The Human Side of Triathlon

These are a few pictures from some races I've been to this year. I hope you enjoy them.

9.69!!!!

"Holy Lightning Bolts, Batman!" Ok I'm just going to say it. The men's 100m sprint was nothing short of phenomenal. I have never seen a human being move so fast and make it look so EASY. Jeez. I'm still watching the clips over and I still can't seem to get my head around it.

I have seen the future of speed. and his name is Usain Bolt. That is all. Though you can find some info here in case you missed it.

Thoughts About P90X 11 Months Later

So a lot of folks have been looking at my P90X posts this summer and for the most part I think if you take the time to look through them they speak for themselves but I thought I'd offer my take on the program now and give some input on which posts about my experience I thought might offer the most information.

I suppose one thing I'd want to know right off the bat is how is my weight/fitness now? When I started the P90X program in September 2007 I had already lost about 10 pounds and my weight at that point I was 164 pounds. Now I weigh 154 pounds. Aside from losing the weight and being able to keep it off, P90X allowed me to get back into triathlon training and racing faster than if I'd not used the program. I was not only able to build strength but I was also able to build my base endurance up in the process. P90X is also very, very core intensive. For this reason if you look around the internet you will see not only dramatic changes in weight but also huge changes in posture. Personally for the better posture alone P90X is more than worth the money and effort you will put into it if you chose to purchase the program and use it.

The nutrition plan that comes in the program is also very sound and well thought out. If you take the time to study it and adjust it to your personal needs and situation, you will find this is where your most visible results will come quickly. Without the diet you will get much stronger, but chances are you won't see the visual results P90X is so famous for. I also believe how we choose to eat affects not only how we look in the mirror, but how we ultimately think and behave. When we eat better, we are better.

Currently I still use the P90X workouts 2-3 times a week depending on time, timing (am I racing that weekend), and fitness goals. The workout is portable if you have a set of resistance bands. This summer I used P90X to stay in shape while on trips to California and Washington D.C. I plan to use the full 90 day program again during my off season. Where I decide to position it will depend on if I also plan to use the P90X + program in addition to P90X or not.

Finally, I found the results I got varied depending on whether I was using the resistance bands or the weights. The bands, I think give a type of strength that is present throughout the full range of motion of the exercise. You will look toned. The dumbbells will give you a higher top end strength wise and you will get more definition more quickly.

If you just want a quick overview of how the program is structured check out these two links:
Week 1

Week 1 Caveat

If you just want to know how the story ended, check out this link:
Final Thoughts on P90x

If you want to see pictures of what I look like now compared to what I looked like when I started, check out this link:What I look like now.

OK...

So this week just can't get any worse can it??? You saw my previous post about my computer, the one that hooks up to my Tacx and has all of my photos on it. Well it still isn't working.

Then there are the $90.00 running shoes I just bought this week that I discovered I couldn't run in yesterday. Yep, 30 minutes into an hour run there was PAIN shooting up my right leg. I had to walk back to my car. If I had any wits about me I would have phoned in the rest of my planned workouts for this weekend. But no, I had a 5 hour hilly bike ride scheduled for today, the Dam Loop plus Limecreek road (home of the Triple Bitch climb - trust me you don't want to know) then back home on 360. Brutal, hilly and hot. But like some famous blogger named Chuck says, "Miles make champions."

Well 2:15 into the ride, right a the foot of said Triple Bitch the entire drive train on my road bike explodes into a gazillion pieces. I kid you not. My rear derailleur was in pieces all over the road. My front derailleur, what was left of it, was lodged in between my large and small chainrings. I had to call Du Shun for a ride home. Thank God I forgot to text him last night or he might have been on the ride with me. 40 miles is a long walk in cycling shoes... I thought about swimming later but decided to stay home in the house where I'm safe. Right now I don't think I should go anywhere near the water given the week I'm having.

My Computer Is Dead.

So I raced this weekend. There are pictures. There is a story to be told. Why am I not telling it, you ask? Why are there no pictures? Well it is because of some freakish glitch in the video drivers on my desktop computer. The computer that has the nice monitor I use to view and choose the photos I post on this blog.

Somehow I've managed to corrupt the video drivers each time I've rebuilt the system from scratch and each time, I completely lose video output and wind up staring at a blank screen. So you might be asking yourself why is this on my blog? And you might also wonder why it matters and what it would have to do with my working out? So what if there are no pictures, you say. And indeed a good argument could be made that pictures on a blog devoted to training and triathlon aren't necessary.

But I have a reason to be at least somewhat concerned by this. Not only was this the computer that I kept my video and my blog pictures on. This was also the computer that I attach to my Tacx bike trainer. Not to mention it is the only Microsoft Windows system I have (everything else, including the homebrew PVR attached to the TV downstairs is some flavor of Linux or BSD). This means it also has all my iTunes music as well. Blah, blah, blah.... You get the picture. I sort of need to have this thing running.

Of course all the files are backed up and I do have access to the pictures, but that isn't the point. The point is I don't like it when something I built isn't working. Everything sort of stops for me until I get it working again. So today, instead of going to the gym and working out, what was I doing? I was trying to rebuild the desktop. Nothing worked. At least nothing that provided me with video output. So I'm stuck with having to work some major MS-fu to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Got all that? So anyway that's why I raced this weekend. And there are no pictures. And I haven't blogged.

So Today...

I'm back in Austin and working out. It doesn't get any better than this. I follow my routine no matter what so, today that meant a tempo ride on the bike at my planned 70.3 pace and effort. I was supposed to ride for an hour and a half but I don't think I'm fully recovered from my trip related stress so I stopped at an hour and five minutes. I didn't feel bad per se, but I could feel the stirrings of leg cramps which says to me my diet in D.C. was less than optimal. That is no surprise. While I was in the nation's capital I noticed that though there was an impressive array of restaurants, the quality of the food wasn't what I was used to finding at home or in the Bay Area. So I was forced to make some compromises concerning both the quality and the quantity of the food I chose to eat. Add to that the stress of air travel and you have a formula for an injury if you aren't careful. Plus I hadn't been on my bike in almost 10 days.

But while I was riding I felt stronger as far as the effort I was able to maintain. I think this was evidenced by the heart rate numbers I was seeing. I was able to keep an average pace of 20.5 mph with an average heart rate of 150. This is about 7 beats lower than the last time I did this tempo workout and it was about 5 degrees hotter. So I'm not complaining. I'm pretty sure it was all the walking and hills and in D.C. that did it. I guess I need to thank Marci and Ryan from Salt Lake City for running me into the pavement for this improved fitness. "Thanks guys. You rock!"

After my ride I made it down to Jack and Adams to pick up my packet for the race this weekend. I just want to say, when you have good swag, you almost assure yourself of your race filling up. Jack's Generic has good swag. Decent tee shirt, cool SweatVac running cap, and organic coffee. Sweet!