Back By Popular Demand: More Me!

Yeah, okay, I am just kidding, although, it feels like forever since I have written my last blog post. The truth is—aside from being incredibly busy right now ramping up for the semester—I have been gearing up for this little Ironman thing in Sandusky, and putting time in the bank at home.


Here is the update (some exciting training happening lately—especially in the swim!)

Tallest newlyweds on Earth, Ryan and Kate.
Congratulations!

Okay, after I got back from Canada I have been pretty religious about training, almost manic. I have had to mix things up a little bit on account of my brother-in-law getting married this past weekend. How selfish can a guy be? I mean, really... to schedule his wedding right around the time that I am peaking for Ironman. What the heck?! Did I mention that my brother-in-law is the tallest human being on planet Earth? Not really, but at 6'10 (182.88 cm,) he definitely has no trouble getting your frisbee out of that tree. His wife, Kate, a mere 5'11 (as is my wife,) had a bridal party of sequoia-like ex-basketball players that rounded out the tallest wedding party in recent family history. 

Stella and me rocking it out at the wedding.
What the heck is with my tie?

This also marked two family functions out of town in two consecutive weekends. This can really put a damper on someone's training for Ironman. But, then for a little inspiration, I always revert back to the greatest film ever made about lasers liquidating human targets from outer space–Real Genius. It was Val Kilmer in his Oscar-worthy performance of Chris Knight who said, "...but these little set-backs are just we need to take a giant step forward." Instead of fretting/freaking out/panicking/throwing myself off a ravine over not being around to gear-up and head out for my normal workout because of my brother-in law's wedding, I decided I would just ride my bike to my brother-in-law's wedding. Actually, the wedding was only forty miles away. I say only forty miles away, which completely cracked Adam and me up when I told him that, because three years ago, forty miles might as well have been forty light years away. Now, I think to myself, how can I make getting there around 70 to 80 miles? Ah-ha! Google maps! If you have not used Google maps yet, my guess is you do not travel anywhere but from work to home, live on a commune, Caprica (for all you Battlestar Galactica fans,) or just do not understand the amazing tool that it is. You an plot out bike specific courses, and automatically change routes just by dragging it from one street to the next. Useful. When it was all said and done, I ended up making my forty mile bike ride about 72 miles long. My family had just arrived by car about a half hour before me and everyone was revved and ready to hit the beach for our pre-wedding day craziness swim. The wedding was in Sodus Point, New York, home of the small and well organized Sodus Point Triathlon. Wouldn't you know it, much to my surprise and delight, it was race weekend. I know what your thinking. I did pack my wetsuit in the car. I rode my bike there. I went out for a recovery run the next day. I was primed and ready to take part, right?  Not if I want to stay married. I "jokingly" told my wife about the triathlon SUNDAY morning, after the wedding day fun. My wife was in the wedding, so I got to spend mucho time on Friday and Saturday with the kiddies. After the rehearsal dinner Friday night, wifey went back to the party for more dancing and adult beverages. I was whooped. I did not mind going back to the cottage we were renting, putting the kids in bed, and getting myself in bed shortly there after. Nor did I mind getting everyone in bed Saturday night. I can barely stay up past 11 o'clock anymore. If I do, I am usually in my bed typing some lame blog post that six people might read. But I digress. 

On Saturday morning, I took the kids to the beach while Alaina was getting her hair done. That's Julian way out there with grandpa. The water was pretty nice Saturday. Plus, it was really warm out, so it was refreshing. This was not to be the case Sunday morning. Every once in a while, I think about trading in my long sleeve wetsuit for a sleeveless. I mean, it would be ideal to have both, so that you could decide during training and race morning which one you would want to wear. Swimmers—which I am not—really like the short sleeves so that they can "feel the water," whatever the heck that means. Crazy swimmers. Unfortunately for everyone running the triathlon the next morning, the lake turned over later that afternoon, and the temperature started to drop—dramatically! When I first got out to the beach race morning, the temperature of the water was 60 degrees fahrenheit (15 celsius) and dropping. In fact, when the gun went off, the temperature was a bone-chilling 56 degrees. The race director said that had the temperature dropped to 55 degrees, they would have cancelled the swim altogether. Kudos to the race directors who had the presence of mind to shorten the swim course race morning. I would like to also acknowledge the brave young lifeguards who paddled out on their surfboards sans wetsuits to keep athletes from drowning. How they would have handled not getting hypothermia is beyond me. I have never seen so many people turn around during a swim and head back to shore during a swim. When the water is that cold, it feels like your face is stinging the whole time. It is difficult to even catch your breath. 

Amy with all the boys still chasing her down
on the run. Nice job Amy!

One of my friends, Jackie, had to turn around and come back. She was completely bummed out. I told her not to even worry.  She had a sleeveless suit on, and her skin was purple for the five minutes she was actually in the water. 20% of the athletes did not finish the swim. The water was 51 degrees at the turn around. My  friend, Amy, was first out of the water. As she was exiting, she looked over at her husband and me standing at the swim exit and said "... that was the coldest %#*&! swim EVER!" I believe her. It is amazing what one day will do.


Speaking of swimming, I had some really great swim workouts the past week. I skipped my normal Sunday workout  to watch the triathlon, but Monday I went to Canandaigua Lake (one of western New York's Finger Lakes,) for two loops around the buoys. The water is pretty choppy, and I was pretty spent still from the weekend, but I got it done:


1.9 miles in 56 minutes


Adam and I went out for a swim on Wednesday. Less choppy, and I did the same course in 45 minutes. That was a PB for me. We followed it up with a nice 8 mile run. The first part of the run was all uphill out of the bluff. I thought it was never, ever going to end.

I know what you're thinking. How odd that neither of us
have shirts on. 

I ended up swimming today. While down at the lake, I ran into my blogger buddy Alexa. She said she was going to swim for 45 minutes. I said, "perfect, let's do two loops." She gave me a look, and insisted that we—but really she meant me could not swim two loops in 45 minutes. Ah, that sounds like a challenge. Having just done it the day before I was pretty confident I could swim around the same pace. Sure enough, when the lake is just right (i.e. no wind, waves, or choppiness to speak of,) I can move a little faster than a gorilla in the water—not much faster. I am remembering my recent lesson with coach Jack, who told me that if all else fails, keep your head relaxed, reach far, and stay relaxed in the water. It is starting to pay dividends. Ah, swimming!  How I love to hate you until it starts going well again, and then you bring me back in. Why? Why do you do this to me?!

Okay, that's about it. Oh, and my wifey picked mucho basil out of our garden to make some pesto this week. 


Awesomeness!
























Okay, more soon. Train Smart!

Invest In Youth: Racing For My Community

Wow!  So much has been happening this week. I do have some big news to announce:

I am really fortunate to belong to my local YMCA. It is a great organization. The hombre at the helm  is unbelievably encouraging, supportive, friendly, and present. I think the latter is the most important. He is often found at the front desk with his staff, meeting, greeting and talking with members, getting to know them, their health concerns and fitness goals. That attitude trickles down the line from everyone to his administrative staff, support staff, cleaning crew, and members. I should also tell you that my wife and I really value the atmosphere of the YMCA as compared to other options that we have investigated. As a faculty member at a university, I enjoy a membership at our sports facilities for a fraction of what it might cost for my family membership at the YMCA, but I also receive a lot less. First of all, there is no child care at the university. A family membership there means I could bring my children to the weight room and to the pool once they turn sixteen. With fourteen years left to go until my youngest turns sixteen, I think we will continue to be YMCA members. More importantly, I have managed to forge great relationships with  folks that I have met at the YMCA. With the exception of Adam, all my training partners—and crankskin.com team members—were guys that I first met at the Y while training. We all chose the YMCA for similar reasons: member programs, child care, youth sports, fellowship.

With that said, there are a lot of families in my community that are just not able to afford the services and programs that the YMCA provides. This is really unfortunate. Four of my children have taken part in YMCA youth sports programs, as well as swim lessons.  Luca and Julian have participated in multiple sports programs. The experiences from their perspective have always been overwhelmingly positive.
It was at our local YMCA, that my son Luca, first developed his passion for sports, and had some really great coaching to encourage a positive attitude concerning competition. Because I believe—as does the YMCA—that all children should be able to participate and enjoy the programs and services the YMCA provides, regardless of their economic circumstance, I have decided to race Ironman to raising money for the YMCA's Invest In Youth Campaign. I am placing a widget on my page permanently that looks like this:


 
If clicking the widget does not work, you can go to: https://www.rochesterymca.org/giving/Transaction/EmailDonation/134

I know we are all strapped for dough these days—okay, speaking for myself right now—but even if you could donate one dollar, that would be awesome!


Training has gone amazingly well this week. I have hit all three weekly swim workouts for the first time in over a month. I have managed to fit in strength and cardiovascular training in every day as well. Yesterday I hit chest:

4x12 reps of bench press
4x10 reps of incline bench press
4x10 reps of dumbbell flys

Then I got in the pool for my workout:

Warm Up: 8x (50 swim 25 kick)
Main Set: 24x50 w/ 10 sec rest
Cool Down: 5x100 (middle choice)
= 2300 yards

This morning's swim workout:


600 S
2 sets of 4x50 w/10 sec rest
Main Set: 12x100@75% straight into:
5x100@85%
Cool Down: 300 S
=3000 yards


I feel pretty good. I am eating like a horse... a small horse. I am really making a concerted effort to take in a lot of more protein after my workouts lately by means of supplements.

Cousin Matthew came up on  Sunday evening. He came in at 251 pounds and is already making some serious progress, losing 3 pounds in 3 days. His first visit with us was two summers ago,  and my wife and I helped him take off 72 pounds during one summer stay. The anecdote?  Eat less, eat decent foods, exercise more, drink plenty of water. No mystery to me. His only transportation this summer—aside from the rides he takes with me on errands—will be his bike and his own two feet. I plan on having him use plenty of those two this summer. I am trying something new that I hope to blog about in the next few weeks and months while he is here. We are taking a picture of him every day that he is here, as well as documenting every meal he eats by taking pictures. It is really hard to do. I don't always remember to bring my camera everywhere we go. With our crazy lives, it is just one more thing to have to think about. Feel super great about kicking his butt this week. He is a bit sore after day three, but he'll thank me at the end of the summer. More updates to follow.

Other super Duper Cool News:  RunnerDude over at RunnerDude's Blog  is going to feature me as his runner of the week in an upcoming post. Me!  For those of you who have not checked out his blog yet, do so. This guy is the real deal. Good information, insight, encouraging, inclusive, and has a running resume vitae as long as the American Constitution. I am in the process of fielding some questions. I will post a link to the post once I am on there. Pretty nifty, eh?

Okay... that's all for now. Still waiting on my new rig. It should get here sometime next week. I have to think of something to name her. Any suggestions? Pegasus? Too Greek. You can check out the full specs on the rig here.

More soon, Happy Training!

10 More Days!

Only 10 Days left until I raffle off a Timex Ironman Race Trainer Kit provided courtesy of Timex.

You have up to four chances to win the watch just by:

1)  Be a follower of my blog, leave a separate comment letting me know

who you are. (1 entry) 

2) Become a fan of Timex Sports on Facebook (nudge, nudge-wink, wink) Leave a separate comment letting me know.

(1 entry)

3) Post this contest on your blog, leave a separate comment letting me

know you've done so. (1 entry)

4) Go to the Timex website and then come back and leave a comment

telling me which products you like AND when you would wear it. (1 entry) 

Training: I had a pretty good morning workout: 1900 yard swim followed by a 40 minute (5 mile) run. My swim was suppose to be 500 yards more, but I somehow read the workout incorrectly, or did I?  Off to bed here right away. I have another early morning session planned: a one hour swim at 6:00 a.m. I hope the water temperature is not ridiculously warm like it was this morning. It literally felt like I was climbing in my bath tub.

Looking forward to getting my NEW Kinetic Fluid Road Trainer next week. Nothing is worse than having to perform a long indoor bike workout on a spinning cycle. Looking at this weekend's 2:45 minute ride was all the incentive I needed to order one. My butt usually falls asleep just about midway through, which of course means, that it is going to be up all night. I don't even know what that means. I'm tired and apparently delusional. I need sleep.

Oh, yes... almost forgot. The Luke Skywalker/Bytterfly picture turned out great. My friend Cristina said that I do not quite look mean enough. She suggested I work on my "vicious soulless hunter look." She said I look a little too much "spaghetti and meatballs." I'll work on looking less Italian Cristina.

Train Smart!

Post-Bedtime Traumatic Caveman Disorder

Phew! We had a pretty nice Monday morning swim. After an 800 warm up, we did 5x300 with 20 seconds rest in between. We finished with a 200 warm down. The swim stroke is feeling a bit better these days and my swimming endurance has improved tremendously, but I am still not, nor do I think I will I ever be, a swimmer. When I started all this triathlon nonsense—as my wife sometimes affectionately refers to it—I really could not swim a lick. I don't even think I swam a thousand yards in preparation for my first sprint triathlon. I underestimated how difficult the run was going to be. I was running six miles two or three times a week, thinking "...heck, the run will be cake." Not after a 24 minute swim and a 17-mile trek on a mountain bike with a front suspension fork. Although, now that bike ride would would be excellent training. The most difficult part of training is still the hidden variable of being a father. By the time we get all the kiddies in bed—sometimes it is real work—it is approaching nine o'clock. Alaina and I are usually spent and need time to unwind. Most times we will recharge with one another, but we have been known to go into our individual caves and get the fuzziness out of heads for a half hour before we can even begin to communicate using things other than grunts and moans. This "fuzziness" is something that I like to refer to as "Post-Bedtime Traumatic Caveman Disorder." This is a serious and common affliction that should not be taken lightly. As many as... every parent suffers from this disorder, whether they know it, or believe it. Seriously, the kiddies can really tap you. My theory is that our kids have so much energy because they steal it from us.

Generally, parents embrace that time with their partners. As humans, we need that time. That is why I am still getting in bed a bit later than I would like. I like to pretend I am still marginally connected with the outside world when I am done wrestling all five of my kids. Coincidentally, the boys might be bigger, but those girls are pretty squirrely and have no fear. They also think nothing of it running full speed and crashing their knees down in your stomach after dinner. Lovely. A premature post-bedtime traumatic caveman syndrome (PBTCD) sound is usually uttered: "Huuuuaaaaggghh!" Good thing I have been working those core muscles. If only getting punched in the gut without warning were part of the transition process, I would be completely prepared for it.

I am already looking forward to Friday when we have a tough 3200 swim again. What make this one especially tough is the main set is 2x1000. Dreary folks, dreary. My form starts to slip a tad (by a tad, I mean, it starts to look like I may be in need of some assistance from the lifeguards) after the first thousand and I have to be conscious of it, otherwise I start slowing down, and it just takes that much longer. Okay, off to battle. Happy Training everyone!

Iron Reflections: 3 Weeks In

Who the hell knew training for Ironman was going to be this difficult? Someone forgot to tell me just how grueling this training volume actually is... and I am barely getting my feet wet. Well, it seems like I have been getting my feet a lot more wet than usual as of late. The swim workouts are not feeling quite as difficult as they once did. I remember when a 2200 yard swim workout use to be excruciatingly long and difficult. Now, it is only sometimes, excruciatingly boring. Although, I have to say that Wednesday's swim workout was actually a lot of fun. Today I swam 3200 yards. Last year, the longest swim Adam and I had in preparation for the Half Iron was 3000 yards. It took us nearly an hour and some change. We swam the 3200 yards today in approximately 45 minutes. I don't believe I am actually going to say this, but.... I think, rather, yes, I know I actually like swimming now. It pains me to say it. It took me four years to come around. Swimming is no longer this thing that I have to do to train for triathlons, but something I enjoy doing as part of my training.

The most difficult part of training, still, is getting my butt out of bed at 4:45. That hour still seems scorchingly obscene for some reason. I feel great once I get my first hundred or so in at around 6:00 a.m., but even walking into the Y at 5:55, I am still barely awake. At the end of each week I have been pretty fatigued from the workouts, managing five kids, and composing. I have managed to hold up to my end of the bargain with the wifey and have all of my workouts finished before 8:00 a.m. Of course, like I've said before, Alaina understands that I can not really go out for long rides and be home before 8:00 a.m. unless I leave by 4:00 a.m. That is certainly not going to happen!

I missed one day this week because I came down with the stomach bug. I could always use my rest day—tomorrow—to catch up on that workout, but I have heard that is not a good idea. I will use the time off to rest, write music, and spend some extra time with the kiddies. Wow, I love rest days.

My training group's morale is still very high. We are all pretty excited to be training, but we'll need each other to keep our spirits high throughout the season when we are out there suffering, er... enjoying our 5 hour bike rides, three hour runs, and trying to work out our nutritional needs.

More soon. Happy Training!

IRON TRAINING: Some Perspective Three Days In

I wanted to title this post something dramatic, like... "It Has Begun," or "250 Days to 140.6," but I decided that would make the author sound a bit like a megalomanic. Admittedly, I did scour the internet  trying to find a James Earl Jones voice emulator and have it read back my post. That would have been cool. A close second would have been  to hire that guy who use to do all the old NFL films with that epic music playing in the background that sounded like it was right out some Greek or Roman epic with swords abound. It would be even cooler if I had Adam take video clips of me in the first few days of training and I could play them back in slow motion, watching the sweat drip off my brow as it were being read. I guess that is kind of how I am feeling as I start out my training this week—like an indestructible, pain-free, injury-free athlete. You know.. like some sort of gladiator.

Adam and I are officially on day three of training for the Rev3 iron distance triathlon at Cedar Point on 12 September, 2010—my birthday. Already, this plan has been much more intense than the half-iron training last summer—duh!  Day two already had us doing a 50 minute bike workout followed by a half hour run. I know, pretty low volume compared to what we are going to be doing, but way more than we did by the third week of training for our half. My legs felt pretty decent during that  initial workout, and I got to try out my new Timex Race Trainer watch and heart rate monitor. I am digging the watch big time, but I will share my thoughts on that in a separate post.

Our swim workouts Monday and today were pretty fun, if you consider a lot of one arm crawl fun. I had not swam with one arm since the months following my shoulder dislocation last March, even then it was mostly breast stroke. Pulling with just my left arm on the first full day of training was brutal. When I was not stopping half way through the pool because I was drowning, and my heart rate had exceeded my threshold limit, I would hit the hall sucking in air as quickly as possible.  Luckily, Adam and I have been swimming with Vanessa's father, Doug, a one-time—and not too shabby now—competitive swimmer. In case you need any reminding, Vanessa is my running buddy who trained a group of us triathletes for our half-iron run. Doug has shown up to our workouts and has given us some pretty knowledgeable feedback on how to make those pulls more efficient. Today was much easier. I was much more relaxed in the pool and let those left armed pulls happen. Although, apparently I did acquire the nickname "Lucky Fin" from the guards on duty this morning as I was later told. Apparently the similarities are striking.

The hardest part of training thus far has been remembering to go to bed early enough to wake up at 4:45 and get my butt to the gym by 6:00 a.m. to start training. It is difficult at first, but necessary, and after just a couple of weeks it becomes a pretty welcome routine. It is necessary because if I would like to stay married, I really need to get all my training done before 8:00 a.m. The wifey is great though, I have to admit. As the summer creeps up, she allows/tolerates the occasional mid-morning/afternoon bike ride.

Much more soon. Happy Training!

A Banana A Day Keeps the Swim Cramps Away

I had a fifty minute spin workout today followed immediately by a swim workout in the pool that was suppose to be 2900 yards. I do this every Sunday. The yardage varies between 2500-3500 yards. I went hard on the bike and felt great, but when I got to the swim, I started noticing a little bit of fatigue pushing off of the wall. That fatigue  turned into a severe muscle cramp in the middle of my right hamstring that left it frozen stiff and unable to bend. The warning signs were there each time I pushed off the wall. It is amazing how much I learn every workout I have. What I learned this time around was to make sure I get some calories and fluids in my body before starting my workouts. For breakfast—the most important meal of the day—I had a small bowl of Grape Nuts and a cup of coffee. Yikes!  I should really know better, but for some reason I think that I should be able to skimp on my nutrition and get out there and perform well. A friend of mine, a super-duper athlete who wins a lot of regional sprint and olympic distance triathlons asked me if I had a banana this morning. I said no. She said, "You see, just have your banana next time and you'll be fine." Sure, I get it, potassium. I've done an exhausted amount of reading on the relationship between potassium and muscle endurance. There is some evidence to suggest that the relationship is beneficial. However, the amount of potassium you get from one banana does not come close to one serving of orange juice, or a potassium supplement. Then of course, there is GU, Hammer Gels, etc. that have some potassium in them. My only guess is that I did not have enough fuel in the engine again and was not properly hydrated. It is always embarrassing to have to bag a workout midway through, but I do it sometimes because it is just not there. Look, I know what I said last post about finishing. If it were Kona, I would swim with one leg, but it wasn't. So, I will start eating bananas before my workouts again. There was a time when I was eating quite a bit of them. I never had cramps. Coincidence? Perhaps, or is yet another Time Life Mystery of the Unknown? In any event, I did a good amount of swimming (6000 yards) and running (30 miles) this week. Starting to ramp up and the knees feel good. I am looking to prevent any cramping due to dehydration this week.


Oh, and I am looking at purchasing a bike trainer, new or used. Any suggestions? 

14 Pounds Till New Year

Eight years ago, I put on 14 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. For those of you looking to "beef up" this holiday season, here is the training regimen I recommend:

• Eat a second dinner late at night—usually between 10 or 11:00 p.m. I am not talking a little "snack," but rather leftover turkey with all the holiday fixings; mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, etc

• Drink Guinness Stout and Bailey's Irish Cream indiscriminately at all hours of the day.

• Watch as many football games and bad holiday movies as you can withstand, while sitting on the couch ingesting copious amounts of the aforementioned turkey and beverages.

• Your exercise regimen should include getting to the gym at least once or twice a week, fraternizing with as many acquaintances as possible while working in some abs to counter the effects of the Guinness.

• Only weigh yourself after you know that you may have done irreversible damage. It does no good to weigh yourself through the process, should the overwhelming sense of guilt lead to some premature consciousness along the way, ruining your holiday weight gain.

Here come the holidays. Tis' the season to eat cookies, drink excessively, and delve into the abyss. Let's not go there this year! My goal, as is my challenge to all of you is to shed a pound or two this holiday season (I am being realistic here, c'mon.) I am no saint, we all indulge in a little holiday excess, but knowing is half the battle. Find a Turkey Trot, do some extra laps in the pool, take an extra spinning class a week, but get out there and don't let the holidays dictate your weight.

Great Masters Swim Workout this Sunday:

100 S

100 K

100 P

100 S

50 Sprint

100 Easy

150 Sprint

200 Easy X2

150 Sprint

100 Easy

50 Sprint

150 S

150 K

150 P

=2450