Mike Schubert

This week marked the continuation of my ramp up. Yes, the athlete awakened a few weeks ago - but there are a couple of metrics that still need to come into line. Here are the totals for the week:

Swim - 4000 meters. I had 2 days of 1500 meters and the Monday after the race I only did 1000. I need to get some form fitting swim shorts from Tyr or someone because the ones I currently swim in have a lot of drag. The key is for them to be chlorine safe. I have ruined a number of pair in the pool already.

Bike - 43 Miles. This was all in one ride. I need to work on getting my routine back of at least 1 weekday ride so that I can ramp this mileage up better.

Run - 19 Miles. I'm pretty pleased here. All of these runs have been around the 12 noon hour. Not one was under 80 degrees. I'm definitely getting heat trained. The calendar says Spring but the thermometer definitely says SUMMER.

Weights - 30 minutes. Worked on my back and shoulders. Need to get some more core work in.

So that's the week looking back. A total of 8 hours and 40 minutes of training. My goals for next week are to 1) Cross the magical 10 hour threshold, 2) Get at least 1 brick in during the week, and 3) Get a 2nd weights workout during the week with some core work. 

Pre-ride 3-31-2010
Originally uploaded by Iron Mike Schubert

Baseball players have wound down Spring training and the regular season has begun. Atlanta has completely skipped Spring and gone from high temperatures one week in the 40's to last week in the 80's. I decided it was time to take some time off from work for a little Spring training of my own.

3/31 - 43 mile bike ride through Suwanee, Buford, Flowery Branch and Sugar Hill. High temp on the bike was right at 80 degrees.

4/1 - 5.75 mile run at lunch (I worked today). Again - the weather was perfect. This is evidently the start of heat training for the season so my run struggled a bit. I expect this to change quickly.

4/2 - Rest day. If anyone ever posts a week's worth of workouts and you don't see a rest day, you need to question them. You get stronger via recovery from the activity, not from actually doing the activity. I worked today, too.

4/3 - 6.7 miles run. This was an easy out and back on the greenway. Not a lot of elevation change. Right at the end I had to gun it to get around some annoying Team In Training people. Once again, they were occupying the entire 12 foot stretch of concrete with just a few people. They said "sorry" as I passed them on the right - meaning they knew they were in the wrong. Unfortunately, they continued to be in the wrong even after I passed them.

4/4 - Ride: 15.5 miles. Originally I planned this to be a swim as I thought it was the last day of the Tri2Remember Swim Clinic. Evidentally, it wasn't due to the Easter holiday. I have missed the prior two practices due to the ING Marathon one Sunday and dealing with my mom's estate the other Sunday. 

4/5 - Stott pilates. It's nice to work out with athletes. There is a common respect there - especially when they give you a workout that absolutely kicks your ass. That was the way today went. Imagine 1 hour of core work where the goal is to find all of your different breaking points and make them stronger. That's how it went. At the end, the instructor said she admired my ability to swim / bike / run for hours on end - she could do pilates for hours, but no way could bike or run for that long. And to be honest, an hour of Stott was all I could take. Mutual admiration isn't a bad thing.

4/6 - Long run. >10 miles. I wanted to go longer than that today, but it simply wasn't in the cards. As I mentioned earlier, it's heating up in Atlanta - they high today was around 88. So the heat training has kicked in earlier than planned. That's not a bad thing. I just ran 26.2 a couple of weeks back, so I'm not worried about the distance. I'll get in a 15 miler this weekend and a bunch of maintenance runs as well so I should be all set for 26.2 again in 2.5 weeks.

And thus Spring Training for me has ended. I feel better and stronger today than when I started 1 week ago. The base fitness has been awakened and proven. I am working on the 3rd solid week of logging EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth and my workouts. All that combined and I FEEL like an athlete again. That was the overarching goal of the past week and I met it with flying colors.

My focus this year is on nutrition and quality events. For the first time since 2007, there is no full distance Ironman triathlon on my race calendar. I am hoping this will allow me to focus on shedding more weight and building my capacity rather than focusing on getting ready to "get through" a 140.6 mile race. I have picked a handful of triathlons including 2 half-iron distance endeavors. I have also set my sights on 4 or 5 marathons with the goal of going under the 4 hour mark for the first time.

On the work front, my responsibilities are slowly increasing. I have a small portfolio of projects that I'm slated to deliver by the end of March and it is giving me a good taste of the rigors of resource, risk, and plan management at that level. The budget and scope are smaller than the largest project I managed, but has been a good way to get my feet wet in this arena that I hope to fully move into one day. During the 2nd half of 2010, I will likely be involved with revamping either our dot com or intranet platform (or both!). I'm looking forward to the opportunity to continue to grow. I'll yap more about this in March when I look back on my tenure at McKesson.

The top of Fort Mountain
Originally uploaded by Iron Mike Schubert

For many of us in the United States, the weather is getting colder and the urge to ride our bikes outside is dying down. Of course, it's not for me - but the rest of you people may be wimping out and that's okay. This is a friendly reminder for those of you out there still riding to be extra vigilant as there are fewer riders out and motorists may not be as aware of our presence.

If you ride enough miles you will eventually encounter less than friendly motorists that do things to you. I've had people try to run me off the road, throw bottles at me, yell, etc. I've even had stupid people in their own front yard yell at me to get off the road - as if I didn't know where they lived. What idiots.

One of my favorite stories came from the Athena Diaries this summer. Someone pulled a stunt on her while out riding, but evidently they were close to their final destination and she was able to note the address they pulled into. She wrote a friendly blog post titled Dear Pompous Idiot with this gem of a quote inside:

Oh, And thanks so much for pulling into your own driveway and screaming and swearing at us from your very own front yard. I checked on Google Street, and saw the same dark grey Volvo parked in your driveway, and now I know where you live. I’ll be sure and share that address on every cycling advocacy website that I know.

Just remember friends, you have as much right to the road as everyone else. Be smart, be predictable, and be safe.

Western Gulls
Originally uploaded by Iron Mike Schubert

Today is day 5 of trying to eat real food. It's also National Fast Food day in the United States. In the past, many of my snacks during the day have been protein bars - food items that while they appear nutritious from a protein/carbs/fat perspective, were potentially unhealthy due to the amount of processing they have undergone. I also eat out a LOT, and restaurants often use unhealthy things to prepare otherwise healthy menu items.

No, I'm not eating like a bird. I'm just trying to make better choices. Last Thursday and Friday I stopped at Publix on my way to work and picked up fruits (apples & bananas), vegetables (Birdseye Steamfresh veggie bowls), and Amy's Frozen Bowls. It's too early to tell what kind of impact these decisions will have on my training and general wellness, but I figure it can't hurt.