SalsMiles2

A white deer, famous for living at the Seneca Army Depot, near the Musselman course. Photo taken by Lou Katz. On Friday Jan and I rode the new Musselman bike course. We found the first 8 miles or so to be a gradual incline, nothing horrible, just a grind. Once we turned on to route 414 though, it was great. We averaged around 21 mph for 8 miles. When you hit route 89, along Cayuga Lake, the course heads south, instead of north as previously. The right turn from 89 to Swick road, near an Amish furniture market, is tough. It is a heart pounding long, steep climb up Swick. The course is fairly flat after that, a few little inclines, but nothing severe. Once you hit 96a there is a long (2 mile?) downhill that is sweet, heading back to Seneca Lake. Eventually you end up in Sampson State park, riding through there for a few miles. We found the roads in park rough, so be ready for those bumps. Then it's just 10-12 miles along East Lake road to the finish. A few gentle climbs, but nothin...

Last week a friend was in a group ride when a dog came racing across the road. The bike rider tried to avoid the dog and ended up crashing. The rider ended up being airlifted to the hospital. Fortunately he "only" suffered a mild concussion, losing about two days of memory and has cuts and bruises on his legs and arms. He was wearing a helmet, which obviously saved him from further injuries. Always wear your helmet when riding! Unfortunately the dog owner did not get beat up by the rest of the riders, as he/she deserved. Coincidentally the D&C ran an article on 6/25/08 about bicycle safety. It was written by Kevin Williams from the Chicago Tribune. I will summarize his eight tips: 1. Do everything in a safe, defensive manner, obey all traffic laws, use signals, don't rush through the light as soon as it turns green (lots of cars run red lights). 2. Don't zip between cars, ride the wrong way on a one way street, or ride on crowded sidewalks. 3.Be smooth and predic...

Jan's easy three day weekend began Friday with 3,000 meters in the pool. Saturday we rode mountain bikes about 10 miles to the Lifetime Assitance Airport 5k. I was a road marshal at the end of a runway (the entire race takes place on runways at the Rochester Airport) and Jan ran a 24 minute 5k. She finished 2nd in her age group, good enough for a $15 TGI Fridays certificate. I like it when she races and I get to eat for free. We biked home with a gaggle of people, taking a slightly longer route of 12.5 miles. On Sunday Jan, MW, Lou and Eileen rode 41 miles through some of our local villages. Rumor has it that MW set a pr for mileage ridden at one time and whinage while biking.

Let's figure this out. Last weekend, in three days, Jan swam 2+ miles in open water (IM is 2.4m), ran 21 miles (IM is 26.2m) and biked 130 miles (IM is 112m). The last few days she has been sluggish, easily frustrated and sleepy. Hmmm. Here are a few signs of overtraining and what to do about it: One of the first symptoms of overtraining is fatigue. While fatigue is a normal part of hard training, when it persists for days after a hard workout despite sufficient recovery, it's an indication that adaptation to the higher workload is not occurring. Instead, the body is experiencing catabolism, or breakdown. Some other symptoms that often accompany fatigue are a decrease in performance, muscle soreness, difficulty sleeping, elevated resting heart rate, and emotional instability. Physical • Frequent injuries • Trouble sleeping • Anxiety, irritability, moodiness • Loss of appetite • Unintended weight loss • Elevated resting pulse rate and body temperature • Persistent muscle sorenes...

Saturday Jan ran 16 miles solo, then lifted weights, then biked five miles indoors to "loosen" her legs. I ran five miles, my legs felt like crap, so I laid on the couch. Sunday Jan and I biked the Seven Villages route. It was a beautiful day to ride. Some nice features of this route are; bathroom at Churchville Park, bakery in Bergen, bathrooms and resupply at convenient stores in Holley, Kendall, Hamlin and Brockport. It is also a flat to rolling course making it a good one for the first century ride, which can be difficult enough without unnecessary hills. I completed 78 miles, 17 more than my furthest ride this year. Jan continued riding, back past Bergen, to get her 100 miles, where I picked her up at a family get-together. A word of advice, if you are ever sitting on a riding lawn mower in Birmingham, Alabama (and who wouldn't want to be?), watch out for the bees. Apparently bees in Alabama like to sting butts, even ones sitting down. This is why I pay high taxes ...

Quick, what do these four things have in common? Riding the FingerLakes Triathlon bike route on Friday morning, Jan, Dick and I found out. The storm blew in from the furthest we could have been from our starting point. Riding in rain is one thing, riding in thunder and lightning not my cup of tea. Through Dick's glasses (he has this neat pair with wipers on them just for days like this) he spotted steam from coffee brewing in a small country store in Rushville, which happens to be the only store in Rushville. Turns out they sell animal feed, garden supplies, hardware, gasoline, have a public restroom, and a coffee bar surrounds the check out counter! It was awesome. We hid for 45 minutes or so until the storm passed, drinking enough coffee to make it up the mountain you have to climb to get out of the village. Once back in Canandaigua Dick and Jan ran for awhile, then we all donned wet suits and swam in the 70 degree water, which was a good way to end the reverse tri day.

Friday Jan and I are taking the day off from work (as Augie, Jan's "unofficial" coach-meaning he tells her what to do but doesn't get any money-used to do) and traveling to Canandaigua Lake. Because of my concern with bonking in the predicted heat/humidity for tomorrow, we are doing the FingerLakes Triathlon in reverse order. We will bike the 25 mile course, then run, then jump in the lake so I can flounder for a mile and Jan can swim like a dolphin for a couple of miles. Saturday morning Jan will be doing a long run of 15 miles or so and maybe biking 20-30 miles. Sunday morning we are leaving Spencerport early and driving back to Geneva. Seems the Musselman race organizers changed the course. The plan is to bike the new course, then bike the sprint course, and continue for a total of 100 miles. Hopefully the weather cooperates so one of us doesn't die in the heat. Can't imagine which one of us that might happen to. So, if anyone wants to join us, call. If y...

Friday night was a 3000 meter swim in the pool. Saturday Lou, Eileen, Jan and I traveled to Geneva again to ride the Musselman 1/2 Ironman course. It was 78 degrees when we left Seneca State park by 8am. Riding along East Lake road was nice, as always, with a "cooling" breeze helping a bit. Riding on rt. 414 Eileen and I were doing 20-21mph, it was great, Lou wasn't far behind, but we couldn't catch Jan, who stayed 1/4mile or more ahead for the 10 miles into Ovid. By the time we reached the town of Ovid and stopped for water refills, the temperature was near 90. By 40 miles I was cooked. It was a struggle to keep the pedals moving as we headed back to Geneva, into a strong wind and rising temperatures. I think we all got a bit dehydrated. Jan ran for 10 minutes, Lou for about 5 and Eileen a few. I rested. Our overall pace was pretty good, but I definitely held the group back in the last dozen miles or so. Figured out I had 24-30 ounces of Heed, 90 ounces of water, 4 ...

Local Rochester, NY triathlete Dennis Moriarty is competing in Vancouver, British Columbia this weekend in the ITU Olympic Distance race. Dennis is considered a favorite to win in the men's 50+ age group. Moriarty has won many triathlons in the New York area over his 20+ year career, including 6x at the Hamlin Beach/Shoreline triathlon. In 2002 he was named Honorable mention USAT age group triathlete of the year. There is a link on the RATS homepage to an interesting interview with Dennis.

Quick summary of Jan's Friday-Sunday workouts: Friday - 40 mile bike ride, 7 mile run, 2500m swim. Saturday - 20 mile bike ride, 20 minute run Sunday - 5k race in 24:10, 80 mile bike ride Sunday night - fall asleep on the couch by 9pm.

After racing at the Temple Beth El 5k Sunday morning, Jan and I went on an eighty mile bike ride. At least it was planned to be an 80 mile ride. Evidently I ran over some glass about 12 miles into the ride. Rear tire went flat 3 miles later. Jan and I (mainly Jan) managed to change the tire and we headed off. Twelve miles or so later, another flat. Pumped up the tire, it seemed to be holding air. Three miles later, Pmmmphmmph. New tube, more air, took off. Mile later, another flat. I hate flat tires! "Dad, can you drive to Bergen and pick me up?" Glad Jan had her cell phone. I walked and jogged with my bike while Jan cruised up and down Swamp road and we waited for my ride. After Dad arrived and I climbed in the SUV, Jan took off and completed 30 more miles. Once she got home she put her bike inside and finished the training session with 29 more miles. One of us will be in good bike riding shape. As for me, I gave up and sat on the couch with a nice bottle of red wine.