Take a look at this site if you wish to be scared so that you can’t sleep at night. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
http://chickswithstevebuscemeyes.tumblr.com/

Paris Hilton with Steve Buscemeyes.

Well I had plans to redeem myself after having a tough 90 mile ride last Friday. The ride today was 74 miles in my backyard and it was going to be flat and windy. I started strong, and was moving fairly well with the wind at my back. After skipping the first two rest stops I was getting ready to stop at the next one.

At mile 31 I heard a loud pop. I’d never heard the sound before but knew it was bad news. I pulled over and realized my tires weren’t flat but the rear one wouldn’t move. A ride marshal stopped to help me and he knew it was a broken spoke.

Game over.

With the MS150 ride to Austin next week, this wasn’t the final training ride I was hoping for. Hopefully that is the last bike issue for awhile.
You can view my ride data here. It was good while it lasted!
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/sw/42S24UNLQGZMDZ24TK4265S6HU

I just finished a great week of training. Total time logged was 12 hours, 13 minutes. The only change I’d make is mixing in a couple of (30 min) trainer rides in the evening. I had saddle sores from my ride last weekend so I laid off a little bit.

Monday – 1hr spin class focusing on hill training in the morning. 1200 meter swim at lunch time.
Tuesday – 5 mile treadmill run in the morning. 30 minute trainer ride in the aero position.
Wednesday – 2.5 mile swim in the morning.
Thursday – 5 mile treadmill run in the morning.
Friday – 1hr spin class, intense cardio in the morning. 1200 meter swim at lunch time.
Saturday – 71 mile bike ride, averaging 18mph. 2 rest stops along the course.
Sunday – 6.1 mile run (70 minutes) outside during the warmest part of the day (80 degrees)

I rode the Raven’s Revenge charity bike ride this past Saturday. This is the first time that I decided to give it a shot. I rode the 61 mile route. The route was hilly, the day was windy and the weather was perfect. The course rode along the I-45 feeder rode and then tucked into the Sam Houston state park. The route was the perfect mix of hills and scenic flats. The volunteers at the rest stop were very friendly and well stocked. An announcement was made at the start apologizing for the lack of port-o-pottys. Evidently the ride had a large increase of riders this year from the past years.

Despite being around 90 miles away, I plan on adding this ride to my yearly MS150 work. A lot of the day was tougher than the first day of the MS150 ride. Great work in March to prepare for April (and May!).

I rode in the Continental Airlines Cycling Classic this weekend. It is my favorite organized ride. The course it tough, the rest stops are well supported, and the volunteers always bring a lot of energy. In addition to all of that, this ride has always been my litmus test for the MS150. I’ve always said, if you can do the 67 mile route, you can do the MS150 ride.

I’ve participated in this ride four or five times through the years and rode it last year. Well last year it didn’t go well. I’ve always been a back of the pack rider but even for me I was slow. My body was hurting and I was just plum worn out. I remember thinking last year “when will this hell end”. I stopped at every rest stop and by the time I finished, the free lunch crew that is promised was long gone. The parking lot looked like a wasteland.

What a difference a year makes! Same ride, same route, new bike, new body. I averaged 5mph faster over the course of the ride and including time spent on the rest stops I shaved almost three hours off my time. Heck I shaved 90 minutes off my riding time. I was tired at the end, but I had more in the tank. My watch that grades my workout effort gave me a 2.2. Basically it said, you barely worked out and I didn’t come close to improving my cardio fitness.

Posted below are the numbers from my watch and gps unit from this year and last year. Sometimes the scale doesn’t move enough, and the daily diet grind feels like it is going on forever. Waking up at 4:30am almost every day sucks. Showering at the gym more than I do at home is weird. But the numbers below make it all worth it.

I just bumped into this on youtube. Still funny. Rick James was the original Charlie Sheen.

Part Two.

My wife is awesome. Not for what she does, but for who she is. In addition to all of that, she is also very supportive of my Ironman goal. My morning started like most do, 4:30am alarm screaming at me to get up and go workout. After moving through my get ready for the gym routine, what do I see on counter but a card and a Reese’s candy. My first thought was how sweet, next came how dare she. She knows this is my favorite junk food and one of my big weaknesses. In her words, just have one, then get back on ball. Well I can’t do that. I like them by the bushel so I left the candy, and took the card. The card mentioned be on the lookout for something else.

So I get a call later in the morning that I had a special delivery. I go downstairs expecting flowers (BORING!) and see what is the best Valentine gift ever…for a triathlete. It is a Clif Bar bouquet with a new flavor (white chocolate macadamia nut) I had just discovered this past weekend and loved so much. It was the talk of the office and the best Valentine (food) gift I have ever received.

Thanks babe.

Yesterday I ran the Houston Half Marathon. It went well considering it was warm, and a little rainy most of the time. The crowds still turned out so that helped a bunch. My ankle is giving me some problems today which is really odd since it hasn’t bothered me at all during my training. I think I might have jarred it funny when I went to dodge a water puddle. Regardless, I didn’t let it affect my time. I set out to run a smooth easy pace race and I did just that.

I told my wife, the engine was fine throughout the race, but the frame had some issues
I didn’t max out my heart-rate or even go near it until the end when I was energized by all the people calling my name and by the number of people I was passing.

Later I got to see my friend Kevin finish his first marathon and he was great seeing him finish so strongly.

Earlier in the week I had the pleasure of attending the katyfit dinner as the guest of Robert Key who was the evenings motivational speaker. It was a great pre-race speech and a much needed reminder that I am blessed to be able to do what I do. During the 1/2 marathon I made a point to keep a smile on my face and I pointed at and acknowledge everyone who cheered me on my saying my name.

Yesterday I had a new addition to my team of people and businesses. My workouts are going ok, but my weight-loss has leveled out. So a couple of weeks ago I started looking for a nutritionist. Lucky for me my friend Kevin had a recommendation for me; Catherine Kruppa. Kevin has mentioned her in the past as a highly regarded nutritionist who was also an athlete.

The first meeting went awesome. After a round of questions she had for me, I knew I was at the right place when she said, well our primary goal is to get you to finish Ironman Texas. I thought hell yeah it is.

Special thanks to my lovely wife who gave me for Christmas anything I needed to help me make my Ironman goal.