training goals - re-evaluated

It's no surprise that I'm started going full swing at my training calendar now that the testing is over and I don't have serious obligations hanging over my head. So, when the test was over, I re-evaluated my training goals and am doing all that I can to meet & exceed them.

Just to share, here they are:

SWIM
1. Maintain 1:35/100 yard times for a 5000 yard swim
2. No less than 12000 yards per week.
BIKE
1. Climb the hills at Oak Mountain with a minimum speed of 10mph. Increase my overall 1 lap speed to 18mph.
2. Reach 300 miles per month at a minimum
RUN
Maintain a sub 9min/mi through 5mi on the normal Sunrise route. DONE 4/22 - 5.15mi @ 8:50min/mi.
1. Maintain a sub 9min/mi through 6mi on the normal Sunrise Hill route.
2. Complete the 1.5 mile time trial in under 12 minutes.

Well I've already managed to break 1 goal for the run. As a matter of fact, I've broken that one twice now, and both times pretty comfortably. I've re-evaluated it, chatted it up with the running guys and we're going to make the 5mi route into a speed route and start working on the 6mi route. That ought to be fun.

Also, with the 5k swim coming up, it's time to start putting the laps in the pool and getting ready. So, if you can't find me, that's probably where I'll be.

Time to start getting down to business...

new mile record

not me...sorry.

This guy:


How's that for running a mile while wearing an EOD bomb suit?

my wife is awesome

Since I had a test upcoming and really no social life, Bethany waited until afterwards to celebrate my birthday, which was fine by me.

So Saturday, my family came up, her family came up, and we thoroughly celebrated. Well worth it! It started out with an early morning ride (35mi) out at Oak Mountain, then followed up with a fairly easy 2.7mi run. Nothing too bad, nothing too pressing. So far so good.

Then Bethany and her mom cooked breakfast (sausage, eggs, biscuits, juice, & coffee) for a late brunch. Again, it was good and very enjoyable.

Finally, Bethany took control and told me to start with my Birthday celebration. So, we did. She set up a bit of a "scavenger hunt" for my birthday. It went a little something like this:

Clue 1 - We went out to the back shed where I found a bike horn...

Clue 2 - Off through the house to the shower, where I found a new set of sandals to wear (mine were pretty ragged)

Clue 3 - To the grill for the next clue
Clue 4 - Back inside to the dryer, where I found a new shirt

Clue 5 - Outside, to the Jeep where I found a box in the driver seat
Clue 6 - We had to jump in the Jeep where I was directed to go. I was given a small gift which was a bike chain.
Clue 7 - Back at home where I was directed to the mailbox, where I found a set of handlebar streamers

Clue 8 - Upstairs to the nursery where I found another little box...

(It reads: "Trisherpa - Triathlon Support Crew")

(It reads "Tri Daddy Tri")

Clue 9 - to the kitchen, to the oven, where I found a bike pedal

Clue 10 - in the living room, I found a new racing suit.

Clue 11 - Out to the garage, where I opened the door and found...

(I was told to fix it up and give it a spin)

(And then send it off to a better home at Goodwill)

Clue 12 - At the Goodwill location, I got the last clue, to come on back home

Clue 13 - Brought me home and out the back door, and what did I see...

A new bike, just for me...

So, yea, my wife's pretty awesome... She talked with the guys at the bike shop and got the bike that I had been looking at, fixed it up, talked to the neighbors to hide it, and managed to pull it all over me. Not a bad way to celebrate a birthday. :)

And, that afternoon, we celebrated even more by having a "shrimp boil" in the yard followed by blueberry cobbler, ice cream and cookie cake! 

Oh, and we even celebrated my mother's birthday too (just a couple days before mine)

A great weekend (day) in deed!!

PE Prep

Today's the last day of stress before the PE exam. I've been studying, prepping, and getting everything together for the test and I thought I'd run through it.

Test 1 - 4 hours, 40 problems - General Civil Engineering Questions
Test 2 - 4 hours, 40 problems - Transportation Specific Questions

Here's what I'm hoping will help carry me through the exam.

We have:
Civil Engineering Reference Manual (CERM)
The Traffic Engineering Handbook
Fundamentals of Structural Analysis
Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (Green Book)
NPDEES guide
Design of Concrete Mixtures
Design Loads for buildings and Structures
Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)
Roadside Design Guide
Highway Capacity Manual

All of the "6 minute solution" guides and practice problems

Also included is:
The Asphalt Design book
Environmental Engineering Book
Water Resources
Foundation Engineering
Two TI-36 calculators

Still, no matter how much I bring into the test, it won't matter one bit if I don't know how to use the resources or start the problem. So, here's to hoping the studying pays off.

mileage monday 4.12.09

This last week wasn't bad at all. It'll definitely be nice when this work exam is over with and I can enjoy my rides in the afternoon and the long rides on Fridays. That will really help out with the mileage and training purposes.

As it stands though:
Mon - Run 3.5mi on the lunch break
Tues - 45min weight session and 1.5mi time trial on the lunch break
Wed - Swim 4550yrds before work
Thur - 45min weight session and 3mi treadmill run on the lunch break
Fri - Swim 4400yrd before work
Sat - Run 6.8mi followed immediately by a 20mi bike ride
Sun - 15min weight session and a 2mi run

Totals: 8950yrds swimming, 20mi biking, 16.8mi running

So, not too bad. Not where I want to be, but not too bad really. I did sit down and get all of my race schedule worked out for the rest of 2010, and it looks to be a pretty good one. Hopefully it'll turn out be just as great as predicted.
 
Upcoming we have:
May:
 - 5k open water swim
June:
 - Buster Britton Sprint Triathlon (400yrd swim/13mi bike/3mi run)
August:
 - Mountain Lakes Sprint Triathlon (600yrd swim/16.2mi bike/3mi run)
 - RocketMan Olympic Triathlon (0.9mi swim/24.9mi bike/10k run)
September:
 - Callaway Gardens Olympic Triathlon (0.6mi swim/18.6mi bike/5mi run)
October:
 - Montgomery Half Marathon
 
So there you have it.

Easter

I'm quite late getting this up, but better late than never, right?

So we spent Easter at my sister's house and enjoyed the great food and weather. Bethany and I visited our church for the Easter Sunday message, then drove south to meet up with the family for an afternoon of visiting and eating.

T'was a good Sunday indeed.
The family...

And of course, we snagged a picture of "momma" and her belly :)

The only downfall was the massive amounts of pollen that coated EVERYTHING in site. Otherwise, we had an absolute blast visiting.

the thrill of the SR-71

A very good read that deserves sharing:

The Thrill of Flying the SR-71 Blackbird

In April 1986, following an attack on American soldiers in a Berlin disco, President Reagan ordered the bombing of Muammar Qaddafi's terrorist camps in Libya. My duty was to fly over Libya and take photos recording the damage our F-111's had inflicted. Qaddafi had established a 'line of death,' a territorial marking across the Gulf of Sidra , swearing to shoot down any intruder that crossed the boundary. On the morning of April 15, I rocketed past the line at 2,125 mph...

A fanstastic article detailing what it was like to fly the fastest airplane through enemy territory.

And for those that have seen one in person, it makes the story that much more awesome when you can put the actual size of this aircraft into perspective!
Enjoy!

and a nursery update

We managed to get some work done in the nursery and figured it was time to share it....

The first job was to assmeble the changing table, which Bethany helped with.

It really didn't take all that long to complete, especially with Bethany letting me know how its done.

After it was assembled, I just had to test it out. I figured I would use our little mascot doll (Aubie) as the guinie pig, just in case something happend :)

Then after assembling the changing table, the girls went out fabric shopping, leaving us guys to finish the crib. Bethany figured since she taught us how to do the table, we could then do the crib. You know the drill, go by example.

Bethany stayed around long enough to make sure we sorted all the pieces correctly.

I was told the instructions were in the box somewhere.

Just after putting this part together, we realized that yes, we were putting it together backwards. So we took it apart and started over.

And finished.

Now the rest to complete is ordering the fabric and putting in the rest of the accessories...

mileage monday 4.5.10

Another installment of "mileage monday".

Monday 3.29
Run - 4.22mi - 27:06 - lunch break run

Tuesday 3.30
Run - 5.25mi - 49:14 - morning sunrise run

Wednesday 3.31
Weights - 1hr - lunch break

Thursday 4.1
Bike - 7.9mi - 30mins - stationary bike pre-run
Run - 5.1mi - 46:07 - morning sunrise run
Weights - 30mins - lunch break

Friday 4.2
Swim - 4300yrds - 1:25:00 - masters swim (outdoor pool - super awesome!)

Saturday 4.3
Run - 7mi - 1:05:00 - morning run pre-ride
Ride - 8.4mi - 31:02 - computrainer at the bike shop

Sunday 4.4
Nothing. Easter Sunday. Took it easy

Overall, not a bad week. Actually, as a matter of fact, we entertained the possiblity of adding yet another horse to my stable of bikes, and we checked one out at the local shop. If I may say so myself, she's beautiful. And, she's FAST.

Hopefully soon it'll be sitting in my garage getting ready for the maiden ride. But for now, the "trinity" is still at the shop...

And so, another week of training has started.

things that were completed

We had a rather adventurous list of things that needed to be completed for the nursery, and I'm glad to report, most of them were completed. Overall, we accomplised quite a bit, yet it seems like we still have tons more to do.

1. Paint - done. All the painting except the closet doors and window trim has been finished.
2. Crib - assembled.
3. Changing table - assembled.
4. Blinds - replaced and old ones discarded.
5. Fabric - viewed samples and made decisions on templates.
6. Cleaning - steam cleaned the carpets, vacuumed the carpets, scrubbed the baseboards in the kitchen, & mopped said kitchen.
7. Organizing - Sent stuff into the attic to clear the garage a little more. Discarded "stuff" from the garage (and attic) & made more piles for goodwill.
8. Race - did that too

So, another productive weekend. We're in the homestretch and have approximately 3mo left to be completed!!

mileage monday 3.29

This will be a new little addition to the blog, called Mileage Mondays. Feel free to pass over it, or read my recap of the prior week's training and highlights. Seeing as how I have a rather large race (Half Ironman - 1.2mi swim, 56mi bike, 13.1mi run) on the calendar at the later part of the year, this will be a good way for me to stay accountable and you to follow along.

So, here goes last weeks highlights.

22 Monday
4.1mi run during my lunch break

23 Tuesday
5.1mi morning "sunrise" run & a weight routine during lunch break

24 Wednesday
4400yard(2.5mi) swim with the morning "masters" swimmers

25 Thursday
2mi run & 45mins on the rower for my morning workout & a weight routine (incl. 5.5mi on the stationary bike) during lunch break

26 Friday
5600yard(3.1mi) TT swim followed by 30min weights after work

27 Saturday
3.1mi race - See "rumpshaker 5k recap"

28 Sunday
3mi recovery run

And the totals:
Swimming: 10000yard(5.6mi) - 2hrs 57mins
Biking: 5.5mi - 20min
Running: 17.4mi - 2hr 44min
Strength: 2hr 45min

Overall a pretty good week. Now, when all this studying for my upcoming PE exam is over, I'll be able to hit the bike a bit more and start really racking up the miles. As for now, it'll just have to do.

rumpshaker 5k recap

The 5k is over and here's a little tidbit from the race:

It was cold at the start. The temperature has been holding around the mid 60s, and unfortunately, dropped on race day. It wasn't completely unbearable, but standing around in 40* weather, waiting for the race to start was a little cool.

There were 1877 people to cross the finish line at the 5k race, which was quite impressive for a race going that's only been going for 2yrs. The only problem with this many people is the strollers and the walkers that all start at the front.

At the beginning, there was a short slightly steep bridge we had to cross over. Not bad, but it stopped several of the participants, which is where we made a strategic pass:

(right hand side - white shirt (me), blue jacket (Dave))

From there, it was mostly flat and downhill to the finish line

From the results page:
Robert - 28/118 Age Group - 243/1877 Overall - Time: 26:02 - Pace: 8:23/mi
Dave - 12/37 Age Group - 258/1877 Overall - Time 26:14 - Pace 8:27/mi

Overall, it was a pretty good race

upcoming rumpshaker 5k

That's right, I'm running the Rumpshaker 5k again this year..

This time though, seeing that Bethany's got a baby in the belly, she won't be running. Instead, she'll be photographing and cheering us on. I say "us", because it'll be me and her dad hammering down the streets for the race.

Last Years time: 29:28.
This years goal time: 26:30

Let's do this!

(afterwards, all the stuff in the nursery starts)

things left to do

We're nearing the end of our "nursery construction" phase and have the home stretch in sight. This week and weekend, we ought to wrap most of it up, except for the little decorating, which will be huge progress.

For this week:
-shampoo and deep clean the carpets
-hang our newly bought baby clothes

For the weekend:
-final coat of paint on the walls
-build the crib
-build the changing table
-possibly build the window box/bookcase
-replace the current window blinds
-install crown moulding

That sounds like quite a bit, but at least we're going in the right direction and not procrastinating.

Couple that with a 5k race I have on Saturday morning, and it sounds like we have quite the busy weekend...

Tony Kornheiser is an idiot

Nobody should ever be allowed to spew the comments he has.

Mr. Kornheiser, as you may remember, has just been suspened from ESPN for making comments regarding the attire of a fellow coworker. Now, he's started a new argument by encouraging drivers to "run them over" (in reference to bike riders) while riding.

Fresh off his suspension for critiquing the wardrobe of Hannah Storm, ESPN's Tony Kornheiser has a fresh new controversy on his hands, with Lance Armstrong ripping him for urging drivers to run down bicyclists on the road.

Kornheiser was discussing the addition of bicycle lanes to some streets in Washington, D.C., when he said on ESPN Radio 980 that he despises bicyclists and supports drivers intentionally running into them.

"And they all, my God, with their water bottles in the back, and their stupid hats, and their shiny shorts, they're the same kind of disgusting posers that in a snowstorm come out with cross-country skis on your block," Kornheiser said. "Run them down."

Kornheiser twice said, with disgust in his voice, that he thought Washington, D.C. was turning into Beijing. He did, however soften his tone ever so slightly by adding, "So you tap them. I'm not saying kill them."

Continued: Lance Armstrong Rips Tony Kornheiser

If you're interested, the audio is here: http://ow.ly/1nXfQ
 
It's people like him, that require us, as cyclist, to ride 3-4' into the travel lane just to make sure they'll see us. And it's another reason we have to fight to find roads to ride on that won't jeapordize our safety.