Monday, May 05, 2008

PolarBear Triathlon

My race went ok but overall I felt pretty crappy though.
I didn't like the fact that I had to wait till 11am before I started.
I had some ensure at 6am and then a bottle of heed/carbo pro that I sipped on for the rest of the morning.
I didn't get to do a warm up for the swim, don't know how much that would have mattered, I did spin for a bit on the bike and then did a few laps on the track in the field house.

The pool swim I thought went pretty well. I didn't go out to hard at first and tried to keep a steady hard pace. The first 100 I did in 1:25 and the second I did in 1:30. The rest of the 525 I kept a pace a little over 1:30 and hit the wall at 8:25. I then tried to push myself out of the pool, slipped, fell hard on my knee on the lip and now I have a major egg on the side of my knee the size of a golf ball. It is very painful. I didn't feel it during the race but afterwards I could barely walk. The second attempt I pretty much just rolled out onto my stomach and flopped around for a bit. I looked like a beached whale. It took me a long time to get to the first T1 after seeing my total swim time.

T1 went well. I but on my shoes, helmet, glasses and was off. I didn't put on the arm warmers. They were all ready soaked. When I got to the red line in the road I mounted my bike and then they said I had to go to the yellow line. WTF. So I got back off ran to the yellow line, which was 10' further and then got on the bike.
On the bike I felt horrible. I just couldn't get my watts up. I was cold and my legs felt like big loads of crap. I could only hold FTP for a few minutes and then my watts would drop off. I tried all the time to keep them up but just had a hard time. I was mostly able to just hold 85% or so. The roads were still wet which made cornering hard. I passed the only other guy out on course from my wave and then started to catch people from the previous waves. After 20min or so I felt a bit better but by now the ride was almost done. As I turned onto the last road I began to take my feet out of my shoes. I practiced this once during the week but haven't really got comfortable doing it yet. I was able to get them out but had to slow down a lot. I was afraid of stubbing my feet when I dismounted so I almost came to a stop. I need to work on this a bit.

I ran to T2, took my helmet and glasses off, put on my shoes and grabbed my race number. I was very cold at this point, couldn't feel my feet or hands but was happy to be running and warming back up. I ran hard but after a few minutes, about the time I hit Main St. I got a major stitch in my right side. It hurt bad. It was so bad I was holding my breath just be able to move and continue running. I tried to relax but nothing worked. I slow down a bit and once I hit the first aid station it was better but not gone. I was able to pick up the pace again and didn't have to hold my breath just to move. The woods section was ok. I was watching out for roots and stuff which I think slowed me down plus when I hit the second lap I got the major pain back in my right side. I just tried to forget about it and run. Once I hit the grass again I really pushed hard and when I could see the finish line I sprinted to the line. Once crossed I was so dizzy, couldn't walk straight, and couldn't breath. I was also very cold. Jeff and Alan were there waiting and pretty much held me up so I would fall over.

I then went inside, to get warm and food. I was starving. Even after getting clothes on I was still cold and started to turn purple again. I did not want to repeat Lobsterman again. I could barely walk at this point because my leg hurt so bad. I didn't know what I did but figured it was from the slip at the pool. Everyone who saw me was worried because I was so cold but I never got the uncontrollable shivers like at Lobsterman so I figured I'd be ok. I ended up 3rd in my age group and 14th overall. I would have liked to have broken 1hr but for being my first triathlon that I have ever did I guess I can't complain that much. I loved racing and the venue is great. I just didn't like having to wait so long to start. I defiantly want to do it again.

Sunday I slept in, skipped the Freeport TT, I just didn't want to get cold again and get hypothermia. I was pretty lame all day and my knee killed. I applied lots of ice but it just kept swelling. I've got a nice bump on the side of it which is pretty tender. I also have a bunch of other bruises on my legs. I guess I really did fall hard trying to get out of the pool. I'm sure I looked pretty funny rolling around the pool deck. I wonder if there is a picture of that somewhere out there.

Result

Swim = 8:58.7 (51 out of 182)
Bike, T1, & T2 = 30:50.4 (6 out of 182)
Run = 20:46.5 (23 out of 182)
Overall = 1:00:35.70 (12 male out of 182 and 14 overall out of 463 total)
3rd in age group
Full Results
http://live-timing.com/report.php?r=8892&rp=7320

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Week of 03/10/2008

My training summery for the week of 03/10/2008 was:

Planned Time = 12:00 hrs
Actual Time = 12:11 hrs
Calories Burned = 9,163 kj
Swim = 8,850 yd = 5.03 miles
Bike = 111.21 mi
Run = 25.03 mi

The Good

Didn't have to many good workouts this week. Saturday's and Sunday's went pretty well but other than that the rest of them sucked.

I also went to Palm Sunday service and it was really neat. We started off in the chapel and got our palms blessed by the bishop. Then we proceeded to the sanctuary to continue with the mass. After service Megan and I went back to her house to celebrate her Mom's birthday. We had a wonderful meal prepared by Megan and I made my family secrete chocolate sauce to be laid over frozen yogurt and topped with strawberries. It was really cool to be able to celebrate this day with Megan's family and I had a lot of fun. I also got to cut off most of her brothers hair. He had hair so long it almost touched his chin on all sides. I brought out the clippers and cut it down to 1". Now that was fun. Kind of made a mess of though. I got hair everywhere. See below for some of the photo's from the day.


Megan, Beth (Birthday Girl) , and Rick at the Birthday party



Now that is my kind of Birthday cake


Went to the beach for a walk with my honey, Megan.

Eric before the haircut Megan and I gave him

After!!


The Bad

The beginning of this week was also very stressful at work. We had a project going out to bid and I had to put in a few long days. It did finally go out and it felt good to get that off my desk but guess what there are some major design changes happening and they aren't good. I hate going out to bid early especially before we get all of the approvals from the town.

Sunday's XC-Ski race up Mt. Washington really took it's toll on me. It affected a lot of this weeks workouts. I was still very fatigued and sore for most of the week. Because of this I had a lot of bad workouts were I suffered physically and mentally. I was getting frustrated that I didn't feel well and was getting emotionally down. I had migraines, bloody noses, major gi/intestinal issues during my runs. Had very slow swim workouts also. Wednesday's bike workout I couldn't even do the prescribed workout. I just couldn't get my watts up and my HR was low. I was just having a tough time. I was getting frustrated also.

The Ugly

I had some really bad workouts like I mentioned above and got really down on myself. The only thing that kept me going was Megan. She lifted my spirits every time I saw her and really made me feel better. Without here I wouldn't know what I would do. I love her so much.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Week of 03/03/2008

My training summery for the week of 03/03/2008 was:
Planned Time = 9:20 hrs
Actual Time = 8:56 hrs
Calories Burned = 6,662 kj
Swim = 5,250 yd = 2.98 mi
Bike = 50.48 mi  
Run = 24.76 mi  
XC-Ski = 10.74 mi
 
The Good
 
Had a few very good runs during the week.  Almost got run over by a tractor trailer but other than that I had some low pace times.  Right around 7:12-7:15.
Went to a really cool movie night with friends where we watched Father Ted Season 1 episodes.  Who is Father Ted you ask well I took this from their website which explains it all.
 
Who is Father Ted?
Father Ted Crilly is an Irish priest who lives in a parochial house on possibly the worst place on Earth, Craggy Island which is situated off the west coast of Ireland. He doesn't live alone though. Living with him is Father Jack Hackett, an old priest with an alcohol problem and a particular liking for the words: arse, drink, girls and feck. The third and final priest who lives with him is Father Dougal Mcguire, a relatively young... and very dim priest. How he got into the priest hood is a mystery. And of course, every priest needs "a nice cup of tea" so they have a housekeeper, Mrs. Doyle. She's unique in every way and a one off, (which is probably a good thing). what she lacks in a life, she makes up in tea.
 
It is a very funny show that aired in the UK but is available in the US on DVD.  A must see if you want some good religious humor.
This week I also went to my monthly Team Nor'Easter meeting where I got to check out the new clothing and get all sized up.  We are going to be very spiffy.
 
On Sunday I went to Great Glen Trails to compete in the XC-Ski race "Ski to the Clouds". 
This is a mass start race where we ski on the trail system for 4k and then ski up the Mt. Washington Auto Road for 6k.  We were able to either do it freestyle or classic style.  I opted for skate.  Trying to determing kick wax for this 2,200 ft of vertical climbing in the last 6k was just be daunting.  I checked the weather and talked to the local wax pro and put SKIGO LF8 on my skis which turned out to be totally wrong.  They were predicting temps 25-30 degrees but it turned out a lot colder.  Plus as we climbed the Mt. the temps dropped fast.  I didn't rewax but just took what I had and dealt with it.
 
The weekends weather almost killed this event.  On Saturday they received heavy rains.  Race day greated me with really strong winds. Due to the very high winds the race organizers were forced to shorten it to 8k due to the icy surface at the planned race finish area.  There were 70 who started this huge endevor.  There were a lot of Portland, ME skiers who attemtped this feat.  The start was a cluster and I ended up being behind a lot of slow people with no passing room.  I lost some time in the 4k trails but once I hit the climb I really laid it on took a good, fast steady pace.  I passed a lot of skiers on the way up.  The slope was very steep and there were a few spots where I was pretty much just walking the skis up the hill.  I wanted to stop and rest many times since my legs were just on fire but I knew if I stopped I wouldn't get going again.  I managed to finish strong and finished 14th overall out of 70.  I also got 3rd in my age bracket.  After finishing they had some food at the top but then we had to ski back down.  Now at this point my legs were toast and we had xc-skies, not downhill.  I think the ski down was just as hard as the race up.  I had to snowplow / stop turn the whole way down.  It took forever plus it was freezing.  By the time I got down I could barely walk and felt exhausted.  This was the hardest XC-Ski race that I have ever done.  I loved the event, the people at Great Glen are excellent and they know how to put on an awesome race.  After getting food and changing they had awards and a raffle.  There were tons of items to raffle off.  Hats, nutrition products, base layers, new boots, and a weekend package at a local hotel.  I ended up winning a brand new pair of Salomen XC-Skate Boots.  That was awesome and they are a sweet pair.  I can't wait to try them out.  This was a great event and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to suffer and climb.  I'm definately doing it again next year. 
 
Below is a few links to Results, Photo's, and they even did a video.  Check it out.
 
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ptpbvsJo_pA"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ptpbvsJo_pA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
The Bad
 
More bloody nose incidents this week.  One during my Power threshold test and the other one during a run.  Just as I was maxing out my HR and about to finish the final 320watt 4min interval that I could do during my Power Threshold Test I got a major bloody nose.  I guess my HR was just pumping so fast I blew a gasket.  My coach was impressed but I did make a mess of my shirt.  I was able to finish the 320 watt interval so that was good but had to quit right afterwards.  I was spent. 
 
The Ugly
 
Notin..
 

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Week of 02/25/2008

My training summery for the week of 02/25/2008 was:

Planned Time = 7:06 hrs
Actual Time = 8:59 hrs
Calories Burned = 6,316 kj
Swim = 5450 yd = 3.1 miles
Bike = 55.43 mi
Run = 17.47 mi
XC-Ski = 16 mi

This was a rest week for me with one day totally off.
The planned time was a lot less this week than the previous weeks which felt weird but nice.

The Good

Finally getting a day off from training but felt horrible that day. Go figure.
Had a few good runs during the week. My running is becoming to be second nature now.
Spent a day XC-Skiing at Pineland by myself enjoying the peaceful and beautiful setting.
Went to John Cox's Birthday bash with Megan at Mac's Grill in Auburn. I had a salmon fillet and got to see some friends that I haven't seen in a while. I also got to meet John's family for the first time. The cupcake frosting was just plain crazy.

The Bad

Went to my osteopath doctor and he totally hurt me bad. He couldn't get one of my vertebra back into alignment and had to forcefully put it back in place. I was in some serious pain for a few days.
During my Saturday bike trainer workout I got a bad bloody nose right during a hard interval. I got blood all over my cycling jersey, bike and myself. It kind of disrupted my workout and had to finish the workout with gauze stuck up my nose. It made it pretty difficult to breath and concentrate.

The Ugly

Work is getting pretty stressful with a huge project going out to bid next week. The stress is starting to get to me but I'm really trying to keep a positive outlook at things and trying to stay motivated and enthusiastic at work. Wish me luck. Next week is going to be rough.


I'm also kind of late publishing this weeks post but I'm really trying to keep up with it.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Week of 02/18/2008 - Monastery

My training summery for the week of 02/18/2008 was:

Planned Time = 13:18 hrs
Actual Time = 12:23 hrs
Calories Burned = 9,526 kj
Swim = 8800 yd = 5 miles
Bike = 74 mi
Run = 41.48 mi

This was the third week of a build cycle. It was tough getting in all of the scheduled workouts this week and I ended up not biking on Sunday which is why my actual hours are less than planned. This was also a very big run week for me. I ended up running everyday except for Wednesday.
My legs were pretty sore come Sunday evening.

Some workout highlights for the week included;

  • Running in the pouring rain.
  • Running up a huge hill in the dark that had an elevation gain of 150ft and 15-20% grades, I don't think even cars can make it up the hill.
  • Spending a very early morning on a bike trainer talking about kids and marriage with other triathletes while sweating my butt off.
  • Running during a snow storm.
  • Running in 12.2 miles Massachusetts not knowing the roads and suffering hardcore on the hills.
  • Getting up the very next morning and running another 6miles only 12hrs latter while watching the sun rise and the birds chirp.
The Good

This weekend I spent the weekend with Megan and we went to St. Mary's Monastery where she is Benedictine oblate. I didn't really know what to expect but figured it couldn't hurt to check out a new place and learn more about the Catholic Faith. We stayed in a guest house which had separate wings for males and females. There was a common kitchen, dinning, and recreational/reading room which we spent most of the time in. We went to a few services which included; Compline at 8pm, Mass at 10am, Terse at the end of mass, and Sext at 12:15pm. I really liked Compline and Mass was pretty cool also except the incence really started to get to me. The services did have the readings and some prayers in English but most of them were sung in Gregorian chant in Latin with the nuns and monks alternating verses. It sounded really cool and made the mass seem totally more spiritual than an all English mass like at the Cathedral in Portland. I had a really nice time and it was very peaceful there. The monks and sisters were very nice and hospitalble. I would definitely like to visit again.

St. Mary's Monastery
271 North Main St.
Petersham, MA 01366

Photo's taken from website.

http://www.stmarysmonastery.org/
and
http://jdtreat.com/petersham.htm


Mary Mother of God church, Petersham


The monastic community of St. Mary's Monastery with Abbot Hugh of Pluscarden











The Bad

A few tough days of training really took it's toll on me. Some very sore and tired legs, back, and arms.

Time management is the key to this sport.

The Ugly

Not much really ugly happened other than missing a bunch of meals and still training. Doing this usually isn't a good thing to do.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Week of 02/11/2008

This past week was a bit better than last.

My training summery for the week of 02/11/2008 was:
Overall Time = 11:49 hrs
Swim = 8200 yd / 4.7 miles
Bike = 49.12 mi
Run = 36.03 mi
XC-Ski = 16.99 mi

The Good
Lots of training and other activities this week. My training load is increasing and I'm feeling more and more comfortable in the pool and running. I'm able to run now back to back even after long days. The soreness in the legs is also decreasing after a long run. I'm sleeping a bit better now but since I workout early every morning I don't get to really sleep in much.

During the week it was also Valentines Day. I got Megan a beautiful single rose along with a Boyd bear and a hand written card with a photo that I had taken. Megan got me a really cool alabaster polar bear and heart that one of her patrons at the library makes. They are really cool.


Megan also prepared a private candle light dinner for me in her room. I picked up the food, which I was late doing, but we both prepared it once I got there. We had scallops cooked in oil with garlic, roasted vegetables (sweet peppers, onions, carrots, parsnip) and some nice multi-grain crusty bread. It was good. We then watched a not so great movie that I picked out, d'oh again, oh well. I fell asleep during it anyways. I've been doing that a lot lately. It was a wonderful night that I will not forget.

Also this week I had another Disciples in Mission Group Meeting. It went pretty well and I contributed also. I didn't complete last weeks assignment but I couldn't really think of anybody to write a letter to. This weeks assignment I'm already doing. I'm listening to the daily readings and Liturgy of the Hours every day. So now I just need to reflect on that. This next week I'm actually going to mass to a Monastery with Megan and a few others. I will definitely report back on how that goes. I'm sure it will be just fine and I will further my religious bond.

The Bad
This weeks weather was horrible though. Wednesday was the worst weather that I have ever driven in. Normally my commute is 45min but this day due to rain/sleet/freezing rain/snow it was almost double that. It started off as rain at my house and ended up having a windshield covered in Ice and by the time I hit work it was snowing.
The very next day I went out for a run in the early morning. It was actually still dark when I left and due to all the rain and ice we got the roads were very treacherous. Plus it was very cold and I froze. I couldn't even move my hands when I got home.

Valentines day evening was great but the day it self sucked. I ran in the am before my first seminar on Phosphorus. I ended up going to the wrong hotel where it was taking place and ended up being late. The seminar itself was very dry and boring. Very technical and it was done by an engineer who has never taken a Dale Carnegie course. My second seminar/class is the Dale Carnegie class that I'm taking. Today I totally screwed up my speeches. I got very nervous and flustered. Oh well. That why we do it week after week. I just need to relax more. I also ran around afterwards and ended getting to Megan's house for dinner very late but once I got there every fell into place and I had a wonderful evening.

The Ugly
Work was still pretty stressful and I'm having a tough time with it.

Monday, February 11, 2008

The Start of Something New

I've decided I'm going to try and do a weekly post to my blog.
I haven't posted in forever and this was one thing I wanted to do this year.
I have been reading other endurance athlete blogs over the past year and I like how one guy sets his up so I'm going to mimic his. He give a summary of the week by stating "The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly." So I think I'm going to copy his format and see how that works for me. If you would like to read his blog it can be found at http://bolderinboulder.blogspot.com/
So here it goes.

This past week was a tough one for me. Very busy with work, training, church, and spending time with the girlfriend. Not much sleep was taken but all in all the week turned out just fine.

My training summery for the week of 02/04/2008 was:
Overall = 10.50 hrs
Swim = 5900 yds
Bike = 65.92 mi
Run = 24.83 mi
XC-Ski = 8.75 mi

The Good

I was able to spend a lot of time this week with my girlfriend who I have been dating now for a few months.
We have really hit it off and I have really falling for her. I feel like my love for her is growing everyday and will continue to grow.

Also This week was also the first week of Lent and the first week of my Disciples in Mission Group Meetings. I am Christian but not officially Catholic. My girlfriend however is Catholic, along with my roommate. I have been going to church with her every week now and also taking part in other Catholic activities. I am really learning a lot about the Catholic faith. I have a lot more to learn though. I do feel like faith and religion should be part of your everyday activity and I'm going to try live by this. I hope to take part in RCIA next fall and become part of the Catholic Community. The Disciples in Mission Group meeting went well, I attending mass on Wednesday and on Sunday. I have also for lent I have decided to give up caffeine and to listen to the daily reading and the liturgy of the hours every day. So far giving up caffeine has been tough and I'm still getting migraines every day. Hopefully they will pass soon.

The Bad

I didn't get much sleep this week. Wednesday's bike session was done on 3.5 hours of sleep but turned out OK in the end. It just hurt. Due to not sleeping and being exhausted I missed Thursday's morning swim because I overslept and was just too tired to get out of bed. Saturday's run really hurt bad and made me sick. The stress of work and lake of sleep I think got to me this day.

The Ugly

Work was very stressful and is totally killing me. I commute 80 miles a day for work which really cuts into my personal time. I also worked a lot of late hours because I had a project go out last week which was totally not done. So this week we had to catch up and issue the first Addendum. So I spent Saturday working, and couple of late nights. We did get the project a lot further to completion and be more like 100%. The outlook however for the next month isn't good in the work aspect. I'm going to have a lot of long stressful weeks up ahead. Hopefully my training, or health, doesn't suffer.