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.
 
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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.