Training – OneTriGuy

August 14, 2015

Finally got my century in

Yesterday I successfully completed my (first) century, or 100 mile ride. I guess it’s time I stop blaming any training deficiencies on my accident in May. Looking at different Ironman training plans, I’m only a week behind the recommended biking training schedule with this ride. (Swimming, ha! That’s something completely different.) I must say, the ride went quite well. My legs barely complained about the nearly six hours of effort while my my upper back pain, the bane of my rides, was manageable. Nutrition I was a bit surprised at the amount of nutrition I took in. Prior to my ride I popped one elete Tablytes and a few Race Caps (which I find extremely effective) to help keep my electrolytes in check. I also started with my standard downtube-mounted bottle full of Cytomax and my BTA bottle with plain water, both of which were refilled with water twice…

July 8, 2015

How you know you’re in love with the sport of triathlon

There’s just something about triathletes – something wrong in our heads. When others see an hour of free time, they think about playing a game or having a drink. When triathletes see an hour of free time, we see time for a quick session. Case in point: Yesterday I had a late afternoon meeting in downtown Chicago. Knowing that it would end at the start of Chicago’s rush hour(s), I grabbed my running shoes, Garmin and a change of clothes. Why sit in traffic on 290 for two hours when I can spend an hour of that time logging a few miles? So, after fighting through the foot traffic to get to the Lake Shore Trail, I hit the pavement and put down 8.5 miles. It was nothing spectacular, but it was the best possible decision I could have made. The hour+ running delay pushed my ride home back just enough that…

June 15, 2015

I’m back at it.

The sling officially came off this past Thursday! I celebrated with a slow 5k around the neighborhood in the rain. On the bright side, the run was not as bad on my legs as I had expected. On the less than bright side, my abs were screaming. Something about avoiding using my abs for 6 weeks while my broken ribs healed. The next day I pushed it a bit harder and did 5 miles in the heat and humidity. Barring the annoyance of the heat/humidity, my body was feeling good all around. Though Sunday felt like a post-marathon day, with each stair an exercise in pain tolerance. Good pain tolerance. I missed that pain. My shoulder is feeing significantly better. Basic movement is of no annoyance. Only lifting up as if signaling a touchdown and to the side as if signaling to turn left are issues. Thankfully, this is just the…

May 27, 2015

I refuse to slow down

After my brick session last night it occurred to me: I refuse to slow down. I worked hard to get where I was before my crash, and I don’t want to lose my conditioning because of one mistake. I had set a goal at the beginning of the year to exercise at least one hour a day. Despite holiday delays and one two-week Dr. ordered rest period, I was beating my goal handily before my crash. In fact, I had not done less than one hour a day since the middle of February when I was cleared to resume training, banking a nice buffer of time in the process. I think I may have set my goal too low. Nevertheless, I jumped back on the elliptical after taking a two day break following my crash, where I broke my clavicle, scapula and two ribs. I also mowed the lawn one handed a…

May 20, 2015

TrainerRoad kicks your ass

Let’s face it, I’m a bit of a wimp. There’s no way I’m going to take my bike outside when it’s below 40°, but I also will not allow myself to slow down in the offseason. I’m also cheap. I don’t mind spending money to help achieve goals, but if there’s a way I can spend less to achieve the same goals in mostly the same way, even if it requires more work on my part, I’m going to less expensive route. (I think my wife thinks both routes are too expensive.) TrainerRoad allows me to achieve these goals in the comfort of my own pain cave, I mean basement. In case you’re one of the uninitiated, TrainerRoad (TR) is a subscription-based online service that pairs your computer with your bike, allowing you to take on hundreds of power-based workouts, or as TR puts it, “TrainerRoad picks up live power, heart rate,…

May 16, 2015

Garmin thinks I’m fast

Apparently my Fenix 2 thinks I am a way better athlete than I really am … or I have yet to live up to my potential. I prefer to think that these race predictors are based on being chased by a rabid dog or an armed, jilted woman. As I’m way behind in filling out my blog, I’m not going to waste my time, or bore you, with a review of a 2 year old, last version watch. I will add this, the “ignore this screen,” screen: There’s no such thing as a three day rest for a triathlete.

May 11, 2015

“Hey, slow down for this next corner”

Well, it’s official, I’m an idiot. While riding on an unfamiliar trail I ignored my partners’ advice and stayed aero going ~25mph towards a 90° corner. Needless to say, it did not go well. Once I realized I was moving too fast, I got on my brakes. I reached the rear first and it immediately locked up, sending my rear tire to my left. At that point I decided to run out into the field, but as my bike had rotated right, I was unable to make the field and ended up going about 17mph in the edge of the forest. I ended up breaking my clavicle pretty bad (hint, that >45° angle is supposed to be a straight line), as well as my scapula and a couple ribs. I will be getting my clavicle surgically repaired on Thursday. Surprisingly, besides the aforementioned relatively severe damage, I came through…

August 7, 2013

The cheap man’s “run id”

While I am sure some people find value in spending $30 or more for a fancy Road Id bracelet, I A) dont’t want to wear yet another thing on my body and B) don’t want to spend $30. I’d rather buy some unnecessary tri gadget with that money. :) One day when getting food for my two pups I noticed the little “rivetable” dog tag at PetSmart. To me it looked less like a dog tag and more like a cheap man’s Run ID. So I bought it, for less than ⅓rd the price of a Road ID and put my ICE (In Case of Emergency) info on it. Then I laced it into the bottom section of my Saucony Ride training shoes. (Yes, I photoshopped out some of the info, I don’t need my crazed groupies stalking me). I’d call this piece of low tech a big win.

July 12, 2013

Meet Dr. Broeder

While logging hilly miles at The Arboretum (or Arb, my favorite place to run and ride), I came upon another cyclist. Being the friendly guy I am, I struck up a conversation. Turns out this guy was Dr. Craig Broeder (insert alphabet of acronyms here), the head of Exercising Nutritionally, a company that focuses on helping both world class athletes and regular Joes like myself reach their potential, as well as testing to see if a company’s new gadget or supplement does what it claims to do, (and I’m sure a heck of a lot more). He also happens to set endurance biking records. After doing a few 7.5 mile laps of the Arb he asked if I’d like to help him iron out the kinks in an upcoming study. Being the info junkie I am, I ready agreed. A few days later I was hooked up to an EKG and…

June 1, 2013

Time for a pain cave

In case you haven’t noticed, these first posts are backdated and somewhat out of order. That’s what happens when you procrastinate for two years to start you triathlon blog. Give me a few weeks to catch up. Now, back to the topic on hand. I picked up a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine so I can round out my pain cave and continue training in the winter. I paired it with their Riser Ring and a custom built laptop/book/whatever holder. (Note that my six year old is playing Super Mario 2 in the background, you gotta start them out right!) On top of that, I paired my Wahoo Bluetooth Speed & Cadence Sensor, Heart Rate Monitor and TrainerRoad (that’s my profile if you want to look at it) so that I could do realistic structured workouts indoors. TrainerRoad’s actually really cool and helps keep you motivated and working hard during what can become incredibly boring. It…

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