Another Indoor Triathlon?!?...

After last weekend's indoor triathlon at the YWCA in Minneapolis, a few of the trainers have found me to say "hi." Apparently my race report made the rounds. They want me to race their final indoor triathlon of the year on April 27th so they can post my race report to Minnesota Tri News! Cool.

Pharmie would maybe do it too, but she'll be quite pregnant. QUITE. She'll be due with boy fetus #2 about 2 weeks later. But remember, she "raced" when she was less than 1 week from her due date with Henry. ("RACED" has obvious quotes around it.) Here's a snapshot from the summer of 2011:

Pregnant Abbe and pregnant Pharmie at the Grand Ole Day 5K. Click here for their "race" report.

(She ran a few miles the morning that her water broke, so she was working out g-e-n-t-l-y up to the end.)

Pharmie teased me and reminded me that I don't have good luck racing around her due date. Take for example my 2011 Liberty Triathlon race report - the race report contains no racing and lots of fresh baby pics as Pharmie's water broke about 8 hours before the race. She's hoping to go a little early with boy fetus #2, but I don't think she'll be going 2 weeks early.

ANYWAY, the big question now is this: do I race the same MINI Sprint distance (400 yd swim, 8 mile bike, 1 mile run) and try to better my time? Or do I race one of the longer distances? (The Sprint is a 500 yd swim, 10 mile bike, and 2 mile run, and the MEGA Sprint is a 600 yd swim, 12 mile bike, 5K run.) It's good to have a goal, so it'd be fun to try to do better in the MINI Sprint, but being multisport season is just around the corner, I would get more out of doing the Sprint or MEGA Sprint. But do I really want to finish a race with 25 laps of running on an indoor track? That sounds brutal. BUT I'd be a good test for my injury. I dunno.

Anyone want to race on April 27? We could pick a race and duke it out!

p.s. In the meantime, I really need to set up my bike on the trainer. That 2nd study I posted about on Thursday makes me want to get back to biking. Click that link to check it out. Happy weekend!

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Friday Funny 693: First Tweet (and Funny Links)

Twitter recently released a tool to let you look up your first tweet. I figured mine was going to be something dumb like "Trying out Twitter LOL #WhatsAHashtag" But it ended up being better than I thought:

That ended up being the Half Ironman where I wore a Grim Reaper costume for the run and found out I had a cat toy in my shoe the entire time. (Read Part 1 and Part 2 of my race report, or just click the links and check out the photos.)

Finally, as I do every few weeks, here are some funny posts from my tumblr page from the last 2 weeks:

Athletic-related funny things:

• To all the "clean eaters."

• Here's a 30-Day Challenge I can get behind.

• Texting terms for runners.

• [GIF] Yeah. I could do that. Like 30 times. Sure.

• I want this guy to come stand at my gym.

• At EVERY race.

• Let's just do this.

• [GIF] These guys can really do things with their bodies.

• [GIF] Careful on treadmills.

• [GIF] Pushups while waterskiing.

• Never ask someone about cross fit.

• What swimmers think. Yes, yes, and yes. This is true.

Non-athletic funny things:

• Does anyone else's brain work this way?

• [GIF] Putting on a swimsuit in the spring.

• Tailgating. I've never thought about it like that before.

• Most people the day after St. Patrick's Day.

• An e-card for St. Patrick's Day.

• My breakfast on St. Patrick's Day.

• Dear TSA: I think we found a loophole.

• There are two kinds of people.

• Kids.

• I'm saying I agree with this, but it IS an interesting concept.

• An appropriate warning about drinking.

• A child-sized soda.

• My relationship with McDonalds.

• Sexy reading.

• Being a guy after sex...

• [GIF] Lots of Mommies say this about drinking.

• After St. Patrick's Day.

• [GIF] Oh Britney.

• Cute text from Grandma.

• A handy guide to the opposite sex.

And as always, stop by steveinaspeedo.tumblr.com for funnies all week long.

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Friday Funny 692: You Know You're an Ironman When...

It's been over 6 years since I did Ironman Wisconsin, but I can still remember the training. Ironman.com posted a list of 20 responses to "You Know You're an Iroman When..."

20. "You see a 26.2 sticker on a car and you say to yourself 'That's all?'" - Jason C Newton

19. "None of your friends will train with you anymore." - Paul Hill

18. "Mike Reilly says so." - Mike Wetherell

17. "You spend more money on your bike than your car." - Jennifer Rendle

16. "When you say to your friends, 'it's JUST a marathon!'" - Michael Friedman

15. "You have more workout clothes than work clothes." - Carrie Smurawa-Calaway

14. "You've peed on yourself two to three times that day. And that's just on the bike and run. Swim start peeing doesn't count." - Tom Scheer

13. "When you stand looking out over a beautiful lake, and your only thought is ... I'd like to swim that!" - Leonard Smith

12. "The tattoo is done!" - Folkert Wierda

11. "You no longer think of a brick as a masonry construction term." - Robert Allen

10. "When you find youself saying things like 'I'm busy tomorrow, I may only get in a five-hour workout.'" - Brian McMillin

9. "When you wear your finisher's hat and medal with an IronDad T-shirt and flipflops to a 'coat and tie required' steakhouse after the race and they gladly let it slide." - Eric Keltner

8. "When your cologne is chlorine." - Jacob Ferrell

7. "You book a race on your first wedding anniversary by mistake. All the while your wife knows and supports and encourages you signing up." - Darin Fulks

6. "When your FB profile picture is of you finishing an Ironman, and you've decide not change it until you finish your next one." - John Hessenthaler

5. "You start wearing tri shorts as normal underwear." - Andy Owens

4. "When you have little to no toe nails left." - Blake Aaron Johnston

3. "You get goose bumps every time you watch one." - James Garris

2. "When you race for the ones that can't." - James Garris

1. "You smile and understand every one of these comments." - Endré Sparkes

#18 was a big deal to me in 2007! :)

About half of these describe me (or described me during my IM training). What's your favorite? What would you add? There were a few comments on the article, and here were my 3 favorite additions to this list:

- When the whole family greets you at the door at the end of your training session desperate to see you.
- When you describe your upcoming 70.3 to friends as "just a training day".
- When your partner say "who are you, do you live here?"

Lots more funny stuff on steveinaspeedo.tumblr.com!

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Friday Funny 691: Slogans for College Majors

Wait, did that start off with a fat joke?

And the dental hygienist one is the reason why I've had 3 different hygienists the last 3 times I've been to my dentist!

More funny stuff posted all week long on steveinaspeedo.tumblr.com.

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Friday Funny 690: Hot Guy Half Marathon Selfies!!!

Kelly Roberts has become "internet famous" in the last 5 days. On Sunday, she ran the NYC Half Marathon, and she Instagrammed selfies along the way with unsuspecting hot guys in them as well. Here are 13 selfies from her Instagram:

"Ladies and gents I present to you, hott guys of the nyc half #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"


"Mil 2 yummy #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"


"Oh yeah walker #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"


"dat headband #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"


"Some beard action for 5 #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"


"Time square handsome #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"


"I love sweaty men! Mile 9 #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"


"Who doesn't love some short shorts #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"
(Note: Kelly and I would get along just fine.)


"Sweet surrender #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"


"Some dad action #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"


"Mile 12 eye candy #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"


"Hold me I'm scared #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"


"finish line hotties #hottguysofthenychalf #nychalf"

Genius.

I have 1 more "hot guy half marathon selfie" to add to that list:

Oh wait. Maybe that selfie from the 25 below 0 Winter Carnival Half Marathon in 2009 right before I got a bloody nose isn't that attractive. (Click that link ^^ for more frozen face selfies.)

Lots more funnies on steveinaspeedo.tumblr.com!

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Two Studies: Proper Weight Training and How to Bike Your Way to a Faster Run Split

FIRST STUDY: Resistance training for runners

Matt Fitzgerald (author, sports nutritionist, former Carmichael Training Systems coach, and athlete) recently wrote about a recent study on Competitor regarding the best kind of strength training for runners (something I've been doing a lot of over the last 7 months). Here are some of his thoughts (and anything bolded was done by me for emphasis):

There are three basic types of resistance training a runner can do. One is muscular endurance training, which entails performing fairly large numbers of repetitions with moderate resistance. Think 15 lunges with each leg while holding light dumbbells. A second type of resistance training that some runners do is heavy weightlifting. Think six repetitions of barbell half squats with a load too heavy to lift eight times. A third type is explosive strength training. Think box jumps.

He wrote about a study where they broke groups of people up into these 3 categories, had them train a certain way, and then recorded any gains they had:

Members of the heavy weightlifting and explosive strength training groups saw improvements in their maximum strength and maximum muscle activation, while members of the muscle endurance training group did not. The highest speed attained in the anaerobic running test and the maximum jump height increased only in the heavy weightlifting group. But improvements were about equal in all of the tests that really matter to runners: endurance, VO2 max, and running economy.

The authors of this study concluded that heavy weightlifting is the best form of resistance training for distance runners on the grounds that it improved these last three variables as much as the other types while also improving anaerobic running performance, which the others failed to do.

My own belief is that runners should do a mix of all three types of resistance training, because different types of training are most appropriate for different muscles groups and because the benefits of the three types are complementary to a certain degree.

Fitzgerald ends with saying "balance all this out:"

... All runners lose efficiency as their form falls apart when they run to the point of fatigue, but runners with better muscle endurance maintain their economy better. So it’s a good idea to train for muscle endurance in the gym.

However, both heavy strength training and explosive strength training have been shown to increase running economy generally, before fatigue even sets in. The mechanism is completely different from that by which muscle endurance training works. Heavy and explosive strength increase the stiffness of the legs during running, so that less energy is lost to the ground during the ground contact phase of the stride. Explosive strength training is also proven to increase maximum sprint speed, and a distance runner can never have too much of that.

I've been doing a lot of "endurance" based work, and a fair amount of "heavy weightlifting" too. But I haven't been doing any "explosive" moves. This study made me give a second look at the boxes at the gym the other day... but then I remembered that doing things like that (that take coordination) don't go well for me. Visual aid:

---

SECOND STUDY: Cycling workouts for run speed

And here's another study I want to share. It's from 220 Triathlon, and it's about how to train on the BIKE to get the most out of your RUN:

Although the muscle recruitment patterns are different there’s quite a lot of overlap in the muscles used during cycling and running, which poses the question of whether interval training on the bike could enhance run speed? If so, bike intervals could be a valuable tool for injury-prone triathletes who want to improve run performance without the increased injury risk.

This study followed a similar line as the one I mentioned earlier: they took groups of athletes and had them train differently to see which group gained the most fitness.

[The athletes were] split into one of two groups:

- Short intervals (9-11 x 10, 20 and 40sec efforts at near maximum).

- Long intervals (6-8 x 5min efforts at 80% of the triathletes’ maximum oxygen uptake – in other words, fairly hard).

When the triathletes were retested after three weeks, both groups had increased their aerobic power by around 7% and both groups saw gains in power during the sprint test of around 10.5%.

What was fascinating, however, was that only the long-distance intervals had a truly significant effect on 5km run times, reducing it, on average, by around 1:04mins. Although there was a drop in 5km times after short intervals, it wasn’t large enough to be considered statistically significant.

So basically even if you're doing sprint triathlons, some "longer" intervals on the bike will be the most help to you. They gave these final 4 takeaway tips:

Takeaway tips:

- To boost your 5km run performance in three weeks without performing running intervals, try using long cycling intervals

- Advanced triathletes should train twice a week, performing 6 x 5min efforts at 80% VO2max with 1min recovery between efforts. Build this to 7 x 5min efforts in week two and eight efforts in week three

- Less accomplished triathletes should begin with 4 x 5min efforts performed just once a week, building to six efforts as fitness increases

- Always ensure that you take a rest or easy day before and after your interval days

Alright, time for some bike intervals to help my biking AND my running. And then maybe I can learn some sweet bike tricks:

Or maybe not.

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The Results Are In: I Won!

The results are in for Sunday's Indoor Triathlon. Of the 17 people in the shortest race (400 yd swim, 8 mile spin, 1 mile run), I finished 1st and Pharmie finished 10th:

In my race report from Monday, I noted "I'm pretty sure I'll have the fastest run, and I'm 90% sure I probably won - we saw a speedy woman in the wave after Pharmie's that I'm a little worried about." Well, that woman finished in 2nd place with a SWIM and a BIKE that was faster than me, so I had right to be concerned! But my 5:23 run was too speedy. Thankfully. (And yes, I came in first in a race of 2 guys and 15 women, with the average female age being over 45 years old. I'm a hot shot. Let me have this.)

Here's the 17 of us ranked by SWIM time:

Me 4th and Pharmie 8th - that's pretty close together! I went nearly "all out"
to come in 4th, and I watched that speedy 15 year old who was in Pharmie's wave.

Here we are ranked by our BIKE split:

In 4th again, with Pharmie in 16th. I didn't go nuts here.

And here we are all ranked by our RUN times:

Fastest run with Pharmie in 9th.

Race director Nicole ran into me at the gym on Monday, and she said it was funny looking at the results by run speed. She said something like "It's you... and then a big gap... and then a lot of other people."

TRIATHLON: Where it feels good to be a "runner" (and pass everyone on their way to the finish), but where it's super depressing to be a "swimmer" (and spend the last 80% of the race being passed).

They also ranked all 65 racers (from the MINI Sprint, the Sprint, and the MEGA Sprint races) in order of their transition times:

- In T1 I was tied for 3rd at 1:07 (behind a relay and a speedy 0:42 transitioner)
- In T2 I was tied for 1st at 0:01. Not much room for improvement there.

Pharmie had the 3rd slowest T2 time, and a photo shown in Monday's race report kinda shows why:

It's a bit of work getting shoes on around a pregnant belly.
Especially while someone steals the rest of your water.

There's 1 more indoor triathlon coming up next month, and I'm considering trying one of the longer races. We'll see. CLICK HERE for my race report (with a ton of photos) from Monday.

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A Family Affair at the YWCA Indoor Triathlon

Yesterday, Pharmie and I raced an Indoor Triathlon in Minneapolis (they had 3 distances, and we both did the shortest), and Henry was there to cheer us on the entire way. Here's a bunch of photos from the day.

I was in the first wave, so I got there an hour before Henry and Pharmie.

The bikes set up along the track pre-race.


Our transition mats set up just outside of the pool.


Pre-race potty tradition.

I stretched a bit, warmed up with a few laps in the pool, and I was ready to go. Pharmie and Henry showed up at the PERFECT time just about 2 minutes before I started! We were all in the pool getting final pre-race instructions:

A "thumbs up" for Henry!

• SWIM: 400 YARDS.

I took off pretty fast. I hit the first 100 in 1:21, but then my watch stopped taking splits. (It wasn't "user error" - the button literally would not push until I reset something while on the bike 10 minutes later.) I think I saw 4:35 at the 300 yard point, which meant those 200 yards were 3:14 (1:37 ave), and I finished in 6:08, meaning my final 100 would have been 1:31. That's all very possible, but not 100% verified. Not bad for my "I'll be around 6:10" prediction in Saturday's post.

Swimming.


Climbing out as the first one in my heat to leave the pool!


If you put 2 photos together from me climbing out, it looks like I took a quick twerk break.
(Which I did, of course.)


In transition.


Running to the bikes.

• BIKE: 8 MILES.

I ran to the farthest spin bike and started spinning:

Once everyone else was spinning with me.


There's the start/finish line on the track for the upcoming run.
(The flag and the large orange cone.)


You can see the upper track where I've been doing a lot of my runs lately (6 laps/mile).


Henry and I took a moment to have a serious conversation about the pros and cons of
US military involvement in the Crimea conflict. He made a persuasive argument.

• RUN: 1 MILE.

I hopped off my bike and was right at the startline of the run. I was moving fast.

I took splits every 2 laps (0.25 mile), but I looked at my watch on each lap. In my prediction post, I was quite certain I could break 6:00, but I added "I'm wondering how far below that I can get." I knew that 0:45/lap was 6:00 pace, and 0:40/lap was 5:20 pace. I hoped I could be around 5:30. My first 2 laps were 0:38 and 0:40 (that meant my first 1/8 mile was 5:04 pace!), so my first 1/4 mile was 1:18.

NOT A BAD HEEL-STRIKE! Counting my footstrikes during every run
for the last 2 years has been paying off!


Running past people on bikes and a banana-eating Henry.

I didn't check my form or count any footstrikes during the race. I didn't try to "run loose" like I've been doing lately. I just ran. The people on the bikes cheered me on, and I cheered them on a few times too. Pharmie said people kept saying things like "he's making it look so easy!" The lady over the PA kept saying things like "and Steve STILL has a smile on his face!!"

My next 2 splits were 1:22 and 1:23. I was fading a bit, but keeping decent speed! I knew I'd be under 5:30, and I was thrilled! I actually came to the finish of the run before anyone else in my wave had finished their bike (with a final 0.25 mile of 1:19).

Powering to the finish!


I TOTALLY DIDN'T SEE MY SON TRYING TO HIGH-FIVE ME AT THE FINISH!
I didn't know anything about this until I saw this photo a few hours post-race! Sorry buddy!


Still looking for that high-5 just after I finished...


... but I thought he was asking for a hug!


He FINALLY got his high-5!!!!


And then he went running off.

OFFICIAL RESULTS:

Well, here... just have a look at the official finisher's card we all got:

- 400 yard swim: 1:32.00 / 100 yard pace in the pool
- 8 mile bike: 36.78 mph on the bike (yeah, sure, right)
- 1 mile run: 1:20.75 / quarter mile on the track

3 RACE NOTES:

• I raced about how I had hoped: really close to "all out" in the pool, more nonchalant on the bike, and then a pretty hard run. But it was all pretty casual: I don't remember thinking about ANY form in the pool. (Was my streamline good? Was I over-rotating? Who knows.) I spent half the time on the bike smiling and waving at Henry, and it was great. And then I just ran pretty hard.

• I didn't "kill it" at the end of the run. I was happy with my time, and I DID pick up the pace a bit at the end, but I didn't absolutely sprint to the finish. This was my first hard running since the end of August - I didn't want to be dumb.

• My legs / hips felt good during the race. Near the end, my lower right groin / upper right knee was a bit sore, but not bad at all. I hit the foam roller at the Y before heading home. And my hip was a little achy last night, but not any worse than after my recent 5 mile (easy) runs.

Nicole (the race director) said she has back problems right before and after this race because of how much time she spends hunched over a computer. Here she is furiously tallying results and writing out the finisher's cards during the race:

(She's the one who nearly beat me at the 2009 Tesfa 5K - where we first met. Then we ran the 2011 Winter Carnival Half Marathon together, and here's the video I took during that race - Nicole is in it a few times.)

Henry wanted to go upstairs and run a lap on the track, and then we had a "picnic snack" as he kept calling it:

Next up, it was Pharmie's turn to race!!

All ready to swim.


Pharmie's heat listening to some pre-race info (she's in the red cap).
By her "pregnant race pace" estimate, she was put in a slightly slower heat.


GO!


Her lap counter waving a kick board in her face to signal 1 lap to go.


If you didn't know Pharmie was 32+ weeks pregnant, you do now.


Running off to the bike.


Did I mention that my pregnant wife was the 2nd one in her wave to start riding!?!


Wave 4 riding!


Henry stealing Mama's water as she changes her shoes for the run.




High-5!




I love those 2! (Well, technically THREE.)


One more high-5 with about 2 laps left.


Final 15 meters!


Crossing the line to some cheers!


And another big hug from Henry!

Pharmie ran pretty consistent / easy laps. She took her split every lap, and many were exactly the same. I took her (loose) 0.25 mile splits (every 2 laps), and they were 2:32, 2:34, 2:39, and 2:38. Pharmie's results were:

- 8:40 Swim (2:10 / 100 yds)
- 2:21 T1
- 18:12 Bike (26.37 mph)
- 0:40 T2
- 10:21 Run (2:35.25 / quarter mile)
- OVERALL: 40:14

Results aren't up yet, so I'll post those when they come out in a day or two. I'm pretty sure I'll have the fastest run, and I'm 90% sure I probably won - we saw a speedy woman in the wave after Pharmie's that I'm a little worried about. Oh, and here's a shout out to wave 6 - they were the "fast" wave of the MEGA Sprint distance, and they were going NUTS on the bike:

We left just after the first man hopped off the bike and did his first 2 laps. He was on 6 minute pace and looked great. (But the MEGA Sprint distance has a 5K run, and we all know that anyone can look great for the first 1/4 mile. Just look at every 10-year-old boy lined up at the front of any 5K ever.)

Thanks for coming to cheer us on, Henry! Back with results when they come in.

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