Sunday, April 30, 2006

Ending April

Well, the last couple of weeks were tough with me getting a tad sick and just feeling blah. Only got back out Saturday for an hour and a half walk and was looking forward to my bike fitting Sunday.

Weight dropped to 290 form around 315 or so...when you are that big, a pound here or there doesn't really matter. So, another good boost to the weight loss - just gotta keep with it and keep at it.

We will see how the rest of the week goes. Feeling much much better!

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Weight is down and my Vo2 sux - so they say...

Now back to posting as it seems my issues with getting to my blog are resolved... Sorry for the absence.

So, last Friday I went for my Vo2 Max test using a New Leaf machine so that I could get a metobolic assesment along with my Vo2 max data. I had to drive to Mobile, AL (1 hour away). The hospital there is the only facility that does this test in about a 200 mile radius of Pensacola. Imagine that.

By the way - the hot chic on the bike in the pic is not me :)

In short, the test analyzes the volume of oxygen consumed (VO2) and the volume of carbon dioxide produced (VCO2). This data is gathered along with heart rate readings and along with your Vo2 max data, you can know exactly where your 'fat burning' zones are. So, basically, the testing tells me what percentage of energy expended at HR of 'X' is coming from fat and what percentage is coming from carbs. It is pretty cool to see the relationship of my heart rate numbers and where the energy expended is pulling from charted out on paper.

My Vo2 max was 32.5 - which is on the low side of Poor. Now all I needed them to tell me was that I was fat and it would have been a great day :) However, I have lost 12 pounds since the test - and body weight directly impacts your Vo2.

What was even more interesting was the fact that they let me do the test on my bike and with my trainer. So....that means I captured a power file to also add to this data. It looks like Hallah (my 11 yr old) will be busy this weekend copying about 225 data points (13 columns of different measurements) so I can come back with my raw data file from my Ergomo Pro and add a 14th and 15th column with my true wattage and kilojoules.


So, let's see what we can do with this information now going forward. I will be back for another test in 5 more weeks and hopefully about 15 or 20 pounds lighter as well. Here is a copy of my power file from the test. We increased the workload manually - by shifting gears all while trying to maintain 75 RPMs through the entire test. While I pedaled the entire time - it was tough trying to nail one number on cadence and keep it there. But, man, this is the cleanest file I have captured and was thinking about framing it. Now, if my long ides would look this - at a steady HR of course :)

Monday, April 24, 2006

Week Ending 4/16/06 - The Dreaded Time Trail

Well, had a pretty uneventful week leading up to my first Time Trail. Stupid mistake of not talking with Mike before doing the TT - and I paid for it.

Note to TT Race Directors: You may want to consider having a kid weighing more than a buck 10 holding up us fat guys up on the ramp. Possibly 2 kids would help. I started from a standing position as I watched the other big boys in front of me almost fall off the ramp.

Nasty wind conditions going out and worse coming back. We had a bridge pretty early on in the course that crossed the bay. It was a nasty section since there was absolutely no blockage of the winds.

I think I did what most people do and just went out too hard. I avg'd 232 watts in the first 10 minutes and avg'd 174 watts for the rest of the 1:23 I was out there. I paid for going out too fast, too quick and was just waiting to get off the bike before I even hit the turn around. A sure sign of a bad day and poor execution.

As I went over the first climb of the the bridge, I had some stupid thought creep into my head that this was not a triathlon and I did not need to save my legs. So, I shifted down into my big ring and just mashed the rest of the ride - well, when I was pedaling, I was mashing. I spent 15 minutes (around 12% of the ride) not pedaling or producing any power. Not good!

I sat my HR right under or at my zone 3, so I was pushing good the whole time - just wasn't real effective. I dropped the cadence, speed, and torque out of my CyclingPeaks file so at least some information can be made out. My file looks like about 10 people having heart attacks the way all the lines are all over the place. So, hopefully it is a bit better with some of the info dropped out.

You can see around 33 minutes into the ride a nice power spike up to 324 watts and my HR spiking at 165. That is where I had some big dog after me :) Talk about adding some excitement to the race....

I learned a lot and made some real dumb judgements in my first Time Trial. It can only get better from here! Looking for another one to do in a few more weeks. I have a sub-goal added to the list now!

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Trying to resolve posting issues

hang in there with me - all I needed was one more thing to deal with :) Not sure what is going on, but my posts are not posting. So, i guess I can't call them 'posts'!

Testing to see if this one takes....

Monday, April 17, 2006

Thursday 4/13/06 - Feeling the pain

I had 2 hr run walk scheduled and got 2 intervals in and my back was not having any of it today. Since I signed up for a 40 Time Trial for this weekend, I figured it would be best to not go too nutz and push things. Might have over done it on the strength stuff earlier in the week too. My legs were still a bit sore.

Had a cadence spin to do today, so i waited until the evening to knock it out. Tough spin doing 4' at 100, 3" at 110, and 2' at 120 RPMs. I quickly found out that I wasn't making it to 120. So, I adjusted down 10 RPMs on each interval and hung much better.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Wednesday 4/12/06 They lifted the tent!

The outdoor pool has a tent over it during our 'winter' months from November to April. While the tent provides some great warmth, it is a bit dark and gloomy feeling in the pool. I slept in today and skipped masters with the thought of hoping into the newly uncovered pool at the gym.

What a difference it is when the sun is on your back and shinning right on through the waters! Nice, easy swim today getting in 1450 yds.

If my gym was not a senior citizen mecca, the chicks laying out at the pool would have been a nice addition to having the tent removed. I was forced to concentrate on my workout :)

Tuesday 4/11/06 - the Man berries are all good now, Thanks for ask'n....

It is amazing the difference you feel down yonder when you set your front wheel on the right size in the riser block. Simply amazing. I have had nothing but problems on the trainer and was close to changing the aft of my seat. I looked down at my riser block and realized I have 3 heights - don't know why I didn't think of this before.

I reset my block up and man what a difference that made. Saw some huge improvements on the cadence side of things as well. I will consider the numbing of the nether regions being fixed a bonus.

Nice cadence drills tonight. So, the fix was right on time. A little different than I am used to as both shoes stayed clipped in, but concentrated on one leg at a time.

I was able to get 65% of the drills in at 70 to 80 rpm - a huge change over the past rides on the trainer. And, was able to hold a cadence of 155 for a few seconds.

As you can see at the end of this file, I pretty much left my legs out there on the first of 2 spin outs. Opppps


Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Monday - 4/10/06 - Ahhhh, the rest week begins!

Been waiting for this week to come. Felt great getting the pool this morning. Good night's sleep and woke up ready for the pool. Nice 1450 easy set in the pool this morning and then off to the gym for 35 minutes of weights and core.

Nothing too exciting except that I felt rested and good for my swim. Luckily, our masters coach had us on a lite set today to match up with what Mike had me doing too. Nice!

Sunday 4/9/06 - Summary


Well, I tried to get out and make up my 3 hour ride (which I only got an hour in yesterday due to weather) and 2 hour walk. I so was not feeling this today. My back and legs were killing me from laying sod all day and I just wasn't in the mood either.

So, I rationalize that I can just sit on the trainer for 3 hours and then go walk. Yeah, like that will ever happen. I did this once a few years back as I was watching IMLIVE and it wasn't a whole lot of fun then. But, you know how we talk ourselves into things. I should have known i was doomed from the start.

I didn't even get an hour in. I think I made it 53 minutes and I was done. Back and legs were just not there and I will have to scratch this one up to just being tired and interrupted by weather on the scheduled day.

Funny, the sun stayed out long enough to lay sod for 5 hours on Saturday.

I didn't even attempt the run due to the way my legs were feeling and my attitude. I have a 2 hour massage scheduled Tuesday - can't wait!


Didn't make goal of getting every workout in and probably missed the most important 2 of the week. I see next week is a recovery week and it has come right on time.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Saturday 4/8/06 Rain Rain Go AWAY!!!!


Fudge! Back from my ride this morning and check the weather (might ought to have done that prior). I made it about 30 minutes out before pulling over at a convenience store and trying to wait out the the thunder storms. As I type this, it is nice and sunny this afternoon now.

I have an old high school buddy staying with me that lost his place in New Orleans during Katrina. He headed out to visit some friends in New Orleans yesterday and my parents were tied up and I had nobody to watch Hallah early this morning. So, I got out late once again for my ride. What should have been the last hour of my ride turned into the first hour along with the Heavens opening up.

To add to my frustration, my Ergomo Pro was on low battery and decided to go into sleep mode - so no data from even the 1 hour I got in today. That was just plain my fault. I am still getting used to the recharging time of my Ergomo. On the good side, that means I am using that puppy and am on the bike. Just need to be a bit more attentive and recharge the silly thing after uploading my data.

So, now I will have to play the shuffling game of schedules. It is time to lay sod, and the day is pretty much shot as far as training goes. If it is going to rain bad enough to pull a ride - at least rain all day so I don't have to do the yard work too!

Going to look at moving some days around and try to get today's workout in tomorrow and maybe even get that run workout in as written. I have a 2 hour massage scheduled Tuesday evening, so I am going to see about moving tomorrow's day off to Tuesday and flipping some stuff around. Gotta look at things as a whole and not wreck the week by making changes.

Should be fun!!!

Friday 4/7/06 Legs are feeling good...

Woke up and hit the pool today stressing over how my legs would feel after my 9:30pm trainer ride last night. I hit my Recoverite after the ride and figured I would see in the morning. Legs felt great in the pool and was happy with the results. Recoverite made the cut and will be my post workout drink from here on out. I think with the success of the E-caps.com products and the great customer service provided by Kellie, the have earned a hard link on my Blog now.

Easy day in the pool. Knocked out a 1500 yd swim. I was a tad bit late getting there and it seems like all of us in my lane were slow today.

I did not make it to the gym for my 2nd strength/core workout - but there is still Saturday and Sunday left to try and squeeze it in.

I had moved an 1:45 walk/run - intervals of 2:15 runs thrown in on 5 minute walks to today. But, after further thought, I didn't think that was the right thing to do since I had a 3:15 ride scheduled for Saturday and a 2hr walk following. It was a tough enough workout last week on semi-fresh legs and I didn't want to be suffering on Saturday's workout. So, I changed it to a 50 minute walk after talking with Mike at D3.

Hanging in there this week and slowly getting adjusted to the time change. I think when it is getting darker later, it is just tough to adjust to moreso then the actual times of the day. I remember I loved the time changes back when I was playing golf all the time. Funny how things change....

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Thursday 4/6/06 - tough cadence work

Today's workout was pretty interesting. I had to move my 1:45 minute run to tomorrow. Just too much going on with taking Kona to get her coat thinned, picking up Hallah from school, and a long day at work. So, I just couldn't get the run in today. Going to knock it out after my masters workout in the morning and see how it effects my Saturday long bike and walk/run.

So, tonight I had a little 35 minute cadence workout. 15 minute warm up, 2(3 mins @100 rpm, 2 mins @ 110 rpm, and 1 min @120 rpm) with a 10 minute cool down.

I was like, "Yeah, let me go knock this little workout out, take a shower, and hit the bed." Uh, yeah - no. Getting to test out my Revoverite from E-Caps.com tonight. Interested to see how I feel when I wake up and hit the pool in the morning.

Cut my warm-up to 10 minutes and hit the first interval. First 3 minutes were okay and I crapped out about 30 seconds on the 2nd interval, and made the last 1 minute interval okay. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to rest in between any of these, but it was all I could do to do these on a 1 minute rest interval. Then I started on the 2nd interval and actually took the last 1 minute interval into the 130's. Not bad. However, on the 2 and 3rd intervals of each set - I discovered fat giggling that I didn't even know I had. I felt like I was going to throw myself over the bars on the 1 minute intervals.

Took my HR into Sub-Threshold on the last minute of the 2 minute interval as well as the full minute on the 3rd interval. I was hurting pretty good.

Hope we don't have a ton of kicking drills in the morning.

I changed my cadence display in CyclingPeaks to 10 piece increments instead of 20 as before. So, should have a bit more precise info to compare to going forward.

I am loving the fact that I have 2 power files in a row that I don't have to smooth in order to read. Getting there...

4/5/06 Nice and easy day today

Had a 2K swim that I over slept and missed at masters. So, I just headed to the gym and knocked that out today.

Later in the evening I took an easy 1 hour walk. Nothing too exciting happened today.

Have an 1:45 walk/run tomorrow. Glad today was a bit easy. I will be paying for it tomorrow :)

Still trying to get used to wearing my CPAP mask at night. I think I actually slept the whole night without it last night - which isn't good at all. So, if I was still stopping breathing 45 times an hour, that means I really did not get any rest. And, believe me, I felt that way all day. Was pretty tired today.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

4/4/06 Check out the Cadence!!!

Core, weights, and ride today. Had a good core and weight session at the gym this afternoon. Got on the trainer to get a little 1 hour ride in today. I totally was concentrating on my cadence and the HRs Coach Mike wanted me in. Just about nailed it as much as it could have been nailed. Can't get too excited since it is only 1 ride and not yet a trend.

BUT, I am pretty stoked about the improvement - even if it is just 1 ride. Now, if I can turn this into a trend. I gotta turn the blue part of the pie to grey - where my cadence should be at. One step at a time. I am still searching for my berries - I think they are still there, just can't feel them yet. Gotta figure out that issue too. Comfort is key :)

So, here are my last 3 rides and the cadence distribution and then my power file for the day...

Cadence from 3/11


Cadence from 4/1


Cadence from today

Today's Power file...

Monday 4/3/06 - My E-Caps order arrived..yea!

Nice swim this morning. Talked with Coach Mike for a bit and told him that I think the Monday swims are going to become recovery swims as we juice up the weekend volume and intensity. He is all good with that. Still a bit sore (lower back) but feeling better.

Knocked about 1500 out in the pool and made it back to the house to start working. Planned on hitting the gym and then a nice walk, but wound up just getting in a 50 minute walk around the neighborhood. So, tomorrow becomes gym day :) Shooting for no missed workouts this week!

Up 3.5 lbs - not good. I have not been watching my nutrition as I should. So, nobody to blame but myself. I got to thinking, after I got on the scale Monday morning and saw the rise, Saturday's effort was pretty much all for not. If I am going to be out there busting my rump with a long training day - why negate it by not watching my foods better? I have recommitted to really keep a better eye on choices and portions. It is crazy that adding all this training in has not created dividends on the scale as mush as it should have. It is crazy that I am not handling that part of my training!

On a good note.... you can't just go on the numbers of a scale. Body composition is getting better and I can see some good changes happening. So, it is not all for not - just yet.

Got my E-Caps order in today. Katey hooked me up and again came through with great customer service. Here is what I got in and can now begin building a nutrition strategy with: Recoverite, Perpetuem, Raspberry and Tropical individual packets and full bottles of gel, Hammer Soy, Heed, and Sustained Energy. Just can't say enough about the good customer service these guys offer! I had a good test run with my Heed and Perpetuem this past weekend. Anxious to give the other stuff a try as well now and get to figuring my nutrition out for the race. the sooner, the better!

Enjoyed the 50 minute walk after dinner. Good wind down that I usually never do. Still trying to get adjusted to this stupid time change!

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Sunday 4/2/06 - Much needed Rest day and Summary of the week


Yeah, I am just a tad bit sore today. That stupid garden still needs to get done. We had a 150 year old oak tree go down (into my neighbor's house, Thank God, instead of my office - I don't think my neighbor knows the link to my blog :) ) during Hurricane Ivan a couple of years ago. Found some freaking huge roots - I mean HUGE - that need to be dug up. Couldn't figure out why my cabbage wasn't growing like the other veggies in the garden. Know why now. I don't feel like swinging an ax today, but don't really have a choice. I am logging this as an official workout by God!

Nice volume increase this week - even with missing about 5 hours of training! Swim was a bit lite, but sure picked up the bike and run volumes.

I have a 2 hour massage scheduled for tomorrow. Can not wait for that. I may even take masters up a notch in the morning anticipating getting 'fixed' later in the day.

Slept like a little baby last night. I think i was too tired to mess with my mask last night. After finishing in the Yard, I hit the last 3 episodes of Band of Brothers- awesome documentary - and hit the bed. I sure could have used the time change giving me an extra hour to sleep instead of taking it from me :)

For the numbers junkies, here is my ride file in CyclingPeaks from yesterday. Goal is to eventually not have to smooth the file to make it readable. Slowly but surely...


Tomorrow starts anew. I think I will get my order in from E-Caps.com and have my Recoverite mix in to start using. Can't wait to try it out and the other goodies I ordered....

Saturday 4/1/06 What a long day...

I went to bed at 9:30 on Friday and woke up at 11:30 feeling like I had a good night's sleep. Looked at my BlackBerry and thought I may be in for a long night and made sure my alarm was still set for 5am.

5am came and went. I planned on being on the bike by 6am and back in time to plow the back 40. Finally left the house at 9am. Pulled my mask off a couple more times during the night and had another rough night of sleep. But, at least it was Saturday and I didn't have too much work to do.

How much more pumped can you get then when you get in your car, advance the CD changer, and hear Kelly Clarkson (I swear it is my daughter's CD). I feel like the Rock's character, Elliot in Be Cool when I listen this cd and sing along. But, I have to admit, she is my guilty pleasure. It's not like I don't have 5 other disks in the changer to choose from.





Got out to my spot and made up my bottle of Heed and Perptuem. I was excited to get to try them out and get my first feel for them in action. I had a 2:45 ride and 2 hr walk right after. So, I took 1 bottle of water, one bottle of Heed, and 1 bottle of Perpetuem, and one Raspberry Hammer Gel. I had a 32 oz mix of my Isopure Strawberry Protein shake waiting for me to recover and and fuel for the walk.

Nice head wind going out on the ride. That usually means that when you turn to come back West, a huge head wind awaits. This wears on the mind, but when I made the turn, it was not near as bad as it has been the past couple of rides.

We completely skipped Spring and wen straight to Summer. It was 91 by 10am and the slight drizzle and overcast skies were both gone by the time I got a couple minutes into the ride. Turned out to be a nice day. More and more cars on the road as people are flocking to the beach.
I wanted to see where I was over the first month of training and really look back at previous rides and compare them. I concentrated on my cadence and wanted a higher percentage of pedaling as well as higher percentages in the cadence ranges. I also was hoping to see that I bumped the intensity up up just a bit, feeling better after the ride. I did feel better when I was done and actually hit my normal turn around 10 minutes faster today with the heaviest headwind on me going out.

So, I was anxious to get home, crack open my CyclingPeaks, and see the results....
Cadence chart from 3/11/06

Cadence chart from 4/1/06


I was real happy to see the blue was much larger this go around. Still a lot of work to do, much much much improved in less than a month. I'll take it.

Heart rate goals were met as I was able to bump things up just a bit and still felt better when I was done.
HR 3/11/06

HR 4/1/06

Bumped the ride up around 5 beats a minute - and on a longer ride. The numbers worked out to be:
3/11 -
54:45 minutes, 36.8% in zones 140-145
56:43 minutes, 31.8% in zones 145-150.
4/1-
1:22 hours, 49.7 % in zones 145-150
52:15 minutes, 31.7 % in zones 150-155

Can't complain about that. I owe it all to Kelly Clarkson for getting the day started right ;)

The 2 hour walk after the ride was a tough walk. It was nothing but hot and my knees were feeling the extra effort. I was trying to think of how in the world I would be able to run in November after coming off a 112 mile ride. But, we have plenty of time to prepare for that.

Great day over all. I was super excited to get back home and till my garden so I have some fresh veggies soon - NOT!

Fuel worked out great for the workouts and just enjoyed another nice day along the beach. I will be paying for this tomorrow, I know. But, it is a scheduled off day. I am not going to try and make up missed homework form Friday and wreck next week. Starting next week out fresh with the goal of getting everything in!

Friday 3/31/06 I need Duct Tape!

Horrible night of sleep. I kept pulling my CPAP mask off during the night and was back to stopping breathing while sleeping. Didn't wake up for swimming and felt real tired when I did get up to take Hallah to school.

I am real close to duct taping this stupid thing on while I sleep. If that doesn't work, it is time to get my Office Space Swingline out and staple that puppy on.

I have found that if I miss my morning workout, it is getting harder and harder to squeeze the time out of the day to make things up. There aren't enough hours in the day once it gets started to recover and get things done. So, I gotta get this sleep thing resolved and get up before 'life' starts.

Sux because I missed my swim and a key bike workout. I can live with missing a strength/core workout - although you can't tell that by looking at my keg.

Hoping I can get this sorted out...