Runs, Trains and Medicine Balls

Nice run this morning, along the river and through the woods, no Grandmother's house to be found.

Kept company by quacking ducks, droning cicadas, a long-legged Greyhound doggie and the irritating horn of a freight train making its way through town.

Man, what's UP with blowing your train's damn horn at every intersection? Ever hear of NOISE POLLUTION? Ever hear of a sleep-deprived citizen dragging your sorry ass outta your locomotive and going all "Hey Government! Regulate THIS!" on you? But I digress...

Finished up with core exercises using a 12-lb medicine ball and some stretching.

Now it's a triple-shot Redeye at my favorite coffee shop, hi-fi on the wi-fi, blogging, news-reading, working on various business ventures and watching the world go by. Wish you were here.

Vertical Man Goes Vertical

Great weekend in Steamboat Springs, CO. Visited some favorite dining spots, hiked up to the gondola's top to work it all off. Perfect weather - warm days, cool nights. Right now my view is looking west, high over the Yampa Valley as the sun turns everything golden. Home tomorrow, work Tuesday.

While I'm at it, the Dems' new narrative is that it's a "Tea Party Downgrade." Ummm, OK. Not a "Wasteful Bail-Out Downgrade?" Not an "Expensive, Health Plan Downgrade?" Or a "Two Endless Wars Downgrade?" Right, it's an "Our taxes are too low downgrade!"

How silly of me and so nice of the usual, useful idiots to enlighten me.

Daily Training

Earlier: an easy 1:15 run, shaking out a few cobwebs. Proud form, quick tempo, 21 right foot falls in 15 seconds, driving the arms forward (because where your arms go the body follows.) Pushing it up the hills, running strongly down. Stretching before and after.

Now: reviewing tomorrow's schedule and re-caffeinating with an extra-shot Redeye.

Later: haven't planned that far ahead! It's Sunday!

Quote for the day: "Pain (any pain--emotional, physical, mental) has a message. The information it has about our life can be remarkably specific, but it usually falls into one of two categories: "We would be more alive if we did more of this," and, "Life would be more lovely if we did less of that." Once we get the pain's message, and follow its advice, the pain goes away. (Peter McWilliams, Life 101)

Sunday Mornings Sure Are Fine!

The Wall Street Journal's weekend edition in my hands, NPR's "Weekend Edition" on the radio and strong black coffee racing through my veins - Sunday mornings don't get any better! Out for a run later once I see whether we're getting rain or ice. I'm running either way, just like to know what I'm in for.

Look Out Texas!

As soon as a few consulting gigs are safely underway, I'm throwing my bike and the rest of my tri-gear into the Flying Lunchbox and heading to Texas for several months of warm-weather training. I'm gonna spend many hours gazing at the bottom of Lifetime Fitness's lap pool!

Time To Run, Shovel Or Leave!

Despite a lingering cough and 30" of snow, I'm hellbent to get in a run tomorrow. Or maybe I'll just shovel the driveway. That's aerobic, right?

Then I'm loading up the Flying Lunchbox and heading to Texas for several months. Better weather, better training...just all 'round better! Maybe a race or two while I'm there.

2010's Popular Workouts

From Fitsugar.com, here's a year-ending list of 2010's fitness trends;

• Barefoot running. (A trend I don't get at all.)
• Working it "old school" i.e. working with your own body weight, sans fancy props and expensive equipment. (Push-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges...it sounds like Fitness Boot Camp all over again!)
• Yoga mixed with everything. Snowga - on the ski slopes. Paddleboard Yoga - in the water. Koga - while kickboxing. (No thanks. I have enough problems with Downward Dog as it is.)
• Triathlons, a "frenzy (that's) been building for a decade." (Thanks in part to Hollyweird.)

I'm not sure how I feel about triathlon being deemed either "frenzy" or "trend." That has an air of impermanence, don't you think?

While I'm at it, a few posts from the archives about Boot Camp fun and working it "old school;"

What are Atomic Situps?

C'Mon Maggot! Drop and Give Me 20!

Is Complaining An Aerobic Activity?

The Great Suburban Outback's roads are slicker than greased pig snot, thanks to lake effect snows and multiple freeze/thaw cycles. I've been reduced to kind of a shuffling walk/run/slide gait, trying to avoid falling on my ass and breaking something important.

For what it's worth, my bike trainer is set up in the basement rec room. But being inside on gloomy winter days is a recipe for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) so, for now, I'll just head out the front door, heavy-treaded trail running shoes on my feet, complaining all the while.

Some Training Advice, Perhaps Obvious, Perhaps Not

Today's run in the heat reminded me of some great advice from CoachKaryn, specifically, run when it's hot, slacker! And when it's cold and windy and raining and uncomfortable for any number of reasons.

Why?

Well, can YOU predict race-day weather? Neither can I.

Maybe you have an 'A' race coming up and you know the average race-day temperature is 82 degrees. By itself, that limited knowledge does you about as much statistical good as knowing that mile #35 on the bike is moderately downhill.

What if the RANGE of recent race-day temperatures is from 62 on the low side to 102 on the high?

If all your training has been under blue skies and 'average' temperatures, you'll lack important knowledge about how your body performs under more extreme conditions. How to adjust your nutrition and hydration strategies. How to change pacing and energy usage. How to survive in 4-ft waves when the average lake conditions are "light chop."

The importance of slightly reducing your tires' air pressure when it's really hot, lest you risk a blowout or worse. And don't think it can't happen. It happened to me while riding the IM-Wisconsin bike course on a hot day a few years ago. Lesson learned.

We all love the great days with perfect weather. We NEED the challenging days with crappy conditions. So train when conditions aren't perfect. Like today.

Time For A Swim Tuneup

I'm meeting with a swim coach at Lifetime Fitness this evening, as I'm way overdue for a tune-up on a swim stroke that was never very good and to which time has not been kind.

I sense a bunch of Total Immersion swim drills in my future. Yay.

MORNING AFTER UPDATE: Pretty much as I expected. Work is needed on stamina, positioning, balance, the catch, the pull, the recovery and a bunch of other things I disremember. The only positive, and quite unexpectedly so, was my kick. Go figure, the one thing to which I've paid NO attention is the only thing I'm good at.

Hmmm. Maybe I'll ignore a few more things and hope they improve on their own.

In Memory Of A Memorial Day Run

Running through the woods along the river is fine. Running in the rain is fine. Running THROUGH the woods ALONG the river IN the rain while a thunderstorm RAGES around you...not so much. The triathlon training gods must be laughing their asses off right now.

Another Day, Another Brick In The Wall

The sun is finally out and it's looking like we'll see the upside of 60 degrees for the first time in days. Back from a run with Camden the Wonder Dog who's clearly a dog but not so wonderful. He's in worse shape than I am, if that's possible. I've started leaving him home for all but the shortest runs.

Today's run: 3 miles bookended by 10 minutes of walking as warm-up and cool-down. 6 strides mixed into the last mile - 20 seconds of acceleration followed by 60 seconds of easy jogging. A short bike ride will round out this afternoon's festivities...unless the forecasted T-storms roll in.

"Working Triathlons Into A Busy Schedule"

From The Wall Street Journal's Health & Wellness column, here's how a busy CEO works Ironman training into her hectic schedule, and all that gear into her budget. (Note: registration may be required to read the article.)

On not giving in...

Chris Lieto: Triathlon training is mind over body. Skip the weights in favor of core training. Some tempo work is necessary but there's a reason most training is long and slow. Finally, high-quality calories fuel the machine, so go eat something!

It's Snowing and I'm Wearing Shorts

If other folk's glances and facial expressions mean anything, wearing shorts while running in 30 degree temps pegs you as 'kooky.'

Hey, I'm not a kook. Probably. I just have full-boil metabolism. And my closet is so disorganized I can't find my long running pants. Besides, why should the college kids I teach have all the fun?

Triathlon Running Form: It's Hard To Say 'Goodbye.'

As the post below indicates, winter isn't the best time to work on running form. Icy roads put a premium on remaining slip-free and vertical which, for me, means shuffling along like an arthritic old geezer.

And this being the outer limits of The Great Suburban Outback, there are no salted sidewalks and few salted roads. You may find sand sprinkled on a treacherous intersection or a challenging hill, but it accomplishes little more than mimicking dog excrement when wet and a Sahara sandstorm when dry.

Thankfully, it's been a while since CoachKaryn quizzed me about my running. Unless one of you ratted me out, she's unaware that I've said a temporary "so long" to "proud form."

Goodbye to that slight forward lean from the waist up (because where your upper body points, your legs are sure to follow.)

Adios to 21 right foot falls in 15 seconds (because, like biking, running benefits from a quick tempo.)

Sayonara to leading with the arms, driving my hands forward with every stride (because it's hard to run slow when your arms are moving fast)

Au Revoir to opening up my shoulders (because as your shoulders go, so goes your lung capacity.)

Arrivederci to mid and front foot strikes (because, though less risky on slippery surfaces, every heel strike slows you down.)

It's pure survival. Living to fight, run, train and race another day.

I tell myself I'm not an old geezer but, form-wise, that's an increasingly hard argument to make as this wretched winter drags on. Spring better come soon or I'll have disremembered everything CoachKaryn taught me, though I guess some aerobic capacity is better than none.

Maybe a better option would be to create a cross-country ski trail around the perimeter of the field across the street. It'd be a mile, maybe more, with some nice up and down gradients.

Water Skiing In the WInter

Thanks to what happens when a really cranky Mother Nature meets a really stupid dog, my runs with Camden the Wonder Dog have turned into painfully slow attempts at injury-avoidance. Most of our snow melted last weekend, leaving behind a nice, icy sheen on the roads. And of course we've now had MORE snow to hide the ice.

Thus I resemble more water skier than runner as CtWD tows me hither and yon, back and forth across the road from a pile of deer scat to some disgusting frozen road kill. Tomorrow I'm adopting a new strategy. I'll take him out for a 2 mile warm-up walk/run, then stash his furry ass in the kitchen as I go back out for the main event.

He won't be happy but he's gonna like it even less if I fall and break a wrist.

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

...but the sun in Dallas is so delightful! Great run today in sunny, 50 degree Dallas.

Meanwhile, 2 ft of snow is dumping all over the Great Suburban Outback. I've heard snowshoeing is aerobic. I may need 'em just to get in my driveway.

Camden the Poison Ivy Dog

Grrr. The season's first poison ivy blisters have raised their ugly head, confined to one forearm so far. I'm blaming Camden the Wonder Dog.

A neighbor, familiar with my struggles to turn CtWD into a running partner, lent me a so-called pinch collar. I tried it out this morning and it worked like a charm, much to Tri-Daughter #3's consternation! Instantly he became a well-behaved dog, though it'll take me a few weeks to get my running stride back now that I'm no longer being yanked hither and yon from one putrid pile of 'yech!' to another.

I've always been a believer in the "a little pain goes a long way..." school of dog training.

I had to plant my foot in his ass yesterday to get him off the porch and chasing squirrels away from the bird feeders. He turned and looked at me with a "Hey! What'dja do THAT for, anyway?" look, sauntered across the yard and hocked up something disgusting. Probably that area rug I've been missing.

What's So Restful About Vacation?

In San Diego for a weekend of celebrating Mom's 80th birthday. Tri-Brother wants to "...do 2 hours on the bike trainer, go for a run and THEN a swim in the bay." Holy crap. I need a beer.