The Simple Ways to Sabatoge Your "A" Race

I've been busy with some travelling for work the past two or three weeks, and there was a holiday in there somewhere, too. Days fade into each other after too much rain. And there it is, the truth of the matter in two short sentences.

I have done more to sabotage my training plan for my "A" race than I could possibly imagine. None of it on purpose, of course. But all of it is my own doing.  

So, while running today (I have actually run my 10k loop three days in a row!), I came up with the first few of probably 7-10 ways that you, too, can sabotage your own race. Here are the first few. This is a look into my real world at this point.

1. Schedule your "A" race within three months of the birth of your child. This will do absolute wonders for everyone in your house. Of course, you prioritize the baby before your training and race (at least you should!), but the lost sleep and missed workouts start to creep into your conscious as something you wish wasn't your new norm. Then that piles onto the dumb comments you say while stressed out because the baby is screaming that awful "baby scream" for the last 15 minutes (hint: feed him, will work 90% of the time).  And then you have the car ride with a screaming baby and stops every 90 minutes for breastfeeding....I'm looking forward to making a ten hour ride into 14 hours.

2. Schedule your "A" race for June if you live in the Pacific Northwest and you don't like to ride in the rain or the cold. I can count this year's outside bike rides on my fingers at this point because of all the rain, wind, late winter conditions, and generally crap weather. So, when those conditions are outside, you can guarantee my bike is not outside. I can run in -20 with snow, but the minute it is cold, windy, and wet, I'm going to make it a swim day inside.  Speaking of swimming, you won't get any open water swim practice because everything is flooding in the spring, and the water is just to damn cold (45deg?) and generally dangerous to think about getting in. My psychology and confidence is in a downward spiral right now because of my lack of following my training plan.  At this point, I'm just happy to do something that makes me break a sweat.

3. Break your indoor trainer eight weeks prior to the race and during the crappiest weather of the year. Because you will now not ride a bike trainer for three weeks til you finally break down and buy one, this will guarantee that you lose nearly all the bike fitness and progress you made by busting your ass all winter. Refer to #2 on why you can't just ride your bike outside.

4. Schedule as much work travel as you can during the 3-8 weeks prior to your "A" race. Build period? What's that? Combined with the broken trainer in #3, you now certainly won't ride your bike very often. Nor will you get in any consistent running of good quality because you don't know good courses in the towns your visiting, and you're generally downtown in the smog and traffic anyway, and who wants to run in that crap when you're used to running in perfect mountain air? You might find a pool and be close to it if you're lucky...I got lucky, but it was so cool to then swim in a 50m outdoor pool that I don't think I can get back into the 25y indoor pool back here at home. 

More later............and remember, no matter how bad you got it, somebody always has it worse. But the guy at the end of that line is Guy Sajer.

Great Run: Up City Creek in Salt Lake City

While in Salt Lake for work, I got the chance to run up City Creek, starting from my downtown hotel. I scoped out the map during the meeting, and then hit it directly after release from our day's duties.

As I climbed uphill, I realized this was going to be an all uphill, then all downhill type run. I adjusted my expected timeline accordingly to save my knees. Upon entering the park area, I ran next to the creek for a while, following some very serious terrain undulations until I was forced onto the road, at which point I got on a nice single track above the road. This was much easier going, but still all uphill. Very nice running up the canyon at an easy pace to get my long run in for the week. At the watershed boundary and conveniently an hour into the run, I took a short two minute break before turning around. 

The way down was difficult even though I stuck to the road. My knees and quads were screaming! 

I made it down, back to the hotel in 55 minutes. Upon hitting some flat ground, I actually sped up to a quick trot just because I could.

After a quick shower, I got a burger. Then I needed a burger and shake. The burger was easy. I couldn't find a place near the hotel that sells ice cream. So I stopped into the hotel bar and had a couple glasses of merlot with a chocolate molten lava ice cream thing...WOW! That was good, but I still needed that orea shake. I found it two blocks away at the Carls Jr after stopping into a couple other restaruants to see if they had ice cream.   With that fix, I went home and hit the rack.  

First go with the Kurt Kinetic trainer....an initial product review.

Tonight was the first night I got on my new Kurt Kinetic trainer. I've been waiting a few days to check it out, but it just hasn't happened.

I just wanted to see if this was as great as all the internet forums said it would be. It wasn't going to be a hard workout, just enough to maintain a shred of consistency and see how this trainer handled.

My only other experience with a bike trainer is a basic Giant magnetic trainer I bought three years ago and died on me in March. Well....it's not entirely dead because it still works but it's so dang loud now that it drives me nuts.

So, first impressions:

1. WOW! It's QUIET! Sounds like a little hiss coming from the tires.  Very nice.

2. It's smooth. Not that the other trainer was jerky or anything "not smooth," it's just that this one feels smooth.

3. I won't be able to "beat" this trainer.  On the old magnetic trainer, I had cranked down the tension as much as possible with the tension clicked as high as possible, and I could still spin-out on the highest gear when I tried hard enough (and I'm a very average to below average bicyclist).  I tried spinning out on the Kurt Kinetic fluid trainer in a big but not the biggest gear, and I laughed at myself!  Yeah, that won't be happening anytime soon.  And I doubt I'll ever need to buy the extra Kurt Kinetic 12-Pound Pro Flywheel to get some extra resistance.

4. And because of that above experience, I now understand the progressive resistance. I had read about it and understood in a logical, thinking manner what it was, but I couldn't picture or internally sense what it was. Once I got on and tried cranking up the RPM in a high gear, that internal sense was crystal clear about what progressive resistance is (and I like it!).

5. I'm loving the life-time warranty. Having just killed a bike trainer and feeling like I got screwed because it lasted only three years, the lifetime warranty is very important to me.

6. Quite easy to get the bike on and off the trainer. For some reason, it was such a hassle to get the bike on and off the old trainer, taking literally at least a minute and maybe closer to two minutes to line everything up.  On this Kurt Kinetic, it lines up and clamps-in in a about fifteen seconds, probably closer to ten if I timed it. It really is that smooth and fast.

7. I think I'm going to get the Kinetic Power Computer *Wired computer to train with power. For $50-$70, it's definitely the poor man's power meter. And it doesn't even really measure the power...it calculates it based on math formulas for an "average rider," according to the web site. As long as it is a consistent reading, I can live with that because it doesn't read power correctly when off the trainer.  I just need it for an objective data point to see if I'm improving and to use some of the training-with-power-principles during the winter. I won't be needing the version that comes with a heart rate monitor and is wireless....Kinetic Power Computer *Wireless Analog.

8. The free Spinnervals DVD that comes with purchase? I already have it. Bummer. I was hoping for one of the TT training videos but got the 27.0 Threshhold and Suffer Fest.

I can't compare this to a CycleOps equivalent trainer, which was the competition when I was looking around for this new trainer, because I still haven't ridden a CycleOps. I went with the Kurt Kinetic because of the gut feel and the only thing that CycleOps was clearly better on was the ability to maintain consistency of the tire resistance by way of a snap-in piece instead of a manual crank. I figured I can just count the number of cranks each time I take the bike off and then tighten it that many cranks when it goes back on.

Pretty sure I'll be liking this purchase for many years. It's as rock solid durable as one could imagine.

Seriously...what am I doing? Inconsistent and not following the plan.

Stand by for rant and rave in 3....2....1.....

My training in the month of May has fallen apart, just like it always does this time of the year. My run consistency is completely gone. My bike consistency is gone. My swim is hit and miss; whatever happens; who knows what the water will be like or if I even get there.

Yes, the weather sucks. That, and my crapped-out trainer are the reasons behind my lack of bike consistency. One bright note, though: my new Kurt Kinetic fluid trainer showed up today, right on time according to the UPS website. I bought it with a combination of 20% off during the annual REI member sale and my dividend from last year.  And free shipping! (except for that nasty little $15 shipping surcharge for oversize items). But CLEARLY, the lack of even close to decent weather has hampered my bike consistency. But I'm geared up to beat the springtime weather now, and all I have to do is actually do it.

The running problems are simply scheduling issues. I've had a bit more travel and lunch meetings in the past six weeks, and that has hurt my running at lunch. I can run in crap weather ok, but I simply haven't been getting the chance.

Then there's my swimming. A 5k here, a 3k there, another 1k. Who knows what I'm going to end up getting! Freezing water one day; 88 degrees the next week.  The lifeguard is late when I finally get my lazy butt out of bed in the morning, so then I only get half my workout in....I'm not mad at her because it's the only time she's been late this year that I know of, so everyone gets one mistake, right?    And the open water swim that I'm supposed to be doing already? Hah! That place is flooded with 40 degree water, two days again it was part of the snowpack. From the forecasts, I won't be getting in my OWS until mid-June at best!  

And I'm not following my plan at all. I'm supposed to into the build phase and concentrating on some race-specific training, and not worrying about volume too much. Well, on the odd nice days, I go out and hit the bike hard and long, so that I'm too tired and sore to do anything the next day. Then, I hit the run long and hard, and I can't do anything the next day.  Morning workouts?!?!?! I have no idea what that even means.....for some reason, every year I do great with early morning workouts all winter and then can't get out of bed when the time changes in March....very strange, but very real, too.  Wow! All told, I'm getting in three workouts per week....that's definitely the plan for being competitive, huh?    

So, here I am completely whooped because I ran hard and long on Monday so that I was sore yesterday and into today, and then pushed as much as I could on the bike today because its the only nice day of the week (snow/rain/cold/windy the next 3-4 days!). The water was 88 degrees this morning, and I went harder and longer than I should have. 

Rant over....til next time.....pray for summer cuz spring ain't workin' for me.

Today's "Vision Quest" race the train training moment

I wrestled in high school in the late 80's, so the movie "Vision Quest" is big on my list of motivational flicks. There are a few great clips in that movie of Louden Swaine training really hard to beat the animal Brian Shute. It gets me going every time I think about it!

Anyway, one clip that I can't find on YouTube has Swain riding bike really hard in the early morning with a train next to the road, and he's training so hard he's keeping pace with the train. AWESOME, right!?!?

In typical fashion...."so, there I was" during this afternoon's bike ride, cruising down the little hill that takes me parrellel to the railroad tracks. A train blows its whistle and scares the crap out of me, and then blows it again and again because it's passing a cross with the road. I look over as the road become parrellel with the train, and the engine is even with me. GAME ON, BABY!!! I beat the hell out of those pedals for about thirty seconds while I lived in the moment, the moment of the "Vision Quest" bike vs train training scene. Then I rounded another turn in the road and a strong wind smacked me in the face, and I burned out in typical old-man-reliving-his-youth fashion.

BUT THAT 30 SECONDS WAS AWESOME!

Weather in May almost always sucks = Remember to Recover!

The weather in May in southeast Idaho generally sucks. It's a miracle if the wind is less than 10mph. And buy a couple lottery tickets if the sun shines on a day that the wind doesn't blow.

Honestly, last week was pretty nice, with temps into the 70s! No kidding. I actually considered it a bit "hot" when I ran a 10k because I am not used to those temperatures.  I got in a couple long outdoor bike rides, too, so life is good.

Of course, that was last week. This week, rainy and cold and windy...a chance of snow in the mornings just for good measure. And flooding, but nothing serious yet, thankfully.

My point is that you MUST take advantage of the good weather when it comes. I think that includes over-reaching a bit if there are several nice days in a row and you know that a few days of rain are coming. That's what I did last week. I got in some long bikes and long runs while sun was shining; and now I'm really tired from it, and I have to remember to let my body recover instead of going back at it. I didn't swim at all during those nice days last week (who wants to be inside on those days after a long winter!??!?!?), so I have some swimming to do while I recover from bike and run.

Here's wishing some sun your way!

Good deals on bike gear @ Sierra Trading Post

FYI if you're looking for some new bike gear but don't want to break the bank. I have the shorts and shirt that are shown below, and I like them. A good gear setup for $70 total.

These don't have pockets for gels like the DeSoto Forza's do, but these are great shorts for the price.

SAVE: $16.50 (30%)

Pearl Izumi Triathlon Shorts - Built-In Chamois (For Men) Our Price: $38.50  Retail: $55.00     (2 reviews) Closeouts. Improved performance and through-the-race reliability is the name of the game when you're wearing Pearl Izumi's Triathlon ...read more or see more from Pearl Izumi Sizes Available General(US): S(29-31½), M(31½-34½), L(34½-37½), XL(37½-41½), 2XL(41½-45) Colors Available (1):

I have these shirts, and they're great. I got two in a lime green color (very bright!), but I guess that color is not available anymore.  They are pretty light and will be great on hot days. Til then, I'm wearing another shirt underneath to hold off the cool wind a bit.

SAVE: $17.50 (35%)

Canari Sport Cycling Jersey - Short Sleeve (For Men) Our Price: $32.50  Retail: $50.00     (70 reviews) Closeouts. Lead the pack with Canari's Sport cycling jersey; its polyester mesh fabric has the softness of your favorite T-shirt with...read more or see more fromCanari Sizes Available General(US): M(40-42), L(42-44), XL(44-46), 2XL(46-48) Colors Available (5): More...