Subscribe in a readerDecember 31, 2007
2007 is in the Books
Wow. Very few posts the last couple of months and here are 3 today. 2007 officially ends in my neck of the woods in 12 hours, but training for the year ended when I got out of the pool this morning. Here are my stats for the year:
| January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007 | |
| Swim | 217387.42 yards / 123.52 miles |
| Bike | 2354.04 miles |
| Run | 864.82 miles |
That's a total of 3,342.38 miles of swimming, biking and running. I've included an image to help put that in perspective. It's a total of 3,352 miles to drive from Seattle, Washington to Miami, Florida. So essentially, I swam, biked, and ran from Seattle to within 10 miles of the Miami city limits. Must've gotten attacked on the outskirts of town, I guess.
My run mileage was lower than I would've liked, thanks in part to an injury in February following the Austin Marathon. I set a new PR there, but it was over a month before I could run again (just in time for the ING Georgia Marathon). Couple that with more focus in the pool and on the bike and you have a recipe for <1000 miles of running this year.
The bike mileage is a combination of road and trainer miles. I didn't start cycling in earnest until late May in preparation for the Macon Half-Ironman. That has changed as I have a new bike and several pieces of cold-weather and rainy-weather gear. I expect to be closer to 3000 miles on the bike this time next year.
I couldn't be happier with my swimming. Moving over to the YMCA gave me access to a cooler pool and slightly easier access to getting a lane. It looks like that last statement may be changing a little as the master's swim program is moving days... SO I may be looking for a new pool in 2008. Either way, it will work out fine.
My 2007 race schedule was quite packed. You never would've known I had a bad knee injury in mid-February!! Here's a recap of my races this year -
January - Resolution Run 10k
February - Austin Marathon
March - ING Georgia Marathon
May - My Next Tri (1st in division)
June - Macon Rock & Roll Half Ironman
June - Possum Trot 10k
July - Peachtree Road Race 10k
August - Hiawassee Summer Sizzler International Distance Triathlon
September - South Carolina Half Ironman
October - South Carolina Marathon
November - Atlanta Marathon
December - Jingle Jog 5k
2008 promises to be even better. Here's to a prosperous, safe, and injury free 2008! Thanks for reading!
Posted by Mike at 11:56 AM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2007
Talking to Non-Cyclists
Fat Cyclist had a humorous article on talking to non-cyclists. I laughed my ass off. Some of my favorites include
To appease non-cyclists, when asked about what matters to you, you must from time to time mention friends, family, the environment, or some other such nonsense.
and
To explain why you pay $200 to participate in a race you have very little chance in winning: "Ever play the lotto? It's like that, except much, much more so."
Ain't that the truth. People see the entry fee to Ironman Lake Placid and think I'm nuts. "You're going to do all that to your body, and you paid HOW MUCH TO DO IT?" There's some other good advice in that article that I'm having to employ now. You may recall my new bike, - which cost me $499.99 <wink> <wink> <nudge> <nudge>.
Check out the Fat Cyclist's article on Bike Radar --> How To Talk to Non-Cyclists
Posted by Mike at 8:00 AM | Comments (0)
October 16, 2007
My New Bike
I knew it was coming, but I didn't know when I would
a) Narrow down the bike I wanted
b) Find it at a price I liked
c) Be able to bring it home
However, after riding the 2007 Scott CR1 Team issue bike, I realized this was the one. From the moment I stepped on the pedal it was an adventure of speed and handling. The following are truly my first impressions. I've put maybe 20 miles on the bike. I'll post an update in a couple weeks once I've got a few hundred miles on it.
The bike is extremely light - just under 16 lbs with pedals. I was expecting it to fly out from under me when sweeping corners at 25+ mph but it dives right in and hangs on, allowing me to accelerate out. It's performance and handling on the downhills and in the flats are fantastic for a bike that is otherwise a climber's paradise.
The Dura-Ace derailleurs and shifters make gear changes like a red hot knife slices butter. It willing flies through the gears allowing me to concentrate on putting out the wattage rather than figure out whether it clicked in or not. And it's QUIET.
The carbon fiber frame is fantastic at dampening the crappy roads I live near, but at the same time gives me a great feel for the road. This is not what I would call a plush ride. But it's nowhere near as harsh as my aluminum Allez was. I am truly surprised at how much feedback I still get - and I love it.
So, those are my first impressions. For those of you curious as to the setup, here it is from memory. I need to double check the stem cause in the 3 hours I spent setting up, fitting and riding, we screwed around with a bunch of different setups to arrive at my road ride. In February/March of 08 we're going to revisit the setup a little and come up with an alternate setup for the 4 or 5 triathlons I'll do next year (including that little one in Lake Placid).
Frame: Scott CR1 Team Issue CR1 HMF technology, Integrated Headtube.
Fork: CR1 Team Issue Carbon Steerer.
Headset: Integrated Cartridge.
Rear Derailleur: Dura-Ace 7800.
Front Derailleur: Dura-Ace 7800.
Shifters: Dura-Ace 7800.
Brakes: Dura-Ace 7800.
Crankset: Ultegra 6600 (39 x 53T).
Pedals: Ultegra 6620 SPD-SL.
Bottom Bracket:Dura-Ace 7800.
Handlebar: Ritchey Pro 31.8.
Stem: Ritchey Pro 31.8. 110mm
Seatpost: Ritchey Pro Carbon 31.6mm.
Saddle: Selle Italia C2
Wheelset: Mavic Ksyrium Elite.
Chain: Dura-Ace 7800.
Cassette: Dura-Ace 7800, 11-23T.
Tires: Conti Grand Prix 4000 700x23C.
Size: Large
And the most important upgrade -> White bar tape. This bike looks SEXY with WHITE bar tape!!!
Posted by Mike at 8:00 AM | Comments (0)
September 23, 2007
Silver Comet Ride to Alabama Recap
8:00 am - We meet up at the Florence Rd trailhead. It's a beautiful day for a ride. The temperature is a little cool, but will quickly warm up as the sun has its way. There is already activity on the trail with a few runners and cyclists, but nothing like what this place sees on the weekend. After filling the water bottles, stashing some food in our pockets, and a quick restroom stop - we are on our way.
It's smooth sailing all the way to Coot's Lake. My cyclometer gets a little chilled and cuts out for about 8 miles, but we have a computer on another bike to help keep track.
10:00 am - We pull into Rockmart and are in need of restrooms. The little gas station I know of doesn't have public restrooms. And they add on 30 cents to your charge bill if you charge under $5. That reminds me - I need to call Mastercard and see if this merchant is allowed to do that. Sounds fishy to me.
So we head next door to Suntrust Bank. Laura has an account there, so it should be no problem to use their restroom. She heads in and asks about a restroom and they hand her a set of keys. I think it was the keys to the entire place since she opened up a closet and a staircase before finding the restroom. Unfortunately, we leave without any extra cash, but it's good to have an empty bladder.
11:00 am - We're lost. There is a 2.5 mile gap in the trail between Rockmart and Cedartown. I downloaded a detour map from pathfoundation.org that was supposed to get us around it. At one point, it says "Right on Campbell". There was no street sign that said "Campbell Rd" at an intersection that we came to. So I THOUGHT we were essentially staying on whatever road it was we were on. I was WRONG. As a note to those of you thinking about doing this ride - we later discovered little spray painted emblems in the road that looked like little rocket ships. The white ones seemed to mark the route that we wanted to take. BUT DON'T BLAME ME IF THEY AREN'T THERE when you ride. Make sure you know where you're going.
I see a gas station about a block down and decide to pull in for directions. They were outta business (does anyone see the irony here?). But their gas was $2.75 a gallon, so although the place looked abandoned for years, it hadn't been that long! I guess the town of Antioch wasn't ready for the veggie dinner offering listed on the sign. Oh well. So I see "Antioch Rd" on the little map I had and charted out a route to get us back on course.
11:20 am - We're back on the prescribed course. But this is after 4 - count 'em FOUR dog sprints. The first pack was rank amateurs. They came prancing after us like a glee club going to a Bette Midler concert. The next one was not so pleasant. A MEAN 3-legged dog came after us. I was going to snap a picture, but I had to wear his ass out so he'd leave the rest of the party alone. So then I'm cruising up a hill when I hear the leaves rustling behind me - and then I hear snickering. I look back to see what gives and there is this little Chihuahua running up the hill after me. I hit the next gear and dust him. And then comes the lassie dog that was probably just going to say "hi" but I could do without (he's standing in the middle of the street in the background of this picture).
11:52 am - we finally hit the depot in Cedartown. I must say that I'm not impressed. The countryside you passed through was really nice between Rockmart and Cedartown, but once we hit the depot we saw a somewhat rundown town and graffiti on lots of signs and the trail itself. We pressed on to our final goal knowing it was only 10 or so more miles away.
12:31 pm - Are we there yet? YES. Ignore the dog poop - the arch reads "Chief Ladiga" which is the name of the trail on the Alabama side. This thing goes on all the way to Anniston, Alabama. There is a nice park there with picnic benches and bike racks. No water or restrooms, though. I took several pictures and we relaxed for a few minutes basking in the glory of having ridden to Alabama.
12:44 pm - Now we just gotta get some lunch and get home. We started back out down this long and lonely stretch. We saw one other old guy out here on a Bianchi (must've had a good retirement pension) but other than that it was us, dog poop, and chickens.
1:30 pm - We roll up to the depot in town and the sign says "Open" but the little thing in the door says "Back at 2". So we're off to find restrooms elsewhere. And where better than the courthouse?? Of course, the restrooms are on the OTHER side of the metal detector - and one member of our party has an extreme amount of metal in her leg. It went off but they let her on through. Some guy was hanging out there, shooting the breeze with the sherrif. Upon further inspection, Brian found he was in leg shackles. What a town!
We pressed on back to Rockmart and went through 4 more dog sprints on the detour (and we actually took the prescribed route the whole way). The last one involved a dog that was able to do about 20mph. Fortunately I had an extra gear left in me. Mind you this is happening after mile 70. But I wore him out good and he didn't seem to care about Brian and Laura at all.
3:15 pm - We arrive back at Rockmart and have lunch at "Hometown Pizza". You should stop by if you're in town. Have the turkey sub - it's a favorite.
From here it's only 28 miles or so back to the trucks. The sky looked like the weather was going to turn, but it didn't bother us at all.
5:30 pm - We're back at our vehicles. Pictured is the three of us at the end. What does mile 100 look like?? Why didn't we take a picture there also?? Because there was a diamondback rattler crossing, that's why. There are more pictures up over at in my Silver Comet 2007 Set at flickr. They are also geotagged, so you can get a feel on the map of where we were.
I hope you enjoyed reading about our escapades as much as I enjoyed experiencing them. And I just love my new camera!!
Posted by Mike at 5:00 PM | Comments (0)
September 21, 2007
Photos From the Silver Comet Ride
www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing photos in a set called Silver Comet Ride 2007. Make your own badge here.
Posted by Mike at 4:24 PM | Comments (0)
September 18, 2007
It's 5:45 am at the Fowler YMCA
And all these people beat me here. That was Monday. Today I got there just before 5 and there were people lined up to get inside. This is nothing new - I've witnessed it over the past 5 or 6 months. It's simply amazing to me. I used to work out at Gold's Gym in the mornings and there were never this many people there. Granted, they didn't have basketball, a swimming pool or an indoor track. But STILL??
Today was a brick day. It started with a 55 minute (or so) spin class (a roughly 17.5 mile equivalent) in a hot room. I normally will drink around 24 ounces of Powerade in a 1 hour spin, but today I drank the full 32 ounces. I felt like dog meat. I was sweating like a pig. Maybe it's always like that and with the different music I was just more in tune with the pain. I don't know.
It was great to finally get outside of that musty room for a 3.5 mile run. It was hard to get my legs under me, and REALLY hard to run in the dark. The sun didn't poke it's head over the horizon until after 7 and by then I was back to the Y. Total of roughly 39 minutes on the run. Sad - I know people who can run a 10K in that time AFTER swimming 8/10 of a mile and biking 25 miles!!!! Oh well - I can't compare myself to them.
The day was rounded out with a 1 hour martial arts class. Roughly 30 minutes of it was fighting technique - the other 30 minutes was a mix of cardio and core work.
As you can see by the post time, I'm up later than I wanted to be. Tomorrow will bring a long run in the morning. Hopefully my body will be up for it!!!
Posted by Mike at 9:51 PM | Comments (0)
September 17, 2007
Good Goes Around
There are two kinds of cyclists in this world - those that have been stuck on the side of the road far away from where there started or where they are going, and those that will be. I've been there, and today was Mike's turn (pictured right).
I was on my way home to deal with a plumbing issue when I saw him toss his helmet in disgust. Figuring he was out of tubes or something, I turned the Xterra around to offer help. Turns out his chain broke. Yikes. All I could offer was a ride. Perhaps this is a warning for me to carry a couple of links and a tool in case this happens to me at Lake Placid.
So after a roughly 15 minute car ride I had him back where he started. Turns out he's training to do a full ironman and some marathons, too. We chatted up about some local triathlons and he talked about how cool the 5430 Sports series out in Colorado is. I'm definitely going to have to check them out one day. I don't know whether we'll see Mike again, but it was good to help a fellow cyclist out. Hopefully good does go around and someone (friendly, not psycho-killer) will help me out when I get stuck in the future.
DISCLAIMER: I knew what I was doing. I could tell he was a cyclist and most likely not a psycho killer. So if you're thinking about giving me the WTF were you thinking lecture - save it.
Stats for today:
Just a swim. 2600 yards in sets of 500 (plus 100 yard warmup) in just under 1 hour. The pool felt great and my legs were happy to rest.
Stats for last week:
It was a great week. 7100 yards in the pool, 87 miles on the bike, and 22 miles running in just over 12.5 hours of training. I should've had a slightly higher volume, but I tried to focus on quality in every aspect and FEELING the water and the road. Everything is checking out ok and I'm starting to feel primed for the South Carolina HIM!!!
Posted by Mike at 6:52 PM | Comments (0)
September 15, 2007
Is it Fall yet?
The calendar still says Summer - at least for the next 6 days. Today sure felt like Fall though. It was actually somewhat chilly on the 30+ mile ride I took on the Silver Comet today. Looks like it was just a fluke as a result of Humberto, though. The 10 day forecast shows highs returning to the low to mid 80's.
Oh well. It was a great day for a ride. I took this photo with my new camera, while riding! I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I'm still learning how to use it, but all indications are it was the perfect choice for my endurance adventures.
What's really amazing about this photo is that there is no one else in it. The comet was packed all morning. It was amateur hour in some places, but by and large people were minding their manners. I only wish that people would use some common sense when stopping, turning, and when their cell phone rings. One lady put me in extreme danger when she was wobbing her bike at 6 mph down the middle of the trail while talking on her cell phone. IDIOT!!!! Oh well - I'm not going to turn this into a bitch session. It was a great day.
Stats for today's workout - 32.32 miles in 1 hour 53 minutes. Roughly 17.2 mph. Pretty good given that we started down at Floyd Rd and had a lot of crossings and people to contend with.
Posted by Mike at 9:18 PM | Comments (0)
September 4, 2007
One Long Weekend
Last weekend was the Labor Day holiday here in the U.S. For most people, it was a weekend of relaxation, barbecues, and maybe a trip to the pool or the beach. For me, the long weekend represented a weekend to GO LONG. This was basically the final preparation for the South Carolina Half IM coming up in just 3 weeks.
Friday was a long swim. 2750 yards isn't really that long, but the 1.2 mile swim I'll face at the end of the month only represents 2112 yards, so 2750 puts me in really good shape. The rest of the day was spent eating and resting (yes, work counts as rest when you're a desk jockey) to get ready for the next day's workout.
Saturday was a day of bike tune up and riding. I got in roughly 32 miles on my Suwanee / Buford / Sugar HIll loop. By the time I got out there traffic had really picked up. It wasn't as enjoyable of a ride as it could be, but I replaced my tires, lubed everything up, and the bike itself felt great. The rest of the day was spent eating and resting for the next day's workout. Notice a trend forming??
Sunday was my day to run long. I did 15 miles on the Suwanee Greenway. They had closed a portion of the trail for construction of a new bridge. Progress is good, but that took away almost 3 miles of trail from me (really 6 since that's an out-and-back portion). So, I had to improvise a route. It was really repetitive, but I suffered through it pretty well. My legs felt great at the end, so I couldn't really be happier. The rest of the day was spent eating and resting... blah blah blah.
Monday I went out and rode the Silver Comet trail to Rockmart. The comet is cool if you just need to get in some saddle time. There are bridges, tunnels, and scenic countryside along the route. Unfortunately, there really aren't any hills to speak of since this is an abandoned train track. But there are a lot of people in spots, so you can get in some practice dodging them. I'll be back out there, but it can't be my exclusive training site. I rode around Rockmart a little bit since my mom grew up there. Total ride was just over 60 miles.
Hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day weekend. I loved getting all the rides and run in. Having to eat as much as I did got really tiring. Almost sickening. But all in all it was good and I can feel all the progress I've made since doing the Macon Half. Bring it on!
Posted by Mike at 6:29 AM | Comments (0)
June 5, 2007
Friction is Your Enemy
Sports Pickle ran a satirical article about a guy who got bloody nipples while running his first marathon. I've sawed off my nipples a few times with a variety of shirts while running and biking. Running specialty shops sell a product called "Nipple guards" that work absolutely fantastically. Band-aids also work, but the glue on them is not as strong as I've found the nipple guards' glue to be.
Showering with bloody nipples is quite painful. Salt gets crusted on your body and when you shower it gets washed into the wound. This can be more excrutiating than the event itself. Sunday I learned that blisters on your feet can be much the same. When I took my sock off, the skin peeled up, exposing raw skin. When I jumped in the shower, all the salt that crusted on my over 7 hours washed down my leg, and into the blister. It was pouring salt straight in. OUCH.
So, the morals of this story are:
1) Guys need to wear protection over their nipples to protect them from being sawed off.
2) Use a product like body glide to protect other friction points (where the arms rub, where your shoulder rubs your neck while swimming, etc)
3) Re-apply either of these treatments if the previous one wears off.
4) After your event, you might was to try sponging off the excess salt before jumping in the shower. This might help reduce your pain.
And one last tip - don't ever use someone else's body glide stick. There are a couple of friction points that are just a little toooooo personal and private!!!
Posted by Mike at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 4, 2007
Training To Succeed
I've heard people amazed with the hills on the 1/2 ironman course in Macon. Same at the Emerald Point Triathlon last year. At the same time, I read people listing favorite training places as being the Silver Comet Trail, spin class, or some greenway somewhere. Those places are fine - but at some point you need to get out on roads with some elevation change.
Here I am at the top of Fort Mountain after climbing roughly 2500 feet over 7 miles. It started at around mile 17. That's roughly the amount of elevation change over the 56 mile 1/2 ironman course in Macon this weekend. We rode roughly another 25 miles after taking this picture.
Don't get me wrong - my time wasn't the fastest you've ever seen in Macon - but I felt great at the end of the ride! And that is the bike I rode, no time trial setup for me. Training days like the one pictured here are my secret. Now you know.
Posted by Mike at 8:40 PM | Comments (0)
May 27, 2007
40+ Mile training ride today
Went for a 40+ mile ride today. First half was great - second half was filled with smoke from the south Georgia fires. Didn't have much problem breating and was able to maintain a good pace. I've heard of the smoky mountains, but this is ridiculous.
If you're wanting to track the smoke flows, you should check out the satellite detection site.
Posted by Mike at 2:26 PM | Comments (0)
May 22, 2007
Train in the Conditions You May Experience
Right now there are massive wild fires burning in South Georgia, and smoke has blown all the way up to metro Atlanta. 11 days away from the half ironman in Macon and I realize that there is some likelihood that this condition will arise during the event (especially on a one loop, 56 mile bike course).
The National Weather Service issued this statement:
THE SMOKE WILL ENHANCE THE AIR QUALITY PROBLEMS TODAY...ESPECIALLY IN THE METRO AREAS OF ATLANTA...ATHENS... COLUMBUS...AND MACON. PEOPLE WITH RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS AND THE ELDERLY SHOULD REMAIN INDOORS IN THOSE AREAS WITH THICK SMOKE.
I'm about to go for my lunch time run. Sounds crazy, but I'm almost as healthy as they come. Don't worry, I'll take it easy out there.
Posted by Mike at 11:31 AM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2007
Leon's Is the Best
You've really gotta click thru and see the larger image to appreciate the breadth of offerings at Leon's. He's got a notary, a post office, milk shakes, bbq sandwiches, a wide assortment of beer and wine. This is the kind of place you like to find when you're out on a 50 mile training ride. I enjoy stopping in for some gatorade refills and gummy lifesavers. And I rest easy knowing that I can get bullets there, too.
Posted by Mike at 8:31 AM | Comments (0)
December 7, 2006
Georgia Bikes to the Capitol
Over 1000 cyclists biked to Atlanta in 2006 from Roswell. Looks like the event is going to happen again in 2007, with an additional ride (shorter, less elevation change) starting in Decatur. Mark you calendars for Tuesday, March 6. We should all clip in and spin downtown. More info can be found here. Also check the BikeRoswell! website in January for registration and further details. Hopefully sponsorships will kick in and make it free again this year!
Posted by Mike at 9:45 PM