The workhorse

I understand you might be suffering from withdrawal since I haven't written about shoes in a while. That's all about to change right now!

I picked up a pair of Inov-8s on sale a little while ago (yes, another pair of running shoes -- but these fell within my ~$60 "why not?" price-point). They're made with an innovative (ha! get it?) design philosophy and are much less supportive than most other trail runners, while still being all grippy. The basic theory is that the shoe gets out of your way to let you run more naturally and efficiently. In those terms, they're very similar to my favorite, super-inexpensive, super-reliable Vitruvians, only the Inov-8s are meant for off-road running.

Unfortunately for my calves and IT band, the Inov-8s take the "natural" running theory a little farther than my Vitruvians. Since they have such a low heel and not much built-in support, you need to gradually get used to them so that your muscles can adjust. Needless to say, I spent no time adapting and dove right in -- wearing them exclusively for three days, including a couple hour walk on Sunday (after I had already worked myself over with a tough bike and run on Saturday).

So, I'm sore. My right achilles is really tender. And my IT band pain is flaring up again. Nothing like waiting until a few days before a big event (the Grand Canyon hike in this case) to try something new! That hike's still far enough out that I should be healed up, but in the meantime, I'm back to aggressive rehab for my achilles and IT band and I'll be back in my favorite old pair of trail runners for our trip to England.

Those shoes have been through a lot, including our first hike in the Grand Canyon, our hike in St. John and numerous shorter walks and runs through the woods (or brush, in the case of Texas). They're probably at the end of their active life, but I keep pulling them back out because they keep performing. Who knew $40 on sale at EMS a few years ago was going to be such a good buy?

I don't know why I'm so attached to a pair of sneakers. It might be because the reason I have my $60 "why not?" price point is a result of these shoes being so awesome for so long for so little money.

It might also be because I'm weird.

On a slightly less weird note, I'm sure you're saddened to know that many of those shoes in the above picture are no longer with us (or, more specifically, they're not with me -- they're still with us in a landfill somewhere). I'll also be donating any other non-frequently worn shoes to either Soles 4 Souls or a similar charity in Doylestown, PA.

Two weeks (give or take) of adventure

Next Wednesday, Hannah and I leave for England for a week to visit her family and have some days of strolling around in the countryside (or what I perceive is the countryside. We're staying in a B&B, and last I checked, those typically aren't in the major metropolitan areas). We return to the US on Tuesday and Hannah continues on back to Texas.

On Saturday morning, I fly down to San Angelo for a quick visit. On Sunday morning I then fly to Phoenix by way of Dallas. Then I hop in a rental car and drive up to the Grand Canyon. I debated trying to do the short course Striders Duathlon in San Angelo on Sunday morning, but thought better of it -- no reason to make an already physically stressful trip even moreso.

Monday morning at 6:00 (if I have my way), my dad and brothers and I start our hike down to the Colorado River. If it all goes to plan, we'll be back up in the mid-afternoon. If it doesn't go well... then it'll probably be our last family trip. Ever.

Tuesday morning I drive back to Phoenix for a mid-afternoon flight to NJ.

Hopefully, I'll come out of all this with some good photos. But there might be an even bigger gap between posts. Somehow, I think you'll manage. If you need some excitement during the lull, check out my post about our new washer again. It's riveting.

Doing our part to help the economy

Are you ready to see the coolest, most awesome thing ever? It's fully-assembled, fully-connected, and fully one of the most exciting things I've encountered in a while. It's not my new bike, but like my bike, it's not made in China (which makes it even cooler!).

Ready? You'll need to scroll down to see the photo. I don't want to give anything away too easy.















What? You don't think that's the coolest thing ever? Really?!? Maybe if you look at it from a slightly different angle.



Well, fine. You clearly don't know what awesome is. It's got a window in the front and it gets our clothes clean.

Still nothing? Whatever...

These are not the photos you're looking for

These aren't the super-exciting photos I alluded to in my last post, but they are proof that Texas has hills (grainy, blurry, camera-phone proof).


They're from Burma Road, my new favorite road in (or nearby) San Angelo. I'm sure every other cyclist and triathlete in the area has already discovered it, but I feel special all the same.

Hannah had described Burma as being what she imagined the Ironman Wisconsin course was like (since she only saw me at one section of the bike course, she didn't actually see the hills).

To be honest, I didn't really believe that was possible. A tough, technical, hilly road in San Angelo? That can't be. There's no way it's as challenging as the really hard bits in Wisconsin (which I've ridden in case I didn't mention it a few times already).

As usual, when my ego gets the better of me, I'm usually quickly humbled. Burma is exactly like the tough rolling parts of IMWI, except swap out the green fields for mesquite, cacti and brush. And, with the added bonus of Texas being really hot in a couple months, it'll be just like the race in '05!

What have I been up to?

It's been a slow few weeks in terms of blogeable content. I was down in Texas a bunch. It's nice there (upper 70s most days). It was snowing this morning in NJ/NYC on my way to work.

I've been training. Despite easing back onto the plan, a glimpse at my training log reveals that over the last few weeks I've actually had the most consistent volume since I was rowing two-a-days in the summer of '02. That bodes well for IMLP in July. I'm not even feeling 100% and I'm consistently throwing down workouts that I couldn't regularly handle two years ago. This is on top of the travel and economic-crisised-work-hours doing wonders for my free time and stress levels.

A big part of that is due to me hooking up with Endurance Corner. Consistency is easier when someone is putting out a plan to follow. They've got a five level program for the working athlete. I'm at level two. Level five is well beyond my comprehension. Seeing as how level one would have me doing more work than I did for any of my past IMs, I think I'm in a good place.

I also got my road bike built up (I know, you've all been waiting with baited breath). You'll have to wait longer for some photos since I won't be back in Texas until mid-April. I do have one exciting photo from my last visit, but you'll have to hold out for a few days. Trust me, it will be well worth the wait.

Mini adventure

I ran home from the airport.

It's not often that you can say that, at least, not when talking about the airports that most people typically frequent. But, in San Angelo, it's possible to live the dream (assuming your dream is running home from the airport).

A few weeks ago, I flew into San Angelo earlier than usual so that I could get down in time to take Hannah out for her birthday dinner and to the rodeo. It's less than a six-mile trip from our house to the airport, so I went the fun route rather than taking a cab.

More exciting (for me anyway) is the fact that I was actually able to run. That's the first time I've gotten in more than a few minutes at a time in 12 weeks. So, after a gradual build up, I'm back on the training plan.

That's an Apache in the background. Must be the Army's. Or a really eccentric rancher's.

After taking this picture on the move, I decided to stop running for the rest of the photos.





This is the power plant (or the water treatment plant... or something like that).

No new gear

I was struck by a thought about our Grand Canyon trip on my way to work today (I think some punk kid threw it). For the first time, I actually don't need any new gear for an "event." To be fair, I'm sure I didn't need new gear for many of my "events," especially the triathlons, but there's something to be said for having a newer piece of equipment or kit for race day.

Anyway, since I have more than enough gear to outfit both my brothers and my dad for this hike (ignoring sizing issues), I don't really need anything. I have a few pairs of trail shoes (as I'm sure you've heard if you've read more than one of my posts), I have a couple of day packs (I'm going to lend RDM the one I used at the Grand Canyon last time), and I have technical clothes out the wazoo.

It's a little weird to not have to (or even really want to) buy anything new.

I'm not a swimmer

I'm not a swimmer. I used to be a swimmer. Now I'm a triathlete who is a faster swimmer than most (but a slower cyclist/runner than all). Somewhere between the two I was a rower. I'm not a rower anymore either.

There's a huge difference between being a good swimmer and being a good triathlon swimmer. In most triathlons I do, I finish easily in the top 10% of the swim, even in ironman. Masters swim races... not so much. I'm lucky if I'm seeded anywhere near the top 50% (and, assuming I wasn't overly delusional about my seed time when I submitted my entry, I'm lucky if I can finish in that top 50%).

There's an even wider disparity if you just look at age group rankings. I'm still usually top 10% in my age group in triathlon swims. But in pure swimming races? Ugh.

While some of my recent best times are good enough to qualify for Masters Nationals, they're certainly not good enough to even put me in the top 25, let alone anywhere close to the times of the top 10. The time standards are low enough so that more people can/will attend, which makes a lot of sense and is a good idea to boost participation. There's no such thing as a professional Masters swimmer, so why wouldn't they welcome all comers?

Why am I writing all this? I keep thinking I'd like to make a run at Masters Nationals one year soon. While I'm sure the trip would be fun, I really only want to go if I have a decent chance of finishing well (I don't feel like traveling far away to sit in the bleachers for hours at a time waiting for a two-minute race, just to get DFL -- I did that enough of as a youth swimmer).

But then I think about Open Water Masters Nationals. There's an event I might be able to train for and that would cater to my talents -- which is the ability to go slow for a long time. I'm still not at the level to finish in the top of the pack, but I'd be a lot more competitive than in a pool swim. That and Hannah could probably go off and have a decent time for an hour or so, and come back and watch the finish. The only thing worse than traveling far away to sit in the bleachers for hours at a time waiting for a two-minute race, is then having to sit around some more and watch that two-minute race.

Of course, she wouldn't even have to go at all. It's not like you can hear or see your supporters in a swimming race, especially open water events. I could just tell her how I did! And since Hannah doesn't check results online, I could "win" every event. Hmmm.

Supersuit

If you watched any of this year's Olympic swimming, you saw tons of world and Olypmic records fall and you saw almost everyone in the newest technical swim suits -- mostly the one made by Speedo. Once the Olympics were over, you probably promptly forgot (or stopped caring) about the supersuits, or swimming in general.

Since the Olympics, a bunch of other manufacturers have developed their own suits that rival the one from Speedo. Some are from established players like TYR, but most are from triathlon wetsuit manufacturers. To be clear for the uninformed, wetsuits are illegal in most swimming events as they provide buoyancy (they are legal in most triathlons, supposedly for the insulation effect, but in practice, it's for the life-preserver effect -- some triathlons are not wetsuit-legal though, and that's where this new suit comes in).

Anyway, the "swimskins" made by the wetsuit companies are perfectly legal under the current world swimming rulebook. They're not technically wetsuits -- while they are made from neoprene, they aren't made with foamed neoprene (the material that makes wetsuits buoyant).

Where there were previously only a handful of manufacturers making technical swimsuits, the industry is poised to see a huge wave of new players, all capitalizing on the "non-wetsuit wetsuit design." Beyond the question of whether or any of these swimskins do actually create flotation, one of the problems is that these companies will all be using the same process and materials, making it virtually impossible for meet officials to be able to distinguish between an "approved, legal" suit and one that isn't. While these suits aren't buoyant as far as FINA (the sport's governing body) is concerned, if every suit basically looks the same, but is created by a different manufacturer, what's to stop someone from using a swimskin that actually does have foamed neoprene? It'd be really hard to tell.

This week (tomorrow, I think), FINA is meeting to decide the legality of not only the neoprene suits, but also Speedo's and TYR's latest suit.

For anyone that cares, my non-technical opinion is that the materials in an approved suit need to be more tightly regulated. I'm all for innovation and fewer barriers to entry within the industry, but these suits are going too far, or more specifically, going too far in a bad direction. Speedo, TYR and Nike all have other technical suits that definitely improve speed compared to a standard lycra suit, but: 1)they don't help you float, 2)they're not ridiculously expensive.

I've seen (and touched, but not worn) Blue Seventy's swimskin (the one worn by most of the Olympic open water swimmers, as well as that dude swimming breastroke in that triathlon this past summer) and Rocket Science Sports' swimskin. Interestingly, I wouldn't have really thought the Blue Seventy was based on wetsuit technology if someone hadn't told me. It just seemed like a super nice, super slick racing suit. The RSS one just seemed like a thin wetsuit. I suspect that some of the suits will be deemed legal, while others won't.

I can illustrate my biggest problem with all these suits with a quick story from this past weekend. Hannah and I were in Austin and we stopped in one of the better tri shops in town. I asked to see the RSS swimskin and the woman in the store said they only had one left, because all the high school kids had just bought them out for an upcoming meet. These are high school kids dropping $250+ on a swim suit. Suddenly, grassroots swimming has become this huge arms race. If I was a high school swimmer and all my competition had one of these suits, you can bet I'd get one if I wanted to be competitive.

I'm kind of indifferent about elite swimming and the suits. The fastest swimmers are winning anyway; they're just setting more records. But for high school and younger swimmers, there has to be a limit (some of these suits are only usable for a handful of meets at most -- the Speedo LZR is only good for about seven swims, according to the shop employee I talked to at a reputable swim shop -- I can't imagine what I'd do if my 14 year old said the only way he'd be able to compete was with a $400 body suit that we'd have to replace after one or two meets).

Masters swimming has already embraced the swimskins, as has the triathlon world. If they end up banned, it will be interesting to see what happens to the rules in these two organizations -- they both use FINA rules as a guideline, but I'm curious if they won't stray on this one -- there's a lot of money to be made selling these suits.

If you want to learn more, check out the series of articles at SwimNews.com (the first article is here).

I appreciate that was long-winded. But aren't you glad I didn't talk about running shoes?

More on sustainable footwear

I came across this article about END Footwear the other day. It has some legitimate points (for example, I'm not too keen on the fact that the "green" shoes are made in China, then shipped across the world for me to buy them), but I think it's a bit harsh and unfair towards a company that genuinely seems to be trying something new and beneficial for the environment.

What END is doing seems to be on the right track, and there aren't many other manufacturers actively trying to change the marketplace, so I give them credit.

The big question about shoes (or any product for that matter) and sustainability that I don't have an answer for is, "what's ideal for sustainability?" It's great that END uses a good chunk of recycled materials, but ultimately, these shoes are still going to end up in a landfill. But is the best thing using recycled materials or creating a product that is biodegradeable like Brook's is doing? The best thing would be a product that is both made from recycled materials and is biodegradeable, but that's probably a little ways out (actually, the real best thing would be a product made from completely organic and biodegradeable materials, but I don't want to run in hemp sneakers).

This just in: More on shoes

I'm sure you'll all be overjoyed to know that I have another (brief) post about running shoes.

It turns out REI's return policy is a lot cooler than I thought. Since the sneakers I just bought are still in great condition (I mainly wore them on indoors or on a treadmill for the few miles I put on them), I'm fine to send them back for an exchange. Yay for REI.

More exciting than REI's return policy is the latest word cloud I created for my blog on Wordle.net.

The word "shoes" have finally taken the top stop away from "much." Of course, I suspect I'm going to have a more feminine result on the GenderAnalyzer (but I'm too afraid to check). So this might be the last post for awhile about shoes. I'm sure the focus will shift to backpacks, as what's more manly than taking about a bag that I wear over my shoulders to carry all my stuff?

UPDATE: I sucked it up and decided to drop my blog back in the GenderAnalyzer to see just how non-manly my writing is now. And to my surprise, here's the result I received:

So, apparently prattling on about running shoes is manly after all. 90% manly even.

Some frustration

There will come a day when I don't talk about shoes in my blog. That day is not today.

As some of my two devote readers might remember, I was super excited about END Footwear's road running line. A few weeks ago, despite still not being able to run because of my knee, I ordered a pair of the company's stability road shoes -- the OTG -- when they became available on REI.

I own a pair of their trail racers, and while really good, they're a little big (not so much that I can't run in them, but there's more toe room than I prefer). In an effort to outsmart myself, I ordered the road runners a half-size smaller. You can probably see where this is going.

The shoes are too small. The toe box has the right mount of space (so, I got that right anyway), but the sides and top of my foot are wedged in there. I can get around in them okay, but they are snug. And by snug I mean I'd probably hurt my foot if I tried to run in them for more than a few miles. I tried swapping in all different kinds of insoles that I have lying around -- strangely enough, the best fit are my custom orthotics, despite them having the most pronounced arch.

Long, uninteresting story short, these sneakers aren't for me. I've done a decent amount of walking in them, but they just don't work. I think if I kept trying to use them, I'd end up with some new injury, and I haven't even fully healed from my last injury.

Why didn't I return them for the a larger size? Well, because I'm an idiot and I was overwhelmed by their coolness factor. I was so excited about getting the shoes that I immediately tried them on and walked around. When they didn't fit quite right, I switched out the insole. Then walked around some more. Then the next day, I tried a little treadmill running. Basically, I think I used them too much for me to be allowed to return them (or to return them in good conscience). The perils of purchasing footwear online.

So, if you know anyone with size 8.5 feet who wants a barely used free pair of cool running shoes (I'm talking maybe five miles of walking and two of running), let me know. I really don't want to just toss them -- that's definitely not the environmentally-friendly thing to do.

Since these things were $90 ($30 above my "What the hell, I'll give them a try" price point), I'm a little frustrated. Maybe in the late spring I'll drop the money again for a larger size; but right now I'm thinking I'll stick with what works.

Although, with my family's Grand Canyon hike planned for April, maybe I'll pick up a new pair of trail runners. Because, clearly, I haven't learned my lesson. I mean, I only own four pairs of trail runners already.

Vindication

I had my running evaluation this morning at the sports medicine center where I get physical therapy. I'm still managing some pain in my knee, but it's progressing quite well. In addition to the PT, I give a lot of credit to the Trigger Point Performance suite of products -- they're much more effective than any foam roller I've ever used.

In my first visits to the orthopedist and with Jeff, my physical therapist, I was told that my running shoes aren't supportive enough and probably are directly contributing to my problems. They asked where I got them and who told me to wear them. I explained that I talked to the owner of the company and picked the shoes that were right for me.

I also explained that, in my opinion, the Vitruvians did a lot to help my achilles troubles because they have such a low heel. It took some getting used to, but ultimately I ended with stronger calves. I also prefer to run with a mid-foot foot strike, rather than a heel-strike, which means I don't need/want the big, overbuilt heel that is common in a lot of running shoes.

Both the doctor and Jeff (who, to me, are fairly knowledgeable and objective, despite this experience) were dismissive of my $60 shoes and said that with my flat feet, I'd need something more. The underlying tone (either implied or inferred, I don't know) was that I needed something more mainstream -- not from some wacky sneaker guy in Vermont.

Longer story longer, the running eval guy said all the same things today. "You're going to need a more supportive shoe. I hope these didn't cost you too much."

So, I took the test -- Greg, the eval guy, took some video of my gait while I was on a treadmill. I walked barefoot, I ran barefoot. I walked with my sneakers on, I ran with my sneakers on. We looked that video at normal speed, then frame by frame. Greg also could measure the angle of my pronation with one of the tools in the analysis software.

Results:
- I overpronate (roll in) more with my left foot than my right
- When I run barefoot, I'm more of a fore-foot striker (I land towards the front of my foot, not my heel). There's a little overprontation when I run barefoot, that should be corrected with appropriate footwear.
- When I put my garbage-bin-destined shoes on, I have a slight bit of pronation when I walk -- within a natural range.
- When I run in my "non-supportive," non-brand-name shoes, I... wait for it... have no unnecessary pronation.

The reason I like this sports med place was summed up with Greg's next comment -- after watching the video a few times, then checking and rechecking the angles --"Your shoes are fine. I really didn't think they would be. And looking at them, I still wouldn't think they would be good. But when you run in them, you have good mechanics."

It says something about Greg's character (and professionalism) to admit he was wrong.

All that said, I still have other bio-mechanical issues: weak hip muscles (especially on my right side) and poor balance (related to the weak hips). My right hip drops when I run, because of the weak hip area, which is likely the underlying cause of my IT band/knee problems. So, more strengthening, more flexibility... and more $60 running shoes.

The bike build begins!

With great excitement, I started my bike build the other day. I laid out all the various components, set up my bike stand and admired the beautiful frame. Knowing (or, not knowing, to be more precise) what I was about to undertake, there was a good chance that the frame wouldn't emerge unscathed, so I took a picture to capture it's unmangled purity.

Then, I got down to work. It was a lot of effort, but I'm pleased with the final result. What's that? It looks like the same picture?

Here's a better image, complete with graphics identifying my progress.


I'm still short a few parts, all of which are required before I can go any further. Basically, if you see a hole anywhere on the frame, it's because I'm missing the piece that goes there. I have cranks, but don't have a bottom bracket to attach the cranks (that hole at the bottom where the seat and down tubes come together). I have a fork and headset (the front end), but don't have a stem to keep the fork in place. I have a seat, but don't have a seatpost to put it on.

So, to tide you over until I have those pieces, here's a picture of cycling in San Angelo. Notice that Hannah's in front of me. That had nothing to do with the fact that she's getting fitter than me on the bike, but was because I was riding a bike with no wheels, cranks, seat or handlebars.

A Walk in the... umm... Brush

A few weeks ago, Hannah and I went for a longish hike in the state park in San Angelo. By "longish," I mean about three hours. By "about," I mean almost exactly three hours. By "almost exactly," I mean I'm filling space in this post since the actual content will be a little sparse.

The trail we walked was split into two paths: one for hikers and cyclists, the other for hikers and horses. I suppose the split is because bikes don't get along with horses. We chose to walk the hiker/cyclist path, if only to avoid the horse droppings (bike droppings are typically easier to spot, since they're usually metal).

Some of you might not be aware, but the State of Texas has made a concerted effort to be inclusive in their park system (walkers, cyclists, etc.). As such, they want to make it clear who can use which trails, and they've updated their signage appropriately.As you can see, this sign is very specific about who can use the trail. What you can't see is the little bicycle (the photo cuts off the image on the left) -- so this is a multi-use trail for cyclists, hikers and women.

That's all well and good. Unfortunately for our shared hike, we came across another sign a few miles down the trail.

It seems some old biases of the park rangers are hard to overcome. It was a shame to part ways, but Hannah had to sit down on a rock in her dress while I got to wander ahead.

Superpower

Yesterday I performed the herculean feat of running across the street to beat a traffic light... twice (no, not the same light). I know you're impressed. My amazing ability to succeed at the ordinary is astonishing.

I'm quite pleased with myself, because at this rate, I'll be able to run a mile in a year. Actually, I suspect it will be somewhat sooner (two weeks), as that's when my PT scheduled me to have a running evaluation to measure my gait and form. I'm on the mend (I think... it might be that the PT just wants to watch me suffer).


PS - If you like that image at the top, check out Superuseless Superpowers. You should get a smile out of at least a few of them.

My new toy (some assembly required)

One of my updates from last weekend in Texas is that my new bike arrived.

"New bike?" you might say. "Last year, didn't you go on and on about not buying a new luxury item from China?"

"In fact I did," I'd answer. "But this bike was actually made in Taiwan, of Columbus tubing (which is good stuff). Besides, that was last year."

And since I'm making up this entire conversation, I'd respond to your generous offer of a new car with, "Yes, thank you. I'd like the Volvo C30. I appreciate that's not too expensive a car, but I don't want to impose."

So I have a new bike. Or more specifically, I have a new bike frame. For my third bike, while I strongly considered a penny-farthing, I opted for a standard aluminum road frame, which I'm going to build up myself. This might go disastrously bad, but since there are few overly complex moving parts and no electrical or plumbing work involved, I'm not really worried about damaging anything, except maybe my ego when I need to bring the tangled mess into a bike shop to undo my debacle.

Also, apparently I was such a good customer over the phone that Fetish Cycles (the bike company) sent me two (2) frames for the price of one. I contemplated some kind of reverse training wheel build (two frames on one set of wheels), but thought better of it when I realized I wouldn't easily be able to mount the saddle without access to a machine shop. Besides, Fetish decided they actually want the "free" frame back.

Quandary

I have a whole slew of upcoming posts about my last few days down in Texas. (On a side note, I don't think San Angelo is "deep in the heart" -- but the song doesn't work with, "the probable center of gravity of Texas, if you were able to pick the state up and needed to balance it." That's a shame, because the stars really are big and bright there.)

Anyway, to tide you over, and to keep up my regular babbling about new sneakers, I have a dilemma. You see, END Footwear has just released their road models. And, they're cool. And environmentally sound.

So, the question is, do I buy myself the new pair of sneakers I've been eagerly awaiting even though I can't actually run in the them because of my knee? What to do?



If you're interesting in any of END's products yourself, check out REI -- they have most of the trail models and at least the road shoe that I'm looking to get. However, if you're interested in END's water shoe, their women's road shoes or the other men's road model, the marketing manager at END told me Rockcreek.com would have the full line-up first (yes, I actually e-mailed the marketing manager at END to find out when the road models would be available).

Knee update

Another visit to the PT this morning revealed a weak vastus medialis obliquus (VMO). There's some interweb controversy about whether or not targeting that specific muscle will do anything for my patellar pain (the pain I feel behind the knee cap when I do things like squats and hard cycling), but Jeff the PT hasn't steered me wrong yet (in the minutes and minutes I've known him), so I'll stick with his recommendation.

To learn if there was a problem, Jeff had me lay on my back and tighten my quads while he watched my VMO. After squeezing for all I was worth, Jeff said, "You can tighten your quads at any time now." Whether he was joking or not, the fact is the muscle needs work. So I've got a few more exercises to do this week. Maybe when all this is done, I'll end up with legs like the guy Hannah was oogling at the trail run last year. Maybe.

On another note, I was bored last night and created a word cloud on Wordle.net with my blog. For those not in the know, a word cloud is a useless graphical depection based on the words that most commonly pop up on a web page. The larger the word, the more often it's used.


I understand why "running," "knee" and "pain" are so big, as that's all I've written about for the last few weeks. But I'm a little suprised by "much." How much can I possibly write the word "much" in a post? I don't think it could have been that much.

I feel the need. The need for...

sitting on the couch in frustration.

Things had been progressing nicely along with my knee. I've been doing all the exercises and stretches the physical therapist recommended. Twice a day (also as recommended). The pain in my knee has shifted from awful, to dull, to -- just yesterday -- a slight pinch. Even this morning, as I walked to bus stop, I thought to myself, "Wow, I feel this much better in only a week. I wonder how good I'll feel next week."

Then, because I was daydreaming about running free, I realized my bus was about to leave a block away from where I was. So, naturally, I started to run to catch it. I got exactly five steps before the pain from three weeks ago came hurtling back. So there you go. I expect that means I won't feel much better next week.

As far as an update on my physical therapy -- the therapist thinks I have a ridiculously week hip area. Weak hip flexors and abductors, and tight everything. The logic is that by strengthening those areas, I'll address the long term imbalance so that I don't have this problem again. Oddly enough, right now I'm interested in addressing the symptoms. Since they hurt and all. We'll see what happens tomorrow in my next PT session.

Injuries make for lame updates

I haven't been up to too much the last few weeks. No running and cycling makes Nick a dull boy. With any luck, I'll have some news about the progress of my knee injury after my first physical therapy session this evening.

Even though I don't write too much about my actual training, when I'm not doing it, I become more deeply involved in my other activities. And with Hannah in Texas, that leaves me with work, which I haven't been short of in the past few months. But since writing makes up a good part of my work, I don't really want to spend more time writing about work.

So, to tide you over until I have something interesting/amusing to say, watch this trailer that I came across the other day. Since Tim Burton's involved, you can bet it's going to be really bizarre. All the same, it looks pretty cool. And it probably helps that they use a Coheed & Cambria song in the trailer, which ups the awesome factor.



Have a happy New Year. Watch out for post-apocalyptic robotic cats (or whatever that thing is).

Apocalypse... not now, maybe later

I feel like I've avoided some personal disaster, at least as far as my sanity goes.

An explanation:

I've been dealing with some right knee trouble for the last two weeks.

It started during a run on Monday, December 1, hurt enough for me to cut my December 2 run short and then was bothering me at my track session on December 4, which I stupidly decided to finish. It hurt enough that I took the entire following week off from running or riding. On Saturday, December 13, I did an easy 90 minutes on my bike (very easy) and then lifted (very light weights). My knee didn't bother me at all during the ride, but I stupidly pushed through some light pain during leg lifts at the gym. I tried running on Sunday morning and got 20 minutes in before the pain became debilitating. I then walked it back home.

Yesterday I went to see a sport orthopedist, who, much to my surprise, said I didn't need an MRI. Basically, it's just very tight iliotibial band, tensor fascia latea, and the assorted inner leg muscles combining in a perfect storm to pull my knee out of alignment, which, not surprisingly, hurts a lot.

The prescription is some vitamin-I for the inflammation and physical therapy and strengthening/stretching of all the assorted muscles in the area. Interestingly, I learned nothing yesterday that I didn't already know from the interwebs (specifically, ExRx.net, the best little strength training/injury site on the Internet -- complete with anatomically correct 3D digital models!), I just wanted a professional confirmation.

So, I'm off running or riding until this clears up. If might be as much as six weeks, but since that would be awful, I'm hopeful I can be better sooner. If there's one thing I am, it's aggressive about recovering from an injury (I kicked the crap out of my achilles/calf trouble 18 months ago -- take that body weakness!).

If you're looking for a lesson here, it's that you shouldn't be stupid about stretching and strengthening the unused parts of your body. This is closely linked to the hip (TFL) pain I talked about last time. Sedentary office life doesn't naturally mix well with having a healthy lifestyle.

This just in: I'm not 19 anymore

Hannah and I met in Florida over the weekend to visit her friend Sue who has a house in Sarasota. We're quite the international travelers lately.

It was a nice trip: some sun, some beach, some strolling around. Lots of not-young people.

I've been having some trouble with my hips for the last five months, specifically my TFL in both legs. I'm pretty sure it's all related to tight/over-worked IT bands, in turn related to tight/over-worked soleus muscles in my calves. It's not because I do too much training, but it's because I do too much training after sitting in a desk chair all day (and with the current market conditions, I've been spending a lot more time in an office chair).

I still try to get the same (or more) exercise in as I have for the last few years. The problem is, with limited time and even more limited motivation, flexibility work is the first thing to get cut.

After watching the pained expressions on many slow-moving folks over the weekend, I've decided to recommit to keeping myself in good working order. Goodbye power-lifting, hello girly hip bridges.

Also, hello awfully painful foam roller. If you've ever used one before, I'm sure you're surprised by my reluctance to use it daily.

Lost and (thankfully) found

I was down in Texas for the entire week of Thanksgiving. While you might think that San Angelo has no Internet access (based on my lack of blog updates), you'd be wrong. I was just lazy.

On Sunday, Hannah and I did a short trail run to try out our new END Stumptown trail shoes and see if they're as cool as they look. The answer: Yes. Very cool and very fast.

On Thursday, we were hosting Thanksgiving dinner for Hannah's brother and three airmen from the local base. Because Hannah had so much fun running on the trails on Sunday, we opted to go out for another trail run in the state park before getting ready for dinner. Hannah chose to wear the new shorts I bought her. (50% off on all running gear at Randy's Bike and Run! Of course, that's only applicable to my two San Angelo readers, both of whom probably already know about it...)

Anyway, they have a nifty little key pocket, in which she put the car key. About a mile into the run, we stopped for me to fiddle with my running vest (which I had just learned -- after seven years of ownership and clearly a lack of common sense -- folds into itself to become a hip pack). As I was about to bound off down the trail again, Hannah asked if she had given me the key. It was then we realized that Hannah's shorts had a key-sized hole.

Long, uninteresting story short, we searched and searched. We were both worried about getting back in time to make all the food for dinner, and beyond that, actually getting back to the house in time for dinner. Just when I was ready to give up and go run back to the ranger station to call the police or AAA to come help us out, I found the key, standing out in the middle of a clear patch of sandy trail. How we missed it twice before, I have no idea.

Thanksgiving was saved, dinner was prepared and the airmen were interesting to talk to. Since all three are in Intelligence, I now know exactly the same amount of secrets about our national security as I did when they arrived. In fact, I think they shredded some of my own stuff for good measure.

I'm (mostly) a man

I read about the Genderanalyzer over on BikeSnobNYC and thought I'd try it out. Initially, I was apprehensive, because I'm sure I have stereotypical feminine qualities that pop out in my writing -- talking about shoes, for example. Luckily (for my ego), I'm definitively a dude. Well, the site is 70% sure anyway. I blame the talking about shoes and the cat (and the pictures of me in lycra) for any uncertainty.



What made my day was when I put in RDM's site.



It's always gratifying to know that you're more of a man than your brother. And he doesn't wear lycra and write about shoes, so I'm not sure what he can have as an excuse.

I ordered another pair of shoes

I know, I know...

But these are so cool and they're green.

I read about END Footwear in a recent issue of Runners World that my friend gave me and my interest was piqued. The company's story is worth checking out.

Beyond the environmental impact, I was most intrigued by the minimalist design. I'm a big believer (as a result of my own injury experience) that many of today's running shoes are overbuilt. My current shoes (Vitruvian) are about as spartan as you can get and work great for me, but I wanted to try a "racier" shoe (in terms of weight, not sex-appeal). I'll be honest though -- the Vitruvians are not the coolest looking thing out there and the END shoes are pretty sharp.

On top of all that, these are $60 sneakers. For some reason, that's my "this is an awesome thing to try and if it doesn't work out, whatever"-price point (my Vitruvians are $60 -- and those worked out great). The more solid trail runners and light hikers are a little more, but the entire range is less than $100 -- that's almost unheard of in today's footwear marketplace.

Oh yeah, I ordered Hannah a pair too. Because -- clearly -- now I no longer only get excited about my own running shoes.

Crushing the dream

On Friday, I was in Boulder for a bike fuel and lactate test. I wanted to do it for two reasons:
1) I feel like my training is a lot of shooting in the dark. I wanted a better sense of the efforts I should be using in my day-to-day workouts.
2) It seemed really cool and I didn't want another "thing" for my birthday. Instead, I got some neat looking spreadsheets (that you can see below -- exciting!).

What I learned: I'm not good enough to be a pro athlete. Once the shock has worn off and you've climbed back in your chair, you can read on to see what the test was like and what the results mean.

**Warning - This might be boring**
The test was basically on a very high-end stationary bike that is adjustable so it could mimic my exact position on my tri bike. After I warmed up for about 25 minutes, Mat, the tester, took a blood sample (by pricking my finger) and then measured my blood lactate for a baseline.

Then, I got all dorked out with a heart rate monitor and a mask that connected to a machine that measured my breathing output (and whatever sort of stuff is measurable when you breathe).

We started the test by ramping up to 110 watts. Every five minutes Mat would take a new blood sample then increase the resistance by 15 watts. To sum up, eventually I couldn't really turn the pedals anymore and there was all sorts of spit and sweat flying.

Here are the expensive graphs/charts:
This one shows what energy sources I'm using as the effort increases. It's good that my fat burning is pretty level the whole way across, although it could stand to be raised significantly.

I'm not exactly sure that this means in science terms, but you can see the lactate go through the roof once I pass 170 watts. In unscientific terms it means I can't go very hard for very long. And "hard" for me is not actually that many watts.

This is what I was most interested in. It gives me all the HR and wattage zones that I was looking for.

I didn't really know how to interpret all of this, so luckily, Alan, Endurance Corner's resident physio wiz, explained it to me. In a nutshell (mostly in Alan's words, pulled from the e-mails he sent me):

-My absolute power output is woeful (that's my observation; Alan was much more polite), but my power to weight ratio is decent. That means I have better potential for success on climbing courses. I have a good tolerance to a wide range of power levels and should look at courses like Placid or Canada for a best relative result. (Well, that works out).

- I have a good base-level of training. In terms of limiters, there's a lot of upside that can come from increasing my FTP (functional threshold power).

- I also need to do more at "steady" -- basically, try to close the gap between the black and gray fields in the second chart.

- More steady-state training will ultimately prove to be the quickest path to improving my short-term IM performance. Extending my FTP will help me out in the long-term.

Straight from Alan's e-mail: "In summary, you're quite 'fit' but not as 'fast' as you could be on the basis of your fitness. This is not to say that there is not more room for improvement in your 'fitness' but, IMHO, in the name of balance and getting some return on your investment, some of your basic week should be devoted to higher intensity training."

Now, everything's relative. I clearly have a lot more "fitness" I can attain. That's evidenced by the fact that I couldn't get past 215 watts (for contrast, there are a lot of people that race ironman at an average 215 watts).

So, the short answer that came out of the test for me: I need to be working harder (actual "hard" efforts or "steady." No more noodling around). There's more in the results, but it gets a lot less compelling for anyone that isn't me.

Was it worth it for me? Absolutely. I'd even consider going back a year from now to see if anything has changed.

Living the dream

I was out in Colorado over the weekend living my professional triathlete dream and getting some physiological testing done. As it turns out, my pro-triathlete dream involves killing myself on a stationary bike, getting my finger pricked every five minutes, and wearing a Darth Vader mask. I should also add that this was my birthday present from Hannah. A present I asked for.

Not surprisingly, the test revealed that I don't have what it takes to be a pro triathlete. Luckily, we planned a weekend trip around it to soften the blow. I'll talk about the fun part in this post, then I'll talk hiking and beer and such, torture that it was.

I kid; I'll talk about the vacation first, then I'll talk about the fun stuff later. ;-)

Skipping around my lab test on Friday, I wandered about Boulder for a few hours, looking at all the fit people and getting accosted by what seemed like hundreds of college kids asking me if I voted yet. Seeing as how the election wasn't for a few days, I was a little confused.

Hannah came in Friday night and we went for a hike to the top of a peak (Bear Peak) on Saturday. Normally I'd post some awesome pictures, but our digital camera was playing games. When the battery indicator said it had 75% power (when I checked before we left the hotel), it actually meant it had 75% power for one more picture. So you get this one.

I was able to trick the camera into thinking it had a little more life in it once more at the top of the mountain.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Boulder, then headed back to Denver to shower and go out for dinner (elk burger = good).

Sunday was some more leisurely strolling around Denver, a visit to the REI flagship store, more people questioning us if we had voted yet, a stop in the Colorado history museum, and some more good beer and food. Then it was off to the airport and back to New Jersey/Texas.

Sometimes things just suck

I know some of you read Fat Cyclist. If you don't, it's worth heading over there now.

It's hard to understand a range of emotions you can feel for someone you don't even really know, but learn more about every day. The few random blogs I read are my Access Hollywood; I'm more interested and involved in the goings-on of these people than the celebrities I'm told to care about.

It's times like these I remember I'm only a competent writer, not a good writer. If you want to read some good writing about this, go over to Up in Alaska and read Jill's latest post.

We have a non-loser!

Our race on Saturday went off with only a few minor hitches, but ultimately was a good time.

Surprisingly, we finished not last, despite only three people in the boat rowing more often than four times a year.

We finished 24 of 30. That includes beating a few alumni boats (which is essentially what we are, although we're not alumni of any one school), and some college "B" boats. It's always gratifying to race against colleges or other clubs, most of whom are rowing every day, and (while still getting beaten by many of them) hold our own.

The weather was cruddy as expected: lots of rain and wind. That wasn't much of an issue for any of us though. Now that most of us aren't really involved in the goings-on of various boat clubs, we can just show up, rig the boat, race, put the boat on the trailer and leave. Rowing and rain are only a pain when you have to stand around all day. From leaving the parked car to driving away, we were in Philly for less than three hours.

Also, as expected, this race didn't end with me beating my Schuylkill demons, but I managed to throw some holy water on them and keep them at bay.

More rowing

I'm back in another boat this weekend. This time it's an eight with some old friends at the Head of the Schuylkill in Philly. This is the third year running that I've been signed up for a race at the Schuylkill when it was expected to rain. In '06 and '07, the regatta was cancelled. We'll see if the trend continues.

Interestingly enough, the event is now two days long. I suspect it's so they can put the odds in their favor and get at least some races down the course on one of the two days. A third cancelled regatta might mean the end of the event altogether.

A little-known (and little-interesting) fact about me is that I've only ever had one good race in Philly, and that's with eight years of rowing competitively and a handful of years rowing half-assedly. Since I'm in what my friend Ed calls our "crap-bag" eight this weekend, I don't expect this to be the year where all my dreams of Schuylkill glory come to fruition. Note, I expect to have fun, it just won't be anything close to resembling a good race.

One of many bad races on the Schuylkill. Where are the other boats? Either way ahead of us or crashed into a bridge behind us.

A (should-have-been-expected) blow to the ego

Sunday I confirmed that I no longer have the rowing fitness to hop in a boat with no practice and row two races in one day.

In the early afternoon, I rowed a 2- (that's one oar per person) with my friend Ian at the Head of the Passaic, a 2.5 mile race organized by my old rowing club. We finished in 19:55.

After a quick hamburger and re-rig of a boat, I was back in a 2x (two oars per person) with Ian for another go on the course. We finished that race in 19:53.

Normally, over that distance, rowers of equal ability should be minutes faster in a 2x compared to a 2- (and, since we were the same people in both, I assume we're equal).

At the end of the day, my shoulders were wiped out, my lower back was killing me, and my hands were ripped apart. It's probably likely that I haven't been fit enough to do two races a couple hours apart for years, but, since I haven't tried the double row for a few years, I could hold on the to dream that "I've still got it."

About the only things that were redeeming about both rows is that we beat our friends in the other 2- and I was recovered enough to do a MAP run test on Monday. So, I'm still fit. I'm just not rowing-fit. That's specificity for you.

Back at it

Sorry for the delay in posting, I was off doing stuff.

After doing that stuff, Hannah and I went up to the Adirondacks, which, despite being rainy almost the whole time, was a nice place to spend a week. It was full-on fall foliage, so even with the dreary sky, the scenery was great.

As a general rule, Hannah likes to go for nice, artsy shots.
Or, she takes pictures of me walking away.
I, on the other hand, had a burning desire to use the time-delay setting on the camera. A setting I clearly could not get a handle on. And the best attempt left me lobotomized.

There was one sunny day. Hannah got to bust out her new bike. And I got to ride very, very hard, while she effortlessly cruised farther and farther away on the climbs. I blame my old heavy road bike. And the hills. And my current (lack of) fitness. And that food-poisoning I got eight years ago.