm 166bpm
3)5 minutes 8:26mpm 168bpm
4)5 minutes 8:26mpm 166bpm
5)5 minutes 7:53mpm!! :-) 172bpm

Seeing progress is really fun and encouraging to know that the training is working...and I was just told that the next 3 months will be intensity work. That should improve times even more too. Fun stuff.

Retest

The fun part about having a coach is that I get to try all kinds of new fun training/workouts. I've read the books and all that and looked at some online training plans and in the past I would put a semblance of a plan together for a season, but I'm not very imaginative or really have a clue what I'm doing when I put these things together so my workouts were pretty dull and boring and really not very focused. And when it came to SWIMMING...yawn. I probably skipped more swim workouts than I actually did during a season. Of the three disciplines, i'm not the biggest fan of swimming...but not for typical reasons of many triathetes. The water doesn't freak me out. I actually love being in the water, its just...i donno...i get sorta bored. But amazingly through MUCH more imaginative training sessions provided by my coach...I've been warming up to swimming and the training involved(ohhh and I discovered fins...THOSE are FUN)...a bit at a time. (THANKS COACH!)

Another thing that shows up every so often in my training plan that I would never do these things on my own...time trialing... to see my progress. Last time I did my swim time trial it bordered on 'fiasco' in the dark. I'd never done a time trial in a pool so I didn't really know what to expect. Basically a 10 x 100y as fast as possible with minimal rest between each. What I found was that my times for 10 x 100y were between 1:46 -1:52 per 100y. What was interesting was that after this point it took me awhile to see anywhere around 1:50 in my workouts until I had a breakthough workout back in January. So I was curious what would happen for this time trial...I was pleasantly surprised.

1) 1:39
2)1:46
3) 1:48
4) 1:46
5) 1:46
6)1:42
7) 1:45
8)1:45
9)1:43
10)1:41

YEAAAAAAA!!

Last time my fastest time was 1:46 and I only hit it once...this time I was hitting round that number pretty well most of the time. Seeing progress is really encouraging. Next up...run TT tomorrow and a Bike TT on saturday...should be interesting. :-)

ADT center pics

A history of the location where the ADT center is located. The track used for the Olympics in '84 is not this track. This track was built recently and is located in the same general location as the Olympic track used then.


This is a pic of that 8yr old kid riding a 42 frame. It's hard to tell how small he is, but gives a bit of an idea of what the track looks like.



















The trusty steed hanging out waiting for a wild ride. (mine's the bianchi)














So here is a explanation of the ADT track. Keep in mind it is in the corners like this one, where the track is pretty much at its steepest...45 degrees. It is also about two stories at this point too. The SD velodrome is a mere 27 degrees and has everything except for the region called the Balustrade and the Blue Band. Balustrade actually means 'railing'. It takes a fair amount of effort to get up there and then well...stay up there without slipping off in the corners. I didn't venture up there...this time...next time maybe. Also the blue band is to 'aid' in getting onto the track and off of the track. The SD velodrome doesn't need because it such a steep track.

Here is a fun pic down the side of the railing, it's hard to get a feeling of the steepness in this picture, but my friend has a great picture apparently during a race where the cyclist basically look like they are perpendicular to the ground around this corner. It is pretty trippy and I refused to look down this corner until after I had ridden the track so I wouldn't freak myself out. I think that was wise.

Awesome adventure...looking forward to going again!

"Your fear will keep you safe..."

There are pictures of this adventure to the ADT center up in LA...but I can't find my cable for my camera at the moment so they will have to wait.

Thursday at track training here in at the SD velodrome I was hardly able to contain my excitement of today's adventure up to the LA velodrome although a few people made me start to question my sanity.

From one guy who used to train on the ADT track regularly:

It's so cool...you can actually feel the g-forces pushing you onto the track when you go around the corners.

Me in my head: g-forces...on a bike? What did I just get myself into??


From another guy who just got certified and begun racing up there:

You have to do a flying two hundred, remember you are dropping two stories down from the top down into the sprinters lane and you really FLY on your 200m.

My response:

I might throw up if i try that.

His response:

Yea, well...the wood on the track isn't sealed...uh...maybe not this time.

When we showed up the juniors were out riding and training...this kid who is 8 years old and a munchkin is flying around the track(his bike size...a 42). Apparently...he's been riding a track bike for three years....um...since he was five. Ok...so little kids can do this it can't be that bad...right? And then there was this awesome lady in my the session. It was her birthday on Friday...she had turned...seventy. Yep...5 year olds and seventy year olds can do this...i sure hope I can do this.

We got the schpeil...don't slip off the track, don't slip off the track...oh and...don't slip off the track. Gee thanks for that advice. Actually the best advice was: Your fear will keep your safe...mainly because you are so freaking scared of slipping off the track that you end up giving a super HARD effort around every turn when you approach it. (as well as just with your comfort of riding with other people around you.)

My first go at the track I came off shaking pretty hard from all the adrenaline, but as time went on I got the hang of it and didn't have to go quite FULL speed the whole time. But you do have to power through the turns pretty hard.

In a nutshell: It.was.awesome.

I only ventured above the sprinters lane up to the relief/blue line...any higher kept wigging me out...but next time...next time...maybe the blaustrade...the tippy tippy top. :-)


And the best part? We got an extra hour on the track too. I am now TUCKERED out, but I can't stop smiling. Looking forward to more adventures up there! I'll try to wrestle up my cable to upload those pics this week. Pretty trippy looking down over the side of the track and it is a steep drop...but super cool.

adventures

Track
Track training at the velodrome. This is preparation for the race season(don't get any silly ideas, i'm not racing the track this season...i'm just riding/training). We were doing all kinds of whatever for the training session, and one of them was a 6 minute hard effort, but not all out effort. I was where I needed to be...but I think for the really stupidly fast group at least in my mind it became:

how many times can we lap her in 6 minutes?

(I have no idea if that was their goal...that's just what it felt like from my perspective). Quite a few apparently. And when I look at my HR data, I was where i should have been if not a little high for what we were supposed to be doing. Here's the part that sorta cracks me up...you can go pretty fast on a track bike because of the gearing and the track geometry/surface...so I was cranking around 22-23mph, but I was getting passed like I was standing still. I'm just glad our track is 330m...and not smaller or I would have gotten passed a whole lot more.

Headed up to LA this weekend to try out the indoor track. I'll try to get some pics of the crazy adventure...and may actually post them. ;-)

Today's adventure has encompassed 1)attempting to get my bid together for the condo I'm putting an offer in on. 2)a swim workout where a 4x50 IM drill set had me almost laughing because my butterfly was so pathetic I thought I was going to drown my lane-mate and 3) Someone took my flip flops from the side of the pool.

When I saw that my flip-flops were gone and some tiny flip flops (of the same color) were left in their place I had a pretty good idea that someone just made a mistake. Granted it didn't stop me from thinking horrible thoughts. I mean...i have somewhat larger feet...i wear a size 9....these flip flops that were left were very worn and looked to be about a size 7. HOW it wasn't noticed immediately was beyond me.

I left the suspect flip flops on the pool deck...and headed into the locker room now checking every ones shoes out. And lo and behold....the woman changing next to my locker was wearing my flip flops.

Um...what does one say at that point? I finally just said: UH...i think you have my shoes. Interestingly... she had realized that she had made the mistake when she came in. I'm sorta mystified that it took so long because my feet are so much bigger than hers AND her shoes were really worn in. The part that also sorta boggled my mind...she kept wearing them even after she realized they weren't hers. I think that's weird...is that weird? Am I being weird for thinking that is weird? Granted I don't really like feet...so if I realized I had made a similar mistake I probably would have taken them off immediately. And now what do I do with the flip flops? Bleach them? Trash them? Then I'm short some good flip flops. I had *just* started wearing them in too.

Thin line

Sometimes I feel like that of ALL people, I should be able to figure MYSELF out. Nope. I am beginning to believe that OTHER people are way easier to figure out. Overall I tend to run a thin line between being SUPER busy and LOVING it...and being SUPER busy and it stressing me out so bad that fall off the side of an emotional cliff. Granted one thing I have learned over the past 6 years or so is the signs of being close to that edge...and I now have learned at least a little better how to pull myself back from the edge, even if it means that I only fall half way down the ledge. Half way is better than all the way into the abyss I think.

Unfortunately in the midst of all of this...i am attempting to add just one more very stressful thing into the mix...buying a condo. Yep...i saw one... and i'm putting a bid in on it this week. Scares me out of my mind, but i'm also super excited about it too. It's in my current neighborhood where I caught myself last week just walking around saying: I love my neighborhood. Dorky...i know...but I love where I live. I'm sure there are other great places here...but my slightly quirky neighborhood is great in my opinion.

Training is going pretty well overall. Not a whole lot to talk about of interest at the moment aside from that midweek velodrome track riding (twice a week!) is going to become a regularly scheduled plan...which I am SOOOOOOOO excited about. This winter has been predominately 'Track Sundays'...which have been lots O FUN, but real trackies are getting ready for race season so more organized stuff in the evenings is opening up. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make a mockery of myself and it will be hilarious. And a rodie friend of mine is trying (as well as my coach) to get me to ride in a 'road' race. I ALREADY eat a lot of humble pie on the bike ...but looks like it will be the main course being surved this spring.

And of course...Saturday is the LA Velodrome/ADT center. EXCITING! I'm trying not to think about it...otherwise I fear it will just freak me out all week.