I have been fighting a sinus infection which caused me to take off training on Saturday and Sunday. I started taking antibiotics on Saturday and got back on the bike yesterday afternoon. I started out a little rough but by the end of the bike, I was doing pretty well.
Today however, it is raining and I am supposed to do a 45 minute bike and a 30 minute run. With the sinus infection not completely over, I am concerned about this and am thinking about skipping it. But this does bring up the issue, how do I know when it is better to take off or if I should go ahead an do the workout?
Luckily, right now, there is nothing on the calendar which is imminent. So I don't think that it is a big deal right now but down the road, this could be a big issue. Also, now that it is getting cold again, I have to rethink how and when to do training outside.
So far the only advice my buddies have offered is not to swim if I have a sinus infection. (They don't want me to gunk up the pool. ) Always nice to have friends.
Hopefully back on track here soon.
David
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Week in Review
I mentioned on Monday that I am sort of in an evaluation phase as I begin to look to next year. My training schedule for the week has been as follows:
Monday - 45 min swim / 45 min run at an easy pace. For the swim I alternated between breast and free style every 100m and I finished 1700m in that time frame. For the run, I actually did a very brisk walk, in fact a much faster pace than I have been able to do before as a walk. I did this because I was trying to keep my heart rate under 120 beats per minute. I find that when I am running, no matter how slow the pace, it is difficult for me to keep under this heart rate.
Tuesday - 60 min bike ride at an easy pace. I finished 12.5 miles in this time period which is quite slow for me. That was really more a reflection of having to stop several times for lights and traffic than my average bike speed. One of the things I have to work on for all of these sports is adjusting my pace. Right now, I am pretty much either on or off.
Wednesday - 5 mile run time trial / 1 hour of Yoga. I finished the time trial in 46.50 which was much faster than I expected. I beleive that this is the farthest I have run since my Marathon at the end of April. I really have not been running much this summer because I have been having to spend my time developing my swim. This was the first time I have been to Yoga in 3 weeks and I could tell. I was really sweating all the way through. I started Yoga earlier this year to help with my flexibility.
Thursday - 30 minute swim at an easy pace / 1 hour weight training. Because I was to do an easy pace, I elected to do breast stroke the entire swim. This turned out to be quite a surprise. My swim time for breast stroke was much faster than expected. My swim time for 50 m was about 1:10 which was about 20 seconds faster than I had been averaging. I swam 1350m in 30 minutes. The afternoon was weights pretty much for the full body. I kind of tweaked my left shoulder, tricep and bicep but I don't think I did anything too damaging. Just a little extra Advil for the next few days.
Friday - Off day - which I really enjoyed.
Saturday (today) - a BRICK - 15 mile bike (recording time) followed by a 5 mile run (recording time). I wanted to work this into my running group, so I went over to church, where our running group meets, and started my ride a little more than an hour and 15 minutes before our group run. I finished the bike in 59:36 I think and really felt like I could go on. I don't really feel fatigued on the bike like I do when I run.
That said, I still have several things to figure out on the bike. The biggest problem has to do with my transition from the bike to the run. When I make that transition, I feel like I can't breathe when I first start the run. It takes a mile or two before things seem to fall into place. (That is one of the reason for this brick this morning to try to get my body accomodated to that transition.) I still have to figure out food and fluid on the bike. For 15 miles, this is not an issue but for 30 or more miles, it is. I am also trying to figure out clothing. I am just freezing on a bike when the temperatures drop below 50 degrees. This morning the temp was about 53. I had made some adjustments - I bought some long padded bike tights and I had on a windbreaker, which helped a lot but I was still cold.
After the bike, I needed to change clothes because while 53 may be cold on a bike, it is not at all cold for a run. I really took more time than I should have to make all of these transitions but it worked out. I ended up running 5.6 miles with my running group in about 57:30.
My buddy Patrick invited me to go on another 26 mile bike with him later in the day and while I think I could have done it, I declined. As it turned out, I think that was wise once again mainly because of the food and fluid issue. A short while after I got home, I could tell that I needed to get some food pretty quickly.
Tomorrow finishes out the first week of assessment with a 45 minute swim of moderate difficulty.
Overall, this week has seemed pretty light compared to the workouts I have been doing most of the summer, which has been nice. Next week however, things ramp up a bit and it will be a little bit tougher.
After that I begin to put together the plan for next year and THEN things really start getting to be tough!
Really not much more to report than that for the day. Hope you had a great weekend!
David
Monday - 45 min swim / 45 min run at an easy pace. For the swim I alternated between breast and free style every 100m and I finished 1700m in that time frame. For the run, I actually did a very brisk walk, in fact a much faster pace than I have been able to do before as a walk. I did this because I was trying to keep my heart rate under 120 beats per minute. I find that when I am running, no matter how slow the pace, it is difficult for me to keep under this heart rate.
Tuesday - 60 min bike ride at an easy pace. I finished 12.5 miles in this time period which is quite slow for me. That was really more a reflection of having to stop several times for lights and traffic than my average bike speed. One of the things I have to work on for all of these sports is adjusting my pace. Right now, I am pretty much either on or off.
Wednesday - 5 mile run time trial / 1 hour of Yoga. I finished the time trial in 46.50 which was much faster than I expected. I beleive that this is the farthest I have run since my Marathon at the end of April. I really have not been running much this summer because I have been having to spend my time developing my swim. This was the first time I have been to Yoga in 3 weeks and I could tell. I was really sweating all the way through. I started Yoga earlier this year to help with my flexibility.
Thursday - 30 minute swim at an easy pace / 1 hour weight training. Because I was to do an easy pace, I elected to do breast stroke the entire swim. This turned out to be quite a surprise. My swim time for breast stroke was much faster than expected. My swim time for 50 m was about 1:10 which was about 20 seconds faster than I had been averaging. I swam 1350m in 30 minutes. The afternoon was weights pretty much for the full body. I kind of tweaked my left shoulder, tricep and bicep but I don't think I did anything too damaging. Just a little extra Advil for the next few days.
Friday - Off day - which I really enjoyed.
Saturday (today) - a BRICK - 15 mile bike (recording time) followed by a 5 mile run (recording time). I wanted to work this into my running group, so I went over to church, where our running group meets, and started my ride a little more than an hour and 15 minutes before our group run. I finished the bike in 59:36 I think and really felt like I could go on. I don't really feel fatigued on the bike like I do when I run.
That said, I still have several things to figure out on the bike. The biggest problem has to do with my transition from the bike to the run. When I make that transition, I feel like I can't breathe when I first start the run. It takes a mile or two before things seem to fall into place. (That is one of the reason for this brick this morning to try to get my body accomodated to that transition.) I still have to figure out food and fluid on the bike. For 15 miles, this is not an issue but for 30 or more miles, it is. I am also trying to figure out clothing. I am just freezing on a bike when the temperatures drop below 50 degrees. This morning the temp was about 53. I had made some adjustments - I bought some long padded bike tights and I had on a windbreaker, which helped a lot but I was still cold.
After the bike, I needed to change clothes because while 53 may be cold on a bike, it is not at all cold for a run. I really took more time than I should have to make all of these transitions but it worked out. I ended up running 5.6 miles with my running group in about 57:30.
My buddy Patrick invited me to go on another 26 mile bike with him later in the day and while I think I could have done it, I declined. As it turned out, I think that was wise once again mainly because of the food and fluid issue. A short while after I got home, I could tell that I needed to get some food pretty quickly.
Tomorrow finishes out the first week of assessment with a 45 minute swim of moderate difficulty.
Overall, this week has seemed pretty light compared to the workouts I have been doing most of the summer, which has been nice. Next week however, things ramp up a bit and it will be a little bit tougher.
After that I begin to put together the plan for next year and THEN things really start getting to be tough!
Really not much more to report than that for the day. Hope you had a great weekend!
David
Monday, September 10, 2012
Refocusing
As you may have noticed, in the beginning of this blog, there was a post every day. In fact there were some days when there were more than one. Lately, it has been more like once a week and some times longer than that.
In a way, I would say that the simple pattern of these posts is to some degree a reflection of the training. In the beginning, there was a clear purpose and goal, the Tom Sawyer Sprint Triathlon. I knew what it was, when it was and what I needed to do to accomplish it. There were other goals along the way - mainly working on swimming with my Mean Swim Coach, working a little on my biking, and swimming in open water. And there were some easy goals following like the Ohio River swim and the Bowling Green Sprint Triathlon. But since then, things have been less clear.
I know that next year I want to do more triathlons. If things are going well, I want to try to do Ironman Louisville in 2013. But I am at a point where the path is not as certain. I know to be able to do this, I will need to do several triathlons next year - some sprints, some Olympic, perhaps a half Ironman. Also I will need to do some individual evernts - probably at least one full marathon, also at least one or two 100+ mile bike events and I need to be able to increase my swim endurance to at least 2.4 miles. Add in the fact that I want to incorporate some of this into my running group and their planned events and it becomes a complex task.
I have been continuing to do workouts but they are less focused as I try to develop my plans for the next year. I am working on those plans right now. The next 2 weeks will be sort of a trial of things to get some benchmarks. Once I have those, I will be working with some trainers and advisors to work on a training plan for the next year.
This morning's task was to do a swim of moderate intensity for 45 minutes and record the distance. I swam for 1700m alternating between breast stroke and free style every 100m. This afternoon, I am to do a 45 minute run at an easy pace.
That's about all there is to report for now. Of course, if you have done this before and have some wisdom or experiences to share, I would love to hear them. Or if you are just curious about some of my experiences and have some questions, I am happy to respond to those as well.
Have a great day.
David
In a way, I would say that the simple pattern of these posts is to some degree a reflection of the training. In the beginning, there was a clear purpose and goal, the Tom Sawyer Sprint Triathlon. I knew what it was, when it was and what I needed to do to accomplish it. There were other goals along the way - mainly working on swimming with my Mean Swim Coach, working a little on my biking, and swimming in open water. And there were some easy goals following like the Ohio River swim and the Bowling Green Sprint Triathlon. But since then, things have been less clear.
I know that next year I want to do more triathlons. If things are going well, I want to try to do Ironman Louisville in 2013. But I am at a point where the path is not as certain. I know to be able to do this, I will need to do several triathlons next year - some sprints, some Olympic, perhaps a half Ironman. Also I will need to do some individual evernts - probably at least one full marathon, also at least one or two 100+ mile bike events and I need to be able to increase my swim endurance to at least 2.4 miles. Add in the fact that I want to incorporate some of this into my running group and their planned events and it becomes a complex task.
I have been continuing to do workouts but they are less focused as I try to develop my plans for the next year. I am working on those plans right now. The next 2 weeks will be sort of a trial of things to get some benchmarks. Once I have those, I will be working with some trainers and advisors to work on a training plan for the next year.
This morning's task was to do a swim of moderate intensity for 45 minutes and record the distance. I swam for 1700m alternating between breast stroke and free style every 100m. This afternoon, I am to do a 45 minute run at an easy pace.
That's about all there is to report for now. Of course, if you have done this before and have some wisdom or experiences to share, I would love to hear them. Or if you are just curious about some of my experiences and have some questions, I am happy to respond to those as well.
Have a great day.
David
Monday, September 3, 2012
Louisville Ironman 2012
Sunday, August 26, I went downtown to 4th Street Live so that I could watch people completing the Ironman Louisville. It is unbelievably inspiring to watch people cross the finish line after finishing a full marathon (26.2 miles), a 112 mile bike and a 2.4 mile swim. Time after time I found myself choked up watching people finish this amazing achievement. Friends, families and well wishers screaming and clapping as the competitors finish. Competitor after competitor crossed. Some carrying flags, some doing Tebows as they crossed, some doing pushups, some collapsing in tears into a volunteers arms.
Louisville is a qualifier for the Kona Ironman which is the world championship. Because of this, we get competitors from all over the world. The Louisville event has about 3,000 athletes participating and about 4,000 volunteers. Many people do not seem to understand that hosting this event is really a big deal.
Congratulations to all of the athletes who finished and especially to my buddies Patrick Ryan and Whitney Ryan for finishing their 2nd Ironman!
AND next year, come out and watch these guys. Whether you ever decide to try something like this or not, you will be inspired.
Have a great day, everyone!
David
Louisville is a qualifier for the Kona Ironman which is the world championship. Because of this, we get competitors from all over the world. The Louisville event has about 3,000 athletes participating and about 4,000 volunteers. Many people do not seem to understand that hosting this event is really a big deal.
Congratulations to all of the athletes who finished and especially to my buddies Patrick Ryan and Whitney Ryan for finishing their 2nd Ironman!
AND next year, come out and watch these guys. Whether you ever decide to try something like this or not, you will be inspired.
Have a great day, everyone!
David
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Louisville Underpants Run
They say confession is good for the soul. And after all, who among us hasn't had an indiscretion or two? So, here goes. A couple of years ago, the day before the Louisville Ironman, I was wandering around the waterfront taking in the sights and was approached by volunteers who asked if I would consider running in a short charity event. There was a catch. It was the Louisville Underpants Run, which meant that everyone would be running in their underwear.
First I made sure it was legal. (I didn't want to be arrested, especially if it would be on TV.) Then I made sure that I wouldn't be the only one running. Turns out, the event is organized by one of the local triathlete clubs and many of the triathletes would be running, including several people planning to be in the Ironman Louisville the next day. The inspiration for the event comes from Kona where a number of years ago, they started a similar run the day before the Kona Ironman contest.
Soooo, I gave them $10 and stipped to my skivvies. I have to admit it felt a little funny standing around on the waterfront in front of the Belle of Louisville in my underwear. But before I knew it I was joined by about 100 or so co-exhibitionists. Many had come prepared with all sorts of underwear being displayed. Others like me were completely unprepared, as I heard a few folks confess in their invitation to run in their underwear, that they weren't wearing any. Some of the ultra-prepared runners offered them extra pairs that they had brought and they disappeared into a trailer to change and join the run.
I managed to finish that run in anonymnity. I tried to avoid getting my picture taken and while I did show up in the videos on the news, I was in a crowd and no one would have recognized me, if they weren't looking for me.
So, I am sure you are wondering why on earth I would confess this now. After all, who would ever know?
Wellllll, 2012 was a different year. I may have mentioned this to my buddy Andrew, and I may have challenged him to do the event, and I may have even showed him my 1.5 mile sticker I had hidden in my console of my truck.
Andrew was psyched! Andrew invited everyone he could think of to participate. Andrew went out and bought Batman underwear with a cape on it for the run. Andrew had his sister paint his chest with a big Batman symbol and put all kinds of Batman art on his back.
As you might have guessed, when Andrew showed up, he stood out among the crowd. I was in some of my running underwear, subtle black but with a blue waistband. But because I was with Andrew, I was in a lot of pictures. I was in pictures for the Courier Journal and for the Voice. Luckily, I didn't show up in the Courier but I am in pictures on-line.
So anyway, there is a pretty good chance if you saw a picture that looked like me and maybe even was labeled as being David McCoy, that it was me. I considered telling the reporters that my name was John Doe and when I didn't do that I considered trying to start a rumor that a guy named John Doe was trying to steal my identity. But truth is, I really don't like to lie and after all, if I'm gonna do it, I might as well own it.
Truth is, it was a lot of fun. The money went to the Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies. I got to run with a bunch of fun people including a number of ironmen participants. It definitely wasn't X rated. In fact, it really wasn't even PG-13. It was just a lot of fun. In fact, I would encourage you to participate in years to come.
AND I got a new water bottle (which I really needed) and another 1.5 sticker (which is hidden in my truck console with my other one.)
Have a great day!
David (reluctant exhibitionist)
First I made sure it was legal. (I didn't want to be arrested, especially if it would be on TV.) Then I made sure that I wouldn't be the only one running. Turns out, the event is organized by one of the local triathlete clubs and many of the triathletes would be running, including several people planning to be in the Ironman Louisville the next day. The inspiration for the event comes from Kona where a number of years ago, they started a similar run the day before the Kona Ironman contest.
Soooo, I gave them $10 and stipped to my skivvies. I have to admit it felt a little funny standing around on the waterfront in front of the Belle of Louisville in my underwear. But before I knew it I was joined by about 100 or so co-exhibitionists. Many had come prepared with all sorts of underwear being displayed. Others like me were completely unprepared, as I heard a few folks confess in their invitation to run in their underwear, that they weren't wearing any. Some of the ultra-prepared runners offered them extra pairs that they had brought and they disappeared into a trailer to change and join the run.
I managed to finish that run in anonymnity. I tried to avoid getting my picture taken and while I did show up in the videos on the news, I was in a crowd and no one would have recognized me, if they weren't looking for me.
So, I am sure you are wondering why on earth I would confess this now. After all, who would ever know?
Wellllll, 2012 was a different year. I may have mentioned this to my buddy Andrew, and I may have challenged him to do the event, and I may have even showed him my 1.5 mile sticker I had hidden in my console of my truck.
Andrew was psyched! Andrew invited everyone he could think of to participate. Andrew went out and bought Batman underwear with a cape on it for the run. Andrew had his sister paint his chest with a big Batman symbol and put all kinds of Batman art on his back.
As you might have guessed, when Andrew showed up, he stood out among the crowd. I was in some of my running underwear, subtle black but with a blue waistband. But because I was with Andrew, I was in a lot of pictures. I was in pictures for the Courier Journal and for the Voice. Luckily, I didn't show up in the Courier but I am in pictures on-line.
So anyway, there is a pretty good chance if you saw a picture that looked like me and maybe even was labeled as being David McCoy, that it was me. I considered telling the reporters that my name was John Doe and when I didn't do that I considered trying to start a rumor that a guy named John Doe was trying to steal my identity. But truth is, I really don't like to lie and after all, if I'm gonna do it, I might as well own it.
Truth is, it was a lot of fun. The money went to the Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies. I got to run with a bunch of fun people including a number of ironmen participants. It definitely wasn't X rated. In fact, it really wasn't even PG-13. It was just a lot of fun. In fact, I would encourage you to participate in years to come.
AND I got a new water bottle (which I really needed) and another 1.5 sticker (which is hidden in my truck console with my other one.)
Have a great day!
David (reluctant exhibitionist)
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