Scraggly, The KISS Method, and a Breakthrough Workout

My beard is itchy.  I'm a mere 3 weeks into No Shave November and am contemplating shaving.  I want it gone because I feel dirty.  Am I gaining anything from keeping it?  No, unless you count the horrified stares from little children asking their parents "what happened to that man's face?"

Day 20 - considering giving up.

Day 20 - Side Shot

Obviously, my beardiness is not thick enough to consider it an actual beard.  Hence my desire to give up.  However, I figure that decision will be made when I finally get to see my girlfriend on Wednesday for the first time in 11 weeks!  If she deems it unkissable, I will rid my face of this unkempt, disheveled mess on my face.

In non-beard related news, running is fantastic.  I did 16mi yesterday at 7:30/mi average and felt pretty damn good the whole time.  Yes, I had some tough spots in there where I didn't want to continue running, but that is the beauty of out&back routes, I had to get home and the fastest way to get there was running.  I don't quite understand some people's hatred for out&back runs.  They are honest and simple, a principle which often gets overlooked in triathlon training.  Everyone is always so excited about the latest gadget and how it will make their training more precise and then make them faster.  However, I've always tried to cling to a simple motto that I learned in high-school hockey: The KISS Method, or Keep It Simple, Stupid Method.  I've tried to adopt it in my run-specific training lately and I think it has been working well.  If I feel good, I run fast and far.  If I need to recover, I run slow and short.  I have also been paying more attention to my recovery, because these good workouts will only help me if I can stay healthy and avoid injury.  Lots of stretching and strengthening, core work, yoga, compression, sleep, healthy food, etc. 

My next race will be a 5k on December 3 in Lansing.  The Scrooge Scramble is the name of it.  I want an improvement in my 5k time from last month (a measly 18:26).  I have high hopes, especially considering I had a breakthrough track workout just this past Tuesday.  I did 5x1000 on 2'30" rest, hoping to be faster than I was last month when I did the same workout.  I ran all five under 3:33/1000m which correlates to about 5:40/mi pace and they felt easy.  Last month I was struggling real hard and barely running 3:40 for the reps, so an improvement of 7s is huge over this distance in only 4 weeks!

I'm really excited to continue running.  I'm going to try to string together a few weeks of 50mi and see how I hold up.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Bearding and Running

For the past month or so, I have only been running.  I have not sat on a bike seat for any longer than it takes me to get to and from class several times a day.  I have not been submerged in water for 5 weeks.  This running only thing is pretty cool, I have found that I can run more miles and faster than I ever thought I could.  I'm not sure if it is because my legs are adapting or because I am training smarter, but either way, it is working well.

Last week I ran 52 miles.  This week I am at 27mi with 13mi planned for tomorrow as 10mi at aerobic pace and finishing with 2mi on the track at 10k pace.  So, mileage this week will be a little low because I think I overdid it last week and because I had to take a few days off due to long homework hours and horrible weather.  I am considering doing a 5k next Sunday in Lansing to see if I have improved at all with this increase in mileage.

Here is the latest updates of my beardiness:

Day 11 - staying busy in the Engineering Building

Here is today's picture:

Day 12 - kindof drunk and watching (*cue British accent*) Harry Potter

Also, I found this picture in Imgur.com today and I think it is a fantastic reminder of how we should all do our best to stay young and not fret about life's little problems.

This picture makes me want to go play (and by play, I mean run) on a muddy two-track.

Additionally, if you look over at the blogs that I have posted to the right (---> over there), you will see "Riding the Wind", a blog by Anton Krupicka, an ultra-runner who embodies what, in my mind, is the true glory of distance running.  Check out this post on "Keeping it Real" which is from the regular articles he writes on the Running Times website.  He is a very self-aware, introspective, and intelligent man.  Someone who I truly wish to meet and maybe run with at some point in my life.

Lazy lazy lazy

Photo dump:

Day 3

 

 

 

 

Day 6

Day 9

1st Anniversary!

One year ago, I started blogging about my No Shave November experience.  Since then, it has transformed into a bit of triathlon, college, cooking, and anything else that I have taken fancy to.  Well, I'm going back to basics, taking this bad boy back to the grassroots, starting over from scratch, back to the humble beginnings, because No Shave November is officially upon us!  Which means, you get to stare at my ugly mug each day for the next month...how lucky you must feel.

1 November 2011

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Lazing About and Motivation

Somehow, I have arrived at the point in my collegiate career that I am a mere 8 weeks from graduating and I have lost every ounce of motivation that I once posessed.  For the majority of the previous decade, I worked tirelessly to get good grades, internships, jobs, etc.  But now, I find that with only 2 months until commencement, I would rather screw around on the internet, play with bicycles, and run myself into a tired stupor than do any iota (I only used this word because it was in my crossword today) of homework or studying.  I think this comic from XKCD very accurately describes my day to day routine so far this semester

I never trust anyone who is more excited about success than about
doing the thing they want to be successful at

I think the scheduled routine of planned IM workouts and a full time job throughout the summer was great for me as it forced me to stay focused.  This 13hrs of class each week and working out whenever I feel like it is not as productive as I like being.  Anybody want to plan my life for me?

1st Workout after IMWI and other stuff...

Well, I went out and rode with the Tuesday Night Road Ride group tonight.  These guys are absolute animals.  Led by a man I can only describe as a General Webb, the ride focuses on group riding skills, pacelines, and to top it all off, some fast finishing sprints (30+ mph!!!!).  I rode with these guys last summer and posted some serious bike splits at all my races back then.  This summer, I didn't get to ride with them as I've been down in IN on my final co-op rotation.  Regardless, I'm back in mid-Michigan, recovered from IMWI, and felt ready to shred some legs out on the road tonight.

Tonight was a sufferfest.  I was worried as my first pull at the front of the group was up a slight hill.  As it turns out, I have not forced my cardiovascular system to do any serious work in 9 days, so my lungs screamed at me a little bit. Well, SHUT UP LUNGS! (paraphrasing Jens Voigt).  Once the blood got flowing, I continued to feel better as the ride went on.  My Garmin 305 had the distance at 39.6mi in 1:48:26, which for those not willing to do the math is an average of 21.7mph.

Since these fine gentleman love sprinting so much and by no means am I a sprinter, I let them take the glory and I Mark Renshaw the shit out of those sprints (not headbutt style, leadout style).

I get in an excellent interval of 1-2 minutes where I'm holding 27-29mph.  If I had Watts on the road, I'm sure it would be in the 375W range.  Then, these glory-seeking men sprint past me to battle it out for the win.  Take your Tuesday Night Glory and thanks for making my 40k TT faster!

In other training news, my IT band is finally starting to feel better after the unfortunate "surprise" it gave me half-way through the marathon at IMWI.  Lots of foam rolling and stretching seems to be the only cure.  I'll try to get out and run this week, hopefully it doesn't hurt too bad.

In completely non-training news, I have been on this health-kick lately in an attempt to drop some weight.  Not that I really think I need to drop weight, I figured I should just have something else occupy my time since I'm not training for IMWI (compulsive much?)  I have been replacing processed carbs with wholesome, natural carbs (veggies, fruit, beans, etc.).  That means no pastas, cereals, tortillas, etc.  My carbohydrates have been coming primarily from black beans and veggies.  The most noticeable change is the switch from a sandwich and crackers/pretzels for lunch to a big salad (like, 3 quart sized bowl big).  I have no real basis for making this change, I just figured it wouldn't be a bad replacement.  Protein is coming from eggs, fish, beans, and nuts.  We'll see what happens after a few weeks of this.  I do still get a healthy quantity of traditional carbs post-workout when I have some sort of brown-rice veggie stirfry and a recovery drink.  Main focus is to remove pastas, breads, and cereals.

Off to recover with a full night's sleep.  Cya later.

Ironman Wisconsin Race Report - September 11, 2011

Pre-Race:
My friend Nancy and I drove from East Lansing to Milwaukee on Thursday night to stay with our friend Alex.  It worked out well since I got to sleep in a bed instead of the floor, which made up for the extra 2 hrs of driving as far as I was concerned.  Slept great Thursday night and then had some cereal Friday morning and headed out to Madison and got to another friend's place around 10am CST.  It is such an advantage not having to pay for a hotel when you have MSU Tri-Club alumni all over the mid-west opening their doors for you.

Went with Nancy to Monona Terrace around 11am to meet up with some other friends who were doing the race to swim a loop and participate in the circus that is check-in.  The swim felt great considering how choppy the water was (good practice for the first 200m of IM, I suppose).  Finished the swim, ate food, then stood in line for a long time.  If this wasn't the most inefficient manner of check-in ever, I don't know what is.  1.5 hours in a line because they only have 4 people weighing in 2500+ racers, I mean...c'mon!  Whatever, that's not the important part.  Checked in, weighed in, got my numbers, and left to pick up the girlfriend at the airport.  Hung out with a bunch of excellent MSU spectators then went to the athlete dinner later that night.  Saturday was the same old thing, early morning bike/run to shake out the legs, then a lot of lounging, water, bike check-in, and leg shaving.

Race Morning:
4am wake-up.  Oatmeal with brown sugar, almonds, and craisins, a banana, and a cup of coffee.  Left for Monona Terrace at 5am, pumped up the tires, dropped off the special needs bags, had an excellent pre-race visit to the porta-john.  Got body marked and watched one guy say the wrong number twice and didn't realize it until after the wrong numbers were on his arm.  Headed to the water at 6:40 and got in a short warm-up.

Swim:

Time: 58:41 - 3rd M18-24, 51st OA
Felt great after the first 200 or so.  Got inside the buoys to some open water and I only encountered traffic when I had to swing around the outside of the corner buoys.  First lap was 29 minutes, so I swam fairly steady and didn't feel too strained.

Soon to be IronSpartan

T1:
Time: 5:39
Wetsuit strippers are awesome!  Helix running is not!  Got sunscreened, got my bike, and helixed down.

Bike:
Time: 5:26:30 - 3rd M18-24, 49th OA
Aid stations are awesome! Do you always feel like such a badass when riding through them?
Miles 1-15 were rough as I tried getting my legs to settle down.  Miles 15-90 were fantastic.  Especially since I saw multiple groups pass me and get penalized for drafting...suckers.  Starting at 30 minutes on the bike, I started taking a GU on every top and bottom of the hour with large quantities of water.  On every 15 and 45 of the hour, I took an electrolyte pill with some HEED.  I had half a Harvest&Energy Oatmeal Raisin Powerbar at 3 hours into the bike, but it didn't feel too good.  No flats, no cramps, no crashes, just good steady riding within my limits.

About 85mi in.  Second time up Old Sauk Rd.

T2:
Time: 3:43
Felt tired.  The end of the bike took a lot longer than I was mentally prepared for.

Run:
Time: 4:24:07 - 12th M18-24, 153rd OA
Things started out well.  I planned on running 8:30/mi for a 3:45ish marathon and things were just about perfect until mile 13.  I hadn't had any IT band issues for 3 years and then at the turn around, my right IT band seized and I was forced to hobble for the second half of the race.  I met some serious demons out there on the run.  The worst part is that I was walking up hills to keep my HR down, but with the IT band issues I couldn't run down the other side, so I had to walk up and down some of the hills.  Saw a buddy on the second lap and we ran miles 19-23 together.  Those few miles were dark, sad, and awfully painful.  Hit the final hill and knew I was within a half-mile but I couldn't help but walk a few steps through the final aid station.  Turned the corner, saw the finish, smiled a lot, and gave some high-fives.

Start of the run - rubbery legs

Mile 20 -  Hobble city and heel strike fail.

Total time: 10:58:40 - 12th M18-24, 153rd OA.

For my first IM, I can't complain.  I executed things perfectly and I couldn't have done anything differently to prevent an unexpected IT band issue.  I don't have any regrets and certainly did not hold anything back.  It was an amazing experience and I can't wait to do it again.  Probably some non-Ironman brand races though, shits expensive!  Looking forward to some much needed R&R - namely, pizza and beer.

Gumby's Pizza, Pokey Stix, and a Pale Ale - Ironman Recovery FTW