Some little updates

Here are some current odds and ends:

Recovery week is going well and almost over.  I worry that I took it too easy but I know if I rest now I can go harder later.  My calves are still a bit "twingy" but the yoga is definitely helping.  I'm going to try some hamstring strengthening exercises using an exercise ball- I guess cycling builds a muscle imbalance because the quads get stronger than the hamstrings.  

This week I got a great deal on a new wetsuit.  This one is a full wetsuit and will replace my sleeveless one.  It also boasts better flotation, warmth, and is supposed to be pretty slippery in the water.  Full suits are faster in the water than sleeveless suits and especially no wetsuit at all.  I should be able to get in the open water a few weeks earlier than I would have with my old suit.

I'm starting to begin my big fundraising push at school and online and am trying to get everything ready to go.  I ordered some "Never Give Up! No ALS!" bracelets which should be made and delivered within two weeks so that I can sell them at school.  

I was contacted by a local news-person, Rebecca Leclair, this week about getting some of my training and fundraising filmed to be used during the Labor Day MDA Telethon.  Hopefully some cameras will come out to the school and film me teaching, my students collecting money (they are psyched about this), and then a little bit of my riding and running out on the roads.  More details to follow on this.

And finally, I bought two of these little LED strobe lights from Lowe's and attached them to my reflective vest for running in the dark.  The lights attach to anything via a magnet and they are only $10 a piece.

Starting a recovery week and some words on nutrition

Well, I made it to a recovery week and I was really looking forward to it.  As the last few week wore on I felt a little more tired than I was in the beginning of the training plan and I'm sure this will continue until July.  Last week I swam twice covering 6500 yards, ran thrice covering 32 miles, and rode thrice covering 123 miles.  This week calls for 4000 yards of swimming, 24 miles of running, and only 65 miles of riding.

I think I wrote this before but I don't feel like checking so... the training plan will continue building for three weeks (by adding distance and intensity each week) followed by a recovery week.  These four week periods get the body ready for the demands of racing an Ironman without beating you up too badly.  I keep reminding myself of the phrase "pain is speed entering the body" and just try to get through my workouts with a little energy left over.

Something to file in the "meaningless milestones" folder: After Saturday's long ride on the trainer I crossed over the 100 hour mark for riding on the trainer for this winter.  This is really not a big deal since I have been in the basement since October but I'm hoping the time will pay off once I'm out on the roads again. Here is a little bit of trivia for you: Madison Square Gardens was built as a velodrome venue because bicycle racing was so popular back in the day; racers would compete in six-day races and ride hundreds of miles.

People keep asking what I am eating while I am training so here is a typical day of eating for me.  I usually get up and ride or run, if I ride I usually have at least a banana while riding and sometimes an Ensure plus (350 calories) if I'm riding or running long.  For breakfast (at school) I have a cup of coffee and eat a bagel and cottage cheese as well as throwing down some vitamins: vitamin C and E, glucosamine, fish oil, and a multi-vitamin. During the pre-lunch period I have an apple, two clemintine oranges, and three bananas along with a liter of water.  For lunch I might have a few sandwiches on whole wheat bread or whatever leftovers we have from the previous night's dinner (pasta, anyone?).  I finish another liter of water by the end of the day and then ride by bike back home where I usually have a snack (like a bowl of cereal) and then have a dinner which varies in size depending on whether I am swimming later.  After I swim I usually have another bowl of cereal before bed so I'm not famished in the morning and don't have energy to exercise before school.  After a long ride (over 2 hours) or a long run (over 1.5 hours) I will have a glass of Gatorade as well as a scoop of protein powder mixed with milk.

In my rudimentary calculations, I figure I am burning around 2000 calories by just doing my normal daily activities and then around 850 calories an hour running, 900 calories an hour riding, and 550 calories an hour swimming.  So, if I do a 2 hour ride in the morning and a 1 hour swim at night, I will have consumed 4350 calories for the day.  Two weeks ago I check to see how many calories my heart-rate monitor calculated I burned only while exercising and it said 6538.  If I eat a typical day's diet as I describe above, I'm coming in at about 3800 calories (not including Gatorade and protein shake) and I have been holding my weight about where I want to.  I will probably drop a couple of pounds in the month before the Ironman so I have less weight to drag over the 140 miles.

Well, this turned out to be a long post and I hope I didn't bore you with my ramblings.  Thanks for reading.

Nice weather we are having

I finally made it on the road with my tri bike today for the first time this year.  All felt great except for a nasty side wind.  Time to get some color back into my arms and legs.  Speaking of legs, they are still feeling great.  I did a decent speed workout this morning without any problems; this is especially exciting because I rode hard yesterday morning.  I still have a little hamstring tightness when I'm on the bike but I hope to get rid of that soon. More on training hopefully coming this weekend.

I should have just listened to Aunt Ginny

So, my calf cramping problem has been bothering me both physically and mentally- I have been trying to figure out why I was only cramping in the first hour on long runs and not on other shorter runs.  I arrived at two possible causes: one, I was dehydrated from my long bike ride the day before; and/or two, I was tight from riding the bike.  Either way I am thinking that the bike is the culprit.  Also, a trigger point (an area that cramps and then continues to cause cramps in the future) in my right hamstring, that I have had since last summer, has started to get a little worse and my left hamstring is starting to bother me too.

I did a few searches on the internets and found that cycling causes tight hamstrings and that could in turn cause tight calves which in turn could cause plantar fasciitis (pain on the sole of the foot, which I have had some episodes of in the last few months).  Further digging turned up some yoga stretches (that Aunt Ginny suggested months ago) that focus in on exactly what and how I need to stretch; I'm now working on "opening up my pelvis" because a tight pelvis causes tight hammies, etc...  Fortunately, a lady that I teach with is a yoga instructor and showed my how to do the pigeon pose correctly.  I did the pose last night and then this morning before and after my 14-mile run and I had no cramping!  Yea yoga!

So, between running long the day before riding long and moving yoga into my weekly routine, I'm cautiously optimistic that I have found a cure for my calves and hamstrings and will be able to focus on training and not nursing moderate injuries.  This morning's run was in 39-degree air with a stiff wind out of the east and a little rain, but the day actually felt warm; geese were filling the fields around our neighborhood by the thousands and made for a noisy morning.  The biggest problem I had was that the dogs stole my banana from the front porch, that I was going to eat at the halfway point- this problem I can handle.

1st 14 mile run i have done this year. Felt pretty good. Easy 8:30 pace. #ironman

The milage continues to increase

Another early morning ride on the trainer- I was on my bike at 4:35 and got a decent 2 hour ride in while watching October Sky (good movie).  Instead of keeping Friday as a rest day I ran 12 miles, then did my usual long ride (only 2.5 hours actually) on Saturday morning, which allowed me to take Sunday as my rest day to walk around on the ice at the cottage.  Today my legs feel great, not like they did last week when the back of my legs felt like the muscles were too short.  I've been trying to do a little more yoga and have definitely been more hydrated so hopefully that will be my answer to tight legs.  I'm also thinking I will try to keep my long runs on the day before my long ride which seemed to work well this week. 

On the race logistics front, the plans are starting to come together thanks to Aunt Ginny and David.  They got a place about 40 minutes away from Lake Placid that sleeps at least 18 people so it looks like I will have a crowd cheering me on (and carrying me home- literally).  

Well I'm off to teach.  I think training would be easier if I didn't have to work but money seems to have some value in my life.

8 mi run thurs, 12 mi run friday, 2.5hr ride sat, rest day today. #ironman

My calf is tight again...grrr!

I have been following my training plan as best as I can lately.  I felt great all of last week even though my distances are starting to creep up as the weeks pass but on Sunday my right calf cramped while I was running.  I am getting pretty frustrated with it and am looking on some sort of solution.  This morning was my first run since I pulled it and I ran very slowly for 7 miles (I was supposed to do 8).  It was tight so I stopped to stretch every 15 minutes or so and it seemed to loosen up a little but is still tight.  It seems to heal pretty quickly so hopefully I will be ok for my long run on Sunday- I only got 5 miles in last Sunday (supposed to do 12) and I'm hoping to do 14 this weekend.

The swimming and cycling have been good and steady.  I increased my Monday ride yesterday by an hour; I usually do a one hour ride but yesterday I did two hours.  My schedule allowed me to ride in the afternoon which was nice because I would have had to get up at 4:30 (which is what I will have to do next week).

Now that March is here, it feels like the race is getting much closer but I'm still trying to be patient because there are a lot of training sessions still to come.  Thanks for reading.

RIP Magic