Run Forever

Run Forever, Micah True.

 

The Fortress Gets Another Brick

Bike
time- 2:15
distance- 35.91mi

Transition- 4:26

Run
time- 20:51
distance- 2.01mi

Regular, long-time readers are familiar with my Fortress of Fitness. Those of you who aren't should follow the link if you're really really interested (which I'm sure you are!). 
I missed my workout Wednesday due to a sick Super Awesome Wife needing to go to the doctor and I used that as an excuse to crank out a simple brick yesterday. I haven't bike/ran in a long time and it will be a good idea to start throwing those into my workouts every once in a while. Not so much for fitness, but to prepare to run off the bike. The legs do feel a little bit funny going from cycling to running, and keeping the heart rate controlled in transition is important too. Speaking of transition, brick workouts are a great place to practice those, though yesterday's was slow. Not sweating that, I'm training for a half Ironman. Transition speed is waaaaaay down on the list of concerns at this point. It's Mr. Larmstrong who should be practicing. If there is a place he might might get ahead of me that is where it is. If I'm feeling generous.
This was also a great opportunity to test out the multisport setting on my fancy-shmancy Garmin Forerunner 310xt. It's kick ass. You set it to multisport (duh), and define what sports you're talking about and whether or not it should include transition, then you just hit START. The watch tracks your first sport, you hit LAP, it switches to transition and times that, you hit LAP again, it switches to the second sport. Very very cool. It's going to come in handy during races.
My bike today was going to be an easier bike so that the brick was more more run-centric. But then I started thinking about how weaksauce it would be to just go to the bottom of Pineapple and come back up. So I ended up all the way out at Dillingham. Wind out there felt brutal and I struggled to keep a strong pace coming back. Gotta stay low on those aerobars, keep the gearing light, and spin.
The new plan for Pineapple is stay steady on the uphills, then drop into a heavier gear on the flat sections and try to make up the minutes. This is both easier and harder. It's easier because I spend more time thinking about the flats than about the climbs, but harder because I used to use the flats as rest periods between struggles upwards. The most important factor is that it's quicker. So I'll keep on keeping on.
The sun was setting as I pulled into my driveway. I knew I would be behind the light, I was at school later than I wanted to be dealing with crap that drove me to want to workout for two and a half hours when I got home (Note: Not student issues. I love students, even the ones with problems. I can't stand adults. Students have a chance to change.) I don't normally run under lit street lamps so when I pulled in I took a quick nature break, then switched my bike jersey for a bright yellow tech shirt, making me a Sneetch without stars upon thars. I wore my toe socks for the ride, something I plan on doing for the Honu, so transition from cycling shoes to Bikilas was quick and easy.
Like I said, the original plan was a longer run/shorter bike. But it was getting late and dark and I was getting tired and hungry so I scrapped that plan in favor of a easy transition run of twenty minutes. I don't feel lame about this because in his excellent book I'm Here to Win, Chris McCormack writes about easy runs after hard rides. So there.
And it was an easy run. I'm trying to figure out what an ideal heart rate goal would be, and I think it's probably somewhere in the 150s. As you'll see from my data, I was way above that last night. If I can get fit enough and smart enough to run in the 150s that will help control how many buckets of fluid I sweat, which will help hydration and cramping issues. We are talking for the Honu here. The Honolulu Olympic tri will probably result in a much higher average heart rate, but its a much shorter race. (I'm kinda blown away I thinking about an Oly as "much shorter". Please see any post from a year ago for evidence.) Both Achilles protested quietly for the entire two miles. Never enough to make me stop, just enough to remind me to ibprophen, ice, and roll when I got home. Guess I ain't healed yet.
I like brick workouts, and I like running off the bike. For some reason it is easier to think about than just getting up for a run. Maybe I use the ride to make excuses for why I'm not running as fast. Speed is not the point, I know that, but it's still hard to internalize sometimes.
Preparations are moving along. To steal from the fantasy world, Honu is Coming.

More (Stolen) Warrior Dash Pictures!

Warrior Dash had an official photographer who got some great shots. But they want waaaay too much money for prints. So...they have been liberated.

The only time on a run the Grey will be behind me

He's the other guy in the skirt kilt

Badass

Baaaadass

Background Ninja!

Here's mud in your eye...my eye

How can you tell the mud is thick?

There should be a giant tribal tattoo on my chest

Running Into the Sunset

Run
time- 1:01
distance- 6.02mi

My goal right now is to ease back in after dealing with the Achilles issues. I would rather be undertrained and healthy than injured, so even though I really wanted seven+ yesterday I went for six. Cruised, though my first two miles were much faster than I planned. I need to work on consistent pacing. I say that now, but I know that "pacing" during the Honu will probably be more like "Bataan Death March" after mile five or six. That's ok, this is supposed to hurt.
I left the house later than normal, but that was ok because it meant the weather was cooler and I got to see this.

Warrior Dash Race Report

 

"The craziest fricken' day of your life!"

Above is the mission statement for the Warrior Dash, a three mile run though mud, up ropes, over fire, in water,  and under barbed wire where you climb, fall, get back up and keep going.  In short- it's a Dirtbag kind of race.

I jumped when I saw that the Warrior Dash was coming to Oahu. Nothing cool comes to Oahu. Nothing. The coolest musical act we got this year was Neil Diamond. Case: Rested. I was probably in the first dozen people to send them my money, I was pumped. Then I started spreading the word to every active person I know. Then end result of this was a big ass group of people I know and people I know now meeting up Saturday morning at the Haleiwa boat harbor in a variety of mud-ready clothing ready for...well, something. We weren't exactly sure what.

The Dash didn't happen at the boat harbor, but we are a smart group of Dirtbags. The Dash was happening down a two lane road on a ranch. We did the math- 500 people starting every half hour. Waves starting at 8:30 and ending at 5:00. That's a lot of people. And that means that's a lot of cars trying to get into and out of one parking lot all at once, all day long. So, being the smart, clever, and good looking Dirtbag boys and girls that we are, we met about two miles away and rode our bikes in. Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads. Before going on I should specify. "We" being Diesel and his wife, the Grey, and three crazy mad ultra runners who don't have official Dirtbag nicknames yet but are kick ass people and I should get on giving them some. And me, naturally. Super Awesome Wife stayed home. She went through basic training so the whole climbing ropes and crawling through mud thing is something she's done plenty of.

The Warrior Dash website is full of descriptions of how badass the course is. There is FIRE! And MUD! And CLIMBING ROPES! And VARIOUS OTHER COOL SOUNDING OBSTACLES! But we as a group figured a lot of that was good marketing. Yeah, sure there will be some kind of rope climb. But it's not like it's going to be hard or high. You can't do that, people might get hurt. Wait, what's this? A waiver to sign? I've signed waivers before races before...but this has a whole lot of things to initial here, initial here, initial here, sign here, drop of blood here, next of kin here. Huh, the lawyers really got a hold of these guys. Riding in we saw a few of the obstacles to come, but most were hidden in the tall grass and trees so we still didn't know what to expect.

We were wrong to underestimate the Warrior Dash people. Wrong wrong wrong. 

Before I get into the race proper though, I must say something else. This was, without a doubt, one of the best organized events I've ever participated in. I say again One Of The Best Organized Events Ever. Crazy organized. Check-in was quick, bag check was easy, there was a bank of thirty or more Port-a-Potties (something most every other race should take note of), and a stage with live music. Sure, they were charging $10 a car for parking, but what did we care? Super smart, remember? Rode right past that foolishness. 

I choose to sport my Warrior Dash kilt, and the Grey wore one of his kilts too. I also rocked an old holey pair of VFFs. Noticed a lot of others also in toe shoes. Vibram should throw some money at this event. It is perfect for them. Everyone else, while not in costume, was comfortable in some kind of running gear. This event, though, brings out the freaks. I saw, without turning my head, women in tiny pink shorts and tops, Darth Vader, a ninja, a super hero, bikinis, and, I think, a teddy bear. This ain't your mom's 5k. 

We crowded in to the starting corral to wait for the gun. Correction- to wait for the twin blasts of flame from atop the starting gate. Twin. Blasts. Of. Flame. Every race should start with fire. We figured being in the front would allow us to get a little ahead of the press of Warrior humanity right from the get go. Well, the press pressed, and one of the badass cool runner chicks I went with, who shall henceforth be known as ChicaBoom, who was right in front of me nearly got tripped up and squashed. She caught herself, I used my Dirtbag Strength to grab her and help her up and off we went. 

FIRE!!!

 To...where the heck is the coolness? Half mile in and I've only run! WTF, mate? Ohhhh, that false sense of security thing people talk about. Gotcha. 

I'm not going to blow-by-blow every obstacle because I didn't stop and take notes (though Kepa did stop and take pictures, so any picture from here on in of the course is courtesy of the Tri-N-Hawaiian's race report) but I will mention most of them.
It started out right away with an obstacle that made me think, "Huh, they are pretty serious about this." It was a balance beam-style up-and-down a few feet off the ground. Like, it would probably hurt a little to fall off. This bodes well for the future. 

Photos courtesy of Tri-N-Hawaiian

As we ran to the next challenge our little group spread out. We'd discussed the possibility earlier and decided to run our own races. No one was in a hurry, but if we got spread out then so be it, we'll meet up at the end. That being said, ChicaBoom, the Grey, and I got out ahead. And up a rope wall. 

I've never gotten to climb a rope wall and it was every bit as fun as I wanted it to be. Mind, I was rocking the skirt kilt so it was probably even more fun for the people behind me. The next few obstacles were also climbing ones, and every one was high enough at it's apex that, as UltraMan put if afterwards, "you probably could die if you fell." Or at least hurt yourself real good. Remember the waiver you signed? Good.

All photos courtesy of Tri-N-Hawaiian

 We got to roll across a horizontal cargo net, though I guess some people walked the beam going down the center. What's the fun in that? That's not how a pirate would do it. And it ain't how the Dirtbag did it. Ninja Warrior, here I come! Then we bear-walked under some netting only to hit crossed beams with barbed wire strung across the top. Coming in we'd seen this obstacle and remarked, "Hey look, fakey barbed wire. Wrong again. Real barbed wire. Diesel says he saw people with scratched who got too high going under. Cool. Cool cool cool.

Yes, that is barbed wire [All photos courtesy of Tri-N-Hawaiian]

 The next was, as far as I'm concerned, the most difficult. It was a high/low challenge where we had to vault/climb/fall over a wooden barrier, then low duck under some more barbed wire, then up, then under, and so on. The last under was deep too. I was still near the Grey at this point and he might have been heard complaining about his back and how he's too old for this. Maybe I was hearing things. Never know.

 Next was two more climbing walls, the first with a slide down along the wall to get to the ground and the second a slide down a fireman's pole. That's right, I said I got to slide down a fireman's pole! Hell to the yeah. I haven't been down a pole where no one's trying to slip money in my kilt for ages!

Ninja Wall Slide!

 What followed was the longest straight run of the course and I admit I walked some of it. What the hell? I'm not racing, I'm kind of winded, and it's a nice day. I'm walking to the water station. Warriors are allowed to walk. 

I think the next challenge caused most people to balk. Not because it was hard, but because we had to wade/swim through chest high water. In a lake. On a farm. Where ducks swim. And do whatever else it is that ducks do when they are sitting in water. I know what children do when they are in water, I was a lifeguard for years, so I can imagine what ducks do. But I don't want to because I just head's up swam through that. Up and over two floating barrels and out of the water.

Next? YES! FIRE! FIREFIREFIRE! We got to jump over two flaming logs. I vividly remember thinking before the race, "Yeah, it says 'leap over fire.'  But come on, you can't really do that. It probably actually means 'hop over smoldering ashes.'" Nope. Leap. Over. Flames. Not like high WOOSH flames, but flames. Please keep in mind, Dirtbag in a kilt here. Good thing I've been trimming my leg fur for the Rock Tape or there might have been some smelling like burning happening.

Did I mention FIRE!!!

 One more high cargo net climb and there is the finish. Huh, I'm pretty clean. Sure, I'm dusty from all the dirt being kicked up on the trail by everyone, but I'm mostly clean. I thought there was mud. Oh wait...

Like a pirate in the rigging

 Mud pit. Mud pit crawl. Under more barbed wire. In a space of less than three minutes I had jumped over fire and crawled through mud up to my shoulders under barbed wire. "Craziest fricken' day," indeed. And then across the line!

Yeah, that's alllll mud [courtesy of Tri-N-Hawaiian]

 Across the line where I was greeted with one of the best race medals I've ever gotten, and then some volunteer handing out bananas. I'm covered in mud. Literally covered. From my neck to my toes I am brown and goopy. And you're handing me food? Thanks, I'm good. In fact, I even had some in my eye because as I was climbing out of the mud pit I nearly slipped, waved my arms around in a parody of athletic balance, and flung a small drop of mud right into my face. Could have been worse. Could have been into my mouth. 

The group met up at the finish and then headed off to the Warrior Wash to get the mud off. How nice that they provide some kind of shower syst...what's that? The Warrior Wash is simply another part of the lake? How cool/kinda gross/cool. Dozens of muddy Warriors trying to clean themselves in a lake. Looked like the tribe cooling off after a good day's hunt.

Tribe hunt gud. Now tribe clean. [Courtest of Tri-N-Hawaiian]

 We grabbed our free beers, I gave mine to ChicaBoom, got our gear from the still easy bag check, and got back on the bikes. The Dash was right across the street from the beach, like 70% of the things on Oahu (hello, island!), so we rode straight to the ocean and jumped in for some cleaner cleaning.

You're intimidated, right?

I'm a Warrior! (not a bunny, damnit)

The Grey, however, is a bunny.

It's not a Hawaiian photo blog without a shaka

WARRIORS!!!

 Race registration was the best deal I think I've ever had. We got a t-shirt, the free beer, a medal, AND a fuzzy hat with horns on it. A FUZZY HAT WITH HORNS! Cooooool! And what do Dirtbag's on bikes do with fuzzy hats with horns? We cram them into our bike helmets so we ride home looking like the Warriors we are. Heck, the Grey even managed to come in second in his age group. *insert your own cheap crack about his age here* They gave him a little metal helmet. I think I came in at 30 minutes and something seconds but I'm not sure and can't be bothered to check because I don't care. Time wasn't the point. I could have cranked harder, but why? Have I mentioned how cool this is yet?

This was the best three miles I've ever run. I can't be effusive enough. If I designed a sprint triathlon it would end with a Warrior Dash instead of a normal run. There are other, longer events like the Spartan Death Race and the Tough Mudder and I can't speak to how much fun something like this is for longer than 30 minutes, but for my money this kicks ass. I don't care how fit you are, if the Warrior Dash is within driving distance of you, buy a ticket and take the ride. It is so worth it.

Shwag

Race numbers should be covered in mud

One of my favorite medals

Getting To Teach

Ride
time- 2:00
distance- 18.81mi

Today was a very cool workout for me. A friend who does not have a Dirtbag nickname yet, I'm thinking, has decided she wants to be a triathlete. I know her through Super Awesome Wife's knitting group, and of course she asked me for help. After all, I am the guy who is going to take down Lance Armstrong. Who better to ask, right? She is registered for the Lanikai sprint next month and I am helping her to prepare. How? By taking her up Kolekole and seeing if her legs come off! Duh.
The Lanikai bike course is almost completely flat save Radar Hill, a steep but short climb on Kaneohe Marine Corps Base. She hadn't been doing the kinds of climbs that would prepare her for it. To fix that we rode from the house onto Schofield and up Kolekole.
I've never ridden with someone slower than I am before. I wanted to help her as much as I could to get up the hill without hating life too much. I wanted to help like Diesel helped me Sunday. So I was either right in front of her (on the narrow parts) or right next to her, talking to her, checking how she was feeling, and trying to keep talking to keep her mind off her legs burning like fire.
We did stop once, for a minute or two, right before the hill really got cracking. Kolekole starts with a long grinding climb. Its a barely perceptible grade and if you aren't paying attention it just makes you think you've suddenly replace the water in your bottle with weaksauce. The grind, coupled with her knowing a more serious climb was coming but not actually knowing what that would entail, make her choose to take the break. No problem, sometimes you need a break. If it was that or turn around, then take the break. I had let her know how I felt my first time up, how much it hurt (wow, that was an old post!) so she wouldn't be taken by surprise when the pain came. It isn't a bad climb, not now, but the first time for a new rider isn't fun at all.
After our short break we pressed on. She thanked me for helping her out at the bottom, "just in case I kinda hate you at the top." But she toughed it out and only cursed at me once I think. I tried to keep a running commentary going, telling jokes and making one-way small talk. Strange to be on that side of the conversation, rather than the one gasping out one word responses. She even managed a small "Woohoo!" when we reached the top.
Here is where she really impressed me though- We turned around to head back down and when we got to where she'd taken the break she asked to turn around and go back up again. Hell yeah, that's what I like to hear! So we flipped a U-y (U-ey? U-ee?) and back up we went. We were probably only a mile or so away from the top, but that is still kick ass for a new rider. I know the first time I went up I really didn't want to do it again, not even halfway.
We rode home, watched The Full Monty (great movie, find it, watch it) and hung out and it was a good time. Until she went to leave and realized some coward jackass stole her bike out of the back of her truck. Not to end such a positive post on a sour note, but I'm glad I didn't catch the guy when I went driving around the neighborhood to see if he was dumb enough to still be around. The cop who came when she reported it stolen said not to engage the criminal if we do see him, and I know that. But it would have been really tough not to run him off the road and beat the crap out of him. I'm not prone to tough talk like that but...fuck. Anyway, a police report is filed and craigslist will be scanned. Hopefully he is dumb enough to try to fence the bike there. I feel bad for letting her leave the bike in the back of her truck. Should have insisted she bring it inside.
Still, she had a great ride, she says she has another bike at home she can ride, and hopefully the cops find the guy or at least the bike.

A Quick Double Workout Post

Swim (Thursday)
1 x 200- warm-up
1 x 500
Swim Fail

Run (Thursday)
time- 49:52
distance- 7.72mi

Ride (Sunday)
time- 4:01
distance- 56.61

My interwebs have been doing the fritz all weekend, so this is making up for that. I know both of you out there in the tubes watching this point of light were wondering where I had gone.
Swim fail Thursday. I want to say the water was too cold again, and it was really cold, but there were others still in there while I was warming back up in the spa. I don't think I have a really good reason for why my swim Thursday was so bad. I was tired because I got to bed a lot later than I meant to. Either way, fail.
The run that day wasn't great either, but I'm still testing the tendons. They feel better, but still not great. Super Awesome Wife taped only the left leg since the right was doing ok, but I think Tuesday I'm going to tape both legs again. Foam rolling is helping, though there is sometimes tightness that wasn't there earlier. Whatever, it'll heal. Must be patient.
Sunday's ride with the boys was strong though. Diesel and I met up in the morning, the Grey was running behind because he was up all night Saturday polishing the trophy he got for winning his age group at the Warrior Dash Saturday* (*race report and pictures pending). So Diesel and I took off, heading to Pupukea for some climbing action. I feel like I had a good climb, it helps when Diesel decides to hang back and talk me up. Sure, it can be frustrating to be sweating, huffing, and puffing and the guy next to you is breezing and chatting, but it helps. My ego won't let me ease up. Damn ego.
On the way back down the Grey caught us up so we, brilliantly, turned around and went back up. You know, so that the Grey got his whole climb in. Wouldn't want to leave him out. My first double hop of Pupukea. Well, one and a half. It counts!
Then we cruised out Dillingham and back for time trials and headwind fighting, then up Pineapple. Diesel again "encouraged" me up, and bothered the Grey. Meaning he would ride some with me, notice that the Grey was getting away, shift and speed up** (**"speed up" should be read "disappear in a cloud of smoke"), bother the Grey by pulling on his jersey, turn around, and come back and meet me to ask why I hadn't caught them on that last flat part. It really did keep me moving and motivated, I kept the gas on way longer and harder than I might otherwise have...even though you kind of hate your friends while they are doing it.

Gimme Two Scoops of the Pineapple

Ride
time- 2:19
distance- 32.43
elevation gain- 2,483ft

Crashing after teaching today. Didn't feel like working out. One of those, "Oh, might those be storm clouds a-comin'?" sort of days. But only a little, because since my trip to Big Island I'm feeling motivated as all hell to put in good regular workouts. I don't know if my Achilles is going to let me get the runs in I want, but I sure as hell can be riding like I want. Like I mentioned yesterday, I didn't have much pain after my short run, but today my left calf/heel was feeling awfully tight. Lots of stretching and foam rolling happening. Tomorrow after school I'll be throwing some more Rock Tape on there for my run, and hopefully it'll last the weekend. Course, the Warrior Dash is Saturday, so that hope is probably in vain.
Anyway, getting a good look at some of the bounces Hawi takes on the climb to the turn-around point of the ride portion of Ironman Honu 70.3 really woke me up. I don't feel ready, but I do feel ready to suffer some more. I'm motivated in that, "Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap," kind of way. It's a good thing.
Good climb number one today. Cranked pretty hard, feel like I was holding a good cadence. Lost some time on the second one, and spent a lot of it thinking about how hungry I was. Good thing I ate a banana before I left the house or I would have been really hurting. Need to get this climbs strong.
Also, I was contacted by Mr. David Haas from the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance about spreading the word about fitness and how beneficial that can be for cancer patients. He has an excellent post about it here, and I think he's going to write something special that I can put up in this space. Looking forward to it, Dirtbag Fitness is glad to spread the positive word and help cancer patients in any way we can. With that in mind, don't forget to occasionally click over to the Dirtbag Supports page and give a little. Even five bucks makes a difference. Cheers.

Email Intercepted, Mr. Larmstrong

 Dirtbag friends, I have been slighted by the Texan in lyrca, the King of the Pyrenees, the Man in Yellow, Mr. Larmstrong yet again. My crack team of Dirtbag hackers has been working day and night and sometimes even midafternoon to intercept emails sent from his email address which contain the words, "Dirtbag," "awesomesauce," "fear," "toe jam," "Big Island," or "tapioca". And boy have they found a doozy. Check it out:

From: larmstrong@yellowbracelet.org
To: teamyellow@weheartlance.org
Re: Dirtbag On Big Island

Minions:
Word has reached me through my many channels that my archrival, Mr. Dirtbag, is on the Big Island for a supposed vacation. I think we all know that this is a cover story created to hide the fact that he knows I am currently in training on the Big Island and he is coming to scout me. We can not let this happen. I am unprepared to face him. It would be like tapioca pudding facing a speeding train full of awesomesauce which is also powered by awesomesauce. Your jobs are to be sure he never catches sight of me. Tail him and keep me informed. I can show no fear before we meet on the beach June 2nd. It will only embolden him further. 
Keep me informed.
- L.
PS- Toe jam.

Well, Mr. Larmstrong, your plan worked. I did not catch sight of you during my week scouting you on vacation. I knew you were around though. For one, you tweeted about it. I mean, come on, don't you know how social networking works? But the real reason I knew you were there was because I could detect the aroma of Texas-style BBQ. That's right, I could smell what you were cooking. Which means only one thing- another WWE-style response video:

Anniversary Workouts (Don't Be So Dirty!)

Swim
1 x 200- Warm-up
10 x 100- 1:30
1 x 50- easy
4 x 100- IM
1 x 50- easy
4 x 200- 3:00

Run
time- 32:06
distance- 3.33mi

Today's main swim set was brought to you by the Tri-N-Hawaiian, maker of puka shell necklaces, slippahs, and spam musubi. Ok, so maybe not those three things, but the swim set for sure. (Note To Tourists- Puka means hole. So a puka shell necklace is a necklace of shells with holes in them. Aloha.) He recently had a discussion about finding his base 100 time, which led to my describing the above 100 set, which led to me realizing I hadn't done that set in a while, so I decided to knock it out. Did it well too, if I may say so myself. 1:30 base time, made the first five on about the 1:15-1:18, and the final five on the 1:20-1:22. So I was never dying for breath, but I couldn't let up much either. Bodes well for my Honu swim.
Now, some of you out there in the series of tubes which make up the Internets may be wondering, "Dirtbag, if you can do this set on the 1:30, why not knock it down to a 1:25 next time? You'll be even faster then." And you, dear reader, are right. I would be even faster. But lets say I put a lot of effort into getting my average 100 time down to a 1:25. And let's be clear, it would be a lot of work for those five seconds. That's a long time in a distance as short as 100 yards. But say I did it. Five seconds over 100 yards means 25 seconds over 500. 50 seconds over 1,000 yards. So over the Honu course, just over 2,200 yards, I would save two minutes. Over a race that might take me as long as six hours, working my ass off to save two minutes is a silly waste of energy. I will continue to work my 1:30 pace and get it nice and strong so that when I get out of the water I've held a good pace and used as little energy as possible, and instead put the real effort towards my run and bike.
Speaking of my run, yes I only did three miles today. Two reasons- First, today is Super Awesome Wife and my second anniversary and we had dinner reservations we would have been late for had I run any longer. Second, I'm not confident in the Achilles tendonitis yet and will ease back into distances, though not too slowly because I need to be knocking out double-digit runs pretty regularly here soon (read: now). It didn't hurt during the run but flared up a bit after my stretch. Feels fine as I sit here, so hopefully it was just reacting to being stretched nice and deep for the first time in a week. The discomfort has moved to the other leg though, so I guess that's some kind of progress.
Head's up, I intercepted an email from a Mr. Larmstrong recently and should have a reply up soon. He thinks he's so smart.
Happy anniversary, baby! Love you the mostest.

Use Those Hips (Plus Bonus Batman and Big Island)

Swim
1 x 200- Warm-up
5 x 200- (100-fist, 1, 2, 3/100- hip focus)
1 x 500- 50 easy/50 hard
5 x 50- sideline kick
1 x 100- cool down
total- 2050yds

Ride
time- 1:42
distance- 30.62mi

First workout back from spring break is always tough, mostly because I forget how to be an adult on break. I stay up too late, I sleep in, the couch gets very familiar with the back of my front. Staying up too late and sleeping in means that first day back is a horrible adjustment. I tried to go to bed at a reasonable time Sunday night, ended up staring at the bookcase until after midnight, then still got up for my morning swim at 4:45am. As I posted on Facebook that day, as soon as my coffee wore off I was going to fall over like someone hit me with a frying pan.
Drill day in the water, not a lot of high energy excitement. Starting to think more about how my hips are involved in the stroke and trying to activate them to pop the front of the stroke and held the pull. That's what the hip focus is on the first 200 set. Open water swimming doesn't allow for gliding, too many other factors work against it, and to compensate I'm going to need to slightly shorten my stroke. This is where generating power from my hips comes in. This about Ali throwing a punch or Pujols driving one deep. The hips are closed and then BOOM they open and power is released. Each freestyle stroke is like that, though on a quicker scale.
And the ride was strong if unremarkable. I've learned to duck around red lights by making like I'm turning right but oh no I'm actually going straight still. Really the best part of my ride was sporting my new kit. Much love to Background Profiles for sponsoring me, because that helped me justify buying this.

What's that? The BikeSignal?

Prepared for my archnemisis: The Driver

So everyone I pass knows who did it

One really cool thing about the shorts is they are bib shorts, so its more like a wrestling singlet. They have straps that go up over my shoulders. This makes them way more comfortable to ride in because there is no sag. This makes them way harder to pee in because first you have to take the jersey off.
And now a couple of pictures from our vacation to the Big Island.

Swim Start/Run Finish for Kona IM World Championships

The beach start of the Honu- June 2

Another shot of the Honu swim start

The run up to T1

Soon I will swim in this water with Lance

What To Expect Two Hours Before the First Race of Your Season

 
 New active.com article from your favorite Dirtbag. How do the two hours before your first race go?

What To Expect Two Hours Before the First Race of Your Season