The end of No Limits?

Well I challenged myself to train without limits for 39 days and asked you to come along for the ride.

It wasn't all roses and chocolates, very few of either now that I think about it, but a successful jump start to my 2006 season. I got in some epic training, the ulitmate Epic Training Weekend coming up in just a few short days to act as a peak for the six weeks of hard work. But I don't want to cheat myself of a great post later this week so lets just table the ETW for a few days.

I certainly found out some important information about myself to help me reach new levels of training success. I am NOT lactose intolerant or gluten intolerant, though I still have an undiagnosed condition that gives me almost daily stomach discomfort.

I can sit in the saddle for almost 7 hours and over 100 miles and not develop saddle sores or chaffing and be confident that after a few minutes I can run. I also found out that I need better hydration and nutrition discipline for those distances.

I also found out that I have a serious dislike for bike training in temperatures less than 40 degrees but I can swim in 52 degrees with a wetsuit.

Well thanks for coming along for the No Limits Challenge. If you didn't do it but want to challenge yourself starting today, let me know, let everyone know and we will give you encouragement.

Vascularity

I am not a vascular man. Vascularity in exercising terms, is the condition of having prominent veins ripping up and down parts of the body. Also known as being shredded.

In the past I have had the size (220 pounds), the body fat (as low as 5%), even the funny multicolored billowy clown pants (crap I even owned those shoes), but not the vascularity.

So why is it when I am 25 pounds lighter and three time my lowest bodyfat percentage, I get out of the shower after a 2 hour training session and my lower legs are shredded. I got veins everywhere.

I quickly run downstairs, "Honey look quick, my legs are shredded."
"Thats nice dear, now go put on some clothes the boy is looking."

The other day I was driving around town with my elbow resting on a partially lowered window, grabbing the top of the door frame. I come to a stoplight and I stare out the window and catch a glimpse of my forearm. "What is that a smudge? Craps thats my forearm, its shredded! I haven't had muscles defining my arm like that in like...ever."

This is just one reason- Why I tri.

The Bike Bottle Graveyard

Another leason in Murphys Laws, good and bad.

The workout called for only one bike loop today, 40 miles. So I loaded the bike up with just one 200 calorie bottle of Cytomax (forgot to buy more CarbPro), a full aero bottle of water, an extra powerbar just in case and a small backup water bottle in case my aero spilled out. Sounds good right?

One loop turns into one and half, not a big deal unless that half equals an additional 20 miles of riding that I didn't have liquid calories for. At least I had that powerbar and extra water.

At the turn around to pick up the extra mileage, I realized that the back up water bottle had jumped ship. Down to my bottle of Cytomax and about a 1/4 of an aero bottle of water. Not promising for the next 30 miles of riding. I conserved as I could and scanned for my bottle.

20 miles later I saw it lying on the side of the road, thankfully unspilled. The temperature is 80 degrees and I am very thirsty. The bottle jumped out after I rode over a think bump in the road while going fast downhill.

As I picked up my bottle, I realized there were dozens of bike bottles strewn about the same area. Apparently I am not the only one to dislodge a bottle after going over that bump. A bottle graveyard. After examining a few, I decided on collecting a brand new Tri-Sport bottle and a short Gatorade bottle.

During next weeks training, I will have to stop and pay my respects.

Swimming

I am not ashamed to state, "I am freaking tired of the damn pool!"

I thought perhaps I was just a bit tired or stresed out this week and that was affecting my swimming. Oh no no no. I am simply tired of swimming down and back for 90 minutes a workout.

Then when I realize that the 60 freaking laps I just did equals just two loops in Canyon lake, I get a little misty eyed. Mostly because I am crying from boredom but nonetheless.
I can not imagine the Cabin Fever that my mid-west friends are experiencing in their pool swims. I at least can start going back to the lake, albeit with gloves, cap and booties pretty much next week, but to not be able to open swim until May or June. Ay' Carumba.

So its a marginal swim week. Three workouts but none with any significant distance. Total distance of 5,000 yards, mostly due to my complete lack of discipline to go another lap without strangling the splasher in the lane next to me.

What say you?

Product Review: Staples Wordlock

Ever have problems remembering your three number locker combination? Or get frustrated with having to line up those itty-bitty dashes on the dial?

Staples solved the problem with their $5.98 Wordlock. It opens using a combination of five letters that you put into almost any word or name you want. With ten letters per dial that means a 100,000 possibility's.

Words are so much easier to remember than numbered combinations, which means even after several weeks or months of non-use, the combination should come to you very quickly. Use your name, nickname, name of loved one or pet, anything you want. The lock comes with a page of words that you can use if your not the inspired type. The last dial of letters has a blank spot if you perfer to use only a four letter combination.

Changing the combination is a cinch, if your the love em and leave em type, just dial up your combination, push in the black button on the side and switch the word.

Pro: Much easier to remember combination when dealing with a common word rather than a lock specific series of numbers.
Con: Laziness could lead to easy decoding of your combination, if you don't jumble the lock properly.

Bottom Line: A cheap, mentally easy way to secure your valuables in a locker. The design is unique and easy to find among all dial locks hanging from lockers in your gym.

What its Thursday?

Whoa!

This week has been absolutely crushing on me. A short month, a long Vegas weekend thrown in, increased training time and same high workload has really set the ol' internet time back to almost nil.

Keeping it short and sweet, the training has been going really well. It has actually been very cold for Phoenix this week so my 0500 ride in the desert was completed with a 32 degree temperature. I really admire all of you who train mid day in that stuff right now or worse over the course of winter. I was really grumpy after that 20 miles.

Spent a great deal of time in rehab today. Calf tear is healing nicely but my QL (Quadratus Lumbram-side of back) is still very tight. Dr. Simon asked if I wanted to help him test out a piece of equipment he was looking to buy and my condtion and pain level would give him a good unbiased demonstration. We went, I wasn't impressed, he gets better results with his normal modalities, so he wasn't impressed either.

Training has been pretty spot on, except for the occassional Mighty Mo hiccup. He is still very sick but at least he is finally starting to take his medicine without spewing half of it out on us.

I have taken a few minutes here and there reading up on the rest of you, but with my phone and iPaq I can not leave comments. Keep the training going folks. Spring is almost here if not already. Try on your wetsuit, clean up your bike, wash those running shoes.

Mo Update

Thanks to all of you who wrote or thought well wishes for the Mighty Mo. I know its not always easy to be empathetic for other peoples kids. Believe it or not I am finding that I have a lot of friends and family who cruise by the blog who don't leave comments on top of all the great friends that I enteract with exclusively through CMS.

Mistress took Mighty Mo in yesterday and the doctors were once again floored at his level of illness compared to his outward disposition. He has strep, a sinus infection, ear infection and pneumonia. Because Mistress did such a great job of keeping him hydrated over the weekend, we didn't need to do an overnight for the IV bag.

So after a four month hiatus, life is back to normal at the Casa.