A post over on 'Go Outside' reminded me of my brief brush with fame 4 years ago when i was featured in an article in the education section of the Boston Globe. The article? The art of living cheaply. Like the article Rory mentioned "How to Afford Anything" I consider myself frugal rather than cheap, but prefer the term 'cheap'. I don't waste money on crap, I research my purchases
one important difference, I won't buy from someplace like Wal-Mart. Particularly Wal-Mart. Principles have to come first. Living a frugal life to save my money for what is really important to me is one principle. Not buying from one of the single most consumerist and labor abusive companies in the country is also one of those principles. Plus, I don't buy crap, and more often than not, the stuff you get at Wal-Mart is cheap crap.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
As the Architect Interns
Chasing the ARE
I’ve found blogging to be a useful tool in my training as a marathoner/triathlete, it provides a means of focus, an outlet for expressing frustrations as well as successes and a fun way to share the lessons that I’ve learned with the broader world.
So, as a recent alumnus of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning’s School of Architecture and Interior Design (UC DAAP SAID… yeah, it’s a mouthful when you put it all together), I have decided to produce a blog about my pursuit of my professional licensure as an architect.
This isn’t quite as exciting a process as marathon training or Ironman training, but it’s an important process and part of life. With a little luck I hope the information that I cover there will be helpful not only to myself for organizing my thoughts and what needs to be done, but also may be helpful for others.
So if you like what you read here, or just want a good laugh, check out my new blog "As the Architect Interns". I'll still be posting here at Chasing Boston, about my training, but As the Architect Interns will be a forum for me to cover my path to licensure and to occasionally stand up on my soapbox in an architectural mode.
I’ve found blogging to be a useful tool in my training as a marathoner/triathlete, it provides a means of focus, an outlet for expressing frustrations as well as successes and a fun way to share the lessons that I’ve learned with the broader world.
So, as a recent alumnus of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning’s School of Architecture and Interior Design (UC DAAP SAID… yeah, it’s a mouthful when you put it all together), I have decided to produce a blog about my pursuit of my professional licensure as an architect.
This isn’t quite as exciting a process as marathon training or Ironman training, but it’s an important process and part of life. With a little luck I hope the information that I cover there will be helpful not only to myself for organizing my thoughts and what needs to be done, but also may be helpful for others.
So if you like what you read here, or just want a good laugh, check out my new blog "As the Architect Interns". I'll still be posting here at Chasing Boston, about my training, but As the Architect Interns will be a forum for me to cover my path to licensure and to occasionally stand up on my soapbox in an architectural mode.
Chasing the ARE
I’ve found blogging to be a useful tool in some of my other endeavors, particularly my training as a marathoner/triathlete, it provides a means of focus, an outlet for expressing frustrations as well as successes and a fun way to share the lessons that I’ve learned with the broader world.
So, as a recent alumnus of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning’s School of Architecture and Interior Design (UC DAAP SAID… yeah, it’s a mouthful when you put it all together), I have decided to produce a blog about my pursuit of my professional licensure as an architect.
This isn’t quite as exciting a process as marathon training or Ironman training, but it’s an important process and with a little luck I hope the information that I cover here will be helpful not only to myself for organizing my thoughts and what needs to be done, but also may be helpful for others.
If you happen to have any questions about what I’m covering or suggestions for future topics, by all means, drop me a line and I’ll try to cover it!
So, as a recent alumnus of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning’s School of Architecture and Interior Design (UC DAAP SAID… yeah, it’s a mouthful when you put it all together), I have decided to produce a blog about my pursuit of my professional licensure as an architect.
This isn’t quite as exciting a process as marathon training or Ironman training, but it’s an important process and with a little luck I hope the information that I cover here will be helpful not only to myself for organizing my thoughts and what needs to be done, but also may be helpful for others.
If you happen to have any questions about what I’m covering or suggestions for future topics, by all means, drop me a line and I’ll try to cover it!
Chastened Boston
One thing I’ve always been pretty bad about (ok, really bad about), is logging my workouts. I’ve kept notebooks, journals, blogs, used websites, downloaded spreadsheets, created my own spreadsheets and even tried logging it on my palm phone… I just always end up falling off the proverbial wagon. I’m not sure how to get into a more consistent, enduring, habit of logging my workouts. I’ve tried every media I can think of. The Google docs spreadsheet I have now has probably been my most reliable tool. It’s omnipresent (though I wish I could update it from my phone) and impossible to lose (I’ve lost a lot of hardcopy logs) and has all the information I want, the way I want it (unlike a lot of websites)
I mention this now because Mark has pointed out that it’s been a while since I updated mine. Like about two and a half months…. Yikes! I think a big part of the problem is that once I fall behind, I feel daunted about trying to catch up. Right now, I’m not going to worry about catching up, just focus on logging my workouts each day and when I find the free time, I’ll work on pecking away at the backlog.
I mention this now because Mark has pointed out that it’s been a while since I updated mine. Like about two and a half months…. Yikes! I think a big part of the problem is that once I fall behind, I feel daunted about trying to catch up. Right now, I’m not going to worry about catching up, just focus on logging my workouts each day and when I find the free time, I’ll work on pecking away at the backlog.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Stroke N Stride and Catching up...
Friday post:
I did the Stroke n Stride last night and I have to say, I’m pretty pleased with the results. It was my first 1500m SnS of the season… except it was actually an 815m course, which made it a 1630m swim. My best swim time for a 750 at any point was 16:43. I did the first lap last night in 17:16, which prorated from 815 to 750 put my at a 15:53 pace, almost a whole minute faster! My second lap was slower, 19:46, but that also includes a run along the beach between the end of Lap 1 and the start of Lap 2. From looking at the rest of my age group, it looks like everyone had at least a 50-60 second difference between Lap 1 and Lap 2, including the pros. If anyone is even splitting, it’s them, so the difference between my first and second laps as far as actual swim time is probably closer to 1:30 rather than 2:30.
My best time last year on the 5k was 25:05, and that was following a 750m swim. Last night I did a 25:45 after the 1630 swim… and I definitely feel like I could have pushed harder. Next time, I’m breaking 25:00 on the run.
Thursday Post:
I’ve got a streak going…. Two day in a row of training before work! Woohoo! Then, today, even though I didn’t have a workout to do in the morning because I have the Stroke N Stride tonight, I still woke up at 5:30 (out of bed at 6). This was probably the biggest day as far as trying to become more of a morning person. I wasn’t getting up early for a race, I wasn’t even getting up early to train, iw as getting up early to reinforce the habit of getting up early. There was no real
I was up at a little bit past 5 yesterday morning and the first thing I did was pump up my tires a bit. When I did the front one though, the seal between the valve and the tube tore, deflating the tube… nuts! This is the second time that has happened, although the tubes were over a year old so both were due for replacement. A not-entirely-quick tube change (I think I may need a new pump as well, unfortunately) and I was out the door at about 6:15.
I decided to try and do the Lee Hill/Olde Stage climb and then loop back to my house from there and see how much time I had.
It really is a whole different world so early in the morning. Boulder is cool, the air has a wonderful freshness to it and so few people are up that it feels like a land abandoned by man to its true inhabitants. On my way up Broadway I spotted a doe (a deer, a female deer) grazing on the sidewalk opposite me. It’s really amazing to see something like that, wildlife living so close to people.
Then as I climbed Lee Hill/Olde Stage, I saw eleven more. Eleven. Three bucks, three fawns and five more does.
This is the kind of stuff you see at six o’clock in the morning…
I did the Stroke n Stride last night and I have to say, I’m pretty pleased with the results. It was my first 1500m SnS of the season… except it was actually an 815m course, which made it a 1630m swim. My best swim time for a 750 at any point was 16:43. I did the first lap last night in 17:16, which prorated from 815 to 750 put my at a 15:53 pace, almost a whole minute faster! My second lap was slower, 19:46, but that also includes a run along the beach between the end of Lap 1 and the start of Lap 2. From looking at the rest of my age group, it looks like everyone had at least a 50-60 second difference between Lap 1 and Lap 2, including the pros. If anyone is even splitting, it’s them, so the difference between my first and second laps as far as actual swim time is probably closer to 1:30 rather than 2:30.
My best time last year on the 5k was 25:05, and that was following a 750m swim. Last night I did a 25:45 after the 1630 swim… and I definitely feel like I could have pushed harder. Next time, I’m breaking 25:00 on the run.
Thursday Post:
I’ve got a streak going…. Two day in a row of training before work! Woohoo! Then, today, even though I didn’t have a workout to do in the morning because I have the Stroke N Stride tonight, I still woke up at 5:30 (out of bed at 6). This was probably the biggest day as far as trying to become more of a morning person. I wasn’t getting up early for a race, I wasn’t even getting up early to train, iw as getting up early to reinforce the habit of getting up early. There was no real
I was up at a little bit past 5 yesterday morning and the first thing I did was pump up my tires a bit. When I did the front one though, the seal between the valve and the tube tore, deflating the tube… nuts! This is the second time that has happened, although the tubes were over a year old so both were due for replacement. A not-entirely-quick tube change (I think I may need a new pump as well, unfortunately) and I was out the door at about 6:15.
I decided to try and do the Lee Hill/Olde Stage climb and then loop back to my house from there and see how much time I had.
It really is a whole different world so early in the morning. Boulder is cool, the air has a wonderful freshness to it and so few people are up that it feels like a land abandoned by man to its true inhabitants. On my way up Broadway I spotted a doe (a deer, a female deer) grazing on the sidewalk opposite me. It’s really amazing to see something like that, wildlife living so close to people.
Then as I climbed Lee Hill/Olde Stage, I saw eleven more. Eleven. Three bucks, three fawns and five more does.
This is the kind of stuff you see at six o’clock in the morning…
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
No Worries
The 5430 long Course is in less than 3 weeks.
This was pointed out to me several times at the BTC Party on Sunday and normally would have been something to cause me some, if not alarm, at least a little worry. Am I going to be ready? Have I been training enough? Did I schedule enough swim time? Bike time? Run time? Too much? Am I over-training? How should I taper? Did I go long enough in my longest workouts?
Instead, I said “Wow, that soon?” and didn’t think about it again. I certainly didn’t worry about it. This time last year, you can bet your butt I was worried.
So what’s the difference? I’m not trying to set up my own training schedule anymore. I’m not flipping through books, magazines and websites trying to figure out what will work best. Should I be training by heart rate? Pace/Power? RPE? I’m not concerned about whether I should be doing drills in the pool. I’m not worried about how my training for the next race works into my long term goals of doing an Ironman and qualifying for Boston.
The difference, simply put, is that I have a coach; Mark Van Akkeren. Mark’s a smart guy, an incredible athlete and most importantly, he’s someone I can relate to and trust. He guided me to taking almost 10 minutes off my best half marathon time in May and he’s been open, honest and available. Having a coach, one I trust like I do Mark, has made training so much easier and more enjoyable. I don’t worry about the big picture like I used to, I just focus on getting my workout done for that day (and enjoying that workout!) and I believe that as long as I hold up that end of the deal and keep my commitment level up, that I can trust Mark to lay the right course to get to those big goals.
One of my favorite expressions, courtesy of Mick ‘Crocodile’ Dundee and the Aussies, is “No worries”. It also happens to be one Mark uses a lot as well.
No worries indeed.
This was pointed out to me several times at the BTC Party on Sunday and normally would have been something to cause me some, if not alarm, at least a little worry. Am I going to be ready? Have I been training enough? Did I schedule enough swim time? Bike time? Run time? Too much? Am I over-training? How should I taper? Did I go long enough in my longest workouts?
Instead, I said “Wow, that soon?” and didn’t think about it again. I certainly didn’t worry about it. This time last year, you can bet your butt I was worried.
So what’s the difference? I’m not trying to set up my own training schedule anymore. I’m not flipping through books, magazines and websites trying to figure out what will work best. Should I be training by heart rate? Pace/Power? RPE? I’m not concerned about whether I should be doing drills in the pool. I’m not worried about how my training for the next race works into my long term goals of doing an Ironman and qualifying for Boston.
The difference, simply put, is that I have a coach; Mark Van Akkeren. Mark’s a smart guy, an incredible athlete and most importantly, he’s someone I can relate to and trust. He guided me to taking almost 10 minutes off my best half marathon time in May and he’s been open, honest and available. Having a coach, one I trust like I do Mark, has made training so much easier and more enjoyable. I don’t worry about the big picture like I used to, I just focus on getting my workout done for that day (and enjoying that workout!) and I believe that as long as I hold up that end of the deal and keep my commitment level up, that I can trust Mark to lay the right course to get to those big goals.
One of my favorite expressions, courtesy of Mick ‘Crocodile’ Dundee and the Aussies, is “No worries”. It also happens to be one Mark uses a lot as well.
No worries indeed.
Early Swim and baring a little soul
I’ve been in Boulder for about 4 weeks now and today was the first day that I got up early enough in the morning, on a work day, to get in a swim before I headed to work.
Huzzah!
It really is the small victories in life that matter. I could look at this as an “it’s about time” type of situation because I’ve been trying for a while, but I know I’m not a morning person, I knew that making that adjustment to being out the door at 6 am or earlier would be a very difficult one for me to make. It’s one thing when it’s a special event like a race or something like that. There’s a subconscious sense of urgency that we, or at least I, seem to keep through my sleep so that once I wake up, I’m really awake, and often before my alarm goes off, even if it’s hours before I usually wake up.
It’s another thing entirely when trying to make such early morning a part of your daily routine. Especially when you’re used to being up until 1 or 2 am and sleeping until 10 (on those days when I was able to get sufficient sleep, which was very few the last month or so of school).
I admit too, that I was slightly intimidated by the morning swims. In part I expected them to be very crowded, but also to find a lot of really, really good swimmers there. I'm not in Kansas (Ohio) anymore Toto, there are some SCARY good swimmers out there. That can be very intimidating at times, especially if you end up having to share a lane with one. To go and just watch someone who swims like Mark does for instance, doing 1:05’s per 100 meters would be really cool and I’ve definitely hung around after workouts and watched some of the better swimmers, especially when the swim team was practicing at UC (I swear it wasn’t for the girls in bathing suits… ok, maybe it was a tiny bit). But getting in the pool with them is a little different and sharing a lane would be very different. it's also a little different competing at a Stroke N Stride or a race than having it there every day while you train.
I suppose that sounds like an insecurity, and I think in some ways it is. More than that though, I feel liek I should be a better swimmer than I am. I grew up in the water, I'm very comfortable and at home in the water and it's a little frustrating sometimes that I essentially had to start from scratch last fall.
But, to my relief, I had no trouble finding an open lane and had a largely positive 3100 yard workout. I started out a little strong I think and the last 500 wasn’t pretty as far as time, but I didn’t feel bad or anything. I was slightly sore, but not tired. Although I wouldn’t say no to a nap right now…
Huzzah!
It really is the small victories in life that matter. I could look at this as an “it’s about time” type of situation because I’ve been trying for a while, but I know I’m not a morning person, I knew that making that adjustment to being out the door at 6 am or earlier would be a very difficult one for me to make. It’s one thing when it’s a special event like a race or something like that. There’s a subconscious sense of urgency that we, or at least I, seem to keep through my sleep so that once I wake up, I’m really awake, and often before my alarm goes off, even if it’s hours before I usually wake up.
It’s another thing entirely when trying to make such early morning a part of your daily routine. Especially when you’re used to being up until 1 or 2 am and sleeping until 10 (on those days when I was able to get sufficient sleep, which was very few the last month or so of school).
I admit too, that I was slightly intimidated by the morning swims. In part I expected them to be very crowded, but also to find a lot of really, really good swimmers there. I'm not in Kansas (Ohio) anymore Toto, there are some SCARY good swimmers out there. That can be very intimidating at times, especially if you end up having to share a lane with one. To go and just watch someone who swims like Mark does for instance, doing 1:05’s per 100 meters would be really cool and I’ve definitely hung around after workouts and watched some of the better swimmers, especially when the swim team was practicing at UC (I swear it wasn’t for the girls in bathing suits… ok, maybe it was a tiny bit). But getting in the pool with them is a little different and sharing a lane would be very different. it's also a little different competing at a Stroke N Stride or a race than having it there every day while you train.
I suppose that sounds like an insecurity, and I think in some ways it is. More than that though, I feel liek I should be a better swimmer than I am. I grew up in the water, I'm very comfortable and at home in the water and it's a little frustrating sometimes that I essentially had to start from scratch last fall.
But, to my relief, I had no trouble finding an open lane and had a largely positive 3100 yard workout. I started out a little strong I think and the last 500 wasn’t pretty as far as time, but I didn’t feel bad or anything. I was slightly sore, but not tired. Although I wouldn’t say no to a nap right now…
Monday, July 21, 2008
Weekend Recap
Lessons on Suntan Lotion
Lesson 1: There will always be a spot you can’t reach and end up missing. Sometimes this spot will be very small (see my thin red line post). Other times you won’t be so lucky. Like my left shoulderblade on Saturday… holy… cow…
Lesson 2: A 2XU one piece tri suit will not necessarily stop the sun from getting through the outfit and giving you a burn and leaving a silly looking pattern on your back. Just like the one on my right side during my ride on Saturday.
I volunteered with the BTC at the Bike Aid Station for the Boulder Peak this Sunday, which was a lot of fun, although I’m thinking of complaining to organizer Barry Siff about some smart aleck pro who squirted me with a water bottle and rode off laughing like Bugs Bunny (what a stinker!)… ;-)
After the race I got in my swim for the day, which was pretty close to a disaster. I felt tired in the pool and sure enough I was 5-10 seconds off my normal pace per 50 yards. Yikes! Why was I dragging butt? My first thought was being over trained, though the prior Sunday I had a great swim the day after a 60 mile ride, whereas this time it was after a 48-50 mile ride. I excluded that for the moment. I had been cycling quite a bit that morning as well, out to the Aid station and back was close to 28 miles, but I hadn’t felt weary in my legs and took it pretty easy on both trips and was certainly well hydrated. I think the big thing was that two of the last three nights I hadn’t gotten sufficient sleep. Thursday night I had gone to a midnight showing of the Dark Knight at IMAX and Saturday night I had tossed and turned for most of the night for some reason, then had to wake up early to get out to the aid station by 7.
So, for the time being, I’m putting the poor performance down to that, but I was mid-workout, what should I do? I didn’t think trying to force the workout was a good idea, but I didn’t want to just give up on it either. Finally, I decided to just accept that my pace was going to be awful and just try to keep my form as clean as possible and finish up the workout. There are going to be race days when I feel sluggish in the water, this was an opportunity to prepare for that eventuality. So, I stopped my watch (just knowing it was running would cause me to push, at least subconsciously) and finished up the workout. I can’t say I felt great when it was over, but I didn’t feel awful either.
I’ll certainly bear the sluggish workout in mind for the next few days and if it happens again, talk to mark and see what he recommends (which would probably be trimming back a little).
The weekend wrapped up with a BTC Barbecue featuring Bison burgers, bocce ball and booze.
Lesson 1: There will always be a spot you can’t reach and end up missing. Sometimes this spot will be very small (see my thin red line post). Other times you won’t be so lucky. Like my left shoulderblade on Saturday… holy… cow…
Lesson 2: A 2XU one piece tri suit will not necessarily stop the sun from getting through the outfit and giving you a burn and leaving a silly looking pattern on your back. Just like the one on my right side during my ride on Saturday.
I volunteered with the BTC at the Bike Aid Station for the Boulder Peak this Sunday, which was a lot of fun, although I’m thinking of complaining to organizer Barry Siff about some smart aleck pro who squirted me with a water bottle and rode off laughing like Bugs Bunny (what a stinker!)… ;-)
After the race I got in my swim for the day, which was pretty close to a disaster. I felt tired in the pool and sure enough I was 5-10 seconds off my normal pace per 50 yards. Yikes! Why was I dragging butt? My first thought was being over trained, though the prior Sunday I had a great swim the day after a 60 mile ride, whereas this time it was after a 48-50 mile ride. I excluded that for the moment. I had been cycling quite a bit that morning as well, out to the Aid station and back was close to 28 miles, but I hadn’t felt weary in my legs and took it pretty easy on both trips and was certainly well hydrated. I think the big thing was that two of the last three nights I hadn’t gotten sufficient sleep. Thursday night I had gone to a midnight showing of the Dark Knight at IMAX and Saturday night I had tossed and turned for most of the night for some reason, then had to wake up early to get out to the aid station by 7.
So, for the time being, I’m putting the poor performance down to that, but I was mid-workout, what should I do? I didn’t think trying to force the workout was a good idea, but I didn’t want to just give up on it either. Finally, I decided to just accept that my pace was going to be awful and just try to keep my form as clean as possible and finish up the workout. There are going to be race days when I feel sluggish in the water, this was an opportunity to prepare for that eventuality. So, I stopped my watch (just knowing it was running would cause me to push, at least subconsciously) and finished up the workout. I can’t say I felt great when it was over, but I didn’t feel awful either.
I’ll certainly bear the sluggish workout in mind for the next few days and if it happens again, talk to mark and see what he recommends (which would probably be trimming back a little).
The weekend wrapped up with a BTC Barbecue featuring Bison burgers, bocce ball and booze.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Monday
Last Tuesday was a bear of a day. Long day at work…. BAD day at work… and I ended up not working out that day because of it, and that cost me. Not just because of training, but mentally and emotionally.
Going into this Monday I knew I had another deadline for that same project so I went in a little early, 7:45 instead of 8 or 8:30. I ended up not leaving the office until 8:25pm. Very, very, very long day.
Last Tuesday, I was so drained that when I got home, I basically ate dinner and vegged/recovered. It felt too late in the day to work out.
This monday night I got home, set up my bike trainer (finally!), grabbed a bagel, banana and some water and hopped on the bike to get in my 90 minute bike ride. Lesson Learned and Lesson APPLIED!
What made it even more interesting was when my roommate came home a little while after me (having worked a torturous 5 hour day) and made brownies. Fortunately she’s the kind, considerate and compassionate sort and brought a couple in to me along with a glass of milk. What a saint! Health food it wasn’t, but damn it was good for my soul!
Going into this Monday I knew I had another deadline for that same project so I went in a little early, 7:45 instead of 8 or 8:30. I ended up not leaving the office until 8:25pm. Very, very, very long day.
Last Tuesday, I was so drained that when I got home, I basically ate dinner and vegged/recovered. It felt too late in the day to work out.
This monday night I got home, set up my bike trainer (finally!), grabbed a bagel, banana and some water and hopped on the bike to get in my 90 minute bike ride. Lesson Learned and Lesson APPLIED!
What made it even more interesting was when my roommate came home a little while after me (having worked a torturous 5 hour day) and made brownies. Fortunately she’s the kind, considerate and compassionate sort and brought a couple in to me along with a glass of milk. What a saint! Health food it wasn’t, but damn it was good for my soul!
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Thin Red Line... and some workouts
No, I’m not thinking about the movie, I’ve never actually seen it. What I’m referring to is the 12-14 inch long, half inch wide sunburn I got on my lower back on Saturday. Apparently my bike jersey inched up on me during my ride, exposing a small gap between the jersey and my shorts. It’s not large enough to really hurt a lot, but when I brush something up against it, I sure feel it.
Plus, it looks really, really ridiculous. I’m tempted to take a picture and post it if not for being so close to certain posterior anatomies. There’s a valuable lesson learned.
I had a tough run yesterday. My legs felt really heavy at the start, I think this was due to two factors. The first was a really big breakfast that I didn’t give quite enough time to settle, though I think that was less of a factor on my legs than on the occasional stomach upset I felt through my run. The bigger factor, I believe, was the longer than intended bike ride from the day before. Plus there was the hills, I started out with a ‘run’ in Settlers’ Park. Really it was more like trying to run up the hills and all too frequently it became a hike. After fleeing the park, I headed up Boulder Canyon, which felt like a Breeze after Settlers’ Park.
The swim on the other hand went great. How great? Well, my 2000 yard TT was 38:31. That same pace, projected over 2500 yards, like my swim yesterday, makes for a 48:08 swim. I did it in 48:16. I wasn’t trying to set a new personal best by any means, but I did go into the swim with a little bit of an edge to my attitude, I wanted to push it a little more than I had been, I was concerned that maybe I had gotten lazy, that maybe I had let the altitude become something of a crutch to excuse less intense workouts. I certainly don’t think that is true on the run or the bike, but I hadn’t been feeling the altitude much, if at all, on my swim and I decided I needed to challenge myself a little.
Also, my first 2000 yards was done in 38:26. That’s 5 seconds better than my TT, on top of which I did another 500 yards and didn’t push myself to exhaustion like I did in the TT. ROCK!
Now, if only I could put up similar results in the other two disciplines…
Plus, it looks really, really ridiculous. I’m tempted to take a picture and post it if not for being so close to certain posterior anatomies. There’s a valuable lesson learned.
I had a tough run yesterday. My legs felt really heavy at the start, I think this was due to two factors. The first was a really big breakfast that I didn’t give quite enough time to settle, though I think that was less of a factor on my legs than on the occasional stomach upset I felt through my run. The bigger factor, I believe, was the longer than intended bike ride from the day before. Plus there was the hills, I started out with a ‘run’ in Settlers’ Park. Really it was more like trying to run up the hills and all too frequently it became a hike. After fleeing the park, I headed up Boulder Canyon, which felt like a Breeze after Settlers’ Park.
The swim on the other hand went great. How great? Well, my 2000 yard TT was 38:31. That same pace, projected over 2500 yards, like my swim yesterday, makes for a 48:08 swim. I did it in 48:16. I wasn’t trying to set a new personal best by any means, but I did go into the swim with a little bit of an edge to my attitude, I wanted to push it a little more than I had been, I was concerned that maybe I had gotten lazy, that maybe I had let the altitude become something of a crutch to excuse less intense workouts. I certainly don’t think that is true on the run or the bike, but I hadn’t been feeling the altitude much, if at all, on my swim and I decided I needed to challenge myself a little.
Also, my first 2000 yards was done in 38:26. That’s 5 seconds better than my TT, on top of which I did another 500 yards and didn’t push myself to exhaustion like I did in the TT. ROCK!
Now, if only I could put up similar results in the other two disciplines…
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Sun Dried Sundry
Scheduling Adjustments
I had been planning on going to IMLP this year to watch, to cheer, to potentially volunteer (though I didn't get accepted) and to sign up for next year.
Unfortunately, that's no longer in the cards, the fiscal realities of the conclusion of grad school plus getting paid on a monthly basis at my new job (which means I have almost three more weeks until my first paycheck) means no go on the trip as well as trying to register for IMLP 09. It's a bummer for certain but perhaps I'll be able to get down to IMAZ in November, it's closer (definitely bus-ridable at 13 hours away), would give me time to save up some money and I would have more training time (by about four months) until My First Ironman.
I still haven't excluded doing a non-M-dot race, the Great Floridian is still an option and I want to see how people review the upcoming Iron distance race in Plymouth, that would be really cool, doing my first IM in my hometown with loads of family and friends watching... but at the same time, to cross the finish line at IM Arizona or IM Florida or someplace like that and hear "Brendan Dillon... you are an Ironman!" would be Really. Freakin. Cool.
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I got kind of lost on my bike ride today.
I went out on the group ride and ended up following the wrong group from the BTC and getting dropped by that group. one guy held p and rode with me but I didn't think to ask where he was going. Instead of going on a 40 mile ride I get to Carter Lake, a 30 mile ride north of Boulder and realize I'm stuck for it. I told the guy I was riding with that I didn't intend to go out that far and turned back. I had very little idea where I was, but fortunately, a very good innate sense of direction.
But that doesn't really matter, that's just kind of "Here's the circumstances of what happened". What does matter is two things. One, I had great ride in spite of going WAY farther than I intended to. The second was just being out in Boulder and the surrounding area, riding through rolling hills and farms, the welcome view of the foothills and the flatirons as I was cruising back to town...
God I love it here...
I had been planning on going to IMLP this year to watch, to cheer, to potentially volunteer (though I didn't get accepted) and to sign up for next year.
Unfortunately, that's no longer in the cards, the fiscal realities of the conclusion of grad school plus getting paid on a monthly basis at my new job (which means I have almost three more weeks until my first paycheck) means no go on the trip as well as trying to register for IMLP 09. It's a bummer for certain but perhaps I'll be able to get down to IMAZ in November, it's closer (definitely bus-ridable at 13 hours away), would give me time to save up some money and I would have more training time (by about four months) until My First Ironman.
I still haven't excluded doing a non-M-dot race, the Great Floridian is still an option and I want to see how people review the upcoming Iron distance race in Plymouth, that would be really cool, doing my first IM in my hometown with loads of family and friends watching... but at the same time, to cross the finish line at IM Arizona or IM Florida or someplace like that and hear "Brendan Dillon... you are an Ironman!" would be Really. Freakin. Cool.
------------------------
I got kind of lost on my bike ride today.
I went out on the group ride and ended up following the wrong group from the BTC and getting dropped by that group. one guy held p and rode with me but I didn't think to ask where he was going. Instead of going on a 40 mile ride I get to Carter Lake, a 30 mile ride north of Boulder and realize I'm stuck for it. I told the guy I was riding with that I didn't intend to go out that far and turned back. I had very little idea where I was, but fortunately, a very good innate sense of direction.
But that doesn't really matter, that's just kind of "Here's the circumstances of what happened". What does matter is two things. One, I had great ride in spite of going WAY farther than I intended to. The second was just being out in Boulder and the surrounding area, riding through rolling hills and farms, the welcome view of the foothills and the flatirons as I was cruising back to town...
God I love it here...
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Workout Magic
I've just had two pretty terrible days at work. I'll spare you all the details, but let's just say that Murphy's Law was in full force and kicking my butt.
yesterday was so long and tiresome that by the time I got out of work, it was so lat and I was so tired I didn't have the will to workout at all, in spite of TWO spectacular workouts the day before.
Today I managed to get out for a run at lunch, albeit with my cellphone. A first for me.
what a difference it made!
I've said on more occasions than I can count that there is no problem that cannot be made manageable with a run... How true it is! And how quickly I forget it!
Not only was it great as a stress reliever, but I held a pace that is encouraging to me for getting over the altitude adjustment (9:10 pace) which gave me something positive to build the rest of my day upon.
I LOVE RUNNING!!!!!
yesterday was so long and tiresome that by the time I got out of work, it was so lat and I was so tired I didn't have the will to workout at all, in spite of TWO spectacular workouts the day before.
Today I managed to get out for a run at lunch, albeit with my cellphone. A first for me.
what a difference it made!
I've said on more occasions than I can count that there is no problem that cannot be made manageable with a run... How true it is! And how quickly I forget it!
Not only was it great as a stress reliever, but I held a pace that is encouraging to me for getting over the altitude adjustment (9:10 pace) which gave me something positive to build the rest of my day upon.
I LOVE RUNNING!!!!!
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