Tour De Georgia

Went downtown today to watch the final stage of the Tour De Georgia. Tat and I befriended the guy that was handing out the water bottles for the BMC/Clif Bar team. No one seemed to be thirsty at all and we scored all 30 water bottles!! Of course we shared some with our friends! The guy went a little creppy on us at the end at gave us a hug and a kiss on the cheek, who does that to a stranger!?! We also got bottles from Powerbar, Slipstream, and Jelly Belly. The "feed zone" is the best place to watch these races!

If you can't take the heat.....

This is what I call working up a sweat!

In an effort to become acclimated to the heat I will be racing/suffering in two weeks from yesterday, I am not using any air conditioning. I consulted with an Environmental Exercise Physiologist who suggested that I just not let my body get accustomed to the cooler air inside my house and car. So far so good because the weather has been pretty mild. Friday the house started to get pretty hot, especially when I had the dryer on because it spews out moist heat. Thermostat read 80 degrees when I got on the trainer for a two-hour ride. In the end I was SOAKING wet, like wringing sweat out of my socks and everything! It was disgusting! Then I went to shower and noticed that I still had sweat all over my shoulders. But it turned out to be little sweat blisters, probably caused by getting too much sun last weekend on my shoulders then the massive build-up of sweat from the trainer. How odd! They went away by Saturday morning.

Wishing you all speedy races.....

There are many comrades that are racing this weekend and I wanted to make sure I told you all good luck!

Bob, Sue, and Nat: May the Country Music Marathon be 26.2 of your fastest miles ever!!!

Pee Wee, and my Team Luna Chix: Bust it out at John Tanner tomorrow!

Kellye, Sophia, andGary: Great races are in store for you guys in St. Anthony's!!

Jack and Tony: First triathlons are awesome and the most incredible feeling ever! Enjoy it!

New Shoes

I knew that something was shady about my Asics the first time that I ran in them. They just didn't feel that great, and no where near as comfortable as my previous Asics were. My left ankle is substantially smaller than my right and my heel is constantly slipping out of the shoe. It drives me crazy to wear two socks on one foot! Today I had a 7-mile run sketched out for myself. Too bad that my left arch, achilles, and knee decided to make me upset. My general rule is to run two miles and if it still hurts then it is probably best to stop. My knee hurts like the rain is coming soon and also like I ran yesterday (I did a tough brick workout). I was pretty mad about having to abandon a run when I have been on such an amazing kick lately! I we nt directly to Big Peach to see what the heck they could suggest for my aching arch. I tried on a couple of inserts that just didn't work. They look at my shoe and said that it was all sorts of wrong. I knew it was a dud!

I ended up getting some Brooks Adrenalines. I have never worn this brand before but they were the only shoe that kept my heel from slipping out. So we will see.

I am accumulating a lot of shoes!!!

$#@%&**!!!!!

My left foot is killing me! Specifically my arch. It is a sharp pain that feels worse when I am standing or walking in my runners. It was bothering me a lot today while I was at the gym (yes it was my off day but this wasn't triathlon related). I am rolling it on a soup can right now. I left my strassburg sock at home and I am staying at my mom's house tonight so the can will have to work.

Marc I saw you in the pretty yellow Tri-Atlanta shirt tonight! You dissapeared before I could make fun, er, ask you about it!

The perfect fit!

I have been having some issues with my back and shoulders for the last six weeks. Part of the problem was my bed-it was old and soft. I replaced it and found that my shoulders felt great, but my back was still having some issues, particularly when I rode. After about 10 or so miles my back would go totally numb and by the end of the ride I would be in a lot of pain. It was getting to the point where I would have a heating pad on my back the rest of the day and the pain would still be there the following day. I knew that something was wrong with my bike fit because I just didn't feel right on it anymore.

I had a phone consultation with Matt from The Sport Factory and knew that he was the man for the job! I liked him instantly because he didn't just assure me that it was the bike and tell me he would make everything perfect. He told me that it could be something else, leg length discrepancy, muscle imbalance, bulging disc, SI issues, etc. I went in to see him on Friday for a fit. He tested my flexibility (A+) and had me do some single-legged exercises that focused on some muscles that we use in cycling and running but don't engage much while we workout. These muscles tend to stay dormant and get weak, and can cause back problems. Basically I have a pretty bad imbalance of strength from my left to right leg. My gluteus minimus is not is the best of shape, and my core needs tons of work too. Matt showed me six or seven exercises that I can do in a circuit to help.

For my actual fit Matt raised my seat (it had fallen, a problem that is common in Cervelo's) and raised my fork also. I was currently in the most aggressive set-up possible and he made me less aggressive. It is going to relieve some of the pressure off my back and open up my hips. He videotaped me and did an analysis on my pedaling stroke and made some suggestions. Matt and I talked about all things Exercise Science and I found him to be extremely knowledgeable and fun to talk with. Everything on my bike is marked with TAPE and if the tape gets crinkled then I know something has moved!

Friday Keith and I went to the gym and did the exercises. We set them up in a circuit like plyos. They didn't get our HR up, but had us drenched in sweat. I loved it! Afterwards I ran almost 7 miles. Saturday I had a long run (12.5 miles) and my legs were LEAD! My calves felt very heavy, probably had something to do with the 50 single-legged calf raises that I did! But I managed to make it through my run albeit pretty slow.

The true test was my long ride on Sunday. I hit up the Serrano course with Hunter. The first 30 miles were amazing, I was feeling AWESOME despite having done some serious training on my legs the past three days. Then massive winds kicked in and literally took us from 22 mph on the flats to barely 15 mph. The gusts of winds were so bad that we couldn't ride next to each other for fear that we would get blown together! We kept thinking that we would make a turn and get a tailwind, but it never happened! Just cross-winds and head-winds. But I still felt really good and my back felt fine up until 50 miles, when I started to get a little bit sore. After 62 or so miles we were finished and I could dismount my bike without being curled over and hurting! That's a great sign!

I am planning on doing the exercises as often as possible, but maybe not running afterwards! I need to also focus more on my core, and this doesn't mean abs only! If anyone out there is suffering from pain on the bike that seems excessive, I would highly recommend looking at your current bike fit. Things will move and settle with a bike and as your body changes, you may need another fit. Matt at The Sport Factory did an excellent job and I would recommend his services!!

I put in close to 17 hours of training this week, I am very much looking forward to tomorrow's off day.

Not that bad this time around!

Me, circa 1981, my first swim lesson. I didn't learn much!

Considering the fact that it's been 26 years since my last swim lesson, my first day as Master's swimming at Emory really wasn't that bad. The day started with me getting up at 5 a.m. after going to bed at 2:30 a.m. My initial response to the alarm clock was to turn it off and not get up. Then a voice of reason tells me that I can either get up and swim today, or drown in the Ohio River in August. I choose swimming today. Practice started at 5:45. I wandered around the Clairmont Emory campus and found the pool. I walked around and it appeared to be closed. It's a HUGE pool, 25 yards wide and 50 yards long, and it was covered in bubble. I was seriously upset that I was awake and wandering around in the freezing cold for nothing. Then I saw some steam coming from the pool and two little bodies swimming. It looked so weird to see this entire pool closed except for two lanes with two people swimming really fast in this steamy water. I made me way to them and saw a lifeguard asleep in her chair. Not good if she falls! I found the coach and introduced myself. She told me to jump in and promised that although it was 45 degrees outside the pool was very warm.

Going into this I was anxious/intimidated/excited all at once. I was glad that the Tu/Th morning practice doesn't have a big turnout. The other two swimmers just pulled back the bubble and made me a lane. Coach gave me an option of 3000 yards, 4000 yards, or 5000 yards. I choose 3000, but it really ended up being closer to 2850. She was very kind and gave me some critiquing that I knew was coming my way and some stuff that I didn't realize I was doing. I never got more than 10 seconds rest which made the set go by really quickly. It was cool watching the sun come up while swimming. I made a mad-dash to the locker room because it was still really cold outside. Refer to my last post if you don't know how I feel about the cold! I am looking forward to tomorrow morning, where there is supposed to be a bigger crowd.

The day ended up being really nice and despite being REALLY tired from getting up so early and not sleeping well last night, I still made it out to Stone Mountain for a two-hour ride with Olga. I love Spring!