Never Miss a Beat...

I couldn't embed the official video for this song because embedding was disabled.

When it comes to training, I've missed a lot of beats lately. I haven't been putting in many hours and it's starting to show. Easy workouts aren't so easy anymore. But I did get out for a 6.25 mile run in a winter wonderland the other day...


After the first of the year, I'll get back into it a bit more. I've still got about 10 months to train for the Great Floridian so there's plenty of time. Plus I should get in some good training next week....maybe even a few outdoor miles on my bike.

In the meantime, more music....

Last Man Standing

Can't get this song out of my head...

A hell that cannot be described...

My snowshoes arrived yesterday, and so did the snow. We got 10 inches last night....or something like that. I don't know. It doesn't matter. It was a lot, and it's starting to look a lot like last year. It's not even officially winter yet and people already have to dig out their mailboxes.

I figured today would be a good day to go for my first snowshoe run.



I went across the street at lunch and ran through the golf course. I learned quickly that ten inches of light, fluffy snow is not the best for snowshoe running. Even with snowshoes, I was sinking 6-12 inches. Each step was hard work. My heartrate was instantly up to 95% of max and my legs hurt and I couldn't breathe. And that was the first tenth of a mile. It got worse from there, and I had to walk quite a bit to get my heartrate down. Plus they fling a lot of snow in the air and I was soaked. My feet were cold because my snowshoe shoes haven't arrived yet and I don't have gaiters.

All total I only did 1.25 miles in about 20 minutes. I've never felt so weak and out of shape. But I think I might head out again tomorrow.

I wasn't the only one snowshoeing today.

Snow Run Run

We've had a little bit of snow this year, but not much. Today was our first real blast of snow. They're talking about maybe 10 inches total....

...with more on the way later in the week. It's starting to look a lot like last year. I'm learning to enjoy the snow, but I'm not sure I'm ready to set another record.

Like last winter, I refuse to let the snow keep me from running at lunch. In fact, my favorite lunch runs usually occur in the snow. It's peaceful. Just me and the crunching of snow beneath my feet.



I got out before the plows came through so I had to run about a half mile in a few inches of fresh powder. It was fun, and I was a little disappointed when I got to where they had plowed.

The "Mike is an idiot" Indoor Time Trial

Today was the first of 4 indoor time trials at SBR Coaching. I did them last year and they were good training so I signed up for the series again this year. I didn't really have any expectations for this one since I've been sick all week and haven't worked out in 6 days, but I thought it would be good to get an idea where I'm at right now so I can gauge how my winter training is going.

Based on my past TTs, I figured I could average 275-320 watts for a 10K. Last year I averaged 277 for the first TT and averaged about 310 for the 4th TT. 275, even with a cold, seemed reasonable. If I came in a little lower, no big deal, but last year was 277 and I've ridden about 1,000 miles more this year and have done a lot more TTs.

I averaged 248 watts. And you can see by the chart, it was a steady decline the whole time.

My HR was really high and I couldn't breathe. I figured part of that was my cold, and the other part is me being used to riding outdoors in the cold weather instead of indoors sweating like a pig. So I probably overheated a bit...

But 248?

It doesn't seem right. Sure, I've had a cold and haven't ridden in a week, but I just averaged 233 watts for 56 miles a few weeks ago. And I've been putting in some killer fixie rides. You'll lose fitness with a week off, but not that much. Plus my legs were well rested so I should've had some strength, but I felt weak.

When I got home and was wheeling my bike upstairs, I heard a rubbing sound coming from the rear wheel. I checked it out, and my rear brake was rubbing. When I changed my tired and put my rear wheel back on, I didn't get it on straight so it had a little wobble and was rubbing against the rear brake. Smooth.

I don't know how many watts that cost me, but I'm hoping about 30.

Not only do I feel like an idiot, but I'm frustrated because I wanted this ride to give me a good idea where I'm at right now fitness-wise. These races are just training days for me so I don't really care how I do in the standings, but I hate not getting accurate wattage info.

I did get in a good workout, though, so that's something. I'm hoping it doesn't affect my cold since I'm starting to get over it and expect I'll be 100% in a few days (it's lingering...it's one of those).

I guess I'll have to do an indoor TT at home next week.

The Great Gay Grand Floridian

I'm not sure why, but I did it. I signed up for the Great Floridian Triathlon next October. When I told Dennis, I expected him to tell me I was stupid or a slow learner or something like that. What I got was something a little different.

"Well, that sounds gay."

"Gay?"

"Yeah. So instead of saying you're an Ironman when you cross the finish line do they say 'Congratulations, you're a Grand Floridian."

"No, it's Great Floridian."

"Oh....still sounds a little gay."

Great. So now when I train for this I'll have that in the back of my mind. Instead of 10 months of hard work so I can call myself an Ironman, I get 10 months of hard work so I can claim to be a Great Gay Grand Floridian....not that there's anything wrong with that.