I Cycle. A Lot.

Each time i head out on a ride i seem to not bring myself to come in as early as i used to.  My time in the saddle has gotten progressively longer and the distances i've been riding have steadily farther.

This evening i rode around for about 2 hours and covered 38 miles.

The second part of the ride was the new route for the Finger Lakes Triathlon.  I was training the old route until last week it was brought to my attention that it was changed.  Great right?  No more initial steep climb... oh, but wait... instead its a gradual few mile climb mixed with a healthy dose of vehicle exhaust.

Personally, i would have rather just hammered up the steep climb with no car exhaust than have to endure this new route with it.  

All in all it wasn't too bad.  I wasn't going too hard since i had already cycled about 20 miles, but overall i still managed to finish the route with an average speed of 18-19 mph.  I guess we'll see what happens.

- elevation chart of todays ride.

List of dead animals i saw on my ride today -

1. chipmunk

2. skunk

3. raccoon

4. cardinal

5. snake

6. weird little black and yellow bird.  i call it the Livestrong bird.

7. anna nicole smith  (what?!  too soon?)

Oh, and i broke the 700 mile mark for cycling since July.  I only needed a couple miles going into today... so now i'm looking forward to the 1,000 mile mark.  Could happen by the end of September!

Lifted earlier... wednesday is a day off from swimming, and running... well, i just ate dinner... i might just have to head out before my cycling tomorrow for a 10 miler or so.  Yes... i'm slacking on my running.  I did a 3 miler yesterday sub 19 minutes, so i'm not too worried.

Oh oh oh!  One story from my ride!

So i was nearing the end of my venture and i come to an intersection.  A car with an older woman who clearly should not have been driving was coming at me from the road to the left.  So i stop and wait for her to go by.  No turning signal, she stops in front of me and after about 15 seconds with no traffic anywhere, decided to make a left turn... which conveniently put her in front of me.

Followed her for about a quarter of a mile to a stop sign.  The only options were to turn left, go straight, or flip a bitch and go back the other way.  She signaled left... but went straight.  Ok... thats two strikes in my book in less than a half mile.  Maybe about 150 yards ahead we hit another stop sign.  Options : left or right.  She hits the signal... right it is.  WAIT!!  NO!!!  Surprise surprise she turns left.  

RIGHT SIGNAL FOR A LEFT TURN!

At this point i was in utter disbelief.  Deciding not to filter my inner thoughts, i said "wow, you've got to be F%$#ING kidding me!"  As she turned i saw her window was open.  Oops.  She looked back at me, i waved, and turned right to continue my ride.  Unreal.

So seriously... how do people like this get on the road?!  To think the most pressing issues on the top of police lists are (not in order of importance):

1. Front license plates (yes, we have to have one in NY.  Sucks.)

2. J-walking

3. Underage drinking

4. Drinking in parks

5. Cleaning up after your dogs in parks.

I really love how our resources are going to such worthwhile, life or death matters!

Swimming.

Finally started getting into the pool and swimming with the Masters team.  These workouts are just a tad more intense than the buoy to buoy swims in the lake I've been doing up until now.  I kinda miss those days of stopping to talk at each buoy and resting before swimming the next length.  

::sigh::

The workouts consist of 25 yard sprints, 50 yards, 100 yards, 125 yards, and 150 yard increments.  Ladder up, down, repeats, etc.  with only a few seconds of rest in between each set.  A far cry from the up to 5 minute "breaks" we'd take at the lake.  haha.

Tonight was the second workout i've been to and it is definitely getting easier.  

A lot easier.

Two days ago I was having problems catching my breath and my muscles were very fatigued.  I just wasn't use to such a fast pace workout without any rest.  It's nice to be pushed... since i wont have the opportunity to "rest" durning a race.

It's been a productive training week, not as much running as i had hoped to do, but i still have 3 more days before the week is over.  

More cycling, running and swimming tomorrow.

Brick.

Not a fan of them.  Alas, they are a necessary evil.

Cycled 30.1 easy miles today.  Came in at about 16 mph average and that was with 3 pretty big hill workouts (climbs) in there.  Legs felt good and could have easily kept going for a while longer.  The only thing was that it was mid to upper 80's and i could feel the heat coming up from the pavement.  

Got home, got a drink, changed into my running gear, did a quick #1 and off for a 3.5 miler.  Now, i've done a brick before, but none really serious.  I usually putter around and take at least 15 - 20 minutes between my bike and run when i'm training, or do the run first, or wait hours while i sit down, have 3-4 sandwiches and play a game of MLB 2K6 on xbox (i'm 31-7 as the Toronto Blue Jays right now.)

This "transition" was about 5 minutes tops.

The run was tough.  Hamstrings hurt and just felt like i ran out of gas.  Came in at 25:11 which is a 7:11 mile pace, but still not good enough.  

BLAST!

Just had dinner (mmm, pulled pork) and i'm heading to the pool in about an hour for 3,000 - 5,000 yards.  

The Finger Lakes Tri is coming up fast!

Crosswinds 5k.

I am the type of person that absolutely cannot get a stellar nights sleep before a race.  No matter how tired i am, i get so antsy and can't turn my brain of while thinking about difference scenarios and how the race will play out.  

That being said... i got 4 hours of sleep last night before the race, if that.

Up this morning at 7, even though i had been laying there for quite some time.  I feel like i was waking up every 5-10 minutes on my own, and although my alarm was set for 7 am, i hate that alarm clock sound so i just got up at 6:58 when i woke the latest time.

Moped around, got some fluid in me.  Felt hungry but resisted the temptation and decided to race this one without eating breakfast and only used the stored energy from dinner last night.  I knew it was a possibility that if i ate anything it might come right back up since the course was definitely harder than last week and i was feeling fatigued as hell.

Got to the race site at about 8am, registered, and the waiting began.  God i hate waiting.  It makes me even more anxious and antsy to get out there and run.  

While i was stretching, the only thing i could do was look around and scope out the competition... definitely a stronger group than in Philly.  A lot of high school and collegiate runners in their short shorts and running tank top gear.  I love being a sleeper in the crowd.  Out of no where i see an old friend from high school, Andy Crawford, who is insanely fast.  Of course, he was in my age group... welp... scratch winning my group.  

We got to talking and i asked him what his goal time was for today.  His nonchalant reply was "well, i'm coming off an injury, so if it feels good and i actually race it, i'll run it in around 16... but if i just treat this as a training run, maybe around 17."

Jesus.  Right.  Essentially what he was saying is that he will be showered, changed, and sat down to eat by the time i cross the line.  

As we line up for the start, i stay near Crawford thinking that i could probably hang with him for at least the first mile or so.  We muscled our way to the front of the starting group (always start where you plan on finishing, right Irial?) and off we went.  

Got off fast from the line and managed to secure myself in the lead pack.  Crawford passed me after about a half mile, but he was the only one to do so the entire race, so i was pretty happy with that.  Of course he kept going... and i knew there was no way i could keep pace with him.

He's a ridiculously strong runner.

Crossed the first mile marker in a time of 5:43.  Oh crap.  Out too fast... not good.  I knew it was going to be a struggle to keep a 6 minute mile pace from here on out and with the dreaded hill coming up between miles 2 and 3.1 ... i would be lucky to stay under 20 minutes.

From mile 1 - 2 it was a sharp downhill and flat, so it was a chance to rest a bit and just let the body go.  The first place guy was so far ahead, i couldn't see him, but i could still see Crawford (who was in a battle for 2nd with another guy,) that other guy, and an older man directly ahead of me.  I drafted off of him for about a half mile and then passed him at about mile 1.75.  My 2 mile split was 11:50, so i fell off my first mile pace a bit, but it was still under a 6 minute mile.

The end of the race was the hardest i've experienced in running.  All uphill.  My body kept telling me to "walk.  WALK DAMMIT!"  and it took all my willpower to shut off my brain and just enjoy the pain and go... one foot in front of the other.  

I could still see the 2nd -4th place people in front of me, but they were a minute ahead, and on the uphill, and nearly out of gas, catching them wasn't even on my agenda.  At this moment it was "alright nate, don't shut down and DON'T let anyone pass you."

The crowds along the streets helped a lot and there were a lot of people that i knew from high school and living in Canandaigua.  Old classmates, friends, teachers, etc.  It was great to see them all and the one constant reaction was "oh,  you're a runner?!"  

No, i'm not.  I'm a reformed soccer player.

Came into the finish area... lined on either side with cheering spectators and finally crossed.

19:11.  

5th overall.

3rd in my age group.

My goal was to get around 18 minutes and to win my age group, but considering the competition i had, the shape of my body after a hard week of training, and the difficulty of the course, i'm pretty happy with how things turned out.

I think i surprised a lot of people who didn't expect me to keep up with the big dogs... and thats just fuel for the fire.  I love to prove people wrong.

So there's still room for improvement... but at least i proved something to everyone and myself and that i am a force to be reckoned with.  I'll only get better and faster from here.

Oh, and i got a nifty engraved bronze medal too:) 

Oops. Race Tomorrow.

So yesterday i did mile repeats at the FLCC x-country course.  Essentially it's a speed workout where you try to keep a consistent mile speed, rest a couple minutes, and then repeat at the same pace 4 times.  

Splits:

Mile 1 - 6:01

Mile 2 - 5:54

Mile 3 - 6:02

Mile 4 - 6:07

I was going to do a hill workout afterwards but my hamstrings were tight and giving me problems over the last 2 miles.  Keep in mind these are X-COUNTRY splits... hills, grass, mulch, holes, etc ... so if my split times don't seem that fast, now you know why.

Today decided to go out and do an easy 7 miles.  Finished the first 3.5 in 23:09 and the overall 7 in a little over 50 minutes.  The second 3.5 i shut it down and just cruised, to the point where i could have a conversation while running.  Hamstrings again felt tight and i'm chalking that up to the intense workouts this week.

Now, I was planning on doing a 5k on Sunday, but when i got home, my brother informed me that no, we aren't doing the race on Sunday, but instead we're doing a 5k TOMORROW morning which gives me less than 12 hours to get rested and ready to run hard.  I usually like to have AT LEAST a day rest before a race, so this is going to be interesting.  Oops.

My time this past weekend was 21 minutes flat and that was getting caught up in traffic.  The winner of this race last year came in just shy of 18 minutes, so i'm hoping that i can latch on to one of the top guys as a pacer... because i know if i have to pace myself i will probably struggle as i will already be fatigued.

At the very least, i hope to win my age group.

We'll see how it goes!

Back to training after LIVESTRONG.

Yesterday i got back on the bike and decided to do a serious hill workout.  Cycled around for about 10 miles to warm up and then headed to Lincoln Hill (which is the first climb on the Finger Lakes Triathlon course.)

Measured the distance from bottom to top and it came out to be .7 miles.  Shorter than i had previously estimated.  I remember two years ago in the last Finger Lakes Tri that i participated in i did the climb in just over 5 minutes.  With that as my only benchmark, i went to work.

Did the first climb in a little over 3 minutes, coasted down, 2nd climb took about 2:50, coasted down, and the next 3 climbs were all shy of 3 minutes.  I'm going to do 2-3 serious hill workouts a week now in preparation of the race since i know that is where i lost a lot of time in the past.

Ended the session with another few miles and hard sprints around the old Primary School bus loop.  A few young girls decided to join me (no i did not get their numbers, they were too young... even for me,) and kept pulling off to the side when i was about to pass them, saying "you're fast Mr. Bicycle Man."

It was cute.  Just take my word for it.

The total mileage ended up being 25.1 miles.

Today the legs felt good... i was surprised they weren't sore from the climbs yesterday.  Sooo i decided to head out for a 10.2 mile run.  

It had been a few days since i last ran, so my legs were fresh (minus the minor cycling fatigue.)  Went out pretty fast and was able to hold the pace... actually, i was able to go stronger and faster from miles 5 - 10.2.  The route i take passes my house at about mile 6 and i sometimes stop to stretch and get some water, but i completely bypassed that and ran the distance all the way through.

About halfway in i set my goal to finish in 1:10 (1 hour 10 minutes,) which would put me under 7:00 per mile on average.  Unfortunately, i finished in 1:12:44 which put me at 7:07 per mile, but this was still about 7 minutes faster than my previous personal 10.2 mile best.

This is way under my needed 7:50 per mile pace (or so) to finish the Baltimore Marathon in a time where i win prize money.  For those of you that don't know, the Baltimore Marathon offers a cash purse for those who have never run a marathon before and finish the race in under 3:25.  So fingers crossed, i'll be getting paid on October 11th.

Right now my hamstrings are a little tight and my calves are hurting a bit, but hopefully a nights rest will cure that.  

Tomorrows workout agenda:

- 10.2 mile run in the morning

- Hill workout on the bike again (approx. 25 miles)

- 3.5 mile run in the afternoon

- Lifting: back and shoulders

- If i feel so inclined... swimming 5,000 yards between 8:30 - 10pm.

There's a race i may do this weekend thats fairly local... another 5k.  This one is a straight up race so i'm hoping i can latch on to someone faster than myself, have them pace me, and then beat them on the final kick.  I don't mean to toot my own horn, but my finishing kick is pretty ridiculous.  

Toot toot.

LIVESTRONG Weekend In Philly.

* Disclamer - This will be a long post.  So get your popcorn, put up your feet, and enjoy the ride.

Friday, August 22nd.

"oh, yeah... i'll be leaving Canandaigua around 1 pm and get into Philly around 6 at the latest!"

That was Nathan "last thursday" Rychlik.  When reality finally set in, I was on my way to Philly between 4 and 5 pm.  Saddled up in a little red convertible, bike in the back, gear in the front, with my ipod and 5 pieces of Orbitz Mojito chewing gum, 5 hours from my destination, the weekend began.

About 6 hours, 2 pieces of gum, every Gavin Degraw song ever released, and countless construction zones later, i finally arrived to good ole Philadelphia.  

It was great to see Eric and Adam, my generous hosts, and just plain weird to see Wendi waiting on their couch.  I felt like we should be back in Florence at Luna Rossa, listening Italian music and drinking a cappuccino.  Who am i kidding... it was great seeing her too :)

We all went out to dinner where i proceeded to be a glutton and eat a spinach artichoke dip, french onion soup, and a large burger and fries... still famished after downing it all.  

THREE CHEERS FOR A FAST METABOLISM!!!

Saturday August 23rd.

Slept in.  After loafing about for a while, Adam, Eric and I meandered to the race site to pick up our packets, shirts, and timing chips.  A trip that was supposed to only take a half hour or so took much longer and an hour + later, we arrived.  

Yadda yadda yadda...

Hours later we were at a restaurant eating enough food to feed a small country.  Back to the apartment for some olympics and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and asleep by, ohhh 2am.  

Sunday August 24th.  RACE DAY.

Up at 5 am... still full from the night before.  Despite that, managed to eat some oatmeal and a banana before we loaded up and headed to the race site.  I spent most of the ride with my ipod blasting and getting into the "Zone" if you will.  I was just antsy.  After working out every day and then taking 3 days off to rest of a race, I just wanted to run.

Even with having left some 90 minutes prior to race time, we barely made it by 7:30 am.  The logistics weren't exactly worked out by those in charge (good job Lance,) and parking was hard to come by.  Luckily, Adam has a PhD in parking, and he slid in nicely by a bus... risking that perhaps he would block it in.  Oops.

Walked to the race start line and waited.  Waited.  Waited some more.  After the 100 mile bike group, the 70 mile bike group, the 45 mile bike group, and nearly an hour after our scheduled start time, the race began.  Immediately there was a problem.  1,000 people crammed into a rather small space and a start that was not conducive to those faster runners to run to their potential.  I definitely got the short end of the stick.

Adam, Eric and I all started together well back in the pack.  Ducking, weaving, hurdling babies, soccer moms, and old women in wheel chairs, I tried to get clear of the slower people to get to where the race was.  So frustrating.  I spent more time on the grass than i did on the pavement during the first stretch.

My first mile was a mediocre 7 minutes and my mind got to thinking what could have been if I hadn't been held up for at least a minute and a half with the slower participants.  Continued to pass people and made it a point to never be passed myself. 

At least I achieved that goal.

No one passed me throughout the race and I ended up finishing with a time of 21 minutes flat.  Unbelievably, that was good enough to place me 12th out of 659.  The winner ran in with a time just 30 seconds faster than my personal best, and I think that if i had been running with someone to push me, i would have been able to win in the home stretch.  

Yes, i'm disappointed in my performance.

When i crossed i wasn't out of breath and had this "meh" feeling since i knew it was a lost cause from the start.  I guess its reassuring that a bad race of mine is still 21 minutes.

The whole team got together and we grabbed some lunch and beverages before the jaunt back to Philly.  Oh... and the post race provisions were provided by Pizza Hut and Michelob Ultra.  Weird.

The drive home was faster and the day culminated with a short hour nap and the drive back to New York.

Yeah... i kinda got sick of writing here at the end.

In summary:

LIVESTRONG 5k - COMPLETED

PLACE - 12th out of 659

FEELING - mediocre at best and can do better blindfolded hopping on one foot.

REALITY - pretty great that i finished that high, but it frustrates me when numerical results don't accurately represent what i'm capable of.

Next up: Finger Lakes Triathlon.