Blog # 7
One more week down and one more week closer to being back in Seattle!
Monday:
In the morning I did :50 minutes of cardio. I broke it up as :25 minutes on the versa climber, followed by :25 minutes on the recumbent bike (I have become mentally weak and :50 minutes on the same piece of equipment sometimes induces vomiting…I am not serious). I really didn’t have a workout on my schedule for the morning, but I had to do laundry and I figured I might as well get my sweat on while I cleaned my stinky clothes.
In the afternoon I fixed my tire. It was a pain in the butt to change. The tire was new so it was not stretched out. I only had cheap plastic tire levels that kept popping out and hitting me in the face. I eventually wrestled one tire off and a new tire and tube on. My bike and I were not on good terms when I finally started the CT session. I was also very short on time because it took me so long to change the tire. The workout ended up being VERY hard. The main set was a 5 min blow out, followed by 5 x 30 sec seated accelerations. Accelerations are where you slow to about 5 rpm, then you gradually build to an all out sprint so you are stomping on the pedals by the end of the 30 seconds. After a short 5 min recovery I completed 5x 2 min hill repeat at Z5 where I switched between seated and standing for each rep. I didn’t really cool down at all because I was running late. The workout was supposed to be difficult, but my negative attitude going into the workout did not help. I should have let my frustration go before starting, but that was my third tire blow out and I was pretty fed up.
Tuesday:
In the morning I ran easily for :15 minutes followed by an upper body strength session. I better be careful, with all this gym time I might look like Arnold by the end of this trip. See my most recent full body shot…pretty intimidating huh??? My left arm is a little larger from all those years of sweep rowing.
In the afternoon I did a 1 hr 10 min spin in stand alone mode while watching SCRUBS. Man I love that show. My sister is actually in her third year of med schools so it reminds me of her. I am so proud of her and her big hard working brain.
Wed:
In the morning I did Runner Core warm up exercises followed by RC circuits 2 and 3. Then I went down to the gym and got on my favorite treadmill (note sarcasm). I warmed up with a 15 min gradual build to upper Z2. Then I got into the main set of 4x (2min on 2 min off at an incline of 3-5% at 5K pace). I session seemed more difficult than it was last time. I felt tired and heavy. I stretched out a lot after the run because everything felt tight and sore.
In the evening I did a 1 hr 20 min easy spin in stand alone mode. I felt sluggish at first, but by the end I felt really good again. It helped me loosen up from the run earlier in the morning. I also did a lot of shoulder stretching. I know that shoulder flexibility is very important for swimming, so while I can’t swim I try to focus on those items which I do have control over.
Thursday
In the morning I got up and did a 3D CT course that was a little over 20 miles of rolling hills. I kept it in Z2 at 130-160 watts. I stretched out and then got to work for the day.
In the afternoon I ran for :50 minutes around the weather decks. Every :15 min I would run starboard stair repeats. Stair repeats are my pitiful attempt to do some climbing while I am underway without having to run on a treadmill. Running around in circles is really boring so sometimes I play a game where I run and try to write letters or shapes with my route. For instance, I can write my initials if I start on the port side run all the way down to the foc’s’cle then down the starboard side, I cut through the athwartships passageway on the 01 deck until I get to the port side then I spin around and run back to the starboard side and then back down the starboard side to the stern. Thus I have created the Letter ‘R’. The letter ‘B’ is the same except I have to run across the fantail at the end. Sometimes I pick shapes or patterns…whatever is clever ;-D I made a paint drawing in case my description is confusing. I followed the run up with some more stretching.
Friday
I had the mid watch (0000-0400) and it was pretty boring. We are near the ice edge so science stations are much shorter and transits are a little longer. This was my watch: Drive to science station, stop hold bow into the wind for :45 minutes, drive to next science station, stop hold bow into the wind, repeat for 4 hours. After watch I slept in and then I had a fairly busy afternoon. We had an on-ice deployment followed by a damage control drill and a debrief. After all of this I was finally able to get in a workout. I warmed up and then did a 2x 8 min power circuit. It consisted of hindu squats, chair stands, hindu push-ups, seated twists, and bicycles kicks. I followed this up with a CT erg session. The main set was 2x15 minutes at 230 watts. I felt pretty good during the 15 min pieces, but my cadence was not very impressive. I was usually around 70-75 rpm. I found if I tried to keep the cadence much higher my heart rate would sky rocket. I still feel I should have been maintaining at least 80 rpms. After the workout I changed quickly and then did an easy :25 min run outside. Overall, I think it was a great session.
Saturday:
I debated throwing my bicycle overboard today. I had grand workout plans for the day. I was feeling good and I was going to ride for at least 3 hours followed by an outdoor run. I got on my bike and things were going well. I started a course of rolling hills and put in a DVD. I settled in mentally prepared for a nice ride. Then it started to feel like my back wheel was slipping on the roller. I reached down to touch my tire and it was completely flat. I got off my bike and inspected my tire. There were six pin holes in the side wall of my tire. That was my last tire and my last tube. My riding buddies had a few extra tubes, but if I put them in they would just burst because of the holes in the tire. I could not believe this happened again. I have no idea why the heck I keep bursting tires. I decided I would go for a longer outdoor run instead. I changed into running clothes and went outside. It was a lot colder than I expected. There were patches of ice and snow on the decks. I went out to the foc’s’cle and it was covered in 2 inches of ice and slush. The damn incubators the scientists have all over the bow continually freeze up. Then the water overflows onto the deck and freezes. Then I can’t run on it b/c I slip and fall on my butt. GRRRRRRR!!!! My only other option was the treadmill. Right now 2 of our 3 treadmills are broken. I went inside and someone was already on the treadmill. I could have used another piece of equipment, but it seemed like the workout gods were against me for the day. Plus I really couldn’t mentally put myself on a treadmill let alone another piece of indoor cardio equipment. I hate when you are mentally focused in one direction and then life keeps throwing curve balls at you. You adapt and refocus only to have another curve ball thrown at you. Instead I went to the vasa trainer and did some upper body work. Stretched out and then just gave up for the day. I am soooo looking forward to pulling into Dutch Harbor even if it is only for 25 hrs.
In the evening all the girls onboard helped cook dinner. It was a lot less stressful than our Indian food experiment last week. This week the only thing I had to make was some garlic bread and steamed vegetables. I also got to cut all the pies for desert. That meant there was vanilla pudding and vanilla wafers all over the knife and I got to lick off the ooey gooey goodness at the end! Yummm…
Sunday:
I have no bicycle right now, but I had plenty of time for a workout so I went down to the evil gym and did the following workout: 2 x [ 20 min steady state on the erg, 20 min build on the bike from 140-200 watts, and then 20 min steady state run w/ 10 x 30 sec striders]. My thought process was that the erg would be like swimming followed by a bike and run…than repeated. After the workout I did some runner core drills followed by circuit 2 and 3.
In the evening I did an upper body strength session and a really good core workout. I followed this up with some Yoga. It is really hard to make myself do some of these workouts b/c I know that I will touch land on Tuesday. I know how much better land training is and now that it is so close to being mine again, I don’t want to do any of this mind numbing indoor training. I just have to hold on a few more days and then I can take off on foot and explore all the nooks and crannies of Dutch Harbor again! Then a few days later I will be in Juneau for 2.5 day and then drum roll please……BACK IN SEATTLE for two whole days!
I have already started my list of things to do during my 2 days in Seattle. Pull into port hop on my bike and ride home. Stop at Uptown espresso for a delicious double tall non-fat cappuccino. Enjoy my cappuccino while reading the Stranger. Back on the bike and ride to my apartment. Change into some running clothes and drive to Issaquah for some trail running. Get lost on the trails for a few hours. Drive home put together my triathlon bike. I have to admit something. After a race I did last year in India I was anti-triathlon. I had spent 6 months of the year underway where I couldn’t swim. Then I did some ITU style racing where the swim is really important. I didn’t expect to be a top finisher, but it really sucked to come out so far behind in the swim and to spend the entire race alone watching a bike pack get further and further ahead of you. I felt pretty crappy about myself and I had no reason to. I worked hard to stay in shape while spending so much time underway. I really should not be comparing myself to people who train for a living, but that was the situation I was in. I need to work at being a more internal athlete. I am often flustered by external elements I have no control of. I had decided to give up triathlons for the time being. In a show of defiance I refused to unpack my tri-bike from the race (yes I can be ridiculous and yes it is still packed up right now. Haha I just realized it has been packed since November…). Instead the only riding I really did was on my mountain bike, and on my touring bike. I rode just about every where I needed to go, but it was commuter style riding. Unfortunately, when I found out my next job would be in Hawaii and when Racer Mate let me have a CompuTrainer I started to change my mind. So here I am attempting to train for triathlons while underway and this time I have an even more ludicrous plan to race Kona this year! I wonder if I am just setting myself up for disappointment. Wow I just realized what a tangent I went on. I was going to tell you everything I planned to do while I was in Seattle and instead I spilled my guts about giving up triathlons and then changing my mind. Oh to be young and indecisive. My coach constantly has to remind me to be patient, not to make quick decisions, and to look at the big picture. He is always supportive of whatever random plan I come up with, but he always gives me his feelings on my sometimes poor training decisions. Anyway, back to what I will do in Seattle. After my bike is together I will probably get some sushi!! Man I love sushi. The weather should be nice in Seattle so some friends and I may hit up Alki beach for a bon fire and a pub crawl. Nothing too late because Sunday is Seattle Running Company group runs out at cougar mountain!! I get to sneak in a trail run before taking off for Hawaii for 2.5 weeks of getting to know a new boat and lots of diving. After the run I will work with my good friend Win (my running, riding, and outdoor adventure buddy in Seattle) and get some video footage of me on my bike. I need to send it to my coach so I can work on getting a bike fit and possibly a new bike. After that maybe I’ll hit the pool or just spend the day w/ people I miss in Seattle. Then I need to make sure I am all packed for another 2.5 week stint of underway time. Man I am not sure I could have picked a job that could make training any more difficult. Ok I guess I could be a doctor or some big wig in corporate America who spends a gazillion hours working a week. So I’ll stop with the verbal diarrhea and next week you will get to hear about Dutch Harbor!! Hmm…I wonder what chaos I can get myself into in just 25 hrs.