Apparently I Have Forgotten To Post

So here we are in mid November...

Here in Ottawa we actually had some snow prior to Halloween, it sucked.

Well since it has been so long since my last post I figure I should update all that give crap on my training and life in general.

I am running and biking a lot more nowadays and have been focusing on building a much better engine. On the bike I have gotten out and about to 2hr rides at nice easy pace and runs up to 1h 20min also at a nice slow pace. I want to do it right this time. No intervals or speedwork at all until after January 15.

I decided I really wanted to race in 2008 and didn't where, if I was ready or what place I was in. I opted for the Fall Colours Sprint Duathlon in Cumberland Ontario, RD is Somersault.ca. It was pretty cold when I left the house and I was layered up pretty good. I got set up in transition for my first DU and had no idea what to expect. I went for a quick warm up ride along the race route and discovered this was a definite hilly endeavor. The first 2.5k run was alright and not including the transition, which I walked through, I was averaging about 4:30/km according to the old Garmin. The bike was tough with several decent climbs and turns. I of course with my girth was dropped back a bit on the first couple climbs, but after the first lap I was feeling pretty good and even heard someone yell 'that guy's got a smooth cadence', I actually looked around, made certain I was alone, and smiled - nothing like a little pat on the back. The second 2.5k run was a different story. I felt weak. My legs were rubber. I guess all of this time off has really affected how I run off the bike. I finished almost dead middle of the pack at 41/83...not bad for so much time off.

To further my wanting to train properly this off season, I went and bought a used powertap power meter. The guy I bought it from was a 'friend' and gave me a good price. When it got to the house it was packed very poorly and the hub was poking out of the box and the accessories were floating around the box. When I attempted to use the serial connection to a comuter it didn't work. I informed my 'friend' of this by just texting that it didn't work, he went on the defensive and tried to put blame on me not downloading the right software and wrong drivers. After a bit of back and forth, he actually asked 'well what do you want from me', I replied that I wanted nothing and was only informing him that it didn't work and that packing was probably the culprit. And that was it no reply. Apparently it is too much for this guy to say a simple 'sorry bout that'. I asked for no refund or anything. And he was just an ass.

I promise that I will try to update a bit more often during my offseason.

Cheers.

Long Time No Post

Originally posted on http://www.slow-triathlete.blogspot.com/.

Well it has been some time since my last post.

I am currently in St Louis Missouri and ahve been for several weeks.

We are now 6 months post laminectomy and discectomy and I am still having bunches of pain but I think I am continue to ignore and still attempt to enjoy life.

Sitting in a chair still hurts the most, as does just about anything else, but I shall persevere.

My triathloning, although no where near what it once was is slowly coming around and I have been able to implement some decent hill rides in my bike rides.

I haven't been swimming since coming down here, I think it is easily my best event and I still average just over one minute per 100m so I am not overly worried if I lose some of that.

I am running pretty well although slower than once upon a time. I am averaging about 5/min per km which is much better than once upon a time. My rides are going fairly well but I still need to lose a few more pounds to get under riding weight.

So that's it for this minute and I am certain I will continue to be in pain but I guess I should just suck it up and continue my life as nothing is wrong, no matter the pain.

Fun With Lance

For those on Facebook or iamtri.com this is originally posted at my blog at
http://www.slow-triathlete.blogspot.com/

I found these pretty fun.

It's nice when you can make fun of yourself.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=Nqkf7iv2BDo

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-hi2sc74ySA

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NXj7-55xHn0

Running With (Professional) Inspiration

For those on Facebook or iamtri.com this is originally posted at my blog at http://www.slow-triathlete.blogspot.com/

Across Canada there are hundreds of children's parents paying thousands of dollars to send their little Crosbys and Ovechkins to skate with the pros at hockey camps. Conversely, thousands of triathletes pay hundreds of dollars to have the opportunity to swim, bike and run and suffer alongside the likes of Chris McCormack and Normann Stadler.

Can there be such a thing as a fan of triathlon?

Sure. Why not?

It is tough to follow your sport unless you look carefully and/or know where to point your mouse. There is hardly any TV out there and when there is, it is almost never live. This sad state of affairs is something that makes it pretty tough to cheer on your favourite athletes from your armchair, or better yet, propped atop your trainer gathering motivation.

Attempting to view races after they happen, is hard to become engrossed in, with the winners and drama usually already known. Ironmanlive.com and Triathlon.org, the online homes of the World Triathlon Corporation and International Triathlon Union, allow fans of this sport to watch and listen to the race as it unfolds and on the day it happens. Ironmanlive.com even provides coverage up to a few days before a major race, where fans can take part in almost every aspect of the race, not in the water and on the road, but from the comfort of their own homes.

Online triathlon forums like Slowtwitch.com, Beginnerstriathlete.com etc. are now allowing fans of racing to comment on and 'trash talk' via the web while watching the race in another window. Even the pros get into the act on the forums commenting on their own races with anecdotes, training and race reports from their perched view. It is doubtful that one could find Sidney Crosby on a hockey forum after a play-off game describing how his night went, but within the triathlon community the pros live the same lives as we do, albeit to the nth degree.

Having a favourite hockey player is all well and good to model your style on the ice after, but can a fan find the training regimen of an NHL star? A lot of pro triathletes write articles for magazines on their methods of training and many of the same, as previously alluded to, post their training days in forums and the latest favourite - blogs. Many of the Canadian Olympians, including Simon Whitfield, Paul Tichelaar and Colin Jenkins all have information packed blogs. Jenkins’ chronicle even had postings of his quest to make the Beijing team; detailing his thoughts and training on the journey to the team. Coach Joel Filiol posts scientific and general athletic interest articles on his blog. Another great blog is Kirsten Sweetland's 'Diary of a 19 Year Old In Sport'. It is a great insight into the life of a new pro and a quest to achieve prominence in hers and yours sport - including her candid account of her melt down in Des Moines last season with only about 500m to go and a guaranteed spot on the Olympic squad.

A triathlete's inability to turn on the TV and get a live feed from a race has not inhibited them from becoming a fan of the sport and the personalities within. The intensity of a professional endurance athlete translates well to the page (or screen) and is a tool for any triathlete to cling to and use.

Thoughts On Drugs, Winners and the Grand Tours

For those on Facebook or iamtri.com this is originally posted at my blog at http://www.slow-triathlete.blogspot.com/

So if the Tour de France is the greatest test for a professional cyclist and Alberto Contador is, arguably, the current best grand tour cyclist in the world; is it still the biggest test if he is not there?

Contador and his Astana teammates, including Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden, were not invited because of Astana's drug related embarrassments last year at the Tour de France and other races. Now Astana is under the masterful management of Johan Bruyneel, the architect of Lance Armstrong's and Contador's wins, and also has few remaining members of the fiasco that was the team last season. Is it at all fair that last year's winner cannot defend his crown? Absolutely not. Is it the right of the organizers to not allow Astana? Yep. Should they? I guess that's where the debate lies.

The organizers of the Tour de France have changed governing bodies and have, reportedly been attempting to change rules for their race. Sure it's historic. Yes it is THE EVENT. But should they be so powerful to be able change rules at will and allow who they want, when they want for whatever reason they want? No frickin' way!!

These 'businessmen' are taking away from the fans of cycling. Pretty soon us folks in North America may lose the Versus feed for the event because there is no one of interest in the race any longer. It could happen. In Canada it is pretty much the only televised bike race available all year long. No Spring Classics. No Tour de California or anything of the sort. I want to be able to watch a sport I love.

Druggies be damned. Kick them out as they are found out. Instead of not allowing 'clean' racers in, test during the race...a lot. Then make certain the names are made known to the world. Embarrass them. Think Rasmussen wasn't a deeper shade of red when he was outed for a possible infraction? Damn right he was. It also likely hit pretty deep in the pockets too. Any endorsements these guys have will be history, especially if a company is clever enough to include a 'moral' clause in the contract.

Now if the Tour wanted to leave a team like Rock Racing out of their race, that's ok by me. Even though I am a big Tyler Hamilton fan, this is a team that prides itself on having the 'bad asses' of cycling. Dopers (admitted or at least proven & those that continue to defend themselves), bad boys and hell even Floyd Landis is associated with the squad. They are there as pure entertainment with good cycling taking a back seat. For the record I do enjoy the show Rock puts on and I only wish I could afford their official kit. Astana, on the other hand, is a great team that is full of grand tour contenders and one hell of a tactician. Oh yeah and they won the Giro d'Italia with only eight days notice.

Just because some former team members have done bad, is no reason to not allow them to race. If the Olympic committee took that kind of stand we'd have Greenland and Antarctica head to head in every sport. Punish those that have done the deed, not those getting past it and rebuilding.

ASO get your head out of your asses and allow Astana to race in a race of champions.

More Cutting, Less Running, More Swimming

For those on Facebook this is originally posted at my blog at
http://www.slow-triathlete.blogspot.com/ ....




So as per my last entry, I am not running but I am swimming a bunch lately.



The last little while I have been swimming every day and am now doing decent intervals...for the shape I am currently in. Warming up with 300-500 warm up free, 200-500 drill with/without paddles or fins and my main set has been consisting of 4x300 descending or 10x100 descending or 20-40 minute endurance swims. I know it's not a lot but I am getting back into shape after the back surgery.



Speaking of surgery...tomorrow morning I am having another small bit of surgery and will be out a few days. As my wonderful wife wrote it on the calendar, 'Brian goes to vet to get neutered'. The only perk is...well there are no perks.



I will keep you all updated whether you like it or not.

No Running...C'est La Vie...On To Other Stuff

My apologies for the lack of updates...not that many would care but I digress.

So after my weak attempts at runs and/or walks, I found myself in a fair amount of pain. Pain so much that I had to do nothing for a few weeks.

I have to bring myself around and re-concentrate into other things that will not make me feel too bad with regards to pain. I have been at the pool for the last couple of weeks and I am back up to decent workouts of 1500-2500m. I also plan on getting back onto the bike in the next few days if weather cooperates...a fair weater rider I am.

If this new plan of action works I will stay from running until my core strengthening is up to par and concentrate on the other two aspects and possibly make my way into a aqua-cycle event in the Somersault series here in Ottawa. If I have any luck, this will happen by August at the latest for a sprint aqua-cycle event (500m swim - 20km bike) and maybe if that works an Olympic distance aqua-cycle (1.5km swim - 40km bike) in early September.

I will attempt to keep current and list my workouts.

I hope to be able to jog by August also...very lightly and slowly and keep my recovery moving forward instead of in reverse.

Great Article by Colin Jenkins

Great Article by Colin Jenkins on slowtwitch.com about his quest to be a part of the Canadian contingent at the Beijing games.

Colin is a fellow Hamiltonian who rose above the unhealthy atmosphere of 'the Hammer' to excel in Triathlon.

Good Colin.

On With The Show

Here I am again hoping to kick start my training again.

Today I went out for a 5k walk/run, with the emphasis on the walk part. My goal was to keep my HR down and not do any damage to my recently surgically repaired back. One thing I can say for certain is that I am certainly not at the same level of fitness I was prior to my injury. My HR sky rocketed to 184 BPM on my last run portion and I was taking it very easy.

To give a run down all I was doing was 5min walk/1min run/4 walk/1min run/4 walk and repeated this pattern of 1/4 to the end of 5k at 42'19". My pace was nice and slow so as not to damage myself further. I was running the run portions at approximately 5:20-6:40/km, which at one time was a fine base pace for me, but now it has increased to 94% of my max HR of 196. I was not out of breath really and felt good except I probably could have gone slower.

Here is a screen capture of my HR and pace for todays adventure in heart attacks.


Over the last couple of days I have been trying to set up my road bike as a decent tri-trainer built for comfort and speed. I have had my 03 Soloist for a while and rode it for training only and now that I got rid of my P3SL Tri-bike to someone who can use it now, it will have to suffice.

Set-Back Again...go figure

Well after making my walking up to the 5km mark I have somehow done something as my imflamation has increased 10 fold.

I went to one physio appointment thus far and have gotten the word that I am basically really screwed up. I have an imbalance in most of stabilizing muscles and the more discrete ones (ie: tranverse abdominus etc) are weak because of my lack of working out.

I ams till hoping and am signing up for the Olympic Distance Race at the Canadian in Ottawa Aug 30. Further to that I am still hoping to 'run' a 5k race in May.

A little by little will be the order until my pieces are all functioning properly again. I guess this is a cautionary tale for overtraining and not listening to your body. If you feel pain, stop. It is that easy. I am not talking that 'good pain' you get when you stress your body, I am talking that pain that screams that something just ain't right.

Training Begins

I am not certain as to what sort or 'real' training I will be able to do, but I plan on starting longer walks, some strength training, 30 min or so on the trainer and will start hitting the pool this week.

I think for starters I will commit about 5 hours this week to training. My strength workouts will center on my core (obviously).

I will likely sign up for a sprint race at the end of July just to have carrot to dangle and motivate me.

Surgery Is Done....Boy It Hurts

My surgery has been completed.

I now have less spine than I had previously...sounds bad eh?

I am already walking around the house, albeit gingerly and heavily medicated.

Once I have my body working properly I will set about about doing some training.

I will not be doing Muskoka as I had hoped months ago. I am now thinking that the Canadian Half Iron in Ottawa is a possibility and if not the Olympic for certain.

Life is hard. Training is hard. Living to train hard is not smart. Living better and being better is what it is all about.

All Set For A Long Road

Well it is on!!!

I am slated for surgery on the 25th of Feb and will be basically out of commission for 3 weeks to 2 months.

Here's the deal the ortho surgeon will take part of one of my discs out and then take the surrounding spinal 'bones' in the channel where the cord sits and cut pieces out to open up the channel thus alleveiating the stenosis in that area and hopefully allowing me to have no pain in my legs.

So hopefully it all goes well and I can get on with training towards at the least an Olympic race by summers end. I would really like to do a sprint in Smiths Falls in late June but that may be too soon, but we shall see.

On another note, considering moving out to Smiths Falls...seems like a nice enough town.

I will keep a training log on here of what I can accomplish every week and hopefully get back into tris.

Moving Along - Running and Biking to Surgery

So I was up to 45 min running at a moderate pace and then my knees started hurt. I must be getting very very old or something as everything seems to be falling off.

I have been hopping on the lifecycle until I am able to set up the trainer in the basement and buy some new jammer aerobars or maybe the DTs or something short for the road bike. Getting about 45 mins in with some spin ups thrown in there.

I go back to the surgeon on Thursday, as he told me he wants my wife present for the explanations about the surgery. Not sure why as I am already completely useless around the house so nothing will change.

Til next time.

It's Coming Along

So hear we are at my mid-January report.

I am able to run/walk through most workouts and scale back my weight a bit, down about 6 pounds. My workouts have been weights twice a week and about 45mins-1 hr of cardio daily. I am trying to keep my heart at around 130-155 BPM and the only way I am currently able to this is by a walk run strategy. I am currently doing (5W6R4W6R4W6R4W6R4W) and it is ok, albeit somewhat disappointing since where my fitness was at in 06 and some of 07.

I am imagine my fitness will again take a fall once I go under the knife. Hopefully the surgery will happen shortly after my appointment on the 31st so I can work towards another season this summer.

Probably An Operation

Doctor went ok today. He basically told me '...have surgery if you want, but there are no guarantees. Take a month a think about it.'

I am leaning towards the surgery of a partial discectomy (not sure thats the right term but it works for me).

So my next few weeks are going to be about getting some stuff done:

Shed the X-mas weight
Take my express test for work
and basically get to the business of getting better

Next appointment is Jan 31 and I will decide by then what to do. During the next little while I will be doing some light weights and light cardio and I will attempt shed a lot of weight.