Image courtesy of spandex king.But dog and I walk/ran 3.8 in 46. First time out in over two weeks. It wasn't all bad. Thanks for not hitting us Stacey.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
"I'm gonna sit right here....
....until I die." And death didn't seam all that far off. Ok, maybe it wasn't that bad, but it was the worst I've felt since I've been back on the bike.
I was just over 2-miles (yes 2, not 20, 2) into an afternoon ride when the song Bad River started playing (the Grateful Dead version, not the Johnny Cash version). Part of the chorus is "I'm gonna sit right here until I die". That's pretty much how I felt, sitting on my bike, like I was going to be there forever, and actually completing my 12-mile loop seemed unlikely. Several times I contemplated turning around, but ultimately I plodded along and made it back.
I have several theories as to my performance. The first has to do with diet. I slept late today, skipped breakfast, didn't pack a lunch, nothing. This led to a Burger King run around 10:45 for what I thought was going to be breakfast. Turns out it was actually lunch, and all I ate until dinner tonight. Since I've started exercising and trying to eat a little better I've noticed a huge difference in how I feel on days when I eat well compared to days, well, days like today. Honestly, I never would have guessed that simply eating reasonably well could have such a significant impact on how I feel in general. Shut up G, I don't want to here it. I actually didn't even want to ride, but the weather was too nice for this time of year, I couldn't justify not going.
Actually, that's my only theory.
Interestingly enough every Burger King I frequent (I like Burger King), has a sticker in the drive through window stating they are registered at Healthy Dining Finder.com. Are you kidding, burger king = healthy? What is this country coming to? How can a restaurant like Burger King imply that they are serving healthy food? I'm sure the day is coming when one of the major fast food joints will start serving "organic" french fries and chicken strips, all deep fried of course, and start passing them off as healthy. At least I know when I go there I'm getting crap. How can the general population be so stupid?
Rant over, good day.
I was just over 2-miles (yes 2, not 20, 2) into an afternoon ride when the song Bad River started playing (the Grateful Dead version, not the Johnny Cash version). Part of the chorus is "I'm gonna sit right here until I die". That's pretty much how I felt, sitting on my bike, like I was going to be there forever, and actually completing my 12-mile loop seemed unlikely. Several times I contemplated turning around, but ultimately I plodded along and made it back.
I have several theories as to my performance. The first has to do with diet. I slept late today, skipped breakfast, didn't pack a lunch, nothing. This led to a Burger King run around 10:45 for what I thought was going to be breakfast. Turns out it was actually lunch, and all I ate until dinner tonight. Since I've started exercising and trying to eat a little better I've noticed a huge difference in how I feel on days when I eat well compared to days, well, days like today. Honestly, I never would have guessed that simply eating reasonably well could have such a significant impact on how I feel in general. Shut up G, I don't want to here it. I actually didn't even want to ride, but the weather was too nice for this time of year, I couldn't justify not going.
Actually, that's my only theory.
Interestingly enough every Burger King I frequent (I like Burger King), has a sticker in the drive through window stating they are registered at Healthy Dining Finder.com. Are you kidding, burger king = healthy? What is this country coming to? How can a restaurant like Burger King imply that they are serving healthy food? I'm sure the day is coming when one of the major fast food joints will start serving "organic" french fries and chicken strips, all deep fried of course, and start passing them off as healthy. At least I know when I go there I'm getting crap. How can the general population be so stupid?
Rant over, good day.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Glacial Drumlin State Trail
Patrick and I headed up to GDST this morning to get a little fresh air before the Packer game. Him on his bike, me on foot. Figured I would run/walk based on HR as I did on Wednesday, hopefully keep Patrick within site. In getting everything ready I forgot my watch and HR monitor, realized it about 1/2 way to Cottage Grove, wasn't worth going back for, I'd just wing it.
Other than one hill at the parking area the trail was pretty much flat and straight. For those not familiar, GDST is built on an old railroad bed, and as such is probably 6-8 feet higher than the ground on either side. The trail is gravel, about 8-feet wide, small shoulders on either side, then down at maybe a 45-degree angle. It's mostly wooded, with a lot of underbrush and scrubby trees adjacent to the trail. Why do I bring this up you ask? I think you know where I'm headed.
About 1.5-miles in, Patrick is maybe 20-yards in front of me when I see him turn (I still don't know why) and ride straight off the trail into the brush and down the hill. He made it to the bottom of the hill and was off the bike but basically pinned between the bike and some brush more or less a sitting position. Oh, and there were tears, were there ever. Thankfully it was colder, so he was dressed in a sweatshirt, long pants, and gloves. The only real damage was a small scratch on his cheek and a little rough spot on one knee. If it were middle of summer I'm certain the damage would have been worse.
Pulled him out and we continued on, made it to the first road past the 2-mile mark and turned around. Nothing remarkable on the way back except for a tired boy.
Overall it was very enjoyable. I hope to do it again, was nice to be able to train and spend time with Patrick at the same time. He enjoyed it, was a race from his viewpoint. I'm pretty sure he won.
The trail really is nice, we crossed three roads (I think) before we turned around, and the visibility ahead is probably at least 1/4-mile on average. Good for situations like today, where P can ride ahead and I can see where he is at.
Next time I'll bring dog along as well, as I'm certain he knew something wasn't right as we left. He's ignored me since we've been home. Not like him, sorry dog.
Other than one hill at the parking area the trail was pretty much flat and straight. For those not familiar, GDST is built on an old railroad bed, and as such is probably 6-8 feet higher than the ground on either side. The trail is gravel, about 8-feet wide, small shoulders on either side, then down at maybe a 45-degree angle. It's mostly wooded, with a lot of underbrush and scrubby trees adjacent to the trail. Why do I bring this up you ask? I think you know where I'm headed.
About 1.5-miles in, Patrick is maybe 20-yards in front of me when I see him turn (I still don't know why) and ride straight off the trail into the brush and down the hill. He made it to the bottom of the hill and was off the bike but basically pinned between the bike and some brush more or less a sitting position. Oh, and there were tears, were there ever. Thankfully it was colder, so he was dressed in a sweatshirt, long pants, and gloves. The only real damage was a small scratch on his cheek and a little rough spot on one knee. If it were middle of summer I'm certain the damage would have been worse.
Pulled him out and we continued on, made it to the first road past the 2-mile mark and turned around. Nothing remarkable on the way back except for a tired boy.
Overall it was very enjoyable. I hope to do it again, was nice to be able to train and spend time with Patrick at the same time. He enjoyed it, was a race from his viewpoint. I'm pretty sure he won.
The trail really is nice, we crossed three roads (I think) before we turned around, and the visibility ahead is probably at least 1/4-mile on average. Good for situations like today, where P can ride ahead and I can see where he is at.
Next time I'll bring dog along as well, as I'm certain he knew something wasn't right as we left. He's ignored me since we've been home. Not like him, sorry dog.
Flowers on the Wall
Yes, the Statler Brothers song. It's on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, another of Quentin Tarantino's (I looked it up) movies with a decent mix of music. Any song that references Captain Kangaroo can't be all bad. And it's on my playlist of short songs. The list I created a month or so ago of songs less than 3 minutes in length that I thought I would attempt to run to.
Wednesday I went out to walk the dog with the intention of trying to run again. Now that I have the HR monitor I abandoned the thought of run one song, walk one. Instead I would just keep my HR in the 120-150 range. Run when it fell too low, walk when it got too high. Results were similar to my first attempt. Run about1-2 minutes, then walk, repeat. What I did notice is that my HR recovered fairly quickly, which sadly, meant more running.
About 3-miles in I had just started running again when Flowers on the Wall started playing. As was typical, my HR monitor started beeping before the song was over, but I didn't feel that bad, and I knew the end of the song was near, so I kept running, and I actually made it through the end of the song. Two minutes 25 seconds (yes, I looked that up too) and it wasn't even total hell, although I doubt I would have made it another 100 feet.
OK, I realize this is no great feat for most, if not all of you. But Flowers on the Wall will be etched in my mind as a training milestone. I didn't (couldn't) run through an entire song again the rest of the evening. Baby steps.
Wednesday I went out to walk the dog with the intention of trying to run again. Now that I have the HR monitor I abandoned the thought of run one song, walk one. Instead I would just keep my HR in the 120-150 range. Run when it fell too low, walk when it got too high. Results were similar to my first attempt. Run about1-2 minutes, then walk, repeat. What I did notice is that my HR recovered fairly quickly, which sadly, meant more running.
About 3-miles in I had just started running again when Flowers on the Wall started playing. As was typical, my HR monitor started beeping before the song was over, but I didn't feel that bad, and I knew the end of the song was near, so I kept running, and I actually made it through the end of the song. Two minutes 25 seconds (yes, I looked that up too) and it wasn't even total hell, although I doubt I would have made it another 100 feet.
OK, I realize this is no great feat for most, if not all of you. But Flowers on the Wall will be etched in my mind as a training milestone. I didn't (couldn't) run through an entire song again the rest of the evening. Baby steps.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Loose Ends
I've been meaning to respond to some recent comments but haven't, so here goes.
The movie I recently quoted, incorrectly as it turns out, is Resevoir Dogs. It's one of the better movies out there with a lot of good music mixed in. Actually, most of QT's (I'm not even going to try and spell his name) movies have excellent soundtracks.
When I started this excursion, I never really thought my efforts would inspire anyone else to get active. Jen, knowing that I am inspiring you has actually giving me additional inspiration to keep going. Please do not let anyone discourage you. Set your goals and go after them. Your efforts may not be appreciated now, but if nothing else, somewhere down the line your children will, whether they realize it or not.
I still can't run either, but that's a topic for another post. We may have missed the beer run this year, but I'll be happy to run it, or any other event with you in the future. Keep at it, and keep me informed.
The movie I recently quoted, incorrectly as it turns out, is Resevoir Dogs. It's one of the better movies out there with a lot of good music mixed in. Actually, most of QT's (I'm not even going to try and spell his name) movies have excellent soundtracks.
When I started this excursion, I never really thought my efforts would inspire anyone else to get active. Jen, knowing that I am inspiring you has actually giving me additional inspiration to keep going. Please do not let anyone discourage you. Set your goals and go after them. Your efforts may not be appreciated now, but if nothing else, somewhere down the line your children will, whether they realize it or not.
I still can't run either, but that's a topic for another post. We may have missed the beer run this year, but I'll be happy to run it, or any other event with you in the future. Keep at it, and keep me informed.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Balance
Recovery went well, probably as well as can be expected, so we won't talk about that anymore. Back to the pool today. I went out for a short ride on Friday last week, nothing worth noting. Not much worth noting in the pool today either. Was joined by a bunch of older women doing some sort of a water fitness class. It was kind of humorous watching them bounce around the pool, chatting and listening to disco music. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they're out and being active, but it was amusing none the less.
As I floated back and forth for an hour I got to thinking about balance. Swimming has to be the most boring of the three triathlon endeavors, nothing to look at, not going anywhere, no real distractions, all your mind can do is wander. So today it was stuck on balance. These swim drills I've started are all about balance in the water, so I guess that is where it started.
I actually think about balance on a fairly regular basis, but I'll be the first to admit I'm terrible at it. Inevitably, I usually focus on a single thing at time, neglect others, then rotate. Not the best scenario, but it is what it is.
Still working on improving the diet in general, today was a good example of a refined diet mixed with balance. Breakfast was eggs, toast, and milk. I don't really eat lunch, just graze as I'm hungry throughout the day, but today I ate a banana, an orange, a thing of yogurt, and some leftover pasta from this weekend. I balanced that out with mountain dew, a snickers, a baby ruth, a kit kat, and a twix. It's all about balance.
As I floated back and forth for an hour I got to thinking about balance. Swimming has to be the most boring of the three triathlon endeavors, nothing to look at, not going anywhere, no real distractions, all your mind can do is wander. So today it was stuck on balance. These swim drills I've started are all about balance in the water, so I guess that is where it started.
I actually think about balance on a fairly regular basis, but I'll be the first to admit I'm terrible at it. Inevitably, I usually focus on a single thing at time, neglect others, then rotate. Not the best scenario, but it is what it is.
Still working on improving the diet in general, today was a good example of a refined diet mixed with balance. Breakfast was eggs, toast, and milk. I don't really eat lunch, just graze as I'm hungry throughout the day, but today I ate a banana, an orange, a thing of yogurt, and some leftover pasta from this weekend. I balanced that out with mountain dew, a snickers, a baby ruth, a kit kat, and a twix. It's all about balance.
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