Baseball Training Lessons

Despite that fact that I am pretty much the only one in a 200 mile radius with this attitude. Despite the fact that I live in an area dominated by American League East supporters. Despite the fact that they, at least on paper, have only an outside chance at making the post-season. I am a Chicago Cubs baseball fan. I'm not ashamed of it.

There are lots or parallels between my triathlon training and Chicago Cubs baseball:

Both are fair weather sports
In much the same way that I whine all winter long about crappy weather, bad training conditions, eating too much, and a lowered libido motivation to put in the miles, baseball is pretty much on hold during the winter. Warm weather breeds exercise motivation as well as a return of pill ball to the diamond.

When I go out for a run in December-February, I share the road with a few cars and snow. Scarce are the other athletes. When I go for a run in March-October, there are actually other people out exercising! Pasty white skin that hasn't seen a lick of vitamin D for months now reappear to share space on the road. The shoulders of the road are littered with amateur athletes pounding the pavement and putting in the miles.  Bicycles are added to the mix. I am no longer lonely.

Sometime, when the weather officially warms up, racing will return. It will continue right up until the same time that the baseball season ends. Such a depressing time of year. Until then, I've got both triathlon and Cubbie baseball to keep me entertained.

Consistency is King
The regular baseball season features 162 games in roughly 185 calendar days. That's 23 days off over the course of 6 months. I checked the Cubbies game schedule. April has 2 scheduled days off. May has 4. June has 3. July has 5 (4 of which are the scheduled 'All-Star Break). August has 3 days off. September has 2 days off.

This is similar to the average idiot's triathlete's training schedule (read- my training schedule). Sure, you can take days off. They are not absolutely necessary and can be few and far between. We have 3 disciplines in which to vary our training.

A quick note on this topic- This does not mean you need to have hundreds of days of HARD training. Running, in particular, rewards easy efforts. You can work on your weakness and build on your strengths without killing yourself day in and out. However, you won't achieve your best without putting in the time.

Take it One Day at a Time
Once in a while, I'll listen to the post-game show. They have really bad interviews with athletes who have been coached on how to answer monotonous questions. Here's a typical conversation:

Broadcaster: Good game today.
Cub: Thanks
Broadcaster: How'd if go for you?
Cub: We did some good things and some things that we could do better. I'm just happy to do my part for the team and glad that (or wish that) we got the win.
Broadcaster: So, what's next for the team?
Cub: We'll go back out there tomorrow and try to get the win.

Both the Cubs and I know that you can't really look past tomorrow. Sure, your mind's eye is on end-of-the-season success. That success is only won by focusing on today. A win for me is measured in nailing my workout goals. Sometimes those goals are easy on purpose. Sometimes they are hard. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I fail. But, when I fail, I (in theory anyway) put it behind me. I want to go out there tomorrow and try to get the win.

Lastly, and maybe leastly,
Both the Chicago Cubs and I typically suck on an annual basis. And that fact changes absolutely nothing for my love of myself triathlon nor my love of the baseball team.

Evidence of Economic Recovery

Let's face it, my finances for the past year haven't been exactly on top of their game. There's a big reason for this: the Democrats are in control and have been for quite some time we were paying the bills on 2 houses at the same time. Then, a couple of weeks ago, the burden was lifted on one of those fine dwellings. We found a nice young couple of suckers to take over the responsibilities of the old house.

• Gone was the second mortgage (okay, it was actually the first mortgage since we owned that house first). 
• Gone was the insurance premium, which we kept current because we had this secret dream that some natural disaster would wipe the house out and we could simply collect the premium and be done with the housing market (yes, I know there are flaws in that scheme, just let me have my fantasy). Also, the mortgage people required it.
• Gone was the school tax that we still have to pay even though we don't have any children. Since I am a teacher, it's sort of like paying my own salary. And that, like all perpetual motion devices, doesn't work as well as you'd hope.
• Gone was the water bill, whose main purpose was to make sure the toilets would flush. Apparently, if you let the bowl go dry due to natural evaporation, the scent trap underneath gets freed and you populate your house with the smell of your community's sewer system. The basic service fee cost more than the amount of water used and almost all of that was by flushing non-soiled toilets.
• Gone was the gas bill, whose sole purpose was to provide fuel to the boiler and give heat so that the water pipes needed to flush the toilet didn't burst in places we didn't want them to. (It's a viscous loop.)
• Gone was the electric bill, whose sole purpose was to provide energy to the pump that circulated the hot water from the boiler to the rest of the house so that the pipes wouldn't freeze so that we could flush the toilet. 
• (It seems a lot of our money went into making sure that the toilet would flush in a house that we didn't want anymore.)

Now that all of the above has been deleted from our list of requirements, our bank account is starting to show signs something that resembles normalcy. For example, I have heard of places that will make food for you. You walk in to these place and select an item from a list of options. You are allowed to make changes, such as adding additional products or removing  a selection. Then, they will cook your food and deliver it to you fresh and hot. We tried that the other day and it was awesome.

Further evidence, new shoes. I've been in need of a new pair for a while now. My old ones were getting a little ratty. Look at the pic. These obviously aren't mine because I would never actually run in a pair of Saucony's (unless someone from Saucony wants to sponsor me, then of course I'd love the shoe <ahem- hint hint->). The shoes in the pic share some striking similarities with my real shoes-Mizuono's (if anyone from Mizuno happens to be reading this, I'm expecting a call from Saucony to discuss sponsorship, but I will entertain any offers from you). With all of my cash being flushed, I've been holding off on the purchase. No more! I actually bought a pair of new running shoes. Granted, they haven't made me any faster but my feet do stay a little warmer and dryer in the winter's cold.

Here's the big one. The conclusive evidence that my checkbook has been unburdened from its shackles. The sure fire way that you know that things are starting to look up for the Banter again.

I'm training again.

Up until yesterday, I had simply been working out. The philosophy behind that statement can be found here. For those of you too lazy to click the link, allow me to summarize. No races + no goals= No training. As you have probably surmised, I have officially signed up for a race. My sidebar has been updated. I am taking my nice new running shoes out for their very first training run later today.

I signed up for the Keuka Lake Triathlon- Olympic Distance. The KLT is an outstanding event. It's a beautiful location. Challenging course. Perfect amenities. I mean it no harm or disservice when I say this is/ nor will not be the main event of my season. Then, why in the world did I choose this race first?

A couple of reasons: First, it's the traditional kickoff to the triathlon season. Most races prior to June are either running-only events or duathlons. Most triathletes are pansies (myself included) who don't like cold water swims. Upstate NY is mired by high latitude numbers. This equates to poor levels of insolation and, due to water's high specific heat, a tendency to have chilly water temps. Any colder, in some years, and the race would become a duathlon, which is triathlon's bastard brother of multisport.

Second, of all of the triathlon race distances, I enjoy the Olympic Distance the least. Don't get me wrong, all triathlon events are fun and on orders of magnitudes greater than their single sport companions. If you take the rest of the sporting world out of the equation and focus at the pointy end of the spectrum, Olys are the hardest. They're almost fast. They're almost long. They're completely hard. But, I have delusions of longer stuff, making this race a great steeping stone. It's also a rather efficient gauge of my early season fitness.

And lastly, I signed up for this race because the RD is smart. Triathlons are expensive to start off with, difficult to plan, and complicated to coordinate. Unlike running races which seem to allow anyone with a twenty dollar bill to get in, there is a triathlon race capacity. Swarms of competitors swimming, biking, and running take work to manage and keep safe. More people equals more work and more risk. But triathlon is growing while the venue capacity seems to have stagnated. RD's all across the country are seeing their race sell out. This is a good thing for them. In fact, the earlier the race sells out, the better. They get capital in hand, pay their bills (which may or may not be toilet flushing related), and can plan accordingly.

With that in mind, RD's offer a discount for people to sign up early. Like I said, the RD is smart. This is the real reason I signed up for the race. The KLT early bird special ended yesterday. That knowledge alone was enough for me to open my wallet, pull out the credit card, and sign the electronic waiver. I "saved" $5 by forking over digital cash yesterday instead of today. It's still not enough to get someone to bring me cooked food, but it's a start.

The other races on my wish list have later deadlines and I am a procrastinator by nature. I will be signing up for more races. I still have yet to register for the big one. I have an idea for that race. But, like I said earlier, we are not in full blown recovery and tris are expensive. I'll keep you posted.

The 2012 Lenten Challenge

Last year, I had this less than swell idea. First, I hypothesized about the function of Lent and I'm pretty sure I hit the nail on the head. Then, to honor the season I decided to do 40 days of working out. Due to some really shady math system established by the Christian calendar many hundreds of years ago, 40 days became 46 days of working out. I hated it.

I promised that I wouldn't do that again. As it turns out, I am a complete idiot. I have every intention of working out everyday between now and Easter. And, as it turns out, I am a couple of days behind (see 'Exceptions to the Rules' below).

My Proposed Workout Schedule

I call this the classic 5, 4, 3, 2 schedule. 5 rides. 4 runs. 3 swims. 2 lifts. 1+1 optional bike and run. Bike rides must be longer than 30 minutes in order to count. Runs must be longer than 3 miles to count. Swims should be done in a pool. I have no criteria on lifting. In fact, the only reason  I lift weights is to get revenge on the bully that steals my lunch money the Wife insists that I have more chest muscle than her.

Rules
1. Workout daily
2. Continue until Easter

Seems easy, right? Like every challenge, there's some fine print.


Exceptions to the Rules (I.E. excuses to not workout)
1. Severe illness
2. Injury
3. Wife veto (she might want some Banter time)

Since Lent actually started last Wednesday, I should have posted this nearly a week ago. I have not been keeping up. No exercise on Wed, Thur, Fri, nor Sat. I did go for a ride yesterday. The rhinovirus conveniently handed me exception #1. Pending no further interactions with my students (good luck on your tests), avoiding any knee pain, or extra time with the Wife, I'll have roughly 42 days of working out. Stay tuned...

Circadean Clockwork

With my new and improved workout schedule, the first order of business is to develop a routine. I am not a morning exerciser. I actually enjoy the mornings and am quite the morning person. My morning bliss centers around not moving, enjoying the peace of the earth, listening to the Wife snore birds sing, and sipping a nice warm beverage while reading something interesting (obviously not this blog).

I have decided to get a jump start on my 2012 season. Technically, I don't need to start until next week but I am an idiot can't really wait that long. I get antsy without goals. Training goals give me something to shoot for and provide me with the guidance I need to keep me motivated.

Circadian Cycles have long since been known. Named after the annoying fact that your dog won't let you sleep in on the weekend, incessantly stomping his feet, barking at you, begging that you let him out and then provide breakfast, only to repeat this process at dinner time. Circadian rhythms are blamed for numerous annoyances; including feeding the Wife babies, getting sleepy during important work-based meetings, and the fact that my bladder will always wake me up at 2:00 am +/- 30 minutes.

For about the past 3 weeks, I have been getting up around 5:30. That's ante meridian in case you were wondering. The alarm goes off, I sludge out of bed, make said morning beverage, and sit for a while. Somewhere between 6:05 and 6:20, nature me calls to empty the system of an impeding solid wastes. This Circadian Rhythm jump starts the need to put on running shoes and head out the door.

In the first couple of days, the body rebelled against wee-hour running. It exclaimed, "I will not give you a good workout." Fine by me. Remember, my current goal is just to develop a routine. Even if the legs, heart and lungs agreed that I could pound out a good run, the brain is holding it back. There will be time enough for pounding <sophomoric giggling> later in the season.

In an essence, I have been trying to reset my Circadian Clock. And, it's been working. In fact, it's been working too well. I find myself getting up on Saturday mornings at 5:30. The desire to poop run kicks in at 6:00 on Sunday morn. Sunday is not a running day! Go back to bed. But, the PRP seems to think that running on Sunday is a good idea. He'll stand outside the bedroom door going through his morning routine (re-read the 3rd paragraph if you are confused). Much to his annoyance, we don't go running. Normally, providing him with a few extra morsels of kibbles is enough to keep him sated while I head back to bed. I listen to the sounds of the Wife snoring crunch crunch of his breakfast. Despite all of my efforts, I rarely rejoin the sleeping world. The clock has been reset and I am destined to be groggy for the remainder of the day.

Change in Schedule

One of my big issues in the 2011 season was a reliance on brick training. Bricks in triathlon are generally a bike session followed by a run session. In the beginning, bricks SUCK. Over time, they suck less. Eventually, you don't even notice the pain. They still suck, but you have gotten so used to it that adaptive forces deep inside your soul have learned to ignore the unhappiness. But, they do teach your legs how to be comfortable off the bike for racing purposes. My legs are quite content during the run. I'm still not that fast but at least I've got no rubbery feeling.

A consequence of the brick reliance is the time factor. When I relied on brick workouts, I was short-changing one, or often both, of the disciplines. A 2-hour workout was roughly 1:15 on the bike followed by :45 on the run. Neither one of those really give enough time/ distance for high quality base training. I would have benefited more by biking for 2 hours straight and rescheduling the run to a different day/ time to run longer. Plus, it's hard to really attack the bike knowing that you're going out for a run. Something must change.

On my refrigerator, I have a white board mounted on my fridge which shows my schedule. Here was 2011 general workout guide:

As you can see, I did on the average of 3-4 bricks a week, depending on how dedicated to the schedule I was (translation: dedication varied widely from one week to the next). You can also see, I needed to buy milk.

Here's my new schedule for the 2012 season:

As you can see, I've got this Ironman training thing going on. I am teaching and coaching a sport. The Running Ladies that I train are getting back into the swing of things. I am taking an online graduate class. We're in the midst of buying a new house. On top of that, I've got my country's 500th wedding anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder, and Guilder to blame for it. I'm swamped.

Therefore, I have to spread out my workouts a little bit more. I have reduced the number of bricks by moving more running sessions to the mornings. This should allow me to do longer, higher quality runs (which was a 2011 weakness). I can bike longer in the evenings (again, weakness). Weekends have more time, and therefore, I have scheduled brick training for Saturday and maybe Sunday. I have eliminated the need to swim. Swimming will show up later in the season, probably around March. Swimming will replace the Monday morning run, Thursday morning blank, possibly the Friday morning blank, and maybe Saturday morning. The weight sessions are added in there because the Wife refuses to allow me to morph into an Ichabod Crane body-type.

And, as you can see, I still need to buy milk.

The Redemption Race

This entire racing year has been kind of a roller coaster ride for me. At the beginning of the season, I was on top of the world. Since the world is mainly spherical, Western NY is obviously the top (as are all other locations on the planet according to Einstein's Theory of Relativity). Having done several running races, I proved that I am a God and you should surrender to my every whim my winter running program was a success, I couldn't have been happier. But, at the same time, my bike training had regressed. I did not attack the trainer as well as I could have (because, seriously, it's my basement). This was compounded by a crappy, cold, wet spring. Then, just as triathlon season got started, I had a knee injury. Already behind on the bike and falling behind on the run, racing speeds were down. Endurance was down. I was down. Then, my A-race hit and I had a less than stellar performance (which was not surprising). Yet, in my first race back from the downer, I put up unprecedented speeds. I can't figure this season out.

Here's the thing: The more I think about my IMLP performance, especially in the run, the less happy I get with the performance. This hinges on a silly belief that I should be getting faster as I gain experience. In each of my IM finishes in the past, I had bettered my previous PR by about 30 minutes. Because of that history, that's the expectation I have set myself. I am confident that I have not peaked in the 140.6 distance. I am also confident that I am a big, fat loser my 'poor' performance was a symptom of many things, some in my control and some out. None of that changes the results of what I feel was a sub-par race.

It kinda sucks how these sort of negative emotions/ self-talk continue to spiral. At first it started as a simple concern. Then it evolved to definite unease. Now, I'm a disgruntled postal worker with a gun. I'm not losing sleep. I'm not going to have race rage. But, I am doing what everyone else in my situation is doing... Carefully calculating out how I'm going to get back at that race next year. Damn you IMLP, I will have my revenge.

The problem is that next year is so far away. I need something more immediate.

It may have been racer remorse. It may have been the ego talking. It may have been that I was drunk off of some nice wine purchased at one of the wine festivals that I frequent. What ever the reason, the deed has been done. I have registered for the Syracuse 70.3.

Officially, the race is called the "Ironman Syracuse 70.3." When it comes to the word Ironman, I'm a bit of an idealist. Ironman is a distance of 140.6. Half-Ironman is a distance of 70.3. The World Triathlon Corporation, who kinda holds the rights to the brand of 'Ironman' has decided to abuse the Iron as much as possible. (Aside: To the best of my knowledge, Marvel Comics actually has the official trademark on the word. End Aside.) I can't really agree with this practice. At least in my mind, this is a half Iron, no matter what the WTC calls it.

HIM Syracuse takes place on September 18th and has now become my new A-race. I am structuring my training around a strong finish for a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. I am also doing significantly more speed work. I do not wish to ignore the short season.

HIM Syracuse has many opportunities to give me.  I am looking at Syracuse as my long distance redemption for the race I wanted but never happened. I am looking as Syracuse as an opportunity to end the season on a high. I am looking at Syracuse to start my 2012 season. HIM Syracuse, you will be my whipping post. (Okay, maybe I have a little bit of race rage.)

2011 Short Season

If you read the literature, 'they' say that you need to take a few weeks off after your A-race to recover and re-charge the battery. 'They' also say that you don't want to start training too soon for your next big race, in fear that you will peak too early. By all calculations, I will start training for Ironman Lake Placid, 2012 edition in mid October. This seems like a good time to get started in base training. Fall coaching season will have concluded. October should have a few good days left for biking. The temperatures aren't so cold, nor are they warm. This makes for good running. Also, and I'm pretty sure it's not too early to make this prediction, but the Cubs probably won't be playing any baseball.

As I near the end of my recovery (more on this topic soon), I have to figure out what to do with myself between now and October. Contrary to what the rest of the country thinks, not exercising isn't all that much fun. It's still quite warm outside and there are several local races to be had.

Getting Back to My Roots
Way back in the day, I got started in triathlon via the Sprint tri. Even though I have picked up the Ironman disease, I actually prefer the short distances. In long course, the routine is all about pace. In short distance, the routine is all about speed. The IM is not a swim race, bike race, run race. A Sprint Tri is just that. There is very little reason to hold out, especially when your base is significantly deeper than the Sprint distance. Plus, I like the satisfaction of being done Lens Crafters style (in about an hour).

The major issue I have with the short stuff is that I'm pretty sure I have forgotten how to go fast. I haven't trained for speed in any of this disciplines. That is going to have to change. Workouts from now through October will be laden with speed (assuming that the knee can hold out) with the occasional long day tossed in to keep me honest.

Off to the Races
Summer Sizzler- August 13th. This extra short Sprint is on the edge of my recovery plan. I probably shouldn't race, but the Wife will be doing this as her first triathlon in many years. Plus, I like racing. Like I said, the race is shorter than normal, making this the ideal come-back race. At 400 yard swim, 17 k bike (~10.5 miles) and 3k run (~1.9 miles), the Wife and I can be done relatively quickly. The have a 'Formula 1" race option, which means that you would do everything twice without stopping. Not this year.

Rochester Triathlon *- August 27. This is the first year of this event hosted by the RATS (Rochester Area Triathletes) and I am curious. They are holding the race in a location that is screaming triathlon but has yet to be tapped. Sadly, the race organizers have not really posted much information on this race. If you go to their website (link provided) the course details are meager. And, if you read my blurb on race distances, you'd know that Sprint distances are open to interpretation. After a bit of digging, I found the following distances; .75k swim, 20k bike, 5k run (0.5, 12.4, 3.1 miles)

Fingerlakes Triathlon- September 11. This race has long been on my triathlon schedule and it tends to mark the last horrah for triathlon in the area. There are others later in the year but I may have to break my 2 hour traveling rule. That might happen. But, since school will have started back up, I proceed with caution. In the FLT, I will be doing the Sprint Distance race at Swim .45 mi, Bike 13 mi, Run 3.1 mi. I am making this my A race for the short season, so hopefully the pump will be primed for speed. FYI, this is the race in the Rochester area that I encourage any triathlon newbie or swimmer-nervous athlete. The water is shallow enough that you could virtually walk the entire swim.

Autumn Classic Duathlon*- October 2. Sigh. The triathlon season is officially over here. It's back to non-swimming events. I did this race a year ago, encouraged by the Wife who wanted to do a trail run. When given the option of just running, or biking and running, I picked the latter. While the Wife was out prancing through the trees, I was doing my (at the time) first ever Formula 1 duathlon. We ran 2 miles, biked 10, ran 2, biked 10, and again ran 2. That's RBRBR. It was kind a fun so I plan on doing it again.

*Denotes that I have not yet registered for this event as of this post.

Since fall is the season of the runner, I am sure there may be a 5k or 10k that may pop up on a whim. And, the whim generally means that a woman in my life has encouraged it (beit the Wife or one of the ladies I help train). Those are also fun to do as well.

If anyone knows of a good race (hopefully triathlon but will consider others) in late September or early October, please send it along. I do like racing. Racing keeps me motivated. Racing keeps me moving.

2011 Race Schedule

With the threat of a pending blizzard and in the heat of a recovery week, my motivation to do anything resembling physical activity is pretty low. Therefore I decided to let my credit cards do the work tonight and paid out for a bunch of races. As I live in Western New York, most of my races are local. I plan on adding a race or 2 later in the season but I feel rather set between now and IMLP.

Here it goes:

• April 3- Spring Forward 15 K run
• April 30- Flower City Duathlon RBR (5k/ 20 mile/ 5K)
• May 1- Flower City Half Marathon
• June 5- Keuka Lake Intermediate Triathlon
• July 2- Tri in the Buff Intermediate Triathlon
• July 16- mini-Musselman Sprint Triathlon
• July 24- Ironman Lake Placid

The schedule has a couple of points of interest for me. First, the Flower City races are back to back, giving me a discount and option for a 'special' prize. I'm not much of a duathlon kind of guy as they purposefully get rid of the swim and replace it with a run. In the runner's world, I'm average at best. But, the challenge of the weekend appeals to me so I will cope with the lack of swimming for the weekend festivities. Second, I would like to add another tri in June. I generally do not like to drive more than 2 hours for a race (except for IMLP). I've not been having much luck finding a <2 hour race. Ironically, instead of racing, I will more than likely drive the 5 hours from home to Lake Placid to camp and train on the course. I won't drive to race but will to train. Gosh I'm weird. Third, except for the duathlon, I have done all these races in the past and enjoyed them. There's comfort in familiarity and I am sitting comfortable right now. (Although, that just might be the lazy boy talking.)

After IMLP, there are a few more local races that I've yet to register but am considering. There's a formula 1 style triathlon in mid August. I may do that race or visit my parents in Indiana. It's too early to tell at this point. There's a nice sprint triathlon in one of the Fingerlakes in September. Registration for this event is not yet open and there is a very high probability I will do this event. The big post-season race may be Ironman Syracuse 70.3. It's within the 2 hour window and would give me the chance to do all 4 major triathlon distances in the same season (sprint, intermediate, half, and full). I'm not sure how many other people can boast having done all four in the same season, so I'll be Banter-style superhero in that sense. Even without the bragging rights, the Syracuse event still looks fun. It also marks the last triathlon in the area for the year. The last hoorah. Yeah, I'll probably do it. Probably.