Sorry, the title says it all but I will write about this weeks training anyways. Tuesday was a light and easy 4 mile run on the trail with Oskar. As per usual we dipped into Barton Springs (aka Barkin' Springs) after we finished. We got an early start so it wasn't terribly hot when we got done running.
On Wednesday I met my friend Paula out at Decker Lake to ride the Danskin race course that is coming up on Sunday. She just got a bike off Craigslist and wanted some people to ride with out there. It was a nice 12 mile ride with those famous Decker Hills. Paula did pretty good on her new bike and should have a great race this Sunday. I am looking forward to seeing my friends race the Danskin Triathlon early Sunday morning.
The next morning was a "Recovery" run with Tony and Oskar out on Town Lake. For those who have been keeping up with this blog you may have noticed my annoying penchant for using a different name to describe the same trail: Town Lake, Ladybird Lake, Auditorium Shores, downtown hike and bike. This is because I cannot decide on what name to call it and if you aren't familiar with this running trail it makes it sound like I run at a lot of different places.
Today was some more Danskin race prep with Emily out at Decker Lake. We got out to the water and saw where the crews were setting up the bike racks and filling in the swim exit shoreline with dirt. Thank God for the dirt filler because trying to walk out of the water on all of those slippery rocks would not be fun at all.
That is it for the past few days. Tomorrow is a 10 mile run with Rogue at 6 am so no sleep for me tonight.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Recovery Week Begins and Cap Tex
Sundays ride was from my house in east Austin out to Decker lake and back. All in all it was a hilly, hot, humid, and hilly (did I mention the hills) ride. It was only 28 miles. I was hoping for mid 30's but I had nothing left when I finished. Let recovery week start!!
Monday afternoon we went out to Lake Pflugerville for some open water practice. There are buoys stationed for a 500M course and I did one loop. I could have done a couple of more but I had to remind myself it's recovery week. The water was warm which helped relax me. After the loop Emily and I practised swimming over each other to mimic a group. It was a good swim.
Memorial day is also the weekend of the Cap Tex Tri. It is held in downtown Austin at Auditorium Shores with several distances to choose from but the bulk of the participants go for the Olympic which is a 1500 M swim, 40K bike and a 10 K run. It was very inspirational to go and watch everybody and I think I might race it next year. My friend Craig who did the Rookie with me competed and did pretty darn well. I managed to capture him on film in all three sports but unfortunately the 21 mph speed he averaged on the bike made the bike pics way too blurry. So Oskar gets a shameless plug instead.
Clockwise from left: Craig Pre race, Swimming, Finishing his second run loop, and Oskar checking out the bikes.
Congrats to all the participants and next year I will be there.
Monday afternoon we went out to Lake Pflugerville for some open water practice. There are buoys stationed for a 500M course and I did one loop. I could have done a couple of more but I had to remind myself it's recovery week. The water was warm which helped relax me. After the loop Emily and I practised swimming over each other to mimic a group. It was a good swim.
Memorial day is also the weekend of the Cap Tex Tri. It is held in downtown Austin at Auditorium Shores with several distances to choose from but the bulk of the participants go for the Olympic which is a 1500 M swim, 40K bike and a 10 K run. It was very inspirational to go and watch everybody and I think I might race it next year. My friend Craig who did the Rookie with me competed and did pretty darn well. I managed to capture him on film in all three sports but unfortunately the 21 mph speed he averaged on the bike made the bike pics way too blurry. So Oskar gets a shameless plug instead.
Clockwise from left: Craig Pre race, Swimming, Finishing his second run loop, and Oskar checking out the bikes.
Congrats to all the participants and next year I will be there.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Almost there.
I cannot wait until recovery week starts. I love the triathlon training but I feel a little beat up and need a few days to let my body (mainly legs) recover. Here are the workouts from the last few days.
I woke up early Thursday for my easy 4 mile run with my friend Tony. Since it was within Oskar's limits he was more than happy to join. After the run I let Oskar play in the water to cool off and I noticed that that the dock for the Cap Tex Tri had been installed for the race on Monday. We walked out on it to get a look at Lady Bird Lake from the floating dock and I tried to visualize being at the race. I am not even racing this one and I started to get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. After that Oskar and I took the canoe and paddled around for a couple of hours and did some swimming at Barking Springs.
The next day was my long swim day so I put in a mile at Barton Springs in the morning. My neck is still sore from sighting which is when raise your head up while swimming to see what is in front of you and to stay on your path. It is imperative to do this when not swimming in a normal swimming pool which has clear water, contains lane ropes, and the bottom of the pool is painted for direction. In a lake or river setting you are on your own. Well, except for the people swimming AT you with snorkels and swim fins who aren't really sighting. It is a little frustrating when a swim fin guy is hauling past you and on their return they close in on you faster than a non swim fin swimmer. Ugghh!
This morning was a 12 mile run with Rogue that started at 6 am. So after about 4 and and a half hours of sleep I was trotting alongside Amy on the hike and bike. She was running an 8 mile route so after about mile 4 or 5 we split ways. I started running with 3 other guys who I didn't know and ended up running the next 4 miles way too fast. I should have just let them pass me and then I would have had a more pleasurable experience. Too bad I didn't because I ended up dragging the last 4 miles in to the end with a 9 minute mile average. Oskar was more than happy to help me recover at Barking Springs after wards. I have to finish typing quickly because the little beast here is getting anxious and wants to go play outside. Dog park here we come.
One more long ride tomorrow and then any easy week begins.
I woke up early Thursday for my easy 4 mile run with my friend Tony. Since it was within Oskar's limits he was more than happy to join. After the run I let Oskar play in the water to cool off and I noticed that that the dock for the Cap Tex Tri had been installed for the race on Monday. We walked out on it to get a look at Lady Bird Lake from the floating dock and I tried to visualize being at the race. I am not even racing this one and I started to get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. After that Oskar and I took the canoe and paddled around for a couple of hours and did some swimming at Barking Springs.
The next day was my long swim day so I put in a mile at Barton Springs in the morning. My neck is still sore from sighting which is when raise your head up while swimming to see what is in front of you and to stay on your path. It is imperative to do this when not swimming in a normal swimming pool which has clear water, contains lane ropes, and the bottom of the pool is painted for direction. In a lake or river setting you are on your own. Well, except for the people swimming AT you with snorkels and swim fins who aren't really sighting. It is a little frustrating when a swim fin guy is hauling past you and on their return they close in on you faster than a non swim fin swimmer. Ugghh!
This morning was a 12 mile run with Rogue that started at 6 am. So after about 4 and and a half hours of sleep I was trotting alongside Amy on the hike and bike. She was running an 8 mile route so after about mile 4 or 5 we split ways. I started running with 3 other guys who I didn't know and ended up running the next 4 miles way too fast. I should have just let them pass me and then I would have had a more pleasurable experience. Too bad I didn't because I ended up dragging the last 4 miles in to the end with a 9 minute mile average. Oskar was more than happy to help me recover at Barking Springs after wards. I have to finish typing quickly because the little beast here is getting anxious and wants to go play outside. Dog park here we come.
One more long ride tomorrow and then any easy week begins.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Getting closer to recovery week
Tuesday workout was fantastic. I started off with an up tempo 26 mile ride through Austin. I went out Lake Austin, up Mt Bonnell (for fun), down Shoal Creek, over to Arryo Seco, Duval, through UT campus and east on Manor to my house. I had a quick lunch, loaded the dogs in the car and went out to Big Stacy for some swimming.
I met my friend Barton at the pool and we did an easy 200 warm up followed by pulling 600. If you add in another 100 on the kickboard that equates to one exhausted triathlete and two anxious dogs waiting in the car to go to the park.
Oskar, Lucy, and I had a quick trip to Auditorium shores where they swam and ran and swam and chased and swam and well you get the idea. The three of us went home for a quick nap and a second lunch. I had a weight training session that included but is not limited to: Lunges, curls, tricep extensions, calf raises, swiss ball hamstring curls, and about 80 tire flips.
After all of that nonsense I ate first dinner, I love tri training, and the dogs and I made a second trip down to Auditorium shores. They were so well behaved. They were not in any of the scuffles, didn't steal anybody's toys, came to me when called to and never stopped playing. On the way home I had to take Lucy's pulse because she was completely wiped out. Oskar was too and as a matter of fact so was I. My reward for a long day was pizza and cider for second dinner.
Today was slightly scaled back but a little more intense. Wednesday is now officially brick day! Out to the Veloway at noon (94 degrees). A warm up lap and then a fast paced lap followed by an run that was just less than a mile. Rinse and repeat for a total of three circuits. I wanted to hit four but it was just too hot. I averaged about 17 mph on the bike (includes warm up speed) and I ran 7:00 minute miles which for me is my 5K pace.
After second breakfast the dogs and I went down to Barking Springs for a little R n R. The water level was up and the current was a little stronger. Oskar of course had a blast but as far as I know this was Lucy's first trip down to dog heaven. She is not the best or let us say the most enthusiastic swimmer out there so when she swam to me across the current I was shocked and stoked at the same time. They chased all the rocks I tossed in the water and swam back to the other side with no problem when it was time to leave. Whew...what a busy few days.
I met my friend Barton at the pool and we did an easy 200 warm up followed by pulling 600. If you add in another 100 on the kickboard that equates to one exhausted triathlete and two anxious dogs waiting in the car to go to the park.
Oskar, Lucy, and I had a quick trip to Auditorium shores where they swam and ran and swam and chased and swam and well you get the idea. The three of us went home for a quick nap and a second lunch. I had a weight training session that included but is not limited to: Lunges, curls, tricep extensions, calf raises, swiss ball hamstring curls, and about 80 tire flips.
After all of that nonsense I ate first dinner, I love tri training, and the dogs and I made a second trip down to Auditorium shores. They were so well behaved. They were not in any of the scuffles, didn't steal anybody's toys, came to me when called to and never stopped playing. On the way home I had to take Lucy's pulse because she was completely wiped out. Oskar was too and as a matter of fact so was I. My reward for a long day was pizza and cider for second dinner.
Today was slightly scaled back but a little more intense. Wednesday is now officially brick day! Out to the Veloway at noon (94 degrees). A warm up lap and then a fast paced lap followed by an run that was just less than a mile. Rinse and repeat for a total of three circuits. I wanted to hit four but it was just too hot. I averaged about 17 mph on the bike (includes warm up speed) and I ran 7:00 minute miles which for me is my 5K pace.
After second breakfast the dogs and I went down to Barking Springs for a little R n R. The water level was up and the current was a little stronger. Oskar of course had a blast but as far as I know this was Lucy's first trip down to dog heaven. She is not the best or let us say the most enthusiastic swimmer out there so when she swam to me across the current I was shocked and stoked at the same time. They chased all the rocks I tossed in the water and swam back to the other side with no problem when it was time to leave. Whew...what a busy few days.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Working working working....
Sunday:
I slept in a bit and drove out to Southwest Parkway for my long ride on the bike. Following the recommendation of my friend Amy I rode out to Fitzhugh road and back for a total of 33.5 miles. The ride didn't start till noon so it was a pretty damn hot day in the sun. I took two water bottles filled with ice and Gatorade in one and just ice and water in the other. I had drank them both by the halfway point. Luckily just beyond the halfway point was a store to resupply. The route was out and back through rolling hills. Fitzhugh road has some nice climbs and descents on it making it a very good workout. I turned around at mile 16 but I missed a turn towards the end and after backtracking I finished with an extra mile and a half. Wrong turns just mean bonus miles. After my run on Saturday my legs were not at 100 percent so it made the ride even harder. A cold dip in Barton Springs made it all worth the heat and punishment.
Monday:
An early 7 mile run on the trail with good ol' Oskar. It was actually a tempo run. So I started off easy for the first 15 minutes and then intended to do the next 30 minutes at a 10 k pace but I could only hold it for 25 minutes. Oskar did fine until the very end and I knew he finally got tired. We took Oskar breaks 3 or 4 times so he could jump in Ladybird lake and cool off. We finished the run at Barton Springs and that cold cold water was exactly what I needed. I am starting to sense a pattern with how my non-swimming workouts will all end this summer. The water cools me off and saves my legs for the next workout.
Which in this case was Jack and Adams Monday night core class. The guy running it started it with this statement, "This is my first and last time to do this." You could tell he was a little nervous and it showed when we would be doing the exercise on the left side and he would forget to to the right side. Or he would occasionally forget what number we were going to. This class seemed more focused on the Abs as opposed to the overall core but it was great because I did learn a few new torture maneuvers to use on my own. I don't mean to imply that there was anything wrong with the class. It was a very good workout and I am thankful Jack and Adams puts it on for free every week.
After the core class I went down to Big Stacy for my swim workout. Summer has arrived and the pool was packed. All three lanes had at least three swimmers in it and sometimes four. I started off with a 200 warm up followed by 100 kicking and then another easy 100. After that was sprints. I did 10 a full length sprints at all out effort, or throw up speed, followed by a full length easy recovery after each sprint. It was a great swim.
Off to bed early so I can Bike and Swim today. Speaking of which I gotta go ride my bike now.
I slept in a bit and drove out to Southwest Parkway for my long ride on the bike. Following the recommendation of my friend Amy I rode out to Fitzhugh road and back for a total of 33.5 miles. The ride didn't start till noon so it was a pretty damn hot day in the sun. I took two water bottles filled with ice and Gatorade in one and just ice and water in the other. I had drank them both by the halfway point. Luckily just beyond the halfway point was a store to resupply. The route was out and back through rolling hills. Fitzhugh road has some nice climbs and descents on it making it a very good workout. I turned around at mile 16 but I missed a turn towards the end and after backtracking I finished with an extra mile and a half. Wrong turns just mean bonus miles. After my run on Saturday my legs were not at 100 percent so it made the ride even harder. A cold dip in Barton Springs made it all worth the heat and punishment.
Monday:
An early 7 mile run on the trail with good ol' Oskar. It was actually a tempo run. So I started off easy for the first 15 minutes and then intended to do the next 30 minutes at a 10 k pace but I could only hold it for 25 minutes. Oskar did fine until the very end and I knew he finally got tired. We took Oskar breaks 3 or 4 times so he could jump in Ladybird lake and cool off. We finished the run at Barton Springs and that cold cold water was exactly what I needed. I am starting to sense a pattern with how my non-swimming workouts will all end this summer. The water cools me off and saves my legs for the next workout.
Which in this case was Jack and Adams Monday night core class. The guy running it started it with this statement, "This is my first and last time to do this." You could tell he was a little nervous and it showed when we would be doing the exercise on the left side and he would forget to to the right side. Or he would occasionally forget what number we were going to. This class seemed more focused on the Abs as opposed to the overall core but it was great because I did learn a few new torture maneuvers to use on my own. I don't mean to imply that there was anything wrong with the class. It was a very good workout and I am thankful Jack and Adams puts it on for free every week.
After the core class I went down to Big Stacy for my swim workout. Summer has arrived and the pool was packed. All three lanes had at least three swimmers in it and sometimes four. I started off with a 200 warm up followed by 100 kicking and then another easy 100. After that was sprints. I did 10 a full length sprints at all out effort, or throw up speed, followed by a full length easy recovery after each sprint. It was a great swim.
Off to bed early so I can Bike and Swim today. Speaking of which I gotta go ride my bike now.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Hot, Humid and Tired
Saturdays long run with rogue was a 12 mile adventure through central Austin with very high humidity. High humidity is a good training tool since the more water molecules in the air means less oxygen molecules. This in turn means is harder to breathe which makes your body more efficient in taking in air and energy utilization. It also makes you slimy sweaty with squishy shoes. You can always hear me coming after a run like that by the squish squish squish sound my shoes make. It is kind of gross actually and a very hard run for me. One reason is the lack of sleep. I probably only got in a good three and a half hours the night before. I did not have time for breakfast before the run and I ran with Steven, Kelly, and Spencer who are all faster runners than I am. Running with people faster than you is good because it just makes you run faster than you would have on your own.
The run totally wiped me out and afterwords I took Oskar to Barking Springs for a chilly dip in the water to help save my legs for Sundays bike ride. Barking Springs just might be his favorite place to play. I like it because we both can get in the water at the same time. We came up with a new game where I would stand in the waist deep water and he would swim to me. Then I pick him him up, turn him around and throw him about 5 or 6 feet away. His head never went under water and he kept swimming back so I can only assume he liked it. The cold water is great on your legs after a hard workout because it cuts down on the inflammation and speeds recovery time. This is crucial when you are training so you can get the most out of your next workouts. It is also essential for your soul after a tough run and the cold healing waters of Barking (Barton) Springs does the trick. Oskar feels it is essential for my sanity as well since he gets to play like crazy chasing skipping stones and splashing around like some sort of wild animal.
The run totally wiped me out and afterwords I took Oskar to Barking Springs for a chilly dip in the water to help save my legs for Sundays bike ride. Barking Springs just might be his favorite place to play. I like it because we both can get in the water at the same time. We came up with a new game where I would stand in the waist deep water and he would swim to me. Then I pick him him up, turn him around and throw him about 5 or 6 feet away. His head never went under water and he kept swimming back so I can only assume he liked it. The cold water is great on your legs after a hard workout because it cuts down on the inflammation and speeds recovery time. This is crucial when you are training so you can get the most out of your next workouts. It is also essential for your soul after a tough run and the cold healing waters of Barking (Barton) Springs does the trick. Oskar feels it is essential for my sanity as well since he gets to play like crazy chasing skipping stones and splashing around like some sort of wild animal.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Oskar the Hero
Well maybe not a hero per se but he helped a disc golfer instead of annoy him which is what he usually does. It all went down like this. On a hot and humid afternoon Oskar need a little swim time so he and I headed down to Shoal Creek at Pease Park to get in a little puppy dog time. He was panting and a little overheated before we even got there. Note to self: Fix the AC in the car. We got out of the car and walked down near the 24th street bridge. I had his dog Frisbee with me and I found a tennis ball along the way. Armed with two powerful tools of distraction I felt confident that this was going to be successful outing at the park. Little did I suspect how proud I would be of the little guy by the time we would get back to the car.
As we are walking down towards the water a girl walking by, clearly exercising with headphones on, had not noticed the black blur heading her way, Oskar adjusts his course heading strait towards her. I yell, "Hey Oskar!!!" while brandishing the Frisbee in my left hand and the tennis ball in the right. Too late as she realizes the danger and there is no time for her to dodge the puppy onslaught that is about to occur. At the last possible moment he angles away from her to chase the tennis ball I had just thrown in the opposite direction. Her eyes had just shrank back from their look of fear when she literally snarls at me and Oskar. Oh well.
When we make it to the water I set my stuff down near a tree and Oskar scrambles down the slope to jump into the creek. I start throwing rocks for him to chase and he loves it. I have learned a while ago that he doesn't fetch that well in the water but he loves to chase after the splash of a recently submerged stone. The place where we are playing is in between two disc golf baskets and I am very mindful of the golfers after Oskar once stole a disc and pranced around the park while we were trying to get him to let go. At this time two guys are getting ready to chunk their discs over the creek that Oskar is currently splashing through and I ask them if we are in their way and they said we were fine. The first disc they throw lands about 40 yards from Oskar and skids off the creek embankment to land in the water. I quickly toss some rocks in the opposite direction. It is all about timing the distraction.
The golfers pass by and look to see where their discs ended up. After about ten minutes I heard one of them say that somebody in the future would get lucky and find his disc one day. They started to walk off and I thought to myself: This sounds like a job for OSKAR! We walked down to where they were looking and a section of the creek where I thought the disc might have been was covered in a thick filmy substance not allowing you to see under it. I threw a rock at the area and Oskar dove after it. The resulting wave cleared the area revealing the guys blue green disc. It was still a tough spot for him to get at so I kept tossing stones at the disc until Oskar picked it up between his two paws and put it in his mouth. The golfers were really impressed and Oskar could sense their excitement. So much so that he proceeded to prance around the creek with the guys disc in his jaws splashing the two guys with filmy gross creek water. It was hilarious. The guys were so stoked about the rescue that they didn't care about the new teeth marks on the disc. Hooray!!!!
In other news, yesterday I ran 4 miles on the trail with my friend Tony and then got on the bike trainer at home for an hour doing spin ups and one legged spins. Today I swam 1 mile in Barton Springs for my long swim. But this day totally belongs to Oskar.
As we are walking down towards the water a girl walking by, clearly exercising with headphones on, had not noticed the black blur heading her way, Oskar adjusts his course heading strait towards her. I yell, "Hey Oskar!!!" while brandishing the Frisbee in my left hand and the tennis ball in the right. Too late as she realizes the danger and there is no time for her to dodge the puppy onslaught that is about to occur. At the last possible moment he angles away from her to chase the tennis ball I had just thrown in the opposite direction. Her eyes had just shrank back from their look of fear when she literally snarls at me and Oskar. Oh well.
When we make it to the water I set my stuff down near a tree and Oskar scrambles down the slope to jump into the creek. I start throwing rocks for him to chase and he loves it. I have learned a while ago that he doesn't fetch that well in the water but he loves to chase after the splash of a recently submerged stone. The place where we are playing is in between two disc golf baskets and I am very mindful of the golfers after Oskar once stole a disc and pranced around the park while we were trying to get him to let go. At this time two guys are getting ready to chunk their discs over the creek that Oskar is currently splashing through and I ask them if we are in their way and they said we were fine. The first disc they throw lands about 40 yards from Oskar and skids off the creek embankment to land in the water. I quickly toss some rocks in the opposite direction. It is all about timing the distraction.
The golfers pass by and look to see where their discs ended up. After about ten minutes I heard one of them say that somebody in the future would get lucky and find his disc one day. They started to walk off and I thought to myself: This sounds like a job for OSKAR! We walked down to where they were looking and a section of the creek where I thought the disc might have been was covered in a thick filmy substance not allowing you to see under it. I threw a rock at the area and Oskar dove after it. The resulting wave cleared the area revealing the guys blue green disc. It was still a tough spot for him to get at so I kept tossing stones at the disc until Oskar picked it up between his two paws and put it in his mouth. The golfers were really impressed and Oskar could sense their excitement. So much so that he proceeded to prance around the creek with the guys disc in his jaws splashing the two guys with filmy gross creek water. It was hilarious. The guys were so stoked about the rescue that they didn't care about the new teeth marks on the disc. Hooray!!!!
In other news, yesterday I ran 4 miles on the trail with my friend Tony and then got on the bike trainer at home for an hour doing spin ups and one legged spins. Today I swam 1 mile in Barton Springs for my long swim. But this day totally belongs to Oskar.
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