A Fistful of Workouts

 

Swim (Thursday)

1 x 200- Warm-up

1 x 1000

total- 1200yds

Ride (Thursday)

time- 1:59

distance- 26.38

Run (Saturday)

time- 2:15

distance- 10.85mi

Ride 1/2 (Sunday)

 time- 5:18

distance- 66mi

Busy week away from blogging for your favorite Dirtbag. Some good workouts in there though. 

The swim is not so much. The reason? I got in the water and then I started thinking about all the stuff I had to do in my classroom to finish the year, we only have a handful of days left, and I couldn't swim any more. I was in the water at around 5:30am, and I figured if I did a good 1000, then I could get out with little guilt and get some cleaning (read: throwing stuff away) done. So that's what I done did.

That afternoon I was feeling tired and didn't think a good ride was going to happen. Normally, I'd have hit Pineapple for two laps, but I really wasn't seeing that. So instead I went on base thinking I'd crank one lap of Kolekole and go home. Well, one went well and it became two. The second one I decided to really hard charge, I tried to break off a piece, and I got to the top hurting and burning and ready to bail. But halfway down the pain went away and some guilt crept in. "You know," my legs said, "You would normally be doing way more climbing than this. And it isn't that far up the hill. We could get another." So we got another, and it was the slowest of the bunch and then I went home. Still, good climbs. 

Saturday was the big run day of the week and it was hooooot. I'm only estimating, but I'm pretty sure it was about 1000*. I'd give the shade temp too, but there is no shade on my run. I embraced the suck, endured a high DSQ, and went out 5.25mi to an excellent view down Pineapple to the ocean.

Turned around, grabbed some Gummy Bears, and headed for home. Somewhere along this part of the run I started getting a light pain behind the big toe on my right foot. By the time I hit Dole it was screaming at me, so I stopped to check it out. No visible problems, I don't know what is going on, but I'm taking it easy from here on. So I walked for a while, then I would run, then I would walk. By the time I got home it was hurting pretty good and I'm still not sure what's up with it. I'm icing and taking it easy. Probably won't run this week at all just to be on the safe side. I'm hoping that I stepped on a sharp rock and bruised something. Otherwise, there might be lots of walking on the Big Island. 

Today's ride was pretty long. A friend new into triathlon had never ridden Pineapple and wanted to, and I was more than happy to take her. But I needed to get some for myself first. So it was meet the Grey at 6:30(ish) and head out to Pupukea and back, a lap that takes around two hours fifteen if you don't stop for a chat with Diesel, who was running up around the Pupukea trails. We had a good ride, pretty fast, we both pushed hard. And then it was back up Pineapple to Dole, where I told Friend Who Needs A Team Dirtbag Name But I Haven't Thought Of One Yet to meet me. The Grey peeled off and headed for home and she and I went for our own ride. It was nice for me because I got to cool it out for the most part. Sucks to bring a friend and then burn her down, so I hung back and chatted and generally enjoyed the ride. She hung like a champ and we went to Kaena Point. Beautiful out there.
 

 Then it was back past the airfield and conquering Pineapple once more. For her first time up she fought hard and never complained. I stayed with her, trying to talk to keep her focused. It was good for me because I'm normally in the small ring, light gears, trying to spin. But today I stayed in the big ring, still in the light gears because, I mean, come on, but heavier than I'm used to. So it was a nice climb for me. She was red in the face and pedaling hard and, I think, made it better than I did my first time. Then we came back to the house and had some Koa Pancake House, because we'd earned it.

*******************************************************************************

Please don't forget about the Dirtbag Fitness Guess My Time 50/50 Challenge. Right now only one person has guessed, which means your current odds of winning are HUGE! And you're not going to let that person win your money, are you? So get in there, it's only $5, and you could win All The Money! Follow the link.

Personally, That Felt Best (AND A BIG THING)

Swim
1 x 200- Warm-up
5 x 200- 100- fist, 1, 2, 3/ 100- hard
3 x 300- 4:30
1 x 400- odd 50- easy/even 50- hard
1 x 500- 7:28
1 x 100- cool down

Run
time- 1:15
distance- 7.6mi

Swims are coming along nicely. Tuesday morning's swim let me know that the work is paying off and the stroke is coming back, though I'm still not thrilled with how my core feels late in the workout. Mixing the hard and easy intensities within the sets is a good way to really crank though, because I know there is some chilled yardage coming directly.
My run was fantastic. My out wasn't stellar, not amazing, pretty average. Went out for 3.75 miles because I wanted a 7.5 mile run. Obviously, somewhere in there I added a tenth of a mile, but whatever. Close enough for theater work. As I approached Dole I checked my watch and it said I'd been out for 46 minutes. I thought, "Well, from Dole to home is three miles. I bet I can do that in under 30 minutes. Let's go." Truthfully, I don't think I really thought I could do that. But that was the back of my brain thinking those negative thoughts, and we try not to listen to him. He's a downer. Me and the front of my brain, we were down to getting that done. I know I can average better than 10 minute miles, I do it all the time. But over the last three miles of a warmer-than-normal 7.5 miler? Not sure. It's a great time to find out. So I started repeating, "1:16" in my head and picked up my feet. I waited for my pace to fall off the whole time. I figured I would run this hard until I couldn't, then I would drop back into the normal cruise pace for the rest of the way. But I never really felt like I needed to. My feet hurt and I figured I would be paying the price with a tight AT later, but that can be dealt with. I wanted to set a goal and get some. And I did. Got home at 1:15, a minute under what I wanted. Score! Check out the splits of my last three full miles- 9:44, 9:42, 9:49. That ain't bad. And my pace for the 0.6 final was a blazing(ish) 9:32. I'm thrilled.
And yeah, sore and tight AT, but some ibprophen and the foam roller...and a Dixie cup of ice, and I'm all good now.
NOW! For the BIG THING!
Those of you around last year will remember this big thing. We are now entering the Dirtbag Zone, where gambling isn't illegal so much as it exists in a grey area. Please follow the link for more information.

Second Annual Dirtbag Fitness Guess My Time 50/50 Challenge!

Dirtbag Friends! I come to you with a special contest offer, which is almost a direct repeat of last year's special contest offer.

As you know, the Honolulu Triathlon is coming up and your favorite Dirtbag will competing in the Olympic distance event, my second time at this distance, the first time being last year's event! And if I've learned anything from Grantland.com's Sports Guy its that if something is fun to watch, its way more fun to gamble on. So as a Special Event Fundraiser Extravaganza Dirtbag Fitness proudly presents the 50/50 Guess My Time Challenge!

Here's the scoop:

-For every $5 sent in to Dirtbag Fitness using the PayPal link to the side, beneath the sponsor, Twitter, and followers widgets, you can have one guess at my overall finish time of the Honolulu Olympic Distance Triathlon in 15 second increments. The person closest to my actual time will be sent 50% of the total Dirtbag donations, with the other 50% going towards the care, feeding, upkeep, and competing of Dirtbag Fitness. (If this does well I'm using the money towards bigger and more expensive races, a cadence sensor for the bike, or new tri duds. If it doesn't I could always use more tire tubes.)

-For $25 you can have six guesses. That's one free guess, allowing you to block off a whole minute and a half for only $25.

-You must put your prediction in the comments below on this blog so everyone else can see and we don't get any doubles. Also, please send your predictions with the paypal payment so I have all your information in one place should you win.

-Rather than spoon feed you what I think my time will be, you've gotta use your noggin. I'll tell you it should be slower than two hours but faster than three.

-Remember, you must guess in 15 second increments. Please use a hours:minutes:seconds format for your prediction with along the lines of, "My prediction is a total overall time of 2:03:15. Dirtbag is a rock star of epic proportions!" or "I think Dirtbag will destroy the field with a final time of 1:56:30. I also think his awesomeness will cause any pregnant women he passes to spontaneously give birth, and any fertile but not pregnant women to suddenly become pregnant."

-To sweeten the pot, if you manage to guess my exact time to the second I'll send you 75% of the donations rather than 50%.

-This Fundraising Contest begins today and ends the night of May 19th, which is the day before the race.

If this goes well and there is lots of participation then the pot will be nice and healthy and you'll be able to buy that tank of gas you've always wanted. If it doesn't go well and only two people participate...well then I'll send thank you emails to Dirtbag Parents and Dirtbag Best Friend, give someone their ten bucks, and pretend this never happened.

The relevant information once more is :
$5 = one guess

$25= six guesses
Guess in 15 second intervals

Post guess(es) in the comments below.

Thank you for playing, donating, and reading and good luck to everyone!

The Stooges Trainer

Ride
Trainer set
10 minute warm-up
10 min hard/5 min easy for an hour

You want motivation?
Here.

That is Iggy Pop, for those of you not in the know. Iggy was born in 1947. This picture is maybe three year old. I will pause so you can do the math, then I want you to look at the man again. Yeah, I don't know how he does it.
Actually, that's not true. I have a pretty good guess.
He's insane. And he works harder on stage than any performer I've ever seen. We should step back so I can clarify. Yesterday was a trainer session and I've been using my laptop to watch whatever catches my eye while I'm working so that I don't want to slam my head repeatedly into the concrete out of boredom. I forgot that I had an Iggy and the Stooges DVD from 2004 called Live in Detroit so I decided to give that a spin. I am a big Stooges fan, but have never actually sat and watched the whole DVD. I guess I still haven't.
My trainer is not very quiet, and watching or listening to most things while really cranking requires some fill-in-the-blank on my part. I know the song, I can pretty much tell where in the song they are, but I can't hear everything going on. And, because I use my trainer out in the carport so Super Awesome Wife can nap after rough days teaching pre-k SPED kids, sometimes the sun is setting in a way that I can't really see what is going on. So this isn't a recommendation of Live in Detroit. Not because I didn't like it, but because I don't feel like I got enough of it to tell you to spend money on it.
I did get enough of it to tell you that if you like the punk rock, if you enjoy pure rock and roll, if a high energy madman older than your (my) dad writhing and breaking his ass to channel the music directly through his soul turns you on, you should be all about The Stooges and you should run out, or open a new window in your browser at least, and buy their stuff. Personally, Raw Power is my favorite album, but just go get you some.
Iggy live uses more energy in the first two songs than you used last week, including workouts. He doesn't perform so much as translate every note into pure energy. He's insane and I love it.
And it made me work hard. Best trainer session so far yesterday. I spent a lot of time concentrating on keeping my cadence between 90-100 RPMs, really spinning hard and fast. I can feel the clock ticking and while my run won't be great and my swim will only be acceptable, I think my bike is going to surprise me. If you can be surprised by a result you worked hard at for months.
Coming up later today- A Special Dirtbag Surprise! Woohoo! Stay tuned.

The Flat Wasn't Mine! (and THE AVENGERS!!!)

Bike
time- 3:00
distance- 34mi

First of all- This

What Awesome looks like

The Avengers came out Thursday at midnight. So, ok, it came out Friday. And I am a GIGANTIC nerd. As such, I jumped at the news that a local theater would be showing all the Marvel movies, save the Incredible Hulk, back-to-back as a run up to the midnight showing of The Avengers. For $35 I could not pass this up. So I left work at lunch (it was a meeting day for my grade level, I didn't bail on my kids) and hit the theater. Iron Man started at 2:15pm. Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain American happened. For my money, Cap is the best story of the series so far. And then the Movie You've Been Waiting For Since 2006- The Avengers! Amazing. So good, so much fun, everyone should go see it. It is everything wrong with Micheal Bay movies done right by the only man in Hollywood who could pull it off- Joss Whedon. I don't want to go on and on about it, but it kicks all the ass I hoped it would and then some. When you go, as you should, stay all the way until the credits completely finish. The final thing isn't a tease for a new movie, its just good fun. Trust Dirtbag.
Avengers got out at 2:45am.
So I started sitting in a theater at 2:15pm, and left at 2:45am. This is not the best way to train for anything except life-long virginity. I was freaking wiped. But I'm hardcore and I taught the next day on three hours sleep. Then spent Friday and Saturday catching up. It seems I am getting too mature (not old) to do a giant movie marathon like that and then be fine the next day. So Nick Fury ruined my Saturday run. And he kind of messed up my Sunday ride.
I didn't run on Saturday. I thought about it. I felt guilty that I didn't. I nearly pulled my shoes on once or twice. But then I would collapse back onto the couch and fall asleep again. I suck at running last week.
I did ride. Diesel wanted an early start, 6:30, and while that sounded like boiled suck I went along. Better to ride in a group, makes the miles go by faster and it helps push. Normally.
We got the base of Pupukea with me in the lead, which is always strange. Diesel was talking about how strongly I was riding right off the bat. Taking three days to rest probably played into that. But there was also another issue impacting his speed. His back tire was slowly flattening out. Right after the first big haripin he noticed the softness in his rear (tire).* So he stopped to deal with it and I went on. He'd change it and catch me before I reached the top anyway.
Somewhere along the way my energy level went from decent to basement and by the end of the climb I wanted nothing more than to go home. I felt awful, kind of sick, weird, off. I waited at the top for a minute or two and when Diesel didn't show I headed back down the hill, planning on passing him and letting him know I was going home. Never passed him. He was still at the bottom cursing at himself. Turns out he overinflated his spare tube when changing the tire, a rookie mistake he spent the next fifteen minutes kicking himself over. Personally, I was just glad it wasn't me with the flat for once. But because of the rims on his bike my spare tube was useless and he was SOL. We managed to get his tire reinflated enough to get us to Waimea Bay, where we parked and called the Grey, who had decided to sleep in, for a pick up. It was nice to chill at the beach and hang out for the thirty or so minutes it took the Grey to get to us. I could have bailed and finished my ride but I decided to hang because that sucks to just leave someone behind like that. This ain't Top Gear.
After the pick up I decided to short my ride and head home rather than get the extra mileage. I don't know why I was so out of it but I was, so I only did a little over 30 miles. Not good, especially with no run, but you know what? The Marvel Movie Marathon with geeky friends was completely worth it. No doubt.
And now for a bunch of pictures I took while at the theater. Yes, I dressed up like Batman. Why? Because Batman is a DC superhero and DC is the biggest competitor of Marvel and I wanted to try and pick a nerd-fight. Because it is fun to troll nerds.

Batman Vs Iron Man

Batman vs Cap

Batman lectures the God of Thunder

Batman helps Hulk with a smasher

Batman and Ethnically Diverse BatGirl

*Ok, that joke made me laugh in my head like this, "He he he he he."

Sermon While Mounted

Run (Tuesday)
time- 1:11
distance- 7.09mi

Swim (Wednesday)
1 x 200- Warm-up
2 x 500- odd 50s-easy/even 50s-hard
5 x 100- 5, 7, 9
5 x 200- 15 seconds rest
1 x 100- Cool down

Ride (Wednesday)
time- approx. 1:54*
distance- approx. 27mi*
*internet is down at home so no Garmin data upload

I'm running better and better. But I'm not going to say that out loud. Last time I even thought it my Achilles tendon decided to pull a Val Kilmer and get all swollen and painful. Every recent run has felt better than the previous run and I'm still happy about how the 10 miler on Sunday felt. Still, there is a little worry about the AT going badly so I'm seriously thinking about cutting my runs to twice a week. I'd rather be a little undertrained but in no pain going into Honu and Honolulu than limping by the end of the race. Mileage needs to get higher if I'm going to do that.
The swim, again, wasn't fast fast fast like my ego wants it to be. But it was pretty consistent and there were a couple of laps in there where the stroke was on rails like it should be. What I mean by that is when swimming is really happening my stroke gets locked in and I'm climbing through the water. The hand does not move past the body. The hand is anchored in the water and the body is pulled over it. That is when I can tell my stroke is working. My core felt strong and tight for the most part, but there was occasional droopage. For some laps, especially in the 5, 7, 9 set, I was grabbing a big amount of water on the catch. Things are improving.
And my ride was two laps of Pineapple, the current go-to Wednesday ride. I pumped on the flats, tried to spin the climbs, and felt strong at the end. That means that I either didn't work hard enough or my fitness is getting better and better. Wind was an issue on lap one but it died by lap two. Well, natural wind. I got caught up in some kind of I'm Famous And Giving An Interview fantasy and may have talked to myself, out loud, for most of lap two. Yes, this happens when I let my mind drift rather than focusing on the task at hand. I'm sure it says all kind of things about my ego that in my fantasies I'm giving lectures, speeches, and generally pontificating. Let's put it down to a job hazard and leave it at that, shall we?

"My guest tonight, and my favorite blogger, Doug Robertson!"

Slow Intensity

Swim
1 x 200- Warm-up
3 x 300
10 x 100
2 x 50- Sideline kick
2 x 100- 1, 2, 3, Swim
1 x 500
1 x 100
total- 3000yds

Ride
trainer session
1 hr

I think I missed nearly every time standard I set for myself during yesterday's swim. Might have made three of them. It just wasn't happening. I fought through and modified to give myself ten seconds rest after each effort. I really wanted to pump, but there was nothing to pump. It turned into a stack yardage swim, which I also need. The muscles don't fail by the end of the workout, the technique isn't falling apart too much, but it isn't fast. It's barely a cousin of fast. My biggest concern at the moment, something I noticed during the Lanikai swim, is a lack of core strength. It seems that whenever I take some time off or relax the swimming my core goes first. A swimmer needs a strong core because that helps keep the body straight and stable in the water. I can feel my middle sinking towards the pool bottom. That's not good. It'll come back with consistency.
As for the bike, Monday has become Trainer Day. It's a good way to grab some intensity in a controlled environment and do a more organized workout. Normally. Yesterday, just like my swim, I was having a hard time getting rolling with force. I was on the bike. I was pedaling. I was sweating. My heartrate was up. But there wasn't any Oomf! behind it. I was doing ten hard, five easy, repeat, and while there was a definite difference between the two is wasn't as marked as last Monday. I'm going to go ahead and say some of the lack of power is due to Sunday's ten mile run. Gotta figure that took something out of my legs. Wouldn't you think?
My entertainment for the duration was a 30 for 30 ESPN documentary called "The Birth of Big Air." It's about BMX rider Matt "The Condor" Hoffman and his quest to ride his bike up a giant ramp and then crash to earth like a stone. Basically, if you've ever watched the X-Games, this is the story who did the Mega Ramp, but he built it in his backyard and only rode it because he wanted to see if he could. Not for sponsors, television, or fame. I bought the special edition set of 30 for 30 and it is completely worth it. There are some very cool stories. Thus endeth the commercial.