Hitting the Trainer - How I spent my Winter Vacation

Some days I feel like packing up all my things and moving to Arizona.  Why?  Because between November and March, Old Man Winter seems to get his jollies from kicking the holy heck out of us up here in the Great White North.  But as soon as I finish digging out loading up the car, I remember I'd be leaving my friends, family and steady employment behind.  Bah.  I guess I'll be sticking around after all.

So, if I AM going to stay in this wintry mess, how the heck am I going to keep my training up?  I know that the pool isn't going anywhere, so there really isn't a lot to change with my swim workouts.  For running, once you find a plowed trail, it's basically just a matter of proper attire to keep from freezing off your bits 'n' pieces.  Granted, when the trails are icy or rutted, you really can't do much interval training.  But, I've been making it out at least once a week to get in a longer run.  Once my muscles get warmed up, it's actually kinda nice.

The REAL problem though is with cycling training.  I haven't hit the road for a proper ride for almost two months.  Sure, there are some hard core commuters and cyclo-cross riders around here that just throw on some studded tires and head out into the elements. Us roadies though, we hit the trainer. It's basically a small frame that holds onto your rear wheel and provides resistance.  The good news is that you can use your own bike rather than some bike at the gym that hasn't been disinfected since the Earth was cooling.  The bad news is that you've got to be creative when it comes to the actual workouts.

Here's my current setup:

Note: Those are The Wife's Minnie Mouse Ears, so zip it!

In the past, I would just watch some television while I worked out.  I'd keep it at a moderate pace during the shows, and then hit the gas during the commercials.  Sure, it was kinda-sorta interval training, but it really wasn't as effective as it could have been.  Most workouts were in the 30-60 minute range.  Honestly, without a lot of direction, it was easy to find excuses to stop early.

Then, my uncle Dave gave me this little bad boy for Christmas:

Everyone knows that the best kind of love is 'Tough Love'.

Now, I've done Spinnervals workouts with the Twin Cities Spoke crew before, so my first thought was, "SWEET!  Finally, a Spinnervals DVD of my very own!  Thanks Uncle Dave!".  Then, I took a closer look at the title and saw that at 3 hours, it was almost 3 times as long as any workout I'd done before.  In addition, the difficulty was 9.9/10.  So, my second thought was, "Gulp.  I can't be sure, but I think Uncle Dave may be trying to murder me!" 

Well, as it turns out, this DVD was the perfect choice.  Yesterday, I filled a couple water bottles, cracked open the windows and popped this little guy into the player.  The best thing I can say about the disc is that it breaks up the monotony of what could be a very boring 3 hours and keeps you focused the whole time. 

You've got prompts for the gear to use, how hard to work and total workout time remaining.

Through a series of 10-30 minute intervals, I was instructed to change gears, alter my cadence and occasionally stand up.  At no time was I ever bored.  Now, I did have to pause the workout a couple of times to re-fill my water, grab a snack and use the little boy's room, but by the end, I was nice and tired. 

In fact, I was more tired than after a regular 3-hour ride during the summer.  Why?  Well, there are a couple of reasons.  First, you're pedaling the whole time; there's no resting on the downhills here. Second, Coach Troy does a pretty good job of pushing you to keep going.  Who's Coach Troy?  He's the host of the Spinnervals series.  He looks like this:

Coach Troy

Although, by the time you're on your 10th straight minute-long interval out of the saddle, he starts to look a little like this:

Coach Troy?!?

Yeah, these workouts are tough SOBs.  Sure, it's not the same as going for a real, honest to goodness ride, but at least I can be sure I'm keeping my fitness up so that I've got good legs once the snow melts.  Although, next time I do this workout, it would probably be best to put a towel down first so that I don't have to explain to The Wife why there's a funky puddle of nastiness on the floor.

Eew.

In other news, I'm starting to pull together my race schedule for next year.  I'm hoping to do a couple familiar favorites and mix in some new experiences to keep things interesting.  I'll keep you posted.

Oh yeah, and before I forget - Thanks Uncle Dave!

Rembering one of my favorite vets

My sister shared this photo with me today.  It's my grandpa and some of his shipmates from World War II.  He's the short wiry guy in the front row with his arms crossed.

He was a SONAR man stationed out in the Pacific.  When I was growing up, he didn't talk about The War much, and I didn't know enough to ask him about it.  To me, he was just 'Grandpa', the guy that took me for tractor rides and called me 'Speedy'.

Most of the stories I heard about him and The War were 2nd or 3rd hand.  Still, it's pretty cool knowing that Grandpa was out there getting the job done.

Grandpa's not around anymore, but his legacy seems to be living on pretty well through his kids and grand-kids.  So, if you know a veteran, get off the computer, go buy them a beer, pat them on the back, and tell them 'thanks'. 

Well done, gentlemen.  Well done.

Another Perfect Weekend

This last weekend was crazy good.  It had everything I love - in mass quantities.

Friday Night

Holding true to my every-other-day philosophy, Friday was a workout day.  The weather around here has been absolutely perfect for running.  Friday, I was blessed with 60 degrees and clear skies.  My legs have been feeling better and better lately, so I decided to to try out a new route.  Instead of heading towards Medicine Lake, I headed east instead. 

The first thing I discovered was that, well, would you believe we've been living in our home for 4 years and I never knew there was a dog park within a mile of the house?  Sheesh.  I should change up directions more often.  I passed the dog park and jogged through Bassett Creek Park.  This area has some special meaning for me.  It's where they used to hold a lot of my old Cross Country races back in high school.  The park hasn't changed a bit and the old memories started flooding back.  Good stuff.

After the Bassett Creek, I headed over Highway 100 via a nice new footbridge and followed the creek with some nicely paved paths.  If I were to have kept heading east, I would have eventually run into the Theodore Wirth area.  The Wirth trails can eventually hook up with just about every trail in town.  I'll have to keep this route in mind for some longer weekend runs.

When I noticed that the sun was starting to go down, it was time to head back towards home.  Once I crossed back over (actually UNDER) the highway, I was in familiar territory again.  There wasn't a lot of light left, so I made a bee-line home.  I covered the 7.6 mile run in under 1:15 but still kept the effort nice and relaxed.  My body is REALLY digging the cooler weather lately.  It's nice to be able to run longer and faster without it feeling harder.

Pretty much everything in the Northeast portion of the route was new to me.

Once I got home, The Wife and I decided to go out on an honest to goodness date.  Cash has been pretty tight lately, especially since we spent so much dough during Ironman weekend.  So, we've been holding back on any extra spending.  I'm officially in 'thrifty' mode, so it wasn't easy to get me out, but I have to admit that a pizza and a couple of beers with my sweetie sure felt good.

Saturday

Saturday was another perfect day on the weather front.  My cousin plays soccer for Minnehaha Academy, so The Wife and I decided to catch the homecoming game.  The only bad thing about this plan was that the school is right on the West River road, which is part of the route for the TC 10-Miler and the Twin Cities Marathon, so a bunch of the roads were blocked for race weekend.   We ended up a few minutes late, but fortunately didn't miss any scoring. 

The Minnehaha boys did a great job and ended up winning 2-0.  Way to go guys!  After the game, we met up with my Uncle, Aunt and cousin.  My aunt's mom and sister also came to the game.  Her sister was in town to run the Marathon on Sunday.  It was cool to talk with her.  She's a wicked strong runner - she's done ump-teen marathons and has even qualified for Boston.  She even tried her hand at a tri this past summer, but didn't care too much for the swim.  I don't blame her.  That was one of the roughest parts for me at my first tri. 

On Saturday evening, The Wife and I headed over to some friends' house to just chill and hang out.  Or at least, that's what she TOLD me we would be doing.  Instead, when I walked in their door, I heard about a dozen people yell 'SURPRISE!'.  Then I saw my mother in-law, and my parents and many of our closest friends.  Honestly, at first I thought that they were all together to celebrate something The Wife did.  But then I saw all the Ironman-themed decorations.  Holy Crap!  This party was for ME!. 

It was great.  I hadn't seen most of these people since the race and it was the perfect way to catch up with them.  Plus, if you've ever known someone that's completed an Ironman, you know that they LOVE to keep talking about the race.  They had all kinds of great snacks and even a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake!  A freakin' Dairy Queen ICE CREAM CAKE!  Sweet!

I've gotta hand it to The Wife for keeping this a secret.  I heard that she had wanted to have the get-together the week after the race, but I was too knocked out by the flu.  Keeping the secret for that long had to have been killing her.  Well played Honey.  Well played.

Sunday

After all the shenanigans on Saturday, I decided to go for a nice bike ride down the Greenway trail on Sunday morning.  Eventually the trail meets up with the river, right around mile 20 of the marathon.  I got going a little late, but was pleased to see that there were still plenty of racers out on the course.  These weren't the speed machines that finish in 3 hours or less.  These were the average Joe and Jane Schmos that just wanted to finish a marathon, no matter how long it took.  It was encouraging to see them slog it out through the toughest part of the course while there were will still thousands of volunteers and cheer crews lining the streets. 

I headed back home and thew on some comfy clothes.  I spent the next several hours with The Wife alternating between 'Football Time' and 'Nappy Time'.  It was a well-spent afternoon.

It was a great weekend.  With family, friends, races, football and even Ice Cream Cake, I couldn't have asked for more.

If you frequent this site, then you've got a few things to look forward to,  I'm finally solidifying my fall and spring schedule, plus I'm working on my next product review.  This one will actually be a comparison between two popular anti-chafing products.  After all, friction is an athlete's worst enemy. 

Ironman Wisconsin - Thanks

It's been over a week now since I became an Ironman.  The afterglow of race day has faded and I'm slowly starting to get back into the swing of things.  You know - starting to have a normal life again.

However, I don't want to get too settled until I can thank all of the people that helped me get as far as I did. In the end, triathlon can be a very selfish sport.  It can take you away from friends, family, work and church.  It can be expensive, especially for something without a return.  After all, this isn't real estate or a 401k.  The rewards can be great, but they won't pay the bills. 


Here are some of the many things that I am thankful for:

1.  The man playing the Chariots of Fire theme on the run course - with bagpipes.  Pure awesomeness.
2.  The two men dressed in drag that I saw at least 4 times on the bike course - so you know they were traveling from point to point.  Now THAT'S commitment.
3.  Kathy and Chris, my two angels at the finish line.
4.  All the creative signs out on the course, including "Show me your calves", "Chuck Norris never did an Ironman", "Ironman Chicks are hot - and the men are above average", "Free High-Fives", and this one that my wife caught.  I'm inclined to agree:

5.  Every single cold sponge that I could squeeze over my head.  
6.  Taking off my running shoes at the end of the day and not finding any blisters.  Not. One.  Yippee.
7.  The lady with Vaseline at the aid station.  My armpits thank you deeply.
8.  Feeling invincible coming off of the swim.
9.  My first real food after the race.  By the way, that would be a #2 - Super Sized, with an extra Sausage & Egg McMuffin.

Oh yeah.  Best. Breakfast. EVER.

10.  No flats and no mechanical issues on the bike.
11.  Hearing about how many people followed my race progress on-line.
12.  Finding out that sometimes a Trek 1500 can beat at Cervelo P3 to T2.
13.  Friends that drove all the way to Madison to watch me race, even though they knew they couldn't be there to watch me finish.  I'm lookin' at you Pat, Steve, Rem, Doc, Mork, Jim, Sarah and Madeline. 
14.  People that tell me that I inspire them.  I'm not looking to be anyone's hero.  But hearing that more folks are getting into tris and racing feels pretty sweet.

Speaking of fans, I want to thank some people specifically:

Jim - For getting me off my butt and inviting me to do RAGBRAI in 2008.  It got me into the whole endurance thing again.  Thank you.

Tim, Don and Cory - Some of my homies from the Twin Cities Spoke.  You pushed me to keep up my investment into training.  You know - putting in the consistent miles.

Beginner Triathlete -  A great site, with lots of helpful, supportive people who won't judge you, even when you have no idea what you're doing.

The folks at the Start Line and Gear West - Two great gear shops that take extra time to get you set up right.

Mom - For always cheering.  Oh and for watching the Bark 'n' Sniffer while we were out of town.

Dad, Kristi, Patsy, Ross and Becky - My parents and in-laws - for all their support even though it's not always easy to cheer for a grown man in spandex. 

And Finally - to The Wife, Megan:  You tolerate more than you should.  You scratch my back at night.  You wax my legs.  You let me hug you when I'm sweaty.  You take care of things around the house when I'm out for long bike rides.  You even woke up with me at 4am on race day.  I love ya Honey.