Jordan Lake OWS Race Report

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Jeff

Sometimes, it’s good to just let the dogs run.  We had a really big training week last week, so this week was somewhat of a rest week.  Rest weeks are awesome because they’re mostly short, low volume workouts, with just a bit of intensity thrown in.  Midway through the week, I decided to sign up for the Jordan Lake Open Water Challenge(1 mile OWS).  I figured, what the heck…what’s the worst that could happen.

Glass

So, come Sunday morning at 7:30a.m, I was pretty much fully rested from a nice recovery week.  I had a short swim workout earlier in the week with some speed work, but nothing too taxing.  So, I figured, today seems like a good day for a PR.  I’m not sure what my previous PR was, but my last 1 mile OWS race was the Nuclear Swim at Harris Lake(2010, where I swam 00:30:56).  I’ve since sought out some swim advice and got schooled on a couple of occasions, to improve my technique and speed. 

The water was perfectly calm, and with uncharacteristically cool water temps(76F), wetsuits were legal.  Throw in some nice dry, low humidity, and conditions were perfect.  10 min before the start, I decided to see how fast I could swim 1 mile.  Just go all out.

The course was a simple rectangle, where you only need to worry about the placement of the red turn buoy’s.  All the yellow buoys were for general sighting purposes.  The course was pretty much 800yds out, then left for 200yds, then left and back in for 800yds.  As soon as the race started, I sprinted for about 200yds out in a direct line toward the red buoy.  I was trying to get my forearm vertical in the water and pull as much possible, almost like reaching forward to put a stake in the ground, and then pull.  About 500yds out I realized there was nobody near me.  What the heck?  I was on a direct line to the red buoy 300yds away.  I second guessed myself and sat up in the water for about 5 seconds.  Was this a clockwise loop(I was swimming counterclockwise)?  No, I’m right, go, go…the directions said keep the turn buoy on your left shoulder.  I dug back into the water and hammered toward the turn buoy.  100yds later, I remembered being here in a race 10yrs ago and seeing swimmers stand up in the middle of the swim to jog across a sandbar during a drought.  Maybe that’s why everyone was so far to my left.  You can see the tree in the water and the surrounding sandbar in the picture.  I was close enough that I was looking out for stumps and branches underwater. 

Course

Bam, I rolled over and through the first turn.  The next 200yds I tried to just stay in a rhythm, so that I could push the pace once I got through the next turn.  I rolled through the 2nd left turn buoy, and then tried to gradually pick it up for the last 800yds or so.  I could see 2 swimmers ahead of me(apparently there were also 2 more).  The closest swimmer was 10yds ahead of my inside left shoulder.  I kept pushing and pushing, and so did he.  I would kick harder, and he would kick harder.  I could not bridge the gap.  We both swam up to the end of the boat ramp where the timing mat was some 5-10yds away.  I ended up being 2 seconds behind him.  I finished with a new PR of 00:22:53, good enough for 1st in my AG, and 8th overall(I got chicked by 3 in the women’s race). 

Thanks to the folks at FS Series for organizing a great race.  Looking forward to next time!

Posted in Just for fun | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Weekend On The Anvil

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Jeff

We’re less than 70 days away from Ironman Mont-Tremblant.  This is the time of year where training on the weekend really matters.  The goal is to make it to race day with no regrets.  Have I done the best I could to get here?  You also can’t let it go overboard and consume you.  It’s a constant battle between making sure you’re doing enough and also not going overboard.  You have to put yourself in a bubble the last two months prior to an Ironman.  Any injury during this time can be a deal breaker.

bucket

Photo by: The Puzzler

We’re getting into some serious mileage on the weekends now.  The process is hot and draining. Sometimes the direction is not all that clear.  Trust the process. Trust your gut and your instincts. This will come together.

Friday:

Swim 70 minutes.  This was a continuous swim.  The good thing is that I didn’t have to count laps, sets, or anything like that, but the hard part is the continuous swim effort.  Don’t stop after 15 minutes to catch you breath or readjust your goggles longer than you really need to.  No hanging on the side of the pool at the 30 minute mark…just keep swimming.  That’s exactly how it will be on race day.  You will be out in the deep with nothing to hold on to, so it’s time to get comfortable with the discomfort.  Adjusting your goggles can be done while floating down the pool.  So I swam until the clock said 70 minutes.  This was actually a nice relaxing way to go into a Friday evening.  Total swim:  4125 yards. 

2091469749_5fe85ca358

Photo by: Elsie esq

Saturday:

Plan was to run 17 miles at the high end of zone 2 (140-145bpm).  We like to run at Umstead Park because there are endless trails, hills, and no concrete.  Plus, that’s where the cool runners run.  It’s June…it’s hot…and it’s only going to get hotter through August.  I really suffer in the heat and humidity.  I always have and likely always will(unless I figure out a way around it).  Suck it up.  There will be lots of folks racing IMMT that are training in places hotter than N.C. in the summer.   I did really well maintaining (140-145bpm) through nearly 10 miles.  I was able to hold under 9:30 pace, which is ok for a long run in June.  Then things started to get tough.  My pace started to slip back to 10 min pace, and my average HR for the last 7 miles was 153bmp.  It’s hillier on the way back in and the heat/humity was getting warmer as it approached midday.  I finally reached the last mile, which is straight uphill for 1 mile.  Every single long run ends this way.  It doesn’t matter if its 10 miles or 17 miles, the last mile always is tough.  By this point in the run, my HR is at 160bpm.  DO NOT WALK.  NO MATTER HOW BAD IT HURTS, YOU WILL NOT WALK THIS HILL.  I had to say this a couple times out loud as I was in a rough situation.  In the end, Total Run: 17:04 miles.

5249580870_b64a07d62a

Photo by derekskey

Sunday:

Bike 100 miles, in aerobic zone 2 (120-134).  Usually, I interpret this to mean 130-134bpm.  No matter how you slice it, 100 miles is a long way!  Lots of fluid and calories are needed, or it will not go well.  Lately, we’ve been doing the Cisco Routing Loop, as there is virtually no vehicle traffic on the weekends, and you can stash a cooler full of ice cold water and fruit in the car.  When I’m running low on fluid, I can just pull into the parking lot real quick and get everything that I need.  This week I packed a cooler full of ice water, oranges, apples, and EFS Liquid shots.   My mini goal was to hold 19mph for the duration.  I take the first 15 minutes easy on most rides, so this leaves me playing catch-up for the rest of the ride, but that’s ok.  I reached the 60 mile mark at 3:09:00, so I was at about 18.9mph avg.  Only 40 miles to go.  I’ve also been trying to push that last 10 miles of all my long rides.  I figure that since I have a rest day on Monday, I might as well take it to the edge on the last workout of a long week.  Leave nothing in the tank.  So from miles 90-100 I pushed the pace and my HR.  I averaged 20mph and 145bpm for the last 10 miles. Total Bike: 102.28 miles without having to put my foot down once for traffic…Beauty!!!  My legs are sufficiently toasted and ready for a recovery week.

How is everyone else’s training going?  What mind games do you play during your long workouts to keep you focused?

 

Posted in Ironman, Triathlon | Tagged , | Leave a comment

3 Mountain Madness

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Jeff

Early Saturday morning, Ann and I drove out towards Pilot Mountain, NC for the 3 Mountain Madness 75 miler.  We had scoped out the area last year after we had initially signed up for IMMT in hopes that it would be a good training ride.  Having been the second “Mountain” event we’ve done in the last month, I’m starting to realize that anything that has the words “Mountain Madness” in the name is not going to be an easy event. I’ve also noticed that these events draw a larger percentage of top cyclists and ink wearing m-dotters. 

IMGP2002

Once we arrived, we quickly got the bikes set up for the ride starting at 8a.m.  The starting location was at the Armfield Civic & Rec Center, located in town.  This was a really nice facility for such a remote area.  There was an 8 lane indoor pool, weight room, and plenty of showers.  How many charity rides have you been to that have hot showers available afterwards? 

IMGP2003

About 5 minutes prior to 8a.m. we rolled over to the start where there were 500 other cyclists corralled. We got in line near the back 1/3 of the group.  The plan was to go nice and easy, as we had just run 17 miles, 36 hours prior.  About 6 minutes into the ride, I heard a girl behind me say “wow, my legs are really trashed”.  I couldn’t help but burst out laughing, because it was like she was reading my mind.

IMGP2006

After getting settled, we rolled on, just taking in 1 roller after another.  I started thinking about the name 3 mountain madness.  I knew about the last 2 mountains, but I wasn’t sure about the 1st mountain climb. Had we already been through the 1st climb?  That last hill seemed kind of long, maybe that was it.  Hmmm, I wish I looked more closely at the route, I thought.  No more than 30 seconds later, I see a hard right hand turn with arrows pointed up a side road.  All I hear is CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK as I hear folks hastily trying to get out of their big gear and into there smallest climbing gear.  This first section of the 1st mountain was a ‘climb out of the saddle’ sort of grade.  Ok, so that cleared up any confusion about where the 1st Mountain begins.  It’s at about mile 18.5 on Sauratown Mountain Rd!  The climb itself was about 2.5 miles long, though prior to the climb is a steady 1-2 mile ascent(but not severe).  With the 11-28 cassette, this 1st climb was not too bad until you get to the halfway point.  There’s a section about halfway, that was pretty tough for me.  I had no more gears, so I was just standing up and mashing through it.  Finally, after reaching the top, the fun begins.  I love the downhill’s.  These really are exhilarating.  You can wind through the turns much faster than a car can as you lean in through the curves.  Today, I topped out at 42mph.   

Dawg

Between mountains, the ride is a gorgeous route through the rolling valley floor.  There is an occasional dog, though I think they had been run ragged by the time I rolled through.  One dog was so tired, he just laid on the side of the road.  The roads out here are incredibly well paved for the most part, with very little vehicle traffic.  Definitely a good bike route to come back to for training.

Eventually the ride takes you to Hanging Rock State Park for the 2nd mountain climb.  This climb is just shy of 2 miles up, and is probably the 2nd hardest of the 3 climbs. The first climb is the easiest, though also the longest, so pick your poison.  Once you get to the top of Hanging Rock, there was a nice little Aid Station, stocked with all kinds of treats.  I grabbed 2 chocolate chip cookies and a water bottle full of Gatorade as the 2nd climb just nearly tanked me.  Here’s the nice Lake in the sky from atop Hanging Rock.

IMGP2009

I should point out here that the volunteers for this event are top notch. All the Aid stations were well staffed with folks wanting to help you in any way possible.  The motorcycle support crew on the Goldwing motorcycles were awesome.  They held up traffic at all the intersections, so you never had to stop and put a foot down.  The route was clearly marked in all locations, so there was never any uncertainty about directions.  There was even a “Dog Ahead” sign on the road letting you know to be ready, and then an arrow pointing to the dog’s house as you approached….Classic!

The next 20 miles over to Pilot Mountain were great.  Lots of rolling pastures and wide open farmland, with Pilot Mountain looming in the distance.  I would add that we really lucked out this year with the weather.  The temps only reached about 80 degrees with very low humidity as a recent tropical depression had sucked all the moisture out the day before.  It felt perfect and cool.  80F in June, in NC is a gift!

Pilot

Eventually, you reach the entrance of Pilot Mountain State Park.  As I entered the park, the ranger wished me luck as I passed by and said “It’s all downhill from here”.  HaHa! Except for the uphill part, I shouted back.  This climb was different.  The volunteers at the bottom of this climb were clapping for anyone showing up to try.  This climb was no joke.  It was a very steep, nearly 2.5 mile climb. I was standing out of the saddle for most of the duration.  About 1/2 way up, I actually wasn’t sure if I could make it all the way.  I saw folks stopping on the side and even walking their bikes up.  I was climbing at about 4-6mph at about 15% grade.  That’s 12-13 min pace for all you runners.  Slow, real slow. 

Profile

Eventually, Blue took me all the way to the top and back to the bottom again without any issues.  After all was said and done, the ride was nearly 9000ft of climbing over 75miles of foothills. My legs were sufficiently trashed, but in a good way, hoping we can make it back again.  This is a really nice part of the state to ride, and I am glad we were able to make it this year.  Thanks again to all of those that helped put on this event.  Without volunteers, none of this would be possible!

 

Posted in Ironman, Just for fun | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mountain Madness 70.3 Race Report

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Jeff

This weekend was a learning experience. I learned that there is a difference between hills and mountains…And that Raleigh has neither hills nor mountains.  Ann and I traveled from Raleigh, NC to Ellijay, GA for the Mountain Madness 70.3.  We signed up for this this race because we thought it would be a good training race, before Mont-Tremblant in August.

This race was TOUGH! There was only one finisher that was under 5hrs. Most 70.3 races I’ve competed in in the past have had a handful of finishers that go sub 4:30:00.  This race was all about course maintenance and not running out of matches.

Swim:
The swim started with a dolphin jump over a yellow floating boom.  My plan was to get out fast for the first 200yds and then settle down.  I started on the inside.

Swim

After my first 200yds, I looked off to my right and didn’t seen anybody.  I looked forward and could only see 2 other swimmers! But they were gone about 20yds ahead.  I couldn’t bridge the gap.  I felt #4 drafting on my toes.  So, #4 and myself were in no man’s land between the first two swimmers and the rest of the field. The first turn buoy was 850yds out. We hit the first buoy where it was about a 130 degree turn.  For some reason I could not find the next turn buoy.  I looked and found swimmer #2 and could see that he had swam off course a bit. I couldn’t see #1, with the glare from the sun.  Finally #4 found the buoy and pointed it out so we could proceed.  Next, we hit the 2nd buoy and headed back to the swim finish. We were swimming directly into the glare of the sun rising over the tree line onto the water. #4 kicked it in the last 300yds to pass by me, so I ended up being 4th out of the water at 29:49, 2nd AG.

Bike:
After a quick transition, I hopped on the bike and heard someone announce there are now 4 bikes on the course.  I was on the pointy end of the race field.  This has never happened to me before…And it would not last either.  My HR was pegged at 170 as I left the transition area.  Immediately there is a ridiculous 12-15% grade for a 1/4 mile before it levels off to a manageable 5-8% grade for another 3/4 mile.  So, needless to say, it was about 20 min into the ride before my HR could start to come down. 

Eventually I got into my rhythm and just focused on keeping my HR steady between 135-140bpm, and taking in calories/fluid/electrolytes every 20 minutes or so.  There were quite a few rolling hills between the big climbs.  One after another they just keep coming, followed by short flat stretches.  Eventually, I reached the base of Fort Mountain and crossed the (KOM)timing mat, marking the start of a 6.5 mile climb. This climb was about 5.5 miles longer than the biggest hill I’ve ever ridden. I bought an 11-28 cassette for my wife and I about a month earlier(thanks to some good advice from the guys on Trifuel), and it proved to be a lifesaver.  I pretty much was in the 34-28 and 34-24 for the duration of the climb, to keep my HR under 150bpm. Higher than I wanted to be, but I was down to my last gear. Eventually, 45 minutes later I reached the top(yep, Avg 8mph). 

Ah, but the reward was so sweet!  The reward was 6.5 miles downhill, through winding mountain turns, carving through turns like I was on ice skates.  Having topped out at 43.5mph, I was back down the mountain in just under 10 minutes wishing I could do it all over again.  This was most fun I’ve had on a bike in a long time.

Once I got off the mountain, it was back to the business of keeping HR in check and taking in calories, electrolytes, and fluid.  Speaking of business and fluid, I had a nature call at mile 46 while on the bike without stopping(what, this is a race). 

Eventually, I reached the last big climb.  Actually it was the climb before the last big climb. Crap!!! Finally, the last climb, 3 more miles uphill(miles 51-54)…then another 3/4mile hill.  Just chill, I thought. Big tough run coming up.

Bike

Bike 03:25:53 17th AG. Elevation Gain: 3682ft!

Run:
Like the bike, the run starts with 1.4 mile straight up! Oddly, and I mean really oddly, I felt good to start off the run.  My legs didn’t feel toasted from the bike.  Which I could not say for most of the folks on the run. I saw lots of 1/2 ironman shuffles going on out there.  The course took part in state park recreation area that was also a neighborhood.  So the roads were narrow and the grade was steeper.  Steep enough to make you wonder if you’re better off walking up and steep enough that you can’t just let go on the downhill’s( or you’ll roll away). About half way through the first loop on the run I saw Ann(3rd wave), flying through a winding curve into the park towards the transition area less than a mile away.  Sweet! She had made it through the swim and bike, and was headed for the 13.1 and looking strong.

I pressed on, pushing through one hill after another(I counted 9), taking in EFS or Edurolytes, and water/cold sponges every mile like my life depended on it.  The heat, started to takes its toll on folks, as well as the fatigue from all of the hills.  Around mile 8, I switched over to Pepsi, water and cold sponges.  5 miles to go!  I tried to push harder and pick up the pace.  I picked it up from 9 min pace, down to 8:34 pace for the last 5 miles. It was all I could do today.  I saw Ann once again with her game face on, and I knew she was good to go! Finally, I reached the last 100yds downhill to the finish. 

Run

My run was 1:57:10 7th AG. Elevation Gain: 1109ft!

My overall time was 05:54:41. Not a PR by a longshot, but this was not a PR kind of course.  I feel like this was a well executed race. I didn’t blow up on the bike, and I actually ran exactly the same time for the 13.1 that I ran at Augusta 70.3 last year(which is a perfectly flat course).  So, I’m feeling much better about my current fitness level.

Ann threw down and finished 5th in her Age Group after only getting back into serious training for the past 3 months.  She has come a LONG WAY and I am proud of her for sticking with it through a really tough race.

Fort_Mountain

Thanks for Reading!

Posted in Ironman, Just for fun | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

3 Years in the Making

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Jeff

It’s been nearly 3 years since I started Jeff Greene.  I just noticed yesterday that I have had 50,076 visitors!  Holy moly, that is a lot more than I would have ever imagined.  Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you found what you were looking for.  If not, hopefully you were at least entertained momentarily. 

I thought this would be a good time to show the top 10 ways most folks stumble on my little corner of the internet.

  1. Spanning-tree Loop Troubleshooting and SafeGuards  7297 view(s)
    • If your network is designed correctly, you won’t need this. However, if you inherited a mess of a network this will help you.  If you ever find yourself in this worst-case situation, think of this as your get out of jail free card.
  2. Netdr  2762 view(s)
    • Onboard sniffer for the Catalyst 6500 w/ Sup720 (or Sup32), for the software switching path. 
  3. Sport Tracks Training Load Explained  2470 view(s)
    • Great for Endurance Athletes. The example is based off of my training in Sport Tracks, however the same concept and actually better tracking is available with Training Peaks. This helps you keep from doing too much volume, but also doing enough not to burn out.  Also good for tapering.
  4. So you want to Build your own CCIE Lab Rack  2251 view(s)
    • This is outdated and is no longer a valid representation of the actual lab.  Though it was fun putting together from scratch.
  5. High CPU on a Catalyst switch running IOS  1996 view(s)
    • Like #1 above, if you ever find yourself in this worst-case situation, this is gold.
  6. Kindle DX Review 1350 view(s)
    • Hmmm, I like my Kindle.  Though I bought it before the iPad came out.
  7. MPLS Layer 3 VPNs  1282 view(s)
    • This is a high level example intro to MPLS Layer 3 VPN’s. If you want to just scratch the surface, this will suffice. I just wanted to learn enough to be able to verify a few things and check myself.
  8. Training Logs for Triathletes  1028 view(s)
    • Hey, we’re all different.  Here’s a roundup of some of the more popular Training Logs. 
  9. Google Maps Bike Routing and your Garmin Forerunner 882 view(s)
    • Ok, you’ve got a Garmin Forerunner, and Google has a bike routing function.  Here’s a way to roll it up so you can follow a breadcrumb for those really long routes.
  10. I got bit by a dog…Now what?) | 718 view(s)
    • It’s like falling off a bike, or getting in a car accident.  It’s not really an “if”, but “when” it happens.  

I really like looking at the search terms that people use to find this site.

Ex:  “painting a metal roof in arizona” – Oddly enough, I’ve painted a metal roof and it was hotter than Arizona up there.

Ex:  “level sagging floors” – Been there, done that.  Do this in the winter if you don’t like snakes.

Thanks for Reading!

Posted in Just for fun | Leave a comment

The Outdoor Pool is Open!

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Jeff

At last!!! Finally the pool is open.  I’ve been waiting for the pool to finish being filled up, cleaned, and inspected for a couple weeks.  Finally, I saw a little tiny sign that said the outdoor pool is now open.  The first couple of weeks are great.  The water is crystal clear.  You can see all the way from one end to the other under water.  Fast forward a month or so, add in ridiculous amounts of sunblock, hair-gel, pee, people sweating, and  and you can hardly see the person in the lane beside you.  The more “stuff” you have in the pool, the more chlorine is required to negate said “stuff”.

I got to the pool Friday evening at about 5:30pm, peaked through the fence and saw the pool totally quiet…but open.

 

Saturday called for a 14 mile hilly run at Umstead Park.  Ann and I headed out at about 2pm to knock it out.  There’s something mentally different about 14 miles than 12 or 13.  I just have to think about it for a minute before I start.  The same holds true for 18miles and 22 miles….Weird.  This run called for a nice easy pace, but then push the last 2 miles.  The last mile at Umstead is always uphill, so it’s a good way to finish off a long run.

Run_Umstead

The horse flies and deer flies are HORRIBLE this year at Umstead.  They are relentless and can fly as fast as I can run.  If I slow down or stop, I will be fly bait.  It’s no use swatting at them, there’s just too many.  You’ll spend too much energy swatting and not have enough to get back to the parking lot.  They’re attracted to movement(like swatting and flailing) and carbon dioxide, both of which I am producing in large quantities while running at Umstead.  I guess that is one of the downsides of global warming.

Fast forward to Sunday, and the plan was to ride a hilly 65 miles, followed by a 30 minute run.  So, the trick with training for this year’s races is finding good hills.  We live about 300ft above sea level, and most hills top off at about 400ft above sea level.  So the training is not as simple as just riding your bike for several hours and calling it good.  We need to do hills on the bike, and lots of them.  And for now, that means a lot of time on the Computrainer.

IMGP1925

With the help of ERG video, we can ride the Ironman Mont-Tremblant course over and over to our hearts content.  Doing these courses on the trainer is really tough.  After a moderate first 45 minutes of light rollers, the real hills just keep coming at you one after another.  Some are long, some are short.  Some are gradual, and some are pretty steep, requiring you to stand up out of the saddle just to keep the pedals moving.  Today temps in the garage started out at a nice 69F and 69% humidity.  By the time we finished 3hrs 15min later, the garage was 77F and a sweltering 87% humidity.

So, with just 4 months to go until IMMT, things are looking pretty good. My fitness is steadily climbing(blue line), and I should be in Ironman shape in a month or 2, hopefully with some extra time to improve from last year.

PMC

Our first challenge is in 2 weeks, and I’m excited to race a 70.3 again.  And also, watch out female AG’ers 40-44.  Ann is back in the game and ready to roll!!!

 

Posted in Ironman | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

McAlpine Creek Park

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Jeff

It’s been a while since I’ve been back to my hometown of Matthews, NC.  This past Friday I went back for a funeral of a family relative.  I’m not usually one to stop and reminisce about the past, but Friday was one of those days.  I found myself in a suburb on the outskirts of Charlotte, hoping to find everything just as it always has been. 

Driving to the funeral home felt like I was totally in a different city.  I even had the GPS turned on to make sure I went to the correct location.  Where did all the green places go, I thought?  There’s so much traffic, so many stop lights, so many new shopping centers and apartments everywhere.  In reality, it’s not any busier than Raleigh, it just seems that way because it’s not as I remember it growing up as a teenager. 

I’ve been a runner pretty much all of my life.  I remember being able to run pretty much as far as I wanted…as long as I could make it back home by dark.  So after the funeral, I was kind of at a loss.  I needed to get back to Raleigh, but I also needed something that felt familiar. 

Two things popped into my mind that I knew would be the same.  McAlpine Park and Ted’s Restaurant.  I drove over to McAlpine Park for a nice long run.  I have run hundreds, if not a 1000 or more miles at McAlpine Park.  I know every inch of every trail, every curve, and every hill.  I have nothing but great memories of training and racing this special place. 

IMGP1914 

This is where the Wendy’s Invitational and Foot Locker Cross Country championships have been held since the beginning of time.  This called for a quick jaunt around the 5k course just for old times sake. 

5k_route

In my mind, this is quite possibly the greatest 5k course ever.  During a race everyone shoots straight off the starting line flat and fast for about 3/4 of a mile allowing the field to thin out.  Then it’s into the woods, where there are a series of tight turns, allowing you to always know how far ahead/behind you are(great for spectating as well). 

About 1.5 miles into it, there’s a short but steep hill that goes up and around, and back down the other side.  This is where the race can break apart. 

IMGP1896

Some will surge the uphill, but forget the downhill on the backside.  If you can hang on to the top of the hill, just let go on the down hill. It’s steep but not long.  Once you’re through that and still where you want to be, then the rest is all in your head.

IMGP1898

After clearing the woods, you can see those in front and behind you as you complete 1 lap around the lake.  Make note of how long it takes you to get to the spot where the person you’re trying to beat is.  As you reach the other side of the lake, it’s now back into the woods.  At this point, run like you stole something, because you’ve only got exactly 1 mile to go. 

Eventually, you’ll exit the woods, pass some soccer fields and have 1 lap around the lake again to get to the finish line.  The lake is just slightly bigger that your typical high school track(but not by much).  So if you have some quarter mile speed, this is the time to use it.

IMGP1901

After finishing the 5k loop, I had another 10 miles to go.  No worries, plenty of trails here.  I kept on right through the permanent finishers chute….

Track

As I reached the far end of the trail on left side of the picture above, I could not resist going back to check on my old school to take a lap around the track.  As I hopped across the creek I came upon the following scene.

unlocked

I walked up to the fence and couldn’t believe my eyes.  Everything was exactly the same….well, except that the track was now rubber surface, the football field was now turf, the stadium was concrete, there were about 10 more buildings, and there was now a lacrosse team practicing…What the…? I have to tell you, the last time I was here, there were barely enough kids to fill a soccer and football team at the same time.  Good to see things are going well. 

IMGP1907Loop

I couldn’t resist a quick jaunt around the track just to check things out.  What can I say? The gate was unlocked…

A short while later, I was done with a nice 13 mile run and ready to head back to Raleigh.  Lucky for me, Ted’s is still right next door to the park.

IMGP1920

Ted’s is still the same as it was 15-20 years ago too, which is nice.  It’s a place where you can get a burger, fries and a drink.  They don’t ask you if you want a frapplattewhat-the-heck-ever, or a biggie size.  It’s a locally owned place(probably by Ted), where they make you feel right at home.

With that, it was time to quit looking in the rear-view mirror and hit the highway back to Raleigh.  Until next time…

Thanks for Reading!

Posted in Just for fun | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Computrainer/Garmin Forerunner 910xt/ctANT+ Upgrades

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Jeff

During the offseason, I made a couple of badly needed upgrades to the trainer set-up in the garage.

Ideally, the folks at Computrainer want you to mount the controller on your handlebar.  However, this becomes one more thing to mess with when taking the bike outside.  Further, as you can see below, there’s really no room unless you mount it sideways on the aerobars.  So most folks end up making their own stand for the controller.  Our Computrainer stand badly needed replacing.  When we put this together I was so excited to just have the Computrainer, that we just kind of threw together a stand so it would be functional.  So we got two bricks from under the house…some duct tape…some scraps of wood…some more duct tape…you get the idea, until we had a wobbly mess with wires everywhere…though still functional.

IMGP1840_thumb2

Ah, but we can do better than that.  So, off to Lowe’s I went in search of all things PVC.  Really simple to use, easy to cut, plenty sturdy for our purposes.  You can also easily hide any cables inside the tubing.  Below, I present the Dually!

IMGP1846_thumb4

Next, I had to do something about the HR sensor on the Computrainer.  This was one of those wired HR old timey relic sensors from Polar that you just lay across the top of the bike to pick up your HR during workouts being transmitted from your Polar HR chest strap.  This was good for about one year, then we both had constantly frustrating issues.  The problem was dropouts.  This worked like a bad AT&T commercial.  You’re in the middle of the workout and your HR is reading something like 240 bpm or 53 bpm(or nothing), all of which are seriously unlikely at any time on the bike.  Further, I would rather keep my Garmin HR Monitor on instead of having to switch back and forth every time I ride inside on the trainer.

I did some digging around(actually about 6 months ago, but just getting around to testing it now).  Well apparently, somebody else was as frustrated as I was, so they just wrote their own software program to get around the whole problem.  Brilliant!  So, now you can toss your Polar dongle and instead use the ANT+ stick that came with your Garmin device. Download some nifty software from ctANT+ and you are set.  But, but, but…it gets better.  You can also “pair” your ANT+ enabled Cadence sensor and Power meter if you like. No more wires!  And no more cadence sensor set up every time you go from outside to inside.

nopoloarwirectANT_thumb3

The result, is accurate HR data from your Garmin, along with RPM and Watts still being fed to the Computrainer.

TP_2_29

Lastly….and finally, the new Garmin 910xt arrived!  I ordered this several months ago to replace the Garmin 310xt.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the 310xt, but I also love messing around with new gadgets:)  The main new feature that the 910xt provides that the 310xt doesn’t is the ability to count laps and swim strokes per lap while indoors/outdoors.  Awesome!  This may not seem like a big deal if you’re not a swimmer, but if you do lots of complicated swim workouts, this is a godsend in making sure exactly where you are in the workout.  Was that lap 78 or 74….Or was that my 5th or 6th 400?  After the workout, you can go back and look at the captured data to analyze.  By tracking your time per lap, along with the number of strokes per lap, you can determine your efficiency score(SWOLF) per interval throughout the workout.  So, the slower(more fatigued) you get, the more strokes it takes to get from one end to the other, thus a less efficient(higher SWOLF score) stroke.

2012-02-14_09-38-36_132

Thanks for reading!

Posted in Ironman, Running, Triathlon | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.” – Richard Bach

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Jeff

We are nearing the end of winter, and I would say, next to October, February is now my second favorite month.  The winter weather has been incredible(possibly 80F today?), and has really allowed me to enjoy training.  Typically in February it’s cold and rainy or just cold.  Every time I see that it’s 60’s or 70’s outside, I feel like I am wasting an opportunity if I ride indoors on the trainer.  This entire month we’ve been all over 60’s and 70’s F.  It’s been spectacular. 

So, one morning I got up early and mounted the Camera to the bike and set off toward Lake Johnson. Here’s the Vid.

So, Instead of dreading being on the trainer in the garage or on the treadmill at the gym, I’ve been outside and hitting the trails as much as possible. 

Anybody else taking advantage of the warm temps?

Posted in Ironman, Just for fun | Tagged , | Leave a comment

How to Fix Sagging Floors.

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Jeff

I was going to call this “How to Keep Your House from Falling Down”, but didn’t want to sound overly dramatic.  Back in the summer we were doing some work on the old family farm.  We noticed an area in the hallway that was sagging a bit, and seemed to be kind of week.  The Summer and Fall were pretty busy, so we just got around to investigating this more recently.  Actually the real reason is that fixing this requires crawling under the house, and there some humongous snakes that have been seen during the warmer months.  I hate snakes…unless I know where they are.

So Ann and I waited until this past weekend, when it was cold to go back down and check it out.  So we loaded up the truck with some 2x8x10’s and cinder blocks and headed back down on Sunday.

IMGP1786

Did I mention that I hate snakes? Anyway, under the house we went to find the source of the sagging floor.  The crawl space under the house is REALLY TIGHT.  There’s only about 18 inches of crawl space height to squirm around.  Notice below, there are only 4 bricks stacked up before the beam.  So I set out with a long rake trying to sweep away any leaves or critters that may get in the way.

IMGP1787

We pressed on like a pair of Chilean miners until we found the source of the sagging floor.  It was pretty obvious.  See the 2 joists below.  They were totally disintegrated by termites.  I could literally just push my pinky finger through these floor joist support beams.  Now, there are no active termites at the house, but the house was originally built in 1746, so at some point, there were termites.  Like I said before, now is just our time to take care of the place for while, so we do what we can.

IMGP1788

Typically, to correct this, you “sister‘” another joist to the faulty one to add support.  But in this situation, there was just no way to do this as the bad joist was just too far gone.  Instead, what we did, was take two 2x8x10’s and nail them together, creating a 4x8x10 beam.  Our plan was to use the cinder blocks as basically “new columns” for the “new beams”.

Then Ann came up with something brilliant!  The cinder block and wood beams weigh a ton, especially when dragging it under the house on your belly.  So she came up with the “cardboard shuttle system” to slide all the heavy stuff back and forth.  There’s basically 1 rope for under the house, and 1 rope coming out of the house.  The cardboard pad is to make sliding easer in the middle.  Ann loads the cinder block on the cardboard from outside the house, then I pull the rope from under the house.  I unload the cinder block, then Ann pulls the rope back from the outside to load another block on the cardboard.  Brilliant!!

IMGP1792

I’m sure Ann’s Dad is looking down laughing at all of our excessive uses of rope over the past year, but not as hard as I was laughing when I took this picture of Ann poking out from behind a cinder block. She’s 5’2”(and a half).

IMGP1793

Eventually, we were able to get all of the material and ourselves dragged under the house to make the repair.  We used a small car jack and 2 thinner cinder blocks to jack up each end of the ‘new joist’ so that we could move some larger cinder blocks into place as supports for the ‘new joist’.

IMGP1795p

Eventually, we were able to get two 4x8x10 beams installed like you see below with the ‘bad termite beam’ behind it.  We were able to use 2 cinder blocks and some smaller wood pieces as shims to get everything level and tight.

IMGP1796

The other important thing was not to raise the joist too much.  After all, you don’t want the floor to bow or create other problems like cracked walls.  We just made the floor level, so it doesn’t sag.  If the ground settles(and it likely will over time), then we can always go back and add more wood shims as needed. 

IMGP1801

Thanks for Reading!

Posted in How To | Tagged , , | 2 Comments