Transition Day Deep Thought

I'm not really writing anything today. Instead I'm going to hand it over to the amazing Malcolm Gladwell and quote a discussion he had with Bill Simmons (The Sports Guy from ESPN.com's Page 2) back in March of '06. I read this portion of their chat and it really affected me. I think its a point that can be carried through every facet of life as it explains thoughts that float through the head during an especially difficult workout (or any trying time) and felt the urge to share.

Gladwell: This is actually a question I'm obsessed with: Why don't people work hard when it's in their best interest to do so? Why does Eddy Curry come to camp every year overweight?

The (short) answer is that it's really risky to work hard, because then if you fail you can no longer say that you failed because you didn't work hard. It's a form of self-protection. I swear that's why Mickelson has that almost absurdly calm demeanor. If he loses, he can always say: Well, I could have practiced more, and maybe next year I will and I'll win then. When Tiger loses, what does he tell himself? He worked as hard as he possibly could. He prepared like no one else in the game and he still lost. That has to be devastating, and dealing with that kind of conclusion takes a very special and rare kind of resilience. Most of the psychological research on this is focused on why some kids don't study for tests -- which is a much more serious version of the same problem. If you get drunk the night before an exam instead of studying and you fail, then the problem is that you got drunk. If you do study and you fail, the problem is that you're stupid -- and stupid, for a student, is a death sentence. The point is that it is far more psychologically dangerous and difficult to prepare for a task than not to prepare. People think that Tiger is tougher than Mickelson because he works harder. Wrong: Tiger is tougher than Mickelson and because of that he works harder.

To me, this is what Peyton Manning's problem is. He has the work habits and dedication and obsessiveness of Jordan and Tiger Woods. But he can't deal with the accompanying preparation anxiety. The Manning face is the look of someone who has just faced up to a sobering fact: I am in complete control of this offense. I prepare for games like no other quarterback in the NFL. I am in the best shape of my life. I have done everything I can to succeed -- and I'm losing. Ohmigod. I'm not that good. (Under the same circumstances, Ben Roethlisberger is thinking: maybe next time I stop after five beers). I don't know if I've ever felt sorrier for someone than I did for Manning at the end of that Pittsburgh playoff game.

You Call That a Sprint?

Run Day

Time- 45 minutes
Distance- 4.79mi
Intervals- 5min run, 5min sprint, 5min jog

Not a great run today. Not awful, but not great. My first cycle of intervals always feels good, and then it gets harder and harder to get the speed up for the next run and sprint, and then the third cycle feels so much slower than the first. Sprinting is hard. Its also hugely in my head, I know. There's a barrier there for me. I think part of it is still being run shy. I hurt my foot trying to run too fast. It doesn't hurt at all now, but I know in my head I'm thinking about how I might hurt it again. And I'm running much better than I was then. My stride is smoother, cleaner. So it was an ok run.
Also, this was the last really challenging workout of my abbreviated training cycle. Next week starts the taper and seven days from this moment I'll have completed my second triathlon. Yay!

A Very Muddy Dirtbag

Ride Day

time- 1hr 41mi
distance- 26.48mi



So it stopped raining for long enough for me to set out this morning, but it had been raining hard since last night. We all know what that means, right campers? That's right, MUD! Road bikes have no fenders so all that spray goes right up my front and back. I didn't realize how much so until I stopped at a red light and pulled my handkerchief out (I get sniffly when I'm riding sometimes and its a choice between having a handkerchief or sniffing for 90 minutes. I choose nose rag. Moving on.) and blow my nose. When I take the rag away its got mud on it. Which means either a) GAAAA! I'M BLEEDING MUD FROM MY NOSE!! or b) I'm covered in mud spatter. Going with b.
I felt strong for the first three fourths of today's ride. Pretty good cadence, nice speed, all that jazz. Before I started back up Pineapple Hill (I just realized a few days ago that's what cyclists call the road from Dole Plantation to Haleiwa. Makes sense. It's also a pretty famous climb on Oahu. Right in my backyard. Go figure.) I took the route through Haleiwa that I think is how the race goes next Sunday. It's three laps and should be ok. There are some short climbs which might hurt some in a race setting, but its no biggie. I'm trying to be positive here. If you look on the jogtracker map above the race course is that narrow oval that shoots north.
Climbing Pineapple Hill kinda always sucks, and today was no exception. I went away in my head a little bit, which doesn't help the speed, but made it up ok. That climb, for me, is a mental workout as much as it is physical. I also know that when I have time for a real training cycle I'll be trying to get two and three scoops of Pineapple Hill in on one ride. These thoughts do not help during a climb.
Like I said at the beginning, it poured on the way home. I hoped this would wash some of the mud off the bike but so such luck. Mega-wipe down under cover of carport. Run tomorrow, then I'm back into the pre-race taper week.

Cap Fail

Swim Day

1 x 150 Warm-up
3 x 200 Pull 3:15
4 x 300 4:30
1 x 150 Cool down

Cap fail at 5am today. I went to pull my cap on next to the pool and riiip. Damn. Damn damn. I threw a micro-tantrum (3-5 seconds, soundless, kicking the air and stomping my foot) then checked my ponytail in its double rubber bands and got in the water anyway. I used to pack a spare in my bag but stopped bringing it a few weeks ago. Guess I won't be doing that again. The hair really wasn't a problem. There was no swim, breathe, choke on hair, drown. It was more that I had to tighten my goggles to fit better and that's pretty much it. Dirtbag encounters minor controversy and perseveres!
The swim actually felt good this morning. Made all the times with very little trouble, was able to push at a decent level, felt strong. My stroke still isn't great. I'm not finishing past my hip like I should be, but it's kind of late to fix that before the race. Its something I'm making a note of, trying to stay on it, and will focus more on later.
Feeling good. The foot didn't hurt at all during the run, didn't hurt during my rest day...and now its sore. D'oh! Guess that's what I get for not icing post-run. Looking forward to my next race and starting to look ahead. And wishing a bike would show up on craigslist.

Mud Brick

Brick Day- 65/30

Bike
time- 65 minutes
distance- 18.17mi*

Run
time- 30.23 minutes
distance- 3.44mi

Totals
time- 1:35.23
distance- 21.61

*I'm guessing this is right. I rode the same course as the last time I did this brick, so it should be right. I just didn't check the jogtracker at the transition today.



Great brick today. Rode the same course as the last time I had it, it felt ok, not super fast but not too slow. I got up Kolekole in 15 minutes, which is a minute slower than the last time. Pretty good considering I haven't done it in a while. Like Monday, I tried to spend a bunch of time down on the drops. Its less comfortable, but should be some tenths of a second faster. But when I sit up on the top of the bars I feel bigger and slower. So I guess I'll be spending more time trying to be low, and that will be my race position. We'll see how that works out.
Also, it was kind of rainy today but it never rain- rained. Just enough to cool me off and get the road kind of muddy. I finished with mud up my front and up my back. I'm a dirty, dirty triathlete. Oh no.
And the run felt great! That's right, in italics! Nice and smooth, good cadence, never really felt too tired, and I picked it up a little at the end. Check my distance against the last time I did this brick. It's actually a little over a tenth of a mile further. Not much, I grant you, but some. SOme is good. Especially since I haven't run since the race and haven't run really hard for a week prior to the race.
This was a good brick. I feel pretty strong. I'm fairly sure I'm going to have a good swim, get lit up on the ride, and have a good-for-me run. And that works. My time is going to kind of screwy to compare to the first one because the last mile of this run is on the sand, and the swim and ride portions are shorter, but we'll be able to look at my splits and pacing and see how I did in comparison.
Dirtbag tired now. Sushi was a yummy dinner.

Trying to Get IT Back

Swim Day

1 x 150 Warm-up
4 x 150 Pull- 2:30
1 x 200 3:00
1 x 300 4:30
1 x 400 6:00
1 x 300 4:30
1 x 200 3:00
1 x 150 Cool down

Total yardage- 2150

Not a great swim today. Didn't have any feelings of swimming downhill, when the body position feels right and the stroke feels fast and effortless. I also barely made my time standards. I was hitting the wall, checking my watch, and going again. This is annoying because I was lighting up sets like this a few weeks ago. Guess that super-light week followed by a week off knocked me down some.
I also think something else is at play here. Post-race comedown. I'm not as amped about this next one as I was about the first. That makes sense, I spent three months getting ready to race. Now I'm trying to turn it around in two weeks. Probably not going to happen like it just did. And thats ok. I signed up for the next one to get another rep under my belt, and to have fun. It should be fun.
AND my ego is a little messed up as far as the swim goes. I was 10th overall in that race, 6th in my wave getting out of the water. That's pretty kick ass. It draws a line where on one side I want to get better and increase my advantage coming out of the water and on the other I feel too good and it makes it hard to focus on that discipline when there is so much I need to improve in my bike and run.
I have to get my eye back. But its only two days in to my new training cycle, as abbreviated as it will be. No time to panic. But I do need to get pumping.

Back in the Saddle Again

Bike Day

Time- 1hr 20min
Distance- 21.05mi



Back on the bike again today after school. Down to Haleiwa, around town, then back up the hill. I had to get back on the bike. Why? you ask. Simple, my curious reader: I have registered for another tri. And this one is in two weeks. That's right, I had so much fun at my last one I decided to get one more in before the season ends. I'll be doing the Haleiwa Triathlon on Nov. 14th. It is overall a shorter race than the last one, with a 400m swim, a 12mi ride, and a 3.1mi run. So not much shorter, but shorter. I decided to buy another $80 shirt because I want to get as much experience as I can doing these. That way I can get better faster. I'm already in shape from the last race, I took a full week off afterwards to be sick, recover, and spend time with the family that was on island. And now I'm back at it for an abbreviated training cycle. Pretty much, not counting today, I'll be rewinding my training plan two weeks and going from there. Today was supposed to be T2 according to the plan, but I thought I would be better served getting out and getting some miles back on my legs. This was a good idea.
The first workout back after any kind of break is always the toughest and even though it was a short break I'm still not 100% over the cold I let overtake me Monday. So the ride was kind of rough. It felt ok, not fantastic, but not all that fast either. I actually think I pulled pretty well up the hill. I'm trying to get comfortable down on the drops rather than up on the top of the bars. That makes me a little more aerodynamic and puts me in more of a race position. Nearly everyone who passed me Sunday was down on aerobars. I don't have those, so I'm making due. But getting used to riding on the drops will, I think, help me make the transition to aerobars when I find my own bike.
Funny story, on the way up the hill today I passed a guy on another bicycle. He pulled up on my wheel and we got to talking. My first on-bike conversation. Check. He called up to me, "Hey, you borrow that bike?"
"Uhh, yeah."
"From a guy named Obi Tri Kenobi?"
"Holy crap, yeah. How'd you know?"
"I borrowed that bike from him back in August for a century. Thought it looked familiar."
Dude turned out to be a sailor from Florida who knew Obi Tri through friends. He was back on island doing a lap on a rental. Part of our conversation was, "Man, I hate this hill after 86 miles." And I thought, "Dude, I'm not a fan of this hill after 12 miles." He told me he's ridden a century (that's 100 miles straight through, one day) once a month since '07. And sometimes its hard for him because he has to use leave time to do it. Another crazy person! Nice guy though. He dropped back after a mile or so to conserve energy and I surged ahead. My first pass! Check.
So I'm back at it for another two weeks. After this I'm looking at a tri in April for number three unless something shows up on the calendar later. I may sign up for a 10k or a cycle race or a swim to get some more racing under my belt between now and then. Almost forgot how much I love racing. Also need to find myself a ride. Craigslist is less than helpful, but a huge tease. This tri should be fun though. If you check out the course description you'll see that the final mile of the run is on the beach. Ohhh, sand running after a 400m swim, a 12mi ride, and 2mi of running! Yay! This might feel like burning. But in a good way.
I'm worried I'm hooked on this whole triathlon thing. Here we go again.