The Deadly Sport

This just in. Triathlons are deadly. Over twice as deadly as marathons. This latest study shows 15 out of one million participants will die in a triathlon. Usually during the swim. Check out this site to see the odds of other ways to die. It is a dangerous world out there. Better stay at home. Unless you slip and fall in the bathtub.

Day 88 of Ironman- Bike, 4.5 hours followed by a torture session with Erica, the Dominatrix.
Day 89- Long Run, 3 hours, bike, 1.5 hours

Spring has Sprung

Nothing better than a little Santa Barbara springtime. It is definitely a dog's life.

Day 86 of Ironman- core work at the gym, 30 min run
Day 87- Masters swim, 45 min run

My Tired Brain

Do you ever wonder why you feel like crap while exercising after a hard day at work? Is your body just tired or could it be something else? A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology studies the relationship of mental fatigue and exercise endurance. You can read a summary here while I go take a nap.

Day 84 of Ironman- Core work at the gym, 1:50 run, moderate pace
Day 85- Masters swim, Bike- Up to La Cumbre peak, keeping in aerobars a much as possible.

More Hoop Action

This is exactly why white guys should not try to jump.

Day 82 of Ironman- 6.5 hour bike, in the rain, cold, and wind.
Day 83- masters swim

Like a Rolling Cheese

Another crazy sport by those crazy Brits. I talked about Shin Kicking a while back, now here is another one- Cheese Rolling. The winner is the first to chase down a wheel of cheese rolled down a ridiculously steep hill. Breaking your neck is optional. Doesn't the Final Four seem rather boring now?

Day 77 of Ironman- Rest Day!
Day 78- masters swim
Day 79- 50 min run, moderately hard, core work at the gym, 1.5 hr bike
Day 80- masters swim, PM- 1:15 bike including 3x20 minute intervals holding increasing HR
Day 81- 5.5 hour bike, 30 minute run

Hydration

Dehydration is the bane of the endurance athlete. Unfortunately this is my cross to bear. I sweat. Not a little perspiration on the brow. I'm talking crazy sweat. Drenching head to toe kind of sweat. Just ask my running partners what I look like after a workout. With sweating comes dehydration. With dehydration comes cramping. I specialize in the simultaneous hammy and quad cramps. It makes running the marathon in an ironman race quite interesting. I am the Tin Man after a rain storm. Besides logging the miles to prepare for an ironman race, I train myself to drink. Thirsty or not. Cold or hot. So raise your glass with me. Have a drink.

Day 76 of Ironman- masters swim

Just Fix it

This is my fixey. I bought it a few years ago, a novelty to tootle around town. A fixey is a fixed gear bicycle. One gear. No free wheel. No coasting. To go, you spin. To stop, you stop spinning. A true fixey has no brakes, making it quite exciting if you find yourself careening towards on coming traffic. A fixey is not for the faint of heart. This is why I was quite surprised to find a fixey descending the Harris Grade at this weekend's Solvang Century. As I started my decent down this 6%, 2 mile stretch, I noticed a man furiously pumping his legs. As we approached 40 mph, his legs were a blur, an out of control egg beater. My God, I thought, he is on a fixey! I was mesmerized. Will he crash? Will his legs fall off leaving him a just a bloody torso? When we reached the flats, I pulled up beside him. "I salute you Mr. Fixey of the Solvang Century." That was the most impressive athletic feat I've seen in a while.

Day 70 of Ironman-2 hr bike, moderate effort
Day 71- AM, Masters swim
Day 72- run, 1 hour
Day 73- Masters swim
Day 74- Solvang Century, steady effort, followed by a 30 min run
Day 75- Run- 6 miles on track, 145 HR, 2 hour bike

In the Surf

These are not your average surf pictures. If you have a few minutes check out the work of photographer Clark Little. Clark makes his living spending time in the shore pounding surf and comes out with some incredible shots. Isn't the ocean wonderful.

Day 69 of Ironman- Day off, too pooped out!

It's in your genes

100 meter dash or marathoner. Would you DNA test your baby to see which sports they will excel? The test is available for $149 from Boulder based Atlas Sports Genetics. It seems to me this all seems to work out on its own. Isn't that all part of the fun and challenge of growing up? You don't need a DNA test for that. Now, I did have a DNA test preformed on my dog Lilo, but you are going to have to wait to hear the rest of that story.

Day 65 of Ironman- AM- 1:15 hr run, core work at the gym, PM- 1 hour run
Day 66- Masters Swim
Day 67- 4 hr bike
Day 68- brick- 4 hr bike, 1 hr run
I'm beat!

Li Wei

Chinese artist Li Wei does some pretty interesting work. He does not use any computer manipulation of his images. All his shots are accomplished with mirrors, hidden wires, and his athletic skill from being a former gymnast. You can check out his web site HERE.

Day 63 of Ironman- AM- Computrainer workout, 1:15 hr, including:
5 x 10-minute BIG GEAR intervals as such…
6-min @ 135HR @ 60RPM seated aero-bar “grinding”.
3-min @ 140HR @ 60RPM standing up pedaling.
1-min @ 150+HR @ 90-100RPM seated upright
Each 10-minute round is followed 2-minutes of soft-pedaling at 120> HR
PM: Core work at the gym, Masters Swim

Day 64- AM: Masters Swim, PM: Bike, 1hr, including 8x 20 seconds Tabata Sprints

Don't Judge Me

The now defunct Ameriquest Mortgage's tag line was "Don't Judge too quickly. We won't." I find that ironic considering their loose lending practices led to their untimely demise. They did however, make some pretty funny commercials, and everybody knows I like all things funny.

Day 62 of Ironman- AM- Masters swim, PM- 30 minute jog

To the Hills

It was off to the hills today for a quick run up to La Cumbre Peak. Maybe it wasn't so quick. I was out there for almost 5 hours! I followed it up with a short spin on the bike then a visit to Ericka, my massage therapist/dominatrix.

Day 58 of Ironman- AM- 1 hour hard tempo bike, core work at the gym, PM- 1:15 run
Day 59- AM- Masters swim, PM- 30 minute jog
Day 60- AM- 3 hour bike, pretty intense, 2 hr run
Day 61- AM- 5 hour run/hike, 1 hour bike spin