Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Humidity: A study of things that suck

I love summer. I love it. I love the longer days, the sun tans, the outdoor activities, trips to the beach. You name it, but what is really taking it out of me right now is this God-awful humidity. Temps in B'ham have been relatively mild, upper 80's and low 90's. Not bad, but with the humidity being what it is, fall and winter don't look that bad any more. For example, I went home last night and took my wife and daughter out for a walk. It was around 5:45 or so. Temp was 88, but the heat index was 99! There was no wind to speak of either. Not even a warm breeze.
Now the walk was tolerable, but let's now take that to triathlon. Being one that sweats easily anyway, the humidity is drawing fluid out of my system faster than I can replace it. I run with a fuel belt that allows me to carry two small bottles of fluid with me to help, but these last around 5 miles. Either I'm going to have to HTFU and start running with 4 bottles or I'm going to have to keep running into convenience stores to buy a drink during my run. I never mind the break, but the last I checked, they don't allow breaks during a race.
So far, majority of my training is done pre-work during the week so the temps aren't so bad and I'm able to rehydrate through out the day thanks to the work-sponsored bottles of Powerade Zero. Between that and green tea, I'm keeping our supplier busy.
This week is the 1/2 IM training race. As mentioned before, I'll be going in with tired legs per the plan. I'm interested to see how I will do especially with pacing and race planning. It's always a good idea to have a well developed race plan for nutrition and pacing. This weekend will help me determine what my limiters are and where I need to do some work. I'm going to bet that it's on the run, but hopefully a smart pace on the bike, will enable me to finish strong.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Getting Stronger and Sweating


If you haven't noticed, it's hot outside. Being in Alabama I'm reminded of that every time that I crack open a window or look at my power bill. Running the A/C is expensive, but oh so worth it. I was served with a hot steamy notice of Alabama heat and humidity this morning at 4:50 when I stepped outside and started sweating immediately. I hadn't even begun to strap on my Sidi cycling shoes or even push the first pedal.
Thursday morning is my day for being on the trainer. It's the best option for me in getting in a good steady ride before work without having to waste a lot of time getting out to open roads. My trainer is set up in my garage which is separate from the house and without any climate control unless you count the two windows and a stationary fan that blows in my general direction. I'm currently watching Season 4 of the 24 series. Jack Bauer is at it again and this time, not THIS time, all gloves are off. It seems that every season Jack goes rogue and does something that is supposed to shock us all, but it's only par for the course for Agent Bauer at this point. Any way, it's a great series to watch while on the trainer because something is always happening.
I'm really starting to see some gains in strength since the beginning of the year. I've got to tell you my body has really adapted well to the LSD verses the short fast and hard work that I started out with. This morning's workout involved 30 minutes of steady work, 2 X 12 minutes of out of the saddle climbing with 5 minutes of rest between, and then another 25 minutes or so of steady work. The floor was totally drenched with sweat, and I was done. Jack Bauer couldn't have come up with a more grueling act of torture.
No crazy news of speak of other than that. Life right now is good. I'm getting good mileage in on all three sports and each are coming along nicely. I have a race simulation coming up in a week and a half. Looking forward to putting all three together to see how I'm progressing. Lots of work to do before then as this week's schedule seems to be grueling. I won't have the freshest of legs for the simulation, but that's not the real point of it all.
Tailwinds to all...