Fast update...

In honor of Mike Keane (just finished the MS 150, way to go hoss!!!), I am writing a quick update rather than a novel.

1. My achilles is still there. It doesn't hurt, but it doesn't feel 100%. I've run 2.5 miles in the past month, and am dying to run. It's painful how much I want to run.
2. I'm sick of the pool. It's the source of most of my activity lately, and think that my body must now be about 15% chlorinated water.
3. I've been out on my bike some. It's the perfect time of year to ride. I'm not climbing, as that's what probably hurt me in the first place. Flat and rolling. That's all.
4. I hope I can run by the fall. I really love running in the fall.
5. Eating is still up and down. Meh.
6. Football season is almost here. Stoked.

That is all. Good day now.

E

A lesson in humility

Well, after doing tris for about 5 years now, I have finally chalked up my first DNF. I went into this year's Boulder Peak kind of expecting it, as I've had a case of Achilles tendinitis that has been bothering me for about a month now. I think I contracted it during the Bicycle Tour of Colorado - and this pain is what caused me to drop from that ride with 2 days remaining. Since the BTC, I've been giving it a lot of rest, ice, and arnica - and it has improved drastically. So much so that I thought I'd give the Peak a go.

The longer these tris are, the earlier one must check in, so I was at the Res a few minutes before 5am on Sunday morning. I got my transition area all set up, eager to take a bit of a warm-up and see how the Achilles responded. My warm-up gave little indication of more pain, but the Achilles was definitely making its presence felt, so I accepted the fact that this may be just a swim/bike.

With that, I dropped the freaking hammer in the water and on the bike. My wave was the 10th out, which meant there were people with a good 50 minute head start, and it was freaking difficult in the water. I struggle with passing people in the water, picking a line is a bit of a challenge for me. Once I have a line, I typically will swim 50 yds or so before I encounter another set of feet and have to pick a new line. This swim was even more challenging, as the group I was swimming was catching people left and right, and towards the end, we were catching the stragglers from groups that had started 15 - 20 minutes ahead of us. I feel for these people, as I know how daunting the swim is for many people, and I don't ever want to add to their fear/frustration. If I could give encouragement in the water, I would.

I came out of the water feeling strong. I took a slower T1 knowing that I probably wouldn't be setting a course record. Off on the bike, I felt pretty strong again. The best/worst part of the Peak is the first 7 miles of the bike course. Lee Hill/Olde Stage are legendary in Boulder, as Lee Hill has about 3/4 of a mile with over 10% gradient. It's a steep mother. There are usually a lot of folks out there cheering you up the torturous climb, chalking the roads up and making you feel like a Tour de France hero. I gave this climb everything I had and managed not to throw up (bonus!). Once through Lee Hill, the ride opens up and you can lay it down. I rode hard, again, thinking I most likely wouldn't run.

With about 6 miles to go on the bike, the thought crept into my head that I should "just give the run a go". There is a certain element of pain associated with triathlon, and up to this point, my pain threshold was still at a manageable level, and my Achilles wasn't hurting (too bad). I got off the bike and headed out for the run. I altered my running form a bit to make sure I was landing on the middle of my foot, which allowed for less extension and exacerbation of the Achilles. I made it about 3/4 of a mile before the pain set in. At this point, I pulled off, and stretched and massaged a bit, trying to battle the voices in my head calling me a pansy. I gave in, and turned around. Less than half a mile from the expo, I gave myself one hell of a pep talk, and decided to try again. I made it to the exact point I had turned around previously, and decided to stop being an idiot and called it a day. The walk of shame back to the expo put me in my place, but I'm glad I made the decision to save my legs.

As I walked up to turn in my timing chip, a 78 year old man crossed the finish line. This actually cheered me up, as I realized that if I take care of my body, then maybe I will be racing at 78 years old. From then on out, I went out about 1/2 mile from the finish and cheered like hell for everyone coming in. It was a really humbling, but really good experience. A few weeks of torturous rest, and I'll be running again, which is better than the alternative if you are messing with your Achilles. It was a good day.

E

Rain!!!!

Well, I'm 5 days from my first triathlon of the summer, and immediately following that, I'm heading to Glenwood for the Bicycle Tour of Colorado. So I've got a long few weeks ahead of me, and I can't seem to get out on my dang bike to get some last minute miles in! Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday afternoon all let out torrential downpours as soon as I got about 5 miles into my ride. Beautiful sunny skies before, beautiful sunny skies after. Just some tornados/rain/wind when I'm on the bike. I've been giving Mother Nature a piece of my mind when I'm out on the bike, but I'm trying to view it as a way to get some last minute swims and runs in, and to rest my legs for the long ride ahead of me.

I'm super stoked for the BTC. I'm almost to my fundraising goal, and I'm starting to plan the logistics of a gluten free diet when you have nearly no food storage capabilities, and maybe not the easiest access to restaurants. This one is going to be tough. The recovery nutrition is going to be key, and I've got some ideas in mind. I've adopted a Paleo type diet where I'm trying to load up on carbs only around my workouts - less focus on starchy carbs though - and then focus on good quality proteins and veggies most other times. I feel great, and my workouts, sparse as they have been, have been reflective of my body's acceptance of this diet.

So now I start to taper the legs a bit, I'm going to get one good ride in on my race wheels hopefully on Thursday night to get a feel for them. Then, it's time to get prepared for 6 days, 513 miles, and 45,000+ vertical feet of climbing. Stay tuned, the photos and stories will be good!

E

What the heck?

It's been raining a lot here on the weekends lately. It's getting slightly frustrating. Monday through Friday, 70 degrees and mostly sunny. Saturday and Sunday, 45, rainy, and cloudy. Not so conducive to bicycle riding, so I've been out running and swimming (not really swimming) as much as possible. I was able to get out last Sunday, and the ride turned slightly frustrating. I set out to climb Flagstaff in Boulder to get some more climbing in my legs. It was a perfect blue Boulder day, and I was cruising up Flagstaff. About halfway up, I decide to get out the saddle and hammer a bit. As I stand up - POP!!! - a spoke blows on my back rim. I don't know what it is about me and spokes, but I blow probably 4 a summer. I make it a point to make sure my rims are tensioned correctly and am very conscious about putting too much power into them when I'm cornering, etc - but now it's happening when I stand up out of the saddle. It was at this point that I decided it probably wasn't a good idea to keep going up the mountain, as the descent would be pretty dicey on a less than stable rear rim, so I snapped a few photos and limped on home. It was frustrating, especially since I was just getting into a good climbing rythem, and the weather was perfect for a few hours in the saddle. I've got all summer though, so I thought for saftey's sake, I'd live to climb another day. Beautiful though:
Landers and I did make it out for a pretty decent ride on Thursday evening. It was a bit chilly, but great to get out and spin the legs - especially with Landers since we haven't really riden together much this spring. We didn't kill ourselves, and enjoyed a nice after work ride. He's getting significantly better, and I'm confident he will continue to do so as the Bicycle Tour of Colorado approaches.

I got some SWEET new running shoes this week - last year's model of the Structure Triax 12 from Nike. I wore model 10 for the past 2 years, but can't find them anymore, so I upgraded. I love this shoe, it has the perfect support for my running style - but I can tell that I've waited just a bit too long to freshen up the shoes - as my knees get a bit tired after runs. Check 'em out, vintage neon green, think Andre Agassi Neon Green. I'll get a photo up soon, but they are sweet.

Off to enjoy the rest of this rainy day. Hopefully, the motivation to go for a quick run will hit me soon, if not, I'll just keep on the coffee :-)

E

Wheezy Jefferson Weekend

So I finally got out on the bike for an extended ride this past weekend, and got to finally ride with Matt Anderson - the mastermind of our Bicycle Tour of Colorado ride. First off, he shall forever be referred to as MANderson - that guy can freaking hammer! He was burying Sawyer and I all day. Granted, he was on a Kuoto Time Trial bike, and I had a chest cold from Satan, but even if he were on my old Schwinn and I had the lungs of Lance Armstrong, I would have still gotten my butt kicked pretty good.

The weather was fantastic, and chest cold or not, I needed to get out on the roads. We ended up riding about 41 miles in 2h 03m - so just over 20mph average. Told you, MANnderson hammers. I rode in aero for most of the ride, and it felt good. I need to get the headset lowered quite a bit to get in a bit more aggressive aero position, but I'm glad I am figuring these tweaks out now. I'm going to tinker with those changes this weekend and see how I feel.

Other than the bike ride, I'm trying to kick this cold. I have more herbs in me (thanks to my beautiful wife) than an apothecary, and I think they are working. My cold has progressed pretty quickly, and I'm feeling much better tonight. I went for a run tonight - a short run, but a run none-the-less. I felt like Wheezy Jefferson, but it was nice to be outside in the perfect sunset hours. Tonight was more about getting some fresh air in my lungs than burning off calories, so it was a success.

That's all I've got tonight - go check out rideforthehangout.blogspot.com - and if you are interested in making a donation to our cause, shoot me an email. Peace, love, and hamburger grease.

E

Bicycle Tour of Colorado

We're riding for the HANGOUT. The Bicycle Tour of Colorado is a 6 day, 513 mile ride from June 21 - 27 - complete with 44,000 feet of vertical climbing. Guess I'm going to have to get my ass out there and climb some mountains!!!

The HANGOUT is a really cool - small - organization that helps to support people with Traumatic Brain Injuries. We have committed to take over the fundraising for a gentleman who in the past has raised over $5,000 per year for this great organization. He is in Med School this year, so we are picking up the slack!! Somehow, I fear that raising the money will be the easy part. It's going to be a really really cool experience regardless, and it's going to be even cooler since we are riding for a purpose. We've created another blog to keep track of our training for the ride, our fundraising goals, and our feelings. We'll probably post a lot about our feelings. Either way, check it out, it'll be a really cool blog: rideforthehangout.blogspot.com

On the triathlon front, I have been a bit of a slacker lately. My diet has been spotty, my workouts short, and my motivation lacking. I feel like I'm under a lot of stress (work, money, getting our house replumbed, etc.), and that is translating to a lack of motivation - which leads to short, uninspired workouts and a lack of concern for my diet. Our house is going to be finished this weekend, so I kind of am viewing that as the beginning of my training season. The diet has come around in the past few days, and I've at least strung together about 7 days of workouts, even if they are only 20 minute long runs or 1,200m swims. It decided to freaking blizzard today, so I went to the gym and sat on the stationary bike for about 30 minutes and punished myself, and it felt oh so good.

I am praying for the weather to clear out so I can get on the bike for real on Sunday. If not, I'll go for a sloppy run and try to stretch it out a bit. And the diet, oh the diet. It'll come around, I just need some patience. Now do me a favor, go check out my buddy Mike at mikeane14.blogspot.com - he's dropping pounds like the SEALs drop pirates. That's a lot, just in case you were wondering.

Hugs.

E

Finally, Aero Bars

Man, it's been a freaking wonderful early spring. The weather has been just awesome (I'm actually hoping for some rain/snow soon!!) and I've been riding and running my ass off! Last Sunday, I took a run at Flagstaff, a great short little climb in Boulder. It's super steep to start, and then levels off a bit as you go up. It's a pretty good gauge as to one's fitness level this early in the season, and it told me I need to be climbing a LOT more. Regardless, it's beautiful at the top of the climb, and I spent a few minutes just taking it in.

Landers and I rode into Golden from his house on Thursday night. The Golden ride is awesome, as on the way back, you literally ride right through the Coors Brewery - the smell is amazing. This leads to a really nice stretch from the Coors Brewery almost all the way back to Sloan's Lake and Matt's house. It's a great ride, and the weather couldn't have been better.

Today, I finally got the aero bars on my new bike and took it out for a spin. I rode up to Boulder Res and rode the better part of the 5430 Sprint Triathlon bike course. This was another great test of my fitness, as I know what I can do it in, and today was a bit off pace, but pretty decent for March. I rode 35 miles today in about 1h 45m - so nearly a 20mph average. I'll take that in July, let alone March.

I'm taking it easy tonight. Going to try to get some more miles in tomorrow if the weather allows. I made some gluten free pizza (freaking delicious) and am now having a bit o' red wine (Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre - also freaking delicious) and flipping back and forth between March Madness and the World Baseball Classic. I don't care what you think, I'm loving my Saturday night!

E

I heart OJ

Here's Landers on last weekend's ride, having a ball. Might I add, that's some pretty good photog work over the shoulder...

This week has been a really odd one. When I began my pursuit of getting healthy and training, I could never understand how someone would prioritize work over their health, and skip a workout because work was too consuming. Until this week. I've never had a job that I truly cared about until now, and not once, but twice did I skip a workout because I got caught at work too late. It was a really tough decision to make, but maybe it's partly my body telling me that it's okay to take a break. I decided that this weekend was one to catch up and get some solid workouts in.

We spent the night at my mom's house last night and had a really relaxed morning with some coffee, eggs, bacon, and strawberries. I haven't had OJ for a while, and had some as well. I went for a good run when I got home, and I'm amazed at the energy I had. I think the fruit and juice were really welcomed by my body and were a great fuel source. I've been gluten free for about a month, and with that have reduced my carb intake. Moving forward, I'm really going to experiment with fruit and alternative carb sources for fuel, but also trying some protein fueling to see how I do.

Anyway, the run was great, blue bird skies and a good breeze to keep me cool. There is a good hill on the route I ran today, and it's a good barometer of my fitness levels. I didn't dominate the thing today, but I definitely wasn't sucking wind too bad when I got to the top, so I'm pleased with the fitness level on the last of February. I'm surely ahead of where I was at this point last year, and I'm going to keep hammering away to make sure I have a great summer. So today was about a 5 mile run in about 35 minutes, so roughly 7 minute miles with some rolling hills. Me likey.

Off to have a glass of wine, and get some rest. I have a big ride planned tomorrow, I'm pumped to get on the bike again. Last weekend was a good teaser for spring and summer.

E

Been a while!

Well, it's been a while since I've been on here to post! Work has been killing me, so it's taken everything in me to get out there and workout, which I've done. At the very least, I've been trying to get out for at least 3 miles at night, or get to the gym for a lift. I have been working though. And that's the important thing.

We spent the weekend in Steamboat. Our friends have access to a 2,000 acre ranch in the middle-of-nowhere Steamboat. It is about a 45 minute snow shoe from the parking area, and we snow shoe-d back and had a wonderful time with no TV, Radio, Internet, and Cell Phones. We learned cribbage and drank wine, and had crab legs. It was absolutely wonderful.

The snow shoeing is a fantastic workout, and I'll get some pics up ASAP!!!

If you get a chance, head over and throw some workout love to my buddy Mike: http://www.livestrong.com/profile/keanems/

E

Mid-Winter Run

It's been really warm lately, and I've been loving it. Once the holiday's are done, I usually start to get a little bit ready for spring, but football usually holds me over. I can cook and watch football all winter long, especially if it is cold and snowy out. Making a nice stew when it's dumping snow makes me happier than Barry Bonds at Balco. But once the football ends, I'm ready for baseball, triathlons, and BBQ's. So the nice little warm spell we've been having has been fantastic.

I got out for a quick run this evening. The other nice part is that it's been light out until about 5:30pm, which allows me to leave work about 4:30 and still have enough daylight to get a run in. Not riding during the week yet, but I'm thinking by mid-March, I'll have enough daylight to get out and spin the legs. But until then, the rides will be on the weekend, and I'll lift, swim, and run during the week. The run was fast and easy, and really refreshing to get out and move after a stressful day at the office. It was more stress relief than a workout, but I'm always in a much better mood after a quick run.

I got a great swim in last night, and it's amazing to me how I don't really feel fit, like truly in shape, until I start hitting the pool. Maybe it's the having to take off my shirt and wear spandex in front of a gallery of treadmilling observers (our pool is lined with windows, and on the other side are all the treadmills, the only thing they can see while running is the pool; talk about pressure!). But I usually combine swimming with some core work, and I feel like a true athlete when I start back to the pool again. I'm usually most burned out on swimming by the end of the summer, so it usually takes until mid-January again until I'll get back in the pool on a consistent basis.

Well, I'm going to finish my wine, go read a bit of the new Inside Triathlon mag, and hit the hay early. G'night mates.

E

Cold one!

T'was a cold one today. It was gorgeously sunny though, and I had to get out and ride. When I was in Steamboat, I made it a rule that I wouldn't go out on the bike if the air temp was below about 40 degrees - but I broke my rule today, and as you can see, I bundled up. When I left, our thermometer said 34 degrees, so it was a chilly one. I rode well though, found a few good rollers and really tried to climb hard. I ended up riding for about 1h 20m, about 23 miles. A wee bit slow, but a great Saturday ride in late January. I've been reading about the Tour Down Under, and it makes me wish we were in Australia again. But, we're here, and we've got to enjoy Colorado while we are here. Alrighty, off to bed. Had a great relaxing Saturday night, and there is a pork butt in the oven overnight. Pulled pork sandwiches tomorrow that would make your face melt....

E

Off day...

So I took a nice off day yesterday. I did pretty well working out this week, however, on Thursday I was exhausted, so I just did one lap around the lake (~1.2 miles) with Ellie, so it was more of a run/walk. We went for a glass of wine in Louisville after work and then had another one when we got home, and just relaxed.

It's cold, but sunny today (right around 30 degrees), so I'll probably go for a run here in a few. I need to get some food in me, so we're going to go hit up a coffee shop for some coffee and banana bread before the run. Ciao!

E

Another beautiful day

It was just gorgeous again today, and I got out for about a 35 minute run. I'm struggling right now, as I've been looking forward to watching these football games, but it's too nice out to be sitting here. Sooooo, I'm either going to go ride for a bit, or just go for a walk and relax a bit. I just made some home made hot wings, and that may get me out the door on my bike, we shall see though....

E

Only in Colorado...

...do we get almost 9 inches of snow on Monday, and a 60 degree Saturday. It was absolutely gorgeous out today, and I took advantage and got out on my awesome bike. It felt so nice to get out there.

Now, I'm off to enjoy the day. I don't know what else I'll do, but I can't sit inside when it's that nice outside. Maybe I'll go ride some more :-)

E

Tired Shoes

Them's some tired running shoes. It's about time to replace them...

Just finished a quick sunset-ish run, Boulder is gorgeous at that time of night. Running tune of the night: Five Minutes to Midnight by Boys Like Girls.

Time for some din-din and a glass of vino...

Oatmeal Festival Motivation

Well, I've been a bit under the weather this week. I feel okay in terms of sore muscles and the fluish symptoms that have been going around, so I don't think that's the problem. Just had a bit of coughing, it seemed very bronchial. The few days that I was forced to take off were actually probably needed, as I really didn't take any extended time off when I was on vacation, and speaking of, my vacation was a lot more active in general than I'm used to. Running after 8 year olds is a pretty monsterous workout in and of itself.

I started feeling better yesterday around lunch, so I went for a pretty good lift last night. This morning was the annual Lafayette Oatmeal Festival (yep, Oatmeal), and the 5K course came right through our backyard. I took some coffee outside and cheered the runners on. Seeing a group of runners like that makes one want to run. And not the really elite runners, don't get me wrong, they're cool to watch, but the best to watch are the middle of the packers who are truly enjoying the run and actually pushing themselves to do something that might not be second nature to them. Three miles might not be difficult for me, but to watch someone accomplish something that they may never have before really makes a) want to go slap them on the shoulder, and b) get out there and run myself. So I went for a run. Guess what? I'm still a weeeee bit sick, and my breathing was brutal. I still managed to get about 3 miles in, not the 5 or 6 that I was hoping for, but such is life. It was a good morning, and now I'm just relaxing, watching some sports (Avs and then playoff football) before Ellie and I go bowling with some friends tonight.

If it's dry enough tomorrow, I'm going to try to get out on the bike. Time might be an issue, so if that's the case, it's either the pool or the trail. Any of which is good with me. I'm just glad to be moving around a bit. Hope everyone has a great weekend...

E

Goals

Happy New Year's everyone! Ellie and I have been traveling since the middle of December, and I haven't had a chance to get on here much. I've been working out quite a bit when I can get it in. I went for some beautiful runs in Leesburg, VA and South Windsor, CT. My final run in South Windsor (my dad's house) was one of the best runs I can ever remember. There were far too many hills, and I left the biggest, longest hill until the very end of my run, and was hurtin when I crested it. Much to my surprise though, I had a lot left in the tank, and probably held right at a 6:10 pace for the final mile of the run. It felt good to have some left, especially since I thought I was dead in the water. I just got off the bike (it was nearly 70 degrees in Denver today!), and I'm glad I rode today as it's supposed to snow tonight, which will force me into the pool tomorrow. Such is life.

Anyway, I wanted to use this as a place to put up a few goals for myself for 2009. Some are training related, some are not, but I think it's important for me to get them down. So, here we are:

1. Finish first in my age group - I met a goal from last year by placing in the Oktoberfest Triathlon in September, and want to push myself to win one this year. I think the new bike will work wonders, and I'm going to really work a lot this spring and early summer on running off the bike. Hopefully, that'll get me there.
2. Fine tune my diet - This is kind of subjective, but I really need to hone in on my eating. This means stocking my desk at work with good options, and taking more time each day to plan for tomorrow's meals. I'm really at the point where the changes are minor, but they are still going to be tough. Off the top of my head, reducing caffeine intake, eating more organic meats and veggies, and having at least one cup of tea per day.
2a. Cut back on the drinking - this goes with the diet, but I need to put it separately. I've been drinking too much, usually around 2 drinks per night (beer or wine). I don't usually go nuts on the weekends, as I view these as my prime training time and I HATE being hungover. But, my goal is to not have a drink more than 4 nights per week, eventually by the end of the year getting it down to 3 nights per week. I want to enjoy my wine, rather than just mindlessly going for it after I get home. So if I can look forward to having it, I think I'll savor it much more.
3. Work on paying off my car - I freaking hate car payments. Last year, I wanted to get all of my credit card debt paid off (DONE!!!!), and now I really want to get a little ahead on my car. Money is a bit tight, but I think if I tweak a few things (and spend less on booze), this will be a very attainable goal.
4. Stop saying no - I need to just start saying yes and trying things. Even if I don't feel like going out, if I say yes, I'll probably enjoy myself. Typically, when I say no, it's because it's something that isn't familiar to me. I need to expand my horizons a bit and just start doing new things, or just re-doing old things that were fun.

I don't want to set too many goals, because I really want to focus on these ones. The year is off to a good start. Since Ellie and I got back from our trip, we have really focused on eating much better, and we both feel a lot better. I didn't drink much in our trip to Aspen for New Year's, and I still had a GREAT trip. And to make it even better, I don't want to die today!

I hope everyone has at least a goal or 2 in mind that they can use the new year as an excuse to start. Good luck, and happy 2009.

E