Team McAlister

I wanted to test some stuff today – me, Cyclemeter, and the Vibraflex 550.  I planned a ride that was pretty much the same route as yesterday, only instead of being flat it has 3 major climbs that are right on the path.  The idea being of course that it would test Cyclemeter to see it performed on a similar, but slightly different route while giving me more pop than yesterday’s route.  The climbs come in Mile 2, Mile 11 and Mile 21.

Now, I gave Cyclemeter some pretty good props yesterday and Colin is a fanboy.  I even hit ‘em on Twitter and they gave me a nice response.  I thought today’s route would be simple, but not so.  Not sure why, but it had me climb straight up the side of a hill and then sort of scramble around up top.  And I really just don’t trust the stats yet.  My iSport had me at 1:28 and change.  So did Cyclemeter.  But that’s just a stopwatch function.  Big whoop!  Cyclemeter had the ride at 22.77 miles and iSport at 21.8 miles.  Cyclemeter shows a top speed of 66mph and iSport has it at 45mph (much more likely).  The mph intervals posted on the server map just don’t look right.  Some of them look ok, but others don’t and I can’t explain why.  That 34.5 mph in Mile 2 isn’t possible for me at that point in that ride.

Map accuracy is maybe 80% (very unscientific estimate) on today’s route.  I don’t know enough about any of this to know why it’s inaccurate.  Probably something to do with GPS sensitivity and hillsides, and sunspots, and climate change.

But the ride was fun and felt great, even if it did have 3 relatively nasty climbs in a short time.  That was good though because I then stopped at the LRAC to jump on the Vibraflex 550.  It’s hyped as a sort of super-dee-dooper exercise machine that’s supposed to boost testosterone and HGH while chewing up Cortisol and flushing lactic acid out of your muscles.  I’ve used it a few times in the last couple of weeks and it does help loosen up your muscles.

I wanted to see what it would do for achy, dead, stiff legs after a brisk ride.  I’m told that marathoners and triathletes love it.  So, I did 2x 2-minute sets at 26 Hz, which is what was recommended for me.  I must say that my legs felt super afterwards and I think that thing may become a regular part of my stretching and flexibility routine.  Pretty impressive.

Tomorrow is a day off the bike and back to jumping rope, running, and weight stuff.

Tags: cyclemeter, cycling, iphone, triathlon, Vibraflex 550

Getting old sucks!  And, having creaky, cranky joints sucks!  When you have both, it really sucks!  Back in September when I was in San Francisco hanging out with Colin and Schuyler, the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in my right knee started bugging me so badly that I could hardly walk.  I attributed this new-found pain to the also new running shoes and insoles that had been recently custom-fitted and carefully chosen to prevent injury.  Right….

The pain was nearly debilitating at times.  This “injury” had all the concomitant features – swelling, stiffness, loss of movement.  I could cycle about as much as I wanted without too many ill-effects, but running, swimming, walking were all crossed off my list of activities.  By December, when I couldn’t get over it, I plunged into despair and started considering giving up on the triathlon goal to settle for something more in line with what the elderly do, like a Scrabble tournament.

Sometimes though you just stumble into stuff.  Actually, if experience is any sort of guide, I usually just stumble into stuff.  First, I discovered that unclipping from my bike pedal in a certain way aggravated the problem.  Stopped doing that immediately.  Big help!  Second, I got an app for the iPhone called Muscle Trigger Points.  Massage therapists and physical therapists have taught me a thing or two about how body parts are connected and how a tight muscle here causes a pain over there.  A daily part of any and all of my not-really-routine exercise is to stretch and try to work on tight muscles.  That seems to be ultra-important as I age.

Anyway, about two weeks ago as I was going through my nightly stretching/massage program, I hit a spot in the Vastus Medialis (one of the muscles in the quadraceps group) that literally turned off the pain in the MCL.  It was like flipping a switch. No pain.  Zero.  I almost jumped up and took off running right then and there. Well, not really.

Next day – no pain.  So then, added some activities like jumping rope.  No pain – at least until I had jumped so much that lots of other stuff was hurting also.  Started the massage, hit the spot in Vastus Medialis and Bang!  no pain!  So that’s been going for several days now.

I’m now ready to begin the running conditioning process again.  Yay!  We’ll see if this MCL pain is something that can really be conquered.

More in due course….

Tags: iphone, knee pain, massage, MCL, running, triathlon

Yes, it’s been a long time since this thing was updated.  Motivation has been hard to come by.  Too much heat?  Too much work?  Too much humidity?  Too much weight?  Too much junk food?  Too many excuses?  Probably.  The dream is still alive though.  Seeing it may be a little difficult, but it makes appearances from time to time.  I find that getting external sources of inspiration and motivation are much more necessary sometimes than others.

Anyway, I’ve been working on that motivation thing.  Hitting some group rides to find company on the road.  Remembering that sometimes a nice social ride is just the ticket.  Racing around isn’t always necessary.  Getting some good music to help push you along is also good….just gotta be safe with the earbuds and the traffic!  Also, varying the training routine AND (big news) getting back to eating properly for energy during training, recovery from training, and to begin to shake some of this weight.

Just for the record, when I started cycling 3 years ago (and some 9000 miles), I tipped the scales at a svelte 282 lbs (128 k or 21 stone).  Got that down to 229 lbs. and was in pretty good shape – BMI etc – until The Wreck.  Long story short.  The Wreck took me out for long enough that 25 lbs jumped right back on.  Even though I got back into fair riding condition, the weight didn’t come off (poor eating, anyone?) and for good measure I went ahead and added 10 more pounds.  So, now my friendly scales insist on showing me around 264 or so.  Say it ain’t so!

Suffice to say that everything is out of whack at 260 lbs.  Low motivation.  Ill-fitting clothes.  Loss of confidence, hair, teeth, nails.  (Just kidding.)  Seriously, though with that much weight all sense of focus on training and the pain that goes with it are right out the door.  When someone talks about a downward spiral in their behavior, I know exactly what they mean.

It is with a renewed sense of mission that I am taking charge again.  Making a training plan.  Sticking to it.  Making an eating plan. Sticking to it. Taking one step at a time (is this anything like a 12 step program?) on the road to putting together a serious attempt at this triathlon goal.  I figure that for the tri to be achievable, that I must be much, much lighter.  Must have a different body composition.  I don’t think being below 200 lbs is truly practical.  Afterall, that is college track scholarship territory for me.  There was a time in my early 30′s when I did weigh about 205-207, depending on how much ice cream I ate in a week.  I’m thinking that 205-210 is a good place to be, even though it still places me in the clydesdale category.

As of today, I am on Day 2 of a better eating regimen.  More fruits, veggies, lean protein etc.  No choco chips, Oreos, powdered doughnuts, Famous Amos, etc.  More water.  Less coffee.  Fewer bagels.  More oatmeal.  Fewer chips.  More red peppers.  Fewer Cokes.  Ouch!  And the amazing thing?  I swam a half yesterday, cycled for 1.5 hours (with 4 big climbs), and ran for 30 minutes and today I feel great!  I ate correctly yesterday (especially post-workout); importantly, I have eaten correctly today.  Now, I am ready to do some spinning just to loosen up and shake out my legs a little bit.

I’m back!

Tags: cycling, running, swimming, triathlon, weight

I know this is not Chicago, but it was 28 degrees out there officially today. I think in the shade by the river (where I was) it was much colder than that. Today was scheduled for an easy 6 miles. I did a moderate, okay maybe it was easy, 5. All I know is that I was freezing at the end as well as in the middle and at the start. I think the new shoes help. I think the training is beginning to help. I think the activity is still ridiculous. Give me a bike any time! It’s been over 4 hours since I finished and I’m still cold. Please tell me that it gets better.

Tags: cycling, fitness, health, running, triathlon, Weather

In an effort to loosen up after yesterday’s insanity, I hit the rollers for about 40 minutes. It was a good spin; just the ticket to warm up some tired muscles and get the kinks out.

But, my toe is pretty sensitive. Guess this nail is coming off. It took having the bike shoes a little loose and some easy spinning to get comfortable, but at pace everything was fine. A little post-ride stretching and all’s right with the world.

Tags: cycling, injuries, rollers, running, toes, triathlon

In 1966, The Byrds recorded 8 Miles High, supposedly about a flight they made to London. It was dropped from radio stations because of the not so subtle lyrical inferences to the band’s drug use (especially LSD, according to lore).

So today, for the first time in over 30 years, I went 8 miles on foot and was not high, although LSD might have made it a more pleasant experience. I slogged through 8.21 miles in 1:57:13. Not brilliant, but I was out there.

Tags: Byrds, masters, running, triathlon

In baseball circles, the catcher’s equipment has been called the “implements of ignorance.” (Apologies to Joe Garagiola, Bob Uecker, Yogi Berra, or Tim McCarver for a misquotation or misattribution.) If whoever said something like that thought they were describing the ultimate in athletic futility then they obviously had never ridden bicycle rollers. I wish I could spout off some pithy Elizabethan curse about the inventor of these things. If working a sudoku is an intellectual Sin of Onan (which it just may be), then riding rollers has to be the athletic version of old Onan’s bad habit.

Apparently, engaging in riding rollers helps one’s cycling – balance, stroke (sorry Onan), smoothness, etc. You can also kill yourself. You might not go blind, but you can sure mess yourself up.

Today the score is: Rider 1, Rollers 0. I rode those bad boys for 50 minutes and didn’t have a single wreck or close call (very unusual!).

So much for my day off….tomorrow is a 6 mile run day.

Tags: baseball, cycling, Onan, triathlon

OKAY, today it was 39 degrees with a 20 mph wind. Not Chicago, but dang! it was cold out there. Anyway, I was shooting for 4 miles today.

I did it! 4.4 miles in 1 hour! A blistering 13:30 pace! 30 minutes of running and 30 minutes of walking. I followed the usual pattern of 10 minutes of walking, 15 minutes of running, 5 minutes of walking for the first 30 minutes. Then I ran for 10 minutes, walked for 5, ran for 5, and walked for 10. It felt very good and I have no known issues with knees, feet, ankles, toes, shin splints, etc.

I can’t quite walk as fast as I run, but nearly. The main thing is that the time and distance were easy and felt good.

Now if I just had some shoes, maybe this would be easier.

Tags: health, masters, running, triathlon

In the last post, I was optimistic about the beautiful day and the promise it held for strong training. That was the triumph of hope over experience! By the time I made it to the parking lot down by the river, the wind was brutal. Naturally, I was not completely kitted for the conditions. At any rate, I logged a decent ride with a nice climb and some tough head winds. It was a good day to get the cadence up and keep it smooth.

After a short break to give a driving lesson to a friend’s daughter, I got back out to do the running.

It was slow and sloggy, but it’s done now. The good news? No injuries.

Tags: biking, cycling, running, triathlon

It’s beautiful out there today! As soon as the aquarium water change is finished, I’m getting out to ride and run.

The danger is in trying to do too much. Ideally, I’ll get about 3 hours of cycling in plus the ever-present 30 minutes of running/walking. Three hours of cycling right now is a load though,so we’ll see how it goes.

Tags: biking, cycling, injuries, running, triathlon

You gotta love a place where the temperatures vary by 30 degrees from one day to the next. Thursday’s run in 23 degree weather was pretty special. That was Thursday wasn’t it? Well, today it was 50 and windy.

Today’s plan was to stick with the 30 minutes of walking and running as prescribed by Hal Higdon – sort of. I’m not a slave to his program, but I am being careful since it’s been a long, long time since I ran seriously. I completed 2.23 miles at a 13:30 pace and didn’t feel as though it was a push at all. That’s probably as it should be. These old knees were just a wee bit cranky at the end, but not too bad. (A doc looking inside my knees once said that I had the knees of an 80 year old man! And that was over 25 years ago.) This is my biggest concern, but I figure that in the final analysis, it’s just pain. And, pain can be overcome.

Being able to finish up the run and get on my bike was a fine reward. Slammed down a banana, aired up, and got to rolling. Had a nice 1:45 with some hills and lots of wind. Plenty of opportunity to work on smooth stroke and balance.

I’m lovin’ this!

Tags: biking, cycling, health, masters, triathlon

You don’t have to be crazy to be here, but it helps!

Usually, stories about guys that set off on some sort of major undertaking begin with, “Well, we were just sitting around having a couple of beers and then…” The reason for suggesting to the guys that we embark on this mission still is pretty unclear to me. It seemed like a good idea at the time though. We definitely have some athleticism in the group: I was a college athlete, sort of, and have been involved recently in cyclng; Jett has run multiple marathons; Colin was an excellent competitive swimmer and started cycling last summer with me; Schuyler has always had athletic ability beyond his willingness to exhibit it (unless marching to the beat of a different drummer counts). So, the idea that we might be able to perform the events in a triathlon wasn’t all that far-fetched. The idea that we might all converge on a single, competitive Ironman-length organized event is where it began to get interesting. No alcohol was consumed until after we realized what we had agreed to do.

Colin says that laughter ensued when I mentioned it. He might have said that “derisive laughter ensued”. The fact that Jett almost automatically agreed to do it, even if his brothers didn’t, may say more about the effects of Chicago winters on a person’s brain than it does about anything else.

Enough history for now, though. With only 103 days until my 56th birthday, we’ve wasted the better part of a year talking about this mission, but doing little more than routine training and living. Agreed, Jett has started swimming and is on a schedule as his marathon training continues. I’ve continued my cycling regimen and am happy with it. I’ll let the other guys speak for themselves about their activities. The only other comment I have is that I’m at the beginning of Week 2 in a running program.

Running is my weakness. (I almost wrote Achilles heel, but that would have been very poor, don’t you think? My self-editing will probably never be that tight again.) Hopefully, using Hal Higdon’s book “Masters Running” will help get me through this discipline. So far, so good.

Tags: goals, intro, story, triathlon