Good hour on the road with Coach Troy

Did a good hour doing some rolling hills in Madison, WI. Not as hard this time. Got lots of liquids. Still need to get a computer with cadence. Will do that next week.

1 hour - other stats, unknown.

Getting used to the Tracstand

I've now ridden on the trac stand three times now. 55 minutes the last two times. The DVD's I have are tough. The last one I did is the Hardcore 100 by Troy Jacobson. Man that is a brutal one. I don't like how he says I have to do the whole thing or not at all. I'm sorry, I just don't have 5 1/2 hours to workout. So something is better than nothing man!

I'll tell you I really need to get a computer that gives me cadence cause I don't think I'm going anywhere near fast enough to be on course with the athletes in that video. There is one girl in the DVD that looks very uncomfortable knowing that she didn't wear an appropriate top. It's funny cause she looks at the camera after she sees herself in the video while it's being recorded and she looks very uncomfortable giving everyone a show. Troy should have sent her home to get a neck high jersey.

Anyhow the year isn't ending anywhere like I wanted, but now it gives me an opportunity to work hard like I did at the beginning of last year. Plus it isn't like I gained everything back, I can get back down in about three weeks if I stick with my goals of:

1. Swimming four times a week
2. Biking four times a week
3. No more sweets

I have a party tonight and this will be the real test of #3. Plus I need to bike when I get home. Lately it's been really hard for me to get up before 7 am. I used to get up at 5 all the time. What is up with my body needing more sleep lately!?

First Day with the TracStand

For Christmas I bought myself a TracStand for riding my bike in the winter. I got it when I bought my bike, but it's been in storage all this time so that I could have a significant present for Christmas. Well yesterday I went on a ride with it.

I went for 48 minutes. I rode along with Coach Troy out at Lake Placid. Only thing is I don't have a computer to tell my cadence. I used a GPS all this year for movement stats and ignored cadence. Now I can't do that on my stand. I get no data whatsoever. So I'm going to have to get something to tell me my cadence (and might as well get speed as well since that would work too on the tracstand).

I probably went around 15 miles or so and had a pretty good pace going. When I get a computer I'll have better stats. My back tire was wearing out. There is some burned rubber all over the metal disk in the back where it rubs. Maybe I have it on too tight?

US National Table Tennis Tournament results

Check out the results here.

Feel good run

Haven't run since Thanksgiving break with Cathi. I remember being pretty sore for a few days afterwards. Figured it was time to get another run like that one so I went down on the treadmill at lunch:

1.5 Miles - 1.5 miles @ 6.0 mph
1.25 Miles - 5 x (.10 walk, .15 Run) @ 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0 mph

2.75 Miles @ 2% grade

Not bad. Felt great and my knees didn't give me trouble.

Body Fat Testing vs. BMI measurements

I've read a little about BMI and have been concerned a little that people put too much value on their BMI "number". A better method for making informed decisions about the composition of your body is through Body Fat Tests. Here is a good article explaining the differences.

Body Fat Testing Methods

Today when you go after health insurance quotes, it's good to be armed with as much detailed information about your overall physical condition as possible. America is an obese nation, so people with a lower body fat percentage may be able to argue for better premiums or deductibles on their policies. There are several methods for calculating body fat including:

• Hydrodensitometry or Underwater (UWW) Weighing - This underwater method calculates whole body density by measuring volume. The subject sits or lies down on a suspended scale over a pool or tank. The subject is weighed, then submerged and weighed again. Fat is less dense in water, so an individual with greater bone and muscle mass will weigh more when submerged. Using standard formulas, a body density figure is calculated. Although considered the "gold standard" for body fat measurement since the 1940s, many subjects are frightened to be submerged and cannot adequately expel air from their lungs to achieve the most accurate numbers possible. Prices vary widely and tend to be high. Only fitness labs, universities, hospitals, and upper end gyms tend to have access to or actually own the required equipment, which can cost in excess of $50,000.


• Anthropometry (Skinfold Measurement with Calipers) - Hand-held calipers are employed to measure skinfold thickness at 3 to 7 key body locations. A sum of the measurements is then used to calculate a body fat percentage. Since more than 3,500 equations have been validated according to age and ethnic group, this can be an extremely challenging method of calculation. It is, however, easy and inexpensive. Accuracy is, however, questionable with this "old school" methodology in the hands of anyone but a skilled practitioner.


• Absorptiometry (Dual Energy X-Ray or DEXA) - This relatively new and highly sophisticated method used a whole body scanner and low dose x-rays that divide the body into total body mineral, lean, and fat tissue mass. Requiring 10 to 20 minutes, the procedure is non-invasive and comfortable and is rapidly replacing total body immersion or UWW as the "gold standard" body fat measurement due to convenience and price. Depending on location, expect to pay $125 to $250.

Other methods of body fat calculation that are used with less frequency (or exclusively in laboratory settings) include:

• Near Infrared Interactance (NIR)


• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)


• Total Body Electrical Conductivity (TOBEC)


• Computed Tomography (CT)


• Air Displacement (BOD POD)


• Bioelectrical Impedance (BIA)

In addition to body fat percentage measurements, BMI or Body Mass Index is frequently mentioned in fitness and weight loss literature. BMI is an assessment of weight in relation to height and is often used for the morbidly obese as calipers lose any accuracy with overly large skin folds and UWW tanks may not be large enough or may represent a danger to the subject. BMI does not, however distinguish between fat mass and fat free mass, so no fat percentage calculation is achieved nor is there any accurate sense of where on the body fat is stored, which suggests specific risk factors for various obesity-related disease. Given these limitations, body fat calculations give a much clearer picture of a person’s current physical condition and the goals to which they should aspire.

Rowing and lifting

I need to get back on the bandwagon. This morning I weighed in at 197.8 and wasn't happy with that. Need to get back down to 189 or lower. So I'm not slacking any more during the noon hour. I did:

5000 M Rowing: 20:39.1

Bench Press Machine: 6 x 30 @ 80
Lat Pulldowns: 6 x 30 @ 80
Crunches: 10 minutes

Will swim tonight too of course.

Cathi's Valley of Fire Marathon

Cathi drove down to Nevada Friday afternoon to run the Valley of Fire Marathon. She didn't have any idea how much of a climb it was. Here is a map.

The mountain climbs were insane. There were a few 14-20% grade mountains. Cathi walked a little, but considering the climb, that is to be expected. Her time was 4:25:06.

From Cathi's Marathons

We made a fun poster for her while she was gone and put it on the garage door for her when she got home late Saturday evening.

The kids really worked hard on Saturday to get the house clean and made it nice for when mom got home. They were rewarded with dinner at Golden Corral and boy did they eat up! Mom had a good time and was glad that she did as good as she did considering the big hills she had to deal with. She took first in her division, so that's cool!

No Mr. Wimpy

Noticing that along with all the lost weight, that I've obviously lost alot of muscle too. Decided that I need to hit the weights no less than 3 times a week so I made it into the weight room at lunch:

Flat Bench: 12 x 145, 15 x 135, 18 x 125, 21 x 115, 25 x 95, 30 x 85, 40 x 75, 50 x 65, 75 x 55, 100 x 45
superset with
6 x 60 crunches

Didn't get a burn like I wanted. Once you get so light you don't get any perceivable benefit (at least while your in the weight room). Next time I'll stop once I get below 100 pounds and start higher.

Surprised that I was able to do that many crunches. Will do racquetball tomorrow morning for the first time in several months.

Results of the 2008 Open

On Nov 8th, Austin, Jacob and I played in this year's 2008 Open. On Friday we played our ladder event. We get seeded and based on how we play can either advance our seed position into a higher division, or get put where we were seeded if we lost. The guy on our table who was an unknown and seeded at the bottom, made his way all the way to the top to play James but ended up in the A Division. At first he looked not that good, but he would toy with the other player just enough to stay ahead. His name is Jeff Hone and he moved here from California. He's an older guy who claimed he hadn't played in many years. Well he still had it.

Jacob and Austin didn't advance either. Austin played in the D division and Jacob in the bottom one. There were over 60 people in the tournmant, so there were 6 divisions (Open, A, B, C, D and E) I played in the B division.

On Saturday I was in a group with Bryce Parkinson, Matt Pugmire, and Varhese Pallathu. The other guy in our group didn't show. I first played Bryce. I knew it would be tough, but in the last several tournaments I was able to squeek by. Not this time. He was more consistent on his loops and I had been out of practice enough for him to slaughter me 3 - 0. I then played Matt and lost 3-2. Then to Varghese 3-1. I was disappointed, and humbled, but knew I deserved it for the neglect I've given the sport over the summer giving way to swimming and biking.

Jacob won a game from someone, but lost all his matches. He's a great sport though. He had fun and wasn't upset. Austin took first at his table and advanced to the semifinals. The semifinal round was a single elimination with the other half of his division. He lost to Javza Gaav 2-3. He was pretty upset about that, but not as bad I've seen him in the past. He's getting better at controlling his disappointment.

We didn't stay to see who won the divisions, we just took off cause it had already been a long day. Cathi came on Friday night with the kids to watch the first hour. It was really crowded and the kids tried to watch a movie on my laptop, but it was too loud and they couldn't hear. Next time we all need to be more in practice to expect any kind of success at a tournament. I'm worried about Nationals next month. Better start hitting with the robot!

2008 Utah Open

Austin and I took 3rd in the Class A Doubles. Austin was in the D Division and made it to the semifinals but lost in the first round of the semis.

I was in the B Division and was 0-4 so I was a bit disappointed, but not surprised given that I haven't practiced at all this summer. Jacob was able to win a couple matches, but not any games either. Austin is getting quite a bit better.

We were able to leave the tournament at 12:30 so I had the rest of the afternoon so I went on a ride:

Distance: 37.6 miles
Time: 1:55
Avg Speed: 19.6 mph

Went out to the end of the causeway out at antelope Island and went back to the gate and back again. Good ride except I had a flat tire that didn't have a hole, just didn't tighten the inner valve very good.

Bonehead!

This afternoon I headed to 6200 S State in Salt Lake on my Bike. We were going to meet Cathi's family at "The Cheesecake Factory" at Fashion Place Mall.

I made it 400 N and 200 West when I hit something and instantly got a flat in my back tire. I stopped and a construction staple was in my tire. I pulled it out and replaced the tube. Then continued on. When I got to 100 S and 200 W I noticed I had a flat again. I also noticed that my sunglasses case had spilled out of my saddlebag. I felt in there and my wallet was gone! It was in there when I replaced the flat, and when I took off I didn't zip it back up! What a bonehead. Just then a black truck came by and the guy yelled out, "You dropped your wallet back there!"

He turned around and went back to get it while I ran along side with my bike since it was flat. Back at North Temple it was in the road. I gave him $20 (There was over $70 in the wallet along with all my cards and ID). He noticed I had a flat and asked if I needed a ride somewhere. I figured if I hurried over to Tomax I could call Cathi and she could pick me up on the way down. I caught her and then went downstairs and did some rowing for 5 minutes, several sets of lifting and felt like I got a full workout considering my biking was cut short.

The headwind coming in was constant at around 20 mph. It was terrible.

Distance: 30.1 miles
Time: 1:47
Avg Speed: 16.89 mph

The backup tube shouldn't be one that already has a hole in it. Also, zip up your saddle bag, you bonehead!

My strategy for consumption during Halloween

Cathi set a goal to not eat ANY candy this Halloween. I don't think I can go quite that far, but my strategy is to chew every piece of candy in small pieces, also considering let the chocolate melt in my mouth rather than just down the candy in large amounts.

If you take it slow and take smaller bites, it will last longer and/or will result in less candy being eaten.

Plus I'll be swimming/biking like a madman on Saturday to burn most of the calories taken in on Friday.

Stopped at Bike Wagon's warehouse

Yesterday morning I emailed Dale Majors. He's my friend from my ward growing up that plays at the club on Fridays. He started a business many years ago called bikewagon.com. I emailed him asking about some winter shoes for riding in. He said I should try some windproof covers for the shoes I have. I stopped by his warehouse on the way home at 2100 N. Redwood Road in SLC and I was surprised how big his business really is. He gave me a good price on the shoe covers as well as some gloves.

The ride home the rest of the way was good:

Distance: 31.2 miles
Time: 1:38
Avg Speed: 19.1 mph

I tried the gloves and shoe covers this morning and the shoe covers were good, but the gloves were not. By the time I was 4 miles into the ride my hands were already freezing. I even put my thick leather biking gloves over the top and still froze. I ended up stopping at the Farmington station and taking Frontrunner the rest of the way. My hands were so cold. Guess I'll have to stick with my goretex winter gloves. They're thick and air proof.

So today's ride was much less than I wanted. Plus I can't remember exactly what I did, but I hit the inside of butt against the top of the frame and have a sore bum. I'm behind on hours this week cause of the riding in to work, so I'm going to have to take the FrontRunner home and bike from the Layton station. With Halloween tomorrow, I can't rely on Friday being a makeup day on hours. Need to get home at a decent time so the kids can have plenty of time trick or treating.

Stats:
Distance 13.7 miles
Time: 51:12
Avg Speed: 15.67 mph

Took frontrunner to Layton and then booked it home:

Distance: 6.1 Miles
Time: 16:55
Avg Speed: 21.64 mph

Riding in the dark

I've ridden in the dark before. It isn't fun, but usual the real pitch black darkness only lasts for an hour or so cause I don't leave too early. Well today I left at 5:30 and it was dark almost the entire time. It was terrible. I had to deal with the huge glare of oncoming cars headlights when I was on the east side of Legacy Highway in Bountiful. That made seeing the yellow stripes on the trail very difficult, so I had to slow way down so I could feel comfortable with where I was going. I didn't want to ride off the trail when it curves.

Why is it colder just before the sun comes up? The temperature was pleasant until I got to South Bountiful. There was a light blue hue right above the horizon of the mountains. In Farmington I replaced my winter gloves with my bike gloves because my hands were too warm. But when I got to South Bountiful I had to switch back to my winter gloves. My feet this time didn't get numb till I got to South Bountiful too.

Distance: 31.0 miles
Time: 1:53
Avg Speed: 16.46 mph

Terrible performance, but it was cold and dark so I'm not gonna get upset with that. Should have a much better ride home. Get to leave at 3:30 pm so it should be nice.

Still cold

I put duct tape over the hole in my shoe and in the main vents in the toe, which was better, but still had very cold feet this morning. Everything else was warm. Need to look into winter bike shoes cause Bikers edge didn't have any shoes without the holes and vents.

Distance:31.0 miles
Time: 1:43
Avg Speed: 18.06

Bike home was much better:

Distance: 31.0 miles
Time: 1:34
Avg Speed: 19.79 mph

It was warm this afternoon. Had to pull my sleeves up on my peppers. No wind to deal with and went hard.

New 5000 M Rowing PR - 19:51.5

Feeling the need to push it again on exercise and diet, at lunch today I did 5000 M rowing in 19:51.5.

That's a new PR. I watched this video a couple weeks back and figured the biggest "no-no" I'm guilty of is the recover/catch phase by coming too far to my feet and put a strain on my knees, so I tried to focus on only bending my knees to just less than 90 degrees, but I still had several moments where I forgot and over did my recovery so that my butt would hit my heels. Trying to do better on form and slow down and put more power into each stroke.

Then I did 5 minutes of abs then some arms:

Seated Preacher Curls: 4 x 12 @ 75 (After the sets, hold 90 degrees for 10 seconds, do another rep, then hold at 90 for 10 more seconds, one more rep, then done)

Skull Crushers: 4 x 12 @ 75
superset with
Close Grip Tricep Presses (fast): 4 x 12 @ 75

Good workout.

Riding out of guilt

Last night I went camping with the 12 yr old scouts. I ate so many s'mores!!!! I pigged out. So I figured I ought to go on a decent ride when I got back this afternoon. The weather was awesome so I rode out to Garr Ranch and back including the extra loop out to the Visitors Center. Great ride:

Distance: 50.1 miles
Time: 2:40
Avg Speed:18.79

That's better

The ride home was quite a bit warmer, but still requiring several layers. No freezing body parts.

Distance: 30.8 Miles
Time: 1:38
Avg Speed: 18.86 mph

Had to hurry home so I could make it in time for Jacob's pack meeting.

Freezing!

This morning I put on many layers of clothing as well as two pairs of socks. I wore my winter gloves instead of my bike gloves, I also wore my Survivor buff around my nose mouth and ears.

Everything was perfect except my feet were still freezing. I think it's cause they have holes in the bottom (for when you need water to drip out after getting out of the open water in a triathlon, even though my feet are totally dry by the time I start my bike) and air vents in the toe for allowing air.

I'm gonna stop at bikers edge and get a new pair of shoes for the winter so I can have no air flow going around my feet. That should do the trick! I had no wind at all until Centerville and then had to deal with a 5-10 mph headwind which really slowed me down. I had ice on my GPS and around the opening of my water bottle. Next time I should put some heavy cream, some fruit and sugar in my water bottle and have a tasty treat when I get in to the office.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:50
Avg Speed: 16.7 mph

Miscommunication

My GPS was out of batteries at the start so I stopped at a Maverick a couple blocks from work to get some new batteries. A very nicely dressed Hispanic woman came up to me and here's how the conversation went:

Hispanic Woman: "Green house?"
Gords: "Green house? OK?"
HW: "Yes, Green house" (looking around)
Gords: "You're looking for a green house?"
HW: "Uh, Bath? Find Bath."
Gords(Confused): "Your looking for some plants, or a green house to take a shower?"
HW(Frustrated): "No, Bath! B - U - S
Gords: "Oh! Bus! Your looking for a bus?"
HW (Still annoyed): "Yes! Bath!"
Gords (thinking frantically what a Bus and a green house have in common, then a couple electons crashed into each other in my brain and sparked a possible connection): "You mean Grey Hound? Not Green House right?"
HW(new look of hope on her face): "Yes!"
Gords: "The Greenhouse (Greyhound) station is down four blocks (Holding up four fingers and pointing south), then West 4 blocks. The address is 200 S. and 650 W."

She then gets in her truck and drives off. I had to laugh how that conversation went. I'm a bit of a bonehead.

My bike stats:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:40
Average Speed:18.36

Excellent!

This morning I rode in to work. I had a 15-20 mph tailwind going south which was fantastic. The wind wasn't that cold. My black peppers kept my temp just right. I talked with Dale Majors last Friday at the club and told him about the tiny pinhole of paint that had come off the bottom of my frame and he said to fill it with red fingernail polish. I did that this morning and it filled in nicely. Hopefully that prevents it from spreading. When I turned my bike over to do that the straw from my aerodrink came out and I forgot to put it back in so the ride in this morning I had to undo the bottle to get water which was inconvenient.

The breeze south was fantastic and really helped my speed:

Distance: 30.5 Miles
Time: 1:43
Avg Speed:22.05 mph

At lunch today, nobody showed up for table tennis so I took the opportunity to run outside to the bank: 1.2 miles in 11 minutes.

Last minute ride

Got really antsy to go ride this afternoon at work. So I left early so I could go out to Antelope Island for a decent ride. Rode out to the Marina, back to the entrance, then turned around back to the Marina then home. Was able to keep a nice cadence with the tempo of this song. Felt like I was out on the salt flats going faster than the speed of sound, even though I was only going around 21 mph.

Distance: 37.1 Miles
Time: 1:50
Avg Speed: 20.24 mph

Nice ride. My GPS and MP3 both died about 5 miles from home.

Tricep spasms

This morning I got up and put on my Black Chili undies for the cold ride in to work.

Distance: 31.6 miles
Time: 1:45
Avg Speed: 18.06 mph

What was weird as it got colder as I got closer to Salt Lake. Just before the sun came up was the worst. My toes were like ice cubes when I took off my socks. Not many more days I can do this.

I'm at my desk and my triceps are spasming big time! Its like their getting a workout when I use my aerobars. Although I don't know how. They aren't tired or under any strain when I ride that I'm aware of, but it sure seems like it the way they've been firing. They always seem to do that when I get some good miles in.

The ride home was just as cold or even colder. Had a vicious headwind going home so it was pretty slow. They finished paving the rest of Gentile so I took that instead of going all the way up to Gordon so that will cut about .75 miles off my ride each way now. Here was the stats going home:

Distance: 30.75
Time: 1:48
Average Speed: 17.1 mph

Joining the ranks of Brady, Duane and Bryan

Got off work early since I started really early. Was home at 4:30. Called Duane to see if he could ride but he wasn't there, plus it dawned on me that he is coaching a winning football team, so his season isn't over yet. So I went out to antelope island by myself and bought one of those year passes. Now I'm hardcore like Brady Allred, Duane Ralphs and Teri and Bryan Child.

So I biked out to Garr ranch and back. Here's the stats:

Distance: 46.8 miles
Time: 2:25
Avg Speed: 19.37 mph

Was cramping up every once in a while in my calf muscles. There were also several encounters with Buffalo really close to the road. I wonder if they've ever charged a biker before. A few that I encountered were a little spooked of me and ran away from the road as I got nearer, while others held their ground and I was worried they were going to go on the offensive on me, but I was fine.

I also worried about getting locked in. I was a good hour before sunset when I got out of there, but I thought of Brady's situation where the gate was locked. What do you do? You can't just throw your bike over the top and keep going. I need to ask Brady some details about the park.

It was a good ride. Looking forward to many more rides out there now that I've got a pass and have to use it up the best I can. Don't want the expense of $40 to not be well used.

Another 5000 M row

A little sore from yesterday's rowing as well as Monday's Bench exercises, I went ahead with another 5000 M rowing session at noon which I did under 20:00 (19:58) which is twice now under 20 minutes.

It's tough to meet that 20 minute goal. Really tough.

Did a good session of abs for about 15 minutes afterward.

New Rowing PR

Today I went down to the Garden Level of Tomax and rowed like an animal:

5000 M in 19:52. That broke my old record by 17 seconds. The key is to not take so many drinks. Last time I took three quick drink breaks. This time I only took one.

Afterwards I did some ab work for a few minutes and then lifted biceps:

Seated Preacher Curls: 2 x 12 @ 75
Standing Preacher Curls: 2 x 12 @ 75
Pullups: 8

Worked out for an hour total

Chest

Flat Bench: 15 @ 135, 8 @ 155, 2 x 8 @ 165, 15 @ 135
DB Flys: 4 x 12 @ 30

Put on my 50" Bench shirt just for kicks, and its as loose as an old T-shirt. Absolutely useless as a bench shirt for me now. Should sell it on e-bay.

Results of Pocatello to Syracuse Ride - 162 miles in 9:28

Cathi dropped me off at Grandma and Grandpa's house last night. We visited for a couple hours and I went to bed. The night's sleep was great, but it seemed like it went too fast. I got up had a bowl of cereal and left @ 6:15am. I was frustrated with how I couldn't really see the road too good even though I had a bright headlight. I missed one turn and had to backtrack a little. The temperature was warmer than I thought so about 30 minutes into the ride I stripped off all my long black pepper under clothes and wrapped them up nicely around my frame.

I was surprised how hilly it was. It was tough. I was able to build up my average speed to 17.2 mph at one point and it went back down at several points but I ended up at 17.1 mph.

When I arrived at Preston I stopped at several places to take pictures of Napolean Dynamite places. I included those in the video below. Had lunch at Logan's Heroes at the south end of Main Street. Had a very tasty sandwich. Had a stomach ache for about a half hour after that cause it was a big sandwich. Felt better though and started heading up the monster hill going to Brigham City. When I got to the top I was happy knowing that the rest of the ride was totally down hill. I got some serious speed the rest of the way and was able to take my average speed from 16.4 to 17.1 by the time I got home.

Cathi and the kids had set up a couple posters and were jumping up and down yelling "Yah Dad!" and stuff. It was nice to see them waiting for me in the front and happy to see me finish. I was able to really book it once I got to Roy. I had an accommodating tailwind from that point on. Was going over 23 mph down Gordon. Nice finish! Click the image below for a video.
From Biking

Results of Gridley Half-Century and Century Ride

We started the race at 9:20 this morning. The temperature was good. I had packed three Powerbars, two Buzz Bites and a 16 oz Powerade. Mom, Dad and Cathi decided to just stay together for moral support on the ride. I immediately went ahead and wanted to get a good pace going. Cathi enjoyed the visiting and the moderate pace right from the beginning.

When I got to the pay station at the causeway, I had a pleasant surprise. It's "free park day"! Perfect timing! The ride on the causeway was nice and the smell of salt was pretty intense in a couple of spots. When I got on the island heading towards the Ranch it was very hilly. Much more than I had anticipated from the elevation graph on the map.


When I got to around Mile 30 I saw Dad, Mom and Cathi. I continued on home. When I got home my GPS registered 49.7 so I went around the block once. I filled up my water bottle, got another Powerade and continued on for one more lap. I saw Mom, Cathi and Dad at their Mile 30. Mom was struggling up the last long hill. Poor woman.

I continued on to the Ranch. At my 80 I noticed I was only going 15 mph on flat. My front tire seemed wobbly. So I stopped and sure enough it was dead flat. I'm SO glad I bought a CO2 cartridge last week! I sat by the side of the road and repaired the front tire. It took me about 20 minutes to finish and get back riding again. In a way it really increased my confidence knowing that when I get a flat that I'm prepared and fully capable of fixing it and moving on. Hope I don't have to do that next week, but if I do, I'm ready.

I was running out of water and it was very hot so I stopped at the Visitors Center on the way home and refilled my water bottle. By the time I got to mile 90 I was out of energy so I ate my last Powerbar. I had to gag down the first two, but the third one hit the spot! It got me through to the finish. So now I have a new personal record for the longest ride - 100 miles. But this record will only last a week as I'm going for 157 next Saturday!

I did it in 5:25 (18.4 mph). The first half was slightly faster. Got slower near the end and I was riding on a flat for a while I think.

Cathi, Mom and Dad did the half-century ride in 4:45. Good job Cathi, Mom and Dad on a difficult ride! Next time we'll do a completely flat ride.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO CLIPS AND PICTURES OF THE RIDE.

Fantastic ride!

Yesterday I stopped at Big 5 and got some Pepper Skins. If I'm going to ride in to work for a few more weeks I need to be prepared for some cooler weather. I'm especially worried about the early morning on the Pocatello ride. Well that purchase I made was so worth it! The temperature was perfect the whole way! It protected me when it was cold, and when the sun came up, I didn't overheat. It was well worth the price for these.

I also picked up several boxes of Chocolate Powerbars yesterday. I also took one with me this morning to try it out. I started eating one about one hour into the ride. It was tasty and I could tell it was packed with energy. Usually those powerbars are nasty! But this was good.

The ride to work was great! I had a tailwind until I got to 500 South in Bountiful. I took the Legacy Bike trail. When I got to 500 South then I started getting a headwind which progressed until it was impacting my performance. I had a 19.9 mph average built up when I got to that point, then it went down to the point to where I got down to 18.4 when I got to work. Here are the stats:

Distance: 31.6
Time: 1:43
Average Speed: 18.41 mph
Max Speed: 25.5 mph

Sure glad I took yesterday off. I feel so good! I also got some new cargo pants for storing here at work. They are 34's and guess what! They're still a little big. I could easily fit into 32 pants now. Unbelievable. I feel a little girly being so skinny now. But thanks to my years of lifting instead of actually being skinny and girly, I'm looking more "V-Shaped" according to Cathi.

Biceps and Abs

Been a long time since I've been in the weightroom.

Seated Preacher Curls: 4 x 15 @ 75
superset with
Crunches: 2 x 50
alt with
Air Bike: 2 x 50

Alternating Dumbell Curls: 4 x 20 @ 25
superset with
Captain's Chair: 4 x 15

Close grip, palms in pullups: 1 x (5,6,7,8)
superset with
Four beat flutter kick: 3 x 25

I was really surprised on the pullups. I haven't been able to do that many since Deseret Gym. Guess it pays to be lighter.

Good workout.

Getting Numb

Didn't bike as planned last Saturday. We were very much pressed for time, plus it was raining and the roads were slick. Had a fun time at the cabin and being with the family.

This morning I got up an hour before the alarm went off and decided to get a head start on this morning's ride. Had a bowl of cereal and the weather guy said it was cold outside. I went out for a second to see cause it was just fine inside. Man was it freezing so I went upstairs and got on a sweatshirt and jogging pants. By the time I got Mitchell's house in South Kaysville I was getting warm so I stripped off the outer layer and hid them in the bushes by their mailbox. I will pick them up on the way home.

The rest of the way was cool, but not unpleasantly so until I got to Warm Springs Road in NSL. My hands and feet were numb. There wasn't much of a wind, but enough to really chill my fingers and toes. When the sun came up it didn't seem to make things warmer in fact it seemed colder. I'm getting nervous about next weekend's ride from Pocatello. It's gonna be cold! Here are this morning's stats:

Distance: 31.6 miles
Time: 1:45
Average Speed: 18.06 mph
Max Speed: 24.5 mph

The ride home was very pleasant temperature wise. Here are the stats:

Distance: 31.6 miles
Time: 1:45
Average Speed: 18.06 mph

63.2 miles total today. Not too shabby. Will bike to work again on Thursday. No more going two days in a row. Need to let my body recover a little. I can push it, but then my training suffers at the end of the week. Moderation dang it!

Cathi's Top Of Utah Marathon - 3:54:30

Cathi here - We just got back from the weekend at the cabin. I ran the Top of Utah Marathon on Saturday morning. Here are my results. We went up Friday evening and stayed up at the cabin with my running friend, Tiffany Gallup and her husband Gerry. We had hoped that we could get Tiffany qualified for Boston in this race. This was my first race 6 years ago and I cried at the end. The last 4-6 miles in this race are not fun!

Gordon stayed with the kids and Gerry also helped out as they cheered for me at several points throughout the race. Jacob joined me at mile 21 and ran with me clear to the finish. My mom also cheered for me at one point at mile 20 and then at the finish. I didn't beat my last time from the Pocatello which qualified me for Boston. I walked several times the last 6 miles. If it weren't for Jacob I wouldn't have even been under 4:00. I loved getting high fives from the kids that was a pick me upper. Here is some video of the points Gordon and the kids met me.



My friend Tiffany didn't quite make it under the qualifying time for Boston, but she is hoping to make it down to St. George for one last attempt.

Fatigued, but gotta push through.

This is the last day I'm riding in to work. Thursday and Friday I'm taking a break from biking since I'm doing a pretty decent ride on Saturday. Still fatigued from yesterday, but gotta push through and just do it. Weighed in yesterday at 187.4. New record. Motivating to keep going lower.

Found a new and improved route. MapMyRide.com doesn't have the Legacy Highway/Bike Trail on the satellite images. Looks like the satellite pictures need to be retaken since so much has changed since then. Here are the stats:

Distance: 31.4
Time: 1:47
Average Speed: 17.6
Max Speed: 23.9

Had a pretty good headwind for a while.

On the way home though I had an awesome tailwind the whole time except when I was going east or west and then it was to the side. Took a buzz bite cause I only had a bowl of oatmeal and two peaches all day.

Distance: 31.6
Time: 1:26
Average Speed: 22.0 mph

Legacy Bike Trail - legal this time

I'm disappointed that I have to go nearly 15 miles before getting to the start of the Legacy bike trail up by the Davis Justice Center in Farmington. I wish it extended further into Kaysville and Layton.

This morning I took the trail as far south as I could go down to where 215 and Legacy meet. Problem is you come to a complete dead end with no sign or warning. I turned around and went back about 3/4 mile to the I-215 and Redwood junction and took Redwood Road down to 400 S and then went east in to work. Had a bit of a headwind for a while. Still faster than normal coming in to work:

Distance: 33.6 miles
Time: 1:51
Average Speed: 18.16
Max Speed: 27.6 mph

The bike home I took Beck street down to the Construction Company/Topless Dancer intersection. Turned left and went north on Warm Springs Road which turns and hooks into Redwood. Went north on Redwood just past the I-215 junction and then hooked into the Legacy Bike Trail from there. It was a good ride. Here are the stats:

Distance 31.4 miles
Time: 1:45
Average Speed: 18.12 mph
Max Speed: 30.0 mph

Rowing

At lunch today I rowed 5000 M. I did it three seconds slower than my personal record. I did it in 20:12. It sure gets my heart rate up! Sweating good.

Did some core work for 10 minutes afterwards, then three sets of 30lb alternating DB curls.

A little sore from Saturday, but not nearly as bad as I was after the Pocatello 5K. Go figure.

Back at it tomorrow. Plan on swimming with Cathi real early and then biking in to work and back home. Need to get more yardage in to be prepared for the ride on Oct 4th. I was most pleased with my bike results at Saturday's triathlon.

Cathi's Ogden Triathlon

Cathi here. I liked the Ogden Triathlon more then the Echo Triathlon. It was prettier. The swim was mostly done on my back this time. I did backstroke for 95% of it. I would do about 100 strokes and then turn on my stomach to see where I was going, scope forward, and do breaststroke for a couple of stokes. Then back to my back. It seemed that the entire swim was with women in white swim caps all around me. We were running into each other left and right for most of the race, although it was much thicker for the first half. We were swimming in a counter clockwise triangle. It was very choppy water. Man! After we had passed the first big orange buoy in the water and were headed for the second, I thought the buoy in the middle was the one I turned around for. It was not and I had to keep on going. I liked how in this race they split up the competition into different colored swim caps. I was in the white cap category. It was easy to know when to start and which group you were in. Gordon was in the red swim cap category and he says he was the first red cap out of the water-pretty impressive. The swim was pretty good but tiring. 1000 yards. Maybe about 19 minutes.

One mistake I made on the transition was that I left the goggles around my neck and as I was leaving with my bike I noticed that my goggles were still on. I had to take my helmet off and take the goggles off because I knew they would bug me on the bike. Ooops. A guy from some Ogden newspaper was standing there asking people questions and he said to me, "With your slow and easy pace, you're sure to win" (ha ha ha). I laughed and kept on going.

The bike is never my favorite part. I don't know if it's because there are about 100 bikers that pass me like I'm standing still or what. I don't have a road bike and Gordon thinks that makes a huge difference. So many racers in a triathlon seem to be heavy duty bikers (fanatics) with the whole tight outfit, etc. I am just a chubby girl in my biker shorts (that don't look very good on me). So the whole bike is a little intimidating in the first place.

An interesting thing happened on the bike this time. I was riding close to the white line. We were riding around the Pineview Dam which is very pretty. I was cruising along at what must have been around 15 mph (Wow, that's fast, right??) All of a sudden I feel a big hit on my left leg. Someone ran into me on their bike. I cried out because it mostly shocked me. The guy that hit me fell off his bike and laid on the ground. I stopped and watched him for a minute, quite a bit up ahead. As he was getting up I kept on going. A guy that biked past me then said, "Don't worry, that was all him." I was wondering if the guy that got on his bike from the accident was going to cuss me out when he got near me again, but he never did. I was wondering if he was thinking, "Why do total amateurs do races like this?" So I finished up the bike at less then an hour for 15 miles. I was glad to be onto my specialty.

The run was very hilly and the second half was on a trail. The trail was very narrow so anytime you wanted to pass someone, you had to say, "On your left". Unlike on the bike I do the majority of the passing on the run. I probably passed about 15 people on the run. I felt good about it. There was one guy in front of me on the run who was wearing long black/white striped socks who was a teenager. The guy behind me nicknamed him "socks" and would say, "Let's go socks. Let's finish hard" (because our pace depended on him because we didn't want to pass). I don't like when on a run it's out and back and you can see near the finish as you are running out and wish you could just jump the fence or whatever and hop to the finish, and pretend like you did the whole thing. Oh well. I did 4 miles in about 35 minutes.

I was near dead by the end. I was so glad to be finished. I don't know if I will ever love triathlons. I like marathons better for some reason. For some reason it's a better sense of accomplishment. Gordon wants to increase to Olympic distance next year but I don't know if I'm "on board" for that. Overall a good race for me. Here are my timed results.

When I got past the finish line I forgot to stop my watch, but when I looked at it after about 30 seconds it said 2:00:05. So I just did it under 2 hours. The official results showed quite a bit faster. Gordon said it's messed up.

I passed a girl in a shirt that read "All you have to give is all you've got". That pretty much sums up the race for me.

Ogden Valley Triathlon Results

Well - the long awaited day has come. Eric came over to our house with Stacey and tried putting his bike on my bike rack, but it wouldn't fit with the other bike's handlebars taking up so much room so we drove up separate. He went up Ogden Canyon and I went up through Mountain Green. He beat us up there by probably 10 minutes. Oh well, nice experiment.

When we got there they had the buoys setup and I was like "There is no way that is 1000 M." Eric was like "It is, it just looks close together cause we're so far back." I was still doubtful. When it was about 45 minutes to start time, a boat went around and moved each of the three to probably double the distance apart. Eric was gone to the bathroom and when he came back, he said "Holy Crap!" I laughed. 1000 M is a long way.

This race was setup with alot of heats. It was supposed to be timed out so that the age group male and females compete against each other with the difference in heat start times. Sounds like a good idea. When my heat started I was on the front line and timed with my watch just as the gun went off for my heat. I was dealing with alot of splashing but quickly took the lead for my heat. By the time I broke away I was running into white capped ladies from the heat ahead of me. I came upon a woman who must have been treading water as I clothes lined her with my left arm. I stopped to look to make sure she was OK and say sorry. But then I went back on. I was passing people from the previous heat and coming into people from two heads ahead. I definitely was the first one out of the water in my heat. They had all the heats separated by cap color and I was the first red cap out of the water.

I didn't have any cramping issues with all the potassium pills I've been taking, the banana's and the salt pretzel's I've been loading up on! When I got out of the water I saw Cathi struggling to get off her wetsuit. I tapped her on the head and said, "Good job Cathi!" and ran to the transition area to take my wetsuit off.

When I got there the suit came off fast and I was able to start my bike part pretty quickly. I wasn't very fast getting my shoes on. I probably was about 15 seconds slower than I could have been had I been smarter.

Now the biking portion is where I'm just a little better than average, but that's it. When I got the point where I could mount my bike I stopped and a lady next to me tried mounting on her bike, but she went too fast and slipped and fell. She was OK, but made me glad I wasn't going too fast. During the ride I had gatorade splashing out of my aerodrink bottle all over me and my bike. Duane Ralphs told me about that mistake, but I guess I didn't listen well enough cause man that was a bad move! I passed probably 25 women on the bike portion, but I got passed by probably 15 guys so there was no way I was gonna place in my division. My average speed according to my GPS was about 21 miles per hour. I didn't have it on when I started so I didn't get an accurate start reading, but got the gyst. I'll have to rely on milliseconds to report my times.

When I started the run I popped a Buzz bite in my mouth. I already took one about 15 minutes before the swim and thought a second one would be good since I already spent alot of energy. But after 10 minutes I couldn't take the flavor anymore. Don't get me wrong, they're yummy, but when running and you're thirsty, they're just too rich. I spit the rest of it out. They had water stations every mile. When I got to mile 1 I took water and ran and drank at the same time. When I got mile two, I wanted two drinks so I walked so I could down the first cup, get another and then move on. But at mile two we started our way back and it was on a hiking trail that was only about 24 inches wide in some areas, which winded around and up and down hills. It was a nightmare. I was passed by around 30 people on the run, but I passed 3 unfortunate souls. I got killed on the run! But I ran the whole time except for the half way point where I walked for about 15 seconds.

I was very happy with my performance. My times aren't anywhere near where I wanted, but this is my first Sprint(PLUS) tri. The distance on this tri was:

Swim - 1000 Meters (1094 yards)
Bike - 15.3431 Miles
Run - 4 Miles (Which I think is low. If you look at the map, it doesn't follow the trail exactly. But its pretty close) They should have had someone run it with a GPS to make sure.

My goals/actual were:
Swim - Goal = 14:00. Actual = 15:39.08 (1:26/100 yard average)
Bike - Goal = 47:00. Actual = 43:38 (21.09 mph average!)
Run - Goal = 33:00. Actual = 37:41 Boo! Hiss!
Transition 1 - Goal = < 3:00. Actual = 2:30.5 Yes!
Transition 2 - Goal = < 1:45. Actual = 1:45.5 Whoah close!
Overall - Goal = 1:38:45. Actual = 1:41:14.49

I did the best I could given the route that I faced. The run was way hillier than I thought and the bike wasn't exactly flat. My goal on the swim with 14:00 obviously not very realistic for me. That would have been 1:19/100 yards average and that is booking for open water.

I'll have Cathi report her results separately here. Overall the event was very well organized, the booths were awesome, the shirt was average and the watering stations were the perfect distance apart and well staffed. Excellent job overall, except for a couple things on the timing which was done by milliseconds.com, but that's another post.

Here are my official results. But I'm not sure how accurate it is due to the timing problems I noted.

Fastest Ride home so far

It was pretty windy outside and cloudy. The perfect thing was the wind was going directly north and it was probably a 15-20 mph wind. I made it home in record time of 1:20. Here are the stats:

Distance: 30.5 miles
Time: 1:20

Fantastic ride. I loved going fast! I almost got in a wreck though. I was going down 400 west and some guy in the right lane merged over to the shoulder with me just to the right of him. Fortunately I sensed the motion and put on my breaks before getting pushed over into the curb. I was going 28 mph or so at the time so I would have had my skin all over the road had I not been able to slow down in time. The guy noticed his mistake after the fact and put he hand up as if to apologize. Lucky I didn't die.

Early morning ride

Last night I attached the bright LED light to the front of my bike for this morning's ride. I got up at 4:50 and left at 5:15am. I rode to SDRC where I swam 4500 yards and then rode the rest of the way to work. I was amazed how comfortable it was riding in the dark. I was familiar enough with the route and the potholes to avoid plus the tailwind I was having made me get an 18.7 mph average in the dark which is great I think.

Once I left SDRC for work though there was much more traffic and the tailwind switched to a pretty good headwind. My average dipped down to 18.0 mph by the time I got to work. Here are the stats:

Distance: 33.0 miles
Time: 1:50
Average:18.0
Max Speed: 27.4 mph

Will be biking home tonight and then back in again tomorrow morning. After that I'm tapering for this Saturday's race.

Pocatello to Syracuse Ride

Planning on riding from Pocatello to Syracuse on October 4th. Here is the plan:

0515 - arise (Shower, breakfast, prepare drinks/bike)
0545 - depart Pocatello
0803 - sun rises (@34 miles (Arimo)- assuming only 15 mph avg in dark, 17.5 mph average daylight)
0840 - Downey (45 miles)
1030 - Arrive in Preston ( 74 miles)
1200 - Arrive in Logan (100 miles) STOP FOR LUNCH at park @ 900 N 100 W.
1230 - Leave for home
1430 - Brigham City (125 miles) (Assuming Logan Pass avg is 12.5 mph, 17.5mph avg the rest of the way)
1530 - Slaterville (142 miles)
1630 - Home (157 miles)

Here is the planned route:


Here is the elevation with a few points along the way. Click on it for a larger view. I'm willing to do this ride alone, but would prefer to have one or two other people as company and for rotating the lead.

New Record - Longest Bike ride so far - 80 miles

This morning was the Gridley 16 mile Race. We met out at Saltair out near Tooele and biked 8 miles east towards Salt Lake and then back.

There were 6 participants: Eric, Mom, Dad, Cathi and Isaac (riding tandem), and myself. Eric and I started out together and rotated taking the lead every 2 miles. When we turned around Eric said to rotate every mile. He started the first mile of the 2nd half, where after one mile back I took the lead again. When he was supposed to take over I looked behind me and he was about 20 yards back. I wasn't about to slow down so I just kept the same pace. I was able to maintain a 22-23 mph pace when I was in front.

When I got back I looked down and the stats were:

Distance: 16 Miles
Time: 43:20
Average Speed: 22.0 mph

I was pleased with that time. I was expected around 50 minutes. I went back a couple of times to support Dad in his finish, and then Cathi and Mom. When the race was over I had put in about 22 miles. I took this picture.

I was feeling like I need more so I biked home from there. I wanted to beat my PR of 70 miles in one day and get in 80 miles today so when I got home I still had 10 miles so I went out to Clearfield and back. When I got back it was 80 miles even. Here are the total stats including the race:

Distance: 80 miles
Time: 4:16
Average speed: 18.7

I was feeling tired at the end but not so much that I collapsed. I think 100 would be tough. Need to build up even more stamina for this Fall's Pocatello - Syracuse Ride!

Quasimodo missed the mark again!

This morning I skipped swimming since Cathi went running with Natalie. I slept in too much, was grumpy with Jacob. He made three quasadillas late last night and only ate 1/2. My biggest pet peeve is WASTE. I hate it. I can't even make ends meet and we're wasting food! Left at 8:00 for riding in to work which is way too late. I'm gonna have to stay late to make up for it and take the train home.

Wasn't able to convince the legs to really push it today either! I'm so mad. I'm gonna have to rest the legs until Saturday. I'm less sore, but still not 100% on power. I got about 18 miles or so into this morning's ride, I was heading west on Pages lane. I just crossed the railroad tracks when bam! A wasp hit me right in the face. Just above my glasses. It got stuck in my eyebrow for a split second and then that's all it took to get stung. My face burned and I had a hand on my forehead and coasted the rest of the way down pages lane. I stopped at the end of the road and realized I just had to keep going.

By the time I got to North Salt Lake I couldn't open my right eye very easily. I had to bug my eyes out to see and I could feel that my right eyebrow was touching my glasses. I knew I had swollen up pretty bad.

By the time I got to work I knew I was looking like Quasimodo. Didn't hurt much, but just swollen. Not a good ride. Stuck at lots of lights, legs were useless and my face looked like I ran into a brick wall. At least I didn't crash.

Here's the stats:
Distance: 30.7
Time: 1:47
Average speed: 17.2

Missed the mark again!
At least I look worse than Hitch did. I was wondering why in the movie he was drinking Nyquil. Cause it has antihistamine in it. Which is something I wish I had right now.

Dead tired

The bike ride home was fine until I got to West Farmington and then I completely ran out of gas. I had to stop for a minute to regather some energy cause I was barely puttin' on 16 mph.

When I turned the corner in South Layton at the bottom of 22nd West some guy passed me. I turned it on a little and drafted until we got to Gentile where he turned left and I continued on. Here are the stats:

Distance: 30.5 miles
Time: 1:45
Average Speed:17.43 mph

Not good. Minimum desired avg is 18.0.

Commuted

Today's ride didn't feel like a workout in the sense that I went a pace I was happy with. Packed in the laptop along with a 3 pound Cylinder of Oatmeal. Plus it was in a dufflebag which wasn't well secured. Not a fun ride:

Distance 25.1 miles
Time: 1:35
Average Speed: 15.85 mph SLOW!!!

Annoyed with how slow it went. Felt like an old fart. My legs are thrashed!

Long ride after the storm

This morning was rainy and stormy. It cleared around 3pm and by 5pm it was perfect outside. Great day for a ride. I rode to my parents house in Salt Lake and back:

Distance: 63.5
Time: 3:28
Max Speed 29.8 mph

My legs are probably the sorest they've ever been thanks to last Saturday's 5K. It doesn't affect my biking very much, but probably doesn't help much with the healing.

Just can't sit still

Even though my legs are super stiff and I'm tired, I can't just let a good Saturday evening go wasted. I went on a ride starting at 6:30. I should have left earlier, but I was lazy and it affected the mileage I wanted to do. But it wasn't bad:

28.6 miles
1:26
19.7 mph average

Pretty good headwind going south, but coming back north it was great.

"Run the Gap" - 2008 Pocatello Marathon 3:45:49

Today was my 11th marathon. It was in Pocatello. I ran this marathon a few years ago and did terrible. So I wondered how this one would go. I ate a buzz bite from mile 17 to 20 and that helped me get over that hump. When I would hit a certain mile marker I would look at my watch and think, "I could make Boston if I hurry."

When I turned the last corner I saw what I thought was the finish line. I found out when I got there that it was just an advertisement for the marathon and not the finish line. Just around a bend I could see about 1/4 mile further was the real finish line. I started walking for about one second, and then thought to myself, I can do this, I'm going to finish strong so I immediately started to run again. About 200 yards before the finish Gordon saw me and ran towards me and ran with me through to the finish.

I qualified for Boston! I never thought I would do it. My time was 3:45:49. I was very happy! We checked the computer display at the end that showed the results and I took 2nd in my division (F 35-39). We went back to Grandma and Grandpa's to shower and get Jonas. Then came back for the awards ceremony. Here is some video and a picture:

Here is a link to the official results.

New PR in the 5K - 22:59

Today I did the Pocatello 5K. Cathi did the Marathon. We spent the night last night at Grandma and Grandpa Richins. We went up to Becky and Kyle's where they had a nice pasta dinner prepared for us. It was so good. I was so full I bet I weighted nearly 200 when I went to bed. Last night at 10:30pm Cathi said, "Gordon! I forgot to bring a sports bra!" So we went out to Fred Meyer and picked one up, just before they closed. That would be like leaving my shoes at home.

We woke up at 5am and I drove Cathi over to the Bus stop where they drove her up the canyon in Inkom. I went back home got another hour or so of sleep, had some breakfast and then drove over to Ross park. Then took a bus to the 5K starting line.

When I started, I put a buzz bite in my mouth and it lasted through the whole race. At the end I had to spit out what was left cause my mouth was so dry and I was getting sick of the taste of it.

I started near the front and stayed near the front the whole time. I ran the whole time. Didn't walk, even to drink. I gulped the water as I jogged. I got gatorade all over me. There was a pretty good tailwind so that was helping me too.

I took the GPS, but never really referred to it. So next time I'm not taking it. I referred to my watch instead at the mile markers. The finish was the same finish as the 10K, the Half Marathon, and the Marathon. I finished with a time of 22:59. That is almost a whole minute faster than my previous time.

I took 4th in the 35-59 M category which really surprised me. I took 14th out of 65. I'm really stoked that I did so well. There was a guy who was ahead of me who would run/walk. He would run about 100 yards ahead of me and then walk until I got about 10 yards up to him and then he'd run again. When we got within 300 yards of the finish line. His run had progressively gotten slower to the point where I caught him on the last 200 yards of his run and was able to increase the distance between me and him. I sprinted the last 100 yards to the end. It felt so good to finish really strong like that.

Here is a link to the official results.

First time biking with no tunes

I packed my MP3 and put it in my back pocket of my jersey but forgot to put the ear pieces in. Thing is, I didn't even miss it. I was able to concentrate on my breathing as I exhaled in cadence with my pedaling. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

I also couldn't find my GPS so I have no idea what my max speed is. But I did time the overall trip which I know is 30.5 miles. Stats:

Distance: 30.5 miles
Time: 1:40
Average Speed: 18.3 mph

Rowing 5000 M

At lunch I went downstairs again and rowed 5000 M. With this only being my second try, I was able to easily beat my PR of 5000M in 20:51. I got 20:09.

Had to get a drink about 4 times during that 20:09 so I had to push it so I wouldn't mess up my time. That's where one of those hats that has the drink on top with the straw coming down would come in handy. As long as it had cool water, and not beer of course. Then I did 10 minutes of abs.

Nice workout. I should check my heart rate, I'm sure its high.

Saturday evening ride

Left at 5:30 to go to SDRC to swim. I left later than I wanted to. When I arrived there was a sign on the door saying the pool would close at 6:45. I got there at 6:25pm. I wasn't about to use up a punch pass for 15 minutes. I was very upset. I was looking forward to a good swim before heading back. My GPS also ran out of batteries so I had to stop at a gas station and pay the crazy prices for some good AA batteries.

I called Eric to see if he wanted to go on a ride. He said yes, so I went further south west to his house. When I got there I was impressed with his bike. Very nice. We biked back north. This is the first time I've ridden with anyone since getting into it. I was surprised at how much a difference drafting makes. When he passed me up for taking the lead, he sure takes it fast.

The rest of the ride home went well. Not a bad workout:

Distance: 46.1 miles
Time: 2:27
Average Speed: 18.8 mph
Max Speed: 28.8 mph

Biking to Surf N' Swim then to work

Woke up at 5:45 and biked over to Layton Surf N' Swim and swam 2 miles, then rode on to work. Last night I had some serious stomach cramping, and said a prayer that I'd be better in the morning enough to ride in to work. Well it was only a .5 on the pain scale. Barely even noticeable so that was great!

Here are the stats:
Distance: 31.4 miles
Moving Time: 1:46
Average Speed: 17.7 mph
Max Speed: 28.9 mph

Felt a little fatigued so I took a buzz bite in Farmington to give me some energy for the rest of the ride which helped. This morning I noticed that my quads sure look bad. They aren't very well defined, or flappy, just blah. Need to work on those.

Good ride although not very fast.
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At lunch I ran to the bank (1.20 miles) then when I got back I peeked in the Treadmill Room in the basement. I noticed they have a rowing machine!!! I got on and rowed for 20:51 for 5000 M. Man was I sweating. Great workout.
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The ride home was much tougher and slower. I had a headwind to deal with for the first portion. Biking home with the laptop on my bike sure is a pain. Not a fun ride but no stomach cramps, so that's good. Here are the lame stats:

Distance: 29.8 miles
Moving Time: 1:55
Average Speed: 15.6 mph
Max Speed: 27.5 mph

Voodoo or Some micro-organism?

The last couple days I've had some pretty intense stomach cramps. Yesterday I went to be at 8:30pm. I was so tired, I just fell asleep on the bed without really getting ready for bed. That isn't like me.

This morning I got up and started riding to work. I had a pretty good pace. My average was at 19.9 mph when I hit 10 mile mark down in Farmington. Then I started getting some intense stomach cramps. I was thinking why I was having troubles. I remember drinking probably one cup of Deer Creek Water at last Saturday's Race. Could I have picked up a micro-organism, or is somebody poking their mini-Gords voodoo doll?

I turned around at the Davis County Jail and started heading home, thinking I would take a PTO day today, and go see the doctor. The pain was pretty intense.

Then I stopped and called Cathi. The conversation pretty much went like this. So I decided to just take the FrontRunner from Farmington in to work an just deal with it at work.

Thing that bugs me is the cramps went nearly completely away and I started feeling better. I only biked:

15.0 miles total
51:26
17.5 mph average (I had 19.9 mph average when I started getting the cramps)

I don't know which is worse, the pain in my gut, or the guilt from feeling like such a pussy! Hopefully I'm feeling better this evening and I can bike home fully.

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The bike ride home went so well! Except for the fact that I fell when at an intersection in Farmington. I tried shifting down last minute and then unclipped, but leaned to the wrong side, and down I went. Kind of embarrassing. No damage to body or bike. No major stomach cramps, although still minor tension:

Distance: 31.7 miles
Moving Time: 1:41
Average Speed: 18.7 mph
Max Speed: 30.4 mph

Excellent ride!

Man I'm weak!

Did some bench:

Flat Bench: 6 x 12 @ 135
Decline Bench: 6 x 12 @ 135
Incline DB Press: 6 x 12 @ 30

Had some pain in my right shoulder. Did some sets fast, some pretty slow. Disappointed with how tough it was. 135 used to be so easy it was funny. Not so anymore. I've leaned up quite a bit, but lost alot of muscle too. Sad thing is, I still need 15 more pounds before I'll be happy.

Legacy Highway Trail

This afternoon I rode down to the Davis County Jail in Farmington and noticed the bike trail was open, but only after going 100 yards I saw that it was still not open. It was dirt road for about 200 yards, and then pavement. So I kept going. I ended up going all the way to North Salt Lake on the path. Then took Redwood from 215 down to Mom and Dad's house. I got some cool water refills and then took off south
again to North Temple and then out to 2200 West and back North on 2200 W.

Got back on to the bike trail which went back to packed dirt trail for like 3 miles! Went clear up to 500 S in Bountiful on dirt! It was bad. When I got to Mom and Dad's house my average was like 20 something, but then it went way down on that dirt trail. My GPS also turned off on a big bump once on the ride. On the entire
ride I did about 3 miles on dirt. I'm excited for when that trail is open completely. It will be much better than needling through Davis County on piece of crap roads.

Here are the stats:

Distance: 60.0 Miles
Max Speed: 31.6 mph
Moving Time: 3:12
Average Speed: 18.6 mph

Great ride except for the dirt trail part.

Pictures from this years first Gridley 7 mile bike race

Mom just sent me the pictures from her camera. The race was clear back on May 31st.

Horse turds

Today there was more than the usual horse turd on the road in West Bountiful along 1100 W. Gotta love cowboys who leave there droppings everywhere. Get a bike man! No bike is gonna poo on the road.

Here are the stats for the morning's ride in to work. Negligible wind today:

Distance: 30.7 miles
Moving Time: 1:39
Max Speed: 29.1 mph
Moving Average: 18.4 mph

Good ride. Left at 6:30 am and got in at 08/08/08 at 08:08:08.

Need to leave early this afternoon to go on the Father and Son campout.

It's a long time coming

Finally I catch a break! This evening on the way home from Salt Lake, I had a tailwind of 10-15 mph coming from the south for most of the way. I didn't feel any wind at all and I was able to maintain a record breaking 21.0 mph the whole way.

The bummer about the ride is that my GPS is starting to act up. Whenever I hit a pretty good bump (trust me I avoid them when I can) or go over railroad tracks, it fizzles out and turns off. Then it takes another full minute or so to turn on and reconnect with the satellites. It happened three times on the ride and it's getting really annoying. I bought an extended warranty on it so I'm gonna look into getting it replaced if I can. But here are the stats:

Distance: 30.7 miles
Max Speed: 30.4 mph
Moving Time: 1:27
Average Speed: 21.05 mph

Best ride to/from work so far!

Racquetball in the butt

Last night I rode to Lagoon from work. The kids had fun and stayed together. Here are the stats of my ride:

Total distance: 16.8 miles
Moving Time: 55:25
Average Speed: 18.2 mph
Max Speed: 29.8 mph


This morning I snoozed past the alarm a little too much. Didn't get to SDRC till 6:20 and didn't play till 6:30. Eric and Dan were battling it out. Dad showed up and I played him three games. He won two and I won three. I spotted him 7-6-7. Looks like that is about the right range right now.

Then we played doubles. Dan and I against Eric and Dad. Dan and I won. Dad hit me pretty good right in the butt. One of these days I'm gonna have to spread my cheeks to get the ball out.

1:30 of play. Put the bike on the back of my car for riding home tonight.

Biking from Farmington

Today Austin, Jacob and Lucy are going to Lagoon and I'm picking them up late after work, so I drove to Farmington and parked my car near Lagoon and rode in to work from there on the bike:

Distance 16.8 Miles
Time: 57:00 minutes
Average speed: 17.68 mph

Nice ride in. No wind, but ever mindful of how poorly paved Woods Cross is. I'm so looking forward to when Legacy is done. I've noticed the bike path they have isn't very straight, but at least its smooth!

At lunch I ran to the bank (1.2 mile round trip) and then did Elliptical trainer for 20 minutes, and then did abs and biceps for 20 minutes.

Oh my back

My chest is a little sore from yesterday's workout. Today I stepped up the sets just a bit and did back:

Deadlifts: 15 x 135, 7 x 185 (Was going for eight, but got a sharp pain in lower back and stopped at 7)
Crunches: 3 x 50
DB Rows: 3 x 12 @ 35
Seated Close Grip Cable Pulls: 3 x 12 @ 100
superset with: Seated Cable Goodmornings: 3 x 8 @ 100

Didn't break a sweat, just trying to make the body remember that I'm not a total wuss and turned into an aerobic ken doll.

Remember me?

Man! It has been a long time since I've stepped into the weight room. Today I thought I would remind my muscles (at least my upper body) that they still have a purpose.

Flat Bench: 3 x 25 @ 135
Incline DB Press: 3 x 15 @ 35
Decline DB Press: 3 x 15 @ 50

Only spent 25 minutes in the weight room, but should be enough to wake those pecs up. Remember me?

Packing the laptop in

Since I had the laptop at home this weekend I had to pack it in this morning along with some other junk and man! 20 pounds on your back sure makes a difference! I was much slower today:

31.7 Miles
Moving Time: 1:50
Average Speed: 17.3 mph
Max Speed: 25.9 mph

I rode to Mom's house and took my car from there. I did that to avoid the hills up on the east side again. A little longer, but worth it to avoid the hills and the crazy angled railroad tracks in Woods Cross.

Biking home from Rose Park

Austin wanted to spend Saturday night at Grandma and Grandpa's house and spend the entire weekend and all day Monday. I drove him down at 6:30 and then rode my bike back home. It was a fast paced ride. Much easier taking the west side rather than the east side up by the mountains and avoiding all the hills and crazy traffic.

Stats: 31.3 miles
Moving Time: 1:37
Average Speed: 19.3 mph
Max Speed: 30.7 mph

I really enjoyed that ride!

Worst headwind ever

This morning I woke up early and biked over to Layton Surf N' Swim and played racquetball for two hours. I won two cutthroat matches and lost a couple of doubles matches.

Then I biked to work. I was already tired and I had a vicious headwind starting at Centerville. I couldn't get out of the inside front gear. The wind must have been around 12 mph or so. It was bad. US Flags were fully extended my direction.

Then to top it off some trucker on 300 W was in the right lane at a red light. He wasn't signaled and I moved up along side him. The lights were all red in all directions and I was wondering what the matter was. Then he starts honking. I look over and he is hand motioning to me that he wants to turn. I couldn't believe he couldn't just wait a couple more seconds. I moved forward a little bit thinking the light was going to turn any second. It did, but I was annoyed that he couldn't have just been courteous and waited. If he had signaled that he was turning in the first place I wouldn't have moved up in front of him.

Worst ride ever!


30.3 miles, 1:58 total time, 15.3mph average

Blah

I feel like I just got of a hot tub. Not sick, not lazy, just relaxed, just blah. Almost feel like I'm having an out of body experience or something. My brain and body are in a state of stupor. I started out at SDRC playing Dad. We played three games.

I started out giving him a lead of 10 points, he won. Then lead of 9, he won, lead of 8, he won again. His serves are getting better, he's getting faster, and making less bonehead mistakes.

Then Dan came. We played cut-throat. I won, and then Tom showed up. Dad and I played doubles against Dan and Tom. Dad and I won surprisingly. Dad had a few ace serves and we got lucky. Dad had to go so Dan, Tom and I played cutthroat. Tom won both of them. At this point is where my stupor state started. I was tired, but not so tired that I couldn't perform, just not as crisp mentally as I wanted. Tom was the guy who was consistently taking me out.

Total play time: 2:10

5 Mile Hike with the scouts

Today I only had about 1000 calories of energy intake. Took the train today so I biked home from the Layton Station. Got home quickly got some toast and then biked over to the church where I started the boys on this 5 mile hike. I forgot to take some water. I was wearing Levis and man was I tired at the end!

Felt like that hike was harder than biking home from Tomax.

Fresca Diet

So I decided this last weekend that I would start something that might be rash, but hopefully effective. I'm going to be sipping on Fresca throughout the day to keep myself hydrated and my stomach full. It's much tastier than water, refreshing and zero calories. I bought 12 x 2 liter bottles of the stuff and hope that it lasts a couple of weeks. I weighed in this morning exactly at 200.0 pounds and hope to be 195 by next Monday morning.

This morning I went in to LSaS (Layton Surf n' Swim) and played racquetball with Dan and Shawn. We played two cut-throat games. In the first game, Shawn called a short on Dan which was very close and Dan was in obvious disagreement with the call, but like a gentleman replayed it. The very next play Shawn hit the ball about a foot from Dan's head and hit him right in the ear with the ball. It was a hard hit and would have floored some guys. Dan took it well, but I immediately felt a disturbance in the force. The dark side was emanating from his being. However, the dark side fueled his anger and energy and he came back from 4 up to 15 for the win.

The next game Shawn barely squeaked by to win with Dan and myself both at 14.

Dan took off to get in early for a new hire. I played two games with Shawn and won both of them. My right tricep was strained from the first game today when I served extra hard. I was tired, but was able to make some decent shots to win by a huge margin on the second game.

1:45 total time played. Good games.

At lunch I did 45 minutes Elliptical Trainer, 10 minutes of Abs, then 80 pushups straight.

Water, Water Everywhere, but Not a Drop to Drink

This morning I took the scouts to Clearfield Aquatic Center to pass of the first and second class swimming requirements. I did 500 yards in laps and stopped cause they were done and started playing games. Sure reminded me of the lifeguarding days. Seems like its natural to break alot of rules. But we only got yelled at once.

In the afternoon we borrowed Steve Roberts kayak and went to Willard Bay. We set up on the beach after walking a couple hundred yards and down a steep rocky hill. Lots of stuff we took including a sun tent and camp chairs. Cathi started with the kayak and was gone for over an hour. She was so far away I couldn't even see her anymore. I wished I had my binoculars. When she got back I was ready to try it. She admitted that she wouldn't be able to be my boat backup at the Deer Creek race. She said she couldn't go more than 30 stroked before her arms were tired and that the whole time she had to take a bunch of breaks because it was hard on her arms.

When I went I was gone for 1:10 and only took about 1 minute break when I got close to where some birds went under the water. I was hoping they would come up right next to me, but they aren't dumb. I almost made it all the way across, but I promised Cathi I wouldn't be more than an hour.

When I turned around I was about 15 minutes from the other side. The thing was I was so thirsty. The sun was beating down and I didn't have any water. I kept thinking like those who might be in the ocean, "Water, Water Everywhere, but Not a Drop to Drink". Willard Bay water is gross! I wasn't about to swim in it. I got up to my knees and started seeing stuff that doesn't look it should be in the water. Probably all in my head, but the seaweed was bad too so I just kayaked today. Probably about 4 miles total.

The kids got real dirty and had a fun time on the beach burying each other and swimming. It was a great day!

Early morning racquetball

Since taking yesterday off from racquetball, Dad was disappointed and setup something last minute between himself, Eric and I. We met at SDRC at 6am and played till 8:15.

We played lots of cutthroat in which Eric won every time. When Dad took off Eric and I played three singles matches. He killed me on the first, squeaked by on the second and I slipped in the last win.

I was very tired this morning. I thought yesterday's nap got me caught up, but I'm not so sure. Sweat like a pig though and got a great workout.

Pioneer Day bike ride

This morning I got up at 2:00 am to get Cathi off to her Marathon and went to work super early. I got off at 8:45 to meet Cathi at the finish line. She came to the finish line within a minute of her PR, so she did awesome! I was so proud of her!

Went home and fell asleep I was so tired! When I woke up I had dinner and took off at 7:15 for bike ride around Syracuse -> Roy and back. Here are the stats:

26.6 miles, 1:22, 19.4 mph average

Hit a couple of dead ends and had to slow down to do a U turn, but other than that and about a half dozen stop lights, I was able to maintain a fairly good pace. I hit a good hill heading into Roy, but the rest of the time was going flat, or slightly down.

It was a very good ride!

Deseret News Marathon

Posted by Cathi:

It was a great race today!

I loved the early start time of 5:30. This was the first race I've done that started before 7:00 AM which I thought was bold of the race organizers. It was a very smart move. It didn't get too hot.

The course has been changed since I did it last. It used to go up the big Hogle Zoo hill, which was a low-light in my life. The course was much bette

Overall this was a very well-run, well volunteered, terrific race. I got within one minute of my best time ever. My time was 3:51:04.

I just hope I can get Sarah Arnett to do it with me next time.

Thanks to all and I hope to do it again another year.

First ride since I tuned the derailer

I tuned the derailer yesterday evening and thought I messed it up pretty bad, but after a bit of tweaking the screws I got it so that it will shift on me when appropriate. I didn't have any "slips" like I did last time I road so I'm happy.

This morning I swam 3200 yards and then road in to work. Had a pretty good headwind for most of the ride in.

I plan on riding home late this evening just before the sun goes down. Riding home is longer since I ride from Layton Surf N Swim in the morning and then ride home in the evening. It's 5 miles longer going home. Here's the stats, and also the plan for tonight, which I will update with actual stats once I get back to the computer tomorrow:

To SLC: 25.2 miles, 1:28 Elapsed, 17.1 mph avg
To Syracuse: 30.6 miles, 1:41 Elapsed, 18.2 mph avg

The ride home felt fast. The slowest point is going up the frontage road in NSL where the construction trucks are, and then going up the bike trail in NSL leading up to Hwy 89. Other than that, worked hard in high gears.