Long Swim

I got in the pool tonight, my workout mapped out in my head and as I started doing laps I was thinking first about the workout. Mark had tossed in an extra 400 (16 x 25, boy were those fun...) and I hadn't added it all up in my head until I started thinking about it in the water. I added up the distances in my head.. 400... 300... 100... 5 more 400's... 2800 yards total? Really? I don't think I've ever done 2800 yards in a single swim workout before, Mark was really pushing my limits, but I was up for it. He had said he wanted to challenge me with some workouts, this must be one of them right? Well the workout was great and I really focussed on pushing the 25's. I was tired at the end and yes, a little bit thankful I could take tomorrow off from the pool (if only because of the chlorine, ugh).

Then I got home, looked at the workout and realized I had goofed. The workout was:

400 ez 6x50's build/4x25's sprint then 4x400's (400, 2x200s, 4x100s, 16x25s***) :05 seconds rest within the set, :40 seconds between 400's Descend the efforts (*** :30 rest… all out on the 25's)… 100-200 cool down

I had tossed in an extra 400! I had done a set of 8x50's in between the 100's and the 25's

Koyaanisqatsi

I did a 2 hour training ride yesterday while watching the art film Koyaanisqatsi. This could not have been a much weirder experience. I highly recommend the film,but you have to be prepared to approach it with an open mind. There is no script, no 'story' per se. It's film of life and the planet set to music. The only lyric is 'Koyaanisqatsi' which is chanted at the beginning and end. The imagery is meant to contrast the natural world with the world we've created, the world we're destroying and the world we live in. There are a few parts where it's filmed from the point of view of a car driving on a road or highway, those were actually kind of cool and I found myself leaning into the turns the car was taking as I was riding my bike trainer.

Ugh

Towards the end of the Day Tuesday i could feel a cold coming on and when i went to bed that night, I expected to awake heavily congested.

Fortunately, i was not congested in the morning, instead, i had a rip-roaring sore throat and a headache. I still managed to get my workouts for the day in... a 60 minute bike ride, 2000yd swim and a 45 minute run.

Today, i have to wonder how I managed to do one of those, nevermind all three. Everything aches and is sore. Not the healthy and even slightly invigorating soreness of a workout, but a leaden limbed soreness and desire to not move. my throat feels awful and all I want to do is curl up and go to sleep.

Normally, I take the approach that unless I have congestion in my chest or something that is going to affect my breathing, i'll do my workout. Not today. Today it take an effort to get up to go to the bathroom (in spite of taking accursed tylenol). So today I won't work out. I hate not working out. A part of me is screaming that I'd feel loads better if I did, but I can't bring myself to do it.

Ugh.

Blech.

Week in review (a little late)

Meant to post on Sunday, but I got caught up on other stuff.
I had a good week training. I missed my bike workout on Tuesday and was tempted to try to make it up... I almost did. But then a little voice of reason pointed out that if I did try to do that, I wouldn't be properly rested for the other planned workouts on Wednesday and Thursday so I decided against it.

I also noted that there is an optional bike and an optional swim planned for each Sunday, which allowed for a little extra flex so i decided I'd see how I felt after my Sunday long run and if possible, get in an hour of spinning. As it turned out, I didn't feel up for it.

6200 yards in the pool.
63.8 miles on the bike (with one workout missed).
23.15 miles running. Probably would have been a little bit more but my Thursday track workout was moved to the pool for a water running workout.

Ironman and China...

An email recently addressed to Ironman North America...

I'm fairly new to triathlon and having done my first half-iron distance race this past summer, I'm eager to step up to the full iron distance within the next two years.
However, when that happens, I will not be racing an Ironman brand race.
I'm disappointed to see that Ironman has recently set up a race in China, a nation which continues to oppress its citizens and has some of the worst human rights policies in the industrial world. I would no sooner expect to see an Ironman race in Cuba under Castro or Iraq under Saddam Hussein.
For a recent editorial about China's continued human rights oppressions in the buildup to the 2008 Olympics, see the link below.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/01/12/the_olympic_prisoners/
Until Ironman ceases to affiliate with such an oppressive regime or said regime is removed from power in favor of a democratic state, I will not participate in any Ironman sanctioned event or purchase Ironman branded products.
-Brendan Dillon

2008 Olympics

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/01/12/the_olympic_prisoners/
THE OLYMPIC Games have their anthem, their rings, their heroes, and their sponsors. Now, with the Beijing 2008 games, they have their prisoners. The Chinese government is not just building fine stadiums, it is also arresting those who dare to condemn human rights violations in China. The political police are getting ready for the Olympics in their own way, bringing charges of subversion against those who remind people of the promises the government made in 2001 to improve respect for basic freedoms.
more stories like this

Late last month, police arrested leading human rights activist Hu Jia at his Beijing home.

Before arriving, they cut his phone lines and Internet connection so that he would be unable to alert his friends in China and abroad.

Before leaving, they threatened his wife, Zeng Jinyan, with reprisals. A well-known blogger who was named by Time magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2007, Zeng is now alone with their 2-month-old daughter, cut off from the world. The couple had been under house arrest since May.

Click the link for the full story.
There's no chance of the United States boycotting the Olympics, even though China is no better than the USSR was in 1980. We're too deep into China's pockets.
However, we can speak out. We, the citizens, can boycott the games and we can make it known that we are doing so by contacting the broadcasters, advertisers and our elected officials. There are many bloggers here and I'm sure many of you enjoy watching the Olympics just as much as I do. Boycott the games and make your voice heard on your blogs, in your training groups and at events.
By participating in this event as viewers, we're giving a defacto sanction to the actions of the Chinese government. By boycotting them, we, admittedly, will probably not accomplish anything... but who knows, perhaps we'll draw some much needed attention to a long-overlooked subject.

Well...

I don't really have a reason to post today, aside from having this compulsion to feel like I should which I can't quite explain.

Classes started yesterday, which means my life returns to a degree of predictable insanity.

I got an official job offer as well from the firm I worked for in Boulder. It's a nice feeling when the firm that you worked for asks you back rather than going to them first, though it doesn't really matter. They've made it clear in the past they want me back and I've said the same to them. Still, it's exciting!


I need chicken.

Training & Training log

First of all, I've got my updated training log linked on the right side of my blog. It's a Google docs spreadsheet and will be in constant flux as I work to improve it, but I'll keep it as up to date as I possibly can, which should be pretty up to date. Feel free to suggest improvements if you can think of any as well.

Secondly, I've finished my first training block with Mark. He was pleased to see how I kept up with the workouts in the face of travelling *blech* and the holiday insanity *double blech* and gave me another 2 week block of workouts. This one isn't flexible like the first, there are specific workouts for each day and he's especially interested in "... how you[Meaning I] respond to this basic week for two weeks in a row given the new introduction of classes, life, etc. 12-14 hours depending on how things go here. Focus on good recovery after the harder sessions. Let me [meaning Mark] know in the log how your fatigue levels go as you progress thru this work load."

From looking at the workouts, I think this will be similar to the period when I was doing the 30 Days of Swimming, but with much more variety in workouts. 3-4 swims, 4-5 bike rides and 5 runs per week as opposed to 7 swims, 3 bike rides and 3 runs a week like I did during the 30 Days of Swimming.

I'm excited, I can't wait to start!

Back in the 'Nati...

It's no secret that I don't enjoy being in Cincinnati, it's just not my kind of place. I love Boston, I LOVE Boulder... Cincinnati.... not so much.

That said, it IS good to be abck. Maybe it's because I have been living out of a suitcase for a month... Maybe it's because I missed my bike... and having a pool nearby. Maybe it's because now I can kick into gear on my thesis, with the finish line in sight.

In any case, I'm back. Back in Cinci, back in the pool, back on MY bike.