Road ID, Alpacha Day and Boot Camp!

Road ID
I finally broke down and got myself a road ID. I have been thinking about this for a while. I was running the other day in the dark and cars just do not see you. There have been mornings on my bike also where i think about what would happen if i was hit. If i could not talk for myself i would want the ER people to see my id. I do have certain med conditions that they need to know about before treating me. I also wonder sometimes when i am running very hard in a race what would happen if i just passed out or i fell of my bike and went unconscious etc.
I got the higher grade one in Yellow that goes on my wrist. I liked that they automatically donate some of the money to a charity and you get to pick which one. Because of this i got a yellow one and donated to Livestrong.
If you want more info go to www.roadid.com

Alpaca Day!
On a much less triathlon note i took my family over to Alpaca day! There is an Alpaca farm near my house and a few times a year they have an open house. Alpaca get a really bad rap. Unfortunately  people think they are just like Lamas. They think they are mean and spit and they are totally the opposite. They are extremely gentle and very shy. Emily had a great time feeding them. It is difficult to pet them as they are so shy. Your only chance is to pet them while you are hand feeding them.
In the USA they are farmed for there fleece which is 7x warmer and 3x stronger than wool (i might have those backwards). The store there had very cool gloves, hats, coats made from them. The fleece is not scratchy at all either.

Look at this crazy brown one i took a picture of. They were so gentle and Emily immediately wanted one as a pet. The owner said they do sell them as pets across the USA but we declined:)

They are not butchered for there meat which made me very happy to hear being a vegetarian.

Boot Camp
For lunchtimes at work some of  you may or may not know i do some crazy stuff. I have walked, lifted weights, Swam and even done some running on some of my 1 hour lunch breaks.
The new thing i have tried is lunchtime boot camp at my YMCA. This is super fun!
If you have never done it before this is how it typically goes. You start off by running or walking laps then they have all kinds of different exercises for you to do. They are always different to! Sometimes push ups, sit ups working with elastic ropes, medicine balls..just all kinds of things. Sometimes they make us run up and down the stairs but they keep you moving all the time. The 45 minutes go by so fast as you never get bored.
Also i like that they take us outside when the weather is still good. We will run over to a park and run hills, steps, use park equipment for routines, its just crazy and i like that about it.
They do it on Mon, Weds, and Friday.
Some people give up on exercise programs and working out because it gets boring. This sure is one way to shake it up. I am still doing my group rides and running. I have not been swimming much lately but i am starting to feel the swim itch too. I just got so burned out on swimming so much i have not done much lately.

Maywood Ride

UPDATE: Photos added.

So last Saturday was the May wood Ride in Sheboygan. I had intended on making this one 100 miler but there was a 70 mile option. The group i was riding with wanted to do the 70 miler.

I had been racing hard the last few weeks and i thought it would be nice to take this one slow and enjoy the rest stops. One of the ladies in our group waned to average about 15mph which is not to shabby for 70 miles.

As soon as we got there it started to thunder and lightning on us. It quickly passed but the road stayed very wet for the first hour of the ride. There was a mass start at 7.30 but we got going at 7.40am as this was not a timed event. This was much more of a tour than a race.

The hills were a little crazy! We were all glad we had picked the 70 mile route as there were huge hills. We stopped at every rest stop and i am sure i ate too many cookies. I got some photos on my other computer of this ride and i will get them up here as soon as i get a chance.UDATE: Photos have been Added

Not much time to work on the blog today. Have a fantastic weekend!!

Howdy!

Howdy!

So after the amazing group ride performance by me last week on Thursday i decided to try the Monday night group ride. This is intermediate. I felt all powerful and was ready to rock it. However i got up the first hill and my HR was 180Bpm. I was breathing so hard my lungs and throat were actually hurting. I wonder if this is what they mean when they talk about VO2 max levels? I know you can train to increase your Vo2 max and maybe this is kind of what they mean. Anyway by mile 6 i was being dropped something crazy!! By mile 9 the group was gone! I was doing 22mph and i am pretty sure they were doing 25 mph. No way i was going to keep up that pace for 28miles. So with my tail between my legs i rode back to the starting point and went home. Ah well. It was a good test. I think as i reach my goal weight this will help me be much faster and able to keep up.

Its getting cool in Wisconsin. Most of my morning ride to work have been in the below 40-45F already. On the way home i am hitting 58F.I like the cool ride home but the early ride is getting hard now. I have a hard time enjoying that temp as i am either too cold or too hot. Really good weather to run in though. I been doing early 4.30am run or either 40min to 1 hour depending on the day. Been running through Graveyards for extra spooky factor, thanks to Ransick for the suggestion. You can find Ransicks blog here : http://blog.ransick.org/

This time of year gives me  headaches too. I suffer from Migraines since i have been 8. I have been brain scanned and everything so don't worry. The only medicine i find that helps is Excedrin Migraine and i keep it everywhere in case of an emergency. It's in my cars, office desk, kitchen, travel bag, back pack and even in my kit on my bike!

Enjoy life,
I was thinking again on Sunday while doing yard work that you should try and enjoy as much in life as possible. I really wanted to go mountain biking on Sunday but had a mountain of yard work to do instead. This gets to me but i try and enjoy what i am doing. This is kind of a Zen thing. So i am stuck doing yard work no matter what, why hate it the whole time that your doing it? You have to do it anyway. So what i try and do is interact with it. I make myself enjoy it. It sounds weird but i have learned it is like a dance. When your doing a choir do just the choir. Do not put your mind somewhere else. Your body is an amazing thing when it interacts with the world around it. Its like dancing, you can dance with the yard work, dance with the dishes or whatever your doing. Not literally dancing but feel your body move with what your doing and enjoy that movement. I learned this from Bret at http://www.zentriathlon.com/

Upcoming:
Thanks to everyone at work i collected $75 in pledges for my first Century ride this Saturday in Sheyboygan. So i am all set to do my first 100 miles. I did 90 before so this is going to be interesting. Unusually i have 4 friends at my YMCA that are also going to be doing it so i wont have to go alone. I will be sure to take many pictures and give you a blog on it. Here is the link:

http://www.gomaywood.org/earthride.htm

If it is hot weather where you are enjoy it!!!!

A time to remember

I spent time this weekend thinking about the events of 9/11. I don't think at the time it all happened i really understood what a huge deal it was. It seems to fade a little more and more in our memories each year so i made sure i spent some time remembering this weekend. I watched some specials on History channel on it and dedicated my run to it. I ran 9.11 miles and kept my pace as close to 9.11 min/miles as i could which is hard for me, but i figure their families went through way more than that. This was an idea given to me by Kelownagurl. You can follow her blog here: http://kelownagurl.blogspot.com/

There is some controversy about Islam followers building something there right now but i wanted not to focus on that and remember those that lost their lives that day.

Watching some of the footage from that days events i saw the look on the Firemen faces as they were looking up at both towers on fire and the despair on there faces as they carried a hose probably thinking 'how are we going to fight that?'. Just as everyone was running away they were heading in to rescue people. Many of them never came out.

Also there is a hotel at the bottom of the two towers a Marriott that got 80% flattened. I didn't know about that building. Approx 40 people lost their lives in that hotel.

Group Ride.

Yesterday was group ride. In the past the group has dropped me at the last 10 miles or so. Once they are confident knowing i know my may back i get dropped.

I am pretty slow but we keep about 20mph average pace and i just have trouble holding on on the hills.
Yesterday went much better. I don't know if it is because i have been riding to work or if it is pushing myself much harder when running lately.

So here are the highlights

• Stayed with the group for the first 15 miles, really pushed up the hills hard and fast
• Enjoyed the cooler weather (62F) and enjoyed the ride but stayed focused keeping with the group even when it hurt
• Kept a close eye on my HR knowing it was OK to keep it at 130-140HR for 10-15 min stretches
• Had been riding my mountain bike hard all week so the road bike felt super fast
• Didn't chat too much with riders as i really had to focus

With 15 miles left i pushed hard and broke away! i wanted to get ahead as i figured they would catch me on hills. When i hit the biggie hills i powered up them fast, knowing the quicker i went up the quicker it would level out.

I looked back and i stayed way ahead! With about 3 miles to go they managed to reel me back in but i was fine with that. I stayed in the pelton the rest of the way.

Now don't get me wrong. For them it is a recovery ride and an easy day staying at 23mph. For me its all challenge.I sweat, i huff and puff but i kept up!

Oh i forgot to post August numbers:

August's totals:


Bike: 23h 35m - 389 Mi

Run: 11h 25m - 58.38 Mi

Swim: 2h 50m - 5950 Yd

Strength: 1h 25m

I am losing it

I purchased the above picture from race the lake as they were having a sale!. Its normally $25 for a digital image. Yes a printed is way cheaper but i can send this off to Walgreen's and do anything i want with it. Of course they had a labor dale sale and i got it for $20. I feel bad about spending that now. I still feel VERY weird about buying my own picture but figure i can put it up somewhere in my office for inspiration.

I am totally messed up this week because of Labor day (or Labour day as we Brits would say). First i missed my Weight Watcher weigh in on Tuesday as i thought it was on Wednesday and Wednesday was Tuesday etc.... so messed up.

Then today...I have group ride after work and i forget my pump allot. I am anal about air pressure in my tires and like to have it right at 125PSIG before i ride. SO i made extra sure i had it packed this morning. Got halfway to work and realised i forgot my bike! OMLG! (Oh my Lady GaGa) My wife called me as i left but i had my Black Berry still on silent.

Lets hope nothing else happens

More Mountain biking

Amid other duties to get m house ready for fall and winter (fall is very short in Wisconsin) i did manage to get some trail riding in this weekend. I am very lucky to live so close to some really nice trails that take you out to a beach with a light house on them. After spending way too much time on the roof this weekend i sneaked away for some time in the saddle! I took my camera along with me after finding it in my other bag to i could take some pictures for you all to see.

This is the river i have to cross to get out of my neighbourhood and make it the mere 3 miles to the trail. I took some action pictures this time as i was riding. Made sure it was very safe to do this so don't fear for me.

Hers next is some pictures of the trail:

I really like this shoot. You can see the fence they made but you also get a feel for the speed i am moving at. You can see this is an easy 2 wide trail and you can go fast on it. Just look out for hikers.

This is more of the single track trail that is a bit more challenging.

Over one of the many bridges on the trail.

This is a short part that comes out of the woods for a short section.

This is a short of my MP3 player i use on bike paths (not in traffic) it is so small i found the best place is to clip it on my shorts.

Here is me in a bright shirt! It is a good idea to wear something bright so the hikers see you coming.

At the end of the trail is a beach and you can see allot of people getting there fun on.

Hope you enjoyed!!!

Sat Triathlon YMCA

Sorry i had lost my camera fir a few days and have no pictures from this event! I have been running like crazy all week too. My Wife started college and my girls are going back to school next week so i have not got to do a race report until now much less a Podcast!

I have to tell you about the Sprint i did though!

This one is the most local Triathlon to me. It is at my local YMCA that i use a heck of alot in the winter and not so much in the summer.

The start time was 7am so i wanted to get there at 6am to i could talk to some friends i may see there. My 10yr old daughter Emily came with me to this one and i think this is the first time this year a family member came with me to a race. I was excited to have her there and she could play in the Y while on was out the course.

I set up my stuff and chatted with some friends. I had had a huge battle in my head the last two weeks about using a wetsuit for this one. The problem is i do not have one right now. I had rented for 2 triathlons earlier in the year but because i rented a special size 2XU from wetsuit rentals they said i could not buy it from them as it was made just for them. I didn't want to buy a suit this late in the season as i am hoping it would be to big by next year.
Anyway....i used my 2XU tri suit and went down to the water. It was 68F which felt cold to me after using my wet suit alot this year but it was manageable. I was in the second wave as i had entered a few weeks before.
I didn't eat anything before the race as i know what my stomach is like now! I did pack a GU gel in the bike and some water.
Temps today were going to be 65-75F sunny and no wind. Perfect!

Swim 7:22 (1/4 Mile)
Time to go...i set off with Emily cheering me (that was really nice to have!) and got my swim on. I sighted well and draughted a bit. A pretty uneventful swim but i was glad i didn't buy a wet suit. I remember getting out the water and thinking..that's sad this is probably my last Triathlon this year. I had a swim time of 7:22. Fairly quick but nothing to crazy. Some of the winners were at 4 mins!

T1 2:27
No wetsuit to take off this time so it was just swim cap, goggles. I did put socks on which i had put a bunch of talc powder in before hand so my feet would slip into very easily. Put on my cycle shoes (three straps) and ran out with my bike and helmet on.
I need to start learning to leave bike shoes on the pedals and ride on top of them with no socks. I think that could shave off 45-60 seconds here.

Bike 48:57 (16 mile)
I went all out and didn't hold back for the run. My HR was in 140-150 range and i kept it there. There were a good amount of hills and i averaged over 19mph. One or 2 people overtook me at the start but i reeled them back in. I LOVE sprints now. It is grit your teeth and get it done. I read a quote from Eddie Mercx i think 'it does not get easier you just get faster' This is SO true!!! I work just as hard as i used to i just go faster. If your new in Triathlons or biking hang in there the speed will come (not that i am that fast!)
My group rides really helped me with the speed here. I am nearly always at the back gritting my teeth to keep up while the rest of the group cruises along but it makes you so much stronger.
Halfway through the bike i sucked down a GU Gel and some water. I did this tri 2 years ago and i was overtaken alot. Sure was nice to be the one overtaking! I loved being in the second wave as well as i could see everyone coming at the turnaround. I used the whole road on my cornering to keep my speed up.

T2 - 0:53
Came to the dismount area. Stopped, unclipped and ran my bike in. Threw my bike shoes/helmet off and running shoes on. Socks were already on. Again learning to unstrap and pedal on top of my shoes would speed things up here up maybe 10-15 seconds. Plus jumping off and running is something i need to learn and practice.

Run 26:22 (5k)
Started out in about the 130Hr zone to get moving. Had no shaky legs. I am really used to coming off the bike now. at 1k after i felt ok i speed up a little. I started to get caught by the people i had passed on the bike as i am a slow runner. I hit the turnaround point and got a huge smile on my face. I always know if i smile even if i don't feel like it i will speed up after a while and enjoy myself. Sure enough my stride lengthened. I put into practice all i have learned about leaning forward slightly, taking longer strides but keeping a fast cadence and running off my toes making sure i was not landing on my heels. Only about 5 people over took me. I had a fast (for me) 5k. I seem to do well with my 5k time after a bike now. I finished strong and found my daughter.

Now here is some controversial stuff.

I had entered Clydesdale division and did not hang around to see if i placed as i assumed i would not as normal. I went home. I found out online that my total time was 1hr 25:59.
This was good enough for first place!! First time i have EVER placed. 1st out of 10 Clydesdale's. And 15 seconds over 2nd place!
To my horror i found out they had entered me into the men 35-39 age group!! aghhhhhhhh!. I came 8th out of 16 in that one. I did send an email to them but i know there is probably nothing they can do.
I am still considering it a win. IS this wrong? I am not sure. Clydesdale division is men over 200 pounds. i am about 226 right now. All the men in 35-39 are 140-180 lean mean speed crazy men. I feel kind of weird about saying i won my division but i did win the division i entered. I will let you know if the organization changes it.