"bike dreams"

I am getting old. Not really. But yesterday was a milestone that made me feel like it. My 4 year old daughter got her first set of wheels. A 16" Huffy Sea Star. Not sure about the components or aerodynamics on this baby but I'm sure they're good for the mileage that she'll be racking up.

I've never seen her so excited. From the minute we picked it up she rode it all day until the sun went down. As I was putting her to bed the last thing she said to me was, "Dad, I think I'm going to have bike dreams."

LOL- Welcome to my world, sweetheart. The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree, apparently.

A plate and 12 screws later...

This is a picture of Lance Armstrong's collarbone. Yikes! If you haven't heard, it happened on 3/23/09 in a race in Spain. I cringed at this picture because I myself have broken my collarbone. Wish I could say it was in a bike race in Spain. Nope, a failed attempt at a backflip on a sled did me in. But I digress. Lance is such a stud. I got to hear him talk a few months ago about livestrong and his cancer initiatives and it was phenomenal. I was so close to getting my helmet signed but someone in his entourage pulled him away when I was two signatures away. Ah!!!!

But back to Lance's collarbone. This is what he had to say: “In 17 years as a pro I have been lucky to avoid one of the most common cycling injuries. The crash has put my upcoming calendar in jeopardy but the most important thing for me right now is to get back home and rest up and begin my rehab.”

Best wishes to Lance and his recovery. He is doing a great job in raising awareness and resources for Cancer.

My point to this post is that if it happened to Lance it could happen to anyone... just a reminder to be safe out on the roads.

I've been following CrossFit

My buddy Mike introduced me to CrossFit about a year ago. It seemed interesting but I didn't give it much thought. But as I continue to talk to him about the workouts, read reviews and follow the infamous 'workout of the day' or WOD I am really thinking that this may be a great supplement to my triathlon training. CrossFit is getting a lot of attention in the triathlon community and testimonials are spuing forth about the virtues of this fitness program. In addition to the main site they have an affiliate site, CrossFit Endurance for triathletes which looks intriguing.

What I like about it:

-The workouts are short, just15-45 minutes each.

-The workouts create strong, dense muscles. Not bulky, weak ones.

-The workouts are always new, never repetitive.

-Did I mention they are short?

Make no mistake; just because they are short doesn't mean they give anything up on the 'kick your butt' meter. These little WODs look so freaking intense. I haven't even dared to attempt one yet. But I'm thinking this might be the next big thing...

The Brick

Oh, the 'brick'

This workout totally sucks but there isn't a better bang for your buck in triathlon training in my opinion. Running right off the bike totally jacks up my running form but I'm starting to get used to it and be one with my fatigue-induced, altered running form.

Based on my own experience with the brick I have dreamed up a new way to incorporate them into my training. My disclaimer here is that this is not based on any science. This is just me doing what works for me:

-One brick workout per week
-First week is long, endurance bike with short, intense run
-Second week is short, intense bike with long, endurance run
-Repeat

My feeling is that this mixes it up just enough to develop all the fast and slow twitch muscles required for the bike and the run. Distances will vary with the events you are training for but this is a great way to 'brick' without spending a ton of time in any given workout.

Marginal gut-check

I put a freeze on the marginaltriathlete for a few weeks. Why? Because my marginal activities were crossing the margins and getting in the way of the things that are really important. Like family. Like spirituality. Like school.

I have taken a few weeks to give myself a 'marginal' gut-check and have decided that now is not a great time to train for the Flying Pig Marathon so I'm pulling the plug. I know. I know. Never give up! You can do it! Frankly, if I did do it, I would nail it. I'm running faster than I ever have and feeling great on long runs. But other things are suffering so its not worth it.

Plus, for religious reasons I don't like to race on Sundays and the Pig was on a Sunday so that also made it an easy choice. But that is a topic for another post.

So I'm sticking to a few short races this season. I'll be graduating this year, moving and starting a new job so a few Sprints and an Olympic race is what I'll probably the best choice even though, left to my vices, I'd love to do more.